So... Acid and Alex had found an apartment, and he had gotten her clothes from her parents and left a note. Everything done and sorted out and everything was now fine. Acid had nothing to worry about at all, and if, by some crazy twist of fate, that if he did, he would have freaked out because he did not want something he had to deal with. After all, he'd just finished dealing with the apartment and living situation, and all he wanted to do was to just relax at the banks of the Lacroix River.

It was nice, he contemplated, to listen to something natural for a change and not something like a car or the bustling crowds of the city, or how people ranted about how hot it was during the daytime. Personally, it wasn't that hot to Acid, but it was hotter than usual, so that was why he was only wearing a long-sleeved, black button-up shirt and white pants instead of two shirts and a parka, or whatever he had in his closet. He'd forgotten what he wore on 'cold' days because for about two days he'd just been wearing long-sleeved shirts and jeans, and before that everything had kind of been a blur.

Acid's golden, green-rimmed eyes gazed at the running river, his legs crossed indian style before him, his pale hands folded in his lap. His blonde bangs were, unusually, not in his face, but rather tucked behind his ears or just framing his face. He looked kind of sad, sitting there under the shade of an old tree.

{Reserved for Massacist.}

Verkur had had an off week. It's a little odd to be saying that a demon had an off week. But it was true, the Chaos Demon had been having an off week, his mind seemed to be at a stand still, like a writers-block if you will. He hadn't caused any major chaos all week, a few romantic relationship fuck-ups, a kidnapping of a child, and only one fire.

Maybe a change of scenery would do him some good, so the Demon had taken to the trees. The old towering trees provided the shade that kept the heat off of his leathery wings, the silance and peacfulness that was so controversal to his chaotic lifestyle, and the barrier between him and the rest of the world. He had no need to fold his wings or hide his fangs or pointed ears. To tell the truth, his wings had been aching so it felt nice to allow them to rest upright on his back.

He'd been traveling along the weave of branches along the edge of the river for quit sometime before he came to a branch that provided him with a welcome veiw.

There sits, looking all too peacful for Verkur's taste, is his old friend Acid. A smirk crept onto the demon's lips slowly, pointed teeth showing and white eyes alight. Without thinking about it, since sneeking around came natural to him, Verkur crawled to the next branch over, then down the tree in which Acid sat next to. He reached around the tree and covered Acid's eyes with large, strong hands with clawed fingers. His lips incredibly close to Acid's ear he whispers in his horse voice:

"Guess who."

A strangled noise came out of Acid's mouth, something between a shriek and a groan. "V-v-vy..." He couldn't even finish; he was freaking out so badly on the inside.

Nonononono this can'tcan'tcan't be happening can'tcan'tcan't he can't be here nononono thisisbadbadverybad... He was having an inner-freakout, a very bad freakout, because, after all, he'd totally forgotten about Vyncyra Verkur, who hadn't bothered him in... how many months was it? Six?

When people you don't like don't bother you for six months, well, you tend to forget them, especially if there's nothing around to remind you of them, and well, that was exactly what happened to Acid.

Verkur had just disappeared from his life, and then, after six months of disappearance, he reappears, and just when Acid thought everything was going very, very well.

Well, good things don't last forever.

Heh, Obviously, for Acid, good things don't last even an entire week.

It was like a sixth sense of Verkur's to know the exact worst time to show his face. And for Acid, and his life going so good, this was the perfectly worst time to show up. No other time would have been better...well, on Acid's worst day ever, but this was good enough for him.

Verkur shook his head slightly, realizing that what he had guessed was true. Acid had wipped him from his memory. He clucked his tongue in a 'tut tut' sort of fashion.

"Oh, don't tell me you forgot all about me...sunshine." That sunshine was like a stab in the back. He'd called Acid that before and that single word, uttered in such a way, was a certian reminder. Other then the one word, Acid's tone was careless, almost a little pleased. Like it did not matter that Acid had forgotten him, like it was even funner this way, to remind Acid of who he was.

He removed his fingers from Acid's eyes and forcfully but gentilly, like handling a little child, tilted the shadow's face up to look at him, his white eyes bearing down on him.

The terror Acid was feeling was painfully clear in his bi-colored eyes, and the way Acid's breath was coming out in choked gasps and the fact that Verkur had just called him 'sunshine'... Acid's heart was pounding devastatingly hard in his chest, and he was very pale looking.

Nononono...whywhywhydidhehavetocomebacknowitwasjustgoingosgreat... I wish he'd go away... His thoughts went in a loop, repeating the latter, more coherent thought over and over again, a desperate tone and color to them. He really didn't want Verkur to not be there.

Verkur made his white eyes wide in false shock and an un-true pain.

"You did forget me."

Then slowly, like butter melting on a hot surface, a smile slid over his lips, his eyes returning to their unnatural narrow gaze. He tilted his head to the side, eyes boring into Acid's bi-colored eyes.

"Do you still not recall me?" Though it was apparent that Acid certinally did remember the demon. "Or should I attempt to refresh your memory?" Oh, he really did want to reminde the shadow. It would be fun. And he certinally needed a little bit of fun right now.

Verkur stood up, towering over the sitting form of the Shadow, slowly stepped around to stand in front of him, and then he crouched down infront of him, his hands drapped over his knees.

"Didn't you miss me at all?" His voice was even more effecting now, still whispery, still deep, but more hollow now.

Acid did not know what to say. If he said 'yes,' he'd be lying. If he said 'no,' well... who knew what Verkur would do then. It might be best to say 'yes', but then... Verkur knew he had forgotten him, he had said to him, 'you did forget me' and it was the trurth and Verkur knew it. And so, Acid was stuck with only one answer, and that answer... well, he was sure Verkur wouldn't be very happy with it.

"...no..." Acid bit out quietly, something below a whisper, if that was even possible. He was trying not to meet Verkur's eyes, but he was failing miserably. He hoped that Verkur wouldn't be angry with him.

"No...you...don't still recall me?" His eyes held Acid's gaze, even with his struggling not to look at him. "Or no you don't want me to remind you?"

Verkur's voice was still very, deadly calm. And that probably made the situation all the more worse. Verkur reached out one clawed hand and drug the sharp claw across Acid's cheek, moving it downward across his throat.

His eyes moved to where his claw was pressed aginst the shadows neck, a threatining pause, and then his claw dropped away and his eyes came back to Acid's.

"You obviously did not miss me." His voice was like thunder, angry and disappointed.

The claw left a white trail in its path, and Acid cringed in pain, pulling away. "N...n...no... I don't want you to remind me..." His voice trembled and he was looking at the ground. And then he wanted to add, 'You never gave me a reason to miss you'... but he didn't, because he suspected Verkur would react badly to that... and, well, Acid wasn't sure if Verkur would hurt him severely or not.

Verkur pouted out his lower lip. He'd changed, only subtly though, such as his teeth, every one of them were pointed now, not just his fangs, he was more dangerous now as well. And he was more powerful, a part of his code, a very strict part of his code, had been lifted. Now he could kill Acid, no questions asked. But he didn't want to kill Acid.

He dropped the subject...for now.

"How have you been sleeping? Did Emrys potion work for you?" He tilted his head to the side. "In fact, how has your life been?"

"No... you took the potion with you... remember?" Acid asked softly, looking pitiful. "And it's... it's been okay... my friend and I moved into an apartment..." Even though he was completely terrified of Verkur, the fear seem to have subsided and he didn't seem so pale anymore. Somewhere in his eyes, though, still lurked that shadow of fear and anxiety.

"Ahhh yes." That 'ahhh' was a somewhat lulling sound, especially comeing from the large strong form of a demon. "Yes. I do remember now." He'd pocketed the formula so that the sleep deprived shadow would not overdose on the potion in attempt for further sleep.

"Well, I havn't the slightest idea where it went to. I can get more. I havn't paid Emrys a visit in some time." Uh oh, poor Emrys, the blind seer, was now on the list of things 'to do'.

"You have a friend. And an appartment. Your doing good for yourself Acid." He patted the shadows cheek idely. "I'm proud of you." He smirked. Sooo the shadow had a friend. He wondered who it was.

Acid smiled sweetly at him, a smile that was very warm and very friendly. For some reason, something was very happy with himself that Verkur had actually said that, the 'I'm-proud-of-you' thing. (Later, he would think, why should it matter what he thinks? Later, though, after he looked back on this moment.)

"Thank you," Acid told him.

"You deserve the praise." Somthing about Verkur made him almost soothing when he said this. His eyes glowed white as always and when he smiled his fangs were mencing.

Verkur stood up and turned his back on the Shadow, his large wings unmasked to Acid for the first time. He'd always kept them pinned like a cloak, reason for his pain and ach in the leathery forms. He walked over to the edge of the water.

"Why are you here all by yourself Shadow?" Why not? Every other time Verkur had found him he'd been alone. What changes it this time. MAybe that now Verkur knows his shadow has a friend.

"I just wanted... I just wanted to be alone for a while." The statement was whispered, and Acid looked at Verkur's wings, his eyes roving over the tears and tatters. Tentatively, he stood and walked over to Verkur, standing at a friendly, yet cautious distance.

Glancing at Verkur, a look of innocence and coyness on his face, he asked, very timidly, "Is it okay if I touch your wings...?"

"Touch my wings." It wasn't permission. It was a statment spoken with an undertone of something like curiosity or an obscure interest. He looked at Acid from the corrner of his white eyes. No matter his mood, his eyes looked sort of looked dangerous.

"Why?"

Only one being...er...not-so-much being had ever touched his wings, aside from himself. And that had been the God of War and Violance. And that had been without asking, or truely needing, permission from Verkur. Verkur worshipped, and even loved, his god. He did not worship, nor love, Acid. He played with him. He tortured him, he followed him.

Should his reason be good enough...maybe. It felt good to have his wings touched, like scratching a cat on the back or a dog behinde the ear.

Acid gave Verkur a nervous sideglance, biting his lower lip. Though it was not said with scorn, Acid heard it that way, and he took a small step away from Verkur. "I... I just want to know what it feels like, that's all... but if you don't want me to--..." He trailed off and studied the river.

Verkur looed at Acid, studying the 'lower life-form' with intent eyes. He thought of Acid as his own personal minion whether or not Acid thought of himself that way. That would be his reason for calling Acid His shadow.

After a moment and stepped towards Acid, it was a large step, closing almost all the space between them with that one strid. He looked down at the Shadow, breathing on the top of his head.

"Go ahead." It was an off-hand way of saying 'sure. Touch away!'

No, Acid didn't think of himself as that way, but there was always a growing suspicion (more like 'fear') that Verkur saw him as nothing but something to play with.

The shadow looked at him with hooded eyes and then timidly reached out and ran his fingers over Verkur's leather wings, his touch light and extremely hesitant.

Verkur's wings not only looked leather, they felt leather, the edges however, felt silk. Maybe the thinness around the outter edges was the reason for the tatter. His wings were thick, five bones in each, ending in cartalege to support the leather.

Verkur's wings shuddered at the first touch, the way someones body would when being touched by something cold. Verkur's eyes remained on Acid, his facial expression was protective, as if he were ready to act should his shadow pull out a knife to slash his wings.

Something like a half-smile graced Acid's face, as if he was amused that the wing's trembled. But he wasn't.

'...I can't believe you're touching them,' that voice told him, a roughness in his voice. 'They're wings... wings...' The voice almost sounded jealous.

Acid's fingers moved towards the outer edge of Verkur's wings, his expression going blank at the silky feeling of the edges. That... that was suprising. The middle of Verkur's wings had been leathery, but... the outer edges... they felt like silk.

Verkur's wings shivered once again as Acid's fingers moved to the outter edges of his wings. His fingers felt rough aginst the silk area, like sandpaper.

His hand snapped out, fingers tipped with claws wrapped around Acid's wrist. "Not there." The area where Acid was touching was ripped up, all of the edge was tattered and ripped. He pushed Acid's hand back towards the leathery part of his wings and released his grip of him.

Acid winced, but said nothing, just conitnued to run his hands over the leathery expanse of Verkur's wings. And then, his hand stopped, seeming to freeze. He pulled back, as if burned, and turned away from Verkur, looking at the river, his expression sullen.

He'd closed his eyes, looking like a cat on the verge of purring while having his back scratched. Then Acid turned away and Verkur opened the white eyes. He stepped closer again, his body nearly aginst Acid's (Never the one for personal space).

"What?" He asked. Not really asked, more like demanded.

"I hate you," Acid said, sounding more like he was saying it to himself, but he didn't sound like he meant it at all. No, he sounded like he was lying to himself. And then, after a second, "No... I hate the control you have over me."

Verkur was momentarily confused. But never, never, would he let this show on his face. For a moment, he assumed Acid was speaking to him and so, with strang hands, he grabbed Acid's arms and spun him around, then pushed him back aginst a tree.

The demon pinned him there, holding him up at eye level. "What did you say?" Again, it wasn't a question so much as a demand.

He was, in a way, speaking to Verkur. It was more like, he was telling himself just what to believe about him.

"I said..." Acid seemd to pause, and he looked at the ground on the side. "...I said... I said, 'I hate the control you have over me'."

A smile slid across his lips, sharp teeth in view once again and his white eyes alight with something like amusement.

“Oh, but I love it.”

Of course he did. That meant power, and the demon loved power. He liked that reality was just now hitting his little shadow friend. It was like a child opening a gift that was given to him for no apparent reason.

Acid looked up towards the sky, and it was funny because of how the the angle of his neck resembled something like a wolf baring its neck to a leader.

'You're letting him--' there was a rather dignified tone to the voice in the back of his head, '--do this to you? What are you, a sickeningly loyal dog?' Acid was sure the last part was done with a sneer, but he didn't reply.

He'd given up. And everything was going so well... oh why, why did I have to see him again...

Verkur snickered silently, also noting the way his neck appeared. He opened and closed his mouth, causing his sharp teeth to make a defined 'cliking' sound. Well now he just wanted to lick...or bite, his shadows neck, just because it was thrust out like that.

"look at me Acid." Another demand, but this one was spoken in a subtle way that made it sound less like a demand, in a way that most people obeyed without realizing it was a demand.

Acid looked down, but not at Verkur's eyes. Instead, he looked at Verkur's wings, After all, Verkur had not said, 'look into my eyes' or 'look at my face' or something as specific as that. All Verkur had said was 'look at me'.

And Acid did look at Verkur in a way that didn't make him feel uncomfortable.

Verkur's eyes widened, not as if shocked but more like he was suddenly angry. He reached out and grabbed his chin, claws brushing his cheeks.

"Look at me Acid."

He wasn't happy, that was obvious. He did not like being made a fool of.

Acid felt like saying, 'I am looking at you[/i],' just to annoy him, but he didn't (it wouldn't be smart, and he knew this). Instead, he complied with Verkur's order and looking at his eyes.

Verkur felt himself calming as Acid's bi-colored eyes met his own white eyes.

"How much control do I have if you will not heed my comands?"

This was a question. And it was meant to be answered. The demons hand moved from it's sharp hold on his jaw to incircle around his throat, almost threateningly and almost pleasently.

"...you said 'look at me'... and I did look at you," Acid replied, almost casually. Almost, anyway. He was scared of Verkur, and he could not help the terrified tone that constantly lurked in his young voice, or the shadows of fear that passed over his eyes every now and then.

"You were being a smart ass." Acid spit the words out angrly. Then, he slowly lowered Acid until the Shadow's feet were once again on the ground, his hand still resting at the base of Acid's throat.

"Don't do it again." His voice was normal now, wrung with that ever-present calmness.

"...fine, I won't do it again," Acid told him calmly, shrugging, as if he might say, 'oh, you're wearing a t-shirt'. He really wouldn't do it again (if he remembered, but he probably would), after all.

Vekur's eyes narrowed and he let a growl slid between his lips. He tapped Acid on the side of his head with his free hand. "What is going on in your head?"

The hand around Acid's throat tightened slightly, involentarily. Then he released when he noticed it. He didn't want to kill of his shadow.

Acid wanted to say, oh, there's this voice rambling in the back of my head, y'know, and he's hurt by the way you're treating me but he's stuck in a cage thing so he can't get out...

Of course, that's not what he said. What he said was this: "I don't know." It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the truth, either. Partially, Acid did know what was going on inside his head, but for everything else, he did not. For instance, the voice in the back of his head had just stopped rambling, but Acid could still hear the incoherent whispers, and he didn't know how his mind worked, how he could suddenly be cheery one moment and snappy the next.

Verkur watched Acid as he spoke those two simple words. "Well, straighten your act out." Wow! He sounded like a father. Verkur ran his claws over Acid's neck. Then the demon walked away from Acid, back towards the water. He streached his wings out to their long extent, then relaxed them.

"You should listen to me better, Shadow." He mused outloud. After all, Verkur thought of himself as Acid's master. Thinking about Masters. "My master payed me a visit. He left a mark on me. Maybe I should give you one." He wasn't really speaking to Acid, more like thinking outloud.