A hush fell over the town, the silence was as cold as the night air. Something was wrong. I pulled at the soft fabric of my coat as if I was trying to shut out the chills racing down my spine. The still of the evening was shattered in an instant and my legs forced themselves into action. I was chasing down shouts and angered cries with my hand firmly gripping the weapon at my waist as my leather shoes tapped against the stone pavement.
I vaulted over a cart and caught a small glimpse of what I was hunting, the creature had a haul bundled in a large bag. A theif. Relief washed over my body and my pace slowed, yet the shouting of an enraged shop-owner spurred me forward. "Hey! You! Halt! You are under arrest!" My voice echoed off the cool stone buildings as I chased after the theif. Soft billowing white hair trailed the creature as it effortlessly bound through the village, never disturbing so much as a blade of grass. I shrugged off my fascination as I closed in on the robber. I cut their path and made myself an obstacle, hoisting my weapon to full veiw.
"Oh come ON!" A voice rang out as the perpetrator skid to a stop, feet from me. "You're really going to make me lose my stuffing over a couple of sweet things?!" Her voice was rough and thunderous, as was her form. A demon. Muscles rippled under soft purple skin and a second pair of arms rested along the side of her ribcage, with each heaving breath her four shoulders rose and fell together. For a moment I felt embarrased as she towered over me, how did I think I could stop a creature like this from doing as it pleased. How would I succeed?
"J-Just drop the bag and you can go." My voice reflected the shaking in my limbs. I lost any nerve I ever had. "Are you kidding?! This is his last batch of peanut yummies!" Her pleading tone betrayed her booming voice as the demon clutched her spoils. "If you want them you'll just have to take them from me!" The oni woman snarled and whipped around, launching herself into a sprint towards the mountains.
It took me hours to catch her again. When I finally arrived at a plateau, huffing and puffing as my breathing returned to normal, she was waiting for me. Perched on a large stump the oni was munching away peices of pastry bread from her bag of loot. "If you wanted some so bad, you didn't have to follow me all the way up here for it." The demon snorted at my exauhstion. "You.. have to.. pay for that.." I panted, providing a pitiful attempt at an aggressive stance. "And you should really sit down and drink some water." the woman threw a wooden cup at my feet with one of her upper arms. "We can discuss what crimes I may or may not have committed after you can actually breath again." Too tired to resist I retrieve the cup and settle next to a stream a short distance from her stump.
"Name's Abii by the way. What's yours?"
