Lilith del Sombras [APPROVED 1-2++]

One night, years ago, Lilith laid sound asleep in her bed. The clear moon stood at the night’s sky, worshipped by the endless seas of stars. The girl, 14 years of age lead a quiet, yet troublesome life. Mostly these things don’t go hand in hand but in her case, they did. Well hidden underneath long sleeves were the marks of violence done upon her body. Blue and black stood in stark contrast to her white skin. She opened her eyes, looking blankly ahead towards the ceiling. Voices had awakened her. Shouting of two people neared and passed by her bedroom door. She hid under the blankets, hoping it would go away. The shouting came back and briefly paused before her door. It came from her parents, or rather step-parents who were arguing over the usual matter, money, drinking habits, relations…mostly extramarital ones, Lilith.

A loud bang on her door made her sit upright in bed. Would he enter? How mad was he? Lilith nearly succumbed to fear. Fear of pain…violence. She hurriedly hid herself under the blankets again when suddenly the door slammed open. “Come here you little harlot!” a man’s voice commanded. Lilith pulled the blankets tighter to her. She felt a cold hand on her right leg and she was violently pulled out of her bed. She hit her back hard on the side and she let out a gasp of pain. “Where did you hide the money!?” her step-father demanded to know. She could smell the breath of alcohol coming from his mouth. When she did not speak soon enough, he struck her with the back of his hand. Her lip started bleeding but she did not answer. “Where…” the man yelled as he struck her in the face, this time with his fist, “…is the money!?” he sputtered infuriated and struck the girl again.

Lilith felt the pain subsiding. The beatings became numb impacts as her mind drifted away. Soon her entire body relaxed and she gave in to unconsciousness. Her step-father rose up and kicked her quite strongly in the side, although she experienced nothing of it. “Worthless brat” he cursed and left the room to vent his rage against his wife. Lilith found herself in a tranquil state. A fleeting dream passed her mind. She was running free. Through grassy meadows and lush forests, far away from her step-parents, she ran and ran as far as her legs could carry her. She ran free, in the broadest sense of freedom possible. Unrestricted, unbound…without pain.

Later that night, Lilith slowly started waking up. She still lied in the same position she was in. No one had even cared to put her in bed, or alleviate her from her back aching position on the side of the bed. She felt the pain to her face swell up quickly. She carefully touched the bruises. They stung when felt and even when left alone one could clearly feel a drumming pain resonating through them at every heartbeat. She was in tears but did not dare make noise as she lowered herself unto the ground and sat against the side of the bed. Her step-father had probably dozed off by now. She stood up and looked out through the window. The moon was still shining brightly.

There, after years of suffering the same ordeal on a daily basis, she decided to flee. She opened the window and lowered herself unto the ground. Dressed in her nightgown she left her home behind her. Walking through the streets at night, her unprotected feet started getting colder with every step. She came across a bridge spanning the canal. At world’s end, she walked to the middle and climbed onto the railing. Looking down at the pitch black waters, many meters below, she was startled with fear. Maybe death wasn’t the solution? She looked up at the moon and closed her eyes; she could see her late grandfather’s garden, where she so much liked to spend her time. She could see the falling cherry blossoms.

When she opened her eyes again she was sitting on the railing, looking ahead to the end of night. The sun was slowly rising, taking its many hours to do so. On her chest, her soul link rested. Without words or thoughts she decided…to wait here for just a little longer.

A flutter, passing through a whispering breeze, the dragonfly evades the sparrow. A buzzing sound from Lilith’s wings sounded through the air. The small and tender dragonfly was hurling over the desert at high speed. She fluttered her wings as fast she could and with intervals she looked back and up at the sky. A shadow moved over the ground below her. It stood as tall as she was, though the object that cast it was many meters away from her, up in the sky. She looked up, scanning for the threat. A large flying Hollow, with feathers, dawned above. The resonating sound of her wings suddenly played a slightly different tune, and she broke hard left in an instant. Her pursuer overshot her and needed to veer off to the left in an arch. This gave the nimble insect Hollow distance…and time to think.

The sandy dunes of Hueco Mundo passed under her at high speed. Only twigs and sand as far as the eye could see. There was no cover here for her, or a place to hide. Void of intelligence, she darted from left to right, instinctively evading the predator. If only she could gain enough distance on her pursuer she could maybe burrow into the sand towards the Menos forest below. That is, if she could find a hole through. Out of experience she knew that flightless insect Hollows sometimes nested near the surface, their nests tunneling through to the void below. However it would require a large amount of luck to come across one, let alone spot one at this speed. Another option would be to open a garganta and flee to the Real World. In either case, she needed more time…more distance!

The dragonfly picked up the pace, her lunges working overtime to provide the powerful muscles that moved her wings with oxygen. The larger Hollow, producing more lift and speed with each massive stroke started to gain on Lilith. Unable to keep her gained distanced she once again made an immediate turn, this time to the right. Her pursuer, now coming closer, veered off to the right as well but that was where it fell for the ploy. Immediately upon noticing the sluggish pursuer had started its turn, Lilith darted off to the left again, completing a single zigzag pattern of flight. The large Hollow, unable to keep up, braked as hard he could by flapping its wings against his flight path after which he renewed the chase. Further ahead Lilith saw a large round depression in the sand. It could be a burrow!

Lilith felt her muscles tiring out. She didn’t have long until utter exhaustion left her at the claws of her hunter. It was now or never! Instinctively equipped with a master aviator’s sense of flight her inner dials worked out the flight path; ascend at a thirty-five degree angle over a distance of twenty-five meters, stall at the highest point and steeply descend at full speed at again thirty-five degrees towards the centre of the depression. The Hollow behind her started closing the distance quickly. She’d have but one shot at this. The choice was easy, try this and she might succeed or continue the evasive actions until she ran out of energy to do so. Taking her chances, she set an upward course, being remotely aware of the consequences of it, namely the Hollow closing even more distance. If she hadn’t gained enough distance on it, it would now grab her and rip her apart, limb for limb.

The foul creature drew close and opened its mighty claws, ready clutch the delicate prey an inch within its grasp. Lilith could hear its breath just behind her when she quickly dove down; using every bit of strength and even her nimble weight played its part. By a hands length the attacking Hollow missed Lilith as she descended into the depression. Left with grabbing only air, the pursuer also went into dive flight. Lilith, relieved she escaped ever so narrowly from certain mauling, looked ahead for a chance to escape below. Suddenly a huge head appeared before her. It rose up from underneath and sported two red eyes staring directly at her. In a reaction she dodged to the left but was caught by an equally huge hand, which slapped her and sent her spinning out of control. Unable to do anything she crashed into a sand dune nearby.

Still dizzy, she shook her head and looked up. The Hollow pursuing her came straight for her at full speed! She could not react…her time was up. She had, as best she could, prepared herself to fight him off with every bit of strength she could muster, when the Huge Hollow was grabbed by the even huger Menos Grande Lilith met just moments before. The massive black beast, towering high above the field, let out a deep and long moan as it managed to pluck the flying Hollow out of the sky with its mouth. In an instant the tables were turned as hunter became hunted. Screeching and flapping the Hollow sought to escape but the Gillian bit down hard and thus ended the struggle with little effort. Lilith stretched out her six long legs underneath her, trying to get aloft. The whole ordeal had left her at the end. Slowly reaching out in front of her she managed to pull herself forward and over the summit of the sand dune she crashed into.

On the other side, gravity got the better of her and she rolled down the hill. There she remained lying still on her left side, her long wings jolted into the sand and her legs spread out in front. Behind she could still hear the roars of the Gillian. She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep. Hopefully the Menos weren’t interested in her. In her sleep, disturbing visions came to her. Humans, she’d normally prey upon, were in her company. She felt the emotions she yearned for so much, love and fulfillment. She also felt resentment, hate and above all fear. The Hollow’s primitive mind could not fathom the exact meaning of them, reacting with either yearn or violence to her feelings. Hueco Mundo knows only night, by the time she woke up there was no telling how long she had slept. It must have many hours since the Menos Grande was gone now.

She got up, still feeling sore and tired. It was clear she expended a lot of reiatsu in her previous ordeal. Getting back to her burrow was the primary concern at the moment. There, for a couple of days she’d prey upon small Hollows for food before trying to catch a Human Soul again. The surface of Hueco Mundo, wasn’t a place she should venture off too. The power of the creatures that lurk there were beyond her measures and her survival today was a stroke of luck. Even a simple being like Lilith could understand the basic rules of the food chain. She flapped her wings a couple of times and shook the sand of her body. Then she took off into flight. Following the moon, high on the sky of Hueco Mundo, she was looking for a familiar place.

Scanning her surroundings along the way, she came across the ruins of an old building. The once square structure now lay in tatters. Only the foundations, with its thick walls still stood. Debris, large and small lay shattered around it. Lilith landed nearby, in search of a place to hide. In the centre of said ruins, covered by a broken concrete column, was an equally decayed stairway down. Carefully folding her wings beside her body she managed to wiggle her way through the gap. The steps themselves were gone, but that did not matter since Lilith walked on the sides of the wall. Reaching the end of the stairway, she looked up and saw the ceiling of a large underground chamber. Looking down she could see the floor was gone, instead revealing a deep dark pit, reaching far below. This was what she sought. She spread her wings and flew off towards the Menos Forrest.

Below, through the shrouds of the darkness, a faint light appeared. Lilith slowed her descent and scanned her surroundings. These were familiar parts of the Menos Forrest to her. The faint, grayish light that lit up the ground and petrified tries gave a cold and barren ambiance. She landed on the side of a cliff face, where Hollows had previously carved burrows into the rock. There she wiggled herself into a tight fit, withdrawing into the darkness. She looked down where in the distance she could see faint movement. A pack of Menos Grande was nearby, probably the same pack the one she saw earlier belonged too. They posed no threat to her from there and she rested her head on the ground. If only she could comprehend some of the thoughts in her mind. Right now though, they were distant riddles…lurking in the dark.

Lilith flew through the Menos Forrest, effortlessly zigzagging through the towering trees. She had rested well enough to set out for food. After having eaten a couple of small critters, her hunger went out to larger prey. Lately her attack patterns, instincts and memories have been becoming increasingly complex. Unaware of it herself, planning ahead and complicated hunting tactics have become commonplace. Though still a long way from self-awareness, Lilith was certainly not unintelligent. The inner workings of her mind could be compared to that of a solitary hunter of the Feline species. Where other Hollows would just feel attracted to the largest source of reiatsu and more often than not be dealt more than they bargained for and end up as food, Lilith showed signs of carefully estimating her prey’s powers and weapons. She had the wits to recognize and identify the different classes of Hollows and she knew exactly what her limits were. She could interpret the use or intent of weapons even if she had no previous experience with the weapon in question, just by seeing the threat level exerted from her opponent. Although she wouldn’t recognize herself in the mirror, the reflection of the Hollow she’d see would be carefully analyzed and probably be categorized as potential prey of equal strength to herself.

Emotions are a pretty bland occurrence with Hollows. In general an emotion can be experienced in a million ways with a million times a million variations. To a Hollow however, the selection grows pretty slim. It is either Fear or Regret. These are constants as well as absolutes. The Fear is constantly present and its domination over the soul is absolute, with no variation in gradation what so ever. The creature born from Fear knows only Fear and its entire life; mind and decision making can be deduced back to that one constant absolute. So too are the Regrets a soul might be burdened with. No matter how much the Hollow thinks about it, or how many souls it devours, it stays the same. Wretched are the creatures with no mind for their own. For they wander aimlessly in wrought despair. Wretched are the creatures whose minds were retained. For they now suffer without end, inside their own hunger and malice. Wretched are those are drawn towards the groups. For theirs is the fate of being usurped by the group and forcibly assimilated into one being. Even nature would condone suicide over instinct if the Hollow hadn’t, at the most basic point, the soul of a Human, determined above all; to survive.

The scent of reiatsu lured her closer to a clearing. Coming to a sudden halt, she landed upside down on the last tree before emerging into the clearing. Her eyes scanned the surrounding tree-line. There was no sign of life, only piercing darkness. The reiatsu she was trailing still resonated from the open stretch of land. It felt uncomfortable to her. The whole scene looked too odd. The area was big, at least three hundred strides long in every direction. In the middle stood a large rock, twice the height of a huge hollow but not larger than a Menos Grande. It was bulky, nearly half as thick as it was long. It had an odd, round shape to it. Not perfect, but with round bulges left and right. Should she inspect it closer? The area looked perfect for a trap. She could fall victim to a roving band of Hollows that are known to surprise unsuspecting prey by suddenly jumping them from all sides. Her considerations were deliberate; she knew the area was excellent for luring and surrounding ground Hollows. If that was the case, she could easily enough fly out of there when attacked since there was ample of taking off room. She still had to be careful though.

Slowly, with careful shreds she approached the giant rock. She could smell the sweet odor of reiatsu. It was a large signature, possibly a flock of Hollows. She might be able to pick up on their trail and stalk them. She circled around to the right, trying to determine where the reiatsu was leading off too. Somewhere it should veer off into a direction. It was quite large in diameter as well! After totally encircling it she came back to her original position. She looked left and right. Where did the trail go to? She turned around to the right and stepped away from the rock. Suddenly she was disturbed by a noise from above. It evoked such a panicked response that she jumped back, turning towards the large stone. From above, a small gray Hollow peeked down. It was long and round in shape, resembling a lizard of sorts. It was only half as long as Lilith was sported four legs on which it crawled along the façade of the rock. It jumped down, seeking to cast itself upon her. It was then that Lilith uncovered her secret weapon, a sting retracted inside her lower body. Arching her entire lower body up to over her head, she opposed the lizard with a spear and skewered it through its chest.

Falling dead before her, Lilith thought this was the end of it. Just then, another Hollow jumped up the rock from behind, looking the same like the last lizard one. In fact, it was an exact copy of it. Lilith prepared herself for another fight when from around the two corners of the rock, two more of the same gray lizards appeared. She was now confronted three to one. Narrowing the red lit eyes behind their facet bulbs, she knew these were just small critters; she wouldn’t back down that easily. The lizard on the left stepped forward, opening its jaws and thus revealed an array of sawed teeth. Lilith, stabbed forward to make it back down. The lizard on the right sought to cease the initiative and attacked, seeing Lilith dodge to the left, towards the lizard on her left. This one, having jumped back from Lilith’s thrust now saw an opening as Lilith dodge towards it. It leapt up, aiming to get unto her back. Lilith however, flapped her forward left wing once, hitting the lizard in mid-air and casted him upon the face of the rock. Undeterred though, it scrambled up its feet and snarled at Lilith. At that the sides of the rock started moving. The top of the rock also started to show signs of movement. Arms and legs came from its surface and suddenly heads popped out.

Suddenly the whole rock fell apart and a good hundred lizards crawled and wiggled through each other. The rock was not a rock, but a pack of Hollows. Witnessing this new threat, Lilith set a few paces back. Exploiting her momentarily lapse of vigilance, the lizard on the right jumped her and managed to land on her back. Lilith, not being that strong, was pushed down at first but recovered and shook it of her. The other lizards however wasted no time and attacked as well. The first was impaled by her sting as the other rushed on and jumped up her left shoulder. The lizard she shook off was now lying on the ground to her left and promptly clamped itself to her legs. Lizards from the fallen apart rock rose up and sought to join into the fray. Lilith however had no intention of fighting them all and sought the quickest way to escape. First she needed to get rid of these two. Having clutched only two legs, the lizard was stamped on the head repeatedly by the third until it let go for just a moment. This was all Lilith needed, the sting flew past from the left and a moment later the lizard on Lilith’s shoulder fell dead with its throat cut.

She spread her wings and started flying in a near vertical ascent to gain altitude. Just as she had cleared the lizards, two of them jumped up high and managed to cling themselves onto Lilith’s back to legs. Instantly she was dragged down towards the ground where more lizards jumped her. Two bit in a leg, causing pain to rush through her body. She let go a shout of pain, and swept her lower body around, knocking a few of them away. With her right shoulder she bashed another one aside and with her left leg she fired a Bengalas flare. The flare, producing a flashing light, startled the lizards for a moment but then reengaged. Lilith was beginning to lose the fight quickly as her opponents were in great multitudes. Just then a loud howl brought the stalemate fight to a sudden end. The lizards all immediately focused their intention towards the direction of the howling sound. Lilith too gazed in the direction of the noise. What could have saved her? At that thought her body felt a crippling amount of reiatsu flaring up. Moments later a Menos Grande stepped forth from the darkness and broke a petrified tree in half, bringing it down entirely.

The shards of rock came crashing down from great heights, along with sand. The lizards started to run away like a pack in the other direction. Lilith tried making her escape to the side when she noticed the wounds on her right legs didn’t allow her to put any weight on them. Giving the Gillian a quick gaze, she looked back at her legs and spread her wings to try and airborne escape. It was too late, the Gillian shot of a large cero. Luck rather than aptness saved her for the Gillian targeted the lizards first. The cero struck them in the group, killing scores of them in one blow. The remaining few scattered to all sides. Then the Gillian looked at Lilith. Intelligent comprehension or not, one could only guess if Lilith would have thought: Would her savior now become her demise? Standing eye to eye with a Menos Grande, she abandoned all hope of survival. At this range, even her wings served no purpose. A weak cero, a swing from one of its long arms, in an instant it would all be over for her. Desperately looking left and right, she realized there was no escape now. Fighting it would be madness.

A flash went by above. Lilith couldn’t tell what it was but it went straight past the Menos Grande. The Gillian, who a moment ago was just about to crush Lilith to her tiniest pieces, now lay in shambles itself. Its head was cleaved from behind, all the way through to the other side, going in about half-way. It dropped to its knees and wanted to fall over when a powerful cero struck it from the front as well, sending it falling back. In the middle of the clearing, a short distance away from Lilith, another Hollow landed unto its two feet. This Hollow however was of a totally different make. Standing higher then Lilith, upright on two feet and featuring the same facet eyes she did, the Adjuchas class Hollow folded his four wings along his back. “Dinner is served” he commented to himself. He started walking towards his fresh kill when he noticed Lilith. “Missed one…” he aimed his right hand towards her. Lilith took a low defensive posture, arching her lower-back over her head and letting her wings veer off to each side. The Adjuchas saw that Lilith had wings just like him and lowered his hand. “I see...well, I guess it’s your lucky day little one.” With that he continued his walk towards the Menos Grande.

Lilith remained standing and as the Adjuchas started walking towards the corpse again, she kept up her same posture, only moving her body around as to keep facing the Adjuchas head-on. He was not impressed by her display and ignored her completely. Instead he kneeled down near the dead Gillian, took hold of a leg and set his teeth into it. He had difficulties tearing a piece off. Once he had a mouthful he took his time chewing and biting upon the flesh. “Hmmm…, not very tasty these lads” he mumbled in between the food in his mouth. He took another bite and started chewing again. During his casual meal, he looked left and right, just a quick scan of the area. As a predator, even a top-predator, one can never be too careful of one’s surroundings. His limbs and uncovered body were silver in color. They blended in almost perfectly with the white bony triangular chest piece. He sported a rather thin face but with two thicker bulb eyes, slightly placed off centre to the left and right of his face. He stood as high as two humans would. He had long limbs, slender ones like Lilith had. They were adorned with thick bony greaves and vambraces. They too were triangular in shape with the tips pointing up.

The smell of fresh kill stirred something in Lilith. She slowly got up and started limping towards the dead Menos. She could use a meal right now. Food as well as curiosity lured her closer to the corpse. She reached it, well away from the Adjuchas. He looked up and noticed her. “Well well well, I admire your courage little one!” he waved his hand towards the menos in a gesture to encourage her to eat. Lilith momentarily perceived it as a threat and fluttered her wings. Then the Adjuchas started eating himself and slowly approached to take a quick bite. The flesh tasted good. It was pouring with reiatsu and would be more than enough to last her a weak on one meal. Letting go of her vigilance she indulged in the banquet and ate all she could. “You’re an insectoid like me aren’t you?” she suddenly heard from behind. Lilith jumped up and around, hurting her two injured legs more. The Adjuchas had moved behind her and inspected her body with interest. Then he spread his own wings to show her they were kin. “I was once very similar to you, little one” he said, staring at her for a moment. He realized Lilith didn’t understand him. “Ah…I see” he spoke with a disappointed tone.

He sat down in the sand and sighed. “It’s been years since I met anyone who could actually talk back you know.” Lilith calmed down, hearing the Adjuchas’ calm tone she felt he meant her no harm. Instead she walked away from the Menos, nearer to him and lied down. Her legs still bore the bite marks from the lizards and a stream of blood travelled all the way down to the ground. She started licking her wounds. The Adjuchas looked down and observed Lilith for a moment. He then took hold of one of her legs, which resulted in her trying to pull it back. “Take it easy will you!” he urged her. Lilith stopped resisting but watched carefully. Suddenly a thin spray came from the Hollow’s mouth and Lilith’s wound was covered in a transparent gooey substance. It hardened out within two second. He then took the other leg and sprayed its wounds as well. “There, in a day of three it’ll be alright” he added. He stood up and started walking away. The substance he sprayed on Lilith’s legs felt cool, numbing the pain. It also stopped the bleeding. Seeing him leave, Lilith rose up and followed him.

After some time the Adjuchas noticed Lilith was still behind him. “Ha!” he uttered. “Ok, if you’re going to follow me then call me Mikoto.” He spread his wings and flew off into the distance. Lilith looked back one more time as she spread her wings as well and then followed Mikoto’s lead.

¹Katsu ; invincible, victorious | Mushi; insect
Katsumushi, meaning ‘Invincible Insect’ or ‘Victory Insect’ is an old Japanese word for the Dragonfly. They regarded the Dragonfly as a symbol of victory, bravery and luck. In autumn they appear in large numbers in Japan. Their favorite places to rest are sunny patches in people’s backyards. Nothing seems to scare a dragonfly away, not even when you come very close. They can’t sting but they can bite. A bite doesn’t hurt that much but like a terrier, they won’t let go easily. This apparent display of courage and defiance of superior forces is a key inspiration to Japanese Warrior Philosophy.

Somewhere, amidst the lonely forests of the Menos, there walked a curious duo. A duo, for all intents and purposes, should be at each other’s necks instead of peacefully strolling beside each other. Maybe it was because Mikoto was not interested in Lilith as food. To an Adjuchas, a meager Hollow like Lilith wasn’t really tasty. He needed Gillians to stay alive and eventually other Adjuchas Hollows to grow. Lilith too showed no signs of natural fear for the top predator beside her. He smelled good, warm and safe. She was never attacked by an Adjuchas before she met Mikoto so ironically she might be more afraid of the weaker Menos Grande than of an Adjuchas Hollow. To her the simple solution was that he saved her from a predator. Added to that, he smelled like…kin. Lilith followed Mikoto everywhere he went. Sometimes he went to fast and Lilith had to hurry to catch up again. Then she would be tired and they both had to hold for a short break, much to Mikoto’s displeasure. Somehow though, Lilith could feel he didn’t like lingering that much and she always tried to get back on her feet quickly. Of course the biggest concern was food.

When they passed a by a cave, Mikoto halted and looked inside. It was dark. Lilith stayed to the side a little, letting Mikoto do the inspecting. The entrance was round but not really big. If Mikoto held up his arm he could easily reach the top. He peeked around the corner and scanned for movement. “That’s odd…” he mumbled while he gave the corners of the cave an investigative look. Suddenly a roar ushered in the arrival of something new. Mikoto just managed to pull away his arm as a huge worm shot out of the cave. The creature, thin enough to fit inside the round cave, opened its mouth, revealing a set of teeth, configured in a cylindrical formation and standing four-hundred and forty five rows deep. Lilith jumped back in fright. The worm, sticking out a good twenty paces waved its frontend from left to right, thinking something to eat had passed by. It wildly snapped its jaws around in the air. It was the largest Hollow, not of Gillian status Lilith had ever seen. Mikoto gave the worm a hard kick in the side. “That’s enough!” he said and the worm withdrew into its cave. He waved Lilith to come across. The little Hollow looked at the black hole contemplating if she’d give answer to Mikoto’s call.[/size]

The Adjuchas gave the Hollow a short stare “You coming or what?” Lilith flapped her wings four times, making her lift up in to the air and landed gracefully on the other side. “Don’t you worry about old gramps the worm; he’s just a bit grumpy…that’s all.” Mikoto tried to explain. The empty glare in Lilith’s eyes made him wonder just how much she understood. He continued their travel by walking north. To the north there were entrances into the Menos Forest from above. He hoped to find some good prey there. Some Gillians hid in the sand there, waiting for prey to pass overhead. They’d pop out and have a chance at grabbing them. It nearly happened to Lilith once. (Act I, Scene I.1: Tonbo Suzume) In any case, the Menos Grande would stand upon the thicker dead trees that didn’t quite break to the surface. Like that they could support their own weight in the sand while remaining hidden from view. Since they didn’t need much in terms of oxygen or water they could remain standing still for days, waiting for a reiatsu signal above. Those with very keen sensing abilities made their living like that. Of course there were also hunters who sought them out in turn, Mikoto being one of those hunters.

No day light ever shed its rays upon Hueco Mundo. None of the night’s sky ever lit up the Menos Forest. Everything was dim and grey. However desolate it may seem, the landscape for crawling with unforgiving creatures. There were many ways a Hollow could find his end here. Even the strong can be subjugated by the even stronger. Entities which feel themselves king over their domain could be wiped away in an instant by an even more powerful entity, a supreme being. There is no sense of time down there. Hollows also don’t need any food or water. Sleeping preserves reiatsu but serves no other purpose, like in humans. One could walk for days, weeks and not even notice it. In Soul Society the spirit is bound by the shifting of day and night and by the care and responsibility of others. The Hollow has no such restraint. The Hollow could take ten times ten decades to accomplish a task or train its prowess for an age and he’d not notice any valuable time had passed by. Time, is truly the Hollow’s greatest ally. Mikoto and Lilith, since first meeting each other and beginning their journey north, have travelled for four weeks and eight days.

All the time Mikoto was wondering how to put to use, his new found pet. Maybe she could act as bait and lure some tasty prey his way. On the other hand, the kind of prey he’s really after might be too much for Lilith to outrun. “Until you find the strength to defeat them twice, turn your back to a fight and make sure your escape” is what Mikoto always advised her. He had a few ideas as how to get some food into their bellies and with every rest stop he tried training Lilith in maneuvering and teamwork. She was a pretty quick learner but could only really learn by example. No word or sound, except the Hollow cry sounded familiar to her. However gradually Mikoto managed to teach her more and more commands, to fly up, evade, search, attack or distract.

Finally arriving where Mikoto had wanted them to go the duo arrived at wide open clearing in the forest. They looked up against a huge wall made of sand. To the east and west the wall stood as far as the eye could see and farther than that still. The air was filled with a roaring noise coming from a huge waterfall. The waterfall however was no waterfall, for the water was instead sand. The mass of sand poured down in through a gap high up in the ceiling and it came down in tons to the floor where in crashed into what looked like a giant cavity in the sand. The large hole in the ground however was a maelstrom of quicksand which descended downward without end or sight. To be trapped in there would mean certain demise.

“Right we are then, at the place of our foraging.” Mikoto said relieved. He looked up at the ceiling. It stood a lot lower in this spot. Topside, on the plains of Hueco Mundo this would be a great depression where, before the recordings of this age, a great lake resided. It has long since dried up, with the coming and corruption of the human soul in this world. The great depression it leaves behind is the solitary silent landmark of its more than ancient history.

The ceiling hanging so low meant that the both of them could easily fly up to it and hang there. Mikoto walked around for a little bit until he saw a disturbance in the sand. “Here!” he jumped up and punched his hand in the sand. He felt around a little and suddenly pulled out a Hollow. It came down with a lot of sand and tumbled to the ground. Lilith wasted no time and before it could get up, she jumped upon it, arching her hind body over her head and delivered a deadly stab underneath the chin, perforating the entire head until her long sting pierced through the cranial bone. Her prey died instantly and she back off a little. Then, with another stab, this time to the abdomen she started feeding of its reiryoku. [size=3]

Mikoto was looking for more signs of Hollows. This Hollow was a nice treat for a Huge Hollow class like Lilith but it wouldn’t feed his appetite. He hopped from one spot to the next until he found a good disturbance. It looked a little like dried up mud to him. He punched his hand in and felt around. “What have we here…?” Suddenly he withdrew his hand. It was covered in a filthy slime. “Ew Eels! I hate eels!” Mikoto cursed. He smeared off the slime to the sand and hopped over to another spot. “I hope this one is better dear.” He again punched his hand in the sand and fiddled around. “Hmm this one is not wet so that’s a good start” to mumbled to himself. Then he got hold of a leg, it was big. “Got one! BIG one!” He punched his other hand in as well so he could pull with both hands. He positioned his feet to each side of the hole he was pulling from so he could brace himself and use his entire body to pull it out.

Mikoto groaned and pulled at the same time. “Hgggnssssh… ura! Get out you bastard!” He pulled very hard, until a white foot came out. Then he stamped on the ground with his right foot. This sent a shockwave through the sand and with this initial weakness, the whole compression let go and the creature hiding in the sand fell out along with it. “Gotcha!” Mikoto cheered. He had unearthed a Gillian for himself. It was smaller than a Menos Grande, though still similar in stature and build. This indicated that it was stronger than your average Menos Grande, just the appetizer for Mikoto. The Gillian landed on his back and saw Mikoto hanging on the ceiling. It opened its mouth and a cero started loading. Mikoto flew down and suddenly rushed forward in a sonido. Before the Menos could shoot, Mikoto had arrived just in front of its face. “Didn’t think so!” he grinned and punched his right fist into its face, detonating the cero prematurely and exploding its face. When the dust settled Mikoto looked at his fist. There were a few scratches and a twirl of smoke came off. “Heh” he grinned, kneeled down and started munching on the meat. “glump.... I wish …mjam… I …mjam mjom… could eat …. mumble mjam …” he swallowed his first bite. “…with knife and fork. I really miss that.”

Lilith had nearly finished her meal. She felt good, nurtured and reinvigorated. When the last of the reishi evaporated useless into the air she shook off the sand from her body and fluttered her wings. Her special sting made high-speed intake of reiryoku possible but was a strain on her metabolism. Even with this relatively small meal she felt a bit sleepy and lied down. She put her head on her two front legs and watched Mikoto for a while as he indulged on the large Menos carcass. She closed her eyes for a moment and started drifting into a mellow nap. This was good for her metabolism and worked wonders after a fast meal. Some say a nap a day increases lifespan as well, though that was an unknown to Lilith.

Lilith looked up. Did she feel something come by just now? She looked at Mikoto, he was still eating. Unlike her he had to eat everything, piece by piece. Suddenly she felt it again and this time it was real. A flash went by, spearing towards her Adjuchas friend. Mikoto however was ever vigilant and let himself fall to the ground forward, into a barrel roll. Whatever attacked him flew overhead and missed him entirely. “Who’s there!?” he shouted as he scrambled back up his feet. The entity was already gone however. “Stay close!” he commanded Lilith and looked around him. Lilith too looked around her into the darkness. Suddenly a voice pierced the silence. “Who dears enter my domain?” the dark voice asked. Mikoto tried to discern where it was coming from when the voice once again raised itself: “Who cometh into my realm unpermitted?” and then died down.

Mikoto looked ahead, thinking he had a fix on the voice’s position. “Who is there!? Show yourself!” he demanded to know. After a few seconds of further silence a Hollow stepped from the shadows. It stood as high as Lilith and was approximately of the same dimensions. Its appearance was radically different though. It stood on four short thick legs, which were round and flat underneath. The legs curved upward and inward towards the body where they streamed seamlessly into an arcing back. If the creature would pull in its legs and had not a head, it would be a perfect arc under which small Hollows could walk. Its head was also round and featured a rugged mask on its forehead consisting of short upward pointing spikes. The mask also covered the eyes but stopped abruptly underneath them, save for a thin bone representing a malar lobe. From within their square sockets, two green-lit stared at the Mikoto and Lilith. It gnarled at them.

Undaunted Mikoto stepped forward, reassured Lilith with the words: “Fear not, this one is just a Hollow.” Lilith felt his courage and felt confident that the matter was under control. Anyone foolish enough to challenge Mikoto would soon be Lilith’s side-dish now. The Hollow made another attempt forward but Mikoto beat him to it. He sped forward and before the Hollow could do anything to stop it, Mikoto had already cut it open along its right side. The Adjuchas turned around and smiled. “Desserts” he said nonchalantly. “What the!?” fell out of his mouth straight after, witnessing the very Hollow he had just killed, not killed but alive and well. Not only that, where there first stood one there now stood two of them. “How!? That strike was fatal, I saw it!”

The creatures laughed jointly in tune. “You underestimate us…adjuchas! We are not defeated this easily.” The Hollow in front of Mikoto swayed its head from left to right, rising up its behind. Like a cat, it prepared to pounce Mikoto when suddenly the other Hollow decided to attack Lilith. The girl managed to duck to the left, making the attacker grab nothing but a bite of sand. Landing face first, it saw Lilith’s leg nearby and bit its teeth deeply inside it. Lilith let out a shriek and pulled away in vain. “GIRL!” Mikoto shouted. The other Hollow took advantage of this momentarily lapse of vigilance and pounced Mikoto. Its forward momentum, combined with its stout build and heavy weight propelled Mikoto back as soon as it landed its paws in Mikoto’s chest. Behind him, the massive the ‘sandfall’ loomed. Mikoto inched to a halt twenty steps before getting caught in the jet. “Ha…misjudged it!” Mikoto boasted, and then he pointed his left hand at the Hollow, his Cero started charging.

“Tsh!” said the Hollow, realizing his plan had failed. Suddenly though, Mikoto’s left foot disappeared into the sand. “What?” Mikoto said and looked down. Something felt like sucking in his left foot. Then a large gap in the sand collapsed underneath Mikoto and he fell down. He barely had the time to grab around him when the walls of the gap started collapsing inward as well, burying Mikoto to the chest. “KUSO!” he yelled out. His ordeal wasn’t done yet though, since the shifting sands provided no solid ground under his feet or for his arms to pull himself out. Instead with every move he made he seemed to drift faster towards the sandfall and was pulled further beneath the sand.

The Hollow laughed out loud. “Ha! It worked after all! Die NOW!” it said to proclaim its victory. The other Hollow pulled Lilith over the sand, jerking her leg with its powerful jaws. Lilith resisted as much as she could but it was futile. These Hollows had the upper hand in muscle strength. It let go of Lilith’s leg and quickly snapped towards Lilith’s neck. The dragonfly however had the superior reflexes and managed to evade this happening by letting herself fall to her back. The Hollow tried again and stepped over Lilith, to get a clear shot at her neck. This however proofed a fatal mistake when Lilith turned her lower body upward, aiming the sting towards the Hollows head. A moment later, it impaled the Hollow from underneath chin, the long string coming out atop the skull. It let out a soft deep groan and then fell lifeless to the left.

The other Hollow turned around and saw what happened. “Aah, we are so careless” it said as it walked towards Lilith. Lilith got up on her feet and looked towards Mikoto. Unable to do anything, she watched him go down under, vanishing underneath the sand. “Too bad we can’t eat the Adjuchas you were with, that’d be too dangerous. But we will eat you, tasty little bird.”

That last threat made Lilith realize; she couldn’t stay and fight anymore! She leapt off into flight and made for the cover of the trees. “Come here you!” the Hollow spit out and ran after her. It was surprisingly fast and kept up with Lilith, though not able to reach her up that high. ‘We can’t let her get away now’ the Hollow thought. Lilith darted between the trees, thinking she’d be safe there. “We got her now!” the Hollow said to itself and jumped up high, landing vertically on a tree. It started leaping from one tree to the next at pretty much the same speed as it ran. Now it wasn’t only just as fast as Lilith was, it could reach her as well. “Hi hi hi hi hiiiiiiiiiii…” it grinned. “Fly little hummingbird…we will catch you.”

“And rip off your wings”

Realizing she wasn’t shaking it off by her conventional means she had to think of something else. The last one was pretty strong but she defeated it because it had no weapons. She did, so she could do it again. Suddenly turning around with the aid her of super agile wing design, she braked in mid-air, pointing her sting at the incoming Hollow. She would use its own speed against it and let it impale itself. It was a risk; if this didn’t kill it instantly it could attack her in revenge still. The Hollow came in with much fanatic violence, its front paws stretched out forward to deliver a blow to Lilith. It wasn’t clear if the Hollow was unable to stop or didn’t even try to, perhaps, in its dazed violent state, it didn’t even notice the sting. A moment later the sting was firmly embedded in its chest, just above where the heart would be but not going through the throat. The impact was so strong that the sting burst out on the other side, taking blood and organ tissue with it.

It sent both Hollows, tangled in a deadly embrace hurling through the air uncontrollably. Her assailant was too heavy for Lilith to carry. She tried retracting her sting which had now cut its way down by force, opening up the sternum and belly. The foul stench from the intestines was familiar to her. “Kusooo… she got me… again” a voice echoed through the dying Hollow’s mind.

“You’re so sloppy!” another voice replied.

Suddenly the body Lilith had impaled vanished into dust and to the left and right; two exact copies of the Hollow appeared. “Ha! You’re even dumber then the Adjuchas!” the Hollow on the left uttered. “You can’t defeat our Intercambio ability, you foolish insect!” the Hollow on the right added. “We are divided as one and one as divided” they chanted together. Lilith stabilized herself in mid-air. Her Aguijón ability was useless if she can’t suck out the reiatsu. Now she was in danger of being boxed in from two sides.

“Hurraaaaaaaa!” the left Hollow yelled.

“Hi hi hi hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii” the right Hollow laughed.

Just as the two Hollows were about to grab hold of her and claimed their price with a simultaneous: “GOTCHA!” Lilith shot off two Bengalas flares from her two hind legs towards her left and right. The flares detonated right underneath the Hollow’s faces. “Kuso! Ew!” the two monsters yelled out, closing their eyes and looking away. “What was that!?” the left Hollow yelled out and swept its paw across in front of it. It swept through the air as Lilith had hurried her way out of their clutches, leaving the Hollows to just stare after her. “After it!” the Hollow shouted at its companion. “What are you yelling at me for!? You were closer” the other Hollow snarled back. “You go after her!”

“Damn you Su! You’re always the lazy one.” The first Hollow complained and looked in the direction where Lilith went. “Ha…but I bet she didn’t go very far.”

“Mikoto, Mikoto, Mikoto, Mikoto, Mikoto” Lilith’s mind kept repeating. She raced back towards the place where Mikoto fell into the sand. She had to hurry, not only because his time might be running out but also because of her pursuers. She neared the clearing; she could see the opening through the trees ahead and kept speeding up. At a very high speed she darted out from trees into the clearing. Mikoto was nowhere to be seen where she last saw him submerge under the sand. She landed near the sandfall and hurried to find her friend, nearly tripping in the sand in the process.

Where was he? Where was he!? She frantically looked left and right, shoving her small paws through the sand. Suddenly a hand burst out a couple of feet in front of her. It reached up towards the sky, the fingers agonizingly stretching and twisting. They belonged to a suffocating being, struggling for its life. Lilith jumped up and pounced the hand, grabbing hold of it with two arms. Immediately the sand tried to suck her in as well but she managed to quickly pull lose and remain in a hover. If only she could pull him out now. She backed up, delivering large strokes to the air with her wings as she pulled up. It was heavy, too heavy. Very slowly she managed to pull the arm out an inch, then two inches. After a few second and a monstrous effort an elbow emerged.

A second hand burst out, this time balled into a fist. It took with it a lot of and, creating a local depression. At the bottom Mikoto’s face broke the surface. He took in a big gasp and then coughed loudly. “Ku…so… I’m not… going…” Before he could finish his sentence the sand had covered his mouth again and he could only breathe through his nose. The left half of his face was soon covered in sand as well as the depression quickly filled up again. His right eye started flickering on and off, the tell tale sign of a Hollow losing consciousness, before it turned upward in its socket. Lilith gave it all she had and managed to pull the arm out until almost at the shoulder when Mikoto’s faces disappeared entirely underneath the sand.

“Yotta! Some effort you put in there girl.”

The voice was familiar now. Lilith let go of Mikito’s arm when she heard it and turned around. The seemingly immortal Hollow from before had returned. “Your futile feelings for that Adjuchas are your demise, you should have run.” The Hollow boasted. “We are Atsu, we are immortal…” Lilith understood the notion of names as she did with Mikoto too. The second Hollow appeared from her right; he had made a flanking maneuver. “We’ll keep the Adjuchas from disappearing, at least until he’s dead that is. Then we’ll drag him out and the main course is served. Flee now little hummingbird or you’ll be our dessert.”

Both Hollows rushed forward, set on killing Mikoto. Lilith knew she had no time to waste. The situation was complex. She was alone and had barely the strength to pull Mikoto loose. There were two opponents, both weaker then she was. However if she’d kill one, they’d merge together and become stronger then her. To add to her troubles, Mikoto’s time was running out. Information and electrical signals raced to and from her brains. The conclusion was made; if she fought one, the other would kill Mikoto. Therefore the instinct to keep them separated and weaker was overridden. If she could kill one, they would merge again. Then she could fight this one opponent and keep Atsu away from Mikoto.

Lilith attacked! First the one directly in front of her, maybe she could kill it instantly? She and the Hollow collided in the middle. Lilith pushed the Hollow’s two front legs away with four of hers, while keeping herself aloft with her remaining pair. The Hollow snapped its jaws towards her, causing her to spring back her head and in return snapped her jaws at him, causing him to do the same. Suddenly the Hollow stepped back and then jumped forward, using its head as a battering ram. It hit Lilith in her stomach, as she was still standing upright. The duo fell backward, the lighter Lilith ending on top. She looked at the other Hollow.

“Ola Adjuchas-san, how are you today?” it said cynically as it circled the place before the quicksand. “How to get you out and kill you?”

She had to hurry before it figured something out. Luckily they were flightless. Her momentary lapse of concentration was exploited by her immediate opponent, who swung himself and Lilith around one hundred and eighty degrees. Now the tables were turned with Lilith underneath. The Hollow tried to bite her in the neck but Lilith managed to keep its head away with her legs. However this freed up the Hollows thick paws instead and it used it to punch Lilith in the stomach. “Hra! Take this! And this!” the Hollow snarled as he punched her hard. It hurt but she had to go on. She could beat this one for sure. In a flash her sting came out, intending to stab her opponent in the gut. It lifted up its right paw though and managed to stamp it down into the ground.

“Ha! Thinking you can stab me again do you?” it mocked Lilith and swung its right paw at Lilith’s head, dealing her a powerful punch. Her face was cast to the right and she felt like the whole world shook. When she opened her eyes, she saw an opening and bit the Hollow in its left leg. “Haaaaaaaaa!” it screamed out and violently pulled its leg lose from Lilith’s jaws. “You bitch!” At that moment Lilith retracted her sting, managing to pull it free from the Hollow’s flat paw. The Hollow had leaned back a little when it pulled itself free. Lilith took aim a little higher and then stabbed her foe in stomach. “Arg…” the Hollow uttered and started moaning silently. Lilith pulled her weapon out, causing the blood to flow freely. The Hollow heaved over forward slightly, pressing its paws against the wound in an effort to stop the bleeding. “Kuso…you stabbed me again…” Lilith jumped up, made an opposite direction flap with both wings, causing her to turn around one hundred and eighty degrees. The Hollow looked up and saw the side of the sting coming at him. An instant later it cut through its neck, cleaving its head clean off.

The other Hollow was still standing near Mikoto, trying to reach across towards the arm still sticking out of the sand. Suddenly it felt the presence of its counterpart being returned to it.

“Huh what?”

“Sorry…”

Atsu looked back at Lilith. “You little pest! You can’t ever hope to defeat us. We told you! We can’t die!” Atsu jumped around and opposed Lilith. “Change of plans…you won’t be dessert.”

“You’ll be the APPETIZER!” With those words Atsu rushed forward, intent on killing Lilith. Likewise Lilith rushed Atsu as well, unsure how to defeat him…but she’d sell her hide dearly. The two Hollows clashed once more. Atsu was noticeably stronger this time then he was split up in two. Immediately Lilith felt the superior muscle strength her opponent possessed. Atsu pounded his right paw forward, being met by two of Liliths legs. Lilith brought her sting up from underneath her but it was parried by the clever Atsu. The ensuring fight was a fast paced, very close range brawl of paws and fangs. It was the first time she’d fought something this strong. Lilith snapped her head forward and sunk her jaws into Atsu’s right shoulder. The latter heaved his right hand to the left and then swept across, sweeping Lilith’s aside.

Undeterred Lilith commenced a renewed assault. This time, coming from Atsu’s right side she jumped upon on top of him. His curved rigid back meant that he could only reach it poorly. She clung on tightly, using her wings to stay in a semi-hover, to stabilize herself even more. “What are you doing up there?” Atsu complained. She extended her sting again, aiming to pierce it into Atsu’s side. However the Hollow was alert of its dire situation and started to wildly swing its body side to side. “Ura! Get off! GET OFF!” Atsu suddenly rolled on his back and Lilith was forced to vacate her position.

She remained hovering above and when Atsu was fully turned on his back she let herself fall upon him. Surprised, Atsu was unable to react to it effectively and before he knew it, Lilith’s sting was buried deep inside his lower body, though missing any vital organs. He screamed out in pain first but then in frustrated anger. He launched both his left and right front paws forward and struck Lilith on the chest. Even though she managed to put her legs in between, the hit was strong enough to throw her back.

Atsu was too strong for her. Normally she’d flee for stronger Hollows using her wings. But now she had to fight, Hollow to Hollow and this is where Atsu had the distinct advantage. Still stunned a little from the impact, Lilith crawled back up her feet and spread her wings. She took flight, going up nearly vertically. Suddenly a heavy weight pulled on her hind legs. Atsu had jumped up and managed to just reach her and bite down into her right leg and cling on with both paws on her left. Immediately the weight pulled her down and they crashed in the sand. Atsu had retained a good grip on Lilith’s limbs while landing on his paws. Lilith however crashed into the sand. Atsu stepped to the right and rotated his whole body on his back legs, making a big left to right swing. The momentum was strong enough to fling Lilith through the air in the direction of the sandfall where she crashed again.

“Hahaha.” Atsu laughed and he looked at Lilith, lying on her side in the sand, supporting her upper body with her legs in an effort to crawl back up again. “You put up quite a fight…but in vain as we promised you.” Atsu drew closer and opposed her from above as he rose to stand on his hind legs “Now die”. Lilith looked up and knew she wouldn’t be able to react. Her reiatsu was spent. Her muscles sore and tired and she had not defeated Atsu. She felt sorry she couldn’t help Mikoto. Mikoto, if only she was in his position and he was out here. Then things would certainly have turned out different! He could have saved them both. She? She accomplished nothing. She was weak, a mere pet for Mikoto to have some laughs with. But she was of no real value, worthless. “Looks like your Adjuchas friend is dead” Atsu said. “After all the trouble we went through, all we get to eat is Hollow…tsh! Just our luck.” Mikoto’s arm had disappeared, completely swallowed up by the sand. She lowered her head and felt the sorrow take the better of her.

As by magic the sand next to Lilith started glowing with a red light accompanied by a faint humming sound. “What the..?” Atsu wondered loudly. A moment later a large Cero plowed through from underneath the sandy surface and hit Atsu straight in the face. The beam was large enough take away the Hollow’s entire upper body, leaving on his right shoulder with the leg attached. As quick as it came, the Cero died out. Slowly the upswept sand came dwindling down again. Some of it landed on Lilith, some on the ground. It also landed on the half charred remains of Atsu, who then fell forward into the sandfall. The body disappeared into the dark abyss below.

“Help me out here” a coughing Mikoto complained. The Cero he shot had blown a large hole in the sand around him, freeing up his upper body until he was just stuck at the knees. He stepped forward with much trouble, the sucking sands trying to draw him under again. Lilith jumped up and stretched out her leg, to try and help him. “Not like that you silly girl, use your wings” Mikoto directed. Lilith flew up and grabbed hold of his shoulders and pulled up. The waning strength in her body also foiled this plan. “Yare yare…my WINGS!” Mikoto sighed. Lilith stopped pulling and thought for a few seconds, glaring Mikoto’s wings. That’s right! His wings are quite long and were stuck too. She grabbed them and pulled them free from the sand. As soon as they were free Mikoto used their strength and effortlessly pulled himself free from the deadly grasp he narrowly escaped. “Free! Free again at last!”

The duo landed a little further on. Lilith was broken, she could not continue. She lied down against a tree and breathed heavily. Mikoto observed her for a few moments. “You have fought well; I thank you for protecting my life.” Mikoto sat down as in front of her. Lilith looked at him. She was happy he was safe. She did it! Content, she closed her eyes and fell asleep. Mikoto too watched her for a while. ‘She’s quite strong already, easily in the category of a Huge Hollow. Soon the craving will begin…I know it.’

“I have to let you go…”

A couple of hours later, unknown how long exactly, Lilith woke up. Mikoto was already up and waited for her to open her eyes. He stood up as soon as she did. He talked about himself. It was a long story that Lilith did not understand.

When he finished he told her:

“There is a path every Hollow with greater ambition must take, once in their lives. There is a limit to your strength and that limit, you have reached now. If you wish to grow stronger, you must wager your life at the biggest contest of your life. I have too, competed in this contest and won. Mind you, it has very little alikeness to a game or a sport. There is only one winner and only the winner survives. ALL OTHER contestants…will die. Like me, I sense the strength in you to win.”

“Go in that direction” He pointed South by South East. “Many more of your kin are there…follow them. Do not return here, do not look for me.”

The command was clear to Lilith but she didn’t want to.

“Do as I say” Mikoto urged. “It is important that you do as I say. One day, I will find you.”

With those words Mikoto backed away. Lilith turned around and walked a few paces in the direction Mikoto showed her. Then she looked back. She wasn’t sure. “Go on!” Mikoto urged her again. Lilith looked towards her distant objective. She never disobeyed anything Mikoto told her. At least not in understanding! She spread her wings and darted away, heading South by South East.

Mikoto sighed. “Usually it’s the intelligent ones that survive…”