Smiles And Snapping Spines

How long had it been since Arianda decided to secretly flee Shadowfall for the sake of her family? Not long, honestly. Not that long. But, that didn't mean Ari hadn't settled in a house that Ulv had handpicked for the woman. However, was Arianda in a dress? Traipsing around in fancy clothes? Hell. No. She was no high society demon; she was Arianda Vael, and she was going to wear whatever her twisted little mind pleased! So, that was why Arianda was in her normal appearance; red and black clothes, silver eyes, red cloak, the works. However, the scythe she was twirling around in her hands and fingers was different; red in coloration. It was her scissors, of course, just morphed into another shape. It made people a little bit more comfortable for her not to walk around with a giant pair of scissors attached to her back. So, she occasionally turned it into a collapsible scythe; which could morph and fold. Or she just changed her scissors into normal sized, well, scissors. However, something else aside from eating chocolate, having fun with Aki, and generally trolling around as the resident derpy demon was going to occur today.

Soon enough, Arianda heard a knock on her door; albeit from upstairs as she was chilling with a certain demonic daughter of hers before the demon appeared in front of the door and pulled it open. What she saw on the other side definitely was not expected. There was Ulv, likely giving some sort of greeting; and there was also someone else... Someone that Arianda had only met once while she was still back in shadowfall and with Mana. She slowly put a hand to her face, shook her head, and soon pulled her hand away, her fingernails digging into her flesh before it repaired itself with ease; signs of blood from the obvious display of annoyance she just performed. It was Calypso. Who Arianda had only met once. She let out a small sigh and looked between Ulv and Calypso.

"Ulv... Why do you have Calypso, the daughter of Mana, here...?"

There was a slight bit of melancholy in her voice upon speaking of Mana. It was still hard for her, she did love Mana; but being near her was bad for her health, bad for the livelihood of her family and herself. Honestly, she was glad to be away, but, some parts of you will always miss what you love. But, to the current moment; why Ulv brought Caly here.

Arianda wasn't stressed by that. And no, despite Ulv warming herself with the Resolve flame and gave Ari a warm smile; that still did not clear the emotions she felt. Arianda was obstinate. She forgot the emotions of what was an important time in her life once before; and she wasn't going to let something toy with them again. So, to Ulv's disappointment, she would not be simply calmed; was it warm? Definitely. But it wasn't enough to calm the demon down from her stressed and annoyed attitude.

"I dunno if Mana can be helped, Ulv. It's a sad fact, but, very possible she cannot be helped. And yes, she is very, very hard to snuggle; she's not exactly very snuggle-able."

Arianda crossed her arms and then looked at Calypso and sighed softly; shaking her head and reached out to take Calypso into her arms. She also beckoned Ulv inside while doing so.

"Yes... I've only seen it once before; when I first met her. She was strange; akin to Mana and well... I'm not sure. But, she is definitely Mana's child. I only saw the empathy in her in action once for a short period before Mana knocked the girl out and then sent her away to relax. And she's only sane because Mana hasn't taken an interest in her. She barely paid attention to her even when the girl entered the palace after one of her... midnight snacks that included me. Not fun, lemme tell you."

The demon, whether she was carrying Cali or not, would walk inside with Ulv; the door closing behind them as faint singing could be heard from the upstairs area of the house. Arianda soon motioned to a couch; where she wanted Calypso to be sat down; no matter which one of them was carrying the girl. She then sighed softly and would kneel next to Calypso; gently rubbing the girl's cheek before she stopped herself and sighed.

"I... Honestly can't say what happened when she flipped out on you; except for the fact that her empathy could be extremely sensitive to certain emotions. Like hate, rage, bloodlust; stuff like that. Like how I would be sensitive to a large amount of Conflict; she is sensitive to a large amount of bloodthirst. That or something of the sort. All I can really say is to find a way to wake her up; and hope she's calmed down. I don't exactly want to delve into another's mind who is so sensitive to emotion; I dunno what could happen if I do the wrong thing."

She looked towards Ulv, her silver eyes staring deep into the girl's own eyes. Arianda soon chuckled softly and smiled at Ulv.

"Good to see you Ulv; but maybe give me more of a warning than just with the resolve flame, okay? I do have a phone, you know-- Wait, I bet you don't, huh?"

Arianda shook her head at what Ulv said. To her, it was impossible to help Mana; she had tried multiple times. Had it left Mana "better"? Not even slightly. If anything, her attempts to help Mana get "better" only seemed to egg Mana, Eris, on with filling the entire world with Chaos. So, the demon let out a tiny sigh, gently rubbing Cali's cheek still.

"I have already tried, Ulv. If it is possible, I am not the one to help her; someone else can conquer that mountain. Because I will not die to a hopeless climb. Even if my future is uncertain, I don't wish to die..."

The demon soon let out an exasperated sigh before listening to what Ulv said; her left hand eventually leaving Calypso's cheek as she didn't turn her eyes to Ulv as she spoke. She was focused on Calypso, using her senses to pick up what was inside of Cali. Obviously, the tangle of energy that was Mana's and someone else's; she couldn't tell who. However, there was also what was likely something from Ulv; which became especially evident when Ulv put her hands on Cali and seemed to be checking on whatever it was. She soon let out another sigh, shaking her head softly.

"It's better than a feeling for me. Even with my better understanding of emotions that I have now than I used to; I can still easily get confused by them. Especially with the normal torrent that Amphilogiai brings about... who has been strangely quiet. Never mind, you'd just break a phone trying to text on it."

Arianda moved a strand of hair out of her face before she looked at Calypso.

"Right now, honestly? Unless I can get some sort of clue on how to help her, I can't think of anything aside from trying to replenish her energy with either something like chocolate, or simply wait for her to wake up... And I think it's because Calypso has a bit more to her than both of us know."

The demon soon began to pat the girl on the head gently before she seemed to react a bit badly to being called "mana's wife". Ari suddenly tensed up, her eyes seemed to grow wide, and her silver eyes turned a more crimson red for a few moments before she took a deep breath.

"Please... do not call me that. That was her term for "favored pet" Nothing more, nothing less. I was just a toy, Ulv. And... Maybe I could. Maybe. I don't know. She probably won't be as easy to teach as Henrex, however. And Ulv, if I was Calypso's mom, I'd make sure she knows I love her. But, as I am not, as far as I know, I'll do what I can for her... It's better than having only Mana."

She smiled at Ulv, turning her gaze to the woman finally before she gave Ari another comment that annoyed her a bit.

"Stop assuming I tentacle every cute girl I see!"