Hunting the Sphinx

[Stilia Medusa]

“Dexter? Dex…?” She repeated. Such odd names, other creatures had, naming their children like a human spawn. Gorgons still stuck to their range of names. Well, at least her coven still did. She looked him up and down; trying to evaluate him, for his words stated he clearly knew of other species, making him either a hunter or one himself. Deciding to trust the faint smell of brimstone and fire, she assumed he was a demon. This was proven as the wings immerged. “I am not one to reveal all my methods,” She replied shortly, annoyed that the first thing he would say as his greeting would be such a silly question.

And yet, this man held Stilia’s curiosity. “But you are knowledgeable and acquaintanced with so many species? I have only met the lovely sirens once,” She remembered the time, and of the lovely shell they had given her, showing that she could always count upon them in times of need. As long as there is water of course, she thought with a slight touch of sarcasm, viewing the bone dry desert around them. She continued on. “And other creatures, such as the reapers, I have yet to see. A well-seasoned traveller? Or simply a lucky man?”

Her questions might have been unheard, or simply ignored, for a new man immerged from the sand, apparently having buried himself there beforehand. His name rung a bell within her head, although she could not place it yet. Before she could even ask about if they have previously met, Dexter suddenly became a full-fledged demon, like a boogeyman trying to scare a young child. It really was pathetic, in a way.

Sol obviously shared the same sort of thoughts, for he himself revealed to be a demon, one who could impregnate the air with the tense clouds of madness and insanity. Automatically taking a few steps back, she waited for the nauseating feeling to fade, as he returned to his previous form. She could not help but roll her eyes silently, Men! Ever so egotistical, and always searching for battles! This is the reason the Gorgons had the sense to let women rule.

“I am Stilia.” She replied shortly, her eyes narrowing in distrust. “But I believe I shall soon be leaving.” She concluded, beginning to resume her journey by foot, knowing of a small village nearby thanks to the directions of the boat’s ferryman. She would rest that night, and then set off to search for the Sphinx the next morning.

[Dexter Pendragon]

Dex wings bent behind him in a fanning motion. As he took a step forward he flapped his wing sending him across a much greater distance than a normal footstep. However to Stilia it seemed as if he had immediately appeared at her side moving with inhuman quickness. “What cha' doin'?” He paused. “Seems to me like me you're out for the Sphinx. Bit risky alone, isn't it?” He added at the end pushing his luck.

She was surely here for the Sphinx. It was the only reason anyone would travel this far out into the desert. It was the only plausible reason a gorgon would leave the nest so far away and travel to the desert. Dex also assumed it was the only reason that Sol was here too. If anything it proved it. After all what are the chances oe would meet a demon and a gorgon in a place rumoured to be the hom of the Sphinx?

[Solemn Creed]

The woman began to walk away after muttering something that sounded like Dex. It was obvious to anyone that Sol's flattery hadnt made her very excited for she didnt even respond. Sol frowned and assumed an altogether unhappy expression for he was not accustomed to this sort of rejection. I dont get it Sol thought angrily usually women throw themselves at my feet practically begging to be eaten. Do they throw themselves at your feet or is that just where they end up after you start to tear chunks from them? asked the taunting voice sarcastically. Sol did not even respond to such an outragous question. Instead he stared ahead at the female who had dared to defy him. She'll pay for her- Sol began but he quickly stopped when he thought he had seen something shiny in the distance.

The female began to walk away and Dexter quickly caught up to her as if to tell her something. The sun was begining to irritate Sol a bit so he bronzed his skin some and changed his hair to blonde. Much better he thought. Sol drifted through mid air to see if he could hear what they were talking about. Sol examined his new skin and found himself pleased with its color. Sol looked up from his arm quickly when he heard Dex say something about the Sphinx. [glow=red,2,300]"Wow, wow, wow, what this about the Sphinx? Isnt that in Africa!?" [/glow]Sol asked in an alarmed voice, not caring if he was interuppting. [glow=red,2,300]"Fuuuck,"[/glow] Sol groaned [glow=red,2,300]"Thats the last time I mix attractive women feeding me strange pills with their mouths and kegs of alcohol. Im supposed to be in Michigan!"[/glow] after that Sol sat down with an irritated expression.

[Dexter Pendragon]

Dex smiled. He could relate to that. He'd fallen asleep in Chicago once and woke up in Kenya blood drenched and among many passed out supernaturals of varying description. That had been one hell of a crazy night that he still didn't fully remember.

“We're in Egypt.” Dex shouted over to his fellow demon with a small chortle remembering how useful it would have been if someone had told him what country he was in this early.

He turned his focus back on the yet to answer gorgon. What had she said her name was again? Stilia. Odd name for a mortal; nice name for a gorgon. She seemed young in a general sort of way but without a glance at her true form he could not tell.

He wondered why she had not done so yet. There were no mortals around for miles and the demons certainly weren't going to chase her away with pitchforks. Dex shivered. He still had a pitchfork scar on his left buttock. There had been an agonising reward for the brave peasant who had done that.

He brought his thoughts back to the future. The older he got the more his thoughts seemed to wander away from him sometimes. He wondered if he should say something else but what could he say. After all he could not even make a threat of violence having promised not to harm any gorgons many years ago. He knew he shouldn't have done that knowing how stubborn he was when it came to his word.

He shook it off again returning to the present opting to remain silent until further notice.

[Zyxyz Golthrum]

This Morning

Zyxyz groaned as he stood out of bed, stretching. His back made a snapping noise and a sigh escaped his lips at the relief it brought him. He made the bed up (though, of course, he didn't have to) and showered. After he'd finished getting dressed, he left his room and returned the key to the attendant at the front desk along with a fair tip, smiling at her as he left the building. The noise of street vendors and vehicles reached his ears at the same time the smell of livestock and butchered meat did and he steadied himself momentarily on the door frame to keep from faltering backwards into the quiet of the building he'd just left.

Luxor was an alright place, he guessed, but not somewhere he'd want to live permanently. He didn't like the heat and the sand got everywhere (as he'd discovered last night). He quickly resolved to buying one of the headdresses that looked like something out of one of the many desert movies he'd seen. Two hours later and he'd donned it, finally understanding why they wore them in this heat. Being able to breathe without a fear of sand in one's orifices was definitely worth the price of admission... not to mention it helped hide his face a bit. He already stood out with how large he was (as usual), but to be a European-looking person on top of that would only help to enhance whatever problems that might present. After hours more of wandering around to get more acquainted with the wheres and whats of the town, he found himself in a tavern downing a popular Egyptian beer called Stella. It wasn't the best in his opinion but it did wonders to purge dust and cleanse the throat. Besides, this was where he would have the best luck finding the kind of people he was looking for; freelancers with no ties that would do crazy jobs for the right price. At least... he hoped that's how it was here in Egypt. [/size]

[Stilia Medusa]

She continued her walk, not even turning to look upon the demon that had quickly caught up with her in the mere two blinks of the eyes. She listened to his words, and knew that he spoke truth regarding her quest, but she was not one to say it. She did not want these two arrogant, childish demons, who were, almost worst of all, men, following her around as she tried to catch the majestic Sphinx. They would probably manage to screw up in a moment of vital importance, like make a bunch of noises as they tried using stealth to creep up upon the creature. So, she lied her response, and did it quite smoothly, an adept at the art of deception. “A Sphinx?” She snorted. “Simply look at me, do I really look like I could really challenge a Sphinx? No, I am merely a traveler, and wish to see the world so I may return it’s stories to my people, and spread the knowledge.”

As the second demon also decided to follow her, she could not help but sigh in frustration. “Yes, we are in Africa. Egypt, as this Dexter man just said. And if you wish to avoid waking up in strange countries, I do highly suggest you follow the advice you have just given yourself.” Sick of the two demons stalking her, she stopped and turned to face them. “Now, will you leave me alone and go off to do whatever you have to do? I honestly am not in the mood for company at the moment.” Especially yours, she added within the voice of her mind.

[Solemn Creed]

Despite his extremely irritating plight Sol found the idea of hunting a Sphinx... appealing to say the least. Sol yawned and waited while she said some boring stuff. Blah, blah, blah he thought and he interjected short responses in while she talked like, [glow=red,2,300]"Anyone can challenge a Sphinx. Doesnt mean they'll live for more than a few seconds."[/glow] and [glow=red,2,300]"Hear that Walter? Shes just a traveler gathering stories for her people."[/glow] Sol tilted his head to the side slightly as he listened to the remainder of the female's words and when she got to the part when she asked them to leave her alone he couldnt help but look amused and respond. [glow=red,2,300]"Oh? A bit self absorbed now arent we?" [/glow]he said in a strained voice that showed he was close to bursting into laughter.

Sol released his flight and dropped to the sand, landing on the soles of his feet of course. He reached up and smoothed the hair back from his face so the other two could better admire his perfection. [glow=red,2,300]"Who ever said I was bothering you? If Im not mistaken, and being myself i never am, I was just talking to Walter a minute ago."[/glow] He paused for a second and then continued [glow=red,2,300]"You just so happened to be nearby at the time. So run along and carry on with whatever you feel like doing."[/glow] That said Sol grinned and walked over to Walter and clapped him on the back. [glow=red,2,300]"Dont worry Walter, Ill hunt the Sphinxy with you." [/glow]he said while putting his arm around Walter's shoulders in a display of camaraderie. Afterwards Sol added under his breath [glow=red,2,300]"not like I have anything else to do."[/glow] Then he waited for a response.

[Dexter Pendragon]

Dex smiled at Sol's remark. The demon seemed like a lot of fun. He wouldn't go drinking with him though. He seemed a little too conspicuous for his liking and this was him, he assumed, sober.

“It's Dexter.” Dex said in reply to the fact Sol had addressed him as Walter. He had killed a Walter once. A shapeshifter if his mind didn't lie to him a funny little hobby it pursued every now and then to get him into trouble. “And thanks anyway.” He added hastily thanking Sol before he angered the tall demon.

The thought crossed his mind to 'drop', or use 'hypnotic slumber' as others might say, the gorgon. After all it would not be against his promise. In fact the idea sounded great until that was he considered that she looked like a Medusa and in the deep recesses of his mind a voice was telling him not to trick a being already made of tricks.

“See yah!” He called to the Gorgon with a grin.

[Zyxyz Golthrum]

Zyxyz had been completely mistaken to go to the tavern. He'd sat around for a good three hours and it seemed that the only people that came in were people who wanted a sip to drink and drunks. No one seemed like they were into the mercenerial scene in the slightest and he sighed as he finished his second drink.

The barman remembered their initial conversation and (having learned through years of tending that it was always worth remembering the language his patrons ordered their drinks in) asked what the matter was in accented English. Zyxyz shrugged disappointedly. "I actually came here to find some brave souls to go on a little safari." He remarked offhandedly. The bartender chuckled and commented, "This isn't typically the place to find those types. We're fare more business-casual than that. No, the places you'll want to go are on the northeastern edge of the city."

Zyxyz mumbled a thanks, tipped the tender heavily as a way of keeping their conversation private and walked out, heading towards the northeast in the damnably hot dust. At this rate, he might not get anything done until tomorrow. Which is acceptable. I've got a full week to devote to this bastard... Zyxyz thought before his mind recalled his fellow Demon being shredded to oblivion by the monster they'd set out after. On second thought, I've got time. He reconsidered.

It was no longer curiosity or some sort of crusade... it was personal now. He would make this Sphinx pay or die trying.

[/size]

[Stilia Medusa]

She rolled her eyes at the first demon’s words. “Exactly. I don’t want to go end up dead.” No, she certainly knew that. She knew she could not face the large beast head-on, and had been planning some sort of stealthy approach ever since she flew over to Egypt and set foot in the sand. She hissed slightly, under her breath, as he decided to judge her, and insult her. Self-absorbed?! Self-absorbed? That idiotic man really needs to find himself a mirror, she grumbled in her head, for once actually hoping one of them had mastered the art of mind-reading just to hear all the vile words that followed her line of thought.

“If you were only talking to Dexter, or ‘Walter’ as you seem to call him, you would have not commented on the bit of self-absorbedness.” She hissed angrily, her fingers twitching towards the dagger in her belt. Instead, she took a deep breath, and looked at both of them. Making up her mind on which of the two were more annoying, her eyes focused on Sol. The moment eye contact was established, she mesmerized him, freezing him in place. Instead of attacking, she simply shifted into her Gorgon form. Her legs stuck together as scales quickly appeared, clicking and clacking against each other. Her legs grew, becoming a long tail, about eight feet in length, as her head resumed her normal appearance. Casting a glare towards Dexter, but unable to mesmerize more than one person, she turned and slithered away, leaving Dex to deal with a frozen Sol for a few minutes until it wore off. Moving quite quickly, she left them, muttering profanities in her own tongue as her next objective formed in her mind. She would stop at the next town, gather information on the Sphinx, and set off to kill it before these two demon men even arrived.

[Dexter Pendragon]

“Bitch!” Dex roared after the Medusa as it slithered away. From the icy stare of his comrade he knew what she had done. He vonsidered drawing his pistol and taking a few shots at her but she wasn't worth the ammo.

He turned with a sigh to his companion. He clicked his fingers in front of Sol's face. Sol didn't move. He clicked another few times and was rewarded, yet again, with the same answer. That answer being an unsettling stare.

Dex took a seat on the warm sand knowing he would regret letting the irritating yellow powder near his clothes later. He silently promised himself never to promise anyone anything ever again especially not the likes of a slimy snake women.

“What a bitch, ay Sol?” He said with a final resigned sigh patting the sand from his trousers already...

[Solemn Creed]

Sol was standing there chuckling to himself about the cleverness of his own words for sometime. Heh, some people are just no match for Sol he thought to himself. All of the voices replied with either Of course or Definately or You know it. From the reaction he received from the gorgon female Sol guessed that he had made her pretty angry. Sol mentally chuckled to himself. Who cares if shes angry? not like there is anything she can do to act on her anger he thought to himself. And if she decides to do something foolish, she will have to be delt with appropriately he told himself. But how will we do it so she suffers and is humiliated... Sol began to think. Somewhere in the back of his mind he registered that Walter had said something but he wasnt really paying attention. One of the voices spoke up asking Cant you make snakeskin belts? and with that came the predictable flood of various ideas and a few who said that they also wanted snakeskin belts. Wow, wow, this is getting out of hand, Sol began, you all need to calm down he told them.

Eventually the voices faded and Sol once more turned his gaze outward, to reality. The gorgon was now some distance away and in her natural form. Sol started to ask "Did i miss something?" when he found that he couldnt quite move or do anything. If they could have, his eyes would have narrowed. Sol thought back to what had been going on while he had been conversing with the voices. He remembered the the gorgon looking at him then leaving and Walter calling her a bitch.

Sol felt control come back to his limbs in such a rush that his demon form came back in an almost explosive manner, albeit different. His horns were no longer deceptively delicate but were now thick as a grown man's arm and appeared as though meant for goring and slightly aflame at the pointed tips. His body was no longer possessed of a lean almost completely human form but was now heavily muscled at 9"5 and barely humanoid. His arms were longer as though his body had been made to switch interchangably between walking on two feet and all fours. Every exhalation of his breath brought forth a cloud of smoke that smelled of sulfur and brimstone. His teeth were that of a carnivorous beast meant for ripping and tearing prey to peices. At the ends of his hands and feet his toes and fingertips seemed to harden and become pointed, more akin to talons than claws. His wings were massive with a total span of 20 feet give or take. They seemed incapable of supporting his large frame and looked like just another pair of weapons on his body, for they could easily fold so as to become stabbing appindeges with great reach. His flesh was almost 2 inches thick in most areas and no longer a blood red but was now a darker almost black shade of red.

At this size Sol's remaining clothing had nearly been ripped entirely to shreds but it still just barely managed to cover him from just above his knee and up. Sol remained in this form for all but a few seconds before realizing something was not right. He quickly condensed himself down to his normal-ish demon form although his flesh was rippling strangely as though trying to change into something else. The expression on his face was one of tight concentration mixed with rage as he attempted to reign in his temper which was made no easier by the multitude of voices that threw their support to the voice of rage in an attempt to overthrow what little sanity remained. Once a few moments had passed Sol exhaled and shrunk down to his human form.

The scraps that now could no longer be considered clothing slid off of Sol's now normal form and he quickly covered himself with the only thing he could; his hands. Sol turned to Walter or Dexter as he had called himself and asked [glow=red,2,300]"You wouldnt happen to have anything, anything at all, that would make me a bit less naked?"[/glow]

[Zyxyz Golthrum]

Zyxyz growled at the two men threateningly. "I said, leave me be." A minute ago, he'd been walking through the dead center of town, heading towards the northeast edge and these two fellows had come from behind, guiding him towards a back alley between two towering buildings that kept the light from streaming in. He appreciated the shade, but the two's intent was likely unwanted. He thanked them and began to turn, but the stopped him with a grasped hand on the nape of his neck. If the two had been paying attention, they might've noticed the hairs stand up and prickle as he became upset. "Leave me be." He demanded, but his demand was met with laughter.

"We'll leave you, alright. Right here!" said the taller, nudging his companion with a chortle. His shorter friend with the beard nodded quickly. A bit too quickly, really. He certainly appeared more nervous than the other and sweat beads were visible on his forehead. "I said, leave me be." The taller man snorted and took a threatening step forward with his right foot. Zyxyz could see where this was going and swept his right boot into the inside of the man's knee and allowed the momentum to bring him facing the same way as the man he'd kicked. Zyxyz' raised elbow was brought back against the Human's face, pulling it backward harshly against his smooth jaw. Using the momentum from the elbow jab, he spun around the other direction and jumped backwards a quick, light hop, ready for the shorter man. He never came. In fact, he was pulling around the corner of the building, kicking dust as quickly as his legs could move him.

Zyxyz snorted contemptuously. "Humans." [/b]

[Dexter Pendragon]

Dex panicked. In all fairness it had seemed like Sol was exploding and when shit explodes Dex gets the hell out of the blast range. His wings, already out, pushed backwards quickly and strongly sending him backwards into the air at which point he turned his body over and continued to fly up into the air until he was a decent height and distance away from Sol before turning around.

What he saw then made him laugh. Sol was standing in human form where he had been before his face now crimson. What made his face so crimson you ask? He was naked. Dex laughed so hard at the mighty demon declothed that he fell from his position in the air and almost crashed to the ground. He regained composure though and flew back to Sol landing neatly beside him.

“What happened to you?!” He exclaimed having not seen what happened as he made his frantic escape.

He took his jacket off exposing his chest and offered it to Sol. “Sorry, man, it's all I have.” He apologised. After all he wore only a leather jacket, jeans, boxers, socks and trainers. Taking off any more exposed himself.

[Stilia Medusa]

She listened as he called her a bitch, but continued on her way. She slithered as quickly as she could, her head inches off the ground to enhance her speed. Her tongue hissed out profanities in her own language, as she left the two demons. She hurried for the simple sake of survival. She knew that if she was still around, well, she would be facing one pissed off demon. She did not want to face a pissed off demon. She had heard of their marvelous strength, and certainly did not want to face it. She knew herself that if someone had Mesmerized her, in the middle of the Egyptian desert, she would crush their skull as soon as she awoke from the trance-like state.

So she hurried the hell out of there, to save her own skin, although the whole mesmerizing had been for that very reason in the first place, along with the fact that she wanted to put an end of her annoyances. She got away, out of sight, before she heard the noises made by the two demons as Sol escaped from his trance. She breathed a sigh of relief, and resumed her journey.

Hours later, the boiling sun began to cool, as it continued its path, and it was near setting. A few sniffs of the air made a putrid smell reach her nose, and she followed it to a trash site. From there she could spot a town, in which she approached, planning to find an inn to spend the night. Tomorrow, she would set out once more to find the Sphinx, determined to surpass the demons and beat the creature before they even spotted its dead corpse.