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[Ash]

Where ever Ash goes, she generates several different looks and reactions from those around her. Obviously when one has horns and a tail, the natural reaction by society is to look upon them with deep suspicion out just outright hate. Her whole young adult life she was often singled out for things that had gone ary around her. Often, whether she did it or not, she was accused of being responsible for the heinous crimes against the people - so on and so on. It should not surprise anyone that she was. What may confuse people, was how often she was not the cause but took the blame anyways.

She wasn’t above lying, and rarely did the guilty party ever get away scott free. It was all calculated risks that left her with favors and less time spent in the soul crushing safety of four solid walls while bound to a desk. This didn’t help her reputation at all and people thought of her as a trouble maker. She was perhaps too clever for her own good. Then again, who’s to say she’d end up any different if she’d stayed in school like a good girl?

He mother sure thought she would, but that’s another story for another time.

As contradicting as it seemed, she didn’t just attract discord. Despite her ability to rock a pair of combat boots and cuss like the best of them, she manages her sex life well enough. Not afraid to be called a whore or any other derogatory label that others see fit to slap across her name, Ash has never shied away from the subject of sex. At the same time, she liked to keep her business her own. Of course this was easier in high school when all you had to do was keep your mouth shut around people.

The Storm Demon hasn’t always been hyper sexual, and still held some control. She just cared less about hiding her desires and reactions. However, she knew how to hide her crazy and act like a lady when it came to it. Well, as lady like as she could be while wearing a mini skirt.

Still the jaws dropped for one reason or the other as Sand Hawk lead the female demon through the city. Wearing nothing but the man’s shirt and some scraps of a gold beaded bikini. Her escort was not aware of the looks she got, nor the looks she gave back. He was a man on a mission.

The mission? Simple! Help Ash with her lack of clothing! Demon or not, she was female and shouldn’t be showing that much skin! Erik thought so, too. That is why he entrusted him with this task while he took care of another personnel request made by Victor! It was his job to help their damsel in distress out one final time! Then perhaps a tour of the city!

He turned to offer his hand while they walked through a busy part of town, only to be met with empty space where his demon company should have stood! He throws his hands up in the air and against his head! “No! I’ve lost her!” He groaned before heading back in the direction he came from!

-

Ash found her way to an overly large storm cloud dark grey tent. Upon the front, it clearly labeled itself as Syntech property. Immediately the words struck her as something important but it took a handsome male coming over to her and asking her a questioned to realize what was going on here.

“Hi there, were you looking to join this year’s Dante Abyss, miss?” He asked with a sweet smile.

Memories of last year flooded Ash’s mind, a flip book of the people she’d seen last year. She remembered watching countless people fight it out on island sections, chasing after item drops and trying to combine pieces of artefacts together to be able to use them effectively. That’s one of the reasons why Higgs had stood out so easily to her. Also, he was attractive and one of the favorites to win that year.

Over the next year, she’d find every turn towards Higgs met with walls in front of solid walls. She ended up in the Underverse and even though she escaped easily enough she was left still empty-handed because he had gone missing while she was fighting for the championship.

You would think that after all that she’d be sick of fighting and wouldn’t even entertain the idea of doing more combat, yet, here she is considering the idea of joining. She was considering just walking away, shaking her head, and leaving it at that. However, considering all the trouble she’d spent and only got to meet two people on her list, she thought twice again about that…

If she entered she’d be more than likely to make contact with anyone of interest to her or her plans a lot faster than if she waited until the event was over and its contestants scattered to the wind where she’d have to track them down. On top of that, the app works better if she is in the presence physically other than just watching them on TV.

“Yes.” She said, finally coming to terms with what she wanted to do.

“Great. This way miss, we’d like to make sure you are in fighting-fit form first.” The man said, opening the rope up and letting her inside. She still was just in the shirt and sandals and didn’t look battle ready in the least. “We’ll check your vitals, and then we’d like to fill out some forms and get a few glam shots.” He said, not ignoring the irony of that statement when she looked like she was homeless. Smelt like it, too.

A woman was working on a tablet in the corner when she heard the new contestant entering. All around them Nippur was still alive and well, sounds of the city beginning anew drowned out most of the smaller noises in the tent. She smiled up at the demoness and offered her to sit down where she’d be comfortable with a hand motion.

Ash looked over at a typical medical bench. The type that has a flimsy roll of parchment paper to ‘protect’ the surface. She could already tell this wouldn’t be the least bit comfortable for her, but she took a seat. The paper crumpled under even her lightest of weights, she then crossed her leg and looked up.

“Please don’t cross your legs, it affects your blood pressure.” She addressed the patient. When Ash unfolded her legs she smiled and nodded. “Let's start these questions why Donald checks your vitals.” There was a moment where Ash was expected to nod and say yes before the woman continued. “Name, please?”

“Ash.”

“Last name?” Her hair was dirty blond and she smiled hard enough to cause wrinkles everywhere.

“I don’t have one.”

“Any aliases?”

“The Storm Demon,” Ash explained.

The woman typed some stuff on her tablet. “Race? Species?”

“Morality Mirrored Humanoid. I was born a human.”

“How did you end up…” Her eyes went up to Ash’s horns. Her tablet stylus motioned towards them.

“I have a lot of magic in my blood, and the negativity in my life influenced it so that I ended up looking like a demon.”

There was a bit of silence. That was strange.

“Okay, then how old are you?” The blond asked.

“Twenty-three or something like that? I stopped caring at twenty-one.”

“Why’s that?”

“It's the drinking age from the world I was from. After that, the only  year worht celebrating is retirement.”

“What brought you here to Dante’s Abyss?” She asked, going right into the questions.

“I am a fan of friends. This is a good way to meet new people.” Ash replied, innocent enough.

“Do you live here in Nippur?”

“No. I just arrived.” Ash replied quickly.

“Has anything interesting happened upon your arrival?” She asked.

Ash’s mind raced back to just a half hour ago when she sling-shotted a lizard over 300 feet away. “Not really.” She lied.

“Are you associated with any groups?” The blond asked another question.

“No,” Ash said honestly, not aware of her lie.

“What would you say is your most accomplishing moment in The Omniverse?”

Ash, who has been fairly fast with all these answers had to stop and think about that. Personal accomplishments included stealing the chainsword from that Ultramarine, managing to find something useful here that pertained to her own life and leaving Desman back in The Underverse. Proud accomplishments that would impress crowds? Since Coruscant seemed unphased by it, maybe the rest of the world wouldn’t be all that impressed. “I escaped the Underverse just a few days ago.” She made sure to say it with as much boredom as possible. So it was impossible for the blonde woman to be sure if she was serious or not.

There was an awkward silence between answer and questions before the woman found her footing again. “A-Anyone you want to invite to come to Dante’s Abyss and fight you?”

Ash smiled at that. She wished she could challenge Brother Gaius… “No, but if I could give a shout out to my buddy Jaixe.”

“Of course.” The woman promises and then jots down some more notes. She’s done this the whole time. Just as the whole time the man has been checking her pulse, heartbeat, breathing… If he wanted to do a stamina test Ash would have been happy to oblige.

“Now as per usual rules, any destruction to Syntech’s property or attacks on staff members can result in your disqualification. Do you accept these and the other terms that come with participating in Dante’s Abyss?”

“Yes.”

“Can you sign here?”

Ash was handed a contract and offered a pen. Ash declined the pen to pull out her dagger from among the shirt-dress she wore. Her signature was blunt and bold, and the ink produced by the pen was blood red. Mostly because it was in fact blood. She offered the contract back and hid away her blade.

“Thank you.” The woman was put off a bit by the strangeness, but the discovery of the type of ink the pen produced has yet come to her. “Now if you would please step over here, we’d like to do a little filming.

“Of?” Ash asked, but didn’t seem bothered by it.

“We’d like you to do a few poses, will do some voice-overs and any other fancy editing techniques that feel appropriate. It will be like an introduction card, but personalized.” She motioned to the spot and took her place behind the camera. “Can you say the name you’d like us to use?” She asked after preparing the camera to capture it.

Ash smiled sweetly into the camera, “The Storm Demon.”

“And are there any signature poses for your powers?” The blond asked.

The Storm Demon had to think about that. “No, Not really. But I can do some poses.” She suggested, and the blonde agreed. She did four. One she held her arms out as wide as possible and then acted as if she was charging up her Thunder Clap. She motioned through, slapping her hands together, but as anticipated as it was from behind the camera, it came off as a normal slap of her palms. She then took a serious stance, reaching both hands between her legs and twisting them dramatically as if she were charging her Chain Lightning. She pulled her dagger out and bent low, posing in an atypical edgy kind of pose, letting the camera capture her serious face as the morality mirrored humanoid branded the creepy Red Devil’s Quil. And finally she decided to blow the camera a kiss and wave, in a cute girly kind of way that might not be expected from her.

“Perfect.” The blond said, then shut down the equipment and lead the demoness over to the pad. “Just step on this, and you will be transported to the Dante’s Abyss facility where you are able to prepare for the fights ahead in your own way. And thank you for using Syntech Teleportal Pads courtesy of Karl Jak.”

Ash started to walk right on in but stopped to look back at her. “Oh, Karl.. Will I get to meet him?” Her tail coiled in excitement.

“Anything is possible in Dante’s Abyss, however, I cannot make any promises.” She said, as professionally as possible.

Ash nodded and walked on through.