After having a good night of sleep. Steel finally feels like there is something other than pain in this world.
'it is nice to be at home…'
He needs to earn but he deserve a day of rest, right? Not that he can stay in home all day. There are no supplies at home.
So he will be leaving soon for the outside. But before that, he should deal with his guest.
He stares at River for a bit.
Noticing him staring at her body. River asks.
[Do you need something…?]
She's been wearing a ragtag clothing. He is really being generous when he calls it clothing.
Steel isn't a person who cares about fashion or trends. He wears the most basic and functional type of clothes. Like function over looks.
But right now, he maybe at least want to change her clothes or something. At first, he didn't bothered with it. After all, demons don't really cares about how they look like at all.
Only few demons even look like humans or any other creature. Even Steel himself looked entirely different in the past.
His skin was red with small horns on his head. He doesn't wanna talk about how annoying it was to lose those horns. It was a painful process to grind them down to the base. After doing it for a year or so. The Horns never grow back again.
The skin color automatically changed though. It is like he adapted.
Demons are really adaptive creatures. Only from the outside though. They see more value in material world than anything else.
But in this human community. He really needs to put something on her and maybe something to hide those stitches too.
Steel sighs and replies.
[Do you have any preference in clothes? I can't just keep you in those dirty tatters forever.]
River thought for few minutes and then said.
[you can just take them off if they bother you. I apologize for bringing filth inside of your home.]
He is as much filthy as she. He would even say that his dried up blood would be more trouble than the dirt of her clothes.
He also wasn't worried about bringing dirt and crap inside of his home. He can clean it later. What's the big deal? He doesn't understand why people are such a clean freaks.
Also he is not keeping her naked in his home. First, it is awkward to look at someone who is just naked. Even if it is somewhat natural for a demon. She probably things that he is the weird one for wearing odd coverings that cannot even armor his body. He would blame humans for making him that way.
Living in a human community for so long and watching everyone wear clothes has become the new norm for him.
Secondly, What if somebody saw a naked body? She still looks like a human if you ignore the face. People would be calling cops faster when they saw a little girl naked than if they saw a demon.
Humans have different priorities.
Steels just says after pondering a little more.
[You see, it would be nice if you wear some clothes. I would feel much…safer that way.]
River waits in confusing and then replies.
[anything is fine then. I don't know about human culture.]
Steel nods to himself.
[okay. For now, I will just let you wear my clothes.]
So he get to taking those clothes off and cleaning her up. Her body itself is super dirty too. So it would be better to wash her, otherwise, his clothes wouldn't be wearable again.
He thought that he would feel awkward or anything of that nature after taking her clothes off. But no, instead he felt a chill run down her spine.
If he were to define this feeling then he would call it disbelief or disgust. It is as if something constantly moving under that skin but it is not observable through sense of sight or touch. It is like he senses it through a gut feeling. Even before, he always tried to suppress that horror. However, now that she is naked. He feels like throwing up or running far away.
Steel knows that there is no danger. So he just have to force himself to believe that too.
He also saw those stitches on her chest region and...private parts. He didn't like that at all. it looked too gross and alien.
There is something about Mother that all demon know. She would never let them reproduce. If she wants a demon that needs to multiple then she will give them the ability to so.
That is also a reason that demon population never increases much. There are other methods too like how Steel was born. From sacrifices and demonic rituals on a human body.
He has no interest in knowing them.
He also can't reproduce so why bother with this crap. Sometimes, he feel pity for himself and other times, he just roll his eyes and live like a demon. Or live however he wants.
Looking at River's body really uncovers some form of traumatic memory. At the very least, his private part aren't stitched together with that creepy fleshy thread.
[Time to get you in some warm water.]
After washing her. He also took a shower.
He asked politely for river to not look through his eyes while he is taking the shower. She did so as he asked.
Later he changed into some new clothes. They were all black with few handy pockets everywhere. He loves functionality so much.
For River, he just threw one of his shirt on her. She is small and the shirt is big enough to cover the whole of her body.
River looks quite clean and nice. It is hard to believe that she is the Demon of cataclysm.
[Your face sure is… hmm…it is hard to say.]
Steel raises one of his eyebrow.
'at least she didn't call it weird.'
He was standing in front of a mirror. She was really insistent on knowning how he looked like. So her demand is finally fulfilled.
Steel also looked into the mirror. He saw a young man with a liitle brownish skin color. He is average in height, average in looks and average in everything. For others, he would look like the most ordinary person in the world. A forgettable man.
He sneered at his reflection and said goodbyes to River. He needs to get some dinner and other supplies.