Akija's fingers tightened on his shoulder, her arm still around his neck, and she hissed softly, though she didn't turn towards the owner of the voice, behind him. He didn't want to turn around, either; if he turned around, he'd see that person who he'd thought was dead who was far more dangerous than Cacopheny himself, no matter how violent. Cacopheny seemed to have forgotten they were there, eyes fixed on the presence behind them and breath picking up a step. Unfortunately, he didn't have to turn to see her, because the demoness had sauntered around them and past them, approaching Cacopheny and the chair, giving his cheek a caress as she passed and settled herself facing them. Cacopheny shivered and shut his eyes at the touch, but didn't otherwise move; Sentio almost shivered, to, but most certainly not for the same reason. What he felt from his bond nearly turned his stomach. 

The demon's human face and form were familiar, just like her voice was: black and triangular, with its sharp cheekbones and narrow nose, slanted and darkly smiling a snapping gold, hair violet and coiling down around bare shoulders. She wasn't, as Sentio remembered, naked, though she was close to it in only a tight-fitting, skin-bearing tunic that looked like it should be worn under something else rather than out in the open and a short, flimsy skirt that was almost completely transparent, showing more underwear beneath. All in all, it was almost as embarrassing to see as if she had been naked, because she obviously wore the excuses for clothing only for their sake, and even in that she was mocking them. Sentio supposed she might have been beautiful-- if she hadn't been so thoroughly evil.

"And who might you two be?" she asked in that low purr of hers, looking from him to Akija, eyes lingering across Akija's body with a slightly calculating expression.

"Who're you t'care?" Akija growled. Cacopheny's eyes flew open to stare at her incredulously, and Sentio went tense, expecting an outburst in response to the insulting, suspicious tone. All they got was a little chuckle.

"Rao Vajhala," the demoness answered, reaching out idly to twine her fingers into Cacopheny's hair, neatly distracting him from Akija: he leaned into the touch and his eyes fell half-shut again. "And I have a feeling you know who I am, other than that. I suppose I know who you two are, anyway, even without names-- though I also suppose my pet could give them to me, if I asked."

She didn't even have to ask, or that was enough of a request already. "Sentchio and Akizja," Cacopheny said readily, sounding unfocused. She smiled at him, trailing her claw-tipped fingers down the side of his face and eliciting another shudder and a caught breath, before returning her attention to her "company".

"Ah. Well, I can't exactly say it's a pleasure to meet you, Sentio, Akija, but I might as well be polite." She sounded like Kenjista, then, resigned and almost petulant. "Please, make yourselves comfortable."

A pair of cushions appeared behind them at a wave from inky black fingers. Standing rigidly, ready to bolt if he needed to, Sentio was not about to do any such thing. The thought of Kenjista reminded him that she was waiting outside, ready to get help if they needed it. ::Kenjista,:: he sent, trying to keep his mind-voice calm. ::Kenjista, get Chario, both of you, go find Lady Aloia, or Professor Veshal, or-- or even Akija's parents. Anybody. That demon, who Ketvia said was dead? She's here.::

His response was immediate, from both of them. Chario sent, or Kenjista sent from Chario, a wordless wash of anxiety and affirmative, and Kenjista herself yelped back at him, ::Don't you dare let her hurt you!::

::Wasn't planning on it, promise.:: Then she was gone, beyond his personal mental hearing, hopefully to bring back help as soon as they could get it.

"No?" the demon was saying, arching one curved, violet brow. "I'm trying to be hospitable. Would you prefer I try not to be? I suppose I could just have you done away with and be done with you. I didn't come here to banter with dragons and daemons, you know."

"So leave again," Akija snorted, lip curled over a bit of fang. She was answered not by the demoness, but by a growl from her feet. Apparently Cacopheny had enough attention on the conversation to discern something like threat: his dark eyes were fixed on Akija, and his expression was not friendly.

Sentio swallowed a fearful moan. ::Akija... last time somebody insulted her in front of him, it was me, and he just about brained me for it... his shadows did brain me, I had a headache for hours....::

Apparently Rao Vajhala was aware of the situation, as well. "I'd be careful if I were you, girl," she tsked. "I don't think he'll take very well to that tone of voice. For that matter," she added pensively, "neither will I." Thankfully, all the daemon did in response was bite her tongue and hiss in disgust. Rao looked back at her expectantly, and seemed disappointed in the lack of reaction. "You people are so boring," she complained. "Can't even get a good fight out of you. Well, at least you can tell me how you got here, can't you? How you found your way here, even though my dear pet didn't even leave a trail I could follow?"

Akija let go of him just before her steadily-increasing grip became painful. Sentio wasn't happy about any of this, particularly not the hold this demon had on his bond, but he wasn't that angry... nowhere near it. Was he that much of a coward, or did Akija just have that much of a temper? "Sentio doesn't need a trail t'find Cacopheny," she growled obliquely, somehow managing to get his name out correctly. The sound of it seemed to wake him a little out of his forgetfulness, for he shook his head faintly, blinking, and lost the snarl on his face entirely.

Rao, though, frowned faintly. "Really... and why is that?" When neither of them supplied the information, she again caught Cacopheny's attention with a touch to his shoulder. He blinked again, the brief awareness in his eyes vanishing once more, and turned immediately to her. Rather than questioning him, however, she took his face in her hands and looked deeply into his eyes with a look of concentration. He didn't resist in the slightest, looking actually more like pleased she was even touching him, one hand coming up to almost touch hers before falling to the arm of the chair limply when she didn't respond. Sentio could only stare. "Yes," she breathed after a moment, more to herself than any of the others. "How could I not notice it... what a strange thing that is. Well, we most certainly can't have that, can we, my pet?" Not sure what she meant, Sentio leaned a little closer to the comforting anger of Akija.

The demoness rose then, loosing Cacopheny so suddenly that he actually fell back before catching himself and scrambling on all fours out of her way. Her eyes were on Sentio for, it seemed, only the second time since they'd come in, as focused on the more vocal Akija as she had been. "I believe I should thank you," she said, smiling, "If you hadn't come looking for him, I would have taken much longer to notice that little contamination of yours. It's not so deeply rooted now that I can't rip it out, but too much longer...." She shook her head sadly. "But at least you're here, that makes things easier." She took a step forward, and Sentio took several back, this time unable to keep his fur from fluffing fully, or keep his tail from tucking instinctively between his legs, but at her second step he found his feet firmly planted on the ground, as if the stone itself was gripping them. From Akija's abortive movement, she had found the same. 

Cacopheny was watching, looking between Rao and Sentio with a faintly troubled expression. As the demoness took another step, he twitched, reminiscent of his usual self. "Please--" His voice, in demon-speech, came out strangled, and Rao turned swiftly, golden eyes narrowed.

"What did you say?" she asked softly in the same language.

"Please, don't-- I-- you don't need to hurt them, do you? Just-- just let them leave, maybe just let them leave--" Automatically, Sentio relayed the translation to Akija, torn between terror and relief; at least Cacopheny still felt something about them, but what if that didn't matter?

She returned the last few steps, dropping to one knee and catching his face in her hands again, claws touching but not quite breaking the skin, her own back hiding him from Sentio and Akija's view. His breath caught again as she murmured something to him that Sentio couldn't hear. The conversation was brief, and when she rose, there was a thin line of blood running down his cheek and he was shaking just a little, gaze jumping from Akija to Sentio, back and back again. "The choice is yours, my little love," Rao breathed at him. "Me, or them."

For a moment, all Cacopheny could do was stare and tremble. Then he gave a little twitch, catching himself with a hand against the chair beside him. "Cacopheny," Sentio gulped, watching the struggle, feeling it through the deteriorating block between them. Then the half-demon's face fell into his hands, hiding it as he shook with conflicting desires, and probably shadow-voices that Sentio couldn't yet hear. Rao waited patiently, her eyes on Cacopheny, as if this decision counted for more than just the life or death of her two intruders. Just life or death... they'd probably die, anyway, even if Cacopheny refused-- he just might die with them, instead.

Slowly, the shaking stopped, and the face that lifted from his hands wasn't-- quite-- Cacopheny. Sentio thought he recognized that face: the one who had chased him and Kenjista away, not even a full day before, just the afternoon before. He started trembling, himself, because surely that face wouldn't show any mercy-- We really are going to die, he thought, panicked, at the hands of my own bond-- oh, Goddess, please-- anybody-- I don't want to die--

Not-Cacopheny rose, slowly and deliberately, drawing the tatters of the too-small bathrobe around him with a dignity he had never before possessed. He turned to Rao, before her illusory throne, standing tall and ignoring the drip of blood from his cheek. He smiled, a slow, lazy, mocking smile, and said: "No."