Author Hali
Title Opinion To Be Determined
Flavors: Candy Corn #7 (zombies), FOTD (kinchin)
Extras: Pocky Chain
Rating: PG? PG-13?
Word Count: 430
Story: Two Little Devils
Summary: Angela is still struggling with how her Grama's two old friends are demons.



Although familiar to her great-grandmother, the two men who sat beside Angela in the darkened theater were strangers to her and strange they both were indeed. The facade of humanity they wore would have succeeded in deceiving her if it hadn't been for their frankness about their demonic origin. As an undead corpse chased a civilian down the street on the theater screen, Angela fearfully wondered in zombies were real too somehow, somewhere.

Azire's silence could send vibrations under Angela's skin. The aura that smoked off of him was like smog. The only solution was to leave to breathe easy. His speech was like static television. Sometimes the chatter's low, buzzing, and just quiet enough to forbid you from directing your attention elsewhere. Sometimes it's sharp, shrill, and wild with flashing colors and flickering lines. He's dangerous. Incidentally, Angela once witnessed Azire escort a blind, old bat across the road when he thought Angela was preoccupied at a gas station. Angela's not so sure anymore.

Harluthenax was the opposite of anything wicked. He was blessed with a prince's charm and an award winning smile. The boundless energy that flowed through him was a constant. His laugh made you smile. His smile made you laugh. Harlu almost had a kinchin's innocence as he slurped ice cream off the cone one afternoon. His gaze caught Angela's own for a second or two. The angle of sunlight rendered his eyes red like a photo defect, and the illusion was gone.


“They're real,” Azire commented offhandedly as they exited the theater. Angela looked at him with confusion in her eyes, thus he elaborated, “Zombies.”

Angela's face paled. For a moment she thought she'd vomit out her terrors right there in the crowded hallway. She noticed the quirk in Azire's lips then, and she wondered what the consequences would be for hitting a demon. Harlu scolded Azire and flashed Angela an apologetic smile. It was relieving, and that's what unnerved her.


Angela felt like a spectator at Grama's house during dinner. Odette, Harlu, and Azire were all interacting with one another like reunited, high school friends, even though Harlu and Azire looked like they were in their early twenties while Grama was eighty-seven. She beamed with laughter as Harlu joked and as Azire threw in a comment here and there. It was odd. How could she be friendly with demons?

Angela would form her own opinion soon. Grama had persuaded her into accompanying them on their own vacation. She couldn't say no, but she felt she'd regret having said yes.