Chapter Text
Celine was a hunter known for firsts.
She was the first French-Korean demon hunter.
The first hunter to sing and dance and fight with long fair flowing.
The first hunter to leave Jeju Island for a home somewhere in the mainland (seriously? Whose idea was it to have their base of operations be on an island when they had to take a boat to get to the mainland).
The first hunter to sing with only one other partner, as opposed to a group of three that every generation had before them.
The first hunter to spare a demon.
It was a cold winter day when they found her. Celine and Eun-Ji had been following one demon for miles while she ran through the snowy forest. Given the weather and how slippery everything was, it was very difficult to keep up with her. Although not impossible.
When she had the space, Eun-Ji launched from the tree with weapons drawn. Both she and Celine had been demon hunting for years now. They knew how to handle demons and when to take the kill shot. The problem with the snowy environment was that one slip meant it was all over and the demon would get away, free to hunt for more souls.
Eun-Ji knew this when she pulled out her axe and struck the demon. The axe sliced against her arm but it didn’t kill her. The demon let out a sharp cry of pain and hissed at Eun-Ji. That’s when Celine saw that the demon had something in her arms, some kind of bundle. Eun-Ji raised her axe once again but the demon jumped out of the way, throwing snow on Eun-Ji’s face. That’s when Celine jumped in to give cover for her teammate.
Similar to Eun-Ji, she used her weapon to strike at the demon. Since the demon hadn’t been expecting her, she didn’t move in time at the sword cut her other arm. Once again the demon screamed in pain but when she did the bundle fell from her arms. She quickly reached for it only for Celine’s sword to slam down in front of her fingers. Panic set in over the demon’s face. At first, Celine assumed she was scared to face two hunters but her eyes weren’t on Celine or Eun-Ji, they were on the bundle.
So much so that she didn’t see Eun-Ji until she was kicked in the face and an axe was pressed against her throat.
“Stop.” Celine ordered, raising her hand so that Eun-Ji could see her.
“What are you doing?” Eun-Ji asked, “We have to kill her!”
“Hold on.” Celine knelt down, hands gently gliding over the bundle. It was wrapped in soft fabric with a tiny space at the top, like a breathing hole.
They’d been following the demon since she broke through the honmoon. To their knowledge, she hadn’t been in the human world long enough to steal souls—which was always good—but she also hadn’t appeared like she was going to when they discovered her. Most demons show up near a populated area so they could feed much easier. When they arrived, they found her breaking through in the middle of a random forest and then running away from the villages. Something about this wasn’t adding up.
“Hold on?! Are you serious right now, Celine?? She probably just stole some stuff.” Eun-Ji said, hands on her axe’s handle. The younger of the two pressed her lips together. Since when did demons steal stuff?
Celine didn’t answer. Instead, she picked up the bundle and moved the layers aside until she was face to face with a baby. A demon baby. If Celine was guessing, she’d say the baby was a girl maybe a month old if demons aged the same as humans. Exposed to the cold, the baby whined and nuzzled against the fabric concealing her.
“Is that a child?” Eun-Ji whispered.
“Please.” For the first time, the demon spoke, “Please don’t hurt my cub.”
‘Cub?’ Eun-Ji mouthed.
Celine stared at the terrified demon and back at the infant in her arms, “You stole souls.”
“No! No! I swear! I swear I didn’t! I was fleeing Gwi Ma and trying to find a place up here to raise her and-and-“ Her long tail wrapped around her body, “Please. I-I’ll go and be your prisoner. I’ll tell you everything about demons that you want. Just don’t hurt my cub.”
“Gwi Ma will just drag you back down to his realm.” Eun-Ji said.
“No, he won’t.”
“How can you be so sure?” Celine asked.
“I’ll tell you everything you want to know.” The demon was sitting up now with Eun-Ji’s axe still close but now far enough away that she felt comfortable getting off the ground, “I swear. On my life.”
“Alright.” Celine allowed.
“Celine—“
“But Eun-Ji will hold your…cub until you make good on your end and tell us what is going on.” Celine ordered, passing the baby to her teammate while the demon looked between the with anxious eyes. Like she expected them to drop the baby.
“I agree.” She nodded.
“First things first,” Eun-Ji adjusted the baby in her arms, “what’s your name, demon?”
“Mi Yeong. My name is Mi Yeong.”
When they returned to the house, Mi Yeong appeared uncomfortable with everything around her. Not that Celine could really blame her, this was a demon hunting household, but it rubbed her the wrong was to see the demon almost wince whenever she took a step. Finally, Mi Yeong took a seat on the couch, poking at the pillows and blankets with curiosity.
“You don’t have pillows and blankets in the demon realm?” Eun-Ji asked, still holding the baby who was fast asleep by now.
“No. We have lovely caves though where we would fill the space with anything we wanted. Most demons fill it with items they collected in the human realm or their own creations that they like to make and display. My mate and I had a nice cave in the mountains overlooking everything.” Mi Yeong’s eyes turned sad, “I imagine Gwi Ma has destroyed it by now.”
“Right. You owe us an explanation.”
She nodded, “My mate was once one of Gwi Ma’s right hand men, incredibly smart and powerful enough to work well under the king. More than once he went to the human world to….you know, but as time went on, he started to hate what he was doing. All demons feel shame—it’s how Gwi Ma controls us—but his shame became about how he was hurting people. When our cub was born, he didn’t want that life for her. Gwi Ma found out about our plan and tried to attack us but he protected us. In my last few seconds in the demon realm, I watched him give his life in exchange for our freedom. Gwi Ma will never be able to drag us back down to the demon realm or control us. Neither myself nor my cub have any shame for him to use anymore. I thought—hoped—that we could create a life up here. Be humans and have the life I know he would have wanted for her.”
A touching story, Celine wouldn’t lie, but was it real or just a very good demon lie, “How can we trust you? What can you do to prove your story?”
“I…I don’t know. I guess I was just hoping that if we did run into demon hunters, you’d at least take pity on her.” Mi Yeong stared at her baby, “You can kill me if you wish. I understand why you would. I just ask that you don’t hurt her. She’s a cub. She doesn’t understand what it means to be born a demon. I don’t want her to suffer just for her heritage.”
“You would let us kill you?” Eun-Ji asked.
“Yes.” Mi Yeong nodded, “No fight, no begging, nothing.”
Celine turned to Eun-Ji, who was gripping the handle of her axe once again. True to her word, Mi Yeong didn’t fight or speak. She simply bowed her head and closed her eyes, giving the bundle one final look. Celine felt her mouth go dry. She’d seen demons about to die. Many yelled, some cursed her name and a few didn’t even realize they were able to die until she arrived. She’d never seen one accept it before.
“No.” Eun-Ji said, “Celine, you-you’ll have to. I can’t.”
“I won’t either.” Celine revealed, “If what you say is true and you mean no harm, then I will not kill you.” Mi Yeong’s eyes snapped open and she turned to stare, “But do not think that means that you are free to roam around wherever you wish. We have no confirmation that you will not just steal souls the moment you leave.”
“So, what will happen to me?” Mi Yeong asked.
“You’ll live here. In our compound. Along with your baby.” Celine informed her, “You’ll be free to walk around and get food if you…eat but the moment you step foot outside of this area, we will assume that you are going to feed.”
“Yes! Yes! Thank you!” Leaping from her seat, she rushed to Celine, wrapping her arms around her, “Thank you so much! I swear! You won’t regret having me here! I’m a bit out of practice but I know you humans like to farm and tend to animals. I could help!”
Her enthusiasm sent a shot of warmth down Celine that she didn’t really know what to do with. She’d never seen a demon enthusiastic about anything before.
“Well, we don’t really farm much.” Eun-Ji said, “But there’s a flower garden nearby and a stream. You could learn how to fish.”
“Yes! I’d love to! I can fish for you and her.” Eun-Ji, sensing that it was okay now, handed the baby back to her mother, “You hungry, sweetie? Yes, you are.” The baby cooed and stirred.
“I can get a bottle for her.” Celine offered.
“Bottle?” Mi Yeong asked, “Why would she need a bottle?”
“Oh! Are you….”
“Demon cubs eat fish.” Mi Yeong explained, “It’s a soft food she can stomach while her fangs are still growing in. She’ll be fine with just that until she’s about one or so and can start eating more.”
“Then I guess I’ll get the baby some salmon.”
——————————————————
Following a long night of teaching Mi Yeong how a shower worked, that tails couldn’t fit through regular pants and explaining that the quickly done crib Eun-Ji made was not a prison for the baby, Celine plopped herself down on the couch with a long sigh. There was still a list of things to do but those could be saved for future Celine. She was seconds away from falling asleep on the couch when she heard the soft babble of a baby. Sure enough, there she was, crawling her way over to her. Her little tail and ears flickering up at Celine when she caught the demon hunter
“What are you doing?” Celine chuckled.
The baby sat down and stuck out her tongue.
“That’s your answer, huh?” Mindful, Celine scooped up the baby into her arms, “You’re not so scary for a demon. Do you know that?”
True she was covered in dark purple skin with golden slit eyes, little claws and a tail but Celine still found her adorable. She was dressed how parents would dress their kids up when going to a convention or something. There was just something about her that made it difficult to actually be scared of her or to think she was a threat.
“I don’t know how long you’ll be here but I hope it’s for a while.” Celine whispered, “Don’t tell anyone but I think you’re the first demon I actually like.” She received giggles for that.
“First demon, huh?” Turning her head, Celine saw Mi Yeong leaning against the wall, her tail waving behind her.
“I didn’t—“
“You don’t need to apologize. I figured she would come into her power early. She must have teleported away and started looking for me.” Mi Yeong explained. Celine bit her tongue about Rumi’s powers. They could worry about that at another time, “She’s not used to being in a little cage.”
“It’s not a—“ Celine stopped herself, “Nevermind. Here’s your baby back.”
Mi Yeong collected her daughter in her arms, “Cub.” She corrected.
“Cub.” Celine said. The baby giggled in Mi Yeong’s arms when she tickled her chin with her finger, mindful of her claws. While the baby was laughing, Celine realized something: they never got the child’s name. She assumed the baby had a name. After all, Mi Yeong had a name.
“You and your…mate have names right?”
“Yes. All demons have names. Although some are different from others.” Some demons had chosen to copy human names and, as such, had human sounding names that were common from different eras. Mi Yeong actually knew a demon who had adopted the name Yeonggi and she never had the heart to tell him that apparently that was an old guy name now. Then there were the demons who just named themselves after anything. Mi Yeong and multiple other demons burst out laughing when Jelly revealed his name.
“What’s her name?” Celine asked.
Mi Yeong looked down at the infant in her arms, “We never gave her one. My mate and I always meant to when we arrived here but now that he’s gone…” She held the baby closer to her chest, “I should name her, right?”
“Don’t rush yourself.” Celine settled a hand on Mi Yeong’s own. She didn’t even realize she was holding the demon’s hand until her fingers curled around the idol’s. Celine’s face instantly heated up with embarrassment and shock but Mi Yeong didn’t even bat an eye.
“What’s that?” She asked, gesturing to a piece of paper on the table.
“Magazines.” Using the opportunity to escape, Celine picked one up and handed it to her, “They show off some of the most beautiful women in Asia and give advice on how to look like them.” She’d been looking because she wanted to see if she and Eun-Ji made the top 5 again (they did).
“Interesting.” Mi Yeong muttered, “Who’s this?”
She was pointing to a newer model. A woman from Japan named Rumi with gorgeous long black hair, flawless skin and piercing brown eyes. She was dressed in a red dress that had a large V cut in the center, ending right before her belly button. Celine remembered meeting her at the photoshoot. She had been nice. Quiet but nice.
“She’s a model.”
“Her name is so beautiful.” Mi Yeong whispered, “Rumi.”
Celine didn’t know why but Mi Yeong’s words made her stomach twist, “She’s okay.” The singer muttered, “French names are better.”
“Oh? Do you know French names?” Mi Yeong asked.
“….Do you not know I’m French?” Celine asked.
“No. I’m sorry. I don’t even really know what that is.” The demon’s ears had fallen in embarrassment as she let out a nervous chuckle. Celine bit her tongue once again. Another thing they could work on later, “Your name is really nice. Celine. Rolls right off the tongue.” Celine just blushed, “I really like the name Rumi though.”
“Then name her Rumi.”
“Are you sure it’s not too…selfish to name her without him here?”
“Well, she needs a name and I think your husband would be happy knowing you’re still thinking of what’s best for your daughter above all else.”
Staring back down at the baby who had fallen asleep by now, Mi Yeong smiled, “Rumi.” She whispered.
The soft sound of purring filled the living room. For a moment, Celine turned around, wondering if a cat or some other animal had somehow snuck into the house but the sound wasn’t coming from the window or outside the screen door attached to the living room. It was coming from the demon sitting next to her.
“You can purr?” Celine asked, “Demons can purr?”
“Yes. Can’t you?”
This was going to be an interesting time in her demon hunting career.