I don't like you (Adeline)

While a good number of people had fled the city after the apocalypse started, or had rushed out to fight monsters, Adeline and her parents had taken the route most people had: staying put in their house until the worst had passed.  Being a family of witches and wizards, it wasn't too hard to bolster the house with magical defenses.  Those first chaotic moments had been tough though.  The spike in demon activity had made Adeline on edge.  Her demon side knew more creatures like her were out there, and that she could be in a lot of danger.  She'd spent a lot of her time wrestling with it while trying to calm herself down.  She knew her demon side was powerful, her encounter with Ariel had shown her that much.  But if she let it out at the wrong time, she would just make things worse.  Once things had died down though, her family and others in her neighborhood had decided to venture out and see how they could help.  They'd decided to split up to cover more area, so Adeline headed out and started clearing debris and rubble from the streets.  She felt better actually doing something instead of just sitting around the house worrying about her problems.  Killing Ariel still bothered her, but it didn't seem much when compared to the end of the world.  She was able to push it from her mind easily.  As she finished clearing one street though, she saw she wasn't alone.  Her first thought was that one of the many monsters running around town had finally found her.  But as she crept closer, she saw that it was a man.  Or, it at least looked like one.  Appearances could be deceiving.  It looked like he was drawing something on the ground, but Adeline couldn't see what it was. 

Adeline gasped.  An Eudaemon?  They weren't exactly the nicest creatures around.  Yet this guy ordered it keep kids safe.  Kind of an odd use for a monster.  However, Adeline realized she'd been spotted when the man's back stiffened and he turned towards her.  And he looked less than thrilled to see her.  Instead of feeling paralyzing fear though, she felt like the primary emotion going through her right now was annoyance.  Why did she always have the worst luck whenever she went out on her own?  Couldn't she leave the house for five seconds without someone wanting to kill her?  She didn't know who this guy was, or the "friend" he was referencing, but she figured making a break for it was out of the question now.  He'd catch her before she could take five steps.  Talking seemed like the best option.  She didn't want to bring out her demon side unless she had to.  "Look buddy, I'm not wandering willy nilly," she said.  "I'm just trying to clear out some of this rubble here so this apocalypse is a little more bearable."  She gave the man a look before continuing.  "And it looks like you're doing the same thing, getting Eudaemons to keep kids safe."  

Adeline narrowed her eyes.  This guy was certainly a mixed bag.  He had a grudge against her, potentially life-threatening, yet he wanted to keep the kids in this city safe.  Talk about polar opposites.  And the last thing she needed was for him to make her feel like the work she was doing was insignificant.  "Maybe one little witch can't do much, but a whole lot might," she replied.  "If roads get covered in rubble, then people can't get to where they need to be.  You think any kids are going to be able to get to safety with the streets completely blocked off?"  She wasn't sure if he'd see it that way, but she could try to make him understand.  But it looked like her words weren't doing any good, as the man's eyes turned a deadly shade of red and scimitars appeared in his hands.  Adeline could only infer that if he thought she stole Pitch away, then maybe they used to be friends back during Pitch's Bogeyman days.  As for the lady friend...Cruella was the only person that came to mind.  She was the only woman around here that actively hated her.  Lilith didn't seem to like her too much either, but she'd found Adeline more amusing than anything else.  Cruella still wanted pay-back for what Adeline did, and she probably didn't like to play around like Lilith did.  Adeline took half a step back, hand instinctively clutching the necklace around her neck as her heart started beating fast.  Could she really say anything that would change Constantine's mind?  He seemed to think she was an easy target, a little weakling.  Maybe she could convince him otherwise and it would be enough to make him back off.  She closed her eyes and let out a breath, letting some of the magic power from the necklace flow into her.  It swirled around her in the form of bright lights and her hair whipped around her head as a strong wind blew.  "The last person I fought was a demon," she said.  "I killed her with my bare hands.  Ripped her beating heart from her chest and crushed it."  She opened her eyes, which flashed red.  "If you don't want to meet the same fate, I suggest you put those down so we can have a civil conversation."  

The man didn't seem to take Adeline's threat very seriously, but he let her be, for now.  Unless he changed his mind after five minutes.  But Adeline would take what she could get.  An encounter like this might have frightened her before.  But she was tired of acting like a scared little girl all the time.  She didn't want to be the damsel in distress.  Getting help from friends was important and all, but she felt like it was high time she started saving herself for a change.  She blinked, and her eyes returned golden once again, although her magic power was still on stand-by in case she needed it.  "Wishes never work.  They always seem to backfire," she said.  This guy was the last person she'd accept a wish from anyway.  It'd probably be something ironic, like the Monkey's Paw or something.  "Knowing your name might be nice though, since you already know mine."

"Well, nice to see that even someone who can decimate civilizations still has rules," Adeline replied.  At least Constantine's power wasn't absolute.  Even he had his limitations.  But apparently, he wasn't always like that.  Back in the day, he and Pitch had worked together.  Adeline had wondered how long it would take for her to run into someone from Pitch's "Boogeyman" days.  It looked like Constantine was it.  Would she be attracting people like this to her for the rest of her life?  Constantine, Cruella, Ariel, they all had a grudge against her.  And Ariel's obsession with getting even had been her downfall.  "And you're not worried about what Pitch would do to you, if you hurt me?" she asked.  

Adeline frowned.  Constantine besting Pitch in a fight?  She'd like to see him try.  But Pitch wasn't invincible, as much as Adeline wanted him to be.  Thrax had proven that much.  A little emerald dust in the eyes and Pitch had been reduced to a screaming mess.  The sound he'd made still haunted Adeline, and she wanted to make sure he never made it again.  "If you're trying to scare me with all the bad stuff he's done, it won't work," she said.  "He's already told me."  It had taken a while, but Pitch had trusted Adeline enough with the truth.  She'd learned about his days at the Boogeyman, and what had led him to make his Promise and turn things around.  It had brought them closer.  As Constantine mentioned the inevitable aging problem she and Pitch had though, she squirmed uncomfortably.  That was something they hadn't talked about too much yet, even though they knew they'd have to deal with it one day.  She let out a breath before saying "No sense in worrying about the future.  Whatever will be, will be."  She looked back up at Constantine.  "An immortal witch/demon hybrid?  I'd like to keep what humanity I have left, thank you."  At least, she felt that way now.  She may not be so scared of her demon side anymore, but she didn't want to let it control her life.  She may not be able to be the girl she once was, but she could at least live a content life with the people she cared about.  That was enough for her.  

"Trust me, he changed quite a bit before he even met me," Adeline said.  Really, Taran was what had made Pitch start turning things around.  It was only thanks to him that Pitch had made a Promise anyway.  Adeline had just continued what Taran started, in a way.  Constantine didn't seem to mind being a combination of several different species at once, but Adeline wasn't so fond of the idea.  It had taken her forever to come to terms with her demon side,  If she was altered again, who knew what it might do to her head.  At his comment about her being the biggest thorn in Cruella's side, she raised an eyebrow.  "Really?" she asked.  "Out of all the scary people and rival crime lords out there, I'm the biggest annoyance to her?"