His bewilderment seemed to grow, although his tone of voice barely changed. His hand moved back to his chin, and his brow furrowed slightly. “Was that unclear? You are here as payment, of course.”

“P-payment?” Evelyn blinked several times.

Seriously—even a fantastical demon is a capitalist?

“Yes, since I prevented your death and healed your body. You seem confused,” he replied, sounding as if he were baffled by her reaction, as if he had patiently explained an obvious concept like gravity that she was refusing to understand. The attitude confused Evelyn more, but also annoyed her.

“Of course I am! I didn't sign anything or agree to be held liable, and—and sure, maybe I didn’t read it too carefully but I’m sure there was nothing about demons in my power of attorney!” She crossed her arms, feeling a bit of a contrary pout on her face. “B-besides, I thought you were a hallucination—and honestly I'm still not entirely sure you aren't! I’m probably still dreaming!”

He— Az , she firmly decided in her mind—nodded, as if understanding, and stepped into the cushions, then unexpectedly dropped to one knee in front of her. His striking white eyes in the ink-black face looked directly into hers—still looking down.

Holy shit holy shit—I—I know that I'm sitting but... am I really that small? Or is he just huge?

I can't... look right in his eyes, but I don't want to show weakness...

She focused on glaring at a spot somewhere between them on his forehead, but quickly lost focus as one of the long-fingered hands reached towards her. “Your arm, please.”

“Huh?” She cringed internally as she realized she’d reflexively held out her arm as if waiting for a blood draw, then grit her teeth, cursing mentally but refusing to pull it back.

Don’t show weakness!

His hand flexed, and the tips of his fingers became more pointed. She flinched as they gently touched her forearm, and not so gently, pinched . They quickly withdrew, as if they’d touched a hot stove rather than her flesh. “ Ow! ”

“ ‘Ow’ ? This is how humans awaken from a dream, is it not?” He seemed startled by her reaction.

Evelyn touched her arm where he had, noticing a tiny hint of blood came away on her fingertips. She no longer felt as if cold water had been thrown over her, it was now as if she was submerged in nearly frozen liquid. She swallowed down her terror and drew on all the attitude from years of pain that she could muster.

“Yes, ‘ ow !’ What the hell—th-that's not how a pinch works at all! You didn't need to make me bleed ,” she complained, acting as if it was a minor annoyance and not a slightly terrifying power display.

Please don't notice that I’m shaking!

“Is that so,” he said, not asking a question. He regarded his own hand, not looking at her. “My apologies, then.”

Did he just—ew I think he did just lick his finger! Almost like a reflex! What the fuck!!!

“Interesting taste,” he muttered to himself. He pressed a hand against his forehead briefly, squeezing his eyes shut tightly and shaking his head to himself.

“Are you going to eat me?” Evelyn cried out, horrified. She fell backwards onto her arms, scrambling into the many soft cushions. “That's... that's disgusting !” 

That’s probably not the right word I’m looking for, but who cares about being precise right now!

Az’s brow furrowed as he frowned. “I did not heal you so I could feast on you, Eve. That would be a truly outrageous waste of time and effort.”

He stood back up and—surprisingly—placed both hands on his lower back and stretched, his tail whipping slightly faster for a moment before resuming its regular pace. He took two steps back to where he had previously been standing, rubbing the area between his eyes. The casual movement away from her eased Evelyn’s fear a tiny fraction.

Even demons get backaches, huh? He seems kind of tired, too. 

“My name is Ev-e-lyn ! Not Eve ! So why did you heal me, then?” she demanded, her hand tightly clenched around where he had 'pinched ' her. “ How am I paying for it?”

Az looked down to regard her, his hand resting on his chin thoughtfully again. “I believe… I believe that you can provide me with something that I currently lack.”

Huh? He doesn’t sound very sure of himself…

“Well, hurry up and tell me then, so I can give it to you and you can take me back home!” She crossed her arms and tried to look irritated, hoping he didn't notice that she was probably still shaking.

I mean, I don’t really have a home, but he doesn’t have to know that! Still, he said he didn't want to eat me, so that's good, maybe? And I mean he’s right, why heal me if he was going to kill me?

Another horrifying thought struck her.

Oh no—does that mean it's some—some sex thing...?! Oh my god, was I isekai’d into one of those trashy monsterfucker romance novels? 

Ah, that's ridiculous, not even a demon—especially not one as stylish and apparently rich as this one is—would be interested in an almost-all-the-way-dead thing like I was like that... unless it was just... convenient… And this—this whole healing me mess certainly couldn't have been!

She flinched slightly at the memory trying to surface and tried to quickly turn her thoughts to something else. The demon before her was an easy distraction.

It looked like Az was still thinking, mulling over how to explain something. His tail seemed to be moving more slowly before he finally spoke again. “Eve, I believe you are misunderstanding something—several things, perhaps.”

Evelyn looked back up to his face. Az was regarding her with an unreadable expression—to be fair, all of his expressions were still fairly unreadable to her—his own arms crossed as well, and his tail swinging slightly behind him.

I wonder if he's controlling that, or if it's unintentional.

She shook off the irrelevant thought as he continued. “It would be a waste to return you to the place where I found you, or, for that matter, any other part of Above.”

It felt like the ice water she'd been plunged into was now freezing closed over her head. Evelyn's face twisted as she tried to understand the implications. “W... what?”

“In exchange for healing and thus extending your life, you will be spending that extension here, Below, with me. I believe that to be an equitable exchange.” He gave a slight nod, seeming satisfied. His tail twitched as if in agreement.

Evelyn was pleased that her internal screaming had not become external. She stared at him, shaking her head slightly as if to clear her ears, although she was certain she had heard him correctly. “ What?! ”

“I believe I spoke clearly, so I assume you require more information.” Az touched his chin, looking to the side again. 

“Of course I do! What are you going to do to me?” she cried, slapping both hands on either side of her.

“‘ Do to you?’ ” he repeated. His forehead furrowed as he looked down at her with a frown. “I am not sure what you mean.”

“D-don’t play dumb! I’ve read those kind of books! I won't be obedient or—or docile !” she declared, swallowing hard as she looked over him, clenching folds of the silky fabric beneath her fingers.

Like I’d even have a choice… he’s twice as big as me! And pointy! Very pointy!

“ ‘Obedient’ ?” Az rubbed his forehead again, and she realized that this was the first time she saw his chest move as it heaved in a heavy sigh. It didn't fall into an even pattern of breath afterwards.

I don't think he breathes…? That’s so…

Az’s voice broke into her thoughts. He rubbed one eye, then rested his head on his hand just below one horn. She once again got the impression that he was extremely tired. “Eve, I feel that we are misunderstanding each other.”

“Then you explain it! Why did you bring me here? What do you want from me?” she demanded.

He hesitated, looking off to the side. His frown had deepened, giving the impression that he was thinking very carefully before answering. “I suppose... the closest way to describe it is that I wanted something like a…”

The pause was a bit longer as he peered back down at her, like he was trying to categorize her but was torn between two choices. Evelyn hoped that those choices, despite his earlier reassurance, were not ‘sex toy‘ or ‘food .’

He lifted his hand to tap his chin again, then held it out as if offering an idea to her. “Perhaps the closest human concept would be a… ‘pet ?’”