She spent the remainder of her day trying to catch the elusive, pain in the neck frog who was determined to stay away, just as she was determined to have him with her.
Eventually she caught it and unceremoniously stuffed it into a bag before it could spit on her or whatever it was the thing did. She soon found out that the frog secreted the poison and she was very glad for her leather pants when that happened.
Setting up a small fire, she slipped through into a new little town and stole a pot and some other supplies. Taking them back, she used the pot upside down to cook the frog and the secretions were collected, leaving her with a healthy supply of the poison she needed.
It was mostly for backup, but she had other plans.
She had just finished dousing the flames when a cough came from behind her and she whirled, staring into the yellow-gold eyes of the demon she had met on the field.
"Hello Etania," he purred.
She recoiled slightly from the wash of sexual tension that filled her at the sound of her name. She wasn't wrong when she thought he was a lust demon.
"Hello--" She cut off, wracking her brain for the name he had given her.
He looked a little put out, his face falling as she struggled to recall that one simple detail.
"Daemon," he offered and she snorted.
"Oh right, Daemon the demon," she snickered, his eyes narrowing in response to her amusement.
"What do you want?" She picked up the pot and walked away from him without waiting for a response, leaving him to run in order to keep up with her as she fetched more water.
"I want to talk with you," he demanded, but she was ignoring him.
Filling the pot with water, she turned and he was right behind her, her sudden jolt sloshing water over his nice white shirt.
"Excuse me," she snapped but he refused to move.
"You have to be the most stubborn one of the lot," he growled and then he was staggering, the loud bong of the pot bouncing off his head loud in the quiet forest.
"Firstly…" She stopped again and squinted, his name escaping her yet again. "Firstly, demon. You are the one who is interrupting my day," Was it David? Samuel? Eli? Why couldn't she remember it? "Secondly, I have no interest in talking to you, ever." She turned back to the stream and refilled it, even as he was still sitting on the stones and holding his head.
Stalking past him, she yelped when he grabbed her foot and she spun, the pot glancing off his skull as he ducked.
Trading up her foot for her wrists, he squeezed the soft insides until she let it go and it hit the ground between them.
Instead, she lifted her foot and drove it into his shin and he yelped in pain, letting go of her wrist. Using the freedom, she smashed her palm up into his nose and dropped him.
"Why is it so hard for men to understand what 'no' means?" she demanded as she tried for a third time to collect water, this time dumping it on the fire while he recovered from his injuries.
"Why is it so hard for you to just be nice?" he growled as he followed her, jerking back when she turned and held the pot out in a blatant threat of violence
"You have five seconds to tell me what you want, and then you are going to leave."
"I want you," he said, frowning when she rolled her eyes.
"I'm married, enslaved to a king, and currently not in the mood for yet another suitor," she retorted and when he reached for her, she clocked him on the side of the head again.
He lost his temper and he ripped the pot from her hand, throwing it hard enough that it made a very neat little circle in the nearby tree before lodging in the second one.
"You are wearing on my patience!" he yelled, gripping her wrist and jerking her arm down roughly. Forced to her knees, she pulled at her arm but it wasn't moving.
"I will force you to obey me if you so not cooperate," he growled, teeth bared.
"Oh like you're the first man to tell me that," she snapped and punched him in the stomach.
He grunted and doubled over but refused to let go of her arm, even as she stood.
Heaving against his grip, she swore and drove her knee up into his face.
He flipped backwards onto the ground and finally she was free. She didn't wait to see if he got back up.
The instant he was down, she had bolted and she heard him screaming her name as he streaked after her.
Cursing at the difficulty of men, she forced herself to move as fast as she was able within the trees and foliage, the sounds of the perusing demon growing closer as he simply breezed through the trees instead of going around like she did.
Biting down on her fingertip, she flung out her arm and laughed as the door opened, streaking through it into Ceress.
Sprinting at top speed along the border between Ceress and Summer, she headed in the direction of Winter, her mind racing.
Glancing back, she saw him rip his way through realities to leave the door in shattered shreds, his eyes finding her and immediately coming after her.
Trying to push herself harder, she knew she wouldn't be able to keep it up for long.
A second fling of her hand had her blowing back into the human world atop a small hill that was entirely green, huge and majestic mountains capped in white to her front and a large lake to her right. Turning for the valley to her left, she heard him ripping his way through and she knew he was catching up to her.