"How – how do you know about that?" I whispered, holding his serious gaze. "Who the hell are you?"

"Guess I should introduce myself: I'm the demon Leraj. Formally a Grey Demon, until the king banished me to Earth after getting a bit too rowdy for his liking." He paused, saw the glare I was sending his way and continued on. "Back then, when you were a fox, there had been talk for some time among the demons about an apparently righteous group are trying to turn a fox into a human. However, being humans, they didn't have access to large amounts of magic; so they had to ask a demon for help."

"And they asked you?" I butted in.

"No," he scoffed. "Why would I interact with petty humans like that? Besides, it was a completely stupid and utterly hopeless idea. I'm surprised you even survived, let alone be transformed into a human."

I scowled. "I am sitting right here, you know."

He waved me off. "Anyway, everyone knew about the spell and several demons were clambering over each other to help. Why? They knew it wouldn't work. But they knew the humans would probably kill themselves trying. The temptation of free meat is a lot for a demon."

"You disgusting creatures."

He continued as if I hadn't even spoken. "The plan failed in the end, or so we thought, since the demon sent to the human world didn't come back. After a couple of days, no one thought twice about the stupid ritual. Plus, even if I hadn't known who you were, the magic signature from the spell is still imprinted on your skin. It's distinctly demon."

"Wow, and here I thought I would be held in higher reverie since I was one of the Seven Deadly Sins," I snapped sarcastically. "And what's with the magic signature? Do I get powers because I'm covered in demon magic?"

"Besides being highly annoying and snappish, nope." The stick I lobbed at his head got him right above the eye.

"So, since you're a demon with powers, that means you can transform me back into a fox!" I stated excitedly.

"Isn't the human life treating you well?" he teased.

"You wouldn't believe the amount of time I've almost been killed... and I've only been human for a couple of weeks."

"Aw, can't the little fox stand it?" He leant over and ruffled my head and I socked him in the gut. Let's just say my hand hurt more than his stony stomach. He cocked an eyebrow. "Wow, that was weak."

"Shut it," I snarled. "Fighting as a human isn't as simple as fighting like a fox." I shook out my hand. "It seems this pathetic human body is too weak for most of things I used to be great at. Jumping on people doesn't knock them over, my nails do nothing except scratch the surface and don't even get me started on these pathetic teeth." I ran my tongue over them. "They're so blunt I can't even eat meat properly."

Leraj shook his head at me, amused. "That's because you haven't learnt well enough; you're still following your fox instinct."

"That's because I am a fox."

"No anymore."

"Then transform me back," I replied stubbornly.

"No. Even if I wanted to, I can't. Not with the magic ability I have now. I wasn't lying when I said all I can do is help the humans. A ritual to transform a human into an animal is a drain on the soul, even for demons, whose entire bodies are basically constructed from magic and spiritual matter. That cult was foolish to even try that on you; I'm guessing you would have seen the end effects of that."

Sombre, I nodded my head. The image of seeing all those brittle bones and tattered remains still haunted me at times.

"My guess is the demon drained their energies so he would have enough magic. In the end, I bet he or she died too."

"No, I don't think they did," I answered. "There was still a malevolence in the room."

"Interesting," he muttered, his brow furrowed. He seemed perplexed about that.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing."

"What? Tell me?" I insisted.

"No, it's nothing," he said, but the flash in his eyes didn't seem like nothing. He shook his head, then smiled at me, a set of canines on display. "So, now what?"

"Now what?" I parroted.

"Yeah, now what are you going to do? I just told you that you have to live the rest of your life out as a human. What are you going to do?"

"I guess I'll just go back to the tavern." My mind jumped back to it, to Meliodas and his stupid fighting.

His thumb poked my forehead, before running to each side, from temple to temple. "You need to work on removing those frown lines. They'll mar your pretty little face," Leraj stated, our noses almost touching with how close he had moved forward.

"Back away," I warned, as his thumb ran down the side of my face and his hand cupped my cheek.

"Why?"

I went to slap his face but in an instant, the hard ground was pressed against my back and Leraj was hovering above me, one hand cradling the back of my head, the other planted on the ground near my hip.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" A hint of panic had creeped into my throat. He wasn't going to do that, was he? That thing that those horrible male humans did to female counterparts who wandered in the dark?

"Don't go jumping to conclusions. I'm not that disturbed," he responded, standing up, still cradling me as he went. He lifted me as if I weighed nothing. "Merely wanted to see what you would do."

"Why? Do you find amusement in taunting others?" Flustered, I broke from his grasp.

"Yes, but that's not the reason I did it. When I poked your forehead, it offered me a glimpse into your mind."

"Bullcrap," I responded, smacking my hand on my forehead. "That isn't possible."

"It's one of my specialities. You're having trouble learning how to fight, aren't you?"

"Stay out of my head."

"I can teach you," he offered.

"Listen, Leraj. It was a nice conversation and all, but I still don't trust you. Why would you help me?"

"Sometimes a person doesn't need a reason to help another," he replied seriously, before holding out a hand. "Take my hand."

Grumbling, I slapped my hand into his palm. A bright spark of light and suddenly, hundreds of images flash before my eyes, all snapshots of Leraj helping others, the joy on people's faces. Battles won by magic, sorcerers banished from the world. Everything and anything.

I couldn't fight it, the onslaughter on images and I was swallowed by the ocean. One particular image caught my attention and before I knew it, I was grasping it somehow, holding it steady. It showed a small, smiling child pulling the cheeks of a younger, smiling, Leraj.

"She was the first one I helped." His voice rumbled in my mind. "Although, maybe I should say she helped me. She was the only one who dared come near me when I was beaten and bloodied."

The images faded, returning me to the present. I ripped my hand from his grasp. "Fine, you can help me."

"Great." He rubbed his hands together gleefully. "You're gonna love this."

With a sinking feeling in my gut, I followed after him as he led me into the woodland, stumbling over gnarled tree roots and untangling myself from draping vines.

"We're here!" he crowed happily, holding out his arms.

All I saw were more dense trees. "Wow, what a great place to train. Bravo." I applauded him.

He looked over his shoulders and swung his arms across his body. With a deafening crap, the world around me was reduced to rubble and dust. Coughing, I waved the dust away and almost fell over in disbelief at our 'training grounds'.

Where trees and stone once reigned was now a giant, neat circle of dirt carved into the ground.

"Destroying things are what I'm good at." He winked at me. "Now, let's get on to training. I hope you're prepared; I'm not very good at going easy."

A/N: A more dialogue filled chapter, but it was necessary. Two reason why I never wrote the actual fighting training between Estra and Leraj - 1. I'm not the best at them, 2. I'm saving it as a secret - you'll see why in the next chapter. 

Any comment on my dialogue is appreciated as I'm not always the best at it (Any being the key word in that sentence). 

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