Do demons dream?

Lille grabbed the food trash before she pushed up to stand. There was a pallor and weariness to her that hadn't been noticeable before. "Oh, right. I need to show you the downstairs first, don't I? Or can you map it?" She leaned on her cane, looking at Aaron curiously. They hadn't compared magic notes to see where their abilities overlapped.

"I can do spatial mapping." Aaron replied, taking to cue to gather the rest of the trash. "Where do you want me to sleep? If you are lovers with Luke, it would not be proper to be with you or are you building a harem?"

"No! No harem " Lille blushed and fiercely shook her head.

Aaron tapped his foot, sending out a pulse of energy through the floor. "Map," he murmured. A violet 3D wireframe of the house appeared in front of him with two dots marking where they stood in the living room.

Lille pointed to rooms in the projection as she spoke, "I'm in the room at the back by the stairs. There's a second bedroom on this floor, on the other side of the kitchen. There are three more rooms, upstairs, pick any of them. There is a bathroom connected to the back of the other bedroom with two more bathrooms upstairs."

"What are your orders?" Aaron watched Lille, uncertain of what to make of the conflicting colors of her soul pattern. Relief, anxiety, joy, grief, it was a swirl of conflicted feelings, he wondered how much of it was the medications. "Do you want me to assist in patrols?"

Lille wrinkled her nose. "For tonight, rest. We'll figure it out in the morning. We can ward the house and talk with Luke to see what else has been built into the defenses of the safe house. Since we're here, we're not supposed to do anything except heal and rest."

Aaron frowned, waving a hand to dismiss the projection and tossed the trash into the bin in the kitchen. "You don't know how to heal?"

"...Not without side effects," Lille limped over to the kitchen and deposited her trash. "Again, tomorrow Mayrion, we'll talk."

Aaron felt a strong jolt when he said his true name. His body tingled and he felt revitalized for a moment. "Tomorrow then." He smiled gently as Lille continued towards the back of the house. He watched her disappear, leaving him alone with the chatter of the comedian on the television.

He listened to other the sounds of the house settling, the air conditioner rattling on, the hum of electricity and the distant sound of birds outside. He didn't sense anyone else inside inside the house, and Luke was on the grounds. He turned his attention to the matter of where he'd sleep, upstairs he'd have a better vantage point for who was coming and going but if he chose the room downstairs, he could be closer to Lille. It reminded him of the way it was before, when he could wander away to try to learn more about the state of the world to protect her.

Aaron walked through the kitchen to the empty bedroom. A light turned on as he cross the threshold of the room, illuminating a black queen sized bed with a grey comforter embroidered with white flowers and a pile of pillows of varying shapes and sizes. The dressers and nightstands were all black with round silver hardware with a couple vases of fake flowers and a couple of silver boxy lamps.

The closet door was open and filled with new clothes hung in plastic with cardboard tags tacked to the front. In a black dresser were more clothes packaged in plastic in various sizes. He pulled the memory of what size the body wore and grabbed what'd fit him. He gingerly peeled off his dirty clothing, tossing it on the floor as he made his way to the bathroom to shower.

He caught his reflection in the mirror as he entered the bathroom. A heavily scarred muscular tan Hispanic man stared back at him with piercing gray eyes. He ran his hand over long black hair and then over a scruffy black beard over a strong chin. Aaron estimated that this body was in his early thirties. Aaron pulled on the side of his mouth to get a better look at his teeth. Some flashes of silver but otherwise, the teeth looked mostly there and healthy.

He peeled off his bandages, seeing the shrinking red scabs. He'd be completely healed by the morning after all, now he just had to teach Lille how to do it and she'd be back to fighting condition sooner than she expected. He dropped his hand and moved into the shower, turning on the water as hot as he could stand without scalding himself.

Bottles of soap and shampoo rested in a wire holder around the shower head. It seemed they had prepared everything they'd need. It made Aaron wonder if SDS had prepped the house in advance or while they were at their debrief. They seemed to have money and connections to get this set up quickly. Now it was just a matter of utilizing those resources and his abilities to get Lille to where she needed to be to rip out the throats of the cult that wanted to harm her.

He shuffled through the body's memories as he washed the grime and sweat from his body. This man had been well trained, and had done things that might've disturbed Lille. Eating your victims was not a common practice in this age, it interested Aaron that he'd been forced to do it.

The Apagos and Kelipot were dangerous, more so if they managed to summon another demon. He wondered why they tried for him if they were devoted to Astaroth. Was it for the sake of numbers? Or was Astaroth rebuilding the army to take on the forces of heaven again?

Aaron rinsed and turned off the water. He grabbed a towel and dried off, wrapping the towel around his waist before walking across the cool tile back to the bedroom. He swept his arm across the pillows, sending them flying before pulling away the covers and laid down. The mattress conformed around him like a fluffy cloud. It felt like he'd sink to the floor but he was used to a sensation of weightlessness. There was much to do but he felt the strain. He closed his eyes and wondered if he'd dream or get to rest his weary mind for the first time in centuries.