Starstuff And Shimmer

Marie stood up in her field and the thought immediately hit her. Somethings changed. The wind had picked up and it wasn't just chilly but really cold, and the stars didn't twinkle gently as they normally did but instead they twinkled with a certain fierceness although, Marie didn't know how anything could twinkle with a fierceness but they were. The whole place seemed more vivid and alive than usual and Marie came to a realization.
This place is based off my moods. Whenever I came here before i was sad or lonely or calm and so they were to but now, now the atmosphere was different but not strange and foreign. "Alright!" she shouted above the howling wind. She had never spoken above a whisper in this place but now, as she heard her shout echo back, she knew that this place was never meant as her dearly beloved safe place. It was meant as an arsenal. An arsenal she intended to use. She looked up at the stars and saw one that, above all the others, shone the brightest.
Without another thought she reached up and plucked it out of the ink black sky. The stars around seemed the shine brighter in protest. "Quiet now all of you... I only need one of you now." They seemed to calm and their shimmering protest was over.
Marie looked at the star in her hands. She smiled at it and it seemed to brighten. She leaned forward and said in a hushed voice, "In deepest despair, in darkest of all nights, guided by starlight this star's light I take." and the star glimmered with a vibrant silver color and she felt white hot heat on her left palm then, the star dissolved into her palm.
It hurt but Marie just closed her eyes and dissolved back into her real life.

When Marie woke up she didn't see what she had expected, which, had been up turned furniture and the man in mid battle with some sort of shadowy creature. No when she awoke no epic fight was taking place instead, the man was sitting on the edge of her bed and there was an awful pounding at the door. She looked at the man and he turned and said "You talk in your sleep." Marie rolled her eyes and then realized, she didn't know this guy's name.
"Hey what's your name?" she asked curiously. "Your going to ask that now?" she smiled "Sure unless you want me to call you cranberry hair for the rest of us knowing each other." He frowned and glared at her "Chesh, what's yours?" "Marie" She replied and he extended his right hand out for a hand shake. She took his hand and he yelped. Marie had never heard anyone actually yelp except for in old movies and she had to say it was quite unpleasant.
"You stupid Marie you burned my hand with the star mark!" She looked down at her hand and frowned. There, staining her palm, was a mass of swirling black lines. "How weird... How do i get it out?" Chesh's eyes widened "You don't know?!" Marie searched her head for the information then found it with a feeling like 'oh there it is!' as if she were looking for her hairbrush. "Never mind i got it but what do i put it in?" Chesh shrugged "A jar?" Marie shook her head "I told you, you don't put stars in jars!"
Chesh looked as though he was going to reply but the pounding at the door had turned fierce and violent. Marie flinched and Chesh turned to look at the door. "By any chance do you happen to have a secret escape at your disposal?" Marie stared at him "What?" he rolled his eyes "a way to get out?" he asked. Marie thought for a second than said "The laundry chute but i thought we were going to fight it here?" he laughed "Well if you want your apartment torn into pieces than yes we can definitely fight it here."
Marie rolled her eyes. "So when you said you knew a starcatcher lived here did you come here because you were being chased by a demon and had no way to kill it?" He nodded. Marie closed her eyes as if she were having to control herself. "And you didn't have a plan on how to get out?" Chesh shook his head. "Why? Did you expect them to have a magic carpet or something to fly you away on?" Chesh looked dumbfounded.
"Who has a magic carpet now a days? A portal unlikely, a time machine really unlikely but a magic carpet? Y-" Marie cut him off. "Ever heard of sarcasm cranberry head?" "Yes" he replied "But that comment was so completely unlikely that i had to reply." Marie shook her head "So what was your big plan?" Chesh looked thoughtful then replied "Well i had thought that they would have an apartment that already looked like it had been torn to pieces or an apartment they wouldn't mind being torn to pieces. And actually i had thought we would have been able to run out into the street or something to fight it before it caught up but, i got the girl who needed everything explained!"
Marie looked at him curiously than without thinking about it exploded "Are you serious! that was your big plan! Ah god your an idiot!" Chesh shrugged "i think I'm staring to get used to you calling me an idiot." Marie couldn't help herself and she shoved him back onto his back pinning him down by the shoulders. "You better because you are the first person i have met who has no common sense!" He grabbed her arm and pulled it out from under her so that she landed on her back then, he stood up and said with a smirk "I'm a demon hunter, I don't need common sense." "Oh yes" Marie replied "you do."
"Whatever, wheres your laundry chute?" Marie jumped up from her bed. Her left palm was stinging fiercly. She walked to one of her cabinets and opened it. Inside was a ,larger than should be, Laundry carrier. "Why is it so big?" asked Chesh. "Manufacturing error for the whole floor." She answered. "Can hold up to five hundred pounds of laundry so i think we'll be okay." he frowned looking around the inside of it. "Who has five hundred pounds of laundry?" "Hopefully?" Marie answered "No one." Chesh shrugged "Alright down the chute." he jumped inside putting his back against the wall and facing the opening. Marie was about to protest when he grabbed her and sat her in the spot between his crisscrossed legs. "Your small." he commented. "Ya didn't i tell you? I'm pocket sized for your convenience." Chesh leaned over her and pulled the door closed. Marie pressed the down button and the carrier moved off with a protestant groan.
There was a few moments of dark, crowded silence before Marie finally had another question. "What's Chesh short for?" "Its not short for anything." Chesh replied nonchalantly. "Oh come on tell me?" Chesh stayed quiet for a moment than said "Chester." Marie snorted "Chester?" "Yes why?" Marie smiled into the darkness "Oh nothing, nothing it's just when i think of Chester i think of brown hair and freckles not cranberry hair and the title demon slayer." "That's why it's not Chester, it's Chesh." Marie nodded.
"Ya Chesh is better because it makes me think of the chesher cat which had purple fur and a devil may care attitude." "aren't all cats like that?" Chesh asked. Marie nodded again "Most ya. But what i meant is it fits you much better than Chester." Chesh laughed softly "Well, glad i have your consent." At that moment there was a pinging sound and Marie kicked the wall which, opened into a small cramped room with bad ventilation. A frightened old man sat in a chair staring terrified at their laundry chute. That is until he saw Marie and Chesh, then he just looked confused. "Marie are you sneaking around with a boy?" Marie looked at Chesh who replied "Not a boy a man." The old man turned white. Marie snorted again "No,Henry not a man an idiot, cranberry head." Chesh glared at her.
Then the laundry chute beside them shook. "Um Henry" Chesh said "You should get out of here." Henry stood. "I don't take orders from a delinquent who is leading Marie astray! No no I'm staying ri-" the laundry chute gave another frightful shake and Henry staring at it said "Maybe i should get out of here." then fled with a speed that Marie was shocked to see in the old man.
"Hey. Marie get ready and concentrate when it comes out you have to release the stars energy." Marie nodded and turned to the laundry chute. She thought about how to make the stars energy come out of her palm and studied the concept over and over.
The laundry chute shook violently and then out spilled the demon.

It was just as Marie had thought it would look, which was weird since that had never happened before. The demon was a mass of shadows and looked as if it had been rolling in a mud puddle of oil. The oil dripped off in clumps like drool and Marie instinctively raised her hand, palm facing the demon. "Alright, go." said Chesh and Marie let the star energy go.
It was odd. The process was chanting certain nonsense words in her mind and feeling them throughout herself. Then once it had been released the star's energy gave off a blinding silvery green light.It made her whole left arm burn and for a mere moment Marie was filled with an irreplaceable feeling of warmth, comfort and endless energy. Then that was gone and Marie collapsed onto her hands and knees, coughing as if someone had punched her in the gut.
Chesh bent down and helped her to her feet. Only she couldn't hold herself in consciousness any longer and when she looked at the ashen pile of demon being whipped away by a wind she couldn't feel, her head lulled back and she dropped into unconsciousness.