4-2019 Roleplay: After the Rescue, at Castle Rend: Hikaru, Ryuu and Delilah

Hikaru sits by her bed in a half sleeping stupor. He has been bobbing back and forth for an hour.

Delilah fades into a hazy consciousness from her dreamless sleep, becoming aware of how aching and sore she is. She mumbles, trying to become more lucid.

He jolts up. "Delilah? Delilah!"

He grabs her shoulders.

Her eyes snap awake, somewhat in shock. Her breathing is frantic for a moment, feeling a rush of adrenaline, the fleeting memories of her last moments returning to her.

Seeing Hikaru's face, the pain and emotional avalanche overwhelms her. Tears fall down and she hugs him tightly, apologetically.

“Hey there, Delilah.”

“HEY THERE DELILAH! his voice changes this time to concern and frustration. What happened?! I was gone for a moment!"

"Don't ever do that again!" His eyes are filled with the most emotion she's ever seen. Even more than when he's angry.

Delilah hears the change in his voice, and gently lets him go. She looks at his eyes for a long moment, then looks away guiltily, clenching her hands. A million thoughts and memories run through her mind.

"I promise... And I'll try. I didn't mean to... I..."

She tries to swallow a lump in her throat. Gingerly touching the scar on her neck, she looks tentatively back at him. She had seen them--seen him--at the edge of the clearing, right before she... Well...

He clutches her to him. "You weren't supposed to die. We were right there. I could've reached you in seconds. But I wasn't capable. All this power and I still couldn't reach you.

"I knew they were hurting you. Like a beacon it drew me to you."

Somewhat taken aback by his emotion and not at all used to seeing him this way, she gently hugs him back and leans into his shoulder. Trying to blink away her tears, she softly replies, "I knew you'd find me."

"I'm just..." she clutches his coat. "I'm sorry I couldn't hold out longer. I tried to play my hands right, but I still lost..."

"Well you saved your Trump card until last. That was us."

She sobs out a chuckle. "Yeah, you are."

"I thought I lost you. I lost my head after that. I even ignored Uncle. I didn't know what to do."

Her face blanches. She gently pulls away and looks at him. "Your uncle? He... He was there?"

He brushes his tail and sits back shyly pretending his emotions weren't there.

“He was, the bastard.”

She blushes a little and rubs her arm awkwardly, as she tries to make sense of that new information.

"You could have gotten him... If..." She looks mad at herself.

She grips her arm tighter. There's a new rage there, deep in her eyes.

“I wasn't ready yet. But now I am. We have a new companion. His name is Ryuu. He's.. He's different. He feels like me.”

The look fades from her eyes as she registers that. "Oh? Like... Like you?"

"He's... Angry. I have to be.. More patient with him. You're not gonna believe this Delilah. He's... He's my rifle.'

She stares at him a moment, blinking. You can see on her face that she's trying to process what you mean.

"He's literally transformed from my rifle. And he can transform back at will."

"Was it... He, always alive?" She cocks her head, curious. You see her eyes dart to your back, looking for your rifle.

"No, he doesn't remember anything before then. He was born the night you died."

"Huh..."

"We.. we saw a few things.”

She gives Hikaru a funny look. "Well I hope he enjoys our little... family.... in time. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised at the company we keep now..."

"And I think a few gods.”

Delilah looks a bit more concerned. "R..really?"

"He was really grumpy when I first met him. Although..  I was mean.”

She looks down, then back up eagerly, determined. "Tell me everything, Hikaru. Please."

"We saw the devil the cult was bringing to life, and then Nerezza came. He was livid. We saw a terrible being. He made Mephistopheles feel like a speck."

"There was a large Forest spirit. A Bear of sorts. Could've eaten us in one bite.

"And then this small woman came out of the portal. She felt old. Not physically, but she FELT old. And she felt familiar, like in my blood. She called herself my progenitor? Whatever that means. She turned into a sword for a moment and I felt my katana pulsate. Then she turned my rifle into a person."

Delilah listens intently. The idea of someone even more powerful than Mephestophes, another like him... makes her blood run cold. The bear seems strangely reasonable, somehow... Perhaps due to the other large creatures she's used to and the fairy tales her mother told her as a child. But at the end her eyes grow a bit wider.

"Your... Progenitor, Hikaru? Are you sure she said that?"

"Quite positive. I don't know what it means though

She gives you a funny look. "It means she was your ancestor... I reckon from a long, long time ago."

"But that... Doesn't make sense"

She shrugs. "I don't know either... But that's the word. You could ask her more about it, I suppose. Or Rhys, or Nerezza." She furrows her brow. "Are..." She hesitates, holding her breath. "Is everyone... Are they all okay, too?"

"They're all a bit rattled but they're alright. Nerezza went into the portal. I dunno if he'll be back soon

"The portal? The one to hell? Is it... Is it still open?" She shivers.

She looks pale, remembering... Struggling... Walking toward a light. Being sucked toward it. Why would anyone go there willingly? But... Wasn't she originally? She feels weak, remembering her promise to Rodrick and Hikaru so many months ago.

...I don't think so..

She nods, wondering what happened to Nerezza. "Where is the... The woman? And the devils?"

"The woman went back with Nerezza. Rhys called her mother. Mephistopheles was taken by the other devil in chains

"Armella was so vicious. I'd never seen her so emotionless and cruel. Not even when we killed the mindflayer before we found you.

"She quartered her enemies.”

Delilah looks up, a bit of horror on her face.

She swallows nervously, picturing her friend... All her friends, and how emotionally scaring it must have been for everyone.

"She wanted blood. She called upon Tarj and destroyed her enemies"

Delilah's eyes look immediately surprised, then pained, then frustrated. A spark of ferocity and disdain remain as she turn her face away. She tries to keep her voice level. "I need to talk to her about... About Him."

"Is Tarj..." She hesitates. "Did he bring me back? What happened? How did I not..." she touches her hand to her chest, her muscles still aching.

"Apparently she had a.. rod of... Resurrection. The one she got from the rift (it was the rift right?) She placed it on you and revived you quite by accident. We thought you were dead forever. "

"It certainly wasn't that powerless Tarj. We found another of those weird things in the church again. I . Don't think it's a coincidence.”

"Oh..." She is at a loss of words there, not sure if she should be surprised or not. Delilah looks down at her hands.

She nods and is quiet for a moment. "I really was gone then? I..." She looks like she's fighting not to cry again. She holds her head in her hands.

 "Where I went... There was an urge to stay. I saw the alkahests  we've met..." she chortles bitterly. "And I saw... I saw Alastair. I saw Drake. I saw that queen, Byako, from Dolor... My... My... dad, my uncle..."

She grips the sides of her head, angry, pained, failing to keep back her tears. "I'm not a saint, Hikaru.  I would understand if -I- ended up in an afterlife made of all the chaos I sowed, like... like Tarj tells us. Maybe I would deserve that!" She shudders a sob. "But... there were heathens AND righteous people there! So many righteous people... It's..." She laughs shakily, aghast. "It is all a lie, isn't it?"

"I think it is. Not all gods. But that one at least."

"I don't know what to think anymore..."

"But at the very least... Thank ya kindly for bringing me back... I'm truly so, so sorry for having caused you pain. You deal with enough..." Her frustration deflates more out of exhaustion than anything. She remains rather withdrawn and in her own head, staring at the wall.

"I'm sorry we didn't get to you Delilah. But.. if it helps. For the first time I felt relief.”

She looks up somberly. "Relief?"

"You.. didn't stay dead. You came home."

She can't help but smile a little at that. "I did... I came home."

"You've lost enough people... I'll do my best to not be another."

She mumbles quietly. "I almost escaped... A few times, actually. But I was never good enough. Or fast enough."

"You know. That Nerezza seems pretty fond of you maybe he can give you an edge in the future

She glances over, then back down. "He's... Kind." She thinks before continuing. "I spoke with him recently, in Trenfield, then at Luther's place. Purely accidental, but... He..." she touches her forehead. "He took away some bad dreams and memories. Something I got from Balgor..." she closes her eyes and lowers her hand.

"I can't say why, but I almost called for him again on the airship. My first escape attempt. I was being stabbed, paralyzed, bound. His name came to me but... It was too late. I couldn't speak." She looks like she has a bad taste in her mouth.

"I had a lot of time to think. I wanted to try to solve my own problems, not rely on other gods..." She hesitates. "My pride got the better of me. I lost my chance, and couldn't call out for him in the end..."

"That's alright Miss Delilah. You were trying your own way. But.. Nerezza is certainly seemingly able to help you a mite more than Tarj. And you know Nerezza is real

"He is..." Delilah remembers his wings around her, and him singing to her to comfort her. "Maybe you're right, Hikaru."

She gets a haunted look in her eyes. "Hikaru?"

"I want to be stronger." She falters and looks at him earnestly.

"Does... Does that sickening feeling of taking a life get easier in time?" She doesn't say what happened, but the look on her face is incredibly transparent. She can't even hope to mask it.

His eyes get dark. "You don't want it to get easier Delilah. That's dangerous. That's when you start to lose your soul. If I were you I'd hold onto that sickening feeling as long as you can. Getting rid of that isn't strength"

She looks away, somber.

"I guess so..."

"But I can teach you how to fight without hesitation."

She nods imploringly. "I wouldn't mind the training. I..." She hesitates again. "I felt it, there. I tried not to hesitate. I was able to do it... A few times." Her eyes grow hard. "But those times they weren't looking at me. It felt unreal. It felt unfair. I know it wasn't, but..."

She trails off. "Head on... I couldn't strike fast enough. I went for someone's neck. I couldn't -not- look at him. My hesitation cost me, and I missed killing him in one blow. And then he got me."

"We can fix that. But don't ever cast aside that feeling. Just set it aside to feel later."

Delilah gives him an understanding look.

"You don't.. you don't want to be like me Delilah. Killing shouldn't be easy. It means you value life."

"But you do value... I..." she trails off, looking sheepish and embarrassed.

"You're not a bad person." She gives Hikaru a hard look, sincere and meaningful.

He looks at her confused.

"I guess you didn't see how I reacted when you died. I tore your killer to shreds. I don't know that I'm not a bad person.”

She continues to look at him, trying to discern the truth in his eyes. "I know you would have done that... But... I've killed these guys too. Am I a bad person then?" She hesitates. "He would have killed others... You saved innocents by taking him from this world."

"I woulda killed him too, had I had the chance." She tries to smile, albeit a bit awkwardly.

"Your intent was different Delilah. You weren't out to satisfy your heart, just to live. All I wanted was to fill the void in my heart and forget the pain. It's very different just for that Miss Delilah.”

"I've sought vengeance before, Hikaru. Maybe not quite like you." She turns away, frustrated. "I've had voids to fill, too. Not...not just to live."

Delilah quiets. "But it never does take that pain away... Does it?"

"No. Just dulls it for a while. I could've killed Uncle the other day. But.. it just didn't seem important at the time. Isn't that weird?"

She gives him an earnest, searching look. "Yeah... Maybe so."

"Still keen on killin' him later though?"

"You bet your ass." Then he turns red for talking about her butt.

She smirks. "That sounds like you."

"Sorry." Coughs.

She raises an eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothin. Nothin."

She shakes her head. "You've seemed funny today. Lately, even. You doing okay?"

"Aside from this whole... Thing." she gestures to her scar.

"I'm fine. Just.. fine."

Delilah just nods. She absentmindedly rubs the scar on her neck that runs up to her ear.

"Does this look... That bad?" She sheepishly asks.

"Not as bad as a corpse. It gives you a story. Wear it with pride. He twitches his ears and flicks his tail emphatically

She chuckles a bit. "You make a good point. Guess from now on I'll just... be Delilah. No use trying to hide it now."

"It... Kinda sounds sad, doesn't it? If I died, and didn't... Really get a chance to live as...well... me." She hesitates, then chuckles. "Whoever I am, right?"

"I'm... I know I'm really lucky. I should be dead." She continues to run her hand on her scar. "I'll wear it with pride. It's a good reminder."

"Miss Delilah, what happened in there?"

Delilah's hand lowers from her scar and absentmindedly rubs her shoulder instead. Although healed, the memory of the cold steel still stings. "A lot, but... Not enough."

"What do you mean not enough?"

She sighs. "Thorin and I were almost back from the museum. It was going perfectly. Too perfectly, I suppose. Then we heard explosions, and... We were ambushed."

Fiddling with the hem of her large shirt, which she realizes is one of Armella's, she continues. "They just wanted the crystal. They tried to take it, but I wouldn't let go. They probably figured it was less trouble to take me too at that point, so... they drugged me and..."

Her eyebrows furrow. "It felt kinda like shadow stepping with Rodrick. But louder. Then I was on their ship."

"They'd keep me sedated with a paralyzing agent, like what I use in my little gun. And they'd keep me from calling out with..." her nose scrunches. "It was something disgusting. They'd force it down my throat, and it burned like acid. I couldn't talk for hours sometimes."

"The captain ordered me to a holding cell. I had no idea where we were. But... I managed to wriggle free when the poisons wore off. There were two guards going through my stuff. I grabbed my r..rope..." She seems to twitch slightly, either from the memory or the word.

"I killed em, Hikaru. I felt so sick.. I heard their necks snap. I used the magic to wrap my rope around 'em and.." she shakes her head, and leans her face against his shoulder.

"I got in some of their robes, grabbed my rope and bluffed my way up to the deck. But..." she pauses. "The captain was right there. I walked right into him, and.."

Hikaru's face darkens, waiting for her to continue.

"Well.. I.. I didn't do enough. That's where I failed." She looks up at Hikaru with pain in her eyes. "I only had a second. I could have run, but... I knew he'd catch me. So I attacked him. But I missed."

"He was fast... Too fast. All of them seemed to carry daggers... He was no exception."

"Sometimes Delilah they are too fast. There's always someone better out there. To be honest it's why I don't 'play fair'"

She nods, understanding exactly what he means. "Fair is overrated..." The smell of Hikaru's coat is strangely relaxing, and Delilah lingers a little longer against it.

"He stabbed me a few times. Not to kill me, just to hurt me. To sedate me again." She glares. "He had em patch me up after, but not gently."

"He always called me a little mouse... Taunting me. Trying to make me angry. What a snake."  She grumbles.

"I killed another one of his guards though. I tricked a nicer.. cultist.. If you could say that.. into tying me up with my own rope. When I had a chance with my next guard, I offed him. He was cruel. I didn't feel as bad with him."

"Then I went to find Cyrus... That was the captain." Delilah looks like she has a bad taste in her mouth.

"I figured I'd use my strengths... Bluff my way in to their cult. But he was a piece of work."

He grips her shoulders tightly, with a slight shaking rage.

"He was the one who was hurting you..."

He trails off quietly.

"I tried. I really did. I almost had him a second time. But he..." she shakes her head, not immediately noticing Hikaru's growing anger.

She looks up again. "I..." she can't bring herself to say it, but her eyes give it away.

Delilah studies his face. "You really could sense what was going on, then...? When I was gone?"

She swallows. "Y..yes. Cyrus got in my head that day. He messed with my mind. He brought in M...Mephestopheles..." she burrows her face against Hikaru's coat again, as she talks almost in a whisper.

"I don't remember a lot after that. Not for a long time... It just felt like my mind was a stick, snapping under the weight of a mountain."

"When I started to come back... I..." She chuckles, almost at a loss for words. "He came in to see me again, and I didn't care anymore. It didn't feel like me, Hikaru..."

"I mocked him. I mocked his stupid god. He tried to feed me that... Acid, and I just spat it in his face and laughed. He beat me, and I did it again. So he beat me some more."

"I... was b-beyond caring for a while. I..." She chuckles through the pain of that, tears accompanying the laughter.

"I didn't see it. But I could feel it. I could tell where you were and what you felt through the crystals. And I felt a rage like I'd never felt. I nearly murdered a defenseless man over it."

"Him and his false master, I'll make him see a real god's power. And in the end he will grovel at your feet begging for Mercy." His eyes face turned a glowing Ruby color, like red light."

"I should hunt them down.. all of them for daring to touch you." His voice has a shade if distortion.

At his distorted voice and his normally gray eyes now glowing red with fury and slaughter, Delilah withdraws a bit automatically from Hikaru. It's hard for her to mask the uncertainty and fright on her face. All she can see and feel in that moment is the memory of Balgor, and an emptiness of where memories might have once been.

She fights with herself over how she feels, and unsure if she'd ever want to see Cyrus again. "H..he may already be dead, I s..suppose?"

"If he didn't run away... Did... Did you find my r-rope by chance? He had it with him."

"We didn't find your rope. So I guess we didn't find Cyrus. You... don't want me to hunt down Cyrus for you?" He senses her withdrawal

She watches that look in his eyes, and can't help but sense a bit of Balgor there. "I..." she blinks, trying to clear her mind. She looks away, embarrassed.

"I think that man should be brought to justice. I wouldn't want him harming anyone else because of my failure. For anyone to endure what I did, or worse..."

"I... I want to help. Lose ends and all... Right?" She tries to smile, rather taken aback by Hikaru's intense protectiveness.

"Loose ends get me killed. But this is your loose end. We'll approach it how you wish. If it's murder, I'll do it, imprisonment, I'll get him there, torture, I'll do it myself."

Delilah blanches at the suggestion of torture. She looks away. "Cyrus is a cruel, sadistic person." She seems angry, her fists clenched. "He tortured me without any qualms. Part of me... Part of me itches to show him how it feels."

She shakes her head. "But we aren't him. We don't have to stoop to his level... He'd be elated by that I bet.. He'd be proud of turning others into him."

She looks back at Hikaru, pleadingly. "Please... Let's stop him another way. I can't bear the thought of you doing what he did."

"Then we'll leave out the torture. But if he tries to hurt you again, I won't hesitate to kill him. And maybe we can find Justice through Balgor, I don't know if any earthly laws will hold him.”

She nods, relieved.

"I wonder if he will try to come back... Or how we can track him."

"I bet if we looked we could find him. Maybe Ryuu can help us with that."

"Perhaps..."

Now that things feel a bit calmer, she chances a half smile. "So... you two aren't on the friendliest terms yet, huh?"

"Well.. we did start arguing.. Immediately. And... Rhys may have needed to hold me revolver in my holster..."

His ears twitch rather sheepishly

She chuckles. "Sounds like when I first met you."

"I'm sure you'll warm up to each other in time." She pats his shoulder reassuringly. "If you want to, of course? You did seem rather attached to your rifle."

"I don't know how to talk to people Miss Delilah. Certainly not people who were my rifle. I keep thinking he should just do what I tell him. But he didn't listen when I order him around."

"Well... Do you like following orders?" She teases.

"Sure when I'm getting paid."

"Pay is nice. But is that why you're nice to us now?" Delilah smiles. "I don't think Luther and I have given you a paycheck in like... A year."

"Well, I have personal stake in this now."

"In what?" She raises an eyebrow.

"Just... Getting to this god place?"

"Being part of this team."

Delilah nods, and stays quiet.

After a few minutes, she says, "Well this... Ryuu, is part of the team now I guess. No orders, just... I dunno. Treat 'em how you treat Rodrick, or Miss Mella, or..."

"He seemed pleased when I offered him his own autonomy in return for killing Uncle.”

"Oh... Well... That's a good short term goal then. That's good."

"Your uncle isn't far away, now... Are you ready for that?"

"As ready as I can be I suppose."

She watches him, trying to gauge his reaction. "Do you have a plan?"

"Confront him I suppose. Shoot him. Purge his followers."

"Is there anything I can do to help you accomplish that goal, Hikaru?"

She looks sheepish now. "I know I can't seem to do...this sort of thing right." She gestures vaguely at the situation at hand. "But I'm happy to provide things I'm... Good with, ya know?"

"I don't want you to get hurt. Uncle. Uncle is like Cyrus. But worse.”

"Yeah... They both need to be brought to justice. No more..." She hesitates. "No more victims."

"No more victims. My pain must be justified.”

A voice trails in from the doorway. "You know what's more painful than that? Being your rifle."

Delilah jumps painfully, startled by the stranger at the door.

Hikaru's face looks peeved. “You would think that, Ryuu.”

"YoU wOulD ThiNk thAt RyUu," he mocks. He leans leans against the door frame, arms folded, mouth turned up in a sneer.

He then asks, looking at Delilah, "So who's this guy you're wanting revenge against?"

She glances a little nervously between the two men. "Uh.. a... A cultist, the captain of the airship that brought me here. His name is Cyrus."

"Tch... Sounds like a loser."

"He's pretty terrible but she wants him brought in alive."

"Alive or dead..." She shrugs.

Ryuu scoffs. "Why do you guys hang out with so many losers?"

Delilah looks flustered, and gets a bit more Southern because of it. "Not like I wanted to be here, or put y'all in danger."

"We do have a habit of makin enemies."

"Tch. Why doesn't that surprise me?"

Hikaru runs his hand through his hair impatiently

Delilah sees and feels the irritation in the air. (Raw persuasion roll of 4.... Lolol)

"Hey, plus side... We got to meet you, Ryuu." She tries to be friendly. "Glad to finally see ya."

Ryuu turns his head away and scoffs again. "Psh whatever. You got stabbed. Why does that make you special?"

"I-it doesn't..." She scrunches her nose.

"Well you're sure acting like it."

"No I'm not!" She understands Hikaru's irritation better now.

"Yeah you are!"

"How does my getting stabbed say I'm special?"

"You see how everyone's been fawning over you? I'd say that's pretty special."

Delilah turns red with embarrassment. "I--how would I know that? I just woke up."

"Tch. Whatever. You're just special."

"I am not! YOU'RE special."

"No, you are!"

"No, YOU are!"

"Psh. Whatever. Little miss special."

"You were literally a gun like, just the other night. THAT sounds special."

"Whatever. I didn't come here, I was MADE."

"Which makes you pretty special!"

"Psh... Whatever..." he walks away to another corner of the room and leans against the wall.

Hikaru covers his ears. "Blast it all you're both special now stop arguing!”

Delilah blushes and turns away apologetically. It felt like bickering with her brother, and out of character for her now.

Ryuu is flustered by Hikaru. "Eh, tch, like... Like you're one to talk."

She glances at Hikaru again, feeling funny at being referred to as special.

"I mean.. just.. blast it. I'm gonna.. go get some food for Mutiger real quick." He blushes and pushes out the door.

At the idea of food her stomach aches, reminding her it's been days since she's eaten properly.

Delilah watches Hikaru go, then eyes Ryuu in the corner. "Hey, do you eat food?"

"What kind of question is that?" He looks at her like she's stupid, but his stomach growls.

"...Are you just grumpy cause you're hungry?"

"....No." it grumbles louder.

She shrugs. "You should go with him. Get something to eat."

Ryuu contemplates that for a minute. "Tch... Yeah wherever." He stands up and walks out of the room.

Delilah sighs, and exhausted, sinks back into her blankets. A very silky black one seems cooler to the touch, and she strokes it while she thinks about...everything.

Ryuu slinks up behind Hikaru. "So, what's there to eat and stuff?"

This kitchen was manned solely by whichever Cultist was on mess duty for the day. Game is plentiful in the Forest Rend, and the kitchen is covered in dried animal blood, with the carcasses of deer and wild boars hanging from the ceiling on improvised meat hooks.

The Larder is filled with general stores such as grain, rice, and root vegetables. Strings of garlic and a corner of salted meats and cheeses fill the room with a flavorful air.

"This kitchen looks disgusting, let's grab some salted meat and cheese. I mean, normally I wouldn't care so much but for Ruby and Mutiger..."

"Yeeeeaaaah, yeeeeaaaah, whatever.  You're always talkin' 'n' stuff, you know that?"  He mumbles under his breath something inaudible.

"Yeah what about it?"

"Feh, I don't hafta tell you!"

"Yeah... That's what I thought."

"You thought nothin'!  You don't think!"

"What and you do?"

"You know what--"  He sops himself short, turns, folding his arms across his chest, and let's out a "Tch" as he looks away.  "I do what I want..."

"Yeah yeah, sure. I'm gonna take some food back. You coming?"

"Fine, whatever.  Let's just get some food and go.  Besides, this place is boring anyways."

He grabs as much cheese and salted meat as he can carry and begins to head back.

Ryuu does the same, gathering what he can.  He quickly follows after, keeping pace with you.  After a while if silence, he mutters "so what's your stupid uncle's deal, anyway?"

"He murdered my father all because he married a kitsune. Then he murdered my brother, the heir to the head of family

"What the hell's a kitsune?"

"I'm half. It's a fox creature. Gives us our tail and ears."

"Oh.  Well that sounds kinda lame!  Why can't you just be un-lame, and be a full fox?"

"Because my dad was human.

"Tch, man, you're so serious all the time.  Guess I better get used to that.  Feh, how boring."  folds his arms and looks away with a scowl.

"I mean..." Looks slyly back and forth. "I can still do this." His body crackles with red lightning and shifts into a large kitsune.

Instead of turning into a large nine-tailed fox, you transform into a normal fox with one tail.  Ryuu falls over on the ground laughing without abandon!

"What in tarjnation?"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"WAS THAT IT?!"

"No it's supposed to be- what is- how?!"

Ryuu gets up and starts to chase after you in your pure kitsune form.

"Hey what are y- hey, HEY! THAT'S MY TAIL!"

"Here foxy foxy fox!  C'mere you!"

Hikaru tries to growl menacingly but only achieves the silly fox growl.

"Aha...ahahahahaHAHAHA!"

Hikaru grabs the food and bounds off embarrassed, towards Delilah's room.

Ryuu laughs some more, and chases after you.

Delilah, dozing, jolts awake at the sound of the two of them entering. She yelps at the cacophony of growls and laughter, looking extremely confused at the small animal. "H-Hikaru?! What happened?"

Ryuu, almost unable to control his laughter, blurts out, "He just--you should've--BAHAHAHA!"

He clambers up onto her lap and drops the food at her hands then hides behind her

Delilah yelps again as Hikaru leaps up, his fur tickling against her. "Whaa--? Ryuu, did you do somethin' to him?!" She looks both protective and confused now.

Ryuu laughs. "Aahaha! I grabbed his tail... It was AWESOME!"

She raises an eyebrow. "That's--That's all? But he's..." she turns to look at Hikaru, unable to help stating the obvious.

"...You're smaller than normal."

"I know! I tried to change and it didn't work!"

"Well it... It... Kinda did?" She smiles hesitantly with a shrug.

"Bwahahaha! It's so PERFECT. Now I can chase you everywhere!"

"Delilah I'm TINY. How am I supposed to drag Cyrus to you if I can't be a nine tails!?"

She gives Hikaru a long look, laughter in her eyes. She bites her lip to keep from giggling. "We'll still get 'em. Maybe you and I can practice more stealth while you're so small and cu..."

She bites her tongue now, sure he'd be highly offended at being called 'cute'. "Erm.. Ahem... Anyway, i-it might be good to practice more with... With Ryuu too..."

Hikaru's tail bristles and he jumps down, shifting back to humanoid form then stalks off, bright red.

"Hikaru, I--" Delilah looks embarrassed, lowering her hand with a sigh as he leaves. "Dagnabbit."

Frustrated now, she glares over at the gun sprite. "Hey, Ryuu..."

"What do YOU want?"

She sighs, trying to keep her composure. "I respect you. You're part of this team now."

A serious gleam enters her eyes. "Help us hunt down Cyrus. Hikaru doesn't have to drag that loser to me... I want to bring the fight to him. To him AND Hikaru's loser uncle."

"Psh, why should I care?"  He folds his arms across his chest, and turns his face away, scowling.

"If not for us, fine. Maybe we are losers too." She furrows her brow. "But you want your freedom from Hikaru, yes?"

"Magic isn't welcome in this world. We have a common enemy, you and us."

"Hey, I never said I wanted to be free from him," he snaps.  "I just want..." he pauses, a strange and forlorn expression on his face.  "Freedom.  Like in general."

"We all do..." She relaxes, feeling a bit awkward admitting it. "What does freedom mean to you, then?"

"I do wat I want."

"Can't you do that now?" She raises an eyebrow. "You seem to be. Are you not free?"

"I was born not free.  If he can get me to 'freedom,' whatever that is, like he's promised, then I'll go with you losers."  He sniffs and wipes his nose unceremoniously on his arm.  "Look, lady, I've been in this for me from my inception.  I just wanna be able to fly through the clouds forever.

She nods, knowing she shouldn't push anymore. She looks away, rubbing the scar on the side of her neck absentmindedly.

"You hurt yourself or somethin?"  He eyes Delilah with a sidelong glance.

She looks back at him, confused at first. "What? Oh--" She quickly drops her hand.

 

"No. It's..." she snorts, shaking her head. "It's my 'special little stab wound.' They practically sliced me open, I guess. Must've hit every major artery they could." She tilts her head so he can see the scar running clear up to her ear.

"But, whatever, I guess. It's a story now, at least."

"See?  What'd I say:  special!"

She shrugs. "I'm lucky for my life, and my friends. I guess... that is pretty special."

Realizing she had food in her lap still from Hikaru, she tosses over a cured sausage. "Try this."

Ryuu catches it with ease from the air, and takes an unscrupulous bite out of it.  He swallows and seems satisfied.  "It's alright, I guess."

"Good. Have as much as you need." She pushed most of it to the end of the bed, taking a small cheese herself.

"Mutiger--the big horned guy--he's out there too right? Take him a bit, I'm sure most of this was meant for him."

She turns her head away eating pieces of the cheese. The rich food is almost too much, but she savors it, her stomach crying with eagerness.

"Tch.  Whatever, then."  He takes the food and leaves Delilah to her own devices.  "Don't make yourself sick...you're special enough without being that," he calls over his shoulder.

She almost doesn't care about his snide remarks, the food is so distractingly good. She just glares at him as he leaves, shaking her head.

Once he leaves, Delilah chances standing up to stretch. Her muscles feel tired from laying down so long, and she takes a minute to get used to the sensation.

Moving around the room, she fiddles with and turns over miscellaneous items, obviously things that some cultist decorated with. "This place gives me the creeps..." She mumbles.

Ryuu goes with Hikaru, and chuckles behind him.  "I can't believe you'd tell me stories n stuff.  Like how you're this big powerful fox demon, and you turn into AN ACTUAL FOX!  Hahaha!  Can't even believe it!  You're too funny, man!"

"Listen you it was fine just tell days ago.”

*             *             *

Hikaru runs around cooling his head but finds himself coming back to Delilah.

Delilah is walking the parameter of the fort after dark, wanting to stretch her legs and get some fresh air. Passing by where the summoning circle was gives her a fierce chill up her spine. She's stuck in her own thoughts as she walks, but glances occasionally at the forest for signs of cultists.

Hikaru sees her and feels his tail wagging and his ears perk up. "Quiet you" he whispers to his tail.

"Hey there Delilah!" He calls out.

She jumps, hand to her chest in surprise. "Oh! Mr. Karu--Hikaru." She's flustered, and stumbles over her southern accent. "Out for a walk, too?"

"Just clearing my head. You know.. you don't need to be Ruby around me." His voice is unusually shy

She brushes her hair behind her ear as they continue the walk together at an easy pace. "I know, I... I know." Delilah blushes embarrassedly.

"I don't mean to, I..." She mumbles. "I sometimes get more southern when I'm upset. I've been Ruby too long. I know you know... Well... Me."

"That's true but I like Delilah." Turns the color of his coat. "I mean I like her better!  I mean-"

She doesn't really notice his uncomfortable blushing in the dim moonlight, and mumbles again. "I'm... I'm trying to be Delilah. I ain't been her for so long... But I know for sure I ain't Ruby now."

"I think you could be her. You're stronger as her."

She blushes and rubs her neck. "T..thanks. I'll try to see myself that way."

"You're also a little easier to talk to. Less... Closed off."

Delilah nods slightly. "Ruby has a story. An alibi. But it only goes so deep. Ruby has to be closed off, cause... If you open that door, there's just a wall. Nothing is there." She shrugs.

She glances over. "What's your favorite season?"

"Spring. It was my mother's favorite."

"What about.. You? Delilah."

She blushes, mumbling again. "Spring too, actually. It's... It feels like a new beginning, you know? Winter is kinda like... Death."

"S...sorry. Just thought maybe I should get to know you better as... Delilah. We don't often talk about simple things." She kicks at a rock on the ground.

"My mother always took me to the Sakura trees in our garden.

"I appreciate that. We never talk about anything normal. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever BE normal."

Delilah glances over at him. "Normal is an illusion. People only pretend. Some are just... better than others at pretending."

She gives him a half smile. "I think you're just fine the way you are, Hikaru."

Hikaru runs his hands through his hair and ears sheepishly. "Thanks Delilah."

She pulls her cloak around her against the chill air. It's dark like shadows, and thin, catching in the light breeze.

She looks shy. "...What do Sakura trees look like? I don't reckon I've seen one before."

"Well they kinda look the color of your cheeks if they were flowers."

Hikaru doesn't look like he's smooth talking. In fact he looks completely out of his element. But sincere. Which is odd considering his sarcastic nature.

Delilah stops a bit short, rather surprised at his sincerity and his straightforward response. She blushes, not used to something like that being said about her... Rather something Ruby, or Eliza, or Kitty would hear. Not Delilah.

She mumbles and tries to act normal about it. "They... They sound pretty."

He looks super shocked when he realizes what he's said. "I'm sorry Delilah. I didn't.." he trails off searching her eyes.

She pauses, looking back into his. She can still remember them glowing that bright, wrathful red in her room, and how menacing that was, but now they seem....

She blushes again and turns away, embarrassed. "No--no, you're fine. It's..." she coughs, starting to walk again. "So these trees, they have... Pinkish leaves then? Is it only after the start of spring during Growfest?"

"Exactly. It signals new beginnings."

Delilah nods, sheepishly fiddling with her cloak. "That sounds nice.  New beginnings are... Part of life, I suppose."

She glances at the forest. "Your smaller... Fox form had me thinking today. I really believe I should be better at hiding... Not just blending in."

She kicks another piece of broken stone. "I blended in with civilized society. But here... With you guys, I don't need that. I need to NOT be seen. Like... A small animal. Ya know?"

"No offense..." She looks at him apologetically. "Just.. A new beginning for each of us too, I guess."

"Hiding can help make fighting easier. It's helped me on the hunt many times."

She furrows her brow, then looks over at the trees longingly. "Can... You take me hunting again?"

"Probably sure."

"Umm. Delilah do you want to... go for a walk through the trees?”

She hesitates, considering. "I wanna learn how to do what you do... Is that a good place to practice?" She looks embarrassed. "Maybe we can bring back some game?"

"If you'd like sure. We could do that."

He shifts nervously.

She senses his hesitation and looks worried. "If not, it's alright. I know there's... there's probably dangers out there. I don't wanna get us in no trouble."

"No that's not-" he looks conflicted. And kicks the dirt. "My head hurts."

"Oh!" She suddenly switches from looking worried to concerned. "Do--do you need to go rest? Do you feel feverish?" Delilah resists the urge to check his temperature like a mother hen.

She glances at the woods, wondering if later she could actually find some decent healing herbs here...

"No not that kinda hurt! Like I'm thinking too much!"

She glances back at him, uncertainty on her face. "Oh, I--I see, no problem. We can just... we can just keep walking for a bit?" Delilah continues forward with their walk, listening to the crickets and cicadas chirping in the distance.

"Maybe the cool air will help it."

"It often does. That's..." She quiets. "That's why I like being out here, anyway."

"What are you going to do after this is all over Delilah?"

She looks at Hikaru, a sincere yet conflicted look in her eyes. "I... I don't know. Life seemed so simple before, I..." Delilah falters. "I can't go back to where I was... WHO I was before." She turns away, rubbing her arm.

"I don't think I can either to be honest. I was always going to die or be head of my family but maybe..  maybe I'll just keep traveling.”

Mumbling she continues, "I may go spend some time with my... my mother for a while. I visited her recently... it's painful." She sighs. "But I love her." She glances over again. "Where would you want to travel to? If you could be free?"

"I dunno. I just don't know maybe..see the world. Create shrines.”

She hesitates. "Shrines to Balgor, you mean?"

"Yes. Although.. maybe after that I can put them in Garrisons. Soldiers gotta kill anyways.”

"That's true..." Delilah contemplates that. "H...honest killing, anyway." She gets really quiet. "Otherwise, you'd... you'd have to travel the world slaughtering for him... wouldn't you?"

"Maybe. I suppose spreading his word would work. And it's not like I don't fight enough. I can just bless every conflict to him."

"Do you think I made the wrong choice?"

She looks up at him, noticing for the first time he's... taller than she remembered. He's definitely not the little nervous kid he once seemed when she first met him.

"I... I don't think so. Everyone seeks power in their own way, right?" She shrugs, hesitating. "You... you came here to save me. You and the others took out who knows how many cultists. They... they were evil. They were going to kill more innocents." Her brow furrows. "You've saved lives, with what you've done."

"I think that is really honorable, Hikaru." She smiles gently. "If anyone could make an honorable soldier for a literal god of slaughter... it'd be you."

"I dunno Delilah. I still feel the urge to kill sometimes. Balgor didn't create that. And that.." he looks like he wants to finish.

She looks at him imploringly.

"…scares me."

He looks for once in his life gentle and meek. Not angry and violent.

Delilah is quiet for a moment, then gingerly reaches over to hold Hikaru's hand. She gives it a reassuring squeeze. "You recognize it though... and... this whole time I've known ya, I've only seen you kill out of necessity. Keepin'... keepin' the rest of us safe."

"I'll admit, when... when I see that red light enter your eyes, it scares me. I see Balgor there. But... but I also see you." She stops and stares at Hikaru for a moment. "I may not trust him. But I trust you."

She shakes her head. "Whatever urge you have to kill, I've only seen done for righteous reasons. Or, you hold it in check. It may not have been like that before now, but... people change. You've changed."

"I killed my cousin in cold blood. Just in the airship. I have no right to call myself "just". But maybe I can kill for better reasons.”

Delilah looks conflicted. "You are still changing. It can get better. You can choose to be better. But even then, you..."

She rubs her free hand on her neck where a much older scar is. "You still tried to save me then. It may have been a bad end, but for a just reason. Not to mention, for your family..."

"Where did you get that one Delilah?"

She gives you a funny, sheepish half smile. "Your cousin..."

"Good he's already dead then." Then he thinks about it.

She chuckles a little. "I know things back then were probably a little... hazy." Her gaze drops a bit, then she shyly releases his hand as she forgot she was holding it. Continuing their walk, she adds, "You were on and off drinking at the time, if I remember correctly."

"I didn't think I'd ever stop. Although... When I see uncle... I guess I didn't this time did i.? I was too worried-"

Delilah looks confused, then realizes what he is getting at. "You... you haven't had anything since we've been here? Even after--"

"Nothing. Not even a drop.”

She remains quiet, contemplating and remembering things. A shudder of emotion makes her tremble a bit but she tries to shake it off, wiping her nose with her sleeve.

"Delilah?"

She doesn't say anything for a long moment. It takes some time before she finds her voice again, but it feels far away and weak. "My... my father died at the bottom of a bottle, Hikaru."

 

She swipes at her eyes, keeping them averted. "I couldn't help him. He made his choice. He'd given up."

"I... I hate alcohol." Her voice sounds hard. "And I hated seein'..." She trails off.

Hikaru looks stunned. And almost feels ashamed.

She mumbles under her breath. "It hurt to see you hurt... but that was your choice. I couldn't take it from you. Just like I couldn't help him in the end."

"Just..." She sniffs. "Hearing you not turnin' to it, especially after all... all this." She glances at the summoning circle grounds, still dark with a tinge of iron in the air. "I feel silly, but... it's... relieving, somehow, ya know?"

"I honestly forgot about it."

She wipes her nose again and nods. "Sorry, not to... not to bring things like that up."

"but I forgot Delilah. To drink.”

She finally looks up at Hikaru again, her eyes still glistening a little with tears. "You did... do you still desire to? After everything that's happened? After... seeing your uncle?"

"Part of me still does. Always will. I can't say I won't next time see him. But... I thought you were dead." Uncharacteristically he takes her hand. "I watched you die. I screamed for Balgor's power without thought."

"No ulterior motives just give me whatever it takes to kill him.”

Her voice catches in her throat. She looks sincerely at him. Apologetic... remorseful.

"I know i- you know- i- I shouldn't have blamed you earlier Miss Delilah. You did your best. I was... Scared."

She tries to swallow the emotion she's feeling. "I know you were... I..." Her voice breaks a little. "You can still blame me if ya'd like."

"No Delilah. I can't. Not for this one. I only have Cyrus to blame for this one."

"Time... it slowed down then. I could... I couldn't look at em. I couldn't look at my killer. I couldn't think of Cyrus puttin' me there. But..." Delilah tears up again. "I turned and saw all of y'all... I saw you. I saw that fear. I f...felt so much regret."

"I-if I hadn't..." She shakes her head. "If I had just let them take the stupid crystal... if I had... had the power to kill Cyrus, if...." She shudders.

"Delilah you did what you could. We'll work on it best we can for now."

She looks back up at him again, remembering that scared look. She knew she'd never forget it. "Y-yeah... you're right, Hikaru..."

She looks down at their hands. "Hey... T-thanks for being there when I woke up. Earlier, I mean. It was nice not... not being alone after that."

"I couldn't leave your side. Not after watching you die Delilah.”

"Were--" She pauses a moment, apprehensive. She remembers Mutiger telling her she was resting for two whole days. "Were you there that whole time?"

"Yes. Although I can't remember it anymore. Sorta like a blur."

She nods again, blushing. "Well... Thank you."

"Don't mention it Delilah."

Delilah shuffles a bit. "Still up for some tracking in the woods? I should start workin' on getting a bit better so I don't end up like that again... Eh?" She tries to give a playful smile.

"Though I... I don't feel quite like myself. I tire rather easily and my chest aches sometimes. But..." She looks shy, being honest about this new weakness. "I want to learn. I want to keep myself busy."

"Let's go then." He takes his hand back clearing his throat awkwardly moves forward.

She follows behind him, glancing around the clearing in the moonlight. The forest looks dark and imposing, the tall lodge pole pine canopy high above them. She takes out a pair of daggers she found from inside the keep and gets a feel for them in her hands.

"So... how do you stealthily hunt...." She tries to think of the right word, knowing what he used to do. "Prey?"

"Well mostly my prey is human to be honest. But you want to look at the ground. Find the game trails and see where they go first.”

She looks around. Her eyes have a hard time adjusting to the dim light, but she can see the tracks they've already made behind them.

"What if..." She looks contemplative. "Do you want to hide, and I try to find you? Either as this or a fox?"

He shifts into the fox form and sneaks along the ground carefully smelling it out.

Seeing him transform into something so small, she can't help but smile while his back is turned. She coughs and turns away, counting for several moments to give Hikaru time to hide....wondering if she could actually find him.

He jumps away and scurries into the brush.

Turning around, she heads in the direction she last heard him, studying the ground intently. (17 survival and/or perception)

(24 stealth)

 (24 stealth check myself just now... 17 survival... again. Geez.) Delilah pulls her cloak around her, lifting the hood up. She blends into the shadows more, and kneels close to the undergrowth, looking for signs of paw prints.

(Lol I got an 8 to perception so I can't see anything XD)

(lololol XD Any new stealth roll for me? I'm not sure how to use these survival checks... hm.)

(19 this time around, if I do it again)

(Lol you track with them so you'd find my trail)

She smiles, seeing a small trail leading through the pine needles to the left. It looks freshly made and she's sure it's his. She sneaks along, keeping an eye out for him in the brush.

(18 perception?) She looks for any blue fur that might stand out against the tree trunks, or the glow of any eyes that might give him away.

(20 stealth 16 acrobatics to climb up a tree)

 (25 perception... @w@) She hears a rustling up above her, and she slips to the base of the nearest tree (9 stealth, you can probably see her from being up high now. XD)

His eyes gleam red for a moment. She barely sees him and he scrambles to leave, but slips and falls shifting as he lands in top of her. (24 stealth 10 acrobatics)

He rubs his head as he pulls himself to his hands and knees and realizes he's looking directly into Delilah's face which is inches from his. "Miss Delilah! I didn't mean to--"

Her head reels from the impact, trying to focus against the stars swimming in front of her. "Wha-- you--you okay Mr. Karu?" She slips into her formal southern again out of both surprise and embarrassment.

"I thought I saw you up there..." She chuckles, trying to be humorous instead of embarrassed, her cheeks red. "Guess I tracked you well enough. Just... gotta work on bein' more observant and... stealthly myself..."

He finds himself lost in her eyes for a moment. "Uh-huh.... I mean, I'm sorry Miss Delilah!" He scrambles to his feet and helps her up.

He is bright red and avoids her gaze.

Delilah blushes even more, her freckles starkly apparent. She's almost redder than her hair is. Stumbling to her feet, she leans against the tree and tries to catch her breath, brushing the dirt and pine needles from her clothes.

he sinks down and sits, a little out of breath. "Maybe I'll come out here more often and... and practice. I need it." She gives Hikaru an embarrassed smile.

"I might need some practice myself." He swallows, breathing hard.

Her eyes grow wide. "But--but you're so good at this sorta stuff! You've done this like, your whole life."

"Apparently I'm out of practice." He doesn't look at her trying to forget the look in her eyes and the speed of his heartbeat.

"Well... we can practice together in the evenings I suppose?" She blushes again, looking away quickly. "I mean-- If you-- if you want. Not like--" She fumbles with her words, getting quiet. "Just-- this was... this was nice. Er-- helpful. Ya know..."

"Yeah, uh yeah why not. We uh we should do that."

Delilah nods, then fishes out a couple of apples from her satchel. "Y--you okay? You hungry at all?" She tosses Hikaru one.

He snatches it and takes a bite out of it, hoping to find something to talk about besides whatever that was. "What kinds are these?"

She takes a bite and looks at her apple. "Tasty?"

Delilah chuckles. "I have no idea. I just got them off of Rodrick's cart when he came to my room earlier. But they're good. Any food tastes good right now."

He laughs, for the first time not sarcastic, not cold, but genuine.

"Rod always has the best food."

Delilah nods, taking another bite. "He does... Well except his moldy sandwiches." She laughs.

"He always forgets about those! I don't know how he does but he does! I'm starting to wonder if he does it on purpose."

"He might, knowing him..." she smirks. "He's really like a dad huh? To all of us. He does a lot... And worries a lot."

"He is though. He was my dad after my father died. All of his personalities raised me."

She nods, taking another bite of her apple. "He's a good man. All of y'all are. I'm... glad we met."

"Sorry I uh, pointed a gun at you.”

Delilah snorts, waving the thought away. "Wasn't me. That was Ruby." She smirks.

"But on behalf of her... Sorry she yelled at Ruck."

"Ha I guess that's true.... We were scared then. We couldn't trust anyone."

"We all were... But things are different now. I trust you." She shyly focuses on her apple again.

"Luther... Mr. Luther was like that for me, in a way. Like a dad." She fiddles with the apple core. She picks the seeds out, jostling them in her hand.

"He's... He's had a hard time. I hope-- just--" she looks away.

"Can... Can you help me keep an eye on him, Hikaru?" She asks, a pleading note in her voice.

"Of course Delilah. I'll keep an eye on him.”

Delilah visibly relaxes. She stands again, looking up into the trees. "It is really pretty here. Maybe we can make it nice again... With the cultists gone, and all."

"I may add a small shrine here. I've thought about it."

She raises an eyebrow, but considers it. "I... Suppose that's not a bad idea. Having a god presence here to keep enemies away, and an acolyte..."

She mumbles, "It sounds safer that way."

"Just a little. It makes me less uneasy. And I can rededicate it to Balgor instead of that weakling Mephistopheles"

"That's true. Freaking devil... I'll-- If-- If I get ahold of Cyrus, I'd even-- I'd bless his destruction to Balgor--" she bites her tongue, looking embarrassed and flustered.

"Why not curse him to eternal servitude to Balgor?"

The words slowly hit her. She looks up at Hikaru and shudders at the idea. "Can-- can he do that?"

"I'm sure he could. He's a God."

Delilah nods, watching Hikaru's face. "I'm... I'm not sure, that thought never crossed my mind before."

She seems to search her thoughts, remembering Cyrus. His voice. His mirthless smile. A shiver runs down her spine. "I--I can't fathom that man being alive... forever. Stalking through the world. Possibly-- maybe unkillable..."

"But completely controlled by Balgor."

"I-- I guess that would be... Fine." She still feels uneasy about it, but sees that look come into her friend's eyes.

A small smile tugs at her face as she tries to see it his way. "I guess... It'd be rather ironic? Probably the worst thing..."

"I mean it would be. Wouldn't you want him to suffer? For what he did to you?"

"It's complicated. No, and-- and yes..." She starts walking back through the forest to the keep with him.

He looks at her surprised. He thinks hard about her statement

"I suppose if that works... It's--it's not quite the same as torture. It's--it's suffering. Maddening..." She smiles a little uneasily, unaware she is.

"Is that... Justice?"

"You're not sure about it at all. You don't like the idea."

She stops short, staring at the ground. "I... I don't think I'll know WHAT I want to do with him until... Until I see him again."

"Do you want to see him again?"

A fire burns in her eyes. She clenches her fists. "I don't. But I need to. I need to fix that loose end... Somehow."

He nods.

"Plus he--" she chuckles a little, trying to break the weight in the air. "He has my rope. I kinda want it back."

"Let's take it back then."

Delilah smiles. "I'd like that."

As they come back to the clearing around the keep, Delilah approaches the area where the circle of blood once was. She stares at it for a long moment. Suddenly, she chucks the apple seeds from her hand into the middle of it.

He glances at her hoping she doesn't catch him looking at her face.

She seems contemplative, lost in her own thoughts. Shaking her head to clear it, Delilah turns back to walk the same path they did earlier.

"I liked having the peace and quiet to think, but... it's been nicer having company."

She glances at him, hoping he doesn't catch her looking either.

He looks down at the ground and fumbles for words. "I think i- you know you're- I like the company too.."

Delilah blushes. She's not sure why she's feeling so flustered around him. Was it because she died? Did something change? Did she change?

She glances at Hikaru again, trying to figure out why she's feeling so strange.

He catches her gaze and struggles between the desire to hold it and to look away. Looking away wins out and he casts his gaze away shyly.

Delilah hesitates, looking back at the path in front of them. She tries to piece together what this uncomfortable feeling is coming from.

 "Hikaru? Is... Is something the matter? Did I say something wrong? Are you-- you sure you're not mad at me for what happened..?"

"No I'm not mad at you Delilah. I don't know what I feel, but it's not anger."

"O...Okay. I believe ya. Maybe it's just me. I feel... Dagnabbit. Something is--" She gets flustered and grumbles. "Maybe I'm just tired again. I hate feeling tired..."

"Maybe we're both tired. My chest kinda hurts but it isn't all physical."

She looks at Hikaru, worried about him again. Knowing he was dealing with a lot, including having seen his uncle...

Choosing not to pry, she instead finds a spot near the crumbling watchtower where several large stones had fallen. She sits down to catch her breath. "My watch should be over in a few hours. You can head back in to sleep if you need to?"

She seems a little downcast at suggesting it, but her concern for him outweighs anything else at the moment.

"No that would feel... That would make it worse. I dunno." He sits down near her almost as though he wants to sit closer, but doesn't know if he can, but also completely subconsciously.

"No, no it's okay." Delilah scootches over so he can sit beside her, accidentally brushing her fingers against his. She glances away quickly, mumbling an apology.

His back stiffens and he tries to sit naturally but instead he looks straight as a rod and twice as awkward.

Unsure of what to say, she pulls out one of the cultist daggers from her bag and fiddles with it. She wants to keep her hands busy, and tries to get a bit more used to it. She runs her thumb along the oiled blade.

"Careful you might cut yourself."

She smirks. "I've used blades on occasion. But these are a different style." She tries to twirl it. "The grip isn't quite my size. But... I wanna be ready for Cyrus. Give em a taste of his own medicine, ya know?"

She laughs. "Sounds kinda stupid, I bet."

He grins cruelly. "No that sounds just nice."

Feeling validated by Hikaru, she loses concentration and nicks her palm, catching the handle in her other hand. "Aaah, shoot..."

"You're not supposed to cut you, just him." He nudges her arm.

Delilah chuckles. "Yeah, yeah..." she swipes the small trickle of blood on her pants, shaking her hand from the numbness. She seems contemplative though, staring at the wound.

"What's wrong Delilah?"

She flexes her fingers on her hand, then brushes the blade against her open wound again.

"Delilah?"

She snaps out of it, looking up at him. "S--sorry! Just... You made me realize something. If I fight Cyrus... He'll still cut me. Knifes are dangerous... But if I build up a resistance to the oil..." She trails off, looking at the blade in the moonlight.

"To what?"

She passes the dagger to him. Holding his hand, she tilts the blade in the moonlight. "Do you see along here? There's pressed oil dried on the blade. This is how they paralyzed me."

"With oil? You plan to make yourself immune to the oil?”

"Why not? After ingesting it and bring injected with it for so many days... It started wearing off faster. I'm sure he wouldn't expect it..."

"It may make it easier to deal with. But someone should be near you when you're doing it."

She looks confused.

"It's a paralytic. You don't want to stop your heart."

"Oh.... I guess that makes sense."

She embarrassedly lets go of Hikaru's hand, then looks at the forest. "If I can find the plants in the daytime, maybe just... Chewing 'em occasionally would do the trick. Or a tea."

"Possibly that could work."

Delilah rubs the drying blood from her hand again, chuckling. "I'm getting a lot of scars in a short amount of time, aren't I?"

"Just a few. Be careful Delilah."

"Yeah, I know..." She shrugs with a smile. She rubs the old frostbite scars on her arms a little self-consciously.

"I just.. don't want you to get hurt again.”

"Yeah..." She says it a bit more sincerely this time.

She swings her legs and looks up at the stars. "What's a happy memory from when you were a kid?"

"I used to steal chocolate and bread from the kitchens to give to my friends. I met armella because we beat each other up when I was kicking some kid's ass for making fun of my friend"

Delilah throws her head back and laughs. "You got into a fight with Armella? That's a funny way to become friends."

"She said there was a better way to get people to stop being mean! We were pretty little.”

"It sounds like her, even still." She chuckles, leaning back on her arms. "What was her way to keep people from bein' mean?"

"Talking with them."

"Hmmm..." Delilah muses that. "I guess talkin' can work. Most of the time."

"I thought it was justified, she said maybe it wasn't. We fought. Of course Ryuuji told me later that it would be easier to fight, but longer lasting to teach him not to hurt others."

She nods. "'The harder the path, the sweeter the reward.' Or so they say."

"I'm not usually one for the long haul though. Usually I fight for whatever is necessary at the time."

"Gotta pick and choose our battles... That's fair enough. Sometimes That's all we can do." She pauses. "Ryuuji sounds like he was a great brother."

"I thought he was weak after he died. Now... I don't know. It occurred to me that only the strong survive. Since he died he was clearly weak."

She is quiet for a moment. "Regardless, I'm sure he loved you. Weak or strong. He's not here so... So that you can be." She hesitates. "Maybe that itself is a different kind of strength."

She chews on his words though. Looking out at the darkness, she mulls over the last one in particular...

"Different kinds of strength?"

"Yeah, like...well..." Delilah gathers her thoughts for a moment, looking at the stars.

"Like your brother. Maybe... Maybe he tried to stall your uncle, hopin' you could get away? He cared for you. That's bravery." She furrows her brow, remembering. "Alistair... He... He died. But he didn't hesitate to risk his life to save another. That's self-sacrifice. Is he weak because he's not with us anymore?"

She shrugs. "You are right, though. Some people that die are weak. Like me." She smirks. "Not trying to give myself the short stick, but it's true." She points up. "But Saar, up there, he died too. And he did it saving the world. What was left of it anyway... We wouldn't even be here if it weren't for him, ya know? He was probably the strongest of 'em all."

Hikaru struggles with this new thought

Delilah looks over at Hikaru for a long moment, watching him consider the idea. Then she glances up again after a time, enjoying the peacefulness and the company. For once, things were quiet. Things were simple.

Hikaru feels a little uncomfortable in the peacefulness but... lets himself enjoy it.

*             *             *

For the next few days, Hikaru almost seems to avoid Delilah. When she sees him, he gets a grimace like he has heartburn or he's sick to his stomach and is bright green.

Delilah's sullen during that time, worried she had offended her friend somehow. Perhaps saying something poor about Balgor, or perhaps his brother...  Chastising herself, she tries to give Hikaru space. She still takes her watch each evening, making notes in a little book about the herbs in the woods. Once in a while, she even leaves small game in the kitchen that she's caught. Always excited to show Hikaru... but... decides against it with his mood.

After a few days, Hikaru comes back. He's still a little green and shaking a little but he appears before her one evening she's on watch.

Lost in her notebook, Delilah practically bumps into him. She jumps back in surprise, fumbling and dropping her things. "Oh!! I-- I'm sorry-- I--" Her eyes are wide with nervousness and uncertainty.

"It's alright, my fault Delilah."

"No, no it's... I'm a bit clumsy, that's all." She scoops up her things and stands up again awkwardly.

"Are you um... Are you healing ok?"

She brushes some hair behind her ear. "Yeah, I'm... I'm feeling a bit stronger each day. Just a little. How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright Delilah. Just..." He swallows his heart back down to his gut and he feels tinglies in his stomach. "I thought you might want to try practicing again."

Her eyes light up. "Oh! Um-- Sure! That sounds-- that sounds great." Her excitement turns to shyness. "I've been trying to hunt on my own but it'd... It'd be easier with someone else."

"Sorry I've been... I don't... Yeah it will be easier with someone else."

She stares up at the fading light in the sky, a thoughtful look on her face. "You wanna try hunting me this time?"

"Why not. See you if you can give me a challenge."

Delilah laughs. "I'll do my best. But I--" She looks embarrassed. "I know you're a professional... You'll probably find me in no time."

She chuckles. "....You did track me across half of Terra, after all."

 "That may have been due to the crystals though." He laughs.

"Fair enough..." She smiles. "Okay, um... Give me until..." She looks around. "Until the moon hits that spot on the North tower, just there?" She leans toward him, pointing out a jutting stone on the top of the keep.

He nods and licks his lips in anticipation for the hunt.

Delilah hurries off at a brisk pace, pulling her cloak around her. It blends into the shadows well, and she spares a few extra minutes trying to make a false trail.

She moves across some rocky ground, careful to leave as few prints as possible. Delilah finally finds a hollow tree, slipping inside and sitting to wait.

She chews on some of the herbs she found with Armella the day before, the numbing feeling only tingling now.

He waits for her to move and sits quietly patiently. He tries to be fair about it and closes his eyes but his ears don't cooperate, twitching to the sounds she's making. She's quiet, so quiet if he had human ears he wouldn't hear her... but he isn't full human, he's part fox. His heart beat quickens almost as fast as when he sees her and he inhales, her scent filling his nostrils, making his heart beat just a little faster. He opens his eyes and slinks across the ground, not buying, but appreciating her attempt to throw him off. But his nose isn't easily deceived. As he approaches he hears her breath and her pulse. He stalks up to the hollow.

In the deepest, quietest almost sinister voice, he whispers, "Hey there Delilah."

She lets out a loud yelp in alarm. Automatically scrambling away, Delilah presses up against the back of the hollow like a cornered animal, eyes wide like saucers. The intense closeness and resonance of Hikaru's deep whisper reverberates through her.

She lets out an uneasy noise. "H--hey, Mr. Karu. You-- that was-- I didn't-- I didn' even hear ya!" Then she laughs, trembling just a little; trying to slow her racing heart.

He looks concerned and reaches for her hand. "I'm sorry Delilah, I got a bit too excited. Are you ok?"

"No, no it's fine. I--" She takes his hand sheepishly, his touch reassuring. "I was just startled. Your skill is impressive as always. I'll try to be more of a challenge next time..."

She stands, brushing herself off. "I guess I'm still terribly obvious, aren't I?"

"Honestly you did well.. I may have had to use my inhuman senses to find you.”

She gives him a funny smile, her heart still beating a bit fast. "I suppose that gives you an advantage... I'll have to keep that in mind next time."

He stands with her his eyes locked on hers. He feels his heart leap back into his throat. "Delilah do you feel out of breath?”

She blushes slightly. "I-- maybe a little..." She puts her hand to her chest, rubbing at her scar. Wondering if it's from that.

"I haven't been able to breathe lately when I see you... It's why I avoided you some..."

She slowly lowers her hand, her eyes searching his. "Oh, I... I thought maybe I'd... I'd upset you," she mumbles quietly. Relief seems to flood over her. Then a slow realization.

'You didn't upset me. I just… felt... sick." He fumbles for words and looks slightly ashamed.

Delilah continues to look up at Hikaru. How close he is. "How... How long've ya felt… that way, I mean?"

“Ever since you got kidnapped.”

"Are... Are you worried I'll be taken again...? Are you anxious?" She fishes around for answers, but with a distinct impression it's more than that.

"It's... Not that. It is but it isn't that."

Delilah fiddles with her hands, rubbing them shyly. "I..." She struggles to find words, not sure why she's saying them.

"I'm... I'm not Ruby, though. Or... I mean-- They are--" She gets flustered, tearing up a little. The idea anyone would like her as Delilah feels absurd in her mind.

"Sorry, I..." She grows quiet. "I'm not sure why I... I just..."

He cocks his head "what do you mean Delilah?"

She shakes her head. "N-nothing."

"Delilah. What is it?" He takes her hand gently.

Her heartbeat quickens. She looks up at him again, his silver-like eyes studying her.

He's immediately caught in her eyes.

"I..." she trails off. She can't seem to look away.

"Delilah I, think..."

"I think I..."

Time seems to slow down around them in that small glade. Her heart flutters in her chest nervously, but she can't seem to move. Almost unaware, she squeezes his hand gently in hers.

"Delilah I-" he can't seem to get the words out but his eyes seem to tell what his troubled heart can't.

The genuine tenderness is overwhelming. This feels so different to her. Different than how she was ever treated before. It feels... Real.

Hesitantly she inches closer, before softly embracing him. She hugs him in silence for a moment. "It's... It's okay, Hikaru. I..."

"...I like you, too."

He hugs her back not trusting himself to speak.

Delilah closes her eyes, listening to his heart beating a mile a minute. She carefully brushes her hand on his back to calm him. "Hey, it's... It's alright."

"Is it? I've never been this close without a blade before."

"Perhaps? I've... and I've never been this close without a motive. This kinda thing was always for Miss Ruby. Or 'Liza, or-- but-- it never felt--" She falters. "I just... I have nothing as Delilah."

"Not anymore Delilah. Not anymore."

She chokes up a bit, some tears escaping her. She hugs him tighter.

Hikaru gives her a minute then pulls away. "I best get back Delilah. See you soon?" He almost sounds hopeful

"Y-yeah." She smiles shyly, an honest genuine one. "I look forward to it, Hikaru."

He nods then takes off.