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Dissonant Hearts (Degusaurusrex x AndrewS)

"You've been alone a long time." She nodded in understanding. She had been lonely for so long when she'd first escaped the slaughter and gone to make a life of her own, but she had never been cooped up by herself for long. There were always people, even if it was the ones she passed on the streets, the ones she had begged scraps from or the places she had found to sleep before she'd gotten a home of her own. She had never been truly alone like Isen had, had she?

"Well, sorry for making it weird, I guess. I didn't think it would bother you." She stood from the bed stiffly, making her way into the bathroom just long enough to brush her teeth and get a drink from the tap full of water that hopefully wouldn't make her sick. "Does that mean you're going to sit all awkwardly on the bed, or pace around because you're uncomfortable around me now?" She got back on the bed, pushing the covers back and getting under before she stretched out on her stomach. Not being able to lay on her back was going to be incredibly obnoxious.

"I get it if you don't want to be right next to me, but can you at least stay close enough I can get some of your heat?"
 
"It isn't your fault." He reassured her with a shake of his head. He didn't want her to feel responsible for things that were entirely on his end and a part of the thoughts inside of his head. She had been through enough already, she didn't need to worry about him too. He had to get over this and he needed to do so quickly. If this spell continued to work, there would be many more nights ahead shared between the two of them without the demon's presence; he couldn't be awkward about it forever.

"No, I won't do that." And he also had no plans of attempting to leave in the dead of night either. He had truly learned his lesson on that one.

She moved beneath the blankets and when she mentioned needing his warmth, he remembered the first night they had spent together and moved underneath them as well if only to prove to her, and perhaps himself, that he wasn't going to be awkward even though being this close to her only made the feeling intensify further. He was close to her, this bed was smaller than the one they had shared before, they were practically in contact already, the warmth of his body being stolen away by hers and not because she was syphoning any magic from him. It was strange, however, the sensation. It was like he could feel her there, against him, ever so slightly. Maybe it was just a trick of his mind but he normally couldn't feel anything, pain nor touch, including the last time she had laid beside him.

This strange realization caused him to inch away from her, initially, though that only furthered the idea that he wouldn't be comfortable near her so, instead, he did the opposite and leaned into her instead and into the sensation. He found it oddly comforting and while he didn't understand why it was happening, he didn't question it any further.
 
"Well, that's good. I never had room in my bag to just carry around a bunch of extra blankets, and these places never have any warm ones anyway." Not to mention the fact that half the time they were filthy enough she almost wanted to refuse them entirely. Beggars couldn't be choosers, though, and at least she would have the extra heat from Isen to make up for it. The bed being as small as it was made it so there was almost no room between them to begin with, and when she noticed him start to shift away she frowned and went to speak, only to realize that a moment later he was actually moving back to lean into her. Now that was strange. Why would someone who couldn't feel things doing that? Perhaps it was to spare her feelings now that she was worried about scaring him off?

"Do you remember any of your childhood?" She'd wasted no time in scooting over a bit and wiggling under his arm, laying at a slightly propped, awkward angle with her head on his chest and her arm draped over his stomach. "Any of the good bits?" She closed her eyes and tried to settle in, finding that with a little bit of maneuvering she was able to lay in a way that kept most of the weight off her injuries and instead kept her half draped, half pressed against him.

"I haven't heard you talk about it."
 
He allowed her to move as she needed until she found a position comfortable enough to lay in without aggravating the bruises on her back. It was an interesting process for him as well. She was somehow softer than he could have imagined her being, especially in contrast to his more built frame, with her chest pressed to his torso. It felt nice having her resting against him, like he was connected to someone other than a crazed demon. His arm came upwards until it rested, naturally, on the curve of her lower back, his palm pressing flatly there to keep her steady while she settled in.

"My childhood?" He asked, surprised by her question. "Of course, I remember parts of it. Not everything, but some of the better memories have managed to stick around." Most of them involved his sister. Isen barely remembered his parents or the rest of his family outside of Meribell. It was a little sad but he had moved past it. This was the first time he thought about it in ages. "Mostly just my sister, though. You would have liked her."

"How about you? You've learned a lot about your family lately, has it changed how you remember them?"
 
"Yeah, I bet I would have." Adelaide was surprised at the arm that settled over her back but said nothing, not wanting to chance scaring him off after they'd settled out the earlier weirdness. In a way, it was comforting after everything they'd endured that day.

"I don't think so. I mean, I know my parents would never have done the things everyone says my family did. And it's not like they were the only family members, the family goes back for generations, so it could have been anyone. My parents were far too kind to do anything like that, I know it." She sounded confident in her words as she sighed.

"It doesn't really matter, anyway. Even if it was true, I'd still keep going, if only for my friends that were murdered because of me." She still hadn't completely forgotten the flashback she had gotten the first time they'd teleported, she had simply been too busy to think about it much. "Will you tell me a bit about her, about your sister? Just until I can fall asleep?"
 
He had almost forgotten. She had been through two tragedies, not just with her family but also her friends afterwards. The DSTF had taken everything from her to the point where all she had wanted before she met him was to get revenge by any means necessary, even if it meant teaming up with somebody dangerous. Now, their uneasy partnership seemed much more comfortable since they had become what Isen would consider to be friends, but it didn't change the fact that they she had been through so much in such a short period of time and yet she was still finding a way to be a good person. Sure, it was vengeance at it's core, but it was vengeance against people who were doing terrible things and he felt like she would want to stop them even if they hadn't made things personal.

"If you want." He wasn't expecting her to show interest, nobody ever really did. He had spent weeks visiting her grave in the village and not a single person had bothered to ask, they were all too paralyzed with fear about his supposed reputation. He hadn't spoken about Meribell to anyone other than Ignas, who liked to use his sister's death as a means of trying to prove how weak he had become and how he needed the demon to continue on with his miserable life. Things didn't seem so awful anymore, though.

"She was incredibly stubborn...but she had a good heart. She loved flowers, she wanted to learn how to plant and take care of them on her own when she got older. I...don't really remember my parents, I just remember me and her. I was taking care of her. It was...difficult, or at least, I feel like it was. I had no idea what I was doing or how to raise a little girl, especially one so rambunctious, but I feel like we managed." Isen sighed, his hand absentmindedly moving across Adelaide's lower back, now. It was a soothing repetition but one that also helped distract him in return as he racked his memory and tried not to let sorrow creep in and ruin the atmosphere.

"Her name was Meribell and she died the night that I met Ignas." He had alluded to what had happened in passing before, but they never really ever addressed it directly.
 
She did want to know, that was the frightening thing. Their partnership had escalated so quickly that she wasn't sure what to make of it half the time. This wasn't some silly little love story, but it wasn't the partnership she had expected when he had first agreed to help her. What she had expected was for them to tolerate each other, make sure the other stayed alive only long enough for the deal to be completed. She hadn't expected them to actually speak to each other like equals, to berate the demon together, and she definitely hadn't expected for them to be laying in the same bed without there being any intent past comfort and warmth. The uncertainty of it all was what bothered her, knowing that at any moment their adventure would be done and she would need to fulfill her end of the bargain. Although, with what they had learned today, that might be a long, long time.

"Girls are wild." Adelaide laughed quietly, smiling against him as she listened to the way he spoke fondly of his sister. The comforting motion of his hand against her back made it even easier to feel the pull of sleep, his words lulling her bit by bit toward what her exhausted body desperately needed.

"I'll make sure he pays for that. I meant it." Even as her voice grew softer and laced with sleep she made a point to reiterate her earlier comment about Ignas. "By the time this is all over..." She yawned and nestled closer to him, "I'll make sure he regrets everything."
 
He wanted to make sure Ignas regretted it as well, but at the same time, Isen wasn't sure if Ignas himself could even be blamed. He was a demon, it was in his nature. Death, chaos, it came as easy to him as breathing air did to her, not to mention the whole mage war that caused him to be made into a Catalyst to begin with. There were so many different things that had happened, wheels set into motion that led him to the moment where he lost his sister and even further still to the moment he was living right now, he couldn't solely lay the blame on Ignas even though it made things easier to have a singular person or entity to channel all of his anger towards.

"The only thing you need to make sure that you do is sleep and heal up. I have a feeling things are going to be a whole lot more difficult for us in the morning and we have so many new questions that need answers."

He needed her at the top of her game again, just in case things were still off with Ignas the next time they found themselves in a fight, but he also wanted to make sure she was okay. In many ways, with her, he felt the way he did with his sister. He felt like he had a responsibility to take care of her, now, even though she was more than capable. He felt care, concern, sadness, warmth and comfort. He felt human. He never thought he'd ever feel like that again.

"Adelaide?" His voice sounded out her name with the inflection of a question, his head tilting downward to try and look at her properly while his palm continued it's gentle administrations against her back, pressing through the fabric of the shirt she had borrowed from him. "You were great today. With Samara, the spell that took out the electricity, the teleport..."
 
"Yeah?" She didn't bother to open her eyes when he said her name, although she did try to pull herself away from sleep when she heard the way that he said it. Of all the things that he could have said, that was the furthest from what she had expected. It was clear that this was a genuine, thought out compliment from him, and she could feel the heat filling her face even as she smiled.

"Yeah, I guess I did do pretty good. We both did." He was correct though, she had learned many new things in one day, had used more magic and energy than she was used to and they had still escaped relatively unscathed. They still had a long, complicated road ahead of them before everything was over, but the fact that they were working so well together, and she now had a way to control the magic inside the ring were both very beneficial to their partnership, and if she was being honest it was also reassuring in itself.

"Good night, Isen." It didn't take very long for Adelaide to fall asleep after that, wrapped in a comfortable cocoon of warmth and safety despite the shabby conditions of the motel. Between the slight battering her body had taken from intercepting blows from the guards, the lack of proper nutrition the last few days, and just overall stress, she was exhausted, and so she slept hard.

She wasn't woken by the sun rising in the morning, or even the young clerk knocking on the door for checkout. Instead, she was woken mid night by the end of a nightmare that startled her awake with a gasp, her eyes opening as she abruptly sat up and looked around. It had been nearly as vivid as the flashback from the first time she'd used the ring, different room splattered with blood and corpses strewn around. It hadn't been just one room, or one night, but a revolving door of different scenes dancing around behind her eyelids as she slept, faces and scenes muddled together as her brain tried to make any sense of it.

"Oh, hell."
 
"Goodnight." He simply told her. To say anything else would risk ruining the comfort she had already found on the very brink of falling asleep and she desperately needed the rest. His arm remained curled around her, holding her close and letting her use him as a pillow while he tried to focus on the barely-functioning television at the foot of their bed. It was stuck on a channel that was playing infomercials and he wouldn't dare get up and disturb her to change it, so he tried to occupy himself with information about cooking ware and the latest and greatest in five dollar fashion. There was no Ignas to keep him company, or to annoy him, and all was quiet outside now that night had fallen. It had left him isolated with his thoughts and the musings of a TV salesman and naturally, that meant Isen spent his time thinking more about what had happened throughout the day. And about Adelaide.

He still couldn't pinpoint the exact reason why he had acted the way he did. It was like the smallest little moments, things that would have been insignificant to him before, suddenly seemed to hold merit. The way she had looked at him, the annoyance she seemed to feel when he gave attention to Samara. The worry when she thought he may have been hurt and the anger she seemed to hold towards him every time he made a rash decision to use himself as bait or to try and buy her some time...she really did care about him. Even if it was difficult for her to show or accept, even if being with him came with the annoyance of a second entity, it didn't feel like she was using him as a partner anymore and the way she clung to him, peaceful in her sleep, only supported that fact. And now, he could feel her. Truly feel her. He hadn't felt the proper touch of anybody else since Ignas had become bound to him and it felt nice. As embarrassing as it was to admit, he didn't want her to let go.

Her peace, however, was shortlived.

A couple of hours had passed since she had fallen asleep but Isen had picked up on a subtle change in the way she was behaving. Her breathing seemed to pick up slightly, the stirring of her body causing him some slight concern before she had abruptly woken up, pulling away from him into a sitting position. He moved up with her, instantly, arm moving around her back to reassure her that she was safe and had no cause for alarm.

"Adelaide?" He questioned, perhaps more frightened than she had been herself. "What happened?"
 
She jumped when his hand first landed on her and then shook her head, taking a moment to gather her composure before she dared to speak. It wasn't that she couldn't speak, or that she didn't want to, but more that she was having a hard time collecting her thoughts to put into proper words. Her heart was still racing from the adrenaline of waking up as she had, and after a long minute she took a deep breath and smoothed her hair back.

"Just.. Bad dreams, I guess." She highly doubted this would be the last time she had them, either, and part of her was starting to wonder if it had to do with the teleporting spell in particular. This was twice she had used it and had flashbacks or nightmares within the same day, it was the only thing that made sense unless it was pure coincidence.

"I didn't mean to startle you." She took another deep breath and then exhaled slowly, dropping her hands back to her lap before sighing. "There was just.. There was so much blood everywhere."
 
His hand moved carefully over her lower back, running back and forth. It alternated directions, ascending then descending, to comfort her, while he paid careful attention not to climb so high as to aggravate the bruising near her shoulder. "Blood?" Why had her dream been full of blood? Isen wondered if she had been reliving something from her past, or something she feared for the future, and couldn't help but wonder if their conversation before she had fallen asleep, about their pasts, had triggered something inside of her head that had won out due to her exhaustion.

Or maybe it was that damn ring.

He glanced down in the dark, trying to discern it's positioning on her hand. While one of his arms remained behind her back, the other was free to do as it wished and he brought it across the front of her body towards her finger, placing his own down against that cursed ring. He could practically feel the darkness coming from it, the magic that felt so much like what he received from Ignas yet somehow even more malicious.

He didn't care how much power it gave her or how much she wanted to keep it. He was going to find a way to remove it, even if it meant going straight back to Samara in the morning to do so.

But it wasn't about that right now. In this moment of vulnerability, he knew the worst thing he could do right now was make her feel bad for the decisions she had made. He had to be there for her not as her ally but as her friend and that was what he intended to do, as uninformed on how to do so as he was.

"It was a nightmare, but you're awake now. There's no blood here, nobody to hurt you." He couldn't promise she'd never be hurt again, he wasn't foolish. Despite his abilities, the path before them was more dangerous than ever and there would be countless opportunities for things to go wrong, but what he could promise her was that for as long as they remained traveling together, as partners or to the completion of the deal they had made, he would do whatever he could to keep her suffering and pain to a minimal. "I won't let that happen again. Just as you wish to make sure Ignas regrets the things he has done, I promise to do the same to every single person that hurt you, your family, your friends and all the innocent people who are caught in between."

Where was the demon that he had been before? The reaper said to travel and kill with reckless abandon? He was a shell of that sinful reputation when he was around her and he didn't feel any regret about the change. It felt nice, in a messed up way, to devote himself to something better, to work towards making a change rather than simply accepting that what he had become.

"And don't blame yourself for anything that happened to them. The DSTF is to blame, not you. They may call you a thief and a monster but I've been called much worse before and you've found reason to trust me. What we are is not who we are, and we'll make them pay for all the pain they've caused."
 
"Yeah," Adelaide nodded, "A lot of blood." The hand on her back wasn't unexpected, but the one that came to rest on her ring was. She looked down at where she could just barely make out Isen's hand in the dark, her fingers twitching under it as she tried to figure out just why he had chosen that contact.

"I know." She knew full well that she was safe where she was, but that wasn't enough to shake the feeling of dread the nightmare had left her with. It was slowly ebbing away, her body relaxing from its tense posture bit by bit, but it refused to dissipate entirely as Isen continued to reassure her. Why was he putting so much effort into reassuring her? She was awake enough to be aware the nightmare had been just that, that there was no blood in the room, no death, only the danger of the future that could be dealt with later.

"We might have to become monsters in order to make everyone pay for what they've done to us." She sighed wearily and sniffled, shifting around on the bed until she was facing him rather than away. She was too tired to care how much of a wreck she looked like in that moment, or to be embarrassed by the fact that there were tears in her eyes. Hell, she was too tired to even care that she probably looked very much like a child as she scooted closer and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Can we just.. Sit like this for a minute?"
 
Isen let her move as she saw fit, loosening his grip around her so that she could turn to face him proper. Even through the dark, the soft illumination of the television granted him the ability to see her face, to see how distressed she had been. She had been crying, tired and upset from the weight the world had placed upon her. Even in her dreams, she was unable to escape her burdens. He couldn't sleep either, so he felt as though the two of them had something painfully in common. Neither of them could get away from what had become their worst enemy; not the DSTF or Ignas but their own minds and how harshly they treated themselves in response to the cards they had been dealt.

"You may be right. It may take a monster to defeat another monster..." He sighed, knowing his reputation for such had already been well documented regardless of who he actually was underneath that fearful exterior. "...But I will never see you as one." Even if that ring took control of her, he would never be able to think of her as anything more than Adelaide. Not a monster, but as his friend.

Her arms wound around his neck and he remained still for a couple of moments while she proposed her question. After a second or two of further deliberation, he nodded and slowly reached his own arms upwards to move around her waist again, properly embracing her into a hug. "Alright. Stay for as long as you need."

Who was he to tell her when to stop? Or that she couldn't do this? There was nowhere else he had to be tonight other than by her side.
 
As long as she needed? How was she supposed to know when enough was enough? It was a situation she hadn't expected, a comfort she was unused to, and she felt as though she had laid herself bare for Isen to see into her. There was still so much left unsaid, so much of her past that she had buried deep with no intention of digging it back up. Yet in that moment she didn't feel the need to dig any of it up, she felt comforted just to sit there and be held in silence and in the dark.

"I think I'm okay now." She wasn't sure how long they had sat there when she finally pulled back, wiping at her eyes with an embarrassed expression. "Guess everything got to me a bit more than I expected. Thanks." She finished wiping at her face and wiggled back under the covers with a yawn. "I guess I should try to sleep a bit more. We have a long day ahead of us." Her racing heart had returned to normal now that she was calm, and even the ache of her bruises didn't stop her from getting comfortable again once Isen had laid back down. Perhaps something bigger than the both of them had happened tonight.
 
He was content to stay there, keeping her steady and comforted, until she no longer felt the need for such companionship, but it didn't seem to take too long before she dismissed herself. Perhaps she didn't want to appear too needy or broken, but he didn't really think either of those things to be true. He knew himself that bearing such burdens alone could be crushing and he had almost lost himself because of it. She had helped pull him back, she had reminded him of human feelings he had been told to bury, it was only common courtesy for him to do the same for her. And beyond that sense of dutifulness, he actually wanted to.

He nodded his head and began to ease himself back down until he was laying again, leaving himself open for her to press against him again or use him as a pillow once more. He was fine with either as long as it helped her to sleep peaceful again. "You're welcome." He told her, though she didn't need to thank him for anything at all. She had comforted him when he felt sick and he knew she would do the same again if ever he needed it but he wasn't yet at a point where his past could break him again. "I'll be here if it happens again but I don't think it will. The worst is over now."

His hand came upwards, to the back of her head and then it delayed. His touch was gentle not on purpose but out of hesitancy, as his fingers moved against the back of her head. He remembered doing this for Meribell when she was upset, a soft massage, a gentle tug of the hair. It was soothing and he intended it to help lull her back to sleep so deep that not even the darkest nightmare could disturb her and cause her grief again.
 
"Yeah.. I think you're right." She settled in easily enough, half propped and half draped over him before closing her eyes. "I hope you are, anyway." She jumped slightly when his hand landed on the back of her head, but after the briefest pause she sighed and leaned her head into his hand. When was the last time someone had done that to her? When her mother was still alive, probably? It might have been one of the most comforting things Isen had done for her since they'd met, and she made no effort to do anything but lean into the touch as she dozed back off.

He was right, she didn't wake again for the rest of the night. When she did finally wake it was to the sound of a lazy knock at the door, followed by the Clerk's annoyed voice announcing it was time for them to get up and come pay for the night. She hadn't expected him to actually come and knock on the damn door, but there he was annoying the hell out of her first thing in the morning.

"I hear you already!" Adelaide cursed unhappily as she rolled over and sat up, rubbing at her eyes with an annoyed grunt. Seriously, of all the ways to wake up it had to be that? What a prick. She was tempted to skip out on the fee just because of his rude attitude, but they couldn't risk doing that and having him potentially make a call to the authorities about the girl and the man with the sword.

"I'm starting to remember why I hate people. Guess I'll take a shower somewhere later." They still had so much to do, but hopefully Samara could at least direct them towards a laundromat and somewhere to shower when they went to visit her. "At least the demon is still quiet." Did she have to actually reverse the spell to hear him again, or would it just randomly wear off? Whatever the case, she was glad for the silence as she trudged around getting dressed and getting everything together.

"I take it you want to go to Samara's once I pay this asshole?"
 
Isen could hear the clerk coming towards the door before they arrived but he figured it had something to do with getting them up and out of the room. By now, the sun had risen again but he hadn't any desire to wake her after the night she had, so he was content with letting her sleep in a little bit longer. His hand had long since stopped moving against the back of her head and he had alternated simply to holding her steady against him, feeling her slow, rhythmic breathing as she slept comfortable without anymore nightmares disturbing her rest.

When she heard the knocking on the door, however, she was finally awoken and she seemed angry about it. At least it was still quiet on the demon front, as she happily pointed out. He was beginning to wonder just when exactly the spell would wear off or if they'd ever even hear him again. All the benefits of their bond without hearing him in his head? That sounded like a dream but that was, of course, unlikely.

She mentioned Samara and Isen nodded his head, shifting to the edge of the bed so that he could stand back up. "Yeah. I think we have some things we need to talk about." The spell, what they found below the DSTF building...maybe getting that ring off of Adelaide's finger. Isen had many things he wished to ask the witch before they left Cresthaven, presuming that they wouldn't have much of a reason to stay here right now, especially now that they had been ousted as being in the city and had, technically, launched an attack on a second DSTF facility.

Should he bring up the night prior? Last time, after they had spent a night together, neither of them seemed to make a point to bring it up and it seemed as though something similar was about to happen here. He decided he wouldn't be the one to break that silence, standing to shut off the television and to gather Onigoshi back to his side. He remained clothed in what she had picked out for him at the store, and he was beginning to like the way it looked on him, but he knew it might be best to change again as soon as they could to avoid suspicion.

"We should probably get you some food as well. I don't want you getting cranky on the way there." He mused, chuckling to himself. Was that a joke? God, what had she done to him?
 
"Yeah, probably. Those things we saw have the potential to wipe out any devices she spelled to hide the Dissonants, so she'll probably want to know about it." The entire situation was a disaster now.

"Yeah, I do need to eat. We can just swing through the diner again and get a to-go box or something, I don't care. And I can refill my water bottle, I'm not drinking what's coming out of the tap here, it might poison me." Probably not, but she was cranky and being a bit dramatic. Cranky enough that it took until they were nearly back to the clerk's desk for her to realize what he'd said.

"Wait, you made a joke." She froze and gave him an incredulous look before she heard the clerk clearing his throat, and she shot him an annoyed look before digging out some crumpled bills from her wallet. "Keep it up with that attitude and you'll be working a dead end job your whole life. Little patience and attentiveness goes a long way, kid." She didn't wait for any response or the tiny amount of change she would have gotten, if she'd even given him enough, but turned on her heel and stalked back out of the motel after grabbing onto Isen's coat sleeve.

"I assume you remember the way? We can stop by the diner just long enough for me to get something small, then we'll go see Samara and get some directions for the other stuff we need to do for the day."
 
Isen found amusement in her delayed reaction to his attempt at making a joke. "I'm trying something new. What do you think?" He asked, equal parts joking and curious, though they were interrupted by the clerk trying to get payment for their room, so he let the conversation die for the time being.

"This is what I meant when I said you get cranky. He woke you up and he had to face your wrath." Isen mused, shrugging his shoulders as they walked outside into the cool, winter morning that awaited them. She grabbed onto his sleeve and reflexively, he stepped a little bit closer to her, making it easier for her to remain next to him. Perhaps it brought her comfort, it didn't feel like she was trying to lead him around anymore.

He was pretty sure he could manage to find their way back, recognizing some of the other buildings along the way already. "I think it's this way." He told her, taking a left turn and finding that it definitely was the right direction. Proud of his memory, he led her to the front of the diner they had visited the morning prior. "Are you sure you have enough money left for this? Shall I hit some more vending machines?"
 
"I haven't slept or eaten good in days, what did you expect? That and I'm all bruised up because I have to wait for your idiot demon to get his act in gear so I can steal some of the healing magic. Or I guess I can ask Samara," She was more so talking to herself at the end, stopping only when she realized that Isen was asking her a question.

"I don't have a ton of money, but since I hadn't paid rent yet, I still had enough to get by for a tiny bit. I can't survive on vending machines entirely, so I need at least real food once in awhile. Can't afford to be weaker than I am now, can I? I'll make it quick and eat on the way, okay?" Adelaide remained true to her word, ordering the cheapest breakfast sandwich there was on the menu, which wasn't much more than eggs and cheese on bread, before they were out and on their way to Samara's.

"So we need to talk to her about all that stuff, then we need to find a Laundromat, because shoplifting entire wardrobes isn't nearly as easy as your outfit," One he would have to change out of soon enough, sadly, but her point remained the same. "If it weren't winter this would be so much easier, but I can't exactly sleep outside, even if you could.. This is hell."
 
She certainly was talkative this morning, especially for someone who had been through what she had. Her rude awakening seemed to have worn off on her and she was back to her old self, rambling even as she wandered inside to grab her breakfast. He waited near the door, just in case, considering he seemed to have a bit of a penchant for making waitresses uncomfortable whenever he seemed to go somewhere involving food. Receiving her on the way back out, he began to walk again, this time off towards the direction of the alleyway they had used before to visit Samara while she talked about how much she seemed to hate the winter. Was it really that bad? Considering the elements did nothing to slow him down, he wasn't exactly the right one to talk about it, he supposed.

Because she still had the spelled wall to keep things hidden and inconspicuous, it was a little difficult for Isen to discern which alley actually belonged to her. Trudging through the snow, they made it halfway down the one he had chosen when a small, black-furred kitten crawled out from beneath a powdered white, overturned cardboard box that it had been calling home for the night. It shook itself, letting the snow that had caught on it's back fly free, it's head turning upwards as it's bright, orange eyes narrowed on new company. Leaving tiny tracks in the snow, the kitten walked towards Adelaide, cautiously, before rubbing the side of it's head against her leg.

"I think you've made a friend." Isen told her, watching the cat's peculiar movements. "It's probably been stuck out here all night. Now you have somebody to sleep outside in the snow with." Was that another joke? He was on fire.

Isen walked past the cat, running his hand along the brickwork in the wall until his fingers passed through, revealing the concealed passage they were looking for. Giving a look back towards Adelaide and her new feline friend, he walked through into Samara's shop, knowing she'd follow.
 
"Are you sure this is the one? They're all starting to look the same." She knew she could have paid better attention, but it wasn't as if she thought they'd be visiting again so soon! "Oh! What is that?" Adelaide hadn't been expecting for the half soggy box in the snow to suddenly move, let alone for a creature to come out from underneath it. It wasn't much of a creature, either, just a little scrap of a kitten shaking itself off only to rub against her leg.

"Uh.. Well then." She stared down at the kitten awkwardly before leaning down to scratch behind its ear, turning to give Isen an exasperated look at his attempt at a joke. "Well aren't you just full of creative jokes today? I'm not sure what to make of it." She couldn't bear to pull herself away from the cat just yet, crouching down and scratching its ears as it began to purr and rub back and forth against her legs.

"Hold on, hold on!" There was only a moment of hesitation before Adelaide scooped the kitten up, receiving a brief protest from it before she tucked it into the crook of her elbow and followed Isen inside. To hell with it, Samara had a bird, clearly she liked animals at least a little, so maybe she could find it a home.

"Uh.. I may have brought an extra friend. You want a cat?" The moment the witch appeared, Adelaide held the kitten up toward her with a sheepish expression. "I mean.. Witches like black cats, right?"
 
Once on the other side, Isen turned back when Adelaide stepped through the doorway, his eyes immediately falling down to the kitten nestled onto her arm. She had brought it with her?

Samara appeared from the back room as dramatically as she had the first time. She didn't seem surprise to see them back once more, though given her talent, that shouldn't have really been expected. She cast a curious glance down towards the cat and then back to Adelaide with a small laugh. "No." She responded, calmly, taking a step forward. "...but you do."

"She...does?" Isen asked, raising a brow. They barely had enough money to keep Adelaide fed as it was, they couldn't afford another traveler, especially one so fragile.

"Mhm, she does." Samara seemed oddly happy about this exchange and she snapped her fingers afterwards. "Priscilla, be a dear and fetch me a ribbon." The sound of wings flapping in a different room followed suit until the crow made it's way outwards, a orange ribbon caught between it's beak. Dropping it down into Samara's open hand, it returned to it's typical perch over looking the shop while the witch played with the ribbon, unfurling and wounding it around her finger.

"This will do just fine. Adelaide! Repeat after me." Samara told her, reaching out for the kitten's tail. It pulled it away, instinctively, so the witch ran her fingers along it, gently, gaining the kitten's trust before trying the ribbon into a bow at the tip of it's tail. She then began working on a spell, speaking out an incantation slowly, looking expectedly towards Adelaide to follow along and repeat it though nothing appeared to be happening. "Oh, wait! Of course, silly me." She looked back towards Priscilla who seemed to know exactly what Samara wanted. It flapped down onto Adelaide's shoulder, pressing it's wing against her cheek, creating contact between them.

"There we go. Now, you should have exactly that you need. Let's try that again, shall we?" She mused while Priscilla distanced herself from Adelaide. Samara began repeating the incantation, expecting it to work this time when Adelaide played along.
 
"I do?" Why would she want to take on a pet when they were barely making it by as they were? She could hardly take care of herself, how could she properly take care of an animal, especially while they were on the move? Adelaide watched curiously as Samara instructed the bird and it appeared with a ribbon not unlike the color of the cat's eyes, only for Samara to work at it and go to wrap it around the animal's tail. What was that all about?

"Uh.. What?" The witch wasn't explaining anything to her, and now she was pausing and looking expectantly at her familiar? She didn't understand why the bird was pressing against her like that, but seeing as Samara had yet to do anything that would harm them, she nodded and attempted to repeat the words to the best of her ability.

It didn't appear to do anything at first, but as she continued to repeat after Samara, a strange feeling worked its way through her body, an immense warmth forming where she was cradling the kitten in her arms still. Somehow it didn't seem to be bothering the animal, if anything it was purring as it rubbed against her arm! She swore she could feel the comfort radiating from the small animal that had previously been trying to pull away from Samara, and a hand idly rubbed over its tiny head as she finished speaking.

"...What was that about?"
 
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