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Dissonant Hearts (Degusaurusrex x AndrewS)

"Jesus!" Adelaide jumped as Isen stabbed the general not far from where she'd landed on him, but after a short moment her lips curled up into a smile. Samara had truly gotten her revenge on the general, her magic being the thing that was suffocating him inside of his own armor right now. He could die knowing that he was taken down by all of the people that he loathed the much, with Lorelei watching as he gasped for air.

"I'm getting there, demon." Destroying the drone, teleporting, and taking down the general had taken the last of the magic she had energy to control, and after staring down at the face that was turning purple due to oxygen deprivation, she scoffed and used the last of her energy to snap his neck, rolling off and sprawling on the floor beside Isen with a groan.

"Sorry that took so long." She managed to get close enough to touch him, reaching out and grasping for one of his hands while Lorelei stared in stunned silence from across the room. Was she even upset that her husband was dead, or was she somehow relieved that someone else had done the dirty work and kept her safe from his wrath? After how she had disobeyed and insulted him, there was no question that he would have come for her the moment this had all ended, and now she was not only saved from his anger, but Adelaide was too exhausted in every way to get up and attack the older woman.

"Alright, Ignas, do your job. I can't get us out of here yet. Too much... That was too much, my ring isn't cooperating." She squeezed Isen's hand and shifted closer to him, glancing at Lorelei wearily but seeing the old mage make no move to attack them. Interesting.
 
In a very twisted way, Isen felt great relief in hearing the snap of Orion's neck. It meant that it was over. He couldn't cause anybody else anymore pain. He wouldn't come after Adelaide anymore, there wouldn't be anyone forcing Lorelei to develop death machines and the entire DSTF as a whole would be weaker for it. It felt like they had won, though neither of them truly looked the part. They were both a mess, in different ways, with the uniform Samara had made now stained with blood and torn to shreds from all of the different wounds while Adelaide was exhausted beyond her limits once more.

There was also a beautiful irony. Samara had avenged her mother in the end, just like she always wanted. She did it. Isen just wished she could have been here to do it herself.

Isen's hand twitched underneath her touch, a telling sign that he had felt it. His own curled around hers, holding on to her for dear life. He had forgotten all about Lorelei even being in the room, he was barely concious as it was, but just having there with him, touching him again, made him feel stable. She was home.

Using Onigoshi as a crutch once more to support his body, he lifted himself up slowly while keeping her fingers locked with his own, helping her on to her feet as well. He had been healed but it had still been a lot of strain on his body, he was experiencing pains that he couldn't feel and it would take a little while for Ignas' magic to truly bring him back to one hundred percent.

"What about the other witch?" He asked, bringing Isen's attention back down to Lorelei. He stumbled forward, with intent of lifting his sword to finish her off too but he hesitated as well. Why had she allowed Adelaide to kill Orion? Had she finally had enough of her husband's cruelty? Was she the reason they were both alive?

Just as it seemed they were finally free to leave, Isen heard the sound of magic rippling in the distance as another teleportation occured. His original thought was that Lorelei had just ported herself out but she was still there, directly in front of him, meaning that whoever had arrived was behind them and, judging by the look on Lorelei's face, that wasn't a good thing.

"Leaving so soon?" A male's voice came from over Isen and Adelaide's shoulders, heard loud and clear. It spoke with eloquence, a proper accent that carressed every word with care in a way that almost sounded too proper to not be fake. Furthermore, his voice dripped with sarcasm, Isen couldn't tell if he meant a single word he was saying when he addressed them directly.

"We haven't even been properly introduced and I'm just dying to meet Cresthaven's vengeful guardian angels."
 
"Okay, I guess we're getting up." She wasn't nearly ready to get back up and stand, let alone do anything magic related, but Isen was helping her to her feet as they leaned on each other for support. "Just leave her, don't waste your energy." As much as Adelaide would have loved to throttle the old woman herself, neither her or Isen had any energy left to spare. Just figuring out a way to get out of the building was going to be hard enough, but judging by the sudden voice from behind them, it had just gotten a lot harder.

"Sir." Lorelei's tone was overly polite as she met eyes with the man, choosing to ignore the fact that not only was the room full of bodies Orion had sent after Isen as sacrifices, but that the general himself was laying in a pile of crushed bones and purple faced. "We weren't expecting you." She was speaking as though they weren't surrounded by carnage, as though the DSTF hadn't just terrified the entire town and murdered several innocent people because of their drones. Was she delusional?

Adelaide turned slowly with Isen to look at this new person, lifting her chin and examining him carefully. Another big name person in the organization? The way Lorelei was addressing him and seemed to keep her distance was worrying, but more so the fact that they were both completely tapped out on energy and magic. They were screwed, weren't they?
 
Foot steps began to echo through the room with no other source of noise to drown it out. He stepped over bodies, broken and bloody, walking towards them without a care or concern for the fact that the two of them, although in terrible shape, were the cause of all the destruction around him. Isen turned, slowly, partly because his body wouldn't allow him to move any faster but also because he didn't want to face down another threat, not right now. They had just gotten rid of the first one!

Before them, a couple of paces away, was a man wearing a black and grey suit. He was dressed to the nines, as though he were ready for some grand occasion and not a meeting in a room full of death. He didn't look threatening, however, he just looked like a normal man that could have walked in from the street. There was nothing about him that screamed a threat and yet he garnered such respect that Lorelei addressed him as 'sir'.

There was nothing threating about him at all...except for what he held in his right hand. His fingers were curled around a scepter, also black, with a golden trim near the top. Seated atop the trim was a sphere, dark black and purple, that appeared to have some sort of magic wisping around inside of it. It's shade seemed eerily similar to that of the magic inside of Onigoshi, something that was not lost on Ignas, who had sensed something disturbing from the man.

"Isen...that's a catalyst. It feels familiar. Like I've...seen it before?"

"Lorelei, my condolences for your loss. Your husband was quite the individual...ambition, perhaps beyond his means...he served his purpose well but I can't say I'm sad to see him go. Disappointed, maybe, but definitely not sad." A smile stretched across his face as he spoke with such a pleasant cadence that it made it difficult to see the calm, dark undertones beneath his words. "What he has shown me has been truly eye opening but the damage he has done...it will be difficult to mend the rift that it has created with the public but I'm sure you will see to it that things are back on track soon, isn't that right?"

He turned his attention to Adelaide and Isen, now, taking another couple of steps forward until he was within arm's reach of the two most powerful threat to his empire and he seemed so unafraid that it was a little insulting.

"But you. You." He repeated, emphasizing it. "You have been magnificent. Truly, beautifully magnificent. The power, the passion...it would make for an incredible song."

Song? Was he really trying to talk to them about music, right now? Who was this guy?

"And the way you've captured the hearts of the downtrodden within the city? You have lived up to your reputations and then some! Isen Hiyori. Adelaide Lancaster. Bravo to you both for your performance."

Isen looked at Adelaide like he was seeing and hearing things. Maybe it was the exhaustion, or he was just finally going crazy. Was this really happening, right now?

The magic in the orb continued to swirl, faster now, giving off a glow. The man seemed to acknowledge it, glancing down.

"There's no need to be rude to our esteemed guests....yes, I suppose you're right." Was he talking to himself? No. He was talking to it. Did he have a demon inside that catalyst like Isen did?

"That voice...Isen...Isen, we need to go. Right now. I'm not joking. We. Need. To. Go."

"As enraptured by your performance as I have been, I can't exactly allow the two of you to leave after what you have done. You understand, don't you?" He tilted his head, slightly, still smiling. His vision drifted to Lorelei. "You are excused. I know this is your grand daughter, I wouldn't want you to have to see what comes next." He warned her, wishing for Lorelei to leave the room. The glowing of the orb on the scepter intensified further while Ignas continued to try to make Isen leave but his body wasn't moving an inch.

"My name is Maximilian Whitmore. You may have heard of me before. I have been known for many things...millionaire, composer, musician, mage, strategist...these days, I'm better known as the head of the DSTF, the organization you have tried your hardest to destroy. You have been most entertaining. It pains me for it to have to come to this but you are simply too powerful and too cunning, I can not allow such a persistent thorn in my side to exist."

Raising the scepter upwards, his eyes seemed to darken, the pleasant features of his face changing on a dime to something purely terrifying and almost down right demonic.

"Malakai. Drain them."

The energy that began to pulse from the scepter, similar as it was to the dark magic used by Ignas, somehow felt even stronger and more potent. It rippled through the room as two tendrils of shadowy black magic extended from within it. They shot directly towards Isen and Adelaide, weaving through the air like unnatural snakes, zigging and zagging sporadically until they connected with both of their intended targets. When they did, the tendrils tightened and began to pulsate with purple highlights weaving moving back and forth along it's length. Isen had tried to lift Onigoshi to block it but it had avoided the blade, entirely, sentient in the way it dodged and wrapped around in such an angle that just perfectly avoided contact while still allowing whatever spell it was to reach Isen's chest.

His vision began to haze, his body instantly crumbling forward, onto his knees, an effect that Adelaide would surely feel as well. It felt like something was being taken out of him, like something had been stolen, like his very life itself was seeping from his body and in to the tendril which was transporting it straight back to the catalyst.

"Isen!" Ignas yelled in a way Isen had never heard him yell before but it barely registered with him, he couldn't hear anything at all. His ears were ringing, his vision blurred, his lungs stopped working and it seemed as though his body itself was being robbed of every ounce of energy left inside of it. Onigoshi flared with what magic Ignas could offer but it did very little, unable to slow down whatever this was.

The van Dynes were just the tip of the iceberg. The DSTF were harboring something much, much worse.
 
"That catalyst feels a lot like you, Ignas." Hadn't he mentioned something about sensing a demon before, or was her brain so fried from everything that she was remembering incorrectly? Adelaide squinted and tried to focus more on the scepter he was holding, spotting the familiar purple that she had become accustomed to associating with Ignas. If there wasn't a demon inside of that catalyst, then she wasn't sure what the hell was inside of it, because none of the other magic based weapons they'd had looked like that.

"Yes sir, of course." Lorelei seemed to be speaking on autopilot, not quite focusing on the new arrival, but not quite focusing on anything else, either. She seemed to either be in shock or to be completely defeated, averting her eyes from both her deceased husband and any of the living people there by staring down at the floor with her hands clasped in front of her. To see her look so withdrawn, a shell of the cruel woman she'd been since Adelaide had first discovered her identity, she couldn't tell if it was a trick or reality.

When the man turned his attention back to Adelaide and Isen, the mage tried to take a step backward and then halted, too exhausted to try and move her injured companion when it would do little to change anything. The man standing before them was powerful, she could feel all of the magic from his catalyst and it unnerved her. Even as he seemed to build them up through speech, praise them for their displays of power and all their efforts and effects on the people in the city, there was something dark brewing behind all of the praise.

"There's a fucking demon in there." Adelaide didn't need to hear anything to know it, and her head turned towards Lorelei as the man excused her and then went on to introduce himself. Her grandmother made no effort to leave the room, still seeming too defeated to even more from where she stood, seemingly unaware of her surroundings.

"Isen, we need to go." Samara's magic was gone, her own was depleted, and even all the magic in the ring couldn't be properly harnessed when she was so shattered from the effort of using so much magic in such a short time. The moment he had spoken another name and commanded it she knew there was a demon there for certain, coupled with Ignas' reaction to it, which she had found very interesting before she'd been distracted by the current pain.

Her hands had ended up on the floor, having let go of Isen at some point as she screamed and tried to fight against the magic that was pulling at her. At first she had thought it was trying to steal whatever magic was left in her, but the pain was so unbearable that she couldn't speak, broken sobs coming out between gasps for air as her nails scraped along the ground and she tried to turn toward Isen to see how he was faring. Even that was an impossible task, her body weak and frozen in place.

"I told you we should have come sooner."

"Well I didn't expect them to have another demon here."

"Get the man, I've got her."

There were voices breaking through the haze as she felt an immense amount of magic wash over the entire room, and even Lorelei took a step back and gasped as she spotted the new entries that had appeared. A group of four had appeared inside the room and collectively broken the connection between the catalyst and the two injured parties, three men and a woman who stood between the opposing sides. Adelaide felt herself being pulled to her feet by one of the men, an arm wrapping around her waist before she was hoisted bridal style into arms with a grunt.

"Get the old bitch, too. We don't have time for this, make sure the demon can't attack again."

"Isen. Where's Isen?"

"Hush, child, you're safe. Your father was a good friend to us, and we've been looking for you ever since we heard you were still alive."

What the hell was going on? She could hear voices all around as her vision slowly returned, and she saw that a very large man was holding Isen upright and putting distance between him and Maximilian.

"You people never give up, do you? You got the man? Good, then it's time we depart again. Do me a favor and make sure the one in the suit doesn't pull that stunt again."
 
Isen could barely tell what was happening around them. Something, or someone, had broken the connection between him and the scepter, freeing him from the death grip that it had over him. His eyes were still clouded, his vision unfocused, he could hear things but he couldn't see them. There were more people in the room? Where had they even come from? They were bustling around, quickly, with clear intentions of helping Adelaide which, by proxy, meant him as well. It even sounded as though they were going take Lorelei with them as well, but was Maximilian really just going to let that happen?

He watched, with amusement, as his features softened, removed the demonic gaze that had befallen it when he activated his catalyst. "Hm, what's this?" He asked, out loud.

"Witches." Came a voice unheard to Isen.

"More of them? How are there more of them?"

"I do not know, but it may be wise to fall back for now. We do not know what they are capable of."

Maximilian heard them talking about 'making sure he didn't pull that stunt again' and he decided to take Malakai's advice, departing for now.

"It's been fun, Adelaide, Isen. I'm sure we will meet again. We have unfinished business." Disappearing in an instant from a teleport, the nefarious presence of Maximilian Whitmore and his demon companion had vanished from the room and suddenly, it felt safe to breathe again. Ignas remained quiet through the entire ordeal and was still yet to speak a word while Isen found himself being lifted and pulled away but the people who had came to save them.
 
"There's a.. Demon. I can hear him." Adelaide was in a daze, her tone half delirious as she felt herself being adjusted as she tried and failed to reach for Isen. "Where's Isen?" She was still trying to reach for him when Maximilian disappeared, grasping at air as the rest of them departed from the DSTF facility and reappeared inside of Samara's shop. There was the sound of something clattering around and then Isabella cursing loudly, bolting over and peering at Adelaide worriedly.

"When you bloody bastards left me with the other witch and all left, I had no idea what was going on!" Five of them had shown up looking for Adelaide and Isen, claiming to be related to the mage's father. One had stayed behind to help tend to Priscilla and Samara's bodies, and had even helped Takami with some minor healing before sitting by waiting patiently for their friends to return.

"Put them in the bed, I'll start getting some wet rags and water." Adelaide groaned as she was jostled around more and taken into the back room, batting at the hands of the mystery man who was setting her down gently. Now that her vision returned, all she cared about was how Isen was.

"I'm fine, let me help him." There was so much blood to be cleaned off, his entire suit was likely trash at this point, and hers wasn't much better, but at least she wasn't cut up everywhere. "I can do it, Isa--" A hand pushed her down onto the mattress and left her staring at the ceiling in confusion for a long moment. When had she ended up on her back? "Isabella, I can do it, tell these assholes to let me take care of him."

"You're barely alive yourself, you should see yourself right now. You're as pale as I am, and I can barely feel any magic coming from you." The vampire shook her head in a bit of disgust as one of the men laid Isen down carefully on the bed, already working at the ruined suit to remove it from his body as Isabella came to tend to Adelaide. "You need care too, and there's a lot that's happened since you all left."

"Samara's--"

"They're keeping her body and the bird's safe, stop worrying, you're going to end up killing yourself and then everything will have been a waste. Shut up, sit back, and just recover for now. They want to talk to you, but you need to rest first."

"The demon will be fine with time. He needs to recover, though." The man that had laid Isen down and stripped him frowned, waiting impatiently for the bowl of water and rags before he began to clean some of the blood off and inspect the wounds. "He'll live. You both need to rest, and then you and I have some business to discuss, Adelaide Lancaster."

"You knew my dad?"

"Rest now, we'll speak later."

She could hear voices in the other room as Isabella got her settled down and began to help her into more comfortable clothes while Isen was tended to, refusing to hear any arguments about Adelaide doing the work herself. Once that was all said and done the vampire went back into the other room, staring at the several witches and Takami with a sigh.

"Best I can do for now. Takami, how are you holding up?"
 
"I am fine." Takami responded to the question, though he was very obviously lying. He hadn't sheathed his catalyst since the incident in the alley; he was keeping it as close to his chest as he possible could. It's color had almost all but faded, he was struggling to stay composed even after being healed. "Do not concern yourself with me when there are others more in need."

~~~

Isen still hadn't quite recovered from everything that had happened to him. When he started to finally feel a little better, he was on his back in a room full of strangers, and Isabella, who were trying to get him out of his tattered suit. Ignas had been able to heal all of the wounds, it was just a matter of Isen needing some time now to recover fully, but when he tried to sit up, he found he was being pushed back down. They weren't going to let him be up and walking around any time soon and he was still too woozy to argue with that.

When his mind began to clear up a little, his thoughts were only of Adelaide. Was she safe? Did they take her too? He tried speaking to Ignas in his head but the demon wasn't answering, something which was slightly concerning. "Where is she?" He managed to ask, being assured that she was getting taken care of and he didn't need to worry. "I want to see h-" He argued but he wasn't getting anywhere with his case.

He had been undressed, a sheet laid over his torso, which had been cleaned of the blood that had dried onto, and stained, his skin. He rested for a few moments, until the strangers left him alone, then forced himself back up into a seated position as he had attempted to do before. He immediately looked around the room for any sign of Adelaide, Ember, or somebody that he knew, finding her in the bed next to his. She was alive, and it looked as though she had been given a similar treatment to him. She was resting, he didn't want to disturb her but, if he were to admit the truth, he really just wanted to hear her voice again to know for sure.

Isen wanted to stand, to walk towards her, but he didn't yet know if his body had recovered enough to support his weight. So, for now, he would need to settle with being a couple of feet away from her but just knowing she was okay had taken a giant weight from his shoulders.

"Are you awake?" He called out across the short distance between them, a sigh following afterwards. They had been through hell and back together and none of it was his fault...so why did he feel like he needed to apologize for the concern and worry he must have caused her while he was being attacked by Orion? "I'm...I apologize..." He spoke again, softer than the first time, uncertain whether she was even awake to hear it or not.
 
"Let her sleep." The man that spoke from the doorway definitely fit the bill for what a witch would look like; long black hair tied back into a neat braid, and bright blue eyes in a nearly identical shade to Adelaide's. "You've both been through a lot, and you need to rest too. I'd tell you to sleep, but I'm not entirely sure that demons sleep, but I can't speak to yours." He glanced toward the corner of the room where they had put Onigoshi when they'd stripped and cleaned Isen, then back to the pair on the bed.

"If either of them try to get out of bed right now, I'll put them back there myself, the stubborn idiots!" Isabella's voice came from the hallway and the man's mouth twitched before he chuckled quietly.

"She is asleep, and I'm speaking to the demon."

"He's not the demon, that's in the sword."

"Irrelevant--"

"His name is Isen, use it or I'll come in there and kick your ass too!"

The man rolled his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose and taking a deep breath before turning back to Isen.

"Your vampire friend nearly tore our heads off when we first showed up. Most of the people here scattered after the witch was killed, but the vampire--"

"My name is Isabella!"

"...You're going to wake her up. Anyway, Isabella, threatened to tear our throats out if we meant either of you any harm. You clearly have some loyal friends, which is incredibly strange for someone possessed by a demon."
 
As badly as Isen wanted to speak to Adelaide, he wasn't going to disturb her from her sleep, especially if she needed the rest as badly as this stranger was saying. Isen didn't necessarily want to trust somebody he hardly knew, but he didn't really have much of a choice and they had saved them, after all.

Their back and forth left Isen with the impression that whoever this was didn't exactly have a high opinion of demons. More interesting was the fact that he even knew what demons were to begin with! They weren't common knowledge like other Dissonants, if they could even considered Dissonant at all.

"Isabella, it's alright." Isen told her, shaking his head. He could tell she was getting worked up. She seemed very protective of them, it would have been endearing in any other situation but this one where he just felt like she was going to annoy whomever this person was.

He thought Isen was possessed? That wasn't quite how it worked but should he even bother to explain it? Isen sighed and spoke directly to the unknown party in the room.

"I'm not possessed." Isen corrected, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "That's not how it works...Who are you? And why did you come save us?" He wanted answers while he had the chance and it if Adelaide wasn't waking up any time soon, he needed to keep himself occupied. He looked the part of a witch but as far as Isen knew, there weren't really any of those left anymore. Had they been lying in secret? "Do you know that man? The one that attacked us?" Isen meant Maximilian, not Orion. He had so many questions for anyone who would answer.
 
"Tomato, tomato." The man took a lean back against the wall inside the door and shrugged. "I know all about you, Reaper. I heard about you years and years ago. I didn't come to save you, I came for her." He gestured at Adelaide. "She clearly has an attachment to you, so we took you too, and the old bitch. Do I know Maximilian? No, I know of him, and I know that he's got a demon of his own." He paused and listened to the voices outside of the room before sighing. Isabella was arguing with Lorelei, who was currently being held in some sort of magical binding while they all decided what to do with her.

"My brother was her father. Up until recently, I thought that entire family was dead. Imagine our surprise to hear about the two of you taking on the DSTF and going on the most wanted list. Only one family can steal magic like she can, so I knew it had to be her." A shrug. "We needed a proper plan first, and I wasn't expecting the... Warm welcome from your vampire friend, or the corpses we found. Your other friend looks like he's about to join them, but from what I hear, he was a traitor anyway. He doesn't have a demon to save him like you do, does he?"
 
Of course they had come for Adelaide. It seemed like everybody wanted her for themselves. The DSTF, the witches, her grandmother...even Isen. Her power was incredible, he couldn't deny it, but he was beginning to get a little tired of always feeling as though she had a target on her back. Why did it have to be so difficult? She deserved to be happy and it felt like it was never going to happen.

"So, his catalyst is like mine?" Isen mused to himself. This is where he would have expected Ignas to chime in with a snide comment about how no other demon could possibly be like him, but he heard nothing but silence again.

"Takami? He's the only reason we even managed to get this far. Who cares if he betrayed the DSTF?" Isen leaned forward; he didn't like this individual. Not at all. "I appreciate you getting her out of there but she isn't yours to take. I don't care if you've come here for her or what kind of plan you wanted to make, I won't let you leave with her."

This man was family to Adelaide but that wasn't enough for Isen to trust him, Lorelei was the perfect example of why he would have his doubts. Isen was in absolutely no condition to fight, especially against a group of powerful witches, but after all they had been through, he wasn't going to let anybody take her away from him. "If you want to use her and her power, you'll have to go through me." It was a threat, clear and protective, his eyes glancing over from the corner of his eye to where she was sleeping before focusing back on the problem on hand.
 
"More or less like yours." The man stared at him blankly for a long moment, taking in his words before he began to laugh. The beast thought they were there to steal or use the woman? Well now, that was interesting, but what was far more interesting was how quick he was to defend her despite his current physical state.

"You misunderstand our intentions." He held up his hands in a placating gesture and shook his head. "We're not here to steal her away or use her, we're here to protect her. We all want the DSTF to burn, but I have no intention of forcing Adelaide to do anything she doesn't want to. But I also can't allow what remains of my family to simply throw away their lives now that I've found them again." He could understand how Isen would think that way, but that had never been his intention when rediscovering his niece was alive.

"If that had been my intention, I would have taken both her and the old woman and left you there to die, I wouldn't have brought you both back here to heal, and I certainly wouldn't have had any of us waste our time preserving the body of the other witch until you could properly honor her. Besides," He made a slightly annoyed face before continuing, "The vampire has made it quite clear that all of you are rather close, and that she would be willing to throw away her immortal life to defend either of you. It's really quite interesting."
 
"With what her grandmother did, you can see why I might be hesitant to trust you, even if you are family to her." Isen clarified, making his position very clear. He was already distrusting naturally, but this was a little much to take in.

"So, you've done all of this just to protect somebody who you thought was dead a couple of days ago?" Isen wanted to understand but there were many factors that made him feel hostile towards this person, it would take a while for him to feel comfortable in a room full of strangers, especially a room full of strangers currently responsible for the health of the person he cared about most, while also being in possession of the body of their fallen friend.

"...I don't trust you, but I'm willing to see this through." Isen deduced, not relenting but at least being open to the possibility, he owed that much to Adelaide, at least, but he wasn't happy about her having more potential family drama to wade through. "Do you have a name, witch?" He was beginning to sound an awful lot like Ignas now, an Ignas who was, as of now, still completely silent.
 
"Her grandmother is insane and has always disliked our side of the family." He scoffed in disdain. "No, you misunderstood, child. We had a feeling someone in the Lancaster family had survived when we began to hear rumors, and the warrant was put out more than a couple of days ago, but it was easier to know then. Adelaide's body was never found, and to hear of a young, blonde mage that could steal and manipulate magic.. Well, it was easy enough to figure out." He chuckled again.

"You don't need to trust me. I don't entirely trust you either, but I can see that you're very dear to her, as well as many others. The rumors of your existence have changed drastically from when they started to the current day. You're becoming something of a savior to the Dissonants in the area, and even the neighboring ones. You really don't know how fast word travels, do you?" He pushed himself off of the wall and approached the bed slowly, reaching down to push back the sleeping mage's hair with an affectionate expression.

"You can call me Nikolai."
 
Isen watched Nikolai getting closer, expecting him to come towards his side of the bed. Instead, he went in the opposite direction towards Adelaide instead and Isen practically leapt out of his space at her side to try and stop him from touching her but his body wasn't responding the way he wanted it to. With Ignas being inconspicuously absent, it felt like the healing in his body was working, but much slower than it would be if he was present. "Don't touch her." He warned, but he was far from threatening with the way he had practically stumbled a top Adelaide while trying to sit himself up straight in a hurry. He sunk back into the mattress, his eyes set into a glare towards the other male.

"I'm not a savior to anyone." Isen corrected him, not wanting to see himself that way. Samara called them heroes but that wasn't a role Isen ever wanted to fill. He had started off doing this for his own selfish reasons and then, it was for her. Entirely for her. Being able to save Dissonants in need and protect the city was simply a byproduct of that. "...I don't care what you think of me, or what you claim your intentions are. If you hurt her, in any way, or try to use her the way others have..." He trailed off. It was obvious where he was going with this, he didn't need to finish it.

"Nikolai, if you mean what you say and you wish to protect her then you know what you must help us do. That man, from the Summit, Maximilian...I've never felt anything like it before. We need to take him down, or the DSTF will always be a threat and she will never be safe as long as it stays that way...nobody will."

And suddenly, he was sounding a lot like somebody who did care about being a hero and about saving people in need.
 
These two truly were an interesting pair. The noise had drawn Isabella back into the room with narrowed eyes and simultaneously woke Adelaide, who slowly opened her eyes and looked around with a confused expression. That was enough to turn the vampire's ire against the witch sighing in exasperation as she marched right up to him, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and hauling him out of the room with no small amount of chastising.

"...What was that all about?" Adelaide rubbed at her eyes tiredly and looked around, but made no direct move to sit up or leave the bed just yet. She wasn't sure how long she'd been sleeping, or why it had gotten loud all of a sudden, she'd just seen Isabella dragging out the man who had carried her out of the DSTF safe room.

"You're here." She smiled at the sight of Isen and reached for him, grasping weakly at his hand and lacing their fingers together. "I thought... Well, I didn't know. I'm so sorry I couldn't stop that."
 
He hadn't meant to wake her up but it was inevitable. She was by his side through the entire conversation, asleep while he nearly stumbled over her in his anger, while he rose his voice in frustration against the witch who had saved them both. He felt bad for stirring her but she didn't seem to be upset about it. Instead, her hand found his, letting their fingers intertwine and he suddenly felt all of the anger building up in him melt away the moment her touch returned to his skin.

"I'm here." He told her, shaking his head as she tried to apologize. He leaned in closer, towards her, wanting more of her warmth while just being happy to see her awake again and to hear her voice once more. "It wasn't your fault. You did everything that you could." He told her, not holding anything against her. He had a feeling that he would eventually find that what had happened to him would cause him some grief the same way Meribell's death had, after all, it would have been traumatizing for any normal person to have gone through but, right now, his thoughts had been so occupied with worry for her that his weary mind hadn't had a chance to come to terms properly with what had happened yet. What he did know, however, was that she was not to blame for a single moment of it and she had, ultimately, been the reason why he had survived; she had saved him, but she had also given him a reason to keep going and she would never know that.

"I'm okay now, and so are you. These...witches? I'm not sure what to make of them...I don't think I like them much." He had valid reasoning but they were still her family, he couldn't be too harsh right now. "But they helped get you out, away from that...monster." The concern in his voice was evident and it was a very obvious tell of how far he had come since they began traveling with her in regards of what kind of emotion he would allow himself to feel and what would be suppressed, either by Ignas or by his own mind thinking he didn't deserve to feel anything other than guilt. It was also very obvious that he was enjoying having her close to him, his body subtly moving closer into her side, his hand squeezing hers instinctively to create a tighter seal. These were, again, all things he would never say out loud but were being portrayed by him unknowingly.

"I apologize for waking you...and worrying you."
 
"I couldn't do anything." She frowned and shook her head. "All I could do was stand there and throw away my magic and cry." The fact that it had been Lorelei who inevitably saved him by arguing with her husband was just an added insult to the injury, In the end, they had been able to avenge Samara, at the very least, but that didn't make up for losing both her and her familiar, or the fact that Lorelei still lived in the other room, unless the witches had murdered her in the short while Adelaide had been asleep.

"You don't like much of anyone, Isen." She gave him a small smile and squeezed his hand back before she froze completely. The action was meant to be reassuring, she assumed, but he had been doing a lot of touching the last day or two. He even seemed to be leaning into her touches more, rather than simply accepting them or initiating some of his own. Something was different about it now, but she couldn't quite place her finger on it.

"Wait," There was another problem she was realizing, or rather the absence of one. "...Where's Ignas?"
 
"That may be true." He responded, laughing quietly underneath his breath. Well, at least he didn't dislike everybody. He had one very big exception. "But you're not so bad." He complimented, smirking as he did.

Adelaide had noticed that Ignas had been absent and she hadn't been awake or involved in casting any spell to make him disappear. Isen wished he had an answer for her but he really didn't know. Ironically, this was one of the times where he had wished Ignas was still present since it would probably help his body heal faster and he had questions to ask the demon that would remain unanswered until he returned from wherever it was he had gone.

"I haven't heard him since the Summit, since..." Since that catalyst had grasped them. "I think something happened to him when that Maximilian asshole attacked us. Ignas was pretty freaked out by that catalyst...I think it's name was Malakai?" So, it was another demon? That would explain the strength of whatever magic it was that had practically drained them to within an inch of their lives. His hand squeezed hers, again, though this time it was to comfort himself as he realized what it was they were likely up against. How could they even fight a foe that powerful?

"I thought it was over when we killed Van Dyne, but I guess we weren't so lucky. We still have work to do."
 
"I could hear the other demon's voice. I think Ignas knew him." She'd also thought the main part of the battle was over when they'd killed Orion, but now it seemed they were up against something far worse, and she wasn't sure if even the witches who had rescued them would be enough to combat it. Between them, the Dissonants, and Takami, they might have a chance, but Takami had not looked well the last time she'd seen him. Was he even still alive?

"Can you.. Feel that?" She squeezed his hand back another time and looked at him curiously. "Me, can you feel me?" With Ignas awkwardly absent it would make sense that perhaps he could finally feel something, but that wouldn't explain his actions from when the demon had still been present. "Or am I so exhausted I'm just imagining things?" She winced at the sound of yelling coming from the other room, immediately followed by Isabella's furious hushing and then the sound of a door opening and closing.
 
Ignas knowing the other demon wasn't too far of a stretch to make. It also meant that Ignas probably knew how dangerous that demon was from the start, hence why he was so urgent about them trying to get away before the attack had happened. Why was a demon working with the head of the DSTF, though? The more he thought about it, the more his head hurt; he would put that away for now until a time came where they could properly discuss it with Ignas or the witches in the other room.

Isen was caught off guard by the question that followed, his eyes diverting downward to the union of their fingers. She squeezed and he felt the pressure instantly, his own hand responding to it before he could even think to stop it. The fact that it responded was all the proof she needed to confirm that what she was thinking wasn't just exhaustion or a trick of her imagination. He hadn't told her, but now, he didn't really have a choice.

"...yes. I can feel you." He replied, quietly, letting his eyes remain on their hands rather than look her in the face. There was, some how, an embarrassment there that he didn't want to face. It wasn't because he had gotten caught, it was because it had been so long since he had felt the touch of anyone or anything that he had kept it a secret so that he wouldn't make things awkward. "I have been able to for a while now...I don't know why it started but it's been a bit of a comfort to me these past few days. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about it sooner." Was this progress? Or a sign that something was going wrong with his connection to Ignas? He was thankful for it, either way, it had helped him feel connected to her and it had also aided him in realizing how much she meant to him by the simple comfort and relief she gave to him with the slightest of touches.
 
If his instant reaction hadn't confirmed it, he did directly after. He could feel her? She didn't like the way he was refusing to look at her when he spoke, as though he was a child who'd just gotten caught with their hand in the cookie jar and had been reprimanded.

"I do wish you'd told me sooner, yes." She winced slightly upon shifting closer to him, jostling around her tired body until she was close enough that only a few inches remained between the two of them. Did his ability to feel mean that his bond with Ignas was weakening, or was it something about her presence that counteracted the demon's magic? If he could feel her, could he feel everything that was being done to him by the general? At that thought, a horrified expression crossed her face.

"Does that mean you could feel everything he did to you?" If that was the case, she was never letting him out of her sight again, and she desperately needed to find a way to get him separated from Ignas and on the path to just being a normal person with maybe the addition of some magical items to protect himself.
 
Isen shook his head, quickly, not wanting her to worry about that. While he had felt the burn of the gas within his lungs, and the mental strain of what he was going through, his physical body had remained immune to the pain that was being inflicted. She shuffled closer to him and he reciprocated, turning himself enough so that he could let his free arm come around, holding on to her, intimately, closing distance now that he was able to actually embrace the feel of her body pressing to his.

"No, I didn't feel any of that..." He corrected her. "I can only feel you."

It both made little sense and all the sense in the world, but he couldn't explain it, he had no explanation.

"It only happens when you're near me, when you're touching me." Her hand, her body when she held him, even her lips when they had kissed, something which was becoming an urge inside of himself to repeat now that they were safe and sharing another intimate moment together. "I don't understand it and I don't think I care to. You're the first person I've been able to feel in ten years."

Isen's head dropped, following the inclination in his head, letting his lips press solemnly against hers, ushering away any worry she might have had about what he may or may not have felt during the attack at the Summit. All that mattered was that they had gotten through it and that they were still together, alive and relatively healthy in spite of the incredible odds they had stared down. He kissed her softly, gentle and calm, savoring the feeling of the contact now that he no longer needed to hide it from her, parting backwards only when he felt content with what he had done. His eyes opened, finding hers staring back and in his mind, he renewed the vow that he had made to her long before; he wasn't going to let anybody else hurt her anymore. Not her grandmother or her family, nor Maximilian and what remained of the DSTF. She was home and she was his to protect.
 
"Just me?" That was a relief. If he'd been forced to feel all the agony of being maimed and killed by the general, she wouldn't have known what to do, considering she had been the cause of most of the pain. Her lack of ability to attack or injure either her grandmother or the general while the orb was running had caused so much chaos, so much pain between the two of them, and she'd been left unable to do anything until the two had been distracted arguing and she'd exerted the last of her energy.

She closed her eyes with a soft sigh, her other hand finding his as she basked in the warmth of his body so close to hers, the taste of his lips against hers for a long moment before she felt him pulling back. Her eyes opened to meet his, cheeks dusted a deep pink before she smiled and settled back down against the mattress. Everything seemed so much easier now that she was tucked against his side, able to know, to feel that he was safe and they were together again.

"When we're better... I think we should bury them at the house. Samara and Priscilla."
 
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