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Dissonant Hearts (Degusaurusrex x AndrewS)

Isen opened the window, pulling Ignas back inside, shutting it once more behind them. Having removed the sword from it's prison, he sat it down beneath the window sill, keeping it a fair distance away still but not far enough that it couldn't be retrieved in a pinch. With the deed complete, he returned to his spot at the foot of the bed but eventually, relocated himself to sit further upwards, along side her rather than in front of her.

When she cut the burger in half, it released an aroma into the air that caused Isen to feel something he hadn't in forever; hunger? Ignas was holding up his end of the bargain, remaining suspiciously quiet while also diverting the flow of his magic into Isen so that he could actually enjoy a meal just as what had been offered. "You're not going to make me sick again the minute I take a bite, are you?" He asked, not trusting Ignas but, to the demon's credit, he continued to uphold the bargain and didn't reply. He offered silence, maybe he was doing so spitefully for now, but at least he had shut up.

"I guess you're right." He commented on her statement about not having to worry about how unhealthy the meal was. If it could have killed him, he would have tried long ago. Now, he wasn't so sure that was even what his end game was anymore.

He carefully lifted his half of the burger upwards. The closer it got to his mouth, the more pressure he seemed to exert, pushing the bun and the patty together and causing some of the sauce inside to spill out onto the plate below. He needed to get used to this again. Isen awkwardly looked down at the mess and then back to the burger, continuing as though it hadn't happened in favor of taking a large, first bite.

The look on his face had to have been hilarious. It was equal parts surprised and delighted with the greasy masterpiece she had ordered. He couldn't stop himself from taking another bite and then another, finishing his side before she had even had a chance to get halfway through hers. And then, when he was done, he began eyeing hers.
 
"Oh." On the bright side, he seemed to like it. On the other side, he was eyeing hers that she'd only gotten partway through. She'd apparently woken a beast, and after rolling her eyes she held out the remainder of her burger to him. "The fries are mine, though. You can have a couple, but the rest are mine." She still had to eat after all, but how could she deny him the first food he'd had in so long? It would be like denying a puppy his treat after he got a lick of it, and she held the remainder of the burger out to him with a laugh.

"Go on, it's okay." She had already dug into the fries, digging on in the ketchup that had come with it and stuffing it into her mouth. She wasn't overly concerned about losing most of the burger since she still had food, and there was a little food left from when Isen had beat up the machine at the station. "At least now I know you like burgers. You can find those pretty much everywhere, although I can't say they're always the best."
 
Isen was grateful for her to offer it to him, even though he had made it very clear that his intention was to have her give it to him anyways. After so long, being able to even taste something like that, regardless of how awful it was for his body, was addictive and happily finished off what she had given him as well. He obliged her request to save the fries from his hunger but that was something he did with great restraint.

"It was... very good." He commented, dryly, as though he wasn't really certain how to describe what he had tasted. "What else have I been missing out on?" This question was a broad one but it was something becoming increasingly more relevant.

He had been missing out on sickness, sure, but also hunger and food. Beyond that, he was also apparently missing out on fun, enjoyment, things that he had never allowed himself to want or desire or simply never could thanks to the influence of Ignas.

Or maybe it was because he just never had anyone to show him. Anyone before Adelaide, anyways.

Beginning to feel that sense of hunger dissipating, he presumed Ignas was done allowing him to experience that and was returning his influence and magic back into Isen's body. He was thankful for the opportunity to begin with and was already wondering of ways to convince the demon to allow this to happen more often.

"If I may make a suggestion?" He asked, pausing for permission from Adelaide before continuing. "I would like to do that again. Remembering what it was to be human feels...nice."
 
"You've been missing out on a lot of things." Adelaide gave him an amused look as she worked through her fries quickly, partly because of her hunger, and partly to stop Isen from stealing any should his restraint slip.

"A suggestion?" She gave him a confused look and then nodded. "Yeah, go on." He wanted to do what again, eat food? "Are you talking about eating a burger or just do something you don't normally do." Considering that any of that was dependent on whether or not Ignas wanted to cooperate, she had no idea how much she would be capable of showing him.

"I don't have a problem showing you things." She stuffed the last of the fries in her mouth to finish them off, looking around thoughtfully before putting the plate on the bedside table and standing. "I know you don't have to sleep, but I do. I'm going to take a quick shower, and then we can just watch some more television until I crash. You can sit and keep me company." She didn't wait for an answer before grabbing her bag, hauling the entire thing into the bathroom and shutting the door.

Teaching someone how to be human was not her specialty, but at least she'd bought herself enough time to think about it while she showered. Even five minutes would help her to clear her head, and after making sure her hair was out of the way to keep dry she stripped down and stepped into the shower.

"The fuck." They were supposed to be partners, and this was something that felt a lot more like friends. What was the point in becoming friends with someone who would probably be dead in less than six months? Unless he suddenly decided that returning to humanity was worth it, and even then, what was she supposed to do?
 
He had meant eating food again but the prospect of experiencing other things he had missed wasn't an unpleasant one as long as he was experiencing them with her. What was he even saying? What were these thoughts? How, in such a short time, had he gone from deterring this woman to wanting to be around her more? Had it been a simple case of him having been so deprived of human interaction that the first time he found someone he could relate to without being judged, years of repressed feelings came bubbling to the surface? It was a dangerous game he was now playing, one that threatened to change everything about who he had been since he had met Ignas.

"Alright. I will try to find something you might like." He told her, knowing he'd need to stand and walk to the television since they had broken the remote. He waited until she had excused herself to do so, walking over towards the electronic to tap on the buttons and scroll through the channels.

"Isen, what do you think you're doing?" Came the voice of Ignas, whom had been silent as offered since he was brought back inside. Isen had no idea of Adelaide could still hear the demon's voice or if this would be a one sided conversation. He had a feeling he knew where it was going but decided to play coy regardless in hopes of diffusing it.

"I'm searching for a suitable program on this television."

"Not that, you idiot. You know exactly what I meant."

"Adelaide?"

"Yes, the witch. You're getting too close."

"I am not. We are partners, it makes sense for us to at least see eye to eye."

"You're doing a whole lot more than seeing eye to eye right now. What is it? At the first sign of affection, you crumble? I know it's been a long time since you've had a friend but this is ridiculous. Look at yourself, you're like a puppy. If she told you to fetch, you'd go running into the streets, wouldn't you?"

"I am not a puppy."

"Could've fooled me. The great and feared Reaper, sullying the reputation we worked so hard to build...sitting on a bed watching sit coms and eating burgers. What are you becoming?"

Isen didn't know how to respond to that question. Ignas noted the silence as a victory.

"When she falls asleep, we should leave. Let her fight her battle on her own. She has her ring now, she doesn't need your sword."

"And where would we go? There's nowhere left. And she can probably hear every word you're saying, you aren't exactly keeping it a secret."

"She's probably too busy trying to figure out why she's letting herself get so close to you as well. Everyone who gets close to you dies, you said so yourself, did you not? Tonight, we leave."

Ignas unfortunately had a point. He was making sense, even if his motivations were selfish. The last person he had been close with...things didn't exactly end well. Maybe Ignas was right, he was getting too close, too fast. Sharing burgers, apologizing and making promises, laugh tracks and reruns in black and white. This wasn't the kind of life he could have anymore.
 
Even if Isen did decide it was worth living, by her effort or otherwise, it didn't matter. The town he had been staying in was compromised, even if they took down the organization, could he return there? Even then, she had to find somewhere to go. Her home was gone, her friends were gone, and she only had the belongings she had managed to take when she ran. Her home would have long since been ransacked or gone through, her remaining belongings sold off and the place given to someone else who could pay rent.

She didn't have time to think about that, her full concentration needed to be on their current tasks. They needed to work together, and with Ignas, to take down their enemies. She would get her revenge, he would get his wish to be separated from the demon and.. To die, likely, and there was nothing she could do about it. There was nothing she should do about it. This wasn't her problem. He wasn't her friend, her lover, or anything of the sort. So why did she give a damn?

Adelaide slammed the handles hard as she shut the shower off a few minutes later and stepped out, toweling off and putting on a shirt and sweatpants. Good enough. She went back into the bedroom and tossed her bag on the floor, sitting on the edge of the bed and beginning to undo her braid for the night. They were safe, hopefully, and she was so tired of sleeping on the damn thing that she savored freeing it from its confines.

"We should leave as soon as we wake up." She was still working her fingers through it to dismantle it as she spoke, looking at Isen and yawning. "I don't intend to pay a penny for this room unless I have no choice." Once she had finally gotten her hair fully undone she ran her fingers through it to detangle it, and then stretched out on the bed with another yawn.

"Just sit with me. You're like a radiator, and it's cold, so come here." She patted the spot beside her as she cozied up beneath the sheet.
 
Isen hushed the conversation with Ignas as Adelaide exited the bathroom. He didn't know whether or not she had heard any of it but it didn't really matter, he had decided that Ignas was probably right. The best course of action was to move on, to leave in the night and keep Adelaide as far away from him as he could. She would probably continue her fight, but she was strong, capable...but would she really be able to do it alone? It was a delicate balance; he was as key to her plan as he could have been detrimental, given his lack of success in protecting the people he cared about from their enemies and from himself. What was he to do? To get close was to risk her safety and to walk away would be to do the same. He had much to think about, but the literal voice in his head was willing him to abandon her and his reasoning was sound enough that the idea was beginning to sprout and grow inside Isen's head.

But then, while he looked at her undo her braid, he wondered if he even had the strength to do it, to disappoint her. He had never seen her with her hair undone, it suited her.

"We should leave as soon as we wake up."

If he was even still there.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." He replied, because it was, regardless of what choice he was to make.

She wanted him to sit with her? He could do that. If he was going to leave her, he could at least keep her company until she fell asleep. He knew she was going to hate him for this. The one person who actually seemed to care and he was pushing her away.

"Oh. Alright." Isen responded as he moved to sit beside her rather than lay. His back was against the head board and he stayed above the blanket, it wasn't like he really needed the warmth. It seemed she required it more than he did. He was close to her, very close, but he wasn't sure what else to do in that situation. Did she intend for him to lay with her? That was opening a whole different set of problems. He remained quiet, staring forward towards the television, which he had set to a different channel than the one from before to give some variety. "Are you tired?" He asked, curious for a couple of different reasons, one of which was to plan his escape.
 
"Don't sound so thrilled about it." She rolled her eyes as he joined her on the bed, looking between him and the television before settling on him. "I should have just told you to lay down, this isn't going to give off as much heat as I thought." She could still feel the heat from him, but not to the extent she had previously imagined. Maybe she was also being just a bit selfish in wanting contact with someone who wasn't trying to kill her, or vice versa. It hadn't even been a week since her life had been shattered, since she'd been forced to run and interacted mostly with people who had ill intent toward her. It was lonely.

"I am tired, yes. It was a long day, and I'm not used to using magic like that. It's been a long time since I had to use it for anything more than small tasks from time to time." Two days in a row now that she'd had to use it, and using dark magic like she'd done was even more exhausting. "You could come lay under here with me, though. I'm pretty sure that asshole gave us this room just to spite us, and the heating in here is terrible." She lifted the sheet up and beckoned to him with a yawn. "Promise I don't snore."
 
Isen was not surprised that she was tired and she responded as he expected. She would probably fall asleep without long and then, he could look towards finding a way out without disturbing her. This wasn't going to be easy, though, both physically and mentally. He had already resigned to the fact that she would probably come looking for him again, with a vengeance, so he needed to put as much space between them as possible. She wouldn't understand, but it was for her own good.

"Right. Okay." He mumbled in response to her request. He remained awkward about the whole ordeal, not just because he knew he was going to leave, but because now he was extremely aware of how close they were becoming and how that was just going to make their separation all the more difficult. Still, when she asked him, how could he say no? She was cold, exhausted, she had been through so much and was on the cusp of another upsetting revelation in the morning. It was the least he could do, right?

He shuffled himself underneath the blanket, letting it rest on top of him. He didn't feel warmth or comfort from the action but that wasn't necessarily the point, this was for her. Laying on his back now, he was directly at her side, his arm idly positionedso that she could cradle herself underneath it should she wish to squeeze in any closer.

"Isen..." Ignas' voice warned him and Isen simply nodded as if to non-verbally respond with a sheepish "I know", followed by a sigh.

"Is that better?" He asked her, hoping that this new configuration would suffice.

How long had it been since he had laid with another? He couldn't answer that question, his memory failed him. That only made things more awkward for him. That, and, the fact that despite knowing this wasn't a good idea, he didn't really want to pull away.
 
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Adelaide had expected him to protest or outright deny her, so when he did neither she found herself pleasantly surprised. It was clearly awkward for him, she could tell by both his speech and his movements as he got under the sheet with her and laid there. Was she pushing too much in her selfish request to stay warm? She was cold, but was she being too selfish because she missed the company of another living being?

"Shut up, lgnas. You promised silence, and I'm tired." She wriggled her way under Isen's arm and against his side, settling her head on his chest and nodding. "Yeah, much. You really are like a furnace." There was no way she was going to be cold if he stayed there all night, and she had every intention of making sure he stayed put until the morning. He could handle one night of laying there without pacing around, and so long as Ignas kept his mouthy self quiet.. She would be able to sleep through the night.

"It's nice. It's been awhile since I've just laid in a bed with someone." She yawned quietly and pulled the sheet up to her chin before closing her eyes. "If I snore you can nudge me awake, but don't leave the bed or I'll freeze to death and you'll feel bad."
 
Isen felt locked into place with the way Adelaide had cozied herself up against him. With her head on his chest, he was practically pinned beneath her, making it all the more difficult for him to actually ease his way out from underneath her when the time had come. He hoped she would be fast asleep and the movement wouldn't disturb her but he was already wondering what kind of cover story he could use if she had awoken before he managed to make it through the door of their hotel room.

She seemed comfortable, content. It almost felt shameful for him to be plotting such an escape. He nodded along with her sleepy voice, pacifying her tired request.

"... And you'll feel bad."

She had no idea.

Honing his hearing, he tried to listen to the sound of heart beat. He was monitoring it, trying to tell when it had begun to slow and sleep had taken it's hold on her. If he didn't time it properly, it was never going to work. More concerning still was the fact that a large part of his conscience was telling him to stay. To spend the night with her and aid her on her journey in the morning. Ignas wouldn't allow it, but Isen was as divided as could be over the moral and emotional dilemma. Was it really right for him to make this choice? She had chosen to stick by him willingly, even after she learned more of his blood stained past. She knew the risks, she was accepting them, she was letting him into her life, into her bed. She trusted him despite having a thousand different reasons why she shouldn't.

One...two...three. One...two...three...four. The seconds between her breath continued to grow and he knew that meant she was asleep.

"Isen, it's time."

"Yeah...I know."

"You don't seem pleased."

"It doesn't matter what I say. You already know."

"You chose to care about her. That was a mistake."

"Only a demon would think that caring about somebody could be a mistake."

Isen sighed and began to move, slowly, out from underneath her, placing her head softly against a pillow rather than his chest. The peaceful look on her face as she finally got some well deserved rest just served as further reason for the disconnect between his actions and what he actually wanted to do. If he had known better, he would have called it beautiful, but there was nothing beautiful about the shattering of a heart.

"Goodnight, Adelaide. I'm sorry." He whispered as he returned to his feet and retrieved Onigoshi, strapping it back to his hip. He hadn't any need for anything else. She had her ring, she would have more than enough to see her to safety. Maybe she'd even find peace, eventually. Real, honest peace with herself and with what she had lost. But it would be without him.

Isen made for the door, turning the handle and tugging it open, making careful movements so as not to let an errant sound disturb her as he stepped into the hall with one final, resentful look over his shoulder.
 
Adelaide stirred slightly when Isen began to move her, making a halfhearted swipe for him in her sleep as she settled against the pillow. The warmth that had lulled her into a sense of security and then sleep was beginning to fade, and after several seconds she realized that the weight of the body beside her was gone. Maybe he'd just gone to change the channel on the television, since she had broken the remote. He would be back any moment.

"Isen?" Her voice was groggy as she heard the sound of the door opening, and she rubbed at her eyes before sitting up slowly to look around. "What are you doing?" Her barely conscious mind struggled to make sense of what she was seeing at first, the light from the hallway making it hard for her to see clearly for a moment. When it dawned on her what she was definitely seeing was Isen ready to close the door and leave, her eyes went wide and she shoved the sheets aside.

"You're leaving?" Her sleepy expression crumbled into something more like a puppy left on the side of the road, and she looked up at him but made no move to leave the bed. She couldn't, the sickening weight in her chest was anchoring her there as she clenched a fistful of the sheet and shook her head. "You said you wanted to help me. And I want to help you. What are you doing?"
 
"You're leaving?"

He was so close. Another couple of steps and he would have gotten away with it. Hearing her voice, the sadness that overcame her tired inflection, kept him frozen in place as though she had cast a spell on him with her magic. Isen had spent so much time, while laying with her, attempting to come up with suitable excuses in case this moment occurred but now, he was blanking entirely, forgetting what he had rehearsed. He could hardly bare to turn and look at her, to face the repercussion of his action. In his time of need, Ignas was suspiciously quiet, leaving him, a deer caught in proverbial headlights, to deal with the trouble he had caused.

He could tell her the truth or, he could lie. She would see through it, though, so he wasn't sure in that moment what would have been worse. Maybe she'd blame Ignas instead of him, presuming the demon had a hand to play in this, but as much as that voice had been in his head, he was still the one who had decided to follow through and try to leave.

Slowly, he turned back around to find her perched upright on the bed, the sheets balled up in her palms, a mixture of sadness and frustration evident in the way she looked at him and the language of her body. This was going to suck.

"...Adelaide, you know how this ends, right? Bad things happen to people I get close to. I can protect you from the DSTF but I can't protect you from myself, from Ignas. I told you I would help you and this is me helping you. You can't get your revenge if you're dead because I lose control. I won't let you end up like her."

It always seemed to circle back around to Meribell and what had happened with his sister. He knew she could understand where he was coming from but he didn't expect her to take kindly to him having said it out loud.
 
"I told you I'm fully prepared to die to get my revenge. I came to you for help getting it!" After everything they'd been through together the last two days, he was going to leave using that as an excuse? She let go of the sheets and shoved them away, standing from the bed a bit unsteadily as she woke the rest of the way and stormed over to him.

"You don't get to make that choice for me! We're in this together to help each other, not just ourselves! I've told you things I never told anyone else. I trusted you, Isen!" She reached him and glared up, stabbing her finger into his chest and forcing the words out through clenched teeth. "I trusted you and you just up and decided that because you were afraid you might hurt me, without even consulting me about it? That's not fair. I bet that stupid demon talked you into it, too. Fuck you, Ignas! You don't hold power over me and my choices, you don't get to have a say in this. You spent all that time whining about working together, and wanting my ring, and you're giving up on that just to get the two of us apart? Fuck that!" She could feel tears stinging at the corners of her eyes as she stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest, glaring up at him without pause.

"I don't want you to leave."
 
"You may be prepared to die but that doesn't mean I actually want you to."

It was difficult for him to say that, interjecting during her deserved berating of his actions. She was right about everything that she said. He shouldn't have been the one to make that choice, it wasn't fair of him to do it without taking into account what she wanted but he knew this was how she would have reacted if he had brought it up to her in the first place. She talked of trust, something he realized must have been difficult for her to offer. He had betrayed that too by lying to her, saying he was going to help her only to leave as soon as he got the opportunity to go.

And yet, after all of the anger and the frustration, the sadness had given way to the truth about what she was feeling. She didn't want him to leave her.

Was it because she didn't want to be alone anymore? Or was it something else?

She was standing directly in front of him, glaring straight through his attempt at trying to act as though everything she had said hadn't cut him to the core.

"You're only saying that because you need my power."

That statement was a dangerous one, though perhaps more of a question than a statement at all. At the start of whatever it was they had become, he was a means to an end, a tool for her to get what she wanted then. Now, with tears in her eyes, she was asking him not to leave because it wasn't what she wanted anymore. What did she want? He wanted to know. He needed to know what this was and where they stood because this didn't feel like strangers using each other. This didn't feel like partners anymore either.
 
"Don't you dare try to tell me what I mean or how I feel." She wiped at her eyes angrily and sniffled. "I said I wanted to help you, too. I don't need your power for that. I'm the one who can manipulate magic, not you, and I said I wanted to help you. We were going to help each other because we wanted to, not because we'd made a deal. Needing your power didn't make me ask you to lay in the bed with me and keep me warm. If that was the case, I could have just bundled up in a million layers and sucked it up. But I trusted you." Her fist thudded against his chest as she made a noise of frustration.

"You're an idiot." She hit him again before gripping the front of his shirt, holding it firmly in both hands before pressing her forehead against his chest. "You're a fucking idiot. Don't leave. Get back in the bed, stay there, and in the morning we're going to skip out on paying for the stay and get back to what we were doing." If he still left after she'd opened up and spat out such emotional words, something she rarely did, she had no idea what she was going to do. Had she misplaced her trust in him only to be left behind?
 
Isen watched her hand make contact with his chest. He didn't feel the strike, but he wouldn't have stopped her either way. She deserved to get her frustrations out and he was the cause, he couldn't fault her for her anger.

He was an idiot. He had been so concerned with protecting his own feelings and insecurities that he was willing to hurt her in the process and damage the one actual human connection he had made since he had met Ignas. He wanted to protect Adelaide, and he was worried that she would end up like Meribell, but more than anything, he was just being selfish. It would have been easier to run away, to make excuses, instead of facing what was happening head on.

She was practically holding onto him, at this point, trying desperately to convince him not to stay. She seemed willing to just let him go back to bed, to pretend like none of this had ever happened, but that wasn't a solution to any of this. He wasn't sure what to do in this situation, with this intimacy. His hands rose, slowly, hesitantly, until they found their way to her back. It was delicate, it was as though he didn't know what he was doing when it was the simplest thing in the world; all he had to do was hug her, show her that he wasn't going anywhere and that he had changed his mind. It was something he couldn't communicate verbally, he was terrible with this sort of thing.

If a back rub could soothe, surely a proper embrace could as well?

His grip tightened, ever so slightly, and Isen nodded his head. "Alright." He wouldn't dare say anything else, he'd let the moment speak for itself.
 
Alright? For a moment she thought she was hearing things, and that he would pull away at any moment. Then he seemed to hold her just a bit tighter, but she continued to hold onto his shirt like a lifeline for fear he would slip away the moment she let him go. So much for not being friends, clearly she cared enough to get upset over him trying to leave her behind.

"If I have to sleep on top of you to make sure you stay in the bed this time, I will." It was only a partial threat, but at that point she wasn't sure it was entirely untrue. "Get in the bed, and stay put." She finally pulled back and wiped at her eyes again, averting them as she let go of his shirt and sniffled. "We're going to pretend none of this happened," Especially her crying, which she said nothing about as she crawled back into the bed and held the covers up.

"Come on."
 
Should he apologize? Would it even matter?

Perhaps, at this point, the best course of action was indeed to do what she suggested and just return to bed and pretend none of this ever happened. Ignas wasn't going to be happy but that was a problem for the morning, a morning which was sure to be awkward after what had happened. Isen had managed to realize that this partnership, no, friendship between them was something that was important to them both. They were both lost, in different but very similar ways. Maybe this was what they needed to heal. Not vengeance, and not atonement, but each other.

He relocated himself back beneath the blanket, at her side once more, and laid back. He was no longer thinking of ways to escape or excuses to use to save face if he failed. Instead, he was content with knowing that she cared about him, truly cared about him, enough to shed tears and to open herself up in such a vulnerable way at the mere thought of him leaving. It was more than he deserved, given what he had done, both to her and in his life before Adelaide came to find him, but it was what he had regardless. It filled a hole inside of him that he never thought would be filled again. It lightened the load on his heavy heart. He was still concerned for her safety, perhaps more than ever before if they were to remain together, but he no longer wanted to run away from his problems or from what he had been feeling. The guilt eating away at him, however? That would take a while to go away.

Ignas wanted him to repress his human feelings. Adelaide made him want to feel them all again.

He presented himself as a pillow for her to rest on, again, just like before. Maybe doing so would give her security in knowing that he was still there, that he wasn't going to try to leave again the moment her eyes shut. The morning would come soon and they would carry on like nothing had gone wrong the night before but he wouldn't forget the way she looked at him when she thought he was going to leave. He never wanted to see that sadness again.
 
Good, he wasn't intending to argue with her. That allowed some of the tension to leave her body as he put the sword down and joined her under the covers again. She didn't hesitate to wiggle her way back over to her previous position, burrowing under the sheet and against his side to soak up all the heat that he offered. There was a brief moment that she tilted her head to look up and make sure he didn't look ready to run, and only then did she settle back in with a quiet yawn.

"We'll leave out the fire escape in the morning." She yawned again and rubbed at her eyes before tucking one leg over his, solidifying her position in order to keep him where he couldn't leave without waking her again. "Then we can.. Stop and get breakfast on the way to find those.. Bastards." Now that she'd effectively latched onto Isen's side and assured herself he wouldn't leave without her fighting him tooth and nail, she was steadily drifting back off to sleep.

"Good night, Isen."
 
She had already hatched a plan and, with the way she clung to him, she was making certain that he wouldn't be able to change his mind and try to escape again without letting her know. There was nothing more he could do other than lay there, a pillow for her, listening as she fell asleep once more. It was deja vu only this time, he wasn't thinking of a way to leave, he was trying to figure out how he was going to possible be able to make this work.

"I told you, you're too soft, too weak. You're going to get her killed, you may as well just let me do the job for you and get it over with. It would hurt a whole lot less."

"Nothing is going to happen to her. I will personally make sure of it."

"I'm not going to let you be free of me, Isen. Whether you and the witch succeed or not."

"I know."

"You know? No arguing? ...you're considering calling off her end of the deal, aren't you? Interesting. This changes everything."

"Nothing has changed. I still wish to be free of you." And yet, somehow, it felt as though everything had.

"Hm...interesting indeed."

The sunlight eventually crept its way through the window, casting it's faint glow across the space where they were laying. Morning had come, though only barely, it was still quite early but if they were going to leave without paying, now was the time to go while the city was still asleep and there were less witnesses. His hand lifted to her shoulder, shaking her gently. "It's time to wake up." He told her, simply, ceasing the movement when she began to stir.
 
"...Huh?" Adelaide stirred when he shook her gently, mumbling unhappily about getting up before she stretched and opened her eyes. "Okay, okay, I'm up." She reluctantly pulled away from the cocoon of warmth and left the bed, running a hand through her hair with a sleepy mumble before going around the room getting things together.

"I hate mornings." She looped her hair into a loose ponytail and tied it off, deciding that it was far too early, and she was far too tired to deal with braiding it just yet. They needed to sneak out, find somewhere to eat at some point, and then they still had their actual task of finding the DSTF headquarters. It couldn't be that hard to track it down, in a city where she had only seen humans so far, someone had to know where it was located. Then it was just a manner of figuring out how to sneak in, and she idly wondered if this building would recognize her too. It was still troubling not knowing why the scanner at the last one had recognized her, but that was a concern for a later time.

"Never thought I'd be sneaking out a fire escape at.. Whatever time it is. I don't think I want to know what time." She wiggled her way out and turned back, checking that he was behind her before continuing. "I'm glad you stayed." It was the only acknowledgment she gave to the previous night as she worked down the fire escape and to the ground, stuffing her hands into her coat pockets and looking around.

"Alright, let's go find some food. Maybe your demon friend will let you taste coffee for the first time."
 
Isen gave her a few moments to wake herself up and gather her things. He wasn't in any particular rush, the city was noisy and confusing for him. At least here, within their hotel room, he was somewhat shielded from the cacophony of noise outside but, since it was morning, maybe it wouldn't be as loud as before.

He wasn't expecting her to draw any attention to what had happened the night before and she didn't, aside from one passing comment as she began to climb out through the fire escape. He had grabbed the headphones she had given him before, letting them rest over his ears, just in case, adjusting them before stepping out onto the fire escape as well. She needed to work her way down carefully, he was able to drop after making it a couple of flights down, landing on the concrete before she had. He had done so just in case she had slipped in her sleepiness but didn't realize how it probably looked like he was trying to show off or show her up.

Even with the headphones, his hearing was still sensitive enough to hear the sound of distant cars and people beginning their day. He also heard her speak to him again. "Coffee?" He questioned, trying to recall what that was. "Oh, right. The bean stuff that you people drink in the mornings."

"I am not some on and off switch you can keep flipping whenever you want, you know, witch."

"But will you allow it?"

"...fine." Ignas relented, perhaps considering what he had learned the night prior about Isen. "Taste your disgusting...'bean stuff'. But then, we search for the DSTF. If they have a facility here, I'm willing to bet they have another one of those vaults too and I can't wait to see what they're hiding inside this one."

"After all the trouble it caused last time, you expect us to just open another vault? Wasn't one cursed ring enough?"

"She has that ring. I do not. Therefore, we must go into another vault."
 
"...Yeah, bean stuff." She'd heard coffee referred to as bean juice, but not 'bean stuff', so it was enough to make her chuckle. "Whatever you say, Ignas. Whatever you say." Maybe she ought to buy a pointy hat and wear it for a day just to taunt him for constantly calling her a witch. Well, steal a pointy hat was more accurate, but the chances of randomly finding one at this time of year was nearly none.

"How would you even know it's disgusting if you've never tried it?" Or had he, back when he had a body? Coffee had been around for a long, long time, so that was entirely possible, although she wasn't sure that she actually cared if he had or not.

"He has a point, Isen. Not in him wanting a ring," She made a face as they walked, looking around in search of any small diner that would have food and coffee. "They probably have a vault, and if anything, we should be getting items like that out of their hands. Better with us than with them, right?" If they had as many weapons here that they'd had at the previous location, then things were far, far worse than she had initially thought. The fact that other humans could use dark magic at all was concerning.

"Oh, there's a place!" She perked up at the sight of a small diner on the corner of an intersection, looking around for cars before grabbing Isen's hand and dragging him across the street and through the front door. She didn't even realize she'd grabbed his hand until she let go, looking down before her eyes shot up to his face with an embarrassed expression.

"Just the two of you, hon?" The waitress calling out to them saved her from the embarrassment and she sighed in relief, nodding to the older woman before slinking down the aisle and toward a booth in the back. "I see your boyfriend here's into that whole dressin' up thing these kids do these days. Contacts and all." Adelaide blinked and gave her a surprised look. The woman was passing off Isen's appearance as.. Cosplay?

"Uh.. Yeah. We'll have two cups of coffee to start, please." She was still reeling once the waitress shuffled off, sliding into the booth before turning to look at her companion. "Just roll with it, I guess."
 
"It's called bean stuff. I don't need to taste it to know that it's disgusting."

Isen shrugged. "I'll try it anyways. How bad can it be?" How little he truly knew about human food and drink.

Adelaide wasn't wrong; it wasn't a particularly good idea to allow the DSTF to remain in possession of so much power but what were they to do about it? Even if they did confiscate it, they couldn't exactly wander around with a treasure trove of dark magic, especially given the trouble that their current items had caused them already...but they also couldn't just leave them there. They would need to learn more first before they could form a plan but he would keep it in mind.

The small diner had barely opened and thus, it wasn't busy, especially given the early hour. That meant less people to get in the way, and less noise. She practically pulled him across the road by his hand, causing him to stumble before he caught himself. "Was that neccessary?" He groaned, noting the look on her face as she quickly let go of his hand. Had he offended her? They were already there, inside, so there wasn't any reason to dwell on it. He had been tredding thing ice after his stunt the night prior, so he was still, at the very least, concerned but not enough to bring it up.

"Dress up?" He asked as he awkwardly took his place across her in the booth and sat the headphones down onto the table between them "What did she mean about that?" She thought he was in a costume? This was what he always wore! "People in this city are weirder than usual." His list of interactions was short, mainly including just this girl and the man from the hotel lobby, but first impressions of Cresthaven weren't the greatest.
 
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