Valkyria Chronicles - The Unwritten account of the Warhounds

"I've been silent for most of today," Isara blinked, not wanting to irritate him further so she did not reply in that fashion vocally. She knew very well that he could act rashly when upset, which was not at all what she wanted at the time.

"That's alright, I prefer not being treated like a pack animal," she sat down beside him, reaching for the canteen, "I'm sorry for what I said, it was uncalled for..."

She had not had anything to eat or drink since breakfast, and the hot glare of the sun was indeed leaving her feeling even more weary and parched than merely from overexertion. The rest as a welcome one indeed, and she finally had some time to enjoy nature again. Her eyes gazed around the two of them at the trees, grasses, and occasional flowering plants. Small, colorful butterflies hovered about their petals while their long tongues danced about the centers, lapping up the sweet nectar. She didn't notice the shuffling right away, but that was to be expected due to how distracted she already was enjoying the scenery and paying attention to whatever Rat may say or do in response to her actions.
 
Rat merely growled lowly as she retorted in such a manner. He refused to spend words replying to her words, instead trying to quell the words in his head. What was it about Isara that had his head swimming with a thousand words and ideas?! Was it his fixation for her to hate him and to revile him? For her to give up everything, curse her morals and to hate those who put her race through such horrifying treatment? Did he really want her to break...only to require his support? Was that his sick and twisted desire? To destroy her will so that she would be dependent on him? "SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" he yelled bout, grasping his head with both arms as he sought to stifle all of the words in his head, much to the aggravation of Isara, the only person there who had yet to speak any words. Shooting a glare back at her, he simply turned away, still clutching his head.

Then, he heard the rustle of the grass. Being close to it, he knew from up close that it was no critter. It had to be a person, atleast a head or so shorter than he to effectively hide like such. They were in a slightly elevated position: their figure hid off of the horizon, amidst the sharp grass. Finally, something to take his mind off of his unruly thoughts! Grasping his carbine, he stood up holding his rifle steady. That smell was all too familiar. Blood. "If you're going to ever kill anyone, pull the trigger. Even if you have to end his life in the middle of a meal or in prayer. We have no use for those who hesitate in the line of fire!" he declared to the figure before, the rustling getting quite noticable at this point in time, before he heard a dull thud. With an eyebrow raised, he walked over and looked down from the small plateau they were on top of. "Looks like we found them."

It wasn't quite what he was looking for, but the Banded patterned scarf he wore did give his heritage away, to say nothing of his dark-blue hair. Clutching his side, bathed incarnadine red, the young man panted slightly, wincing in pain as he leaned against the sand wall. Breathing heavily, he covered half of his face with a length of dark-blue hair, his eyelids heavy. The trail he walked by could be seen, dappled with red blood, his pistol held carefully within his hands. Had he tried to sneak up on the and shoot? "Tend to him." Rat said. It was obvious he planned to use the stranger to know where the others were,that smile on his face displayed his pleasure at the prospect of a hunt.

He would do to them as he had with the others: raise their hopes, only to crash them down when they were so close to it.
 
Isara nodded and carefully approached the wounded Darcen, feeling more than a little sympathetic towards him knowing what Rat had in mind for him and the others. Not a single one was likely to escape. She sat him down on the ground and helped him out of his coat, careful not to press against the bullet wound. It wasn't lodged in a particularly vital area, but since she did not have much painkillers left in her med-kit it would likely still be very painful to extract. She started at once, however, carefully administering antiseptics to the wound before getting to work.

-----

A while later, she was wrapping bandages around his abdomen, the procedure having been a complete success. He wouldn't die from this wound at least, but she knew that he had a high likelihood of not even surviving through the rest of the day. Isara laid back on the ground, her eyes looking up toward the sky as she wiped some sweat from her brow before glancing back at Rat and the man. How odd indeed it was, as they were all Darcens but most likely had very much different outlooks and desires for their lives.
 
The Stranger gasped, gritting his teeth as he bore the pain. "Ghrhkk...Uhhmmnn!" he groaned out, feeling the pain intensify as she managed to remove the bullet. Grasping a handful of sand, his body tensed up as he tried to hold himself together, wincing as the pain seared his side. He was shot trying to run away when 'they' came. Pathetic, for the young man to simply run, fear lending to his heels as he left his brothers, his family and his community behind. Such was his fear of death..."Ughha...Hhaa..haa.." ragged breaths exited his mouth, lying on the hot sand looking up into the pale blue skies. "T-thanks.." he breathed out, having difficulty breathing, his body strained and put to the limits. A Darcsen, huh...? Never had he felt safer now, with a stroke of good luck he found fellow Darcsen who, no doubt now, had helped him...

Rat grew impatient and walked up towards him. "T-thank you..f-for saving my life..." he said, "M...my name is Mordecai...I..I ha- Ugha...Uhkkaahh!" Rat, without warning, pressing his foot onto his chest, choking the air out of him. W-why would he do such a thing!? To look down on a fellow Darcsen with a look of great contempt...what had he done wrong?! "We don't care about your name, tell us where the others are." he said, every hint of malice telling Mordecai that he did not have good intentions...was he... Mordecai sat up, coughing and hacking a bit, some blood from his spittle coughed out.

"Y..You have to help us...T-they...they came and..." unable to continue further, he devolved into coughing harshly. "T-th...they're going to- Ughhaakk! Uhkhhaah Ughnn..." Mordecai grasped by Isara's shoulder, trying to use her as balance as he retched forward, coughing harshly, lips somewhat red with blood. He would make it yes, but there was no doubt he was in great pain. Rat could only grimace. Did someone else beat them to it?
 
"Calm down," Isara placed her hands on his shoulders and helped steady him, "We can't do anything about that right now, but could you at least tell us what happened? Where you ambushed?"

She was more concerned to know if the others had escaped or if they had already been hunted down and killed. She saw no point in rushing to thier location, however, as Rat would call the rest of the posse and most likely make things worse for the poor Darcens if not finish them off themselves. She did not know that the young man had only survived because he had simply ran, gaining enough distance to keep the attackers from being able to surround him and capture him. Little did he know that running into the two of them would most likely be the last mistake he would ever make.
 
"Where the hell are the others?" he asked, actually grasping his collar and shaking a bit. Mordecai could not believe that a fellow Darcsen would act so needlessly cruel towards another. Even so, he was somewhat...relieved that he was so eager to help. Maybe there was still hope... "T-they're not too far...P-plea- Euughhhhaakk! Ukha!" he coughed out, obviously the strain and his quickened breath did some damage to him. "T-they emerged while we ate...t-they shot into the air...telling us to stay still or else..." It was then quite obvious what happened soon after. A brief chase, letting the injured Darcsen wander off to his death. Breathing slowed to a standstill, Mordecai began to relax even by a little.

"How many were there?"
"E-eight..."
"Did they bring any armor?"
"I...I do- Uuehuuaakk!"

Eight to one, such lousy odds! Rat simply slung his gun over his shoulder, heading towards the way that the young man had told him where the others were. He seemed like he didn't need her help at all, going at it alone. By then, Mordecai frowned, but clutched his side. "I...I can go..." he said, coughing up a bit, but he met her worried gaze with a smile. "I...I have something to protect as well...please..."
 
"No, you should stay," Isara grasped his hand in hers gently then added with a smile, "if you had something so important to you, you should have stayed."

It was meant as a sign of mercy, not letting him return to see his friends, family, or perhaps even love murdered before his very eyes. She also wished to have an opportunity to tell him the truth and to give him a chance to escape, but perhaps fate would not rule on his side and she wouldn't even get that chance to save him.

"Please, you are wounded," she tried to reassure him, "if you go you will simply get in the way. Let Rat go check things our first at least."
 
Mordecai smiled, though that smile disappeared as fast as it had come when he winced in pain, still clutching his side. Limping slightly, he could only offer her yet another smile when she tried to gesture to her that he would be fine...after he knelt on one knee for a few moments, unable to really stand on his own without being overcome with pain. He had to protect those important to him...he couldn't just leave and let them die! Rat moved with little consideration for the two, eventually looking over a clearing... It looks like that Pig wasn't lying after all!

Already most of the men lay dead in a small pit, presumably lifeless, eyes blindfolded with their own Darcsen bands. The women and children, even the young ones were corralled in one corner, watching as the mercenaries laughed at their misfortune. One even grasped a young man, hastily leading him forward. They screamed and cried out, though from far he could not hear their words he knew the fate that he was reserved.

Waiting until they caught up, Mordecai gasped gravely when he saw the dead bodies of some of the Men, executed merely because their captors thought they could easily resist them had they still remained in this world. A tear was choked out of his eyes as they looked from the vantage. He was quite wrong: there were ten Soldiers there, all quite heavily armed and well-prepared. Atleast, the element of surprise was with them. Rat looked down and walked a bit further out from the vantage point.

"Can you shoot a gun?" he asked Mordecai, who could only shake his hand as he rested in a position he found comfortable. "And you, Pig?" turned his head towards her, not even giving her a moment to respond when he thrust a handgun into her hands. Mordecai could not help but wince a little, quite offended that he would call Isara a Pig, yet why did she just stand there and take it?
 
Isara fumbled with the gun a bit before she held it with a fair amount of confidence. Yes, she knew how to shoot, but she didn't know who Rat intended for her to shoot at, exactly, as she thought he would back off from the scene seeing that someone else had already beaten them to the capture. Didn't all they care about is the death of the Darcens, not necessarily that it was them who happened to do the killing? Was killing them so enjoyable that they would pick off each other in order to get a shot at them? It seemed like they were starting to become nothing more than game animals rather than actual human beings, so far had they dehumanized them.
 
Rat didn't care for the lives of Darcsen. However, he did care WHO would be rewarded for the lives taken. And damn sure, he wasn't going to let some mercenary group take it without a fight! Mercenaries gamble for their loaf and for their lives, everyday being yet another test. No stability, no safety and for sure you wouldn't live past 50. Regardless...this was the life he was forced to live in. "Get moving. You, Pig, just stay there if you're going to be a burden." Mordecai knew he should have spoken up, but he knew that was just nothing he could do at this time. Trying to advance, he winced in pain, grasping his side. To see the two going off to protect his people instead of him...how embarassing!

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Children were crying as they witnessed an adult man named Dusel was kicked and thrashed upon, laughing and spitting in his face. There was no need to even tie his hands behind his back: he freely took beatings even before that was such, refusing to flinch nor curse them as he knelt with the barrel of a gun on his head. "Gonna talk yet, Pig?" asked one, frowning in rage as he kicked the Darcsen across the face, inciting a scared yelp from the other captives.

As the soldiers seemed to enjoy watching this demonstration of brutality and utter disregard for their lives, one soldier was busy taking a piss. With a knife he deftly snuck up behind him. "Fuhu-!" was the last thing that came out of his mouth as he slit his throat, covering his mouth as the man bled to his death quickly, laying him down on the floor slightly away from the other soldier's field of vision.

He frowned when the Injured 'Pig' had come with them, but atleast he'll be handy. "Here. Shoot with this." he said, throwing him the abandoned Carbine he looted from the dead scout. "B-but I-" "Shut up and press the trigger on those idiots. And remove the safety. That's all you need to do!" Mordecai was taken aback by his rudeness, almost causing him to furrow his eyebrows, but he had to get this done...

"On my mark...3...2...1!" Rising up from a pile of crates, he shot three rounds towards the soldiers, previously the ones kicking the now-bloodied and unconscious body of a Darcsen adult male, scrambling for cover as Mordecai, with a cry, shot half the clip towards his foes, injuring one only at the shoulder. Rat sighed. "Agh, idiots." he complained, jumping over his cover, suppressing his foes with rounds from his carbine as he ducked behind a boulder. Reloading,he looked towards Isara. "What the hell are you doing?! Get over here!"
 
Isara was in a daze, two or three soldiers having died before her while she held her own pistol firmly in her hands. Was this really a right thing to do? Wasn't she trying to find a peaceful means to end the violence instead of furthering it? Then again, she had agreed to obey the mercenaries without question, so she quickly pulled her thoughts together and followed Rat's lead. She lowered her pistol and carefully aimed, each shot which rang out clearly taking down one soldier with a shot firmly planted in the torso, as she was not precise enough to land head shots. Her silent resolve could be seen by everyone around. She stood quite naturally against Rat, firm and resolute as always, but... There was something inside her that was changing, something that even she could not yet admit to herself. She took no pleasure in killing or wounding these men which had been sent into a mild scramble as the tides were turned against them, by Darcens no less.
 
The surprise attack had knocked off a good 5, already whittling their numbers down quite quickly. The sudden ring of gunfire and the cry of a young male shortly before erupting gunfire and lead over them did unnerve them, already scrambling for cover. Mordecai had never fired a gun before, actually falling back from the sudden recoil that the carbine had forced upon his still-frail body. Rat, on the other hand, was quite surprised that she did pull the trigger. Transfixed even for a moment, he smirked wickedly as he pulled up from cover, having crammed the clip right into the carbine, rising up as he shot another, one who was trying to walk over to the captives and take them as hostages. Pathetic, these men were, can't they fight for their lives?!

"Doing well down there, Pig." teased Rat, softly patting her forehead before he ducked, a salvo of machine gun fire bouncing off of the debris he hid under. Now they were getting desperate, from what he could predict they must be trying to advance ahead. The sound of their rifles churning did get louder. "Hey, Pig, Cover me!" he yelled out, referring to Mordecai. Still dazed and obviously shocked at the first time he had shot a gun, he resorted not to do anything, still trying to get over the fact that he had 'shot' a man. Refusing to answer back, it was obvious that Rat was getting angry. Even though he had taken a new carbine, he was still short on bullets. Taking advantage of a sudden lul in the shooting, he rose up, only to notice that the soldiers from before hid behind crates and boulders. He saw no sign of the others, presumably they had tried to escape. "Hey, Pig, Can you fucking hear me?!" he cried out towards Mordecai who simply huddled and tried to look into himself. All the while, he had and will always be a coward.

Rat grumbled beneath his breath, getting up as he jumped over the small rock he ducked under, Shooting his carbine ahead before he was hit right at the left thigh. With a groan he fell down, clutching his bleeding left leg. One of the soldiers thought it was the best time to come and finish him off, only to come face to face with his own bullets as he shot him when he tried to move out. Bullets bounced all around him, clearly they tried to hide and shoot in hopes that they would not be shot back. "Fuck! Uahh..." he gasped out, trying to crawl out of harm's way...
 
Isara dove down behind some rubble for cover as the machine gun fire ripped across the area, spurting up clouds of dust as the shells embedded themselves into the ground. She pressed her back firmly against the cement barrier fragment, her heart leaping up into her throat. She knew that with one wrong move she would be gunned down without mercy. Zeppel might be cruel and cold, but she needed to live on and continue her quest for peace. She closed her eyes and swallowed, waiting for the gun to need a momentary lul to reload. Just as it sputtered down she dove out, rolling on the ground with the intention to take up position behind Rat.

She heard Rat cry out in pain, most likely from a bullet shot. A cold chill ran down her spine but she kept her head clear as the rounds continued to hail down on them. She suddenly peaked up and fired, nailing the machine gun operator in the shoulder and it spun as it unloaded its shells into its own friendly ranks. Using the temporary confusion to her advantage she ran over to Rat and looked over the wound. It had not fractured his leg bone, but it would keep him from being able to stand for the time being.

"Stay down," she commanded him and pushed his shoulders flat to the dirt before reloading her pistol.

One of the mercenaries had gotten desperate and was charging on their position. Isara shot once, missing him then jumped back from Rat to avoid his return fire. The bullets didn't hit Rat as they were aimed at her instead. He reached to his belt and pulled out a grenade, pulling the pin and tossing it down at their feet before retreating back to his lines. Isara's eyes grew wide, reaching down and grasping it and hurling it up into the air before throwing herself down on Rat. She probably hit his leg int he process, but she was more interested in shielding him from the explosion with her own body. The deafening explosion knocked her unconscious, still covering Rat and protecting him as best she could.
 
Rat never thought this day would come. The day when he, with no gun, had another barrel aimed right at him. Nowhere to hide, unable to shoot back. The all-too mortal chill reminded him just how very frail his life was. All too experienced being the one who held the gun to the victim made him unprepared to face death right in the eye. In fact...he had the urge to just beg for his own life, his mind preventing him from acting up. Then...it struck him. Was this...how those Pigs felt? How the others had despaired knowing that there was a merciless bastard holding the barrel right before them? With no escape...nothing that could be done aside from face the bullet head to head...Gritting his teeth, he almost closed his eyes, but he heard the one gunshot that had him widening his eyes...this was the end...heh, a good run atle-

Wait, he felt no rush of blood, no pain nor did his vision fade. W-what was going on?! Staring back, his eyes widened when Isara had shot the machine-gun toting Shocktrooper, the determination plainly in her eyes. Still trying to register the action she had done, he barely mustered up words when she had advised him to stay still, but the shocked expression did divulge his feelings. Why...why would she try to save someone like him, who had only done her harm and a most grievous mistake?! W-was she mad?! Of course, things did get quite...unbelievable when she, of all people, simply covered him! Atleast now he managed to get his voice back! "W-W-what the fuck are you doi-"

*BANG!*

he felt the force press against his body, though he knew Isara had it worse off, knocked right off of his body as she rolled away roughly, hitting a piece of rubble with a dull thud. He knew she may have broken a few things, but still...w-why would she-?! Frowning harshly, he grasped the gun she had released, shooting the last Mercenary right in between the eyes, falling to a dull thud. Limping, he tried to aid Isara, only to fall when the other Pigs, after they had collected themselves, ran over to help them. When Mordecai smiled gently at him and tended to Isara, Rat, for the first time, felt relief as he let the darkness overtake him as he fell to the lul of unconsciousness.

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Mordecai had just returned back to their encampment. He actually let Mamaji , an older and more trusted auntie tend to Isara, having removed the uniform and bandaged her torso. He did...secretly, want to see her naked. She looked so cute when she was asleep, her eyes closed softly, a neutral look upon her fair features all too mesmerizing. Of course, Papaji, the older grandfather, did tease him and soon, the young ones joined. With danger still very much a possibility they remained vigilant, having moved near the mountains in a small cave where they lit a fire. It was odd, but however many times Mimari, a younger maiden and adopted daughter of Mamaji had offered Rat something to eat, he rebuffed and cursed her. What an enigma, for such a strange Darcsen to act in such a way. To dislike fellow Darcsen and call them degrading names...it was most strange indeed!

Yet, they took their blessings to heart as he, like Mordecai, had been heroes who saved them. After weeping for the fallen young men, they had a modest feast, eating baked loaves after praying graces to the Earth-Mother. Mamaji did omit her own share, preferring for Isara and the young ones to eat to fill for the next day. The other young men, including Mordecai had just returned from gathering water discreetly, having noted a few shifty figures in the distance. He had lay right by Isara, softly bandaging her right arm. When Mamaji was gone...he actually...leaned in a little, blushing softly as he stroked her cheek ever so gently. Perfectly chiseled, the work of art, held by loving hands was her delicately crafted body, almost doll-like yet graceful and deadly as the last afternoon's sortie had shown. Thinking she would not be awakening any moment now, he continued to lean in, his...lower parts softly against her own as he blushed. "So...cute..." he muttered beneath his breath.
 
Isara remained asleep through all of it, the shock from the grenade not causing her as much physical damage as would be expected considering that people often lost limbs from grenade explosions, but combined with the stress from the rest of the day it was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. As the young man leaned into her, she did not so much as stir, still completely out and peacefully sleeping, almost angel-like in the way her body slowly rose and fell with each breath she took. He was still being much too delicate with her to rouse her, as the grips of sleep were still firmly holding her down. She probably would have slapped him if she were awake, though, considering that she was not yet completely broken when it came to males approaching her in such a manner.
 
Undisturbed, Mordecai gazed upon his goddess, blush setting cheeks alight as he softly stroked her hair, gently nudging upon her chin. Just feasting her every beautiful curve, her delicate frame beheld so lovingly before him. She was just so cute when she was helpless, chest rising up and down ever so peacefully as she rested. And of course, temptation encroached upon him. He could easily take her here and now...but of course, he could not do such a dastardly deed, especially upon a fellow Darcsen nonetheless! Softly backing off, he could not, however, resist...

Lifting up her skirt softly, he quickly put back down her kilt, blushing feverishly upon sighting her soft wet folds. N-n-..No underwear?! Blushing as his mind recalled the sight of her most private portions, he backed off, trying to dearly fight against temptation! Here she was, helpless and compromised, even the most lustful of any kind could take her purity here and now!

Mordecai stomached such feelings, blush still very much brightening his face. Maybe...just another look...

"What the hell are you doing here, Pig?"
 
Isara sighed as as Mordacai continued to stroke her face and hair, taking in the curves of her body which seemed to be highly appealing to Darcen and non-Darcen alike. She remained blissfully unaware of his actions, even when he was considering taking her purity upon discovering her lack of undergarments. This was not of her own choice, of course, Zeppel having taken them earlier and not given them back to her.

Rat's voice caused Isara to gently stir but not fully awake, her body shifting over its side as she reached up and began to rub her eyes. She finally sat up, drowsy yet otherwise acting unharmed until she leaned against her wounded arm. She let out a painful gasp and laid back down, teeth gritting in pain. It was a moderate cut from the explosion, nothing that time could not heal... Assuming she gave it ample rest to do so. She didn't seem aware of what had almost happened to her, nor of the two men which were nearby.
 
"Uh..M-Me...N-n...nothi-"

Rat took the initiative, grasping his collar, roughly grasping the scarf he wore as he pinned him against the floor. "Ahhh!" he cried softly, pressed against the floor looking into the eyes of a determined killer. Rat blushed softly, obviously angry yet flustered at the same time. This pervert, ugh he just couldn't stand people like him! "Were you planning to do something horrible to her?!" he asked, "Answer me!"

Mordecai gasped softly, weakly grasping the other Darcsen young man's wrists. Why would a Darcsen hurt another without hesitation? Couldn't he just try to resolve this misunderstanding by words? "I...I swear..I...I wasn't going to do anything bad to her! I swear!" Not even Rat bought his reasoning. "Yeah, tell me about why you were poised so clearly ready to give her a good ramming?" he asked, about to drive his fist right into her face.

Mordecai whimpered, his throat suddenly tightening. He was unable to answer back, all the more reason for Rat to just be ready to smack him right on the face with a vicious right hook...
 
Isara's mind pieced the situation together rather quickly, realizing that Rat had seen Mordecai doing something that he had interpreted as a sexual advance on herself. Although she was not at all pleased with Mordecai, she didn't wish to see his mangled remains thrown across the room if she hesitated to stop Rat from doing so. Isara reached over and grasped Rat's arm in her own, holding him back.

"Rat, please stop... He's not worth your trouble, alright?" she pleaded, not desiring any Darcen, even the perverted ones, from dying. There was enough death as it was, without the need to add to it unnecessarily.

"Rat, I am alright, so please just let him go," she said humbly, her body pressing into Rat's back slightly as she tried to hold his fist from beating the Darcen's face inside out.
 
Mordecai was surprised when Rat's fist had not nailed him right in the face. "I..Isara!" he gasped out, backing up slightly when she had awakened. Oh, how embarassing it was, to have heard such things and the accusation that had been made! Mordecai was, no doubt, in love with Isara. Her bravery belied her feebleness, her act of heroism no doubt leaving a good impression on him. Rat, meanwhile, looked down on Mordecai's features as he simply shrugged off Isara's grasp, standing up and walking away, not even sparing a single look back towards her. Rat was indeed a confusing person. Refusing food when Mamaji had offered him some hastily baked flatbread, he simply sat outside, sitting on the peak where he had found Mordecai, quite far from the camp.

With that over, Mordecai rubbed the back of his head, looking away slightly. "I...I'm sorry about that..." he said, gently blushing, "I...I didn't mean to do anything bad to you...I...I was just..." Left speechless, Mordecai couldn't complete his phrase, so very embarrassed by what had transpired. Thankfully, Mimari, a fellow Darcsen, had come to his aid, directly wishing to aid Isara by the advice of Mamaji. Mordecai took his leave, walking out to join the group. Isara was fitted with a clean pair of undergarments, some from Mimari's own before she led Isara out, where they prayed with their knees to the ground, eyes closed as they prayed for a better future ahead...
 
"Just try to keep a hold of yourself in the future," Isara sighed, trying not to be cruel about it but at the same time showing her displeasure with him. The last thing she needed was a fellow Darcen that wanted to get into her pants, especially one who didn't seem to have enough self-restraint to keep himself from taking advantage of her while she slept. She would expect something like that from Zeppel or the like, but not from someone like Mordecai.

She thanked Mimari for the clothes and headed out to find Rat, who she felt she needed to apologize to. She walked out to him, nothing the self-inflicted isolation, and laid a hand on his hand gently before laying her head down on his shoulder.

"I just want to thank you... For back there and for everything else as well," she closed her eyes, "I don't know why you are doing it, but you are looking out for me and I appreciate that. I'm sorry if you resent me for keeping you from hurting him, but I felt that it was the right thing to do. You can't force people to change... that's one of the reasons why I am doing the things that I am, to help people change for the better by changing myself."
 
Rat didn't even turn his head to look into Isara. As always, he pretended to act hostile towards her for no given reason other than he disliked her for being a Darcsen. But, even he was aware that he wasn't acting as he always had. If he was the same Rat before he had met her, he would have slit her throat with little hesitation for speaking up. But...while he could easily tell her off, bombard her with slurs and insult her, he just couldn't raise his hand against her. Was it because of the pledge he made to protect her? Graahhh! How annoying! "Hmph." was his retort, looking away even as she pressed against him. His body language suggested that he didn't want her near him, yet his body did not budge or attempt to dislodge her from him.

Mamaji, a smiling woman who wore a Banded scarf openly, walked up to the two. "Oh my, how delightful!" she said, "I remembered when I was in love too~ Please, do join us for a meal!" she said. "We wish to pray for a better day tomorrow...the kids are so sad seeing the older men die a few hours ago..." she said, looking down. Her own grandson was amongst those they executed because they were remotely threatening, yet, her eyes refused to hate. Rat didn't even look back, simply remaining where he was.
 
Isara understood that Rat did not like her and still harbored a deep-set hatred for all Darcens, but even so she felt that she needed to be upfront and honest with him rather than beat around the bush. She noted that he merely let her do as she wished without pulling away... Perhaps even that could be considered a slight improvement. The silence between them was broken as Mamaji approached and made her request.

"I... Um... We aren't like that," Isara blushed slightly, her mind momentarily recalling the night she had spent with Rat. He hadn't actually taken her virginity, but even so it was as close as she had ever gotten to such occurring She reached out and took Rat's hand in hers and tugged on it gently.

"Come on, Rat, we should get something to eat with the others," she insisted, "Its not good to sit by yourself. You should learn to trust other people, even if its just a little bit."
 
Rat blushed when the old hoot made a comment about them being lovers, but he felt his right arm being yanked when Isara asked him to come with them. "I...I don't want to! Get off me!" he said, struggling weakly, even though it felt as if he wasn't even resisting. He tried to mouth her off even though he was led right into the camp site. No fire was lit to ensure that no one else would see them. Food was shared, though Rat begrudgingly knelt down as well. Mordecai waved shyly at Isara, even though Rat had glared at him soon after. Bread was broken, a solemn prayer offered to the Earth-Mother. Though Rat seemed respectfully silent, he ate away rather ravenously, not even looking the others in the eye when they offered him something to dip the Bread in.

Mamaji, leading the festivities, then roused the others to dance. Though Rat tried to stand, he found himself soon dragged by Isara into the center, where with laughter and clapping, he found himself clasping her hands in a slow dance. Looking into her eyes, he blushed quite brightly, Looking away as they swayed to the beat of their clapping. "Scramble!" the group said, and, without Rat noticing, he was gently shoved off, only to clasp into the hands of Mimari, a young girl with long, slender black raven hair, blushing. The premise of the dance was to shuffle amidst the other dancers. He tried to see where Isara was, but he had the urge to leave when he saw her dancing with Mordecai, having been exchanged from another couple before.

There, Mordecai had a chance to talk. "I...I wasn't trying to do anything funny...I...I was...marvelling...y-your face..." he blushed, "Y-you're cute!" he admitted softly, thankfully the clapping drowned out his words, his blush ever so bright before the old woman then declared to Scramble, this time locked hands with Rat, who also looked rather disgruntled. It can be agreed upon that the two did not like dancing with each other. Mimari laughed softly, as did the others while Isara was dancing with an older, Middle-aged man. After the dance, the group was rather happy, chuckling and joking about what a cute couple Mordecai and Rat looked. Rat was just about to leave just before they knelt on the ground, looking to the ground as they prayed for the deceased communally...Rat couldn't help but repeat the same, trying not to spoil the moment for Isara. He had nothing to pray for, so in short, he whispered beneath his breath.

"Whoever is up there...or down there...please look over Isara if I die."
 
Isara weakly waved back to Mordecai in order to not be rude by simply ignoring him, but she could feel Rat's intense and agressive look without even having to turn and look in his direction. The two of them would probably be on bad terms with each other from now on, especially considering how Rat seemed to hold grudges. Isara ate with renewed vigor, having missed a meal and not eaten nearly as much as her body wished at the meals she had been able to receive, gratefully accepting the bread that was passed to her as she knew it would not be a wise opportunity to pass up. They were thankful to her for her bravery, yet she hoped it would not be in vain as Rat may still have been harboring his desire to turn them all in when the opportunity presented itself. For now, she kept her worries silent, however, and maintained her composure.

Isara grabbed Rat and pulled him toward the center of the festivities, deciding to drown out her own concerns as well as hopefully distract him from his grudges even if it was simply a temporary arrangement. She was quite surprised to find herself facing Mordecai once again, who made it a point to speak with her once again about the earlier incident.

"Well, I haven't known Rat for that long, but I have a feeling it takes a little bit more than just looking at my cute face to get him upset enough to want to tear someone's face clean off," Isara sweatdropped, but the blush on her own face was somewhat apparent. She wasn't used to being complimented, least of all concerning her appearance, so it had caught her off-guard. Thankfully the awkwardness didn't last long as they shuffled once again.

"Please help their souls find peace," Isara prayed silently, her head bowed in a reverent manner
 
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