PM to join Night Watchers ( Isolde Seibold )

[Kyra]

Kyra breathed softer, slower as she stared off blankly into the distance. Shadows boar crud forms, and shapes became illusions of would-be enemies hiding in the darkness. She could feel her heart rate returning to normal and the aches in her body slowly dulling. Tiny beads of sweat covered her body, though more so inside her clothing than upon the exposed skin which were lightly treated by the night's breeze. Lowering her head, she gaze down at her boots, and noticed the fading burn in her feet from the run that she had done twice that night.

It was rarely dull in the city, and for the times that she had found herself bored, the action that arrived next was normally more than she would have liked. This would be such a night, after a day of work and trying to wine down for the night, she was suddenly pulled into a confrontation with enemies she didn't even know she had. Life wasn't easy, and it appeared that no matter how much changed, jobs didn't come any easier either. The kelvic looked mature enough, but the truth was far different. She was only three years old, and in that time, she had seen and experienced a lot. For a normal human, such times would likely make them wise and more careful.

For Kyra, it wasn't the same. So much had happened and so fast. She had been forced to grow up far too quickly, and before she could make sense of it all, she was pushed into another situation. She was confused, frustrated, alone, and sometimes afraid. It was a dangerous world she lived in, and people about who would do her wrong just because she was kelvic, or female. This caused her to trust less people and to rely only on herself, which also made her life hard because her being called for companionship. Many would never understand how that tore at the girl's heart. Created by a being she would never know, and a spell placed in her blood that gave her a basic need that she didn't understand or know how to satisfy.

She thought about the Nuit, the woman beside her who had just gone through the same ordeal as she did. The woman had been there every step of the way, even when the situation got weird. It was odd for Kyra, having a partner in crime who didn't suddenly vanish in the thick of things. But the young kelvic had to wonder why, who was this woman, and why did she stay with her? The woman did ask a lot of questions, and some Kyra herself still didn't know. It was simply a job that she had been given, and she was only told what she needed to know. It was enough for her at the time, but now she wondered if she should have asked more.

"He's not a good man. I know that. He's done things..to others. They didn't like it and wanted him to pay. His problems are his own fault and none of mine."

Breathing softer now, Kyra pushed off the wall and stood up. Looking around she noticed the huge wall of a building that led to the general apartments that many lived in. Kyra didn't live in the resident area, but she would guess that her place wasn't far from there. "There are apartments here, do you live here?" she asked looking to the woman. "Thank you, but I can walk fine. I do feel more rested now. What of you, can you make it alright?"

OOCXD sing along?

[Isolde Seibold]

OOCNext stop: Karaoke at the Rearing Stallion.
The girls can become bards and then ride off into the sunset, teehee!

"He's not a good man. I know that. He's done things..to others. They didn't like it and wanted him to pay. His problems are his own fault and none of mine."

The Nuit winced, but nodded. What had the man done that was so bad? She didn't really want to consider, based on his interests... Was what he had done a mark of insanity? Or not? It would be impossible to tell, not having met him before, not being able to judge if he had had a change in character or morality.

So perhaps the Kelvic was right, and Isolde shouldn't try to purposefully make contact with him again. Not even to scope him out, to try to see if she could help him. Because she couldn't risk herself. Not willingly. Not like that.

She sighed. A coward, through and through.

No. The Nuit tried to tell herself that self-preservation was not cowardice. She wasn't quite certain if she was willing to listen or not.

"There are apartments here, do you live here? Thank you, but I can walk fine. I do feel more rested now. What of you, can you make it alright?"

"I-I'm alright, too. Don't worry a-about me." The Nuit squinted through the dark. It took her a moment of mapping in her mind to try to sort out where they were. Especially in this accursed darkness. She couldn't expect the night to abate any time soon to help her see, either. Dawn wouldn't come for at least a few more bells, probably even more than that.

Had they ended up in the Maiden District? Or were they still in the Jordon? Regardless, Isolde's home wasn't in either of those.

"A-Actually, I live in the B-Bittern District." Wherever they were, this place was not that. It wasn't near rundown enough. In Bittern, even at this hour there would be people milling about in even the darkest and grimiest hallways and alleyways. There were simply a lot of the poor and hopeful shoved into that place, so much so, in fact, that it almost tended to overflow. Cheapest housing meant more residents. Cheap also meant that it wasn't nearly as pretty there as it was here, even if all this area appeared to be was cobblestone road and stone brick apartments.

"W-What is this, where are we--? Do you live around here?" It would make sense for Kyra to live in the Maiden District, which was largely residential. Or perhaps the Kelvic was staying in the Traveler's Row, near the front gates...? If that was the case, then they had quite the walk ahead of them. Either that, or the Nuit had badly miscalculated.

Please let her not live far from here. Isolde was getting to be on her last legs, for tonight. It wasn't that she got tired physically. Just mentally. And she needed to try to ease the pain in her beaten up body somehow. Probably through meditation and perhaps a little massage or heat. Sitting by the hearth would probably do wonders.

For now though, she needed to focus on getting her companion home safe so that she could rest.

"You know wh-what, just lead the way. R-Really, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I j-just want to make c-certain you d-don't get into any more t-trouble on the way home."

[Kyra]

"The Bittern District.." Kyra's gaze wandered off as she continued to look around. There was so many different areas in the city and most of it all looked the same. The only noticeable differences were from the older buildings that had been made for the founding families when the city was first constructed. With so much packed together and build to house, rather than comfort, Kyra didn't know how anyone could tell it all apart.

"No I do not live here. My home is by the gates at the entrance to the city. This place is..different. I do not think I have ever been here, maybe..." The city always appeared different at night, the lack of people and lights in areas gave the place a different look and feel. Kyra didn't know the place well and still relied on smells, sounds, and visual items to tell her where she was. Isolde seemed more than ready to get moving again, and Kyra felt the same. She could rest much easier when she was back home and in her bed.

Kyra was still surprised at the woman's words. She seemed to generally want to help her, and that was a rare thing. Most humans that she met were more interested in what company she could provide for them, and cared nothing for her and what she needed. But Isolde seemed different, she asked for nothing and only said that she wanted to make sure that the kelvic made it home safely. " Is the Bittern District far from the gates? I can not recall.." She started off again, this time simply walking as she tried to peace together some form of map to remind her which way she should go.

"If you like...you could stay for the night. I do not mind, and it would be better than going out alone. Those nasty people could still be about searching for us after all." It wasn't often that the kelvic invited people to come to her place of rest, but it wasn't often that others stuck their necks out for her either. "Does that sound suitable to you?" she asked with a quick glance towards the woman. Still unsure of where she was going, Kyra simply wander around until she noticed something familiar and took the turn.

The kelvc would do this again and again, following smells, sounds and even familiar patterns on the ground. Soon they arrived in the main area where the taverns and a few shops were located before reaching the gates.

OOCKyra can't sing but if Isolde needs a back up dancer? XD

[Isolde Seibold]

OOCThey could form a band called 'The Kuities', pronounced 'cuties'.
Pretty much it's just 'Nuit' with a 'K' for 'Kelvic' and 'ies' on the end just to make it catchy.
*not lame at all*

"No I do not live here. My home is by the gates at the entrance to the city. This place is..different. I do not think I have ever been here, maybe..."

The Nuit squelched a groan at the girl's statements, instead running a hand over her face. There was a slight tremble in her fingers that she ignored.

"Is the Bittern District far from the gates? I can not recall.."

If the Nuit had been asked that question a mere Season ago, she would not have had a clue how to answer it. But, now that she'd become more active she knew Syliras a little better, and perhaps even better than the Kelvic. She especially knew the distance from her District to the gates, having to tread that path in order to get to her workplace, and also to leave the city and head out in the direction of the Bronze Woods. She'd used the Woods on a variety of occasions, for a few different reasons. To practice her Reimancy. To practice training with the dagger. Those were the things the Nuit did that she did not always feel safe doing in the city, and so the Woods --off the Kabrin-- was the best and closest place for those activities.

"It's a pr-pretty fair distance. Do y-you know the Docks? Where the sh-ships come in to port? The B-Bittern District neighbors that a-area. Sk-Skip a b-bit to the... I think it's the e-east, and y-you end up in the S-Stone Gardens. T-That's about a-as far from the front gates as o-one can possibly get." She grimaced, allowing herself to hobble along after Kyra, hoping the girl would keep her back turned so the Nuit would not have to pretend that walking wasn't bothering her. Probably, with the Kelvic's hearing and other senses, her companion would pick up the stout breaths and shuffled steps. But Isolde would only straighten, correcting her gait, if Kyra turned towards her.

They seemed to be heading into turn after turn, which wasn't quite helping the Nuit in her struggle to establish where they were. However... she figured that they were heading in vaguely the right direction, thanks to the Kelvic's trail-and-error and probably some innate sense that the girl had. The Nuit filled the creaking silence of the night by panting out, "A-All night we've been running a-around the J-Jordon, M-Maiden, and perhaps the very edges of the Bittern D-Districts. Maybe e-even dipping into the Dyres. Th-Though it's hard for me to t-tell, especially at night. And a-at the boundaries, o-of course, each D-District tends to b-blur into the next."

"If you like...you could stay for the night. I do not mind, and it would be better than going out alone. Those nasty people could still be about searching for us after all. Does that sound suitable to you?"

The Nuit glanced over at the Kelvic, startled, when Kyra suggested this... scuffing the toe of her boot against the street when she hurried to catch up, having paused mid-drudge at the words. Isolde wasn't one to impose herself upon others. She knew they didn't like it. It was a plain and simple fact that people didn't want to be around her. She understood why, and she didn't blame them, she couldn't.

So the worry showed clearly in her tone when she cleared her throat and asked, "A-Are you c-certain? I... I d-don't want for you to f-feel obligated to, er, to h-help... me." She almost said 'someone like me', but switched the words at the last moment. To the Nuit, it felt like she might be invading where she was not truly wanted. A nervous feeling that made her palms prickle.

The Kelvic was right, however. The others might still be looking. She wouldn't want to find herself confronting them, in the same night, for the third time... and this time completely alone. And her muscles were aching so fiercely. It would be good to rest in a safe place...

But still. She didn't want the Kelvic to have to offer up her own home simply for the sake of propriety. "I, I uh, well... " She looked down, fiddling with her fingers... then realized that she could actually see her fingers. Tiredly she raised her head, looking around, automatically forcing herself out of her limp, taking measured steps once more. They were passing by familiar places of business, nearing the gates. There went her workplace, Undeniable Interests. And there was the Rearing Stallion, men and women alike washing out into the streets, mugs of ale clasped in dirty hands. The Traveler's Row was close.

Finally, the Nuit said, mumbling and wondering if the Kelvic would pick up her words, "If I r-really w-won't be any bother..." She cast Kyra a cautious glance, trying not to seem either hopeful or pathetic enough to goad the girl into letting her stay.

[Kyra]

"I...see..That is far...very far." Kyra lifted a finger and lightly tapped it against her lower lip. It was surprising in a way, had she really just raced that far? It would explain why her body felt so raked and tired. She had acted on instinct and ran as far as she needed too, beyond that there were no other thoughts. "You seem to know your way around really well.." the kelvic said without looking at the woman. Kyra had been to many of the same places before, but she didn't know what led to what. She could find her way if she walked the area and used her memory of where she had gone before, but as far as simply knowing it enough to repeat it, she was still learning. "Have you lived here very long? I've never seen you before tonight."

After some time, they arrived at the Traveler's Row after having passed a few taverns on their way. Kyra had meant what she said about letting the woman stay the night. The kelvic didn't trust those people not to give up so easily, nor did she trust the Knights to see their side of the story. In truth, the Nuit was the only innocent one among them, but her race alone put her in a bad spot when it came to normal humans. If she did decide to stay, the next morning Kyra could walk her back to where she needed to be. "You really are free to stay. I do not mind, honest." Kyra glanced back at the woman again, and in a way she wanted her to stay.

The kelvic was alone most of the time, and no one paid visits to her home. Having another around even for a short while seemed nice. Kyra still wasn't sure why she couldn't catch the woman's warmth, but at the moment, she was too tired to think about it. Someone had once explained to her what Nuits were, but in the kelvic's mind, she saw them as eerie beings, who were untrustworthy and deceitful. Isolde wasn't like this, not to her. The woman was one of the kindest people that she had met in recent times, and the thought that she might be a Nuit never crossed her mind.

"If you must return to your home tonight, at least allow me to give you something. A way to protect yourself in case those brutes are still about?"

She waited until the woman made a decision and then turned and headed inside to reach her apartment. Kyra sighed softly, a deep breath escaping as she stepped inside her home again. She was relieved to have gotten home without much trouble and with her companion making it away also. Kyra walked into the dimly lit room and kicked off her boots, letting them tumble to where they may. She undressed herself, save for her undergarments and allowed those to fall away as well, before flinging herself over her bed.

The kelvic laid still, silent for a moment then slowly rolled onto her back. Lifting her head up, she turned and gently rubbed her cheek against her pillow. A soft sigh of relief was exhaled and the kelvic smiled weakly as she kneaded the sheets with her fingers and toes. Kyra felt much better now that she was home, and the lack of clothing helped to cool her body. After another moment she opened her eyes again, a soft purr slipping out as she rolled onto her side and searched for her companion. "You can sit down if you wish. I do not mind at all."

OOCI think it's cute! First song "bad,bad men" XD

[Isolde Seibold]

OOCSLEEPOVER PARTY WOO

"You really are free to stay. I do not mind, honest."

"Oh, th-then. Thanks. Th-Thank you."

It felt strange, somehow. Those words. It wasn't that she was trying to come off as rude, or unwilling to show gratitude. It was just that there weren't a lot of people she could show gratitude towards. Her employer, maybe, though he wouldn't accept a 'thank you' very well; he was more the type to swat it away like an annoying fly. Razkar, maybe. Fallon. Her teachers. That was really it. Really, she ended up apologizing a lot more than she got to express her thanks.

It made her feel a bit warm. Having someone care enough about her to allow her into their home. To be concerned about her safety.

Would Kyra still care if she knew what exactly Isolde was...?
The Kelvic seemed like a nice girl who just happened to get tangled up into bad situations. Isolde wanted to believe that it wouldn't make any difference.

Then, how about this question:
Was it fair to the Kelvic for the Nuit to take refuge in her home under, she didn't know-- under what might be considered false pretenses? If Kyra assumed that Isolde was a person worth helping, and then discovered that she was just, well, what she was. Some unnatural creature.
Was that fair? To take advantage of another's kindness without that person having the whole story?

Why was the Nuit even worried about such things? It was no big deal.
No big deal.

Was this indecision because of what had happened, earlier? With Razkar? The memory kept coming back, playing in her mind. How she had acted. How she had tried to make him afraid-- unsuccessfully, thank the gods, but she had tried to use what she was against him. Tried to get close to him to drive him away. Tried to manipulate him using aggression, and fear. Tried to play into what must be a natural revulsion to her kind.

He had seemed to forgive her. Maybe. But did that even matter?
Was she worth helping? Really, was she worth it?

They were already at the Kelvic's house. The Nuit, lost in her thoughts, hadn't realized... then the door was being opened, and she hesitated at the threshold, for a moment, like a vampire. Pausing, holding her breath, uncertain. Before she stepped into the dimly lit, neat area.

Kyra made herself at home, as was her wont. After all, it was her apartment.

No. It was more than that. It was her home. And the Nuit was here. That detailed a certain amount of trust. Was it misplaced--? Misinformed--?

She hadn't realized she'd just stood there, staring down at her feet, until the Kelvic purred out, "You can sit down if you wish. I do not mind at all."

"Oh. Oh, th-thank you." The words were barely more than a whisper. Isolde cleared her throat and tried again, a bit more loudly, "I mean thank you. For all you've done. L-Letting me c-come in like this." She hesitated, before crossing the room and settling herself next to the small hearth, putting her back to the wall, resting one hand on one knee, the other arm still tucked in close. She focused on relaxing, too, and closed her eyes. Breathe deeply. Breathe evenly. Don't think too much. Just take your breaths and try to ease away the pain of your injuries. "Th-There are not many who w-would do this for me. Who w-would... b-be w-willing to, uh, to help me. I-It means a lot."

She shifted, bringing her right hand back to massage at her left shoulder, wincing. She probed gently at the muscle, trying to determine where exactly the highest point of sensitivity was, trying to figure out if it was due to muscle tearing or a pinched nerve... or perhaps simple bruising was enough...? The initial agony had faded away, but seemed prone to flair up with any wrong movement or even from too much motion. Her other muscle aches... they didn't bother near as much, now. At least those she would probably learn to ignore.

It was odd. Settled in like this, she should have already started the painful process of nitpicking at the day. It was something of a nightly ritual, before she eased properly into her meditation or studies or practice. She would stop and go over every little interaction with every little person, trying to weigh the positives and negatives of her own behavior, trying to figure out where she'd gone wrong, trying to figure out how to make her interactions better, smoother, less offensive. She knew normal people probably didn't obsess like that. She couldn't remember doing it when she was alive.

But she was not alive now. So she couldn't really compare this to that, could she?

Anyways, she should have been berating herself for her performance today. But oddly, perhaps because of the Kelvic's calm presence... she found herself just willing to skip it, at least for tonight. It was almost a relief. She didn't want to have to think about things too hard. Not with someone around to watch. To hear. She wouldn't want to subject Kyra to such a process.

All in all, she was just glad that the Kelvic had let her stay.

[Kyra]

Kyra watched as the woman took her invitation and settled near the small hearth. She had expected the woman to come closer and find a seat that was more comfortable. But if the Nuit wanted to sleep there she wouldn't speak out against it. However if the woman's life was more like her own, and she had trouble meeting people that she could trust, the kelvic could understand her reasons for being distant. But this wasn't a friendship, or an offer of some sort of relationship, it was simply a kind gesture in return for one given earlier that night. In truth, Kyra didn't expect to see the woman again after that night.

"Are you hungry, there is food here. I'm sure that I have enough for us both."

The kelvic had done a bit of shopping that afternoon before she continued her work for the job that she had been assigned. It wasn't a lot of extra foods. Just meats and milk that she would likely finish off before she fell asleep. Rolling over onto her back, Kyra stared at the ceiling and listened as the silence filled the room. "Did you...want to talk about something, or should we go to bed? You can if you like, you must be tired?" She waited until the woman answered before she said anything more.

Isolde was nice enough, but there was something about falling asleep with a stranger in her home. At least not first. There was also something different about the woman, and as much as she pushed it from her mind, it came back just as much. It was another part of her nature to be so curious and the longer she was around, the more she wanted to know. "Do you..like secrets? Do you have any?" The kelvic had secrets of her own, though by most, they weren't as guard as others might be. She had kept her race a secret for a long time given the way they were treated.

Kyra had thought herself doing a great job at it as well, though now it seemed that she was meeting people daily who just knew what she was from a simple glance. It didn't matter if it was day or night, if she was inside or outside they just knew. Even more creepy were the ones who seemed to easily guess what her kelvic form was. It had to be some type of magic, or something else that she didn't understand. Either way it was coming to the point and she wondered if she could hide it any longer. "What is it like in your life? What do you do?"

OOCWoot! XD

[Isolde Seibold]

"Are you hungry, there is food here. I'm sure that I have enough for us both."

"Ah~ n-no. N-No thank you. Y-You've already done e-enough for me. A-And, truth be t-told, I'm n-not hungry at all." Isolde smiled humorlessly at her little joke, though she didn't really feel happy about it, not one bit, and though it was hardly clever. How was it she always found a way to lie without lying at all?

Just talented, I guess. The thought was just as humorless as her grin. She leaned closer to the hearth for comfort, snuggling her face deeper into the shadows of her hood.

Something was different. There was light on her face, in her eyes, though her hood was pulled forward. Why was that?

Oh. Oh, yeah. A stark memory flared to life. The thug-woman, almost burying her knife in Isolde's cheek, only managing to get the hood, and--

--the Nuit scrambled from a cozy slouch into a straight-backed sitting position, right hand flying up to yank her hood away, her fingers curling into her hair--

--and there it was. A lock of dark hair, chopped short.

Hard evidence like that was impossible to ignore. There it was, proof that -- that she'd almost been knifed in the face. The blade must have come so close. A hair's breadth away, literally. Belated fear now frosted through the Nuit's guts in response, ice-cold and spiky, and she shivered, teeth chattering.

Another fresh memory followed the first, this one of the Nuit slamming her hands over the woman's ears. The anguish of the thug's cries wrung tinnily in her head, a ghost. No, a poltergeist.

Stop, stop thinking about it all!

Another, like a flash in her mind, that anger she'd felt earlier, that anger that others were fighting when she just wanted some petching peace--

Another, the couple in the Temple, she didn't want to think about it--

So then: bandaging Razkar's wounds, saying My family is dead and moving on less than a chime or so later, going on to joke like it meant nothing when really those words meant everything, everything--

Running in close during their spar, grabbing her teacher's arm, getting whatever contact she could, palming the Myrian's ear and neck. A gesture intended to scare, to affect him --hurt him?-- in some nonphysical way. Something that was eerily similar to what she had done to the thug, attacking without mercy at what she saw to be the greatest weakness, targeting without thinking it through--

"Did you...want to talk about something, or should we go to bed? You can if you like, you must be tired?"

The words, soft as they were, shattered through to the Nuit and she flinched, teeth clenching, eyes flying wide. She was huddled down next to the low-burning fire, as close as she could get, the heat of it against her face, hers hands still up by her head. With shaking limbs she tore herself away, turning her back on the hearth's low comfort. A moment later and she had tossed back onto her other side, helplessly turning her front back towards the flames. Vaughn was in every fire she saw, every cinder and ember and coal, every flare of warmth and light. Vaughn, flickering to life in the fireplace and she could almost see him: those burned hands, that glowing smile, that low laugh, those wondrous eyes burning through a thousand thousand colors and all of them unique. All of him, a dream. Vaughn.

Just conjuring his name was enough. Isolde felt the fear burble down, the icicle that had speared through her first melting, and then boiling, hissing and turning to steam. Then the steam had dissipated, and it was gone. Safe. She was safe, for now.

"Do you..like secrets? Do you have any? What is it like in your life? What do you do?"

So many questions. And Isolde had to wonder if these had come because the Kelvic had sensed her distress. Those memories--

It was best to answer Kyra. A conversation, regardless of whether or not it touched too closely to sensitive subjects, would tether her to the present. That was good.

"T-Talking would be f-f-fine. B-But please... you m-must understand something, okay? S-Secrets are secrets f-for a reason. I d-don't know if I can-- can willingly g-go into that s-sort of thing. I d-don't particularly like keeping things from people. A-At the same time... I just c-can't say some things aloud. I h-hope you understand." Then, almost regretting the question before she asked it and asking nonetheless, "W-Why? W-Was there something in p-particular you were w-wondering about me?" Gods, there it was. Fucking free reign. But Isolde had already warned the Kelvic, as best she could. Some things she couldn't say. Just couldn't bring herself to admit. If Kyra asked after any of those, then Isolde was going to have to disappoint her.

In the meantime... "M-My life--" That word was said with a certain ambiguity, as if she didn't think that was quite what she had. "My l-life is-- Well, it's, uh." Even this was hard. She really didn't talk about herself. Not ever, if she could help it. Not unless the mood struck her, and generally then she spoke of the happy times long, long past. From before she had become what she was. "I-It's... well, it's a life. At least I'm a-able to h-hold onto it, right?" She shifted, leaving her body turned towards the fire. "I do a l-lot of things. Well, some things a-at least. I g-go to work. A-And I practice s-some skills, l-like the dagger. I g-go to the Bronze W-Woods a lot. I l-like to meditate. M-Mostly I just t-try to keep out o-of trouble, o-out of sight. You c-can probably t-tell that I d-don't do so w-well at that, not all the t-time." She paused again, considering, then tacked on, "I'd like to t-think that I t-try to help people, that I try to d-do some good... Eh, I guess if I r-really believed in c-charity I w-would have stayed for that p-painting, right?" Again with the poor humor, and this time it didn't even bring a smile to the Nuit's face.

'At least I'm able to hold onto it, right?' What kind of answer was that?

"W-What about y-you? I-Is it m-most days th-that you have s-such tr-trouble? I h-hope people don't b-bother you like that all the t-time...?"

[Kyra]

Kyra stared blankly at the woman as she continued to turn down each offer. The kelvic supposed that she could understand being careful when trusting others, and even being uncomfortable in a stranger's home. But it seemed as if this woman didn't need or want for anything. "Not hungry? Alright then." she said just before a sudden grumble in her belly caused her eyes to dart down to where her hands raised and pressed against it.

"I suppose that I could..." The kelvic started to sit up, but just as she did, she suddenly felt winded. An invisible weight dropping down on her and holding her on the bed. Her heart pounded inside her chest and she could feel an odd tingling in her limbs. She was so tired and with no strength to move, Kyra laid there and stared dizzily at the ceiling above her. Lifting her head back, her lips parted as a soft yawn escaped, and the kelvic slipped further down into the bed. Heavy lids slowly closed, limbs turned limp and she started to doze off.

There was a strange sensation coming, a tickling of flesh and the same invisible weight pushing her into the bed. The girl felt weightless and yet she was being drawn downward, deeper into the bed. It was as if she was falling, endlessly tumbling no where and into nothing. A lightness touched her head and even with her eyes closed, she could still feel the room spinning around her. However, through it all, she stayed awake, unable to sleep with the alien woman in her home.

Kyra listened as the woman spoke, thinking that she was about to answer her question. But for all the woman said, she barely said anything at all. Which put the kelvic in an odd spot, she wasn't used to people going about it this way. Normally they either told her what she wanted to know or didn't. The only other person to ever speak with her in such a way was the squire Orion. He also had a way about saying nothing while appearing to say a little.

"Is it because you do not trust me?" she asked without looking towards the woman. "It makes sense. Trusting others doesn't seem like a good idea at all. No matter what, they always disappoint. It is...very sad."

She took a moment and thought over the question the woman asked. It wasn't easy to explain the feeling that she got when she was near her. It was the first time that she had ever had trouble getting heat from the body of a person, and she wasn't sure why it wasn't happening. "I'm not sure how to explain it. You are different, not like others....not like me."

Kyra let the words linger in silence and waited to see if the Nuit would add to them. If not, she would simply let it go for the time being, she was too tired to pry further. She asked more questions and Isolde answered, although some of it was hard to understand. She did understand the part about liking daggers and spending time in the bronze woods. That wasn't surprising, it seemed that many people enjoyed the forest from the city. "Daggers? Do you throw them? I used to before...when it was my job." The kelvic didn't add anymore and instead left it up to the woman if she wanted to hear more about it.

"Such trouble? Well....now that I think about it." Trouble had always found Kyra every since she was a young girl. She had gotten used to it in a way, and oddly enough, she would miss it when things were too quiet and peaceful. "No, I do not believe so. Perhaps it is just the way of some people. To be violent I mean. Is it disturbing, yes?"

[Isolde Seibold]

Kyra's stomach growled, and when she suddenly shifted as if to move to get something to eat, the Nuit remained where she was, watching the Kelvic go about her business... until her companion seemed to have a change of heart or interest, collapsing tiredly back down on the bed and not making another move. Irrationally, Isolde felt guilty for refusing the offer of food. Even more so when the next words came carefully out of the Kelvic's mouth:

"Is it because you do not trust me? It makes sense. Trusting others doesn't seem like a good idea at all. No matter what, they always disappoint. It is...very sad."

"I-It's not-- it's n-not trust, i-it's-- uh--" Gods, she had devoted herself to this conversation, and now she couldn't talk, couldn't explain. Sometimes things like this seemed so very difficult, nigh impossible. Probably because sometimes Isolde didn't understand her own motivations, or at least she didn't want to have to try to understand them for fear of what they might turn out to be. This question was one of those that she tended to avoid.

Was she distrustful?
Yes.
Why she was distrustful was an entirely different beast altogether. And it had no easy answer. By default, she had a hard time trusting people. She disliked what she was enough to expect that others would, and when they did turn out dislike her she couldn't find a valid reason to actually blame them for it. However, that meant that she couldn't really trust anyone not to harm her at any given moment; 'harm' in this case not meaning merely the physical sense of the word. She had been affected emotionally by people's reactions to her; specifically, by how their opinion could change for the worse. Perhaps, say, she had met someone and built a relationship with them, a person whom she had come to depend upon, to rely upon... and then things went wrong, and the next thing she understood was that that dependable person had ripped out her heart and stomped it into the dirt, completely unexpectedly. This had been a person who had vowed never to leave her side, never to leave her unprotected, vulnerable, by herself.

Kinda like the Burned Man after she'd realized that he'd abandoned her.

The opposite side was that people were just that: people. Every person, no matter who, had the opportunity to learn to do good. And since the Nuit so believed that others could become better when necessary, that they could change their ways... well, then it was hard to distrust a person for long, or blame them for past actions gone. Either that, or it was hypocritical to let that distrust control her expectations of the future. And so she had no choice but to give chance after chance to those around her no matter how they might have treated her, which denoted a bit of trust... trust she wasn't too willing to give for fear of being spurned, rejected, or otherwise abused...

So there was a lot that went into that one little question, and most of it logic that jumbled around in dizzying circles.
Kyra might have been right in what she'd said. And she might have been wrong. It wasn't just something completely in the black and white.

Oh. Here Isolde had let her attention limp away; she still needed to think of some response. The only problem was, the only thing she could think to say was, "H-Hey. You should e-eat something. G-Get your s-strength back up. R-Really, I d-don't need anything. S-So d-don't worry about... I d-don't know, l-leaving me out or a-anything. I t-truly feel no h-hunger."

Gods, that answer was so petching suspicious. She grimaced, trying to think of an appropriate response that would not just end up coming out all muddled and confused and exposing...

"I'm not sure how to explain it. You are different, not like others....not like me."

Well, that gave her an idea of how to say what she wanted to.

"I-It's-- I-It's because I'm n-not, uh... l-like you that I c-can't-- c-can't-- th-that I d-don't--" Okay, so maybe this wasn't going as well as she'd hoped. The way she was saying it was like somehow it was Kyra's fault, when in fact it was her own.

"I'm... v-very much different than n-normal people. Y-You've p-probably g-got the means to sense that b-better than some." She was really pussyfooting her way around the issue, wasn't she? But she couldn't help it. She had practically hard-wired it into her Nuit consciousness to be cautious about revealing information about herself. "H-How I am m-makes it so t-that it's hard for me to t-trust others. I-It's not because of something you did, of course not. I am v-very grateful that you would open your home to m-me. It's b-because of the way that I'm... different... th-that m-makes me feel insecure. N-Not because others disappoint me. I-If anything, I'm the disappointment."

Phew. The Nuit was glad that she'd been able to find some way to explain, somewhat, though what she'd said might turn out to bring up specific questions as to how exactly Isolde was different. She would avoid that admittance as long as she could. Unless one asked her directly --like Razkar had, asking what she was, or Matthew had, asking if she was a Nuit-- she would prefer to let others fill in the blanks concerning her, instead of being upfront about the issue and inviting bias.

So she was pretty glad when the topic shifted to first her dagger, and then on from there.

"A-Actually, I d-don't throw. I d-don't know if I w-would be any good at something like th-that. So no, th-this is just a normal f-fighting dagger that I f-found once and r-recently decided to st-start training with. F-For protection. T-To be honest, I'm n-not certain I'll ever g-get the hang of it. I mean... I d-don't really like f-fighting. I-It makes my h-head... bad... s-so I d-don't kn-know i-if l-learning it will make m-me feel b-better or w-worse." To the Kelvic's last question, Isolde said uncertainly, "I-I th-think violence disturbs m-me much more than it d-does... normal people."