Time it took the most of me
And left me with no key
To unlock the chest of remedy
Mother, the pain ain`t hurting me
But the love that I feel
When you hold me near
Nightwish - Higher Than Hope

He growled. His anger was seeping away and, for the first time, he regretted it. He still wanted to hit something. She was looking less like a target by the moment. ?Just as you thought. It wasn't Mayu's place to say shit, it's also not yours.? His voice hadn't changed. He even threw in a profanity for color. ?Keep in mind, Ixora, that I am not good for her. And if she's gone then she must have finally realized it.? She didn't know. He remembered. Ixora might have an idea about him, thanks to Lisa's visit. But she didn't know unless Katt told her. In any case, with his pupils the way they were..teal threatening to become gold..it would be obvious if he didn't calm down.

She opened her mouth to retort to that first bit, her jaw gaped open and then closed it. "Why ain't you good for her, Toby? Why her? And yet you still come around me, how come she's the only one that needs protectin'?" She knew that she was demanding answers out of him, but they were ones that Katt wouldn't grant her and ones she was so desperate to have. "Why Mayu?" She tried so hard not to say that name with disdain and just managed to succeed in doing so.

He was tired. Tired of having this conversation. It seemed that it always plagued him. He plagued himself with it. Vaguely he admitted how useless it was. He knew what she was asking, but damned if he was going to share his shame and guilt with her. It suddenly hit him. Her reactions, her motives. He took one step forward then another. There was barely a breath between his arm drawing back and when it was unleashed in a swinging arc, hard as iron. A tight backhand for whatever part of Ixora's head he could get at. He didn't bother restraining himself. He wanted to see what his strength could do.

The tears were more fierce then and she admitted that a part of her deserved such an action. Her features were caught in an expression of surprise. Her jaw made a crunching noise as bone cracked against the force of the blow, fracturing and splintering. She imagined that it shattered like glass. She gripped at the chair, bracing herself and fighting off the wave of pain that engulfed her which was accompanied by a headache. She said nothing and her gaze lowered, becoming dark and cloudy. She forced her eyes closed after that, she couldn't look him in the face at all. She absolutely refused to. She wouldn't fight him back, she had vowed to him and Katt both that she would protect him and she would do whatever it took to keep from breaking that promise. Even if it meant accepting more of the punishment he had just given her.

"Stay with me," she pleaded and continued to envelope herself around him entirely. She didn't care about the proximity or the contact. She wasn't going to let him leave her, she couldn't allow for it. She needed his friendship more than anything else. She would beg endlessly and slave for his apology if she had to. "What do you want me to say?" She queried, her tone echoed the hollow feeling that had flushed through her. She had much difficulty repressing those emotions. "I'll do anythin'." It was evident that she meant those words. If Toby knew her well enough then he knew that she would never grovel.

Stay with her. What did he want her to say. She would do anything. It... He had the feeling that she didn't want him to stay for her. She wanted him to stay for Katt. That if she got him to remain, Katt would appear and then hell would break loose. He would fight to disappear and hurting them would make it easier. What did he want her to say. ?Why are you trying so hard??

"I can't lose either o' you," she sobbed against him. Her hold tightened convulsively as she continued to wrap herself around him. She was completely helpless, the pain might not have been so strong were she capable of letting people in. Toby and Katt were the only ones she had ever allowed herself to care about, they were the first. Tears were a weakness, she spared herself from having to deal with them. That was probably why she was so torn at that moment. "Please," she begged of him and slender digits curled deeper into his shirt to the point that the fabric threatened to tear if she tried to force herself any closer to him. She had completely abandon all logic and reason.

Toby chewed at the inside of his mouth too hard. He tasted copper. It reminded him of. A shudder ran through him, sobering him for two brief moments. She was tightening her grip on him. He could feel it pressing into his stomach, squeezing his ribs. Breathing was becoming interesting. He let her words hang between them like dust. Invisible, not really there. He wanted it to sink in..for as long as possible make thoughts storm her mind stir up dread, anxiety. He knew what he was going to do in the end regardless. ?Mayu wanted me to tell you that she apologized for what she said about me.? His head lifted. He met his own gaze in the glass before him. It had stopped flickering gold, but he knew his pupils were still slits. ?You owe her the same.?

He couldn't have asked her anything else, could he? Anything at all. She had already subjected herself to doing whatever it took to obtain his forgiveness. She wasn't willing to release him, not yet. Really, all she would have to do was to refrain from being near the woman to avoid it though she knew she would have to get it over with sooner or waiter. She couldn't risk something so precious to her. "If she thought you loved me and told me o' it then why was she so bothered anyways?" It was a muttered response and she knew that it was bitter and would probably provoke his wrath yet again though she couldn't see how she had driven the woman away anyhow.

?She was.? He had to think about it because all he remembered from the moment Mayu spoke and Ixora leaving was a lot of blood rushing to his head. She had done the same with someone else. Asking him questions. Although, he didn't really understand how the kiss came into it. Clearly, he was focusing on the physical highs of their encounter. Given more time to think about it, to recall what she actually said to him. He could piece it together. As it was, the sentence was left hanging. He had to finish it. Was it really so different from what Ixora was doing now? Asking questions, prying for information, pushing. ?...trying to help us.? It was a working theory, but it made sense.

"Tryin' to help us what?" Clearly she wasn't getting it. She removed herself from him, the tears had stopped and she moved herself in between Toby and the door. She couldn't be sure that he wouldn't try to leave again and she didn't feel like clinging to him any longer. She wanted answers and so far Toby hadn't given her a single one that day. No matter how simple the question seemed to be, he dodged every single one. "I don't really see how huggin' on you serves as an apology anyways."

He rolled his shoulders in a way that one would after having just dropped a backpack that weighed a couple tons. He stepped away from her, distancing himself, clutching the package to his chest. It was practically a ruined box now. ?Be together.?

"Then why did she leave? Why would she want us to be together if it's okay for her to cling to you and not me? I'm no fool, Toby." She braced herself against the door. Now that she wasn't supporting herself, she needed something to lean against. She couldn't stand straight, she was far too upset to stand. "She wants you for herself." She gripped at the frame of the door with her nails, turning her hands so that they grabbed at either side of the entrance. "Probably why she told you I had feelin's for you, right? She was hopeful to get rid o' me. Is that it?" She knew that she playing the defensive role and being far too presumptuous.

One of his eyebrows hiked an absurd amount on his forehead. ?What do you care? You did exactly the same thing.? He nodded softly to her, as if prompting her, a silent 'Isn't that right?' littering his expression.

"No," she insisted. "You will answer my question," she demanded. He could get angry if he wanted, but he would have to attack her or go through the window if he wanted to leave. If not then she was sure that she had him trapped there regardless of the fact that her current position did leave her vulnerable to physical attacks. "Why would she be tryin' to get us together if she can clin' to you so? If you love me then I can hold you as I wish, right?" She knew she was being absolutely crude, she didn't care though.

His other eyebrow soon joined the first high up there on his forehead. He knew he was vague, but this... He figured it needed to be cleared up. ?She didn't tell me that you had feelings for me.? Her assumptions were running his mind in circles. He didn't understand clinging. Maybe last night, but... ?You're crazy.? That was the only thing he could think of to utter at that moment. It can be noted that he still hadn't offered any sort of answer.

She sucked in a breath of fresh air, she had managed to breath now that her emotions had been converted from depression. "I am loathe to admit I am crazy, but I believe you're right..." She continued to clutch at the frame of the door, holding herself in place. At least the conversation distracted her from the splintered bones of her jaw though it pained her every time she opened her mouth to speak and she figured she should use as few words as necessary to ease said pain. Still, anything was better than losing him or Katt. Nothing could be of more importance to her. "I do care for you, but I don't harbor that kind of love for you." She cast her gaze to the ground, averting iced optics away from him. "I jus'... I don't understand any o' it and why don't you answer me at all?" She peered at him curiously, "Have you tired of me? Do you wish me to leave your life as well?"

?The same can be asked of you.? He began latching onto a thought. ?...why do you hold me, beg me not to leave you, when you want me to love Katt?? He shrugged, dropping his eyes. ?It's not your place to ask.? He inhaled deeply and held it, eyes darting between hers. They still hadn't returned to normal. He could see the spot on her face where he'd hit her. He had been ready to beat Kuro's head from his shoulders for doing the same thing. How times change. ?I hurt her.? He could answer her last question affirmatively. He *did* want to. He thought about it, mouth opening to do so then closing. He had made that mistake with Katt, not telling her, not breaking it. It made it harder in the end. So. He squared his shoulders, his face settling into a blank mask of what he presumed was apathy. And said. ?Yes.?

It was about two seconds between her scream and his form alighting down near her on the cobblestones. He leaned down, fingers gently tracing the back of her leg, closing around the hilt of the dagger, uncerimoniously wrenching it from her flesh. He'd then kneel down beside her, hands deceptively gentle, working to try and flip her over. ?I don't want to kill you.? Searching for the knot of her hands to attempt to pry them apart and take the box in a swift motion.

She allowed herself to move with great ease, she didn't want to burden him any more than she had to. She hadn't felt such pain in so long and hear she was, acting like such a damsel. She might have removed the Flintlock from its holster at the previous attacks and threatened him with it or even took the sword from its scabbard. She valued that promise way too much though. She stared at him and let the gift be grabbed up with ease. It was meant for him after all though she was unable to help herself. "You said you didn't want any reminders o' her."

?Heh.? Weakly chuckling. It was unnerving how he could even attempt such a thing. ?What I say doesn't hold very much weight. That much is obvious by now.? He wiggled the ruined box down to her. ?And regardless if you're a thief, you do not take my gifts from me.? He gave her a crude once over, lasting only half a second. He couldn't be sure that he hadn't hit any major artery in her leg, he wasn't planning to. He just wanted to down her, retrieve the box. In short, he figured that she wouldn't die from this.

The blood that poured down her leg made a mess though wouldn't be critical enough to kill her. She continued to stare at him, "You said you didn't want the reminder. I was goin' to return it to Katt." She had repeated herself though she was pointing that out for him. The pain it caused her to speak was growing more and more unbearable and the headache she realized that she still had made her head pound. She didn't add anything else, she was already a sobbing mess and the fractured bones made it so that she should probably only say what was necessary.

In reality, he was expecting to be shot, attacked. Something. If he'd known about the promise, he'd tell her to break it. Like he should have told Katt. Why did they want to protect him? When he did this. The scent of blood hit the air. It turned his stomach, but part of him... ?It was a gift, she would want me to keep it.? That much he knew, or at least hoped he knew about his friend. He hugged it to his chest again using both arms, the dagger long since disappeared. His fingers slick with red.


Even without the promise, she didn't think she could ever harm him at all. She continued to lay there on the ground, fighting back the hurt she felt. "Yes." She couldn't say anything else because to do so would be another reminder of just how much her jaw ached every time she moved it. She refused to move, leaving herself at his feet and completely at his mercy. If he was going to attack her again then she would rather did so while she was prepared then while she was running away from him. She really wanted him to just go. He didn't want her in his life anymore, he had asked her to leave it. There were two options, either to take her life or to walk away and she waited for him to do one of the them.

It was a very good thing that it was dark. He could see fairly easily thanks to the sparse pre-dawn rays dotting the eastern sky, but most of their surroundings were still blotted out by shadows. He didn't want her to see the moisture hanging on his eyelashes. He would refuse to wipe it away. Not until later. They didn't understand and now... ?It's better this way.? He hugged the box to his chest so tightly, it groaned again. He hoped whatever was inside wasn't fragile. ?Goodbye, Ixora...?

She needed to get out of there. Everything ached, but she forced herself to her feet. The injury of her leg, while not life threatening, created a limp as she made to leave. She was vaguely aware that he might attempt to toss the dagger at her leg though he said he didn't want to kill her. She couldn't speak at all, she would betray her emotions once more and make herself seem the pathetic fool yet again if she did.

If he wanted to kill her, things would be different already. He steadied himself to watch her, but soon found that he couldn't and had spun on a heel not three seconds after she had lifted to her feet and began limping away. He went the opposite direction, clutching the package to him. The smell of copper heavy and sweet in his nose. His head lowered and he focused on his feet as he walked, taking a turn and being concealed by shadows.

She had seen Katt the night before and after much insisting, she accompanied her friend to Unity where her jaw and leg were healed. When she returned, she collapsed onto her bed and the puppy that Gale had gifted to her curled up against her abdomen as she lay on her left side. She wrapped an arm against him and pulled the mutt close to her. "Goodnight, Aiden." She used the name that her friend had claimed for him and pulled the mutt up to her bosom. She pressed her lips into the top of his head and let her eyes drift shut. Sleep welcomed her easily though the dreams were just as unpleasant as the night before. Toby invaded them once more.

She watched him approach her. Deadly as a viper and as beautiful as a cobra. His eyes slid from their regular shade of teal to the golden color that she had only witnessed the night he had struck her. He gripped his hands around the dagger and drew near. She didn't have time to react, his speed picked up and he impacted his body against her in a flash. His arm ensnared around her and drew her against his form. The blade taunted the flesh against her neck and he drove its edge against her. She moved her feet between his, pushing them apart until he was forced to step back or fall.

He moved away from her, retreating a step or two though the weapon was still at the ready. She moved her hand to her hip, both gun and sword were gone. She was wearing her silk lounging pants and a shirt of matching material. She stirred awake as that comical detail was realized.

She didn't know why these dreams taunted her as they did, she didn't want them. She wanted to separate herself from him permanently and welcome the hollowness that would assist in losing all feelings she had for him. The idea that he was her kid brother needed to be long forgotten.





The girl took hasty steps towards the infamous Teas'n Tomes, rushing with a sensible purpose to escape the mere fifty degree weather that attacked her sense of touch until it went numb. The chill bore down to her very bone, slicing through flesh like it wasn't there. Consider the girl's relatively small size, it was no surprise. She could barely manage to wear enough leathers to keep herself on her feet. Thus begins the predicament she found herself in. With barely a moment to spare, she tore through the front door; leaving that troublesome icy (for her) weather behind. The usual rhythm of chimes mingled with the door's bells, creating a very uneven ringing noise that she was none too pleased with. A finger lifted to her mouth, head aimed high, shushing the fugitive bells where they hung.

She was slouched back against the cushions of the couch, her mantle still concealed most of her appearance over cobalt breeches and a violet tunic trimmed in gold. She shifted her gaze to the door and was unable to resist the intense glare she offered the female. Even though Mayu hadn't done much to get on Ix's bad side, she still wasn't seen to kindly. Jealousy bubbled within her. She didn't understand how Toby could dismiss her and Katt away yet remain friends with Mayu.

Although refuting with the bells, or perhaps because she was doing so, the bells resumed. Scowling, but tending to her fate, she provided the woman at the counter with a merry wave and gracious smile. She had cookies, and other delicious treats... how could Mayu not greet her so openly? Her peripheral line of sight alerted her to another presence, turning with that same look and waving hand; and froze. Immediately. Her lips curled, uncertain if she was wanting to try and smile, or outright sneer at the woman. She hadn't come up with a decision by the time she decided to speak. "Oh, it's..." she started, her voice apathetic, struggling to convey warmth. "...Ixora, isn't it?"

She didn't feign any pleasure in her own tone, she allowed the bitter edge to graze over her words. She invited it if anything, she didn't value the girl's opinion enough to seem cruel. "It is, I don't think..." She paused, iced optics continued to rest on the woman. "I caught your name?" She might have apologized for her display the other night and she might have apologized if it hadn't been for the events that had spiraled after. She was still hurting because of what had happened and she didn't want anything that made her think of Toby around. That was why she had pushed Gizmo away the night before and that was why she wasn't quite amiable at that point in time. Her jaw and leg had been healed at least, Katt had insisted upon her going to Unity to see a healer.

Her feelings had changed moments after hearing about Toby's interaction with Ixora. It caught her off-guard, and was because of Mayu herself that it even occurred in the first place. She had to take responsibility for the agony she caused; although she did not hear or see the extent of said injuries that were incurred. Mayu drifted towards the couch where she sat, hands cusped behind her back, locking on either wrist to silent the bangles as best she could. "Mayu," she answered, spoken without the same vile that originally dripped from her lips. "I think we momentarily met the other day?" referencing why she so brazenly spoke of Toby's feelings. Which, she would now admit, was slightly off-key.

"Yes," she answered the woman simply without letting her out of her sight. She leaned forward and rested her elbows against her knees and her head began to drop. She kept her eyes locked through the veneer of hair that fell in front of her face after she moved. "Such a pretty name," she mused and a cynical and mocking smile twitched its way into place. "How long have you known Toby anyways?" She stiffened, apparently upset by not having heard anything of her before. "He never mentioned you to me."

"Nnn," her eyes diverted to the floor, uncertain how to take what she'd call a faux compliment. She decidedly kept from getting too close, leaving enough room for her to bolt should she find herself in a sour situation. She'd trust that it didn't have to come to that, however. "We-we just met a few days ago..." she replied, her voice like a whispering breeze on a summer evening. "I don't really know him that well, at all."

The anger faded from her features, replaced by a more somber expression as she offered her warning which sounded more akin to a threat if anything else. "Don't hurt him." She always converted unpleasant emotions into fury. Something that she had done for as long as could remember. Her voice dropped to a whisper, "Don't you ever hurt him." A growl caught in her throat. "He may not wish to see me, but that doesn't mean I won't do whatever it takes to ensure he is both happy and unharmed." She was very protective of Toby and it reflected in those words.

Her eyes lifted to meet Ix's head on. Once a fragile expression, it grew strong; her voice finding what it was missing out on. "I don't have any intentions with him," she admitted, her arms unfolding from behind to rest against her chest. "I... just wanted a friend; and he was there. But, more than anything..." she hesitated, remembering what and how their previous exchange ended up as. "He needs a friend. He needs you. You, and Katt both..."

"Funny how hard that is to believe," she countered and she rubbed at her arm and she fidgeted at the thought. She didn't like admitting such to the woman, not after he had replaced them. Was that what he had done? "He sure as hell don't show it," she muttered. He had That was before though.

"Were you to ask me to leave him alone, I would," she declared, a hand in the air as if it were an oath. That deadlocked stare never faltered, and her voice refrained from cracking. In any other situation, she might have been proud of herself. A shame she'd never truly have that opportunity. "He... told me that you're his friend. Last night. But he told me... what he did to you. Why he did. H-he... he has no right to do that. And... I think he only said that to make an excuse. To... protect his feelings that he needed to vent. ... I don't know why else somebody would even think of harming who they believe are close to them."

"I stripped myself o' my pride that night and he still rejected my friendship, I have no desire to be close to him unless it's just to see that he's alright." She would not go into detail of the groveling, distressed mess that she had been in. Never again would she allow herself to partake in such behaviors though.

Her lips pulled downwards into a frown, head shaking from side to side in complete disappointment. Only two days ago she heard her proclaim that she would protect him no matter what. While she seemed drunk, it most certainly sounded genuine. She knew, only then, that she had no place in their lives... "Then I have no other choice... I will have to put him down before he decides to harm somebody else, or worse... kill... just in hopes of fulfilling that void."

"Put him down?" She growled. "He isn't some kind o' animal." She was furious, her anger boiled on the surface of her skin that it was near palpable. "What are you talkin' about?" She moved herself, putting herself in the pathway towards the door and she removed her gun from its holster. "Toby ain't that stupid, he ain't goin' to kill." Her finger was inching towards the trigger. She thought that he was capable of protecting himself, but she wouldn't have anything of his life being threatened.

Once frowning, now sinisterly grinning, the girl slipped from the end of the armrest. Her only source of cover was that couch, and she chose against keeping close to it. "Lashing out and harming people all because of... impulse? Sounds like quite the animal to me. ... perhaps you consider him something more a pet, then? Should I suggest euthanasia, instead?" Her eyes watched the brandished gun, the finger that rested prominently on the trigger. She didn't move. "A pet that has nothing to lose... perhaps suitable to only cause harm to make itself feel better; to contend with the world that it is only doing what is right. What's to stop the accident from becoming a purpose; a mere fantasy becoming a desire of reality... are you so certain to claim you know him so well by saying that? When you haven't seen that pain that lingers in his eye like I have? ... death may not be such a bad idea, after all. If only to quiet that agony in his heart."

"You don't know what the f***,? and she put much emphasis on the colorful word and raised her volume as much as possible which caused her voice to crack, "you're talkin' about!" She shoved the Flintlock in the holster. She wanted her bear hands to do what she intended to. She wanted to squeeze every ounce of life out of the woman. She leapt forward, her lips twisted up and curled into a sneer. A feral grow emitted past pale red lips as she bounded for Mayu, she attempted to tackle the girl and trap her.

She winced, eyes diverting to one side as Ixora shouted at her. She knew it was a tough stake to the heart, but she needed to try and get through in any way possible. To make the idea plausible. Unfortunately, it wound up causing a gun to be pointed at her; her life in the balance. It was her devotion to the cause that would keep her going, despite the pounding heart in her chest and she literally felt rip through the veins in her neck with each passing second. Seeing the gun put away, the girl let off a very soft sigh of relief, fingers twitching at their respectful sides to ease the numbness she felt from that rush of adrenaline. Looking back onto Ixora, her mouth opened as if to say something in response, which immediately was replaced with a shrill gasp. Paralyzed from the vision of the woman rushing at her, she took the entirety of the pounce, fumbling backwards and onto the floor violently. She could have sworn her head just hit the floor with enough force to break her skull open, but something far more severe was taking place, instead. It kept her focus on Ixora instead. Flail as she may, she was trapped; there was no doubt about it.

"Don't you ever speak o' him that way again," she reached to grab at Mayu's ear and gave it a vicious tug. Her glare remained on the woman, her lips formed the most gruesome of scowls. There was a slight crook of the jaw, evidence from the recently healed bone that had shattered just two nights prior. "Do you hear me, vermin?" She resisted the urge to bash the girl's head against the floor relentlessly. Toby would never forgive her in that case not that it mattered. She still wasn't going to

She hissed, in severe pain from the landing and the hold that Ixora had on her ear. She was inferior in every possible way, but refrained from admitting it to the woman. Rather than comply with her demand, she shook her head viciously, as if shaking bugs from her hair. "F-forget it... if you will not heal his broken soul, then I will do it for you in my own way!" Her words pierced through clenched teeth, caused by the warmth she felt at the back of her head. She knew it... she was bleeding. She refrained from letting it affect her.

She drove her arm back, unable to resist the urge to slam her fist into the side of Mayu's face. She didn't hold back, but if Mayu's untrapped arms didn't attempt to block it then it might leave behind a bruise later. She was not strong enough to fracture bones though, she knew that much. "He's the one who tossed me aside like filth," she quipped. "I ain't breakin' no one's soul."

She was powerless against a blow, arms moving to try and deflect what she could but ultimately being cracked upside the head by that fist. It might not have broken bones, but it still felt like a two-by-four being hammered into her face. Her head lolled against the floor, feeling that numbness that once surged in her fingers to creep along her face from the impact. It helped soften the impact, to keep the masquerade going, Blood pooled from the inside of her lip; her tongue having been bitten in the process. "Then you're... just as foolish as he," she spat out at the woman, eyes moving sidelong to look at her. It was evident the few blows were already weighing on her.

"You don't know me and you jus' met him," she snapped and moved her hand to entangle in the girl's hair. She was going to grab a fistful and yank. The crimson blood tainted her fingers and she recoiled back though she didn't move from straddling Mayu's abdomen where she had ended up after tackling her. She looked at her hand in disgust before turning to glare at her and continued to speak. "You jus' met him. You have no room to force your hand here!"

She weakly laughed at Ixora, eyes closing to accept her fate. Were she to die here and now, she was fully prepared for it. Handled as she were, it didn't prevent her from wincing from the feeling she still possessed in portions of her face, her body feeling the unfamiliar weight bear down on her. It labored her breathing. "I don't... have to," she claimed, lips attempting at a smile. It fell terribly short of happening.

The nightmares had yet to release her of their hold. She woke up countless times in the middle of the night with a shortness of breath, sweat emitted from the pores of her body. The sheets and blankets had been replaced after that first night so that she wasn't lying on a bed stained with crimson. Each dream gradually became worse. Toby's appearance seemed to gradually shift into something more and more malevolent somehow. His appearance, while deadly, also seemed to make it so that he possessed more grace than she would have acknowledged in the waking world. There was a beauty to the killer that her subconscious depicted of him, a trait that she would have never allowed herself to recognize.

She tried to fight him back in these dreams, somehow becoming a weak and frail damsel despite that. Her perception was off kilter and things that she would have acknowledged were somehow missed, leaving her more vulnerable to the attacks that he threw at her. The dreams were so vivid that she almost convinced herself they were real until she found out otherwise. She could here the hiss of the blade as she removed it from her scabbard in order to fight him off.

Somehow she was unable to land a single strike on him. He dodged each attack as she directed the blade to his side, her actions were slow and labored as though he possessed the ability to stop time as soon as she moved and was somehow able to determine where the weapon would kiss flesh. He moved so quickly that she almost didn't see it coming and he worked her towards the edge of a cliff.

Eventually, she darted for him and leapt up so that she could lob his head off. He was gone before she knew it and she came crashing down though both him and the ground were gone and she fell. Deranged laughter echoed in her ears though it sounded like her own, not his. She couldn't understand what it meant. Was she somehow mocking herself? The fall seemed endless, all color dissipated and she entered a black oblivion until she rolled out of her bed, waking up on the floor of her room with sheets and blankets entangled around her legs.






Asleep on a couch, curled into the fetal position with his face buried beneath the woolen blanket that seemed to always be in easy reach when he needed it. All that could be seen of Toby was his shock of ginger hair and bare, dirty feet. His covered shoulders rose and fell, rhythmically relaxed.

She slipped in through the door that lead to Teas'n Tomes, she moved towards the couch and made her way around it. A breath caught in her throat as she saw him. She inched towards him, tempted to sit down and pull him into her lap. Instead she plopped herself into a different couch, sinking back into cushions to watch him. She was far too angry with him to put herself in that position and things definitely wouldn't end well when he awoke. She was sure of that.

There was a groan, full of sleep then it became labored. Images coursed his mind, a rollercoaster of colors and sound. Crimson, red, black, gleams of silver and gold. The body under the blanket crunched together, seemingly trying to shrink into itself. His feet disappeared underneath it. Fingers threaded through his hair, he was grabbing the sides of his head. It seemed he hadn't noticed her presence yet.

She continued to observe him though did so in silence. She acknowledged that while he was asleep and oblivious to her presence, he appeared less deadly. He seemed innocent though in her dreams he was even more threatening than in the waking world and more beautiful then as well. The thought caused patches of salmon to cover her cheek, only in her dreams did she think of Toby as being attractive at all.

He was floating in a black oblivion then suddenly falling. His breath rushed from him like he'd been punched. He saw spiderweb thin threads, crisscrossing each other. Shimmering with blood as his dream self fell against them and they sliced his skin. It didn't hurt. At all. The more he was cut by the threads, the more warmth spread through him, entered his muscles. It felt right. But his dream self wasn't sure why.

She moved forward, tenderly brushing back a stray lock of hair from Toby's face as she watched him. She moved beside him, forcing her hands into her lap as pale blues rested on him. She adorned breeches and a tunic, her signature vest was stripped of her person. The mantle was arranged so that only her eyes were visible beneath the hood. The cloth that wrapped around her neck was pulled up over the bridge of her nose.

His eyebrows twitched at the touch, tension fading for a moment. She'd probably feel the sheen of sweat on his forehead. The left half of his dream self's face burned, then felt like it was being torn off. But even so, he was smiling. Smiling while his teeth grew, claws extending from his fingers. He saw his skin fading to paper white. Before him there was suddenly a fat silver blade held by a delicate hand. Without thinking, his dream self roared with delight and one of his new, stronger arms swung forward. Nails bit into the flesh of the dream Claymore. He felt bone splinter, crimson wet his hand. The massive sword fell, slicing into his shoulder on its way down. Her face was riddled with surprise, not pain. He..recognized it. His real self, outside the dream, bellowed loudly, the sound easily echoing.

"Toby?" She heard the noise that emitted from him and she knew it wasn't because he had seen her. She moved her arms to his shoulders, shaking him violently awake if his eyes hadn't quite opened yet. "Toby," she repeated though it was spoken in a hushed tone and not in a questioning manner.

His dream self flexed the fingers he had thrust through the Claymore's chest, her body encircling his forearm. It was warm. He could feel the beat of her heart. His dream self's face was sneering, leaning down. Nose to nose with the Claymore, whose silver eyes widened, sharp wisps of hair sticking to her brow. He saw himself in her eyes. Yellow irises, slitted pupils. Outside the dream, eyes of the same hue flew open, unseeing.

"Toby, are you okay?" She wasn't quite sure what was going on. She kept her space between him. Her hands gripped his shoulders as she stared into his features. She couldn't be sure that he would recognize her, but her voice would give her away. "Wake up," she urged him despite the fact that his eyes had opened. He had seemed to be in some kind of pain or she wouldn't have tried to stir him as she did.

His dream self whipped the Claymore off of his hand, and she flew. Her small body tumbling on some unseen ground. He felt good. Something sprouted from his shoudlerblades. Wings? Spines? The same from the sides of his head. Instead of bleached white, his skin morphed into a dark wine purple. He had... Outside the dream, his real self convulsed, throat collapsing around a sound. Golden eyes faded to teal, one drop of moisture sliding from the corner of each.


"Toby, wake up now!" It was a demand, obviously the dream was having a bad effect on him. She shook him more violently and drew him closer into a tight embrace only because she expected that somehow the contact had to wake him.

It sent tingles through him, the touch. His chest hitched. He held onto whatever was holding him, the tea shop swimming before his vision. Remnants of the dream still clung to him, but he didn't want to check to see if his hand was bloody. He didn't want to think about it, any of it. The embrace was a good place to be so he stayed there.

He grunted again. Fingers curling into his chest, wrinkling the white cotton of his shirt. She walked away... It... Why did Mayu want him to fix this? Because she didn't know. None of them did. Only Katt and he knew that she wouldn't repeat it, knew how hard it was for him to even say to her. All he remembered that Ixora knew was that he didn't refer to himself as Human. His only response was a soft sigh.

"Would you like me to leave?" She asked him, turning as she regarded him. "You said you wanted me to keep away, right?" She changed her path and worked her way towards the door. After meandering over ti it, she paused and allowed her gaze to slide over to Toby and transfixed on him.

He didn't move for the longest time, scowling at his knees under the blanket, watching the gray wool swim like it was a stormy ocean. She wanted him to fix it, but it was easier this way. When it happened, Ixora would... His head shook, golden earring glinting as it swayed. ?No...?

She struggled to listen to what he said, she was very keen with her perception when she wanted to be. "Why?" She queried. She wanted a reason from him. She hadn't expected the response that she received and his response only confused her. Not only that, but she ached for even somewhat of an apology. She no longer felt she deserved him one at all though.

Answer..his mind screamed at him to answer. Something..anything. Anything that resembled the truth but wasn't real. ?You're not supposed to...? Which didn't sound like anything, but an order.

"And why is that, Toby?" She didn't like being ordered herself, especially when she was angry. That wasn't a response that she had hoped for. She wanted him to admit that he was wrong, not that she would receive such words from him.

?Because...? He bent his knees, leaned his elbows on his thighs and rubbed at his face. He wished that they would hurry. ?...you're not supposed to change, Ixora. You're... not the one... that's supposed to change.?

"What do you mean I'm not supposed to change?" Her voice dropped a decibel and became softer in pitch. "Toby... I jus' need to understand why..." She knew that Katt would never tell her what his secret was or why it was that he was in danger. She just couldn't imagine what it could possibly be and it made her lose what sanity she had to think that it was the reason as to why he drove her away.

He latched onto the words he had used with Katt, his head turning, staring straight at her, teal eyes sad. There wasn't a scowl to be seen anywhere. ?I'm not safe.? He didn't feel the need to explain that one further. She'd seen for herself.

"I don't want protectin'," she claimed and shook her head vigorously. "Toby, did you ever think about how I would feel? That I would want to be your friend regardless if you were in danger? You know I've been in a fair enough amount o' fights to protect myself. I don't know what you're protectin' me from, but I assure you I don't need savin'." She reached for him, fingers wrapped around his arm and she grasped tightly. She didn't want to let him go, she needed him to understand. "Friends stick with each other through thick and thin, I will be around whether or not you like it. I can't obey your request anymore, I'm sorry."

A soft smile found its way to his lips. It was the same expression he had given May when she told him it was ugly. Somehow he found he didn't want Ixora to think the same thing. It would bother him almost as much. ?Juri is going to be angry.? He glanced down to her fingers on his arm, tensing the muscle beneath her fingers. He had to shake his head. He didn't want to see her on the business end of a Claymore's sword. Again.

"Juri has nothin' to do with this," her fingers clenched even more around his arm. "This is about you thinkin' that it's okay to keep your friends out when you have problems. I don't want to lose someone close to me because o' foolishness. I want you to admit you were wrong. I am shamed by the way I acted the other night, I completely let my guard down. I begged for your forgiveness, Toby. And what did I get as a result? You jus' shut me out. I realize that I angered you, but I don't think I owe you or your friend for an apology because of it."

He shrugged, still looking down at her hand. If she didn't feel like she needed to apologize then she wasn't going to. And it wasn't his place to make her. Nor was it his place to make her stay away. Just like with Katt, his intentions were known. And she was defying them. She could do what she pleased. It was a simple way of looking at the situation. He realized that he could have saved them all a lot of strife by accepting it like he did with Katt. Although, she was leaving now. He couldn't deny that he was happy about that. ?She knows.?

"Who knows what?" She asked, he was only angering her further. He didn't seem to be accepting what she said. At least she could say that he hadn't argued it though she wouldn't put it against him to start.

?Mayu knows what you did.? Eyes flicking up to her hooded face. ?She's not angry.? Somewhere in the shadows was the spot that he had hit her. He wondered if she'd have scars, something to remember him by. It caused a soft scowl.

"I don't care if she's mad," she snapped. "After she threatened your life." She cut herself off on that matter, "This had nothin' to do with her." A scowl formed on her lips as well though it was deep and more pronounced than the one Toby wore. He was not making this easy.

?Yes, it does.? He needed to stand or move. Something. He lowered his legs to the ground and swept the blanket off of himself. The air outside of it was cooler, but it didn't bother him much. He scooted to the edge of the couch and stood up, looking down at her hand. Wondering if she was going to try and keep him from doing so. ?She's my friend, Ixora. Just like you. You realize that she's not the first one that's threatened me.?

She tugged him back down towards the couch. If she allowed him to stand then she was afraid that he might try to leave. "And I vowed to you that I would protect you. As soon as she suggested she would go after you then I wanted to put a stop to it." Her gaze lowered, "If she had succeeded then I couldn't face Katt again nor could I live with myself for allowin' it. I assumed you would o' already known that."

He grunted, unstable, though he was ready for her attempt. Taking it in stride, he sank down into the couch cushions, slouching beside her. There were things he knew about that situation beyond what had happened. He looked up at her like he didn't, nodding. ?Yes.?

Then he blinked, a realization hitting him. ?I know what happened.? His lips pursed, forcing himself to finish. ?To me.?