Early morning, May 17th..

It had been a while, hours actually, since Katt had left them at the hall. He could see the beginnings of morning light trying to make itself known behind the cottony cloud cover as he made the slow journey back to May's apartment.

She slept in his arms just as soundly as she had in his lap, her shallow breathing barely noticeable, hidden even by the quiet sounds of his footsteps on the street. As much as he had tried to tame her hair, it still fell in a messy waterfall over his arms, sweeping the ground, tickling the tops of his feet. The soft breezes brought the warmed scent of peaches to his nose.

He watched her face as he walked. Her eyelashes were long and dark against her cheeks, a lot longer than he had last remembered them being. She looked relieved and relaxed; he hoped he was imagining the subtle sadness that he could see too, lingering in the shadows of her expression.

The air of her small apartment felt empty and stale, the clicks of the lock and latch sounding too loudly. The girl resting against him didn't stir. He shrugged the tote bag off of his shoulder, leaving it on the kotatsu as he passed it in favor of her room instead.

It wasn't the first time he had done this for her, but it somehow felt different. He knew as he carefully peeled the top layer of blankets out of the way, fluffed the pillows with the outside of his fist, that he didn't want to let her go. She was warm, and he knew safe with him. If she wasn't comfortable, she would have shifted by now.

He laid her down carefully, one hand at the backs of her knees, the other cradling her neck. His index finger traced over the slightly raised mark that he had seen there, red like a fresh burn but in a design that had made it look deliberate.

Who did it..? When did she get it..? Did she always have it, and he never noticed..?

The weak touch of her cheek on the inside of his wrist sucked him straight out of his thoughts. He must have moved her, or she had tried to get comfier..

He felt the puffs of her breath on his forearm, warm and soft, like the back of her neck. The light from his vial mixed with her bracelets, bathing her in all sorts of colors. It caught in her hair and making it shimmer like dark, still water. Her skin shone white, the half curve of her glossed, parted mouth almost blinding.

She was so small..and pretty. There was nothing about her that he would want to change..

The image of her became closer, and closer..as he leaned down, tilting her cheek so she faced him. Warmed peaches filled his nose again, he pursed his mouth as it watered.

How many times had he thought about this.. What it would feel like..to kiss her again. Would it sear him like last time..? Or would it flush him with a balmy heat that wouldn't ever leave him alone..? Would her lips be crushed hard to his or only just touching..?

Would she push him away, or..

His eye closed.

"Geez, May..what am I doing.."

Her delicate breaths rushed across his mouth. He could feel warmth even through the inches still separating them. His fingers tensed against her neck as he forced himself to lean up, the tip of his nose grazing her forehead. He brushed his bottom lip against her left eyebrow and straightened, his hands slipping away from her before he lost the resolve to even move.

He drew the blanket up to her ribs with one hand, the other rubbing at the side of his face.

He knew that he should leave, at least her bedroom. He'd brought her back, he made sure she was alright, that was enough..

He exhaled, only making it as far as the foot of her bed. He sat on the very corner, his back still to her.

More than what he had almost done, he hated the thought that anything he did for her was just 'good enough'..like he could just give up because he had done his part.

He didn't need to be like this..she wouldn't ever know about it.

But he would, and he knew he wasn't satisfied with 'good enough.' Nothing less than his best in every last thing he could possibly do for her would do.

And he wouldn't have it any other way.

He decided to stay.

"You think so?" He glanced back at her, eyeing the trail of her hair..how it fell just above the small wings. "It was a lot easier, yeah.. You kind of just went from one day to the next. I don't really like the me from back then though." He snorted.

She opened her mouth, the flash of fangs present when she debated answering him. Whatever it was, she refrained, feeling that the response wouldn't find any justice coming from her. Her head shook, thought erased, doubling as an answer. Her pause was short-lived. "I w-will agree that I like t-this side of you now."

"I'm glad." He was more than a little proud of how much he'd changed, and it showed in his smile, but he'd turned away and stood, looking over the buttons on the vending machine. The light made him squint. "Sometimes I think the me of back then and the me now are two totally different people. I kind of can't believe some of the things I did or said, or.." he paused as a can of soda rattled down into the well, waiting for him to take it. "...just everything, I guess."

Katt could never remember being this hungry. It was a crime! A crime! She could of easily eaten something at the church but she really wanted to walk. Try to get feeling back into her limbs that she needed. The 'not in your own body' feeling was very strange but she was growing use to it. Slowly..but surely. Fingers tugged the sleeves of the hoodie, keeping the fabric over her hands. In the night she was just a huddling figure in the hoodie, shuffling way into the marketplace.

"L-Like what?" the sounds of him drifting along spawning a glance over a shoulder after him. The look was fleeting, ensuring only that he was remaining somewhere near. At the very same time, somewhere fairly distant and not encroaching on her sense of safety.

He popped the can of soda open, sipping noisily. "That's a good question. I try to think of certain things and everything just kinda clumps all together. ...I didn't care about a lot of things back then, or people. I liked that I had friends, I guess, somewhere in my head I liked them. Some of the things I do now..like working for the church, helping the people there, and all the people that *go* there..if you would've tried to get me to do anything like that when you met me, it would've been really hard. I mean..you kinda had to force me to wear shoes."

"Kinda?" mirroring his choice of wording with amusement. She didn't appear quite as amused as she sounded. "I did force you to wear shoes. I debated p-putting super g-glue in them s-so you w-wouldn't be allowed t-to take them o-off. The o-only thing t-that kept me f-from doing th-that was when I a-accidentally g-glued my f-finger to m-my cheek, once. I-It kinda burns."

"Y--" He blinked at her. "You glued yourself to..yourself?" He put a finger into his cheek, his eyebrows going up. "Like this..? That'd be really weird.. What were you doing?"

"T-Trying n-not to g-glue myself," spoken as if saying 'What else?'. She returned to her idle stare over the surrounding district, the glow of red eyes returning in a showing of returned energy. Were she willing to stand up, she'd be able to do so with little disturbance. However, she remained seated, allowing their conversation to continue. "I-It was for an art project. T-They banned me from being allowed to use glue in the future assignments."

He snickered. "Geez.." He lifted his soda for a sip, but found himself too busy smiling at the image of her with things glued all over the place, her hands stuck to her cheeks, her elbows flapping like wings.. (s)"That's so cute." He couldn't keep himself from saying it. And he wasn't even sorry.

"..." Her features weren't as animalistic as the initial time they encountered one another during the process of transformation. Still, the stern, sober look she aimed over a shoulder in his general direction was not to be mistaken. It took her a necessary second or two to muster the strength to answer him. "I-It could h-have been if t-they didn't need to t-tear the sk-skin off of my cheek i-in order to get rid of it."

"I've no doubt that it was." He leaned his back into the vending machine, finally taking the drink that he desperately needed. He smiled while swallowing, his eyes meeting hers for as long as she would let it happen.

Katt spied Ichi's from across the market and made path for that way. Voices on the night air strained her ears and her head tilted faintly. Slowly rocking attention from under the hood she peered in the direction it came from.

"T-That's... a-almost twisted," she commented with a scowl. What sane person thought it was unbearably adorable for somebody to have a finger glued to their cheek. On that stretch, one that required their cheek to be ripped in half. She found it necessary to ask him, "D-Do you like blood?"

"Wh--no.." His scowl matched hers, his looking unmistakenly puzzled. "It actually made you bleed..? That's..no, that stopped being cute then." He shook his head, feeling that he needed to repeat himself. "No, I don't like blood. I don't mind it when I get hurt or someone else does, but if I had the choice, I wouldn't want to be around it."

She looked straight ahead, rising from the bench with a groan of relief. Having rested those few minutes did a number on recuperation. She was refreshed. "T-That's what I m-meant," answering him with an additional groan of satisfaction, arms above her head, batty leather shivering in relation to motion. They expanded to their maximum meek size, leather rustling. They always appeared fully erect at all times. Careful observation could see the wrinkle in membrane when she was relaxed. She inched closer to him, returning the can he offered to her. "Where w-were you w-wanting to take m-me, anyway?" She assumed he just wanted her out and about. Knowing him, though, who could tell?

He took the can back, shrugging gently at her question. He shuffled a couple steps out of the way..just in case she wanted to keep stretching. "Nowhere, really. I didn't have a big plan. ...Katt's at the church, though. Resting. Hopefully. She was wanting to see you before she got herself fixed."

"It's a l-little difficult to go m-much of a-anywhere right now," glancing down. Bonus shadows crossed her brow, failing to hide the glow of scarlet. "I only a-agreed to come out s-since it was just about dark."

He nodded, his expression blank like it usually was, but there was some deeper comprehension somewhere in the look he gave her. One last test.. "Difficult 'cause it's still hard to move, right..?"

"A-Ah, o-of course," running with it, hand up to scrape aside dark green strands of hair. "I've only b-been like t-this o-one time b-before. It w-was a little more complete and harder to move then. S-Still, I have t-to adjust for t-the time being."

Senses dulled but she knew those colors of hair just about anywhere. Squinting slowly under the hood she watched while slowly inching her way to Ichi's. It was them standing that finally had her turning course and starting her way to them. The closer she got the more she seemed to realize. Something was different. Lots of somethings.

Her answer threw a wrench in his thought process, but he tried to get it back on track. He took a slow drink of his soda as he meandered around her, his eyes sliding down to her face. *Now* it would be the last test. He tilted his head as he watched her.

She felt the eyes even before he proceeded to study her, hand along her face lifting to shield him under the impression she was swatting a moth that wasn't physically there. She drifted past him, the dim glow of red fixating on the hooded silhouette some paces away. Her slow gait was easy to keep up with.

He exhaled, following, still thinking it over in his head as he did so. He stayed a few steps behind her, to her right, looking up at the nearing figure too. It looked smaller than the last one, but his mouth still flattened to a line.

She enabled conversation to prevent the solid sound of foot falls being their only source of communication. "D-Do you have any left over p-pain?" It always went back to the eye, her concern evident.

He shook his head a moment too late, surprised that she had actually said something. "No. It's great," grinning. "I'm perfectly fine, May..really." The smile didn't stay long, his attention returning to the figure.

Steps slowed when she saw that they were approaching. That way if they wanted to keep moving she could just take in stride with them. A slow blink was given when she saw Mayu's...state of being. Her brows twitched. Why..wasn't she told? The surprise, as it was, pulled her to a rooted spot.

She ambled on past without thought, pointed ends of wings shivering to the implication of being watched. It was easily capable of being shrugged off as merely inconsistent self-consciousness. "If y-you say so. S-Sometimes I think you say things just to g-get people to leave y-you alone."

"I do. A lot." His eyes lingered on the figure as he passed by it too, squinting, then he jogged to catch up to May. "But I'm not doing that this time."

Katt's head tilted after Mayu and Toby when they passed her up. Fingers tightened into the edge of the sleeves. She didn't know if she should follow or not. A thought made her lips twitch and she turned, starting to follow after them in silence. Maybe they knew it was her and she was just suppose to follow. Didn't quite come to mind that she was maybe hiding that much in the hoodie.

"I-If something comes up, j-just ask Ria to t-take another l-look at it. I'm w-willing to as-assume she's gathered lost strength by now," neck twisting, peering back to him with a sign of indifference. Already slow steps drew to a close when seeing the figure follow, turning on a fine heel to see the cause.

He squinted at her next. "You sure? I mean..you're sure she won't just smack me or something?" He looked behind him too, his eyebrows drawing together. "Hi?" he offered the figure, a shorter version of 'What do you want?'

Maybe they didn't know! Katt blinked at this and slowed to a stop. "Hi.." It wasn't just to address Toby either. "Sorry.."

Familiar voice without a familiar face. The unknown was hard to decipher. She glanced off to the left, sidewalk taken in. "K-Katt?" Worth a guess.

(s)"Mmph.." When May said it, it clicked in his head. He frowned, hiding it with a long gulp of soda that finished the can off. He crushed it in his hand. "You're hiding in your hood, you know."

"Mayu..?" She smiled a bit then glanced to Toby. "Yeah..s..sorry..Light still sort of hurts my eyes so.." She seemed to attempt to shrug but her shoulders more fluttered up and down.

The awkward meter skyrocketed. She'd have to look over herself for the time being and press on like nothing at all was going on with them all. She proceeded to answer Toby's earlier question, "I d-don't think she's going to smack you hard, or anything." Not quite what he was looking for, was it.

"What are you doing up..? You're supposed to be resting and feeling better." He fingered the crushed can as he took a sip from the one May had given back to him. Then snickered at May's answer. "So she'll do it, just not hard. Gotcha."

He caught on fairly quickly. It would be the perfect time to shine a bright, proud smile to him. Unfortunately, no such thing would come to pass, the poke of a fang the best she could muster.

He blinked openly at her, his eyebrows slowly rising. His mouth formed an 'o', ready to speak, then he exhaled, deciding to think first. He didn't know why she would ask.. Was it part of a bigger point she was trying to make..? "...No, I don't. Despite all the stuff that's gone on..I still care about her, but no..it's far from *that* now."

He'd be pleasantly surprised to discover that there was no ulterior motive to her question asked. The girl that would always see things so black and white only needed to know so as to guide herself toward an ultimate decision on his behalf. A painfully pointed finger lifted to the sky, "T-Then, as her f-friend, you need t-to try and tone it down a little. W-Worrying about her like t-this, as you a-are now, is d-dangerous. It'll p-put a real s-strain on the friendship b-because it'll d-drive you nuts until y-you can't take anything. S-She might need it from you. She might want it from you. Y-You c-can't do t-that, though. Not w-without some kind of terrible c-consequence."

She really hoped she made any lick of sense, going so far as to actually lift her head up to him in a rare display.

So she was trying to make a point. He took in a deep breath, released it, along with the pent up feeling of anxiety that had suddenly shown up. What had he been hoping for. He nodded to what she said, a smile slowly spreading on his mouth. "You know..that's the very first time you've looked at me all night."

Her head darted down immediately following the comment, lips outward in a fierce pout. "T-That's not t-true. I've l-looked up t-to you plenty of t-times t-tonight." Her stammering increased briefly, but became still as she collected herself, "Like w-when we were walking over here. I made sure you weren't getting lost or disappearing on me all of a sudden."

(s)"Ah.." He swallowed the feeling of his heart leaping up into his throat. He closed the distance between them at a slow, unthreatening pace. (s)"May..what's really the matter..? You don't still feel all that guilt, do you..?"

She could feel that hiked up sensation of panic return, the origins back when Katt showed up. She shook her head, stepping on ahead of him with purpose. "T-There's no guilt anywhere. I'm just worried your eye might s-start acting up again. O-Or that you'll h-have something happen in reaction t-to all that h-healing power r-running through you. Not everybody takes t-to it, you know."

(s)"Mmph.." He waited..then he stuck his hand out, trying to catch the bend of her elbow in a light grasp. He regretted it immediately. "I'm not saying your worry is fake, May..but that's not the reason why. If anything, that'd make you watch my eye twice as much." His head turned so he could see her. "What is it..that you think you can't tell me..?"

It was difficult to navigate all on her own. With the additional weight and influence from an outside source, it was impossible. She swerved when caught in his grasp, abdomen twisting, batty wings fanning. Why, of all the outcomes, did she find herself forced to look up to him, the stark difference in eye color aimed up to him. It alone accounted for the rush of color that filled her cheeks. And she couldn't speak. Not at first. The sound of a bullfrog's song on the lily sang from her throat as she debated a response, lips falling shut, arm jerking to remove his hold on her. "W-What's your problem? Don't go grabbing me out of nowhere like that. I'm already trying to stay upright here!" she snapped, turning away from him with a teeter of weight to one side.

The true weakness of the hold was shown in how easily she'd gotten free of it, his hand still hovering between them. He watched her, unblinking. "Agreeing to come out only when it's dark, not wanting to look at someone..even when they look at you. ...This isn't about me at all." He vaguely recalled her small body balled up on the terrace of Flora's manor, how hard she was trying to hide then too. (s)"You're ashamed, aren't you..? Of how differently you look right now.."

She was still once free from him, head tipped low, eyes closed. The dome of scarlet eyes faded in that process. "You're imagining things," she quipped again. "I wasn't looking at y-you, w-which isn't some new thing, agreed to come out since it was nearly dark; all because I hadn't been out all day, and suddenly I'm h-hiding s-something? A-Absurd."

He didn't know what he was supposed to do. He was stuck between taking her at her word and pushing it. His gut clenched at the thought of leaving it alone. He clenched his teeth, pushed aside all doubts that he was doing something wrong, and swung around May to face her. (s)"We both do it..so that we don't worry anyone. ...If that's something that's worrying you, if it's causing you to even be a little bit upset.." He tentatively lifted his hands, but his fingers curled into his palms. He wasn't that confident yet. (s)"From me, where I'm concerned..there aren't any good enough ways for me to say how absolutely *little* it bothers me. In fact, it doesn't. At all. ...You don't know what I see when I look at you, do you..?"

The tip of one ebon wing shivered, membrane taut, bone rigid. The sensitive glow of scarlet returned when his chosen words graced the drums of her ears, twisting to ensure she wasn't facing him in any capacity. She knew he was there, waiting for her to do or say something in specific; yet nothing was as clear as diamond in her head. "I t-told you, it's not what's on my mind in the s-slightest. W-What the heck do I c-care if you s-saw me a-and all of t-this bothered you? In f-fact, it'd just b-be doing me one gigantic favor!" Her arms rose, crossed at the tone of her midriff, ruby tips rattling out a silent rhythm in hopes of calming the anxiety welling in her laughable bosom. "...wh-what do I c-care what you s-see when you look a-at me," the response more sharp, subtly suggesting he let the issue go.

He shook his head slowly. (s)"I just see *you*." It was like she wasn't even saying anything, like he wasn't listening. But the subtle twist of his expression suggested that he heard every word..and hated that he was acting like he didn't. He couldn't do it anymore. He smoothed on a regretful smile. "You'll always be *you* to me, May. No matter what." He took one step back, then started to turn on his heel, surprised that he could move without shaking.

It felt like her brain snapped in two, the split of headache present from unspoken agitation. The ridge of one eye twitched, scarlet rising, the vertical cut of pupil swelling. "G-God, you can be a r-real pain in the butt, you know that?" It wasn't friendly banter, the tone of her voice alone still sharp enough to pierce and bifurcate. He would be precise in his process to believe that his words alone were allowing her to think he wasn't even listening. The sole, lonely sound of his retreat roused her attention, angling enough to spy him from the corner of her eye. It came off sinister; true motives lost when she snorted her disgust. "W-Why do you in-insist on saying something a-after somebody asks you to keep it to yourself?"

"Because I don't think I could live with myself if I didn't say it." He didn't look back at her, forced himself to put one foot in front of the other..still slow enough to let her catch up. "I wanted you to know. I'm sorry about how it sounded, but I won't apologize for what I said."

Her mouth parted in surprise, gasping out audibly. Mayu returned forward, red-painted tips of fingers ceasing their repetitious motion when she reverted to gathering thoughts. She would have cried and thanked him, hugged him and told him that she couldn't have hoped for anything greater. Right now, that couldn't have been any less possible. The point of a cuspid poked out from behind the upper lip, lips twisting to and fro in consideration. "...Y-You're an idiot," she uttered. She hated how hot her cheeks felt; the burn enough to utilize it for grilling. Why was that pang of sensation there? It made her uncomfortable. She pressed on, the slow gait of motion picking up.

He chuckled, but didn't say anything. At least not about that. "Come on, I'll take you back." He couldn't help but feel that if he turned around..he would like what he saw. He couldn't do that either. The sounds of her footsteps were enough for him.

Midday, May 27th

?Late, late,? Mayu uttered under her ragged breath as she spun around a corner, legs pumping, bat wings conjoined to the arch of spinal column slouching and bobbing with each heavy step she took, hurrying toward her first day on the new job. She was told there was no need to hurry as the day wouldn't allow her to be interviewed until the shop's evening patrons took their leave. That didn't matter to the small Asian girl; impressions everything to her very existence and way of life.

She wouldn't give in to thinking she could slack and laze leisurely while everybody on shift handled hungry, passionate crowds. Even if she wasn't a working employee, she would eagerly provide a helping hand where it was needed, should they require it.

That was her way. It pained her more and more each time somebody was caught off-guard, requiring aid where it was desperately needed but unable to be met. Maybe it was a complex. Maybe it was a desire to right wrongs, the ghosts of her past catching up to her present. Maybe, just maybe, she wanted to be there for somebody; provide just one small smile and change their world.

Maybe?

The Market District slowly began to fade out of her environment, shops and stands being replaced with lush green lawns and rustic residences with picturesque white picket fences. Just as casually did her setting change, so did her realization that she must've taken a wrong turn somewhere. The delicately dressed girl, in a light green sundress that barely allowed those she passed to perceive the bends and creamy swaths of flavorful, womanly presence. Nineteen years of age, to some the ample age of ripe plucking, only able to disappoint with the similarity of bamboo cutting board for a bosom and sharp curb of a backside.

To some, that was their pleasure. Those some were not the sort she'd encountered in RhyDin, much to her satisfaction.

She allowed a moment for lost breath to be regained in working lungs, hands gracing hips as she surveyed the neighborhood she misplaced herself in. There were no accessible street signs to tell her of location, and the familiarity of the various houses were no different from those dotting the wild country back home.

In the corner of a scarlet eye, where the slice of pupil swelled to increase her visual perception, a darting figure along the roof of the building she stood before captured her attention. The murky silhouette was nimble but clumsy. Was it a burglar in the act? It was short, fairly stocky for its height, and out of place in a tranquil, embodiment of Heaven setting such as this. The task of getting to work on time became a hazy, distant thought, her brain instead mulling over potential reasons and problems arising from her not getting a better look at what was taking place in the house she was staring toward, dumbfounded.

She breached the thicket fence gate, thumb working the troublesome clasp. It swung wide, angrily protesting her intrusion with a squeal of corroded hinges. Her own protest came with a finger to her lips, shushing the inanimate doorway to alien property. Quickly, she assessed the roof, noting the silhouette hadn't taken to discover the audible noise, her own figure skittering across the lawn and underneath the canopy of the front door.

It was around then she considered a cardboard box as opposed to her obvious figure; well aware they made the most adequate form of incognito stealth entry to enemy territory. Not spying any laying around for her acquisition, she swept away from the door and made to the side of the house, a worn down ladder noted that climbed to the roof of the two story home. The wood was deteriorating, various notches in the construction that inferred termites had an early holiday feast.

She looked past the state of the integrity of the only thing allowing her access to the roof, surmising the silhouette also used it to climb up. Hands and feet wrapping the hollowing wooden rungs, she started up, her weight shifting with unbearable creaks as she went. It wasn't solely the thicket fence that found her trespassing utterly licentious to natural order. That, or her guilt was heavily weighing her down, crushing her with the gradual approach made upward. She internally swung at her conscience for defying her heart's need to perform a righteous act where she saw wrong-doing, coming out victorious just as the roof swept past her gaze, the solid foundation of steep slopes offsetting a narrow passage way to, and around, various sky roofs that made up bedrooms. At the far end of the roof, nearly completely opposite of her own location, was the figure, huddled down close to the edge of the building.

?H-Hey!? she shouted, pressing up onto the roof with the aid of both hands. A flailing foot hooked the ladder, stumbling forward onto the narrow walk. The momentum that carried her sent her sprawling forward, legs catching one sidepiece of the already unsteady ladder, tipping it backward and right over the fence into the neighbor's yard. Escape? Gone.

She didn't have time to focus on its absence, providing it with a fleeting look over a shoulder when the figure called back to her, ?W-What are you d-doing up here!? G-Get down!?

The voice was young. Childish and weak. Barely of double digits, if she had to guess for herself. It carried an unstable affinity with it; something she could relate to. It was possibly more nervous than she that very moment. Stern scarlet returned the bright green gaze aimed at her, a horrified visage provided in return.

?W-Wait? My n-name?s Mayu. I s-saw you f-from the s-street and th-thought something w-was wrong. C-Can I h-help? W-What are you doing up here?? she asked, crouching to the narrow pathway to prevent falling. To her left was the front of the home, the canopy connecting to the roof the only cushion that would catch her should she fall. To her right, wavering cerulean antagonizing her to look, found?

?A pool?

It was wide, its circumference enough to fill over two-thirds of the yard itself. One end was naturally shallow, the other leading deeper and deeper until the tinge of blue became dark, murky? the properties of death itself. The scarlet in her eyes was snuffed out, leaving them pale, gray, diluted and dull.

The roar of the child's voice was a distant blur to her ears, but she somehow managed to catch his voice amongst the turmoil that began to radiate in her skull.

?I live here, Miss Mayu! My c-cat ran outside when I o-opened the front door! He's not allowed outside!? the boy explained, tears present in his eyes and already staining his cheeks. He was wracked with a sadness no boy of his age should naturally carry. The idea he was lying out the window before it had time to blossom in Mayu's heart as a belief.

The pool was far enough away that it didn't disturb her, despite it growing so close to the house itself, the slope of the roof was an unnatural slide to its presence should she slip. She rose carefully, dull scarlet fixated on the child. ?W-Where i-is he?? I u-used to w-work as a c-cat catcher for m-my b-boss. I c-can pr-probably get him for y-you,? offering her help without so much as a secondary thought. Even that square bowl of deadly, punishing liquid was cast aside.

Mayu was no gymnast. She had no true sense of balance, well before the arms length, horizontal span of leathery wings came into play. With her arms stretched out wide, a fleshy airplane without propeller trust, she started forward. Each step was like a ride on Death's rollercoaster, wobbly and unbalanced. She focused her weight toward the left, ensuring that, should she fall, it be toward something that had the potential to catch her. Past one sky roof, the determined girl inched closer to the child who waved and wept uncontrollably.

?I-It'll be a-all right,? she proclaimed in a soothing voice, slipping past the second sky roof and meeting the boy. ?H-Hah? piece of cake,? a mutter of self-praise, seeking out the escaped animal. The sooner it was found, the sooner she could get down. ?W-Where? did you see him last??

?H-He was r-right here when I g-got up?I d-don't know where he w-went now?? the sobbing boy managed between chokes. He was so caught up in the calamity. He wasn't going to be very much help?

?A-All right? h-he couldn't h-have gone v-very far. C-Can you see i-if he ju-jumped down the edge t-there? I'll look back t-this way along the roof o-of the d-deck,? motioning to her left.

With her back facing the pool, she knew she could get a better bearing on her surroundings. She knew that she could simply will it to disappear, the power of her mind greater than matter itself. She knew? she knew she wasn't feeling herself upright the moment the roof beneath her shifted, loosening shingles capturing her teetering balance and forcing her backward.

?W-Wa-Wait?? she shrieked, a hand out to catch thin air. Nothing was there for her to grip, or to net her fall. She hammered into the slope of the roof. The blue sky tumbled past her vision, sandpaper rough slates exchanged, then repeated.

Another sound escaped her, the recycled sharp pain and rough impacts wracking her body and damaging her sense of direction. The world was spinning quickly, the sounds of her body cracking and ripping each time she tumbled another few feet backward. It sucked away any sound of the child safely present on the roof calling to her uselessly and trying to stop gravity from whisking her away.

Nothing? nothing was going to stop her?

The snap of roof gutters informed her that she was no longer braced by the curve of the ceiling of her sanctuary, its embrace setting her as free as a bird to the open world. And, at the same time, ushering her off toward the greatest fear her world had ever known?

?T-T? akuya??

She was deadweight, the momentum of the roof's slope only furthering her distance over the endless expanse of rippling water, its churning waves like a savoring mouth that couldn't wait to crack her open like a stubborn nut and devour her whole.

She had no breath left in her lungs. No more was willing to enter and prepare her for the inevitable. Thirteen years? thirteen years she managed to go without ever having to touch the slightest amount of water. Thirteen years had she managed to stay away from the treacherous element that claimed the only person that supported her in nearly everything after her parents abandoned her. Even after they accepted him. Even after he knew they didn't care what would become of her?

The collision she made with the cold, emotionless element was as violent as a tsunami, waves rising in a vicious roar that beckoned any and every soul to approach it and seize what was rightfully its. It stung her flesh, caked her eyes, invaded her nostrils and parting mouth. It ebbed the crying sobs of the child above, her ears seized and utterly useless. Suspended, chopped hair was a languid sway of hypnotizing motion, curling and weaving through the element in their own half-hearted attempt at wading through the liquid and making their own retreat. The frigid depth consumed her, weighed her down, enveloping her greater than her anxiety was, and in its titan grip, threatened to eradicate every ounce of her life.

In that moment, she knew of only one thing to do, as the bleakness of uncertainty crawled over her eyes and began to stab away at her consciousness?

?T?




?T-Toby??

Mayu Tsuzuki for making this post possible!! ]

The weight of blankets obstructed Mayu's ability to toss and turn on the bed, igniting the fire of consciousness with a start, sitting up. The color of scarlet was dim, available to an extent that kissed her cheeks with a feverish glow. A weary examination of her surroundings provided an easy conclusion: She wasn't back in Shamanista. That, or the Palace just lowered a few pegs on the chain of luxury.

She could feel the beat of her heart loud in her ears, the headache that accompanied each pound a vivid tale that didn't riddle her in the slightest. She wasn't dead. Aside, in a chair, the ginger color of hair surprised her. Toby somehow got to that unfamiliar bedroom. The feeling that she was lost in another dream sequence prevailed in her thoughts. She stared at him, awaiting what would come in this latest incarnation of fantasy.

He didn't open his eyes right away, but his heart had seized the moment he felt movement from his small friend through his lean on the side of the bed. He let himself simply revel in the feeling of her looking at him, reaffirming in his head that she was still there, and alive, and able to breathe and see.

When he lowered his folded hands, there were indentations from his teeth on the outside of his knuckles where he'd been biting. He settled his forearms on the plush covers, hiding the simple bandage that he hadn't needed in the first place. He peeled his eyes open, looked over at her with barely there attention. (s)"You're awake."

If that wasn't obvious enough, she took in a gulp of air, lungs graciously accepting air in exchange for expelling the burn of ache when they took in and cushioned continuous, exuberate amounts of water.

"N-Nn?" she winced when thrumming a response, a mere sound that relayed everything it had to. She was alive, more to the point. That aspect was still being worked out inside her skull. She lowered her eyes to the wad of blankets, vaguely able to make out the curl of legs beneath the dense fabric. They were uncovered, as was much of her figure. The gritty layer of cloth groping her flesh was much like a towel. ?in fact, it was a towel.

He exhaled, rubbing at both eyes with one hand, trying to chase away the feeling that they'd been blasted with tons of sand. That's what crying did..but at the moment, it hardly seemed important. He glanced over at her through his fingers, then pointed at the fireplace directly at the foot of the large four poster bed, orange flames crackling merrily like it wasn't nearly summertime. It was a wonder the dress hanging over it, and even the bedclothes, didn't catch on fire. "Your clothes are over there, drying. You should be able to wear them again soon."

It was as if he knew precisely where her thoughts were, ruby following his vocal directions. The thin fabric, more like road kill than a sun dress, lingered with two additional points of accessory beneath. She presumed them to being her undergarments. Thank goodness, they were not in plain sight. "Nn?" another sound of recognition, a sloppy sound akin to somebody still in deep slumber.

"Are you alright?" He was surprised he'd lasted this long without asking it. His pointing hand dropped back to the covers, but he kept watching the flickering fire. "How do you feel.." He hoped to coax something more than quiet grunts out of her.

She didn't immediately answer his questions. The drying girl wasn't even willing to part a glance with him, let alone open her mouth to form something of coherent interest quite yet. As she was clad in only a towel, she made no effort to push from bed, a longing look provided to the toss of still damp attire, secretly trying to will it her way.

No such luck.

"I'm? I'll be fine," she answered him, her voice a fragile whisper and no louder than the cracks and hiss of firewood at the end of the bed. Her shoulders rose, head tucking between the blades. She wasn't a turtle. Boy, did she wish she were.

He eased a sigh out through his nose, leaning back heavily enough in the chair to make it squeak with the applied weight. His elbows rested on the arms, two fingers up against the center of his forehead, rubbing in tight circles. "What happened.."

It was something she was still trying to get a handle on herself. She could remember losing her balance underneath the loose slate of roofing material, and the tumbling that ensued right after. A shiver of one wing, followed closely by the other, occurred simultaneous to the recalling of events. They weren't broken, and for that matter, nor was any other part of her.

It was the small favors in life that made it worth living, sometimes.

She stared down into the blankets with the captivated intent of a studio audience watching a magic act. She wouldn't be the main attraction that concluded with disappearance today.

"W-Well? t-there was this thing on the roof, you see," maintaining that healthy level of silence when she began her story, "and he was walking around k-kind of like a burglar might? I w-wanted to see wh-what was going on and sc-scare him off if he was." It sounded silly to her ears when she explained the story out loud. Her thoughts weren't really on the circumstances at the time everything was unfolding. She was blinded by the urge to assist. "It t-turns out it was just a boy? he l-lost his cat."

She grew steadily silent then, the cliff notes version of the story finished.

His fingers paused, then began to rub circles in the other direction. (s)"There was a cat," he repeated, almost incredulously. He honestly didn't know what to expect, it was at least good that the kid on the roof wasn't lying. "How did you fall.." Even without the boy's input, he somehow knew that she just did. And why was the ladder knocked over? It was at the opposite end of the roof..

The disconcerting feeling wracking her chest was lost when he echoed her explanation. Enough so that she provided him with an equally incredulous look that matched his approaching tone. She could feel his skepticism. "I w-was walking a-across the r-roof to c-catch up to him. I l-lost my balance when I was g-going to head b-back down to that o-overhanging t-thing above the f-front door."

The whole process of explanation was briefly put. It'd happened, and there was no way to back out of the timeline.

"I-It was j-just an accident. I-It's fine now," dismissing the whole ordeal without further thought or question. "D-Did you see i-if they f-found it at all??"

"An accident..?" He didn't know what was wrong with his mouth..it just kept repeating everything she said, like if he said it again, in his own voice, it would make sense. His hand dropped from his forehead, he looked at her, his brow wrinkled in disbelief. "You almost drowned, May..do you know that? You could've died just now.."

The pessimistic possibility that he expressed rang louder in her ears than her failing heart did, chipping away at that headache that was the factual proof of his statement. The jury would have to find him telling the truth in this instance. That would have been how this story ended were he not miraculously nearby when it happened.

Not that she had doubts? But it was infinitely easier to pretend nothing had went on.

"Y-Yeah, I k-know that?" she gruffly answered him, neck craning. The incredulous look tapered off, hints of worry and fear evident before turning her gaze away from him. It had no where to go to hide, falling to the fire straight ahead of her. "B-But I didn't. I'm f-fine."

She couldn't help but note he didn't answer her question. She tried it again. "I-Is the c-cat all right? If t-they still h-haven't found it, I c-can--"

"Would you forget about the damn cat already?" His eyes sharpened the longer he listened. How could it be happening like this.. "It's a *cat*. They get lost all the time and they always come back. And when they fall, they can land on their feet.

"You're still recovering, May. You could barely walk around two days ago, and now you're climbing on top of houses? Didn't you see how high up it was? What you'd be falling into, what you *did* fall into?"

She shrunk back at his snap, the first known time he'd ever reacted so suddenly to her since she'd met him. Those moments were not commonly reserved for her. She was always on the observing end of them.

The jaggedness of split pupils narrowed, contracting when returning to him. "W-What are you s-saying? T-That I shouldn't have g-gone up t-there? T-There was the potential something was s-seriously wrong? I was the o-only one there. B-By the time I g-got up there and r-realized what was g-going on, it d-didn't matter if it was a cat, or a burglar, or a murder.

"Besides?" pausing only long enough to catch her breath. It was still trying to escape her. "I s-saw the pool w-when I g-got to the top. I-It's not like my entire g-goal was to f-fall in the w-w-w-water."

"Of course that's what I'm saying." He didn't know what he was talking to, but it didn't feel like May. Maybe it was him that changed.. He sat up straighter in the chair, pointing to the window behind him with a sharp throw of his arm. "What would you have done if there *was* something serious going on? If it wasn't just a stupid cat, if it *was* someone trying to kill somebody. Or what the hell ever. What do you think you could've done to stop it?"

"I w-would have c-confronted t-them," her voice hollowed, lacking the determination it would have were she discussing another topic. She didn't sound entirely convinced of that. At the same time, it was her moral belief to help no matter the circumstance. Were it a demon devouring children, she would have done no differently.

"I-It doesn't m-matter what I could or couldn't do in order to s-stop it. I w-was there, I saw it with m-my own eyes." She debated telling him 'But it wasn't a murder or something dangerous?', but found it better to leave things alone. It was bad enough already.

"That's no excuse, you idiot..!" His voice rang clear as a bell and sharp in the small room. His eyes, for the first time in the two years he had known the girl sitting before him, went cold toward her. "What kind of thinking is that? All you're going to end up doing is throwing yourself into all of this crap without a plan. You're *going* to get yourself hurt.." He paused, the muscles in his jaw rippling. He pressed forward, knowing that he'd regret it if he didn't. "...and you're going to hurt the people that care about you."

She observed the cold reception with a wince, it enough to sting her to the core were she not careful with the construction of walls to naturally prevent it. Briefly, her eyes lowered to the bandage that coiled his one arm, the linen wrap a callous image that burned into her brain.

He'd hurt himself in the process of going after her, didn't he? "That isn't g-going to change w-who I am or what I feel like I need t-to do for people who are i-in trouble. I c-can't idly s-sit by w-while somebody is being hurt. T-That's not who I am.

"I don't think I did anything wrong, Toby."

He gaped at her. He felt like he could have been invisible, like she wasn't even seeing him at all. He didn't know where he stood now.

All of it, everything she had done for him..she would do the same for anyone else. Even someone she didn't know. Even someone she didn't like, or trust. Was he less than somebody.. (s)"You really don't know..? You don't understand..?"

There was no reason to drift her attention off of him at this point. "W-What isn't there to know or understand? I'm n-not going to b-be scared about g-getting hurt a-and selfishly t-think I'm so im-important that an-another's well being can be sacrificed.

"Y-You don't want t-to get hurt o-on ac-account of my needing to d-do something to h-help another. And I t-told you, already, I don't think I did an-anything wrong. What e-else do you w-want from me?"

He blinked, glanced down at his knees. He hadn't changed out of his wet clothes, and his jeans itched his legs, his t shirt stuck to his back. His half damp hair was finger combed away from his face. He could smell the bleach of the water he'd jumped into, feel the itch of the bandage on his arm.

But sitting there, listening to her like this..it was like none of that existed. How much more could he be misunderstood.. Even on this, the simplest of things. His mouth opened, then he closed it, rethinking. He found that he didn't want to fight it. It was useless. He didn't want to be anywhere near here.

He pushed the chair back, rising carefully from it. His voice was measured and quiet. "If that's really what you think about it..fine. You can think like that all you want, all by yourself. I don't know what else to tell you." He grabbed his bag from the table behind him, rounding the bed in quick, purposeful strides. The door was yanked open with a hard jerk of his arm. He didn't look back. "But if you don't even want to try and see this differently..then I'm not going to even try to see you."

As she listened to him, heard him vilely abandon what she thought he was ditching, her head snapped back and forth in a blatant refusal to believe it. He was tearing down her beliefs and urgencies to help another when she knew she had to. From her position on the bed, curling legs tucked away so the ball of heels were cradled by opposing thighs. She made no valiant effort to chase him down and tell him to remain.

He was making a choice all on his own. He'd stick to it. The effort to follow him would be expendable, but wasteful.

The last thing she saw was him pulling open the door, declaring his wish to not see her any longer. That would be the case--she wasn't willing to bend on the issue presently. Those words met her ears, yet she showed no sign of being harmed by them. She would keep her vigil, if only for herself. Coolly, she returned her gaze to the crackle of flames, their substance the only blistering heat that remained in the room once he left it.

He pulled the door closed behind him a lot softer than he?d wanted to. He could feel the regret churning around in his gut. He shouldn?t have said that, or left. The important thing really was that she was fine..

But what would happen the next time..? What if he wasn?t there..? He was almost too late this time as it was.

?Oh! I?m glad I caught you,? came a voice from directly in front of him. He lowered the hand that had been clutching his face. The woman, who he finally saw was blond with blue eyes, sighed and looked at the closed door. "I wanted to apologize again for what happened. My son Jeremy?s just a little attached to Bijou. It?s true that he?s not allowed outside, but even if he does manage to slip past us, he usually sticks to the yard. It happens all the time, and Jeremy knows that. He just overreacts a little. Ever since his father died.." She cleared her throat. "We didn?t mean to cause either you or your friend any?"

He staggered, shouldering past the woman, anger fueling his movements to the narrow staircase and down them. ?Someone will come by to pick her up. You want to make up for it? Keep your damn cat inside.?

He couldn?t believe that all of it had been for nothing. If he hadn?t shown up when he did, if he hadn?t been making that stupid delivery..she would have died for absolutely nothing.

He slammed his way out of the picturesque home and didn?t look back.

Mayu Tsuzuki for kidnapping me!! ]

Evening, June 10th..

The rather mild day had turned into an equally mild night, the breeze and partial clouds that had been with them for most of their outing lingering around even past dark.

They had hit shops, several shops, several places, places that he hadn't even known were there, and his fingers were laden with just as many bags: a weighty reminder of their journey. His legs felt numb from the constant walking, his feet tired. He gave each bench they passed a nearly longing look that always returned to the small girl at his side.

He didn't have one complaint. Being here with her, like this, was always something he cherished and looked forward to. This way..he could know where she was, without the risk of anyone getting in trouble like at the caf?. And he didn't think she'd had a day off since she started working there. He was known to push himself to extremes, but..she didn't need to.

The street they turned onto was rather open, lacking in market stalls but not milling, potential customers. It was Friday, everyone was out. Pleasant conversation and laughter was muffled too much to make out anything but the knowledge that everyone was having a good time. "Did you have fun?" He had to ask too.

Mayu had one paper bag to her name, clutched against her lap between clamped hands as they walked; head low, eyes withdrawn. She was doing her very best to forget that she had the privilege to window shop and potentially pick something out should it fancy her highly picky interests. For a lack of better terms, she was failing at that. Very hard.

"I? y-yes, I'm having fun," she answered his question in that sober, distant voice of hers. She was a banshee's ghostly consciousness, barely visible, yet noted like a horse-drawn carriage. At least to two people.

Glancing up to him, her vision found a worthy distraction in a small trinket shop. A ceramic puppy, with large, swollen eyes, left her forgetting she even arrived with company. She stepped aside of him, allowed a train of bicyclists to pass, then started across the street to the odds and ends shop. "G-Give me just a second, all right?"

The girl didn't wait for him to respond, cutting clear through the rickety door and disappearing around one line of shelving.

He snorted softly, but took it as the yes it had been. If she hadn't wanted to stay, he didn't think she would. And he had a nice, long, full day of memories to add to-- "Ah..what?" He blinked, sidestepping out of her way as she dashed aside into another store. "...Wait." He rolled his eyes, a little smile curving on his mouth.

He dropped down onto the bench that was halfway between himself and the store, however, content with the fact that he could still see inside without having to stand up anymore. His collection of bags was set down next to him, he pushed at one of the wrapped items inside so it wouldn't fall out, then leaned back into the bench with a heavy sigh of relief.

She glanced back to him when he called out, a smile dwindling on her lips. She'd heard him; allowing him to suck in a wad of dust as she hurried on. She wasn't interested in leaving him alone so that another tentacle monster could have its meaty way with him. What hard could one store do?

Minutes went by where serenity and an aura of unruffled joy filled the streets. For somewhere like RhyDin, even in the city proper, those moments were fleeting casks of shooting stars. There one instant, gone the next.

One hundred meters ahead, a full city's block of distance, stirred a disturbance. A rupture formed in the tranquility that washed over the surface of benevolence like a crease on a new, untouched sheet of paper. It was sudden, utterly incapable of hiding itself amongst the crowd of what was several hundred enjoying their day in a busy section of the marketplace.

At first, it was nothing but a shrill cry. A piercing howl that seized the eardrums of every soul that lingered outdoors and were capable of catching the screech of noise. Then, a sudden gush of kinetic energy crashed across the street, heading in a horizontal cut that splintered concrete and sent both debris and mortal being flying; grown men clutching dearly to their screaming children and wives that were caught in the wave. Everything arrested by the blast defied gravity as though it never existed on this plane of existence. Dust and turbulence cluttered the origin, the shockwave of chaos a challenging force of reckoning that refused to grant the charitable and prepared a moment to gather their bearings.

The crisp night air, already heavy with darkness, thickened. An unwavering smog filled the sky and blotted out the slightest inkling of speckled, pristine white stars.

He stretched his arms along the back of the bench, his eyes reluctantly lifting from the store to the sky above. A gentle breeze tickled his neck, the soft murmurs of those around him was easy and calming to listen to. He made himself smile with the thought that she'd be right back, probably wondering why he was spacing out..because it had been his idea to do all of this in the first place.

At first the screech drew him sharply out of his reverie. He jumped, his head snapping to the side, in the direction he thought the noise was coming from..but it was soon everywhere, drilling its way into his ears. He rose uneasily to his feet, he pushed his palms flat against the side of his head.

He felt the following explosion in his feet. It rattled his legs, causing him to stagger, half fall back down onto the bench. He didn't have a moment to draw in a good lungful of clean air before the dust was swarming him. He coughed, gasping, the sound of screams and cries, for now, unable to be heard through the ringing in his head.

What the hell happened..? He couldn't tell, couldn't even see right. He flapped one hand frantically in front of his face then rubbed his eyes. He didn't even know which direction was which.

Settling dust, concrete and limb alike sprawled turmoil out, the crackle and patter of pebble congealing with lethargic cries, whimpers, moans and fledgling screams of those still caught in the aftershock of disturbance. In the glow of night, where thick air found its final grave, flashed a gleam of polished, steely maroon. Its slick, armored surface refracted the strewn bits of street lamp and moonlight, etching out the perfect slits of hollowed, gaping sockets of eyes that were twin black holes suckling down the essence of light that surrounded it.

A taut, skinless, crude bone of a mandible gave way to a ridge of low hung teeth, clamped closed in an arrogant, egotistical sneer of self-enjoyment.

The entirety of its skeletal frame was shrouded no different than its cranium. The stretch of crackling phalanges beckoned to the wrought destruction that encircled the diabolical creature, surveying what damage had been done, and what first it should do with its newly discovered existence.

She didn't have time. To consider her options, nor provide him with the most simplistic of glances to confirm that she was better than she appeared. A trickle of blood sprouted and ran in small beads across her hairline. The filth that soiled crisp white skin and soot that dirtied her evening attire suggested she was directly involved with the collapse of the building.

Nevermind the wince that accompanied the flickering glow of Remnants, coiling all the way to the curve of her narrow shoulder, embossed and lively.

She continued to tell herself how she didn't have time. With a kick start, the gohei she was tied to jolted forward, a thin trail of emerald streaking in her wake. The creature was knocked tens of yards away; it was disoriented and confused. She had a chance to cease its destructive instincts before it had a chance to gather its energies.

She hoped.

"A-ah, wait..!" She was going to kill it..? But what about.. He shoved after her, pitching a fleeting glance around him. The screams had died down..but the yelling of names and the sounds of crying were still combined in a horrific noise that clogged his ears.

This thing was fast..did she think she could do something..? Was she wanting to try..? How would she even do it.. Was there something he could do.. He darted to the side, wanting to come at it differently, try to put it between him and May. If they were really going to kill the damn thing..they had to be smart. An angry flash of steel caught a band of moonlight as he zipped through it, his dagger clutched hard in his hand. He didn't know if she had a plan, he knew he didn't have one..but if he saw an opening..

She saw, from one corner of her eye, Toby's movement. What did he think he could do against a Reaver? It dawned on her, as she jerked up on her gohei to gain considerable advantage over the skeletal construct, he didn't have a clue what they were, or the dangers associated with them.

Peaking, she arched with the intention to allow gravity to provide her with a greater boost to her speed and force. "Get away! You can't get close t-!!" She was interrupted by the Reaver's rise.

Jet black oozed from the orifice of mouth and eye socket, bubbling and putrid as any garbage left to stew for months, if not years. It was reminiscent of death. It sullied the sky and ground alike, hissing and solidifying as it became exposed to pure oxygen.

Without warning, the gunk condensed and steeled itself for a strike, firing in a straight point, like a needle but as deadly as any blade, from its eyes and toward the same motion that had originally caught Mayu's attention.

In her descent, all she could do was watch, horrified.

Immediately after he had drawn his dagger, he'd thought it was a silly idea. Whatever had grazed his cheek hadn't been soft. He had a scrape there now with faint bruising around it. Maybe if he used enough strength, he could pierce it..

He heard her yell, but tried with all of his might to fight against any break in concentration. 'You can't get close--' Could it reach him from--

He dove into the ground, tucking his head low against his chest. The busted street grated his back all through the somersault, he felt the air around his body whistle in the rush of the creature's attack, too close for him to be satisfied. The second the balls of his feet touched the ground, he shoved into it, nearly falling to his hands and knees as his body caught up with the speed he was forcing out of himself. He charged in the opposite direction, zigzagging to and fro, the afterimages of himself that he was leaving behind slightly more solidified each time.

His golden eyes, narrowed to focused slits never left the creature. She was right. He couldn't exactly get close if the damn thing could do that..but if it was shooting at him, it wasn't shooting at her. She could do something to it.

The parasol of collected momentum from her descent welled into a tightly knit point, no different than a stalagmite. No different from an aegis. The force of descent was so great, she could feel the corners of her mouth pulled aside, her eyes narrow to their finest slits, and the most of her body begin to numb. It was her greatest strength when riding on her wand. It was the power of her Remnants, the use of momentum, weight, g-force and velocity. She'd become a wound up spring, ready to burst at release.

The girl sloped horizontally when inches from the cracked and shattered cobblestone, the umbrella canopy of accumulated force aligned with the Reaver, whose back was turned to the girl and oblivious to her approach. Her speed found no gradual decrease when connecting with its spinal column, shredding through it with the force of a freight train to a child's toy, plastic car.

It barrelled away with such brash speed, it left a shimmering after image, like the reflection beneath the surface of water. It flew effortlessly through a building, cutting through its walls so clean, it didn't disturb surrounding stone or support.

She slowed to a stop several meters from the point of impact, legs dangling, feet grazing the surface of risen ground. A glance was given to Toby, the first she'd mustered since calling on her source of strength, the divine power of the Remnants, ensuring he remained well.

He could only see an outline of May for a brief second, the noise her body made when it cut through the air the only sign that he needed to get out of the way of two things that could move with ridiculous speed.

He ducked low to the ground after his last pass before the creature, and just kept running, taking himself a short but safe enough distance. By the time he had whipped around, May was landing, the echo of impact the creature made still ringing in the air. His dagger had returned to its original place in its sheath.

He wasn't quite out of breath, but he wasn't passing up the opportunity to rest, if even for a few seconds. Beads of cold sweat trickled down his temples. "That's not it, is it?" He was already on his way back to join her, his body feeling like a noodle. "What the hell is this thing?"

She pulled her legs up, gohei winding around to face Toby. It teetered with signs of weariness, the thick dampness of bright green consuming her wrist, no longer thin like the beautiful design of spiderwebs.

She didn't allow the feeling of heaviness, the only clear sign of her limits, get the better of her. "It's something I was only vaguely informed of back at the Order...

"The chief called it a... Reaver, I think..." dark green eyes dancing toward the cut out hole in the wall where it'd crashed. "...you can always tell because they have star patterns somewhere on them."

The ground trembled, in alignment with the girl's twists, reacting with a vile wretchedness.

"Did it g-graze you...?" a touch of concern to her voice as she looked back to him. She urged her wand forward, but it failed to oblige.

"A Reaver.." he said thoughtfully, waving off her concern with a pass of his hand through the air and squint of golden eyes. If he thought about it any more..he wouldn't be able to function. "I'm fine, it just.."

The ashes of destruction stirred, the pool of demise beneath them clenching together like the steel glove of a tyrant over his people. Tearing through the rubble, the Reaver rose with blinding haste behind the girl, one arm sailing around the girl's shoulders, blades of razor along its inverting wrist centimeters from meeting her throat.

It hissed in silent victory, "Exorcissssssst..." Oozing black sockets lifted to Toby, that mandible of sinister hatred continuing its sneer. "A valiant effort. A sssssssssshame it wassssssss for naught. A sssssssssshame."

The world seemed to slow down. His body couldn't move fast enough, and the Reaver looked like it was moving slow too, to his mind, his heart frozen as he stared, horrified all over again, at the retched scene in front of him. He wasn't going to allow May to go through the same thing as that girl had.. She wasn't going to die here..he was here, he could do something..

But his mind was empty, kept stuttering every time he tried to think. He silently begged for insight from anything that would listen..for any idea.

"Wh--what are you doing.." His eyes lowered to the light that was draining from her into the ground. "Fix what..the ground..?" He reached for her arm, hoping that if he got a hold, he wouldn't hurt her. "If you can do that, you can use it to fix people, May. Who cares about the ground..if you do this, you're not going to have any energy left, are you?"

She didn't answer him. She didn't have to. He'd discover, all on his very own, what she was up to.

The green glow of her power swelled, expanding down the length of the damaged road in a matter of seconds, flooding the concrete with the same hue that had previously been consuming her aching limb. The glow was as brilliant as the Las Vegas strip, as warm as the sand on the beach, and as refreshing as cool water on a blistering summering morning.

It only took a matter of seconds for the glow to eat away what damage was there, and be replaced, instead, with what seemed like a tranquil setting. The people were laughing and chatting amongst one another; shops open and calling those around to enter, and amazingly, act as if nothing at all had transpired.

It was as though they travelled back in time.

"May, you don't have to do this, no one's going to care about what the city looks like..we just need to get the--" He was half through rising when he heard the first laugh from someone else. He whirled around, his eyes wide.

It was a couple..they were happy, smiling, shopping. Everything..looked exactly the same. Like none of it had happened. (s)"What..it's like that thing was never here, what did you do..?"

She slumped forward once the power drained from her arm, eyes wavering on the brink of closing. "...I made it as if nothing happened..."

Almost immediately when she pointed that out to him, a girl, happy and with a teddy bear, sank through her person like water through cracks in glass. Her brown hair, done up in a perfect ponytail, bobbed and weaved with the energetic bounces of her person. Sharp green eyes turned back to the pair as she'd done so, smiling proudly to the two, before continuing on down the road.

A subtle breath poured from Mayu's lungs, head hung low, bangs of cropped hair hiding her eyes as if she never had any. When doing so, the girl fragmented and broke apart, the sands of time ebbing her out of existence.

"...nobody will know the difference in a few days..." she said that with a hollow disposition; as if it was a perfect solution and required no additional explanation.

"You made it.." She couldn't have possibly known what he was thinking. He looked down first at himself. The crimson splotches of dried blood were gone, his clothes were as clean as they were this morning when he put them on. He never thought he'd feel uneasy at the blood's absence.

"You..but, what happened to everyone, what happened to--" A surprised breath shuddered from his mouth. That little girl had definitely been there a moment ago..and she was smiling and..

That was her.

He lurched after her, his legs heavier than ever before. There was no way he was going to catch up. "Wait..!" he called to the girl. She didn't turn, didn't act like she could even hear him. "Wait a second, are you.." The rest of his question died in his mouth as her body disintegrated into nothing more than dust.

He paled, his stomach churning. Like she was never there..

His eyes were wetter than he wanted them to be. He knew that girl had been there. He knew she had crawled onto him and clutched him, and begged him for help. He knew. He remembered. Didn't he..? Maybe..

"Stop it.. Stop it..!" He shook his head, his hands flying up into his hair. "I remember her. I *remember* her..! She was here, she was dying and she..she flew into me and she wanted..she wanted.." Why couldn't he think..? He didn't even know the color of her eyes anymore.

"How can you even do that..? She was *here*."

The shadow loomed with a heavy burden over her eyes. There was no feeling in her legs, making no effort to rise up to her feet. The girl was the first to disappear, and would hardly be the last. The Reaver had consumed several souls. Those that were injured but would endure would do so under the guise of being well. It was part of the illusion she transplanted throughout the area; a direct act she committed with Shamanista's dwindling power inside of her.

It was something of a last service she was willing to commit with what she drained out of Toby; much like she had to her previous apartment building to obscure the presence of dead bodies and bloody walls.

"...it doesn't matter, does it, Toby?" head tucking further down, "They're already dead. They're already lost to everybody. They're already gone."

Her voice was weak, but she endured. "Nobody can know what happened here... nobody can know about the Reaver or think they need to exact their revenge. ...just let it go."

"Of course it matters..! You can't just..they were *people*, they were *here*. I saw them, I heard them, so did you..! You were trying to save them..!" He turned to face her, growing all the more nauseous..not really at what was happening, but how she sounded..

"...Can you really let it go that easily? You're always wanting to save everybody and now you're erasing them..? It doesn't matter that they died or if they were gone, or if you couldn't help them, you can't just make them go away..people are worth more than that..

"And what about us? We'll know what happened." He stared down at her..his expression pure disbelief. (s)"What's wrong with you.. Why is *this* the only thing that you think is okay..? You don't really care..?"

She was surprised by his reaction. Up until that moment, the only thing she'd ever seen him react to was if she was in immediate danger. It didn't matter if a simple animal like a cat was lost and in risk of being hurt, or if a child was about to drown. It didn't matter if a horse was going to rampage over a couple enjoying a picnic. Nothing seemed to matter. It was as if the entire world was second to her danger. So when she was willing to do something to put the easiest strain on herself, to make her danger nearly nonexistent by using latent powers and simply make the situation go away for everybody...

"Y-You... y-you care..." she uttered weakly, looking up to him. There were tears in her eyes. She was unable to contain the pain her emotions strained on her. "Y-You care about all of them..." He wasn't the one in disbelief. It was her.

She strained to reach up to him, to cup a cheek of his in the palm of her hand, to grace him with something of sentimental value. The gloss of green eyes was strong and fierce, deep and affectionate. It was a sincere, rare display from the girl that continued to remain a mystery to the very world she herself considered enigmatic.

"...I never... thought for even an instant that you... care about everybody. ...not like this... not ever... ever... like this..."

"O-of course I--" His eyes filled to the brim, he knew that if he blinked they'd spill over. He hadn't wanted to make her cry, but..there was a lot of this he still wasn't understanding.

He knelt down before her, carefully, her hand against his face doing wondrously painful things to his heart. It hammered throughout him, made his breath catch in his chest. He had never seen her look at him like this before.

(s)"I--May.." He squinted sadly at her. She sounded so much different now. It couldn't be what he thought. (s)"Were you pretending..? You hate that you did this, don't you..you wanted to help them too.."

She was clammy to the touch, drained of heat and moisture. "...you d-don't want me to d-do this kind of thing..." the time back at that house with the pool having done greater a number than she was willing to admit. "...if it means doing this to..." she paused, head still low. The pads of her fingers scraped his cheek before falling to the ground.

"...I thought you didn't care a-after that. I t-thought the world d-didn't matter to you..." She also, slightly, felt that nothing else would matter. Like he was a dead flower, and the world was his grave.

She shook uncontrollably as the tears ran her cheeks and pivoted to her chin. They splattered in heavy patters to the refurbished street. "...I just w-wanted to do w-what you would ap-approve of, w-while still s-somehow managing to h-help them..."

He was dizzy, he didn't know how he hadn't passed out already. His eyelids fluttered at the feeling of her dropping hand, his heart a rapid drum. He wanted to sink into that feeling..her eyes only on him, her hand against him. But her words drilled straight into his foggy mind, forcing him to pay attention.

Each of her sobs was like a relentless knife to his core; he flinched, cringing, until he couldn't stand it anymore. He looped his arms around her a second time, gently drawing her to his chest. His chin rested on top of her head, a palm protectively hovering over the side of her small neck.

(s)"I'm sorry.. May, I'm sorry." He wanted to say more, but the only thing that reached his lips were more of the same three words he'd just said.

His carpeting embrace was enough to silence her, exchanging sobs for gasps, tears for swelling surprise. It was all so much, too quick. It caught her off-guard, she couldn't even share her own apologies with him.

Then again, she knew he'd only retort how she didn't have to. He knew, already, didn't he?

An arm lifted to drape his shoulder, using him as both support, and to return the hug that she knew was exceptionally long over due. "...we s-should..."

She paused in her suggestion, trashing it. For once, she'd allow the moment to draw out. For it could very well be the last for an extremely, extremely long time.

"No, no we shouldn't.." He could have died then, and been happy. The feeling of her small arm around him, returning what comfort he was trying to give to her, made him shiver with extreme joy. He tightened the hold he'd gotten her into, embracing her, as well as his sudden moment of weakness. "Not yet. Everything's alright, just..not yet."

One of the rabbit?s ears lifted, lunatic ruby gaze shifting over the bundled up girl. The phrasing was enough to send little hairs straight up on end. ?Placed in you? You make it sound as though you were an experiment.?

No response followed Tracy?s humored comment. Lunath was the first time she?d heard of experimentation. People put under the knife to better the life of those fortunate enough to fund the projects. Many of her race were bred specifically for that cause; were they not to be placed in the mines or sold to those of equal fortune so they may have playthings.

She withdrew the girl?s arm tenderly, moving to brush sticky ocean hair from her eyes. ?They experimented on you in order for you to have this??

Mayu?s mouth parted, a whimper fleeing from her throat. ?N-Not? in t-that kind o-of way? I a-asked them t-to h-help me? g-give me s-something s-so I c-could? h-help my f-f-friends??

Consented experimentation wasn?t enough to deter Tracy?s fury. She remained stoic and calm despite the news. The inferno continued to rage within. ?What were the rules regarding your use of this power??

?T-There wa-wasn?t a-any? I w-wasn?t t-to use the power?? the girl answered in a meek moan of pain. Her damaged arm carried the weight of twenty bricks; far too many for her strength to contend with.

Tracy withdrew from the bed, turning about to kneel beside it. Fingers drew to the ends of the girl?s eyes, spreading lids wide. There was hardly enough resistance to warrant the strength used. Then again, she always had a problem regulating it, reminded vaguely when she clobbered that silly ginger kid clear across the inn with nothing but a punch.

?Watch,? the rabbit demanded, ruby eyes flaring to life, rivaling the glow in Mayu?s right arm. Essence swirled around the point of a pupil that was quickly shrinking away behind the lively color of blood red. She wasn?t prone to activating her powers to her ward; the means of sucking away the recollection of certain feelings, emotions, even memories, unless it was entirely called for. Equally, the idea of imprinting new feelings, or drawing to the surface those very things the girl struggled to blacken in her mind? it was enough to make the one that invoked insanity, well, crazy.

Mayu could feel her consciousness slip, a well of darkness honing in around her the moment she peered into Tracy?s eyes. An abyss swelled around her, clutching her, making her feel weightless. At the very same time, however, she felt like she was underneath the planet, carrying it on her shoulders through a drying, barren desert.

?W-Wha?? she quietly mumbled to Tracy in agonizing hesitation. The invoked ability was far too great for a simple girl such as Mayu to contend with, though. She sank effortlessly into the world that Tracy constructed in her own mind for her.

?Sleep easy, Maiden,? she instructed, feeling the evaporation of meager resistance that came once Mayu discovered what was transpiring. She clutched the girl?s mind with her own, prodding and easing through both memories and fears in order to discover what happened last night.

A skeleton, masses of innocent people injured, a whole street torn to shreds in the blink of an eye? Tracy?s swirling, chaotic eyes narrowed as she began to assimilate the various events that unfolded. She waded through the turmoil of emotions, the notable worries, the agony of regret, the pain of despair, the loose grip of helplessness? the collection of hundreds, if not thousand, of little things that evolved from Mayu?s past the moment she realized what was taking place all around her.

Following the assimilation, she began to sink deeper through the center of the girl?s nervous system, weaving through cells lodged with turbulent thoughts and whimsical dreams, in order to find the core that was stimulating pain in Mayu?s right arm. It wasn?t considered a healing maneuver, nor was it a means of fixing the girl?s damaged arm.

She could, fortunately, discover if there was any underlying damage, and lock down the pain to leave the girl feeling as though there was none in the first place.

?Torn muscle? a fracture in the bone here?? she commented to herself, ears erecting absently as she cemented her thoughts, ??no bruising? but I can?t seem to find anything surrounding this Remnants thing??

Not even in those memories of Mayu did Tracy come up with something. It was troubling to her, to say the least. It would mean Mayu, herself, had no segmented memories of the event. Which meant she was told by somebody else, and nothing more.

Locking down Mayu?s sense of pain in her right arm, Tracy retracted from her mind, fingers prying free from the girl?s lobes. Mayu sank like a corpse to the bed, laid out flat.

?You can come in any time you want, boy,? Tracy called out loud, glancing over a shoulder in the direction of the door. With the ability to manipulate sound, Tracy all but had little weakness concerning espionage. Especially from those that were fairly terrible at it to start with. ?I heard you out there the moment she started speaking.?

Late night, June 23rd

The pair, Toby and Mayu, left the Midsummer celebration without much booze to their name, or bruises to accompany them. For once, they could claim, with their heads held high, they survived a public event without gaining so much as a scratch. It was a rare feat for the two, who hadn?t had much success since either of them could entirely remember.

The inclusion of both Kai and Raelyn helped immensely. Knowing at least a familiar face or two that they?d been spending a considerable amount of time with recently made fitting into crowded spaces much easier and more pleasurable.

Mayu, especially, found enjoyment in the outing. She hadn?t considered Toby was interested remaining by her side for the evening, only learning after arriving at the celebration that he stalked her specifically in order to meet up with her when he felt the timing was right. Neither were dressed in formal attire, he in slacken jeans and a beat up tee shirt, her in a white with red trim sailor fuku. She even had tiny drill bits in her hair that resembled demon horns. Style, she thought.

While having not been feeling particularly strong the past couple of days, fighting off dizzy spells and moments of weakness where fainting felt more enticing than sitting in Heaven, not to mention the injury her right arm sustained, she didn?t let it spoil her night. Toby was quick to recover her when she stumbled once they arrived and later when she wheezed painful bursts of air from her lungs before they left.

It painted her to continue to realize the manner he tended to her like some kind of slave. Over the years, he was her friend, her agent, her manager, her best friend, her enemy, her rival, her stalker, her guidance, her slave, her anchor, her banker, her realtor, her guardian? the list seemed almost endless. Had she deserved the ways he looked after her, made sure she was well, and put his entire life on hold the second she desired something new to excite their lives? She vividly recalled his assistance in drawing out sketches in the parking lot to call out extraterrestrials. It didn?t seem to matter whether he thought her antic would produce worthy results, or if it was entirely a waste of time. He didn?t laugh at her like the others had. He didn?t even seem fazed by the thought there was additional life beyond the boundary of their atmosphere.

She wanted to go through with it, and he obliged silently and willingly.

No, she didn?t need to consider those thoughts. He did things because she asked. And because he was her agent, her manager, and her slave, he was all but required to do what she needed. It was stupid to think she might not deserve those things. Of course she did.

Arriving at the door to the new home Miss Fiora provided them with, she jangled the keys from the pocket of her pleated skirt, jabbing the jagged metal into the socket. Toby loomed nearby, attentive to the fact she was not yet inside. He didn?t seem determined to leave her until she was fully through the threshold, door closed and locked secure.

?Are you going to be at the Church for long?? she asked, opening the door. The stale air that smothered her sense of smell told her there was no disturbance within. The various spiritual powers that be were either out or long since asleep.

?Not for long,? he answered her, resting a hand atop her head. He resisted tousling her hair, nudging the back of her skull to guide her inside. ?I?ll be back soon..?

She lurched forward to his nudge, turning on a dime to chide him for his continued persistence to fuss with her head. He had already taken to the road, well out of sight. It was hard to believe that somebody so tall, bright, and strange looking could get away quick like snapping fingers. Hand to the door, she brought it closed, keys thrown to the nearby table that was a station to forgotten mail, often spam, and a single lamp that she flicked on at the switch. It brought to life a dim glow of worn wood, providing her with the feeling of a rustic setting she was much more accustomed to than she?d likely admit.

?I?m home,? she called, assuming Tracy was nearby and waiting for the proper time to introduce herself to the scene. There was no response. She kicked her dark brown loafers off before stepping further into the hall. ?Tracy? Melissa?? she howled once more, leaning from the entrance hall to the made up living room. There were no sprawled bodies or healthy glow of spiritual residue. Were they around, they?d been stationary for an exceptionally long time. And knowing those she lived with, especially Ria, staying still was nothing short of laughable in both thought and execution.

?I guess they all went out to enjoy the celebration in their own way.? It?d been some time since the group had a healthy festival for them to enjoy. The last she set up, a drinking contest that was in collaboration with Akiko, the infamous oni that loved her booze as much as a child loved their candy, was years ago by their clock.

They deserved a break. They also were responsible for themselves. Each had their own life to live, RhyDin meant to be their second life. Their home away from their home. Their chance at enjoying everything life had to offer. ?so long as the bracelets Emma Exire provided them didn?t come off.

As she was alone, and Toby wasn?t anywhere to be seen in the coming hours, she tugged the ruby red tie from her neck, shedding the silk and blouse along with it that the tie held in place at the collar. The girl hadn?t much of a bosom to speak of, rarely wearing a bra to conceal a budding swell of curves that barely accounted as breasts. She had always been extremely vulnerable when it came to their existence, usually waiting for the other girls back in school to finish changing before she decided to take to the locker room herself. Most were in the mid-B range, filled out, round mounds of flesh that they could be proud of.

No matter how modest the girl was over many things she was complimented over, she had a certain enviousness, A-cup angst, when it came to her own chest. At times, she loathed it. Despised the way certain outfits made her appear pettanko. The only satisfaction she gained from not carrying large breasts came in the way most men, and by account, most women, ignored her. She wasn?t with outlandish assets people drool over; nothing that others wished to taste with their fingers or mouths.

She relished in the smaller things in life.

His stay at the church hadn't been a long one, there was hardly anything to do at three in the morning. The floors were all swept and mopped, everything had been dusted, the burned down candles had been replaced, all the linens changed. The dishes were done, all of the meals with the longest cooking times had been started. He had no sooner gotten there and glanced everything over by the time he had already returned and he was slipping his copy of the key to their new building into the lock. Needlessly, it seemed, because it wasn't even locked. He snorted softly and let himself inside.

He listened to the quiet as he eased the door shut behind him. Despite the silence, he didn't feel like he was completely alone.

That wasn't anything new. About half the people he was living with could make themselves invisible..or something.

He slid his key into his pocket and meandered down the hall, the first beam of light cutting across the floor from the partially open bathroom door drawing his eye. The closer he got, the louder the sounds of gentle splashing and an even quieter hum became. He paused outside the door, stiffening against the urge to poke his head in.

What the hell was he thinking..? He had ears, they obviously worked. He knew who was in there, why, and what they were doing. He didn't need to look. He exhaled a sigh, thumped his knuckles into his forehead and forced himself to turn away from the door, continue to his own room.

The door was ajar here too..the lights on. He didn't leave it like that when he'd left this morning. Coming to another stop outside his own door, he touched his fingertips to it, pushing it inward cautiously.

His bed was still made, the curtains were still closed. None of his clothes were flung around all over the place. ...But books were.

His eyebrows drew into a scowl as he went to the desk and knelt before it.

A sense of anxiety was growing in his stomach. These were his books about Japan..who'd done this..? Why would anyone want to come in his room in the first place. He didn't go into anyone else's. Much.

He carefully picked the books up one by one, stacking them so they all faced the same direction. He shouldn't be that worried. They were just books. Books that he didn't want to get rid of, but also couldn't keep carrying around with him anymore.

He looked down at the stack in his hands, thumbing the spines as he counted them. And recounted. One of them was missing. He had picked them all up.. Which one was it..?

Suddenly, it felt like ice water had been splashed all over his insides. He tossed the stack of books down onto the top of the desk and ripped open drawer after drawer with shaking hands, shuffling around each one's sparse contents in desperation.

It wasn't there. He flung looks over his shoulders..beat around the pillows covers on his bed, looked beneath it. The more places he looked, the more frantic he knew he was becoming. That book couldn't have gotten anywhere by itself. Whoever had searched through the desk had taken it.

He groaned, leaning his head against the closed closet doors.

How much of an idiot was he.. Leaving that book, of all books, out in the open. It wasn't what the book was about..or anything on any of its pages, but what he had hidden inside. Pages, and pages..and pages..of notes. Notes about May's home, what she liked, what she might like.. He had found a book that taught someone how to write in Japanese. He had scoured that book..wanting to know how to write her name.

He had practiced for hours, over and over again, the strokes of the kanji letters as familiar to him now as common ones. ...And he'd never thrown them away.

"Damn it.." He thumped his hands into the closet, then straightened.

He couldn't just waste time here. There was a chance that it was still in here. He charged out of his room, dragging a hand down his face. He wasn't halfway down the hall before he was looking at the half open bathroom door.

There was no way she could have the book.. She never went in his room, she had no reason to. One of the Crew could've given it to her.. Maybe it was in her room instead..

He snuck up to the door and reached for he handle to pull it closed. If he was going to be searching, around her room, he wanted to take all the precautions.. The walls in the last place they had all lived were terrible.

...But a sharp, white corner beneath the small pile of clothing in the middle of the bathroom floor made him blink. Instead of closing the door, he eased it open, flinching at the sound of splashing now so close he could almost feel the water himself.

He knew what it was, he didn't need to look twice. Trying to figure out why she even had the damn book was the only thing that made him freeze.

He could be in and out of here, and she wouldn't know it.. But wouldn't she notice..? It doesn't matter if she notices or not, his mind screamed at him. Just get it back.

Mayu Tsuzuki and Music is Life's players for this scene!! ]

Early morning, June 26th..

How had it all started..?

"Old man Tobias..." she quietly drawled, absently lowering her gaze to the counter. It was always possible he could fill the role she had set up in her mind. He originally was her janitor, wasn't he? Or was he her agent and janitor was merely implied? "...I don't know if that works for a slave like you," she stated out loud, thoughts intermingling. That was a nasty habit that saw no ending in the near future.

He swallowed, clearing his throat to distract himself from the odd feeling in his chest. It was the sound of his full name, not the word slave, he noted. "You don't think so? What *should* I be doing then?"

"Me," she answered immediately, proudly. She didn't miss a beat. Sometimes, her understanding of the English language was damaging. Incriminating. "I don't think you have to ask that question. We've already decided that you're my agent/slave/tester." Tester was a broad title meaning that, should she not believe jumping in front of a bus is dangerous, she'll use him as a test subject. Good thing there were no buses in RhyDin. Or was that Shamanista...? "I guess you need some way to pay for the place Miss Fiora got for us, though..."

His throat made some kind of noise between a whimper and a grunt. He stared at May, wide eyed, his heart thundering like it had grown fists and was trying to hammer its way out of his ribs. One moment his face was tan, the next it was beet red. His left eye gleamed sharply against it. For all he knew, she'd stopped talking.

Although... At May's mention that Toby was her Slave, she Turned to give her a funny questioning look. "What?" Blinnnnk.

She had stopped talking. For quite some time. Leaning forward, finger unraveling from her chin, she meant to get him right between the eyes, attracting his attention back to the present. Peering past him, Toby out of mind, she smiled broadly to Raelyn. "He works for me." 'Slave' most likely meant 'partner', only she didn't seem to understand the difference.

He shuddered, her fingertip cool on his forehead. "Y-You don't pay me, though." He wished his voice hadn't cracked. He pushed his palm up against his face where she'd poked him, his fingers curling into his hair.

"But... Toby's red." Yes. She pointed that out. Just like any loving friend would. "What's he do for you?" Headtilt.

"That doesn't mean you don't work for me any less," pupils dilating when drawing him back into the prime of her focus. The slick grin she gave him suggested she hadn't much considered ever paying him a dime. "You do a wonderful job for the time being. That can be your payment."

"Just about anything," returning to her slight height, snatching up the bottle of water to give her something to fidget with. "He writes my notes, licks my envelopes, and cleans my shoes when they're dirty." And funnily enough, he has yet to do any of those things...

"Yeah, but that's--" Right, she'd already said slave. He rolled his eyes, then looked at Raelyn like he wanted to shove her off her stool.

She caught the Look Toby gave her, and shot him a grin. She could press it, if she really wanted to. "He does? That does sound pretty... Slave like. " she murmured, before her attention flickered back to Toby. "Would Yous give her a foot massage if she asked?" Well That was a random question.

He was at a complete loss for words. Why did all of this stuff happen when Raelyn was around..? Because of her. He didn't think she was doing it on purpose, but still.. He exhaled, closing his eyes. "Yes," was his answer. As weird as the conversation was..he didn't have to think twice about it.

She blinked at Toby's response to Raelyn's question. To test the theory, she slipped out of the brown loafer that dressed her foot, thigh high clad, lithe right leg lifted and being placed perfectly in his lap. Her toes wiggled about like worms out of the dirt, cotton so thick, their painted color was indistinguishable. "I-If you m-mean that... th-then let's see it..."

Because Raelyn was always there, at the wrong time. That was just her. She grinned at May's actions and words. "She's gots a point." was mused,

"Mmph..?" He blinked one eye open at the awkward pressure in his lap, and looked down to find a foot wriggling there. He exhaled again, this time slower, settling one hand gently on the top of her foot to gauge just how thick the stocking she had on was. Did he risk reaching to remove it, or.. He curled his fingers into the stocking's material, tugging it down toward her ankle..wanting to get its hem low enough so that when he reached for it, rolled it, then slipped the entire garment off, it wouldn't look as horrible as he knew it would otherwise. The piece of cloth was set aside onto the edge of the bar beside him.

It was difficult to watch him undress her, even if it was nothing more than a sock. At the same time, she couldn't very well look off right then, either. It was going to be a lose/lose situation no matter the way the cake was sliced. Her hand had no direction when it landed over her mouth, fingers crawling upward and splaying over her eyes in faux shielding. Even she knew it was easy to tell she was attentive to his every single motion. A bare foot set before him, the slight pink shade lacquered her toe nails. They wiggled underneath the pressure of being watched. "...a-ah..." a sound of protest left her, strangely not willing to remove the limb from his lap now that it was present. She didn't want to fall or hurt herself even greater.

"If it hurts, tell me. Okay?" He didn't looked up. He could feel the attention placed on him. The fingers of his left hand curved around the top of her foot, her fragility felt with even the lightest touch. He settled the thumb of that hand right next to the ball of her foot..his other thumb at the base of her arch where it met the heel..and pressed. The pressure was even, and light, gradually increasing as his thumbs rotated in opposite directions.

"May~ Dun worry. I'll help yous, if yous look like you're gonna fall." she said softly, before her soda was set onto the bar top. May looked like she felt unsteady.

She wasn't worried about being unsteady. The only thing she was worried about was, "Mmhnm!" she released a sound that was unnatural for somebody of her caliber; exotic and hot from a parting mouth. It occurred the very moment his hand curled the end of her heel and pressed inward with enough pressure to stimulate the nerves. Toes curled, another emitting immediately afterward. ...okay, so she felt unsteady. That was due in part to how she shoved from him, stumbling backward. Ballet training or not, she was stumbling when her leg straightened and met the ground. She was all kinds of horrified, different from how she lost her last bottle of water.

May's reaction had her blinking several times, and Reaching out to keep her from falling, when she stumbled, although it seemed like she wasn't going to need it. It was still good to have it, Just in case, Right?

A jolt of pleasure suddenly rocketed down his spine. He didn't even notice that he was unsteady too, the stool rocking back then falling to all four legs with a firm thump. His empty fingers curled into his palms. His gaze wouldn't leave her even if he wanted it to, both light and dark irises shrouded in a heated blur that he couldn't hide. His ears were red, so were his cheeks, but his expression was serious. To him, she was the only thing in the room, he couldn't see anything else..nothing else mattered. The urge to go to her pained him almost as much as the erratic twisting beats of his heart. He would never, ever, forget that sound.

Her breaths were shallow, like she had finished a marathon at a neck breaking pace. Reaching in haste, she collected her tossed aside piece of clothing, deftly replacing it on nothing but a single leg. She was staring back at his panicked expression, but for entirely different, unknown reasons. The shake in her lungs continued, a shiver rather than a fearful huff, which expanded to the length of the entire handled leg. She needed to sit, or lean, or do something besides stand there and continue to make a total idiot out of herself. She resulted to slumping against the counter, rear finding a stool that seemed readily placed just for her. And smothered her face in her only hand.

He started to say something, then paused, the very idea of stringing words together absurdly difficult. What would he even say, that he was sorry.. He didn't do anything, really, and she-- His hands closed into tight fists. His mouth was suddenly dry, and ached. He watched her, knowing he shouldn't, not with his face like this, not with these thoughts in his head. It was agony not touching her now, his entire body thrummed with the need to do it again.

Raelyn's watching them both... rather curiously, her eyes flickering from May, then Toby, then back again. She wasn't.. exactly expecting something like this to come out of her simple question to Toby.

Her throat rattled. She'd nearly climaxed into a new era, yet to even herself, the purest form of grace, she wasn't aware. Had she, the embarrassment would have unfolded deeper, greater. Or she would have desired to discover where the end of that road went. Shoving off of the bar, legs weaker than wet noodles holding up a table, she separated herself from the table, ambling in a drunken sway toward the door. Air sounded nice. So nice. For once in her life, she was the one shouldering past whomever happened to be her path, shouldering through the door.

His heated eyes trailed after her, his mouth parting, letting his breathe easier. He had forgotten how easily she could capture him with the simplest thing. His body was holding itself together by the seams, his blood boiling in his veins, but his movements were smooth and fluid, a predator finally slipping into the grass after its prey. He let himself down off the stool, blinking, dropping his eyes to his foot when it landed on something other than floorboards. Her shoe. He chuckled dryly, and bent down to retrieve it, a quick glance passing over Rae before he too headed toward the door.