Khalid walked through the small village of his birth. Despite its size, the village was close to the castle of the ruling kingdom, Slynth. Due to this, many of his kind were prosecuted daily. But he had avoided notice so far. He kept quiet in his small little shack, going about his business. He had lasted his whole 18 years minding his own business. There was no point to bringing notice to himself. At least, none if he wanted to keep his life. He saw what happened to those who made themselves known. He didn't want to end up on the empire's blacklist. Not like the Resistance.

Now, that was a troubling thing. The Resistance continued to harbor a community of Special Humans. They continuously waged war with all twelve human kingdoms. But Khalid never saw purpose in it. He was happy with his life. He didn't want to ruin that. And thus, his day continued.

He walked off through the market. It was surprising. Not a lot of people were there. It unnerved him a little. But he continued on. He reached the market and smiled lightly at the one in charge. "I'd just like some milk, please." He handed him some gold. But the man shook his head sadly, moving away. Before Khalid could do anything, he saw armed soldiers coming in from both way from the market. "What...is this...?" he asked, cautiously.

Then he broke out into a run. Like hell he was going to get caught like the others.

She was entirely too excited about her first assignment. It would probably be a little more accurate to say she was nervous though. The two emotions mingled together inside of her, vying over which was more dominant. She couldn't be sure if she would do well or not, but her training was complete at that point. It had been hard leaving Lagoir. She had never been outside her hometown before that point, not even once and though the village she was in wasn't big by any stretch - Lagoir was much tinier. She was already homesick and missed Sanae terribly. She pushed the woman far from her mind as she focused on the purpose of the particular mission she was given.

Some male named Khalid as far as she knew, she didn't know much other than that he was her elder by three years. She worked her way through the market, blending in as one of the other customers and she waited until she saw him take off. She was prior informed as to his appearance so it didn't take much to pick him out. He was also running which was just an added bonus to indicate that he was one of the Specials.

She pushed off after him, giving into the chase immediately. She could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest while adrenaline coursed through each and every vein. Her hand wavered to her hip, removing one of the hooked daggers concealed underneath her cloak.

She wished that with the assignment, she would have at least been granted the opportunity to wear some more conventional clothing. It was frowned on for women to wear anything different than dresses. If she didn't have to hide before lashing out after her victim then she might have been given the luxury of breeches. Since she was without leggings, she struggled to move amid the difficulty of her dress.

"Wait!"

The word was chosen carefully to distract him and allow her to catch up. After all, it was highly unlikely for someone to shout wait opposed to stop. That coupled with her young, feminine voice was surely enough to slow him down if only for a brief moment.

Khalid slowed slightly, glancing back. He had heard the shout, not taking it as a threat at first. But as he saw her, his hands rose instinctually. He could sense something about her. It came with his powers. And before she could do much else, she would feel herself weighed down. He turned and darted into an alleyway. He sprinted as long as he could, eventually coming out on the other side and instantly running towards a house. He hopped up, his foot catching on the wall and giving him just enough leverage to jump again, making it to the roof.

To say he was scared was an understatement. He was terrified. He had heard what happened to some Specials. He'd be tortured and killed savagely by the humans. He wasn't very fond to find out how they would do so. But he knew it would happen. Thus, he wouldn't let them catch him. He couldn't let them. He'd leave this city and start a new life. Far away from this place...

Though, that thought didn't last him long. So caught up was he in his escape, he had failed to pay attention to what was in front of him. Tripping, he grunted as he hit the ground, roll to the edge of the roof. He slipped off, crashing into a couple of trash bins. "Ugh...damn it..." he muttered before twisting away and getting up. But the crash had attracted the rest of them. By this point, that woman and several of the guards would be able to hear him and easily come to the opening of the alleyway. Turning around, he found himself at a dead end.

So...there was nothing for it, he supposed. Sighing lightly, he turned to the opening, hands held up in surrender. As he saw the girl and the guards, he smiled calmly, masking all his fear. He appeared to be unafraid. "Ah, guess you caught me. I give up," he stated simply, smiling sheepishly at the statement.

The king smiled. "Good choice..." he said. He drew a sword, holding it towards her. But even as he did, time was slowing down. By the time the king held the sword towards her, he had stopped completely. Though, Khalid still moved as if nothing happened, as did Rosemarie. And, the adviser.

The adviser smiled as he saw this, stepping over to the king and running a finger down the side of his face. "Ah...and so it begins..." The sword was taken by the adviser, flipped in his hand carelessly, and allowed to vanish. It appeared in front of Khalid, stabbed into the ground. "Go ahead. Take that sword up and kill the one who was about to kill you..." Khalid looked confused at hearing the offer. But that just caused him to continue. "This man...he's killed thousands of your kind. And likely he will kill thousands more. You have a choice now to end it. End his genocide of your people."

Khalid hesitated. But then stood. The shackles around his wrists came off like nothing, crashing to the ground behind him. "Nope," he said simply, shrugging. "I have no interest in killing. Honestly? I'd prefer not to kill, if given the chance..."

He sighed, turning to Rosemarie. "Then, what about you? Would you kill this man? Ending the genocide that he causes?" Khalid glanced to her, his eyes clearly hoping she'd deny him. He didn't want to kill anyone. He just wanted to live in peace. And to live in peace with the humans, he wouldn't get anything done by killing a monarch.

She watched as the king's movements became a hindrance until he began to freeze. That didn't really make sense though... The dampener usually worked. It should have worked. She also couldn't get past why, if he had his powers still, that she and the adviser were able to control their movements if the king wasn't. Weren't they a threat too?

And the adviser... He was siding with the Special. That didn't make any sense. They were supposed to eliminate Specials because they were a danger to society and threatened the lives of other people. So was the adviser really an avid believer of what he'd been working against, and was saying what he did to save his own life? Or did he really think that a stop needed to be put to it?

Rosemarie wasn't entirely sure what to make of the situation, she had never been so thoroughly confused before. It astounded her that her whole world had flipped like that though. Were Specials really worth eliminating? She stepped forward and grasped the sword by its hilt before pulling it out of the ground. She stepped forward to stand in front of the king.

She stared at the man before her and sucked in a deep breath. She had never killed before and she wasn't sure if she would either. Would she be helping anything if she murdered the king? Was that really what she should do? If she did then she would be on the run for a while if there was reason to suspect she was part of it. But then...

"I'm sorry, Sanae." The words were whispered quietly and eyes were closed.

Khalid hesitated a moment as he saw her come before him. But his eyes widened as she turned that sword on the king. Lunging forward without a second though, he moved in front of her, grabbing hold of the blade. "No! Don't!" he shouted, trying to stop her. "We don't need to kill for our cause! We'll learn to live in peace! We'll learn to in time!" He tried to get her to stop, but, during the struggling, he came a bit too close to the king. For some reason, the blade was forced out of her hand, showing more strength than the boy should be capable of. But in his turn around, the blade sliced across the king's throat.

Rosemarie stared as the blade of the sword swing in a horizontal arch over the king's shoulders and her eyes didn't open when she heard the head roll off and onto the floor. She dared to peek at the sight before her and she felt her stomach churn with the bones poking up through the slaughtered neck, blood began to ooze out slowly. She really was going to be sick...

The adviser laughed, fading away as time sped up again. "Perfect! Perfect, boy!" he cried out as he faded completely. "Rosemarie! She's killed the king!" The body fell to the ground lifeless and Khalid stared in shock at the body. Then fell to his knees lightly, looking at the sword. It fell from his grasp, landing at the girl's feet as he stared at the body.

Rosemarie would have allowed Khalid to stop her, she wasn't that adamant about taking the life of another that she would have fought against him in order to do it. She wasn't sure why the blade flew from them and proceeded to cut across the king's neck. She blinked, dazed and realized that the adviser was gone. Where could he have gone? Did he have another role in all of this?

But he couldn't' stay in a stupor. Soldiers burst into the room, hearing the commotion. All their weapons were drawn, but Khalid quickly leapt away, moving away from the throne. "What's going on here!?" one guard shouted. "Rosemarie!? What have you done?" They haven't realized how Khalid could have escaped the handcuffs and killed the king. And from the declaration from the adviser, she was the only one they'd suspect. Of course, they'd take Khalid too...but she was now seen as a traitor.

Khalid cursed lightly, pointing towards the window. "Hurry! Out that way! We can get away from them!" he shouted to her. He didn't particularly care about getting away, but he wouldn't let the girl get killed or imprisoned as a traitor. She didn't have to. There was no point to it.

One thing she knew for certain was that she was about to be manacled and locked up. This was not looking good at all. She couldn't even find the words to offer up an explanation for her actions. There was no doubt that there would be a death sentence for her. She wasn't sure how to feel either. She was daunted mostly, by the thought of never seen her mother or Sanae again. That she might have to find some means of escaping and hiding in order to survive. She began to think frantically about what she could say to dissuade the guards.

"I didn't do it," she insisted and jerked her head towards Khalid as well as pointing a finger his way. "The Special did it!"

She was sure they would believe her over a Special, but that also meant that she would have to find some of helping him if they chose to trust her.

Normally, Rosemarie wouldn't have taken up with men she didn't know. She would never have compromised her safety by threatening the king's life either. She didn't know what she had been thinking. Something had apparently come over her and she didn't understand just what it was. She didn't utter any words to the man at first, but her fingers tightened around his when his hand reached to grab for her.

Her eyes struggled to adjust to her surroundings as they gradually became more shrouded in the darkness. Her breathing was labored and frantic and she attempted to slow or catch it while she clung to the only semblance of safety in the near vicinity. It was evident by the way her fingers shook with the tiniest of tremors, and the way the rest of her body shook with involuntary movements, that she had never been overcome with quite the amount of trepidation as she was at that very moment.

Slender digits continued to squeeze tighter while her feet worked a faster rhythm to keep up with Khalid.

Khalid slowly began to ease his pace as the darkness surrounded them. They could just barely see their surrounding. And the rest was shrouded in shadows. The light from the edge of the forest had long been extinguished...so that just left them alone. He glanced around at the surrounding forest and then gulped lightly. "I wonder if this was such a good idea in the first place..." he murmured before starting forward again.

He had squeezed her hand reassuringly, feeling her tremors and wanting to calm her down. He continued forward, trying to figure out where to go. "Er...We should keep moving through here...We'll come out on the opposite end of the forest and figure out where to go from there..." he told her, trying to get somewhat of a decent plan. "We'll be away from the soldiers and the Angels and the Dem-" He froze as he noticed a low sound. A hissing sound from all around them.

A single creature slithered out from the trees. It had the body of a black snake, growing up into a snake-like torso and a snake-like head. It basically looked like the largest snake either of them would ever have seen, the scaly body slithering easily along the ground. "Er...maybe...not away from the Demons..." Khalid said, starting to step back, but keeping in front of Rosemarie. He was almost protective of her, despite what had transpired earlier.

"Humanssssss?" the snake creature hissed as more began to come out around them. "What do you think you are doing here?" It moved closer, going around them to look them over. "Maybe we'll get a meal..."

"No..." Another one that had come out. A much larger one than that first one. Obviously the leader. "Lord Daemossssss requesssssts their presssssence." Khalid glanced back at the girl, checking to see how she was dealing with it. His powers were ready to protect both of them if he needed to. He wanted to make sure both of them could get out of this forest alive.

Rosemarie bit her trembling lap and though her palms were growing sweaty for a myriad of reasons, she didn't let go. She did relax somewhat with the comforting grasp of her companion's hand. She held on even when Khalid moved to stand in front of her, hanging on as though she feared she would lose her life if she let go. The serpentine voices that greeted her caused chills to shoot up her spine and the fear assaulted her once more, crushing her with the resurgent wave of terror.

She wasn't sure whether this... Daemos, or whatever his name was, intended to kill them or not. She had no idea what purpose he would have with them. The knowledge that Khalid was a Special did help her somewhat. She wasn't sure why she suddenly trusted him, but she was sure that he could use his powers to prevent them from dying should it come down to that.

A smile faltered to her lips and her steps were uneasy. She gave Khalid's hand a squeeze and stepped forward suddenly, her chin was lifted with a new born confidence. Her eyes rested on the largest of the Demons, "Would you care to lead the way then?"

Khalid smiled at her, giving a short nod. "I don't expect you to help me," he said. "You're a human soldier. The Specials won't like it much. So...you're welcome to leave if you wish it." He shrugged, letting the snake demon take them. It wasn't that long before they broke out of the surrounding forest. Khalid had to wince against the sudden light that shined down on them, but quickly slipped off the beast, holding his hand up to allow Rosemarie to come down as well.

"Pleassssse...ssssssave masssssster..." Slynth hissed out, looking to the two. Khalid hesitated. He didn't intend to follow through indefinitely yet. But, the tone was a bit pleading. Not like that arrogant king. So he gave a nod. Satisfied, Slynth retreated back into the forest.

Khalid then turned back to the girl he now traveled with, smiling at her. Before them was a large mountain. At the base of that mountain, a platform stood with a giant boulder held firmly against the rock wall. "Now...I won't make you come with me. You're free to go from here. I can't ask you to do more...You should be safe now if you can escape to another kingdom and take up service there."

Rosemarie listened to what he had to say at first then climbed off the serpentine creature quickly and eagerly. She didn't really appreciate having to sit on the scaly surface. She didn't like reptiles as it were, but those things were huge... That and she got the feeling that one would randomly turn her into a meal. She tried to push thoughts of her being devoured out of her mind to focus on what Khalid was saying though watched the beast leave in the process.

"I don't really care... I don't want to be left alone." She pressed her lips tightly together and drew them into her mouth awkwardly. Her hand moved up to her hair to brush it back. "I'm with you though, aren't I?" She inquired before continuing on her train of thought, "I am only one soldier. I am hardly a threat to them and there is probably more than one special there as well. I'm sure... I'm sure even you would be able to stop me. It's not like I have any of the dampener with me now."

She eyed the scenery around them and attempted to judge how long it would take them to reach their destination and the length of time it might take them to get back. She didn't realize how much time had passed, but she ignored her stomach. It only occurred to her then that she hadn't eaten since the morning, but eating was the furthest thing from her mind. She was more concerned with what all was going to happen. Where were they going to sleep when the time came? And if it did come time for them to turn in, would one of those snake things be with them? She really did not like that idea.

She knew though... that even if it were just her and Khalid at that point, she probably wouldn't be able to sleep well. She was entirely too frightened by everything that had happened. Surely something would sneak up and attack them in their sleep or something.

Khalid hesitated a moment. "It's more than just you being a threat. You can leak information. They'll see that," he said, but shook his head. "However, if you don't want to be alone...I won't stop you from coming along either." He smiled confidently at her, trying to appear more confident than he actually felt. He never liked fighting. It wasn't his strong suit. So how much good could he be? "I'll protect you if anything happens."

He turned towards the mountain, climbing up to the platform and moving over to the boulder. "The Demons said the entrance should be right outside the forest..." he commented, moving over to the boulder. He placed his hand on it and stepped back quickly as it moved slightly. It rolled to the side effortlessly, revealing an opening in the mountain. Standing inside was a single man with a mask covering his face.

He was dressed simply in a black tunic and black pants, going barefoot with the mask covering his features. He seemed plain enough beside that purely white mask. Though, it unnerved Khalid a bit to see him waiting on them like that. The man tilted his head to the side, looking curious. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"...My name is Khalid," he said, smiling. "This is Rosemarie. We're on the run from the humans...I'd like to join your group." He tried to keep the smile, not sure if this would work.

But the man simply nodded in response. "You'll meet with our master then." He turned and walked into the cave, expecting them to follow. Khalid instantly moved forward, only glancing back to check if Rosemarie was following.

Rosemarie bobbed her as he spoke and chose not to argue her thoughts aloud. She didn't figure it was the best time to do that. Although, she had reason for them to side with her. Didn't she? It was mostly her fault that the king was dead. Well... partly. The adviser could have been to blame too, she supposed. Either way, she was on the run from the humans as well. They would send her to the gallows or something if they found her. That's what she thought anyways.

She tried not to seem as daunted as she felt. Khalid was the closest she had ever been to a Special. If she had met one before him or been in the presence of one then she hadn't known it, but this was more. Way more... What if they tried to get some kind of revenge on her for having worked with the guards? She'd been trained to hunt their kind after all.

Khalid had promised to protect her though and she really wanted to believe he would. She thought she was safer with him then by herself anyways. At least he could slow other people down so that they couldn't touch her, but would he be able to hold off all the Specials there if it came down to it? Not a thought she wanted to think deeply on.

Her feet moved and she trailed after the two men, her eyes moved around and she prepared to adjust to the darkness of the cave should it not be lit up at all.

Khalid shook his head slowly. "I figured someone would tell us soon..." he said, walking out of the cafeteria. As they stepped out though, there were four Specials waiting out there. One was Geisho, arms crossed as he watched them. Another was a boy with pale eyes, seeming to look through them as he saw the two. Another was a large man, metal covering his body. The last was a small boy, smiling cheerfully as he saw the two.

Geisho sighed a bit. "From Gargan's orders, you two will be sharing a room. We don't trust you completely yet. And because of that, we want to keep any eye on you easier," he explained. "You'll find a bath inside the room and anything else you'll need. He also wants you to demonstrate your powers tomorrow. He'd like your help with some jobs, but needs to know how best to place you two into groups."

Khalid hesitated, but nodded. "Unavoidable, I guess..." he said with a sigh. "Only thing I ask is that we get placed in the same group. We know each others' powers and its easier for us to work together than with another Special I don't know that well." He smiled, but Geisho shrugged. It would be up to Gargan anyway.

"If you'll follow me...I'll take you to your room." Geisho turned and started to walk off, the other three following him.

She looked over the small group assembled together and she felt the panic crush her chest and swell within her in a turbulent wave. She was going to have to demonstrate her skill the next day? How was that going to work? Sure, Khalid said he had it all planned out so did that mean she was actually going to have to do it? Would they be able to finish their assignment before then or...

She chose to push it from her mind. The bath sounded like it would be nice... She could use it to relax and she was probably filthy after the day she had. For the most part, she had remained silent. She couldn't resist the question that escaped her though, "Geisho... Do you think we could get a change of clothes?" There was a pause and she looked down at her dress which was caked in dirt and torn in all sorts of places from the adventure they had. "We're kind of filthy," she explained in case he hadn't cared to notice.

Geisho regarded her for a moment. But then nodded. "Yes. It's been provided," he said, leading them down the hall. They were brought to a room soon after. It was relatively small, considering. But big enough for the two of them to deal with. A doorway led off to the bathroom, a large bath built into the ground. Besides that, there was nothing really to speak of. A single bed and no door to block the bathroom off. It was obviously meant for only one person.

Khalid raised an eyebrow, but the others were already off, telling them to rest up for tomorrow. They'd get their assignment then. The boy then just went back to staring. "Er...Okay. I'll take the floor. You can have the bed," he said quietly, glancing at the doorway to the bathroom. "And...er...I'll stay in here...and stare at the wall while you take a bath..." His face flushed a little, embarrassed at the situation. He hadn't thought about this happening...

She didn't really mind the thought of sharing a room, but what she saw? It was far too... intimate. It wasn't as though they were both female. Had she been with Sanae or her mother then she wouldn't have minded, but she hardly knew the man and it wasn't as though he were her husband or something. He was far from it. She stared at the sight before her and found herself speechless for a few moments.

"Eh... I don't really have to bathe... I mean..." What if he peeped? Men were perverts! He wouldn't be able to resist, she was certain of that! She glanced over her shoulder. The Specials probably couldn't afford to accommodate them with separate rooms even if they weren't trying to keep their eye on them. "I'll just... just..." She did still need to change, she couldn't sleep in the bed with clothes as dirty as hers were. She eyed him skeptically. "Well, you'll just have to promise not to watch!" Her cheeks were a stark crimson hue.

"O-Of course," Khalid said immediately, defensively. He walked over to the wall and plopped down in front of it, sitting cross legged as he did. His arms crossed too, bowing his head a bit. He could use the time to think anyway. "What do you take me for anyway? I'm not a pervert. I'm above such degradable acts..." he muttered a bit from his corner, not turning in the least. He also had made sure to put himself in a corner that had a bad angle to the bathroom. She would have privacy unless he openly moved.

While he sat there though, he started to think of how to trick the Specials. He had ideas. But that was it. It wouldn't last forever. And for them to work at all, he needed to stay with her at all times. His powers would be able to compensate for both of them if he stretched it. He just need to make sure he was near her. Besides that, she could say she didn't like using the powers unless absolutely necessary. It would work out. Somewhat anyway.

"Ah...Sounds like a wonderful person," he commented, glancing at her with a smile. "I would love to meet her. You obviously hold her in high regard..." He sunk below the water for a moment, but then came back up, shaking his head. He slowly crawled out of the tub, drying himself off before changing into some of the clothing they had out for them. It was a plain blue shirt with plain blue leggings. Nothing big, but he didn't expect much from the Resistance.

As he came back in, he smiled at her. "You can turn around now. I'm decent at least," Khalid commented. He hadn't put the shirt on yet, letting his hair dry before he would. His body was nearly flawless, but for a scar cut above his breast, right above where his heart would be. He sat down against the wall next to their bathroom and rested his head on the wall. "But that raises the question. Why stick with me? You sound like you have a family that loves you. Why are you staying here when you have the chance to return to them instead?"

She shrugged her shoulders at first and only rolled over onto her other side to look at him when the question escaped him. She lifted a brow at first. Was he really that daft?

"They think I murdered the king, and why shouldn't they? I almost did." Her lips pursed tightly together and she shook her head as best as one can when the bed hinders some of the movement. "They'll be looking for me. I'm wanted for murder and the way they'll look at it... I helped a Special escape. Even if they don't send me to the gallows, I'm likely to spend a deal of time behind bars. So why wouldn't I stay with you? At least I'm not running by myself then..."

A heavy sigh escaped her, "I really don't think that going home is the best decision for me right now... I mean... Don't you think that's one of the first places that they'll look? Lagoir's a very small village as it is. I can't really risk hiding there. I just hope that my king is a little more sympathetic than yours and won't punish my family for my mistakes."

Khalid winced lightly at the comment. "...Sorry..." he murmured. "I didn't mean to cause you trouble...I don't even know what happened there...I didn't do anything to slow the king down. I was prepared to die..." He scratched the back of his head. "I didn't mean to drag you into something like this..." He sighed, curling up a bit as his knees came to his chest. He felt terrible over the fact. Sure, she had wanted to kill him. But that didn't make him want to harm her in anyway. It just made him more cautious. He'd run, but he'd never fight. He always figured it would just prove everyone right about the Specials and make him less likely to be believed.

After a moment, he glanced towards the door before looking to her. "How far is Lagoir?" he asked. "Maybe we can visit. Not long, but just to check if your family is okay. Least I can do for causing you so much trouble like this. If we'll be getting missions, I'll take a detour there for some other mission and pay a visit to make sure they're being treated alright..."

"Why would you apologize when your life was about to be taken?" She wasn't entirely sure where he got off saying he was sorry when she was the one who had told the king to kill him in the first place. If anything, it was her who should be sorry.

Her tone became more stern when he suggested an excursion from their assignment, "We are here for a reason, Khalid. We have to get that boy and... There's no point in being here for that reason if we're going to change course for Lagoir. Besides... I told you, they'll be looking for us in Lagoir so it's not such a good idea and the journey is a long one. It would take at least five days to get there and that's only if we go by carriage and without pause. It doesn't really seem like a good idea to me. Let's just stick with what we're doing for now."

Khalid hesitated. "I suppose you're right," he said, shrugging as he slumped over to lie down on the floor. It looked uncomfortable. And felt even more so with nothing but the cold stone to sleep on. He was adamant about letting the girl take the bed for the night. "And I apologize because I meant to die there. Killing the king only proves everyone right about us..." He sighed quietly. "I don't want to be known for that. I would have just rolled over and died. Smiling to the last. Even if I died, maybe people would begin to see that we aren't all like that..." He laughed mirthlessly. "Worked out great, huh?"

Sighing quietly, he let himself recede into his thoughts as he lay there, his head cushioned with his arm. He closed his eyes, but he was still listening to Rosemarie if she spoke. "And, why would we trust Demons? I'll look into the situation here. I never intended to definitely help them..." He shrugged. "Yes, they deserve the same chance we Specials deserve. So I'll check. But, depending on circumstances, I'll go back on what I said I'd do for them."

Rosemarie didn't realize that there was a method to his madness. She didn't really think it through that the king's death only gave the people further reason to hunt Specials. She was more concerned about the prices she would pay as a result. That must have been part of why he had tried to stop her. It didn't matter anymore, it was too late.

"The Demons could be just like your people," she argued. She didn't really know, but it was the truth. She had always looked at Specials and Demons as beings who didn't deserve to walk on the same soil as the humans. "Maybe they're just trying to survive and keep from being hunted too? I don't see how it hurts to help them."

Rosemarie scrutinized him suddenly as she realized he intended to sleep there. There was no use in him not getting a good night's sleep, he might need whatever strength he could get... "You can't sleep on the floor," she told him and patted the spot beside her. "Get up here." Normally, she would have allowed a man to take the floor. Her mother would have preferred it that way. However, she didn't expect he's try anything sneaky after keeping his eyes off her while she bathed. She rolled over to the edge of the bed, giving him as much room as he needed so that he didn't have to get too close.

She committed what he said to memory, not that she really needed to. The lie itself was pretty easy to go along with as it were. She would just have to remember to feign concentration when it came time to display the abilities that she didn't have. She only hoped that the extent of Khalid's power was vast enough to stretch between them and make it seem as though they each possessed a separate power.

Her hand continued to hold onto his once he reached for her own, hanging onto it to reassure herself. She did turn herself away after he did though, keeping her back to his to conform to her culture's view of how she should lie if forced to that situation. A sigh escaped her and she closed her eyes.

"Goodnight," she murmured with a volume that was near inaudible. She allowed herself to doze off at that point, her breathing became heavy and even while she waited to see what the following day would bring them. She could only hope that it went well. Better yet... she hoped that she lived through it. Who knew what would happen if the Specials became suspicious and forced her away from Khalid somehow.

The next morning, Khalid was up with the sun rising. He rolled out of bed, yawning lightly as he glanced around. He always got up this early. He needed to get up that early to prepare for the day. He exercised daily, making sure he was in good shape if he ever did need to run quickly. And, even here, he stuck to his routine. He stripped off his shirt so it wouldn't get covered in sweat and dropped to the ground, doing sit ups. He continued along his routine, eventually working up a decent sweat and panting slightly.

Once he was done, he got to his feet and walked over to the bathroom. He sighed as he turned it on, setting out a towel and a pair of pants. Once the tub was filled, he stripped and submerged himself, letting the warm waters relax his muscles. He washed himself clean, but did it a lot quicker now than before. He glanced over, seeing Rosemarie shift a bit. But figured she was still asleep. So he let the water drain, getting out of the tub and taking the towel to start drying himself. After this, he'd have to get ready for the day. They were supposed to go show off their power today. And probably had a mission besides that.

Rosemarie didn't feel Khalid crawl out of bed and she pushed herself up into a sitting position. She almost expected to wake up in her cabin back at the castle, figuring that the day that preceded the one she was roused to was nothing more than an odd dream. Her gaze moved to the spot beside her once she realized where she was and scanned the room upon discovering it empty. Forest greens traveled across the room to where she finally spied him.

She was still drowsy so it took her a while to realize that he was nude even though she was clearly staring at where he stood. It was apparent that the reality of it all was delayed for her reaction time was completely off.

"Oh... Oh my god!" Her voice climbed up to the point of being shrill. Did that mean he planned on assaulting her? Maybe he already had?!! He could have slipped her something easily. He did have powers and everything.

Rosemarie's hand reached for pillows which she immediately began throwing across the room at Khalid, hurtling them as some sort of vengeance for him scarring her poor eyes. She was clearly flustered and she turned away once she was out of ammo to hide her face. Like a match to dry wood, her cheeks were flaming the brightest crimson that ever grazed her features. Surely, she was not meant to see that!

Khalid's eyes widened as she screamed, putting his towel over his private areas, his face turning a deep crimson almost instantly. He hadn't expected her up even this early. But he should have figured it with her being a soldier. As she threw stuff at him, he caught the pillows and tossed them down in front of him, grunting a bit as he did. Sighing, he stepped back, wrapping the towel around him more firmly.

"I-I'm so sorry...Didn't think you'd be awake this early..." he said quietly, gathering his fresh clothes and started to pull his pants on underneath the towel. His face didn't lose the red tinge as he did. Once the pants were on him, he tossed the towel aside, sighing slightly. "I'm really sorry...Should've waited for you to wake up..." He groaned lightly, coming into the room with his shirt in his hand and sitting down next to the doorway.

After a moment, he moved towards the door, getting up again. "Er...should I go?" he asked cautiously, not sure if she wanted him to leave. "I can go get breakfast and let you do whatever you need to...Figured you don't want to be around me anyway...A bit awkward with that..." It was clear he was nervous. His words ran quickly when he was. He forced himself to stop, biting his tongue lightly to keep him from continuing to spew them out uselessly, waiting for her response as he stood next to the door.

She grumbled something under her breath along the lines of, "Well... you thought wrong now, didn't you?" It was a little hard to decipher what exactly was said with the grunts that escaped her and the way her teeth gritted together. She stayed put until he spoke and dared to look his way only when he asked his last question. She could sort of tell by the movement that he was probably dressed and at the door by that point.

She climbed out of the bed and began to pick up the pillows that were strewn across the room, returning them to their original home silently. She didn't know if he'd take her lack of words as means for him to leave so she moved quickly before starting for the door. Rosemarie smoothed out the creases of her scarlet dress, a shade that wasn't worn because it matched her name so much as it was one of her preferred colors. She didn't see a necessity in changing after she'd only slept in it.

"There's no need in separating," she muttered finally. "I don't want to risk them getting me by myself. It could spoil the plan."

Khalid let his power loose as he saw her focus. "Give her a moment...Sometimes takes a bit..." he said, watching her as if he was just making sure she could do this. After a few moments, a small vine began to sprout up from a crack. In only a few moments, the vine had grown to cover the entrance to the base.

Gargan looked mildly impressed. "I see. So metal and plants. Interesting combination..." he commented. "Alright. You two will be allowed to join our operation for today. Geisho is leading it. So I'll allow him to explain this..." He nodded to Geisho before heading back inside the base, the boulder sliding in place of the doorway to block it off again.

Geisho gave a small nod. "It's a simple mission. We'll be heading to a nearby village to talk to a contact about our pay. He'll have a few supplies and gold for us in return for a package we have. The problem that requires all of us...is that human soldiers are patrolling it. They caught word of several Specials being there. So...we'll need to be careful. And, for that, we'll have the others explain their abilities..."

The large man gave a nod. "My name is Bruno. I've got super strength for the most part..." he said. Then metal coated his body, making him metallic. "And I can have metal form over my body...Not as complicated as your powers, I'm sure, but it works." The metal receded.

The pale eyed boy tilted his head a bit. "I'm...more of a spirit, I suppose. My name is Rei. I can move see a greater distance than most people and, sometimes, through objects," he said, shrugging.

The other boy, grinned happily. "And I'm Jake. I can transfer my spirit into another object. Harder to do it to a person, but possible in theory if the person's weaker. Nice to meet you," he said.

Geisho gave a nod. "Let's get moving. We'll be there within the hour and have to get to work...Understood?" he asked, glancing over the group.

She didn't really think that Khalid had such a wide range of abilities. She figured it would be limited to one thing, maybe two. At first, she assumed his power was to slow things down and manipulate time somehow. Then he pulled that metal bending out... and yet again, there was the whole deal with the plants. She wondered if there was more to it or if that was all.

She paid close attention to those who spoke, retaining whatever it was they said for later. She figured that it might be a good idea were she to speak to the guards somehow and make a way for the other Specials to pass. In order to do that, she would have to reveal herself to those around her. Probably not such a good idea.

She decided to stick with the plan, remaining silent and nodding only to agree with Geisho once he spoke. Other than that, she kept as quiet as possible and stuck to her attempt at blending in among them.

Her hand released Khalid's hesitantly and she moved away from him and their new comrades before allowing the Guard to guide her away. If she felt uncomfortable being among the Specials, she was more unsettled with the new group of people she walked among.

Rosemarie didn't take too much time to look over her surroundings while they moved into the vicinity of the village. She was preoccupied with explaining how she got away from the Guards. It wasn't until she was pushed into a jail cell did she realize where she was. Surely, she didn't need to be placed behind bars for the interrogation. That was a little much. She also noticed that the particular cell she found herself in was the only one around and that the three Guards who had accompanied her down there were the only people present. She found the situation a little odd...

The largest of the men, the one who had initially spoke to her group was also the one who took charge at that point. "Go get the door," he bellowed to his companions and they took off to wait outside the entrance. That's what she assumed when she heard the door close and then realized they were gone.

"Now," he mused with a lick of his lips. "Let's see how ye bleed."

She offered her arm up, prepared to let him cut into skin. There were very few ways to determine if someone was a Special. Blood color just happened to be one of the few. The man swiped her limb out of the way and proceeded to push her up against the wall.

"We don't like ye Specials," he spat. "I ain't goin' t'make this easy for ye."

"I'm no Special," she argued and her fear began to climb to new levels. What had she been thinking. The group she had been with probably could have overtaken the Guards or something.

"We'll see about that," he muttered and removed the club at his hip. She shrunk against the wall and attempted to make herself as small as possible while the man closed in on her and threatened to start beating her with the weapon he wielded.

Khalid looked worried for the remainder of their time. He didn't like the thought of Rosemarie on her own. He wanted to help her. But he forced himself to believe she would be fine. So he just stuck with Geisho and the rest of the group. However, mid-way through it, as they stopped outside the tent that housed their contact, Geisho turned to him. "Head to the guard house. Make sure Rose is okay," he stated, crossing his arms. "I don't like the look of the guards. And, even as a Special, one can't take that many..." The boy paused, but then nodded, turning and heading out quickly.

Meanwhile, just as the man was about to swing, the club froze. "This doesn't seem like good behavior for a city guard..." a girl's voice came, a bit of amusement in it. And, just like that, from the shadows of the cell, a girl formed. Her hair was a snow white, but her eyes had a familiar look to them. She almost resembled Khalid in the carefree look she gave the guard, her dark eyes darkening quickly as the man whipped around to strike her. She ducked under the club and jabbed her hand up quickly, a knife finding its way to his throat.

As the man dropped lifeless to the floor, the girl smiled at her, gesturing towards the door. "Let's go...before more come back..." Just as she said that, a light glow came over the handle of the iron door. Soon, a small flame lit up on the other side and the door was shoved open easily, revealing a boy, only a few years younger than the girl. Unlike the girl, her only resemblance a look she gave, this body did look like Khalid. He had the same brown hair and crimson eyes as he surveyed the scene. He gestured for them to follow, to which the girl quickly moved forward, only pausing long enough to wait for Rose to follow.

Khalid glanced around as the metal that had become liquid formed to his hand, making a chain around his arm. He glanced between the two cautiously, but followed them out. The trip went quickly and without incident. It didn't take long to reach the edge of the village where Khalid finally relaxed, loosening his grip on Rosemarie's hand. He wasn't sure when he'd have to fight. But he was protective. He had been ready for it to defend Rose at any time.

Once they were safe though, his eyes scanned over the two newcomers. "...So...you're my siblings..." he muttered quietly. His power over nature wasn't just that of plants and such. Humans were part of nature, in a sense. And, from that, he was able to look into it and see that they were of blood relation to him. They had the same feel. And their powers were similar to his. "Shoulda guessed I had some I didn't know about..." Shrugging lightly, he glanced back. "You staying?"

The girl nodded, grinning at him. "Name's Kira. Good think Jiko found you. We've been keeping an eye on the girl since we identified you," she said brightly. "We were hoping for the chance to find you...We want to go along too." Jiko offered a nod, but was still scanning around for guards that might've followed. Once satisfied, he sighed, dropping against a tree trunk and sitting there.

Khaldi sighed lightly. "I suppose you'll be able to. Obviously Specials...You could join the Resistance..." he said, shrugging. Then glanced at Rosemarie to see how she felt about the two coming. He wasn't sure what kind of vibe she got from them. But she always seemed relieved to be around him. He figured it wouldn't be a problem. And they did save her...

Rosemarie kept quiet as per usual with her, stark green optics averted away from Khalid to look over to where the other two when she heard him mutter something about family. A slender brow perked up as she allowed herself to study them more fully.

She listened while the female spoke and didn't really like the thought of them following along without notice, even if they had been watching her in case she needed saving or something of the sort. It unnerved her a little. Her head turned back towards Khalid while she began looking for the other Specials after he mentioned the Resistance. She hadn't seen any of them yet.

"Are Geisho and the others close?"

"Moderately. They're on their way back..." Jiko said, eyes closed. His powers were letting him find them. He stayed like that for a good while before letting his eyes open. "They're here." He glanced towards the village, watching as Geisho and the others came out.

Before they could protest, Khalid spoke up quickly. "These are my...siblings. Kira and Jiko," he said, gesturing to both in turn. "They broke Rosemarie out when she was in trouble. They want to join the Resistance..."

Geisho looked both over and then sighed. "What are your powers?" he asked. "Are they similar to Khalid's?"

Both nodded before Kira smiled up at him. "My brother isn't much of a talker...I'm Kira. My powers are control over Light and Darkness. That includes solar energy and shadows...My brother controls what remains of the elements. Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth."

Geisho hesitated, but then nodded. "Alright. Whatever," he said with a sigh. "We'll talk to Gargan when we return. Until then, we'll keep an eye on you two. Don't try anything..." Kira nodded with a bright smile as Jiko got to his feet, shrugging. The two turned and followed Geisho off as the group began moving again. Khalid stepped back to Rosemarie, instinctively taking her hand again to reassure her of the situation. He knew she was still paranoid of the whole situation.

Khalid shrugged lightly. "Sounds good...Let's go then," he stated, following after Geisho and the others, Kira and Jiko not far behind. They took the paths to find Gargan in his office. Geisho stood straighter as he saw the man. "Sir. We've got two more recruits. I can give you the full briefing on the mission once we take care of them," he said quietly.

Gargan gave a nod and Kira quickly walked forward. "My name is Kira. My brother Jiko and I would like to join your cause. We've been searching for a while now. We were just lucky enough to find your group on their mission," she said with a smile. "My power comes over Darkness and Light. My brother's takes the elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. I simply ask that you give us place to stay and we'll do anything we can to repay you..."

Gargan hesitated, but then nodded. "Geisho wouldn't have brought you here if you didn't show signs of being Specials. So I can trust you to some extent," he said, looking them over curiously. "Go ahead and eat at the cafeteria. Geisho, give me the report. I hope you don't mind, but we'll be placing those two into your squad. Easier to keep a watchful eye on them." Geisho nodded his approval, waiting for the group to leave before going about his report.

As they got out, Kira smiled happily at Rosemarie, taking her wrist light to start tugging her down the hallway. "Show me where the cafeteria is. I'm famished. Been a while since I got a good meal," she said. Jiko began to follow them.

Khalid sighed lightly. "I'll go take a bath and come get you when I'm done. That sound okay?" he asked, looking at Rose before Kira could drag her off completely.

She listened intently while Gargan spoke with Geisho and Kira. Light laughter was ripped free of pale red lips when she realized that she was being dragged along by the other girl. She turned her head to find Khalid and then offered a nod to him so he would be sure she had heard him properly.

Her feet took to the hallways, trying to remember the vaguely familiar path to the cafeteria. She looked over her shoulder as they stepped inside, her hand grabbed a plate for herself and she adjusted herself to hand one over to either Kira or Jiko. Viridian orbs rested on the female, "Is he shy or does he not like to talk?"

She knew it was rude to regard him in front of his sister that way, but not quite as much had she asked the question behind his back.

Once the three had left, Khalid walked off to get into their room. Once there, he quickly started the bath and undressed, relaxing once it was full. He began to mull over what had happened. He was curious about Geisho. He didn't know whether to trust him or distrust him. But, if he distrusted, that would mean they needed to leave immediately. Or...as soon as possible...He figured he could snatch the Demon prince before heading out. Nothing to lose now, really.

Kira smiled a bit, eyes lighting up in laughter. "He's not much of a talker. He doesn't like that I'm so talkative either. He's very secretive about his thoughts and doesn't like the fact that I'm not the same way," she said, smirking a bit. "It's a bit amusing to annoy him." She began to get her food together, ignoring glares from her brother before sitting down with Rosemarie and Jiko.

Kira followed Rosemarie in and sat down against the wall, not looking at the woman the entire time as she went about her business. She didn't bother her or anything, just staying quiet and waiting for whatever Khalid had planned. She was curious at this point. And, not long after Rosemarie was finished with her bath, her curiosity was able to be answered. She went to the door when Rose was dressed, finding Khalid and Jiko waiting. As they said they would be.

Both came in quickly and Khalid sighed lightly as the door was closed. "I don't know how much we can trust Geisho," he stated immediately. "Jiko knows where the prisoner is. The hallway past Gargan's office. I want Kira to go in, pick the lock, knock the prisoner out, and bring him to us. Use the shadows to hide yourself." He didn't waste any time in explaining the situation. "From there, Gargan will know something's up. We can't do this without a bit of a scuffle. Jiko will restrain him with his earth elements. I'll help with what I can in regards to metal. But we get the demon out and leave before anyone can stop us. Is there any objection to that plan?" Kira and Jiko gave a small nod, immediately accepting the plan, it would seem. Khalid's eyes rested on Rosemarie, seeing what she wanted to do. He figured she would come. She was welcome to stay, but he knew she was worried about being found out. Nothing left for her with Khalid gone.

"I'm coming with you," she told Khalid almost immediately. She didn't want to be left there by herself, she had said that much the day before and his plan was a completely risky one. It was bad enough that there were only four of them to fight against many different Specials, but Rosemarie didn't have any abilities to harness for her own use. Sure, she had daggers... It wasn't enough when it came to fighting more than one Special though and she hadn't brought any dampener, albeit she was sure Khalid would disapprove of the dampener even if it would help them.

Khalid hesitated then nodded. "Right then..." he said quietly and glanced to Kira. "We'll start this now. The Specials are getting to bed. Gives us time to work. Gargan shouldn't suspect a thing until he's already trapped." Kira gave a nod before following what he said with Jiko close behind her. He watched the door close shut behind them as they went to fulfill their task and free the demon prince.

Sighing lightly, he looked to Rosemarie, smiling at her. "Everything will turn out fine..." he murmured to her, touching her hand lightly with his. "Once we're out of here, I'll get you to a human kingdom. You can start over from there...It'll be better for you, I'm sure. Better than being seen with a group of Special Humans..." He shrugged a bit, smiling at her before wincing slightly as pain came up from the side of his face. He touched it lightly with his free hand, but ignored it otherwise, looking back to Rosemarie to see how she felt about the plan.

Rosemarie didn't think the plan was completely fool proof, but she wasn't going to argue it either. Daemos had said that they needed to bring the prince back with them if they wanted to get any further. Obviously, they couldn't reside with the Resistance without them picking up on the fact that she was a mere human. They'd start to suspect why she never displayed her abilities without Khalid's presence, maybe.

She wasn't sure she exactly liked the thoughts of taking up a life in a human kingdom without her family or Khalid with her, but it was probably better as well. She didn't think she could return home after the king ruling over Slynth was killed and she couldn't keep running with a Special either. Eventually, people would discover him and try to hunt him and if she intended to stay with him then she would have to run to.

"Sounds good," she acquiesced at last.

Khalid gave a nod, moving towards the door. He tried to shove down his feelings of foreboding after what he would have to do. But there was no helping it. He'd figure things out along the way. They needed to leave now. That was all he was really sure of. They couldn't stay with the Resistance when they were at risk as they were.

As he opened the door, he frowned a bit, waiting to hear Gargan become angry. But before they could, Kira appeared, the shadows parting around her and Jiko as she let her powers go. She was frowning now as well, her jovial nature gone. "We can't do it," she stated. "The door's...special. The lock isn't set for any lock-pick to get through. I won't be able to get him out. Not without making a lot of noise and making problems for us..." she commented, sighing lightly.

This just made Khalid sigh in return. "Shit..." he muttered. "Fine...we can't go yet..." He shut the door, letting them talk in private now. "We'll need to figure out how to get through the door before moving on then..." He hesitated a moment before scratching his head. "Hopefully we can get out of here within the week..."

Khalid simply led her back to the room they were sharing. He didn't intend to make an escape until he at least had the prince in his possession. The demons might not mean well. But at least it would be something. He didn't know whether to keep the prince or bring him to Daemos. But he'd figure that out at some point. In the mean time, they had some time to plan.

As he reached the room, Geisho came down the hall. "Gargan would like to speak with you in the morning. In light of events, you two will be taking a separate mission from my group...We've got a day of rest, but he'll want you to interrogate that Angel," he explained. "Figure out why he's here. Misuru healed him for the time being. But he just sits there. Refuses to move for anything."

Khalid hesitated, but then nod. "I'll talk to him in the morning then...I'm really tired..." he said, scratching the back of his head. "Come get me first thing in the morning and I'll be there." With a nod, Geisho turned and walked off towards Gargan's office. As he did, Khalid simply sighed and led Rosemarie into the room, shutting the door behind him. "That was...interesting..." he muttered to himself, bringing his hand up over his eyes.

Rose remained silent while Khalid conversed with Geisho. She was quiet enough as it was and rarely said anything, but she was even less talkative when another person was around. That and she was paranoid about eavesdroppers no matter the subject of conversation. Risks just weren't something that Rosemarie cared to take.

She nodded absently before a grumble escaped her. "So that thing tried to kill you and now we have to talk with it?" The way she spoke about the Angel, she acted as though it weren't a person and more of a creature to be hated unless given some great reason to think otherwise. She pressed her lips together and drew them into her mouth, running her tongue over the chapped flesh. She felt somewhat apologetic and her expression was almost sheepish as though words of the same, or worse, nature had left her mouth at a previous time in regards to the Specials. She certainly had a different opinion of their kind after meeting Khalid, but she only had the past day or two to go off as well.

Khalid shook his head. "I don't fight if I don't think there's a reason to it," he said quietly. "The Angel's doing what he believed was right just as I have. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, I'll at least show him that I'm not so horrible, and give him the option to see his faults." He hesitated at that. "If he even has one. I could be wrong in my own assessment..." he said, sighing as he moved towards the bed.

He had a lot to think about at this point. The Angel had said that he had sinned or done something wrong. What that was, he had no idea. But to warrant the wrath of Angels... well, it had to be big. So he'd go ahead and give him the benefit of the doubt for the time being. Besides that, he had to figure out what to do with the Demons. Hell, for all he knew, the Angels wanted him dead for his deal with Daemos. Even if he wasn't sure to carry out that deal or not.

She listened while he spoke before and kept her voice low, asking "So now we have to talk with the Angel and then plan how to get the prince out?" The question escaped her more as a means of clarifying if he had any further plans for them. "We need to see if we can trust Geisho... If we can't then we should find a way out soon, but if we can then we should probably plan to stay at least a couple days after today. Don't you think?" She raised a brow and let it slide back into place before continuing to talk, "They would probably have a closer watch on us since we recently arrived and that Angel followed us so they'll be tightening their watch. It's suspicious that he's here."

She nibbled on her lower lip for a moment, "You said you knew how to get the prince out and you also said the door was made of metal, do you plan to liquefy it or something?" There was a pause before she recalled why they were still in the Resistance, "If the door's special like Kira said then there's probably some kind of signal or alarm that will go off. We're going to have to be quick after we're done, do you think Kira would be able to use her power to get us all out?"

She nodded her head before making her way for the bed. It felt weird not to be able to strip some of her garments down as she normally would have done were she alone or sharing a bed with someone like her mother or Sanae. Khalid was neither someone she was that close with or a woman though so she remained dressed as she was and made her way into the bed after pulling back the blankets and crawling underneath. "Goodnight," she murmured before rolling onto her side and leaving her back to face his way while she turned away. Rose closed her eyes and allowed sleep to overtake her.

The Angel snorted. "I'm here because I need to kill him," he stated, gesturing towards Khalid. He was about to continue, but froze there. His head jerked to the side, looking into the woods as if he had heard a sound neither of them could hear. "And this has to wait. I'll return shortly." His wings spread out and he took to the sky, moving towards an area of the forest that was a bit lighter than the rest. Not dark and dank like the Demon Forest, but a bit more normal.

Khalid raised an eyebrow, but rose to his feet. He moved towards the edge of the platform and headed down to follow. He arrived within the forest shortly to find the Angel standing before a woman, another man standing to challenge him. That other man was Daemos.

"You won't touch her!" the Angel shouted, swinging his blade to the side as he prepared to fight Daemos.

But the demon simply laughed as he swung his hand out and sent the Angel out of the way and into a tree. "As if you could stop me..." he said. The woman was hurt. That much was obvious. Her shoulder was cut open, splitting her plain white dress, her golden blond hair falling loosely over her shoulders.

Before the Demon King could move against her, Khalid was in his way. "What's going on here?" he asked, holding his hands out to keep Daemos from moving forward. He didn't know what was happening himself. He knew that she appeared innocent and without reason, he wouldn't let Daemos touch her.

Rosemarie wasn't about to be left alone and was true to her word when it came to her saying that wherever Khalid went, she did as well. Her curiosity was pent up to a massive degree and she couldn't resist following after her companion and the Angel either. She had pushed to her feet and followed her friend, viridian hues snapped over towards where the injured woman was and she sprinted towards her instinctively.

Rose didn't spend time trying to see how serious the wound was. The sight of blood was enough to have her ripping cloth off the bottom of her dress and ripping the rest of the woman's sleeve off so that it wouldn't get matted to her skin, turning the fabric from her own dress into a makeshift bandage. Her hands worked quickly to tie the new bandage and she pressed her hand against the woman's arm, applying pressure to prevent too much blood loss in the event that the cut was a deep one.

"It's going to be alright," she reassured the other female though her eyes were away from the woman at that point and her primary focus was on Daemos and the other two men.

Daemos snarled as he saw Khalid. "Move aside, boy. We're allies for now, but if you get in my way, I will kill you," he stated. His hands clenched at his sides, but he, surprisingly enough, restrained himself. It was clear the Demon King could end him if he truly felt the need to.

Khalid crossed his arms over his chest. "And then you lose your chance of rescuing your son," he replied stubbornly. "What happened here?"

"That's an Angel. One of the ones that attacked you. I'd do you a favor by killing her and finding out why they attacked you," the king said simply.

Khalid shook his head. "No. She seems to have just been picked at random to be attacked," he stated. Then he smiled pleasantly. "Why can't we just get along? I'll be getting your son back and you don't have to bother with the Angels...It'll be fi-"

"And where is my son, boy?" Daemos asked. "I've given you a few days now, enough time to find him. Where is he?"

Khalid winced a bit, but shrugged. "Hundreds of Specials. It'll take more time for me to get to him. I just need you to be patient. Leave the girl alone for now and I'll take her back. Your son will be let out as soon as I can. And, after that-" He was cut off, the smile fading as Daemos' fist slammed into the side of his head. Khalid was sent rocketing across the clearing, smashing head first into a tree. Though, despite the blood stained against it, he was already getting up, the blow softened by his affinity to nature.

"I want him now. You will get the job done tonight. Or be dead next time I see you. Understood!?" Daemos roared. And with that, black flames engulfed him and he was gone.

Khalid walked with her down to the cafeteria, grabbing his own food and waiting for Rose to grab her's. Once both of them had a plate, he moved to one of the unoccupied tables, away from the other Specials so they could talk. "Well...I'm not quite sure if that Angel will be a problem or an asset..." he said quietly, starting to eat his food. "I don't like to think of things like this...but he cared about the female. We could use him by keeping her here..." He shrugged, almost sickened with his own thought. His kind hearted nature wouldn't allow him to do so. But it was something to think on at least.

After a moment, he shrugged. "I think we'll have trouble grabbing the Demon too. I've been watching with my powers," he explained. "The boy's in a...crazed state, I suppose you would say. He'll attack us the moment we open that door. And he's pretty damn strong. We'll be signing a death warrant by going in to capture him." He shook his head, sighing. "Any ideas on how to proceed?"

She didn't grab her food like Khalid seemed to, she used the utensils provided to scoop it onto her plate instead. Afterward, her feet carried her after her travel companion and she seated herself at the table with him. Her eyes searched her surroundings to make sure that the neighboring tables and seats were empty. It did occur to her that Khalid might have already looked, but it didn't hurt to double check with the risk of the Resistance finding out any information about what they were up to. She listened while searching and ate as well before finally speaking when addressed with the question.

"First, I think that we'll have to take necessary measures with the Angel." She offered him a reassuring smile, "We won't hurt either of them unless we're given no choice so there's no reason to feel bad."

Her lips pursed together while she mulled over his query finally. "You take down the door with your ability. Have Kira use her ability over shadow to get me in. I'll talk to him. Since I'm human, he may be able to trust me..."

It was a dangerous suggestion, but it was all she had. There was always the risk of her being attacked. "Perhaps you and your siblings could use your elemental abilities to stifle any loud noise too..."

Khalid's eyes widened a bit and he instantly shook his head. "No, I couldn't let you do that. When I say crazed state, he won't listen to anything," he replied quietly, but quickly. "But...on the other hand...it also seems like he's dying. I don't know what to make of it...but that's the best we have..." He shrugged lightly, looking up to her. "We'll bide our time for now. I want to talk to the angels anyway. Especially the woman. I want to see why the demons were after her. Maybe there's a way she can help."

He paused a moment to eat some of his food before sighing. "This is getting more complicated than I thought it'd be..." he muttered quietly to himself, placing his food down and bringing a hand to massage his temple slowly. "I want to get this over with, but we need to be careful with all the other specials around..."

She listened raptly while he spoke and offered the occasional nod to imply she had been listening. She had already finished her food before his last remark and she rose to her feet with her tray in response, moving over to the station where the trays were to be collected and headed back towards the table to drop down into her seat once more while Khalid consumed the last of his meal.

"Don't worry so much," she reassured him while continuing to make sure that there were no eavesdroppers to speak of. "We'll get out of this easier than you think."

"How do you figure?" Khalid asked quietly. "We've got to get through the boss to kidnap the prince. Then we need to escape the rest of them to leave. Not to mention that we have no where to run after this. Unless we just give him up to the demons. I suppose we have the Demon Forest. But I don't even know if I want to do that..." Lowering his head to rest his forehead on the table, he sighed. Then he lifted his head, smiling reassuringly, becoming more like his usual self again. "Ah, well. Guess there's no helping this." He swung his legs out around the bench and got to his feet to put his tray away. When he returned, he smiled a bit at her. "Want to go rest in the room? I'm just going to talk to the Angel again and see if I can figure out what to do."

She pursed her lips together and nodded her head slowly. "You'll tell me what happens when you get to the room?" She queried uncertainly as though he thought to deprive her of information that was relevant to her current situation as well. She rose to her feet and waved him off. Her feet lead her towards the chambers she shared with Khalid and she allowed herself entry, taking the time to clean herself and change into her clothes before he returned. It wasn't often that she was away from him so she bathed when possible. That and she didn't know when the last time she would be able to clean up before they left so she wanted to take advantage of the situation.

Khalid sighed lightly as he felt her hand. He held onto it gently and returned the squeeze, accepting the comfort. Though, in a way, it just reminded him how big an impact his choice would have. He had no care for his life. He were to die, then it was simply his time to go. He didn't want anything to happen to Rose though. Nevertheless, he did eventually manage to fall asleep. Though, his sleep would be fitful. He had dreams of his failure throughout the night, playing through in his head, just exemplifying how he had felt.

As morning came, he found himself rolled over, holding Rose. It was pretty early yet, having not been able to sleep. But he blushed slightly as he noticed his position. It hadn't been anything intimate. But he had been worried for her and, in that way, he subconsciously had moved himself to hold her. Sort of to protect her. He didn't let go though, despite his blush. He held her gently, not wanting to get up and face what he would be doing that day. It would be quite a day with their escape planned. And he wasn't looking forward to it one bit. It just meant all the danger would start anew for them.

Rose didn't realize she was being held until she awoke and because of the contact and the fact that she had yet to open her eyes, she leaned back against Khalid. A flush of the cheeks and a rise of blood to her features would have happened either way even if she hadn't mistaken him for someone else. However, she was used to sharing her bed with the woman she grew up with and not the man who now occupied it. "Good morning, Sanae."

It took a few minutes for her to actually wake up and realize that Sanae wasn't anywhere near her and that the one holding her was not her cousin, but her travel companion. She assumed that Khalid was still asleep and that throwing his arm around her was an accident that took place during his sleep. She wasn't about to hassle him for it if he really was still dozed off or if he managed to pretend to be and convinced her. If he was awake then that was another story.

Rose's hand moved to the arm in front of her and she shook it lightly, whispering loudly instead of speaking. "Khalid... Wake up." She said his name louder the next time in an almost hissing manner, "Khalid."

Khalid, having been dozing off a bit after initially waking up, cracked his eyes open. "Hm...?" he murmured tiredly. Then his eyes opened fully as he realized what he was doing. He moved away from her, taking his arm away. "Sorry!" he said quickly in a whisper, eyes wide. He knew it would be odd to think he'd done that while they were awake, given the fact that they were only traveling companions. He hadn't thought about when she woke up. It had simply comforted him a little bit, knowing that he was most likely going to risk her life and his siblings lives in the plan he had thought up.

He started to get up quickly after that, getting out of his bed. "I suppose we should probably get ready...I'll need to explain the plan to my siblings and get the Angel to help me get the prince out..." he said quietly, moving away from what he had been doing. He didn't really want to talk about it. He was doing better at keeping up his joyful facade now. Better than he had been doing yesterday.

She nodded her head silently when he apologized and moved into a sitting position, shifting onto her knees and watching as he backed away from her. She wasn't sure if he was doing that because he was embarrassed or because he wanted her to wait there until he returned. "Should I stay here for now?"

There was a pause as she debated if he would have time to come get her before he broke out. She didn't think he would leave her there alone if he had any say in it, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be caught and be unable to reach her. If that was the case then she was screwed because she had come into the Resistance camp with him. Then there was also the possibility of them trying to take her out on an assignment and prodding her for not displaying any kind of ability. They would surely interrogate her. She shook the thoughts away for the moment, "If I do stay... Promise you won't leave without me?"

Khalid smiled a bit at her. "Of course I won't," he replied, shrugging. "I wouldn't want to cause more trouble for you. I doubt you could avoid it if you stayed here when I left." He shrugged lightly. "You can come for now. But you'll need to be quiet. The way I believe our plan to work is that Kira will get us to the room through the shadows. Once there, I can destroy the door with my power over metal. The princess will subdue the prince and we'll flee. Given the fact that an alarm will most likely go off, Jiko will use his power over earth to give the rest of the Resistance hell in trying to follow us through the mountain fortress. Once we're out, we run. Hopefully Jiko's power will help speed things up with wind." He sighed. "That's what I've been planning for anyway. The Angel won't attack us with his princess in tow."

She listened raptly and rose to her feet. "I can do that," she told him and tried to keep a brave face. She was daunted by how the events would unfold. The Resistance contained nothing, but Specials. She only hoped that when they caught on that their abilities weren't enough to stop the small group.

"Lead the way then," she told him. She had a feeling that when Khalid left the room, he didn't plan to come back.

Kira and Jiko kept themselves back to stay with Rose, wanting to make sure she made it out with them. Geisho kept ahead for the most part. But, after a few minutes of running, movement was heard behind them. Turning around, the others would see Khalid coming, riding the large snake-like Demon that had brought them to the hideout in the first place. It slowed as it got close to the others. Khalid just grinned a bit. "Hop on. He's going to help us," he said. When the Angels looked skeptical, he shrugged. "His duty is to the prince. Not Daemos."

The male Angel sighed and let his wings come out, starting to take flight to keep up with the Demon. The Specials and the prince would have to take to riding the snake.

To Rose, the Demons all looked the same for the most part. If she had seen the one Khalid appeared with then she was unaware of it. She still wasn't keen on riding the beasts around, but she was going with Khalid through thick and thin in order to stay safe. She placed her hands on the scaled surface on the creature's back and pulled herself up behind her travel companion. She grimaced at the texture of the Demon's skin and wished that she hadn't worn a dress. Not only was it impractical, but she could feel the scales against her legs.

Rose tried her best to ignore the unpleasant feeling and wrapped her arms around Khalid's waist while waiting for the others to get into place. At least that way, she didn't have to walk or run anymore. That and the method of travel was probably faster than it would have been had the Demon never showed up.

The Demon took them away from the forest, following Khalid's instructions for the most part. It was rather obedient, considering that it was one of Daemos' minions. It seemed it was true that his first duty was to the prince, not the king. After a while, the Demon began to slow. It had left the kingdom behind in a matter of hours, slowing as it entered a desert. It glanced back. "Where now, masssssster?" it asked in its snake-like drawl.

Khalid froze, thinking. Then sighed. "I never thought that far through...Let's see if we can find anyone..." he said, waving the problem off. "I would feel safer if we made it to a cave and placed some wards over it to keep Daemos, the Angels, and the Humans out. So...I think there's a city settled in this desert that is known for that type of thing. Hopefully we can hire someone to help us with a few wards to keep them out if we hide out in a cave or some such place." He shrugged, hoping it would be enough to hold their pursuers off for the time being.

"I know it may be a bit of a stretch and I don't know if you will agree with it, but..." There was a pause as though Rose were debating whether to withdraw her thought after already having begun it or to continue with her suggestion. It seemed she had come to a somewhat quick decision for a moment later she resumed where she left off. "Whenever I did something bad or threatened to, my mother told me she would send me Castygis. It's somewhere in Kuzma which I would assume is the kingdom we are in now?"

As far as Rose knew, Kuzma was all desert and was not only the largest desert around, but one of the only ones as well. "Anyways," she continued, "Castygis is situated on the edge of Kuzma and borders the Athos Sea from what I've been told. There is a lot of underground slave trade which I doubt we will want to get involved in, but I am sure we could find someone there who would be willing to help us?"

It was a start and everyone else seemed in a bit of predicament about their next move. "I am sure that whoever we get to help us out will want something in return for their services though so we'll need to think that through."

Khalid smiled a bit at the idea. "Sounds like a plan," he replied. "We'll stop by the city I have in mind. See if we can pick up some materials for the wards I have in my mind to protect us. From there, we move to Castygis. Does that sound good to everyone?" he asked, happy to have a definite plan of action. Kira and Jiko nodded, as did Geisho. The Angels continued to fly, though the male had to help the weakened princess as she had not fully recovered. As it was, everything seemed to be going well. The snake demon continued to bring them through the desert at its blinding speed, searching for the city. "We'll stop outside. Humans will have easier access than Demons and Angels. We can move from there."

"It would be our best interest," she agreed at those last words. "A Special could go without notice and might not even be paid any mind, but a Demon or an Angel would surely attract more attention than we need right now. It wouldn't be so bad if there wasn't a chance of being followed."

Rose knew it could definitely be annoying to have more than one person trying to offer ideas or being in charge, but she felt like she was more of a burden for not trying to put forth any ideas even if they were a restatement of Khalid's suggestion.

"Which of us will be staying behind and which of us will be entering the city?" She inquired.

Kira shook her head a bit. "Jiko and I should stay out here. If we're in the desert, Jiko can use his powers to mask us. And, come nightfall, I can mask our presence better with shadows," she stated. "Easier for everyone that way. Obviously the Angels and the Demon stays..."

Khalid shrugged. "I'll be going in. I'll leave it up to you two who else goes," he offered, gesturing between Rose and Geisho. "Rose has no chance of being noticed. And probably our best bet at a warning should I get caught. She's not a Special so she has nothing to limit her access. And if I get caught around her, she can easily play dumb and act disgusted in me for realizing that I'm one. As for Geisho...might be helpful. I don't know much about recruiting. But, since you worked for the Resistance, you should have some idea of how to get this stuff for a cheaper price..."

Geisho gave a small nod, agreeing to the idea. He'd go along to help find someone or the necessary items in order to take care of their wards.

"Sounds like a plan to me, and if they are alerted by you or Geisho then I can return here if I have to so we can come back for you. We don't really know what the penalty in Kuzma is for being a special if they have one." Kuzma being the desert kingdom that they had entered.

"I suppose we should get moving then so we can get back here and find somewhere to hide out as quickly as possible." There was a pause. She could handle wearing the same clothes if she had to and going without a bath if need be. They weren't necessities, however Rose was trying to plan ahead. "Did you plan to pick up some food in the city as well or just the words?" Somehow the prospect of hunting just didn't appease her. It actually made her feel sick to her stomach.

Khalid returned a few moments later. He didn't have much left in terms of supplies. He hadn't found anything for the wards. But as he approached Rose, he froze midstep, hearing a loud explosion. Then he heard shouts of Specials being in the area. Moving towards Rose again, he took her hand and tugged her in the direction of the entrance. "It's probably Geisho. Let's leave while we can," he whispered quickly. He didn't want to be around when Geisho came around. That'd cause more trouble for the group. The rest of them would hide with the small party and wait for Geisho, when he wasn't being followed by people. He figured the man could fend for himself until then.

Rose heard the explosion too and she jumped, having been startled by the noise. She moved her feet quickly to keep up with Khalid, albeit not fast enough to stir suspicion from those around her. One hand held to him while her other fingers gripped at the edge of her skirt to keep a hold of the fruit gathered in it.

Rose assumed that Khalid or one of his siblings would come back for Geisho if he didn't seek them out himself. Either way, she could only hope for the best that their companion wouldn't be harmed. An explosion like that was bound to lead him straight to the gallows.

As the two of them reached the gates, Khalid broke out into a run, bringing her along with him. It only took moments to find the group, hiding behind some stones that acted as an outcropping in the desert. It was let down momentarily for them to enter before being placed up again. Khalid sighed as he sat down. "What the hell did that idiot do..." he muttered. He was annoyed that Geisho drew attention to himself. Mostly because it put a damper on the plans as a whole. It made things harder. He still hadn't found anything for the wards they needed.

Moments later, Geisho shot out of the gate, followed by five men. Throwing a bomb down, it exploded into smoke and he darted away. He just made it into the outcropping and sealed it back before the others could see again. They spread out, searching for their lost prey. Geisho just laughed quietly. "Sorry about that. You guys get all the supplies?" he asked.

He got shoved back into the wall by Khalid, looking annoyed now. "What the hell are you doing? You could have screwed everything up. They saw us enter with you!" he said, glaring at the man. It was a complete contrast to his usual self.

Geisho shrugged. "But you didn't. So be happy that you're alive, I'd say," he replied, stepping back and sitting. "I say we wait for an hour and then head out. We should be able to find something." He leaned back against the stone wall, his face impassive behind the mask. Though his words were careless. It was clear he didn't care all that much about endangering them.

Rose had hoped that the plan would be a foolproof one if anything, but she learned that his devil may care attitude only made him seem like the least responsible of anything. Khalid may have actually acted furious, but she was boiling underneath the surface. Rose could feel the heat rising to her face with each moment.

"If you're just going to throw yourself out there then perhaps you should stay behind with the others when we get to Castygis," she grumbled. She still wasn't entirely sure what the port held for them, but she knew that they would have a better time blending in given the place's association. That was if their explosive companion didn't bring notice to them. "Unless you want to separate from the group now. We don't need you causing us trouble, Geisho."

Rose was already daunted enough about their group being exploited and endangered so the fact that one of their own was blowing their cover only upset her more.

"You're such an idiot," she muttered.

"You all need to lighten up," Geisho replied easily. "You're all so serious. If you're going to be like this, you're going to jump at every little thing. May as well die if that's the case. There's no real point in living like that." He yawned. "Wake me in an hour. We can start moving again then. I want to head south."

"Who says you get to choose where we're going?" Khalid asked, clearly still annoyed. "You almost got us killed. That's not being carefree. That's causing problems. Maybe Rose has a point..." He crossed his arms and sat down. For him, personally, he was worse out here. He was out of his element. From controlling nature, he always had a communion with nature. It calmed him. And being away from any form of nature in the desert just brought his anger out with more ferocity.

Geisho shrugged. "Suit yourself. If you want to get a place to stay on the way to Castygis, that would be the place. And once there, we can rest easy. No one would be looking that far from the city," he said. "But your call if you just want to trek all the way to Castygis."

"You're wrong," she snapped at Geisho. "We're all going to die if you blow our cover. We're probably being tracked down by the Humans, the Angels, the Demons, and the Specials at this point. Not to mention that there are probably wanted posters going up in several of the cities at this point with sketches of mine and Khalid's faces. You are not helping."

Rose felt completely uncomfortable with Geisho in their group and tensions had already been high before as a result of them being hunted down. They did not need to create enemies among themselves, but it was hard not to be completely infuriated with the Resistance outlaw.

"If you take a look at any map then there aren't any cities to the south," she informed Geisho while trying to regain her calm. She would be able to keep composure as long as he wasn't in the mood to keep arguing. "At least there aren't any bigger ones and it doesn't make sense to head to the south. Castygis is north-east from here."

Even though Rose had little to offer in terms of capabilities in a fight or otherwise, she did know her geography. If that was all she had to offer the group then so be it.

After a while, Khalid sighed quietly. Everyone else had dozed off at this point, but he had never managed to sleep. He slowly started to pick himself up, hoping no one would wake. He wanted to check on this before they continued to Castygis. It had been bothering him. And, truthfully, he was too kind of a person. The fact that Geisho went off on his own worried him that the Special may have been walking to his own grave, should others find him. So, silently, he began to leave the confines of their makeshift camp and head towards the south. It'd be a long trek. He was hoping that the fact that he could lighten his load by making metal weightless would help speed things up.

Rose was a light sleeper by nature, but the fact that she wasn't in a bed made it all that much worse. She had a lot on her mind and trouble even falling asleep, but somehow managed to stir at the slightest movement. She had been prepared to wake the others initially until she realized that Khalid's movement was what had arisen her. She watched him begin to move away and felt uncomfortable with him going it alone. She didn't know entirely where he was headed or even why he was leaving, but she had a vague idea that it had something to do with Geisho since he was moving to the south. It was in the opposite direction they would be going when the rest woke up.

Even if she weren't so utterly convinced that Khalid wasn't walking to his own funeral, she would have accompanied him. She did not suspect that he would separate himself from the group without intentions of returning, but she had informed him from the beginning that he wasn't going anywhere without her. It was for that reason that she had moved to her feet. Rose had stored the food on the ground for the time being. Most of the items were packaged in paper or something or could be washed because they happened to be fruits and vegetables.

She did not want to have to carry a skirt full of items when she took after Khalid. At first, she ran to catch up with him because he had moved a considerable distance by the time she had slipped out of the camp area. It didn't take too long to catch up with her companion because he had only been walking quickly if anything, but she was winded by the time she approached him. Rose's hand reached out to grab at his wrist and get his attention. "Where are you headed?" She was sure she already knew where, but she didn't know why.

Khalid's eyes widened a bit as he glanced at her. "I'm...just going for a walk..." he said awkwardly. He didn't want her to follow. He was worried Geisho may be heading towards danger. If he was, he'd want to help. if he happened to be a spy, he could take care of the problems before they became too great. Give the others more time to leave. "Just...head back to camp. I should be back by morning. If not, start heading out. I can catch up later." He knew clearly that he couldn't. Not in the desert. He would have a chance in a forest or anywhere with nature. He'd never keep up with the snake demon otherwise.

Rose shook her head slowly. "No... Either you come back to camp with me or else I'm coming with," she insisted stubbornly. Her chin was lifted in a somewhat defiant manner. She knew very well that if he still asked her to stay behind after that, she would most likely respect his wishes on the manner. It still didn't stop her from trying to persuade him in letting her tag along after him. Rose was also very aware that with his being a Special, he could force her to fall back and leave her at camp.

However, the entire group was hard for her to trust. She thought the worst of every situation lately, but that was mostly the fear kicking in which only escalated her paranoia to higher levels. Those people at the camp were with Khalid more than they were with her though. She could not risk his not returning because Khalid was the only one she thought she could bank on not throwing her out to the sharks. Any of the others could turn on her at any given moment.

"You do realize," she murmured and looked back towards where the others still were before continuing, "That if they notice you left on your own and you don't return and they find out that I allowed you to... They'll blame me and accuse me. Everyone's tense. The last thing I need is them coming after me because you disappeared and I was aware of it. Just let me come along," she pleaded further. "I'll stay quiet and if anything bad happens then I can duck back and go to the others for help." She thought her plan was a solid one, but she didn't know if Khalid would feel that way. She could very well tell that he was likely to blame himself if she saw any harm because he let her travel with him.

"It's dangerous," Khalid replied quietly. "I'm risking you enough with everything I've done so far. I'd rather take care of things on my own. If it were up to me, I'd drop you off in a village and leave so you don't have to be troubled with this anymore." He sighed. "I've been trying to help protect you since we met and you had to chase me down. It'd suck if I let that all go to rest, eh?" He smiled good naturedly, trying to make light of the situation. His feelings were true. He didn't want her in danger. He'd prefer to stick it out by himself and risk himself. If something went wrong, the others could continue without him. That would be for the best. They'd avoid the trap he'd walk into.

Rose wanted more than anything to argue until he let her come along. Her lips pursed together and her brows were drawn inwards. An exasperated and reluctant sigh was seized from her before she finally nodded her head. It was very evident that she was hesitant to let him leave by himself. "When do you expect to be back, and how long should we wait?"

It was best to figure out how long they should await his return if they were required to head off without him though Rose was sure if Khalid didn't show, she would insist the group move for the south in order to find him. She knew what direction he was moving for and that it was probably tied to Geisho which was enough information for the time being.

"You don't wait. If I'm not back, you leave immediately. Chances are, something happened. And you'd do best to be away from me by that point in order to protect the group," Khalid told her quietly. "If I'm not back by morning, leave then head to Castygis and take a boat to Vintya. There should be a small independent city. Take refuge there. Angels and Demons go into hiding. The Angels can rest until they're up to leaving. The Demons rest until the prince can travel on his own. Those are my orders. You should be safe there."

Rose bobbed her head absently. "Take care," she murmured. It was only then that she realized her hand still held his wrist. She gave it an awkward squeeze before turning around. She knew that she would be tempted to head south bound if Khalid never came back, but it was probably for the best that she didn't. That last thing she needed on her plate was a guilty conscience for insisting the group search for him only to have the Resistance or one of their other enemies harm them.

She was not able to sleep after reaching camp. She was far too worried. Rose mostly sat up, staring off in the direction that her companion had moved in while waiting for the re-approach of his figure. She did know that if Khalid survived under some circumstance and did manage to make it away from wherever he was that he would probably head to Vintya of his own accord. She was almost positive of it whether or not she knew him well at all.

Rose was quiet for the duration of the trip, albeit it was a very short one. She could see how traveling on the back of the Demon could make any distance seem significantly shorter. Everything rushed by in a blur during the ride and it made her queasy enough to discourage her from climbing onto the serpentine creature's back at all.

Those eyes immediately scaled her surroundings for the presence of others and transfixed on the entrance of the shack behind Khalid and Geisho in a studious and precautious manner. Just because the situation seemed innocent enough didn't mean it was and she wasn't taking chances. A somewhat guilty smile was given to her main companion, however. It was understood that she was not supposed to let anyone come after him. That much he had made clear.

Khalid glanced over at her, sighing lightly as he saw them. "I thought I told you not to follow me," he said, sounding tired. He kept annoyance out of his voice, trying to stay optimistic and friendly like he normally was. But it was clear he'd be annoyed with coming after him into possible danger.

"Well, that just shows that they're loyal to their leader, doesn't it?" Geisho asked, laughing at the group that had come after them. "Besides, no danger here, as you can see. Those kids in the shack will help us. They need to make a living somehow. And their job at the moment won't suffice. So...we'll have our wards."

"For the last time, I'm not forcing two kids to join us!" Khalid turned on him. "They can't be more than ten! I'm not bringing them to be chased by Angels, and Demons, and Specials! The world is after us. I won't make them suffer the same fate we have to!"

Rose was about to inform Khalid that his new found siblings wouldn't listen, particularly his brother. If she were honest with herself, she found it strange that he was so easy to trust them and worry about their lives and vice versa. She didn't even quite trust Khalid completely, but paranoia ran through her veins no matter the situation. She was always inclined to suspicion with others, she couldn't help it.

Then there was Geisho - she didn't know what to think in regards to him. Her eyes averted away from the group and she stared at the door of the shack. Granted, she only knew what they both were saying after she and the others arrived and not all of the details. It didn't prevent her from throwing in her two bits though. "There are already nine of us," she said. "Do you want to draw more attention to ourselves by making our party bigger? I thought we were going into hiding, not heading off to war." She fixated her gaze on Geisho, "What purpose could two kids even provide us?"

Geisho laughed. "They're magicians. Their parents were quite famous," he explained. "One of them is gifted in making wards. That's what we're looking for now. The other one is well versed in other types of magic. That will be helpful in any situation. They are ordinary humans, but they learned these gifts from their parents. We can bring the two with us. We're already against Demons and Angels. We need the help. Especially the wards. I'm afraid the Demon King will already be searching for us. And he'll find us soon."

Khalid shook his head, moving in front of Geisho again. "And I say I'm not sending two children to war!" he said sternly, not stopping his argument. "I don't care how helpful they are. They're no more than ten. Why would you send them to battle against Demons?" He shook his head. "And I know we're going into hiding and not to battle. But they will find us eventually. Ward or no. The ward was only meant to keep them at bay while we could figure out how to escape them."

Rose wasn't entirely certain where to stand at that point. Geisho and Khalid both had fair arguments. For once, she had to admit that the former said something she could agree with.

"I propose this then," she announced with authority while studying the two men until she was positive that she held their attention. Once both were captivated, she continued. "We will take the two children with us to Castygis. There we will have them inform us of the materials we need and teach us how to make whatever wards we need. Once we know how to do that, we part ways with them at the port city or take them with."

She folded her arms across her chest and began to speak further as though she were suddenly the mother of the group, "I think it's a compromise that you can both agree on for the time being? After all, we don't know how easy it will be to find another who has skill with making the wards so it saves some wasted time and it isn't exactly taking them out to war. It's just until we reach Castygis and I do believe that they are capable of deciding if they would even be willing to leave the shack or not."

"I'm sure the excitement of it all would encourage kids to accompany us," she rambled. "But it's a thought at least."

Khalid glanced at her for a moment and then sighed. "We'd be taking them from their home. It's just as bad," he stated. "And if anyone sees them with us, they become targets as being associated with us. The Demons won't show them mercy. Perhaps the humans will. But, just as well, they could kill them for helping us in the first place. I don't like the idea at all." He crossed his arms, sighing lightly. Even with the compromise, he didn't like the idea of bringing children out to face what they had to face. Even if only to Castygis.

Rose would have argued that the children were gifted in wards and could probably place them on themselves as well as use cloaks as a means of disguise. It was a measure they could have taken as a part of the compromise. Either way, she would have been disagreeing with one of her traveling companions. Tensions were continuing to rise and everyone in the group was probably stir crazy.

"You're probably right and think about it... Kids cause a lot of trouble when they get bored or agitated. They would draw attention to us and themselves and probably worsen are situation so maybe they should stay behind. If we are to find someone who is skilled with wards then Castygis still might be a better place to look even if it does take a while..."

Geisho sighed. "You don't understand. We won't find anyone at Castygis," he replied quietly. "I don't want to take a couple of brats just as much as you don't. But the moment you tell any ward user who we face, they'll leave us. Worse, they'll point us out to keep themselves in good favor." Shaking his head, he pointed at the cabin. "They can put wards on us as we travel. Then set up a base for us with those wards defending our land. No one else would do it except some idealistic kids who think they're going on an adventure to become heroes. I don't like tricking anyone just as much as you don't. But we won't survive otherwise."

Rose found that she had to agree with Geisho once more. No matter how she looked at it, he was right. She didn't like to admit it, but they were probably going to have to bring the kids along. "Khalid," she said his name and directed her attention his way. "I have to take Geisho's side. We're going to have to take them with or go without wards. Even if we find another who can make the wards for us, we risk exposure so there's little point in finding someone who can do it if not them."

"Then we can go without wards," Khalid replied stubbornly. "I don't think it's necessary to drag children into a problem like the one we're in. Worse comes to worse, you all hide yourself and I draw their attention to me. At least the majority of us can escape."

"...They offered us a place to rest for the night. How about we at least accept that?" Geisho replied. "We can rest here. It might do our Demon friend a little good to not have to rush us a few leagues away. And we can set off tomorrow morning. Maybe he can give us some fundamentals on wards. If one of us learns to use them, it should be fine."

Khalid hesitated there, conceding that the masked man did have a point. "Fine. We'll rest here. But I refuse to take the kids with us. We leave tomorrow morning at dawn," he stated. "We can use the day to rest before we actually have to move to Castygis."

Rose had assumed that they would be journeying to Castygis that morning, not the next. She was a little disappointed to realize that the trip would be prolonged. Still, she was relieved that someone in the group would be learning how to use the words. The thought of detection did not appeal to her at all. She had no idea what they were supposed to do for the day though.

"Shouldn't we go back for the Angels?" She asked the two since they had finally reached an agreement. "I'm sure they will leave if we stay here all day."

Khalid nodded slightly. "Do you mind?" he asked, looking up at the snake. It shook its head slowly, not caring in the least. This was what he was here for. To help Khalid in any way and, to that end, help his master, the prince. So, without another word, it turned and took off towards the place they were in before. Khalid just sighed lightly, turning away from the group. "I'm going to look around a bit more. I'll be back in a bit."