De’Tearion chirped, rolling his eyes. He then sighed shakily.
“Tragedy be too specific, too singular. Misery would be a better description,”he whispered.
He then nuzzled into Jackie’s hair again, hiding from talking about his past. It was all still too fresh for him. And, the older memories had yet to lose their potency.
"Misery. . . indeed, a fine bedfellow for ones such as me and you," Jackie chuckles.
She starts rubbing De'Tearion's back.
How did this end up like this, again? All I can remember is the past few minutes. . .
“Indeed,”De’Tearion snorted.
His already tense body tightened more as Jackie rubbed his back. But, after a minute, he seemed to slowly melt into her touch, as if it had been a long time since he’d known any sort of comfort.
He had no idea why he was relaxing around Jackie, but it seemed so unimportant at the moment. The way she rubbed his back, curled in his arms like she was… It brought back so many memories of his dear sister. How he missed Agatha. How he missed cradling her like this.
Jackie sighs.
"Tell me, do you see a lost loved one in me, or do you do this out of the kindness of your heart? I sincerely doubt it is the second, so tell me, would the loved one have been family?"
De’Tearion stiffened once more, his limbs starting to shake heavily. He chirped, but it sounded almost like a whimper.
“Jackie, I beg, quit talking. I… ‘Tis the wrong time,”he breathed.
He just wanted silence. Just some peace and quiet to hold someone. It had been so long since he’d held someone. It had been so much longer since someone had held him.
Jackie leans back a bit to look at De'Tearion's face.
"De’Tearion. . . I am sorry for your loss." she whispers.
Fresh tears were already starting to slide down his face when Jackie looked at him. He couldn’t make eye contact. He didn’t dare to.
Her words pushed too far and De’Tearion barely held back a wail. He then teleported away, reappearing outside of Jackie’s house, sitting against a tree and curling up, his hand holding desperately onto his amulet. He immediately started to cry, but he did his best to keep quiet. It didn’t necessarily work.
Jackie sighs as she thuds to the ground.
She stands up and looks out of a window.
She sees De'Tearion against a tree, and goes to deal with the stew, then straps on her armor and steps outside and treads over to De'Tearion. She kneels in front of him, then braces herself, sliding her hands beneath his knees and his second set of armpits, picking him up with a slight hfff of breath and bringing him back inside.
She sets him down on the bed, facing away from her, and covers him with a blanket.
"Don't think this means I don't still hate you." she mutters, taking off her armor again and turning her back to De'Tearion.
(She can carry a 325 lbs Forestfolk just like that?)
By the time Jackie came out to get him, De’Tearion’s crying fit had faded into just staring absently at the ground. He barely noticed her until she grabbed him. He then jolted, two arms hooking onto Jackie to keep himself from falling. He wasn’t aware of whether he was holding onto armor or flesh, though it wouldn’t have really mattered to him anyway.
When she set him down and covered him up, De’Tearion watched in confusion. He then sat up, slipped out from under the blanket, and moved to sit on the corner of the bed, leaning against the wall. He was much taller than Jackie’s bed could accommodate, but it didn’t seem like it with his legs folded up like they were.
He barely heard Jackie, but he managed to chirp in acknowledgement of her words. At this point, he didn’t know how he felt about her. Sure, she was still as unbearable as ever, but there was common ground between them now. And, De’Tearion was in desperate need of a companion, even if they were just someone to talk to or hold.
(Her armor is enchanted. Strength, grace, speed. . . the works. Does that make more sense?)
Jackie turns a bit.
"Stay the night. It's a red full moon. Things come out." she says.
"And anyways, I can get you some food you'll eat."
(Yeah. I was honestly kind of figuring it was the armor, but I wanted to double-check. In a goofy voice, De’Tearion’s a big boy, snickers)
(Referencing real life are you, lol? Yesterday was officially the full moon, but today can also be considered that. And, for me at least, it was red when it rose. Or, is this just an eerie coincidence, evil grin?)
De’Tearion looked at Jackie with a raised eyebrow. Was she seriously telling him to stay indoors during a dangerous night? Did she not realize he was naturally an apex predator of the night?
He was half tempted to refuse, but he didn’t make any move to do so. And the more he considered it, the more he realized that he really did want to stay, even if just to hang out with someone. He had long ago learned the hard way that he never did well when he was lonely, and he was currently drowning in loneliness.
At her next words, he snorted, his eyebrow still raised.
“Are you planning to hunt for me? Have you any idea what I eat?”he asked.
De’Tearion recalled how he’d sampled Jackie’s blood during their last ‘official’ duel, but he wasn’t sure if she remembered it. He then suddenly remembered his foolish remark afterward that he hadn’t eaten in days. Sometimes his mind and actions truly made no sense at all. Though, despite that, he hoped she wouldn’t remember his little remark.
(Lol, and Jackie's just a small bean)
(A blood harvest moon, very witchy!)
Jackie sighs at the raised eyebrow. "Yes, yes, you're a very strong macho man who can take care of himself. But do you really think you can fight a being of literal Death herself?"
"I still have some raw meat left over. Considering you had a taste of my blood already, I can throw in a bottle or two of that for the road, since you seemed to enjoy it," she replies.
(Lol, yeah)
(Mhm. Waves fingers dramatically, Time to do some voodoo! Lmao!)
De’Tearion shook his head in absolute confusion. ‘Macho man’? Death herself? What was this woman talking about?
“I understand not half of what you have said, and I know not of this deathly woman you speak of, yet I have already decided to heed your words. I… I have nothing to return to as it be, and you are the only individual I know in this entire place,”De’Tearion said with a flustered sigh.
De’Tearion sputtered at her offer, stunned. He then took a moment to compose himself before replying.
“Are you truly willing to risk that near me?”he couldn’t help asking. De’Tearion had no idea why he was suddenly concerned about Jackie’s well-being, but he just was.
(Oh, dear lord- I had a thought- if Jackie only hits De'Tearion's waist, how did she carry him? Over her head? That wouldn't slide lmao)
( XD voodoo witchraft shit for the win!)
"Ah. . . well, if you wish to understand any of what I said, maybe stop living under a rock? It really helps your complexion, too," Jackie smiles.
She laughs without meaning too. "Why are you worried about my health now? Do you understand just what kind of damage you did to me yesterday? I'm never going to fully recover! And besides, it won't hurt. I have potions."
(Lmao! Well… De’Tearion is pretty much all legs and feet, so yeah. At his shortest standing height, he’s 5’6”, and that’s just because of his feet. So, in a way, it actually isn’t too unreasonable that Jackie would be able to carry him)
(Evil, witchy cackle)
De’Tearion snorted,”I am a Forestfolk. I live in trees, rocks not. And, I am naturally pale. All of my species be such way.”
De’Tearion flinched at her laugh, then froze at her words. He hadn’t realized… Was she truly so weak to his magic? Would it truly kill her? And if so, would that be a good thing or… not?
With a sad sigh, De’Tearion pushed aside the flood of conflicted thoughts and questions in his mind, focusing on Jackie once more. But, somehow, just looking at her again brought him more anguish.
“Do what you will,”he said quietly, turning away.
His entire demeanor melted as he leaned fully against the wall. The strong, stubborn persona he typically had vanished almost instantly, being replaced with a docile and depressed appearance, like he’d been hollowed out then filled only with sadness and exhaustion.
(Oh, got it, lol)
(Joins in)
"It is unhealthy to be that pale," Jackis repeats.
She sighs. "Yes, shadow magic is deadly to me and my race. We're creatures of the day. We have adapted to see forms of light nothing else can. We can see heat and cold differentials. Due to our tails, and how are brains are wired, and our general body structure, we'd starve before you could get high enough to kill us by dropping us. I even have a smaller form I can use, a true form, if you will, but it is. . . a bit too small."
Jackie casually reaches into her cooking bag again and pulls out a small knife used for cutting meat and fish.
She cleans it carefully, grabs two bottles, then slices open her forearm lengthwise.
The blood starts to flow.
(Lol)
(Cackles even more)
“‘Tis not. I am a creature of the night, Jackie. Also, my own skin color be a few shades darker than the rest of my kin, because I am one of the few to have ever felt the sun’s light and lived to speak of it,”De’Tearion mentioned.
He listened closely to her words. It was all intriguing, but what caught his attention the most was her ability to see hot and cold. Could she tell that his body temperature was naturally much higher than a human’s? Or was he mistaken on how her sight worked?
He then watched her, a bit surprised by her continued willingness to feed him. Unfortunately, she still seemed to misunderstand how he ate things. And, the smell and sound of her blood pouring out of her was quickly becoming too much to resist.
De’Tearion stood and moved over to Jackie, quiet as a ghost. Without warning, he grabbed her bleeding arm with a firm grip and started to gently hum a healing spell. His instincts screamed at him to stop, to take her arm and suck out all of the blood leaking from her wound, but he somehow managed to fight it.
Faint golden light spiraled from his fingers and covered Jackie’s wound, quickly sealing it until only a scar was left. De’Tearion then leaned down so he could whisper in her ear.
“Unless you have a death wish, I suggest you avoid cutting yourself near me again. I can only have fresh blood,”he forewarned, his voice intense but gentle.
De’Tearion grabbed the bottle with her blood, glanced at the empty second bottle, then sat down against the wall, facing away from Jackie to have some privacy. He opened his mouth, releasing his proboscis, and started to steadily suck down the blood that had gotten into the bottle.
Jackie sighs and looks at her dark skin. "I understand that not at all, but okay."
She looks surprised as De'Tearion does this.
"Why must you-" she starts before De'Tearion casts his healing spell.
"I always have a death wish, friend. It is the way of losing your family," she replies softly.
De’Tearion snorted.
“My kin will burn in sunlight. If we linger long enough in sunlight, it will kill us. I am one of the few who has found a way to negate that fact and live in sunlight as a human would,”De’Tearion explained. He rose his hand, showing a gold ring on his middle finger.
“Magic be the only way to negate it,”he added.
He didn’t respond to her outburst, simply ignoring her and finishing his spell.
De’Tearion froze, retracting his proboscis as Jackie’s words sank in. He then snorted, fighting the surge of emotions threatening to pour out of him.
“That be something we have in common then,”he said, his voice barely audible.
"My kind die if we're exposed to total darkness. We don't go out on the new moon, or when it's very cloudy out." Jackie shrugs. "My only protections are on my armor."
She chuckles. "Duly noted. If I feel like stabbing you in the back, I'll use that."
Jackie mutters something in response. "I suppose so. . ."
De’Tearion sighed.
“Complete opposites then. That explains more than merely your weaknesses,”he grumbled.
“You can try. I have been known to cut off limbs or kill those attempting to steal things from me. And, this ring be dear to me,”De’Tearion snorted.
De’Tearion heard her, but didn’t say anything else. He closed his eyes, continuing to fight his emotions. After a few minutes, he calmed down enough to notice that there was still a bottle of blood in his hand. He resumed sucking it down, if only to keep himself distracted.
"Yeah." Jackie nods.
"I have friends in high places. Really, I just have one friend who knows a lot of people." she snorts.
She notes his silence, and remains silent herself.
De’Tearion rolled his eyes.
“What be your point in that?”he asked, his eyes narrowing cautiously.
De’Tearion finished the bottle of blood in only a few minutes. Unfortunately for him, it wasn’t nearly enough of a meal for his liking. It could barely qualify as a tiny snack. The most it had done was make him hungrier, but he didn’t really want to attack its source. Not unless she was willing. He couldn’t help but snort at that thought.
"My point be that-" Jackie starts, then pauses, grinning for some reason. "Damn you and your way of speech. But my point is that I only have to contact one person to get that ring."
She tilts her head at the snort.
"Why did you snort?"
De’Tearion didn’t seem amused by her comment or grin. Just because she was trying, badly, to mimic his accent didn’t mean it was humorous. Once she explained her meaning, his eyes immediately narrowed, a dark gleam entering them.
“The only way you are taking this ring from me be if you take it from my corpse. It keeps me alive during the day, and it has sentimental value to me. I will kill to keep it,”he hissed, a low, chirping growl rumbling in his throat.
De’Tearion turned, chirping. He then snorted again.
“Are you certain you wish to know?”he asked.