i like the madness

She’d never been the type to be quiet and stealthy – too brazen and impulsive that it was easier for her to focus on the problem head on, even if it meant being in the shift of a lial and body slamming and super heating her prey. It works, however, giving her ample time to scarf down the meal to stave off anything else. And once she’s done and searching for him to lead the way again, she slides over toward him (almost literally, given how low to the ground she is), and starts to follow him toward the new scent.

Its one that she doesn’t get in this shift, but the fact she can smell just as well as she used to being Ancient is another little feat she hadn’t expected to miss as much as she had while Ascended. Regardless, the young woman follows the bark, separating out from him only a fraction into he thrall of blind rats that scamper and scatter the second Deimos and her descend upon them, and with a bit more luck and thought laid out within it, she manages to snag one of these beasts again as well.

A sickening crunch is heard the second she slams into it, followed by the clacking of long jaws as she devours it and seems immediately content with the hunt.

He could probably watch her annihilate creatures all day – if it meant her happiness, fulfillment, and contentment – sharing the bonds of the past, the present, and whatever future Caido had carved out for them. There could’ve been a very canine smile snagged around his hound edges, snickering as she obliterated one of the rats, demolishing it entirely – as if the thing had never been venomous, dangerous, or conniving.

It continued to inspire his own chaotic semblances, and while it never took much (not with bones carved and sculpted with violence, not with a soul so rankled by vehemence and sedition), it still warranted a lively outing with her.

Teeth bared and honed for desecration, his jaws enveloped around one of the closest rats before it could hone any thought of escape amidst the rest of its brethren. While its kin hastened off, and he’d permit it, the other writhed in his grasp for a slight moment, before that too was silenced with a single crunch and pressure on its spine.

Turning back towards her, he tilted his head, back from where they’d come amidst the springs, presuming, perhaps, she’d had her fill.

Blood drips from her snarltoothed jaw as she finishes the prey she had trapped, her slit pupil gaze flickering back toward Deimos curiously when he captures his own last rat, and without much else she makes her way back toward the hellhound’s side, slowly shifting back into herself so she can talk – still covered in blood from their hunt.

She flashes him a bloodstained smile and clears her throat, pulling her hair back to hopefully get a little less blood on it as she glances back the direction he’d suggested, toward the springs. At least it would allow her to clean up. “[say]Thank you. It’s been a while.[/say]” A long while since she’d had a hunting partner, that is. And she is wholly thriving off of the adrenaline still pumping through her system.

He might’ve stayed in his hellhound form, the predacious exploits comforting to a restless mind, but once the Harpy shifted, he followed suit. From beast to man, or perhaps just another intertwining of both, his long strides still engulfed the caverns, turning down another corridor as she sidled along his side.

[say]“Little blood right there,”[/say] and he pointed at her teeth with a wrinkled nose and a slight smirk, edges of teasing, for he didn’t care and likely wore similar compunctions along his beard and mouth. Following suit, mostly because of the heat amidst the Climb, his long hair was loosely tied back as well. [say]“You are welcome,”[/say] for she was, and always had been, to his loyalty and abilities, as much as he could possibly give and grant. The notions of anything else she needed settled along his tongue again, aiming and intending to provide, but maybe that was all she’d required.

Instead, curiosity waged its way. [say]“What are you going to do now?”[/say] Unless wandering and exploring were the pinnacle of current ambitions.

His comment sparks a chimed laugh from her – similarly enough to Rexanna’s that if the Harpy knew of it, she’d likely try to never laugh again. But for now, it’s unknown to her, and she flashes him that bright bloodstained grin once more as they walk back toward Frey’s Breath. “[say]Likewise.[/say]” She trills, before she flashes him a wink and seems to practically float back down the cavern, so light and free in the moment.

His question, however, doesn’t deter her from continuing her lightness like it might have otherwise done, and she spins on her heel for a moment as she contemplates. “[say]I’m not sure. Stick to where it’s warmer with Deepfrost… Other than that, I’m hoping I might just figure it out.[/say]” It likely isn’t a good answer, but it’s the only one she has, and her iceberg gaze soon lands on Deimos with a smaller, almost softer smile. “[say]I’ll write to you when I decide where I’m going.[/say]” Perhaps now that she wasn’t Ascended and didn’t harbor as much of the fear, it might be easier for her to keep in touch.

An echo of Rexanna’s laughter hadn’t been what he expected to hear – eyes widening, very briefly, at the recollection. Something stark pierced along the shards of his memory, and he placed it all away, back again, before his features could alter into anything else. He’d much rather listen to her amusement, her lightness, which had been gone and withered away years before, than inform her of her mother’s reflections and echoes. Knowing Kiada, she’d cease altogether.

So he shrugged at her trill, equally unbothered by the bloodstains; others were imprinted within bones and scar and all the painstaking lines of his lives. Permitting her to saunter forward, ahead of him, he watched as she spun around; reverberations of past encounters, when the world hadn’t been so daunted, haunted, or destroyed. Figuring it out seemed to be a Harpy staple, though he refrained from acknowledging that too – content with the peace. [say]“All right,”[/say] and he arched a brow, curling a fond smile in the corner of his mouth. [say]“We are planning on building a hot spring somewhere in the Fangs.”[/say] So maybe, maybe, she’d be able to meander there too – close to home.

It’s good that he refrains from that additional tidbit as well – because she’d never really had a plan, never really wanted to be the one with a plan. Sometimes it sounded as if it would be nice to have one, but the longer she survived, the more she realized that each and every plan she tried to make for herself got ruined in the process of fruition. So here she is, simply back to going with the flow of things, regardless of what and who it hurt in the process.

She slows her spinning and carefreeness to settle back at Deimos’ side, attention captured by him as she steps over the slight debris from the tunnel they take back toward Frey’s Breath. “[say]A hot spring would be nice.[/say]” She murmurs thoughtfully. “[say]Let me know when you do and then I can come and visit.[/say]” She offers softly, reaching over to rest her hand on his arm – no longer cold or room temperature, her skin burns with a surprising heat from what they were used to.

The Sword had spent far too long in training, war, and crusades, no matter the lifetime, to be without plans. Before the last interval of bloodshed and ruin, it had been to ensure Halo was prepared for whatever strife the mountains and Citadel would face, that its people were safe, secure, and capable. And now, amid some parallels of peace, his machinations comprised of vigilance, preservation, shelter, and security; for his citizens and loved ones. Impulsivity and boldness were reserved for mischief and antics, amongst those who knew him best; where all the guards could slowly meander downwards, unfurl in rapid succession.

But he’d always known Kiada to be of compulsions and spontaneity, flickering or flowing where the earth tossed her – to either face it head-on or meander in its sanction, before following an alternative path. He studied her now, silently, in his own piercing way, watching as she spun around, as a carefree ambience settled upon horns and differences; the same soul lacerated and melded back together so many times. [say]“Of course,”[/say] and he offered her his arm as they meandered and stepped over rubble. On a notion, and far too much curiosity, the rumble in his tones persisted. [say]“Have you been back to the Grounds? I heard it changed.”[/say] Significantly, given the map Darkeye had handed over.

And from there, they could have their rapt discussions, until they needed to disperse, return, back to their collective spaces.

[FIN <3]