(SE) left my home on hollow bones

gently she leads you out into the darkness //

For his sake, at least, she is good for the ride. She can’t make any promises as to when they arrive, but for the moment she’s content to sit on the wooden chariot, holding on tightly and keeps her bag right beside her. She hums a note of acknowledgement, peering up at him to see the smile creasing his eyes, and she offers a beaming one back, unable to keep her excitement of not having to warm up in the middle of an actual fire.

Her gaze is immediately captivated by the house they pull up to, already itching to go inside. The second the sled stops, she steps off of it, grabbing her bag as she sidles up beside Fox, ready to follow her. “It’s really cute.” She assures him, nudging his side with her elbow. “And it’s better than what I’ve got.” Flashing him a crooked smirk, she waits for him to open up the house.

KIADA

\\ and makes you drink rain

totally sniped from odd ilu

Gathering up the little kindling he's managed to get so far, Fox stacks it under a heavy canvas to the side of the house where a deal more firewood is already seasoning, then props the sled up against one of the stone walls so no one trips over it. "Yeah?" He huffs out a laugh, never having heard his place described as cute by anyone. "Hey, don't put yourself down. It was a very impressive bonfire I found you in."

Sidling up beside her, he reaches into his coat pocket for a small ring of keys, using the largest to reach out and unlock the old oak door. Stamping the snow from his boots, he pushes open the door into cozy warmth and the smell of citrus and cloves. The door opens directly into the kitchen area, where a chimney breast houses a woodstove churning out lingering heat.

A small, circular dining table sits directly in front of the stove, and there are herbs hanging to dry from the beams overhead, as well as countertops cluttered with vegetables and other supplies yet to be put away. "Please, make yourself comfortable."

welcome to the desecration, baby

we built you up and we'll tear you right down

gently she leads you out into the darkness //

“Yeah,” she starts to say before his comment reaches her and she chimes a laugh, shrugging a bit bashfully, surprisingly. “It was, wasn’t it?” She asks, flashing him a fanged grin before she follows him into the house and is faced with the brunt of warmth that immediately has a soft little groan slipping from her lips of relief. The citrus and cloves only add to the mix of homeynees that she didn’t realize she missed as much as she has in this moment.

She trudges further in once she knocks the snow off of her boots too, setting her bag down before venturing further in, iceberg eyes captivated by everything she can see. “Thank you, Fox.” Her tone is distracted as she shrugs out of her magical jacket, folding it onto the back of a chair as she wanders in further, drifting automatically toward the fireplace. “This is really lovely.” She says, turning back to face him, the light from the flames flickering across her skin lightening the bruise and darkening the shadows in her scars.

KIADA

\\ and makes you drink rain

totally sniped from odd ilu

Once Kiada is safely through the door, Fox follows her and closes it up to seal in the heat. His shoulders sag as it immediately goes to work on his stiff body, the hunter shrugging out of his coat, scarf and gloves, hanging them on a hook behind the front door. Beneath he wears a charcoal coloured sweater (and another layer under that, it's fucking freezing), ruffling his hands through his hair to get rid of any lingering snow.

"You're more than welcome. I know how rough my first Deepfrost was like this, and I had a roof over my head to begin with. Granted, remembering I needed to eat and stay warm was a learning curve." Ah, that terrible Ascended life. He's crossed to the woodburner by the time Kiada speaks again, grabbing a log or two from the basket and opening the door to plonk in more fuel.

"Hm? Oh... that's very kind of you to say. This place used to belong to my parents. Used to be a lot bigger too, but the farmhouse got caught by the sparkbird in the war."

welcome to the desecration, baby

we built you up and we'll tear you right down

gently she leads you out into the darkness //

She doesn’t expect it to hit her as emotionally as it does, and it’s what keeps her quiet as she does make herself at home, taking in everything around her, the smells, the heat, letting it warm her body up comfortably. “I missed eating when I was Ascended.” She comments idly, before staking a place for herself in the kitchen where he might return to when he’s done putting the logs in the fireplace.

She keeps her hands to herself, though, despite looking at the foods that haven’t been put away yet. She frowns deeply as Fox mentions that the Sparkbird has destroyed much of the house. “I’m sorry.” She murmurs, harboring some guilt for how she’d hidden herself away during the attack. How she’d avoided going out into battle for the hopes of survival.

And here she is. “Were you here when it happened?” She asks quietly, turning back toward Fox, a tentative look in her eyes as she wraps her arms around herself.

KIADA

\\ and makes you drink rain

totally sniped from odd ilu

"Are you hungry now? We can get some lunch before heading out to collect firewood, if you want," Fox says, evidently losing much of his awkwardness now that he's on his home turf, so to speak. (Warming up and having something to do with his hands absolutely helps as well, granted). He stokes the woodburner until it's crackling merrily away again, shutting the door and brushing the ash from his hands onto his pants.

He shakes his head at her apology, offering a soft smile. "It's alright - my parents have been dead for years, and it was just me. Honestly, it was too much space for one person." Especially since he's long stopped trying to be a farmer. Turning back towards her and realising he's left everything out, Fox crosses to the counter to start hastily putting things away.

"Hm? Oh, no. I was in... I guess you'd call it the Inner Quarter, now. Near the Temple? I was trying to put out fires, but being Ascended made it a rough task." It had been luck rather than skill that had helped him survive, honestly.

welcome to the desecration, baby

we built you up and we'll tear you right down

gently she leads you out into the darkness //

“If it isn’t too much trouble, I could eat.” She assures him, flashing him a small smile as he seems far more at home right now. Which, should make sense given they stand in his home. But that’s neither here nor there, and she stands by the counter in a way that allows her to help should he need help with it – fully willing and ready to cut anything that needed to be cut or to start anything while he focused on gaining the ingredients.

But shortly after she apologizes, he shakes his head and flashes her a soft smile which has her relaxing more than she thought that it would – humming a light sound under her breath as she nods her understanding. “In terms of blood family, I’ve been on my own for a while too.” Not adopted family, given Deimos’ involvement in her life, a lifeline she holds onto because he’s been the only constant.

There is some relief to know he hadn’t been out there – hidden away much like herself, so she puffs a soft exhale of a laugh with far less humor than it should, understanding intensely that the Ascended couldn’t handle getting close to fire. It’s what made staying in Halo so hard during most of her Ascended life. “The second I heard the boom I just… hid away.” She admits quietly, still internally cursing herself at her selfishness.

KIADA

\\ and makes you drink rain

totally sniped from odd ilu

"It's no trouble at all," Fox assures her with a smile, shifting to grab a cast iron pot from one of the lower cupboards and setting it between them. He leaves Kiada in charge of cutting carrots and potatoes, while the hunter goes digging in his icebox for some meat to add. "I hope you like stew, because that's about the only thing I can cook decently," he warns her.

Finding himself wanting to apologise for Kiada's losses despite having not needed it himself, Fox clears his throat and offers her a friendly shrug. "Family is what you make it, right?" he says. (Which, if that's true, explains a lot about why he's been on his own for so fucking long).

Tossing some diced venison into the pot and rummaging around for seasonings, Fox glances around to her and furrows his brow. "I'm glad you did," he says honestly. "The number of people who didn't make it, who tried to help but failed... it was carnage out there."

welcome to the desecration, baby

we built you up and we'll tear you right down

gently she leads you out into the darkness //

She does take charge of cutting carrots and potatoes when he gives her the option, relaxing a bit more as the minutes tick on. The knife in her hand is comfortable and she slices through the vegetables with precision that seems to suggest she’s well familiar with having a blade in her hand. “Stew is perfect.” She offers, as it’s her turn to reassure him. She’s never been much of a cook, but that doesn’t mean she won’t try.

There’s a soft little hum and roll of her own shoulders in agreement to his shrug. Family was what one made of it, and for her? She certainly focused on her own adoptive friends and family over the ones that were constantly there. Unless of course Kianzo came back, but he’s been gone to her for a decade now and she’s far past getting her hopes up.

Kiada doesn’t expect to hear him tell her that he’s glad she hid. It wars with her inner selfishness, despite how he tries to balm it, and she stays silent for a moment while she grabs handfuls of the potatoes and carrots to put into the pot to start the boil of them as she tries to figure out what to say. “It was.” She finally decides, agreeing with a soft sigh as she sets the knife down and rests a hip against the counter as she turns to look at him. “Though I feel incredibly selfish that I didn’t do anything.” An admission that she likely wouldn’t have said otherwise if she wasn’t really hoping that this little connection and friendship with Fox would bloom. If there’s one thing about Kiada, it’s that she values her honesty, and as she’s grown she never wants to trap someone to be around her from lies or deceit.

KIADA

\\ and makes you drink rain

totally sniped from odd ilu

Between them then, at least, they should hopefully come up with something fairly edible, and Fox adds his seasonings to the meat before starting to clean up and wipe the counters down, waiting for Kiada to add her vegetables. Once that's done, he transfers the pot to the stove and adds water so it can start to simmer. Perfect it might yet be - they'll just have to give it time and a bit of attention before they can find out.

"I don't think you should feel selfish," he says softly, though he knows more than most that one's inner thoughts can be powerful, especially, it seems, when they're negative. "Or rather... I know you can't help how you feel. But for what it's worth, I'm glad you weren't outside for it, because it means you're definitely here now. Maybe you can help the Grounds recover, you know?"

welcome to the desecration, baby

we built you up and we'll tear you right down

gently she leads you out into the darkness //

Hopefully it is edible, but she’s confident between the two of them that they’d manage it. So they get it all put into the bowl to cook over the fire and Kiada returns to her perch by the kitchen counter, leaning her hip against it as Fox takes on the crux of her issue, while she focuses on a speck on the floor to distract herself from hearing what he has to say about it.

“Yeah…” She trails off with a soft sigh, before reaching up to run a hand through her dark hair, tugging it over a shoulder as she fiddles with the ends to help her think. But she looks back up at him finally when she continues her thought. “I’ve never been a fan of the Grounds, truthfully. A lot has happened here… But maybe it’s time for new memories. Good memories.” To replace all of the bad ones that come to her when she wanders through the parts that haven’t changed, half expecting to see faces long since gone walking around the corner of a building or shopping at the stalls. Perhaps it’s something he could benefit from, too.

KIADA

\\ and makes you drink rain

totally sniped from odd ilu

Kiada returns to the counter and Fox fusses around in making sure said counter is clear and clean; they can't both be staring at the same speck on the floor after all now, can they? Her initial response, when it comes, says yeah but screams nope, and he pauses to smile across at her, waiting for the inevitable.

"Ah," he says with a soft laugh when she does explain. "I understand it, honestly, especially if you came here from elsewhere. It's similar but different for me, I suppose. With the barrier and all, and having grown up here... it was all I knew for so long." And now it feels wrong to abandon it.

But making better memories? That he can definitely agree upon, the hunter clearing his throat and raking a hand back through his hair, not quite so bold as to make the assumption that he'd be part of that. "With any luck you won't get caught in the cold too much after this," he says instead.

welcome to the desecration, baby

we built you up and we'll tear you right down

gently she leads you out into the darkness //

She feels slightly frozen as he fusses around the kitchen, unsure what she should do so she stays out of the way, watching him as she continues her thought process. After all, it isn’t her house to fuss over or organize, so she stands there trying to stay out of the way, hip leaned against the counter as she wrings her hands. His soft laugh, though, alleviates her anxiety over her answer, nodding in agreement. “I’ve been to so many places that it’s hard to find one to convince myself is home.” The closest she’d gotten was Halo, with Chuy, before she died, and when she’d come back it hadn’t felt like home anymore. “But I did stay here for a little while after I arrived.” So perhaps the closest to home she could get for the moment.

So she makes the comment of making better memories in this place, and its something that she certainly hopes he can be a part of, but is equally not bold enough yet to make any suggestions of it. She has just met him, after all. Still, she can’t help the laugh that breaks through her melancholy when he comments on the cold and she straightens up to flash him a fanged smile that blooms in the wake of the shift of tone. “I’ll admit, it wasn’t one of my better moments. The fire felt amazing though.”

KIADA

\\ and makes you drink rain

totally sniped from odd ilu

"You can sit down if you like," Fox remarks gently once the counters are clean and their stew is cooking. So saying, he also heads back to the kitchen table before the wood burner, enjoying the way the heat rolls from it. "Once we've thawed out a bit, we can head back and collect that firewood." And then there'll be food waiting for them when they return - win-win, right?

"And I think sometimes home is just what you end up making of it," he adds, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I didn't ever think I'd get used to this place once it was just me. And especially when it half burned down. But now..." Well, he might not come back as often as most people return home (ah, the life of a monster hunter), but it's waiting for him nonetheless. "It's like a port in a storm, I guess."

welcome to the desecration, baby

we built you up and we'll tear you right down