"You've never thought of it that way. You've always chosen to run from everything, never staying in the same place. You've been doing that so long that any other course of action seems impossible." Jackie says softly.
"See? I have some bright ideas," she says self-deprecatingly.
"Gods above, how is it we went from actually trying to kill each other to this?" she asks, trying to inject a bit of humour into the situation.
De’Tearion shook his head again, but this time with meaning.
“No. I only started running after Agatha’s death. I ran from Mileena as well,”he replied, wondering if he should’ve stayed and fought for Mileena’s love. Likely not, considering her reaction to witnessing him murder her father. But, if there had been a chance for forgiveness, he had lost it the moment he ran.
He snorted at her comment.
With a chuckle, De’Tearion shook his head slightly.
“No idea,”he replied.
"That be my point, De'Tearion." Jackie clarifies.
"Well. . . either way, this is now our life." she sighs.
"Oh, by the way, the buck is still alive, though not for much longer. You may want to eat it before it dies." she remembers.
De’Tearion sighed, shaking his head.
“I could have stayed not. Agatha had been my only tie to that damned forest. Nwalan, he be a Vanisher, and be far more capable of caring for himself than he likely realizes. Mileena… I cannot return to her, especially now. It pains me to say it, yet ‘tis true,”he said.
“I suppose. Yet… I am grateful to finally have someone near,” he said softly.
De’Tearion chirped at the reminder, having forgotten about the deer. He hesitated to move though.
“Hold me a bit longer, I beg,”he requested, his voice barely audible.
"That damned forest be what made you into the courageous man you are, though. Even if you be incapable of returning to Mileena and Nwalan, one of them still hopes for your safety, I would think." Jackie murmurs.
"As am I." she nods.
"Wish granted." Jackie murmurs, holding De'Tearion for a few minutes longer before letting him go.
"Now eat." she sighs.
De’Tearion couldn’t help raising an eyebrow a bit at Jackie’s continued attempt to mimic his accent. She had confused him before, but now she was starting to fail miserably, which just didn’t make any sense to him. Why was she trying to mimic an accent that she was physically incapable of copying? And why was she adding words to the accent as well?
“‘Courageous’? Or ‘survivalistic’? There be no peace in those forests. If one be at war not, then they are about to be. Every random encounter will likely end someone’s life. Every attempt to sleep usually ends with someone’s hand tightening around your throat. Be that courage, when even honor be a mockery of its true form?”De’Tearion questioned.
He sighed at the last bit of her words.
“Nwalan, more likely. He and I were always close, much like a father to his son. A true father, in any case,”De’Tearion remarked. He deliberately avoided mentioning Mileena.
He chuckled a bit at her words, grateful. Then, he nuzzled into her shoulder, immersing himself in her scent so he could focus on something that would calm him. Though, the minutes seemed to pass by so fast, and Jackie let him go. Part of him wanted to cry at that, but he pushed it away, focusing on reality instead of his need to be held.
De’Tearion chuckled in amusement,”Mothering me now, are you?”
Despite his usual preference to defy orders and traditions, he obeyed Jackie, getting up and moving toward the deer. He crouched next to the creature, staring into its eyes with a calm, intense, and hypnotic gaze. The deer was lulled to sleep within moments. De’Tearion then brushed its neck, admiring its smooth coat of fur, before he let loose his proboscis, latching it onto the deer’s neck and beginning to drain the creature of every last drop of blood.
As he did so, he didn’t focus on food. He focused on the memory of Jackie holding him mere minutes ago. Somehow, it kept him calm, and didn’t ruin his newfound appetite at all. Though, he also remembered the taste of Jackie’s blood, and that seemed to inspire his hunger more.
When the deer was drained completely of blood, De’Tearion methodically cut into it, skinning it, then ripping chunk of meat away. His four feelers came out to pull the chunks of meat away from his hand and into his mouth, where his sharp mandibles awaited to chew and crush everything, even the bone.
A little while later, the only thing that remained of the deer was its skin. Not even a chunk of bone or scrap of meat was left to mark that there had been a deer in front of him. De’Tearion then cleaned himself up before glancing at Jackie, seeming to be in a considerably brighter mood.
“Have you any desire to keep the skin? Otherwise, I shall merely bury it as I usually do,”he asked.
(That turned out a little longer than expected, lol)
(Bump)
(I'm working on it!)
(Okay, no worries. I just wasn’t sure if you had seen it)
"Courage and survivalism are on opposite sides of a very then line. I think you walk the line between them, leaning more into one or the other on occassion. Plus, honor and being honorable is not an easily definable concept or state. Do you truly expect a demon to identify honor the same way and angel would? Similarly, do you think you should still hold your individual ideal of honor to be the ideal of honor of the people that scorned you?" Jackie answers.
"I assume you were the father figure, and a much better one than your own father was." she replies softly.
"No, simply making sure you don't fall into another three day coma that ends with you waking up to a giant ass wildcat on your chest again. Next time it happens, don't expect me to be as gentle." she chuckles, watching as De'Tearion feeds.
"I'll keep the skin. I can make it a nice cloak for you." she replies, taking hold of the soft pelt.
“We were clearly taught very different things. I also know not what an ‘angel’ be,”De’Tearion stated instead of trying to argue with her.
“Indeed. Also a better father figure than his own father. His father and I were rivals in the Forest Council, and we had a mutual hatred for each other. It was rather amusing to see his reaction when I refused to return his son, and when Nwalan willingly stayed by my side,”he replied with a chuckle.
De’Tearion snickered at her reply.
“Why should you be? Though, to be serious, if I fall into another sleep like that right now, I will never wake again,”De’Tearion admitted with a sigh.
De’Tearion rose an eyebrow at her.
“You need not,”he said gently.
Sure, his robe was old and had faded to a dark grey, and had many tears that he’d sewn up, but he didn’t necessarily need anything new. He was used to wearing his clothes until they literally fell apart. And, his current robe still had another century left in it, if De’Tearion could manage it.
"I think we were. An angel is a higher entity made of light magic, the opposite of a demon." Jackie explains.
"Oh, that's absolutely hilarious to me." she laughs.
"Ah. . . well, considering I'm a very persistant woman, I'd find a way to wake you up, even if that eternal sleep was death." Jackie grins.
"And yet I will!" she replies cheerfully.
“‘Opposite of a demon’. The only explanation I need. Angels exist not in my homeland, literally or figuratively,”he hummed.
De’Tearion agreed with a chuckle.
His eyebrow rose in confusion at her words. How would she manage that? He truly had no idea.
De’Tearion just stared. If she insisted, it would be rude of him to stop her, but, it still bewildered him why she would make him a cloak. He didn’t need one.
“Well… I suppose if you need help, particularly with my size, you need only ask,”he said after a minute.
"But that does not mean they don't exist at all in the whole of your world." Jackie shrugs.
She notes the eyebrow raise.
"Don't worry, I'm sure I can threaten or otherwise coerce On'nyosh into lending me a friend. Or I could simply threaten a friend directly." she smiles.
She takes a moment to size up De'Tearion with her eyes, then nods.
"No need for that. I know your size now. It'll be a while, but I think you'll enjoy it." Jackie replies.
(Lol)
“My homeland be an island. I have traveled across most of it, and only found more of the same petty foolishness,”De’Tearion clarified.
His eyebrow only rose further and De’Tearion shook his head. He still didn’t know what significance this ‘Ōn’nyosh’ had.
De’Tearion stared in bewilderment at her, but simply shrugged afterward. He had no idea how she could gauge his size so easily, but if it worked, then he wouldn’t complain.
“My offer stands. If you need help, merely ask,”he said softly.
(Quick question: do angels exist in De'Tearion's world?)
"Mmmm. . . that explains a lot." Jackie nods.
"Nevermind. Don't worry yourself any further about it. Just know I most definitely will find a way." she laughs.
Jackie nods, already focused on the deer hide.
Slowly, she walks over to a panel in the floor and pulls it up, revealing swaths of fabric: blues, greens, greys, reds, yellows, purples, browns.
Eyeing De'Tearions shell and the skin that showed where chitinous plates were growing back, then looks back at her fabrics.
She chooses a greyish brown-tan color, then takes both fabric and hide to the other side of the cabin.
She starts cutting the hide's rough edges.
(Not on the island. It’s a very isolated spot. Otherwise… I have no idea. I don’t know what world the island is based in, and I’m stuck on figuring that out, so yeah)
“I see,”De’Tearion replied, shaking his head in confusion again.
He watched her, amazed by the variety of fabrics. He had only seen such a variety in one other place, the castle where Mileena lived. Though, Jackie’s choice in color confused him.
“A simple black cloak will be fine,”he commented, his confusion seeping into his gentle tone.
He continued to watch her, fascinated.
(Oh. Huh. That's hilarious, honestly)
Jackie pauses, looking back up at De'Tearion.
"The color will help you blend with the forest. I plan on layering different shades of brown over this, ending with black, and enchanting the fabrics so that they match the light level and shadows. I'll also put a spell on it to where, if you ever break or lose your ring, the cloak will keep you safe. One last spell I'll put on it is invisibility and aura hiding. You'll be able to sneak around anywhere without being bothered." she explains, looking back down at the hide, continuing to trim the edges.
(Lol. It’s a bitch. I’ve got several worlds to choose from, but none seem to fit. And, I don’t know if I want to make a new world or not)
De’Tearion looked at her incredulously.
“I understand the coloration now, yet… the enchantments? I am naturally an apex predator. I need no enchantments. I appreciate the generosity, yet I need it not,”he said.
Though, as he considered her words, the spell to protect him against sunlight was intriguing. De’Tearion glanced down at the ring on his finger, remembering the few times that someone had taken it. Those moments hadn’t lasted long, but it was still a danger to him. If someone managed to take it off while he was in sunlight, death might be a mercy.
(I get the struggle- it's the same deal with my Ilhyong. I have no clue if I should toss them in the Infinite Depths world or the Blood and Silver world, since both are mostly water based worlds)
"But I shall still do it. Since I know you don't seek out conflict usually - unless someone like me pisses you off - it can help you escape. Plus, it offers me a measure of security in your safety." Jackie murmurs, continuing to trim the edges of the hide for a bit before nodding to herself, starting to measure out the first swath of fabric.
(Oof. Well, I hope we both eventually figure out our dilemmas, lol)
“I will run not from battle, Jackie. Aye, I seek not conflict, yet I will shy not away from it,”De’Tearion insisted quietly, glancing at Jackie.
Or would he? He honestly wasn’t sure, now that he thought of it. Battle didn’t scare him. Nor did war, or death. But, not all conflict was bloody. Some conflicts were of the mind, of the past, and those… did scare him.
He turned away again, unconsciously fiddling with his amulet.
(Bump)
(Same, lol)
(Sorry, I've been a bit busy- school and all, and I'm very fucking sick, and my entire body is sore from working out)
Jackie shakes her head.
"It's more for my own peace of mind. I wish you to be safe and protected. You've been through so much already." she murmurs.
She looks back for a moment, then reaches behind her and gently takes De'Tearion's hand.
(Oof, I hope you feel better)
De’Tearion stared at Jackie, shocked, but bashful as well. No one had ever been concerned about his safety. No one that had been able to help him, at least. It was relieving to finally have someone who, at least, wanted to help, and who was also actually helping him.
He was too distracted by his thoughts to notice Jackie turn. When she grabbed his hand, he jolted, startled out of his thoughts. He quickly calmed though when he realized it was just Jackie’s hand. Her lovely, comforting hand.
“I have never known such kindnesses as you have shown me,”De’Tearion breathed, his tone appreciative.
He wrapped her hand with his other one, his long fingers tenderly caressing the back of her hand.