Shattered Innocence (IC) [M]

[Noone]

Nicha didn't say anything, she refused to even look at her interrogators. She simply looked at the ground uneasily. She growled softly, some of her anger returning to her. "Alright... go ahead..." She grumbled.

The rest of the village was largely more of the same... razed buildings, corpses in the snow, and other forms of wreckage. Interestingly enough... some footprints in the snow can be found at the northwest edge of the village, they appear to be tracks of a small group of creatures, though the weather has erased most of the details.
Other than Kassin, Nicha, Raffiele, Garis, and Kedered, and yourself, your senses detect no other life nearby. Faint magical auras can be found on some of the buildings and corpses, probably residue from magical attacks. No permanent auras are nearby.

The weather continued to worsen as time went by.

[Lisky]

Garis took a moment to shrink the tentacle before pulling it out... meanwhile, he took the one hand he hadn't offered the demoness, and began heating it to seal the wound.  he said "this is probably going to sting a bit, but it's for the best" Garis then pressed around the edges of the hole where the tentacle had been, making sure to stop any bleeding... he then started trying to heal the wound as best he could... someone else could have done it faster, and more efficiently, but at the same time, the others seemed more content with directing emotions ranging from apathy to downright hatred towards Nicha.

He held his hand over the wound, and his eyes started glowing again as he concentrated on filling the wound and restoring the muscles he'd damaged in his attack...  Smiling politely at the demoness he asked "feeling a little better now?"

[Azlan]

Tyrian examined the footprints, dropping to all fours briefly to sniff about for scent traces like a feral fox might.  That which he found, he committed to memory.

Tyrian returned to find Garis healing the demoness of one of her wounds.  The fox wondered if this Garis was as... unusual... to all of his foes, or if it was just the one's he found cute and was trying to hit on.

Padding quietly over to Kassin, Ty keeled down bringing himself to eye level with the other angel, "come on, we need to get everyone to shelter from this cold.  Now just relax, I haven't tried to do this for centuries..."

Allowing his thoughts to drift back seven to eight centuries ago, he tried to remember his mother's instruction on the use of Light magic.  He focused on the warm, soothing feelings he could remember and summoned those up and into his hands.

He reached out and placed both glowing hands on each side of Kassin's temple.  The fox angel projected outward with his power and channeled it to Kassin's mind, filling it with warm and soothing emotions, doing the best he can do to try and ease Kassin's situation and make him mobile enough to reach shelter.

"come on now kid, let's get out of the cold."   

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Squelching a grimace at Garis's behavior, while cauterizing the wound was certainly useful, the attitude of the 'Cubi towards a downed enemy was outright bizarre, Kedered licked a paw and held it up to the wind. Definitely getting colder. "The Angel has it right, let's head on over to what's left of that inn over there." Half noting that his right hand still held the flame sword, he ceased feeding power to it, and the flaming blade winked out.

The inside of the inn was a mess naturally. The broken windows had left shattered shards of glass underfoot everywhere, and Kedered was glad that of all his apparel, his boots remained in good condition. Light, it's going to be nine ways 'till forever before I can get a decent cloak. I hate traveling in tattered clothes. But other priorities await. Two interrogations, one unfriendly, and we have to scavenge for supplies. I still need a new bowstring, maybe I can appropriate some piano wire or something. Not the best solution, but it's better than nothing. Kedered decided that eliciting information from the demoness was both the most important and the most immediate priority.

They took up positions in one of the less damaged sections of the first floor, farther in and away from the fires. Kedered considered, and then discarded, suggesting that someone search for provender. If one of the Demons or Angels got hungry, they could go eat on their own. Kedered had enough fear radiating from the little demoness to keep him going, even keep him stuffed, although it wasn't exactly quality fare. She was almost like a little  beacon,  and Kedered would have been able to find her from anywhere in the building.

He motioned for her to sit, and then took a position opposite her on the scorched floor. Kedered flashed a small smile, keeping his lips together to hide his teeth.  He had maintained his redeye spell, and kept his unblinking gaze locked firmly upon Nicha's face. "Now, you're a very young demoness. I'd guess you haven't reached forty yet. Which would explain your hostility, your overconfidence, and why you're such a bad liar." He let that sink in for a moment and then continued. "Some of your narrative doesn't really click together. The blood in the snow is still fresh. Those people can't have been dead more than eight hours at the most. If there weren't defenders in this little village, no more were coming, at least not quickly enough to make a getaway. And certainly you weren't planning on spending the next twenty years in this rather dismal town. You must have had some way of contacting your compatriots. Or perhaps they're coming for you, is that so? Are you hoping for a burst of demons to come crashing in at any second to rescue you? So why don't you tell me what is really going on. I very much dislike it when people lie to me."

[Lisky]

Garis took a brief walk around the building, looking for something to keep him busy while he worked through his thoughts...  the problem was, the wreckage reminded him of the you demoness, and he was honestly worried as to what the others were going to do with her.  He had made a promise that she wouldn't be killed, and he would back that up, but at the same time, the rest of the group seemed to be depravedly indifferent as to how to treat her... 

after a brief, silent walk, he sighed, then sat himself down between the demoness and the other incubus, forming a sort of rough triangle on the floor between the three of them... Garis decided  that if worst came to worst, he could alway impale them both, and heal them once tempers had died down... Garis didn't want to be seen as the bad guy, but at the same time he didn't have a handle on anyone yet... and as such, he wasn't going to leave anything to chance...

he first gave Kendered a friendly smile and said "mind if i listen in?" then turned to the demoness and gave her a polite bow, he kept his face blank, and waited intently to hear what she had to say...

[Noone]

Nicha yelped as her wounds were tended to, but after the cauterization she emitted a soft growl. Kassin also grunted in pain at the same time. Kassin felt a little better  as Tyrian applied some healing. He wasn't in ideal condition for sure, but it was a significant improvement. He was still shivering madly, but he managed to rise to his feet. He actually managed a weak smile.
"Th...th.... thanks", he replied, as he started advancing towards the entrance to the Inn. He went inside.

The scene inside... was kind of horrid.
The building itself was intact, though much of the furniture was entirely wrecked. From the point of view from the entrance, there was a 'bar' of sorts at the other end. Wrecked tables, seats, and stools were littered across the room. Bloody bodies were also inside, though the blood here seemed mostly dried out. There were doors on the far right and left ends of the room, both were smashed down. A staircase going downwards is located to the left, behind the smashed door. A staircase going upwards is located to the far right. The environment on the inside was still cold, but far more comfortable than what was outside, discounting the rancid smell of dried blood.

Kassin's mental state however, took a blow upon entering the place. The sight and smell of corpses was maddening to him. Tears started to flow beneath his eyes, and he could barely focus his vision on any one particular object. He glanced around as if trying to find some reprieve, but failing to do so. He went near one of the main room's corners and sat down on the floor, and started sobbing softly.

Nicha grumbled as Kedered continued with his inquiries. A soft growl emitted from her voice, and her face became less afraid and more angry. Mercy was making her more bold. "Look, I don't question my orders, I just follow them as long as I get to prove my superiority over beings." She stopped for a moment. "beings", she stated again with an angry emphasis, and spit on the floor. "The fresh blood was from the ones I decided to torture to death," she said slowly, grumbling incomprehensible words beneath her breath after saying that. There were however, an oddly high number of fresh corpses.
"And before you ask, there were a few defenders, they just weren't very good at it. And adventurers tend to wander around." The complete lack of weaponry around the inn, and around the rest of this village however doesn't seem to coincide with what she is saying.
"I was told to wait here in case any came," she continued. She then took an angry look at Kedered, and then opened her mouth as if to start another sentence, but then reconsidered. She didn't bother to answer how she could contact other demons or if she was expecting a rescue. She didn't however, actively rise up and attack.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered stood up, "tsking". Circling around behind Nicha, he said, his tone measured disappointment. "I told you child, I do not like being lied to." Grabbing her by the nape of the neck, he hauled the young demonness to her feet, and then quickly established an armlock around her left elbow and wrist, bending her forward. "We will continue our discussion outside, where we do not have to offend the sensibilities of my companions."

Applying pressure to her arm, he leveraged Nicha to walk forward, following along and maintaining the lock, guiding her back outside to the storm. As they marched, Kedered kept talking, in a casual tone. "It takes time to properly torture someone, even for sport.  And if you weren't worried about being interrupted then, why would you assume that adventurers would come after you at some interval. You know, by my book, stupidity is a weakness. If I were to cut off your head and dump your body in the snow for lying to me in such a pathetic, obvious fashion, do you think anyone would be able to tell which corpse was the superior and which the inferior? Do not think that simply because I am..... less exciteable than the others, I would shrink from hurting you to get what I want."

He kept going, until he was out of immediate earshot of the shelter. After reaching what seemed like a good enough spot, he pushed away the hold, flinging Nicha facefirst into the snow, and waved a spell to bring back the flaming sword. "Now little girl, we are going to play a game. I am going to ask you a series of questions. You are going to answer them as quickly and accurately as you can. If you can do this, I will let you go from my custody back to the inn where it is warm and there is food. Each time you lie to me, and you do not seem to possess the skill to lie to me effectively, or hold back information I want, I am going to burn a piece of you away. I think I will start with your left wing, or maybe an eye. You do not really require both eyes, so you can be permitted a few mistakes."

He paused for a moment, let that sink in. "Now that you understand me, let us restart our discussion. You and some friends came to this village for the purpose of a little recreational murder. Your mistress commanded you to keep an eye out for my friend Kassin. You claim you do not know why he is important or how he would be coming through here. You remained, but your companions left. Tell me when they are coming back, what their abilities are, why someone put a mind shield upon you,  and most importantly, your real reason for remaining behind. You have five seconds to start talking, or I will take a piece of you."

A pause. "Five, four..."

[Lisky]

Garis followed silently behind the pair, he had promised the girl he wouldn't let someone take her life, and he did intend to follow through. at the same time, he couldn't really deal with the angels, and the strange demon was more unpredictable than Nicha...  so, he decided that keeping an eye on kedered would be the best way for him to spend a bit of time... besides, if the demons came back, kedered would need someone who didn't shy away from combat to back him up until further help arrived... 

he kept himself in a position to observe, and intervene the interrogation if need be, yet far enough back that he was unobtrusive.  He found the cornerpost of a destroyed building, and leaned against it, wrapping his wings around him like a cloak.  He then sat by, watching and waiting to see what would happen...

before kedered started his countdown, garis sent him a message telepathically 'if your going to make your torture effective, take out a limb first, in a manner that it's repairable. i prefer stomping a knee, or breaking an arm at the elbow... it is greatest reminder to a victim that this was in their control, and they can still recover... besides, she's got a pretty face, i'd hate to see it scared when there are far more useful and effective alternatives'

[Tipod]

While the others milled about, Raffiele was content (to use the term by the strictest definition possible) to sit quietly on one of the few serviceable chairs in the lobby. He didn't bother going along with Kedered and Garis, seeing as how they appeared capable of handling Nicha on their own. Besides, Nicha didn't seem to be more than a hired thug. Kassin, on the other hand, had already captured Rafa's fascination and contempt. He wouldn't have ended up on anybody's hitlist were it not for this one little angel who just couldn't keep from being such a goody two-shoes.

I should kill that little son of a bitch, he brooded darkly. I was better off buried under six feet of rubble. But he knew trying anything against the angel would have been foolhardy; everyone else would just turn on him. The only thing he could do was ponder over the Claws of Fire, and what to do once they inevitably crossed paths with a band of Firestorm's goons.

[Noone]

Nicha felt her wounds sting as she was flung into the snow. She faced Kedered, but this time, most of her confidence was gone. She tried to refrain from whimpering, her pride would not allow it, but she made a few soft moans as her face was buried in the snow. She managed to stand up, still clutching her wounds with her hands. She looked up at Kedered, terrified. She took some glances around, at Garis, at some of the corpses. Her eyes seemed mostly focused on Kedered's flaming blade, she tried to hide her terror, but she wasn't disguising well. After hearing the countdown, her defiance finally cracked.
"A..Alright j...just put the blade down!" She started, panting for each breath. She looked up at Kedered again, shook her head in disgust, then finally lowered her head.

"We were actually sent here to look for Kassin." She took another glance at Kedered's sword to remind herself of what might happen if she stopped talking. She decided losing pieces of herself wasn't worth stopping. "This place was merely on the way, and we thought he might come here. There were four others with me, three other demons and a succubus, all mo..." She shook her head in disgust as she tried to come up with what to say next. "all older than I. They left a few hours before you showed up, headed northwest..., they were going to intercept some Thularian soldiers who were looking to kill Kassin, and before you ask, I don't know why he is so important to my mistress or to the Thularians. I was told to wait here in case Kassin showed up, and if that happened, beat him down and drag him back to Narukh with me." She paused for a moment, she had to remind herself of her situation again by looking at Kedered's sword. "They didn't expect him to show up here. We thought there was a possibility though... but we thought he would have been traveling alone."
"I was told to wait here until another group would stop by, I was told they would come in three days, at which point, we would move out again to search for Kassin." She took some deep breaths. She was obviously uncomfortable being outside of shelter, raging winds blew and snow raced across the village. In the distance, one of the less stable buildings crumbled, chunks of it's structure flying with the storm.

Kassin sat still in a relatively empty corner of the inn. He was still sobbing softly to himself. Occasionally, he let out a faint 'how could anyone be so cruel' out... but largely kept from saying anything of coherence.

[Lisky]

Garis used the silence to move in closer when he saw Nicha's obvious fear of kedereds very real threats... he was also quite interested to learn what he may be facing off against in the near future...

when she finished answering the questions, he first said to kedered "if you want anything else, feel free to ask, but she's obviously going to start losing concentration with the way your both terrorizing her, and torturing her in this weather, details tend to slip when your mind is focused on survival, and you body is screaming in agony"

he then offered Nicha a hand and said "from the way it feels on my end, you still need a bit of healing... it also seems your rather cold as well, if you want, there's plenty of room under my wings for the walk back...assuming my acquaintance here is done"

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered kept his face still throughout the exchange, gazing unblinking into Nicha's eyes. Out of the periphary of his concentration, he noticed Garis and his jabbering. After a moment of playing back what the girl said and how she was speaking, he nodded solemnly. "I believe you girl. We will go back to the inn now, and get you some hot food."

Kedered walked ahead of the pair of them when Garis offered his hand to the girl, give them a little privacy. However, he cast a tendril of thought behind him, knowing that Garis was adept enough to pick it up if he was communicating in that fashion. Kedered was practically dripping satisfaction. I have dealt with Creatures like her in the past. SHe is not likely to be afraid of pain, or not afraid enough to overcome her pride. She would want to undergo torture just to prove she is tough enough to take it. But that does not preclude other means of intimidation. The threat of being a crippled little creature, forced to endure the scorn of her companions is unbearable. It is all a matter of what they are vulnerable to.

A pause and then another projection. Have fun with her, although I honestly cannot understand what you see in the girl. Kedered lengthened his stride, wanting to get back in the inn. There were more errands that needed to be done.

[Lisky]

garis fought every urge to chuckle at the message the fellow incubus had sent... he replied with his own message thanks dad... i think i can handle myself and one little demon...anyways, i can't help it that i find her attractive in some ways... impulsive, strong, powerful, and cute... besides, i started the fight, and feel a little guilty about that... oh, and let me know anything you pick up about our companions, i'll let you know if she tells me anything else... deal?

[Azlan]

Tyrian stood at the center of the main room, eyes closed and uttering no sound for a good three minutes before the blood and gore began to change around him.  An immediate circle of 4 meters around him rapidly dried out before becoming darker and eventually crumbling to gray ash.  The same effect carried itself to the top layer of wood flooring.

The odor of burning blood and flesh was not present, it was carried out of the building and scattered to the wind as part of his spell.

Satisfied, the angel sat in cross legged fashion wrapping his tail around his left side and resting his staff across his lap.  Softly chanting to himself, the tone gradually coincided with the howling wind.  Weaving a spell of wind scrying, Ty elevated his hearing and sight to that of the wind, extending both out into a bubble of approximately 300 meters of surface area out from the Inn.  He picked up on most of the conversation with the demoness, but his main aim was security.

Silently he watched and listened, paying little mind to Kassin or Raffiele.

[Noone]

Nicha took a small glance at Garis, she nodded weakly. However, she didn't say anything, quite disgusted with herself for actually letting herself get into a situation like that. She growled softly as she was led inside, the position she found herself in was quite displeasing. She tried to avoid eye-contact with Garis, but often did so as she found she was trying even harder not to look at Kedered.

Kassin closed his wings around himself, still sobbing softly to himself, and enduring a mental and emotional meltdown. Though Tyrian's spell helped clear his immediate surroundings, it didn't disguise what he had seen in his mind. He took a panicked glance at Nicha as she came in, but then quickly wrapped his wings around himself to block his own view. He lowered his head, tears streaming down his face.

Your senses are able to pick some things about the Inn. The back room contains cooking equipment, most of which however is damaged beyond repair. The stairway going down leads to a cellar of sorts, it seems like there should be enough food down there to last about a week. There are bedrooms upstairs, most of the doors to them have been smashed down, others have broken appliances scattered around. It does however, look like there are enough clean bedrooms to house everyone currently inside.
The weather outside doesn't appear like it's going to improve any time soon. The weather is getting colder, and the winds are not slowing down. Aside from that, the dead village is eerily still.

[Lisky]

Garis kept his tone light and gentle, telling Nicha "i can still feel some of your emotions, even if i can't tell the thoughts behind them.  I want you to know what you shouldn't feel as bad as you are...you are very beautiful, even if you don't accept it, and you have many admirable traits... your fast, agile, strong, and powerful, and i also believe you've got some amazing potential. you just need to get a little experience to learn how to use your own power effectively... if you'd like, i'd be more than happy to teach you some of what i know... and if not, at least accept that i did not intend to harm a fellow creature..." he let out a sigh, then added "i wish there was something i could say or do that would make up for what i've already done to you... so tell me, is there anything you want right now that i could help with?"

Garis kept himself slightly defensive as he saw the reaction of kassin.  He thought they probably think i'm crazy, acting towards a once enemy the way i am... well, whatever, they can think what they want.  I found someone i'm interested in, and i plan on pursuing that for now... besides, it's better she be under the watch of someone who does care for her, rather than someone who's depravedly indifferent... she doesn't deserve what she's already been subject to, and if someone else stays watch, it would probably have gotten worse...
He led her to a seat that was far enough away that she didn't have to deal with the others, or they, her... but at the same time, someone could easily intervene if she tried something.  He rubbed her gently on the shoulder and said "i'm going to go make some food, i'll be back in a bit"
with that, Garis went into the pantry, and recovered some usable cook ware, then went in search of something to actually cook

[Azlan]

Without opening his eyes or turning his head in the 'cubi's direction, the fox angel spoke, "Garis, if you seek to prepare food, there is a fair amount of usable consumables in the cellar... down the stairs.  Upstairs also houses the guest rooms and there are enough clean ones to house everyone.  I do not think it is wise to leave Nicha or Kassin alone.  We should get as comfortable as possible, the weather is getting worse and I can see no end in sight."

[Noone]

Nicha grumbled softly. She took a quick glance over at Kassin, still sobbing on the floor. She gently rubbed her cauterized wounds, the touch stung, but wad oddly soothing to her. She then faced Garis, and examined him up and down. She refrained from smiling, and often took glances at Kassin. She say against some rubble and sighed.
"If you want to do anything for me..." she started in response to Garis, but then stopped to look around. She closely examined the others in the vicinity. "we might be best off discussing things in... private." She simply waited as Garis turned away to make some food.

The sun had set on the outside, and night fell. Pale moonlight streamed atop the dead town, giving some ghostly illumination for those inside. Snowy gale raced across, winds picking up, yet, those within the Inn were safe from it's rage. Going outside however... might not be a good idea for those who couldn't ward themselves from the chill.

Kassin stopped sobbing for a moment, tears still streaming down his eyes. He covered his face with his hands and wings, but slowly stood up. He went upstairs. He examined some of the rooms, and upon finding one in reasonable condition, he lay down on the bed. He covered himself with the sheets, still in reasonable enough condition to ward off the cold, and continued his sobbing into the pillow. His thoughts wouldn't let him fall asleep at the time.

[Lisky]

Garis took Tyrian's advice and went to cellar, collected some bread, meat, cheese and vegetables, then proceeded to make several dishes at once, as he used his hands and tentacles to prepare several dishes at the same time.  He was lost in thought about what the young demoness had said, and the way she'd said it... because he couldn't read her thoughts, he couldn't tell if she was playing with him, if she had some serious plans, or, if she was actually coming on to him...  He took a few hours to prepare and cook the meal. it was finally ready as night fell. Garis said loudly "if anyone's hungry, all you need to do is finding something to eat it on"  Grabbing a pair of plates himself he dished out some food, then walked over to Nicha and said "if your hungry, i made a little something... personally i think it's pretty good, but you'll have to let me know what you think"  he handed her the plate then said "earlier you mentioned going somewhere private to discuss some things, where would you suggest?"

[Tipod]

Rather than follow Kassin upstairs, Raffiele simply stayed put for most of the evening before wandering into the kitchen. Being alone with the angel would just make beating him senseless all the more tempting. "Not hungry for sandwiches," he muttered as he approached Nicha and Garis, "but I am hungry for some opinion." Rafa leaned against one of the kitchen counters, drumming his claws rhythmically on the surface. "Tell me, Garis, are you at all annoyed by the fact that we've just gone from one type of immediate danger to another thanks to this one person?" He kept one eye on Nicha as he spoke, as if expecting her to do something stupid or impulsively violent as he had his little chat.

"Myself, I'm trying to think of any reason why I shouldn't pound the living shit out of Mr. Sunshine, and my mind is drawing a complete blank right now." Being that honest probably wasn't a smart idea, but he was too flustered to really care. "Think about it: what do you do when somebody drags you into something that you never wanted to be part of? What's stopping you from just, as my cousin would put it, 'hogtying his ass and leaving him to the wolves'?"

[Lisky]

Garis tried hard, and failed to suppress a smirk from Raffiele's obvious agitation, he replied "well, i see it as i'm partially indebted to him for saving my life, i plan on making sure he gets somewhere safe in return... but after that, who knows... as for doing anything about him right now, i really don't care what he does as long as he's safe, and unharmed.  The way he abhors bloodshed and pain has me a little concerned for his overall ability to survive though, especially the way the beings have been acting in the last couple of years... i really haven't thought the this whole situation through... my mind has been a little distracted" Garis' smirk had grown into a smile as he finished his response...
he then added "you know, while were on the topic of distractions, how the hell do you think one would get out bloodstains like that?"gesturing towards the young demoness while letting out a little chuckle

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Upon his return to the shattered inn, Kedered busied himself with ransacking the place, not for food or wine, but for some sort of string that he could affix to his bow. He also wanted some time away from some of his new travelling companions, in particular Garis's attraction to that Nicha made him faintly nauseous. The girl had attacked them, and was stupid, childish. There were pretty faces by the thousand, and to become besotted so quickly was dangerous.

As he searched, he plotted. He wasn't sure exactly what to do with the demonness girl. Killing her would be a quick and permanent solution to the problem, but she had talked, not willingly, but she had talked, and Kedered was uneasy at the prospect of murdering someone who was useful. Furthermore, the other 'Cubi would not likely take such an action philosophically, and while Kedered was fairly certain he could beat Garis, or anyone else who wore their emotions so openly in a fight, that would make for irritating travelling. But the girl would probably slow them down, and would have to be watched. And she had companions......... Useful or not, if they were attacked, Kedered was prepared to behead first and worry about repercussions later. She might be stupid, but those claws in the back could kill.

Eureka! It wasn't ideal, not by a long shot, but Kedered found the remains of a shattered piano and took out some of the wires. One of the longer keys had a string that would just about fit on the bow Kedered carried. It should do for a shot or two, at least until he could acquire a real bowstring. which reminds me, I need to restock on my arrows.

Kedered became aware of the smell of fire, and worried for a second about another fire, before realizing with distaste that someone was cooking. He mechanically strode into the common room, trying to ignore the scent of roasted flesh. If I were not so busy, I would mock that little girl for having to eat, just like a being. I hope Garis isn't debasing his heritage. A few tendrils of thought, searching for emotional pain, divined that Kassin was upstairs, the direction Kedered started making his way towards. Passing the other Angel, Kedered gave a respectful nod. "I am going to check up on Kassin, make sure he is all right. If you want to do something else, I am sure I can ward him well enough for now."

Kedered finished his way up the stairs, figured out which room the Angel was in and knocked on the door. "It is I, Kedered. I would fain speak with you Kassin Starshine."

[Noone]

Nicha took the food, but didn't say anything. She ate slowly as she examined Garis and Raffiele, visibly expressing interest in what they were saying. She rubbed her forehead with her right hand, and kept her face down to try and hide what she was thinking. She put a wry smile on her face, as she closely examined Raffiele, and listened carefully to what he said.
With that, Nicha stopped radiating fear. Trace amounts of pain could be felt, but she had largely healed from her ordeal.
"So..." she started, but then she stopped herself. She then took a quick glance away from Garis and Raffiele, and decided to keep quiet with that. She looked up at Garis as he spoke, and then looked at her blood-stained clothing.
"Don't get any ideas." She grumbled. She then focused her vision on Raffiele.

Kassin continued to sob into the pillow.
His thoughts were a total mess. His thoughts kept focusing on the slain villagers, and the happy lives he thought they once had, all taken away in a display of meaningless violence. 'How could anyone be so heartless?', kept ringing through his head. He could not comprehend the meaning behind the situation he found himself in. Occasionally, his thoughts came back to the Whistling Willow, another scene for which he had no explanation. A silver lining of good feeling stemmed from that he was able to save some there, yet, for the one he found himself in at present, he did not. The thought stung him. 'Why?' 'Why?' 'Why?' kept radiating from his mind as he cried face first into his pillow.

Kassin turned his head towards Kedered when he heard him speak. His face was still red, and tears still covered his face. He sat up on the bed, which still looked to be in reasonable condition. Having someone around him made him a bit more comfortable, but his face still displayed sadness. He rubbed his face with his right hand, wiping away his tears, and closed his eyes. He opened them a moment after, his golden eyes tinted red from all of his crying. He nodded silently at Kedered's introduction, yet Kassin found it hard to focus his vision on him.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered gave a respectful nod, before striding into the room and letting himself sit next to the distraught angel. He just sat and regarded Kassin for a moment, in a rare moment of uncertainty. Indebtedness wrestled with curiosity for dominance, and eventually Kedered justified himself.

"Kassin Starshine, the Angel. You obviously display strong empathy, the sort that you can feel the pain of the wounded and dead long after their passing. You have not developed the emotional calluses that most empaths acquire, leaving you vulnerable to stray bursts of passion, especially pain. It is very possible you are just young, but even the most sensitive 'Cubi do not generally recieve pain so strongly it incapacitates them the way it does you. Something....... is special, different about your empathy, and I want to know what it is. I have sworn to protect you, and I am the scion of house Aldoraethar. I will watch and ward, and protect you from anything that seeks to hurt you. But to perform this duty most efficiently, I need to know what you are and are not capable of, what points on you are most needing of a watchman."

While normally in an intentionally blank emotional state, Kedered gave off an impression of trustworthiness and steadfastness as he spoke. If it worked on a succubus or an incubus, it should work on Kassin, and if the angel could not pick up his projection, something else would be learned. An idle tendril of thought wondered what the others were doing downstairs.

[Tipod]

"You soak the clothes in cold water before using something caustic to lift the blood out, and that's not really a paramount issue right now." Raffiele only ever washed his own clothing in one week intervals, but the thought of being derailed about laundry annoyed him deeply. "I've only been with this weakling for half a day and I already hate him," he said as he rubbed his right temple, "so if you wake up tomorrow and find he's scattered three places across this buildng, don't be too surprised." Though there was one little caveat to that statement. "Don't get me wrong, I realize you owe this person a great deal, but consider his potential death a kind of... severance, if you will. You could understand that notion, right?"

His wings rustled slightly. "Keeping in mind that I could have easily survived the entire inn falling on my head. There hasn't been a living Thom'sen that needed a healer to keep him going, so as far as I'm concerned, that little bastard did me a disservice." He turned to Nicha. "At least you two look like you might see where I'm getting at, which is more than I could probably say for Grand Poobah Kedered or whatever stupid title he gives himself."

[Azlan]

Ty had nodded to Kedered when he passed and advised that he would look after Kassin for the moment.  However, he continued to monitor everyone and the outside for a little bit longer.  He observed the conversations, not out of suspicion or distrust, but to insure things were civil and everyone remained safe.  Satisfied that things were not turning hostile with Nicha, the fox stretched vigorously from his toes to the tips of his ears.  

Standing, he placed his staff in the exact place he had been seated.  The gem turned blue-white and glowed with a slight white pulse.  The spell would remain in place, but he could turn his attention away as it would alert him if anything living (or technically unliving) entered his perimeter outside.

He examined the food, ultimately shied away from it, the items caused his stomach to turn a bit queasy as the fish purge of earlier still stung in his mind.  The queasiness caused Ty to withdraw quickly back into the main room, but distracted him sufficiently that he missed the discussion the others were having, one that would have been good that he heard, but twas not the case.

He eventually headed upstairs and ducked his head into the room Kassin had occupied, "don't mind me, just checking on you Kassin, you should get some rest."  He nodded to Kedered and continued on down the hall to let them get back to their conversation.  The angel took the room just down from Kassin's.  He unbuckled his belt with his swords and other item pouches, dropping it on the nightstand.  The fox then unceremoniously flopped onto his stomach on the soft mattress, dangling his paws off the end and laying his head on the pillow.  His tail swished from side to side as he gathered his thoughts.  

[Lisky]

Garis was again beaming with delight at Nicha's response, he said "you should know that it is a bit to late for warnings about ideas... but as it were, i'll keep my thoughts to myself on that subject... " his face turned more serious as he addressed the other demon, "Raffiele, i don't wish to be rude, but even if you were to try something that stupid..."
Garis sighed, then tried again "wait, sorry, that came out wrong... do you have any doubt that Kedered, a fellow incubus, is probably going to be standing guard.  He's a much heavier magic user than myself.  the other angel, who didn't display much at all is also up there, and we don't know what he's capable of, for all we know, he could be the most powerful of all of us who did survive... "  he paused, and collected his thoughts, feeling a little uneasy at what the demon was suggesting
"personally, i don't want to see anyone else killed, not kassin, not Nicha, and most certainly not myself, for now i'd be willing to bet everyone thinks i'm crazy for getting attached to someone who tried to take my face off" he turned to nicha and continued with a smile
"quite literally i might add..." he was grinning from ear to ear when he turned back to Raffiele, and said  "now, again, i don't want to seem rude but she had asked me to talk in private for a bit... and i'd like to hear what she has to say... but before you go, i'm assuming everything we've said has just been idle chat between friends, and as such should be treated as gossip... forgotten, or stored away until we meet again"

He turned back to Nicha, still grinning and said "so, where would you say is more private?"
(OOC, added) He kept the expression on his face while sending a thought straight to Kedered 'Watch the demon Raffiele if he comes near kassin, we had a rather interesting conversation and i don't really trust him around our rescuer... i'll keep an eye on the girl... if your going to tell the other angel, tell him quietly, as in, i was not involved in this, quietly... subtlety is going to be key here, and if i can get more information because he trusts me, then all the better... '

[Noone]

Kassin closed his eyes and took a deep breath, he was still recovering from the ordeal he had been through. Though physically fine, his mental state left much to be desired. He sniffled slightly, and then wiped his face with his right hand again. He was still thinking about what had occurred, and felt terrible about it. After another deep breath, he mustered the will to respond, despite his stressed condition.

"I've been able to sense others discomfort as far as I can remember..." He began, "I've been told that it's unusual for Angels to develop such a sense, but I've never thought much of it..." He stopped abruptly, and looked at his left hand. "But yes, I can't bear to see others in pain. I try to help those I can..." he abruptly stopped again, flashes of deceased townsfolk invaded his mind. "How can anyone be so cruel?" he thought. Kassin found it difficult to speak, often taking deep breaths between words, and flashes of the gory scenes his young mind couldn't articulate the meaning of.

"I've never thought of my empathy as special. I know I'm a competent healer, but, then again, so are many Angels that choose to. It does help in some cases, I can easily know when someone needs aid, so I can give it. My empathy is actually, how I was able to find you." His mind painted a picture of him at the willow, he woke up, face first in the snow, outside of the wreckage. Pain assaulted his mind, he knew he could feel someone inside, trapped, dying, needing his help. His. The picture then showed him rushing, digging through, pulling out who he could and healing them. When he did, his mind got a little better, yet the feeling did not pass until he saved everyone he could. "I could feel you underneath the wreckage of the Willow." He paused and took a deep breath, he didn't want to be thinking about the Willow, the thought of all those he didn't save struck his mind.

"But, I've never thought about my empathy as directly aiding my healing abilities. It's a possibility I suppose." He sniffled softly, then continued.
"Another part of it I suppose is that I cannot bring myself to hurt anyone, it would feel like I was harming myself, if I did. I..." He shook his head. "I wouldn't do it, I don't even think I could if for some unfathomable reason I ever wanted to." He took a pause, his stomach growled with hunger, he hadn't eaten all day.
"Why would she want me? I never thought I would be put in a position to need a guardian..." He shook his head again, as Nicha's words rang through his head. "I promise I won't hurt him too much. Just leave him to me and no else has to get hurt."

********************************************************************************************

Nicha nodded, but still took an active interest in Raffiele. She continued to look at him closely, displaying active interest. She turned back to Garis. "Maybe one of the rooms upstairs, preferably one that is some distance from the ones the others are inhabiting?" She took another bite of some food, still a bit hungry. "I'm going to stay down here for a bit..., I think it's going to be a long day tomorrow..." She stopped as she took another bite. Her eyes remained curiously affixed on Raffiele.

[Lisky]

Garis nodded, "don't be too long, i'm bringing the weakling some food.  I'll see if i can't tell you a little more, and i'll see about getting a room... " again, a smirk was brought to his face as he didn't quite say what he was thinking...

He gathered up a plate for kassin,  then decided maybe getting some bread for the other angel might be a good idea as well... so with two plates in hand, he went up stairs... He knocked on Ty's door and slipped some bread and water inside by the nightstand, then closed the door.  Garis then moved over to Kassin's room and knocked gently, he heard the talking inside but couldn't make out the words, he decided he'd make sure the other 'cubi had gotten his message, he eased in and said to kassin in a soft voice "sorry to interrupt, but i thought you might want something to eat before it gets cold... i want you to know that no matter what, i will let no harm come to you when i am nearby, you have my word on that..." he paused then turned to Kedered and asked "did you get it?"

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered heard the bundle of thoughts and emotions even before the soft patter of footsteps. The bulk of his attention was still on Kassin, and resisting the urge to cuff the boy-angel across the ears like his father would have done to him had Kedered engaged in a spate of whining like this.

"Kassin, I know you are distressed, I know you are away from home and hunted, but you have to have realized that your empathy is not normal. How long has this been going on? I am sure other angels, your family did not feel sharp stabbing pains every time someone in the city stubbed their toes."

Kedered broke off his line of conversation as Garis finally made his way into the room. Outwardly, he tried to ignore the other 'Cubi as much as possible, and trying to feel out his emotional state as he made his declaration of defense. After a brief probe, he projected, My thanks for bringing him some food. I recieved your message, although it does not take much to be suspicious of that demon. He strikes me as...... unstable, and if we continue travelling together we might have to take steps about him.

Kedered returned his attention to Kassin, saying "You really should eat." Disgusting fleshling addiction! "We are probably going to have to travel some more, and you would want to keep up your strength." He wanted to say more, but was uncomfortable pumping information within audiable range of the other 'Cubi. Information was power, and Kedered had not yet come to trust any of his travelling companions.