RP:Butterflies And Hurricanes

Summary: After the Battle For Frostmaw, Dominic and Khitti wander off away from where the main battle had taken place. Emotions run rampant like a torrential downpour and the butterfly creates quite a chaotic and terrible situation for the two.

The Winterberry Garden

After the battle and the subsequent surrendering, Khitti wandered off to the winterberry garden further into the city. Her pace was a languid one, taking her time as she studied the different parts of the city that she had been to before, though not often. Where was she going to live? What was she going to do? How was she going to actually defend Frostmaw against other dark magic users when she couldn't even master her own magic? A blank stare was etched on her pale features as she contemplated all these things. Finally reaching the garden itself, she laid down on the ground, seemingly unaffected by the snow as she was in much in the same type of outfit as before, this one a black skirt, white dress shirt and tie. The vampiress stares up at the heavens, eyeing the stars and the snow as it fell, the blank stare shifting into one of worry and confusion.

Dominic trailed behind Khitti -- where else was he going to go? -- but he’d made no comment on her meanderings, content to simply give her some time with her thoughts while he got lost in his. Her mere presence was of some comfort, but he had plenty of his own worries to ponder over now that this war was won. It was as if the silence and uneasiness permeated everything around them, melting into walls and homes, sinking into the dirt and ice and stone under their feet, weighing down on them in the stillness of the night air, seeping into Dominic’s bones and giving him a weariness far beyond what he should feel from his bit of magical expenditure or from when Khitti had fed from him earlier. He shuffled up after Khitti as she laid in the garden, coming to a halt a meter from her feet, choosing to remain standing with his arms wrapped around himself as he followed her gaze skyward. He was drowning in the same navy hooded jacket he’d worn a few times before, the thing clearly a size too big for his frame and yet still not enough material to entirely keep him from shivering, now that he wasn’t generating extra heat by walking any longer. (But surely he’d picked it out himself, so either he didn’t know how to pick out suitable clothing or the poor sizing and suitability to the climate was intentional…?) Through their link, a single thought eventually drifted its way through, though Dominic never made any movement to accompany it. <What now…?> He knew Khitti didn’t have any definite answers for him, or likely even for herself, and yet he felt compelled to ask anyway.

"I don't know." was said aloud. She laid there for some time eyeing the stars until it occurred to her that he might, in fact, be cold and gets up with a sigh. "You're going to get sick if you stay out here. It's much too cold for you to be out for long." Not that she could feel it anyway right now, but she had been up here at least once before her adventure into unlife. "Zhe tavern's not far from here. I'm sure vord has gotten zhere and you should be able to acquire a room now." Ever thinking about him and not even considering herself, she steps in front of him, brushing a hand against his cheek, "You don't have to stay out here because of me...I just feel a little lost right now, I guess."

Dominic adjusted his stance slightly, feet planted evenly on the ground, eyes meeting Khitti’s, shoulders pulled back, arms uncrossed and hands now deep in his pockets -- all of it an effort to fully convey the stubborn finality of “I’ll be fine. I’m staying with you tonight, wherever that is.” The words were followed by a slowly exhaled cloud of frigid air before he added, “I can’t be the only one who feels ill at ease about how that went down, can I? I know Hildegarde’s been fighting since long before I joined the cause, but I can’t help but feel like it ended so... quickly.” His line of sight moved to one side now, staring into shadows, half-expecting them to move. “Brand says that can’t possibly be the real end of it and I don’t know if it’s because he doesn’t want to be without something to fight or if maybe he’s right and there’s a holdout of discontents somewhere waiting for people’s guards to be down.” The shadows on the other end of the garden were scrutinized now; Dominic’s last words came out in a mutter. “Then again, it sounds like Frostmaw cares more about honor than Catal ever did. So maybe it really is the end…” His gaze returned to Khitti, though the tilt of his head did not. “Sorry. I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

Khitti had thought about that too, of course. "No.", she said flatly, her gaze passing Dominic and eyeing the heavens again, "She should've finished him off. Honor or not, he deserved death. It didn't need a public execution, but he should not have been allowed to leave zhat alley. He gave up far too quickly for someone who's son vas just 'murdered'. How does she expect any of us to protect Frostmaw, or her for zhat matter, if she's not even going to rid her city of zhe bad guys?" Speaking of bad guys, another thought popped into her head, that of Tristram, "I don't particularly care for zhat male vith zhe orcs either."

“I can’t say I have an opinion on him. I’ve never seen him before just then,” Dominic admitted, stepping to Khitti’s right and pressing his side to hers. An arm snaked around her waist as he turned his attention to the shadows that had been behind him a moment before. Paranoid, much? “Balgruuf I’m torn on. I don’t know their history, so maybe there was a good reason for it. But... only knowing what I know, the way people were imprisoned and slaughtered? Even death doesn’t seem justice enough to atone for that, to me.” A shadow passed over his face now; this one he couldn’t scrutinize like the others. “And you and I both know there are worse things he could suffer.” Wow. Dominic was in one hell of a mood.

Khitti's mood wasn't much better and was quickly turning malevolent as the discussion progressed. The shadows he stared at went unnoticed for now as she narrowed her eyes at him, an angry frown forming, "It matters not how many times you've seen him. He stole zhese people's homes. Murdered zheir families. It's unforgivable. Death may not suit as a proper punishment but it's certainly in a long list of zhings I'd like to give him. If Hildegarde had not been zhere..." She trails off, a growl passing her lips as unsavory thoughts of torture full her mind. The vampiress is soon distracted from it though as she eyes him and looks to where he was staring, "Vhat's vrong? Vhat is it?"

The darkness across Dominic’s face passed as he shook his head, Khitti’s question stirring him out of his preoccupation. “It’s nothing, probably. Like I said, I’m just worried that’s not the true end of it. I keep expecting something to leap out at us, though I’m not sure how stealthy a giant could be.” Dominic blew bangs out of his face in a frustrated exhale before pulling Khitti into a kiss. He still rested a hand against one of her cheeks as he added, “I know you can handle yourself, but... just don’t leave my side tonight, alright? I worry something will happen.”

Khitti's own anger melted away as she was brought into that kiss. She returned it hesitantly, if only because of the thoughts that swayed her from him. "Alright, I von't, but I suppose ve shouldn't stay out here for long. I vas here once before my turning. I know how cold it is." She eyes his coat, tugging at it lightly, "And zhis isn't exactly proper clothes for zhis region." She gazes up at him longingly, her expression mixed with a bit of concern and worry. "You should vorry more about yourself and not me. I may be standing here talking to you, but I'm still essentially dead. You, on zhe other hand..." The vampiress trails off, sighing softly.

Dominic grinned sheepishly at Khitti before pulling the jacket away from her, adopting a countenance of mock-defensiveness. “But it’s cozy enough, and I like the color,” he insisted. “Besides, if something -does- come out at us, I need to not be bogged down in something cumbersome. Same reason you’ll never see me wearing a robe like some of the other magic-wielders. It might look a bit large and the material too thin, but it’s easy to move quickly in.” He demonstrated now, darting with a smirk to Khitti’s back, tickling at her sides a bit before pulling her against him affectionately, nuzzling into her neck. “See?”

Khitti put a hand over her mouth to stifle a bit of giggling, her gaze shifting between him and the shadows that surrounded the place, half doing so out of embarrassment after his tickling and the other half to actually keep an eye out now as she had become a little paranoid thanks to his insistence that -something- might happen. She -was- just as pessimistic (or realistic, however you wanted to look at it) as he was, after all. "Vell...", she said as nuzzled him back, her left hand moving down to grab his own and bring it up to her mouth. "If someone decides to pop out and try to hurt us...I'll just...bite zhem." To finish off her sentence, she chomps down on his hand, but not hard enough to break the skin.

Dominic smirked harder into her neck and then nibbled a tad at it in response. “You do that, Khitti, and you could create an entire army of adoring fans.” Privately, it was a playful jab at Brand; Dominic was at least a little aware by now of the other’s strange change in attitude towards the vampiress. “But... sure, if you want to head somewhere warmer, let’s go. We could go to that tavern you spoke of, or just head down the mountains to somewhere.” Another nuzzle; his last words were muffled. “You -did- mention that library…”

Khitti raises a brow at that jab, his smirk mirrored with one of her own. "Uh huh." She shifts about in his grasp, her lips easily seeking out his own and quieting him from saying anything further at the moment. After some time of letting the kiss linger, she finally pulls away, "Ve can go to zhe library if zhat's vhat you'd like. I could read to you again...and hopefully I von't manage to doze off again." She was a bit apologetic sounding, a slight frown creasing her lips. "Vould you like to travel zhe old fashioned vay or vould you likely me to carry you again. I promise I'm vell enough so I von't drop you."

Dominic shrugged. “It doesn’t matter much, but… no. No, actually, let’s walk.” He gestured to that leg that had been crushed. “If only because I actually can again.” Dominic gently pulled her out of the garden, one last glance given to the flowers and shadows they were leaving behind. “At least it’s a good reminder to not get anywhere near an angry giant again, if I can help it.”

Khitti nuzzled against his side as he lead her out of the area and through the town. She made sure to keep an eye out though for any frost giant that still dared to follow Balgruuf. There wasn't one, of course, as the word had spread quickly, but it was always a good idea to keep a lookout. "Fine, fine. I von't do zhat anymore unless it's needed. I know Brand vasn't particularly fond of it anyway." They'd eventually reach the library with Khitti making sure to stop every so often to give Dominic a break if he needed it. Once they were out of the city, she'd start to feel a bit better, and clung a bit more to him, though without trying to actually seem clingy, if that was even possible.

Mage Library

Dominic had grinned again at that quip. “Brand doesn’t like feeling like he owes anyone anything.” It was comfortable silence until they reached the library; Dominic slowed as they passed the threshold, taking the time to look over the sheer scope of the place. “I’ve only been here a few times, but I get completely overwhelmed every time.” His voice fell to an awestruck whisper. “There’s just so many of them. I’ve never seen so many books in one spot.”

Khitti suddenly went into bookworm-nerd mode as they entered and Dominic took a look around. The normally not at all entirely girly female lets out a small squeal of glee as she places her hands on his shoulders, jumps up to kiss him on the nose and scampers off to the place where she had last seen that fairy tale book. This was most definitely Khitti's element. It was quiet, she could be left alone, and she could stay here as long as she wanted. "I've always vanted a library for myself. A small one, of course. But, zhat vill likely never happen...", the vampiress calls to him from the other side of the room. She grows somber for a moment, but then offers him a warm smile, "Zhis is certainly good enough for me zhough."

Dominic ambled forward to meet her, disrobing from his jacket as he did so. His pack was thrown into a chair at the table Khitti had stopped at; the jacket was tossed carelessly on top of it before he settled at Khitti’s side again. “A private library sounds nice,” he admitted, an imagined one floating through their link -- a brief picture of Dominic curled up in a chair twice his size, legs dangling over the armrest, tea in one hand and a book in the other. Light from a nearby fireplace danced on his face. Another chair was there for Khitti, of course, and books lined the shelves of the envisioned space from floor to ceiling. “But no, this is suitable for now,” he sighed, drawing his thoughts back to the present. “What do you want to start with?”

Khitti grinned at the thought he had swirling about in his head, adding her own with it -- Khitti in the kitchen baking sweets and making all sorts of food for him. In between while things were cooking, she'd interrupt his reading with the occasional pounce and a kiss before running off, cackling like a mad woman. For someone with murderous tendancies and that dark side of hers, she oddly enough seemed perfectly content with being nothing more than a housewife, at least in the evenings after her duties to Frostmaw were taken care of. "It's up to you. Shall ve continue zhe fairy tales? Or vould you prefer something more informative like a book on magic?"

Dominic blushed hard and bit a lip. <One day, maybe,> was sent through their link before he awkwardly cleared his throat and tried to shake off the mushy moment. “Actually, now that you mention it, we could accomplish two things at once.” His rune stone was pulled out of the pocket it usually rested in and placed on the table. “I’ve been trying to figure out what the rest of these runes mean, but of course it’s hard when I can’t read any of the -books- on runes, much less the runes themselves.” A pause. “I don’t know if maybe that’s too advanced, though?”

Khitti bit her lip too, that usual wall of awkward hitting her like a freight train, "I didn't mean to imply...um...zhings. Getting married and all zhat stuff." She waves her hands in the air anxiously, "I...uh...Right!" She welcomes the change of conversation, looking immediately towards the rune stone and tapping her chin in thought. All the while she's silently scolding herself, wondering why in the seven hells she thought of that in the first place. Somewhere in that dark heart of hers she knew he'd likely leave her eventually anyway, everyone always did. And even if he didn't, why would he ever want to marry her some day in the distant future? She pushes these thoughts aside with a sigh, peering down at the rune stone, "Runes...runes. It can't be anymore difficult zhan say looking up zhe uses for herbs and such." Trying to hide her awkward demeanor as much as possible, she moves to the bookcase where she had remembered seeing books of that nature.

Dominic blinked after her, Khitti’s reaction earning her a questioning cant of the head. Were they not supposed to talk about the future? How were they supposed to figure out if they wanted the -same- future, then? [Relationships are confusing,] he said internally to Brand; the inner voice only responded with a chuckle and absolutely zero useful advice. Dominic shifted uneasily in his chair and decided to look completely engrossed in the intricate details of the runed rock by the time Khitti returned, though the flush in his face lingered.

Khitti hadn't caught that tilt of his head, she was much to distracted with trying to give her brain a distraction. For the record, it wasn't working. This wasn't some stupid fairy tale. There was no prince. No magical wonderful castle. No happy ending. Not for her anyway. Plucking a book carefully from the shelf that might suit him, she chances a glance in his direction and plainly saw that uneasiness. She frowned again, realizing she likely just singlehandedly ruined everything with that one stupid thought of hers. Returning to him, she sets the book on the table near him, pushing it towards him and muttering faintly, "Zhis might have something in it..." She lingers a moment before scurrying off to find another should the first book fail him.

Dominic slowly pulled his sight away from the runestone as Khitti lingered, but before he could fully push through the awkwardness to make eye contact or think of anything to say, she was gone again, and he only found himself staring at her back. Drat. He thumbed through the book she’d placed before him; occasionally a letter jumped out at him that he was able to recall and understand thanks to their lessons, and rarely even a short word or two, but for the most part it was gibberish to him. At least he knew for sure he was holding the book the right way up this time -- that wasn’t the sort of mistake he wanted to make twice, and certainly not in front of a bookworm like Khitti.

"Just look for zhe pictures of zhe runes and I vill read it to you." was called over to him from where she had fled to, as if she sensed that he was having issues already. Before leaving the shelf she drew in an unnecessary breathe and let it out in a heavy sigh. Returning to him again, she eyes the chair next to him hesitantly, but ultimately she chose the one across the table from him. A brief glance was looked toward the rune and then the second book was opened as she opted to sit in awkward silence as she had no clue how to fix the issue she created.

Dominic did a clear double-take at Khitti’s choice of seating, but his gaze returned to the book and he appeared to have resumed looking for anything that matched those runes. His mind was turning, though, distracted, even the few letters he could understand swimming nonsensically before him. It all felt so overwhelming, anyway. His line of sight wandered from stone to shelf to ceiling and then landed on the vampiress again, a stare that lingered longer than was probably proper before he finally broke his long silence. “You’d have to start with that carrot cake you promised,” he murmured, before a flurry of worried thoughts descended upon him. Too forward. Too sentimental. Completely nonsensical, probably, after how long he’d been quiet. And was he even supposed to have remembered that one offhand comment from days ago? Oh gods. His stare quickly fell back to the book again, and he tried to look more engrossed in leafing through it than he was.

Oh, she had felt that stare. But what was the look that went with it? Khitti didn't dare look up. Was he angry? Was he disappointed? Did he even want to sit here with her anymore? She mulls over all of this quietly but is soon interrupted in her thoughts as he mentions the carrot cake. Dark brows knit together as she looks up from the book, staring at him in confusion, "You...actually do vant me to cook for you?" She eyes him carefully, an incredulous look on her face.

Dominic looked up at her only fleetingly, enough to pick up on her expression, his face flaming red again. “I… uh… yeah.” Was that the right answer, or was he just going to scare her off? That urge to take off running hit him again much as it had times before, to just throw up a few books in a whirlwind of diversion and flee before he could say anything else so stupid. Instead, he stayed rooted by his own anxiety, stone still, burrowing a hole into the letters on the page before him and wishing he could at least crawl in, if he couldn’t retreat elsewise.

Khitti's line of sight never left Dominic, even as he tried to do his best to hide himself away from her. Her disbelief fades and a frown appears again as it so often did, her gaze dropping to the table finally. "I'm sorry." What was she sorry for -now-? For being weird? For making him feel unwanted? For bringing up the future? She didn't know for sure, she just knew that she needed to apologize. At least in her mind anyway. She really did love him, and she let that slip across their link, but there was guilt and worry and a bit of sadness too. She didn't want him to leave her. She did want a future with him, but that future all depended on how long he wanted to stay with her. Sighing heavily, she moved from her seat finally to the one next to him, feeling more comfortable now that she was closer to him. Leaving her book, she takes his from him and scoots her chair right up alongside him. "Here...look. Zhis one means ice or snow." The vampiress lifts her hand, placing her index finger right next to the symbol and then slides it across the page to the actual words 'snow' and 'ice', spelling each one out for Dominic slowly.

Dominic slumped in his chair so he could lean more comfortably on Khitti’s shoulder. One arm encircled itself around the nearer of Khitti’s and his hand overlaid hers as he returned love through their link. It was a torrent of feeling; it was wishful thinking, perhaps, that maybe he could wash away her doubts if he just loved her fiercely enough. He tried to be attentive to her lessons as she combed through the book, his free hand occasionally twisting the stone to see if the pages matched anything engraved on it, but so far there was nothing. He knew one -- no, two -- things for sure about that stone, and they hadn’t yet touched on either of them. Well, at least he was learning -something-. But over time and frustration over not being able to shed any new light on the mysteries of the runed rock, his attention started to wander off Khitti’s words and onto Khitti herself. The way her whole face lit up from the joy of reading to him, the way the light reflected in her verdant eyes, the feel of the tendons in her hand flexing under his own whenever she went to turn a page… pretty soon he found himself staring again, rather than minding the words on the page. “You’re gorgeous,” was all he’d say, smiling, when she inevitably noticed.

Khitti's worried demeanor had softened somewhat as he leaned against her and showed those bits of affection. She had just opened her mouth to telling him about the healing magic runes when he said those two words. All movement just stopped. Maybe she didn't hear him correctly? She also hadn't even noticed he had been staring at her until she finally turned her head to give him a side glance, her mouth still slightly agape. Closing it soon after, she rolls her eyes at him, a faint smile accompanying it, "No. I'm not." The book is shut and forgotten as she leans towards him, her free hand drawing his face down to hers so she can kiss him, accepting his compliment regardless of her protesting. "Ve don't have to do zhis right now, if you don't vant to."

“You are!” Dominic insisted, grinning at Khitti between kisses. “You’re gorgeous and it’s terribly distracting and I’m sorry.” He turned to the book enough to eye it sidelong. “You’re putting so much time into teaching me and I should be paying more attention... I’m just finding it hard to retain my focus, is all.” Another string of kisses made their way up her cheekbone before he disentangled himself from her and shifted back into a more proper sitting posture. The stone he tossed from hand to hand a moment before sighing and sending it clattering down on the table again, a tad louder than was appropriate. “A break, and then we’ll come back to it? Maybe I’m just feeling restless.”

Khitti certainly had that look on her face like someone that would be blushing, the sheepishness overwhelming and causing her to put her face in her hands for a few moments. "Oh hush. Don't be stupid. I am -not-." She waves her hands at him, as if she could totally get rid of all the embarrassment he was putting on her with his compliments, "Anyway! Ve can take a break. I don't vant you to get overwhelmed. Vhat vould you like to do? A walk? Some food? " She taps her chin, "Zhere's dancing if you vant to get rid of your energy." She hrmphs softly, a little disappointed, "If I had a violin I could play for you...I only know one song, but it's not -too- bad. My friend Alex vas supposed to teach me more, but zhen zhe var happened." The vampiress lets out a 'hm', trying to come with something interesting to entertain him with.

Dominic’s eyes went wide. “Dancing? I don’t know how to dance, either.” He looked down at his hands before clasping them together under the table. “I don’t think I have the grace for it, in truth.” It was almost certainly nonsense, given the dexterous way Dominic and especially Brand could move when in combat, but what mattered in this moment was that he believed it to be true. “Food, maybe. And we’d have to walk somewhere to get something anyway, unless you have anything on you.” He eyed his pack before shrugging, “I usually keep an apple or two with me but I don’t actually have anything at the moment. And -- and I promise we’ll come back to it. The books, I mean. I -do- want to learn, I just…” He trailed off with another shrug and an apologetic countenance.

Khitti knew his words to be false in the movement aspect of the conversation and decided right then and there what they were to do. "Come on. Get up." She slides from her chair, lightly slapping his thigh to reinforce her words. Leaving him for a moment to find one of the mages, she returns with one that specializes in illusions, having remembered the things that Pilar could do with her own magic. "Now you're going to learn something else." Ever so carefully are his hands taken, one held tightly in her own, the other placed on her hip. "It's called a waltz." With a nod to the mage as the signal to start, he'd summon up a ghostly-looking trio of violinists and they would start to play as Khitti attempted to show Dominic the steps.

Dominic looked positively stupefied as the trio of translucent violinists appeared and he was whisked off into a dance. True to his earlier words, he stumbled or tripped himself up a few times at first, but as his initial burst of apprehension ebbed and he was able to relax into the moment, he actually picked up the steps rather quickly. He stole a brief look around the room once he’d grown comfortable enough to not watch their feet, then clung to her a little tighter as they moved, noting in a whisper, “they’re watching us.” And sure enough, they’d grown an audience. A few of the mages who had been studying here were still engrossed in their tomes, but most of them were by now watching the pair with assorted looks of amusement or bittersweet wistfulness -- and one or two with mild irritation.

Khitti's line of sight never swayed from Dominic's face as they danced and twirled about. He was so handsome and smart, though he'd likely not believe her if she told him. Only when he speaks does he rouse her from her reverie, a brief glance given to the mages, though she paid them little mind. "I don't care." The hand that held his placed his other on her hip, her now free appendage lifting to his chin to turn his attention back to her. "Don't vorry about zhem. Just vatch me. It's just you and me..." That sort of dreamy look she had had before returns, as well as a reassuring smile for him.

Dominic blinked once or twice more back at the mages, but Khitti ultimately enraptured him enough to tear him away from his self-consciousness and do as he was told. Her smile earned her a nervous one in exchange, a nervous smile that faded to return more genuinely as he finally allowed himself to sink into the moment and ignore the stares. Only Khitti… He twirled her once near the end of the song, then reeled her back in with a flourish before leaning her back into a kiss. Scattered applause reminded him of the mages’ presence once more; he turned crimson yet again, but only kissed her harder. “Gorgeous -and- brilliant,” he whispered into her ear once he’d broken away, reflecting her thoughts about him without realizing it. “What else do you know that I don’t?”

That kiss of his left her breathless after all the dancing. Well, as breathless as you can leave the undead. "I...uh." is all she can managed to say as she stares up at him, the full amount of just how enamoured she was with him finally sinking in. Her mouth remains agape as her verdant eyes roam over his features, taking in every bit of his face. "Zhat you..." The vampiress struggles to find her words. "...are zhe most beautiful zhing I've ever seen..." The thought seems to trail off for the moment, her dark line of sight searching his, "...zhat you're perfect and smart and kind and funny." She sets her hand against his cheek, that far off and dreamy look returning to her. That appeared to be the end of the list of things she knew as she said nothing more and kissed him again. The fact that there -were- people staring now became apparent to her and she soon pulled away from him, taking his hand to lead him out of the library, letting him stop by their table to get his rune stone on the way.

Village Path

Dominic was stunned into silence. He’d been expecting something more concrete, something more … well, not about him? His first instinct was to fight the barrage of compliments -- perfect? Smart? …-Funny-? No, she couldn’t be talking about him. She had some image of him constructed in her head, some image that she’d sooner or later realize didn’t match up to the reality, some -- some… wow, no wonder she had trouble accepting any compliment he’d bestowed upon her. She’d probably been doing the same damn thing in her head as he was now, hadn’t she? He merely swallowed away the tension all that admiration had brought upon him, flinging his pack back onto his shoulder and shoving that runed rock back into his pocket before allowing himself to be lead elsewhere. “Where are we going?” he inquired, settling for the obvious question.

Khitti really hadn't put extra thought into exactly -where- they were going. She just knew she didn't want to be in there with those people anymore. Once they make it outside, she takes a brief glance around to make sure the coast is clear. It wasn't that she wanted to hide their relationship, it was more along the lines of she liked her privacy. Much like he had done that day in Kelay after their thoughts, emotions, and memories had been shared, she pushes him up against the wall of the building they had just left, kissing him hard as her hands quickly entwined with his. There was a bit of fire behind the show of affection, as if to reiterate and reinforce the things she had said about him just moments ago. The vampiress releases him eventually, taking a step back and allowing him to have his space to collect his thoughts or whatever else he needed after that kiss. "I...don't know. I just knew I didn't vant to be in zhere anymore." She'd likely figure it out soon, but for right now her mind still swirled with the thought of them dancing, though it was a welcomed distraction.

Khitti was an endless string of surprises for Dominic. The dancing, all of the kind words, and now this aggressive affection. And it was far from unwelcome, just … it caught him off guard. She was turning out to be rather excellent at that; it was a good thing she was his lover, and not some foe lurking in those damned shadows. He returned that intimacy now in kind, flipping their positions, bracing her against the wall again, hands dancing up her sides before one came to rest at the back of her neck and another pinned her hips to his. But despite the act of passion, he was consulting mentally with Brand -- no confidence. What in blazes should he even be doing with his hands? With his lips? Was there a ‘wrong’ way show his love for her? [You worry too much, kid,] the other shot back, some mix of irritation and laughter in the tone. Well, true, she’d started it. He leaned into her more.

Khitti never gave Dominic any indication that he was doing anything wrong besides letting out a faint 'eep' as she was now the one pinned to the wall. Amarrah had been chiding her again, telling her this was a bad idea, that fooling around with mortals never ended well. No, it wasn't even that he was mortal. It was that, just like everyone else, there'd come a day where he'd hurt her. He'd find a way and Khitti would come crying to her. Amarrah would only tell her that she told her so. Despite this, Khitti never once pushed Dominic away from her, taking the risk that Amarrah warned her of. What if he was -it-? -The One-? She had thought it before about someone else, but she had been utterly and embarrassingly wrong. Love was an awful, terrible thing and she never thought she'd experience it again so soon, but yet here she was with her heart full of love and her mind full of Dominic. She clung to him, her form nearly melded to his as she kept him close, hip to hip and lips to lips. < I should've varned you to stay away from me. I'm no good for you. I'll just disappoint you.> was said along their link, Amarrah's words creating that ever familiar seed of doubt.

Dominic pulled back abruptly to hold Khitti at arm’s length, his hands on her shoulders. The look he gave her and the bundle of emotions sent through their link was some strange mixture of sternness, compassion… and more than a little of her hitting on some nerve, some echo of those same doubts in him, that he was just as likely or more to be the one to muck things up. And Brand had nothing in his playbook for this, either -- not that he’d have been likely to share it if he had. “You remember when I said something like that to you, right? And how -you- reacted to that?” Guilt was thrown onto the pile of emotions clogging up their link; despite where they were now in their relationship, the moment was still clear in his mind. “Just... don’t, Khitti. I love you, so don’t.” He drew in a shaky breath, sighed it back out, then kissed her once more. “Come on, I know where we should go.” It was his turn to pull her along, now, back up the winding paths toward Frostmaw.

Khitti stared at him, mirroring his guilt, an apologetic expression on her face. She'd never fail at ruining a moment, it would appear. She was even better at hitting those nerves of his too. Despite his kiss, his warning, and his words of affection, she retreated a little inside of herself as she was lead back northward. ~Good, Khitti, just keep doing what you're doing and see how long this lasts. You'll end it in record time.~ was given in a chipper tone by her other half. No sort of witty retort was given in response to Amarrah, and nothing much was said or asked of Dominic besides "Vhere?". Contenting herself to silence and watching the scenery around them as if she -hadn't- seen it a million times already, Khitti opted to leave Dominic to his thoughts.

Scenic View Of Hollow

Dominic only smirked back at Khitti, the moment before seemingly already forgiven and forgotten. “Secret,” was all he said as they retraced many of their earlier steps. The terrain grew steeper and rougher as they left Xalious Village, seemingly following that same well-worn course -- until Dominic took a sudden hook eastward, dodging rocks and cliffs and the occasional scattered tree, helping her over the more dangerous spots if it was needed, pausing occasionally and peering around as if trying to recall the way. They’d veered so far off the path that it wasn’t even in sight anymore. Another jagged corner, then another, and a brief climb through some intimidating alley of stone, an alley in which he playfully covered her eyes and led her through. At last the view broke through free and clear again as he released her -- stars above and trees and the occasional twinkling light of Kelay below. The edge of the cliff itself was covered with moss, and here and there a flower or weed dotted the landscape. “It’s not as high up as that other spot,” he said to her finally, clearly beaming with some pride that he'd ever stumbled upon the place before in the first place, "but it's certainly more private."

Khitti's brows furrowed as he merely said the word 'secret'. This was -it- right? The big reveal that Dominic, out of all the people she had met --that he was the nicest person ever with the exception of Pilar-- that he, in fact would be some sort of a villain. If he was kind, he'd kill her quickly without making some sort of speech about how he never loved her and had planned on doing this since he met her. You know, those sorts of speeches villain's -always- give. At least if he killed her, she'd not end up living the rest of her unlife with a broken heart. Well, all of this had been going through her head, until...well, until he uncovered her eyes and that gorgeous sight in front of her was beheld. The entirety of the scenery was taken in, the vampiress putting her skills in observation to great use as a hand reached out to grab Dominic's closest one. "It's so pretty..."

Dominic had not the slightest inkling of the thoughts that had been spinning in her head. Brand, if he had, likely would have passed out laughing. But they were oblivious to any passing expression on Khitti's face that might have given those worries away. “-This- is why I go walking so much,” Dominic responded, squeezing her hand. “There's so much wonder here in Lithrydel if you go looking. So much beauty in the hidden places.” He gestured broadly to the starry dome above. “Besides, as long as I spent on the sea, I'm never truly lost as long as I can see the sky.” He moved to stand behind her now, pressing himself against her so their lines of sight would be as aligned as possible, then with their clasped hands reached up and pointed to a cluster of stars, each one in the constellation in turn. “In Catalian culture, we call -- -called- this one Lúthien, a high elf.” He pointed still further, “There's an ear… her arm… and the hem of her dress.” He adjusted his stance slightly, and Khitti’s with it. “And there's Beren, her lover, right ahead of her. His legs… his arm… the crown of his head.” A beat, in which he looked at her pointedly. “Human. Mortal. They're somewhat more centered in the sky in Catal than they are here, but… they always point the same way, toward the place they lived out the last of their days. He died in battle, she died of grief and mourning… and the gods were so moved by their love that they gave them both back a new mortal life, so they could be together once more.” Suddenly, he was blushing again. “...I guess I know a few stories of my own, after all, even if I couldn't read them to you.”

Ever a lover of stories, Khitti listens intently to Dominic's as he pointed out the two constellations, the human and the immortal. She made comparisons in her head of themselves and the pair in the tale, the realization that the same might happen to them fresh in her mind. The vampiress wraps his arms around her, hugging him close as she said , "I never knew zhe stars had stories too." , her words thoughtful. After a time, she'd shift about in his arms so that she might look up at him, his face taken gently in her hands. "I meant all zhose zhings I said about you, you know."

Dominic met her gaze and smiled, but tensed again behind it. “I know you meant them,” he murmured, finally half-accepting the compliments, or at least accepting that she thought them to be true. Coughing awkwardly, he nudged her to turn her sight skyward again. “L-look, I know more. This is how the Catalian seafaring folk learn to navigate, by memorizing the arrangement of the stars. And it’s easier if there are stories to go along with them. Most of them are people, either historical figures or else people from myths that have been passed down through time.” He raised a hand again as if to point out another set of stars, but jolted before he could fully extend it. It fell to his side again, then clung back to her hip. “You know, I just realized -- I might be the only person who still remembers these stories.” Lower, he muttered, “I wonder if that Lionel fellow ever knew them. At least then I’d know for sure there was one other.”

Khitti looks up as he goes to point out more stars only for him to jerk his arm away, a few blinks sent his way. A wry smirk is given at the mention of the fallen warrior, but she merely shakes her head, "So vhat if he does or doesn't?" She thinks a moment, then blinks once more, "Oh! Vhy don't you vrite it down? Vhen I can finish teaching you how to read and vrite zhat is..." Tapping her chin lightly, the vampiress hms to herself, "I could at least start vriting it down for you. Keep zhem as notes in case you do forget something? Zhat vay it'll all be ready vhen you are."

“Yeah... that would be a start,” Dominic replied, distantly. “Or there actually may be a book of it already, somewhere here in Lithrydel. That’s a long shot, but there was -some- trade between Catal and here... or I never would have ended up here in the first place, of course.” Green eyes dug into the cliffside to his left, distracted by some sight or thought he wasn’t immediately sharing. “I never did seek him out… and I don’t know if I should, or want to…” His words had come slowly, quietly, as if bubbling up from a great distance underwater.

Pulling away from him with a sigh, she steps closer to the edge of the cliff, peering over the side carefully, "If you two are meant to meet up, zhen it'll happen. Hell, he vas -supposed- to help Hildegarde but I haven't seen him for some time." She shrugs, throwing her hands up into the air somewhat as if to say 'I don't have a clue'. "I'm still kind of suspicious vhen it comes to him. Dark stuff follows him; this veird spider zhat attacked us zhe second time I met him vas talking about zhe old gods." She purses her lips into a thin line, turning her body enough to give him a sidelong glance, "Zhat's not zhe type of stuff anyone should run headlong into. He's...not exactly all zhere either.". She lifts an index finger and points it to her head, swirling it about in that universal gesture to signify that someone was a bit nuts. With her 'wisdom' given, a shake of her red-haired head accompanies it, "But it's entirely up to you. It's not my business vhat you do. I just vant you to be careful if you do."

Dominic seemed pulled sharply back into the moment, wheeling back to her incredulously. “A talking -spider-...? Oi vey. One of the giant ones? As if that weren’t bad enough on its own.” His vision darted once more to that same slab of rock before reeling back to her and, this time, staying there. “I -- I don’t know. I suppose part of me still feels like I owe him for freedom, though that was as much Brand’s doing as anything. He was more in the right place at the right time.” One hand raised to stroke his chin, some unintentional near-mimicry of Khitti’s gesture when she was mulling over something. “Odd, that, now that I think abou--” he interrupted himself, the hand raising further to slap over his mouth. “N-no, you know what? It’s not just him. I’m an idiot, a total, complete and utter frakking idiot, and I’d entirely forgotten.” The words streamed out in a muffled, wide-eyed frenzy. “It’s not just him; it’s not just him. There were other slaves on that boat. Catalian, many of them, I’m positive.” His hand finally slid off down his face and came to rest at Khitti’s shoulder. He shook her, somewhat, in his excitement. “I’m sure I could probably pick one out if I saw them -- uh, t-the tone of their skin, the shape of their eyes, the cut of their jaw… I’d entirely forgotten about it because I haven’t seen any of them since -- since then. Which is -also- terribly odd, in and of itself. You’d think they’d be about, that I’d have noticed someone somewhere --” He ran out of air and had to gasp for a breath before barrelling onward again. “I hope they’re alright. I can’t believe -- oh, I’ve been so horribly caught up in myself and in my own problems -- a-and Khitti, I’m sorry, I’m, uh, I’m rambling terribly. But I should try to track one of them down, shouldn’t I? If there’s a chance? If they didn’t all turn right back around and get on another ship or -- or die in the streets?” He couldn’t get the words out fast enough; he stumbled and tripped over them all the whole way.

Once again, without much effort on her part, Khitti managed to discover another thing that was different about the two of them. He -had- people still. Even if it was that damned Lionel and the various slaves that he was lumped in with on that ship. He still had them. Has them. Whatever. She, however, did not. Unlike the Catalians, there were no Dhavislaavians except for one: her. A pang of jealousy hit her like a stake in her heart, but she does her best to hide it as he shakes her and rambles on incessantly. A smile is mustered and a nod offered sympathetically, "I'm sure you'll find zhem, Dominic. Vith or vithout Lionel's help." Regardless of being green with envy, she was still happy for him as this revelation was quite a breakthrough indeed. This meant he didn't have to be alone anymore. He didn't -have- to be like her; she'd certainly never wish that on anyone. ~See? He's already sick of you and your whining and brooding. He's going to go find his people and he's going to leave you. You've barely been together for long and you've already screwed up.~, Amarrah's voice like that of a screeching, irritating harpy. There's some sort of acknowledgement by a change in expression on Khitti's face after the shadow being says those terrible things, a certain sadness lingering in her verdant eyes as she studied that odd human that held each and every piece of her fractured heart.

Dominic was too caught up in his own thoughts to observe Khitti’s shift in demeanor. “You think so? Gods, I -- look, I have no great love for Catal, it wasn’t a particularly kind place to me, but those memories, that culture, they die with me, otherwise. And maybe someone would have books! And maybe I --” Only now as he interrupted himself did he seem to pick up on Khitti’s expression, his own abruptly sobering in response. He fell silent at long last and pulled himself closer to her. One arm snaked around her back and squeezed at a shoulder. “...Khitti… frak, I’m sorry. I can seek them out on my own, if it upsets you. I wasn’t even thinking about how parallel our stories run…”

Khitti bit back the overwhelming sadness that Amarrah had brought on as Dominic embraced her. She takes a step back, shaking her head as she managed a faint smile for him. "No, don't vorry about me. You need to find your people. " Her words seem genuine enough as she forces her smile to gain some warmth in order to reassure him. Amarrah, on the other hand, still continued to not care at all about Khitti's feelings. ~See, he doesn't care about you anyway. There's never going to be any sort of happy ending for you, Khitti. No one's going to truly love you. There's nothing to love in the first place.~ Tears well up in Khitti's eyes, threatening to spill down her cheeks. Turning towards the edge of the cliff once more, she crossed her arms over her chest and observes the town below, hoping he hadn't noticed.

Maybe Dominic picked up on the burst of depressive thoughts, or maybe he didn’t. He only moved to stand beside her at the edge of the precipice, staring off at the horizon. The moon hung low in the sky this night, massive against the treeline below, a waning crescent that did little to illuminate Kelay or Cenril beyond. If he squinted, he thought maybe he could see Cenril’s shores from here, off at the limits of his vision. Somewhere out that way was where he’d taken his very first steps into Lithrydel, well before he’d met Khitti or any of the other precious few he’d come to care about. “Ultimately, ‘my people’ have rarely done anything good for me,” Dominic sighed at length, turning his line of sight to her. “But the culture and the stories don’t deserve to die because of that.” He gently turned her, pulling her folded arms apart so he could embrace her. If he hadn’t picked up on her tears before, he certainly had now; one hand moved to stroke at her cheek. “Of course I worry about you. You come first, Khitti. You’re more important to me than all of them combined.”

"Zhey are still your people regardless. Zhey can't do anything for you if you don't know vhere zhey are. You can't help each other if you don't find zhem. You can't grow as a people vithout one another. Catal could come back if you all tried." That sadness Amarrah had created worsens with her words, her voice cracking as she speaks. "I don't vant to get in zhe vay of zhat, Dominic. You at least still have a chance of rebuilding zhings if you can find zhem." The vampiress presses her head into his hand, her tears finally making an appearance as they roll down her cheeks. "You need zhem more. I'm just..." Khitti shakes her head, letting out a heavy sigh, "I don't know."

Dominic stood helpless in the face of Khitti’s breakdown, with very little clue for what had brought all this on or what he ought to be doing to help stop it. He simply threaded his fingers through her hair for the sake of feeling like he was doing something, through and through and through again. It felt like an entire age before any words came to him -- and probably just more useless words, at that. “That’s... not what this is about. There’s nothing to rebuild. And even if there were… why do you think you’d be in the way?”

Khitti buries her face further into his hand, sniffling softly, "I'm not one of you." She sighs, the playing with her hair soothing her somewhat. She didn't want to tell him the main reason why she felt like this, that of course being a certain butterfly. She knew it wouldn't go over well. "I-it doesn't matter. You should go find zhem. It'll give you something to do. I von't be leaving Frostmaw for quite some time. I likely von't be able to travel much and-and I don't know vhat I'm going to do about my job and..." It was weird. It was almost like she was trying to get rid of him, though she clearly didn't want to.

Dominic seemed hesitant, torn. “It’s... not like it’s terribly urgent. It’s already been months. If you came with me -- I just -- I don’t want to leave you. And you could even help if I -were- to find anyone, since you can write, and… and… and nationality doesn’t matter. I never once felt as connected to anyone in Catal as I do to you. I never -had- anyone there.” Well… that wasn’t -entirely- true. “...Not really. At the very least, you should finish teaching me, and that will surely take some time… and maybe by then we’ll both have a better idea of what is going to happen with Frostmaw. And if you still have a place there. And if I have a place -anywhere-.” Still, there was perhaps a sense that he wanted to take his earlier enthusiasm and run with it.

~You hear that hesitance in his voice? He -wants- to leave you. You're making him feel guilty. Making him think he needs to stay with you when he clearly doesn't want to.~ Khitti visibly cringes, visibly pained by whatever it might be that's bothering her. Exhaling through her nose sharply, she furrows her brows and attempts to put on a brave face, her tone much more stern now, "No. It's very important. Vhat if zhe vindow of time to find zhem is closing? You -should- do zhis." She pulls away from him, her hands clenching into fists, much like his would when he was frustrated. "Zhere's plenty to rebuild. If zhere is anyone left, you've got your stories. You've got your honor and pride as Catalians. You..." She pauses, gathering her thoughts as her voice falters somewhat. "You'd have each other." It was weird for her to say such things, even as Amarrah's words dug daggers into her heart, clouding her mind and skewing her confidence. She cared so little for honor and pride. It's not like the rest of her country ever gave her a reason to, especially after her banishment. But, she didn't want the same thing to befall Dominic. If there was a chance, even a miniscule one, she wanted him to try. Even if it meant leaving her behind. "I'll be here. I'll be waiting...here. For you. Even if you have to leave me, I'll stay here so you can find me. So you can come back to me."

She just kept pushing for it. Dominic’s own doubts were starting to creep forth in earnest now. “If you think it’s really that important… maybe I should. Maybe you’re right…” And maybe she had some secret reason for wanting him to go so desperately. He -had- mucked something up earlier, hadn’t he? “I wouldn’t have to stay for long, I could search for folks during the day and return to you in the evening, or every few days, or…” That look on her face -- she was so hurt that she wasn’t even going to tell him what it was, she was just going to keep rebuffing his clumsy assurances that this had nothing to do with her, that he cared for her first and foremost, that she was the most important thing in his life. What had he even done? He, too, took a step backwards, towards the thin passageway they’d come through to find this place. “Should I… do you want me to go now?” Another step, then another. Slowly he turned, though his gaze didn’t leave her face until his neck could stretch her way no longer. And then through their link a familiar voice interrupted all their tragic miscommunications, addressing man, woman, and butterfly alike. <You gorram -idiots-.> Dominic froze in his departure, shoulders suddenly so tense they were raised almost to his ears. <Go together or don’t go at all. ...Not that any of it makes a damn difference to me.>

Khitti's hands unclenched, fingers twitching anxiously at her side as he started to leave. No. What had she done? ~I hate you, Amarrah. Vhy do you do zhis to me?! Look at him! He...he...~ Her spine stiffens, the rest of her body going rigid as well as Brand's voice enters her mind. Wait...what? Why did he care? He did, didn't he? Despite specifically stating the otherwise? He was being so weird lately, to the point it almost made Khitti uncomfortable. Didn't he -hate- her? All that's pushed aside after the seconds it takes for her brain to process it, her attention returning to Dominic. She needed him more than anything. Needed his comforting. His love. His compassion. The vampiress takes a step foward, a red and black blur as her agility propels her to and in front of Dominic. She wouldn't even give him a chance to move away if he wanted to for she'd more or less pounce him to the ground. Khitti carefully cushions the blow of his head hitting the ground with a hand, while the other grips his shirt to keep him close as she pins him down. "No. Don't leave me. Not yet. You don't have to do it now. Zhe searching. But...I...I don't vant you to give up. I don't vant you to end up like me if zhere's a chance for you to be vith your people."

Dominic was entirely frazzled, first by Brand’s unexpected intrusion and then by Khitti pouncing him to the ground. The wind knocked out of him -- not that he’d figured out what to say yet anyway -- and he just stared up at her a moment, dazed. “Khitti… you don’t…you… ?” His vision wasn’t quite focusing on her, despite the fact that she’d spared him from the worst of any injuries he might have incurred. <What he -means- to say is -- > ...Brand’s words across the link were cut off as Dominic seemed to come to more fully and silenced all thought with a kiss.

Khitti melted into that kiss of his, whatever doubts and fears she had gone in an instant. Distracted, as one would be in such a situation, she ever so slowly released her grip on his shirt, her hand moving down to find his closest one. Fingers lace with his as she pins his appendage near his shoulder, her other hand remaining beneath his head. She'd deepen the kiss for a bit before finally pulling away, her lips hovering just above his. Dark green eyes would seek out his own, searching for answers that she didn't even know the questions to. "Together?" was all she'd ask, pulling from Brand's thoughts to use as her own.

Dominic looked up at her, breathless and flushed and smiling, the earlier anxieties already fading. “Together,” he agreed, squeezing the hand that pinned him. “But for right this moment…” Playfully, he bucked under her, creating space and surprise enough to roll their entwined bodies, flipping their positions. Gods, he loved the wild way her hair cascaded onto the ground around her now, fire red against the moss. He could stare at her forever, just like this, frozen in this slice of time, drinking her in and dedicating every inch of her to memory. Just like this. He claimed her lips again, a light nibble or two interspersed with the kisses, then trailed down to her neck as he moved a bit off of her and to one side. He buried himself there, wrapped around her, his body pressed tightly against her hip and breast and neck. “Khitti… you know… you know I meant what I said... right?” The pauses were punctuated by yet more kisses, his breath hot against the space where her neck met her shoulders. He was busy treading a path there from collarbone to the base of her jaw and back down again in between words. “You… come first. I love you… and you’re more important to me... than anything… or anyone.” He leaned himself up on an arm just enough to get a better look into her eyes for a second, then resumed, the rest of his thoughts coming via their link. <If there’s a way I can make you believe that, to truly, wholeheartedly believe that and never doubt it… you would tell me, wouldn’t you? There’s nothing any Catalian could offer that compares to you.>

"I vould...I vould tell you. I love you too." The contrast between his hot breath and her cool skin sent a chill down her spine, a contented sigh passing her lips. "I'm sorry..." Her thought trails off, shifting to their link, the many reasons why she hadn't believed him flowing through: her fear of trusting her heart again to someone so soon despite the love she felt for him, not wanting to lose him, etc. He knew them all. He likely felt most of them himself. On top of all of them though, a single name was uttered silently between them, the main culprit of all of her troubles. Amarrah. Before he's able to say anything or perhaps get angry again because of that butterfly, she tilts her head down towards him as he trailed back up her throat, her nose catching against his to stop him, her lips seeking out his for another passionate kiss. She'd send nothing but love now along their link, her promises to work on her issues, to believe him.

There was no anger floating back, only a reciprocation of love and a single question. <Amarrah…She’s not okay with this, is she?> He sunk into the kiss she offered before straddling her again, one hand arcing along the curve of a hip.

A shrill, agitated voice seeps out from the darkness in the back of Khitti's mind, much like Brand within Dominic's own, <You're damn right, pretty boy. You and your friend inside that head of yours are bad news. We're better off alone. I've told her that countless times. The only reason why I tolerated Daermon was because of Barnabus.> Khitti only kisses Dominic harder, partially out of spite and the rest purely because she wanted to. <Ignore her...I need to learn to do so too...> A hand lifts up to his end, entwining her fingertips in his hair, keeping his lips locked with hers.

<Heh, she called you pretty, kid,> Brand jabbed at the butterfly. Dominic jolted upright and froze again. He mouthed an “I’m sorry” down at Khitti, as if by not doing so audibly he could somehow prevent Amarrah or Brand from knowing about that mortified apology. Ridiculous, of course. And Brand kept chugging right on along, manifesting in shadow as he spoke through their link, storming up to Khitti and pulling Dominic off of her and back, pulling Khitti up to her feet. <And have you got anythin’ you can do about it? You’ve got magic, right? Magic and lies and the world’s most sour attitude.> Dominic was flabbergasted throughout, blinking at the illusion as if he didn’t believe what he was seeing or what he was hearing through their link. He was having some insane dream, right? That had to be what this was. Meanwhile, Shadow-Brand was paying Dominic no mind, staring down Khitti as if he’d punch Amarrah right out of her in an instant if he thought it was possible. <You have a problem? You wanna fight it out? Let’s go.> Behind him, Dominic facepalmed.

Whatever amount of good mood that Khitti had left, even with Amarrah's interference, was completely shattered the instant that Dominic was pulled off of her and she was made to stand in front of Brand. "Get away from me, Brand." Her tone was flat, irritated. If Brand had shifted forms with Dominic instead of going about the way he did, she would've decked him. There was never going to be a time where Dominic and Khitti could be alone, was there? This is how it was going to be forever. It was futile to think otherwise. Considering that only made Khitti angrier. For once, Amarrah took form, that shadowy butterfly settling herself onto Brand's equally shadowy head. <You're about as bad as she is. Quick to anger. Even quicker to fight. That's how she screwed up her last relationship, you know. Pretty boy and her, they're unstable, even moreso together than they are apart. They're like ticking aether bombs. Why let things play out when it can just end now? If he doesn't ruin it, she certainly will. She can't even control our magic. She'll never be better than what she is. Even after feeding from the living, she's still weak. Useless. You saw her in Frostmaw. And in Xalious. -You- were the one that had to save her -both- times. You can't seriously tell me you want her around him. You hated her so much in the beginning though...> Amarrah muses silently for a moment, <Something's changed, hasn't it?> All the while, Khitti's anger melted away just as quickly as it had appeared as Amarrah finally speaks her mind. Shock washed over her and those tears of hers certainly returned, but didn't spill just yet. Her lips parted as if she were going to say something, but she could only stare at Amarrah, then Brand, and finally Dominic. <If that seal hadn't been placed on her ages ago, I would started looking for a way out. Too bad Daermon got to her, turned her into this undead freak. She would've died if she kept using our magic. She was so close too. So very close that I could taste my freedom. AND THEN THERE WAS NOTHING. I was denied -my- happiness. My -escape-.>

Brand’s expression softened just a touch at Khitti’s words, but it didn’t last long -- a scowl replaced it as Amarrah came forth. Brand swatted at her, as useless and futile as he’d already suspected it would be… yet how else was he going to express his displeasure? It should have been so easy to tear the wings off that thing, to slam it into the cliffside… it was incredibly frustrating, to have Amarrah -right there!- and not be able to do anything to her. None of her words mattered, they were all the distortions of some bitter creature bent on creating unhappiness. But no… that one line still managed to get under his skin. Damned creature. <Nothin’ has changed except my understanding of the lass here.> A shadowy hand gestured to Khitti, but he was frustratingly terse. A fight with fists or magic, that he could handle. A duel with words? Not so much. Dominic, meanwhile, sidled back over to Khitti and wrapped an arm around her once more. “We have names, you know, even if neither of you use them,” he grumbled, staring into some empty spot ahead and off to the side.

Amarrah merely disappated and reappeared as Brand swatted at her, then alighted off of Brand and settled on Dominic's shoulder. Khitti, on the other hand, cringes under Dominic's touch, as if his embrace was some sort of finality in Khitti's mind, to rouse her from her shock. She shook in his grasp, riding that line of sorrow and anger, unsure of what side to officially choose. <Oh, I'm sorry, -Dominic-. You shouldn't get so close to her, you know. She's liable to snap at any minute. Look at her. Even now, she's just as indecisive as ever. Just as worthless. She can't decide if she'd rather go into Xalious and murder the entire town or throw herself off this very cliff like some lovelorn little girl.> The way Amarrah's tone was, it was clear that if she had an actual, humanoid body that she'd be sneering. <The very moment I figure out how to get out of her, I'm going to...and then do you know what I'm going to do? Do you, -Dominic-?> There's a pause purely for effect on Amarrah's part, her answer soon given. <My shadows are going to peel the very flesh from her bones. My acids and poisons are going to boil and burn and plague her...and then I'm going to let her regenerate and do it all over again! That way, she can truly understand the misery she's put me through these long fifteen years.> A cackle echoed in their joined minds, <You think she's scarred now? You won't be able to recognize her when I'm done with her. That's if I even allow you to find her.>

Dominic squeezed Khitti at the waist, but he was shaking as well -- more and more with each passing word from that cruel butterfly. There was nothing he could do. There was nothing he could do. There was -nothing- he could do. The illusion of Brand twitched and flickered and fritzed out like some defective summon before at last fading from view entirely, and still he shook. He couldn’t help but visualize Amarrah’s words, to see that horror in his mind’s eye, to see it all too clearly -- well, he’d seen bodies burned and flayed before, hadn’t he? Dominic had -- no, Brand had -- he’d -- they’d -- ...his mind turned to static, a roaring white noise and nonsense vision that blocked out his senses, a pulse of red cascading over it and fading, pulsing in, pulsing out. There. Was. Nothing. He. Could. Do. The cliffside erupted into blaze, the flames soaring up into the sky far stronger than any of the plant life there should have provided any fuel for. In an instant they were engulfed and Dominic came crashing back into his mind just enough to wrench Khitti out of there, an iron grip on her wrist as he pulled her back through the narrow alley of cliffs; they emerged and he scooped her up into his arms, sprinting off across the jagged rocks, still sweating and shaking and crying and screaming in fury all at once. He didn’t even know where it was he was running. He hadn’t even processed the probable source of the fire, or the fact that he was carrying Khitti, or the speed and the nimbleness with which he was dodging obstacles. Across their link there was nothing but static, static and that pulsing crimson, a drumbeat of war and rage so strong as to drown anything else out.

Winding Path

It took some time before she too realized that he was carrying her. That Brand had gone. That the fire could've nearly turned her to cinder in an instant if they had lingered any longer. Amarrah had disappeared too, of course. She'd always be there. She'd never part from Khitti. As Dominic ran, as that static filled her mind, as she felt that white-hot searing hatred well up on his side of the link and spill over into her own, she'd look up at him. Her lips parted, but for the moment nothing came out. She was still...well...broken. Amarrah's words had cut deep. Deeper than anything she'd experienced during those awful experiments. <Dominic...> The vampiress tried to call out to him in his mind, but would only get static in response. No. You can't let her win. You can't. She can't do this to you. To us. She can do what she wants to me, but you can't. Her thoughts wouldn't make it to his side, and neither would they form words to speak at the moment, so instead she opted for something else. Something that -might- get through to him. Slipping an arm around his neck, she pulls herself up in his arms somewhat, attempting to block his line of sight. To get him to stop moving. Khitti wouldn't stop there though as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his desperately. <Don't let her vin...Don't let her hurt you too...Don't...I-I can deal vith it. I always have...Don't become like me...Don't break...Don't leave me...I need you, Dominic. You're saving me...you're keeping me from zhe darkness...from breaking completely...Don't let her vin...please.> Her own tears finally began to spill, her lips trembling as she gently held the sides of his face in her hands, her thoughts trying so hard to break through that static. < I need you...love you...I don't vant to be in zhe darkness anymore...not alone.> Even after all of their mutual declarations of love, even now she was convinced he'd leave her, Amarrah had to have ruined things.

Dominic tensed as Khitti rose up and blocked his vision of the path ahead. Some faint reverberation of her thoughts echoed through to him, heard but not quite heeded -- maybe he couldn’t. Still, the fall of his steps faltered and his grasp failed him; Khitti slowly fell loose from his arms as he sank to his knees, staring through her. Gradually the static haze faded, though it did not subside entirely, and the anger through their link became tinged with anguish. His chest was still heaving, sweat and tears clinging to his skin, extremities still trembling. The guttural sound that came from him was definitely not Brand’s, but it almost could have been, for all the ferocity in it. “I will -shatter- her.” Slowly, painfully slowly, his gaze moved to focus on her. Nothing registered in his expression but smouldering hatred glimmering behind his eyes. “I will break her and I will never stop breaking her if she ever touches you. I don’t care how long it takes.” Bile rose in his throat; he swallowed it back. “I will find a way, and then I will do nothing else. She’s a spirit; I could be turned and then have all the time in the world to figure it out.” His stony countenance broke into a smirk, then a chuckle, and then he was laughing and bawling all at once. The static and the pulsing and the rage and the sorrow thrummed again. Imagery of a thousand corpses surged through their link, a thousand Catalians slaughtered, a thousand memories that rampaged through the cracks in his mind and poured forth, fresh as the day they were made.

Khitti could only stare at Dominic as he spoke, her tears never ceasing, her fear rising. Was this how Pilar felt that day she attacked her in House Dragana? Or the day she first fed from the living? The familiar fight or flight response wells up in her chest, her anxiety made worse because of it. She watched him, listened to him, felt the need to run. She could leave now. She could go so very far away and then find away to destroy herself and Amarrah. She would die a thousand horrid deaths to sustain his happiness. Endure hundreds of experiments to make sure he lived peacefully. But all of this is held back, the want...no the need to run away from him...to leave him forever. The images of the Catalians only made things worse. It was much too like Dhavislaav. It was much too real. Even after fifteen years, it was too soon. Instead, something else happens as he sits there laughing and crying like a madman before her. Her right hand rises and with a sharp swing, lands a resounding 'smack' against his left cheek. The blow was so powerful that should she have used any of her vampiric strength, it surely would've snapped his neck. "You vill do nothing." Her voice finally eeked it way out of her throat, the sound cracking and breaking, her bottom lip trembling. "You vill do nothing because zhere -is- nothing you can do." A pause is given to let that sink into his fracturing mind. "You...vill not be turned. You vill live, you vill grow old, and you vill die. Vhether it be in battle or because of a sickness, you -vill- die. You..." Her voice falters again. "You vill do vhat I cannot...and maybe some day you vill leave me for another. For someone zhat can ultimately provide you vith a family. Vith a happiness zhat is not marred by zhis madness...but zhis...zhis is not your fate." Dark eyes search his own for some sort of acknowledgement. "And I...I vill see you die. My heart vill break. I vill lose my vay. I vill fall into zhe darkness completely for I vill no longer have my light. I vill know suffering zhe likes of vhich I never knew in my living life...and zhen I vill die. I vill become zhe voman in your story...because zhat -is- my fate." Once her little speech was over with, her gaze would falter just as much as her voice had, away from him and to the ground as her own words sunk in to her own mind. She knew all along this would happen, but saying it now made it much more final.

Dominic had stared at her throughout her speech, the noise across the link gone silent; he was jolted out of himself somewhat by that slap, but otherwise unmoving. She finished and still he stared, the saccade of his eyes across different points on her face the only indication he was at all present. And at last he curled into himself, knees tucked under his chin and arms wrapped around his legs, that stare dropping to the ground alongside hers. Guilt and fear seeped into the vacuum left across their link. Maybe Amarrah was right about something, even as vicious as she was. Maybe they -were- both more unstable when they were around each other. He buried his face in his knees and gave her a muffled “S-sorry… you shouldn’t have had to see… whatever the hell that was.” And still, he thought, one thing was true: he -would- kill that butterfly if he could find a way to. He tried to divorce himself from the rage, but he still felt it bubbling under the surface, everything he was afraid of about himself and more. The undercurrent of love in her words fell on deaf ears, so consumed was he by his own emotions. He’d heard her, but he wasn’t listening. “Sorry…”

"Dominic..." She sighed softly, both hands reaching for his, to pry them from his legs and entwine his fingers with her own. "Dominic..." Her voice was faint, sorrowful. "Come here." What had Amarrah done? What had she done? Together they had nearly broken him. "Please...zhey're gone now. Both of zhem. At least for now. It's just me and you..." She tried to soothe him with her words, tried to be calm. For him. "Dominic..." Her voice was so very soft now, as if she were trying to wrap the very clouds above them around him. The love that radiated through their link intensified and pulsed, trying to overcome his sadness. "I love you...more zhan anything. More zhan books. More zhan carrot cake." She tried to push the memory of them dancing together to his side, how happy it had made her, how lost in him she had gotten as they twirled about the library. "Dominic...I vant to marry you...you know zhis right? I vant to yours...for as long as time vill allow." She knew it was too soon to think this way, and lamented it over their link, but that feeling was there regardless and she'd known it for some time. "If you'll have me one day...in zhe future..."

Dominic actually laughed slightly, some of the tension alleviated by her words. “More than books? Is that possible?” Slowly he raised his head back up to look at her, then scooted over to her side, returning the love through their link, though he couldn’t hide the remaining melancholy that tinged it. “I don’t really know anything about how any of this is supposed to work, Khitti. But you know I’d do whatever you wished…” His gaze trailed off of her, then returned. “...Is Amarrah always like that?”

Khitti grins sheepishly at Dominic, nodding in answer to his first question, "Yes, even more zhan books." She lifts a hand to his face, drawing him close for a brief kiss, "I don't know vhat I'm doing either. My first and only relationship vasn't exactly a normal one. As for Amarrah, no...she's not. At least, she vasn't always. It's gotten worse. She zhought zhings vould be better now, zhat I'd know how to utilize our magic, zhat I vouldn't fail so much." Her own words became twinged with sadness, "I zhink...I zhink she's losing it. She doesn't have a body, I told you before. She can't ever look like anymore more zhan zhat butterfly. She'll never be vhat she once vas or be like us. I zhink it's finally taking it's toll." Another small kiss is gifted to him before she leans her head on his shoulder, "I don't know vhat to do...Vhat if she tries to takeover? Like Brand can vith you. She can do it, but she's never done it vithout my permission."

Dominic’s eyes went wide, terror at the thought. “She can -do- that?” Yeah, he was -definitely- killing her if the opportunity somehow came to him. Put the poor creature out of her misery anyway, from the sound of it. But, then… “I don’t know, the way she sounded back there… you know her better, but I feel like she would have done that already if she was going to. She -hates- you.” A few kisses were returned, but the fear and guilt on his face were still written plainly. “...Sorry, again. That -- you could have -- I told you I wasn’t --” He floundered for words, tensed up again, withdrew somewhat back into himself. “I am terrified.” Of Amarrah. Of himself. Had that been him? Had that been Brand? What if there really -wasn’t- a difference? He tried to sift through the memory of the last few minutes, but it was a dim diluted haze, the details already becoming obscured.

Khitti just shook her head, grabbing his shirt with both hands and pulling him in for another kiss, ignoring for now his thoughts on Amarrah. <Shush, my love. Out of everyone in zhis vorld, I understand more zhan anyone else.> She showed him those memories, of the times here when she too lost herself to her rage: all of her fights with Daermon, the time she nearly killed Pilar in House Dragana, her judgement by Revan, and even the most recent event in the Frostmaw mines. Each one she drew on the full force of Amarrah's magic, or at least what her mind allowed her to do anyway. <Vhen it comes to zhat, I understand you better zhan you do yourself.> It was likely a big reason why she could sympathize with Brand so much. As Amarrah had said, she was quick to anger and even quicker to fight. She lets her thoughts fade back into her side of their link as she kisses him more passionately, more deeply. She wanted so much to get his mind off of this problem. One day, it would be hers to deal with alone. She'd not burden him with it if she could help it, especially if it meant the possibility of taking her own life.

Dominic wanted to hold back, wanted to … what? Protect her from what lurked within? Protect himself from Amarrah? Protect them both from the inevitable demise of their relationship, if Amarrah turned out to be right about that, too? But no, he couldn’t help it; he loved her too much for that fear to stay in the way for long. He sunk back into her, leaned further and further in until he’d pressed her back onto the ground with him on top of her -- and hadn’t even realized he’d done it, so sucked into the moment was he. He hadn’t noticed the tears still falling freely down his face, either. <You know, I spent so long convinced that no one would ever understand…>

Khitti felt those tears hit her face as he pushed her to the ground, her hands releasing his shirt to move upwards and wipe the tiny droplets of saltwater from his eyes. <I've been trying to tell you...> There was a bit of a warm, happy sensation that went through her mind, as if she'd be grinning at him if they weren't locked at the lips. <I'm so happy you found me zhat night in Xalious. I had sworn off love and even new friendships until the var vas over...and zhen you came along. You vere and are exactly vhat I needed to keep me going. My precious Dominic...> Her tear-stained fingertips slide up the sides of his face, entangling themselves gently in his hair.