RP:Irrationality: A Girl's Best Friend

Part of the Do You Believe In Magic? Arc

Summary: Khitti attempts to research blue dragons at the mage library in Xalious, resolving to go at it alone with Raiez. Dominic takes issue with this, voices his concerns, a somewhat heated discussion ensues, and KhittiDom finally settles on a beginning to a plan on how to deal with the Blue. Also, toasted sandwiches. They were absolutely necessary.

Mage Library

Khitti had decided to wander back to the library the day after their little run-in with Raiez. She'd woken up Dominic, of course, and left it up to him on whether or not he was going with her. She was probably a little bitter, but it was fading. The vampiress would take her time, mulling over things as she went along the path towards the library, muttering things to herself every once in awhile. Once she actually reached the library, she'd make a beeline straight for the section on dragons, a moment taken to survey all the titles. She knew Raiez was a blue dragon and that was about it. She'd need to find weakness, strengths, places that they'd likely live. She'd find it and she'd do it soon.

Dominic hadn’t come to the library with Khitti, but taken his own path in his own time. “Just wanted to pick up some things first,” he’d said, cryptically. And so Khitti would have already been in the library for quite some time, likely, by the time Dominic arrived, the scent of toasted sandwiches accompanying his entry, wafting through the place and catching the attention of more than a few studying mages. But none of it was for them, of course. He started meandering between bookcases, searching out Khitti, though the smell of the food would likely find her before he could.

Khitti sat at the foot of the bookcase that held the material on dragons, surrounded by stacks of various books on the giant, scaly beasts, deep within the maze of shelves. Of course, she could just ask Hildegarde what -she- knew, but the Silver never really seemed to talk about her dragon form, and Khitti didn't particularly want to see another full-size dragon, if the case did occur that things needed to take that route. The smell of the sandwiches did hit her nose, and her stomach even growled a bit, but she chose to ignore it for the time being. Flipping through the pages, she finally settles on something about blue dragons, a 'hm' issuing forth from the redhead.

At last, he found her. The cloth came off of the bundle he was holding, and he interrupted her by swiping one of the sandwiches under her nose. “I brought you something,” he said in a sing-song voice, stating the obvious. “Well, a few somethings, actually.” He jerked his head back toward his pack. “Apples, too. Didn’t want you to get so focused on what you were doing that you forgot everything else.” Or, he just wanted an excuse to dote on her. Likely that one, really.

Khitti 's eyes closed as the sandwich drifted under her nose and that heavenly smell wafted up through her nostrils. So -he- was the one that had them. She lets out an unnecessary breath, a faint sigh, then looks back down at the book that teetered on her knees, her legs pulled up almost to her chest. "Zhank you, but...I'm really busy. Maybe later, okay?" Yep, definitely still a little bitter. It wasn't even that she was angry with him. Maybe she -had- been a little irrational, but she was just disappointed that he didn't trust her enough to believe her. Maybe even a little heartbroken too. The vampiress falls into silence again, another page flipped in the tome.

Dominic blinked down at her as his smile faded. She was normally more… receptive than this. She must be really into what she was reading. He didn’t see a reason to do anything other than take her at her word, after all. Still, he was -maybe- a bit disappointed, himself, now. “Oh… well, don’t wait too long. It’ll get cold. I’m going to eat the one I brought for myself, but… do you -- uh, do you need help with anything? I’m not sure what exactly I could help with, but, uh…” And now he was just standing there, awkwardly shifting from the ball of one foot to the other and back. He -knew- he couldn’t read enough to actually help with whatever it was she was doing, but what else was he supposed to do?

Khitti merely nodded to him and his warning of the sandwich soon getting cold. Another flip of a page. Then he asked if he could help. What was he going to help with? What was the point in saying anything to anyone? No one listened to a thing she said anyway. It's not like she -had- a reason to be paranoid about people getting kidnapped. It's not like it wasn't a very large part of her history. Her paranoia was completely valid, at least she thought. "I don't know, Dominic." Another sigh as her hand reaches out to take her own sandwich, eating it idly. "I might as vell do zhis by myself. I dare not say anything zhat has to do vith zhis situation lest I get coddled like a child and make to feel inferior again." Her words had a bit of a bite to it, something that she immediately regretted, but didn't apologize for right away.

The remark sailed straight over Dominic’s head. He blinked at her some more, then chose to sit and start on his own sandwich with his back braced against the edge of one of the shelves and his legs splayed in a V. “ ‘Again’? What situation are we talking about? Who has been treating you like a child?” Nope. The poor guy didn’t get it at -all-, and was probably about to draw even more ire for his obliviousness. Although, to be fair, he hadn’t exactly had the kind of childhood that would leave him with knowledge of what being ‘coddled like a child’ even -looked- like.

Khitti took another bite, eating it somewhat angrily now, her movements atesting to her mood. "Yes 'again'. You. Pilar. Even Hildegarde. I don't zhink you people understand how serious zhis mage business is." The sandwich was quickly finished, no thank you given, no look in his direction. "Do you realize zhis type of zhing is vhat happened to me before -zhis-?" She motions at herself, a scowl splitting her lips. "She did it. I know she did it. Zhat gods' damned Raiez. I'm not crazy. I know it's her." Well, no. You do sound a little crazy, Khitti.

Dominic fidgeted and practically hid behind his sandwich for a few more bites. But even then, he couldn’t think of anything to say, and went for an entirely useless, “um… oh. She -did- creep me out a little with the way she passed by us… but I don’t know...” He hadn’t really figured out yet how to handle Khitti when she got into a temper like this. Hell, he didn’t even know how to handle -Brand- when he had a temper, and that one lived in his -head-. He could read that one’s thoughts. Here? He likely didn’t stand a chance, so he withdrew further into his sandwich.

Dominic's response only made her temper flare more, her nails digging into the cover of the book she held. "Creeped you out?!" Her tone raised a bit too much for being inside a library, to which she immediately lowered it to angry whispering. "Creeped you out. Don't you get it, Dominic?! -She- did it. -She- took zhe mages." She snaps the book shut, "But you're not gonna believe me on zhat either, are you? Zhis is Daermon all over again. He never listened to me either. Always zhought I vas overreacting or making zhings up. I'm so sick of it." The book is sat on a stack next to her, her right hand moving up to idly rub at her forehead and temple. "I'm not crazy. I know I'm not."

Dominic was silent for a long time, chewing thoughtfully and burrowing his eyes into the floor. Khitti still sounded more paranoid than anything, but she was already angry enough as it was and … pointing that out probably wasn’t going to help matters, was it? It wasn’t until he’d swallowed the last bite of his sandwich that he made eye contact again, flinchingly, muscles tensed and prepped for another verbal onslaught. “Um. You’ve just n-never really told me anything about her. Why would she do something like that? What, uh… what makes you so sure that it’s her?” Brace for impact.

Khitti's shoulders slumped a bit. He was still questioning her. He didn't believe anything she said. At this point, she should probably just start talking about aliens and other nonsense. Her anger waned again as she drew her legs up to her chest the rest of the way, wrapping her arms around them, "It doesn't matter...", a sigh following her statement. There was no point in talking about it anymore. It didn't matter what she said, it'd always be questioned and never taken seriously. "Just forget about it."

And the anger … never came. He’d braced for nothing. Dominic relaxed a tad before scooting closer to the vampiress; he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “Khitti, no. If you think you’re on to something, then maybe there’s something I can do to help. But I don’t -know- anything about this. About her. I’m sure you have your reasons, but right now you’re spinning accusations and telling me nothing about what’s behind them.” With his free hand, he took Khitti’s chin, gently, trying to reach her despite her mood. “You -must- have a reason...”

Khitti stared at Dominic when he forced her to look at him. Crimson brows furrow a bit, her line of sight shifting away, "She's just -always- zhere. She hasn't been around much as of late, but before -us-, she'd always somehow manage to find me. She'd just appear and then disappear as quickly as she had come. Besides being a massive, terrifying dragon, she just...gives me a bad feeling. Zhe look she gave me, it only made it vorse." Dark eyes find him again. "I know people, Dominic. I know zhem more zhan I know myself. I know zhe bad ones and zhe good ones. I can tell from a mile away. But her, I don't entirely know about and it scares me."

Dominic dropped his hand from her face, nodding as his eyes danced across her and the gears in his head turned. “So… you’d call it intuition, then. You have to admit, that’s not much to go off of.” His lips twisted in further contemplation, though he wouldn’t give her much space to be angry at those words before he continued. “But, alright. It’s not like we have any other leads on those missing mages, do we? So let’s say for the sake of argument that your gut is right on this.” He canted his head toward the stack of books. “What are you trying to research? And what can -I- do to help? Do we try to track Raiez down? Is there a way we could try to detect the mages directly? Do we go to the next of kin and start interviewing people, to see if anyone’s seen anything?”

Khitti frowns a bit, "Yeah...intuition. Ve'll go vith zhat." All of the times Raiez interacted with her, it had always been really weird and Dominic might've thought her even more crazy. It was best just to go with the intuition schtick. "I suppose you could always go speak to some of zhe families and maybe some of zhe mages here to see vhat zhey say. And, I'll start searching for Raiez. If she's gonna do something crazy and try to eat one of us, I'd rather it be me."

Dominic laughed wrly. “If she eats you, you’d be the last meal she ever had. I’ve seen what you can do with those tendrils. Does she really want to get torn up from the inside out?” He was, well, -trying- to lighten her mood with humor, but … maybe this wasn’t the best way to go about it. Still. Points for trying, maybe? “Or... you just let her eat me and use the link to find me. I’m pretty sure Brand would just ice up her stomach acid and then have a grand time slowly annoying her to death and making her regret ever eating anyone. I mean, you know how he is. He’d probably just be an incessant jerk to her from inside her gut.”

Khitti managed a faint smile as he tried to cheer her up, but it didn't last long. "Honestly, I think Amarrah vould just let her eat me at zhis point." She shakes her head, sighing, "No. You stay away from her. You may be better vith your magic zhan I am, both of you, but I'm still faster if I need to get away." She looks down at the books, snaking her arm around his, "I vas trying to figure out her veaknesses and vhatnot. She's a blue dragon. Apparently, Blues vield lightning, but I've not been able to find much else on zhem yet."

Dominic reached around her and picked up one of the books. Nevermind that he couldn’t read most of it; he leafed through it anyway. Might as well. Just in case he somehow -did- pick up on something. “Lightning, hmm… so, if it -is- her, do you think she’d be more likely to be drawn to someone with lightning abilities? We could work with the Mage’s Guild, maybe, and lay down a lure for her. Odhranos said he and Pilar are in the Guild -- and I don’t know about him, necessarily, but Pilar would do anything she could to help you, wouldn’t she?”

Khitti shook her head and gave a flat, stern 'no' in response. "None of you are going near zhat dragon, do you understand me?" Words were sharp, like they had been before, but this time it was protective (maybe overly) and not angry. "Just do as I say and stay out of trouble." The vampiress falls silent for a bit, her head leaning against his arm now as she eyes the bookcase across from them. "Zhank you for zhe food. It vas really good." She secretly wished she hadn't eaten it in such a hurry, but maybe he'd get it for them again another day and she'd be able to enjoy it better.

Dominic smiled in response to her thanks, but it quickly morphed into a grim line as he stared down at the book again. He turned a few more pages, sounding out a word here or there in his head, but otherwise not really gleaning anything from what he was doing; it was mostly something to do with his hands and with his eyes as he considered her words. At length he turned to her again and gifted her with another squeeze of her shoulder; his eyes left the pages and came to rest on hers. “You... don’t have to do everything yourself. You -do- know that, right? I’m sure you’re not the only one looking for answers or worried about these missing mages. Were you even going to say anything to me about this today if I hadn’t come here?”

Khitti frowned at Dominic, hesitant to respond, though she ultimately did with a shake of her head, "No. I vasn't...and I -do- have to do zhis by myself." She still definitely felt like she needed to prove herself, whether it was to Hildegarde, or Amarrah, or Dominic, or even to herself. It needed to be done. She had to know that she wasn't worthless, but she certainly wasn't going to voice it like Pilar often did. "Just...don't vorry, okay?" Before he can say anything, she pulls him close, pressing her lips to his own in a soft kiss.

Dominic only sank into the kiss for a moment before pulling away, one index finger raised to her lips, his voice strained with urgency. “No, -listen- to me. Of course I’m going to worry. I care about you, Khitti. I love you. I don’t want to see anything happen to you because you felt like you couldn’t rely on anyone else.” That finger traced along her bottom lip now. “You have to at -least- promise me you won’t do anything reckless. Don’t leave me and everyone else out of the loop. What is that going to solve? What if you just end up missing like all the others because you were trying to be everyone’s hero?”

Khitti didn't look pleased at all. She pulled her face away from his hand and rolls her eyes, "Moments ago you didn't even give a damn. You chose to question my judgement and probably my sanity rather zhan trust zhe one you say you love." She retracts her arm from his space and pushes up off the ground. Standing now, she takes a step away from him, eyeing more books on a shelf nearby. "No. I -am- going to do zhis by myself. Help or don't. I don't care."

Dominic scrambled to his feet as well, looking like he might try to give chase if need be. That tension had returned and his extremities were shaking now, though he tried to hide it by balling his hands into fists. “Is that really what you think? That I didn’t care? That I didn’t believe you had good reasons for that fear of Raiez?” He was far too loud, almost shouting. A mage or two peered up from their studies; he felt the stare on the back of his neck and quieted. That agitated quiet had an unpredictable energy all too similar to Brand’s when he was truly enraged… the kind of quiet Dominic had turned shortly before a certain cliffside had erupted into flames. One was virtually indistinguishable from the other except for what might come after. And the words came soft and level, even when nothing else about him was: “If you think that… maybe you don’t understand me as well as you think you do.”

Khitti stood there staring at the bookcase in front of her absently as he spoke, no longer actually looking at the titles. She felt that anger radiate off of him like the fire that threatened to burn just as it had further up in the mountain. For a brief, sad moment she considered to egg him on more, to let that fire spring forth and let the library go up in a blaze. Not only would the books burn, but so would she, dwindling to nothing more than a pile of ash. He'd get out, of course, before things got too bad. Of course, he would. Brand would see to that. And then...then he could find someone else. Someone who wasn't as crazy as she probably was. As paranoid. As argumentative. As filled with worry. That thought brought tears to her eyes and while she tried her best to blink them again, they stayed there glistening along her eyelids. Finally, she turns to face him, to say something, but nothing comes to mind. She didn't want to make things worse, but likewise she didn't know how to make things better. So, she said nothing, her line of sight lingering on him before shifting towards the floor beneath their feet.

Fire doesn’t catch well on wet kindling, and likewise the heat emanating from Dominic gradually petered out as he continued to stare at her, as she gave him no fuel for the flames, as he realized her tearfulness. His fists clenched and unclenched one, two, three times before he too looked away, speaking to the shelves and the ceiling and anywhere but her face, anything to not have to keep looking at that woeful expression. “This isn’t a fairytale, Khitti, no matter how much we might both wish it to be. People die. Vampires can still die. You’re no invincible knight and we don’t even know what we’re up against, so why would you try so hard to go it alone? It’s as if you have a deathwish, even still.” Nevermind that it hadn’t been that long since he’d had one of his own; they were enough reason for each other to keep living now, or so he’d thought.

Khitti looked up at him now as he glanced away, dark brows knitting together. "Because I've always done everything alone." No, not entirely, but even with Amarrah, she was still alone. "And now I have zhings I vant to protect." Those sad eyes still didn't look away as she reached out to touch his cheek, gently caressing it. "Your lives, yours and Pilar's, are more important zhan my own. I signed up for zhis. Maybe not zhis specific situation, but I swore to Hildegarde I vould help protect her people, and now zhat includes you and Pilar and zhe mages. I've -got- to, Dominic."

That anger flared up in Dominic again, albeit much milder than before; he reached for her hand and pulled it away from his face, holding it and running his thumb along her fingers instead. “But it’s different now, isn’t it? At least, -I- thought it was. You were so upset when I talked about tracking down other Catalians, and that’s not even likely to be dangerous, just… time consuming. Brand said we should do things together then, and I don’t see how in blazes -this- should be any different.” He took a moment for a breath and the anger dissipated once more. And at last, he made eye contact again. “You can’t keep treating your life like it doesn’t have value. Maybe it doesn’t to you, but it does to me. You are the world to me, Khitti. I need you to not be that closed off and foolhardy.” A beat; a self-deprecating smirk. “Trust me, it’s not a smart combination.” Not that he was any more likely to take his own advice now than he ever had before...

Khitti entwined her fingers with his own, then gives his hand and arm a jerk to pull him forward into her arms. "I'm sorry." is all that's said, in hopes that he knew what she was sorry for, which was pretty much everything. She'd not wait for a reply though as she leaned upwards to kiss him again, this time her free hand snaking around his neck to keep him from pulling away.

Dominic couldn’t be silenced -quite- so easily. This was too important. With his lips occupied, he used his mind instead, taking advantage of their link. [You can’t fix everything with kisses, you know.] Even as he thought it, he leaned further into her, wrapping his arms around her waist. [Though, I want nothing more than to focus on you now that Frostmaw is won and ignore everything else until it goes away. If it weren’t magic users in danger, if -we- ourselves weren’t at risk... that’s probably exactly what I’d be doing, honestly.] Some sense of desperation and fear and frustration passed across the barrier -- he knew it was selfish, but dammit, hadn’t life put both of them through enough already? [You’re jumping headlong into solving this, and I admire you for being so dedicated, but I’m not ready for more danger. I just wanted to experience a peaceful, quiet life for a little bit. I’ve never once had it and now it looks like I might -still- not for a while longer. And I just thought… with you… maybe...] He was practically clinging to her, as if she’d slip through his fingers and be gone the second he loosened his grip. [I need you with me...]

Khitti sighed into the kiss, her lips twisting somewhat into a frown despite being locked to his own still. [Vhat am I supposed to do? Stand around and do nothing?] Another sigh. [I need you vith me too, Dominic. I'm sorry zhings can't be zhe vay ve vant zhem just yet.] The vampiress pulled away from him, her eyes finding the ground again, not wanting to look at him just yet. "I promise I'll do my best to be careful." She turns away from him, leaning over to pick up a book from one of the stacks. "Do you vish to continue your studies?" is said as she does her best to change the subject.

Dominic could likely fill a book with all the things he still wanted to say, but... no. She’d promised. That had to be good enough for now. He had to trust she meant it. He swallowed the words back and nodded, gesturing back to their previous spots on the floor, following her to a seated position if she took one. “Maybe you can read up on dragons and teach me something at the same time…?”

Khitti looked down at the stacks of books, her head tilting to the side slightly. "Alright." A book is chosen and she sits back down in the nook she'd created, snuggling up against him. "Vhat type of dragon do you vish to know about? Raiez is a Blue and Hildegarde is a Silver, but there's other colors and types as vell." To be fair, it's not like she had planned to just go and get herself kidnapped, but then again, she wasn't even strong enough magic-wise to handle a frost giant. Hell she wasn't a competent enough vampire to deal with them. It was literally a death sentence going after Raiez, but now she'd have to do her best not to let anything happen. Khitti eyes the book for a moment before looking at him, eyeing him quietly while she awaits his response. She would never understand why he cared so much for her, despite the fact that she felt the same for him.

Dominic shrugged before wrapping an arm around her back. “All of them, really. But if learning more about Raiez is your goal right now, you may as well focus on the Blues…” He was oblivious to that internal droning going on in her head, but he had plenty of his own still -- all those unsaid thoughts still jumbling and colliding in his brain. Just because she didn’t want to get anyone else involved didn’t mean -he- couldn’t… but would they be able to find enough evidence to convince anyone to join them in tracking down what Raiez was up to? Khitti’s intuition (or whatever it had been) was enough for Dominic, but for someone who didn’t know her, who didn’t trust her like he did…?

Khitti continued to stare at him as he spoke, studying all of his lovely facial features, taking them all in carefully. She wondered what was going on in that head of his, whether it was good or bad. After a few moments, she merely nodded, repeated her 'alright' and flipped to the section she had found recently with a bit of info on the Blues. The book is propped up on her knee as she draws her legs up to her chest again, the pages held open for him to see, her finger tracing beneath the words as she goes through things like where they likely dwelled, the fact that they were lightning users, and their size in comparison to the other saurians.

Dominic ’s gaze followed along on the page; he took in what he could by sight and merely listened to the rest. After a time, he nudged her at the end of a paragraph, then gently took the book from her, holding it like some treasured, fragile artifact. “I’ll be slower than you, I’m sure, but… I’d like to try.” He trudged through reading the next page aloud, though with some difficulty; every word came in hesitant pieces, and here and there he’d get stuck on a word and have to laboriously sound it out, or even give up on it entirely and merely wait for Khitti to assist.

You blinks as he takes the book from her, offering a soft 'as you wish' in reply. Once he started to read, and she realized he had a better grasp on it than she had originally thought, a faint smile displayed itself proudly on her pale features, steadily growing as he continued. It wasn't that she thought him stupid. Of course, she'd never think that. She just thought she hadn't been a good enough teacher for him, not to mention the fact that things had been hectic. Unless she had to pronounce a word for him, she'd not say anything, staring at him with that dreamy sort of look that she gets around him. It had been so long since anyone read to her, no matter the subject of the book, and she was thoroughly enjoying it.

Dominic worked through the last of that first page and then two more, to the end of the chapter. And he hadn’t noticed her staring at all, so focused was he on the task before him. Only when he couldn’t manage a word did his eyes lift off the page, glancing at her only long enough to cue her to help fill in the troublesome parts before he carried on. When it was finished, he simply left his gaze there, tracing one finger along the edge of the pages still unread. “It, uh, it needs a lot of work still. That took an eternity longer than it takes you, and I got most of the words wrong until the second or third try except the really common ones, and there’s still so many words I can’t even touch without help, and -- and…” His train of thought derailed as he finally looked up at her and saw that grin. Was that… for him? He blinked back at her and blushed, not seeming to fully registered the thought, but her smile was as contagious as always and he found himself mirroring it before long.

Khitti's grin only grew as he realized it was there, the entire expression lighting up her face, "You did so vonderfully. I'm so happy for you!" She pushes herself up into a kneeling position, her arms snaking around his neck to hug him, her lips pressing against his temple, "I vas so vorried zhat I failed you. Zhat I didn't do vell enough to teach you...but you did it!" Her laughter fills the area, overshadowing for the moment the fact that they had just been fighting not long ago. "And it doesn't matter how long it takes you, you vill get better and soon you'll be reading as much as I do!" She kisses him again happily, beaming with pride for him.

Dominic outright flailed. Yes, flailed. “N-no, but it’s not good enough! I’ve spent every available moment on this over the last month; don’t you think I should be better? I’m already so behind everyone else. -Everyone else- knows how to do this, it’s just me and I can’t -- and I don’t --” He scrunched his eyes shut, hid his face in his hands, and rocked back and forth a bit. Clearly, the praise had broken his brain a little. He’d started wailing, high pitched and muffled behind his palms, suddenly overwhelmed by the weight of what he’d just accomplished and how much further still he had to go.

Khitti shook her head as she released her hold on him, only to grab his face gently between her hands, forcing him to look at her as she moved in front of him. "Dominic...you're doing perfectly. Everyone learns at zheir own pace and you are no different. Vith all zhe distractions ve've had lately, you are doing so vell. I'm so very proud of you. So very much." The aura that invisibly radiated from her because of her joy shone on even more as she spoke, like some sort of beacon to lead him back out of this hole of self-deprecation that he continued to dig for himself.

Dominic’s shrill fussing cut off abruptly as Khitti took his face in her hands -- though he looked every bit like he was still screaming internally. “But I should -- but, uh… but…” She looked so happy, all the more stunning in the way she beamed at him, and the protests gradually died on his lips. Still, she was too much to look at and giving too much actual, genuine praise to take in; his eyes reached for the rafters rather than blinding themselves on her glow. “I… guess it wasn’t -entirely- awful…” And suddenly he was flailing again before pulling away from her and taking her hands in his. Leaning back like this, it was easier to actually make eye contact once more. “Uh, th-thank you…”

Khitti could only giggle at his flailing, that grin of hers as wide as ever. She leaned forward long enough to plant a small kiss on his nose before pulling away entirely and reclaiming her spot next to him as she spared his dignity, her compliments and praise ceasing for now. Picking up the book, she offers it back, in case he'd like to go on, though her thoughts take her elsewhere as she stares across the aisle, "Vhat do you zhink I -should- do?" Perhaps she had actually meant her promise, especially now that she was asking his opinion on the matter instead of demanding that he leave her alone and to forget about it.

Dominic found it easier to calm now that the focus wasn’t on him. He took the book, but didn’t open it yet, instead opting to trace his fingers along the engraved text of the cover and spine. “I mean… I haven’t had a lot of time to think about it, obviously. But… I guess the priority is trying to find proof to back up your gut, or else people who’d believe you without it. I can believe you about Raiez fine, and I know you have some kind of a history of interactions with her, but… who else knows that? Pilar, maybe? Unless she has enough sway with the Mage’s Guild to get them to set some kind of lure, like I was saying earlier… it might just be you and I and her. Hildegarde might believe you, too, if you explained yourself to her -- I know she valued having you around in the war and hopefully that counts for something. I think the main thing, other than that, is just… not spending much time alone. If mages are disappearing, then we need to stick together. Safety in numbers, as the saying goes.”

"I don't vant to bother Hildegarde vith zhis, Dominic. She has so much on her plate as it is. A lot of zhese people aren't hers. Zhey're not under her...vhat's zhe vord?" She struggles a moment, as if there were some common words that still gave her trouble despite all of her book-loving ways. "Oh...jurisdiction! I mean it's one, maybe two, but not enough for her to break out zhe entire Frostmaw army. Frostmaw needs to be rebuilt and zhat's gotta take nearly zhe whole town to do it." Khitti leans over against him, her head on his shoulder, "I'll start small first before anything like a trap is done. I'll scout around the different areas vhere zhe mages vere last seen. Some of zhe messages on zhe board have zhat. You definitely still speak to zheir families and maybe moreso zhe mages here too. I -could- ask Orikahn zhe best vay to hunt a dragon, but...he might get a bit too enthusiastic and end up dragging me along to do it right zhen and zhere." It was clear by her tone that she definitely didn't want that.

Dominic sighed, drumming his fingers against a cheek in thought. “I suppose you have a point with regard to Frostmaw. I think I’m just so used to being there or here in Xalious by now that I hadn’t even thought about how widespread this is.” More tapping. “...I don’t know. There isn’t any other kind of authority that would oversee multiple places? It’s not like any area is at war with any other one right now. I guess that just brings me right back to the Mage’s Guild…” The frequency of the drumming increased in frustration, and he blew his bangs out of his face, completely ineffectively. “I think I’m just going in circles at this point.”

Khitti sighed as well, throwing her hands up in the air somewhat, "I don't know vhat to do zhen. Maybe you should just focus on practicing your magic. Mine's not going to get any better and ve might need it." Folding her arms across her chest, a slight frown creases her lips, "I'll do zhe scouting at least and let you know vhat I've come up vith." The vampiress falls silent, the gears attempting to turn in her head, but not quite working at the moment as she comes up with zero ideas.

Dominic actually looked startled for a moment before leaning over to gift the vampiress with a series of kisses. “You’re psychic, Khitti. Or maybe more is spilling through the link than either of us intends.” He curled and uncurled a hand in his lap, staring down at it. “I’ve been thinking a lot about some of the things Odhranos said. And about… some of the things that have happened. I don’t think I would be able to do much of anything on my own if Brand were to get his own form, you know? And, believe it or not, he doesn’t seem too keen on the idea anyway, though he’s being horribly cryptic about his reasoning. But, you know… I still think maybe I could learn something of his, though I’m not sure how on earth -how-.” Dominic regarded Khitti sidelong, biting nervously at a lip. “But, that, uh… the fire, that one time. That wasn’t the first time something like that had happened. Which makes me think… I don’t know. Maybe.”

Khitti shook her head, "No. I zhink you could do quite a bit. Shadow Brand is an illusion essentially, yes? Much moreso zhan Pilar's sinc he is his own entity, but still. Maybe you could make other zhings?" She side-eyed him back, noting his anxiety when the fire was mentioned, "You and Brand are mostly one and zhe same. I zhink you just need practice. Perhaps you're able to utilize Brand's abilities and he yours?" She shrugs a bit, her closest hand moving to grab his own that sat in his lap, lacing their fingers together. "I could try to help you. You could use me like target practice." A squeeze to his hand is given. "And I know zhat zhe fire is bad, but I'll figure out a way around it, I'm sure."

Dominic probably would have flailed again, had Khitti not been holding one of his hands. He certainly looked extraordinarily uncomfortable, at any rate. “Yeah, but -- but what if I hurt you? Or what if … I don’t know. What if something happens that I’m not ready for? Or, what if… what if...” He didn’t want to voice it, but there was still a lingering concern that he’d somehow -become- Brand more if his abilities improved. Maybe the idea sounded a bit more preposterous now than it once did, but the concept still managed to terrify him. “I -- I don’t know. I want to, sometimes, but I don’t know if it’s a good idea. Theorizing about it is one thing, b-but actually trying it? I… I…” He scrunched up his face. “So many things could go wrong…”

Khitti used her free hand to grab his chin and direct his face towards her own, "Dominic, I have sparred and outright fought vith a magical elder vampire many a time. On top of zhat I slayed a mindflayer and my undead sister in one night. And...-and-!" She leans over and kisses him, "And...I've killed hordes of undead and zheir masters by myself...and zhat vas even vhen I vas human. So, I zhink I can figure zhis out. I doubt Amarrah vants to go up in flames, so I'll try to coerce her into helping. I von't be able to do it vithout her."

Dominic looked like he might become mush and sink into the floor just from sheer anxiety. “I know, I know, I know, but -- ugh.” This time, he -did- flail. “I suppose... there’s no real excuse, is there? No valid reason not to try. I just get that terrified ache in the pit of my stomach and everything in me trembles and my throat clenches up and --” He forced himself to pause and take a few breaths, eyes back to the ceiling. “Okay. Fine. Yes. We can try, at least.” His eyes dropped back to hers. “But if something -does- go wrong… just remember that I told you so.” The remark was only half-serious.

Khitti tilted her head to the side, leaning forward again to kiss him in an attempt to pacify her poor, beloved human. She lets this one linger a bit longer, hoping it distracts him from his thoughts long enough to rid him of some anxiety. Finally she pulls away, her lips dancing dangerously close to his as if she'd kiss him again, but ultimately she doesn't, "Zhen don't use fire. Try to use some of Brand's other abilities. He clearly is able to manipulate ice and earth as vell."

Dominic followed up her kiss with one of his own. She was impossible to resist, her face so close, her emerald eyes meeting his. “I suspect fire’s probably the easiest, for whatever reason. But no, you’re right. That would make it a bit safer. And maybe… maybe this will somehow help you, too.” He leaned further into her and showered her with more kisses. “I don’t know how you do it, Khitti. You always know the right things to say to help set me at ease.” The man rose to his feet; one hand was held out to help her up, if she desired it.

Khitti accepted all of his kisses gratefully, giggling a bit in between, her hand soon reaching for and grabbing his once he's standing and it's offered. "I can give advice, but I really can't take it the majority of zhe time. You've really got to beat it into my head. Zhough, I'm sure you've noticed." The book they had been reading together was grabbed and held in her free hand, the vampiress intent on bringing it with them, "I'll bring zhis back soon. I'm pretty sure zhey're used to me borrowing zhings now."

Dominic whirled Khitti around before making for the exit, her hand still in his. “I’m sure you aren’t the only one, what with so many people coming through here and all. Besides, what if that book holds some key to figuring out this whole ‘disappearing mage’ thing? They ought to be thanking you for taking their books then, really.” He nudged at her playfully before leading her out, holding the door open with an exaggeratedly formal bow.

Khitti bit her lip as he twirled her about, stifling more giggling. "Yeah vell...Maybe. But, for right now, let's go home." She gives her own feminine sort of bow, the redhead clearly not the type to curtsy like a proper lady, then steps out the door. She doesn't go far, however, as she pivots to face him again, her free hand outstretched towards him, "Maybe ve could get some more of zhose sandwiches? And you certainly need your rest so I can beat zhe hell out of you tomorrow." The vampiress bats her eyes cutely at Dominic, a big grin spreading across her face.