RP:Things Falling Apart

Summary: Dominic and Khitti get in the way of their own happiness. Brand... helps.

Frozen Path

Days had passed, and yet Dominic had never stopped thinking about her, not for a moment. Oh, sure, he’d passed the time in much the way he always did, sparring in camp or running his errands through Kelay or roaming his wandering paths, but his head just wasn't in it. Should he seek Khitti out? Avoid her? What did he even say? Why did she -- ? And... was she going to be all right? There was no end to his questions. Even Brand, as accustomed as he was to Dominic’s ways, finally couldn’t handle it anymore. “I dunno, kid, and stop askin' -me-. Ask -her-, if you must,” he’d snapped before sulking off into some hidden corner of their shared mind. Just because Brand -could- flirt as a means to an end didn’t mean he had any answers for Dominic, or in fact wanted anything to do with this mess at all; frankly, it disgusted him. They were better solo. They were always better solo, but of course Dominic was always getting attached to -someone-. But he’d realize the error of his ways eventually, Brand was sure of it -- and Brand would be at the ready with weeks or months or years of saved-up snark when it happened.

In the meantime, though, Dominic sat with his feet dangling off some makeshift wall at the edge of the war camp, kicking booted feet into the air like an impatient child told to sit in one spot and wait. Nothing was even happening out there. Nobody interesting was coming or going. He’d wanted to be useful, but really, with things like... this? Endless hours of standing watch and waiting for something to happen? Bother. The three others posted along this wall weren’t even looking right now -- they were huddled a ways off around a fire, playing cards. Well, at least it meant no one was trying to engage him in conversation.

Oh, there had been lots of things to think about as Khitti darted up the pass where the ambush had taken place and headed towards the camp. Why was that redheaded vampire with that damned dragon? Wasn't he supposed to be helping Hildegarde? Why did Raiez encourage her feeding? Why did she just up and leave again? The vampiress climbed her way up the mountain with ease, fingertips digging into the ice and snow as continued to make her way up. The fact that she had kissed Dominic hadn't entered her mind once. Not the entire time that madness had taken her. Not throughout her feeding, and subsequent 'verbal smackdown' of her poor friend Pilar that came after the interaction with the elves of the very camp she was going to. They would all learn to fear in time and they would mind their business where she was involved. It was the only natural course of things as she grew stronger. She felt it. Amarrah's magic was teeming and ready to take of the world. Or...just a very unlucky city of xenophobic frost giants. Coming into view of the very wall that Dominic sat on, once he spied her she'd seem very, very different. No longer did she seem crazed, but quite the opposite. The very in control, very determined vampire finally arrived at the base of the wall that her dear, bewildered friend sat atop. The dark red hair of the female, the color of the blood that now coursed through her veins, blew around her head somewhat as the breezes that typically come with this region drifted past her. Dark verdant eyes fixate on the wall itself. A fanged grin forms as her left hand lifts and presses itself against the wall. The heartbeats of those she swore to protect were like a magic all their own. Whatever they were doing, she could sense the closest ones. Hildegarde wouldn't miss one or two of the mortals, would she? No, I suppose she would. Amarrah was silent for now, though Khitti could tell she too enjoyed the night feedings that had taken place in Kelay after Khitti was gifted with the realization of just what it was like to taste the blood of the living. All of that delicious food just sitting there, ripe for the taking taunted her. But, there was one heartbeat right above her that was all too familiar. And then, the wind that passed through managed to great her with the scent of someone she knew. After some hesitation and the epiphany of just who it is that sat above her is gifted to the vampiress, she looks up at Dominic. There was an odd, hungry look in her eyes, but it wasn't like before. No, far different. The grin fades though, the kiss remembered, the male up above focused on as her demeanor slowly changes to reflect a slight amount of confusion. Now what was she going to do?

Dominic saw her long before she’d noticed him, her demeanor as she approached taken note of. So she was okay, then. Or alive, at least. Had she found someone to -- ? Now that it came to it, he wasn’t sure he wanted to think about it. Those legs of his finally stilled as he peered over her way, tension in his arms and in his hands as he gripped the edge of the wall. But he couldn’t hold that gaze when she returned it; he looked up and away, as if having spotted something up in the cliffs that rose around them, then back towards the slacking-off sentries. He was suddenly taken by the urge to run, before she could reach him. He should run and run and keep running until his legs fell off and he’d reached some land far beyond here, far beyond anyone, far beyond dealing with the aftermath of their earlier conversations and... all the rest of it. His heart had taken off running already, pounding through his skull at a frightful pace. But he was paralyzed; couldn’t move, couldn’t think, couldn’t speak. Finally he looked down at her again, mouth floundering open and then closed again, and greeted her with the slightest wave of his fingers before they clung, white-knuckled, to the wall once more. Brand scoffed and fell silent again.

Khitti stared at him for a time, until finally, she tore her gaze away. Was he afraid of her? Could he tell the change? She assumed in the affirmative as a half-hearted wave was given in return. The vampiress looks to the wall again, crimson brows furrowing together, acting as if she could actually see the people on the other side -- the ones that taunted her with their warm, sanguine life force. With a faint sigh, she pivots on her boot heels, the skirt of her dress flaring slightly with the motion, and drops to the ground to sit. She presses her back against the wall, bare legs outstretched in front of her, both eyes closing in thought.

Dominic canted his head at her, more confused than ever now. What was she doing? One more glance was cast back at those in the card game as a round of boisterous laughter floated through the air; it seemed someone had won a hand against the odds. Well... he couldn’t run, not when he had obligations here. And on some level, he realized there was no logic to the impulse, anyway. But these folks wouldn’t miss him, and surely he could keep watch from the ground as easily as he could from up here -- the wall wasn’t -that- much of a better vantage point. Dominic looked back at Khitti again, drumming those digits along either side of his slender frame, trying to steel himself with a handful of measured breaths. He could do this. He’d be fine. It was only Khitti; why was he so much more nervous than every other time he’d spoken with her -- even that first time, with the arrow levelled at his face? With a shuddering sigh, Dominic at last pushed off the wall, dangling a moment by one hand before dropping the rest of the way. He crossed the remainder of the gap to Khitti with arms wrapped around himself before nudging at her leg playfully with the tip of his boot. He managed a slight smile at her from under the hood of his jacket, though he couldn’t entirely hide his anxiety. “Hey. You’re, uh... you're all right, yeah?” No, he couldn’t tell for sure if she’d fed or not; he’d hardly seen enough vampires to be able to tell the difference. But if she was here, near so many people, then... what else could that mean? Besides, it was an infinitely easier question to lead with than all the ones he actually -wanted- to ask.

Khitti didn't lift her gaze to meet his, though the nudge from his boot did manage to rouse a faint smile from her. It doesn't last long, however, as his inquiry reaches her ears. She takes a moment to consider her response, her line of sight finally lifting and focusing on him, "I zhink a better question is...are you alright?" She'd leave it at that for now, letting him come to his own conclusions about whether or not she fed. "I'm sorry..." The dark ranger pauses, letting her words linger in the air. What was she sorry for? Letting herself get that way? Letting him see it? Kissing him? "...for scaring you...if I did.”

“I... What?” Two shocked blinks were sent her way; shoulders dropped, and hands fell further down his form -- a more relaxed version of the tangled hug he’d been holding himself in. A long, chilled breath passed through his lips before he spoke again, gaze narrowed to convey a sense of finality. “Right. Well, you didn’t. So don’t worry about it.” The last thing he wanted was for her to beat herself up for things she couldn’t help. He’d been scared -for- her, maybe, but never scared -of- her. Never that. “And you’re dodging the question,” he added, a softness returning to his features and accompanied by a slight quirk of one brow and another inquisitive tilt of his head. He was still dodging questions, too, but he felt that if he started asking anything else right now he might just yammer on in an endless wave of them and scare -her-, scare her away.

Khitti tilted her head to the side as he took on that Brand-like air again. After a few moments, she lets out a sigh, then reaches up for his hand, attempting to pull him down next to her. "I'm fine." is all that's said in regards to his question. "Come here...you look cold.", she continues, still trying to get him to sit with her. It's not like she could provide -actual- warmth for him as it had been a couple hours since she last fed, but she could shield him somewhat from the wind if nothing else.

It was only a second’s hesitation before he took her hand and let Khitti bring him down to her side, the contact of skin on skin sending an unexpected jolt through him and creating a lump in his throat. Well, that was... new. He huddled close, though he retrieved his hand from her grasp as he settled onto the ground and wrapped around himself in his typical curled up posture. He stared ahead rather than at her, trying to ignore the fact that his heart had taken up pounding in his ears again with renewed vigor. It certainly wasn't helping his nerves. “That's -- that’s good, I'm uh... I'm glad to hear it.” The force with which Brand mentally rolled his eyes and kicked Dominic actually almost toppled him to the side opposite her; it might have resembled a dizzy spell as he caught the ground with one hand and righted himself again. [If you really hafta do this, stop playin’ coy and ask your gorram questions.] Dominic cleared his throat and, at last, fixed Khitti with a sidelong stare. “So, uh... I’m -- I’m confused.” [Statin’ the obvious, kid.] “I thought you and Daermon were -- and I don’t think I’m -- and what about Brand and -- and, and, and -why-?”

Brand facepalmed on the inside. [Yer not s’posed to ask all of them on top of each other, dammit.]

Khitti could only imagine what Brand might be like inside Dominic's head. If he really was anything like Amarrah, he probably was pretty frustrated by now. This thought brought a chuckle bubbling to the surface. The laughter is quelled quickly though in light of his questioning and the seriousness that the inquiries themselves hold. "I don't know. Daermon and I are...but..." A pause. "Zhings are changing. Something great is coming...I can feel it...but...I know not if he vill follow. He vould not even come to Frostmaw vith me." She purses her lips together, clearly still bitter about things, though they had mostly made up. A sigh passes her lips again, the urge to lean her head against Dominic fought internally, and instead she chooses to also wrap her arms about her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have. I didn't even consider your feelings or zhoughts zhat day. I just...vent vith it. You're so kind...like...you might actually understand."

Dominic’s sideways gaze never quite left her, though it did trail from her face, down her arms, and eventually to her feet. “No, I… well... you just surprised me, mostly,” he said quietly, eyebrows furrowed, struggling immensely for every word. “And -- hell, Khitti, I don’t know anything about … this sort of thing. Whatever this is. But … I know enough that I shouldn’t get in the way of you and Daermon, as long as there’s still something there.” He dragged his eyes back up to hers, though they were lined with a cringe. He was probably going about all of this wrong, and Brand was being of no help whatsoever. “...Right?”

Khitti just kind of shrugged. She didn't have the answers he sought, nor did she have any for herself. "I...don't know..." Crimson brows knitted together again. What was she doing? Why was she getting attached? And why did it keep happening with humans? Couldn't she just settle and be content with Daermon? He was doing the best he could at least in regards to their relationship. The things she wanted with him would likely never come to pass though. Marriage. The house they had spoken of in Venturil. More and more it seemed like a passing thought. Daermon would never be tied down. And while she didn't know it, Alex had someone of his own. Not that that would've worked out anyway, what with his fear of vampires. But now...now she was getting attached to someone else again. Would it even work, she wondered? Likely not, if Brand has anything to do with it. Minutes pass as she stumbles aimlessly over her thoughts, an absent frown lining her lips, her line of sight straight ahead and not at all connecting once with his own.

Maybe Brand had a point, back on Cenril’s shores. He’d been so caught up in trying to do the right things, to be a ‘good person’, to sate that feeling that he needed to atone for everything... and he didn’t know what those right things were or even if it mattered. [That’s not at -all- what I meant,] Brand protested, but Dominic was already swept away on the thought. If he was stuck with Brand, if trying to denounce everything they’d done and everything that made him was a lost cause anyway... maybe he should be embracing that monster instead of running away. Yeah. Why should he care about someone he’d never even met, someone it didn’t seem like it was working out for her with, anyway? Dominic met Khitti’s frown with his own, tracing the worried lines in her face with his eyes. And then he slumped down further and nuzzled his face into her side, simultaneously reaching for the closer of her hands and interlacing his fingers with hers. “Yeah,” he laughed, muffled by her arm against his face, “me neither. But… honestly? I don’t know that I care as much as I probably should.”

Khitti's confused look only worsened as he laid against her and took her hand, though she did give his a small squeeze. "No...don't stop caring." She turns somewhat to face him, using her free hand to take hold of his chin and lift his head to meet her gaze, "Don't. Zhat's vhat makes you -you-." Her forest green eyes search his own emerald ones quietly, a faint, but sad smile forming on her features, "I'm quite certain zhat most of zhe problem is me, anyway. He's trying, despite his own issues, I'm just...fickle, I guess. First I basically hero-worship him and now I'm quite zhe opposite. I just..." A heavy sigh passes her lips, her hand dropping from his jawline, "I don't know. He vas my first real love and now zhat I've made my choice and came here, it feels like even zhe couple zhings ve had promised to do as a couple are not even in zhe cards anymore. Even if he doesn't stay in House Dragana, I doubt he vill ever come to Frostmaw and at zhis point, I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to leave."

Dominic struggled to hold her gaze as she spoke, blinking frequently as if his eyelids might shield him from the intensity. His heart had fallen into his gut at her response. He didn’t want her to be right, didn’t want her to be torn between two people, just... wanted... her, to the point it was clouding everything else. The realization hit him consciously for the first time -- [Really? How dense can ya possibly be, kid?] -- and he reeled, suddenly wishing he could take back everything he’d said. He was possessed simultaneously by the desire to throw himself at her and the resurfacing urge to run the hell away before he could make even more of a fool of himself. The impulses warred and he ended up doing neither, for now; he instead withdrew into himself again, pulling away from her and wrapping around himself once more. “Right, you’re right. I shouldn’t -- Forget I said anything.” As if it were that easy.

Becoming visibly saddened as he pulled away, Khitti's shoulders droop a bit and her head lowers to eye her boots absently. "Yeah..." She presses her back up against the wall behind them, hands moving to do the same as she pushes herself up off the ground, "I'll go...I don't vant to keep you from your duties..." Great. He agreed with her. That's what she wanted to hear. Well, not really. She'd much rather him hug her and tell her that she wasn't right, that it wasn't her at all that was the problem. She backs away from him slowly, her own realization forming. Maybe she really -was- the problem. "Goodbye, Dominic."

No. No, no no no no. Don’t leave. Please stay. Those eyes followed her in unmasked desperation, pleading after her. Thought left him -- all that doubt and fear and self-flagellation -- and he scrambled up after her, caught her by the hand, whirled her around to face him... planted a clumsy, unpracticed kiss on her lips before he or Brand or anyone could tell him not to. It was followed up by another squeeze of her hand before he released her, all those thoughts he’d managed to ignore for a moment now plainly written on his face. “Just… s-so you know where I stand. When and if Daermon isn’t in the picture.” His turn to back away, now. His turn to wonder if he’d made some horrible mistake. Gods, she didn’t even know -- he hadn’t even talked to her yet about all the things Brand had done. All the things… -they’d- done, both of them complicit in those horrors. She didn’t even know him.

Everything had become like a whirlwind of sadness again for Khitti...until...she was spun around and promptly kissed. If she had had the need to breathe, she would've been left breathless by a mix of that kiss and surprise that Dominic even did it at all in the first place. Now it was -her- turn to panic as he spoke and slowly back away. She didn't want him to go anymore than he wanted her to. Frantic to keep him here, she took his hand that had just held hers, lacing her fingers with his, "N-no. Dominic..." The words were to get his attention, for not a moment later would she use the tiniest bit of her vampiric strength to draw him back, and her lips would find his again. It was odd, that kiss. Despite the fact that they barely knew each other, there was some unspoken bit of adoration put forth into that show of affection. Even Brand would be able to feel it way back in that corner of Dominic's mind, and though he'd likely become completely grossed out by it, it would be clear that this was not some one-sided endeavor. It was not a false hope implanted in Dominic's head to sway him from the war and the fact that he should be fighting, if that's what he really wanted to do. No, it was almost as if she actually meant it all those times she said she believed in him, that he could persevere through this fear of battle that gripped him and maybe...just maybe...she really did care for him.

Dominic was, at least for the moment, too taken by the sparks through his veins to be concerned with what Brand thought, or any of the rest of it. A hand reached around for the small of her back as he leaned into her, all of him operating as if on instinct -- or maybe he wasn’t entirely walled off from accessing Brand’s more charming side, even as infrequently as it saw use. But it wasn’t long before his previous train of thought found its track again, and he pulled away from her, choosing instead to hold her at arm’s length, eyes darting nervously from one of hers to the other and back again. “Listen… you need to -- there’s something I haven’t told you.” His tone had abruptly gone low and deadly serious. “And you deserve to know before you get any closer.” And he needed someone to share with, in truth; the memories had been filtering through badly of late, in nightmares and sometimes even in images passing before his eyes, feeling every bit as real as the day they’d happened. He cast a glance back at his post; one of his fellow sentries had taken back his spot for gods only knew how long -- but at least long enough to throw waggled eyebrows and a thumbs-up Dominic’s way. Ugh, great. “Not here, though. Walk with me?” If she let him, he’d take her by the hand and down through the pass, away from the camp and any other nosy soldiers.

That kiss was sadly all too brief for Khitti and a frown soon formed on her pale visage, crimson brows knitting together and adding to her concerned expression. As he looked up at he guards, the expression only worsened and she definitely shared Dominic's sentiment on the subject. "O-okay." What hadn't he told her? The vampiress takes his hand and lets him lead her off elsewhere, a brief side glance cast in his direction every so often. Once they reached a good enough spot, Khitti releases his hand and moves to stand in front of him, forest green eyes searching his emerald ones, "Vhat's going on, Dominic?" Did he really think she'd hate him so for something that happened in the past?

His hands now unoccupied, Dominic folded his arms over his chest and took a couple more paces past her, choosing to give her a sideways glance rather than returning her gaze dead on. The extra time hadn’t been enough to quite formulate what he wanted to say; his words came slowly, deliberately. “I... don’t know if I ever told you directly, but I was a slave to thieves and mercenaries before I came here, before the ship that brought me here.” He nodded toward his left wrist, the one encircled by a pale ring of skin. Those green eyes floated for the sky, blinking back a sudden moisture. “I had to -- no. I -chose- to hurt a lot of people. To survive. I don’t even remember how many; maybe Brand does. At some point he started to be the only one to... handle things. Because he loves it, loves the power. But it wasn’t honestly just Brand that -- that learned how to fight. I just... have blocked most of it all out, I guess. But I hated it, and yet on some level… I know I liked it, too. And I’m scared of liking it again.” Dominic turned back to her now, staring at her feet as the words caught in his throat. “N-no -- I know I already do. That was why I couldn’t fight at the battle before. I don’t know what that means for me. Just that I’m... not so completely unlike Brand. And sometimes, I’m not so sure that he’s -not- me, if that makes any sense.” There were parallels to Khitti’s stories, but that hadn’t made the weight of this any lighter. He couldn’t see himself in the same way he saw her. “You have Amarrah, but you two were fused. You couldn’t... literally become her in the same way.”

Listening patiently and quietly to his story, a tilt of her head given as he mentions that maybe, just maybe Brand might not actually exist at all. That maybe they aren't alike after all. This of course led her to wonder if in some way it really had been Dominic that saved her, back in Xalious. The thought caused a faint smile to form, but it soon disappeared as that comparison of him to her was made, and the mention of Amarrah. "I can...in a vay, but..." She let out a soft growl of frustration, moving to stand in front of him again, peering up into those emerald eyes of his, "But so vhat if I can't do vhat you do? And so vhat if you did zhese zhings?" Khitti shook her head, not tearing her gaze from his and if he tried to avoid her, she'd bring her hand up and force him to look at her. "Do you really zhink I care so little for you? Vhat is in zhe past is just zhat...zhe past. Zhis is here...and now...and I lo--" She stops herself immediately as she realized what that word was that was going to pour from her mouth. No. No no no. Don't say that. If you say that, everything is over with. -Everything changes.- There is no going back. Even Daer said that. Khitti bites her tongue, hard enough to draw a bit of blood. Taking a step back away from him, she fixes her sight on the snowy ground between the two of them, "I don't care vhat you've done. S-some times, zhe only choices you have are bad ones, but you still have to choose." Slender fingers curl into fists as she continues, her words just as stern as his were the other day when she was acting this way, "You vere still made to do it, even if in zhe end you may have ended up liking it. If it vas between killing and death, zhen I'm grateful for what you chose...because zhat meant I got to meet you...and..." A little reminiscent of Pilar, tears began to well up in her eyes, but she did her best to fight them back. Was this really the time for crying?

Dominic drew his lips into a thin line as she responded. That word, that she interrupted herself on -- it was regarded with a slight scrunching of his brows, but his eyes showed no comprehension. Undoubtedly, Brand had caught it as he listened in, but he sure as hell wasn’t sharing what she’d meant. Her intentions were safe -- for now. Dominic was focused on the rest of her words, the ones he understood, the ones not too dissimilar from things he’d said to her, before. He saw those similarities, but... maybe he’d needed to hear it from someone else to stand any chance at believing it applied to him. “I guess so. It’s not -all- bad. It’s just that…” He trailed off, meeting her with a hand cupped against her face, his posture hesitant as if he expected her to change her mind at any moment. “In all of this, you might be the only good thing I’ve got going for me. The only one I’m sure I can count on. I didn’t want you to be so close and not know. Just in case he -- just in case I --” He swallowed hard, flinching before he continued. “I don’t want to see you get hurt. You needed the warning, at the least. But… if anything happens and it goes too far... can I count on you to take him down? Or... me, as the case may be?” He’d been looking her in the eye, but he dropped his line of sight now, down and to the side over her shoulder, his lip quivering slightly. He was terrified of himself.

Khitti noted his hesitance, but didn't shy away from him. Instead, she pressed her face further into his hand, staring up at him, "I vill do vhat I must..." As long as 'what she must' wasn't killing him. He'd have to find himself someone else to do that. It wouldn't take much though, with Brand's attitude, for her to want to punch his lights out anyway if it did come down to her doing so to control him. "Dominic...I von't let anything happen to you...I told you zhat already." She musters a faint smile for him, poking fun at him in order to cheer him up a bit, "But, next time, I can only protect you if you stay vith me." She made no mention of herself getting hurt in the process. She didn't care. It's not like she wasn't immortal. If something happened to her, there was still a possibility of coming back from it, but with him or Brand...well...she didn't want to think about that right now. She had already almost lost him once to that spider bite.

Dominic sighed, nodding and trying to collect himself. His words came shakily, breathily. “Okay... yeah. Good. As long as you, uh... as long as you know what you’re getting into.” That hand moved down her face, trailing lightly to her shoulder, thumb tracing slowly along her collarbone. The other reached for her opposite hip as he pulled himself a little closer to her. A fleeting smile flickered across his face before he found himself chewing nervously on a lip again. “And you’re… sure about this? All of it? Because I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.” A self-deprecating chuckle briefly lit up his face.

"I'm perfectly capable at handling myself." ~Except when you were kidnapped and we were fused together. And when you were stabbed by that cultist. And when you were impaled by a tree. And all of those times you refused to feed.~ -Damn it, Amarrah, shut up.- She does her best not to show the irritation that her not-so-better half was creating, a faint smile appearing for him in reassurance. "Dominic, I don't really know vhat I'm doing either..." A warning of her own is issued then, her own words taking on a stern tone, "Just...if I don't feed again...stay away from me...okay? I'm still getting used to drinking from zhe living...I've been so hungry since zhen. Nothing seems to sate my thirst for long." Even now, she craved it, but she wouldn't tell him that. She fought so hard against it because she didn't want to hurt him. She would never forgive herself if something bad happened.

Her words confirmed what Dominic had already suspected; her underlying fear was met with a shrug and a comforting squeeze. “So feed, then. You’ve already done it once.” A beat. “At least.” He wasn’t going to ask how many times; it didn’t matter. “And you’re still here. You’re still you.” The hand on her shoulder drew upwards to her hair. Fingers weaved slowly through those ruby tresses, twirling circles. He’d gotten too carried away to be thinking about what he should be doing or not doing, and Brand was growling words of caution that went ignored. “And if there’s a way I can help, just… tell me. All you have to do is ask, okay?”

The worried thoughts in her mind were swayed a little by his words, but not much. Khitti's hesitant as he asks his question, but ultimately nods with a sigh. The twirling about in her hair did seem to calm her a little, at least to where she'd feel comfortable enough to lean upwards and catch his mouth in another kiss. ~You're going to make the Dark One very unhappy, Khitti.~ A pang of guilt hits her like a freight train, and before Dominic could possibly react much to the show of affection, it'd be over with. -My unhappiness didn't ever occur to him once when he was with Aira, did it, Amarrah? At least not when I wasn't around and yelling at him for it.- That wasn't entirely true, and Khitti knew it, but right now it didn't matter. Snaking her bare arms around his waist, she rests her head against Dominic's chest. She listened to his heartbeat, felt the warmth that radiated from his form. It called to her, and only made her cling further, as if something so simple as a hug could stop the hungry, predatory monster that now lurked within the red-haired woman.

Dominic rested his chin on the crown of her head, scratching his nails lightly up and down the center of her back. She was a bit chilled to the touch, but... she felt nice. The moment extended wordlessly, only the sound of his breathing punctuating the air. “I-I don’t know how this happened,” he admitted finally, sighing into her hair. “I didn’t think there was anyone out there who would want anything to do with me, if they knew half of anything about me. The thought hadn’t even occurred to me -- I had just assumed it to be true. I’ve barely even ever had friends, much less anything--” he stopped short, his brows knitting. What should they call this thing blooming on the outskirts of war, exactly? “A-- anyway, I’m a poor excuse for a human being and there’s a lot I don’t know how to do.” Gods, leave it -alone-, Brand, you’re not helping. Trying not to let her see the involuntary roll of his eyes at the other’s invasive thoughts, Dominic pulled away again, beginning to lead her back towards the camp. “But come on, I ought to get back to staring at nothing for hours. Were you staying here for the night?”

"Uh. Yeah. I've not had the best of times making friends either. I'm not sure exactly vhy. Maybe it's because I'd rather aim an arrow at zheir head first just in case?" She coughs awkwardly, casting a side glance at the ground. "Vell...it vorked vith you, I guess. But, you're not exactly normal either. I mean, who becomes friends vith zhe girl zhat tried to kill you?" A faint grin forms, and a poke to his ribs given before she gives a nod of that red-haired head of hers. "I can stay up vith you all night...if you'd like." As he leads her along, her hand seeks out the closest of his, though hesitantly and ready to pull away at any time should he not want to return the small show of affection. It wasn't very often that a human willingly wanted any sort of contact with a vampire. At least not where Khitti was concerned.

[‘Friends’. Uh huh. Right. Lass is as much an awkward mess as you, kid. If you weren’t draggin’ me along for this I might even say ya deserve each other.] Brand’s sarcasm was regarded with a dissatisfied twist of his lips as Dominic tried to scowl the other half of his own mind into silence. Khitti’s hand was squeezed that much tighter, almost as much just to annoy Brand at this point as to reassure the vampiress that her touch was still welcome. “That, uh, doesn’t count. I still say I had that coming.” Dominic peered at her sidelong, a hint of amusement on his face. “And I won’t need to be up all night. I’m only supposed to be up there a couple more hours before someone else takes over. I have to sleep -eventually- if I’m going to be at all useful, and I, uh... I seem to have a sparring partner now.” He looked a tad embarrassed, for whatever reason. “I was hoping to find him in the morning -- I’m stuck with Brand, and as much as I’m afraid of being like him, I really do need the practice if there’s going to be any point to me being here.” A beat. “Besides you.” He slowed as they reached the entrance to the camp again, a realization suddenly hitting him. “I think I’ve seen you sleep before, but... is it actually something you need, or do you just do it because you can?”

Khitti caught that scowl out of the corner of her eye, and knowing that she does the same occasionally, figured it had to be because of Brand. A sigh issued from between her pale lips, dark eyes focused on the ground now that they had reached the wall. "Let me guess, Brand isn't very happy about zhis, is he?" As for his question on sleep, she shrugs taking a step or two away from him and releasing his hand, "I do sleep. Vampires need it like everyone else. I just...don't do it as often as I should. Between stress and not liking to sleep by myself, I just...tend to stay awake for a few days at a time before crashing." Another sigh. "I really need to get out of zhat habit zhough."

Dominic scanned the wall. It seemed that card game had wrapped up and everyone else had already returned to their posts; he might have some explaining to do as to where he’d gone. Or... maybe not, since he and Khitti had been seen together. He hoped they’d choose to mind their own business, but somehow he doubted it. It was probably the most interesting thing that had happened all shift, from their point of view. Ugh. He turned to Khitti with a sigh that was as much about his own thoughts as her question. “Brand doesn’t like anyone but maybe himself. It’s fine. As for sleeping…” he hesitated, taking a moment longer to chew on the thought, “...you could move a cot by mine. Uh, i-if you wanted.”

The vampiress blinks a few times at his offer, the part of the conversation about Brand forgotten for now. "Y-you're...okay vith zhat? Vith me sleeping so close to you?" She'd really only bunked with Pilar since the whole thing started and even then when she would've had company, the stress of possible failure was strong in her mind. "I-I mean...yeah...if you'll let me." She gnawed on her bottom lip absently, any sort of body language coming from her oozing awkward. If she were still alive, she'd definitely be blushing, though she wasn't without those butterflies in her stomach.

“Is there a reason I shouldn’t be?” Dominic shrugged off her question. “I’d feel safer with you around anyway. Maybe I’d sleep better, too.” Or maybe she’d be witness to one of his panic attacks in the night, the cold sweat sticking to his skin and an instinctive spell at the ready to combat anything that roused him unexpectedly. Hell, even Krice had almost been singed once and that was the despite the fact that the man was barely even around, floating on the peripheral of Dominic’s life now that he was more or less settled in Lithrydel. Dominic threw an uneasy smile Khitti’s way, trying not to think about it.

Blinking again, she eyes him and his uneasy smile warily. "Alright...if you're sure..." Naturally, in typical Khitti fashion, she's as hesitant as ever despite agreeing to it, but she does nevertheless. "Dominic...?" is said quietly after a few moments, a frown marring her features, crimson brows knitting together.

“Sure, I’m sure.” With that, Dominic had taken another couple steps toward returning to his post, but paused as Khitti hesitantly called his name. He peered over his shoulder at her, then turned the rest of the way. A hand was held out to her, in case she wanted to head back up the wall with him, or at least enter the camp by his side. Not much point in hiding anything from the sentries; they’d already gossip. “What’s the matter?”

Khitti didn't take his hand just yet, her own wringing each other anxiously, "You'll come find me...von't you? After our missions in Frostmaw are taken care of? I..." The frown worsens somewhat. "I might need you...to make me stop...To pull me back out of vhatever madness I find myself in zhen..."

Dominic’s expression mirrored Khitti’s as he closed what little gap there’d been between them. Gently, he took her hands and pulled them apart from each other, lacing his fingers between hers. That worried wringing struck him as something Pilar would do, at least from his first impression of the other vampiress. Hmm. He pulled her now, just as gently, ushering her forward, a wary glance darting about for anyone that might be in earshot before he asked, “Is it Amarrah you’re worried about, or…?” Lowly, he added, “...needing to feed? Is there, uh, something in particular you might need me to do?”

Khitti stares down at their now joined hands, a slight squeeze given to his. "Both." Somewhat ashamed, she doesn't make eye contact with him. "Do vhat you must. Just...uh...no fire...if you can help it. It doesn't mix vell vith vampires..." Sighing heavily, she pulls her hands from his, then decides she was tiring of the dour mood. "Hey...can I do something? I promise it's nothing bad." A slight fanged grin forms, dark eyes finally settling on him again.

Dominic nodded, that frown still on his face. “Right, no fire.” As their hands parted, he returned his to his pockets, staving off the cold. Her question was regarded with a cant of the head and a slight narrowing of the eyes as he tried to guess what she might do. “Sure…?”

Khitti's grin takes on a bit of a mischievous air as she's given permission to do what she wants. Snickering softly and without hesitation, she scoops him up in her arms as if he were a damsel in distress, using her vampiric abilities to aid in carrying him and moving swiftly along the path. Reaching the end of the wall, and the side of the mountain, she darts and hops across the rocks, climbing as high as need be to get atop the wall. She doesn't carry him any further though, sparing him his dignity when it came to rejoining the guards. The vampiress tries to stifle her giggling, biting on her lower lip carefully as she puts him down and takes a step back.

Dominic blushed a fierce crimson and buried his face into her neck as he was carried. Once she set him down again, he peered back over the side of the wall to where they'd been, a sheepish grin threatening to take over his features. “I, uh.” He cleared his throat and chuckled nervously, “I suppose that's one way to get up here.”

Khitti couldn't possibly grin anymore as she had sensed that rush of blood go to his face. "Indeed. Now, come on. Don't be all embarrassed. Zhere are perks to having a vampire as a friend, you know." Taking that step forward again so that she's right up close, and peering into his eyes, "Tell me...did Brand hate zhat? I have a feeling he vould." She gives him a quick kiss on the cheek and skips a few paces away, towards where he had been standing guard, before he's able to respond to her question. Was she...? No. Wait. She couldn't be. Khitti couldn't -actually- be a little happy for once...can she?

There was that word again. ‘Friend.’ Dominic followed her with his eyes, hands shoved back into his pockets again, stance making him look more diminutive than he actually was. Her question was ignored in favor of asking another -- it wasn’t like the answer wasn’t obvious, anyway. Brand hated more or less everything if it wasn’t a problem that could be solved with aggression. “Is... is that what you’d call this? Friendship?” One would think it should be more than obvious at this point (and certainly, Brand thought so), but Dominic was still hesitant, unsure of himself.

The grin that had almost seemed to be permanently there thanks to her antics and Dominic's subsequent reaction faded, her skipping coming to an immediate halt. A frown threatens to form, knowing just how he feels, but she pushes past it and musters a faint, loving smile for him. "Of course you are. I don't just fling about zhat vord all haphazardly. Very few people get zhat title. I can count everyone I consider a close friend on one hand." She raises up one finger, another one joining it each time she names off a name. "Zhere's Amarrah, obviously...and Daermon...and Pilar...and Alex...and now..." She holds her hand up, all five fingers outstretched, "Now there's you. You're all like my own little, yet strange family. I haven't had one in so long..." A certain sadness lingers in her voice, one that he could likely relate to with his own lack of a family at the moment. "But yes, Dominic. You are my friend." Her words sounded final and serious, but she still retained that smile for him.

The change was abrupt, Brand flashing darkly across his features and in his voice before Dominic could wrestle him back, an incomplete shift from one form to the other. “Sure. You kiss -all- your friends, lass?” And then Dominic just kind of… stood there, the glimmer of Brand passed, his eyes so wide they threatened to take over the entirety of his face, mouth agape. His stare lingered a moment, increasingly pained, before he tore his eyes away from Khitti, slammed his mouth shut into a tight line, and pivoted away from her, stepping for the edge of the wall that would take him into the camp and vanishing amongst the crowds and the tents if nothing stopped him. He should have run earlier, when he’d had the chance.

If there was a way for all the color to drain from Khitti's face, it would've done so when Brand spoke those words, her own mouth opened a bit in shock. It soon passes and a soft growl bubbles up in her throat, dark eyes narrowing into a glare at Brand just before the male in front of her reverts back to Dominic entirely. Oh Brand would see it from that space in the back of their joined minds where he resided, that look of pure hatred and bloodthirst that well of inside of her when someone dared to anger her. Once Dominic begins to wander off, Khitti eyes the frozen ground, her anger subsiding. She didn't want him to leave like this. What if she never saw him again after the events that were soon to take place within the city? Crimson brows furrow as she felt a pang of sadness in her heart, but she ultimately makes a decision. With that lovely vampiric agility of hers, she darts after him, appearing like a blur behind Dominic. She slips her arms around his waist, fingers laced together at his stomach and her head resting against his back. "You vere my friend long before I ever kissed you..." is whispered quietly, a faint sigh following it. "Even if nothing ever happens between us, zhat vill never go away. But, I need you...and I zhink you need someone too...even if it is just a friend." To further stress her words, the vampiress would give him a bit of a squeeze. "You are zhe only one I've found zhat really understands vhat it's like to live zhis dual life...like you're being ripped apart and kept together at zhe same time. We may not entirely be zhe same, but out of everyone, you're zhe closest it gets."

Dominic was both tense and trembling, and its magnitude only increased as she held him. He didn’t immediately fight her grip, but he kept his hands at his sides balled in fists, feeling as though he might at any moment explode out of her grasp in a blaze that would turn the entire camp to ash. He wanted to lash out, to hurt her -now- so Brand couldn’t hurt her more later, so no one would have to put up with his anxiety and how emotionally all over the place he always seemed to be, or with Brand’s anger and selfishness. He thought about what he might say, how he might get her to leave him alone, how he could spare her from all of this insanity, from more instances of Brand blending with him or taking over entirely. And instead, all the shaking and jumbled words in his head turned to heaving, whimpering sobs.

Khitti released him carefully as he began to sob and moved in front of him, both of his hands ever so lightly smacked as if to say 'stop that please', though the thought wasn't voiced. Her right hand then moves to his cheek, carefully caressing it in an effort to try to cheer him, as she never was very good with words of comfort. Pilar can attest to that. She knew this feeling all too well, however. The frustration. The wanting to run away and hide from the rest of the world. So observant was she that she knew all the signs, even when she initially learned them from herself. "I vill leave you be. I don't vant to cause anymore trouble for you. I...I need to keep my emotions in better check...I'm sorry, Dominic." Part of her regretted that kiss while the other part wished that Brand was a separate entity so she could rip him to shreds. But, she did her best to hide this from Dominic, though Amarrah tingled with anticipation in the back of her mind at that bit of fiery anger that rekindled in Khitti's heart. The vampiress' fingers on her left hand twitched absently as she backed away from Dominic, that urge to kill something rising. She turns to move past him, in the direction of the side of the wall, likely going to jump off the side with the same ease that she had gotten up it.

Dominic’s sobs had quieted somewhat, the worst of the overwhelming surge of emotion already starting to pass and leaving a vacuum of exhausted numbness behind. It was strange how quickly Brand had gone from the forefront of their communal form to so completely and eerily silent, almost as if he wasn’t even there. And, well, maybe he wasn’t, Dominic reminded himself -- in which case, yeah, he should remain alone rather than subjecting someone to that dark aspect of himself, the part that would happily destroy anything and everything else around him if it meant he was at all better off for it. Still, a hand snapped out to catch Khitti at the wrist, hopefully pulling her attention back to him for just a moment longer. His voice was a low croak, vocal cords as strained as the rest of him. “I-it’s nothing you did. Really. But you’re wrong -- you don’t need me. I’m insane, almost actually happy with you one moment, feeling so open and almost frakking -normal- and then… like this, the next. And… heh. You might be crazier than I am for thinking you -do- need someone like that. I’m only going to hurt you. -Brand- is only going to hurt you. A-and moments like this just prove that.” He sighed as his gaze dropped off the wall to the ground below. “I care about you. As friends, or... more than friends, maybe, if I weren’t like this. But that’s exactly why you shouldn’t get so close -- I don’t want to hurt you. And hurting is all I or Brand can seem to do, to myself or anyone else.” He released his hold on her now, an apologetic smile across his lips. “You should go. I’ll… see you later, if I can pull myself together more. If I can not be like this.”

Khitti stopped as her wrist was grabbed and listened to the things he had to say. The little bit of sadness shifting back to irritation, her emotion changing ever so quickly much like his own. After he releases her, she spins about to face him, crimson brows furrowed in anger, "You don't get it, do you, Dominic? Ve vere already close and you just didn't realize it. Or maybe I'm just imagining it. Maybe I -am- as crazy as you say. -You- can't hurt me. Brand can't hurt me." Except with the fire. "Zhere's nothing left to hurt. I -am- nothing. And I can most certainly take care of myself. But you know vhat? I lo-..." She pauses again on that word, a faint growl of frustration filling the air between them. "I love you." is said finally as she stares up into his eyes, that anger of hers not fading. "And I don't know if as friends or something more, but I know zhat it's zhere. Because you and I are more alike zhan you'll ever vant to admit...and I -do- need someone like you. Like I said, I don't know if it's just as friends or vhat, but don't give me zhis asinine excuse. Don't be like me. Don't not let people in...because I'm trying so hard to go against zhat feeling in my stomach zhat tells me to say to hell vith everyone because I do care about you..." The bite on her angry words loses it's hold somewhat, her lips pressing into a thin line as she looks away from him, trying to stifle whatever -other- emotions she's got right now. "...but you are really making me regret it." Without another erratic, angry word, she pivots about on her boot heels and heads to the side of the ledge. There's no hesitation as she jumps off and darts here and there down the side until she reaches Xalious. Her frustration needed to be taken out...and she was starting to feel a bit hungry again.

Dominic stood paralyzed at her rage and subsequent retreat, doubt and regret creeping in -- no. No, no. This was what was best, if he really cared about her. To hell with his own desires, his own need for her, the fleeting happiness she gave him. She was perfection and she could and should find someone less broken. And ultimately, Brand was right… he always was, wasn't he? Slowly, ever so slowly, Dominic returned to his post, glaring those gawking guardsmen into leaving him be.