Coping. (Post Prophecy)

Kia worked silently, moving onto the facial wounds once she had finished with the others. She worked wordlessly on the wounds, trying not to feel repulsed. She was an assassin, right? Then why was she so disgusted at the thought of her friend's blood?

Bart finished off his portion of wounds, clipping the last string off with the scissors. He laid back onto the chair, sighing, the needle in his hand. He put the needle and the string on the table. He remained silent, as Kia stitched the facial wounds. Dominique shivered, and crouched near Bart.

Kia tied off the last stitch to the rune carving that lay over Shadow's charka gem before she sat back, waiting for the demoness to wake up.

Bart lowered his head, letting his brown hair flow in front of his eyes. He let out a deep sigh, and then turned to Kia.
"Thank you, Fawn," he murmured to the assassin. He also turned to Dominique. "And thanks to you, too," he added.
"My pleasure," Dominique replied, smiling at Bart.

Shadow's eyes opened and she flinched slightly in pain as the stitches holding the cut beside her eye strained to keep the wound closed. She closed that eye to keep the pain at bay, looking around. She had never admitted to anyone that, although it seemed to be the opposite, she felt more pain than normal humans.
"Why am I back here?" She asked.

Bart stood up silently, looking down at the demoness.
"Because we didn't want you to die back there, Shadow," Bart answered, calmly. Dominique stood next to him, her tail flicking at the wind cautiously. She morphed back to her human state, gaining the normal colours of her eyes again, losing her fur. Her tail slid back into her spine.

Shadow frowned.
"I wouldn't have died." She said slowly. "They wouldn't have let one of their own die like that." Kia gritted her teeth, saying nothing, but her stance said that she knew that Shadow was lying.

Bart didn't notice Kia, and leaned over Shadow.
"I don't know why," Bart said, "But something tells me that opening all of the wounds one has acquired through their life one more has a pretty cruel goal, no?" Bart turned around, heading for the twins' room. "Just be thankful that you're alive," he muttered, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. He opened the door, then closed it again, silently.

Dominique stared at where Bart went, and then wondered why he did that, after he had closed the door. "Did someone say something wrong?" Dominique asked, looking at both of the assassins.

Shadow sighed, slowly sitting up and then standing up. She swayed for a few moments before regaining her balance, ignoring the pain in her whole body. She took a deep breath before slowly walking to the twins' old room, knocking three times and pushing the door open.

Dominique let Shadow enter the twins' room, and she turned to Kia. "Fawn," she began, hesitating, "Remember when I was about to ask you something back at the caves, but I stopped before I could finish?" She asked.

Bart was found near the window, looking out of it, into the city. His breathing was slow, and he seemed calm. He had his hands in his pockets.
"Yes, Shadow?" he asked, suddenly. Before Shadow could answer, Bart said, "Close the door please, if you are going to talk."

Kia looked at Dominique, her head slightly on one side.
"Yes, what?" She asked, wondering what the female Kraferr was going to say.

Shadow closed the door behind her.
"Why did you walk off like that? I could sense your emotions, but not the reasons behind them."

Dominique looked at the ground, still hesitating. "Well, you see," she muttered. She then looked straight at Kia. "Bart and I made an agreement, not long ago," Dominique explained, "And I'm not sure if I'm up to it. In my mind, I am, but deep inside, I can't really tell." Dominique looked at the ground again, then looked sternly into Kia's eyes. "Fawn, I'll get to the point," she said, "Do you know any medical treatment, that can prove I can have a child?"

Bart didn't turn around. "Thank you," he murmured, after Shadow had closed the door. He glanced sideways, but not at Shadow. "I feel like we need to talk about a certain something." Bart turned around. "I'm not mad at you or anything, it's just that... You'll probably get mad at me."

Kia thought for a moment.
"I can't think of anything, it was always Wolf that played the medic on our missions." She said apologetically. "And, so you know, my name is Kia." She added with a small smile.

Shadow raised an eyebrow, moving to sit on the chair by the desk. She felt like she was going to fall over any minute otherwise.
"Then talk." She said quietly.

"Kia," Dominique repeated, "I'll remember that." She looked at the ground. "So Shadow may know a way to find out, you say?" I'll have to check... She thought.

Bart continued to stand. "Actually, I don't know why I said that, you'll probably just not care anyways," Bart commented, "But, anyways, I'll get to the point. As you know already, Dominique and i made an agreement with each other. Do you know what it is?" Bart asked.

Kia nodded silently, sitting on the table and swinging her legs back and forth, also gazing downwards.

"Yes, I know what it is..." Shadow said slowly, not knowing where this conversation was going to go.

Dominique sat on a chair next to Kia, also looking downwards, but wondering what Bart and Shadow were talking about.

"You do?" Bart asked, blinking several times, surprised. "Then I guess this conversation has nowhere to go, except to nothingness," Bart added. He turned around. "I just wanted to talk about that, if you didn't know before." I didn't know that she knew...

Shadow sighed.
"Your agreement dosn't concern me, apart from the need I feel to apologise to you. You agreed to this to try and save me." She said quietly, looking anywhere but at the Kraferr.

Diaes, who had stood silently and watched the entire proceedings from the corner in silence chose that moment to speak. From his place in the shadows the voice emanated with an air of doom to it. "If you are to ask of Shadow anything you will wish to do it soon, for a time draws near when she will be quite incapable of answering anything," he spoke as he steeped forward ever so slightly, his dark accouterments flowing around him like a black cloud. With his hands shoved into pockets and his dark and tangled hair falling all around his head, Diaes looked a frightening thing, like a Shade out of legend.

Wraith looked up at Diaes, her ears back and her tail tightly curled around her as she whined. The wolf, as she was a part of the old Shadow, knew that what the scary-dark-man had said did not bode well at all.

Bart looked up at the tall man. He repeated the sentence within his mind, trying to decipher what the tall, clad figure meant. At the profound extremities of Bart's mind, was hidden a so-called chamber that he called 'Ouroboros'. He used it to understand anything he didn't understand. Of course, everyone had an Ouroboros, but he thought it would be a cool name to give instead of cerebrate. He looked up at the man, finally understanding.
"You have something important to say to me, DIaes, so just get to the point," he answered.

"I meant to handle this situation a bit more cryptically and with a greater sort of tact, but unfortunately, I was unable to rely on the people in whom I chose to impart the information," Diaes said darkly the words that actually pained him, "I am only here because I owe my life to Shadow, mark that well. As you may know already, Shadow's life is bound to prophecy, and destiny is catching up with her. It was dictated many years ago that she would die. I know not what the exact time of her death will be, but I have reason to believe that it will be soon. Thus have I come to you, the lover of her heart, to offer you a solution." One of the long, thin hands reached into the depths of the large overcoat and came out holding a metal canister. "Contained within is a vial of blood," A touch of fire lit the dark eyes as the words escaped the viciously pointed teeth, "My blood... Should the girl drink it, she would be... Death could not touch her as it will others. Though she may fall, and prophecy speaks that as unavoidable, she will rise again, and with power. I offer this only because she has saved me, and thus I now propose to save her. I leave the choice in your hands..." With those words he held forth the canister to the Kraffer.

ooc// A fact that the characters may not know, but you should, is this: What Diaes is suggesting is a baptism in blood. The result of this is that ere Shadow should die, she would become a vampire of the same kind as Diaes. Moreover, she would not only be bound by the same rules as he, but also bound by his will, forced to follow his commands... Just thought you might like to know that little tid-bit...

Bart looked at the man straight in the eyes, losing himself in the depth of the darkness that was present in them. He was astonished by what Diaes had just mentioned. The lover of her heart? Bart repeated in his mind. What. The... Eff? He shook his thoughts away, and looked back at the tall man. He grabbed the metal canister, and inspected it closely.
"Diaes," Bart muttered, "Shadow already died a while ago. It would be just pessimistic thinking that there are a million prophecies out there to kill her." But then again, she is the princess of darkness... I can understand that everyone out there would love to own her guts on their blades, but... Hm. Bart turned the canister over and over again.
"I don't know why," Bart said, finally, "But I don't really like the way you're talking about your blood."

Wraith started to growl low in her throat at Diaes, also not liking what she was hearing. The wolf nudged Shadow, who had all but fallen unconscious, trying to tell her that there was something wrong.

"Death, true death, awaits us all somewhere," dark locks fell down until his face was obscured as he looked at the floor, "Very well, her fate is in your hands now. I have done my part. Now this, though, in that vial is contained power with the potential for feats even greater than the expanse of my knowledge. It is vampiric blood of an old race that you hold there. That will save her life, no matter who it is in this room to drink it..." Slowly he raised his head to look about at each of the persons there in turn. His dark orbs burning with a sort of desire. "My conscience is clean of this then. Should you need my aid in the future," as he spoke he extended his skeletal finger to point at the metal canister, "Hold it and speak my name. I will hear. I shall leave you now." With that he turned towards the door and began to slowly walk towards the portal.

Bart stared at the canister, as Diaes escaped. Bart frowned, turning the sentences in his mind. It will save her life, no matter ho will drink this blood? Bart didn't seem convinced. But something told him, that in the depths of Diaes' voice, inside the deep syllables of the sentence, each sound of it was true. Bart put the canister on a desk, with a shaking hand. At least, he would know where to find it if ever he had to use it.