Ok so like, I found this bug...and it was sorta green but not green

Ok so like, I found this bug...and it was sorta green but not green and normally I wouldn't be standing there looking at bugs but this bug. THIS BUG It was sitting on a slightly dusty window, fluttering about. I didn't see what was inside the store. It wasn't dried fish so obviously, it wasn't important. How did I know that if I wasn't looking inside the store you ask? That's easy as breathing. Because it WAS to do with breathing. Smelling to be specific. You see fish, specifically dried fish as a very pungent smell and the nose knows. This store didn't have that smell, this store smelt like...well it was hard to tell...possibly herbs? Maybe? I don't care, that's not important. The bug is.

This bug. It was super important. It was so important that I had been staring at it for a long time now, so long in fact..that my legs hurt. You know that sort of hurt that you get that slowly travels up your thighs and if you shift your feet, ever so slightly they hurt too. Yeh. That.

But this was ... this was...

Entrancing

My amber eyes stared an unrelenting stare (otherwise how else would it be an efficient stare?) toward this bug. Pointed (and injured, goddammit Amari) azure ears and tail flicking slightly at the various sounds of passer-by. I could hear them muttering. Mad woman, they thought I was. Blue haired nutter, they said. Hah! If only they could see what I could see. Then they'd join me in this spectacle. (I guess I was part of the spectacle now, but I never intended to take the spotlight away from this curious little critter)

So this bug, right.. it was I think a goldish green colour. Ok so I'm not stupid I know its green but in the light it sometimes shone gold I think they call it chromatic colours or something... anyway.. .it scuttled to and fro, always to and fro like a little half-waltz. I say half waltz because it was a two step move instead of three step.

What was even more curious was...

that this little bitty bug... did not have a soul.


So interesting..

"I'd heard that he had rumors of an affair with one of them before, but I never expected to see one hear. He's been so reserved - oh Thayne, do you think he heard me?" Nevin felt one eyebrow twitch strongly as he pointedly ignored the gossiping women who were standing in front of a food stall. There was no way another rumor about him was starting, so obviously they were not talking about him - even if he was the only man on the street at this particular moment.

No, instead he focused on the corner ahead. Round that corner and he would be home free. He detested having to go out shopping for food but if he didn't want to spend all of his time hunting he had to sacrifice his personal privacy and head to the market from time to time. At least he had been able to get some freshly caught salmon today, and he was looking forward to dinner. And he was glad that his part time apprentice, Ezra, had finally beat a semblance of actual skill at cooking into him so he wasn't about to kill himself trying to cook.

Then he turned the corner and he paused, his face going blank as he suppressed the large sigh of exasperation that tried to slip from his lips. Standing in front of his shop was a blue haired feline female. If he was less observant it would have been easy to confuse her for Rainee - but aside from being blue haired cat women they weren't too similar. Thankfully. This new individual was staring intently into his shop, though he couldn't see what her attention was on.

She was also the center of a fair amount of attention herself - a short distance away, there was a small crowd forming. People came up and watched her for a bit as he walked forward, though they did have the grace to look ashamed when he turned his flat glare in their direction. He kept glaring at them until the crowd scattered, and hen he cleared his throat as he turned to look at the woman.

Is it a rule that cat women are cute? Bah. Hopefully no rumors start involving this poor girl. The redhead shifted his bag to his other hand as he fished his key from his pocket and unlocked the door. "If you are looking to buy something, I open in about an hour, Miss." He paused in the doorway to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

Someone talked and the bug went to fly away. The sound must have spooked the poor, little, soulless, dancing creature!

<"W-What! NO! Gah W-Wait bug I need to inspect you!"> I cried out in my native tongue, Akashimian as I jumped up, hands clasping feebly in the air at the tiny critter as it flew away. I thought I had it, I clasped them around it and breathed a sigh of relief as I carefully opened my hands to see... well... nothing. Dammit...it was gone. When was I ever going to see it again? My eyes fell to the floor. That's it, hopes dashed, dreams ruined. Life over. My ears drooped and my tail fell lifelessly to the floor, my outward demeanor completely reflective of the utmost despair and inner turmoil I felt.

"If you are looking to buy something, I open in about an hour, Miss."

I rose my eyes and was met with... uhm wait one or two people? I what? HUH!?

"What is?"

Ok... so maybe this was more interesting than the bug.

I took two quick steps toward him, peering closely into his darkly coloured eyes, I reached out and prodded the puffy skin underneath. Bags. He didn't sleep. Why was it that no one slept? Sleep was awesome. Naps were amazing too... actually if I wasn't so busy, I'd go for a nap right now. There was also something else, a slight tingling sensation. It was ever so slight, that I am not sure why I am mentioning it... I'm going to ignore it now.

"Mmm..." With no regard to any form of personal space (What was that anyway? did people buy space?) I again, jabbed a pointed finger toward him. This time to his collarbone, where strange lines appeared on his skin.

"Feel like one person." I muttered... "One ...but two?" I quirked my head to the side. "You got smooshed? Did rock fall and make two people one? did- wait!"

Wait...


Wait....

Just wait a gosh darn MINUTE!

My nose wrinkled.

"FEESH!!" I cried out as I made a grab for his bag. Sadly, he was too swift and pulled it away from me. Apparently it was not for me. I shifted my gaze up to him. "Me Eteri. You two soul man. We friend now. Lets have deener. Share Feesh. Yes? Yes!"

And that my dear thoughts, is how you get a free meal.

Nevin heard the girl muttering, up close, and his spine went ramrod straight as shock raced through him. That - no, there was no way someone else could see souls, right? That was a unique thing that - no, she absolutely had to be able to see souls, or feel them, to know that he was -

The redhead had to literally force himself to breathe, a sharp gasp preceding his lungs working in some approximation of correct order, and he coughed twice. One hand came up to rub the spot she had jabbed as he stared at her in shocked thought, trying to figure out just what she was thinking. Then her nose crinkled up and her eyes flicked down to the bag in his hand -

And he jerked it out of the way of her grasping hands, looking upwards to avoid seeing the cute little xpression of disappointment on her face. It had to be some kind of racial trait, it just had to be. He pursed his lips as she begged/demanded some dinner, and for a moment he felt an intense urge to run inside, slam the door shut, and hide from yet another person who saw the darkest secret he tried to hide.

Instead he sighed and pushed his door open further with his foot, revealing the tidy interior of the Alchemy shop, shelves with locker cabinets lining the walls.

"My name is Nevin, not two-soul man. And I suppose I can share some fish with you, yes." No, he did not have a weakness for cute things, what on Althanas are you talking about?

Yes. Yes. Yes. yes. Yes. I was getting fish. This was great, this was a fantastic day.

"First Eteri see bug, tiny thing - no soul. So Strange! Then you! Man with two things inside him. All mishy mash up. Now feesh. Good day. Good day." I said as I followed him into the store.

I glanced around looking at all the bottles neatly stacked on shelves. Hell not a thing was out of place, was this man a neat freak? I was totally not paying attention to what he was saying. I think I caught his name at least. Narvin? Neckin? Nevee? Navi? Navi sounded right. Let's go with that.

My eyes were on all the sparkly bottles lining the walls so I hadn't realized he had stopped in the middle of the GOSH DARN ROOM. Thaynes above Navi! Who does that!?

"Oof!" I headbutted him, straight into his back.

'Watch where go Navi!" I cried out as I rubbed my forehead. It didn't hurt, but dammit. I was going to play this to my favour. Why have a little bit of fish when I could have all the fish.

"AHH...."

In a horribly poor attempt of faking a fall to the floor... I threw myself onto the floor in front of him, with a arm over my head. "Ow it hurt, Eteri hurt so much." I reached out to him, my voice falling to a raspy whisper. "Eteri....need..more....feesh to ...liii-*cough* ve...."

I shut my eyes tight and waited.


one...two....three....seconds I opened one to cautiously peer up at him. Crap! He was still looking at me. I shut my eye again.
He totally didn't see that, nope not at all.

Eteri, super hunter, friend maker, and actor extrodinyar.

Nevin folded his arms across his chest and raised one eyebrow as he watched the girl, Eteri, dramatically throw herself to the ground, whimpering about fish and needing to live. While his back stung slightly from the impact, he was well aware that it was nowhere near enough to be life threatening to her. So while she played possum on the floor, he moved back to the front door and locked it with a shake of his head.

At this point, he had no idea how old Eteri was. She certainly acted you that, more like Mylie had than Rainee - but was that a product of her age, or was it actually a mental difference based on some invisible racial trait? Perhaps this girl was more in tune with her cat nature than Rainee had been.

No matter the case, he was NOT going to give this cat girl any catnip. He didn't know if his shop would survive.

He stepped over the girl, catching her eye when she cracked one eyelid to look at him and giving her a half smirk. She immediately clamped her eye shut with what he thought sounded like a startled squeak. His path carried him back to the small kitchen, where he lit the stove and grabbed a pan and set it to warm.

"You'll have to wait until cook it to get some of the fish, little miss." He didn't bother to hide the amusement in his voice as he took out the fillets of salmon and set them beside the pan. From his small cooler came garlic butter that he dropped into the pan, spreading it around and soon filling the air line. Once the bottom was coated he dropped the salmon in, and salt and pepper were shaken over it, seasoning the fish as he kept one eye on the girl.

She didn't seem to care too much about the fact that he had two souls, which in his mind was a good thing. With any luck he could convince her not to worry or think about his state again - he knew his friend Stare the first person to see his mangled soul didn't think about it these days.

I rose from the dead like...well...someone who rose from the dead, I sniffed the air, normally I didn't like cooked fish. It ruined it. I was happy to eat it raw but what he did. It smelt good. My nose wrinkled and crouched down, I stalked silently and slowly toward him. Cornering him and that tasty fish like a predator its prey. (I was technically a predator after all) He turned over his shoulder to look at me and I stilled in his line of sight. I was still. It was amazing really, how focused I could be when it came to food. I stared him down, eyes glinting in the low light of the setting sun.

The smell made my stomach gurgle and I continued forward when he became distracted with the fish, I slowly rose to stand on my feet and nestled in close to him. Close enough that our elbows touched, I wrapped my hands around his arm, not caring that it made it harder for him to shift the pan around and peered at the fish.

"No like cook. This cook smell good." I peered intently at the pan. My facade was over, way over. I had won. Navi was but a pawn in my wiles. I was so entranced by his cooking, I almost didn't notice the niggling thought... the thought that this man. This ....Navi....

My eyes lulled as I tightened my grip on him, nails digging into his clothes. "Is mine."

I blinked, wait....what was mine again?

Oh. Yes... the feesh... The feesh was mine... I bit my lower lip and bounced up and down. My grip loosened and the moment had passed. Aside from an odd burning sensation in my chest.

"Is done yet? is done? Share. Must share all with Eteri."

As the salmon fried, Nevin heard movement from the door. A quick glance showed an absolutely still blue haired cat girl, and after a few moments of a stare off, he chuckled and returned to work on the food. To he was caught off guard when -

Soft. He shoved the blush down as long, slender arms wrapped around one of his, and she complemented his cooking. Considering how the girl had been acting he knew absolutely nothing was meant by it - instead, the cat girls he knew all seemed to have poor senses of personal space. The compliment to his food was nice with how poorly he once had done in that regard.

But the real thing that made him pause, and almost scorch his hand with the food, was the way his magic reacted to her being right there against him. It had been silent, content, but when she pressed against him, the chorus of his magic began to sing in anticipation. Strangely, for once all of the 'voices' involved were female, where usually it was an unknowable mixture. There was a different edge to it as well, like an eager possessiveness that rose to a triumphant cry for a moment when she said - something, he missed her words in the exultation from his magic.

Then she loosened her grip after bouncing against him, and the singing from his magic had settled back, into an oddly passive satisfied hum. That was one of the strangest reactions his magic had ever had to someone - just who was this girl? He coughed, sharply and shook his head, red hair dancing about his face as he pushed the mix of confusion and other emotions down.

"The food is almost done, yes. Now, I know you likely don't want too much with the fish, but I'm going to cook up some vegetables as well. If there are any you're interested in, I have some root vegetables and asparagus." As he spoke, he took out some carrots and began slicing them into long strips and dropping them into the sizzling butter. He flipped out the fillets and dropped them onto a platter, then one long arm reached over and plucked a plate from a cabinet. He dropped one of the fillets onto the plate, and set it with a fork on the small table.

"And do you want anything to drink? I have water, juice, milk, and some alcohol."

Nope. Fuck that shit.

"Vegetable shit." I said with a huff. I didn't need the stuff, I rarely ate them, and if I did, I preferred them uncooked. I didn't like the idea of all that mushy crap in my mouth. My insides were already that way. I picked up the plate that had the salmon fillet on it already and sat down on the ground with a soft 'thump'.

Resting my back against the cupboard I contentedly picked up the fillet with my bare hands, I never liked the strange metal cutlery these people used. What was wrong with chopsticks? Or sticks in general. Sticks were fantastic.

Well.... except that stick in the mud of my sister, that was most certainly not a fantastic stick. I licked my lips as I ate.

Now, contrary to popular belief, I ate pretty delicately when I wanted to. Sure, I was on the floor... and using my fingers. Hell, for good measure and spite for the damn things I kicked the fork away and it clattered across the kitchen floor. But my bites were dainty as fuck. I didn't slobber or make a mess. I ate silently and filled with content until Navi asked me what I wanted to drink. I shook my head with a full mouth before swallowing.

"No drink. Just eat."

I watched him return to his work.

NOW was my chance!

Leaving that last salmon fillet unaware....sneakily.... so sneakily I reached up and blindly felt around for the next portion of my meal.

I'd have his fish...and he...he could have my vegetables.

It was rather interesting to watch Eteri slice up her fish and pick small portions out with her long, sharp fingers. Nevin drummed his fingers in the table as she declined a drink - well, at least she wouldn't get any kind of sugar rush off of just fish with some simple seasonings. He heard the carrots crackle and turned his attention back to them, and began scooping the fried slices out of the pan and onto the platter next to the salmon fillet.

So his attention was rather focused when delicate fingers began reaching up the counter, searching for - he would guess, the second cut of fish. With a twist of his lips, he debated smacking the girl's hand with his serving fork. He decided against it though - and instead smiled a bit maliciously and scooted some of the fried carrots just in front of her hand. The rest, and the fillet, were placed onto another plate, which he lifted up so she couldn't see what was on it.

Long legs carried him to the table, and he sat down to eat. He shielded his plate from her gaze and began crunching loudly on the fried carrots, keeping one ear trained on her for her reaction. But his main focus of attention was actually on the question of this girl.

She saw his mangled soul, enough to know that it was two people. Not even Stare had managed that - she had known his soul was damaged, but until he told the Kenku woman she hadn't known just what had happened. This blue haired feline female had seen that much and more-or-less, she had known? Had someone told her? Was that even possible - had Stare sent this girl to him for some reason? He doubted that, his friend tended to be more direct.

There was also the issue of his magic's reaction to her. He had been... intimate, since he became what he was now, but despite that, never had his magic reacted to someone being close to him. No, this was more like what happened in Lindequalme, the singing at that moment had been more like what he had heard when they had stopped - strange. He turned and looked at Eteri over one shoulder. She wasn't connected to the cultists or to blood magic, is she was he would have been having more concrete reactions in his magic. This was something else - but, what? And did she know?

SQUELCH

I drew my hand away sharply and stared at it in horror. What? Eew. Orange bits of carrot slowly ran down my fingers before dropping silently to the floor. He had caught onto my amazing wiles it seemed. I wiped my hands on the floor, but that just collected dust. "Eargh." I stood and grabbed a nearby cloth. Out of spite I threw it into the sink and poured water all over it before using it to clean my hands. I shot Navi a glare.

Rude butt-busting-salmon-eating-red-headed-tall-giant-ass-bug-scarer.

He stared at me from over his meal, which he oh so needleesly (ok, totally needed to) shield away from me. His mouth full of ...something crunchy? His cheeks were puffed out and he looked absolutely ridiculous.

I waltzed over to him, dragged out a chair and sat in front of him. Staring at him intently. His soul was some of the strangest things I've seen. I say things because it was multiple not only that, but it didn't make sense...I tilted my head to the side snorting.

"How old is?" I asked with pursed lips. Sure, he looked like a man, but hey, most Fae looked like children and they were like old grandpas. I could usually tell by a quick glance, younger souls were fiery and uneven, they flowed more freely. Older souls were centered. This man, and his mishmash didn't match up.

I'd ask him questions and when he wasn't looking...

My fingernails tapped impatiently at the table.

I'd swipe that fish away from him. It could be poisonous after all. I mean... I'm his friend, I'm just looking out for him!

Nevin raised an eyebrow as she stared imperiously at him. He would have bought her sudden curiosity in his age except for one thing - as she drummed her fingers on the table, every so often Eteri would shoot glances down at his fish. It was... interesting dealing with her - the girl, rather the woman, showed flashes of cunning, but at the same time was almost childish in her execution. The redhead casually draped his arm in front of the plate of food, and gestured at her with one of the fried carrot sticks.

"That's... Considering what you've already admitted you've seen, there are three answers to that question." The alchemist's voice was quiet. "Oldest, I am, I think, around thirty two. I lost some time though. Middle, I am my physical age, twenty four or twenty five." He laid the carrot down on top of the fish and rubbed his chin, watching her for her reaction. "I've been... well. United, for about seven years now. So. Three ages." He shrugged, watching her. It was strange - this girl wasn't asking about his condition, wasn't asking about the potions in the shop - instead she was almost fixated on his fish, and asked about his age.

It was... refreshing, dealing with someone who was rather pure and innocent. Right now, the majority of Nevin's customers were disreputable men coming in for poisons. Talking with Eteri was rather like a breath of fresh wind after that.

"mm mmm...." I mused. Feigning attention as I watched him put the carrot on the fish. A flash of pure unadulterated horror griped my facial features as I glanced up at him, mouth agape in shock. He just ruined it! HE JUST! I pointed to him, then to the carrot on the fish then back to him. "You just! WHY!" I cried out. "Feesh do nothing to you! Not feesh fault you got mangled." I muttered as I crossed my arms over my chest in a huff.

"Navi! You said two feesh...."

The man before me was quiet, and pensive, and his dark eyes were watching me intently. "What?" I asked, annoyed. He had ruined the second part of my meal. He just accidentally put it on his plate.

....

wait...

I could...

I uncrossed my arms. "What said you...about what Eteri see. Eteri can show? I is soul weaver, I can...." I mimicked the gesture of pulling something out of a jar. "I can pull out, you see. I tell. But you give feesh."

Both of Nevin's eyebrows rose as horror gripped the girl - and she was pointing at his fish, babbling about the fish not hurting him - what? Was she - the alchemist slowly reached down and lifted the carrot off of the fish, watching for her reaction. There was no way that she was that distraught over simply putting a fried carrot on a piece of fish -

WHAT?

Nevin dropped his carrot down onto the plate, not really noticing where it landed, as he stared at Eteri, his eyes wide in shock. A small part of his mind wanted to correct her on his name - for some reason calling him Navi made him think he needed to tell people to listen to him - but the larger, far larger part, was dumbfounded by her offer. Her absolutely ludicrous, impossible offer. There was no way - but this girl, this innocent, rather forthright girl.... she wouldn't make that offer without somehow being able to back it up.

She could... pull out, fix his soul? Was that - could that even - what would that entail? For a moment, he considered it. It was a ridiculous offer, for an absurd price - she just wanted a piece of fish, for possibly fixing his soul? It was almost too good to pass up - to return to being who he had been before? To give up this insanity that was his blood magic, stop having to hide...? It was so, so very tempting. But - he couldn't.

Giving up part of what was his soul now would mean - losing so much that he had fought to earn. He would lose his friends, he would lose his ability do fight back against that damnable thing that was trying to hunt him down - he doubted it would stop if he gave up part of his soul. He took a deep, deep breath and shook his head sharply.

"Tempting, but no. My soul is my own. Whatever has been done with it, I've lived with it for seven years." Though - would touching her cause that strange reaction, that almost possessiveness, that yearning? He was almost afraid to test that one out.

"NO! See I show!"

I clambered up onto the table. Intent on getting that last piece of tasty, juicy morsel. I tucked my legs underneath me as I reached out to him. Navi tried to back away, sliding his chair back but he was sitting down, and wasn't in the most opportune position to escape someone as masterful as myself. My hand touched his chest and I exhaled as I gently tugged, it came away easily enough. It was still his and still attached. I just wanted to show him.

He looked like he didn't believe me, and I. Didn't. Lie. Be damned if this child-man-seven year old was going to doubt me, the great Eteri. Soul seamstress extraordinyar.

My eyes widened as I looked down on it. It was...well it was...as my sister would put it....completely fucked. It looked like someone grabbed two blankets and tried to stitch them together. <"Whoever did this...did a terrible job, and had no idea what they were doing..."> I muttered in Akashimian, <"This is terrible. This shouldn't be."> I looked up at him, <"I'm sorry this happened to you.">

He stared blankly back. Oh...wait...was I talking in the wrong language again? Oops!

"Eteri sorry." I said, pointing at the interwoven parts of his soul. "This not good."

"Older soul stronger." I said as I pointed to the whitish green tinge of shimmering mass, then shifted to the parts where a lighter color shone through, it was like it had been placed over another soul, not woven intricately together but shoved haphazardly and carelessly on top. "Other one rip this one, try go get out. Not... not...." I furrowed my brow, trying to think of the right words. "Not harmony. Fighting."

I gently went to poke one of the holes, I wasn't going to rip it. He didn't give me permission to do that. Granted... he didn't give me permission to rip it out of him either...but that did people no harm it was like show and tell. My fingers gently grazed the reddish sores on the soul, and I felt that same burning sensation in my chest. It was stronger now. It was... it was burning!

I yelped and let go.

Navi's soul drifted gently back into his body as my hands whipped to my chest. What was it that Madiddly said? That her soul, that Pode fragment could burn sometimes? Well...Pode was burning right now. "Ouch."

That was, without a doubt, quite possibly the absolute, number one, strangest experience Nevin had gone through since he had become who he was. Feeling his soul be tugged on, stretched out - and having her jabber something that sounded almost familiar - had Stare spoken that language at some point? - as she poked his ... his soul - it was.... unsettling.

It didn't help that it felt like he was burning inside. The chorus of feminine voices had grown stronger the longer Eteri held onto him, and he let out a shuddering breath as he tried to recover. There was definitely a reaction of some kind between him and her, but he would be claimed by the Cobalt if he knew what it was. So instead of worrying about that at the moment - even though it was rather disconcerting and even now he could hear them singing - he settled on giving the girl a steady glare.

"I am well aware of the state of my soul. As I am aware that they are being merged. I know they aren't fully in synchronicity, not yet." But if he gave up one of them now, if he lost who he was now - that would be miserable and he didn't know if he could recover. He also didn't know if his soul could handle what Stare had revealed was growing divinity, if it was just one alone. No. "And Miss Eteri, my name is Nevin - I'm not a fairy. Wait, why do I think of fairy when I think of Navi? What -"
He shook that rambling thought pattern off.

"Ahem. The 'merging' was rougher than it should have been, because those responsible used an outsider instead of one of their own. However, I am slowly coming around to , while not their exact chain of thought, a similar, purer one. Please, don't do that again." If she came for him like that again, he would have to defend himself with his threads. See how she liked getting stabbed like he was a human-sized porcupine.

His words were blurred, and I struggled to hear them. Sure he used some big things I didn't understand, but it wasn't just that. Everything burned. My body felt like it was on fire Hell.. I was vaguely aware of the fish, up for grabs, just inches away from my fingertips. (You know there is something wrong with me when my focus ain't on that Thayne be damned fish fillet)

I reached out again, eyes blurred. I had to...I had to...


Wait... didn't he say not to do that again? I couldn't do that to him. I'm not that selfish or mean. My hand stopped mid-air for a few seconds, shaking. My breathing heavy. Vision blurred, barely aware of my own surroundings as beads of sweat formed on my face and dripped down the sides of my cheeks. Despite my attire, I felt like I was burning alive and a part of me, a big red pulsing part of me was telling me the only way to stop it, was to do it all again.

just a peek...

He can't be upset at just one more tiny peek...

Do it... DO it...yes I have to do it again...I crawled closer to him, this time we were close enough that I could boop my forehead against his. So I did. It was much cooler than mine, I couldn't read his expression, my eyes were dazed. Hazy...

Yeh.. no... this was right. This was fine.

So again, I reached out to pull on that broken, dirty wish-wash-mish-mash soul of his.

Something was very, very wrong with the girl. Nevin watched, pushing his chair back as Eteri literally locked her gaze onto his chest and slowly crawled onto the table. Her eyes had seemed to lose focus as she stared at him. Nevin watched as she crawled on all fours across the table, and if it wasn't for the feelings of alarm and confusion that were coursing through him, he might have thought that the sway of her body was almost alluring as her tail swished back and forth behind her. But there was something clearly not right here, and that overrrode any other errant thoughts he might have had.

Then she reached out one hand, slowly, towards his chest, and Nevin thought that she was literally going to try grabbing his soul again after he had literally just warned her against it. But she didn't - instead her hand twitched, like she was fighting something, and her arm began to tremble - then she lowered it. Her breath was coming in short gasps as she began to sweat, her entire body shaking - and Nevin realized with a start that it looked like she was suffering a sudden, intense fever.
She crawled forward and pressed her forehead against his, her unfocused eyes staring into his.

Slowly, Nevin's sight blocked by those entrancing yellow eyes, he missed her arm reaching up towards his chest. His threads, did not. A score of thin red strands shot out from beneath Nevin's skin, some poking the hand that was reaching for him,
others coiling together into thicker weaves of threads and shoving the hand away. The spell cast on him by her eyes - no magic required here - broken, Nevin fell from his chair, shaking his head sharply. Without a word, he tore a strip from his shirt and wrapped up her bloody hand, then strode out into the main portion of his shop, and busied himself out there, looking for an anti-fever medicine. Anything, not to get lost in those eyes again. That was dangerous.

Whoa.. whoa..

hang on a gosh darn salmon eating minute here! what the HELLL juat happened. One minute I was planning on getting fish the next... the next... I furrowed my brows as I sat on the table, staring at my hand. It tingled with pain and dots of blood formed. Dozens of them, pinpricks that formed and drizzled down my open palm. I didn't recall backhanding a damn porcupine. So what gives? I lifted my eyes looking for Narvin (Since apparently Navi was wrong.) He was nowhere in sight. I furrowed my brows.

Ok... Ok Eteri lets back track a moment here, you were on the table, and you were telling Nevin what his soul was going to be like. Then..then things got all hot and fuzzy. I still felt a little hot and fuzzy actually, the room was swimming, but that may just be to do with the fact that my entire hand looked like it made love with a cactus. I wriggled my fingers. Other than the pain, it didn't seem like anything else was wrong.

"N-Narvin?" No reply, but I could hear tinkering in the front room.

Well..A promise is a promise....

With my good hand I whisked up the remainder of his fillet and downed it in two bites, licking my lips I slid off the table and headed toward the noise. Albeit I was a little wobbly on my feet. Why was that? UGh...it was too hot in here.

"Narvin!!" I called. "What happen!?" I leaned on the doorway to stop the room from swaying as I watched him scavenge through all the shiny bottles. "What do?"

She was on her feet again it seemed, though she did look very unsteady to Nevin's eyes as she leaned against the doorframe for support. The Alchemist took in a deep breath and exhaled - she was still sweaty, her hair clinging to her head as she stared at him. Nevin frowned and picked up one of the medicines on the shelf he was in front of - it was a mint based potion meant to cool the imbiber down. He turned and strode over to her - and saw that the bandage on her hand had come loose when she was in the back room. With a sigh, he found a wrap of gauze and gently rewrapped her hand, and pressed the potion into her other hand.

"You - well. You came forward, trying to handle my soul again. You seemed a bit feverish though, so I don't hold it against you. Drink that, it should help with the temperature." He was not going to address the way his magic was coiling in his gut.
He had realized by now that it wasn't all of his magic, but a thin, slender current of it that was pressing him to be as close to her as possible, and with that knowledge he was suppressing it. The man didn't know where this urge came from - he had never met her before in his life, and he certainly had no fascination with Rainee that would be pressing him to be close to another feline female.

No, this was something else, something unknown at the moment. So he shrugged and looked past her - to see that his fish was gone from the table. Well. Annoying, but at least it seemed like his skills in cooking had become something he didn't need to be utterly ashamed of. Perhaps simple was best? And again - she had his name wrong. He wasn't sure if this one was closer, or further, from accurate.

At least he knew that she had come forward, sashaying towards him because she wasn't feeling well, not anything else. That was a relief. He didn't know if he could handle those yellow eyes locked onto him for real.

Nevin came closer and my head slipped from the doorframe to lean against his chest. IT seemed to cool me down, I mean. I know that doesn't make sense, but it did. His presence was cooling? I guess its like putting cucumbers on your eyes or something. I mumbled incoherently as he picked up my injured hand and wrapped it up. He said something about me trying to get at his soul again? Eew. No. Why.

"Bleh." I stuck my tongue out at the thought. "Eteri collect pretty souls... not dirty broken ones." I muttered. My tail flicked awkwardly to and fro before setting down, coiling absently around one of his legs.

Geez.. This guy was tall. I'd have to crane my neck way up to see his face. So... no... no instead I'd leave my head right where it was. "This nice..."I muttered, barely aware of the vial he pressed into my hand. It wasn't until he stepped away that I had noticed it. I stumbled forward a few feet, but being the acrobatic thing I am, I easily managed to gain my balance. I stared at the vial curiously.

"This help?" I looked up at Nevin who nodded furiously, his eyes on the floor. Did he drop something? What was it? was it gold? was it -

My thoughts stopped and I found myself faltering. Ok.. he said this would help right? I flicked the cork off with my thumb I wrinkled my nose and downed it in a single gulp before coughing. "BLEH!" I muttered. "Taste like pasting teeth!" I mumbled, furrowing my brows. This wasn't nice.

"WHat give!?" I ask, holding out my bandaged hand. "How happening?" I took a step closer to him. Whatever that peppermint tasting crap was, it was either slow acting or not working. Then again.. how often does someone drink a medicine and it works instantly? I don't know...its not something I normally would do. Ayaka would know. But she's a bitch.

I took another faltered step. "Why hurt! Narvin speak!" I demanded as I reached out to him with my uninjured hand to grab onto his jacket. I tugged it. "Now!"

Well, knowing that his soul was enough to be considered dirty and broken did sting a bit, but considering he had seen the bloody mess first hand finally, Nevin couldn't really blame the tiny cat girl. He managed to suppress the shiver that raced down his spine when her tail absently curled around one of his legs - the woman didn't even seem to notice it, so he did his best to put it out of his mind as well. Then she leaned against him, and he had to suppress the urge to wrap his arms around her shoulders. What was with small women and being close to him??

To keep from thinking about that too much, Nevin pressed the vial into her hand and stepped back, giving her space that she needed - to be honest, space that he needed. He focused his gaze on the ground to avoid looking at her delicate, trembling figure, and waited for her to drink. He heard the cork pop out of the vial and a swallow, then the vial fell to the ground, empty. Thank Crimson, she had taken the medicine without any hassle. With any luck, the cooling medicine would help her out and make her stop shining enticingly with a faint sheen of sweat, light glisten-

He shook his head sharply to dispel that line of thought - and then a far more pressing concern. Well. Almost pressing. She wasn't against him - yet. The cat woman was grabbing his tunic and shaking him, demanding to know why the medicine wasn't working yet.

"Even a fast acting solution wouldn't take hold right away Miss Eteri - you have to give it a few minutes. If you want, we can go back into the kitchen and I can get you a cold drink to hel- Miss Eteri please stop that!" As he had been speaking,
the girl had half-collapsed against him, tightening her hold on his tunic as she buried her face against his chest. She seemed rather adamant against moving from him, mumbling into his chest again about how nice it felt there. Then he swore he heard her purr slightly before she began to rub her face against his chest and Nevin knew that he had a blush creeping up his cheeks. Rather than trying to fight off the small girl - he most likely could pry her free, but she seemed to desperately need contact for peace of mind - Nevin instead turned, wrapping one arm around her shoulders, and half-dragged half-carried her back into the kitchen, working his way over to the ice box where he kept his cold drinks.

He knew, that without a doubt, he was only able to do this easily because of the discrepancy in their sizes. If she'd been closer to his height it would have been far more difficult to carry her in here, but at least she didn't seem to be fighting it much. Instead she just kept twisting her head and rubbing her cheeks against him, confusing the hell out of the redhead.

"Buhblububhuhubububublubbb"


I wrinkled my nose as I rubbed my face against his clothes. He smelt like sweet cinnamon, with hints of copper...Yeh...I could almost taste that scent on the tip of my tongue. I didn't mind that he practically dragged me back to the kitchen, that place still smelt like fish. He sat me down on the chair and moved away from me. I huffed. He was treating me like a damn child.

"Eteri have you know I is the 24 and am thinking older than you Mr-not-enough-feesh-to-feed-his-guests!" I could hear him sigh from where I sat. "No sigh at me!" I shot back.
I still felt hot, and if I were being truthful...it was almost like spots were dancing in front of my eyes, in groups of two's and threes, and a few poor lonely solitary spots. I fell quiet watching them dance and sway, I think I was swaying too.

"Hey.. Narvin..." I asked quietly as I was vaguely aware of his presence at my side again. "Does potion work on burning soul?"

"Burning...soul?" He asked as he set down a glass of cold water on the table and pulled up a chair. "What do you mean by that?"

"Mmm...." I pressed my hand against my chest. "Eteri no have soul. Eteri can fix soul. Weave together. Send angry spirit to new home. Not my own. Inside was nothing. Then I took Madridsons soul. It angry. Red. Mean...was going to put in vial. But it tore at Eteri."

I paused as I feebly lifted up my arms toward Nevin, mimicking the action of something tearing into his chest, fingernails gently clawing at his clothes, some of which parted way. I blinked, seeing that I had torn his shirt. "oops. I fix. later. I fix."

I pressed my palms to his chest. "It enter Eteri inside. Now Eteri have that angry soul, cannot move it. It whispers and makes Eteri pain and hot sometimes. Like now I am the thinking...." I slowly lifted my arm away from his chest. Still swaying slightly.

"You am the smelling of seenimen. Like pie. Like copper but on lips."

I leaned in closer to him, pointing at my own lips. "See! Like lips!" I insisted, leaning even closer.

Whoop! Lost my balance, down I goooo!

Madridson's soul - with her predilection for mispronouncing names... did she mean, Madison? Was that woman - Nevin's head throbbed as he tried to think about Madison for a moment, but the thoughts slipped away from his grasp like warm silk slipping past his fingers. He focused on the here and now, on the fact that he had a guest, a patient at this point, who was in dire need of help - and who apparently had an issue with her very soul. He took a deep breath and focused his attention back on Eteri as she explained - an angry red soul? That was... concerning. Was it connected to what that cobalt bastard had been working with in the forest - wait. Wait wait wait.

Nevin was remembering that angry, ugly red power that had flowed into him inside the Red Forest as Eteri chattered at him, explaining that she had a soul that was not her own lodged inside of her - and that she had no soul of her own. That was -
well, worrying firstly because she had no soul? How had that happened? And secondly - that vile redness had been potent and powerful, even in tattered remnants. Was that why they were having this reaction, the 'red soul' inside of her was reacting to the fact that he had held, or was holding, parts of its former power? That was absurd - that soul had died and been moved on, there was no way it recognized its former -

Why had she scratched up his shirt? And what on earth was she talking about, see nimen? What was that - wait, copper on his lips? Crimson, was there blood on his lips? The blood mage flicked his tongue out, testing to see if he had bit himself while trying to maintain his composure or something - just in time for Eteri to say something about her own lips, and then fall forward. What happened then could be called a 'kiss' in the loosest, or was that strictest?, sense of the word. Eteri fell forward,
smashing her open mouth against Nevin's, and the redhead felt two things happen almost simultaneously. His tongue, which had been darting out to test for blood on his lips, slipped inside her open mouth, and her sharp canines grazed his lips,
and now there was definitely blood.

Reflexively Nevin's hands had shot up to try catching Eteri as she fell, but they had frozen, holding her shoulders loosely, as his brain stalled at the unexpected contact. His shock was great enough that he even stopped breathing, and he almost anticipated the slap that was sure to come as he tried to get his body to respond. This was not going to be pretty, he just knew it.

Soft?

Copper?

My eyes fluttered, my head heavy. I could smell blood in the air, and it wasn't my own. I mumbled, only to realize the sensation of skin against my own I parted my lips and exhaled. I knew what this was. It was a kiss. Albeit awkward, and strange. Did Narvin have a fetish or penchant for blood or something? I didn't mind the interaction. I mean, I wasn't exactly looking for such things but this? This felt nice. I gave another murmur as I pressed my lips further against his. I opened my mouth, inviting him to continue, tilting my head to the side but before anything could be instigated, and this day turn into something most definitely not child friendly I stilled.

I could feel his large hands on my shoulders, and that's when I pulled away, blinking. Blurry. I stared down at his, our eyes and our faces just inches apart. I wasn't expecting it, and by the looks of it, neither was he. I blinked, continuing to stare silently at him as I tried to recount the events that happened. I was talking about my soul. Then I felt dizzy, and I think I almost collapsed, but instead of my head meeting the floor, it somehow met with the tall-dirty-soul man.

"Nevin..." I finally said as I pushed myself up and righted myself onto the chair. "I no feel good." I shook my head and rested it against the flat of the tabletop. "Is sorry. Not normal for Eteri to burn like this." I wrapped my hands around my waist. "Eteri will be ok soon. Just burning...right now..."

My eyes narrowed as I glanced to the side at him. Trying to figure him out. There had to be a reason why the burning sensation was worse around him, but not as bad when I was practically touching him. What was it? Did he feel similar? He certainly didn't seem to have a fever. Other than a little frazzled...he seemed fine.

Actually, he looked frozen in place.

"Was kiss that bad?"

The blue haired girl almost collapsed into one of the other chairs, wrapping her arms around her stomach as she swayed back and forth slightly. She still seemed sick, and Nevin hoped that she wasn't having an allergic reaction - no, she was skilled with souls and she knew that this was tied to the soul inside of her. Her head rolled to the side slightly, yellow eye cracking open to peer at him, and Nevin was still processing what had happened when she asked that.


He shook his head, violently. From what he had, ah, learned, and what he remembered from his initial life, questions like that had to be answered no matter what. And while the teeth in his lip had been unpleasant, the pleasures of that few moments outweighed the sting of pain. He lifted one hand up and brought his fingers away, raising an eyebrow at the sight of fresh blood dotting his fingertips.

"I - I would admit that despite the pain that was an extremely pleasant situation. However. I'd rather not have it happen when you aren't feeling well. It feels a bit... Unsavory, like I was taking advantage of you." He shook his head and focused his magic for a moment the blood on his fingers and lips swirling off of his body and into a thin, hard disk that he set on the table by his elbow. He coughed, and smiled at her.

" And you are welcome to stay here and recover as long as you need to." Inwardly, the man was doing his best to up press the shivers that wee running along his frame. Both from the deep kiss - and he one knew she had been starting to reciprocate despite neither of them intending to kiss there - and the almost hungry screaming of that strange magic remnants that demanded he go back and grab onto her again. That was not happening though.

I nodded as I lifted my head. "Eteri like." I laughed as I pushed my hair back out of my face. "Eteri not have home anyway. Eteri just wander and sleep in warm places. Safe places. I gave him a lop sided grin. "Not Eteri fault. you face got in way." I pointed at him and leaned forward to press the pad of my index finger against his forehead. "Youuuu....got in way of Eteri and floor."

I felt...oops, I think I was delirious...are you delirious if you are aware you're delirious? I mean... the room was spinning and my body was burning. I found it impossibly hard to concentrate on words or sentences... yeh. I guess that counts. Or maybe I just needed...

I slipped out of the chair and found my way to Narvin. Almost like instinct...it felt right. I found my way to his lap and had nestled into it, the whole booty waggle and all as I made myself comfortable. I could feel him stiffen, but frankly, I was too out of it to care. Venex didn't mind when I did this. So why would Narvin? My clawed fingers lazily scritch scratched at his extended arm and I pressed my heated forehead to the underside of his chin. This felt...better. I didn't feel like I was burning form the inside out like this. It felt like a content warmth.

"You is like bunny..." I muttered with a purr.

"If that's the result of getting in your way of meeting the floor, I think I have to do it more often." Nevin bit his lip almost as soon as the words were out - he had not meant to say that, no sir no ma'am. It was the brothel's fault, he flat out blamed it on those visits. If he had just decided to stay celibate and not break his seven year dry spell he would not be making these comments. But then he focused on the other part of that statement - she didn't have a home, or even a normal place to stay? That - damn it. His magic was thrumming, humming angrily inside of him, and he knew that if he didn't help her, he would end up regretting it.

At least he had already offered to let her stay here and rest. He would have to see about setting up a partition, a place for her to rest and sleep to recover. He wouldn't try to force her to stay here, but having somewhere safe to return to regularly would probably be a big help. He raised an eyebrow as the woman suddenly stood up, a strangely calculating look on her face.

Slow, soft footsteps carried her over to the man, and she pushed him back in his chair before slipping into his lap,
curling up into his lap. If it wasn't for the - oh why did she wriggle that caused reactions - definitely human
aspects, he would have been able to close his eyes and think that he just had a very large cat in his lap, right down to the content purring and a gentle dragging of nails against one arm. He had no idea why she said he was like a rabbit though - he didn't really see himself as a prey animal. Or cute.

Well, now he wasn't going anywhere in the near future.
Despite the fact that the medicine hadn't worked, being tucked into his lap seemed to be helping her, she was no longer shaking and sweating, no signs of pain or burning while she was in contact with him. Strange, was this a situation of like calling to like, and being in contact satiated that need for proximity? The remnants of that strange magic in his system had definitely calmed down on his end as well, so maybe there was something to that thought.

Well, whatever the case, this was his life for the moment.
So he began to stroke her head, gently petting the girl in his lap. It was... Oddly satisfying.

"If that's the result of getting in your way of meeting the floor, I think I have to do it more often."

I lazily opened my eyes to look up at him, he was gently dragging his fingers down and across my head and his nails ever so slightly grazed my scalp. I loved it. I loved scritchies and pats. This was so relaxing. I think his potion was working. Although, at the same time, I also felt a little sleepy. I pondered his question. Was he wanting another kiss? It sounded like it. The thought did cross my mind. Now... I don't consider myself a sexual creature, in the slightest. Such things don't really interest me, nor do I pursue them. Unless I was on heat that is, and I mean...it was close to that time. Maybe that's why I was staring at him. That angled jaw, those slightly marred lips (oops that was me, wasn't it? I mean I think it was his fault for getting between me and the floor but I still feel a little bad) Hmmm... maybe I shouldn't.

Still. He did ask

I reached up and gently laid a hand against his cheek as I lifted myself up from his lap just enough for me to guide his lips to my own. I wriggled again as they connected. Content...this made me feel content. I could feel the buzzing satisfaction of the angry red soul inside of me. Well, I suppose it wasn't angry now, for the first time since the thing clawed its way into me it felt as though it was pleased. Nevin stiffened for a moment, tensing up, before his hand cupped the back of my head, cradling it as he returned the kiss. I murmured, tail swishing happily as I did another lil' butt wriggle before breaking away. I didn't want to get too carried away now.

Hell, I only just met this man. That ship hasn't sailed yet.

I sat my head back against his torso and slowly opened and closed my eyes. I felt him shift, then, the pats returned. I arched my back and my nails dug into his skin. Yes. I definitely loved the scratches. My eyes were feeling heavy. Unlike Nevin... I actually slept! They opened and closed slowly, and before I lost consciousness. I swore I saw something...


A little bug...and it was sorta green but not green...

Okay so like I saw this bug ...
No judgement

Rewards:

Nevin receives:
1410 EXP
135 Gold

Eteri receives:
1060 EXP
135 Gold

"Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we're opened, we're red."
Clive Barker

"A room without books is like a body without a soul."
Marcus Cicero

All rewards have been added.