#thatbogbitch

The violin weighed heavy in her hands as she sat upon the bed of her chambers; given to her by the Prince of Scares and his parents. The prince had given a simple request, an ask that she might play something for him from the instrument that she seemed to hold so dear. There had been some hesitance from her, but she had obliged, the chambers suddenly filling with the lilt of a song that spoke from her heart.

It was a song that spoke of loneliness and despair. And the witch had soon found herself lost within its notes in moments. And when she had completed her song, she found herself feeling hollow; with tears resting upon her face. Had it not been for the other's guidance, she might not have been able to walk to the bed at all. She sniffed softly, wiping her face and looking down to the violin in her hands. The song had been powerful but so desperately sad and before the Prince could ask her what it was about, the words had already begun to spill from her.

"It's painful, sometimes," She admitted "Playing... This is the last thing I have of my father but whenever I think of him all I can see is his face when he...". She shook her head, trying to physically shake the image of his pained and panicked face as he reached to her, only for her door to be slammed in his face by an invisible force.

The woman let out a long sigh, fog around her lips as the air around her appeared to cool in response to her emotions. She closed her eyes briefly, a quick attempt to ground herself before she glanced up to Herneval.

"Mother told me at the time that his death had been a tragic accident..." She said softly, her eyes looking at his shoulders and anywhere but his eyes "But I think even then, I knew... I knew she was lying...". She placed the violin to her side, her fingers lightly trembling before she clenched her hands into tight fists. "She couldn't allow him to take me away," She clenched her jaw, tears threatening to fill her eyes again "She needed me... She needed me to be frightened and complacent. He was my hope... She couldn't allow me to have that".

She looked up at Herneval then, her eyes finally meeting his but where once there had been bright blue there was now only black, the whites of her eyes filling. Inky tears fell from her face that she closed her eyes to, the blue of her eyes once again returning once she opened them again.

Kasumi stepped from the room, following as Rovender instructed her and stepping into what seemed to be the remnants of a gymnasium. The was a large pool in the middle, drained of most of its water and filled with debris. Had it not been for the Cerulean, she might not have even noticed the robot buried beneath a piece of wall panel beneath the water.

Robot?

Of course. Sanctuary-borns were raised by robotic caretakers!

"This must be MUTHR" Kasumi stated, hopping into the water with little thought as it raised up to her knees. The robot was pinned, the wall panel stuck fast as the woman angled herself to push. The metal groaned audibly as she pushed, teeth gritting tightly as she angled her right leg to take the weight. With a grunt of effort, she pushed it over, tumbling it out of the pool and onto the tiled side, cracking several of them. She let out a huff, turning to the door in time to see Eva-Nine rushing in to meet them.

With the girl's help, she lifted the caretaker from the pool, pulling her onto the tiles and kneeling beside her. Quickly, the woman looked over the robot. It's body was beyond repair, waterlogged and dented. She looked to the brain case, where liquid swirled with organic material; a small blinking light flashing at the back. Humming softly, she seemed pleased with this outcome.

"Her brain case is still in one piece," She mused as she looked to Eva-Nine "But it looks like her power source is shot from the water and even if we could power her up here, her body is in no working order... Ask the Omnipod if there's a repair station for her. Sanctuaries were built to last, it would be foolish for them not to have one".

It seemed that there was some hope for the Muthr robot after all as she reached to lift the caretaker onto her single wheel, following the directions of the Omni to a pristine generator room. "Looks like Besteel didn't find this room," She commented, wheeling Muthr forwards with the help of Eva and Rovender "That's good".

The young woman had taken to life among the Monkey King's subjects quite well. Those that lived alongside her guided her when she needed it, asking little about the sash she wore along her eyes. They had their own elderly and sick that they cared for, the flower of their king was no different. Of course, there were always the questions formed by the younger monkeys, some had even tried to grab at her sash before; something they never tried again, for their king had grown quite angry for it. But, Petra knew different, it was not anger that drove him, but worry. A stone monkey like him, her curse could not touch him; the same could not be said for those around him. Around them, the sash remained tied tight.

But when the pair were alone...

The sash in question had been discarded, the pair settled in their private quarters of Mt Huaguo, as Petra hummed happily, her fingers curling and brushing through the thick fur of Wukong's head and cheeks as he lay across her lap. Often they would stay like this, the Monkey King usually telling her grand stories of his adventures or falling asleep. She could see him now, just beginning to drift off, his tail twitching and his nose curling slightly; such cute noises escaping him.

Chuckling softly, she gently brushed his cheek in attempts to rouse him. He had complained so much he hadn't been able to see her lately and here he was falling asleep! Typical. When those efforts didn't work, she leaned down and placed a fleeting kiss on his twitching nose. She huffed when again, this didn't work. With a smile, she shook her head and spoke to him softly.

"Wukong, my love," She spoke, noting how her voice only seemed to soothe him into a deeper sleep. She leaned closer, her lips by his ear before she whispered once again "My Great Sage".

She leaned back at the monkey sat bolt upright, suddenly more awake than he had ever been. For the first time, he almost looked frazzled, his fur messy and out of place as he blinked at her. When he spoke, she laughed softly, winking one of her lilac eyes.

The two had bonded over the horrors they had both experienced, the month following them. Aerrid had learned enough English to explain his capture and subsequent rescue by Leon before meeting her while Grace had told him of her experience finding and losing Emily before Elpis had been released. This very girl, Emily, slept in the other room of Grace's small apartment; soundly holding a small bear that the woman had bought for her, guarded by the small carved bear made of wood that sat upon her windowsill. The young girl had been suffering from nightmares, memories that awoke her and shook her core. But, following a visit to the doctor, the girl had been managing to sleep soundly enough.

The same, however, could not be said for Grace.

Though her distress was far quieter than that of Emily, who had awoken screaming on more than one occasion, it was not quiet enough to hide from the powerful hearing of the Pixi who had taken to resting in their living room. He had approached silently, reaching out to wake her before thinking better of it. The last thing he wanted was to frighten her further. Instead, he reached for the bed lamp and switched it on, watching as the light from it stirred her.

He hushed her quietly as she spoke, resting a large and warm hand upon the back of her own.

"You're safe..." He said, his accent still thick but his English far better than it had been before "You're home, Emily's safe and I'm right here... You aren't there anymore...".

He stroked the back of her hand, listening as her heart rate began to calm as he spoke. He sat upon the edge of the bed, keeping enough distance between them should she wish to move. It was only once she seemed to relax fully that he stood, ready to return to his small den on the sofa; something he quite enjoyed despite the size of it.

Please don't leave...

He paused, turning to look at the woman. She looked small and vulnerable, her shoulders shaking and her eyes unable to look up at him. Humming softly, he nodded, slipping into the bed next to her. He stayed above the covers, slipping one of his arms over her shoulders and pulling her close to his chest, tilting his head so that it could rest upon her own.

"I'll stay as long as you need," He said, his voice quiet and soothing "I will protect you... All I want you to do, is rest...".

It was rare for the both of them to be up so early, for so often the young mage would reach the Church of Elleh and find himself so utterly exhausted. There had once been a time he had arrived, nearly delusional with sleep deprivation, he had collapsed and slept for nearly three straight days; much to the merchant's dismay and worry. However, since then, the mage had made it a point to take as much time as he could in his travels to ensure he was well-rested, wanting never to see that worried look upon his friend's face again.

And, for the first time, Isago had awoken before the merchant, the sun just barely beginning to peek over the horizon. It had been so long since he had been able to watch the sunrise over the hills of Limgrave. So excited he was by it, he found himself rounding the fire to shake the other awake.

"Come on, Kalé," He spoke softly as the merchant stirred "Come quick, follow me!". With this, he began to climb up onto one of the broken walls of the church, patting the stone beside him so that his friend could sit beside him. And, just then, the sun breached the hills before them, yellow light bathing the rolling hills of the countryside around them. Shapes of animals could be seen as they stepped out from the trees, rising from their own resting places to begin to graze and hunt. The mage smiled, the sun beginning to bathe his tanned skin and glint in his honey coloured eyes.

"Sorry to wake you," He said to Kalé as he turned to smile at him "It's just been too long since I got to watch the sunrise like this... I wanted to share it with you". Rarely had he ever been given such a place of calm that he could relax, but the man beside him had gifted him that; it was one of the reasons Isago found himself returning each time.

The demon-hunter hadn't planned on meeting the little demi-human, nor had she planned on sticking around him. It was merely fate that had her drawn to that little talking tree and banishing the enchantment upon it; not out of kindness, but out of curiosity. Never before had she seen a demi-human intelligent enough to carry a conversation with her past small grunts and broken words. This one, however, was eloquent and polite; the complete opposite of his brethren. It was little wonder he was pushed from the cave.

Thinking little of it, she had taken the mushrooms from him and waved off his desire to bring her something more substantial. He had no debt to pay for her and she had no plans of meeting him again. However, it seemed fate had other ideas. And as she stepped into that cave and found the small creature bloody and bruised, she found herself at an impasse.

On one hand, it was his own reckless actions that caused his injuries. But on the other, such a simple and vulnerable creature had been treated with such cruelty when all he had wished for was the return of his belongings. And then, from the depth of her heart; came rage.

She stepped by him, silence thick and palpable in the air as she delved into the caves depths. And in just a few minutes, she returned, coated in blood that was not hers and holding in her hands a small leather satchel. She handed it to him with a hollow look in her eye, prepared to leave him to his devices when he spoke once again.

Stay. Please. Just a little longer.

She sighed.

Turning around, she slipped her own satchel from her shoulder and unbuckled her blades from her waist; letting them clatter next to her bag as she dropped it. Slowly, she came to sit by the grace he could not see, striking a few twigs of kindling to start a fire to warm them both.

"Come here," She said, her voice cold but calm as she searched through her satchel "If I'm going to stay, you might as well have your injuries tended to".

The Pixi had hopped off the ship that day, ignoring the placed boardwalk in favour of simply jumping across and onto the harbour. No one argued with him, no one dared with how he had been lately. With neither of his lovers present upon the ship, he had become visibly irritable and hard to approach for most members of the crew. There were some that were exceptions, the likes of Ivy and Smee always met with his kind demeanour. But any other crew member, they might have well have been a soldier under his command and he was a tyrant. Even the likes of Hook had started to avoid him, finding his quick temper to be exhausting.

But there was no anger in him now as his bare feet hit the concrete, carried on a silent wind as he ran to meet up with the two people that meant the most to him. He had originally wanted to go with them on their errand, but Hook had insisted his presence was needed onboard. A choice he was no doubt regretting at this moment as Killian's quarters were being repaired for the eighth time from his lashing out.

When he arrived at the Inn, he was quickly pointed upstairs, the man barely giving the innkeeper a polite nod before practically sprinting upstairs. He was barely a single flight up and he could already hear the pair bickering, a smile pulling over his fanged teeth as he skipped the rest of the stairs and opened the door.

He closed the door behind him, swiftly, his single lavender eye falling upon the pair that turned to look at him. He wasted no time, closing the gap between them and cupping Pet's face. His kissed him fervently, tongue twisting around his own and teeth lightly biting at Pet's bottom lip. He kissed him until the pair of them were breathless and even then he couldn't find himself capable of letting go of him.