Oh hey, guess what? Another one!

De’Tearion heard Jackie’s approach, but was otherwise unaware of what she was doing. When she pulled him to her, he flinched, tensing up.

Her words seemed to soothe him slightly, but everything still bothered him. Without even really thinking about it, he picked up Jackie, set her in his lap, and coiled his arms around her, hugging her close. Every now and then, a slight shiver passed through his body, revealing just how shaken he was.

De’Tearion cradled Jackie in his arms, holding her against his chest. It seemed like he had done this many times before. And, that’s because he had, countless times. It was how he had always held Agatha.

He nuzzled into Jackie’s hair, closing his eyes as he fought back tears. His second pair of arms appeared, gently wrapping around Jackie as well.

De’Tearion shifted to accommodate her movements, then settled back into cradling Jackie. Silent tears oozed from his eyes, but he was grateful that Jackie seemed to accept his actions.

As the minutes passed, De’Tearion focused on Jackie’s heartbeat to escape his memories. It soothed him, listening to it. The musical sound of heartbeats always comforted him.

De’Tearion lifted his head and glanced down at Jackie, not entirely aware of the black tear streaks on his face. He contemplated his answer for a moment, honestly not sure why he was holding her.

“‘Tis difficult to explain. And… possibly related to a very painful subject,”he finally said.

De’Tearion flinched, startled, when Jackie started wiping off his face. He then chuckled bitterly.

“I know.”

He didn’t want to admit that Jackie was more accurate than she knew. After all, he was technically half-dead from starvation, for the third time in under thirty years. It was just difficult to tell by his naturally lean physique, and the exoskeletal shell covering his entire torso. But, once Jackie figured out how erratic his appetite was, it wouldn’t be too difficult to figure out his situation.

He gave another bitter chuckle, then turned away. After staring into oblivion for a minute, he finally replied.

“You know not my pain. Nor my past. ‘Tis a long tale of…”he trailed off with a sigh, unable to come up with a vague enough word to finish his sentence.

De’Tearion chirped, rolling his eyes. He then sighed shakily.

“Tragedy be too specific, too singular. Misery would be a better description,”he whispered.

He then nuzzled into Jackie’s hair again, hiding from talking about his past. It was all still too fresh for him. And, the older memories had yet to lose their potency.

“Indeed,”De’Tearion snorted.

His already tense body tightened more as Jackie rubbed his back. But, after a minute, he seemed to slowly melt into her touch, as if it had been a long time since he’d known any sort of comfort.

He had no idea why he was relaxing around Jackie, but it seemed so unimportant at the moment. The way she rubbed his back, curled in his arms like she was… It brought back so many memories of his dear sister. How he missed Agatha. How he missed cradling her like this.

De’Tearion stiffened once more, his limbs starting to shake heavily. He chirped, but it sounded almost like a whimper.

“Jackie, I beg, quit talking. I… ‘Tis the wrong time,”he breathed.

He just wanted silence. Just some peace and quiet to hold someone. It had been so long since he’d held someone. It had been so much longer since someone had held him.

Fresh tears were already starting to slide down his face when Jackie looked at him. He couldn’t make eye contact. He didn’t dare to.

Her words pushed too far and De’Tearion barely held back a wail. He then teleported away, reappearing outside of Jackie’s house, sitting against a tree and curling up, his hand holding desperately onto his amulet. He immediately started to cry, but he did his best to keep quiet. It didn’t necessarily work.

(She can carry a 325 lbs Forestfolk just like that?)

By the time Jackie came out to get him, De’Tearion’s crying fit had faded into just staring absently at the ground. He barely noticed her until she grabbed him. He then jolted, two arms hooking onto Jackie to keep himself from falling. He wasn’t aware of whether he was holding onto armor or flesh, though it wouldn’t have really mattered to him anyway.

When she set him down and covered him up, De’Tearion watched in confusion. He then sat up, slipped out from under the blanket, and moved to sit on the corner of the bed, leaning against the wall. He was much taller than Jackie’s bed could accommodate, but it didn’t seem like it with his legs folded up like they were.

He barely heard Jackie, but he managed to chirp in acknowledgement of her words. At this point, he didn’t know how he felt about her. Sure, she was still as unbearable as ever, but there was common ground between them now. And, De’Tearion was in desperate need of a companion, even if they were just someone to talk to or hold.

(Yeah. I was honestly kind of figuring it was the armor, but I wanted to double-check. In a goofy voice, De’Tearion’s a big boy, snickers)
(Referencing real life are you, lol? Yesterday was officially the full moon, but today can also be considered that. And, for me at least, it was red when it rose. Or, is this just an eerie coincidence, evil grin?)

De’Tearion looked at Jackie with a raised eyebrow. Was she seriously telling him to stay indoors during a dangerous night? Did she not realize he was naturally an apex predator of the night?

He was half tempted to refuse, but he didn’t make any move to do so. And the more he considered it, the more he realized that he really did want to stay, even if just to hang out with someone. He had long ago learned the hard way that he never did well when he was lonely, and he was currently drowning in loneliness.

At her next words, he snorted, his eyebrow still raised.

“Are you planning to hunt for me? Have you any idea what I eat?”he asked.

De’Tearion recalled how he’d sampled Jackie’s blood during their last ‘official’ duel, but he wasn’t sure if she remembered it. He then suddenly remembered his foolish remark afterward that he hadn’t eaten in days. Sometimes his mind and actions truly made no sense at all. Though, despite that, he hoped she wouldn’t remember his little remark.

(Lol, yeah)
(Mhm. Waves fingers dramatically, Time to do some voodoo! Lmao!)

De’Tearion shook his head in absolute confusion. ‘Macho man’? Death herself? What was this woman talking about?

“I understand not half of what you have said, and I know not of this deathly woman you speak of, yet I have already decided to heed your words. I… I have nothing to return to as it be, and you are the only individual I know in this entire place,”De’Tearion said with a flustered sigh.

De’Tearion sputtered at her offer, stunned. He then took a moment to compose himself before replying.

“Are you truly willing to risk that near me?”he couldn’t help asking. De’Tearion had no idea why he was suddenly concerned about Jackie’s well-being, but he just was.

(Lmao! Well… De’Tearion is pretty much all legs and feet, so yeah. At his shortest standing height, he’s 5’6”, and that’s just because of his feet. So, in a way, it actually isn’t too unreasonable that Jackie would be able to carry him)
(Evil, witchy cackle)

De’Tearion snorted,”I am a Forestfolk. I live in trees, rocks not. And, I am naturally pale. All of my species be such way.”

De’Tearion flinched at her laugh, then froze at her words. He hadn’t realized… Was she truly so weak to his magic? Would it truly kill her? And if so, would that be a good thing or… not?

With a sad sigh, De’Tearion pushed aside the flood of conflicted thoughts and questions in his mind, focusing on Jackie once more. But, somehow, just looking at her again brought him more anguish.

“Do what you will,”he said quietly, turning away.

His entire demeanor melted as he leaned fully against the wall. The strong, stubborn persona he typically had vanished almost instantly, being replaced with a docile and depressed appearance, like he’d been hollowed out then filled only with sadness and exhaustion.

(Lol)
(Cackles even more)

“‘Tis not. I am a creature of the night, Jackie. Also, my own skin color be a few shades darker than the rest of my kin, because I am one of the few to have ever felt the sun’s light and lived to speak of it,”De’Tearion mentioned.

He listened closely to her words. It was all intriguing, but what caught his attention the most was her ability to see hot and cold. Could she tell that his body temperature was naturally much higher than a human’s? Or was he mistaken on how her sight worked?

He then watched her, a bit surprised by her continued willingness to feed him. Unfortunately, she still seemed to misunderstand how he ate things. And, the smell and sound of her blood pouring out of her was quickly becoming too much to resist.

De’Tearion stood and moved over to Jackie, quiet as a ghost. Without warning, he grabbed her bleeding arm with a firm grip and started to gently hum a healing spell. His instincts screamed at him to stop, to take her arm and suck out all of the blood leaking from her wound, but he somehow managed to fight it.

Faint golden light spiraled from his fingers and covered Jackie’s wound, quickly sealing it until only a scar was left. De’Tearion then leaned down so he could whisper in her ear.

“Unless you have a death wish, I suggest you avoid cutting yourself near me again. I can only have fresh blood,”he forewarned, his voice intense but gentle.

De’Tearion grabbed the bottle with her blood, glanced at the empty second bottle, then sat down against the wall, facing away from Jackie to have some privacy. He opened his mouth, releasing his proboscis, and started to steadily suck down the blood that had gotten into the bottle.

De’Tearion snorted.

“My kin will burn in sunlight. If we linger long enough in sunlight, it will kill us. I am one of the few who has found a way to negate that fact and live in sunlight as a human would,”De’Tearion explained. He rose his hand, showing a gold ring on his middle finger.

“Magic be the only way to negate it,”he added.

He didn’t respond to her outburst, simply ignoring her and finishing his spell.

De’Tearion froze, retracting his proboscis as Jackie’s words sank in. He then snorted, fighting the surge of emotions threatening to pour out of him.

“That be something we have in common then,”he said, his voice barely audible.