Rain Dance

Voltaire startled, his first instinct to light Trevor on fire to keep himself from being eaten. But then two things came to mind: first, that Trevor was immune to fire, and second, that if the little cat-like creature really wanted to kill him it would have already done so.

"The hell do you want?" he asked the feline beast, before noticing Kimi. "Hey, Kimi?"

Trevor tugged him again. Then he let go and walked back to Kimi, wrapping himself around her again. With his lithe form wrapped around her, It became more obvious that she was shaking. He made a small sympathetic noise, sort of like a whine.

"Hey, you okay?" Voltaire asked, walking over and sitting down beside her. He noticed the pinpricks of tears at the corners of her eyes, and his gut clenched. He thought about Adair's waking outcry, and the argument that soon followed.

"We didn't scare you, did we?" the Hunter asked. "Me and Adair, we get into stupid fights a lot. We always have. It's nothing to make a big deal over...but I guess it's hard to sleep through. So...yeah..."

Adair thought about joining him, but decided against it. Kimi didn't seem to like him much, and probably thought he was crazy or something for yelling out in his sleep. At that didn't count anything that he didn't remember doing. Voltaire said the redhead often talked in his sleep these days, and that it wasn't pleasant listening to him.

Kimi seemed to jump when Voltaire sat beside her. She quickly shook her head. "N-no. I-Its nothing. J-Just a bad dream." She murmured, hurriedly wiping her eyes. "I didn't even notice you woke." Her sleeve fell down to her elbow, giving Voltaire an eye-full of scarred flesh. Kimi quickly pulled the sleeve back up over her hand with a flush.

"We all have our nightmares and memories," Voltaire noted, thinking back to his own dream. "...Yours have anything to do with those scars of yours?"

Kimi looked away in guilt. She bit her lip, her sharp little fangs threatening to draw blood. "yes." She whispered. "It has everything to do with my scars."

Voltaire wasn't really sure what to say after that blunt statement, so he found himself staring out into the rain instead.

"Well...you don't have to worry about crap like that for now. I'll be looking after you for now," he eventually said, looking to the side. We, he thought. We'll look after you. Adair and Ava wouldn't let anything happen to her either. But the words were already out of his mouth by then.

Kimi sniffled slightly. "You don't have to. They'll find me eventually. And if you three are around when they do, you'll only be hurt, or killed. They aren't known for leaving witnesses."

"All the more reasons to fight the bastards," Voltaire growled, suddenly angry. He was familiar with this kind of hopeless attitude. Adair was like this after a bad episode of Chiaroscuro. Chiaroscuro...he was going to have to explain that.

The Hunter sneered. "Can't be any scarier than the Gales, right Adair?"

Adair just looked to the side, silent.

"My kind... My kind kills mortals for sport. We abuse and torture each other. We live for carnage and blood. But Neggy and I... And mother... We're different." Kimi wiped more tears from her eyes.

"So?" asked Voltaire, familiar with demon habits and fetishes. He thumbed back to Adair. "His family kills hea-"

"'Taire," Adair growled in warning, his voice low and his blue eyes leering.

Kimi stood. "I need to walk." She mumbled. She stepped forward, past Ava and Adair and out into the rain.

Trevor remained next to Voltaire, looking after her.

"Hey, hold on!" Voltaire called out, as he began to follow. As the rain pelted his skin and sizzled he remembered very quickly why he did not wander out into rain nowadays. He hastily ducked back inside, where he faced an irritated Adair. Ava was cooing over him, but he ignored it.

"I told you not to talk about that," the redhead muttered, spitting out some fire.

"Why not?" asked Voltaire, leaning against the wall of the cave and trying to keep Kimi in sight. "Really, why not? I think we'd do better if we could get the truth out. People would be horrified, and demons would just have another reason to hate them. Why the hell don't you hate them for nearly killing your heart?"

"...I don't know," Adair admitted. "I just...I want to fix them somehow. Their hearts."

Voltaire said nothing. It was an old argument.

Kimi walked in the rain by herself for a little while. When she finally came back the sun was starting to rise and she was soaked. "Are you ready to go?" She asked dully.

"Yeah, as long as you're ready to form the barrier," Voltaire replied, looking her over. "...You feeling up to it? I know you slept like crap last night and all."

"We all did," Adair interjected. "If you feel too tired, we can rest some more if you need to."

Kimi shook her head. "I don't need as much sleep as you. I've... trained myself to function on little to no sleep."

"Adair sleeps a lot, so any loud noises you hear will probably be him snoring," Voltaire mentioned with a smrik. "Mr. Hero has to save his energy so he can save the day."

"Very funny," Adair replied, climbing onto Ava's back. He still felt cranky, but not as much as before.

"Well, we should be good then," the Hunter said, picking Kimi up as he jumped on top of Ava.

Adair gave Voltaire a smirk.

"...What?" asked the blond. "It was just easier to carry her up this way."

"Of course 'Taire," the redhead replied, but he still looked amused.

Kimi blushed slightly. Steam rose from where Voltaire touched her wet clothes and skin.

Trevor jumped up beside them.

Kimi took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Immediately a clear barrier formed around them.

As soon as the shield formed Ava dashed outside, spreading her wings out once she was out of the cave. With a few flaps they were up in the air, the rain curving around them.

"Which way is Noirbrook?" asked Ava.

"South. Its about two days walk from the caves but only hours if you're going to fly." Kimi replied almost absently. Most of her focus was going to the barrier.

"Okay!" Ava chirped, soaring southward.

It was still a little strange to watch the rain strike just above them and then slip around them, but Voltaire wasn't about to complain. He was a little concerned about how long Kimi could keep the barrier up after a poor night's rest. Her eyes looked unfocused, though that was probably because she was busy concentrating on the shield rather than reality.

"Is it going to be raining all the way there?" he asked her.

"It rains everywhere in this part of the world." Kimi mumbled in reply. "Just don't let me faint until we get there." she added as an afterthought "Because I know I'm going to."

Ah crap, thought Adair and Voltaire simultaneously, giving each other concerned looks.

"What will help you keep awake?" asked Adair.

Voltaire saw some birds flit by. "How tough is this barrier, by the way? Can it keep out projectiles or stray birds as well as rain, or will we have to look out for those?"

"It will keep out small projectiles, and birds know not to fly into it." Kimi murmured "As for keeping me awake, just keep me talking."

Trevor watched the birds with interest.

"No jumping after birds," Adair advised the little monster, noticing his staring. "It's a long way down."

Voltaire, meanwhile, was trying to think up a conversation starter that wouldn't be rude or upsetting. That significantly cut his options.

"So...what kind of demon are you exactly?" he finally asked. "I've been around a bunch of psycho demons and survived, so I'm not going to freak out if it's a nasty breed, 'cause chances are I've been around worse."