With his wellbeing in mind, Kina retrieved a cloth that she dipped into the cool liquid in the bowl, wringing it out and placed it on his forehead. His breathing had started to become labored and quick, a sign that his arm was on the verge of becoming infected. It was evident that he was an amateur at medicines and though she was by far the expert in the field, he had refused to allow her to assist him. Caim coughed faintly, a silent sound, and turned his head quickly, eyes forced closed in sleep.

She lifted his left arm and began to unravel it, taking care not to wake him. His amateur ability to take care of himself was something she smiled at, carefully administering medicine to his cuts as he lay unconscious. Slowly, she accurately applied her medical knowledge to his body, cleansing and soothing.

How sweet, taking care of your bloodthirsty comrade. You seem to have a kind heart. Heh, how disgusting.

She stopped, turning her head about wildly. A voice rang in her head, light and soft as it suffocated her mind.

Oh? Frightened? A pleasant reaction, one I expected.

"Who," she started, "who are you? What do you want?"

There's no need to feel alarmed, my young human child. Your weakness will benefit us both.

As the words ended, Kina's mind emptied, turning to nothing but blackness. Her green eyes lost their glimmer, turning pale and dull. Her head turned downwards and the muscles in her neck became weak. Her mind slipped away from her, leaving her body an empty shell, standing erect without motion.

Seconds passed before life snapped into her again, life that wasn't her own. Slowly, she moved towards the table that sat between the two beds, lifting the cloak Caim had discarded, rummaging through the pockets with a purpose. Her hands found the hilt of a dagger, the one he had handed to her, giving her a means to protect herself. Gripping it tight, she approached her companion's sleeping body, eyes fixed on his exposed chest. She lifted her knife high in the air, she threw her hand down towards him.

Blood…

Pain…

Regret…

Betrayal…

Caim!

At the calling of his name, he opened his eyes and quickly jumped from the bed and onto the ground. The blade was thrust down into the mattress, sinking deep into the feathers underneath. Moving on instinct, he reached for his blade before facing his opponent, unknowing that Kina now stood holding his would-be killer.

He was unflinching as he finally saw her, her face turned downwards, holding no human soul. Both stood unmoving, waiting for a reaction from the other. She lifted her head slightly, moving her empty eyes to sink into his own.

"You have quick reactions and keen senses," she said, a voice not her own. "Undoubtedly abilities given to you from your pact." A smile turned up Kina's lips. "Perhaps I should take his warning of your skills to heart. How uncomforting the thought of being bested by a human."

He? thought Caim.

Kina's body, not her heart, lunged at him with the dagger with surprising speed and he was barely able to counter as it slashed through the air, slightly cutting into his chest, causing a shallow incise to begin bleeding. He moved away from her, blade held before him, defending himself. His mind raced quickly in confusion though he would not allow himself to be beaten. There was little she could do with a dagger the size of the one in her hand but if his guard was let down, his death would be eminent.

It was obvious that her movements were against her will. With the evidence of her now-inhuman speed, it was clear what she had become. A menacing laugh rang in her throat.

"Come now, human. Fight me! Holding back because I control this girl? You'll die if you don't act!" She charged once again towards him, aiming for his heart. He quickly jumped out of the way, and freed his left hand from the handle of his sword, clenching it into a fist and forced his weight down, hitting her hard on the cheek. She instantly went limp under his blow, falling to the ground, letting go a slight scream before she hit the floor. He quickly moved to take the dagger from her clutches, tossing it across the room and pointed his blade towards her as she lay motionless on the ground, untrusting of the body of whose he did not know.

Seconds passed before he turned her over to face the ceiling, blade still brandished. Her face was soft and relaxed, a dark bruise spreading across it but no long possessed. She was her own being once more.

Loud footsteps resonated from outside the door as the innkeeper ran up the stairs. "Oi!" he called, knocking on the wood. "Something wrong in there?" Caim, hitching the blade to his side, uncaring if the old man saw it or not, walked across the room and unlocked the door, swing it open to face the heavy man.

The keeper, seeing Caim's face for the first time, flinched under his aggressive features and single blue eye. "I heard the little miss scream," he said. "Is everything alright in there?"

Tch, mind your own business, fool. With that, the door closed in the old man's face, the hinges locked once more.


It was several more hours before she finally woke. Lifting her head, the first thing she noticed was that was in an upright position, neck sore from being unmoved for so long. She attempted to move her arms but found they were stiff and eerily unresponsive. Her mind was also numb, her head throbbing as she could hear each heartbeat.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and blinked, looking about her. She was soon aware that she had been strapped to a chair, a thin twine of rope wrapped about her thin frame. Attempting to move her arms, she found they were bound tightly, forbidding her to move. Kina frantically looked about her, unsure about her surroundings.

She soon realized that she still sat in the hotel. Anxiously, she tried to remember what had happened, why she now was confined to a chair but could recall nothing, recollecting the few moments she had helped Caim with his wounds before her world went black. Her eyes scanned about the room for the soldier.

She found him sitting by the window, sword hilt held by his right hand near his face, left elbow balanced by his knee. His eyes were closed but a look of confusion and irritation rested on his face. As she started to move about, he looked in her direction, unmoving.

"What…?" she said, perplexed as to why she was in her current position. "What's going on?"

At her words, Caim stood from the floor, carrying the blade with him. With eyes uneasy, she watched as he approached her, sword held tight. He lifted it slightly, resting the point against her neck, lifting her face with it so she would look into his face. Looking about wildly, confused and frightened, he stared into her eyes.

Gradually, he lowered the blade from her skin though never releasing it from his grip. He walked behind her, out of her line of vision and she felt the bind being cut. She quickly moved out of the way, sprinting away from him towards the wall before turning to face him again, face messed by emotion. With eyes closed, Caim hitched the blade to his side and again returned to the window, gazing out at the people below, humans he could never again associate himself with.

Kina remained motionless for minutes, breathing quick and heavy. She had not the slightest clue why she had been strapped to a wooden chair, or why Caim now treated her so cold and threatening. Moments passed before she was able to again regain her composure and addressed him.

"Caim," she said calmly, though her expressions betrayed her demeanor, "what…what happened?" He did not respond, not even granting her a glance. "Caim, answer me. I…I… Everything went black…I couldn't move, I couldn't see. Please…"

He turned his face so his pale white eye faced her, thinking slow.

Hmm...foolish girl. She doesn't remember…

Kina glimpsed around her, searching for a means for them to communicate. In an empty wooden dresser, she discovered a parchment and quill and she approached his side, forcing them at him. "If you can't talk, then write it out." Determination was her most prominent expression, brows turned downwards accompanied with a slight frown. A smile appeared on Caim's face, a smile reflecting his amusement of her sweet, pure innocence and ignorance.

So he took the quill from her hand, smile now only memory, and wrote two simple words. He returned the paper to her hands, allowing her to take in the words. A pact.

"A pact?" she whispered softly. "Me? With a creature? I…I didn't make a pact." Her confusion was not reassuring and Caim gave the contribution of his thoughts with an icy, knowledgeable stare. "Caim, no. I would never."

Though out the night, he had sat and thought on the topic, finding her solution the only one. Blessed with increased speed and strength were the basic advantages of entering a pact, undermining the fact that an exchange of something equally priceless would have to be made. Though apparent as it was, the cost of her unwanted pact, much like the pact his past companion Leonard whose sight had been stolen, had confused him. Could one's sanity and ability to control their own body truly be the sacrifice of a pact?

Although she could not recall the event of actually entering the pact, the creature, whatever it may be, had forcibly imposed the deal upon her, giving her no say in the matter. There was little time that she had ever been left alone, leaving the time she had to find and enter a compromise very little. This fact alone confused Caim, sending the logic had he spent so long on finding into a frenzy of perplexity and chaos.

"Your voice," he heard her say at his side, though her eyes lay fixed on the floorboards, "your voice was the price of a pact, wasn't it?" He returned a slight nod.

She moved away from him slightly, looking heavily on the ground, expecting an answer to come to her, the answer of what she was to do. "What's my pact beast?" she said to the ground in dumbfound numbness, staring at it. Caim didn't respond, the answer escaping his mind.