The innkeeper isn't quite as welcoming the second time around, but he takes the money, doesn't even ask about the door. The room isn't any better the second time around but it isn't much worse either, although the lack of a door isn't going to help much if the town decides he's a threat, she stirs a bit after he places her on the bed, but she stays asleep or unconscious, whichever the case may be, for the first time since he heard her scream, his heart slows down a bit, and for the first time since he found her, he truly looks at her, beyond the bruises, beyond the swelling, beyond the cuts, beyond it all is perfection, she is perfection, yet he can't shake the feeling that he knows her, but he's never known perfection. She turns silently onto her side, he just sits there watching, waiting for the world to fall down or to be greeted by perfection.
As she sleeps silently, he begins to fear the day when he will fail her again, he always fails, she is perfection and he is flawed, he doesn't want to fail her, he could never fail her, failure is not an option, she is perfection and he is flawed but he will not fail her. Her eyes slide gently open, the sun's light tearing into them causes her to close them again.
"Who are you?" She asks, her voice soft, sweet, soothing and altogether too redemptive.
"I am called Reptile."
"Where are we?"
"A small city in Outworld called Zhang Zao."
"Why?"
"It's where you are."
"Why did you help me?"
"I didn't, I have a thing about balding people."
"Only one was balding."
"On the outside, who can say for sure about on the inside?"
"Good point." She laughed a bit before grabbing her stomach as if it was trying to escape.
"Thank you for killing the baldness, I could of been blinded."
"I always do my best to eliminate shiny things."
He can't understand why he speaks so freely with her, even among his most beloved of masters and hated of enemies, his words are few and far between, not to mention much more respectful and stilted. He reaches down and grabs his canteen of water from the small brown bag that he carries with him, unscrewing the cap and absent mindedly taking a small sip before handing it to her, only then realizing his mistake.
"Wait! I can't ask you to drink after me, hand it back and I'll go get fresh water from the well, it'll only be a moment." He pleads before watching in amazement as a small smile slips silently unto her bruised lips and she then weakly raises the canteen to her mouth and taking a swig that would impress Bo' Rai Cho.
"You have very low self-esteem considering your fighting abilities." She notes with a slight smirk.
"Do you know where you come from?" He asks out of curiosity.
"No, do you?"
"I'd guess Edenia from how quickly your wounds are healing."
"Most of the swelling went down while you slept, swelling that would of kept up in an Earthrealmer for several days."
"Cared for a lot of Earthrealmers have you?"
"No, just hurt them."