"Are you okay, Ronin?"
"…Wh…what?"
"You look white," Toklata said, after a long pause, attempting to put her hand on Ronin's forehead.
He pushed her hand away half-heartedly, deep inside of his own thoughts. Jaden, Jaden, Jaden, he mused. Konosuke…My heads a swirling mess. I can't think straight. What's real and what's an illusion?
Ronin looked to his side and could've sworn he'd seen his mentor sitting there next to him, green eyes shining and a scowl plastered upon her face, but only for a few seconds. He blinked, and it was all gone, just Toklata couching next to him, looking worried and holding her cheek.
"So…this Konosuke…are you going to fight him? I mean, you're stronger than he is, right? Because you're a vampire and all."
Ronin didn't even think before answering, he just closed his eyes and leaned back against the cave wall.
"No, I won't fight him. From where I stand, it seems pointless. It seems unlikely that he'll come after me, so it seems best to avoid a fight with such an obvious outcome." He managed a half-hearted arrogant smirk to assure Toklata that this "obvious outcome" would be his victory.
She looked at him in a way that made her face seem at least twenty years older, with narrowed eyes and drawn brows. "I honestly can't tell if you're being wise or being cowardly," she scowled, her features returning to their normal, childish look after a few seconds.
"That's a pretty intelligent sentence. And here I was thinking you were a complete idiot. Surprised I haven't been hearing you say ya'll."
Either she hadn't heard Ronin's snide comment or she chose to ignore it, as she curled up like a cat on the edge of his long cloak. He immediately ripped it out from under her, though, and sent her flying. She giggled a bit at this.
"What?" he snarled teasingly. "You think that's funny? You little freak. I would send you home, but there are scarier things than Konosuke out there. So you can stay here for the night. Your parents might be worried, though. I could take you back."
"I already told you; I don't have a dad, and my mama 'prolly hasn't even noticed I'm missing," Toklata scowled, leaning back and not sounding nearly as sad as she should have.
"Stony heart," Ronin snarled, pushing her over.
She tried to push him back and failed, so she instead jumped on his back and attacked from there, tying his shoulder-length black hair into knots. "Me? Stony heart? You're the one who just sits in this cave all day…night…whatever. Don't you have anyone to protect or to at least stay with? There's more of you, right?"
Ronin gently slapped her hands away. "I'm strictly a loner. I don't much like the company of other vampires…or humans, for that matter. I don't mind the occasional stray wolf, though. They're lovely creatures. They're very friendly with vampires and they'll walk right up to you. Occasionally I'll go to—Are you ignoring me?"
He turned to find Toklata facedown on his shoulder, her slow breathing suggesting she was asleep. Well, that and the fact that she was drooling.
Sighing at her childish metabolism, Ronin unhooked her legs from under his arms and set her down lightly, covering her with his cloak.
What an awful life she has, Ronin thought, watching her toss and turn a bit. Running around in shorts that are too big for her and being chased by little boys who just want to beat her up. And now she's, already involved in this big mess with Konosuke and…and she's still smiling. How naïve.
He got to wondering whether or not Konosuke would truly leave him be, thinking that he'd really have to leave his cozy hangout in order to not involve Toklata anymore than she already was.
She had a miserable life, yes, but there was hope for her yet. Ronin would never forgive himself if anything happened to her now.