Cadis looked up as he awoke in the cavern. He was laying on his back, and his upper clothes had been removed. Indeed, he had been washed with river water and was laying on massive leaves to cushion him from the dirt floor. Nearby, Ashlyn was laying on a similar bed, her hands clasped over her bandaged chest.
Feeling a little weak, Cadis slowly sat up. As he picked up the shirt that was folded beside him, he drew it on with shaking fingers. He could not fully rest unless he was in his sanctum, in his shrine. But, for a few hours, he could sleep much the way that humans did. Although, it tended to be dreamless. Frankenstein called it 'suspended animation', which he found rather amusing.
Such a fancy name, just for sleeping.
Muzaka was at a pond near the cave. They had selected the cave as it had been close by; only a few leagues from the battle field. There had also been this source of clean, fresh water, and the Werewolf was stripped down and playing in the water. Not to fish, but just because he seemed to enjoy it immensely.
He turned, offering up a grin. "Raizel! It is very pleasant; will you not join me?!"
Not certain how to respond to that, Cadis moved to a rock at the bank and seated himself. He took off his shoes and let his feet dangle into the water. It was tepid, so it did not shock him, and the feeling of it soaking his pale feet was rather nice. "Muzaka, I must return soon. Frankenstein is looking for me. I felt him calling out to me telepathically."
"That man." Muzaka thought about this, then sighed. "I don't even have anywhere to go now, though." He muttered, splashing his reflection, so that the ripples obscured it. "I guess I'm a stray now."
"You are Muzaka, the Werewolf Lord. That will not change." Cadis replied, smiling at him. "My house is open to you, and your child, for as long as you wish to stay. At least, until this matter is concluded. It is unlikely that those humans would have been able to target Ashlyn, in the middle of their war, without knowing who she is."
"What do you mean?!" Muzaka looked up sharply.
"Do you not recall what happened? Those others of your kind came for you. I interfered with them, and they retreated." Cadis frowned as Muzaka came up to him, almost menacingly. "It is what I believed from the beginning, Muzaka. It is likely that you have been betrayed."
The Werewolf looked very hurt. "My family betrayed me." He said, softly. "It has never happened like this before. I do not know what to do. But until Ashlyn is fully recovered, staying in your house does not sound so bad. I can bathe a lot there, too." He smiled, looking over the pond. "Although, I suppose Frankenstein will keep calling me 'Master Muzaka'." He shuddered. "It feels a little like the title of one of those male prostitutes in Rome."
Cadis offered a very small smile, although he had no idea what Muzaka was talking about. "I will inform him it displeases you." He made to get up, and had gained his full height, when the moss under him gave and he slipped against the stones. He normally would have been able to correct this imbalance, but in his current weakened state, he was unable to react quite fast enough.
He fell into the pond.
Muzaka stare at him, having been splash all over with water, and this dripped from the curls of his grey hair. "Ah…well, that's one way to get you to swim." He muttered, starting to chuckle. "Come here, I'll wash your hair for you. I found some soapwart."
Uneasy, embarrassed, Cadis turned so that Muzaka could put the foaming herb onto his black hair. His hair curled when it got wet, which he did not know if it was considered attractive or not. Most of the Nobles had sleek hair, without a curl to it. It made him a little self-conscious. Of course, his clothes were now soaked through, and he felt a little grumpy that yet another set of his clothes had been disarranged.
"Your hair is so black." Muzaka muttered, absently. "It's shiny, too. And you have very pale skin. Well, you hardly ever go out in the sun, so it would be. Even for a Boble, you're lily white." He seemed happy to be doing these things, though.
"You are very comely yourself." Cadis replied, as he thought he was supposed to respond in like. He did not really mind this, although it was not terribly seemly. On the other hand, they did not have an audience, aside from the trees and the eternal sky. Turning to look at Muzaka, as the werewolf rinsed off his hands from the soap, Cadis secretly admired his build.
Muzaka turned, not noticing his glance over, and took a deep breath. He hoisted himself out of the point, his bare feet more stable on the ground, and offered a hand for Cadis to come out.
Using just a little of his power to dry his clothes, while Muzaka pulled his on at a distance, Cadis put a hand to his mouth. There was just a little bit of an ache there. He could not imagine why such a thing was happening to him, and he felt the prickle of Frankenstein's telepathic call…from much closer than the manor.
Looking toward where the call was coming from, Cadis sent out a signal in response. It was better to meet Frankenstein without the other Nobles around. Muzaka did not need to be mobbed right away. But, to his dismay, the Lord was with Frankenstein, and Gejutel was following them. This was a very bizarre trio, in his opinion, as their personalities were so at odds with each other.
"Frankenstein." He said, as the blond man rushed over to him. Letting him fuss a little, Cadis felt that this man was a very good human. He was a person after all. Even if he did have some bitter things in his past, and even if his abilities were not those of a human, he tried his best to lead a good life. Cadis could not ask for anything more. "I am fine now."
"Cadis Etrama Di Raizel." The Lord said, softly. "There is some cause for everything that has happened, I know. Yet, it is a very grave matter. For you to have rushed off…this has never happened before." He turned as Muzaka appeared, fully clothed, his brows lowering. "Muzaka."
"Oh, it's you." Muzaka muttered, looking away. "Well? You going to pass some kind of Judgement on me?" He was defensive and he did not look happy. Indeed, he was ready to take on even the Lord, his equal, if he had to. That was the way of his kind, and right now, he was even more bitter and troubled, which made him quite to temper.
Gejutel frowned at him, looking shocked to an extreme. "Lord Muzaka! There is no cause for you to speak so rudely to The Lord. We came only to verify Sir Raizel's safety and what had caused him to rush out. Yet, we know you killed many humans, and this is a matter than must be explained…!"
Frankenstein flinched, shooting Gejutel a nasty look. "Perhaps we could postpone that conversation to another time." He offered, drawing his hands together. "If there was a reason for the Lord of Werewolves to act personally, then it is a very serious matter, after all."
Cadis thought that, as each person finished speaking, he could jump in. To concisely explain what had happened. But, with Gejutel continuing to stubbornly demand a reason and Muzaka getting further riled up and Frankenstein starting to lose his temper, and the Lord just not saying anything, Cadis despaired of ever being able to get a word in edgewise.
Looking up at the sky for a moment, Cadis recalled the horror and stench of the battle field, of the feeling of revulsion and terror even he had felt in his soul, and he scowled. His aura gathered around him, causing Frankenstein to take note of him and move to his side. No matter what he did, Frankenstein would side with him and support him. Even if he killed other nobles, or humans, this man had found solace in not being alone; a 'master' was not the same as a 'friend', and Cadis knew that Frankenstein wanted someone to look up to. To be stronger than himself. And, at the same time, to take care of and support.
Turning to the others, giving them a stern look, Cadis let his brows pinch eversoslightly. "Gejutel, you are rude." Cadis stated. "Not only in the presence of the Lord, but before the Lord of Werewolves as well. This is a time of emergency. You will not repeat these words again."
Perhaps out of shock, Gejutel just stood there. But then he slowly bowed, as he had to. Out of fear. In his case, he did respect the Noblesse. But, in the end, it had not been his own better judgement, but the judgement of someone stronger than him.
Feeling very lonely, Cadis sighed. "Lord, forgive my impertinence." He turned to the Lord. "However, is it necessary to carry on in this way?"
The Lord took a deep breath, his expression rather unreadable to Cadis. "For Raizel-nim to say such things, there is a very dire reason." He said, his red eyes glinting. "Cadis Etrama Di Raizel, speak. What is it that has transpired, to make you act in this way, and say these things?"
Swallowing, Cadis blinked tiredly at them. His aura retracted, and he turned just a little. "I will speak." He said, softly. "It is because they targeted Muzaka…" He looked over at Muzaka, who with a sigh, nodded once. "…and his child."
"What?!" The Lord blanched. "Then the battle at the river bank? I see. We thought that perhaps there was a reason, but that is a greater bond that I had anticipated. Naturally, any father would protect their child. But, what became of this one?" He turned to Muzaka. "I also have a child. Therefore, I can imagine the pain and suffering at seeing a child harmed. If there is any way in which we can assist you in this time of need, it will be made so."
Muzaka sighed again, running a hand back over his mane. He looked very depressed. "Seems I've been run off, though. Actually…Cadis said I could stay at his house, but…" He was uneasy about exposing his daughter to a bunch of Nobles. "…and that does appeal to me. In the end, the only thing I can do is rely upon Raizel-nim, which is a burden to me. Heh, I'm not even able to hold my head up. Although I did slaughter those knights, they were only humans and weak; it is likely that there are others, behind the scenes, whom I will undoubtedly murder in the near future. On the other hand, I guess it's not so bad. Seems like the city near here survived." He shrugged, not seeming all that upset about killing a hundred thousand men.
There was a tense silence. The Lord was frowning, as if he did not quite understand Muzaka. He turned his eyes toward the distant city, as if thinking about this. "I did not think that Muzaka was that involved in the lives of humans." He commented, softly. "Humans wars do not touch us nearly as much as your family, so perhaps I am out of touch with the times. But, Muzaka, I do not think it is fair to speak flippantly on such deeds." His expression was sad.
The Werewolf hooked his hands on his hips. "I've been in every country on this earth. I've walked in sands up to my knees. I've seen every ocean and spoken every tongue of mankind. However, even after all this time, I would never say that humans are 'good'. They are a force that is rather like water. It gets dirty very easily. If they can even reason at all, they come up with dangerous ideas." He shut his eyes, speaking rather sage words. "On the other hand, I cannot claim that Nobles, or Werewolves, or the Dragon Kings or the Fae are any better or worse. I think the big difference, is that humans don't know the difference."
Frankenstein shifted. "Can you rephrase that?" He asked. "I also have great power, but I am a human."
Nodding, Muzak shrugged again. "But you have power that is beyond that of humans, Frankenstein. While your species didn't change, you were never a normal human. That's obvious by how intelligent you are. Way beyond the average man. In my experience, most humans really don't understand how much damage they do. Like wars; they only think about how it affects themselves. If I killed that army, that's only because they harmed my child. Think about it more like a hurricane; it affects everything, not just this or that race. War is the same. It tears families apart, it spreads diseases, it causes famine, causes fires. It lands whole swathes of land barren. Sometimes, things never grow back." He lifted a hand. "It might sound flippant to you Nobles, because you're really reserved, but a hundred thousand knights died. A lot of humans. But compared to the women and children in the city, it doesn't actually bother me."
Frankenstein swallowed, lowering his eyes. He had a small smile on his lips, and he folded his arms. It seemed that he had accepted and even liked what the werewolf had just said. It was clear that, as someone who had also travelled a lot, Frankenstein had seen a lot more than even more Nobles did. For as long lived as the Noble race was, they did not travel much, and only if there was some reason.
"Frankenstein." Cadis said, turning to him. "You will take a look at that child. She is injured to the chest and has yet to remain conscious for any length of time. At the manor, you have made yourself a room in which you concoct things."
Frankenstein looked a bit startled, but then nodded. "Yes, I am a doctor after all. Although a werewolf would normally not need any help, there are a few cases, I believe. If they are very young or if there is silver in the wound." He turned to Muzaka. "If I can help, I will of course offer my skills."