Chapter Twenty-Eight:

Blood Bound

Eli

He turned away, not responding immediately to Rini again. However, North spoke then.

"If it's not any trouble, will you take me with you?"

Eli looked over his shoulder at the other boy with black eyes. "Come if that's what you wish."

His Deku hat bobbed in confirmation, and he heard his light footsteps as he turned to leave the house. They exited the house together, heading back toward the stone steps they had climbed up, and then Eli turned his head to the other boy again.

"Follow me for a while, we have to go pick up my sister," he explained.

"Well, it seems manners haven't been top priority with you," Rini muttered, following as well. The owl, Ceres she said her name was, no doubt after their mother, hooted as if in agreement. She looked around as they left the house, lips pressed together. "It's amazing how much everything has changed while we've been away. I barely recognize this place anymore."

They had done a lot of reconstruction as well as additions to the village since she had last seen it. It was much bigger than it used to be. He smiled to himself as he walked in silence with North. It was going to take them a while to reach Leita. She was standing guard at the northern end of the village, opposite the entrance at the southern end. Rini commented on little things as they went, but he still didn't say anything directly to her yet. Spirits, always so entitled.

He headed now for the stone alley leading to the graveyard. It was usually a show of courage to stand guard at the northern end of the village barrier because of this, except for Leita really. Rini, while still following them, had peeled off ever so slightly and started looking at different gravestones. Some she lingered near, others she simply breezed past. Ceres, who still was riding on North's shoulder, gave a hoot as she followed her with her eyes.

"I'm keeping up!" Rini called back, as if talking to the bird was second nature. "Goddesses, a ghost in a graveyard looking at gravestones. It's like something you hear in those Day of Courage stories."

The owl hooted again, looking around.

"You being here is also cliche," Rini added, looking over her shoulder, clearly have given up on getting Eli to respond and was talking to the creature giving her attention. "Owls are supposed to be heralds of the dead you know."

The owl somehow looked rather proud at this as she puffed up and held her head up high. Eli led on with barely a side glance at Rini. His destination was the very back of the graveyard after all, the edge of the village. She was the one who said they didn't have time to waste. Soon they came upon a large head stone, though more wide than it was tall. There were two smaller headstones, one on each side of the large one. It was the royal family's tomb stone marker. One of the oldest ones here, back from when Hyrule was first established as a kingdom.

He glanced behind himself to see how North was fairing in the graveyard. The forest boy was studying the stones around himself but keeping pace with him. His face was as expressionless as before. He was difficult to read.

Eli walked around the large tomb stone and found Leita as he was expecting, leaning against the back of it as she kept her vigil toward the outside of the village limits. She wore her usual clothing. Her tunic was gray with white accents and borders. It was longer than usual, almost like a skirt, going past mid-thigh. It was sleeveless, and her forearms were garbed in leather bracers and long dark fingerless gloves underneath them. She had black cloth leggings tucked into calf-high leather boots. Tightened around her waist and over her tunic was a belt with various pouches attached. Her silver hair was long enough now that she could absent-mindedly play with the ends that went past her shoulders to her mid-back. Her emerald green eyes turned to look up at him as she was shorter than him and even most of the other girls her age.

"Is there something wrong?" Leita asked, tilting her head, her gentle forehead furrowing in worry.

"Sort of," said Eli. "It looks like we've found Ventus at Lon Lon Ranch."

Her green eyes widened briefly in her shock. She stood up fully, no longer leaning against the tombstone.

"He's hurt though," he continued to explain. "Mother and Impa say you can come with me to heal him and investigate another situation at hand."

Leita nodded slowly, her eyes cast down thoughtfully. "Then we should leave right away."

Eli smiled softly. "That's the consensus … Oh, and this is North. He's been traveling with Ventus and brought this news."

He gestured to the forest boy who had come up behind him. "North, this is Leita, my sister."

"Nice, don't mention me or Ceres," Rini said, catching up rather easily. She walked in front of Leita, waving her hand in front of her before humming slightly before turning back to Eli. "Is it possible to get to Lon Lon Ranch without walking? Magic would be preferable, but if you two know how to ride horses, that would be a lot faster."

Ceres hooted and flew off North's head and landed on Leita's shoulder, giving Eli a look before looking right at Rini and then Leita. His sister jumped a little, surprised by the bird's forwardness, but a brief smile glinted over her features in a flash of joy.

"Oh, and that's Ceres, Ventus' bird."

Leita's smile faded at that. The owl was behaving more intelligently than he had really given it credit before. It seemed to know a ghost was present. Still, that didn't mean he was going to devastate his sister right now by mentioning Rini was dead just because she thought it was rude to ignore her. That would just slow things down. It could wait for later. The brief mention of the Agnis' dead mother dashed the smile off her face easily enough on its own.

"Can you leave with us right now?" he asked Leita.

She nodded, a grim but more determined look settled her expression. "If everyone is ready, then I'll open the barrier."

Ba'al

A couple days passed since North left with Ceres and, apparently, the ghost of Rini. Ventus' wounds did seem slightly better, but maybe Ba'al was just being optimistic. Thankfully, it was fairly boring while they waited for them to return. He worried that they waited too long to send someone to Kakariko all the same. There was nothing to do but watch Ventus and worry.

That was until he woke sharply one night. He was unsure of what woke him until he realized the Hylian was sitting up straight in his bed. His long ears twitched before his eyes narrowed, then throwing off his blanket as if the fact he was injured didn't matter.

"That son of a bitch," he hissed, eyes focused elsewhere.

Eiji stared off into the silence, his gaze not following the Hylian's, but rather mirroring it. There was a dour look to the chimera's features—a sort of resigned sorrow. His copper-gold gaze dropped momentarily, looking at a fixed point on the floor before raising again to settle on Ventus. But that, too, lasted only a moment before his eyes followed the source of the sound again. A nearly inaudible sigh escaped him, forcing air from his useless lungs.

Ba'al rushed from the chair he had fallen asleep in next to Ventus' bedside, a hand on his shoulder to keep him from getting up. "Hey, hey, what's going on?"

"That fucker is hitting Malon!" Ventus said, his normally quiet voice raising. The other two were beginning to rouse with the racket, with Jamal muttering quiet curses as he rubbed his eyes.

Ba'al's golden bronze eyes widened for a moment, realizing what he said. A deep sigh escaped him for a moment as he looked down at him. He glanced over at Eiji again, knowing he would have heard it as well. Only those two had hearing like that. The instant Ba'al glanced at Eiji, the chimera was already meeting his gaze. Though he said nothing, he matched Ba'al solemnity.

"I…see," said Ba'al, serious but calm as his eyes narrowed softly down at Ventus.

Ventus was staggering out of bed, pushing his hand away. Even though his body was weak, the fire in his eyes raged as if he were burning through his life on both ends. That seemed to wake up the other two, with Jamal waking up quicker as he had been the one to try to figure out the different combinations for the medication.

"Hey, hey! Motherfucker, do you want to undo my hard work?" Jamal yelled, rushing to block his path. "Eiji, knock him out or something!"

Ba'al placed his hand back on Ventus' shoulder. He increased his grip and pulled him back, his other hand grabbing his other arm's bicep. His voice remained calm in his ear. "Ventus, sit down. You're going to make your injuries worse."

Eiji ignored Jamal's urging him to step into the midst of Ventus' outburst, his attention rooted intently on Ba'al.

"Who cares?" Ventus snapped, staggering back even though he tried to fight it. "Do you want me to sit and do nothing while Malon is getting hit?"

That seemed to capture Farah's attention, who was always slow to rouse when it wasn't light out.

"Wait, what?" she asked sharply, her normally easy going attitude slipping off and anger flashing in her eyes.

Ba'al took in a breath. "Yes, for the moment, that's exactly what I want you to do. Don't you remember what she said before? We offered to take her with us, and she said no. If Malon wanted us to save her from this, then she would have said yes."

"Don't worry, Ventus," Farah said, rummaging through her bag, and pulling out a knife which glinted in the moonlight. "I'll take care of this."

"Oh, no, you don't," Jamal said, shoving himself between the exit, arms splayed out. "Look, I get it, but Ba'al is right. And us going out there is just going to make shit worse. You know that, so sit your ass down."

Ba'al pulled more gently back on Ventus' arm. He didn't want to force him if he didn't really have to. "This is something Malon has decided to endure and do herself. Even if you get rid of Ingo, he'll be replaced and the same thing will probably happen again or worse. This is her fight for now."

"I can't turn my back when someone is having problems!" Ventus yelled, tears beginning to well in his hazel eyes. "How am I supposed to save Hyrule when I can't help someone in front of me?"

"Well, you could rest while you're hurt, for starters," said Ba'al, still keeping his voice calm and his hands on Ventus to keep him from bolting for it. "You're no good to anyone until you heal. That takes time. But it doesn't mean we won't do anything at all. We can later."

Ven's lip wobbled, but Farah let out a sigh, clicking her tongue.

"I hate when you're right," she said, sitting back down. "We aren't leaving here until we figure this problem out."

"Yeah, no surprise there," Jamal muttered but stayed by the door. All of them knew when it came to children, Farah was rather protective. It had only gotten worse after the war started.

Ba'al smiled softly. "See? Come sit back down."

Ven sat down and held his hands over his ears. Who knows if that actually did anything for the boy though. Every so often he flinched, as if he was the one being struck. Ba'al sat down next to him again, thinking to be supportive in some way. Something other than telling him to keep quiet and endure. But nothing really came to him that seemed right.

Sleep eventually came somehow, and he was waking to the morning again. Ba'al stretched the stiffness out of his muscles as he stood up out of the chair that was his station. He recalled the night before, and what he said. That they could do something about it later. Problem was, he didn't have any ideas. None that really made a difference in the situation. He sighed, looking over at Ventus.

The boy had woken early and was writing something down. Farah, who always woke up with the sun, was looking over the paper.

"We can't leave physical scarring, so we have to go psychological," Farah said. "But not too much he can't do his job. And we have to tie it to a result of him abusing Malon. Maybe something with ghosts?"

"There aren't any here until Rini gets back," Ven pointed out.

"Yes, but he doesn't need to know that."

Things were already getting elaborate between those two planning together. He didn't see how they were going to scare the shit out of Ingo with a bird and a ghost. The bird spelling things out was creepy, but that was all. Ba'al sighed to himself and took a drink out of a water skin.

Suddenly, Ventus' ears twitched. He grabbed the paper and shoved it underneath the covers and hissed in a soft undertone, "Act natural."

As if tuned in to that same frequency, Eiji lifted his head slowly. The chimera's bronze eyes fixed on some distant point that he couldn't very well see behind the wall for a long moment before returning to his master.

"...how many was he to bring…?" There was a hazy air of confusion in the question, making Eiji's voice sound distant, an ear still tuned to the approaching steps.

Ba'al turned to them, Eiji catching his attention the most then. The door to the room opened before he could respond.

"Hey, I brought the not-Amaya and a guy with creepy ass looking eyes. And also the others," Jamal announced unceremoniously as Ceres flew in and landed on Ven's lap. Ven's eyes swept over the group, stopping at an empty space before his eyes widened.

"Eli? Leita?"

Ba'al turned to find two new individuals about Ventus' age with North. Both Hylians, one male with dark hair and pale skin, and the other female with long silver hair and milky skin herself. When he turned his gaze to the male Hylian's dark eyes—black like North's, but no, it was different. It made his insides twist in knots and a sweat dew on his skin though it wasn't warm. He jerked his eyes away from him quickly, blinking and confused.

The chimera had gathered himself up silently, standing to his awkward, but impressive, height and followed suit in taking in the newcomers. However, where his Master's gaze faltered, Eiji's did not. Chin tilted downward, almost stooped to get a better angle, the aberration merely stared into the yawning depth of those eyes. It brightened his own liquid gold eyes with an almost child-like curiosity.

There was a brief pause of silence as the Hylian looked back at Eiji, the skin of his forehead wrinkled as his eyebrows drew together in a nearly solemn expression before easing off his face entirely. His features became almost eerily calm and empty.

"Ventus!" The Hylian girl was the one to break the silence. She took an eager step forward, but then stopped as she glanced around at the others almost afraid to offend.

Ba'al smiled at her in reassurance. Her green eyes were wide and tender, much easier to look at than the other's. She went over to Ventus at that, taking his usual seat next to his bedside. She worried her bottom lip as she looked him up and down, taking in the condition of his body visually first. Farah got up and moved to allow her more access, and Jamal walked next to her, hovering over the girl.

"I've been giving him a lot of pain medication plants, and herbal remedies for infection. Normally, that works, but for whatever reason it didn't stop it. The plants from the Lost Woods seemed to be more effective, and unfortunately they didn't last too long," Jamal said, beginning to rattle off what they've been trying. "Ba'al and Farah, were helping keep the bandages clean, when we could get him to rest. You might need to knock him out. He's very stubborn."

Ventus frowned at Jamal, only to wince when Ceres hooted in agreement.

"I'm glad you guys are alright at least," he said quietly. "I didn't expect to see either of you again. Or at the very least like this."

Tears dewed at the Hylian girl's green eyes. "I-I'm… so glad you're alive."

She slowly reached for his hand with her own. "May I?"

Ventus gave her his scarred hand. He never really mentioned what had done that, but judging by the shapes of the scars, it looked like Ceres had a hand in it. Judging by the age of them, they were old.

"So you have healing magic?" he asked, tilting his head. "Do you have other magic, too?"

Leita smiled, but it was soft and sad. She nodded, and then chanted, "Kono karada to shite kōzan baransu keiyu ishi."

A blue light encased Leita in an aura as she cast the healing spell. Ba'al watched as Ventus soon glowed with his own aura of aqua. He had only ever seen the Crones cast magic like that. The Hylian girl closed her eyes, her other hand pressed over her chest where another light glowed from under her tunic. A moment passed as they both glowed. The girl's face tensed suddenly, more tears seemed to squeeze out of the corners of her shut eyelids.

Then the light faded, and she was quickly wiping away her tears as if those would offend as well. "T-there. The infection is gone, and your wounds are healed now. You still need to get plenty to eat and rest to be completely restored."

Ventus opened and closed his hands and moved his torso, and, unlike before, didn't wince.

"Wow, you're insanely good," Ventus said before looking at Leita, his own brow furrowing. "Is everything okay?"

"Also, do you know how to heal someone of a wrong gender?" Jamal asked hopefully, clearly seeing his chance.

"Jamal!" Farah hissed.

"What? I'll trade!"

The tight ball in Ba'al gut started to ease. He hadn't even realized it was there until then. Ventus would live.

"That will have to wait until later," said the male Hylian with the creepy eyes. Ba'al felt as if he was seeing him for the first time again, because he realized an important detail. There was a big crimson Eye of Truth on the chest of his shirt. There was even a blue tattoo over his left eye suggesting another Eye of Truth that he missed the first time. His style of dress made it even more apparent. On his hip attached to his belt was also a sunken black mask with a wide white smile.

A Sheikah? Most of them are dead now.

"My name is Eli, and the healer is my sister, Leita," he continued. "As you can see, we know Ventus and will take him back to Kakariko Village with us and North, if they want."

Ba'al smiled and nodded. "That's great."

However, the Sheikah, Eli, stared at him still with those unnerving eyes. He couldn't meet that gaze. Ventus, on the other hand, stared right at Eli, eyes looking up and down at his attire only briefly.

"I'm not sure we'll be welcomed there. At least me at the very least. We went down there when Castle Town first fell—"

However as he explained, suddenly his eyes rolled back in his head and he fainted.

"Oh my goddess!" Farah said, rushing to his side, and there was a flash of worry in Jamal's eyes before he covered it with his typical jackass behavior.

"Wish he did that earlier when we were trying to keep him from opening his injuries," he said.

Ba'al was right behind Farah and next to Leita now as well. The caster girl put her hand to Ventus' forehead and glowed blue briefly before opening her eyes again.

"He just fainted, but he's okay," she said but frowned as she did so. "He's exhausted and needs food, but he still shouldn't have fainted like that…"

Ventus groaned as he slowly came back to, shaking his head as if to loosen the cobwebs. Lifting his head, he rubbed his head before his eyes once again looked back at Eli. While Ba'al looked away, he stared right at him and after a few seconds he was right back unconscious.

"Ventus!" Leita gasped again, but mostly out of surprise.

Eli's head tilted thoughtfully as he studied the unconscious Hylian. "Leave him that way for now. You can carry him with your magic, right?"

Ba'al frowned. "But is he really healed if he keeps fainting like that?"

"Leita is one of the better healers I know," said Eli. "It's not his injuries, I suspect, but his spirit."

"...or yours." Eiji's tone was a dry hush. It lacked any accusation but was steeped, instead, in understanding. Not once during the entire ordeal had the chimera's attention swayed from Eli's eyes.

Ba'al was always careful to listen to whatever Eiji mumbled. It sounded ominous. He was liking this Sheikah named Eli less and less. He glanced to North now. "Did Amaya really send them?"

North nodded his confirmation.

Eli snorted, but it was almost with amusement. "You're casting doubt on us? During this time? You're far more suspicious, if you ask me."

That was always a risk when traveling with Eiji. It was hard to not notice he was very different. He was a young Sheikah, so maybe he wouldn't know what Eiji really was. That aside, they were still a group of Gerudos and always under suspicion.

"All I want is for Ventus to be safe," said Ba'al.

Leita stood up. "I promise. He will be safe with us."

Ba'al looked down at Ventus, unconscious in the bed. The girl and North, he could trust. This was it. He would probably never see Ventus again. That was likely for the better.

"Okay, thank you," he said, nodding.

Leita shook her head. "No, thank you for caring for him even though …"

She blinked as if she was seeing Ba'al for the first time. She glanced over at Jamal too. Even Hylians looked at them strangely. After all, they don't see Gerudos who change into men very often. Ganondorf got all the publicity when it came to being the "only" male Gerudo per hundred years.

Ba'al smiled warmly at her. "I understand. It was no problem at all." Even if Jamal wouldn't agree.

"What are all your names?" Leita asked.

Ventus had woken up a couple more times during this, but each time he looked at Eli—stared at him really—before fainting again. However, as Leita asked this, Jamal smacked Ventus on the back of the end, stopping this cycle.

"Stop that, dumbass!" he snapped before looking at Leita. "I'm Jamal, and I have soap, furs, I can hunt really well, so if you need any of that kind of stuff—"

"Jamal, time and place," Farah said, before smiling kindly at Leita. "I know it's been a few years, but I'm Farah. Also before you leave, can you check on Malon? She's usually with the horses."

"North," began Eli, "Help Ventus through my shadow portal while Leita checks on Malon."

Leita looked as if she wanted to talk with Farah, but at her brother's words she turned and left out the door she came.

North nodded and then went over to where Ventus sat in bed to help him gather his things. Ventus, however, seemed a bit nervous as Ceres flew over to Eiji and seemed to try to gather some hairs for a nest before she went.

"You should know I'm from the Kali family," Ven said carefully. "It's clear your super awesome Sheikah powers seem to be accepted, but I'm not sure mine will be welcomed. Last time they weren't."

Farah mouthed from behind Ventus, "Death magic."

Eli smirked with amusement at Ventus' words. He paused carefully before saying, "I'm well aware of your heritage. Trust me when I say, they won't welcome you, but it's your choice if you still want to come knowing that. This time, they can't keep you out."

It was still better than Ventus being out here, wandering the fields of Hyrule. Besides, it was where North and Ventus said they were headed for anyway—Kakariko Village. Ba'al could rest easier.

Ventus still lingered, looking at the other Gerudo before looking at Eli. He was beginning to stare at his eyes again until Jamal made him look down.

"It's better if you go with them. More people to look after you," Jamal said, as Ceres returned to Ventus' side. "Plus what's left of your family is there, right?"

Ventus' shoulders slumped but nodded slowly, but then squared his shoulders.

"I want to help Malon before I go though," he said with determination. "Ingo is abusing her. I want to make him stop."

"Then we take her with us," began Eli.

"She won't go," said Ba'al, shaking his head. "We already offered to take her away from the ranch. She doesn't want to leave the horses in Ingo's tender care."

Eli sighed with vague annoyance. "Not even for her father who is waiting for her at Kakariko Village?"

"She must know that," said Ba'al.

"Then kill Ingo," said Eli simply.

"Ganondorf will give the property, her, and the horses to someone else," said Ba'al. "What are the chances they won't be cruel like Ingo?"

Eli cocked his head at Ba'al silently again. He had to look away from those eyes again. "But you must be important to Ganondorf. Why don't you use your own leverage?"

Ba'al felt his heart skip a beat and fall into his gut. He blinked, trying to look confused. "What?"

Eiji's rapt interest concerning Eli shifted. Though his gaze never wavered, it was the thin thread of dis-ease he felt rippling within Ba'al that intensified it. Those molten gold eyes lost every iota of curiosity that they had held, like a shade was drawn over them—replacing it with a deterring sharpness. His somewhat stooped posture straightened, spine rigid as he loomed just behind his Master. A low rumble echoed in the hollow of his chest, forced through useless lungs and echoing in a mouth he still kept tightly shut.

"Ba'al isn't associated with Ganondorf," Ven said suddenly with a strong conviction that was becoming rather common with the boy. "He ran away from home. All of them did. He's been nothing but kind. If he had that kind of leverage to save Malon, he would have done it by now. That's just the kind of guy he is."

Ventus' words created a pit of guilt in Ba'al's gut as he spoke, pulling further and further in on itself in shame. Because that wasn't entirely true. He did his best to keep a surprised expression, trying to keep that turmoil inside to himself. He could feel Eli's eyes on him, and if he let the mask even just a crack—he would know. That was what his instincts said anyway.

And he should feign innocence. They would probably kill him if they knew. But …

This was the last time he would see Ventus again. He had never been able to be completely honest with him about Eiji or anything. He didn't really want to leave him without telling him the truth, even if it made Ventus hate him. Of course, the weaker side of him didn't want to. It took him a moment of silence before he finally sighed and felt… strangely lighter.

"Ventus," began Ba'al, unable to look at him then. "I want you to know, before you leave …"

He mustered his resolve and looked over at the blond Hylian. "Thank you, and I want to reassure you that I don't have any leverage to use against Ganondorf… even if I am his son."

There was a sharp draw of breath from Farah and Jamal winced, both of them knowing Ba'al's secret. He swallowed nervously as Ventus stared at Ba'al for a second, as if looking through him, before blinking. He looked Ba'al up and down again before putting his hand on his chin.

"That makes sense," he said finally, slowly. "I didn't know he had any children, but I suppose Hylians wouldn't. Is the reason you didn't want to do your noble duties because you disagreed with Ganondorf?"

He wasn't angry? Some relief eased through Ba'al slowly. "Disagreed is an understatement, and there are plenty of other reasons to go with it."

"His son?" stated Eli almost curiously. "There's no illusion magic cast over you. I can also tell you've never had your gender changed by medical procedures. So you were born male. Gerudos only ever birth a male every hundred years, and last I counted that was Ganondorf. How are you his son by birth as well?"

Ba'al sighed then. How could he tell that? Those who made the change did so pretty seamlessly from what he heard. Was it a Sheikah thing? "Well, it might have to do with my mother being Hylian. The kings of the past didn't mate with them before."

"It also doesn't help that changing your gender to the correct one is looked down upon in Gerudo culture," Jamal muttered under his breath.

"Jamal," Farah hissed. "Not now."

Ventus, however, looked confused now. He looked between Eli and Ba'al, and back again, before seemingly nodding his head as if he understood what was being discussed.

"Well if I learned anything since the war started, a person's actions says more about their character than anything else including race and lineage," he said finally. "I've had people I trusted backstab me. There were people who were rough around the edges and a jackass put their life on the line to save another. The circumstances of your birth doesn't really matter. Your actions do.

"You've been nothing but kind and concerned about me, even if you didn't need to be. You've even been kind and also talked to Rini. I think that says a lot more about you than anything else. You're still my friend." He paused and then thought about it. "With you being essentially a prince, I also imagine that it's dangerous to stay as a symbol for people who disagree with Ganondorf."

Ba'al smiled softly. That went far better than he could have hoped. "I doubt they would welcome me with open arms."

"You're his son, but you say you have no leverage with him?" Eli asked.

"Well… we have a complicated relationship," said Ba'al, which was a vast understatement. "Let's just say he won't kill me, but that doesn't mean he will save me either if anything were to happen to me."

"So what's with Eiji then?" Ventus asked, gesturing toward the construct. "He said you didn't want him. Is he made of souls of those Ganondorf killed? Are you sure he's not a lich?"

Eiji had been keeping his attention on Eli for the most part, until the conversation turned to him. He turned his nearly solemn bronze gaze to Ventus as he asked his questions. Ba'al glanced toward him and then back to Ventus. Now was the time to explain.

"Eiji isn't a lich. He's a chimera," said Ba'al. "My father and the Crones created him. He was created from the lives of many people; some were Gerudo, some Hylian, even Goron and Zora. Ganondorf created him with the sole purpose of protecting his bloodline. His blood is in mine, so Eiji will always be bound to me."

Ventus gave Eiji a sad, pitying look before walking over and patting the construct on the shoulder awkwardly.

"I'm sorry you had to suffer," he said, though if he was saying that to Eiji or the souls, who knew with the Hylian boy who claimed Sheikah heritage. He then looked over to Ba'al. "At least he's with you. You two seem to get along well."

Eiji looked down at Ventus as he spoke, his gaze nearly curious. Ba'al smiled looking at the chimera. He was created to protect him, so maybe Ba'al could see his caring as only a byproduct of that, but still. Eiji cared more than his father ever did. After everything they went through together, he believed he did really care despite his nature. That was enough for Ba'al.

"Yeah, he's a pretty good guy really."

Ventus blew a hair out of his face, pushing the blond locks out of his eyes. His face wasn't nearly as pale as it was before, but blood, no doubt from his inability to sit still and rest, clung to his clothes and bandages which still hugged his small, muscular frame.

"So… what are you going to do?" he asked tentatively, looking back to Ba'al, and then sliding over to Farah and Jamal. He then glanced at North and Eli, though Jamal tugged his attention roughly away from Eli the second his gaze began to linger too long.

Ba'al paused thoughtfully. Ingo was still a problem. "I'm going to probably stay here until I can figure out what to do for Malon. I don't think it should be too hard. We do have an intimidating chimera after all. Unless …"

He looked to Eli in particular. "The resistance has a problem with that?"

The Sheikah shrugged. "My orders were to investigate Eiji's presence here and return with Ventus, nothing more."

"You know, I think between you two—" Jamal gestured toward Eiji and Eli thoughtfully. "Ingo would probably be terrified straight. Add that creepy ass mask, stare at him with your lovely uncomfortable eyes and have Eiji looming over, who wouldn't piss their pants?"

Ba'al paused thoughtfully again. That actually didn't seem like a bad idea. He looked to Eli, not meeting those eyes either, and raised a brow at him. "Well? Ventus isn't going to leave until he knows Malon is going to be okay here."

Eli nodded. "True. I'll assist."

Ventus and Farah grinned, and Ventus reached under the covers and took out the slip of paper they had been working on.

"Good. We have ideas."