| Okami/SH | A Sky Full of Stars | 1 - on - 1 |

Samickle responded only after she'd begun to dig into the stew, albeit she did so carefully. There wasn't a need to burn herself on top of everything else. Besides, just holding the bowl in her chilly hands felt better. When the shivers would go away finally, Kelly would rest easier.

Despite these thoughts, she pulled a face at Samickle's answer. No need? If not for him she'd be fumbling out there in that snow still, probably attacked by some wild animal even. Instead of mentioning that she chose to say "Mmm, if you say so..."

Silence didn't last long this time before he'd broken it again, promising to at least try to find answers. Honestly, Kelly wasn't too worried about the answers so much as what she was going to do now. There was no way she could keep staying with a stranger, mooching off of him or anyone else here. She'd think about what to do tomorrow, she decided, after some rest. Her head wasn't actually in the proper mindset for planning much of anything.

"It's fine if you don't," she managed between bites. "The effort is what counts." 'Especially since you're doing it for a weird stranger.'

The rest of the short time she was awake was spent mostly in silence. Kelly didn't mind too much, her thoughts whirling and her head aching. It would be a blessing when she finally found sleep, curled up near the fire, swathed in the thick blanket for the night.

----[x]----

Some time had passed with Peyote's company. Talk was small and relatively light in the duration of his wait for Serena to come wandering around. If she'd been tossed aside to fend for herself Mohammed thought Hao might be polite enough to give word on the matter. Mohammed had been the one to find and bring her here, after all.

Eventually Mohammed had left Peyote's company in favor of wandering the campsite of sorts that they'd set up. His thoughts were a jumbled mess and scowling at the ground only had prompted a curious look or two and Peyote prodding a time or so about it. Mohammed hadn't known what to tell him, not really, and so had taken to wandering instead to avoid trying to figure something out.

How long had he walked? It felt like only minutes until he glimpsed Serena walking as well, looking distracted. At her side, or rather on her shoulder, was that of the demon from earlier. Mohammed made a beeline for her, raising a hand in greeting while mostly ignoring the words of that demon.

"I see you’ve been free to wander around and stay then,” he said. Perhaps it was too obvious a thing to say but Mohammed hadn’t been sure what else to talk about to greet her.

He tipped his head slightly, listening to her as she spoke briefly. It wasn't much, but it was an answer. In those moments, Samickle wondered what was going through her mind at that time. Perhaps it was too clouded at this point to really say.

He waved her off easily. There had to be something, somewhere. It would just take time to dig it up. They had many legends, after all. If it was not here, he could simply seek out the Poncles.

"We will worry about things later," he said instead, "Tomorrow, if you are well enough, you may explore the village. I am sure many of the people will want to know what has happened."

Samickle had a responsibility to make sure everyone was informed. It surprised him that no one had started beating on his door just yet. In time, he knew he would hear something or other.

"You're looking better already, if I might say," he pointed out instead, "Not so frost bitten. I will leave the fire going overnight, however, just to make sure. You're so scrawny, it no wonder you'd gotten so cold so quickly."

That was only half of the problem. Samickle would have to find her suitable clothing as well, just to ensure she would stay warm over these long months. The cold would sap whatever warmth she had in such attire. Just another thing to attend to in the morning.

---- [ x ] ----

The demon, Mummy, pestered her here and there, as if he didn't want to stop reminding her that he had dropped her in this place, that it was him to cause her the stress. Hao had claimed this was a way for Mummy to grow stronger. He fed off of negative energy. What better person to feed off of than someone who already had major anxieties due to her past.

Yet, she couldn't get rid of him. He was tied to her somehow. That disturbed her the most. While the other demon, Prince, was quieter, Mummy was certainly going to make attempts on putting her stress level at maximum.

"Hey dummy, someone is lookin' for you," Mummy called out, catching her attention.

Serena blinked, glancing up to see Mohammed greeting her with a raised hand. His statement was somewhat expected. Perhaps he was trying to start casual conversation. She spared a small nod in response.

"Ah, yea, it seems that's the case," she finally answered, "Sorry...I didn't come back right away. I just needed some time to sort out my thoughts."

"Not that she's doing a good job of it."

Serena did her best to wave Mummy away, as if that would silence him before her attention was fully on Mohammed again. "Is everything alright? You look a little flustered," she commented. Something of a sentiment she could share right now.

Kelly couldn't be sure about what she dreamed about. She knew Samickle had spoken more after she'd drawn quiet and ate but she couldn't remember what about or if it was important. Heck, it might have even just been dreamed up for all she knew. All the same, Kelly tried to recall it all, even before the crash landing in this snowy place though it was all for naught.

Though no prior memories came to her, Kelly remained still, eyes closed and tried to doze off. She was delightfully warm, still wrapped tightly in that blanket. The crackling of the fire still reached her ears and something else... Were those muffled voices she heard? Now that she caught the sound Kelly listened harder though no words could be made out easily. She could recognize Samickle's voice at least but that was it.

Curious, Kelly forced herself up, the weight of the horns still heavy to her neck. Nonetheless she managed it, peering around blearily at the hut. With pale morning light peering in through whatever way it could and mingling with the glow of the fire, Kelly could more easily see the details upon all the books within Samickle's home. It almost appeared like he had nothing else here! Before she could observe much more of the tidy place a yawn escaped her. It was mid-yawn when Samickle entered his home again, mask still in place as it had been the night before.

"What's going on?" she managed finally, rubbing at her eyes.

----[x]----

Mohammed resisted a frown at the way the demon spoke. It sounded far too taunting for his liking though he wasn't about to try to start anything with it. He wasn't the type to, not unless necessary, even if he didn't like the way it was bullying Serena. He'd be sure to keep a close eye on the demon's behavior, if only for Serena's sake.

"Quite all right, though perhaps a distraction might serve you better," offered Mohammed.

If nothing else Mohammed might be able to buffer what might be said by that small demon. It was the best he could do right now. What else could be done about something so small? He'd rather not find out if pain the demon felt was linked to Serena as well...

In any rate, at least speaking to someone else might serve to aid Serena in ways she might not be aware of. It was worth a try, at least. Mohammed didn't like the idea of sitting around and letting someone deal with something like this on her own.

The night had gone quickly after that. Samickle had managed some sleep but mostly, he woke to attend to the fire and check on Kelly here and there. She seemed to have fallen into a deep slumber but other than that, appeared to be alright.

Before dawn, Samickle had left his home to deal with those who might have found the crater. As he suspected, many were up and waiting, asking questions. Samickle wasn't sure how to go about answering all of them but he assured their safety.

The day would not grow quiet even with that reassurance, he was sure. Even at his home, some were still coming to ask questions. Samickle would have to ask for guidance at some point...

He heaved a sigh as he walked back in, surprised to hear a voice call out. Kelly had woken, though still appeared groggy. She wrapped herself in the blankets, seeming unwilling to move from them.

"Many of the people are asking questions about what had happened," he explained to her, "I am unable to tell them the full answers but I have assured them that you have no intention of harming anyone. For the moment, this is all we have."

Silence fell around them again. Samickle wasn't often one for conversation and as such, this felt like new territory for him...Still, leaving the conversation to die down by simple explanation didn't see right either.

"I suppose I should find you something more suitable to wear..." he pointed out, "Perhaps then, we might introduce you to the village..."

---- [ x ] ----

Serena rubbed the back of her neck a little out of nervousness and a little out of awkwardness. This was a lot of change in such a short time. Her little 'partner' hadn't been helping much with that aspect but at least he was quieting down now...

"A little, yea," she replied, trying to spare a smile. In some way, she knew it was forced.

It was silent for a moment and as she realized this, Mummy sighed loudly. Serena mostly ignored him, instead clearing her throat.

"This is...a little over whelming so..." she started, "He...Hao told me a lot. I wasn't even aware that things like this still existed..."

It was a little hard to take in. She was shell shocked in some ways, especially knowing that it was Mummy who had made this happen. All so she might feel a little grief, so he could take form. She rubbed her arm at that thought, uncomfortable with it, and glanced at him again.

"You're all...really okay with this?" she asked as if she expected the answer to be 'no'. Why would it be? It was clear these people had one thing in mind, all hailing from from kind of broken past.

Maybe that was the right thing to do. Serena wasn't sure.

For a moment it almost seemed like Samickle wasn’t going to answer her, standing there and—presumably—observing her. It was with some relief when he finally did speak up. Ah, so it was morning already, or… was it later than that? Kelly found she had no way of knowing, no tell tale tick of a clock to gain her attention. As such she could only guess.

“Oh, okay,” she said simply. What more was there to say to that? Kelly didn’t think it deserved anything further.

The mood seemed thick with an awkward feeling, perhaps even a bit of tension. Kelly shifted, blankets still drawn around her small frame. What other topics might be spoken about escaped her. This was an unfamiliar place and with no memories to aid her properly she found herself quite uncertain of what to do or say. It was a feeling she found she didn’t like.

Maybe Samickle could sense this about her, or perhaps he merely felt awkward just standing there in the silence that had followed; either way, he was the one to break the silence. Kelly blinked, drawing the blanket away just enough to peer down at her clothes. They were radically different from his… Her frown deepened at that.

“I guess if it’s something warmer I wouldn’t mind,” she relented.

----[x]----

At the very least her demonic companion was quiet for the time being. Perhaps it was well aware that it was treading on thin ice, as the saying went. At least it wasn’t stupid. Too much prodding or one line crossed too many could end badly for it. Mohammed merely worried what it might do to Serena in the long run. Perhaps Hao intended to wait and see.

He shook his head, pushing the thought away for the time being. Dwelling on things without answer would do no one any good.

“From what I gather it must be quite a shock from what you are used to,” Mohammed agreed. He made no move to point out how forced her smile appeared, it might only strain her further. “There are many of us here who will have answers if you need more.”

So many came from the same background even if they were from all walks of life. Too often shamans were bullied and cast aside. Such things made it easy for them all to get along with one another once shamans met with each other, provided their goals lined up. This tournament only helped to prove that much to Mohammed.

“Why wouldn’t we be?” Mohammed asked in return to her next inquiry. There was hardly any reason for her to think otherwise. No one here had any intent to drive her away, if anything most were mildly curious or did not particularly care either way.

Kelly was quietly for a long while, as if trying to figure out what to say. Samickle tried not to let it bother him. By all means, he wasn't as great with these situations either. He had enough responsibility on his shoulders at the moment...

Her reply was rather blunt. Maybe she had yet to wake fully or maybe that's all she had to say. He couldn't really figure it out. He shook his head instead.

"It has warmed up some since last night," he replied after she had spoken again, "A bit of warmer clothing will help, however. Kai may have something you can borrow."

It was a stretch but the woman often wanted to help. She had a motherly aspect to her, after all. Kelly might find a friend in Kai.

"If you are ready, we can depart...unless you'd like to eat a little more before we go?"

It was rather late in the day. He did not rouse her simply because she needed the sleep. Samickle could only imagine what that kind of trip had done for her body and mind. Exhaustion was no doubt one of the biggest.

---- [ x ] ----

"That's an understatement, really," she tried to joke, "But...at least it's something...better."

She didn't go into detail, not yet. By all means, this man was a stranger. Serena didn't like the think of passed abuse or the fact that her anxiety was almost always shot. It wasn't easy for her to handle most days. Now? She wondered what would happen...

"Brave words for a little pacifist," Mummy commented, "But who knows! Maybe the aspects of ridding the world of humans appeals to you!"

And there it was, addressing that elephant in the room so bluntly. It really was hard to believe that these people, that this man, was comfortable with that thought. Could she be? Serena didn't have an answer to that yet.

"I..don't know. It just seems...drastic?" she answered, unsure if that was even the right word, "You could live with that blood on your hands?"

Serena wasn't sure she could. Even if Mummy had said it harshly, he was right, she was a pacifist. The thought of hurting anyone, intentional or not, left guilt weighing on her far too easily. For them, how would they deal with it when the time came?

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