Author's Note:First off, I want to apologize for disappearing without a trace for the past few months, due in part to getting swept away by the hype for Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and having come away from seeing it with very mixed feelings overall, I regret allowing myself to become excited for it like I had been and for allowing Influence of Empathy to fall to neglect. Also, I've been having a pretty rough time irl, so that's another reason for why I suddenly disappeared and, again, I apologize for this.

This chapter was also rather difficult to finish, as I'm not used to writing vampires at all, so I apologize if I get anything incorrect even though I'm drawing from the Netflix series rather than the games themselves due to being more comfortable with and preferring it in some aspects.

Lastly, I wanted to give a shout-out to a writer who probably no longer comes around, but her single work has had a big influence on my own writing since I read it eight years ago. Even if you guys don't really frequent the movies section of this site, I highly recommend giving Serena Inverse's The Turning Point a read.

Special thanks go out to my beta-readers, Ayaluki and CatSnievans, you guys are the best!

Disclaimer:As always, the Metroid franchise, the Super Mario Bros. franchise, the Pokémon franchise, the Super Smash Bros. franchise and all their respective characters are © Nintendo while the Castlevania franchise, its settings and characters are © Konami. My original character, Katja, belongs to me.

Summary: After his latest battle with his nemesis, Ridley crashlands in Wallachia, where he finds himself befriended to one of the local residents. Little does he realize the impact such a meeting will have on his life.

Warnings: Very AU, redemption fic, violence, language, OC, headcanon, eventual Ridley x OC (yep, I'm goin' there.)

Arc 1:
The Search For Simon

Chapter 7:
A Ring of Truth

The pair stood silently within the light of the steadily fading glow of the molten mess of metal as it cooled. Had he been less focused on faking his demise, Ridley would've noticed the several verbal missteps he'd made within the past five minutes, having said 'we' and 'us' rather than 'I' and 'me'.

That was the least of his worries at the moment, however, though it did tie in to what had been bothering him since the morning he'd allowed Katja to comfort him while... while he'd been...

Afraid? Vulnerable?

... Both?!

Damn it, he shouldn't have allowed her to comfort him! Trying to peg down these feelings of discomfort was beginning to drive him mad!

"Are you okay?" the human asked, moving to place a gentle hand on his arm, "you seem distracted."

"Yeah," he lied, forcing a reassuring smile as he met her gaze for a moment, "I'm just trying to think on the next course of action."

"Okay, I'll make one final sweep of the clearing to see if either of us missed any details," Katja replied, giving his arm a gentle pat before she turned and moved off towards the center of the place that had been their temporary home for the past week.

Once she was out of earshot, Ridley allowed himself to exhale deeply through his nostrils. Physical contact between them in general may not have made him feel revulsion anymore but, the rarer instances of prolonged contact still made him feel rather... awkward.

What is she doing to me...?

Gritting his teeth, Ridley gave his head a hard shake to dismiss the confused thought. There were more pressing matters to deal with at the moment, damn it!

I wonder... he thought silently, his tail twitching a bit as he turned to study his left wing. It had stopped hurting completely a couple of days ago, but the space dragon had been hesitant to remove the splint and bandages since he'd felt a bit of stiffness when he'd begun exercising his wings once the severe pain in his left wing had subsided enough to allow for such movement. Now, however, the appendage felt... better.

Ridley took a moment to steal a glance to see where Katja was (and if she was paying attention) before he began removing the bandages, allowing the light brown cloth to fall to a crumpled heap at his feet.

"Don't," Katja admonished, and he glanced over to see her reaching out to stop him, "you might hurt your wing!"

"My wing has recovered," he replied, not once faltering in his self-given task as he allowed the splint to drop to the ground as well before he moved to stretch his wings to their full span, his luminous eyes falling closed for a few seconds in bliss before he met her gaze. "I'll show you."

"Okay, but if it starts bothering you, please land," the girl replied, and he noticed the worry within her voice as she spoke. The space pirate merely grunted in acknowledgement to her words before he turned his attention towards the night sky, giving the leathery appendages a single hard flap as he kicked off into the air, his steady wingbeats carrying him higher.

He took a moment to glance down at the clearing, which was steadily growing farther away, and he blinked when he caught sight of a tiny pale form winging its way after him.

Katja's owl form, he realized as he leveled off into a lazy circle over the clearing in order to give his wings a rest. He looked about, finally seeing her flying behind him. Her wingbeats were completely silent, which was something that bothered him immediately along with the fact that, if he lost track of her visually, her tiny form would be difficult to quickly pick out again even with how her pale plumage stood out in the darkness. Sure, he could keep track of her by scent, but if the weather were to suddenly change on them during mid-flight, he would end up losing track of her completely, and this bothered him beyond belief.

"Going back," he called, and he frowned when her only reply was an unsettling screech. So, she couldn't even communicate in that avian form of hers? Sighing, Ridley spilled air from his wings before he began a spiral back down to the clearing, his claws leaving shallow furrows in the ground when he landed, which he immediately dealt with.

Another screech caught his attention, and he turned to see Katja's owl form swooping towards him, talons outstretched. Without thinking, the space dragon raised an arm, which the currently shapeshifted girl landed upon lightly, her talons feeling odd against his hard scales as her feet grabbed onto him for support, her pale wings flapping rapidly a few times for balance before folding against her sides as she settled down.

This doesn't feel right, he thought, his amber gaze never leaving the avian as he watched her preen herself. I know this bird is Katja, but something about this is... off.

Not only that, but Ridley preferred Katja when she was in her true form even though she was earthbound, and... a human. It just didn't feel right to him for his friend to be confined to a tiny form incapable of worded communication. Katja was sentient, this barn owl was not.

In short, he wanted Katja with him on this journey, not some avian; which meant that he was going to have to... carry... her.

It also wouldn't kill you to thank her, that part of his mind added, this would be a way of doing so without you having to tarnish your pride by vocalizing it.

"Katja, change back," Ridley commanded, choosing to ignore 'Gray Voice' even though he knew that the chozo did have an idea... albeit an awkward one.

The currently shape-shifted magic-user tilted her head to one side as she blinked at him, and Ridley found both actions unsettling. She made an odd, soft vocalization before she hopped off his arm and fluttered to the ground nearby. Her reversion back to her true form was quick, taking only a couple of seconds before the human reached down to dust a bit of imaginary dirt from her right pant leg.

"What's wrong?"

The space pirate commander saw her blink when, instead of verbally answering her, he moved to crouch low to the ground, his amber eyes fixed upon her hazel ones.

"Ridley... are you sure?"

"I am," he replied with a nod, "your owl form is too small and quiet for me to keep track of at night."

"It's how the species evolved," she countered, "but you've got a point there."

He watched her approach until she stopped a mere foot away from his right side, her brow furrowing in confusion as she gripped the strap of her satchel tightly.

"Um, where do I...?"

"Sit on my back," he explained, keeping his tone patient, "behind my wings."

"Okay," she replied softly, her voice holding a note of embarrassment, and he arched an eyeridge when she proceeded to walk around him before he realized that she'd done so in order to keep from accidentally kicking him in his still injured side, and he silently appreciated her concern.

"Use my arm as a step if you need it," he added, "you won't break it... I hope."

The last part was added with a teasing note and he smirked when he heard Katja give an annoyed huff, knowing that she was glaring at him for the quip. He remained as still as possible when he felt her swing herself up onto his back, and he felt a sense of gratitude when he noticed that she was careful about resting her leg too heavily against his left side as she settled down on the spot he'd pointed out to her.

"I didn't need to," she retorted, her tone indignant. "Don't make fun of a woman's weight, it's very rude."

Ridley's only reply was a snort of laughter, though he wondered if using such a tactic against the Hunter would work. She was a female human as well, after all.

Nah, not worth the hit to my dignity, he concluded silently, smirking for a moment before he rose to all fours, keeping his movements slow so he wouldn't cause his passenger to go toppling from his back.

"So," he asked, turning his head to look back at her, "in which direction is this Transylvania?"

"That way," she replied, pointing towards the mountains that he could see far off in the distance when he turned his head to follow the gesture. "Towards the Southern Carpathian Mountains. Transylvania lies just beyond them."

"Along with the one you seek," he finished, his tone oddly soft before he cleared his throat. "Brace yourself, then. We leave now."

Though he knew that he could just kick off into the air, Ridley didn't want to risk jarring the girl and, so, the lanky dragon began to run forward upon all fours in order to gain the speed and momentum he needed before he spread his wings to catch the wind and launched himself up into the cloudy ink-black sky.

Katja kept a firm hold of Ridley's scaly hide as the draconic beast rose into the air after taking a running start, which was an action she appreciated. As they climbed higher, she took a moment to glance down and watch as the clearing fell farther and farther away until it was swallowed altogether by the vast expanse of forest; and she waited until Ridley had leveled off before giving a shout of joy.

"Are you all right?" the dragon asked, turning his head to look back at her, and Katja couldn't help but be amused at how concerned he sounded. Did he honestly believe she was scared?

"Of course I am," she replied, unable to help but laugh when Ridley furrowed his brow in confusion at her tone. "This is way better than flying as an owl!"

I don't know why I thought she'd be afraid, the space pirate thought to himself with a mental facepalm. She's used to flying.

It's natural to show concern for someone you care about, Ridley, 'Gray Voice' stated, and the lanky dragon felt himself inwardly bristling at the chozo's assumption.

What?! You seriously believe I care about her?! Don't be ridiculous!

"Are you okay?" Katja asked, startling the dragon from his mental argument. "Do we need to stop so you can rest your wing?"

"No. I'm fine," he replied, glancing back at her for a second, "I've never been better."

"I'm glad," she replied warmly before she pointed upward, "do you think we could fly closer to the clouds? I've always been curious about what they're made of."

"You'll be surprised," he replied cryptically as he began to climb higher. "I warn you, though, the air is thinner at higher altitudes. If it gives you trouble, tell me and I'll bring us back down."

"I will, thank you, Ridley."

He grunted in acknowledgement, and he heard Katja gasp loudly when they'd flown close enough to one of the larger clouds for the human to reach out and touch the vaporous substance.

"Something wrong?"

"Not really," she replied, and he looked back to see her shaking her hands. "I didn't expect it to be so wet."

"That's what clouds are, Katja," he explained, though he couldn't help but smirk at her surprise. "Dry air and water. Ones at higher altitudes have a more icy composition."

He blinked when she fell silent, though he immediately noticed that she was giving the clouds an aside glance - something she tended to do whenever she was deep in thought.

"What are you up to?"

"I want to try something, if that's okay?" she asked, and he arched an eyeridge at her following request: "Could you stop and hover by that smaller cloud for a bit?"

"I can, yes," he confirmed, though part of him was half-expecting Samus's ship to suddenly come tearing out of the nearby cloudscape, guns blazing. "As long as it doesn't waste too much time."

"It shouldn't, thank you," she replied, patting his back with a hand as the space dragon moved them into position. He kept his attention upon the slender girl currently seated upon his back as she closed her eyes and raised her hands in front of her face. She remained still for a few seconds in concentration before she opened her arms in a sweeping gesture, the familiar appearance of what he now recognized as water magic glowing softly at her fingertips.

Ridley turned to look back in time to see the white mass of cloud beginning to shift and move, the sight causing his eyes to widen in amazement as a shape slowly began to form. He felt her shifting slightly on her perch, knowing that she was performing gestures associated with casting her spells.

"Could we move a few feet to the right?" she asked, and the space pirate commander realized that he'd been staring open-mouthed like an idiot.

"Yeah, hold on," he replied, giving his head a hard shake to clear the cobwebs before he flapped his wings and moved to where she indicated when he asked her to point it out, before once again pausing to hover. After what felt like close to an hour of the magic-user casting and periodically asking Ridley to move them to a different position near the cloud, Katja patted his back and announced that she was finished.

The cloud had been sculpted into an animal Ridley had never seen before, and he tilted his head to one side as he studied it. The cloud sculpture was something quadrupedal, though it was seated with its tail curled around its paws while looking over its right shoulder. He could make out a pair of erect triangular ears near the top of the head as well as a short muzzle and a pair of large almondine eyes.

"What is it?"

"It's a cat," she replied, though she wrinkled her nose, "or it's supposed to be one, anyway. I wasn't able to do too much detail so it looks rather indistinct."

"I'm sure with practice you'll be able to add finer details," he assured her and when she smiled at him, he felt a strange surge of warmth within his chest that was drastically different than the vice-grip pain he'd been experiencing lately. While this equally strange feeling didn't hurt per se, it still made him feel confused and uncomfortable.

"I'm happy you believe so," Katja replied warmly, "thank you."

"Yeah," the space dragon replied before he looked away and coughed. "I'm going to find a place to land and rest for a bit. My wing's beginning to bother me a little."

"Okay," she replied softly, "let me erase this first so that Hunter you told me about won't have anything to go by."

"Good idea," the draconic beast commended and he fell silent as the girl used her magic to return the cloud to normal, though he noticed that her breathing was becoming a bit more heavy. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, just tired," she explained, "if I cast too many of my stronger spells in a short amount of time for something I haven't done before, I'll tire more quickly because it takes much more concentration than for something I'm used to. I just need to rest for a bit, but I promise I'll be okay."

Something she's used to... like fighting, the dragon realized, remembering that the two times he'd seen her cast during combat earlier that week, she hadn't seemed fazed at all afterward - even after she'd raised and frozen that wave at the river.

"Very well," Ridley replied with a nod, "brace yourself, I'm going to start looking for a place for us to rest."

"Okay, I'll help you look," she added, and when she was once again firmly holding on to him, the space pirate dove to a lower altitude not only to help Katja recover easier but so he could have a better time at spotting a place to rest without having to worry about his vision being obscured by clouds.

After about half an hour of searching, Ridley spotted a lake within a clearing that was half the size of the one they'd temporarily lived in together. He pointed it out to Katja, and she agreed that it was a good place for them to stop and rest.

"Landing," the space dragon informed as he banked into the beginnings of a spiral, "brace yourself."

Katja kept a firm hold of his violet scales, and the pair searched the clearing for any signs of occupation before he landed lightly on the ground and crouched down, allowing the young woman to hop down from his back.

"Do you need me to apply the medicine?" she asked, quickly ducking away when Ridley moved to extend his wings so she wouldn't be knocked off her feet.

"It wouldn't hurt," he replied, rolling his shoulders a bit as he tried to stretch his sore flight muscles.

Katja remained silent as she summoned a small ball of fire to help her see better, given how the moon was now waning since it had been full the night she'd first met Ridley. With her impromptu light source hovering nearby, the magic-user unshouldered her satchel and opened it before fishing out her jar of herbal medicine. Inwardly, she felt guilty for the dragon's current state of discomfort since he'd carried her during his first long flight. She'd been perfectly content to fly with him as an owl, but knowing exactly how damn stubborn he could be, she'd decided against fighting him on the matter as they would still be back at the clearing where he'd crashed a week prior trying to out-stubborn one another on how they should travel rather than making any sort of progress.

She shook her head in exasperation at the whole thing, softly sighing Ridley's name under her breath before she stood up with her jar of medicine in hand.

"Could you lie down so I can reach your wing?" she asked when she turned to face him. The dragon gave no verbal reply to her request, but he moved to lie down, his left wing spread to its full span. The magic-user felt his gaze locked to her as she approached and set to work, carefully rubbing the herbal concoction into the base of his wing before she was hit by a sudden idea.

"What are you- ooh..."

She couldn't help but smirk a little in amusement when Ridley's question was suddenly cut off, but she didn't allow his reaction to hinder her concentration as she worked the medicine into his stiff flight muscles, all the while doing what she could to work the kinks out of them without causing the dragon too much discomfort, however, the way he was arching his back towards her voiced that he was enjoying her treatment.

"I take it you've never had a massage before?" the magic-user asked, pausing for a moment when she spoke.

"No, but it's helping," he replied, his eyes closing halfway as he moved to rest his head against one of his forearms. "Could you... massage my other wing when you're finished?"

"Of course," Katja replied warmly, and she gently patted his back when she finished massaging his left wing before she paused to grab her jar and then moved around to his right side. The dry leaf litter crunched underneath the soles of her boots and she cursed when she tripped on a small stone that was hidden by the debris, having to brace against Ridley in order to catch herself before she fell.

"Sorry," she muttered, embarrassment washing over her in a wave when the dragon opened an eye fully to stare at her, his eyeridge arching in a silent question as to why she was leaning against him without permission. "I tripped."

He said nothing on the matter, and she waited patiently as the space pirate moved to stretch a bit before he once again settled down with a sigh, folding his left wing against his back in order to rest it before he extended his right one to its full span for her.

"Mm... you're so good to me..." he rumbled softly, his words causing her to smile sadly at him as she worked her medicine into the sore flight muscles. If his fellow Space Pirates treated him so poorly in regards to his health and physical condition in spite of his kinship with them, why would he choose to stay? She kept this question to herself, though, not wanting to strike a chord with the reptilian beast again, given how upset it had made him before.

Holding back a sigh, the magic-user turned her attention back to his wing and, after stealing a quick glance towards Ridley to see if he was paying attention, she reached out to gently touch the colorful, leathery membrane in hopes of sating her curiosity. In the firelight, she could make out the expanse of rich magenta, of which was accented near the trailing edges by a shade of deep saffron, both colors complimenting the smoky purple of his scales.

It was... strangely beautiful.

"Is there something fascinating about my wing?"

Katja gasped and froze when she suddenly heard Ridley's voice right next to her ear, his warm breath puffing against the side of her neck as he spoke.

"Sorry," she replied, and Ridley tilted his head quizzically at the embarrassment in her tone and, it could've just been a trick of the firelight, but he thought he saw the barest hint of a blush coloring her face as she explained herself. "I just wanted to see what it felt like, that's all."

"Then say something before you do it," he scolded, "I don't like it when someone touches me without a hint of forewarning."

"I'll remember that," she murmured, her voice soft as she gently placed her entire palm against the leathery surface of his wing membrane, and the space dragon's brow furrowed at this action. "And to answer your question, yes, I find them fascinating. The mix of colors is beautiful, like a sunset."

These are not my original wings, yet... He blinked slowly at her, taken aback by her words. She finds them to be... beautiful?

Not used to being complimented, are you, 'Gray Voice' stated, and Ridley looked away to cough into a clawed hand as a wave of what he could only describe as awkwardness washed over him.

"I'm... going hunting," he informed after a moment of uncomfortable silence as he rose to his feet and shook himself lightly. "Be ready to leave when I return."

"Okay," the girl replied, giving his wing a gentle pat before he heard her boots crunching in the leaf litter as she backed away in order to give him room. "Be careful."

Katja smiled when Ridley turned his head to meet her gaze as he gave a single nod, the action equal to a verbal reply and more than enough for her. When he rose into the air, she had to raise an arm to shield her face from the dead leaves that, along with her long hair and her cloak, were whipped about by the backdraft from his wingbeats. Silently, she watched as his lanky form grew smaller as he flew away from the clearing, before eventually fading into the night sky entirely.

The next time I watch him fly away may be the last, the human thought with a deep sigh, pulling her gaze away from where she'd last seen him, knowing that she needed to prepare herself for when they would part ways for good. As difficult as he is, I'll miss him.

Wordlessly, the young woman bent down to retrieve her jar of medicine before she replaced the lid and carefully placed it in her satchel. She dug around the pack for a moment before producing the bandages she'd retrieved while Ridley had been stretching his wings earlier that night. Even though he no longer needed them or the splint, Katja preferred to keep them as a precaution, just in case either of them were to encounter a mishap later on.

After closing her satchel and slinging the strap over one shoulder, the girl moved to the edge of the nearby lake, where she once again set the container down before she focused on washing the bandages. While she remained on edge, she felt assurance that Ridley wasn't too far from this clearing and that the water from the lake gave her a ready source for her water magic, thus eliminating the need for her to conjure ice first.

She was just starting on cleaning the second bandage when her impromptu light source abruptly fizzled out, the sudden darkness causing the young woman to freeze instinctively. The only time her magic would ever just cut out like that was if there was something nearby that could block it. Witch hunters tended to utilize such, and Katja had forced herself to learn how to counter them early on during her time on the run, sometimes with rather unconventional methods, in order to destroy the source so she could properly dispatch her pursuers.

And so, she forced herself to remain calm in spite of the fact that her heart was now racing in her chest like a trapped bird's as she pretended to continue washing the bandage, feigning ignorance to the fact that whomever else was here didn't realize that she knew of their presence.

Behind her came the soft sound of leaves being disturbed by someone trying to sneak, and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle and stand on end as she twisted the water-laden bandage tightly and pretended that she was going to wring out the access liquid before, without so much as a warning, she suddenly turned and lashed out with the impromptu weapon like a whip.

A cry of pain rewarded her efforts as the humanoid shape behind her stumbled back a few steps while clutching at its face. Wasting no time, Katja rose to her feet and bolted as fast as her legs could carry her, aiming to lose her would-be captor within the safety of the nearby treeline as she called out:

"RIDL-"

Her cry was cut short when she suddenly felt herself pitching forward, the air forcefully driven from her lungs as she hit the ground hard.

"A clever tactic, bitch," came a masculine voice from somewhere to her right, "but it won't be enough to save you this time."

Katja grimaced, forcing herself up onto her forearms before she rolled over onto her back, a pained groan leaving her as she sat up. She saw rope wrapped tightly around her calves, a small weight tied securely to both ends and she felt panic welling up inside her when she realized that there was no way she'd be able to free herself before her pursuers caught up to her.

She had to try, though. Luckily, the bolas hadn't been aimed at her arms, so she drew her dagger and set to cutting the restraints. She mentally scolded herself for not bringing the piece of shrapnel she'd saved from when Ridley had destroyed the remnants of his ship, though, knowing that it would've done a far better job than the softer silver blade she had to work with.

"Hurry and restrain her before the dragon returns," came a second voice, also male, and her eyes widened in shock. "There's no way we'll be able to take them both on, even with the hag stone suppressing the girl's magic!"

They knew about Ridley?! How?!

"You've evaded us for far too long, water witch," a third voice, this time female, drawled from very close to her left, and Katja turned her head in time to see a tall humanoid fade into sight. "Luckily for you, one of my Lady's new allies wishes for you to be captured alive, as he is rather interested in your abilities."

Grimacing, the girl lashed out with her blade, only to miss as the other woman easily side-stepped the attack before, with inhuman speed, she reached out and roughly grasped Katja's forearm and squeezed, forcing the magic-user to relinquish her grip on the hilt of the dagger before the weapon fell harmlessly to the ground at her immediate left.

"You and you, bind her with the iron shackles," the woman snapped as she roughly pulled Katja to her feet, and the girl felt her blood run cold when she caught sight of the barest glimpses of sharp fangs as the other humanoid issued commands to her lackeys.

The woman was clad in plated steel armor, her night-black hair falling to just above her shoulders. She was paler than Katja, what could be seen of her skintone being rather pallid in appearance, but it was the color of the armor that drew the girl's attention the most, the silver hue silently voicing the creature's allegiance...

As one of Carmilla's soldiers.

Katja's time on the run was up, and she felt tears beginning to prick at the corners of her eyes from the realization that she wouldn't be escaping this time, and that she would never see the few people she cared for again.

Mama... Celes... Ridley... I was careless... I'm so sorry...

Not far from their current stop, Ridley had fought and slain a bear, though not without the mammalian beast having scored a good hit to his chest and left arm with its long, hooked claws. While the bandages wrapped around his chest and midsection had lessened the blow dealt there, the cloth had still been mangled a fair bit, and Ridley had toyed with the thought of just discarding them before deciding against it.

The lanky space dragon couldn't help the grin that split his thin jaws as he tucked in, knowing that Katja was probably going to verbally lambaste him for getting hurt again while his side was still mending. He knew her anger towards him wouldn't last, though, before she would tend to him with the gentle care that he'd grown to enjoy.

It's worth it, though, he thought as he ate, bear tastes delicious, and these injuries are nothing but mere papercuts in comparison to most of the shit I've been through.

He'd just eaten his fill and had been about to cut off a portion of the meat to take back to Katja when a sudden feeling of wrongness fell over him, causing the space pirate commander to blink and look about. It persisted, and he glanced back in the direction of the clearing, feeling his chest tighten as he realized that his friend was in danger.

He then heard a scream - his name - come from the same direction, only for it to be abruptly cut off.

"Katja!"

He took off, running on all fours while keeping his wings tightly tucked against his sides as he dodged and weaved around the trees, for once grateful for his lanky build. Flying was too risky, even this late at night, as he knew that his wingbeats would draw attention to him, so he would have to utilize a more stealthy approach if he wanted minimal harm to come to the girl.

As he drew nearer to the treeline that led into the small clearing, Ridley slowed himself to a crawl before he slunk forward, keeping himself as quiet as he could while trying his best to keep from disturbing the damned leaves that blanketed the ground. He paused when he could see into the clearing, where he counted three humans: two men and a woman.

Katja, he thought worriedly when he saw her lying on the ground, and a low growl left him as he saw the woman roughly haul the magic-user to her feet.

It was time to get to work, and Ridley smiled as he allowed his natural camouflage to hide him from view before he, while carefully minding his steps to keep noise minimal, slowly began to slink into the clearing behind the three strange humans before he closed his eyes to keep their natural luminescence concealed, as it would be a dead giveaway of his whereabouts in the darkness. While he rarely used his camouflage for actual combat, he felt he didn't really have a choice in this situation; plus, with the darkness forcing him to rely upon his senses of smell, hearing and touch (to a lesser extent) rather than his sight, he was practically going to be fighting blind.

"Fucking shit," he heard one of the men growl, and Ridley scented fresh blood, which told him that the human had been wounded recently. "That bitch nearly took my eye with the stunt she pulled."

You're about to lose more than that, the dragon thought as he felt a surge of pride towards his friend for being able to wound one of her captors without resorting to the use of her magic, and he waited as the second, uninjured man began to walk off towards the sound of the woman's voice, the sound of metallic jingling coming to Ridley's ears, which told him that the second man was holding some sort of archaic restraining device.

The dragon seized his chance, lunging for the wounded man and practically blindsiding him before snapping his neck in one swift motion. The second man, who'd only moved a few feet away by this point, stopped and, by the sound of the leaf litter crunching underneath his boots, had whirled around to face his now dead comrade, giving Ridley the precise moment to strike.

I can't afford to be sloppy this time, he thought as he lashed out with his tail, aim for the heart.

"What th-"

The man's surprised comment was cut off when he suddenly convulsed once before both the sounds of his knees giving out and his body slumping to the ground came to Ridley's ears, and he withdrew his tailblade, the tell-tale feel of warm blood splashing over his tail telling the reptilian beast that his aim had been spot on this time. Normally, he hated making such clean kills but, with the two men dealt with, the space pirate commander would be certain to make up for it by tearing the remaining human apart at his leisure.

"What is going on?!" the woman snarled, and Ridley grinned, lightly stepping round the two corpses as he prepared to deal with his last foe. He heard the dull thud of someone hitting the ground, knowing that the woman had finally released her hold on Katja, before the ring of steel sounded in the air as the armored human drew what sounded like a bladed weapon to the space dragon, probably a similar one that the rather feminine-looking man had used against him during that encounter between them a week prior.

Something's... off... about her scent, he thought as he curled his upper lip, something similar to that blond-haired man, but... what?

"I know you're there, lizard," the armor-clad female snapped, "show yourself!"

Ridley snarled under his breath, the insult making him want to fry her right then and there, but with how close he knew she was standing to Katja, his plasma would more than likely get her as well, so, that option was currently out. Plus, there was all this fucking leaf litter strewn about, and he knew that setting the clearing aflame would practically be like erecting a giant neon sign for Samus that advertised his exact whereabouts.

Try to find me, weakling, he thought, sneering as he slowly moved to the left of the bodies, his attention locked onto the dark-haired human as he attempted to lure her away from his friend. Still, it bothered him to know that, somehow, this woman knew he was here, even with him being practically invisible and having been silent in killing the two men.

Mostly silent, 'Gray Voice' corrected him smugly, one did voice a warning before you slew him. So, that's how she knows.

Shut up, bird, Ridley snapped inwardly, I don't need your shit right now!

Katja had wisely remained silent, so as to keep from giving the dragon's position away when he'd slain the two witch hunters. It was too dark for her to see well without her fire for a light source, and Ridley was currently keeping his luminous eyes mostly if not completely closed to keep himself concealed within the darkness, so she was unable to pinpoint her friend's location accurately. She flinched when the vampiress released her suddenly, unable to keep her balance thanks to the bolas still tightly wrapped around her lower legs, and she grimaced as she fell onto her side.

Her captor then drew her longsword, the ring of steel causing the girl to grit her teeth against the cacophony of sound and she cried out when the woman suddenly turned and backhanded the magic-user across the face with her free hand.

"I'll kill her if you don't reveal yourself!"

No you won't, Katja thought, coughing and spitting out a bit of blood along with a molar that had been knocked loose. The girl worked her jaw in order to make sure it hadn't been broken, and she was grateful that the vampire had chosen to hold back most of her strength, rattled teeth being the worst of it. You have your orders. Besides, you're just a lowly soldier: a vampire on the lower rungs of the hierarchy. Otherwise, one dragon wouldn't have you so on edge.

The glint of metal caught her attention, and Kaja saw her dagger laying next to her, though she made no move to reach for it... yet. In order to keep from drawing attention to herself, she would wait to finish cutting the bolas until Ridley and her captor were engaged in combat before, even with her magic currently negated, the young woman would do what she could to help her friend.

Ridley clenched his teeth to keep himself from roaring when he heard his friend cry out in pain, knowing that the woman had struck her in an attempt to goad him into revealing himself. He lashed his tail when the far-off scent of blood came to his nostrils, anger surging through him at the realization that Katja had been hurt. As much as he yearned to unleash his rage onto his foe for daring to harm the girl, he forced himself to continue playing the waiting game. She was bluffing, of that he was completely certain, knowing that if her employer didn't want her to bring Katja back alive, she would already be dead.

That's how it worked, after all.

An idea came to him, then, and the space pirate took another step though, this time, he deliberately made sure to make as much noise as he could as he heard the dry leaves crunch underneath his foot.

That's it, he thought, smiling when he heard the woman turn towards the direction of the noise, her armor a dead giveaway to his sharp hearing, and he fought down the urge to laugh when the idiot suddenly charged. As I predicted.

He tensed as he waited for her to close the distance, and when only a few feet separated them, Ridley nimbly leapt to the left before he opened his eyes and allowed his natural camouflage to drop, grinning like a mad thing when she slashed out with her weapon, the blade whistling through the air as it caught nothing but empty space.

For someone clad in a suit of metal, she was fast, he gave her that, however, she was also foolish.

"There you are," the vampiress hissed, crimson eyes narrowing as she snapped her gaze towards the sound of crunching leaves. The reptile had become careless, so she now had a pinpoint on its position in spite of its natural invisibility.

From the half hour she and the two witch hunters she'd hired to accompany her on this mission had spied on the pair with the aid of the vampiress's own invisibility spell, the dragon that accompanied the witch wasn't very large (around halfway over six or so feet while on all fours and merely reaching ten and a half feet whenever it would raise up onto its back legs) and it held more resemblance to a gargoyle than to an actual dragon of legend.

And I'll be the one to kill it in order to eradicate what hope the water witch has left, she thought, smirking as she prepared herself for the battle ahead, then Lady Carmilla will be certain to give me a promotion!

Without another moment of hesitation, the soldier charged in the direction of where she'd heard the noise, her longsword poised and ready before she stopped and brought the blade up in an arc... only for it to hit nothing.

"Where are you?!" she snarled, her confidence once again faltering as she quickly glanced around, and her eyes widened when they met a pair of luminous amber eyes that suddenly materialized to her immediate left, quickly followed by the rest of the beast's emaciated-looking form.

"Right here," it purred, its voice masculine in tone as it - he, with a speed that matched her own, grabbed her by the right arm, the groan of bending metal sounding in her ears before the creature suddenly yanked on the appendage and she heard the crunch of steel armor and bone, along with the tearing of flesh as her arm was ripped from its socket, her fingers still curled tightly around the hilt of her longsword as the beast tore the limb in two at the elbow joint before nonchalantly tossing both halves to one side.

Sneering in spite of the pain, she struck out with her remaining arm, only for the reptile to lean out of her reach, and she felt more pain erupt through her abdomen before she glanced down to see the creature's skeletal tail sticking out of her stomach, knowing that the bladed tip was now protruding out through her back.

"Now that I have your complete attention," the lanky beast drawled on, his thin maw parted in a smirk of delight as he spoke again, "I'm going to ask a few questions."

She laughed before grabbing his tail with her remaining arm, and she saw him arch an eyeridge when she pulled herself closer to him, her crimson eyes steadily meeting his before she hissed out, "What's the matter? Never seen a vampire before?"

"No," he replied, his brow furrowing for a few seconds in what she figured was confusion, which made her smile in spite of the fact that her own blood was running down her chin with every word spoken. What confusion the dragon felt was soon replaced by indifference as he spoke again, his voice holding a note of fury underneath the calm tone: "But you're resilient, which is somewhat intriguing. Now, answer me this: why are you hunting Katja?"

"So, the witch has a name, hmm?"

"Why are you hunting Katja?" he repeated, his tone telling her that his patience was thinning, only for the vampiress to spit a mouthful of blood in his face. He roared in anger, and she laughed again when he tore her remaining arm from its socket and threw this one aside without bothering to tear it in two as he'd done with its counterpart. "Tell me!"

"Why don't you ask her?" she countered once, as soon as it had manifested, his fit ended. "I'm certain she'd be more willing to tell you, if she hasn't done so already, anyway. But, if she had, you wouldn't be asking me now, would you?"

She smiled once again when she saw his eyes widen in a mix of emotions she didn't care to decipher. So, the little human wretch hadn't told him about the artifact she'd been safeguarding for these past two years? How interesting.

While the brief fight and current exchange between Ridley and the vampire had been taking place, Katja had reclaimed her dagger and finished freeing herself from the bolas. The blade of her dagger was beginning to look a bit worn, and she made a mental note to sharpen it when she got the chance. Her left forearm still throbbed from where the woman had roughly grabbed her earlier, but nothing felt broken and her bracer still felt intact, so she figured the vampiress had held back her strength then as well. Her right cheek also hurt from where she'd been struck, and she was glad that the hit hadn't been enough to break her jaw. Still, Katja made a mental note to inspect it as soon as she could, once the vampiress had been dealt with.

Silently, the magic-user sheathed the silver weapon before she pulled herself to her feet and made her way back to the edge of the lake where she'd left her satchel and the bandages she'd been cleaning when she'd been captured. The hag stone had yet to be dealt with, meaning that her magic was still being blocked, and Katja grit her teeth in frustration as she felt around in her bag before her fingers closed around what she'd been seeking. She took a moment to feel the object, making sure that it was indeed what she was after, and a hiss of triumph left her when she felt that one end was a sharp point.

Pulling the oak stake from her satchel, Katja closed the bag and slung the strap over her shoulder before she once again rose to her feet and turned to face where Ridley and the vampire were. Even though she'd been forced to kill other people in order to keep herself safe, the young woman felt unsettled by how casually Ridley was pulling the armor-clad humanoid apart, and while the magic-user couldn't clearly see what was going on (at least not currently), she could still hear it, and this, she felt, was worse.

A sudden roar of anger from the dragon made Katja pause, and she waited till Ridley had once again calmed himself before she dared to approach.

"Well, look who's come to join us," the vampire drawled before she coughed, and Katja narrowed her eyes at the other woman before she turned her attention to her friend and held the stake towards him, a smirk forming on her lips when she heard the dark-haired humanoid hiss softly at the sight of the weapon.

"And this is for...?" Ridley asked as he hesitantly took it.

"Killing her permanently," the girl replied, trying to keep her voice from trembling, feeling quite unnerved by this close call. "Stab it through her heart."

She saw her friend smile, and a shiver crawled down her spine at the sheer delight brimming within the expression.

He's enjoying this a little too much, Katja thought grimly as she ran a hand through her brownish-blond hair, but she forced herself to watch as Ridley effortlessly tore off the vampiress's breastplate with his free hand before he slowly pushed the sharpened tip of the stake through the gambeson she wore underneath, the quilted cloth jacket doing little to protect its wearer. There were the sounds of flesh tearing and bone snapping as he pushed the stake into the soldier's chest, only to stop when she gasped out: "Remember... what... I said..."

Katja froze, her eyes wide at the realization that Ridley would now want to know her darkest secret, which she'd hoped to spare him of ever learning. Now, however, this option looked bleak, and this was confirmed when the space dragon stared at the soldier as if she'd magically regrown her arms before he sneered and shoved the stake completely through her, the sharp end erupting out of her back as the vampire coughed up blood and began rapidly decomposing, her legs giving out when the violet-scaled reptile finally pulled his tail free from where it had been impaled through her abdomen, blood splattering everywhere with the movement.

Wordlessly, Katja moved back and raised her arm to shield herself from the worst of it before she moved to where she saw the vampire's longsword laying on the ground. Grimacing, she reached down and pried the fingers from the hilt before she lifted the weapon, using both hands to grip it before she turned her attention back to where Ridley and the vampire's body were, a sigh leaving her when she saw that he'd moved off a few paces and had his back to her, his partially bloodstained tail lashing slowly as he tried to keep himself calm.

Even though she's not a higher vampire like Carmilla, I'm not taking any chances, the magic-user thought as she moved closer to the body a few steps before she braced her footing and, with a grunt, she used every ounce of her strength to swing the blade in a horizontal arc to lop the woman's head from her shoulders, only dropping the sword when she heard the head hit the ground, where it rolled to a stop a few inches from the body, which slumped to the ground on one side.

Katja took a deep breath and stepped around the ghastly sight before she slowly approached her friend.

I have to tell him...

"Stay away," he snapped when he heard the girl's footsteps coming closer to where he was currently sat, and he turned to glare at her over his shoulder, his tail lashing quickly once for emphasis.

"Ridley," she called, and he clenched his teeth when the so-called 'vampire's' words from a few minutes ago slithered through his mind:

"Why don't you ask her? I'm certain she'd be more willing to tell you, if she hasn't done so already, anyway. But, if she had, you wouldn't be asking me now, would you?"

"Ridley, I'm sorry," Katja's soft voice pulled him from his brief reverie, and he sneered at her apology.

"Are you?" he spat as he felt his anger spike and he rose to his feet before he turned to face her, his wings half-raised in a show of aggression as he stalked towards her. "Are you?! I don't take well to being lied to, human! I don't take well to it at all!"

Says the hypocrite, that part of his mind sneered.

Fuck you! Ridley snarled back silently, I clearly remember that you also lied to me, so you have no god damned right to call me a fucking 'hypocrite'!

"I am," she replied gently, only to cry out when he suddenly lunged forward and grasped her roughly by the upper arms, his amber eyes burning into her currently wide hazel ones as he hissed out: "Then tell me quickly."

"I'll show you," she replied, her voice wracked with pain. Hesitantly, Ridley released the girl, the roughness of the action causing her to stumble back a couple of steps, and he set his jaw when she raised her hands to loosen a couple of the straps of her chestpiece. Rather than take it off, however, this time, she reached under it before pulling something small out from underneath it, and he tilted his head slightly to one side as he watched her reach back behind her neck with her left hand for a moment, his anger giving way to curiosity at her actions.

"They're after this," she explained quietly, holding the piece of jewelry up for him to see. It was nothing more than a simple metal band, lacking any sort of gemstone or bauble and it was currently strung upon a thin metal chain, telling him that she wore it as a pendant in order to keep it hidden.

"... it's just a ring. Why the hell would you be hunted over something so mundane?"

"Because this ring is all that stands between us and total annihilation of humanity. It belonged to a man named Vlad Dracula Tepes... and he was the most powerful vampire to ever live. Long story short, while he can be - and has been - killed, his soul refuses to stay dead, returning every century - and this ring is the key to his unholy resurrections. It's why I need to go to Transylvania and why I need to find Simon. His family, the Belmont Clan, have fought Dracula and his Night Hordes for centuries."

Total annihilation of humanity, at least on this world, doesn't sound like such a bad thing.

Katja would die, too, 'Gray Voice' cautioned, remember that.

"What happened to cause this 'Dracula' to hate people so intensely?" the dragon asked, choosing to ignore the chozo's warning. "I'm genuinely curious about this." He probably has a valid reason like I do.

"Centuries ago, people in the city of Târgoviște killed his wife because they believed she was a witch," Katja explained, and he caught her voice's momentary tonal shift to hatred when she spoke the word 'witch'.

This again?! he thought in exasperation, what is with the people of this world believing that everyone who can cast magic will just turn around and kill them if they don't act first?!

"And, let me guess, she wasn't."

"Exactly," Katja replied, sighing as she moved to clasp the ring's chain around her neck, before tucking it underneath her chestpiece and re-tightening the straps. "She was a medical doctor whose medicines and remedies worked wonders. He taught her everything she knew. Dracula was traveling abroad when the news of her death reached him, and he gave the people who killed her a year to atone for this sin."

"And they didn't."

"They celebrated her death, so, no."

Ridley stared at her for a long moment, unable to believe what she'd just told him before he lowered his gaze and smacked a hand against his forehead.

"So, they were stupid," he surmised, rolling his eyes skyward before he lowered his hand and met the girl's hazel gaze once again. "If people here are the descendants of the ones who killed his wife for such an idiotic reason, then they all deserve to die."

"It's not that simple, Ridley."

"Not that simple?! Katja, people kill others because of differences that they dislike! Look at me! I had no choice but to join a ragtag group of thieves because the rest of the so-called 'civilized galaxy' felt that I was nothing more than some feral beast! Hell, they didn't even bother to give me a proper name when they found me!"

"What?"

"Yeah, surprise, 'Ridley' isn't my true name," he explained, his tone bitter as he glared at the leaf litter around his feet, "that is something I'll never learn because I have no family..." He trailed off, lowering himself to all fours as he dug his claws into the ground, his tail lashing as he continued: "The people who found me called me 'Geoform 187'..."

He looked up when he heard her gasp, and he saw her slowly shake her head.

"That's not a name," she replied, her voice filled with what he realized was disbelief and disgust. "Ridley, I'm so sorry..."

"Now, look at your own situation," he continued, switching the subject from himself to her: "You are human, but because you can cast magic - because you're different - people want you dead because they believe you'll turn on them, but I know otherwise."

He sighed and looked away a second time, his tail lashing as he tried to keep his re-manifesting anger reined in.

"You... you're one of the kindest people I've ever met, and I've lived my life believing that nobody would ever truly accept me for what I am."

And the other two... one hates me now because I didn't want my subordinates to see me as weak-willed. It's... a choice that's bothered me for the longest time, but it's too late to change what happened then. The second... is dead... He closed his eyes tightly and clenched his teeth. It would be so easy to slay Katja and take the ring to Carmilla so she could bring this Dracula back to give these people what they deserve, but... I... I-I don't... I can't...

"I can't do it..." he whispered, shuddering. I... can't... kill her... Not Katja...

And what would be the point of such an action? 'Gray Voice' added, your reason for wanting these people to suffer - might I add, for a centuries old mishap - would be dead because of you.

"Ridley, it's okay," the human murmured, and the dragon blinked when he felt her gently take his head in her hands, her warm palms resting against his scales. "If everything I told you awakened another unpleasant memory, I didn't mean for it to."

You're too good to me...

"You didn't," he replied quietly, only to pause as he caught sight of the bruise on her right cheek, realizing that was where she'd been struck earlier by that creature. A low growl left him, the vocalization causing Katja to pull her hands away before she took a cautious step back, and Ridley glared back at the mangled corpse, upset that he hadn't tortured the so-called vampire enough before he'd killed her with the help of that sharpened piece of wood Katja had given him.

"What's wrong?" the magic-user asked, her voice on edge, and he returned his attention to her before he raised a hand to carefully set it against the right side of her face.

"She hurt you," he growled, his tail slowly lashing as he fought to control his anger. "That wasn't supposed to happen."

"It's not your fault," Katja assured gently, and the dragon blinked when she raised a hand to rest it against his, and it was in that moment that he truly noticed just how much he dwarfed her. Still, it confused him that she hadn't flinched away from his touch until he realized that he wasn't handling her roughly... and that, for once, he wasn't allowing his rage to run rampant. Stranger still, he felt her pulse, which had been rapid when he'd first touched her, steadily calming as he maintained the contact.

Why do you still trust me so much, Katja? Even after the times I've hurt and upset you...

Ridley's thoughts were interrupted when he caught a certain coppery scent, and he sniffed a couple of times in order to confirm it.

"Katja, you're bleeding," he informed, grateful for the distraction from the overwhelming discomfort threatening to smother him. "I smell it."

"So are you," she countered, only to stare at him in slight annoyance when he lightly shook his head.

"It's not mine," he informed before clearing his throat as he fought to compose himself, his emotions still strewn haphazardly about, much to his frustration. His amber gaze flicked back to her when he felt her gently squeeze his hand (well, the best she could, anyway) before she pulled it away from his and raised it to gingerly touch her left bicep.

"It's not that bad," she assured him. "I'm tougher than I look."

"You should clean the wound," he replied as he reluctantly pulled his hand away as well, angry at himself for letting his temper skyrocket like it had. Damn it, it was enough that she'd gotten hurt during the attack and then he just had to contribute to it!

No-one ever said trying to protect someone else would be easy, that part of his mind informed. That temper of yours is part of why it's been difficult.

"I would if I could use my magic. With how damn cold it is now, I can't afford to wash it out and not have a source of fire nearby for warmth. There's too much of a risk of me becoming ill."

"You can't?" he asked, confused. "Why?"

"One of the witch hunters has a hag stone with him," the human explained, and Ridley turned his attention to where the bodies of the two men he'd killed still lay. "It's blocking my magic, so I can't cast anything. Could you help me find it? I can't see very well right now."

"I can," he replied before the pair made their way over to the bodies. After a few long minutes of rifling through one of the corpses while Katja searched the other, Ridley found what appeared to be a small stone with a single hole through it near the left side, a leather cord strung through it to allow the man to wear it around his neck.

"Is this it?" he asked, grabbing the stone before he broke the leather cord with a single, hard tug and he heard Katja's footsteps crunching through the leaf litter as she approached.

"Yeah," she confirmed, relief within her tone, though the space dragon still heard an underlying note of wariness as she spoke. "It needs to be destroyed."

Ridley met her gaze, a small smile tugging at the ends of his muzzle as he shifted the stone into the palm of his hand and crushed it to powder with minimal effort, which he then allowed to fall onto the corpse like sand spilling from a broken hourglass.

"Try now."

Wordlessly, Katja concentrated upon summoning a small ball of fire, and she smiled in delight when the flame flickered into existence above the palm of her left hand.

"Thank you, Ridley," she murmured, gratitude within her voice as she reached out with her free hand to gently touch the bridge of his muzzle for a fleeting moment. "And thank you for saving me."

"Consider us even on that front," the dragon replied before he lightly nudged her in the direction of the lake with a hand. "Clean that wound, Katja."

"Not yet," she said while stepping around him, and she heard him snort in what was more than likely annoyance at her refusal to listen to him. "There's a few loose ends left to deal with."

Keeping her light source with her, Katja bent down to retrieve the vampiress's longsword and she gave the weapon a wistful look before she exhaled through her nose and moved to lay it among the humanoid's broken body. Thankfully, Ridley hadn't tossed the woman's arms and breastplate too far away from the corpse and the magic-user stepped back before she closed her eyes in concentration, her hands held close together in front of her face.

Burn the body.

She retained this pose for a few seconds, a ball of orange light coalescing into existence between her palms before she sharply parted her hands, though her injuries caused her to clench her teeth as she forced herself to concentrate upon her self-given task. The ball of light split into two, both remaining near her fingertips before she gestured, a circle of fire appearing around the vampire's broken corpse before, with another gesture from the magic-user, the fire closed in on the remains.

Katja remained standing with her arms crossed over her chest, her attention upon the fire as she watched the body burn. She'd have to carve another stake to replace this one, but oak trees were easy to find out here in the wilderness. That was the least of her concerns right now, though, and when enough time had passed, she caused the flames to dissipate, leaving behind nothing but a pile of ash upon the leaf litter, which had remained unharmed by the fire spell.

Now, scatter the ashes, she thought silently, exhaling softly against the pain of her injuries as she made a sweeping gesture with both hands, causing the wind to increase, lifting the ashes and some of the leaves off the ground before she snapped her arms out to her sides, causing the spell to end violently as the ashes were scattered round the clearing.

All that remained of the vampire was the molten remains of her armor and longsword, but that could be buried. The bodies of the two witch hunters were all that was left to deal with, and Katja started towards them, only for the sudden whistling of air to come to her ears before she felt something wrap firmly around her torso, effectively pinning her arms against her sides as she felt herself being lifted off the ground, the fireball she'd been using as a light source disappearing as her overall concentration was broken.

She screamed, terrified that someone else had found her, and Ridley had been eerily silent-

Ridley... of fucking course!

Anger overrode fear then, her eyes narrowing when laughter belonging to a certain space dragon rang through the clearing, and she wanted nothing more than to dump the entire lake over his head for daring to scare her like this so soon after she'd nearly been captured!

"Ridley, what the hell," she snapped as she squirmed in his grip. "You just took ten years off my life!"

"Now, Katja," he admonished, waggling a clawed finger at her from where he stood close to her right, and she saw that it was his tail that currently had her subdued, the last few feet of the appendage being what was firmly wrapped about her middle, the deadly blade pointed away from her, thankfully. "Is that the way to act when all I wanted was to help you feel better?"

"Screw you!" she shot back, his smug expression serving only to make her angrier. "For 'wanting to help me feel better' you're doing a piss poor job of showing it! For fuck's sake, put me down!"

"Mm, not until you give me the correct word."

"Ridley," she ground out through clenched teeth, "I swear to God..."

"Wrong. Seriously, don't make me toss you into the lake," he threatened as he pulled her closer to where only a foot now separated them, though the tone of his voice coupled with the way his draconic features were split into a smirk told her that he was only being partially serious. "Or I could just bend you over my knee and spank you for misbehaving."

"... you're having way too much fun with this," Katja deadpanned, glaring at the dragon as his smirk widened, those amber eyes glittering mischievously. "Out of all the dragons in existence, I had to rescue the one who thinks he's funny."

This only garnered a fresh round of laughter from the lanky reptile, and Katja growled some rather choice obscenities under her breath when Ridley began sauntering towards the edge of the lake - with her in tow.

"Ah-ah, language."

"I'll show you 'language' when I get out of this," she grumbled, only to give a rather undignified squeak when Ridley moved to dangle her over the lake before he began to slowly lower her towards the water's surface. "Okay, okay, I'll patch myself up! God..."

"Mm, the correct word was 'please', but... close enough," he replied, his saccharine tone making her want to try rapping him across the muzzle once he released her but, knowing how easily his temper could surface, she thought better of it. He set her down a foot or so before the edge of the lake before releasing her and, to her annoyance, reaching over to ruffle her hair with a large hand before chuckling and moving off a few paces in order to wash the blood from his face and tail after he'd taken a moment to quench his thirst.

Katja rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth as she smoothed her hair back into place, her beads clicking faintly with her movements. As unconventional as it had been, his attempt at helping her to feel less rattled had worked, at least a bit, and he'd been rather careful with handling her. After settling down at the edge of the lake in a kneeling position with both legs tucked under her, the human summoned another ball of fire to help her see before setting her satchel on her lap and opening it to make sure that Ridley hadn't accidentally broken anything with that little stunt of his.

Everything was still intact, thankfully, and Katja set her jar of herbal medicine out along with a bandage and her waterskin before she sat her satchel down to her immediate right. She then opened her belt pouch and pulled out a small vial, which contained an herbal powder that was able to be ingested. It was a different form of the medicinal paste she'd been using to treat Ridley's wounds and his wing when it had been broken, having figured he wouldn't have taken to the bitter taste of the powder itself. She also wasn't really a fan of the taste, but it was far less messy in dealing with the pain and swelling of her bruised cheek.

Sighing softly, she set the vial down before taking a swig from her personal waterskin to clean her mouth out, taking a moment to spit it out to her left before she once again grabbed her vial, opened it and, with a grimace, quickly downed its contents before taking another swig of water. After refilling her waterskin and putting it and the vial away, she then removed her cloak, bracers and chestpiece before setting them close to her satchel, glad that none of the hardened leather armor had been damaged in spite of how she'd been handled roughly earlier by that vampire. Her cloak was starting to look a little worse for wear, unfortunately, and she grit her teeth in frustration over no longer having her spare one.

You used it for a good cause, she assured herself. Even if Ridley's an ass sometimes, but he can't really help that given everything he's been through. Still... she trailed off, smiling a little, he's been getting better at positive social interaction and I'm proud of him.

A sigh left her when she turned her attention to the left sleeve of her tunic, a frown creasing her lips when she caught sight of where Ridley's claws had torn through the cloth when he'd grabbed her by the arms during his earlier fit of anger, the fabric around the area stained with her own blood. Not only that, but (unlike her cloak) it was now effectively ruined and, therefore, useless to her until she could get the damn thing repaired, but there was no telling when she'd be able to stop in at a town or village to do so.

This was my own fault, though, she admonished herself, I should have been completely honest with him from the very beginning...

Muttering, Katja removed her tunic before tossing it on top of her armor and her brow furrowed as she assessed the extent of the damage. Even though they'd drawn blood, his claws had only nicked her, so she wouldn't be needing stitches.

Ridley was silent as he watched his companion remove her armor, this soon followed by her shirt, and he felt his chest tighten with the dull sensation he'd now come to expect every time he did something to hurt her, either deliberately or inadvertently, as he saw her inspect the wounds his claws had inflicted earlier.

Luminous amber eyes widened in amazement as he watched her gesture with her hands before a bit of water rose from the lake. Her magic was something he was still working on getting used to, even when it came to more minor spells like this one, as well as both the fire and wind spells she'd cast mere minutes earlier when she'd dealt with that vampire's remains.

She's done this before, he thought as he watched Katja guide the water, which had now taken on a more serpentine shape, along the wounds on her bicep in order to clean them and noting how precise the movements were. Many times.

After she'd returned the water to the lake, Ridley expected her to apply her medicine to the wounds, and he set his jaw when he saw her right hand become enshrouded within fire, which she used to cauterize the wounds, and he was surprised that the forced contact with the element didn't make her cry out, though he did notice that her facial features were contorted a little from the discomfort. When he saw no burn left behind, he realized that the burn scars he'd seen before were not from self-cauterization as he'd previously guessed. Either she'd been in combat with another magic-user, or...

He shook his head to dismiss the dark thought and while the slender human was busy applying her herbal medicine to the wounds, Ridley took a moment to study her more closely, having noticed a few details he'd missed since, the last time he'd seen her partially unclothed, she'd had her back to him. For one, he noticed that her breasts were covered by an off-white cloth similar to some of her bandages, and he figured it was a part of 'human modesty' or whatever nonsense that dictated they dress themselves in clothing around others. In all honestly, she could be stark naked around him and he wouldn't care less, though part of him couldn't help but wonder why she wasn't snapping at him to look away. Was she truly so comfortable around him even though they barely knew each other? Or did she understand that her sense of modesty didn't apply to a non-human like himself?

The space pirate exhaled through his nostrils, settling on the latter as he dispelled his current train of thought and focused on the second detail he'd noticed this time. There were three long diagonal cuts along the front of her abdomen, of which stopped at the middle of her left side, appearing to have been inflicted by some sort of beast. How she'd managed to survive such a encounter was beyond him, since she'd been alone for the majority of her time as a vagabond, but he remembered her mentioning that she'd briefly traveled with a small group of people before, and he had a feeling that they'd probably helped her.

She's been... lucky, he thought as he watched her seal her medicine jar before she placed it on her opposite side (back into her satchel, he surmised) before she used her dagger to cut one of his bandages down to a length that fit her more easily. After she'd fumbled a couple of times while trying to wrap them effectively, the draconic beast rose to his feet before he approached.

"Let me."

"Thank you," she replied, her voice oddly quiet, and she remained still as Ridley wrapped the bandages around her bicep before tying the strips together firmly.

He nodded in acknowledgement, and he paused when an emotion he still had no name for overcame him, his chest aching again, and he moved to carefully lay a hand over her now bandaged injury, a quiet croon leaving him when he lowered his head to rest it against her bare shoulder.

"It's not your fault," she murmured quietly, and Ridley closed his eyes when he felt her gently set a hand against one side of his muzzle. "You had every right to be angry at me for not being completely honest with you."

He remained silent, gently nudging her before he finally pulled back and turned to stare out over the lake as he tried to sort out his jumbled thoughts and emotions...

And the conclusion he ended up drawing disturbed him greatly.

Yes, he... cared... for this human, he could now admit it... to himself at least. She'd done so much more for him during the single week he'd known her - including helping him to fly again - than any of his fellow Space Pirates had ever done for him during the extent he'd been a part of their ranks. Sure, they'd kept him alive but, with their crude and painful methods of doing so, he'd sometimes wondered if they only kept him around for his strength and nothing more, but they allowed him to slaughter to his heart's content with no restrictions on who or what he could destroy, so he'd stayed, moreso out of necessity than gratitude even though, deep down, he'd always felt like an outsider among them...

He'd always felt alone.

Ever since he'd crashlanded on this backwater world, however, there had been no attempts to contact him and he'd assumed that it was because there was interference, but now he couldn't help but wonder if they had indeed assumed he'd been killed in the Galleon's destruction and didn't care to come looking for him. There would be no remains to resurrect as one of their twisted machines once again, after all, and the thought of going through a second lifetime of that made him force down the urge to shudder in a mix of fear and revulsion.

Did they... did they ever truly value him as one of their own?

In comparison to how Katja - a member of the same species as his most hated adversary no less - had treated him, no, they... didn't.

His thoughts then turned to Kraid, the only Space Pirate who'd regarded Ridley as a friend and equal but, back then, Ridley hadn't truly understood the value of their friendship... until now. Kraid had never really done anything for him outside of giving him the company he yearned for deep down, and vice versa, but that was better than nothing. Still, Kraid was dead and, until now, Ridley had been unable to mourn... or care.

The space dragon clenched his teeth as he squeezed his eyes shut, his tail lashing slowly behind him as he once again turned his thoughts to the source of this entire subject: Katja.

How could this girl, this single human girl suddenly come along and turn practically everything he'd learned in on itself?!

While he'd been in her company, he'd felt... wanted... appreciated... And he'd experienced feelings he'd long believed to be weak and beneath him. He'd allowed her to comfort him when he was upset, he'd forgiven her for crossing him, he'd grown to accept her touch (for the most part), he'd protected her from harm and, hell, he'd even played with her in an attempt to help cheer her up! Sure, he'd toyed with others in a similar manner on numerous occasions, but there had always been an underlying hint of malice on his part that had been completely absent here.

Yes, he'd experienced these feelings and, outside of the initial discomfort from being unused to such, he... he was fine! Confused, but fine.

It was then that he was able to finally put names to the duo of emotions that had led him in circles for this past week while he'd been trying to pin them down to identify them: guilt and... happiness.

For starters, yes, being in Katja's company made him happy, and he could finally admit this to himself. This was the same feeling he'd sometimes experienced during his friendship with Kraid but, back then, Ridley hadn't understood what it was and now... now... he felt guilty for not fully appreciating the camaraderie that the larger reptile had given him.

Lastly, he felt guilty for lying to Katja in order to gain her trust and companionship in order to use her magic against Samus Aran and her damned rodent and he felt guilty for his thoughts of discarding the girl once her usefulness was at an end.

Then, in this short span of time he'd spent within her company, something had shifted his view of her from that of a pawn... to a friend.

No, he could never tell her the full truth of who he was. She would despise him for it, just like the rest of the 'civilized' galaxy, and he didn't want that.

At all.

Shit, this was one hell of a spanner that had become wedged within the cogs of his plan to get off this goddamned world, and he would have to think of an alternative that would net the same results... without him having to slay Katja after they'd dealt with both the Hunter and her pet electric rat.

Still, he felt obligated to help Katja to succeed in her own quest to find this Simon Belmont, but if Samus were to find them before they made it to Transylvania...

Damn it all! What should I do?!

"Ridley?" Katja's soft voice pulled him from his reverie, and he looked over to see her dressed once again, though she was wearing a different shirt now, this one a light shade of green as opposed to brown. "Are you okay?"

"Tired," he lied quietly, his voice sounding alien to his own ears, "we need to leave. It will be dawn soon and we both need rest."

"The witch hunters need to be dealt with first," she reminded him, "well, I would have, but a certain someone decided to be cute about how he insisted that I take care of myself beforehand."

"Who, me?" Ridley replied, trying to act innocent, and he gave an amused rumble when Katja flipped him off before she set to donning her armor and cloak. "Go deal with them, then."

While the human girl burned the bodies and scattered their ashes, Ridley occupied himself with putting her things away in order to keep himself focused on their current situation, and he paused when he came to her torn shirt. After briefly glancing back to see if she was finished dealing with the bodies, he grabbed the article of clothing and held it up, his muzzle wrinkling in a mix of contempt for the thing and confusion at how to go about getting the blood out of the fabric before, with a shrug, he dunked the whole thing into the water.

"What are you doing with my tunic?"

"Cleaning it," he stated as he pulled it out of the water and, out of the corner of his vision, he saw the magic-user shake her head and facepalm. "That bloodstain would attract predators and we have enough to deal with as it is."

"Not the entire thing, Ridley," she explained, exasperated, though he heard a hint of amusement in her voice as well. "Only the left sleeve was bloodstained, and you don't just dunk it in the water, pull it out, and say "Ta-da!" That's not how you wash clothes."

"I wouldn't know," he replied, smirking when she rudely snatched it from him when he held it out for her to take. "I don't wear any."

"I ought to smack you with this," she countered, twisting it tightly in order to wring out the access water before she shook the garment a few times and folded it.

"I wouldn't feel it if you did."

Katja rolled her eyes as she reached down with her free hand to grab her pack before slinging the strap over her shoulder, and Ridley caught the ghost of a smile on her lips that had accompanied the action.

"Thank you for trying to help," she said softly, reaching out to touch his muzzle when he leant down to gently nudge her shoulder, and he saw that she'd lain the now folded (and still damp) shirt over top of her satchel. "I'll figure out what to do with it."

"Later," he said before he lowered himself to all fours and crouched low to the ground. "It's time to leave."

Nothing more was said by either of them as Ridley allowed her to swing up onto his back for the second time that night, both of them remaining on edge and constantly keeping watch for signs of further attack, and it wasn't until they'd been flying for an hour that they both allowed themselves to relax.

Dawn was on the horizon when the nearby sound of thunder caught Ridley's attention, and he sniffed, catching the heavy scent of rain. Fucking wonderful.

The Hunter has one advantage over me currently, he thought irritably, that damned gunship of hers can weather storms and she's safe inside it.

"It's going to storm soon," he informed as he turned back to check on his passenger, "I'm going to start looking for a place for us to shelter in."

"No ruins," the girl replied, "most of them are infested with undead. While my fire spells can deal with them, it's not as effective as blessed weapons or holy magic, neither of which I have."

"Damn... very well."

Luck was on their side, however, as he happened to spot a cave after a mere ten minutes of searching.

"Landing," he cautioned, and he felt her grab hold of his scales as he spiraled down to land a few yards from the large entrance, not wanting to disturb its current resident(s)... yet. Between himself and her magic, he believed that they could dispatch anything that could be living out here, though instinct reminded him to remain cautious regardless.

The thunder was far louder now, and Ridley glanced up to see that the once whitish-blue clouds that rested in the sky were now an angry gray-black and he was soon rewarded for his observation by a large drop of rain hitting him right between the eyes, of which was followed by several more splattering against his scaly hide until it was raining in earnest.

Karma for talking of throwing her into that lake, I guess, he thought as he shook himself. Even though I was joking.

"Ridley?" Katja called, and he looked over to see her peering out at him from the cave's entrance, that little flame of hers once again levitating close to her left. "While you were busy gawking at the sky, I went to check and see if this cave was occupied and, luckily for us, it's not. I don't think anything's lived in here for a while, honestly."

"Give me a few minutes," he replied, suddenly remembering that he hadn't shared his earlier kill with her due to the attack, and he silently berated himself for forgetting.

And so, he went hunting in the rain, and he was bedraggled when he finally joined her in the cave, having only a single rabbit to show for his efforts and he declined when she offered to share the meager catch with him before finally revealing what had happened before the attack. While she was upset at him for not telling her about the bear hurting him (and furious at herself for not noticing), she reluctantly dropped the matter when he assured her that the cuts it had inflicted on him only needed minor treatment, which she promptly gave after finishing her meal and feeding the bones and viscera to the fire she'd made at the very back of their temporary shelter.

He settled down close to the fire, and he was beginning to drift off when he felt something light being set on top of him, his eyes snapping open to see the human draping her cloak over him the best she could which, given his size, wasn't much.

"Katja-"

"You're soaked, Ridley," she admonished, "the remnants of the bandages I pulled off of you are completely ruined and I feel guilty for not thinking to check your side even though it's almost healed. So, you need this more than I do."

"Very well," he murmured tiredly, a wide yawn gripping him before he shook his head and settled down once again, a quiet sigh leaving him as he closed his eyes. "Katja... so good to me..."

Those words again, the young woman thought sadly as she gazed down at him, and only when she was certain he was completely asleep did she reach out to set a gentle hand on the crown of his head, just before the beginning of his short crest. Oh, Ridley...

"You want to know something?" she asked quietly, even though she knew he couldn't hear her, but she moved to sit cross-legged right next to him before she softly stroked his crest once, her hand returning to its original position, where it remained. "The night we first met, I wasn't sure if saving you was the best idea, but I knew I couldn't leave you there to die broken, bleeding and..."

She trailed off, her voice hitching, and she took a slow, deep breath to keep herself composed before she pressed on.

"... Alone. Nobody deserves to die alone, and I'd sooner be damned to eternal torment before I'd allow that to happen to you. I promised I'd take care of you until you recovered and, damn it, I'm going to keep my word. You may see yourself as a burden to me and a hindrance to my quest to find Simon, but you're not a burden to me. You never have been and I'm sorry you think of yourself in such a negative light."

She smiled sadly, wishing that she had the courage to tell him everything while he was awake so he could know that her positive feelings towards him were genuine.

"You may be difficult to get along with at times, and I know you'd deny it if you heard me say this but, I believe that underneath your violent tendencies and that hardened exterior you prefer to show to the world, you have a good heart," she whispered softly to the smoky purple dragon slumbering next to her, "I'm so sorry you've been through such difficult struggles, and I wish I could heal those wounds. I wish for that more than anything, especially if it means helping you to see that opening up to someone else doesn't always result in pain and betrayal. Hell, I feel awful for keeping the existence of Dracula's ring a secret from you. I..." she trailed off, a soft sigh leaving her as she looked away and wiped her eyes on one of her sleeves. "I kept silent about it for so long because didn't want to drag you into this... Not this."

She sighed as she pushed her long braid back over her shoulder, and her tone was wistful when she spoke again:

"There's so much I want to say to you, but I don't know how you would react, or if you would even believe me. I'm happy I met you, Ridley, I really am and I'm honored that you trusted me enough to open up to me back at the lake, even if it was just a little. You didn't have to help me when I needed it, you never had to share your hard earned kills with me whenever you'd go hunting and you didn't have to stay with me once you could fly again, but you did, you stayed, and I'm grateful..."

She trailed off yet a third time, smiling warmly down at him before she moved to touch her forehead to his for a brief moment.

"I'm so grateful to you for everything, my friend. Sleep well."