You limp through the grass, feet dragging painfully and slowly. Stars above, you haven't hurt this much in a long, long time. Not since your first spar with your Lusus. But that one had ended in a prickly bath and giggling cuddles. No one's here now to lick your wounds. Instead, you get to walk the long distance back to the Dolorosa's den.

About halfway there, you sit down and rest, massaging your throat gingerly. It's bruised and you suspect that you're also burnt from the psychic touch of the troll. You recall her flickering eyes, the metallic smell of energy on the air, how it fizzled and burned on your skin. How you were powerless against her mechanical ferocity.

You wrap your arms around yourself, shuddering. You despise that feeling.

Your breath seems to be coming back, so you stand up. As you do, a blue disk falls out of your sleeve. After stooping to pick it up, you run it between your fingers, the deep, midnight blue winking in the green and pink tinted light.

You remember your conversation with the highblood who had given it to you.

"Are you absolutely sure you're in the proper condition to travel?" Darkleer asked after helping to treat your wounds. He still rubbed ointment onto your burns as you refrained from rolling your eyes. You were a bit sore, to be sure, but you had been sorer.

"Yes," you tersely replied. "I go now."

The indigo sighed, shaking his head. "At least allow me the honor of accompanying such a fine troll as yourself to the gates," he asked.

You had to sort through the nonsense he just said before figuring out what he meant. You threw your hands up before replying, "Whatever."

The silence between you was awkward. He attempted to make conversation, but as his every other word was muddled and elongated to something you had definitely never learned, you always ended up staring at him in confusion or dancing around sensitive subjects.

"When would you like to return for your first lesson?" he finally asked. Ah. A question you understood and were able to answer.

You shrugged. "Two days?" you ventured, glancing up at him. He nodded once, a sharp and elegant jab with his head. His thick dark hair swung elegantly, and you fingered your own wild mane.

"I expect you to be here promptly after sunset," he told you. You actually rolled your eyes this time. He was treating you like a wriggler. Still, you murmured your consent and accepted the blue token from his large, callused hand. "So the guards at my gate recognize you," he explained. You dipped your head, and silence weighed down upon the both of you again.

When you came upon the gates, you couldn't help but sigh in relief.

Unfortunately, it was short-lived.

Three trolls lingered in front of small path leading out of town. Around the perimeter of the small city was a wall, recently installed. Glancing around, you saw lowbloods mounting the portable wall and gates, hooking the pieces together and melding them with psychic heat. Once up, the walls looked formidable and impenetrable. And to think the riot happened only a few hours ago.

"Halt!" called out a greenblood. Darkleer looked at you impassively before raising an eyebrow at the other.

"Yes?" he inquired politely.

"No lowbloods are to be allowed through the gate," stated the officer, saluting smartly. "Sir Darkleer."

Darkleer cleared his throat mildly. "I assume this order relates to this evening's... Event?"

"Yessir."

"Well, as you can see, the girl is not a rustblood," Darkleer gestured towards you. You turned your eyes to the other greenblood, who examined you closely.

"We'll need to see the blood," the officer said reluctantly. You could see that he had no wish to upset Darkleer. Interesting. The indigo commanded respect as well as a hint of fear.

Darkleer merely sighed in response, and you could care less. You dutifully held out your hand and allowed them to slit your finger. Olive welled up and slipped down the pad of your finger and you watched the droplet fall to the dusty path. The other greenblood nodded at you.

You sighed in relief, but as you slipped to exit the horribly claustrophobic town, Darkleer caught your arm.

"Next time," he started. "Just show them the disc I gave you." You stared at him, not replying, but he gave you a gentle shake, forcing you to acknowledge.

"Yes," you said sullenly.

He held your gaze for a few more moments before letting you go. "Don't hurt anyone," he told you mildly. You bared your teeth, annoyed at the patronizing tone.

As you turned to exit, you saw a flash of concern flitting across his strong features. But he turned immediately to the guard and began asking about a red demoness. You shook your head and limped down the path into the grass.

You stand up, cracking your back and slipping the disc back into your sleeve. You've had enough rest and if you sit any longer you'll become stiff. You slap some dust off yourself and brush grass off your butt and then force yourself into something faster than a hobble. You glance up at the sky and wince to see the tell-tale pink of the sun. You walk faster.

Just as you the tell-tale knot of grass that marks the entrance to the Dolorosa's cave, you feel heat warming up the back of your head. The sun's finally up. You squeeze your eyes shut as tight as you can, fumbling for the door. You hands scrabble against the grass and then you feel the worn down knob, and you press it, falling into cool air. The green, exploding lights beneath your eyelids remain as you open them and it takes a few minutes to gain your bearings.

"Dramatic entrance, as always," a raspy voice chuckles.

You pant for a few seconds before rolling over to blearily look at the Psionic. He crouches in the corner, tapping away on his screen-thing, like always. You're too tired to even say anything. "Rough night?" he quips, and you finally manage to push yourself up and snarl.

"Shut mouth," you growl. You crawl on your hands and knees until you slump next to him, leaning your head against the wall. Then, after bracing yourself on his shoulder, you stand up with great protest from your muscles. Skies above, did that fight take it out of you. The Psionic actually looks mildly worried about you as you stumble off towards the dim hallways, brushing aside curtains and wispy silk.

You immediately bump into someone, causing you to squeak and jump back. You feel your hair ruffle a bit with fright and suddenly you forget your pain. This troll smells different.

"Down, kitty," you hear. The voice drawls and is a bit nasally. Commanding and confident. "I'm not here to fight your miserable, scrawny ass."

The red boots catch your attention first. Then your eyes travel up her long, thick coat, belted loosely around a thin waist, to her small chest and finally her face.

You swallow. Here is another powerful troll. Her face is startling and exhilarating and terrifying, something someone wouldn't want to love but would easily fall into, mesmerized by the predatory beauty. Her nose is long and thin, curved like a scimitar, and her cheekbones are high and thin. But what is most striking are her eyes; they're round and luxuriously framed by blue lashes, Cerulean fire dances mirthfully in her eyes, one fractured eight times. Her presence seems to press against you, and you stumble back a bit. She grins, revealing deadly fangs. You can't take your eyes off her, trapped like an insect in a web.

"There, there," she coos, stepping closer to you.

From behind her comes rustling sounds, and it's enough distraction to tear your eyes from her face. Immediately, the pressure around you fades, but your head still feels a bit fuzzy. You shake it to clear it a bit, and hear the Dolorosa's succinct tones.

"Ara – Mindfang. Are you terrorizing my guests?"

The blueblood – Mindfang? – turns sulkily around. "Noooooooo," she says. It almost comes out as whine, you think. "I was just saying hello."

"I do not think you are capable of 'just saying hello,'" retorts the Dolorosa, slipping through the doorway to stand beside the both of you. You flick your eyes back to Mindfang, who rolls her own.

"Oh my fucking shit, you're not my moooooooom, Fussyfangs!" It actually comes out more nasally than before, and she puts her hands on her hips. Ok. She is definitely whining. Not what you were expecting.

The Dolorosa tsks at 'Fussyfangs,' but doesn't say anything else. Instead she turns to you, raising an eyebrow.

"Did you acquire what I asked for?" she politely asks. You nod, pulling out the tube of lipstick from your skirtband. She takes it from your proffered hand, opens it and examines it closely. Then she smears it over her lips. You notice her watching Mindfang as she does so, but the highblood merely inspects her nails, muttering about stupid nosy lusus-ing trolls. The Dolorosa sighs, a small sound, before popping her lips.

"Very satisfactory," she tells you. "Can you put it in my room? Down the hall, last entrance on your right. Thank you." She gracefully returns the tube to you and pushes Mindfang out of the way, who gives a whiney little moan of protest. You can hear her snapping at the jadeblood as you push aside the bright curtains and head towards the instructed room. You're about to swoop in when you stop, hop back a few feet and peer into the room two curtain-covered holes before the Dolorosa's room.

The curtain here is thicker, and weighted. But you can hear someone in there... You heart does a weird little jig and your stomach sort of pinches and squeezes. You'd recognize that sleepy breathing anywhere...

You look at the tube in your hand, and then back at the thick, jade curtain. Tube. Curtain. Finally your fluttering heart wins the battle and you place the tube on the floor. "Stay," you order, a hint of guilt in your voice. Then, after a deep breath, you push into the dim room.

You notice the smell first. You have never noticed that the Signless smelled sickly. But now that you breath in, you can tell the distinct lack of it. Instead, you smell sweat and something spicy. Without even noticing, your feet take you closer, until you're hovering beside his bed. His face is not so pale, but he's still sleeping. You smooth the hair back, fingering the dry curls. His scruffiness on his face catches your hand, and you have to bite your lip so you won't touch his face more. He's still sick, you tell yourself. And then, after a sheepish pause in your thoughts, and he probably wouldn't like it if I creepily touched him as he's asleep.

You pull your hand back and watch his chest rise and fall. So much more even now. You allow yourself a small smile. I did it, you think. I brought him to the Dolorosa.

Now what?

The thought freezes you. Now what? You did your duty. He can heal and do whatever it is that he needs to. Probably something illegal and dangerous. But he doesn't need you anymore. You were a means of transport, and now that he's been transported you no longer fit in the equation. You're free to go back to your lonely mountain and continue to hunt in peace.

You clutch your elbows to keep yourself from trembling. Something swells up inside you, and you feel that at any second you will burst. A horrible choking sound catches in your throat, terror clasping your airways shut. You clap a hand to your mouth, horrified that such a sound had escaped you. You feel even guiltier as the Signless' eyes snap open, unfocused and confused.

"Where am I?" he croaks, trying to sit up. Then he winces. "What – "

"Shhh!" you say, pressing a finger against his lips. "You sleep! No wake!"

"I... What?" his eyes finally focus, and they pin their gaze upon your face. His lips move against your fingers, suddenly making you incredibly conscious of their texture; scratchy and rough from lack of water and from being sick. All the same, you snatch your hand back as if you have touched a fire, green flushing your cheeks.

"Sleep?" he murmurs. He's still looking at you, and you swallow at the intensity of his gaze. Being sick really seems to do weird stuff to people.

"Y-yes," you reply, casting your eyes down. You face feels like you stuck into a firepit. You are so embarrassed and you want to flee the room... Yet... You quickly glance up at him, a darting look. On his face is an expression of utmost sorrow. You jump in surprise, something inside of your chest plummeting into somewhere else where it's icy cold. You let out a wordless exclamation of surprise.

"I'm afraid I am unable to sleep," he begins, his red eyes holding your own panicked ones. "Without someone beside me."

You feel your mouth open and close a few times, and you finally manage to say, "What?"

He sighs, a heavy one of ultimate patience before quirking a smile. "I'm sorry. I was just trying to tease you." He sits up slowly, wincing, before moving his thick blanket aside and patting the space beside him. "Not as good as a nice recuperacoon, but it'll do."

You stare at him, and manage to wittily say, "what?" again.

The Signless sighs again, this time a hint of laughter in his voice. His gentle hands find yours and he pulls you towards him. You move mechanically, your brain blown somewhere else completely. This isn't you that this is happening to. You don't even know what's going on. The olive blood who looks like you and feels like you sits down beside the mutant, pulling her muscled legs onto the table. As the Signless smooths his hand across her cheek, you suddenly realize that the girl is you.

You turn a brilliant and dazzling green color to be sure. You're afraid he will laugh at you for being so jittery, and you close your eyes. I fought with a demoness today, met the troll who is looking for you, and almost blinded myself with the rising sun, you think. And here I am terrified out of my wits by an injured troll. You open your eyes again and swallow, refusing to meet his gaze.

Instead of chuckling or teasing you some more, you feel his hand on your neck, just the softest fluttering of his fingers. Your breath catches. "What happened?" he asks, and you can hear the frown in his question.

"Uhm," you say, thinking. "Bad troll. Demoness."

He stills. "Oh," he whispers. He is quiet for a few moments, but you do not notice because you are too busy feeling his hand on your neck. You try your hardest not to lean into his touch, into that tingling warmth. You narrow your eyes, clutching your skirt and wiggling. At your movements, the Singless' eyes snap back to yours.

"But you're alright, yes?" he inquires softly. Without thinking, you begin rambling, hoping to distract yourself before you do something silly.

"Yes," you say. "There was nice troll. Very strong. He help me and help stop scary troll to make me dead."

"A nice troll?" the Signless asks mildly. His eyes are practically smoldering.

"Mm, yes?" you manage to chirp. You feel his hand squeeze tighter, resting in the crook of your neck. The Signless seems to be a bit closer now, his eyes narrow and ponderous. You can almost feel his breath against your face, hot and earthy. "Yes," you repeat breathlessly, mostly because everything you know how to say has totally gone out of your head.

"Is that so?" his voice is barely a whisper. His hand has moved to cup your cheek and you are unable to look away from his eyes. His deep, red eyes. You yourself lean in towards his face, as if a magnet is pulling you closer against your will. Your lips almost touch...

"-Are you sure?" the voice comes out from the hallway, and you jump, clapping your hands over your mouth to prevent a hiss. The Signless' hand drops from your face, and you hear him clear his throat briefly before lying down quickly.

"Absolutely."

"Why would you do something so utterly imbecilic? Do you not realize how powerful she is?"

"Stop riding my ass!" the other voice retorts. Mindfang and the Dolorosa, you realize. You feel a tug on your hair, and you look to see the Signless eying you. Lie down, he mouths. "I had to do it."

"So you just decide to regulate the Empress' relationships?" the Dolorosa's voice is tart. And coming closer. Licking your lips, you snuggle down next to the Signless. He quickly covers you completely with the blanket. "What if she knows?"

"Of coooooooourse she knows!" Mindfang snaps. "I made sure she did."

"Aranea, she will want to kill you!" the voices are outside the room. They pause outside of the room, and you freeze, listening as hard as you can. The Signless beside you is stiff and rigid, but his breathing sounds as if he is sleeping. You watch his chest expand in the darkness beneath the blanket, and you try to match his even, steady rhythm. You carefully clutch his hand beside you. This is not a conversation I should be hearing, you think. The Empress culls people for talking about her like this...

"Why?" the Dolorosa asks simply, on short, succinct word. But you feel your heart go out towards her for the tight, strained emotions running beneath it.

"Because she would have killed him." Mindfang says flatly.

"How do you know?"

"I have my sources."

Here, the voices begin to move away. "Would she really kill him? I thought - "

"You don't... Anything... She's..."

Soon, they're too far for you to hear properly.

You breath out a sigh of relief, and you feel the other troll's chest expand as he follows suit. Quickly, he uncovers you head and looks down at you. The look in his red eyes are gone now, and you wonder if you imagined it. You look at each other briefly before he sighs again, and then begins to chuckle.

"I wasn't expecting that," he tells you. You stare, a little nervous for some reason, but he pats your hair and you feel the nerves dissipate. Wriggling forward to lie beside him, you sigh as well.

"I'm in trouble," he murmurs. You raise an eyebrow, puzzled, but he merely smiles, shaking his head. He suddenly clears his throat again.

"So," he says. You purse your lips at him, waiting for him to finish his thought. "I'm at the Dolorosa's now," he tucks a strand of hair behind your ear, murmuring lowly. "Which is what you promised to help me with."

Yes. You can't get the word out because your tongue is suddenly glued to the roof of your mouth. You know where this is going. And it hurts.

"And once I get better," he continues. "I suppose you'll be wanting to go home?"

No.

"Because the Psionic will stay with me," he tells you, fidgeting now. His hand strokes your hair and you want to scream at him to stop. Don't make this harder! You want to yell. Make what harder, though? You've done what you needed to do. Now you are no longer needed. Nothing more, nothing less. "And the Dolorosa."

"Ok," you finally squeak. You close your eyes. Ok.

"But..." the Signless stops briefly, and his hands pauses by your horn. You can feel his fingers hovering there. He loudly swallows.

But. "But what?" you prompt miserably.

"But.. I mean, only if you want to, of course..." he groans briefly, sitting up so fast that you fall off of the bed. You stare at him from the floor, startled. He's wincing and holding his side, and his face is flushed from emotion.

"Dammit!" he says viciously. You jump at his venomous tone. "I don't want you to go. I want you to stay here, and come with me as I teach."

"Huh?" you try to interrupt, but he rambles on.

"I mean, you're free to do what you want, but you're so good at listening, and I guess I just stupidly thought you'd listen to my request and come with me and the Psionic and the Dolorosa but you probably want to go back home - "

"What?" you interject, a little louder this time. You're having trouble following his rapid speech.

"But who would want to risk danger with stupid, stupid me instead of going back to that beautiful forest?!" He groans again, burying his face in his hands, mumbled phrases escaping between his hands.

Honestly, you think, exasperated. You stand up, snatching his hands away from his face.

"DO NOT SPEAK FAST LIKE SO," you demand. He stops, his mouth open in a startled 'o'. You take a deep breath, pulling his hands from his face and laying them in his lap. Their warmth seeps into your own hands, and you squeeze tighter. The Signless' eyes drops down to them briefly, before looking up into your face, searching it. You try to smile, but you only manage a quirk before you feel your cheeks warm.

"Now," you tell him quietly. "Do I stay? Or go?"

He swallows, looking away. "It's your choice," he says, his voice soft and rough. You sigh, a soft, little pained sound. "But..." he continues, prompting you to look at him again. "But I'd like it if you stay here with me..."

You drop his hands, hearing what he said. You play it over again. As your blood-pusher begins to painfully beat in your chest, you sit down, fast. The Signless makes a startled sound when you hit the floor, and he looks even more surprised when he sees your shoulders shaking.

"Hey," he sputters, sliding off the bed down next to you. Hesitatingly, he holds you shoulder, and the touch of his hand on you bare skin makes you throw your head back. His face looks nervous, and more laughter bursts out of your mouth. "Are you..." he pauses, a confused expression flitting across his face. "Are you laughing?"

"Yes," you gasp. "Laugh. Happy."

You throw your arms around his neck, squeezing him. His abnormal warmth fills you, and you wish you could just suck it all in. You lean back a bit, tipping your head against his. No fear nor shame fill you, only a bubbly, joy filled happiness.

"So happy," you whisper.

The Signless looks into your eyes - into your soul, it feels like. He looks as a man blessed, slightly dazed and disbelieving. "Will you stay?" he asks.

"Yes," you smile. "Oh, yes."

And you feel the softest brush of lips against yours, and you smile into its gentleness. It feels so right, and you feel so happy.

A/N: Haha... Ha... I didn't forget about you guys or this story. I'll just go hide in shame now. Sorry.