The air was thick with fog the morning Eckhart left Southpine. He hadn't stayed long, as the encounter with the thing (as Eckhart had taken to calling it) had spooked him more than he was willing to admit. Standing outside the town gate, Eckhart clutched the arrowhead he'd taken out of the thing's leg- now tied around his neck with a leather cord- tightly in his hand. "Well, I suppose I'd better head off."

After about an hour of walking, the fog began to clear. Eckhart could hear the birds sing their morning songs, and the dew on the roadside plants was glistening in the sunlight. "It's actually turning out to be a nice morning" thought Eckhart. "You know, I could get used to Serendipity. There's not enough snow, but this? This more than makes up for it."

Suddenly, Eckhart spotted what appeared to be a small, bright red pond just off the side of the road. "Whoah! Is this a cranberry bog?" Eckhart said out loud. "I've seen them in books, but I never thought I'd see one in person!" Rushing to the bog, Eckhart immediately took a handful of cranberries and shoved them into his mouth- he'd always wanted to try them- and immediately regretted it. "Holy shit, that's sour!" he thought as he spat them out. "Why did I do that?"

Her attention was quickly taken by the sound of someone screaming about a cranberry bog in the distance. Poor fellow, stumbling upon something like this on a day with Kaida happened to be lingering... and bored. Kaida's 'road to redemption' as she had been calling it was turning out to be one she saw no purpose in. What was she doing? What exactly was she trying to fix with herself? In all truth Kaida had no idea what she was doing so instead she was just going wherever she seemed to end up.

Walking off of the path she made her way to the bog she had discovered a few hours before, hoping that someone was their worth her attention. To her suprise, or better yet lack there of, was a boy shoveling sour cranberries into his mouth. "Well this one is just as stupid as the rest of them" Her opinion on humans yet to be changed... idiots... worthless... a stain of existence.

"You know I hear that if you keep eating them you will eventually turn into one." Her statement a gauge on how truly stupid this human was. The boy would see her leaning against a tree with arms across her chest. "Or maybe if you just jump in and stay under the water long enough the cranberries will accept you as one of their own."

Eckhart froze when he heard a snide female voice come from behind him. His old paranoia began to set in, a trait living with his sister had instilled in him. "It's going to be something awful, isn't it? I'll turn around, and it will be some asshole who kills people for fun or something." Eckhart turned around anyway, and wasn't surprised to see a girl leaning against a birch tree. She was deathly pale, and her eyes were a deep crimson hue. "Yeah, see, I bet she's a vampire or something. That, or she has a serious case of pinkeye."

Eckhart could feel his heart racing, but he didn't panic. Instead, he started fiddling with his arrowhead necklace. "Alright Eckhart, you can do this. If you can heal the Thing, you can talk yourself out of this. Just remember whose brother you are." Eckhart frowned, the thought of Hildegarde didn't exactly make him feel better. "Well, whatever. I should try. Maybe she's nice.  I'll just... I'll just talk about the cranberries or something."

Forcing a smile, Eckhart laughed at the girl's comment. "Haha, good one! I'm, uh, not from around here, so I've never actually gotten to try cranberries before. They're awful though, go figure."

"Alright, this sounds really stupid. I should talk about something else."

"Are you heading to Southpine? It's only an hour up the road from here if you were."

It took a matter of seconds for this boy to confirm Kaida's impression of him... idiot. She couldn't help but smirk at his believing she was joking, when in reality she was not. "Oh yes so funny. But seriously.. please submerge your face in the water. If you get uncomfortable just take in a deep breath.. under the water."

She had completely ignored his question on where she was headed and his directions. This boy could turn out to be a fun thing to play with, some amusement if even for only a little while. "If you feel it rushing into your lungs then your doing a great job. And if your lucky, a cranberry may got lodged in your throat and suffocate you before you drown."

Tilting her head to the side she continued to lean against the tree with arms crossed, clearly amused by the boy. "If you need my help holding you under I would be more than happy to help."

Eckhart squinted. "...Wow. She's... really obnoxious." Taking note of the girl's almost hungry expression, Eckhart could feel a bead of sweat roll down his neck. "Oh Ansgar, she's serious." He glanced to the road. "Maybe if I leave, she'll go away."

"Pfft, No More Bubbles was what the kids back home always wanted to play with me. The water would always freeze before any bubbles could come up though, it was never any fun." Eckhart laughed, although there was nothing particularly funny about any of this. "Well, it was nice meeting you! I ought to head off though, it's a long way to Jadenshine from here." Eckhart reached down and took some more berries from the bog- "They might have medicinal properties"- and shoved them into his pocket. He began to continue down the road, giving the girl a backhanded wave as he passed her.

"This psycho better not follow me."

How dare this human just walk away when Kaida was poking fun... who in the hell did he think he was!? Deep down Kaida was fuming that he dare turn his back to her, but that anger quickly shifted into something more sinister. "Oh a game then?" she whispered only loud enough for herself to hear as she raised a brow. Appearing beside her a clone emerged, a perfect replica in every way. Kaida sprouted wings from her back while the clone took off after the boy.

The young dragoness's clone walked silently behind the boy not muttering a single word or displaying any expression as it walked. Meanwhile in the sky Kaida had flown a bit away so that she could circle around without being noticed before descending right in front of him, her feet barely hovering over the ground when her wings retracted. "You seem to have mistaken my response as optional."

The clone behind Eckhart would continue to stand just a few feet away, but the look on its face had turned to something much darker, its eyes seeming to glow brighter and the shadow cast over its face darker.

The girl had decided she was going to stalk him, it would seem. "Well, I suppose I should have seen this coming" Eckhart thought glumly. "I'm probably going to die today. I take back what I said about Serendipity, this place is terrible."

All of a sudden, the girl descended onto the ground in front of him, causing him to yell and fall over in shock. After the initial panic, Eckhart regained his composure. "Aha! I knew it! I knew you were a vampire!" "Why isn't she burning up in the sun though? That's kinda weird."

Still on the ground, Eckhart would take his warhammer and attempt to swing it at the girl. He didn't expect it to work, but it may give him some room to maneuver...

She would be lying if she didn't say that him calling her a vampire insulted her on a deeper level than he could ever realize. Just as she was about to respond the boy struck at her with a warhammer, his form a pathetic excuse for someone trying. All she had to do was simply take a step back as the hammer swung in front of her, missing her entirely.

Chuckling a bit, her voice carried an eerie undertone from the vibrations she laced it with that she hoped would intimidate him a bit. The wouldn't cause his ears to bleed or anything that extreme, but they would make him slightly uncomfortable... at least they should. "I am not a vampire, don't compare me to those... things."

Feeling like a speech was in order another clone emerged beside her, now making three Kaida's standing around the boy. The three of them walked in a slow circle around him, each one on point with the other as if he were surrounded by mirrors. "Vampires are created, I was born. Vampires drink blood, I simply feast on worthy prey." The young dragoness continued to circle the boy, each copy in sync step for step, word for word. "Vampires burn in sunlight, I happen to love the warmth."

As Eckhart predicted, his hammer missed it's mark. What he did not expect was for the girl to split into three copies of herself. His eyes widened. "What the fuck is going on?" Eckhart would've begun to panic if he wasn't being distracted by an odd buzzing in his ears. It seemed to grow a bit more intense with each word the girl spoke, and Eckhart was having a hard time paying attention to what she was saying- though it seemed to amount to a long winded "I'm not a vampire". When the girl stated that she only ate worthy prey, Eckhart couldn't help but snicker. "Bitch, do you even know me? I'm a loser, there's nothing worthy about me."

The buzzing was getting unbearable, so Eckhart decided he'd try to stop it. "I can clot blood, right? Maybe I can congeal earwax too. What do I have to lose by trying?" Putting his hands over his ears, he grimaced and focused his powers. The girl would likely see the blue-green glow emanating from his fingertips, but he didn't really care. To Eckhart's surprise, it worked- he felt his ears begin to clog up, and the buzzing ceased. "Oh! That's better!" he said out loud, interrupting the girls monologue. His fear slightly weakened by the rush of pride that learning a new ability had given him, Eckhart slowly stood back up. "Sorry, could you repeat that last bit? Or just get on with killing me?"

"If I'm going to die here, I'm going to die knowing I pissed her off."

Staring on as the boy covered his ears she studied him, watching the small bit of energy emanate from his fingertips. Then suddenly he exclaimed he was feeling better, he must have somehow canceled out her sound. This sent Kaida into an even deeper fit of rage, each action from him more disrespectful than the first. He even went as far as to cut her off, something that most knew better to do.

"Why would I kill you when I am having so much fun?" Deep down studying magic users had always been Kaida's passion, being the reason she started her 'torture room' back at the now empty citadel. Oh how she missed it, pushing beings to their limits so that she could discover what they were hiding from the world. Then there were the ones with abilities she found useful, those she recruited into her death guard. Kaida has always been perfectly suited for pushing beings to their limits, her abilities affecting the senses of most. All of it to created pawns for her game in life, the end goal being that her family would come out on top.

"Show me what else you can do human. You have peaked my interest." and with that Kaida sent one of her clones lunging forwards at the boy only to explode into a cloud of ash and ember right before it would have touched him.

As the girl sent one of her duplicates at him, Eckhart clumsily sidestepped it. It apparently didn't matter however, as the duplicate exploded before it could reach him. If the girl's intention was to confuse Eckhart, it was working. His clogged ears made the girls voice sound muffled and distant, but Eckhart could still make out the gist of what she was saying. "Alright, so she doesn't want to kill me, she's... interested in what I can do?" Eckhart stared blankly at the girl. "I shouldn't tell her I'm a healer, she wont respect that- these types never do. No, I should think of something else I can do."

"Um, well, I know how to..."

"Shit, it's not going to work. Healing is literally the only neat thing I can do, and even then I suck at it."

"I can, uh..."

"Wait... There is one other thing I know how to do well. I hope she's hungry."

Eckhart paused.

"Actually no, I don't."

"I can cook! I can make you some really good shepherd's pie, if you'd let me!"

"I have never met a single person who doesn't like my shepherd's pie. Please, please say yes."

At first Kaida snickered to herself thinking of the fear that must be crossing the boys mind at her clone exploding like that. Her snicker quickly muted by his sidestep, but then her face altered completely when he mentioned what he could do.

"Cook for me?!" That was it, this was the last straw. This boy was not taking her threats seriously anymore and it was getting on her last nerve. Instead of a clone approaching him now Kaida herself did, first walking slowly before quickening her step a bit and stopping mere inches from his face. "I don't want your incompetent food."

Her words were harsh when she spoke, each one laced with as much disrespect as she could give it. Then without warning she reached her arm out and grabbed his wrist, allowing her venom to flow from the pores of her palm into his skin should he not dodge it, the corruption taking place immediately.

"I said show me what else you can do."

"Well, that didn't work, now she's really pissed" thought Eckhart gloomily as the girl now stood only a few inches from his face. Up close she looked almost unnatural, as if you asked the greatest artist in the world to sculpt a woman out of clay and bring it to life. It gave Eckhart the creeps.

Then she insulted his cooking.

"Oh, fuck y-" Eckhart began to say, but the girl grabbed him before he could finish. A surge of pain went through his arm where she touched him, and it took Eckhart everything he had not to scream in pain. It was unbearable, it felt as if he was dissolving. Suddenly, it hit him- "She's destroying my cells! Her power is the opposite of mine!" A smaller, more determined voice in his head that Eckhart didn't hear too often spoke up. "Then grow them back."

Eckhart looked the girl in the eyes, smiling through the pain. There was a glint of steel in his eyes that had not been there before. "Y-you know, I really hate people like you. You think just because you're strong, it gives you the right to fuck with people weaker than you? You think you're hot shit?" Eckhart's eyes narrowed in concentration, and his entire body began to glow a pale turquoise color. His cell regeneration was cancelling out the girl's cell destruction ability, and it was leaving the girl in a position where she was defenseless. "I have news for you, asshole." Eckhart reached into his pocket, uncapped his scalpel, and would make an attempt to slash the girl's face with it.

"You're not all that."

Smiling Kaida watched as her corruption began to take place, but then he started talking... why ruin the moment? It was nothing she hadn't heard before, how her kind thought they were better than others. This was true, she did think she was better. This boy was a mere human, unworthy of anything more than being a pawn in her next game, or so she thought.

Her smile quickly began to fade as she watched the boy begin to glow a color similar to that of the scales she possessed in her dragon form. In fact, she was so enchanted by the site of watching her corruption recede she almost didn't catch his next movement as he reached into his pocket. As quickly as she could she reacted, his scalpel nicking her cheek before taking the metal clasp on one of her earrings.

Jumping back Kaida panicked for the briefest moment. Not at the attack the boy had resorted to, but more to the feeling of a tiny trickle of blood on her cheek. Slowly lifting her hand she grazed the wound with her finger before pulling it back to see the crimson liquid. She would have responded with a swift kill, but that would be wasteful of someone with his abilities... one day he may come in handy. But that did not cloud the embarrassment she was now feeling. "Stupid mistake" her sisters voice echoing in her mind.

"One day... you will regret doing that."

Once again, the girl dodged his attack- but only barely this time. Eckhart's scalpel managed to graze her, leaving a small cut. One of her earrings was cut loose as well, falling to the ground with a small *clink*. Eckhart couldn't help but double over laughing. "Holy shit, this is amazing! Is this what power feels like?" Eckhart blinked twice, his laughter slowing down. "No. No. I'm not going down that route."

His laughter was cut short by the girl gasping in shock. The cut Eckhart had given her was bleeding, and the girl was staring at some of the blood on her fingers in utter disbelief. "Has she not seen her own blood before now? Who... Who is she?" The girls gaze met his as she told him he'd regret his actions one day. "One day?"

"Um, so... by "one day", do you mean you're leaving now? Because, uh, that'd be nice."

The young dragoness's shock quickly disintegrated at the boys laughter. Oh boy, how he was pushing her buttons today... yet she couldn't bring herself to even try and kill him. Perhaps it was her nature to collect and invest in the future that was holding her back. The future of this boy did indeed hold her interest as much as any other with a unique ability like his. Of course, she had also noticed how poorly he was using it. Could he really have no idea what it is really capable of?

Her thought process was interupted by his asking her to leave. Raising a brow she took another step back from him, not really quite sure how she should react. "Fine, but mark my words I will be back. Until then I hope you always remember the day that your life was spared by Kaida Black-Hearth." Not even bothering to try and fly away Kaida turned on her foot, her back now facing the boy.

"Later Cranberry."

And in fact, it would truly be later on when she would revisit him, curious if he had unlocked the potential lying within. Of course, she would tell no one. Not a soul of the boy or his abilities for her own sake. If anyone found out she was even cut by the likes of him her reputation would be ruined! This however did not mean she could not have him watched. The mere thought of having to contact Jaela causing a reflexive roll in her eyes.

To Eckhart's shock, the girl actually agreed to leave! Eckhart's eyes widened in disbelief. "W-well, see you later, I guess..." Eckhart began to hurriedly walk in the opposite direction of the girl, until he realized going that way would take him back to Southpine. "Fuck." Nervous, Eckhart went back to the cranberry bog and sat down with his back to a tree. "Wait... Did I really just do that? Did I win?" A smile began to play upon his face, and he began to laugh. "I did! I got her to forfeit, that means I win by default!" Feeling immensely proud of himself, Eckhart began to walk down the road once more- there was likely enough distance between him and the girl by now.

As Eckhart was walking, something glittery caught his eye. Looking down, he saw that the girl had forgotten to pick up the earring he had cut off. The gold glittered in the sunlight, wowing Eckhart- his family was too poor to afford jewelry like this. "Well, I guess it's mine now. Should I sell it?" he thought as he continued down the road. He laughed.

"You know, I bet I never actually see her again."