Water And Vinegar (Blink)

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Eckhart stared quietly at the dragon as she went on about her beliefs. When she had finished, he spoke.

"Kaida... Maybe that's what you tell yourself. Maybe you even believe it. But I never did any of those things, and yet when we first met..." Eckhart trailed off before continuing. "That wasn't about self-preservation. How many others like me were there? Ones who couldn't fight back?" He shook his head angrily. "Don't pretend to have some kind of moral high ground when you clearly don't."

Suddenly realizing who he'd just said that to, he quickly turned away and began to unpack the meat. "I'm sorry." he whispered timidly. "I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have said that. It's not my place."

[Blink]

"Your damn straight it's not your place!" Oh, how he had just struck a nerve.

Part of Kaida knew that Eckhart would never understand the road she had been down. He had only met her once on a bad day if that was what you would even call it. She was still trying to figure out what path in life she wanted to take. Humans were still a matter of amusement to her... nothing more and nothing less.

"When we first met I asked you to kill yourself yes. Why? Because I was bored!" Shifting on the counter Kaida then whipped her head back to laugh. "If you had met me before that I wouldn't have asked."

"You don't know me Eckhart and you probably never fully will. I used to kill people just for looking at me the wrong way." Tilting her head back up to look at the meek boy Kaida blinked, realizing that she actually had come so far.

"If you had asked me that same question I would have said because humans are nothing more than insects in the world I live in." Her tone was dripping with hate as she continued. "That perspective has changed, but the way I see some of you would be the same way you would look at a slave owner."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Once again Eckhart was quiet, although his eyes widened a bit when Kaida admitted that she used to kill people for no reason at all. "So that philosophy of hers is recent then. That's... good to know, I guess." When the girl had finished speaking, Eckhart managed to sputter out a quiet "Y-yes, right."

Eckhart remained quiet as he added the meat to the pan. He seasoned it with salt and pepper before sitting down on the counter as Kaida had. Desperately wanting to change the subject to something less emotional, Eckhart began thinking of things they could have a conversation about. "Um, so, Kaida?"

"Whatever you do, don't ask about her family or her own personal morals. Get her to talk about something else."

"Did you know the minister of this county is a murderer? Bella saw her do it! Isn't that crazy?"

"Yeah Eckhart, I'm sure human politics is something she cares about. Good going."

[Blink]

It was clear that Kaida had intimidated him, his sudden change in topic telling her so. Maybe she had been a bit harsh and felt the need to defend her actions more than she should have, but if he was putting that conversation behind them then so would she.

"And?" They way she said it made it seem like she didn't even care. If anything it was a perfect example of how humans did nothing more than destroy one another.

"She sounds delightful." Okay so now maybe she was pushing it a little too far. "Stop acting like a monster Kaida. Get your shit together!"

"I mean... it's really not that uncommon for someone to become a murderer, is it? Seems like everyone I have ever talked to has killed someone at some point in their life."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

As Eckhart thought, Kaida didn't seem too interested- she actually seemed to find it funny, which Eckhart honestly found to be very disturbing. Then the dragon stated that she'd never met somebody who wasn't a murderer, which caused Eckhart to slowly raise his hand.

"Me. I've never killed anybody- I mean, I have life magic. How could I? It fixes thing, that's all it does. All I can do." He lowered his hand and smiled. "I like that about me though. It's like, my sister got all the bad magic in our family, and I got all the good magic, y'know?"

[Blink]

"Life magic? Seriously?"

Kaida couldn't keep herself from bursting out in laughter again, almost falling off of the counter from shaking so hard. It was obvious that he wouldn't get why she was reacting this way which probably made it even more comical.

"If you say so" she managed to get out between chuckles, a hand moving to her side as the pain of laughing so hard started taking its toll. It took a minute, but she had managed to calm herself enough to speak more clearly.

"It's definitely true that you and your sister got something entirely different... that's for sure."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Eckhart was taken aback by Kaida's sudden laughter. "Is there something funny about never having killed somebody? I don't think that's funny." He swallowed. "Oh god, is she going to ask me to kill somebody now? Because I won't do it."

Eckhart nervously tried to laugh along. "Haha, yeah. Our powers really are polar opposites- though I guess you know that. I, um, heard about your encounter with her." He gave Kaida an understanding smile. "If it makes you feel better, she beats everybody. Most of the time she doesn't even try, she just uses... Chloride, I think it's called. I've ever only seen her go full ham on somebody once, when a pack of werewolves tried to attack town. It was like something out of a child's power fantasy." Eckhart shuddered. "I trained myself to hold my breath after that. My record is three and a half minutes."

Eckhart looked at Kaida, curious. "What kind of magic did your sister have?"

[Blink]

Kaida recalled her first run in with Hildegarde and smirked. To this day she couldn't get over the fact that she let someone get the best of her like that. Apparently is was a Von Musel specialty.

"She was a pain that's for sure. But nothing physical ever came of it. Both of us walked away with something far more important to worry about. No time killing each other just yet... we have business first."

Well, that was an inconvenient question...

"Void magic." One of the most powerful yet unsustainable abilities a dragon could hold. Kaida, of course, wasn't blessed with such a gift and other than Emelia and Aeizith none of the other Black-Hearth siblings carried it.

"It's a bit overrated if you ask me. It's dangerous and unreliable, completely useless in some cases and overkill in others. Definitely not something I would classify as 'unique'."  That was all that Kaida cared about after all. Individuality, uniqueness... something that no one else could duplicate.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Eckhart's brow furrowed as he took the potatoes out of the pot and put them in a bowl. "Wait, what the fuck is void magic? Doesn't "void" mean, like, nothing? How can you have "nothing" magic?" He began to mash the potatoes with a fork, adding salt and pepper for seasoning. "Come to think of it, Eira's magic didn't make much sense either. Like, how do you heal people with earth magic?" Eckhart shook his head. "Your family is weird."

Suddenly remembering a question he had asked himself a few hours ago, Eckhart turned to Kaida with a look of child-like curiosity on his face. "Hey, so, uh, I was wondering..." he began, shifting his body weight a little. "That thing you did to me when we first met, where you toched me and I kinda dissolved a little bit? What is that?"

[Blink]

"Poison..." Kaida straightened herself on the counter, happy to talk about something that could lead Eckhart to realize something all on his own. "You saw me use it again on those guys earlier that were attacking you didn't you?" Thinking back now she had actually only used it on one of them, and he wasn't even conscious for it, how unsatisfying.

"Ever heard of a poisonous frog? They emit some kind of nasty slime that could kill you. A natural defense. Mine causes your flesh and healthy tissue to decay at a rapid pace." Kaida then lifted her hand, facing her palm towards him before wiggling her fingers. "It comes from my skin. Nothing magical about it really."

"Imagine trying to play tag when I was younger. No one ever wanted to play with me..." Kaida then pouted. "Well except Emelia. She wasn't afraid of me."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Eckhart's eyes widened. "But that's really cool! I love nifty biology stuff like that! Did you know that there's a species of bird Thanatos that does the same thing as dart frogs? Except instead of mucous, the dander from it's feathers is toxic!" Eckhart paused to take a breath. "Y'know, a lot of toxins can be used as reagents in potions? Have you ever had your venom looked at by a alchemist? I know a woman who does stuff like that if you were interested."

"Actually..." Eckhart said, outstretching his arm. "Can you show me again?"

[Blink]

For some reason, Kaida suddenly felt like some kind of science experiment to Eckhart. Immediately she pulled her hand back, holding it to her chest. "What do I look like to you? I am not a bird, or a frog, or any of those things."

"No one is ever going to analyze and deconstruct my venom. It's mine!"

She truly was insulted by his simple question. Maybe Eckhart wasn't as special as she thought he was. "You don't see me wanting to rip you apart and see what makes you tick do you?" Okay, so maybe a while ago that was exactly what she would have done. I mean, the is what she did to Jaela in a sense... but this is different. Kaida is different now.

Leaning her head back Kaida sighed, knowing that Eckhart would have no idea what she was talking about now. "I really was quite sickening then... wasn't I?"

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Eckhart stared at Kaida in shock. "She's offended? I thought she'd jump at the opportunity!" He slowly retracted his hand. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that!" Eckhart's face flushed red in embarrassment. "I-it's just that I only ever learn new powers when I'm in danger. I just- I just thought that if you tried your venom again, maybe I'd figure something out!" He hung his head, staring at his feet. "I didn't realize..."

[Blink]

So that was it? Eckhart simply wanted to see if he figured something new out... interesting.

"Well, why didn't you just say so then?" After that Kaida slid off the counter and walked up to Eckhart with no warning. "If you die it's not my fault.." the only words before she grabbed his wrist, squeezing lightly as the venom began escaping her skin.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Eckhart's eyes lit up as Kaida grabbed him and let her venom seep into his arm. Grinning madly through the pain, he began to regenerate his cells at a slow pace that would allow him to study how the corruption took place while still keeping him safe from any lasting consequences.

Or at least, that's what Eckhart thought. As he watched in fascination, he suddenly felt the tips of his fingers go numb. He shrugged it off until he he couldn't feel his pinky finger anymore, and that's when he began to panic. "Oh, shit! That's not good!"

Gasping in shock, Eckhart shook Kaida off of him. "Sweet Angar, why didn't you tell me this stuff targeted the nervous system too?" he yelled in panic as he regenerated the rest of his cells. As he feared, healing his flesh did nothing to stop to slow spread of numbness through his hand. He couldn't feel his ring finger now, and Eckhart began to get very scared. "I-I don't know if nerve damage is something I can fix!" he thought- then he realized that this was exactly why he had asked Kaida to attack him in the first place. "Oh Ansgar, I'm so fucking stupid. Why did I do that?"

"Look at the face she's making right now. If you don't figure something out, you'll cement your status as a joke of a human being. Do you want that"

Eckhart's demeanor changed completely. "No. I'm sick of being seen as weak." he thought, and his expression became one of determination rather than fear. Lifting his non-corrupted arm to the back of his neck, Eckhart's fingers began to glow a pale blue-green. It was an act of desperation- he didn't expect it to work.

Then it did work.

Eckhart could feel it- as if his fingers had extended inside his body, allowing him to touch his central nervous system. Eyes wide, a small smile began to form on his face. "Ok, this is new. I like it." After maybe thirty seconds of fiddling, he felt what he thought might control the nerves in his arm and pulled.

Immediately Eckhart couldn't feel his arm at all, and it fell limply to his side. Looking at the dragon with tears in his eyes, his voice trembled. "I just gave myself ataxia. Please help me."

[Blink]

Taking a step back Kaida watched as Eckhart tried to fix the damage she had just inflicted hoping he really would gain something from this. While her face appeared entertained deep down Kaida was studying him, her eyes watching his every move as she prayed he would come closer to the truth that she knew.

"You can do it Cranberry... I believe in you." Of course, she would never say that out loud.

When Eckhart reached behind his neck Kaida's brow raised, curious as to what he may be doing. As he smiled Kaida came to the conclusion that he was figuring it out. "Yes that's it... now what?" She was growing excited for him, thinking this may finally be the moment he figures it all out.

However, when his arm fell limp she tilted her head.  "I told you that if you die it wasn't my fault. I'm not a doctor... I don't know how to fix this." She then smiled, having just fed him a partial lie. No, she couldn't fix what he had just done however, she could easily retract the poison simply by touching the afflicted area but... he didn't need to know that.

"Best figure something out quick... the clock is ticking.."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"You- you can't help?"

Now feeling very frightened, Eckhart reached for the back of his neck one more. Before he could try again, a sharp voice from the doorway stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Eckhart!" hissed Belladonna as she limped towards him. It would appear that the bond they shared had cause her front leg to go limp as well. "What the fuck are you doing?"

Eckhart's eyes widened. "Bella! Thank Ansgar you're here, I accidentally gave myself ataxia by messing with- OW!" Eckhart yelped as Maladies Most Unusual lifted itself of his bag and threw itself at Eckhart's head.

"Page sixty-seven, now!" Belladonna meowed angrily as she began rummaging through Eckhart's bag with magic. "I can't believe you sometimes, you can't just experiment like that! You need a proper test environment, which I do not see here. Now, please tell me you have basil in here somewhere."

Eckhart awkwardly placed his limp arm in a position where is could hold the book open and began flipping through the pages. Suddenly he looked up at Kaida with an very serious expression on his face.

"Could you please take the meat and vegetables off the stove before they burn? Just... just put them on the counter or something."

[Blink]

This wondrous moment was about to go perfectly. Cranberry was about to figure out his special gift and Kaida was about to be able to tell him she knew all along. A very faint smile rested on her lips as she waited in anticipation. However... then the fucking cat came in.

Immediately the slight of a smile shifted downwards and Kaida found herself restraining from reaching out and strangling the furball in question. A very deep and annoyed sigh escaped her lips as her eyes darted between the two. "He was so close"

Eckhart then asked Kaida to take the meat and vegetables off of the stove and part of her was offended again. "What the hell do I look like to him? I am no one's fucking assistant!" Yet she still moved towards the stove, grabbing the pans in question and moving them to the counter.

Her eyes were then on him again and Kaida wasn't sure if she wanted to cry or just kill them both. That stupid cat had just ruined everything! So much time she had invested in watching him grow and now the perfect time came and they were so close! Clearly, he wasn't ready... would he ever be? Already Kaida was questioning if her interest in this boy was just a waste of time.

"I need to go.. umm..." It was obvious that Kaida was upset. "... I have somewhere else I need to be."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Eckhart looked up from Maladies in shock. "B-but... I thought you wanted to try my food..." It was odd for him to admit, but he was beginning to get used to Kaida's presence. She scared him sometimes, but Eckhart could believe that deep down, she was an okay person. "Do you really want to argue with her though? You've see what she can do."

Before Eckhart could speak, Belladonna replied. "Leave then. The boy doesn't need any more stress in his life." Levitating some herbs and a pestle out of the bag, she began to crush them into a fine powder. "How long does it say to mash these for? It's been a while since I made this one."

"Um, forty-one seconds." Eckhart said, looking back down at the book. Glancing back at Kaida, Eckhart felt a pang of guilt. "What did I say? I thought I was doing... kinda well? I mean, she was being nice-ish to me."

"B-before you leave, um..." Eckhart said sadly. "Did you want... something different?"

[Blink]

"No..." Kaida's tone was emotionless as she made her way towards the door. "I'll be back in a bit, just have to take care of something is all..." and then she slipped out, completely ignoring the insult the feline spewed at her. If anything it helped Kaida confirm that she hated that cat and if she had anything to do with it... she would find a way to get rid of it.

She walked out of the inn, stepping into the street before her eyes flicked both way down the street. The stupid festival was still going on and Kaida wanted nothing to do with any kind of joyous celebration. Instead, she opted to go the opposite direction, soon finding herself walking down a dark street barely illuminated by the lanterns lit for the festival.

"Finally some peace and quiet" she mumbled, taking a turn to lean against an empty building. Over and over again Kaida then lightly thumped her head against the stone, debating on what her next step was.

"Maybe all of this was useless. Maybe I am wasting my time trying to do this..." The moment her head began to hurt she stopped, deciding just to rest it there as she looked up at the stars. "Emelia was so much better at this than I was."

She would be lying if she didn't say it was times like these that she missed her eldest sister. At least then she had someone to talk to that didn't see her as some kind of monster. Yes, those were the days when everything just fell into her hands at the snap of a finger. Everything was so much harder now without having someone to talk to. Even Aeizith had turned his back on her, of course, it was her own fault but still... it was clear blood did not run thicker than water.

"Emelia... if you're out there... I miss you..." Kaida talked to the stars as if somehow her message could be heard. A small tear then began to build in her eye as she continued. "At least you cared..." Kaida's face then fell as she looked at her flats on the pavement. Emelia cared, yes that was true but Emelia also had her own selfish reasons too. "... too bad your dead." So what if there were rumors she was alive? Apparently, there was even a human strutting around who looked just like her. But Kaida knew there was no way Emelia could ever get an infection... Eckhart said it himself that this woman had one. For now, she was just going to pretend it was all coincidence... Emelia was dead.