“I’m sure they will be glad to have you back after so long.” She hesitated to reply but then nodded. She assumed Eriu would be. They had been arguing a bit when she had been taken. Nothing out of the normal for a mother and daughter but it being the last thing she had spoken to her mother still haunted her. ”I hope you are right.” Lux assumed it was true, but still there was worry there.

When he breathed his answer about not being human he sounded almost relieved. The words gushing forth as if they had been pent up for far too long. He offered no further explanation and she didn’t delve deeper. Not yet at least. He had trusted her enough to tell her that much and given that he had let her assume him human up to that point it might not be well known that he was otherwise. He gestured to her wings and briefly Lux followed the movement to see the curl of the joint of her wing sticking up over her shoulder. Looking back at Cedric she smiled but didn’t speak. It didn’t seem that this was a conversation he looked to pursue and so she held her tongue.

She was quiet as was he. Only the soft rhythmic sounds of the scrub brush over the horses hide permeating the silence. She should help. She knew she should. But she was also tired and feared spooking the beast again. She watched him work over the soft dip of the equines back. Lux was lucky to have encountered someone such as Cedric here. Someone so patient. In just the brief moments she had with him so far she felt herself more grounded, more solid. Her connections to a life she had been so willing to surrender slowly taking root again. Being spoken to like a sentient being helped. Not being treated like furniture or a tool. Even if he did have an odd sense of humor.

She shook her head slightly at his words, her tiny smile growing by a small increment. Blue eyes turning up to follow him as he went to retrieve water and began to rinse the soapy froth from the dark beast. When he spoke she could only assume he was referring to the bruises that her fingers had been tracing. Her gaze moved to her knobby knees and she shook her head ‘no’. But then realizing he likely wouldn’t see the movement, busy as he was, she spoke. ”They are not so bad.”

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” She looked up to see his dark eyes on her, unwavering. She swallowed and searched for something she could say. It wasn’t the sort of truths one could just blurt out while sitting in a stable. What had happened for many years was indeed something he may regret asking to hear. But then she found her thin lips moving. Tongue curling around words of its own accord. ”…Only if you tell me why you keep your true self a secret.” It wasn’t really a bargaining match. He had nothing to win by telling her other than being forced to listen to her sob story. It was more of an offering. She would only tell him of her past, of her magic that she was afraid for others to learn of just because of how it had been her downfall. She would only tell him of this is he wanted to release his secret as well. Otherwise she would hold the events close and try to lock them in a box.

Truthfully she did want to know more about Cedric and his reluctance to admit his race. What could be the secret that he cradled so tightly? Suddenly a small lad strode near her, he knelt and picked up the bar of soap that had been used for Edward before heading back to his own charge. Her blue eyes followed the boy, and when she spoke they still had not shifted away. ”Do you fear they would cast you out?”

(I thought he had brown eyes xDDD sooooo sorry I’ve been writing that in post. Derpy Rook is derpy. Btw there is no pressure to match if any of these are annoyingly long, I can ramble a bit sometimes xD)

“If a man left marks like that one of my horses, I’d kill him.” Lux didn’t comment although she understood the sentiment. She wouldn’t blame him for it either. Not everyone deserved to live, even if she was too weak, too much of a coward to act on that notion. “And whoever left those on you deserves nothing less.” She breathed out a breath she wasn’t aware she had been holding. Her soft voice barely noticeable over the sounds of the stable. ”Maybe one day.” She had perhaps a bit of admiration for Cedric, for someone who didn’t think of others like the cruel hearted beasts she had lived with.

Cedric’s reaction to her offer of a trade made her stomach tighten. Her heartbeat quicken. Her first thought that she had pushed him too hard. That he was angry with her. An apology on her tongue and ready to break free from the cage of her teeth. But she didn’t speak. She could see that he was debating something. Perhaps dealing with an unspoken issue. So she held her tongue and waited. Her muscles tightening with each soft grumble. And then he finally began to speak only to be cut short by the young boy. Lux kept her eyes low. Waiting silently, patiently. It seemed an eternity passed before they were alone again. Blue eyes turning up to see Cedric again.

The words that came from the kind man did not paint a pretty picture but rather one of pain and loss. Even vague as it was. One word stuck out to her. Hunted. Lux had been rather oblivious of the war for the most part. She was never pulled into the clash between the races as many were. But from what she had learned from others there was one race that was truly hunted, not just faced. The most massive and impressive of them all. A race that found it hard to hide who they were because their form was so distinctive. Dragons. Her eyes widened as the assumption settled into her chest. Not out of fear. As far as Lux knew a dragon had never lain a hand on her. Of course her thoughts could be running away with her. He could easily be a werebeast of some sort. But dragon seemed to suit him best. Even in this form he appeared powerful, a force to be reckoned with.

He stopped speaking with reluctant words. Words that told her he could not say more. Lux dipped her head slightly to him. ”Thank you for trusting me, Cedric.” She said softly. Staring up at him from where she sat she fiddled with the rough hem of her dress. ”They would not know it from me.” Her promise was a soft spoken one but her words were true and the look in her eyes verified as much. It was now her turn to hold up her side of the bargain and as if realizing as much Lux looked back down to her knees. Several moments passing before she found the words to speak.

”Healing gems…T-they aren’t common, very expensive and sought after items.” Her throat tightened and Lux’s fingers moved to probe the soft dip in one of her wrists where rope had sat for a very long time. ”I can make them although not the way a mage might….I was given two gifts, my hybridism coming into play. The first being that my tears can heal wounds, even severe ones, bring back the recently deceased. Depending on how hard I cry.” There was a pause there. It wasn’t an ability she would readily admit to someone and yet here she was telling a near stranger of it. ”The second....I can form them into stones. Stones that can be carried with those I care about in case they need them. But they work for strangers  as well. Stones…that were apparently worth many years of my life.” Another pause, a shaking breath making her shoulders tremble.

”I have learned over this last century that there are many…many ways to make someone cry.” She risked a glance at Cedric then, but it was fleeting. She didn’t wish to elaborate further. It seemed obvious to her that after hearing what she had given that he could put it together. She had been taken and used for coin. She swallowed against the lump in her throat, fingers rising to rub against the side of her neck almost self consciously. Not only bruises and scars colored her skin but dirt and grim as well. Even her blonde hair seemed limp and flat. The sharing of their stories had certainly dropped the mood several notches. Lux cleared her throat and looked up to Cedric, seemingly shutting the bad memories away at least for moment.

”….did you say I could bathe here? It has been a while, I imagine even Edward would wrinkle his nose at me.” A change of topic, hopefully to something lighter.

“They tortured you.” She closed her blue eyes for a moment in response to his words. Feeling that her scars, scrapes, cuts that still marred her back in various stages of healing would verify that for him. But she found her lips moving all the same. Speaking a single word that seemed to make her curl even deeper into herself. Her slender back bowing beneath the weight of such an admission. ”Yes.” Moments passed. Eventually Cedric would make an offer that brought her eyes open and gaze back to his handsome face.

”It is my weight to carry.” She wouldn’t dare drag anyone else into the mess that had found her. The kind stranger had given Lux her freedom, she would not risk someone elses life on something as silly as revenge. If she were to ever find it then it should be at her hand. But she didn’t want anyone risking their life for a fruitless revenge. It wasn’t as if she could get that time back. As if killing them would make the scars disappear. She rubbed her wrist, as the phantom pain of the rope being pulled taunt against her flesh made her tense. ”There would always be worry. Always someone ready to exploit another being. They are one small number of many.”

The conversation was turned then by her question of a bath. After he had put Edward into his stall and returned Lux stood to follow him. Feeling tired but not nearly as shaky as before. She had pushed herself a little too far it seemed. Patience was hard. She was so eager to make up for lost time that it left her frail body floundering to keep up. She stopped briefly at Edwards stall to allow her fingers to roam over his dark nose. Knowing it was likely the last time she would see the dark beast. ”Do not let them tell you that you are a demon.” She said softly to him, words intended for the horse alone. Hopefully Cedric wouldn’t notice them.

”It must be nice to have a bath in your home.” Few could boast such a thing. Even a stall outside the house would be a luxury to many. Once they arrived she looked down at the tub, wondering the temperature of the water given the chill in the air. But she would not turn it down regardless. Her eyes followed his gestures to the items around the tub. Tail then arms reaching out to take the items he offered her. The second making her smile just a bit. ”Thank you.” She told him as he disappeared. Turning back to the water with a soft sigh.

Once she was certain the door was closed Lux began to undress. The thick course material of the dress given to her by the farmers sliding easily off her shoulders. It was all she had, clothing wise. She laid it on a small shelf to keep it dry then sprinkled a bit of the salt he had given her into the water. Sitting the items she held down Lux then moved to get into the water. It wasn’t hot by any means, but it was warm. Her large wings curled behind her and down into the water. Circling her naked form much like they likely had when she was still a babe in her mother’s womb. Thin fingers took the bar of soap and worked in over her skin. Rubbing and rubbing until the bubbles were white. And then her hair as well. Her wings got little attention as they were already shedding horribly as it were.

She used the pitcher to rinse the soap from her hair and work her fingers through the golden locks. Rinsing the rest of the soap from her body she took a deep breath. Feeling lighter without all the dirt. And maybe that she had washed a bit of the touch of those people away as well. The way their fingers could bite into her skin, the glass vials that would be forced against her cheeks to catch the tears. And perhaps the worst part had been that they seemed to enjoy it. As if she were not a living being that could feel and think but a source of entertainment and income. She struggled to brush the memories away and slowly climbed from the tub. Her massive wings jerking in a soft flap that left her biting her lip to keep her silence. She reached for the towel and dried her hair as best she could before wrapping it around her body. Remembering his words she looked down at the balm. But the majority of her wounds were on her back. Oddly enough their favorite location. The skin there would appear somewhat thickened from the abuse. Scars overlapping and new wounds overlapping those.

But would the balm be of any use? Regardless, it was a pointless thought. She couldn’t reach it. She used the balm on the scrapes around her hands and elbows then donned the dress. Something clean would have been better but she hardly had anything to change into. She folded the wet towel and left it on the lip of the metal tub. With one last glance behind her she headed to find Cedric. The balm he had given her in hand. As she her way outside to where his large horse that had been pointed out to her earlier stood she caught the words of another stable hand. This one an older man, obviously bitter about anything and everything. ”It didn’t take him long to get her undressed did it?” He joked to a younger fellow at his side and gave him a rough elbow as if to punctuate his joke.

Lux would say nothing to their harmless words and move on toward Cedric. Stopping at the fence that would keep his equine enclosed. Her blue eyes roamed over the large horse then shifted to Cedric. The balm suspended in her palm so that he would see what she spoke of. ”Could you…help me?” To even ask for someone to touch her felt absurd. And she was certain she would regret it. But if it was something that could help with wounds she could use it, infection would not treat her kindly she suspected. She looked down at the balm then and shook her head with a nervous smile. ”You seem busy, I shouldn’t have asked.”

Lux knew she was being unreasonable. Asking such a thing from him when she had flinched from his touch at every turn. But this time it was her choice. She was asking him. And she trusted that he wouldn't harm her or take advantage of the situation. It was reckless really to trust someone she just met. But he felt...safe. Like he understood some of what went on inside her head, even if she didn't really. She was ready to blurt another apology before he smiled and took the jar from her hands. Lux went still as he moved behind her, holding her breath without intending to. Minutes passed and Lux's shoulders sank a bit, regret making her cheeks burn. He was staring...she could feel it. It wasn't as if the dress revealed any of her more feminine parts. The only part of her evident being her wings and hole cut into the back of the dress to make room for them to slip through.

"Cedri-" She started to speak, her throat clenching around his name. But then she felt the touch of his finger tips over her ravaged skin. She was rigid, not moving nor speaking as he continued to work the healing ointment into her wounds. She was forced to breath when her lungs began to burn, sucking in a trembling breath. Her arms crossing over her chest in a sort of hug. Maybe she could physically hold herself together. The balm was warm, perhaps warmed by Cedric's fingers. But it actually felt good against her skin. The fresher wounds would burn as his touch ghosted over them, the scars only dully throbbing. With time Lux began to relax beneath his touch. Her blue eyes closing until a dark memory made them jerk open. She wasn't there...she was here. Safe.

It seemed to take forever, but she knew this would be good for her. The sooner the wounds healed the sooner she could start working on rebuilding the muscles in her wings. The sooner she could fly again. Her wings would twitch when he touched them. The muscles contracting away from his touch without her willing them to. When he stepped to each side to observe his work Lux turned to look over her shoulder. A small shake of her head answering his words. "No, I believe you covered the worst of them, thank you." Her wings that had relaxed to not obscure her back tensed and folded against her back again. Eliciting a wince from Lux until the movement had ceased.

He appeared troubled, his voice softened and not carrying the lightness from before. She peered at him as if searching for something to say. It was the soft snort from the large horse that saved her from the silence. Her blue eyes turning back to the horse and a smile coming to her lips. "He's even larger up close." An attempt to lighten the atmosphere that she had so dutifully killed. She looked back to Cedric, about to speak again when she caught sight of the hint of a scar on his arm, just peeking from beneath his shirt. It looked deep, heavy, although she couldn't discern what it could have been from. But he had said his kind were hunted...maybe the two were connected. Lux reached her thin fingers toward him, her first reach for someone since her capture years ago. If he didn't pull away her fingers would very lightly touch the thickened skin that could just barely be seen. Not following the scar beneath his clothing her hand would then fall away. The feel of his warm skin beneath her fingertips making her curl them against her palm to keep the feel as long as possible.

"....was that from a blade?" Her words were soft, ask in a way that made it clear she wouldn't press if he brushed the question away.

She had smiled at his words about the horse, shaking her head as if lightly scorning his for making a bad joke. Her fingers had softly grazed his scar before she pulled back, fingers curling tight against her palm. “I don’t mind.” She shook her head, a look of regret on her face. "I shouldn't have...not without an invitation." She wasn't like those people who had kept her captive, she would have been upset had her own been touched without allowing it. She should have given Cedric the same courtesy he gave her. A spear. She looked up to eyes then, feeling them boring into her as before. She looked down to his arm when he implored her to. Not touching him this time but following the map of his pain with her eyes. "I see..." She said softly.She had to wonder if it had occurred back when he said he still traveled with his others if maybe it had been the reason he had stopped. Before she could ask another question the conversation took another turn. One she accepted without question.

She didn't think he was going to teach her how to ride today. She had assumed it was one of those offers that would happen 'one day'. An in the future thing. He leaned down to grab something she assumed would go on the horse, rising with a question that made her pause. "...which way is easier on the horse?" That seemed like the only fair option in her mind. If the horse would let them ride then they should ride in whichever way would be easiest on the beast. She reached up to brush a few damp locks of blonde hair from her face. Her blue eyes imploring Cedric to tell her because she truly had no clue.

"Would it be better without the saddle? They seem like they would be uncomfortable squeezing their belly so." She worried her lip between her teeth as if thinking through the question but of course coming to no answer. She had no experience with horses. "What would you prefer? If you were a horse I mean....to be ridden with or without?" The question sounded odd but she hadn't realized it until she said it out loud. She laughed softly and pushed her damp hair behind her ears. "Just remember I haven't actually spoken to anyone in a very long time, then maybe I won't seem completely strange....just slightly." It was an excuse but there was a smile on her lips as she said it.

Although she might not seem so alert, Lux was very aware of what was happening around her. Now at least that the fog had cleared from her mind. Cedric's companionship making everything seem real and not so dreamlike. His blink made her brows narrow as if confused but she didn't comment, just offering a tiny smile in response to his words. Kindness...was that what it had been? Perhaps. It was also possible she was just curious about this man that seemed so overwhelmingly kind, how he could have found himself injured so. But..curiosity could be akin to kindness. One wouldn't worry about someone they didn't like.

Her questions didn't bring an answer from him. But instead deep rumbling laughter. Lux bit her lip and smiled, aware that it was at her expense but not really minding. It was a very bizarre question once she thought about it but he appeared to contemplate an answer. She pursed her lips and nodded along as he spoke, but in the end he gave her no straight answer. "I'm glad, not many seem too." Lux said with a genuine smile. Her gaze falling to the saddle he shifted and she knew he was waiting for her to decide. Pushing the decision off on to him hadn't worked and Lex was left with the decision. She took his words into consideration but in the end made a sort of in between choice.

"Will you be with me? To stop me from falling? If you will be there I think I would like to ride without the saddle." She didn't know how he had planned this. If she was to ride alone or with him. Lux reached over to pet the horse's shoulder as well. Her pale fingers ghosting softly over his dark fur. She hoped she didn't end up falling, it would be pretty disheartening to add a broken arm or leg to her catalog of injuries. "If I am riding alone I would probably need a saddle..." A cool breeze made Lux shiver. Her wings suddenly appearing and curling around her head and body like a ragged cocoon. As soon as the gust ceased she let them relax. Her face tensing from the effort.

"You are sure it's ok to leave?" Recalling the man from earlier with the loud voice she frowned. "I think that guard would be angry to see I was still around the horses." She looked over at Cedric's equine then back to him. "I don't want to cause any problems for you. I think that you have had your fair share of them without a hybrid making things even more difficult." She wanted to give him an out, a chance to change his mind. She didn't like the idea of pushing anything on him. Especially not just because he pitied her.

Lux reached up to run a hand through her damp hair, ruffling it a bit. It was messy, not dignified in the least, but the same went for the borrowed dress. Lex herself was hardly a regal person, she resembled more a wild deer in her actions than a woman of nobility. But raised among fae and then being held captive for so long, it was fairly expected that she wouldn't act like your average human.

Her blue eyes roamed over to Cedric again. Questions coming to mind that she wouldn't ask. Thoughts that she wouldn't even allow to fully form before she pushed them away. He was a man who wanted his privacy, she owed him that much at least. She had been staring for far too long to be socially acceptable and upon noticing it her cheeks and throat reddened with blush, blue eyes falling downward and then to the horse as she searched for a focal point. "Some of them might be nicer than you think...the humans I mean. Surely there would be someone here that would be nice enough to speak with." A jump to his earlier comment about not talking to people often, a bit of a leap but she was trying to find purchase and not just be left looking like a dumb fool caught staring....and not for the first time.

He had a way of evading answering her questions, twisting them back around to her each and every time. She shook her head a little when it happened yet again. Shaking her head with a soft laugh. ”Are you always so difficult to get an answer from Cedric?” She asked in a still amused tone, teasing just a smidge. ”….I don’t think you are ‘anyone’.” Meaning that she didn’t throw him into the same category as anyone she might encounter on the street. It was naïve really, to trust him so quickly. And if sorely placed she could find herself in a world of trouble, especially given all the information she had willingly given him.

But she didn’t see that happening. ”Since you won’t decide for me I guess I will have to.” She had hidden within her wings then, away from the cold breeze. The horse that greeted her when her wings fell away from her face was much unlike the reaction of the other. He breathed a sweet but strongly scented huff of warm breath onto her face that blew her hair back in an almost comical way. One of her hands rose to settle on his soft nose until he turned back to his foraging. ”I will ride with you, i-if you will have me.” Her shiver from the cold had brought upon an offer that made Lux hesitate. Warmth would be wonderful but she had to consider the proximity issue. ”I’m not sure when I could return it, I don’t know how long it will be before I leave Niwetri again once I get home. And you would probably need it before I could return.” Her wings twitched then as if to remind her of their presence. ”And…they might not fit.” Thin shoulders rose in a small defeated shrug as if to say ‘life with wings’.

Lux didn’t miss the straightening of his spine, the way his shoulders rolled back like a rooster trying to bluff another. It made her grin and she didn’t even try to hide it. Cedric apparently wasn’t excluded from how prideful men could be, different or not. ”That is probably best.” She admitted about riding around the courtyard. She was bound to do horribly anyway. She had been staring at him after that as her mind wandered. His words broke the spell. “Are you painting a mental picture?” Her eyes narrowed and the rosy tone of her skin deepened. ”I don’t- a pictu-n-NO! I wasn’t!” Her voice had risen several octaves in her embarrassment and she looked around to make sure she hadn’t been heard. ”I like it when you smile.” She admitted a little dejectedly. Thankful that the conversation took a turn then to avoid her further torture.

Cedric spoke of the humans as if he were trying to be polite about it, trying to find something nice to say but more or less drawing blanks. He said they grew to be evil and Lux felt pity for him. It was strange to pity someone who appeared so strong but everyone had their burdens. And Cedric likely carried more than his fair share. “-what they did-“ Lux tensed at those words and her eyes fell downward to the ground at their feet. She swallowed against the lump that had developed in her throat almost immediately when those words had been uttered. What they had done…she had been broken in many ways. But she was still alive now, that was what mattered.

”….they weren’t all humans, Cedric.” Her voice was soft, her blue eyes appearing distant as if recalling faces, abuses, years past. She suddenly blinked those dark thoughts away and cleared her throat. ”Humans are not the only race swallowed by greed…there was the occasional elf, werebeasts, dwarves, I have come to see that evil comes in many forms.” She wasn’t attempting to discredit his views, but show him instead that one race couldn’t be inherently evil when others were just as bad. She rubbed her arms, feeling the uncomfortable ghosting touch of handprints there, rough fingers digging into her flesh until tears had poured down her cheeks. But she wasn’t there any longer, she was here and safe. With Cedric.

Lux reached across the fence to let her fingers trail over the horses massive shoulder. Looking back over her own boney one to the man she thought to be a dragon. ”You want me to hate them." It wasn't a question but rather her take on the situation. Her words were soft but she was curious. "Why?" Words spoken only for their ears and perhaps the equines if he were to turn his massive head in their direction.