Heirot

Neko pursed her lips then really shoved him. "Wake up! Or I'll leave you here!" she yelled. This unicorn could really sleep like a rock.

Adonis's eyes snapped open, his expression going cold with tension. He suddenly glanced at her and at the cave around him, remembering the events of the night before. He couldn't help wincing as he also remembered his leg. Realizing he was lying on his back with his front exposed to her, he reached down reflexively. His fingers found the loincloth still in place, and he eased back, calmer now. "Did anything happen in the night?" he asked awkwardly, sitting up so that his back was mostly facing her.

"Nope." she said leaning back from him. She carefully avoided looking anywhere else except his face. "You sleep like the dead. But, I guess you needed it." She yawned and tried to cover it with her mouth before he saw it. And again she tucked her kimono tighter around her.

To his horror, Adonis found himself blushing. "I was a little tired," he defended. His glance fell across her. "You seem in need of sleep as well," he said seriously. "If you wish, you can sleep while I look for your brother." He raised his fingers to brush his silken hair out of his face, but his fingers discovered a strange texture in his sleep-tousled hair. He grabbed the tip of Neko's braid and held it out in front of his face with two fingers, staring at it blankly.

"No I can--" She stopped talking when Adonis found her braid. She laughed, embarrassed. "Hehe--uhhh, I got... bored?" She smiled and then took the braid from him and started to undo it.

"Do you... by any chance, remember the first time I did that?" she blushed, trying to not look him in the eye.

Adonis froze as she began unbraiding his hair. The gentle pull of her fingers in his hair felt good, calming, despite himself. Just like it always felt to have his mane touched. This was just one of his quirks, like it or not.

"Do you... by any chance, remember the first time I did that?" she blushed, trying to not look him in the eye.

Adonis blinked at the ground in front of him. Why was she asking this now? But he did remember, quite well, actually. He'd been content at the time, secure. Protective of her. "I can recall," he said as if the memory didn't mean that much, but he had to work to keep his eyes from squeezing shut in contentment. He must have been more tired than he thought.

"I could go for one of your stupid carrots right now," he joked quietly.

"I could go for one of your stupid carrots right now," he joked quietly.

Neko smiled, finishing un-braiding the lock of hair, "Sorry," she said softly, "I don't have one." And like he was a child, she rub his head gently then stood up. He had brought something to light though, she was hungry. He was probably hungry too and they had nothing. She frowned knowing that her brother wouldn't fare well without nourishment. They had to find him soon.

Before he could remind himself not to, Adonis enjoyed her brief pat on his head. He recovered quickly, climbing up to his good leg. He had no adrenaline to go on, and knew his bad leg wouldn't be supporting him at all today. On the other hand, the swelling had begun to go down. He was a unicorn, and though his powers were cut in half, the wound would heal quickly. He may even be able to put weight on it by the end of the day.

He turned toward the outside of the cave and hopped out to the edge of the trees. His eyes found what he wanted more quickly than he'd have hoped - a long, sturdy stick, straight and thick enough to put his whole weight on. It reached to just above his head when he stood it next to him. He gripped the stick with both hands and used it as a crutch, making his way back into the cave. He'd be exhausted in no time if he hopped around al day.

"Okay, let's have a look," he said, noting that some weaknesses in the cave roof allowed thin streams of light into the back of the cave. If Kratos was alive, which Adonis rather doubted, they would be able to see him.

Neko smiled brightly, the energy to find her brother making her more awake. Neko followed him carefully through the cave, taking a good look through the rubble and calling out of both Kratos and Eosan. They heard nothing though for a while. Neko began to despair, thinking maybe he was dead, or still unconscious, or even buried! She tried hard to quell the fears, but they ate at her until she was ready to cry and scream.

"Kratos!" she called out again, crouching down to look into the more shallow parts of where the cave had collapsed. Something stirred farther back in the cave, and the sound of someone falling over and a grunt made her hopes soar. "Kratos! Eosan!"

"O--Over h-here..." It was Kratos. His voice weak and trembling, but it was Kratos.

Adonis halted as he made out Kratos's voice, and Neko's reaction confirmed it. He made his way down to a relatively undisturbed place in the rock, and sure enough, caught sight of the girl's brother. "Here," he said, calling Neko in front of him. He wasn't going to be the one to run up to the apparently injured man. It smelled like blood, though not fresh blood.

Neko placed her hand on Adonis shoulder, a silent 'thank you' for helping her find him. And she then rushed forward to her brother and hugged him.

"I'm so glad you're alive! I was so worried after the collapse! Are you okay? Don't worry, we'll get you somewhere soon. Do you know where Eosan is at all?" She had a rush of questions and love for her brother that he barely had had time to breath when she hugged him. He gasped when she finally let him go.

"Eosan? Oh... that elf... He, yeah, he helped me out after that fall. Man, I must have missed a lot. There's actually a... an exit in the back of the cave, it goes to the cliffs on the coast." he explained and then sighed again. "It was when we heard you that he actually left, said something about being needed elsewhere and that I'll be fine now..."

Neko frowned, so Eosan had left them? "I guess, we should be thankful then that he took care of you." she said not knowing how else to react to Eosan's leaving of them. Maybe it was better, who knew?

"We should find a place to rest and get you and Adonis healed--"

"Adonis?" Kratos asked, bemused.

Taking his cue, Adonis stepped out of the shadows so that he was visible to Kratos. "If the reunion is over, perhaps we should make our way out of this death trap," he said flatly. He knew what was probably coming; a less charming re-enaction of Neko's response to him the night before.

Kratos stared at the naked man leaning on a crutch. It seemed impossible, there he he was. He smiled tiredly, more concerned with getting food and rest. "Good to have you back, Adonis." he waved to him and then let his sister lead him out of the cave towards to open air of the cliffs. Out there, it was sunny and the siblings felt refreshed by it.

Once Neko had gotten Kratos outside in the open air, she came back in to make sure Adonis got out without complication.

"Really," she started earnestly, "Thank you."

Adonis was mostly speechless as he followed them out of the cave. Kratos had accepted him...even welcomed him? He'd expected anger, suspicion, even hatred, but definitely not this. When they'd made it out of the cave, Neko approached him to thank him again.

He just stared at her. His hair hung like polished obsidian around his shoulders now that they stood in the sunlight, and his tanned skin radiated the sunlight like an answering call, despite how dirty it was. "Do not thank me. Rescuing you was just a brief indulgence of selfishness on my part. When the time comes, I intend to destroy all humans, and that will include you," he said warily.

Neko stopped smiling briefly. He was still on that? Well then, if he was going to end up killing them all, then she would love to go down as the one who pissed him off the most. "Selfishness you say? I'd rather think that was actually self-less, but maybe I have my terminology wrong." She smirked to herself, she rather enjoyed doing this to him. "Foo, you wont make exception for me? After all we've been through? I hope you don't mind if I defend myself when that time comes." she giggled to herself as they came out of the cave. Kratos was laying against a wayward tree, enjoying the sun on his face.

Below the waves crashed into the shore and gulls cried. The breeze was refreshing on her skin and she found herself having missed the salty air.