Eggs... It smelled like eggs? And she could hear it... the sizzling sound of something cooking in a cast iron pan. Just like how Blair would make them for her when she was a kid. Her eyelids felt so heavy but they slowly opened, Lilith's vision slightly blurred as it adjusted to the light. Lilith's brow furrowed some as she felt something against her cheek. It was skin? And this weight on her head... The sleep in her eyes quickly faded as she realized where she was. Or rather what she had been doing in her sleeping. Not only had she fallen asleep sitting up, leaning against the wall, but had also used Sorin to lean her head against. She slowly pulled away from him, relieved to see that he hadn't awakened from her movement.

"Oh, hey, you're awake," called Ferris from across the room, where the little kitchen was. There was a fire pit in the middle, where he was doing his cooking. A cast iron pan was settled against the small flames of the fire pit, scrambled eggs sitting inside to finish cooking. Amaya was sitting across from him by the fire pit, her body turned away some so her legs could stretch out. She had one shoe on one foot but the other foot was bare. Well, it was obvious from the dark bruising that it was the same foot that was caught under the tree last night.

"Where... Where are we," asked Lilith, rubbing the side of her head. Her body felt so heavy right now, her left shoulder stinging as she moved. She gasped at the feeling, right hand quickly covering it as she groaned.

"Careful, you should move a bit more slowly," Ferris advised, using a cloth to pick up the cast iron pan's handle and slip the eggs onto a plate. He then offered the plate to Amaya, who took it with a smile.

"Listen to him, Lilith," Amaya added, looking over to Lilith with worry. "We.. We all got hurt pretty bad last night. We need to take it easy so we can heal."

"Yeah, didn't surprise me that once we got here to my home, you and the other guy there just passed out as soon as you sat down." Ferris' eyes glanced over to the sleeping Sorin, who still wasn't stirring. "Here, take a seat by the fire and I'll cook you some eggs real quick."

Lilith nodded and pushed herself to stand up, albeit with some difficulty, and walked over to the fire pit. Crossing her legs, she sat behind the fire, rubbing her head again. Last night was definitely going to be added to the list of rough nights she's ever had to experienced. And the worst of it all was they had only just managed to push Temperance back. The woman was outnumbered and the most they could do was have her retreat. Lilith's eyes looked up at Amaya and then to the sleeping Sorin, sighing quietly to herself. All of them coming out of that with only injuries was honestly the best case scenario. Things really could have gone at lot worse.

"How's your foot feeling," Lilith asked Amaya, hoping it didn't feel as painful as it looked.

"Well, it was really bad last night and I felt really out of it too, but I think I'm doing alright. Still have a headache, though," Amaya replied, smiling cheerfully.

"I guess if you ignore how bruised and fucked it looks, it's okay," Ferris said bluntly, earning a bit of a stern gaze from Amaya. He half shrugged before setting the cast iron back onto the coals, a basket of eggs behind him that he reached for. Cracking the eggshells, the eggs hit the pan and very quickly began to whiten.

"Anyway, what about you, Lilith? You were stumbling a lot last night... Did you lose that much blood?"

"I think so," Lilith agreed, her hand over her shoulder again. "Though It would have been much worse if Sorin didn't stop the bleeding when he did. That.. was one of worst pains I've ever felt but... It was necessary."

"In that case, you three should stay here to rest up," Ferris offered, adjusting the pan some. "The dragons' energy should heal you up by tomorrow, and then you can head out and do whatever."

"Ahm, you don't... want to come along with us? We have room for you," Amaya asked, poking at her scrambled eggs.

"Can you blame me for being hesitant after what I saw last night?"

Both Amaya and Lilith looked away, a bit ashamed that he had to see all that after the fighting had happened. It was honestly understandable to Lilith - she would have been hesitant too if she were in his shoes.

"You're not scared of Dragon's Blood finding you here," asked Lilith, tilting her head slightly. "After what happened last night, it's probably a matter of time before they search around the forest."

"Eh, it's not like I have much to lose," Ferris replied with a shrug, his brown eyes glancing to Amaya's plate. "By the way, I don't really have silverware around so just eat with your hands."

Surprise crossed Amaya's face at those words before she looked down and carefully picked up a piece of scrambled egg. Bringing it to her mouth, she took a quick bite and chewed a bit, looking a little awkward about it. Though this did catch Lilith's attention to the room they were in. She obviously didn't realize it last night but this home seemed pretty small. The walls were made from wood, same for the floors, and lacked any decoration aside from some windows. There were some cabinets, at least, in the kitchen area but it didn't seem like there was anything else of significance in this one room aside from the fire pit. To Lilith's right, there was a doorway that lead down to a nearby hallway. Was it wrong for her to assume that there wouldn't be much difference compared to this room?

Ferris caught Lilith's curious gaze around the room, chuckling a bit to himself. "Yeah, I'm aware of the lack of decor that most homes have," he said, Lilith quickly averting her gaze to the small fire instead. "My family wasn't exactly rich. Should have been obvious since we live in the forest."

"Um, it wouldn't have been right to assume, though," Amaya remarked between bites. "But... where is your family?"

"Not around anymore. It's just me now."

Silence hung in the air, the two girls exchanging looks before their eyes were on him again. However, neither of them could say anything, not when they had no idea what his family was like. Were they good people? Or were they as horrible as Lilith's? This was definitely something they couldn't assume, and a question they felt wasn't their place to pry about.

"Hey, reach into that cabinet behind you and get a plate, will you? Your eggs are almost done here," Ferris said to Lilith, the girl snapping out of her thoughts.

"Oh, right," she muttered, turning around and opening the cabinet. Inside, she could see plates and cups in sets of four as she reached in to grab a plate. Four... He was in a family of four? Closing the cabinet, she held the plate out as Ferris used the cloth to pick up the pan, sliding the eggs onto her plate.

"You two can eat up for now. I don't think that guy is gonna wake up for a good while," Ferris said to them, motioning to Sorin. "I'll check around the forest to make sure anyone from Dragon's Blood isn't prowling around. Just because I don't have much to lose doesn't mean you do."

He pushed himself up to stand and headed for the door, opening it as quietly as he could before stepping out. Lilith and Amaya looked at each other again, Lilith looking down to blow some of the heat off her over-easy eggs.

"He seems pretty nice," Amaya spoke up, Lilith nodding her head in response.

"Yeah, he does. It was pretty lucky of us that he happened to live nearby," Lilith agreed, her eyes suddenly widening in realization. "Wait! What about the fire!? The one Sorin caused in that fight!?"

"I think Ferris took care of it. When we got here, you and Sorin knocked out over there, but I stayed awake a bit longer. Ferris helped me get my shoe off and then he went out to take care of the fire. He told me so before he left last night."

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"R-really? I guess he must have a dragon that can take care of fire. Though, with you already having water, what else could counter fire?"

"Hm... Earth? Putting dirt over a fire can snuff it out."

"Good point... Anyway, thanks for helping me last night. I could have been killed if you hadn't stopped Temperance," Lilith said sincerely, looking up at Amaya gratefully. She looked back down at her eggs and started to eat them, picking it up carefully with her fingers.

"Oh, of course! I wasn't about to let her do that! Though, I certainly wasn't expecting her to use her powers and slam me repeatedly against that tree," Amaya explained, very carefully touching the back of her head. She winced at the contact, lowering her hand as she sighed. "Still feels really tender."

"I guess that's why Sorin is asleep still. He took it pretty bad too. Think he mentioned that he had a broken rib or two and that his nose was also broken."

"And that was just one member of Dragon's Blood... Do you think we can get out of it better if we face her again?"

"Maybe... That's sort of why I want Ferris to join us. We're safer in bigger numbers."

"But wouldn't that mean they'd also fight back in bigger numbers?"

Lilith paused in her eating at this, realizing this was a very likely possibility they could come up against. Temperance had already seen that they were a group of three traveling together, and from what Diligence had mentioned some time before, it wasn't a common occurence for carriers to do what they did. Apparently it was, at most, in pairs that they would stick together before. Anything more than that was very rare. With Temperance escaping last night, it'd be a matter of time before she would relay this information to the other members. What followed after would be their answer to their method of growing their numbers. Though if it took three of them just to fend off one member... Lilith could only dread how many of them it would take to fend off a pair of them.

Though, the events of last night did bring a new thought to her, one she had almost forgotten about because of so much happening at the time. Quickly eating the rest of her eggs, she set her plate down and looked at Amaya, the girl having finished her own breakfast.

"Amaya, it's possible for us to alter our bodies into something dragonlike, isn't it? I saw Sorin do it last night against Temperance," Lilith asked, wondering what she knew.

"Oh, yes, it is possible. We can kind of borrow some of the dragon's physical attributes, like their scales and claws," she replied with a nod. "After awakening, we also inherit their more passive abilities, such as their physical strength and their regenerative healing. The physical stuff, though, takes some practice."

"Hm, so if I was able to do that... I probably wouldn't have gotten hurt the way that I did." Lilith lowered her gaze and brought her hand up to cover the tear in her shirt, where Temperance's blade had cut through to pierce her skin.

"Lilith, that's not your fault." Amaya pulled herself back with just her arms and reached over to place her hand on Lilith's knee, the girl staring earnestly at the other. "You're still so new to all this. And how could we have known that we were going to be attacked like that last night? No one could have prepared for that unless we have future-predicting abilities. And as far as I know, none of the dragons can do that!"

"I guess you're right about that but... You do realize that by killing Diligence, we started a war with them, don't you?"

"Lilith, that... That 'war' started long ago, before Diligence died. Dragon's Blood formed because some carriers were using their power for the wrong reasons."

"But from what Diligence said, we already did do something wrong in their eyes." Amaya's eyes fell a bit as she pulled her hand back, uncertainty written on her face.

"I didn't think... that someone as nice as you could have attacked a village," Lilith added, her voice low as she moved her hand away from her shoulder.

"They.. They never welcomed me or my family. I wouldn't have done that.. if they had just treated us better."

Lilith stared for a second before softly sighing, bringing her knees up a bit to lean forward against them. "Yeah, same here. If my family had treated me like their daughter, I don't think anyone would have gotten hurt that night. Was it the right thing to do to fight back?"

"Ugh, shut up with your morality bullshit," groaned a voice, both girls looking up to see Sorin finally stirring, the boy sitting up straighter. "Whether we did something or not wouldn't change the fact they'd still hunt us down for being carriers. It would have been inevitable, because they don't see us as human. They just see the dragons inside us."

Sorin's words had Lilith recall what was said by Temperance and Diligence, specifically how they mentioned only the names of their dragons. Not once had they asked for their actual names. They really didn't see them as people... But as dragons.

"Listen, both of you," Sorin added, using the wall to help himself to his feet. "If we meet any other Dragon's Blood member, you have to fight to kill them. They won't hesitate to end your life, so you two can't hesitate either. If you do, either you or someone else is gonna die, and it's not going to be them." He groaned and winced as he brough his hand over his torso, his breath a little shaky. "Dammit, it still hurts."

"We're not doing much better either," Lilith said with a shake of her head. "Honestly, I'm not sure how long we should stay here with Ferris."

"At least until we're well enough to walk on our own," Sorin answered, stepping over slowly toward them. He sat down to Lilith's left with another groan, taking deep breaths as he looked at the fire. "Obviously I'm not ready for that. My ribs still fucking hurt."

"My foot isn't healed yet either," Amaya added, the two looking to Lilith next. "And my head still hurts."

"I'm honestly feeling very weak. I don't think I can walk for long distance without feeling faint or fatigued," Lilith replied with a small sigh. "My body feels heavy enough as is."

"There really isn't much we can do now but to rest. At least we'll have Ferris to help us out."

"Where is that guy, anyway," asked Sorin, looking around. "I want to have some breakfast like you two."

"Wha- He's not your butler," Amaya said with disbelief. "Don't be taking advantage of someone else's hospitality!"

"What the hell? I just wanted some food! Or do you want me to go through his stuff and feed myself without asking? 'Cause I can grab eggs from that basket there and cook as many as I want, all for myself!"

"Ugh... Just do whatever you want."

"Already am," Sorin said with a roll of his eyes. As much as he wanted to get up and try to find Ferris, he really didn't have the energy in him to attempt that. He'll have to wait until the other young man returned.

"Sorin? Can you-" Lilith started, pausing to hesitate. "Show me... How you did that thing with your hands? When you had dragon claws and scales."

"Oh, that.. Yeah, I can show you how. Not right now, but I think it'd be important for you to know about this stuff when the time is right." He stopped looking around, turning his head to face her instead. His eyes settled on the tear in her shirt, sighing. "I'd rather prevent something like that happening again to you... Can't have you getting stabbed to death and lose a source of income."

"Well, um, thanks? I guess?"

"What!? Lilith!" Amaya looked at her with disbelief next, pouting her lips slightly. "You can't be thanking him for watching out for you when his only reason is to get more money out of you!"

"I know I'm paying him for it, but I don't see what's wrong with thanking him for offering his services."

"Yep, just doing my job here," Sorin said with a smirk, Amaya scoffing.

"I honestly can't wait for Lilith to run out of money. That way you can leave and I won't have to see your insufferable face again," the blonde girl huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, yeah, you don't like me and all that shit. I get it. Not like you're a ball of sunshine yourself."

"Ugh! You...!"

The front door opened, everyone turning their attention to it to see Ferris step in, the boy raising a brow at them. "Huh, sounded so lively when I was out there, but then you guys get all quiet when I get back? Man, feels like I'm being left out of some inside joke."

"Hey, mind getting me some food," asked Sorin, waving him over. "Then I can tell you all the shit that Amaya was saying about you."

"I didn't say anything about him," Amaya said with a raised voice, Sorin turning his head to smirk smugly at her. As for Lilith, she pinched the bridge of her nose out of exasperation, figuring this cycle of their arguing was never going to end.

"You sure like to get reactions of out of people," Ferris muttered, stepping over to the fire pit to join them. "Though, I have to admit, kind of nice to have it be so noisy here. Been too quiet for me lately."

"Well, if it weren't for me paying for that one there," Lilith started, motioning toward Sorin. "I'd have let you keep the both of them to keep your home noisy."

"Wha- Lilith, how can you say that," Amaya asked, looking hurt by these words.

"Sorry but... You do get easily riled up by almost anything Sorin says. At this point, I figured you would have caught on that he says that stuff to annoy you."

"Hmph! Then I'll just ignore him entirely! You'll see I won't be so easily riled up then."

"So Lilith, what was it like getting cuddly with me last night," Sorin suddenly asked, Lilith's eyes widening out of surprise. He.. knew that she slept against him last night? "Kept you warm, didn't I?"

"I... Don't make it sound like that," Lilith said in a low voice, shaking her head. "It wasn't like that."

Amaya stared hard at Sorin and Lilith, lowering her gaze to the fire as if to distract herself. Ferris, however, chuckled a bit since he figured out what Sorin was trying to do here. To him, it certainly seemed like he was trying to make Amaya jealous that his attention was now on Lilith. The guy sure seemed to get too much enjoyment out of Amaya's reactions.

"Yeah, gonna be interesting to have you three around," Ferris chuckled, stoking the fire a bit so he could get started with getting Sorin some breakfast.