.:Delilah:.

Fire returned, circling and swirling before her eyes, licking at her jaw like the dangerous kisses of a toxic past. Her wrists bore the same burden of the weighted shackles, though unlike last time her mind felt clearer and no hand reached to pull her back.

The heat seared through her entire body, making her convulse in horror. Fighting against the shackles, trying to slip her wrists from their embrace. Still they clung, despite handing tethered to nothing, the air grasped them in an iron grip. Then the pressure on her wrists changed and moved? Looking down in horror as the shackles morphed into hands, fingers snaking forward to grip her forearms. Eyes bore through the flames, face contorting into a wicked smile as it pulled her further into the orange glow.

Panic made her lurch back, trying to fight her captor, feeling more hands grasping at her horns and clamping over her mouth. This time a scream filled her ears, but it sounded familiar? The images and sensations shattered around her, wandering hands retreating.

Delilah shot up, heaving in desperate breaths, ears ringing from her own screams. Her eyes surveyed the gloom around her, senses returning. She was in the bunk room of the safe house that she and Mavrik had arrived to in the early evening.

The door swung open as Mavrik hustled in, Morningstar drawn and still in his cotton under clothes.

"Delilah?"

"I'm sorry, I had a nightmare" she managed with a shaky breath.

He surveyed the room, clearly concluding that there was no one else in the room with them. "You're safe" He assured, fumbling in the door for a moment before reaching out to draw it closed behind him.

"Stay?" Delilah was surprised by her own question, however nothing could triumph her surprise as Mavrik lingered for a moment. As if tussling with her request, before carefully pushing her door closed and easing himself to sit beside her cot on the floor with his back against the wall. The man's company bore an instant effect to the room, it felt warmer, brighter. Delilah felt the familiar comfort his presence brought, settling back down on the small cot and feeling silly for requesting such a thing of him.

"Thank you" she whispered softly, listening to Mavrik settle into one of the arcane books she'd left on her bed side table.

"It's nothing, try and get more rest."

*****

Something tickled her nose, stirring Delilah awake, blinking the bleariness of sleep from her eyes. She froze, hardly daring to breathe as she realised what had been tickling her face. Mavrik was still fast asleep, head resting on her cot and practically nose to nose with her, foreheads lightly resting against each other's. His arm lazily slung onto the cot, which in her sleep she had curled up to, a shy smile lightly pulled across her lips. Admiring the sleeping man, he looked oddly vulnerable, and utterly exhausted. His stubble was thicker than he usually kept it, ashen blond hair falling over his face slightly. His eyes brows knitted into a frown, his fists noticeably still black and blue with deep fresh bruises.

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Feeling a pang, what had he gone through and had to do to find her? She'd tried to ask him on the the way to the safe house but Mavrik had changed the subject. She didn't dare reach out and touch him, knowing Mavrik he would wake up swinging and he needed to rest just as much, if not more so than her.

Carefully, she inched back from him, straining her ears for any change in his steady breathing. Satisfied as his shallow breaths continued once she'd pulled away and stood from the cot. Tip toeing out of the room in search of food for the two.

A quick search of the cupboards bore very little, clearly the safehouse wasn't well stocked. Not that she thought it would be, but one could hope. With a soft sigh, she pushed her way through the back door and found the water pump. Filling a bucket with water and taking it back inside to freshen up, slowly she shed her layers, flashes of her dreams and the past few days skimming back across her eyes, causing her to shudder.

Carefully she examined the faded bruises over her ribs with a careful stretch, feeling the stiffness in her bones easing. Unsure if it was Lira's or her own doing with how quickly she was recovering. At least, physically, mentally was a whole different battle.

Tentatively her fingers traced the base of her spine where her skin was raised, uneven and jagged with a dark messy scar. She'd always wondered what the caused the old injury and now thanks to the Witch Hunter's journal, she knew. Lost in her thoughts, she wondered if perhaps her tail was barbed like Ellie's or spiked like the devil that they encountered. Shaking her head and redressing, she changed the water in the bucket for Mavrik and returned to the kitchen. Digging through her pack for rations to try and tussle a half decent meal for them.

Foot steps drew her attention to the door, dark circles still under his eyes. Her face softened at the sight of him, offering a plate of food out for him to take. The two ate in silence, the part few days weighing heavily over their shoulders.

"Let me help you"

"Help with what?" Mavrik stood, stacking his plate on the counter.

"Tame some of that scruff."

Mavrik raised a hand to his chin, now understanding her words with a weary sigh.

"Come on, I won't cut you.. much. I promise" She teased softly, taking the small knife he'd gifted her as she tried to make his attitude a bit lighter. Mavrik remained silent, but didn't pull away as she drew closer with the water bucket and knife which she took as the go ahead. Dragging her chair out from the table and encouraging him to sit, she carefully dabbed at his face with the cloth. Hearing Mavrik's amused huff, and realising she was poking her tongue out in concentration, pulling a straight face.

"Sit still." She chided, trying bite back a smile and stay poised.

Taking a breath to steady her hands, she drew the blade against his skin, hearing the sound of the hair grumbling against the blade as it glided across his jaw. She knew it wouldn't be perfect, let alone clean. But it would be tame at least. She continued, tracing the contours of his jaw and chin with the flat side of the blade, forgetting herself occasionally and only realising how close she occasionally pulled to him when his soft breath on her skin drew her back. Running her finger tips lightly over his skin to assess her work, Delilah almost jumped as his hand found hers. Drawing her hand from his face, his eyes guarded and yet pained. For a moment the thought hit her, panicking if she'd cut him but his skin looked fine.

"That should be fine, thank you."

Feeling her cheeks burning and realising she may have over stepped, Delilah nodded and retracted her hand. Mavrik stood, running his hand along his chin.

"We should keep moving soon."

Before the devil-kin could reply, the sound of hoof beats reached her ears. Drawing to a halt outside, before the door opened to reveal a familiar feline woman.

"Lunar?"