Rise from Destruction

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Unbridled, untamed terror formed in her eyes as she jumped startled effectively by Kade coming into the party as it were in front of her. Her two toned gaze wide open looking through the part of her hair that revealed the scene, she felt icy cold shaking hands grip onto her arms as Katherine was the one who escaped narrowly. Like mice in a burrow, the two of them pushed further back as the peculiar's seemed to go diving into the mess of blood and flesh and gore alike.

Katherine was praying fervently under her breath, clinging tight to her and her in turn to the woman as a bellow of cries went up from one or possibly two of the swiftly gifted peculiars came crashing down. They were fast but they were not skilled when it came to an equal opponent in front combat.

She didn't know what possessed the woman at her side to do it, but she did. Perhaps half crazed due to watching her own children slaughtered or possibly just the realization that their lives meant so little; the woman bolted as fast as she could away. Taking towards the open wasteland only catching the attention of one of the minion peculiars, and off it went.

Kyrie managed to crawl under the wagon missing the sight of Katherine being sliced and diced, the peculiar deciding fighting another one was not worth his time, and drug off the pieces of the woman's body into the night.

It was there that only Kade and the leader Peculiar remained. Or did. His long mouth twisted into a dissatisfied snarl but leapt back to escape the onslaught of Kade, "Stupid vulture changer," he cursed Kade, "We do all the work and you reap the prize." there was a food chain? it reminded her somewhat in a gruesome sort of way hyena's and well vultures out on the pride lands that she watched back when she was a child when there was television.

Just as quick as it happened... it ended.

Dropping her forehead to the ground, dragging a hand through the dirt letting the soft stifled sobs rain down privately to herself, there was no one left. No one... left. Was this the way the fate's were repaying her for helping Kade? For her going against the course of nature? She didn't understand, she couldn't comprehend. All she wanted to do right now was stay under the wagon.

What was she suppose to do... a lone human...
 
A thundering roar followed the nightmarish Peculiars as they fled and Kade - to his shame later - took a step toward one of the dead bodies on instinct. He'd fought and won and the prey was his now, regardless of who had taken it down. His mind only told him 'food' and then the sound of muffled crying made him turn, crouching, growling and his silver eyes alighted on Kyrie....and memory came back. Kade looked around with a different mindset then - sort of - and disgust swept over him; at the scene, at the Peculiars, at himself.

He snarled once more before standing from his crouch and he looked from Kyrie to the body of her father with a feeling he really couldn't identify anymore. Pity? Sympathy? Empathy? He didn't know and didn't really care to put the effort into finding out. It wouldn't bring the dead back to life and it wouldn't change their fates now. Those machete vultures would be back and there would be no use trying to bury them. They would just be dug up and they didn't have what they needed to burn them. Better to let them slip into this dysfunctional new circle of life.

But he approached the man who'd been so against him being here and slowly Kade crouched again. The scent of blood was powerful in his nose, but it wasn't so far gone as the others had been that he couldn't control himself...for a little while. He reached forward, seeing a thong around the man's neck and he took the thing off, not even looking at what was on the thin rope before he gathered the thing in his palm and fisted it. He shook his head. "Be glad I was here, human. It kept your daughter alive."

The hybrid rose again and this time he approached Kyrie, and he reached under the cart and pulled her out. He wasn't unkind about, but he was firm, knowing in her grief she might fight back or shy away from him or both. "Come on. We can't stay here. They will be back."
 
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Feeling the sharp intake of air tear through her well deserved sobbing only finding herself being pulled out sternly from her safe place, she stiffed noticeably. She didn't struggle or kick or anything of the like, that was beyond her mind of comprehension.

Swarming tears rolled in a soft loss to the scene around her, as she couldn't overly hold his gaze that long.

Finding her feet under herself when she was able too, Kyrie worked her teeth painfully over her bottom lip as she would merely do as she was instructed. She wasn't sure what he was thinking now, what difference it made to him to tell her to leave or not, if anything it would have been the opportune time to leave her for the monsters, free himself from any sort of humanish thoughts that went through his mind and relive any sort of obligation he could possibly have. Not that she would have ever thought that possible. But the brunette nodded dumbly, following him like a confused lost stray that was looking for some sort of footing to keep her broken thoughts around.

Kyrie said nothing not wanting to provoke anything, waiting for the moment that Kade would feel it was far enough and leave her to her own devices. Splitting ways to either falter in the heat of the day, starve or dehydrate beyond life or simply being on someone else's menu. She did not fault him, this was just how things were. And she understood that.

A blank look held fast to the only eye seen, watching the parched ground under the night sky with no discerning thoughts but replaying the horrors of watching them all... watching them all become nothing but a slaughtered slop for those peculiars. It wouldn't be long until she was in the same boat.
 
If he'd had more strength, he would have flown, but a few swallows of water and some pieces of a jerky was not even a true meal. And with his rapid metabolism? It wasn't even humanish anymore! No. He didn't have the energy to fly much less carry something...no, no someone with him. He really had to stop thinking about other people as objects. Right...he could try and he could walk...so that was what they did.

They walked away from the carnage - and Kade had grabbed a few full, undamaged canteens and the bag of food that could be carried and had distributed them between himself and the catatonic-like human - and out into the open space of the wasteland, nothing but the stars for light. His thoughts were scattered like those distant pinpricks of light. Just what did he think he was going to do with this woman? So meek and soft-spoken, it was a miracle she'd been the one to survive that massacre...well, actually...no, idiot that was because of him. What had HE been thinking? Right....that pesky human nature again....no, wait, that was wrong. Human nature good, feral nature bad. Right.

But still.

She wasn't safe with him. He was exactly like those vultures back there. He'd snap on her if given enough pressure, of that he was sure. If he got hungry enough or angry enough...he'd kill her. Why wouldn't he? He had no connection to her, no reason not to, every reason to do so for his own survival.

So why did you save her in the first place, dummy?

He didn't know! She'd just...she'd helped him. But he'd already assured himself that such a thing would gain no loyalty from him and even if that had been the reason, his debt was paid. No more guilt. But...she'd looked so helpless and scared. As any animal should in the face of a predator.

She wasn't an animal, though. That was him. She was...better than him. He'd not wanted to see that snuffed out. Still didn't, actually.

Huh...guess he was still a bit more human than he thought. That would be gone soon, he was sure.

Heaving a sigh, Kade looked back at said human and then around at their surroundings. Nothing in sight. This place was as good as any. So he stopped and then moved to her, taking the canteens from around her neck and shoulders, placing them on the ground. His voice was deep and growled, but he wasn't much able to help it. "Sit before you fall over. We'll stay here until morning."
 
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She walked as instructed, the slow descend of silent tears dripping over the curve of her cheeks falling downwards to drip off into the fall from her chin, repeating the process while she folded her hands before her body. The greatly smaller woman said nothing, did nothing when Kade had charged her with some of the canteens he had taken, and once more merely acted as she was told to do so.

Numbness took well in the cold core of her body. Swimming in the pained light of memories fresh and new, her mind desperately yearning to fall into a slumber in hopes to put time and space between what was and what will be. She couldn't even tell someone if they asked what direction she had walked in, which way the moon was facing or what time of night it was. Kyrie merely was there. Body moved on its direct accord but much more than that was nonexistent. With well deserved reason of course.

There were so many wild and frightened thoughts that tore at her mind, realization of what was to be and the understanding that it would not be long until she was on the border gates of the river of Styx.

Eyes popped open cropped vision lifted up as she bumped into Kade when he stopped, only taking an veering step back when he approached and shrank as he removed the wear around her neck and shoulders. If she had been an animal, she would have shown her belly.

She still might.

As commanded, she sat pulling her knees up into her chest letting her grasp circle around and hold fast letting her face sink into the space between to let the violent shivers of cold of the night and fear of the gore rack along muscle and flesh alike. She bit her sore lip, dragging it through her lips as her focus peered hard at the dark that came from her drawn body, shoulders to shake with the heavy silent sobs; the girl never left anymore alone than she did now. With rightful consideration. She was alone. Absolutely through and through.

Oh she could have thanked Kade for his actions and she was still prone too when she eventually got some composure around her possibly, if he was still there when she did that was. Kyrie couldn't blame him for any of this, it hadn't been his fact and it was in direct action to him jumping it that she survived at all. But whether or not that had been important right now was yet to be seen.

She sat that way for a long while, hugging herself before the take of slumber finally came to call. Even if she did not want it too, Kyrie succumb to its dark nightmare infested void.

The human awoke early in the day, frozen right through her clothing to her chest and back out again as she sniffed back the sneeze that was threatening in her sinuses, eyes both exposed to the twilight morning light as she picked herself up off the ground to rub her hands futility up and down rapidly on her arms. Listening to her stomach protest the lack of nourishment with a pained twist, the human girl looked off towards west then towards the east to the sliver of rising sun. Then came the careful look across her shoulder of an brown eye to that of the large peculiar. A frown set on her lips, Kyrie glanced towards that of the canteens, picked only one up and bowed her head to the earth. She sat down on her heels to write out in the dirt in great big letters, 'Thank you' and 'Please take care' for him, as she swallowed hard and rose yet again.

Picking a direction and leaving the rest of the entire supplies with the peculiar, the human woman began to walk towards the east. She knew she wouldn't survive long, maybe two days if she was lucky but she also knew she was not welcomed company in any facet. Humans or peculiar's alike. She... had no where to be and it was only time waiting on her now to fall to the ways of death.

It was the way's of humans, and this would be no different.

Peculiar's only seen human's as meals, and she would not impose herself on Kade's hospitality. He did not ask for this and she would not request it of him either. If the world wanted her to vanish, she would do so.

There was no one left anyways to want to put up with a misfit human. One that was unwelcomed in mankind.
 
He woke with the true rising of the sun, like a lizard that the heat had finally stirred and Kade gave a fanged yawn, wings stretching, flaring before he they settled against his back again. His curled and swished slowly as it willed and for a minute the hybrid forgot all about the happenings of the day before and the company he had. It was the registering of the canteens that made him frown and memory came flooding back...as did the awareness that he didn't hear the breathing he'd fallen asleep listening to - thinking about how strange it was to be so acutely aware of such a thing, though, it made sense seeing as it had a long time since he'd had anyone sleep in his vicinity - was no longer there.

His head rose, silver eyes looking out beyond black hair to his surroundings. All that greeted him was emptiness and Kade frowned, pushing himself out from his stomach and looking around again as if that might somehow produce the human out of thin air. No, she was gone...but there was no scent of blood, no cloying fear leeched into the scent of the dry soil. Her scent was strong where she'd laid but other than that...wait. Crouching, he tilted his head a bit, brow rising as he read the note.

Uh-huh.

Well....right... Kade frowned, wondering just why this didn't sit well with him. It wasn't like he'd forced her to leave or threatened her in any way - though, he'd be the first to admit his company was not all that great - and she'd gone of her own free will, so why did he feel...damn, yes, guilty. He felt guilty. And something else... A growl rose up in frustration, unable to exactly pinpoint a feeling that should have been easy for him to identify. All his instincts could think about were food and the desire to keep moving, to hunt, to travel, to mate, to fight, to migrate...to...damn, there was another desire there, a strong one, but he'd never been able to name it. He just knew it kept him moving, almost like he was searching for something. Something important. He'd yet to find it.

But right now his instincts weren't the strongest thing going through his mind. No, it was thoughts about Kyrie, a young woman he'd only met for a day, but someone who'd already made an impression on him, something that wasn't easy these days. But she'd been kind to him. She'd treated him like...well, like he was still human and she'd trusted him to act as such in return. And how human would it be of him to simply let her leave and wander the wastelands on her own, especially in the state she was in, having just lost her family, no food, no shelter and only one water as far as he could tell. She'd be worse off than him when she'd and her caravan had come across him.

How could he, as a human or even half-human, leave her like that in good conscience? Better to have left her to the other Peculiars. It would have been a faster death.

Kade sighed, looking around again as he scuffed out the note, and took a sniff at which direction Kyrie had gone before standing and retrieving the canteens and small food bag. He shook his head then, called himself an idiot, but took off into the sky. It would strain his energy reserve, but it would also help him find the wayward human faster as he started off in the direction her scent said she'd gone.
 
The sun was hot beating down her neck blistering like a over ripened fruit as she fought with herself to conserve and drink the canteen that was easily nothing more than hot water right now. But she knew what she wanted right now wouldn't keep her alive in the long run.

Hazy wavy lines reached out in the distance heat rising from the parched ground as she swallowed compulsively trying to stave off the dryness of her throat with little avail. Sweat trickled along her back down her spine as she pinned the entirety of her hair back to her skull letting her sights been unhindered by her bangs.

She wasn't sure how long she had been walking but her feet hurt and her stomach was starving and trying to eat itself she could feel, the girl stopped in the middle of literally nowhere rubbing her face feverishly.

No... really... feverishly. Swallowing again, looking up to the hot circle of flame way up in the open sky, a sway on her feet and Kyrie found the world toppling in around her. She hadn't eaten in what? A few days, longer? She was going for longer and had as little water as possible.

Turmoil rained through her mind, anguish of losing her father played hard on her heart as her body struggled to keep up to the difficult conditions of survival. Knees crushed into the earth firstly as she swayed to her left and just felt the heat of the sand to her body as the woman collapsed under it all. Blackness creeping upon the ridges of her sight, Kyrie felt her eyes roll back and then nothing.
 
It was hours before he found her.

Kyrie's trail had weaved and turned back on itself, never making it particularly easy for him to follow her and after a time he'd had to take to walker, his body telling him that if he wanted to reserve any energy at all, he'd better stop flying. His side still hurt and he knew he was still borderline feverish. The new cuts for his battle the night before that had crusted over weren't helping anything either and the heat was intense today. He was truly like a lizard now, though, rather all right with the heat, resilient to it, but he knew a human...

He needed to find her soon if he wanted to have found something worth finding.

It was when he took to the sky again despite the protest of his wings, his mind and instinct both telling him he was an idiot, that he found her. Kade landed not far off and he cursed as he approached, clawed hands carefully checking to find her pulse. It fluttered against his fingers, fast and racing, but there and he exhaled in some relief he'd not entirely expected to feel. The hybrid felt her skin, but it was hard to judge what was true heat due to the beating sun and what might be fever, though, it was possible she had both. He swore again and removed the canteens from his body. The first thing he did was start to remove most of her clothing, down to the bare minimum and his wings extended, providing what shade he could over her before he took some of her clothing and used some of the water to wet it. Some rapid spinning of the damp cloth through the air cooled it a bit before he placed it on her forehead, cheek, neck and the to top of her chest, trying to cool her body temperature.

Water came next and Kade carefully poured some into Kyrie's mouth, encouraging her to swallow and making sure she didn't inhale it. He moved, reacted, thought in a way he'd not in a long time; like a doctor. She definitely had heat exhaustion and the last thing he wanted was for it to turn into heat stroke. His option were limited, but Kade knew he'd do what he could and each step in the process that he could repeat, he simply kept doing so.

If he had any luck, he could get her body temperature down, some fluids into the human and she'd be fine if a bit weak. If he wasn't so lucky...well, he'd have yet enough death on his hands and the world would spin on, uncaring.
 
Her head hurt. Ached. Felt as if it was about to imploded with the blood pounding behind her eyes just waiting for the word to do so.

Hands instinctively rose up to hold her splitting head together groaning to roll onto her side and curl up into the fetal position desperately hoping that she had only been dreaming the past few years and she was in her own bed back at the manor in a ignorant indulgence. But that was hardly the case. No, the world wouldn't have been that lucky to have her merely dreaming such a wasteland of nightmares.

She felt cool... cooler than she had been in the last while as both eyes opened to the hazy vision that struggled to pry through the gauze of her own sights. Pupils strained to focus taking consideration that she laid in a shade of bleaker light, the double toned eyes moved softly trying to figure out what she was looking upon.

Hands retracted from her drumming head, daring to reach out as if feeling what was shielding over her would wakening the lost thoughts of her passing out. Closing the blue eye over the brown to focus one eye over the other, Kyrie pulled her hand back quickly when she realized it was a leather of sorts, deep in red colour and shove her hands into her chest.

Wait a minute here...

She felt flesh, her flesh. Attention dropped slowly to look down to herself, growing wide before the shriek of terror and embarrassment took over. Why the hell was she almost practically naked!
 
Well, she was definitely awake.

Her changed breathing pattern, movement and then touch had told him that, but the banshee cry really confirmed. Kade gave a snarl to the volume of the shriek and his hand came out swiftly to clamp over her mouth. Sure, it would probably terrify her more, but damn, his ears! When the scream was muffled, then he spoke, voice growled and deep, but trying to make an effort not to snap at her. He'd spent all that time trying to make sure she lived, that her body heat came down, and it wouldn't make much sense to put all that effort in and then lash out at her even if he did have a low tolerance level at the moment.

Or rather...since this entire hell with his body changes had happened.

"Kyrie, stop. Stop, you're fine."

Kade's wing moved away from her body even as his other hand grabbed her clothes and he showed them to her, handed them to her. "You were in heat exhaustion and I had to cool you down. You can put them back on now." He didn't even ask her if she wanted to. That was MORE than clear and he slowly moved his hand away from her mouth, realizing it was still there. He left behind a slightly red imprint with the pressure, but not enough to bruise or to hurt and it would fade within minutes. He moved back then, the upper half of his tail swishing this way and that as his silver eyes watched the human a bit warily, fully ready to lunge forward again if she decided to scream once more.

His ears were still ringing...
 
A jolt of panic slammed hard into her chest the moment a hand clamped over her mouth, both eyes shot wide open and her body cringed effectively trying to make herself look as small as possible, less of a threat than she ever wanted to be as tears promptly stung at the corner's of her eyes. She could have cared less to the moment that she was exposing her own bane of heterochromia. All she knew was she was terrified right to the marrow of her bones and beyond.

Sure she realized it was Kade - didn't she leave so she wouldn't be a bother to him?- near her, but it made it all the more embarrassing when he was saying she had exhaustion and had promptly removed her garments to try and cool her temperature. Heat rose hot and ready into her face grabbing her clothing to skitter away from him as much as possible and burrowing her face into her hands wanting nothing more than just to disappear right here and right now.

As tired and weak as she felt, she moved at supersonic speed to dress herself quickly and hugged her knees to her chest to drop her head to rest on top and curse herself colorfully for the whole humiliation that had been this day already. "I'm sorry." she murmured into her knees, hands reaching up to keep press her fingertips to her crown, "I'm sorry, so sorry." she repeated feeling about as big as a inchworm and had the dignity of mud.

There were questions on her mind though... why was he here? Why did he save her again, man she was useless! But she was too afraid to even ask them, she didn't want to see what sort of patience he had with her. So she sat there keeping her eyes drawn into her sight, lost and confused to the whole thing. Why did he? Why did he do anything honestly! He didn't have too, she wasn't anyone of importance. So why?
 
Kade winced just slightly at her words even when he hadn't meant to. He'd scared her, badly, and he hadn't tried to. That was the worst part. He didn't have to try anymore. There was a time when his presence, his voice and touch, his reassurance would soothe people, would calm them. It hadn't been that way in a while. What use was there for a military doctor within the Changer populace? They fought constantly, lived like animals and most didn't remain human enough to appreciate the work that went into bandaging a wound. No, they would rather just die if they couldn't live exactly as they wished. Human stubbornness, arrogance, ruthlessness and smarts mixed with animal cunning, instincts and habits. It was the worst combination Kade felt could have happened.

How he was even semi-sane was a mystery even to him. He didn't feel that way often, found himself slipping, losing who he'd used to be. And not caring. He didn't want to not care, though, and perhaps that was why he'd come to find Kyrie, why he'd saved her life. He wanted to care even as he struggled to. He wanted to remember who he'd been, perhaps find some way to connect with that person again. And twice now Kyrie had helped him find that elusive strand of his old life and maybe that meant he was using her, but at this point it had kept her alive, so he didn't think she'd complain.

Silver eyes looked to the human when she'd stopped speaking, studying her for a moment and her curled position. He didn't know...well, no, he did know what to do...but...as a human. Not as... He looked at his hands and the tail flicking in the corner of his vision, feeling the wings at his back and the horns on his head, such a familiar feeling now, but at first so very foreign. This. Not as this. Kade sighed. He had to at least try.

"You don't have to be sorry for anything. You did nothing wrong. I...I am sorry I scared you."
 
She felt like a child. Like she once was, still could be lost and frightened in the great big cruel world that often chased her home only to lull herself into a sleep with tears dripping across a crimson flushed face. Everything was going to hell, literally everything.

A whimper threatened at her throat and she tried to will herself into nonexistence just like many times before only to stop when she heard him speaking to her. Something she wasn't so familiar with, at least not hearing it from another.

He was sorry... why was he sorry? He didn't do anything, he had been helping her and saving her life when she was too brazenly silly and inadequate to be of use. So she opted for the choice at hand, she shook her head to him. "It's okay..." she mumbled, "Thank you for your help... again." swallowing hard, Kyrie was peeking out at him with the brown eye from the side of her knee, "Don't you have... you'll be endanger with me around, other peculiars will come once they caught my scent. You should... you should keep moving on Mister Kade." she spoke without an ounce of lies, she was being honest in her tone. Perfectly truthful.
 
His ear would have perked if he'd had that ability at the pure honesty he could detect in her voice, but even more strongly in her scent. She wasn't lying, hadn't seemed to do that since they'd met and it intrigued him. Her words, though, made Kade snort and he looked away, tail looping, coiling like a restless snake behind and to the side of his body with his lazy thoughts, dulled by the heat of the sun for the moment. "I'm in danger anywhere I go, Angel. Your presence is hardly going to heighten it all that much." He shrugged, glancing back to that one brown eye, now better understanding why her hair stayed in her face so much. He wasn't going to judge. Not when his primary choice of clothing was a cloak to hide a multitude of sins.

He'd have to a get new one...

"They might catch your scent, but they'll catch mine, too and that might be enough to keep most away."

Very few humans understood how Peculiars or Changers or Hybrids or Misfits or Monsters or Hellspawn, or whatever you wanted to call them, communicated with one another. They didn't understand that even in such a short time comparatively to any other species, Changers had their own rules and systems, hierarchy. They had specie classes, eight in total, and levels, five of them. Kade fell into one of the lesser known classes; Lacertilia. Sure, it meant 'lizard' in latin, but his breed of hybrid were few and far between. There were a great deal more Panthera leo; lion, or Canis lupus; wolf, or Hominoidea; ape, or even Canis aureus; jackal. When the word lizard came to mind for most people, the first mental image that appeared was that of a small lizard, of a skittering creature that could be frightened by the tiniest noise. But Kade's class of Peculiars was nothing like that. They were the Komodo dragons of the hybrid world. And as such, Kade himself fell into a low level four on the 'power' scale. He wasn't the baddest thing out there, but he was by far something most Changers didn't want to mess with.

Not even for the chance of getting a potential meal in Kyrie.

The hybrid gave the human a look then, turning his head to face her more fully that way. "Besides, what would be the sense in helping you twice and then leaving you to wander on your own? Popular as the saying is, third time isn't a charm. More likely way of actually dying."
 
His scent as well... enough to keep them at bay. She didn't want to point out the fact of the night prior and the lack of there of whether or not his scent made a difference or not. It was not something she wanted to dispute mainly because she understood so little of it. Kade was the only peculiar she had met and honestly.... she'd just trust him on this.

Though she had risen a brow at him calling her angel. What an odd term to be saying. Was he delirious?

Peculiars were well peculiar and Kade seemed to be taking the cake. From what she could gather from the three of the night prior and the slaughter than came, they thought on instinct. They killed, they ate, they did whatever the hell they wanted without worrying about what was and what could be with the repercussions. They were nothing less than extremely intelligent animals and she understood that fully. Perhaps that a reason she was still afraid, this peculiar in front of her face was exactly the same.

Licking her lips tilting her head up further to play with her fingers, Kyrie's gaze remained distraught. "I am grateful for your help Mister Kade, truly I am but... I do not wish to be a burden to you. You have much to deal with already without a human around. It is unjust to even think such a thing. Human's die all the time. It is the way of life right?" a quick flick of an eye to him, "Only the strong survive and human's aren't that. We are a race going extinct and that should not be your concern. I'd hate to be the bother that is constantly relying on you. That is a fate that no one deserves, so you should not worry about whether I wander on my own or not." Kyrie scratched her head, "I will be alright." now she lied but it was to be a statement not to press any judgement or pressure to him. He had been kind already and that was more than she had seen in all her years.
 
Kade merely looked at the human as she spoke, his tail continuing to curl and his wings shifting in a lazy manner. Nothing she was saying was changing one iota of thought in his mind. And perhaps he didn't entirely know his own mind, but she wasn't budging the thoughts he was sure of. He might not know what he was going to do with a human tagging along, but he did know he was not going to leave her here on her own. So when she'd finished, he gave a yawn, fangs flashing before the hybrid gave Kyrie a calm look.

"I think you underestimate humans. We - you - were the dominate race for thousands of years. You're far more intelligent and inventive than any Changer. We're just animals and we'll kill ourselves before we cause the extinction of any race." He sounded rather bitter about it, but went on, brushing a clawed hand roughly through his hair, skillfully avoiding the horns that hindered the movement somewhat. "I would be unjust to leave you to die, Angel. THAT is a fate you don't deserve. Your life doesn't have to end like that and whether I'm stronger than you or not shouldn't matter."

Kade gave her an irritated look despite her truthfulness up until that last bit. "Stop trying to minimize your worth. You're human and that's worth something. And you're a damn decent one at that. Stop trying to make me change my mind about keeping you alive. I'll get you to a human settlement and you can forget about me then, but until that happens, no more talk about dying and what should or shouldn't be my concern."

He looked away then, his black hair hiding a great deal of the expression on his face. He was startled by the conviction in his own words, that he'd said them, but more than anything he was angry with himself, with his 'kind'. They were monsters and saying they were the 'stronger species' was only sugar-coating an ugly truth. But not all of them wanted to be that way. Maybe...just maybe helping Kyrie would let him feel that way again...feel human even for a little while...even if he could never be one again.
 
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The fragment of true blue surprise registered across her pale complexion, eyes growing round at his conviction that even to her was quite unusual. And that was coming from someone who only seen peculiars in the last day.

Kade seemed to be struggling, desperately trying to still hold onto a piece of himself, convincing the dominant beast inside that there was still hope and humanity inside his heart. Or she was overthinking this which was also very possible. Perhaps he was not so monstrous as her father proclaimed. No... He couldn't be. Not if he was willing to dispute her every step of the way, meeting her words with strong ones of his own. That wasn't how beasts behaved, that's how humans behaved.

Shuffling softly in the dry dirt, rubbing her lips together with debating thought only privy to herself, Kyrie kept watching him. Not staring like one would do to an impressive bug or lizard, but quite the opposite. No she was watching him with a soft appreciative fondness that was gifted to someone who was still very much a mortal at heart.

A pained dry swallow and the young girl nodded softly in easy acceptance. She was never one to argue long or even attempt too. No Kyrie was a being who accepted things as they came generally. Kade was no exception to this internal wonder. As frightening and large as he was, she could see.. She felt there was still a compassion behind it all. Perhaps he really wasn't like the others, he was still hanging on to a hope that he couldn't even see.

She shuffled again, "I apologize if I upset you Mister Kade, and I am most grateful to you for your help." she bowed her head with a grace that came from proper upbringing and the southern charm she once basked in. "I will do my very best not to be a hindrance for you."

Why did he call her angel again? It hadn't been lost on her remotely, no she just contemplated it privately in her mind hardly believing in such a word. Was it merely a name he chose to adopt to call her, or was it a pet name that he figured she was to him at the time. A pet. Oh the wonder to such things!
 
He looked back at her with silence for a long moment before simply giving a jerk of a nod. "Good." He looked away then, rising to a stand despite the protest from his body that told him it was tired and the sun was nice to lounge in. He knew that well enough, but he also knew that sitting here was not going to get them out of the wasteland any faster and they only had limited water. Better to be traveling, even slowly, than sitting here.

Silver eyes flickered around and then up at the sun, trying to get a bearing as to where he was and where the next human settlement might be. He'd have to get the woman there before the full moon, four days away. His kind grew crazy during such times and even he would be dangerous to be around. In fact...

Kade looked back to Kyrie even as he moved to the canteens and picked them up, getting ready to walk again. "If I start acting more...well, animal, if I growl at you or seem not to recognize you...just don't approach me. Or speak. Or move." Not the most reassuring advice, but it was all he could give her and even that might not be a guarantee that she'd survive such an episode as the moon's time grew nearer, but it was better than no advice at all.

"Come on, we need to get moving again." He glanced at her, looking her over, judging her condition. "We'll go slow. Tell me if you feel like fainting or if you start to grow hot again....or chilled."
 
That was certainly not something she wanted to hear. If he grew more animalish... She was to be a statue! Yeah it didn't sound any better in her head either. As much as that sounded crazy, Kyrie wore a evident look of worry for him. Not because of him but for the hybrid. She didn't understand what it was like to be caught between worlds, to fight with what was and what is, but that didn't mean she wanted to look down upon such a fate.

No if any, the woman was curious about it. Easily dangerously so, but curious nonetheless. Her brown single gaze said that loud and clear.

"I will... try," she could try to promise that, but she a habit or she did back ages ago of trying to help those of animalistic nature. Hence why her father said, Kade was not one of her pets. She was the one who always brought home anything she found. An nest that fell from it's branch with an egg unharmed inside. The coyote that had been wounded by a badger and was scare and hurt, the list went on. Kyrie couldn't help it, as much as she was a target for bullying and her lower self esteem, she was a caregiver and one who didn't readily turn her back on anyone or anything.

Slowly finding her legs like a newborn foal, Kyrie looked way up to Kade as he spoke to her. He sounded like someone who knew a great deal about ailments and conditions and general health. She realized she was staring at him with the natural curious light, bloomed a crimson red and nodded her head eagerly to his request. "Yes Mister Kade, of course Mister Kade, I will Mister Kade." okay now she was nervous and scrambling over her words as if she was a mere tot.

Oh she was such a fool! Cheeks burned as she buried her hands to her face. Man, he'd realize what a dork she was and happily throw her to the peculiars at this rate.

'Idiot!' she demeaned herself privately in her own mind.
 
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He raised a brow at her words, a smirk crossing his lips despite his best efforts to not react. She was rather amusing, though, and the Changer shook his head and started to walk. "It's just Kade, Kyrie. I've had far too many titles in my life to want them now." Most of them military, but titles nonetheless and hey, now that he was a freak he got labelled even more frequently. Granted those weren't NICE labels, but still titles, names, labels, whatever you wanted to call them. It would be nice to simply just hear his name for a while even if that time was short.

That curiosity, though....now, that he was not sure of. She shouldn't be so curious, not about him. It would get her hurt and at the worst, killed. He was pretty sure he knew his limits, how far he could be pushed before snapping and during the full moon or nearing it was not the time to be curious about him. If she started pressing it, questioning, he'd address it but for now, it was merely enough to know to keep an eye on her reactions.

The last thing he wanted to do was lose control and hurt her. That would kind of defeat the purpose of this whole thing.

"The human settlement should be about three days away. You'll be safe from Peculiars there." He paused for a moment, just a brief moment in step, tail stilling in it's lazy swishing behind him and wings twitching against his back with nervous energy. "I am sorry about your father." he offered in a more quiet, if still growled manner and Kade did stop this time and half-turned to face the human woman, pulling something out of his pocket. He held it out to her, not looking at the object he'd taken from her father, but at her face.
 
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