Looking at her now, she seemed less like the fragile individual he had saved and more like a menacing presence. Though she was undeniably attractive, there was a silent, deadly aura radiating from her stillness. But Lucid did not mind. He himself was not of this world and was inherently an outsider. On top of that, his face was shrouded in mist. Though he had met kind people in Tyriana, that would not necessarily be the case the farther he ventured into the Scattered Realms. Who knew how he would be treated in other places? Perhaps they were both outcasts in their own ways.
He sat cross-legged in front of her now, his posture relaxed, looking less like a potential threat and more like a person trying to be friendly.
"My name is Lucid. I am traveling from Tyriana," he said, his voice calm. "I am crossing the Red Mountains to reach the Sky-Dock so I can head to the Kingdom of Vex."
He laid out his cards plainly, a foolish thing to do, revealing your purpose and destination to a stranger, an Oni no less.
"I know that you are an Oni, and I will not treat you any different for that. I too am not from this world, believe it or not. But rest assured, I do not mean any harm."
"Aww, Lucid, I did not know you had such a surprisingly gentle side. Why do you not show me that side as well?" Alice cooed, amazed inside his head.
"Shhh," he shot back mentally.
He remebered something searching his pocket.
"Do you want some jerky? I have some left. But being that you are an Oni, I doubt you will eat the biscuits too." He offered her a piece of the dried meat. She took it hesitantly and lifted it to her mouth. She did not eat it. She just held it there, her dark eyes watching him.
'Not even that,' he thought. 'What a picky eater.'
"Well, it cannot be helped," he sighed aloud.
He inched closer to her, settling right beside her on the fur coat. The girl followed his movements with her abyss-like eyes, tracking him with unnerving focus. He gestured with his arm, offering his forearm to her. She quickly moved her head back, a reflexive flinch, but then hesitated. In fact, she drew nearer to it, as if holding herself back from something she desperately wanted.
"I heard that you like human flesh," Lucid said, his voice quiet but steady. "Well, I can offer you my blood. But do not take too much." He almost felt embarrassed by the words he had muttered.
A hand, cold but surprisingly strong, wrapped around his wrist. Another hand closed just above his elbow. She was holding his arm with both of her thin arms. She neared her head just above his skin as if inspecting it. He could feel the warm puff of her breath through her parted lips hit his skin. Then she pressed her lips gently against his forearm. It felt warm and a bit weird to Lucid like as if he was being kissed.
Then something sharp pierced his skin.
He winced. It was painful at first, a sharp, sudden pressure, but then the pain faded to a dull, rhythmic throb. He did not feel anything else afterwards, no draining sensation yet.
Looking at her, something felt off. It was as if she were expanding. She had been frail and thin, like a stick, but now he could see thick veins wrapping around her arms, her exposed legs, her abdomen. She seemed to be doubling in size before his eyes. The part that took him most off guard was her eyes. They were no longer bottomless black, but bloodshot red. The hands holding his arm grew firmer, stronger, as if they could snap his bones at any moment.
"Hngh," he grunted, more from the unsettling sight than the pain.
"Are you not drinking too much?" he asked, his voice strained.
There was no sign of her stopping. Lucid activated Alice's passive healing ability, enveloping himself in a faint green aura. It felt refreshing, reinvigorating. He was not about to fall unconscious at any moment. His body fought to regenerate what was being taken.
"Hey. That is enough," he said quietly, but firmly.
She continued, the suction increasing to a faster rate than his regeneration could easily match.
"I said that is enough!" He wrenched his arm back from her grasp. She desperately tried to reach for it, a low, guttural sound escaping her throat. Blood spilled on the ground from the open puncture wounds, but the green, shimmering light quickly closed them, leaving only faint pink marks.
The girl he had given his blood to was transformed. She was not taller or bigger, but she had filled out. Where there had been stark angles and visible bones, there were now soft curves and defined muscle. Her outlines had deepened. The ragged crop top she wore now seemed a bit small, stretching over newly filled curves. The baggy shorts now fit her thighs snugly. She had gained healthy fat and muscle, looking soft and alive, no longer on the brink of starvation.
Lucid looked at her now. She seemed sated, but her red eyes still held a hint of that desperate hunger as they glanced at his healed arm. He sat back down, and as a precaution, he drew his pocket knife. A hint of concern flashed across the girl's face, but it quickly softened, replaced by a look of weary acknowledgment, the hunger receding.
He focused inward. The Chain of Heart glowed, a bright white luminescence like a heartbeat in his chest. Though its regeneration was only F-ranked, paired with Alice's constant passive flow, it healed at an extraordinary pace. This was the ability he used for wounds too large for the passive alone, for broken bones or internal damage. It could heal just about anything, given enough time and Fate essence.
He bit down on a strip of cloth from his shirt he had torn, then, with a grimace, made a clean, deep cut across his own wrist. Blood welled and began to flow at an alarming rate.
She closed in on him in an instant, but this time her movements were controlled. She took his hand gently and pressed her mouth to the wound. Lucid sat there, focusing all his will on healing himself, on regenerating the blood as fast as she drank it. He had access to a vast reserve of Fate Essence through Alice, but using too much too fast caused mental strain, a system crash. His body was not truly an Enlightened's, nor even a properly Awakened's, even though he could momentarily manifest the traits of one through Alice.
He watched her drink. Something was different now. She held him less firmly, and she drank slowly, savoring rather than devouring.
He could not help but manage a faint, tired smile.
"You done?" he asked softly, his voice a little weak.
She pulled back, catching her breath, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. The fierce red in her eyes had faded back to that deep, absorbing black. She looked healthy. She was not frail. She was not imposing in height, but she was slightly taller than before. Her cheeks had a soft fullness, her limbs were strong and shapely. She had curves. She was more healthier, more solid, more alive. She looked at him, and her expression was not one of blank indifference or predatory hunger, but something complex gratitude, confusion, and a dawning, wary curiosity.
He looked at the bright white light, now mixed with soft green, as it closed the wound instantly. A sharp, punishing headache struck him in that same moment. He winced, lifting a palm to his forehead. He had used too much fate essence.
A flash of something worry? crossed the indifferent girl's usually placid face. She crawled toward him as he let his head fall back against the cold stone wall, exhaustion rolling over him in a heavy wave.
He watched her inspect him, her dark eyes taking in his weakened state. This was bad. He had given her everything, his warmth, his blood, his energy. He was now entirely vulnerable to her. Why had he done it? The question echoed, immediately followed by the memory of the original betrayal that had started his long fall. He gritted his teeth, his body tensing, ready for a final, deserved strike.
But no strike came.
Instead, a soft weight pressed against his chest while arms wrapped around his torso.
He looked down, his vision slightly blurred from pain and fatigue. He saw long, flowing black hair, dark as a moonless night, spilling across lower chest. Soft, pale cheeks rested against him. Her lips, a gentle pink, were slightly parted almost brushing him. A single, slightly curled horn pointed toward him. He could feel the slow, steady rhythm of her breaths against his being. She was breathing slowly, deeply, at peace.
'What?' The thought did not fully register, dulled by pain and confusion.
He could feel a storm of emotions at the back of his mind... he knew it was Alice. What was making her act this way.. he thought.
Her head and shoulders pressed into his chest, a warm and strangely inviting weight. With a slight, almost imperceptible yawn, she settled completely. Then, in front of the crackling fire, the fierce and mysterious creature who could have ended him surrendered instead to sleep as he drifted off to sleep.