Strange Markings

Staring up at the night sky, Mason hadn't fallen asleep yet. He just couldn't fall asleep for whatever reason so he decided to take a walk outside for a breath of fresh air. "It seems I failed." Today had gone awful for him and good at the same time. "Now what?" That question had passed his mind quite a few times already today. Leaning against the gate he watched one or two people walk by every once in a while as a pair of footsteps approached him. He almost thought they were Relda's for a second as he picked himself up but it was someone else.

"leaving so soon?"

Turning around he spotted the man he had met just recently.

"I've stayed here too long. If I don't leave, more people will come for me and put this place in danger."

"Really think we're that incapable of defending ourselves? Besides those men that Xilo dealt with were found dead when we went to check. I doubt any word of your presence has spread far yet."

A little startled to hear that Flint asked once more to make sure he heard right.

"Dead, then did Xilo kill them?"

Flint didn't really see Xilo as that kind of person from the few chats they had.

"Unless he's got a habit of leaving markings behind in his victims, I doubt it. When our men arrived they found some beatings in them that knocked them half dead but it wouldn't have killed them. When we examined their bodies we found large X marks carved out in their back that dripped blood. It was different from the previous injuries so we assume the first was Xilo's and the second was the person who found them afterwards. They hadn't been dead for long either since the blood hadn't dried yet."

Mason had no idea who would have done that and for what purpose. Usually when you kill someone you don't take the time to leave a mark on their body. They had discussed a few things already with the other members but didn't come to a conclusion. This was a first for them so they didn't quite know how to handle it. "Wait for more bodies to show up." That was the best result they came up with but no one knew when someone would be dying in a back alley again. So for now it was put slightly on halt until more information was discovered.

"That's.....yeah, definitely a strange thing to do. Looks like someone was making a point when they killed those men or they're just a sick bastard. Though I'm surprised to see you standing here after you failed your plan and so calmly at that. What happened, have a change of heart or something else?"

"I've been thinking similar the whole day honestly. I was so close and honestly I even had the chance multiple times to do it but I just couldn't bring myself to. It's quite a weird feeling, honestly. I haven't been the greatest of a person for the most part of my life so what changed, is it really love? Maybe betraying...Relda's expectations was just too much for me..."

"Heh, hold on to that feeling and don't let it go. It's for the best if Relda never has to go through something similar to me, I loved her and yet...."

"Opposite ends of the spectrum eh, Prince to be....I assume nothing I say will get you to stay?"

"Nope."

Sighing, Mason heard another set of footsteps approaching as he quickly took a look to see who it was. "Shoot." Relda was coming towards them from a distance. Quickly pushing Flint away he made sure Relda didn't see him leaving as he gave up talking any more. If Relda of all people saw him, she would never let him go. She would sooner use force then try and listen to him. That was just the kind of person she was. "An injured person can't be by themselves." He could already imagine her thoughts if she knew about it. Thankfully it seemed she didn't seem like she saw them as he disappeared around the corner.

"Haa...what am I doing? Seriously"

"I was just about to ask the same myself Mason, I went to check your tent and didn't see you there. Why are you out here so late?"

Feeling a bit of danger from Relda's tone of voice Mason perked up as he did his best to explain himself. Feeling herself slip off into a dream world, Tearia did her best to stay awake. She was so close to finishing everything. "....A little more." Pushing herself to the point of passing out she heard a voice wake her up. Looking at Xilo, she paused what she was doing as her thoughts stopped working. Noticing how out of it Tearia was, Xilo got up from his seat and walked over next to Tearia. Wrapping his arms around her back, he felt her forehead as he noticed the heat coming off of it. "Hot!" He didn't expect it as he turned her around and saw her flushed face. "She's sick!?" Usually people who walked the Astral Path didn't get sick very easily so when they did it was a big deal. It meant it was strong enough to break past their bodies' improved defenses.

"Tearia!"

Shaking her very lightly, he tried calling out to her but he didn't get any sort of response. Doing his best to stay calm he heard a very soft whisper leave Tearia's mouth. "I can't hear her." It was a very slurred and to low for him to understand it at all. Bringing her close to his body, he didn't really know how to handle this situation. It was the first time he had to take care of someone who was sick. "No wait...there was that time right?" A memory flashed through his mind as he gently created some ice energy in his body to help combat some of the heat.

"Come sit with me."

Sitting her down on his lap he did his best to make sure she was comfortable.