Banshees in the Darkness {Caitlyin}

[Tyebolt]

They reached the guest room, and Tyebolt walked forward and lit a fire in the fireplace. “You will find him tomorrow. Tonight you need to be clean, get something to eat, and rest. You are in no shape to be wandering around Shempii at this hour.”

The soulstealer smiled at Caitlyin. “The bath is through that door there,” he said gesturing. “There are some of my clothes in the drawers there. You can look through them and find something that will somewhat fit you. I am going to go clean up real quick and then fix you a bite to eat. Sound good?”

[caitlyin]

Cait nodded and gave him a shy smile of her own. "Thank you, Tyebolt," she said, his full name falling from her lips as if it belonged there and had been merely waiting for a chance to present itself.

Once the soulstealer had left the room, she shut the door and stripped, quickly getting clean again as she rinsed the grime and mud off from the swamp, fishing out twigs and leaves from her hair with steady hands. She was much calmer now that she was safe and she began humming as she cleaned herself, careful not to make a mess.

Once she was finally clean, she stepped out of the bath and made her way into the bedroom, frowning slightly as she went through the clothes. They were all far too big on her, like a child playing dress-up and she sighed, figuring that a shirt would have to do. Slipping it on over her head, she rolled up the sleeves enough so that her small hands showed.

The shirt reached her knees and covered everything it was supposed to, making her look adorable and rather becoming at the same time.

[Tyebolt]

Tyebolt had taken a quick bath and dressed himself once more. He had went back downstairs to the kitchen ad had fixed up a plate for Caitlyin. He carried it back upstairs upon a tray that held some bread and a glass of cider as well. Once he had reached the guest room, he knocked upon the door.

“Caitlyin, it’s me,” he said, not caring how obvious the statement was. “I brought you something to eat.” He did not want to barge in on her. That was simply rude. Not to mention, if she was not dressed, she would be completely uncomfortable.

[caitlyin]

Barefeet padded across the floor as she opened the door for him, pushing a few damp strands of hair out of her eyes as she looked up at the soulstealer. The shirt sort of fell over one shoulder, exposing it to the colder air, but the human paid no mind to that, used to being tiny and after all that she had been through that night, it was nothing.

She gave the soulstealer a shy smile, some of her childish confidence leaking through as the sleeve flopped back over her hand, and she frowned in a small bit of annoyance as she pushed it back up before retreating from the door again, climbing back up to sit on the bed.

[Tyebolt]

The soulstealer gave a smile as he saw Caitlyin in his oversized shirt. He gave a slight laugh as she struggled to keep the shirt up how she had it before.

“Sorry, that I do not have clothes that fit you,” Tyebolt said, walking in and setting the tray of food down on the bedside table. The soulstealer sent a smile to the girl. “I hope you enjoy what I brought you to eat. I’m not sure what type of food you liked, so I tried to find food that most outsiders of Shempii enjoy.”

Tyebolt stood back. “I am going to go get Kel for you to see. You can just enjoy the food for now.” He sent another smile before going off to get the rabbit.

[caitlyin]

Caitlyin blushed faintly at his apology before shaking her head, tilting her head forward as she let her hair fall around her face to hide the blush. When he mentioned Kel, she perked up and sent him a happy smile before nodding. "Okay," she said, sliding forward to eat the food he had brought her.

She wasn't picky about food, it was there to eat and since she traveled a lot with her brother, food was whatever was around. She ate quickly, sitting back on the bed and tucking her feet under her as she waited patiently for the soulstealer to come back.

[Tyebolt]

After a few moments, Tyebolt came back into the room, holding Kel in his hands. “Here we are,” he said, walking over and sitting down on the bed. He sat the white bunny down, and it instantly hopped over to Caitlyin and placed itself in her lap.

“See, he remembers you,” Tyebolt said with a laugh, leaning over and scratching behind the rabbit’s ears. His eyes looked up at Caitlyin, and his nose twitched. “I don’t think he could forget how kind you were to him out in the forest.

[caitlyin]

Caitlyin giggled and clapped with delight as she nuzzled the rabbit, her earlier terror forgotten for the time being as she played with the soft, white creature. Tiny hands brushed over the fur as she leaned down and nuzzled Kel with her nose as the rabbit seemed rather happy with the attention as well.

"He's gotten big," she marveled as she let her fingers stroke the rabbit's back. Of course he would seem huge to Caitlyin, she was tiny to begin with, so almost everyone was big to her, not to mention she had the mindset of a child most times.

[Tyebolt]

“He has,” Tyebolt agreed with a smile and a nod. “I have been feeding him quite well. He has quite the appetite, you know. He loves to eat.”

The soulstealer scratched the back of the rabbit’s head, smiling a bit. Tyebolt had been slowly changing the bunny into a sort of soulstealer bunny. Why? Well, if he was to have a pet, the critter should at least be able to give him some use. Not to mention, the bunny would be able to live longer now that it had a few souls in it.

“He knows how to take care of himself, luckily.”

[caitlyin]

Caitlyin giggled as she played with the little bunny, smiling when the bunny leaned up on its hind legs and tickled her with its whiskers. She scratched its belly and pushed some of her hair out of her face to hang down her back as she lay a kiss on the rabbit's nose.

"Has he been happy? Does he have any friends?" she wondered curiously as she looked up at the soulstealer with wide violet eyes filled with curiosity. She was worried about the bunny as well as she had worried about the soulstealer, since he was her friend after all, but she was too shy to ask directly.

[Tyebolt]

“He has been quite happy, at least he seems happy,” Tyebolt responded. “Unfortunately, I am his only friend here. We spend quite a bit of time together actually. He’s also a good subject for my painting.”

The soulstealer smiled, glad to have this chance to talk to the girl without her brother lurking about. Caitlyin seemed as though she had missed the soulstealer, which was somewhat of a surprise to him, especially since his meeting with her brother. He was glad that she, despite her brother’s antics, was willing to continue to be his friend.

[caitlyin]

Caitlyin smiled and looked at the soulstealer, tilting her head to the side before she spoke, regarding him curiously. "I can't imagine he would want to hold still long enough," she said, with a childlike innocence. "Of course, you could paint him while he was asleep, but then I think that would be very boring," she said with a shrug before turning back and cuddling the bunny to her.

She giggled again as his fur tickled her nose and she released the bunny, allowing him to hop on the bed freely, a happy and carefree smile on her cherry red lips.

[Tyebolt]

Tyebolt gave a laugh. “I can paint anything moving around or still,” he told her with a smile, his eyes watching the bunny for a moment. “I have a few paintings of him if you would like to see. He’s a cute little think drawn up and painted.”

His attention went back to Caitlyin, and he smiled. He would have loved to paint the girl sometime. She was very beautiful, and her beauty was rare. If he could capture it on canvas with paint, well, what a wonder it would be. It would be a painting he would cherish and never sell.

[caitlyin]

Caitlyin gave him a curious glance before shrugging, chewing on her lower lip for a moment as she reached out and pet the bunny, smiling softly. "I think I like him better when he's like this than just a picture," she said, nodding with the conviction of a child, her hair tumbling about her shoulders. "Although some things look better as a picture. I guess it's a good way to capture a memory so you don't forget it."

She smiled softly as the rabbit seemed to settle down again, growing sleepy. She knew rabbits were not nocturnal, so she leaned over and gave the white bunny a kiss, giggling slightly as the fur tickled her nose.

[Tyebolt]

Tyebolt smiled at Caitlyin’s giggles. “I would like to show you the paintings, though,” he said gently. “I want to give you one of the smaller ones. Something for you to carry in one of your pockets. That way you can have something to remember Kel. That way you can’t forget the little guy and what he looks like.”

The soulstealer stroke the bunny’s back lightly. “I think it is his bed time, though. Want to help me tuck him in? He has his own little bunny bed.”

Yes, the rabbit had its own little special place to sleep. To say the least, the soulstealer got quite lonely and was treating little Kel like a person.

[caitlyin]

Caitlyin nodded, smiling shyly as she slid off the bed. Despite her age of sixteen years, many often forgot and treated her like a child, due to her small stature. Tyebolt's shirt hit her knees, looking like a dress but because he was tall and lanky, it actually fit her rather well through the body, even if it was long.

She giggled again as she nuzzled the bunny with her nose and Kel sleepily hopped over to her, nuzzling her back before she scooped him up and cradled him against her chest, petting the rabbit gently as he fell asleep.

[Tyebolt]

The soulstealer smiled, standing up from where he had sat and leading Caitlyin out of the room and off to where Kel’s bed was. Tyebolt kept the rabbit’s bed in his own room as though the bunny was his child. He treated the little creature as though it were his child, though.

Tyebolt took Caitlyin down the hall to his room. He opened the door and led her inside. There was a fire burning in the fireplace, lighting up the room. “His bed is just over there,” he said, gesturing to a little wooden box that was covered in small blankets and pillows. “I try to keep him comfortable.”

[caitlyin]

Cait silently padded along with the soulstealer, cradling the bunny to her as if it were the most precious thing in the world, and it probably was to her at that moment. Well, besides her brother of course. She slipped in after the soulstealer and smiled, carefully making her way over to the little bed.

She was careful to be quiet and not disturb the sleeping bunny, no matter how cute she thought the whole set up was. Gently tucking the white bunny into his bed, she let out a soft giggle, pressing a delicate hand over her mouth in an attempt to be quiet.

[Tyebolt]

Tyebolt leaned against the wall, smiling as he watched Caitlyin tuck Kel into his bed. The little bunny probably would not even wake up with all of the movements and giggles that were coming from the human girl. The soulstealer was wishing he could capture this moment just how it was with the cute giggles coming from Caitlyin and all.

Tyebolt moved to the door, waiting for the girl to finish with the white rabbit. “I think he will sleep fine,” he said softly as though he might wake the bunny. “Especially now.”

[caitlyin]

Cait nodded, smiling happily up at the soulstealer as she made her way back over to him. "Okay," she said quietly, keeping her voice low as if the rabbit would wake up. She knew that the bunny would not, in most cases, but it never hurt to be quiet.

She brushed a few strands of hair out of her face, tucking them behind her ear only to have them fall back in front of her face the moment she took her hand away. She frowned slightly in annoyance as she started a small war with her rebelious hair, in the end just giving up before beaming brightly up at the soulstealer.