Once again, the girl woke to the probing inside her head. Though realistically it merely felt like a finger lightly pressing against her temple, it was enough to jerk her body out of its restfulness and straight to full consciousness. The boy with the blood red eyes hurdled backwards, almost comically, as she bolted upright and reached for her blades. However, her wrists were completely bare of their defenses, and in pulling back her black sleeve, she saw only a crooked arm spattered with bruises.

"Hermit you... you took my blades?" Perhaps he is not such a hopeless idiot after all. I cannot let my guard down.

Like the time before, he seemed noticeably disoriented from whatever he had been doing with his mind, his wavy locks swaying with the wobbly movements of his head. Her Sense steadily eased its warnings until connection between she and the man dissipated completely. It became no more than a buzz in the back of her mind, signaling his presence nearby.

And in his eyes, she registered fear.

Any anger still lingering in her quelled when she heard his shaky voice,

"I..." he paused, then with more confidence, "I did. I didn't want you attacking me again. Please understand I'm only looking out for myself here-"

"Hush!" She silenced him in a voice that sounded too harsh. In a lower tone, she continued, "There's no need for that, I was only going to say that it is probably the only smart thing you have done since I met you." I still need to find them though... She began to search her surroundings for any sign of her only defenses. It was much lighter than before, and filtered rays of sunlight shone into the cave. Finding that she was on the cot once again, she swung her legs off the edge and tried to stand. Her legs felt numb and heavy, like standing on two logs, and her head started to swim. Planting her feet into the ground and clenching her fists, she forced herself still and looked into his eyes once again. Still on the ground, he watched her every move warily.
I have got to get out of here, and away from this man. To her surprise, he stood up as she walked towards him, instead of scampering away like she had expected. He held out both of his hands, not in a defensive way, almost as though he was ready to catch her.

"You really shouldn't be walking," he said, almost firmly. As if I will just go lay back down.

"I need those blades."

"Radia blades are very dangerous," he said in an infuriatingly clinical tone,
"And you're in poor health right now. You shouldn't even be walking," he repeated. Her eyes narrowed and she felt her neck and ears grow warmer as he continued, "You have serious trauma to your head." An annoyed tch sound escaped from between her teeth,
"Is that what you were doing prying around in my brain?" She asked accusingly, bringing her face closer to his. He took an uncomfortable step back until his heel touched the cave wall.

"I- I wasn't prying. I was trying to determine what was wrong. You just started bleeding out of the blue..."
Her frustration increased tenfold as she tried to comprehend the odd phrase.

"Out of my what?"

"Erm... sorry..." Beneath the rueful tone, she registered amusement in his voice. All right then. Enough of him. Completely ignoring his apologies, she started to search more anxiously, crouching down to comb through the carpet of leaves and the underside of the cot. The sudden movements sent her head back into a dizzy spell. Why couldn't he just leave me to die in peace?

Gathering her bearings again, she stood started searching behind the seemingly random boards that lined the entrance and the walls. They were flimsy, and moved easily. The man's chatter on "just a figure of speech" trailed off as a rotting board snapped below her prying fingers, sending a dull thud resounding through the shallow cave.

There was a long silence.

"You won't find them there-" he started. Anything else he might have said was muffled by her sudden exit and slamming of the makeshift door, using both hands to do so. She stormed away walking as quickly as her legs would allow. He said he wanted no repayment. So by rights I am free to leave him behind, blades or not. If I can get back to the city, I may be able to find a suitable weapon, though I would imagine that guns are scarce... Oh, by the Vexer! I may as well just throw myself into a lake and be finished with all of it! Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of wood scraping against stone, certainly indicating that the man had emerged from the cave. She continued forward, not caring where she was headed, and didn't look back, though she took care to listen for any following footsteps. She heard none. She could picture him, standing just outside the entrance to his insignificant hole in the rocks, watching her figure retreat over the hills with that lonely look in his eyes. Good. Go back to your home, hermit, and stay away from me. Descending further into the forest, she struggled to get through a patch of brambles, thorns snagging on her long hair annoyingly, the persistent yanking on her head making her dizzier than before.
No... it is not just dizziness.

She froze, and concentrated entirely on the gradually increasing buzz of her sixth sense. It was too late, before her slow body could bolt, she heard, then saw, the man from the cave come crashing through the forest. A startled shriek turned into an angry snarl as he deliberately threw himself on top of her and covered her mouth with his hand. She bit down as hard as she could and tried with all her strength to squirm free, her head pounding from the effort.
"Quit it!" He whispered sternly, firmly holding her down. She started to scream into his palm in protest, but stopped abruptly. Her purple eyes carefully followed his anxious gaze to the skies above where a massive, ominous shape snaked silently through the air.