He looked down at her, arching an eyebrow at her lack of input, “I do hope you realize how easily I could drop you and leave you for whatever that is,” he nodded behind him towards the direction he’d run from. This was stupid, probably the stupidest thing he’d done, keeping someone so weak with him. Why wasn’t he taking his own advice and leaving her here at the base of a tree? Soon enough that thing would catch up and she’d be enough of a distraction for him to have cleared more distance.

Tempting as the idea was, he instead tucked her closer; holding her with one arm as he took a step back to find the closest branch. It wasn’t too far and he prepared himself before crouching and jumping up. His free hand gripped tightly to the branch, the bark instantly scratching his hand raw. It was an odd thing to feel his own blood. What a waste, right after he’d fed. His jaw locked as he pulled them up and straddled the branch. “It’s a good thing you’re not a boulder nymph,” he said in jest. Really it was a good thing she was so light or this would be much worse.

When he was ready he stood up again, able to find much easier hand holds, “Wrap your legs about my waist; your arms around my neck.” He shifted her around so that she was on his back, and once her arms and legs were around him properly he used his hands and legs to climb them higher; it was much easier this way, but he wasn’t used to his center of gravity being so thrown off by someone perched on his back.

“G-Grip as hard as you need to,” he said as he jumped to a branch much too far, “Sadly it takes a lot to cause pain.” he said through a bitter smile. No one ever expects to miss the easiness of pain once they’re sired…until the first half century turns and you start to wonder if lack of senses equates to lack of morality. When finally they were high enough for his liking, he moved her off his back and held her in his arms like he had before. His sat, draping his legs around the thick branch as he leaned back against the trunk. They were a good fifty feet up, not a pleasant drop, but surely high enough to be out of reach of whatever it was below. His head thudded back against the tree and a weathered smile spread across his face. Fatigue, he wasn’t used to fatigue. He wasn’t sure if he liked it or if it was just nostalgia for humanity.

“So,” he said, eyes closing for a moment, “What happens when the sun comes up for you?” By that time he’d have to be back on the ground and sheltered, but the night was young enough that he’d be safe for a while.

She knew. Aurelia definitely knew how easy he could abandon her right there, so she shut her mouth. She was soon brought in almost too tightly, her body pressed uncomfortably against Jakobi as he began to lift them up. She looked down as they went up and immediately felt a bit off. It wasn't fear, per say, she had just normally stuck to the ground. The trees she did climb were usually of the easy variety, not gigantic trees such as this one. She was impressed by his strength though. She didn't weigh much, but pulling them both up with a single arm was still an impressive accomplishment. 

She reluctantly followed his orders, wrapping herself around him like a pack. It was a little humiliating, having to so thoroughly depend on this man, but she supposed she'd have to live with it. At least he was a semi-useful monster to have around. She rested her head against the back of his neck as he climbed, his scent washing over her. It still didn't seem like something natural to her, as if something was missing with him. Did he really used to be human? This really was a sad corruption if that was the case. She closed her eyes, not wanting to have to look down until they were on steady ground.

Aurelia looked up at him once he had brought her back into his arms. It wasn't unpleasant, but why? "Can I sit here please…?" She murmured, wondering why he seemed so seemingly happy. Weren't they in some sort of mortal danger? She realized then that her hair was quite ruffled, a site she wasn't used to seeing. What was that back there that had made such a person as Jakobi so wary? She'd heard stories of witches, but none as powerful as it seemed this thing chasing them was.

His eyes opened a sliver before he nodded and moved her from his arms so that she could sit safely on the branch herself. She hadn’t answered his question and he didn’t bother to ask it again. With a slow exhale he closed his eyes again and rested his arms behind his head to pillow against the bark of the tree. “I guess that’s luck in its own way,” he shrugged, “To be kept from ugliness as long as you have. Well, this level at least.” She’d thought him to be a human which meant she had to have had her fair share of run ins with them. They weren’t all kind and good, maybe she just hadn’t seen that yet. Lucky for her.

“Well we have some time here, you and I,” he smirked, the last of the tired feeling in his muscles dispersing. “So I’m curious, what’s the worst thing you’ve ever faced?” He peaked just one eye open to look at her, “Aside from me,” he clarified. His eyes closed again and he focused on the sound of the wind through the leaves, the too sweet scent of the sap and rot of so much foliage. Intermingled with it all was her, as much as he would have liked to ignore that fact.

She carefully extracted from herself, sitting close to him still. Not because she necessarily wanted to, of course. The branch just happened to be thicker there, and being closer to the trunk kept the breeze off her bare arms. She blushed a bit at his comment, looking off into the distance, replying softly, "I cannot say whether it is good or bad, just that the gods have blessed me with life and thus I serve them." She looked up at the moons, wondering what this vampire had seen to make him so…him…She doubted he was always this way when he was supposedly was a human. She took one of her hands and began absent-mindedly moving it through her hair, trying to make it at least a little bit more respectable out of habit.

At his question, she looked at him, expecting some sort of cocky expression, but oddly enough, Jakobi seemed to not be focused at her at all. With his eyes closed, she looked him over. She'd never really looked at him without those eyes open. Those stupidly alluring eyes. She supposed he looked…not ugly as well, for someone who was likely an older being as well from the way he spoke. "Personally, I've been kept safe from monsters like you…" Aurelia replied, a frown on her face, "But some of the travelers I've come across in the night aren't so lucky. I've seen some very…gruesome scenes over the…time I've been around. Usually the creature has left by the time I arrive though." She sighed, looking back away. She really was naive to the world, wasn't she? More so than she had thought.

He sighed, shaking his head in light disappointment. True that the gods had given her life, but he couldn’t imagine being so eternally bound to someone. No. No, he knew exactly what that felt like, and hated it. So more, he couldn’t imagine being bound and actually liking it. Maybe she wasn’t just naïve but young as well. Perhaps one day she’d grow out of it. Or maybe her makers were just much kinder than his had been. Either way, he listened as she spoke, though kept his eyes comfortably closed.

Ah, so she had seen darker things. Good, as much as he delighted in her understanding of the danger he brought, he wouldn’t have liked if he’d been the very first wickedness she’d encountered. He exhaled slowly through his lips and shook his head again, “It might do you some good to get there in time to see the beasts that make minced meat of men.” For someone like him it was normal, natural even, to deal with gruesomeness day in and day out: it’s how he survived after all. For him to live, it meant taking a force of life from someone else in the form of blood.

“You showed some fire in the cave,” he mused, remembering all too well the fleeting sting of her hand against his cheek. “So you aren’t completely inept, just too green to the world.” He opened his eyes and stretched his arms over his head until he felt and heard a satisfying crack. The glow of his eyes had dimmed some now that he was no longer in survival mode, or preying on someone. From this height he hoped it wouldn’t be a giveaway of where they were.

“Have you ever been to Kurayo?” he asked with genuine curiosity, a grin breaking across his lips the way glass spiderwebs from impact: too quick and all together frightening. “Oh…” his eyelids drooped with pleasure, remembering how her blood had tasted, imagining a frenzy with it, “They’d want to eat you up.” He sighed, “But they wouldn’t. They have rules and their own government and all that,” he said with a light wrinkling of his nose. He wasn’t for all of that; whenever he put on airs it was for show to get what he wanted.

“Even so,” he remarked, “It’s so stark in comparison to what you’ve experienced thus far that I think it might do you some good. Tough love,” he smirked, the expression not unkind for a rare moment. “Just make sure they see your fire. You have the sunset in you, do you not? That means you can burn. Show them,” he said, leaning towards her with widening eyes.

Aurelia frowned at the thought. She didn't want to see those monsters though. Why did she need to? It seemed so…so…it seemed like too much. The brutality of life was not for her. If she had to go through her whole life innocent but happy she would be fine with that. Nature was her life, and creatures like Jakobi weren't part of that. They were…different. They were something new. Why couldn't she just…live like she had before. She didn't want to need fire in her life. She just wanted to be one with the light and live to embrace it. She glared at Jakobi, "You act as if I'll come with you to this…realm of monsters or whatever it is. I'm perfectly fine here in nature, thank you very much!" With a huff, she turned her back on him. She wasn't his. According to what he had said he would feed on her for a week, but that didn't mean she was his slave. She refused to be anything of the sort. Although if he really wanted to he could likely just pick her up and throw her over his shoulder. She sighed. If there was one thing she hated about herself it would be how fragile she could be. She was many times lighter than she should be, perhaps as a reflection of light itself? She didn't know. All Aurelia knew was that she sometimes wished there was actual weight to her steps. It had made her frantic sprint away from Jakobi earlier interesting. She had felt…Almost human. Of course, she had been running many times faster than a human could, but that strain after the feeding had indeed made her feel like a different being. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, she supposed she didn't know just yet. Turning to him reluctantly, she grumbled, "How long am I going to be…weak like this…?"

He arched an eyebrow, a low chuckle weaving from his lips when she turned away from him in a huff. There was the fire. He sat back against the trunk and watched her, listened to hear heart beating. It changed so often that he wondered if she’d ever be predictable. And then he reminded himself that everyone was in the end. For a moment he let the silence linger between them, until finally he leaned forward; resting his hands on her shoulders but not forcing her to turn around.

“Hm,” he mused, his head turning up in faux thought, “A realm of monsters. I guess I never thought of it like that before.” He brought his eyes back down and looked down the arch of her neck, the line of her spine as it ran down her back only to disappear under her clothing. With her like this in front of him, the lines of her anatomy so prevalent, she reminded him of a baby bird: fragile, weightless, in constant danger.

“Of course where we are right now isn’t much better,” he said, casting his eyes down to the forest floor below. “You’ll be sad to find that this entire world is a realm of monsters,” he said. His eyes remained focused on the ground, but his fingers gripped tighter at her arms. It would be easy, so easy to push her from the branch. Not that he would, but sometimes impulsive thoughts invaded him. Sometimes he ignored them, and other times…

He pulled his hands back from her shoulders, not trusting them right now. “In any case,” he sighed, “I won’t force you to go there, even if I think it would do you some good.” A smirk cracked across his face as his eyes drifted back up to that taunting dip in her neck. His lips remembered what her skin felt like beneath them; his tongue still yearned for her taste, and if he still had a pulse it would be racing with anticipation. “Where would you want to go then?” he asked, his voice soft as rustling leaves.