She was almost saddened when he hid himself from her. A frown was clearly displayed on her face and yet she said nothing. It wasn’t going to change how Bryn felt to be upset. She took a sigh and finished her meal. Before long she was curled up and ready for her slumber. “It sounds good to me. I wouldn’t mind traveling the world at night if it meant keeping you happy.” She let out a yawn as she pulled her cloak around her. Sleep took her even in the awkward position she was sleeping in, and it took her fast.

Once night was around she began to stir and pulled herself up. She took a peek out of the barrow before coming back and smiling at him. “We can head out now.” She took his hand and reached up to lower his hood now that it was alright to look at him. She looked a lot stronger than she had. She wondered just what was rejuvenating her but the puzzled look soon left her face. “Whatever the case, I feel better.”

Leaving the barrow they set out for the above world. They traveled quite a way when Calanthe stopped. Her mouth was a bit agape as she stared at the red head not too far in front of them. “Mother?”

Warm green eyes were staring at them and she appeared rather happy. “Hello, Calanthe and Bryn.” The red head was keeping her distance at first. “I don’t want my aura to feed on Bryn too much. It might end up being bad for him.” Calanthe realized that Angela might have the opposite effect on Bryn. It was the fear that was set in her eyes.

“You mean like how Bryn can feed from me?”

“Exactly, life and death. Ying and yang. Overly letting Bryn feed on me and letting my aura feed on him. Eventually, he would probably give out. I was actually more worried about your weakened state so I gave a boost where I could. However, I wanted to do it far from the barrow since I didn’t know what my presence in the area would do. Do you feel well with me this close?” She was hardly close at all. “In any case, I do have a slight solution to Calanthe being near you. That is… if you want it.”

Bryn understood Calanthe's disappointment with him shielding himself from her view, but while he could probably accept her seeing him as a skeleton, that other form, the one he inhabited now was one he didn't want anyone to see. As bone he looked so utterly different that it would be hard to connect that with his quasi-living form, but the dessicated husk that he currently inhabited looked just enough like him that he feared it would disgust her. While she slept he remained aware, like before there was no sleep to pass the time, simply existing. Making sure of that time he dressed, finding the last clothes he wore in a chest at the far end of the barrow, finally he pulled on his gloves, masking the hands which gave away his form while the sun was still in the sky. While he knew he made a fearsome sight, at least now if seen riding during the day he wouldn't be suspected as being inhuman.

Night came and filled him out to that semblance of life. At Calanthe's urging he allowed his hood to be lowered, letting his, once again, human face to be seen. It seemed the sleep had given Calanthe more of a boost that she realised, or maybe the barrow itself had some preservative properties, after all his equipment was still serviceable after centuries, something not readily explained by natural means. Although Bryn wasn't exactly one who was bound by nature much any more.

Of course all of those thoughts were soon silenced by the presence of Angela. Even before she spoke he felt the cold trickle of his power reaching out, although he was able to tamp it down enough to not actively feed. He could feel the cold wind inside him, hungering, as if it were a starving man who smelled a feast behind a locked door. But as she explained in his current state they were not the equals they had been, while he could draw her unending essence across the boundary She could pull his unliving essence into the living realm, and his was now finite.

"I feel you even from here." His voice was steady, not betraying the hunger, "But this is close enough, no doubt you can feel it picking at any stray tendrils of power." Even his control was not perfect. The mention of a solution made him look Angela straight in the eye, "I'd definitely like to hear of it." Few things came without a cost, and he was unwilling to agree to anything without knowing that cost.

Angela did not appear to be judging them. It scared Calanthe to see her so accepting when she was doing something that her mother told her not to do. Bryn seemed to eager to hear the goddess’s plan and Calanthe was still rather in shock over how easy everything was. “Mother, if I may, why are you helping us? I mean you didn’t want to before.”

Holding up a finger, the goddess began to wag it at her daughter. “I never said that. I said it wasn’t the time nor the place. Matter of fact, you have put a stick in my wheel. You feel the constant pull of your life force? Bryn can’t control that, any patron of life knows that about a wight. I was overly busy with not only your brother but my new responsibilities to completely explain it. I had hoped that out of respect you would just listen Calanthe. BUT I was not telling you I wouldn’t. There is such a thing as being prepared and research. I looked through all the old books that got left behind from even gods before me. Matter of fact, it was the last god of death before even me. Some time ago… centuries? He spoke of a potion that could in fact save a wight from sucking the life force out of a person he loved. Romantic? Hardly, but it was worth looking into.”

She cleared her thought a bit. “He was looking into it because of his son. He had turned into a wight and had a living wife. He almost killed the poor girl one night. So in an attempt there were experiments made. Not good, a lot of people died for this god to find a solution to his son’s agony. However, that’s where our good luck begins. It just so happens he figured it out. I’ll spare the alchemical details. However, Calanthe has been overly tired because of me lately. I was brewing it while she was waiting. However, waking you up has caused me to only have it part way done. This potion isn’t something I can just zap into existence, afraid not even gods can do that. What I did find out is that the potion will work in doses until the main one is done.”

She took out a rather nice little bottle and rolled it towards him. “Here, take it. Sip it. It will make your powers not even recognize Calanthe is there, at least that is the short explanation of how it will work. They will ignore her being around and not notice her life force is for the taking. You’ll have to do this once a day. I’ll make sure potions are in stock for you. Luckily I made a huge pot only to find out that we only need a short amount for the solution. Give me a few months and you’ll never have to take another potion again, a permanent solution.” Turning her head to Calanthe a sad smile was there. “Maybe next time… have faith in your mother? I am not a terrible person.”

Angela stretched for a moment as she stepped back. “I’ve been here too long for my liking. Bryn and I are at ends with each other without meaning to be. That will be next on my list of things to fix but for now.. Tata.” She waved and disappeared. Calanthe was in shock as she looked at the vial near Bryn.

“That… will solve it?” There didn’t appear to be that much liquid in there. Was it that strong?

It seemed to Bryn that Angela had neglected to tell Calanthe some rather vital information, she didn't need to have made it as detailed as she was doing now. All it would have taken would be for Angela to tell Calanthe that Bryn wouldn't be able to be near her if he came back as he was, but that she was working on a solution. Barely a handful of seconds and Calanthe would probably have been willing to wait at least a little while longer than she had, as it was it seemed they were now left with half a solution. Still half a solution with the potential of a complete one was far better than what they'd had a few moments ago so Bryn wasn't going to throw that away without thought. The description of how the solution was found was sickening, Bryn was inured to the vagaries of battle, the blood and death that was entailed, but the idea of sending blameless innocents to a soul sucking death for the sake of an experiment was too cold blooded even for him. However at the same time he couldn't help but be grateful that such a result had come from that atrocity.

He stooped to take the bottle, it seemed very little for what it promised to do, still scratches on rock had summoned him back to unlife so he was willing to take Angela at her word. He examined it, swirling the liquid in the bottle, letting it catch the early morning light. With a nod to Angela he uncorked it and even as Calanthe asked whether he thought it would work he took the barest of sips. As soon as the liquid left his mouth he felt a change in his senses, he hadn't even realised just how used to seeing the world through his wight nature he'd become. Suddenly he couldn't feel Calanthe there next to him, it was like the hunger, which he'd relaxed his grip on, couldn't even see her. He noticed something else, the grass he stood on had become dry and brittle, as if holding that hunger in had made it worse. Looking down he nodded towards it, "I think it was probably a good idea we restrained ourselves." He gave her a slight smile, "But it's working, I can only see you, not see you like I could before." 

Calanthe wasn’t overly shocked at her mother’s absentminded nature. It showed when she watched Bryn. “That’s her for you. Always forgetting important details.” It felt her with a chuckle. “She shot energy into the sky not to long after you had gone. Broke reality into pieces, an accident some say, the voice thought otherwise. She’s had a lot of work on her plate. An excuse? Yes, but then again I suppose my mother is overwhelmed even for a god with new responsibilities. She’s not liking everyone in her temple, instincts of protection I suppose.” She chuckled a bit more as she watched the potion work. “Still, I wish she would have said something. All well for now.” The story about the potion that put a twist in her stomach as well. Love drove people to do weird things. The next thing she knew she was laughing at herself. Love was weird.

She looked at the dead grass and frowned a bit. “Do you need to stay fed on life force?” She wasn’t overly sure how being a wight worked to begin with. All she knew was Bryn while he was a god, this was completely new to them. She took a huge breath as she leaped onto him and smiled. “I can touch you now!” The restraint seemed to be gone as she cuddled into his rather cold body. It had been so long, she was so use to the cold from him it didn’t really have an effect on her.

“Still, she only gave you one vial. Something tells me we’ll be seeing someone soon for another one. She’ll give us more but its a matter of when.” It took her time before she chuckled. “Mother had a baby after you left, his name is Rohan and he’s a darling pain in her behind. He’s only nine months and he is already shape shifting and causing trouble. I suppose having a free roaming infant isn’t helping her case. She had to chase him out of a tree the other day.”

Rohan was joyful to her and Calanthe loved to hear him sing. She had never heard a baby sing before so it was an odd feeling. She gave Bryn a smile as she tugged at him. “We should decide where to go.”

Still looking at the dead grass Bryn nodded, "I think that would be a definite yes." He could feel the hunger inside him still, barely dented by such a meagre meal. He guessed that in some ways it would be as if he were a mortal man trying to live on grass, it might stop pangs for shortest of times but did not nourish. In which case he wondered if an animal might feed his hunger as it would feed a mortal's. "I think that perhaps we should seek out something more substantial as soon as feasible. I have an idea which might make me safe enough to wander about mortals without preying too much on their vitality." To him the idea was near enough the same as hunting for meat, although he suspected others might not see it in such a neutral light, particularly if they realised that they provided a far more substantial meal themselves.

He caught her as Calanthe threw herself on him, wrapping his arms around her, pressing her against him for the first time since he'd risen. While cold to the touch he was, at least in this form, as close to human as it was possible for him to become. with a chuckle he said to her. "Be careful, you can touch me, but too much and we might not get much done today at all." Well at least not much distance travelled.

The lack of more vials did pose an issue, but on the other hand Angela was a goddess, so probably had enough followers to be able seed them along whatever path they chose to take, although given his reliance on the potion it would probably be towards the heartlands of Angela's followers, near to her temple. However Bryn didn't think him going into the temple was a good idea, previously he and Angela had if not equal standing then close enough that one would not overwhelm the other. But now he was simply a wight, and being that near such a powerful life force might burn him out like an overly thin wire in a lightning bottle relay.

The story of a new half brother to Calanthe brought a small smile to Bryn's face, "Any child is a handful once they start moving, add in his abilities and that's just plain trouble."

Calanthe laughed as she heard his humor. She was quick to kiss him gently and let go so she could hold his hand. This was good for them and her mother had given them a solution to their biggest problem for now. Their second biggest problem was that he needed to feed and he couldn’t on her.  “I think the best part is that Rohan knows he is being troublesome but he is unconcerned like my mother about how much of a problem he is being.”

She kept him close but when walking together was too much she settled for just holding his hand. They were making their way towards a village not too far off. Along the way, Bryn tested out many theories he had on his feeding. Once they got to the village they were approached by a man with a large bag. It had many vials in it like her mother promised. Calanthe took the vials and thanked the follower. “She made us… a lot. This will last a while.”

She shifted the bag of potions into her own bag and put it back on her back as they moved. “So… Should we get a room and discuss how we’re going to get you food?” Her voice was low and she was mildly concerned if they were going to run out of town or if Bryn was most than capable of doing this quietly. She had never seen a wight feast before and she doubted that she wanted to witness the whole thing but she loved Bryn. She wanted to make sure that she could be around him.

As they walked Bryn kept an eye out, and a few times he spotted animals nearby, mostly small mammals such as rabbits, his otherworldly senses alerting him to their presence. At those times he indicated Calanthe should stay back. He suggested that it was mostly because one person was less likely to alert the creatures compared to two, but a greater part was because Bryn didn't want her to see the effect he had. As he came closer to the animals he let his hunger loose, draining the vitality from the rabbit, it quickly becoming still. It felt more substantial than the grass that had withered, and unlike the grass outwardly the rabbit remained unharmed, but it made him feel all the more like some slinking monster. He went through this process a number of times before the reached the village, and while it didn't fill him as a person might, it would at least keep him from hungering too strongly.

The presence of more vials once Angela's follower had departed made Bryn feel far less concerned about Calanthe's well being in his company. Although the number of vials did lead him to remark, "The amount of potion here suggests that either she reckons we'll be heading for parts outside of her reach, or that she's not going to be able to help out for long stretches of time." But then Angela looking after a young child would probably be reason enough not to want to traipse after a daughter and her undead paramour.

Looking at the night sky, which suggested that dawn was only a few hours away Bryn answered, "A room would be best, I think the last thing the villagers want to see is a walking skeleton. It might not encourage them to be welcoming." He added the last with a wry smile. While he could keep his hood over his head it tended to invite, if not outright suspicion, then at least some wariness.

 

Calanthe stayed back when he asked her to. She would turn her back to where he was and focus on the night sky over them. She didn’t want to see it either and she knew that most of Bryn did not actually want to prey on other individuals. A smile came to her face when he retrieved her for the last time.

The red head was quick to help locate them a little inn not far from there. She paid the keep well and got him up to the room. “I am just glad we reached her before morning.” She said as she turned and locked the door. Thinking about her mother she just nodded and frowned. “It is odd about Mother but I would imagine that it is Rohan that is keeping her away.”

She frowned as she went over to the window and closed the curtains. “Hopefully her potion for the real thing is done so we don’t have to keep you choking these lesser ones down.” She took off her cloak and the inn was rather warm thanks to the roaring fire down the hall. “Where should we go from here Bryn?” she knew that she only had him for a few more hours before he turned back into his wight form. That was alright with her and it was something that she had to cope with.

She took his hands into her and gently laced their fingers together. A warm smile was on her face now. It didn't matter how cold he was, his personality and soul were warm to her.

The closed curtain meant that at least he wouldn't revert fully to his skeletal form, as always he wasn't entirely sure if that was a blessing or a curse, but at least it meant he would retain lips to speak rather than just communicate in a whispering hiss that seemed to come from nowhere. The mention of the future and where they should go from this small village brought a smile to Bryn's face, he'd been thinking about it since arriving. The village was too small, anything unusual here would be quickly picked up upon and linked to strangers. That led him to the most obvious solution. "I think the best plan would be a large city, one with a less than ideal method of keeping down crime." He gave her a slight smile, "That way my prey can come to me, and it will be less likely that an innocent will get hurt." It was the best solution that he could think of, for him to continue to have a day form he needed to feed, and for that someone was eventually going to have to die.

His hand twined with Calanthe's, letting her rest against him, her being here was all that made this unlife bearable. Sometimes he wished she could have seen him warm and vital, but on the other hand it was his graveyard nature that had led Angela to place her in his court. Beyond that, in his previous life he had been as wild a hellion as many of his tribe's warriors, riding hard into battle without care, death had made him more thoughtful perhaps, someone who thought before he acted.