Magdiel's house was a mess, and she knew it too. She hoped she could get it clean in a couple of days. One never had much time to clean when they were a seamstress and a merchant as well. She had just finished the kitchen floor and was taking a break from her work with a glass of tea and her most comfortable chair.

Kenith stumbled down the streets, a line of blood drizzling down his chin. They got him, he didn't escape nor win, lost. He lost and payed the price. He almost fell over, but caught himself just in time. Shaking off the dizziness he continued, if not somewhat slower. He looked wearily into the windows of buildings, he needed help. Why help him though, a dhamphir, what a weirdo. He spent his time around zombies and skeletons, why would anyone like that. Undead, the best and only friends he ever had. Kenith stumbled only a few more steps before collapsing into a door, landing with a loud thud. He slowly arose, but it was unlikely he would stand for much longer before he blacked out.

Magdiel heard the crash. She set down her tea and ran toward the door. "Oh my! What happened to you?" she asked the young man with the bloody chin. He looked like he was going to keel over at any moment, so she gave him her arm so she could help him into the house. From the looks of it, it was a pity she didn't know any healing spells. "Why don't you come inside and lie down?"

Kenith weakly nodded, his fangs starting to poke out from under his lips. They were aroused by the taste of blood. He wobbled towards whatever was suitable and dropped onto it. He stared blankly up to the celling. Other than the trickle of blood that seeped from his mouth, he looked completely fine...almost. If one were to examin his torso however, it would be a shade more purple than the rest of the pale body. Bruises, many many bruises.

Magdiel found some fresh water, a rag, and some ice and cleaned up the blood on his chin. Then she took the ice and put it where there was the most swelling. "Can you tell me what happened?" she asked him. "Are you running from something... or someone? If so you are welcome to stay here until they give up and lose track of you."

Kenith looked at her with needy eyes, but tinged with defiance. He didn't want help, but he needed it. He had always been fine alone, why become dependant now? He swallowed, nodding faintly, trying to put together what had happend.

He had been walking through the streets, minding his own buisness. However, some sounds drew his attention. Curiosity killed the cat. He had walked in on a group of bandits. They gave him one glance, his frail body showing that there was barely any way he could resist, and attacked. Kenith had leaped back, a phantom blade of energy forming between him and the bandits. They had paused their attack only for a moment before they ran back at him. Kenith was able to get the blade fend off some of the bandits, but others got through. The first hit shook him, the sencond cut his focus on the blade (which promptly dissapeared), and the third sent him to the ground. He didn't have much of an idea of what happened next. It was all a blur of pain. However, he did know he ran. For all he knew they were still following him around. He didn't know.

Magdiel waited for him to say something, but was greeted only by silence. She tried again. "What is your name, young man? My name is Magdiel. Please say something so that I know you are all right. Can you talk at all?" It worried her that he wouldn't even tell her his name. Was the young lad deaf? She knew he had been through a lot, though, and that sometimes grief or shock made one unable to speak. She could only wait.

Kenith tilted his head. With a shiver he spoke, "Kenith." He swallowed nervouslly. He, painfully, leaned up. He looked at her, paying more attention to her apperance. He then took a deep breath, exhaling, and then speaking. He stuttered through the events that had happened. He finally came to a stop to the story and let out a long breath. He was pained, certaintly, but that didn't stop him from working to mask it.

Magdiel still read the pain in his eyes even though he tried to mask it. "It's good to know the whole story," she said gently. "I always like to know what I'm protecting my guests from. You may rest now. You can stay here for as long as you need to. Would you like some more blankets or something to eat or drink?"

Kenith nodded quietly, shivering occasionally. He looked down at his bare feet that protruded from his pants, always bare. He wondered, had he ever worn shoes? No, never. Not when he was a baby, not when he was just a kid, not now, and perhaps not ever. He wiggled them playfully.

The young dhamphir looked to the kind woman. "Some blankets would be nice," The not-quite-a-man swallowed, his dry throat causing some pain, "water would be nice too." Kenith rubbed his eyes, the events of the day taking a toll on him. He blinked his tired eyes slowly.

Perhaps he should focus on learning how to defend himself better with that dagger of his. Maybe. Or he could get an actual sword. This caused Kenith to begin to contemplate possibilities. Sabers, cutlasses, pole arms, and rapiers. He thought silently, but it was fully explained on his face.

The dhamphir waited patiently for his water, and perhaps some sleep.

Magdiel smiled as she left. She returned with the water first and set it on a small table near the bed Kenith was lying in. Then she came back a few minutes later, her arms full of two huge woolen blankets. "I keep these for the cold weather," she told him. "You should be warm in no time. I don't have to set up shop today, so I'll be nearby if you need anything else."

(Oops! Sorry!)

Kenith wrapped himself up in the blanket. Feeling warmer in no time. "Thanks." He yawned, but still curious. "So what do you do?" He watched her walk around with curious eyes. Yawning, he continued. "Ever seen a zombie before? When they aren't trying to bite your face off they are great company!" He raised his hands in emphasis. He took a sip of the water, snuggled in the blankets. His eyes felt lazy, closing more and more often. He couldn't go to sleep yet, so many things to be figured out.

The half vampire contemplated things he needed to do. That included the thugs, he would take care of those thugs in due time. He snickered at the thought of watching them follow him around as his undead minions. He shifted in the bed. How to go about getting them though? Zombies weren't exactly able to blend in with the crowd in a place like this. He struggled to remain conscious but he soon fell asleep.

"I'm a seamstress, and I sell the things I make," Magdiel said softly before she saw Kenith's eyes droop and finally close completely. She made sure the blankets were tucked securely around his feet before she left. She couldn't help wanting to answer all his questions. It had been awhile since she'd had someone to open her home to, let alone someone who would talk to her and ask her questions. She knew he needed his rest, but she hoped he would wake soon. As he slept, Magdiel tidied the house a bit more and then brought her tea in by his bed to sit and watch him sleep. Magdiel had never had children, and perhaps that was why she liked doing this. Knowing she could possibly protect someone from something scary or unwanted made her feel needed. Besides, Kenith was obviously little more than a boy, and she felt that he would feel comforted by someone guarding him as he slept.

Kenith turned in his sleep, dragging the blankets as he moved. It was hard to depict if he was having a nightmare, a very active dream, or just spasmed as he slept. Perhaps it was a mix of everything, or maybe nothing. He shifted again, and again. Whichever it was, it made him move a lot.

Kenith was in a dream, not that he knew that, and it was unusual to put it lightly. He had been running through a forest, not like one he had ever seen. The trees grew upside down, their leaves at the bottom and their roots growing at the top. The streams flowed in the sky and the clouds moved along the bottom. Birds swam and fish flew. He was confused to say the least. Then came the people. Barbarian elves, giant dwarfs, advanced lizarians, it went on and on. He backed away from the gathering, looking side to side. Then he saw something utterly scarry, an angel, but no angel. An angel of demonic stature. All he saw was a bright light as the demon angel raised her hand, then he woke.

Kenith looked around for a moment, regaining his sense. What a dream.

Magdiel saw the look on his face. "Kenith? Are you all right?" Was someone trying to kill him even in his dreams? Magdiel prayed not. The poor boy didn't deserve that. He had come here for refuge and rest. "You may talk about it if you like." It was at times like this that Magdiel ached for a family of her own; one could likely see how good she would have been with children. But then, she hadn't been so great with the little girl, Kogata. Magdiel still felt sad when she thought of Kogata's first reaction to her. Some did not accept peace, however, and that was just the way it was, even though it nearly broke her heart to think of it.

She sat there patiently waiting for his answer, hoping that there was something she could do for him. Maybe he would like a pair of socks. She had noticed his bare feet and she could make a pair of socks lickety-split. Then maybe his feet wouldn't be so cold, even though she noticed that he also didn't wear shoes.

Kenith looked at her, she reminded him of his own mom. Long gone, to who knows where? He sighed, she had left his father and himself too, after learning that they were vampiric. He shuddered in sadness, he had loved his mom so much, but she rejected him as soon as she discovered his secret. It had been just himself and his father for most of his life, then it was just him. Just little Kenith, all alone. Since then he had longed for the hole in his heart to be filled. He looked at Magdiel, almost beginning to cry. Behind his facade of the mischievous and sly little brat, he was truly lonely in this world.

Kenith looked down at his bare feet, the feet that had never felt a sock or shoe. Likely never to either, he was so used to wearing no shoes. He figured trying to now would feel like wearing wool socks on your hands. He sighed, looking back at Magdiel with those longing, lonely eyes.

Something about Kenith made Magdiel long to give him a hug. She just sat there patiently for a moment, and then she whispered in his ear. "You have a secret, don't you Kenith? I have one too. Maybe if we tell them to each other it will be of some help to us both. Then we will both not feel so lonely."

Kenith twitched as she neared, not used to people being within his personal space much. He looked at her quietly, thinking to himself. "What secret?" He almost conspicuously tried to cover the dormant fangs, almost. He managed to maintain ignorance of any secrets on his face. He looked down and sighed, "If we are going to be telling secrets, then you first." He looked back up and smirked.

"My father died when I was a little girl. My mother remarried to a half-demon elf and he used to beat me and punish me in odd and sadistic ways. Like, I still have a scar on my stomach from the time he burned my clothes while they were still on my body." Magdiel shivered. Her eyes glittered with tears, and she wasn't usually a crier. "I still have a bunch of scars, mostly along my back and legs." For the first time in a long time, one who carried the element of peace was not so peaceful. But she hoped that would entice Kenith to tell her his secret. Did it have to do with his mother? Even though he had been smirking at her a moment ago, the impulse to hug him was still strong.

Kenith looked down, that was quite sad. How do these things seem to happen to so many people? It is a cruel, cruel world we live in. Kenith just did his best to survive.

She had told him her secret, what a sad secret, so it was time he told her his secret. "Before I tell you this I would like you to know I don't want to hurt you in any way. Also, it would be nice that, if you decide I'm evil, you don't kill me." He paused, waiting for confirmation before going on. "I'm a dhamphir. Dad was a vampire, my mom was a peasant. We had a good future ahead of us, though my mom didn't know my father was a vampire. I guess he feared the truth would drive her away...it did. As soon as she found out one day, she left. She also pointed vampire hunters our way. Yes, she left me behind too because of my vampire blood. So we were left to hide, soon to be only me. They got my dad, dragged him through town before chaining him to a poll. Kinda like when they burn people, but they let the sun do that for them. He burned as it came, in a few minutes he was gone. Burnt to ashes. I ran away after that, havn't returned to that place yet." By now tears had started to drip down his face, landing on the blanket. He rarely talked so openly, maybe its because she was so motherly. He needed a mom again, who knows where his real one was. He needed the motherly support he had been lacking for so much of his short life.

"Shhh..." Magdiel crooned, reaching to hold his hand in comfort. "That's terrible. I don't think you're evil or else I'd never have invited you to stay with me. I promise. Evil is... an attitude, and from what I've seen, you don't have it. I don't think you're evil. I think you are a teenager who grew up a lost little boy, and I think you need a mother." She gulped back a lump in her throat. "And I think I need a child. I've never had a child. Would you let me be your mother?"

Kenith looked at her, silent for a while. A new mother? Could he even do that? Have that even? He looked almost as if he would say no, but it was quite the opposite on the inside. He had just met the lady and already he had found refuge in her company. He would love to have a mother once more. He said nothing, instead, he fell into an embrace of longing.

Magdiel smiled and embraced him in return, rubbing his back as she held him close for awhile. She held him for as long as he seemed to want to be held. "There now, don't you feel some better?" she whispered. "I feel some better myself. We both have what we have always wanted...acceptance."

He looked up quietly, the tears were gone. He did feel better, sometimes a simple hug can solve so many problems, lighten so many burdens, and heal so many wounds. He sniffed, once, twice, and then no more. He pulled himself back onto the bed and laid down. He looked at her in silence, no words needed to be spoken for Kenith.

She watched him and smiled a motherly smile. "I'll be nearby if you need me, son." It wasn't just for the time that they would be staying together, it was forever, and she wanted to make sure he knew that. He would always have a place to run to if any more troubles befell him. And it was nice to have someone to call her son. Even if she never found love and married, Magdiel had a feeling she would always have Kenith to make her feel needed and loved.

Kenith yawned again. He was getting tired again, this time because of the hour. For the first time in a long while he felt content. Then it came upon him: What do I do now? "I've got somebody to live my life with, yet I've spent almost all my life on the move. What do I do? I have to decide, what? What?" He mouthed silently, it was now becoming confusing, so confusing. Necromacy was his talent and skill, not like he was just going to give it up now. Nor did he want to just give up this newfound guardian. His mental struggle wore him out quickly and he fell asleep once more. This time having a more peaceful, non-death involving dream.