In The Works...

It was getting dark...

Hitomi eyed the darkening sky warily as she waited for Tala to meet up with her. They had stopped by a small village recently. The whole goal had been simply to gather some supplies for cheap. What they DIDN'T expect, was to stumble across a quest with a pretty decent reward. The premise had been fairly interesting as well.

Apparently, there was something prowling in the woods during the night. Spawned a local legend. Tales of small lights that would lead travelers astray. If you were to follow them, you'd end up lost in the forest, seeing things that weren't there. Eventually, you'd collapse. When you awoke, you'd be missing several valuables. Hitomi didn't really know what to think of the whole thing, but they needed money. Her bet was a small group of bandits with illusion magic. With Tala at her side, it shouldn't be a problem.

She shifted slightly, adjusting her mask as she waited for her companion. With the luck they've had as of late, she could really use a simple job.

Yeah, a nice, simple job.

Hitomi's sensitive ears would pick up familiar footsteps crunching in the snow. She'd see Tala in the distance jogging towards her, a full satchel wrapped over her shoulder and down her waist.

"Sorry about that!" Tala said as she reached Hitomi. The woman would stop just a few inches from the girl before bending down to grasp her knees and pant. It seemed the woman had traveled quite a bit in short amount of time. She then looked at Hitomi and smiled sheepishly. "Charging my stones took longer than I thought it would."

Tala would straighten up, taking in a few deep inhales and exhales to catch her breath, before looking at the forest in front of them.

"So this is the place huh? Should we just...head in?"

Hitomi's ear twitched slightly as she heard Tala's footfalls. Slowly she pushed herself up from her sitting position and pat her clothes, shaking off any dirt or snow. Idly, she pushed up her mask, giving Tala an amused smile as the woman tried to catch her breath. She stepped forward placing both hands on the woman's shoulders and stepping just a bit closer. Like before, She placed her forehead against Tala's and moved her head back and forth slightly before stepping back, a tiny bit more chipper than before.

Tala would notice Hitomi's ears twitch ever so slightly at the prospect of just...heading in. She was firm in her beliefs that this was just bandits but...She wasn't a fan of magic that could mess with your head. "Mm..." She nodded slowly, beginning to lead the way with a steady, albeit uncertain gait.

Tala's heart skipped a beat when Hitomi drew near again and pressed her forehead against hers. Years of no physical contact made it a little hard to be prepared for any signs of affection, she supposed, though the fact she was still embarrassed about the whole saving her from drowning bit might have also had something to do with it. Regardless, she offered Hitomi a bright smile in response.

The two would start walking through the forest, and if Hitomi was the slightest bit uncertain, Tala was nervous. It had been a few days since the little altercation with the twins, but she wasn't entirely sure she had recovered from that. She felt more confident that she could probably fight a few petty criminals if she had to; a few blows to the head would be enough to knock them down. However, what if she screwed up again? Last time she was lucky Hitomi was there at all, but if it happened to be more of the princess' people or some sort of more powerful foe, how was she so sure she wasn't going to just blur out again.

Tala exhaled through her mouth, an effort to warm her hands as well as calm herself. No, she wasn't going to freak out. She couldn't afford to. She had a partner now and if they planned on facing bigger foes, she had to get over this as quickly as possible.

She glanced at Hitomi walking ahead and smiled softly.

She wasn't alone in this. It was going to be fine.

To cheer herself up as well as brighten up the atmosphere, Tala yawned feigning blithe indifference and picked up her step.

"So, what's our plan for hunting the culprit down?" she asked Hitomi. "Also, if we're facing illusionists, maybe it'll help us to have something to keep us on track? The forests are pretty deep and if they try to make us lose our way, that'd be a disadvantage."

Hitomi left her mask up as the moved deeper into the forrest. She felt comfortable enough around Tala to keep it off in the first place, plus, if she needed to convey emotion, she'd rather not keep pushing it up and down. Once they actually engaged whatever enemy they were hunting, she'd simply don the mask again.

Hitomi herself, was too wrapped up in scanning the area to notice Tala's nerves, she assumed the woman was as confident as she ever was. The yawn and her picking up her steps certainly helped that belief. She glanced over as she began to speak. "Mm!" Hitomi nodded curtly at her suggestions regarding keeping on track. She turned, kneeling down and digging into her bag to pull out her notebook. She idly looked up, then did a short double take as she saw lights seemingly dancing in the forest.

She looked up towards Tala, a grave expression written on her face before quickly grabbing her brush and pushing it to the paper.

If Tala looked, she'd see her writing: Well, that's what I was worried about. I don't know much about magic. Do you have an-" Suddenly, Hitomi would flinch, her hand jolting to a stop. Her ears suddenly started ringing, a painful headache suddenly gripping her. The woman placed a hand on her head, letting out a soft gasp as she suddenly grew dizzy. Tala herself would see a small trickle of blood suddenly bubble out from Hitomi's nose, she seemed on the verge of suddenly collapsing.

When Hitomi suddenly winced and started to bleed, whatever nerves Tala felt earlier vanished. She quickly rushed to Hitomi's side, trying to support her while her other hand quickly gripped Dawnbreaker.

"Hitomi!? Hitomi, what's wrong?" she said.

She quickly looked around, trying to find the lights from earlier. She was prepared for anything. Her eyes were wide opened and her ears were peeled for the moment something came from one of the many sides of the forest.

Hitomi gripped Tala tightly as the pain washed over her. Her hand went to her sword, though she had no enemy to strike at. She sighed and staggered, her eyes going to the lights in the distance....Wait..We're they?

Her eyes widened as the wind seemed to pick up around them. Hitomi turned towards Tala, a severe look in her eyes. She placed a hand against her chest a pushed her roughly away. At that same moment, the lights burst from the tree line and surrounded her. Hitomi drew her sword and attempted to defend herself, but it was in vain. There was practically a whirlwind around her, the lights were blinding her. She let out a gasp, placing a hand on her throat as her legs seemed to suddenly give out.

Talal would see the lights converge and flash brightly.

The next moment, the area fell into complete darkness. The lights blinked out, the wind had stopped. There was only the sounds of nature around them...

...

.....

Hitomi's face felt cold...Her eyes fluttered open, she was pressed against the snow. With a small sigh, she pushed herself up, half in a daze. She blinked a few times, looking around with a small frown. She couldn't see well right now...Her eyes hadn't adjusted again yet. God she was really cold now. Her face, her legs, her hands....

Her hands?

She looked down before letting out a small squeaking noise. She fell back, her eyes widening as she saw her hands. They weren't the rough, wooden appendages she was used to. They were flesh, smooth and...kind of small. In fact, everything seemed bigger around her right now...

Tala, when her eyes adjusted as well. Would see a small Enkidu in the place of Hitomi. She was about six from the looks of things. Black, messy hair that fell to her neck. Wide purple eyes, a tiny nose and small lips. After a moment, Tala would clearly see the resemblance to Hitomi.

Hitomi on the other hand, looked around wildly. Her mask and sword had fallen onto the ground nearby. Her robes were far too large for her at the moment, she looked like she was covered in a blanket at this point. She made another small squeaking noise as she looked around for enemies/Tala, all the while trying to struggle out of her stupid robes so she could grab her sword.

Whatever Hitomi was experiencing it was getting worse and Tala had no idea what it could possibly be. Was it some sort of magic? Were there Free Alchemists here warping her blood that Tala wasn't sensing? She felt helpless and all she could do was hold Hitomi as she suffered the ordeal...but not for long, however. Tala would feel wind pick up and a bright light come from a nearby tree.

What in the....

Before she could even respond, she felt Hitomi push her away. That, and the wind, was enough to cause her to stumble.

"HITOMI! NO!" Tala yelled as she watched the lights engulf the Enkidu.

A hot rage filled Tala's blood and much like against the Frost Eater and the twins, she found herself grasping her scythe and ready to charge. She stopped abruptly however as the lights faded and the wind died down. In Hitomi's spot, Tala saw a bundle of clothes.

She felt her heart sink to her stomach, almost sure whatever had happened had disintegrated her partner before her eyes. But then...a soft squeaking sound.

A pair of wide purple eyes, short hair, a tiny round face and small hands...there was a child in front of her.

"A...baby Enkidu?"

Hitomi would notice Tala's cheeks flush red and her eyes shine brightly. For some reason, Tala just seemed fixated on her and wouldn't stop staring. It took Tala awhile to realize that Hitomi was trying to communicate with her to which Tala blinked.

"Hi..Hitomi!?" she said in surprise.

Aside from the resemblance, the girl was literally struggling in the large robes, her bare feet touching the snow and her arms exposed to the cold. Without even warning, Hitomi would feel her body be scooped up. Tala had grabbed her under the arms and was raising her to her level, her eyes still wide with what could only be described as wonder.

"Hitomi! You've...you've shrunk!" she exclaimed, though not in the least in distress. "Not just that, you're a-a child!"

Hitomi would feel Tala lift her and turn her, as if examining the fact she was as small as she was. The woman would suddenly gasp.

"Oh, my goodness you poor thing! You'll freeze in these loose clothes!" she said before pressing the girl close to her chest. Hitomi would feel the woman swathe her in her own red cloak and start...cradling her.

"Haaa...you're so soft!" Tala would suddenly squeal. "It's like holding my daughter in my arms agaiiiin! You poor, poor thiiing!"

Tala was cooing at this point and Hitomi would actually feel the woman nuzzling softly against her head affectionately. For whatever reason, Tala was not responding with shock about the matter like a normal person would, and she wouldn't seem to unless told to.

Hitomi had started making annoyed grunts as she tried to free herself from the stupid robes. God they were weirdly heavy! What the hell? She sighed and tried to just reach out for her sword when she was suddenly grabbed and picked up. Hitomi let out another surprised squeak as she was suddenly face to face with Tala.

Her eyes widened considerably at her words. Hitomi kicked her feet uselessly, the shock of everything simply making her want to hide from Tala. She didn't want her to see her like this! She didn't know why but this was horribly embarrassing! And then, of course, it got worse. Tala bundled her up further and began to cradle her. A deep blush spread across Hitomi's face and, at first she was too shocked to move. It was weird how comfortable this was, her first instinct was simply to relax and close her eyes and at first, that's what she did. She sighed, relaxing as Tala held her close. She was warm, she was safe. She could figure everything out later...For now...she'd just....

"It's like holding my daughter in my arms agaiiiin!"

Hitomi's eyes snapped open quickly. For some reason that was really really bad right!!! Hitomi began to struggle, albeit fairly weakly. She'd suddenly grown so tired...Th-this had to be the work of the illusionist! She had to fight! She had to fiiiiiiight!

Despite Hitomi's struggles, Tala didn't seem to be registering any of her resistance. It was hard to say the main reason Tala was acting the way she was. On one hand, Hitomi was just adorable. How could someone like Tala not want to snuggle and cradle the small little girl with rabbit ears? She was begging to be snuggled! In addition to this, a part of Tala just really missed showing any signs of affection. She hadn't mentioned her daughter for nothing. She used to pick the girl up and squeeze her tight at random, to which her daughter delighted in.

It took a few solid minutes before Tala started to loosen her grip. She looked at Hitomi and smiled brightly.

"It'd be no good for you to be walking on your bare feet like this, Hitomi dear!" she said a little too affectionately. "So just let me carry you okay? Huuuu, so cuuute~"

Hitomi would find herself being smothered all over again. This probably was going to be a thing unless Hitomi put up more of a fight.