Boredom

“I’m sure his cows are even more grateful.” Rai smirks as she unclasps the hooks holding her cloak onto her pauldron. She folds it over, tucking it over the belt loop that held one of her scythes. “You can? Can you wash clothes inside too? I have some lye but buffalo berries work better. Lye leaves it smelling almost worse.” As if that were possible. Rai did notice humans around here didn’t have as strong of a scent as they did in Dis. Perhaps it was due to the availability of running water that they didn’t also have to drink?

“In Dis, Reavers are given one ration of Lye per week. However, we end up having to fight at least one demon every two days, sometimes more. So that one vial of lye doesn’t go very far. But finding Billberries or soapweed is always an option. I’m not very good at finding it myself, but a white cloak named Dante is. I end up trading taking over his livestock duty shift for some at least once or twice a week… I’m beginning to suspect the bastard is growing them in secret.” Rai suddenly realizes that’d make a lot of sense. How could she not have thought of that before?

She was, however, rambling. The opportunity to speak freely was not one she was awarded often, so she found herself capitalizing on it. The arm around her shoulder was a very unfamiliar feeling. She didn’t exactly know how to feel about it, people never dared to touch humanity’s bastard children. Her skin felt cold to the touch and the flesh beneath felt like granite covered in velvet soft skin. “I’ll stay with you for the night. I don’t really stop moving at night very often.” She thought it interesting to not only be able to see how a house ran, but to actually be in one for the night.

She let out a little wince as the weight began to shift Cebra was also buckling. That landing didn’t look too clean, it would have been enough to shatter the ankles of a normal person easily. “Here, Grimmorah should be free by now.” She offers, shifting to find another of her many pockets and tossing the glass figurine into the ground.

Once again the surge of sulfur and hellfire surged forth the angry steed, barreling into the world like a bat out of hell. He stares blankly at the two for a moment, gnashing his glass teeth.

“Oh boo, you’ll get over it.” Rai grumbles as she hauls herself into the saddle best she could with a shattered femur before extending a hand to Cebra. However Grimmorah voiced his discontentment once again with a snort.

“Ass.” She retaliates, giving her own irritated snort.

Cebra was taken back by these revelations about medieval lifestyle. This poor girl would probably consider his mediocre  home as something grand. The thought of using lye to clean himself almost made Cebra gag in his mouth. From her intriguing rambling Cebra deduced she'd been cheated by someone from her past, so she was kind of naïve but smart enough to realize she'd been played... A while after the fact but never the less. He was briefly lulled into a relaxed state, it was nice to just listen to someone talk. He'd taken notice of the feeling of her skin, it was peculiar but not unfamiliar. Perhaps she had some power like Aria and could make her cell structure super dense, making her stronger. She wasn't built like Aria s he couldn't be sure.

That strange horse like creature or automaton came forth again from wherever it was held, there sure was a lot of fan fare calling upon this horse like trying to make it look magic. He took her hand and hobbled up onto the great beast with a loud "Oomf!" The ride back was very calm and mostly upwards along dirt road, the night was setting with a thick black cloak and next to no light to guide the trio. But for one home in the distance on the valleys edge. As they passed they could see through the window Darcy and his son Chris sitting together. Darcy taking a load off with his feet up and his son bringing him a well deserved beer and cig. He'd make sure to check up on the two of them tomorrow, tonight he'd just let them both rest.

The dark was dotted with lights of the sparsely built homes, mostly farm homes, all along the way until they got into the village. It was pretty much asleep save for a few lewd seedy shops, bars and gas stations along the way. Cebra could pick up his truck tomorrow, he wasn't in any mood to drive and the horse made decent time. The rain still came down in buckets drenching everyone, it was a chill, windy and wet ride back along the long paved roads now back to Cebra's. He hefted himself off of the horse and offered Rai a hand. "Better get inside before we catch a cold." He smirks.

If a reaver could feel exhaustion, this would be the closest thing Rai could feel to it. Mostly that her body hurt, especially the part of her thigh that had been impaled. It was a sensation that only earned the occasional grinding of her back teeth.

She did recognize Darcy through his walls, luckily safe. Along with his cattle. As far as she was concerned, her two main goals had been accomplished. She couldn’t help but slump forward in her saddle, much to Grimmorah’s displeasure as it made the weight not settle right across his back. However, he had bitched enough as of late.

As Grimmorah halted she couldn’t help but give a confused stare as Cebra offered a hand. It made sense for her to offer one to help him on, but never had anyone been so polite to help a reaver off their mounts. Most people dared not touch them if they could help it.

She gently lays her hand into his, her hands were relatively small and thin with long slim fingers, each mounted with a glossy dark claw. She throws her hurt leg over with a light wince and slides off the side of Grimmorah who shatters into a pool of ash and sulfur. “Right.” She couldn’t help but let in a soft breath at the thought of stepping over the door frame. It still felt strange, no matter how reassuring Cebra was about the whole thing.

“I, uh, I’m going to leave this here.” She offers as she unclasps her pauldron on the front porch and leaves her boots so as not to track in water and plant gunk. Along her now exposed shoulders were dark marks against her skin where the straps had been, rubbing against her for years and biting into her skin.They went deeper under her armor, likely over her whole body as the armor was never fitted to be comfortable, only to guard against damage, therefore it was strapped on tightly.

Cebra paused for a moment as he entered the warm and dry home of his to look at Rai. She seemed a little banged up , or rather critical if she were a human. The markings were uncomfortable to even look at, almost feeling the pain vicariously. Her body looked very dainty and feminine despite how strong she looked. Maybe it was the warmer lighting or the fact they were out of danger but he certainly liked what he saw, outside of that shell she was quite beautiful... Though the armor did little to hide that. It wasn't long though before he realized he was staring at her and shifted his gaze inside. "Uh yeah of course, lay it down where you like. I think all of our clothing might need some cleaning." As he smelled the rising stench in the warm air.

Cebra quickly got a few towels from the closet, he handed one to Rai and a face cloth. "Here, it's a towel. Just something we use to dry things and ourselves off." Not knowing how familiar she was. "The shower is upstairs and to the right at the end of the hallway." He guided her to the bathroom, it was simple. No fancy huge tub or huge glass door shower, there was a decent sized tub and shower head with easy to use nozzles. All the basic needs including a toilet, sink and cabinet. "The water comes out of these here." As he points to the shower head and two faucets. You can control the hot water with this and the cold with this. Cebra felt a little odd having to explain this function, he saw this would be a repeating theme with the two of them. "You don't need lye or berries, this is what we tend to use." As he hands her a bottle of soap "I'd be careful not to get it in your eyes, can sting a bit."

Cebra would use the guest bathroom shower and let Rai use the bigger main one. He had some time to think about how the day had gone. He'd not planned anything so eventful, he would have to see to raising his security measures if mutants were getting more brazen like this. Learning that Aria had met Rai threw a wild card into the situation he'd strongly prefer to avoid, especially if she attempted to coerce Rai to join her on one of her escapades. It was also concerning that these so called demons were running around, he thought them to be some kind of either alien creature or mutant aberration beyond his comprehension. He finished up drying his jet black hair and wrapping his waist in a towel. It was when he left the bathroom he realized she might also need some temporary clothing... This would be awkward considering her size "*gulp*"

This might be the first time ever his mind assisted by one of the most powerful AI entities created failed to come up with a solution. "Oh boy... Oh boy."

Rai never even noticed Cebra’s gaze. To her she was nothing special to look at, she was unaware of what a normal human looked like. For all she knew humans could have completely different beauty standards and appreciating other reavers for their beauty was not a thing amongst them. “Yeah, luckily for me, leather doesn’t hold much smell.” and liquid tended to run off it from how often it was tended to with oil to keep it waterproof.

Cebra’s crash course in modernity was what had her scratching her head. The towels smelt amazing and didn’t have the eye burning vapor of lye. “Thank you. This is all very strange but… nice.” She trails as Cebra leaves to tend to his own shower. She pulls the lacings to the corset, as she stretches her back. Reaver armor was always painfully tight, the pressure would be enough to make breathing impossible for a living woman. Many of Rai’s bones give a painful crack as they move into a comfortable position, unhindered by leather, steel and boning.

She couldn’t imagine that humans could have such access to warm water. Hot baths were really reserved for nobles who ordered servers to heat baisens of water for them, but this came from overhead hot. She stood for a moment, blood circling the drain before she sinks. Rai slumps against the back of the shower, motions stilling as she regens. She’d spent so long pretending to be alright she’d run herself out of blood from simply standing. Even in her stasis of death, the heat of the shower made it the best she’d ever felt.

A few minutes later she sits back up, leg healed but her body was still sore.

It was only when Rai was finished and was rubbing the towel through her hair she realized that she didn’t really bring anything to change into while she washed her armor. “Um… Hey Cebra…” She asks, wondering the exact same thing he was.

It seems he didn't have much of a choice now that Rai was calling to him, he'd have to just lend her something of his. But what did he have that would come close to fitting her figure? A catalogue of clothing in a graph like display was rendered in his vision as if he were viewing a screen. The problem wasn't a shirt, it was something to fit her hips Cebra thought with great consideration. He apparently had a pair of swim shorts that might be small enough for her thanks to the elastic, the kind of shorts with the inner netting. "Be there in a second!" Cebra shouted from downstairs as he quickly made his way up to his bedroom. A cozy room though not very ornate, keeping in theme with the rest of the home. A king sized bed along with a cushy duvet cover was placed against the far wall, beside it an end table and a dresser made of oak and brass.

He took out one of his tartan shirts, that could easily be a dress for Rai, also a pair of bright yellow swim shorts. Cebra when he had the time would go diving down in the various lakes in the area. He didn't require a scuba suit as he could easily make an oxygen recycler the size of a dime to fit in his lungs. He took the clothing down the hall and handed them to the waiting Rai, of course not trying to sneak a peek... Maybe. It was a little tempting but just felt wrong with someone so naïve. "Here you go, the shirt isn't quite uh... Your size, but it should fit regardless. Also a pair of shorts... They're just like small pants usually used when people go swimming. I'd give you a pair of pants but they're way too big for you." The size difference between the two was deep as a valley, not just height but in figure. Cebra sans shirt was a rather buff dude, he did well hiding it away under his clothing. Keeping as much of his abilities and strength unknown was his modus operandi and second nature. His chest wasn't thick with hair but there was indeed a layer, his shoulders were broad and his skin had an ivory complexion.

"When you're all dry and dressed come down stairs, I think we've both earned a stiff drink after cleaning up that mess. And um... I suppose a formal welcome." His voice out of a dangerous situation was quite different. It was deep but without roughness or a booming bass. Very smooth jazz appropriate.

Rai luckily didn’t have to think about it for very long, Cebra had handed her some spare clothing. “Thank you, I think I’d like a drink after that whole ordeal.” She laughs, pulling the shirt on with ease and then having to pull in the drawstring on the swim trunks pretty tight to keep the shorts from slipping off.

“I have to admit, shorts feel weird.” She chimes after opening the door. Unarmored, she seemed to lose most of the bulk that signified her as a monster hunter. Rai looked much more feminine, her ribs no-longer compressed past the point of human possibility, however her waist stayed about the same. The shirt, did however, swallow her. The neckline plunging down a bit further than expected before buttons started (which she didn’t button correctly to begin with), showing more painted skin and the imprint of the metal grommet in her corset, along with just a peek of the top of a scar from the boning as well. Her markings were everywhere, down her bust, her legs and she even had the painted lace pattern on her feet.

Rai blinks before rolling her shoulders a bit. “I don’t think I’ve ever been out of my armor for this long. It feels very strange. But good.” She thinks out loud, voice retaining it’s church-bell like chime it did when in mid-battle. A voice that seemed to ring from all over rather than just from her.

She lifts an arm, noticing the sleeves were hanging loose over her hand, she then moves to roll them up, finding that to get them out of the way. “I may look into finding a few of these. They are soft and smell good.”

Cebra comes out of his room wearing an old T-shirt and sweatpants. He chuckles and sighs thinking back on the fight. "Well they're not really meant for just wearing around I guess, but unfortunately I'm a little short on women's clothing right now." He thought of making a joke, of course he'd just be explaining it for the next hour and decided against it.

"They look pretty nasty, those markings on your body. Armor like that seems quite...Um... Sadistic? Have you ever thought of changing your armor for something more fitting? Or even wearing leather armor under that bulk?" Cebra asked as he trailed down the stairs to the kitchen. The kitchen was laid with black tiles and hard wood counters. He had quite a few appliances including a dish washer, deep freezer an old looking but well maintained gas stove. "You know you can purchase shirts like that in your own size?... Unless you like that fit." Cebra smirks.

With swift hands and instinct grabs a bottle of triple distilled rum along with two glasses from the cupboard. He places a glass on the table and pours a drink for Rai and himself, he pulls out the chair for and has one himself right across from her. "Cheers." As he raises his glass "to not being fertilizer hmhm."

Rai couldn’t help but laugh. Her voice only breaking a bit as it escalated beyond anything but a light giggle with a slight rasping undertone unexpected from an otherwise pristine voice. “I guess you would be a bit short on women's clothes. No reason for a man to keep dresses I suppose, unless he planned on wearing them himself.” It was something Rai couldn’t imagine, a man wearing a lady’s dress, much less Cebra wearing one. Her eyes had a bit of a glassy sheen to them, as though the hardened seriousness of life had shed with her cruelly tacked armor.

“Armor changes aren’t really an option for us in Dis. They’re issued to us. We aren’t measured or anything, they just hand them to us. And you cannot swap armor. Your armor and weapons determine your role, so changing them would throw a bit of confusion in war.” She shrugs, fingers going to the scars from the grommets. “For example if a large monster shows up or a heavily armored hellknight, the front line knows to clear the way for me to come and cut it down. Or if we see a reaver in full plate with an axe or a maul, we know to let the dreadnought hit the shield wall first to break it up.” It just came to mind in Rai’s head perhaps even the clothing one wore here wasn’t as rigid as Dis. No one seemed to assume your role upon first meeting here.

“Even the cloak means something. I have a black cloak, meaning I’ve been in circulation for at least 25 years. A white cloak signifies a hundred years. It’s how we form groups and commanders. Typically a white cloaks serve as generals and tacticians while black cloaks like myself try to get new recruits past their first few years and are typically the first into a breach.” And then she realized she was rambling a bit. There was so much difference here from Dis, especially in how things were organized. Cebra for example was free to organize however and with whomever he pleased it seems. “I will, however, be looking to get more of these shirts… that fit just like this.”

Rai had never been in anything loose fitting before. For once her ribs and spine weren’t aching from the constriction. She almost felt like she was walking around bare-skinned from how little the cloth actually touched her and from how gentle it was. She sits in the chair Cebra so kindly pulls for her, takes her glass and raises it high. “To not being fertilizer.” And as she drinks, she couldn't help but cough at the burn, however, she gets it down far easier than the last drink she'd had.

“If I may speak freely, as I feel I have been for the whole day, I rather like looking for trouble with you. Sure, we find it. But I also get to learn more about this strange world I’ve dropped myself into. Such a strange world in which armor can simply be changed due to preference.”

Cebra paused for a moment as his gaze shifted off elsewhere as his mind weaved thoughts, he wasn't exactly a weapons developer for hire but... Seeing that girls body all marked up like that was tragic. He listened to her talk about the armor situation and battle strategies of her people, to a being like Cebra who found logic and the lack there of this was interesting. He snapped out of it when she mentioned his shirt again, it occurred to him she would need an actual wardrobe. More than that a home to stay and a variety of modern things.

Cebra clinks his glass to hers and takes a drink, handling it considerably better. "Wellllll... You'll never have to look far if you keep my company Rai." He winks at her as he nurses the drink. "So I have to take it you dont have any particular attachment to that armor? If so then you could probably use a bit of an upgrade. Metal armor like this in our world is quite susceptible to more technologically advanced weapons. Weapons that fire projectiles at speeds that are nearly unavoidable and from great range, if you remember when we fought I fired one at you. Your bulky armor makes a rather nice target." Cebra used a signal transmitted from his body that activated the radio, some old rock tune was playing at the time.