A bush in a forest. (Talmyr)

[talmyr]

”Hmm?” Talmyr missed it because she had chosen that moment to blink, but she could have sworn she had seen Brandon shake his head for a split second, almost as if he was trying to shake something out of it. Was it a reaction to something she said? Oh well, perhaps it had only been her imagination.

”They are in general. I’ve only actually fought a few of them, but they’re the type of people whose way of life seems to focus on who’s stronger or more dominant,” she explained. It was actually sort of shocking how similar it was to how things worked in the demon realm, not that she actually heard it said out loud. The only difference Talmyr could see was that Saiyans were more like adrenaline fueled barbarians while Makaioshin were cold hearted killers.

Apparently Talmyr had stayed out much later than she had thought. As the rain forest slowly grew darker, fearsome creatures of both plant and animal origin began to stir as they prepared for the night’s hunt. ”Think your ship can hold up against giant, flesh-eating plants?” Talmyr asked, only half-jokingly. ”I’m probably just going to return to my cave for the night. I’m no stranger to roaming the area in the dark, but tonight I would rather not tango with anything else that thinks I’m something that needs to be digested.” She cringed ever so slightly, recalling the fight she had gotten into earlier today, and the entire reason she had wound up at the hot springs in the first place.

[brandon007]

"Flesh eating plants? That probably wont do for me. I got too many holes in my ships hull that I need to fix. But if those plants have any intelligence, they would know that Im probably more deadly ten anything." He said with a playful wink. His right hand started to emit a cold mist, as something icy formed in it. He held up his hand infront of her, as in his hand was a freshly created rose of ice.

"Im pretty sure Ice and Plants dont go well together." He said with a smirk, as he waited for her to take the rose.

"Unfortunately, that leaves me without a safe place to stay."

[talmyr]

”I suppose anyone competing in the tournament should be able to take one on without too much trouble, but they’re still a terrible inconvenience in the middle of the night. I would knoe, I’ve been dealing with them for about ten years now,” she explained as she took the rose. Memories of trying to defend herself against the inhabitants of this rain forest floated into her mind. Ah, those were the days. It was a strange set of memories to reminisce about. Then again, Talmyr was a strange Makaioshin.

The young woman paused to think. She didn’t really like the idea of letting a stranger into her cave, but the thought of Brandon’s regurgitated remains after some beast snuck into his ship and struck when he least expected it didn’t sit well with her. She would also have to walk instead of simply Shadow Leaping there like she usually did. Damn it, why the hell did she have to be so nice?

”If you’re not so sure your ship is safe, I suppose I would have room for you stay the night where I live. Mind you, I’ve never had guests before so the place may be a bit messy. It’s safe enough though,” Talmyr offered. Not wanting to wait around in case she decided to change her mind, the demon turned around and started walking down the path that led to her cave. ”Follow me if you’re interested. If not, I’ll probably see you when the tournament begins,” she hollered back as she kept walking.

[brandon007]

"Hmm, they do seem to be quite annoying, even though I never met one." He said, as he listened for another creature's sound, but the only sounds he said was of her turning, and walking down the nearby path. She offered him a place to stay for the night, which made him smile brightly.

"Oh I dont mind... I was living in a tree a few years ago. So Im sure its more luxurious then what I am used to." He said as he did indeed follow her down the trail. Though, he was a bit suspicious. Spending the night in the same immediate area as a Demoness like Talmyr, but his train of thought was caught off guard by the whisper in his head. "The night a boy becomes a man..." It said, as Brandon shook his head again when he blurted out "Oh shut up!"

A few seconds later, before Talmyr could react, he quickly added in "S-Sorry, N-Not you... I was.. Talking to myself..."

[talmyr]

Talmyr quietly led Brandon through the forest along the path to her cave that she had made long ago. As much as she wanted to just step though a random shadow and arrive home instantaneously, walking wasn’t so bad. At least it wasn’t far.

”Stay close and don’t veer off the path. I’ve got net and snare traps set up all over the place around here. I’m not going to wait for you to free yourself if you get caught in one,” she spoke rather nonchalantly. Even if he did manage to trigger one of them somehow, she had no doubt that he could get himself out in mere seconds. Talmyr was more concerned about resetting those traps and not even having any game to show for it. She had to eat somehow.

Talmyr stopped momentarily and turned her head back to look at him after his little outburst. She studied Brandon carefully in the darkness with a raised eyebrow. It would appear that her guest had a few issues. What was all that about? Did he talk to himself like that often? A few quiet seconds passed before Talmyr simply shrugged her shoulders. ”If you say so,” she mumbled before continuing as normal.

Eventually the two of them came across the face of a cliff. There was a cave opening in front of them with a rather large boulder sitting in front. A dim light emanated from a torch just inside the cave. The demon quickly inspected the opening to make sure nothing had made its way inside while she was gone. Not finding anything, she stood up tall and motioned inside with her arm. ”This is it. Château de Talmyr,” she introduced in a heavily pretentious tone. ”I’m going to need you to step inside. If we don’t want anything trying to snack on us in the middle of the night, I’m going to need to get the boulder in place ASAP.”

[brandon007]

"I think Ill be ok if I stay with you." He replied, as he followed her orders, staying behind her until they got to the cave. When she told him to get inside, because she was going to seal up the cave with the nearby large boulder. "If I was more powerful, I could make a moveable door of ice for ya." He added as he stepped into the cave, just ahead of her so she could close the 'door' behind them.

"Ah, nice and dark in here. Easier on the eyes." He said, blinking to let his sore eyes rest a bit. "Its funny, I think Darklings are meant to be Nocturnal." He said as he watched her about to move the boulder into its place.

"Wow, you got some strength in ya. Its a good thing I gave ya the truth back at the hotsprings."

[talmyr]

The cave was shoddily furnished, but definitely showed signs that someone lived there. Several medium sized rocks lined the walls, about the size of little makeshift chairs. A large pile of blankets was heaped in the middle of the room. Some looked like they had been fashioned from animal skills; others were obviously manufactured, which Talmyr had pilfered on her occasional trips to Saru City. There was a small cupboard against the back wall that was filled with all sorts of little odds and ends, mostly things that Talmyr had also swiped from her trips to civilization. Next to that were several barrels, all filled with food Talmyr had hunted, gathered, or once again, stolen from town.

”All depends on how you look at it. You let me know you were there and we got to have a nice little chat. On the other hand, if you hadn’t I probably would have attempted to shoot you full of holes and then proceeded to boil you in a soup. Let me tell you, I can make some pretty damn good soup considering the limited resources to work with out here,” Talmyr chuckled sarcastically. Whether or not she was actually strong enough to pull that off with Brandon was something she hadn’t yet discovered.

She cracked her knuckles and gripped the boulder with her gloved hands. With a groan, she pushed the boulder steadily into place in front of the cave entrance, leaving enough room for air to flow in and out of the cave, but not enough room for any beasts out there to squeeze in without alerting anybody. The only problem was that it meant that there wasn’t enough room for Talmyr to squeeze through either. At least, it would have been a problem if she couldn’t use her Shadow Leap ability.

Had anyone been on the outside of the cave to watch, they would have witnessed what appeared to be Talmyr disappearing into the ground beneath her feet as if it wasn’t actually there! To her, it was dark enough outside that it may as well not have been there after all. The demon just as quickly reappeared inside through the shadow cast by the pile of blankets. She stepped out from behind it and waved to her guest. ”I know it’s not much, but its home. Might as well make yourself comfortable,” Talmyr stated before plopping herself down on one of her stone chairs.

[brandon007]

Brandon nodded as he made his way to a free seat, as he sat down on the small stone. "Its rather nice actually. Its more then what I have. Heck, I live in a damaged ship. Hahaha." He said as he laughed softly as he looked around her cave. It was pleasant to him, infact it gave him decoration ideas for his new home, whenever he finds it.

He reached into his pocket, and took out a glowing capsule as he set it down beside him. The capsule was unlike any technology Talmyr would of ever seen. And while he was reaching over, she could also see a type of personal wrist computer made of the same technology strapped to his wrist. He looked up at her, and had an idea. "Ya know, I gotta pay ya back for your... Hospitality. If you ever want your home expanded, Just ask. I can do it easily." He said wit ha smirk.

[talmyr]

Talmyr smiled, but shook her head. ”Thanks for the offer, but I think this place is just the right size. I never have guests over, so it’s always just me in here. It’s easier to keep the place warm since it’s not too spacious. It’s also easier to tell when something undesirable has snuck in while I’ve been out and about,” she explained, crossing her legs and leaning back in her seat.

The demon stretched her arms leisurely over her head. She wasn’t all that tired, but may end up settling in and going to bed soon anyway. There was plenty of floor space for both of them to sleep comfortably up to ten feet apart. ”Besides, according to you, you apparently know me. If we’re such good chums, why are you insistent on paying me back?” she asked, her tone heavy with amusement. Talmyr stood up and started to pull blankets off of the pile as she continued to speak.

”As far as I’m concerned, this tournament is likely to attract all sorts of off-worlders. It’s not unlikely that one or two would wander into this rain forest thinking it’s perfectly safe, and then someone stumbling across their mauled corpse the next morning because they let their guard down. I have no idea if that was going to be your fate. Still, the less mess left in this twisted mass of plant life, the better,” Talmyr explained, still fiddling with the pile of blankets. She had no idea why she suddenly felt the need to explain herself. Oh well, she was sure it was nothing…

[brandon007]

Brandon shrugged when ash asked him why he wanted to pay her back for her kindness, as he replied "I dunno, I guess being such a good guy is a habit I got too adjusted to." as he continued to look around her home. He felt more comfortable in the cave then anywhere else for some strange reason.

He turned to look back at her. Back into her eyes, though he tried his best not to get lost into them. "So... How come your not in Hell? And why, of all places, did you come to reside here on Vegeta?" He asked, as he started to get more and more curious about her, and he suspected that she was equally as curious about him as well.

[Rensou Hiruen]

1,650 PL for Brandon.