Daughter of Treason Ch. 02

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"...Kei? Kei?! Are you alright?"

Kei had spent the rest of the evening rigidly sitting for her vigil, not trusting herself to touch him again. But inactivity, combined with having spent the past twenty five hours awake of which twenty were spent on high-alert, caring for Shino, made fatigue a powerful factor. With the elf appearing stable, adrenaline and determination eluded her, and despite her intentions, sleep had overcome her.

Now, at the sound of a elven and worried voice, she jerked awake, which proved to be a very bad idea. Sometime in her rest, she must have slumped down in her chair before either unconsciously lowering herself to the floor or else being in so deep a sleep that she didn't notice. Furthermore, whatever the method of getting here, her legs had slid under the bed, her torso lay between the bed and chair, and her head was firmly under the chair.

Groaning, she rubbed her head with one hand while her other went immediately to her dagger which, a few moments after grasping only belt, she remembered she had left on the table with the rest of her weapons. Stupid formed unbidden in her mind as she clumsily scrambled out of her resting place, knocked over a chair on her way to the table, snatched up her rapier and let the sheathe fall to the floor as Shino said again, fear lacing his voice, "Kei?"

"What?" She was only partially awake, but still was glancing around the room, trying to find the danger. "What is-" Her gaze stopped on the occupant of the bed, and her jaw dropped.

"Kei?" Said Shino, genuinely frightened now, but now it wasn't his emotion which held Kei's attention; it was his appearance. His skin, previously tan, now held a deep crimson hue, and a pair of small horns protruded from his forehead, apparently the cause of the previous welts. His eyes, once golden, had tinged to a shining bronze which still managed to make her heart skip a beat. As her eyes wandered, she unconsciously licked her lips as her gaze wandered down to his chest; he had filled out considerably all over, corded muscle warping around his limbs and trunk. Perhaps it was just the new power in his fame, but he seemed bigger somehow. "Kei?" He said again, "What's wrong?Are you all right?"

Shaking herself firmly from that train of thought, she met his gaze with wide eyes. "Am I alright?! What about you?" She rushed over to him and moved to feel his forehead before realizing that her favored left hand still clutched the rapier. Tossing it to the side in irritation, she felt his forehead again. "You're burning up! Quick, get back in bed, I'll fetch some water-"

"Huh? Bit I feel fine. I-" He froze in the middle of bringing one hand up to his own forehead, for in doing so it passed through his field of view. Staring at his hand like it was something completely foreign, he let himself be pushed back into bed before struggling again. "But Kei, I feel fine!" There was a panicked tone to his voice. In an effort to bat her hand away from his forehead, his hand glanced something which hadn't been there a night ago. Pausing, and very carefully, he felt the tiny protrusions, more like short cones than proper horns, yet very clearly bone. "Kei?" he said, sounding dazed. "I think I have a deonic background."

"There will be time to speculate on your heritage later." she snapped. "For now we need to get your fever back down."

"No, Kei, I think I have a demonic background!"

"We'll deal with it later!" she snapped, and was about to order him to be still when he cut her off.

"Demons live in a naturally hot place, right? Maybe this is a normal demon temperature." Kei paused mid-movement, and Shino pressed on. "I feel fine, really. I don't show any symptoms of fever, so I think that's what this is."

Doubtfully, Kei shook her head. "But you most certainly had a fever last night-"

"Well," Shino said, "I was transforming. Maybe it didn't happen all at once?"

"That... makes sense." She allowed cautiously. They sat, staring at each other as the panic faded and gave way to grim contemplation. Kei didn't like this, didn't like it one bit. Demons were ill-received wherever they went, and she doubted that Beacon City would be any different. And what's more, other than endless persecution at human hands, what other effects could this transformation have? Would it affect his magic? His judgment? His very mind? How many evil tendencies could be transferred through blood, and how many latent evils brought out by such an awakening?

Shino's harrowed look betrayed similar thoughts, yet despite all that he looked up and, wearing a smile to match his forced cheer, said to Kei, "Well, at least I won't have to worry about getting burned!"

Kei's heart throbbed in the confines of her chest; there he was, in a strange new body, as frightened as she, and there he went putting on a brave face, trying to make the best of it. She lunged foreword and wrapped him in a fierce embrace, murmuring, "At least you're still Shino."

She held him for quite some time before he began to squirm and, when she still held tight, asked quietly, "Uh, Kei? I... I should get some space."

She pulled back far enough to get a look at his face, concerned. "Why?" For a fraction of a second, his eyes flickered downward, not at her, but at himself. Following his gaze, she saw a tent building beneath the sheet.

Looking mortified and perhaps a bit more red than before, he explained, "I, uh, had some strange fever-dreams, and, uh-"

"It's all right." Kei had withdrawn to the chair, and was looking firmly away. She was blushing like mad. Taking a deep breath and brushing away her uncharacteristic shyness, she looked him in the eyes. "I should take it as a compliment, right? It means you find me attractive, right?"

Shino looked like a man navigating a trap-infested corridor. "I, er, yes, but..." He trailed off, unsure of what to say. Eventually, in a tiny voice, he said, "I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Kei reached out and cupped his face gently. "You could never make me uncomfortable."

He studied her face a moment, frowned, and said, "Liar."

It was a lie; just having him near made her uncomfortable. But what was she supposed to say? 'Yes, you make me uncomfortable, but that's only because I want you to shut up and take me'? No, she couldn't say that, because the truth was that the idea did make her uncomfortable. What was noteworthy about it, however, was that it wasn't the type of discomfort she felt when she spotted a figure trailing her in the streets, or when a bar patron seemed to pay a little too much attention to her. That discomfort was one of threat, but with Shino it was something different. With Shino, it wasn't apprehension, it was anticipation over what may come.

"Yes," Kei allowed, savoring the feel of his oh, so warm skin beneath her hand, "it does make me a little uncomfortable. But as long as it's you," she said, gazing into his eyes, "it's okay."

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Author's Note:

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