A Guest for the Night (Private Beyril Oblivion)

Sylas opened the door to let Asuka in, taking a step back to let her lead. From inside the house rang Dowan's voice. "Sylas, is that you?" He called back to her. "Yeah!, and I brought a guest! Asuka's going to be staying with us for the night!" He looked to the other Death Scythe, smiling a bit, even though it seemed a little off. "Please, make yourself at home."

Asuka rubbed her forehead, the headache from the stress and the opening of a wound in time and space disorienting her totally, "If I can find space enough to lay down, I'll be more than happy."

He pointed to the staircase directly ahead of her. "Upstairs, first door on the right. That's the guest room. If you want to go lay down, I can get you when dinner is ready." Dowan peaked her head through a small archway, looking down the hall at them. She smiled and waved to Asuka, before waving her in. "I'm guessing he already told you where the guest room is? Dinner'll be in about an hour and a half."

Asuka nodded, muttering a half-absent "thanks" before heading upstairs to lay down.

Sylas walked in after her, taking a few moments. Dowan walked up to him, pressing a hand to his chest and looking up into his eyes. "Are you ok? You feel... different. The air around you feels...charged." He gave her a half-smile, shaking his head. "Don't worry about it. I'll explain everything once I understand it myself." She nods at that, accepting the answer but not looking happy. He follows her to the kitchen, and the two set about preparing a meal, fresh lasagna and a salad.

An hour and a half later, there's a gentle knock on Asuka's door, and Dowan's voice echoes through the wood. "Asuka? Are you awake? Dinner's ready."

Asuka didn't move for a long, labored second, but eventually stood, back arched and hunched over slightly, giving her the appearance of a tired, annoyed, and gaunt female reaper instead of a weapon. Her robes seemed to hang more loosely around her weary body, and the black, scarred letters of her name were boldly laid bare across her chest. She opened the door, white-gray curls seeming to hang heavily on her brow and she nodded in what she intended as thanks, but looked like annoyance at her presence before descending down the stairs. The only clue that she was even taking steps instead of gliding was the shuffling forward of her black robes as she descended.

Dowan opened the door, as the Death Scythe's soft foot steps were impossible to hear. She gasped softly when she saw Asuka, rushing to her side. "Are you alright?! What happened?"

Asuka looked up, surprised by her sudden exclamation, "I... I think I just over-exerted myself today." She explained, though she didn't quite understand it herself, watching her eyes until she noticed that Dowan's gaze was fixated on her chest, "Or... Do you mean something else?"

Dowan takes Asuka's hand. "You look like your almost dead! All hunched over, though..." She glances at the scars. "I am curious about those... What's their story?"

She couldn't help but smile at her innocence as to the matter, "In case you hadn't noticed, I always look dead. Though, as to the scars, I don't honestly remember much. I got them after I finished the academy, I remember that... But my memories of my early life are sparse at best. Honestly, I'm not even positive that Asuka is my real name. I don't remember."

Dowan gave a hint of a frown, giving a nod before smiling. "Yes, of course. C'mon, Sylas probably has the lasagna out of the oven by now." With that she spun on her heels, making for the door."

Asuka stopped smiling, aware that it probably looked more like a grinning cheshire cat than a kind gesture, and continued down the stairs to the kitchen wordlessly.

Dowan rounded the corner and headed through the arch into the kitchen. Sylas was setting out plates around the table, and smiled when he saw them walk in. A large brown wooden bowl held a large salad, and on the island in front of the ocen there was a still steaming lasagna. Without even flinching, Sylas picked up the hot pan in both hands, neglecting to wear oven mitts or use hot pads. Dowan gasped, rushing over to him after he sat the pan on a hot pad on the table and inspecting his hands, only to see the burns fade nigh instantaneously. She looked up at him, confused. "Sylas... What happened today?" He looked up at Asuka, clearly unsure of what to say.

Asuka shrugged, "Don't look at me. I'm still nursing a migraine."

Sylas looked down at Dowan. "A Demon Blade broke into the Soul Vault. He started eating the pure souls that were there. To stop him, I started eating Kishin souls, so that I could buy Asuka time to rend space and time and fling him into space." Dowan stared up at him for several long minutes, before simply nodding. "A-Alright them." It was clear from her voice that she was shocked and still processing it, but she forced a big smile. "L-Let's eat~"

Asuka simply nodded, the truth of what happened not processing on her face. Her head hurt, and she was hungry, and that was all she cared about. She picked up her fork and ate slowly, the metal clinking against the porcelain as she took each bite. One, two, three... The clock's tickings seemed louder with each second.

Sylas ate in relative silence, playing with his food more than eating it. Dowan smiled at Asuka. "So, what have you been up to? It feels like ages since I've seen you." She was obviously forcing a pleasant demeanor for the sake of the atmosphere.

"Mostly just trying to find a beat on Lenore." she explained, "The lead I thought I had vanished along with Saca."

She smiled and nodded, then frowned a bit. "So, what happened in the soul vault? I understand a Demon Blade broke in, but... Details?"

"Nebun." She stated simply, annoyance and hatred dripping in the single word, "Nebun broke into the vault, we pursued. Sylas and Nebun fought while I tried to focus my power as much as I could. I had heard theories about disruptions in space-time, and we were running out of options, so I thought I'd try my hand at it. Though with the after-effects, I don't think I'll ever try it again." It was fairly clear just by looking at her that she felt far worse than she let on. Yes, she admitted to a migraine, but the slightly green tint of her skin, and the perspiration on her brow suggested something more.

Dowan nodded, looking grim for a moment. Sylas focused on Asuka, a strange, almost curious look on is face. Dowan fell silent for a few minutes, eating in uncomfortable silence before looking to Sylas. "How's teaching been going." He seemed to shake from his stupor. "Good. I've got a new teaching assistant, actually."

Asuka glanced up, listening but not speaking. It had been a while since she herself had taught, but, nonetheless, she was interested in his classes.

Sylas pushed his plate ahead, having finally eaten his dinner. "I'm working on finding partners for the meisterless and weaponless students... I'm having special difficulty with one of my weapons, but I think I have a few good matches for her."

Asuka nodded along, "I've noticed some students have been having difficulty partnering up. Any luck?"

Sylas shrugged. "I'm doing what I kind. I'm having successes and failures. The point is trying to help them, I suppose."