The vampire's purposeful, predatory steps towards the last of her prey, the final blood sacrament in the temple of her ascension, slowed with uncertainty, the closer she got. She clicked her tongue in irritation. In seemed the mortal shell she inhabited was fighting back, trying to restrain the vampire from her final taste of the sweet ambrosia. A battle, fiercer than the shower of bloodshed only moments before, waged within the confines of the vampire's mind.

No. Not V. You won't take him. I won't take him. THE LITTLE MAGE HAS BLOOD ENOUGH YET. IT WON'T SURVIVE. MUST CONSUME. I can't let this feeling overtake me. Remember who you are, Sylvi. Remember your oath. HEED YOUR HUNGER. FEED YOUR BLOODLUST.

Sylvari could feel the last of her mental fortitude dwindling away before the raging inferno of her consuming hunger. V... I'm sorry, I can't... I need to-EAT YOUR FLESH AND DRINK YOUR ESSENCE.

A new voice broke through the din.

Will you subject your friend to the worst parts of yourself? Have you not committed your heart to righteousness? Arise from the ashes of your former sin, justiciar. Show the beast that you are the master. Take control: to save yourself and those you hold dear.

The voice sent a shockwave through Sylvari, physically knocking her prone and stunning her. Like the cleansing fires of dawn, the monster within was chased back into the shadows by the potence of the voice's presence.

Who.. who are you?

I am a servant of the gods, even as you are. I have seen your noble spirit, and it moved my heart how you struggled against the darkness of your nature for righteousness' sake. I am Ellyria, and you, little one, are my chosen. Your questions will be answered in time. For now, go to your friend. I will show you the way to mend his broken body.

Wordlessly, obediently, Sylvari got to her feet and walked steadily over to Videl. Normally she would be sick with worry for the sorry state he was in. However, with the calming aura of Ellyria, and the assurance of her power, Sylvari felt only calm as she extended her hands over her friend's battered frame. "Be made whole."

A kaleidoscopic corona of color exploded from Sylvari's outstretched hands, bathing Videl in their gentle glow and infusing him with their essence ^{[Celestial, Holy Gifts (Massive Healing)]}. Healing energy coursed through him, and every nick, cut, and bruise disappeared within moments, as well as the vile blood that covered Sylvari, all evidence of the horror they survived burned away in the holy light.

Slowly but surely, Videl's wounds would find themselves being stitched back together, as his body lie within the warm glow of Sylvari's magic. Each shard of ice would find itself pushed free of the young T'saya's form and every injury that had coated him had begun to fade away. Even the ache that had accompanied his leg would dissipate as the young man slowly began to come back to a state of consciousness.

Vision blurred, Videl would begin to open his eyes. Once they had fully done so, Videl would take in the appearance of a singular individual. Sylvari, his vampiress companion, had lingered over his form like that of an angel. The warmth of her magic could still be felt and for the young man that had never experienced such a thing, Videl quite honestly wasn't sure what he was currently feeling. The closes thing that he could relate it to was the emotional warmth that he had found more recently.

"..Syl?" A single tear would break free of the confines of the T'saya's lids, slowly descending upon the mans cheek. "I'm so glad that you're okay." Before ensuring his own safety, before surveying the area for any additional foes, and before he could even think of what else to say, Videl would find himself checking in on the vampiress. The fact that she had been above him had meant that she had been safe and to Videl, that was the most important thing in the world right now.

It wouldn't take long before everything would come back to him though. The hoard of glimmertongues, the way that they had swarmed upon the pair, the pain that he had experienced attempting to put them down. And the appearance that Sylvari had shown him in her attempt to survive. No matter how much he might wish for that image to be displaced, it was one that he wouldn't soon forget. The blood might be gone but the image remained.

With this image would remain a subconscious fear of that state of hers.. but it wasn't something he had concerned himself with now. She most certainly would have had a chance to overtake him with his previous unconscious state. At any point, she could have stripped him of his life and left him behind as a corpse. But she hadn't. Instead she had helped him, in ways that Videl hadn't even been able to understand. He could learn to live with the fear, until it had dispersed on its own. How long that would take though, even he hadn't known.

Ignoring all that had happened, and even what could have happened, Videl would simply sit up and pull Sylvari into a hug. His grasp on her was firm, his arms pulling her closer, but she could easily pull away or slip from out of his grasp if she had so wished. In the event that she hadn't though, Videl would find himself resting his chin on her shoulder and simply whispering to himself. "I don't know what I would have done without you, Syl.."

Once that was said and done, Videl would lift himself off of the ground, only now realizing that he had been capable of moving without difficulty. "Not sure what you did to fix everything but thank you. Seriously." Videl would then proceed to coat himself in a thin layer of ice ^{[Frost Web]}. "I know that it's late but I think I've thought of a way to get us out of here." He would go on to pull the ice from his form, pulling it away as though it was a form of silk. In truth, the ice would become this sticky substance that would linger within his hands. "Not sure if this'll really work but if it does, we should be able to climb out of here. After all of that, I'm not sure that I trust traversing these caves.."

It would seem as though Videl had formed a closer connection with the sea domain through this fight. So much so that he could simply feel the kinds of things that he could now do with his magic. It is with this newfound understanding of his magic, and what it was capable of, that Videl had managed to come up with this particular spell. "I'm going to climb up and out of here with this substance. Please.. hold on to me." With that, Videl would find himself climbing out of the cave, hopefully with Sylvari by his side.

Sylvari's relief was palpable and her joy was evident across her face as she returned Videl's hug eagerly, assured of his wholeness by Ellyria's ministrations. She desperately wished she still had the capacity to generate heat for her friend, whose body was cold as ice. However, despite the sensation of two corpses hugging each other, Sylvari could only feel grateful companionship, as she sent up a silent prayer of thanks to the gods and to Ellyria, who had since remained silent.

She pulled back to allow Videl to begin casting, an idea formulating in his mind for a means of escape. She looked on with a small smile of pride as he began casting a spell she had never seen, his body spiderwebbed with a pliable ice framework. As he pulled it off, it took on the appearance of a very fine rope, which Videl extended to climb.

At his words, Sylvari smiled softly. "Yes, V. I will go with you. I won't abandon you again. Hopefully, I'm not too heavy for your magics." She looked forlornly at the shredded remains of her armor, just poking out from the pile of glimmertongue corpses in the center of the cavern. She slowly shook her head in disappointment, knowing there was nothing of value to retrieve anyway. I'll be lighter now, in any case.

It was this action of looking back at her armor, along with her motion of moving to press herself close to Videl in their escape attempt, which prompted Sylvari to look down and see the sorry state of her own clothing. At the best of times, the light clothing she wore underneath her armor was meant to be breathable and unseen, hugging her gentle curves tightly and covering little enough to be considered improper when worn alone. Now, after the battle, the lingering scraps were downright immodest. Indeed, it was due to her beastly vampiric alacrity that she had any clothing at all.

A deep scarlet spread across Sylvari's face, turning to look away as she covered her more sensitive areas at the realization. "Videl, I don't suppose you have a blanket or some such that I could borrow?"

Before the two could ascend the rocky terrain and break free of the cavern, Sylvari would take note of her appearance and put a stop to their ascent. This was understandable, of course, so the T'saya had been more than willing to accommodate her needs. Pulling away from the wall, Videl would turn to face the vampiress, his gaze remaining firmly upon the veil that she had worn, so as to not be rude. His peripheral vision had given away just how destroyed her armor had been, and revealed a few other things, so he was steadfast in this decision.

"I'm not too worried about how our weight will affect things.. Not at the moment anyways." He would go on to remove his white and blue hooded parka, displaying his toned midsection and the slender frame as he does so, before handing it off to Sylvari. His pack hadn't contained any blankets of the sort, given his usual frosty form and overall lack of travel preparations, so this was as much as he could really offer. "You can use this in the meantime, Syl. I might get a bit colder but it's not that different from what I'm accustomed to dealing with." Or so he had said, but the truth behind his words was quite different. The cold had immediately overtook the T'saya as he had removed the parka, but he had hoped that she wouldn't notice the additional goosebumps that had coated his skin. Compared to how he was usually like this, his current state wouldn't be all that different anyways.

In the event that Sylvari had attempted to turn his efforts away, Videl would be insistent on her wearing it. He would say the words, "Please.. For me," if she had decided against it. Otherwise he would simply wait until she had placed the parka over frame. Regardless, once a decision had been made, Videl would press his back slightly up against her chest and would say, "Hold on tight, okay?" He would then climb the walls of this cavern with the aide of the sticky substance, all the while striving to get the pair of them to freedom.

Declinations at Videl's suggestion immediately began bubbling up from Sylvari's lips, even compromised and without choice as she currently was. "Oh, no, please, V. I'm certain we can find another solution. I don't want you to catch chill. Such things aren't really a concern for me."

Her protestations were cut short, however, given the combination of Sylvari forcing herself to avert her gaze from her companion's fit, shirtless form and his heartfelt request. She was so overwhelmed by the situation that her thoughts froze, and any lingering arguments she was beginning to formulate at this course of action died in obscurity.

She gingerly reached out a hand to accept the offered parka, her gaze still firmly affixed to an indeterminate point off to her left, the scarlet on her cheeks widening and deepening to mingle with the pure red of her eyes, just visible from beneath her tattered veil.

"Very well..." was all she could manage as she slipped the cloth slowly, almost reverently, over her frame, her gratefulness evident despite her attempts to dissuade. Sylvari unconsciously took a deep breath of the fabric, comforted by the scent. It smells like V.

As Videl moved to climb, Sylvari came behind him to hold on. She was keenly aware of how their bodies pressed together, separated only by the generous fur of his coat that she wore. Their proximity was by necessity, a thought that Sylvari repeated like a mantra over and over in her mind, trying desperately not to think about how this was the closest she had ever been to another person not of her family.

Although it had been a bit of a struggle for the pair to escape from the cavern, given their combined weight, they would eventually find themselves back at the surface once more. It wouldn't offer much solace, considering where they had been, but the warmth of the sun had finally found purchase upon the two once more. This was enough to allow for Videl to finally relax. No longer would they find themselves trapped within the darkness below.. and for the first time in a long time, Videl had been grateful to have found himself being buffeted by the cool north winds.

Once the pair had reached the top, Videl would drag himself, and Sylvari by extension, onto the blanket of snow that was just over the edge. His face would find itself pressed into the snow for a moment but he would eventually pull it from out of the snow, along with the rest of himself. Cautiously, Videl would move the pair of them away from the pit and back in the direction of the Pale City. "..we should probably take some time to recuperate before getting back into things. Maybe not go so far when it comes to our training.." While he was glad that the duo had overcome this tribulation, it wasn't something that he had wished to repeat. Not until he had refined himself.

If she had allowed it, Videl would attempt to take Sylvari's hand and lead her away from the direction. If she hadn't though, he would simply allow for his hand to linger at his side. From there he would continue to head on back to the inn where they had first met. It was a better alternative than bringing her back to his village. If they had seen what she was capable of, what she truly was, the villagers would likely turn on both of them. And that wasn't needed for anybody.

"You said that you would never abandon me again, right? Just know that the same is true for me. Unless it is consensual, I will never leave you behind, Syl. With all that we keep going through together, I don't even think that I could if I wanted to."

[Exit]

Sylvari let out a bout of light laughter at Videl's statement, joy coming easier to her out of the confines of the oppressive cavern, though redness still covered her cheeks. "I must concur, my friend. I'm normally a proponent of pushing oneself to the brink, but I think our latest adventure might have even gone passed that."

She stretched exuberantly in the daytime sunshine, basking in the glow of the light that eluded the pair for uncountable lengths of time just a short while ago. She let her arms fall to her sides and a smile to work its way across her face as she closed her eyes, drinking in the pervasive light of day even behind her eyelids.

She startled only briefly as Videl reached for her hand, before relaxing and slipping hers into his, idly noting this was the first time she had felt his palms without the metal of her gauntlets between them.

"To the city, then, dear V. We'll come out of this stronger than before, because we did it together. Plus, I'll need new armor." A smirk spread across Sylvari's face, as she walked, hand-in-hand, with her friend into the future.