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" Why wouldn't it be?"

It seemed it was very easy to confuse Damion. A simple phrase or even to mumble something would set his already off track mind into a weird tumble.

" If you want to stay with me I would enjoy that greatly, but we might want to leave now."

It would be long dark by the time they reached his campsite but He knew how they were going to get there. Without much preamble the elemental shifted his arms, slipping his right underneath her legs just behind her knees and his left further around the small of her back. In one smooth tuck and shove motion Damion had his legs beneath him and they were standing with Tilly firmly entrenched in his arms. She weighed next to nothing compared to what he would normally lift and no hint of strain showed on his face.

Just as he scooped her up though, he let her down, leaning over so that she slid gently from his arms and onto the docks.

" Do you have anything that you need to pick up?"

" Alright, as long as your ok."

Damion did however have a small problem with her holding his shirt, knowing how easy it was to lose someone like that. Instead the taller man turned towards Tilly and offered out his right hand to her. It would be easier to lead her by the hand and it seemed more the thing to do than to lead her about like Ryugi did, trailing behind him like a servant even if it was by choice. He'd rather have her walk beside him.

Even if she didn't take it he would lead them away from the docks and the water with the wind at their backs. The route out of the city was well known to him but he took more scenic detours than he usually would have, past restraunts and the Magicians shop, taking in the city as it prepared for night as they walked along. Damion could only hope he wasn't getting himself lost in the webwork of city streets and his relief was evident when they finally began to pass from the city limits. His camp was easy to see even from the edge of Latent, a jut of rock sticking up from otherwise smooth ground with a white canvas stretched over it in the rough shape of a tent.

" It's not the best of shelters I'll warn you now, but I have some things to make it more liveable."

Now that they were almost there abit of nervousness crept into his thoughts and made him alittle self concious. He'd never needed much himself and entertaining guests was not a common thing.

Damion's sleeping location was easy to locate, a small dug out section just big enough for him to sleep in should he curl up, with alittle extra for stretching. The rest of the space was mostly unused but for where his own pack lay wrapped up in itself and clearly half empty. Where she was growing cold fast he himself was still just as warm as he had been before and with a deft motion his shirt came off to be held out.

" I won't be needing it."

Like most reptiles he needed warmth through certain periods of the day and then when it became cold he would leach that warmth off for nocturnal activity. Were they slept during the day however, Damion was active and mobile while still retaining the warm body. Only extreme cold made him sluggish and lazy and it had yet to reach that point yet.

" Or you can sleep up against me."

That could work too. He knew plenty of survival methods, and while that particular suggestion could turn out several different ways he was confident it would keep her warm if she were against him. The sun was nothing more than a vague light in the distance now and Latents night lights were swiftly taking it's place, making the horizon look like an extension of the sky. Damion didn't pay it much attention, too busy setting up Tilly a sleep space from the spare blanket he kept in his pack. It wasn't overly warm thanks to the time spent outside but it would undoubtedly warm up with time.

" I'm sorry I don't have more to offer in the way of comfort. This is usually enough in the long run."

He looked up from the ground where he knelt, smiling up at her in a slightly ashamed way.

" It's my pleasure, really."

And it was. Damion lived his life alone but for the brief times he spent in the company of other people inside of the controlled environment of a city or the stadium itself, and her company was much welcomed indeed. He waited next to her as she removed pieces of armor and set them off to the side with no fair amount of interest. Given the magical nature of her armor he was actually rather suprised there wasn't more to it than unbuckling afew things here or there and he unashamedly stared at her body as it became more and more bare. Tentatively he reached out, sliding his right hand around her back to her stomach to feel the muscles there, clearly approving and somewhat suprised internally. Almost as boldly as he had done it though he retracted his hand as if scalded.

Quickly he looked away, making a show of digging into his pack for something and trying to hide his embarassment. Damion was sure he had done something wrong and was relieved to hear the sound of cloth dropping, letting him know she had put his shirt on and hidden herself better. While his response to seeing even that much was natural it almost felt as if he shouldn't have done that. So many social graces were lost on the Hydra. After afew moments he turned back towards her, several strips of a dark dried meat in his hand which he offered out, one already stuck in his mouth.

" If gewd."

" Gator, I made it myself."

The swamp was rife with the creatures so of course he would eventually hit on the idea to make them into some kind of jerky. Damion had mixed in afew things to enhance the flavor, but for the most part it was pure gator tail all the way. Where she chewed like a mouse he took great chunks out of the strips with savage jerks of his head. There were times where it gave more fight than he had pull and he would tug at it like a game of tug-o-war, growling softly at the offending piece. Both hands were implemented in this and with a thud the elemental sat down beside her, positioned for his head to be outside the tent space when he layed down.

Even in the dark his tattoo's stood out starkly, almost glowing on their outline against his already dark flesh. They writhed across his skin in patterns like words across his chest and back, the ones on his arms simply writhing as if trying to slither higher. Damion stuffed the last bit of his food into his mouth to rub his arms and free them of the tingle that the snakes produced.

" Not really, no.....I've become used to it. They didn't all start moving until I got my gauntlets, and then even the ones on my stomach and chest decided to move."

Idly Damion rubbed at his chest, grimacing alittle at the unpleasant tingling of the overactive markings.

" Here, feel."

He reached out and took one of her hands gently, setting it on his shoulder for her to feel the two that crossed over that section of skin. The feeling was not dissimilar to muscular contractions albiet on a fall smaller scale. It would feel as if his skin were trying to slither away beneath her grasp and his face showed just how uncomfortable that was for him, but he never pulled away. Instead his hand would twitch around her wrist gently, squeezing for amoment then releasing as the feelings ebbed and rose.

" See? They're all natural....all of them grew from some change inside of me. I got the ones your hand is on from my temple. These ones," A shift of her hand brought it down his right arm, across his body so that she had to lean across him, to where the smaller serpents wriggled about, almost eager for her hand, " I got from the gauntlets. More seem to sprout every day."

" I'm not sure. One can only assume they'll eventually run out of places to grow and then they'll stop."

He let his fingers close around hers gently, reflex causing the digits to curl around hers without any real pressure. Damion looked away from the stars to her face and smiled in what he hoped was an assuring fashion.

" It's ok I think. It doesn't hurt too badly, and they don't do anything but wriggle around abit in the night."

This was not entirely true, they would move during fights too, searching for blood. But she didn't need to know that just yet. That would be his little secret. A large yawn suddenly split his face, teeth flashing in the sudden motion and his back arching as he forced his body out.