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It had been a long night - or day? Alkaid could never truly be sure. During the hours after Ida had left them alone, Alkaid began her duties with Castor. His wild laughter and pained groans filled the walls of the hollow castle and echoed like ghosts along the corridors. If it had been her choice, she simply would have killed him, but he was too precious a thing to simply give back to the cauldron for next time.

By the time she found herself ascending the stairs and trailing down the corridor to what had been Ida's room during her stay, Alkaid knew exactly what she meant to do about her situation. At the end of the day, Ida was only worth as much to her as she could give - and her energy supplies were running on empty. If this were a trap, Alkaid had faith that she could put a stop to it - there was nothing that would stop her from killing Ida at the slightest hint of foul play.

The woman stopped just outside of the doorway to the room and readjusted the small suitcase she carried in one hand. The other hand, strangely smooth and unbroken, pushed the door open with a slow creak. As it did in her presence, the room became brighter, showering a tall, pale woman in light. It wasn't Alkaid, not truly, but the ghost of the girl whose starseed she had been born of.

Kaia smiled at the eternal politely as she entered the room, showing off long pale legs beneath the sheer skirt of her flowing, white dress. The suitcase in her hand was leather-bound with clasps, a little worn around the edges, but in good condition none-the-less. One had to wonder if the trickster truly kept such things stored somewhere in her castle, or if they had belonged to some other, unfortunate soul before this moment. The smile on her lips gave no hints.

"I suppose we should take a look at those injuries, hm?" Her feet were bare where they touched the crystals, though she did not flinch from the coolness they kept. One hand fisted in her skirts as she sat down gracefully near Ida, placing the suitcase next to her. "I wouldn't want anyone thinking I'm a bad hostess."

If it was a joke, it was hard to say.

She seemed smaller in her glamour, and not just because she'd lost inches of her typical height by going barefoot. Nor was it the shorter, less bulky dreads hanging around her shoulders. Most of all, it was the energy signature - or the lack of such. All of her was contained in this small, pale figure of a girl that no longer existed.

"Can I see your hand?" Her own extended, with perfect, rosy palms.

"It might surprise you, but I do actually know what I'm doing, Ida."

The fingers curled gently and held her swollen wrist securely in her palm. Her free hand raised and began to gently test what damage had been done beneath the skin - though it was somewhat harder due to dulled senses, which also meant her pressure was only her best guess at what she needed. At times too much, at times too light for her to feel anything at all. Despite the bit of sloppiness, her fingers did move in a knowing way across the bruised flesh.

"A bit rusty, perhaps."

Her eyes seemed oddly intent, as if she were truly intrigued in her own diagnoses. It was simple though - fight enough bad guys, watch enough soldiers fall - anyone would eventually be able to diagnose the common injuries.

She stopped her careful examination and lowered Ida's wrist back down to where she had been holding it before, then hooked her fingers in the handle of her suitcase before she pulled it towards her. When the clasps were released, it was revealed to be an over-sized medical kit. If she were being honest, she didn't remember the last time she had opened it. Probably before she ascended, when she was still stubbornly trying to save the forgotten soldiers that died for their cause. She'd come to appreciate the terms of a sacrifice since those days.

Her bright eyes looked up from the suitcase as her pale fingers closed around some binding wrap.

"Is it just the wrist?"

That probably wasn't true, but Alkaid didn't think it necessarily worth the effort of fighting her just to assess everything that ached. That would cause more harm than good and, in the end, Alkaid really didn't care that much. It didn't mean anything to her if Ida did or did not suffer in her care. She had reasons to assert her violence, just like she now had reasons to be gentle.

"I think your healing has become strained." She pulled a length of binding free and reached back out to take Ida's hand. As she began wrapping, it became clear that she did understand how to perform minor first aid. When she wasn't required to be as delicate she could still recall motions she had repeated dozens of times. "Which means that very soon, your body will start to wear out."

The way she delivered the news was dry, with her bright eyes still concentrated on her work with her wrist. Once it was finished, she let it go, allowing Ida to curl it back into her lap if she wanted. Without the injury to tend to, however, her attention reverted back to Ida's face.

"I've gotten all I needed from you, Ida. All I wanted to know was how long it would take you, start to finish. How long could you supply me?" She smiled then, as if she were pleased with the results. It was almost endearing, if it weren't for the way her eyes narrowed on her captive ever so slightly, a predator whose prey had finally succumbed to venom. "I know the answer, more or less."

The bright, citrine eyes examined the form of the battered Eternal in silence for a moment. Her hair was fraying in its braid, her fuku was grimy, and there wasn't a span of her skin that could be seen without a bruise or cut. She might have lasted a bit longer had she not been quite so stubborn but Alkaid appreciated it, in a way. It suggested a more tame captive might survive a bit longer. With a small noise of consideration, she looked down into her kit and plucked up a pair of scissors.

She tested them, opening and closing them several times and listening to the soft, metallic 'shick, shick'.

"To be honest, I don't even know if I really have time for another one of your kind right now with my unexpected capture of the Prince. Can you understand that dilemma?" Her fingers continued to open and close the scissors in her hand as she brought her eyes back up with her question, even tilting her head slightly as she considered the look in Ida's eyes. "Why it's just easier to kill you?"

"You can stop trying to sell your worth to me, Ida. My decision is made. All of this is really just a formality."

The words were spoken bluntly, without any attempt at sugar coating. Things were as they were and Alkaid was not very apt to change them over a few appealing cries from a creature she, to be brutally and totally honest, did not care about. Of course, there were other things that could change her mind - like unexpected appeals from unexpected people. The human Alkaid settled her scissors in her lap carefully and reached to pluck a scroll of paper from amidst the the emergency kit at her side. She held it up in the tips of her fingers and waved it lightly for Ida to see, drawing her attention to the scrap.

"Hvergelmir sent me a letter, today. Can you guess why?"

Amber eyes shifted from where they had been staring at Ida, focusing instead upon the little scroll of paper held in her fingertips. She rolled it between them slowly, then curled it down into her fist and lifted her eyes back up to Ida's. She seemed to be considering her for a moment before finally, she raised her free hand and made a small circular motion with her pointer finger.

"Turn around."

Alkaid dropped the letter lightly among the things in her box and used that hand to shuffle through the different odds and ends, tubes and bandages and medical tape. Her hand closed around something and set it in her own lap as Ida turned in place and put her back to the ascendant, as requested. She doubted very seriously that she had truly tamed the girl but she seemed to realize her compliance earned her better treatment, for now.

"That's between Hvergelmir and I."

There was the sound of the scissors being opened, a long, slow scratch of sharpened metal on metal. She leaned up slightly onto her own knees and reached around the eternal, palm up, so that she could see the cellphone in her open hand. The scissors were balanced point up behind the girl's head but her own face leaned forward with the motion of presenting the phone, so that her lips were at Ida's ear. When she spoke, it was low and soft, but spoken with an edge of command.

"Tell her that I will find her tonight, where we met last. That is the only thing you are to tell her or anyone." She cut her eyes to the phone and nodded her head, a clear signal to get on with it.

Alkaid watched eagerly as the eternal began to tap the words out across the screen. Cellphones had been something beyond her technological abilities even before she had become something so beyond the needs of human communication. Khalla herself had never been very tech savvy, either.

"Good girl, Ida."

The praise was cold, but humored. Her cracked, pale fingertips caught the phone once the darker thumb mashed 'send' and sent her message through whatever network these white moon kingdom had established, then deposited it carelessly in the suitcase of assorted things. Once it had rejoined the letter she refused to share, Alkaid rocked back and settled into a kneel behind Ida, abandoning the looming stare over her shoulder.

"Just one last thing, before I go to meet with your little friend." Her free hand reached up and caught Ida's braid by the middle, wrapping her long fingers around the thick cord of hair. It held her braid in place as the scissors raised up to position the blades around the edge of her plait. "Sit still."

The scissors closed the first time, meeting the resistance of her hair and snapping it, a clean cut through the first inch of dark locks. A pleased smile tugged at her lips as her strong hands opened the blades and inched them forward, cutting the next section in a steady line. If Ida knew what was good for her, she would simply sit still and let the damage be done - hair was such a vain obsession, anyway. As the last snip cut through the remainder of her plate, the tension weighing Ida's head down was released and the braid fell across Alkaid's lap, sprawling dark against her stockings. The scissors dropped with a clutter to their box and she claimed her prize with a pleased, wicked smile.

"I think that's all I need from you today."

Alkaid draped the braid across her lap carefully as she set about arranging all the odds and ends in the small suitcase so that nothing was spilling over the seams. Then came two pointed, careful clicks of the clasps that signaled it had been closed, followed by a small shuffle as she rose back up to her full height - minus the usual heels her powered form provided her.

Her bright eyes stared down at Ida where she loomed behind the eternal, following the stroke of her fingers through the newly shorn hair. The expression on her face was blank as she studied the set of the girl's shoulders, the way her head hung to let her stare at the floor. If she thought it was a victory, it was hard to tell. Ida did continue to surprise her - but so would she continue to try and break her. Some compliance was necessary if the eternal ever thought Alkaid meant to actually let her leave and she was glad to see the mostly lackluster reaction.

"I enjoyed our little chat, Ida." Alkaid's pale, bare feet turned as she headed toward the door. One hand gripped her suitcase lightly while the other held Ida's braid above the floor by the loose end, like she were carrying prized game. It was a useful thing, to have something that reminded others of the risk they were taking.

"I'll see you later," was the last promise before she disappeared and the door shut firmly behind her.