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She really did just keep running into Retzian, didn't she?

Recent events had helped a little with Daphne's motivation. She knew that she'd need to be stronger to face off against the Chaos on her world, to save what she could there and return the rest to the cycle. So, she was patrolling, ready to test out her skills on Earth in the meantime.

Only, instead of finding someone who was doing something evil, she found herself face to face with a familiar blue-haired figure, who seemed to be dancing?

She couldn't help it. Daphne smiled.

"Retzian!" she called out, and this time she was the one who went in for the hug, wrapping her arms as well as her tail around the taller woman.

"You look happy," she said.

Did she trust her?

Daphne liked her. She knew that. She'd been very sweet, even after the awkwardness of their first encounter. Daphne also knew that she felt more comfortable here, hugging her, than she'd felt anywhere else in a very long time.

All that didn't completely change the fact that the Chaos coming off of her in waves made the fur on Daphne's tail prickle up.

Then, what was the worst that could happen? She could end up dead? She could end up corrupted? Neither was idea, exactly, but it also wasn't so much worse than her current situation.

"Okay," she said. "You can show me. Now I'm curious."

Daphne squeezed her eyes shut, and when she opened them, she wasn't dead. She wasn't corrupted. She was fine.

Retzian, on the other hand, was falling over. Her face looked pale. Daphne stayed holding tight to her, kneeling next to her as she went down and making sure she wasn't about to hit anything.

"You didn't say that this was going to hurt you," she said, her brows scrunching together. She'd already been going through so much, and even though she'd only known this woman for a few days, she'd been such a bright spot. If something bad happened to Retzian-

No. She wouldn't let it.

At least she seemed to be catching her breath, and so Daphne looked up. That was when she saw the stone.

"How?" she breathed, even as she was starting to inch closer. She knew the woman had mentioned money, but so quickly?

And, there was a picture of a cat on it. Cat bowls, too.

Daphne was stumbling forwards, then, tears already starting to come to her eyes, although it was only half from the grief, this time, and more from the kindness of the gesture.

"This is so beautiful."

"I-"

Okay was a lot to be, when she was looking at a freshly carved memorial for her family. It was sweet. It was probably the sweetest thing that anyone had done for her since back when she'd arrived, Malcolm had found her and given her part of his room to sleep in.

It was bittersweet, though, because it was a stone, a memorial. It was also a reminder that her people weren't even supposed to have stones, that she still wasn't able to mourn her family in the real way.

So, she didn't answer.

Retzian was trying, though. She'd remembered what Daphne had said about her culture. She'd remembered the cats.

Daphne could watch over the creatures, and in turn, they could watch over the memories of her family while she worked on the rest.

"I love it," she said. "All of it."

Later, maybe, she would sit by the stone in silent remembrance, or she would work with these earth cats, but for now she simply buried her face into Retzian's shoulder. "Thank you," she murmured, even as her voice trembled. The cat food in her lap was left there for now. "Thank you."

"You're helping," Daphne assured her, even as she cried. There was something more refreshing about these tears compared to some of the others she'd cried lately, though. There was something more healing. "You already mean a lot to me, Retzian. I hope you understand that. I didn't think anyone who wasn't like me could help, but-"

She'd been proven wrong, and she was so, so glad for it.

At the confession that she was thinking of leaving, though, Daphne sat straight upright, even pulling away from the hug.

"Really? Oh."

Daphne wiped at her eyes, her attention pulled away from her dead relatives for the moment.

"Then I won't have to get embarrassed about being emotional in front of an enemy," she said, and then, more serious, added, "And I won't feel smothered by the Chaos that destroyed my world every time I'm around you. It's a lot. I was going to say something, but-" Now she didn't have to.

"I have some connections on the Order side," she added. "People who have purified, and others, too. Maybe I can help you, too?"