[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"Thank you" was all she said, as Cassus stepped away from her to allow her to finish her scrubbing of herself and her clothes - which reminded him, they really needed to get some new clothes for both of them. When he mentioned this to her, however, she merely looked at him quizzically before asking "how?" which caused him to smile. He had his ways, but they would wait until she was stronger - they would need to travel to Lamenolai, and that was a hell of a journey even during peaceful times.

Borealis was stunned; she had never seen him smile before, and it changed him completely - now I'm in trouble, she thought ruefully, recognising the strange feelings in her chest from earlier. She shook her head, and busied herself with pulling her clothes on; she may be safe, but she hardly knew him - and until she did, she wasn't going to risk herself again.

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Borealis tossed and turned, unable to drop off; the night was cold, even in the slums, and her clothes were still damp. She whimpered, then sighed, and glanced towards the figure on the floor with his back turned to her. Making up her mind, she prayed to Yepha that he wouldn't mind, and grabbed the blanket, moving over to lie with her back snuggled against his and the blanket over them, instantly feeling better; within minutes, she was asleep, lulled by his deep breathing.

Cassus, however, found it twice as hard to sleep the minute she was pressed against him, that treacherous blush rising in his cheeks again. Forcing himself to calm down, he muttered "you don't even know her that well" before closing his eyes and attempting to force himself back to sleep - a feat he managed eventually, though not before the sky began to lighten.

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The next morning was awkward to say the least; neither of them quite knew how to face each other, though both had been glad of the warmth before the night was out. For Cassus, this meant he was more sour-faced than usual - which helped greatly when it came to scaring off the slumdwellers who were beginning to get curious about the girl who allied herself with the monster. He grumbled moodily as he stirred the stew, before glancing up in time to meet Borealis' eyes; blushing, they both turned their gaze away.

Borealis shivered at the intensity of his moody stare; she had been so cold, she hadn't even thought about how it would cause him to react. She scowled and grumbled to herself as she re-made the bedding pile - 'at least some of my old strength is coming back' she thought to herself.

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[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

The day finally came where Cassus felt Borealis had recovered enough of her strength to travel to Lamenolai; it wouldn't be an easy journey, as they would need to go through the Tengel Rainforest to get there, but it would be doable... he hoped. Nevertheless, they needed to go; there was still a bit of preparation that needed to be done first, however.

"We need to stock up on things to exchange in Lamenolai; they won't give us anything for free" he told her one morning as they scrubbed themselves in the river. "I'm going to go gather as much as I can over the next few days, and then we'll prepare to leave; I need you to see if you can find any jars or bottles, or any sort of container really."

Borealis nodded her head; she knew exactly where to look, and hopefully, she wouldn't get caught doing it.

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The next morning, Cassus left before Borealis woke, taking care not to disturb her; pausing at the doorway to glance back at her sleeping form, he had a strange feeling of foreboding that seemed to settle around his shoulders - but chose to shake his head and leave, scolding himself about his paranoia, and avoiding dwelling on the invasive thoughts coursing through the back of his mind about the female under the blanket behind him.

Borealis sensed him leave the shack, and that was when she opened her eyes. It was time to put her plan into action; she knew where she could get her hands on a large amount of bottles and jars - her ex-boss had a storage room full of them! She just needed to gain access to it without anybody noticing; fortunately, she knew that the grate that led to the gutter outside was loose, and with luck, nobody would be hanging around the back of the building.

She cautiously made her way to the alley behind the building, and waited with bated breath, expecting discovery at any moment. When nothing seemed amiss, she knelt down and began to pull the rusty grating out of the wall, keeping as quiet as she could.

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Cassus held his breath as he cut the noxious flower away from the vine; it wasn't just medicines that sold well in Lamenolai, after all. He stuffed it into the jar he held, and moved over to the next one, pleased that the jar was already almost full - he didn't want to spend any more time handling the poisonous flowers than he had to.

Borealis held her breath as she squeezed through the small opening into the alleyway and replaced the grate, before carefully picking up the assortment of glassware she had stolen, so as not to make a sound. She carefully made her way back to the shack, burdened with the bundles of rags she had used to carry the glassware, and covered with a dirty shawl - nobody should even have given her a second glance. She slipped through the doorway and laid her burdens down, before collapsing on the bedding pile; she may have been recovered, but the stress had exhausted her, and she was unable to prevent her eyes slipping closed...

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[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Cassus paused in the middle of cutting a vine; something had made his blood run cold, though he couldn't place what it was, exactly. He knew something wasn't right; for a moment he struggled with his thoughts, conscious of the need to gather more, but in the end his gut feeling was too strong. Securing what he had cut in a jar, he packed up his things and headed for home as fast as his legs could carry him.

Borealis' eyes snapped open; something was amiss, and for a moment she just lay there shivering, wondering what had woken her... until she smelt him. What was he doing here? And how had he found her?

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[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Cassus was flat-out running now, desperate to get to the shack. He could feel something was seriously wrong, and couldn't bear the thought of not making it back in time...

Borealis jumped off the bedding pile, as a clink echoed across the small shack. She shivered, and growled, as she looked into the face that she never wanted to see again.

"Hello Darling," her boss said mockingly, holding one of the stolen jars in his hand. "Did you miss me?"

Kale, the boss

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[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Cassus growled as he rounded the corner; he could smell another male nearby, and he didn't like it one bit - particularly since it seemed to be coming from his shack!

Borealis growled, and flattened her ears, backing away from her boss. "What are you doing here Kale? I don't owe you anything; you don't own me any more."

Kale chuckled humourlessly, carelessly dropping the jar onto the pile of bedding as he walked towards her. "I think we both know that's a lie, my dear, seeing as how those are my jars and you are my property."

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[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Cassus snarled as he leapt in through the open doorway; how dare another male invade his space! His snarl only got louder and more menacing as he took in the sight before him...

Borealis was terrified; on the one hand, her boss had her pressed up against the wall, hand on her neck beginning to choke her. On the other, Cassus was right there - and she had never been so scared of a male; something awful was happening to him - he seemed to be glowing!

Kale turned, and sniffed warily; not that he would admit it, but this strange snarling male disconcerted him; he had been sure she was all alone, and his tip-off hadn't mentioned a mate... and she didn't smell of a male, either. Just who was this interfering male? And what was making him... glow?

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[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"What the hell do you think you're doing in here!" snarled Cassus, beginning to shake with anger. He strode towards the male furiously, dropping his bag by the pile of jars on the floor.

Borealis began to struggle then; she did not want to get caught between the two males in what would inevitably turn out to be a bloody brawl.

Kale turned, still keeping Borealis pinned with one hand, and growled as low as he could at Cassus. "What concern is it of yours? I'm merely reclaiming my property."

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[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Having the male in his territory was one thing, but seeing Borealis pinned up and squirming against the wall was too much. Cassus could feel his anger bubbling up out of him; grabbing the male by his collar, Cassus threw him across the floor and put himself firmly between Borealis and the male, barking out "LEAVE!" with an unearthly echo that resounded in the small shack.

Borealis trembled and whimpered, sinking to the floor; he may have been the lesser of two evils, but right now she wasn't sure if she was safe with Cassus or not - but at least Kale was away from her!

Kale picked himself off the floor and snarled; how dare this male treat him like the slum scum around them! "You'll pay for that," he snarled, ears back; "I'll be back. Borealis dear, expect to see me soon." and with that, he walked out of the door, turning back to growl at them once more.

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[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"Are you all right? Did he do anything to you?" Cassus all but growled at the shaking Borealis behind him; the glowing was calming down now that his opponent had left, but his eyes were still dark. "Who was he? And why was he in here?"

Borealis whimpered; she was still terribly scared, and hated herself for it. "H-he was my boss; the one who paid really badly and- and left me in the rainforest when you found me." She swallowed, hating the lump that had formed in her throat; "His name is Kale, and he- he used to-" she broke down into quiet sobs, unable to tell Cassus exactly what that awful male had done to her.

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[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Cassus growled softly; he could imagine what that piece of scum had done to her, after all, he found her in the forest... he knew the extent of her injuries. He stepped towards her, and hesitated when she flinched, but steeled himself and crouched down, pulling her gently into his embrace. "Shhh, I won't let him hurt you again. Shhhh" he soothed, growling all the while deep in his chest.

Borealis was so ashamed of herself, but she couldn't help it; she clung to him and wept for all she was worth, comforted by the deep rumbling growl by her ear and the strong, supple arms that surrounded her. She may not have believed him entirely, but it was exactly what she needed to hear, and for a moment, for the first time in a long time, she felt safe.

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[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Eventually Borealis quietened, and Cassus let her go, but stayed close by as he went and sorted out the plants into the jars. "Were these his?" he asked, mid-sorting.

Borealis nodded, and whispered "I'm sorry; I knew he had a storeroom I could get them from. I didn't think he'd realise there were any missing."

Cassus smirked; "how do you feel about cleaning the place out another day? I'll give you a hand; we'll do it at night. We're going to need all the jars, after all."

Borealis was shocked; she had expected anger, or grim satisfaction, but this... this was surprising, to say the least. "What if we get caught?" she asked timidly; the last thing she wanted to do was wind up in Kale's grasp again.

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