[-----CROSSROADS' HOME-----]

Lorastine walked out of the kitchen and sat down on one of the couches
in the living room. Dinner was cooking, mainly as a thank you to
Tyrranis and Crossroads for letting her live with them. She owed them
a lot and she hopes that this dinner would be a suitable thank you.

Despite her frustration and anger Crossroads managed to enter the
house quietly, immediately welcomed by the warm scent of food. It was
a shame though that her ordeal just moments ago had stolen her
appetite. She made her way into the living room seeking a couch and
perhaps a pillow to scream into.

Lorastine stood up when she heard the front door open and was
surprised when she saw Crossroads home earlier then expected. "Welcome
home!" she said with a cheery tone, but her smile faded when she saw
that Cross's mood wasn't the greatest. "Are you ok?" she asks
curiously.

Crossroads plopped down onto one of the couches and leaned back,
"People are fools." She said, pulling the grief seed from her pocket
and holding it up so Lorastine could see it. "I just finished fighting
a witch. And surprisingly, that is not the worst part of it." She then
placed her hand upon her forehead, dug her fingers into her hair and
squeezed her eyes shut. She was trying to stay calm and not raise her
voice despite her anger, so she was spoke very slowly. "It seems
people think they can fight witches and yoma without taking Kyuubey's
contract."

Lorastine blinked with surprise as she saw the grief seed in
Crossroads' hand. "I didn't even know there was a witch in Truce!" She
almost panicked before she realized that she had taken off her
necklace when she went to get a shower. It was now in her room safely
placed on her pillow so she couldn't have known about the witch’s
appearance. "Did anyone die?" she asked a bit worried. Lorastine
didn't know that normal people could even see a witch let alone try to
fight one. She could see Cross's frustration and took it as concern
for the citizens of truce. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you."

"There was a young boy who seemed pretty badly injured when I got
there. I didn't get a chance to look into his injuries and it looked
as though people were attending to them." Crossroads answered with a
sigh, "From the sound of it, some of them fought a yoma and ended up
messing with the grief seed they found in its body. It was reborn into
a witch..." Those words gave her a moment of pause. Unless the people
she had rescued had lied to her, how could a yoma be born into a
witch? "Don't worry about not being there. Luckily the witch was the
easiest one I have ever encountered so far. It seemed pretty weak and
I took it down with only some minor bumps and scrapes."

Lorastine listens to the story and takes a seat back on the couch. She
was relieved to hear that no one had lost their life in the scuffle.
"Maybe that Yoma they had fought could have been a witch in disguise?"
Lora brings up, not exactly sure if such a thing was possible, but
witches were not something to take lightly. "I mean the witch could
have feigned her death in the disguise of a Yoma to get into Truce."
With a shrug, Lorastine looked up towards the ceiling trying to figure
all of this out. To prevent from giving herself a headache she turned
her attention back to Crossroads. "I'm glad you're ok though, or this
dinner would have gone to waste." she said with a light smile, trying
to lighten the mood.

Crossroads thought about Lorastine's thoughts for a moment, wondering
if it was even possible. It seemed like a strange idea, but then again
she was sure there were plenty of things she didn't know about when it
came to witches and yoma. "I guess that could be a possibility. Maybe
something to ask Kyuubey about later. Or even Kyrk for that matter. He
seems to know a lot about that kind of stuff." She shifted so she was
laying on her side, head propped up on one of the pillows. "What it
comes down to is that we can't have people fighting our battles and
taking those grief seeds. Not only do they put themselves in danger by
doing this, they put us in danger too. Besides, those seeds are used
to extend our lives. They can't be left in the hands of others. I wish
people would stop trying to play hero, learn to pick their battles and
run away. I told them if I ever saw any of them near one again I would
let it eat them! And I mean it too!" Crossroads said, her expression
then softened, "That was awfully nice of you to make dinner though.
Tyr hasn't been able to cook and my food... It just doesn't turn out
all that great yet. Still learning and all."

Lorastine nodded and sighed. "I know what you mean. They are only
putting themselves in danger when they try to fight something they
don't understand. I mean I hardly understand them half the time, but
at least I stand a chance against them." Lorastine added on to what
Crossroads was saying. She had almost completely forgotten about how
the grief seeds were important to them. Its not like if the random
people ever won, they would turn in the grief seeds. They might take
them as trophies and from the sound of it, ticking time bombs ready to
reawaken and simply kill them when they least expect it. "I know you
are frustrated, but even if they refuse to listen, we are obligated to
protect everyone from the witches. We can't just leave them to die for
their mistakes no matter how stubborn they are." Lorastine said even
though protecting everyone was mainly her wish, not anyone else’s.
Only she was obligated due to her contract.

Lorastine smiled lightly and nodded as the smell of cooking food got
stronger from the kitchen. Dinner was coming along nicely. "It’s the
least I can do for letting me stay here. I owe you both a great deal."

Crossroads sits up abruptly, "I am obligated no further than telling
them to leave or get out of the way, beyond that what happens to them
is out of my hands. I am not going to endanger my life, or the lives
of you or Tyrranis because someone has decided they rather not listen.
It’s their path to choose and they deserve exactly what they get for
choosing it." Crossroads said folding her arms. "Its unfortunate and I
understand how you feel, but sometimes you have to just let people
go." The scent of the food was finally starting to get to her and her
mind began to wander to wondering what Lorastine was making, trying to
make a few guesses based on scent. "Its really no problem. I had the
extra bedroom and all-- Ah! I almost forgot to ask, have you met
Aemilia yet?"

Lorastine frowned slightly realizing that Cross had a point and that
they couldn't keep risking themselves for people who were looking for
death. She let out a sigh coming to terms with Cross's decision. She
looked up when she heard a small *ding* from the kitchen. "I'll be
right back, I have to check up on dinner and make sure it doesn't
burn." She informed her friend as she quickly rushed into the kitchen.
She cack back quickly though, leaning her head out of the doorway.
"Who? No I haven't"

"She's going to be staying with us too from the looks of things. She
helped save Tyr when he came back from fighting a witch on his own
recently. He was really bad, and the healer was out of town at the
time." Crossroads got to her feet and took a few steps into the
hallway, "She needs a place to stay and a purpose, so she offered to
act as our medic... Anything I can help with in there?"

Lorastine responsed from the kitchen as she listens. "Oh really? A
medic would be a great person to have. Like our own personal doctor!"
she said in a cheery voice, getting over the previous conversation's
sour mood. The hylian seasoned the meat a bit before putting it back
in the oven. "Um..." said trying to think of what kind of job she
could give Cross to do, but she already had most of the things
covered. "I think I have everything covered in here. All I really need
to do now is wait for the bird to finish roasting in the oven."
Lorastine said as she returned to the living room while taking off her
oven mitts.

Crossroads nodded even though Lorastine couldn't see her in the
hallway. "Alright, maybe next time." She leaned against one of the
walls, "Its probably a good idea for us to have one considering what
we do. I was completely lost when Tyr stumbled in like that..." She
frowned at the memory, "Though she has a few books that she said I
could borrow. Even if we have someone to help take care of our
injuries it would probably be a good idea for both of us to learn at
least a little first aid."

Lorastine appeared in the hallway and smiled at Crossroads, "That
sounds like a good idea to me. Our medic won't always be around to
help when we need it. We'll need to be prepared to help ourselves if
needed."

"Yeah. I mean, what if there is an emergency while we are fighting a
witch? I don't think we should be bringing Aemilia into places like
that since it can get pretty dangerous in there and she isn't one of
Kyuubey's contracted." Crossroads looked down for a moment. The
thought of a normal person ending up within a witch’s barrier
momentarily brought her mind her back to the events of earlier today.

Lorastine nodded "We can't allow her to be at risk especially when
she's setting aside things to help us." Lorastine rested her back up
against the opposite side of the hallway. "I wonder what kind of
person she is." Lorastine said as she closed her eyes trying to
picture who this Aemilia girl was.

Crossroads smiled lightly, "She is very nice. I mean, she came right
up and asked me what was wrong when I started calling out for help. I
think the two of you would really get along well." She looked back
down again, and for a moment she seems to be mulling something over,
"Keeping her close enough to help when we need it while at the same
time keeping her far enough away that she stays out of danger is going
to be a balance we need to strike. She seems pretty sensible. But at
the same time, I am not sure how much she has been exposed to. I mean,
seeing a yoma for the first time is pretty scary."

Lorastine smiled "Well thats good, I hope we can become fast friends."
she replied happily before listening to the second half of Cross's
words. "Well if need be, I should be able to protect her. I can
project a barrier even if it is only temporary, so I can shield her
from attacks."

"Hmm. Still regardless it might be a good idea to have second plan in
place should that fail." Crossroad said quietly, "If a situation comes
up where your barrier isn't an option and neither Tyr nor myself can
come to her aid it might be in her best interest to learn to protect
herself if she doesn't have experience in that already." Crossroads
sighed then look up, she brushing her hair behind her ear with a
smile, "Maybe I am just worrying too much."

Lorastine gave a light chuckle and smiled. "Its possible that you
are." she replied, "For now, lets just relax. You had a hard day with
that surprise witch and all. Dinner will be done soon."

Crossroads laughed lightly, "Yeah." She'd be more than happy for today
to be over too. After staying at Kyrk’s it had been one headache after
another. She was ready for their streak of bad luck to be over.
"Thanks, Lora."