Sitting at the edge of this strange woman's bed, his booted feet resting on the dirt floor of the hovel, Kallo's unease turned to curiosity as he listened to her, watched her every graceful movement. This was the woman he had searched for, it simply had to be. There was too much calm in here, with a stranger such as himself in her home, too much grace and ease with which she went about her tasks. This small, strangely accented woman was clearly of this forest and must be the protector he had heard hushed whispers of in his travels. She was not the only one like himself he had heard about, but the few others he had searched for had either perished or turned to the darkness and plague. Cowards and traitors, the lot of them.<br/><br/>A gentle laugh escaped his lips at her response to him as he slowly shook his head. “Aye lass... I suppose that's a fair point. I...” With a heavy sigh, he glanced down at his midsection, only now realizing that she had stitched his wound. “I made a mistake. I was hunted down and underestimated the lengths that my pursuers would go to.” Dropping his glacial gaze to the stitching in his stomach, he began to pull at the thread work, needing to get the stitches out of him so he could fully heal. The tone in his voice changed, a hint of self contempt could be heard as he continued to speak. “It was stupid... and I got what I deserved for my folly.” With a quick jerk, he managed to snap the end of the thread and began pulling it out, the skin of his stomach pulling tight as he worked the thread out of his body.<br/><br/>A quick snort of contempt followed the last of the thread, though it was not for the needlework this time, but more towards himself for allowing such a thing to happen to himself. He was better than that and he knew it. Setting the thread on the bed next to him, those pale blue orbs lifted to meet her golden gaze. “I should've died. Plain and simple.”<br/><br/>“<i>Yours are not like mine.”</i><br/><br/>Allowing his pale gaze to wander across he skin, tracing the edges of the dark pigment held within her, he merely offered a shrug. “Depends on how you got yours, I suppose.” A lifted finger traced a few of the lines on his chest, his focus turning inward for a brief moment as he relived the pain involved with the markings. It was a great gift, but it did not come without suffering. “These were not a choice I made. This was forced on me, for better or worse, but that is a story for another time, another place.” It was easy to see that the memory was not a fond one, and would not be easily pried from his lips.<br/><br/>“<i>You are like me, I think?” </i><br/><br/>Kallo sat on the bed, quiet and thoughtful for a few moments, deciding the best way to answer her pointed question. Trust was not something he came by easily, but this woman had dragged him out of the clearing and attempted to bind his wounds, not knowing if he'd survive or not. His pale blue gaze searched her beautiful face for answers he knew she didn't have, a hint of sadness within those glacial orbs. “Aye lass. I believe we are the same... to a degree anyway. My Go...” Quickly clicking his teeth shut, he shook his head once and continued. “The darkness and taint doesn't touch me.”<br/><br/>The scent of the dried meat reminded him of the dead ache in his stomach, his body's reminder that he needed to replenish his strength after what he had been through. Taking the water and meat from the woman, he offered a respectful bow of his head, offering her a spoken word of thanks as well. “Thank you lass. I will repay your kindness... just name your price.” Without looking back to her, he began to pull pieces of meat from the jar and shovel them down, clearly ravenous. He was not one to accept that someone could simply be generous for the sake of giving, everyone always had a motive to which they worked towards, but he was honest, he would repay his debt to her in full, regardless of her price. She had, after all, sheltered him in his most vulnerable state.<br/><br/>After quickly finishing the entire jar of meat and gulping down the clear, cool water, he offered her another respectful bow of his head and set the cup and jar to his side, with the discarded thread he had pulled from his healed wound. “I needed that. Thank you.” As she offered her name and questioned his presence, he merely shrugged in response, not knowing if he should be upfront in his search for her or not.<br/><br/>“My name is Kallo, lass.” His pale blue eyes locked with her golden orbs as he place his right fist to his heart, offering a formal greeting from his homeland. “I have been searching for others like myself and I came across a rumor of a witch who protected this forest.” Nodding to he wooden staff, a soft, amused chuckle slipped from him. “It seems she found me instead.” Kallo slowly got to his feet, gingerly stretching his fatigued muscles, his actions showing that the markings on his chest and abdomen wrapped around his back and slipped beneath his breeches. “Sul'ima...” The strange word rolled awkwardly off his tongue. “This word you call me... what does it mean?”