Alyxander smiled and nodded thankfully to Kate as he took the carafe. Between the slight blood loss, exhaustion from fighting, and being out in the sun all day, he had become quite thirsty. He drank it slowly, refusing to guzzle it down like he was desperate for the taste. Honestly, to him, he'd rather just live off of regular food, and not have to deal with this whole blood reliance; but, alas, it was his nature and what his fate had led him to. Alyx just wished the pain from all the suffering he'd gone through would stop returning.<br/><br/>Reika had eaten everything before Kate had returned. She wasn't emaciated like Alyx had been when Kate had first found, him, she looked healthy and well-fed; but just enough to have her energy. She had been trained to fight, to aid in this war, despite her own wishes. It was the only reason Draco had bought her back after all these years. The girl glanced over at Kate, her gentle blue eyes meeting hers for a moment before looking away. Her long blonde curls were messy and tangled. Pushing the plate away from her, she pulled herself up onto the bed, her eyes flitting sometimes to Kate; wary, unsure of what to do, half expecting something.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">"Get warm clothes for the girl. Tell Papa she is to remain with me and she is no soldier or threat."</span><br/><br/>'Not a threat, but trained a soldier.' Reika thought, though didn't dare speak up. Provoking any ideas that she could be a danger to be here would turn this good fortune of mercy to a bloodbath for her. Then againb, she was never before the type that fared well when luck was concerned.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">"Sleep if you can, you earned it."</span><br/><br/>She managed a bit of a smile, a shaky nod in response, but no words.<br/><br/>Alyxander was standing by the front of the tent, slightly listening in on what was going on with Reika. To his relief, it was obvious that Kate was being sweet to her... not that he'd thought she wouldn't be. Gentle Kate seemed to not have it in her heart to be spiteful or truly mean. Not towards those whom didn't deserve it. He greeted her with a smile as she walked out and towards him, following behind her to his tent.<span style="font-style: italic">"This should make you feel better and keep you warm. What do you want to tell me?"</span><br/><br/>"This probably shall not be any surprise to you, as you've seemed to figure the girl out." Alyxander answered. "Her name is Reika, and she and I had been friends many years ago until Lord Draco sold her off. I had made up this plan of her being captured so that she didn't have to go back to Draco. Still, she may have information that would be useful to us, and your father has left it to me to take care of her. I just wanted to explain what was going on, as you could have seen she is not a willing soldier. But she did put up quite a fight earlier, so she was trained as one."