Going through changes

Amos was just as confused as Saoirse but he followed the orders given regardless. If they were really leaving this place, then he wasnt one to argue. He had only been waiting for this moment for ages. He got dressed and helped Saoirse into her cape, wanting to help her the most he could so she didnt have to waste her energy. They went and were greeted by Baal and Buffy, the young daemon looking at their father and realizing that something was different about him. But he couldnt figure out what it was. He took the scroll as Buffy gave it to him, nodding as to let her know that he would be doing his best. They went outside and followed the summoner's lead, though it wasnt as easy with Saoirse's current state. Amos stopped, turning his back to Saoirse as he bent down slightly. "Hop on." he said, hoping she would do it.

Saoirse was clearly not doing good, and Amos was as always so ready to be there for her. If this wasn't love, she didn't know what it was. She got on his back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, resting her head against his. She was tired from what they had tried to do in the bedroom, but she wasn't completely wasted yet.
Once they reached their first safe point she was put down, and she slid down against a wall of an abandoned building, gasping lightly for air. She felt very egotistical as it had been Amos who had carried her, but she was the one being tired. How weak could she be? "Daddy, please tell us why we are leaving now," she pleaded.

They reached the safe point and Amos was keeping a look out, feeling quite paranoid as they knew nothing. So he wasnt really objecting as Saoirse plead with their father, no he looked to the summoner with demanding eyes. He knew he had the upper hand in this as he could just take Saoirse and leave if he wanted to.

Saoirse wasnt the only one feeling the exhaustion as they reached the safe point. Buffy had been right when she had pointed out the fact that he wasnt in a state to be protective. Saoirse's plea made him sigh as he stood leaned up against a wall. "We've outstayed our welcome, if that makes sense to you." he said, looking down like he was considering something. He just decided it was better to be transparent, moving his arm out with the bandage covering the wound from his partly missing arm. "Buffy decided to stay behind to aid in our escape." he said, clearly not happy with it, but what could he do? "I know it's probably not what you have wished. If it could have been the other way around and she could have been here with you now, it would have been so."

It was worrisome, not only to hear that the place they had been staying at was no longer a safe place, but the fact that her mother had stayed behind so that they could get out. She felt her eyes water, worrying for Buffy. Despite how strong the light was, she was afraid that against all those followers of Bael it would mean nothing. Then his father showed his arm, and it was like the puzzle pieces got connected and she could see the bigger picture. "Your marked hand," she muttered, but it was clear it was gone. Saoirse felt her stomach twirl, feeling like she was going to get sick, but she held it in. "But ... How?" she was quite confused before she looked to Amos. Did he know something?

"Yes, it is gone." he confirmed her mutter, looking down as it clearly hadnt been a part of the plan. Especially not when it had been the aid in healing Saoirse. Now they had to figure out a way around it but he didnt doubt that Buffy had already taken it into consideration. They had a lot of time on their hands before the next move, so he went on to explain what had happened, only leaving out the whole ordeal with the king and queen of dark and light, because he didnt think they'd understand nor was it relevant. "Now, we've got bigger concerns than my marked hand. Someone or something is going around opening portals as well, and we have yet to uncover how or why." he said.

Amos was also surprised by the revelation of Baal's missing hand, looking at Saoirse as he shook his head to let her know that he had had no idea. But this was complicating everything? How were they supposed to draw the darkness out of Saoirse now? Baal explained but Amos shook his head. "Fuck the portals. So you in all your recklessness lost the only opportunity we had without Buffy to heal Saoirse?" he said quite snarkily in tone. He opened his mouth like there were more things he wanted to say but he just grit his teeth and shook his head. He went on in further of this hideout, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself.

Someone was going around and opening portals. How was that even possible? Wasn't Baal the only one who could do that? She felt frightened by the thought, though the pillar was seemingly still the biggest portal still. Then Amos mentioned her chances of healing without Buffy there and she looked down. She hadn't even thought about that. How was she even going to survive this trip? Saoirse just got quiet, wrapping her arms a little around her legs, but she barely had the energy to hold her legs in place. So they were getting out and being free, but she was not guaranteed survival? Her eyes started to water a little bit, just staring at the ground, retreating in to herself. Wouldn't it be best if they just went on without her then? They would have a better chance at getting out if they didn't have to carry around her slowly decaying body, right?

The summoner didnt stop Amos from retreating. It was probably for the best to just leave him be for the moment. He hadnt even looked in the scroll yet, so it wasnt like he was too concerned about Saoirse's healing. But he did notice how his daughter was sinking into herself. He went to her, crouching down as he reached out and touched her shoulder with his healthy arm. "You are quite transparent my little light. There is no need to worry, neither your mother or I would have made you leave that place if it wasnt because we believed you'll live." he said before he carefully sat down next to her. He looked at his healthy hand and sighed. "The power I used never laid in my mark. It was just making it easier to redirect to dark energy." he said, looking to her as he hoped his words would lighten her worry.

Yeah, she was pretty easy to read, huh? She just sighed, looking at her father with worried eyes. Something had changed within him, but she wasn't sure what it was yet. "I just keep feeling like I'm a burden," she whispered. Amos kept up with it, but for how much longer? And her parents of course loved her, but when would they realize there was no healing that was going to make her the way she was? It wasn't that she wanted to die, in fact she was terrified, because what would that even mean for her afterlife? She knew she wasn't going in neither the good nor bad place, but the uncertainty of it all and the fact that she could feel her life slipping away was scary. "Amos is exhausting himself already, and you are badly hurt ... Trying to heal me is just going to make it worse," it was dark for her to say, but she just had that dreaded feeling in her that something was going to end badly. Especially after Amos had disclosed his nightmares.

"You are not a burden." he said, shaking his head as he looked at her. It wasnt nice to think that this was the way she saw herself. How could she ever be a burden? He leaned his head back and closed his eyes with a sigh. She spoke again and he opened his eyes a bit. "Amos bears the blood of two children of Bael. He should be able to handle this." he said, before he smiled faintly and looked ahead. "I did this to you, so no matter what, I'm not going to give up on you and your healing. You have always been the priority, without you, how else will there be proof that a daemon can love freely?" he said, hoping it made sense to her. "I couldnt have asked for a better daughter." he muttered, closing his eyes again as he was quite exhausted from walking already.

She listened to him, but when he spoke about proof she couldn't help but shake her head. She didn't want to be some symbol, she didn't ask to be some sort of token as he made it sound. "Dad, there's no need to prove that daemons can love freely," she argued, mostly because any daemon could sleep with a non-daemon and have a child to some capacity. She knew of plenty daemon bastards who were left alone because they had no real meaning to the daemon parent. She reached over, taking his healthy hand in her own, "even if I hadn't been born, you and mom are the proof," she said. She saw their love as something genuine, something so pure and clearly all about devotion. They hadn't just fallen in love, they had went the extra mile and defied the powers that be.
She leaned her head against his shoulder, feeling how tired he was too. They really were a sorry bunch, huh? "Are you mad ... About me and Amos?" she just had to ask. She knew it wasn't conventional, and she was old enough to understand that what her and her halfbrother had was very taboo. "I know you heard us," she muttered, because she had heard it so clearly in his voice when he had come to their door.

"I wish it was only that simple. But there is an importance in offspring in the daemon world. And you like your brother have the blood of our god in your veins. Even if you dont like the thought of it, you will always be something others will look up upon." he said, knowing it was probably not as nice as it sounded out to be. But a bond on it's own was simply not enough.
He felt her lean onto him and he didnt mind. It was at least a change from the hostility that they had exchanged before. Her question made him scoff as he kept his eyes closed. "I have been angry, yes. But that was only because I hadnt realized that me being angry didnt make me better than the daemons that were trying to tear Buffy and I from each other." he said. He wanted to open his eyes but it was like exhaustion was taking over. "I love you for who you are, my little light regardless of the choices you make..." he muttered before he seemingly drifted off, his body giving into his weight as he slid down a little further, his head slightly hanging downwards.

Amos returned to see how Baal was seemingly gone, walking over to kick his foot lightly. "We should get going." he said, moving on till he realized the summoner wasnt responding. He backtracked and looked at Baal before he drew in a deep breath. "Great." he mumbled in annoyance, to then look at Saoirse. "We should go."

His words were a bit harsh, but the fact that he was trying to accept was good. And his ending sentiment made her smile, feeling his body grow a little heavy. He was tired and so was she, but as Amos returned she could see the frustration in his whole body. Reaching her hands out she hoped he would help her back on her feet. However his words made her frown, shaking her head no. "We can't just leave him," she insisted, looking around at the rubble until she found a pretty long stick. Yeah she could use this for support. "I can walk, just help him," she said, nodding because it was what she had decided. It was either all or no-one. "As long as we head north we should come out of this alright," she said, trying to stay positive, even though her whole body was aching.

He took her hand as she reached out, pulling her up to her feet. The young daemon knew that leaving him behind would be a risk, but on the other hand, hadnt everyone been agreeing that Saoirse was the priority in all this? She insisted but he wanted to object. He let her speak and bit the inside of his cheek as he was considering it all. "We'll also have to make sure someone is strong enough to heal you." he said, knowing it was not what she wanted. He looked at Baal and groaned in annoyance, walking over to pull the summoner over his shoulder. "I will let you decide. But it would be better to leave him here. I'm sure Buffy would prefer knowing he was here than us possibly having to let him go in the middle of the street."

"Well he's resting right now," she muttered, knowing it wasn't the same, but she was not leaving Baal behind now. She felt like she finally had her real dad back and she wasn't losing him again. Not like this at least. Buffy being brought up made her tense her jaw but she didn't reply, leading the way. At least they still had the darkness on their side, being able to move without attracting too much attention.
While they walked she actually found the stick rather helpful, at least regarding her balance. She would definitely be holding on to it until they reached their end goal. "I know you are not one for second chances ... But I want us to be a family again at some point," she said, breaking the deafening silence as they walked.

He wasnt much for this but he had after all let her decide in the end. So if bringing him along was her wish, then so be it. It didnt make him happy though, but that was probably a given. "But it's your family. I cant tell you what to do with your family." he said, though he definitely wasnt changing his own stance in all this. He looked around, making sure to keep an eye out while they were walking. "Do you really trust that this is not just another facade?"

Her family. She sighed, shaking her head a little cause he didn't get it, did he? He was her family too, so was Alyssa. But she didn't have the energy to go in to a discussion about all of that now. It just felt exhausting to begin with. His next question was almost to be expected but she wasn't sure either. "My gut is telling me that this is genuine," she said a little bluntly. Now, he was of course allowed to have his own opinion, but she had seen that familiar spark in her father's eyes. And that she just couldn't ignore. "He's not cold anymore ... There's life to him again," she said. She knew that telling what her father had said about her and Amos wouldn't help, so she just kept it to herself. "Even if it's just a façade I'd do it anyways." Family was family, and she wouldn't leave anyone behind if they weren't capable of fending for themselves.

It was genuine? Well how could he argue with her gut. He just sighed, not wanting to let his guard down that easily. But then again, he didnt really have to. She explained and he hummed, looking ahead as he followed. "Your heart is too kind." he said, which may have been sounding like him trying to chastise her, but it was a part of her that he adored as well. As long as it didnt get her hurt. Which he felt like it might in this case. He wasnt sure how long they had walked, but since Baal still wasnt responsive, there was no way to know where the next safe point was. He couldnt help but feel the need to blame his father, should something happen.  

Their road was however cut shortly after. The point of safe points was to keep them off the street in case someone was awaiting them. And it seemed so. A scout had seen them and he had wasted no time in catching up to them. He walked out on the path they were heading, smiling brightly as he looked at the trybrid with a pleased look. "Finally." he said with a coldness to his tone. He tilted his head, inspecting her. "I finally get to see what abomination it is that has cost me my life."

Maybe she was too kind for her own good, but it was just part of who she was. She loved those around her too much to just not give them a second chance. Moving down the streets she felt like she saw shadows in the dark, walking a little closer to Amos she felt stronger the further away she got from the pillar. It was a hard thing to describe. Then a person appeared, and she stopped, looking at the strange man in front of them. His face obscured by a hood but his voice was recognizable. She just wasn't sure. "You must have us confused with someone else," she said rather politely but also trying to sound tough and intimidating, which didn't really work with her weak voice.

"Confused?" the voice asked under the hood, shaking his head as Amos walked up next to her. He knew it was them, it couldnt be anyone else. "I know for a fact that one of you is Belial, the other Amos. But you? I havent met you, other than that faint time in Aurvandil. Sorry about the infection." he just said, lifting his hand in parallel to Amos. "Sure, giving you a possible antidote was a risk, but I also knew that the Amadeus that I know would never just do anything, even if it was the solution right at your nose." he chuckled, taking off his hood. He had healed completely, looking still like a walking corpse but as old and frail as he had at first. "What have they named you child?" he asked, looking at the trybrid with curious eyes.

Confused very much so but she could feel the tension in the air, and the way that Amos was almost shielding her at this point she knew better than to trust the stranger in front of her. He spoke about Aurvandil and that was when she realized that he had been the old man in the wheelchair. Her eyes fluttered, looking down as she was trying to make sense of it all. The hood was removed and she looked at what could closely be described as a living corpse. His skin pale as if it had been bleached and no hair seemed to even be left on his hair or face. The stranger knew them all, except for her it seemed, and his question made her take Amos' hand for some sort of support.
"Isn't it rather impolite to ask for someone's name before even introducing yourself?" she asked, feeling her heart in her throat, fear moving around her bloodstream and making her feel more aware. Not to mention the adrenaline making her feel stronger.