Half-breed Encounters(Der)

@"Nightstripe"

"Then let's go get them back. You lead. We'll talk details later. There's a lot of things I want to know, and I'm sure you have a few as well."

Eph nodded lightly, careful not to take her eyes off Wesker, lest he succumb suddenly to his urges. While there was a way to keep herself secure without having to pay attention, the night was cold enough as it was.

As a sign of non-hostility, she turned her back to him, as though showing that even if she was wary, she trusted him just enough to not openly be cautious. She planted an eye to her brow, and asked, "Where did you even leave this stuff?"

@"Nightstripe"

"Sure, why not. Nothing too hard though," Eph said, walking a bit farther away from Wesker. It may have been rude, but with the current circumstances she felt it was justifiable. She didn't keep pace, making sure there was at least two meters between them. At that distance, as long as Wesker's capabilities were even the slightest bit bound by physics, she could defend herself.

"Sorry if I seem kinda rude right now, but I think being suddenly potentially eaten gives me a right to be on guard. So, what did you want me to say?"

@"Nightstripe"

"You kidding me? I live around these parts, guy." Eph shrugged and stretched her tail out, pointing vaguely to the west. Wherever in the forest they were, ahe was familiar enough with the place to instinctively know how to get home.

It did bother her that there was someone skulking around within walking distance of her house though. The last person she met lurking... well, that was Lochlann and that was a very weird day. A claw reflexively went up to her chest at the thought.

"I - well, you said you were hunting and I don't particularly have any reason not to believe you, but why here? The forest's really massive and... uh, call me a weird skeptic, but the odds of us randomly bumping into each other as we had just done in so awkward a fashion are pretty low, I'd say."

@"Nightstripe"

"No, not defensive. Just - well, I remembered something that should not be shared." She thought for a bit, chin rising and eyes squinting at some far-away thought. She contemplated the pros and cons of her guarded approach to Wesker, scratching at her chin for dramatic flair.

Pro: she'd be harder to pret upon. Con: it might make him want to prey on her more. Thrill of the hunt and all that...

She came to the conclusion that based on everything that had transpired so far, it would be better to relax and be more casual. Accordingly, she lowered her stance and closed the gap between the two of them. And then she had to fight off the urge to lean her head somewhere on his body just to see if it felt off.

"Well, it's not every day I get to meet a half-spider - sure there's a proper term I don't know for that - who looks just like the Battle of Wits dude. That's pretty nice, I say."

@"Nightstripe"

"You should. The Battle of Wits dude is glorious," she said, watching Wesker go off behind the trees and seeing his large spider part disappear behind it.

Eph stayed back, not going behind the tree, instead busying herself with her thoughts for a while. When a few moments had passed, she walked to the side, to where she could see a bit of Wesker changing, seeing his torso and smiling. "Uh, sorry to invade, but I don't get actual, real life reference for male physique that often, and Internet is both too slow - in my case 'cause it's not a decent setup - and a bit unrealistic."

She bit her lip, rummaging in her pockets and patting herself down, and stopped with a disappointed sigh. "I - I didn't bring my notepad or my tape. Yeah, because chances like these weren't rare enough."

Almost defensively, she explained. "I - I make clothes for a living. Mostly made-to-order stuff, and it's mostly for female customers because of reasons I do not know, but there are a few male orders that came in and I don't nearly have enough experience working with a male figure to work on that properly, and I'm out of scratch to buy a decent mannequin with."