Ice Fangs, Hot Blood! (Private)

"Sheesh...! Lowest of the low? I swear, now you're just trying to make me look like a weakling for no reason. You need to work on your manners..." He chuckled, trying to make some humor out of the situation, and to show that she wasn't getting to him; Though it was probably the lack of blood getting to him to act a little less like himself. He wasn't about to share how he had to deal with King Timberwolves once he learned the hard way about what happens when they're given a chance to merge and how stubborn they can really be in their combined form unless dealt with very thoroughly or outright avoided; The latter of which wasn't an option given the task he had set out to do. The topic, however, did remind him of his blunder and wounds, so he then tried to move to the more important topic. "... I think... North, North West from here, just outside the edge of the Everfree. It has a red hue, and it's about the size of a big house... You should see a couple plaques with the name Black Mambo on the sides... And you'll likely be needing this... Don't want you breaking down my door..." He slowly activated his Inventory, and brought out a set of keys for Isabelle as he stared at her. "... My magic is strong, but I am no mind mage. Kinda out of my area of expertise... The most I could do is try to dispel the Curse by persistent force. But if the curse feeds on your father to keep itself working, then I'm out of safe ideas... Sorry..."

It seemed that saying sorry to her was the worst possible thing to say to her, as her eyes sparked with a cold fury. "Do not apologise to me. Did I ask for your sympathy?" She snatched the key from him, still giving him that cold glare as she opened the door, closing it with a slam. She walked towards the edge of the forest, each hoof step like a thunderbolt, ice spreading behind her. However, her eyes were down and her ears folded, clearly not paying attention to her surroundings.

He lay there on the bed, quietly. It was clear to him she was not liking her circumstances in the least, or so he thought. "... Ouch..." It bothered him that, despite his personal vow made many years ago, he was apparently unable to help, briefly stinging his pride as a Sage. He knew better than to think everything could be solved with magic, but that didn't mean he had to stop trying with or without if it meant making things better... But it seemed this particular case would likely be out of his grasp... He went back to nap for the time being as he contemplated recent events...

Isabelle sighed as she reached the airship. She approached it cautiously, her ears twitching as she listened for the sound of approaching monsters. She turned her head very slowly, looking over her shoulder into the apparent darkness of the forest cover. Raising an eyebrow, she shook her head and approached the airship again, trying to find the ladder. She circled the airship, ears still flicking nervously.

The airship was much like the stallion had described on the outside. True to it's name, It had sturdy propellers on the sides of it for flight pointed upwards as well as propellers in the near bottom back for use on water and air thrust, and was a mixture of well crafted hardwood and metal for an all around respectably tough hull, though it did have a bit of age to it when looked upon up close with minor dents and discolorations here and there.

While it did in fact have ladders on each side mainly for climbing out of water, there was actually a ramp coming from the ship that led to the center by a specially built large door. Once that door were opened, it would lead straight into the hallway and the large storage room were most items were stocked in, though the bedrooms, kitchen, and bathroom could be found easily enough by moving towards the bow area of the airship. The kitchen having the more readily and conveniently placed foodstuffs, such as fruits, vegetables, and grains, than the storage room. Of course, there was also the bridge and the engine room along with the underbelly and inner workings of the ship. The inside of the ship was fairly well organized, and while it was meant more for work, it had a homely feel to it, especially in the bridge and the bedrooms which held several personal items such as old portraits, some memorabilia, and the like. Also, if Isabelle were particularly paying attention, the airship held a constant latent magic field coursing within its walls, and especially the engine room that was the main source of it all.

Isabelle trotted through the halls slowly, now listening to the him of latent magical energy. Whistling quietly, she trotted into the kitchen and grabbed a saddlebag, before filling it to the brim with food quickly. Walking back towards the entry, she paused, and instead began to search for his room quickly, darting from room to room. Eventually coming across what she though was his room, she picked up his blanket and a pillow, and carried them out with the food.

The rooms were a bit on the small side, but both had two beds each for some relative comfort.

Back at the cabin, the stallion had eventually awoken again and was eating up the last of the food he had been initially given as he slowly focused his magic upon himself, preparing for a self modification to his body in order to speed up his recovery. He wasn't sure when Isabelle might return, nor did he completely trust her yet, but wait he did nonetheless.

She trotted down the ramp, looking around the area as she began to walk back to the house, ears twitchingas she stopped, her ears twitching furiously as she looked around, her eyes narrowing. "Hello?"

The stallion kept waiting, but there came a point when he felt compelled to walk out the door of the cabin, if only to get some slight fresh air, watch the rain up close, and look outside to keep watch over the general area. Granted, he should not be moving about too much, but the naps and meal helped well enough for him. At some point, as it were, he'd hear something as well. "... Isabelle...?" said he as he called out into the forest.

She sighed and walked towards the sound of his voice, stumbling through the thick undergrowth, weighed down by the food and blankets. "Stallion?" She called out, still unaware of his name as she stopped, looking around again. "That you?"

"...? Ah, right... My name..." "Yes, Isabelle, it's me, Sugary. I'm right in front of the cabin... Is something wrong?" He thought it was very odd that she needed to call for him when it was her house. He did not think she was lost, but did suspect there might be another nearby as he kept more alert.

As it would turn out, a curious Chimera youth had been following the scent of the food, hoping to catch an easy meal. He wasn't exactly trying to be subtle as he eventually made himself visible to Isabelle more than Sugary, making light growls at her as if demanding to be given food. A true rookie to say the least, but at half the size of an adult Chimera, it was still of a respectable constitution and had developed it's lethal body parts well enough to be a threat if it were to take a fight seriously.

"Nothing I can't handle." She replied as she raised an eyebrow at the youngling, before holding out a loaf of bread. "Come here youngling, I won't hurt you," she whispered, giggling at him gently. "Just a chimera youngling." She continued to hold out the bread, smiling.

The young Chimera somewhat brusquely grabbed, pulled, and gnawed on the bread to snatch it away from Isabelle and take it with him, not wanting to be under the rain for too much longer yet content at having something to eat after following her only to be on his way. The young Chimera wasn't much of a threat once it got what it wanted, and that was some free food without having to put up a fight. Maybe Isabelle might wonder why it did not stick around, but even the young Chimera knew better than to remain idle for long in the Everfree Forest for his own safety.

Meanwhile, Sugary kept waiting by the cabin door, watching the shadow of the Chimera move about further away into the rest of the forest. "Good thing it wasn't an adult... It might have been much more greedy..."

Isabelle shook her head ruefully as she watched the chimera trot off happily, almost laughing. She faced Sugary and smiled. "He was nice, wasn't he? Maybe I could have kept him as a pet..." She shook her head again, attempting to walk over to him, only to stop suddenly. She frowned and tugged at her back hooves, which seem to be stuck in the thick foliage. "The hell—?" She cursed, tugging at them again.

He was glad to see things with the Chimera had gone surprisingly well enough. Then again, he had heard enough rumors about how even in the Everfree, some creatures were nicer than they appeared, so this only seemed to confirm it for him somewhat. When he saw that she was in need of help, he began to make his way over to her with a bit of a hurry as it was still raining for now, though less as time went on. He activated his Inventory, and brought out a Steel Battle Axe to try and cut whatever it was she seemed to be stuck on with a single swing. "Huh... Please, hold still..." And with that, he relied on telekinesis and swung down on where he deduced she had been caught by what might be an overgrowth of vines.

She squeaked as the axe came down. She stumbled forward and stared at him, blushing. "T- thank you... I brought you more food... And an extra blanket," she murmured, showing him the saddlebags. "Will you come back inside with me?" She asked quietly.

Sugary pulled the axe back up, shook off the dirt, put it away and then looked at Isabelle a bit incredulously. "Well, unless you plan on us eating out here in the wet dirt, I think will... You feeling okay...? You sound hushed." He offered a hoof to her, partially as a way of showing some trust as well as to help her keep her balance as he thought she might need at the moment to go back inside. "Also, I take it you saw my airship, right? Anything about it catch your attention?"

She took the offered hoof, and shook her head as she walked back to the house. "I'm fine. I'm just not used to feeling... Fear. Ugh, it sucks." She snorted angrily. As she trotted, she glanced at him, and offered a small smile. "Yeah actually. It um... Well it's filled with latent magic, just waiting to be used. It's kind of incredible how it must work I think, what with it just being filled to the brim with magic. Does it run entirely in magic, or does it have a solid fuel source?" She looked at him, intrigued.

As they went back in, Sugary's demeanor became a little more cheery once Isabelle asked about his airship. "You could say it's a hybrid. It runs on a mixture of steam power, magic stones, and a converter of sorts if you will. The converter basically takes some of the natural Ether in the air and uses it to power the propeller engines, though of course it's not as good by itself as the three aspects working all at once for optimal performance. In short, the ship is not state of the art, but it's hard to not get it to work. You'd have to be trying to break it to keep it from working." He spoke fondly of his airship. He also looked at the food she brought rather eagerly. "Ah... By the way... What scared you anyway?"

She nodded eagerly as he explained its performance, clearly intrigued and obviously interested by what he had to say. She giggled when she saw an expression she recognised easily, the expression of a pony who wanted something to eat, something someone else had. She passed him a bread roll and smiled. "Have this. I can tell you're hungry." She paused as he asked his question. She stopped and stared at him. "I was afraid... of being helpless," she breathed out quietly.

Sugary took the bread almost as quickly as the chimera did, though much more kindly by comparison rather than pulling on it, and began to eat. He did, of course, also hear about her reason to be afraid. He had a feeling it had to do with her personal issues in general, but kept quiet about it for now. "Say, could you spread the food over the table? I'd like to get started on the spell... Of course, you can eat some of the food too, if you want." He slowly lit up his horn as he prepared to cast a spell on himself, watching and waiting on her.

She nodded at his request and spread the food across the table, before placing the blanket on the bed. She giggled at his suggestion and shook her head. "I can't eat that food. It would do nothing for me other than fill my empty stomach..." She sat down and watched him quietly. "What are you going to do?"

"Well... Right now, I intend to eat... Lots..." Once the food was spread about, he began to cast a modified Haste spell on himself, signified by what looked to be a ghostly clock spinning through his body, and accelerating his own metabolism in the process. Before he actually got to eating, he did ask one more question that had been on his mind for a time. "... So you can't eat this per-sé... But are you thirsty?" He was referring to her thirst for blood specifically, making sure to put emphasis on the word to make the message more clear. He let that question up to her to answer at her leisure as he then proceeded to practically devour the food before him, feeling hungrier by the minute. Inversely, he did also slowly regain some color in his cheeks as the blood was slowly renewed through the accelerated process. It was a crude method, but certainly effective all things considered. The downside being that he had to keep eating as if he were a pirahna, and probably looked a tad unsightly in front of Isabelle.

She watched him quietly as the hunger inside of her roared to drink his blood, to tear his throat open and feast on him. She quelled it as she felt her fangs grow and she nodded. "I am... Very thirsty Sugary. So very thirsty. But what kind of host would I be if I could not control my most basic urges?" She enquired with a morbid fascination as he devoured the food.

Eventually, Sugary had to slow down on both the pace he was eating at and the spell itself. The method was crude after all, and while it did accelerate the intended results, it still could not fully replicate natural process perfectly for him. Even so, he certainly felt much better than he did hours ago, though now he was quite full as though he had just done a competitive eating contest with himself. Were it not for the effects of the spell that helped digest the food somewhat faster, he might have passed out by now as much of the food had almost disappeared from the table.

He then took full notice of Isabelle's answer, being well aware it might come to this. So he tried to take the moment as calmly as he could while the effects kept wearing off within his body slowly. "... I thought as much... What you said about... not taking all my blood at once, but in smaller doses... What did you mean by it...?" He was once again wary of her, but no so much so as to show himself to be rejecting her in particular.