Lady of the Pale Sands [Invite]

Nadežda glanced over to the sands ahead to behold something quite unusual. It appeared to be Sae but with a few key differences. A tail, something he hadn’t seen on her before, waving in rhythm to her steps as she approached. From it, a glow as if a light or beacon in the dark. ”Possibly not the best choice of attention to portray…” Nadežda thought to himself as he continued to observe the girl’s approach. He knew of a few hollows in his time who were keenly attracted to such lights. Strange as they were, the creatures were less often prey and more often of the predator variety.

”It is as you say. Regrettably I’ve little that I do outside of necessity lest it peaks my own interests. To bend to the interests of another once in a while is a welcomed reprieve from my daily norms.” Nadežda spoke matter-of-fact in response to the girl’s words. The old Hollow cocked his head a little to the right, examining the human girl’s form and the differences in her presence. “Strange… I sense a strength coming from you which I haven’t felt much until now. Is it just me or is there something about this place which grants you humans an increased rate of growth? Even the girl I sensed and observed from a distance within Las Noches seemed to grow at an astonishing rate…” Nadežda’s honest curiosity shown on the features of his illusory face.

”Tired… perhaps because of whatever it was which gave you those injuries?” Nadežda noted, pointing out the visible scrapes and scratches. “Could it possibly have something to do with this newfound strength I sense within you young Sae?” The Hollow inquired, sitting down next to the girl before also assuming a position on his back near her. It was a significant gesture from the Hollow. Rarely would he ever relax in such a way around another, yet he felt no need to worry, no fear that Sae might turn on him. While the girl may have a history of dark dealings, and was by no means normal as humans considered the notion. She did seem to have a handle on herself, on what she was.

Nadežda turned his head to the Fullbringer girl’s direction at her mention of a Vasto Lorde. Met. And yet all she sustained from the encounter were the injuries upon her body…? It was truly frightening what humans could accomplish within the most dire of situations. Perhaps his old master had relied a bit too heavily on his presence in her life… Closing his eyes the old Hollow shoved the cursed memories from his mind. His life’s master would have been better without holding onto such cruel memories. Yet it seemed now that she’d remembered those details and allowed them to control her existence in the afterlife... Vasto Lorde… It was something to think about. That Sae could handle herself against such an opponent and survive... In itself it was quite a feat. But then not all Vasto Lorde are created equal. He himself could have become one by now if he’d so desired it…

And a Quincy… Nadežda opened his eyes again to this second statement. Had she encountered both at once? But if that were the case then that meant the Quincy would have been roaming or hunting within Hueco Mundo… Most Vasto Lorde had no real reason to enter into the human realm so the chances of an encounter there would be negligible. That and Sae’s desire to remain within Hueco Mundo, strongly suggested the sighting had taken place in this realm.

Sitting up, Nadežda observed the additional injuries the girl pointed out to him. A friendly encounter with a Vasto Lorde… Depending on the Vasto, his own encountering of one would be far from a joyous endeavor. Leave it to a human girl to be able to befriend such a beast. Truly astounding.

”It is quite fortunate for you to have survived such an encounter. If it’d been myself or any other hollow, the results might have been significantly different.” Nadežda pondered Sae’s explanation of the hollow’s behavior for a moment in silence.”A very fortunate encounter. I don’t know of any Hollow who would risk themselves to save a mortal life…” Clambering to his hands and knees, Nadežda positioned himself over the human girl. His actions likely startling or confusing the girl but he didn’t seem to notice if this were true. ”There are many oddities in any world where you may reside. Whether the beings here in this world are related to you in some way, or not. Each individual may hold onto things or people they find familiar. Some even retain memories of those from their living past. It is vaguely possible that this Vasto Lorde you encountered is one such entity.”

Nadežda let his words sink into the girl’s brain for a moment, staring into Sae’s eyes. He paused, contemplating their position. Oh this was an old and familiar position for him, perhaps not for the reasons Young Sae would have considered, but still familiar to him all the same. She was a very serious girl. Sure he was serious most of the time but seeing her like this, a strange sense of obligation seemed to be welling up from within Nadežda’s being. Leaning in close, the Hollow’s illusory feminine forehead nearly touched upon the girl’s own. Unless Sae looked away, there would be no avoiding eye contact with each other. With one swift movement, Nadežda’s head moved and his tongue threaded along the girl’s cheek. Oh how he’d missed being the wolf that he was in life. If Sae showed any sign of alarm or confusion, Nadežda would simply give a half smile and say; ”You seemed kind of down… but I must admit… doing that felt kind of odd with this present form of mine…” He stated, while quietly noting to himself that using his Illusory wolf form next time would likely be more fitting given the situation they were in. "Familiarity comes in many forms young Sae. If something felt familiar to you during this encounter of yours, then it's likely best not to completely ignore it, though I would advise extreme caution when dealing with those of the Vasto Lorde variety."