It hurt more than any bite or scratch had hurt. Even those he wore now, warm with beads of blood, seemed like pleasure compared to the hole within him that had once been his family. It was not only his mother gone, after all. Naberius had been taken from him and whereas that had been easy enough to ignore or hold back, the disappearance of his sister on top of his mother's had created a rift within him. It seemed that some force - somebody, something - was intent to take it all away from him. When would that come for her? The mere thought of it was but another painful, jagged stab in his stomach, a twisting knife that did not show signs of stopping.

The moment they had drawn close, he wished for nothing more than to be able to slip into nothingness and sleep within her very soul. There, it was warm and safe. For whatever reason, he had been unable to escape her and yet, now he found no part of him resisting that connection. Instead, he wanted to embrace it, become it, live it. He wanted every part of her, and he could not bring himself to recoil from her touch even as his mother's teachings echoed within him. What kind of emotion could trump that? What kind of feeling could trump even the feeling of care and loyalty for one's own family? He did not understand it but he knew he accepted it, at least. That was enough for now. It was enough to keep him strong.

He nodded as she spoke, though the gravity of her words seemed as light as a feather, or like the wind itself. No part of him imagined her with him; he could not imagine her there killing with him. He wanted to protect that innocence even if it was not the way of his kind. It kept her sweet and warm like the summer - he did not wish to blemish it. Instead, he drew her in closer with minutes seemingly passing like seconds as he slowed his breathing, his breath no longer jagged across her skin. Slowly but surely, he began to regain some sense of self before he spoke, his brows furrowed.

"If we found them, they could hurt you."

He observed it as a matter of fact, his voice as plain as ever - he had no question it would be the case. If they had killed his mother than they would surely not hold back when it came to somebody like her. If they knew... the connection... they'd want to sever it. Had they done it to hurt Andras? His eyes narrowed in thought.

"My father... failed her. I will not fail you. Nobody will hurt you. I will find them and I will make sure."

This time, his voice echoed with determination as he stood back, speaking the words to her as his eyes held onto hers. He'd never been so serious before and already, he began to imagine the faces of all those that might have meant them harm.