Josephine stood dumbounded as the monsters began to emerge from the fog.  Wait?  Now she had to leave the only place she'd ever considered home?  There was a tug on her arm coming from a figure that she had failed to even acknowledge the existence of since leaving the bridge.  Her eyes moved to him as she resisted the pull, terror filling them as she realized it was Kael.  "Wh-what..?"  She asked, "No...  No!  Let go of me!"  She shouted, yanking her arm away violently as she took a step away.

"Josephine, this is no time to lose sight of yourself.  You need to move," Lydia ordered without wavering.

"I...  I can't go.  Let me fight!"

"You're in no condition, don't let your father's death go to waste and leave this place.  You're going to get both of you killed!"

Her father.  Josephine looked at the shack, "F-fine...  But...  I need something first..."  She dashed toward the workshop before anybody could argue.  She burst through the doors and down the hall to Edmund's old library.  When she reached the theshold to the study, she froze as her stomach dropped.  While she was here in this room earlier tonight, that man was out fighting for his Kael's life... and losing.  She had been powerless to it.  Without realizing it, tears had started rolling once more over her cheeks.  Hadn't her eyes run out of tears yet?  The girl sniffled once and wiped her eyes on her sleeve before stepping inside - the book was still out.  She slammed it shut and shoved it unceremoniously into her bag.  She needed something that held... him, his essence, for herself.

Walking out of the doors again, she could still see that the Scourge Beasts were on the prowl, perhaps waiting for one to attack before the rest pounced in.  They were sizing up their prey and Lydia was clearly their biggest challenge.  Kael grabbed her again and began dragging her along, though Lydia clearly didn't seem too pleased with the girl's behavior.  Luckily, they were still able to wind through the streets and find a stopping point quite a while later.  After everything that had happened that morning and the very little sleep they'd had, Josephine was finally starting to feel the wear and tear of the day.  They both finally started to slow down and Kael stopped, taking a seat on the ground.

He began to blather on, but Josephine was busy, snapping branches from a nearby dead tree which had likely once been a decoration for the land.  The girl stacked them up and knelt down, reaching her hand into the pile of leaves and sticks; this fire wouldn't burn long, but it didn't need to go for more than a little bit anyway.  She concentrated, snapping her fingers and bringing a small, flickering blaze to life, which quickly caught and spread to the rest of the pile.  Taking a few steps back and leaning against a wall, Josephine removed her sword and placed it against the wall just beside her.  She pushed her bangs out of her face, sneering as she finally looked at Kael.

"After what happened today and yesterday, I don't see how it's possible for you to do anything but get me killed.  You're an impatient, reckless, self-absorbed, lazy hunter who has no regard for a situation beyond his own glory," She stated firmly, her lips curling slightly in contempt as she sighed and shook her head.  "Plus, I already tried to kill you, clearly if I wanted you dead, you would be by now.  But that's exactly why I'm not leaving you right here to waste away into nothingness.  It's more than obvious that you need somebody to teach you what Master Edmund tried so hard to."  She gradually shed the backpack from her back and unstrapped Edmund's Chikage, which was wrapped in a blood-spattered cloth, before placing it alongside the bag.  After opening the largest pocket of the sack, she retrieved the worn, leather-bound book from the study and tossed it at Kael.

"Here, it's about fifteen pages into that, I think.  I don't think it's much of a question whether he was my father, he would never be so focused if it were not a fact."  She stuck her tongue inside of her cheek briefly, shaking her head, "You know...  I...  I really hate you right now," The woman began, refusing to meet his gaze.  "And I don't feel like I'll ever get over that.  But...  After everything, I can't let you die.  Like it or not, you're a living part of him, and I'm not going to abandon you.  He knew the risk he was taking...  That doesn't mean I'm okay with what you've done."

She opened her palms to the fire.  They were pretty warm from the adrenaline and all the work of the day, but the air had a bit of a bite to it.  The woman crouched low to get closer to the flames, still staring ahead.  Knowing that Edmund was gone forever was still setting in, but she hadn't known their relationship until today so...  At least she'd never [i]known[/i] him as a father.