[@Hokum]

[i]'Smells like brimstone and molten steel, something similar to the excavations at Aryali'[/i]

Ren thought to himself whilst he whiffed at the soot of elder ash.  His eyes examined the ash staining his fingertips before they trailed around the shattered barks and broken branches of the surrounding trees.  The entire setup reminded him of moths foolishly slamming themselves against the lamp in an attempt to touch an unreachable fire until they incinerated themselves in their folly.  The ominous windless chimes on the wide-brimmed hat on top of the massive skull unnerved the lad when the subtle metallic clicks brought back fading memories of the temple bell plummeting to the earth with a resounding toll-- a grim knell echoing through the ruins and rubble of Nadska to serve as a reminder what befell those who stood in the path of the damned.

Was this another warning?

Most probably.

Ren observed Devlin's heightened guard, her body tensing in an anticipated confrontation.  This moment of relapse allowed Ren to think back on the woman's words a few moments ago.  She had mentioned something about bearing his child, and when those words danced through the lad's ears, he briefly wondered whether that phrase meant differently from where Devlin came from.  His cheeks had flushed red at that point, like, they have not yet even had a proper courtship yet.  No normal female in their proper mind would ever wish to bear the child of a man they only met for a day, but then again, as Ren watched her talking to the mystery stalking them, the lad smiled knowingly-- Devlin was far from normal (if her rather erratic ways of skipping the stages of romance was any indicator of it).

And, that made her great.

Snapping his focus back on the task at hand, he returned Devlin's commanding gaze with a slight nod before slowly prodding over a few feet behind the rogue.  He knelt on one knee before watching the woman's blind spots at her back, just in case whoever Devlin was talking to decided to have a more...  aggressive diplomatic solution.  The point of his toes dug deep into the soil as Ren gripped the hilt of his sabre, even though his knowledge in the way of the sword was practically non-existent.

Devlin's decision to call out to whatever spawn of Morru pranced within the shadows of the woods was shaky at best, and Ren could not help but feel that this would end in another scrap for them.  They barely survived in the siege at Nadska, and now, she was courting Death again with those feisty eyes of hers.

A creeping sense of dread climbed up Ren's spine, making the lad shudder in subtle terror.  The chimes echoing in the background serenading Devlins' voice as she continued to call out to the darkness surrounding them.  His free hand snaked its way out of the sleeves of his tattered habit, his fingers held up close to the exposed flesh on Devlin's sides, caused by the tears inflicted on the woman's attire in the siege of Nadska.  One could never be too prepared.

He raised his hand up at Devlin as she looked at him over her shoulders.  With his fingers pointing to himself and then to his eyes before gesturing towards Devlin's backside, Ren wanted her to always remember this day where she did not stand alone.  And, hopefully, she would never need to again.

[i]"I watch your back."[/i]