Thea could hear someone speaking to her, but in the darkness of her own mind she could not for the life of her comprehend what they were trying to say. Soon she was drifting through the air, goosebumps raising along her skin as the cool night air kissed her drenched body and slowly roused her. She was in someone's arms, and then placed upon something soft and covered, the warmth of the blanket making sigh in comfort as she was now protected from the cold around her body.

Her eyes opened slowly, and as the memories of where she had been before returned to her, Thea awoke with a start. It was the templar who had come to her rescue, evacuating her from the bath. The mage could only hear the templar's parting words carefully, catching but a glimpse of the shirtless warrior. Even in the dim light of the room she could see the defined muscles of the swordswoman's body, the smooth skin stretched taut over it, with rivulets of water running down Kaitlyn's body. The sight caused Thea's breath to catch in her throat - somewhere in the back of her mind a voice screamed that the templar was the natural enemy of mages like her; warned her that her reaction could be used against her in the Circle. Yet the flush of heat growing between her legs was drowning all protests.

The templar got dressed far too quickly and shook the mage back into a more rational frame of mind. She sat up demurely in the bed, holding the covers up to her chest, as if she had just done something shameful. "Thank you." She managed softly, weakly, still light-headed from being in the bath too long. "I apologise for my behaviour earlier. Neither of us has had a pleasant journey this far... and I don't want to be left alone."

For a woman like Thea, words came easy to her. The way she had finished her sentence was deliberately hinting at her desire. It was true that she loathed the thought of being left alone in that dim, empty room by herself after being separated from her clan, but she also desired the templar's company. The Keeper had always ensured she knew the risks of being discovered by men while she was alone. The clan occasionally traded with the humans, after all, and a lone woman near the edge of the forest might be mistaken as easy prey and abducted. It wasn't simply fear of something like that happening while the templar was outside that made Thea express her desire for the warrior to stay close.

Kaitlyn was a kindred spirit - she had lost Wendell the same day Thea lost the clan. She wanted someone by her side who could share in her grief and commiserate. It was ironic that that person would be the woman bringing her to her new prison, but for now Thea chose not to focus on that fact. Just for tonight, they could be two women who lost part of ther lives on the journey here and empathise with each other. Deciding to take the initiative, Thea got off the bed, walked over the bath where Kaitlyn was dressing herself, and picked up her own robe, confident that the templar wouldn't do anything. Before she had gotten dressed, however, Thea wrapped a hand around Kaitlyn's arm. "Stay. Please."

It was barely a whisper and betrayed how vulnerable she felt at that moment, but for once, her pride conceded to her grief and Thea wanted the templar there with her, if only to make sure there was someone to hold on to if she cried.