Hugh nodded his head slightly. Weakly. He looked out of breath. Worn out, perhaps both physically and mentally. He smelled like he'd been running a lot. Without saying much, he fished his hand into his jacket pocket, withdrew a small silver key, and handed it out to Eld.

"H-- Hugh?" Kyla asked as she stood, finding it difficult to do without feeling light headed, but doing her very best to not make this seem obvious.

She did a surprisingly good job, undone only by the fact that she had to hold onto the arm of the couch to keep herself standing.

"Here," Hugh said, before releasing another deep, exasperated sigh. "This is all you need, now. Just . . . just set it by her heart. That's all you need to do."

And with that, Hugh's body weight got the most of him and he slid down against the door, down upon his bottom. He was utterly exhausted.

Eld took the key Hugh offered him and gave him a puzzled look until he explained it, at which point his heart started pounding as hard as it ever had. "R-Really?" He looked down at the key he held in awe. It was almost too good to be true, but he did not get any impression that Hugh was trying to deceive him in any way.

This is Etsu's identity...it's what I need to save her life. To think that such a humble looking thing could be so important. He needed to keep it somewhere safe, far safer than just a pocket or a place in his backpack. It needed to be with him at all times. He could think of only one thing; he removed his necklace and undid the clasp, winding it through the loop of the key so it hung alongside the red gem on it, close to his own heart.

He looked back to Hugh, his expression overflowing with gratitude and awe; in fact, he was nearly moved to tears. "I...t-thank you! From the bottom of my heart...no, my very soul." He bowed to this man who had effectively saved the life of the girl he loved, and bowed deeper than he had ever done to anyone in his life. "I can't give you the scythe...but if there is anything else I can do for you, anything at all, just say the word."

"It . . . it's fine," Hugh said as he raised his hand, shaking his head, "I get the feeling you'd have done the same for Kyla and me, so . . . don't worry about it."

Still sitting against the door, he'd pretty much blocked Eld's way out should he have wanted to leave. Not like he was trying, of course. It was unlikely Eld was going to want to run off in his state right now, anyways. He looked like a man that needed some more rest. And some food and water.

"Though, I guess . . . thinking about it . . ." he paused to grin, "I might look you up someday. I mean, I did just get run down by the scariest guy in Memoria. I'd say that's a favor earned."

"R-run down?" Kyla asked from across the room, her voice shaken.

Maybe it was anxiety. Maybe something else. Hugh wasn't looking; he could only assume it was the former. There was no reason for there to be anything else wrong, anyways. He'd mostly covered all necessary bases.

"Oh. Yeah," he shrugged his shoulders, dropping the act, "I stole that from him. He, uh, he wasn't so okay with that. Understandable, I guess."

"O-Oh." No wonder Hugh looked so worn out; he guessed Illorex hadn't tried to attack him, but he may well have chased him a good long while. He certainly didn't seem like the type to give up easily.

While objectively he needed rest before another journey, the weight of what he was trying to accomplish blinded him to this. "P-Perhaps I should be going," he suggested, looking around to see if his bag and scythe (and shirt) were in sight.

Not only did he want to ensure Etsu was safe, but he really didn't want to be here if Illorex came around looking for Hugh. While he was willing to believe he wouldn't attack Hugh and Kyla, he was still fairly certain he'd be attacked on sight himself, given the way Illorex had behaved back in Hillcrest.

"No, no," Hugh waved Eld off, motioned him towards the couch, "Stay, it's fine. You still look pretty bad. You won't make it back to Hillcrest in your state."

"Y-you're okay, then? Hugh?" Kyla asked shakily.

Hugh nodded his head. "Yeah. Yeah. It was fine when he was civil. I managed to talk him into letting me go. With the key."

"O-oh. So . . . so he's not still chasing you? Or . . . or after . . .?"

This time, Hugh shook his head. "No. We're all fine."

Or after me. Kyla was no idiot either; for all that she knew Illorex wouldn't attack her and Hugh, he doubted she could guarantee that he wouldn't attack him. It wouldn't do any of them much good if he was out for blood, regardless of whose blood it was.

On the conclusion that he wasn't going to be imminently attacked, he checked himself over. It was hard to tell just how bad off he was since he was still bandaged up everywhere, but he was definitely lacking in energy. Rescuing Etsu's identity would be for naught if he just collapsed on his way back from injury and exhaustion.

"You're probably right. U-Umm...thank you. I won't stay long, and I'll try not to be much of a bother." He gave another, smaller bow. He really didn't want to put them out any, but he didn't have much choice. There would be no saving the day for him if he didn't regain some of his strength.

"It's fine," Hugh said again.

Finally, he groaned a bit and forced himself to stand. It felt like his whole body was falling apart. He'd run so much, fought his way through, that he must have forced his body beyond its limit. Doing any more wasn't much of an option for him. He could have just gone straight to sleep should his head hit a pillow. Despite that, though, he caught the image of Kyla out of the corner of his eyes, how tired she looked and how she had trouble standing.

"Kyla?"

She perked her head up. "Y-yes?"

"Are ... are you okay?"

"I ..." she trailed off, only to nod her head weakly, "yes, I ... I'm just tired ..."

Eld regarded Kyla with a frown, but he couldn't blame her too much. He hoped she'd talk to Hugh about it before too long, but he understood that even if she did she'd probably want to wait until he wasn't around.

"Are you alright, Hugh?" he asked, hopefully changing the subject and also bringing up something he'd finally noticed. "You look really beat." Hugh seemed almost in worse shape than he did...well, energy wise, at least. He didn't have any wounds that he could see, so at least he didn't seem to be injured.

"Yeah," he said again, nodded, and smiled some, "Just need to rest."

Much like Kyla, it seemed, though perhaps for different reasons. Hugh, at the very least, had reason to be so exhausted. Being run down by Illorex . . . it was, well, it was a stressful situation. One he didn't wish upon anyone else, ever. Still, he was tired, Kyla was tired. Eld was probably still tired, too. If there was such a thing as night, day, or any cycle in-between in their unreal city, it would probably be the former right about now.

"Hey, Eld?" Hugh asked as he picked himself up from the floor, "Mind if Kyla and I get some sleep? She looks about as beat as I am."

At this Kyla smiled weakly. "I-I-- y-yes, rest would help, yes."

Eld shook his head. "Go ahead. I should probably get some sleep too." Being knocked out by a blow to the head wasn't quite the same thing as sleeping; he was still exhausted. It was lucky that this place didn't do the same thing to him that being Purgatory for a long time did, or he likely wouldn't stand a chance of getting back.

"Just...one more thing. Can I get my scythe and pack?" Before he nodded off he wanted to make sure Kageko was alright (even if he still couldn't talk to her). Hopefully they wouldn't have a problem with him keeping her nearby; while he trusted them not to do anything like go behind his back and steal her, if someone came looking for him here he wanted her nearby, even if it was just to grab her and run.

Plus, he had some supplies in his pack--a little food would be nice.

For the moment, Kyla and Hugh didn't say anything, both debating their reservations and the conclusions they'd made recently. The Reaper, they'd both found in their own ways, killed mostly in self defense or in the defense of others. Provided they weren't fighting him or giving him any reason to show them aggression, it was fine if he had the scythe. Neither Hugh nor Kyla had any intentions on getting into a fight with him.

"I don't see why not," Hugh shrugged his shoulders.

Unfortunately, he didn't know where they were. He wasn't the one that knocked Eld clean unconscious. That was . . . well . . .

"Kyla?"

"O-oh!" Kyla exclaimed, then pointed towards the door to the kitchen, "Everything should be in there. Your pack and your scythe, I mean . . ."

And that being said, Hugh started ahead, towards the kitchen. His goal was the hall to the right, however. "Our room's just down this way," he noted, "If you need anything, feel free to knock."

Kyla walked shakily behind Hugh, pausing only to nod her head to Eld to say "sleep well," before following Hugh down the hall, back to their room.

Eld nodded his appreciation, though he doubted he would bother them. He was causing them enough trouble just by being here, no doubt. As soon as he felt well enough to make the journey home, he'd leave; Illorex might not attack them, but that didn't mean there wouldn't be trouble if anyone else found out they were being friendly to him.

He did not stay up much longer; just enough to have a bit of food and drink from his pack and bring it and the scythe over to the couch. Truthfully he wasn't sure if he should even bother to sleep, as if he couldn't talk to Kageko then it stood to reason she couldn't protect him from the nightmares that otherwise plagued him.

But he had to try; his body needed rest, even if his mind would not be granted a similar reprieve. With any luck, nightmares or no, he'd be back home tomorrow, with both Kageko and Etsu safe. There was honestly little else he could ask for anymore.

Little did he know that where fate is involved, luck held little sway...