Akija most certainly didn't fix herself overnight-- not that Sentio had seriously thought that she would, though maybe a tiny part of him had hoped she would. She seemed almost more sluggish. The fact that Char had to wake her up wasn't a surprise, but that she didn't jump and freak when he yelled-- Sentio certainly did; he came running from his own bedroom, shirt only half-laced and his shoes still in his hand, to see what the problem was.

"Did you go to sleep like that?" the Fire was demanding. It turned out that the dark-magic she'd been holding onto was now coating her arm, from elbow to shoulder.

Akija merely regarded the shrouded limb with drowsy curiosity. "No."

Neither did she elaborate, in fact. As Sentio was still a bit sleepy, himself-- he hadn't slept well at all-- he was still speechless, so Char finally suggested, "Well, could you... put it away, or something? It's creeping me out."

She did, obediently, and both Char and Sentio went back to the morning routine of getting ready to go out, usually to class or apprenticeship at an hour like this, the former with an exasperated headshake to the latter before heading downstairs. Sentio just took a moment in the bathroom to dunk his head under the water-spelled sink faucet to make sure he was awake enough to see two feet ahead of him, much less on the ground below. Breakfast was rushed, with Sentio and Char eager to recruit some help and Akija with little appetite anyway, and it wasn't long before they were heading out, Kenjista trailing irritably along behind, complaining all the way. Char set a brisk pace, dragon-formed, and actually carried Akija so she didn't fall behind. Sentio had to trot, dragon-formed himself, to keep up with the hurrying Fire. He waved his tail briefly in passing at the few early-rising members of the clan out in the Watcher suburb lawns, each of whom gave the odd sight of two full-sized dragons in a hurry, unresponsive and over-dressed-- for the season-- Akija, and lagging Kenjista a long look. Well, Kenjista lagging wasn't such an odd sight, but the rest was.

It took some coaxing to get Akija off Char's back, which again was weird, but at least she did the knocking and Sentio could shift back down to something that didn't have to duck down to see inside the elder Watchers' house. At least there was no fear of waking the household. The Watchers were usually pretty busy, and often up early doing those various things that kept them busy. Chaith opened the door with a smile that faded into a faint frown almost immediately at the sight of her daughter.

"Since when do you go walking around carrying a load of shadow-magic, kitten?" she rumbled, one set of hands planted on her hips. "You're absolutely singing with it."

"Cacopheny's gone," Akija answered dully, as if that were all the explanation needed-- or as if she hadn't bothered to answer the question and just went straight to the purpose of their visit.

"Gone?" Chaith repeated, puzzled.

"We need... we need t'ask the clan t'help us look," Akija explained haltingly. "In the woods. To try and... follow his magic."

Well, if they'd wanted someone to notice Akija's odd behavior, Akija was doing a good enough job of exhibiting it to be noticed. Too bad they did have that slightly more important purpose to get to this morning, as well. "We looked yesterday," Sentio added worriedly behind her, "but couldn't find any trace. I don't even know which direction he's gone...."

Chaith's expression clouded, looking between daughter and dragon. "I'm going to assume that since you didn't come and tell us this yesterday, you don't think the Demoness is involved again?" she asked, her voice solemn.

"Goddess, no," Chario shivered. "We'd know if it was that."

"And he didn't block me out at all, then, but I'm totally blanked, now," Sentio put in.

"But Cacopheny left a-- a note," Char added. "'I'm sorry.' That's all."

"Hm. I see." Still frowning, Chaith half-turned back into the house, providing the group outside with a glimpse into the kitchen. Deiv wasn't there, but Aeta and a human-formed Onis were, looking over from their seats at the table with wide eyes. They'd heard everything.

"No chores today, boys," she told them.

"We can help look, right?" Aeta asked, already standing, as Onis blinked in surprise and then started gathering their plates.

Chaith nodded, and as Onis dealt with the breakfast dishes, she turned back and stepped out of the house, leaving the door open behind her. "I'll rally the others, then," she told Akija and the rest, striding past them towards the road.

"Watch your ears, Sentio," Char warned suddenly, turning his own back. Even Akija put a hand over each ear, watching her mother. Confused, Sentio put his hands tentatively over his ears and stepped back a couple paces, though he really didn't have any idea why. Was Chaith going to yell?

As it turned out, she was going to whistle: as soon as she was out of the house and on the thoroughfare proper, she let out a high, clear, and loud trio of blasts. Then another trio, like a signal or a code. At the very least, it caught everyone in the clan's attention, and people started into action almost immediately. Of the daemons already up and about, some of them jogged right over, others darted into houses to rouse others, and then they just started pouring out of houses. Even partly deafened, Sentio watched, amazed, at the reaction.

As the clan approached, Chaith turned to Akija. "Let's have some of that, kitten," she said, holding out a hand.

Still rubbing at her own ears, Akija frowned blankly. "Huh?"

"His magic," Chaith clarified. "Can't turn out the hounds without a scrap to sniff."

"Oh, right," Akija said belatedly, though it was a long second more before she actually lifted her own hand and coalesced a little ball of shadow on the palm. Chaith went to take it-- an actual, physical motion, putting her hand over it as if to grab it like a solid ball-- but it... it recoiled. Sentio stared as it actually flattened against Akija's hand, avoiding Chaith's touch, and even tried curling around Akija's fingers as if holding on.

"Now that's different," Chaith observed, though remarkably without confusion. Sentio was confused, though. He'd only known shadows and shadow-magic to behave strangely when Cacopheny himself was actually about to make it do to, or when he'd set it to some kind of task, like... well, maybe like sticking with Akija, though why would he have done that?

No matter why it was happening, Chaith wasn't about to put up with it. She put thumb and forefinger to the quivering pool of shadow and drew some out, long and thin like pulling sticky batter out of a bowl of the stuff. It took a minute to separate, but the bit Chaith had pulled off did finally settle in her grasp.

"You four can go get a head start now," the giant daemoness told them. "We'll be right behind you."

"Does, um, anyone want a ride, to go faster?" Sentio offered. "Char and Kenjista and I are going to be flying."

That got him a lot of surprised looks, but they weren't negatively surprised, he thought. He didn't think he could take more than one, maybe two if they were little, but between him, Chario, and Kenjista they could probably manage a good five or six of them. He sat back and waited impatiently while various Watchers conferred with Chaith, but in the end only one of them volunteered to the position. Well... maybe that was all right. Char was going to be carrying Akija, he was sure, and maybe getting Kenjista to consent to anybody at all would be hard.

"Think you could take Buram, here, and the boys?" Chaith asked, one hand on the newcomer's shoulder and the other beckoning Aeta and Onis out. They came, and quickly. "Cacopheny knows the boys, and--"

Buram, the "backwards" cousin with his hands and wings switched around, finished for Chaith: "And Uncle D will appreciate me going along with you lot."

"All right," Sentio said, nodding quickly. "Sure." He itched to be going, now that they actually seemed like they would be going. Surely with the daemons' help, they'd find him in no time. "Let me just shift back, and... I'll take Onis," he suggested, thinking that Aeta and tough-seeming Buram would be much better able to handle Kenjista than soft-spoken Onis.

Onis nodded shyly as Sentio changed forms again, Char ushered Akija back up onto his own back, and Buram looked up at Kenjista amiably. "Leaving me and my cuz with the lovely black lady, all right," he said, and she gave him a funny look, neck arched and crest raised with interest.

At least she let him and Aeta climb up, using her forearm as a step up, even if it was with a reluctant huff and a, ::Fine, whatever.:: She did look sour as the two settled between her wings, though she didn't actually protest.

"Thanks, Kenjista," Sentio told her, honestly grateful that she wasn't putting up more of a fight about this. With Onis up on his own back-- an unfamiliar sensation; Cacopheny almost never did anything like that-- they could finally go and get back to searching.

Chario's thanks went to the rest of the daemons. "Thanks Chaith-- everybody," he said, nodding at the crowd. "We'll see you out there."

Sentio smiled as best as he could at the Watcher clan, then crouched down, told Onis to hold on, and bounced eagerly into the air. They had to find him, with so many people looking, now....

... except they didn't. At the end of the day, Sentio felt even more discouraged than he had the night before. There had been hints, the daemons said, but small, scattered, and not really pointing in any direction except vaguely south. None of them had turned up a source of magic large enough to have been left by Cacopheny for more than a second or two, and most of them were so far from Sanctuary that he had to have been teleporting to go that far in the span of a day. Onis, who was getting to be a pretty good telepath, didn't sense the cracked mind anywhere within range, even when at their farthest south from Sanctuary. All in all, it didn't bode well for finding him any time soon-- nor did it bode well for where he might have been going. What was "south" except... more demons?

It also didn't bode well that Buram spent as much time looking at Akija in thoughtful confusion and concern as he did watching the ground for Cacopheny. When they were within sight of Kenjista and Chario, anyway. If the daemons were confused about her behavior, her family, what if nobody could explain it?

That didn't mean, though, that Sentio wasn't determined to ask. By the time they returned to the city and the Watcher clan village just outside of it, he had decided to try and corner Buram first. He even forewent dinner-- he'd eaten the night before, and that morning, and he really felt too sick with worry to eat, anyway-- to approach him, once Onis had dismounted and he, himself, had shrunk down to a more reasonable size.

Buram was saying his thanks and good-byes to Kenjista, which went better than they could have gone. The Bonder daemon hadn't been happy about spending the day working, still, but she didn't throw any temper-tantrums, nor did she say anything terribly hurtful or even all that mean. Buram had handled her well. "Thanks again for the transportation, dear," he was saying, smiling. "We appreciate it."

::Welcome, I guess,:: she muttered reluctantly. Her eyes found him. ::I'm going home, Sentio,:: she told him.

"I'll be there in a few minutes. Thanks, Kenjista." Even though they hadn't found anything, he still felt like he owed her a good back-scratching, or something. He'd have tried for something tasty to eat, but Akija was the best cook in the house, and... well, he doubted she'd be in the mood to help him. Chario had already taken her home as a lost cause for any socialization after the day's hunt.

"Hullo, Buram," Sentio said, a little shyly, to the older daemon, once Kenjista was out of earshot. "Thanks for helping, and for putting up so well with her." He inclined his head in Kenjista's direction with an apologetic smile.

One wing waved in amiable dismissal, while his hands were busy trying to get his hair back into some semblance of order. It was definitely odd to watch.... "Oh, I've had to handle bigger brats than her before," he answered but, after a glance in Kenjista's direction, he added, "Metaphorically speaking, of course."

"Er, of course," Sentio agreed. It was hard to imagine Buram having to handle anyone bigger than Kenjista.

Buram looked back at him. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Er," Sentio said again. "I noticed you were... well, watching Akija. You saw she was acting really weird, right? Not like herself at all?"

"Not in the slightest," Buram agreed. His gaze wandered off again as he thought, and his wing-fingers waved at him idly-- who knew why. "Tell me," the daemon began, "when did that behavior start?"

"That, exactly?" Sentio shrugged. "When Cacopheny left. But she'd been pretty weird, before that, too, just not so-- so-- despondent, I guess. Before he left, it was just tense and awkward. That happened because Cacopheny, er, kissed her."

Though Buram had looked interested during the entire explanation, when Sentio said "kissed her" he actually choked. Not on water or food or anything, since he wasn't eating or drinking, but on air, or a laugh that didn't quite make it out, or-- something. But he was definitely choking. Before Sentio could pound him on the back in alarm, he recovered with a cough, still openly surprised.

"Wait, really?" he said when he'd recovered. "When Tall-Dark-and-Demonic left?" Sentio frowned a bit at the obvious "nickname" for his bond, but didn't comment. Maybe later, when it wasn't so serious. All he did was nod. "Well, now," Buram mused, looking away again and pressing one folded wing to his mouth, like one might do with a real hand. Sentio crossed his arms across his chest, starting to get a little impatient.

"Geez, this would almost be funny," Buram said at last, "if we had a half-demon to bring back to her."

"What would almost be funny?" Sentio asked with as much politeness as he could manage. He didn't see anything at all funny about Cacopheny missing and Akija-- pining, or whatever she was doing, and he found it even less funny after two days of tiring, disappointing, fruitless searching.

"If I'm actually right, here," Buram answered absently, "you'll have to keep an eye on her. She could get very, badly sick if she doesn't bounce back on her own fairly soon. Uncle D and I already guessed that Tall-- Cacopheny," he amended at Sentio's annoyed expression, "was in love, or something like it, but...." Sentio stared at him at the very idea, but he continued, "Of all the problems we thought that might cause, we didn't think Akija reciprocating would be one of them."

Putting aside the incredulity of Cacopheny being "in love"-- Cacopheny tended to avoid the word "love" as if it were cursed, in fact-- Sentio asked in confusion, "Why would that be a problem? Wouldn't that, you know, be better? --Not that I think she does. She pretty firmly told him no when he kissed her, from what Char says." Though Chario had seemed pretty confused about that reaction, too, he remembered now. Was it possible?

"Well, sure she would, she's Akija," Buram said, as if that explained everything-- which it didn't. If you were in love with someone, why wouldn't you want to kiss them? Isn't that what in-love people did?

Not that Sentio knew anything about that, personally, of course.

"But," Buram was saying, the knuckles of his wing tapping against his chin, and then his lips when he wasn't speaking, "does she not strike you as heartsick? I don't think she's ever been anything but a fireball, except perhaps when she was very small." Sentio forbore to mention that he had no idea what someone "heartsick" was like, because he couldn't remember ever having been in a situation at all like this one. He didn't exactly have hordes of friends. Oblivious, Buram continued, "So for her to become someone so different, so rapidly, tells me she is heartsick. Were it anything else, surely she would be racing off into the woods in determination, rather than having to be shepherded along by Chario, no?"

"Well... yeah," Sentio agreed tentatively, "the last time he vanished on us, she was right out there with me, looking for him and talking him into coming home. But why should that change just because she's in love?"

"Because love changes everything," Buram said, again with that maddeningly explanatory air that actually explained nothing, "even if you don't know you're in it. And knowing Akija? She either doesn't, or is denying it, which, along with her still being young, might help her recover faster." As he paused to consider this, Sentio stared at him. Recover? How did you "recover" from being "in love"? What was there to recover from? "Or maybe it would just make things harder," Buram mused. "Can you get over something if you don't know what's making you sick?"

"Making her sick?" Sentio repeated incredulously. "Excuse me, Buram, but you're not making any sense at all. Why would she be sick? Lovesick isn't the same thing as really being sick."

"What? Of course it is, didn't your parents ever tell you--" Buram stopped himself, giving Sentio a look as if he was only just now seeing him. He stared for a moment, then clapped himself in the forehead with his wing-palm-- Sentio had to lean back to avoid being smacked with an opening tine-- and exclaimed, "Of course they didn't. I'm sorry, Sentio. Of course a dragon wouldn't know why love can be so bad for daemons. Where do I need to start over?"

"Why it's bad for daemons to be in love," Sentio said weakly, feeling very confused, but at least expecting a real answer, now. "And what, exactly, is happening to Akija."

"As a whole," Buram answered, "our kind does not love. It simply doesn't happen to us because it's too dangerous. When a daemon falls in love--" He paused, waving a wing in little circles, like a hand, as he searched for the word he wanted. "--it changes us, inside. Like wine does a man who drinks too much of it a day, except love doesn't necessarily hurt us. If it goes well, it just makes us happy: happy to be around the one we love, happy to do things that make them happy, sometimes happy even just to think of them, if the addiction is deep enough."

Already Sentio had a sinking feeling in his stomach, and not just because that seemed horrible-- to be unable to love, because it addicted you. Buram frowned, looking away again as he continued. "But if it goes wrong, it makes us sick, like I think Akija's gotten. It's too unlike her to be anything else I can think of. But we get sick because we are suddenly without something we are addicted to, and she may either get over it, like you can shake off a cold, if she is not too badly in love... but a simple cold can turn into the flu, too."

"Goddess," Sentio groaned. "I see what you mean. That does sound like what's happening. Why couldn't she just have said that... I bet he'd never have left, then."

"I think," Buram hazarded, "she doesn't even know she is. Akija is the last Watcher I would've imagined falling in love. Uncle D thought the same. Some daemons think love is a nice idea, even with the risks. Others are like Akija: they think it's stupid, impossible, and ignore the idea."

That made sense. It also explained her pushing away Cacopheny, and how awkward they were together afterwards. "So what do we do?" he asked helplessly. "What should we expect, if-- if it takes us a while to find him?" He refused to say the first, pessimistic thought that came to mind: that they might never find him.

Buram just shrugged, looking more concerned than thoughtful, now. "Either she'll shake it off, or she'll get sicker before she gets better-- and if she gets sicker, the only thing you can do is take care of her the same way you'd take care of anyone else who got sick. There's really nothing else that can be done. You can't make her... well, get over him."

"Right, right," Sentio sighed. He, for one, was going to hope they found him. "Could you, er, talk to her parents about this?" He had no idea how to broach the subject, himself, and he already had to explain to Char. "Just so they know?"

Buram nodded. "After today, I imagine Chaith suspects, but yes, I'll definitely be telling Uncle D what I saw, watching her today. And you make sure you tell them if she does get worse instead of better."

"Of course," Sentio promised. "I wouldn't know what to do, myself, anyway... thank you, Buram."

Again he nodded. "You just keep an eye on her for us. After all the looking out she did for your lot, with that demoness and all, maybe it was only time before she needed looking-after, herself."

Sentio blushed. He didn't like thinking about that; he'd been such a horrible coward, and it still seemed like a nightmare, even after five years. "Maybe," he agreed at a mumble. "We'll look out for her. Good night, Buram."

"Good night, Sentio."

And Sentio turned, heading back to the house, trying the whole way to figure out just how to tell Char that his bond could very well get sick because she loved someone.