Kin Chronicles Realm: Betrayal of the Guardians

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Kiana finally let out a groan of frustration, impatience, and restlessness. Pushing herself up off the floor, she walked over to the window near her. When she got to it, she opened it up and looked down at the alley below. She narrowed her eyes then walked over to the bad and grabbed her staff before walking back to the window. Carefully, she climbed down to the alley from the third floor and landed softly on the cobblestone. Pulling her hood up, she walked down the alley. When she rounded the corner, she almost ran into somebody who was leaning against the front wall of the inn right next to the corner. Looking up to see who she had almost run into, she saw that it was the guy she had been talking to before. "Well, hey there, little earth-cat. Did you sneak out just to see me?" He said, one of those smirks on his face. "Don't call me that. I didn't even know you were here." She responded. "And I didn't sneak out." The guy leaned around her to look down the alley and shook his head as he straightened back up. "I see you coming from an alley and an open third-floor window in said alley. I'd say you're lying." He said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not lying. It's just more interesting to climb down a wall than walk down some stairs." She said and received an unconvinced look in response. "They're not going to notice I'm gone and even if they do, they won't care." The guy shrugged. "So what's your name anyway?" He asked her curiously. She pondered whether she should answer him or not, but decided there was no harm in it. "Kiana. You?" She looked up at him. "Kiana...hmm...that's a good name. I'm still going to call you little earth-cat though." He said and she rolled her eyes & waited to hear his names. "Name's Adam. So what were you planning on doing after your escape?" He smirked. "I told you I wasn't--ugh, nevermind. I don't know, probably just walk around." She said, looking away from Adam and down the street. "Well, come on, I'll keep you company." Adam said, still smirking. Kiana was going to protest but didn't see much of a point in it so she just nodded and they started to walk along the street together. Adam pointed stuff out sometimes but generally they both stayed quiet as they walked.

[White Wolf Guardian]

*The wolf snuck out into the dark after finding little of anything of interest around* "Well probably gonna go for another night study, that would be fun. Just like that time I was working on that invisibility trick that didn't really work out and Drevo saw me, which sucked. However there's another chance now with Korius, Kiana, and Kitt busy. Drevo should stay away and just do some ninja stuff or something... okay time to find a better hiding spot." *White walked along outside and creeped around like he was up to no good, searching for his secret place*

[KittKat chunky~]

Kitt raised an eyebrow curiously "So you where part of clan Esha... And a Gaia Knight Captain?" He smirked and shifted over until he was sat at the edge of the bed.

"You have lived the life of two men, if not more, it would seem. But... ah, I was wondering if..." Kitt clenched and unclenched his fists around the folds of the bedspread, and by now he was sitting on the very edge of the bed, leaning forward as if in anticipation "Well, I've only ever met one person from clan Esha before, and she wasn't much help." He sighed and glanced up at the barkeep with a faint air of desperate hope "I was wondering if you might have known someone by the name of Katarina Esha?   We-   I am trying to find her."

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

The barkeep frowned at the sound of the name and sighed as he sheathed the sword, "So you ARE her son. I saw it in your eyes, but I thought it was just the darkness of night playing tricks on me. You better stay seated, son." The barkeep pulled up one of the elegant chairs that was placed next to the vanity mirror, and sat down on it. "I never thought I'd live to see this day, but here I am. I raised your mother in the clan, and trained her very well. But when the Betrayal happened, I heard she was one of the many hunted down and captured. However, I have no idea if those rumors were true or not, but I am too old to go out to look for her. Having as marvelous of a past as I do, I haven't held a sword since before the Betrayal. If you wish to find her, don't give up, and search anywhere and everywhere you can, something I cannot do." He patted the child on the head and was about to leave when he noticed the bulky, crossbow-shaped bulge in Kitt's bag. "So you've chosen to be Gloria's new owner, huh? She's a fine crossbow, created by and named after the founder of the Esha Clan. It was made especially for Von Dikenschtein when he volunteered to join up with the other Guardians to destroy the Dark One all those millennium ago. And here's my parting gift for you." The barkeep turned back around to Kitt and took off his chain necklace, hanging it around Kitt's neck. He then turned around and left out the door. Before closing the door, he spoke without turning around, "My name's Varmous. It warms this old man's heart to see his own grandson. Do me proud, boy. Find my little girl and tell her that I love her, and that I'm proud of her." With that, he shut the door and headed downstairs. Varmous threw some money onto the reception desk and talked with the manager of the Inn. Afterward, he walked out and disappeared.

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Kiana continued to walk around the town with Adam. Their conversation stayed casual. That is, until Adam decided to bring up a subject she didn't want to discuss. "So...your leader seems to be pretty protective of you." Adam said while casually looking up at the sky. "More like controlling." Kiana scoffed. "You know what I think?" "I doubt anyone knows what you think." "I think," He continued. "That he really cares about you." Adam looked over at her as they walked and she looked over at him. She didn't say anything in response to him though. "Do you care about him?" He asked her as they stopped at the end of an alley. "I don't know." She said with a shrug. "I'm not used to those kind of emotions. I mean, I care whether he lives or dies, but other than that...I don't know." After finishing speaking, she looked down and lightly kicked a pebble, listening to it as it bounced and rolled along the cobblestones. She leaned back against the wall on one side of the alley with him standing about a foot in front of her. "You can't go your whole life without caring about somebody." Adam said, looking at her with what seemed like the most serious expression she had ever seen on his face. "I can sure as hell try. Caring only opens you up to being hurt." She responded, looking him in the eye. "With what you are doing, you're risking getting hurt or killed every day. Why wouldn't you open up to emotional risk?" "It's different." She answered quickly. "No, it's not." Adam said, stepping closer to her so they were pretty much toe-to-toe. "You're just making up excuses to block yourself." She looked up at him, noticing how much the gap had closed between them but saying nothing about that or what he said. "You won't be able to hold back forever." He leaned in even closer to her. She gulped and tightened her grip on her staff as she looked at him, wondering what he was going to do but already having a pretty good idea of what it was.

[White Wolf Guardian]

*The wolf jumped into a box nearby an alley where he overheard some noises, one of which reminded him of Kiana, but decided against finding out the source* "Meh probably some kids messing around. It couldn't be her anyways, she's still in her room and I won't be running into her out here." *He grinned then used some aura and made himself a light as he flipped through his book inside the box, giving it outside a luminescent kind of faint glow through the cracks of the wood* "Ohh this is cool, apparently drawing these strange symbols with certain materials magnifies majicka for certain types, some of which I've never even heard of, probably long since extinct as these books are older than me a few fold over." *He flipped through some more pages*

[KittKat chunky~]

Kitt sat in a dumbfounded silence as the barkeep hung the Esha clan chain around his neck. He remained just as silent as Varmous closed the door, finally getting his voice back as he leaped off the bed "No... Wait!" He opened the door into an empty hallway. With a mad determination Kitt ran back into his room, leaping over the bed in a single hurdling jump and reaching the open window just in time to see a lone figure disappear into the night mist.

He sighed and leaned against the window frame, one hand clutching the chain necklace to his chest, the Esha clan insignia at the end twinkled in the moonlight "I'l find you Mother. Even if all of Gaia stands before me... I will find you..." And with that he turned back into the room, a fiery determination burning in his chest like it had never burned before.

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Korius finished off his food and his whiskey and slowly drifted off to sleep. Despite how luxurious the room and the bed were, he ended up finding himself falling asleep sitting up against the back platform of the bed and holding the katana against his shoulder. For the first time in a long time, he dreamed about nothing, but had a restful sleep. Before sunup, he woke up full rested and energized, smiling for the first time in a very long time. Something was different about today, but he just didn't know what.

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Kiana was dumbfounded and that was all Adam needed. He completely closed the gap and kissed her. That was what she had expected him to do but she had hoped that she was wrong. For only the second time in her life, she didn't know how to react to what was happening and after what seemed like an eternity, she finally relaxed and started to reach her free hand up to his neck. It was at this point that he pulled away with another one of his smirks on his face. "Told you." He said as he looked down at her. She felt her face heat up under her fur and she directed her eyes away from him. "And I'm not even the one you want, so that's saying something. Even though I wish you would want me." She finally looked back up at him after a moment. "You're crazy." She said softly. "Is your leader crazy?" He questioned. "Sometimes I wonder..." "No, he's not. And I'm not either. You just need to let your guard down for longer than a moment and accept all the feelings your hiding in there." Adam said, lightly touching her head and then her chest but not going anywhere near the promiscuous area of her chest. Kiana sighed as a response and he pulled his hand away, snapping his fingers as he produced flames above them. The fact that he was a mage surprised her and she stared at the flame. "This flame is like your feelings. It burns intensely and if you let it run its course it will grow and grow." He looked directly in her eyes as she looked back up at him. "That fire is one that you don't want to extinguish." Kiana nodded slightly then yawned. "Alright, time for you to go back to the inn and get some rest." "Alright." She responded and they walked down the alley. "Don't stay up too late, White." She said as they passed by a box down at the other end of the alley without looking at it. After they rounded the corner, Adam guessed that it was one of the people who was part of the group and she confirmed that he was correct. The rest of their walk to the inn was in silence and Adam followed her down the alley beside the inn. "Remember what I said, okay?" He said as he looked down at her with a serious expression. "Okay." She said. "So I guess this is goodbye, since I probably won't see you tomorrow." "Yeah, I guess so." He said, shoving his hands in his pockets. Kiana could tell that he didn't want to actually say the word 'goodbye' so she didn't make him. Turning away from him, she slowly climbed up the wall to her open window. Once she was back inside, she poked her head out of the window and looked back down at him for a moment through the darkness. "Thanks." She whispered to him and saw him nod. She pulled herself back inside and closed the window. Adam stared up at her, knowing that it would be the last time he saw her. He finally tore his eyes away and walked off down the alley, disappearing around the corner as Kiana watched. After he was gone, she went to the bed and crawled under the covers after taking off her cloak and leaning her staff against the wall. She slept soundly through the night.
The next morning, she woke up around sunrise. She laid there staring at the ceiling for a bit until finally sitting up. Moving to the edge of the bed, she sat there and looked toward the window that had been her escape last night. She got up and moved over to the window, looking out the glass down at the alley below. After a minute, she let out a sigh then grabbed her staff and sat on the end of bed, facing the door and staring at the crack underneath it.

[White Wolf Guardian]

*He looked up from his book to hear a quick word of advice* "Oh thanks Kiana, now back to page............. WHAT?! AGGGGHHH DAMMIT!" *He pouted for a couple minutes realizing he had been caught again, the box shaking as a quick result* "Is there any place I can hide?" *He lost interest in his book quickly being dissatisfied, climbed out of his ex-hiding place like a bad relationship and returned to the inn falling asleep rather quickly with a few last minute thoughts* "Not only had I been caught, what was she doing out of her room? There's no way she could have slipped by me..."

*He drifted off shortly and in what seemed like an instant the morning dawn had interrupted his slumber a few hours later* "Ugh... sunlight." *He tried to hide under his covers for a few more inevitable minutes*

[KittKat chunky~]

Kitt woke with a grumbling moan and rolled over. A sharp -plink- came from the window and his ear twitched, glancing up at the sudden sound. Stumbling out of bed, Kitt opened the window just in time for another pebble to hit him squarely on the forehead "What the?-" He looked down into the alley below and saw Evelyn standing with a look of surprised apology across her feline face "Oh! I'm sorry, I didnt think you would open the window so quick." Kitt sighed and went to close the window "I'l meet you outside. Just let me get dressed first..."


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The Inn was silent, save the few muffled sounds of its residents waking up. Kitt crept through the bar and unlatched the front door, sliding out into the morning air. Walking around the side of the Inn he reached the alley below his window and stopped, Evelyn was there, but she wasn't alone. Beside her, sitting on one of the cider crates, was a dark-feathered bird of prey. "I heard you guys might be leaving today..." Kitt nodded, looking from her to the bird "Yeah... We are. Whats with the bird?"

Evelyn glanced over at the bird, and wrung her hands worriedly "Mr Ferdinand breeds falcons, for the huntsmen. And, well... I wanted to give you something to remember me by." Kitt shook his head, even as she pressed a leather glove and tether into his protesting hands "Mr Ferdinand will notice the bird is gone, but I dont care... She's called Evelyn, like me... And this way at least one of us can go travel with you. Let her see the world, please..."

Kitt sighed and nodded, flinching as the falcon flapped twice and landed neatly on his forearm, strong claws digging in "I'l come see you again Evelyn, when this is all over I'l come find you..." She smirked and shook her head, kissing him on the cheek "No you wont..." And with that she walked away down the alley, leaving Kitt to look down in dismay at the falcon. The bird merely looked back at him with a bright amber eye and clicked its sharp beak twice...



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Kitt slid back in through the front door and pulled the latch down again. He sat down at the nearest table, glad to finally get the bird off his arm. The falcon hopped onto the wood and looked him up and down with its beady eye. Kitt sighed, slumping his head on the table "I sure hope theres a section in the Ranger's handbook on falconry... Or neither of us is going to last a day..."

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Korius wiped the smile off his face and left his room, rounding up the others from theirs. When he saw White still passed out on his bed, his face turned disgruntled, and decided to play a joke on him, "Wake the hell up, White! There's a fire consuming the Inn!" When Korius found Kitt downstairs, he noticed the falcon right off the bat and walked up to it, stroking the falcon's wing, "Reminds me of the real Valia. She always had a thing about training these things. They like raw meat as feed."

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

When Kiana heard Korius at the door, she slowly got up off of the bed. She grabbed her cloak and threw it on then, with staff in hand, she headed to the door and went out. After leaving the room, she headed downstairs as slowly as she could, dreading having to follow the advice that Adam had given her the night before. There was no way she was going to push it though, of course. She was just going to ease into things. Plus, she didn't want to shove Korius into an area that he was just as uncomfortable with. She smiled a little at the surprise kiss with Korius in the clinic but removed that smile before anyone else could see it as she entered the lobby/bar after getting to the bottom of the stairs. She sat down in a random seat, not really paying attention to whether anyone else was around or not, and stared at the texture of the wooden table, tracing it with a finger.

[White Wolf Guardian]

*The wolf jumped out of the covers instantly after hearing Korius come in the hallway and  hearing his door open and close with words of warning* "What?! I have to go now! Why did I not hear any alarms, agghhh!" *He stretched and adjusted his robe with great haste, quickly going out the door and making his way downstairs to the lobby* "Oh look there's Kiana..." memories from last night hit him again* "....Ugh. Wait a minute why is she just sitting there, this whole place is coming down, she could die!" *He rushed further in and then stopped his behavior almost immediately realizing he had been tricked upon seeing an unchanged lobby* "Korius!" *He shook his fist in the air*

[Chrono Blackwyng]

Talin slowly got off the floor, only mildly aware of his surroundings as his hangover muffled all sounds and smells. Right now, I wouldn't mind dying, but I guess my luck is working against me in that wish. He continued to struggle for each step until he reached a table, where he willingly flopped himself onto it and let out a pained groan. "Cow leg, I require roasted cow leg!!" he yelled while grabbing his head in pain.