Kin Chronicles Realm: Betrayal of the Guardians

[White Wolf Guardian]

"Hmm... he must be worried about something to do with those memories." *The wolf sighed and took a bow to Lester as he walked past him, following after Korius and stopping when he realized Korius was going quite far away* "Let's just hope he didn't do something regrettable again, last thing we need is to attack useful allies that could have made life easier." *He turned back and went to Lester's wife to get some food and then followed after Kiana who went to Korius's direction*

[Srgntcuddles]

Drevo got some food from Lester's wife, a large amount of smoked meat, jerky and some bread and a sack to carry it all in. When he found Lester he asked him. "I'm not sure if you're a smith yourself...But do you know of any along the way to our destination? My blade is becoming dull and in need of a bit of sharpening. I only ask for one along the way because Korius seems so hasty to leave. Also..." he said, looking around. "Do you have any sake? I mean the good stuff...I haven't had any of it since that bu-...My carriage was destroyed. I still have guilders if needed."

[KittKat chunky~]

Lester's wife handed over a satchel of raw meat, passing her eye over Kitt's hawk with a curious eye "Nice bird you have there... Have her fed on meat whenever you can,keeps her plumage nice and glossy."  Finally she drew him into a brief hug before turning away... It was obvious from her stare that she disapproved of a child of only fifteen travelling with Korius and the others. Kitt merely pulled his hood up and hurried off to meet with the rest of the group.

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

At Kiana's little scold, Korius didn't back down or argue back like he normally would. Instead, his whole mood changed into a deadly one, glaring at her with his blood, crimson, red eyes, with death and a stronger killing aura than anyone had ever felt or even witnessed before this moment, making even the training with Hajime seem like a baby's tantrum. The stare in itself would be strong enough to actually kill a normal person, or paralyze most highly skilled warriors. Lester, who was still in town and was about to apologize to Drevo with his wife about not having sake, suddenly fell to their knees and shook violently at the wake of Korius' energy. "What the hell is he doing!?" Korius maintained his glare for 5 seconds before turning and looking back on the horizon, feeling a bit light-headed from the sudden release of Ki and the rush and filling of completely dark Ki, instead of partially dark Ki that he's had up until now. There was no pureness and the energy that he had rushing through his body was, rather, pure darkness. In a dark voice, he gave a small reply, "There's something about these memories, and I must know about them to win." Korius never spoke to anyone for the rest of the day, nor the following day. In fact, he was the only one that didn't say anything for the whole 3-day hike to the next town. He rarely ate, and was always by himself whenever they stopped.

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Kiana looked straight back into Korius' eyes with extremely strong defiance and determination. She dropped to a knee, which pissed her off because it made her feel like she was kneeling to his power and being weaker than him. She heard the darkness in his voice when he spoke after turning away from her. This was exactly the kind of thing that Hajime had wanted her to help him with and protect the others from. "And if, in your blind raging search for answers, one or more of the others get hurt, what then? Will it be nothing to you because you need to win? We're a team and these memories are making you lose yourself. Get a grip." She said sternly as she swiftly stood back up. She never got a response from him though as he remained silent for the next three days. Every night they rested, she had muttered softly to herself, which was really her talking to Kamau. It was a lot more than she usually did since it used to be once a week or so. This wasn't a sign of her losing any sanity, it was just that she had a lot more on her plate to deal with that she needed to get off her chest just from that one incident.

[White Wolf Guardian]

*The wolf kept to himself for the following days not saying much of anything, noticing Korius and Kiana grow distant once again, he never talked to anybody and just stayed quiet while studying his books, only thinking of the inevitable problem to come* "I hope Korius gets his new mission over with because everytime he gets involved in something related to this quest, he just seemingly ignores everyone that cares about him and doesn't worry about it then expects everyone to forgive him without admitting he was at fault again and again." *White flipped through the next chapter*

[Chrono Blackwyng]

Talin had gotten his fill of meat before Korius had his episode of pure darkness, which he could hear Chronin snicker in his head as Korius seemingly calmed down and stayed quiet the entire time. Talin also kept quiet, as Korius was one of the few people, including Kiana, Elistra, and the remote possibilty of Kitt, that he would speak to with at least some respect. In a possibly vain attempt to get him to drop his guard, Talin tried to approach him at the end of the third day by going to the barkeep and ordering him a pint and putting it in front of Korius. "A pint for your thoughts sir?"

[Srgntcuddles]

Drevo sat back down as he heard the news of no sake, also right as Korius gave his super powerful epic stare. He felt the power but blew it off since he was sitting down. When he got going he too didn't speak. He usually kept to himself anyway so it was nothing he wasn't used to. When he got to the town the first thing he did was find a suitable smith, after leaving his weapon with him he set off to search for some good sake. Finding some he decided to go relax and get a little drunk.

[KittKat chunky~]

While Korius and most of the group remained silent during the next few days, Kitt was the complete opposite. Chatty and talkative, he remained full of a strange optimism and cheerfulness that even if asked he could not explain. All he knew was that his father was dead, his mother was imprisoned and they where going to fight the strongest guardian they had yet faced, and all he could do was grin and comment on how sunny it was today. Naive perhaps, or maybe his own way of staying sane in a world where everything seemed to go wrong at once...




By the time they had reached the next town Kitt's cheerfulness had not receded or fallen away, and it was so that while the others where in Inn or, in the case of Drevo, elsewhere  he had found his way to a small archery range that the townsfolk used. A long strip of land dotted with straw-stuffed targets stood beyond a low wooden fence at which several hunters stood. All five turned to look as Kitt walked over, humorous grins and snorted laughter already shared amongst each other.

"That bow is a bit big for ye' laddie. But you seem to be the real deal en'cha... he got a falcon an' all!" The lead hunter grinned and leaned forward, stabbing his knife into the wooden fence "I bet you cant even lift that weapon... Aren' I right lads?" A chorus of cheers erupted from the hunters, as well as from the few townsfolk who had stopped to watch.

Kitt merely grinned and motioned to the wide leather belt with a brass buckle that the man wore proudly  around his waist "That fine belt says I can hit that farthest target... Or are you worried that you're gonna lose to a kid?"

 

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Korius was exceptionally angered at Talin for breaking his silence of thought and planning. His Ki flared up, his eyes glowing, and the mug exploded, while Korius threw a punch to the side and sent Talin against the wall at the end of the bar. He merely sighed afterward and dumped a pile of Shims onto the counter before leaving, "Sorry for the mess." Korius then went out into the streets in the market square, and merely bought food from stalls of anything that seemed to suit his fancy. While out, he noticed White and Kiana in the vicinity, with Kitt seeming to be placing a bet with a man. Well, in Vorona, 15 is considered a child's entrance into manhood, though he might not actually count...

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Kiana spotted Korius exit the Inn as she was slowly walking up the street. By the look on his face, she suspected something was up so she casually moved down the street toward the Inn. When she got inside, she looked around and spotted Talin on the floor at the end of the bar. She quickly moved toward him and knelt down by him. "Are you alright?" She asked as she looked Talin over. "What the heck happened?" She was angry because she knew that it was Korius who had done it, but she wanted to know the reasoning for what he did.

[White Wolf Guardian]

*The wolf jumped at the loud slamming noise of wood quivering from Korius quarreling with Talin inside the nearby bar* "Dammit, can he ever just stop being violent for a long period of time or at least use it on enemies or even just criminals? I swear he's just looking for a reason to find something to get angry towards since he can't output his frustration with any proper catalyst upon that Lester fellow that we ran into previously just because he wouldn't tell him about some visions. Last time I checked visions or puzzles were our own problems, if anything from dealing with Vo back in that village, everything was a puzzle box mystery that only we could solve. I don't know if he's capable of interpreting his own predictions for future events, but he's going to have to figure it out if Lester can't help him and that's just how it's gonna be."

*White watched Korius emerge from the bar and just shook his head* "Just thinking about solutions, solutions, solutions doesn't help because he can't make an answer, he has to make a contusion. Whether or not it be hypothetically speaking or on the innocent bystander's arm that was curious about his fellow companion. Maybe he's just oblivious that we all suffer on this long and enduring quest in one way or another!" *He angrily blunted his hand into the back wall that he leaned up against in the midst of his anger and for a moment felt his hand go numb with a small bit of a crackling noise then the pain seeped in* "AGH! That hurts." *White bit his own lip with a hint of moisture in the corner of his eyes as he tried to hide his foolish action from Kiana and then Korius as well when the wolf noticed that he was looking at him and her in the marketplace* "Crap I hope Korius didn't see that."

*He hid his hand behind his back and smiled like nothing happened with an awkward toothy grin as the only thing keeping himself from yelping were the canine teeth in his maw gritting upon his opposing set of lower teeth so the pain was distracted from his paw* "I don't think I could have broken it, I probably didn't try to hit the wall THAT hard..."

[Chrono Blackwyng]

Talin was still for the entire time Korius remained in the bar, and then let himself relax. I can't tell whats more of a surprise: that he made a mug explode without touching it, or me surviving a punch with that much force behind it. He then realized Kiana was over him, and made little noise as he got upright. "I thought he was brooding too much on what happened three days ago, so I got him something to drink. How I'm still alive after that punch, I really don't know."

[Srgntcuddles]

Drevo walked along, sake suspended on a rope over his shoulder. He sipped from a small cup, drinking the whole thing in one go. "Aaaaah....Now that. Is the good stuff." he said as he walked on. He found himself stumbling along when he heard his name called from behind him. Turning, he pulled the bottle of sake up a little over his shoulder, just enough to pour himself another glass with surprising precision. "Huh?" he mumbled. A group of four of men were walking towards him, one noticeably smaller than the other three much larger men. Drevo instantly recognized them as a shady group of thugs which had loaned him the carriage. Which Valius had kindly broke. Swiftly Drevo turned back around making as if he didn't see them and casually walked away. "Drevo!" shouted the shorter, angry man. This prompted Drevo to walk faster, slipping into a nearby alleyway. He took another drink of his sake and hastily walked down said alley, the group of men following suit. Though by the time they had shown up he was already running. However another group of men cut him off ahead.

[KittKat chunky~]

The hunter glanced distractedly over at Korius before turning his attention back to the young feline "Well a bet is a bet lad... but what are you going to put in for your side?" Kitt drew the two long blades from their respective sheaths at his thighs and, with a show-off twirl, stuck them into the wooden fence with a thunk "Fine steel, nice and sharp too... Well worth that fancy belt you got..." The hunter looked over his shoulder to his comrades and then laughed, pulling out his bow "The lad has spirit alright! 'Ere, I'l take the first shot, show you how the professional do it!"

On the second shot an arrow struck home on the furthest target. The hunter had a confident grin on his face "Those knives are as good as mine lad, no way your hitting the target in less than two shots at that distance..." Kitt shrugged and loaded a bolt into his crossbow, only to be stopped forcefully as he raised it to shoulder height "What do y' think yer doin' lad? You gotta use the same bow as me!" The hunter pushed his longbow and two arrows into Kitt's hands "Hah! You thought I'd let you use that fancy crossbow of yours? Lets see you hit it now!"


A few minutes later Kitt caught up with Korius, adjusting the leather belt around his waist and admiring the intricate buckle. He grinned and pulled up his hood "Not really fair, seeing as I've been training with a bow since I was five... Still... nice belt."