Kin Chronicles Realm: Betrayal of the Guardians

[White Wolf Guardian]

*White woke up a couple hours later and stumbled to his feet* "Nghh.. I'm hungry. Oh yeah I'm still in that underground medical facility, hmm.." *He stopped for a moment and sniffed at the air that was coming to him from above causing his ears to perk up* "I smell breakfast..." *He looked around eagerly until he found the stairs leading up out of the place* "I guess the others are probably eating by now, feels like forever since I've seen anybody because of that training." *He climbed the stairs and made his way to the tavern* "I hope there's some sausage oohhh and maybe some bread." *He salivated at the thought*

[Chrono Blackwyng]

Elistra was starting to cry from the mix of emotions that not only came with being 'heavy' with her first child. Talin pulled her hood over her eyes, and tried to get her out of the room and to the baths, or somewhere other than where they just came from. Luckily he was able to get her to the bath's and he made sure the woman's bath was empty before getting her in there, and helping her disrobe while keeping his eyes averted to prevent unneccessary oggling. He half-listened to her cry as he started washing her in an attempt to see if that bulge was just some trick of the clothes, and to help her calm down. He stayed with his clothes on because he still had to get her food.

In a few moments she calmed down, and he stood back up and went back to diner, getting her food before heading back to the bath to bring her the food as she saw him and getting a slight smile. "Unless we have some kind of dirt-phobe, I don't think it would be a problem for you to join me..." "I was too worried about putting you through more shame just because I ended up making your first child a half-breed; so I was trying to get you away from the crowded areas." She pulled his hand just after he set the plate down, but her pull was not enough to get him in the water. "I've calmed down now, and I would rather have a half-breed child than some hatchling gotten from an arraged 'mate'. Just make sure that when we have the second, you had more than just horns." he grinned and sat down, not really paying attention for anyone entering the baths...

[Srgntcuddles]

Drevo watched as Ferdande did the trick in complete awe. He was amazed at what he was about to learn, but a little disappointed hearing Elistro knew it. But that made him all the more eager to master it. Drevo went over to Ferdande and helped him up. He took the bow staff and examined it, it was just like his own, nothing really special. "That was amazing, man! I can't wait to learn that! But are you sure it has to be Korius who teaches me the rest of it...?" His face grimaced as he mentioned Korius. "Well I'm ready, what's first?"

[KittKat chunky~]

Kitt sat in the middle of a small clearing, at the very heart of the wooded copse. Sunlight streamed down between the branches, as Lo and two supervising healers prepared everything. Lo walked over now, clicking her tongue in agitation as she looked down at the young feline “I need you to take off your cloak and tunic, I am sure you know why... And the healers are here to try and lessen the pain...”


Once everything was in place, with Kitt sitting the centre of a small patch of cleared earth, Lo pulled out a long ceremonial dagger. Its hilt was in the shape of the Ranger Sigil, metal wire twisted and forged into the shape of a sun and moon intertwined. Lo took a step closer, kneeling down in front of Kitt “It is a quick ritual, the pain will be overwhelming... Just try to hold through...”

She spoke again, this time louder as if to an audience of a hundred people “This child, which has come before us... He wishes to follow the path of Ranger... And although he is young, I ask of you to bestow him with that gift, so his arrows may strike true, his patience be untold and his skill grow!”
As Lo spoke, the air grew thick with static, and the dagger in her hands burst into ethereal flame. She did not flinch, for the fire’s heat was not meant for her... She leant closer to Kitt, holding the hilt of the dagger up to his chest, the Sigil of the Rangers glowing white hot... “May he bear the title... Ranger...” Even as the metal touched his chest, Kitt blacked out in an instance, pain searing through every nerve of his body...




----




Many hours later, or perhaps mere minutes, Kitt woke abruptly. He scrabbled madly at his chest, where a burning pain still lay, only to find bandages in his way. A calm hand pushed him back down onto his bed, along with the soothing voice of Lo. She smiled down at him, a smile that could not cover her worry... “You sure kicked up a racket while unconscious... I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole town heard you screaming...”

She picked up an apple from the bedside table, throwing it “Here... you need to eat something, catch...” She threw it hard and fast, yet Kitt still caught it deftly in one paw. Lo smirked, turning to walk out of the bedroom door... “You may find that your reflexes are quite a lot faster than before..."

She stopped beside the door, closing it and walking back beside the bed... “There was a problem during the ritual. As you know, if performed badly, it can kill both the caster and target... I managed to stop it long before that happened, but... It had its consequences” She sighed “The spell aged both you and me... Thankfully by a very small amount, due to managing to stop it early, but still... It has taken a full two years from our lives... I believe that would make you fifteen, and me quite a lot older than that” She attempted a half-smile, before walking away “I shall tell Korius the news, you should be fine to travel by tomorrow, Ranger...”

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Korius recovered himself from his choking and continued on to eating. "So they finally got it done, though I doubt they had planned on it, seeing the looks on their faces. Hajime, do you know the reason why?" Hajime thought for a second and chuckled at herself for forgetting to mention it to Elistra when they had first entered the village the day before. "I'm sorry, I was supposed to let Elistra know about the anti-magic above ground here. My guess is that Elistra normally changes back to her feral form at night, but here, she can't. Just as Kiana and White can't use magic above ground, Elistra can't revert to her feral form. She's a Kin, so to revert to a feral form requires a dragonic incantation. That's also probably why Talin has horns right now." Korius growled as he bit off another piece of his sausage, "Bloody tart! If there wasn't that anti-magic you all have here, that spell could have killed him. How many times do I have to tell that bloody idiot!"


Ferdande sighed as Drevo helped him up. "You're not going to be able to pull that off, but I'll teach you the basic form. Here, like the position I was in before. Lean on your left leg and extend your right leg behind you. Hold the scabbard side of the bowstaff under your arm and hold the staff right at the hinge. Hold your right hand back towards your shoulder with your elbow facing out. Try just holding the position first. I'm going to poke you. Your objective is to stay still and not move a bit. If you flux from that position, you'll fall over, and then you'll need to run the exercise again. Just a forewarning, it took me almost 4 days to pull it off."

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Kiana just kept on eating without saying anything or looking up from her plate. It was good that there hadn't been an issue that she needed to use her magic for in the town since she had just been made aware of the fact that it couldn't be used there. She wondered what Bo would be having her work on today in their training, but knew that one thing was for sure, he would be just as perverted as ever.

[White Wolf Guardian]

*White walked through the ninja village taking a look around on the way to the source of the food scent* "Well there's some things you don't see everyday." *He stopped for a moment with utter realization of a possible brilliant idea* "Ohhh, ninjas have weapons!" *The wolf hastily takes his butterfly knife out of his cloak and looks at it for a moment* "I still remember I got this from some traveling stranger, perhaps I could find a better one here, this one squeals like a pig when I open it now because of long-term usage. Not exactly as stealthy as it could be, hmm..." *He turned his head about to look for someone that might be able to help him on his side quest, forgetting about food until he could settle his personal weapon fetish*

[Srgntcuddles]

Drevo felt a bit weird at how he was supposed to do this. But he did it anyway. He leaned on his left leg, extending his right behind him. He tucked the sheath part of his bow staff under his arm and held the end of it. Then he pressed his right hand to his shoulder pointing his elbow out and looked over to Ferdande. "Okay...I guess poke me. Just not in the side, you know how I'm ticklish...You wouldn't exploit that weakness right?"

[KittKat chunky~]

Kitt lay in his bed, a searing pain stabbing into his chest.... "Two years from my life?" He sighed, unwinding the bandages, despite Lo saying he shouldnt... "Two years isnt so bad, seeing i coulda died.... Its not so bad...." He stood up ungainly, leaning against the bed post... It was then that Lo walked in, giving a shout of surprised...

"Kitt! Get back in bed this instance... you need rest..." She walked over, pushing him back into bed... "You took off your bandages too...." Kitt looked down at his chest, but before he could see the results of the ritual Lo had retied the bandages.... She sushed him as he tried to protest, pushing him down into bed... "Maybe i could go tel Korius that you are willing to rest... Im sure he would be understanding that the new ranger of the group has no patience...." That shut him up, as Lo walked downstairs...

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Korius had finished up and gotten up when Lo rushed in. She whispered into his ear about what happened with Kitt. Korius nodded, "Let the child rest, he'll still feel pain beyond what he's ever felt yet. Best let him have this day if the pain of the spurt hasn't already started to take its toll." He slowly made his way back to the medical center, accidentally bumping into White as he exited the tavern. "My apologies..." Korius continued on, somewhat in a bit of a daze at the thought of having to go through that torturous process again.


Mo took the dragonic couple down to the tavern after having found them at the Inn. "Come. Just because you are to be parents, doesn't mean you get to skip out of training, Talin. Our village will take good care of her, but you will follow me back."


Ferdande thought to himself for less than a split second as Drevo spoke and poked him right under the arm, causing Drevo to fall over. "Your enemy won't hesitate to exploit ANY weakness. You have no choice but to be subject to all kinds of areas being pushed and poked. I haven't even gotten into hitting yet. This is why you need constant training. This is why you are currently as weak as you are."


Bo emerged from underneath the tavern. "Kiana, I have something very special for you~" He gave a rather questionable smile and motioned for Kiana to follow him back down to the training area.

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Kiana had just finished her food when Bo emerged from the trap door. She wondered what the "special" thing was that Bo had for her. It was probably just some new training technique or something. His smile made her worry a little bit as she got up from her seat as Bo went back down through the door. She went through the trap door and closed it behind her as she went down to the training grounds. She walked over to where Bo was and stopped. "So what's this 'very special' something?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

[White Wolf Guardian]

*White looked around for a bit and traversed the ninja village further hoping to see an arms dealer or a trader of some sort* "Err excuse me ma'am? MA'AM?? Sir! Ninja guy!... gah, everybody's busy." *The wolf continued walking and kicked a couple pebbles on the ground and looked back in the direction of the tavern and grumbled for a bit* "I don't want to get lost here since I don't know anyone that well and I don't seem to be having much luck, I should probably go back." *He turned around and made his way back taking out his knife and flipping it around in his left paw to pass the time* "I guess I must have a low threshold of entertainment, it seems like almost anything will do the trick."

[Srgntcuddles]

When Ferdande poked Drevo he fell over laughing. And when he said he was weak he stopped and got back up. "I'm not weak..." He retook the pose after a few moment. "I won't fall over this time..." "Concentrate...Elistro can do this...So I have to do this...I have to become stronger than him to avenge my family." He shook his head to get the thoughts out of his head so he could concentrate on not being poked over.

[KittKat chunky~]

Kitt lay in his bed, slowly dying of boredom... The fact that his chest felt as though someone was repeatedly gouging it with a knife didnt help either. He sighed, reching to his bedside table, where Lo had left the thick book that was the Book of Ranger... He skipped the prologue and started to read... What he found was not expected.

The book outlined various techniques used by Rangers, most simple use of tactics or trickery. But as he got further into the book, Kitt started to feel more and more entrigued. Rangers, due to their intimate link with the created during the ritual, had a basic form of magic. It did not require Mana or Ki, and instead fed directlz off the strength of the Ranger him or herself. The extent of the power was limited to things such as guiding an arrow so that it could not miss, qickening the users speed or even limited stealth abilities. But still, it was enough to keep Kitt reading for several hours without stop.

Lo walked quietly in, to find him still reading. She smiled, glad to see that he wasnt in so much pain now "It is good you are getting rest... And i wouldnt attempt anything shown in that book yet, you need time to recover. If it where alowed i would demand you stay here, so that i could train you in such skills... but this is not so..." She sighed, turning back to close the door.... "Happy reading, Ranger..."

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Korius' roars and screaming were heard throughout the day in the village like usual. Now that it was day time, they had more ninjas packed in the medical center to restrain Korius as well as to speed up the re-channeling process. The midday supper ended up being a little later than the day prior due to everyone's training plans.


Bo smiled at Kiana's question and made a "Ta-Da!!" pose as he pulled out a very skimpy outfit that resembled a long, thin piece of cloth that wrapped around the body like a one-piece bathing suit that barely covers the naughty bits. Literally, just BARELY would. A large grin spread completely from ear to ear across Bo's face,"This will be your mental training. Perform the same dual-casting exercise we did yesterday with this on so that you can reinforce your mentality and concentration."


Lo went down to the medical center to help restrain Korius after having checked on Kitt. Hajime didn't look up, but inquired to the lizard, "How is the youngling doing?" Lo sighed as she made a series of hand signals and brightened the restraining circle more, "The child's body should be feeling the extreme pain any minute now. I felt sorry for the child, so I've let him read the Book of Rangers. But he'll be off it soon. The pain of the growth spurt will catch up soon. He's going to miss the midday meal so I'll grab some for him when we do go up."


Mo ran his beat-down on Talin, throwing insults and death-threats on his upcoming child and lover. He was upset that these empty words still infuriated Talin enough to move and paralyze himself, but it gave him hope that it took longer each time to break the wolf's anger. That's right, Talin. You must fortify your mind and heart. Rid yourself of self-righteous anger, and know the patience and force of righteous anger.


A shop owner came out of his little hut and shushed White. "Please keep your voice down and who you mention as ninjas. We may be a secluded village, but shouting loud enough can be heard outside our borders. If you wish to see a smith, come to my shop, I'll take you down to my furnace and I'll show you my wares."


Ferdande continued to just poke at Drevo all morning and into the afternoon. Drevo didn't laugh when poked in the spot anymore, but he couldn't stay in the position for long. It wasn't surprising since it wasn't a normal technique. Ferdande chuckled to himself as he thought about the nature of the technique, The most unbalanced technique from the most unbalanced warrior. However, it's still no cake-walk for anyone to learn. The only technique in the world that is based off of all affinities of martial arts. Even if Drevo does master it, it'll slide more towards his own affinity. Even mine is too ground-based, not even close to the power that Elistro can generate. Indeed, it would be best for Korius to finish Drevo's training. After all, being the creator, he is the only martial artist to master all 4 martial arts affinities, and show Drevo the true power of the technique.