A solitary form rested in the thicker branches of a wide-growing tree. He was fairly raggid looking, but he didn't mind. His clothing consisted of well-worn blue pants that reached to just below his knees, the edges tattered, and a sleeveless tunic top of the same fabric and just as tattered. Perhaps the strangest part was what covered his remaining skin. All of it was wrapped in fairly thin strips of white cloth. From his shoulders all the way to each individual finger, and the same on his legs. His neck was also wrapped, and at times, he even covered his face. For now, however, it was freely viewed, showing that his skin was actually a rather dark brown, a few shades lighter than chocolate. His hair was a silvery gray, boardering on white. His eyes were a startling ice blue, like the inside of a glacier.
Relaxing as he was, Drejan allowed one leg to dangle off the side of the branch he was laying on. His back was propped comfortably against the smooth trunk. He had been traveling for a few days now, and was glad for a rest. He still wasn't sure if he wanted to stay in this particular area for very long.
In any case, he was content to sit and observe from his leafy retreat.
Following her pet squirrel, Kiho was getting ahead of her sister - actually, well ahead. But Kiho's attention was well diverted away from her older sister to the bushy little tail that almost disappeared as it clung to the tree, scrambling up. Kiho was watching it, laughing to herself, until she caught sight of a leg. She stared at it. She quietly moved closer to the tree, peering up to see the man and her squirrel staring at him suspiciously.
"Why are you wrapped? Why are you laying in a tree? Is it comfortable? Your hair is very pretty," Kiho's voice was quiet, and somewhat reserved, her hands resting on the trunk.
Kiho wore a high collared robe with a square-necked dress over it, and a short jacket. They were various shade's of green, her robe being the lightest, the over-dress darkest, with the jacket a medium shade, matching the sash around her waist. She wore soft-leather brown boots, and although they were worn, they looked relatively in good shape.
"Nan says you smell funny," Kiho said, her long-haired, pointed ears perking up, the right ear tipped with tan, no longer meshed with her dark hair. Her bushy, tan and white tail flicking out behind her, her curiousity apparent.
Nan, her squirrel, scurried back down the tree and clambered onto her owner, perching on Kiho's head.
Drejan had just began to doze off when the sound of scruffing and sniffing reached his ears. It was quiet, and he opened those icey blue eyes to the sight of a little squirrel eyeing him curiously. Quirking one light brow, Drejan smirked mildly. He must be quite a site, sitting up here as he was.
It was then a young voice made him realize that the squirrel was not his only visitor.
His cool gaze moved down to take in the appearance of a rather well dressed young girl.
Boy did she ask alot of questions. "Hmm, well, I'm wrapped for the saftey of others. I'm laying in a tree to rest, and yes it is comfortable. And thank you." Interestingly enough, she never thought to ask his name.
He again arched an eyebrow at her next response.
"Well, I'm not human, if that's what you mean. Though, by the looks of it, you aren't either, hm? I'm Drejan, who are you young lady?"
As he asked, he sat up, letting a leg dangle over each side of the branch.
Kiho reached up, running her fingers on top of Nan's head, still watching Drejan. She blinked her dark gold eyes, smiling slightly. For the safety of others? Kiho wondered what that meant, and then when he confirmed that he wasn't human she giggled slightly as he mentioned that she wasn't. Oh? So the ears and tail gave her away? Aw, shucks. But Kiho was still the reserved little girl, and as he sat up she stepped away from the tree, her squirrel companion winding down to perch on her shoulder instead.
"Ki---" She paused and turned slightly, her ears twitching as she heard a loud 'KIHO!!'
Aoko, practically running full force, barely managed to avoid mowing down her own sister. Gripping Kiho's shoulders, staring down at the younger girl hard, panting before catching her breath, which, Kiho thought, took too soon.
"Haven't I told you not to run ahead?! What is wrong with you? What if something ATTACKED you? Nan isn't going to protect you, for God's sake!" Kiho blinked, being slightly shaken by the shoulders, pushed away, then tugged sharply back to Aoko.
"Mm...!" Kiho said, tugging at the short, belled sleeve of her sister's over-dress, then pointed up at Drejan.
Aoko blinked, pushing her sister away, "Huh?" her head tilted, until she followed the finger's direction and stared at Drejan. At first, her nose twitched, then her eyes widened, then her mouth opened slightly, before her cheeks burst into a bright red color. "...Ah.." she yipped, turning rigid from humiliation, tail falling limp behind her.
Aoko wore an dark blue overdress with her collar rising higher in the back and front, with large, short sleeves which were widely belled, and slits up the sides, revealing a brown underdress. Her own shorts boots were the same as her sister's.
"Drejan, Nan," Kiho said, introducing her squirrel first, gesturing to it, "Aoko," she said, pointing to her sister and then quickly grabbing Aoko's gold dog-ish ear, causing her to yelp again.
"Uh- uhm, I'm sorry!" Aoko stuttered, still half surprised, batting at Kiho, ducking her head slightly, her hair as dark as her sister's, tied back, as her sister's was, but longer and unbraided.
Drejan blinked rapidly at the sudden shout, and he could only guess it was this girl's name. Kiho, eh? Cute. Craning down a bit, he watched as an older girl ran up and nearly ran the other over.
By the time this older girl noticed Drejan, he again had one eybrow arched, and a slight smirk on his lips.
Well, that had been an interesting entrance.
Drejan swung one leg over the branch as the squirrel, and then the older girl, were both introduced. Leaping gracefully down, he did a sort of half bow. "Nice to meet you all. Are you alright? You look a bit flustered." He said, grinning mildly at Aoko and her stuttering. Crossing his wrapped arms, he leaned against the tree calmly. "So, what are you two doing out here anyway? The way you're dressed, you're just asking to get robbed."
Drejan had a habit of being fairly blunt, but he wasn't trying to be mean. The way the two were dressed, so nicely and all, they really were just asking to be mugged. Especially since they were both female.
Just trouble waiting to happen.
"I--I'm fine... Nice to meet you too," Aoko mumbled, head stilled bowed slightly, her bangs shielding her eyes for a moment.
Kiho again noticed his wrapped arms and was reminded of her earlier question. She blinked at him and then peered up at her sister. Robbed? That was never a pleasant experience. Perhaps he was right, but she was largely unwilling to get rid of her homeland's clothing.
"Ahh.. We got lost," Aoko shot a pointed glance at Kiho who only blinked her big eyes at her older sister, as if to ask, "Who? Me? Whatever do you mean?"
"I'm sorry. Thank you for your concern. I suppose you're right. We're... not from around here, and.. this is really our only clothing," Aoko said, laughing slightly.
Heck, even the money brought over from Gaieartet was unuseable. Therefore, Aoko was rather wholey unaware of the danger's here. She knew what to expect in her home world, and the small fact that they had been unprepared to come here to begin with. It just happened that way.
"Everyone's safety?" Kiho said bluntly, pointing at Drejan's arms, having been blissfully unaware of what her sister even said.
"Kiho! Pointing is rude," Aoko reprimanded her sister who only glanced at her and dropped her hand.
Drejan's grin only widened a bit as Aoko insisted she was alright. He then snickered a bit at the pointed glance Aoko shot her sister. Hmm, wonder who's fault that could be...?
Oh well, it really wasn't that hard to get lost. But then, can one get lost when they have no destination...?
Good question.
"Well that's obvious. You should be careful. Do you know how to defend yourselves at least?" His was a glancing concern, but he wasn't a bad person, so he really did worry about them getting robbed, or...worse.
Drejan then glanced at Kiho as she once again spoke. It took him a moment to realize to just what she was referring.
Ah, the wrappings and his answer about them.
"Maybe it would be easier if I demonstrated."
Drejan pulled the wrappings off of his index and second fingers. He then placed his bare fingers against the trunk of the tree he had just been leaning against. Where his tanned flesh touched, the bark froze solid. He then rewraped his fingers and turned back to the two.
"For everyone's safety." He repeated, grinning slightly, if not a bit sadly. It always bothered him, for not only was it a horrible burden to bear, it was also mainly his fault that he had it.
"Um... not really," Aoko said, ducking her head again.
But both of the girls' attention focused on his demonstration. Aoko blinked and stared at the frozen bark - he was wrapped because whatever he touch froze. Everyone's safety... That made sense. Aoko frowned slightly, realizing he couldn't... touch anything. He couldn't feel it.
Kiho blinked and moved closer, although her attention was fixated on the ice. She leaned forward and poked out her tongue, lapping at the frozen bark four times before pulling back, "mmm"ing and flashing Drejan a smile before bouncing beside her sister, tail lashing out behind her.
Aoko nodded slightly, her hands clapsed in front of her. She thought about the things she new about defense and her species and her home. Nope, not really. Mostly, speed, agility, and luck was all they really had. And anything worse than robbery had never even entered her mind. It wasn't her nature. Unfortantly.
"Aoko. I'm hungry," Kiho said quietly.
"Yes, yes," Aoko sighed. Then her golden ears perked and her gold tail started wagging behind her lightly.
"Do you, by chance, now which way is out?" Aoko asked eagerly.
Drejan had been afraid of that. No defensive skills what-so-ever. Oh boy. Would he be able to forgive himself if he just left them to wander off??
Erk.
Probably not.
Damn.
Drejan laughed lightly at little Kiho. She liked that, did she? At least somebody did. In any case, an opportunity to help them came about.
"Out? Eh...In a sec."
Turning, he quickly climbed his way up the tree, higher than before, until he dissapeared into the foliage. There was a few moments before Drejan descended once more. Hopping onto the ground, Drejan brushed some leaves out of his hair.
"Well, the actual settlement is roughly in the direction you're heading. Do you want me to walk you there?"
"Mm!" Kiho said in response to him asking if they wanted him as an escort. She waved him on, pulling at Aoko's ear and giggling before jumping away.
Nan scurried between Aoko's feet before chasing after Kiho. Aoko sighed and touched her head, smiling lightly. She looked at Drejan and frowned slightly. "Thank you... But you really don't have to," Aoko said, rubbing the ear Kiho pulled.
"I'll get you for that, Kiho," she called after her sister who was following her squirrel carefully.
Kiho was well ahead, and the anxiety that Aoko felt was written all over her face. Then Kiho came running back and slammed into Aoko. She buried her teary face in Aoko. Aoko blinked but wrapped her arms around Kiho.
"Hm? What's wrong?" Aoko said softly, Kiho looking at her sadly.
"T-there's a dead animal," Kiho hiccuped, pulling away from Aoko as her sister tugged gently on her braid.
Kiho gathered Nan in her arms and hugged the squirrel, petting her carefully. Aoko sighed and scratched behind Kiho's ear, making her calm down a little. Kiho peered at Drejan, just looking at him for no particular reason.
"Kiho, it's not nice to stare," Aoko reminded Kiho who then turned her slightly watery deep gold eyes on her sister and then back to Drejan.
Drejan grinned lightly. "I know I don't have to. But I offered to." He responded, keeping half an eye on the enerjetic Kiho as she skittled off ahead. However, the girl was not gone for long. Teary eyed, she came running back to her sister.
A dead animal?
He sighed softly, rubbing the back of his head with one wrapped hand. Soon the young girl was looking at him, and he smiled lightly at her.
Now really wasn't the time for an in depth discussion about how everything must eventually die.
He knew. He had already died once.
It wasn't an experience he was eager to try again.
Moving from the tree, Drejan walked a few steps ahead of them. "Shall we then? We should get there by dusk. Then little Kiho can eat, and you guys can both get a place to sleep." Standing where he was, he waited for them to follow after. Apparently he was intent on walking them all the way to the city.
Aoko nodded - Kiho may not complain aloud that she was hungry but she'd certainly tug at Aoko's sleeve or dress. She'd make herself well-known to her sister, even if it didn't seem like she was annoying anyone. Aoko pushed Kiho ahead of her to begin walking. Kiho tupped ahead like a trooper, but would now and again turn to Aoko and pull at her sleeve and whimper.
"I know, cut that out already! You're hungry, I know," Aoko snapped, somewhat testily.
She couldn't help it - Kiho didn't feel the stress like Aoko did. Aoko had to be the adult, but she wasn't being much of one. It wasn't her fault that they wound up here, or that they wound up in the forest or even lost. But it was her fault that she didn't know how to protect herself or her little sister. And what would they do for money?
"Thank you very much, Drejan. We really are sorry to trouble you like this," Aoko said quietly, looking at the thick bangle around her wrist.
But it was better then going back. They spoke the same language - that was enough to eventually get by. Now, they just needed to find food... money... shelter... Would they find something regardless of lacking funds? Aoko sighed. She certainly hoped so.
Drejan walked ahead of them, mentally counting. How much money did he have? Hm, not enough for food AND shelter for the three of them. Well, he didn't really need to eat all that often. Just a bit of water was fine. As for food, he could pay for that. Shelter...? Eh, that might take some...pursuasion.
He was good at that.
Ok, no problem.
He had this all covered.
Every so often, Drejan took again to the treetops to make sure they were on the right path. It was a good few hours of walking, but finally, as the sun began to set and their path darken, the city came into view.
"Ugh, finally. Alright, first thing is food, alright?" He scanned their surroundings with those piercing blue eyes, but ended up following his nose to a food place.
Standing outside it, he produced a pouch from within the inside of his tunic.
"Here you go. It isn't much, but its enough for a meal. I'll go get you guys a room, alright?" Without giving Aoko time to refuse his money, Drejan trotted off to find an inn.
Aoko wound up carrying Kiho, as she had a good idea that she would have. Being born in the country had paid off, thought Aoko. At least, the women in her village blamed their strenght on them being 'country women'. And perhaps that was true, or maybe it wasn't. But it was nice to think about home, even if she felt a slight pang. She missed the hills, the forest... She missed the flowers, and the people she knew. Aoko was never more appreciative to having a little sister.
When they arrived at civilization (much to her relief), she had woken Kiho and let her slide to the ground. Aoko stretched, her tail wagging weakly, although Kiho's was going full force. Kiho wanted food - and she couldn't wait for it!
"W-wai..." Aoko tried to say as he gave her his money, he was already gone. She sighed and glanced at Kiho, who whimpered and rubbed her hand over her stomach to remind Aoko that she was -very- hungry.
"Okay, let's go," Aoko gave in, pushing Kiho along who skipped into the food place.
When they were seated and had ordered, Aoko tried to not use all the money, getting just enough for them. Aoko's tail flicked and wagged as she ate slowly and calmly. Kiho, on the other hand, dove in. Her little tail was wagging furiously, brushing her bangs to each side of her face before continuing, Nan only peeking out at the people before tucking close to her again.
"Yum!" Kiho said, although muffled by the food.
"Don't--- ah, nevermind," Aoko was going to remind her sister not to eat with her mouth full, but refrained, for no particular reason. She smiled and glanced around herself, looking at the people carefully, her tail finally settling and going limp.
There was a sudden weight on Aoko's shoulders and head, and a voice to match. "Happy?" It was Drejan, and he was...well, resting on Aoko. His forearms were placed upon Aoko's shoulders, a wrapped chin on her head. He seemed perfectly content to stay that way too, his hands hanging limply from his wrists.
"Well, I got you guys a nice room to stay in for a few nights. Oh, looks like you didn't spend all the money. Actually, that works out rather well. I'm sure I can gamble up enough for you guys to get some less...conspicuous clothing."
Finally, Drejan removed himself from his living perch and set himself in a chair, where he could easily look at both of them.
"Hmm..." He rested his chin in his hand. "And there's your safety to wonder about...hey, do you guys have a specific destination in mind, or are you just wandering?"
As for his 'procuring' living arrangements without money. Well, he wouldn't really admit it, but a large slab of ice suddenly covering a particular bar had something to do with it. Hey, sometimes intimidation tactics were necessary.
The sudden on her shoulders and head made her stop, her fork halfway to her mouth and her tail having went stiff. She relaxed when she heard Drejan's voice - although if she had actually thought about sniffing the air she may have realized who it was. But either way, she glanced at his arms.
"Yes, I am... and I'm quite sure Kiho is, too," Aoko said, laughing softly at her sister who had paused to look at them, blinking in a cutely childish manner, before continuing to eat.
"Eh-heh, thank you very much, Drejan!" Aoko said, reminding herself of her manners, beginning to wonder how long he'd remain like that.
Aoko placed the money pouch by him, before placidly eating. She looked up at Kiho, as if just to make sure her sister hadn't run off. Which was always a risk with little Kiho. Anything that caught her eye immediately drew her attention, and her mind was somewhat one-track. But Kiho was staying put, almost finished with her meal.
"Aoko! We haven't had food this good since," Kiho said, not needing to clarify what she meant with her sister.
"...Hm? Oh... No, we don't have anywhere in mind. We don't know anything about this place, so I guess we're just content to find a place to settle for awhile," Aoko said, focusing on her food again.
Of all places to wind up, hm? A place she had no information about. She knew nothing of this place - or even the name of where they were. It seemed this would take some studying. And, with a slightly uneasiness, she was reminded of school. Oh god! It never ended, did it?
"...I don't how to repay you. Thank you for taking care of us so well," she said, Kiho's 'mmm!' echoing her.
Drejan replaced the pouch in his tunic, knowing full well in such a ragtag city as this he could find plenty of people willing to gamble with him. Winning games of chance and luck (and a bit of cheating) was one of the few skills he had retained from his old life as a human.
In any case, he knew what he'd be doing almost all night.
The ice sprite relaxed back into his chair, watching them eat. "Well, that's fine. This place is called La'marri. I don't know much about it, but it seems pretty secluded and of mixed company." As he spoke, he was unwrapping his chin, having only covered it in order to place it on Aoko's head.
"Well, I'm glad you like the food. And it's no problem. I've got too much time on my hands as it is. Might as well put it to good use, right?"
He waited patiently for them to finish their food. Then he could show them to the inn, and then be off to gamble that night. Hopefully by morning he'd have enough money for them to each buy some new clothes.
Aoko smiled at him, glancing at Kiho. More of a subconscious act, but it did well, as Kiho had been scootching off her chair. Aoko's eyes narrowed and Kiho slid back into her chair, giving a dissappointed 'mm' and finished her food. Kiho then grew interested in her own white and tan ears, tugging at them, tilting her head this way and that, but it was pointedly at her sister just to show how -bored- she was.
Just to satisfy her sister she ate faster then normally, finishing up soon after. Aoko scrunched her face slightly, as if saying to sister, 'THERE, HAPPY?' But her sister seemed awkwardly prepared for this moment. Kiho rested her hands on the table, looked at her sister, tilted her head with her tail wagging behind her and then spoke.
"Oh... It's about time, I thought I'd have to ask Drejan to touch your tail!" Kiho's grin was playful.
Aoko stared at her sister, her face flaring bright red. She pushed her plate away and placed her face in the crook of it, her ears drooping and her tail limp. How embarrassing! Just because her tail, and Kiho's too, was sensitive and made them happy, she didn't have to SAY that!
"La'marri," Kiho said, her attention already focused on the place again, looking around her before scootching out of the chair.
"Nan wants to go outside," Kiho then said, then tugged at Aoko's sleeve after rounding the table.
Aoko lifted her face and stood, more composed, but a faint blush. Now she was afraid for her a tail - Drejan may not touch it, but little kids (Kiho too) like to grab at it. Great.
Drejan chuckled lightly at Kiho's show of boredom, finding it cute. It had been awhile since he had been around a child. He had forgotten how amusing their antics could be at times. Speaking of antics, those between the two sisters were just as amusing.
He couldn't remember if he had any siblings in his past life...
Suddenly Aoko was blushing like crazy, and he couldn't help but laugh. Her tail, eh? He'd have to keep that one in mind...
Drejan stood as Kiho did, waiting for Aoko to compose herself. He couldn't help the grin on his face though.
At least he wasn't laughing anymore.
"Alright, here, let me show you guys to the inn."
Walking out ahead of them, Drejan led them down the main street for just a short distance. They came to a fairly nice hotel, and Drejan opened the door for the two ladies, entering in after them.
Inside, a pale and clammy manager was wiping up water and ice off of the bar/counter in the front.
"Heya! Got that room ready?" Drejan called happily, making the man jump.
"Uh, y-yes sir! Here's the key!"
Drejan took it from the man's quivering hand and gave it over to Aoko.
"There ya go. The room has one large bed and its own bath. I'm gonna go get you guys some extra money so that tomorrow you guys can go shopping. Any questions?"
(Omg, this post took so long...the tv and my brother kept distracting me!!)
(LOL! You could beat up your brother? Haha XD That's okay. One time it took me over a few hours to post something, too. I kept getting so distracted... I felt like I needed ritlin or something.)
"O-okay," Aoko had responded, following after them.
Kiho was bouncing around - rather enthusiastically. She was circling Drejan or Aoko at times, following Nan, who seemed to find it her job to let Kiho chase her. Aoko almost collided with the squirrel on to occassions, but Kiho seemed rather oblivious to anything except the squirrel.
"Why's the bar have water and ice on it...?" Aoko said, glancing at Drejan, remembering how he froze the tree bark.
Kiho watched as Nan clambered up onto the bar and slid on the ice and off the bar and Kiho errupted into giggles, retrieving Nan from the floor. But to Kiho, the ice and water didn't ring any bells - well, they did. Don't worry, she had a question still stored for Drejan.
Aoko took the key and listened to Drejan. To looked at him, suddenly worried. "You don't need to do that.. Do you have a room?" She asked, also remembering he hadn't ate. "Arn't you hungry?"
Kiho trotted to Aoko, peering up at Drejan with her dark amber eyes curiously. What Aoko said was definitly making sense, even to her. She wondered too, her ears perked up, waiting for him to answer.
Drejan cleared his throat at the first question. "Dunno."
Yeah, right. Like hell he didn't know.
The ice sprite chuckled a bit as Nan the squirrel took a bit of a tumble off the ice encrusted counter. "Oops."
Those glacial eyes turned back to Aoko at her worried words. "Eh, nah, I'll be fine. I'm just gonna gamble all night. Oh, no. I usually just need to drink water every so often and I'm good. Really, don't worry about it Aoko. Just get some sleep." He really didn't want Aoko to worry about him. She already had an energetic little sister to worry about.
Eesh, maybe he was glad he couldn't remember if he had a sibling...
"So anything else you need before I head out for the night?"
"...Are you sure? Just..." Aoko sighed and then put her hands on her hips, looking hard at Drejan as if he was Kiho.
Kiho giggled, grinning at Drejan. Haha! It was nice not being the only one. After all, mostly she was the one who got into trouble. Not having any other siblings around, and here no friends, but now that Drejan was here, for however long, Aoko's worries would be split between them. Which gave Kiho a little more, if not much, more wiggle room.
"The only thing we need is for you to promise that if you get tired or anything you'll come to our room, okay?" Aoko was frowning slightly, but she was worried. The look on her face said that if he didn't agree she wouldn't let him go easily.
Kiho stuck her tongue out at Drejan, nodding and agreeing with her sister. Then Nan ran off and so did Kiho. But Aoko couldn't back down just yet, not until he agreed. Even her ears were perked, also trying to catch sounds of just what Kiho was doing. Which was running around after Nan. And occasionally asking questions to the man behind the counter. Poor guy.
Drejan arched an eyebrow as Aoko placed her hands on her hips in an intimidating, purely feminine show of stubborness. Uh-oh...looks like he might envolk the wrath of a woman. Never a pleasant experience.
He shot an amused, mock-serious look at Kiho as she stuck her tongue out at him, then turned his full attention back to Aoko. He stood at attention and gave her a salute. "Ma'am yes ma'am!" He grinned then and waved her off. "Don't worry, I will if I must."
He then turned Aoko around and pushed her gently in the lower back. "Alright, now, off to bed! You too, chickadee!" He caught Kiho as she ran by, holding her easily in one arm.
"By tomorrow, we'll be considerably richer, if my skills haven't gone rusty on me. Sleep well and all that."
He placed Kiho next to her sister and shooed them off upstairs.
Eesh, he felt like a mother hen all of a sudden...
Aoko couldn't help but smile as he stood at attention, saluting her even. He couldn't be serious, hm? As long as he promised, it was okay, she supposed. She dropped her arms and straightened, her ears relaxing as she looked around for Kiho. Then, suddenly, she was being turned around and he pushed her. She sighed but laughed.
Kiho blinked - her arm suddenly caught. She wasn't going anywhere, apparently. She looked up at Drejan and pouted slightly but didn't resist. She smiled and stood by her sister, turning around and waving at him, smiling brightly, like she still had all the energy in the world.
"Night!" Kiho said going upstairs.
Aoko also said good night, walking upstairs and finding their room. She walked in and immediately set to work. She pushed her sister off to the bath and sat down. When he sister came out she took her turn.
Kiho immediately curled up into the bed, Nan tucked close to her. When Aoko finally came out, having stripped herself only to her inner robe. She curled up beside Kiho, who subconsciously curled up against her sister, snugging into her.
"Sleep tight, Kiho..." Aoko yawned, kissing Kiho's forehead and falling asleep.
"Goodnight!" He responded, waving back to Kiho with a grin. What an interesting pair they were. Cute though. Guess he couldn't have picked a better couple of people to help, eh?
Drejan walked up to the shakey man behind the desk and placed his hands firmly on the cold counter. "You had better make sure nothing happens to them while I'm gone, got it?" His blue eyes were fierce, and the man nodded a bit too quickly, his eyes wide like a scared animal.
Turning, Drejan calmly strode out of the establishment. "Alright, see ya later!" And with a wave over his shoulder, he was gone out the door.
Time for some gambling!
(Its up to you just how much time you want to pass, kay? ^_^ )
Kiho woke up, knowing it was close to morning. It was out of habit, actually. They had to wake up, right before dawn, where they had come from. She just felt when it was about to turn. She scooted out of the bed and looked at their clothes. Regardless of only being seven (shush, I changed her age), she knew some things. She tend to cleaning some of their clothing. She even cleaned their boots.
Doning the rest of her clothing, she quietly crept out of the room, creeping down the stairs, Nan sleeping in her arms. She was afraid Aoko would suddenly wake up and chase her. Now, where could Drejan have gone? She crept into the lobby, peering at the man behind the counter. Good. He wasn't paying attention. He was reading something or other.
Counting to herself she darted out of the inn. She was on a quest!
On the other hand, Aoko was just waking up, stretching and yawning. She sat up and looked at the empty bed and space... What? She searched everything - even under the bed. Clothes were clean, shoes, even.... Smacking her forehead hard, moaning to herself and mumbling how much an idiot she was. Great! She had been so tired she hadn't even woken up or felt Kiho leave.
She bristled. How long could it have been? The sun was glaring at her. She quickly put on her clothing and hurried out, whimpering to herself. She got out of the inn and stood their, looking around. Where... just where did Kiho go?
Well.
Well...
That hadn't gone as planned.
Sure, Drejan now had alot of money jingling in his purse. That part had gone fairly well. But he had forgotten rule number one when gambling with people. Never let your guard down. Boy had that one bit him in the ass. Damn.
Drejan was propped up against the wall of one of the many buildings in the city. He was actually fairly close to the inn. But he couldn't muster the strength right now to even get up, let alone make it back.
Yes, not only did he bring back a purse full of coins from his gambling, he also had a dagger in his side.
Thank god he wasn't human anymore.
Where his blood pooled on the ground, there was ice surrounding it. The crimson liquid was actually freezing the earth on which it rested. He was wary of pulling the dagger out, for that would increase the bleeding. He needed to drink some water so he could heal...
What horrible luck.
Resting his head back, Drejan closed his ice blue eyes.
"Eh, what a night..."
Kiho had found him after awhile. She stood there and her eyes widened. She already felt the familiar burning in her eyes that alerted her to crying. She had to get Aoko because.. because she'd start balling any minute. She turned tail and ran, stumbling slightly as Nan stayed behind, perched on Drejan's shoe.
Kiho managed to find Aoko, rather frantic, who hugged her and was going on and on about -something-. Then Kiho tugged hard on her sleeve. She pulled Aoko along, crying. She wasn't good with blood or people or animals injured or dead. Nope, not at all.
Pulling Aoko along, she pointed at Drejan. And then she burst into tears.
Aoko knelt beside Drejan, looking at the dagger. "Drejan?" Aoko said, not sure what to do. But it was good to keep calm - everything other time it was okay for her to get frazzled, when someone was missing... But when you're hurt, it's different.
"Kiho, stop crying. He'll be fine," Aoko said, a mild irritation in her voice.
Drejan heard the pattering of feet, and opened his eyes in time to see a sniffling Kiho turning to leave. Uh-oh. That was bad timing. He had hoped she wouldn't have to see him sitting here bleeding like this. He didn't have time to yell after her, for she was already running off, leaving Nan to watch after him.
He sighed raggidly, and kept his eyes focused on the little squirrel.
"Well, hello there Nan."
Soon, Aoko was there with him, and he grinned mildly. "Hey there. I made some money." He slowly withdrew the purse from his bloodied tunic and placed it on the ground. It was quite plump with coins now.
He took a shakey breath.
"I think I need some water."
"..... Kiho, go get some water," Aoko said, closing her eyes. She almost wanted to smack him.
"B-," Kiho said but was interrupted, "What did I just tell you?" Aoko asked wearily, and Kiho turned and dashed off.
"Good job on getting the money, not such a good job on getting stabbed," Aoko said, raising an eyebrow and giving a half smile.
Nan twisted up and around Aoko, peering at Drejan in a somewhat mocking way. Her tail flicked, turning as she saw Kiho soon came tupping back with two large glasses of water. She blinked, still sniffing lightly. "I didn't know how much you needed... Or... or anything," she hiccuped.
Kiho offered the glasses to Drejan, looking at him through teary eyes.
Drejan laughed weakly, but that only increased the blood leaking from him. "Well, very true. Good thing I'm not human, hmm? Oh well, he was a cheating scoundrel anyway. He is now sporting a frozen arm, in any case."
His icey eyes turned to Kiho as she returned, and he flashed a weak grin at her. "Very good, thanks chicky."
He took both glasses rather stiffly and proceeded to chug down both of them, one after the other. Setting the glasses down, he then reached over and pulled the dagger from his side. There was a sickening slurp, and a small spurt of blood followed, which iced the ground on which it landed.
Within moments, however, the bleeding stopped, and the wound on his tan skin began closing.
"Ahhh. That's much better." He stood up and stretched a bit. It was as if he had never been stabbed to begin with. He bent over and picked up the purse, now laden with coins.
"Any one up for some shopping?" He grinned, totally unphased.
Kiho's ears perked, then she clamped her hands over them at the sickening slurp. Aoko had stood up, looking away. And then he stood up, grinning. Aoko, although she appreciated him smiling and acting like he was okay, which he was now, she still couldn't help... Well, it was okay now, she didn't have to feel stressed her anything.
"... You know what?" She said and smacked his wrapped arm, although it wasn't hard, it was a good way to vent, she thought. "Be more careful. You're as bad as Kiho," Aoko told him, shaking her head.
"Shopping?" Kiho sniffed, rubbing her eyes furiously and curling against Aoko's side as Nan raced onto Kiho's head.
"...Let's go shopping," Kiho nodded her head so furiously her ears flapped up and down.
She tugged at Aoko's sleeve and Aoko laughed. Kiho peered up at Drejan, grabbing Aoko's arm and holding onto it. "How come your clothing and stuff don't freeze?" Kiho said, hanging onto Aoko's arm playfully.
Drejan held his arm in mock pain after Aoko smacked it, but couldn't hide his smirk. "Alright, yes mother." He teased, before raising his hands as if fearing the consequences. "But really, I will. Thanks again little Kiho." He gently ruffled the child's hair, able to tell that she was rather bothered by all that had gone on.
He really regreted her having to see him like that.
He really would be more careful next time.
"Alright then. Lets go get you some new clothes then, eh?" He blinked down at Kiho as she asked her question. Ah, most people didn't think of that one.
Drejan grinned.
"It's enchanted with special runes so it won't freeze." It was true. If one were to look at the inside of his wrappings or clothing, they would find many runes written in blue ink. That was the secret behind his clothing not freezing.
He turned and slowly started to walk off in the direction of the clothing store and tailor that he had earlier scoped out. "C'mon. I've got plenty of money now, so you guys can get some new clothing for your travels and all that." He then looked down at his own tattered tunic. Normally it was such a pain in the ass to put new runes on clothing, he just used the same ones, but these were getting a little threadbare.
"And maybe I'll get some too..."
After Drejan teased her, calling her 'mother', she stuck out her tongue, if only to disprove his joke. Aoko smiled though. Aoko doubted he wouldn't be more careful. At least she deeply hoped so, because she didn't want Kiho happening upon such a scene again. Kiho was sensitive enough.
Kiho smiled up at him after he ruffled her hair, then cuddling against her sister who wrapped her arm around her. Kiho sighed, tail wagging lightly. She was both happy and intrigued that it only took water to heal such a wound.
"Really?" Kiho asked excitedly. "Me see, me see!" She said, pulling away from Aoko and peering up with increasing curiousity.
Aoko smiled at Kiho. She had always been interested in magic, spells, and anything like that. It made her happy. Then again, it rarely took alot for Kiho to be happy. Which was why she was returning to normal so quickly.
Both of them followed him, Kiho moving up beside him while Aoko lagged behind. She took a few strides and caught up, clapsing her hands in front of her. New clothes? She was so used to the kind she wore. She was sure Kiho wouldn't mind - she'd love something different from the clothing back home.
Drejan once again opened the door in a gentlemanly fashion, and then followed the two of them into the stop. The store was lined with all sorts of different clothing items, as well as rolls of cloth for custom made clothing.
The ice sprite had not forgotten Kiho's request, either.
Without hesitation, he stripped his tunic top off and turned it inside out for Kiho's viewing. This left his entire upper torso bare, as it was not wrapped, again reinforcing the fact his skin was naturally that pale chocolate brown all over.
That, and he had some nice muscles going.
Kneeling, he pointed the runes out to Kiho. "See? This stuff written in the dark blue ink. Those are the runes that protect my clothing from being frozen." Interestingly enough, without the tunic on, Drejan's body actually caused the air around him to drop considerably in temperature. Kiho would definately notice it, being so close to him and all. "Anyway, these things make it a pain to get new clothing, because I have to write them all over again. That's why what I'm wearing is so raggid."
Kiho wasn't bothered by his bare chest - but Aoko was. She blushed and turned tail - which had stiffened - and covered her face with her hands. Kiho leaned close, touching the clothes, studying the runes. She was grinning estatically, but then tilted her head up at him. She frowned.
"I don't understand at all, though," Kiho was exceedingly bright for a child her age, regardless of her one-track mind.
"I can feel how cold you are from here.... But... If you're so cold, touching another person would freeze them..." She said, blinking. "How could your parents have been together?" She knew all about the "birds and the bees". "Unless because of what you are..." She said, but glanced at her sister, blinking her confusion.
"Kiho..." Aoko said nervously - but Kiho had a striving for knowledge. And Kiho was naturally curious.
Aoko would rather leave well-enough alone. If it wasn't her business, what right did she have to know? That was her logic. But Kiho viewed the world as her playground, and she saw that anything worth asking a question was worth an answer. She loved knowing things. Aoko only wondered where she stored all the information she gained. Actually, with all the information she gained, Aoko wondered if Kiho wasn't already grown up. If Kiho was just hiding it behind a childish facade.
Drejan arched his eyebrows, blinking a few times in surprise. He then grinned and laughed lightly. "You're a very bright kid. That would be the case, only my parents were normal humans. I used to be human, then I died young, and was reborn as I am now. Well, more or less."
He calmly took his tunic back and stood. He was still a bit sensitive about explaining the mistake that now caused him to be unable to touch anyone or anything.
"Alrighty then, lets get some clothes. Go on, start picking stuff out you two." He shooed em off, and then wandered up to the front desk, tunic still in hand. He was wondering if he couldn't just have them replicate the runes for him...
That might actually be a bad idea though. What if they messed it up? That would royally suck.
Oh well, he still needed clothing.
Kiho nodded. Papa always said she was too smart for her own good. Actually, so did the head maid. Which is why she was often scolded and kept close to her sister. She could always tell when her sister was more serious then usual. The repriands - usually for mannerisms - changed. She wasn't reminding her, then. There was something else in them, nervousness, further strictness, or a weariness. Or signs from her ears or tails that meant that she should listen. Otherwise, her sister was just reminding her for the thousandth time.
The more or less hinted that he wasn't telling the full story. She nodded slowly, offering an 'mmm'. Okay. She guessed she could understand that. Well, this world -was- different then Gaieartet. When they first arrived there were increasingly strange things around. Such as some of the plants. And wildlife.
"This world is really weird. I miss Gaieartet," Kiho said, blinking as Nan tried the taste of a nearby shirt.
Kiho picked up Nan, tapping the squirrel in the nose before allowing herself to be shooed off. She was immediately drawn to the breeches, picking them up and examining them curiously. She chose a looser pair of pants and then managed to find a tunic.
Aoko, on the other hand, only smiled at her sister's comment, before wandering off and sighing. The clothes were a bit weird. Well, not weird. In Gaieartet they had similiar clothes, it's just she didn't like these clothes. Aoko looked at the pants some and sighed heavily.
"...What about tails?" Kiho squeaked, peering at her sister, suddenly beside her.
"We could have then make an alteration. And I'm going to wear my sash, still," Aoko said dryly.
What about the rest of the clothes?
"Are those the clothes you want? Try them on," Aoko asked, and Kiho nodded, trotting behind a curtain. She soon came back and nodded, handing them to Aoko.
Aoko searched for clothing, lip twitching. It'd be easier to travel in pants, as well. With a soft groan she picked out some pants, similiar to her sister's, and then a tunic. She then went and tried them on before going to the front desk.
"U-uhm, could you make some alterations to the pants..? Because of our..." Aoko flicked up her tail and the person nodded, taking the pants. Aoko was relieved - she was already blushing from asking that question.
Drejan noticed their discomfort from the corner of the room. Hmm, homesick, eh? He couldn't remember his home, so wasn't subject to the same feelings. He did sometimes ponder it though. Just where had he lived as a human...?
The ice sprite had picked out another tunic and pants combination. They were both a rich, dark blue. While the girls had been picking out their clothing, the alterations on his had already been done. The legs were shortened to just below the knee, and the sleeves taken from the top.
At the moment, he was sitting calmly in a chair, with a bottle of ink and a pen that the manager had let him use. He was rewriting the runes onto the inside of his new clothing. It was a tedious process, but he seemed to have done it many times before, and so it went fairly quickly. He mumbled things under his breath every so often, just choice magickal words, nothing fancy.
He chuckled at Aoko's shy request. Hmm, he never thought about needing room for their tails. He wondered if that was a common problem back home. Or maybe everyone had tails so the clothing came pre-cut.
Maybe he'd ask a bit later. For now, he needed to concentrate.
Kiho was investigating everything the shop possibly kept in store. Even sneaking into the back to look at all the bolts and lengths of cloth. She peered out a window and touched everything she could with the tips of her fingers. Kiho was loving every second - although it was a reminder, a very large one, where they came from. But still, an adventure was an adventure!
"Nan?" Kiho said, turning slowly around the room, looking for her squirrelly companion.
Suddenly, there was a shriek. And Nan came running back at teh speed of light, jumping and clinging to Kiho's dress and scrambling all the way up to her shoulder. Kiho blinked and looked up. Not far away was a haughty woman coming closer and closer and closer.
"What the hell is that thing? Do you know you're not supposed to have those things in here?! LOOK WHAT IT DID TO MY NEW PURSE?" And the woman kept getting closer and closer.
"What? Don't you speak? Cat got your tongue? I'll make you say something you little---" The woman said, having noticed Kiho's ears and tail.
"Don't you dare touch her, ma'am," Aoko said lowly, standing beside her sister.
Aoko had immediately come to her sister's rescue, standing in front of Kiho, her tail stiff and her ears perked up. Who did this woman think she was? Just because Kiho's squirrel was a bit crazy and little to nibble and try out new 'products' didn't mean she had to get so... huffu about it all.
"Look! It's ruined!" The woman showed Aoko the bitemarks.
"It adds character," Aoko said flatly. "It's an ugly. Smells like you dumped perfume on it, too. I can smell it from here. Please excuse us. Thank you very much," Aoko bowed rigidly, and more out of the woman being stunned did she drag Kiho away.
Aoko grabbed Nan by the ruff of it's neck. "Nan, if you don't be good here and now, you'll regret it for your entire life, got me?" Aoko snapped, and Nan wriggled to get away from 'scary' Aoko and dashed back to the care of Kiho.
Then the woman came back and Aoko took the pants, examining the slots for their tails. She smiled at the woman. "Thank you very much!" She took it and handed Kiho her dark green clothing.
"Aoko... You should tend to your wrist," Kiho murmured as she shuffled into one of the back rooms.
Glancing at her wrist she winced sharply - where the thick shackle-like bangle was, there was a red mark and trickles of blood from under it. She whimpered but waited for Kiho who came running out.
"Help me! My taill!" Kiho whimpered, turning her back to Aoko who laughed and pulled the rest of her tail through the slot.
"Here... where your sash." Aoko said, managing to tie the sash around her, regardless that her wrist had affected her hand which was trembling.
Aoko then went into one of the rooms to change and Kiho scuttled around and found Drejan. She wondered if he was finished with his runes yet.
Drejan looked up at the sudden shriek. He watched the woman march up to Kiho, and would have intervened, only Aoko got to it first. The grin on his face quickly dropped as Aoko then insulted the woman, and adding insult to injury, turned and pretty much dismissed her by walking off.
Uh, wait...
That could come back to bite them in the ass later...
Sighing, Drejan just shook his head and returned to the task of writing the runes on his new clothes. He was pretty close to being done, too.
He laughed as he caught poor Kiho with her tail caught in her new clothing, but at this distance and angle, couldn't yet see Aoko's bleeding wrist.
It was then that fate did indeed come back to bite them in the ass.
The haughty woman returned with two large bodyguard-types. Obviously she was someone of importance (or she just felt important...and rich). In any case, she was still royally ticked off, and was intent on making Kiho, and now Aoko, pay.
"Those two little wenches, there." She pointed a ring-encrusted hand at Aoko and Kiho, and the men started forward.
Drejan sighed.
Good grief...
(lol, I commandeered your npc...hope you don't mind!)
(don't mind at all. =D)
Aoko looked at them, vaguely as the shackle-like bangle began to vibrate viciously on her wrist, blood trickling down her arm in rivulets as the claws on her right hand, the arm that wasn't shackled, started to grow. Aoko's body spasmed, hurling her forward as her jaw ached.
"D-don't... don't come near me!" Aoko growled, Kiho backing away.
The bodyguards ignored Aoko, thinking it was some twisted act, but as soon as they touched Aoko she bit one on the shoulder, her teeth penetrating as she fought, clawing at the one, her eyes vibrant and tinted red. The veins along her face and neck bulged as she writhed, soon ontop of the one bodyguard, her mouth on his neck, fangs she hadn't to the beginning of everything were pressed hardly against his neck.
"Step back!" Kiho wailed, "If you don't she'll wind up killing him! Just do it!" Kiho told them pleadingly.
Aoko yelped and scrambled back spastically, holding her left wrist aloft as blood trickled down her hand and off her fingers. Aoko's bloodied right hand clutched at her face, as she returned to normal but the woman and bodyguards left - probably to bring back more.
"We have to get out of here," Kiho said, kneeling beside Aoko.
"The suppressers ... don't work... right here..." Aoko gasped, knelt on the floor.
Drejan jumped up at the sudden violence that sprouted out of Aoko with little warning. She was on one of the men in an instant, ripping at his neck in a way that could only say she wanted to kill him, to spill his blood without heed.
Oh.crap.
He was at their side in an instant, knowing full well that one holy pile of hell waited them outside. He remembered that woman from the gambling incident. She had been a big bet-er, and she had plenty more guards where those two came from.
Without much explination, he put his new tunic over Aoko's upper body in a rush, and then stripped his old one and placed it on Kiho. This left him in his old tunic pants, and the wrappings, his chest again bare and causing the air to chill.
He picked Aoko up with little effort, careful of her bare flesh, his tunic protecting her from his own skin, the pair of new tunic pants thrown over her arms so that they wouldn't freeze against his stomach.
"This is going to get ugly..." He grimaced, dashing for the door. "Come on little one!"
He burst outside, and hissed through his teeth at what lay ahead of him. The lady was there in force. Her other guards had been outside the entire time. Craaaap.
"You...you! You demon! Beast! You killed him! You killed him!!" She screamed in a high pitch voice, pointing one long-nailed finger at Aoko.
Drejan ignored this and grinned at the woman, waving. "Heya, remember me?" He then set Aoko down, his left arm still around her, and took the edge of the wrappings of his right hand in his mouth, unwrapping his hand with a yank.
"I would highly suggest you all backoff."
The woman, flush-faced, was gritting her teeth. "Just get them!!"
The men rushed forward, but that was quickly put to a stop as Drejan slammed his hand against the earth, causing large sheets of ice to suddenly sprout up a few feet ahead of them, creating a large shield in front of them.
He flinched however, the cut on his side reoppening just enough to start bleeding once again.
He needed more water...
Ugh, what crappy luck he was having.
"You see? I'm not kidding. I'll turn you into an iceberg if you don't back off."
Now there was some food for thought for them to chew over, eh?
They, she, didn't have much time to comprehend the situation. Drejan alreayd had tehm, and her wrist felt like it was going to be severed, the shackle constricting and grinding into her, chewing at her sensitive skin. Maybe... they'd have been better off in Gaieartet. Then... then this would have never happened, right? And they wouldn't be causing so much trouble for Drejan... or anyone else...
Aoko cradled her arm to her, barely aware of what was going on, her body spasming every so often. When she touched the ground, her muscles convulsed, and she locked up before shaking and trembling and her muscles released. She was panting hard. It hurt... it hurt...
Kiho held onto Nan, petting and tearing up, eyes welled up. She whimpered and looked at Drejan pleadingly. "We have to go!" Kiho looked at Aoko, and then touched her own shackle around her ankle. They had to leave... They had too!
Kiho began to wonder if they would have stayed back in Gaieartet. None of this would have happened. None of it. They... How did this ever happen? Weren't the shackles supposed to prevent this? Weren't they supposed to be extremely powerful? Because of this world was it eroding the shackles very powerful? Or was it only dulled?
Drejan nodded at Kiho. "Yeah, I know, I know." Easier said than done. He didn't really want to get chased around all day.
The ice melted after his hand had been away from the earth for awhile. The group of tough men were staring wide-eyed and nervous at Drejan, wondering whether or not this was such a hot idea.
Drejan gave them a glare with his icy eyes, hopeing the lady would have the brains to call her thugs off and just let it be.
The lady opened and closed her mouth a few times, before finally drawing up the rest of her dignity and speaking. "Leave them boys, those girls most certainly aren't worth it. Let's go." With a huffy turn, she stiffly marched off, her thugs following after with a few glances back.
Drejan rolled his eyes, sighing. "What a pain...idiots..." He mumbled after them, then, picking Aoko back up, turned and dashed for the inn, ignoring his now bleeding side.
Once inside, he rushed up the stairs to their room.
"Alright, hurry and open the door Kiho."
Kiho immediately opened the door and when he set Aoko on the bed she sat at the edge.
"Aoko! Aoko!" Kiho cried, touching Aoko's tail and then pulling at Aoko's ears, trying to hold her down whenever Aoko's body twisted.
Kiho stroked Aoko's tail, hugging Aoko all the while. Anything to remind Aoko that she could calm down, anything. But it was hard - it was always hard getting through. Her body was still rigid, and she still had vague traces of claws. Kiho whimpered, holding her still until Aoko returned to normal - err - calmed down, physically.
"Aoko, can you hear me? Aoko? Aoko!" Kiho said to her sister, who was staring off at the ceiling, barely a response, not even a twitch of her ear.
Kiho grabbed Aoko's wrist, before running off to grab the towel from their bath, and wiping the blood off. Kiho looked at the shackle - it was beginning to loosen it's teeth on her wrist. Kiho sighed and wiped as much blood from it as she could. She touched Aoko's tail again, her eyes returning to normal as they eyed Kiho.
"I-I..." Aoko stuttered.
"Don't talk!" Kiho stroked Aoko's tail some more. "It'll be fine, you can talk and apologize all you want later. The suppresser hasn't loosened yet," Kiho murmured.
"She's asleep..." Kiho sighed heavily and looked at Drejan. "I'm sorry...."
Drejan's bare torso was making the air colder, but with the two of them wearing his tunic tops, it wasn't as noticable. His unwrapped right hand was holding the reopened cut on his side, trying to stem the bloodflow.
He watched as Kiho brought Aoko around, a worried frown on his face.
There was obviously something here he was missing. There was more to these two than met the eye, apparently.
"It's alright. Look after her. But I expect an explination later." He wobbled a bit. "But for now, I'm going...to go take a bath." He stumbled a bit on his way to the bathroom door, finding himself far weaker than he had thought he was.
The door shut behind him, and shortly thereafter the sound of running water filled the silence. Drejan filled up the old tub before turning the tap off and shedding his wrappings and pants.
As soon as he sunk into the tub, the water froze solid around him, and he sighed.
Much, muuuch better.
Kiho glanced back at Drejan. She sighed. Kiho rubbed off the blood, and when Aoko fell asleep, she pulled at the shackle, opening it. It revealed her torn wrist. The teeth on the inside of the shackle, meant to dig into her skin as it constricted, made thousands of pinpricks, blood blooming, small gashes all along Aoko's wrist.
Kiho patted off the blood, and went downstairs quick to talk to the man behind the counter. He awarded her with some bandages and she came back up, wrapping Aoko's abused wrist.
When Aoko finally started coming around, it was about an hour later. Kiho, by then, had even washed the shackle, freeing it of blood and pieces of skin that had been torn off. Kiho had cried quite a few times, her sister's blood not boding well. Aoko sat up and looked at the shackle, holding it in her right hand lightly.
"I'm very sorry, Kiho... We should have left right after that incident. It had already started then... I'm very sorry," Aoko said, head bowed, mumbling.
"We have to find someone who can renew the spell. Or make a new one. It's... just.." Aoko sighed, wiping her eyes.
How stupid. It had been her own fault and she was going to cry because of it. She had to be the one who didn't cry - if only for Kiho's sake. She glanced around the room, her shoulders slouched forward. Very gingerly, Aoko snapped the shackle back around her wrist, wincing sharply.
Drejan was quite happily sitting in the self-made block of ice. The tub was frosty on the outside, and the room itself was chilling considerably. The mirror had frosted over, the entire room gone misty with a sort of icey fog.
This mist began to come out from under the door as well, alerting Aoko and Kiho that something strange was going on in the bathroom.
It didn't used to be like this...he used to be able to touch people, things. It hadn't started when he became an ice sprite. No, it happened well after the fact. He hadn't known about his restrictions and abilities when he had been reborn, and had learned them the hard way.
He had neglected to use his ice powers for an extended period of time, until the pressure of it all literally forced it from his body, scarring him forever. After that, he could not touch anything without freezing it. Luckily, he seemed to have some strange knowledge of magick runes to help. Must have come with the whole being reborn thing...or something.
In any case, he had suffered with it for awhile now, and it didn't hinder him as much as it once had.
Though he knew he was going to have to get out soon before he foze the room solid...
Aoko pointed to the bathroom door, and Kiho turned blinking as she saw the mist. She padded towards it - it was chilly. She knocked on the door timidly and swatted at the mist playfully. She giggled and wagged her tail through it, giggling.
"Whatcha doin'?" Kiho asked through the door, although more preoccupied with the mist.
Aoko blinked - what was going on? Today was just a crazy, crazy, crazy day. Aoko laid down and rested her right arm over her eyes. Really, she wished this was all a dream. Everything. But where would wishing get her? No where. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes. She felt... sleepy...
Through her mind's own fog, she wondered what the mist was, and why was Kiho giggling? She was so happy... It was so distant... Her mind was already in a dream, or a memory, locked away.
Kiho sat outside the door, blowing at the mistiness, shivering when she got a chill. She hoped Drejan was okay. But it was so fun... But it'd be bad if he wasn't okay. Maybe he was fine now. She bet he was, with his whole ice thing and all... But what could the mist actually be from?
Drejan grinned to himself as he heard Kiho giggling outside the door. He turned, the ice easily cracking and flowing around his body, as though it were nothing more than slush. He could see her shadow by the crack in the door.
"Apparently providing something for your amusement." Was his response. Feeling empowered, Drejan placed his fingers on the floor and let a line of ice shoot off for the door.
As it appeared beneath the crack in the door, it rose up, beginning to take form. First it was a lovely, delicate rose, which turned slowly into a butterfly, flapping its wings. From that, it turned into a fairy with a smiling face and little butterfly wings of her own. All this made of ice, still attatched to that original trail on the bathroom floor.
Kiho was giddy with laughter, watching the mist. And then her laughter turned into silence as she stared in awe at the ice. Her lower jaw dropped as she waved it. Her tail wagged slowly, her ears perked as she stared at it in amusement.
"...Wow... Amazing..." She mumbled. "Oooh! Nan! Lookit this!" She said as she picked up her squirrel, showing it the final product of the fairy.
Kiho giggled as she watched the fairy, pulling up her knees to her chest. She glanced to look at Aoko. She was already a sleep. That's a shame... She wanted to show her sister the fairy. Ah well. Maybe later she could get Drejan to do something similiar or something.
"I'v enever seen something so amazing..." Kiho mumbled again, still in a state of awe.
Her tail wagged happily behind her as she rested her chin on her knees, just looking at it. Wow! And he did all that with ice... It looked like some proffesional sculpture rather than just ice... And he didn't even have to chip away at it. He had it in -control-. It was his ability!
Closing his eyes, Drejan rested against the back of the tub, his fingers still on the floor, and let himself focus fully on the ice at the end of the trail. He could sense what was happening on the other side of the door through the ice, almost as if he could see through the fairy's eyes.
The fairy flitted its wings and appeared to take off, the ice trail following her, barely attatched to her feet as she flew around. Finally, she made her way to the bed, the ice trail falling away from her feet as she came over the bed, looking down at Aoko. She perched on Aoko's arm, the one currently slung over her eyes. Her cold little ice feet melted against the warmth of Aoko's skin, no longer held so firmly with Drejan's power.
Kiho had spun on her place on the floor to see what was going on. She grinned as she saw the fairy land Aoko's arm.
Aoko, at first, didn't feel it, until the coldness finally got through to her, and she felt the melted droplets slid down and hit her on the forehead. She moaned slightly, peeking from under her arm to see an.... what the HELL? An.. ice fairy? She stared at it, dumbfounded, then heard Kiho's giggling. She couldn't help it, and she burst into giggles.
"Drejan made it!" Kiho said through her giggles. "Isn't it pretty?"
She moved her arm slightly, laughing as she stared at it. Aoko's ears laid flat, her tail stiffening out beside her as she giggled fitfully. Kiho pounced on Aoko, and she 'umphed'. Kiho giggled and grinned. "Drejan's amazing," Kiho nodded her head vigorously, ears flapping up and down limply.
The ice fairy slowly melted away, and as it did so, the door to the bathroom opened. Drejan stepped out, again dressed in his old pants and the wrappings. "Amazing, eh?" He chuckled, arms crossed over his bare chest as the fairy completely melted.
He walked over to the side of the bed and grinned down at the two.
"Feeling better Aoko? Oh, and I'd like my clothes back please." He said, motioning to the tunic tops they both wore, and the pants trapped somewhere underneath Aoko.
He seemed in pretty high spirits, the cut no longer on his side. Overall he looked rejuvinated. "So, anyone care to explain what happened back there...?"
Of course, he also got the feeling that it might be a bit of a secret or something, so he wouldn't feel bad if he didn't get an answer.
He had his own secrets, after all.
"Clothes...?" Aoko blinked, then looked at Kiho and then herself. She blushed slightly and twisted slightly so Kiho wound up sliding off. She pulled off the tunic and caught a glimpse of Drejan's pants and tugged them from under herself.
Kiho handed his tunic back to him, laughing.
"I hope I didn't get any blood on any of it... I'm very sorry for causing so much trouble," Aoko said, bowing her head slightly.
Kiho sat, curling her tail around her as she sat beside Aoko and took a quick stroke along Aoko's tail, if only to cheer her sister up. When Aoko wasn't in such a troubled state, it was funny watching her ears perk, her face a mask of delight as her face flushed. Kiho threw herself backwards onto the bed, giggling.
"Hey! Cut that out! Don't touch my tail," Aoko said, pushing away her sister who rolled off the bed and landed on her feet, giggling.
When Aoko regained composure she rubbed the back of her head with her right hand. She mumbled something before sighing softly.
"These," she said, pointing at her shackle on her left wrist, "Suppress our berserker blood. In my species, there are some born from a certain line..." Aoko started before shaking her head.
"Ah. The previous emperor reinforced his Imperial Army, making them berserkers, pushing them to their limits, and making the best of their docters to make all sorts of things, so it'd change things about them.. It's said from thereon, any child that was from the Imperial Army had 'berserker' blood. The new emperor made everyone from those lines where these shackles to suppress it. I guess coming here made them less effective," Aoko sighed, touching the shackle lightly.
"But I'm really sorry... I didn't get blood on it at all, did I?" Aoko asked, looking at him worriedly.
He laughed and took the clothing back, putting the old tunic top on, since he had the old pants on anyway. The other two he tucked under his arm calmly, brushing some of his silver-white hair from his face.
"Nah, there's no blood on it. You're fine Aoko, it was no problem. Just livened up my day a bit is all." He assured her, smirking mildly. If anything, he blamed all this on some royal bad luck.
Really, really, really bad luck.
Drejan's light brow arched as he watched Kiho's little trick. His grin grew a bit more sly. "So that's what happens when you touch her tail. I'll have to remember that..." He laughed a bit, knowing that would probably get an interesting response, before listening to her explination.
Once all was said and done, he simply nodded.
"It's quite possible that their magick has been dulled. But it is also possible that this atmosphere could begin to dull your berserker blood too."
He rolled his shoulders, and then grinned a bit more normally at Aoko. "Don't worry about it, my clothes are fine. I'm glad you're alright though. Next time something like that happens, try to let me handle it. I don't mean to sound rude but, that seemed to hurt you alot, so..."
Sometimes he had trouble puting his caring into words.
He'd have to remember that? Of all things to remember! Aoko's ears had stood up and her tail had went rigid. "You don't have to remember a thing," she told him.
"Maybe. I hope so..." Aoko responded. Who knows? But she really didn't want to wait and see what'd happen if she tried to experiment. What a wonderful that'd be. Oh! Let's see how crazy I get, in this world, huh?!
"I know.. I just got a little stressed and... I know I didn't handle it very well, it's just..." Aoko sighed and laughed. "Forget it. It wont happen again," Aoko said, glancing at her wrist. "It could've been worse," Aoko said optimistically.
"ROAR," Kiho said, pouncing on Aoko, biting her sister's ear. "MMPH, GOTCHA," Kiho mumbled through a mouthful of ear, tail wagging spastically.
"Ack! My ear!" Aoko said, pushing at Kiho. "It wont come off!" Aoko said playfully, trying to pry Kiho's jaws off her ear.
Drejan laughed at her threatening words, knowing full well he wasn't going to forget about her tail just because she told him to. Besides, it might come in handy some time.
He sighed a bit, nodding at her next words. True, it could have been worse. And well, he couldn't deny that it hadn't been handled all that well. Didn't mean he had to agree though...
So he stayed silent.
The ice sprite couldn't help but laugh as Kiho pounced upon her sister, taking her ear firmly in her mouth. Drejan held up his free hand. "I'm not getting involved in this. I don't deal with crazy children." He joked, taking a step back from the bed.
Well, he supposed he could take this as a sign that Aoko was feeling better now at least.
(Lol, aaand I can't think of anything else ^_^;; )
Kiho giggled crazily, clinging to her sister like a leech. She was growling and her tail wagging, even pulling lightly at Aoko's hair. To them - this was play. Not with dolls or cute things like that, but biting and pushing and tugging and growling and acting like real puppies with eachother. Kiho tried to make a grab from Aoko's wagging tail but missed.
Aoko grabbed Kiho's sides and tickled her. Kiho tossed back her head with a shriek as she writhed but was thrown back onto the bed, her tail wagging. Kiho was laughing spastically, her face flushed red from being tickled so much.
"Haha! Nanana," Aoko said, sticking her tongue out at her sister and letting her go.
"Crazy, hm?" Aoko asked Drejan, laughing. She did seem alot better - she seemed more relaxed.
Kiho grinned and tumbled off the bed and crawled around the side to look at Drejan. And then she started barking at him. Aoko clapped her hands over her mouth, laughing. Who couldn't love her cute little sister, hm?
Drejan laughed heartily at their play. Well, apparently there was more to their dog-like ears and tails than just fashion. They really acted like puppies at play.
He put his new tunic down on the dresser just as Kiho tumbled off the bed. Turning, he found himself suddenly being barked at.
He lifted a snowy brow.
"Who you barking at?"
With that he dashed for Kiho, aiming to pick her up off the floor with his wrapped hands.
Hey, he wanted to have some fun too.
Kiho didn't answer him - just barked at him, her tail wagging harder behind her. Aoko peered at them with amusement, sitting cross-legged with her tail wagging idly. Her ears were perked as she watched Drejan dash after Kiho. Maybe it wasn't so bad that they had come here and met him? There was good in every situation, you just had to find it. But, of course, how long would he stay? She sighed softly and cleared her head, simply because that was irrevelant right now. It'd do no good to think about the future.
Although Kiho tried to escape, she didn't do it so well, so she wound up being scooped up by Drejan. So she just turned and barked and play-growled at him as visciously as she possibly could. Including wagging tail and perked ears and much wriggling done on her part to try to escape.
Drejan grinned in triumph as he caught little Kiho, scooping her up in both arms. He stuck his tongue out at her as she growled at him, and then calmly slung her over one shoulder.
"Don't get sick on me now." He warned, and then started spinning around in circles, taking Kiho along for the ride.
There was a vague memory of his own father doing this to him, and how much he had enjoyed it as a child.
Hopefully Kiho would be the same.
Once he had spun for a bit, he then held Kiho straight over his head and grinned at her. "So, you wanna try barking at me again little one?"
"Mmm!" Kiho said, giggling as soon as he started spinning. "Weee!" Kiho laughed, the delight easily seen in her large, dark amber eyes. She never knew that spinning around could be so enjoyable - she didn't understand why it was, or why being dizzy made her feel happy or anything like that, it just did. And I guess it never matters why something makes you happy, as long as it does, right?
Suddenly, he stopped and held her over his head. She was grinning brightly, but trying to orient herself - her head was still spinning. She blinked a few times and gave the weakest, most pathetic bark anyone could ever give. Kiho paused before she broke into laughter at herself, trying to redeem herself with barks choked wtih laughter.
Drejan laughed at her pathetic bark, and then tossed her onto the bed. "That was the saddest bark I have ever heard Kiho." He professed, grinning, his arms crossed over his chest.
His vibrant eyes then turned to Aoko, the grin turning into more of a smirk.
"So, you want a turn Aoko? I can spin you around too."
He was teasing, but he really was considering it, whether she agreed or not.
(Ahh, SPS!)
Kiho hit the bed and bounced, 'oomphing'. She spun around and barked at him, sticking out her tongue at him. Her ears were perked up as she looked at him, barking again as she then sprawled along the bed, kicking her legs as she grinned when he asked Aoko. Looked at her sister curiously.
Aoko blinked and looked up at Drejan. "W..what? N-no thank you!" Aoko said, blushing from even that as she even leaned away from him slightly. She hadn't be sure if he was serious or not... But she couldn't tell with him!
It'd just be her luck if he had been serious. But she decided not to take any chances. She looked at her sister, just to her see her reaction, and just in time managed to avoid another tail-stroke. She pushed her sister away, hitting her with one of the pillows. Kiho was in hysterical fits of laughter, her face flushed.
...For a split second, Aoko felt like the only sane one.
(OH GOD. NO. NOT SPS! *dies*)
His grin broadened. It was a devious look he had on his face.
Oh yes, he was serious.
Since she was so against it, he was so going to do it.
Ha, take that.
Drejan dashed to her side of the bed, practically throwing himself on it to reach her. Once he had an arm under her knees, and another under her back, he hefted her off the bed and against his chest.
"You're not allowed to throw up on me either."
And then he began spinning with her, not flipping her over his shoulder like he did to Kiho. He figured that would have been too uncomfortable for her.
Had Kiho meant to create an opening? Aoko had not been aware or even anticipating Drejan's "attack". If she had saw his smirk she'd have probably tried to bolt... unfortantly, she hadn't caught it. So it came to no surprise that she gave a half-shriek kind of yelp, eyes widening. Was he insane?! What was wrong with him? She was blushing profusely, and her hands were over her face to hide it.
However, it didn't take long for her to shake with silent laughter before they began muffled giggles, before she dropped her hands away from her face, simply laughing. Ack! What was she doing? She felt like a little kid - not that that was a bad thing, but she hadn't really wanted to be spun around.
Kiho was watching, giggling almost as much as Aoko. Hah! What a liar she was. She liked it! What a faker.
Drejan was grinning, able to feel her body shaking from the force of laughter being held within. He calmly kept spinning, knowing sooner or later she would have to crack.
And crack she did.
Finally she was laughing out loud, which is exactly what he'd bee waiting for. He knew she'd have fun. It was just an issue of getting her to loosen up enough to enjoy herself.
Finally having had enough of spinning, he stopped, lifted Aoko a bit higher, and then did the same thing to her as he had to Kiho.
He tossed her onto the bed, being careful not to hit Kiho with her in the process.
He then brushed his hands together as if he had just finished a job, a smirk still on his face.
Well, that had been satisfying.
"Dizzy yet?"
She squeaked as she landed on the bed, still faintly giggling. She looked up and saw his smirk, frowning at him. What was his big idea? He was certainly an odd one. She shook her head and sighed. The world was a little swirly. She rested her head back on the bed, yawning.
"...Yes," Aoko admitted, mumbling something like 'meanie' under her breath.
Kiho giggled and poked her sister. "Aw! Aoko's shy! And a faker! You had funnnn," Kiho continued to prod at her sister who refused to budge. Kiho already knew Aoko was blushing madly.
"Haha! Hehe! Hoho! WEEE," Kiho said, pouncing on top of Aoko mercilessly, stretching out and using her sister as a bed of sorts.
"Heehee! Pile on Aokooo," Kiho said to Nan who then pounced onto Aoko's head.
"Even NAN? I have no hope for the world," Aoko said in a playfully dramatic voice, although she was almost half serious about that.
Kiho giggled. "We love yoouu," she said in a sing-song voice, ruffling Aoko's hair.