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Chapter 48.5: A Rose with Many Thorns
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2022-03-09 21:16:56Twirling the liquid in her glass dispassionately, Chiri glanced around the crowded banquet hall. Exhausted by the tediousness of attending such events, she stood alone at one side of the room.
A mild summer breeze entering the room through the open exit to the terrace, she was revived slightly by the cool air as it swept past her. Having just returned from an assignment merely a few hours earlier that day. Chiri had no opportunity to rest prior to donning formal attire. Covered in charred debris and baring a shallow cut, which ran the length of her outer thigh on one leg, Chiri still possessed a certain wariness about her demeanor that made her mildly unapproachable to most.
Despite having bathed, she could still smell the ash left by her mercilessly scorched opponents clinging to her. Her third consecutive mission of the week, Chiri intended to take on another shortly after resting for a day. Completing successive missions after she was made a Guardian, Chiri had qu
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Finding Chiri on the terrace, Cazer removed his jacket. Seeing her slim frame shiver even from afar, Chiri seemed to have become oblivious to the cold as she remained caught in her lone ruminations.Coming to stand beside her silently, Cazer placed his jacket over her bare shoulders. Chiri’s skin turning cold from standing outside in the harsh winter air, Cazer replaced his hand on the crevice in her back. The dip fitting his palm naturally, Cazer felt the little space begin to warm gradually as he continued to rest his hand along its soft dip.Cazer was not in any way surprised that Chiri had chosen to remove herself from the crowded interior of the banquet hall at the first available instance. Although, Cazer would have preferred Chiri had been more attentive towards her decreasing body temperature. He would not criticize her for seeking some solace on the secluded terrace.Whilst, feeling the loss of her company more acutely than he had expected. Cazer
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His fingers clumsily fumbling at the top clasp of his jacket in the cold, Allen securely fastened it under his chin. Puffing some warm breaths of air into his hands, he rubbed them together rapidly. Then plunged both hands back down into the depths of his pockets to shield them from the relentless chill. The leaves of the now barren trees, crunching on the ground beneath them as they walked along the deserted trail. Regarding the forest around them cautiously, Allen placed a mindful distance between himself and the steep slope that ran adjacent to them. The rift opening up like a gaping mouth, its size made indeterminable by the canopy of the growth that rose up from its depths, Allen staring into it guardedly as they skimmed along its edge. This being his first assignment since he had been promoted to Hunter, excluding the cover he had used during his rescue mission at Vasmere Manor, they had not been deployed far from the Alliance headquarters. Only half a d
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Withdrawing his pistol cautiously, Allen tried to make the squelching of his steps less audible as he progressed through the darkened trench. Not noticing until this moment just how devoid of sound the forest was. There were no hoots or the screeching of animals, nor was there any wind to rustle the branches or the chirping of insects present in the night. Even the long strides of his partner on the path above leaving him far behind, Allen felt completely alone in his mission now.This revelation only making the unexpected sound of a woman’s gentle sobbing all the more pronounced to him among the darkness. Progressing carefully, Allen drew closer to the cries. Brushing past the leaves of massive ferns growing in the pit and crunching over the discarded limbs that had fallen from the trees, he came to find a young woman. Near to his age, she sat on the floor of the forest. Covered in leaves and dirt, her dark hair disheveled, the woman grasped at her ankle in distress.
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Returning in the early hours of the morning, there were only a few wandering souls who witnessed Allen and Chiri walk through the doors of the Alliance. Allen still covered web, dirt, and leaves; he was not pleased despite their first mission passing without any major incident.His partner not even managing to uphold her promise to him for a single assignment, Allen felt foolish for believing that her nature would change so easily. However, he had hoped somewhat that Chiri might at least attempt to comply with his simple request of her. Still in a huff, Chiri sidled up next to him. Evidently refreshed after her reprieve from the Alliance Headquarters, there was an energy in her steps now as they made their way towards the Night Gate dorms.“I wasn’t going to let her eat you.” Chiri chuckled, nudging him jovially with her side in an attempt to alleviate some of the tension between them.“That’s not the poi
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Throwing open the doors to their chambers, Cazer stomped into the room. Compelled by his hot temper, he yanked off his jacket. Throwing it onto the ground in agitation, Chiri observed his mood silently as she clicked the door shut behind her. Her back pressed to its cold handle, she leaned into it metal as if intending to guard against any intruders who might add to her husband’s vexation.The rest of the meal, passing without further incident thanks to Cazer’s intervention, it had at least been bearable. Nonetheless, his temperament had been gradually worsening since they excused themselves from the table shortly after dessert. The poise Cazer displayed during dinner now crumbling completely under the pressure of his rage. It was clear that his family’s disrespectful behavior and Rhett’s unwelcomed advances towards her had managed to agitate him.Unsettled at seeing him disturbed in this way, Chiri regarded him from
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Chiri’s head resting in the crook of Cazer’s arm. She blinked, bewildered mildly by the soft glow of morning light filtering through the curtains behind him. Not seeming to pay any mind to the invading light, Cazer’s dark lashes shaded the deep pools of his eyes as he stared back at her calmly.Neither willing to permit the other any sleep, they had eventually fallen into their current position. Lying next to one another, limbs still tangled together, hardly any words had beed exchanged between them over the course of the night. Taking turns provoking each other until daybreak, they had not allowed a moments repose for their minds to wonder towards other less pleasant musings. Engaging in a constant game of give and take, their bodies had reciprocated each movement as if it were a delicate unspoken negotiation between them.His fingers still playfully caressing Chiri’s curves, they roamed and meandered over her edges
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Hurried steps and panicked voices arising from outside the Dawn Gate, the source of their alarm was indeterminate from what corner of the empty ward Chiri occupied. Disinterested by the distant sounds of their mingled unease faded into a buzz of unrest as she closed her eyes against the persistent pain which plagued her. Clutching the saturated fabric more closely to the gouge at her side, Chiri grimaced as blood oozed out from between her fingers and onto the pestine floor beneath her. The wound, not having cut deep enough to touch any vital arteries or organs. It only posed the immediate threat of blood loss as she remained a solitary entity amongst the empty cots of the infirmary. The injury’s presence, no less vexing in the least, this was to be the reward Chiri enjoyed from another one of Ryker’s misguided assignments. Reclining against the wall slowly, she hissed an embittered curse through gritted teeth, “Sodded slug suckers!” Fortunate enough to find that no one else should b
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