Clattering as she waded through the collection of miscellaneous artifacts and weapons, Chiri gravitated towards the one chair she could distinguish amongst them. Still not feeling entirely back within her own body, she tilted the seat forward unceremoniously. Its contents emptied rudely onto the floor they clanged loudly as she took their place. An audible aggravated hiss released from Lance; he made no comment as he fussed over the pile of metal gauntlets she had so heartlessly discarded. Paying him little mind, Chiri shoved over the papers and tools lying on his desk. Creating a space with the heel of her boot, Chiri rested her feet on a corner of its rectangular wooden frame. Reclining into her reclaimed seat, she ignored the grumbled complaints of Lance and the clangor of various objects as he fought his way around the room. Busying himself with searching through the hoard, Chiri could hear him rummaging through the draws and cabinets besieged by more of his treasured items as he
Twirling the pen distractedly between his fingers, Cazer glanced over the pile of papers on his desk towards a little pocket watch he had placed next to the inkwell. The drum of its slow minutes proceeding agonizingly, he counted each as he awaited Chiri’s return. The two had scarcely been in the same room alone since the incident in Crosson, he was acutely aware of the slim probability of her entering into his office willingly. However, he still listened for the sound of her gate as it descended down the corridor or the soft click of the door across the hall closing. Whilst admittedly not enjoying the repercussions of his actions, Cazer could honestly not find even a fragment of regret towards his decision to extract Chiri from Crosson when he did. Although he may have been able to muster some sympathy towards her feelings of betrayal in regard to his arguable abuse of their shadow agreement, Cazer could not issue an apology for something he felt no remorse towards having done. How
The long rope of her frayed braid coiling beneath her as Chiri laid on the cold sheets. She shivered upon feeling Cazer’s warmth begin to seep into her icy skin. Descending onto her slowly, it chased away the bitterness that had gripped her since leaving the graveyard. The heat, which rose from the back of their long delayed reconciliation, serving to fuel the passion of their embrace. The two sunk deeper into the sheets without giving the dispute further credence. The source and primary holdout of their argument, Chiri had been the main cause of their prolonged feud. Loathing the thought of being near to Cazer these last few weeks, Chiri could no longer deny that she craved his touch. Cazer so close to her now, Chiri’s anger began to relent mildly as the feeling of their shared warmth encompassed her. Despite the frustration and grief, he had caused her. Chiri realized that her attachment to Cazer Krane had become too strong for her to hate him entirely. Although her forgiveness, ov
The scars and bruises from his battle in Crosson still evident on his skin, Allen found himself adrift in a sea of people. Dressed in their finery they all seemed to be performing an intricate dance along the immaculate walkways and streets of Vemery. Their steps a mystery to him Allen’s face creased unhappily as he floundered to keep up with their movements in the busy streets of Vemehurst’s capital.Hardly having recovered from the injures he had incurred, Allen who felt daunted by their summons to the capital, was easily overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the city and the inordinate amount of people who seemed to inhabit it. Chiri and himself. obligated to provide statements in regard to the tragedy, which had taken place in the holy city of Crosson several weeks prior. They were among the last to report to their formal hearings. This
The broad oak doors to the bureau shutting firmly behind them in an action that was more polite than a blatant slam, however still harbored the same sentiments. Chiri and Allen seemed to share a collective sigh of relief as they found themselves cast back out into the corridor in which they had entered prior into their hearing. The whole ordeal finally concluded, they stood only a meter from the door, reviewing the polished floors and ornate wallpaper as though it had never been known to them before.Looking over at Allen beside her, Chiri watched him pinch the bridge of his nose. The hearing taking a toll on them both, she knew that the initial stress of being summoned to the capital had now given way to debilitating fatigue as his face crinkled together in an effort to suppress a yawn. The motion seeming cathartic, Chiri too decided to follow in his example. Lifting her arms as far as she could above her head, she stretched upward in a long leisurely manner. Unabashed in making the
Although Chiri knew the sound of her heels rapidly striking the stones and her forced breathing was present as she ascended the steps directly behind Allen. They were drowned out by the deafening clang of the clock tower as it struck eight, nothing but the chorus of its chimes still ringing in her ears long after it had ceased. Chiri strained to hear much else within the tower. The sheer force of the vibrations which reverberated through the tower echoing through her. Chiri was unable to distinguish whether it was her own unsettled heartbeat or the quaking of the clock tower that shook her chest. A nagging sense of foreboding building up inside of her. She would have little choice but to ignore its ardent warnings as she pursued Allen up the monumental spiral staircase that led to the top of the bell tower. Although not hesitating to follow her partner’s pursuit of their nemesis from Crosson, every instinct within her now screamed out that they were running into a trap. However, whil
The blood dripping onto the crisp white lapel of his uniform, Horus’s eyes began to water. Not having peered into their honest spheres like this for so long, Chiri was saddened to see the panic within his blue and gold irises as he realized the extent of her injuries. Most minor cuts, his eyes came to rest in horror upon the sword that had been driven cleanly through her right shoulder. Blood beginning to trickle along the end of the blade, Chiri collapsed. Rolling onto her side next to Horus, she gazed at his tears despondently. Wishing that her brother would no longer have a need to weep for her after this night as his quivering hands reached out to her. Chiri felt his desperate hold on her more severely than even the wound she had incurred. Wincing as Horus's fingers grasped her more tightly, she regretted that her presence in his life only seemed to bring him profound and repeated suffering. Chiri’s hands also made unsteady from pain, she extended one towards her brother. Managi
The room, a sanitized white it shone brightly in the cold light of the clear crystals which dangled from the ceiling. Allen squinting against the harsh gleam characteristic of the Alliance’s critical care unit, its sterile appearance and unblemished tile floors were well known to him now. However, he frowned as he gazed down at his partner. Finding himself growing increasingly uncomfortable simply by looking upon her body lying on the hard ground. Offering no bed or sheets to cover her bandaged figure, she had been tethered to the center of the room. Each of Chiri Krane’s limbs shackled by multiple restraints, they were the only things that prevented her from being lost amongst the host of magic seals which encircled her. Their etchings, seeming to flow together after a few hours of staring at the unmoved figure at their nexus, Allen saw them even when he looked away from her. Their victory over the man who had terrorized Crosson and led to the deaths of several feeling to him more
The office filled with the serenity of the subtle white noise of each person’s solitary or otherwise mundane activities. It was the frustrated sigh which stood out amongst them as Chiri stared at the black and white squares of the board in front of her. The mild amusement that her opponent as he derived some enjoyment at her expense, evident by the sly smirk on his face. Chiri finally plucked her bishop from the board, her brow furrowing as she placed the piece in the last movement available to her, she slouched back onto the soft leather couch in resignation.Aware of her defeat without him having to state it, Cazer still smiled as he declared smugly, “Check mate.” Sulking as she sustained another loss, Chiri crossed her arms in front of her chest as she muttered back at him sourly, “I hate this game.” The smirk of confidence he possessed from beating her repeatedly at chess that morning, unrelenting as he continued to stare back at her. The expression would have irked her more had s
The smell, like death and decay condensed. It seemed to cling to the walls of the tunnels and hang in the air as repugnant as one might find a corpse which still swayed in its noose. The heinousness of the scent, only becoming more egregious as they continued further into the catacombs beneath the bustling streets of Ineset, Allen found that each breath he drew provoked a repulsed churning in his stomach.A rat, made fat by feasting on the bones of the deceased and the other hapless creatures that might live within them, brushing past his foot. Allen released a mild gasp, before recoiling back against the wall of the tunnel in disgust. Already traversing the morbid labyrinth for at least an hour now, he began to hope for any sign of the rogue mages’ hideout to be uncovered soon. Whilst acknowledging that their unlit corridors and seclusion were perfect for those who did not want to be found, Allen could not fathom how it was inhabited by any member of the living for long.Their route,
The small wooden frame of the bed moaning as someone shifted on its lumpy twin mattress, the noise prompted Chiri’s eyelids to flutter open slowly. Awoken from her deep sleep, she rolled onto her back to observe the person who sat on the edge of the bed they had shared. Her long hair tangled beneath her, she watched his broad back silently as he pulled on the few articles of the uniform that had been scattered about the floor during the night. Her gaze, apparently felt by him after a while, Allen Pierce turned. Greeting Chiri with an affectionate smile as she blinked the sleep away from her eyes, the skin around his blue gray irises crinkled from the extent of the contentment within this moment. The springs of the mattress displaced again as he leaned towards Chiri, Allen cupped her cheek tenderly in his hand to say gently, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” His thumb caressing her cheekbone lightly as he spoke, Chiri smiled back at him tiredly from the pillow. Her hand, rising
Amidst the forgotten streets and the forlorn inhabited who were relegated to their drenched cobblestones, was a place that remained far removed from the eyes of the public. The location of the business, only known to the few who required specialized or otherwise illicit magic items, Allen was perplexed to once again discover himself at the threshold of Ekral Manstein’s shop. The dismal weather, causing the gray steps that led down off of the street to become slick beneath his feet. Allen descended them cautiously, before finally arriving at the door. Issuing a knock, he passed a long minute or two out in the persistent drizzle, before the little compartment on the door slid open. A pair of dark and tired eyes revealing themselves to him, they scrutinized Allen, whose hair and clothes had come to cling damply to him as they grumbled, “What brings you here?” A few drops of rain from the mantle of the door, falling to slide down the back of his neck, Allen shivered as he replied, “I need
The final weeks of summer saturated by a persistent drizzle, it left gray pools on the footpath. Branching out into different avenues between the headstones, Cazer did not pause to consider the names etched on each nor did he become weighed down by solemn reflection as he progressed past them determinedly. The patent leather of his shoes, marred by the dirt of the cemetery as he entered into the more ancient part of the Alliance burial grounds that was shaded by the gnarled branches of a few mature trees. Cazer proceeded past the mossy and worn graves until he came to the one he sought.A sandstone mausoleum to one of the Alliance’s founders, Regus Sieg. The foreboding bars, clamped shut over the structure’s hollow opening, were only made more grim by the effects that time had over its once pristine stones and columns. Weathered and darkened by centuries of dreary days, such as this, Cazer mounted the few steps that led up to its gates. Placing a hand onto its cold metal, there was a
The room, silent, aside from someone tapping out an odd stunted interpretation of time with their fingers. Allen discovered himself in the company of an unusual assortment of friends and acquaintances he had never once expected to encounter. All there under the reasonable assumption of what joined them together, Tristan Hurst, Morose Akena, Horus Crouse, and Lance Armistice eyed each other awkwardly from their varying positions amidst the office. Unsure of whether to broach their purpose for being there or to feign normalcy by engaging in small talk as they awaited the final members of their group, Allen found that his foot too now drummed along to the peculiar rhythm set within the room. The anxious wiggling not ceasing, he contemplated the wisdom of joining these diverse characters together in their mission. Although operating seemingly well in their exasperating partnership, Cazer and Allen acknowledged that their plans to launch an more offensive strike on the Moon Gate mages wou
The rank smell of decay and mildew immediately enveloping her, Chiri knew that she had rejoined the dark catacombs where the cohorts of the Moon Gate’s malicious hoard gathered. Hissing as her form solidified again in the tunnel, Chiri again grasped at her side. Unsteady, the weight of her body found some stability as her back slumped onto the damp wall beside her. Expecting to be met with some snide remark in regard to her injury instantly upon her arrival, Chiri was to discover instead that her entrance had hardly been noticed amidst the affairs that had preceded her. Voices heard in the large junction between the tunnels, Chiri turned her head lazily in their direction. Leaning wearily against the dark tunnel, her eyes pinched together mildly as she squinted at the figures in the opening. Most of them the usual suspects that collected around Ryker Crouse, there was one amongst them that was only vaguely familiar to her. The woman’s hair matted and clothes dirty and torn from the t
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
“Those damn toothy bastards can burn in Hell for all of eternity!” Cazer roared, the doors slamming shut behind him in order to punctuate the vehemence of this outburst. They were then battered again as he landed a ferocious kick onto the barrier of the office. The eruption of his fury causing the solid doors to shake, Cazer barely regarded the man who sat observing the dramatic display from his position on the couch.Allen’s eyes following him warily as he stormed into the room, Cazer found the silent pressure of his judgemental stare of little consequence as he marched over to his desk. Breathing agitated and his hair disorderly, he jerked open a drawer on the bureau. Withdrawing a half-full decanter and wiping the rim of a glass on the desk that had previously been used for water, Cazer poured himself a sizable portion of the spirit. Not offering any to the Hunter, he waited for Cazer to down the drink before asking, “No luck, I take it?” In too foul a temper to accept the smugness