The Hunted

[Emora Deen]

"Yes," Rai said faintly, glancing back to the shimmer in the sky with a wary eye. "A long while ago..."

"When mother had you," Rai said with a smile, remembering how tiny Blade had been. Neither one of them were small now. "Do you think we are strange? Because we have grown and others our age are very small still. I don't feel like a child. I don't think I ever have."

[Mizuki]

Blade laughed and flushed a little. "Strange? No, well, maybe. Compared to what's considered 'normal.' I age about 5x faster than the normal human, and then it stops at a certain age." He looked at his sister with a hint of concern. He wondered how she felt. It was kind of hard to tell what she was sad about. Then again, his life was filled with Princely learning and military training. Who had time to learn emotions of others?

"You're not strange, your unique. Yeah, you've pretty much skipped childhood... doesn't make you strange though." He smiled at her. "Gwendolyn is in that barrier, apparently." Even he was surprised by it. "If we go towards her we'll be safe and warm. And if anything happens, I'll get you out of there. I promise."

[Emora Deen]

"Okay," Rai nodded, looking back to the barrier. "Lets go. I trust you."

[Mizuki]

For some reason, the trust of just one person, his sister, felt bigger than the trust his people put behind him. Their trust was almost blind because he was Gabriel's son. Was greatness inherited? He didn't think so. But his sister was putting her trust in him, and that felt big. He suddenly wondered if he was enough for the job.

But, he flew them towards Gwendolyn, and the barrier shimmering in the distance grew bigger. As they got closer, they could see the little village encased behind it. He had no recollection or information known to him that the village was always like this. He wondered if Gwendolyn was alerted of Arken's advance and took measure's to keep them away.

[Emora Deen]

“It’s been a while, for some reason I don’t remember what the village looked like,” Rai said with a frown as she looked down on it.

Rai let her faith in her brother be her guide, even though her stomach was churning with worry. What if this was a trap? She’d fallen into them too much lately. She was worried that they would be captured, but even more worried about what fate would befall them if they were. She’d feel safer, she thought, once they were on the ground.

[Mizuki]

Blade descended and touched ground just a few feet away from the barrier. He gently let Rai down in fron of him, keeping his hands out incase she felt at all unsteady. He looked at it with wonder. How many mages did it take to make this? He hesitated walking through it, unsure if it would backlash at him or not.

He felt like they were waiting for some direction from someone. He didn't know who specifically, he figured Gwendolyn. Then he suddenly saw a slim figure coming up from inside the barriered village. She stepped through it like it was just a silk curtain.

Gwendolyn smiled at the two children. "It's been some time, hasn't it?"

[Emora Deen]

"A very long time," Rai agreed, pulling Soran's leather coat around her a bit more. It was still cold, no matter if they were on the other side of the border or not. She glanced back behind them at the trees and the direction they had come, hoping that her mother and father were alright... and that Sid was okay too.

[Mizuki]

"Come inside, it's cold out here an neither of you are dressed for it." Gwendolyn usered the two young children in adult bodies through the barrier. Blade was skeptical at first that it would let them pass through without a hitch, but after a hesitant step through without issue, he felt safe. Safe was a great feeling to have.

Gwendolyn's home wasn't very far off. After a short hike up the dirt road they entered a cozy, warm house. Gwendolyn entered into a room and came back out with warmer clothing to wear.

"These garments belonged to Mizuki. I believe they should fit you now Rai. Maybe a bit more snug up top for you, but it should do fine." She handed Rai, with a loving wink, the clothing gently. "And Blade, these were your grandfather's. They are too big for you, so we'll have to alter them a bit." She laughed.

"So, I would like to here all you have to report over a hot meal."

[Emora Deen]

Rai went back to the room that she had called hers when they were staying there. She found the dolls right where she had left them on the bed. Not much had changed there, she thought as she slipped the leather coat off. It was still retaining water, and made a splattering sound when it hit the wood floor. She pulled what was left of her child's dress off. It was nothing more than rags.

She glanced sideways, catching movement in a mirror. She jumped, startled by the person staring back at her. She didn't recognise herself. She crept closer, clutching the dress in front of her as she went to get a better look. She examined every curve and angle of her face neck and shoulders. She spun around in front of the mirror, noting every single change to her body. She wondered silently if it was a pretty body or not, she wasn't sure. She had never looked at bodies this closely before.

She shivered, and wanting warm fabric around her she slipped the dress on. She pulled the laced strings tight in the front and tied a small bow at the top. The dress dipped modestly, not too high and not too low, and she was pleased with how it fit her. She looked down to the dresser and saw a clip lying next to a wooden jewelry box. She lifted it, and looked at her long curly blond hair. She pulled it back in the front, clipping it behind her head, and then she ran her fingers through it to get some of the tangles out.

When she was dressed she stepped back into the living room, smoothing the fabric around her hips nervously as she waited. Strangely selfconsious about her appearance. She just need time.

[Mizuki]

Gwendolyn was busy helping Blade, who was blushing embarassingly, get his grandfather's clothes on and fitting as well as could be. There were random ties and pins almost everywhere there could be on his clothes. Ill fitting, but acceptable. She turned when Rai walked in, and beamed her a smile.

"It's always good to know that keeping old things comes in handy." she said cheerily. She turned to finish tying off a string that was meant to hold up his left pant leg and came back up. "That's about as good as I can do for now. Maybe the taylor can do something for you. though, after closing ourselves off things like fabric are hard to get."

"Are you protecting yourselves from Arken?" Blade asked, taking a quick glance at Rai.

"Yes. It was actually your Dark Angel scouts that alerted us to the first off the danger. They were flying over head and one of them came down to let us know the danger. Because this is where your mother as born, they are treating us like a beloved territory." Blade felt his heart swell with pride for his people. They protected their own fiercely. Mizuki inadvertently went under their protection when Gabriel declared her his "bride" before he died. And then she gave birth to him. It didn't matter she wasn't one of them. They loved Gabriel to a fault and trusted in all his decisions. If he wanted and loved Mizuki, even after death they would protect her.

If only mother had known that, but she was too terrified.

"They've been ordered to become allies with Ighten. We'll be aiding in any way we can, starting by protecting the border," Blade stated.

"Honestly, sweetie, you've lost significant ground." she didn't mean to sound harsh.

Sighing, Blade conceded. "Yes. They took us all by surprise." After a moment, Gwendolyn clapped her hands and said,

"I think you two could use some food now. Rai, Blade, follow me." They were back out the door now, going towards the inn that Soran had visited on a slight occasion when they were last here.

[Emora Deen]

Rai admired her Blade with a soft smile as she watched her grandmother fix his clothing. She looked at his face for a moment with a strange curiousity. She suddenly realized that he was very handsome, but then again Mizuki was a beautiful woman.

"Food would be nice," Rai agreed as she followed along. She stepped closer to Blade. "The Dark Angel tower is close, isn't it? Just a couple of miles maybe? Should we go check on your people after we rest... maybe tomorrow?" Maybe some part of Soran had burned off in her, making her restless. The idea of being stuck somewhere for a long period of time suddenly bothered her. And they didn't know when Soran and Mizuki, or Sid would return. What if it was months? She thought she might go mad with worry by then.

When they grew closer to town she saw teens playing in the streets with snow and sticks, and a wooden ball and she watched them as they headed up the steps into the inn.

[Mizuki]

Blade talked with her as they walked. "Are you sure you'd be okay with that?" he knew the...history. They entered the inn and Gwendolyn was treated like an old friend. Seated immediantly and with steaming cups of some kind of brew Blade didn't recongize (mostly because Siren wont let him near booze), Blade pondered over the thought of taking Rai to his people.

"I don't think it would be very bad. She's..changed so much, they wouldn't recongize you hun." Gwendolyn added, glancing over the subject that she didn't know if Rai was comfortable with, of her sudden growth. The bartender himself came by personally, laughing and joking with other patrons and giving Gwendolyn an intimate hug. He suggest specials that Blade only barely heard because he didn't care what he ate, as long as it was edible.

[Emora Deen]

"Why wouldn't I be okay?" Rai asked curiously, her bright eyes looking at Blade. And then the brightness in her eyes faltered and she looked down at the table with a fround. Her vision suddenly filled with the image of her hand plunging the knife into Gabriel's back, and the red warm liquid covering her small hands. She remembered not thinking it would come off, thinking it had stained her hands forever.

She felt a little sick thinking about it. "Would they hurt me... if they realized who I was?" Rai asked softly, glancing up at Blade. She wondered how he felt about it, knowing she was the one who had killed his father.

[Mizuki]

"I wont let them" Blade said, "I am their prince. They obey me." It was a said and done statement. They made their orders and Blade was chewing his fingernails with worry.

"What's wrong Blade?" Gwendolyn asked.

"Not too long ago," he started, "while we were on our way towards here. I felt my mother's presence back where we had come. So, I know she's alive and by default that must mean Soran is as well. It's just... are they ok? Will they come here?"

Gwendolyn smiled secretly, "They are... doing quite well. From what I know, they are only a little weary and beaten but they're fine. I can arrange for a small team to go out to them in a bit."

Blade started at his grandmother. He didn't know much about her, only that she was the source of his and Mizuki's seer powers. They inherited them from her. He could tell also that she had an emence source of it. He had to take her word as fact, it would be an insult not to, he imagined. Food was set down in front of them a little while later. Blade picked up a piece of bread and chewed it absent-mindedly.

[Emora Deen]

Rai ate quietly as she looked from her brother to the world outside the window. She saw the children still playing in the snow and she thought it seemed like fun. She remembered making Soran and Mizuki play in the snow with her. It seemed like a very long time ago.

"Would you like to leave for your people in the morning?" she asked Blade after a moment, collecting her thoughts again and turning her attention back to him.