Private Tales S.A.P.

[Adriwolf]

"No, they will not dare, I already gave my warning, so relax she is fine. She went ahead to let the medical staff know about your arrival, you still need medic assistance, I only healed your bones, but you might have internal wounds, so better get moving, let's go, let me help you."

This made Jaken relax a bit. Even after their past interactions, it was somehow comforting that him and Hellius were on the same page now: protect Kiara, no matter what. He could understand Hellius' motivations: she was like... Kiara's father in a way. Not biologically of course, but emotionally... it could be compared like it, right? Jaken's motivations where clear enough for him: it was the woman he loved. He would not let Kiara get captured again. Not if he could help it. "They better. Or else..." he growled to himself. The thought of something bad happening to Kiara right now made him feel angry. Whoever dared hurt her.... they would get it....

He put his arm around Hellius' shoulder, getting help from the elf to walk. It still hurt, but he could endure it. "There is a way to stop this." he started "I know you are aware of the Altersphere. Kiara told me what you told her. The Altersphere being some kind of experiment to jump through different realities. On our reality, it failed, sending magical energy all over the place, but in another reality, it worked. Someone managed to jump through. A lady. That day when you freed Kiara from that curse, we had to evacuate the house because that lady poisoned me. I have encountered this lady for some time. Always trying to kill me, always failing. If you want to know why was she so interested in killing me, then I wouldn't know how to answer that question. But the point is, this lady wants to return to her reality, but at the time the Altersphere worked over there, it destroyed her world. So, in order to restore her reality, ours must be sacrificed. We might be able to stop her, if we are lucky enough that she is still here, we can trap her and there has to be a way to close this portal. I also know where to find her. It's in a woods nearby my abandoned house... the same forest where you found Kiara." Jaken locked eyes with Hellius "Yeah, she told me her past, as far as she can remeber: the forest, you, her life in the college, Fafurion, everything. This lady that has been attacking me is on that forest. How do I know that? It's a LONG story. But trust me, it's there." Jaken saw Kiara running towards them "I will explain you later. Meet me wherever I'll be located and I'll explain you everything."

Jaken put his arm around Kiara's shoulder, accepting the help of both elves. As they made their way to the potions classroom, the trio could see the damage those monsters outside had done to the civilians. People with missing limbs, severe burns, deep slashes. Screams and wails of agony can be heard like an echo through the hallways. It appeared as if the college was haunted. They arrived the potions classroom: a big classroom with 6 windows on each wall, 12 desks that were being used for placing medical supplies and 20 beds on the walls. 13 were occupied, so Jaken could fit easily. Once on the bed, the doctor came to check Jaken by touching his legs, back and torax, which made Jaken groan. The doctor ordered Heelius and Kiara to leave Jaken to get some rest. But before the elves could walk away, Jaken grabbed Kiara's hand and looked at her with worry on his eyes. "Just... be careful out there... ok? Be careful, please." he kissed Kiara's hand before releasing it slowly and laying back on the soft, comfortable bed. A nurse walked to him that seemed so familiar. Her face came to Jaken's memory in an instant: it was that nurse that helped him when he woke up after the clock tower explotion.

“Mister Jaken, another fall, I see. If I recall correctly, the previous one was for one of our residents. So, for whom you took this one?”

"The same one." he answered "Took it for that elf that brought me here." he gave her serious eyes. Even though throughout this adventure he had opened up and become softer with Kiara, he was still the same with everyone else. The nurse was no special. She had helped him, but this did not make her any special.

“You are lucky, you are not as bad as the last time, also none of your organs had been punctured, but you have a broken leg and 3 broken ribs, although someone already healed the broken bones. Cat’s fall on their feet, not werewolves, so try to be more careful.”

"With all due respect, I'd rather be a werewolf than a cat. Those are ungrateful furballs." he looked away into a window. One that gave view to the city. A city on flames, with a red sky, Blood spread on the walls and windows, some bodies laying on the street, getting devoured by monsters "And cats don't always land on their feet, that's a myth." he said without looking at the nurse.

“All done. I will order someone to bring you some painkillers, to make you feel more comfortable. Rest, your body needs it. Are we clear mister Jaken? I did not forget that the last time we had to sedate you, and right now we need it for worst cases. So please, behave yourself.”

"<<I can't. I need to help out there. People are dying out there and I could help them. I cannot be here and->>" he stopped dead again on his thoughts. What could he do? He was injured, and he could not help anyone if he was in that state. There was no use on fighting her. Besides, if he fought her, they always had the option to paralyze him with a muscles relaxer, they probably had the upper hand, he had to surrender. The werewolf laid back on his bed "Fine...." he said in a frustrated tone. Before the nurse left, Jaken called for her "Hey!" the nurse turned back "Umm.... can I get a map of Elbion please?" the nurse did not asked him why he need it, and the bounty hunter was glad she didn't. The nurse just nodded and left the room.

20 minutes had passed, and the elf had not appeared yet. Jaken was nervous, but he knew the elf could take care of herself. She knew how to survive. She knew how to fight. She would be ok. He knew it. The doors opened, letting 2 girls walk in. Another girls Jaken and Kiara had seen before: the girl Erica and the other girl. The one that commented on Jaken's werewolf form attractiveness. What were they doing there? One of the girls had a bottle that sounded that was ful of pills.

“Sorry for disturbing you, but the nurse asked us to bring to you these painkillers” she said, giving the pills to the werewolf, not even looking straight at him.
“What are you doing! First, you wouldn’t stop talking about how hot he is, and now that you have a chance, you can’t even face him! What is wrong with you!?”
“Erica! Shut up!” the girl was all flushed.
“What my friend really wants to say is that she missed you and she wanted to see you one more time. I think that she likes you!”
“Wha… Erica, I hate you!” the poor girl couldn’t take it anymore, grabbing Erica’s arm, pulling her elf friend while leaving the classroom.

The werewolf took the pill bottle and looked at the discussion develop. Jaken was both frustrated and pissed off at these. Before they left, Jaken called for them "HEY!" he barked, getting their attention. Jaken pointed at the one whose name was Erica "You. Stop being a dick to her." he said in a serious and pissed off tone, then pointed at the girl that liked him "You. Ditch this bitch, she's only using you to laugh at you. She is not your friend." with nothing else to say, the werewolf looked away. His attention centered at the pills. He took two of them. The 'friends' were gone, leaving spectators looking at the werewolf examining his wounds, seeing if there was a way to accelerate the healing process.

“Come on man! Don’t let that cutie ran away! Go get her!” he said, moving closer to the werewolf, placing one arm around Jaken’s neck, lowering his voice to make the conversation more private.

Jaken ignored the man, but when he wrapped his arms around his neck, he reacted, slapping the arm away "What's your deal? Don't you have to be minding your own business? Fuck off."

“If you want, I can help you to get laid with that student, and if you are lucky enough, you can even have her elf friend! What do you say to that, em? All I ask in return is your help, so I can get my hands on that elf student that brought you here. Gosh, she is a good one to fuck! Do we have a deal, pal?” the man said, without any trace of shame in his eyes or voice.

Jaken could hear the wolf inside of him snarling. And he did not hold back. HOW FUCKING DARE HE??!!! TALKING ABOUT KIARA LIKE THAT???!!!! AS IF SHE WAS A PIECE OF MEAT????!!!! Jaken reacted with rage, grabbing the man's jaw and squeezing it "Listen up here man. I may have a broken leg, I may have 3 broken ribs, I may have bruises all over my back, but that doesn't mean I can't rip your FUCKING head off. Push me man. You keep pushing me and there will be no difference between here and out there." he squeezed harder while snarling "Now, let's make a deal. You NEVER talk like that about her EVER AGAIN and I'll let you keep your heart. Got it?" his voice got deeper, as if the werewolf's voice had taken over his human's, everyone was looking at the scene, both horrified and excited to see what would happen "She. Is. Mine. If you want her, rip my GOD DAMN arms off first. Believe me, before you know it, you won't even have lungs." he squeezed tighter, growling "Do we have a deal, pal?"
"Mister Larsten. What is the meaning of this?" the nurse said from the door, holding a map of Elbion. Jaken glared at the nurse, then back at the man.
"Nothing dear nurse. We were just having a chit chat. Right pal?" he forced the man's face nod due to his grip on his jaw "Talk like that about her again, and you would have to fight a full werewolf. Now.... fuck off." he pushed the man's jaw away, who retreated in fear.
"Mister Larsten. Need I remind you of the rules?"
"It won't be necessarry. I just taught a pervert a lesson." the nurse rolled his eyes giving him the map "Thank you. I'll be fine now. Thanks."

Jaken focused on replanning his route to the forest. If Hellius accepted sending people to help them out, he would have to plan something new. Something that anyone would get over but exposing them to risk.

It had to be the perfect plan, which made the planning a lot more difficult.

 

[Kiara]

As Hellius helped Jaken, the bounty hunter told everything he knew about the current situation. The male elf just listened, his head facing the path in front of them. He was not surprised that the werewolf knew about the Altersphere. But the moment Jaken spoke about how Kiara had been found, Hellius stopped in his tracks, turning his head to face the bounty hunter, locking eyes with him. He was a bit shocked. It was already hard enough to understand how Kiara had got so attached to Jaken, but sharing her story with him! Deep down, Hellius knew the reason, Kiara had fallen for Jaken. He discovered it by the time he had performed the soulbind spell.
Hellius was grateful that Jaken didn’t tell him the story, something inside him told that he wouldn’t like what he might hear. Seeing Kiara coming in their direction the elf only responded. “No, meet me at my office once you are recovered. I too have something important to say to both of you, so better talk in a private place.”

Hellius was already at the door, when he turned back to check if Kiara was following him. He saw the werewolf grabbing Kiara’s hands. If it was a few days ago, Hellius would just slap Jaken’s hands away, preventing him to touch her. But Jaken had already proven himself, so Hellius just watched the scene. The way of how the bounty hunter worried about her, somehow made Hellius relax. Then something caught his attention, there was something else in the werewolf’s actions, the way he grabbed her hands. Hellius recalled Jaken’s words ‘she is a friend’. Hellius could not avoid, chuckling a bit. Yes, he didn’t know Jaken that well, so he couldn’t say that it was love, but maybe there was room for it to grow. Besides, he wouldn’t be surprised if the spellsinger had somehow changed the bounty hunter's heart.

Kiara was already turning around when she felt someone grabbing her hands. The feeling of huge and warm hands, she knew who it was, Jaken. Kiara turned to face him. As she did, the elf saw worry in his eyes. That caught her off guard, making her to stare at him, blinking for a moment, trying to understand what was troubling him.

"Just... be careful out there... ok? Be careful, please."

Kiara blushed a bit as he kissed her hands. Somehow, she was too aware of other people's presence. But that didn’t stop her to try to ease him, smiling for him.
“What are you worrying about? Everything its fine, don’t worry. Just focus on your recovery ok… Besides, Hellius is with me."

Kiara was healing nonstop for half an hour by now, but she was already showing signs of magic withdrawals. Realizing this, Hellius told her to go and get some rest. As the elf was turning away, her guardian noticed something else. He stopped her, getting a hold of her left arm, taking a good look at her wrist.
“Why didn’t you say anything!?” he asked with a stern look on his eyes, although his voice was filled with a worried tone. “You have your wrist twisted, and it’s starting to swell up, you must be in pain!” He added as he went for some bandages and a bag of ice.
Kiara only lowered her gaze “This is nothing compared to what I have seen here.”
Hellius only sighed, taking her wrist once again, this time to take care of it. “It may be. But if I don’t take care of it, it will only get worst and your pain will increase. When will you learn that not only others are important? You are important as well. I don’t know what your problem is? There is nothing wrong in putting yourself first once in a while. Did even occurred to you that if your wrist got any worse, you wouldn’t be able to move it. How would you help anyone in that condition? You wouldn't even be able to cast your magic.” His voice stern but also filled with worry, his eyes also giving away his emotions, he was worried, he loved of how concern she was toward others, but that also worried him since she would ignore her needs in order to put other's first.
“I’m sorry…” Kiara said, lowering even more her head. In the end, Hellius surrender to his parental instinct, patting her head, cheering her up.
“I’m not mad at you. In fact, it’s the opposite, I’m very proud of who you have become, such a generous girl. I just want you to understand that you too are important, sweetie.” he hugged her, for a moment before letting her go. “Come on, I know that you are eager to return to his side. Take this chance to rest and regenerate your magic. But before you go, promise me that if that swell does not decrease, you will call a nurse to take a look at it, ok? One last thing, when Jaken recovers, come to my office. I have something to talk to both of you.”
“Yes, I promise! But I’m not a child anymore!” Kiara only said with a bright smile, already turning to the door.
“You will always be a child to me!” Hellius said, smiling back at her, while she was already turning. That gorgeous smile of hers just melted his heart. He really missed the elf, and it was so good to have his little girl around.

Kiara couldn’t hide how excited she was to return to Jaken’s side. She missed him already, also she was worried about him. But before she went to him, the elf made a little stop on her bedroom, taking only a few minutes before returning to her original path.

On her way, the elf noticed a child, it was the little girl that Hellius had rescued. But something was off. The little girl would take only one or two steps, before returning to the exact same spot, with a lost look in her eyes. At that moment the elf walked to the girl, crouching in front of her, smiling a bit, speaking in a soft tone.
“Hi sweetie. Are you ok? Where are your parents? Are you lost?” The girl’s eyes started to get teary. “Hey, hey, it's ok. Everything it ok now. I’m here to help you, so don’t cry, please.” The elf tried to calm her down, cleaning a tear that threat to fall. The girl only nodded before starting to speak, her voice cracking between sobs.
“I… I just came to the bathroom…. But... can’t find my… way back to my dad!” she started to cry. Kiara patted her head, trying to calm her down, speaking in a calm tone “It's ok. I’m here now. Let’s find your dad together, ok? Do you know which room your dad is in?” The elf picked the girl up, looking around, trying to figure it out which way to take. The child only shook her head in denial. Things were getting complicated. Well, there was only one solution, start to look around. As the spellsinger walked through the hallway, the girl seemed to have calmed down.
“Where is your other wing? Aren't angels supposed to have two of them? Did you lose the other one?” The girl asked in a curious tone. The elf stopped for a moment, looking into the girl’s innocent eyes. She could not avoid it, giving a sweet smile, realizing what she means by that.
“No, cutie, this is not a wi..” But before Kiara could finish the girl called. “Daddy!!!” Kiara placed the girl on the floor, seeing her rushing to a man that had a bandage on his head, that covered one of his eyes, he too was looking around with a worried look, only relaxing once he heard his little girl’s voice, already running to him and hugging him with a happy face.

The Potions classroom door slowly opened, revealing an elf, it was Kiara. The elf automatically locked her eyes on Jaken, moving closer to his bed.
“Sorry for leaving you alone for so long.” The elf reached for his hand, caressing it a bit. “What said the doctor? Will you be ok? Are you in pain?” she then turned her gaze, placing it on the floor. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you. I tried to cast a spell, but… I failed.”

 

[Adriwolf]

“No, meet me at my office once you are recovered. I too have something important to say to both of you, so better talk in a private place.”

The werewolf nodded at Hellius orders, being that the last action before taking his arm around Kiara's shoulder and proceeding to the potions classroom. As they made their way to there, Jaken was wondering what would Hellius tell them. If it was something that needed privacy, then it should be something really important. Maybe it had to do with Elbion's current situation, something that might help them... but, if that was the case, why would Hellius only tell THEM. If it was something that could stop this, wouldn't Hellius tell everyone about it? Or was it something that had to do with the both of them, as in something that ONLY were their concern.But right now, what mattered was for Jaken to get some rest and recover from his wounds. The healing process should speed things up, thus, that conversation Jaken was wondering about wouldn't really be that far away.

“What are you worrying about? Everything its fine, don’t worry. Just focus on your recovery ok… Besides, Hellius is with me."

Jaken nodded weakly "Yeah. You're safe with him." he let go of her. He was confident on what he just said. Hellius would protect her. After all, he freed her from that curse several days ago, and even though he did a shitty thing back at Merkl's basement, he did it with the intentions of protecting her. He (Hellius) worried about Kiara, even though his methods might be extreme. But... he cared about the elf, about her safety, about her well-being. That was all Jaken needed to at least trust him. If he thought about it, Hellius DID deserved that second chance... it was the least he could do for Kiara, sure, the elf did not know about the conflicts between Hellius and Jaken, but giving Hellius a second chance would count for something. Kiara had a great respect for the male elf, so the least that Jaken could do was respect him back.

After the incident with the man that desired to take Kiara for himself, everyone was quiet, staring at the werewolf (who minded his own business), thinking about him and his behavior. Jaken did not care for it, but that didn't mean he wouldn't eavesdrop on some cconversations, he was bored anyway, might as well do something for fun. He enhanced his hearing sense, being able to hear what people were talking about him at the other side of the classroom, things like: "He is a danger if he remains here." "How could they let such aggressive person in?" "The way he growled, he probably is a werewolf, aren't those beasts slave to the humans?" "I'm demanding to be changed to another room when the nurse comes in." Jaken would not react to the opinions about him. He have heard a lot of opinnions about him in the past, this was nothing compared to everything he had heard about him some years prior. Jaken could feel the pain go away; the painkillers were doing their job just find, plus, the healing process was going hand with hand with the drugs. In no time, he should feel good enough to even walk. It appeared he took the painkillers ust in time. His legs and ribs started to ache a lot, he could feel some kind of pressure on his bones, he knew what it was about. It was the bones healing themselves, connecting again to close the cracks by the fall. The ache lasted for a about 10 minutes. It wasn't torture, Jaken could easily handle it with help of the drugs, but it still was uncomfortable to feel. But it stopped. He was better know, he could move now. But instead of getting up and look for Kiara, he remained on the bed, waiting for her. He knew that the elf would be busy aiding people who were badly injured, thus, the elf would be constantly moving, making it almmost impossible to locate her, besides, she was working, she couldn't get distracted bby the werewolf, not now.

The Potions classroom door slowly opened, revealing an elf, it was Kiara. The elf automatically locked her eyes on Jaken, moving closer to his bed.
“Sorry for leaving you alone for so long.” The elf reached for his hand, caressing it a bit. “What said the doctor? Will you be ok? Are you in pain?” she then turned her gaze, placing it on the floor. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you. I tried to cast a spell, but… I failed.”

Jaken locked eyes immediately with the elf. In addition, his still enhances hearing spell allowed him to hear people's reactions to Kiara. They were far too quiet for the elf to hear, but the werewolf could. People were saying that THAT was the elf that brought Jaken in. The elf that, if someone dared to put a finger on her, the werewolf would tear them apart. And Jaken loved it. They feared him. They would not mess with the elf he loved. As things should be.
The bounty hunter heard Kiara worrying about him and probably her regret for not completely helping Jaken back at Elbion. "Hey. It's ok." he returned the hand caressing "You did your best, and if you were not able to completely help me back there, healing me, you did help me on my way here. Your magic saved me from close calls. I think, if it weren't for you, I'd already be dead." he smiled "You did help me, you just didn't see it. That's all." he kissed her "I'm not in a lot of pain, I can move now, my bone cracks closed, believe me, I felt it for 10 minutes." he chuckled "And the painkillers are doing their job very well. I can move now." he looked closely at the elf. She looked exhausted, physically and mentally. Maybe the shift was a lot for her. And he could understand it, she was not used to this kind of work. Something so heavy and demanding. Maybe it was something she wasn't ready for. But the physical injuries caught his attention. Her wrist "Oh. Your wrist. How did that happen? Does it hurt?" he waited for Kiara's answer.

"Oh, by the way. Hellius wants to see us later on his office. I don't know where could that be, so you'll give me a tour, I suppose." he chuckled "But let's get some rest first. Looks like we both need it. Come on to the bed, I've got some space and the chair is not the most comfortable place to rest." he invited her to climb to the bed.

About an hour later, the duo decided that it was time to visit Hellius. They informed the nurse that Jaken's bed was free in case anyone else needed it. Kiara took the lead, guiding Jaken through the corridors of the now only working Elbion hospital. The finally reached the door that led to Hellius office, but the question was the following: would Hellius be there? New wounded would arrive every minute, and the werewolf was sure that Hellius would attend the wounded, so would he be at his oofice right now?

Jaken knocked two times and proceeded to open the door.

 

[Kiara]

"You did your best, and if you were not able to completely help me back there, healing me, you did help me on my way here. Your magic saved me from close calls. I think, if it weren't for you, I'd already be dead." he smiled "You did help me, you just didn't see it. That's all."

The elf slowly lifted her gaze, locking it with his. As she did it, Jaken kissed her. For a moment Kiara had no reaction. Her face started to get flushed, she looked around at the room, seeing that everyone was looking at them, making little comments that she couldn’t pick up. That only increased her embarrassment. She never expected that Jaken was the type of person that displayed such acts in public! Kiara tried to stay calm, focus on listening him, but her gaze would move between Jaken’s and the floor. That reaction of hers was just adorable to watch.

"Oh. Your wrist. How did that happen? Does it hurt?"

Kiara placed her attention on her bandaged wrist before shaking her head. “This is nothing. It was when we fell. But don’t worry, Hellius already took care of it, as you can see, and it does not hurt.” She then sighed, before continuing. “You were the one that took most of the damage, so please don’t worry about me. I’m so relieved that you were healing already, but… I don’t like to see you like this. It seems like that the story is repeating itself. You get hurt and me not being able to do to anything to help you.”

"Oh, by the way. Hellius wants to see us later on his office. I don't know where could that be, so you'll give me a tour, I suppose." he chuckled "But let's get some rest first. Looks like we both need it. Come on to the bed, I've got some space and the chair is not the most comfortable place to rest."

“Yes, I know, and of course I will give you a tour.” Kiara smiled, but not for long. Soon her smile had disappeared, turning into a bit of a shock, her eyes widen at what she had just heard, her face turning into a bright red, even the tip of her long ears had gained the same color. The elf’s heart pounded loud in her chest. What if others had heard that? But it was too late, Kiara was awfully aware of their's piercing gaze on her. There was no doubt, they had heard it and had misunderstood the situation, since all the room had fallen in a dead silence. Soon all of them started to whisper little comments. Kiara knew that Jaken didn't mean anything bad, he was just offering her a seat on his bed. He was only being thoughtful. But it was clear that on people's mind only crossed one question. Were they a couple!?
Maybe Jaken didn’t realize that what he had just said could be taken in the wrong way? Kiara hurried to clear the misunderstanding, worried that people would get Jaken wrong, she clearly had lost her collected posture, shaking her hands and head in denial, her face still red. “No! No! The chair is just fine! Don’t worry! Thank you for being so thoughtful! But I’m fine!” The elf took a seat on the chair that was by his bed. As she did it, the elf didn’t even lift her head, her hair shielding her features, hiding her sadness. It was clear that she wanted to be more than a friend, but she lacked the courage to confess her feelings. In the end, Kiara only closed her eyes, trying to ignore all the curious eyes, even being grateful that she couldn’t hear all those little comments. They were just… friends. At least was the relation that they had assumed in front of others, but once again, friends don’t kiss, so what was their relation?

Hellius was in his office, resting in his chair, trying to regenerate some of his magic power. He too was suffering with magic withdrawals, his face was a bit pale, his legs were stretched and his right arm was covering his eyes. Someone knocked on his door, opening it. The elf didn’t even bother to ask who it was, he was too tired to even bother, and whoever it was had already invited themselves in. The elf only lifted a bit his arm, opening one eye to see who it was.
“Oh, you are here already. Come in and close the door for me please” Hellius simply said, sitting properly, while pinching his nose bridge, as if trying to focus.
“Hellius… Are you alright?” Kiara asked, worried, clearly Hellius was exhausted.
“Don’t worry darling, this is nothing, soon I will be fine.” He said trying to reassure her. “Please take a seat, both of you, what I have to say is serious.” Once the werewolf and the elf had taken a seat, Hellius started, turning to Jaken.
“From what you have said to me earlier, I’m sure that you already know that I’m a member of the Special Unit Squad from this school. If not, let me explain you. Our main goal is to deal with internal issues, and right now, our mission is to recover the Altersphere and the stolen scrolls. Anyway, during our investigation, I have discovered some facts that I want to share with both of you.” He then turned to Kiara “Darling, I found the culprit that cursed you, it was one of our guards, I already… dealt with him, although I truly believe he was being manipulated. Anyway, during that process I also found your records. Dont worry, they are stored in a new location with the rest of the college's documents” he then turned to Jaken “I also found a very interesting item, a dagger with a truth aura infused in it. I suppose that it belonged to you, since all weapons in the college are registered, and that one was not. I’m sorry, but we had to get rid of it.” Hellius paused for a bit. “What I’m about to say is confidential. Only the members of the Squad and the College Higher Council knows this. No one else knows. So keep it that way.” The male elf took a deep breath, locking eyes with the werewolf. “You have already shared some information about Elbion’s current situation, but… this goes way deeper than you can even imagine. Way back, to the time when you got the job to recover the missing shipment. Let me explain this clearly. Today, before this hell had fallen upon us, I found the dead body of our headmaster, and by the state of it, he has been dead for more than two months. Basically, for two months, we had an imposter running this college. Do you understand how grave this situation is? This was a long-term plan. Someone killed, and disguised himself as the headmaster. This impostor was the one that leaded the college to find the last piece. He was the one that ordered to contact you to recover the missing shipment. What was the item that you recovered, you may ask? The last piece of the Altersphere. During these two months, this person had everything on his dispose, time, power and free access. Enough time to find the secret room and look for the documents, power to order the guards around and to enter the security vault, even the means to allow strangers to enter the college. I think you can deduce the rest now.” Hellius sighed “The problem is, after I found the headmaster's body, I rushed the college, but the imposter had already run away.”

 

[Adriwolf]

After the kiss, Jaken saw the reaction of the elf. She seemed astonished. Afterwards, his ears picked people conversating from behind, he could hear their comments, but he ignored them They didn't mattered right now. What mattered was the werewolf and the elf. That was the only thing on Jaken's priority list. Screw the others. This was their time. Besides, didn't they had other thing to think about, like resting and regaining strenght? Shouldn't they mind their own business? Jaken heard Kiara speak her mind about him getting more damage and Kiara beinng unable to help. He would say to her that everything was ok, but she have heard a lot of those beofre. Jaken's 'comforting phrases' mental book was pretty much empty. What could he say? Instead of opening his mouth and tell her something, he remaind silent. Sometimes, silence is a valid option. The lack of words may hint that the person truly understands what the other is going for. It makes you a good listener.

And apparently, he did not made the situation any less uncomfortable, when he offered a place on his bed to the elf, she reacted with what appeared to be embarrasment. Her face lit up in red, even her pointy ears gained that color. She was embarrased, or that is what Jaken could deduce. And without looking back (only gazing at Kiara's eyes), he knew why. The crowd wouldn't look away and mind their own business. They just had found their little show for the night, worst of all, it was a free show, the duo wouldn't get anything out of it. Jaken was close to turn back and tell everyone to fuck off, but he stopped when he looked at Kiara's eyes. Sure, it was something private and the crowd shouldn't be staring at them, but telling them to piss off would make things worst. And probably for Kiara as well. If this was bad enough, another actions would make it an awkward hell. And Kiara did not want that, thus, Jaken shut up and did not do anything else. Instead, he nodded at the elf's answer and went back to lay on the bed.

In the meantime, the duo talked about other things: what were things like in the other rooms, how bad the situation was, will it be possible to save many. Also, Jaken told Kiara about his next plan of action. In case some college students decided to join them, depending on their freerunning skills and equipment, they would take roofs or ground to move. But it was time to move to Hellius' office.

The duo took a seat in front of Hellius. This was it. This was the conversation Jaken was looking forward to. If it had to be this confedential then it had to be something big. Maybe big enough to solve this hell and end this. The werewolf listened what Hellius had to say. From what he told Kiara, nothing made him more angry than the mentioning of the guard that had cursed Kiara. He got so angry, that he even growled in silence. But he got some peace when Hellius said that he had dealt with him. He better had been 'dealt with' already. After what he made Kiara go through... he deserved everything that he got. He deserved to suffer to his last breath. Jaken was curious that he even thought on asking Hellius how he did it. DId he suffered? Did he begged? Did he regreted the day he was born? But maybe this was not the time... not now at least.... The werewolf dismissed the dagger that the college got rid, he didn't like it anyway, they could do whatever they wanted with it. However, his attention peaked at a certain phrase Hellius said: 'missing shipment', did it come back to get him? The past would not stay dead, he did not cared about it, but was it really coming back for him? He remembered Teodron, what that dwarf had to go through in his adventure with the bounty hunter. Speaking of, he wondered how was he? After the incident, he became cold and distant. How was he holding up until this day?

Something caught Jaken's attention on the elf's story. Apparently he had found the corpse of the headmaster and there was an impostor running around, so far, everything made sense. However, Hellius mentioned that the headmaster was dead for about 2 months. Then how could no one noticed that the headmaster was dead? Wouldn't the staff had noticed something? Jaken spoke what he had in mind.
"Then how could no one noticed it?" he asked, with his arms crossed "The way you are telling it, tells me that no one raised suspicion on him. If this imposter PHYSICALLY disguised himself as the headmaster: his complexity, face, hair, all that. Then there had to be something that could get him caught. There always is a mistake, even in the most precise costumes. And what about the personality? Did something seemed different with him? Was he more aggressive or any change in personality? Maybe I'm just thinking too much, after all, you found the truth today <<Specifically TODAY... what a coincidence... shut up wolfy, you just gave him a second chance, don't take it away for what might have been a funny coincidence.>> But still, ther had to be something...." he went silent thinking on everything that has happened

After any other information Hellius wanted to share with the duo, Jaken told him about his next plan. Asking permission to get closer to him and use the desk to display the map the nurse brought him, jaken explained what he had in mind. "You see. The theory is that we can find the origin point in this forest. We should be able to find it due to the following: in my werewolf form, I have a set of abilities. that no other werewolf has, they've been granted by a witch I met many years ago. I have this ability that lets me see in the dark. Now, since this lady that jumped to our reality have similar powers to the witch, I'm ablle to see her tracks, thus, I think I can track her down to her hideout." he concluded "However, the city might still be a chaos. The way Kiara and me managed to survive was by using rooftops to our favor. Kiara could have used magic to vault over obstacles, but I told her not to, that we could use magic to run away if necessary. What is my point, you may ask? What if volunteers that are out there or willing to fight come with us and end this. The more magic we have, the more we can use to vault over obstacles and protecct ourselves. Thus, I'm asking you if there is someone that could come with us and end this."

 

[Kiara]

Although Kiara had been eager to return to Jaken side, now that she was with him, she simply couldn’t fully enjoy his company. The duo already had so little opportunities and time to relax. But now due to people's curiosity, that wouldn’t mind their own business, the elf had to watch over her actions more than ever, refraining herself from what she truly wanted.
Soon, her sadness turned into frustration. Why couldn’t she just have some peace and enjoy the presence of the man that she loved? Kiara opened her eyes, still with her head bowed down. The feeling that her borrowed time soon would be over, washed over her.
Once this was all over, for sure Jaken would leave. He was a bounty hunter after all, always moving from one place to another. There was nothing in Elbion that would make him stay, and neither the elf would ask him that. Other questions also popped in her mind. How would her life be from now on? Would she return to the college? Or would leave to start her own adventures? If she asked Jaken, would he take her with him? The elf shook her head, pushing aside those thoughts. It was too early to think about it. First, they needed to stop this apocalypse, otherwise there would be no future.
Thankfully Jaken started a conversation, forcing the elf to focus on it, instead of being drowned by her own emotions. As the conversation continued, the elf relaxed, returning to her normal behavior, emerging in her little world, even forgetting that others were still in the room. Right now, it was only her and the werewolf, but soon the time to meet Hellius had come.

“Darling, I found the culprit that cursed you, it was one of our guards, I already… dealt with him, although I truly believe he was being manipulated.

Kiara only nodded her head at her guardian's words. But there was something bothering her, in the end she asked "Hellius... What do you mean that you have dealt with him? You said that the guard was being manipulated, he was just following orders, so it was not really his fault. Please don’t punish..."
"Stop right there Kiara! I know what you are thinking! Although he was following orders, he was perfectly aware of his actions. Besides, the curse he cast on you, was an ancient and powerful one. There was no going back, someone would die, no matter what, the target or the caster. So better him than you. He got what he deserved."
The male elf said with a serious look. That guard did not deserve Kiara's mercy, and neither the elf needed to know the true nature of his death. Hiding behind that stern face there was a deadly cold look. Hellius couldn’t care less about the guard, and neither he regretted what he had done to him. Whoever dared to mess with his little girl would face death as a penalty. Besides, the guard was already doomed with that curse upon him, Hellius only speeded things up by giving him a fast-ticked journey to hell.

"Then how could no one noticed it?" he asked, with his arms crossed "The way you are telling it, tells me that no one raised suspicion on him. If this imposter PHYSICALLY disguised himself as the headmaster: his complexity, face, hair, all that. Then there had to be something that could get him caught. There always is a mistake, even in the most precise costumes. And what about the personality? Did something seemed different with him? Was he more aggressive or any change in personality? Maybe I'm just thinking too much, after all, you found the truth today. But still, ther had to be something...."

For a moment Hellius looked seriously at Jaken. Then he thought that maybe the werewolf knew nothing about magic. In the end, the male elf only let out a deep exhale before explaining things.
"You really think that someone would fool us all with a mere disguise or costume? We are dealing with shapeshifting magic. Besides, the imposter not only took the headmaster appearance, but also lived his life, and I literally mean it! He lived in the headmaster's house, wore his clothes, took over his job. This is not something that you can accomplish alone. Such a complex plan. About his personality..." He then turned to Kiara asking her. "Kiara, sweetie. Tell me, what do you think about the headmaster?"
For a moment Kiara got confused, but told him what her thoughts were. "Well... there's not much to say. The headmaster was always in his office running the college, although he was very efficient. But comparing him to the previous one, he was much more reserved." She concluded.
"There you have the reason. If a person does not interact much, how could anyone has got suspicious? This impostor even fooled…. me." Hellius said, turning his hands into fists. He really hated that someone had been able to outplay him.
"He only made one mistake. Every time that me and the squad were making progress, our leads would end in dead ends. That raised my suspicions, that someone was plotting against us. I trust my partners. So, the only option left, was the headmaster, since we had to report our findings to him. That was when I started to investigate by myself. I ordered my team to kept following the previous leads and report it back to the headmaster, as if nothing had changed. In the meanwhile, I worked in the shadows, starting my own investigation from scratch, the missing shipment, the college attack and the sphere. Unfortunately, I was not fast enough to figure it all in time.” He sighed again, his shoulders dropping a bit, displaying his frustration. “But I have a question for you. Do you think that this imposter and the lady you talked about are working together?" he asked to Jaken.

Once this topic was closed. Jaken asked permission to come closer and use the desk. Hellius only nodded his head, stepping a bit to the side, allowing the bounty hunter to come closer. Hellius placed both hands on the desk, his eyes glued to the map, while he listened carefully the werewolf’s plan. As Jaken explained how he and Kiara had managed to reach the college, the male elf lifted his head, locking eyes with the spellsinger. Kiara only looked back at him. She knew what he was thinking, but she said nothing. In the end, Hellius dropped his gaze to the map once again. As Jaken finished, Hellius crossed his arms, his eyes still on the map. He was in deep thoughts, analyzing all options. He sighed, turning a bit to face directly the bounty hunter, that was by his side.
“You are asking at the wrong person. I don’t have that authority or power. Do you really need a big party for this? It will ony bring a lot of attention. In my opinion, it’s better to move stealthier. Besides, the guards are needed here, to protect the students and the staff. In the same way people entered without control, many weapons also entered in this school today. It would be stupid of us to think that all of them are harmless. And I can’t send students to such a risky operation. I also need to take into account the college and these people safety, we already suffered a lot of casualties. The only ones I have under my command is the Special Unit, but even we suffered losses, one died out there when we were trying to save the civilians, two are in the infirmary wing, severely wounded, and the last three are suffering with serious magic withdraws. I’m not at my best either.” Hellius closed his eye. Indeed, the only option was the squad members, but they needed to rest. As the elf reopened his eyes, he locked them with the werewolf’s.
“I will go with you. But before we go, I will let the other three members that are recovering their magic, know about your plan. They will stay though, but if I see that the situation requires backup, I will summon them to come and assist us.” Hellius invoked a will’o wisp, a yellowish orb appeared in his hand. “Go and warn the others.” The male elf threw the wisp out of the window that flew away. As Hellius turned to face the duo, he saw curiosity in Kiara’s eyes. He smiled, already knowing what she wanted.
“It’s a will'o wisp, you can use it to find or guide people, also it can give small messages. It is pretty handy when you want to keep in touch with your team during field investigations.” He smiled at her, before his voice changed tone. “I know that this will be useless…” he could already see in her eyes. “Kiara, would you please stay here?” The guardian asked, his eyes full of worry. “It’s not safe out there, and I will not be at ease, nor focus if you are there with us.”
The spellsinger only shook a bit her head in denial. There was no way she would let the two most important men in her life go out there without her, not even in a century! “You know that I can’t do that…” Kiara said with a calm expression, but she could see how worried he was becoming. He would not bare to lose her, but on the other hand, Kiara would also not bear lose any of them. In an attempt to make the female elf stay, Hellius turned to Jaken, hoping that he too would persuade her.

 

[Adriwolf]

So the guard that cursed Kiara was dead. That's what he got from Hellius' message. He smiled. He got what he deserved. Oh, it felt so pleasant. He better have suffered. No one messed with Jaken's elf. If someone did, it was very probable that they would die... prematurely. No matter how they would, but they would suffer to their last breath. And another one did. Hopefully, they would've had the same hell Kiara had to go through. All those nightmares, all those feelings of hopelessness and tireness. The curse somehow eating himm on the inside. If Hellius took mercy on him, he would be angry at the male elf. He didn't deserved to be put out of his misery. Not for messing with the elf he loved. Jaken did not say anything, he kept all the comments on his head.

As Hellius kept speaking about the fake headmaster, Jaken kept analyzing and absorbing everything the elf spitted: how the impostor took over the life of the previous headmaster, how he basically replaced another living being and no one noticed, or at least, that is what the Jaken thought. For what Hellius told him, it seemed that the male elf had his suspicious about it. He was smart, intuitive, probably with a little more of time, he could have probably busted the impostor, but at the same time, it was anyone's guess what would've happened if Hellius found them. There would have been some type of reaction, but what kind of reaction? Would it have been a 'flee' or 'fight' situation? Who would have won? Would anyone have died? There was no way of telling. If this fake headmaster was with S.A.P., then there would be no way of telling what their powers were. Their powers would vary, thus, unprecise what powers would someone have.

“But I have a question for you. Do you think that this imposter and the lady you talked about are working together?"

Jaken nodded. "Yes, probably. This lady we've been encountering has formed a pack of her own, meaning that she has allies. And if this headmaster wanted me to find the last piece of the puzzle they needed, then I guess that yes. They are working together. I have no idea what his goal is, I DO know the lady's but not the fake headmaster. I assume their goals are different. Perhaps, that's all I can think on.... or maybe this lady has convinced him to cross to the other reality. That could be one of the solutions."

"Fine. If you don't have the authority to recruit this party I'm asking. Who has? Who has the authority to send a party to end this hell?" he stopped, thinking "Or no one will join us to stop this? If not, then screw this. We'll go on our own, this time, we'll be more careful." he glanced at Kiara "We'll use some magic in case to stop other broken legs or any other injuries." then back to Hellius "Who has the authority here. I doubt that the headmaster's corpse will tell me anything at all."
But Hellius offered himself to the journey. It may have been only one, but Hellius was powerful. He knew about that, he was a mentor after all. Mentors usually were powerful. Plus, he was Kiara's mentor. And Kiara was already powerful, so her mentor should be more powerful than her, thus, they'd have a better magical supply.

“Kiara, would you please stay here?” The guardian asked, his eyes full of worry. “It’s not safe out there, and I will not be at ease, nor focus if you are there with us.”

Hellius turned to Jaken, hoping that he too would persuade her.

Jaken stared back at Hellius. His answer to the elf would be clear. Jaken looked at the female elf "She's been through a lot." he said, still looking at the elf "After everything she's been through, all the magic she has used, everything that she had to suffer to get to this point. All the fear, despair, and anguish she has experienced. Everything that she had fought. Telling her to stay behind would be an insult." he turned to Hellius.
"I'm sorry, but I'll disagree on you on this one Hellius." he walked behind Kiara's chair "You may not have known what we've had to go throughout the last couple of days, but Kiara has managed to grow. She has been able to stay alive during these last dangerous days. She survived a deadly curse that was eating her form the inside, she survived the cold weathers of Belgrath, she survived being locked up on a dungeon for who knows how many hours without food or water. She is not a little girl anymore. All the magic she has used to get the upper hand on all kinds of situations. She has used to magic, not only to put plans we've made up on the spot, but also to heal and save others. She has also survived many situations. She's still alive, isn't she? Even though the hell she had to survive few hours ago. She survived zombies, demons, giant insects, even peole that had gone insane. She survived living hell." he pointed outside the window, where Elbion was still on fire.
"Let me tell you something. Few days ago, we were following a lead that led us to a witch's cottage. The same witch that granted me these abilities in my werewolf form that I've been talking about. The witch thought that one would drag the other one down, so she took control over my werewolf form... and..." he switched looks between Hellius and Kiara. He had made up his mind, screw this "And she unleashed the wolf that leaves inside me. In other words, I was an uncontrollable werewolf that was hunting down Kiara. But she managed to survive that, did she not? She managed to neutralize me and put me out of the trance. Now, think. If it was any other person that was fighting a werewolf, the chances of them going towards the 'killing me' option would be very high, but she didn't. She used magic not only to save herself, but also to save me." he stopped for a bit.
"The reason why I'm telling you this is so that you can see that she knows how to fight, she knows how to run, she knows how to survive out there. I don't care if you see me as the bad guy know or a savage dog that needs to be put on a leash or be put down, all I care about is for you to see that she is not a defenseless little elf anymore. Besides. As I have said many times. She. Is. NOT. A little girl anymore. She is a grown elf. She should not be listening to what you say. She should be listening to herself. She has the final word on this. Let her decide."

He locked eyes with the male elf.

 

[Kiara]

Hellius just nodded at Jaken’s answer. Indeed, it was plausible that the lady had somehow convinced others to cross to her reality, maybe by promising them something in there, in exchange for their aid to destroy this world.

If you don't have the authority to recruit this party I'm asking. Who has? Who has the authority to send a party to end this hell?

It was obvious that the werewolf known nothing about how the college was managed, so Hellius would make it clear for him. “This is not a normal situation, and the timing couldn’t be worse, so the College High Council took over control, since a new headmaster is not yet selected. They are the ones that hold all the authority, for now." The male elf made a pause, his eyebrows frowning a bit. “Their only worry is the college’s reputation. Right now, their top priority is doing damage control and hide the truth about the headmaster’s death. Those old men will not help you. It's only me and my team, so you will have to work with it.”

Kiara was changing, there were no doubts, and Hellius knew it. If this had happened some weeks ago, the spellsinger would have quietly nod and stayed behind, obeying his instructions. But for the very first time, she told what she wanted, it was not as if she was defying her guardian, Hellius also knew that. In fact, he was proud, seeing her stand and speak out her mind, instead of just follow orders around. But it had to be right now? That was his only problem, the timing. Why right now that the world was more dangerous than never? Such a bad timing. None the less, he was proud to see that his little girl had grown, but that didn’t mean he would just stop worrying about her, he just couldn't help himself.

As Hellius turned to Jaken. Kiara also turned to face the bounty hunter, her eyes reflecting insecurity. What if he too asked her to stay? It wouldn’t be the first time that he would ask the elf to stay behind, but it was also true that lately Jaken would give her much more credit, so maybe, she had a chance. Both elves listened the werewolf, each of them with different expectations.

"After everything she's been through, all the magic she has used, everything that she had to suffer to get to this point. All the fear, despair, and anguish she has experienced. Everything that she had fought. Telling her to stay behind would be an insult."

The spellsinger’s eyes lit up, he was supporting her! Jaken was not only a strong and caring man, but he was also supportive, those were the reasons why she had fallen in love with him. On the other hand, Hellius stared hard to the werewolf, he did not expect that answer. He thought that Jaken would agree to let her stay, to protect her. Hellius followed Jaken’s moves, seeing him getting closer to Kiara, waiting for Jaken to give a good reason that justified his opinion.

"You may not have known what we've had to go throughout the last couple of days, but Kiara has managed to grow. She has been able to stay alive during these last dangerous days. She survived a deadly curse that was eating her form the inside, she survived the cold weathers of Belgrath, she survived being locked up on a dungeon for who knows how many hours without food or water. She is not a little girl anymore. All the magic she has used to get the upper hand on all kinds of situations. She has used to magic, not only to put plans we've made up on the spot, but also to heal and save others. She has also survived many situations. She's still alive, isn't she? Even though the hell she had to survive few hours ago. She survived zombies, demons, giant insects, even peole that had gone insane. She survived living hell."

While Jaken kept speaking his mind, Hellius discovered why he wouldn’t be able to find Kiara. They have been in Belgrath. As Jaken continued the male elf locked eyes with Kiara’s. He was having an internal struggle. Yes, he knew how strong she was, after all he was her mentor! How could he not know the full extent of her magic capacities? He was perfectly aware of her abilities, she could be a deadly mage, she just chose not to be.
Indeed, she was not a little elf anymore. But for Hellius, it felt like he had just found her yesterday, lost in those forsaken woods. Back there, on the moment he laid his eyes on her, he swore to himself that no harm would fall upon her. But maybe it was time for him to change. Kiara didn’t need an overprotective guardian anymore, what she needed right now, was a safe place for her to return whenever she needed, and Hellius' support, no matter what her choices were.
Hellius sighed, when Jaken pointed to the window. He was ready to admit that the bounty hunter was right, but it seemed like that he had something else to say. As the werewolf started, Hellius could feel that he wouldn’t like that he was about to hear, and Jaken’s behavior, looking between him and Kiara, was not helping at all. Hellius got alert, waiting for what was about to come.

"The witch thought that one would drag the other one down, so she took control over my werewolf form... and...And she unleashed the wolf that leaves inside me. In other words, I was an uncontrollable werewolf that was hunting down Kiara. But she managed to survive that, did she not? She managed to neutralize me and put me out of the trance. Now, think. If it was any other person that was fighting a werewolf, the chances of them going towards the 'killing me' option would be very high, but she didn't. She used magic not only to save herself, but also to save me."

For a second Hellius' eyes were wide open. And in a burst of rage he slammed his desk, with both hands. “WHAT!?” Hellius roared, his eyes locked with the werewolf's shooting him a cold deadly glare. <”How dared he attacks Kiara!? And hunt her down!! I shouldn’t have put my trust in this savage...”> His action caught Kiara off guard, the female elf flicked a bit on her seat. In fact, this was the first time that she had seen such a strong reaction. Hellius noticed that and looked at her, his gaze softening before dropping, apologizing for scaring her. <”Dammit! Calm down, Kiara is here. Besides, me and the kid just started from scratch… It would be stupid to spoil everything now.”> he thought to himself. The male elf relaxed, straightening up, crossing his arms, then he cleared his throat in an apologizing matter, letting the werewolf continue his speech.

"The reason why I'm telling you this is so that you can see that she knows how to fight, she knows how to run, she knows how to survive out there. I don't care if you see me as the bad guy know or a savage dog that needs to be put on a leash or be put down, all I care about is for you to see that she is not a defenseless little elf anymore. Besides. As I have said many times. She. Is. NOT. A little girl anymore. She is a grown elf. She should not be listening to what you say. She should be listening to herself. She has the final word on this. Let her decide."

There it was, what Hellius have been thinking until now, Jaken just said it out loud! It was time for Hellius to face it. Kiara was a grown elf, and didn’t depend on him anymore, or at least, not as much as before. Deep down, he was very proud of her, she was like a daughter to him, the child he never had, but at the same time he was anxious. Such conflicted feelings. It made him nervous that his little girl was ready to adventure in the world, and he wouldn’t be there to protect her. But one thing he was sure about, the bond between them would never be broken, it was not a bad change, it was only an evolution. He needed to learn to cope with that. He needed to let her go, and one day he would need to learn to share his girl with the man she would choose. Talk about parent struggles...
“Kiara, are you sure this is what you want?” he asked one last time, looking deep into her eyes.
“Yes.” she said. It was decided. Hellius just took a deep breath before speaking “Then it’s settled. Jaken, you will be the leader of this operation, it's your plan after all. But it's better for us to start moving, the longer we take, the closer the lady is to achieve her goal. Anyway, I’m ready, so when both of you are ready, let’s get this in action.”

Kiara was the first to leave Hellius’ office. The moment Jaken was about to leave, the male elf stopped him, placing one hand on his shoulder.
“What are the odds for that witch to control your inner wolf again?” he asked in a low tone, his eyes revealing concern. “If that ever happens again… Are you able to put a leash on that wolf? Control him so he will not harm her? Don’t take this as a threat, I'm just concerned… But if I ever have to choose between you and her… well, you know the answer. Just take care of yourself, she got really attached to you.” He patted Jaken’s shoulder, passing through him. Somehow, he was starting to take a liking at the werewolf. Maybe it was due to his attitude, he not only cared for the female elf, but would also disagree with Hellius if he thought that it was the best for Kiara. Futhermore, he came clean to the guardian, if Hellius had found out about the werewolf's incident by himself, for sure things would end in a much different way.

 

[Adriwolf]

Jaken deeply sighed at Hellius' answer about the college not being able to supply them with a party. They were on their own. On one hand, it was good, because they'd have less people to worry about, the smmaller the group, the faster they can move and the less noise they can make, bacuase in a group there is always someone that screws up. On the other hand, it was bad, they wouldn't have as many members to constantly use magic to get out of tight situations as they would have if the college supplied them with members, if someone gets left behind by accident, there would be no one to rescue them. They were on their own: Jaken, Kiara, and Helius. Three people out to save the world. But they had no other choice, i they did not do anything, then all of this would be worthless. They'd have to be a stealthily as posssible while also being fast. Jaken could get that, he has been training that for a lot now, but maybe the elves were not as good as them, perhaps, he didn't know. Kiara managed to survive this long, but he hadn't seen Hellius. However, he seemed sure about himself, confident, but it was better to prove it instead of spitting out words.

So everything was done, Hellius agreed to Jaken's plan and he was the leader of it, he probably was not the best leader to pick, but Hellius had a point: it was his plan, so he should be responsible for it. "Ok." he said after Hellius dialogue "Warm up people. We'll go through the roofs again. This time, you two can use magic to get over obstacles, however, use it as sparingly as possible." he looked at Kiara with a caring tone "Are you ready or do you need some more rest? Get your magical strenght regained? Wounds to heal?"

Jaken got stop by Hellius as he asked if the witch could do something to his werewolf form out there. It was understandable that the mentor got like that. He cared for Kiara. He wanted her to be safe. He wanted her to stay in the college where it would be safe. They both had the same objective: protect Kiara at all cost. She could take care of herself now, but she still needed some guidance to achieve more survival skills. Jaken was honest with Hellius "No." he said "The witch won't have any control over my werewolf form. She thinks that noone will drag anyone down, thus, she will leave us alone. However, if something like that happens again, I will be able to warn you. I have some seconds of control before I black out and the Wolf takes control of my body. I was able to warn Kiara away before I did. I had some... 5 seconds of control? That should be enought time for you to run or put sommething in action to neutralize me. But, as I said, the Wolf won't control me unvoluntarily. I'm sure of it." he looked at where Kiara left "I understand your concern. I worry about her as well, we both do. We have the same objective over here. I'll do everything to keep her safe, but at the same time, teach her more survival skills so that we can stop worrying about her. I don't know about you,but I'd rather know that she will be ok, than to be worried all the time about her safety."

He still looked at Hellius "I know she has become attached to me. I can feel it... I also have become attached to her, when we met all I cared about was taking her out of the situation I dragged her in. But now... it's different." he shook his head, thinking that he was wandering off "Changing the subject. Grab anything that is available and can be useful for our little journey over here. I have everything I need now, I'll wait for you at the entrance of the college. If you have everything you need, then lets head out now. The building in front of the college should have a direct way to its roof, from that point. We can make our way to the woods." he stepped out of the office.

"Hey." Jaken said to Kiara outside the office, caressing her cheek with a thumb "We're going out again." he hugged her "I'm so proud that you made the decision for yourself. Your first step to independence." he chuckled.

 

[Kiara]

Everything has been settled down, Jaken would be the party leader, since this was his plan, furthermore, he was the one that could find the lady. Soon they would be moving, but this time they could use magic to move through the roofs, that would make things easier for the female elf, although she needed to be careful and manage her magic power. Kiara was absorbing the information when Jaken turned to her, speaking in a caring tone.

"Are you ready or do you need some more rest? Get your magical strenght regained? Wounds to heal?"

The elf thought for a moment, indeed if she rested for a bit, her magic would increase, but there was no time. Sometimes even 5 minutes could be the difference between arriving in time or everything be lost. There was no other option, she tried to reassure him the best she could.
"Yes, I'm ready, don't worry about my magic pool, if I stick to my main elements I should be fine. And I'm not wounded, so there is nothing to heal."
That was a fact, her proficient elements, water/ice and light/lightning spells don't require as much mana for her as the rest of the other elemental spells, so she should be fine. Besides Helius would be there too, so even if she didn't use the other elements, Hellius could provide that, since his main elements were fire and wind.
Her only worry was what if she dragged both of the males down? Jaken was used to move fast, vaulting and jumping over obstacles, and although Kiara never saw Hellius in action, except for his magic power, for sure he too was an agile runner. He was an elf after all, dexterity and agility were on his side. Kiara on the other hand, for an elf she was very small, even for a female. Elves are supposed to be taller than humans, but she had the height of an average human female. Sometimes that would make her feel uncomfortable around other elves, making her wonder why she had such a difference in height? Despite her height didn't influence on her dexterity and agility, in a long run, the difference in speed and reach would be noticeable. She needed a lot more effort to reach higher places and run a bit faster to keep up with a "normal" elf, thus, draining her stamina and getting tired faster. In the end, Kiara just let out a small sigh, she would need to push herself harder, so she wouldn't delay them, while being careful to not push her body to its limit

Hellius didn't react, only listening Jaken's answer. It was good to know that the witch wouldn't interfere, and if something was about to happen, as the Wolf takes over control, although Jaken already said that wouldn't happen, at least he would be able to warn them ahead, so there were no worries, at least on that matter. As the werewolf carried on his conversation, he said that he too cared about the spellsinger and would do everything to protect her. Anyway, it was good to know that both of them were on the same page, that pleased the male elf, he nodded a little his head, acknowledging the werewolf's words.

"I know she has become attached to me. I can feel it... I also have become attached to her, when we met all I cared about was taking her out of the situation I dragged her in. But now... it's different."

Finally the elf showed a reaction, one of his eyebrows lifted in an intrigued manner. Yes, he knew that the bounty hunter cared about his child, and on the Lizardmen's basement, Jaken admitted that he and Kiara were friends, but what was this difference that Jaken was talking about? Hellius thought of asking, but now it was not the right time, maybe later, besides, Jaken was already changing the subject. With nothing more to say, Hellius patted Jaken's shoulder, saying that he too was ready. As the elemental teacher was making his way out, the will'o wisp returned, resting in the elf's hand, whispering some faint ghostly sounds, before Hellius crush it in his hand, moving once again to the door direction.

Kiara stopped in her tracks when Jaken called, turning to face him, only to find his hand reaching for her cheek caressing it with his thumb. Although she seemed relaxed from the outside, her eyes were filled with worry. Their mission was risky and a lot of responsibility on their shoulders. What if they failed? Or if something bad happened to any of them?

"We're going out again." he hugged her "I'm so proud that you made the decision for yourself. Your first step to independence." he chuckled.

Kiara hugged him back, placing her forehead on his chest. She loved being in his arms, those warm and strong arms, she could feel not only protection and safety but also, calm, care, reassurance and confidence. Confidence that everything would be ok. If she was in any other place, Kiara would have felt uncomfortable, like the time that she was in the Potions classroom.
She knew that Hellius was there and most likely he would see that, but she didn't mind, she trusted him and knew that her guardian wouldn't judge or see things in the wrong way, it was just a hug, although it meant more than that to her. The elf lifted her head, looking deeply into his eyes, smiling a bit while he chuckled. "Thank you, for supporting me back there" she said, before resting her head once again in his chest, hearing his heart beating, it was so comfortable and calm, it relaxed her, besides, this could be her last opportunity, since the future was so uncertain.

 

[Adriwolf]

Minutes later, the party was ready to head outside the college and into Elbion again. It would be risky, but a necessary move to end this. Before stepping out, they made sure that no monsters were near lurking around or hiding to ambush them. The made their way to the front building, reaching the roof through the attic. They were back on track. Jaken knew that the fact that the elves would use their magic should make things easier, at least for the elves, Jaken could be fine on his own vaulting objects and jumping from building to building, if a monster didn't push any plank he would be on, that is. Right now, none of them could afford get injured, there would be no college to save them. Only themselves, and if that wasn't enough, someone would get left behind...

The trio made their way through the roofs, evading obstacles, jumping from one roof to another, Jaken would sometimes go ahead and place things for the elves to jump over so they could reach higher places in order to salvage magic. Even though, they needed to move fast, the trio took things slow to save stamina. It was anyone's guess when a monster would attack them. They did, however, sometimes a giant insect would climb to a roof and attack them. But this was nothing for the experienced trio, they were perfectly coordinated, as if they have been practicing a routine for months. Jaken would get help from Hellius and Kiara (and viceversa) with their magic boosting his bolts. Sometimes Kiara would use light to blind-stun an enemy, which Jaken used to shoot it dead with a power-up by Hellius. Or a flying creature would ram them, this were the hardest to kill, they would just keep moving, making Jaken waste some ammo and the elves some spells, but eventually they managed to bring them down.

They took shelter for rest on buildings' interiors. The rooms were turned upside down and bloody, it smelled like death and rotting flesh, but they needed rest to recharge magic and energy. They still had a long way to follow, it was not safe to travel all in one run. Jaken was staring outside the window, watching the city burn to a crisp. But he wasn't really focusing on that. Instead, he was focusing on the sun going down. Night was coming. He had to morph into the werewolf to find the lady. But he didn't want to.... not in front of Kiara. Even though Kiara had forgiven him, Jaken was not sure how to feel about the werewolf living inside him. The werewolf would never be unleashed in front of Kiara ever again. Hellius would be there to protect her, and that was ok, but.... the feeling was still there. He sighed when they had to resurface.

The trio ran their way to the forest, crunching leaves on their way and looking back constantly, not only to make sure that the trio was still together, but also to make sure no mosnters were following them. The forest, obviously, was a completely different environement. Different monsters were there, like a pack of zombies lurking in the woods, which the trio was able to evade with ease, or a nest of giants hornets which the trio did not even think of disturbing. Different obstacles were getting on the way, like roots and logs. The trio eventually stopped to get some rest. There were no campfires roaring in the night, they were still hidden. It was nighttime already. Jaken ws anxious, shaking his leg nervously and breathing to remain calm. It was the wolf that made him uncomfortable. He had to transform, no matter what.

He heard a crunch nearby. Jaken stood up and signed the others to stay alert and quiet. Another crunch behind him, another crunch at 6 o'clock, 9 o'clock, 7:30, 10:25. They were surrounded by unseen creatures. Jaken enhanced his hearing sense. But it wasn't necessary, through the dark, he saw wolves approaching. They seemed normal wolves. Unaffected by everything that had been happening. The wolves surrounded the trio, growling and snarling at them. More wolves joined. Way too much for them to take out on their own. The Alpha wolf stepped closer and snarled at Kiara. The Alpha did not hesitate and charged her. Jaken reacted immediately, jumping in front of Kiara while morphing into the werewolf, pushing her back, facing the Alpha, taking it into his claws and with a swift movement, he ripped the Alpha's throat off with his claws. The Alpha stopped moving in an instant. He was dead. Jaken threw it to the wolves while roaring at them. The wolves stopped in shock. Their Alpha was dead, no one was in charge anymore. Jaken kept snarling and growling at them. The wolves finally retreated.

Jaken turned around to see the elves looking at him. The werewolf stood in shock. He was in his werewolf form, in front of Kiara. Would this affect her? After what she had gone through the last time she encountered the werewolf, would she become uncomfortable or scared of him? Jaken took a step back slowly. "I....." he opened his mouth "I-I'm sorry. I..... didn't want you to see that. It was just my instinct." he took another step back "Are..... are you ok?" another step back. He was so disoriented that he didn't noticed the corpse of the Alpha, tripping with it and falling on his butt on the ground.

 

[Kiara]

The trio was on the move once again, moving through the rooftops. Hellius was having no trouble at all keeping up with the pace, not even relying on his magic. If someone took a good look at him, it looked like the male elf was even holding back himself. Kiara on the other hand, was trying her best to not fall back, and at the same time, trying to save as much magic as possible. But, seeing her guardian moving like that surprised her, it was like this was a daily basis for him, if Kiara didn't know him, she would mistake him for an assassin instead of a mage judging by the way of his movements.
Sometimes Jaken would go ahead and prepare a path for the elves. On that time, Hellius would fall back, assisting Kiara on her jumps or climbing so she wouldn't overwork herself. It was a good team work, even their fightings were perfectly synchronized, everyone knew their role, making thing going easier.

Eventually the trio took shelter inside a building, taking the chance to rest for a bit. The spellsinger was starting to show signs of tiredness, she tried to control her respiration, breading nice and slow, she didn't want to show her weak side, but she didn't fool her guardian.
Hellius saw the werewolf looking at the window, but Jaken was focused on something. The male elf sighed, not wanting to bother the bounty hunter with a question, instead, the elf placed his attention on his child. He knew that Kiara was trying hard, it was not an easy task and required a good physical preparation, something that the female elf lacked. After checking on her, he placed a wind spell on the spellsinger, to make her moves lighter, thus making the rest of the path easier for her.

By the time the night fell, the trio was already in the forest. What was once a lively woods, was now filled with a dead silence, not even the crickets dared to sing and give their location away.
Once again the three of them were resting, it was being a long hard day. Hellius was rather fine, the bounty hunter seemed to be ok too, although he was displaying some anxious signs, Hellius didn't knew what to think about it. Could it be that the werewolf didn't knew where to go now? Hellius also noticed that Jaken's behaviour was affecting Kiara. She too was starting to get nervous, seeing how the bounty hunter's leg wouldn't stop shaking. Hellius sighed again, those two were too young for this job, and maybe the pressure was starting to get the best out of them. The male elf took a seat near the female elf, speaking to her in a low tone, trying to calm her down.

The night was quiet, until a twig cracked, Jaken was the first to react, standing up, the elves followed his action. Then another noise and another, and it kept going, they were surrounded. From all the creatures that were lurking and walking the earth that night, it had to be wolves? And the whole pack was there, maybe all those monsters had disturbed or threatened the pack, making it more aggressive. One of the wolves took the front, it was the alpha, he growled and snarled at Kiara. She was the only female and the smallest of the trio, making her the weakest link, the perfect target. By instinct Hellius tried to reach Kiara, in an attempt to put her on his back, but that only caused a chain reaction. The moment the male elf was stretching his arm in her direction, the alpha wolf did not hesitate and charged at her.

Everything happened so fast in Kiara's eyes, and in a blink everything had ended. When her brain started to process the event, she was already on Hellius' arms, that prevented her from falling on the ground, after Jaken had pushed her back. The pack was nowhere to be seen, it was gone, all except for one, the wolf that tried to attack the elf, he was laying on the floor, motionless with a pool of blood, his throat ripped. Kiara's eyes were wide open, and Hellius could feel her temperature dropping, she was becoming ice cold, she was scared and her magic was reacting to it. Then something caught the spellsinger's attention, a dripping sound, the only sound that her ears could pick up.
She lifted her gaze, finding Jaken in his werewolf form, his claws covered in blood, blood that was dripping on the forest floor. For a moment the spellsinger froze in time with that scene, she didn't move or said anything. Then something popped into her mind, this would be what would have happened to her if Jaken's inner Wolf had caught her back then. And for a second Kiara could even see it, her image taking the place of the dead alpha, and she would be just a snack for that beast.

Her sight never abandoned the werewolf, Kiara only broke free from the trance she was in, once Jaken started to back away from her.

"I-I'm sorry. I..... didn't want you to see that. It was just my instinct." he took another step back "Are..... are you ok?"

Seeing him backing away a memory came to her mind. The first kiss they had shared, back then, he too was in his werewolf form and in the end, he ran away from her. Right now, Jaken was displaying the same behavior, stumbling on his words, and backing away with a disoriented look. She was not the only one scared. He was scared too, scared of her reaction. Then another thing popped into the elf's mind, it was the witch. No, Kiara wouldn't allow that witch to ruin what they had. The moment Jaken fell on the ground, Kiara already knew what she had to do, and this time, she wouldn't let him run away.

Kiara took a deep breath, patting Hellius' arms, signaling him that she was ok, and to let her go. The male elf released her, he too stood up, glancing one last time to the werewolf, before clicking his tongue and rubbing the back of his neck, a long exhale escaped his lips before placing his attention on the scene that was happening before him.
Kiara moved closer to Jaken, avoiding the wolf's dead body and the pool of blood, kneeling right in front of the werewolf, placing her attention on his bloodied claws. She said nothing, only reaching for one of his paws, taking it in her hands, while chanting a little water spell to clean the blood away, then she reached his other paw and repeat the same process. Once she had finished, she finally looked into his eyes, speaking in a soft tone.
"Yes, I am fine now. How about you, are you ok?" She caressed his huge paw, it was as soft and fluffy as she remembered. Yes, everything was fine. It was Jaken, not the wild Wolf that tried to kill her, this was the werewolf that she had fall in love. "What you didn't want me to see? You saving me from a wolf?... You don't need to say sorry for that. I am grateful for what you have done. Thank you for saving me" she smiled for him.

Hellius couldn't take it, this scene was too lovely for his liking. He had already taken a step forward by supporting Kiara on her choices. But seeing her caring this much for another person, well, that was another story. Why did his child have to grow up so fast? This was a hard blow for him to take, but in the end, Hellius' heart just melted, there was nothing in this world that he loved the most than to see his little girl happy and smiling. But, from all the people, why a werewolf? That was his only worry.

 

[Adriwolf]

The werewolf was on the ground. He was scared. He was conscious that he had saved Kiara from a wolf, but did it have to be in his werewolf form? If he could have reacted a bit faster, then he probably would have shot the Alpha down instead of transforming into a beast and ripping the animal like a beast would. He could see Kiara being hugged by Helliius. Good. Hellius was there to protect the elf she loved. If something happened, he would be there to take care of her. And that is all he cared about. If the Wolf, for some reason, became unleashed, Hellius would be there to save Kiara. He didn't care what Hellius would do to him, as long as Kiara was safe. Kiara signaled Hellius to let her go, that everything was ok. The male elf hesitated, but he released her. The spellsinger walked towards the werewolf in the dark. She was beutiful. A majestical figure making its way through the dark and closer to the nervous werewolf. In fact, the closer she got, the heavier the breathing became. His heartbeat increased as the elf stepped closer. She kneeled in front of the lycanthrope and took one of his fluffy, strong and heavy paws into her soft, delicate, and perfect hands. Water came to wash the blood away. It felt soothing. Not only was his paw in her hands but also, the water force running through his hands felt peaceful. She picked the other and did the same process. She seemed calmed. Not nervous over seeing the creature that a day before tried to kill her. Jaken could hear her heartbeat, it was calm but also accelerated. Was it because she was nervous, or was it the adrenaline of the wolf attack? If she was nervous, then she would prove it. Kiara used her body to express feelings, and it was easy for Jaken to detect that now that they had time together and the bond they had created even though they haven't coffessed it to each other. If Kiara was nervous, she would probably be shaking or her spell singing would not be as precise as other occassions. But she sang well. No nervousness in her voice, no shaking in her body, no nothing. And she was helping her ALMOST murderer. Could the adrenaline have been what accelerated her heart? But now was going down (the heart rate)?

"Yes, I am fine now. How about you, are you ok?"

"Huh? Oh-uh. I..... uh-I..." the wolf couldn't speak, he was desoriented by Kiara's reaction. Someone would say this was funny, seeing a big and intimidating werewolf shake in fear and confusion, stumbling on is words like a small dog "Umm.... well-I....." he shook his head, clearing thoughts and returning to an origin thought. He exhaled deeply. He was ok "Yeah, I'm ok. He didn't harm me." he kept eyes locked with Kiara. Those beatiful eyes. He would stare at them for a long time.

"What you didn't want me to see? You save me from a wolf?... You don't need to say sorry for that. I am grateful for what you have done. Thank you for saving me"

The wolf returned the smile at her. He thought on hugging her, but... maybe right now was not the best moment... "Yeah, don't worry." he slowly stood up, breaking eye contact with Kiara and looking to Hellius "Thanks for protecting her." he told him.
He looked at what he left. His clothes were ripped but his equipment was still good to use. He would pack the equipment in a bag created by his clothes. Nothing fancy, but in these circumstances, everything could be useful, ripped or not.

And here it was: the werewolf. The only one who could detect where the lady was through Blue Lights. "I guess it's time to use this now." he closed his eyes "<<Blue Lights.>>" he opened them again, displaying brighter blue eyes. The forest was brighter now for him, but it wasn't because of the nature of Blue Lights "Holy shit." he said at the sight. The forest was covered in a fog. A thick golden fog was upon the forest. It was hard to see, but not impossible, he couls still detect any threats that could harm them, but maybe he would miss a root or a branch. "The forest is in a golden fog." he informed "I can still see and probably detect where our objective is hiding, but I might not have as much visibility as possible." he blinked, deactivating Blue Lights. Jaken turned to look at the elves. "I think you alread know this." he told Kiara, but turned to Hellius afterwards "This ability that lets me see the source of power has secondary effects. I'll have a headache. But if I use it for an extent period of time, I might end up with a 'mental block', this means that I would not be able to process anything, I would be vulnerable, so I'll have to take breaks. I know that time is precious now, but these are the rules of my powers. Sorry." he activated Blue Lights again, he looked around and saw the fog getting thicker. He assumed that, the thicker the fog gets, the closer they were to the origin.

"Follow me and stay alert." he said, taking the first step, with the clothe-made bag

 

[Kiara]

As Jaken stood up, and thanked Hellius, the male elf replied "Yah... don't worry about it, that's my duty, that is why I am here... thank you saving her." he said while glancing over the werewolf's shoulder, his attention was on Kiara. He could see that the spellsinger was still kneeling on the ground, she was looking at the dead alpha with a lost look. Hellius could tell that for sure her mind was elsewhere, something was troubling her, and it was not just her, by the way that the bounty hunter had reacted, it was clear that was some tension between them. Still focused on her, Hellius saw Kiara getting up and dusting her clothes, before returning to his side. Then the werewolf's voice caught his attention, turning to see Jaken facing him.

"This ability that lets me see the source of power has secondary effects. I'll have a headache. But if I use it for an extent period of time, I might end up with a 'mental block', this means that I would not be able to process anything, I would be vulnerable, so I'll have to take breaks. I know that time is precious now, but these are the rules of my powers. Sorry."

Hellius sighed, well, there was nothing they could do about it, since the werewolf was the only one able to find the mysterious lady. So better get moving. If until now, Hellius walked behind the line, allowing Kiara to walk between him and Jaken, giving her the safest spot. Now that Jaken was in his wolf form, the male elf didn't trust that much on that form of his, so he acted as a barrier, getting himself between the werewolf and the spellsinger, in a discreet way so Kiara wouldn't notice, while analyzing this form of Jaken.
Jaken was as tall as him now, and under that black fur the male elf could see muscles. It was a shape of a killing machine, and worst, if a regular werewolf was already dangerous enough, Jaken had abilities in that form. That only raised Hellius' over protection towards Kiara. What if the werewolf lost control? Jaken had just admitted that he attacked the alpha by instinct... As Hellius' mind wandered, a thought popped up <"How could Kiara defeat him? Sure, she didn't take him in a face to face combat, I can bet that she came up with some sort plan, she is smart, but... how could she had time to work that out? Definitely he wouldn't give her the time that she needed..."> By now Hellius was starting to doubt the spellsinger's taste towards men. He could understand why she would fall for Jaken's human form, but the wolf form, that was just intimidating, how could she trust and love such a beast? She was too kind and innocent, and Hellius could only wish that one day that wouldn't be the reason of her death.

After numerous pauses for Jaken to rest from Blue lights. It seemed that they were close, since the bounty hunter could no longer find a path, the fog was too thick, so they were at the source. But there was nothing there, at least at first sight. Jaken was taking another break, while Hellius and Kiara looked around. As the male elf looked around, he found something, and it was troubling him, footprints, and more than one pair, and didn't belong to the trio, maybe they would have more company that hey were expecting. Hellius said nothing about it, but glanced at the werewolf trying to figure it out if he too had noticed all that evidences. Meanwhile Kiara looked around and soon she found a little entrance to a cave, that was hidden behind some tall shrubs. She called out to the two men, they had found it. It was time to face their last battle and end all this. Kiara cast a little light spell, while Hellius cast a small flame, both spells only illuminate few meters in front of them, so it wouldn't give away their presence. At the cave entrance Hellius invoked the will'o wisp, sending it to call for backup. The trio then proceeded with caution, making their way into the cave.

 

[Adriwolf]

As the elves made their way through the dark forest, Jaken was almost lost in a thick golden fog. Of all the colors the fog could have been. Why golden? That was a bright color and the thickness did not help at all. The only reason Jaken could think of was because of the golden flowers. Golden flowers left by the lady-golden fog because of the lady's plan. It could be a logical connection of facts. After all, all of this hell was related to the lady. Jaken would sometimes trip on a root or a rock, making him almost fall to the ground (or REALLY fall). Like he expected, it was not the best cndition to fight enemies, but this was the only chance they could get to discover the lady and end this. As Jaken told Hellius, he would sometimes have to take a break and recover from the headache left by Blue Lights. The headaches were already bad enough on their own, it was not hell on his head, but it still was a bother to him. Sometimes he would groan out of pain and frustration over the headaches, it was the only way he could think of for 'lowering' the pain and let his frustration out.

The fog kept getting thicker and thicker. It was almost impossible to distinguish something through the golden colors. Jaken was literally blinded bby golden. He stopped and informed the elves that this was it. Not only he could not see it, but he also felt it. His guts were telling him that this was the place, as if his heart was literally being pulled towards this options. He deactivated Blue Lights and had a flash thought of never using it again. The experience he had today with said ability made him think on using it that often. He took a break while the elves looked for an entrance to the cave. At one time, Hellius looked at him, pointing out somethig he had found. He stepped closer and crouched to what Hellius was pointing out: footprints. Lots of them, they were not the trio's becuase they (the trio) came from the opposite direction. Besides, there were a lot of footprints. The elves and a werewolf could not generate that many footprints. In addition, a werewolf would have left a pawprint, not a footprint. They had company. The question was, would it be hostile or ally?

He didn't have time to answer that question to himself since Kiara attracted their attention, saying that she found the entrance to some sort of cave. The golden fog was blinding Jaken some minutes ago, his huts were telling him this was the place, and now this. They could have found the place they were looking for. The place were everything started. They would end this. The elves and the wolf entered the cave cautiosly and stealthily. Kiara invoked a weak light spell. Enought for them to see what was in front. The cave had a lot of echo and it was chilly, but it didn't bothered them. Surely, this would be nothing compared to what they would have to fight...

They had been exploring the cave for about 18 minutes when they heard something. Some kind of force pushing something. It was like a strong wind pushing objects away. If this thing was a portal, then it would make sense for it to have a wind source, pushing things away. And light was illuminating the cave now, not Kiara's light, the portal's light. Like the fog, it was golden. Again. Why golden? Why was this color so special? Some shadows passed through the light. Indeed, they were not alone. Someone was with them. Maybe the lady? The shadow did not allow them to ee the complexity of the person that passed. If it was the lady, this would be good, they were not too late to stop this.

Jaken peeked at the scene. An oval-shaped portal was at the center of the cave, sending sparks all over the place and what he could see was a silhouette wanering the place. There were five bodies in advanced state of decomposition. He recognized them as the bodies that Kiara and him examined at Tauris'. They were dried shelves of what they used to be, with some kind of tentacle piercing their chest and sucking something. He wondered what it was, but now was not the time.

Right now, it was the time to end this...

 

[Kiara]

As the trio explored the cave, the deeper they were going, the temperature was dropping, thus, becoming even chillier. It would be complete darkness if it wasn't for the elves' spells that provided some light.
The cave ceiling was covered with stalactites with little drops of water forming on the tip of it, but the dim light cast by the spell created a mesmerizing effect. As the light reflected on the drops of water, these would display the ceiling mineral's color, all water drops shone in a silver color, it was like the dark sky covered with stars was in their reach.
The beauty of the cave didn't end there, on the cave floor, stalagmites were forming, and as the water drops falling from the ceiling, a dripping noise echoed through the passage. As they keep walking, the dripping sound was increasing, and few meters in front a them a small underground lake came to their view, the water was so pure that the bottom could be seen, the lake was still, only moving whenever a drop fell on the bluish surface.

Finally, at the end of the passage a flickering light could be seen, both elves canceled their spells to conceal their presence, they were close now. The trio stealthily proceeded, getting closer to the new light source, taking the last turn. The narrow passage, led to a large gallery illuminated with some torches on the walls, both elves and wolf, hide behind some large rocks, taking advantage of the dark passage to conceal a bit more their presence, while cautiously their peeked at the scene.
Before their eyes, they could see the five bodies, part of the sacrificial ritual, and an oval-shaped portal that was at the center of the gallery, sending sparks all over the place. A bit further back Hellius noticed a small altar, and there it was, the Altersphere! The item that provoked all the destruction.

Suddenly a woman's voice could be heard, that caught the trio's attention, that followed the development of the events.
"LET ME GO! You bastards!!" The lady screamed to her captors, while two men keep her kneeled on the ground, a third one that looked like the leader stepped closer to her.
"I didn't work this hard to lose at the very end! I will kill you all, I will rip your hea..." a slap noise echoed through the cave.
The leader had slapped the lady's face, and this man was no stranger, it was the fake headmaster! Indeed a third party had arrived first and had captured the lady, apart from the leader and the two men that were pinning down the lady there was more three of them. The trio was outnumbered. Hellius could only hope that his teammates would not take long to arrive to support them.
"You know, you are prettier if you keep that mouth of yours shut." The fake headmaster pulled the lady by her hair, forcing her to look at him. "Bite me!" Another slap. He placed a strong paralyzing spell on the lady before turning his back to her, making his way to the Altersphere.
"Your hard work!? You are mistaken miss. This was MY hard work! Did you really think that Martin, the kid you poisoned, had achieved all of this alone? All this was MY master plan! I infiltrated on the college, I worked MY ass off just to find the last missing piece! I had to deal with a bloody werewolf, an overprotective elf that wouldn't leave me alone and other nosy elf that almost spoiled all my plans, the day I planned the college attack! And YOU come here, kill one of my men and think YOU would have your way! Pathetic!!"
The leader reached for the Altersphere, while his men took their positions, destroying the tentacles that were draining the bodies, cancelling the ritual, thus, closing the portal.
"No! What have you done!!" The lady screamed while seeing her only way to return home being shattered before her own eyes.
"Allow me to show you what true power is, take a good look because a new overlord will rise!"

The leader started to chant a new spell while taking the Altersphere in his hands. The item started to shine and float on his palms. Then the most amazing thing happened. All the torches have gone out by a magic wind, the gallery was emerged on total darkness, before the sphere released a burst of magic.
The universe appeared before everyone's eyes, there were galaxies, planets, stars, constellations and even different astral planes, it was like a magnificent illusion. Now the rest of his men keep whispering the same chant that the fake headmaster had started.
"Perfect. First, lets send your little demons and insects back to your dimension dear, shall we?" The leader separated the two worlds that were overlapped (theirs and the lady's). "After all, we don't want to end this world. If that happens, how could I dominate it?" Then, with a swift movement on the sphere, new planes and dimensions appeared, the leader selected a particular one.
"Take as sacrifice all the souls that were lost today! Take all the undeads that are wandering on this world!" At these words, the universe disappeared and a new portal stared to take form.
"Hear these words, hear my call, come to me from the other side! I, Killian, summon you, SinEater! Come to serve me as your new master!"
The reality had been once again ripped, a new portal had been open. For a moment nothing happened, then from the other side of the portal, a pair of black slim, clawed, hands, took hold of it, forcing it open, making it bigger. Then a dark creature stepped out.
The creature's head was a skull with fangs and long horns, his torso had something like a bone armor, his lower body was something ghostly, it had no legs, and black thorns were surrounding this creature. As the dark figure stood in front the his summoner, no one dared to move. This creature was tall, passing the two metes mark if taking into account his horns. On the other hand the leader was delighted, his plan had worked!

Suddenly a turn of event occurred, that no one expected, not even Killian. The moment he was about to give his first order, the dark creature grabbed Killian by the man's jaws. His muffled cried, was the only sound that escaped his lips, his eyes were widen, as he stared into the dark, lifeless orbs of it's aggressor, his last vision, before the creature crushed Killian's skull, killing him.
Killian's party freaked out, they were in total shock, something had gone terribly wrong, and now their leader was laying dead on the floor! One was already backing away, while another one fell on his butt, his legs were too weak to sustain his weight. The third one lets a little yelp escaped from his mouth, while trying to kept hold of his sword. The other man couldn't even move, paralyzed by fear, and finally, the last man looked at his companions, he too was trembling, but tried to take the command, ordering his mates to attack the creature, in a attemp of revenge. Now that Killian was dead, the lady was free from the spell that kept her paralyzed.

While all this happened, Kiara just got caught in the moment, even forgetting why they were there. She got mesmerized by that incredible spell. But, when that new creature appeared, she too didn't dare to move, she was paralyzed by fear, trembling in Hellius' arms. On the other hand, Hellius was getting anxious, he thought of stepping in and try to stop the spell, but they were at a disadvantage. Even if he tried to do something, he would be rapidly neutralized, putting Kiara and Jaken in danger. If they wanted to succeed they would need to wait for the reinforcement, but time was running out!
The moment that the creature was about to kill its 'master', Hellius covered Kiara's eyes, pulling her into his embrace, but it was too late, even if she could not see the scene, she had seen enough. As the sound of bones being crushed and the body hit the floor, reached to spellsinger's ears, her imagination took care of the rest, giving her an accurate imagine of what had just happened. The male elf didn't even turn to check on Jaken, right now his priority was to calm Kiara down, and think of an action plan!

It was true that somehow their world had been saved. The apocalypse had stopped, but now a new danger had come. A maniac was seeking for world domination, but that didn't last long. A new challenge had come, and that dark aura didn't fool Hellius, that creature was dangerous! Now the trio had a new goal, at all cost they couldn't let that nightmare get out and walk free in the world!

 

[Adriwolf]

Even though Jaken have been walking for a long time of his life, he had never really entered a cave. Maybe a small one to seek shelter from a rainstorm, but only that. He wouldn't pay attention to the surroundings of it. He would only search the area for any threats, but never admire the cave's traits. This one was special. It almost forced Jaken to admire it: the stalactites dripping the cleanest water into the a pond that were later stained when the trio walked over it, leaving mud and blood from their shoes (or paws). The echo the cave made when a drop of water hit the ground, or the reflection the drops made with the spells the elves had casted. It was beatiful. But right now, it was not the time to admire the cave. Their objective was to find the lady and close whatever source of energy was causing the end of the world.

And they arrived to the source some time later. But also some screams. Female ones. Jaken recognized that voice in a flash: it was the lady. She was screaming to someone to let her go. And the tone of her voice seemed distressed, as if something went wrong with her plan. At first jaken thought on laughing at her, her plan went wrong, this would be easier. But then he reasoned, if something went wrong, then maybe this was overpowering her. Something with a lot of power overpowering the one who casted it: what a cliché. But this brought problems. What if the lady was the only one that knew how this worked? If the lady got overpowered by it, then it means that this would be out of control, if she was the only one who knew how it worked, then no one would be able to stop this. Now the question was: what could be the worst case scenario? The trio peeked at the scene. On the hand, maybe the question was wondering could be eliminated, the lady was just being overpowered by men, forcing her to kneel. On the other hand, they had a third party, probably the ones that left the footprints on the woods. Would they be hostile or ally. But then, the fake headmaster stepped in. He knew it was the fake headmaster, because he was the same person that interrogated him at the college. So no, they were not allies. They'd have to take care of them NOW. He took one small step to get out but had to go back because of 2 other men appeared on the scen, not noticing Jaken. The werewolf clicked his tongue. If he could get the perfect chance to strike... WHAT IF HE HAD ONE?? Right now?? the bag where he kept his equipment, he still carried with it. He took out the crossbow and aimed it to the headmaster's head. It was hard to manipulate the crossbow with his big werewolf claws, but it was possible. Right now, the only threat was the leader. Then the lady would go next. The henchemen should be easy to dispose of. However, before he could take the shot, Hellius grabbed the gun slowly and pointed it down, shaking his head at Jaken. For some reason, Jaken obeyed. Maybe he was right, maybe stealth was good, but at the same time, if sommeone was killed out of nowehere, the confusion of the moment might open a window for the trio. He had to think fast now. Or else something could happen that might deide the ending of their adventure.

The headmaster closed the portal the lady had created while she cried over it. So... were they allies now? They had closed the portal, the source of energy of this hell. Were they on their side withot even knowing it? Jaken was slighty confused.

"Allow me to show you what true power is, take a good look because a new overlord will rise!"

No. He was a hostile.

The impostor displayed the universe. Literally. Planets, stars, and galaxies were in everyone's face. It was beatiful. The planet right in the palm of their hands. It was marvellous. Jaken could not help but be mesmerized over the scene... for only 2 seconds. He snapped back to reality at the headmaster's actions. He separated two planet-like figures that were almost merged. At the moment he did that, the ground shaked for 10 seconds, but then stopped.

Meanwhile, in the streets of Elbion, an old villager was running away from a figure that was hunting him down, it was big, strong but fat, disgusting looking. It was a demon that had feasted on everything it had encountered over the last few hours. The old man was weak and tired. He doubted that he would survive. His leg started to shake and he fell to the ground. He was way too exhausted and that goddamn injury he had received from a sword on a battle years back was coming again to get him. He was doomed. Before the demon could put his hands on him, it shrieked. The demon felt his stomach bursting into flames, his bones and skin had the same feeling, before it dissolved into dust with a distorted scream. The old man was saved.
On the other side of town, a young woman and her child were hiding from a pack of zombies that had invaded their home. They were hiding on the mother's bedroom, with the zombies banging the door that wouldn't open because of a barricade made with the bed and a desk. But it was weak already, the zombies wouldn't stop. They had been banging the door for the last half hour. The undead finally broke it, entering the room. The women screamed in fear, the mother putting herself in front of her girl. The moment one zombie took a step in the room, they shrieked like the demon. All of them shrieked and dissolved into dust. The women were safe.
All the monsters in Elbion dissappeared in a cloud of dust. Elbion was safe.... for now....

Back at the cave. two worlds have been separated, literally. But the headmaster summoned new galaxies and dimension. This one seemed.... sinister. That's what Jaken felt, he didn't even know why. He just ffelt that it meant something bad. The universe is a big place after all, and he could bet the headmaster wouldn't summon unicorns and fairies. A new portal opened. This one sended black sparks instead of golden. This was it for Jaken. This wouldn't be good. Why would unicorns and fairies come out of a black portal? No. This was worse. From the portal, two claws forced it open, revealing a dark creature. Menacing, tall, with a skull for a head and a black body. It stepped in front of the headmaster -whose name was revealed to be Killian- but instead of bowing to it, it grabbed the impostor as he screamed to be let go and commanding the creature to obey, and killed him by crushing his skull. "<<A powerful creature being summoned but instead of obeying its summoner, it kills him. Why am I not fucking surprised?>>"
Great! Just FUCKING perfect!! Not only had the lady's plan been eliminated, but now they had something bigger in their hands. A creature that bowed to noone and probably had intentions to kill everything with a beating heart. The trio observed how the scene developed. But now, it was for them to take action. Jaken took his crossbow and loaded it with an explosive bolt. he aimed it at the creature. But that was stupid. A creature that tall and powerfull wouldn't be beaten by an explosive bolt. However, it could be a distraction. But a distraction for what? What would they do in that time the creature was looking for whoever caused that? Jaken scanned the area. His eyes landed on a figure that was on the floor: the lady. What if she...? It was a chance.

The henchmen were fighting the creature with fear. Fact that the creature knew how to solve. It knew how to take fear away from them: killing them. Dead people had no emotions to display. The creature roared at them, sending some type of magical ball towards a henchemen. The ball passed him like a ghost passing through a wall. The man started to gurgle some seconds after the ball did and returned to the creature. He puked a balck goo as his skin turned blackish and dry. His gave up on the ground. He could feel his organs shrink and dry. He kept puking black goo. Being the eyes organs, they also shrunk and dried, leaving the man blind. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't. His throat was being sealed by black goo. The drier and smaller they became the easier was for the eyes to swing out of the sockets. And for the last part, the man puked out his dried organs... and during the whole process, he could feel everything as the brain was the one organ that didn't shrinked. But somehow, he could still feel, he was still alive, even though his heart was dried and small and out of his body. Once he was on the ground, the brain finally shrinked, making the man feel excruciating pain as he left this world in a horrific and painful dead. And this only one spell. What other tricks would this creature have up its sleeve?

Jaken would take that chance. He took a shot to distract the creature, sending it away while the henchmen were hiding form it and praying to whatever god they believed in. But Jaken had no time to pray. He had to move. He sprinted into the scene in four paws. Taking the lady into her hands and sprinting out. The creature lost interest in the distraction that Jaken created. The creature noticed the werewolf. It slid towards the beast. The bounty hunter had to create another. He glanced at the henchmen that were hiding behind the creature. The wolf took out his crossbow and shot another explosive crossbow near the men that were hiding in fear. The creature almost received the bolt, dodging it at the last moment, following it with the sight. The bolt exploded near the henchmen, whose presence caught the creature's attention. It slid towards them. Taking this chance, Jaken sprinted back at the group and ordered them to get out of the cave. The henchemen would give them some time. Sure, he had sacrificed them. But he didn't care.

The trio made their way out of the cave and into the forest again. Jaken slammed the lady on the ground and pinned her on the ground. "THIS IS YOUR MESS!! YOUR FAULT!!" he roared at the lady's face "HOW DO WE STOP IT??!!"
"FUCK YOU WOLF!!" she head butted him, but it would take a lot more to make Jaken let go "I DIDN'T WANT ANY OF THIS!! I JUST WANTED TO GO HOME!!"
"Spare me the bullshit bitch!! I know all of it. Now how do we close it?? You are the big expert on the Altershpere right?? Now what do we do??!!" he was getting pissed. Someone would think that he was losing control over the situation. He was screaming, roaring and growling at a defenseless woman.
"WHY SHOULD I TELL YOU??!!! FOR ALL I CARE, YOU CAN DIE LIKE THAT ONE MAN BACK THERE. EVERYONE CAN DIE LIKE THAT!!!! I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!!!"
Jaken had had it. He raised his fist and started to hit the lady. One, two, three times. He beated her with a brute force. If the lady wouldn't give information to hi, he would get it however he could.

 

[Kiara]

Hellius didn't want to release Kiara from his embrace. More than ever, his protective instincts were kicking in. The scenario was too horrific, and knowing Kiara, Hellius knew that she couldn't handle seeing such display without freaking out. On the other hand, Hellius was calm, he needed to, not only to transmit Kiara a sense of security but also to stay sharp. The male elf analyzed the development of the events with a cold stare. He didn't care of what was happening to those men. In fact, they would serve as guinea-pigs, providing Hellius useful information about the creature's behavior, fighting style, its weakness and resistances. It would be easier to fight the dark figure and have a chance, if they knew what they were facing.

As Hellius witnessed the effect of the creature's spell, he hugged Kiara even tighter. There was no way that he would let his little girl suffer the same fate as those men. He needed to take her out of there now! Furthermore, Hellius knew that as long as Kiara was with him, he wouldn't be able to fully focus on his task. Why? Because Kiara was his weakness, and no matter what, he would prioritize her safety above EVERYTHING. Hellius was about to turn to Jaken with the intention to order him to take Kiara out of there, while he (Hellius) would stay behind to gather as much information as possible, or to find a way to at least lock that demon on that cave. That was Hellius' plan. As the male elf turned, he saw the bounty hunter shooting an explosive bolt. He tried to stop him, but it was too late, the werewolf went for a four paws sprint, dashing into the scene. <"God dammit! At least warn! We are suppose to work as a team! Not solo!"> The male elf cursed mentally. Why the werewolf made such a reckless action?

Now the only thing that both elves could do, was to observe Jaken's moves. Yes, Kiara had notice Jaken's action. The elves saw the wolf taking the lady in his arms. <"Why is that lady so important!?"> Hellius wondered, still holding Kiara, he could feel her tensing up. He tightened the embrace around her, preventing her to do something crazy just to help the werewolf.
It was clear that the dark figure was, and behaved, like an uncontrollable wild beast, attacking by pure killing instinct. Easily distracted by movements and focusing on the first prey that had the misfortune to enter on his sight.

While the monster focused his attention on the men. Jaken sprinted back and ordered the elves to get out of the cave. Perfect, Hellius' plan was back on! In a swift movement Hellius pushed Kiara away, ordering her to follow after Jaken. Kiara ran a few steps, before noticing that Hellius was not following. He was planing to stay behind! She froze, seeing Jaken disappear through the cave. She turned back, facing Hellius. She wouldn't leave him there alone with that creature, there was no way she would do that!
The group got separated, and, maybe due to the adrenaline or by being confident that the elves would be right after him, the wolf didn't notice that none of the elves were following him. The bounty hunter just kept dashing toward the entrance with the lady in his arms.

Jaken's diversion sealed the men's fates, sacrificing them to that demon. They were just toys to that evil ravish creature, every single one that moved, died in a grotesque way.
The first man had his heart ripped off from his chest, his body collapsed on the floor, and his last vision was seeing his own heart still beating on the creature's claws, then death came to claim his soul. In despair the remaining three used everything they had, magic and weapons. They stood no chance against that killing machine, the few scratches they manage to inflict, didn't even bothered the beast, that rapidly healed. In fact, their struggle just made things more exciting to the predator.
Now, only one man still stood. For this one, the creature bit the man's arm, ripping it off. Then proceeded to inflict severe wounds, clawing the man's chest, turning it into shreds, blood and flesh flew in all directions. The shadowy beast could feel the man's fear, his eyes losing the shine of life. It was an intoxicating feeling, the thrill of the kill! Then the man collapsed, stopping moving. The creature stopped, looking one last time to his prey. Still, no movement. The predator had lost the interest, already looking for a new target, and as he turned around a new prey came into its gaze.

Hellius' heart sank when he noticed that the spellsinger had stopped. Why wouldn't Kiara listen to him!? He just wanted her to leave that doomed place and be safe! In the background, Hellius could hear that the fight was still going on. He didn't have time to waste, there was no other way, if Kiara was refusing to leave because she didn't want to abandon Hellius, then, screw this mission! Many people had died today, but Kiara wouldn't be one of them! Hellius stood up, ready to run and drag the female elf out of there!
Suddenly, the cave fell in total silence, Hellius felt a shadowy figure passing through him, followed by a rapid wind. Hellius' worst nightmare was happening right before his own eyes, and for the very first time, Hellius felt despair! The dark beast was standing right behind Kiara. He had not been fast enough! The person he swore to protect, the one he loved the most and wouldn't bare to live without, his precious little girl, was in danger! Adrenaline ran in Hellius' veins. Time seemed to slow down as he saw Kiara slowly turning to face her own death.

Time was out! All the four men had been disposed of, and now the creature was looking for a new prey, turning his gaze to the passage. His dark orbs met ones of a little elf, Kiara. The creature wasted no time, dashing at full speed to the elf's location, passing through her, blocking the only way out.
Kiara hasn't even had time to react, she just saw a black shadow passing through her. She felt a strong murderous aura on her back, the feeling was so strong that forced her to turn and face that enormous beast. Slowly the elf lift her gaze, meeting the creature's dark orbs. Her eyes were wide open in pure terror, her blood ran cold. It was like she was staring at an abyss, and worst, the abyss was staring right back at her, it felt like the void was already calling for her. The spellsinger tried to do something, anything! But it was like the demon had paralyzed her, she had been swallowed by all that darkness in his eyes.

Leaning on a wall, one of Killian's men was still alive, barely, but still alive. He had lost his right arm, and his chest was shredded, his ribs expose, a pool of blood forming under him. But his mind had only one thought. <"If I'm going to hell... you will... come with me..."> Alghout his sight was blurry and he had lost his dominant arm, the man managed to aim his crossbow at the demon's location, shooting a bolt. Then his heart gave its last beat. He died.

Predator and prey locked eyes, time slowed down. It was like both of them, were hypnotized by each other. That crucial moment when the predator wait for his prey to move, to signal the beginning of the hunt, and the prey's life choice between fight or flee!

In reality, all those events just lasted mere seconds. And in a flash, everything had finished. In a fraction of time, Hellius cast a wind spell that pushed Kiara away from the creature. At the same instant, the man shot the bolt, producing a loud sound when the bolt and crossbow hit the floor. Due to the creature's nature, the noise caught its attention, that instinctively turned to see what had caused the sound, and on his eyes, the man had just moved. Thinking that he was still alive, the demon dashed to him.
Hellius seized the chance and dashed to Kiara's side. But the creature's misjudge didn't last long, already placing his attention on the running male elf.

Hellius' wind spell pushed Kiara against a wall, she fell on the ground. As she stood up, she saw Hellius dashing to her, but the monster was targeting him now. That triggered Kiara to react. The spellsinger cast the first spell that came into her mind. A smite of light fell on the dark figure that roared in pain, stopping the chase.
They needed to get out of there now! And this time Hellius wouldn't fail! He dashed at his full speed, grabbing Kiara's arm and dragged her out of there. As both elves ran through the passage, Hellius started to chant a spell, a magic barrier, infused with the element of light, placing it on the path, hoping that would block the demon's path, preventing it to get out, at least for some time.

Meanwhile Jaken had just entered the woods. The werewolf had not yet noticed that only he and the lady were there, and blinded by his own rage, he pinned the lady down starting to interrogate her.
When the elves finally arrive at the entrance, they were greeted with an unpleasant sight.
Things went out of control. Jaken was out of control. He was brutally beating up the defenseless woman. Hellius had had enough! He released Kiara hand and stormed towards Jaken, grabbing the werewolf's shoulder, forcing him to turn and face the elf.

The moment Jaken's face met Hellius' gaze, the male elf punched him hard on his snout. He didn't care that Jaken had acted solo! He also didn't care if the werewolf was beating up the lady. Well, actually, it bothered him that Kiara had to witness such a scene, but that was it. The reason why Hellius had punched the bounty hunter was simple. He could not forgive the fact that Jaken had left Kiara behind! How the hell did he not even notice that Kiara was not there!?
Hellius glared with furious eyes at the werewolf, but he wouldn't explain the true reason behind his action, and as far it concerned him, the werewolf would never know what had just happened in that cave. On the other hand, Jaken looked at Hellius a bit stunned. In Jaken's perspective, there was only one possible explanation for Hellius' behavior, since for the bounty hunter, the elves had been all the time there. The male elf had hit him to stop him from hurting even more the lady and to refrain such acts in front of Kiara.

Kiara witnessed what was happening. She called for her guardian in a crying tone, getting his attention, her voice was weak and trembling. On that very instant, Hellius turned around to face her. Something was wrong with her. Hellius caught Kiara, as she was about to fall. She had cold sweats, her skin was pale, drained from any pigmentation, and her breathing was heavy and slow, she had fainted. Hellius recognized those symptoms, a magic withdrawal. Definitely she had used all her magic power in the smite spell. Hellius heartbeat calmed down. She should be fine if she rested. The male elf sighed deeply as he calmed down, hugging her tight, pulling her closer to his chest, while whispering to himself "Don't scare me like this" After all he almost lost her back there.

Few secounds later, a will'o wisp appeared between the dark forest, and right behind it, were Hellius' teammates. Finally reinforcement had arrived!

 

[Adriwolf]

It was chaos in the cave, noises wouldn't allow any voice to be heard if it wasn't a scream. The creature was using magic and roaring at everything that moved in front of him, while the men encouraged it to kill everything by screaming terrified and panicking. That was a delight for the creature to see. So delightful. Men shaking at the mighty power of the creature in front of them. No matter what they would do, they would already be dead. There was no escape. This was their last stop and the end of the line was not a nice one. No, it wasn't. They would suffer to their last breath. The portal was still opened, sending energy throughout the cave. Jaken already moved. Taking the lady and sprinting out of there was their best course to escape. Even though, Jaken had super-hearing, he couldn't noticed that the elves were left behind. He didn't noticed that Kiara got left behind. He kept sprinting out of there. He thought the elves were following him. Why would they fall back? Wouldn't they see the obvious death trap that was the cave's interior? Even Hellius would know better than to stand there gawking at the obvious threat and not do anything. The werewolf jumped out of the cave and into the forest. Unlike before entering the cave, everything was quiet, it was calmed, it was serene. Everything felt as if the monsters were gone. They were. The worlds got separated and Elbion was safe... only from their monsters. They still had one more creature to take down and one object to destroy to make everything go back to normal.

The lady wouldn't just comply. She would curse at the wolf and attack him. Jaken had enough of this shit. His injury, all the headaches he had to endure to find the hideout and everything the duo (Kiara and him) had to go through -going from scratches to almost dying situations- all for this woman to not telling them what they needed. He couldn't help himself. he started to beat the woman with his closed and strong claws. One, two, three, even five punches went through the lady's face, spilling blood from her lips and giving her one black eye. The werewolf felt something grabbing him by the shoulder and making him turn to face Hellius. Instead of telling (or screaming) him to stop, the elf punched Jaken on the snout. It was an unexpected blow. It caught him off guard. And it went straight to the nose. If the nose was already a place that, if it was tampered with, it would hurt, then this was worst. It wasn't a normal punch. It was a HARD one. It made him fall to the ground, stunned for a bit while covering his nose. It was a reflex. But after some seconds, he recovered. "WHAT THE HELL!!??" he roared at Hellius "I'M NOT THE HOSTILE!! IT'S HER!!" he stood up to face Hellius, snarling and curving his claws, ready to attack. The lady was on the ground, almost unconscious because of the beating she just received. She was disoriented, her sight and mind lost in the stars.

But then. They heard something: Kiara calling for Hellius in a trembling voice. They both looked at where the female elf was. She looked horrible: pale, sweating. Until she finally collapsed to the ground. Before Jaken could move to grab her, Hellius took the lead and catched Kiara before she could hit the hard ground. She couldn't be dead. No, no, no. She couldn't. The creature could not have caught her in one of its spellings. It was impossible. He enhanced his hearing sense. He could hear her heartbeat and her breathing. She was still alive. She had fainted. But why? Was it because she was exhausted? Or because of an emotional shock? He crouched in front of the elves, concerned.
"What's wrong with her? Is she ok?" he caressed her golden, smooth hair "Magic withdrawal?"
After his answer, the werewolf heard a twig crunching nearby. He glanced at where the noise came. And from afar he saw something small shinning. But before he could guess what it was, he received and arrow to the left shoulder. The impact made him lost his balance and fall to the ground, getting back up in a swift movement and jumping behind a log to get cover. "GET DOWN!! PROTECT KIARA!!" he ordered to Hellius.
"Professor Hellius!! Run!! We'll take care of the beast!!." someone screamed from where the arrow came.
"<<Professor Hellius? They know him? Is this back up? How did they know where to find us? THE WILL'O WISP!!!>> LISTEN UP SHITBRAINS!!" he yelled from behind the log "I'M WITH HELLIUS!! I WON'T HARM HIM!! SO STOP SHOOTING ARROWS AT ME!!" he took the arrow and took it out, groaning, and threw it far away. He placed his hand on top of the wound, trapping the blood and waiting for the wound to close by itself.

 

[Kiara]

"What's wrong with her? Is she ok?" he caressed her golden, smooth hair "Magic withdrawal?"

“Yes, it’s a magic withdrawal.” Hellius answered in a cold tone. Trying to ignore the wolf’s presence. When Jaken caressed Kiara’s platinum hair, Hellius shot him a hard stare, only refraining himself at the last second to not slap the werewolf’s paws away.
“Turn back to your human form.” the elf said. This was not a request, he was demanding it. Indeed, after what had happened, it made harder for the male elf to trust on the wolf. For Hellius it was like Jaken had two different identities, a human one, that was way easier to work as a team and truly cared for the spellsinger, while the other one, was a wolf that moved by instincts and was driven by impulses.
But before any of them could do or say anything else, an arrow found its way on the wolf’s shoulder.
Hellius glanced in the direction that the arrow had flown, finding his teammates and one guard. He stood up while carring Kiara on his arms, ignoring Jaken’s orders to take cover.
As the party came closer, Hellius could see a young guard, probably in his 19 years old, a bit too young to even be there. By the guard’s side were Hellius’ team, four professors (3 men and one woman), all experts in their own magic art.
“Oh! That one is a friend, so relax kid.” One teacher placed his hand on the guard’s shoulder, making him lower the bow. “Sorry about that. We forgot to mention that there should be a werewolf here.”
As the party came closer the female teacher rushed to Hellius’ side in order to assist Kiara. As Elain walked over, she noticed the lady on the floor, her face all swollen from the beating she had received.
“Don’t waste your magic on her, Elaine. She is the cause of all this mess. And this is not over yet…” Hellius said with a serious look on his face, glancing at the cave’s entrance, trying to guess for how much longer the barrier would keep that thing locked up.
“Is this all the assistance that the college will give us?” Hellius asked, raising an eyebrow while sizing up the guard.
“No one sent me, professor Chronos. I came on my own.” The guard answered, lowering his head, knowing that he was the carrier of bad news.
Helliu sighed. So it was only them. As the party gathered around, the teachers told what had happened in Elbion. How all the demonic creatures had vanished, turning into dust. In the other hand, Hellius informed them up with the events that had occurred in the cave. The ritual, and how it was stopped, the summoning of the SinEater, its behavior, abilities and weakness. Everything that could help them on the fight. Once Hellius had finished one of the teachers spoke.
“Are you sure that Killian summoned a SinEater? Because the demon you are describing does not behave like one. SinEaters are demons that you can reason and make deals with, and for what you are saying, this one is just a wild savage beast.”
“I don’t know, you are the demons expert, not me. But if it's not a SinEater, then what it is?”
“I'm afraid that I will need to see it first in order to figure that out. But the best plan we have is to close the portal and retrieve the Altersphere. One thing is common in all demons, they need an energy source in order to stay in our world, and since this thing killed its own summoner, then is the Altersphere’ power that is keeping it here.”
Once the party had discussed the plan and everyone knew what to do, there was only one thing to take care off.
“I have an important mission for you boy” Hellius said while stepping closer to the guard, placing Kiara on the guard’s arms. “Take Kiara and return to the college, this is not your battle to fight, and neither it's place for such a young soul to perish. Besides, I need someone to take her back to safety.”
“But professor, I can fight” the guard didn’t have time to finish.
“I'm asking you. Please, take care of my child. If none of us return to the college in one hour. Then someone has to warn of what its out here. Do you understand me boy”
“Yes… but what about that lady over there?”
“Take her with you. If we made out of this alive, she will have a lot to explain. Oh, and take the werewolf with you” Hellius said, not even consulting Jaken or asking for his opinion or what he wanted to do.

 

[Adriwolf]

Hellius did the opposite of what Jaken told him to: STAY DOWN. But the elf stood up and faced the danger. It would have been ok with Jaken if it weren't for one small detail: HE HAD KIARA IN HIS ARMS. HE WAS EXPOSING HER TO THE DANGER!! WHAT THE HELL WAS HE THINKING ON??!!!! Was this some kind of parenting skill Hellius never developed. It was very easy to know that you don't expose someone defenseless to danger if it is not necessary. "THE HELL ARE YOU DOING??!!! STAY DOWN!!!" he roared at Hellius. He was close to sprint towards Hellius and tackle him down. But a voice stopped him.

“Oh! That one is a friend, so relax kid.”

“Sorry about that. We forgot to mention that there should be a werewolf here.”

Apparently they were allies. It was Hellius back up. Nice job being allies....
He stepped out of the tree to face the party "Yeah. I can tell you forgot!!" he yelled in frustration, with his hand still on the wound, that was starting to close. 4 men and a woman. Was this all the college would give them? Just 4 members?! At least, it was better than nothing.

As the party was talking about the situation, Jaken absorbed all the intel he could get: Elbion was monster-free, and the creature at the cave is a... SinEater? He had never heard such name for a beast before. But this was not the time to think about naming a creature, that was not the problem, the problem was THE CREATURE ITSELF. Taking the Altershpere away of the cave would be an almost impossible task. The creature would kill anything that moves, so how would they slip by and take the Altershpere away? Would a spell be all it takes to end this? Some kind of spell that made them invisible or stun the creature for an extensive amount of time? Something popped in his head. It was a flash thought. A stupid one also: would Kiara sleeping spell affect it? But before he could think on that more, he shook his head, snapping back to reality. He heard the conversation between Hellius and the guard that shot him.

“Take her with you. If we made out of this alive, she will have a lot to explain. Oh, and take the werewolf with you”

"<<WHAT??!!!>>" Jaken thought. No way he would abandon the area. He could help.... could he? He was in his werewolf form, thus, he was enormous. It would be hard for him to remain hidden in the chaos. Not even his black fur would hide him on the cave. And... even though he hated to admit it, he would do something stupid out of impulse. Something bad happening or not going according to his plan would be enough to send him into 'instinct mode' where he would whatever his mind told him to do. No hesitation. No second thought. He would just do it, not knowing or planning for the consequences. Besides, Kiara was vulnerable. She passed out due to magic withdrawal. She needed someone to look after her, and it wouldn't be that guards who Hellius placed her with. Hell no. "Whatever." Jaken said, holding his anger back.

The wolf took his bag and tied it to his back. He took Kiara away from the guard onto his. "You get that bitch." he shook his head towards the lady "Chain her up when we get there. At the dungeon. Wouldn't want her to escape. Tell the staff that she is responsible for this." he then glanced at Hellius "I'LL take Kiara." he stated as he started walking to the college.

It was still night. The moon was shinning bright in the sky and the stars were besides it, keeping it company. Kiara was on the werewolf's arms, her steady breath slighty pushing the fur in the beast's chest, while the guard was carrying the lady back to the college. They arrived in town shortly. Jaken stopped dead at the sight of it. "Wait here." he ordered. He went at a tree, hiding on its back and transforming back into a human. The bounty hunter knew that people wouldn't react well to a beast on streets. After the hell they went though, civilians might attempt to harm the beast or kill it. He wouldn't allow that, not with Kiara in his arms. Jaken got dressed with torn clothes. It was better than walking naked throughout the streets and college. The guard and bounty hunter continued walking through the streets of Elbion, where smoke could be smelled, people were trying to make other people hiding in a corner snap out of their trauma, or the remains of corpses. Jaken was glad that they had been away from Elbion when this started. The first 10 minutes of the apocalypse are the worst.

They both entered the college and asked where they (Jaken and Kiara) could stay. A nurse told them that the Potions room stil had some space to spare, so that would be the best option to put her to rest. Both werewolf and elf made their way to the classroom, where one bed was free. Jaken gently placed her on it, taking a seat on the chair besides the bed. He finally laid his head down and closed his eyes for a while.

He knew something.
He knew that once Kiara woke up and know about the plan, she would do anything to get out there again and help out. That was a guarantee.
And Jaken would agree with her. He would want to go out there and fight this beast. He would want to go help, but Kiara would be weak and vulnerable. What if something bad happened to her? It would be his fault, because, in some way, he be responsible of her actions. It was his job to convince her to stay down and get some rest. Sure, Jaken could always leave her in the college and fight. But no. As he said to Hellius: leaving her to stay behind in safety after everything she's been through would be an insult.
Jaken knew Kiara would go and fight, even if it costed her life.
Jaken knew he didn't want that.
Jaken knew he loved Kiara way too much to let that happen.

Jaken knew.

 

[Kiara]

"You get that bitch." he shook his head towards the lady "Chain her up when we get there. At the dungeon. Wouldn't want her to escape. Tell the staff that she is responsible for this." he then glanced at Hellius "I'LL take Kiara."

The moment the werewolf took Kiara from the guard’s arms, the guard had a disbelief look on his face. A bit disorientated, he (the guard) glanced at the Squad searching for some help. Professor Chronos entrusted Kiara to him and this werewolf simply took her away. What was going on!? On the other hand, Hellius was trying to remain calm, ignoring the scene. Not wanting to start a fight, Hellius just signaled the guard to pick up the lady, and to keep a close watch over the werewolf.
“Don’t you dare to leave her behind.” the male elf replied to Jaken, but the bounty hunter was already moving away.
“Calm down, Hellius. I know that she is like a daughter to you.” One of Hellius’ teammates placed his hand on Hellius’ shoulder trying to calm the elf down. “Don’t you think you are being overprotective again? Isn’t that werewolf an ally? If so, then have some faith on…” He got interrupted.
“You don’t understand, Claude.” Hellius said in a low cold tone, still trying to manage his anger “I Do trust in his human form, but NOT on this wolf form of him. Is to savage and compelled by instincts. Just a few moments ago he was so blinded by that lady, that he left Kiara behind. But look at him now, he does not even let the guard carry her” A heavy sigh left the elf’s lips. “At least with Kiara away and safe I can focus on this mission.” The male elf turned to his team. “It’s time guys. We need to retrieve the Altersphere and defeat that demon no matter at what cost. Elain, please do your magic.”
Taking the cue, Professor Elain started to work on her magic, placing buffs her teammates, empowering and enhancing their abilities and placing protective spells against evil creatures on them. Once everyone was ready, the party entered the cave, ready for what could be their last battle.

The bounty hunter reappeared, and both continued their way. This time the guard was sizing up Jaken’s human form. Even though the this form made the guard a bit more at ease, he was still reluctant, since the bounty hunter had a cold aura surrounding him. The silence was becoming too awkward and hard to bear, and since both of them were almost at the same age, the guard tried to start a conversation, trying to break the ice.
“Hmm… I didn’t introduce myself. I'm Joshua, nice to meet you. Sorry about the arrow. And you are?" The guard matched the bounty hunter's pace, so they would walk side by side.
“Is that demon as powerful as professor Chronos described? If that is the case, then how did all of you managed to get out of it alive? Do you think that the Squad has a chance against it? I know that they are all powerful professors, but still…” the guard kept throwing question after question at Jaken. “Just curiosity. Why did you take the elf? Professor Chronos entrusted her to me, so why didn’t you take this lady? You know, for someone of her size she is kind of heavy!”
Something inside the guard told him that it was better for him to just shut up. Whatever the reason was, for the rest of the path the guard didn’t open his mouth again.

At the college, almost one hour had elapsed since both, Jaken and Kiara had arrived, and still, Kiara was not showing any signs of waking up so soon. She was cold, but at least her natural colors were back. Suddenly the Potions classroom opened. Hellius had returned. The male elf was a bit out of air, as if he had rushed to get there. Once his gaze fell on his target, he moved closer to Jaken.
“How is she?” he simply asked. After the bounty hunter's response, Hellius took Kiara in his arms.
“Follow me, I will take her to her bedroom. There is no need for her to stay here.” The male elf said, already walking away. He walked through the corridors, moving to the dormitory wing, only stopping at Kiara’s bedroom door, opening it.
Kiara’s room was not too different from other students. On one side of the room was a single bed and a small wardrobe, while on the other side, it there was a desk with writing material and some scrolls on top of it, by the desk side has bookshelf stocked with books. Dividing both sides of the room there was a window with the view of the college's garden. It was a simple room, but with an elegant decoration such as flowers, vines and candles, none the less it was cozy and neat.
“Come on in, and close the door. Take the chair that is by the desk.” Hellius ordered while laying Kiara on her bed, taking her boots off and covering her with the blankets. After checking on her, the male elf finally relaxed, taking a seat on the window sill, turning to the bounty hunter.
“I’m sure that you have a lot of questions. But let me speak first, because soon I will have to leave.” For a second the male elf fell silent as if putting his thoughts in order the before beginning.
“We searched the cave. In the end we couldn’t find the demon. Maybe it was a stroke of luck, but once we got there, the portal was already closed and the Altersphere had run out of power. Probably the demon was forced to return to its dimension due to the lack of power or contract to sustain it here. Don’t worry, we retrieved the sphere and all the stolen scrolls, they are locked in a safe place now” Hellius sighed, looking through the window. “As we speak, my colleagues are questioning the lady. Soon she will be delivered to Elbion’s guard and face a trial for her crimes. Also, the hight council took some measure so this whole incident will never occur again, although they will not admit that they were mistaken about Kiara, nor will give her an apology. They cleaned her record. She can return to the college without any repercussion.”
The male elf turned to face the sleeping elf. “I don’t know what you intend to do now, since all of this is over. But at least wait until she wakes up, I’m sure she would be sad if she wakes up and you had left without even saying goodbye to her. She should awake tomorrow at the end of the day.” The elf stood up and caressed Kiara’s cheek, then turned to Jaken giving him a bag full of coins.
“It’s for you. For a taking care of her. I know that she didn’t carry any money with her. There is enough to cover all the expenses you had with her, the rest take it as a bonus.” Indeed, there was enough money to cover every single coin that the werewolf had spent with the elf, and even a good amount as a reward.
“I have to go now. I still need to fill some reports. Take this chance to rest, it was been a long day for everyone. You can take the next-door bedroom. I think this is where we ay goodbye. Thank you for taking care of her while I couldn’t.” The elf held his hand, waiting for Jaken to shake it. Then he made his way out of Kiara's bedroom. Resuming to his duties.

 

[Adriwolf]

The werewolf noticed Hellius' glance towards him after taking Kiara in his arms, and he made Hellius noticed that he noticed. Instead of starting to discuss, the werewolf turned his back to the party and started to walk away. He did not want to be there anymore. He had Kiara in his arms. A vulnerable Kiara, it was not wise to remain there. Kiara needed a place where she could rest easy. Somewhere soft, comfy and warm... would his body work? Jaken shook such feeling off his head. As good as the feeling was, it was not the time to think about him in his werewolf form hugging Kiara while sleeping (and how awkward it would be if Kiara woke up to find his naked body hugging her). Right now, returning to the college and put Kiara to rest is the best option.

Jaken was walking in his human form, wearing torn clothes and carrying her beloved elf in arms while the guard was carrying the lady in silence.... UNTIL...

“Hmm… I didn’t introduce myself. I'm Joshua, nice to meet you. Sorry about the arrow. And you are?"

"Jaken Larsten." he said in a cold tone. And that was it. That was all the answers this Joshua kid would get. He wouldn't anwer another question to this guard that shot him. He was already tense over Kiara's state. Right now, it was not the best thing to make conversation with anyone, especially with someone that shot an arrow to him. If he would just shut up. But he didn't.

“Is that demon as powerful as professor Chronos described? If that is the case, then how did all of you managed to get out of it alive? Do you think that the Squad has a chance against it? I know that they are all powerful professors, but still…” the guard kept throwing question after question at Jaken. “Just curiosity. Why did you take the elf? Professor Chronos entrusted her to me, so why didn’t you take this lady? You know, for someone of her size she is kind of heavy!”

"Listen up kid!" he answered immediately "Right now, I'm not in the mood of chit-chatting with anyone at all, got it?" he glanced at Joshua "Especially with someone that shot me. And I'm irritated right now. So please, do me a favor, will ya? Stay quiet." and that was the end of the conversation. Jaken walked faster, putting a small distance between him and the guard. Sure, the distance was minimum, but it was enough for Jaken.

At the college, Jaken was laying his head on the bed where the woman she loved was resting. She seemed so peacefull, but at the same time, tired. It was a conflicting scene for him. Jaken knew she could get a break, but at the same time, it wasn't the best condition to have a break. After all, she fainted because of magic withdrawal. Was it painfull? Or would someone feel exhausted if they suffered because of it, even if they were passed out? Would they dream? Some questions that might make Jaken overthink Kiara's state. Maybe it was best to not think and wait. He knew Kiara would wake up, eventually. And he would wait for her.
The doors to the Potion room slammed open, letting Hellius in the scene. Were they back that fast? Was everything over? Was the creature out of this world already? Would everything go back to normal? What was this about? More questions. Great. Just what Jaken needed....

“How is she?”

"Uuumm... she's fine. I guess. Hellius, what the hell happen-"

Hellius took Kiara in his arms.
“Follow me, I will take her to her bedroom. There is no need for her to stay here.” The male elf said, already walking away.

What was happening? Hellius seemed rushed. it reminded him of Kiara back at the witch's cottage after waking up. How she would avoid contact with him in order to avoid awkward conversations. How she would bomb him with questions, accepting the vaguest of answers with the sake of getting out of there. Something was wrong about this. His guts were telling him.
Instead of asking what was happening, he had to catch up to Hellius into Kiara's... bedroom? He didn't know Kiara had one... well... he never really thought of it. Kiara had mentioned she was a resident at the college, so she had somewhere to sleep, and surely it wouldn't be the campus' garden. Her bedroom was nice. Plants were positioned in different places to make the room nicer. Shelves with books were the only thing Jaken could think that was entertainment for Kiara. He took a seat like Hellius had ordered him, always keeping an eye on him. There was something wrong with him. He didn't know what it was, but there was something.

“We searched the cave. In the end we couldn’t find the demon. Maybe it was a stroke of luck, but once we got there, the portal was already closed and the Altersphere had run out of power. Probably the demon was forced to return to its dimension due to the lack of power or contract to sustain it here. Don’t worry, we retrieved the sphere and all the stolen scrolls, they are locked in a safe place now”

"<<Locked? Why lock it down? Why not destroy them? God damnit, even though I don't know you all too well like Kiara does, I know that you wouldn't be comfortable to have those laying around for anyone else to steal it... you are not Hellius.>>" he thought, but kept the poker face. Not letting 'Hellius' to notice what was going through his mind.

“I don’t know what you intend to do now, since all of this is over. But at least wait until she wakes up, I’m sure she would be sad if she wakes up and you had left without even saying goodbye to her. She should awake tomorrow at the end of the day.”

"Don't worry. Not planning to leave her. I'll stay here. Do your things. I'll stay here and inform that everything is over. Go." as 'Hellius' left the room, Jaken kept staring at the door where 'the male elf' walked out. He kept thinking on his reasoning to conclude that 'Hellius' was not Hellius. 'Hellius' would not be ok if a potential danger like this would happen again. After all, he didn't took any half measures with the guard that had cursed Kiara. No, he killed him... in a way. It was the counter cursed that killed him, but Hellius could have helped him... in some way. The curse would have killed someone anyway, but Hellius did nothing to find a solution so that both could live. Hellius would try to save as many people as he could... as long as they wouldn't greatly harm others. Hellius eliminated potential threats. And yet, he didn't destroyed the Altersphere... something was off.

'The male elf' returned with a bag of golden coins. 'He' gave it to Jaken, it was a bit heavy, it even took some of Jaken's breath out. They were all his. After taking care of Kiara, adn all the expenses the duo had to make. This was his reward, and a small bonus. Indeed, a generous reward... but it also seemed off...
"Thanks." he said with a small grin on his face. And so the werewolf and 'the male elf' had to go their seperate ways. Jaken saw 'Hellius' slowly lifting his arm for a handshake, but before 'the male elf's' hand was noticibly raised, Jaken took his sight away and looked at Kiara. Pretending as if he didn't noticed because he was concerned over Kiara. It was true. He was concerned over the elf he loved, and it would serve as a decoy to avoid physical contact with the werewolf. The bounty hunter took a seat besides Kiara and caressed her hair. "Yes." he said "I'll get some rest and be with her when she wakes up. Thank youfor the bag and thank you for letting us stay here."

As 'Hellius' walked out of the room and closed the door, Jaken stopped pretending the face. It went from a grateful one to a suspicious one. THAT WAS NOT HELLIUS!! What 'Hellius' had told him seemed unreal. Nothing was that simple. The creature on the cave was not that simple to defeat at all. It seemed off. Jaken made the judgement call. He stripped naked and transformed into his werewolf self (it was still nightime). He opened the window to the exterior, letting a breeze inside the room, packed everything in his clothe-bag (even Kiara's boots) and carried Kiara once again in his arms. He noticed the bag of coins on the chair. Should he take it? 'Hellius' had given it to him. Was it a good idea? NO!! It wasn't. The werewolf jumped out of the window and landed stealthily on the bushes. They had to get out of there and back at the motel.

The streets were dark, quiet, and empty. He knew someplace he could make a stop. He had to pick someone up, after all. The wolf found himself outside of the back trapdoor of Merkl's store. Fafurion was till in there, but was it the right time to see if Fafurion would react nicely to the werewolf form? He wouldn't take the risk. What if Fafurion attacked over the sight of a werewolf holding his friend. Jaken swiflty shifted back into human self and carried Kiara again. He knocked the boxes away and opened the door. Fafurion reacted when he saw the duo. "Hey boy." he greeted him "Can you walk now?" Fafurion proved it. He could now walk, not as fluently as he could, but it had improved since the broken wing incident. Maybe he wasn't ready to fly, in that case, they had to walk all the way to the motel. "C'mon. Follow me." Fafurion obeyed, brushing Jaken with his fur as the nargacuga passed besides him "I hope Merkl doesn't get a heart attack because he lost sight of this big boy."

They made their way to the motel without problems. The streets were empty and silent. It was like a ghost town, but at least they were safe... were they? They arrived at the motel and entered Jaken's room. The bounty hunter placed Kiara on one of the beds where she was comfortable. He placed everything on the ground and sat at the corner of Kiara's bed. Fafurion followed Jaken's action, laying on the ground and closing his eyes again. Finally, Jaken layed down besides Kiara and closed his eyes.

Something had happened with Hellius.
He knew.

 

[Kiara]

Things were not easy for Hellius' party. Although the SinEater demon was nowhere to be found, the cave was infested by lesser demons. All of it trying to possess or kill the party. The magic barrier was still up, preventing all those creatures to escape to the outside. Major spells and spells of area were not an option, not only because it could injure one of the party members due to the lack of space, but also, the cave could collapse, not supporting the impact of the spell.
There was no end of it. And it was only thanks to Elaine’s protective spells that they were still alive. The situation was becoming dire. The more they killed, more were already passing through the portal. If nothing changed, soon the party members would have burned all their magic! But getting close to the Altersphere was nearly impossible. It was like those creatures knew what was keeping them there, thus, protecting the sphere.
Stopping this catastrophe and retrieve the Altersphere was their mission. The high council wanted the item back, and so far, the Squad Unit had never failed a mission. The college would have the item back, but that didn’t mean the item would be in conditions to ever be used again. Little details, as Hellius liked to think, since “accidents” may happen. There was no way that the elf would risk that item to be stolen, or allow to be used ever again. He had, no. He WILL destroy it! Kiara almost died due to the demon summoned. One of his teammates died when Elbion turned hell on earth! And many people perished that day only because of that cursed item!
Seizing a little opportunity Hellius ran, and grabbed the sphere, while his team backed him up. Then a crazy idea popped into his mind. Sure, he was no expert on magic items, but he didn’t need to be, to destroy that thing. He couldn’t simply smash it on the ground, that thing wouldn’t break that easily. So Hellius empowered his magic, infusing the sphere with it. The sphere kept absorbing the magic power until it could no longer contain all that magic. It was indeed a reckless plan, but he needed that “accident” no matter what. The sphere would be destroyed! The sphere cracked, releasing a magic shock wave. All the professors were knock out, slamming against the walls, before collapsing on the floor, unconscious. All the lesser demons turned into dust and the portal was closed. It was over. The Altersphere could never be used again. It was broken! Hellius fought to remain conscious, to aid his teammates. They were all alive. But Hellius also fainted, hitting the cold hard ground, closing his eyes.

Meanwhile, on Elbion college, 'Hellius' waited in one corner, watching Kiara’s bedroom, waiting for the bounty hunter to leave. Nothing. He came closer to the door, listening closely. No noises. As he opened the door, he found the bedroom empty. There was no one there, only the wind softly blowing the curtains of the now opened window. Rage took over 'Hellius' face. Then the college's alarm bell rang. The reason? A young guard had been found dead and locked up inside of one the dungeon’s cells. The male elf stared at the open window, his hands turning into fists.
“This is not over yet! Run as much as you want, wolf. But you will be coming back to me.” A sinister grin adorned his face, with a set of red eyes. Then he jumped out of the window, turning into dust, vanishing into the night.

Kiara was in a deep slumber. Too tired to even dream. Then a familiar voice echoed in her ears. The female elf woke up, not even acknowledging her surroundings, nor even Jaken's presence. A faint whisper called for her.
<“Kiara…”> It was 'Hellius' voice. He was calling for her, but not in an audible way. It was mentally, the voice was inside Kiara’s head. The spellsinger didn’t think twice, she swiftly got up. She was in some sort of a trance, not fully asleep nor completely awake. The only thing that mattered was the voice that kept calling for her, urging her to go to him. Still barefooted the elf walked silently through the room and in the door direction.
Noticing some light steps, Fafurion opened his eyes, lifting his head to face the elf that was now opening the door. She turned to the winged creature, placing her index finger on her lips, signaling the nargacuga to stay quiet. Then she closed the door. It was not hard for Kiara to leave the room without no one notice, since in Elbion’s college, she would sneak out of her bedroom during the night.
Fafurion observed the door being shut. Laying once again his head on his huge paws. As time went by, the nargacuga started to get restless. Kiara had not yet returned. At first, the creature would lift his head, resting it again, repeating this move over and over again, then, he started to wander through the room, displaying his agitation.

Elbion’s streets were empty, an overwhelming silence ruled the night. Only a female elf walked through the darkness, her steps were light and stealthy, her long platinum hair shining under the faint moonlight, while her clothes elegantly flowed with each movement of hers. So beautiful, and yet, so out of place. A lovely creature walking in such devastated place. Blood stained her fair skin, as she walked over it, leaving bloody footprints wherever she went.
'Hellius' kept calling for her, encouraging her to keep going with phases such as <”Kiara… Come, my child... Over here... Follow my voice…"> The closer she got, clearer was 'Hellius' voice. It didn’t even cross Kiara’s mind that all this situation was strange. It was like she was under a spell, clouding her judgment and mind. Anyway, it was 'Hellius' that was calling for her, so there was no danger. After all, he was her guardian, so, no harm would fall upon her, right? The elf kept walking on the dark streets, almost reaching the city gates. 'Hellius' voice was starting to get impatient. Once she got there, she saw a figure. She knew who it was, it was her guardian.
“Come, my little elf.” 'Hellius' lifted his hand, encouraging Kiara to get closer. As the female elf started to move, her guardian smiled for her, a creepy grin taking over the male’s lips. On the other hand, Kiara had such an innocent smile while lifting her hand to take 'Hellius' hand. After all, he was her guardian. The person that she trusted the most, also, the father that she had never had.
Then darkness fell upon her once again.
'Hellius' disappeared into the dark forest, taking Kiara with him.

 

[Adriwolf]

Jaken had fallen asleep instantly, and he was tired, after everything that he had to endure: a broken leg, headaches, extreme physical activity for a long period of time. He could endure more, but now that his body saw a chance to rest, the body would take control and put him down for some time. He didn't even noticed when Kiara got up. Even though his hearing sense was fantastic, he did not listened to the sheets moving due to Kiara's movements nor the door opening and closing. However, something woke up Jaken. A slight force pushing him, it was coming from out of the bed. He slowly opened his eyes to encounter Fafurion's snout pushing his face. His nose was wet and cold. That's a pleasing sight to wake up to: a nargacuga's wet snout, probably with some mucus, pushing your face. ".....wwwwhhhhaaaatttt???" he asked. He was still waking up and the pain from a few hours ago was still in his body. He could move, but with some discomfort. "Guess Fafurion is friendlier than I thought, huh Kiara?" he turned around to find no one, only bed sheets that were displaced "Kiara?" he sat on the bed and looked around the room. At first, he thought that she was in the bathroom, taking a shower or something. He got up and walked towards the bathroom door, which was opened and the room was empty. She was not there, she wasn't anywhere at all. "<<The hell? Where is she? Could she have gone to get some food? No, no, that can't be. She wouldn't just go out like that, she would probably stay here. The last thing she remembers is getting out of the cave, why would she go out just like that. Did she go out to look for Hellius? Damnit!>>" he sat on the bed, thinking on where she could have gone. Even though the monsters were gone, Elbion could still be a dangerous place: people that had go insane could be out there, ready to kill anything, scavangers who would rob what little resources survivors had. What could happen to her out there. He looked around the room for something that might give him a clue to where she could have gone. Nothing. Not even a note, or a mark... then he looked to the floor. Her boots. That was it! That could be a tracking object for him to find Kiara. He would need to morph into his werewolf form. However, before he could turn, Fafurion stepped closer and sniffed the boot. Immediately, Fafurion ran to the door and started to push it, as if it was a dog trapped in a room. The bounty hunter got the message, he grabbed his equipment and opened the door for Fafurion.

The nargacuga stepped out and sniffed the air, trying to find the lost elf. Before Fafurion continued to look for the target, Jaken stopped him and asked "Can you fly?" Fafurion understood that question, as the creature flapped his wings but it could be seen that the nargacuga suffered while doing this. His broken wings was still an obstacle for flight. The werewolf clicked his tongue. The fact that they couldn't fly would take them some time to find the elf, but it is better late than never. "Ok. Keep sniffing." Jaken offered the boot again, and Fafurion kept smelling the air, until finding a way. Jaken jogged alongside the nargacuga through the empty and destroyed streets of Elbion. They were crossing the plaza of Elbion, where Kiara and Jaken met. Both heard steps getting closer. They went stealth-mode and tried to cross as quietly as possible. But he heard a familiar voice:
"Sssssssssshhhhhhhoooooowwwwwww yyyyoooouuurrrrsssseeeellllfffff!!!" followed by a hiss. Jaken got up and saw Merkl with a bow.
"Going out for a night walk?"
"More like lllooookkkiiiinnngggg for you frriieennd."
"Fafurion? He's wih me."
"Why didn't you tttooollldddd me?"
"I was in a hurry."
"Wwwwhhhheeerrrreee'sssss your mate?"
"Not my mate, fuck you. And that is what I'm trying to find out."
"Lost?"
"Yeah. She wasn't in the motel room when I woke up after a short nap. Have you seen her?"
"Nnnnnooooo."
"Fuck." he exhaled deeply "Thanks anyway. I'll pay you later for taking care of Fafurion."
Merkl got closer "I'll hhhheeeellllpppp yyyyaaaaa." he offered. Jaken nodded and the trio continued their path.

Fafurion led the way. The nargacuga stopped at the begginning of the forest, pointing at it with his nose.
"Oh my God." Jaken whispered. Why a forest? Of all the places, why did it have to be the forest? Why would she wander here? Jaken tok the first step into the forest, followed by Fafurion (who took the lead) and Merkl (who stayed behind).

Kiara was in there somewhere. Jaken prayed for Kiara to be ok.