Private Tales S.A.P.

[Kiara]

Hellius could see the werewolf struggling, even crashing into some walls, at that moment something inside the elf changed, maybe a little turn of heart. “Are you ok there…?” Hellius asked a little hint of worry in his voice. Maybe it was pity or sympathy towards the dog, but mostly if Jaken end up dying Kiara would be devastated and Hellius didn't want that.
The male elf walked a bit slower to make it easy for the werewolf then both entered a shop… It was this the safe place? Hellius looked around seeing a reptilian man. He just stood there, seeing the whole scene, well… he had to admit that at least the brat had some guts.
Hearing the reptilian man asking for the gold Hellius just said “Here, catch!” throwing the coins to the lizard, then he sighed, moving closer to Jaken.
“I can’t believe I will do this, stay still” Hellius just invoke a healing spell, helping Jaken to recover faster. Finally he looked down to Kiara, at least she was spared to all this scene.

 

[Adriwolf]

"Thanks... I guess." he said to Hellius as he breathed heavily "Oh, and... my friend over here said it sarcastically."
"I didn't."
"Cheeky motherfucker." he took out 10 gold coins and gave them to Merkl "We can solve the payment of that other job later." he grabbed the sack of coins Hellius had given the lizardman and returned it to the elf "And it was for me. Not for you." he looked at Kiara "At least she didn't had to see me go through this shit again... thank you. For freeing her." he carressed her hair again. "We must find a safe place for her."
"Whhhhhaaaaattttt is wwwrrrooonngggg with your mate?"
"For the last FUCKING TIME. SHE IS NOT MY MATE!!" he roared at Merkl "I just need to find a safe place for her. Can we use your basement?"
Merkl rolled his eyes "Whatever. Don't go messsing in my basement."
"Follow me." Jaken ordered, heading to the basement where Kiara and Jaken took cover on the first day they met "Not fancy, but shelter nontheless." he threw his things at the corner of the room and sat, leaning on a pillar "We should get some rest. When she wakes up, she'll be coming with me, no questions asked. I can protect her."

 

[Kiara]

"Thanks... I guess."

“Don’t thank me, I didn't do it for you” Hellius simply said turning his head to the other side still holding Kiara.

At least she didn't had to see me go through this shit again... thank you. For freeing her."

“What do you mean with again… It’s not the first time this happens… And stop thanking me you are annoying“ Hellius clicked his tongue, clearly his soft side had already gone and now Jaken was hitting on his nerves again “I didn't free her to make you a favor I did it because I care for her, after all I am her guardian, as for you, I couldn't care less.”

"Whhhhhaaaaattttt is wwwrrrooonngggg with your mate?"
"For the last FUCKING TIME. SHE IS NOT MY MATE!!"

Hellius gave a fulminate look to the lizardman, this would not end here, no, he would demand explanations later on. In the end Hellius just followed Jaken but not without saying “Don’t order me around kid.”
While walking behind Jaken the elf could only see red flags one after the other, first the werewolf was the one that dragged Kiara into all this mess, even though Kiara had admitted that she didn't listened when she was told to stay away. Then she got arrested because the wolf had sold her out and most likely she was cursed during that process, even now, the werewolf was the one who got attacked, it was clear to Hellius, the assassins were after him, not her, she was just on the cross fire. The wolf was the very reason that brought all kinds of dangers towards the spellsinger. Furtermore, after Hellius had discovered Kiara fellings, he knew that things would only get more complicated, the elf knew how reckless and bold Kiara could be if that meant that she could be with the ones that she cared about.

On the basement Hellius sat on the opposite corner from where Jaken was. Giving a cautious look to the werewolf, as if he was scanning him. Now it was the perfect opportunity to make things clear. Hearing the wolf's voice Hellius left his thoughts aside.

"We should get some rest. When she wakes up, she'll be coming with me, no questions asked. I can protect her."

Helius simply ignored Jaken's words, starting to interrogate the him.
“Care to explain why the lizard thought that Kiara was your mate? I would love know the reason. Besides why would she be going with you? I’m her guardian, it’s my duty and responsibility to take care of her, as far as I know she don’t have a bounty over her head and no one is paying you to protect her, so tell me why should I leave her to you? What are you expecting to gain with her? What are your intentions?” Hellius said in a serious tone, staring right into Jaken's eyes.
“You don’t even know her, you know nothing about her past, her fears or even her feelings. So I’m doing you a favor by taking Kiara with me, that way you wouldn’t have to deal with her problems nor you would be slowed down by her. I'm sure that she is just a nuisance for you” Hellius tone calmed down, now placing his gaze on Kiara's sleeping form.

“Do you know what her biggest fear is?” It was a rhetorical question, Hellius was not even expecting for an answer, besides there was no way the wolf could know. "It's being abandoned by the one that she cares the most, being left behind, well, it's natural after her past” Hellius made a brief pause as if remembering old times “As a child she wouldn't leave my side, she was so afraid that I would leave her and would never return.” pausing and sighing he then looked at the ceiling “It was quite hard to gain her trust back then and even harder to improve her confidence in herself, being confidente that she would be ok whenever she was alone, that way she would stay calm and wait for me to return to pick her up” Hellius then looked at Kiara giving a brief smile, he then reached to one of her hair’s lock that had fallen into Kiara’s face, carefully the male tugged it behind the female’s hear while saying “she was such a cutie… well she still is” he then stopped realizing that he was wandering off...

 

[Adriwolf]

“Don’t order me around kid.”

Jaken stopped at the elf's answer, turning back at him with fury in his eyes. Jaken had had it Hellius. "Ok." he simply said at first "You don't have to follow my orders. What do I know anyways? I've been spending 7 rough years of my life training to fight and hide. You can go back out there to be on your own, where- you know, there may be some assasin's after Kiara, if they don't kill you first, they will kill Kiara, who knows, they might even have some fun with her vulnerable and unconscious body. I know you won't go out there without Kiara because I DAMN well know that you won't give her away that easily. So go ahead, do what you please, I only do this for Kiara's sake. But if you think that you can do better on your own outside, where guards, authorities and assasins are looking for her, then go ahead. Just think on how vulnerable Kiara is right now." he said before going to the basement of the lizardman's basement.

The werewolf was resting his eyes when Hellius voice brought him back to reality. The single voice of the elf made him grunt in desperation. "<<Why do elves leave so FUCKING LONG?>>"

“Care to explain why the lizard thought that Kiara was your mate? I would love know the reason. Besides why would she be going with you? I’m her guardian, it’s my duty and responsibility to take care of her, as far as I know she don’t have a bounty over her head and no one is paying you to protect her, so tell me why should I leave her to you? What are you expecting to gain with her? What are your intentions?”

The werewolf laughed at the elf's question "I think you are not getting what is going on here." he cynically smiled at Hellius "Even though you are her guardian, YOU are not the safest contact she has right now. I know. I am not either. You can blend with the crowd, but your bond with the college and people near you can be a danger. On the other hand, I can hide. I can pass by unsuspected, like a black wolf in the darkest forest at night. I have no bonds with no one. Just mere colleagues that have no interest on Kiara. Las time I checked, she started having those nightmares right after I rescued her from the college. Now, use your brain will ya? You have no eyes on you, which means that, as far as they know, you are still a teacher in the college of Elbion, meaning that you have to go to work. And I think that you won't leave Kiara all alone for what lasts your shift. You'd want to have Kiara close to you, to 'protect' her. News flash: you can't protect her.Not with your actual status. I have no attachements, no bonds, I'm a lone wolf. I can take her. But well, I think that arguing with you will lead nowhere. Do as you wish. See how long Kiara is safe with you."

"The whole MATE thing, it's not a thing. The lizardman and me are collagues, and when I brought her here to save her, he started that stupid joke. She is not my mate, she is a friend. A friend I accidentally dragged into this. And now it is my responsibility to take her out. I won't stop until she is out of danger. THOSE are my intentions."

You don’t even know her, you know nothing about her past, her fears or even her feelings.

The wolf chuckled "Yeah, guess I don't." he laughed.

 

[Kiara]

From afar Hellius could hear the town’s bell, it was almost noon. <”It’s time”> the elf thought, until now the mage had put up with Jaken provocations, but now it was time to strike, all the previous talk had just one intention, distract the werewolf and it worked like a charm.
Without Jaken realize, Hellius had casted a powerful paralyze spell on him, this way the bounty hunter wouldn’t be able to move when the time came and would only comprehend what was happening when it was already too late. That time was now! Hellius just smiled a bit to the werewolf. Guessing by the previous reaction that the werewolf had displayed when Hellius detected Kiara’s curse, he knew that the wolf would most likely get furious, that was good, that was the plan and the angrier the better. Hellius sighed before getting up with Kiara on his arms.

“You know… that’s enough, I'm leaving and she is coming with me” Hellius simply said while getting up. It was time to turn the table around once again, until now Jaken was talking so arrogantly because he thought he knew Hellius, thinking that the elf would never take the risk to go outside with Kiara on that state. Well he was wrong! But now it was too late, Hellius could see Jaken also trying to stand but in vain, a shocked look taking over the wolf’s face.
“What is the matter wolf? Can't stand up?” Hellius said in a cold tone, now it was too late, Jaken realized too late what was happening to him and the more the werewolf tried to struggle, more magic power Hellius would use to empower the spell. The male elf started to walk in the direction of the stairs that would lead to the shop. He could see all kinds of emotions on the werewolf’s face. Right now, if the wolf was not immobilized for sure he would try to rip Hellius’ throat. The elf stopped right in front of the paralyzed werewolf, but still out of his range.
“Tell me, why should I let my child in your care? As you said, you are a lone wolf, you don’t cherish anyone and don’t know what it feels like to have someone by your side, someone that will be waiting for you to return with a bright smile. So tell me, what would stop you from abandoning her? Or leave her behind just to save your skin? Don’t tell me it is because she is your friend, I have seen friendships being torn apart the moment things went wrong“ Hellius said while passing by Jake, looking down at him with his cold green eyes with no trace of any emotions. “Take one last good look at her because this is the last time” the elf said turning around, now walking away, climbing the stairs, just ignoring whatever the wolf was saying/roaring.

Once on the shop Hellius closed the door that leaded to the basement, then his eyes changed from an emotionless to a calm ones, there was no need for the lizardman see that side of him.
Everything had had been just a scene, just to teach Jaken how easy could be to lose someone. A necessary evil to do a greater good, now Jaken would be always alert, he wouldn't dare to let Kiara out of his sight. Sometimes a tool needed to be sharpened before being used in order to do a better job. Hellius was not stupid, he knew that right now Kiara wouldn't be safe near him.
That was why he needed time to take care of some loose ends, time that Jaken would buy for him and once everything was deal, Hellius would return and it would not be just a bluff like today. The male elf didn't care of what Jaken would think of him, he accomplished his goal, Kiara should be safe until he could be able to return. Hellius was the opposite of Kiara, while Kiara was the light, Hellius would be the darkness and the brighter the light the greater the darkness would be. Hellius couldn't care less, being the evil one, he could handle it, all the hate of all the other persons towards him, including Jaken, the only person that could never see this dark side would be Kiara.

Hellius still could hear Jaken roaring and trying to free himself from the spell, the elf took a deep breath, turning to Merkel and calling for the lizardman.
“Hey, I think that you have a raging wolf on your basement” Hellius said while gently handled Kiara to Merkl “Take her to him, he should calm down once he sees her” Hellius pulled the hood of his cloak over his head and simply walked away.
Once outside the store Hellius looked back, seeing the lizardman entering the basement while carrying Kiara. On that moment the elf broke the spell, now Jaken whould be capable to move.
“You better take good care of her, wolf” Hellius whispered to himself while blending with the crowd. Before the elf returned to the college he made a stop, buying a magic book, that would be his excuse if someone asked him where he had been the whole morning, he wouldn't leave anything to chance.

 

[Adriwolf]

After the werewolf chuckled at Hellius' answer, he leaned back on the pillar, ready to get some rest. He had been like this for some time. The oonly thing that brought him back was the bell tower marking noon. He opened his eyes. He thought of moving, but maybe not now, maybe 5 more minted before heading back out and look for a place to hide. But then he saw Hellius smiling at him What was this? Why would he smile at him after everything they have done to themselves? Was it something funny? He tried to bend towards Heelius, but he couldn't. He couldn't move. He tried as hard as he could, but his body wouldn't respond to his commands, he felt trapped in his own body. He was paralyzed. Jaken managed to put all the pieces together. That is why Hellius was smiling. He had done something to Jaken. He paralyzed him. But how? Could it be that it happened during the healing spell? Or was it another spell? How did this happened? It didn't mattered right now. What mattered now is to how he would break free from the spell. Maybe force his body enough to move and break free. After that... he would have no mercy. He would hunt Helllius down in his werewolf form and tear him apart. Disembowel him alive, gouge his eyes out with his claws, snap his neck with a bite, drink his blood and enjoy the rest of him for the whole night. He didn't cared how savage he was. He didn't cared if it proved Hellius' point of Jaken being a beast. FUCK HELLIUS! He would die!!

As Jaken saw Hellius getting up with Kiara in his arms, the wolf knew what was going on. Hellius would take her away to God knows where. Maybe Hellius was part of the whole plan. Maybe he was on the side of the assasins'. Maybe he was the one that gave the assasins the info. they needed to enter the secret room. Or he could be behind all of it. The brain of all this operations.
The werewolf tried to move, to no success, his body was useless. He could move his body a few milimeters, but no more. He got scared. Kiara would be taken away from him. By this old elf. He had to regain back control and beat the crap out of Hellius.
Jaken tried to at least growl, but he couldn't. All that came out was a weak grunt, as if someone made throat noises while trying to stay awake after being inyeccted with a sedant. If he could not kill him right now, at least he could demonstrate that he would come back for him. When he least expected him, when he was asleep. when he was vulnerable, when he would be tied up once Jaken had him in his claws. However, all the werewolf could do now is being scared as Hellius took Kiara away upstairs. He tried to move, but he couldn't! Not even a finger now. Hellius had COMPLETELY paralyzed him. That was it. He would probably never see Kiara again, he knew that the male elf would be cautious, hiding her expertly so that he would never find her again, not even in his werewolf form. As he heard the male elf going upstairs, Jaken struggled and tried to evoke a sound, but he couldn't.

Merkl had been focused on his own business to notice the conmotion down there, but when he saw the male elf emerging from the basement, he thought something had happened. Before he could say a thing, Kiara was given to him by Hellius. The lizardman received instruction that confused him. Jaken would calm down? What was that all about? He remained speechless as the elf walked away from the store. Merkl switched sights between the basement and the entrance. At the end, he decided to head down and see if Jaken is ok. When he stepped foot into the basement, he was almost tackled by his werewolf collaegue.
"WWWWWWAAAAAAATTTTTTCCCCCHHHHHHHH IT JAKEN!!!" Merkl hissed.
"KIARA!!!!" he roared "OH MY GOD YOU ARE OK!!!" he screamed as he grabbed Kiara's body from Merkl "What happened?" he asked the lizardman.
"Tttttthhhhaaaaattttt old elf ggggggaaaavvvveeeeee her to meeeeeee."
"What? Just like that?"
"Yyyyyeeeesssssss. Hhhhhheeeeee said she would ccccaalllmmm you dowwwnnn."
"Christ." he hugged her tight.
"WWWWhhhhaaaaatttt happened?"
"I'LL TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED!!!! THAT MOTHERFUCKER ELF PARALYZED ME!!" he roared "I need to go! I need to hide her!"
"Wwwwweeeelllll, I'm sure you wwwwooonnn'ttttt stay here."
"Yeah, no shit! I'm going back at the motel." he holded her tight.
"And hhhoooowwwww are you going ttttoooooo get her to ttttttthhhhheeeee motel?"
Jaken handed Merkl a bag of coins "Get me a carriage now!"

Two hours later, Jaken was at the motel again, he just rented a room and managed to carry Kiara's body to the room he always rented. He was exhausted, tired. He laid down with Kiara, hugging her close, protecting her. He would never let anything happen to her ever again. He would give up his body to protect her. And that bitch Hellius; all the things he would do to him when he got him. He would tell Kiara whaat Hellius had done. All those thoughts circled in Jaken's head until he eventually fell asleep besides the female elf.

 

[Kiara]

Few hours later Kiara was finally showing little signals of awakening from that deep slumber although it was way earlier than Hellius had predicted. Kiara slowly tried to open her eyes, she barely could see, all her senses were fuzzy, so she took it as a hint to take it slowly, she closed her eyes again. The elf was between half consciousness and total darkness <”At least I’m still alive…”> that was her first thought. Kiara tried to recall what at happened, but she could only remember little parts, how scared she was and all the pain she had gone through, she also remembered seeing Hellius patting her head before a total black out.

Her senses were now coming back little by little, she could feel something warm near her, it was so comforting, if she could move she would snuggle. Still with her eyes close the spellsinger tried to focus on her surrounding, she could feel and hear someone breathing calmly right above her head and a heart beating, she knew that it was not hers, someone was close to her. But who? Could it be Hellius?? Well… at least she was not alone, that was what she needed right now.
Kiara tried to move her body, her strength was not completely back, but, she felt trapped. The elf tried to open her eyes again, in a attempt to understand what was her circumstances, her eyes reacted to the sudden light, slowly adjusting to it, she could see a ceiling <”Hmm..?? Where am I? This is not the building were we meet Hellius… So where am I?”> She moved her head a bit to one side, she could see a window, the sun was aligned with the horizon, she had lost all track of time. It was morning or sunset? She wondered, but by the colors of the sky she guessed that it was sunset <” For how long was I sleeping?”> The elf clearly was not used to sleep so many hours. She started to inspect the room she was in, she remembered it, she had been on that same room not that long ago, she was back to the motel.

Finally turning her attention to the other side, she faced someone chest. Indeed there was someone and was hugging her… she tried to move a little, but was a result, the embrace only got tighter, her eyes widen. What was all this? There were two beds so why someone would be sleeping on the same has her? And why tight the hug every time she tried to move? Had something happened? Was this person so scared that she could simply disappear? Kiara lifted her head, trying to see who this person was, her eyes only widen even more. It was Jaken! Kiara just stood there watching Jaken sleeping form, she then smiled a little <”You are still here”> she was scared that if she managed to survive, once she awaked, she could find that Jaken had left, well… he had told her that he didn’t want see anyone died in front of him again, so she thought that he would leave before that even happened, so she was glad that he was still there. <"But where is Hellius? Maybe he returned to the college"> if she was right, and in fact was sunset, then he had already returned a long time <” I had so much to tell you about and once again I didn't even say goodbye to you”> Kiara saddened, thinking that once again the circumstances for her meeting with Hellius were not the best, for sure he would be worried until they could meet again, Hellius would only calm down once he had check if Kiara was really ok but now only god would know when they would see each other again.

Kiara took another breath, right now she would have to deal with the werewolf, would he be mad at her for what had happened? Well it was not her fault, she didn't choose to be cursed. Or would he leave her, once he saw that she was ok and had made through it? It was a risk that she needed to take, besides she couldn't stay like that forever…
“Jaken… Jaken please... wake up” Kiara called the werewolf's name in a sweet calm voice while looking at his face, she didn't want to surprise him in a bad way, so she waited for a response.

 

[Adriwolf]

Jaken had been sleeping besides Kiara to protect her. After what Kiara had gone through, Jaken's fear increased. He could have lose Kiara for good. Not getting her back. That would make him feel so guilty. Especially since Hellius told him it was his fault. He could be right or wrong, whatever was the case, he felt somewhat guilty. His mind was so disturbed that he had slight nightmares. He could hear Kiara screaming, sobbing and screaming for help, he tried to reach where the elf was, but he couldn't move, he was paralyzed, in fact, he did not even have a body. He was a some sort of spirit unable to move. Where was Kiara? Somehow, Jaken could think in his dream, but not thoughts that are weak, he could focus hard, like if it was actually happening. A flash came to him: Hellius saying that the ritual he made would return the curse to the one that casted it in the first place. But he couldn't have done it. He couldn't have placed the curse on her. He would never. Or maybe it was just his subconscious telling him he was guilty for all her sufferment. Cpuld it be that?
He kept hearing Kiara's screams and breathing. But then...

“Jaken… Jaken please... wake up”

The werewolf reacted fast, waking up and sitting on a jump. He looked at the elf. Her face was as bright as before the ritual. "You're ok!!" he screamed, hugging her tighter than ever "I was so worried." he hid his face in Kiara's shoulders, some tears falling "Are you ok? Tired? Hungry?" he got off the bed. But way too fast. Blood had not streamed down to his legs, making him dizzy, stumble and lose balance, almost falling to the ground, saved by grrabbing on to the bed "Sorry. Got excited over there." he regained balance, though he was still dizzy

 

[Kiara]

Kiara did not realize that Jaken was having a nightmare, so she got a bit surprised by how fast his reaction was. "Hi" she said sweetly, giving him the brightest smile that she had while adopting a sitting position on the bed.
The next second the werewolf was saying how worried he was about her, giving her a tight hug, Kiara flicked a little not expecting such a strong reaction. She had made him worried and she regretted that, lately, seems like that all she could do was worried everyone around her. The elf could also feel some tears dripping on her shoulder, he was crying and again it was because of her, her heart just tightened. Kiara took a deep breath, reaching him slowly, returning the hug, trying to comfort the bounty hunter, it was never her intention to worry him.
She buried her face in his neck “I’m so sorry… for worrying you like this” the elf whispered in a soft calm tone, releasing him and looking into the man’s brown eyes, they were full of worry but at the same time she could see relief on them. Slowly she placed both her hands on the werewolf's chest, placing her forehead on his, closing her eyes, saying in the same tone she had spoke before “I’m still alive… so please… don’t worry about me.. I’m still here.” The elf then let him go giving one last smile.

The wolf got off the bed asking her some questions and on the process he almost stumbled on the floor, just grabbing on to the bed in time to avoid the fall. “Jaken!” Kiara called his name, her eyes widen at the slight scare he had gave her, she moved to the edge of the bed, being closer to him.

"Sorry. Got excited over there."

The elf heard him saying, she sighed and calmed herself down a little. “Take it slowly, there is no rush…”she said while pulling down one of his sleeves, making him to sit on the bed again. Kiara then answered all question that he had made before the slight incident.
“I’m fine now, I’m feel good as new, I don’t feel sick anymore” she said looking at him, then continuing “Besides, I'm not tired, on the contrary, I think I slept for too long, I’m not used to sleep this much” she then giggled a bit “But now that you mention … I feel pretty hungry” she finally said, lowering her head, somehow she felt embarrassed for admit that to him. Well after all, almost two days had passed without her eating properly, so now that she was free from the curse she was back to her normal self, regaining her mood to sing, read, sleep and of course eat.

 

[Adriwolf]

Jaken could not even process Kiara's words as he hugged her. Relief was overwhelming his mind. He thought on everything that had happened a few hours ago, on how close Kiara could have been of actually dying. He had heard of gruesome deaths by monsters, possesion, infections, ot generally by the soulles humans. But, the werewolf thought this was worst, being consumed on the inside by some bullshit spell. How did it even work? Would your organs be literally consumed? Or stop working out of nowhere? Or would your life "drain" away? He could not understand magic, especially that type of magic. But he knew this, it was probably worst than dying instantly. Slowly dying due to madness or being consumed on the inside. Especially to the innocent Kiara. She did not deserved it. If he ever found the one who did this to her, he would go full werewolf rage on them. No mercy.

Slowly she placed both her hands on the werewolf's chest, placing her forehead on his, closing her eyes, saying in the same tone she had spoke before “I’m still alive… so please… don’t worry about me.. I’m still here.”

The werewolf reacted to Kiara's action. He felt her hands on his chest. He did not know if Kiara was invoking a spell on him, but his heart beatings went down, he slowly calmed. And with good reason, Kiara was ok, everything was ok. They were safe for a while. He better enjoy this moment before going out again and sort everything up. They still had a long way to go. But for now... the wolf enjoyed the moment. Jaken placed his forehead on hers, smiling while dripping some tears. "Yeah, maybe I shouldn't worry about it. After all, you are kinda of a badass. Surviving an evil spell." he chuckled "A badass team."

I'm not tired, on the contrary, I think I slept for too long, I’m not used to sleep this much

"Well, you haven't woken up in a few hours. It's almost nightime, you've been out since noon. You have been asleep for about 7 hours and a half. SO I guess you would be recharged with energy." he laughed.

“But now that you mention … I feel pretty hungry”

"Then I guess I must bring sommething to eat. I could go to hunt, bring meat and cook it here. But maybe, I shouldn't leave you alone for a while. What do you want to eat. We can still go out while we still have sunlight."

 

[Kiara]

"Yeah, maybe I shouldn't worry about it. After all, you are kinda of a badass. Surviving an evil spell." he chuckled "A badass team."

Hearing Jaken’s words, Kiara opened her eyes and giggled “Yes, we are a badass team” said the elf, giving him a reassuring smile while wiped away some tears from the wolf’s face.

"Then I guess I must bring sommething to eat. I could go to hunt, bring meat and cook it here. But maybe, I shouldn't leave you alone for a while. What do you want to eat. We can still go out while we still have sunlight."

Kiara paused for a bit thinking on what to say “Maybe you should go and hunt, I’m sure that will help you to clear your mind and I guess that is what you really want to do anyway, so… don’t worry about me, I will wait for you here, I’m not a child anymore, I can be on my own while you are out there hunting.”
In some sort of way Kiara didn’t wanted to trouble the werewolf more than he already was, she knew that before they had met he would do things on its own way, so she didn't wanted to deprive him from his old habits. “Furthermore, this way you can catch some fresh air meanwhile I will occupy myself in here, just promise me that you will be careful” Kiara said getting out of the bed and walking to the door, opening it for him.

Once the wolf was out Kiara locked the door with the key, turning on her heels and thinking on what she should do <”A bath would be nice”> she thought walking to the bathroom. As the hot water caressed her skin, Kiara tried her best to maintain her mid busy and enjoy the moment while singing a soft song, but she couldn’t, now that she was alone her mind kept going to what had happened, to what could have happened. The elf started to shiver, tear streaming from her face and falling on the water making a dripping sound while her sobs echoed on the bathroom.
The elf thought how close she was to dying and losing everyone dear to her, Hellius, Jaken and how she would never saw them again, that scared and haunted her. By the time she calmed down the water was almost cold, so she got out, dried herself and get dressed.

Returning to the room the elf looked outside, it was already night and the moon had now replaced the sun in the sky, Jaken was not back yet, that was good, at least he didn’t saw her crying, there was no need, the werewolf already had plenty on his plate to deal with and Kiara feared that if she continued to bring problems to him, sooner or later he would get tired of her and would leave her behind.
In the end Kiara just seat on the bet, lighting a candle and summoning her grimoire, taking the chance to study a bit, that would keep her busy while she waited patiently for Jaken return.

 

[Adriwolf]

Jaken saw Kiara opening tthe door for him, instead of going out, he chuckled a bit. He walked to the door and closed it, staying inside the motel room. "I was planning on hunting in my werewolf form." he stated "That gives me more time to think. But thanks anyway." he left his equipment on the chair, undressing as he went to the bathroom to get more privacy. As he transformed, Jaken thought what would be good: meat, Kiara needed proteins toregain strenght, and because the wolf had hunger of it, so they would both win. He stepped out f the bathroom, throwing the rest of his clothes to the chair and looking at Kiara with his deep blue eyes. "Even though I know you might be safe." he started "I'd want you to have something to back you up." from his jacket he took out a knife "I don't care if you lose this one either." he blinked at her, leaving the weapon on the elf's hands. The wolf then opened the window and jumped out of it, he looked back at the elf and said: "I'm glad you are ok. I'll be back with food as soon as I can." With that, the beast took a deep breath and started sprinting towards the forest few kilometers away.

As the beast sprinted through the forest, he vaulted over logs, trees, boulders, and many other things. He felt free, if it were for a few moments, he felt that all of this was something from the past. Like if it was over, even though it wasn't. Sprinting in the forest always made him calm down, he could enjoy his werewolf form. The power in his muscles, like powerful springs pushing him towards his objective. He managed to stand on a tall boulder, giving a perfect view of the forest. He crouched, scanning the area for any living being that would be easy to kill. He focused on the land, enhancing his sight, sniffing the air looking for any scents and using his ears to hear any step or heartbeat. It was dark, but not dark enough to use Blue Lights, they were not necessary, besides, Blue Lights will give him a headache, and would not allow him to make the right calls.

Jaken kept creeping in the woods, looking for something to eat and exercising by running and practicing his agility. And then, he sniffed something peculiar. A scent. A delicious one he knew a lot about: cow. Then, similar smells joined it. Different ones as well, he could identify pig, sheep, chicken, every meat he could think was there.... even human flesh...
He salivated at the smell of human fleah, but he fought the thought of killing a human and devour their flesh. But those smells gave him something to work on: various animals, a human alongside them. It was probably a shepherd walking with his animals to a place. He could intercept them and steal some animals to give variety to the meal he would give Kiara. He sprinted towards the scent, getting more excited as he got closer. He jumped to a branch and scouted the area: there he was. A small farm with all the animals he had smelled, how far had he been travelling? He could steal some of them without the farmer ever noticing. He crepped slowly into the farm, though the animals couldn't see him, they still sensed something that made them feel tense. Given how long the travel would be, he could only steal small animals: chicken, lambs and baby pigs, that should do it. Since it was midnight, the famr was off and dark, darker than the moonlit forest. He would have to use Blue Lights, something that shouldn't be a problem right now. He had a plan: use Blue Lights, kill some small animals, take them, go back. Simple. "<<Blue Lights.>>" The farm became lit with his eyes. Everyhting was clearer now. He would enter fast, snatch the animals and run back to the motel. He entered the farm, managing to snatch 2 chickens, a lamb and a small pig. For the sake of Kiara's appetite, Jaken did not slashed the animals' throats. Instead, he just snapped their necks. He did not expected to be it so simple to snatch the animals and fit them on a comfortable way. It was time to go back home. But before he could move, he saw somwthing sparkle: a flower, like the one he saw back at the dragon's location, but it seemed... basic. Like the drawing of a rookie, not as detailed as the one back there. It was here, but there was no sign of any dead bodies or remains of it. Could it be a clue? The killer marking the spot to strike there? Should he tell someone? Kiara would know for sure, but right now... any other authority?

The werewolf made his way back to the motel, it took him around 1 hour and a half until reaching the motel. He jumped in through the window. He saw Kiara reading, like the first day they met, that told him that she was ok. He smiled "Hey." he greeted "Not sure what you like, but I was able to bring chicken, a lamb and a pig." he laid the dead animals on the ground "<<I should tell her later. For now, I must let her enjoy the food.>> What would you like to eat? Tell me to rip those parts out and cook them."

After receiving Kiara's answer, the wolf took the animals outside the window to do his thing, just to not disturb Kiara. He jumped back in a few minutes later with a bloody bag. He cooked them properly for the elf. He handed the food on a plate and sat on the bed to eat with her. He thought on sayinng something random, but it was better to shut up and enjoy the meal.

 

[Kiara]

As Kiara opened the door, she saw Jaken chuckling a bit while walked closer to where the elf was, closing the door, remaining inside of the room. Kiara tilted her head clearly confused. Why had he chuckling for? Had she done something funny? And why did he close the door? The elf then heard him explaining what he had in his mind while leaving his equipments on the chair and moving to the bathroom, undressing on his way.
“Oh, ok… that makes sense” She said a bit flushed, turning her back to him until she head the bathroom door being closed, she would never get used to that.

"Even though I know you might be safe." he started "I'd want you to have something to back you up." from his jacket he took out a knife "I don't care if you lose this one either."

Hearing his comment, Kiara couldn’t help herself and pouted a little, clearly the werewolf was teasing her for what had happened on the day the college was attacked. But maybe now was a good opportunity for her to come forward and be honest with him. Still with his knife on her hands, Kiara started in a small voice, looking into the blue eyes of the wolf.
“Hmm... Thank you, but... I have to tell you something” the elf paused trying to think how to put her next words together “I’m sorry, but... I don’t know how to use a weapon, as you can imagine Elbion Magic’s College only teach students the arts of magic, besides… no one taught me how to use a weapon nor how to fight with it, so I only know how to use magic” she said lowering her head returning the knife back to Jaken.

As the werewolf jumped out of the window, Kiara moved close to it and hear what the wolf had to say, responding to him “Ok, just be careful” while waving him goodbye, seeing the wolf disappearing into the darkness.

Kiara was calmly reading her grimoire when she saw from the corner of her eye something huge creeping through the window, she knew who it was, so the elf just closed her grimoire making it to disappear in thin air. Placing her attention to the huge black werewolf, greeting him with a beautiful closed eye smile “Welcome back” she simply said in a happy tone.

"Not sure what you like, but I was able to bring chicken, a lamb and a pig. What would you like to eat? Tell me to rip those parts out and cook them."

Indeed the wolf had caught a lot of different animals. One thought crossed Kiara’s mind, how voracious could the wolf be? Well he was huge so that mean he needed a lot of food just to maintain that body.
“I would like some chicken please, but I can’t eat one all by myself” the elf answered seeing him to go outside once again. Few minutes later he was back, Kiara just watched him do the cooking, this was the first time that someone was cooking for her, and somehow she felt happy. Usually Hellius and her would eat on the college’s cafeteria, besides she didn’t even knew if Hellius was capable of cooking a meal.
Kiara left this thoughts aside once Jaken handle her the plate with food “Thank you Jaken” the elf said to him, seeing the wolf taking a seat on the other bed to make her company.

The meal when peacefully, Kiara even thought on a subject to start a talk, since meals were the few chances that the elf and her guardian had to spend some quality time together, but the werewolf seemed to want some quiet and silence, so the elf just focus on her meal, her stomach was no longer used to have food, so she needed to eat slowly and calmly in order to maintain the food inside without her getting stomachaches.

 

[Adriwolf]

On contrary what the elf had requested, Jaken took a it of everything. Meat was his favorite meal, maybe not fish's, but he would still eat it once in a while. The duo ate in peace, forgetting what had happened in the last days. How many days ago did they meet? 2? 5? 12? Jaken was not so sure, many events had passed in so little time that the werewolf sometimes lost track of time. He felt that everything had happened in a long time when they were not over the 10 day mark. Jaken did not changed back to his human form, he would enjoy remaining in his wolf form throuhout the night, after all, Kiara was used to his werewolf form and they were not exposed, they were locked up in a motel room, nobody could see them. The bed could sostain the werewolf's weight, as incredible as it may sound. And for some reason, the wolf did not even bothered to at least clean some of the blood form his meat. So everytime Kiara would look up to him, she would see a werewolf devouring raw, bloody meat like an animal. Well, he WAS an animal after all, not much she could do there. However, the wolf tried to eat as decently as possible, not spilling blood all over the place, trying to make Kiara's dinner as comfortable as the werewolf could.

Once he finished, the wolf looked at Kiara's eyes, but that seemed to have been a mistake. Behind Kiara's eyes he could see someone. Someone he had grown to despise even though he met him for a few hours: Hellius. He could see the bastard elf in the elf's eyes. Why? Why now? When everything was ok, he remembered Hellius cynically smiling at im after paralyzing him and taking Kiara away. Jaken tried to zoom out of her eyes, but he couldn't. The beast could see Hellius. Even after his encounter, he hated Hellius. The male elf was there to ruin the perfect time. Just remembering that made him angry, frustrated. The wolf growled at Kiara's eyes, closing his fists slowly but with force, making his claws scratch him, cutting him and making blood come out of his thigh. He felt the instinct of attacking Kiara. It was a sudden thought, launching to her and rip those eyes where Hellius was, smiling and ruining the perfect moment. However, that proved to be a good thing. The single thought of attacking Kiara made him snap back, blinking several times to reassure his return to this world. "<<Don't let it get to you wolfy. You are not a mindless dog. You are not what that motherfucker said you were. Breathe god damnit. BREATHE!>>" the wolf took deep breaths to calm down "<<Should I tell her about what Hellius did to me when she was out? Expose him. Telling her that he paralyzed and almost took her away? Should I....? Kiara has a great respect for Hellius, if I tell her that, who would know how Kiara would see Hellius now. You might take something valuable away from her, you dumb animal. Just.... just shut up.>>" he sighed, finally calming down. He looked at his thighs, the wounds had already closed by themselves. Jaken broke the awkward ice (or at least, that's what he thought he would be doing). "So um.... how's your meal?"

 

[Kiara]

Seeing the huge black werewolf didn't even bothered Kiara, indeed the elf was used to see him in both of his forms (human and wolf). From time to time, Kiara would steal a glance to the wolf, seeing him eating, enjoying his raw bloody meat, well… this was how he was, the only thing she could do was accept that part of him. She knew that Jaken was a werewolf and she liked both his sides, the human and the wolf, and she would accept everything that would come with each form, besides, the elf could not love one side without the other, since both were a part of Jaken.
Judging by the looks, the elf could also guess that the wolf was making an effort to not make a mess during the meal, trying his best to make her feel comfortable near him. In some sort way it was quiet of amusing seeing him trying to eat as decent as possible. A huge wolf, trying to eat properly, it was so mismatching with that form of his that made Kiara smile a little suppressing a giggle. The werewolf could be really thoughtful when times called for it.

Kiara then resumed eating the rest of her food, not acknowledging that the wolf had placed his attention on her. Suddenly from nowhere Kiara heard a low growl, that sent a cold chill down though her spine, she sensed… danger… Kiara eyes widen. All her senses were now on alert, focusing on her surroundings, trying to hear or sense any threats. But the elf could not feel anything, so why was the werewolf growling? She knew that the wolf would growl for various reasons, it could be to intimidate or to sign that there was danger or even to show his frustration or anger. But since she didn't felt any hostilities, maybe was the wolf frustrated about something?
No... this was different, if it was that, then why would she feel danger? Was he angry about something? There was no one out there, at least that the elf could sense, was he growling at her? Was he mad at her? And if it was then what has she done to deserve it? Well, it would not be the first time he had growl at her, the very first time they had meet he growled at Kiara. Somehow this time felt different from back then. Was she overreacting? Were her senses still fuzzy? No… she clearly heard the growl, so it was not her imagination, but why feel that she was in danger? She knew that Jaken would never hurt her… right? Or would he? Kiara then lifted her head locked her eyes with Jaken’s, thinking on asking him what was the matter, but the wolf seemed calm, on the moment Kiara was about to open her mouth to make him the question, the wolf spoke first.

"So um.... how's your meal?"

Kiara blinked a few times, tilting her head a bit clearly confused with what had just happened. Then a thought came to her mind, could this be the reason? Maybe the wolf thought that she was not appreciating the meal he had put effort to hunt and cook. Kiara knew that wolves could be very possessive regarding their preys and maybe without realizing she had offended him. Could he have misunderstood the reason why her was eating slowly, by thinking that she was not enjoying the food, thus making him angry?
“It’s delicious… sorry I will just finish eating quick and I will take care of the dishes, you already had done enough, so relax now” said the elf giving him a small smile now rushing to finishing her meal.

Once she was done she just stood up and took the empty plates, washing the dishes while she sang a little song, then something crossed her mind.
“Jaken” She called the werewolf trying to gain his attention “What does it feel like? I mean, run on the forest at night and chase after a prey?”

 

[Adriwolf]

Jaken regreted about speaking or interacting with her since she responded to her meal question, Kiara decided to eat faster. For some reason, his heart took a downer, he felt that he was guilty because of that. He tried to stop her "Woah, woah, don't eat so fast. You might get stomachaches." he stopped her, getting up and sitting besides her "Sorry if I scared you with my growl. I ummm.... I don't know." he deeply exhaled, laying down in the bed, trying to get his thoughts in order "Umm... sorry. Didn't mean to. Just enjoy your meal peacefully. There's no rush." he smiled at her, patting her gently on the back.

After the meal, Jaken stayed on the doorway watching Kiara do the dishes. He would help her, but his big claws would give him a hard time on cleaning them. He might even break the dishes by accident. He leaned on it, crossing arms, with his head bowed to the floor, his eyes closed, thinking on what he had thouught: ripping Kiara's eyes out just because he saw a face he didn't liked. That was stupid. Just because he saw a glimpse of Hellius doesn't mean Kiara should suffer for it.

“Jaken” She called the werewolf trying to gain his attention “What does it feel like? I mean, run on the forest at night and chase after a prey?”

The werewolf lifted his head at the sound of Kiara's voice, he thought of his answer "Well..." something crossed his mind: he never really thought of it, he let his instincts take control over him and hunt his prey. He never thought on how it feels. He remembered the scoutout few minutes ago, look for food and feeling the wind in his face as he ran freely in the woods. It felt... "It feels awesome. Imagine this: running as fast as you can through the woods, feeling the wind in your face, your muscles impulsing you to go higher. You feel free, like no one is holding you back. Urgh, I don't know how to describe it, you'd have to experience it yourself. It's really enjoyable. Once this is over I might take you for a ride. Though, I'll try not getting shot by a tranquilizer this time." he laughed remembering the escape form the college "And not making you go through those achrobatics I did back there to escape. Believe me, I normal run is fantastic, but I don't wanna puke all the meat we just ate. So that ride would have to wait." he chuckled.

He thought on what he had discovered back there. The rookie flower painting. Was it a clue? Or a mark of a future assasination? He would have to watch that farm closely to see what the results were. If someone showed up dead after today, then the assasin would have marked the place to strike. Now, he would be able to predict when someone will be assasinated, maybe he could save others, if not, catch the assasin and answer all his questions. He went back to bed, sitting on it and investigating his notes. He edited them:

S.A.P.: Found in guard's dead body alongside with 4 more bodies. Acronym? Mark? What does it stand for?
Bodies: 5 confirmed bodies with S.A.P., different races (minotaur, dragon, elf, ogre). All found near Elbion. All life records erased. Are they related with each other?
Golden flower: Found in dragon's death place. Only seen with Blue Lights What does it mean? Are there more flowers?
"Primitive" flower: Found at farm near motel. Not as detailed as previous flowers. Indication of future assasination? Copy-cat?
2 assasins:

1. Assasin one (clock tower) (DECEASED): Glowing red eyes, blew up. Decoy or murder attempt?
2. Assasin two (documents): Stole from secret room (CONFIRMED). Why? How? (THROUGH FIRE PLACE) What documents? (RELATION PROBABLE: ALTERSPHERE)
3. Possible assasin 3 (lady): Glowing red eyes, capacity to dissolve into dust. Shadowkin? Spirit?

Secret room: who told the assasins? Current headmaster? Previous headmasters? Teachers that know?
Inside job? (PROBABLE)

As hard as his claws made him write, he was able to do it. IT WAS HARD, but he was able to do it. He folded the notes and placed them on his jacket. THey had something to work on, but that could wait for tomorrow. It was a lovely evening, and they needed to rest... right? Both of them had been asleep for a long time. What was there to do? Was Kiara tired? He wasn't. In fact, he could stay up and run through the woods for the whole night.

 

[Kiara]

Kiara was now rushing to finish her meal, but Jaken stopped her, moving to her side. The elf just stopped, staring at the wolf that was now lying beside her, hearing his explanation.

"Sorry if I scared you with my growl. I ummm.... I don't know." "Umm... sorry. Didn't mean to. Just enjoy your meal peacefully. There's no rush."

The elf nodded her head, seeing the wolf smiling calmed her down, making her to return the gesture to him, starting to eat slowly as before, but then she said.
“You don’t have to say sorry, you didn't scare me, I just thought that I was making you mad, that’s all… But… why did you growled? Is something bothering you?” Kiara stopped, looking to the wolf’s eyes.

"It feels awesome. Imagine this: running as fast as you can through the woods, feeling the wind in your face, your muscles impulsing you to go higher. You feel free, like no one is holding you back. Urgh, I don't know how to describe it, you'd have to experience it yourself. It's really enjoyable. Once this is over I might take you for a ride. Though, I'll try not getting shot by a tranquilizer this time."

Kiara placed her full attention to what the werewolf was saying, her mind processing all the information and her eyes sparkling in pure delight by just imagining what he was telling to her.
“Jaken do you realize that now you have to take me to two different places? Would you really fulfill what you are saying or will you trick me on the same way you did to Merkl” Kiara giggled teasing the wolf, but she really hoped that the werewolf would take her to the library and now to a ride as he promised when all this was over.

Once she had finished the dishes, Kiara could see Jaken editing the notes. “what are you writing?” she asked out of curiosity.
“By the way Jaken, are you going outside again? I mean, to investigate the college where the guard was found, now that you can use your blue light?”
Kiara asked lowering her head, she already knew that she would once again stay locked on the motel room. The werewolf made that very clear when he said she could ruin the plan. She knew she should take it easy, she had just recovered from a deadly curse, but still, she was tired of being locked, besides, she spent most of the day sleeping, so now she just wanted to go outside, even if it was only for investigate the case.

 

[Adriwolf]

Jaken was surprised by kiara's question. Was he ok? He had to growl at something, he would not just growl randomly, he always had a reason. And he had. Seeing Hellius reflections on her beatiful eyes, it made him angry. He didn't want Hellius to ruin the perfect sight of Kiara, that's what made him angry. But then again, the debate of him telling the truth to Kiara came to his mind. He could tell her the truth but also might take away something she respected a lot. That was not fair for the elf. Just because he didn't like Hellius, doesn't mean the elf should see him differently over something he did to him. He sighed. "Um... well... I wanted to bring a cow." he lied "Cow is my favorite meat, but a cow is just way too big and heavy for me to carry all the way back here. I know, I know. It's stupid to growl over that. But cows are delicious." he chuckled "Sorry for that. Guess I have some bratty attitudes."

“Jaken do you realize that now you have to take me to two different places? Would you really fulfill what you are saying or will you trick me on the same way you do to Merkl”

"No, no. That's different." he laughed "I don't pay Merkl because I don't want to. I could do those things to you because they wouldn't mean any economic loss for me. The public library has free entrance, so no problem with it. And the ride, well, we'd just have to wait until night and I could take you for a run. Merkl on the other hand, I have to pay him a lot. It would be some kind of loss for me, you see. That is different." he chuckled.

“what are you writing?”

The wolf saw Kiara looking at her notes. Might as well tell her already. Jaken gave her the notes so she could look for herself "The farm I went to retrieve these animals, had a symbol." he explained "I had to use Blue Lightss because it was pretty damn dark. I saw a flower, like the one I described back at the woods. The same flower, same color. THough, this one was different. It seemed like someone tried to copy the original drawing. With that, I mean that it wasn't as detailed as I saw before. It seemed like it was made by a rookie drawing. I'm not sure if it means something, because I couldn't smell or see any signs of struggle of someone avoiding any attacks of murder attempt.

“By the way Jaken, are you going outside again? I mean, to investigate the college where the guard was found, now that you can use your blue light?”

The werewolf clicked his tongue. "True." he said "I could use Blue Lights now. After all, we still have a whole night ahead of us, and I'm sure the both of us are well rested. I'm not uo to stay indoors and sleep AGAIN. Might as well investigate. Though, I wonder if..." Jaken got up and checked a drawer nearby, there it was. The rune that would allow him to enter the college "Yep, still here. Might use it to enter." he turned around to see Kiara staring at the floor, he could tell she felt loneliness. And he couldn't blame her. She would be locked up until he got back with any clues. Jaken knew Kiara would want part of the action.

He got closer to her, raising her head by placing horizontally two claws on her chin, making eye contact with her "I can only use Blue Lights in my werewolf form. This form is too big and robust, what if I need to crawl in a small space? This form wouldn't allow it, therefore, I would need of someone small enough to fit in such places. Now who would that be? Who would come with me to investigate this deeper? Who would come with me to form a badass team?" he said with a playful tone "I'd have to cross the woods in my werewolf form to reach the college faster. If someone comes with me... I might take them for a ride now." He smiled at her.

 

[Kiara]

Kiara eyes widened after hearing Jaken’s answer, she couldn’t helped it and end up giggling, imagining the wolf trying to carry a whole cow, besides, would he even be capable to eat all that meat? Even though cow was his favorite meat everyone had a limit of how much could eat.

Seeing the wolf giving her the notes Kiara took it and started to read, while hearing what he had discovered. Kiara was astonished, another flower? But this one had nothing in common with the first one that Jaken had seen, it was not as perfect drawling and there was not occurred any deaths in the area… Was this a new clue? Could this mean that soon someone would be attacked on that area? Or was it a fake lead? Could it be a copycat? So many questions and so little information…
“Should we warn this farm what you are talking about?” Kiara asked then paused. “But… even if we do we don’t have any kind of proof, since you are the only one that can see the flower…” The elf got a bit apprehensive, someone could die, but they couldn’t do anything, since nobody would believe without solid proves.

Kiara felt Jaken moving close to her, already expecting him to say for her to stay in the room, that he wouldn’t take long, but instead he lifted her chin, forcing eye contact, two set of blues eyes locking Kiara’s and the wolf’s, hearing what he had in mind.

"I can only use Blue Lights in my werewolf form. This form is too big and robust, what if I need to crawl in a small space? This form wouldn't allow it, therefore, I would need of someone small enough to fit in such places. Now who would that be? Who would come with me to investigate this deeper? Who would come with me to form a badass team?" he said with a playful tone "I'd have to cross the woods in my werewolf form to reach the college faster. If someone comes with me... I might take them for a ride now."

Kiara’s eyes widened being filled with hope, she couldn’t believe of what she had just heard, was he really telling her that? He wasn’t joking right? After all, he had used a playful tone. If he was she would get mad at him for teasing that way. Finally the elf just gave him a gorgeous smile.
“Thank you!” She said launching herself at the wolf giving him a hug. “I promise to not get in your way, so please take me with you!” Kiara said looking up at the werewolf. Still the elf could not believe she would be going too. What had made him change his mind? Whatever it was she was thankful for that.

 

[Adriwolf]

Jaken couldn't help but to smile at her. He loved seeing her so happy. She was like a child hugging her... furry father. "Ok, ok." he lifted her in his arms "Just hold on tight, and try not to get scared. Ready?" with that said, the werewolf jumped out the window, taking Kiara into the woods.

The werewolf ran through the woods with the elf in his arms. The speed at which he crossed the woods, the wind caressing the fur. The energy went through Jaken's body up and down, his heart beated faster as the adrenaline of the moment invaded him. Though he sprinted through the woods, he would occasionally give LONG jumps and drop at high altitudes, just to give more pump for Kiara's first experience in a werewolf ride. He used logs to wall run on them and gain more altitude to make the travel more intense. The forest gave out a smell unique of an area filled with trees. This was the closest thing the werewolf could achieve right now. The woods made for a calming sprint, a perfect exercise. The woods had a shortcut to reach the college, however, it would take them around an hour, that was no problem for the wolf, he had energy to continue all night long. The run lasted for a while, which he didn't mind. At the end of the forest, he could see a small portion of the city. Since the college was in the middle of Elbion, they would need to travel a bit inside the city. "Now, this is where everything gets more intense. We have buildings over her, these are not trees, therefore, my jumps and speed would have to be more precise. Get ready for round two. A more intense one." he jumped at the first building.

As Jaken promised, the buildings made his jumps more precise and fast, but they were no problem to vault over. Once they had reached the college, Jaken stopped on a rooftop that gave a panoramic view of the institute. He let Kiara down. Now, the werewolf crouched at the edge of the rooftop, looking like an assasin ready to strike. He scanned the area.
"There are no pedestrians coming through, so maybe we have a free road. I see the guard over there... huh. This one's a dragon instead of an orc. Wonder if someone found him in the dumpster Merkl and I left him in? Anyway, what can we do to lure that guard out? Any ideas?" he looked at the elf.

 

[Kiara]

"Ok, ok." he lifted her in his arms "Just hold on tight, and try not to get scared. Ready?"

Kiara held on the wolf’s neck to a better support, still with a smile on her face she said “I will not get scared, after all, I trust you” then she nodded her head signaling that she was ready to go.

Jaken was running at full speed in the forest while carrying Kiara in his arms. The wind passing through her hair, the scenario passing at an incredible speed, even the smell of the forest, all of it was just overwhelming to the elf, she could even feel the wolf’s muscles contracting and expanding, driving the beast forward.
Occasionally, the wolf would make long jumps or drop at high altitudes. Kiara’s heart was beating so fast, the adrenaline invading all her body, it was intense and amazing, it was like she was truly free for the first time <” So this is what freedom feels like! No wonder that he likes to enjoy his wolf form whenever he can, this is pure ecstasy!”> She got it now, what the wolf was saying when she asked her question in the motel room, Kiara just enjoyed the most she could of the ride, if someone looked at her on that exact moment they could see the elf on an ecstasy's state, a serene face contrasting with all the emotions that her eyes would give away.

After a while the elf could see from afar the city of Elbion, they were close now.

"Now, this is where everything gets more intense. We have buildings over her, these are not trees, therefore, my jumps and speed would have to be more precise. Get ready for round two. A more intense one."

Kiara heard the werewolf saying, she just nodded, holding a bit harder on him. This would be fun and Kiara couldn't ask for more, on the same night she would experience two different sets, the forest and the city. It was impressive how fast could the wolf run and the precision of his movements, jumping and vaulting over the buildings. All the emotions she was feeling, the intensity and the sense of freedom, she would never forget that! If it was already hard to maintain Kiara locked up, now it would be harder than ever for Hellius to keep her on the college, now that she had experience what freedom felt like.

Once the werewolf reached the college he stopped on a rooftop nearby, that should give them a panoramic view of the school. He placed Kiara down, moving closer to the roof’s edge, crouching there. Kiara moved a bit closer to him, taking a seat near the wolf.

"There are no pedestrians coming through, so maybe we have a free road. I see the guard over there... huh. This one's a dragon instead of an orc. Wonder if someone found him in the dumpster Merkl and I left him in? Anyway, what can we do to lure that guard out? Any ideas?"

Hearing Jaken’s voice the elf looked at the gate's direction, indeed the guard was a dragon. Kiara smiled a bit still looking at the gates “I see that your and Merkl’s signature is to dump guards on the dumpster” she teased a little while thinking on a way to lure the guard out.
“Well I have a few ideas, but that depends of how long you want the guard out of your way. If you just want him gone for a few seconds I can use a spell to lure him a bit far away of the gates, but if you need more time, I can also cast a sleeping spell on him, he wouldn't even notice that he had fallen sleep. These are my ideas, now it’s up to you” the spellsinger said, her eyes still locked on the guard.

 

[Adriwolf]

“I see that your and Merkl’s signature is to dump guards on the dumpster”

"It's not classy. But at least it's better than dumping his body into the sewers." he noted "Believe me, an orc that big might impose a threat for us, we had to." he laughed "I wonder if he still works here."

“Well I have a few ideas, but that depends of how long you want the guard out of your way. If you just want him gone for a few seconds I can use a spell to lure him a bit far away of the gates, but if you need more time, I can also cast a sleeping spell on him, he wouldn't even notice that he had fallen sleep. These are my ideas, now it’s up to you”

"Both of your ideas are great, I'd just need to identify if there is any flower here. I'd have to get closer to detect it. So we need a way to lure him out. Let me think..." he gave a weak low growl as he thought "I'd need to get really close and some time to identify the flower, so who knows for how long you could distract him. I need a safe route, or else, this would be in vane. I could knock him out, but then if somebody notices that the guard is not there, the college might get suspicious. Once they found out where I would dump his body, he would probably get fired. After all, a guard must always remain alert, if he can't protect himself, how could he protect an entire school? It would happen the same thing if you put him to sleep. Wouldn't want to harm his job status. One was already enough. Maybe we need him in some sort of trance. Like a hypnotic state. A state where he would still awake but would not process what is happening, thus, he wouldn't remember what happened. It would be like a 'almost-falling-asleep-but-staying-awake' state. Do you by any chance have this kind of spell with that effect or something similar? If not, then I guess you might have to put him to sleep."

 

[Kiara]

Maybe we need him in some sort of trance. Like a hypnotic state. A state where he would still awake but would not process what is happening, thus, he wouldn't remember what happened. It would be like a 'almost-falling-asleep-but-staying-awake' state. Do you by any chance have this kind of spell with that effect or something similar? If not, then I guess you might have to put him to sleep

At the werewolf’s words, Kiara’s eyes widened, she was a bit shocked over what she had just heard. She turned her head, looking at the wolf, blinking a few times. Most likely the werewolf didn't even realize what he had just said, or what that would imply. A small smile appeared on the elf’s face, but, behind that smile was something else….
“I’m an elemental mage, so I don’t know nor have any kind of spells such as illusions or hypnosis, besides, I don't like to tamper with people’s mind” she said calmly lowering her head a bit “Although, it is also true that I know and have some other spells, that are not elemental ones, on my grimoire, spells that I found that could be useful sooner or later, like the detect magic spell I used on the rune a few days ago.”
Kiara then lifted her gaze, locking her eyes with the wolf’s, even with her little smile on her face, there was another emotion was showing up, sadness, she then said softly. “Tell me Jaken, if I was capable of using that kind magic, illusions and hypnotism, would you trust me in the same way you trust now? Or would you have always your guard up around me? Or even got suspicious every single time I used my magic?” the elf finally said what she had on her mind, still holding that kind smile. Deep down Kiara knew all answers for her own questions, so she turned her attention to the guard.

“You should know by now that I would never bring any kind of harm, I would never risk the guard’s job, which is why I mention my sleeping spell. I’m almost certain that you have never seen a sleeping spell like this before. I gained my title of Spellsinger for a good reason” she said now looking at the wolf, trying to lift up the mood, after the previous questions she had made to him. “I know that you like to hear me sing, but you better skip this one, so cover your ears the best you can, I don’t want you to fall asleep too.”
Indeed, Kiara’s sleeping spell works on a different way than Hellius’ single target spell placed by touch, which would result putting the victim into a deep slumber. Her version was an area of effect spell, casted through sound, so, every single living being that could heard it would fall asleep.
With some practice Kiara learned how to control the range of the area and how strong the effect would be, of course it required a lot of focus and concentration but still, she knew she could do it. She would put the guard on a light sleep, where he would fall asleep, without him ever noticing, and once the dragon woke up, it would feel like he had just closed his eyes for a brief second, so no harm would be done. Her only problem would be Jaken, if the werewolf was not careful enough, he would be the first one to fall to the spell, since the closer to the source (caster) the stronger the effect would be.

Kiara didn't even summon her staff nor her grimoire, there was no need this time. Still sitting on the edge on the roof and once Jaken had covered properly his fluffy ears, the elf turned her head at the guard's direction, closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, concentrating and focusing on her magic power, then she opened her mouth and started to sing the most serene lullaby ever heard.
Her voice echoed through the night, trusting in her hearing, Kiara controlled her voice, reaching the guard's ears as a fainted whispered song, then the spellsinger channeled a bit of her magic power, allowing the magic to flow into her song, thus, turning it into the most beautiful sleeping spell, it was a shame that every living being that was able to hear it would fall asleep.
Kiara opened her eyes, still singing, she focused her attention at the guard, it was working, she could see the dragon starting to relax, but he was trying to resist the urge to sleep by shaking his head, in a attempt to fight it. The elf channeled a bit more of her magic into the song, now the guard started to relax even more.
From a corner of her eye the elf saw a stray dog, the poor creature had entered into the area of effect, few seconds later the dog laid on the floor and peacefully fell asleep.
Placing her attention on the dragon again, Kiara saw him lean on the gate, trying to gain some support, his eyelids threatening to close at any second now, and finally the dragon fell asleep on his feet, supported by the gate and his spear. Indeed, a true Spellsinger, whoever had given her that title had really nailed it.

Seeing the now sleeping guard, Kiara just ceased her song, smiling a bit, wondering what kind of dreams the guard was having right now, she then turned her attention to Jaken, placing her hands over his, pulling them down softly uncovering the werewolf’s ears, speaking in a sweet tone.
“It is done, the dragon is sleeping, but be careful, although he is sleeping, he is just in a light sleep stage, so when you are down there don’t make any loud noises or else he will snap out of it, you have 8 minutes, before the guard wakes up from the spell, if you see that you need more time just give me a signal and I will put him to sleep for a little longer, just remember to cover your ears.”

 

[Adriwolf]

“Tell me Jaken, if I was capable of using that kind magic, illusions and hypnotism, would you trust me in the same way you trust now? Or would you have always your guard up around me? Or even got suspicious every single time I used my magic?”

The wolf's eyes widened at Kiara's questions. It was true. If she could use this kind of spell, who would say that she wasn't using it on him right now? He could be under the influence of the elf and he would not even realize it. "I... ummm.... crap." he whispered "Me and my stupid fucking mouth. I don't know. <<Think. Would she actually do that? She wouldn't. Would she? Is she using you as her pet right now? No. No. It couldn't be, because if that were the case, than how would I even question this? If she had me under her control, I wouldn't even be able to think at all. I would be her zombie-bitch-slave. A mindless dog. However, I can think. I can reason, I can doubt her. Does that mean that I'm free? Or is this part of the illusion? Is she even who she claims to be? Fuck. You just HAD to open your mouth right? You stupid animal!>> I don't know. I'm sure you wouldn't... do that... urgh fuck. Why did I had to open my mouth? God, I'm so stupid." he bowed his head, giving a low growl of frustration "Let's just... get this over with." he looked back at the college "We can talk about this later." he sighed.

“You should know by now that I would never bring any kind of harm, I would never risk the guard’s job, which is why I mention my sleeping spell. I’m almost certain that you have never seen a sleeping spell like this before. I gained my title of Spellsinger for a good reason” she said now looking at the wolf, trying to lift up the mood, after the previous questions she had made to him. “I know that you like to hear me sing, but you better skip this one, so cover your ears the best you can, I don’t want you to fall asleep too.”

The werewolf nodded. "Ok then, do your thing." he covered his ears with his big paws, applying pressure on them as hard as he could. Since he was a werewolf, his hearing sense would be increased a lot, it might make it more difficult to block Kiara's song.

As the elf started to sing, he could hear some of the tunes the spellsinger emitted form her mouth. Kiara did not lied. Jaken really loved her singing, but this time, if he fell to his enchantment, then he would probably lose a lot of time. And time was gold now. Even though the wolf covered his ears as hard as he could. He could not help feel weak and tired. He knew it was because of Kiara's spell. He fought it, but it was hard, Kiara's song was indeed relaxing. He could feel his consciousness fade away, but he shook his head to stay awake. His eyes slowly got heavier, closing them slowly, but opening them immediately. Then, before he even realized it, Kiara had lowered his arms. The werewolf reacted fast enough. "Ah! I'm awake, I'm awake!" he yelped, shaking his head, acting like he never was influenced by Kiara's spell "Is he asleep?" he yawned, exposing his tongue and fangs to the world.

“It is done, the dragon is sleeping, but be careful, although he is sleeping, he is just in a light sleep stage, so when you are down there don’t make any loud noises or else he will snap out of it, you have 8 minutes, before the guard wake up from the spell, if you see that you need more time just give me a signal and I will put him to sleep for a little longer, just remember to cover your ears.”

The wolf yawned again "Roger that chief." he said. Before moving, Jaken slapped himself to snap out of it. He was ready, he dropped down the 3 story tall building, landing silently and the ground.

He walked towards the sleeping guard (he was still coming back from the sleeping spell) and inspected the wall where the previous guard was found dead. He summoned Blue Lights, and there it was. The golden flower that he had seen back at the dragon's place of death. An exact copy of it. With these, he was now sure that the assasin's would always mark the place where an assasination occured. He touched the wall, gently passing his claws through it, trying to find out any unusuall signs: a smell, something that felt off, anything. But there was nothing. But now, he had two hints. One: the flower meant that a killing had occured, and two: he could ONLY see them with Blue Lights. Why was Blue Lights the only way he could see them? Why was it so special? A rare ability that he possesed. What was so special about it? If he could use it to see the flowers, so could the assasin's. Could they have someting in common? It was clue, as far as he could tell. He inspected the wall for 5 minutes before going back to Kiara. He looked at her with his bluee eyes. "There it was." he said "The flower. It's right there, where we found that dead guard. It MEANS something, but what? And why by using Blue Lights can I see them? Blue Lights is a rare ability, so, whoever uses an equal or similar ability, it means that they have certain abilities. That would explain the exploding man and the lady transforming into dust." he deducted.

"Oh, and I might ask you to sing that lullaby song if I can't sleep one night." he chuckled.

 

[Kiara]

I don't know. I'm sure you wouldn't... do that... urgh fuck. Why did I had to open my mouth? God, I'm so stupid.""We can talk about this later."

Kiara was no longer looking at the wolf, she had placed her eyes on the guard, but that didn't mean she wasn't paying attention to what he was saying, in fact, deep down the elf already knew the answers for her own questions, but hearing it directly from him… it hurted… she could sense it, he struggled to give her an answer, he had hesitated and there was even doubt on his words.
In the end, Kiara just nodded her head, indeed, they would need to talk about that later, if it was another thing like... her own feelings, she would just suppress them, no harm would be done, but this… this was something else, this could bring damage, if Jaken really didn't trust her then how could they work as a team? How could they even be friends? Everything is based on trust… she trusted him… but seems like it didn't worked the other way around… she would need to solve this, and if things didn't fall on the right place then… something would have to change.

"Ah! I'm awake, I'm awake!" he yelped, shaking his head, acting like he never was influenced by Kiara's spell "Is he asleep?"

Seeing the wolf yawning and exposing his tongue and fangs, the elf couldn’t help “What did I told you?” she said, giggling a bit, somehow it was so cute to see him like that. Then the werewolf left, Kiara waited, watching him examine the wall, few minutes later he was back.

"The flower. It's right there, where we found that dead guard. It MEANS something, but what? And why by using Blue Lights can I see them? Blue Lights is a rare ability, so, whoever uses an equal or similar ability, it means that they have certain abilities. That would explain the exploding man and the lady transforming into dust." he deducted.
"Oh, and I might ask you to sing that lullaby song if I can't sleep one night." he chuckled.

After Kiara heard everything Jaken had said, she fell in silence, thinking for a while. “I don’t know about the flower, and since you said that it had no meaning for you werewolves… hmm… maybe this is not about werewolves, maybe we are seeing this on the wrong side… something crossed my mind… it is just a theory though, but… you once told me that it was a witch who offered you those marks, so maybe… since you can see the flower with a power granted by a witch, could it be that this mysterious lady it’s a witch herself or whoever is leaving this flowers behind?” she said, then a smile appeared on her face “Sure, whenever you want, I will sing it for you.”

A chill wind picked up, messing with the stray dog’s tail that was still asleep, feeling his tail being moved the dog woke up, spinned around and bark aimlessly to the wind, thus, also waking the guard up, as Kiara said, the dragon just woke up, blinked for a second and looked around, scratching the back of his scaled neck, acting as if he had never fell asleep

Kiara's attention had been caught by the scene, she then looked back at Jaken “See, no harm has been done” she just said with an innocent voice “Anyway where are we going now? Back to the motel or you want to do something else?” she tilted her head.