*shadow Ninja*

Serako smiled sweetly at the man
"Why thats very sweet of you...Thank you"
Shiro on the other hand didn't seem to impressed, in fact his facial expression didn't change much, aside from maybe a hint of a brow twitch here and there. He would let his sister have her moment to chat and monitor what his sister tells the man. As Red introduced himself Serako tilted her head
"So do your prefer being called Wulfred or Red?"
when he pulled his sword out, Serako leaned in to study the it and seemed rather intrigued by his story. When he sheathed the sword she sat back in her seat and continued listening. When he was finished she smiled
"It seems you have had a pretty interesting life."
she seemed rather envious of him, he seemed to be doing rather well despite whatever happened to him 10 years ago. For her and her brother it wasn't that simple, they were the last living members of their clan. Shiro noticed the look on his sisters face and he was about to have them take a leave until another man approached them. Shiro raised his brow at the other man since he just kinda invited himself. 'what is it with people around here, do they not have any manners?' he thought to himself. He seemed even more annoyed now when he mentioned Red being a chatter he only responded with
"You got that right"
His arms remained crossed. This man completely skipped introductions and went straight to questioning Shiro was starting to become angry and before he could say anything Serako interrupted by responding to the questions, knowing that her brother would more than likely loose his temper.
"We've only just arrived here this afternoon"
she then looked at her brother and noticed he was beginning to calm slightly and she continued to speak to answer the question about the man who was burned
"That's horrible, who would do such a thing?"
she turned her attention to the two and shook her head
" Is the he ok? I'm assuming he is a friend of yours considering you are concerned in finding who harmed him?"
Serako shrugged
"I'm sorry we don't have much info, but we don't know anything about the man you speak of, its just been me and my brother traveling by ourselves. If we would have seen anyone in distress we would at least help them"
Shiro continued to glare at the two noticing the man was watching their faces. They didn't have anything to hide concerning the man they spoke of
"Is there anything else you need to ask of can my sister and I eat in peace?"
Serako punched her brother in the shoulder
"Be nice, they are only trying to find out information, its not like they are asking personal questions "
she sighed while shaking her head then looked up at the two
"let me make it up to you two and buy you boys a round of drinks.... for dealing with my brother. He isn't much of a people person, but after what we have been through...."
before she could say anything more her brother cut her off
"Serako!"
Serako instantly got quiet after realizing she almost told two strangers their situation
"Sorry....He just has trust issues"
Realizing she may have just made things rather awkward she didn't get the men time to say whether they wanted a drink or not. She quickly stood up and called the bartender over.
"One round of whatever these two would like. I'll pay"
she smiled at Red
"Its the least I can do since you covered our food tab."


When Leo left, she looked at the man
"Mind if I recheck your wounds?"
the man nodded and Kitsume looked over him. The only things she noticed was some old battle wounds which were scarred over, the gash on his head and burn marks on his body, but no signs of a battle.
"Well the good news is, I don't think you were attacked in any way or that you were in the middle of a fight. Do you recall anything about a fire?"
The man thought for a moment for some reason the word 'fire' made him think about flames and he suddenly grabbed his head and dropped down on the bed. A slight memory flashed and he remembered being surrounded by flames, he could hear a voice calling to him, but the flames were to loud to hear what she was saying, when he went to call out to her he was suddenly stuck by a beam
Kitsume was at his side talking which brought him back to reality, the black out and her voice brought him back to reality
"Are you ok?"
He nodded as she handed him a glass of water
"I was in a house, it was surrounded by flames, a females voice was calling out to me, but I couldn't make out what she was saying, then I was struck by a beam ...but that's all I can remember"
Kitsume nodded
"I see, it seems you may be starting to get parts of your memory back. This is actually some good news"
She stood up and patted him gently on the back
"I'll let Leo and Red know about this and ask around to see if anyone recognizes your emblem. Take a moment and rest and ill return in a few"
With that she left the man and headed out of the tavern. She noticed that Leo had now joined Red with the 'girl that got away' and instead of interrupting, she started asking around starting with the bartender. Who mentioned seeing the same emblem but was never really one to question people about their clans as it could potentially cause problems in a bar when asking personal questions.
"I only just serve my customers and give them a place to stay, I never asked about their personal lives"
Kitsume thanked the bartender and started asking others.

Falicitas cheeks slightly flushed seeing his proud smile and when he brought up how her brother would be pleased. She gave him a nod when he told her to have her soldiers prepare.
"I'll be sure to do just that"

When Ranulf mentioned the girl they escorted out she sighed. It was probably best that they knew that situation as well. When Alkelda and Theo told her that she didn't need to answer him, she held her hand up.
"Its fine really, its probably best you know who she is"
She took a deep breath
"In a way she is a possible fiancee for my brother, nothing is set in stone yet but out of the options he chose her."
She seemed a little annoyed at this point
"She is the daughter of the Imperial clans ruler, I'm sure you are familiar with them?"
She shook her head
"Anyways her and I don't necessarily get along. I try not to meddle in my brothers love affairs and I promised him I would be nice to her and respect her. "
She clenched her fists
"But every time she is away from my brother all she does is try to instigate a fight, threaten or insult me. "
she took a deep breath
"She has even threatened to have me killed on many accounts. Threaten to have her father send some of his army after me in the middle of the night and kill me and pin it on some enemy clan. Thankfully her father doesn't see me as a threat to his clan in any way to put her threats into action. "
she suddenly had a worried expression on her face
"But after what just happened, I'm not sure how safe I am. "
she sighed
"I guess with my brother missing, she began questioning his whereabouts and came here without her father knowing. She began demanding to know where he was and when Theo explained the situation she kinda put two and two together and realized in Theo's absence the clan is under my command. This upset her and she began with her verbal threats and insults. She threatened to report back to her father and then mentioned I couldn't find a man to marry to save my clan"
She closed her eyes as saying those words were somewhat true, maybe Narumi was right. It wasn't that she couldn't find a suitor, it was more that her brother refused to marry her off to some random clan for the sake of joining clans. He wanted nothing more than for his sister to choose on her own accord. She looked away from the three for a moment and looked out the window. The room was silent for a moment
"I had enough of her threats and insults, and I may have over reacted. I yelled for her to "shut up" while lunging at her and punched her in her cheek. This started a fight between the two of us with her threatening to tell her father, and me threatening to tell her father of her sneaking out and coming here without an escort. I guess she didn't like that I had the upperhand in the fight and in threats and things escalated when she drew her weapons. I wasn't able to block her weapon and took a hit to the rib and shoulder. I was able to block her with my brothers short sword and from there anger got the best of me..."
she turned to face Theo, her cheeks red
"If it wasn't for Theo stopping me, who knows what could have happened. I acted out of anger and that was wrong of me, and not really a great way to act as a clan leader. I had her escorted, locked in a room and had my men send word for her father to send someone to retrieve her."
She looked at the other two
"Theo was in the middle of helping me by stitching me up, when you two arrived"

 

Serako eye widened and she suddenly seemed excited, she leaned forward
"Oooo bandits? were they attacking the man you found?"
she smiled when he ordered the mead and asked the bartender for one as well. She then turned her attention back to Red
"So these bandits, how many were there? were any of them carrying a deadly weapon? did..."
"Serako!"
her brother scolded and Serako instantly got quiet, realizing she was bombarding him with a bunch of questions...
"Uh...sorry.. I can get a bit carried away when I hear stories"
she chuckled nervously, and cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"The name is Shiro"
He didn't seem to thrilled about telling Leo his name, but he did anyways
"As for our clan, it is of no concern to you, but I can assure you we are neither friend or foe"
He instantly stood up and grabbed his sisters by the hand
"It's time for us to leave Serako"
Serako yanked her hand back from her brother
"NO! I don't want to go yet, I'm having fun"
She crossed her arms and turned her back towards her brother
"You never let me have fun, why don't you go and I'll stay here"
Shiro seemed even more frustrated
"You know I cannot do that"
Serako turned her nose to the air
"I'm not a child anymore, you can stop trying to protect me all the time. I can protect myself you know"
Shiro sighed
"You know I cannot do that"
Serako instantly turned around to face her brother
"Why? because you are afraid those men will come after us again and kill us, the last two members of our clan?"
Shiro reached across the table to shush his sister, putting his hand over her mouth
"ENOUGH! How many times to I have to tell you to be careful of what you say are you trying to get us killed?"
he let out a frustrated goran
" I knew it was a mistake coming into the public like this"
Serako pried her brothers hand from her mouth
"Maybe if you weren't such a hard ass and let me have a little fun and TRUST me, we wouldn't be having this conversation"
Shiro furious with his sister decided it was best to defuse the situation before she said anymore. If he remained there it would only make things worse for the two of them
"Fine if you want to have fun, have your fun. Don't come running to me if you start any trouble, your on your own sis."
With that he stormed off to the room he rented them for the night. A loud slam could be heard from a distance.
Serako sighed and turned her attention towards the two, who witnessed the entire outburst. She realized they were both staring at her, she scratched her head and chuckled nervously.
"Eh... sorry about that, my brother isn't much of a people person"
her face suddenly went serious and she averted her eyes to the table
"I can't really go into to much detail, but my brother and I have been through a lot. After the attack, he hasn't been very trusting of others."
She looked up at the two
"So I apologize for his rudeness. He may seem like a hard ass, but he is only trying to look out for me, I just wish that he would stop treating me like a child and realize that I'm grown now and can make my own choices"
As she sighed the bartender set the mug of mead in front of her. Her eyes lite up like it was Christmas morning and she quickly picked the mug up, and held it in the air
"Bottoms up"
a moment later she slammed the empty mug on the table and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand
"Wow so that's what mead taste like"
she giggled
"I've never had mead or anything with alcohol before"
She leaned in setting her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands
"Soo this guy you found, does he carry a weapon? was he wearing specific clothing?"

Kitsume had wandered around the entire tavern asking for info but came up empty handed. There were only 3 people that she hadn't asked. The man sitting in the back corner by himself, who was more than likely drunk, and the two Red and Leo was talking with. She figured those two would have gotten some intel by now. So she headed towards the guy in the back as she approached, the man began cat calling, making all sorts of perverted noises and making perverted comments. As she got closer
"Hey baby, how's about you come over here and have a seat on my lap, I have a nice present for you"
Kitsume rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath
"Oh yeah he is totally drunk"
She cut right to the chase and set the emblem down on the table
"Do you know what clan this is from?"
The man ignored her question, stood up and made an attempt to grope her. Kitsume acted quickly before he could lay a hand on her. She kicked his legs out from under him and at the same time slammed her fist down on his head forcing him to hit the ground, face first and rather hard causing a loud thud that drew the attention of everyone in the bar. The man laid on the ground motionless, more than likely the blow knocked him out for a bit. Kitsume snatched up the emblem and walked away cracking her knuckles.
"Drunken bastard"
As the rest of the tavern headed over to check on the old man, Kitsume approached Leo, Red and the female. She was slightly annoyed after dealing with the drunk. She slammed the emblem down in front of Serako, and body blocked Red and Leo for a moment.
"Excuse my interruption, but do you happen to have any idea where this emblem is from?"
She turned and glared at the other two
"I hope these two drunks aren't bothering you?"

Serako shook her head
"No they aren't bothering me at all. In fact, I have been enjoying their company and stories of the bandits they fought last night"

Kitsume glared at the two
"Bandits huh?"

She picked up the emblem and studied it a moment
"Oh yeah, I've seen this before"
she took a moment to think on where she saw it
"Oh I remember now....My brother and I passed through a small Village west from here, a few days ago. The sign just outside the village had that same emblem. We didn't stop in the village, only passed through."

Kitsume let out a sigh of relief hearing the info.
"Thank you"
she then moved over and took the seat Serakos brother was sitting in earlier
"Now we have a lead on where to look"

Serako watched as Kitsume walked over and took a seat, when Serako realized who Kitsume was, her eyes lit up and she pointed at Kitsume as she spoke, it was as if she met a celebrity
"OH....your the girl from the fight I saw earlier. You were so fast, I was really rooting for you to win"
her eyes moved to Leo and she then realized who he was. She couldn't help but smile as she remembered the two had kissed after the battle. She was rather envious of the two
"So are you two...."

Falitica thought for a moment
"Honestly, an apology probably wouldn't make much of a difference"
She looked up at the three
"I don't think any of you have anything to worry about really. This is on me, if there was anyone she would hold a grudge on, it would be me"
She sighed
"As I stated before, the two of us never really got along. So if she were to do anything, or attempt anything, it would be to me. Thankfully, from what I have seen, her father seems to ignore her tantrums. I mean she has threatened to have her father have me killed off"
she gestured to herself
"But here I am, alive"
she smiled
"I have met her father briefly before and he was rather kind to me. Apparently he told my brother that he wished his daughter was more like me"
she chuckled a little
"More than likely her father will send for her, have her escorted back home and probably have her locked away for sometime for sneaking out without his knowing, and for leaving without an escort. She pretty much risked her own life coming here on her own like that. "
She shook her head at Narumi's behavior
"He may send word to speak to my brother privately about what happened. Hopefully by then my brother will have returned and be able to make the trip there to speak to her father. More than likely he will have my brother deal with me."
She then laughed nervously
"I mean after all, she did pull a weapon and caused more damage than I, so I don't foresee it causing to much of an issue"

 

Kitsume glared over at Red at first, then sat back calmly in her chair and gave a dismissive wave, before she could speak Leo had already responded by denying his accusations. This gave her an opening to get back at Red, and with Leo denying everything, this would work perfectly in her favor. She leaned towards Serako and pretended to whisper, but spoke loudly enough for Red to hear.
"He's always drinking, so he says a lot of things"
She then pointed at the mug he was holding before leaning back in her chair smirking towards Red. Her eyes followed Leo, curious as to where he was headed, at the same time she waved at the bartender for a drink, it wasn't to busy so it only took a minute before she had her drink plus a second, in front of her. She held up the one towards Red and gave him a wink
"Fire with fire"
She turned her attention back towards Serako
"But whats the fun in life if you cant get drunk from time to time ...right"
She handed Serako the second drink. Kitsume could tell this girl was a light weight, she had watched from afar and seen the girl only had one drink and was already showing some signs of inebriation.
Kitsume downed her drink then slammed the mug onto the table, all while leaning in
"So you seem like the type to envy lovers, I mean... not many "fan girl" over two people kissing like that"
Serako took the drink from Kitsume and drank a quarter of its content, a sudden hiccup escaped her lips.
Kitsume smirked, she knew that she needed to get the girl to relax a bit and alcohol always seems to do the trick. She wouldn't allow her to get totally drunk, just enough to help her relax
"Well, my brother and I travel a lot, so we never find time to settle in a place for more than a night. But I'm always seeing couples everywhere we go and I can't help but admire them."
she sat back in her chair and sighed
"I wish that someday I could have something like that. I'm tired of always being on the go and not getting the chance to meet other people."
she looked up in the direction her brother went
"My brother seems pretty content with how things are, and he always seems to avoid people"
She looked down at the liquid in her drink and sighed
"I guess I can't really blame him, we've been through a lot, him and I. I just don't think he can accept the fact that I am no longer a child"
Something clicked in the back of Kitsumes mind. She suddenly downed her drink, stood up and snatched the drink out of the girls hand downing it as well.
"Sorry kid, can't let you finish that, you may start feeling sick if you continue"
Kitsume smiled then turned her attention to Red a moment later Kitsume punched him as hard as she could in the nose, knocking him back and onto the ground.
"That's for the smug look you gave me earlier"
she walked over, standing above him smirking, speaking only for him to hear
"You'll thank me for this"
A moment later Kitsume stormed off
Serako jumped out of her seat and was at Reds side to help him up
"Whats her problem"
She glared a Kitsume who was now exiting the room. She then turned her attention to Red
"That looks like it hurt, are you alright?"


Kitsume headed outside to give Red and Serako some time alone, the girl was obviously lonely and Red was probably the perfect person, of the three for her to talk to. Kitsume wasn't much of a talker and Leo didn't seem like the type either. Kitsume took this time to get a little practice in. After being defeated by Leo, she knew she needed to sharpen some of her techniques. Returning to the area her and Leo fought, and began. Some bystanders stopped to watch for a few moments, her swift and light movements, at first glance it looks like some sort of dance. But it was obvious she was focused.

Shiro in a way, looked slightly defeated, Leo would have noticed this upon entering. Shiro was standing in front of the window, his posture giving away the look of defeat. He was annoyed by his sisters mere outburst and now Leo entering, but he was also tired and wasnt looking for a fight. He didn't turn to look at Leo, but took a seat in the wooden chair keeping his gaze out the window. A moment later he sighed and placed his head in his hands
"My sister and I are the last of our clan, we are the only two remaining survivors of the Pheonix clan.... the rest were slaughtered. "
Shiro then looked up at Leo
"I'm surprised you know our emblem so well, what you said is true, the clan was attacked multiple times and each time we were successful in winning "
Shiro turned his attention towards the window again, clenching his fists
"But we were betrayed, by one of our own, they lead a group into the village and while everyone slept, they began attacking. Slaughtering innocent women and children, men, soldiers....everyone."
He turned to look at Leo
"I wish I could tell you who or what clan attacked us that night, but I promised my father I would take care of Serako and get her to safety, and that was my main focus. I was more worried about getting us to safety than seeing who was attacking up"
he gave Leo a grimace smile
"I greatly appreciate your offer, but since we don't know who our attackers were, I cannot provide any info for you to hunt them down"
He suddenly seemed deep in thought and just as Leo was about to exit, Shiro spoke up
"Thank you, no one has ever offered to help us like that"

As the two bickered back and forth, Falicita had attempted to get a word in, but only seemed to fall on deaf ears. When Ranulf got up to leave, Falicita quickly stood up, but instantly regretted it when her stitches pulled, she clutched at her side as she slowly sat back down wincing at the pain and letting out a sharp exhale, blood seeped through the bandage soaking getting more on her clothes, but thankfully stopped. It took a moment for the pain to subside
"I think he may be misunderstood"
she looked at the two
"Narumi is an only child, she has no other siblings."
she shook her head and sighed
"What I meant by her father saying he wished she was more like me, is because he has spoiled her all her life and that is all she has ever known. She expects to get everything she wants and can't be told no."
She sat back in the chair relieved that the pain was now bearable
"Her father said that because she doesn't know proper discipline"
she turned to Theo
"I acted out of spite earlier, when Narumi pushed me to far, I only challenged her without the use of weapons. But when things weren't going her way, she pulled a weapon. Did you see that there was no discipline? despite the consequences she drew her weapon and probably would have killed me if my brothers weapon wasn't within reach. "
she let out a disappointed sigh
"I admit, my own actions after she stabbed me, didn't show much discipline. Which means that I still have a lot to learn and will use this situation as a lesson. Narumi on the other hand will not, she wants something, she wont let anyone stop her to get it. The only person who has the slightest authority over her, is her own father and apparently my brother"
she gestured to the mess in the room
"But as you can see, even he can't control his own child. She arrived here without guards, an idiotic and careless thing to do, considering her stature. Her arriving here without guards only means that her father denied her an escort, so she took matters into her own hands and came here on her own, without her father knowing."
she shook her head
"This isn't the first or the last time this has happened. My brother would often get angry with her for arriving here without her fathers approval. She has done it quite often, that its not hard to put two and two together. "
she shrugged
"I guess to put to terms, she is a spoiled wild child, its also why I don't think her father will act towards us on this"

 

When Leo left, Shiro paced around the room a few times thinking over what Leo had said. After a few times of pacing back and forth, he decided to check on his sister. He figured she would probably still be down below. As he went to open the door, he instantly spotted his sister with Red. Instead of bathing down there, he decided to give her a chance, instead he still with the door cracked, watching to make sure no harm would come to her. All the while thinking of Leo’s offer. Maybe it was time they began trusting people again, his sister always mentioned wanting to make friends and have a relationship. Maybe if he saw for himself how talking to others made her happy, would help him decide.

Kitsume had decided to put on weights to help with her training, the weights would slow her down just slightly, so when she would move without them she would be even more faster. It was a common way for some ninjas to train. Not long after she began she had noticed Leo out of the corner of her eye, walking by. He didn’t seem like he was planning to stop, so she ignored him and proceeded. He probably had something that he wanted to do.
It was some time before she felt like she had trained enough, she headed over and gathered her things and as she wiped the sweat from her brow with her sleeve, she looked around and spotted Leo not far away. He was sitting on some steps and seemed to be reading or possibly writing, it was hard to make out from the distance between them. She carried her bag over her shoulder and walked over to where Leo sat. As she got closer to the steps, she noticed he was writing, she was curious but also respectful. as she got closer her shadow began to cast over him which only hovered him for a brief moment. She then sat down next to him, she only glanced down at the book for a moment, only seeing how much he had written but not what he wrote. She then turned her attention to the horizon. Pulling a towel out of her bag she began patting her neck and face off.
“So are you writing a story or taking notes on me?”
She looked at him with a raised brow, he would have been able to see her from where he sat so she assumed he was taking notes on her. She leaned back against the steps, tilting her head back.
“I assume you went and spoke to Shiro after that scene. Is everything ok?”

 

Kitsume only chuckled when he put his arm around him, then apologized for it. Surprisingly it didn't bother her, if it was anyone else she probably would have socked them by now. She raised a brow when he mentioned logging his personal feelings, she was a bit curious as to what feelings he was storing away in his books, mainly if there was anything about her. But she wasn't one to pry, not everyone is the type to express their feelings out loud, some write them some just keep them bottled up, she herself was type to not express certain feelings. Other than letting them know she was annoyed by them as at times they irked her, she kept a lot to herself.
"I see"
was all she said on the matter. When he spoke of Shiro she chuckled when he mention that he didnt get kicked over the railing.
"I guess you got lucky then"
she looked over at him, her head still rested back.
"Damn, that's gotta be hard on them"
she thought back for a moment, when the guys were talking to them and Shiro had stormed off
"I guess that explains his demeanor. I mean... I wasn't there when you were all talking, but he gave off a certain vibe when sitting there. You could feel it throughout the room. Dark..yet mysterious. His sister seems nice, I wonder how Red is doing"
She looked up at the clouds and began chuckling
"I guess we will find out soon enough. He is probably gonna hold me socking him in the nose, over my head for a while."
She shrugged
"Or maybe he will thank me. I mean after all he kept talking about being "young and in love"
she crunched her nose at the love
"So I may have given him a hard nudge, or in his case a bloody nose"
She burst into laughter
"I gotta admit the expression on his face when I punched him, it was priceless"
She looked over at Leo
"You should have seen it, hopefully he caught on after I left"

Serako smiled when he thanked her
"Of course, but why did she just punch you like that?"
She asked as she took her seat, but before she could get an answer she noticed the expression on his face and he began asking about her brother. She sighed while sitting back in her seat, looking up in the door her brother went in.
"More than likely"
She then turned her attention to the empty mug in front of her, she began fiddling with the handle
"It is lonely, I hate it. I hate that we can't make friends or talk to anyone at that"
She agreed with Red when he mentioned her brother being overly paranoid, it has been over 10 years and he still acted like they were gonna be attacked at any moment. In fact he would often loose sleep over it. She closed her eyes tightly for a moment taking in everything he said while asking if she thought there would be a better way. She wanted there to be a better way, but she knew that it would take hell freezing over for her brother to fully trust anyone other than her. She shook her head before opening her eyes
"I...I don't think he will"
she sighed and continued fiddling with the mug as he spoke of how they used to be wanderers and made a place their new home. She wanted that more than ever, and she knew that's something her brother wanted deep down, but he was never one to admit it. When he offered the two to tag along Serakos eyes lit up for a moment, but the reality of that happening was slim to none and when she realized that, her expression dropped
"I would love that very much so, its my brother that is gonna need the convincing. You saw how he shut me down for wanting to stay and talk"
She smiled when her told her that she had a nice smile, that was the first compliment she ever got from a guy. It kinda made her feel all warm and fuzzy and her cheeks flushed. When he mentioned being off base she shook her head. Everything that he had said to her, was exactly how she had felt for a while. She was then caught off guard when he asked what she wanted. It was the first time she had been asked that. Not even her brother asked what she wanted. She was silent for a moment, her attention on the mug, what she would give to have another drink, but it would probably make her look like a drunk if she ordered another drink. She was also cursing Kitsume in her head for downing her drink.She broke the silence after a moment of thinking
"I've never been asked that before"
She looked up at him and smiled
"I want to live like everyone else, I want to travel freely and not have to constantly hide who I am or have my brother scolding me all the time for trying to talk to people."
it felt good to actually talk about what she wanted, he brother never listened, always telling her 'it cant happen' or 'you know better'
"I want to make friends, stay in places longer than a night, I want to hang out at a bar and kick back a few drinks laughing and enjoying company, live wild and free, I want to know what its like to fall in love...."
She trailed off as her cheeks flushed. She sighed shortly after composing herself
"I want to be myself without having my brother constantly hovering over my shoulders, treating me as if I was still 10."
She looked up at Red and a moment later she slammed her fist on the table
"Fuck it"
She was tired of keeping everything a secret and Red seemed to be someone trust worthy.
"My brother an I the last two members of the Pheonix clan"
her body began to relax as she continued
"When I was 8, my brother was 15 at the time, our clan was ambushed in the middle of the night. I remember my brother startling me in my sleep, he covered my mouth and told me to not make any sound, then told me we had to leave quickly and quietly. I didn't know what all was going on but outside our home, but I could hear screams, crying, people begging for their lives. Where I slept, I could barely see out the window, my brother wouldn't let me up to look out but when my vision cleared from my grogginess, what i could see, was an orange hue and embers dancing around the air. I recall the smell of burning wood and..... flesh...."
She shook her head and moved her hand up and down her arm, as if remembering everything disturbed her her body slightly tensed
"My brother dragged me out of my bed and I could hear my mother and father screaming in the other room. My mother pleading to "not go in there" but before I could find out what was going on, my brother was pulling under my bed through a hatch that was hidden along the wall. The back of our house was located near a wooden area. As we crawled through mud and tall grass , trying to stay as low as possible. I remember looking back and seeing our entire village up in flames."
Her eyes clenched tightly and she looked away from Red,
"I remember seeing the silhouette of a man slicing one of our clan members throat. I knew right then and there why my brother woke me the way he did."
Her body tensed for a moment and she was quiet for a moment before looking up at Red.
"My brother said it was an inside job, someone our clan knew and trusted had to have planned it. Our clan was pretty much unbeatable, and in one night they were all slaughtered. Men, women, children, even livestock, there was nothing left. There was no other way it could have happened."
she sighed
"We hid the entire night in the trunk of an empty tree my brother and I used to play in. The next morning we moved further away. My brother took us to a spot further in the woods which was near the side of a cliff. We could see our village from the cliff. There we waited for several days, looking for other survivors hoping and praying to see on of our own. Our village was nothing but ash and embers. We waited for several days and nights, watching to see if anyone was around or would return to the village. But nothing, they were all gone, everyone we ever knew, our own parents, our friends....everyone...gone"
she wiped a stray tear from her eyes missing her parents and her friends
"After that we traveled around, keeping a low profile, not staying anyplace for more than a night. We spent most of our time living in the woods, away from people."
she shook her head
"But after a few years I started feeling like we were running from nothing, my brother on the other hand was pretty adamant that whomever attacked our village, would murder us if they new we were still alive"
She laid her head in her arm on the table, her other hand was still fiddling at the cup
"I feel like we are running from a ghost and I feel that we should be living our lives, not running from it. I mean we don't even know who we are running from. But my brother has the "we cant trust no one cause they can be our enemy" complex"
She spoke in a deeper voice, mocking her brother. She pulled her hand from the mug and tucked it along with her other hand under her chin. Movement caught her eye and it was her brother, but instead of walking towards them, he headed outside, her eyes followed him as he exited. It looked as if he was looking for someone. She ignored him, still feeling angry at him for wanting to ruin her fun. She looked over at Red realizing she just told him their secret, she sighed
"Please don't tell my brother I told you, but it was nice getting it off my chest after holding it in for all these years."
she sat back in her chair and it felt like a huge burden was lifted off her shoulder, she was finally able to talk to someone and it felt nice.

Outside Shiro was looking for Leo...

Falicita sat quietly has he gave a vague explanation for Ranulfs behavior, she kinda felt bad for him. After all they have been through, she knew it was tough on each of them. But each person handles it differently. When Theo told Falicita that he believed she could help him on his journey she gave him a nod of agreement.
"I'll do my best"
she gave him a faint smile, then turned her attention towards the door.
"How long do you think he will need? I'm sure giving him some time to think will do him some good."
She looked up at Theo
"I hope when its explained to him how Narumi is, it doesn't make him feel worse"

OOT: short reply for Falicita, put all my energy on Serako lol

 

OOT: changed up the color a bit as i realized how dark shiro and serakos texts were

After searching for a bit Shiro found Leo along with Kitsume sitting next to each other on the steps. He approached the two and looked at Leo
"Can we talk?"
he looked over at Kitsume, recognizing she was the woman in the tavern who was speaking to his sister, she was also the woman who punched her Red. He looked her up and down trying to study her, he didn't understand the concept of her public display earlier when she punched Red in the nose, but he also decided not to question her at this moment. Maybe another time as he had matters he wanted to discuss with them.


Serako was rather impressed with overwhelming response from everyone in the room. To hear they have been through some tough times and seem to have made it out in the end, gave her faith in thing looking up for her and her brother. She smiled
"Thank you for that"
she sat back in her chair and sighed but this sounded more like a sigh of relief
"I just hope that my brother will come around soon"
She was glad to talk to someone, Red seemed like the type of person she could talk to and trust. While she was deep in thought, she hadn't noticed she was staring at Red, when she realize that she had been staring, she quickly averted her eyes and cleared her throat.
"So...um...how did you all meet?"
curious as to how they became the group they are, she was rather envious of them.
"I don't think I caught your female friends name...is she always like that?"
she gestured to his nose that she had punched earlier

Falicita was rather shocked when he mentioned he was departing, and so soon. But she understood he was a leader and had a lot of things he probably had to do. To be honest she was rather sad to see him go, but she didn't show it. Theo being around, to her was similar to having her brother around, she was able to be more relaxed, but that didn't mean she didn't have faith in the other two, she just had spent more time with Theo. She gave Theo a nod
"I understand, you are needed elsewhere, you are a king after all. Please feel free to return anytime"
she smiled at him. When Theo asked her to trust them when he says they are ready, she nodded in agreement. She then turned her attention towards the other two and slowly stood
"If Theo trust in the two of you, then I have faith in the both of you as well"
She then looked at Alkelda and smiled
"Theo is right you know, and this is something I to am learning, being away from my brother and all. I to have followed in his shadow all my life and now that he isn't here, I am having to step out of that shadow and prove that I can be the leader my clan needs me to be in his absence. I have faith you will do amazing "
she then turned her attention towards Ranulf and smiled at him as well, she was a bit curious as to who Theo spoke of but she decided not to question it
"I don't really know much about the two of you, but I have a feeling we will do just fine, with you and Alkelda here, I have no reason to believe we wont live up to all our expectations, don't be so hard on yourself, instead prove the ones who doubt you, wrong"
She was hoping it would give them both some encouragement. She then turned her attention towards Theo
"How long shall we await your return? "
she then remembered the situation with her brother
"Please let us know if you get any word on my brother"

 

Kitsume only nodded in agreement as she noticed the man approaching them. She sat quietly allowing the two talk since Leo was the one who spoke to him prior.

Shiro nodded in agreement when Leo mentioned Kitsume could be present for the conversation
"After thinking it through, I have considered taking you up on that offer."
He paused for a moment to think about his wording
"My sister deserves a better life, she shouldn't have to continue running and after seeing her with your friend in there"
He gestured towards the tavern where his sister and Red were talking
"I realized that it makes her happy and she deserves that"
he sighed and shifted his weight
"I want to leave my sister in your groups care, I feel that I can trust you all with her to keep her safe. I want her to live as normal as possible, after all we have been through, I at least owe her that much."

 

Serako leaned in as he spoke about how he and his group met, she was rather interested as she never really had the chance to make friends of her own, but she loved hearing stories of how people became friends. She had learned that there was another in their party whom she hadn't met, she wondered what type of accident he was in and but was happy to hear they were helping him. She herself wanted to help as well, but knew her brother probably wouldn't approve. She shook her head of the thought. When he spoke of Leo, she was rather fascinated with the fact they had been friends for a very long time. Red began to trail off and talk, what would seem like nonsense, but to her she saw it as a fun adventure the two had. She chuckled when he asked what they were talking about. She smiled
"You were telling me about your friend Leo"
She sat back in her chair
"So this guy you are helping, is the emblem Kitsume asked me about..his?"

Falicita gave a slight bow as Theo exited the room. She then took her seat and looked at Alkelda and Ranulf
"There are a few matters that need taken care of"
She sighed
"There is the matter of Narumi and finding out if her father is sending for her. There is the matter of my missing brother"
She paused a moment to think
"We should probably start gathering and preparing troops to assist Theo and the two of you since I am most certain my brother would want to assist you all"
Another pause and she glanced over the pile of papers on her desk
"Then there is the task of approving these, they would need to be looked over and signed under my brothers name"
She looked up at the two
"So which would you guys like to help me tackle first?"