A student returns(Ryorinin-San)

OOC: For those of you who aren’t Ryor, Kaid had asked his teacher to kill him, without first explaining that Apollyon had taken his mind, Aurora had brought him back to the Dome and had just left his newly remodeled room.

IC

Aurora left the room and Lokian returned to his prayers in his room. A weary burden hung on Kaid’s back. He couldn’t recall anything from the past month and had no idea what he could have done to force Aurora to react as coldly as she had to him. Sighing, he threw off his bag and quiver, leaving their contents scattered on the thick animal skin rugs, as he sank back into the firm mattress of his old bed. He reached into the cabinet beside him and pulled out a few strips of cured pork. Devouring them hungrily he remembered that he hadn’t asked if Lokian had anything to eat in the last month, but then deciding to forgo disturbing the prayers of a priest, he set himself to making a pot of rabbit stew.

Placing the broth, herbs, and meat inside the pot Kaid looked longingly into the roaring fire in front of him, his troubled mind lost in the days he let slip by. His mind wandered as he placed the pot into the fire and felt the fire singe his fingers. Reflexes taking place he quickly drew his hand from the flames and sighed at his inner pain. Reaching over for a salve from his bag he noticed his old practice bow leaning against a large leather chair. Taking it into his hands, Kaid wept for the time he had lost wandering his mind in search for anything familiar.

After his stew was prepared he took a bowl from his bag and ladled some of the piping hot mixture into it. Taking a long draught he finished the bowl and sank back into his bed, and proceeded to drift into sleep that had so often eluded him.

OOC I apologize for the super shortness but I hate starting these things, plus I don’t know how you want to do this. So sorry and I know it isn’t good and you taught me better but meh, I suppose you get to deal with it.

Aurora glided thoughtfully down the gleaming hall, her mind troubled by what she had witnessed that evening. Her mind wandered back to her former student, willing itself to make some semblance of sense out of his complete change in demeanor, indeed even his psyche had changed totally.

She remembered what Kaid had been like when she first met him. It hadn't been long after she arrived for the first time in the Dome herself, and was quickly adopted as a teacher of sorts.

-------------

She new she had to reach this newcomer quickly.

There was a pounding on the gate as she skidded to a halt before it, and opened to find the last young man from her vision lying on the ground. She drug him quickly inside, ducking as an arrow whizzed past her ear, and shut the gate. She leaned him against the wall and looked for injuries.

There was an arrow protruding from one arm, but otherwise, he seemed to be only sleeping heavily. She carefully extracted the arrow, and placed one hand over the wound. The other hand she placed on his forehead. Aurora inhaled deeply, and as she exhaled slowly, her eyes began to glow bright blue. Gradually, her hands took on the same glow. After several long moments, the boy’s eyelids fluttered. Then he snapped awake, driving the summoner backward, tackling her forcefully.

“HYRUSHA!!” he cried, throwing a punch directly at the young woman’s face.

“Whoa!” Aurora raised a chi barrier just in time to avoid the blow. The boy’s fist glanced off mere inches from her nose. “Hold on there, big guy.”

Her voice seemed to bring him back to his senses. He shook his head a little. “Where am I?”

“First things first. Would you mind getting off me? I don’t generally put up with this kind of behavior on a first date.”

He suddenly realized he was sitting astride the pretty blond, and scrambled backward, blushing furiously. “I’m sorry!”

Aurora laughed as she sat up. “It’s okay. I was kidding about the first date thing anyway. You’re a little young for me. My name’s Aurora.”

“Kaid Rei.”

“Nice to meet you, Kaid Rei. Welcome to the Dome.”

“So,” he asked as they stood up, “what exactly is this place?”

“The Dome is a magical training ground for fighters. I assume you’re preparing for a big fight yourself. Against this Hyrusha person, maybe?”

“Yeah.” He didn’t offer any more information.

“You don’t have to say anything about it if you don’t want to. C’mon, let’s go find your first assignment.”

-------------------

He had been withdrawn in a way, distrustful at first, but she'd gradually peeled back the layers of loneliness he'd enshrouded himself with, finding a warm heart, simply desiring the affection that had been lost to him through so much of his life. But the thing that still held strongest in her memory of the young man was his anger. He had a ball of hate within him like few young men she had ever known, hard as steel, festering deep within his heart, driving him toward a fate she wished she could not see.

But now, that hate is gone... It's like he's an empty shell, with nothing inside but sorrow... and fear. I hate it. It makes my heart hurt to see him like this, Valron.

Be careful of him, Samae. He is not entirely the boy you knew. This power seeking control of him...

I know, I know. It worries me as well. This Apollyon he speaks of, it's the root of his trouble. I just wish I knew how to help him. I just hope that by cleansing him for the moment, I've given him enough peace to start healing. I just still can't believe he would ask such a thing of me. She shuddered involutarily remembering the deranged grovelling in his eyes as he clung to her legs, pleading that she take his life.

Valron embraced her mind gently. His mind is clouded by death and sorrow, dear one. He was not himself.

Aurora nodded as she opened the door to her room. But how long before that being takes hold of his mind again? How long before he tries to force me into a fight, and tears himself apart in the process?

Hours later, after some much needed sleep and a very long, luxurious bath, the smell of fresh bread and stew filled the room and wafted its inviting essence down the halls. Aurora was spread over the livingroom floor, as usual, surrounded by volumes of scrolls and ancient-looking tomes. Her hair cascaded loose around her, trailing its silken curls over the floor where it caught the light of the merrily burning fireplace, like an ocean of molten gold. She sipped idly at her tea, willing her work to clear her mind of the day's events.

A knock at the door tried to rouse her from her meditations. "Come in," she invited idly, eyes never leaving the texts she had absorbed herself in.

Kaid awoke and found a note attached to and arrow just above his headboard. The nore consisted of two words. Order, Lokian. Kaid grabbed the arrow and yanked it from the wall, yawning as he crawled out of his bed. Lokian had gone away on Order business again, meaning he wouldn’t hear from him in three days at the least. He knelt down and picked up his bag and quiver, putting various arrows, vials, flasks, and objects back inside them. He grabbed a few eggs from an ice chest he had found in his room recently, and set to work frying them in a pan. He pulled a bit of rabbit meat and seared it in the same pan and mixed it with the eggs. He raised it to his mouth and quickly shoved it inside before he could smell the odd combination. It tasted good enough, though he thought he may prefer the cafeteria food to this concoction.

He stood and left his room, the familiar halls flooded into him and he started to think of the many times he had walked these halls. He remembered the first thing he had done here, it was where he had discovered his ability with animals, though he hadn’t used it in a long while.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Yes!” Kaid screamed. He ran quickly next to the stag to calm it down and untie it. He took one of the vines he had used for the net and made a loop to slip over the stag’s head. It was a marvelous creature.

Kaid proudly walked back to the place he had started and then realized he didn’t do that great of a feat and humbled himself. This trick wouldn’t work on Hyusha.

“Hyrusha, I swear on my parents’ grave that I will kill you and retrieve my father’s bow.” Kaid said quietly.

“Yes you will be victorious over him, be strong and never forget what he did to you.”

Kaid heard the words and spun around ready to kill anything that showed its face. Nothing but the trees looked back at him. Kaid look at the stag and he could have sworn it smiled at him. Kaid attempted to figure out how to leave this room or whatever it was that he was in. He felt the wall give way and he pressed the switch and gave a sigh of relief. He untied the stag and let it run free, saying his goodbyes to it as it bounded back into the woods. Kaid felt this is was where he would need to stay if he was to find Hyrusha and defeat him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

He stared at the ground as he walked to Aurora’s room, he wasn’t sure what would happen, but he had to be here. He raised his hand to the door and hesitated before he knocked. Whispering to himself he said, “All right, here goes nothing. He opened the door slowly and saw Aurora, sitting on the floor with scrolls surrounding her. He had never seen the inside of his teacher’s room. It was beautiful room. It flooded him with a desire to go to his own town, to the wreckage of his home.

Heaving a great sigh, Kaid plopped down on the ground in front of Aurora, and gently waved to gain her attention. “Lokian left on Order business. It’s somewhat of his guild in the Church. He won’t be back for a few moons at the least. I finished resting and since you gave me permission I came to see you.” Aurora looked up from her text without any sign of emotion. She sat up and stared at him, then gently said, “Anything to drink?” Kaid shook his head fiercely; he wasn’t in the mood for drinks. She moved her text aside and said, “Anything on your mind in particularly?” Kaid leaned back onto the palms of his hands and thought deeply about this question.

“No… and yes. Come for a walk with me?” He stood without another word and extended his hand to his teacher. She took it and stood brushing the dust from herself gently she asked “Where to?” Kaid thought for a moment and then smiled “The garden would be nice, but is there somewhere like it more private?” Aurora smiled and nodded, leading him by the hand she took him to a large oaken door without a knob and waved her hand over it, majic obviously eminating into the oaken frame, it slid aside. Kaid’s jaw dropped when he saw inside. A lush forest above rolling hills, with thousands of flowers scattering the ground sat before his eyes. A single dead apple tree darkened the mood in the room.

A slight tap called Kaid’s attention to his left shoulder. Aurora had closed the door and now looked at him, she asked, “Now, what did that mean? How do you mean nothing is on your mind yet something is?”

“Apollyon, dear teacher. He‘s let me have my mind for now, but that won’t last for long. I can’t live with this burden of sin anymore, but I can’t seem to die either. I just can’t bring myself to cut my throat, even though it needs to be done.” Kaid sat gently against the hills and stared at the sky longingly. “I need out of this. I just don’t know what to do. Apollyon works in mysterious ways.”

Aurora simply said, “Beigns claiming to be diety often do. He’s not a death god. He’s a god of suffering; he wants you alive, just underneath his thumb.”

“I can’t tell you what it’s like. To have your own consciousness pushed aside for another’s. It’s the most interesting thing I’ve felt in my life.”

“Kaid,” Aurora looked at him deeply, “are you still aware of what you say and do? Did you hear what you had asked of me?”

“I wasn’t aware of it at the moment, but I do remember when I asked you to kill me,” Kaid stood and took Aurora’s hands in his own. “I’m so very sorry Aurora. I would have stopped myself had I been in control.”

A dark stream of primal rose from the ground and formed itself into a humanoid shape, dark auras surrounding it, it said without moving its lips. “I am here for my general. Kaid Rei, give him over peacefully. Too bad as well, you were having such a nice chat.” A grin crept over the humanoid’s face.

Aurora chuckled as she said, “Amateur. You will only hold down Kaid for so long. He will break away from you.”

The humanoid look unimpressed and stated, “Have you seen your student’s mind of late? He has nothing, no one, not without me. His mind is an empty shell filled with suffering.”

Aurora looked blankly at the dark form and stated, “That sounds familiar but it just takes one person to get through to free a mind from shadow.”

Kaid stood and looked at the ground, “Let Apollyon take me, Aurora. I’m not worth this fighting. After what I’ve done I deserve to wallow in sorrow.”

Aurora stared at Kaid, “No, I refuse to believe that anything you’ve done could make you deserve this. No matter what you did.” She brushed the hair from his eyes and took his head in her hands and stared into his eyes. Kaid felt her see all the things that had occurred in his life and mind since they had left. He hung his head down in shame of what he had done. She took him by the chin and brought his forehead to her lips and kissed him gently. “Now I’ve seen all you have done. Do you really believe you’re alone? I still love you.”

Kaid stared into her eyes and then it hit him. “I… can’t be. I can’t be alone. I can’t be!” Kaid feel backwards into the grass laughing at himelf. “Hey you! Demon!” He said standing and facing the figure. “You’re leaving! Right now or I’ll kill you!”

The shadow just stood still, dumb founded by the elf’s insinuation. “Be reasonable. What do you plan to do?” Aurora seemed to whisper something though Kaid couldn’t hear it, but it helped little to wonder what it was she said. He pulled an arrow and his bow from his pack and aimed it at the demon, the arrow shone brightly and when he released it the figure floated back into the earth. The arrow flew into the dead apple tree, and it sprung to life again. The apple blossoms cascaded onto the floor and floated away into the forest. Kaid took one and attached it to his collar, then turned and smiled at Aurora.