"Yes... yes, but every pawn has the potential to become a knight, bishop, rook, or queen under the right circumstance," he replied both to Freylia and Amunet, leaning on the counter a little. His look was amused, even at Amunet's doubtfulness.

"Well..." he paused to swallow, seeming a little reluctant to give away just where "here" was. "It's a safe place, for now at least," he answered as he finished his meal and rinsed the plate off in the sink. He took Angelius up off the counter, running his fingers along the flat of the blade as he moved over to the sofa and placed the weapon back in it's scabbard and sat on the arm of the sofa where he could get a closer look at the girl. "It's safe to say you won't want to open the door, at least not without a better grasp on your... companion's ability to teleport."

Hunter reached down to the table and picked up the book he'd pulled off his shelves, flipping idly through the first few pages before he noticed that she was shivering. He actually liked the feel of the cool air on the skin, and hadn't given it a second thought that someone else might be cold. With a subtle gesture, the temperature of the room increased several degrees. He watched her over the lip of the book for several long moments before he started to read again, even though he had every word in the book memorized.

"I'm sure it drones on, trying to guide you along the path of its own desires, giving sound advice like 'do what you think is right for once' and 'grow a backbone,'" he said with a bit of a sigh. "The Twins did the same thing to me at first... well, they don't communicate with words so it wasn't exactly the same, but that same sense of preachiness was there. They don't argue with me, but they have a tendency to barrage me with images and emotion and it can get very disorienting. You just have to learn to tell it to slow down and take things one step at a time," he continued, lowering the book and making eye contact with Freylia again.

"You see, like it or not, your companion has thrust you into a world completely foreign and yet... very familiar to you," he said, his lips twisting into an amused grin at the irony of it all. "I'm sure you have questions, but... you already know most of the answers. They're all in here," he said, holding the book out to her and lifting the Twins into his lap.

"I am Hunter Pendragon, and these are the Twins: Angelius and Tiamat. Tell me... has your companion told you its name yet?"

Hunter watched her intently as she moved towards the door and hesitated. He wondered if she could actually feel what was on the other side. Of course he knew, but that's because he built this place. There were only a handful of ways in or out, and if you couldn't navigate the aether or teleport there was pretty much no possible way to leave. The aether is a curious thing... existing everywhere and nowhere, at all times and at no time. It weaved its way throughout the fabric of the universe in currents and eddies, and sometimes the currents form around something, leaving little pockets or hollows. Hunter had a knack for finding and exploiting them, often walking the aether in search of them in his spare time. They were temporal things, sometimes existing for years... others for days or even hours. This particular one had been reinforced by Hunter's magics to keep it from collapsing, and with regular maintenance was pretty stable.

Hunter watched her flip through the book, and observed her reading the ending and a bit of a grim smile played about his lips. He bowed his head in return when she told him her name and rested the Twins against the sofa while he thought about what exactly would be going through her head at this very moment. He considered a flagrant display of his powers, but she'd already been swept through the aether twice and seemed oddly oblivious to the fact that strange things were happening around her.

"You know, I was there that day... I think we all were," he said, looking down a bit. For a brief moment the harsh, haughty exterior Hunter wore was lowered, and a flash of guilt and regret passed over his eyes. It was gone as soon as it had come, and he locked his cold blue eyes with Freylia's once again. "It wasn't all that long ago... well, not that long in our lives at least. To a human a mere few hundred years is almost an eternity." Hunter leaned back a little, resting his hands on the arm of the sofa and gazing off into space.

"I won't lie, I've never been a great guy. In fact, when you get right down to it I'm arrogant, petty, spiteful, and I'm really awful at forgiving people. It's because I can't forget," he paused, then leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I can't forget what happened that day... I don't imagine any of us can. Everyone blames eachother, and nobody can put it behind them." Hunter pushed himself to his feet and stepped towards Freylia. "I'm not sure how to put it into words... I'll just have to show you." He reached out and pressed his fingers against Freylia's forehead and the room melted away.

They were standing in a swirling gray mist seemingly on glass or nothing at all, though it felt solid. Upon closer inspection, the mist was abound with violent currents and eddies, roiling and roaring in all directions. Hunter seemed to change, his features becoming younger. His hair was shorter, and the disfiguring scar that covered most of the left side of his face and shoulder slowly healed. He was clad in white instead of the traditional black she found him in, and the Twins were at his sides within easy reach. He removed his fingers and shoved his hands in his sleeves.

"This is the aether... It's where I was when everything started. It's mysterious, and it fascinated me so I was often amongst the currents and eddies of the aether, exploring it's limits and my own. It's a 'between' realm... we can all traverse it, some easier than others. Amunet is exceptionally skilled at slipping through to wherever she wishes to go whereas I must blast my way in and out, though once inside I can move about as I wish. There I am..."

Hunter took a moment to point into one of the currents below them. A rumble of thunder and a flash shook the aether and a figure was shot through the current a short ways. The figure slowed, causing a huge wake through the mists as he fought against the current. There was a building of power before a sharp CRACK, which shot the figure unsteadily out of the current and into one of the eddies where the mists were relatively still.

"Usually when you go from one place to another through the between realm you're swept along one of these currents to your destination... or close to it at least," he explained as the figure locked his fingers behind his head and seemed to just be suspended there, gazing off into the mists. He was studying the currents, and would occasionally reach out at something that only he could see. As the image sped up and the slow shift of the currents became readily evident, Hunter gazed off into the mists as though entranced for a few scant moments. Judging from the memory, he spent a great deal of time observing the aether.

"This is what I left her for... With my inquisitive nature and all of eternity ahead of me during a time of peace, why not spend a few years observing something that fascinated me? I made a promise, though: that I would be at her side if anything happened. I promised I would be there if she needed me. So when I felt her distress I made my way there immediately," he said... as the image became a normal speed again, there was a pulse through the aether. Even in the memory he felt it in his marrow, and the figure above them was startled out of his trance like state. There was a building of power from him and with a CRACK he shot himself into one of the currents and was swept away, though his power was roaring, throwing great wakes into the aether as he pushed himself violently through it.

"The problem with travel is... no matter how fast, or through where... it takes time," with a gesture the mists were swept away and they were standing atop a weathered and ancient building in some ancient city. On one side there was a hill, and at it's zenith there were two figures casting waves of power down into a swath of soldiers, civilians... men with pitch forks, women with torches... hundreds of them... all screaming and frothing with hatred and fear. Hunter pointed off towards the rear of the mob where a he appeared in a violent display. A crash of thunder, and the force of his entry smashing a crater into the ground.

"I can't show you where the others are, mostly because I don't know, though at one time or another I felt everyone. I was too intent on my goal... I could see nothing but her... and what was between us." The figure below them shouted something... a name, though from where they were it was indistinct. He already looked battered, and his kimono was shredded from his travel through the aether. The look in his eyes was one of fear, though it quickly swelled into a frothing rage as he pulled his power to the surface. The Twins jumped from their scabbards into his hands singing as he crashed into the rear line, the force of his energy throwing people to the ground before him.

He was an unstoppable force, and while the humans seemed to move in slow motion or not at all, he was unhindered, slamming through ranks and violently knocking anyone in his path out of the way. He cut down the ones who turned to fight, but his body was already taking a toll. He sheathed Tiamat and slammed his fist into the ground. The earth cracked loudly, heaving upwards and throwing a mass of bodies into the air while the shock wave rippled beneath them, causing the buildings beside him to collapse. A shudder ran through his arm on the impact and his skin became splotchy and discolored, and when he rose his arm hung limply at his side. He sidestepped falling debris and pushed his way through to an alley, leaping to the top of one of the buildings and trying to get over the crowds and make his way up the hill but the distance seemed insurmountable. Hunter flickered in and out of sight, steadily progressing up the hill, and sometimes dropping down into the crowds to cause havoc and impede their progress. Each time he came up looking a little more worse for wear.

"You've seen my mere presence knock a man to the ground... My strength splits the earth and makes buildings crumble to dust... I am truly a force to behold and yet the flesh can only endure so much. I could not call lightning down upon them, no matter how much I wished it, nor could I thrust them all away with my will though it was desperate enough. Mere mortals though they were, enough of them can topple even the mightiest of us... but I needed only to reach her and have enough time to pull her through the aether with me. In the condition I was in, a trip through the aether might have ended me... and I'm sure some of the others wish it had been me who perished instead. I know I do..." he said, and pointed towards the hill as his figure was nearing the top. There was a massive gathering of energy and a blinding flash from the hill, and for a moment Hunter's figure was silhouetted against it. When they could see again, they were standing at the top of the hill and Hunter was on his knees nearby with a haunted expression. He was a gory mess, and his face and shoulder almost seemed as though it had been blasted away. He was breathing in shallow, labored breaths and he just stared at the crumpled heap of a woman several yards away with what looked like a shattered bow beneath her.

He finally took a deep breath and screamed at the heavens. It was filled with such anguish, guilt, and remorse that it almost rent the heart. Beside Freylia, Hunter's gaze was unreadable as he watched himself shamble to his feet with zombie like vigor and start back down the hill. His eyes were filled with the anger and hatred of mortal man and the intent that swirled about him was murderous. Erena was there with her stave, blocking his way and speaking something to him... though to them it just sounded like words.

"Out of my way," he hissed quite clearly. Though, when Erena did not he balled up his shaking fist as though to strike her. After a long moment he just pressed his bloody hand against her shoulder and gently pushed her aside so he could shuffle down the hill with the blade of Angelius scraping loudly against the cobbled stones as it hung from his ruined hand.

"Without someone as perfect and innocent as her to be our moral compass, the guardians soon fell into dissent. We fought and squabbled amongst eachother... I instigated more than a share of it. Amunet can probably testify, I did some horrible things to the others for which I will never be forgiven. Eventually we separated and were content to ignore and avoid one another for many years," he went on, and with a flippant gesture the scene melted away and they were once again back in his home. He sighed and leaned against the sofa once again, folding his arms.

"It wasn't until recently when the heavens called us back to service that some of us have come together again... a search for the mysterious heir of the bow's guardian power. When you stumbled into us, I just happened to be the first to act. Why I acted in the manner I did, I'm still not quite sure myself... but I did and here we are. Of course if after all this you still aren't convinced, you could open the door," he shrugged nonchalantly. "Just watch that first step... it's a long way down."

Amunet shoved herself suddenly away from the couch where she had been lounging and picking at her food, waiting for Hunter and thier esteemed guest to return. "Oh, humans will aways reject us, the possibility of us. We are anomilies. We represent a power over them. In a world where they are already losing control of... well everything, we are just another sign of their vulnerability. That is the first attitude you will need to shed if you are to come into your power."

She approached the girl as she spoke, inspecting her from all angles without remorse. She was lacking, certainly not one of them yet. Of course, physically, it didn't matter what she looked like. Once she came into her full power, she would be able to change her features at will. Her attitude, on the other hand, was sorely lacking. Even the most soft spoken of the Guardians, like Violet or Richard, operated with confidence and conviction. Those like Erena or Hunter or even herself were practically soaked in it. It came from having such an old soul. And while Amunet could sense an old soul within this little girl, the human life she had lived had virtually extinguished any conviction she may have had. Humans were, after all, such flighty creatures.

"You are here to make a difference, kid. Accept that, quickly, and everything will probably go much smoother."

"I don't know why you feel the way you do, because honestly I've found it extremely difficult to feel anything at all since that day," he said as he brought a hand up and ran it gingerly over the rough surface of the marring scar that covered the left side of his face and shoulder. In fact, since he showed Freylia the memory, his face had been entirely blank and unreadable. "Again, I don't know why I acted the way I did when I sensed you, but I did, and here we are... I supposed it's some deep rooted attachment that I still feel and suppressed guilt for having failed the last bow guardian. Fact is, it is your destiny to shape this world however you will," he continued, watching her demeanor carefully as he bluntly explained things.

"I honestly don't care whether you leave it in it's current state or wash it all away and replace it with something better. You may think me heartless and cold for saying so, but the one constant in this world is the power of the guardian weapons... we will never change. I... will never change, and nothing will change what I lost that day," he said, pausing for a scant moment as if he'd said something he didn't intend. "So I won't push my opinion on what your idyllic world should be on you. Nor will I let anyone else do so." Hunter sighed quietly as he began to scan the room for something. He pushed himself up and began to walk slowly about.

"You're here right now because I failed," he said, his stride pausing. He was facing away from her and after a moment he pulled his hair over one shoulder, revealing the expansive tribal tattoo that covered the majority of his muscular back before he continued pacing towards the area where he kept his bed and the book shelves. "I can't... I won't fail again, and I won't let anyone stand in my way," he went on, pulling a few books off a shelf and reaching far behind them. After a few moments he produced a small black box like you might find a ring or similar piece of jewelry in and came back to Freylia's side with a huff... obviously these kinds of words didn't come easily for him.

"Look," he began, sincerely. "This... belonged to her. Well, that's not entirely true, because I waited too long to give it to her. I guess the proper wording is that it would have belonged to her and I want you to keep it," he said as he opened the box and handed it to her. Inside was a small crystal affixed to a silver chain. The chain itself was unremarkable, but the crystal exuded a strange yet gentle energy and would change its color depending on how it was oriented towards the light.

"It's a void crystal. I dove deep into the depths of the aether for it... they're rumored to have strange powers, and I'm not sure I understand it completely myself. I've had it for a long time, and I can sense it from a great distance... first and foremost my duty is your protection so please keep it with you." Hunter moved back towards a dresser near his bed and pulled a black kimono top from it and quickly threw it on before leaning against the sofa once again.

"I figure we have less than a day before we absolutely must move on from here or be discovered. If you wish to go home, we will take you there. It'll give you a chance to change into dry clothes and talk to your family... perhaps even sort your thoughts out."

"Well..." Hunter hesitated at Freylia's choice of words for a short moment before he decided she was using figurative speech and her aunt wasn't actually going to murder the girl. He moved to a dresser on one side of the room and pulled a black kimono top from it and slid it on casually before belting the Twins around his waist. Hunter dragged a worn red scarf and mask from one of the pegs, pulling the mask over the lower half of his face to cover his disfiguring scar and wrapping the scarf loosely about his shoulders.

"Just picture your home in your mind," he said, snapping his fingers briskly. Hunter's cat trotted to his feet and looked up at him expectantly. He held an arm down for the animal to leap up into. As it climbed up onto his shoulder, what was once an ordinary house cat shed it's disguise, becoming much like a cat shaped shadow somehow congealed into a solid form. Wisps of aether mist flickered around it like a dull gray flame that could only be seen when you looked at it in certain light. The creature peered at Freylia for a long moment with it's luminous yellow eyes, almost as though looking straight through her. When Hunter held his arm out towards her, the creature flitted along it's length and jumped across the short distance between them to land on her shoulder. It's paws were cold to the touch, almost icy, but the creature itself didn't seem to have any physical weight.

If there was any explanation, Hunter wasn't offering any. In fact he was rather quiet, though there was an amused glint in his blue eyes as he grasped both Freylia and Amunet about the shoulders with his large, powerful arms and pressed them close to his sides. Freylia might have felt a gentle finger in her mind if she were perceptive enough to those things... right before they were suddenly and violently snapped out of Hunter's room. There was a sensation as though a mighty arm had hurled them through space at great speed, much like Freylia's first experience with teleportation. They were dragged deep into the aether by the creature's influence, pulling them straight through the howling currents and eddies until the swirling gray mists began to darken and the sensation of being compressed became uncomfortably strong.

It was almost sudden how the crushing pressure and howling winds of the aether just stopped and everything was at peace. The darkness gave way to a gentle light, and the creature could be seen sprinting ahead of the group and pulling them along in its wake. A moment later, there was a pulse from the creature, and a deep bass thrum as it slipped them through a scar in the aether. They were suddenly beneath an alien night with a blood red moon shining down on them. Trees and bushes whipped past them at a dizzying pace until *THRUMM* they were once again dragged into the aether. The crushing darkness almost instantly gave way to the howling grey currents and *SNAP* their feet were on solid ground once again. The creature was sitting on its haunches several paces in front of them with its tail swishing silently behind it. Ahead of them was Freylia's home, complete with ruined balcony. After a moment Hunter released them and turned a cold glare to the creature, who was brimming with amusement.

"Was that... entirely necessary? Well... at least nobody is going to follow us that way," he grunted and reached down to let the creature back onto his shoulder. It turned and climbed up his arm, then jumped and curled up around Freylia's neck like an inky black scarf, peering out over one shoulder with its luminous yellow eyes and letting its tail occasionally swish over her arm. Its skin was surprisingly warm instead of the icy coolness it had before, and it gave a gentle purr as it settled.

"Hmph... traitor," he huffed, folding his arms in mock hurt, though the look in his eyes was clearly amused.

[[ Oh man, sorry for this horrifically late post. This is rather out of the timeline now, with all of the happenings. I feel very disappointed in myself for leaving for such a long time, but I'm not giving up here! ]]

Erena inclined her head towards Violet, signalling her understanding. "I couldn't agree with you more." she whispered back, her eyes flicking towards Richards whereabouts, as if she could see him listening. Rocking the staff in her hand slightly, she furrowed her brow in thought, and there was quite some thinking to do now. Erena considered Violet's suggestion of following Varian, she could still barely sense the faint trail he left, thanks to him teleporting away when he was in close vicinity to her. Yet, that option still seemed like it was not the best action. Maybe because that stubborn streak in her did not like being entirely dependent upon someone else for finding the Innocent. Although, Erena had to admit that now more than ever, she needed help.

"Violet, I believe it is in our best interests that we combine efforts. Who knows what thoughts Hunter is implanting into the Innocent?" She lowered her voice to add emphasis the that last sentence. "I think we should follow lead, and depart from here, yet remain together." Gazing around again, looking at the rubble and destruction, Erena began to feel a wave of sadness tug at her gut. She had failed. Completely failed in her duty as a Light Guardian.

"Also..." she paused for a moment, and sighed lightly, "This is a little embarrassing to ask of you, but do you happen to have somewhere I could stay? I did not have a pleasant time sleeping in the gutter, and I'm sure this one here," she motioned towards the staff, "doesn't want to repeat that."

The staff made a "Humphf!" sound, and Erena shifted in her place slightly, not too used to placing such favour upon someone.

But Erena knew she had to get used to it, as a lot of her usual morals may have to take a back seat this time. The retrieval of the Innocent was top priority.