The City of Sancta

Oh joy. More paperwork. Darius rubbed his eyes, and then ran his fingers through his silky hair, pulling some of the strands out in the process. He had been sitting here for the past two hours, working on paperwork. And, now, thanks to a document he had misread earlier, he had even more to fill out. The worst part about it was that it was highly confidential, so he wasn't even allowed to get a slave or servant to do it for him. As if one of his slaves would betray him! Anyone who had the chance to talk to Darius for five minutes would know it was suicide to betray him.

Actually, no. It wouldn't be suicide. It would be far worse. Darius had the money and means to make their life living hell. The only thing death related would be their thoughts when they realised exactly what they got themselves into by betraying Darius. Because of this, Darius could not see why anyone would even attempt to betray him.

Sadly, Nyth and the other Level Ones had different opinions. And, therefore, he was forced to suffer through all of this horrid paperwork by himself.

Sighing in exasperation, he reached over and grabbed a hair gummy that was laying on his desk, using it to tie his hair out of his face. Darius always felt more awake when his hair wasn't constantly hanging in front of his eyes. He then pulled up a holoscreen in front of him, typing some simple commands onto the hovering blue sheet. A soft beep alerted him that the commands had been carried out.

One had sent a message to his slave and spy, Chen Zhi Wu. The boy should have returned from the spying mission Darius had sent him on a couple of days ago. Darius was eager to hear the results, for not only would they save him time in completing the tons of paperwork he had, but it would also give him power in the city council if things went right. Darius had ordered Chen to spy on a Level Two Chi who he suspected of being allied with the Junsya. If he got the proper information, not only would the Junsya be weakened, but he would also have more power in the council. That would be very good.

The second message was slightly more personal, but of equal importance. It was ordering Rune to bring him some tea or hot chocolate, well, anything warm and sweet really. Darius had quite the sweet tooth, especially when he happened to be doing paperwork or something of equal boringness. Rune's appearance would be a nice distraction as well, for that matter. Darius had to admit, the young male had a very nice appearance. He had to, of course, or else he wouldn't be Dari's pet. Still, Darius was quite fond of the boy. Especially when he had boring work to do that he wanted to procrastinate on.

Knowing that his two servants would be coming, Darius resigned himself to looking over the paperwork while he waited.



Knock...Knock...

Aurel stood calmly in the hallway in front of the large oak door leading to Lady Nyth's study. A silver platter with coffee and a small assortment of foods was balanced on his left hand, the smells making his mouth water. Aurel sharply bit down on his tongue at this. He wanted the food, but he did not deserve to have it. The metallic tang of blood filled his mouth, drowning out any thought of food.

Not hearing any reply, Aurel cautiously pushed open the door to the study. Lady Nyth was sitting at her desk, working on something or other. It was not his business to pry, and therefore Aurel did not try to figure out what she was working on. Putting the silver platter down on a clear spot on the corner of her desk, he gave a slightly half-bow. "I brought you your food, mi'lady," he murmured, clasping his hands in front of him. His black nails stood out harshly against his white skin, faint streaks of red blood staining life into the tips of his fingers. His black hair was slightly damp, not having completely dried from the shower he had taken earlier, and fell to his chest in stringy curls.

"Is there anything else you require of me, mi'lady?" Aurel's head was bowed forward just enough so that he was not looking Lady Nyth in the eye. His black shirt was nearly buttoned, his normal collar-like choker wrapped around his throat. The silver pendant in the shape of Lady Nyth's crest hung heavily in the hallow at the base of his throat, the cold metal pressing sharply into his skin.

Rune’s cheek felt bruised from the backhand as he fell to the ground from the force behind it. A small sound of pain escaped and he could feel the dark, towering presence of his attacker. “Worthless!” There was a kick to the ribs, and he felt another blow rain down upon him, stopping abruptly. Rune’s head was ringing with the results of the beating, causing him to miss the other voice nearby. When it registered, he couldn’t help but look up with a hopeful gasp.

“Leave him be. He’s mine now.”

Rune could only glimpse the impressive outline of the other man, silhouetted against the sun, but he was familiar with the voice. The identity escaped him as powerful hands gripped his throat and pulled him to his feet. The evil knight sneered in a face that was little more than shadow, hidden under a deep hooded cloak. Air was a precious commodity as Rune struggled to breathe past the tightening grip. “Never! I’ll never let him go!’

Spots swam in his vision as he was lifted high enough to not feel the ground beneath his bare feet. Rune’s eyes fluttered as his struggles diminished. He was certain this was the end. There would be no more adventures for the young hopeful hero to be. Everything was fading, but before he could lose consciousness, the hands let him go and he fell to the hard ground. Rune choked and coughed as air rushed back into his body. A thud next to him revealed the now headless corpse of the evil knight. The man’s tyranny finally ended.

“You’re safe now.”

Rune heard the voice, pleasant and husky in tone. The form moved over him, blocking out the blinding rays of the sun as he turned his eyes upon his rescuer. A hand gently cradled the side of Rune’s face, thumb brushed over the bruised cheek while Rune struggled for words. The face, he knew that face, but the expression was one of actual caring.

“Lord Darius…”

Darius murmured back, “Rune..” and Rune found himself leaning closer to the man. “Rune…” The man that saved him, that cared for him. “Rune…” He knew he wanted Darius, wanted to belong to...

"RUNE!" Rune was smacked on the back of his head, jarring him out of his daydream. “Pay attention. You have a message! I swear…” One of the other slaves had come into his room in response to the incessant noise from the hologram waiting Rune’s attention. “You’re just going to get in trouble doing that. You’re lucky I was passing by.” The slave was just heading out to do another part of his work when he passed by Rune’s door that was left ajar. “I’ve gotta go.” And the slave turned and left, with Rune scrambling to catch up with reality.

Rune belatedly murmured, “Thanks.” Only the other was already gone, and he still had the message waiting to be acknowledged. He answered the alert, and saw a request from Lord Darius. The man wished for some tea or hot chocolate, and Rune was to bring it to him. With a small sound in the back of his throat, he acknowledged the message and moved to slide off edge of the window seat.

All pets had their own room, and Lord Darius had allowed them to even decorate it as they saw fit, more or less. Rune considered his room still a work in progress. One of the main areas he had finished, was the window seat, covered in a blue material that was as soft as velvet. The cushion extended up along either side of the seat, allowing him to lean back comfortably as he gazed out the window. It was his usual daydreaming spot, but Rune wound up daydreaming in other places as well, usually when he shouldn’t be.

Rune groaned as weight was put on his right leg, it felt tight that day, and he had hoped to just sit and not turn it into agony. However, one didn’t dare ignore a message from Lord Darius, Rune knew that. He rubbed along the outside of his thigh as he made his way into the kitchen. Hot chocolate would be his choice, with marshmallows, only he wouldn’t add them yet. They’d only melt and what good would melted marshmallows be? He used one of Lord Darius’ preferred mugs and fixed the hot chocolate quickly, but made sure he stirred it well. The marshmallows were set aside on the saucer, and then the whole thing would be carried on a tray.

That was the tricky part. Rune didn’t move very fast with his limp, nor was it the most steady of gaits. He had to watch the liquid in the cup to ensure it didn’t slosh out over the sides, and yet he also had to move at a decent pace, or the hot part of hot chocolate would no longer apply. By the time he had reached the room where Darius was, Rune’s leg was a dull throb, but the drink was intact and still steaming.

Balancing the tray delicately, Rune knocked on the door and waited for the man to give him permission to enter. “I.. have your hot chocolate.. Lord Darius.” The daydream was still fresh in his mind, making his emotions more ragged, and his tone of voice quiet and low. Part of him hoped that it would wind up being the Lord Darius from the world of his fantasy, even though he knew that simply wasn’t possible. That little flare of hope still burned in his chest, making his eyes a little brighter. Even after two years, past the time when he should know better, Rune remained a hopeless romantic at heart.

A swift jab to the man's left cheek bone left him scrambling and defeated on the ground. Tara's unforgiving gaze rested on him, assessing him carefully to assure that the lesson she had intended had been accurately taught.

"Let that be a warning to you," she began cooly, "That I expect all deliveries to arrive promptly and expressly to my doorstep. Is that understood?" The man, still trembling from the final, harsh blow and the several that had come before it, nodded his head furiously. He had been charged with delivering a package that Tara had ordered a few hours before, and it had arrived an hour later than she had expected. Even though it was not the delivery man's fault but rather the company's, the man was obviously of lower status and most likely deserved the punishment anyways. "Very well, then. Off you trot." The man scampered quickly away, rubbing his face as he fled.

With a newly-refreshed feeling of superiority, Tara glided over to where the package had been placed before the fiasco and picked it up. Despite her rather harsh and violent nature, she delicately sliced at the edges of the package with her laser pocket knife. Once the aluminum box had been opened appropriately, she gently lifted the edges of the lid until the desired object was clearly visible. Inside was a pair of sapphire-encrested earrings laced with silver embellishments. Pleased enough with this, she quickly put the earrings in. It was always a pride of hers to look her best, even if her job did require exertion and physical prowess. Why couldn't one be pretty and powerful?

But, with the frivolities of the day taken care of, it was now time to do her work. She had already gotten into "uniform" for the day, though hers differed from the average police officer's, of course. She chose to wear a royal blue, military-esque jacket embroidered with gold thread. The shoulders of it were large, showing her authority and malice. The buttons were also gold, with elegant designs that depicted several showings of power and justice. The pants she wore were more simple, a black tight-fitting brand that allowed her curves to be accentuated. She wore black military boots as well, that were well-equipped for running. The bottoms were metal, and she had learned that they could easily break the bones of someone else's face. Her hair was thrown back into a sufficient ponytail, though ribbons were tied around it to add a sort of flair. No matter how many embellishments she wore, she always looked intimidating to those below her, and even those equal to her. Her face always seemed to bare a slight smile, no matter the situation, and the smile was almost always a false one that her face just naturally acquired. Her icy blue eyes, however, always told the truth; they seemed calculating and cunning at all times, and sometimes would shower those that they looked upon with violent intents. Some liked to describe her as the "Child of Hell" for her false innocent look.

She ascended the grand stair case of her home (although it really wasn't particularly grand; it just happened to be in the foyer and was the main stair case of the house) and headed towards her office. She walked in and placed herself at the metallic desk; everything in the room was stream-lined and efficient. All-in-all, it could be described as an effectively official space. Taking a seat, she turned on the surface of the desk (which was a touch-compatible computer screen of sorts) and began quickly flicking reports from her subordinate officers. She quickly found the most important ones, compiled them into a report, and sent them to Lord Darius and Lady Nyth. The reports mainly consisted of somewhat trivial things; the consistency of crime rates, the capital punishments and other deaths that had been reported in the day, and so on and so forth. However, she managed to put special emphasis on things that could be or seemed to be related to any Junsya activity.

For obvious reasons, Tara was very fascinated and similarly plagued by the actions of the Junsya. Every victory of theirs was a loss of hers, and she did not take losing lightly. She had made it a personal duty of hers to seek out members of Junsya and destroy them. She had already personally executed a few people who had been supposed members of the Junsya.

Having finished the reports to the Leaders of City Council, she found time for a more personal request. She clicked a pin on the cuff of her jacket, which activated a communication device which gave her direct communication with her servants. "Arsen, bring me a salad. And see if you can find the name of the man that delivered my package today, too; I'm going to contact his company and see about having him fired for being late."

Arsen Hacket was one of her servants, and one of the ones that she was more "fond" of, if that word could be used. It wasn't necessarily fondness, but rather that she didn't dislike him as much as most of the other servants. He seemed like he would make a good Chi, someday. She would actually most likely even pay for his surgery, if he asked nicely. Still, all of her servants had received punishments at some point, and most received them on a somewhat regular basis. She was truly heartless when it came to punishing her servants. A few had even died from infections from injuries which she had given to them. (Though, of course, the medical reports would never say such things.) She quickly thought of one more thing. "And let Niall into my office when you bring the salad."

Niall was Tara's pride and joy; a beagle at three years of age. If Tara could be said to "love" anything, it was certainly that dog. He was the one thing that she would protect unto the ends of the Earth, besides the society which she served. He was always happy and a fiery little pup, much like Tara was before her operation. It was always a requirement of hers to find the time to play with him.

Simple black clothing and light weight shoes. Relaxed movements as we walked keeping laid back. Neat and clean shoulder black hair tied back to keep it out of his face. Chen was always kind of like stone even before being modified when it came to showing emotion. He changed after the death....or murder of his mother and father. Ming was the only real light he had and if anything happened to here he would lose it. With Ming being owned by Darius it was a double edged sword. On one hand she was safe, taken care of, always had a roof over her head and food. On the other hand she was owned and would have to deal with Darius wrath when he was angry.

Chen worked with great care when he was gathering information. He never rushed anything that always ended up drawing attention in all the wrong ways. Yes taking time on something was not always the best way to do things. Chen took careful notes, video and whatever else he could gathering every inch, every micro detail of information he could get. The more he covered the better off he was. Names, places, plans all of gathered without leading any one on. He always left the trail pointing to someone else only to end could. Like always Chen out did himself in getting information.

He would make his way back using his skills not be seen as made his way to Darius office. He always moved like a ghost when he came in. It spooked the people that worked for him with how he moved about thus giving him the nick name ghost. Slowly he made his way to door of the office knocking and waiting for an answer before he would enter the room. Like always he waited to be seen before speaking or handing over the information that he gathered. Never the less he found his way back just when he was need like always.

Chen had a habit of bring something back for Ming every time he went out on a mission for Darius. At some point he started to bring something back for Rune as well upon Mings request it made her happy and that was what mattered to Chen. Be it some kind of sweets or some kind of nick-knack. He always brought something back with him for the two of them. This time around he brought Rune some peacock feathers and a silver pocket watch. For Ming he brought a lovely purple and a black pearl like necklaces. He knew she loved purple and colors along those lines.

Nyth was in one of her moods angry and bitter, but that was nothing new more times than not she was. Her black form fitting suite hugged her body like a glove. That pencil skirt hugged her legs and rump giving them great shape and lift. The white button up top had lace at the color and cuffs adding a middle Victorian look. To top look off a black jacket dotted with silver buttons. High heels giving her a towering effect making her legs look longer. Her long blond hair was pulled up in to a tight bun. She looked like one of those sexy librarians, however not one you would want to play with. She was a force not to get in the way of. Many knew this about her and took care not to get in to her way. One hand was adorn with a finger claw shining bright silver with a black moon stone.

Slowly she looked up at her servant eying him before long fingers reached for the coffee cup. She sipped at it slowly giving that rare nod of it meet her liking. Nyths free hand with the silver finger ring tapped on the desk. She hated paper work as much as she hated people who looked better than her. When it came down to it she would go for what people loved to bring the pain. "So tell me my pet did dear Darius bring his little bird today" Nyth took great joy in tormenting Ming when she was around....but not only Ming, Rune as well. It was hard to say who she disliked more but the base if it was they belonged to Darius a man she wanted. They got his attention and what one could call affection. Always cruel remarks never physical due to the unspoken laws of the Chi, that would be the thing that keep them out of her grasp.

Nyth leaned back watching him as she ate. Now and then she would make him eat her left overs, she did not need him dieing on her. In a sick way she did care for her pet dearly, he was a handsome thing. Two she knew he disliked eating so she got a sick enjoyment in making him eat. She sighed sipping at her coffee some more going through more paper work. She wanted to get it done so she could have time to herself but being her rank things did not always go that way and that made her lose her temper behind closed doors. She took care one what or who she took it out on.

Ming did not mind being left behind by Darius in truth she liked it, even more so when it came to saying clear from his office and Nyth. Nyth made her very uneasy and she always felt that Nyth had an over whelming lust for power, but not for shared power. Far from it she wanted to be solo in quest for power. This bug Ming but she never said a word about but to Chen who in truth agreed with her. However not being lead around by Darius had the drawback of not getting to seeing her brother when he came back from a mission.

She sighed as she looked out the window as she was fitted for another doll like dress she had such a small strange build. She was very toned for a female with muscular definition topped off with rather lovely curves that worked very well for her, but still she came across as doll like. She knew how Lord Darius like things fitting right on what was his. Not just in cut but color as well she chuckled some and shock her head. He was not that bad in truth Nyth made him look like an angel. The thought of him with angels wings and Nyth with horns and a tail always made her giggle.

The new dress was a deep purple with black like lace. It corseted in the waist area. No plastic boning but steel the real deal. The dress went to past her knees to be meet with black knee high stocking. The shoes matched the color of the dress. Ming wrinkled her nose some feeling more and more like a doll than a something that was alive. The dress was not that bad and it was really nice but the feeling of being a living doll never felt good to her. She reached up playing with the choker like collar around her neck as she thought to herself.

These where the days that Ming missed the circus life, getting to wear what she wanted to wear. The loss fighting clothing, the shorts and tank tops that she got to practice in. Even the simple go out on the town clothing. She missed the late night shows and getting to sleep till three past no one the next day. None the less that life was long gone now and she was a pet to a level one chi. The good thing was at lest he let her have an area to practice aerial skills along with a few “simple” outfits to use for practice. This was one of the things that brought her great joy even know she missed they tight rope and trapeze.

"Come in." It appeared Rune was at the door of the study, judging by the fact that it was his voice coming through the door. The door opened, and Rune limped in. Wrinkles of concern appeared on Darius' forehead for a split second before he wished them away and forced his face back into an emotionless mask. It wouldn't do his reputation any good if someone saw him worrying about one of his pets. Still, Rune's limp upset him. Darius was not so cruel as to want his pets to be in constant pain; in fact, he preferred for them to be happy most of the time so that punishments would have a greater effect. Besides, a servant who is unable to walk isn't exactly very useful.

"Thank you." The hot chocolate was absolutely delicious. Rune certainly had talent when it came to making it. The marshmallows in it were a nice touch as well. "Is your leg bothering you? Come sit down." It was a rather odd command, considering the only chair in the room was occupied by Darius, but Darius usually wasn't the type of person to wonder about how much sense his orders made.

Another knock on the door alerted him to Chen's arrival. "Yes, come in," he commanded, his fingers dancing on the holoscreen on his desk, putting in an order for pain meds for Rune. It was an unusual show of generosity, but, hell, Darius was in a fairly decent mood today, so why not? "I expect you have good news for me?" he asked Chen.


So she liked the coffee. That was good and bad. It was bad because it meant she was happy with him and she would be less likely to get upset with him. It was good because she was happy. Aurel may not have been the biggest fan of happiness himself, but that certainly didn't stop him from wanting others to be happy. This applied particularly to Nyth. Aurel was absolutely devoted to the woman, no matter how poorly she treated him, and it was the top of his list of priorities to make sure she was happy.

"I do not believe so, mi'lady," he murmured in response to her question, keeping his eyes turned down to the ground. His hands were clasped together, his arms hanging down in front of his body, his right thumb scraping at the nail on his left thumb. The choker around his throat felt uncomfortably tight. Good. "I have not seen her yet. Shall I ask Lord Darius if she is here?"

Chen came in holding paper, tapes and video recordings for him. Everything from there newest planes to things that where not overly impotent. He knew what they thought of Nyth and what they called her how ever he never brought that up. Some things where best left unsaid. Like always he had out done him self. He moved over to Rune handing the young man the package with the small gift that he had gotten for him. "they are planing a attack an armored bank truck to gain money for what they need. There are a few different dates and areas they are looking at." As the saying went 'He who has the gold has the power' money was need to push for what need and to make there point as was attacking government buildings. "there are also whisperers of attacks on media based building with a message to turn off it, and stop reading and believing what the government tells you."

Chen wanted to see Ming more than give his report but he had to do things they way Darius wanted. No matter how much he disliked it. None the less things could be worse they could belong to Nyth and the horror stories of what she did to her female pets made one shutter. Still things could be better but they where fair from being worse.

Nyth snorted some she did not want Darius to know she was snooping about that was never a good thing or something that need to be seen. She tapped her fingers. She looked angry as she sat there thinking she new Ming was good at keeping out of sight like her dear older brother. Also that Ming was not foolish and did what she could to keep the higher up Level Chi's happy thus in ways giving her a safety net. Even with not being Darius dear Rune Ming was still cared for and keep safe. "No keep your eyes out for her and if you see her....see if you can bring her to me It has been a while from are last little talk" she smirked at this point. She so did love tormenting Ming or having her dear Aurel do it. Ming never told Darius or even Chen when Aurel or Nyth did anything to her and Nyth knew this and took full advantage of this.

Rune was in the process of murmuring “You’re welcome” when Lord Darius asked about his leg and told him to sit. For a half second, he very nearly looked behind him, certain the man was speaking so someone else. Then Rune figured that Lord Darius must be in a good mood, and he shouldn’t question it. One hand rubbed along the outside of his right thigh as he slowly made his way closer to where Darius sat.

There was only one chair, and it was difficult to decipher what Lord Darius wanted. Rune could sit on the man’s lap, or he could kneel on the floor beside the man’s chair. It was impossible to tell which the man wished, he was about to just start to kneel and watch Darius’ expression when there was another knock on the door. Chen was back, and gave Rune a bit of a small surprise when the agent handed the pet a package.

Rune still hadn’t grown fully accustomed to being given something. He tucked his chin slightly and couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face. “Thank you.” He wouldn’t open it there, but he was sure it would be something wonderful. Rune typically decorated his room with some of the items Chen brought back for him. His attention returned to the quandary at hand.

To kneel, or to sit in Darius’ lap? Chen was talking, so Rune didn’t want to interrupt to ask such a small thing. Finally, he just started to settle on the floor beside Darius’ legs. If that was the wrong choice, Rune hoped he could catch the man’s expression in time to alter his course of action appropriately. He'd really rather not ruin the good mood Lord Darius was in.

She sighed once all was done with the dress and the last bow tied on the dress....the last cord of the corset pulled tight making hard to breath they showed her out of the room and took her to show Darius the new dress. Every time she pulled at a bow her hands where slapped away. She gave up on messing with the dress. She so wanted to be going some where else, but she had little to no say in things along those lines. As the car pulled up and stopped at the building she was ushered out and told to go right to Darius her lord and master.

Ming who ever was one to never really take hide to things and walked about the building studying the art or other items. She always loved to see what was new. She was going to take her sweet time making her way to his office....the longer she took the more things she could look at how ever the longer she took made it a higher chance of Nyth finding her.

Alice opened the car door and stepped out. She reached into the back seat pulling out the grocery bags, that her boss had made her deliver to this building. She absolutely hated the job her parents had gotten her into, but it was to help bring in more money for her 'change'. She didnt really see why she needed the change, she liked herself just fine. Then again she was only a level four chi, a 'child', so what would she know?

She walked towards the building balancing the grocery bags filled with food on her arms. This wasn't even her job, she was only suppose to check out groceries not deliver them.
She opened the door nearly dropping the groceries. Where were these suppose to be dropped off again at? She looked around seeing a girl in a dress, "excuse me, do you have any idea where a kitchen would be around here, because I have a delivery."

Typical. Completely typical. Of course the Junsya were planning on attacking a bank truck to get money. Why wouldn't they? Everyone wanted and needed money - he himself certainly wasn't exempt from this statement - and criminals such as the Junsya would certainly use any and all means to get it. He should have foreseen this himself. Hell, a blind man probably could have seen this coming.

He took the package of video tapes and pictures from Chen, opening a drawer of his desk and putting the package in it. There was a quite click as the drawer locked and reset the traps once he closed it. If anyone other than he tried to open the drawer, everything inside of it would be destroyed. After all, it wouldn't do his reputation any good if people were to find out that he employed spies. Most people assumed he did, of course, but there was never any proof, and therefore nothing to tarnish his reputation.

His left eyebrow raised up slightly as Rune was handed the package. "What, Chen, no gift for me?" Although his tone of voice and blank facial expression did not betray anything, it almost seemed that Darius was trying to make a joke. Of course, that wasn't possible, was it? "As for you, do you really think the floor would do your leg any good," he said to Rune, grabbing him underneath his arms and pulling him onto his lap, almost as if Rune was a very over-sized cat.

"You're free to leave," he told Chen. "If you see your darling sister, can you please tell her to come here? I want to see what the new dress I bought for her looks like."

He wrapped his arms around Rune, leaning his head on the male's shoulder, his long hair getting trapped underneath his jaw. Darius pulled a sheet of paperwork towards himself on the desk, and picked up a pen, beginning to fill it out. It was something boring about a some company or other getting started up and needing to build an office. Darius really hated filling out any sort of paperwork relating to construction of assorted buildings, but that was what had been assigned for him to do by the city council.



"Yes, mi'lady." Aurel gave a slight bow to Nyth, before turning around and exiting the room, softly closing the door behind him. The hallways seemed unusually empty, with barely a person in them. Normally, they were bustling with activity, especially on weekdays such as today. Perhaps the recent scare the Junsya had given the citizens was the cause of this lack of activity.

His footsteps were annoyingly loud. Each one seemed to echo off of the walls of the empty hallway, even though he knew they really weren't that loud. Or, were they? Perhaps they were, and his mind was lying to him about them not being loud even though they sounded like it.

No. He bit down harshly on his lip, the metallic taste of blood once again on his tongue. Nyth did not like it when he thought about things so much, so he had to stop. After all, annoying Nyth was not something he wanted to do.

Thankfully, he quickly found a distraction, rounding the corner of the hallway. There were two females standing there, one who was more than a foot shorter than him, and the other who was slightly taller, about nine inches shorter than him. The shortest one he recognized, as he should have, for it was Ming Zhi Wu. The other one he did not recognize; she seemed to be fairly young, and rather lost.

"Hello," he murmured, approaching the two females. "Is there anything I can help either of you with?"