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Renardine "Minnow" Lunvari

"Not all strength lies in offense."

0 · 529 views · located in Iveir, Continent of Dhaemar

a character in “Kings of Elements: Reboot”, as played by Skwidge

Description

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19 || Bisexual || Protector of Air





Standing at five foot, six and a half inches, Minnow is a rather skinny individual, but not in a way that makes him weak; in fact, despite his appearance, he has quite a bit of muscle, though it’s toned and restrained. His abdomen and chest are firm with hints of muscle, but most of his strength is in his legs. Despite being outside and under the sun as much as he can, his skin is still pale with only a bit of sun color. It’s a wonder that he never gets sunburned. He has baby blonde hair- a little more brilliant than the color of sand, but not by much- which is somehow soft while being the style that it is. It’s messy, but in a clean, purposeful way. His bangs frame his face nicely, parted for the left eye, though most of it is brushed to one side and some of it hangs over his right eye. One side is shorter than the other, coming down to the nape of his neck and just reaching below his jaw on the left, while on the right- where most of his hair is positioned- a portion of the back and side comes down to his collar bone and the top is flourished outwards in gentle spikes.

His eyes are a catching blue- bright, inviting, soothing, and very easy to get lost in, especially when he smiles so contently. They’re like tranquil pools of spring water and speak a level of innocence that makes one feel comfortable around him. It’s a wonder sometimes, with how much his looks might make one think of water, that he’s actually an earth user. (That, and the fact that everyone calls him Minnow). Despite what his looks might imply, his element is a very obvious part of his person, thus confusion should not be a real issue but rather an off musing if one were examining him.

His earlobes are pierced with small metal studs, though occasionally Minnow will be seen with a small cross dangling from one ear. He has no tattoos to speak of. His usual Protector-Related attire is an ash grey vest shirt that zips up, though he usually leaves it open a little below his collar bone. He wears sleek, black pants- always with a belt- and has an armored shoulder guard with one sleeve on his left arm. The sleeve is somewhat large, a rather obvious contrast to his somewhat formfitting shirt, and fans out at the hand. He occasionally wears long gloves that come up to the middle of his forearm, and he is always wearing some kind of boot. An ornate sword can be found resting at his hip at all times when around the Air King.

However, when off duty, he can be found in tunics and simple, earth colored bottoms. Minnow gravitates towards light, pastel colors whenever he can, as they’re soothing to the eye and easy to look at. His boots are usually caked in a bit of dried mud, and always look well used and comfortable.


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Minnow is your go-to-guy for all things that involve healing and mending. Throughout all of his years he’s learned and kept a journal of all plants and herbs that are usable for an assortment of different ailments.

Renardine’s real skills lie in defense rather than offense. As an Earth user, he specializes in the manipulation of earth and uses rock and ground to create barriers and obstacles for an oncoming attack. He also knows how to alter the landscape around him, though rarely does anything drastic to it. Land shifting comes in handy for distances when the Air king is traveling, as he will level roads and makes inclines easier to bear. He and the earth almost seem to communicate with one another and have a mutual relationship. The earth bends to his requests, and in return, he tends to it as he would a small child or beloved pet.

When his feet are bare and his toes are curled into the soil, he can use his magic abilities to sense out the landscape around him, including plants, metals, and landmarks, and anything that’s really connected to the ground.

Minnow is not completely helpless and can conjure up small clumps of hard earth and throw them at others, and he also knows how to use the bow and arrow. While he’s not a master with the weapon, he’s not insufficient either.

A little sacrifice can go a long way when it comes to Minnow, and he has the innate ability to make the most out of what he has. He’s nimble on his feet, has good agility, and also has quite a bit stamina.

He rarely gets bored, and is constantly content with whatever is around him, though he is substantially more pleased when outside tending to the earth.

He’s somewhat of a fragile individual, though he would never admit it. This fact is obvious by the way he handles small injured creatures or tends to the flowers in the gardens. While it may not be much of a strength, others tend to sense this fact and react in such ways that lower their guards a bit in attempt to connect with him.



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Minnow has very little to offer when it comes to combat, and is a pretty weak individual in many aspects. He has only a small amount of experience with each weapon type, and really does prefer to keep his focus on defense and assistance rather than clashing against another person.

He has a drilled-in aversion to anyone of Fire, going to great lengths to avoid them if he can help it. He’s terrified of them, and always keeps his distance unless in the presence of the King of Air.

Mainly working in defense and in assistance has made him a bit averse to fights in general, and rather dislikes participating in or having to deal with conflict of any kind.

It’s very easy for aggressive people to see him as a low threat, and thus single him out as an easy target, and while Minnow knows this fact, he does his best to use it to his advantage to draw attentions away from his comrades.

Finally, as a trusting individual, it is rather easy for people to take advantage of him because of his nature.






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He definitely has a green thumb, and can most often be found out among the trees or in the gardens. Despite his position as Protector, Renardine does a lot of travelling between kingdoms in pursuit of herbs and those who require his healing hand.

Minnow is easy to approach in almost any situation, and he’s more than willing to help someone out, no matter what they might need. He always has a satchel, which carries all of his equipment, attached to his hip on the left side. He loves pottery and usually uses any type of clay-metal mixture.

He tends to get a bit defensive when it comes to plants, and he pretty much refuses anyone from helping him in the soil.



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Minnow is absolutely terrified of fire users due to a nasty incident in his past. He avoids them at all costs and rarely stops at the Fire Kingdom, or when he does it’s rarely for more than a day or a night’s stay. Despite his caring nature and his desire to help those who are injured, he simply can’t get over the terrors of flame that lurk in his memory and the constant reminder of the rendered flesh on his lower back.

He has a rather extensive burn scar on his lower back around his hips. It has long since been healed over, but the memories behind it will probably always be tender and fresh.

No one really knows his true name except for his fellow Protector and the King of Air himself. He acquired his nickname for his likeness to the fish- unique, adorable (size for the fish itself, but applied to his mannerisms in use), sometimes nervous and flitty, and takes things as they come. Most of all, the nickname makes sense as to how much he looks like a Water user, though it might be a bit deceiving at first, and calling him that just seems to fit.






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Minnow is a really sweet individual, taking an interest in everyone around him and tending to make sure that they’re comfortable and well-cared for. He has a kind nature, and a very content outlook on life. He’s fairly easy-going and laidback, but tends to be quiet and he keeps to himself most of the time. He can be timid when around strangers- unless they’re injured- and is always uncertain and shy when it comes to new things and things he doesn’t know how to do or handle.

Renardine tends to put the needs of others before his own, and sometimes forgets to take care of himself, whether it’s eating, his hair or form, or his own cuts. However, when in the presence of the Air King and in doing his duty, Minnow seems to dawn a bit of a mask. He conceals and restrains his desires to help others, and instead puts the King first and as his number one priority.

When faced with something he’s unfamiliar with, he tends to shrink into himself, and always lets someone with more information on the subject take the initiative of handling it. Minnow can’t really be made angry- his emotional range is pretty well-limited there, instead only capable of being upset.

He does his best when it comes to harsh circumstances, but if he’s overwhelmed, he might become frustrated and tearful. Despite his personality, he hates people seeing him cry- it’s pretty much the only time he truly feels weakness.



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Originally, Minnow lived in an offshoot village of the Earth Kingdom with his mother and father. He was much like any other child there, assisting in chores and farming, and doing what he was told. It wasn’t a glamorous life by any stretch of the imagination, but he was fairly happy with it. However, the only real path he could take would be following after his father’s footsteps and become a farmer as well. Minnow rarely bothered to turn his thoughts to such a fact. While he did want to do something important with his life, he didn’t particularly know how to accomplish such a feat, plus he didn’t think he’d ever get the opportunity to stretch out and follow a different path.

Boy, was he wrong- and he paid a heavy price for such desires, despite them being natural wants of any person.

When he was eight years of age, a raid occurred in his village with devastating results. Led by a group of fire miscreants, the town was ravaged, and Minnow’s home was definitely not exempt from the attack. In fact, he was probably the one person in the entire populace that the raid was solely focused on, or so it seemed.

Like others in his town, all their crops were burned to the ground, but, unlike most of the residents, the group’s attacks went further than just food- they went so far as to set the house on fire, breaking in and destroying everything that they could get their hands on, his parents included.

Having never experienced an attack on his person or family, and having never been warned about such occurrences, Minnow had opted to hide inside a closet, which was a terrible mistake, though one that probably also saved his life. He could hear his parents’ screams and yells, could smell burning flesh and hear horrible laughter. He cowered in the corner of his small hiding place, tears streaming down his eyes and terror wracking his small form. Soon smoke filled the entire house, masking everything within and slipping through the cracks beneath the closet door to wrap deadly fingers around his neck and nostrils.

Minnow ended up coughing and crying out, which attracted the attention of one of the raiders. Of course, Minnow couldn’t tell that someone was coming towards him, but as the door swung open with a harsh crack, he whimpered in surprise, looking upon the face of his assailant. A disgusting smirk plagued the man’s lips, and Minnow was roughly dragged from his hiding place and out of the burning house into the open air. The man’s companions laughed and whooped as they saw his small prize, terror plain in the boy’s eyes.

Renardine hardly got the chance to try to clear his lungs of the smoke as he was forcefully pushed up against one of the fences. It was obvious as to the man’s intentions, but being so young, Minnow had no idea what was going on. However, as his shirt was lifted and the hem of his pants shifted down, he immediately knew something was wrong and cried out through terrible coughs. The man left a partial second degree burn behind on the boy’s hips. When the raider was done with the boy, he simply threw him to the side with a sick laugh and returned to his companions to finish their job.

Minnow was left in the dirt and dust with an open wound and several bruises, watching as the rest of his town was burnt down. Other women and children could be heard screaming, and cries of anguish filled the air. Yellow and red flames burned everywhere, the trees were lit and crackling, ash drifted through the air, and death prowled after it.

The boy lost consciousness early into the devastation, but when he awoke, he could see men yelling and water flowing from the hands of many. One particular man, who was searching for survivors, discovered the young boy and immediately picked him up to carry away from the scene and tend to his wounds. He stayed with Minnow for quite a long while, knowing that others would cover stragglers. The man was in his mid-forties, and had a gentle touch and caring personality. He knew exactly what to use for his burns, providing cold rivulets of water for the angry skin.

With no mother or father left, Renardine grafted onto the man immediately, and soon became an apprentice under him. He had an incredibly strong desire to learn the ways of healing because he never wanted anyone else to have to experience and suffer what he went through. Despite the severity of this incident, it didn’t damage him as much as it should have. He later learned that the raiders had been killed in the throes of battle when the water users showed up. Despite this, Minnow only felt sick to his stomach- he had experienced too much death and loss in one day, and what the man had done to him made him feel violated and he just couldn’t care less. Despite the scarring incident, Ren only found a terror in Fire users themselves, not men in particular, especially since a man had saved him to begin with.

The man only asked of his name once, and when Renardine was wary to provide it, his mentor immediately brushed it off and simply dubbed him with the name “Minnow”. He travelled with his mentor all over the country of Dhaemar, learning everything that the man could offer him and discovering all of the beauties of the land. At the age of thirteen, Minnow and his mentor parted ways in the Kingdom of Air, the boy having made enough funds off of his time with the man to set his home there.

He made a living off of his newest profession, continuing the travels he had shared with his master, to a smaller degree of course, to seek out much needed herbs and plants. He made his own small garden where he could tend to the earth, and had also made up his mind to learn self-defense. He had buried any hate and despair in his past halfway into the first year with his mentor, so having made peace with it, his harsh memories never haunted or bothered him. Except for the rived flesh on his hips. That was always a trigger, though less so as time went on. It hardly bothers him now, though it’s a reminder of the harshness of Fire users. Naturally, Minnow had developed an almost immediate aversion to the Fire Kingdom, always uncomfortable when around it. The fact that the ruling powers within the Fire Kingdom have changed a couple of times during his life has only made his peace easier to accomplish, but he'll probably always be wary of them.

At eighteen, he met the Air King and offered his services as protector, to which was accepted. Within the castle he tended to ground and people alike, caring for sick servants and injured individuals. Minnow was the one who really began the gardens around the King’s domain, which he cares for practically every day before training.





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So begins...

Renardine "Minnow" Lunvari's Story

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Amon Ad-Raza Character Portrait: Renardine "Minnow" Lunvari
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#, as written by Skwidge
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”Peaceful
.” “Choose me
.” “Sun feels
.” “Thirsty
.” “He sleeps
.” “Soil
.” Airy murmurs seemed to slip into existence from somewhere far off- uncollected, split, neither here nor there, and practically impossible to discern or understand. They seemed as simple and fleeting as the flicks of tall grasses rippling in the wind. Scattered and not truly there in the sense of the real world. Calming and gentle, they caressed an unconscious mind completely unaware of their presence. ”Chaos is coming.” A new conversation was struck up among the ethereal voices, all silencing as one spoke out. Then others followed its lead. ”Chaos?” “Chaos
.” “Chaos.” “Coming.” It was a single ripple now, a combined, focused thought, all being whispered as gently as butterfly wings.
”Chaos is coming.”

And suddenly there was only silence- as if nothing had occurred at all, as if it were some figment not even recognized nor considered in the realms of consciousness.



Warm morning light filtered through parted fingers as Minnow’s eyes fluttered open softly, sleep still clinging to his mind as he stirred. However, as his form shifted and his mind shed the last remnants of sleep, he slowly began to realize just where he was. Plants both large and small greeted him as he awoke and sat up; petals of every color imaginable and every shade of green filled his vision, and the aroma alone was heavenly. A drowsy smile flitted onto his lips as he greeted the plants in turn, his fingers dipping into the soft soil, pressing the loose earth between his knuckles.

He had fallen asleep, yet again, within the terrarium’s clear, warm walls, and the gentle breezes that seemed ever-present in the Air Kingdom weaved through the leaves of plants lazily, brushing up against the pale skin and sandy locks of the boy that stood -or sat in this case- as a sort of guardian to this place of nature. Small specks of dirt clung to the tips of his hair, not to mention his clothing, but he didn’t mind in the least. A small fountain babbled somewhere in the background, hidden among the greenery. This was Minnow’s place, asides from the gardens, that he had made distinctly his own, though for others to enjoy as well.

Chirps could be heard outside, birds singing to the sun as it rose from its own slumber. Minnow blinked a few more times, rubbing his eyes with his free hand to truly wipe away all hints of prior sleep. As he rose from the ground, he patted himself down, dusting off all of the extra soil that clung to the threads of his clothing. He gazed around once more, taking in a deep breath of the soft air and letting his head fall back to gaze up through the ceiling. Light clouds of grey hung around in the air, promising a light rain soon. With that assurance of the weather, Minnow grinned softly to himself, soon beginning to drift along the paths in the terrarium, opening windows and tending to each plant individually.

He didn’t have to wait long for the rain, in fact, it began as he was unlatching the last of the windows, sprinkling the entire area with a fresh smell and a moist start to the day. Small droplets clung to his hair, mixing with the fragments of soil to produce a freshly churned earthy smell, which was pleasant to Minnow’s nostrils. Once more he inhaled deeply before actually going to work around the large space, the gentle patter of rain drops accompanying him in his task. He worked in yesterday’s clothes- simple pants, his trusty boots, a light red tunic, and a slim overcoat he had shed and tied around his hips sometime the previous day.

Two and a half hours later he had finished his daily rounds among the gardens outside, despite the rain that had picked up in the time between, soaking him just a bit. Minnow didn’t really mind at all though, and rather enjoyed the refreshing liquid that dripped from the skies to fall and speckle the earth below. It left a fresh, renewed scent anyway, and that was always pleasant. After his romp outside, he returned to the shelter of the castle, finding a few towels on his way back to his room and rubbing his chest and arms down to help alleviate the water that clung there.

Minnow made quick work of changing into his attire for his role as protector, the fabric clinging lightly to his figure from the slight dampness that still lingered on his skin. After re-tucking his feet into his boots, the boy grabbed two of his towels, slinging one across a shoulder and draping the other on his hair, running his hands in light circles to help rid of the moisture there as well.

Making a short stop at the terrarium once more, Minnow leaned down, abandoning his work with his towel to carefully dig his fingers into the soil once more, cupping his hands around the bulbous root of one of the flowers before carefully unearthing it and placing it even more gently into a white clay pot. He chose a flower every day from the gardens or the terrarium to display within the throne room on one of the windowsills, and today’s was a white daffodil with red coloring along the petals. After wiping his hands on his pants, he continued on to the throne room itself, his towel uncaringly left on his head as he carried the small pot between his two hands.

A very small smile teased at the corners of his lips, simple joy filling his soul as he started another day. However, as he entered the throne room, he paused at its threshold, blinking a few times as he saw his king’s form on the throne. He dipped his head low, quickly grabbing the white towel off of his head. ”Sire.” His tone was respectful, but also held a subtle cheer to it as Minnow walked over to one of the windows and settled the small pot on the sill to enjoy a new view.

After accomplishing that, he walked over to the king without a word, pulling the second towel he had slung over his shoulder and spreading it out over the king’s head, immediately going to work on drying his hair. A content look filled Minnow’s features as he did his small little task, completely ignoring any little quips that fell from the king’s lips about messing up his hair or whatnot. ”Good morning.”

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Amon Ad-Raza Character Portrait: Renardine "Minnow" Lunvari
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Amon was staring blankly at the wall and double doors that led into the throne room, day dreaming about whatever came to his mind. Even he wasn't really sure what it was that he was thinking about, as the images just kept rapidly switching from different martial arts techniques, to wondering what his protectors were up to, what the people were up to, and then switching back to thoughts about which tree he might try to climb later. His day dreaming was interrupted though as the doors he was staring at moved and opened up, revealing Minnow standing there with a white pot in his hand.

Amon blinked, and the two seemed to stare at each other as they were both caught off guard; Amon confused because he had been so lost in thought and Minnow probably because Amon was actually in the throne and not outside. Amon smiled some then, also noticing the towel sitting atop Minnow's head, though he was quick to remove and give the king a quick bow of his head while simply saying "Sire" . Well it was either a bow, or just so he could move easily remove the towel. Regardless, he then carried the flower pot over to the window where he always placed the plants he brought in for display. Amon looked at the flower, not even noticing Minnow heading his way after setting down the flower. He admired the red along the petals that contrasted with the rest that was white.

He was once again so distracted that when a towel suddenly flopped down on his head, all Amon could manage was a simple "Gah~!" before he felt hands moving the towel about to dry off his wet hair.

"Good Morning" was all Minnow said as he continued his work, Amon eventually getting his head free from the assault and looking at Minnow.

"I am an adult Minnow, I can dry my own hair." Amon said, though without a hint of actual anger or annoyance to his tone. In fact, he was still smiling as he took the towel from Minnow and decided to finish the work on his own. "But thank you, I appreciate it. Though I can't say how worth it it'll be considering I'll be back out in the rain after an hour/ hour-and-a-half." He set the towel down on the arm of the throne once he was finished, running his fingers through his hair some to "comb" it before shifting in his seat so he could better face Minnow. "This is just a break from everything else! Figured I spend about an hour here, in case anything important showed up, then go grab something to eat and right back outside I go! I can't let such a nice day as this go to waste, you know?"

"How's the mornin' been for you so far? I'm gonna assume you've been enjoying the weather a bit yourself; or at least that's what I'm going to assume since you were carrying around those towels. I mean sure you can be an odd fella at times, but randomly carrying around towels seems even odd for you." Amon teased Minnow while throwing his legs up and over the arm of the chair so that he was now somewhat reclining in the chair.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Amon Ad-Raza Character Portrait: Siya Ukomo Character Portrait: Taki Hattori Character Portrait: Renardine "Minnow" Lunvari Character Portrait: Kanan Thiyer Character Portrait: Reynard Enide
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#, as written by Siryn
He stood up on the mountain top, the cliff edge peering out over the tops of the trees just barely. The sun was rising over the lands, some portions somewhat darker than the others as rain clouds began to wash in from the seas to the east. He watched the warm sun as it doused everything in its golden rays. Reaching up, he let the hood of his long cloak fall away from his face.

One eye was a pale blue color while the other was green. Lifting his other hand, he opened it to reveal a large sized orb in his fist. Holding the ball between two fingers, he watched the blue colors of the sphere swirl around as the power inside of it was writhing without a vessel. He had been in these lands for long enough to know what it took to contain the orbs with all their power. At first he'd been confused at how the lands hadn't gone into a chaotic mess. However, his assumptions were confirmed when he met the man who held the orb of power. The 'Water King' so he was called.

These lands were run on elemental magics. Most everyone cast their power via sacrificing metals to gain the energy needed to do so. A handful of these people could do it without sacrifices. That was his starting point. It lead him to the Water King soon after and sure enough, the man had the orb.

Twisting the ball between his fingers slightly, he lifted it upwards higher to catch the light. With this, I can locate the other orbs. The other orbs that are rightfully mine. Once I find them, I'll have to be quick... before he gets to them, the man thought, his mismatched gaze growing darker as he narrowed his eyes.

He waited a while longer until the sun was fully over the mountains, but still early enough in the morning. Pressing the orb against his chest, he allowed it to enter his body. Almost immediately after it sunk down into his chest, he felt a reaction. The power exploded and he dropped to his knees, doubled over. Cursing softly to himself, the cloaked man clenched a fist over his chest and fought back, struggling to contain the power.

Eventually he got a hold of it. It's been so long... too long. I'll need to be careful, he thought as he stood up and directed his focus out to the lands. The next thing was to locate the other orbs as they were all connected in one way or another. Closing his energy around the orbs, he allowed it to stretch forth from his frame and sweep the land before him. With both eyes shut, he concentrated only on finding the others.

Finally, he touched the fire orb locating it to the south west of his location. Moving on, he stretched further and touched the air orb, brushing it briefly, but enough to feel it. It was located north of the fire orb. Lastly, he located the earth orb which was to his west and slightly north. Once he touched them all, he could feel them reacting to his touch. Drawing back, he released his pent up air that he'd been unknowingly holding. Panting slightly, he dropped down to one knee.

All that's left now is to get them before that man does. Or everything is lost.


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The audience chamber was filled like it always was and after the Duke had left there was a sour taste in Siya's mouth. He wished that he had one of his protectors with him. They made things all the easier to deal with, well... at least Reynard did anyway. Mark was a bit different, harder to handle but even so. The man did have his merits, if he weren't in a drunken stupor most times. Even so, Siya over looked it. He was sure the man would change. Everyone changed. That much he was positive of.

So when the double doors opened allowing the exit of the duke, whom Siya had dismissed and was currently listening to another, his protector Mark approached. The room was silent as he entered, definitely far later than the King himself. Siya smiled, allowing himself a brief respite as one of his two entered the room. I wonder where Reynard is... he thought. There were very few things that would keep the man from Siya's side. Perhaps it was something urgent.

He mentally shrugged and pushed the thought aside. As much as he missed the dark haired, cold shouldered protector, he would continue doing what he was supposed to do. Which was hold this audience. If he didn't do it right, Reynard was sure to be on his back about it later.

“Sorry. I was busy studying the architects of yender and how their works on the old groves could improve our magical applications of crops.”

Siya nodded slightly as his protector told him of his 'reasons' for being late. Should Reynard have been there, the dark haired protector surely would have said something in return. Even so, Siya knew better. He could tell the man was still in a stupor, the way he moved was sluggish, done so by alcohol.

Finally he made it to the side of the throne where his usual place was, "Continue, don't let my tardiness interrupt you."

Siya waved his hand at the woman who had stopped in her speech during Mark's arrival. She looked briefly to him a few times before stuttering and beginning again. The young king listened intently, as he did with the other seven who came before him. It was going to be a long morning, his audience chamber was completely full. As he worked through the many occupants, he began to feel... strange. Something passed through his body. A heavy power that touched his very core. He froze for a mere moment, suffocated by the power before everything returned. Then it faded away as if it had never been there. However, it left behind, a storming wake.

Leaning back in his chair, he gently pulled at his clothes. Hot... he thought to himself. Which was odd being the fire King. Why was it he was hot in the first place? What I just felt... what was that... he thought to himself as he panted slightly. He never felt hot before. In fact the only thing he'd ever felt was cold, never hot. Siya tried his best to ignore it. He worked through two more of the occupants. Slowly he was beginning to feel pain in his chest and he winced slightly. The man before him stopped as Siya raised his hand. I can't continue...

"I'm sorry, but I'm not feeling very well. Please forgive me, we'll continue tomorrow."

He ordered and ground his teeth as even his own voice sounded strained. The pain was growing steadily and it was all he could do to keep still and not writhe in his seat. Every limb was shaking ever so slightly, his breath was short as he fought back the burning. Eventually the entire audience chamber was empty and he doubled over, unable to hold it anymore. For the first time since gaining the orb he could feel it. And it was painful.

Panting heavily, he clenched his hands over his chest. Giving a slight moan, he toppled forward onto the floor at the foot of his throne. Trembling violently, his voice was cracked as he writhed slightly on the floor. Soft cries of pain escaped his lips as he tried to get his orb back under control, though he wasn't even sure what he was trying to control really. It felt as if he was burning alive, the heavy pressure in his chest was crushing.

"Stop..." he moaned softly, "Stop... please make it... stop..." delirious in pain, he wasn't even sure if he'd spoken the words.


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As per usual, Kanan was hard pressed to find his charge. He strode through the halls of the castle knowing that he wasn't going to find the man inside anyway. Still, the young protector had a routine. He moved through the entire building, his senses stretched as he read the air around him. It was raining outside, a pleasant feeling if he said so himself.

As he moved through the building, he caught the familiar feel of his King and the other protector, Minnow. They were both in the throne room. The throne room? Kanan thought to himself. It was rather odd to have the King there of all places. So he worked his way towards the room and entered. Padding across the stone floor, he dropped down to one knee right before the King's throne before getting to his feet again and taking his usual place at the man's side.

"Sire," was all he offered before standing next to his King.

He noted that there was a towel in his hands and that Minnow had one as well. Both smelled of the rain. Kanan turned his one good eye to the window where the smaller protector had put a potted plant. It was another one of different color this time. An odd ritual in Kanan's eyes, but something he'd grown used to seeing. Outside, the rain was pelting hard against the glass and he almost wished that he could be out in it like the other two had been.

However, he had duties to attend to, unlike his other two companions. He wished at times that the King would be more 'kingly' but he was not. He knew that Minnow as a hard worker as well, but sometimes he would find the boy sleeping in the green house outside on the castle grounds. He would be covered in flower petals and leaves every time. It was... cute... to say the least. Still though, the taller protector wished the other would be a bit more realistic in his sleeping schedule.

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Character Portrait: Amon Ad-Raza Character Portrait: Renardine "Minnow" Lunvari Character Portrait: Kanan Thiyer
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Amon had lowered his legs from the arm of the chair, once more resting his head in his hand with his elbow propped on the arm of the chair he had just moved his legs from. Fortunately, today seemed like it was going to be quiet which meant Amon didn't have to feel guilty about skipping out on some of his duties. He grinned some at the thought, and then he began to try and think of what to grab to eat. It was another thing he always had trouble deciding on, as the cooks of the palace could make just about anything, all of it delicious. It was only made worse by the fact that Amon was anything but a picky eater, meaning he never actually knew what he wanted. He figured he would just head to the kitchen at some point and see what they had already made and munch on that.

He was brought from his thoughts though as a strange feeling passed over him. It was quick, and the only reason he really noticed it was because it left him breathless for but a moment. After coughing once his breath returned to him, Amon just passed it off as nothing significant. Taking a deep breath to try and settle his body, he narrowed his eyes some and shivered slightly. He was beginning to feel somewhat cold, like there was a chill breeze in the room. Yet he couldn't feel any drafts, and as he looked around Minnow did not seem to be having any issue.

He was pulled form his thoughts at the sound of the door opening, turning to look at Kanan who had entered. Amon chuckled softly, as he could just feel the confusion that Kanan had felt just as Minnow had about the King actually being within the throne room. Kanan did as he usually did, dropping to his knee and bowing his head for a moment before standing up and moving to take his place next to the throne. "Sire" was all he said.

It seemed like the feeling had passed, as Amon was no longer really noticing it and Kanan as well did not seem to notice any wind chills. Amon looked at Kanan, smile still plastered on the king's face "I know, I'm actually in the throne room! I'm starting to think I should do this more often just to see the looks on everyone's' faces." he said while turning his body more to face Kanan. "Figured I get some king stuff out of the way while I take a break, dry off a bit as well maybe. I figure another thirty minutes or so then grab something to eat, then back to work!"

Then the chill returned and more intensely, to the point that he was having trouble stopping himself from shivering and his body began to hurt as it became colder and colder. Fidgeting some in his seat, Amon finally decided to get up and move about, maybe find somewhere warmer to rest at. It felt like it was the middle of winter, with a hard blowing wind of sub-zero temperature buffeting him despite their being none.

"Ok...I uh.....need something to eat..." he said, his words slurred somewhat as the muscles of his face became rigid from the cold seeping through him. He reached to the side, arm shaking rapidly as his body desperately tried to warm him up and his grip on his staff was weak as his hand was just as frozen as the rest of him. Finally letting out a groan of pain, he was barely able to drag it over to him as he tried to stand and immediately paid the price for it. His muscles were ceasing to function as they solely focused on trying to futilely warm his body by shivering, and his legs failed to support him at all the moment he stood up, causing him to immediately fall forwards, the staff clattering to the ground next to him.

The pain was intense as his body felt like it was going to freeze solid, and worse was that he could also feel this same chill surging up inside. It was the orb, but it had never done anything like this before. He groaned in pain and he began to curl himself into a ball to try and preserve what little body heat he had left. It is the orb was all he could think to himself, he could feel it emanating this chill and freezing him from within. He tried to speak but he could not get a single word as his mouth refused to move enough to form any of them, instead all that came out was something of a groan/whimper of pain.

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Character Portrait: Amon Ad-Raza Character Portrait: Renardine "Minnow" Lunvari Character Portrait: Kanan Thiyer
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As Minnow worked on drying the king’s hair, he had begun a sort of distracted hum while his real focus was entirely fixed upon his current task. So when Amon ducked and slipped out from under his hands, a subtle frown filled his lips, only to become a pout at the king’s following words, "I am an adult Minnow, I can dry my own hair."

With a very nonchalant shrug, Minnow returned the royal’s kind smile with his own silly grin, simply nodding towards the man’s words of thanks. However, at Amon’s mention of heading right back out into the rain, Minnow simply ’tsked’ and shook his head, his fingers soon pressing against the back of the King’s head and pushing it forward in a playfully disapproving manner.

”One of these days you’re going to get sick as a dog from overexerting yourself~” He teased the Air King easily with a cheerful smile- one that changed into a look of mirth as he laughed at the king’s explanation for his unusual presence within the throne room. It was a nice surprise really- to see his king paying a bit more attention to his duties; not that Minnow could ever complain considering he usually followed after the man’s example in getting distracted by other things constantly, and preferring to tend to the earth rather than the stuffy duties that followed after the king.

”
I can't let such a nice day as this go to waste, you know?" Minnow nodded his agreement, leaning over the back of the throne carefully to peer down at the man’s hair in order to inspect it properly to see if Amon actually had done a proper job of drying it. He listened to the king’s words with two-thirds of a mind as his eyes scanned over the dark locks.

"How's the mornin' been for you so far? I'm gonna assume you've been enjoying the weather a bit yourself; or at least that's what I'm going to assume since you were carrying around those towels. I mean sure you can be an odd fella at times, but randomly carrying around towels seems even odd for you."

Minnow flashed a wry smile at the back of the king’s head as the royal mentioned his own antics outside, though the appearance changed to a playful bit of resentment as Amon called him ‘odd’. Of course, Minnow didn’t mind one little bit as to what the King might call him, because the young Protector knew that the man only meant well and even in his teasing Minnow heard only affection behind his words.

Minnow crossed his arms over the top of the throne as he leaned in before speaking. ”It’s been very pleasant and the weather was enjoyable. I’m glad that the plants in the greenhouse and gardens can have the rainwater to enjoy as well, and it’s always refreshing to smell the grounds before, during, and after the rains.” His tone was very pleasant and gentle as he spoke on the subject, a little smile quirking the corners of his lips up as he thought of the earth.

The doors of the throne room were disturbed once more, and Minnow looked up from his thoughts to see Kanan standing there. One of the brightest smiles lit up his face as he saw his fellow Protector, and he waved cheerfully at him, straightening his back and removing his hands from the throne. The sounds of boots clicking against the stone of the throne room filled the area as Kanan walked up to the king and bowed in greeting before taking his spot at the right hand side of the Air King.

Minnow took a little hop-step to sway softly into position on the left of Amon, a close-eyed smile of happiness filling his features. As he exhaled, he took a few moments to listen to the drumming of the rain upon the windows. Opening his eyes, he looked over to his King and fellow Protector with that contagious smile of his, ”Good Morning. Did you sleep well, Kanan?” Soft, almost doe-like eyes met the gaze of the second protector as Minnow greeted him, folding his hands together and resting them against his abdomen.

As the King addressed Kanan, once more the younger protector let his eyes wander around the room, a smile splitting his lips often at the king’s remarks and enthusiasm. However, at the unusual tremor in his king’s body, Minnow’s attention was recaptured, and he looked at the King with a bit of confusion.

"Ok...I uh.....need something to eat..." An alarmed look immediately filled Minnow’s facial features and his previous stance of laidback contentment was abandoned at the sound of his king’s voice and the seizing of his muscles as he attempted to stand. Amon groaned and the staff he always held close-at-hand slipped from his grasp as he began to topple forward.

”Sire!” The sound of surprise and shock dripped from that single word as Minnow quickly jumped to his aid, placing his body in front of the king and catching him at his side under the arm. He grunted from the dead weight that fell right into his arms, struggling to keep them both upright. His eyes sought out his partner, deep worry swirling within the usually calm pools as their gazes met, ”K-kanan!” He stuttered, quickly beginning to sink to the ground as he could not support Amon’s weight any longer. The king slipping from his grasp to hit the floor with a soft crash.

Minnow recovered himself quickly, kneeling next to Amon and checking his vitals as his form curled up. As soon as his fingers brushed the skin of the Air King, he immediately felt that it was cold and clammy, and the shivers that wracked his lord’s form sent various warning sirens off in his mind. Immediately he sprang from his place on the stone, darting off towards the doors with simple instructions tumbling out of his mouth intended for Kanan. ”Move him to his chambers and grab extra firewood and as much hot water as you can find.”

In the meantime, Minnow raced out of the throne room, his mind quickly supplanting his disarrayed thoughts with the quickest routes between the kitchens and the greenhouse. After running as swiftly as possible, the young Protector came crashing into the food-preparation rooms, barking out orders to the servants without taking a second to catch his breath or slow down. “Kettles, as many as you can find! Put them on the burners!” They looked confused at first, but as soon as the head cook understood what was required, he quickly put everyone in order, watching the sandy haired man dash around tables and batter past servants without the slightest hints of an apology. Something was obviously very wrong.

Minnow's mind was swarming with every herb and plant he could think of that would help with his king's unusual symptoms. Immediately he had assumed that it had something to do with the Orb, and while that was a completely foreign subject to him, Minnow had acted upon something he did understand, and that was the healing arts. Whether or not it would make much of an impact on the king's condition, it was the only thing he could do.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Amon Ad-Raza Character Portrait: Siya Ukomo Character Portrait: Taki Hattori Character Portrait: Renardine "Minnow" Lunvari Character Portrait: Kanan Thiyer Character Portrait: Reynard Enide
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The burning pain was unbearable. It was seemingly escalating, making him feel as if he was burning alive. The young king's breath panted heavily from his chest as he shuddered, soft cries of pain still falling from his lips. This pain was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. Stop... he cried silently. Someone was holding him, but he couldn't tell who it was. Their voice had resounded in the hall when they shouted for him. He knew that voice very well, but he couldn't place it right then.

He felt his body being moved up onto something soft, hands cradled his face, cold and wet. His fingers tightened over his chest, clenching the fabric of his clothes tighter by the second.

"Siya, listen to me, Siya- You'll be fine, it will be fine. Bear with me, please, bear with me. You'll be fine." the voice called to him. The soothing tone was something he tried to focus on.

Ah... Reynard... you're here. his thoughts were slightly delirious as he peeled open one eye to glance up at his protector. His vision swam so he couldn't quite make out the other's facial features. Soon after he closed his eye again to try to fight off the growing pain.

Each breath was growing shorter, quicker. Reaching up, he snatched the arm of the one who was holding him, his fingers digging into their arm tightly. He let out a sharp scream as his back arched and a slight ring of fire erupted out from his trembling frame. The fire didn't last long though, fading away almost instantly. Falling still against Reynard, he panted, though not out of pain. He was weary. The sudden attack was over almost as quickly as it had come, leaving nothing behind to say that anything had happened, aside from a very tired Fire Lord.

His fingers unclenched the cloth of his robes and his hand fell down against the cool stone of the dais as he rested there in the grip of his protector, "Reynard," he breathed softly. After a while, his breathing became regular and he relaxed somewhat. Turning his head into his protector's abdomen, he didn't want to move. Rather, he couldn't move. Taking a deep breath, he let it out in one long sigh. Opening his eyes, he was greeted by the face of Reynard who was leaning over him.

"Reynard... the orb. Something happened to it. I... We have to contact the others. I don't like what just happened. I've never read anything like this in the books and journals that have been kept," he sighed heavily, "Ugh... so tired. My head..." he reached up and brushed his fingers against his forehead which was now starting to pound slightly, "Hurts a little..."

What just happened... that was so strange and so terrifying. Did it happen to the others? Are they okay? his thoughts were slightly jumbled as he tried to piece it all together. As much as he wanted to sleep though, he had to start getting things prepared. Lifting his other hand, he pushed against the floor to try to get up, but between Reynard and his own weakness he failed miserably. Collapsing against the other, he groaned slightly. So weak... that took so much energy out of me. Why?

"I have to get preparations ready to see the other Kings. Write and send letters, prepare for the journey, food and water, clothing and lodging along the way..." his voice trailed off as he tried to keep awake. This... is ridiculous. None of the other Kings would allow this to happen to them... he thought to himself as he fought to keep focused.


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”Good Morning. Did you sleep well, Kanan?”

The smaller protector greeted him warmly, his contagious smile almost making it's way to his own lips. When was the last time he'd smiled? Kanan couldn't remember. However, the bubbly protector was always filled with a kind of energy that seemingly attracted Kanan to him. The warrior wasn't sure how to deal with that though. It wasn't like he was open to anyone, or allowed anyone close to him. The air protector shut out those thoughts rather quickly and was thankful for the distraction.

"I know, I'm actually in the throne room! I'm starting to think I should do this more often just to see the looks on everyone's' faces. Figured I get some king stuff out of the way while I take a break, dry off a bit as well maybe. I figure another thirty minutes or so then grab something to eat, then back to work!"

Kanan lifted an eyebrow as he gazed down at his King who was situated on his throne. If he hadn't been paying attention, he would have missed the shiver that passed through the man's large frame. Something was wrong, but Kanan wasn't entirely sure what it was. Then, he felt something. It passed through the air like a force of energy he'd never felt before. It rocked his senses, throwing him off entirely. Stunned, Kanan was unsure as to what to do or what was going on for a mere moment. To his horror, it touched his King. The man stood up then, or tried to rather.

"Ok...I uh.....need something to eat..."

”Sire!”

Kanan gave a shout as well as he rushed to the two of them as Minnow took the full weight of their King. The young protector wasn't built to handle such a heavy load and so Kanan quickly moved to help him at the beckon call of the cute boy.

”K-kanan!”

"Sire!" Kanan dropped down next to him, having been slightly delayed from his earlier stun to do much to help Minnow. Taking his arm, he pulled the man upwards. It wasn't until he touched the King that Kanan realized how cold his body was. What is going on? he thought frantically. Immediately his next reaction was that of the defensive. Several items sacrificed, turning blue and swirling like little flakes around his frame to sink down into his skin. With the added energy, he dropped his hand down to his sword in preparation to draw it and unleash all hell upon any who approached them.

Minnow, on the other hand was tending to their King and once his fingers touched Amon as well, he gasped, drawing Kanan's attention. Glancing over to the young, blonde haired protector, the warrior's blue eye watched him carefully. The only thing that kept Kanan from drawing his weapon and attacking on sight was the boys following order.

”Move him to his chambers and grab extra firewood and as much hot water as you can find.”

Turning his attention to the King in his grip, he shifted around and hauled the man upwards to his feet with one arm dragged over his shoulder. He snaked his own arm around the man's waist and secured his hold on him. He gave a short nod to Minnow before making his way to the King's chambers. Hurry, Minnow... whatever it is you're going to do, do it quickly he thought. Once in the room, he laid the King upon his bed and started the fire.

The water, however, he couldn't do much for. There was one pail of water and so he put that over the fire, but he refused to leave the man's side. Sacrificing another set of metal, he drew his sword and stood guard over the bed, his good eye wandering the room, his senses stretched to their maximum as he waited for Minnow's return.


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It had been ages since he'd last set foot in the earthen kingdom. At least, that's what it felt like to Hebi. Though, the moment he stepped into the castle, he immediately felt confined. He didn't like the stuffy walls or the people that surrounded him. He hated every aspect of it. Even so, he remained because he had to and he valued his life far too much to do anything about it.

Still, he found entertainment even if it bordered dangerous. Which was what he did right then. He'd worked his way through the castle and couldn't find either his King or the other protector around. Hebi knew Taki well enough though to go looking elsewhere. The man was not one to stay indoors, that was for sure. He knew immediately where the King was once he stepped foot out into the open land that was behind the palace. The sprawling pasture, the lake not to far off, the many trees and the many, many dogs. All of which were barking hysterically.

Hebi's features turned from bored to amused within seconds. Working his way towards the obnoxious noises, he stumbled upon a peculiar sight. Looking down, he noted that Taki, his King, was on the ground seemingly in pain. His lips twitched into an evil smile as he slowly knelt down, shooing away the dogs with a certain kind of disdain as they got too close to him. With one eyebrow raised he watched his King writhe on the ground for a moment.

"My my... what a difficult position you find yourself in, my Lord," Hebi offered after a while of watching the man suffer.

Hebi didn't move or make any other attempts to help the man, simply only watched him, "Hmm... maybe I should fetch our other dearest protector whose doing such a wonderful job of watching over you. Though, I doubt anything can be done. I don't see any wounds, there is no blood. Poison perhaps? What a pity, and I'm no healer. Say, my Lord, what would you have me do right now?" Hebi grinned as he continued his horrid speech.


Characters Present

Character Portrait: Amon Ad-Raza Character Portrait: Renardine "Minnow" Lunvari Character Portrait: Kanan Thiyer
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The greenhouse door was flung open, and, swinging on its hinges, it slammed into the wall with a loud crash. Minnow hardly even heard the harsh noise. He was not here to be gentle- he had a very specific purpose to accomplish. After grabbing a small satchel hanging off a tree limb, he strode quickly through the rows of plants and herbs with resolve, his eyes quickly scanning over each bud individually as he passed them. His hands lingered in the air, hovering over whatever he passed, only occasionally pausing to grab a shrub by its base or dig an herb to its root and pluck leaves from strange looking flora. Overall, it took him about two minutes to gather what he needed.

Once his items were safely stowed in the small pack slung around his hip, he turned on his heel and dashed back outside, the rain once more pelting against his form and sinking into his clothes with a cool chill to cling to his skin and mix with the light sweat that was already there from the adrenaline coursing through his body. The seconds that passed seemed too long in his mind, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit paranoid that he was wasting time. However, he was making rather good time and soon found himself back in the kitchens, dripping wet and cold as well as clammy.

The servants knew not to bother him, especially since they had realized something was wrong. They seemed to congregate against one of the walls, straining to see what he was doing, and attempting to figure out what was going on. Minnow paid them no mind as he fetched the items from his pack and spread them out across the wooden table while knocking several things out of his way to make enough room.

His fingers immediately went to work, but his focus was interrupted by the shrill whistle of several kettles. He snapped at the servants to move them from the burners and bring them to the door of the king’s chambers as well as a few buckets to pour the water into, but he made it expressly clear that they were not to enter and disturb the king.

In the meantime, he split roots and crushed leaves, grabbed a small porcelain cup and poured steaming water into it before gathering up the herbs in his palm and letting them fall into the hot liquid to steep. He grabbed a small bowl and immediately covered the mixture in order to trap the heat that radiated from it, and carefully moved the cup onto a servant’s tray. Grabbing a spoon, he was quick to return to motion and was out the doors and moving down the halls as quickly as he could without upsetting the platter that he balanced between his hands.

As Minnow neared the doors to the king’s chambers, whatever servants that lingered around settling the kettles on top of the buckets were quick to flee at the sight of him, and he shouldered the door open. His eyes flickered around the room, assessing what needed to be done and noting what Kanan had accomplished in his absence. The fire crackled warmly, and soft bubbles could be heard bursting at the surface of the pail. His gaze only briefly lingered on Kanan as he approached the king’s side.

Setting the tray down on the mattress a safe distance away from the king’s form, he uncovered the cup and stirred the mixture within, crushing and severing whatever large pieces remained floating in the water with the spoon and removing a few petals and leaves. He did his best not to get the sheets damp from his rain-soaked clothing, but it couldn’t really be helped. He looked up at Kanan and motioned towards the cup and then to the king while using his other hand to stir the soggy leaves and other plant matter resting beside the cup into a slick pulp.

He dipped his fingers into the mush and leaned over his king’s form, gently using his free hand to press his fingers beneath Amon’s lips and pull his chin down to open his mouth. While his touch was careful, it also held a stern resolve that demanded no resistance, and he spread the pulp over Amon’s tongue, coating it. He looked up momentarily at Kanan and met his gaze. ”It’s to keep his tongue from being burnt by the scalding tea.” His eyes flickered toward the door, and Minnow retreated from the bed back to the kettles that waited outside, figuring that Kanan would assist the king with downing the drink.

Carrying everything in, he shut the door with his foot, placing the buckets in various places around the room before carefully spilling the boiling hot water into each and watching the steam fill the air. After he had emptied each vessel, he would place it beside its counterpart and move on to the next one. Once he had emptied them all, he moved to the door and pulled his wet tunic over his shoulders- he wore a thin undershirt beneath with no sleeves and a low collar- and quickly stuffed the cloth against the crack under the door to trap the heat and steam in.

Running his hands through his already messed up hair, Minnow finally let out a heavy breath and returned to his king’s side with that still-concerned look of his. With both fire and steam combined, and with the hot tea, the king’s shivers should have reduced remarkably, and the cold that plagued his insides would hopefully be abated by the liquid. The warmth of the room itself also helped Minnow out quite a bit. The life returned to his fingers, which he rubbed gently as he kept a sharp eye on the king’s condition, and the steam would hopefully keep him from catching a cold.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Amon Ad-Raza Character Portrait: Renardine "Minnow" Lunvari Character Portrait: Kanan Thiyer
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Amon was still lost in the cold and pain, his body was numb to the point that he couldn't even feel Minnow placing him to the ground , nor did he really understand anything the protector had said. No amount of shivering though could help him, as it felt like he had ice flowing through his veins. He'd never felt the orb act like this, and he couldn't possibly hazard a guess why especially in this condition. He barely felt an arm grab hold of him and haul him up to his feet, supporting all the king's weight as Amon couldn't have helped even if he had wanted too. His muscles refused to do any kind of movement beyond shivering, and so his feet basically dragged behind him as he was pulled along.

Amon barely managed to force his eyes open, though they were still mostly shut; he did recognize though some of where they were going. Concentrating, Amon focused as much as he could to open his eyes more to see just what was going on. He was able to that it was Kanan who was dragging him along, and he saw the doors to Amon's personal chambers in front of them as Kanan stepped through. Amon was placed on the bed and at that point, Amon gave up trying to keep his eyes opened and curled right back up into a ball again.

However, he was beginning to feel the orb's activities start to calm down, and the icy chill he was feeling was beginning to subside; well, at least it stopped feeling like it was flowing through his body. It was still cold from the residual affect of the cold that had plagued him. In fact, he began to feel warmth, much to his relief. His body's convulsions were beginning to simmer down as it heated up, and Amon could tell the room was definitely becoming warmer. The pain was still there somewhat, as the nerves of his body became active once more, but it was nowhere near as bad as it had been a few moments ago. He could hear the sound of a fire crackling, which would explain the warmth in the room. He felt (again to his relief, knowing his body's sense of touch was returning) something touch the end of the bed away from him, and he could hear more movement.

A moment later, he felt a warm touch to his chin along with his mouth being pulled open. Then he knew his sense of taste was back when something touched his tongue that cause it to recoil some and the king to shudder slightly. Cracking his eyes open, he saw Minnow move over to the door and step outside for but a moment, then pull in a few kettles which had steam rising from them. He then watched as a small cup was brought to his lips by Kanan, and carefully was poured down his throat. that woke him up a bit as the heat of the fluid filled him, and burned his mouth some. Kanan set the cup back down on something out of sight, and Amon watched as Minnow moved around the room, filling the buckets with the water as steam began to rise up. He then used his over-shirt to plug the gap beneath the door to try and keep the heat trapped inside. As he came over next to Amon's side, more than likely to make sure he was getting better, Amon finally let out a groan as he slowly sat up. The mild pain of warming nerves was still there, and his body was still a little sluggish from all its shivering but it was nothing unbearable.

"Ok....that was miserable. And augh what did you put on my tongue, Minnow?" He said as he rubbed his head. The room had certainly warmed up quite a bit by this point, but after that experience Amon was enjoying it more than anything. He turned so his leg were hanging over the edge, and he started moving all his fingers and toes, then his arms and legs to make sure they were still functioning. He didn't feel like anything had been permanently damaged, so Amon took a deep breath and then moved out of the bed and up onto his feet. He stumbled slightly, as his legs were still recovering a bit but he was able to stop himself from falling over. Looking at him then towards Kanan and Minnow, he nodded to them with a smile. "Thank you, both of you. I'm not sure what caused the orb to act up like that, but thanks more keeping me safe."

He then glanced down at the bed and noticed the tea kettle and cup, which he hazarded a guess was what Kanan had poured down his throat. Reaching over, he filled up the cup once more then moved over to sit down by the fire place. He sat down far enough to avoid being burnt by the heat of the flame, but close enough to enjoy that same heat. Taking another breath to recover his senses a bit more, Amon then looked down at the tea as steam rise from it before he took another swig of it. It burnt his mouth again, yet Amon noticed that his tongue was not bothered in the slightest. Must be whatever that stuff Minnow had put on my tongue. Still doesn't excuse the taste. Finally he spun around to face his two protectors. "Alright," he started. "I'm not sure what made the orb act like that, but it cannot be good."

With that, he stood up to pour himself another cup of the tea, this time though drinking it at a slower rate. Even if he couldn't taste it, the warmth of it was just to wonderful to pass it up. With each sip of it, he could feel the heat just radiate through his body and it was frankly one of the most comforting things he'd felt in awhile. He then turned back to look at the two of them, sitting down near the fire once more. "Alright, Minnow, Kanan, as I said I have no idea what caused the orb to act up like that. And frankly, it has me worried about the other kings." He took another sip of the tea, paused, then opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue so that he could start wiping off the stuff Minnow had placed on his tongue. If he was gonna drink the tea he wanted to at least taste it. The moment he took a sip and felt it burn his tongue, he had to stop himself from coughing it up before swallowing it. After a recovering from it, trying to avoid the "I told you so" look Minnow probably shot him, he continued speaking.

"Which means....ow....which means that we are going to make sure they are not in trouble. I can't imagine that it had only been my orb to act like that, as that had never happened before. So, we are going on a trip to the others to make sure they are ok. We need to get things ready as soon as possible, and we get some couriers out to let them know we are coming and why. That understood?"

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Amon Ad-Raza Character Portrait: Taki Hattori Character Portrait: Renardine "Minnow" Lunvari Character Portrait: Lutchka Zatari Character Portrait: Kanan Thiyer Character Portrait: Hebi Irikisha
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”It’s to keep his tongue from being burnt by the scalding tea.” Minnow explained as Kanan had given him a strange look while the younger protector had been putting the strange concoction on the King's tongue. Taking the cup, the one eyed boy moved to his King's side and lifted him upwards gently.

Amon was a awake, barely, but it seemed his focus was in and out. Tipping the man's head back just a bit, he held the edge of the cup to Amon's lips and let the liquid slide down into his throat. Kanan was careful not to pour too much otherwise he would choke the man. Once he finished giving the drink to the King, he put the cup down and resettled the man against the bed and covers.

"Ok....that was miserable. And augh what did you put on my tongue, Minnow?" With a slight groan the King began to sit up. Kanan was at his side immediately, assisting him but not crowding him.

The King moved, shifting so that he could sit on the end of the bed. After testing his body for injuries, the man stood up only to sway slightly before catching himself. This caused Kanan some measure of alarm but he settled as soon as the King was steady on his feet again. After looking down at himself to reassess his condition, he finally turned his attention over to Minnow and Kanan.

"Thank you, both of you. I'm not sure what caused the orb to act up like that, but thanks more keeping me safe."

"Sire," Kanan offered with a slight bow.

He shot a look over to Minnow, though, thinking that if it hadn't been for the young boy's quick thinking, Kanan would have been utterly lost. He was no healer and his first thoughts was someone was attacking their King. Something that obviously wasn't true. Though the young protector was confident enough in the fact that he probably could have done something for the King like warming his body, he didn't think he would have thought of it quite as quickly as Minnow did. His pale blue eye rested on the blonde boy for a while longer before he watched the King take another cup of tea and seat himself next to the fire.


"Alright. I'm not sure what made the orb act like that, but it cannot be good." Amon said as he stood and got more of the drink.

"Alright, Minnow, Kanan, as I said I have no idea what caused the orb to act up like that. And frankly, it has me worried about the other kings. Which means....ow....which means that we are going to make sure they are not in trouble. I can't imagine that it had only been my orb to act like that, as that had never happened before. So, we are going on a trip to the others to make sure they are ok. We need to get things ready as soon as possible, and we get some couriers out to let them know we are coming and why. That understood?"

Kanan bowed yet again, "Sire. I will send the couriers and prepare for the trip. Minnow should stay by your side for the time being. Please, do not leave him," the white haired protector said, the last bit of his words directed at Minnow. He left the room after giving a meaningful look towards Minnow. Once the door closed, the one eyed protector was down the hall at a very fast, but quiet pace. His first stop was the couriers to write letters to the other Kingdoms and to send them immediately. He frowned to himself as he went though. Why the orbs had acted as they did was beyond him. He'd never seen that happen before.

It was unsettling.


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"Oh hello there Hebi...back...erggh...from torturing small foreign animals?Ugh...Missed you buddy!"

Hebi smirked as the King attempted to speak to him, but failed in doing so. He was in so much pain that words could not come to him. The protector sat there on his hunches without moving a muscle to help the man as he screamed in pain. He was gripping his arm tightly and the sounds of popping were filling the air. It sounded very painful, sickeningly so. However, Hebi wasn't in the least moved by any of it.

"Just go and try to get someone Hebi!" Taki yelled, but then coughed immediately after as he quite literally sucked in a mouthful of dirt.

Hebi grinned again as he watched, fascinated by the changing of his King's arm, "Yes, yes. I'm sure someone will come by to help out sooner or later," he mused lightly, "Besides, I couldn't possibly leave you when you can't even get to your feet. What if something bad were to happen, like someone coming by to kill you? We couldn't have that now could we?"

Hebi was talking, but he knew the King wasn't really listening, nor was he going to answer as he was in too much agony to think coherently. Taki rolled to his back, fighting off the rising pain as his arm continued to change in color. Hebi lifted an eyebrow as he watched. In a matter of minutes, the young man was unconscious, staring up into the sky without any movement to his face or eyes. For a moment Hebi thought the man to be dead but found this was not the case as he was still breathing. Pity, Hebi thought with a slight frown.

"And here I thought you were finally gone for good. Or had at least gone to learn some manners~" a feminine voice sounded behind him. Turning just enough, Hebi caught the familiar form of the woman whom was the captain of the palace guard. He grinned up at her, ignoring the fact that their King was on the ground, unconscious, in front of him.

"My dear Lutchka, nothing could keep me from coming back here. You alone won't be enough to drive me from these walls. I do so enjoy our lovely chats when I am here," he cooed back to her.

She moved from behind him and dropped down next to Taki, probably not even hearing his words to her as she was alarmed by the King's disposition. He watched her with an amused look on his face as she pulled him up and attempted to stand with him. Lutchka was visibly struggling, giving Hebi quite the show as he simply watched.

"He might not look like much, but he’s bloody heavy. And if you don’t help me, you’ll be wishing you were still gone."

"And here I thought you boasted about your own strength, perhaps I've gotten the wrong impression. I was rather enjoying watching your beautiful frame lifting up our dear King," He stood up and brushed himself off of any imaginary dirt that may have clung to him as he'd knelt there, "You know, my dear, I'm just not as strong as I used to be, I don't know how much help I could possibly be to you. Here," his grin grew wider as several pieces of metal on his person disappeared into blue sparkles of light.

Lifting his hand, the ground beneath them rumbled a bit as he worked the earth to be reformed to his liking. Lifting up a solid piece of rock, he motioned for her to put the King on it, "There, does this satisfy your need?"

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Amon Ad-Raza Character Portrait: Taki Hattori Character Portrait: Renardine "Minnow" Lunvari Character Portrait: Lutchka Zatari Character Portrait: Kanan Thiyer Character Portrait: Hebi Irikisha
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#, as written by Skwidge
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"And here I thought you boasted about your own strength, perhaps I've gotten the wrong impression. I was rather enjoying watching your beautiful frame lifting up our dear King," As she did her best to support him, she practically glared daggers into Hebi. She didn’t give a snitch of a care about what he said about her, this was serious enough to warrant a ban on all jokings for the time being.

"You know, my dear, I'm just not as strong as I used to be, I don't know how much help I could possibly be to you. Here," Despite her previous thoughts, she scoffed lightly. ”And here I thought that you had the means to back up that mouth of yours. Guess we’re both learning new things~” Lutchka’s tone was rather dry and her face held no hint of its usual challenge or humor.

She watched as small blue sparks of light appeared randomly about his form, but she was certainly not impressed by his work. At least he had bothered to do something other than run his mouth. She shouldered the king up onto the slab of rock, making sure he was in a suitable position before resting her hand at the top of the slab. Using her opposite hand to slide the actual dust from her toned thighs, another belittling laugh parted her lips at the Protector’s words. "There, does this satisfy your need?"

Lutchka looked at him with the slightest hints of cheekiness, ”I’d think not. I would much rather watch you bear the weight of our king through the whole town and see when you’d buckle. But if you insist~” As she spoke, she moved both hands at a position to push the stone up the path towards the castle. While she joked with Hebi, there remained a nervous worry for her liege’s health. His hand did not look good, and she doubted that the scant healers they had would know how to treat it. But then again, she knew nothing of herbs.

To make the situation a bit lighter on herself, she prodded at Hebi further with a dramatic sigh. ”I always seem to be cleaning up your messes and picking up your slack. If you make this any more annoying, I think I might have to take drastic action against you. And we wouldn’t want to see little ugly burns mar that pretty pale skin of yours, now would we?” Her lips turned up softly in a smirk, and she flashed him an overly exaggerated look of exasperation.






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At the sound of life that filled the room from his King’s lungs, Minnow’s gaze shot over to him and his full attention was fixated on the man. As Amon moved to sit up, Minnow scrambled to assist him in his efforts. The young Protector was about to open his mouth and inquire of the king’s condition, but he beat him to it. "Ok....that was miserable. And augh what did you put on my tongue, Minnow?" For a few seconds, he was confused, but then realized what the man was referring to. ”Ah
.” he breathed quietly, not bothering to answer the king as he knew it was more of a rhetorical question.

However, as Amon moved and shifted along the bed to the edge, Minnow’s gaze was as sharp as a hawk’s. While he encouraged movement, getting up was probably not a good idea after what he had just gone through, and so, when the king pushed himself off the mattress, Minnow quickly leaned forward after him with an outstretched hand, attempting to grab at the hem of his shirt and pull him back. He came short, and as the king stumbled, his eyes widened with worry. ”M’lord-“ His mouth shut as quickly as it had opened as the king regained his balance and addressed them in gratitude.

The young boy simply dipped his head in recognition, his eyes lingering on the mattress as he king moved over to the fire with another cup of tea. Righting himself and sitting cross-legged on the bed, he watched as Amon sipped more of the liquid. "Alright, Minnow, Kanan, as I said I have no idea what caused the orb to act up like that. And frankly, it has me worried about the other kings." Minnow blinked, he hadn’t even considered the other rulers. But it made sense, and a subtle shiver ran up his spine despite the heat of the room.

As the king stuck his tongue out and began to run his fingers over his tongue, Minnow’s eyebrows rose. He would have advised against it, but he knew that it would be of no use. Amon did what he pleased, and nothing that the boy could say would convince the man otherwise. The inevitable happened, and a delicate, good-natured smirk met his lips as he leaned back on his arms.

”
So, we are going on a trip to the others to make sure they are ok. We need to get things ready as soon as possible, and we get some couriers out to let them know we are coming and why. That understood?" Minnow immediately straightened and peered down at the king with a slight hint of unease. ”Of course Sire, but with all due respect, you need to rest and put your health above that of the others. Going out in this weather is probably unwise, given what you just went through, and the sudden shifts in temperature are not good for your body.”

Kanan then spoke, though Minnow only partially listened to it as he came to crouch by the king’s side and look him over once more. However, when his fellow Protector’s tone changed, Minnow caught the bit directed at him, and he nodded. He watched as Kanan’s form then moved to the door before disappearing, and his gaze lingered for a few moments where the man had just been. His attention then shifted back to the king, and he stood. ”You should lay back down.”

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Amon Ad-Raza Character Portrait: Amador Damiano III Character Portrait: Siya Ukomo Character Portrait: Taki Hattori Character Portrait: Renardine "Minnow" Lunvari Character Portrait: Lutchka Zatari
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#, as written by Siryn
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Thanks User for the collab ^.^

"Would you like to be taken back to your rooms, or
?"

Siya smiled gently as he lay there. Reynard's arm had adjusted him and his other hand was running through Siya's hair. The touch was warm and comforting. He gave a soft sigh. For the moment he didn't want to move, only to stay there and allow the other to brush out his hair via the protectors fingers.

"No... I don't want to, not yet," he muttered gently. He supposed he could allow Reynard to do the work for once and to go sleep. However, he wasn't going to say it right then.

Opening an eye again his smile turned to a bit of grin, "How many times must I tell you to call me 'Siya' when we're alone? It sounds so much better. And didn't you say it just a bit ago without the title?" the young Fire King teased, though he was serious about the title part. He didn't like it when Reynard called him 'Lord Siya' it seemed to... distance them, which he didn't like.

"Should I collapse more often? I will you know, if it'll get you to say just my name and no title."

"I'll try to remember L-
 Siya," The name rolled awkwardly off of his tongue because, yes, he'd said it earlier all by itself, but that had been in a fit of panic. Here and now the single word stuck to his tongue, almost refusing to budge without a title attached in some way, shape, or form. Using the King's name just felt too familiar, too much like they were equals, which Reynard was constantly reminded was entirely inaccurate. Titles were safe, distancing things and names war too close to actual sentiment without any of the professionalism he prided himself on. He licked his lips before trying again, never stopping his soothing ministrations.

"Siya, if I ever catch you collapsing on purpose, you'll be stuck doing all of your own paperwork for a month." Now this, he thought with a slight smile that was now only slightly tinged with worry, was familiar territory. It was only slightly teasing in that, if he tried a stunt like that, solo paperwork wasn't even close to what Reynard would do to him because he didn't need any more stress in his life, thank you.

Siya felt his face flush slightly as Reynard threatened him with paper work. He hated paperwork. Especially if he had to do it alone. Maybe he would rethink his tactic to getting the uptight protector to call him 'Siya' only. Though it seemed to be working at the moment. The young Fire King had to wonder what it was. Maybe it was the situation overall, that made Reynard a bit more agreeing to the order of being talked to without the title.

Siya shook his head, giving a quick response, "No... not paperwork..." he groaned, "Alright fine. But seriously, no more 'Lord' or anything. Just Siya," he would have continued but yawned as he lay there with Reynard's fingers brushing through his hair.

"Mm, you're going to put me to sleep," he muttered slowly. Although, it was the only thing he really wanted to do anyway, "I think I'd like to sleep now. I'll leave the preparations to you, just don't overwork yourself alright?"

Reynard hesitated for only a moment, hands freezing for just a split second before their continued the familiar motion. He really shouldn't be agreeing to this- it was improper and hardly becoming of either of their stations. Siya was, well, a King and Reynard was the Protector assigned to him, elevated only slightly over the other palace workers in terms of status. But, after everything that had just happened and, of course, everything that had happened prior to today as he worked side-by-side with the so-called "boy king" must have been wearing down his thoughts on the social norm.

"Fine; You'll be just Siya in private then," He agreed with a barely perceptible but firm nod. He could at least do that for him and it didn't feel too familiar if he really thought about it. It was normal, wasn't it, calling someone that he saw every day and knew perhaps too well by their first name? Especially when he had Siya like this, splayed across his lap, large eyes drooping sleepily, an intimate, trusting moment after what had just transpired.

Without much warning, he adjusted his position, standing up and lifting Siya to his feet with him with relative ease, arms still tightly wrapped around him in case he needed extra assistance standing or, indeed, walking after the brief but powerful moment of pain his body had gone through.

"Overwork myself? When have I ever done that?" He deadpanned sarcastically as he helped Lord- helped Siya towards his rooms not far from the throne room. Huh. Another joke. That was two jokes in one day; he was apparently on a roll.

Reynard pulled Siya up to his feet gently, holding him just in case the young King couldn't stand on his own. He wasn't sure if he could really, but once he was on his feet, it seemed he was just fine aside from the dull headache and the insane urge to sleep. He frowned a bit though, but hid it from Reynard. I was really enjoying that... he thought to himself, but knew better. Reynard wasn't going for it really. That much he was sure of. The man was too devoted to his work.

There were times though, rare as they were, that made Siya wonder if his protector did think of him as something other than a King. With a soft sigh he pushed that aside, not really wanting to think on it. Looking up at his taller protector, he gave him a small smile, "Thank you. See? Doesn't that feel more comfortable?" Feels closer, he thought to himself.

As they started out of the room, he glanced over his shoulder at the protector who shot back at him, saying essentially that he wasn't the one who was overworking. To this Siya laughed just a bit. Of course he overworked. In fact, the whole reason Reynard overworked was because of Siya. The Fire King felt a bit guilty for that one. With a slight blush he reached up and ran his hands through his hair.

Hovering just on the edge of his door, he looked over to Reynard, "Yeah, you're right. You'll probably have it easy now that I'm in one place for sure right? I'll sleep, I promise," he said. As he made the promise, he gently touched the other's hand. Slipping his fingers into the palm of Reynard's, he squeezed a bit before opening the door and going into his room. Closing it, he leaned against the door.

Reynard... what's it going to take? he thought sadly.

"Please do. You need the rest," Reynard replied, trying to slip back into his stern Protector persona and instead sounding like the concerned almost-friend that he actually was. He worried about Siya, of course he did, and he always would; the younger man put up with so much as the Fire King, constantly belittling from his more noble subjects, the pressures of ruling an entire kingdom, and his young age warping together into stress that was almost palpable in the palace's air. That was why Reynard was here, to help him through the obstacles and challenges, but if something happened like this again, if he wasn't able to do something- he cut off his own thoughts just as Siya threaded their hands together and squeezed for only a moment.

Reynard couldn't help but squeeze back, a small gesture that brought across more affection than he ever could or would verbally give the younger man. This, however, this he could do- a simple hand squeeze, perhaps, but it was a physical assurance that he was there and that, no, he wasn't going to go anywhere. All too soon, however, the presence vanished away and the door was shut, another barrier put up between them.

Reynard lingered for a moment before turning on his heels and making his way down the hall. He didn't have time to reminisce or to wallow in self pity; there were things to be done, letters to be written, explanations to be found, and, above all else, plans to be made. If Siya was right and this was not an isolated incident, he was sure correspondence would be coming soon from the other kingdoms. The various countries might not be close, but a malfunctioning orb or possibly orbs was everyone's concern. As cliche as it felt to think it, the fate of the world rested in the four kings and anything that endangered them endangered everything.


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”And here I thought that you had the means to back up that mouth of yours. Guess we’re both learning new things~”

Hebi's grin was wide as he listened to her in the midst of creating his rock slab for their King.

”I’d think not. I would much rather watch you bear the weight of our king through the whole town and see when you’d buckle. But if you insist~”

"My lovely dear, I couldn't possibly think of what I would do should you force me into such heinous labor. But see, watching you... that's far more entertaining," he said as he followed behind her, his fingers waving in small circles to allow the stone slab to move with her... if only but slightly. He was enjoying her pushing it with her own strength. He had half a mind to put more weight into the rock to see what she would do, but decided against it. Hebi would have fun with her in other ways.

”I always seem to be cleaning up your messes and picking up your slack. If you make this any more annoying, I think I might have to take drastic action against you. And we wouldn’t want to see little ugly burns mar that pretty pale skin of yours, now would we?”

Hebi laughed softly, a cruel edge to it, "Oh, darling. You're making me shiver," he quickened his pace just a bit so that he could lean over to her ear and whisper, "I wonder, though. Which of us is faster... My vines wrapping around your pretty little throat, or your tiny tickle of power?"

Pulling away he laughed softly at her as they reached the castle. Hebi, of course, did nothing to help her with their King, only watching with mild amusement.


Three Days Later


As Hebi paced through the halls of the castle that he hadn't been in for many months, his thoughts were still on the strange events that had played out a few days ago. The orb had attacked its vessel, but for what reason he wasn't sure. Not that Hebi cared all that much. He was more curious if the incident would happen again or not. If it did happen again, would it kill the King? The protector had half a mind to wish that it would.

Deciding that his 'rounds' were done -if one could call wandering half of the palace halls rounds- he was starting to make his way to the throne room where the doors led to the castle grounds. The double doors swung open and three men walked in. Two of them were palace guards, one was someone Hebi did not know. Still, the protector gave a small grin that was not very settling or inviting. His gaze dropped to the man's chest where the symbol of the Air King was emblazoned on his clothes.

"Well well... I don't suppose you have some interesting news, do you?"


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Three days had passed since the incident with the orb. Kanan had done as he'd been ordered and sent out the letters to the other Kingdoms. Now all that was left to do, was wait. The young protector busied himself with tightening the security around the palace and for the past few nights he'd stationed himself right outside of the King's room just in case anything else happened. He wasn't about to be caught off guard like he was last time, something that he deeply regretted and was internally punishing himself for.

As he was running his own routine that morning, his senses picked up the arrival of a messenger. Turning on his heel, he headed for the doors to where the guards were leading the man. The one eyed protector intercepted them as they were passing through the hall to find the King. Kanan stopped them with his hand rising lightly. The messenger was smaller than himself and slightly reminded him of Minnow. The young page boy looked slightly intimidated by Kanan's presence though. After all, Kanan wasn't one to smile easily, or offer any words of greeting that were nice. Not to mention his eye patch, chains, rings and earrings as well as his clothes that did little to hide his fit body.

"You're from the Fire Kingdom," Kanan stated simply, his deep voice soft and rich as he addressed the messenger.

The boy nodded and lifted a letter, "Y-yes," he squeaked slightly then continued after clearing his throat, "This is for the King."

Kanan reached out and took it from the boy, "I will take it to him," the protector said shortly and without pause turned and left the guards with the stunned page boy. He moved quickly down the hall, already certain that the letter he held in his hands was going to say the same thing he'd written and sent to the other Kings.

As he thought about it, he frowned a bit. Three days was more than enough time to get a response from all of them, but they had not gotten anything from the Water Kingdom or anything yet from the Earthen Kingdom. Of course from the Earth Kingdom, it was rather usual to not hear anything for a while as the one protector had a terrible habit of interfering with things. Kanan wished he could put his blade through the man's chest and be over with it. He was sure he'd be doing the Earth King a service if he did.

Shaking his head a bit, he knocked on the door to where the King was supposed to be.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Amon Ad-Raza Character Portrait: Renardine "Minnow" Lunvari Character Portrait: Lutchka Zatari Character Portrait: Kanan Thiyer
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#, as written by Skwidge
Summary-Lutchka


It had certainly been a hurricane of the past few days. Things had seemed to be moving quite quickly after Lutchka had become the Earth King’s newest protector, and not only that, but with the newest information of the orbs, her head was practically whirling in attempts to sort everything out. While she was honored by the promotion, it was in all truth pretty horrifying. Not only was most of her extra time gone, but she was forced to spend more time with Hebi of all things. Now it wasn’t to be mistaken, she loved pushing his buttons, but to have to deal with that drama queen constantly was kind of asking a lot.

Nonetheless, it remained that despite the horrors that accompanied the new job, she didn’t mind it so much as she wanted to do whatever she could for King Taki.






Air Kingdom



Kanan watched his King as the man worked around the room to change his shirt as he read the letter. So, the Fire King had a similar experience with the orb. Kanan's eyebrow drew downwards as his gaze fell to the floor, deep in thought. Nothing like this had happened before, at least as long as he had been in service -which admittedly hadn't been long-. However, it wasn't in the histories, nor from anything he had heard from the old King either before chosing Amon to succeed him.

So lost in his own musings on the situation, he nearly missed his King's words about getting the palace ready to recieve the other Kings. Turning, he followed the man out of the room, keeping pace with him for a little while, "Sire," the young protector said and was about to voice other thoughts, his other worries about having all the Kings in one place after such an incident. It didn't settle well with him at all. Even so, he knew the importance of getting them together to check on each of them.

"I will prepare the rooms," he said instead, "Shall I find Minnow?"

Amon thought about when Kanan mentioned finding Minnow. That may not be a bad idea, as Amon was sure the young fella could find a nice plant or something to spice up the room, make it smell nice, maybe just add a relaxing touch to it all, or maybe all of the above. With a nod, Amon spun on his foot so he was walking backwards so he could look at Kanan. "I like that idea! Tell the little fishie to find something nice to put in the room, spruce it up some, and make it nice and.....um.....nice!" He paused, "Boy, I'm just a man of many words aren't I?"

Had it been anyone else, they may have smiled, or laughed at the young King, but Kanan had long since forgotten how to do any of those and thus he only stared at Amon for a while before giving a short nod and his usual 'Sire' in response. He took off down a separate hall and made his way towards the servant quarters and other castle personel to give the Kings order to prepare for the Kings. Once that was done, he went off in search of Minnow, whom he was sure was in his green house, most likely asleep amongst the comforts of the grass and bushes. The protectors usual harsh look and intimidating presence softened just a bit at the thought of the smaller blonde sleeping nestled inbetween the grasses, bits of dirt and petals clinging to his hair.

With a slight shake of his head, he cleared the image from his mind and headed off to the green house to find the other protector.

Minnow let out a soft, content sigh as the gentle sound of sprinkling water pattered against the ground and flora within the greenhouse. He was crouched by a flowerbed of mint, irises, and mums as he poured sustenance upon the earth. As he worked, he hummed an unfamiliar tune- one he did not know where he got it from. It was soft, hardly louder than the hidden brook that bubbled and whispered from deeper within the greenhouse.

Once satisfied, the young protector moved on with his work, this time stopping to water both the base and the leaves of a small tree. Birds chirped pleasantly from above, both outside and in, and tiny butterflies flittered past between the soft petals of flowers and the broad stems of plants.

As predicted, Kanan did find the young Minnow in his green house. Though it took the one eyed protector some time to find the young boy, it was well worth it. Humming to himself and moving fluidly through his plants and trees, Minnow was tending to his large 'garden' much like any other day. For a moment, Kanan only watched him. Giving a very soft sigh that only he heard, he stepped forward, making his approach known now, though it was still probably hard to hear. One hand fell on his sword as he stopped a few feet from the blonde protector.

"Minnow," he called gently to get the others attention.

The soft melody that had been hummed through his vocals stopped abruptly as the boy heard his name called by a familiar voice. Straightening out, he stood and turned with a bright smile aimed at his fellow protector. “Kanan.” He said in his own greeting. He lent most of his attention to the man, as Kanan only came to him for things concerning their duties, while the rest of it he spared on the continuation of watering his plants.

"We are recieving guests soon. Most likely tomorrow or the following night. Lord Amon wanted your help in preparing some of the rooms," Kanan said smoothly, "If you could do so, that would be appreciated."

Blinking once, the warm smile that usually graced his lips returned at the mention of guests. After hearing of his lord’s request, Minnow nodded in understanding. He once more turned to look at Kanan. “I’ll get right on that then. Who are our lovely guests, and how many rooms should I be looking at?”

Kanan shifted slightly, "Lords Siya Ukomo and Taki Hattori with their protectors as well. I believe six rooms are in order, Minnow," the pale blue eyed protector said softly.

He tilted his head to the side and put a finger to his lip in thought, figuring out what would best suit the other kings and their protectors. “Alright, I’ll see that it gets done nice and proper. Would you mind finishing the next portion of plants for me?” He lifted the hand which held the watering can in order to refer to what he was talking about, his head still tilted to the side while a warm, close-eyed smile filled his face. “Won’t take too long, but, if you’re busy of course, they can wait.”

Not a lot could make the protector question anything, especially his own duties, or make him feel embarrassed or anything of the sort. However, upon watching Minnow tapping his lip in thought and then finally extending the watering can towards him, his pale features took on a pale pink hue across his face. Never had he once been asked to.... water plants. He wasn't a gardener, he wasn't even sure of half of the things in the green house that Minnow kept. Unfortunately for him, though, he couldn't bring himself to refuse the others request. Perhaps it was the smile.

"I-... I will finish this," he finally managed, perhaps not quite sounding like he normally did, but he figured it was close enough. Taking the can he tried to look like he knew what to do with it.

A bright look of gratefulness lit up Minnow’s features as Kanan agreed to help him with his tending. “Thank you! They’re not too picky, so a few moments’ watering should do it.” However, Minnow stood there for a few moments, his eyes softly watching the man’s form. He had practically already forgotten the task he needed to do- elated as he was that Kanan of all people would be tending to the garden. The young protector had never seen his partner anywhere near anything green, so naturally he wanted to see the rare act for himself. However, reality caught up with him swiftly as a few moments passed and Kanan seemed to still be looking at him like he had something to do.

The subtlest of warmth tinged his own cheeks and he ran a hand through his hair with a sheepish grin, “Ah, well, off I go.” He quickly trotted off, giving Kanan a slight wave as he departed.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Amon Ad-Raza Character Portrait: Taki Hattori Character Portrait: Renardine "Minnow" Lunvari Character Portrait: Lutchka Zatari Character Portrait: Kanan Thiyer
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Amon sighed, watching the ground from his spot a few feet off the ground. He was sitting on his staff which he had wedged between the branches of two trees so that it was spanning the gap on its side, to give him something to use a pull-up bar. He really wished it was raining right now, but there was no such luck. Instead he was sitting there on the staff in a bit of a sour mood. He had hoped that going through his workouts would have brought his mood up some, however with the mess of things that had happened last night it was going to take more than just some chin-ups.

Amon looked down at himself, looking at his stomach that was wrapped up in bandages to cover his spear wound. His shirt was draped across the staff next to him, having been removed when he had started his exercises. “Augh, I could really go for something nice and sweet to eat right now. Like a cake, maybe that’s what I need to cheer me up.” He said, bringing his head back in a dramatic fashion. As he did so, his body weight shifted past the balance point he had, causing his body to begin tipping backwards. He was ready for it, as it was done intentionally this time, and kept a grip with his hands and used his knees as well to grip the bar, so that he was now hanging there upside-down, wincing a little when he had to use his core muscles to help catch himself.

A tired look draped around Minnow’s facials as he walked the road back up to the castle. It had been an entirely too long day yesterday. Initially, he had only planned on going into the city to receive a shipment of new herbs and return late the same afternoon when quite a few things popped up and distracted him. The most prominent of them being an older woman dragging him willingly off to help with her sickly husband who had been bedridden for the past couple of days. However, the illness was much more serious than he initially suspected, and ended up spending the whole rest of the day and night keeping watch over him.

Running a hand through his hair, Minnow let out a small sigh of fatigue. He felt bad not having been there to greet the other kings, but Amon had assured him that it would be fine for him to take the day to go run his errands, despite Minnow’s little objections. He had gotten only small spurts of sleep during the night, each session lasting only five or six minutes, and were few and far between. The good news was that the man had recovered fully and could now return to work to provide for his family, but the young protector was pretty exhausted and seemed to be dragging his feet as he hauled himself back to his home. A light hemp bag was slung over one shoulder with the arm’s hand resting on the lip of it, but the boy’s other hand lay limp at his side.

However, upon entering the threshold of the gates, immediately he sensed something was amiss and his body came lurching to a halt. He blinked a few times before suddenly bringing a foot up and quickly unlacing his boots. It was a strange sight for sure, what with Minnow being tired but also hopping about to keep his balance. He didn’t even think of simply bending over to do what he intended, and soon he discarded his socks as well.

Digging his toes into the earth and letting out a content sigh despite the spark of unease that rippled through his body, he set his soles against the ground and felt the grass tickle his skin there. Closing his eyes in a concentrated manner, he shrugged his shoulders back and took a deep breath. A warm dull blue glowed from his ankles before branching out in slow, pulsating tendrils disappearing into the earth.

Connecting with the ground, his eyes moved from behind his eyelids. What was previously seen as just black from closed eyes soon started to shift and morph, smoky white wisps of color seeped into the blank canvas, soon shifting into the shapes and patterning out the area that surrounded him for about a mile or so. His eyes strained this way and that, scanning quickly through the area. Immediately he located quite a few disturbances in the area that were not supposed to be there. Broken branches, trampled plants, fragments of cloth and a general aura that spoke of evil.

Minnow’s eyes immediately flickered open and he shot off at a run, a new energy filling his form as adrenaline coursed through his blood. He had figured out Amon’s position with his sight, and was quickly racing over there to make sure he was alright and also to explain what was going on.

Reaching the two trees Amon was currently hanging from on his staff, Minnow called out frantically, ”My lord, what happened?? Is everything alright?”

Amon blinked, craning his neck around to see Minnow standing there. The boy looked haggard and that he needed a good nap or so. Guess he too must have been busy all of last night, though considering he didn’t ask about any attacks Amon could assume it wasn’t because he had been attacked. Amon smiled some at that thought before he let his leg slip from their spot on the staff, sliding between his hands which were still gripping the staff. Once they fell to their place beneath Amon, he then let the staff go and dropped onto the ground, turning to better look at Minnow.

“Well, Minnow. Guess I’ll just
I won’t beat around the bush here. A lot happened last night, none of it good frankly.” He said while reaching up and grabbing the staff, maneuvering it some so that he could pull it from its place in the tree. He caught his shirt as it fell from its place, setting it on his shoulder as he did so. "We received some very bad news about the Water King, who it turns out is dead, and his orb is missing."

A solemn look filled the youth’s face as he heard of the Water King’s status. But he had no time to feel empathy or sorrow for such a situation, because obviously something else had occurred, and it actually mattered as his own king had been injured, and someone had obviously intruded on the castle grounds. He looked at Amon’s wound, biting his lip worriedly. “That wasn’t it, though. How many were there? Are the other kings injured as well?”

Amon followed Minnow's eyes to the wound on his stomach before looking back up at him. "As far as I'm aware, three of them. Kanan and I got a little beat up, Lord Siya I think was hurt but nothing to serious. Lord Taki only took minor injuries as well." Amon paused, thinking aobut how to word the next part. Straight forward seemed to be about the only way he could think of, and it was doing alright so far so he jsut continued. "They were after the orbs. Lord Taki and I, with some help from Kanan for me, were able to fend off our attackers before they could try to nab them however. Lord Siya was rescued though by one of his protectors, so we got lucky there."

The orbs
? The color drained from Minnow’s face a bit, and he wobbled slightly on his feet. Sucking in a breath of air, the protector’s face scrunched up in pain and he quickly settled his body on the grass. He crossed his legs as he sat, leaning his head forward with another wince and propping it up with his hand, elbow resting on his knee. He ran his other hand through his hair in a nervous sort of tick. Not only was the news heavy and surprising, but his fatigue catching up with him once more did not help the situation.

He glanced up at Amon through his bangs with a soft frown. ”I shouldn’t have left yesterday.” That was pretty much the only thing he could say with his overburdened mind. In all honesty, handling the situation was a bit difficult, so he reverted to what he knew best. He glanced at the stomach wound again, his frown deepening. ”M’lord, you shouldn’t be training so soon after such an injury, you’re going to reopen it.”

Amon watched Minnow sit there, clearly overwhelmed by the news he had just dropped on him. Amon felt bad having to throw so much at him so suddenly, but he felt that with what had been happened it would have been a worse idea to keep Minnow out of the loop until the meeting. As the boy finished, Amon slowly sat down in front of him, sitting cross legged as well as he looked at Minnow. "I hate it when you frown, you know that?" He began, shifting a little in his spot. "You left with a reason Minnow, and that was to make sure you and the other healers would have enough supplies to fix up the goofballs like Kanan and I when we did something stupid. It's ok that you were gone, you were doing your job whether you think so or not. With you back, and freshly supplied, you can do what it is that you do best." Amon said with a smile.

He shifted from his spot so he was sitting next to him, putting an arm around Minnow and rubbing his shoulder. "And with you being back, you can also do the job of stopping me from doing more stupid things due to my sheer stubborness! I probably shouldn't be exercising with a fresh wound, but you know me. Old habits die hard, it's why I need you to tell me when I'm being dumb and get me to sit back down. So my little fishie needs to stop frowning and get back to telling me what to do!" Amon grinned his usual cheery grin as he finished.

Kanan breathed out slowly, his eye closed as he stretched his magic once again that morning. He hadn't slept all that much and was fairly sure that none of the others had either. Standing statue like in the middle of the hall in the palace he was probably a strange sight to see. One may have thought that he was asleep, but he was not. He was searching.

He found Taki, along with Lutchka. Hebi he found as well whom was not with his King. This made the young protector twitch ever so slightly, a slight pulse of anger coursed through him before it faded away. Soon after he found Siya with both of his protectors, Reynard and Damiano. Finally, he found his own King whom was outside as he usually was. With him though was the one person that Kanan was most happy to feel the presence of.

Opening his gaze again, he started down the hall in pursuit of his King and Minnow. He paused ever so slightly to glance over to his side. He couldn't see the wound, but it had definitely taken it's toll giving him a very slight limp that he was currently in the practice of hiding. Should Minnow find out, he was sure to never hear the end of it and though he enjoyed the attention given to him from the smaller blonde, he wasn't sure he was ready for the earful he would certainly get. Of course, their King was sure to hear it as well. Minnow was just like that.

It took him a total of ten minutes to get down the hall and outside the palace doors. Spotting the pair in the courtyard with all the trees and other additions to the palace's grounds, he made his way over to them. Lord Amon was sure to want to be advised that the other Kings were up and ready to be pulled into the council room. Not to mention that once they were there, Minnow could have a look at Taki's arm which was certainly something to worry over, far more than Kanan's wounds -so the Protector thought-.

With a bow that wasn't quite as low as his normal ones, and defnitely not going to attempt dropping to one knee as usual either, he addressed his King, "Sire. Lord Taki and Lord Siya are awake. Perhaps it is time..." he said, leaving the last part to hang for Amon to decide on his own, after all Kanan wasn't in the habit of ordering his own King around.

The words of his king did not help Minnow’s mood in the slightest. ”My duty as protector far outranks that of a simple supply trip, regardless of the need.” His tone was somewhat flat, obviously devoid of his usual cheer and content. He shifted only slightly to look at his king as Amon settled down in the grass next to him and draped an arm over his shoulder. He tried for a smile, as per his lord’s request, but it wasn’t very convincing.

However, upon turning and seeing Kanan arrive, his eyes lit up a bit. As his fellow protector spoke to King Amon, Minnow’s eyes were watching him expectantly- looking for a bit of greeting or recognition, but he did not receive it. Something twisted inside of him at that fact
 was it disappointment he felt? Blinking once, he dispelled the strange thoughts with a light, internal scold. Kanan was far more in tune with his duty than he, and to think of being a distraction to the man in any way possible was foolish in such a critical time.

Yet, when watching him, Minnow did notice one thing. His usual bow was not as it always was, and his eyes squinted slightly in thought. Obviously it was because of a wound. But a wound of that extent
. The young blonde protector suddenly turned to Amon with a mixed look of disappointment, worry, and something almost bordering irritation. To his king’s previous comment, he responded, ”You can start by not lying about the extent of your injuries.” The frown returned, though it did not entirely meet his exhausted eyes. However, Minnow did get up from his seat, albeit stiffly.

He wandered over to Kanan with a hand on his forehead, rubbing an eye. His gaze was focused around his abdomen and hips, and as soon as he reached him, the small protector’s fingers slipped under the hem of his shirt, ghosting against the skin as he pulled the cloth up to inspect the wound. Minnow’s eyes widened as he saw the angry gash in the man’s skin. His voice was quiet as he slowly spoke, ”Who tended to you
? They didn’t do it right
.” Minnow could not keep the worry and care from his tone as the words left his lips, despite his fatigue and previous distress.

Amon didn’t let his smile drop, despite the fact he wanted to sigh in frustration at Minnow’s words. Instead he just turned on the spot he was sitting while turning to face Minnow who walked off. ”I never lied about the extent of the injuries, just that Kanan and I
well injuries are rated on a different scale of severity.” Amon said while rubbing the back of his neck

An eyebrow lifted at Minnow's declaration of 'lying' about wounds. He watched the small blonde for a moment before looking to Amon, wondering what it was that Minnow meant. So used to Minnow's presence, he didn't notice that the other protector had moved and was now behind him, not until he felt warm fingers against his skin. It takes a lot to surprise the white haired protector, but this was certainly another one that did it. He went rigid, straightening rather quickly as his one pale blue eye widened in shock. His face turned a slight pink color in hue as he turned his head and looked over his shoulder to the other who was currently inspecting his wound.

He almost didn't answer Minnow's question. Of course it wasn't done right because Kanan had done it himself. Did he dare tell that to the blonde, though? This was certainly something to struggle with, and Kanan did struggle to come up with an answer. Lying would only put the poor person he comes up with in trouble with Minnow. That wouldn't do. However, the alternative wasn't all the better either. Finally, he resigned, "I did..." he answered softly then quickly added, "Lord Taki needs you, Minnow, as does our King."

Amon raised an eyebrow as he watched Kanan’s expressions. Was it really that strange to have Minnow looking you over? Not like it was the first time or anything, him being the resident healer and what not. Amon kept his eyes on Kanan, head cocking to the side as he watched the young man."Relax Kanan, he's just checking the wound is all."

Minnow could have kicked himself. How could he be so rash and inconsiderate? Rubbing his hand over the bridge of his nose in slight embarrassment, he coughed ever so lightly. “I didn’t- I-
 apologies.” There was a slight stutter in his voice as he awkwardly tried to word his feelings, eventually just reverting to a simple one word answer. His fingers lingered by the wound a bit longer than they needed to, Minnow’s mind elsewhere before realizing he had yet again spaced out. He dropped the shirt and took a slight step to the side, looking at Kanan as he spoke of one of the kings.

”Lord Taki
?” He blinked, not really understanding until he realized he was talking about a medical need. Minnow wanted to groan in embarrassment for being so slow in understanding things; he really needed to take a break and a nap. His gaze once more rested on Kanan. ”Come see me later, I’ll fix the giant hole in your side. I’ll go find Lord Taki at once.” With a last look at the two, he departed, hand on his forehead yet again as he rubbed at the slight headache that was beginning to form there from lack of sleep.

Kanan continued to watch Minnow from over his shoulder, settling slightly and remembering that he was in the presence of his King. Reigning in his shock which had been caused by Minnow suddenly touching him, he gave a slight questioning look to Minnow as the boy apologized. What he was apologizing for, he wasn't sure. When the blonde boy stepped away from him, he held Minnow's gaze. When the boy told him to come see him later, he nodded a bit, though he frowned slightly.

"It's not giant..." he muttered to himself. Minnow certainly had a way with describing things. Maybe it seemed giant to him, but to Kanan, whose frame was covered in scars, it was insignificant. Watching the other protector as he left, he felt a twinge of guilt. The boy was tired, he could tell. Perhaps he should have told him to sleep first and told him about Taki later. Resisting a heavy sigh he turned back to Amon.

"They're waiting," he said trying to put himself back in his usual, non-expressive mode.

Amon chuckled slightly, watching Kanan go back to his sudden stoic look. Sorry boy, ya slipped. he thought before patting his thighs and standing up. He grabbed the shirt from his shoulder and slipped it back on before heading over to where he had left his staff. "They are indeed, so let's get this meeting underway. Might as well get all the 'fun' stuff out of the way then." Amon looked at Kanan, nodding his head towards the palace before turning and walking towards it. "Away we go my dear Kanan!" the king shouted as he went.

Taki wanted to scratch at one of the bandages on his face as he laid on his back in his bed. He knew it was going to hurt like hell, but it was so tempting to do so. Just before he reached his hand to his face he thought he heard footsteps near his door.

Raising up his head a little to look at the door he couldn't tell if it was Lutchka or someone else just outside of the door. Heck, after the energy left him that night he had passed out in his room. Fights had their way of doing that, even more so with the amount of magic he had to use to get the earth from the ground to the room. Not to mention having it incase his arm and whatnot.

"Lutch?" Taki quietly asked in the darkness of the room. He honestly had no idea where she was at the moment and couldn't see too well in the dark.

Minnow knocked lightly at the door of King Taki, waiting a few moments before entering the room. It was dark inside, the drapes pulled heavily over the window preventing any sunlight from reaching into the room.

At the questioning call of the king, Minnow blinked before answering. ”Ah, apologies if I’ve woken you. I’m Lord Amon’s other protector. I was told to come see to your injuries.” He bowed despite the lack of vision in the room and quickly strode over to the window to pull the drapes aside and allow as much sunlight in as possible so he could survey the damage to the king's body.

Taki shot up to the sitting position as he heard the words "other protector" and "see your injuries". With an overly excited smile on his face Taki said quickly to Minnow "So you're the one who's going to be able to fix my arm?! My fucking hero!"

Sliding off the bed and zipping over to Minnow, Taki almost tackled the poor guy with a lifting hug and shake. "Sooo when you going to start huh? Huh?" Within Taki's eyes there was a gleam. As he thought about being able to use his left arm again. He had the behavior of a puppy getting its first bone to chew on.

Minnow took a half step back at the greeting he received, a bit of wariness to his body language. He did not expect such behavior from another king- he didn’t think anyone else could be even remotely like Amon. A light ‘oof’ left his lips as the man practically barreled into him and lifted him off the ground excitedly. A timid smile filled his lips and he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as Taki put him back down. ”Ah, yes, I’ll try to do my best.” He grinned at the man; to be honest he was a bit relieved that formalities didn’t seem entirely necessary with him.

”So let’s see the dam-" Minnow soon cut himself off as he saw the state of the man's left arm. His eyes widened slightly in horror, and he quickly grabbed the limb carefully to look at it with a slight frown of concentration to his face.

[color=#a8d150"I'm... going to need a little time to gather the necessary materials, M'lord. If it's acceptable, I'll go gather them and treat you during the council meeting."[/color]

Taki's expression changed as dissapointment crashed into him. His behavior could now be seen as a bit shut down as he realized he would have to wait longer. "Y-yeah that's fine. I guess I'll see you then big guy?"

Awaiting for Minnow to let go of his arm he wanted to go back to his bed. Maybe if he slept time would move faster, or at least he could forget about it for a while. A small sigh passed through Taki's lips as a bit of sunlight could be seen in the dissapointed eyes of the man.

Minnow blinked, examining the wound for a bit longer before releasing his hold on the king’s limb. He could immediately hear and see the disappointment that bled from the man’s body, and he closed his eyes in a sheepish smile. Who could blame him? Losing the use of an arm for so long a time would depress anyone. ”No worries, it should not take too long to find what I need.” He bowed once more before departing the room.

[color=a8d150]However, the time I need to take a nap so I can actually know what I’m doing might make it a little bit longer, plus I'll need to do a bit of research.[/color] He thought quietly to himself as he made his way to the greenhouse. [color=a8d150]A couple minutes' rest should cover it....[/color]

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Amon Ad-Raza Character Portrait: Amador Damiano III Character Portrait: Siya Ukomo Character Portrait: Taki Hattori Character Portrait: Renardine "Minnow" Lunvari Character Portrait: Kanan Thiyer
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#, as written by Skwidge

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Amon Ad-Raza Character Portrait: Siya Ukomo Character Portrait: Taki Hattori Character Portrait: Renardine "Minnow" Lunvari Character Portrait: Lutchka Zatari Character Portrait: Kanan Thiyer
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#, as written by Skwidge
Minnow worked with making salves and pastes, ripping stems in half and squeezing the juice from a few strange looking bulbous plants. The wound mainly looked like it had been charred and cauterized too much, but that obviously wasn’t the only problem. He could tell just by looking at the wound and feeling around it that his element had lashed back out him. There was a bit of temporary nerve damage, and the outermost part of his skin needed to be removed so that the normal flesh could have room to regrow. Instead of taking the painful option to remove the skin with tools, which was unpleasant for both the healer and the patient, he simply used a few mixtures between herbs and flowering plants to make a sort of opaque ointment, which he quickly rubbed over the Earth King’s arm.

Despite his lack of desire to use any tools, Minnow did know he needed to open the skin as soon as possible to make sure it had not become infected, as well as to implant the necessary materials to counter the damage to the man’s nerves. While the ointment slowly worked at softening his seemingly charred skin, Minnow worked on the needed pulp for his nerve endings, placing a bit of it on the wound every so often and rubbing it in with his finger.

Despite any gore or uncomfortable sights, Minnow enjoyed his job, and wasn’t easily disturbed by fleshly wounds. As he worked, he completely ignored almost all of the chatter around him.

Damiano sighed as he leaned against one of the chairs before standing up off of it. "Ok, so most of you seem so set on orb first, new king/queen next. But how do you suggest we find the orb, hm? From what I hear it's find the assassins, find the orb, which makes sense and I can certainly agree on the whole assassins lead to orb deal." Damiano then began pacing near Siya and Reynard, something he usually did when he was thinking or ranting. "But I ask, and I think the garden snake over here might enjoy this one honestly, why hunt the assassins? We don't need to hunt them down. They came to us! They attacked us in a place as fortified as a castle, so clearly they have no issues going after us anywhere else we might go." He stopped next to Siya once more, looking around at the others. "I say that we look for the new individual to possess the orb, and then we just wait for the assassins to show themselves once more. Capture 'em, interrogations maybe, point is they are saving us the trouble of looking for them by coming to us anyways. That way we get to do both tasks at once, a lot easier if you ask me than doing them seperately." He then leaned forwards on the chair, looking out at them, shrugging his shoulders as he did. "Your choice though, I'm just here to act as bodygaurd not make the decisions."

Reynard was not interested in arguing. To be fair, he rarely was being more of a "walk away from the situation" type or, if it became more violent a "make sure the other guy can't walk away" type. Still, the fact remained that the Protector had a job to do and it wasn't making eloquent arguments and/or trying to shut up those who depended on snark to stir up trouble. His job, in essence, was Siya who from his comment on the Water Orb onwards had drawn his attention.

"Correct, Lord Siya. The assailant was a water user, and..." He paused for a moment, recalling the events from the night before, lips pursed into a little o of surprise. "He used the Earth element as well."

"That's funny." Taki interjected. "Mine used air." Wincing slight at a bit of momentary pain from Minnow's work. Taki stared at them in confusion.

Siya bit his lip, taking a deep breath in that was almost akin to a gasp, but not quite. He watched Reynard carefully, his gaze shifting between both of his protectors eyes as he sat there, leaned against the arm of his chair. With Taki's input as well, he was now utterly confused and didn't know what to think or how to piece it all together. Both eyebrows knit together as he sat there, "I... How is that even possible..." he muttered, "To weild two elements. It's impossible."

With a sigh of frustration he leaned back against his chair, his fingers reaching up to run through his hair which he had braided up again that morning. The braid hung over one shoulder, just barely brushing across his chest as he pulled the ends of it, "In any case, I see everyone's point. It is true that these assailants came after us. Should they already have the water orb-"

"Wishful thinking..." Hebi said

Siya continued without missing a beat, "- then they come to us and we will have it. We should be looking for the vessel to carry it after that," he glanced up over his shoulder to Damiano as if to say thanks to the man without actually voicing it. Of course he would tell the man that later on when they were not in the company of others. How many times had Reynard scolded him for showing too much affection? It was nearly engrained in him now. Still, he couldn't help the small grin that he flashed up at the other.

Kanan crossed his arms, shifting slightly as he stood right behind Minnow now almost as if to keep the young protector out of Hebi's line of sight and insulting words. He glanced over to Amon though, wondering what it was that they were all going to decide. To him though, hunting down the assassins would have been his first choice. But then, Kanan had been bred to kill, it wasn't something that he could just easily get rid of.

Amon was just quiet, thinking to himself. Wielding two elements, something I’ve had never heard of before. What if it’s there use of the orb that enabled them to do so? Sitting back in his seat, leaning the chair back enough so that he could comfortably rest his legs up on the table. "I guess we have ourselves a plan of action then. Good, less time we spend here the better." He let his eyes wander up to the ceiling as he placed his hands behind his head. "But where to begin looking?" he muttered quietly to himself.

"Perhaps we should start in the Water Kingdom," Siya offered with a shrug of his shoulders, "Send small groups into the Kingdom under the order of looking for any one with... special talents. Have them bring that person to the nearest Kingdom."

"My dear, 'Child King'.... Think hard on that," Hebi said, his voice just above a low whisper. Though it sounded as if he was angry, the cruel twist of his lips into a smile was definitely far from it, "Are you willing to chance just any poor creature brought to you in the hopes you find what you are looking for? How will you explain to them the ordeal without telling them about the orb, because you know..." he leaned forward off the wall, making Kanan overly tense in the action, "Once they find out, you will have to kill them."

"I will not kill anyone!" Siya shot back, finally acknowledging the man as he stood up abruptly and slammed his hands on the table.

"Ooh my, then think it over again before you suggest such stupidity, Child King."

It was really more of a movement of pure instinct that had Reynard's hand shooting out, gripping solidly onto Siya's arm. It was as much a move to control, more subtle than grasping him bodily, as a way to comfort. He didn't like Hebi's attitude any more than any of the others in the room, but he had enough on his mind and his proverbial plate without adding his obvious attempts to bait everyone, thank you very much.

Amon slowly looked at Hebi. "Choose your next words very carefully protector."

it was Damiano's turn to mutter something. " Or at least be creative if you are going to egg people on, sheesh."

During the conflict at the table Taki held his face in his right hand. He was litterally face-palming and wishing to the gods he could have Hebi knocked out before and after every meeting. Or just knocked out all the time. He needed a break, and he needed a drink.

Looking up at Taki for a moment, he blinked. “Open, don’t scream too loudly.” He hardly gave the Earth King time to react before shoving a clean rag into his mouth and digging his fingers into the softened flesh of his wounded arm. Most of it had already begun to shed off, but if either of them wanted to get something properly accomplished, the process had to be sped up a bit. He tried to work as quickly and gently as he could as he assisted the herbs in removing the topmost layer of blackened skin, which was probably sensitive now from the softening and the other herbs he used for the nerves.

Minnow went only so far as a few layers, until the blackened skin turned a lighter and slightly redder shade. He then slathered a few different pulps and salves on the wound to assist in the stinging and also cleaning out the wound.

The young protector smiled brightly at the man, wiping his fingers clean on another cloth. ”That should help immensely. The skin’s going to keep coming off, and be sure to reapply the ointment every hour and a half or so until the skin becomes a slightly red, fleshy shade of color. Then come see me again and we can work further the damaged parts in your fingers. It may take a few days, though. I’m not entirely sure.” With a sheepish, close-eyed grin of accomplishment, the youth nodded slightly.

Growling in pain into the rag, Taki did his best to not accidently strike at the young protector as he felt the fingers dig into his arm. Unable to ignore the pain a little tear went down his face as it was in fact the worst pain he had ever felt in his entire life. Cringing he allowed Minnow to work further as bits of blackned skin would leave his arm.

After the cloth was removed from his mouth and Minnow stepped back, Taki shot to his feet. A childish grin played upon his face as he tried to bend his arm at the elbow. As he did so a few pops could be heard as the static joints came back to life. Sadly however for this day he was only able to bend his elbow. He had not regained full control over his left arm, but alas it was still a victory in his book.

Turning to Minnow beaming, Taki suddenly lifted up the protector with both arms. It ended up being more his right arm than his left arm as he couldn't exactly get a grip on the young Minnow. Pulling the healer in he hugged him tightly as he spun around. After a short moment he pulled Minnow just away from him enough so he could lean in and kiss him quickly before putting him down.

"Thank you!" Taki said as he litterally wanted to dance around the room.

The hand on Siya's arm seemed to take his full attention. The fingers wrapped around his arm were warm, strong and very familiar. Glancing down he looked over to Reynard and felt his face heat considerably. Feeling slightly ashamed of himself, he slowly sat down again. Once again he was unable to meet Reynards gaze though he could feel it on him. Siya knew that he had gotten far too worked up and that he had allowed Hebi to get to him. Sometimes he wished that he were more like Reynard with his ability to control his emotions. The young Fire King gave a soft sigh.

"I think we are settled then," he said as he looked over to Amon. He tried not to look at what Minnow was doing to the poor Earth King's arm though because it looked far too unpleasant to even stomach, so he avoided that as much as possible, "We will prepare to return to the Fire Kingdom. In the mean time, I will send people to search for a new vessel-"

Taki's jumping up out of his seat startled the young Fire Lord and he glanced over briefly. As he watched though, he had to bit his lip to keep from laughing at the sudden display. Taki looked so relieved about his arm that the energy was spreading through the room. However, a certain other protector was looking utterly shocked.

Kanan startled. His eye widened as he watched Taki pick up the small Minnow and hug him. Though he wasn't too fond of that, he could tolerate it. However, what got him more than a little worked up was the kiss that the Earth Lord suddenly planted on Minnow. Without thinking, he reached out, snatched Minnow's arm and dragged the smaller protector back towards him away from the other King. It took him a moment to realize what he had done and when he did he quickly released Minnow and stepped back, trying to recompose himself.

And utterly failing.

Sometimes he really hated his pale skin for any sort of color that presented itself was brighter than normal. He could feel the blush creeping along his cheeks and he gripped both hands behind his back and tried not to look at anyone directly, especially Minnow. Damn it... he thought to himself. He really wanted the other Kings to return to their homes now. He wasn't at all himself the past few days. Too much tension.. yes... way too much tension he thought, trying to reason with himself.

Amon had intended to respond to Siya's remark, but Taki sudden outburst and antics did draw a smile from him as he watched. The kiss had him chuckling, but when he watched Kanan suddenly grab and drag Minnow away from Taki in a strange fit of...over-protectivness, but then when he saw Kanan stand there, almost like a deer blinded by a light with how surprised he was at his own actions, Amon's chuckle grew louder. Then he saw the blush, blinked, then started laughing more. Amon didn't want to be mean, but seeing Kanan's stoic appearance flop so badly like this was just too much for him. "Oh gosh...! That, that is jsut adorable!!" he exclaimed as he continued.

In his mirth, Amon had not paid attention to how far back he was leaning, and for the second time in less than twenty-four hours he found himself tipping over backwards and flopping out of the seat. It did nothing to stop his laughter though, so he jsut remained there on the floor, hoping to calm himself down soon.

Lutchka’s eyes widened as Taki kissed Minnow. She slapped her thigh and sat forward with a short laugh. “Taki, you sly dog! I didn’t think that was your thing~” She teased brightly, a playful smirk to her lips and her eyes dancing with mischief. She was overjoyed that her king could finally start using his left arm again, but such an overzealous reaction couldn't be missed.

Taki for a moment seemed too in love with the fact he could bend his arm. Taking a moment to dance around with his arm he merely responded to Lutchka with, "Don't feel bad Lutchka I'm flexable!" Again he begun to move around with his arm as he smiling and dancing about the room. He even tried throwing Hebi a hug of which he missed and walked into the wall.

The hug was unexpected, but it was sort of nice, other than the grip behind it. Minnow didn’t entirely know how to react to such an explosion of gratitude. And if he was embarrassed just by the show Taki had made out of him, he was utterly shocked when he was kissed. He seemed to just freeze up for a split-second, utter confusion reeling in his mind as well as something that felt like it was trying to come up and slap Taki across the cheek. He didn’t want to be touched by him like that. He wanted-

His reeling thoughts suddenly came screeching to a halt as he felt the surprisingly warm touch of someone behind him, and somehow he immediately knew it was Kanan. Probably by the proximity the man had been keeping beforehand. His back bumped into the one-eyed protector’s chest, and probably one of the worst blushes he’d ever experienced raced across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. He tried to stammer something legible out, but was failing miserably. Kanan had grabbed him, out of all people out of all situations. Did that mean that he- But it couldn’t possibly- But the only explanation- Why did he- Did-

Thoughts raced around in his mind too quickly to grab a single one and try to flatten it out to make some sense. However, the warmth of Kanan’s proximity quickly disappeared as the man took a step back, and another strange feeling twisted inside of him, much like the one that had bothered him earlier in the courtyard.

Amon’s laughing only made the situation that much worse and chaotic, and Minnow found it utterly impossible to figure anything out. Finally he parted his lips to allow a few words to tumble out. ”I’m
 should probably clean
 out
.” His entire sentence structure made no sense, and he shot out the door with a slight stiffness in his awkward scramble to grab his supplies and depart as quickly as possible.

It may not have been very gracious at all, but that was the thing furthest from his mind at that point. He also had the afterthought that he wasn’t actually needed in the meeting, and regardless if he were missed or not, he needed to leave immediately and get some fresh air.

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Character Portrait: Renardine "Minnow" Lunvari Character Portrait: Kanan Thiyer
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Elsewhere

His fingers were on either side of the deep wound that he had received from the long haired protector. It was a rather good blow, one that had he been paying attention and were more focused on what he was doing could have avoided it. Instead he had two puppets to control in his haste to get what he needed. That was where he messed up. Separating out his power in the hopes of achieving something faster. Gritting his teeth, he allowed the water around his fingers to seep into the deep wound and work to pull it together.

The mismatched eyes briefly glanced up into the trees where he had situated himself. When he was satisfied that he didn't see anything around him, he returned his attention to the wound. As he worked, he recalled the conversation between himself and the protector to the young King. They were ignorant of the fact that the orbs did not belong in this world. They were his and with out them... his eyes narrowed as he ground his teeth together in anger and frustration. He had to get them back.

It was imperative that he got those back. With out them... Shaking his head a bit he finished healing the wound and stood up on the branch of the large tree that he had been up on. Once he stood, though he took in a sharp breath. Both eyes widened as he turned around completely and stared off into the distance through the limbs of the trees. The shock wore off into anger, his gaze narrowing as his fingers curled into a fist against the bark of the tree.

With him there really wasn't any time left. Left with a very hard decision, the mis-matched eyed warrior leapt off the tree limb and made his way down to the forest floor. Once there, he turned and headed back towards the castle he had infiltrated the night before. The Kings were far to powerful all together. He would have to wait until they each returned to their own palace. Even then he feared that he might not get what he needed in time. There were very few options left for him, some of them he did not wish to do.

Even so, he would do them if he absolutely had to.




Kanan and Minnow

Kanan, once the meeting was over and everyone dispersed, the one eyed protector moved down the hall in search of the other protector. There were quite a few things going through his mind. First off, why had he grabbed the boy as he did. That one was answered more easily than the rest. He was fond of the blonde haired healer. Very fond of him. How long had it been since he last felt like this towards someone? Far too long, he thought. The boy's smile was beautiful, his cheerful mood was warming... everything about him was something that Kanan was missing.

The other thing that was rushing through him was why Minnow had left the hall as he did. Something had bothered him, but Kanan wasn't sure what it was. He had a bitter taste in the back of his mouth though, partially wondering if it was his fault. The one eyed protector would hate himself if it was. And finally, the last thing to cross his mind was reasons as to why he was chasing after the little blonde. He had half convinced himself that it was simply because Minnow had ordered him to seek him out later to fix the wound in his side, the one right over his hip on his lower back. The one that was making him limp just a bit as he moved down the hall.

Yes.

That was it. That was the whole reason for this chase. He was only going to find the boy and have him heal the wound. That was it. Nothing more. He bit his lip unconsciously as he slowed to a halt. No. It wouldn't be just 'nothing more'. He wanted to ask the smaller protector if he was alright, he wanted to know what was wrong, but he wasn't sure how to get the words out. With a heavy sigh he sacrificed some of the metal on his frame, two rings and one necklace disappeared. He looked over his body and grimaced. He was going to have to resupply soon.

After locating Minnow, he continued on his way to where the blonde was at.

Minnow’s back rested firmly against the brick wall of one of the gardens. Roses bloomed nearby, and the fountain a few meters off trickled loudly. His hand was clutched into a loose fist near his mouth. His breathing wouldn’t slow down, no matter what he tried, and he could still feel the warmth radiating off of his cheeks. He tried desperately to rub at it with his other hand, using the backs of his fingers in the attempt to brush it away. Light beads of sweat were pressed against his forehead, and he simply couldn’t catch his breath. Jeez, was he dying or something? It must have been the heat from the sun, and from running so quickly without break, and he still hadn’t gotten enough sleep. No wonder his mind was so mushy and his brain wouldn’t function properly and his body wouldn’t listen to him.

Pushing himself off the wall, he staggered a few steps towards the fountain until he rested his shaky hands on the rim of the decorative water sculpture. The cool, gentle spray that spattered his fingers was calming, and he quickly rubbed at his forehead. He was overreacting for no reason, nothing that had just happened was meant in any serious, or at least that’s what he was striving to convince himself of. Because the alternative- no, it was unthinkable.

Minnow had discarded most of his supplies on the way out, so at least he was free from that distraction. He needed to catch his breath, to slow down and do his absolute best to get rid of the subtle headache that pounded against his forehead. If he couldn’t stop, he’d never be able to piece any of this out. The thing he wanted to do most now was to just crawl under the covers of his bed and sleep, to shut out all of the confusing thoughts that just didn’t make any sense. Heaving out short breaths as he leaned over the fountain, he could feel his heart pumping almost painfully against his chest. He had stopped moving a little while ago, so why wouldn't his body slow down as quickly as he wanted it to?

The courtyard... Kanan thought as he moved into the area where Minnows had gone off to. The palace grounds were rather large. Of course they had to be in order to house Minnow's enormous green house located on the other side of the castle grounds. The courtyard was no exception either. It was large in it's own way and with singular trees spaced out nice and even, fountains flowing in between and rounded circles of green grasses and shrubs. It was here that he found the blonde who looked to be more than just a little unsettled. Kanan frowned as he moved over to the other protector.

He wasn't really trying to sneak up on the boy, but Kanan had a natural silence about him so when he came up to the boy, he was sure Minnow probably hadn't heard him because he was now leaning against the fountain with his back to Kanan. With a slight sigh to himself, he glanced around with his good eye before moving closer. He came up right next to Minnow, his reflection in the water rippling with the fountains spray, "Minnow..." he called, his voice softer than usual.

At the unexpected soft voice that was way too close to him, Minnow let out a gasp of surprise and suddenly found his palms slipping along the wet rim of the fountain. His chest slammed into the stone and he let out a loud groan before quickly taking a couple of steps backwards away from Kanan with a startled, sheepish grin. “K-kanan.” He coughed lightly in attempts to cover the stutter. Crap, it just had to be him of all people.

He angled his head down so that his bangs would hide his face and the blush that still raged on his cheeks, renewed by the most recent embarrassing thing the blonde-haired boy had done, which of course was completely losing his cool and almost falling into the fountain from surprise. He was usually much calmer and wasn’t startled very easily when in his element. “I, ah
-” The poor boy trailed off before immediately clamping his mouth shut. He didn’t trust himself enough to speak- at least nothing that made sense-, especially not after the fiasco in the council room. He just had a feeling that whatever he’d let pass his lips would be words he did not consider before speaking, nor ones that he would probably understand himself. Usually he was much better under this kind of pressure or situation, why was he so shaken up? Not only that, but why did he keep asking himself the same question over and over, as if the answer he gave himself wasn't enough?

Kanan moved to try to assist Minnow when he slipped off the fountain and even winced inwardly as the smaller boy slammed into the edge of the fountain. The blonde healer got up rather quickly though without Kanan's help and faced him with a grin and a stutter that wasn't his normal behavior. Finally, Minnow looked away and Kanan was left to watch him in confusion. After a while of watching the other and trying to figure out what to say, he finally settled with the first 'reason' as to why he had gone after the other protector after the meeting.

"You told me to see you," Kanan moved, taking a step closer, "For the wound," he added. He also wanted to ask if Minnow was alright, if he needed anything and especially why he had run from the council room. However, those could wait. He wasn't quite ready yet to ask, and he wasn't even sure how to anyway, so he just waited for the other to acknowledge that first step. Inwardly, Kanan was cursing himself for his lack of voicing his thoughts. He had always been rather silent, and now he knew he shouldn't be, but he couldn't help it.

Gods he was so stupid! Of course Kanan had only come to have his wound looked after. Minnow wanted to kick himself. The few sparse glimpses of his thoughts that he caught made him want to just turn invisible and stop existing because they kept clashing together, wouldn't make sense, and they were ones that he could only think to deny and immediately turn away from.

Clutching his fingers to his chest, he let out a deep, though shaky, breath of air. “O-oh, right.” He cursed himself mentally for not having better control of his body, of his speech. Without looking up at his fellow protector, Minnow quickly stepped behind him to look at the wound once more to figure out what herbs he needed. That was one thing he could default to- one thing he understood better than anything else. Practically shutting off all other thoughts in an instant as the serious focus that came with his job kicked in, Minnow placed a light hand on the man’s shoulder to indicate that he should stay while he got his materials.

Kanan turned slightly, his gaze following the other as Minnow walked behind him and looked at the wound again, lifting his shirt out of the way and moving the bandage. When the boys hand touched his shoulder lightly Kanan turned and watched him go to retrieve his things. Moving rather quickly, he snatched Minnow's hand, "Don't... be too long," he said, his words sounding awkward to him, "And... avoid Lord Taki... and the Snake," he continued, stumbling to try to get the right words. He released Minnow then and slowly seated himself on the edge of the water fountain.

As he waited for the blonde healer, he felt his chest growing tight for some strange reason. It was a feeling that he was sure he had lost a long time ago, and thus forgot what it was entirely. He didn't know why he was so anxious, why his fingers curled and uncurled into tight fists over and over or even why he found himself frustrated as he sat there. Normally calm, with no emotion what-so-ever and always proper in speech even around Minnow, he was starting to find that increasingly difficult to do. How long had he been in service to the King? A few years. Through those years he supposed he'd been finding himself tracing Minnow's steps more and more.

When had that started? He wasn't sure.

After a moment, he finally stood and dragged off the shirt that was certainly in the way of the wound for Minnow to tend to when he returned. Laying the white cloth on the fountain's edge he proceeded to untie the messy bandage that he had made for himself the other night. Unwinding the cloth from his waist, he winced as it pulled at the wound that had clotted to the bandage. Trying to see over his shoulder he frowned as the bandage was seemingly stuck and pulling on it was going to be the worst idea possible. He could already see the look on Minnow's face if he returned and Kanan had removed it forcefully like he was planning.

Minnow jumped slightly at the unexpected contact of Kanan grabbing his hand. He shuddered slightly under the intensity of the man’s gaze, though it was soft towards him, which was also strange. Minnow almost missed his first words entirely. He blinked before nodding almost dumbly. The best reason he could come up with was that the wound was very uncomfortable for the one-eyed protector, and he wanted it fixed as quickly as possible. He didn’t entirely understand Kanan’s words about King Taki and Hebi, though obviously he had no intentions of going anywhere near the Snake if he could help it. He had already tended to the Earth King’s arm for the day, so why would he need to see him again?

Minnow did not dawdle once Kanan released his hand, quickly taking a path away from the man and towards his medical supply. Upon returning, however, the young boy’s breath caught in his throat at seeing Kanan’s back without his shirt. It wasn’t even the scars that did it- he barely even registered them. It was the simple fact that Kanan had no shirt on that was strange, even though it was needed to work on the wound. His mind was quick to shut down the strange feeling that he felt and switch his thought process to that of his professional one. He had work to do, and if he wasn’t focused, he wouldn’t do it right.

Minnow wiped down the rim of the fountain to make it dry before placing his materials there. He could see that the bandage and marred flesh had partnered together jealously, and both would complain loudly should he remove it without assistance. He rubbed some sort of liquid substance over the spot where the gouge was, and waited patiently for it to seep through to the wound. He rubbed it gently with his fingers to quicken the process, and soon he removed the cloth. From Kanan’s movements, it had seemed to reopen in some places, and it needed to be sewn together.

Minnow leaned against the fountain rim as he looked over what he needed, placing a hand gingerly on Kanan’s hip and pulling him closer so he could reach him better. He started simply by cleaning the wound out.

He heard Minnow come up behind him and turned just slightly to see the other. The boy put his supplies down and looked at the bandage. Kanan winced slightly at the touch of the fingers against the wound, rubbing in something to separate the cloth and the skin. He didn't make a sound though, keeping this discomfort to himself. Once the cloth was removed, Kanan took in a sharp breath as Minnow continued to clean the wound. One hand was on his hip, drawing him closer and he allowed it, stepping back so that the other could do what he needed properly.

Gritting his teeth, he was doing what he could to ignore the burning. He needed something to occupy himself, "Minnow..." he said, his voice laced with discomfort, "Are you alright?"

Minnow made quick work of cleaning the wound out, and moved on to the stitching part. Threading the needle through his skin, the blonde protector knew of the pain this would cause Kanan, but it couldn’t be helped. Anytime that Kanan might have moved, Minnow was quick to place a hand to still him. It was best not to mess this part up, so he focused as best he could to do it right. ”I should have been here for this, to do it properly.” He mumbled quietly, pulling the skin together and setting it.

At Kanan’s question if he was alright, Minnow suddenly paused- a noticeable one, but one that did not last long as he soon resumed his work. He didn’t answer Kanan though, merely stayed silent and continued his methodical work.

Soon finishing the threading, he cut the resilient thread and placed the needle back down. He then grabbed an herb pulp that would help with healing the damage as well as make sure it didn't get infected. He dabbed the corner of a cloth in the substance before carefully running it over every stitch.

However, about half way through, Minnow, without really thinking, leaned his forehead against the protector’s back. It was an action of his body that slipped by without him being able to do much about it. The overload of his brain was catching up to him once more and it was too much, from no thoughts that he could understand to the fatigue that had not been fixed from so short a nap hours before the council. But it was more than that. He subconsciously wanted to be closer to Kanan, didn't want his touches to be limited to healing wounds. But of course Minnow couldn't possibly reason that out with the current state of his mind.

A shaky sigh shuddered past his lips,and he finally answered Kanan’s question. ”I just need some sleep
.” He did not move his head away from his back, simply continued to slide the cloth and dip it in the pulp and do it over. His eyelids had fallen down halfway, and a sort of frown pulled at his lips slightly as his eyebrows scrunched lightly together as he tried to keep his focus on his task rather than let his body shut down.

Soft hair brushed across the center of his back and Kanan startled, half wondering if Minnow had done that on purpose or fallen asleep while standing. He was given his answer when the blonde spoke though. Moving an arm to steady the boy, Kanan turned around. taking the cloth from Minnow's fingers, he reached down and tilted Minnow's head upwards, his pale blue eye watching the blonde carefully, "That is enough," he said gently, "You've done more than enough for me."

A frown graced his lips, "If you were like this, you should have told me," Kanan found himself scolding the other, "You do this all the time," he whispered this last part before allowing himself to sigh openly. In one motion, he moved Minnow to a better position and dipped down briefly to pick up the boy, "You will go sleep," he said, his tone bordering his normal 'ordering' when he was working but still soft enough to show a slight bit of tenderness that he wasn't quite used to.

As he carried the boy back to the palace, he adjusted Minnow in his grip so that he could move better and ignored any pleas that the boy may have given him, "Earlier... you ran... why?" Kanan asked suddenly, surprising himself as he entered the halls to take Minnow to his chambers.

Minnow’s eyes opened slightly as Kanan took the cloth from his hand. A tired, unconvincing frown pulled at his lips as he reached out in attempts to retake it, but Kanan turned around before he could. A soft grumble left parted lips as he tried to grab at the one-eyed man’s sides in order to get to his arms, but he was slipping into exhaustion too quickly. ”Dammit Kanan, I’m not done
. As his chin was lifted, Minnow did not try to resist, he really couldn’t. But as his gaze met that of his fellow protector, his eyes shifted down with a bit of a half pout half frown and a dazed blush.

However, as he was picked up he let out a soft grunt, blowing a bit of air at Kanan’s shoulder as that was the best he could do in terms of struggle and attempt to resist the action. But he was really in no position to question Kanan’s authority, though that did not keep him from complaining a bit.

”I’m fine
 really
 I need to finish
. His voice was nothing more than a mumble, his fingers scrabbled weakly against Kanan’s back, fingernails scuffling lightly against his skin in attempt to reach the wound once more, despite the fact that he had lost his cloth a while ago- a reality that did not register to his fatigued mind.

Eventually he gave up on his attempts to get Kanan to put him back down, and simply accepted his fate and the fact that he would not be released anytime soon. But
 it was kind of nice not having to walk on his own. He certainly wouldn’t have made it this far and the result would probably have been him sleeping out among the greens yet again. His eyes fluttered closed as they were still making their way back to the castle, but Kanan’s voice roused his consciousness as he barely registered that they were now in the palace halls.

A short laugh caused by sleep deprivation tumbled out his lips as the younger protector answered. “The kiss
 your touch
 embarrassment....” His words were obviously sleep-laden, and his thoughts were spaced wide between. And had Minnow been in his right mind, he would never have uttered what he just did. He didn’t even realize what he was saying as the words left his lips, the soothing feeling of Kanan’s steps beneath him soon lulling him back to sleep.

With a quick glance down at the boy in his arms, he felt his face burn again. He was thankful that Minnow was sleeping. If the healer had seen him, he was sure to have to try to explain it. The immediate answer was that he was feverish, but that would have been bad to say. Minnow worked hard enough as it was. Kanan was taken by surprise by Minnow's answer to why he had left the council room. Taki's sudden kiss and then Kanan grabbing him without thinking. He shifted the smaller protectors body again. Minnow was so light, almost fitting perfectly in his grip.

Opening the door to his chambers, he moved inside silently and placed the sleeping blonde upon his own bed. Kanan's room had been closer to where they were after all. It would be his excuse if Minnow asked when he woke. Taking one of the spare blankets, he lay it over Minnow's small frame. Leaning over the boy, he gazed at him for a while. His sleeping face was making his heart skip a beat. Brushing the blonde strands aside, Kanan frowned as he forced himself to stand and leave the room. When the door closed, he glowered at the floor, trying to sort through what it was that coursed through him. With a heavy sigh he turned on his heel and headed back to the fountain to retrieve his shirt and clean up the supplies. Maybe with the added 'alone time' he could figure out his own thoughts.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Amon Ad-Raza Character Portrait: Renardine "Minnow" Lunvari Character Portrait: Kanan Thiyer
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#, as written by Siryn


Several days later


Kanan was back to his normal duties, wandering the halls and making sure things were in order. After the attack he had kept his magic stretched to it's maximum potential. He felt Minnow's presence and called it an 'accident' to be in the same place as the other. The one eyed protector was finding that he was starting to do this often. He was giving excuses now, some of them blatant lies that he was sure the little blonde picked up on. He couldn't help it though. Anxiety was beginning to follow him if he went for too long without seeing the other, though he wasn't going to breathe a word about that. No, that was his own little secret and for now he was just going to pass it off as his doing his rounds and just so happening to run by the boy.

As he approached, he made a little bit of sound so that the little healer wouldn't startled. Not that Minnow wasn't aware of his surroundings, but Kanan still wanted to have his presence known a little bit before he was right next to the blonde. As he got close he watched the boy and then offered a simple greeting by saying Minnow's name gently. He would have continued walking but he stopped suddenly. Something was wrong, something had hit the edge of Kanan's air magic, releasing it's presence to him. Almost immediately, though he felt an overwhelming pressure and his throat seemed to close, not allowing him to breathe properly.

Lunging forward, he grabbed Minnow roughly. Pulling the boy from whatever he had been doing, he wrapped both arms around him and turned so that he was shielding the smaller protector. The castle shuddered and the hall they were in was utterly destroyed. The solid rock went flying all around, knocking Kanan off his feet. His own power that had swirled around him to try to block the incoming wash of magic stood no chance against whomever exploded the wall inward.

Hitting the floor, Kanan held Minnow tightly underneath him. Heavy rocks surrounded both of them, a few laying on top of the pale blue eyed protector. He could feel blood trickling down from his head, to his eye and under the eyepatch. He gave a soft cough and then a groan as he tried to lift himself up. His limbs shook from the strain and he gave up finally, only having enough strength to keep himself from crushing the poor boy beneath him. Footsteps filled the air then and Kanan froze.

"Don't move," he whispered to Minnow, "Don't do anything."

He shifted just enough to keep Minnow out of sight. Looking up slightly he caught sight of black boots, a long black cloak that hung to a tall figure that was looking around at the destruction they had just done to the castle wall. The cloaked person turned his gaze looking through the rubble before spotting Kanan's struggling frame.

"Thought I felt someone around here. Where's the orb?"

Kanan ground his teeth, his eye narrowing at the man who tilted his head, black hair shifting across his shoulder and forehead, "No answer hu? Well, I don't feel it coming from you so you must be one of those... guardians? Or are you just an unfortunate knight that was in the hall with a very flimsy detection spell? Not that it matters, don't take it personally," the male said his finger curling towards him and the rocks of the wall shifting. Kanan gave a soft cry, his head bowing down as he tried to keep the heavy weight up but failed to do so. He slipped forward, panting and the room swimming so quickly that he couldn't keep track. Kanan feel unconscious from the pressure and the head wound. The only thing to keep them both from being crushed entirely were the smaller rocks that had been surrounding them, but just barely.




Each and every door in the palace halls were blown open or shattered in the man's search for the one who held the orb. He could feel it's power resonating, but he couldn't quite trace it's exact location in the castle so he was left to searching the place room for room. Any that came across his path were killed on the spot. Soon he left a long trail of death and destruction behind him. As the double doors to another room burst opened, the man in the black cloak walked in as if he knew exactly where he was and was supposed to be there. His dark gaze settled on the only person in the room and he smiled, though the smile did not reach his black eyes.

"There it is," he simply said and lashed out at Amon with a crack of white light.

Amon had been sitting within the training room on one of the benches, having just finished a round of shadow fighting. He had his elbows resting on his knees with his chin in his hands, looking at the floor. He wondered how the other kings were doing and if anything more attacks had occurred, but having not received any new messages from them he had no idea. He figured there must not have been though, if they had been attacked news of such would have traveled really fast to the other kings. Yet nothing had been sent or received, and Amon had yet to send anything either as he had yet to make much progress himself. He had dispatched a few individuals to look for someone of notable talent with water magick, but they had yet to find anything.

"Hm...watch them turn out to be right under ours noses. That'd be wonderfully hilarious." He said with a dry chuckle. "Sounds about right with the luck we've been having!" He chuckled louder this time, with a bit more mirth. He sat up, stretching out his arms some before rising to his feet. He figured he'd get one more round in, then go find something to eat.

Then the doors slammed open, so hard Amon was surprised that they didn't just tear free from their hinges. He jerked his head up to see another figure, clad in a familiar black cloak, walking through the doorway. Amon was about to say something, but when the figure's movement was followed by a flash of white light coming in his direction, Amon quickly threw himself to the side, diving out of the way and rolling up onto his feet facing the attacker; his feet spread out in his fighting stance with hands up ready to defend himself. "I thought I mentioned last time that you can just knock!"

Once Minnow had finally gotten enough sleep for his body to return to normal, his usual self returned as well. He too returned to his tasks and his gardens, though he and Kanan did tend to bump into each other a lot. Increasingly with most days, which was strange but not unpleasant. He had a slight inkling that Kanan was doing it on purpose, but couldn’t entirely piece out why he visited so much. Currently he was switching out a wilting flower by a window to replace it with a fresher one and replant it in the greenhouse and nurse it back to life when Kanan’s steps sounded lightly in the hall.

Minnow looked up with a bright grin, holding a vase in one hand and picking up the old pot with the other to switch them. He returned to his work as Kanan slowly neared him. However, something in the atmosphere suddenly changed and he blinked in wonder, turning his head slightly to the side to look at Kanan questioningly.

However, something firm slammed into him, sending both of them staggering against the wall. He almost lost his grip on his pot. His face was suddenly pressed into the warmth of Kanan’s chest, and the man’s scent filled his nostrils. He tried to open his mouth to ask him what he was doing when all hell broke loose. The young protector suddenly found himself slammed into the ground with his partner on top of him, and he immediately figured what was going on. They were both caught under a large slab of rock, and Minnow immediately moved his hand to attempt to rest his palm against the smooth material.

However, at Kanan’s order to not move an inch, his fingers froze in place despite his better judgment, and the young boy clamped his mouth shut, staring up at Kanan as the man looked to the side, and a new voice filled the room. It startled him, to think that an enemy was so close, that they had dispatched both of them so quickly.

A light panic flourished inside of him, but he constrained himself to Kanan’s orders. Someone else was using the power of Earth to destroy everything around them, and an unfamiliar feeling- anger- slightly welled up inside of him. But that feeling was mostly swamped by fright and surprise. As Kanan shifted forward and fell further on top of him, it was all the boy could do from letting out a pained breath.

The man who had attacked them moved away from them after saying something about the orb, and something clicked in Minnow’s mind, and adrenaline pumped through his veins, instinct overtaking thought. Once he knew that the man had left- by the sounds of destruction further down the halls- the youth quickly rested his palm against the large slab of rock and dug his fingers into the pot that had rolled slightly away from his body.

Not only did Minnow place the plants around the castle for decoration and to liven things up a bit, but in every container there was some bit of metal, whether it be a plating at the bottom, a rim, or whatever, he kept it there in case of emergencies. Now was obviously the time to use them.

A light blue glow emanated from within the pot as his fingers made contact with what he sought, Minnow focused keenly on the slab that was slowly crushing them. Moving it aside quickly through the use of his element, he struggled under Kanan’s weight. The worst thing in that particular moment, however, was the decision between Kanan or Amon. Obviously he was duty-bound to his king, but it was a real struggle to just leave Kanan there after he had wormed his way out from beneath him.

But he knew what the one-eyed protector would have done in that case, what the right decision was, and how badly he’d be yelled at and scolded did he not go to their king’s aid. Running a single hand through the man’s hair with concern, Minnow picked himself up from the ground and took a few staggering steps before breaking into a run down the decimated halls before quickly taking a short cut to where he knew Amon was, all the while collecting the power from the metals in the plants as he went.

He was not entirely quick enough, though, and as he skidded to a halt before the double doors, his eyes widened in shock. His immediate reaction was to call out to Amon, but he knew how little good that would do. He still held the pot in his hand, only just now realizing he had been clutching onto it for dear life. His eyes immediately shut, and Minnow moved his palm upwards. The floor right in front of his King rumbled in a second of warning before it split from its place and was lifted up at an angle to deflect another attack that was heading straight for the King of Earth.

In a last desperate attempt to distract the attacker, Minnow threw the pot at the man’s head and yelled out at him.

The crack of white light shattered the floor where Amon had been. The man followed the King's movement with his black eyes and prepared another attack. This one shattered rock as the floor was suddenly lifted up to protect the King. Clay shattered against the back of his head, causing him to stumble forward slightly. Turning slowly he set his dark gaze upon the small boy who had attacked him with a scream. Turning to face the blonde fully, he tilted his head.

"There you are. I knew I felt someone else down in that hall. I didn't think you would be a little nuisance though," he said and lifted his hand. The white light shot towards Minnow, spreading open as it got close to him and slammed into the wall. The flashing magic caged the boy in it so that he couldn't run. In a split second after that, it curled around Minnow's limbs and dragged him towards the figure. Gloved fingers encircled the blonde's throat and lifted him up.

"You have my attention now, are you sure you wanted it?" He glanced around the room briefly before he looked back to Minnow and promptly threw him towards the window with the added push of his own magic. Turning around he opened both hands and the white light flooded the room destroying the wall the protected Amon.

"Now... where were we? Ah yes, I remember," the crackling light spread out and rushed towards Amon almost like a spiders web to encase him.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Amon Ad-Raza Character Portrait: Renardine "Minnow" Lunvari Character Portrait: Kanan Thiyer
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Amon was shocked when an earthen wall rose up beneath just before him, only to be blinded a little when a blast of light smacked into it. Blinded by the sudden flash, he shielded his eyes, swearing under his breath. Once his sight recovered, wondering what the commotion he was hearing was, it was immediately assaulted again as the earthen wall in front of him shattered in a blast of bright light and dust. He shielded his face with his arms as he was pelted by the pebbles, coughing some as he breathed in the dust. Fanning it away, he then looked up to see another white light heading straight towards him. He immediately reacted by firing a blast of air beneath him to propel him up into the air, arcing over the white light and towards the black cloaked figure. In this rapidly developing chaos, he had no time to figure out where the wall had come from, just that he needed to do something.

Minnow’s eyes were wide and his breathing hard from having run so far so quickly. As the intruder turned his gaze on him, a shudder wracked his body, keeping him from reacting quickly enough in time. He had only just managed to form a blockade in front of him to stop the dangerous white that slithered towards him at a ridiculous speed. However, it was not fully formed and did not do much to stop the impending attack.

Suddenly he found himself pressed up against the wall with the light curling into his limbs. It stung at his skin through his clothes, and tugged at his entire body, dragging it towards the man clad in black. He glared at the man as he neared, but as soon he reached him, the talons that seemed to grip him disappeared as he was deposited into the intruder’s grip. He let out a hiss of air as the man’s fingers tightly enclosed around his throat, and he could feel the magic that trembled excitedly beneath the gloves. Not only could he feel the trembles, but where the man dug his fingers into him left a slight burn mark, probably residue magic from what he had just used.

His vision was going a little fuzzy from the lack of oxygen, even though the man had only been gripping him for so long. He clawed at the man’s hands, trying to inflict some damage. He blinked, and in the instance that he opened his eyes once more, he was farther away from the man, which didn’t make sense at first
 until he felt his back slam into the window pane.

Glass shattered from the impact, and Minnow felt himself falling. No sound left his lips though, and he gazed blankly up at the window frame as it rapidly became smaller and smaller. As a last attempt, though, the boy clenched his fist and small clumps of earth shoot out from other windows, shards of glass burrowing halfway into the semi-soft material. He waved his hand in an arc, sending them up in attempts to provide one last assistance to his King before Amon was left completely alone with the maniac.

The wind rippled through his clothes, and he could feel himself nearing the ground as pressure seemed to increase upon his body. However, as he fell, something suddenly rose in the corner of his vision, rising up before slamming together above him. He blinked in confusion before he hit the ground.

And then it was dark.

Really dark.

Concentrating fully on the King that had come closer to him, the male in black didn't notice the oncoming rush of dirt and glass. It swirled through the room suddenly and several neat little cuts appeared across his face, parts of the clothes on his arms were cut open as well. With a slight growl of irritation, he lashed out at Amon with one hand attempting to grab the King while the other waved at the air to clear the dirt and dust in one sharp crack of white light. Once that was done, he grinned at the man as ever peice of metal in the room suddenly vanished and pulled around his hand in a sort of shell that flickered and waved around his fingers.

"Enough playing. You have something I want," he murmured and his white light erupted through the room, stretching up to twine around Amon's limbs to hold him still.

The man was able to shrug off the glass that had bombarded him and caught Amon as he reached the man. Amon wasn't really surprised, as jumping through the air was never a good thought most of the time. Mostly because there was no way to change your movements or actions whilst mid-air, but Amon had been put on the defensive here so he had mostly done so out of reflex. Now he was in this man's grip, grimacing slightly but smirking all the same. Because now the man was in reach and open, so as Amon saw the light coming towards him he used one of his legs and planted it on the man hip. With some of his weight supported now, he was able to bring his leg up, Amon's knee almost touching his own face before he extended it forwards straight towards the man's face, leading with the heal of his foot and with a blast of air behind it.

Staggering back, the man huffed. Regaining his footing, he let out a slow breath as he rolled his head forward, the joints of his neck popping slightly. Blood was slowly trickling from his nose to his upper lip. Black eyes settled upon Amon as he reached up and slowly drew the back of his gloved hand across his upper lip, just under his nose. The other hand still held the thick blue swirl around it almost like a glove. With a sniff and a release of air through his mouth that was partially a laugh, he glanced down at his hand before flicking his gaze back to Amon. A grin spread on his face.

"I should have expected nothing less," he commented offhandidly, "But that... was very irritating," he growled the last part, the fingers of his free hand snapping opened and the white light crackling all along the floor. It snaked along Amon's legs and arms, the rest of the tendrils dancing around as if they were alive all around the training room. The man moved slowly, still wiping at his bleeding nose occasionally until he reached the King.

With a flick of his hand, the light tightened, dragging the King to both knees. His free hand snaked out and took a fist full of the back of Amon's hair, dragging his head backwards slightly.

"Maybe you should have let the other take the orb from you. He is softer than I am," he said tilting his head a bit as he regarded Amon, "Not that it would have mattered anyway. They belong to me, so I'll be taking back what is mine."

The hand encased in blue light raised up to hover over Amon's chest and then sunk into his body with a quick shove from the man in black. With a slight bit of searching, his fingers curled around the orb and he pulled. With the orb in hand, he finally pried it from Amon's body and then released him. Lifting the orb up, he examined it, the light blue swirl flashed brilliantly before he closed his gloved fingers around it. Looking back to the King, he tapped his shoulder lightly, a soft crack filling the air before he turned around, "My... appreciation," he left the training room with the orb in hand, the white light fading as soon as he was away from the castle.

He had achieved what he wanted, having knocked the man back and free from his grip. Landing on his feet, Amon then readied his stance to fight back while grinning back at the man, responding to his comment about expectations, "I live to surpass expectations, what can I say?!" He watched carefully, however he hadn't noticed the light along the floor from his position in the man's grip. When they suddenly shot at him, Amon could only manage to flinch, having tried to move out of the way but it was too late. He kept struggling, even as they dragged him down onto his knees.

Shit, shit!! Come on get up! His thoughts were frantic as he tried to get loose still. He winced when he felt his hair being tugged back, staring right at the attacker before him. As he listened, considering he had little else he could do, his eyes narrowed. "Your's...dammit, stop this!! Do you not understand what you're doing by taking these?! Do you not understand the chaos you will cause by taking them from us?!"

Clearly the man didn't, or rather did't care, as Amon shouted in pain when the man's hand sunk into his chest. He shut his eyes tightly, breathing through clenched teeth as the pain was immense, though occasionally he'd lose control of himself and shout out from the pain. He didn't even notice the man pull his hand back, instead Amon just went limp when the pain subsided, breathing heavily as he remained there. "Dammit...no!" He tugged at the magical restraints despite the futility of it, trying to get himself free. He had no such luck, and he slowly lifted his head as he watched the man turn and leave. "Get back here you fuck!", but the man simply ignored the king as he left.

Once the restraints on him faded, Amon just fell forwards, groaning and struggling to push himself up on his hands. "Get...back here!" He struggled to his feet, managing a few steps before falling forwards again, catching himself on his hands and knees, still recovering from the sheer amount of pain he had just went through. He stayed there, unable to get back to his feet before just shouting in anger, slamming a fist onto the ground.

Kanan regained consciousness with a pounding headache. He shifted, noting that the heavy weight had been moved from his back. Pushing himself up, he immediately regretted the quick action and dropped back to the floor. With a sharp intake of air, he looked as best he could to his side and leg. It felt numb, which didn't bode well for him. He could only hope that it wasn't broken. Taking a little more care this time, he slowly got up to his hands and his good knee. The other leg was covered in blood, bits of dust and rock falling from the pants. Not broken... just damaged, he thought with a bit of a frown.

He got up gingerly and tested his weight. Immediately taking his weight off the bad leg he groaned and looked down the hall. Blood trickled down the side of his face and he wiped at it though he probably just smeared it across his face and in his white hair. Kanan moved down the hall, trying not to look at the destruction that curled through each hall he went down. The castle looked as if a tornado had gone through it. He moved as quickly as he could, limping heavily and sacrificing most, if not all , of the metal on his body.

When he made it to the training room where his King was, the sight made his chest tighten considerably and he almost forgot to breathe. It was destroyed and Amon was on his hands and knees. The King slammed his hand into the ground with a shout. Kanan moved, swaying on his feet as he tried to get to the man quicker. Once close enough he dropped heavily next to the man, "Sire," he called taking the man by his shoulder to help him sit up, "Sire! What... happened?" he asked, though he was fearing the worst.

Amon heard the sound of someone falling next to him, bringing his attention immediately up to see Kanan there. He could see the protector was injured, definitely worse than Amon was. Amon sneered and looked back down when Kanan asked him the question he was expecting. "He took the orb, Kanan. Dammit he took it from me!" Slowly he sat back onto his heels, fists clenched tightly and just hanging at his sides. "I tried to fend him off but I let me guard down, and now he has the orb." Amon sighed, watching the ground before looking at Kanan. "I failed to keep it safe, Kanan."

As he looked at the other protector, his eyes passed over what was left of the rock wall that had popped up to defend him. While looking, he also noticed another partially formed wall and a broken window. He narrowed his eyes a bit as he looked at them, Wait, where did those walls come from. he thought, before his eyes widened. He looked right back at Kanan. "Shit, where is Minnow?!" He exclaimed before looking back towards the windows. Struggling onto his feet, he made his way towards them, "Oh dammit, it was Minnow who summoned those walls! Minnow?!" He called out, moving up to the windows as he poked his head out.

Kanan's gaze widened slightly. The orb... is gone... he glanced around the room as he tried to remember how to breathe again. He clenched his fists as he knelt there next to his King, "Sire... forgive me," he muttered. Had he been more prepared, had he been quicker. Perhaps if he hadn't even been more concerned about Minnow, he could have prevented the orb from being taken. His mind flooded with the impossible options that he knew were only excuses and nothing more. He bowed his head as he knelt there, clenching his teeth tightly to try to combat the feeling of guilt and anger that welled up inside.

Shaking his head, he disagreed with Amon. Amon hadn't failed to keep it safe. Kanan had, "No, it was my fault, Sire." he responded quickly. As he was still bowing his head, trying to find some way to redeem himself, the words that his King said next suddenly snapped him back into reality. Minnow! he took in a sharp gasp. The little blonde healer hadn't been with him when he woke. The stone wall had been moved and he had been alone. Of course Minnow would have done that. Looking around the room he finally recognized the tall tell signs of the boy's power. The rock walls that had been erected and then destroyed.

However, as Amon lurched for the window, Kanan felt his heart nearly stop. His pale blue eye was wide as he knelt there, staring at the broken window and the wall that was decimated. Getting to his feet, he stumbled across the room to lean against the window as his King did so and yelled out for the boy. Gently putting his hand on Amon's shoulder, he moved the King so that he could have more space. The rest of his metal disappeared and he threw himself from the window. The air picked up and swirled around his entire frame in a dark torrent. His fear was in this cast and thus made the wind far more dangerous than normal. Hitting the ground, he searched, trying to find the blonde haired boy.

As the air faded to it's normal, gentle wind, Kanan's gaze searched frantically until it settled upon the flash of something that wasn't natural. His wind had moved the glass, but upon being moved, it caught the sunlight and therefore his attention. Confusion crossed his face as he tried to figure out why there was glass but no Minnow. With a deep frown, a bit of anger and fear, he balanced himself on his good leg and lifted a hand. Concentrating his magic, he unleashed a tornado upon the ground to move the dirt. He was careful, very careful. Sweat beaded across his face as his eye narrowed, teeth gritting as he worked down through the dirt, tossing it aside with his magic.

Spreading his fingers, he finally uncovered the boy to his pure shock. Releasing the wind, he expelled it outwards from Minnow's small frame, throwing clumps of dirt everywhere so as not to cover him up again. With his energy drained completely, Kanan crumpled, just barely catching himself with one hand and breathing hard. Glancing up, he tried to focus on the blonde hair and face that belonged to the other protector.

The sound of his own breathing was the only thing he could hear for the longest time. He listened as it eventually slowed down, and he could feel his heart beating against his chest. He blinked quite a few times, trying to discern where he was, but all that surrounded him was darkness. He hadn’t broken anything in the fall, but that didn’t make much sense to him. He tried to move, but found it incredibly difficult, almost impossible other than to breathe.

He lay there for he didn’t know how long, his only company his own breathing, and the throbbing pain in his throat that annoyed him to no end. However, finally sound made it to his ears from outside wherever he was, and he merely looked up. Soon little clumps of dirt and dust started to fall on top of his face, which he did not understand at first. They got in his eyes and stung, and he winced lightly, closing his eyes as tightly together as he could while still being able to watch what was going on above him. Light soon filtered through the air, and the loud noise of wind barreled into his ear drums.

He coughed harshly as he found he could move again and quickly sat up as soon as the dirt was removed from his person. He looked around, dazed and confused until his gaze fell on that of Kanan. Minnow jumped slightly in surprise from his sitting position, eyes wide.

Kanan felt relief flood him when Minnow sat up. Dirt clung to his hair and the first thing that popped to the pale eyed protectors mind was that the blonde healer looked utterly cute despite the event and how Minnow had ended up there in the first place. Perhaps it was his state of mind, or the exhaustion, but Kanan heaved a sigh and with it a small smile. His head dropped down as he breathed the blondes' name and then slid down onto the dirt, accepting the pull of darkness.

Amon looked at Kanan as he was moved aside, then watched as the protector used his magic to jump on out the window. He shielded his eyes as Kanan kicked up a torrent of wind to help guide him down to the ground safely. Amon sat there for a moment, watching Kanan before he looked at his hand. ”If the orb is gone...” He concentrated and then thrust his hand forwards, eyes widening when he noticed nothing happen. Slowly bringing his hand back, he then looked forwards once more and tried again, to no avail. Frowning some, he then looked back out the window before turning and running out of the room and down the hallway.

He had intended to go help Kanan, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw the destruction that had occurred. He slowly looked it over, eyes widening as he looked over the damaged infrastructure and also the bodies of servants and knights. ”No, please, no.” He began walking again slowly now as he looked at the bodies. He would occasionally stop to check on them in the vain hope that they were still alive, but with no luck.

By the end of another hallway that had been ruined as such, he finally just stopped walking, slowly leaning up against a wall and sliding down it till he was sitting on the floor. He turned so his back was against it and he brought his hands up to his face, sitting there quietly without a word despite the fact he was sitting next to the corpse of an unfortunate servant.

Light mud and moss covered the entirety of Minnow’s back, he soon learned as he looked himself over after Kanan fell unconscious. He took only a few moments to do so before his gaze slid across the other’s form. He frowned lightly, pulling the one-eyed protector’s head into his lap so he could look at the head wound. Of course the healer couldn’t do much in his current predicament, and he simply contented himself with looking lest he infect the wound with dirt or whatever else could be on his fingers.

He gazed up at the castle for a moment, his form suddenly tensing up as he recognized all the damage done to the left side of it. Amon had been up there, had been in danger, and for a moment Minnow almost got up and ran to check on him. However, logic settled in his mind that Kanan had already checked on the man, so the youth stayed put.

With one hand he plucked gently at the grass by his form while the other kind of got lost in Kanan’s hair, messing around with it. It was pretty much a strange fascination he had just developed- the one-eyed protector’s hair. It was slightly coarse, but still fairly soft. Minnow decided he liked the feel of it, and continued his meaningless endeavors. Eventually he would have to get up and assess the damages, to check on his King and patch both Kanan and Amon up, but for now, he just sat where he was with a small breath of air parting his lips.

Just five minutes
. He reasoned to himself. He would give himself five minutes to recover and think and just mess up Kanan’s hair. Then he would get to work.

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Character Portrait: Renardine "Minnow" Lunvari Character Portrait: Kanan Thiyer
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#, as written by Skwidge
The young blonde-haired protector had been a lot more skittish and agitated since the second attack on the castle. He had seemed to practically barricade himself in his green house, rarely leaving unless called upon for medical reasons. That first afternoon he had worked himself to the bone, using his own abilities to reset the castle. But after that, he disappeared among his trees and was not seen again.

The atmosphere of his gardens helped clear his mind and help him focus better, but the deaths of so many people weighed heavily on his soul. He knew he wasn’t the only one. Any time that Minnow crossed Amon’s path, it was obvious that the King was hit harder than anyone else. At first, Minnow had tried to offer some herbal tea to help the man sleep, but after being refused so many times, he had simply given up the attempt.

Most nights when he remembered, Minnow would make the journey from his greenhouse to the castle and to his own room, but wherever he went, he did not get much sleep. There were dark bags under his eyes, and worry lines seemed to plague his facial features all the time.

To be honest, Minnow was horrified with himself. He knew barely anyone in the castle got any sleep over what had happened, and the few moments that he could not control when he slipped into a fitful slumber often made him feel terrible. That was probably the cause of most of his nightmares. They were small and simple at first, continuously waking him up, but never waking long enough to push them from his mind before he fell back into darkness. But with each passing state of sleep, they worsened, so much so to the point that, with the guilt of sleeping already present, he was getting a little paranoid about falling asleep.

None of his teas seemed to help either, so he was forced to suffer through every single one of them. Surprisingly enough, he did not seem to be able to find Kanan, not even once after the incident with the earth swallowing him. This fact only added to the boy’s self-doubt and conflictions, and Minnow had the feeling that Kanan was distinctly avoiding him.

The only glimpses he ever caught of his fellow protector were from a castle window or from behind a hedge as he was passing by. It was always in the same place- the hill of graves. Minnow avoided that place like the plague, despite the foolish desire to seek comfort or companionship. He had mainly been the one to put to rest the bodies there, and it sickened him every time he saw the fresh graves. Perhaps the main reason he avoided the hill was because he didn’t trust himself to put respect over personal feelings. He wanted to bury the bodies deep beneath the earth, to hide the grave marks seamlessly with plants or rocks, he didn’t want to be struck with depression or guilt every time he wandered by, to be forced to remember what had happened. That plagued his dreams too.

Minnow barely saw anything of anyone anymore, and today was not an exception. He felt like a burden to the people he needed most not to be, and definitely saw his own presence as an irritation or a downer- a distraction. So he avoided people altogether. Except for the scant servants he would pass on his way up to his own room, he felt utterly alone in the sorrow that plagued the castle’s walls and rooms. Figuring he had done all the good he would do, he decided for once to resign himself to his own room.

The young lad sat cross-legged on his bed, the drapes closed harshly together to prevent even the slightest sliver of sunlight from entering the room. It didn’t matter much regardless, as the sun was quickly setting.

Despite the subtle dread that settled on his mind, he simply accepted the fact that he would fall asleep once more to experience his nightmares. The only thing he could do was hope they would not worsen tonight.

But that was naĂŻve, he knew what would face him the moment he closed his eyes. He leaned his head back against the headboard of his bed, staring down at his fingers blankly. It did not take long for his nightmares to claim him once more.

~~~

”Why do you keep failing us?” Strange, watery voices filled the boy’s subconscious, murmurs of pain, cries for help, screams of the dying, of the burning, of those being ripped apart. The earth beneath him rumbled and shattered, and everything was on fire. The flames were greedy and merciless, they did not spare a single thing in existence.

He looked around, could see many faces both familiar and not, of old ghosts from his past, and recent failures that stemmed from the present. Slabs of stone fell from the pitch that was the sky, cracking the ground and marring the scene. Everything was dying, and Minnow couldn’t do a single thing to stop it. He could hear his name being cried by many, begging him to help them, but he couldn’t move, he couldn’t think, he couldn’t do anything. ”Why have you betrayed me!?” They would look up at him in their last seconds of life before they too vanished behind the flames.

He was too scared to jump into action, he felt himself rendered to nothing more than a babe, paralyzed by fear. Old vines of bark wrapped around his ankles before slowly decaying and hardening, keeping him there. The fire was coming for him, he knew, and there was no way he could stop it.

It drew closer and closer, and with every step, Minnow’s face drew a shade paler. It wasn’t until it was upon him that he could feel the heat, the angry flames leaping onto him and digging into whatever they touched. He could feel harsh fingers wrapping around his throat, fingertips burning into his skin, and the harsh gaze of a cloaked man regarding him icily despite the temperature that surrounded him.

Then glass shattered, and he was falling, gazing up at the hole that had just been formed where he had been standing, the underside of the red, dripping earth as he fell further and further into black nothingness.

~~~


In his dream, he was mere seconds away from hitting the ground, or whatever was left beneath him, when Minnow shot up from his bed. He was breathing hard, a cold sweat plagued his forehead, and, as he lifted his fingers to touch his face, he could feel tear stains. With his other hand, he enclosed his fingers around his throat softly, and the patchy skin that remained from where the assassin had burned him met his touch.

Gritting his teeth, the young protector clenched his eyes shut in shame and irritation. He hated how his body tended to react without his realizing or allowance, and he knew he would not be falling back asleep any time soon.

With a loud groan weighed down by the remnants of sorrow and previous sleep, he crossed his arms and dug his fingernails into his skin. Stop being such a child. You're Nineteen, and that scared kid you were all those years ago was buried the same day your village was, you saw to that. It was only a nightmare, get over it. He thought to himself angrily, soon releasing the grip he held on his arms and leaving deep, crescent-shaped impressions behind.

Slipping from the mattress, he ran his hand through his bangs- he hated when his hair was stuck to him and he could feel it. He leaned against the bedpost, one hand covering his eyes as the other rested shakily on the wood as he tried to recompose himself.

He just couldn’t stand this- he knew the nightmares were getting to him, and that he was falling far behind on his normal schedules. He was shirking his duties, and for what? More time to fall prey to these terrors? He hated himself in that moment, but that hate quickly turned to despair. Despite his words to himself, he couldn’t help but be rattled a bit and scared.

He needed to get away from the castle for a while if he wanted anything to get better. The atmosphere that clung heavily to the air was not doing his mind any good, and he needed to find something productive to do. His only desire was to submerse himself in the nearest town and work until he could no longer do so. His dreams would be empty then. And what sweet relief that would be.

With these thoughts, Minnow found himself slowly walking down the halls barefoot. He tried weakly to stop himself, to put reason and logic back into his thoughts, but he was too exhausted to really bother. It would be good for him to get away and recollect his thoughts and sanity.

But instead he discovered his footsteps to be leading him down the halls in a different direction. It was only slightly familiar to his tired mind- the last time he had crossed this way he had been carried. Minnow did not realize at all what he was doing until it was too late.

He watched his own hand as it lifted from his side, watched the fingers curl into a gentle fist and approach the wood of the door. But the knock was what woke him from his dazed consciousness. A look of horror split across his face as he realized this was the door to Kanan’s room. He took a shaky step backwards, face palming as he quickly tried to salvage his actions.

Maybe he didn’t hear that, I can still run, act like nothing happened
 come on feet, move
. He bit his lower lip nervously as his attention and gaze shifted down to his feet. But he seemed to be rooted to the spot.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Renardine "Minnow" Lunvari Character Portrait: Kanan Thiyer
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#, as written by Siryn

The knock drew his attention. He hadn't been sleeping anyway. Rested on the bed with one arm up over his forehead he had tried to sleep, but it never came. Kanan had removed his shirt long ago and was enjoying the cool air across his skin, hoping it would help to make it easier to sleep, but that seemed to fail. Instead he listened to the soft sounds of the world outside his window and the soft passing of guards around the halls outside. He heard the quiet shuffle, felt the presence of the other as he stood outside his door.

Sitting up, he took a moment and then moved to the door. Slowly opening it, Kanan lifted an eyebrow as his gaze settled upon Minnow who stood there. The blonde looked shocked to find himself standing in the hall. His heart skipped a beat as he watched the younger protector. He hadn't seen him since the attack and he felt awful just then for not going to see him. Worry coursed through his frame as he took in Minnow's appearance. Something was wrong.

"Minnow," he called as he stretched out a hand to brush aside the long locks of blonde hair, "What happened?"

Crap
. He thought to himself as the door opened. He looked like a deer trapped in the headlights as Kanan looked down at him. And he was shirtless. Again. A harsh blush raced across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, and for once he was grateful for the darkness. He probably looked like a train wreck anyway.

Minnow looked up at him, his mouth opening and closing dumbly a few times. Not a single syllable would pass his lips, though, and the young boy’s gaze fell quickly to stare at the floor. Once more he was shocked when he felt the touch of Kanan at his face, even though it was just his fingertips ghosting against his skin. It was warm, and without thinking, Minnow’s own hand quickly shot up and grabbed his wrist. The strength behind the touch was weak at best, and his fingers trembled as he held the man’s hand there. His lips parted as if he were trying to explain himself, but he was at a loss for words.

He must have seemed like such a little kid in that moment. He couldn’t even handle his own nightmares, he had to come running to someone else for comfort. But
 in that moment he didn’t hate himself for it, in fact he could care less. He took a step forward, for once letting his body do what it wanted to. And that was to get closer to whatever was warmest.

”Night terrors
.” It was hardly a whisper, and it was followed by a bitter laugh that was hardly audible. Minnow didn’t dare meet his fellow protector’s gaze and instead stared at the floor. A ghost of a smile in mockery of himself donned his lips; he wished he was fatigued again, wished he had a reason to blame for this run-in.

Well, it was now or never. He had already embarrassed himself this far, he didn't really have much to lose. "Can I sleep with you?" His facial expression was bitter, he was fairly ashamed of himself for sounding like such a child in front of Kanan, for allowing such a weakness within himself. He fully expected the protector to deny him, but Minnow had decided that this was probably the best way to leave. It certainly couldn't be more awkward than the alternate parting words he was thinking of. He probably could have just run, but he already had enough of being a scared kid for one night.

In his expectations, his fingers slipped from Kanan's wrist, and he took a tiny step back, ready to turn and leave.

Kanan felt Minnow's fingers wrap around his wrist though the grip was light and without strength behind it. He watched the other for a long while, trying to figure out what was wrong. He couldn't tell very well in the darkness and shifted his frame just a bit to allow some of the moonlight to try to hit the boy. When that failed, he settled for waiting patiently. Minnow took a step forward and Kanan stood still, allowing him to get close. The words 'night terrors' made the taller Protector raise an eyebrow as he watched Minnow carefully. For a moment, he mentally berated himself. He should have known.

When the question came to sleep with him, Kanan took in a short breath. Everything went still for a moment, his body tensing as he watched the little blonde healer. His mind went blank briefly before it started working again. Several things came to mind, none of which he voiced for fear of scaring the poor boy. But as he didn't answer, Minnow's hand released his wrist and he took a step back as if he was ready to just up and leave. Kanan, once again without thinking, snatched Minnow's hand in his grip and dragged him into the room without a word. One arm wrapped around the boys waist to hold him in place just in case Minnow thought about running away.

The door closed gently.

Holding up the arm that he had grabbed, he leaned down to whisper to Minnow, "You cannot just ask that, and then leave," he said his voice a soft growl almost as if he were irritated, or better yet, struggling with something himself.

"I think..." he started and then paused. His arm tightened around Minnow. Releasing the hand that he'd held up over his own shoulder, he reached down and tilted the boy's head up to face him, "You're breaking me," he muttered and proceeded to kiss the other Protector without warning.

It shouldn’t have been that surprising, but Minnow was still a little shocked that Kanan did not let him leave. He stumbled as he was dragged into the man’s room, kept only from tripping by the grip around his waist. The sound of the door closing hardly registered to him as he was pulled closer to Kanan’s body.

Then the warmth of his breath tickled at his ear and with the soft growl that rumbled from Kanan’s form- one that sent unnatural chills up and down the boy’s spine, his blush only heated further. It had only been a simple request, one that he did not intend to have these results, but Kanan was so close and he couldn’t help his heart from thumping painfully against his chest, couldn’t prevent his mind from reeling and expecting the impossible.

His focus was only held by the words that kept passing Kanan’s lips, and his breath caught in his throat as the other protector’s fingers brushed his chin, angling his head up to meet his gaze. His own lips parted to say something, probably something inaudible and made to voice his confusion, when the space between them shortened drastically.

For the umpteenth time that night, Minnow was stunned. He froze as their lips met, his mind suddenly going blank and abandoning him to fend for himself. This was certainly not what he envisioned when walking down the halls- heck, he hadn’t even meant to still be in the castle. Now here he was, in Kanan’s bedroom of all places with the man himself.

Kissing him.

How long had he waited for this?

Of course he had denied any feelings that tried to surface, any thoughts that even hinted towards this intent before. Did he ever even realize that he was falling until now? It hit him like a ton of bricks, and in his surprise, he forgot to respond to the older protector, instead just standing there dazed.

Kanan pulled away slightly. His eye gazed at Minnow as he held him. Finally within the moonlight, he could see that the other's face was worn, tired and haggard. He also noted that the blonde looked dazed, unfocused. Kanan wasn't sure if it was because of the kiss or his words. Maybe a mixture of both. Or was it that Minnow was too far in shock to register? Did he not... want that? He frowned a bit as he stood there holding the other.

"Minnow?" he asked gently. It was so hard not to continue, to not put the shorter one against the wall and kiss him again with all the passion and feelings that he had been bottling up for so long because he had been unsure, and unwilling, to open again to another. He wanted very much to show the little blonde healer exactly just how much he affected Kanan. His fingers played with the boys hair briefly before running gently along his jaw line and then to his chin where he held Minnow's face upwards to look at him.

"What's wrong?" he finally asked.

Minnow blinked rapidly as Kanan’s voice broke through to his addled mind. He let out a shaky breath that he had been holding way too long. At this rate, his cheeks would never return to their normal color. The blonde-haired protector looked up at him silently, not trusting himself to speak just yet. It was horrible of him, he knew, to leave Kanan wondering, but this moment
.

As Kanan finally voiced his concerns, a small frown tugged down the corners of his lips, and his gaze settled upon Kanan’s, eyes intently watching his own, but there was no real readable expression to his face. Minnow’s sight seemed to trail down to the one-eyed protector’s lips, and a soft breath of laughter tumbled out of his mouth.

He was no longer at a loss, he knew exactly what was going on just then and he knew exactly what he wanted. His hands, which were previously at his side and resting on Kanan’s shoulder, finally found motion. He slid his own palm around Kanan’s waist, his fingers finding themselves tangled in the belt loops pulling Kanan closer to him as his other hand shifted to the nape of the one-eyed protector’s neck. Minnow stepped up a bit to close the distance once more, pressing his lips against Kanan’s, closing his eyes and breathing in the man’s scent.

Startled was an understatement. He wasn't expecting Minnow to return the kiss. He had been expecting the boy to say that he hadn't wanted the kiss, that he had wanted to leave. Kanan felt the tug around his waist, the gentle kiss from the smaller blonde. All control went out the window then. Moving, probably a bit rougher than he wanted originally, he put Minnow against the wall, pinning him there. Tilting his head, he added a bit of pressure to their lips to give Minnow a deeper kiss. His hand cupped Minnow's head as he kissed him, the other still around his waist.

Pulling back to get a breath from the kiss, he took a moment to gaze at Minnow before leaning down and lifting him up. Using the wall still to keep the boy from falling over he had the little healer just barely above his face, but not so far that he couldn't easily kiss him, which he did again, "You... are not going to sleep just yet," he told the blonde, his voice speaking underlying tones of what he was planning to do and the promise to go through with it. To further his intention, he dragged the healer from the wall and to the bed where he put him down and leaned over him. Once again, a small, but rare smile, came upon his face and he tangled his fingers in the boys soft hair.

"Minnow..." he called softly then kissed his neck and throat.

Minnow stumbled a bit as he was pushed backwards, his head soon thumping against the wall as he was caught between a solid object and Kanan. He didn’t mind though- it wasn’t as if it hurt. He was surprised that Kanan actually felt this way though, but he wasn’t objecting, pressing the kiss just as hard as he got it.

As Kanan released his grip a bit, Minnow took the air gratefully, panting ever so slightly. He let out a startled, short-lived laugh as Kanan picked him up and pushed him further against the wall. Wrapping his legs around the one-eyed protector’s hips, he leaned forward, settling his arms over Kanan’s shoulders and losing his fingers to his white hair. At the next kiss that he received, Minnow nipped the other’s bottom lip gently, pulling back just slightly before releasing his hold and resting his forehead against Kanan’s.

At his partner’s next words, the healer blushed once again, lips parted as short, heavy breaths slipped past. He soon found himself carried to the bed, and he was grateful for the softer material against his back. Minnow gazed up at Kanan as the man leaned over him. With the gentle caress of his hair and the intense look that filled the other protector’s eye, he shuddered.

When Kanan’s lips were planted against his throat and he heard his name uttered from the other’s lips, Minnow groaned softly, his eyes flickering shut for a moment as his fingers found the man’s white hair once more. They tangled between the locks, and his grip tightened just slightly as he pulled the other back to his own lips. After another meet between them, he breathed shakily against the other protector.

”K-kanan
.” Minnow mumbled softly against him, even after the time that had passed, his breathing was still shaky at best, not to mention the perpetual blush that refused to leave his cheeks, though by now it was caused more from the heat between them rather than any residual embarrassment.

"Relax," Kanan breathed at him, though his own heart was racing and he was only just barely keeping his trembling to himself. He gave a soft laugh and decided to tease the other a little bit, "I haven't even done anything," taking a breath he was right next to Minnow's ear as he breathed in deeply. Releasing the air through his nose, it brushed past the boys hair and he moved to kiss him again.

It wasn't how he had expected to spend the rest of the night, but it was certainly better than what he'd been doing before hand. At least now his thoughts were settled and no longer in turmoil. Everything washed away as he held the little blonde healer. Minnow wouldn't know how much he was affecting Kanan either, just how much healing he actually gave the one eyed warrior. It was more than just physically.