Siya Ukomo's Story

Fog penetrated the halls of the palace that belonged to the Water King. The sound of boot heels could be heard as they moved slowly down the hall with no real purpose to them. A long black cloak swirled through the heavy white mist that settled on the palace floor. The waters that should have been pouring forth from the many fountains and streams all along the hall and courtyard were not flowing. Here, the water palace was an open structure, no doors or windows, just ceiling and floor with pillars to separate the two.

Hebi moved down the hall slowly, his gaze flicking about as he tried to assess the feeling that was slowly beginning to prick at the back of his mind. It had been some time since he'd last visited the Water King, though the man rarely ever knew of the protectors presence. Hebi was rather fond of spying on the other Kings and Queens. It served as a sate for his boredom at times. It has also been some time since he'd actually set foot in his own Kingdom's palace.

He approached the audience room where the throne was and where the King normally sat to attend his people's needs. However, as Hebi approached, he noted that the doors were ajar and there was a putrid smell coming from the room beyond. His senses heightened as he recognized the smell to be that of blood and a lot of it. Skirting to the side, Hebi pressed himself behind one of the pillars and waited. That explains that lack of servants and protectors roaming about... it's usually much harder to go about spying Hebi thought to himself as he stood there stone still.

It wasn't long after that he heard footsteps coming from the chamber beyond. The door creaked opened almost eerily and allowed the single occupant from inside to leave. Still, the earthen protector didn't move. It wasn't until the sounds of the boots were much farther down the hall that Hebi shifted and peered after the one who had left the throne room. He caught sight of a long black cloak swirling around the masculine figure and a hood drawn up over their face. In their gloved hand that hung at their side, the glow of what was obviously an orb emitted a brilliant blue light.

Hebi frowned a bit to himself. As he was about to step into the hall another sound filled the air. A release of pent up breath followed by near hyperventilation. Slowly, Hebi slipped back to his original position, hidden behind the thick pillar made of pristine marble.

"... dead... all dead... the other... Kings... have to tell... others..." it was the voice of a servant. They'd most likely hidden during the attack and was now the sole survivor of the entire Water Kingdom palace.

Crossing his arms, Hebi leaned against the pillar, lifting one leg to place it on the marble as he stood there. What an interesting turn of events he thought to himself. Soon, the servant had finally gathered enough courage to move and pelted down the hall. Hebi waited a while longer before he himself moved. With a bit of a shrug, the man supposed that it was about time to return to the Earth Kingdom. He'd been gone for several months anyway. This new bit of information, however... Hebi grinned as he opened his sickly green eyes and walked down the hall like the haunting figure he was. I think I'll be keeping this to myself for a while.... He wanted to see how things played out.



He leaned on the balcony that was attached to his room. The morning air was dew filled and sweet to the nose. He breathed deeply as he stood there. The young King was only partially dressed, his boots and pants on and a light white shirt that seemed almost too big for his frame. It billowed in the wind as he leaned on the railing of the balcony. Lifting one hand, he rested his head into the palm as he watched the rays of sunlight lift from behind the mountain tops and streak its golden fingers across the large city that was far below him. The city itself was huge, stretching for a good couple of miles, the majority of its structures facing the rising sunlight while behind his castle lay nothing but open plains to the cliffs and the ocean even farther beyond that.

Siya loved this part of every morning. He could feel the sunlight warming his cool skin as it crossed over his tall palace first and stretched further along the dark stones. It wasn't until much later, as the sun was beginning to grow hot, that the young Siya remembered that he had an open audience that morning. With a startled gasp he flew upwards from his bent over position and rushed into his room.

Throwing his night shirt onto the bed that was ruffled from his little bit of sleep, he grabbed up his heavier black robes and pulled it on over his head. The heavy fabric curved to his frame, falling down to his ankles. It was all one piece, only cutting open into three large strips as it passed his hips, allowing more movement from his lower body should he need it. The long sleeves also hugged his arms, opening up just a bit to flare around his wrists. The pitch black robe was embroidered on the very edges with hints of deep crimson red.

Adjusting the robe, he pulled his hair back and braided it quickly before he reached the door and entered the hall. The youthful King strode quickly down the hall knowing that he was utterly late again to his throne room to hold the audience. His face flushed as he thought about the nobles that would chide him for such behavior... yet again. Siya threw open the back entrance to the throne room, striding in with his breath only slightly hitched from his hurried pace.

"Sorry!" he called and quickly took his place at the throne. His eyes flicked around the room, noting the many frowns from his advisers who lined the hall below the dais. With a wave of his hand, the guards at the far end obeyed him and pulled open the huge oaken double doors. It wasn't until the first of the nobles to be in his presence that Siya quit fidgeting in his seat. He straightened and he had a certain air about him that he'd adopted when in front of other nobles and royalty.

The first to enter was a man well known for his impatience and sharp tongue as well as his obvious dislike for Siya. He strode up to the dais without a passing glance to anyone else. His hard, black gaze trained on the young King. Siya met him without blinking or moving. The man ground his teeth visibly, eyes narrowing as his dark eyebrows pulled down in frustration.

"Late! Again Lord Siya," he spat out.

"My apologies, Duke Lukair."

"Your constant apologies fall very short, your Highness. We would appreciate it if you would be more prompt about your schedule," he waved his hand as if to stop any complaints that weren't being voiced anyway, "We've a matter to attend to."

Siya winced inwardly, he could almost feel what the subject of the 'matter' was going to be. After all, it wouldn't have been the first time he'd been question as being crowned King. Especially since the loss of the Royal family, Siya had been hard pressed to keep his position. If it weren't for the others who also protected orbs themselves, Siya was sure he'd never have kept the throne as long as he had.

"The matter of your... Lordship is to be questioned. Many of us feel that you're far too young to take the throne. There is, also, the fact that you're not of royalty."

This is new... being too young now to? Of course... He's going to try to find any reason he can to dethrone me, Siya thought with an inward sigh that didn't reveal on his face. The only thing that betrayed his growing frustration and anxiety was a slight twitch of his hand that rested on the arm of his throne as he leaned off to the opposite side.

"Duke Lukair, this matter, I thought, had been dealt with already. You're tempting the other Kingdoms with your words, you know."

"I have many that wish to confront you and the other Kingdoms, your Majesty," Lukair almost spat out the last word.

"Then perhaps you should bring them next time. This is a waste of yours and my time, Duke."

The man grew visibly angry by Siya's words, though Siya had not raised his voice or sounded angry in the least. The man didn't say anything else though and turned on his heel. Lukair stormed out of the throne room and Siya seemed to be relieved at his departure. His gaze fell to the dark stone floor at his feet for a moment before he returned his attention to the rest of the open audience.

Mark Miles

“Go out”


The words rang out in a room devoid of any ambience or scenery of sound with the only thing that broke the void that made up the emptiness of it all being the constant semi-transparent hum that rang in ones ears when the clearly male voice took pause.


“Go in”


Again it rose, this time a small exhale of smoke flowing out of its lips in a fashion akin to water falling off a cliff before having the lips tightly seal themselves around a cigar once again for a audible intake.


“Go to bed”


A long drone of air flew out of his throat accompanied by a coat of the same misty drawn from his vice as before. The hand that held his cigar rested its knuckles against the table with its tail in an ashtray as he say hunched with his head buried close to his chest and his spine acting as a hill to his neck.


“Go without”


An audible swish of liquid being lured into the throat entered the scene this time as the figure lifted a bottle of booze to his mouth to take a swig before placing it back down on the table, the liquid whatever of it may have been was a brown color that was diluted and warped by the shine of a light into the glass container from a source that came from the side off the room; whatever was producing that light was unknown but it was blinding like looking into the sun.


“Go along”


The glass hit the table after finishing his words; the fellow himself was barely visible while in plain sight due to the contrast in shadows making him a living silhouette, leaving nothing more than the out line of a man with slightly spiked up short hair and of moderate size in clunky coat and trousers turning its head to the person besides him.


“You know...in this job I've heard word “go” more than I have when I was constantly on the move but this is the first time I've honestly wondered if I'm getting anywhere...”



“You're worried about Siya?”



“It's my job to be worried. He's not a normal person”



"Neither are you though..."



“I made a choice, Siya didn't. The fact is Siya want an ideal world and the world wants an ideal Siya...”



“What's an ideal Siya?”



“The same thing people want those with power to be all the world over...Weak enough to give it all away”



“Aren't you mean to be with him...like, right now?”



“Boo, He's just talking to that duke again...”



Miles blurted it out slightly slurred both from the drink and from a sense of tiredness although what which one was causing it specifically was a mystery never to be solved. The man let his finger slide across the table, a gold piece being scrapped against the wood under it to the side where the other voice had been coming from.


“He's a total tool, filled with nothing but squid ink. He may write a mean word every now and again against the king but really beyond that he isn't a threat, not physically and he's not a threat politically either...”



“Yeah...but still...what if something happens there....”



“It would be a nice change of pace” he let off before finally standing up and walking towards the exit.




“You won't find your answers at the bottom of a bottle you know...even one like that” The speaker stood at the door way, a face half curled in disappointment and the rest somewhat stony and wrinkled in what could only be described as a clash of aggressive attitudes as he gazed upon Lenarks in his locus sitting position with what can only be subscribed as a simple transparent brew bottle sitting between his legs.


“That's the point, Glen. I don't want answers, I want to get pissed without the headache after...” Lenark retorted as his glazed over eyes slowly started to shift from side to side before having the pupils thin slightly "My head..." he moaned miserably as the life in his eyes fully returned and immediately started to spin in every direction possible, causing him to wobble to the side a little with his palm of his scalp before looking up from under his hand at the man in the door way.



“The king is waiting for you...”



“Is he?”



“He's sitting in session without you right now...”



Miles simply stood up after placing the bottle in a box of various assorted junk that ranged from toys to strange artifacts and books with many different labeled both slapped on, scribbled on and originally printed before walking past the servant and to the main hall, the man eyes were darkened around the edges and his skin pale as if he was briefly doused in make up or given too much blood and got two black eyes for his troubles on his way back home from the donation.



“Sorry. I was busy studying the architects of yender and how their works on the old groves could improve our magical applications of crops” lies, lies, lies, lies and more lies, Siya knew perfectly well that when Mark simply was too lazy or made a mistake in front of officials he would always just spit up a random bunch of gibberish that sounds legitimate to those uninitiated to the world of magic and travel, no different that a philosopher spewing up nonsensical string of overly long words to scare away a conversation he didn't want to have.



As he walked in the duke himself was leaving which only spurned the man to look into his rulers eyes from the side and an ambiguous move of his lips too subtle to tell if it was a smile or a sign of anxiety. Lenark took the advantage of the lack of any slowly let his grin as mysterious of its actual emotions as it may of been to lift into a full blown smile before looking down at the audience "Continue, don't let my tardiness interrupt you" he put forth shamelessly as he took his place next to the kings side.

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.



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.



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.

There are certain things in this world that are known to be constant and true. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, truth is stranger than fiction, sacrifices are required to manipulate the elements, and Reynard Enide is always on hand. That last fact is one of the more important ones because for most people out of sight means out of mind, which is, quite honestly, exactly what Reynard is banking on. Unlike most protectors, Reynard was not always an obvious presence by his king's side and for very good reasons. Sometimes it's better not to crowd the king, but rather to watch from a distance, all-seeing and undistracted by chatter. There's also the fact that he's not always… welcome due to his intimidating the general crowd who flock to the amiable and all too trusting Fire King and subsequently sending said king into a childish state of pique. Or, as is the case this morning, said protector simply wanted to give his charge the responsibility to wake himself up and make it to the meeting on time. After all, Lord Siya had been pestering him for ages about letting him have more freedom to move around as he pleased. If the King couldn't even handle himself at a meeting, a strict part of his duties, he certainly couldn't be trusted to wander around the kingdom with limited guidance. It was a test.

A test which, Reynard realized as he mingled towards the back of the audience, gaze flickering from the empty throne to the growing irritation of the crowd around him, he was already failing. Not that he should have been surprised- Lord Siya had had a tardiness problem since the day Reynard was assigned to him. Maybe it was due to his age or the simple fact that he was used to people like Reynard dogging his every step, waving a schedule in his face while ushering him from duty to duty, but some things, Reynard noted ruefully, never changed.

It is to be noted that, while a part of the crowd, Reynard somehow stayed bellow notice, more of a fixture in the room like a curtain or candle than one of the milling members of humanity whispering in an agitated state. For all of his height and his long black hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, he stayed below notice by simply not moving, like a shadowy, besuited statue hovering in the back. Which was, of course, exactly how Reynard wanted it; he was here, after all, to do his job, not to mingle.

"Sorry!" The impatient advisers turned to their king as one, faces a sea of frowns with none more disappointed looking or as exasperated as Reynard himself. The throne looked bare with his fellow protector an apparent no-show, Lord Siya looking more his age than ever by himself in front of the crowd. It was with intense restraint that he didn't move himself through the crowds and to Lord Siya's side, drawn to his proper spot by his side like a moth to a flame(ha, a joke. He'd made a joke, Reynard realized with a blink. How bizarre).

He didn't take the time to dwell on the fact that he was apparently developing a sense of humor because that was when Duke Lukair made his entrance, as pompous and irritating as ever. Of course Reynard was inclined to agree with him on certain issues like Lord Siya's tardiness habit or lack of good explanations, but the man didn't need to be such a pretentious ass about it, did he? And then, to have the gall to challenge his own king in a room full of his subjects, well, that just wasn't on.

It was too bad for the Duke, Reynard noticed with an almost imperceptible smirk playing on his lips, that Lord Siya was far too professional to be visibly bothered by such things. He handled the case with the sternness and dignity of his office, which apparently only served to upset the Duke even further as he stormed out of the room, acting more like a child than even their young king. However, any lingering amusement dissipated instantly with the staggering entrance of Miles. Oh, Lord, he was still hung over. And then, to put on a show about it, hamming it up for the captive audience. Oh, they would be having words after this, Reynard decided, lips twisting into a scowl. They would be having words.

The audience with the King proceeded smoothly after that little interruption, and with something akin to pride swelling in his chest, Reynard watched his young charge listen dutifully and pass judgement or offer promises to those that stood before him, as benevolent a king as one could want. These moments were the ones that Reynard looked back on every time his trust in the King's abilities began to waver, however infrequently that may be. He had some growing up to do, of course, and there were issues that needed to be worked on, but no king was perfect. Besides, that was what the protectors were there for, to complement the king and to keep him alive and well so that he may improve and grow as a ruler. It did help that Lord Siya was quite charming in an almost naive sort of way, idealistic, kind… And he put a stop to those dangerous thoughts then and there because that was certainly not a path his mind needed to go down.

Perhaps it was only because he was watching Lord Siya so intently that Reynard first noticed a change in his expression. His pale face was flushed with heat and he tugged incessantly at his clothing. It was enough to spark Reynard's concern because, in all of his time knowing the young king, he had never seen him look like that, not when flickering flames licked at his surroundings, not when the Summer sun beat down on the kingdom, not even when he was ill. It was disconcerting and Reynard's own anxiety only heightened as the Fire King (politely) asked his subjects to leave. It wasn't until the last person made their way out the door that Lord Siya collapsed.

"Siya!" No time for titles, no time for formality; just Siya.

Reynard was already moving before the King hit the floor, sliding to a stop and collapsing onto his knees by the King's side. He was writhing, pained gasps and begging for and end to this pain escaping his lips. Reynard's hands fluttered over Siya's face and he could feel the heat radiating off of him like a furnace, almost scalding to the touch. But if Reynard was afraid of a little heat, well, he was in the wrong occupation. He manhandled Silva quite literally, pulling his head onto his lap for some meager amount of cushioning and, that task done, his left hand shot back to the small bag attached to his hip, pulling out a small metal marble.

There wasn't much he could do to help the younger man, to Reynard's growing distress, because he simply didn't know what was happening. This was out of his depth, out of his expertise, but, as the metal marble dissolved in his hand and cool water subsequently wrapped around both right and left hands almost like a glove, he could try to assuage it, whatever it was. He cradled the King's face in his hands delicately but with some pressure to allow the cooling waters to actually be affective at combating the heat, all the while muttering under his breath soothing words that really seemed out of place from the stern looking man.

"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 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.



”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.




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.

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.



”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?"




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.

Most people tended to make the grave mistake of assuming that a Protector's job was simply safeguarding their king from any danger that presented itself by any means possible. While that was technically the entirety of their job description, the idealized vision of some stoic and brave bodyguard constantly at their king's shoulder was incorrect, or at least incorrect in Reynard's case because his job had a lot more paperwork than the average person could even believe. He had not signed up for this, but, in all fairness, he certainly seemed to be in his element when he took charge of official notices or, rather, pestering Lord Siya until he finished up said notices.

It was paperwork that had taken him away from Siya's side today, striding down the castle halls, shoes making a purposeful clacking noise against the floor(something he'd taken to doing when not on official Protector business after almost giving half of the castle staff heart attacks when he accidentally sneaked up on them). Today was an average sort of day, nothing particularly special scheduled to deal with, but, then again, it was always the unscheduled things that tended to be special. Take for instance the appearance of someone who Reynard identified as a messenger from the Air Kingdom and Captain Damiano of the Archer Corps. Well, perhaps he wasn't too surprised by either's appearance given what had happened only a few days earlier as well as the conversations he'd been having with Lord Siya about a second Protector.

Reynard met Damiano's statement with a brisk nod, not impolite but certainly business like.

"Thank you for bringing him here, Captain Damiano. Lord Siya should be nearby. I'll see if I can find him."

Siya, lost in a book as always, moved down the hall after exiting his library. With his eyes downcast, reading the text that he had immersed himself in, he didn't notice the group of men down the hall. He was moving at a rather quick pace, his lips silently reading the lines of the material in both hands. Normally, the young Fire King was nimble and cautious of his surroundings, however he had been up almost the entire night and was far too engrossed in his own research and thoughts to notice much of anything else. That was, until he ran into the back of someone rather sturdy and clad in armor.

With a sharp cry after hitting the taller person, the young King stumbled backwards.

Damiano blinked, slowly turning his head to see what the hell has just bumped into him. "Oh....well uh....found the King." he stated before turning around completely to face the king. "I am terribly sorry your majesty, you ok?" Well this was a great way to start the afternoon.

Rubbing at his nose that stung terribly from crashing head first into the knight, his eyes watered a bit and he groaned slightly, "Ow..." looking up with one eye partially closed he waved the free hand that wasn't covering his nose. With a shake of his head he leaned over and picked up his book again, "It's alright, not your fault, Sir Knight. I... wasn't paying attention," he managed as he caught sight of Reynard. His protector was sure to give him a scolding later about walking through the halls with a book in hand. Clearing his throat he brushed off his clothes that were sure to be dusty from the long hours of looking through dirty books.

"What's going on?"

Well, perhaps he'd spoken too soon as Lord Siya almost immediately stumbled into the Archer, nose in a book. Reynard's stoic expression twisted into a mild, exasperated frown. How many times had he told him not to read and walk at the same time? Not only was it not becoming of a King, but, honestly, he was going to get himself or someone else hurt.

"Well, your majesty, a courier from the Air Kingdom came here to deliver a message to you." Damiano then stepped out of the way once more, this time looking backwards down the hallway to make sure he was not in the way of anyone else. To be extra sure, he moved so he was almost flush with the walls of the hallway they were in.

Moving forward, he faced the messanger from the Air Kingdom and offered his hand. The youth bowed and handed him the letter in question. Tucking the stray book under his arm, Siya tore the letter opened. Reading over it quickly, his eyebrow furrowed together as he read further and further in. Looking up to the courier, he waved his hand in a dismissive manner, "Thank you," he said simply and turned on his heel to head down the hall again, "Reynard, come with me please... Oh wait," he stopped as he glanced over to the knight, "You're Knight Captain Damiano, right?" Siya asked, just then recognizing the poor man that he had run into.


"Lord Siya," Reynard said in acknowledgement, bobbing his head in another short nod before falling silent, watching the interaction between King and Archer. As casual as the query might seem, the choosing of a new Protector of the King was anything but.

Damiano turned to face his king, bowing his head to him. "Si, mi rey. Captain within the Archer Corps." He kept his head bowed, trying to remember the etiquette that his parents had tried to hammer into his skull. Some of it had been successful, but Damiano had discovered through time that showing proper etiquette happened to be a perishable skill.

Siya's face grew red slightly. Too much... he thought, embarrased by the speech the Captain was using. The young King hated using proper speech. When alone with people that he considered friends or anything like that, he wished them to speak normally with him. It wasn't like he saw himself above anyone else, "Please... don't use so much formality in your speech," he said, reaching up to fuss with his hair as a distraction, "Anyway... You're to replace someone for me. I've been in need of one and I have been told of your skills and dedication," tilting his head a bit, he looked directly at Damiano now, "Follow me as well, Captain."

Damiano lifted his head up when his king had told him to relax. With a grin, Damiano took no issue doing such a thing. Hell, he beamed with pride upon Siya mentioning his skills. Glad to know I actually have some renown. "As you wish mi rey." Damiano responded. "I certainly hope I can live up to such words of praise."

Siya returned the words with a smile as he continued down the hall. He didn't speak again any further on the matter until the three of them reached his study, probably one of the more secure places in the entire palace. The was one way in, and one way out. Tucked in the corner of the castle, it was surrounded by solid rock from the outside of the castle and then with only the wall of the hallway outside of it. Not that Siya was worried about eavesdroppers, but one could never be too careful he supposed.

Once the door was shut, he took his place at the desk that he often occupied and motioned for the other two to sit as well. Laying opened the letter that he had recieved, he looked over to Damiano, "I'm sure you're wondering what it is exactly that you'll be replacing," the young King started, "But first, I need you to do something for me. What I'm going to be telling you cannot leave this room and is only known between the three of us and the other Kings. Swear to me that you can keep secrecy, guard it with your life, no matter what." This was probably one of the rare times that Siya looked the part of the King and sounded like one. His fiery gaze was sharp, intense even as he watched Damiano.


Reynard followed loyally behind his King, knowing their destination automatically. There were only so many places in the castle secure enough to have a conversation involving something of national importance and one out of the few spaces that he knew Siya favored above all others. When they arrived, he automatically settled into the same seat he'd had since first entering the room all of those years ago, a touch of familiarity in a rather bizarre situation.

He sat silently and stoically, hands folded on his lap as he watched Siya. It was, in a word, impressive to see how well the younger king was handling this situation, every bit the dignified noble that he needed to be in such a serious situation. He might be young and might be constantly late and more than slightly against paperwork, but it was moments like these that Reynard knew that Siya was meant to have his role as King of the Fire Kingdom.

A room such as this would leave some uncomfortable or at least surprised. Looking around at the solid rock of the walls, he could tell this room was meant to limit any chance of unwanted people from listening in on a conversation they had no part of. His smile actually dropped for a few, as he felt like he was back in the castle of his parents; especially the rather shadier parts they had. He kept hidden any signs of distress he might have possibly shown, replacing it with a much more neutral apperance and he listened to Siya speak.

It was strange to see his king with such a look, as Damiano had been sure the young man was incapable of looking intimidating. That glare though was something that could crack anybody who had never experienced a look like that. guess Damiano had another thing to thank his parents for. It was becoming annoying that he was finding reasons to be appreciative of them. Once Siya was finished, Damiano once more bowed his head. "I swear to you mi rey, that whatever it is that you are willing to trust me with shall not leave my lips no matter what. I shall die long before I ever speak of this secret. Mis labios están sellados" He then lifted his head back up, meeting Siya's gaze.

Siya smiled then, belying his original look. His arms came up and rested on the desk as he let his head fall into the interlaced fingers, "Good, thank you very much. You know Reynard as my personal Guard. I suppose you could call it that, but he's definitely more than that. He is my protector, a significant title for what I'm going to tell you. The Fire Kingdom isn't just called the Fire Kingdom because no one thought of a better name. The Kings who ruled here before have had a job specific to them. The Kings, and sometimes Queens, before me have been protecting an orb of power. It is the core of the elements that create our world. There are four orbs, Fire, Air, Earth and Water. Only certain people can hold these orbs. Ones that do not need sacrifices to conduct magic. I am one such person.

"I was not born royalty, and sometimes this does happen. It is a fifty-fifty chance that the royal families heirs will have the same ability to weild magic without sacrfices. Unfortunately our late King's sons and daughter did not have that ability. Thus, he found me and put me on the seat of the throne, something that is contested still to this day," he added with a heavy sigh, his gaze dropping to the desk for a moment before he continued, "To make a long story short, the other day I experienced something that has never happened before. I felt the orb inside me. I've never felt it before. It was raging with power that I couldn't contain and the pain..." Siya shuddered a bit, "It has long since died down and gone back to normal, but I sent out letters to the other Kings just in case. This is from the Air King. It tells me the same thing has happened to Lord Amon Ad-Raza. I've already had Reynard send word ahead that we will be visiting them for a meeting. I'm hoping that Lord Taki Hattori will be there as well."

After a moment's pause, Siya took his hands and rested them on the desk, leaning forward a bit, "Anyway, you're now one of my protectors, Captain. And though Reynard will tell you that you're to protect me at all costs, I also want to let you know that you are free to do as you please. I do not order my people around as I'm sure you know. If there is ever a time where you must choose between myself and someone else, I hope you would know what I would want. Are there any questions?"

Damiano sat there quietly, mulling over the things the king was telling him. All he could really think of to possibly say would be 'wow', but he kept that to himself. That would definitely explain why it seemed like succession within the country of Iveir had always been rather odd. to think that these kings had something so powerful though, honestly he was finding it somewhat difficult to believe. He couldn't understand how something like that could be kept secret for such a long time; if it's been around this long then the secret must have slipped out at some point or another.

He though about asking that question, but decided to save it for another time. He'd have the time to do so when it'd be a bit more appropriate. Shaking his head, he relaxed into the seat some while donning a smile. "No questions my lord. Or rather I should ask, anything you need me to do as of now?"

The young Fire King beamed, "I like him already," Siya said with a laugh, "I hope that you won't be as strict with me as Reynard is though," he said, his gaze slipping over to the other. He couldn't help but to tease Reynard just a little, "We are in the middle of preparations for our journey to the Air Kingdom. I will leave you in the capable hands of Reynard, if that is alright with him?"

"Well, Lord Siya, someone has to make sure that you get your paperwork done," Reynard replied dryly, but the slight upward quirk of his lips showed just how amused he really was. With that parting comment, he turned to Damiano trying his very best to look friendly and failing only moderately. He'd never been very good at "friendly"- intimidating, yes, scary, most definitely, but never really friendly.

"I'm... glad to have someone as capable as you as my fellow Protector. Follow me- we have some preparations to be seen to."

Hebi tilted his head, a smirk on his lips once again, "The orb? Whatever do you mean?"

By this time, Lutchka was pretty well done listening to Hebi antagonize everyone. She was only slightly shocked when Kanan went after Hebi, though she knew full well that Hebi deserved it. Minutes ago she had begun to tap her fingers subtly against her thigh as she suffered through his words. It was incredibly foolish and dangerous to keep such information about the Water King to himself, and no matter what kind of twisted, mocking person he was, the safety of the kings should always be considered.

So by the time Hebi played stupid about the orbs, she had had enough. In one swift motion her hand was tangled in his long hair in practically a vice-grip, and she tugged his head back and sent a well-aimed slap to his forehead. “Stop being such an ass.” She growled, fury in her eyes. While she would deign to tease and play his games, when it came to her job, nothing about it was funny.

"This is not the time to start playing dumb, protector." Amon had his glare levelled right at Hebi.

Hebi grimaced as Lutchka gripped his hair and dragged his head backwards. Though it stung, as did his forehead, he couldn't help the laugh that came after she released him, "Well well, I did not realize that you were one such woman as to be so forceful, my dear Lutchka. That kind of fire and play should be reserved should it not?" he grinned at her as he shifted around and readjusted himself to be comfortable once again.

Looking back to Amon, he gave a shrug of his shoulders, "I know nothing. I do not know where the orb is."

Amon kept his glare levelled before he just groaned, gripping his head once more while looking down at the table. "This is bad.....really, really bad." he muttered to nobody in particular. This would certainly be a great way to welcome the Fire King when he arrived. Amon had no idea how the hell he would even break this news, course saying it bluntly might be the best thing to do.

Kanan, who had been silent the entire time aside from his every limb trembling from his earlier anger and loss of control, suddenly shifted again. He went rigid as he felt something along the air that he had stretched out. At first he wasn't sure what it was, but then he realized the presence that he was feeling. He wondered if his King would even allow him out of his sight after such an embarrasing mishap on his part, still though he needed to say something.

"My lord," he had switched titles, regret in his voice for sure, "Lord Siya approaches the castle. Shall... I greet them?"

Amon just let his forehead hit the table now. I didn't even get a chance to decide how to tell them! Augh~.... he thought, hitting his forehead on the table once more before taking in a deep breath. Exhaling loudly, he then stood right up onto his feet while lifting his head, looking at Kanan. "We'll go greet him." With that Amon started towards the entrance to the palace, just keeping his eyes forward as he walked; he didn't bother to grab his staff this time around as he left.

Kanan bowed his head briefly as he followed after the King. He could feel the gaze of the Snake on him and he did everything he could to ignore it. It was what the man wanted and now Kanan was sure to have to try to explain himself later on to Amon. He was not looking forward to that. It didn't take them long to exit the palace and greet the Fire King who was indeed just dismounting from his horse followed by his two protectors.

"My Lord Amon," Siya greeted with a smile as he turned at their approach. Kanan only offered a short bow.

To say that Reynard was relieved to see the Castle of the Air King would be an incredible understatement. On the road, whether with Lord Siya or, in the case of the years before his employment as Protector, on his own, he'd always felt that travelling left him disturbingly open. Unknown places, unknown people... It all culminated in an antsy Reynard who was slightly more paranoid than usual. Not that most people could tell; the only thing that actually changed is that he kept his hand on his katana far more than most people traveling with him were comfortable with.

They were greeted, surprisingly enough, by King Amon himself along with someone who didn't quite fit the role as royal, but was certainly not an average worker within the castle. A Protector, Reynard realized, spending more time examining his counterpart than the King in front of him as he dismounted alongside Lord Siya. Unlike his King, he did not offer any words, instead bowing stiffly and professionally.

Travelling was so boring, no matter where it was to Damiano never enjoyed it. At least in this case it wasn’t him either running for his life or running after some poor schmuck. That and Siya was decent company, somebody to talk with and prevent the travel from becoming monotonous. He was very pleased to see the castle, and he could see two individuals standing at the entrance to greet them. One was clearly a guard of some kind considering the sword he had on him, though Damiano wasn’t exactly sure why he had all the gaudy jewelry on him. As for the other individual Damiano figured, considering he lacked weapons of any kind, must have been some kind of attendant. Course when Siya uttered the title of 'Lord Amon', Damiano was very quick to bow his head to the king.

Amon watched the three of them dismounting from their horses, and soon the stable attendants would arrive to take their horses away. At the front was Lord Siya himself, and behind him were what he could easily assume were his protectors. Amon returned their bows, before taking another deep breath, trying to keep the frustration from his face as he adressed them. "Hello, Lord Siya, thank you for being able to make it here. you may just refer to me as Amon, please." He went to keep talking, but he was having trouble keeping his mouth shut, and finally he sighed and ran his hand through his hair once more. Do I have no other nervous ticks?

"Listen, I apologize Lord Siya, but we'll have to skip out on the formalities and get to the concil room now. Things are far more serious than we initially thought. Please follow me." Amon said before turning and heading back inside, towards the council room.

"Lord Amon," Siya said slowly as he lifted an eyebrow. Relenting, he followed after the man and his protector. It seemed something was bothering the other King and the young Fire Lord was uncertain if he wished to know what that was. Giving a quick glance to both Reynard and Damiano, he motioned for them to follow as well. Once through the halls, they were introduced to the council room. Siya took a brief look, and sucked in a breath. Where is the Water King... shouldn't he be here first? he thought to himself. The tension in the room though... was so heavy Siya was sure he could cut it.

Reynard followed behind his King without any hesitation. He was completely unsurprised by the idea that something serious was going on. Of course something serious was going on- the orbs had apparently universally gone haywire only a few days ago, turning against the Kings that possessed them in a violent and inexplicable fit. Really, the fact that they were getting right to business was for the best if only because Reynard didn't really have the patience right now for social niceties. To be quite blunt, travelling outside of the Fire Kingdom made him grumpy and no one likes a grumpy Reynard.

The Council Room was almost empty when they arrived, which made the three people missing all the more obvious. The Water King was absent and, perhaps more importantly, so were his Protectors. Perhaps... Perhaps they were late as well, held up by some unavoidable delay. That really was a shame; the idea of seeing Caerwyn again was the only thing that had made this trip seem at all enjoyable.

Amon was not graceful at all about sitting in his seat, flopping down in it heavily while putting his elbows back up on the table. He was rubbing his hands together, for no real purpose besides him being antsy, as he looked over the occupants of the room. All who were left alive was here now, and with the doors being shut by Kanan as they walked in, Amon finally took one more deep breath to try and calm himself.

“Lord Siya, this here is Lord Taki of the Earth Kingdom and his two protectors. The beautiful young lady right there is Lutchka, while the gentlemen by the wall over there is named Hebi.” Amon waved his hand to each of them as he said their names before returning his elbow back to the table top and his hand underneath his chin having interlocked his fingers by now. "This here is my own protector, Kanan. My other protector is out and about right now, his name is Minnow."

Taki yawned as he needed to Lord Siya. "It's a pleasure to meet you my fellow king." All of the problems Hebi had caused even started to give Taki a headache as he rubbed his temples for a long moment yawned again. "How old are you?" Taki asked with a tilted look.

Siya's face flushed as he looked over to Taki, "My age?" he repeated. Glancing over to Reynard he arched an eyebrow, "Um... I'm twenty," he answered softly wondering if this was going to affect how he was going to be looked at in this group. It was certainly an odd question to be asked upon first arriving. Siya mentally shook himself.

"It has been a really long trip. I do apologize for my late arrival, what is this urgent business that I should hear before I suggest retiring for the night and resuming tomorrow morning?" the young king asked as he was genuinely curious.

Amon looked at Siya before nodding his head. "Not sure how much sleep you'll be getting if I tell you honestly."

"You know, you don't exactly look twenty. It's perfectly fine if you're a younger king. I am not here to judge." Taki smiled at Siya as he felt his arm sting once again. Ignoring the pain to the best of his ability. He extened a hand out to the Fire King.

Taki wished he could finally get in touch with that other healer. He had grown tired being limited to one arm. Besides, if he was going to stop Hebi from being a pain he at least needed his other arm. Taki smiled to himself for a moment.

Siya took the hand, "Thank you," he said softly. Glancing over to Amon, he lifted an eyebrow, "Should I be waiting till tomorrow then?" he asked the Air King. Though he was utterly curious, he wasn't sure now if he really wanted to know.

The Air King watched Siya still before shaking his head. "No, I guess it is best I tell you now." He took one more deep breath before he spoke, "The situation is far worse than we thought. The Water King and his Protectors are Dead, and the Water Orb is missing." he said while sitting up in his chair.


"Dead?" Reynard didn't make redundant statements, didn't echo the words of others, but the sheer shock to his system from this revelation- dead. The Water King and his Protectors were dead. His Protectors were dead. Caerwyn was... Caerwyn was... No. No he couldn't be. Reynard swayed a little while he stood, trying desperately to tamp down the warring emotions within himself. He wanted to demand answers, to cry, to shout until everything made sense again, but he couldn't- he couldn't. He didn't have the luxury of a meltdown, of breaking the carefully constructed persona he'd crafted for himself. But it was hard, so hard to keep it all in, and little things began to escape. His breathing picked up, more erratic and frequent, his hands became fists, nails digging into the palms of his hands.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all. He'd just sent Caerwyn a letter the other day, had just- had just- And now he would never read it and no one seemed as perturbed as they should be. It wasn't a tragedy it was an inconvenience they weren't- it wasn't their faults. He knew that, logically, but as his mind raced over the new information, it struggled to comprehend. Blaming someone felt right because anger was more familiar than sadness or grief or anguish. Anger you could grasp onto, could utilize, and sorrow just dragged you down, it hurt you far deeper than any real wound could. Oh, God. Caerwyn was dead.

Damiano listened to Amon's word, clicking his tounge some as he took it all in. Wow, if what Siya claimed is correct then....fuck. There was no other way that Damiano could possibly think to word it beyond that. He then noticed Reynard moving and quickly rise to his feet. The other protector only said one word, but Damiano could gather alot just from the tone in which he said it. His body language spoke volumes as well, the distress was clear and obvious; Why though? he thought to himself.

Siya looked up to Reynard as the protector spoke. His gaze grew wide though as the man's face seemed to pale, and he swayed on his feet slightly. Had Siya not been so close to him, he was sure to have missed it completely. Reaching out he took hold of Reynards arm. Though he was trying hard not to show any more affection on his face in front of those that were present, he was having a rather difficult time doing so. He was worried, sad, and even a little bit scared at the reaction he was seeing. There's something more to this than just the shock of losing another King he thought to himself.

"Reynard..." he whispered the man's name. Glancing over to Amon he bit his lower lip, "I'm sorry... I-I think we should retire for the night. We will talk more tomorrow. Is that alright?"

Amon was watching Siya's protector's reaction with a curious look, before turning his eyes back to Siya. He sat quietly for a moemnt before just nodding head. "Yeah, we can. I...I could use some sleep myself honestly." That was a lie and Amon knew it, with everything he's learned to day there was going to be too much on his mind to be able to actually fall asleep. "Or...take that back, I think I just need to some time to process this myself." He then looked at Kanan. "If you could please show them to their rooms, Kanan. I'll be in the training room if any of you need me."

Kanan gave a bow to his King and moved for the door, "Follow me, please," he offered softly.

Siya nodded, his gaze still locked on Reynard though as he was more than just a little worried about the man. Perhaps he could talk to him fully later on. Looking back over his shoulder before following after the one eyed protector, he gave a short nod of his head, "Thank you for your hospitality," after that, he left the room in pursuit of the other.

Damiano had also been keeping his eyes on Reynard, but when Siya had stood up to leave for the room he followed close behind. He gave Amon and Taki both a bow before he too turned and went after Siya, resting one of his hands on his bow as he followed.

If Reynard had been in the right state of mind, he most likely would have scolded Siya (in private) about the use of affection on his Protectors in front of others, particularly other Kings. However, the entire reason Lord Siya was acting so gently was because he wasn't in the right state of mind. That being the case, the hand on his arm did as much to ground him as it did to shock him back into the current situation; strangers in a strange land with someone who'd murdered the Water King and- and others on the loose. It wasn't enough to have him pull it together, not by a long shot, so he was relieved, so relieved, when Lord Siya politely requested that they be allowed to retire.

He bowed automatically to those that remained in the room, a gesture so ingrained into his mind and body that he probably could have done it in his sleep before turning abruptly to follow one of King Amon's protectors out of the Council Room, staring firmly forwards if only to keep a destination in mind.

Amon could only sigh miserably now, letting his forehead rest on the table with his arms wrapped around his head. He just didn't have enough in him to try and be his usual cheerful self, it almost felt like he was back in his hometown once more. No sense of reprieve, with everything just feeling like it was going wrong. He lifted his head up and stood up a moment later, grabbing his staff as he did so while looking at Taki and his protectors. "When you wish to retire for the night, ask a servant where the guest rooms are for the Earth King and your protectors, they will be able to guide you. I hope that you are able to sleep well tonight, because tomorrow is going to be busy. Good night to all of you." He bowed to them before he left for the door, turning down a different hallway than the one Kanan had lead Siya and his entourage, heading straight for the training room he spent so much of his time within.

Later that night

Siya was in the room given to him by the Air King for accommodations. Having arrived later than anticipated, it was late at night and he was tired. Still though, he wasn't tired enough to be sleeping. No, in fact he was far too shocked to even think about sleep. Because he didn't know what to think or how to even process the information, he decided to read. Pulling out the seat to the only table in the room, he seated himself.

Summoning a flame, he opened a book that he had brought with him and immersed himself into its pages. The flame flickered around as it provided him the light he needed. Siya wasn't sure how long he had been reading, but he was slowly beginning to fall asleep. It was a pleasant thing seeing as his mind had been nothing but a chaotic mess. He was worried about Reynard, worried about the Water orb and worried about the other Kings. His flame went out and he startled awake.

Looking up, he gave a yawn and then jolted as a hand slipped over his mouth. Reaching up, he quickly grabbed the wrist of the person behind him tightly. Leather clad fingers slipped into his mouth, making him wince slightly. Something was pressed against his tongue and he felt it melt. Struggling, he twisted around violently, knocking over his chair. Once he was free, he slammed into the desk and faced the person who attacked him. He could only see the silhouette of the figure in the room. His heart raced as he watched them. Flexing his fingers, he tightened them into fists.

He summoned his fire.

Nothing happened.

His gaze widened, a sharp gasp filling his lungs as he wondered frantically what had happened to his orb. What did they give me...? his thoughts returned to what had been put in his mouth just a moment ago. He opened his mouth to scream for Reynard. As his mouth opened, he felt water fill his throat and he choked on it. Both hands reached for his neck as he tried to breathe. Water gushed from his mouth, spilling over onto his clothes as he tried to cough to get it out and breathe again.

The figure rushed him, clamping a hand around his jaw, the other taking one of his hands from his neck and raising it up over his head. The water in his mouth faded and he could breathe again, but it burned. Siya coughed lightly, dragging in ragged breaths. He was slightly shocked at the sudden attack and use of water. Coughing he hardly comprehended that his other hand was up over his head.

Something wrapped around his wrists tightly, dragging his other hand upwards and lifting him off the ground. With a sharp cry, he winced at the pain that laced through his arms. Lashing out, he landed a hard kick to the assailants side, earning a grunt in return and a hard shove that slammed him against the wall. The back of his head hit the wall and he felt as if he was going to lose consciousness. With a soft moan, he pulled himself together as best he could and lashed out again. This time, the attacker grabbed hold of his leg and held him tightly against his side, pinning him so he couldn't move.

The figure held him up, tightening his grip on Siya as the young King struggled in the hold. Raising up the hand that wasn't holding him, blue light curled around the fingers, almost like the blue that happened when one sacrificed metal for energy. Except instead of sinking into the skin, it created a sort of shell around the gloved fingers. The Fire King's gaze widened slightly as he watched the hand.

"The orb."

Siya shook his head, unable to answer but figuring the man was attacking him for one thing only. Those fingers dipped down into his shoulder, sinking through his clothes and under his skin.

The young king found his voice then and cried out. His body curled, shaking with the sudden pain that afflicted him. It burned where the man had stuck his hand. Then the man moved his hand, searching for the orb and he screamed again, louder this time. The hand went from his shoulder down to his hip and then back up again. The first name that came to mind was that of Reynard which he screamed loudly.

"Reynard!"

Siya struggled to move, but found that his limbs were too heavy. The only thing he could do was scream and writhe. The attacker's fingers came back up a third time and finally crossed the orb. With a shuddering gasp, Siya lashed out with his free leg, kicking the man hard in his hip, but it did nothing to deter the figure from closing his fingers around the orb. Once the man had his hand around the orb he began to pull. Siya's screaming was sharp, filled with agony as he fell back and cried out for his protector again.

"Re-ynard!"

Reynard

Reynard had not settled down since the revelation in the Council Room, too keyed up and too confused to do anything but pace, sit down for a moment, before pacing again. Either that or exercising, cleaning knives, really anything apart from staying still. Staying still, laying down in the far too comfortable bed provided would mean allowing himself to dwell on the situation, and every time he'd allowed himself to do that so far, the unfamiliar pinpricks of tears began to well up until he was moving again.

So it was trying to keep his emotions at bay that kept Reynard up that night, moving around his room like a caged animal, too afraid of what sleep might bring, of what laying down would force him to recognize with nothing to separate himself from his darker thoughts. Which, oddly enough, ended up being a rather good thing.

"Reynard!"

Reynard was up in an instant, deftly grasping the sword placed lovingly beside his bed and the small bag of metal marbles kept just as closely. With the bare essentials finally in hand, he burst into the cool hallway still clad in the dusty, dirty clothes he'd been wearing since they'd begun their journey. The sight might have seemed a bit silly at first, but it was generally difficult to laugh at someone who not only is holding a sword- a rather sharp and scary sword at that- and with the expression of someone who might be more than a little homicidal. Anger. Now this he could deal with.

The door unfortunate enough to stand between Reynard and his younger charge didn't last very long as a blockade and Reynard was in the room in a moment, the door purposefully slamming against the walls with a loud bang. Stealth and secrecy was all well and good for following people around, but when it came to immediate danger, like, say, a stranger with their hand shoved into Lord Siya's shoulder, somehow informing them that they weren't alone seemed like a good idea.

"Get off of Lord Siya!" Admittedly, telling bad people not to do things is not a particularly effective course of action. However, shouting said commands and combining the vocalization with, say, tackling said bad person did tend to be more effective. As much as he would have liked to attempt to end it now, the blade in his hand practically begging to cut into the flesh of an opponent, it is not recommended to start swinging swords around in an enclosed area, particularly near a certain vulnerable King of Fire.

The assailant looked towards the doorway when it burst open. Siya was still in his grip writhing as the gloved hand was dragging the orb to the top. The figure was going to ignore the other man, until he barreled into the black clad figure. Torn from Siya, the young King fell silent finally, his cries cut off as the hand that was taking the orb was pulled free of him.

The orange glow of the sphere that had risen just barely to the surface slowly sank back down into his body, leaving Siya to hang there as the assailant was dealt with.

Reaching up, the dark figure pressed their hand against Reynard's chest and unleashed a wave of water on him to throw him backwards. At the same time, he reached into his dark clothes and withdrew a long knife.

The impact of the water was enough to send Reynard sliding backwards, but not to topple him by any means. He skidded to a halt a few feet away, soaking wet and perhaps even more determined than before, particularly when the pale light illuminating the room glinted off of the blade of a knife. Well, to call it a knife wouldn't be completely fair. It was, after all, a rather big knife. It was quite unfortunate that Reynard's was bigger.

"Cute," The Protector breathed, but none of the mocking tone implied by the word bled into the way he said it. Rather, it sounded like a threat and perhaps more-so a promise that said threat would be carried through with. As quickly as the figure withdrew their knife, Reynard had unsheathed his sword in an all too familiar motion. If it was a fight the stranger wanted, then Reynard was all too happy to comply. He had a few things to work out anyways and this was a lovely distraction.

The man stood up slowly, the cloth of his hood falling away slightly. The moonlight reflected two mismatched eyes, one blue and one green. Looking slowly over to the young King that was seemingly unconscious, he lifted the knife at Reynard. His gloved hand shifted and with a quick flick of his wrist water swirled around the King, starting from his legs up to his shoulders where the flood broke off into tendrils, hovering around his face dangerously.

"The orb." was all he said.

Of course. Of course the attacker had to be intelligent enough to use water against the King of Fire. Assassins always tended to be infuriatingly intelligent, but Reynard supposed that all of the stupid ones were caught before they had a chance to be labelled anything more than disturbing the peace. Still, two could play at this game and while Reynard might not be as well versed in water based combat, well, he was still a controller of the water elemental.

His eyes never strayed from his opponent and the now revealed the dual colored eyes as Reynard emptied the bag of metal marbles, all of the sacrifices dissolving into the air sending power rushing through his body. The water surrounding Siya began to fluctuate, tugging insistently away from the young King's body. Of course this was about the orb; everything lately apparently had to do with the orb. The Water King, Caerwyn... They'd likely died due to the orb and... And... He didn't have any proof, but this... Oh, he could pretend who this is.

"What? Do you want me to just let you tear Lord Siya open?" If the situation had been less life or death, Reynard would have scoffed. Honestly. But, given the severity of what was unfolding, he instead raised his sword too, prepared to strike at the slightest movement. After all, it was far more easy- and efficient- to deliver someone actively threatening your life dead instead of alive.

The male frowned heavily as he watched the other, his own control over the water struggling. It had been some times since he had wielded such power and he hadn't full control over it just yet. Grinding his teeth, he glowered at the other. His fingers closed slowly and the water seemed to pulse around Siya's frame, seemingly waking him slightly as he groaned.

"You, do not understand. The orb. And I will leave."

Reynard's eyes flickered towards Siya at the younger man's groan, free hand spreading open as the water began to slowly but steadily separate for the King's body. This was honestly more difficult than he remembered- he was slightly out of practice, but that could be amended. Later. When there wasn't a madman trying to pilfer one of the sacred orbs from the body of Reynard's charge.

"Then why don't you try to make me understand?" He replied shortly, lips pressed into a thin line. "Lord Siya is under my protection and so is the orb."

The mismatched eyes narrowed to mere slits as he bore his teeth openly at Reynard. A deep growl seemed to come from him as he glanced over to the King. His hand that had curled into a fist, yanked downward and the vines holding Siya curled tighter and stretched downwards to encircle his shoulders and throat. Siya gave a sharp cry of pain.

"There isn't time for an explanation. The orb! Now or I'll kill him and take it anyway!" the man shouted, furious.

"I'd like to see you try." It was all the warning that the stranger got before Reynard was moving, flying through the air with an astonishing speed before knocking into the would-be orb thief. The blade of his katana sliced through the air in a deadly downwards arc towards the other man, meant as much to disrupt his concentration on the young King as to kill; Reynard didn't do anything halfheartedly, especially today.

Hissing, the man moved away, his long knife dropping to combat the one that was headed straight for him. He released his hold on Siya who seemed to let out a sigh of relief as the pain faded away from the tightening hold of the vines. The young king dropped to the floor with a heavy thud as the magic holding him disappeared.

The mismatch eyed attacker deftly moved backwards, his sword just barely making it in time to move Reynard's enough so that it wasn't a mortal blow. Even so, the steel cut through his clothes, slicing into his shoulder and upper arm, making the muscle there burn intensely. Hissing in pain now, he backed away even further towards the window. Throwing his hand upwards, water sprayed throughout the room, almost like a waterfall had sprouted at the mans feet. In the next instant, the sound of breaking glass filled the air and the man was gone.

There was blood now, decorating the blade as it pulled back, ruby droplets clutching to the katana stubbornly, like a medal of pride. Other drops of blood decorated the floor, probably leaving an awful present behind for whatever poor soul ended up having to clean up this mess. But blood and unfortunate cleaners were far from the forefront of Reynard's mind as he raced to the window, clutching the sill as he stared out into the darkness. However, the stranger was gone, vanished away into the night, hidden within the darkness. He could try to follow him, try to find his way through the unfamiliar terrain after someone he no longer saw, but warding off assassins was only part of his job.

He slid his blade back into place, uncaring arbout the red still clinging to it, and made his way quickly to Siya's side, kneeling next to him. His serious and intimidating expression morphed into one of concern and an almost hesitancy.

"Lord Siya- Siya? Are you okay?"

Having been released from the hold of the vines, Siya was upon the floor, ragged breath wheezing in and out of his lungs that still burned from the near drowning experience he had had a moment ago when water had filled his mouth and lungs. One hand was clutching his chest, the other pressed against the floor as he slowly lifted himself up. Glancing over to Reynard he gave a slow nod, "Re-ynard..." he coughed, "Fine...Fine, thank you. The... assassin?"

"Gone, Siya. He ran away after I injured him."

Amon was awake, practicing his strikes on a wooden stand that was inside of the training room. It consisted of a wooden cylinder that had three posts sticking out of it, two at shoulder level and another in the center of where someone’s torso would be. It also had a small wooden support near the bottom at the front, which also served as a target for strikes to the legs of an opponent. The three pegs were marked and worn from constant impacts of Amon’s forearms striking them to practice his blocks and parries. The main body of the stand was also worn from his punches to it, as well as the few kicks he would make to the lower support.

Much of his focus was on the practice dummy, enjoying the clapping sound of the wood contacting his forearm, followed by his fist hitting the center right above the middle peg. Quickly, he retracted the arm he had blocked with before to set it up for another punch, using the other arm to block once more with another punch following to the "sternum" of the target.

There was a slight rumble before everything was encased in thick vines, wrapping around the training dummies and practice equipment in the room. To the right stood a tall figure, cloaked from head to foot in black and holding what looked like a spear.

Amon stopped, and backed away quickly from the vine encased dummies before turning to scan the room, his eyes quickly settling on the hooded figure. Blinking in confusion, he then slowly turned to face the individual. "You know, a simple 'hello' or 'Excuse me your majesty' would have sufficed." Despite the wisecrack, Amon was already moving himself into a position to defend himself, keeping a close eye on the person in front of him.

The figure didn't answer. Twisting the spear around, it sang slightly as the steel tip flipped through the air. It stopped suddenly, held upwards across the figures back as they turned their large frame slightly, lowering themselves in preparation. Extending a hand out, the fingers flicked forward slightly and the vines that had wrapped around the training dummies, came to life again. They wiggled around and suddenly shot straight at Amon.

Amon moved quickly, diving to the side and rolling out of the way of the vines. Finishing the roll he came up onto his feet, arms out in front and spreading his feet so that he was distributing his weight evenly on both of them. He was backing away now, keeping an eye on the individual. "Look, I don't know what the issue is, but we don't need to fight over it. Just relax, please." he said, hoping to talk down whoever this was trying to attack him.

Perhaps if the man was quicker, or if Amon's protector wasn't quite as aware of the palace and everyone in it as he is all the time, the assailant would have overtaken him. Still, the man was very quick as he shot towards the King, spear still held comfortably and not even looking as if it were going to be used.

The double doors to the room burst open with a powerful gust of wind followed by the one eyed protector. The cloaked figure turned at the entrance to catch the wind blades that Kanan had thrown into the room. Standing and facing the protector, he used his spear finally and blocked the attack.

"Sire!" Kanan shouted attempting to reach his King, but the rooms vines decided that he was now their new target.

Scowling, Amon simply cursed under his breath before rushing straight towards the man, hoping to end this fight quickly. He was not too worried about Kanan, as he trusted the man would be able to hold his own; and now the assaliant had to pay attention to two opponents. Running up, Amon quickly threw two punches at his target, one aimed for the mid-section with another at his head and augmenting both of them with a small, yet strong, blast of wind behind them.

Distracted by the entrance of the Protector, the first blow took his attention, as it slammed hard into his abdomen, knocking him backwards several steps as well as taking the air from his lungs. Flipping the spear around, he knocked it into the other fist that was headed straight for his head, ducking for added measure since the first blow had been enough to send him stumbling.

Kanan, on the other hand, was slicing through the wild vines as they attempted to either run him through or tie him down. He moved swiftly as well, his intention only to get to Amon's side. Sacrificing more metal than normal, he unleashed a huge wave of wind blades that cut through the vines as if he were cutting through grass.

The attacker fell back a few steps and then lowered his spear before charging forward at the King. The sight of it startled Kanan and had him struggling to move faster.

Amon stood his ground, watching the attacker charging right at him with the spear, unmoving as he waited for just the right moment. As the spear point came at him, Amon quickly stepped to the side, letting the spear point skirt just past him before he stepped forwards into the charging man. Amon felt the burning sensation of the spear point cutting his side due to Amon not stepping far enough out of the way. As they came together, Amon then attempted to grab hold of the man while hooknig his leg, hoping to pull the man off balance and cause him to fall forwards.

Kanan, finally freed from the jungle of vines, rushed to his King only to watch as the man side stepped the oncoming attack and grabbed a hold of the attacker. Sending him to the ground, the man grunted heavily and rolled across the floor. The young protector took this moment to come to stand near his King.

"Sire?" he asked simply, though there was much more conveyed in that single word than any other time Kanan addressed the King.

The black clad figure got to his feet, facing the two whilst rubbing a hand across their face as the hood fell back. Dark eyes glowered at both of them before he shifted and lowered the spear again. Kanan moved, leveling his own weapon as well, but not daring to leave Amon's side just incase the bastard used the earthen magic against them again.

Amon did not remove his gaze from the attacker as Kanan stepped up next to him. "I'm ok, Kanan. Just a scratch." He said to his protector. He then spoke to the man, "Please, just put the weapon down." though he tried to say it with some sense of authority, there was a hint of pleading in his tone as well. "Whatever it is that I did, I can't fix it if you keep trying to kill me, so just please stop this."

The spear weilder seemed not to listen as he charged forward again. Kanan moved, putting himself in front of Amon and readying his weapon. The attacker flipped his spear upwards midway through his charge and Kanan's one good eye widened slightly. The vines that he had thought to have taken care of snaked out at him. One wrapped around his shoulder and arm, the arm holding his weapon, and one stabbed deep into his lower back.

Wrenched out of the way, he lost his blade as he fell to the floor and the spear weilder continued his charge towards Amon, the weapon lowered yet again.

Amon was again ready for his charge, but was caught off guard when Kanan stepped between them. He went to move to the side to try and get around the protector, but when he saw the vines from before suddenly attack Kanan he stopped. "Kanan!" was all he could think to shout before the man was yanked to the side and to the ground.

Amon made the mistake of looknig at him to see where he landed before turning his gaze back up with his eyes widening as the spear user was right on him. Amon had no chance to step out of the way, so he did the only thing he could and that was to catch hold of the shaft of the weapon. Doing so didn't save him though, as he felt part of the spear blade stab into his stomach. Amon grimaced, tightly latching onto the shaft of the weapon to prevent it from being driven deeper into his torso. He also created a lift of air beneath his feet, so as to allow himself to slide effortlessly across the ground so that he moved with the attacker, and therefore the spear, to prevent the tip from being driven any deeper.

After a bit of distance in which to properly catch his footing and brace himself, Amon let the air beneath his feet subside so that he dropped onto both of them. He braced himself so that he could slow down the attacker's charge without allowing the spear to do more damage, though once they slowed to a stop Amon quickly thurst a hand out at the man and fired off a powerful blast of air to knock the man away before he could attempt another thurst with the spear.

Taken by surpirse by the stunt the King had done, he wasn't prepared for the blast of air to throw him backwards. The spear came free with him, no longer buried in the King's stomach, though it hadn't gone all that deep to begin with like the attacker had wanted. Moving to gain his balance again, he felt several slices go across his back and turned to see the protector standing, though the young man winced and quickly lowered his arm after having thrown his wind blades.

Twirling the spear around rapidly, the man looked between Amon and Kanan, trying to decide which was more threatening at the present moment. Finally, the spear stopped moving and the end of it hit the floor with a solid crack and the room trembled.

"Sire, move!" Kanan shouted from where he stood as the floor began to writhe.

Amon was tightly gripping the wound in his stomach reflexively, even though doing such an action would hardly stop the wound from existing. The pain was great, and Amon was doing what he could to keep focus on his attacker. Then he felt the ground begin to shake, knowing the attacker had something nasty in mind. Dammit, why did it have to go this far?!, and he did his best to keep his footing as the ground shook. "Son of a bitch, I warned you!" Amon shouted at the man before he extended a hand forward, focusing intensely on the target. He was trying to picture the air within the man's lung, trying to extend his control there.

Amon hated this technique, something he had developed long ago fighting bandits, but he needed to stop this person now. With a shout of rare anger, Amon then took hold of the air within the man's lungs, and with a hard thurst of his hand towards the attacker, forced the air within the man's lungs to be violently expelled out of his mouth and nose.

The attacker dropped, clutching the ground as he tried to breath. The ground stopped moving and Kanan lurched forward as quickly as he could. His sword hummed as it came down at the prone figure. As his weapon reached the man, the steel blade cut through black smoke. Startled, the protector stumbled slightly before righting himself. His senses stretched as he tried to find the assailant.

Confused, but thankful that the man was gone -as were the other two attackers at this point- he went to his King, noting the blood coating his fingers as Amon held his wound, "Sire... we should get Minnow."

Amon would have questioned more as to how the man had vanished as he did, but with his injury and worries about his guests, he couldn't find the time to do so. Looking at Kanan who walked up to him and was requesting they go find Minnow, Amon shook his head. "We need to make sure the other kings are safe, Kanan." With that he rose up to his feet, but not before taking a moment to pull off the training shirt he had been wearing. He then used it as a makeshift bandage, wrapping it tightly around his wounded abdomen to try and stem the bleeding. He winced some as a sharp pain shot through his torso from the pressure of the bandage on his wound.

"Let's go, now." He said, his voice serious, with all hint of cheerfulness gone from his voice. After something like this, he was anything but happy. He quickly made his way into the hallway, heading towards King Siya's room first, hoping to find him in a much more comfortable position than Amon currently was.

Kanan nodded, sheathing his own weapon and keeping his own pain to himself. Following after his King the first room they went to was the one given to Lord Siya. As they came to it, the door was wide open and the Fire King was on the floor. Kanan's eye grew wide and his hand reached down for his weapon, but he didn't draw it as Reynard was in the room with the King.

Siya looked up, panting slightly and then let his head fall onto his arm, "My Lord Amon..." he managed to say after a moment.

As Amon looked in the room, he shook his head. "Shit..." was all he could think to muster before he walked inside, knealing down next to Siya. "King Siya, please tell me you are ok. I'm so sorry they got in here so easily..." He couldn't find a way to express how ashamed he felt that these assassins had managed to sneak their way inside and almost kill the kings, there was just no way he could cover up this inexcusable mistake.

Siya shook his head as he pushed himself up, reaching out for Reynards arm to help steady himself. Once he was kneeling on the floor, he finally got a good look at Amon, "My Lord, you're injured," the young Fire King wheezed, his voice still slightly lost to him.

Amon watched Siya carefully, making sure that he was ok. "Don't worry, it's nothing I haven't had to deal with before. I'll be ok, what about you? Are you hurt?" It didn't help that upon saying that, another shot of pain went through him and caused him to wince.

The young Fire King frowned at Amon before glancing at his own frame. Aside from the burning in his lungs and throat, he wasn't sure if he was injured or not. His arms and shoulders hurt and he was almost afraid to look as he was sure they were bruised, if not cut by the tight vines that had held him up not but a few moments before. With a forced smile he shook his head, "Fine," he answered, "My throat... is just dry."

Kanan moved, making his presence more apparent, "Who attacked you, Sire?" the protector asked.

Siya shook his head a bit, "I'm not sure. A man. He was after the orb. And you?"

The orb? Amon wanted to slap himself when Siya mentioned. "So that's why he attacked. Makes sense then considering he wasn't in much of a mood to talk." He then turned to look at Kanan, wincing slightly as he stood up onto his feet. "We must find King Taki and fast. If both of us were attacked then that probably means he was as well."

Kanan nodded though he held out his hand towards Amon, "Stay. I will go," he said firmly. Closing his eye, the man seemed like a statue for a moment before he opened his gaze again, "He is on the roof..." the young protector sounded rather confused at this, but dismissed it fairly quickly. He turned and left the room.

Siya frowned, "He is injured as well," he muttered having noticed the blood, "You both need healers."

Amon watched Kanan leave, letting out a deep sigh of frustration. Please be ok Taki, please. he thought before turning to look at Siya. "When we are certain that both you and King Taki are safe and sound, we will then call upon one of my protectors. Young boy named Minnow, not much of a fighter, but the kid is a whizz at the medical stuff." Amon couldn't help but smile a little when he thought back to his burning of his tounge after drinking the tea Minnow had given him. "He can also brew a really good tea."

It actually felt good to smile alittle, especially after dealing with this amount of stress. It wasn't around long, but at least it was around long enough to prevent him from becoming too moody.

Siya smiled a bit too as Amon spoke of his healer Minnow, "He sounds... great," the Fire King said softly. Looking over to Reynard he sighed, letting his breath come out a little bit louder and definitely in a sigh of relief, "Reynard... are you alright?" though he was fairly sure the protector hadn't taken any wounds, he wanted to make sure.

Was he alright? No. No he wasn't alright, but he was a professional, a man who put his job as a Protector above all else, even and especially his own needs. He eyed Siya from where he stood, not buying the "my throat is dry" excuse for a second. But it wouldn't do to openly question his King in front of others, and he just tucked that away for later. Which, in a bizarre sort of way, felt good, building up a to-do list to keep himself occupied for as long as he possibly could.

"I'm...fine, Lord Siya," He replied swiftly, nodding once. Physically, after all, he was perfectly fine. It was emotionally and mentally where things start getting uncomfortable.

Siya looked over to Amon, "My lord, you should call your healers. Or anyone that may be of help for your wound," the Fire King said, motioning to the bloody wrap around his body.

Amon looked at them both before nodding his head, then looking down the hallway. He wasn’t really looking for anything in particular now, as he knew Kanan probably wouldn’t have returned just yet, not unless Taki was a lot closer than he had thought. Honestly he was just keeping an eye out for anybody he didn’t recognize showing up. He then turned to look back at Siya when he heard the young man speak, smiling some at his comment. “Yeah I probably should, but really you don’t need to worry too much about me. It’s not the first time I’ve had to deal with a wound like this. I actually got really lucky that it’s only this bad considering how much worse it could have been. Good thing I got some good reflexes!” He winced as he exclaimed it, pain from the wound shooting through his torso.

"My lord..." Siya grimaced as he watched. "We should at least clean it," he said and attempted to stand. In which he failed miserably. Every limb burned, he wasn't sure why but he had a feeling it had to do with the magic the assailant had cast on him. The hand that had slipped into his body was the most painful after all. Back on the floor he groaned slightly, "Damn... Reynard... could you, help him?"

If they had been back home in the Fire Kingdom, Reynard's response to Siya's predicament would most likely be to drag him back to his chambers and examine him to see just what exactly was wrong. However, here, despite the circumstances that this visit was embroiled in, it just wouldn't do to undermine his own King's orders in front of members of the other kingdoms and, quite honestly, Lord Amon might have the more pressing injuries of the small group assembled here.

"If he agrees to allow me, Lord Siya," He replied noncomitally because he could impose his own brand of medical treatment on their host King as much as he could currently disobey Lord Siya.

The Air King looked down at Siya, then up at Reynard. He then looked off into the hallway and down both ends before looking at Reynard and Siya. "Firstly, as I said Lord Siya, you may call me Amon; secondly, thank you for offering the protection of Reynard here, but you need the protection more as you are having difficulty even standing. I can still fight even with this injury, and help isn't too far away. I'll be ok looking for them on my own, I promise you. Stay safe you two!" Amon didn't wait for Siya to object, he was already heading down the hallway, keeping a hand on his wound as he lightly jogged towards one of the healers. Minnow was certainly one of the best healers they had here, but he was not the only one they had.

Siya stretched out a hand as Amon got to his feet, "My lord!" he called, but it seemed the other didn't listen and he was soon out the door as well as down the hall. The young Fire King wondered how it was that the man moved so deftly and with such an injury. He was certainly much stronger than Siya was. As he knelt there, he now realized that he was going to have to try to explain to Reynard exactly why it was he couldn't get up properly. And why he had said he was 'fine' when Amon asked him earlier. His face heated slightly at the thought.

They were alone now, or at least as alone as anyone could be in a castle made frantic by at least three intruders infiltrating the walls. It was too quiet, too still, but Reynard was (un)lucky enough to have his own duties to see to, namely checking on his own King still crouched on the ground, masking his pain as well as he could. It might have fooled the other King, it could possibly even fool those who saw Siya on a regular basis, but Reynard had based his career around trying to understand Siya's little tells and ticks, so it was near impossible for him to ignore the state that he was in.

"Siya," The Lord was dropped off entirely as the Protector knelt down next to his smaller charge. "Tell me what's going on." With his body, his possible injuries, his attempts to hide both from the older King. Everything.

At first Siya bit his lower lip and was unable to look up to the man as he knelt down next to him. He focused his gaze on the floor for a while before glancing over to Reynard. He knew then that the man wasn't going to accept anything less than the truth. Looking away he thought about how to make it not sound as bad as it might actually be.

"Um... I think... my shoulders may be bruised a little. I have a headache too... that man sort of... I hit the wall earlier," he said deciding to forego the actual explanation of the intruder slamming him into the wall. He was fairly sure he should probably be sleeping but he didn't want to, "But I am fine, otherwise. Lord Amon looked like he had a stab wound. I'm not bleeding -I don't think-" he muttered the last part to himself.

"Hm." That was all the response that Siya got before Reynard reached out and began tracing his hands over the younger man's hair, searching for lumps and bumps that may or may not be there. It was relieving enough that there no blood appeared on his hands but unsurprising given the fact that any drop of scarlet would have been almost immediately recognizable in his snowy hair. Satisfied with the once-over he pulled back a moment before locking his gaze with his young King's, face stern and uncompromising.

"You would tell me if there was anything bothering you, wouldn't you? Because if I find out later that you've been injured, you'll be causing everyone a lot more trouble than you should have." A low blow, perhaps, but there were certain ways he knew that Siya would actually tell him the truth. This just so happened to be one of the not so nice methods.

Having Reynard suddenly reach over and run his fingers through Siya's hair startled him. He wasn't sure if he would find anything, after all the young King wasn't sure how hard he had actually hit. All he knew was that it was painful and that he had almost fell unconscious from it. What came next though, was probably the worst sort of way to get him to talk. Reynard... that was... cruel he thought to himself, his lips pulling into a frown. If it was one thing Siya did not like to do, was to be more trouble to others. He cared not for himself, but with how Reynard had put it, he was in a difficult situation.

He sighed heavily, "Sorry, Reynard. I..." he gave a soft hum of dissatisfaction. He definitely hated this sort of thing, "He made me eat something, I don't know what it was. But I cannot use the orb now," he started, deciding it was probably the best way to get things over with quickly, "Afterwards, he... tried to drown me... I fought back, but he was.. well you know. He did something to his hand, blue light like what happens when we sacrifice things for energy was around his hand. It didn't sink into his flesh though like it does normally. He used that to... find the orb," Siya winced slightly at the memory. Looking down at his arms, he gingerly reached out and lifted the sleeves, pulling them back lightly. With a soft moan, he sighed afterwards as he set eyes upon the discoloration across his pale skin, "Well... that's going to hurt for a while," he muttered. He didn't even want to see how bad it was up to his shoulders.

Reynard never got good news. Perhaps it was because he specialized in sorting out bad news or perhaps because he had the look of someone who after hearing a problem actually solved it, but the fact of the matter was he only heard bad news. Today was a particularly lovely example- the person closest to him in the entire world was dead, killed by something or someone that no one could describe. Then an thief- not an assassin, but certainly a thief who didn't mind the idea of murder- had seen fit to attack his charge in the midst of unfamiliar territory. And now, now this, whatever this signified- maybe poison, maybe something else, but all highly unusual and distinctly concerning.

He didn't speak for a moment, too concentrated on Siya's arms as if memorizing the bruised patterns as he mulled the information over.

"We'll have to tell the other Kings," He said after a moment, lips pressed into a thin line as if to show just how irritating that little fact was. "Something like that might have happened to them or they might know something..." He trailed off before starting again. "Let me see your arms. I can at least take care of them for now."

Siya nodded as he listened. Yes, they were going to have to speak to the others. If Lord Amon had been attacked then certainly Lord Taki as well. He could only hope that Lord Taki hadn't sustained any dire injuries. At the reqeust to show Reynard his arms, his first attempt was to roll up the sleeves, but the way his clothes were designed didn't do much for that as it stopped at his elbow. The bruising and small cuts didn't stop just under his elbow though. With a sigh, the Fire King rolled the sleeve back down and pulled the collar of the outfit to open it and reached up as best he could behind his head to draw the long black silk off of his small frame. The cloth formed neatly to his lithe body and thus stretched only slightly as it was dragged off. He kept his pain to himself as the long robe like shirt finally came free from him.

Holding it he glanced over to his shoulders, eyeing the twisting swirl of bruises and tiny abraisions as well as bits of blood that had formed from the crushing hold of the vines, "Damn it...." he cursed softly. Setting the cloth aside he allowed Reynard to do as he needed, "You... Reynard you would tell me if there was something wrong with you as well, wouldn't you?" Siya asked. His gaze flicked over to the taller protector. It hadn't gone unnoticed earlier with his reaction to the news that the Water King was dead, "You worried me. Scared me, even. I hope that we would be close enough for you to tell me."

If Reynard was shocked by the sight of his King pulling his shirt off or, more likely, the sight of the bruises and cuts decorating the skin beneath, he did a good job at hiding it. Instead, his hand slipped into his own jacket, pulling out two metal kunai that hastily vanished as they were sacrificed for Reynard's elemental power. It was rather unfortunate that he'd managed to use up all of the metal marbles he kept in his little pouch, but there was more where that came from and he, disturbingly enough, was quite good at finding places to keep smaller, longer ranged weapons tucked away on his person.

The moment the kunai disappeared, water enveloped his hands, not too dissimilar to so many days ago. But this water was warmer, glowing eerily in the dim lighting of the halls, and, without much warning, he placed his hands on Siya's skin and waited. Slowly but surely the little abrasians began to knit together, the bruises fading away into the pale flesh they had once been. He didn't speak for a time, only listened to Siya's question, concentrating on the task before him.

"I apologize for causing you any distress," He replied after a moment, hands now making their way to Siya's shoulders leaving the previous patches of skin unmarred and slightly damp. "I... We can talk later, okay? I promise you."

Siya watched the glowing water in awe. He wasn't aware that Reynard could do such a thing with his power. Of course, it wasn't like Siya went and purposefully got himself hurt to such an extent as this. The warmth was welcomed as the protector ran his hands along the fire King's arms, healing the bruises and anything else that marked his pale skin.

For a moment, Siya was sure that Reynard was not going to answer him, so when the protector spoke he was startled. Looking up he frowned at the man a bit, "I know that you will only immerse yourself in your work, like you always do," he sighed closing his eyes. He was feeling a bit upset at the fact that the other did not wish to talk, but he also didn't want to push the matter either. Whatever it was must have been too shocking to even think about. It would be cruel of Siya to force him to talk of it, whatever it was, "Alright. I will hold you to that promise, Reynard. I will remember," the young King said sternly, his gaze locked onto his protector.

"Thank you," he said as he looked at his arms that were completely healed, "It feels much better now," he smiled. Now all that was left was to figure out when and if he could use his orb.

Siya took hold of the seat and pulled it out so that he could take his place at the table that served for the council room in Amon's palace. Leaning forward, he curled his fingers together as he placed both arms up on the table and glanced around the table at the others who were seating themselves as well. Once everyone was settled, he cleared his voice slightly to get their attention.

"The water orb is missing. This means that without a vessel soon it will unleash all of its power. Places that have no water will be flooded; places that have water will be dried up. Everything is going to go chaotic within the next few weeks. Our first priority should be finding a new King to hold the orb," he started, his voice slightly breathless as he was a bit unsure about this idea. After all, they had all just been attacked by a mysterious person who was evidently after their orbs. Taking a breath he glanced down to the table before looking up again.

"We will also have to be very careful from now on. Finding out who is after us is also very important. We cannot let this individual run rampant through our lands doing as they please. How they found out about the orbs, I think, matters not to me. What matters now is that we deal with them accordingly."

Amon took his seat, setting his staff down next to him, letting it lean against the chair he was in. He leaned back in his chair, getting himself into a comfy position as he listened to Siya speak. Once he was finished, Amon leaned forwards enough that he could place his arms up on the table. "Couldn't have said it better myself to be honest, now if only we just had some idea where to begin looking for either." he said.

Strolling in, Taki slowly moved to his seat. Along with him he brought both of his protectors who walked along his side. Gently waving to the others Taki gave a pleasant smile to everyone as he said. "Greetings, what's up, how are you'll?"

Taking his seat he slouched a little as he glanced between the Kings. All of them had such good manners sitting up and all. Compared to him they looked like actual Kings, but Taki didn't care as the Taki grin grew upon his face. None of them could say they held off an assassin with one arm. "Hell yeah." Taki boasted under his breath.

Amon glanced at Taki as he walked in before looking back ahead, this time at nowhere in particular. Least he's cheerful he thought to himself. "Don't suppose any of you might have any contacts or leads of any kind to finding either the peopel attempting to kill us, or finding a water user such as the one we need?"

Siya leaned back in his chair, "None that I know of," the Fire King answered with a heavy sigh, "The Kings have always found their own successors. It would really be near impossible for us to just go and find one, but we have to think of something," he raised his fingers and tapped them against his lips, "The only thing we will have to look for is if anyone can use magic without sacrificing any metals."

"Of course, because that is so very simple, my Lord Siya," Hebi chimed in finally. He was once again leaning against the back wall behind his Kings chair, arms crossed over his chest as he regarded them, "You realize that you're looking at an entire country to try to find one single person, yes?"

"I realize this, Hebi," Siya answered with a heavy sigh.

Hebi lifted an eyebrow, "Do you? Then why are you asking for the impossible, young Fire Lord. I see why the many rumors of you're being the 'Child King' may be true. Perhaps you should think more like an adult King. The orb is far more valuable than a person. Find that first and you will easily find your vessel for it," the Snake hissed from his place against the wall.

Damiano had entered the room long ago alongside Lord Siya, though rather than sitting he had decided to rest back near a wall out of the way. He figured he’d let the kings do the talking, as he’d rather not say the wrong thing to them. Not to mention that in all honesty, he had no real idea what to say or how to help as he had little idea as to what they were really talking about. Sure Lord Siya had told him of the orbs, their purpose, and the purpose of the kings as vessels but that was really about it.

However, it was one of the Earth Protectors speaking up that drew his attention, and possibly his ire. Damiano didn’t appreciate the tone he was taking, nor the insult he was throwing towards his king. He finally decided to speak up, hopefully for the better. "Age has nothing to do with wisdom. I was younger than him when I was thrown into a pit of lions and told to fend for myself, and not just fend for myself but also complete the tasks given to me by the same people who threw me into that pit. I would hardly call finding one person impossible, especially because we are looking for someone with a talent that's rather rare amongst anybody."

He stepped from his place in the wall, starting to walk slowly towards the table and up next to Siya. "You look where someone with the ability to manipulate water at a whim would be very, very useful or prominent, such as maybe a renowned healer, maybe an area of hefty violence where somebody with that kinda ability could really make a difference. It's not like people are not going to talk about individuals with such gifts." Damiano finally stopped next to Siya, having never looked away from Hebi the whole time, smiling some. "Not that hard."

Hebi tilted his head as he regarded the other protector, "So, you say you and your Child King are one of a kind. How touching," the man's lips quirked into a smile, "So you both get to share in that little detail. Well, perhaps then you could teach the little runt of a King how to act like one, yes? Finding the orb should be more important than finding some person, as I say, once again. You're talking of searching this entire area."

"Hebi. Please for once shut up. The actual adults are talking here." Taki shook his head in frustration as he made a motion with his good arm to the Fire King and his protectors. "Please forgive my protector, he gets off to getting under peoples skins. It's like his thing." Taki briefly paused as he gave another motherly look of annoyance to Hebi. "Now, please continue."

"He has a point." The words rang out in the Council room, hanging heavy over the table and drawing attention to the other one of the Fire King's Protectors seated beside his young charge. Reynard looked exhausted, the sleepless night wearing on the Protector combined the yet unexplained grief from the night before to wear down his stern features. He hadn't intended to speak at the meeting, had been quite pleased to sit back and let the three Kings make arrangements and plans as was their right to do. But now... He might not like it- well, he definitely didn't like it, but the Earth Protector had a point. Oh, he could rant and rave at the other man for ages, extolling Siya's virtues or simply handing out a threat woven in a promise of swift retribution, but now wasn't the time for bickering. People had been killed, the Kings attacked the night before... Things had to be done.

"While I obviously disagree with his opinion on Lord Siya," Reynard began dryly, "And I do agree with Lord Siya that the new vessel must be found, the Orb must also be considered. More likely than not the same people who attacked last night are the ones who have the Orb of the Water King. If we find the Orb, not only do we have a powerful object returned to safe hands, but we also find the ones who stole it." And when they found those who stole it, they found the assassins of the Water King and his Protectors, and, God, Reynard wanted to be a part of that.

Lutchka sat comfortably in the seat beside her King, one leg crossed over the other and both palms lying flat beside her thighs. She had a very involved look to her face, one of piqued interest and slight excitement to see what the kings would end up doing. A light smirk was placed upon her lips the entire time.

Having gotten some rest the previous night, she was renewed and could deal with a lot more of Hebi’s remarks without being too irritated. He was always like this, he simply had no manners.

Minnow carried the many supplies he required to work on Lord Taki’s arm. He looked much better than he did before, having gotten about an hour or so of rest, and a light smile was on his face. He quietly entered the council room as several people were firing pointless comments at one another. Glancing around, he located every individual- his glance lingering just a split second longer on Kanan than the others- and made his way over to the free seat to the left of the Earth King. Flashing the man a positive grin, he took the chair before running a hand through his bangs once, quietly laying everything out before him.

He dipped his head slightly to the King in greeting, ”My lord.” He motioned for Taki to set his arm on the table so he could begin work.

Lutchka looked up from where she sat and let out a sigh. ”Loathe as I am to say it, I agree. Hebi is not entirely incorrect. However, it doesn’t really matter which one is more important. Both are needed for balance to be restored. If we have the orb, but no vessel, nothing will stop the chaos from occurring. However, it is also pointless to have a vessel with no orb, convenient as it is to have that checked off the list. In the wrong hands, I only foresee destruction and all sorts of evil, so it is key that we find it as quickly as possible.” While it was slightly repeating what the Fire Protector had said, Lutchka shrugged lightly in attempts to settle both sides.

Siya flinched slightly at Reynards agreement with the other. He did not, however, miss the fact that Reynard had disagreed with how Hebi had spoken. He sighed inwardly. Child King certainly is the right title though, he frowned heavily and stared into the table for quite some time before something struck him. Nearly jumping out of his seat, he looked over to Reynard, his fiery gaze wide, "The Water Orb!" he said very loudly, to which Hebi snickered partially in amusement, and was probably going to open his mouth yet again.

"Reynard... that man that attacked me last night. He was using water when he tried to drown me."

"Too bad he didn't succeed," Hebi commented offhandedly.

Siya ignored that but Kanan didn't. The air protector's gaze which had been resting on the blonde head of Minnow for quite some time snapped up to the other. The one eyed protector moved slowly, but purposefully. His steps were soft, hardly heard across the stone floor as he repositioned himself to be closer to Hebi as well as closer to Minnow. At least from this proximity, drawing his sword in one motion should the other attempt anything further, it would be much easier. Hebi glanced over to Kanan briefly, his smirk growing wider.

Amon leveled a glare at Hebi when he made that remark, all cheerfulness gone from the Air King's tone. [color=#002355]"Make one more crack like that hebi, and I'll make sure you are not talking for awhile. I will not stand by and let you disrespect one of my guests nor allies in such a manner. So I suggest that the next words out of your mouth be helpful, for your sake."

"I'm terribly sorry Amon." Taki said in a sincere voice as he flinched slightly in pain as Minnow worked on his arm. He wasn't sure what was going on with that as he tried to ignore it. He always got wigged out seeing people work on his flesh. However, for some reason he could sworn he felt his left hand's index finger twitch. An excitement grew deep within at the thought and he failed to hide it as a smile grew upon his face.

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.

Siya and Reynard

Siya sighed heavily as he dropped down into the seat at the desk. He was going to have to pack up his things in a moment, but he wasn't really feeling up to it right then. The council meeting had taken quite a lot out of him and the last thing he wanted to do was pack. Though he was leaving in the next few hours to return to his own Kingdom, he just couldn't muster up the energy to do anything. Perhaps the result of his sudden lack of energy was the recollection of Hebi's words.

Constantly being called 'Child King' and then to further the insults to accuse him of having to murder innocent people just because they may find out about the orbs. Siya hadn't meant it like that at all. He had a plan, it was a good plan, but with Hebi constantly dogging him as he was, Siya had been unable to completely formulate the plan coherently and thus he ended up speaking it without thinking it through.

Cursing to himself, he lifted up a hand and brought it to his teeth where he bit at his skin gently, something of a bad habit when he was angry with himself or otherwise upset. At least he'd stopped tugging at his hair roughly, that had certainly been a thing for quite a while. After a while he finally got to his feet and left the room. It was only a short way down the hall, but it seemed like forever before he found the door to Reynards quarters. Reaching up he hesitated for a moment and then knocked on it gently.

Packing for the return trip was far too easy for Reynard simply because he'd never unpacked. His spare sets of clothes were already neatly packed away alongside assorted items that he needed and didn't expect to be provided with when he travelled. His small bag of metal marbles had been refilled, a comfortingly familiar weight at his side. Now he was left to wait, wait for Siya and Damiano to finish preparing for travel, wait for them to finally leave so that he could go back to the Fire Kingdom and... and...

He paused for a moment, staring down at his still perfectly made bed blankly. Ordinarily, after events like these, he would write a letter to Caerwyn to get a fresh perspective, but...He couldn't. He tried to shake the thought from his mind, but it clung there stubbornly, drawing his full attention. Everything was different now, for everyone, but...

He was torn forcefully and thankfully from his thoughts that were dangerously bordering on tear-worthy levels of sad by a knock on the door. It was timid, hesitant almost, barely a little peep in his noisy thoughts, but he heard it nontheless and could at least guess at the source.

"Come in," he said. It wasn't the friendliest tone but no one could accuse Reynard of being excessively friendly.

Siya reached for the handle of the door and opened it. Stepping in, he closed it behind him and leaned against it. Why had he come to the rooom again? It took him a moment to remember the reason other than wanting the taller protectors presence and just that. He glowered at the floor for a while before he opened his mouth and spoke, "I... I am sorry, for my out burst at the council," he started. Yes, that was why he had come, to apologize.

Reynard stared blankly at the young King standing in front of his door for a moment, feature uncomprehending. The younger man wouldn't meet his eyes, too busy glaring at the floor with a surprising intensity, more like Reynard had rebuked him for his earlier behavior than this being a rather sudden apology.

"You don't need to apologize," Reynard replied, shaking his head as he leaned back against the foot of his bed. "You were far from the only person to lose their cool at the meeting and you spoke well despite everything that was being said."

Siya blushed at the words and stared at the floor for a while longer. He tapped his fingers against the door gently before he found that to be quite the give away and pushed off of the wood to seat himself on the bed. The young fire king needed something to do other than stand against the door, "Thank you," he muttered slightly, "I... wish I could be as resiliant as you are at times, Reynard. Your ability to control yourself is astounding. I don't know how you do it sometimes," Siya sighed and leaned back on his arms, tilting his head so that he was looking up at the ceiling.

"Tell me, what do you think of this all? The attacker, his strange magic... the orbs. Are we even on the right track?"

I don't know how I do it either Reynard thought to remark, but quickly swept that stray idea away. Now wasn't a time to be humble or show weakness, even if it was just in front of Siya. The younger man looking to him for some sort of stablity and his trademark firm stance. The least he could do was put on a strong face for his charge and perhaps if he put that facade on for long enough, he'd start to believe it himself.

"I think that this is all very... shocking," He started, although shocking didn't even come close to explaining his emotions. "The fact that your assailant from last night could use water and earth- and those are only the two we know of- is incredibly disturbing, and he used both deftly. It was a struggle to fight him for control over his water. I don't know how it's connected to the orbs, but there has to be a reason that someone who is attempting to collect all of the orbs and is willing to kill to do so has power over more than one element." He paused again, pursing his lips for a moment.

"But he's not an assassin. He's willing to kill, but he just wants the orb. It's no excuse for what he's done, though." Reynard's face was clouded for a moment with a mixture of disgust and pure hatred, a terrifying combination on his sharp features, before settling into something more netural.

"I don't know what path we should take, but I trust your judgement. Our goal should be to find the new...the next Water King as well as the Orb as soon as possible before anything else can happen."

Siya glanced over to the other as he spoke and frowned deeply. Moving himself, he put himself closer to the protector. He stretched out his hand, pausing just briefly next to Reynard's arm. His fingers curled back as if he wasn't quite sure he wanted to touch the man, or if he was allowed to. He didn't like what he saw, nor the tone. There was certainly something wrong, but Reynard had promised to talk to him later about it. Although Siya wanted to hear it right then, he knew that his version of 'later' and Reynard's version were two very different things.

Taking a breath he curled his fingers around the arm of his protector. They were alone, so this much shown was alright, wasn't it? He was seriously holding back though, wanting to embrace the taller man but wasn't sure how well Reynard would take it. So he left it at that.

"Willing to kill... I don't know, Reynard. You and I both know that I'm no good when it comes to fighting. I rely far too much of the orb. If he had wanted to, he could have killed me easily and I would not have stood a chance. There was nothing to stop him. I would be dead. But he didn't. As easy as it was, it could have taken him a mere moment to do so. He didn't. I don't think he's all that willing," Siya shook his head and sighed, "I don't know. Perhaps I am thinking too much on it, or mis-reading what had happened. Still.. I can't help but feel that there is a lot more than what we know right now."

The small contact between the two- Siya curling his fingers gently around Reynard's arm, a soft and soothing presence despite the light touch- was, Reynard was beginning to believe, for both of their benefits. It was like an anchor, a small reminder for Reynard to live in the here and now as opposed to the land of ifs ands and buts swirling in his mind already full of grief and uncertainties. As for Siya, well, he could only guess that the King needed some form of comfort himself, which was understandable. The past days, weeks, months... He'd been putting up with so much even before this orb fiasco started. If this was what Siya wanted to do, who was Reynard to deny him this small amount of human contact, especially in private?

"Remember, Siya, this is likely the man who slaughtered those in the Water Kingdom," Reynard replied, lips pressed in a thin line for a moment. Yes, slaughtered. Killed was too much, too human to think of right now. However, as his young charge continued on, his expression visibly softened

"You're so optimisitc, Siya. You always want to see the good in everyone... It's your best and worst quality." With that, he gently pried Siya's hand away from his arm and instead held it in his own.

"But I think you're right- there's a lot that we don't know about this situation and a lot that we need to find out."

With his hand removed he thought for a full second that Reynard was going to break contact with him completely. Therefore he was utterly surprised when the protector held onto his hand, curling his fingers around Siya's slightly smaller one. He felt his face heat with the contact of Reynard's hand over his. He bit his lower lip as he listened to the protector. Yes he was optimistic, sometimes overly so which often got him in trouble. Not serious trouble, but enough to be told that he was far too nice.

"I think maybe I need to start with the history of Iveir. I don't know how far back the books go at the palace, but I will try there. I need to know more about these orbs. History changes whether we like it to or not. I want to see if I can't find something that might point us in the right direction," he started in, his fingers curling around Reynards as he sat there. He was enjoying the warmth that was there. It seemed to spread from his hand to the rest of his small frame.

Standing, he turned and faced the taller man, "Thank you, Reynard," he said with a smile though his face was still slightly red, "Um..." he looked away again, "I still have to pack," he muttered gently, "Would you keep me company? Its sort of hard to be in that room alone after all," it was partially a lie, he was being slightly selfish, but only slightly, "You're being with me..." he paused and then left it hanging to look up and offer a small smile instead. Finally he added what he wanted, "I enjoy your presence, Reynard."

Since returning to the castle, Siya had buried himself in the library, using his study to take down notes and to work through books. He would have to be dragged away from all of this in order to do his Kingly duties around the palace and service the people. However, once finished with that as quickly as possible, he would return to the study and not come out for many hours there after. For several days it was like this as he immersed himself in the history of Dhamear.

Muttering to himself, he was once again folded over the desk of his study, books littering the desk, the floor and even the chairs. It looked as if a tornado had gone through this room. Papers that he had written on with notes were scattered everywhere, an ink bottle had accidentally been knocked over the day before, and several ink pens were lying scattered about the small space that he had dubbed his own since returning.

Siya's eyes widened as he turned the page of the book and set eyes upon several drawings. This book that he held was rather old, nearly falling apart and eaten in some places by dust mites. He read rapidly through the section, his heart pounding hard as he pulled it all together. It mentioned the orbs, a door of some sort and a different place entirely. Standing abruptly, he grabbed the book up gingerly, knocking into the table and upending yet another ink bowl. The young Fire Lord paid no heed to that though as it hit the floor and shattered, spraying black ink everywhere.

Leaving the desk, he ran to the door and slammed it open. His gaze was still locked on the pages as he started down the hall. Hardly looking up every now and then he just barely managed to keep from running into some of the servants who quickly got out of his way. He even almost ran straight into one of the halls pillars before halting and then stepping around it. Siya worked his way through the halls, in search of his protectors, but not really paying attention to where he was going in the least, too lost in the books pages, but also far too excited and rushed to finish reading before finding them.

These past few days had been rather relaxing for Damiano, despite the fact there was the possibility of an assassination attempt at any minute. Honestly for him, it was something he was new to as he’d been paranoid of such things for most of his life. As of now, he was just casually strolling down one of the hallways, with no real destination in mind.

He had just finished running a few of the newer recruits through some target practice, this time testing their accuracy while firing quickly and rapidly. They did ok, but again Damiano wanted better than “ok”, so he left another officer to see to it that they finish their training. Going through the hallway, he cocked his head to the side, smiling in amusement when he saw Lord Siya walking towards him, head lost in the book he was reading and almost running into either the support beams of the hallway or other people.

Shaking his head and chuckling, he stopped in the path of the king as he walked towards him. Lifting his hands up, Damiano caught the shoulders of the king before they ran into each-other stopping the young man in front of the protector. “Just a suggestion, don’t have to heed it, but reading and walking are not conducive to maintaining a healthy nose. Course if walking into things is what you like to do my lord, then feel free to.”

Hands caught him and he halted not because he knew who had stopped him, but because of the hands that held him in place. Lifting his head in shock, he gaze up at Damiano for a moment before registering the young man. His eyes brightened and he turned the book around, suddenly shoving it up at Damiano to see, "Damiano! Look at this! Look! It's.... it's the orbs! And this, this is a door, to somewhere else, and this! This mark! This belongs to a group of people... Royalty... I think... maybe... or tribes... I'm not sure yet. Some of it is hard to read. And look at this!" Siya shot off like a storm, going quickly as he eagerly leaned forward and pointed at the various things across the pages that he had been reading, flipping back and forth rapidly.

"I need to find Reynard! Have you seen him? Where is he? I have to show him this, he knows more about these old texts than I do... I think... maybe. I hope so. Anyway! Come with me, I have to find him quickly. And then, we must send messages to the other Kings. They have to know about this. Things just got really interesting... and I think that this will explain the reason to the sudden attacks and the Water King's death. Come on!" Siya skirted past him. Shutting the book he held it tightly against his chest with one arm. The other hand snaked out and snatched Damiano's wrist as he procceded to hurry down the hall in search of his other protector.

Damiano recoiled some when he had the book shoved into his face, listening to the king go off. He just sat there, staring at the pages of the book himself and looking it all over, not really listening to the king rant off. He really couldn’t gather much out of it that Siya had not mentioned, and he certainly did not recognize any of these things, especially the markings of “royalty” or “tribes.” If they did belong to a modern royal line then it wasn’t one he had ever learned about.

Listening to Siya mention finding Reynard as well as sending messages out to the other kings, he was about to suggest getting the messages while Siya went to find the other protector, but then he felt the king grab hold of his wrist and start dragging him along. “g~or~ I tag along!!” Damiano stuttered out as he stumbled after the Fire King. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with this much energy, Lord Siya. Not sure if I should be worried or happy...” He joked while catching up, lightly pulling his hand from the grip of the Fire King while keeping pace with him.

Siya glanced over his shoulder to the protector and smiled warmly, "What do you mean? I'm always like this! You should be happy... At least I'm not holed up in my room or something," he gave a faint blush, "Uh... well I was sort of locked up in my study... I'm sure Reynard didn't appreciate that very much."

He gave a sheepish grin and continued down the hall at a rather fast pace. Releasing Damiano as he knew the other would follow him now, he reopened the book to take another look. It was a terrible habit, he knew, but he couldn't help it. This stuff was far too fascinating and he had to know more. As he rounded a corner, the book fell from his fingers and he reached out to try to catch himself. A soft moan filled the air and he dropped to the floor, his fingers wrapped up in the cloth of his black shirt. It's... just like that time... he thought, recalling the event in his throne room several weeks ago. Everything burned, it was a rapid burn something that seemed to hit harder than the first time.

Damiano chuckled, hooking thumbs once more onto his belt so he could rest his hands somewhere. “Of course your majesty, just like always. And you’re right! Not locked up in your room, rather your unofficial room considering how much time you spend in that library.” He responded while he walked just behind the king. When he saw the young man open up the book once more and begin reading as they walked, Damiano just rolled his eyes with a slight smile.

“I’ll provide you with warning your majesty, that should you run into something I may be obligated to laugh a little. Sorry, but it is the nature of such a thing occurring.” Of course Damiano wouldn’t just let the king run smack into anything; he wasn’t that cruel of a person. Or at least he didn’t think he was, been awhile since he’d ever really “tested” that limit.

As they rounded the corner, he caught sight of the king dropping the book, drawing Damiano’s full attention to him. He then glanced up to see if the king had done so as a reflex to catch himself from smacking into anything, but with nothing there he was turned to look at the king again. The protector moved quickly to catch his charge as he began to fall forwards, carefully guiding the man down to the floor. “Siya!” he exclaimed, casting aside any formalities at the moment. Something was hurting the king, as he was clutching his chest tightly and it wasn’t hard to hear the groan of pain Siya made as he lied there.

Damiano just watched him, unsure as to what might be affecting the young man. He did what he was trained to do though, and quickly had his bow unslung from around his body, nocking an arrow and watching around the area. He didn’t draw back the arrow yet, but he remained knelt down next to the king with an arrow ready as blue sparks emanated off of the arrow as Damiano sacrificed the metal sheath that he had lining the shafts of his arrows. A few sparkles almost emerged from his pouch as a piece of metal from his pouch was sacrificed as well. He casted nothing yet, but he knew it was better to have the energy ready for use when needed. "Hijo de puta! The hell is going on with you?!". he glanced back at Siya for a breif moment before watching the area again for anything.

Siya curled on the floor, his breath wheezing in and out of his lungs as his voice curdled the air with soft painfilled moans. Reaching out and hit the book, making it skid across the floor away from them. His small frame shuddered as he curled in on himself, "Dam-iano... move... away," he managed between clenched teeth. His arm ignited, flames suddenly covering his hands and then reaching up to lick at his shoulders. It was the power of the orb that he was trying to control. Whatever had touched it had set it off much more violently than the first time. The fire flickered out and Siya gave a growl of pain as he was struggling.

The flames reoccured again, covering his shoulders and back this time only to flicker and die out a second time. Covering his head with both hands, he gripped his hair tightly, breathing heavily as he tried to keep the fire from exploding from him, "B-urns....Dami-ano... water..." he called out as his body ignited entirely earning of gasp from him as he worked to get it under control again.

The protector watched the king, still somewhat confused but recoiling quickly when he saw fire flare up around the king. “O~k! Something about that orb I’m guessing.” He was mostly talking to himself, staying alert of the area while occasionally glancing at the king. He watched another burst of flames kick in, recoiling a little more once again, while listening to his king beg for water. “They never taught me how to deal with this, but later on that. Ok, ok, agua, agua…” He stood there, thinking but also watching Siya. “Can’t just leave you alone though either, oh the beauty of this job!” He shouted, annoyed at not knowing what to do.

Siya's frame slowly started to stop shaking, his breathing was heavy as every muscle seemed to loosen. Flames continued to lick across his body for a few more minutes before they eventually stopped completely. Sweating and still feeling the painful burn that had erupted across his chest and spread from there, he lay on the cold stone floor for a long while, "Damiano... the orb..." he shifted on the floor trying to pull himself upwards, "We have to hurry..."

Damiano turned to look at Siya, watching one last flash of fire go across his body before everything died down. The protector didn’t put the bow nor arrow away, still weary of anybody showing up. A while later, he finally heard Siya speak up about the orb. “Hurry? Hurry to where?” He then sighed as he watched the king begin struggling to get back to his feet. [=#007a08] “Sure going anywhere is a good idea after something like that, your majesty? I mean I'm not a medical expert," [/color] he leaned down, keeping hold of his bow and the arrow with one hand while taking hold of Siya's arm and draping it around the protector's shoulder before he continued speaking, "But emiting fire like that is not something a healthy person does, least in my experience." Damiano wrapped his own arm under the king's and around his body to help support him. "Or is this where you tell me that the orb likes to do that every once in a while? If so I can't say I envy you then, I've seen folks bathed in flames before," Damiano shuddered a little, "not pretty."

"Hurry... to Reynard, I have to tell him about this," Siya answered. He barely felt Damiano's arm drag him up to his feet. He nodded in response, "Yes, I'm... alright," he continued, tentatively taking a step forward. As Damiano continued, the young Fire Lord couldn't help but laugh a bit. Glancing up at him, he gave a slight grin, "You're right... no healthy person just randomly emits fire like that. But I'm not just any person. The orb is my source of power, I do not need sacrfices for it. I can wield that magic simply by using the orb.

"And no, the orb doesn't do this every once in a while. Something happened, another power.... touched it," Siya tried to explain the event, "This time though... it was so strong... violently strong," the young King gripped his clothes, the area just over his heart and frowned at the floor as he moved forward with his protector. It was hard to move so soon after the experience, but he had to. He had a terrible, dreadful feeling in the pit of his stomach.

To further add to his fears, sharp, sudden screams filled the halls behind them. With a gasp, Siya turned slightly to look behind them, "What....?" Several of his own castle attendants were flung into the hall they were in, hitting the wall and crumpling with a downpour of rocks and debris that followed. Siya's heart skipped a beat. The stone floor seemed to buckle and roll as it cracked open to allow vines and roots to come through, curling down the hall in a massive wave.

“Another power huh? And it was strong as well? Well, I’m sure we’ll get through this fine.” He responded as he kept going down the hallway with his arm supporting the king. He stopped in his tracks though when he heard the sound of screams, turning with his king in time to watch several people smack into a wall. It was soon followed by vines and roots beginning to emerge from beneath the stone floor as it was torn open to reveal them. This cascade of plant life was heading straight towards them too, Damiano acting quickly and pulling the king tighter to his side.

[color]=#007a08] “Hold on!!”[/color] was all he said in warning before the floor beneath them tore from its place and shot upwards towards the ceiling. Just before the two were smashed against the ceiling, it too suddenly rose upwards so that the section they were standing on perfectly fit the space that was removed. The two were now left up on the second floor hallway, granting them a brief respite from whatever was coming their way. “Summon up that second wind sire! We need to move now!” Damiano said as he started quickly heading down the hallway, basically dragging Siya alongside him.

He still had his bow in hand with an arrow nocked and ready to go. This person was a powerful earth user, that or they had a lot of sacrifices to make use of. Things of that caliber required some serious energy though, so Damiano figured that so long as he could keep the king moving, the assailant might run dry on energy.

He looked over at the king, “Sire, if you can walk then start moving quickly. When they show themselves again I’ll hold them off. Got it?” The protector figured that if the king was out of harm’s way, then Damiano could better focus on the assailant. He glanced back down the hallway at where they had risen up from, switching his gaze forwards again knowing that whomever it was that was attacking was not far behind.

Startled by Damiano's sudden request to hold on, he hardly had time to prepare himself as the protector tightened his grip on the smaller King and they were suddenly lunged upwards. His breath was stolen for a moment and a quick glance upwards made him cringe and close his eyes tightly as he turned into Damiano's hold. However, they didn't hit the ceiling as he thought they would, rather they went through it to the second floor of the palace. Siya released a breath of air as the man relinquished his hold only slightly.

Dragging him down the hall, the young King stumbled as he tried to keep up. He was thankful for the protector keeping a hold of him otherwise he wouldn't have made it very far, "Damiano! You can't be serious!" Siya responded quickly as they moved. As he took a quick look behind them as Damiano did, he heard a horrid sound from right in front of him. The floor erupted outwards right in front of both of them. Siya pulled his arms up over his face as white light crackled through the air and the pair were thrown backwards by the force. Hitting the floor hard on his back, Siya winced and slowly rolled over to his stomach to push himself up, coughing through the heavy dust and debris that filtered through the hall.

"Damiano!?" he called, unsure of where the other went. Footsteps across broken stone echoed and Siya froze momentarily before scrambling to his feet and turning to face whomever it was that had come through the hole in the floor. When he spotted the figure walking through the dust, the Fire Lord summoned his flames to both hands and hurled a pair of fire balls at the attacker. The flames exploded, but not against the target that Siya wanted. White light cracked, taking the force of the attack. Those tendrils of light lashed out at such a fast speed that Siya almost didn't see it. Quickly moving back, the floor cracked where he had been standing. The second one that went after him grazed his arm and he shouted in shock as everything went numb from his shoulder down.

"Quite serious your majesty!" He was definitely correct about the attacker not being far behind when, as he turned to look forwards once more, the floor exploded outwards towards them. He only had enough time to turn his head away before being thrown backwards by the force of the blast. He landed on the ground rolling, comnig to a stop when he smacked up against a support pillar. Coughing and groaning, he could hear Siya call out his name along with the distinct sound of footsteps on a stone floor. "Joder..." he grumbled while lifting up his head to see his king launch two fire balls at the approaching figure through the dust. What followed was not magic Damiano had ever seen before as tendirls of magic lashed out at the king, who barely managed to dodge the one to only be hit by a second.

Pulling himself onto his feet, he drew another arrow from his quiver, nocking it quickly and aiming down the shaft at the figure. One thing Damiano had hammered into his head during training was that in a fight, you never let go of your weapon unless absolutely necessary. He had lost the arrow he had been holding onto, but that was hardly a loss compared to losing his bow. Sacrificing the metal on the arrow, he then fired a shot at the approaching figure before drawing another arrow, sacrificng the metal from it as well. He didn't nock it just yet, rather he ran towards Siya before skidding to a stop in front of the figure.

As he moved between the two, he used his magic to erect a stonewall between them while drawing the arrow back. Closing one eye to aim, he then used the last charge of his magic to form a shield of rock in front of his body. He was waiting for the person to destroy the wall, and hopefully catch them with another arrow as they did so and relying on thethe shield to protect him from the fragments that would be caused by the destroyed wall.

"Dami-" Siya startled but was cut off as the wall exploded. Raising up his arms to cover from the flying debris, he could tell that some of it had hit his numbed arm, but he didn't necessarily feel it. Lowering his arms just in time, he caught the release of the arrow as it flew right through the crackling white light and straight at the man attacking them, "Damiano move!" Siya screamed, running at him to try to knock him away. The Fire Lord wasn't all that big himself and trying to knock over a well trained soldier was a feat in and of itself.

The arrow seemed to knock back the other, but Siya couldn't tell if it had hit anything vital or not. The crackling white light spread out, almost like little hands reaching for the both of them. Siya reached the protectors side as the light stretched out around them. His fire ignited around his hands as he prepared to throw more of the magic at the attacker. A small tendril of white light wrapped around his wrist and arm. He hissed in pain, wincing as he dropped down to one knee. Siya ground his teeth and after a moment finally was able to stand the burning shock that flooded his system. His fire ignited all across his body, this time in a controlled manner.

He sent the fire back down the white light, flickering and dancing towards their attacker, "Dami...arrow..." he forced between clenched teeth.

The wall exploded out towards him like he had hoped, and the protector didn't even flinch as rocks pelted him. Fortunately, his shield had done what he wanted and protected him from most of the fragments that flew his way, though he did feel one scim past the shield to smack him in the gut. Even then he remained still as he fired his arrow through the cloud of dust. Truthfully he had no idea where the person was, it was really just a guess. He couldn't even tell if the shot hit, but then he glanced to the side when he caught movement, only to see Siya run up next to him. "That was not what I told you to do, your majesty!!"

Then he saw the white light emerge from the dust and surround them, Damiano turning his head as he heard the fmailiar hiss of someone in pain as another trendril of light gripped Siya's wrist. Damiano was about to say something when Siya's body once more burst into flames, causing the protector to recoil slightly. "Never getting use to that!!" But then the fire travelled along the tendril that was gripping the young king, following along it and back towards the source.

Then he heard the king mention an arrow, something Damiano understood. With a slight smile he then stepped back up next to Siya, careful to not be singed by the flames eminating from his body. He up the anty, drawing two arrows from his quiver and nocking them back quickly and aimed right down the shaft. Sacrificing the metal on the arrows, he then watched as the dust in the air drew in towards the arrows, collecting on them to form a solid rock sheath to reinforce them. Mostly though, it was to clear the air of debry and give him a clear shot. "Con placer mi rey!" He let both arrows loose, aimed right at the target's body.

The moment that they'd returned to the Fire King's kingdom, Reynard had made himself scarce. This was not entirely unusual as the Protector tended to pride himself on not being noticed even by the weariest castle worker, but what was unusual was the fact that in making himself scarce he was not lurking in the shadows, hovering nearby his charge in case anything were to go wrong. No, while Reynard still did his job, keeping vague tabs on Siya and dragging him to meetings or making sure his meals were eaten at the end of the day, as soon as the King disappeared into his study, Reynard vanished as well. The likeliest place to find him was in his room, usually so neat and tidy, but now decorated haphazardly with papers strewn about and items clustered on any available space. Here was a wooden charm, etched by an unskilled crafstman tucked under his pillow. There was a letter written with a sketchy penmanship that could never be confused with Reynard's neat scrawl. Memories- that's what they all were; memories of a time and of a person he would never see again. It was how he mourned, but delving deeply into rememberance to try to find the good thoughts to battle the bad.

When not in his room or doing his duties, Reynard found himself more often than not wandering the castle grounds. Well, not quite wandering; skulking around the grounds unnoticed seemed like a better choice of words. The fresh air was a welcome relief when the
castle seemed to full- full of questions, papers, work, and his own thoughts swirling together to create a stifling miasma that filled his lungs until he couldn't breathe inside the halls and instead retreated to the outdoors. He never strayed far, not really, but far enough to clear his thoughts before putting on a brave face and returning to Lord Siya.

He was outside when the interior of the castle erupted into chaos, screams muffled by distance and walls disturbingly soft, but loud enough to break into his quiet attempt and failure at relaxation. The castle itself seemed to be shaking, vibrating with some unknown energy or chaos within. Without a moment's hesitation, he turned from his sanctuary and raced back to the castle, sword already in hand.

The interior was a mess, vines and other plants disrupting the floor, the unconscious bodies of attendant and various workers littering the ground. He didn't pause to help them, couldn't really. Instead he followed the path of destruction, leaping and jumping over the destruction, up to the second floor where quite the scene was playing out before him. It, if this were any other circumstances, was quite the lights how with an unidentified white light bursting from one side of the corridor and the flames of his King glowing like a beacon in the fray.

Reynard, for all of his instinct, did not leap into the battle. Instead, quite calmly, his hand slipped into his pack, grasping his metal tokens in hand before sacrificing them in an instant, the power like an adrenaline rush to his body, eyes never quite leaving the arrows flying through the air towards the unknown assailant.

Siya ground his teeth, trying hard not to cry out against the burning around his arm and keep his flames intact as they snaked down the white light. He heard Damiano's voice as he responded and let fly two arrows through the magic infused air. The figure that was wrapped in the white light stumbled, obviously hit but where, the young King couldn't tell. The white light flickered, like it was going to fade and Siya's fire magic faded from existance as he was starting to grow tired.

As he thought the assailants magic was going to cease from around his arm, it pulsed and grew brighter and this time he did yell, a sharp cry of pain as he was dragged forward and the floor beneath him cracked open.

Siya gasped as he was on one hand and both knees. Piercing his skin, right through his side was a thick branch of sorts and it had run him through and through. Whatever words the attacker said were lost to him as the white light faded and things grew silent. No more magic flooded the room and Siya could only hope that the man was too heavily wounded to continue the fight. His fingers shakily reached up to the root that was stuck through him. Touching it, he pulled his hand away to see crimson streaking his fingers.

He coughed, blood spraying the floor. He trembled slightly but he couldn't move. Only kneel there, as if he were tied there. He couldn't hear anything either, only the pounding of his heart and a droning buzz that didn't seem to cease.

In moments of trauma, time does have a funny way of slowing down so slowly that you see each little bit happen in excruciating detail. However, your reaction time is also put into slow motion, so it's quite impossible to move as fast as your mind might be urging you to as you see your friend kneeling on the floor with a root skewering him. That didn't mean that Reynard didn't try his hardest to catch up with his thoughts, however, and he was by his Lord's side in a split second. Who cared about a damned assailant probably too wounded to do much more than continue to be a pain in Reynard's ass- Siya was and would always be his first priority.

The next few moments weren't carefully thought out, nor were they in the realm of Reynard's expertise. He wasn't a healer or a doctor- he only knew the basics of tending to wounds, had heard the lectures of feeling the power and lifeforce that is water flowing through you and concentrating on wounds. Still, he wasn't one to sit idly by with the Fire King bleeding out and the castle in a reasonable state of disrepair for what it had gone up to. He didn't know what was going to happen, but he did know one thing with complete certainty; it was going to hurt. Physically for Siya and, well, emotionally for Reynard who would no doubt have this image as a permanent part of his nightmares for the rest of his life.

It began with a simple matter of separating the branch currently making a King kebab from the rest of the root with a few hacking chops via his katana before catching the king delicately in his arms, careful not to jostle the wood where it was already in Siya's side. That wasn't a real problem, only taking a minimal effort, but what he had to do next was something else entirely. His free hand not supporting his King slipped into his jacket, making quick work of a few more weapons tucked away on his person, absorbing all of the power he could get before his next move.

"Forgive me, Siya. This is going to hurt," He breathed and, pausing for good measure, pressed his lips to the young King's in a quite sudden kiss. Not quite romantic, not quite a goodbye if everything went wrong, but it was an excellent distraction as he simultaneously jerked the root from Siya's side. It was bleeding heavily now, but he didn't stop, hands moving to press against the wound as he concentrated, feeling the healing energy flow through him and directing it to his hands, to course into Siya's body, slowly but surely knitting him back together, starting with the insides already damaged and achingly slowly working its way to the damaged flesh.

Damiano watched the arrows smack into the figure before him, finally getting a look at his opponent now that the dust had been sucked out of the air. He grinned as he watched the figure stumble from the blow of the heavy arrows as both found their marks. He grinned, about to draw another arrow when he saw the white magic flare up once more. It was followed by a scream from Siya, but Damiano knew that if he was to protect his king then taking down this attacker was the best way of doing that.

He drew back the arrow, grin fading he let loose another arrow at the target this time leveled at its head, having sacrificed the metal shell around the shaft of the arrow before firing another arrow. With another sacrifice, he backed up a little in front of where he knew Siya had been, feeling pieces of the rock from the mess of a fight begin sticking to his body to form a suit of rock armor. His goal now was to act as a human shield for Siya, hoping that the armor could protect him from the worst of the blows as he continued to fire a volley of arrows at the enemy, continuing his sacrificing of the metal on the arrows to maintain his magic supply.

The attacker drew back, narrowly avoiding some of the volley, but not all. His voice growled out at the three of them before faded in his own white magic, "When he dies, I'll return for the orb, as well as your head," the man spat at Damiano before the white tendrils of strange power curled over him and then faded out leaving nothing but destruction behind.

Siya felt hands on his body, but he didn't know who they belonged to. Then he caught sight of a sword flashing just underneath him. It cut through the root that was embedded in his small frame. The jarring motion made him cry out and he fell limply into the arms of the one who cut him free. When he was turned over he was looking up at Reynard. He tried to breath but found it was very difficult to do so. Trying to speak the mans name was near impossible as he could feel blood at the back of his throat.

As the protector told him to forgive him, and that it was going to hurt, Siya opened his mouth to say something but was taken completely by surprise as Reynard dropped and kissed him. Shocked, he nearly forgot about the wood that was sticking out of his side. Until Reynard gripped it and pulled it. His screaming was slightly muffled by his protectors kiss, his hands grasped Reynard tightly, fingers digging into the man's skin as he tried his best not to thrash too violently.

Once the root was freed, he calmed slightly but he felt as if he was drowning then. His fingers clawed at Reynard as he tried to get air through his nose to his lungs but it wasn't working. He felt the rush of water magic through his side and he moaned slightly, one foot slammed into the floor as he felt his skin pulling together, the wound slowly knitting together. Siya felt dizzy. He blinked several times to try to focus, there was a darkness edging into his gaze as he lay there. The pain was growing dull, probably not a good thing, but he was happy for the relief. His hand slipped slowly from Reynard's chest as he was starting to go numb.

The wound was finally closing, layers of skin reappearing and covering the slowly healing wound like a fleshy bandage. Reynard, in all reality, didn't notice the fingers digging into his skin, sure to leave possibly bloody impressions behind. When the healing waters finally subsided, the newest final layer of skin settling into place, he finally separated from the kiss, still supporting Siya in his arms. The younger man looked dazed, eyes tired and dull, and Reynard was at a loss. He had no idea what had happened to him apart from the root, had no idea what that bright strand of light he'd been fighting had been.

"Siya?" He breathed, grabbing his slipping hand. His voice was attempting to be deceptively calm, but panic was breaking through the words. "Siya, please-" Please stay awake? Please be okay? Anything he could ask would probably be almost impossible for the young king in his current state.

Damiano kept his bow ready when the figure vanished, watching and waiting for the enemy to show themselves again, but after a few moments he slowly relaxed the bow but keeping the arrow nocked still. The rocks that formed his armor then fell off his body, clattering to the ground before he finally turned to see Siya and Reynard.

He could see the severed branch that was in the ground and pointing towards Siya, and blood was across the ground and covering Siya’s side. However, what made him blink in confusion was the fact that the protector and king were currently locked in a kiss. However, the king’s wound did not seem to be bleeding anymore. “uh….well I’ll uh…let you take care of the king then. I’ll make sure our attacker is gone then.” He said before turning and heading off down the hallway, lightly jogging as he went.

He was still keeping watch for the enemy, as he wasn’t sure just yet if they were truly gone. So he kept his bow ready with an arrow, ready to loose a shot at the nearest threat at the drop of a hat.

The Fire Lord was certainly struggling, struggling against the darkness that was threatening to wash over him. He wasn't sure if he should welcome it or not. He didn't think he had a choice though. He heard Reynard though, the tone was... different than usual. Siya couldn't pin point it though. His eyes seemed to be unable to focus though he tried to keep them trained on the protector. Maybe it was the earlier pain, or maybe just his dulled senses, but he smiled at the man lightly, "Found... you," he muttered lightly before his body went completely limp and he was washed away by the darkness, a dreamless sleep, a void of absolutely nothing at all.

Siya shifted slightly. He was confused at first as to where he was and that had his eyes snapping opened in fear. Sitting up rather quickly he shouted, "The book! The attacker... what happened!?" immediately after he groaned and flopped back into the pillows as a raging headache coursed all through his skull. Moaning slightly he reached up at rubbed at his head in a vain attempt to relieve the pressure and pain. Everything ached though and he couldn't quite remember why until he recalled the book, then the orb acting up again and right after that... the man who attacked him. Now he remembered the one who had destroyed his halls.

He had been dressed in black, almost like the man who had attacked him in the Air Kingdom, except this person's gaze was far colder than the last and the eye color was different. It was... darker, at least he thought so. Unless... maybe it was just the situation and the dust going around. He frowned. Great... now I'm making things up. Like Reynard kissing me... that certainly didn't happen... wait... he paused and looked up at the ceiling over him. No... that wasn't right. Reynard had kissed him. Speaking of the protector... where was he?

"Reynard!" he yelled, trying to sound not so pankicy but failing miserably.

Damiano had been resting outside of the room Lord Siya had been placed within, sitting on a chair that he had dragged there for his comfort. Since the attack, the king had been in a fairly shitty state, to be frank. He had fallen unconcious after the attack, and was brought here by Reynard. Damiano had returned not long after securing the area, the man that had attacked them having left. Guess even with, whatever magick they had wielded, they couldn't withstand the ocmbined attack of both the king and protector.

He shifted in his seat, sloutching some to get comfortable as he crossed his arms. His bow was leaning against the chair next to him, with his quiver still on his belt. It was shifted some though so that it was digging into Damiano's back as he sat there, but it was still a little uncomfortable. "This has been far more exciting a job in the couple days I've served as protector then my several years in the Corps. Close second to being back home though, that is for sure."

He jerked and fell from his seat when he suddenly heard the king shout from within his room, thumpnig onto the floor as his bow fell across his lap. "Joder!!!" he shouted as he turned his head to the door. Grumbling, he grabbed his bow before getting onto his feet and heading to the door, opening it while uttering, "Hijo de puta, que me asustó! He looked inside at the king who was currently lying on the bed, looking a little rattled. "Good to see you are awake mi rey. Feeling any better?" he asked as he slipped inside, remaining at the doorway with his bow resting on the ground next to him, hand on it.

After bringing Siya to his room, stubbornly and proudly acting as if Damiano hadn't seen anything out of the norm in the hopes that, for all of their sakes, the man would act the same way, Reynard fell back on his tried and true method for dealing with trauma; stay busy. As soon as the other Protector was settled in front of the young King's door, Reynard was off to reign in the chaos that the castle had fallen into. There were healers to call for, various cleanup crew to organize, and there was really so much to do, but Reynard revelled in it in that he was too busy for the time to even think about it. However, he still lingered near Siya's room in between giving orders or pointing people in the right direction.

He heard Damiano fall rather than any cry from Siya's room, but, nevertheless, he brought himself over to check on his young charge in case he needed anything particularly.

"Lord Siya?" He too stopped at the doorway, peering in from the opposite side of his fellow Protector.

Startled, he looked up at the sound of Damiano. He had been expecting Reynard, but the first one to come in was the Captain. He bit his lip, he was a bit disappointed by that fact but shoved it aside for now. The last thing he wanted was Damiano to have any reason to tease him or anything like that. It was bad enough the man saw fit to poke at his habit of walking through the halls with his nose in a book, "Ah... yes, sort of.... Where's Reynar-"

Almost as if on cue, the other protector came to the room, stepping up next to Damiano and calling out for the King. Siya sat up quickly, his face heated a bit as he watched the other, "Reynard! You...." he stopped, recalled their current company and quickly changed subjects, "The book! Did you see a book lying around in the halls?" he threw the covers back and clambered off the bed. He stumbled, caught himself on the bed post and took a moment to recover his balance.

"It's very important. I have to show you it! This... the orbs, there is so much that we didn't know," he panted slightly. Maybe he was just a bit too excited.

"A book," Reynard repeated, more for his own benefit than for clarification. It was just like Siya to get so excited over a book, but this one must be particularly special. Now, hadn't one of the maids mentioned finding a discarded book in one of the corridors...? He dropped the thought for a moment, stepping forward suddenly as Siya jumped to his feet only to have to lean on his bed for support. He'd been right- it was a very important book indeed.

"I believe someone found a book earlier," He said, bobbing his head in a nod and trying to keep worry from his features. "I'll go retrieve it."

He was gone for a moment or two, hurrying down the ruined halls until he found the book stacked neatly against an unharmed wall just where the maid had said she'd put it. He picked it up and found his way back to Siya's room, laying the object in front of Siya.

"Is this it?"

Damnit... he's fast... Siya cursed as he was about to try to go with the man. However, it seemed perilous to try to leave his place as he wobbled. Why is it so hard to stand...? he wondered briefly. Had the wound been that bad? How much blood had he really lost? Siya shoved those dark thoughts aside and put himself up on the bed as he waited for Reynard to return. He was almost like a kid as he bounced slightly on the mattress in his impatience. Reynard returned and deposited the book in front of him.

Lurching for it, he snatched it up with an excited gasp, "Yes! This is it!" he flipped through the pages rapidly, but gently until he came to the spot where he had been reading. Much like he had done with Damiano when he found the passage, he flipped it around in his hands and shoved it upwards at Reynard, "Look!" he said excitedly and rapidly began speaking, "There is a door, it goes to another place. The orbs aren't from here, they're from somewhere else! Look at this seal here, I don't know what it is really, but maybe for a group of people or something really important. I can't read some of the script because it's faded out or the dialogue is different. And look at this! This is our world! This is Dhamear! I know it doesn't look like it, but it is!" his fingers were tapping random pictures in his haste to get it all out of his system.

Damiano kept silent when Reynard arrived, slipping into the room while slinging his bow around his body. As he did so, he moved over to a wall and leaned up against it, not moving when Siya almost fell over when he stood up. Looking at how excited the king was for this book, also remembering how the king had practically shoved the thing up his nose earlier before the attack, it was definitely something very important.

He remained silent, just remaining where he was as Reynard once again left and quickly returned with the book. As it was handed to the young king, he saw the same level of excitement the protector had been assaulted with return to the king. Chuckling softly, he just remained where he was as he watched the king spout off the details about what he had found. He just listened and took in all the info, cocking his head to the side. A door to some other place where the orbs originated from? "Well ain't that just a bit of interestin' info? he said while turning his head to look at the ground, losing himself in his thoughts as he stood there.

Reynard, quite used to an excitable Siya only from years of having to deal with his energetic moods, peered at the pages Siya pushed towards him, brows slightly furrowed as he tried to keep up with what the young king was saying. A door? Another world? It was all quite a lot to take in, but he might as well give it the old training school try.

"Please calm down for a moment," He said as Siya began to point out various pictures that really had nothing to do with what he was saying at the moment. He was quiet then, looking over the aged pages again before speaking.

"So, what this book is saying is the orbs did not orginate here.... Perhaps... Perhaps if you're correct about that symbol representing a group, we might be able to assume that they are or are associated with the men who have been trying to steal the orbs?" And kill you went quite unsaid. "Is there anything else on the page of interest? Any clues about this other world or any more information?" He peered at Siya.

Siya paused, stopping as Reynard had asked of it. It wasn't the first time of course. When Reynard had gone through the pages on his own, asking the question of any more information, Siya shook his head with a heavy sigh, "No. But this book seems to be one of a large number. I can't find the other ones in the library... or rather... I haven't had time to do so and well. When I found it earlier today we were... sort of attacked," he managed to get out with a bit of a timid laugh and smile.

He coughed to clear his throat as he lounged on the bed, "Reynard..." he paused then glanced over to Damiano, once again he changed subjects, "I think we need to go see the others again. Don't send any letters, it takes too much time. We'll just go. The sooner we meet with them all again, the better. Damiano, could you please prepare for the journey?" he asked as he peered around Reynard's frame to the other protector.

Damiano looked up at the king, giving him a bow as he spoke, "Sí, mi rey. Con gran prisa!" he said with a grin before turning and heading on out of the doorway and down the hallway. Less than a month from their last visit and already they were heading back, And another visit with the garden snake, that oughta be fun.

Reynard watched his fellow Protector leave, shifting a bit uneasily where he stood. It was partially from discomfort at the fact that they'd be playing traveler so soon after the last time, especially considering how wonderfully last time had ended. It was also because of something a little more personal and a lot more emotional than the irritation of having to go visit people he didn't particularly like and leaving someone else in charge to fix up the castle. Still, he lingered behind, trying his best to not look like he was avoiding Siya's gaze.

"Reynard," Siya called as he watched the other, "I... wanted to know, something," he thought he had it all planned out, but he guessed he really didn't. Absently he tugged at his hair again before he realized he was doing it. Quickly stopping that, he glanced around the room before he finally found his thoughts again, "Earlier. When you were healing me. Did... was that..." he fiddled as he blushed, "Did you... mean that?" he pressed the tips of his fingers together, poking each finger tip as he sat there.

Reynard was quiet for a moment, staring intently at the floor as if he stared long and hard enough it would answer for him. This was... A conversation he didn't want to have. At all. No doubt, regardless of what happened here, things would become strained between them and everyone's lives would get even more awkward. He shouldn't have done that- he knew that. Siya was his King and he was, well, his Protector. Albeit a Protector whose feelings were far from professional, but a Protector all the same.

"I think that depends," He answered finally, choosing his words carefully. "What did you think it meant?"

Siya's fingers stopped moving. He felt as if the blood had drained from him completely, at least more so than it had before. Siya interlaced his fingers, tightening them, "Depends..." he repeated the word to himself softly, "I thought...." he paused and glowered at the floor now, "I thought you had kissed me because you had wanted to. Because you are more than just a Protector. Did you?" he asked, but he didn't look up, he was dreading the answer. The way Reynard had just addressed it... he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"I-" Reynard stopped again, shifting uncomfortably, clasping his hands behind his back and giving himself the appearance more of a solider being berated than someone being asked if they had feelings for someone else. "That is-" He inhaled deeply and, for just a moment, wondered what Caerwyn would say. He could easily imagine it, that sly smirk pulling at his lips and his gently mocking tone. Of course he knew what he had to do. For the memory of Caerwyn and for his own sanity.

"Siya, I have... a great deal of affection for you and I only regret that I kissed you in those circumstances. I apologize. I understand that it's not- it's not appropriate for a Protector to have feelings for their Kings in such a way. I'll begin looking for a replacement shortly." He swallowed, struggling for words. Even with such an intimate revelation, his words came out as stilted and proper, never quite relaxed or impassioned, but the same desperate politeness that had been drilled into his brain since day one.

"I'm sorry. I didn't meant to-... I'm sorry. You don't need this. I'll just see myself out."

Siya sucked in a sharp breath. Now that he hadn't been expecting. In fact, it was the opposite of what he'd expected Reynard to say. He... had other feelings for Siya? Was that true? The young Fire Lord looked up at the man in shock, surprised that the words were even falling from the man's lips. However, he felt an intense, painful stab to his chest as Reynard said that he would look for a replacement. Siya shot to his feet in an instant and barely managed to stay standing, "Reynard!" he nearly screamed, "No! You can't! Why would you.... why would you just leave like this? I can't.... I won't allow anyone else to replace you," he shook his head, "I don't want anyone else. You're what I want, by my side all the time. You have always been here, why would you leave me now?"

Some of his words weren't making much sense, but he didn't care at that point, "Can't I have a say in this? Don't you want to know my own feelings? Who cares if it's appropriate or not. I don't. If you're going to say you're in love with me, than fine. No one will stop you, and I won't stop you. I.... do you even know, how long I've wanted to hear that? You idiot and you're going to leave!" Siya heaved in a heavy breath as he'd gone without taking a breath. Feeling a bit light headed, he plopped back onto the bed. One hand reached up and kneaded at his temple lightly.

"Don't leave."

Whatever reaction Reynard had been expecting- which, in this case, was one of mild embarassment as Siya awkwardly agreed that it would be for the best to find a new Protector with a whole lot of avoided eye contact- this... this was not it. Not this impassioned plea, or talking about his own feelings, or even for the first time in their relationship, calling Reynard an idiot(to his face- Siya would be surprised just how many of his quiet grumbles Reynard had overheard and secretly laughed over throughout their relationship). What could he say? Should he demand a clear answer from Siya? Laugh it all off as a joke- which wouldn't work because Reynard's sense of humor hadn't been exercised in a long, long time. But he didn't want to leave, he desperately didn't want to leave Siya's side.

"I won't," He agreed quietly and, seeing as he hadn't been kicked out yet, moved slightly closer to the bed. Because, he told himself, he was worried about Siya so soon after the healing. Yeah. That was it.

"I won't leave if you don't want me to, okay? I promise."

Siya nodded slightly. He was feeling tired again. Maybe he had exerted far too much energy. Between the excitement over the book and his sudden outburst -which even he didn't think he was capable of- he was starting to feel extremely exhausted, "Don't leave. I won't forgive you," he mumbled, "Idiot..."
That last part was to himself.

Looking up, he titled his head a bit as he regarded the man, "Will you promise me something? Unless I have to go off and get myself injured again. Which I doubt you would agree to. Since you regret it, don't wait for something so dire to happen to kiss me," he teased. He was slightly reminded of when he had dropped in the throne room and then teased Reynard about calling him 'Lord' Siya all the time. Maybe the same threat would work a second time. He grinned up at the man despite his just about being ready to crash out on the bed right there.

Reynard regarded the younger man, taking in the large but tired grin, his slumped posture, and the exhaustion creeping into his expression and masking his eyes. Siya was exhausted and he had every right to be, but he still clung to consciousness to smile at and tease him and, perhaps, to wait for an answer himself. Well. Well, this wasn't how he thought today was going to go, but what the Hell.

"I promise," He agreed, a small but still very present smile tugging at his lips and, as if to seal the deal, Reynard leaned in and gave him another kiss. While the other one had been meant to distract and in the heat of action, this one was soft and chaste, a barely there press of the lips before all too soon he was pulling away.

"Go to sleep, Siya. I have to see to some preperations, but... But I'll be here when you wake up."

Siya blushed furiously as Reynard leaned down and gave him the softest of kisses. He wasn't even sure he had felt it, but it must have happened because his Protector had been very close to him just then. He let out a slight breath that he hadn't known he had been holding. At Reynard's request to sleep, Siya nodded a bit.

"Alright, I will," he said and let his body slip back into the bed and pillows. He wasn't sure if Reynard stayed a little longer or not because the moment he hit the pillows, he was asleep.

Kanan had put himself in the training room where Amon was. He hadn't said anything, only to bow and announce his presence as usual. It had been a few days since he had slept with Minnow. For him, it seemed to make things easier and he often went to see the other Protector instead of avoiding him as he had been doing unconsciously. Though his thoughts were on the blonde, he watched his King warily. He was still not himself and he tried to think of someway to help him.

Blue light surrounded his frame and sunk into his skin as he sacrficed some of the metal unconsciously. With the increased power his air magic rippled and he was feeling everything around him again easier than a few moments before. Stretching this outwards, he touched on Minnow's presence, the servants, the knights and then out past the grounds a little ways where he felt Lord Siya's presence and his Protectors. For a moment Kanan didn't move, only thinking it natural to feel the Fire King.

However, his body went rigid a second after and he turned, "Sire," his voice was slightly clipped, "Lord Siya approaches." Without notice.... there was no message, was there? Did I miss something? Kanan thought frantically as he tried to remember if he had recieved any such letter marking the arrival of the Fire Lord. He couldn't recall any such thing. Did something happen? Did Lord Siya lose his orb as well!? he kept such frustrations and fears to himself, his face betraying none of his thoughts as he waited for Amon.

The king had simply grunted in response when Kanan had entered the room earlier, Amon keeping his attention on his practice stand in front of him. He was tired though, physically and mentally as he had been having trouble sleeping. Honestly the only sleep the king had managed was when he was too tired to do anything else.

His lack of focus meant that he was hardly achieving any combinations other than a block and a few punches. Along with that lack of focus, his technique was failing him as well. Each block and punch was done with far more force than was necessary, and sometimes he’d feel a slight shock of pain in his forearm or knuckles with the heavy blows. Each blow was met with the loud sound of wood clapping against wood when the pegs shifted in their place, or a heavy thunk as bone met wood. Regardless, he ignored the pain of it and kept with his routine, trying to find some way of settling his mind.

In his state of mind, he had actually forgotten Kanan was even within the room, so when he spoke up, especially mentioning that Siya had arrived, Amon's attention slipped for a moment as he threw a punch forwards. It failed to land corrently, as Amon had not kept his hand in line with his arm, so when the blow landed it caused his hand to catch as his arm continued forwards. It caused his wrist to akwardly bend and then hyper-extend a little bit, causing the king to shout in pain as he quickly pulled his arm to him, grimacing as he rubbed the injured wrist. Hissing in pain, he then turned to look at Kanan.

"You said Siya is approaching the castle? Did you send out a message?" He asked while heading over to the bench to grab his towel and staff. He had kept his shirt on this time around, as he ususally did when practicing his strikes. Wincing some when he grabbed the staff with his injured hand, he stopped trying to pick it up with the wrist he had hurt. It was probably only a minor sprain, as it wasn't the first time he had done something like that before. He grabbed the towel with the bum hand instead, gripping the staff in his un-injured left while wiping off his forehead. "Come on." He said while heading out of the room and down the hallway.

"Sire," Kanan frowned as he watched his King, "I will have someone summon Minnow to see to that," he said with a bit of a sigh accompanying the words. With a flick of his hand, he did just as he said he would by calling one of the attendants in the hall. Once that was finished and the servant was off to find the blonde healer, Kanan fell into step next to his King as they went down the hall to meet with the other King. All the while the air Protector was feeling a thick knot turn in his stomach.

"No, I did not send word," he answered after a moment, realizing that the man had asked a moment before but he'd been too preoccupied with Amon's having injured himself, "And we did not receive one," Kanan finished. He didn't express his worries though, figuring Amon had enough to worry about as it was. He could only hope that Siya brought some semblance of good news and nothing to further depress his King.

As the double doors to the front of the palace opened, the horses that bore the group had slowly come to a halt and Siya was dismounting rather quickly. His haste had Kanan worried and he immediately sacrificed his metals for more energy. The Fire Lord rushed up the steps to greet Amon.

"Lord Amon! I'm so sorry that I did not send word, but it couldn't wait. Are you alright? I hope I am in time," he muttered and then quickly shot off into a long speech, "I found a book containing information about the orbs! There is more than one and I couldn't find the others, but this one has enough I think to satisfy. I hope... Anyway! There is another place, another world I guess you could call it. There is a doorway to get there and it keeps our two places linked. There are people there as well! There's one group in particular though. I don't know who they are, but I think they are important. Royalty or something along those lines. They used to meet with the Kings of this land a long time ago, before the orbs were even introduced here. This land looked completely different too, it wasn't as it is now. I don't know what that means exactly, but I'm sure we could find out. And there's also-"

Kanan moved, putting himself right next to them to announce his presence. Siya halted and then blushed lightly, "Ah... s-sorry. I tend to get really excited... We should go inside. I will show you the book."

Kanan breathed a silent sigh of relief that the young Fire Lord had stopped from his ranting and glanced over to Amon, hoping that his intervention wouldn't anger him in any way. As he saw it though, this information was better expressed inside the palace walls. Glancing around he noted that no one had been around, and he hadn't felt anyone, but he would still feel settled if they were in the council room before anything else was said.

Amon sighed when Kanan mentioned grabbing Minnow about the wrist, not getting a chance to retort before Kanan sent someone off to summon the younger protector. "It's fine, Kanan. I rolled my wrist, nothing serious nor anything i haven't done before. Now what the hell is it that has Siya coming here without notice?" he said as they walked outside, seeing the younger king dismounting from his horse and rushing up to Amon.

Amon opened his mouth to answer Siya's question, but got no chance to actually say anything when Siya began ranting off. Sighing, he kept his mouth shut as he watched the the fire king go off on his rant, listening as best he could with how fast the young man was talking. Another world with a door between it and this one, and people from that side meeting this side's royalties? He cocked his head to the side, somewhat confused, about to stop the Fire King. Kanan, however, beat the Air King to it as he stepped up next to him. Thank you, Kanan.

It wasn't difficult to see the embarassment on the king's face from his little outburst, something Amon usually would have smiled at and possibly even poked fun at. Instead though, Amon just nodded his head before he turned and started inside. "Follow me then to the council room, and don't worry about not sending a message ahead of time. You found something important so no harm done." he said while walking.

Damiano was amused a bit at the Fire King's energy, but when his eyes settled on the Air King and his protector he noticed something was off about both. Strangely enough, it was almost like the two had...swapped personalities or something. It was subtle, or at least it was subtle on the protector, but he oculd see a change in their body language. One seemed a bit less tense, where as with the king, if he hadn't been carrying that staff, then Damiano would have guessed it somehow got shoved up his ass with how tense he seemed. He said nothing though as he dismounted and followed his king, remaining close behind while remaining wary. He had no idea if that individual that had attacked them before would show up again, so he refused to be caught off guard.

Siya nodded vigerously, "Yes, sorry about that," he continued and followed after them into the halls of the palace. He fell into step beside Amon, his eyes glancing up to the taller man every now and then. Kanan took the other side as he strode just a bit ahead of them, leading them down to the council room. Kanan kept his eye out for Minnow as well as on the two Kings behind him. Siya seemed as if he couldnt' wait to start speaking again and Amon... well Amon was as he had been for the past several days. His gaze softened a bit, the familiar frown that was starting to grace his lips often came back again.

The one eyed Protector opened the doors for them and stepped aside to allow them entrance. Once they were all there, he glanced around as well as felt the area for anyone that wasn't supposed to be there. Once satisfied, he closed the doors and stood next to them, placing himself there with both hands behind his back, legs spread slightly for balance and comfort. He settled there as the Kings seated themselves.

Siya took a rather large book from the long haired protector, Reynard, and set it in front of Amon. Opening it, he showed the air King what he had been talking about, "Look, here is the map of Dhamear. This is what it looked like before. This is the door that I was talking of. This section talks about who used to come through that door and meet with us," he turned the page, "This is the symbol that I think belongs to some group, but I can't read this section because it's... as you can see," he sighed slightly, "eaten through or the language has changed, I can't tell which. This section is about the orbs themselves, most of this we already know, except the fact that they aren't originally from here."

Siya tapped the book with his finger gently and shook his head, "I just... how the hell did we lose all of this?"

Amon leaned his staff against his chair as he sat down while Damiano choose to move to the otherside of the doorway that Kanan had taken. The foreigner's stance was far mroe relaxed though as he unslung his bow and set it next to him before crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall while watching around.

The Air King looked over the book, leaning forwards some to get a better look as he listened once again to Siya speak about its contents. "The orbs are not from here? Then how did they end up here?" He wasn't really asking the Fire King specifically, more so was just asking in general. This was a lot of information to swallow though. If the orbs are not from here, and are from the otherside, then why are they here? And Siya was right, how did this all just up and vanish? Maybe the library here had information on this, as Amon had never actually searched it all that much. "Well Siya, you could always search my library for more on this," He said while looking at him, "Maybe you'll find more in there. As to why it might have vanished, I really don't have an answer for you."

Damiano spoke up now at the mention of this, "Well, relationships could have deteriorated. Something happened, maybe it could have been the theft of the orbs by the kings here. So things go south, people say some nasty things about each other, and then all evidence of that other place is removed to prevent future generations from contacting them? Just a hunch really."

Siya tapped his lip as he looked up to listen to his protector. Everything Damiano said made sense and were very plausible. He turned his gaze back down to the book and crossed his arms as he stood next to Amon, "That's true. I could see something like that happening very easily. If the orbs didn't belong here to begin with... than maybe that person... maybe he was right in saying that it isn't ours," Siya said softly.

"Doesn't give him the right to try to kill us," Kanan said suddenly, his gaze growing dark as he watched Siya. He must have realized how he had spoken because he immediately dropped to his formal kneeling position and quickly apologized.

Siya looked shocked at first but then shook his head, "U...Uh... no, it's okay. You're right, after all. But I don't think the one who attacked me while we were visiting wanted to kill me. Now, the other one... he definitely wanted to, and he almost succeeded," Siya absently brushed at his side at the memory and frowned a bit, "I think there are two different people we are dealing with. Of course, they're both going about this the wrong way. I just don't know which one to trust. If any of them at all."

Amon listened to Siya's protector, nodding his own head in agreement. However Siya's mention of any of their attackers being right to try and take the orb sent a surge of rare anger through the air king. His hands tightened into fists reflexively, relaxing a few moments later as he listened to Kanan pipe up. Siya was right about Kanan having no need to apologize, as Kanan was certaintly right about them having no cause to kill the kings regardless.

"Guess you're the lucky one then, huh Siya? Because both times I've been attacked they wanted to kill me, and one of them killed plenty of my servants during his last visit. I'm surprised he didn't just kill me when he took my orb." He then turned to look at Siya better, "Didn't really get a chance to tell you as you just, kinda showed up suddenly then threw this information at us. So based on my experiences, none of them are able to be trusted and none of them have given me a reason to trust them cause one stabbed me with a spear while the other...well I think I already made it clear what the other one did." He said keeping his eyes on the Fire King.

Damiano, was caught off guard a little before he slowly looked down at the ground. They were attacked? And Amon's orb was stolen? He cast a glance at the air protector on the otherside of the doorway, raising an eyebrow. He opened his mouth to say something before looking back ahead, closing his mouth and shutting himself up before he said anything stupid.

"Lucky?" Siya returned, though he felt taken aback at the sudden outburst from Amon. His eyes grew wide at the information. He frowned as he watched the other, his heart skipping a beat as he tried to keep up. Stolen.... the orb is gone, his eyes fell to the floor where he stared for some time. Silence fell in the council room.

"Lord Amon," his voice was soft, barely a whisper as he clenched his fists, "My sincerest apologies. I... was naive in my decision. Please forgive me for being insincere. If you would allow it, I wish to offer my help, assistance and..." he faultered for a bit as he was about to offer protection but he didn't want to insult the man, "anything else you wish from myself and my Protectors. I... know this may be a lot to ask, but if we could impede upon your hospitality but for a little longer?"

Amon looked back at the book in front of him as he listened to Siya begin apologizing to him, Amon scowling. Again, he was mad at himself for talking in such a manner rather than at the Fire King himself. Once Siya was finished, Amon took a deep breath to try and settle himself enough to talk in a decent tone as he looked back at him. "It's fine, Lord Siya. There was no way of you knowing, so I can't really call you inscincere. As for helping me, I honestly look at it as all of us helping each-other, seeing as how these people want to get at all of us." he then moved some so he was looking at the book again, resting an elbow on the table and his chin in his palm as he looked over it.

"We can all help each-other, so there will be no issues with you remaining here if you wish too. Frankly it's preferred, as you seem to have a much better lead than I ever have regarding this whole mess. I'll have your rooms prepared as soon as I can, and you may use the library as much as you wish. We should inform Lord Taki as well, I can have a message written and dispatched tonight for him." He said while keeping an eye on the book in front of him.

"Anything else to tell me right now? Or should we get to work?" he asked, still looknig at the book.

Siya shook his head, "Nothing at the moment. As I said, this is the only book in my possession. I would like to get started as soon as possible if that's alright with you? I would like to find that book and do more research. I would also like to see if you have anything that would translate this section here," his finger landed on the portion where it talked about the door. At least he figured it talked about the door as some of it was in their language a page before. Shaking his head a bit he put on hand on his hip.

"Could you point me to where the library-"

Kanan moved suddenly, cutting off Siya as he wasn't quite used to the silent protector doing such sudden things, "Sire," he said, his voice slightly concerned, "Someone is here."

"Someone?" Siya asked, heart jumping to his throat.

Kanan looked over to the young Fire Lord and nodded. With a sigh and roll of his eyes Siya thought, Okay, that didn't exactly answer my question, but sure. "Is it... bad?" Siya pressed.

Kanan paused for a moment, seemingly trying to address that question. He shifted slightly as he looked between Amon and Siya, "No."

He released a sigh and leaned on the table, "Alright. I hope you don't mind, but I'm sure we can find the library. I guess you have someone to attend to."

Amon closed his eyes, honestly annoyed with Kanan's interruption of Lord Siya as he had been talking. He opened his eyes, looking at Siya. "Ask one of the servants, they'll be able to show you Lord Siya." He then turned and looked at Kanan, "Who is it, Kanan?" he asked, not really trying to hide his frustration this time.

Siya nodded slightly and looked to Reynard and Damiano, "Thank you, Lord Amon," he said simply and with a nod of his head to both men, he headed for the door, leaving the book with the air King.

Once they were out of the room, Kanan looked over to his King and noted with a slight inward wince, that the man was irritated. He took a moment to try to figure out who it was that had come, but he didn't know. He couldn't pinpoint their aura to anyone that frequented the castle or any nobles that Amon had dealt with in the past. He frowned and shook his head, "I'm sorry. I'm not sure. But they are harrassing a few of our servants... Minnow is there." That he could feel from the three that were trying to tell the man that Amon was busy. This person wasn't having any of it though. Just the thought that Minnow was being hassled made Kanan a slight bit angry.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed, Minnow raised his hands in attempts to calm the four men that doggedly insisted on seeing the king right away. ”The King really mustn’t be bothered when in a meeting unless the issue of grave importance….” After he had been summoned to see to Amon’s sprain, he wasn’t able to make it very far before the group of four practically assaulted him out of nowhere.

He was holding a small pack of ice in his hand, which he was ever so aware of its inevitable melting.

Amon just slammed the book shut in fornt of him, scooping up his staff in his good hand before he turned and left for the doorway. "Lead the way, Kanan." he simply said.

Kanan cursed to himself silently and opened the door so that they could leave. He did as he was told without question. Leading them down the halls to where the presence had occured and pressed further into the castle halls, they rounded a corner near the front of the palace and there he spotted Minnow trying to keep these four strangers from going any further. At his approach as well as Amon's, the other servants bowed and stepped away to continue their own duties. Kanan's eye narrowed as he gazed at the four of them.

The taller one looked up from Minnow who he had been glowering at with a sneer on his face that put Kanan in a very bad mood. His steps softened even more as his heart slowed just a bit and an icy cold air drew about him. The tall, dark skinned male crossed his arms over his chest as he gazed at the two of them. He grinned then as they got close enough.

"Well. Seem's like he ain't that busy, now is he, little squirt. Not so nice to be lyin' now is it?"

"Your business?" Kanan snapped.

The man shifted his gaze from Minnow to Amon and then down to him. A light sparked in his dark eyes as he shifted his weight around and eyed the pale Protector, his grin seemingly growing wider, "Been a while. How's the eye, Kanan?"

Kanan sucked in a deep breath of shock, his gaze growing wide for half a second before he narrowed it and stepped in front of Amon. His sword rang as he withdrew it, one hand up against Amon's chest to keep him back as the other held up his sword.

"Ah, now now, that's not a way to greet an old friend now is it? Took me forever to find you. And, boy, let me tell you. What a price you have on your head. So, how'd you end up with a fancy job such as this, eh? Protectin' a King?" his gaze went to Amon briefly, "A shitty job, don'tcha think?"

Amon looked over each and every one of them as he approached, stopping not far from them while keeping his gaze set on the largest of them who spoke first. The king kept his eyes on him, ignoring his jabs at Minnow. He cast a glance to Kanan as he spoke, before back at the man. However, the moment he looked back he felt Kanan's hand on him as the protector stepped forwards with his sword drawn. Narrowing his eyes some, he watched his protector before looking up at the man who continued to speak.

Once a pause had been reached, Amon grabbed hold of Kanan's hand and removed it from his chest, stepping back up next to Kanan. "So, how about, instead of leaving me out of the loop, I get a little introduction to these folks, Kanan?" Amon never removed his eyes from the tall man though. "And hopefully we can get this buisness solved quickly because I have things I need to do."

Minnow returned the harsh words with a meek shrug, simply ignoring them. He was shocked, however, to learn that these men knew Kanan, and that… Kanan had a bounty? Minnow was pretty easy-going when it came to himself, but when the man presumed to have the higher authority, an unimpressed look filled his features.

The little sack of ice he held in his hand was opened, and the contents were dumped down the back of the man’s shirt. ”Didn’t your mother ever teach you to bow when in the presence of a king?” His tone was dry and otherwise blank, and he simply walked to stand at Amon’s empty side.

The little healer was also unimpressed by the lack of tact Amon held towards the situation. Not only did he dislike that he was overlooking Kanan so much, but it was also foolish to correct a proper reaction, especially in front of strangers.