Aion: The Dawn of Twilight
Note: What happens during the course of the day in this chapter is happening at the exact same time as what happened in the first chapter. It's not that important, just thought I'd point that out. Thanks for reading!
Chapter 2: Dark Wings Take Flight
Kifaye was quietly perched on the branch of a tree in the pitch black darkness of night.
She held her weapons firmly in her hands. Closing her eyes, she envisioned her target's movements as footsteps came within earshot. Just a few more steps, she thought. Wait for it. The right moment...
A twig snapped in the dead silence.
Kifaye's eyes shot open. She still made no movement, no sound. Her target had ceased in movement. Kifaye could feel invisible tension building. They were searching for her presence. Still without any sound, she exhaled and melted in with her surroundings. Now in stealth mode, Kifaye jumped from the tree to the ground in a single, swift motion. The person being targeted just scratched their head and moved on.
"I must be going insane. There aint nothin' out here. Geez..."
"Keep thinking like that and you'll wind up dead."
"OH, SHIT!"
The person attempted to make a run for it, but Kifaye stuck out her foot and tripped them. It was a man of early to mid twenties. His hair was long, sleek, and a dark shade of violet. His head was adorned with ivory horns which were half as long as his hair was. An 'X' shaped cut had been gashed into his face, but had grown old with time. Kifaye kicked him over and shoved the tip of one of her twin blades into his face.
"Oh, what do y'know! It's Kifaye! How have you been, my dear?"
Kifaye thrusted the heel of her boot into his stomach. The man groaned with a snarl.
"I MEAN, Kifaye-san. I hope you don't mind me asking... But what the HELL is your problem?! I was just walkin' along, minding my own freaking business... Until you decided to pop out like a goddamned warrior princess, that is."
"Didn't we have a little talk a week or so ago, Voltage? About what happens when you take what isn't yours?"
Voltage swallowed the lump in his throat. Damn, how the hell did she find out? Voltage was the leader of a gang of bandits known as the Night Riders. He thought it was the coolest thing in the world, but the name and his disposition suggest otherwise. He stole from people to either get what he wanted, or for plain amusement. Voltage is quite strong, but his cupidity tends to make him blind to the obvious. He was also well built physically, so he didn't have the speed or grace of most Assassins.
Kifaye on the other hand was one of the top Assassins in all of Asmodae. She too was the leader of a group of bandits... Who stole from other bandits to return the items to their rightful owners. A busty vixen with a sense of pride and justice, Kifaye would let no villain slip from underneath her nose. And in this case, Voltage, whom she has confronted on multiple occasions, had done the opposite of what she had advised him to do. Big mistake.
"I didn't steal anything from anyone... I simply decided to borrow!"
"Right..."
Kifaye's blade traveled from his face down to the strap of his bag. She cut it and picked it up, observing what was inside. Just as I suspected, she thought. About four-hundred grand in Qina. It wasn't surprising. Giving Voltage a dirty look, she stuffed the bag into her own. Voltage scowled. He busted his ass for that!
Sighing, Kifaye ran her fingers through her long scarlet red ponytail and blew her messy bangs out her face. She gave Voltage a serious look, her golden eyes meeting his chocolate brown ones.
"Why do you feel as though you HAVE to steal?"
"SHUT UP! I don't want no lecture from you! I'll do what I want, however the fuck I want."
"Is that so? Careful how you pick your words, Volt. I'm the last person you'd want to piss off. Now, I know exactly where you got this from, so I'm going to return it if you don't mind."
Giant blood red, bat-like wings erupted from her back. The insignia of the coins meant that they were from the Royal Bank of Elysea. She turned and gave Voltage a look of disappointment. 'Why would he continue to do these things?' she wondered, frowning. 'You'd think he'd take a hint...'
Setting her thoughts aside, she made a little jog and kicked off from the ground. Voltage watched angrily as she ascended into the sky, making off with his loot.
-
A girl in a classy black and white sailor uniform scurried down the cobblestone streets of Sanctum. Long locks of dark blonde hair flapped behind her as she weaved in and out of the crowds of shoppers. She put her hand on her head to secure her matching black hat as she jumped off of a nearby ledge and landed gracefully onto the level below. She continued to run excitedly, making her way to the Royal Bank of Elysea.
Running around to the back of the building, she leaned against the wall coolly with a triumphant smirk, trying to make it appear as if she had been patiently waiting there for ages.
"As usual, you are as just childish as you are ladylike. I thought you carried yourself with more grace than that, Your Highness?"
"Wh-What?! How long have you been here?! And don't blow my cover so carefree like that!"
"I've been here for a while, Unmei-chan. You lose."
The young lady known only as her alias, Unmei, puffed her cheeks out, then pounced onto the cloaked figure she was talking to with open arms. They hugged tightly squealing. When Unmei let go, the person removed their hood, and long scarlet locks came tumbling down.
"So what's up, Kifaye?"
"Voltage stole this from the bank."
Kifaye tossed the bag of money at Unmei. An expert of currency, and many other things yet to be told, Unmei simply weighed it with her own hands and said, "Four-hundred and seventy-five thousand grand. Dirty bastard. I'd return it now, but I'd get in trouble for leaving without permission. I'll make Crescendo take it back later. Thank you for your troubles, Kifaye."
"No problem. So what have you been up to lately? Did you decide who you're going to marry, yet?"
"Let's not talk about that..."
Unmei made a face of disgust at the thought of marriage. Her parents would not shut up about it, and the bachelors they picked out or kept suggesting were so horrible. They walked out into the street, and Kifaye put her hood back on.
As they passed through a market area, the smells of fish, flowers, fruit, and spice filled the air. Kifaye smiled warmly at the scene. It wasn't different from Pandaemonium at all. However, Kifaye was used to such. She has constantly been traveling between Elysea and Asmodae for a few years now. She and Unmei were friends in secret, and Kifaye had to keep a low profile whenever she spent time with her. It was a little fun, though, that they both had to stay disguised together. Unmei was actually the princess of Sanctum, a distant descendant of Azariel, and was not allowed to leave the castle ground without permission - something that was rarely, if not ever granted.
"I don't know if this will offend you or not, but I always thought you'd be a good match for Raiden."
"... Walk me back to the castle, won't you Kifaye?"
"Um, alright. But that's not going to make me change the subject. What's wrong with Raiden? He's funny, charming, really handsome, your parents adore him... And you two are friends anyway, aren't you? So why not? Is there something the matter with him? Has he got major B.O., or something?"
Kifaye chuckled at the thought, but Unmei wasn't smiling. Kifaye eyed her curiously, the smirk vanishing from her lips. Unmei seemed to be in deep thought. Her eyes became misty, with a far away look to them. Looking at the ground, bangs covered her face as her cheeks became hot, stained with pink.
"Raiden...?" she whispered tenderly.
"Ah-ha... So, you like him."
Unmei instantly snapped out of her trance, and her whole face burned with redness.
"I DO NOT! H-He's a jerk! He may seem nice, but he's actually nothing more than self-centered fool who likes nothing more than to talk about how wonderful he is, and to try any means necessary to acquire whatever he wants or that he FEELS should be within his possession! Do you hear me, do you HEAR ME?!"
Kifaye blinked stupidly at Unmei, taken aback by this sudden explosion of emotion. Once again she smirked and folded her hands behind her head. "It still sounds like you like him!"
"Ugh! Whatever."
"Sometimes it's a person's faults that may attract you to them the most. You're either in denial, lying, or you so totally don't realize it yet. Heh-heh-heh!"
Unmei conked Kifaye on the head with her fist. Kifaye yelped aloud, and began to rub the aching spot on her noggin. Unmei folded her arms and came to a halt in front of the castle's back entrance. It was a swelling building, built high and wide, and it shimmered in the light provided by the sunset.
"Thank you, Kifaye. It was nice seeing you. Be careful on your way back, okay?"
"Alright then, Unmei-chan. Look out after yourself, y'hear? If something happened to you, I'd just burst," said Kifaye, puffing up her cheeks with air, and then releasing it and shaking her head like she exploded. Unmei giggled and hugged Kifaye again. Unmei's feathery silver white wings emerged from her back, and she jumped upwards, flying among the many towers of the castle. Kifaye watched as she reached the balcony of her room, and waved to Kifaye again before disappearing through the giant glass doors.
Kifaye turned and began to make way for the portal back home. She had meant what she said deeply. The princess had to look out for herself. For the sake of Atreia's future...
