A/N: Ulcaasi- Ah yes, the finger twiddling, my favorite writing technique.
Tahimikamaxtli- Ohhh gosh. Thank you c:
xSilentWolf- I am honored to be your bedtime story! Thank you for reviewing, despite being busy ^-^ I do love these cookies. Also I love you.
Anon- I am very glad you're enjoying !
AND as a side note to all you apparently dirty birds- Concerning the lemon… You're wearing on me. I really think I would not be the best person to write one… like, at all, but I'll think about it.
Selvi yawned, trying to ignore the cramping in his legs and adjust his position on the tree limb he was perched on at the same time. He cringed when a branch snapped off, thumping quietly against the ground far below him, but the camp he was watching remained still. His eyes roamed over the tents once again, for the hundredth time that night; unsurprisingly silent. He leaned against the trunk of the tree, finding a spot he was almost sure he wouldn't fall out of and closing his eyes.
The forest that had seemed so silent to him before was much louder when he was trying to sleep; he could hear every cricket and cicada as if they were crawling on him, and the leaves in the branches around him rattled loudly. He resigned himself to another sleepless night, huffing quietly into the air.
Selvi wasn't sure how long he stayed there, only just barely dozing when the camp finally, finally showed some signs of life. A girl crawled out of a tent at the very edge of the camp, near to the tree he was in. She flinched when she tripped on something in the dark, freezing until she was sure no one else heard the noise. She crept away from the camp, into the forest and passed Selvi's tree. He only really noticed long, dark hair tied back before she disappeared into the foliage. He pushed off of the tree limb, silently falling to the ground and carefully following the path the girl had taken through the woods.
She hadn't gone far; he found the clearing she was aiming for, hidden away behind the tall trees. She was in the center, stretching her arms behind her and bending to touch her toes. She was wearing clothes common to the Kinkou; skintight and easy to move in, a dark color green that perfectly matched the forest around her. Selvi watched until she was done stretching, but instead of doing… whatever it was she came out here to do, she sat down in the grass, closing her eyes and resting her hands on her knees. Selvi was confused, but intrigued. She sat there until the forest wasn't black anymore, just barely beginning to turn grey before moving. Selvi watched her reposition, noticing in the new light that she was much older than he'd originally thought.
She stood up, her hands held out in front of her, bending her knees and then…
Disappearing.
Selvi blinked, eyes whipping around the clearing. He searched the ground, finally shifting his gaze to the trees after finding nothing. And there she was; impossibly perched on a branch like he had been before, her mouth hidden behind half a mask but eyes wide and excited. Selvi watched as she vanished again, catching just the slightest glimpse of her moving even though he hadn't moved his eyes away from her. She kept this up for some time; jumping around the clearing almost too fast for Selvi to see. She stopped when the sun showed above the trees, and they were no longer shrouded in twilight. Selvi followed her back to the camp, where she made sure that there was still no one awake before quietly pushing aside her tent flap and climbing inside.
Selvi stood there, outside the camp, for a considerable amount of time, suddenly finding it difficult to move. That girl, whoever she was, was no ordinary Kinkou. He'd seen the exercises she'd gone through before, nearly every day.
Because he taught them.
They were shadow techniques.
Zed's shadow grinned.
It watched Selvi stare at the camp, stare at the camp for a while, before moving away, most likely back to the order. This was important news, after all; a Kinkou, versed in the shadow arts? How interesting. The shadow laughed, anticipating a time very soon that would be unfortunate for everyone at the order, thinking about three people in particular.
Very interesting, indeed.
Selvi used to love being at the order.
He felt nervous, now. With good reason.
He set the small bag he'd taken with him on patrol on his bed, eager to follow; the recent sleepless nights were wearing him down. His head had barely touched the pillow before he felt a familiar chill down his spine, and a very unwelcome voice in his head.
Do you not have elsewhere to be?
Selvi cringed. He figured feigning ignorance wasn't an option, trying instead to will the shadow away.
Zed is in his temple.
His mind was free, then, but as happy as that would have made him any other day, he knew he couldn't take advantage of being alone to sleep. He staggered away from his bed, feeling as if lately, all he ever did was drag himself around the order, listening to what people told him to do.
It was very tiring.
He knocked on Zed's door, satisfied that at least the shadow wasn't around. An answer was a long time coming, considering how small the apartment was, and he was considering leaving when Zed answered. He looked confused; so the shadow hadn't been here. It was too late to leave now, so Selvi tried to explain.
"I was told by… told to report to you. About the patrol."
Zed still looked confused, but he waved him inside anyway.
"I trust it's important."
Selvi meant to answer, suddenly finding it a little more difficult to speak. Syndra was lounging in the same chair as always, a pillow in her lap and tea in her hands. Her face pinched just slightly when he walked in, but she was otherwise silent, focusing very intently on the tea in her hands.
Selvi shook his head. The sooner he finished, the sooner he could leave.
"I was following that Kinkou camp. There's a girl there, who knows our training. The technique is outdated, but she must've learned it from one of us."
Zed had gotten very serious, very fast.
"A girl?"
The flat tone made Selvi very uncomfortable, and the room felt very stuffy all of a sudden. Even Syndra lifted her head, picking up on the tension.
"Yes."
"That's all?"
Selvi had expected a very different response, but he wasn't going to pass up the chance to leave.
"Yes, Master."
Zed motioned to the door, and Selvi let himself out, once again dragging himself back to his room. This Kinkou woman… clearly important, since the shadow had wanted him to tell Zed right away. And the way Zed reacted… suspicious, certainly interesting, but Selvi didn't want to get more involved than he already was. He was exhausted enough, without anything extra.
He collapsed onto his bed for the second time that day, hoping there wouldn't be a third.
"Who's the girl?"
"She's… a long story, Syndra. Later."
Syndra frowned at the non-answer.
"Long stories are not your strong suit."
Zed rubbed his eyes, exasperation eating at his patience. He lifted his mask from the tea table, balancing it in one hand.
"I'll be back."
He could practically feel Syndra's glare. He stopped by her chair, tilting her head back so he could kiss her, and then putting on the mask.
"Soon."
He waited for her to say something, or at least ease the glare, but she frowned at him the whole way out. He sighed, resigning himself to an uncomfortable night. He'd worry about it… later. He had much bigger problems at the moment, that didn't include Syndra's slightly bruised feelings.
Problems with the Kinkou, again.