Immediately both Sadari and Kanin both scampered to their feet. They rushed into the mansion. Both completely forgot about the strange god at that moment and only ran towards the golden pillar, even if they knew it was too late. Each step felt so heavy, both because of the loss of the falna and the impending reality they had to face.
Reaching inside, they see the whole place had been destroyed. Not by an act of vandalism, but by the pillar of arcanum that had sent Freyr back. The left side of the house had a hole from ground level clean through the roof. The two sat there frozen, staring at the hole their god had left on his departure, they didn't move, they couldn't move. Just like that, the god that had loved, cherished and practicality watched them grow up had left, to never return.
People started to gather outside the mansion, but they were pushed aside as members of the Loki Familia arrived, them being the only big power to also live in the north. The familia stayed outside and mostly controlled the crowd, but one didn't wait and immediately ran in.
"Sadari! Sadari!" A jade haired elf yelled while dashing inside. Upon seeing the two motionless figures, she immediately wrapped Sadari in a tight hug. "Sadari, thank the gods you're alright." Riveria whispers into the hug. While Kanin was injured, she and Sadari had regularly met and they grew incredibly close. Now they could truly call each other sisters and not just because they were blood related.
Having her older sister pull her into a hug. Sadari blankly fell into it while tears started to rain from her jewel-like eyes. "Fre-Freyr He *Hick* He's gone!" Sadari choked out, to which Riveria pulls her tighter, burying Sadari's head further into her bosom.
"It's okay, it's okay, he's just back in Tenkai now. It's all alright." Riveria tried to coax her into calming down. During which, Kanin started moving again. He slowly walked to the edge of the hole. He looked straight up into the sky for a few seconds, then he closed his eyes.
"Damn" Was all he could manage to whisper out.
—
Riveria finally managed to get Sadari out of the mansion, which in turn gets Kanin to follow as well, not wanting to leave his partner's side. The two just silently follow behind as Riveria starts to lead them away. They didn't know where they were being led, nor did they really care. But of course there was only one place Riveria would bring them
"Come on you two, let's get you settled down for now, then we can figure out what to do next." Riveria sighed slightly as she stopped in front of a guest room door of the Twilight manor. She had noticed, sense the beginning, that both Sadari and Kanin had been listless the whole way. Riveria just shook her head then brought a light chop onto both of their heads
*Thud*x2 "Ughhhh!" *Thump!* And with two chops, one was left groaning and holding his head, while the other limply fell to the ground and was now out cold. This caused Riveria to freeze in surprise.
Kanin turned to Riveria with an eyebrow twitching in anger, "No falna remember? Ughhhh!" Groaning again, Kanin slowly bent down to pick up the unconscious elf. Sliding one arm under her knees and the other around her back, he carefully picked her up and cradled her close. Although he had lost his falna, Kanin was still very athletic and had no trouble carrying the slender elf in his arms.
"Thank you for the place to stay, I think that we will need some time to… get through this." Kanin says flatly while walking in the room and closing the door with his foot.
Riveria wakes from her surprise after the door closes and she closes her eyes and sighs to herself, "Aiz you can come out now I know you're there.'' In the wake of her words there was only silence. As Riveria was about to speak again the sound of very light footsteps walking toward her could then be heard.
Opening her mesmerizing jade eyes slightly, Riveria saw Aiz's golden hair covering her face as the little girl was looking down at the floor. "What is it Aiz?" Riveria asked with her narrowed eyes.
Without raising her head she asked, "Is Kanin alright?" Aiz had heard that something had happened to the Freyr Familia. And coming to the most logical train of thought, she must have thought Kanin was injured. Seeing them empty and semi-staggering through the halls most likely solidified that belief
"He isn't injured anywhere." Riveria said, nothing wanting to tell the truth but also not wanting to lie. Riveria just hoped that Aiz would accept her answer and leave… But Aiz didn't want to leave.
"I wanna see him… please." Aiz whispered with the last word being almost inaudible, even to Riveria's lvl 6 senses. Riveria's brows creased in worry, but eventually hung her head in defeat.
"Alright, but if they want you to leave them alone, you will do so with no talking back alright?" Riveria states firmly to which Aiz nods in confirmation. Riveria walks forward then kneels in front of the small girl. Riveria knew how close Aiz had grown to Kanin and Riveria also knew Aiz's past.
To have her old family ripped away from her. Then as soon as she grows close to someone else, they are also almost ripped from her? Aiz shouldn't have to go through something like this ever. And especially not so young.
Kanin and Sadari might not have seemed to be in too much danger, but Riveria couldn't think so after she had gotten witness reports on the event. The god that was seen to be leaving the mansion right before they entered… 'No, I'll bring this up with Finn and Loki later. Right now I need to make sure those 2 and Aiz are okay.'
Smiling slightly sadly, Riveria slowly lifted Aiz's chin to see two golden pools staring back at her slightly red and having tears glistening at the edges. This makes Riveria surprised as the only time she had seen Aiz cry was after she had nightmares of that fateful day.
"Aiz." Riveria starts warmly but adds a little firmness in her tone as she continues. " I lied, they are both injured." This caused Aiz's eyes to shoot open wide, as she frantically tried to scamper by the beautiful elf. But Riveria firmly held both Aiz's shoulders, stopping her in place.
"LET ME GO! I WANNA SEE HIM!" Aiz shouts at Riveria as the air shimmers slightly in resonance with her agitation. As she shouts, Aiz doesn't stop struggling in futility against the lvl 6.
"Aiz, stop." Riveria said it very calmly and not very loudly but, Aiz felt an undertone of power in those words causing her to stop. And with her, the air also stopped its subtle vibrations.
"They aren't hurt physically, their bodies are fine." Riveria takes a breath out and in to let Aiz digest that information. Riveria then continues, "They have both just lost someone very special to them… Someone they both cherished like family."
Seeing worry building up in the still teary golden eyes, Riveria continued what she wanted to say, "So, please just remember they won't be in that good of a mood and-"
Riviera stopped speaking as the door they were still near creaked open to reveal Kanin with a tired expression. Behind him, the figure of Sadari sleeping comfortably in the bed could be seen… if one would ignore the bump now on her head from Riveria's "gentle" chop.
"It's ok Rivera, she can come in." He said while standing to the side and motioning Aiz to come in. Kanin then started talking, but with a little agitation this time, "And can you heal Sadari? You managed to hit her pretty damn hard." He said while pointing at what looked to be a budding unicorn horn on Sadari's head.
Hearing what Kanin said, Riveria flushed in embarrassment as she swiftly walked past both Aiz and Kanin to do as requested. Kanin then turned to Aiz with a smile. A smile that even Aiz could tell was fake. "Don't worry too much about me Aiz. This won't hold me down for long." Kanin then smiles genuinely, "After all, I have a little sister I have to take care of." He then ruffles her golden hair while she squints her eyes and leans into it.
"*Mumble* Home...wreaker*Mumble*" the two turn to see Sadari grumbling in her sleep as the bump on her forehead reduces at a visible rate. Seeing Riveria still slightly red from early, Kanin gets an evil idea ' hehe time to get revenge for earlier, future sister in law'.
Kanin leads Aiz to the other side of the room to get out of the lvl 6's earshot then whispers something into Aiz's ear. Hearing what he said, Aiz tilts her head then nods with a "Hmm" she then turns and walks over to Riveria's side. At the same time Kanin immediately leaves the room, no waiting for the aftermath
In a completely clueless tone Aiz asks, "Is it true that you hit Sadari because she's younger and prettier than you?" *Crack!* Aiz simply blinked and all of the sudden Riveria was facing her, the speed of the turn creating an aftershock fluttering Aiz's hair slightly.
"Aiz, sweety… You are looking very young and pretty right now." Riveria whispered softly. But to little Aiz, it was the whisper of a demon causing her to shudder. Then she shuddered harder when she understood what Riveria said.
"Wait n-no" Aiz gets out weakly
"Did Kanin tell you that?" she asked in that same chilling voice.
"I-I…" Aiz was hesitating to answer.
Riveria then sighed and shook her head, "forget it. It's probably just a way for him to lighten the mood." Looking back at Sadari, she saw two amethyst gems staring straight back at her with a teasing light in them. Suddenly Riveria got a very bad feeling.
"My, my big sis" An impish smile grew wide on Sadari's face. "I didn't know you were so jealous of me!" Riveria calmly stood up. She swiftly turned around and walked out the door, trying and failing to maintain some semblance of dignity.
As the door closes behind her, Riveria can hear Sadari burst out laughing. Hearing this, the already embarrassed elf found a new level of embarrassment she didn't know existed.
—
An hour later,Kanin had managed to find his way up to the roof of the Twilight Manor. He was just sitting there, with a nice view over the city. He watched as the people started to come out of their building once more. As the people got over the massacre that had happened not just an hour ago. After all this was the "Center of the world" The business never stopped here, whether the streets were bright, dark, or stained with blood…
Kanin could see the Home of Peace from here, or what was still standing after a huge hole was carved in it by Freyr's return. First Freyr lost most of his Familia in a dungeon accident. Then out of the few remaining only 2 survived. And finally that wasn't enough as he himself was killed. Kanin had no doubt now that the god he and Sadari ran into undoubtedly was the one to kill Freyr.
Kanin didn't really hate that god or anything. No, he didn't really care, it's not as if he was acting when Riveria had found him, but he wasn't so distraught for the reasons one may think. After all, he truly wasn't normal. And recently he had figured out why. He only truly cared because he was now powerless to protect Sadari and himself again.
Kanin wouldn't even be able to join a new Familia for another 4 months, because he only got his Falna 8 months ago. But Kanin wasn't nearly as sad as he probably should be. Kanin had just lost the man who had eventually raised him since he was brought into the familia training camp.
Kanin had just lost his home that he had loved for years. The home of all those that treated him as a little brother. No matter how long ago it was, Kanin still remembered all of the missing members and although he didn't like Jack, he still was like a brother to Kanin.
But for some reason, a reason he had just recently realized, Kanin just didn't care that much. He knew that people should feel sad when those close to them are taken away, but he just didn't feel that. Whether it be his old Familia members, his current party members Magnus and Jessica, or even Freyr. Kanin for some reason just couldn't truly… value them. It's not like he didn't care at all, but if it came down to his life or theirs, he wouldn't hesitate to put them down in an instant.
The only person he truly felt connected to is Sadari. But recently Aiz had also managed to wiggle herself into Kanin's seemingly frozen over heart. But Aiz has only barely managed to scratch the surface compared to Sadari. The only two people in his whole life that have managed to get a genuine reaction of care out of Kanin. THe only two that Kanin would genuinely try to save, even at the cost of his own life.
Even when he saw the 4 elderly people die in Old Jin's shop, he couldn't care less. He knew they had families, they had people waiting for them to come home, people who loved them. But Kanin just simply didn't care. For him his meal is more important than caring for their dead bodies. He wasn't trying to act cool, or something in the shop. No, he just figured, sense they were already dead, might as well not care about them at all.
Kanin doesn't know why he is like this, he's never had some traumatic past that made him anti-social. He just never truly cared for others. This is probably the reason why he got so infatuated with Sadari as she was the only person in his life that truly made him care. The only one who he actually would sacrifice for.
He doesn't know what made Sadari so different, but he is glad that she is. Because before Kanin met Sadari, Kanin just didn't care. Didn't care what he had to do. Kanin had stolen money from the poor. Stolen food from the hungry. Or even "Got rid" of those who could later hurt him. But one day that changed, not because of him,
He had always known he was different. Kanin had seen a lot of people doing things he would always find incomprehensible. Kanin never understood why someone would give out food to someone starving, why people would donate. Afterall life was always survival of the fittest. He never understood until he met Sadari.
— Around 5 years ago
Kanin was walking through the streets of Daedalus one night. His bare feet crunching the snow underneath with each step. His coin pouch was significantly heavier than this morning as he had found a cold body that wouldn't be needing their coins anymore. There was also some food next to the body so he didn't have to buy or swipe any of his own.
Kanin had looted everything he could off the body. The clothes, the blanket and even the dull and rusty knife. Although Kanin didn't need the clothes or the blanket, he knew they would sell for a lot given how cold this winter was. Kanin was quite happy with this hull, so he decided to start heading back to his little base camp.
Kanin used to be part of an orphanage until last year when the one running it didn't have enough funds, so they had to kick out a few of the kids. Kanin hadn't complained like the other kids. He simply grabbed what he could and left.
Kanin was walking down a side street he knew very well, but frowned slightly seeing another pair of footprints in the snow. The footprints were small and dainty, most likely that of a little girl's. This alley was rarely used by others, this being why Kanin liked it so often. Although Kanin wasn't afraid of getting attacked, it only took one time to be seriously injured or even killed. And Kanin didn't feel like risking it for no reason.
Kanin was about to turn around and walk another way to his hidden base, but he suddenly felt a chilly breeze on his neck. Kanin didn't know why but he thought he could hear the cold snapping in his ear, telling him to follow the footprints. Thai made Kanin frown even harder. After all, who would trust some random thought that has no practical explanation.
But Kanin decided to follow the draft's suggestion. Kanin slowly but surely made his way down the alleyway. Unlike earlier though, his foot falls no longer created noise. The snow seemed to give way with each step, making his approach dead silent. He also gripped two knives, one being the one he just picked up, while the other being one he had brought with him.
Right when Kanin was about to round the corner to where his hidden stash was, he heard something land behind him. He whipped around to see… Nothing. But suddenly Kanin lurches to the right and thankful he does as a blade would have swiped his neck if he hadn't.
Kanin spins back around to look at the attacker and sees a shivering girl holding onto a sword roughly half her height of around 145cm. The girl has a hood and a mask on to cover most of her face, with only her eyes showing, both being a radiant light purple. The girl had thrown a rock to divert his attention before her attack. And he nearly paid the price for it.
Kanin doesn't take the time to look at her more nor does he want to. He immediately brings out both knives in a standard grip and goes on the offensive. He lashes out with his left hand, aiming for the throat. The girl takes a soft step back making the knife miss by a hair's width.
This doesn't deter Kanin as he steps forward once again and goes for a stab with his right. But he has to back off as he notices the girl has swung again and once more, again right at his neck. He quickly ducked and kicked at her leading leg. But she slightly moved back slightly causing the kick to merely graze her pants.
Kanin flicked his head up to see the girl swinging over head and down at him. He kicks off hard to the left, surprising the girl as to how he didn't slip when pushing off so hard on the icy ground. But the girl still managed to catch his shoulder slightly and leave a small gash.
Kani backed off with a grimace,never once letting his eyes leave his target. But this doesn't mean he is oblivious to his surroundings. Kanin is constantly listening to any sounds around him in case this is an ambush and he has to run.
With their relatively equal height her longer weapon would give her the advantage in a fight if the gap isn't closed. Knowing this Kanin once more rushes in to get in close. Then the girl swings first, it comes diagonally from his left shoulder. Raising his left knife, he meets the blade. But Kanin frowns when he barely feels any weight behind it.
He soon figures out why as the girl raises her opposite leg to the side and with a quick snap of her knee, her foot lands at the back of Kanin's right knee and buckles him. As Kanin stumbles forward, the girl uses this time to swing downward once more. And again Kanin once more struggles to get out of the way.
With another and this time deeper cut. Kanin quickly realized something. ' She's trying to wear me out.' and he was right. The girl he was facing was freezing and hadn't eaten in a while. Even if they were the same size, she was very weak right now and would easily get overpowered in a constant of raw strength. She was trying to get Kanin to back off and leave before she got too exhausted.
But she didn't know that Kanin didn't care about these small wounds, even now they were starting to heal. But at the same time, Kanin's fast healing did do something, it made him tire faster. His body had to work over time to quickly repair his body faster than any other mortals can. This rapid repair causing a lot of energy and nutrients
Knowing that he will get tired faster the more injuries he takes, Kanin decides to get a little riskier. He once more lashes at her throat with his left hand. And in return it is easily dodged and counter attacked. But this time, as Kanin ducks under the swing, he watches the sword go over his head. Instead of a kick which the girl is getting ready for, Kanin drops both knives and lunges towards her left side under her right arm.
Catching the girl completely off guard, Kanin wraps his right bicep around her thin neck and his left arm comes under her still extended arm. The girl tries to escape but Kanin locks his hands together while pushing his head into her raised shoulder, trapping it and pulling her into a head and arm choke. With his grip firm, Kanin plants his left foot just beyond her body while kicking his foot out behind her and starts to swing it back, taking both her legs out from underneath her and making her airborne.
With the girl's sword arm stuck above her head, she's helpless as her body starts to rotate midair while Kanin pivots his waist and tosses her over his hip. She tries to smack his back with her free arm, but Kanin doesn't even feel it. A million thoughts a minute run through the girl's mind until it stops as the back of her head slams onto the ice covered ground with the weight of both of their bodies, knocking her out cold.
Kanin holds the choke for a few more seconds making sure she's out cold. After he realizes she's not moving in the slightest, he releases the choke and stands up with a huff. "It felt like she knew how to fight? Not street fighting but more… dueling? Like those rich families do when they spout nonsense about honor." Kanin whispered to himself in thought.
Kanin had seen two rich merchants have a duel in the streets. The fight looked so impractical and stupid with many flaws. "But that kick looked like it was self learned? And I doubt someone worried about 'honor' would throw a rock to distract someone. But she was completely caught off guard when I dropped my weapons to slam her." he mused to himself
Scratching his head he starts speaking out loud again in thought, " I probably shouldn't kill her, I can't have some rich family after my head for killing their daughter." Kanin took the girl's sword. And a closer look at it reveals it had an intricate design with fine lines and engravings.
" Yup, definitely from some rich family." he said with a sigh. " But why the hell is she out here in the cold all alone?" Kanin couldn't figure that out. "Whatever, I'm just gonna tie her up until I get answers." And so he did just that, he picked up his two dropped knives and cut the clothes he had looted today into long strips to bind her hands and feet.
About half an hour later, Kanin noticed the girl was still shivering and realized it would be bad if she died. He grabbed a few blankets he had and wrapped the girl in them to keep her warm. "I'll just have to sell them later." He huffed out in annoyance.
Kanin sat there a while, the sun had fully set by now, he wasn't bored at all, Kanin was just watching the snow fall, around him and the bundled up girl. He started to think back to the fight, 'she looked scared' he thought while remembering her trembling eyes in the fight. " But she keeps her composure incredibly well for a spoiled girl… eh whatever I'll just ask when she wakes up."
"Eurghh" Kanin hears a groan next to him and looks over to see the girl's long eyelashes flitter open to reveal her breath-taking amethyst eyes. But Kanin couldn't care less.
"Hey, so why'd you try to kill me?" Kanin immediately asked. He didn't want to give her time to think and wanted her to answer honestly or hesitate enough to know she isn't being honest.
The girl's eyes look at Kanin then flicker down in amazement, "Huh! I'm still alive?" This causes Kanin to look at her in amazement.
"Why were you so sure you were gonna die?" He asked in genuine curiosity.
"Well I'm just so beautiful, I was sure that everyone would be too jealous of me and just kill me!" She looked back up at Kanin with eyes that seemed to ask 'isn't it obvious?'
Kanin was too stupefied to even try to get answers out of the girl. Kanin just cut the ropes and told her to leave. To which he was promptly denied. She refused to leave unless her sword was returned. Kanin said it was payment for leaving her alive. With both of them refusing, The girl, named Sadari, started following Kanin around from that day on.
—
Kanin was removed from his memories at the sound of footsteps behind him. " Oy, what re ya doing up ere? You rn't purt of me Familia?" Kanin looked back to see a woman with vermillion hair and squinted eyes walking towards him. Immediately Kanin recognized who they were and that they were drunk.
"Ah, sorry Goddess Loki. I was brought here as a guest, I will leave if you want." Kanin apologized and immediately started standing up to leave.
"Na, na, na stay ere." she slurs while sitting down next to Kanin. " Why re ya up ere?" She asks.
Kanin gets a feeling that she may seem drunk but she was also fully able to act normally if she so chose to. 'Her being 'drunk' most likely is to just make me let my guard down. She isn't the goddess of tricker for nothing'
Looking back at the street, Kanin sees that the sun has almost gone down, meaning he's been up here for a while. "I just came up here to think about some things. And I think I'll head back down now, it's been a while." Kanin never liked talking to gods, not even Freyr. Kanin didn't like it that they just knew when he was lying. Kanin didn't wait for Loki to retort and got up to leave.
"Oy brat I said stay here." Loki said but this time completely sober.
Kanin stopped mid-stride and looked back with a neutral face, "Yes Goddess?"
"I owed Freyr a favor or two, you can use this place for as long as ya need." She said while looking out into the streets. " Also, thanks for taking care of Aiz, she's become a lot better. So, thanks."
Kanin walked back over and sat down. "Yeah." Was all he said.
Loki looked over at Kanin with a smirk. "Do I scare ya?"
Kanin kept looking forward with an unchanging face. " No, no really."
"Ay, that's good." was all she said.
They sat there in silence for a few minutes, until Loki broke the silence by saying, "Wanna join my Familia?".
"Can't. Need to wait 4 months to transfer Familia's" He replied without turning and standing up once again. But this time Loki didn't stop him. Kanin wanted to talk about Aiz's past , but he doesn't know Loki enough and doesn't trust her.
—
Walking back into the guest room, Kanin sees Sadari, standing in front of the mirror and frowning while touching her chest. Kanin walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist while resting his head against hers. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing" She lightly shakes her head to make sure not to bump into him. "I was just thinking that I want bigger boobs." She says perfectly naturally, causing Kanin to burst out laughing
"Hahaha!" Kanin looks at his own reflection and sees a little bit more of his hair had changed color. He reached up and touched it. Playing with the silvery blue lock, he noticed it feels much more smooth than the rest of his hair. Sadari's hand also comes up. But instead of touching his hair, she gently runs it down his cheek.
"Don't worry about it, I will love you no matter how stupid your hair looks" She starts giggling into her hand. Rolling his eyes, Kanin kissed the side of her cheek and pulled away.
"What should we do now? He asked while walking over to the bed and laying down.
Laying down next to him, Sadari snuggles into his side while he wraps an arm around her, pulling her closer. " Well luckily we have a place to stay, but we need more clothes and I don't know about you but I'm starving." She said while rubbing her stomach.
"Yeah I could go for some food." Kanin agreed.
"I'm also really tired too." she looked up at him with puppy dog eyes while fluttering her lashes.
"Sigh, I'll go get food for you" Kanin groaned
"Yahhhh! You're the best!" She turned his head and gave him a big kiss. Pulling away from Sadari's now rosy face. Kanin sat up with a groan as Sadari snuggled further into the blankets.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll be back, don't miss me too much." he said sarcastically while walking out the door.
"Don't worry I won't" she laughed back at him as the door closed behind him.