Returning in the early hours of the morning, there were only a few wandering souls who witnessed Allen and Chiri walk through the doors of the Alliance. Allen still covered web, dirt, and leaves; he was not pleased despite their first mission passing without any major incident.
His partner not even managing to uphold her promise to him for a single assignment, Allen felt foolish for believing that her nature would change so easily. However, he had hoped somewhat that Chiri might at least attempt to comply with his simple request of her. Still in a huff, Chiri sidled up next to him. Evidently refreshed after her reprieve from the Alliance Headquarters, there was an energy in her steps now as they made their way towards the Night Gate dorms.
“I wasn’t going to let her eat you.” Chiri chuckled, nudging him jovially with her side in an attempt to alleviate some of the tension between them.
“That’s not the poi
There was a weighty silence that fell over the dining room of the Krane estate, as Chiri and Cazer Krane’s arrival was announced by the strained hinges of a broad wooden door. At its center, among the dark walls and morbid paintings, stretched a long table. Its black polished oak surface reflecting the resentment of the people who sat at it, the sentiment seemed to have been multiplied. Performing their roles nicely as the designated black sheep of the family, they had adding insult by arriving late to the Krane’s mandatory gathering. The slight obviously not lost on each member of Cazer’s vile family, they glared in their direction as her and Cazer merely greeted the distain with a curt bow. “Father.” Cazer said. Customary to greet the head of the family first, Cazer’s stiff acknowledgement of the middle-aged man at the head of the table, was only met with more displeasure. Atticus Krane’s lips pressing together until they became a thin line, he withh
Deep within the underground cellar of the Krane estate, was a room. Darker than night or the deepest parts of the sea it was difficult to say whether the space within it was large or small. The color of its walls long forgotten, the room was filled with the whispers of cruel spirits and the malice of the most ruthless of demons. Mercilessly descending upon the small figure within, there was no shelter from their abuse. Locked in a ceaseless battle of wills, they chipped away at his young untarnished soul so that he might relinquish it over to them. Not sure of whether he had spent hours or days grappling for his soul in their relentless company. Cazer Krane’s tears had long since dried up. Curled on his side in the room, he held no futile illusions of someone coming to his rescue. The room being a place his family commonly referred to as ‘the pit’. Cazer had been subjected to this type of punishment countless times prior. However, he fel
Throwing open the doors to their chambers, Cazer stomped into the room. Compelled by his hot temper, he yanked off his jacket. Throwing it onto the ground in agitation, Chiri observed his mood silently as she clicked the door shut behind her. Her back pressed to its cold handle, she leaned into it metal as if intending to guard against any intruders who might add to her husband’s vexation.The rest of the meal, passing without further incident thanks to Cazer’s intervention, it had at least been bearable. Nonetheless, his temperament had been gradually worsening since they excused themselves from the table shortly after dessert. The poise Cazer displayed during dinner now crumbling completely under the pressure of his rage. It was clear that his family’s disrespectful behavior and Rhett’s unwelcomed advances towards her had managed to agitate him.Unsettled at seeing him disturbed in this way, Chiri regarded him from
Chiri’s head resting in the crook of Cazer’s arm. She blinked, bewildered mildly by the soft glow of morning light filtering through the curtains behind him. Not seeming to pay any mind to the invading light, Cazer’s dark lashes shaded the deep pools of his eyes as he stared back at her calmly.Neither willing to permit the other any sleep, they had eventually fallen into their current position. Lying next to one another, limbs still tangled together, hardly any words had beed exchanged between them over the course of the night. Taking turns provoking each other until daybreak, they had not allowed a moments repose for their minds to wonder towards other less pleasant musings. Engaging in a constant game of give and take, their bodies had reciprocated each movement as if it were a delicate unspoken negotiation between them.His fingers still playfully caressing Chiri’s curves, they roamed and meandered over her edges
A muted sunlight reaching out in to him in the cold day, Allen strolled through the streets of Ineset with its comfortable warmth on his back. Seeking a reprieve from the staunchly reserved atmosphere in the Alliance headquarters among the bustling activity, Allen had wandered for several hours, before he could bring himself to conduct his undesirable errand.His feet finally leading him down a familiar dark alley, Allen stood in front of the dismal door. Heaviness weighing down on his stomach, he rapped on its wooden exterior. Dirtied by the grime and dirt from the street, Allen wiped the black soot from his knuckles as he waited for the little peep hole to slide open begrudgingly. The beady eyes of its guardian appearing in the little slat they narrowed on him suspiciously. Obviously unable to recollect his identity, Allen removed the pistol from its holster. Submitting the weapon to be inspected by the gloomy pair of eyes, they securitized its worn surface fo
A spiteful knock jarring her from her sleep, Chiri groaned. The sheets making a soft noise, they tangled around her as Chiri rolled onto her side. Blinking away the sleep from her eyes, she was surprised to find Cazer still there. Expecting her husband to return to his usual rotation of women once they had returned to the Alliance. It had been a curious occurrence when this had not transpired. Although his affairs had been steadily diminishing in number and frequency, Chiri was still mildly amazed each time she woke to see his head on the pillow next to hers. They had spent every night together since they had copulated their marriage at the Krane estate. Some nights passionate and others comfortable, Cazer seemed no less intrigued with the novelty of their encounters than he had been the first night they spent together. Lying on his side facing her, he propped his head up laz
Tossed around by the undulating waves, Allen’s last meal swayed uncomfortably in his stomach. Concentrated in his effort to focus on the grey horizon in the distance, he stood near the helm. Clutching a side of the vessel as the sicknesses and anxiety toyed painfully with his innards like a cat with a ball of string. Allen felt his feet wobble unsteadily on its rickety boards, as the ship crashed rigorously over the restless dark waters beneath them. Able to enjoy a short reprieve after their last mission, Allen and Chiri soon found another abruptly thrust upon them. The orders issued hardly a week after Chiri had returned with the Night Gate Director from his family estate. The assignment demanded that they venture further afield to the port city of Urgsea. Vemehurst’s primary location for the import and export of goods from other countries, it was the first time Allen had encountered a place filled with such diverse people and trade. However, his excitement towards exploring its mar
His cold eyes still bearing down on him, Cazer submitted himself to Atticus Krane’s scrutiny. Standing far beneath the grand rooms of family’s estate, in the darkly macabre interior of his father’s private study; Cazer met the disgusted glare of the Head of the Krane family with dignified composure.The lines his father’s face twisting into an unpleasantly familiar scoff from across the large bureau desk. This display of his abject disapproval common, it affected Cazer little to see his evident discontentment now. The thin moustache on the man’s upper lip twitching from his irritation at this most recent development, he stated severely, “I do not condone your marring of the Krane name with this Dhryzic, Cazer.” Not completely able to deny the compulsion to acknowledge her distinct presence amongst them, Atticus’s dark irises ro