Crowded in the Grand Banquet Hall, amongst the other Hunters and their prospective partners, Allen adjusted his tie nervously. Many officials and senior members of the Alliance gathered for the formal affair, they paraded around room too preoccupied with their debates or tales of intrigue to take notice of him as he stood awkwardly to one of the rooms.Admiring the extravagant the affair, held to conduct the Blessing Ceremony between new and existing Hunters of the Twilight Gate to their chosen partners. Allen felt misplaced in his burrowed suit amid the crystal chandeliers, elaborate walls, and social gossip of the hall. Torn from his disparaging thoughts by an elbow ribbing his side. Allen turned to regard Tristan as he sidled up next to him. Two drinks in hand, his friend glanced around in a deliberately overexaggerated manner, before asking, “Where’s this mysterious partner of yours Al?”Tired of his jests on this topic, Allen could only summon a

Chiri took a deep breath. The frigid air chilling her lungs, she looked out over the garden below the terrace. Housing many exotic plants groomed by the Alliance for medicines and potions, their darkened leaves made disfigured shadows on the ground and walls as they shook from a gust of cold air. Chiri acknowledge that her partnership with Allen may not have been the wisest decision. Regardless of the trouble and opposition it was likely to cause them both, Chiri felt it was the best she could do to aid Allen Pierce. However, not entirely altruistic in her motivations, Chiri had her own reasons for accepting Allen’s request. Although, she had assured Cazer that she would exercise caution due to the attacks aimed towards her before. Chiri could not pass up the opportunity to investigate the mysterious threat herself. Bothered that their attacks had already killed one man and endangered several others. Chiri was just as keen as her partner to put a stop to their activities, and her agre

Finding Chiri on the terrace, Cazer removed his jacket. Seeing her slim frame shiver even from afar, Chiri seemed to have become oblivious to the cold as she remained caught in her lone ruminations.Coming to stand beside her silently, Cazer placed his jacket over her bare shoulders. Chiri’s skin turning cold from standing outside in the harsh winter air, Cazer replaced his hand on the crevice in her back. The dip fitting his palm naturally, Cazer felt the little space begin to warm gradually as he continued to rest his hand along its soft dip.Cazer was not in any way surprised that Chiri had chosen to remove herself from the crowded interior of the banquet hall at the first available instance. Although, Cazer would have preferred Chiri had been more attentive towards her decreasing body temperature. He would not criticize her for seeking some solace on the secluded terrace.Whilst, feeling the loss of her company more acutely than he had expected. Cazer

Withdrawing his pistol cautiously, Allen tried to make the squelching of his steps less audible as he progressed through the darkened trench. Not noticing until this moment just how devoid of sound the forest was. There were no hoots or the screeching of animals, nor was there any wind to rustle the branches or the chirping of insects present in the night. Even the long strides of his partner on the path above leaving him far behind, Allen felt completely alone in his mission now.This revelation only making the unexpected sound of a woman’s gentle sobbing all the more pronounced to him among the darkness. Progressing carefully, Allen drew closer to the cries. Brushing past the leaves of massive ferns growing in the pit and crunching over the discarded limbs that had fallen from the trees, he came to find a young woman. Near to his age, she sat on the floor of the forest. Covered in leaves and dirt, her dark hair disheveled, the woman grasped at her ankle in distress.

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