Guilty X Creatures

Chapter 24 : Early Morning

Anton grumbled to himself as he reached over to his nightstand and shut off his phones alarm.

Still several hours away from dawn in their part of the world, the room around him was completely dark, so before pulling his arm back to himself he grudgingly flicked on his bedside lamp.

Pointing her ears straight back, Kianna scrunched up her face with a whine before pulling the blanket up over her head and hiding herself from the light.

Chuckling, Anton leaned over her and began to playfully poke at her ears through the blanket.

"Hey now... C'mon, it's time to get up..." he grinned as the blanket began to twitch in irritation "You knew we were getting up early today. So c'mon, let's get this over with..."

"Hmph!" groaned Kianna "5 more minutes..."

Chuckling again, Anton took hold of the edge of the blanket and slowly peeled it back enough to expose the dark elf hidden beneath.

Glaring up at him with her just barely glowing eyes, Kianna pouted for a second before turning her face into the pillow and groaning again.

"Aw... My poor little dark elf. She's so sleepy..." teased Anton.

"She is!" whined Kianna as she scooted closer and made to snuggle herself up against him.

"I know..." soothed Anton "But unfortunately we've got things we have to do today. So she'll have to get up now..."

"Argh!...Fine!" complained Kianna as she lifted herself up onto her elbows.

Blinking the sleepiness from her eyes, she turned to Anton and smiled softly before leaning towards him and going in for a kiss.

"Hey now!" smiled Anton as he eased away from her "What do you think you're doing? You heard the doctor's orders! No kissing for the next few days!"

"Hmph! What the doctor doesn't know won't hurt us..." stated Kianna as she stubbornly continued to lean forward "It's just a little kiss anyway, it doesn't... Wha!? Hey!"

Stiffening in surprise, Kianna went still as Anton suddenly flung the blanket back over her head and quickly wrapped his arms around her so as to trap her beneath it.

"Naughty little dark elf..." he whispered as he held her against his chest "When will you ever learn to behave yourself, huh?"

Kianna stayed still for a moment before starting to lightly struggle.

"Let me go..." she whimpered as she looked up at him through the blanket and tried and failed to wiggle her way free.

"Hm... I don't know... You might try to kiss me again..." teased Anton "Will you promise to behave yourself, and listen to the doctor's orders if I do?"

"...No." grumbled Kianna after a moment of silence.

Blinking, Anton laughed loudly as he tightened his hold on her.

"Why you little..." he chuckled "Yes, Kianna! It's just for the next few days. You can handle this!"

Making a tiny whimpering sound as she was squeezed, Kianna began to grumble in irritation.

"...Okay, fine." she groaned as she tried and failed to point her ears straight back "I promise. I guess."

Still laughing through his smiling teeth, Anton loosened his hold and leaned his head back as Kianna immediately shook her head free of the blanket.

Blinking as she looked back up him, Kianna began to pout as she successfully pointed her ears straight back behind her head.

"Bully..." she muttered as she ducked down and nuzzled her head in under Anton's chin "You're so mean to me..."

"I know, and I'm sorry..." smiled Anton as he wrapped his arms back around her.

Kianna sighed heavily through her nose as she let herself go limp in Anton's arms. After just a moment like this she nearly began to doze again as she listened to the comforting sounds of Anton's heart beating in his chest.

"...Do we really have to get up right now?" she asked softly.

"Yes... Unfortunately we do..." mumbled Anton.

Kianna groaned in annoyance as she stretched out her legs.

"Do we really, really have to though?" she asked again.

"Yes." chuckled Anton as he moved to rise up onto his elbow "Tell you what though. You go make sure your sisters are awake, and I'll start the shower, so that by the time you get back the water will be warm, and I can wash you."

"Hmm... Just wash me?" questioned Kianna.

Grinning, Anton leaned over her and stared her straight in the eyes.

"We have a deadline to meet. So if you don't get back quick enough..." he said as he raised his eyebrows for emphasis.

"Okay, fine, I'm going!" exclaimed Kianna as she rolled over to her edge of the bed.

"Good girl!" smiled Anton as he watched her bounding form quickly leave the room.

-

Mica sighed softly as she gazed at herself in the mirror and lightly tugged on the collar that hung around her neck. Unlike the jeweled versions that the dark elves wore, this collar was a more traditional model. Solid black in color and made of a carbon steel shell molded around a silver center, the collar was quite durable and yet still lightweight enough to not be uncomfortable to its wearer.

Simple in design as it may be, there was still no mistaking the collar for anything else but what it truly was. A signal that she was a slave, and a constant reminder of all her mistakes.

Mica shook her head as she drove that idea from her mind. She refused to let her regrets rule her, she had messed up, yes, many times over, but she would not let herself fall into despair. Things were certainly bad for her, but she would stay strong and overcome this situation, she would survive this and in the end, she would be free again.

Her resolve set, Mica turned back to the mirror and let her eyes land back on the collar. She couldn't help but to feel a bit thankful that at least this collar wasn't nearly as flashy looking as either Fiona's or Kianna's were, and that its subtle appearance, along with its smaller size, would make hiding it fairly easy.

Staring at it now, she began to wonder if maybe this was why Anton had chosen this type of collar for her. Maybe he had intended on letting her hide it? He never did say she couldn't. And after all, if he wanted her collar to be noticeable he could easily just make her wear one like the dark elves....Though, perhaps her collar not being as fancy as theirs was actually meant to mean something? Maybe having a simple collar was meant to be a sign of where her place was... Maybe it was meant to let her know that she was lower than everyone else... That she was at the bottom...

Mica shook her head again as she mentally berated herself for almost falling back into despair.

Sighing again, she let her shoulders slump as she brought her eyes back to the mirror.

She looked tired... She was tired. Last night had been the first full night of solid sleep she had gotten in days. Her first night as a slave had been a restless one, as she had been on guard all night, fearful of and fully expecting Anton to appear and come for her at any moment. He never did though. Not that she was convinced that he wouldn't try at some point or another. So far at least he hadn't made any moves to do so... Though even if he did, there was nothing she could do to stop him...

Grumbling incomprehensibly, Mica banished the negative thoughts from her head. Annoyed with herself now, she took a deep breath as she mentally commanded herself to stop letting herself slip like that. Taking stock of the positives, she looked around the bathroom and immediately registered that the bathroom itself was a positive. This was her bathroom, which was connected directly to her new room, which she had been allowed to pick out herself. She could have easily ended up back in the dungeon, but instead she now had her own room with a bathroom. This was a nice room too, it was big, even bigger than the one she had at home. It was a private place for her, complete with a lockable door. She liked this room. And she also liked her new bedroom set, it was nice, and she had also been allowed to pick it out as well. Everything had been in pieces when they got it, but Anton, Fiona and Kianna had spent the evening helping her put it all together... They had wanted to help her... They had helped her a lot lately...

They had even fought for her...

Mica's jaw tightened involuntarily as her conflicting emotions warred inside her and she thought back to the conversation she had just had with Dr. Creek.

Did she really trust Anton? Or the dark elves for that matter?

She really wasn't sure...

On the one hand, she absolutely hated them all. They were monstrous people and she would never forget all the torture and humiliation that they had put her through!

And yet, at the same time, on the other hand... She did owe them her life...

The pondering kiochi was suddenly pulled away from her thoughts by a knock at her bedroom door.

"Mica?" called Kianna "Are you awake in there?"

"Yeah, I'm awake." answered Mica as she stuck her head out of the bathroom and spoke at her bedroom door "I'm getting ready right now."

"Okay, just checking." said Kianna as she stepped away.

A moment later Mica heard another knock coming from further down the hall, which was followed by the muffled back and forth of Kianna talking to Fiona through her bedroom door, and this conversation quickly grew in intensity as they started to lightly argue with each other.

Ignoring them, Mica put her previous thoughts aside and finished getting ready by taking a long, hot shower, tying her hair back into a simple ponytail and getting dressed before finally leaving her room.

Making her way downstairs, she found a very refreshed looking Anton in the kitchen drinking a cup of coffee and petting Molly. Once the dark elves joined them, they had a quick breakfast and after double checking the coordinates on his phone, Anton opened a portal and they were off.

-

Stepping out of the portal, the group found themselves surrounded by dense pine forest and majestic, towering mountains. The early morning chill was nearly as breathtaking as the scenery that now lay all around them. Wisps of heavy fog rolled down the sides of the mountains and hung lazily in the air as the gray skies above were just barely showing the early signs of the coming daylight. The quiet hour was broken by the first few faint chirps of unseen birds as they were just beginning their morning chorus.

Having arrived in the designated portal area that was adjacent to a parking lot, Anton led the group down a walkway towards a massive wooden structure that a first glance appeared to be a hunting lodge.

"Okay, so before we get up there. There's a few things I should let you guys know about Mokai." said Anton as they came to a wooden stairway that led upwards "He's ex-military, and as such he can have a bit of an intense character to him. He's a nice enough guy though, and very reasonable. As a civilian, he not only collects all kinds of weapons, but he practices with them at a professional level as well. In fact, this isn't just his home, it's also a school that he runs himself. Here he trains others on how to fight with various weapons and also teaches classes on wilderness survival on top of the combat training."

"Really..." mused Mica as she looked up at the lodge with new interest.

"Yes, he's a very knowledgeable person, though I wouldn't get too excited if I were you, Mica." said Anton as he glanced back at her "As there's one other thing that I do need to mention about Mokai. And it's that he is not very tolerant of Infernals."

"...Wait, so he doesn't like Infernals?" asked Kianna as she too glanced at Mica.

"As a whole, no. Though from what I understand he doesn't have any issues with mazzikin. He is not fond of fiends though, and that includes cubi's." answered Anton "In fact, he actually runs several courses designed around fighting Infernals. And I would be very surprised if at least one of those classes wasn't dedicated to dealing with shinoccubi specifically."

"Oh, goody..." mumbled Mica as she rolled her eyes "So what? Should I just wait outside or something?"

"Oh no, that won't be necessary." said Anton "Like I said, Mokai is a reasonable person. So I'm sure he'll be suspicious of you but I doubt he'll be hateful in any way. Just don't expect much in the way of a warm welcome is all."

"Huh. Well thanks for the heads up, I guess..." said Mica.

"Of course." said Anton as they came up to the wide landing in front the lodge's entrance "Another thing for everyone to remember is to not give out the names of any of Mica's family members. Things are already complicated enough with them, and the last thing we don't need to do is add Mokai to that mix. So just don't mention any of them by name. Understand?"

"Yes." rang out the dark elves and Mica in unison.

"Good." said Anton.

"Uh, aren't we going inside?" asked Fiona as Anton veered to the left and away from the front doors.

"No, those doors should still be closed and locked." explained Anton "Mokai is supposed to be waiting for us around back though."

"Oh, okay." said Fiona.

Following a gravel path around the side of the building, the group rounded the back corner and came upon a wide open clearing with what looked like sparring rings, running tracks and obstacle courses set up along its back half.

Facing all this was a broad, wooden beam, high ceiling, raised porch, which ran down the entire length of the back side of the lodge. And situated just in front of this porch were multiple rows of seating, which consisted of half cut logs made into long rustic benches.

And on the far side of this porch, sitting cross-legged on a stack of what appeared to be some kind of massive pillows, cushions or possibly even bean bags, was a figure that could only be assumed to be Mokai.

-

Resting with the air of someone in a state of meditation, the figure had an odd feel to him as he sat silently staring outwards towards the coming dawn. This sense of strangeness was due in most part to the large purple sheet he had draped over both himself as well as the stack of large pillows he sat on. Aside from giving him a monk-like appearance, as it hung over the top of his head, this sheet had also apparently been dampened with warm water, as not only did it cling to the figure's being, but faint wisps of steam were steadily rising from all around it. Adding to his sage-like appearance, the figure had a large, round mug nestled in his hands that seemed to be filled with a warm drink as indicated by a thin, stream of steam that rose from it to join with the steam rising from the sheet around him.

-

"Good morning, Mokai." called Anton with a cheery tone.

"Good morning." answered the figure with a nod "Glad you could make it, Anton....And I see you brought some friends with you."

"Yes, I hope that's not a problem?" said Anton.

"No, not at all." answered Mokai as he nodded to the benches just in front of himself "Please, take a seat. Can I offer any of you a drink?"

"Oh, no. Don't trouble yourself." said Anton as he indicated that everyone should sit "No reason to get uncomfortable."

"Hardly a problem." said Mokai "But if you insist....So, who do we have here with us today?"

Gazing up at the now high sitting figure, Mica and the dark elves couldn't help but to squint a bit as they all tried to make out any details of the being they were looking at. Unfortunately, the only portion of him that could be seem around the sheet that was draped over him was his lower face, from his eyes downwards and even this small bit was still heavily obscured by a deep shadow.

"Ah, yes. These two are Kianna and Fiona Vale, and at the end there is Mica, our bodyguard." said Anton as he went down the line from who was sitting next to him "Everyone, this is Alan Mokai. He's the one who'll hopefully be able to help us figure out which clan our sword has come from."

Mica had a slight grimace marring her features as she tentatively grinned up at Mokai.

"Good morning, Mr. Mokai." said Kianna as she smiled brightly.

"Good morning to you as well, Miss Kianna. And please, just Mokai is fine." said Mokai as he nodded to her "Mr. Mokai is my Father."

"Okay, Mokai, and you can just call me Kianna too. It's very nice to meet you!" said Kianna.

"You as well, Kianna." nodded Mokai as he inclined his head to her "It's a pleasure."

Smiling with legitimate delight, Kianna couldn't help but to feel a bit elated and impressed that Mokai seemed to be one of the rare individuals who had no qualms whatsoever with the fact that she and her sister were dark elves.

"...This is an interesting place you got here, Mokai." said Fiona as she craned her neck back and let her eyes wander across the clearing "...So you really do teach classes on how to fight here?"

"I do. Among other things." answered Mokai.

"...That's cool." nodded Fiona as she continued to look around "Really cool..."

"Thank you." said Mokai as he shifted his head to the side and looked in Mica's direction.

Seeing that his attention was on her, Mica nervously turned away in a bid to act as though she hadn't noticed him looking at her.

"...You certainly keep some interesting company, Anton." said Mokai as he gazed at each member of the group for another moment "...Dark elves, and a kiochi....Interesting company indeed."

"Yes, I lead quite the blessed existence." smiled Anton as he reached over and gave a grinning Kianna a light, one armed hug.

"Quite." nodded Mokai as he took a sip of his drink "Well then, shall we get down to business? I'm assuming that's the sword you called me about?"

"Yes, this is the one." said Anton as he stood up and went to hand Mokai the sword "Careful, its been enchanted, though I haven't been able to identify how yet."

Setting his drink down on a small table that was sitting next to him, Mokai hummed softly as he took the offered sword, removed it from its sheath and used both hands to hold it out in front of himself. After silently looking over the sword for several long moments he hummed again as he absently began to nod his head.

Having retaken his seat, Anton and the others all quietly watched as a faint glow began to emanate from around the sword.

"...Yes....There are at least 4 different enchantments here....And possibly more." mumbled Mokai as he turned the sword over in his hands "An aura ignition, a charm breaker... and what I believe may be a mana pool breaker as well....I'm not sure what this fourth one is though?...It's not a self destruction hex. And I don't believe it's a tracer of any kind....I don't know what this is?"

"Hm, those other enchantments all make sense..." mused Anton "Do you think the fourth one might be some kind of identifier? Something that would let the owner, or the clan know exactly who is using the weapon?"

"I doubt it." mumbled Mokai as he shook his head "Something like that would be too easy to trace back to the source. Assassins won't ever use anything on their weapons that would link them back to the owners. That's also why most of their weapons rarely ever have any kind of safeties..."

To illustrate his point, Mokai held the sword out in front of himself and activated the aura ignition enchantment. The moment he did, the sword's blade instantly lit up with the soft silver light of his aura. Now appearing as though it was made of solidified plasma, the sword began to pulsate in time with a faint, electrical sounding hum that emanated out from it. This hum grew into a whooshing sound as Mokai swung the sword from side to side and effortlessly cut through the air with it.

"See what I mean. So long as you know how to activate the enchantments, anyone can use them." said Mokai.

"...Wait? If they don't link their weapons to themselves, then why couldn't I use Nok-I mean, that kiochi... That one bitch's gun!?" asked Fiona as she sheepishly glanced at Anton "It was synced to her, so I couldn't fire it..."

"Oh, that's simple." said Anton as he made an effort to remain nonchalant "I'm guessing she didn't get that gun from her clan. Nor did she make it herself. In fact, she might have actually bought it legally, though I doubt that. And as for why she would even be carrying it in the first place? Well, if anything, I'd say she was more than likely only meant to use it as a last resort. Something to defend herself with, rather than as a primary weapon."