|
Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Jun 29, 2009 9:53:05 GMT -5
Kai had managed to brush off Dariyush's comments better than he thought he'd be able to, spending the first part of the journey watching the world go by and ignoring him. It was satisfaction enough to know that he annoyed the noble, he didn't need to start an argument in a crowded carriage to get his kicks. A lot of the journey was spent sleeping, as the afternoon wound on. Kai didn't get a chance to sleep very much anyway, and he was just getting used to the idea of getting enough rest that he wasn't always at the end of his tether, so he was in high-spirits by the time they had left Dibos and were well on their way to Malwiya. He had been awake for some time when the carriage hit a dip in the road and jolted Pari out of her sleep, Kai unable to resist a smirk as she banged her head. She was rapidly living up to her clumsy reputation, wasn't she?
"Mornin' Pari. Don't give yourself brain damage, mind." he smiled faintly, icy blue eyes lighting up as she told him that they were there, the half-demon leaning over a little to gaze out of the window. He drank it all in; from the cluster of perfect, white buildings to the wide expanses of grass and trees and other such things that were uncommon to the Empire, things he rarely got to see. He could tell that Pari wasn't pleased to be coming back there because of her sigh, but Kai couldn't really see anything wrong with the place. Any place was better than the one he'd come from, and the half-breed seemed rather restless as they trundled amongst the greenery towards the main building, eager to get out of the carriage and see just what was so special about this academy.
He didn't even seem to care that he was basically in Dariyush's domain now, under his power and all of the rest of it. Kai had been brought up a slave, with one Master, one man who considered himself god over everything that Kai had ever done or said or been, and Pari had freed him. He might still have been suffering from a little culture-shock, and undoubtedly he would be until he got used to the place, but for Kai, the world worked in a rather simple way. After sixty-four years of servitude he was free. He had NO Master, and his decisions were his own. It was lucky that all rebellion had been smothered out of him a long time since, there would undoubtedly be a problem when he got it into his head to do something.
But that wasn't Kai - for a half-demon he was surprisingly calm and collected, even if a little vibrant and angry at times. Well, he was that way until the moon grew full, then he got a little out of control. But he couldn't be blamed for that, it must have been a wolf-demon thing. His tail was even wagging as the carriage circled around to pull to a stop outside the main building; the beautiful mansion of the academy, and he seemed to want to stretch his legs and explore, disregarding the other people in the place.
|
|
|
Post by Angel ♥ on Jun 29, 2009 17:32:26 GMT -5
Dariyush, at least, seemed happy to be home, sitting up in his seat to watch the academy grow closer, seeming anxious to get out of the carriage. The atmosphere in the carriage hadn't been great, though he had smirked secretly as Pari hit her head. She was such a little clutz, he had no idea how she had freed Kai without falling over when they were running away and getting them both caught. Then again, she had never seemed as clumsy when she was doing something for other people. She was strange like that. He waited untiil the carriage had stopped moving before pushing the door open and stepping out, stretching to try and get rid of the aching in his stiff limbs.
"Father will want to see you after classes Fae." He told Pari with a nod. "And him. Guess he'll have to be tested, and we'll have to find a room for him. Not even sure if we have any spare beds..." Dariyush trailed off, seeming thoughtful then. The look didn't last, he was soon wandering away from them, his hands in his pockets. He wanted to go bathe, and eat, and catch up on what he had missed, and generally get back into the swing of things. Pari could give Kai a tour if she wanted, but he was leaving them to it.
Pari wrinkled her nose as he mentioned that their father would want tto see her, actually looking a little worried. Oh, she was going to be in so much trouble. She was probably going to get extra chores for a month as well as not being allowed out of her room. She guessed that she should show Kai around while she still had the chance. "Come on Kai, I'll show you where everything is. All the basics anyway. We won't be able to go into the class rooms 'cause there'll be lessons on at the moment." She explained to him as she shuffled to get out of the carriage, also stretching out as she stood up.
"I'll show you the dorms first, that's where the students sleep, and then I'll take you to the house. Students aren't allowed in the house, but you're with me so it's okay. There's a spare room in the main house you could have, but I don't know if Father will let you have that or if he'll want you in the dorms with everyone else." She shrugged to him, as though to say that she didn't have any control over that. "He'll want to test you too, to see how good you are so he knows which classes to put you in. Don't worry, my Father's a fair man...much more pleasant than Dariyush anyway. We just have to hope that he doesn't ask Dariyush to test you." She told him as she started walking across the grass, avoiding looking at other people. Everyone knew that she had run away, and she was receiving quite a few stares as she headed across the grounds. Oh, she hated being the biggest gossip story.
|
|
|
Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Jun 30, 2009 12:57:07 GMT -5
Kai's ears pricked up at the news that he'd have to be 'tested', whatever that meant, and he hopped out of the carriage to stretch mightily and look around. His nose twitched at all of the new scents and he looked pretty excitable really, eyes bright as he took everything in, much like he had been when Pari had first shown him around the city in Dibos. Everything was new and different and had a unique shine to it. He'd stared at the arena walls for almost his entire life, and so anything different was immediately pleasing. The half-demon barely noticed as Dariyush left them, too busy watching the people now as they wandered about them. He couldn't deny that it did feel good to be out of the carriage, the atmosphere had been almost as suffocating as the temperature.
He turned around as Pari started to talk, nodding lightly as she said she'd show him around, beginning to walk with her as she moved away from the carriage. "Tested...?" he murmured curiously as he let her lead him wherever she wanted to go. See how good he was to see what classes to put him in? Classes? Kai was really bemused now, as if wondering just what he'd gotten himself into by agreeing to come back with her. He knew the place was an academy, but he assumed it was for upper-class nobles, who paid vast quantities just to get in. Kai didn't have a coin to his name, so he didn't know how that worked. As for who he was being tested by, that didn't make much of a difference to him. But he kind of hoped that it would be Dariyush, he and the noble had some unfinished business.
He was distracted again as they trailed away over the grass, and he seemed to share none of Pari's aversion to the people around them. Kai got attention wherever he went without even having to open his mouth, he was a little used to the stares by now. But it certainly was different when a lot of them were watching Pari as well. "You'd think you grew an extra head or somethin'." he murmured lightly, seeming amused.
|
|
|
Post by Angel ♥ on Jun 30, 2009 14:40:54 GMT -5
"Yes, tested." She nodded to Kai to confirm what she had said before going on to explain what she meant. "They will test you to see how good you are. You will be asked to spar with someone, probably one of the best students, and Father will decide if you are good enough or not, and see what kind your weakness's are." She shrugged a little as she spoke, not adding in that Kai was going to have to show some special potential for him to be accepted into the academy without paying for tuition. Almost all of the students had to 'contribute' towards the running of the school, depending on how rich the family was the contributions differed, but everyone had to pay what they could afford. Some students, however, were accepted from families who couldn't pay, though this was only in exceptional circumstances. They had to show real talent to be admitted. Pari had seen Kai fight, she had no doubts that he would pass the test easily enough, she just hoped that he kept the fight clean; he could win the fight, but if he fought dirty he'd not be admitted.
"Pretty sure that I must have." She responded to his 'grown an extra head# comment, though she didn't sound amused at all. She was used to getting stared at, being the only girl here she was sure that most people thought that she was a joke, but this was just annoying. Sure, she had run away, and busted a slave out of the arena, but it wasn't as if she had done it for the attention, which was, undoubtedly, what most of them were thinking. Their lives must be terribly boring for them to be so interested in everything that she did.
She stopped as she reached the door to the dorms, looking up at Kai. "These are the dorms, where the students sleep. You might end up with a room in here too. You'll have to share with someone, but the people here aren't bad, they'll just have to get used to you. I'd take you for a look around but I'm kinda not allowed in there...being a girl and all." She murmured to him, rubbing at the back of her head. "Anyway, its pretty easy to find your way around here. The classrooms are in that building." She told him, pointing over to a low, single story building not too far away, many students milling about there. "The running track is behind that building, in the middle of the track is the archery range. You gotta be careful when you're running when there are new people on the range, because of the stray arrows." She murmured with a smirk. "Then that's the main house. Student's aren't allowed in there. Students eat in the dorms, unless Dariyush or Father invites them up to the house for meals. I'll invite you up to the house if you would like, it'd be nice to have someone at dinner that I want to talk to." She told him, starting walking towards the house now. "Behind the house is the garden. I love the garden, my room looks down onto it and everything. That's where the little waterfall is."
|
|
|
Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Jun 30, 2009 15:26:54 GMT -5
"Oh, right." he nodded to her in understanding, tilting his head curiously as he thought about this test, seeming to understand it a lot better now. So it was basically a fight? He could deal with that, getting distracted again as he watched a flock of birds soar across the sky, and giving the test no more thought afterwards. He was dragged back to the real world when she spoke again, sensitive ears picking up the annoyance in her voice all too easily as he glanced around at the people who were staring. Well, all the men who were staring, he'd also noticed that Pari was, effectively, the only woman in the academy that he could see. "I guess they must stare like that a lot, hmm." he murmured softly. He could say for definite that he knew how she must feel, even if for a slightly different reason... it was age alone that had made Kai used to the stares and the whispers, at the age Pari was he had wanted so much to be normal, just to be like everyone else. Or even just to go home. "You want me to make them back off...?" he asked her quietly, smirking to himself, "I could growl and everything if you wanted me to." he offered.
He examined the dorms with vague interest as she pointed them out, nodding and smiling a little. He had to say that a building was much nicer than a tent, although the prospect of sharing with someone wouldn't really sit well with him. Kai was like a big, red target, and he knew how he'd first be received if he was thrown in with a bunch of strangers. The only difference was, he was way past the time when he'd stand for anything like that, and it would be only days before he was thrown out of the academy for knocking out a student or something equally as bad. "I'm beginnin' to understand why you wanted to run away." he spoke eventually as he looked away from the dorms, smiling at the idea of her actually wanting him there with her in the house. "Hopefully I'll be able to cheer you up, considerin' that we can't go anywhere." he smirked.
He trailed after her to walk with her towards the house, his ears pricking up at the mentioning of the garden and the waterfall. Kai had never seen a waterfall before, and the thing had him curious. He knew water was involved and that had instantly made it something to see. That was actually his favourite thing about the academy so far... it was hot and humid, but that couldn't be helped, but grass and water was abundant and there was very little sand. He could see himself liking it here, providing he was allowed to stay.
|
|
|
Post by Angel ♥ on Jun 30, 2009 17:23:28 GMT -5
Pari glanced up at Kai's comment, nodding a little. "Yeah, it's as if they're just waiting for me to trip up or something." She sighed to him, brushing her hair back from her face. "Lots of them don't think that girls should be allowed in the academy, they think that because I'm a girl I'm weaker than them. Psht, I'll show them." She mumbled, sounding determined. "Growl at them?" She asked, smirking a little at the offer, glancing to the people that were staring before nodding to him. "Yeah, maybe you should growl at them. It'll make them think twice before staring at us so openly anyway." She smiled to him slightly, sounding rather thankful for his offer. She hated people staring at her, it made her nervous, and when she was nervous she was more likely to trip over her own feet.
She nodded to him a little as he said that he understood why she had wanted to run away, smiling to him weakly. "I can get a little...claustrophobic sometimes. I just...felt like I wasn't getting anywhere. I wanted to help people, you know, do some good...and prove myself. Proving myself would have been nice, but I don't think I did that." She sighed, rubbing at the back of her neck. She would be stuck here for the rest of her life if Dariyush had anything to do with it, just so that he could keep an eye on her. He must think that she was an idiot. She was going to be trapped here forever, wasn't she?
She shook her head a little, as if to dislodge those dark thoughts, before looking up again. There were less people around now that they approached the main house, Pari skirting around the building to lead him into the garden. The grass was longer and softer here, the area filled with neat rows of palm trees and vibrant flower beds. It was a large area, well organised until you got to the back of the garden, which was where Pari was heading. The ground dipped in here, which was why there was a waterfall, the water tumbling over a rock as tall as Pari was to fall into the pool which filled the back corner of the garden. It was more wild, more natural back here. The grass long and dotted with wild flowers. There were quite a few butterflies fluttering around too, and brightly coloured birds, it was clear to see why she liked it here. "Well, what'd you think?"
|
|
|
Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Jun 30, 2009 17:54:13 GMT -5
He seemed vaguely surprised at her approval at his growling at people to scare them off, but he wasn't going to decline the offer now that she'd told him he could do it. A group was staring at them a little way off as they passed, a few of them smirking and shaking their heads at Pari. Kai didn't hesitate to make the little group his particular target, but rather than a growl a vicious snarl tore through the air as he glared at them, those sharp fangs bared and everything. Well, he might as well get his introduction over at the same time as he gave them Pari's 'welcome back' gesture, just in case he was thrown into the dorms with the other students. Needless to say, his little trick worked a charm and the group instantly scattered, the half-demon smirking and straightening up almost instantly afterwards, as though nothing had happened. "Kinda enjoyed that. Don't hesitate to ask me to do it again." he chuckled.
"Claustrophobic huh?" he murmured, smirking a little. He only half recollected what the word meant, but he got the gist of it at least. Enclosed, suffocated, he could relate to that. "I know what you mean... I never had to prove myself though. You'll show 'em Pari. They only stare because they're afraid of you." he assured her with a light shrug, his eyes lighting up as they approached the main house, looking down at the longer grass and the tall palms. The garden already reminded him of the oasis he'd been too, and that, in the short time he'd been free, had already made itself his favourite place. Kai was rather easy to please really, if you knew what to look for.
But he was practically speechless as he saw the waterfall, leaning down in the long grass and the wild flowers to inspect it more closely. He smirked as he peered over to look at the pool of water below it, ears flicking in the direction of the cascading water. Providing that Kai was allowed to stay at the academy, and wouldn't have to sneak around to the garden to see the waterfall, you could tell where you'd be most likely to find him during the time he'd have free. Either that or with Pari, obviously. "You proved yourself to me." he told her with a slight smile as he examined the flowers, in relation to her statement earlier. "I mean, you freed me. What better way could you prove yourself?"
|
|
|
Post by Angel ♥ on Jul 1, 2009 9:13:56 GMT -5
Pari was ashamed to admit that she was highly amused as Kai snarled at the little group of spectators, attempting to hide her smile and stifle her chuckle as they scattered. "Yeah, I have to admit, that was pretty funny." She murmured to him. That would teach people not to scare, and it would also serve as a clear warning not to mess with Kai. The heads of everyone in the area had snapped around, most of them looking pretty shocked. Kai had just given them something else to gossip about though. It seemed that Kai and Pari would remain the center of attention for quiet a while, even if Kai hadn't growled then people would be watching everything that they did, so they might as well give them something interesting to talk about, right?
She smiled to him faintly as he said that he knew what she meant, as though to apoligise for being dramatic. He had spent most of his life as a slave, forced to do as he was told and fight in the arena everyday, and there was her complaining about being stuck at the academy. Her complaints seemed petty when she compared herself with him. She needed to put her life into persepctive abd be thankful for what she had. At least her life was comfortable, and she had never wanted for anything. In fact, Pari was probably being a little selfish actually, but how could wanting to help people be selfish. Oh, she didn't know, she didn't know what to think. She was just wallowing in self pity, wasn't she?
She was, however, surprised by his next comment, her smile becoming more natural and easy now. "Thanks Kai, that means a lot." She nodded to him, once again finding herself glad for his company. He wasn't a snotty, stuck up noble, nor did she feel like he was just using her because she was his best option. He was really easy to get along with; she really hoped that he passed the test and could stay at the academy. Life might be more tolerable with a friend around.
"This bit of the garden is my favourite. My grandmother had the gardners leave a little bit of it left wild. She said that the beauty was in the wilderness rather than in organisation." She nodded to him, moving over to sit on a sun bleached rock by the edge of the pool. "We even have fish, look." She pointed down at the water to the speckled fish which lazily drifted around. "Fish are getting fat though, I bring them some bread out every day. I think I might need to put them on a diet before they get too fat to swim." She laughed to herself.
|
|
|
Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Jul 2, 2009 4:50:27 GMT -5
Kai seemed to have taken the same attitude towards the people of the academy as Pari; he'd lived with the gossips and the people who stared for God knows how long, and it was always better to give them something to gossip about if they were going to do it anyway. The only difference was, of course, that back at the arena at some point or another the people who whispered and stared would eventually have to fight the half-breed. Kai wasn't ashamed to say that what very little pleasure there was to be gained from the arena came from here. He wasn't vindictive... he just liked the idea of karma. He smiled to her faintly and nodded as she told him his comment had meant something to her, moving to flop back amongst the wild flowers and the long grass.
He smiled faintly as he spotted a small butterfly dance up from the grass to hover a little distance over his face. He didn't freak out as he'd done last time at least; once you knew what something was it was easier to get used to it. "Hm...?" he shuffled to sit up at the sound of her voice, moving to the edge of the pool with her. "Your grandmother was a very wise woman." he smiled, looking into the cool water to watch the fish curiously, an almost excitable little predator's gleam in his eyes. He wondered what would happen if he tried to catch one of them... no! He shook that thought away. Getting distracted probably wasn't the best idea at this moment in time.
Although probably older than most of the people in the academy, in demon terms Kai was still very much a child, a mere puppy in comparison to an adult wolf demon. Slavery had stamped the childlike behaviour out of him, but being free seemed to be doing him a world of good, and he found himself hoping he did pass this little test of theirs. "When am I gonna have to 'spar' with someone?" he asked nonchalantly, leaning back on his hands to tear his gaze away from the pool and stare up at the sky.
|
|
|
Post by Angel ♥ on Jul 2, 2009 10:06:59 GMT -5
"I always liked my grandmother." She smiled to him and nodded. "She never thought like women here do. She was from Avalas, she moved here when she married my grandfather. I got my eyes from her aswell." She explained to him, her azure eyes following the fish around the pool, looking thoughtful. "She was always, how does my father put it now...oh yeah, spirited. Aparently I'm like her in that respect too." She laughed faintly then and shook her head, as if to say that she didn't believe that. It was true though, Pari was like her grandmother, freespirited and determined to prove people wrong. Or you could describe her as the complete opposite of Leila, her older sister, but the less said about her the better. "It'll be when the classes finish, that's early evening, when it starts to get cooler again. There's a three hour break in the middle of the day so people aren't training when the sun's at it's hottest." She explained to him, hoping that he would be glad that he wouldn't be fighting in the full heat of the day. "You'll probably be asked to spar wooden swords or a staff or something like that. Oh, and you'll have to fight fair. Father's a fan of the honour of battle and everything." She explained, looking up at him. "Half of the people here are training to join the Emperors guard, so they have to be seen to fight fairly." Dariyush had been thinking about joining the Emperor's guard, but their father had managed to talk him around. He was needed at the academy. She grinned as she spotted that look on his face as he watched the fish, shaking her head a little. "Please don't scare my fish, Kai. I have enough trouble shooing Leila's damn cat away from them, nevermind have to fend you off too." She smirked to him, a playful look in her eyes. "If you go in the water you can touch them, but you have to be gentle. They're getting old now." She chuckled, looking back down at the fish. "Then again, you being here should scare Leila's cat off, one growl and it'll never come back, or I can hope. I have no idea why she left the monster here when she moved out. I tried to get father to make her take it, but he thinks it's harmless. I swear the silly thing trips me up on purpose." She pouted.
|
|
|
Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Jul 2, 2009 14:00:35 GMT -5
"From Avalas, huh? That's where my father was from, I think... I don't remember very well, but as far as I know that's where he was from. It's what my mother said anyway, but I don't really remember her either." he smiled and shrugged a little as if to say it wasn't really of that much importance, watching the fish with interest now and smirking lightly as she spoke again. "You are kinda spirited, yeah." he admitted, "Not every day you'd find a kid willin' to break you out of slavery because she wanted to do a good deed. Makes me pretty glad it was me that fought first though, otherwise you might've found another slave to break out." he chuckled, brushing his hair out of his face and moving to crouch at the water's edge to look at the fish a little better, actually seeming pretty tempted to touch them.
"Who's Leila?" he asked softly, reaching out to run his fingers across the rippling surface of the pool of water, smiling faintly as the coolness of it. He looked less happy when she mentioned the cat, lifting a brow at her. Kai, admittedly, didn't have that much time for felines, as though something that was far beyond him had already embedded itself in him and told him to dislike cats with a passion. He nodded easily as she told him that he'd most likely fight when it got cooler. There was definite relief in his eyes at the idea of being out of the majority of the heat while he fought. It wouldn't do much good to pass out in the middle of the test, would it? "Fair...?" he murmured to her in confusion, frowning a little before he grinned and laughed to himself.
"Yeah, I guess I'd better remember to fight fair. Usually I'm fightin' for survival, so fair didn't really come into it. But I'll be good, I promise. No dirty tricks or nothin'." he assured her, playing with the fish for a few minutes more before settling back again in the grass, closing his eyes and letting the scent of the wild flowers drift over him. He didn't know how long he spent lying like this, listening to the rich crash of the waterfall a little way away and watching the cloudless sky, but soon enough the sun was beginning to dip, and the worst of the day's heat had bled away. By this point Kai had completely lost the track of time, currently stalking through the tall grass as silently as possible with the intent of jumping out and surprising Pari. He suddenly popped up from the grass with a cheerful hello next to the rock she was sitting on, a light smile on his face.
|
|
|
Post by Angel ♥ on Jul 2, 2009 18:45:16 GMT -5
"He was from Avalas? How did he get all the way out to the Freezing Continent?" She asked, tilting her head, bemusement in her eyes. However, she shook her head when he said that he didn't remember much, as though to tell him that it didn't matter. He must have only been young when he had been caught, barely more than a child. What kind of person could do that? Take a child away from his family? Away from his home and his people just so that he could be a pet for some noble. It was sick and inhumane. She didn't know how people didn't see how wrong it was, and why anyone would let something so barbaric carry on. It was all about money and power, she doubted that morality even came into it.
She smirked as he said that he was sprited, nodding a little. "Heh, well, when you put it like that, I guess that I might be a little spirited. Freeing slaves isn't the most every day thing to do..." She agreed before scowling a little as he asked who Leila was. "My sister, she's the eldest. She's married, she doesn't live here anymore." She told him briefly, not giving him any more information. Leila would probably show up when she heard about Kai, she disliked not being the center of attention. Plus, she wouldn't be able to stand the idea of Pari having a friend that she hadn't sucessfully seduced. She was the golden girl, everything that Pari wasn't, and Pari hated her for it.
Pari spent her day laid sunbathing on the rock, watching Kai as he wandered around the garden and worried her fish. She might have to do something to make him stop worrying her fish, they might get worried by him watching them like that. As it started to get cooler Pari was laid on the rock, her eyes closed, dozing peacefully in the sun, her shoes kicked off and her bag abandoned on the grass beside her. She didn't hear Kai as he crept over to her, screaming as he popped up beside her, flailing and falling from the rock. A splash followed her fall, Pari having fallen into the pool. She didn't look very happy as she sat in the pool, soaking wet, with her arms folded over her chest. "Hello to you too Kai." She pouted before splashing him.
"Pari...what on earth is going on?" Asked a tall man who had just stepped into the clearing by the pool, arching his eyebrow at her. He looked like Pari, and even more like Dariyush, just older. "I just fell Baba." Pari smiled to the man innocently, moving to clamber out of the water. "Oh, Kai, meet my father. Father, this is Kai."
|
|
|
Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Jul 2, 2009 19:10:51 GMT -5
"I don't know..." he murmured softly in reply to the question about his father, shaking his head. "I don't remember very much at all... I don't even know what he looked like. My mother told me he was shipwrecked, but the Clan killed him after I was born." he frowned a little and fell silent, as if to say that he didn't really want to talk about that very much right now.
Kai would be lying if he said he wasn't satisfied by the splash that followed her surprised scream, the half-demon crouched on the sun bleached rock that she'd vacated, looking rather pleased with himself even if that playful little gleam was in his eyes again. His tail was wagging quite obviously by this point as he smiled innocently down at her and laughed lightly, too busy with what was happening to sense the approach of anyone. He looked like a puppy then, more than anything, that look on his face which said you couldn't be angry with him even if you really wanted to. He yelped in surprise as she splashed him, quickly jumping from the rock and wrinkling his nose as droplets of water sprayed over him, about to go after Pari for revenge when the sound of a voice made him falter and look up.
His ears pricked up as he caught the sound of the voice, and the half-demon straightened up as if guessing automatically that the figure, whoever it was, was someone important. It was practically muscle memory, although the habits of a slave still weighed him down too heavily for him to look up. His gaze instantly dropped to the floor and his posture showed the obvious demeanour of submission and inferiority. His apathy at the arena had made him uncaring of having to perform this little formality whenever someone of a higher class was introduced (as a slave this was almost everyone) but now that he was free he found himself feeling ashamed of it, almost wanting to disobey, but he didn't dare to. He only looked up briefly and nodded as Pari's father was introduced, but he didn't speak. He'd not been given permission to.
|
|
|
Post by Angel ♥ on Jul 2, 2009 19:42:47 GMT -5
Pari was startled by the change in Kai. Her father's presence had turned him back into...well...a slave. She stood next to him once she had clambered out of the pond, dripping wet through with her clothes clinging to her and her hair half having fallen out of it's clip. Her father actually didn't look too surprised as he looked at her, arching his eyebrow at her just a little. His daughter really was very clumsy, wasn't she? She could probably have fallen into the pool without Kai surprising her. He just seemed relieved to see that she was alright, his gave flickering to the bite mark on her arm, but Dariyush had already told him about that. He would, of course, need to speak with her in private, but now wasn't the time. He didn't want to drive her away from home when they had just got her back.
His gaze flickered to Kai when he was satisfied that his daughter was alright, his faint scowl matching his daughters. From Dariyush's description this Kai wasn't so...obedient. He had been expecting a little more fight. "Stand up straight and look me in the eye." His tone wasn't harsh, but it was commanding, leaving no room for argument, not that he expected anyone. "When you are here you don't lower your gaze to anyone. We are all equals here, and we will respect everyone as equal, understood?" He glanced around briefly as one of the other teachers from the school joined him, holding a pair of wooden staffs. He wanted to speak with Kai a little before they tested him, they needed to ait for Dariyush to turn up anyway.
"While we are here you will call me Pedar Kashani. I trust that Pari has told you what this place is?" He asked, directing the question to Kai rather than his daughter, wanting the half demon to speak with him. "I saw you at the arena, I have to say, I was rather impressed." He glanced to Kai's ears as he spoke, though he already knew that he was a half demon, he didn't know what to expect from him though. "What fighting experience do you have? Do you have any preferred weapon or style?"
|
|
|
Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Jul 2, 2009 20:04:32 GMT -5
Kai could tell that it was a command even with the gentle tone of the noble's voice, and it was probably only this that made him reluctantly straighten up to his full height and lift his head to gaze straight across at the noble. An order to be treated equally was rather ironic to the half-demon, but he wasn't going to question it. The man in front of him seemed almost like an enigma; he had all the posture and the look of the nobles that reminded him of his Master, arrogant and over-bearing, but when this man spoke it was... very obviously different. He was soft-spoken and although his tone was commanding and demanded to be taken seriously, and with respect, Kai didn't feel as though the noble didn't deserve that respect anyway. He'd never met anyone like this before, and his blue eyes were puzzled.
He also gazed over the teacher as he arrived, eyeing the wooden staffs curiously. He had used weapons before, admittedly they were a lot more dangerous than what was effectively a stick, but he knew what to do with it at least. Soon his gaze flitted back to Pedar Kashani however, as he realised he was being spoken to. "She explained it to me, yeah." he nodded, his voice rather quiet and reserved and he glanced at Pari for a moment. Although his icy eyes flashed with what could only have been pride when the noble told him that in the short fight he'd been in while at the arena he'd managed to impress him, even though he'd lost. "Thank you." he murmured, sounding a little more at ease now as he gazed back at him.
A light smile even made its way across his face as he mentioned his experience in fighting, tilting his head a little. "I've been fighting for almost my entire life. Almost fifty years, by now I think." he shrugged, his confidence growing bit by bit as he spoke; Pari's father had managed to strike on a topic of common ground to him. Kai was a fighter if nothing else, and he could comfortably speak about that without feeling inferior. He glanced at the wooden staffs again before speaking. "I prefer to fight without a weapon, usually..." he admitted, "But I'll use whatever the opposition uses, if it means I'll not be at a disadvantage. As for style," he smirked faintly, "I guess it changes as the fight changes. But speed, I'd say, is the thing that's always common." he told him.
|
|