Broken (Shun, Invite)

((I got Shunny's permission to join the thread Vayne.))

Puni Kiro bounced outside the hotel located in the second district. He found himself making these walks often, but couldn't fathom as to why. Maybe he just liked exploring? Or it could be for the King. I mean I need to bring something back.. Maybe information could be good.[/i] He thought in his head.

The first thing Kiro saw when he walked out was a kid with cat ears on his knees and a whole swarm of heartless rushing towards him. Kiro's instincts took over and he rapidly bounced towards the boy and pushed him out of the way, only to be hit by one of the soldier's claws.

"Ouch!" He shouted as he was blown back by the slash. A scratch could be clearly seen on his body and it stung, but that didn't matter now. Kiro bounced towards the cat kid and stood between him and the heartless.

"What are you doing!? Trying to pray to god or something? There are heartless here which can kill you! He said to the kid in an comically annoyed tone. "I don't know what you're doing, but some help in fighting these things can be greatly appreciated." He then said. The heartless were slowly approaching them and if something didn't happen soon, he knew that both of them would be screwed.

Vayne felt himself be pushed out of the way of an attack by... some weird, blue thing. Normally, he might hug it and comment how blue was his favorite color. However, Vayne's new code forbade him from such things. Instead he answered its question as another person entered the scene and attacked one of the green mage Heartless.

"What are you doing!? Trying to pray to god or something?"

"I'm trying to feel the warmth again..." Vayne said, not quite looking the blue creature in the eyes-- Vayne's own gaze was quite distant, like he was sleep walking.

Looking to the Heartless, Vayne slowly rose and made his way over to the side, a clear target for the Heartless.

"I'm over here," Vayne called, attempting to attract the dark creatures' attention.

Why get anyone else involved? If they'd just let the Heartless take my Heart, then I could stop feeling so cold...

Vayne stretched his arms out, making a cross-shape with his body.

"I'm the one you're here for."

However, as Mikhail raised his sword, the Green Requiem simply floated away. The man glared at the creature, muttering one of his choice curse words under his breath before darting off once again. Unfortunately a Large Body decided to get in the way, but the pyromancer easily managed to find a way around this nuisance. As he approached the bigger Heartless, the man jumped, landed on the creature's belly and simply bounced over the obstacle. This also gave him an advantage against the mage Heartless, who ended up defeated as he landed on the ground.

Suddenly, the small creature he hadn't noticed before spoke up and attempted to explain the situation. Rutherford was truly shocked; this kid... just a mere child... and he was thinking about suicide? What the hell? Now that he thought about it, for some reason, the boy reminded him of an old friend back home. Kaden Ossa, a young prodigy and one well-versed in magics foreign to the four elements. He had been part of his squad at the beginning of the war and had ultimately sacrificed himself to buy the rest of the team some time when they were ambushed by a rival kingdom. His last words still echoed at the back of his mind: "I'm just a servant of Dwayna... this is my destiny, Rutherford."

As he turned to face the Heartless once more, it was too late. Mikhail had lowered his guard and left himself open to attack, and the Large Body he had avoided before had sent him flying toward a wall. "Damn... that's going to hurt like hell tomorrow." The man muttered, standing up with haste before offering the obese creature a glare. And then he noticed the pair of Green Requiems floating behind it, busy healing the Heartless's wounds.

That was enough to paint a smirk across his face.

Raising Flame's End once more, the pyromancer swiftly approached the Large Body. The creatured sticked out its belly to push him back, but Mikhail knew what to do; he leaped, bounced on the Heartless's belly and quickly proceeded to draw Path to Mana. Forming a cross with both weapons, he struck both of the mages and sent them back to darkness.

"Alright, just make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"Alright, just make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." The man said to him, obviously preoccupied with the heartless. Turning to the cat boy, he saw him get attacked by the large body. He smashed into the wall and just sat there.

"Shit!" Kiro said to himself. He couldn't let the kid die, he couldn't. Making his way over to him, a glaive suddenly appeared in the kid's hand. He stood up and light began gathering in the glaive. Kiro just stood there, amazed at what was going on.

"My friends... still need me..."[/b] The kid muttered, jumping into the air. He aimed his weapon downwards and slashed through the enemy, as if it was nothing. Kiro was just trying to make sense of this situation. The kid collided heavily with the ground and began shouting.

"It's so hot...God, it hurts! Note!"[/b] The boy then collapsed. Kiro was now shocked and confused as to what the hell just happened. Rushing over to him, he began to get worried.

"Don't you die on me kid!" He said. He spun around three times, gathering magical energy. "Puni Healga! He shouted. A intense, bright blue light surrounded the cat boy, healing him greatly. Hoping that this would at least help the boy, he turned to the man and shouted.

"You need any help over there?"

Was this death? It was certainly softer than Vayne had thought it would be. No... this was a bed. A warm plush bed like the one he'd been trying to order from that one store. He was in a bed, but it certainly wasn't a be he wanted to be in.

I don't know how long I've been out... but anyone who wanted to could have spirited me away... Vayne thought.

Opening his eyes and casting a glance around the room he found himself in, Vayne noted that it was richly furnished for being in a place like Traverse Town. The bed alone nearly took up the entire wall it was placed on. Across from the bed was the door, and beside the door was a bookcase absolutely loaded with books.

Tucking his hair back behind his ears, Vayne threw off the sheets and swung his feet around, touching the cold floor with bare skin that made Vayne hiss a bit.

"Where'd my socks and shoes go?" Vayne mused, before looking over the rest of his attire.

He was no longer wearing his jeans and black hoodie that Onee-chan had purchased for him. Instead, he was in a pair of satin pajamas that were maybe two sizes too big for him. Lifting the waistband, Vayne sighed in relief that his underwear were still on and still his. Getting up off the bed, he began to peruse the room. Though it was indeed opulent with the things it had, there were very few things in the room aside from furniture. Vayne sighed, deciding to wait for whoever had taken him to this place to come back, and plucked a book from the shelf titled Faeries and Other Faer Folk. Though at first Vayne was just flipping through the pages casually, one page in particular caught his eye.

In the illustration opposite the page, a small boy knelt in a clearing in a forest, and was attended to by many wild animals like deer and rabbits. Vayne had never thought it strange to spend time with animals, but... to tell the truth, he too had been in a similar position as the boy in the picture. The opposite page read as follows:

The wilderness faeries are some of the most gentle and beloved of the Faer Folk, being naturals at training and befriending animals. As part of their talents, they are gifted singers, often thanks to their close connections with birds. They also have a natural calling to dance, and can often be seen doing so on great faerie holidays. Wilderness faeries, when they wear any clothing at all, do not differentiate between male clothing and female clothing, and wear whatever they please.

Though incontrovertibly the most gentle and kind of any faerie, they are also the most dangerous. When threatened, a wilderness faerie may inadvertently access its most latent and powerful magic in an attempt to subdue or eliminate whatever is threatening it. This magic runs rampant, but can never harm the faerie itself.

As Vayne was about to turn the page, he heard footsteps, and hurriedly closed it and ran to put the book back on the shelf. Sliding it back into place, he reached the bed again and covered up just as he heard the knob turn.

((I took forever, I know))

Fortunately for the trio, their little skirmish had practically taken place in front of the hotel. He smiled, letting out a sigh full of relief upon entering the building; it wasn't that catboy was chubby or anything, but the man was glad that he and that strange, round creature were now out of any immediate danger. Even with Jadis and some of the other Guardians around, Traverse Town wasn't exactly the safest place in the universe and that was a fact that the knight had seen proven time after time after time.

His expression softened, leading him to relax his general posture as he walked toward the Red Room. Mikhail glanced over his shoulder, noticing the blue creature that kept following him bouncing its way behind him. The man had to admit that for such a small creature, holding itself against the Heartless while protecting the catboy had been no small feat. He'd be sure to compliment him on his bravery later, once their priorities had been dealt with.

"Alright... let's just get this guy some place to rest until he recovers."

Tightening his grip on the younger male's body, the man quickly raised his leg and kicked the door open. Sure, it seemed like he was busting into someone else's room but Mikhail was just too busy to use his hands, turn the doorknob and open the door like a normal, civilized person. It immediately flung back open, as if it hadn't been even locked in the first place, and the man quickly placed the boy on the bed. He took out a set of unused pajamas (satin had never been his style... hell, pajamas had never been his style) and decided to change the unconscious kid into them, as unappropiate as that could have been in another context. But hell, those would probably be more comfortable to rest in than some sweaty, casual outfit.

Rutherford exited the room after a few moments, closing the door behind him. His eyes immediately dropped down to the strange, round creature standing nearby, curiosity filling them as he wondered what it was exactly. The knight had never seen anything like it, not even back at Elona during the wars; yet again, realizing that there were other worlds besides his own hadn't been exactly a soothing transition.

"Mikhail, Mikhail Rutherford. Former Commander of Nayam's Blazing Dragoons and current Leader of the Guardians of the Worlds." More like co-leader, but hey, that didn't make him sound like he ran the show completely. Sure, Max was an important part of the group but most of the recruiting and planning had usually been taken care of on the pyromancer's expense. Not that he was complaining, of course, but he wanted to let someone know for once that he was the top dog... someone that wasn't Antique, anyway. "And I should be thanking you, my friend. If it hadn't been for you, that kid wouldn't have made it here in one piece. Your bravery is truly remarkable."

He offered Kiro a short bow before regaining his composture. The little guy certainly wasn't much of a swordsman, but that healing spell he had used earlier had been quite formidable. Perhaps he was some sort of medic? They needed some of those among the Guardians... but the time to talk about that would come later, after getting the boy to his family. "I've been around, not really a settler though. At least not until recently; there's... something keeping me here for a while."

Upon hearing mention of a king, Mikhail's mind immediately went back to a certain rodent. Could it possibly be that...

Noises.

Wow, that boy sure knows how to get back on his feet."[/color] Watching Puni Kiro open the door he had closed minutes ago, the pyromancer stepped back into the room just in time to hear the blue creature lecture the catboy. "Enough, Kiro. The boy's safe, and that's what's important right now. There's no need to overwhelm him right now." His eyes trailed back to the young boy in the satin pajamas, narrowing for a moment before he continued to speak. "Still, you have some explaining to do. I'll personally escort you to your home afterward; I don't want you to get hurt out there."

Yes, Mikhail wanted some answers and he wanted them now.

Kiro chuckled at Mikhail's statement that he was brave. He wasn't that brave, it was only natural to help out in a situation like that. He would be mad not to have helped out. He didn't say anything however as he went into the room and looked at the boy.

"If you say so Mikhail." He said exasperatedly, sighing as he made his way back over to Mikhail. "As for your clothes, ask him. I don't know where they went." He then added, motioning to Mikhail. What he said was true though. At least the boy didn't kill himself. If they weren't there, Kiro didn't know what could've happened. But he guessed that the kid would of easily died. But still, that attack he did puzzled him a little.

"If you're going to escort him back, I might as well accompany you as well. I'm curious about some things as well." Kiro stated, making sure that everyone else was perfectly clear that he wasn't just going to walk away from this none the wiser.

"So kid. Where do you live and where are your parents?" He asked him bluntly, but not in an offensive tone. It was more of a curious and kind tone that the gummy adopted as he looked at the Vayne. "By the way, I'm Kiro. It's nice to meet you Vayne."