Wandering {PM}

[caitlyin]

Caitlyin hummed under her breath as she skipped along the path in the forest, mindful not to get her dress dirty or Bun Bun caught in any of the overhanging branches or brush that crowded the sides of the path. She pushed a loose lock of blonde hair out of her violet eyes as she twirled around, spinning her stuffed rabbit as if he were an imaginary dance partner.

She moved from skipping to making up her own waltz that took her up and down and side to side on the path, letting her lead to whatever music was in her head. From the outside, she looked like a sweet, innocent little girl who was merely playing with her stuffed animals, but inside she could hear the music and see the people dancing with her and Bun Bun was a true dance partner. Who rather looked like Big Brother, but that never bothered her.

Caitlyin finally stopped spinning, a bright smile on her red lips as she tilted her head back as if to take in her surroundings finally. She was beautiful for a human, but she never paid much mind to it, instead preferring to merely ghost along the edges and help her big brother out whichever way she could. "Where are we going, Big Brother?" she finally asked, her girlish voice falling in a cadence that lent to her age.

[kel]

The forest was quite welcoming to Kel, it wasn't like most people would assume. Scary wasn't even the word that described it in his head. Whatever creatures that wandered here simply made it more fun for Kel. His mutilated metal backsword rested upon the right side of his hip, waiting to be used if it had to be. Upon his back was a large bag full of tools Kel would need in the next city. His cloth skin rested all around his body, covering his skin with its off white wonder. Meanwhile turquoise locks drool down the sides of his head, matted down by the black top hat upon the top. Wrapped around the base of the top hat was a royal purple cloth that had a piece of paper sticking out with the Roman numeral for ten upon it. His red eyes was hidden beneath black silk that covered the eye slits in his mask. His body was covered with a black tuxedo, the white shirt below flaring about his neck while a blood red bow tie rested around his neck. Black pants and boots topped off his look as he trudged along, Cait following close behind him, like always. Hearing her words, he stopped a moment and looked back at her. She always had that little rabbit with her, Kel thought it was quite cute, always had too. Sadly he never knew the story behind it, not like he'd ask anyways. "Somewhere new, little sister," he stated with his deep and calming voice that seemed to boom off the trees of the forest. Right now, Kel couldn't really tell that it was daylight since little to no light actually managed to get past the thick canopy above, but that didn't honestly matter.

Perking his brow a bit, he stared at Cait for a moment then he stared past her, thinking something was back there, but he saw nothing. 'Oh dear, you are too paranoid. After all, who would want to kill you? You're only a mass murdering bastard, what about that is gonna make someone want to kill you?' the voice of his mother echo and Kel gave a gentle chuckle, "Evereedin' 'bout it will," he stated aloud. Shaking his head for a moment, his eyes then focused back upon Cait, "Why, do you want to go somewhere?" he questioned her softly, honestly curious if she wanted to go somewhere. Kel was different around Cait, she calmed him most of the time by just being around, though sometimes he did get really bad.

[caitlyin]

Caitlyin shook her head, a happy smile playing on her face as she skipped up next to him. She was by far smaller than he was, so she peered up at him, her hands clasped behind her back as she swayed on her feet, Bun Bun dangling by one ear from her hands and gently hitting her calves. Kel didn't scare her, for some odd reason or another, and she sort of looked to him for protection or comfort.

"It's getting late," she said with a shrug before she began skipping again, more in tune with the passage of time on her plane than the demon was. "The sun will set soon, in maybe an hour and then it will be too dark for me to see," she said as she turned to face him again from where she had skipped ahead a few steps.

Caitlyin was weird, there was no getting around it. From her seemingly random abilities to just hanging around the demon. She kept skipping ahead, her hair trailing behind her as she twirled, dancing with Bun Bun and occasionally giggling, singing snatches of songs that she'd heard from different places while her voice floated back to Kel.

She was careful never to get out of sight, or if she did, she would pause and wait, sitting on a rock in a rather lady-like fashion with Bun Bun perched on her lap until Kel caught up. It was a pose she often sat in, hands folded, legs crossed at the ankles if she was around while Big Brother was doing his thing. Or she would have a pretend tea party with Bun Bun if she grew bored enough.

Pushing some strands of hair out of her face, she frowned slightly, the look marring her features and making any human want her to smile again, looking like the innocent she seemed to be. Tucking Bun Bun safely into a pocket on her apron, she crouched by the side of the path and plucked a few colorful flowers, weaving them into her hair and pulling the wavy blonde locks out of her face with a bright smile.

Kneeling down, she chose a few more and weaved a necklace for Bun Bun and a necklace for herself before looking at big brother. She paused for a second, an almost calculating look entering her eyes before she smiled and made another chain, skipping up to Kel and looping it over his head in perfect precision. Leaning up and kissing his 'cheek' she stepped back down and beamed.

"Now everyone matches, big brother!" she exclaimed with childish innocence as she held Bun Bun out for him to see.

With that childish goal, she spun around and began dancing up and down the path again, singing a few notes here and there in her own tune, as musical and lyrical as it was, there was something unnatural about the tune that fell from her lips, almost as if she should not be singing it. She swayed from side to side, dancing with her beloved stuffed rabbit as she twirled around the demon, following him ever so carefully.

It was a wonder she didn't trip on any of the roots in the ground.

[kel]

Cait was always keeping him on his toes, even when they were just out wandering Yviex. Watching her skip ahead, he smirked gently and began to go back onto the move, letting his boots crush the dirt, twigs, and leaves that rested upon the forest ground. Many people may question why these two are 'family', but in Kel's mind, Cait is the only true family member he's ever had. His parents both never cared about him and continually told him he was the way he was cause that's how they made him. They couldn't have cared less that he was distressed about being stuck in this body he was in. Nor would they even allow him to express himself. Nope, they had to control every aspect of his life so he gladly killed them. Listening to her voice as she spoke, he nodded softly, "It is starting to get late, but we will be fine, so no worries dear," he stated in his calming nature. Kel truly didn't fear anything, after all he was the rock that kept Cait grounded, even if he himself was never quite grounded to begin with. Either way, they made the perfect pair, always willing to help each other, no matter the cost and always around when the other needs someone to listen. They were as much family as anyone could be with Kel taking care of her and Cait taking care of him. There was no real mother or father figure, just big brother and little sister, doing their own little thing to keep their lives going.

Keeping a close eye on her as she skipped ahead, he found his hand moving to his sword, preparing for battle just in case. Yes, whenever Caitlyin was around him, he was extra paranoid, whether he had to be or not. He simply didn't want any harm to come to his little sister, uncaring that they weren't related by blood. In his opinion, they might as well have been. 'Course, Kel could also use fire magic, but given the fact they were in the forest, it wouldn't be a smart idea to do. Not only that, but he wasn't the very best at controlling the fire after wards. It always ended up being more of a downfall for him then his enemies. Clearly fire was not one of his strong suits. However, using his backsword was. The things he could do with this blunt object could make many people's jaws drop clean off from their skull.

Noticing Caitlyin move farther ahead, he perked a brow as she seemed to be collecting something. From where he was at the moment, he couldn't fully tell what she was doing. Shrugging his shoulders, he kept his hand upon the hilt of his sword, ready to use it if the requirement arises any time soon. So while she collected her flowers, Kel's head turned towards the darkness of the forest beyond the path, staring at it as if trying to see beyond its cloak. There was no way he could though. It was as thick as jam and certainly wasn't going to budge just yet. Caught by surprise, a flower necklace fell around his neck and his eyes shot towards Caitlyin, ready to fight, but stopped himself from acting on anything more. Chuckling as he stared at Bun Bun, he patted the rabbit's head, "Good to see we ar' all stalin' today," he teased her. There was no way of hiding it, Caitlyin held a very childish attitude about nearly everything, though this kept him on his toes even more. Kel adored that fact though, it kept his reactions quick and very sharp. One could say Cait makes him a better fighter at times.

[caitlyin]

Caitlyin pouted briefly at the teasing, her lower lip sticking out in a pout that made her look adorable and had often led to some boy or another trying to steal her beloved Bun Bun to get her attention. Which led to her crying. Which then led to Big Brother going on a rampage. Which led to a mess. She put both hands on the side of her head and shook her head rapidly, sending blonde hair flying out as she stopped the chain of thoughts in her mind.

She had officially reached the human age where she should have been married off or betrothed long ago, but since no one knew where she was from or really anything about her, she remained with Kel. Except for those nasty priests, but she wasn't going to think about them right now. They seemed to think that she was under one of his spells and followed him for no reason.

Was she under a spell? Only she and the demon could answer that and it was a firm no, Cait was just a strange child who never really feared much in her life. "Are we going to stop when it gets dark or are we going to keep going?" she asked, her voice flowing like a musical cadence from red lips.

She turned without really waiting for an answer and danced along the path, twirling circles and letting the skirt of her dress flare out whenever she executed a perfect turn, giggling as the material swished against her legs. More than once, she stumbled over a root but paid it no mind unless she actually fell, which so far she hadn't. She laughed lightly, the sound seeming as if it were rather at home in the forest, almost as if she weren't human, but a fairer race, perhaps and elf or dryad? Either way, she was content with what she was and who she was.

Moving back around so she was following behind big brother, she didn't see the root sticking rather far out of the ground and tripped over it, landing on the ground. She sat up rather quickly and rubbed a hand at her eyes, her lower lip jutting out as it started to tremble and tears began forming at the corners of her eyes. Caitlyin had scraped her knee, but it was more the shock of falling than the actual damage that had set her on edge, similar to the reaction of a small child. She sniffled once and grabbed Bun Bun, bringing him close and cuddling him to her as she pushed off the ground and dusted off her dress, following more carefully behind Big Brother for the time being.

[kel]

Watching her with a careful eye, he couldn't help but chuckle at her shaking her head. It was rather cute to watch her go about her antics. Her pouty lip, adorable smile, and even the way she clung to her rabbit. She was certainly a rare commodity in this world, which may be one of the reasons he's kept her around for this long. Simply put, Kel adores her presence, believing it is key to his survival, and her own. No one else could truly understand that he did care for her as if he were truly her bigger brother. In some sense of the word, he was. But there were some people who didn't think so, like those pesky priests. It seemed nearly anytime he turned around, they were watching him, thinking he was some dark entity for keeping Cait like he was. Honestly, the girl shouldn't be married off for he knew what would happen, they would try to change her, her husband would beat her, and it would be a total mess. One that Kel would happily clean up and make a brand new mess in place of it. When she asked a question, he perked an idle brow as he looked over at her. It was a legitmate thing to ask and had him asking himself the very same thing. With a shrug, he spoke, "Depends, would you feel safer if we continued or simply stopped for the night?" he asked her. Kel honestly didn't mind, but he could truly go several nights without worry while Cait was still human and young. Though before his answer came, she was dancing along the path.

Chuckling at her movements, he shrugged his shoulders softly as he simply enjoyed the sight. Each little turn she made was quite perfect, even caused her skirt to flare out. Part of him believed she could have been a dancer if she wasn't already tied to his life. Perhaps she will use it later on to lure in those who deserve death. Though watching as she began stumbling over a few roots, he shook his head and gave a gentle laugh. Luckily she hadn't fell yet, so it could still be funny to watch. There was no doubt she was a lucky little girl, first she hadn't been killed by Kel when she was younger and she's simply had a great life. Kel has given her everything she's needed so she has no need to worry about anything. Listening to her laugh, he smirked beneath his second skin, thinking she was far too relaxed within this forest for her own good. 'Course that thought reminded him to stay alert as he let his eyes survey the forest once more, making sure nothing was around them yet again.

Noticing her movements to go behind him yet again, he gave a soft smile as he pressed on. Though what came next he had heard as his head turned to stare at her. Slowing his pace, he waited for her to come darting back to her feet. Falling back beside her, he set his arm around her shoulders and his hand upon her arm, "Good thing it was a small tumble, hm?" he mused softly to her before placing a 'kiss' upon the top of her head. "So, where should we set up our camp for tonight?" he queried her, letting her pick the place tonight since he had picked it last time.

[caitlyin]

Caitlyin nodded, rubbing at her eyes still as she clutched the beloved rabbit to her, her haphazard braid long since have fallen out from all the dancing she did around the path. She refused to rub at her knee, ignoring the small scrape there. Cait would bounce back relatively quickly, she always did, unless it had to do with raccoons. For some odd reason, she was terrified of them and there was nothing that could change that.

She bit her lip and looked around them, instinctively stepping closer to the demon as she shifted on her feet before finding a rather large and roomy over hang in a cluster of rocks just off the side of the path. She tilted her head to the side, blonde hair tumbling down as she held Bun Bun by his ear and scurried out from under her big brother's arm to go investigate.

Cait was curious by nature and she often found things that Kel would have missed or that others missed, simply because she took the time to investigate. When she reached the entrance, she peeked around the corner, checking to make sure it was truly empty. Nodding once, she smiled as she darted in, feet kicking up the layer of dried leaves that had settled there, taking note that it was indeed, abandoned.

She smiled and clapped once,darting back out and waving to the demon to show him what she had found before darting back in to explore the rest of the outcropping. It was shallow, only going back about fifty feet, but provided enough cover from the elements that she wasn't worried about getting wet if it rained. And she had a premonition that it would.

"This is good. There might be a strong rain tonight, so out in the open would not do well," she murmured, tapping a finger against her lips.

[kel]

She was indeed a little explorer. There was little doubt in Kel's mind that Caitlyin found things he wouldn't normally see or even think of. 'Course more often then not, he was happy enough to sleep under the stars. Sadly in this case, the stars wouldn't be seen tonight anyways. Either way, he watched as she bounded from beneath his arm towards what seemed to be a small cave. Chuckling to himself, he hoped it was empty and he wouldn't have to beat some poor animal out of their house and home. Yes, Kel killed humans and others like them, but that didn't mean he had to kill animals, he was a bit sympathetic towards them in truth. No one needed to know that fact though. Seeing her come out of the hole, he gave a gentle chuckle and nodded towards her. Clearly she was quite happy with her find from the clap of her hands and the bounce in her step. Moving to the mouth of the cave, he stared inside a moment before slowly walking in, listening to Cait as she seemed to talk to herself. A habit both seemed to have more often then not.

Removing the bag from his back, he set it upon the ground, against the cave wall and promptly took a seat upon the dirt and leaves. None of this truly bothered him, after all he's been in worse places that were man made. So this place was far better then most of those. Staring over at the entrance, he noticed movement within the forest and not the kind of movement you'd see from a deer or other woodland creature. No, it seemed to be more human in nature as Kel stood up quickly and drew his backsword from his hip. Eyes squinted as he stared out into the darkness of the forest, but was unable to see anything beyond the blanket of black. This did not please him though as he sat down, now watching the cave entrance as if his life depended on it. "You just get comfortable and keep an eye out for anything odd, alright?" he mused back towards Caitlyin, his paranoia reaching a high.

[caitlyin]

Caitlyin tilted her head and nodded once as she scurried to the back of the cave, safely behind big brother as she took a seat, Bun Bun perched safely on her lap and her legs tucked under her, sitting in a perfectly lady-like pose as she watched him, looking rather like a doll.

She'd managed to sweep out a small area and had been in the process of putting together small 'beds' made out of leaves and moss before Kel had spoken, so there were half-formed piles there and she took a seat behind one, Bun Bun seeming to dance around as she played with him happily, almost seeing as if she were not paying attention.

If Big Brother left, then she would become more attune and hide, watching the cave entrance with all her ability and never moving nor making a sound, something in and of itself that was rather...disturbing to most people they came across. She was pretty as a doll and could be as lifeless as one too. Violet eyes tilted down as she watched a spider pick its way along the floor and she smiled, extending a hand for the spider to crawl on.

She lifted her hand carefully up to her face to examine it, marveling at how it looked and moved before setting it down and letting it go back about its business and turning back to watching big brother. "What do you see, big brother?" she asked, worry quirking her mouth and flavoring her voice.

[kel]

He didn't know what Caitlyin was doing anymore as his attention was upon the forest, watching for any more movements. His ears listened very carefully as he heard a crack of a twig outside the cave. "Stay here," he stated as he moved towards the entrance, his sword twirling in his hand as he got ready. There was clearly someone or someones outside and he was going to find out who they were. As he began to exit, he saw a thin twig move out from the corner of his eye, but he couldn't react quite enough to avoid it slapping him across the face. Stumbling back, two priests popped into the entrance while several more jumped out of the forest, all ready to fight. Kel rose his free hand to cover his eyes, the sting of pain quickly leaving as he regained his footing and dropped his hand to his side. Staring at the priests, he acted as he brought his sword up in a sweeping motion. The tip slide along the ground only to toss dirt into the nearest priest's eyes, disguising Kel's next attack. Bringing his free hand up, he grabbed the hilt of his sword with both hands and brought it down, bashing it against the blind priest's neck, causing him to drop to a knee. At that point, Kel's right hand released the hilt and grabbed the blade as he set it against the back of the priest's neck and brought his face down while Kel's knee went up. A crack echoed in the air as the priest's nose collided with his knee, breaking instantly. Kel repeated this action as he bashed his knee into the priest's face yet again, this time shoving the broken nose up into his brain, causing instant death.

Letting the dead priest drop to the ground, Kel stared at the other priests that stood before him, all ready to die for whatever cause they came here for. As for Kel, he was ready to kill them all to protect Cait as he moved forward, stepping over the dead priest and getting ready to fight once again. This time two of the priests attack, while the last three stood back and seemingly did nothing for now. Blocking the left priest's staff, the staff on the right smashed into Kel's side, but didn't seem to phase Kel at the moment. Bringing his fist up, he smashed it into the jaw of the priest on his left, causing that priest to literally lift off the ground and fall flat on his back from the powerful upper cut. Turning towards the priest on his right, Kel caught the end of the staff against his left cheek, causing him to turn even quicker. Spinning around, Kel ducked instinctively, dodging the next blow of the priest while Kel's sword swept around and caught the priest by his ankles, sweeping his feet out from beneath him. With the second priest on the ground, Kel pounced the first priest he put down to the ground. This priest was slowly starting to get up until Kel was upon him. Kel rose his back-sword and slamed it into the priest's chest. The sword didn't go through, but it knocked the wind clean out of the priest's chest as he could no longer breath. Rolling off the priest, Kel quickly got to his feet and noticed the second priest was starting to get up. Lunging forward, Kel brought his blunt sword around and bashed it against the head of the priest, causing blood to spew out from his mouth. Landing on his stomach, he pushed himself to his feet and grabbed the bleeding priest's hair.

Dragging that priest to his feet, Kel drove his sword into his gut, causing the priest to drop to his knees. While he was there, Kel rose his back-sword like it was a bat and bashed it even harder, both hands gripping the handle, against the priest's head and watched him burst with blood as he dropped to the ground. By this time, the other three priests were ready and they acted as one casted a bright flash, blinding Kel instantly while the other to acted together in a heavy attack. In moments, Kel was flat on his back seeing stars and found he couldn't really move at the moment of his grogginess. Though he could see the feet of the priest moving towards the cave, causing Kel to shout and hollower as he rolled to his stomach and tried to get up. The first attempt of him trying to get up caused him to drop from the world now moving quickly around him. As for the second, the priest he had been beating up, kicked Kel across the face, causing him to flip to his back again and watch as the world went black.

[caitlyin]

Cait heard the sounds of the fighting and sunk back farther into the cave, hiding behind an outcropping. She crouched down, her stuffed rabbit tucked safely away in an apron pocket as she hid, away from the others and covered her eyes, pretending it would all go away until she heard the footsteps enter the cave.

There were two pairs, both were lighter than brother's and her eyes narrowed as she slid back against the wall, trying to hide even further as they cast magic around, light shining until they found her hiding in her corner. When they tried coaxing her out with soft voices and promises, she stayed frozen, staring at them with a blank expression, looking like a doll.

When that failed, they went for physical force and she screamed. She froze for a moment when they grabbed her, fingers like ice and most certainly leaving bruises on her skin. As she was picked up, she screamed even louder, a blood-curling scream that had even the most senior priests there startle and freeze for a moment, wanting to know what the noise was. Carrying her out, she fought against them as best she could, twisting this way and that as she attempted to get free and go to her big brother.

The fact that Kel was on the ground seemed to send her even more into a panic and she bit down on the priest to her right, drawing blood from his arm and causing him to let go of her arm. She grinned then, an eerie sight before she hit at the other one. It was the oldest priest who simply stepped forward and backhanded her across the face, shaking his head at the younger two for being so careless.

The blow shocked Caitlyin and she froze, abruptly dropping to her knees as she felt a small trickle of blood leave the corner of her mouth before tears welled up in her eyes and the redness from the hit marred her skin. The old priest shook his head and raised a hand, uttering a sleeping spell before the tiny girl fell over, knocked unconscious by a spell.

They carried her through the forest and managed to enter Temarra before the spell wore off and she screamed again, fighting with enough force this time that she was able to get free and take off, running down the streets.