Witch Hunter, part 4 of 5
Ajendra Witch Hunter Cabal
Kitsune was on the balcony of her dormitory, trying to ignore the chill night air and practicing some of the more complicated holds with Kunoichi. Kunoichi had a knack for these things, but Kitsune didn't take to them. In fact, Kitsune didn't really take to anything they did in the Cabal, beyond horse riding. Her horse, unimaginatively named Black by the stablehands, was as near to Kitsune's heart as her human friends.
Of course, Black couldn't helped her pass the Unarmed course she needed to graduate from the Cabal, so today at least, Kitsune was more grateful for Kunoichi. Of course, Kitsune was reminded as Kunoichi effortlessly twisted out of her hold and swept her off her feet1, hitting the balcony floor hard, Kitsune didn't fall nearly often enough to get this many bruises from Black.
"Are you alright?" Kunoichi asked, "Maybe we should stop for a bit." Her voice was, as always, energetic, but it was also concerned. If Kitsune wasn't so focused on how sore she was from the umpteenth painful failure to keep Kunoichi held, she'd have noticed how odd a combination it was.
As it was, she just nodded and went inside. It was only fall, but that was the same as winter this far north. It would be getting too cold to practice outside on the balcony in a few minutes anyway, even with their cloaks and coats. Kitsune would keep practicing inside, but Sakura had forbidden all fighting in the dormitory when Kunoichi and Kari had gotten in a fight and broken something. Sakura had threatened that she could have any three of them expelled from the Cabal if she wanted, and she had so much clout with the Fathers and Instructors of the Cabal that she was almost certainly right. If Kunoichi was expelled, she'd return home in shame, and if Kitsune was expelled her family would all be executed.
Kari, presumably, also had some nasty fate in store for her if she was sent home, but Kitsune didn't know what it was. Whatever it was, Kari hadn't provoked anymore fights with Kitsune in the dorms, though the two had occasionally arranged to be sparring partners in their shared Unarmed course just so they could get a chance to 'forget' to pull their punches and break a few bones.2
Sakura wasn't in the dorm. She was out late, taking some advanced class. Kari was out late doing nothing in particular at least once a week, and tonight seemed to be one of those nights. Kitsune wasn't going to risk sparring inside, though, as Sakura might catch wind of it anyway somehow.
Kitsune was about to go start on a ridiculously long report for History about Talmea's fall, something which seemed a bit of a pointless subject of study for her. It had occured a solid century or so before Emperor Ajen had come across the sea.
As Kitsune turned to go inside, she heard a clanging behind her. She turned around, looking out at the balcony, but she could see nothing there. "What was that?" Kitsune asked.
"Ah, probably just someone practicing with their hook," Kunoichi said, "I'm going to go see where Sakura is. She's usually back by now." Kitsune was only half-listening, trying to find the source of the sound. It was a lot closer than the other balconies, which she couldn't see due to the large barriers between the balconies, which jutted out about six feet further than the balconies themselves went, and which started about ten feet away from the balconies. Kitsune could barely see them in the darkness, let alone see through them to see if someone was practicing on the balcony next to hers.
But...She could see well enough to see that something was moving, clinging to the barrier about five feet below her and tossing one of the grappling hooks they used for Infiltration courses up towards the balcony. The figure tossed it up, and it slid between the balcony railings this time. It was in the first position, with the tongs pulled in close so they could be thrown through narrow spaces. As it started dragging itself towards the balcony again, the tongs deployed to their full width3, allowing the hook to catch the side of the balcony.
The figure jumped off the barrier and started climbing up the balcony. Kitsune wondered who it was, warily. Would Kari choose such a roundabout method of coming back in? Had someone broken in from outside the Cabal? Should she sound an alarm? If she did and it was just a student, wouldn't that student hate her forever for blowing his (or her, if it was Kari, though if it was Kari, Kitsune didn't really care how much she hated her) cover? Kitsune had had enough trouble getting past all of Kari's witch rumors, and she didn't want to start another round of nasty rumors by overreacting.
The figure climbed up onto the balcony and stepped into the light from the room. It was Nathan. "Hello, Kitsune," Nathan said, "Happy to see me?"
Kitsune breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah!" she said, "Happy to see you instead of some assassin or heretic or something! Why on Earth didn't you just use my door?"
"They wouldn't have let me in," Nathan said, "There's always at least one Father or Instructor patrolling the dorm halls and they would have caught me. I don't have any real excuse to be out this late, soooo..."
"Don't they watch the balconies from the garden, too?" Kitsune asked.
"Yes," Nathan said, gathering up his grappling hook "But it's Instructor Tek tonight, and he hasn't taken any vows against alcohol. I sent him an anonymous gift with some subtle sleeping elixir in it...He won't know what hit him even after he wakes up. He'll think it was just the wine. He should be out for the next two hours."
"Wow, you've really thought this through..." Kitsune said. "So why are you here? I mean, Kunoichi's probably watching everything we do from her bed, pretending to be asleep, and we can't leave the room without getting caught."
"Operation Secret Keeper is one step ahead of you," Nathan said, "We're going down to the gardens." he said, gesturing to the gardens below the balcony.
"Okay, one, Operation Secret Keeper?" Kitsune said.
"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" Nathan asked.
Kitsune smiled and said "Nothing, it's just kind of nerdy, I guess."
"Nothing wrong with that," Nathan said, "Is there?"
"No," Kitsune said, "But second, it's a thirty foot drop to the gardens and a standard grappling hook has only fifteen feet of rope."
"Right," Nathan said, "So that's a fifteen foot drop, which would break our legs if we were to fall on the hard ground, but we're not going to. I hope you don't mind getting a little wet?"
"It's freezing!" Kitsune said in protest.
"Not nearly," Nathan said, "Can't be under five degrees4, probably a few degrees warmer. And it'll only be colder tomorrow."
"It'd be warmer in spring," Kitsune said, not really wanting to wait that long.
"Yes, but not by much, and then we'll have a million other things to keep track of. That's when finals are. We'll need all our time to study." Nathan said. He paused for a moment, and then said "If you don't want to go swimming, I'm alright with that, I really am. I can just go back the way I came and try to figure out something else."
"No," Kitsune said, "I'm alright with it. I just wish it wasn't so cold up here..."
"Yeah, me too," Nathan said, taking off his heavy winter clothing and putting it into an oil-sealed, waterproof bag he'd brought with him. "Get yours too, to put all your extra clothes in. You'll be wanting them when we get out. And bring an extra cloak, to use as a towel."
"Right," Kitsune said, smiling, and went back into her room to get the bag and extra cloak. Judging by her quick, uneven breaths, Kunoichi, who lay still in her bed, was both not asleep and particularly excited. Kitsune returned to the balcony with her extra set of clothes and cloak in the still-open bag, and took off her cloak, coat, the extra tunic, and her shoes, putting them in the bag and sealing it shut.
Nathan had just his pants on, exposing his well-muscled chest. Kitsune wondered if he'd been that strong before he arrived at the Cabal. She had only bulked up a little since arriving, but maybe all of Nathans extra classes (like Infiltration) had made all the difference.
Nathan started climbing down the grappling hook, which he'd repositioned over the pond in the gardens below. The pond was probably thirty feet deep in the middle, more than enough to slow down their fall. Kitsune followed him down.
Thirty minutes later, Kitsune stepped out from behind some trees she'd been using as a dressing room. They'd stayed in the pond a while, but it was just too cold to stay any longer. Kitsune's teeth were still chattering. Nathan had been waiting for her, staring back towards the pond. He looked over in her direction when he saw her come out.
He stood up and walked over to her, taking her hands in his. As he did, he glanced down at her still soaking wet right glove, the one he'd never, ever seen her take off. "Kitsune," he asked, "I don't mean to pry, but...Why do you always wear that glove? I mean, you didn't even take it off behind the trees."
"I don't have any others to replace it with," Kitsune said simply. "And I did take it off, for a second, when I was changing my shirt."
"But why don't you ever take it off in front of other people? In front of me?" Nathan asked.
"It's...It's a secret." Kitsune said. She didn't like keeping things from Nathan, but she didn't want to ruin the relationship she'd made with him either. What would he say to a gemstone embedded in her right hand?
"Oh," Nathan said, clearly disappointed. "I get it," he said, hiding the disappointment better this time. Kitsune could still tell he'd hoped she would trust him enough with this secret.
"Nathan, it's not that I don't trust you, it's just..." she started, then stopped, realizing that that was exactly it. She didn't trust him. Maybe that was for the best, since she had no idea whether or not she was in love with him for real or just having a normal teenaged romance, but either way, couldn't she trust him? Nathan was a good person, he wasn't going to tell anyone else.
"Nathan...You can take it off, if you want." Kitsune said at last. She really wasn't sure if she'd be able to take it off in front of him, and freezing up like that would only make everything worse.
"You want me to do it?" Nathan asked.
"Yes," Kitsune said, "If you want." Nathan slid the glove off slowly. Kitsune's palm was facing him, so he could see what was beneath it the moment the glove came off. He backed up a few steps, letting go of her when he saw it. Kitsune resisted the urge to turn and run away when she saw the look on his face. She had to stay here. She had to make this work.
"What is that?!" Nathan asked, stepping towards her again. Kitsune inaudibly breathed a sigh of relief. He may have been shocked, but if he was getting close again, he probably didn't think any less of her.
"It's a curse," Kitsune said, "From the warlock who kidnapped my family."
"Wait, what? A warlock actually kidnapped your family?" Nathan asked.
"Sure, haven't you heard?" Kitsune asked.
"Well, yeah, but I've also heard that you're a witch who's trying to destroy the Cabal from the inside out. I figured all the crazy rumors were false." Nathan said.
"The truth is even crazier, now that I think about it." Kitsune said. "My family was kidnapped by a warlock, who let me go after he cursed me with this. I still don't know why. I used to worry that he might have predicted I'd come here, that I was doing what he wanted...But there's no other way I'll be able to learn how to track him down."
Nathan was silent for a moment. Then he pulled her close again and said "When you go after him, I'll help you." he said. "I'll help you find your family."
Kitsune looked at him and smiled. "I'm glad I told you," she said, "I'm glad you'll help." They were leaning closer now. Kitsune's voice grew softer as she said "I didn't want to be alone..."
Their lips met. They had only been kissing for a few seconds when they heard someone shout "What are you doing here?!" They both turned to look in the direction of the voice. Instructor Tek had found them.
Kitsune smiled at Nathan and said "I thought we were supposed to have two hours?"
"I guess I didn't mix the elixir right," Nathan said, also smiling.
"You two get over here!" Tek said, "Morality rules we usually let slip, but sneaking out of your rooms in the middle of the night? Have you no respect for your own safety?"
Kitsune choked down a retort about the lack of imminent danger in the gardens. She was fairly certain goblins weren't going to leap out and slit their throats because they came here during the night.5
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1 Kunoichi>Yuffie
2 I kind of wish I didn't have a greater plot to get to with Kunoichi. I could these kinds of stories as they happen through the entire Skyclaw arc otherwise. Regrettably, Kitsune has a date with Thuule and I can't let her be late.
3 If you had a second string alongside the first one, which was attached to a mechanism which pressed the tongs down until they locked into their second position (the wide one), and that string was attached to a switch on the far end of the rope, then this is possible. This would require some rather intricate mechanics, but it wouldn't requrie any kind of electricity or circuitry, and the Empire has proven itself to be pretty handy with these kinds of things, so it's certainly a believable gadget. Also, I could've been a medieval engineer.
4 The Empire uses Celsius measures, and other metrics.
5 You know what an awesome april fools joke would be? Renaming one of the Shattered Highlands locations "Ajendra Gardens," especially one that's overflowing with goblins.
It didn't occur to me until it was too late that my timing was horrible, and that Grigor and company would be operating in the Skyclaw Mountains for nearly a year before Kitsune would be a fully trained Inquisitor. This doesn't make much sense, since plotwise there are only three or four lairs they can clear out between now and then, and it doesn't take three months to flush monsters out of a lair and into the open. In fact, it's supposed to take a month grand total for the completion of the entire mission.
Fortunately, I've avoided putting any dates on anything, so I can just say that Grigor's and Ashen's (and, by Tsao's comments, Team Evil's) plotlines take place significantly later. Someday I'll go back and edit dates into all of the locations, so that this will be evident without the need of these little footnotes.
Also, the increased character limit appears to be doing its job.
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