Kingdom Hearts: Daybreak (IC)

Thalia nearly had a heart attack when she saw something flying at them. She couldn't see what it was, but it was coming right towards her and Sophia, so she really did not want to find out. She scurried over and hid behind Jordan. If he got hit, then collectively it would mean less pain for everyone right?

It stopped just short of them, and was only there a brief moment for Thalia to see it before it was gone again. "W- what the hell was that?" she shuddered. "Is that normal?" Thalia was so focused on not dying she didn't see when more people approached.

 

Palmund's brow furrowed a bit at the notion of his niece perusing the marketplace with the strange newcomer he had heard so much about in the short length of his visit. He took some slight solace; however, in the fact that they were in the marketplace.

Palmund had spent an almost immeasurable amount of time looking through everything the vast number of vendors had to offer, and thus he would have a much easier time locating her there, even with the shopping droves, than many other places in Moirich.

"Kelliane?" asked Palmund, "I would prefer to find Sophia as soon as possible, but if this excursion from my search is important to you, I would happily accompany you," said Palmund, understanding Deimos' role was vital to locating his niece.

 

Thalia peered out from behind Jordan, looking at the two who Sophia called Raven and Kelianne. She wasn't sure yet what to think of them two, so she just remained where she was behind the man. While she did still crave the venture of food, whatever their definition of food was, another thought piqued her interest. Specifically something Jordan had said. "Magic trick?" She looked up at him in curiosity, craning her head in inquisitiveness.

 

Thalia just blinked in confusion and stared up at him. She was just as clueless as Sophia was... either that, or she just wanted to see Jordan get all embarrassed again. Either way, the curiosity drove her to ask. "...what does that mean?" She blinks, trying to give him the most innocent look she could. She used to watch other girls do that when they wanted something, and this time she wanted an answer. Or, to make Jordan red in the face again. Regardless of the reason, she couldn't help but smirk a little.

"Have what where?"

 

Palmund had left hardly a second for his younger companion to reply, before he had the good fortune of catching a few women gossiping about the princess headed for the rougher part of the marketplace with a boy of darkness.

He whipped around, the thoughts emptying from his head, his sights one again turning to finding his niece. Tunnel-vision took over and Palmund strided briskly toward that part of the market.

He suddenly hoped Deimos had followed him, realizing he had forgotten all about him, and noted that an apology was certainly in order, though this did not stop him from following the path of the remark.

"Nasty looking lout." said one of the louder girls.

Palmund shook it off as a biased insult based on the boy's looks, and tried his best not to let it affect his actions, but it was of little use, even to the wise lord, who hardly noticed as his footsteps became more rapid.

He caught bits and pieces from the conversations of people who had nothing better to do than jabber on loudly about the Princess and the unusual company she kept. Their vague belittling of the monarch only served to lead Palmund in the exact direction of a small merchant in the lesser area of the plaza, one he remembered vaguely from his previous time in Moirich.

Upon reaching the area he was bound for he almost passed by a small alley, but a gathering caught his eye, forcing him to backpedal. At last, to his great relief, he saw Sophia. Though her companions looked like a strange group, a smile spread across his face, replacing the intensity of the moment before with a reinvigorated excitement.

"Sophia!" he bellowed ecstatically, barely able to contain his joy as he moved towards the now interrupted shoppers.

 

Raven looked at the group, staying quiet for the moment. Things were about as Raven figured they would be. Sophia not quite reading the atmosphere and instead offering ice cream, Jordan immediately suspecting an issue between himself and her, etc. Jordan's suspicions weren't entirely misplaced, especially due to Sophia and this new girl all but ensuring Raven would take note of Jordan's offhand comment. Him having secrets wasn't anything to be surprised about. His Deimos had made a comment earlier to Raven and Sophia, one that perhaps gave more info than Deimos had intended.

"What a great castle... It reminds me of home... of Virgil. How long has it been Jordan, since we died, I mean? I wonder how ol' pinky is doing, and the apprentices... I miss the world of the living hahaha..."

Raven thought back to what he had said. "Well this explains why Virgil let Jordan stick with Sophia."

Focusing back on the conversation at hand, Raven let out a little smirk. "Y'know Jordan, you certainly can be just that sketchy of an individual. That being said, I'm not always going to be here for you. I am Sophia's guardian after all. Did you really think I would leave her alone for any period of time longer than whatever tasks were keeping me busy?" She walked to the group and leaned against a wall near them. She focused on Thalia, looking at her perhaps a bit too intensively. The horns, the scales, any sort of oddity that made Thalia look differently. She was, admittedly, surprised at how this girl looked. There was some strange feeling deep down in her heart telling her that the darkness shouldn't have caused her to look like that. Unfortunately she couldn't deny how obvious Thalia's darkness was to her.

Turing to Sophia, she answered her question. "Well Sophia, if you're offering to give me some ice cream then I gratefully accept. Oh, and Kelianne, this is the Jordan that I mentioned earlier. Jordan, this is Kelianne. One of Sophia's guards who was, until recently, on a leave of absence. I figured I should introduce–"

"Sophia!" Palmund's voice cut Raven off as he yelled to get Sophia's attention.

 

Palmund laughed as his niece embraced him, his burly frame accentuated by the small princess. She took his large hands into her own, excitedly rattling off questions before he could properly answer, as if holding them in a second too long would cause her harm.

Palmund beamed, only stuttering the first syllable of the first answer, before he merely chuckled and let Sophia finish.

"I'm absolutely perfect now that I've found you, Sophia!" Palmund remarked, his light grey eyes shining with a distinguished pride as he took in the woman she had grown to be.

"I'm here on your grandfather's business," he said, "though I intend to make it my own. It does mean that I'll be here for quite a while, my dear!"

"Lord Palmund," came a formal, but unmistakable voice from behind Sophia.

"Kelianne?" asked Palmund, stepping towards her. He recognized the young knight, and dropped one of the princess' hands to help her up, practically lifting her off the ground in the process.

"It is you! What in blue blazes are you bowing for?" her appearance and staunch formality brought him even more joy, as he saw who the children of his past had become. With Sophia now mostly to his side, and the dead-set mentality of finding her having faded, Palmund's eyes scanned the assembly behind him, and he realized he recognized no one else in the group.

He turned once more to look at Sopia, "So much has changed here! I have so many things to learn from you, child."

 

"Well I did have to grab Kelianne. Also I needed to put your ally Kate in a holding cell as we agreed upon. Given such an agreement, I had to put my faith in you that Sophia would be unharmed while I was away. It appears that I was correct. Though hearing that you met Virgil and he let you wander throughout town with Sophia, I didn't really have cause to worry. I suppose you could have sweet talked him, but if Virgil had any reason to suspect you shouldn't be alone with Sophia, you simply wouldn't be alone with her." Raven spoke, seeming to ignore Palmund. "Which reminds me. As promised, any and all spells binding or otherwise incapacitating Kate have been undone. Also, the two of us will need to have a small discussion soon concerning her." Given Palmund suddenly appearing here, Raven was unable to talk as openly as she had wanted. That being said, she simply had to hope that Jordan would not misinterpret her words in any negative sort of way.

Palmund's presence was just one more thing on top of an already eventful day. Visitors from an unknown world, Deimos being incapacitated, Virgil having some connection to Jordan, and now the King of Light's subtle machinations towards Sophia. The worst part of this was that Raven would have to try and keep these things separate. The more Palmund would learn about Jordan, the greater likelihood of a new issue spouting from it. The King of Light would no doubt use Jordan as another excuse to try and draw Sophia even closer to him.

 

With the sudden influx of people, none of whom she knew, Thalia just continued to hide behind Jordan, peering out just enough from behind him that she could see everyone. She looked over their attire, their faces. Each of them were plainly distinct, and it wasn't much of a struggle for her to tell where they were from.

Each of them seemed to just give her a passing glance, perhaps an odd look, but they'd ultimately return to whatever they were doing. Except for one. Thalia's gaze skirted over the crowd, until she noticed one of them looking at her. She quickly diverted her eyes, but when she looked back, that woman was still staring at her. Though she looked like someone born of the Light, her deep blue eyes had a stare that Thalia could feel piercing her soul. A lump sat in her throat, she just couldn't look away from those impeding eyes. She gripped the hem of Jordan's shirt, as if that would protect her at all.

This must have caught Jordan's attention, as he stepped in front of her a little more, finally saving her from the guardianess's stare. Deimos was next to her and Jordan, so she could easily hear him among the numerous voices talking and conversing to and over eachother. She looked around in confusion when he called someone a "beautiful fucking girl." From where he was motioning, it was either herself or Jordan that he was talking about... Certainly, he meant the Princess. But, before she could ask him, he vanished into the shadows. As much as she was sure that Deimos had meant Sophia, she couldn't help but giggle a little, her cheeks turning a bright red. She kind of liked the sound of that...

Ultimately, her curiosity got the best of her. She let of of Jordan and followed off after Deimos, following whatever senses might lead her to him.

 

Thalia had followed Deimos out to wherever it is he was going. The two had talked a bit, but she was wholly unprepared for what the man was about to do. Their conversation ended when Deimos said he had to vent his rage. Still curious, Thalia followed and watched. She wasn't really sure what to expect, but she sure did not expect what did happen. Whenever Deimos decided that they were in the proper spot, he began slamming and pounding his gauntlet against the ground, the resulting explosions terrifying Thalia. She screamed and covered her horns to keep them from vibrating, clambering down to the ground and burrowing her head between her knees.

 

On the outskirts of the town in an open field there was a man lying on the ground. He wasn't sleeping, though he definitely could be mistaken for seeming drowsy. This man had been lying in this spot since the sun rose this morning, if not earlier. His lying down was interrupted by the ground violently shaking at odd intervals. He stood up, yawning and stretching his body once he was standing. As he stretched, two black wings stretched out from his back. Brushing his hair out of his eyes, this man figured he would investigate the source of these disturbances. "Y'know... I think my hair has gotten too long, even for me. Why don't I cut it? Meh, the darkness will keep it in place." This man thought to himself while using his darkness for what would have to be considered the laziest use of darkness ever.

It was at this time that he was able to pinpoint the source of the ground shaking as it was. "Two sources of darkness. One filled with anger and frustration and the other filled with fear." How this man was able to identify so much of an individual without even coming near them was a mystery. "Wait a second... Something is wrong with one of those sources." He hurried over to where Deimos and Thalia were.

Arriving at their location, this man looked at the two. He barely looked at Thalia, his focus instead centered on Deimos. "That darkness. It is something completely different. It isn't part of the dark realm. Why?" He got closer to Deimos, this stranger being something of intrigue to the man. He could tell that Deimos was entirely focused on attacking the ground. He wouldn't necessarily be able to get Deimos' attention without appearing threatening in some way. He could shoot a small blast of darkness, but that could just anger Deimos even more.

Quickly thinking of what to do to get Deimos' attention, this man decided on what might be considered the least threatening option. He stopped suppressing some of his darkness. Not enough of it to let people get a grasp of just how much darkness he had, but enough to alert anybody nearby to his presence.