Abi and Kaito arrive in Foritia. The portal Abi made spits the two out into a cleared space in the middle of a wooded area. The trees are tall and brimming with life. Birds and squirrels occupy the majority of the treetops, although the creatures do not quite look the same as their Earth counterparts. Kaito looks around his body. Traces of orange and yellow light float off him into the air and soon evaporates out of sight. Once Abi is through the portal, she stumbles over to a nearby tree and leans on it to catch her breath and rest for a minute. Kaito figures she must be tired from making that portal. He walks over to Abi, instinctly scanning the area around them, before prodding her with a question.
Kaito: Sooooo… what now?
Abi looks up at him, then looks down into her leather satchel and fishes around for something inside. She then finds what she is looking for and pulls it out to reveal something akin to a snack bar. She strips the shiny gold wrapping off the snack bar and starts to eat it, then looks up at Kaito, her mouth now full.
Abi: Want any?
Kaito: No thanks, I'm good for now. Been a while since you last ate or something?
Abi shakes her head.
Abi: No, it just gives me more energy.
Kaito stands quietly in the middle of the clearing, watching as Abi chows down on her snack. "Weird," he thinks to himself, "eating gives you energy, but in her case, it LITERALLY gives her energy. I wonder if I'm like that". He then looks down at his stomach, before looking back at Abi who had already finished the snack bar within seconds. The angel girl then puts the snack bar's wrapper into her bag and grabs the ornately decorated staff beside her. Before she can walk any further into the forest, she stands still for a moment while holding her hand in front of her mouth. She tries her best to hold in a burp, but fails and lets it out loud enough to scare the surrounding fauna away from them.
Abi: Alright! All set to go!
Kaito looks at her again, wondering how someone in a position of nobility, a guardian angel who possesses such beauty and grace, can simultaneously portray the exact opposite. Kaito gives her an uneasy look and watches as the angel girl starts to walk down an open path through the trees.
Kaito: Do you know where we are going?
Abi: Of course, there is a small town east of here; we should be able to talk to someone about where to get you some clothes and basic necessities.
Abi takes a finger and thumb to her chin, stroking the area while thinking to herself. Kaito then asks her another question.
Kaito: Does your staff have a compass or something?
Abi stops in her train of thought and turns to Kaito. She then holds up her staff in a presenting manner.
Abi: The staff not only has a compass to tell me where to go, but also has a map of each realm. Well, most realms that is, pretty neat huh?
Kaito nods at Abi, the angel looking proud as she showcases her staff to him. She then turns around and continues walking forward. Kaito is walking close beside her, watching his step as to not trip on the many roots that crawl along the forest floor. The trees move in a calm swaying motion, nothing seems too out of the ordinary, just a really big forest. If he wasn't told, Kaito would assume the only life here was the forest creatures he saw earlier. Nothing but the calm sound of a gentle breeze, and the various wildlife filling the forest.
Kaito: With all this talk about energy and whatnot, is there a chance I could learn some of the things you do? Like portal making and stuff?
Abi looks over at Kaito and nods.
Abi: Of course, though depending on how high the level of technique is, you can't just start out knowing how to summon a dragon, or rain down meteors from space.
Kaito: You can actually do that?
Abi nods.
Abi: Yeah, any substance made up of energy can be controlled. Which is about ninety-nine percent of all things to be exact.
Kaito: Hmm, I thought you could only do things like making portals, or shoot stuff out of your hands. You said nothing about meteors or dragons! That kind of power would be awesome!
Abi: Well now, don't get ahead of yourself. I can't even do that; only highly experienced energy users have that kind of power.
Kaito frowns and looks down at the ground, then he looks up to face Abi again.
Kaito: Well, is there anything you can teach me right now?
Abi stops walking, Kaito doing the same. Abi thinks for a moment, then nods.
Abi: Yeah, I can teach you how to make a light orb, but that's about it for now—
Kaito: I'd love to learn it!
Kaito gets closer to Abi as he says this. In response, Abi backs away at his sudden movement towards her.
Abi: OK, OK! Never met anyone this excited to learn that technique before. Now let me think for a second on how to explain this.
Abi paces back and forth while she thinks on how to explain the technique to him.
Abi: OK, so first, watch me.
Kaito nods, his eyes glued on the guardian angel. Abi sets her staff down against a tree, then walks into the middle of the forest path. Abi takes both hands and holds them palms up near her chest. She breathes in, then breathes out slowly, and right before Kaito's eyes, a small orb of light shines in her hands. Abi then takes the orb of light and slowly moves it into the air, tracing it around the open path with her finger. The orb of light follows where her finger points, shining brightly in the dim forest. Then, with a sort of grace to it, Abi slowly closes her hand, and the light fades away. She then looks back at Kaito, standing there, eyes wide in awe at the display he was just shown.
Abi: That's all there is to it.
Kaito: Uhh, that looked cool and everything, but I still don't know what you did.
Abi sighs.
Abi: It's easy, just use your energy.
Kaito looks at Abi, confused.
Abi: OK, do you know the concept of energy?
Kaito thinks for a second, then gives his response.
Kaito: Well, energy itself is what gives us life, and what seems to also give you guys the ability to use your powers. But how I would go about doing that, I have no idea.
Abi takes a second, trying to see if she can explain it to him in a way he will understand.
Abi: OK, now pay attention.
Abi walks up to Kaito and grabs his hands, Kaito watching her closely.
Abi: Focus on your Soul Carn, then try to bring that energy out. You'll know when you feel it, it'll feel like you are pouring water but inside yourself. Once you find that pulling sensation, bring the energy out from your body into your hands.
Kaito looks at her, then back down at his hands.
Kaito: Alright, let me try it.
Kaito tries his best to mimic the actions Abi did earlier, and takes a deep breath in, searching for the pulling sensation she was talking about. To his surprise, he feels something, like a river running through him. This river is not cold like he expected, but is calm and warm to the touch. If it wasn't for the already weird circumstances he finds himself in, Kaito would think he was going crazy. It was very far, but Kaito could see it, a river in the distance. The river ran white in color and gives him a feeling of hope inside himself. Kaito can almost reach out and touch it now. He doesn't know how long he has been standing in one place, but figures he only needs a small amount of energy to pull off this little trick. Kaito then reaches down into the white river and grabs a small handful of energy. Kaito breathes in and out slowly, taking that feeling of warmth and directing it outside of his body towards his hands. Kaito opens his eyes, and when he does, he sees a small orb of light in his palms. It's not as big or bright as Abi's, but a light none the less.
Abi: Great! Now hold it there. Once you think you have a good grip on it, start to let it go. It's like loosening your hands up but still holding onto an object, you still have a grip, but just a loose one. Once you have the light to the height you want, tighten the grip again, you can move it by controlling the flow with your arm.
Kaito releases his grip on the orb of light. The energy itself is almost like another pair of hands, but instead of being controlled by the muscles in his body, it is controlled by this running warmth inside him. He lets it go about two feet above him, then holds it there, moving his arm like he was told. The light itself follows Kaito's finger, then after a few moments, he feels it slip away. The light then disappears, the area around them darkening once again. Kaito breathes in and out softly, a happy feeling, but with it, a bit of frustration that he couldn't hold it any longer.
Abi: Good job! You got that your first try!
Kaito nods.
Kaito: Yeah, but I couldn't hold it as long as you could.
Abi smiles and puts a hand on his shoulder.
Abi: Don't worry. With some practice, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it. Just keep practicing as we walk towards the town.
Kaito nods, still thinking about what he had done and the ways he could improve the technique. Abi takes her hand off him, then starts walking forward again. Kaito follows close to her, repeating the same light technique again and again as they walk. After a short time of walking, Kaito notices what looks like snow falling around them, but unlike the snow back on Earth, the air around them doesn't feel any colder. Kaito then looks at Abi, before speaking to her.
Kaito: When did it start to snow? It's been nothing but forest and warm weather since we got here.
Abi: It's not supposed to snow, it's summer right now in Foritia.
As soon as Abi tells this to Kaito, the smell of smoke enters their noses. Kaito looks at Abi again.
Kaito: How close are we to the town?
Abi: We should be close now…
The "snow" that is falling is now becoming heavier, thickly covering the ground and the nearby bushes and trees. Kaito and Abi look at each other, then take off in a sprint towards the town.
Kaito: What do you think it is, a forest fire?
Abi: Not sure! But that town could be—
The two are stopped in their sprint by two figures in front of them. Two creatures with skin of a dark color stand in the middle of the forest path. Their physical features have an almost scaly and reptilian look to them. Their faces resemble something that was humanoid at one time, but they seem to have been mutated or transformed into what they are now. The two creatures appear to be wearing some sort of makeshift armor, with leather chest plates, shoulder pads, and what seems to be ragged cloth pants and shoes. On their hips lay daggers in their sheaths, each creature holding a hand on the handle of the blade, looking to have the intent of drawing it on Kaito and Abi. The creatures speak to each other in some other language that neither Abi nor Kaito can understand. Once they are finished speaking to each other, the creatures draw their blades and start to approach Abi and Kaito.
Kaito: Abi, I need a weapon, or something, please.
Abi nods and quickly searches her bag, frequently looking up at the creatures as she rummages through the many pockets. Abi then finds the silver pocket knife she had seen on the ground next to Kaito in the previous realm. She throws the knife at Kaito, who looks at the knife in his hand, then back at her.
Kaito: A pocket knife? Can't I have a sword or a cool staff like yours? Use your energy to summon one!
Abi: I can't use skills like that, and even if I could I'm too drained to do that right now!
Kaito grunts angrily, he hates it, hates that he is in a situation like this again. Two more people want to take his life, and what's worse, Abi is caught up in the middle of it. Kaito speaks to the two creatures, his voice is a lot more aggressive than before.
Kaito: What do you guys want? We are just trying to pass through…
The creatures look at each other, then turn to look back at Kaito and Abi. The creature on the left responds to Kaito's question with a sinister look on its face.
Creature 1: Your Life…Your Gear…
The speech is hard to make out, even only just a few words. The hissing in between their words causes their speech to become slurred. Kaito knows what is going to happen next, but he won't make the same mistake as before. He takes his stance, with his knife and empty hand out in front of him, then speaks softly to Abi, who shakes nervously.
Kaito: I'll take the right one, you take the left. OK?
Abi looks at Kaito and nods. She notices that, unlike her, Kaito is calm and focused. She takes a second to gather herself, then looks at the enemies in front of her, ready to battle them now. She is nervous, there is no doubt about that. But, if her war angel was by her side, she knew she would be OK in this fight.
Abi: Got it, as your guardian angel, I'll do my best.
As soon as Abi finishes speaking, the creatures charge in, both with a sharp and blood-curdling screech. Kaito takes note of the weapon pointing at him, and with a sudden movement of his hand, Kaito yells out. A bright light comes from his left hand, blinding the creature. Abi is also taking this opportunity to make her move, swinging her staff and hitting the creature on the left in the head, knocking it to the ground. Kaito slips around his opponent as it is blinded, getting to its side and stabbing it in the neck with his knife. Dark red blood spills from the wound; the creature screams out in pain and tries its best to fight Kaito off of it. Kaito then takes the knife out of the creature's neck, and stands behind it, making sure it goes down. The creature drops to the floor, squirming a bit before lying on the ground motionless, letting out a short choke of breath before lying dead in the dirt. Kaito breathes out, then turns his attention to the other creature. The creature to the left had been fighting Abi. A stream of blood ran down the creature's head from the impact of Abi's swing. The creature continues to keep them at bay with a knife pointed in their direction, looking at both Kaito and Abi as it backs up.
Kaito: Drop your weapon and leave…
The creature continues to back away, then looks over its shoulder and suddenly moves. Kaito moves his attention to where the creature was looking at. A good distance away, he sees another humanoid reptile creature, this time with a bow and an arrow loaded at Kaito. Before Kaito can respond the arrow is fired.
Abi: Kaito!
Abi jumps in front of Kaito. A blur of white shoots out from her body and covers his chest. Abi then grunts in pain, before looking at him.
Abi: You OK…?
Kaito nods. Abi used what looks like a bird's wing to keep the arrow from hitting him. Kaito then notices the knife-wielding creature as it rushes after them to get a stab at Abi as she guards Kaito. Kaito moves Abi aside and screams out in anger. He steps aside from the incoming knife and grabs the wrist of the creature with his free hand. With the knife in his other hand, Kaito makes a few cuts on the creature's arm quickly to disable its motion. Kaito's blade travels up the appendage before moving past the creature. Kaito then grabs the creature and plants the knife in its neck before tackling it to the ground. Once he is on the ground, Kaito stays low as to not be seen by the archer.
Kaito: Abi, get behind that tree!
Abi nods and moves behind the nearby tree to avoid the archer, who continues to try and pick them off from a distance. Kaito looks up at Abi, trying his best to hold the dying creature in his arms still. It's a sight that scares Abi at first, but her stare at the scene is soon broken by a question, which comes from her war angel.
Kaito: Can you hit him from here? Do you have a technique for that?
Abi nods, responding to him.
Abi: Yeah, I do, but I don't have the energy for it, I'm still weak from earlier.
Abi curls her hurt wing inward to assess the damage, the arrow that struck it was still embedded in it. Blood drips from her wing onto the ground, making a small red puddle beside her. Kaito grunts angrily before letting go of the dead creature in his arms. He retrieves the knife from the fatal neck wound and lays against a tree on the other side of the path, thinking on how to get out of this situation.
Kaito: Is there a way I can give you mine?
Abi thinks for a moment, then nods, her eyes lighting up.
Abi: Yeah! If you can do an energy transfer, I can fire a light arrow from my staff at the archer, but I'm gonna need him to stay in one place, with him moving around like that, it's not gonna be easy to hit him.
Kaito: Alright! Let me give you my energy, and then I'll try to distract him.
Abi: I don't want you getting hit; I already saved you the first time.
Kaito shakes his head and responds.
Kaito: I won't, don't worry, now come here!
Abi nods and waits for the right timing, then quickly moves over to Kaito's spot. The archer fires at her but misses, then retreats to another tree for a better position. Kaito watches the archer's movement the whole time. Once Abi is beside Kaito, he turns his attention to her, his eyes studying her injuries.
Kaito: Alright, now how do we do this?
Abi: Just put you hand on my back and do the same thing as you did with the light orb, only let your energy flow into me. Just watch the wings, they hurt right now.
Kaito: OK got ya, and about that, if we get out of this, you got more questions to answer, lady.
Abi giggles and nods.
Abi: Of course, but hurry, he's closing in on us.
Kaito takes a deep breath in and searches for the river of energy. Once he finds it, he lets it flow from his body into Abi's. Not having done this before, he doesn't know how much to give her. Keeping his hand steady on her back, he continues to let the energy flow into her, giving her a substantial amount. Abi gasps out as she feels herself spark with energy again, blushing at the overwhelming feeling. Kaito then looks at her with a troubled expression as his face starts to turn red as well.
Kaito: Really? It can't be that good!
Abi: Wow, you gave me a lot, probably more than I need for this one attack. Thank you! I feel great now!
Kaito: Yeah, yeah, right. Now kill that son of a bitch over there so we DON'T DIE!
Abi nods excitedly.
Abi: Right! Now get his attention, I gotta charge it up.
Kaito looks into the trees ahead of them, trying his best to find where the archer had moved to.
Kaito: OK, I'm gonna run over to the other side, watch closely at where he shoots from.
Abi nods and charges up the light arrow on her staff, the staff itself glowing with a white and yellow hue. Kaito looks forward again, then runs over to the other side of the forest and slides into some nearby bushes on the edge of the path. As soon as he slides past the opening, an arrow is shot past him, coming from the northeast side of the forest. Kaito looks back at Abi, who then fires the light arrow at the tree from where the shot came from. The tree explodes in a yellow flash, an animal-like scream coming from behind the tree. The creature that shot arrows at them was now a pile of ash. Kaito then looks at Abi who puts a fist in the air, yelling, "Yes!" to herself.
Abi: I hit it! I got it! We won!
Kaito: Great shot, Abi!
Before Kaito could say any more, another scream comes from the tree to his right. The dark scaly creature jumps on top of him with a knife, thrusting it down towards Kaito. All Kaito can do is catch the knife with his palm before it hits him. Kaito screams out in pain as the knife punctures his hand and struggles against the creature's strength. Kaito does his best to keep the creature at bay, but then it hits him. The scene of his fight against the robbers flashes through his mind. Kaito thinks of that moment again, of that moment of death. He despises that feeling, the feeling of dying and letting another person down. Kaito looks at the creature, who frantically tries to kill the human with all its might. Kaito's body then flashes a bright white color as the young war angel yells out at his attacker. With all the strength and determination he can muster, Kaito throws the creature to his side. Using the same force the creature was pressuring him with, Kaito takes that force and turns it around on his attacker. Kaito then gets on top of the reptile creature, straddling its body with his legs. He grabs a large stone near the struggling creature with his right hand and bashes the creature's skull in, yelling in rage with each blow. The young man's body is still surrounded by a flashing white aura, until it eventually fades away. Kaito throws the rock down on the dead creature's caved in skull, then stands up before looking at his injured hand. The knife is still there, with the blade sticking out the other side of his palm. Without a second thought, he grabs the knife and pulls it out, screaming out in pain as the blade leaves his body. Kaito throws the knife down and looks at his hand again, then he moves his gaze towards Abi, who watches him with a worried look on her face. Abi notices Kaito's blank expression as he stares into her eyes. The young man breathes rapidly as he slumps back down onto the ground and looks over at the dead creature's corpse. Abi quietly watches him, a small part of her feels fear at what he had just done, but she knows there was no other choice at that moment. She had frozen up and left her war angel to fight for himself. She feels a small sense of guilt build up inside and curses herself under her breath. The fear that she had felt is then replaced with the urgent need to heal the young man in front of her. Abi shakes her head to push away the fear, then proceeds to walk over to Kaito and crouches down beside him. Abi's hands glow a bright yellow as small bits of energy swirl around her fingers. The angel girl then gently grabs both of Kaito's hands, the energy around them glowing more. Kaito looks up at Abi, then back down at his own hands, noticing that the wounds are now completely gone, the pain is no longer there.
Kaito: Thank you…
Abi nods, then winces and turns her attention to the source of her pain. Abi watches as blood runs down the soft feathers of her wing and onto the ground beside her. Kaito gets up and moves to her side, looking at the hurt wing.
Kaito: You want me to pull the arrow out?
Abi nods.
Abi: Just do it quickly, I can heal it from there. I don't know if I can bring myself to pull it out.
Kaito nods, responding to her.
Kaito: This is gonna hurt a bit, but only for a second.
Abi braces herself then yells out in pain as Kaito pulls the arrow from her wing, a few white feathers falling to the ground as he does so.
Abi: Ouch… that hurt really bad…
Abi's voice is clipped and tense, the girl is trying to hold back tears as she takes a second to work through the pain.
Kaito: You OK?
Abi: Yeah, I am, bring it closer… hard to move it when it's injured.
Kaito pushes her wing gently towards her hand, where she then places it on the wound, healing the wing. There is a brief moment of silence between the two of them. The "snow" is still falling around them as they sit in the middle of the forest path. Kaito watches curiously at the yellow glow coming from Abi's hand, then breaks the silence between the two.
Kaito: You gotta tell me how to get cool angel wings like that, and how to heal people.
Abi laughs at his demand.
Abi: I was born with these babies, and as for the healing, you gotta get a little better with energy before you can do that.
Kaito: What? You kidding me? You see how awesome I was with that light orb thing?
Abi chuckles. As she stands up, her wings fold into her body and disappear from sight, like they were never there to begin with. Kaito stands up as well before dusting himself off.
Abi: Yeah, yeah, you did good. Just try not to get hurt next time, please?
Kaito: No promises! I think we did well.
Abi nods in agreement.
Abi: We did, but we still have to get to town, and if this is the welcoming party, I'm gonna guess the town isn't doing so good.
Kaito then looks over at the corpses near him and walks over to the bodies of the creatures. With the kick of his leg, he rolls the one he just killed over and unlocks the buckles on its leather chest plate. With a quick pull, he takes it off the creature's body and slips it onto his. Once the armor is buckled on, he takes the creature's dagger and sheath as well, strapping them on around his waist.
Abi: I'm surprised, their gear has traces of dark energy within them, yet you seem not to be fazed by it.
Kaito: Weird, you think it has something to do with me not being born an angel?
Abi: Probably has more to do with you being born a human. If that is the case… but no, that can't be right.
Kaito: Well, we humans do have a good and bad side to us, maybe that translates here? As long as I can have a higher chance of not getting killed, I'll take it. Even if the gear is… not the best.
Abi nods and puts her hand to her chin as she thinks on what Kaito had just said. Once Kaito is done gearing up, he walks over to the dead archer and picks up its bow. The bow itself is a shoddy piece of wood with a string on it. It doesn't have too much of a draw weight either, but it's better to have it then no ranged weapon at all. He looks down at the archer's quiver, which only holds four arrows in it; not a lot of ammo for him. Kaito sighs and picks up the quiver, putting it on the right side of his hip, with the dagger sitting in its sheath to his left. Once he has his bow and quiver, he walks back to his angel friend. Abi is currently staring through the forest towards the direction of the town, and only has her stare broken when Kaito speaks to her. Her eyes shift from the forest path to the young man that now stands in front of her. Her blue gaze studies the now geared up war angel.
Kaito: With the town being in the state it's in right now, this might be my best bet for the time being.
Abi: Good call, but we'll have to get you something more… civilized later.
Kaito: I'll make do until then. You ready to head towards the town?
Abi nods before walking forward, this time a little more cautious in her step. Kaito follows beside her, the falling white particles getting thicker and thicker as they move closer to the town.