"How old are you even. You look like a teen." Ahri looked at him again from top to bottom.
"This year I will be twenty-one." Kayn said.
" With this face and body, you'll probably burn twenty-one hearts too." she joked.
"What is Lanius doing in there? Why is it taking so long?" she wondered.
"Well...there is somebody that I like...we share mutual feelings with each other...but I lately worry about her." Kayn closed his eyes again.
"Why?" Ahri grew interested, perhaps because she was bored.
"Because she is of the Kinkou Order. Kinkou are our enemies..." Kayn exclaimed.
"Tell me more about her." Ahri saw something pass by the hallway and turned her back to Kayn, facing towards the hall.
"Well...she's shorter than me with black hair. She's dressed in green..." Kayn sounded way closer than he was before. Ahri turned around.
"...And is in possession of the kama that you are currently hiding within your cloak." A hand wrapped around the vesani's neck.
Said hand belonged to none other than Kayn. The 5'5 Ahri was easily lifted in the air by the 6'0 muscular boy. He was a little bit shorter than the Winter, but stronger than the fox.
Kayn gripped the cloak's button with his right hand and violently ripped it, tossing the white and gold overcoat to the side. His eyes then widened as he looked at the fox's facial features.
"Wow...a vesani. More specifically, the soul stealer." he said through his teeth. He then slammed her against the wall and pulled the kama from Ahri's side. Her breath was cut short by the sudden impact. This was a small taste of what Lanius had felt when he fell off the tree half a month ago.
"Did you kill her? Steal her life force and then leave her drained body like a ragdoll?" Kayn dropped the kama and wrapped the other hand around the fox's neck, properly choking her.
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Lanius took a deep breath and repeatedly slammed his ice gauntlets against Zed's blades. The Shadow Master sidestepped and attacked again. To Lanius, it resembled more of a choreography rather than a duel. The two opponents harmonically deflected each others weapons and attacked in a unique pattern. It reminded him of the Lhotlan, the so called vastayan "battle dancers".
"Where is the Rebel, Zed?"
"She never stays at a place. She strikes and then vanishes like she never came. The only thing that remains is the chaos she causes." Zed jumped back and flung his jagged shuriken at the young man.
"How does she look like? " Lanius reeled his right first back as he weapon came at him. He had to time it perfectly...Now! He slammed the spinning weapon with his ice gauntlet, redirecting it to the ground.
"She's a Lhotlan. Plum cloak, feathers and a purple wing on her back. Avian legs with black talons and black bandages wrapped around them." Zed jumped forward, reeled his arms back and stabbed at the Winter.
Lanius jumped with a flip behind Zed and brought his plates ankle down, onto Zed's shoulder.
"Does she operate alone?".
"No, she has an accomplish, also Lothlan. Might be a lover.", Zed was quick enough to not follow him with his eyes and instead raised his arms to shield himself. He then turned into a shadow once again, and retreated laughing.
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Kayns had wrapped his hands around Ahri's neck, strangling her like a python. Ahri couldn't do anything but widen her eyes and emit choking sounds. If the circumstances were different, she would have killed the him on the spot, but doing so now would ruin all of the Winter's plans.
Why was the boy acting like that? He didn't even give her any time to explain that he misunderstood the situation, that it was Lanius who had obtained the kama after his encounter with the Rogue Assassin.
Ahri swallowed and then concentrated on the boy's eyes. She then blew a kiss towards Kayn.
The Shadow Assassin was cut off guard and didn't react in time. He took the charm head on...resulting in him collapsing to his knees. His hands fell to his sides as he remained there, looking hazy. Ahri fell on the ground and began to violently cough. A smirk then formed in her face.
She approached the stunned Kayn and held him from his chin in a dominating manner. The boy tried to move, but failed. His gold eyes temporarily had a touch of pink in them from the charm.
She placed on the seductress personality again. "Now, my little Yánléi assassin, should I make your heart rise...or stop?" the smile of a madman appeared in the vesani's face. Kayn's eyes widened. Ahri smiled even more.
"Silly little thing. Going against the Nine Tailed Fox? Nobody but one has ever dodged my charms." she thought.
Ahri then absorbed a small portion of Kayn's life essence. Only a taste. She found it bland compared to the one that Lanius produced, not to mention that the Winter's was unlimited.
Kayn's eyes rolled back as he fainted, fully falling on the floor. He would wake up in a few minutes with a slight fatigue. Additionally, Ahri had received a copy of his memories. They were full of blood, pain and sorrow. Then there were some...odd ones. Ahri didn't pay attention to them, and instead peacefully stood in front of the door, waiting for the two to end their negotiations.
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Zed appear on the wall in front of him. He then jumped towards the young man and instantly three other shadowy figures parted from his back and jumped towards the young man from different locations.
Lanius flash froze a barrier in front of him and rolled to the side as the shadows phased through the ice. All of them tried to stab the Winter simultaneously. They then retreated back to Zed, who landed on the ground in front of him.
The two opponents stood there, trying to catch their breaths. Zed's blades then retracted. The Shadow Master bowed towards the young man. "I now see that you have potential. The Yánléi will assist you in this war."
Lanius chuckled and bowed back. The ice gauntlets instantly melted and Zed approached the door. He opened the door and paused at that spot.
"Kayn?! What did you do to my apprentice!?" he yelled and Lanius approached to see what had happened.
"Your apprentice attacked me and I simply fought back. He is going to be fine. He'll wake up in a little bit and may be a bit dizzy."
The boy called Kayn was unconscious on the floor a few meters away from the door. Ahri was leaning against the doorframe. Lanius quickly used his Sovereign's Dominance to look at the room. The boy had a faint while outline and thin lines like fog flowed from him all the way towards Ahri. Kayn's outline had the same color that the Winter's had whenever he looked at himself in the mirror after Ahri had her dose.
"You didn't...Great Cryophoenix..." Lanius pinched his nose bridge with his index and thumb in disbelief.
"It was only a taste, enough for him to pass out." Ahri explained her action, calming down the fuming Zed.
Zed sighed and looked at her, then at Lanius, then back at her. "Attack in here one of my men again, and I'll flail you alive, vastaya." Lanius opened his mouth to say something but he was cut by a growl, followed by Kayn's voice.
"Damn vesani...first her, now me."