Origins of Ciena II [closed, flashback]

As she moved to the doors and pressed against the bars of the prison, the bars would give way as the door didn’t seem to be locked. It was as if she were thrown into a cage and the guards forgot to actually lock the thing. Outside of the cage she was in, the room would be a simple structure with stone walls. The house in which the cage would be positioned wouldn’t be much larger than a medium house consisting of four main rooms. There would be a left room, a right room, a back room and a center room. She would currently be in the left room to which the door was cracked. It would resemble a sleeping quarters of someone important, but probably not as fancy as what she was used to. The rest of the house was simple in purpose. The center room would contain the firepit and main living area. The right room would be a locked meeting quarters that doubled as a supply area and the back room would be the bathroom. There was an upstairs attic as well, between the roof and a horizontal flooring.

But the door to her cage would be open, the door to her room would be open, and though closed, the door leading outside would be unlocked. Though the rooms inside were warm due to the fire, outside would be a very different story as the cold mountain air would cut through the village she was in. Since the structure she was in was on an elevated area, if she were to go outside, she would see clouds, mountains, and a far and distant world that would seem almost unreachable. Ah, there would be clansmen as well.

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In the attic, there wouldn’t be much of anything. A few trading items such as furs and skins would be lying about. There would be random items such as sheets, wooden cups, lumber and such lying about, but nothing of real importance.

As she heads up to the attic, she would be able to hear the sound of the door opening. There would be a rush of cold that enters into the house that comes with it, but the fire does well to continue to keep the house cozy. There is the sound of steps taking place across the center room, and if she looked, it would be Kyrojin walking to the back room. The sound of garments could be heard and then a slight pause before a very recognizable sound resounds through the air. “Ahh…” would come the sigh of relieve from the Lord of Kyrotoshi, “held that in too long…” Soon the smell would begin to waft from the bathroom through the house due to the fact that he didn’t have the decency to close the door. "Eh? When did I eat corn?... I dun like corn..." More spurts of noises would emit and more grunts would accompany. Soon, the grunting would stop and there would be a light humming coming from the bathroom.

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“Eh?” Kyrojin would look up as the scream comes out. He looked towards the door where the girl was running out of and then back to the toilet that was beneath him. His head tilts to the side as he wondered why he would have to do such a thing in his own house, but assumed it was probably something they did in Mare Maris. Either way, it seemed like a bother to him.

Outside of the door would be the chilly air, the mountain view amongst the clouds, and the rest of the clan. As a normal day, people would be walking about and doing various things which would be important to them. Workers would be working, troops would be training and children would be running around and inventing new mountain games to dare each other into. As the door was opened to rush out, Dae and Zuel would be standing in front of the house apparently both heading for Kyrojin’s house. They would look up as the door was opened with a ‘huh?’ look before the door was closed on them. Zuel would comment, “hunh… so she’s up already…” With a kind smile, Dae would lift his hand and wave, “greetings, little miss. You’re going to want to wear something a bit heavier than a haori if you’re going to be outside; you’ll catch cold.” It didn’t seem like either of them were alarmed that she had gotten free of the house.

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With a light chuckle Dae would remark about Ciena being quite the princess. Zuel didn’t seem to like the personality exhibited, however. He made a remark about her acting too rich for his blood, but then tilting his head to the side Dae mentions something along the lines of ‘at least she’s not crying.’ He would explain that there was a certain etiquette that classier people outside of this mountain village held. Zuel wouldn’t be interested or impressed by it at all. Returning his attention to Ciena, he would state, “forgive the rudeness. I’m afraid you’re going to have to bear with it. You’re here for the sole reason that you’ve been kidnapped, I believe the Lord may have explained his intentions to you quite plainly in Mare Maris.” With a bit of a chuckle, he would remark, “that lord is a strong man. No one can oppose him when he’s serious… actually, no one wants for him to ever become serious, so I would recommend you grow accustomed to him.” Zuel would scoff about Dae being too nice to the Lord’s new pet, but Dae would understand more about ‘people’ in generally than the warrior who had more baser understandings. He did look towards Ciena and comment, “you still call yourself a child, eh?” Looking to Dae, he would comment, “and you said she was a young lady. She’s not ripe yet.”

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“Eh?” Zuel would reply to her comments. At first he was a bit surprised by her words, but that visage slid into a smile as he realized what she actually was saying. She had never been with a man before, which at her age either could or could not have happened by now. If she had been sold into slavery or something like that, she would have experience a lot more of that aspect, but until now it seemed that she had been pampered. In a sarcastic manner, he would comment, “then I bet you’ll please whoever takes away that purity.” Motioning to Dae, he would comment, “even if he speaks nice, he’s still a part of your kidnapping.” Dae would turn towards him and frown a bit, but Zuel would shrug, “what? And you’re a murderer too; I don’t like hypocrites.” In a moment, Dae’s expression would pierce Zuel who would pause for a moment before asking, “you want to go, old man?” The response would come, “do you remember how it ended last time?” Holding his hand against his chest, Zuel would touch a scar that couldn’t be seen for his clothing, “I told you, I’ll never forget.” Tension builds between the two as they face off.

With disregard to whatever may be on the other side, a foot kicks open the door to Kyrojin’s house and he steps out, pulling his pants up. He looks between Dae and Zuel and asks, “what are ya doin?” Both men would loosen up as Zuel answers, “Nothing, boss. We were just talking to the Seashell.”

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Kyrojin fastens his belt about his waist as he gets his answer and then the grumble follows it. The smell of his previous activities would linger within the house, but the fire would help in causing it to dissipate. That aside, he didn’t like the answer that she gave. Turning a questioning gaze to her, he would contest her words and say, “yea… you are a sea shell; I said so.” With a nod, Zuel would find this amusing and say, “that’s a big sea shell you got there, boss.” Looking back to Zuel, Kyrojin would smile and beam, “yea… aint it” before turning his head towards the retort that would probably becoming from the reluctant seashell. Dae would simply shake his head and hold his tongue. Internally Dae would feel bad for the girl due to her position, but also because she didn’t seem bright enough to go back into the house due to the cold. He would begin to walk towards them as whatever interaction took place between his lord and the girl, but would suggest in the background that he could handle his business with the Lord inside where it was warm. Zuel, seeing Dae jump line in front of him, would head towards the door as well, grumbling in complaint about being there first.

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Toying with her in his absentminded manner, Kyrojin would inquire, “Ciena the seashell?” By this time, Dae would have opened the door and stepped inside. Rearing back once inside, he would near the fire as he waves his hand back and forth in front of his face; he turns and sits in one of the chairs that were sitting about the fire in the living room. Zuel would be on his way in as he comments, “I think she’s saying she’s a young lady boss. If she’s a girl and has a name, I’m pretty sure that she’s a female then.” He would move into the interior as well and sit opposite Dae, not really bothered by the smell. He would wait patiently seated for his lord. Kyrojin would grab the chatting young lady by the front of the haori that she was wrapped in, locking her arms within it, but pulling her inside with him. He would be a bit rough, but the door would close behind them. With a questioning look, Kyrojin would ask Zuel in reference to his epiphany, “eh? So what are those good for?” Zuel would answer matter-of-factly, “girls? Mainly just having sex with and making babies. It’s good to pass those around the men to help boost morale too.” He would look to Ciena and grin, “You know, stuff you don’t do to sea shells. Seashells just sing, right?” With a nod, Kyrojin would agree, “yeah, ya right.” He would look back to Ciena, still holding her unless interrupted, and ask, “so ya saying ya not a sea shell?” If she wasn’t, then she was obviously the other and to be used for that purpose. As he asks, there is an evil gleam that’s almost visible in his eye.

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Zuel would receive the sneer, but would be amused at the reaction he was able to get out of the girl. He would remark something along the lines of, ‘yeah, that’s why I said it.’ That might be in the background, however, for when Ciena turned to look at Kyrojin and sighed beginning to speak, she would feel a sharp tug on her form as it is pulled in to him. Probably stealing Ciena’s first kiss for no rational reason, he would connect their mouths, and kiss her deeply with tongue, before pulling back from her almost as abruptly as he had performed the sneak attack. As he pulls back, a satisfied grin would be on his face and his hand would release her without him speaking or explaining anything. Either way, she was no longer bound in his grip and he would, from there, act casually as if he had not done anything wrong.

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“That’s a good seashell,” Kyrojin would coax, giving her a little pat on the rear as she was leaving. He watches her walk off for a moment with a happy grin on his face. Maybe she was good for stuff other than singing. His gaze shifts back to the men and with that cluster bomb dropped, he would make his way over to the area around the fireplace where they were waiting for him. He would sit at the head of the fireplace. Zuel would be casually sitting with his body leaning in towards the fireplace with his elbows on his legs as he looked to Kyrojin who would be sitting cross legged on top of the chair. Dae would be sitting in a more refined manner with his back straight and his sword across his lap. They would begin into their talks, as Dae would open up with the topic of tribes who were attempting to obtain territory further down the mountain.

As Ciena was heading back towards the other room, a child would be sneaking into the very room through a window. His coordination and stealth would be amazing for his age. He would have snowy white hair and would be wrapped in black garbs with soft padded cloth tabi on his feet to lessen the sound of his movements. In a blur, the child would rush past Ciena and leap into the air, crossing a good several yards with a dagger drawn in a killing dive over Zuel, aiming for Kyrojin. Without moving from his sitting position, Kyrojin would simply look up in his direction and project force from his body that pinpoints the boy and first catches him in the air before rocketing him backwards towards the direction from which he had come and into the outer wall of the room that once held Ciena. The boy’s body would splat on the wall, before he slid down and crouched to recover as the men continued their conversation as if nothing had happened. With an icy glare, the boy seems to notice Ciena for the first time.

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The child would have angry in his cold eyes as he looks to Ciena and would brush her off of him as he catches his breath and stands up on his own strength. Not really to her, but he speaks in general, “I was careless, that is all… I will kill that man and gain his approval.” His words were a bit misleading, since naturally one would think if someone was dead then they couldn’t really feel anything, but something in the boy’s eyes suggested that he was serious about this. The back of his fist would come up to his mouth and he would wipe it with before inspecting his hand. The sign of no blood signified that Kyrojin must have gone easy on him. He looks around the house as if running scenarios in his head before he states, “I’ll have to recalculate my plans.” Having given up on trying to kill Kyrojin for right now, he would turn and now look to Ciena with calm and charismatic eyes as he would speak in a very different tone, “you’re in a dangerous place. You should be careful…” Looking over her, he would move towards her and start patting her dress asking, “where do you keep your weapons…?”

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The boy would fix his hair, stepping away from her as he is polite in speaking, “Please, I don’t like to be touched on my head or face.” He didn’t seem bothered, but he spoke it just like informing her where the market was, or something to that nature. It would be obvious by his mannerisms that though he was currently calm, he didn’t seem like the type of boy that would respond positively towards coddling or over familiarity. Such a foreign gesture would simply be wrong in his mind, and would lead to him becoming defensive. But, that aside, moving onto her words, he would comment, “if you’ve been kidnapped, then you’re one of us now. My mother was kidnapped, originally.” He would be able to understand that she was from another culture, but still, he would occupy her hands with his dagger, offering it to her while speaking, “since you’re in a new village, you’re going to have to learn new things. Take this as a token of our first meeting and do with it what you’d like.” The dagger would be simple, a dull gray metal blade about four inches long with a curved and serrated blade. A black cord would be spun about the bottom as a miniature hilt for it. The boy would introduce, “I am Toshiue…” He looks towards Kyrojin and points, “that man’s my father.” He would turn his gaze back to her, “if I heard right, your name is Ceshell?”

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A small smile came to the boy’s face as he sees the delight held from giving away such a simple thing as a dagger; his father was the Boss of the village, he could get any weapon he wanted on request. As she speaks his name, he would nod and affirm that she had said it correctly. He seems to understand the explanation and comments, “Oh; so that’s how it is.” It looked like he had recovered pretty quickly from being knocked into a wall. He looks into the room where Ciena’s bird cage was and then back to her before looking back and walking inside of the room. He makes the comment, “that dress isn’t going to work for the mountain climate… we’re probably going to want to get you some new shoes too.” He walks to a bin and begins to start rummaging through clothes explaining, “you can look in here and find something more to wear. I suggest something with fur on it. After you get dressed we can go to the market and get you some permanent clothes; in that time I can show you around the village as well.”

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Toshiue would look at her and his face would be completely serious as he spoke, “It’s in my best interest to keep you alive. If he kills you, like the others, then I’m the one who has to dig your grave, and in this climate, it’s a very annoying thing to have to do.” After saying that, he would look down to the obi that was incorrectly tied and would move forwards and say, “here, let me help you with that.” From there, he would correctly tie it for her, if she would allow him, before he would step back and nod, “yeah, like that.” By now, enough time should have passed for his first words to have sunk in as he smiles and say, “oh yeah, I’m just kidding about the killing you and grave part.” He would have pulled her leg. Moving towards the doorway of the room, he would say, “I don’t have to dig those graves, we have people for that.” It would be hard to tell if he were joking or telling the truth with those words as well, but he would wait for her by the door and inform her, “since this is where Father sleeps, you’re room is probably that cage…”

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Standing by the door, he would be waiting for her in order to head outside and show her around. With a nod of his head, he would beckon her and then would turn and proceed out of the room into the interior of the room where the men were talking. At the moment, the talk was still about the clan that was moving in on their territory, but the talk wasn’t about what they were going to do, more than how they were going to do it. Zuel thought that using this clan as an example using heads on pikes as effigy would serve as a de-motivator to those who would attempt to follow in their foot prints. Dae thought that wasn’t very graceful and would explain the benefits of enslaving the women and children after killing off the men of fighting age. Toshiue would continue to the front door, and no one would seem alarmed that he was taking the hostage out for a walk. Zuel would look over and mention, “make sure you walk her good, Little Prince, and make sure she uses the restroom.” Toshiue would chuckle a bit and hold the door open for Ciena to walk out of.

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“Hold it…” would come the evil tainted words from the clan leader as he lifts his gaze to the young woman who had just spoken out. His words would mean to pause her in her tracks. Toshiue would shuffle away from Ciena just a bit and Zuel and Dae would go hushed for a moment. Leaving his cross legged seated position, Kyrojin would slowly rise to his feet and begin walking in almost predatory manner towards the young lady. Though she had spoken rationality, he would reward for with irrationality. He would stop about five feet away from her and glare at her with his closed gaze, speaking, “seashells aint supposed to talk that much… especially without asking their master for permission to speak first.” Knowing his father and understanding that something bad was going to happen, Toshiue would begin, “Father…” Kyrojin would cut his gaze to his son who would instantly hush. He would turn his gaze back to Ciena, to see if she would back down or buck up to him. He would embed, “when I’m talkin to people, you don’t talk unless I say it’s okay.” A slight and passive version of the aura she experience before would be seeping from his form as if he were holding it back, but it’s strength prevented it from being masked completely, “got it?”

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The reaction would be predictable. He wasn’t the type that would sit and listen to her counter rebuttal completely. The word ‘no’ had been sufficient to determine the outcome. He worked on the basis of a very simple rule, which was that he would do what he pleased. It was around the word ‘loved’ that the young girl would be grabbed by her throat and lifted up with her back against the wall to the side of the open door. A massive amount of pressure would be applied quickly to her throat with the technique supposedly more effective due to the fact that she hadn’t had a moment to catch a breath between speaking and being grabbed and elevated. The deprivation of a very vital function, breathing, was the very simple punishment for a ‘nothing’ to defy a ‘something.’ The evil smile would be on his face as he would comment, “I bet ya were gonna say something like you don’t care if you die or not, huh? I wonder how much pain you’ve ever endured…” Everything would be a lateral movement in his mind; if she were going to defy him and not do what he wanted, then he could do what he wanted to her in order to gain his amusement.

Dae would stand and move towards the door to excuse himself. He knew that he couldn’t stop his lord, nor did he want to witness a young girl tortured and murdered. It wouldn’t be funny for Zuel anymore either, it would be more like disinterest. It looked like he was about to lose something he kind of enjoyed teasing.

If uninterrupted, Kyrojin would not choke her until she passed out, only he would swing his arm to the side at the last minute and throw her across the floor, letting her slide a bit while maintaining his current position. He would give a glance to Zuel, which would make him get up and leave, and in his departure, Zuel would place his hand on Toshiue’s back and say, “let’s go, Prince,” thus closing the door behind them and leaving Ciena alone with the lord.

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A new experience would be had as it seemed the girl wouldn’t scream and beg for her life. That much was a good thing since it was a sight that Kyrojin had seen many times. As she lay on the ground, he would take slow and calculated steps towards her. Lifting his right arm, a dark swirling liquid mass of shadows would hover just inches from his palm before it spiraled, elongated, and solidified into a lance like spike about four feet long. The closer he got to her, the closer she got to being an object in his mind; he was beyond apathy by this point. He would twirl the long black spike in his hand and come to a stop next to her. Without warning, he would slam the spike down into her body just to the side of her shoulder using it to pin her to the ground while missing the joint and bone.

After the impaling, two feet of the spike would be above her with the rest inside of the ground under her or in her. If it hit the way he wanted to, blood would be released with the thrust and would spill about her clothing, the lower portions of his garments, the nearby ground. It would be then that he noticed that she had changed clothes due to Toshiue’s doing. With that understanding, he would blame this girl’s death on his son, since his son had been too kind to her, but he understood had it not been for him, he may still be in a boring meeting instead of playing with his new toy. Alas, among the liberties of the kidnapped, clothing was not. Noticed is given to the fact that that her being flung across the room, the dagger enclosed within her clothing had been dropped and rested on the ground nearby. Crouching, he picks it up and looks over it, recognizing it. Standing, he move over to her and crouches resting his elbows on his knees. Placing the dagger at her neck, he presses it against her skin while looking into her face for a moment. In a swift and fluid movement accompanied by the sound of ripping, the dagger would be slid down her clothing, ripping through the garbs easily as well as the obi that had been carefully tied by Toshiue. For the most part, he would only have cut clothing, though there would be a very fine line of blood that would spot up along her abdomen.

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After slashing her clothing, the dagger would be stabbed into the ground next to him where it would remained pierced in the wooden floor much like the sword in the stone. Kyrojin would push her garments over, seeing her nude and pale form and taking interest in just before the singing was to come. As it came out, his hands would lower curiously to his new toy and come first to her right breast, resting on it and squeezing. He would explore her body sliding his hand down her torso and further on, doing nothing more than touching the unopened package. “It looks like the sea shell is singin again,” he would say in a pleased tone. So he had figured it out; the button to press to make her sing. It didn’t seem like the correct behavioral lesson to learn, but it was what he took out of it. His hand would come free of her form; he would be fine with giving her this much pain; singing had saved her from his continued blood lust. With a snap of his fingers, the lance that had driven her to the ground vanishes. Whether or not she got hurt anymore was up to her. He would say in a calm tone, “take the rest off and go to your cage.” He waits to see her response, if any.

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The smile would linger for a moment as he watches the girl attempt to get up and get in her cage, but after a while, the smile faded and was replaced with a look of confusion, “eh?” He wondered to himself had he broken it already. That would be horrible! He figured that Mare Maris must make some weak people for them to only be able to handle this much. If she faded this early in things then it would ruin his fun. This would be an emergency situation; he could see the gazed eyes and the sad smile, so he knew he had to move quickly. He swiftly stands up and looks around the room in a hurried manner. His gaze cuts to the left and he notices the item that he needed in this very situation. A smile of relief covers over his face as he rushes over to the side of the room where he is able to find a sturdy sit. Picking it up and holding it in both hands, he looks at the device with a “hehe.” Everything would now be all right. With the sturdy stick in hand, he would rush back to where Ciena lay and crouch next to her. Afterwards, he would carefully poke her with the dull end of the stick while repeating the ancient spell, “hey… hey… hey hey… hey….” With each word would come a poke with a worried expression on his face.

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Her kind words seem to reach him for a moment as he pauses and looks to her with a clear visage. It is as if he seems to understand for a moment… like light shining through a dim darkness. Of course, this is something that goes away quickly as the confused look shifts into a chaotic smile. Doning the stick of dead body poking, he starts poking her in the head with it repeating, “hey… hey… hey…” It would be here that it was evident that he was messing with her. After having his fun, he informs her, “ya ain’t gonna die.” He tosses the stick to the side allowing it to roll back into the corner of the room with a hollow sound and he reaches into his clothing. He pulls out a vial of cloudy green liquid and then grabs her chin with his other hand. Holding her jaws, he would more or less attempt to stuff the vial of liquid into her mouth. It would smell horrible and taste even worst, but after making contact with her body, the hole in her arm would mend and a good percentage of the damage done to her body would repair; the pain would remain though. With that said, he would assume she needed time to rest so that he could play with her some more later. There was the saying that what didn’t kill you made you stronger, so with that train of thought, he figured he would be able to play with her longer next time. Picking her up roughly by the arm, Kyrojin would walk her over to her cage and then throw her into it allowing her to land however she happened to. With her in it, the door would be closing with the lock engaging this time. She needed to understand that she was a thing to him and also needed to understand him before they could begin to get along. With his seashell securely locked up, Kyrojin would turn and begin to exit the room.

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