The Origin of Ciena III [Closed, Flashback]

Ciena would be enjoying her new home; as such she would have been pushed to the brink of death, healed and thrown into a cage for going against the lord of the clan she was currently kidnapped under. Home was far far away for the young lady and she had been slightly abused and locked away like an object. After tossing her into her cage, Kyrojin would have left the house. He had planning and scouting to attend to with his clans and things to rule over, so he wouldn’t be able to just play with Ciena all day.

About six hours or so after leaving, Kyrojin would not have returned, but there would be movement into the room that Ciena would be. The window would make a squeaking noise and a familiar white haired boy would be making it through the window. To his rear, the dark skies littered with star would suggest that evening was upon them. After rolling into the window, the small boy would land crouched on the floor and walk over to the cage where Ciena was. He would be interested in if she were awake or not.

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Toshiue would be happy to see that she was conscious. “Don’t worry about apologizing to me,” he would assure her while coming to the side of the cage, “I’m glad you were able to live through it.” Touching on what she had mentioned, he says, “you should be careful not to anger him, nothing good can come from it.” Stopping at the side of the cage, he would sit down on his rear with his legs cross before him, resting his elbows on his knees and lean forwards. He would have noticed the sound of her stomach growling, but would have appeared not to notice it. As he sat and after he asked his question, his hand would reach into his clothing and he would pull out a small bag. He would take this bag and sit it on the ground in front of him. The leather pouch would have a tie string around the top, which he would loosen and open it. Leaving the mysterious pouch open, he would look up and notice the state of clothes she had put on earlier. His voice would be inquisitive as he asks, “where you come from, do the weak always contest the strong like that? Or did you think you could win against him?”

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The child would agree with her to an extent, but say, “pride for the strong around here. You’ll die for no reason trying to hold onto something you’re not strong enough to handle. According to Sunji, you have to be worthy to have pride and price is based on strength. That’s what we believe… the Hitoshi is a clan of strength with my father on top. Your customs feel unnatural how weak people can rule over strong people.” He looks down at the small bag and pokes his finger around in it. “You really are nothing right now because he took everything away from you,” he informs, “you’re the lowest. You’ve been kidnapped. You’re like a slave for my father… that’s why you’re here. You can remain nothing, be a prideful nothing, or turn into something.” He looks back up at her and lifts a hand to brush white locks from his face in a boyish manner. “Don’t throw your life away on my dad’s blade… you need to adapt. You have to think differently. Rules protected you in Mare Maris, but they won’t here.” He shrugs, “it won’t be a problem if you’re strong. That’s why I’m training to kill my father, my pride fuels my training and make me truly stronger. By allowing me to try killing him every day, he shows that he cares for me.” The boy would look back up and point towards her stomach. “You have a weak ki center. I’ll teach you to become stronger if you promise not to do something dumb like throw your life away again.”

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The boy seemed pleased enough by and nodded with the pact made in agreement. He would expand on what he said as he informs, “My father passed down a power to me that only we have. We are able to see our or someone’s Ki center. I can do it if I focus on someone long enough, but my father can do it at a glance.” As if stating matters of facts, Toshiue would explain, “it helps him know who’s the strongest in a battle, so he can run off and kill that person.” He gets back into his explanation, “it’s hard to explain what it looks like, but I can see that your Ki center is very weak.” He would continue, “even though others can’t see other’s Ki center, they can still train their own, and if they meditate hard enough, they might be able to see it inside of them. Sunji and Dae are able to do this. The Ki center is the basis of the Hitoshi strength and training. It’s internal energy that makes you physically stronger and faster. Using it can cause you to transform for an amount of time, or it can be molded to use magic or force.” He would judge her expression to see if she were following with him or not.

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Toshiue could see that he had her interest and she seemed to be following so far. He continues, “so there’s a couple of issues when it comes to your Ki. When I started training, I thought I needed to have a big Ki center, but I was thinking about it wrong. You don’t grow your Ki center… it just glows brighter the more you refine it. Sunji says that some people are probably born with more Ki than others, but a person with less Ki can pass up someone with a lot of Ki who doesn’t train it. I’ve seen people with a lot of Ki, but it’s poor quality... that just because they don’t know how to train it right.” A this point, he would pull a slender piece of dried meat out of the pouch he had been playing with and bring it to his mouth, chewing on it. It would resemble beef jerky in look and consistency. He would use the side of his jaw to chew a broken off piece and then continue to talk, “so close your eyes.” He would wait for them to be closed before continuing, “I want you to get a mental image of a puddle of mud.” Another bite is taken from the jerky and the smell of the meat would start to permeate the immediate surroundings.

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“Okay,” he continues, “you have your puddle of mud. It’s brown and murky with dirt and stuff floating in it. You can’t really use it like that. It’s not good to drink, so it’s not useful to you. We need to make that puddle of mud useful.” It would be obvious that the mud was a metaphor for Ki. “Now,” he goes on, “I want you to imagine a bucket next to it. We’re going to need more than just that bucket though, so imagine a clean rag and a ladle.” He would munch on his snake while giving her time to imagine all of this in her head. He resumes, “what you’re going to need to do is strain the muddy water in the bucket in order to make it cleaner. So what I want you to imagine is putting the cloth over the bucket and using the ladle to pour water from the muddy puddle into the bucket using the cloth as a strainer. Do this until your bucket is completely full.” He waits for her, giving her time to accomplish this in her mind before moving on with the scenario.

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After she was able to get that far in her imagination, he would say, “Good. Now that you’ve filled up the bucket, you can take off the cloth that’s over it and look at the water.” He reaches into his bag, leaning over and looking into it in the dim light, trying to find the piece he wants and then grabs it, bringing the strip of meat to his lips. He bites down on it and then tears a piece in his mouth and then chews on it. “Now,” he goes on, “look at the water in the bucket. It’s still probably pretty muddy. Even though you strained it, it’s still muddy, it’s just not as muddy as it was before. Now I want you to imagine another bucket and another cloth. Now I want you to do what you just did over again, so take the water from the bucket that you just strained and now strain it into the new bucket. After you get done with that, look inside of the bucket and you’ll see that the water is a little bit cleaner. It’s still not to where you want it to be, but it’s cleaner than it was before.” He sums up in a higher voice, “and that’s the basis of training your Ki! You can even use that to meditate, but most people end up coming up with their own way of training their internal Ki, but this is what I used starting out.” He adds, “oh, and you also have to train your body too. Hmm… since you’re Ki amplifies your body, it’s not as limited as your body… so that’s why I’m teaching you that first... and since I can’t get you out of the cage right now, this is the best way to train without going anywhere.”

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It looked like she had understood the basics behind training her Ki. Toshiue would be comfortable with this much for right now. When the topic changes to food and water, Toshiue would let her know, “you’re able to train your Ki better when your body is weak. Keep that in mind in the future, so right now, you’ll probably be able to train a lot better than if you’re full.” Still, that was just as an aside. He assures, “but yes, I can get you some water and I can share this…”

Just as he is finishing that statement, he looks up and realizes something. “Shit…” he would murmur silently to himself; it was like he was able to sense something. Without saying anything more, he swiftly grabs his pouch, picks himself up and scuffles over to the window. He leaps up and pulls himself up and over the window ledge, closing it behind him in the same manner in which he had entered. Just as he exited, there was the sound of the front door opening and then closing. There would be the sound of steps moving through the house and suddenly they would stop. Steps would pick back up as they neared the door of the room that Ciena was being held in. Soon the door to the room would open and Kyrojin would walk into the room. As soon as he did, the smell of blood would reek the air. His body would be covered in the substance as it was evident they had completed the task which the men had been speaking about earlier. Moving into the dark room, he would walk over to where his bed was and would like the lantern next to it on a wooden barrel. After lighting the lantern, he walks over to the cage and looks down and into it to check on his seashell. He would request a response by asking, “ya alive?”

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“Eh?” Kyrojin would seem surprised by her answer and the change in her tone. Still, it didn’t matter if she were up to something, it didn’t matter due to the fact that he was him and she was so weak. The look of surprise turns into a cheerful smile as Kyrojin would oblige, “sure.” Moving towards the cage, he would unlock it. With a metallic noise, the hinge would swing open allowing Ciena the path to remove herself from it. His back would turn to her as he made his way towards the nightstand speaking, “I guess I forgot to feed you…” The tone would be in a oops type manner. He takes the lantern off of the top of the barrel and then shifts the top to the side in order to reach in. His arm comes up, pulling out an apple with it. He puts the top back on and then places the lantern back on top, then turns towards Ciena and tosses her the apple with a “eat this for now.” After tossing the apple, he walks out of the room and towards the bathroom area where he had previously been dropping bombs when Ciena had first awoken into this strange new world.

Kyrojin enters into the bathroom and walks to the left corner where a large barrel sits beside the tub. He opens the latch on the barrel which allows pre filled water to flow. While the large barrel empties into the tub, he would crouch in front of it. He slides small pieces of wood into the furnace area beneath the tub and then proceeds to light a fire there in order to heat the water in the tub. While doing this, he would hum peacefully to himself.

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After starting the fire, Kyrojin stood and looked to Ciena and saw that the apple was gone. His head tilts at the surprise that she had finished it that quickly. He simply gives a light, “heh” as his response and then walks into the main living area. He approaches the door and reaches down into a small travel pouched and pulls out a pouch filled with dried meat and fruits much like the one that Toshiue had been eating out of. He takes the leather pouch and tosses it to Ciena much like with the apple. He points to a water bucket next to the living room fireplace and speaks, “you can drink that if you want.”

Turning his attention away from her, he would walk over to a wooden structure that seemed as if it held weapons. He was still wearing light armor over his normal clothing, but he would remove his sword and place it onto the wooden holder. A few daggers would be removed and then he would place his hand on the thing, to steady himself as he stepped out of his shoes. After doing that, he walks back towards the bathroom and calls “seashell.” Standing in front of the tub, he would wait for her, expecting her to remove his armor and his clothing for him. If enough time passed where she didn’t get it, he would simply say, “take it off me.”

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Heat would be emanating from beneath the large tub as the fire would be in the process of warming it. He would be observing her as she assisted him in doing this. He would be very curious about her change in attitude, though he wouldn’t voice anything. Instead he would be happily amused at observing his new point of interest. It would have eventually become boring had she remained the ragdoll that was tossed into the cage, but now she was proving to be useful as well as fun. Noticing her hands shaking, he would ask, “ya scared of clothes?” He would hold his arms up to allow her to begin. The ties to the armor would be readily noticeable on his side; the chest armor would be the heaviest piece on him as she would find out if she were to pull it off. The rest of his armor could be taken off in similar manner. Because the armor held it in place, he wouldn’t be wearing an obi sash, so his jacket and inner shirt would freely open displaying a torso ridden with scars of past battles and learning experiences. The draw string to his pants could also be pulled easily to allow slack to reveal a simple loin cloth like underwear. In the corner would be a small pile of clothing which would indicate where dirty clothes would go. The armor, however, could just be laid against the wall.

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His gaze would simply follow her fingers as they worked on getting his armor off. He would be thinking along the lines that this was helpful. Since the clan practiced strength which was generally a solitary theme, he had never put much stoke into getting someone to do these types of things for him. His men were for fighting, and the slaves never really lasted long due to their lack of tact and ability to adapt to Kyrojin. They would be a bit more expendable then Ciena was making herself out to be. Since she had answered his question about clothing, he would ask, “you afraid of a man’s body?” He would hold his arms down in order to allow her to roll the jacket and shirt form his shoulders.

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“Ah… that it?” he would ask as he pulls his arms free of his shirt and jacket. He would turn his body around to face her and in doing so, he would notice the awkwardness she exhibited. It was an emotion he hadn’t come across before, or observed, and internally he found it a bit cute. Thinking back on it, it would seem like what Dae and Zuel had been talking about in reference to her purity seemed to be accurate. “Heh,” he would chuckle to himself amused at her reactions, “I guess ya learning new things already.” Kyrojin would be delighted at his part in introducing Ciena to new things in this manner and would motion to his pants as they were the next thing to go. If she were shy at looking at a man’s chest, she had a nice surprise waiting for her downstairs.

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Gleefully, he would watch her undo the tie. He finds the pants are pushed down swiftly and then looks up to see her back. This amuses him as well, causing him to laugh a bit in a soft manner on her account. “It’s gonna be hard ta wash me like that,” he would tease. It would raise the question if she had thought about the process that she offered to assist him with. There would be the sound of him stepping into the water; his pants and loincloth would be on the ground for her to pick up and place with the rest of the dirty clothing. By now, the water was beginning to warm up to a point where it could actually be comfortable. He lowers his body into the tub about half way in the middle of it and gives a soft sigh of comfort. Looking over to her, he would have a confused look on his face and he would speak, “hurry up and get in so you can bathe me.” It was evident that he was fully expecting her to disrobe before him and proceed into the tub. There wouldn’t be any soap in the room, but there would be a clean cloths on top of a barrel next to the dirty cloths pile.

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A silent smile would be on Kyrojin’s face as he watches her disrobe before him. Nothing is said as she makes her way into the tub. Though it might have been easier for her to wash him from behind, he would position his body back and against the rear of the tub so that she could be in front of him. The contrast of the temperatures would take a moment to get used to, but once in, she should be able to get acclimated to it well. By this point, the water had heated enough so that wafting vapors of steam were rolling on its surface. He would rest his arms on the edges of the tub and lean back looking at her with his legs cocked open and slightly bent up since she needed to have room to be in as well. Of course, the very natural reaction of having an erection in seeing a nude female would occur since Kyrojin was a warm blooded male, but it wouldn’t seem as if he had any ulterior motives at the moment. Wondering how she was going to wash him while covering her chest, he would ask, “so ya gonna wash me?”

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“Heh, that so,” Kyrojin would ask as he allows her to lean in and wash his face. He wouldn’t squirm or anything like that, he would simply watch her while she washed him. He would speak on something during this process however. He begins, “I did what ya said...” At first he is vague, probably on purpose before he continues with a shrug, “Dae wanted to try it out, so I went up to their leader and tried ta talk to him... He didn’t wanna talk though… he wasn’t nice at all, so I told Dae to talk to him. Dae went and said some stuff about no one having to die, and some other stuff, but they stabbed him… so we had to kill them all…” He wouldn’t remark about whether Dae had lived or died, he would just leave it at that. There was no real explanation to why they would heed her words, but the effort had been made. As if having reported the weather, Kyrojin would move on and close his eyes as he continued to enjoy being bathed by her.

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Kyrojin giggles a bit and agrees that they are fools. He liked that way of putting it, since it made the other people look silly. They were able to go on with their original plan and place heads on stakes, which seemed to work like a roach repellant of sorts. With her question, he would say, “oh, he died… ya aint supposed to get stabbed with a sword, or you’ll die.” His voice would be airy and nonchalant about the event. He would let his words linger a bit before adding, “just kidding, he’s all right.” It would be obvious where Toshiue got his sense of humor from.

With her rubbing his chest and removing the soot from there, he simply relaxes more. Since his face was no longer needed, he could recline back a bit more in the tub and let her lean over him to clean him. With his eyes generally seemingly closed, it would be hard to tell where he was looking, but he was taking an inventory of her body. He liked how it looked; she was coming along quite nicely. He makes the remark, “I think I got a pretty seashell.”

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He is very amused by her reaction to Dae’s false news and developed the understanding that teasing his new toy was fun. His head would tilt as he listens to her while she cleans his arm. She was doing a pretty good job; he would probably just soak for a while to relax his muscles and then do a rush job on the actual bathing, but it seemed like she was being very thorough in making sure he was properly bathed. All he would need next would be some type of soap or scented oils to complete the pampering, but in a mountain village like this, that would be hard to find. Occasionally Dae would barter some from the low lands from time to time, however. Due to the fact that it made him smell flowery, Kyrojin didn’t put too much stock in such things. With that, he wouldn’t say anything more, rather he would simply continue to enjoy his bath and allow her to finish cleaning off each of his parts until she would let him know that he was clean. Thus, he would be silently watching her unless she said or did something that required his response.

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After being washed himself, he would watch as she cleaned herself up. He figured he might have to find something clean for her to put on since her clothes were torn. If they were in warmer climates, he would make her earn her clothes, making her go around naked for a while before eventually allowing her to wear them, but even he knew that if she got a cold, then that would be more annoying than fun. He would see the scar he left on her; they had healers that could do a good job of removing it, but he liked it there; almost as if it were his signature on her body.

More time to tease her would present itself after she speaks that she was done. With a curious look, the lord would tilt his head to the side and say, “eh?” With that, he would stand up in the tub. With his standing, his staff would be at face height for her. Whereas she seemed shy, it didn’t seem like that notion was any part of the chaotic lord. Pointing down to his wand with his index finger, he would inform, “ya missed a spot. If ya don’t clean it, it’ll be dirty.” His gaze would shift to the cloth that she had laid down and then back to her.

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All smiles he watches her, hands shaking and all. As she lied, he would tilt his head and say, “eh?” This seemed to make him think. “Bad luck’s bad I suppose…” his voice would trail as he thought on it. His body shifts to the side as if he were about to get out of the tub; it was a good indication that she would be let off the hook for this one, but suddenly he pauses and seemed to have the epiphany, “eh? But I’m strong, so it’s okay.” His grin would regrow as he would concur, “it’s not good for it to be dirty either” while squaring himself back up at eye level for her. “Hurry up,” he would complain, “so that I can eat dinner.” Since the bath was held right after he had gotten in, he hadn’t had a chance to eat or anything else before preparing for bed. He would add, “and sing while ya do it. I ain’t heard a song since I’ve been home.”

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Kyrojin would be happy to have his way in this and would enjoy being fully cleaned properly. Still, he wouldn’t tease her any more beyond this. This little game had been fun, but it was time to move onto other things, which primarily consisted of eating dinner; she had obliged him enough not to invoke his wrath or chaotic craze for the time being. He would accept her rational that if she sang now then it would take away from when he slept, so in allowing that, he wouldn’t force her to sing; he was fairly confident that if he had forced her, then she would have sung. But moving onto other things, he had to make dinner and such, so that he could fill his belly before heading to sleep. Now that he had his new toy, he wondered if she were skilled at things like cooking.

He gets out of the tub and reaches down, picking up a dry cloth in order to dry himself off with. At this time, he was done with the game of being pampered, so he would simply handle it himself to get it over with. After that, he would make his way to the bedroom here he would change into a clean set of clothes while at the same time finding something for her to wear. He would happen across a relic shirt, a simple white large shirt from the distant past with the mysterious illegible characters of that time written on it with the symbols reading M O O N B U C K S and a small coffee cup symbol as well. As for under garments, he would give her a pair of boxers which had been bartered from a merchant dwelling the low lands of Medius. He would approach her with the shirt and draws in his hands and tell her to put them on.

From that point on, he would allow her to try her hand at cooking for him, utilizing anything she could find around the house, which would include meats, eggs, water, grains, fruits and vegetables. After dinner, he would have her go back into her cage and allow a wool blanket and a pillow to keep her warm. If there were no issues, she would simply be locked in and Kyrojin would head to bed himself with the request of a night song.

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