Black, White, and Red [Issac; open]

[Moriteruze Kaori]

[This happens after "In the Dark of the Night"]

They were traveling now, away from the coastline and through the cities that composed the orient. After the incident at the monastery, Kaori was eager to keep herself around a reasonable number of people while in a city to help avoid being ambushed again. Their group of three was traveling north, where Kaori hoped she would make it in one piece to St. Petersburg. She had a contact there, one that could hopefully help to interpret her vision. There was an altar there, and she hoped to consort with the source of her magic there for answers.

Whileshe was making sure to keep these ideas in mind, she was trying very hard to enjoy Issac. He was a delightful companion, and Kaori was not ignorant of the small chemistry that they had shared a few nights ago, when she had been attacked.

They now sat in a horsedrawn coach, Matthew at the reins to avoid involving an outsider. Kaori had not said very much since their departure, but she decided now to strike up conversation.

"...I do not mean to pry, but I would like to ask: what has happened that convinced you to become a warrior?"

Even though she had been courteous enough to avoid reading his mind, she knew from her experiences with Matthew how to spot a seasoned combatant, and they usually had strong convictions that motivate them. Issac was very alert, despite his outward appearance, something that Kaori always respected.

Kaori added as an afterthought, "I am not afraid to say that I am fond of you. I do not have the luxury of the time-consuming sport of courtship. With my cousin's display the other night, something could happen to me at any time. I live for the present, so to speak."

[Issac Verro]

Issac rested on leg on the other as he sat next to Kaori in a crossed legged manner in the back of the horse drawn coach. It was nice to be within the confides of the carrige with Kaori, the privacy they shared the other night being forced. Enjoying the ambiance, Issac smiled and turned to Kaori, his droopy ears flapping as he turned his head towards here in a sharp manner, dozing off from the tranquil ride.

"...I do not mean to pry, but I would like to ask: what has happened that convinced you to become a warrior?" He heard here say, finally breaking the ice betwen the two of them.

"Heh... I wasn't so much convinced as I was raised to be one, or something like that. I came from a small Jin village of warrior-priests, not total unlike monks, but I would like to think of myself as a tad cooler than Matthew." Issac said, chuckling as he lightly nudgged Kaori. "Anyways, my dad was the leader of the village, so I was kinda expected to you know, follow in his paw prints, so I got drilled into it..." Issac said, reflecting on his past.

Then, Issac looked to the floor in a somber manner, "Except, things didn't turn out so well back home... hmph, that seems like a million years ago." he said in a more humble tone. His spirits were lifted after Kaori express her fondness of him, implying despite lack of time for courtship, she lived in the present, something he thought about himself often. "Yeah, presently speaking, it is the best place to be, especially with you..." Issac said, turning to look Kaori in the eyes, moving his ears from his face.

[Moriteruze Kaori]

Issac was very kind, and accepted her probing questions with an easygoing nature. He didn't mind telling her that he was raised as a warrior more so than he was driven to become one, and that he was expected to learn because his father was the leader of the village.

Kaori covered her mouth politely as she chuckled when he made a comment about being "a tad cooler than Matthew".

On the other hand, however, Kaori knew what it was like to be "expected" to follow an Elder's ways. It was for that reason that anyone associated with her was considered an outcast to her main family branch--it was for this reason that they wanted to kill her, although even Kaori thought that it was a bit extreme.

But then Issac continued, a sad, nostalgic look in his eyes as he continued to say that things did not quite go as well at home as he thought they were going to. Kaori didn't mean to dredge up any uncomfortable feelings, especially after Issac had sworn to help her. And so, she would not ask about them. He then commented on her previous remark about living in the present, and it seemed that he could identify with what she meant. Then he said,

"Yeah, presently speaking, it is the best place to be, especially with you..." He moved his ears away from his face, turning to face her directly, and Kaori smiled. He was such a sweet jin, and she appreciated his company. Leaning closer to him, she place her right hand comfortingly over his left.

"I could not have said it better myself."

[Issac Verro]

Issac was happy that things had gone smoothly since the would be intruder from the previous night. But all his years of wandering had instilled the Jin with the idea the self preservation comes before pleasure, and while some would deem his thoughts paranoia, he did not survive on his own all these years from ignoring his hunches. Yawning in callous and obvious manner, Issac took the incentive to stretch and place his arm around Kaori's shoulders.

"So... about the other night..." Issac said in a sly manner, dancing around the subject verbally. His canines showed slightly through his cheshire smile, as he moved closer to Kaori.

[Moriteruze Kaori]

Issac moved his arm around Kaori in a very conspicuous way, and it made her touch her free hand to her lips in a fit of laughter. Seeing Issac behave in such a manner only served to remind her of just how deprived of a normal life she had been, even for a Jin, and it made her sad to have to acknowledge that this was the first time that she'd had someone behave in this manner toward her. Matthew was silly, sometimes, yes, but it was nothing like the easygoing Issac. They were two different things.

Kaori had seen other beings--Humans and Jin alike--interact with each other, but, like Issac, she had been thrust into responsibility at an early age, and with it had come the elimination of such childish things. Things that now--with Issac--she could plainly see made things much more tolerable in life. Just as when she had met Matthew, she felt that she would have a much better sense of Humor when it came to living had she met Issac. And she probably would have been filled with much more warmth towards hardships in general, as Issac never seemed to be put down too much by anything.

In fact, she felt warmth pouring through her just as his arm rested on her shoulder. The weight there was welcome, and very pleasant, and Kaori found herself smiling more brightly in spite of herself.

"So, about the other night..." Issac said, his surreptitious smile working its way across his face, canines visible in a way that made the expression look sneaky.

Kaori sought for a way to finish his sentence. "...I very much enjoyed your company, even though I was in danger. It appears that I have good luck in finding...close company," she said, touching her nose to Issac's affectionately.

[Issac Verro]

The touch and scent of her nose made Issac do something subconsiously that he avoided doing at all costs, motly to avoid embarrasment. He began to pant like a pleased caninie, and seconds after the realiztion of the act, he backed away slowly and turned his head in mild embarrassment. "Close company... unlike me, that guess was a little too close for comfort. Glad i was there though, well.. with you I mean." Issac said, fubling ocver his words in a stupor form the touch of Kaori.

Starring into KAori's eyes, Issac hoped he did not have the look of the steroticpical puppy dog,placing his habd ontop of hers. "Are there people out to hurt you for some reason Kaori. you don't look or act like someone that should be wandering, not like a mutt like me." Issac said in a subtle tone, looking at Kaori.

[Moriteruze Kaori]

Issac's reaction to such a simple show of affection was very extraordinary, and Kaori could do nothing but continue to smile at Issac as he continued to display his happiness at her company--even the night before, at the temple. He admitted that he was glad that he was there with her. Moreso than anything, though, Kaori was delighted that even for a moment she had managed to break his non-chalant demeanor.

"Are there people out to hurt you for some reason Kaori? You don't look or act like someone that should be wandering, not like a mutt like me."

Kaori looked down at the mention of herself being hunted, and she said promptly in response--as she had told his story many times--"I disgraced a family that I did not like or have anything in common with, and because of that, I am an outcast. They would have me dead, if I allowed them." That was the shortest way to sum things up.

Through the looking glass at the front of the coach, she could see Matthew's ears prick up just a bit as he rode atop the horse. Kaori was touched that he was so worried about her, but all secrets always find their way to the surface, and Issac was asking her honestly and kindly, so she saw no problem or harm in answering. He was traveling with her, in any case; it would only be proper for him to know the circumstances under which Kaori needed guards in the first place.

[Issac Verro]

"Family, funny how that word is used isn't it. There supposed to be the ones you love and trust, right. Well, when it's not the case you can't think of anyone you hate more then them." Issac said, starring in front of the carriage, feeling the bumpy road Matthew had now started driving across.

"I had a family once, a Mom and Pop when I was a pup, that changed when someone killed my mom and framed me for it, and my dad tried to kill me, so I understand." Issac said to Kaori, scratching the back of his ear, then placing his hands back in his lap.

Issac's past was a touchy subject for him, he did not disclose its details easy. Thinking back to his father filled Issac with both resentment and longing, hating him at the same time as missing hima nd wanting to make everything right again.

[Moriteruze Kaori]

Hearing the tone in which Issac addressed his family was more than enough to make Kaori regret asking him about his background. Slowly, and gracefully, she withdrew herself from Issac's immediate presence, sitting fully upright once more and gazing at him through eyes that took his personal feelings seriously.

Kaori knew exactly what he was speaking of, when he said that family could be the ones that a person loved or hated the most. Kaori felt that way about her family, and the night at the temple was more than enough to exemplify how her family seemed to feel about that. What confused Kaori even more about her own situation was that she had never been close to her family; other than her mother and father, she would be lucky if could do little more than match her family members' names and faces. Of course, she could use her magic to discover more about them...but there was no merit in forcefully learning about a person. And at the time that she had been around them, she had not known how to use her magic to that degree in any case...

Cordoning off her thought within her own mind to keep her attention from wandering, she processed the words that Issac had said, the story about himself that he had revealed. He had not said very much in the way of detail, but despite the lack of it the few sentences that he had stated held enough information to let Kaori know that his past was very precious to him, if only because it was so violent. Issac spoke as though his ordeal had been trivial, but they both knew that it was much more than that. Even Kaori could not imagine how she would feel if her parents had done such a thing to her.

This was a difficult subject to discuss in conversation, and because things had taken such a delicate turn, Kaori decided that the best response at this point was to say nothing.

[Issac Verro]

Issac was partially unnerved by Kaori's silence and now distance from him in the carriage. No he could only think of how he killed the mood that filed the cart, and would have spoken to correct this if Matthew had not hit a bump, causing Issac to hop out of his seat against his will. If being as tall as his was wasn't a hindrance enough when it came to leg room in tight places, Issac hit his head on the top of the carriage and sat back down, his bump not worth rubbing for the pain would subside soon.

"Hey, you should see what that was, the ride was pretty smooth until now.." Issac said, turning to look out of the window, wondering as to Why the road had now become so cumbersome to traverse. Issac thought back to his mother, lying on the ground dead as he lashed his rage against her murderer, Sajud who despite his superior skill and large build, seemingly allowed the angered pup to assault him. Issac remain quiet about this, and kept his thoughts to himself.

[Moriteruze Kaori]

The silence in the carriage seemed to spread wider and wider, and Kaori wasn't sure what she could fill it. Her mind raced for something to say, but she couldn't think of anything at all. A bump in the road is what stopped her train of thought. Issac hit his head on the top of the carriage, and she reached out to comfort him from the small injury instinctively, delicately massaging his head.

The carriage wheeled to a stop, and Kaori asked Issac, "Are you all right?" as she reached with her free hand to the handle of the door on the right side of the carriage. The next thing she said was "Matthew? Is everything all right?"

She heard nothing from Matthew, and when she opened up the door, she could see trees and grass. They weren't on the road. "Matthew?" she called again. She heard a string of curses, and she knew that they had come from Matthew. Relieved that he was fine, she looked at Issac, a silent gesture that they should go out side and investigate.

[Issac Verro]

Issac placed a small amount of pressure on his wound dulled the pain and caused the lump to go away, at least for the time being. Issac took a glimpse of Kaori's back as she looked outside the open door to address Matthew. Smiling in approval, Issac placed his sword on his seat, and stepped outside to also see what impeded their journey, walking around to the front. "Something wrong with the road?" Issac asked in response to the obscenities that normally reserved Matthew bellowed.

[Moriteruze Kaori]

Matthew reduced his earlier swearing to quiet mumblings as he saw Lady Kaori and Issac come outside to see what the problem was. Partially embarrassed at his lack of ability to keep this matter out of their concern, Matthew sighed.

"Something...out from the road...spooked the horse..." he said in his deep voice. The two horses' whinnying could be heard over his own speech.

Kaori put a hand to her mouth, rushing forward to the horses and petting them, using her own abilities to help calm them as well as figure out exactly what had happened. As her lightly colored hands came in contact with each of their manes, she could feel their anxiety go away almost immediately. They simply wanted comfort.

From their recollections, something did indeed dart out in front of the road while they were trotting, Matthew lounging in his seat and not paying much attention at the time. They could not make out what the shape was, and it was the anonymity of the being that had scared them. However, since they couldn't recognize the shape, Kaori couldn't, either.

"Something did come out into the road," Kaori said, looking back at the two men escorting her. "I don't know what it is. It would have been anything. The horses certainly don't know what it is...Matthew, is there anything that we can do right now? Is anything on the cart broken?"

Matthew scratched his head. "Some...has been damaged..." he paused. "...I'll check in the next town. We can make it."

Kaori smiled, not only because it was a good thing that the cart wasn't broken, but also because stopping in a new town meant that she would have some time with Issac while Matthew was seeing to the repairs and maintenance. "...are we allowed to go back into the cart."

"...ten minutes to the town," Matthew answered, moving to Kaori's place and guiding the horses back to the middle of the road. When they were in place, and he had taken one last look at the cart, he nodded for Kaori to enter back into the carriage and he both opened the door and held her hand to help hoist her inside.

[Issac Verro]

Issac looked at he road to search for tracks to confirm Matthew and Kaori's suspicious. The markings in the dirt were not deep and were sparse, indicating that whatever darted in front of the cart was traveling fast. If it were an animal, it was long since gone, scarred by the commotion caused by the horses noise. If not, wha6tever it was it was still in the area most likely, await a prime opportunity to attack the carriage, something Issac was not going to wait for.

"I can't tell what spooked the horses, but I'm not taking any chances..." Issac said, sniffing the air for a trace or scent. Gaining nothing from this, Issac deduced whatever was after was attempting to be as stealthy as possible, walking back to the cart and grabing his sword, sitting and pacing his weapon across his lap. Closing his eyes, Issac focused his hearing, and slowed his breathing, "Drive a tad slower this time Matthew." Issac said, sitting in preparation for anymore surprises.

[Moriteruze Kaori]

As Kaori listened to Issac speak his mind about the incident, she couldn't help but smile. He was being cautious; it was not his cautiousness so much as his care to be cautious that pleased Kaori. She honestly felt that she could trust him.

She was still worried about whatever it was that had spooked the horses, but she had the feeling that if it was another one of her estranged family members she wouldn't see them until they reached the town. Failure to her grandmother was unacceptable, and Kaori knew that her namesake would be sending another messenger or assassin out for her blood soon enough.

She was now only a full quarter of the way into her journey, and she had a long way to go. Would Issac remain with her the entire time? She was not sure, and this matter weighed heavily in her mind, clouding her thoughts and breaking her current concentration. She was frankly quite saddened that their progress to the town had interrupted her previous conversation with him. Now that there was something to worry about, it wouldn't be logical to engage him in such an intimate conversation concerning their pasts again, would it?

Once everyone had gotten into their position on the carriage, Matthew started up again, his pace indeed slower as per Issac's suggestion. Kaori gazed out of the window nearest to her, searching for a small reprieve from her own mind, sorting out the mess that had been created when the subject of Issac's stay with her had crosssed her mind.

[Issac Verro]

Issac looked and Kaori and was concerned if she was troubled by the break in their conversation. While she had struck upon a reserve of sensitive emotions, Issac would had no problem answering her question, if she still wanted to ask them to him. Placing his sword across his lap, Issac sat back in his chair, and sighed, "Our conversation ended kinda abruptly, was there anything else you wanted to ask before we get attacked again? The assassin is on the near road, they covered their tracks well fairly well so I had Matthew drive slower to drive them out." Issac said to Kaori, his demeanor calmed, and his voice softer than before.

Issac did not like using others as distractions, especially Matthew in this case, but this was the only way to draw out the would be assassin. He waited patiently for both his conversation to Kaori to pick back up, as well the intruder to attempt to attack the caravan, this time his intervention would leave the assailant alive to answer some questioning, so that they may plan their movements accordingly.

[Moriteruze Kaori]

Issac asked whether or not she had any more questions, and she didn't. She didn't want to pry any further into his personal life than he had already showed her, for fear of coming off as nosy and rude. Even if Kaori had thought of a question to ask, she wasn't quite sure if now was a good time to ask it. Issac spoke of the thing that had scared the horses, and he called it an assassin, but...Kaori was not so sure. Kaori knew her family and there wasn't any way that they could have known this soon about Tabitha's death. She did not practice any magic, from what Kaori could remember, and she was sure that had that been the case, her cousin's fight with Matthew would have been better matched. Kaori had been in the company of her grandmother's side of the family before, and she could usually pick up the thoughts or attitudes of people nearby but...this one was foreign to her. She had sense nothing outside of the carriage when the horses became scared, and she received no inclination that her grandmother was behind this attack when she watched the events from the horses eyes.

That was not to eliminate the possibility completely, but unless her grandmother hired something outside of the family to take care of her, Kaori wasn't very sure what they were up against. But if Kaori had gotten to know anything about Issac, it was that his senses were very keen and that his knowledge of things pertaining to sound and stealth was much more complete than hers. Matthew hadn't been able to tell anything, either. But they were so close to the city now, and Kaori no longer knew if it would be safer to deal with a confrontation inside or outside of the town. She did not want to begin carrying the reputation that townspeople suffered when she was around--she was thinking that far ahead already. She tried to calm herself, concentrating on picking up brainwaves of any life in the area that was intelligent enough to plot their harm.

[Issac Verro]

While Issac sat in the carriage, he used the time to hone in on any and all disturbance that would arise on the short trek the group had left until they reached the town. Issac heightened his hearing and smell, having familiarized both Kaori and Matthew's individual scents and sounds, and saturated the area around himself with his Force magic, feeling every stone the cart rolled over as it continued. Closing his eyes helped him better focus, as he slowed his breathing down, Kaori expressing that she did not want to further pry into his past, something that saddened Issac to a degree as he actually enjoyed conversation with Kaori.

After several moments of silence, Issac felt the carriage being to slow down, waiting patently he withheld moving to see what the cause of this was. The road had gone from gravel, to smooth and easily mobile, the wheels no longer creaking under the pressure of the beaten path. Hearing the more calm neighing of the horses, Issac opened his eyes and turned to face Kaori. "I can only assume we have made it to the town, but don't drop your guard. Just because we weren't attacked on the road doesn't mean it won't happen while were here." Issac said, the smells of freshly baked bread, and spirits from the local tavern filling his nose, a smile formed on his face as he turned back in his seat to listen for Matthew's word that they had stopped completry.

[Moriteruze Kaori]

Despite the possibility of attack that Issac had brought back into focus, Kaori was taken in by just the smells of the city--this one was much larger than the town in which they had met Issac in--and considering that she hadn't been out of her town in quite some number of years, she was taken completely by this one. Aledo was small and quaint, but this town just hustled and bustled. She could hear all of the people already.

"I know," she said.

"We've arrived," she heard Matthew call from the front of the carriage. The road was no longer decrepit and bumpy, and they came to a smooth stop.

Kaori was curious, however, "What was your town like--the way it was structured, I mean. It's been many, many years since I left my hometown. I've never been in a place like this. When I was younger, I wasn't allowed to leave the grounds of my grandmother's manor. When my parents and I were disowned by the family...well, let's just say I didn't have the fortune of being in a city like this. It must be amazing."

She then stepped out of the carriage, looking around. Her guard was down just a bit, because she really was taken in by this town--was it large enough to be called a city? She wouldn't know.

[Issac Verro]

Stepping out of the carriage, Issac took the opportunity to stretch his limbs, and get a good eye and nose of the area. Kaori spoke to him, revealing a small tidbit of her past, indicating that she had never been to a town large enough to be considered a city, even during the travels of her youth. "City life is okay I guess, as long as you know of a few decent places to eat, sleep and drink you'll be fine." Issac said, smirking a little to comfort her as he placed his weapon inside his robe. Walking to the front of the carriage, Issac looked over toward Matthew, and leaned closer to the front to nuzzle the horse and stroke their ears, the beasts of burden having done their job and provided transport for three of them despite the dangers on the road.

"Be on the look out for anything suspicious Matthew, the city is a big place with a lot of people, so don't let your guard down. And if you encounter someone you suspect of trying something, leave them alive this time, we have to find out who else, if anyone else is after Kaori, a nice estimate of their numbers would be helpful." Issac said in a low enough tone, as so only the three of them could hear, hoping not to arouse suspicion or give away information to their pursuers.