[Kyrit]

The information had found its way in to his hands some time or another that little Destiny had aquired a new companion. A Hunter to be exact. A beast that would forever be willing to throw its life away just to save hers for the sake of having been freed from this place that he now found himself at. What was so bad about being stuck here? Didn't seem too horrible to him. Nice and gloomy. Oh well. That was beside the point. The point was that he didn't like her gaining the upper hand of a beast such as a Hunter at her side. Well, not unless he too had one.

So, that was his reason for having bothered to come. He was going to pull the ground back to being even, or rather back in to him being more in favor of winning any match between them. He was going to find himself one of these crystal creatures and claim it as his own.
{1}

[Kyrit]

If only it were that easy, to just walk in and stumble upon a Hunter right away. No, these were rare beasts that didn't often come out just at the sight of humans. They might have wanted to get out of there, but there was always the knowledge that not all humans wanted to just help them. To some they were probably just a good way to earn a large sum of keystones. Choose to give up something that wasn't all that special to you in the first place, sell the Hunter off to some rich pet collector, and you become a wealthy man.

His intentions might not have been to sell of what he came here to get, but they were far from just wanting to free one from the prison of a home like the woman he knew had done. He wouldn't give away anything that would almost kill him day after day either. No, that was quite stupid. Just something simple. Maybe take away his wings. He didn't have to fly after all, and he could always get that back were he lucky enough to find a Quiksylph as well.
{2}

[Kyrit]

Finally his feet touched the last step keeping him from moving in to the shrine. Why had he not taken flight to make the trip much quicker? Well he certainly wasn't about to fly through the harsh winds that would slam snow against his delicate wings. It was cold enough without trying to cut through the winds. He'd be fine with taking a nice slow pace up the steps even though it meant being in the cold for a longer amount of time. Quick meant colder, slow meant out in the cold longer. Second choice was definitely the best.

Hand sliding up to press against one of the wooden doors, Kurosuist let his slim form slip inside without letting in too much of the outside cold. Such warmth.... This place was like heaven after spending so long outside. No snow, no slippery steps. Only warmth, light, and other beings.
{3}

[Kyrit]

Other beings... yes... The sound of monks chanting certainly wasn't his most favorite sound. Hopefully they wouldn't be within each of the rooms within this shrine. He would like it very much if the dozens of trainers he saw hiding in here from the weather wouldn't be spread out either. Hopefully the other rooms were too cold, too dark, or too something for them to bother being there. The more people around, the less likely any hunter near was going to come to him of all people if it even bothered coming out of hiding.

Kuro pushed those thoughts aside and brought himself to the middle of the room, eyes casting upon the stone figures for a few moments each. What were their meanings? Was the hyenna looking thing supposed to be one of these Mekkayenas he had heard of? If so, would that mean that it would be the area that they chose to roam, and thus no Hunter in their right mind would wish to go down that hall? So many questions came up for each one, but there would be no way to answer them unless he actually tried to find out.
{4}

[Kyrit]

The first room... He figured he might as well go there first. No harm in checking out each of the rooms until he finally found what he had traveled here for. A pale hand brushed across the wall as his feet carried him down the unlit path to the left. If the front room had been so lighted, by leave the hallways so dark? Didn't they know that darkness was what gave creatures the chance to lurk? If people were really worried about these Mekkayena creatures they should really bother lighting up the halls a bit. Not that he cared of course. He was... rather fond of being one of those said creatures in the dark.

He was 'the bad guy' of this little game of cat and mouse, was he not? Chasing after the Fenling woman even though she only wished to live in peace. Quite odd how when it came to their animal selves, he should technically be the prey and she the beast that wished to tear him from the sky just for a meal. But sadly it just couldn't be that way. She had been made the delicate one, and he the poison trying to take away her precious life.
{5}

[Kyrit]

Finally, a tiny bit of light had become visible. Obviously he was nearing the end of the hallway. After a few more moments of his slow pace, it became clear that the light was supplied by candles that littered the wall. No wonder it was so dim in here.. And oh joy. There were other people in here too. Quite the gloomy outlook as well. Some were in tears, others were holding each other in a tight embrace. There was the feeling of.... death in the air. Not like lives had been lost here in particular, but more like deaths all around the world were remembered here for the lives of those lost. It was as if the candles were lit so that they would not be forgotten.

His hand now traced around the rim of a glass that once held a candle that had been lit for what seemed like a long time. There was little wax now, and no wick with which to light it with. Had this person been forgotten? Did the people that once came here to mourn the loss of this person or creature forget about them and stop visiting? Was each candle that was unlit that of a life forgotten?
{6}

[Kyrit]

The scent of lavender drifted toward him. Was this scent from the candles? No, it was from the few incense that were spread throughout the room. It was likely that none of the candles had a scent at all. But... Why this scent? Why did this room have to have the same scent as she did...? Kurosuist's eyes closed, his hand gripping tightly around the rim of the candle he had been touching.

Such a fragile thing... Her clothes had been tattered and she was covered in blood when he had found her. Most of it wasn't hers believe it or not. Just a few scratches from thorns when she had been running through the forest. That was why the clothes seemed in such poor state too. She made him feel like a jerk because he had been goofing off before he found out exactly what had happened.

The Garudor let out a small huff and opened his eyes back up. She was pathetic... And yet he still hadn't been able to capture her and bring her in. He knew he was stronger than her, so what had kept him from doing it so far?
{7}

[Kyrit]

"Kuro! She's injured!" The girl he had helped figure out that life living in the forest wasn't so bad was now holding a little red fox kit and fussing about it being injured. He told her that she was the one that knew about taking care of things like that, so she shouldn't have to bother him.

Oh yes... That fox. Fiona she named it. She had been rather upset when there was a forest fire and he wouldn't let her recklessly run in to try to save it. Maybe he should have... Then he wouldn't have to bother with the things that were going on now. Instead she'd probably have already been dead. Would have gone with that annoying little fox kit that had always hated him.

She was in tears, staring at the charred remains of the forest. Fiona... she had been asleep while the two of them had gone to fetch some water. The poor little thing had finally recovered, only to be left there because he hadn't let her go in. She could have saved her! She could have taken care of her!

"Just give it up... If I had let you go in you know you'd be dead as well." After hearing those words she refused to talk to him for days. Wouldn't even eat either.
{8}

[Kyrit]

His grip tightened, the glass cracking and giving way under it. This place... He didn't care if a Hunter were to show up. He wouldn't stay here and continue to let his thoughts bring back the memories of when he used to care for her up until the time be betrayed her trust and led R'cai right to her. They had gone to playing in the forest day after day to bitter enemies. He was always after her head and she was always trying to keep out of sight.

Turning away, Kurosuist lifted his hand to look at the droplets of blood surfacing on his hand from the glass digging in to it. Blood... So much of it had been spilled over the years because of him. So much blood that was dear to her...
{9}

[Kyrit]

Tears spilled from her eyes as she held the other girl's limp body in her arms and looked at the man she had called a friend for so long. "You killed her!" The vixen's voice was quivering along with her body. Why had he taken the life of the one other friend she had finally made?

Her crystal eyes watched as he turned away, wings spreading. "You'll be the one I get next time if he doesn't get you first..." She had been his target the whole time, only this other friend had gotten in the way.

He now found himself back in the dark hallway, his bleeding hand the one to trace along the wall this time, almost as if leaving a trail. A trail for what though? A trail for a beast looking for a meal, or a trail for something seeking compassion? Or maybe it wasn't even a trail. Maybe he was just using the hand he was used to using.
{10}

[Kyrit]

Back to the front room... It was still crowded with trainers and chanting monks. Certainly not the place to find a Hunter. Too noisy with too many people that would be all over them in a heartbeat just at the mention of one. So which of the other two rooms should he go to first? The one with the beast that could possibly be the dreaded Mekkayena, or the one with no animal with it?

After a few moments it was decided that the second hallway, the one without any animal attached to the stone guardian. The other... Seemed to have some sort of chill coming from it. Was there no roof in the room that was attached to that passage or something? He was quickly off down the middle hallway, hand still trailing across the wall.
{11}

[Kyrit]

This trip was far from the short walk it had been down the first passage to get to the room. As the wall grew rough and jagged it snagged the cuts that had finally stopped bleeding, tearing them open again. It was as if he felt no pain though, for he didn't bother to pull his hand away to safety. No, instead he had let it continue to drag on even this rough surface.

Finally, a light was becoming visible so he knew that he was finally drawing near the end. This light... seemed to get a lot brighter the closer he came to it. Maybe it had a better lighting source than dieing candles.
{12}

[Kyrit]

Well, the light came from the same source. It just so happened that there wasn't a single one in this room though that didn't have at least a tiny flame dancing upon its wick. Didn't the monks know how much of a death trap this could be if anything caught on fire...? It'd be just like the forest fire that Destiny had lost that fox to. It would spread out uncontrollably and consume everything in sight. Fire cared not for if something was living or merely an object. It would take both and leave behind just ashes.

Slowly, Kurosuist began to make his way around this brightly lit room. There were no remorseful beings here, no tears to shed. It was a lot more peaceful here. The perfect place to perform the ceremony of bonding a Hunter to him were he to find one. Just the Hunter and himself... Yes, he believed this room would work.
{13}

[Kyrit]

Drawing up his hand, the human form Garudor looked at dozens of cuts from the glass and the wall that were trying to close up. This time there wasn't anything trying to tear them open again, so the seemed to be doing an okay job at beginning to heal.

So what now..? Was he supposed to just stand around in hopes that a Hunter would happen upon this room? Well, it wasn't like there was much to do other than stand around. All that was in this room were the hundreds of candles and the odd symbol on the floor that he knew nothing of. Void of the darkness of burdened hearts. Such pure air that flowed through this room...
{14}

[Kyrit]

(Note that at this time, she is actually a Sapphire Hunter. By the end of the roleplay this will be her correct color though.)

Someone... was bleeding. She had first smelled it in The Halls Of Amnesty And Remembrance. Seemed... human for the most part. Maybe an animal with a human form, but still technically human. Seemed as though this being had traveled back through the hallway as well. Travel... Why was it traveling while injured? Didn't they know that the scent might possibly draw forth one of the malfunctioning Mekkayena? After all, it wasn't just the Hunters that they went after these days. If there was the scent of blood many of them wouldn't exactly pass up the chance for an easy meal.

She kept to the shadows as she followed the trail of blood leading from the candle, to the wall, and thus down the hallway. Must not have been a large wound. There was very little blood to follow, but their scent was there for when the blood did stop.
{1}