Save One Breath For Me -Raya's Awakening- WIP

[Raya Lenell]

Everything has a beginning

Twilight cascaded across the sky, the sun slinking it's way beneath the horizon. Crimson fingers stretched out to gently caress the silver city of Tairibo; City of Wind. Lights from street lamps and buildings began to twinkle, brightening up the darkening streets of the city. The normally large amount of people that explored the royal pathways of the city slowly decreased, and soon enough only a small number could still be seen wandering the streets. Most of them being teenagers looking for something to do or up to mischief. Nearby armored guards stuck to the shadows of the building, their watchful eyes seeking out any signs of trouble. All seemed to be as it should, the city slowly began to wind down as the night arrived onto the scene.

Walking along the silver tinted sidewalks were two figures. One of the being humanoid, the other canine. The human was in fact a young female, no older then perhaps eighteen or so. She was small, maybe around five feet and four inches tall. Her dark brown hair billowed softly behind her as a light breeze swept up to gently brush against her heart shaped face. Her orchid colored eyes shone with a sort of content bliss. Alongside her was a large wolf like figure that reached to the girl's shoulders. His pelt was the color of gray and blue and was streaked with ebony tiger stripes. The male canine bore the strength of his wolfen form, but yet it contained a sleek grace like a feline, and many of his features were cat like; such as a long thin tail with black fur tipped at the end, barely visible, long whiskers that sprouted from his slender muzzle and rounded paws. The duo were certainly a strange pair if you seen them for the first time and were new to the world of Analahad. Truth be told, one could see humans with large animal companions often, for the animals were spirit guardians to their masters, and were necessary to the denizens of Analahad.

Raya let out a contented sigh, stretching out her thin, slightly pale arms outwards briefly. "Lovely evening!" She said aloud, looking up to the sky briefly. "I do hope Kyoukan is free tonight...it feels like it's been ages since I've seen him." The girl mused. "You two are quite taken with each other aren't you?" The wolf growled in amusement, tilting his head back slightly to look up at his companion. [b"Oh hush Silver!"]

[/b] Raya laughed, playfully batting at the tiger wolf with her hand. Silver ducked his head and only chuckled. "Hey, I'm just saying. Who knows? I think you two have a very bright future together." The wolf stated, nodding his slender head once. Raya blushed a bit at the thought of being together with her best friend. She loved him, he loved her, but there were obstacles that blocked their way. Both of them were in training, and were separated to the far reaches of Tairibo. Kyoukan was to be a trained assassin for the king Cyril, and she was to become a guard. The boy was often times locked away in the Assassin's Guild tower, training to the wee hours of the morning, while Raya spent her time being trained by her father and ending their sessions by roughly evening. Nearly every night Raya would scurry from her household and sneak to the Guild in hopes Kyoukan was not training. It had been nearly a week since the two had seen each other, and it nearly killed Raya to be away for so long. The two were so close, practically bonded. It was an adorable site to some, a sickly sweet one to others.

Raya and Silver had been walking for a good several minutes now, and soon enough the elaborate high tower of the assassins could be spotted in the small distance. It was several stores high and colored glass windows dotted the tower. Shadows could been seen moving about in some of the windows. The girl's orchid eyes scanned about the area, her gaze landing upon several silver and golden hooded figures. There was one figure in particular who caught her attention immediately, and she could recognize him though his face was cloaked beneath the shadow of his golden trimmed hood. Raya grinned brightly, finding her pace quickining into practically a run. The hooded boy looked up, and a smile could be seen beaming happily. The girl crashed into the boy, and he in turn locked Raya in a firm, but gentle grasp. The young girl laughed and tilted her head back to look up into Kyoukan's face, her hands quickly flipped the hood back away from his face. Short, sandy brown locks burst from the shadows of the hood, dark emerald green eyes stared down tenderly at the girl he was embracing. Instinctively, Raya had reached up and traced the long scar that stretched from the corner of his eye down to his chin. It was a habit, she was intrigued by the mark, finding scars to be rather interesting. They told stories about the person, and often times they were exciting.

"I missed you." She murmured, hugging the boy tightly. "I missed you more." He chuckled huskily. [b"You off for the night?"][/b][/color] Raya asked, hoping so. Kyoukan nodded his head. "Indeed I am. Just tonight though. I have another long week ahead of me." He said with an exasperated sigh. Raya gave him a pouted her lips slightly. She this, but she knew it had to be done. At least they would have tonight.

"Where's my brother at eh Kyou?" Silver asked, padding up to the two casually. "In the courtyard, training some recruits. He should be here in a few--" "Damn right I was training some recruits. A pathetic lot they are I tell you! They're so scared stiff of me! It's frickin hilarious!" Came the booming laughter of an ebony colored wolf as he bounded towards the group, crimson colored paws thumping loudly on the stone. His bloody colored eyes lit up with a triumphant joy as he playfully headbutted Silver in the shoulder. The two wolves began to discuss something, and in the meantime, Raya and Kyoukan began to slink away from the two, and soon enough they found themselves walking down the road, their hands entwined.

A few minutes passed before the wolves caught up to their masters, but they stayed a little ways behind, giving the teenagers their alone time. Kyoukan had lead Raya down into the forest, one of Raya's favorite spots. The two made their way deep inside, trying to find the little oasis that lay hidden within the green depths. That was there spot, a sanctuary away form the hustle and bustle of their busy lives. It was a lovely area, full of life and full of a calm serenity.

It did not take the two long to come across their spot, and soon enough the too were lounging side by side along the oasis's edge. This was all they needed; the company of each other. That was enough to keep them happy and content. The two would lay out there for hours on end, either chatting or snoozing beneath the canopy of trees.

Almost an hour had passed when a sudden disturbance in the air brought suspicion within the humans as well as their wolfen companions. They air seemed unusually still, and sudden chill seemed to cling to the air. Raya and Kyoukan sat up, while Silver and Geikitsu bounded to their sides, their fur bristling and deep rumblings sounded off from their chests. Raya looked up towards the sky, and could see unusually dark clouds rolling by. They bore purple tints and lightning flashed from within their depths. The girl and boy jumped to their feet, feeling the need to leave the area quickly. Kyoukan grabbed Raya's hand and tugged her away, Silver and Geikitsu bounding behind them.

Darkness suddenly pooled down from in front of their path, a little black creatures emerged from the pools of black liquid. Neon yellow eyes glared upon the duo, and as soon as they emerged, the creatures lunged at them, their movements jerky and their arms twitching violently. Kyoukan had already reached behind him and plucked out his sword from it's sheath, and with a fluid motion, he banished the shadowy monsters, their bodies evaporating into an ebony mist. Raya looked about her in a frenzy, watching as the fiends launched themselves upon the wolves and struck out at Kyoukan once more. The girl reached out for her twin tonfa blades and quickly strapped them onto her forearms. She turned her head in time to see three of the shadows leaping out at her, and in one swift motion, she slashed in a wide diagonal arc, decimating two of the three fiends that threatened her. The one she missed however, had dodged the blade and latched onto her shoulder with its tiny hands and thorn sharp claws. She let out a hiss of pain through gritted teeth. She reached her hand out to the monster that clung to her like a parasite. As she tugged through, the shadowy monster dug in silently deeper. Before it clawed itself even deeper, the creature was suddenly slashed away by a silver dagger. Kyoukan in that instant grabbed at Raya, turning her around to face him. He inspected her quickly and quietly, eying the small streams of blood that trickled from the fresh wounds. She waved her hand dismissively. "I'm fine. But...what were those things?" She asked, her voice shaking slightly from the shock of it all.

"Those were Heartless." Silver stated, craning his neck to his shoulder and lapped at the wound stretched across the shoulder blade. "Beings who lost their heart due to the weakness of their wills, or from the darkness in their hearts. When you lose your heart...you become one of the many forms of Heartless. These were merely Shadows, grunts to the dark army. There are others who are far more dangerous...we must be cautious." The silver colored wolf woofed, padding his way towards Raya and Kyoukan.

"Then we have no time to waste. We must go." Geikitsu growled, shouldering his way past the group.

"They're right. We need to move, quickly." Kyoukan muttered, gripping Raya's hand and quickly tugging her away. The girl said nothing, only followed mindlessly as her thoughts began to race. As they rushed away, a concerning thought entered her mind. What of the others? King Cyril? John? Their families? Not that Kyoukan had much to worry about when it came to family but what about Raya's? Would they know of the threat as well and escape? What if the city was already under attack? Oh dear God above please let them flee before it's too late! "We have to help my family! They need to know what's happening! Please Kyoukan!" Raya blurted out, tears begginign to form in her orchid eyes. The boy turned his own emerald optics to the young girl, they stared at her with sympathy and he nodded. However, Silver spoke up then, shattering Raya's hope. "Raya, we need to leave now. If we go back into town, we are as good as gone." The wolf stated bluntly. "Tairibo is already lost. These things can invade a world in a heartbeat, and it only takes them minutes to swarm into cities and take over. Your family has either already escaped, or fighting off the darkness." Geikitsu growled coldly. Raya began to sob, and her running slowed immensely. Kyoukan desperately towed her along as quickly as he could, and reluctantly Raya picked up the pace again. The girl wanted nothing more then to assist her family, make sure they were safe...but as the realization of the situation settled in, she couldn't help but agree with the wolves. If there were as many heartless as Silver said there were, and if they were even stronger then the shadows they fended off...Tairibo was indeed lost.

Kyoukan suddenly halted in his tracks, causing the young girl to bump into his back. "No way." He murmured. Concerned, Raya peeked around her friend's back and her eyes widened a bit with surprise. She could see the little oasis bubbling in the center of the clearing they had just left behind, though the water was no longer clear, but rather it was a disgusting shade of black with purple swirling beneath the surface. "Weren't we just...here?" "Somehow the heartless must be interfering with us leaving...I'm not sure how..." The tiger striped canine grumbled, stepping up beside his human master.

"We got company!" The black and crimson wolf snarled, his fur bristled and lips curled back into a ferocious snarl. Silver, Raya and Kyoukan whipped around to find several, no, dozens of shadows like the ones before, but a lot of them were bigger now. They lurched forward silently, all of them grouping together in a large mass. The wolves were quick to strike out at the ones in the front lines, easily dispatching the smaller ones.

Black ooze appeared beneath the feet of the humans, and Raya gasped in alarm. She found herself to be stuck within the glob as well as Kyoukan. The boy had already unsheated his sword, and made do with attacking while standing still. Raya mimicked him, raising the bladed tonfas on her arms, she swung wildly about, slashing at any of the shadows who drew too near. A howl of anger arose from Geikitsu as a mass of the large ebony creatures towered over him, covering his body with their own, swallowing him up in the darkness. Silver cried aloud in despair for his brother, and was quick to try and remove them from where Gei had stood. More shadows appeared, leaping out of nowhere and grabbing onto both Raya and Kyoukan. Kyoukan grunted and attempted to throw them off, but more and more came, clinging to his body, swallowing him as they had done to Geikitsu.

"Kyouk---!" Before she could finish her cry, the heartless swarmed her, covered her. Se could see nothing but the blackness of their bodies and the yellow of their eyes. Raya screamed and cried out but no sound came out...then, there was silence. She could no longer hear Kyoukan or Silver attacking, nor could she hear her own cries...in fact, she couldn't see, she couldn't even feel. The only sensation she felt was the feeling of falling into emptiness...

Look Into Your Heart

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