Tourin and Taj

Cephor looked around her room just to ensure she was alone and then turned back to Dor as he entered her room. She waited as he cast some sort of spell and hoped that it wasn't something that would get them noticed if it were tripped. She knew no magic that she was aware of and all of the men on the grounds knew her well enough to also know that fact. She was friendly with everyone she met and really had no secrets to hind from them. Well, until now.

"I'm sorry...That you got mixed up in all of this...that you had to come here...." Cephor offered her apology, if she had stayed home Dor wouldn't have gotten mixed up in any of this and for someone of the Peacekeeps guild to be here during such tense times really couldn't be as easy as it seemed. She looked up to him in an apologetic manner and walked over to him. She didn't understand why she was going to such lengths for him, why he was doing the same for her. What was it about him that drew her to him?

Cephor didn't realize how close Dor had gotten, feeling like she would rather have had argued that it wasn't her fault, feeling it was. Then as his face came in so close to her, she could feel his hot breath on her face and then her heart skipped. She felt her stomach flip at the anticipation and she could not take her eyes from him even if she wanted.

When Dor pulled away from her suddenly and went about looking around her room, she couldn't hide the dark blush on her face. "O-of course." She said quickly, giving him permission to sit on her bed. Suddenly feeling a bit nervous from the previous events, Cephor walked over to the bed and sat next to him, folding her hands in her lap neatly. She looked up to him, her heart pounding painfully in her chest and then decided to keep her eyes off of his handsome face. "Dor...do you like the peacekeepers?" She asked wanting to change the topic before the awkward silence went on any longer.

Cephor watched as balls of light seemed to spring from Dor's hand and it seemed hard to draw her attention away from them as he spoke. What she found most surprising was to hear that he didn't actually like the group he was with. She knew that all of the men in the Chaos guild were fiercely loyal to each other, their cause and most of them had been there for a majority of their lives. Being brought into a faction though might be a different story and one that seemed to make more sense.

A light blush came to Cehpors features when Dor' complimented her and she smiled softly. "I was taken in." A sadder smile replaced her previous one and she looked back up to Dor. "My parents died in a attack." She explained.

There was something bugging Razern, something the man couldn't ignore. Normally Cephor would not lock herself in her room, ever. She would be out and about the grounds, greeting everyone with her soft smile and gentle words. But after some unknown man had returned her she went directly to her room and he found traces of injury on her. "What happened...?" His thoughts had brought him to her room unknowingly and froze still when he heard voices inside her domain. Not just any voices, male, and not so unlike the male that had brought Cephor back.

He started walking towards her room, wanting to find out the source of the noise.

Cephor felt a pang of guilt of bringing up her late parents when she found out she wasn't the only one. Just as she was about to apologize for bringing up such a sad memory when suddenly he stopped, going rigid and then standing. "Dor?" She asked, soon getting her answer that someone was coming. Her heart started to pound in her chest. She didn't want him to be caught, not here, for fear he would be killed. She didn't understand what he was saying, what dangerous thing he was talking about but once again before she could speak something happened. His lips were crushed upon her own and she felt her stomach lip. And then he was giving instructions where to meet him and again and just like that he was gone. All of this happened way to fast for Cephor to comprehend and she was left standing there with a hand on her lips and a shocked expression on her face when Razern busted into the room.

"Cephor!" He called as he ran into her room, seeing her slightly pale expression. He ran in, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a protective hug as he looked around the room with menace in his eyes. "What happened, are you alright?" He noticed nothing out of place and then look down to her.

"I'm alright, Razern, I promise." She smiled softly, putting a hand on his chest and even though the suspicion and worry did not leave his face he did release his grip on her and take a few steps back. "Who were you talking to? I heard voices." He said.

"I was talking to myself...I'm sorry to have worried you but I'm starting to feel a bit lightheaded...so if you please..."She began pushing him out of the room, and then smiled apologetically once more when he was out of the room, closing the door behind her.

He wasn't happy, worried in fact at her behavior, but Razern let it go for now, heading back to his room and turning in for the night.

~*~*~

The next morning came and Cephor was out of the dojo before anyone could come knocking on her door or see her leave the grounds. She made sure her hair was up in a pretty way and she was wearing a deep red kimono. She spent some of the morning going about the open markets looking at the fresh product but as noon rolled around she went back to the place where she had met. She twisted her hands in a nervous manner, waiting for Dor.

Cephor stood there nervously for a few short moments before she heard a soft voice come into her head, brushing the walls of her mind softly. When the voice mentioned that it was Dor, who was a dog, she looked around for a short moment and her eyes landed on the four legged creature. As it trotted over to her and sat down, giving her the compliment she wasn't really sure what to say.

A dark blush colored her cheeks and then she bent down, running her hand through his silky hair. "You can change into a dog as well?" She asked, looking around and then stood. "Come on." She said, leading them away from the crowd and into a small area with no one in sight. "Are you alright? What happened last night?" She asked, allowing the worry in her voice to finally show.

Cephor watched as the tired lines on Dor's face became more apparent as he leaned against the wall and rubbed his temples. She leaned up and gently took his hands, removing them from his head and replacing her hands where his were. She turned her finger angle slightly and began a very gentle, slow rub. "Some of the guys get bad headaches after training so I've gotten a lot of practice at this." She smiled wanting to take the pained expression from his face.

She thought for a long moment passed before she pulled her hands back sheepishly. "Feel any better?" She asked, taking a small step back and folding her hands in front of her. As she was about to say something more a large crash came as a wall came down around them. A black demon with several spikes running down its spine and horribly sharp teeth roared as it found some prey, moving fast to open its jaws to swallow the couple in one bite.

Cephor could only stand there, put into shock from the appearance of the demon. To say her last experience with her last one wasn't pleasant was a massive understatement. She was shaking like a leaf and her blue eyes seemed too large for her face as they stared at the creature. That was, until it came lunging for her and in the last seconds when Dorloan had told her to move, she brought her arm up in front of her face to defend herself the best she could.

Sharp pain erupted through her arm as she felt the claws tear into her skin and push her back from where she was standing. She let out a small scream and she was sent flying backwards, landing hard on her back and knocking the wind out of her. She felt warm liquid run down to her hand as she landed and had to take a few moments before she could sit herself up.

The demon, having seen its smaller prey go flying seemed to lose some interest in something so small and turned to the male. It turned its full force on Dorloan, swiping at him while he was in the vulnerable position.

Cephor was horrified at this entire situation; something that was supposed to be so nice between the two of them had been completely ruined. Fear, and anger rose in the small woman and as she stood, a cascade of black hair fell down her shoulder as the neat arrangement fell out of place. She didn’t want him to die, and as the great beast picked Dorloan up and looked like it was about to take a bite out of him, something changed in Cephor. “No!” She screamed in denial, reaching out one hand, and to her she saw a flash of light and then found herself nearly out cold on the ground, having no idea what had just happened to her.

To anyone else’s view, there was in fact a light that shot from Cephors hand, looking almost like an arrow that shot through the great demons chest and out the other side. There was a split second were Dorloan could see pain register on the demons face before he simply busted into light and disappeared. Cephor sat herself up as she watched Dorloan fall to the ground and ran over to his side, “Dor! Are you alright?” She gently touched his arm, unsure of how hurt he had really been. Tears welled in her eyes, emotion finally allowed to surface now that they were not in mortal danger of being eaten.

Cephor kept her hand lightly on Dor, half in concern half to ensure he wasn't going to force himself to stand or anything like that. "I don't know..." She replied honestly, drawing her hand up for a moment and looking at is as if to find some sort of clues. "I really don't know..." She sounded distressed, not sure if something was wrong with her. She had never shown any sort of magical power and not really knowing her parents for that long, she had never heard of them having powers either. Though for now, she wanting to not think about it, "For now...lets make sure you are alright?" She suggested checking over any bumps for bruises that might have formed in the short fight.

Cephor stood when he did, putting a hand on his shoulder as he fell back into the wall. Concern clouded her eyes which was soon replaced with shock as Dor seemed to lose consciousness and fell to the ground in a heap. "Dor!" She checked him over, trying to find some sort of mortal wound but found nothing aside from cuts and bruises. She frowned, pushing back a rouge hair from his head out of his face. "I'll go get help..." she said, steeling her determination and grabbing his arm. With a grunt, Cephor dragged his much larger body against the wall and into a sitting position. She stood back, panting from exhaustion, "Please stay safe..." She said before turning and running in the one direction she knew she could get help from. The peacekeepers guild.

Coming up to the gate of the guild, after stopping for directions many times, Cephor was now hesitant to try to bang on the wooden gates. She had to look a mess, her kimono hanging off her shoulders and her long raven colored hair laying all about her shoulders and back. There were small cuts on her face and a large, still bleeding gash on her arm that she had completely forgotten about. Would they know she was from the peacekeepers guild? Would they kill her? She had to try, for Dor. She banged on the door, "Please, I need your help!" she called, hoping to be answered with words and not weapons.

The guard opened a small eye opening to see on the other side of the gate. On the other side he saw a small woman that looked like she had been in a fight. She said she needed help and the guard wondered what had happened. “What do you need help with ma’am? I can’t just open this here gate for any random stranger that comes along asking for help. You’re gonna have to explain yourself first.”

Well, at least she wasn't killed on the spot, Cephor thought when the guard had come to the door and asked her to identify herself. "Please, I believe one of your own is hurt, Dorloan." She said, steeling her resolve once more and holding her ground. He needed her help and she wasn't going to leave at least until she saw he was taken care of by his men. She hoped that they would not assume it was her but she guessed she was safe so long as she did not reveal where she was from.

“Dorloan ya say? Hmmmmm I can’t seem ta recall that one. He may be one of the new ones. I can take ya ta the dojo boss if ya want. He’s usually in the dining hall bout this time. He could probly getcha some help. No promises though. Wanna follow me to ‘im?"

Cephor was more than happy to see that the man behind the gate wasn't going to kill her, in fact, seemingly wanting to help her. At his proposal to go inside her heart jumped slightly, more than a little nervous of the idea of going into 'enemy territory', but what choice did she have? Dorloan was out cold against a wall and with seemingly not mortal wounds on him, she wasn't sure how to help him or even where to start. With a small sigh, Cephor nodded her head, wanting to be brave for him.

The guard opened up the gate for the girl and let her in. He walked through the grounds of the dojo. On the way to the dining hall they passed by most of the major structures in the facility. The barracks, the apothecary, the arcane arts practice room, the smithy, the combat training grounds where a couple of battle mages were sparring. The dojo was actually quite a large place, despite its misleading outward appearance. As they approached the dining hall the guard half turned around as he walked to address Cephor. “Don’t do any talkin’ till I give ya the floor. The dojo boss likes ta be real proper-like when we speak to him.”

The guard opened the door to the dining hall and motioned Cephor in with a quiet, “ladies first.” After she had entered he quietly shut the door behind them and then turned to address the dojo boss. He approached the boss’ seat and kneeled a few feet away. “Request ta speak ta the boss.” The boss nodded and replied with a simple, “go ahead.” The guard rose to his feet and looked at the boss. “Young lady here, oh jeez I don’t think I got her name, well she can introduce herself in a moment. Anyways, you lady here says one of ours is out there in the city injured. I think ‘is name was Dorloan. Mind if she speaks to ya boss to tell ya the story?” The boss looked over at Cephor and smiled at her. “Of course she can, step over here and speak to me young lady. Tell us the story of what happened.”

~~~~~*****~~~~~

Master sat beside the dojo boss in the dining hall, as was his designated spot for the duration of his stay with the Peacekeepers. He had long white hair that was pulled back and reached slightly below his shoulders. His cane rest beside him and his plate in front of him. Master was a very solemn man most of the time, not to be mistaken for laziness. His skin was dark like that of those who worked out in the sun and it contrasted his hair making look younger than her really was. He watched as the door to the dining hall swung open and a very beautiful woman came in followed by the gate guard. He wondered about why the guard had brought a stranger into the dojo, she obviously wasn’t part of the Peacekeepers. His question was answered as the gate guard spoke to the dojo boss. At the mention of Dorloan, Master clenched his fists together. What had that young fool gotten himself into? It was Master’s job to protect Dorloan. Dorloan’s parents /had/ entrusted their only son to him before they died. Master sat on the edge of his seat waiting for the young lady to introduce herself and explain what had happened.