A Dragon's Loyalty [Open]

[Kyrie Blaze]

His chuckle despite Levi was audible, and became full-on before the collar cut his airway too tight. He quieted, but gave a smile.

"Did I say that I was immortal? No. When I said 'you', I meant her. God."

It was said simply with exasperation, and no apparent religious connection.

Once again it was raspy, even moreso than before. He could hardly get it out, and seemed to be in pain. His Qi could work all it wanted but it couldn't clear the constriction on the outside, controlled by another...there would just be no bruises.

"...he needs to realize his goals are beyond his reach. He came for Mathew, not me." Kiyr spoke, but her voice was distant, as was her gaze, though it remained on the prone man.

[Levi Kayamei]

Levi smirked as an idea came to him. His collar disappeared as he stretched his hands towards the man, seeming to grab something between them then suddenly pulling "it" apart. As he did this, the area around the man turned to darkness as Levi removed the light from the area. The idea was to amplify Kyrie's power, allowing her to finish the man who tormented her.

"Maybe not by herself, but what about with some help from her friends?"


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[Kyrie Blaze]

"Hahahaheheheheh..!" Laughter came from the dark, rapidly becoming stronger as the man's Qi did its work. "You think, pretty boy? Are you certain?"

Kyrie, for her part, went dead-still as Levi manipulated the light to create an absence of it around the prone figure of her's - moreover than Mathew's, perhaps - assailant. Her gaze flickered before she turned it to Levi, almost as if she wanted to say something. But it was there and gone again in all of an instant, and she regained the faraway look in her eyes. The shadows, the feel of them, pulled at her. Tempted and beckoned.

Slowly and with no small amount of regal dignity, she stepped towards the shadows and faded from view with the trademark after trail of shadowy wisps. The pain of her ribs hadn't lessened, but she could more easily and readily cope. She felt like an observer, but knew she was right there. She could feel him within the shadows--feel the laughter (or was it fear?) shaking his shoulders. Feel him breathing in and out. It may have been eerie, save for the shadows that felt more readily like home than Mathew's place had for the first few weeks.

The torment, on the surface, was to execute a helpless prisoner or 'spare' his life and hope Levi or Mathew would slay him instead. But she felt such a hope was folly. There were so many other reasons it felt wrong. Perhaps had she just killed him when he was unconscious - undoubtedly just as bad as killing him now that he was bound - she wouldn't be feeling so conflicted. But he didn't have a dagger or something else at Mathew's throat. At her own. At Levi's. That, coupled with the fact she knew him, had interacted with him before...

The blonde manifested beside him, a long dagger held within her hand. Though it couldn't be seen, she felt it and knew it was there.

"I apologize. It is all I can do to ensure your end is as painless and quick as possible."

He struggled, then, as she set her hand softly, gently, delicately, against his shoulder.

"D-Don't do it. They will, but I--I told you I swear I'll never aband--"

There was the sound of snapping bones as a blade was forced through. A wet sound. A body hit the ground.

From the dark stepped Kiyr, face deceptively calm and composed despite the faint splatter of blood along her cheek and neck, along the hand she had held the blade with. The blade was nowhere to be found. She said nothing, simply kept her distant gaze fixed upon the horizon. Back within Dragon Territory. She didn't stop, just walked forwards with the endurance that had kept her alive, thus far. Her pace was steady and measured. Exactly the same as when she moved into the shadows.

[Levi Kayamei]

Levi stared as he watched Kyrie disappear into the darkness he had made. He watched the two forms as luminescent bodies of qi. He could almost feel the conflict within Kyrie as she appeared beside the man, holding the knife to his vitals. This man knew her...intimately, and couldn't help but feel a small tinge of jealousy, but it wasn't important now and what concerned him the most was what happened next.

"I apologize. It is all I can do to ensure your end is as painless and quick as possible."

Levi's heart almost sank when Kyrie's knife ended the man's life. His eyes didn't leave Kyrie as she walked out, clearly in distress underneath a hardened appearance. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder as she passed him.

"He was more than just a barker assassin...wasn't he?"

This question was rhetorical and he continued after a small pause.

"Listen....I know it isn't your style to just open up....but you know where I live if you need to talk....or want to play."

Levi knew that music was one way Kyrie actually enjoyed expressing herself, and given their musical chemistry, if she did choose to come to him, she would do her talking through the piano on the stage at his bar. He refocused his attention to the woman's wounds as he spoke once more. He made a platform out of light and moved it beside her at floor level.

"Now let's get you some medical attention....you shouldn't be walking like that."

[Kyrie Blaze]

Kyrie flinched away from the hand on her shoulder with a sound of discomfort escaping from between clenched teeth. She exhaled through her mouth, a hand finally coming up to wrap around her damaged ribs to ease the pain, but not before first adding some. She didn't move after her abrupt movement, holding onto her silence with a fierceness that bordered on desperation. She swallowed hard.

"I do not feel like playing, at present." She flicked her eyes to the side, watching him a moment. Nor was she in the mood for any of this, but what she needed at this moment, she wasn't about to say, unsure that she would even be able to tolerate it. Her eyes reclaimed the horizon, back to the home she had just defended at personal cost. But she had expected this wouldn't be easy, and now one of the last links to the past had fled the world by her own hand. "He was what he was, for good or ill, and all that remains laying behind me is a husk."

She didn't step onto the platform, yet. Perhaps she was being stubborn, but she had made it to Dragon Territory without aid, and had 'rested' on the way back to this location. Or perhaps she just wasn't ready to.

[Levi Kayamei]

Levi shook his head at her response. He hadn't been clear and given her emotional state, he deserved to be snapped at. This was one of Levi's weaknesses as he had never had to deal with this situation before, so what to do?

"Of course not, I meant when you are ready...."

He sat down on the platform and looked at her momentarily as he began to speak, "We can stay here as long as you like, I'm not leaving your side unless you tell me you don't want me here...." [/color]his gaze snapped to the floor as his emotions began to get the best of him though whther they were his own or him picking up on Kiyr's they felt intense. ".....You do whatever you need to do to leave this behind tonight." Levi would simply wait, making sure to not overstep his bounds, yet unwilling to leave her in this place by herself.

[Kyrie Blaze]

Kiyr gave a slow, but brief, nod to his amendment. Levi was simply trying to help her, no matter what, and she withdrew a little, working on getting a handle on her emotions. It wasn't really working. She focused on breathing slowly and evenly, instead, though she paid close attention to his words. She knew there was no way she could send him away. It was an odd sensation, to be sure, to both need and want him here even though she wanted to be alone at the same time...but she couldn't send him away. It would be a lie to say she didn't want him here.

The silence stretched on for half a minute or so.

To do what she had to do to leave this behind, tonight...

The only logical conclusion she came to to start and enable herself to was to first gain distance from it. Literally. So she slowly stepped around the platform. She started to slowly walk away from the bloody corpse that lay behind her, needing the motion of walking itself and not just the feeling of covering ground. It was quite a while before she managed to speak.

When she did, it wasn't long. Or loud in volume.

"I knew him...before."

[Levi Kayamei]

Levi sat with his eyes closed as Kyrie tackled her emotions. He stood up slowly as he she began to walk away, positioning himself slightly behind her, but at her side. He allowed the platform to disappate, content to allow her to do exactly what he had recommended: Whatever she needed to do. When she finally spoke, Levi listened intently, honored that he was worth opening up to.

"I wondered....so I assume you were....close?"

Levi was pretty sure he knew the answer to his own question, but he wanted to keep the conversation flowing. Talking it out was one of the best ways to deal with something like this and that's just what Levi was going to try to be: a sounding board, a counsulor or perhaps something more.....whatever this meant to her.

[Kyrie Blaze]

It was enough to concentrate on her breathing, on not hurting herself more than she already was. It allowed her to hold her silence for just a little while as she shook her head in response.

"...no."

And yet, in a way, yes.

She kept one arm firmly wrapped against her ribs, still, trying to keep her mind on the present, not the past. Or the future.

"I was not born in California. I had only arrived here less than a year before Barker had his way with the world."

Not too much information, but enough.

[Levi Kayamei]

Levi nodded as he listened, it was certainly not the answer he had expected, and part of him felt relieved for some reason, but that wasn't important for now. He kept his gaze forward as he spoke again.

"Well I'm certainly not a native, not just to this country, but I attended highschool 552 in New York when I spent most of my life in the US."

Levi paused, deciding to try to keep the conversation on topic.

"I see....Any idea why he came after you the way he did?"

Levi wouldn't be surprised if Kyrie didn't feel like answering this question, it was most likely complicated and personal, but of course, he was there to listen and help in any wya he could.

[Kyrie Blaze]

The blonde nodded slightly at Levi's contribution to not being a native to the area...let alone the country in his case. She deliberated answering the question, and how much she should say. She knew exactly why.

"Yes."

But Kyrie didn't elaborate--she just continued her slow walk, not sure if she wanted to explain. It was, indeed, complicated and personal even despite the fact she wasn't close to him.

[Levi Kayamei]

Levi put his hands in his pockets as he maintaned pace, surprised at how well Kyrie was holding up, unsure if it was adrenaline or just sheer willpower in attempt to avoid showing some sort of weakness. Kyrie was strong and yet had a sensitive interior that she worked so hard to hide. this strength was one of many things Levi admired about her, but Levi wanted her to open up to him, at least as a friend if nothing else. Levi spoke softly with a tone of sincerity.

"You know I already know how strong you are right? You don't have to hide anything from me, I promise. If it hurts too much to elaborate then fine, and I won't pretend to know you better than anyone else.....but please don't feel like you have to hide from me of all people...."

[Kyrie Blaze]

Levi's words had a visible effect on the blonde, whose shoulders drew together in a tight, slightly hunching, shape. If anything could be said about tonight, it was that it had left and chiseled out some very big cracks in her normally near-flawless composure, and Levi was certainly doing one heck of a job at widening them further still. But vulnerability? She didn't think she could afford to show it; the last time she had with no ruse, she had been taken advantage of, in a sense. She didn't want it to be a recurring theme, even though she definitely trusted Levi a great deal.

And on top of that was the fear that...

"I fear that if I start, now-w--I will not have strength enough to stop." It was uttered in a hushed tone with a slight hiccup. To counteract it, she pressed her fingers against her ribs, harder than the current pressure she was applying to keep them from being jostled.

There was a saying that she was getting at, that her words brought to mind, which generally went: 'People cry, not because they are weak, but because they have been strong for far too long.' This quote has been built upon, and every incarnation has been no less true than any other, but perhaps one of the most fitting was a discussion on tears when a person, once cracking, finally breaks: I don’t count tears of weakness as crying, it’s just water leakage of the eyes. But tears that come from someone finally being open after remaining strong for far longer than they were supposed to, those tears are TEARS. And those tears should be comforted--for in them is not weakness, but unbelievable strength.

She couldn't stop, though. With such a slow pace, there wasn't enough distance...and she hadn't decided whether she could, or not. This time, this place, it didn't seem like it would be wise to. And yet, if not now...when? Perhaps she was just unprepared to deal with this. With all of this. It dredged up too many memories, left her scrambling for purchase, and even as Levi extended a hand, it was like he threw oil out on the rocks of the cliff face she was climbing.

[Levi Kayamei]

Levi smiled as he caught up with Kyrie and looked over to her. The locks were finally coming undone, and Levi knew all too well that without someone to catch what fell out from behind those locks, Kyrie would be worse for wear.

"but aren't you already at the point of either never being able to stop or stepping up to this challenge? This is the hardest part....letting the walls down and figuring out how to deal with who you are without them."

Levi stepped in front of her and stood firm.

"...and if I'm here....If I'm here you won't have to stop unless you need to, because you have far more than enough strength for this and I'll remind you every time you forget that......I'm not going anywhere and as long as I'm here, you won't have to handle this alone....I promise."

There....he had finally done it....he hadn't exactly spilled his guts, but his feelings for her were certainly out and, in his mind, in the best possible way. It wasn't some sappy "I love you!" It was an expression of those feelings and a commitment to them.....and to her.

[Kyrie Blaze]

It wasn't until Levi placed himself solidly in front of her that Kyrie actually stopped walking. The petite blonde didn't look up at him just yet. It was too hard, for the moment, and she was filled - not only with turmoil and grief - but indecision. She couldn't tell if he was taking advantage of her vulnerability, in this moment, or not. She was too conflicted on the inside to be able to see clearly, and yet perhaps for the moment, trust was okay and permissible to be blind.

If only for their previous interactions with one another.

She listened in hushed silence, but lifted a hand to press the heel of her palm against a closed eye, pressing in to try and stem the onslaught that was being held back by a thread.

She had simply been talking about the tears she was nearly drowning in, but Levi dug out the deeper meaning. It hurt, in a way. Why now? Why should she be tormented with this, now, after losing so much? Would it be ripped away again, or would history repeat itself in the fashion of events that had happened tonight and would she have to plunge a dagger into Levi's skull as she had with the body that was some distance away? Because by that time, if such a thing came to pass, it would be so much worse with Levi; she knew herself that much, at least.

If she gave anything, it wasn't ever by half-measures.

Which was why trust - the topic Levi spoke of - was so dangerous for her.

As the first few tears made their escape from her eyes, unbidden, Kiyr hunched her shoulders still more, binding her hand more tightly against her ribs. The hand that pressed against her eyes slid down to cover her mouth but only partially stifled the soft sob. Even that much caused her to clench her eyes shut and prevent another sound of pain, this time physical. The blonde could feel her legs threaten to buckle, but she didn't immediately fall.

Kyrie, finally, cried. Softly, for now. She didn't - couldn't - at first, reach out. But after a moment of containing herself, she did lean forwards, closing the distance she had stopped at, head bowed, to press her forehead high against his chest, most likely resting against his collarbone, if she paid attention at all to the feel against her forehead.