Getting Settled In (Sol/Kanix/ Privet)

CALL OF THEWILD

Kanix held his hand tightly, not out of being cold, though she did happen to be quite cold, but out of fear of losing him. She could feel the snowstorm around them was very strong, that it was likely hard for him to even see nicely, and she didn't want to get lost. Being lost and being blind was not the greatest of combinations, then the added on effect of a snowstorm? No, sirree. The more she thought about it, the more she was certain that she would somehow get lost out there and freeze to death. Her top priority now, would be to get some warmer clothes, even if it meant that she had to cover her entire body with cloth.

"J-just a little farther my ass," Kanix grumbled through chattering teeth and trying not to shiver. She regretted wearing the outfit she was, though it was far more comfortable than being clogged up in clothes.

Kanix frowned at how giddy he was about the privacy and the perilous adventure that he had graciously taken her own. She liked privacy from time to time, but damn this place was so far out into Cursed Lands and dangerous, she wasn't so sure about it. Shortly though, she was dragged from her thoughts when Sol mentioned something about her guild mark being visible.

"Oh! Right!" she replied, pulling her hand free of his, so she could remove her coat quickly and tie it around her body. There, at least she could cover herself for the time being and still have her mark visible to the monsters. The woman would grab hold of Sol's hand again and await the arrival of the guard dogs that she wouldn't really question on why they had to wait.

CALL OF THEWILD

The rancid breath of the dogs wrinkled her nose up in disgust, but she stood there patiently as an understanding slipped between master and servant. She felt her hand tugged on, then a sudden gust of warm air rushing around her as Sol led her into the building. Goosebumps coursed her skin for a brief moment before her body adjusted to the change in temperature. Her senses picked up every little detail that was around her, but the lack of visualization stunted her excitement. Oh, how she wanted to see the hall they were standing in; how vast it was and the things contained within it. Music danced in her ears, pleasant, and noted how it gave the place a very calming aura as they ventured deeper. Instinctively, she reached a hand forward, hoping to touch and see something, but things were just out of reach.

Her head swiveled in Sol's direction as he spoke about how she may want to get settled in before starting the tour. What good would it be to settle in? She had no luggage, no sense of belonging that needed placement in her room. Kanix's hand pulled back from where it had reached out to touch something, then dropped to her side in defeat. "What would I need to settle in for? I own nothing, but the clothes on my back that I wear now," she stated in a monotonous voice. That sounded depressing to her, but she didn't say much than what was needed, and returned to looking around. The walls, she imagined, as a papery, matte look, maybe even a wallpaper feel to them as well; she could be wrong though. The carpet, through the touch of her boots, felt squishy and soft, though she couldn't define the texture of it.

She could feel the glow of the candlelight, and in her head she pictured a softness to it, a dark and eerier ambiance created by the candle. What else could be there, she could only guess and wonder; tables maybe, being that he had told her it was the size of the guild hall, couches, decorations. . . This was the very reason why she needed to walk around on her own and touch everything that she could. Because she wanted to see everything, to get a feel of what her home would be like, even if it was temporary she thought.

"What are the places that I should avoid?" Kanix asked, turning her head to look at Sol again. That dancing music in her ears had now been broken by her harsh voice, but laced back in them shortly after. She was nearly humming the music now, how it enchanted her to do such a thing; where exactly was it coming from? Then her mind drifted to another place: where were the stairs to the higher level that Sol had mentioned to her? What did those feel like? Were they stone? Were they wood? What did the railing feel like? It was an entire experience for her. Kanix wanted to run off and do her own thing, but this was not her home that she had bought, this was his. For now, she would need to be courteous, remain by his side, and stay attentive to learn where she did not belong.

"What are the kinds of monsters here? The demons?" she would venture next. Arbitrary information for her, but it was knowledge she would have loved to know for the sake of knowing. A new place required for her to inquisitive; she merely wanted to know everything she could about the castle. What she already knew was not enough for her, but she would not persist on knowing anything if Sol felt not like sharing.

The humming of the music started again, though she remained quiet as she waited for him to take her to her room.

CALL OF THEWILD

"Eh. . . I won't be so bothered if you don't have anything for me to wear; I'll be fine with what I have for now," Kanix answered him quietly.

She jumped at the unexpected appearance of an imp, her hearing never catching the steps of the hideous beast. Her hand tightened momentarily around Sol's, tensed from nervousness and fear, but quickly relaxed its grasp. Kanix leaned forward slightly, staring at the imp with her blind eyes, listening to the grotesqueness of its voice. Briefly, she reached out to the creature, as if she wanted to touch it, though soon thought otherwise and pulled her hand back. What she needed to learn was to not touch things that weren't hears; however, touching was the only way she could see. It would be best if she asked before touching, but her abrasiveness in wanting to know things always prevailed.

Perhaps that would be her downfall.

Kanix straightened up when Sol threatened the little beast that if she was harmed, he would throw them to the butcher. "Harsh. . ." she murmured to herself, watching the beast with a sympathetic look in her sightless eyes as it vanished.

Whatever had happened in between the threats and the simple chatter, she felt Sol take her hand again and lead her away. Her head twisted, so she was looking over her shoulder at the place the imp had once been, but soon faced forward. Automatically, her free hand went to the railing, letting it glide over the woodwork, feeling every bump and groove of its design. Now, she was able to imagine things, see things without having to wonder if what she thought was what it actually looked like.

She took in what she was being told about to avoid, so far it was the dungeons, the laboratory, and the gardens. For one, she understood why she should not go down into the dungeons or into the quarters of the laboratory, but why the gardens? It was silly to her that the castle would have a garden that people were not allowed to be in because of demons. Kanix was beginning to rethink taking him up on the offer of living here, especially with how he displayed the evilness of this place. More places than one were dangerous, which meant that she would have to tread extremely carefully around the castle. In fact, it would take her a really long time to get use on where not to go and what places were all right to be in. Right now, she simply knew that the hall was a safe place to be, so maybe that would be where she stuck the most.

The chinks in the armor of the knights that moved, many times, hitched her breath because they caught her off guard. Although the sounds made her steps stutter and her heart race at points, overall, the castle was not so scary.

"Hm. . . I guess that means the demons and imps will really be the only useful creatures to me within this stronghold," Kanix pointed out teasingly. "You're really proud of this place, aren't you?" In all honesty, she found it adorable that Sol was so ecstatic to show off his castle to her. He could've left her on her own to wander into death, get lost, die of hunger because she couldn't find her way back. Here he was though, holding her hand and making sure she stuck close to him, for her fear of getting lost in a giant home. That or maybe it was his show of care for a guild mate and the only reason being that she was a valuable asset to Basilisk Fang. Whatever his reason being, may it not be obvious to her and her oblivious, she greatly enjoyed the attention from him.

"Sol? May I ask about the music?" Kanix questioned, tilting her head some to look at the mage with an inquiring look.

CALL OF THEWILD

The female nodded in acknowledgement to Sol's words, pleased to hear that she would be able to explore the gardens without worry. She guessed that being blind wasn't so much as bad as she had began to think it was, claiming to herself that things would've been better had she not lost her sight. What would happen if one time she did manage to get into the garden? How would she find her way out? Would the monsters eat her if she touched them? Heaven forbid she would be able to get around without having to touch things in order to see where she was going.

Kanix giggled at his words, speaking in a giddy, lighthearted tone, "megalomania is saying something for you, Sol." Truth be told that, yes, he did appear to like showing off his power, and the castle only happened to prove that more to her. That wasn't such a bad thing, to show off power, but it was also something that had to be closely watched, lest it brings one to their downfall.

Her eyes lit up at the explanation of the music, its haunting medley that only which to satisfy the empty ears. Kanix could handle listening to the soft music everyday, at least it wasn't blaring, loud music that hurt her ears. "You speak the truth, but silence is the loudest sound," she informed him, only to be abruptly paused when he mentioned the demons' quarters.

Now standing at the door to, what would be her, new, homely room, she hesitated on entering it as he had proposed. The door, having creaked open to reveal a beautiful blueness, stood intimidatingly before her, despite showing its contents. As Sol nudged her forward, she took a stumbling step into the massive—well, to her it was massive—bedroom. Beneath her was a hard, wooden floor, but she couldn't guess the type of wood that was used to create it. Kanix tapped her foot against it, lightly, then a bit harder, the sound echoing into her ears. Mahogany maybe? She moved on to the walls next, tracing her finger tips along the center of it, then trailing down to the floor, where her fingers hit a wooden basing. A lilted sound squeaked from her, and she trailed her fingers against the smoothness of the basing, hitting each rough groove that created its design.

The ledge, the silkiness, everything was elating to her; a grin soon spread across her lips as she stood back up. Her hand dabbed at the wall again, touching the wallpaper and giving her a soft, but sandpaper feel on her fingers. She would move on to vanity, which was the closest thing to the door, but caught her foot on a chair that happened to be closer than she expected. Kanix stumbled, but caught her balance, her hand catching the arm of the chair, which lit up her eyes in wonder at the feel. Its texture was amazingly grainy to her, she could feel each stitching of the chair as if they were large craters. Before long, she had moved elsewhere, her mind too preoccupied by everything in the room to remain at one thing for long.

It was the vanity next, the window, the table against the end of the bed, then the bed itself, where she plopped down onto the covers.

"What are you doing, idiot?" Kanix rumbled loudly to herself, "can't you see the potential dangers here? Are you stupid?"

"It was just an offer, I wanted—I needed—a place to stay. Why can't I have some kind of luxury?" she answered herself.

"I'm trying to protect you here, you're my only chance, yet here you are in some stranger's castle, who knows what'll happen. What do you think will happen to me, you imbecile?" Kanix spat out, opening her eyes where she lay on the bed. Her hands gripped tightly at the sheets, nails digging into the fabric before she let go of the covers and sat up.

"I'm sorry. I just. . . ih-it was. . . it was a mistake that I won't make again. I promise," the woman murmured, placing her face in her hands.

"That's better to hear from you, but how do I trust you now? You went against our words," she growled at herself. Her head whipped to one side, an angered look appearing on her face, teeth gritted together, then her facial expression relaxed.

The imp that had run off to find something warmer for her to wear had finally returned back from its adventure. Whatever it had been from the imp, it had caused the voice in Kanix's head to suddenly dissipate for the time being. Her eyes shifted to the little creature as it warily passed by Sol, looking up at him for a brief moment to get confirmation of it being all right to proceed. It then wandered toward her, clothes in its hand, and reached them out to her, plopping them in her lap.

"Here are some clothes for you, m'lady, as requested by Master Sol," it bowed to her before turning on its way and leaving.

Kanix smiled kindly at the beast, gripping the clothes in her hands to feel what she had been given exactly. She then looked to Sol, wondering if he was going to stand there and watch her undress or if he would leave her in peace for a bit.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," the mage apologized for her brief outbreak of sanity. "If you will? I mean, unless you want to stay and watch."

CALL OF THEWILD

Kanix gave out a huffed laugh and looked away from Sol as he shut the door for her to get changed into the clothes. She jumped off the bed and stomped lightly against the ground, grinning wildly at the hard sound the floor made in response. The mage loved hearing all the sounds and guessing what they were, but she shouldn't keep Sol waiting for long. So, she popped the button off her coat and pulled it off, tossing it on the bed and grabbing hold of the new shirt. It was a snug-looking, very warm turtleneck that she pulled over her head and fitted nicely against her body. The woman cared less about the bottoms the imp had brought her, and left them thrown across the bedding. Whereas, a hop and a skip, and she was at the door, opening it to pop her head out and listen for Sol's breathing.

"Sol?" she said, gently pushing the door open and stepping out into the hallway. For all that she trusted, he may as well be pulling a prank on her and holding his breath, so he could scare the lights out of her. Didn't seem like him, but it was a strange outcome that had been brought to her mind by her odd imagination. "If you would like, you can show me the rest of the castle now. . ." She gripped the ends of her sleeves in both her hands, tugging at them as she waited for an answer. The castle was eerie to her now without the sound of Sol's voice filling the void that her ears always created. Sure, he was still standing by the door, she could feel his presence consuming the space near her, but that moment of silence was breathtaking.

CALL OF THEWILD

"Hm. . ." Kanix hummed out, her chin against her neck as her free hand plucked at the turtleneck. "I suppose the imp wasn't all that smart in getting me clothing that kept the mark visible, but I suppose it's my fault for having the mark in an arbitrary place." She snorted at her words and looked forward, not going to fuss over having her guild mark invisible to the creatures. It was already established by Sol that as long as she was beside him, she wouldn't have to worry about being a monster's next dinner.

His words next made her wonder. Why exactly was he going to show her the laboratory if he didn't want her to go in there? Kanix frowned at the thought, almost contemplating on whether to ask him the reason for his showing her the room. Knowing Sol though, he likely only wanted to show it off to her as a reason for being a complete and utter show off already.

She was silent as he led her deeper into the mountainside, down to the laboratory, where it stank of chemicals and poisons. Her nose wrinkled up in disgust, but the urge to look around and touch things was apparent to the young woman. Although she already knew not to touch such things, in case they were deadly to herself, she fought off the urge to touch them.

"So, the laboratory has more than one floor?" Kanix questioned, her fingertips touching the tabletop they were closest to. The mage dared not touch any of the beakers or containers of poisons and chemicals, and was even wary of touching the tabletop for support. "What are the other floors of the laboratory then?" She was going to teasingly suggest things, but soon realized she knew nothing about science. Thus, she bit her tongue and listening quietly, hearing the soft bubbling of chemicals and poisons being worked.

Listening to the clinks of erlenmeyer flasks as Sol picked up poisons, Kanix wondered what the poisons were he was talking of.

"Oh? I didn't know Famine used poisons in such a capricious way; doesn't she expel her own poisons or something?" Kanix stated in a questioning tone. She wasn't all that familiar with Famine, let alone knew what Famine's magic even was; she could only infer. "What do those poisons do?"

CALL OF THEWILD

"Don't worry, I'm used to strange spells when I've had to use my sense of smell for knowing what things are," she responded to him. She shrugged slightly and looked around again, realizing that this room really did stink to high heavens. To be honest, she never noticed the extremity of it until Sol had pointed out that with chemicals and poisons, it always stank.

"Experiments with machines?" Kanix inquired, swiveling her head back in Sol's direction to look at him quizzically. Machines could have meant anything, ranging from the simple torture machine to a freaking car for all she knew. It was a laboratory though, so it was more than likely it was machines for torture, which sent images into her head. Images that she didn't need of people being torn apart and tortured endlessly in the most miserable ways possible.

She opened her mouth to say something else, but then Sol explained what he had plans for with the poisons, as well as the Master's magic. Shadow Make magic made sense to the shaman, and why she couldn't have guessed that was beyond her. Maybe it was because Famine looked like someone who wielded poison, but that was clearly Sol's forte. Not that there couldn't have been more poison mages in the guild, for all she knew there probably was more.

"Oh, well that fear potion will be extremely useful then. I mean, I can induce fear in people, but only a few at a time. Imagine the mass panic you could cause!" Kanix exclaimed, eyes lighting up as images of people screaming and running in terror entered her head. "But the second potion, couldn't you just, you know, scream and wave your hands and such to get a target's attention? I don't see why a potion for grabbing attention would be necessary when there are other ways to gain it."

The shaman cleared her throat and moved a little, bumping into the table slightly and grabbing it to catch her balance. "Dammit. Damn this complex room to hell," she grumbled to herself, frustrated at her inability to see her way around obstacles. "Oh yes, and the aphrodisiac. . . while great in the bedroom as you say. . . what the hell kind of torture would you bring them other than pleasure?"

CALL OF THEWILD

Her mind was quickly swept away with the flashing images of terrified, screaming people running through the village. She couldn't hear the screams, she could only see them running with gaping mouths as the effects of the black liquid took hold. Kanix's lips parted in a silent gasp at the image, but then it quickly shifted to another vision with nearly the same outcome. The images flipped through her mind like a film roll, rolling one image after the next until she blinked and her vision was gone again. Lifting a hand, she rubbed her right temple and shook her head some, trying to ignore the immense headache that had been created.

"As much as that was delightful to watch, it creates too much of a headache for me to really care," she mumbled to herself. "They were basically all of the same events, just with different outcomes, what more could I care if one of the bad ones happened?"

Kanix's attention was drawn away from her thoughts as Sol answered her questions to the making of the potions. "You're right, such actions would draw more than just one person's attention, whereas you may just want the target's attention," she responded in an understanding tone. She couldn't have been more dumb to not think of it that way; how silly she felt in having not thought of needing only the target's attention. At least now she was learning things that she would likely use in battles. . . if she ever happened to be in one. "Oh. . . don't mention my clumsiness! I swear I'll work on keeping my balance, I just need to see the outcomes more often." The shaman shrugged sheepishly at the slayer as she was led out of the laboratory and down to the gardens.

"How delightful! The many ways you could break someone with just that aphrodisiac. Heh. You could break them in an instant," Kanix beamed, bouncing a little at the thought, which made her boobs jiggle. At Sol's words, her bouncing instantly stopped and the scream entered her ears. A small gasp was let out from her lips. She reached out a hand as if she were trying to stop someone from doing something rather stupid. "What are you—No, don't touch—" Kanix's words were cut off, her eyes fluttering around as if she could see everything, and her hand pulled back. The shaman sucked in a deep breath and blinked her eyes, focusing back on the here and now than the escaped prisoner. After all, she would much rather not find out what it was that had killed the prisoner or injured them in the least. "I'm sorry about that. . . What were you saying to me Sol?" she inquired, though maybe she had imagined him saying something to her while in her trance.

CALL OF THEWILD

Kanix whipped her head around when a young man appeared from the bushes, desperately calling out to her. "I'm so sorry, I can't help you," she murmured to the man, though the Infinity Hydra prisoner wouldn't hear her words. "I can't change Fate, I can only see it. . . what's been seen, has been fated and can't be changed." It was the only downfall of her abilities, she could see the things happening, but she was, in no way, able to change the outcome. When the vine lashed out from somewhere beyond the place the man had come from and dragged him away, Kanix turned her head. "I sometimes wonder why I joined a dark guild when I can sense every death that comes around for people. Do you know how painful that is? You can feel all these oncoming deaths and you can only stand by and watch. Well, knowing you, you'd take pleasure in watching them die, but when you can feel the death coming, it's different. . ."

She shivered and turned away from the garden, crossing her arms over her chest and waiting for Sol. "You don't have to continue showing me the castle if you wish not to. I'll do fine on my own exploring the place." Kanix sounded callous, but really she just wanted to get away from the man-eating plants in the garden grounds. "I might be eaten, but at least it was doing something productive than just standing around and feeling everyone dying." The shaman tapped her foot on the ground, tapped her staff with it, and glanced back at Sol in curiosity. "I don't mean to sound rude about it. I will let you still show me around the castle if you would like me to see it."

CALL OF THEWILD

"Humanity can be a nuisance, at times, especially when you get to feel people's deaths coming or sense that people had died in the place you're at," Kanix rumbled out. She was mostly rambling now, constituting that no matter what she would do to get rid of her humanity, she would never physically be able to. Death haunted her everywhere, spirits were her only connection to her magic; no matter where she turned, It was always there. "I've just not gotten used to it yet, is all; I just have to train some to enhance and control that stupid ability. Sometimes, it can be an annoyance, whereas at other times, it becomes far more useful than you think it to be." Kanix truly wasn't bothered by being able to sense death or the dead, it was just getting used to being able to do that. Her magic was an unexplained encounter to her, like using her sight had triggered that part of her to come out.

"Right, but what if I did want to be eaten, hm?" Kanix inquired, "in that type of situation, what would you do? Let me do what I wanted or stop me?" She was curious to know his stance on guild-mates, if they were just expendable lives that mattered nothing to him, despite what he's said. Testing the limits was one thing that she loved to do, and in doing so, she often learned things about others in the long run. When he said something about a library, her attention was dragged away from the answer and turned to that instead. Kanix no longer cared about the answer to that question, her mind was solely focused on the library and possible books. Books that had braille in them? Books that could literally be read by just touching them? That was her dream. "Well, I think I know where I'll be spending my days and nights now, should I not have a silly job to tend to."

CALL OF THEWILD

She was beginning to feel a bit tired, and exploring the castle had been quite the endearment for the young lady. Kanix didn't mind so much at being escorted back to her room for the rest of the night, but he doubted she'd get any sleep. So, the most she would be doing in there was reorganizing her room to how she liked it and making sure no one touched her staff. The woman nodded at Sol's words, breathing in the dusty smell for one final time before she was led out of the library. It was a pity she wasn't able to look at the books real quick; however, there would always be time later for that.

"All right. I'll make sure to take care of the books whenever I use them, and try not to let them fall apart," Kanix responded in a quieter tone. "Feel free to bring me back to my room then; I'll take a look at this place another time since it's getting late."