A tail of Fire and Ice

"You ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?"

- Kite

The day started off just like any other day, Kite woke up in his room in a small cabin located only a short distance from his Sabertooth’s guild hall, the guild hall which was now a whole freakin town. He still hadn’t gotten quite use to the fact that he had neighbors but it there was a nagging fact that he couldn’t deny and that was it was much nicer than being alone and it also made the walk to the main hall much more lively but sleeping in wasn’t a luxury he didn’t seem to be able to take advantage of any more "One day I would like to be able to sleep past the crack of dawn. “He said as he continued to lay on his belly in his bed so of course he had a bit of drool streaming down his chin. He pushed himself up and was in a kneeled position and wiped it away while looking out the window . He put his hand on the bed and turned so his feet were planted on the ground and stood up stretching out his body. By doing this he revealed that he was shirtless which in turn showed off his muscular body that had a few scars left from when he trained with his demon mentor, he was was wearing a pair of compression shorts which were typically his sleep wear. Kite let out a yawn and rubbed his eyes fully waking up and so he swung his legs over the edge of the bed with his arms in the air as he stretched out the muscles that became stiff over the night. Kite planted his feet and stood up out of his bed and went over to his window and pulled back the curtains showing that the sun was just peaking out from over the large number of buildings surrounding his cabin, and of course the large castle like building which was the acting as the main all of Sabertooth.


With a rumble of his stomach Kite gave his tummy a pat ”Alright, time for some grub “ he said made his way into the kitchen to cook himself up a nice meal, but what would he make? Kite opened the refrigerator and noticed that he had some eggs in it, he also had bread and coffee on the counter, so he decided he would make himself an old style breakfast complete with eggs that were scrambled, toast and coffee that he drank black and piping hot. However he changed his mind and instead of making his food he would make his way to the guild hall to grab some grub, and who knows actually do something productive for the day. He had exited the kitchen walked over to his room and got dressed, he put on his all black outfit and clipped his overly large sword on his back and exited his house and made his way to the Guild hall.

"You ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?"

- Kite

The trip to the guild hall had certainly become a more lively one compared to how it use to be for him. Where there was once nothing but barren land and wilderness there was now life all around in the form of a full fledged town. He didn’t know all of the people that he passed but quite a few of them he had gotten acquainted with, whether it was through him giving them his business or back when they were still building and he had assisted with the effort to help create the town that it was today. One woman in particular waved at the demon slayer which made him stop in his stride and changed direction and walked over to the woman as she rocked back and forth in her chair on her porch complete with a small creaking sound with each complete rock “ Hello young man, off on another adventure are you?” she asked him lowering her rocking speed a tad, and the creak wasn’t as loud now. Kite put one foot the step of the porch and he leaned on it with a smile."Hello old Lady.“ he said returning the greeting, his smile was bright and cheery "I am not sure but that is the plan. Want any souvenirs?  “ he asked her like he always did but she gave him the answer that she had always given him when he asked. “No thank you boy, I got plenty of souvenirs just up in  my memory that would make your head spin.” he gave a small shrug and nodded. "No doubt about that. I bet you were quite the bombshell in your prime. “ he said teasingly.

Out of anyone in this town aside from those in his guild, this old woman was someone he always found himself cherishing. "Do you need anything fixed up before I get going? “ he asked her removing his foot from the step and putting back on the ground and stood up with his hands pressed on his hips and looked around to see if he could spot any work to be done right before she spoke up. “Not today boy, but when there is something i will holler for you” she said to him and then shooed him along. “ Go and enjoy your adventures while you can.Kite had left the old lady’s house and had made his way to the guild hall but was looking backwards and waving at the old lady and so he didn’t see that there was someone walking ahead of him, and he didn’t see her until he had already bumped into her.

"You ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?"

- Kite

If only Kite had been paying attention to the road ahead of him, if he had done so then he would have seen the girl that he approached. Kite remembered feeling sensation of the sudden bump but that was about it, the next thing he knew he felt the cold hard ground pressed against against his back and the warmth of another human body pressed on top of his, the girl’s face was close enough to his to actually kiss him if she so wanted, if she desired but in most situations this wouldn’t be a good thing and there was a moment of silence, where time stood still as Kite waited in anticipation for something to happen. "Oh great, smooth move Kite, any moment now screaming, accusing or slapping should ensue, or a combination of all three. “ he thought to himself as he his crimson red eyes were fixed on her golden colored eyes but to his surprise instead of any of the things happening that he thought would happen the girl in an almost seductive tone told him that if he had wanted he could have asked instead of dragging her down on top of him, he didn’t remember pulling her down on top of him but seeing as the path of least resistance was the course of things to come. "Yeah sorry about that. “ the demon slayer said sincere with his words but soon Kite gave her a smirk "You know now when I would have imagined a woman falling for me would not have been so much as her falling on me.“ he said to her as she used him as a base so he could push herself up off of him. Kite sat up but before he could help himself up the girl offered him her hand, a sign that she was looking to help him up off the ground and so he took hold of her hand and pulled as she pulled and was back up on his feet. Kite dusted off the back of his pants as the girl introduced herself as Aiyana and said it was nice to meet him. Kite looked back up at the girl, this time getting a better look at her now, she was a lovely looking girl, a true beauty but there were some unique features about her such as the canine like ears sprouting out from her head, and the numerous tails but that wasn’t much of a bother to him, in fact it made her that much more elegant in a way. He shook his head after a moment after being slightly mesmerized by her appearance "It’s nice to meet you too, the names Kite. “ he paused for a moment before letting out a sigh "I do apologize for bumping into you, is it possible I can escort you to whereever you were going? “

"You ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?"

- Kite

Kite had not meant to stare at the fox lady who has introduced herself as Aiyana but it wasn't until after he had gotten done eyeing her up bordering on ogling her which wasn't his attention that something started to ring a bell or two. He had heard of her name before but it wasn't someone he knew by any means but someone he knew of. It was during the brief moment after the his own apology,introduction and offer to escort her to her destination that it clicked, the name rang a bell a rather large bell matter of fact. Where Kite was getting to be well known as Sabertooths Flame Demon, the girl in front of him was very well known as well, she was Aiyana one of Sabertooth’s Aces The Paragon of Conviction..and he not only bumped into her but took it upon himself to ogle her and flirt with her in a semi provocative manner. The worst thing was he wasn't all that ashamed about it, after all who would really blame him for flirting with a beauty like Aiyana, except maybe the ace, but Kite was keenly aware of what the ace’s eyes were doing, her piercing golden eyes were eyeing him up as well and even seemed to focus down below his waist for a brief moment. Kite wasn't sure if he should act upon what he noticed or ignore it, and even if he did make mention about where her eyes were looking how would he go about doing it?

Well as it would be made apparent he would have some time to think about it. The Ace began to speak about her current objective of heading out on a job, a job that would take her on a journey not to just any place in Fiore or even a place in Earthland for that matter, no the job would take her to a location on another plain of existence, a “Dark” celestial realm. There was more to be said and Kite would pay attention but the mention of a Dark Celestial realm caused his mind to wander for a bit. He knew of the existence on the celestial spirits and has minor knowledge at best about the spirit’s realm but he had never heard of such a thing as a dark counterpart to it. His mind focused back onto Aiyana as she explained that the job involved some sort of soul searching and that aspect of it made her curious, and to no surprise Kite found himself a mite curious himself enough so to not only to follow up on her invitation to escort her there but to accompany her on the job, but not before catching the wink following her exclamation that she never turned down company. Kite let a smirk pop on his face ”and what do you know, it just so happens I never turn down ladies with such a fine offer on the table.“ the slayer paused for a moment making sure his Crimson eyes were aligned with her gold eyes ”I’ll accompany you in whichever way you might prefer. “ and just like that they were on their way to go on a soul searching job, what could go wrong? So with that mindset, Kite lead Aiyana to where the portal would be located and activated it, completely in the dark to what would be waiting on the other side for them.

”“

"You ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?"

- Kite

Kite had stood in place, completely still after he placed his hand on the lacrima that acted as the mechanism that opened the entrance to the Dark Celestial Spirit realm. The portal itself was bright as any he had seen before but there was something about it that made him feel a bit weary about this whole job but it wasn’t the only thing that made his feet freeze in place. There were several questions that were floating around the inside of his head some of the foremost being what sort of job did he just sign up for, who is the client and the most pressing question being what was waiting on the other side for them. Perhaps these were some of the questions he should have asked prior to agreeing to this particular job instead of worrying about who it was inviting him but hey he was human and anyone who could deny someone with the stunning beauty that Ayiana had would have to be nothing more than a fool, plus as it stood it was the least he could do for their first interaction with one another. He wasn’t sorry for how things had turned out but at the very least the thought of owing her or anyone else also was a large factor to what drove him to take this job so blind. During his moment of motionlessness Aiyana in full stride entered the portal ahead of him, the portal engulfing her as she walked and it was as if she was never there to begin with. With a shrug and a smile he allowed himself to speak unaware if the foxy mage would be able to hear his words ”Lady’s first.“ he said right before letting his feet carry him through the portal but not before taking ahold of the handle of Shamash, preparing himself for the possibility of an immediate threat that might be awaiting him on the other side of the portal.

The transition across the fluctuation of time and space to arrive in this unknown world was relatively smooth aside from the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach but that soon was jerked out of place by the sudden landing on the ground located beneath the portal. The portal was merely inches off the ground but due to the heavy sword on his back his landing was less than graceful but he landed with skill, crouching down as soon as his feet hit the ground, his hand was still clasped around his sword’s handle as he stood up straight, tightening his grip more as he began to look around to take in the environment surrounding him but what he expected to see was completely different from the reality that was before him. While he had little knowledge about celestial spirits there was some common knowledge that most mages would know, such as their connection with the numerous constellations out in space and it was that fact that caused Kite to draw the apparently incorrect conclusion that this world would have some sort of connection them. However instead of a spectacular view all there was in front of him was a never ending darkness and cracked black soil which he and Aiyana were standing upon. He took a few steps forward so he was closer to her ”I’m not sure what I was expecting but it wasn’t this, how about you?“ he had asked her, curious if this world was anything like she had imagined either but then again, the name Dark Celestial Realm might have tipped her off as it should have done for him but any sort of long dialogue was cut off by the shouts of a disembodied voice the echoed throughout the whole area making it impossible for either one of the Slayers to pinpoint where it was coming from.

Soon for the mages from Sabertooth locating the source of the voice would prove to be pointless just as the owner of the voice came into view just in the distance and actually called out to them seeking their assistance but the question was from what and it was soon made apparent when five shadowy beasts were chasing a small creature shrouded in black with a long tail extending from her lower back covered in thorn protrusion and whitened eyes. Kite dashed in barely unclipping his sword from the clasp on his back before he was out sped by Aiyana who showed off her impressive speed cutting through the beasts as if they were tissue paper, all five dispersing into shadowy bits and now Aiyana was standing before small black creature who was giving the ace her gratitude even going as far as admitting that she was now indebted to the fox tailed dragon slayer. Kite didn’t get a single word in before she started to literally fan girl over Aiyana being a celestial spirit, a fact that Kite was completely unaware of until now. Kite clipped his sword to his back again and walked his way over to them, closing the distance as Aiyana began to compliment the black fairy like creature that was determined by Aiyana to be a Dark Celestial spirit which according to Ayia is to be supposedly evil. It clearly was a conversation that Kite wasn’t meant to be apart of, it was a conversation for those who belong to the Celestial realm whether it be dark or light so he crossed his arms and stared out into the distance but he did managed to catch bits and pieces of the conversation something about contracts and such, her being one for contracts that weren’t strictly for her own benefit unlike the other beings in this world which lead to alterations such as the one the duo happened across moments ago. When Aiyana brought up the reason why they were in the realm, to complete some sort of test of the soul, the small creature’s answer brought Kite’s complete attention back to their conversation as it now had meaning to him. The demon slayer was happy to hear that this dark spirit not only knew what it was they sought but agreed to lead them there, under the condition that they were to keep her completely safe no matter what, reasonable terms to say the least, terms that Aiyana found suitable to make a deal over, asking Kite for his position on the events that were folding out before him to which the slayer looked into the eyes of his guild mate. ”I don’t see any wrong with the arrangement, we keep her safe she takes us to this mirror thing, easy enough. Count me in...“ he dragged out the end of his sentence as he heard something in the background, the sound of a group charging behind them. Acting quickly he pulled Shamash from his back and cut through the nearest enemy, they were grotesque creatures made of shadow but none the less his blade cut through the poorly made shadow creature with ease causing the shadows to disperse as they did against Aiya’s tails. It was easy enough, these creatures seemed to be weak enough despite being in their own realm but it was this realm that gave them the edge. It was at the last possible moment but Kite’s crimson eyes caught the sight of a small group of 4 shadow creatures, same as the one Kite had diced through flanking him on his right side. Kite stepped to the side evading the group all the while switching his sword into his left hand and spun back to the right using his massive sword to cut through the lot of them. Kite finished the strike holding his blade straight out, paused for a moment, waiting for another attack but it seemed the shadows were playing smart by not attacking him recklessly again giving Kite a chance say something to the third and newest member to their group ”Is it safe to assume this lot is among the group that disagree with your way of thinking?“
”“