Brother, my brother

There was no doubt in her mind that Aayla needed much more training... The things that Hydrianna had taught her had saved her life during her last mission, that much she was sure about... but she still had not managed to save those villagers... an old man and a little boy... She couldn't get his mothers face out of her head... The look of absolute terror on her face as her child had been struck down.

As she made her way to her secret spot in the Calm Sea, Aayla's head hung low as she thought of the last mission she had been on. The bruises and welts on her skin were proof enough that she needed to get stronger... she needed to become a better dragon slayer.

She lay her stuff down under one of the older trees that overlooked the tiny hidden beach. She had used this place time and again to sneak into the ocean without anyone seeing her so that she could go and find her mentor, and adoptive mother. She found so many of the same qualities in Hydrianna that she remembered from her mother, and she felt so at ease around the large dragon.

She sighed as she reached back to undo her top, removing the thread holding it closed before throwing it onto her bag. She then look off her dress leaving herself in the bathing suit she had made sure to put on before she left. The dark blue one piece suit was accented by short frills at the bottom that flared out into a small skirt.

She went to get her supplies when she suddenly stopped and took a sniff at the air. Someone was here... how hadn't she caught their scent before now..? She stood up, and quietly looked around, her eyes stopping on a thick brush and her eyes narrowed. A peeping tom!? She took in a large breath before...

"Water Dragon's Roar!"
She roared as a furious funnel of water escaped her mouth and shot into the trees...

The blue haired boy found himself in the area where the Sabertooth guild was. The same guild his father was apart of when he passed. His vow to join Sabertooth was about to be fulfilled and then he only had a few more things he wanted to do for himself next, master his weapon the Kukan and find his sister.

He never had seen her die during the events all those years ago and had faith that she was alive somewhere. He thought in joining the guild that he would be able to use their help to find his sister. He only did get to meet his sister for a short time being that he had just moved in with his father and step mother at the time.

Before he could find his way to the Sabertooth guild though, he was stopped by a vibration that his weapon on his side gave off. " Theres dragon power near by?" He mumbled to himself and started to move towards where the sword's vibrations became stronger.

This caused him to follow a blue haired girl to a small beach. It also caused him to follow her in a stealthy way so he wouldn't be seen which for some reason he couldn't completely understand himself. He hid himself in some near by trees where he was finally coming up with the idea of introducing himself to the girl but before he could reveal himself a funnel of water flew towards him and he jumped out of the trees and onto the beach to avoid it.

"Hey! Thats not a good way of saying 'hello' little girl! You know you can really hurt someone with something like that!?" He yelled at her once he landed on the beach.

Aayla held tightly onto her towel as she used it to drape back over herself. Her face was beet red as she took a step backwards, away from the man with the blue hair and... pointed ears..? Who was this guy and why was he peeping on her? She was only 14 how sick could one man be...

"W...well... maybe... you... you shouldn't be spying... on young girls... I'm sorry is that h...hurt but how could you..?"

She demanded of him as she took another step back onto the beach, her yes staring into the man's own eyes as if they would reveal everything to her.

From the top of the old tree Aayla had put her belongings next two, a large serpents head descended to look down at the pair whil still remaining hidden in the leaves (for the most part).

"What do you want..?"
She asked shyly as her face only continued to get more and more red.

His eyebrow rose up as she told him that he shouldn't have been spying on her. He couldn't get what she was trying to say he was doing that was so wrong but then it hit him. His expression completely changed to a confused look.

"You think I was trying to peep at you?!" He closed his eyes and shook his head while sighing. "Not to put your hopes down or anything but there really isn't much to look at if I wanted to. Plus, you look like a child still. Thats just gross." He pointed down to his sword. "This guy here resonates when anything with any sort of dragon power is near and he lead me to you. You see, I'm a hunter of sorts. I search for Dragon Scales so I can master this sword."

"Well then... hey!"
She retorted, her blush getting so bad that she felt her head might pop. She accidentally dropped her towel as she raised her hands to cover her face to try and get things under control. If this pervert wasn't peeping, then just what was he doing all the way out here?
 When he just openly explained what he was after, Aayla took another step back away, towards the water.

"A hunter... o...of dragons?! I... I'm sorry but t..."
She paused as Zinnath's large head came crashing through the tree, followed by the sea serpents large body. The Serpent slithered towards Aayla, coiling itself loosely around the dragon slayer protectively as it stared at Cirvin intently.

Aayla gently placed her hands on Zinnath's body, giving her a gentle rub and a small smile.

"It's ok Zinnath...let him explain...."
She said to the serpent so softly, that there would be no way for Cirven to hear her over the waves of the ocean.

"Your sword... must have gotten confused... Z...Zinnath's not a dragon... she's a sea serpent."
Obviously the girl knew that the sword either reacted to the fact that she was a dragon slayer, or that Hydrianna was miles deep in the ocean right next to them...However she couldn't let a hunter know that..

His eyes caught sight of the creature as it came down and coiled around the girl. He almost reacted and attacked it to save the girl but saw that it was friendly towards her so he calmed himself but kept his guard up.

"Pretty sure you are misunderstanding me. This sword picks up on any dragon related power. From a dragon or other things. I already know you are a dragon slayer of water or something close to that from your attack earlier. Even if there isn't a dragon near by my sword will react to you but that doesn't mean I'm going to harm you. I have no need to hurt you at all. I only want to know if you have a dragon scale that I can have?" As he stopped speaking the sword started to vibrate again which caused him to touch it to stop it.

"Thats weird. It usually stops when I find what was causing it to vibrate earlier." He spoke out but then returned his focus back to the girl. "Oh yeah, I'm Cirven and this sword here is called the Kukan. It can absorb magical power and allow me to use it. It changes form when I use dragon related power to add to it and is the most powerful when that happens. I want to use this ability to help others and achieve a goal I have to my father."

Aayla looked a Zinnath nervously, unsure of what she should do at this point... he had totally caught her, obviously he had heard her cry out her attack as "Water Dragon's roar". She couldn't lie to him about being a dragon slayer anymore.

"I...I'm sorry... I didn't mean to be...r...rude... I'm just really... nervous around people I... don't know..."
Then his sword began to glow again and her heart skipped a beat, hoping against everything it wouldn't take him to Hydrianna. It wasn't really the dragon she was worried about.

"I...I'm afraid I don't have any scales... if I did... it would be a n...nice reminder of my dragon... I'm sorry you... had to go through all that trouble Mr. Cirven..."
She said lowly, jumping up over Zinnath and landing in a seated position on her back, still gently rubbing the serpents scales.

"I didn't mean to... to be rude... My name's Aayla... I'm a Sabertooth Wizard... Maybe you should... stop by the g...guild hall sometime... im sure there's someone who might be... uhm able to help you find scales..."
She hoped this would be enough to start ending the conversation so that she and Zinnath could get as far away from him as they could and warn Hydrianna...

His focus completely dropped from his sword and scales as he remembered why he was even in the area; to join Sabertooth.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot about joining the guild! You almost made me forget!" He looked at his sword as he spoke. "I know we have to find some scales but we have to find more important things before that, you know. I don't like the idea of not trying to find her more than I have been."

He then snapped back to reality and realized he was talking to a inanimate object that had no way of speaking back. He reached up and scratched the back of his head.

"I'm not crazy or anything..." He mumbled out. "Oh! You are a part of Sabertooth? I have wanted to join them ever since I was young enough to walk. Its the guild my father was a part of and I want to continue in his footsteps." He kept speaking and didn't realize that the girl wanted him to leave her.

At least they were talking about something other than her dragon now, she felt a little bit more at ease.. at least if she could keep steering the conversation away from Hydrianna.

" oh...my dad used to be a part of Sabertooth before I joined too. Its really a great guild, everyone is so nice there. They basically took me in when I had no where to go... oh! Im sorry I...I didnt mean to ramble...uhm... d..did you want me to.... to take you to...uhm... sabertooth? I uhm... well at least Zinnath could take you..uhm...only if you want."
She mummbled away as she fidgeted nervously. If she took him back to the guild hall, she didnt doubt hat Hydrianna would be very upset with her for not showing up...

He smiled at her and nodded. He had decided to put the scale searching on hold and to not think much on the fact that the Kukan vibrated more earlier. He thought it was something that he could figure out later after he joined the guild.

"Thanks for the offer, Aalya." He stopped after speaking her name and used his pointer finger to poke at the temple of his head as he stared out towards the water. "Why does that name sound familiar.." He looked back towards the girl. "Does the name Mizune mean anything to you? Did your father use spatial magic?"

She couldn't be who he thought she was... Could she?

"Sure.."
She said with a light smile as sh patted Zinnath's back before jumping off of the giant serpent and walking back over to her bag. She wiped her feet free of the sand before slipping her dress back on around her waist. As Cirven continued to mumble on, she continued to change until she was fully dressed once again.  Hydrianna was going to kiiiiilllll heeeeer. She sighed as she looked back to Cirven just as he asked about her last name, and about her father.

"Hunh... uhm... Mizune is... that's my last name... h...how do you know... my dad?"
She asked curiously, tilting her head as she raised an eyebrow. How DID he know her dad? it's not like he was a hunter or anything of dragons like he was...

His eyes widened and started to slightly tear up. He used his arm to whip his eyes and tried to calm himself.

"You probably don't remember me but we spent time together when you were younger. Five years younger. Just before the events that separated us. My last name is Mizune too." He started to walk towards her as he let it sink in more about what he was saying. "I finally found you..." His eyes started to tear up again. "My little sister, Aayla."

He opened his arms and smiled calling her to embrace him. He still couldn't believe that he had found her after all the years of being separated. He had his family again in his eyes.

Aayla raised an eyebrow at his reaction, unsure of how to act to the revelation that they were kin. She had absolutely no memory of having a brother, and therefore everything he said didn't make any sense to her. Even as Cirven opened up his arms she didn't move, not that she didn't feel sympathetic, she simply didn't believe his claim that they were kin.

"I...I'm sorry... I don't have a brother... at least not that I...uhm... not that I know of... It's always just... it's just been my mom and me... and dad would visit sometimes... but I've never had a brother..."
She stated skeptically as she stayed next to Zinnath. Maybe there happened to be another Aayla Mizune out there.


"but...what happened... 5 years ago I mean.."
Of course... there was always a possibility that her dad had another child... he was never home, and she knew that her mother wasn't her dads first wife. Why wouldn't he tell ehr if she did have a brother..?

He stared at her and grew somewhat annoyed. A growl escaped his person as he moved his arms back to his side. He wasn't angry at her but at the fact that it seemed like the events from back then prevented her from remembering what time they spent together.

"Father would visit me and my mother sometimes. She was happy when he came even though they weren't together. She was happy just to see how happy I was when I saw him. Problem was with his visits was that they weren't as frequent as needed and my mother was sick. She tried to hide it but that ended with it getting worse and her passing. Father brought me in to live with you and my step mother after that." He sighed lightly at the thought of his mother.

"I was to myself then. I did just lose my mother after all. But then I was able to meet my little sister, Aalya. She found a way of bothering me to a point where I smiled again and made me see that I could move on." He clutched his hand into a fist at his side. "But that didn't last long. People claiming to be demons attacked the town we lived in and destroyed leaving me alone again. I saw father and my step mother protecting me from those people as I listened to them and just ran. I made the mistake of going back to the town after and finding both of them dead but I never did find my half-sister which gave me hope for having some sort of family left. Did any of that ring any bells for you? Do you remember anything or am I looking at the wrong person?"

Aayla bit her lower lip as he spoke. She did remember being quite the brat growing up... it was only since... well since the events that transpired after her parents murder that she became so timid and fearful of everything. She really couldn't remember Cirven though... but everything he said, they seemed to make sense to her. Everything he told her of the way her village was destroyed was true, no one from outside the village would really know what happened... know that they were attacked by demons.

"I... uhm..."
She paused as she let herself sink down to her butt, leaning back against the large Serpent that tilted it's head to look down at the young dragon slayer. Tears stared to well up in her eyes as she brought her hands up to cover them. She couldn't cry, not over this... she was working so hard at becoming stronger.. she couldn't cry. It was too late however as tears started to fall down her cheeks. She looked up at Cirven with an almost desperate look in her eyes.


"I...if you are my... brother... why didn't you c...come for me?!"
she paused only long enough to sniffle and try to hide her tears from the blue haired man.

"Why did you... why did you leave me... alone..?"

He closed his eyes as he remembered that day, letting images of it flash over and over. People he had come to know were lifeless on the ground and in debris from the destruction. He tried to control his fear of everything he was seeing but he couldn't and frantically ran around calling out for his family but only found them to have suffered the same fate and with his sister missing. He remembered weeping over the body of his father and step mother until gaining some sort of courage to leave.

"I thought you were gone because when I searched for you I couldn't find you. All I could see and find were more of the fallen members of the town. I managed to take what I could from what was left of our home and leave alive." He walked towards her until he stood in front of her and knelt down where he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry but I'm here for you now."

Aayla gave a little gasp  as Cirven came up and put his arms around her. She recoiled slightly but felt Zinnath's muscles move, pushing her closer into Cirven's hug. She shakily moved her hands from her eyes to look at what she could see of Cirven before hugging him tightly.

Why didn't she remember him... his scent was so familiar to her... but his face, his name... they didn't strike anything in her mind, and yet... she couldn't sense that he was lying to her. So why didn't she remember.

"They... they took me away... I... it was he...hell... what they... what they did... I wish... I wish you had found me s-sooner..."
She cried as her grip on him tightened and she drew him closer. The large serpent just looked down at the two siblings unmoving, watching both humans closely as if observing the situation.

He let go of her and moved back slowly while listening to her mumble out her sentence. He smiled at her and shook his head.

"I'm sorry. I wish I found you faster too but I couldn't. I failed you as a sibling." He stood up fully and reached out a hand to her. "But I will try my best not to be from now on, Aalya. Now stop crying, stand up and be happy. We have a piece of our family back." He then pointed to his right shoulder. "And we have a tattoo to get for me, right?"

"I...I'm sorry..."
She whined as she brought her hands up to wipe the tears away from her face, taking Cirven's hand when it was offered to her and wobbling up to her feet. She took a good look at him again and quickly dashed in for another hug before backing up into Zinnath.

She heard the Serpent give a low his as her head came down to gently nudge the sde of Aayla's face, making the young Dragon Slayer smile softly.


"I know... I know im late... It's ok... she'll understand right..?"
She whispered to the Serpent in a voice so low it would be difficult to hear her. She looked back at Cirven with a sniffle and nodded gently.

"Y... yeah... come on, I think Zinnath is the fastest... uhm way to get back t...to the guild hall..."
She said with a shy little smile as she hopped onto the Serpents back. She wasn't going to be at all suprised if Cirven hesitated, wondering howthe heck a giant snake could get them anywhere.

He returned the unexpected hug she gave him and smiled at her once they let go. He chuckled lightly at the sight of her being happy. It was weird for him to act the way he was with her from the past years of shaping the personality he had that many people found annoying but this was his sister and for all he knew his last living relative, after all.

"We are going to have to work on that mumbling thing you do there, little sis. Its not something that you should really have as a habi... Wait.. We are supposed to ride your pet here all the way to the guild? You sure he can handle that? I mean I'm pretty sure I weigh double what you weigh and last I checked snakes could be sort of fragile."

Aayla smirked as she kept one hand one one of the finned manes that went down Zinnath's neck while extending her other hand to Cirven, inviting him up onto Zinnath's back.

"Trust me... Zinny is a lot tougher than she looks..."
She finally said a full sentence as she waited for her brother to take her hand and hop up onto the Serpents back. If Zinnath's looks werent enough to tell her brother how different she was to a regular snake, then he must truly be blind.

Zinnath hissed at blue haired male before slithering closer to him, making sure he was far enough behind her wing span before she snapped her wings out from against her body, spreading them as wide as she could in the small covered space that they were in.

He shrugged and looked at his sister and the snake. He didn't exactly like the idea seeing as most animals he was around weren't so trained in the past but he trusted his own blood in this situation.

"I know she looks different but that doesn't mean she really is. Guess I'll just trust you on this. Its your funeral if anything happens though. That was directed at both of you." He was somewhat returning to his usual self and grabbed his sister's hand and boarded the snake.

"By the way, you never saw me cry like that earlier. Just leave that part out of the story completely."

Aayla smiled softly as she tightened her grip lightly on Cirven's hand, her stomach already beginning to churn long before Zinnath flapped her large wings, taking off the ground and soaring high up into the clouds. It took the serpent a few extra beats to get the higher, not used to the added weight of a second person.

"uurg... I wont... nn... tell f you... dont mention... this..."
She grunted as she lay forward, now clinging onto Zinnath for dear life as she felt once more like losing her lunch. Motion sickness was bad enough... but having to be so high up in the sky? It was awful... just awful... She knew it was the fastest and easiest way to get around but....

Upon the serpent flying up he noticed how his sister reacted to the early stages of the flight. It looked like she was sick and they had barely started which didn't make sense seeing as she was so confident in the flight in the first place. He became somewhat uneasy as he thought of it all together but couldn't help but laugh.

"Hahaha... Deal. Just make sure you don't spew anything this way OK? I'll help you feel better once we land."

"I can't... Promise... Anything..."
The  dragon slayer grumbled as she rested her head against the large Serpent , closing her eyes and trusting Zinnath to know where to take them.

The flight from the calm sea to sky tower was a long one, but much shorter  if they had taken a ground vehicle back to the guild. Zinnath moved twice as fast as any vehicle and they didn't need  use the transportation lacrima once they got there... They soon came crashing through the clouds and soon came face Face with sky tower.

"So, what do you think?"
She asked with a smile once they  landed safely at the front gate of the guild hall.