Things Look Better with One Eye Closed

((Random title is random. ^o^))

Akaelin relaxed a bit and signaled for Enthea to continue flying once more. A couple people glared at Akaelin for having alarmed them when there really hadn't been any danger in the first place. A lot of people still thought that he had tried to kill Sai in an attempt to gain control of the rebellion, and the wolf would be surprised if no one tried to assassinate him, or if a mutiny wasn't around the corner.

Jetta drifted over to Nathifa and Akaelin while the warriors she had brought with her fell in with the rest of the Rebellion. "The Society is dead," she informed the goddess and her mate. "More specifically, the humans who were running it are dead and so are their twisted experiments. They had recovered Ryn's body and were trying to make a better breed of warrior by implanting humans with the flesh and blood of Aravos. Nearly all of the warriors follow me now as I had planned. The others will catch up later when we stop to make camp, but I came with the ones that could keep up: Ranks 4, 17, and 36."

Akaelin guessed that 36 was the one who had lagged behind just a bit, possibly ran into the tree. He grew tense once more as he heard the sound of hoofbeats off to the west. He cursed under his breath, ready to tell everyone to prepare, when the group of people who came out didn't appear at all unfriendly. There were four people on horseback, as well as two other horses drawing a carrige. "Ooookaaaay," Akaelin mumbled under his breath. He heard a sharp gasp from somewhere within the rebellion, as one of the people on horseback started to speak. "Forgive us for the intrusion, but we're looking for a missing fugitive. We were wondering if you've seen anyone...suspicious lately. We think he may have taken residence up within a group to better hide himself."

"If there was anyone here that wasn't with our group, we would know about them," Nathifa said. "I'm sorry we can't help you, but we will keep our eyes open." She tried not to think about how much their own group probably looked suspicious, especially several people. Her own dress stood out a lot from the rest of the Rebellion, as did Kitai's more wolfish features and the Society warriors.

"Which is why we--" the man started to say, then stopped when he saw movement within the group. "Found him." He jumped down from his horse and pushed himself into the group, though looking for the white and maroon clothed figure amongst a vast group was harder than what it had been on horseback.

Nathifa wondered how she had missed a person within their group that didn't belong there. Unless of course he had snuck in while she was concentrating on the small group of Society warriors that Jetta had brought along with her. Or even while they were leaving the Sanctuary.

It wasn't until some of the group moved out of the way to allot the man some room that Akaelin recognized who they were after. Light blue eyes shot through with silver were wide with fright as the man grabbed him by the neck and threw him towards the carriage. The last two people dismounted their horses, grabbing the escapee by either arm.

((Now do you know who it is? :3))

((Yep. I'll edit if I'm wrong. Sorry I wasn't on all day, I was having an awesome day of adventure with my ex and anotherfriend))

"Wait!" Nathifa said, now able to see who they had grabbed. She moved at the same time that Kitai did, who had immediately dismounted her horse once the person became visible to her. Nathifa now stood at the side of one of the men that was holding the supposed fugitive with her hand outstretched threatningly and Kitai had her sword pressed to the other man's neck. "Kieran is no fugitive, you are mistaken," Nathifa said softly but dangerously. "Leave him and you leave with your lives."

"Take him," came Akaelins voice, having shifted to human form. Yeah, yeah, some people would be pissed. Boo fuckin' hoo. The way the wolf saw it, on the brink of world destruction, it wouldn't do the rebellion good to make any kind of enemy. It wasn't like Kieran served a purpose either. He didn't hunt, didn't fight. He was just another mouth to feed.

"No!" Nathifa growled, surprised that Akaelin would even suggest just simply giving Kieran away. If the en took him, then he would probably be forced back into the slave trade. Plus they owed him a small debt since he was partially responsible for Kitai's mental recovery.

"It's not worth making an enemy over," Akaelin stated simply. So what if he had been partially responsible for Kitais mental recovery? He had done his job, and now there was nothing more that he could do. Kitai was fine now. It wasn't like he'd need her again.

((Uh-oh. I'm sensing an argument coming. XD
Set: Now's my chance!
Akaelin: Bitch. I will kill you.))

"No!" Nathifa snapped again, this time whirling to face Akaelin while still keeping an eye on the men that held Kieran. "You dare call yourself the Alpha of this pack when you are willing to desert one of its members the moment the slightest trouble comes up! At least even Set watches over his followers!" She knew that last comment would hurt him, but she didn't care at this point. "They haven't even told us what crimes they're charging Kieran with!"

"Yeah, I do dare," Akaelin snapped back. "Unlike Set, I'm not a god, Nathifa. I can't wave my hands around and grant a persons wishes," he added, calling the goddess by the name given to her by the Egyptian pantheon. "Go ahead and do whatever the fuck you want. But I don't want to hear one tiny little complaint when we're dealing with not only the four riders, but another force as well, because you were too stubborn to let one person go!"

Arlyn stood behind Akaelin, narrowing his eyes threateningly on Nathifa. As an animal, Akaelin wasn't as capable of emotions like compassion and sympathy as his mate was. If after two years she didn't realize that, then she still had a lot to learn.

The men just stared at the quarreling couple with amused grins. "Eh...might've used the wrong word there," the one said. "Better term would've been, 'escaped property' or something like that."

"Fine!" Nathifa said angrily. "I don't care! I can flatten any human army with one hand tied behind my back!"

Ignoring the arguement between Akaelin and his mate, Jetta walked forward towards the two men calmly, motioning for Kitai to stand down. Another behind her, most likely one of the higher ranks she had brought with her, came too. "If this is a simple matter of escaped property then we have no reason to start a fight over him," Jetta said. Nathifa whirled around to face her, but the Society's Rank one held up a hand. "What's his value then? If we pay you over the price he is worth than his owner shouldn't have any complaints."

((dinner time, be back after))

"Oh jeez," the man replied, rubbing the back of his neck. He rose up on the balls of his feet, trying to get an estimate of the size of the Rebellion. "I'd have to guesstimate around... the weight of everyone present in gold times......six? Maybe seven. Not sure. And we're not human. I'm a bit offended actually, but whatever."

Jetta didn't even blink at the price. Wealth like that was without a doubt laying uselessly in the abandoned Society headquarters in a vault. But unfortunately, she didn't have that kind of money on her at the moment. "All right then, we don't have that much with us," Jetta conceded. "How much do we have to pay you to go back and say that you didn't find him, never to trouble us again in the future?"

"I could still squash you like a bug," Nathifa growled. "Don't push your luck."

"I think you might be wantin' to squash 'him' like a bug," the man laughed, guesturing towards Akaelin with his head. "Bitch, don't make me kill you," Akaelin growled under his breath. The man held his hands up in surrender before replying to Jetta. "Unfortuneatly, we're under, 'come back with the whore or don't come back at all', orders," he said. "Which really does suck because some money would be nice. The best thing you could do for us right now while keeping him," he gave Kieran a bit of a shake. "Would be to kill us quickly now. However, I don't think we're too keen on the thought of death. I'm sure you can understand."

Jetta sighed. "Do not worry, I don't kill innocents. I suppose we will have to let you take him." Nathifa opened her mouth to say something to Jetta, but was silenced again as she raised her hand. Even though Nathifa was a goddess now, she had trained under Jetta in the Society and was used to trusting her judgement. "If he is that important to his owner, than it appears that I shall have to talk to him directly. Do you mind telling me where the residence of this person is located?"

((damn you and your addicting books XD I checked out Night Pleasures from the library this afternoon and am already halfway through it))

((XD That's Kyrians book. It's one of my favorites. ^o^))

"Akribos," the first man answered as another came and bound Kierans hands behind his back. "I really don't think you'll be able to get in, but you seem confident enough to try." The two who hadn't said anything threw Kieran into the back of the carriage in a frustrated manner. "Terribly sorry about the whole incident really. Don't see what all the fuss over 'im is about, but whatever." He mounted his horse as the carriage started off with Kieran inside it. "You won't be able to miss Estes. He lives in this big white marble building. Biggest one in Akribos." As he rode off, he could've wished Jetta good luck, but he didn't really care about Kierans fate, only his own.

Now that the men were gone Nathifa didn't feel like holding herself back anymore. "You're just as bad as Akaelin!" she growled, throwing a lightning-fast punch at her former mentor. However, the blow went through the image of Jetta, which then faded. The goddess realized that Jetta had done a phantom jump and escaped, but had hidden her energy and was impossible to chase after. A cold wind blowing from the north led her to guess that she had changed to her Aravos form all while keeping her aura hidden. Frustrated that she couldn't do anything, Nathifa turned away from the group and stalked into the woods, followed by Sykino. Kitai sighed and struggled back onto the tall horse that she was borrowing, deciding to put her trust in Jetta.

Just as bad as Akaelin? the wolf echoed in his head. Whatever. He didn't go after Nathifa. She'd probably go all 'grr, I'm a powerful goddess so much better than you get away from me' on him anyways. He had never been concerned about what others thought of him, so he didn't really care if people were angered by his opinions.

'Akaelin,' he heard Arlyn say. He looked down at the older wolf, who guestured off into the woods with his head, opposite in the direction Nathifa had gone. 'Come with me.'

"Keep heading in the same direction," Akaelin grumbled to the group. "We'll catch up." He turned to follow his oracle like uncle.

Nathifa wasn't, in fact, going all rawr-goddess at the moment. She had found a small pond and sank down next to it with her head bowed, shoulders shaking from the effort of holding back sobs. Sykino approached her and laid down by her side, resting her head with just the tip of her nose touching the water of the pond. "It all okay," the hyena reassured her. "You, you mate, ebreyone under lot of pressure now, yeah. You just hit point breaking before others."

"It doesn't matter, he won't forgive me," Nathifa responded, her voice finally breaking.

"Everyone have fights, yeah. When Lorul first bring me to the rest of boys, none of them want accept me. Ended up snapping at Lorul and almost take leg off. He still here for me though."

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Jetta touched down at the Society headquarters not ten minutes after she had left the Rebellion's group. Since she didn't have subordinates to slow her down she had been able to fly at her full speed. Nodding to a couple of the warriors she had assigned to guard the entrance, Jetta entered the building and went to a stone wall behind the director's chair. The director in question was lying dead in his makeshift throne with his head on the other side of the room. Knocking three times on a panel five hands up from the floor, Jetta opened the secret compartment and spun the combination to undo the lock holding the vault shut. The wall swung inward before her and she strode in to grab one bag from the piled before leaving just as quickly. Once outside she shifted into Aravos form again and pointed her beak towards Akribos.

Akaelin followed his uncle until he was brought to an almost still river, surrounded by reeds on the opposite side. “What’s this for?” Akaelin grumbled, clearly not in the best of moods. The wolf walked down to the water and sat, gesturing with his head for the younger Elain to follow. ‘Look into the water and tell me what you see,’ Arlyn said stoically, pointing to the surface of the river with his paw. Akaelin gave his uncle a ‘what the hell?’ look, but otherwise obeyed.

All he saw, however, was himself. His thoroughly pissed off self. Was there something deeper that Arlyn was trying to get at? Perhaps the wolf was going senile. “I don’t get it,” Akaelin snapped, glowering angrily at the other wolf. Arlyn chuckled patiently. ‘Perhaps I worded that wrong. Look into the water and tell me who you see.’

Now Akaelin was just plain confused, but he gave his reflection another look. His sourpuss face looked back at him. As if by magic, the hair in his reflection became dark brown, flecked with gray and his eyes a dark, stormy shade of gray. The wolfs eyes widened as he realized what Arlyn was getting at. Startled, he rose to his feet and jumped back, only to fall onto his butt. Fearfully, he scooted away from the water.

Arlyn looked on with eyes that knew what Akaelin had seen reflected in the water.

He had seen his father.

“I’m becoming my father…aren’t I,” Akaelin whispered in disbelief. Arlyn nodded his head solemnly. ‘Tell me Akaelin, what do you believe is the best method for leadership.’

“Fear?” Akaelin guessed.

‘Akaelin, fear is an excellent method for leader ship, but ultimately flawed. Do we not seek to destroy those we fear?’ Arlyn replied truthfully. ‘As much as the emotion is ... questionable. Love and loyalty strengthen fear.’ The older wolf padded slowly up to his startled kin, circling around him and lifting his lowered chin with the tip of his tail. ‘Let them love, make them fear.’

((Siiiiimbaaaaaa))

"Now come on, we going back," Sykino said, getting up.

"No," Nathifa replied gently but forcefully. "I don't want to have to face him."

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When Jetta grew close to the city of Akribos she exchanged her Aravos form for her old eagle owl one. It wouldn't do to have any guards take her for a monster and try to shoot her down with arrows. They wouldn't do much good against her, but inducing fear would not be the best way to start a business meeting. Because of the considerable distance at which she switched forms, the reduced flying speed should have been enough to let the carriage carrying Kieran have arrived at the designated place a while before she would. Jetta began her circling descent, as was how owls usually landed, and touched down on the street in front of the house that the man had mentioned, changing back to human form. She had also switched her clothes into a casual top, tan leather pants, and a short cape that one would wear to keep their upper body warm at high altitudes.

((Akaelin: Yeah, but unlike Simba, I'd be delighted if Nicias got trampled by a herd of wildabeast. >.<
Me: Akaelin can as epiphany? XD))

'Come walk with me,' Arlyn said, flicking his tail. Akaelin subconciously shifted form, following the older wolf. They walked parallel to the main group, but didn't join them. Arlyn sensed Akaelins need to think about a few things, but he didn't trust his nephew alone by himself.

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"Welcome home Kieran. You have four years of lost wages to make up."

Kieran bowed submissively before his uncle. It was all he really could do. In the back of his mind, he had always thought that his moment of peace would be shattered eventually. He just hadn't hoped that it would've been this soon. He had been steadily getting used to the Rebellion, even opening up a bit and talking to a couple of them. But now that was over. What a fool he was to believe that he would actually have a life outside of prostitution.

He could already feel Estes' disgusted, penetrating stare. He fisted his hand in Kierans hair and jerked him upward, forcing eye to eye contact. "You are absolutly disgusting," he growled, as if Kieran had chosen to become a whore. He shoved him back into one of the rooms and locked the door. "Get yourself ready. You're going to start paying me back as of now." It wouldn't take him long to switch clients. Give a few people who payed for another whore to him. Unlike the others, Kieran would have them coming back time and time again.