Feir Swifttail

'I knew that charr were supposed to be bloodthirsty, but I thought that was meant to be about their prowess in battle, or intimidating features. Not literally thirsting for blood.' the warm voice spiraled through Kairos' thoughts, trailing her own thoughts of wondering about how a rock gazelle would taste. 

"You can't blame a girl for wanting to try new things. It's been months since I've had a decent dolyak steak." She argued back, still not entirely used to having mind conversations. Having a constant voice kept the other mist whispers to a minimum, but having her own thoughts heard was still sometimes unnerving. "Not sure the rock gazelle would taste the same. Too crunchy?" Kairos smirked to herself as she played the mental image of eating a rock gazelle, with any meat being made of rock cracking against her teeth. She had to stifle a laugh as she could feel the shudder of Vlast being squicked by the thought.

'You're not allowed to attack me like that. That wasn't part of the deal,' Vlast's voice came pointedly, although not angry. 

"Hmm, but you forget that it is," Kairos said. "You said that in exchange for letting me try to channel your power from the mists, I would serve as a companion in showing you more of the world outside of the Crystal Desert. And that means we're friends now. Like some silly puppet show for human cubs." She smiled at the thought. That would be pretty cute, if a bit in poor taste, to have a skit about a dragon and a charr being friends for entertainment.

'If this is companionship, I would like to back out of our arrangement,' the voice of Vlast was flat, in that dry way that Kairos knew he was catching on to sarcasm pretty well. They had only been together for about a week now, but having someone in your mind 24/7 makes the bonding process go pretty quickly. Plus, she really enjoyed the company. She'd spent the better half of that time recovering at the temple of Kormir after the attack at the outpost, but now decided it's time to try to head back. The desert wasn't really the place for her, and she wanted to get back to Tyria sooner rather than later. While she hadn't learned much about Glint at all, Kairos thought that her newforged bond with Vlast was a higher priority. 

And, as it seems, a really handy priority.

'It seems the sun has set. Would you like to try the "trick" again?'  Vlast's voice echoed before Kairos could think first. Yes, the desert got mercilessly cold once the sun was gone, and she did want to try something out again. It hadn't gone well the night before, but luckily she'd still had her own supplies. 

 "Yea let me just grab some wood to burn real quick," Kairos replied, grabbing up some of the crispier looking shrubs off the side of the trail. With the last of the sun's light peeking over the horizon, she'd gathered a decent amount of scrub to keep some warmth for the night. Before getting it started, though, she took a moment to watch the sky alight. 

'You should see it when there's crystal all around. The way the light catches and reflects, makes the brand look almost beautiful,' Vlast commented, and Kairos could almost picture what a breathtaking scene that would be. Or maybe Vlast shared a memory of his own with her. Either way, she was glad to have the thought. 

With one last deep breath as the light slipped away, Kairos again turned her focus to her unlit campfire. "Alright, down to business," she said, getting ready for another night of experimentation. While she hadn't been getting much sleep since leaving the temple, the thrill of learning what new things she could do with Vlast kept her energized. "Let's see if we can keep it up long enough to catch this time?"

'I will try not to burn us, although it is mostly on you,' He replied, and Kairos could feel his focus sharpening in her mind. She tried her best to match that focus. Closing her eyes, she held out one of her hands so she could just feel the scrub brush gently against it, and she tried to dip into herself. Focusing on the energy emanating from her connection to the mists, to Vlast, and to the magics held even deeper. But mostly Vlast. 

Magic isn't rare in Tyria. But it's unpredictable. At least, to Kairos. But she was beginning to understand how it works, at least for her. With Vlast. He was made almost entirely of magical energy, whether that be from being a dragon or by being dead and in the mists. It didn't really matter. What did matter was the feeling of using his magic. Vlast was sharp. And white hot. The kind of heat that feels cold, numbing. Pulling his magic didn't hurt, didn't cause pain, but it made Kairos feel that sharp, white hot cold that is often accompanied by pain, so it will take time to get used to. The feeling crackled through her mind, and then swirled up through her. She could almost imagine the magic as green fire, blossoming out of the scar on her chest. Furrowing her brows with determination, Kairos guided the flow of magic from her core down her extended arm. Holding the power as much as she could, she dared a peek at her own hand. 

They'd done it! Her hand was alight with a small green glow of magical fire, and her fur wasn't getting singed. Although the brush she'd collected hadn't caught fire yet, she pulled her magic channeling hand closer. The flame danced across her hand, the soft green light illuminating the space around her. And she could feel Vlast's excitement mirroring her own, and his focus keeping the channel of magic open. Kairos moved her lit hand across the air in front of her towards her other hand, hoping to see if she could transfer the flame between them, when she noticed it wasn't just the magic she held that was giving off light. While still channeling Vlast's magic, her own stripes were no longer white, but instead glowed a soft green. Her eyes widened with surprise, and then lit up with excitement. 

'That is a bit unexpected,' Vlast agreed, although it wasn't nearly as excited as Kairos' thoughts of "That's so cool!" as she whirled around to see if her tail stripes were glowing as well. She practically looked like one of the Mad King's glow skeletons! 

'Kairos. The task at hand, focus,' the voice of Vlast cut through her childish excitement, although she could feel he was unable to hide his feelings of fond amusement at her enthusiasm. 

"Right. The shrubs," Kairos turned her attention back to the tinder she was trying to light. She held her still flaming hand towards the scrub and grabbed a piece gently, hoping the magical heat would be able to start a normal fire. Luckily, the brush was dry enough and caught quickly, and Kairos drew her hand away as she felt the magic fading back into herself. The soft green glow was replaced by the warm orange of the campfire, and Kairos found herself feeling more tired than she could ever remember.

'Careful. I don't think you've channeled quite that much magic before, have you?' Vlast's voice almost seemed muffled to her as Kairos felt her consciousness slipping. She sat down, then curled herself up, utterly exhausted. 'Don't worry, rest it off. I might be able to keep an eye out...'

Vlast's voice faded as she fell to sleep. 

[/]

Kairos found herself awake, with a shudder of magical energy running up her spine and the soft green flames spilling out of her mouth. She blinked the sleep away from her eyes and noticed she was standing, although hunched over, with a few small flames flickering on the ground. A few paces away, a pair of sand lionesses were quickly moving away from her. 

“Wh-,” Kairos started to speak, but her throat was super dry, and also still leaking out magical flames. 

‘You weren’t waking up, and I felt we could have been in danger,’ Vlast’s voice reverberated through her mind. He was defensive, although she hadn’t really been angry at him. Kairos’ mind still felt foggy from waking up so suddenly, but she was mostly surprised that he was able to channel his own magic through her while she was still asleep. It was a little surprising, but she trusted Vlast enough to not be worried about. She gave a big stretch and she began to feel the magic around her retract. Feeling more awake now, she noticed that the sun had only started to rise. The desert was still cool from the night. She counted herself lucky that Vlast was able to somehow notice the dangers around. Guess he didn’t need to sleep in the mists. 

‘I never slept much when I was alive, either. Too much like… too much to do. I…’ his voice wavered for a second. ‘I apologize. For making you… do that.’ 

“Hey it’s alright. You were able to keep those lions away, so it’s not a big deal,” Kairos said. They were a team now, so they had to watch each other’s back. Err, her back, together? Still, Kairos found herself a little intrigued by the fact that Vlast was able to channel his magic through her, even when she wasn’t awake. It probably was easier for him, since he knew how to actually use his own magic, whereas she had only really begun practicing a few days ago. She decided to write it off as a comfort, something he could do to help out in a pinch, and moved on to thinking about other things. Like getting ready to continue their journey. 

‘I suppose your assumptions are fair,’ Vlast’s voice hummed in agreement. ‘I believe it would be best for us to continue “on the same team”, as you put it. Although I find your nonchalance at being controlled a bit… concerning.’

Kairos shrugged. She knew who it was in her mind now, and she trusted him not to hurt her. And she wasn’t really being controlled, just doing a little surprise magic channeling while she was asleep. It’s not like she’s been some kind of Vlast-branded or something. At that thought, she could feel an almost indignant sputter come from Vlast. It was just a thought, although he didn’t seem like the kind of dragon to do much of his own branding. And she was very much in control of herself anyway, being unconscious notwithstanding.

‘I could make my own branding, you know,’ Vlast argued. ‘I never did, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have ever. I’d even considered it. Having my own set of forces to combat Kralkatorrik’s waves of monstrosities. But…’ there was hesitation in his voice, like he was considering how much he wanted to tell Kairos. She’d gotten her small campsite completely packed away now, and was just about to start out again on the path to Amnoon. Hopefully they’d be able to make it there before the end of the day. Until then, she had nothing but time to listen to Vlast.

She could hear the echo of his sigh, pushing away any encroaching voices from the mists. ‘I guess there is no point keeping any secrets from you. It seems only fair to tell you. Yes, I never made minions of my own. I was… I was scared.’ Kairos could almost say that his voice was shaking, just a little bit. ‘It’s not becoming of a dragon, to be scared. But to you I will admit, I was afraid. I was afraid that the people I was defending would see my brand as that of the enemy. That they would see me as part of the enemy.’ Vlast let out a harsh chuckle, his disdain clearly only to cover that he would really be hurt if these people were to betray him. 

‘But mostly, I was afraid my brand would become his. That it wouldn’t be mine. That if I were to indulge in this Draconic impulse to create minions, that I would become more like that which I was trying so hard to defeat. That I would… lose myself’ Vlast echoed through Kairos’ mind. What an awful thought. She believed that Vlast wouldn’t be corrupted just by using his own power, but she could see humans turning on him for trying. If the people in Elona were like the humans back at Ascalon, she could easily see them doing something like that. 

‘You do not think very highly of these Ascalonian people,’ Vlast commented.

“Charr and Humans have a… complicated history,” She replied. How could she start to explain? The humans saw charr as nothing but mindless beasts. The charr retaliated in turn by treating the humans as spineless cowards and war criminals. Things were mostly different now, with the treaty, but the past still happened. The wars, the searings, atrocities from both sides, better left in the past. But the Foefire…

‘I… you don’t have to tell me,’ Vlast whispered, having seen the memories flash through Kairos’ mind. She’d heard stories, and she’d seen battlefields herself. She shook her head, no it should be over now. The wars are in the past. Tensions were still high, but the humans were allies now. The threat of the Elder Dragons is greater than whatever past wrongdoings and grudges were held. 

‘This Foefire, does it have anything to do with the mists?’ Vlast asked. He must have felt her apprehension about the subject. Or seen her memories. Of the ghosts. And the musket, the canon she and Airen had made, about her first accident… ‘You don’t have to tell me, although it will be hard for me to… ignore your thoughts on the matter.’

“No, no, you’re right,” Kairos sighed. He’d told his secrets to her, she could at least tell him about her own. Starting with the Foefire in Ascalon, how it cursed the humans to never be able to go to the mists, and how her warband had gotten tangled up in some sort of technology to reverse the curse. How she had gotten wrapped up in it. 

[/]

‘How interesting. And this was how you became mist-touched? And began to hear the echoes of my mother in your mind,’ Vlast mused after Kairos had finished telling him her story. He’d listened to her, not asking too many questions, and finally being able to tell Someone about what had really happened to her made Kairos feel a lot better. And recounting the story had been a good way to pass the time, as they had almost made it to the city and the sun had yet to start setting. 

“Uh huh,” Kairos hummed, after her first mist encounter is when she had first started to hear the voices, and echoes of Glint speaking. That’s why she’d come to the Crystal Desert in the first place, to see if she could learn anything more about the dragon who spoke to her. Instead she’d found another dragon, who really spoke to Her, and not just left old recordings of wisdom and magical energy. Funny how things work out like that.

‘I agree you could find the circumstances a bit humorous. However, I can’t help but find myself a bit disappointed that I am not able to speak with my mother here in your mind,’ Vlast’s voice had an edge of sadness to it. Kairos wondered why he wasn't able to find her within the mists. ‘I… maybe I could,’ He paused for a moment, considering how to explain. ‘I do not have free reign over the mists, and cannot just travel around searching for her endlessly. I am… not stuck, but tethered. To you, to our connection. And even so, as much as I long to hear my mother say she is proud of me, I do not want to hear of any disappointment in me. Allow me this childish desire.’ Vlast’s thoughts were followed up by a deep rumble of laughter. Kairos couldn’t really relate, since the opinions of her own parents meant nothing to her. Although, she hadn’t really cared much for the opinions of anyone, really. Except maybe her old ‘bandmates, but they were gone now. 

‘Right, I remember you did tell me how charr don’t really have a bond with their parents at all. And besides, I really shouldn’t be so concerned about an old dead dragon anyway,’ Vlast commented, although he didn’t sound entirely convincing. Although, disregarding Glint for being an “old dead dragon” a little bit in poor taste, coming from another dead dragon? Kairos felt another of Vlast’s deep rumbling laughs. ‘I suppose, although Glint is actually dead. Whereas I am only as dead as you are alive.’ Kairos could feel her eyebrows furrow in confusion. Was he trying to imply that she wasn’t alive anymore?

‘Not in the traditional sense, no. You’re mist-touched. Someone who has been to the mists and has returned. Hold on a moment,’ Vlast spoke and Kairos stopped moving. They had reached the outskirts of the city, where refugee camps were set up almost everywhere there was space to stake a tent. ‘I wish to try something again once it is dark, and I think staying away from these people will be beneficial. They might find it… unnerving.’ Vlast explained. Him explaining it so ominously made Kairos feel what could be considered unnerved, but she also wanted to experiment more with their magic, so she agreed and found a spot some ways away from the refugees and set up a small camp. Luckily most of the warforged had been run out of the area, as it seems the war with the human god was starting to turn.

‘You’re mist-touched, Kairos,’ she didn’t think about how her name sounded in Vlast’s voice. Not at all. ‘But you’re more than Just mist-touched. You and I have a special connection. My path to the mists was interrupted by you, and such I am almost fully within you, and only a small amount in the whole of the mists. It is… hard to explain completely, but my being is tied up with yours now. And yours, with mine. So you are much alive as I am dead. And I alive as you are dead. Does that make sense?’ Sort of, but not really. Vlast had addressed something that Kairos had compartmentalized away as ‘best not to think about’ in her mind. She shouldn’t have survived the attack. She felt herself impulsively touch the huge scar on her chest. The scar that had formed almost immediately, stricken completely through her back to her chest, yet never having been a wound. No matter how tough she was, a charr just shouldn’t be able to walk away from an injury that intense. 

‘I apologize to bring up the memory, but I want things to be understood. And because, if you understand, it will make what I am next proposing a lot easier,’ Vlast sounded so sure. That probably made sense, he probably knew the second he was connected with her exactly what their whole connection was. What it meant for him, and for her. Dragons knew things, and especially about magic.

“Why,” Kairos whispered, before she shook her head. No, he’d explained what had happened, it didn’t matter why. She and him had a connection, and so she was going to learn everything she could about it going forward, not backwards. What sort of experiment was he proposing to her?

‘I’ve been thinking, and I believe I have a way to improve our cohesion. See, we’ve been thinking about it wrong. It’s no longer My magic, but Our magic,’ if she didn’t know better, Kairos might say that Vlast sounded almost excited. It’s probably just her own excitement. ‘So, instead of trying to channel myself through you, just try to channel our magic as if it is your own.’ 

Seemed simple enough. Kairos held her hands up in front of her, and looked down at them. It’s too bad she didn’t have any magic before this, since she really had no idea what it felt like to use magic ‘as if it were her own’. Or really how to use magic at all. But, she had to try. She closed her eyes, and balled her hands into fists as she focused. 

She felt the white hot numb of the magic blossom inside of her, a crackling energy that pooled at the center of her chest. The magic seemed centered near her scar, a fact that was not lost on her. Kairos focused on keeping herself steady as she channeled Vlas- no, Her magic. Well, it was hard to divorce the feeling of magic from Vlast, because she could definitely also feel his energy. Their energy? It was confusing, so she stopped thinking about it. Magic didn’t make sense with thoughts, but with feelings. She felt the energy bubble up to the surface, and she felt the crackling of sparks dancing across her fur. Her whiskers twitched and her tail flicked as she felt the chill of white hot magic settle across all of her. Then she opened her eyes.

Even though the sun had now set completely, the area around her was bathed in a gentle green light. Kairos twisted around, trying to see if her stripes were glowing again, like the last time. They were, the green light thrummed with magical energy as it pulsed and crackled across her fur. 

“That went a lot smoother,” she said out loud, although the thought to speak hadn’t come from her. “Ah, that’s interesting,” Vlast spoke with her mouth. Channeling him really did bring them a lot closer. Their connection really must be a lot stronger than she’d originally thought. She began to feel fidgety, what with the high amount of energy she had channeled starting to spark between her glowing stripes. She felt herself pushing energy out into some flames, lighting herself a campfire from her outstretched hands. After letting some energy out, Kairos could feel herself calming down, and the energy went from a loud crackle to a gentle hum. 

‘Fascinating,’ she felt Vlast, speaking in her mind again. ‘It seemed like while I was channeling our magic through you, I was also able to channel my words. I’ll keep that in mind. Hmmm,’ she could tell Vlast had another idea. ‘Do you know how to fight?’

“Of course I know how to fight,” Kairos almost laughed. “I’m a charr!” She was almost offended by the question. A charr that didn’t know how to fight?

‘I didn’t mean to insult. I just haven’t seen you actually use your weapon before,’ Vlast replied evenly. ‘But I was mostly inquiring because I thought you might have wanted to see if we could incorporate our connection to your regular fighting style.’ Ah. So that’s why he brought it up. Kairos felt herself feeling a little guilty about being so defensive. Back with her old warband, she hadn’t really been much of a fighter. But although they’d been a more artillery focused ‘band, she still knew her way around a sword like any decent charr. And she still had her trusty pistol on hand, even if the thought of having to use a gun again made her feel sort of queasy.

What did he have in mind? She questioned Vlast mentally as she gathered up her sword from her supplies. The poor old thing was standard issue, and hadn’t seen very many fights in a while. Still, the blade was still in good condition, she determined after giving it a few practice swings.

‘So you can use that sword,’ Kairos didn’t appreciate how smug Vlast sounded. ‘Show me some forms? Ok, you seem to only be using your one hand, yet your other seems unbalanced.’ He’d noticed she didn’t get her pistol out. She didn’t really think she had to explain why she was hesitant to use her pistol, after her first mist experience.  ‘No no, it’s alright. I think this might actually work out better for what I was thinking,’ Vlast insisted. Kairos could feel the deep thrums of his voice in harmony with the thrumming of magic through her, around her. ‘Right, no, don’t think about it, just feel.’ 

So Kairos didn’t think, she just allowed the magic to flow how Vlast willed it. She felt the ripple and crackle of energy, the surge of white hot numbness, and felt the heavy snap of crystal breaking. Before she could really understand what was happening, Kairos could feel the magic fading back towards her center. And she found herself holding what appeared to be a sword in her offhand. Made entirely of green crystal, the blade was almost a perfect copy of her other. 

‘Pretty impressive, isn’t it,’ Vlast remarked, not really asking a question. The crystal of the sword reverberated in tune with the voice echoing in her mind, and with the magic that still rippled throughout her body. Kairos was impressed, and she gave the new sword a few practice swings like she had her other one. It had been a while since she’d used two swords at a time, and she found herself stepping back into some old practice stances from the fahrar. The blades sang through the air easily in harmony with each other. 

“Try to hit one of these,” Vlast said as two shadowy forms appeared in front of her. She rushed forward, feeling the flap of Vlast’s wings make the morning mist swirl around her feet. Kairos could feel as she swung and stabbed, letting her muscle memory and the impulses of magic guide her blades. As her amorphous foes dissipated, she looked back towards Vlast with a wild smile.

“How was that?” She cried out, excited for more. Before her mind caught up with the situation. The hazy form of the dragon may have made an expression, but Kairos had stopped paying attention to him. She closed her eyes. She couldn’t be in the mists, right? That wasn’t normal. Maybe channeling Vlast’s magic so much had made her accidently channel what he saw in the mists, too. That made sense, right?

‘Something like that, if it makes the most sense to you,’ Vlast’s voice was once again inside her head. Kairos opened her eyes again to see she was back in the heat of the Crystal Desert, with the sun beating down on her. Time worked differently in the mists. But time worked regularly in Elona. Somehow, here little training experiments with Vlast had lasted until almost midday in the desert. ‘I apologize, although we should be able to get on a transport back to Tyria at this time,’ Vlast pointed out. Kairos set her weapons down before giving herself a thorough full body shake. Well, it wasn’t the weirdest thing to happen to her, she thought as she packed up her little camp she’d made. She wanted to give Vlast’s crystal sword a more intense look over, but she would have time for that on the journey back to the Citadel. So, she set off to the airship port in Amnoon.

Kairos stood outside the priory camp, trying to regulate her breathing. She hadn't seen her old 'bandmate in over three years. He probably believed she was still dead. How would he react? Would he even want to see her? Would he even be willing to help?

'The visions of every possible future, flashing before my eyes, was heartbreaking. So many different outcomes can poison the mind, but often inaction brings about the worst outcome." the voice echoed from within Kairos' mind. She let out her breath, and pushed into the tent.

"Kairos!- wh- how did? where..?!" Tenrad stuttered to find the right words, deciding to give up and run up to her. He reached his hands out, afraid to touch her. "It's really you, isn't it?"

She brought her hands up to touch his gently, but solid. She was real.

"It's really me," Kairos replied. The two charr stood there for a few moments.

"I thought  you died," Tenrad said bluntly.

"I think I did," she answered. "But I got over it. Do you mind if I ask you a favor?"

"Only if you tell me everything about how you 'got over' being killed. Kairos, what happened!?" Tenrad exclaimed. Kairos was sure that it was hard for him to believe, but here she was.

"I think I went to the mists, but I was able to return. I was..." she paused for a moment. "Guided, back home. It wasn't my time." she shrugged. It was a pretty short explanation, but that's really all she could remember. 

"Kairos, that was over three years ago."

"Time works differently in the mists," she shrugged again. She didn't have answers. "That's why I came to see you. The Priory knows lots of things, I was actually hoping you could tell me."

"Not much is known about the mists," Tenrad began. "Although, as hard as it is to believe, your case isn't the only one. Of people going and returning from the mists." Ah, so that's why he was taking this all in stride pretty well. Something crazy happens once, it's unbelievable. Something crazy happening more, there's bound to be someone looking for a pattern.

"You said someone 'guided' you home. Do you know who that was? Did you see anything? Hear anything?" He asked.

"Yea, guided is probably the best word to describe it. I don't know who she was, and I have questions for you. I didn't see anything, and I heard voices, some stronger than others." Kairos answered his questions, counting the order on her claws. "Do you know anything about someone named 'Glint'?" 

Tenrad paused at her question, looking at her in a bit of disbelief. The name sounded familiar to her, but for whatever reason Kairos couldn't place it. It was the name of the voice that spoke to her in her mind, that had left echoes of knowledge and magic and music for Kairos. 

"Glint - as in the crystal dragon Glint?" he answered her with his question. 

"Crystal Dragon Glint," 

'These crystals hold my memories, my stories, my secrets. I do not know who will listen, but keeping crystalline thoughts helps to keep me sane.'

"So you know about her," Kairos asked, shaking the voice away. 

"You could say that," Tenrad replied. "There's stories about her; how she was purified, how she wanted to help humans, how she was killed, her prophetic visions... There's tons of old writing about her." He gave Kairos a look. "Is... was she the one who guided you from the mists?"

"I think so," she answered. Glint was speaking to her, or at least leaving behind messages that would echo within Kairos' mind. Sometimes the way she spoke, it was almost as if she could hear what was going on around Kairos. Other times it felt like she was hearing rehearsed phrases. But there wasn't any doubting anymore, Kairos believed that it was Glint she was hearing. 

"Where can I learn more about her?"

[/time skip]

And so, Kairos found herself on an expedition with the Priory to the  Crystal Desert. Tenrad had been extremely helpful in finding scholars with a similar interest, and soon Kairos was able to come along as long as she helped earn her keep. She wasn't considered large by charr standards, but she could definitely carry more than her fair share for the expedition. 

The expedition was incredibly educational, but also somewhat boring. Kairos learned as much as she could about the dragon, but didn't really engage much with anyone else outside of the stories. Most of the scholars on the expedition wanted to hear all about her time in the mists, and were discouraged by her lack of any meaningful memories. 

Kairos often would just sit and listen. The voices from the mists swirled around her mind, sometimes almost too quiet to hear and other times drowning out the voices of the living around her. Many of them, she could not understand. Most prominent of all, however, was the voice of Glint.

'I knew I was going to die. All living things know that their life would end. I like to think I faced my end bravely. But when it all happened, I was afraid. I was able to see reflections of the future, the fractals of choices spiraling before me, but they all came to the same end. I relied on sight so much, being blind to the future was the most frightening of all.'

'I was prepared to die, but I was ill equip for what came next. Time works differently in the mists. Every step, every breath, every beat of a heart reflects into millions of facets of time, every possible combination of time stretched infinitely before me. And it hurt, to see so much.'

'Leaving my voice helped me. In life, I strove to help those I could. I caught a glimpse of a better future for the world. I held tight to that future, that belief that things could be different. Now, I see so many hopeful futures. But so many more that I believe to be terrible. I do what I can to push towards hope.'

'Often I am alone in the mists. Other times I am visited. These visitors do not belong here, but I enjoy when they come. I feel that the mists do not let go entirely, following them home like a thread of silk. I keep my eye on these threads.'

Kairos felt a bit of comfort, knowing the dragon within the mists was watching her. And it seemed Tenrad was right about there being others. She wondered if she would ever meet any of the other mist visitors. 

The expedition had set up a camp near the highlands of the desert. Records show that Glint's lair was supposedly nearby, but no one could seem to find it. The locals had many stories to tell of the dragon and her scions. The locals had many stories left to tell, but Kairos did not get to hear them.

The human god had declared the desert a battleground. 

The priory members did what they could to help, guarding refugees and assisting at the temples.

Kairos did what she could to help, fending off the forged assailants to give the people time to escape.

Kairos did what she could to help, calling forth magic from the mists to shield herself and others from the attacks as the human god waged his war.

Kairos did what she could to help, shielding over some humans as a horrible explosion echoed across the desert skies.

Kairos did what she could to help, trying not to cry out as she felt something pierce through her chest.

Kairos did what she could, feeling the sickening loss of blood drip down the crystal impaled through her.

Kairos did what she could

[/ ]

Kairos knew where she was again. She knew to keep her eyes closed. She knew the voices echoing around her. She knew she had died, this time for real. 

'I... did not expect this.'

She did not know whose voice that was.

'I knew what choice I was making, dear sister. I thought I knew the price,' the voice carried on. It was deeper than Kairos knew, yet had a familiar crackle.

'Every step, every breath, every beat of a heart, I did not expect it to be so blinding.'

"close your eyes," Kairos whispered. She hardly expected to make a sound, but her whisper seemed to fill the entire space. It wasn't loud, just everywhere.

The owner of the voice seemed taken aback. Surprised. How did she know it was surprised?

'Ah, yes that does help.' It had taken her advice. 'And who are you?' it asked her.

Kairos. She didn't say it outloud, but felt her thoughts fill the space around them. 

'Kairos,' the voice said. 'I thought I would be alone, in death. But you,' she felt the voice draw closer. 'You're here as well. How funny.'

Why is that funny? Her thoughts filled the space around them. She was beginning to feel a weight in her chest. That wasn't right, she wasn't supposed to feel in the mists.

'No, it is not right, indeed. I may be able to help with that, though.' his voice tickled her whiskers. 

[/ ]

Kairos woke up with a gasp. She could feel air painfully in her lungs. How long had it been since she'd breathed? She coughed, having breathed in some smoke alongside air. She was holding her arms out, protectively. She looked down, and was met with the fear filled eyes of humans. Human refugees, that she was protecting from their god's war. The outpost was in flames. 

"We gotta get out of here," Kairos said, jumping into action. She helped the people get up, and met with some others who seemed to be helping. They moved out towards the temple of Kormir, where the priestesses should have some sort of medicine for them. 

Kairos did what she could to help.

Once they reached the temple, Kairos felt she could finally relax. Although there was an air of relief, everyone was still shaken up by what had happened. And they refused to speak to Kairos.

She didn't mind, really. She was still shocked at how quickly everything had happened. It seemed like just seconds ago she was sitting peacefully around a fire, listening to a story. The human god's attack, the burning of the outpost, people running for shelter, the explosion, the crystal stabbing through her chest.

Oh.

She had gotten impaled.

'I do feel a remorse for being the cause of that.'  there came that voice again. The deep melodic rumble seemed to come from within her own head. 'I also do not quite know what has happened. I have a good guess, though. Would you care to hear it?'

She didn't know what to think, but this wasn't the first time she'd died and been fine. And it wasn't the first voice in her head to speak to her. Kairos was pretty sure he was going to tell her his thoughts anyway.

'I have been alone for so long, I've grown accustomed to speaking to myself. I will admit, having someone listen will take some getting used to. But I believe my death was the "explosion" as you called it. And the crystal that hit you caused some sort of interruption from my path to the mists. And since you seem to have been touched by the mists, I was drawn to you.'

'You claim I am not the first, yet I seem to be alone here. Besides you.'  Kairos could hear the voices and echoes, but they never seemed to come from within her. They came from around her, from outside of herself. But this voice...

'Vlast'  Glint's first scion. The people had told stories about him, how he worked to protect them from the branded attacks. Now he was dead, and his voice within her mind.

'My path has become entangled with yours. It seems you are not only touched by the mists, but have been wrought from it. You possess powers untapped, magics within your grasp. It is fascinating. I have known nothing like this, although I may be able to help you.'

'I have long flew across these skies, fighting for the lives of these people. Yet, I do not know them. I am to protect them, and to strive towards the world my mother believed could be. I fight against the elder dragon, one of my own kind, for the sake of creatures not like me. I want to feel the love my mother felt towards them, but I do not know it. I... It is a lonely existence.'

'I envy my sister. I did not even get to know her, and yet I know her purpose is more heartfelt than I will ever know. She has her champion. She will make our mother proud. But I...'

Vlast fell silent. Kairos could feel the uncertainty clouding about her mind. She knew Glint was proud of him, for as much as she could know. 

'She... You hear Glint's echoes from across the mists. I hope I may hear them, too.'

Kairos felt Vlast start to laugh. A deep, low reverberation.

'I find it funny. I was alone and adrift throughout my life. I thought I would finally be free of this burden, but even in death I am reminded of my mother's purpose for me. How ironic it must be, that only through my death am I finally given someone... someone to talk to.'

'Are you to be... my champion?'

"psst, Kairos. Check this out!"

Kairos snapped out of her thoughts at the sound. She gave  her wrench one last push to make sure the bolt was securely fastened, and then popped out from the cannon she was working on. 

"What's u-

"Shhh," Airen cut her off, covering Kairos' mouth with a greasy paw. "S'posed to keep this on the downlow. Don't know who could be listening" Kairos followed her suspicious gaze back and forth across the workfloor, finding nothing out of the ordinary.

"Well, I guess there's no need to tell me if I can't know about it," Kairos shrugged and pushed Airen's paw away. "Best way to keep a secret is to not know it." She smiled impishly as she pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket to wipe the grease off her face, and used it  to tie back her hair out of her face. 

"Kai you *know* I have to tell you now," Airen huffed, "Secrets are also no fun if you can't share them with at least somebody. But this isn't a silly cub secret - check this out," she pulled out some kind of crumpled papers - no, blueprints. To some kind of... Musket?

"Airen, our 'band is working on outfitting cannons, not infantry weapons."

"I know but this is different. It's not the blueprints for just any musket, it's for the," she paused, then leaned in close and whispered "Ghostbore Musket."

Kairos pulled away and stared at Airen wide-eyed. "Wait, *The* ..." she hesitated to say the name out loud. Now she knew why Airen was being so hush-hush.

"Yes. *The*" Airen repeated. 

"Wh- How did..." Kairos struggled to find the right words for all the questions filling her mind. These plans, hardly anyone even Knew about them, let alone was allowed to look at them. To have an actual Copy, or maybe even the Original, given how worn the paper looked to be. She leaned in and whispered to Airen "Does the Legionnaire know?"

"Of course, he's the one who gave them to me," she whispered back. It was a good thing both of the charr's horns did not grow forward due to how close they were whispering. Airen's whiskers brushed against Kairos' as she smiled, then pulled back and gave a little hop of excitement. "I can't wait to get started working with these. We're supposed to outfit these cannons, and-"

"Wait hold up," Kairos interrupted. "Why didn't he call the warband around and have us all go over this? Seems kind of important." It seems kind of suspicious, she thought to herself. 

"He probably didn't want anyone to overhear and steal our ideas. Or get jealous. You know how ol' Burntstep can be," Airen waved the air, as if to push away any of her own doubts.

"Is anyone else going to be helping us with this? I mean, we need someone to *read* the plans," Kairos poked a claw at Airen playfully. 

"ye- Hey!" she squeaked at the poke, causing both charr to giggle. "Just because I misread those plans that One Time, no one ever lets me catch a break!"

"I'm kidding, Airen," Kairos smiled at her friend. "Let's grab a quick drink and talk this over more inside."

"Kairos it's not even noon," 

"I meant water you doofus," she replied. "Besides, I really think Tenrad and Shiv would wanna get in on this. They're usually around for an early lunch, maybe we can catch one of them."

"Alright let's go then," and with that, the two of them set off towards the workyard break station.

The break station was basically the same as any other Iron legion workyard breakstation. There was a small campfire, a mid sized cooler to store the meat for lunch and water, and a few chairs to sit down while on break. One for every butt in the 'band, so nine unoccupied and two being used right now. Tenrad and Cordelia looked up and waved  as Kairos and Airen approached, and scooted so there was room for the four to all sit together.

"Airen, and Kairos, just the gals we wanted to see," Cordelia growled, but in that special Cordelia way that made you know she was Very pleased to see you. But also still intimidating. "Burntstep told us to wait for you. Said it was big. Let's see what you've got."

"It is big," Kairos agreed, pulling up a chair and setting down.

"Huge, you could even say," Airen added, also getting seated.

"Well don't toy with us, just spill it," Tenrad huffed, crossing his arms.

Airen beckoned everyone in closer, until their whiskers brushed uncomfortably against each others'. 

"We've got the Ghostbore blueprints," she whispered. Cordelia and Tenrad both narrowed their eyes in suspect and looked over at Kairos, who gave them a nod of affirmation. 

"Well, I'll be," Tenrad raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "The real deal?"

"The real deal," Airen confirmed, and leaned back. Kairos pinned her ears back, and the other charr looked around to see what she heard.

"Kairos can't you let a guy have an entrance?" a shifty voice came up behind them. They looked on to see Shiv, holding his hands over his heart and pouting out his lip dramatically.

"You're just mad I can hear your tippy toes," Kairos gave him a friendly crooked sneer in greeting as Shiv pulled up another chair to their meeting. "Sure you're not an Ash legion spy, here to take our secrets?"

"Guilty as charged," Shiv replied. "So, spill 'em. Let's hear about this 'Real Deal'."

"Burntstep got us a copy of the Ghostbore blueprints," Cordelia growled softly. Airen had handed them over to her, and she tilted the top towards Shiv so he could read the title.

He let out a whistle of disbelief. "Guess I got my work cut out for me, assuming ol' Burntstep wants to keep this under wraps?"

"I'd assume he wants us to keep it secret, otherwise he would have told the whole 'band," Kairos agreed. She was excited to get started working with the 'prints. How did they make it work against the ghosts so well? Could the technology really be stretched to fit their cannons? How much longer were they all going to sit around and not be working on this? Her tail twitched anxiously as her thoughts spun.

"He wants us to outfit our cannons with this stuff?" Tenrad asked, looking up from the plans Cordelia had passed over to him. "Looks tricky. Good thing we're the best 'band in all the legions." 

"C'mon, let's get working, then," Airen shuffled her feet as all of them looked towards Cordelia for their next move. As the Legionnaire's second in command, leadership of their little project fell onto her shoulders.

"Yeah yeah alright you grease kittens, let's get a move on," Cordelia growled as she stood up and started moving towards the cannon area of the workyard. The three followed her and Shiv slunk off to keep watch. 

[/time break]

The past few weeks had started wildly exciting, but had slowed to  a bore. Kairos blew a strand of hair out of her face as she screwed the two pieces of metal together. The Ghostbore plans were a lot more of a challenge than they had anticipated, and converting the firing mechanism from a hand weapon to their cannons was proving incredibly difficult.

"Why has this gotta be so hard?" Airen complained, laying flat splayed on the ground next to where Kairos was working.

"Because we're not doing anything new," Kairos answered, furrowing her brow as she looked back at her plans. "Just playing copycat with someone else's toys." The part she had made almost exactly like the plans outlined, and yet did not seem to work. Did the measurements have to be Exact? She had double checked the math on her scale increase, so it should be the exact same just 2x bigger. What was the secret to this?

"Cordelia has already gotten bored and is working with the other half of the 'band," Airen complained more. "And Tenrad is still cleaning up after he spilled whatever the heck these things shoot outta them off out of his fur."

"And you're still laying there, complaining to me instead of working," Kairos tried to jeer in a playful way, but her frustration must have come out more than she intended.

"Hey, I really was trying. But this is hopeless" Airen sat up, and started picking at her tail. 

"It's not hopeless, but yea, I'm frustrated too," Kairos sighed, putting down her current project. "I wish we coulda talked to the charr that wrote the original plans. Maybe then we could make some progress." Probably not. She'd heard rumors that they were a bit of a loose cannon. Tribune Brimstone had taken a liking to them, and she'd heard enough about him to know his priorities did not align with the Iron Legion's best interests.

"I'm gonna go shoot our prototype musket, see if I can determine what it's shooting," Airen started to stand up.

"Not again," Kairos argued. "Doing the same thing over and over isn't gonna give you any new results."

"I know," Airen sighed. "I'm just bored."

"Hmm," Kairos hummed, thinking. They had created an exact replica of the Ghostbore Musket from the original blueprints first, to try to understand how it worked. But the annotations on the plans were shoddy at best, and completely omitted for most pieces. And the thing didn't seem to require any sort of bullet, or ammunition of any kind. Fueled by some kind of magic instead. Tenrad had found out when he'd spilled the weird substance and couldn't seem to wash it out of his fur. 

"Waiiiittt..." Kairos drew out, trying to piece together something. The musket didn't take any bullets or ammunition, but managed to somehow form magic. All of them were Ironheads, with not much magic to share between them, yet somehow the gun had filled itself up. "Why don't we take it out for a field test?" Why didn't she think of it before? Firing test dummies would never get them the real 'Ghostbore' results like shooting an actual ghost would get! 

"But, won't we get seen?" Airen asked, hesitant.

"Who are you and what have you done with Airen?" Kairos joked at her. Airen was never one to ignore a risky adventure. She must have taken this whole secrecy thing to heart.

"I mean, yes I want to, but what if Burntstep finds out?"

"Then we better make sure he doesn't find out," Kairos nudged her friend. "Besides, ghosts are like flies out there, it'll be easy to lure one into some secret place where no one will see us. And you know I'll hear if anyone is coming."

"Well, you got me there," Airen shook the floor dust off of her. "C'mon, let's go quick."

"Not right now," Kairos laughed at Airen's eagerness to go. "Let's wait until dark."

[/later that night]

"Kai, I'm having second thoughts," Airen hissed softly from behind Kairos. The two of them had snuck out into the night and were hiding out near a small camp filled with ghosts. Kairos watched them, meandering around with a pointless purpose. The human ghosts acted like they were in the thick of a war, eternally cursed to believe their home was under attack. Some even mimed like they were cooking a meat that wasn't there over an unlit fire, and some lay on blankets that had long since rotted away. Trapped in time. She almost felt pity towards them, if they weren't such violent invasive pests on her peoples' homeland. 

Kairos turned towards Airen, holding a claw to her lips to keep quiet. She tiptoed over to where one of the ghosts stood off on his own, like he was supposed to be keeping watch. His head nodded periodically, like he was falling asleep. Ghosts don't sleep, but these believed they were still human, and acted as such. The musket seemed heavier in her hands as Kairos got in position. She had to make a clean shot, so as to give her enough time to examine her kill before the next watchman came out. She hoped the musket worked as intended, because if it didn't kill him in one shot, her and Airen would have a camp full of ghosts on their tails.

She took aim, slowing her breath so she heard nothing except the heartbeat of her prey. Or, she would have, had her prey have a heart. She fired the rifle, briefly surprised when it made no sound. She knew from the testing range the gun was silent, but using it outside she must have unconsciously believed it would be different.

And her aim held true. The magic that flew from her weapon met it's mark, and the nodding ghost... was gone. It happened almost too quick for her to see, and it took a second for her thoughts to register what had really happened. The shot pierced the ghost right through the neck, and as he dematerialized, seemed to be sucked into the space created by the shot. 

Time stood still for Kairos. She held her breath, waiting for the camp to go up in alarm, or for Airen to call something, heck, she almost expected Legionnaire Burntstep to pop up behind her to scold her on sneaking out. 

But none of that happened. Nothing happened. A bird or insect made a quiet sound far in the distance. Kairos slowly let out the breath she was holding, and time started again.

She slunk over to where the guard had been standing. No traces of ghosts. She examined her gun. Nothing was different. She crept back over to where Airen was hiding, and was met with a wide-eyed expression.

Airen opened her mouth and closed it a few times, her face a clear picture of the gears in her mind turning. Kairos smiled at her, sharing an expression of the same disbelief, but also triumph. The field test proved useful, in a way. They wordlessly moved back to their 'band bunks. Talking could wait until morning.

[/next morning]

"Kairos, I couldn't sleep," Airen whispered first thing in the morning.

"I know," Kairos replied. Airen's tossing and turning had kept her up most the night. Also the thoughts about the gun. She was beginning to piece it together. The Ghostbore Musket was rumored to not only kill ghosts, but to delay their reformation, possibly forever. 

"Kairos, you have a look," Airen said as she poked her head over her bunk, leaning over where Kairos lay. "Did you figure it out?"

"I..." she hesitated. Did she figure it out? She had plenty of ideas, but she had to test them to be sure. "I might have something. It might be completely wrong." Airen's eyes widened, eager to hear.

"How much time you need?"

"Give me 5 minutes to have some breakfast, then meet me by the cannon workbench," Kairos replied.

[/a few minutes later]

Airen was waiting for her by the workbench, munching on a roast chicken. They hadn't been making much progress, so the 'band wasn't getting much red meat anymore. 

"Ok, so here's my thoughts," Kairos began as Airen listened intently. "I think this rifle uses some kind of mists magic."

"Like, from the Mists?"

"Yea. I don't know how, but it does. Something about when it hits the ghost, it maybe opens up some sort of portal to the mists, small enough to suck the ghost in."

"But how does that stop them from coming back?"

"I think the cursed ghosts maybe never go to the mists. Like, when we kill 'em they don't actually get killed but instead just get smashed, like sand. Then they put themselves back together." Kairos shrugged. It sounded like a sound theory, but could also be wrong. Airen seemed convinced though.

"That's wild," she said. "I thought maybe the gunshot somehow just killed them even faster, which made them take longer to get their ghost thoughts together." she shrugged. "Yea, I don't understand ghosts or human magics."

"Yea, who knows what humans are thinking, ever." Kairos laughed.

"Ok ok, but tell me more," Airen urged.

"Yes so I think the gun uses some sort of mists magic. So, if we can figure out how, and I think it has something to do with the weird magic-y stuff. Something in the shape and size of the original blueprint is able to tap into the mists, or form some sort of connection, or, or something." Kairos spun her hand around, hoping the motion would move her mind in the right direction. She had ideas and thoughts, but they weren't quite at the word phase yet. 

"Ok, makes no sense to me. But I think you have an idea of what to do," Airen's muzzles moved around to follow the motions Kairos made. "Tell me what I can do to help."

The two of them got to work. Airen gathered the parts Kairos requested, and held up some of the heavier pieces. Kairos pulled her hair back with one of her grease handkerchiefs, trying to keep from being distracted. If her idea was right, this could really be huge. They made five of the ammo pools same as the original design, and then a tunneling converter to channel whatever magic that got shot into the barrel of the cannon. 

It went against protocol to crawl down the business end of a cannon, but  Kairos wanted to be sure everything was lined up right. She thought she was being smart by blocking the firing mechanism. Her tail whipped around with excitement, and she could just barely hear Airen's laughter from the outside of the cannon. She probably looked ridiculous, with her rump sticking out of the cannon, her big hind feet holding the rim securely as she worked face first inside the huge gun. She tightened the last screw in place, giving it an ol' iron legion tap. Feeling satisfied with the converter in place, she placed the wrench in her jaws to use both hands to help wriggle herself out. 

Kairos heard a high pitched whine.

Kairos heard an Airen pitched cry.

Kairos didn't hear anything.

[/time skip]

Kairos heard whispers.

Kairos heard faint music.

Kairos heard her name.

"Kairos..." a voice whispered.

"Kairos." a voice spoke.

"KAIROS." a voice shouted.

She shot up, opened her eyes, and immediately closed them with regret. There was nothing around her, yet also everything. She wasn't sitting, or laying down, or standing. She couldn't feel anything, yet she felt so much. She hurt, she felt tired and rested, hungry and full, thirsty and parched. She felt satisfied, and yet so so uncomfortable.

"Kairos." a voice spoke.

She shook her head. Kairos. That's her name. 

"You do not belong here." the voice spoke. 

It was gentle, motherly. It was firm, commanding, motherly.

"Go back home." the voice spoke. 

It was kind, like a mother. It was cold and demanding, like it was not her mother. It crackled, like mothers are prone to do.

Were mothers prone to crackling?

"Go." the voice spoke.

It was gentle, like a crackle. It was mother, like a demand. It was gone, and Kairos went as well.

[/time skip]

Kairos heard footsteps approach her. 

"What the h- what are you doing here? This is a restricted area," A voice, a charr voice, called out to her. It was angry, concerned, confused.

So was she.

Kairos ached, but she sprung up. She hesitated for a fraction of a second before opening her eyes. It did not hurt. She saw the workspace, empty. She saw a charr moving towards her, not empty. He had a weapon. Drawn.

"What time is it?" Kairos asked, eyes wide. She was supposed to be working. Did she pass out? She couldn't remember what she was supposed to be working on. Was she supposed to go home? That sounded familiar.

"It's ... uh, 4 pm?" The charr sounded confused. The charr. Kairos was charr, who was this charr? 

"4pm." Kairos repeated. That wasn't right, it was morning, she had just got to working. Or was it supposed to be night? She was supposed to go home...

"What are you doing here?" the charr asked her. He had lowered his weapons. He was not scared of her, he was confused of her. Confused by her. Was she confusing.

"I am not sure. I think I am supposed to go home?" Kairos asked him. Both felt as if they would much rather not be having this conversation. He stared blankly at her for a few seconds. 

"Who," he cleared his throat. "Who is your Legionnaire?" he asked her. Her Legionnaire? Her Legionnaire was not here. He had a fun sounding name, and she always knew when he was approaching because of his uneven walk. He had injured his foot. Some kind of fire magic.

"Legionnaire Burntstep." she replied. His eyes widened at her answer. 

"Are you," he seemed nervous now. "Are you Kairos?" Kairos. Yes.

"Yes, that's me," she answered with a slight nod. "And you are?"

"I need to take you to the tribune right now," he said, not answering her question. "Please, come with me." He hesitated for a second, then extended his hand towards hers. She took it instinctively. This situation felt odd to her, but she felt it best to follow the rules. He wanted to take her to the Tribune. Did her Legionnaire get in trouble? 

The two of them stood, hand in hand for a second. Neither seemed to know what to do next. The charr gave a little chuff of laughter. Kairos looked over at him, head tilted slightly in question.

"This is the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me," he answered her silent question. "Call me Rend."

"Nice to meet you, Rend." Kairos answered, moving their held hands in a shake motion. "This is also the weirdest thing that's happened to me, although if I'm being honest, I don't really know what's happening."

"Oh. Yea, that makes sense," he said. They started walking. "I mean, you just sort of appeared. One second you weren't there, the next you were. I think it's insane, but well, you're the one doing the appearing." He chuckled again in disbelief. Some charr find it comforting to laugh in the face of discomfort, uncertainty, or even fear. He didn't seem scared of her. He seemed very confused. She felt similar.

"Yea, I supposed it makes sense." she laughed a little bit too. 

"Do you," he started. Rend cleared his throat, thinking his words carefully. "What do you remember?"

What did she remember?

"I remember..." she started. Thinking. "I remember I woke up, but I was tired. I don't think I slept well. I remember having to go to work. It was morning. I remember having big ideas, big plans, big thoughts. I remember hearing a friend. I remember being satisfied with my work. I remember... " she paused for a moment. "A voice. Telling me it was time to go home."

He didn't stop walking, but he stared at her in disbelief. "Damn dude." He didn't know what else to say. She didn't know what else to say. She shrugged.

"What do you remember?" Kairos asked him. 

"What do I?" he paused. "Well, I remember I woke up this morning, trained with my band until noon. I was assigned to guard this area for any suspicious activity this afternoon. I remember seeing nothing, I remember being bored, and I remember suddenly seeing you. Just there. Where you weren't a second before." He gave another pause. "And I remember the stories about Burntstep's 'band." Rend said the last bit in a whisper. But Kairos heard him. 

Stories of his 'band? Her warband? She was beginning to think something hokey had happened. She had a lot of questions.

"What kind of stories?" was what she chose to ask.

"The bad kind," he said. He swallowed uncomfortably. His palm pad was starting to get sweaty in her grip. They were almost to the Tribune's quarters. She felt like she was going to get in trouble. She did something wrong, and she was going to be punished. The thought traveled down her spine in a shiver, and she felt herself begin to sweat. 

[/time skip]

Kairos was in trouble. 

Well, more officially Legionnaire Burntstep was in trouble. He was accused of plagiarism, among other things. Apparently he did not get the blueprints through official means. He got his title stripped. He was no longer around. Kairos could not get a clear answer of if he was like, dead, but it was not something people were willing to talk to her about.

Her warband was in trouble. Cordelia, Tenrad, and Shiv were accused of complacency. They assisted in a project that they knew was not permitted. They were allowed to go their own way. Kairos heard Shiv had found himself a new warband, one that fit his skillset better. Kairos also heard that Cordelia had joined with the Sentinels. She also heard one whisper, presumably one she was not supposed to hear, about Cordelia's death. Cordelia had died the way she had lived: hissing and spitting in the face of danger. Dragon minions are just a bit more dangerous than experimental weaponry. Kairos heard Tenrad had joined the Durmund Priory, and was stuffing his nose in old OLD blueprints now. 

Her warband was in trouble. The other members changed their name, appointed a new Legionnaire, and washed their hands of the ordeal. They had to serve scrapper duty for two weeks, and have since moved on.

Her friend was in trouble. Airen Heavystep was accused of the murder of her bandmate, Kairos. She heard Airen was distraught. She heard Airen was in tears. She heard the rest of the 'band vouched for Airen; She and Kairos were best buds, Airen would never do such a thing. She heard that Airen was stripped of her rank. Stripped of the dignity of calling herself a charr. She heard that Airen worked at the docks in Lion's Arch, with a heavy heart. 

Kairos was in trouble. She was accused of being murdered. And yet, here she was. Not. Like, not dead. At least not anymore. Her 'death' was roughly three years ago. 

She felt a little bit ashamed. Like, what kind of charr was she, couldn't even stay dead. She also felt a little bit proud. Like, she was the kind of charr that could just say 'no thanks!' to death. Obviously she didn't want to push her luck and try it a second time, but the thought was nice. She also felt a little bit tired. She was given scrapper duty. A bit of a harsh punishment for being murdered, but she felt she owed it to her old band to do at least the same amount of time they did. She only had to work for a month. Then she thought she might try to find a new band. Maybe visit Airen way over in Lion's arch. Maybe not, it might scare her poor old friend out of her skin. 

And so she scrapped. And listened. She never knew how full the scrapyards were. Voices, everywhere. Some she could barely hear. Some quite loud, but making no sense to her. Like a different language. Sometimes she stood still and would just listen. Sometimes she would lose track of time, listening. Sometimes a firm, motherly voice would crackle at her. A command. 

"Kairos."