Kenrir had explained Variann's situation to the others, but he was careful as to not say too much on the subject himself. Variann, as well as himself and others, had come down with a sickness that wouldn't easily go away—and it had affected Variann the most.
Kenrir hadn't mentioned Alena's father in this, as he didn't feel it was his place to do so.
Alena stood there, trying to get a grasp on his answer, while there were others who had picked up on the subtlest of implications. To one's surprise, Kazran, who was among the youngest in the group, had.
Kazran ran out from his position in a flash, and soon threw himself to the ground at Kenrir's feet.
"PLEASE MASTER! Let me help you train Alena~! Let me carry some of your burdens!!" Kazran shouted to Kenrir, with his paws and head planted on the ground.
Kazran was down on his knees, and he was desperate to gain his sensei's approval.
"You have to let me train her—!! She bears the gift like me, so PLEASE—!!"
Everyone was shocked, caught in a silence.
Soon, everyone had turned to look at Alena, while Kenrir's eyes were focused on the small child begging at his feet.
Alena stood there, taken aback by this sudden display, and the camaraderie weighing in Kazran's words. He was trying to keep his promise.
Nothing but the sound of rainfall was heard for a few heavy moments, as Kazran remained now silently bowing down in the mud.
"Please Master..." he muttered, giving one more shot at his plea. It was calm, and the weight of his request wore heavy in the quiet of the rain.
Kenrir remained silent, but Kazran hadn't budged an inch. Moment after Kazran's final words, Sheila, Ania and Yonka, removed themselves from their positions—starting one after the other in slow succession—as the drew over to Alena's side. The sounds of feet stepping through the watery ground surface, where all that Kazran heard, as he remained bowed down in the rain.
Sheila and Yonka each laid a hand on Alena's shoulders, while Ania stood by her sister's side. Elijah, had moved himself, so that he was standing nestled up over the front of Alena's feet—giving them room while remaining close.
"What does he mean?" Sheila asked Alena.
The young girl turned her head, looking up to meet Sheila's soft, melancholic gaze. Everything to have happened so far, was still fresh on Sheila's mind. The sickness, the failure to find Karra, and now she has heard a desparate plea—a plea made for Alena herself.
Ania and Yonka's expressions were a little less burdened, as all the sudden information had left them needing to process it all, and Alena—one who had become that of their and Sheila's baby sister—had become the center of topic. They too, wanted to know what Kazran meant by these words.
"It's not really anything..." Alena tried to answer, but she lacked the depth of what having such a gift truly meant.
Kenrir had understood, as he was the one trying to train Alena's instincts out of her, to put a calm on her life so that she would never become like his disciple before.
The sound of rain continued to carry about the scene.
"She has the potential to unlock great strength—a strength so primal, that it could drive its user mad..."
The weight of Kenrir's explanation hit harder than a bus. This innocent little girl carried a power within herself, that could bring all life as she knows it crumbling to its knees.
Kazran flinched, and despite his teacher's words, remained locked on the ground unmoving. The air weighed heavy around him, and he took sharp, shallow breaths as he hoped for an answer that would lift this new burden off of his shoulders.
"A primal power...?" Sheila spoke hesistantly, turning her gaze from Kenrir's explanation back to Alena.
Alena stared off at Kenrir, now feeling a new weight pressing over her heart.
"Sissy, is this true?" Ania asked her while shifting closer.
Tika and Maulana stood in complete shock, the sheer exposure of it plainly clear on their still, wide-eyed faces. All this information, and nothing hit harder for them than this. What kind of premise was this, for such a joyously pure child like Alena, to carry such a terrifying power within?
Alena turned her gaze over to Ania, and her sister Yonka, as the question was being asked.
"I... don't know... I don't understand what this is. All I did was protect myself from a fight..." she explained.
Kenrir twitched. Now matters were starting to become clear. What had led to the disappearance of Karra—did it begin here?
Kenrir's eyes fell before Kazran, this small boy who was filled with such determination, that he hadn't moved a single inch.
"Rise to your feel Kazran—Show some pride," Kenrir instructed.
Kazran's heart was pulsing intensely. His very worry of Kenrir's answer weighing him down. In moments, Kazran soon cautiously rose his head—a hitch lining in his breath.
As matters were settled and have come to light, Kenrir found himself at his bedside hours later, sitting quietly at Variann's side.
His hand soon touched her hair. It was a gesture that was slow—quiet in the ambiant, lantern lit air.
In a smog-filled memory, rumbling in the background, Kenrir was taking punch after punch—heavy in every strike. The husk of the disciple he once knew was relentless, and cold. He kept his arms up, doing what little her could to protect himself against Maybelle's onslaught of attacks. Kenrir was being knocked back time and again, but he wouldn't fight back.
Kenrir brushed the hair from Variann's face, as he watched her with a great sadness on his chest. Variann's face was innocent, and even her peaceful state couldn't calm his heart.
Maybelle roared a high pitch battle cry, an undying thirst for blood as she continued her barrage. Kenrir took every hit, every pushback, as Maybelle lashed out aimlessly, sporadically in every way to tear him down.
As the attacks continued, Kenrir felt helpless, but it wasn't a helplessness for himself—it was a helplessness for his disciple.
Maybelle scratched at Kenrir, punched at him, and utilized every possible limb to bring him down—all the while screaming her cry for blood. The sound echoed, as it faded away.
Variann could feel him, the touch on her skin stimulating, as an obvious sound grabbed hold of her senses.
Kenrir's thumb had brushed against Variann's cheek, his hand now cupping along the side of her face.
As Kenrir took on the fierce barrage of his cherished pupil, the attack had become desperate, and Kenrir had done the only thing he could to save himself.
Catching Maybelle in a desperate grip, he brought her down wrapping his arm in a reverse hold around her head, as his knee slammed into her gut in full force. As Maybelle's husk took the blow, Kenrir forcefully flung her around, and released her to release a devastating punch into her ribs.
Maybelle's husk had its feral cry cut off, as it gagged on an overflow of saliva, that had been knocked up in its sharp blow of pain.
The scene skipped a hit, though the blow was heard, as Maybelle's body hurdled to the ground.
She lay there unmoving, unconcious, and unaware.
As Kenrir stepped toward her, he trembled to his core—gripping his hands so tight, his nails were digging into his flesh, causing a flow of blood—as his eyes fought against his tears. Kenrir stood over Maybelle's helpless body, and as he prepared his finishing strike, he froze.
Tears flowed from his eyes, and he stood there trembling violently as he bore his claws, ready to put his disciple out of her misery.
Kenrir's breath heaved, and his claw bearing hands began to convulse.
The next moment, as if on a whim, Kenrir had dropped to his knees and lifted Maybelle's unconscious form into his arms—cradling her tightly as he near silently cried.
"What's wrong?" Variann asked, as she slowly opened her eyes.
There was nothing but the lightly flickering sound of the lantern for Kenrir, but for Variann, there was so much more.
"It's nothing you need to worry yourself with," he replied quietly.
Variann turned her face marginally, as she took in Kenrir's gaze.
"And how am I meant to rest, when your heart sounds like this?" she asked. "This isn't like you."
Kenrir hadn't let his hand up, and he hadn't turned away.
"And you expect me to just ignore you when you're giving me eyes like that?" Variann asked Kenrir, as she lifted her hand to hold the arm which touched her face. "Silly master..." she murmured faintly.
Though Variann was still weak, she looked upon Kenrir, reading his own weakness buried in his eyes. The rhythm of his heartbeat was enough to make it clear.
"I never could fool you..." Kenrir muttered.
"And you never will," she replied softly.
The moment fell quite, and the two remained in the dim-lit darkness, alone...