Hurrying Back (Hallows)

[kianne]

Kiki, her nose still pressed against his shirt, shook her head fervently. She snorkled a few times, her voice choked up from the tears. "N-no, no, it's not your fault... Everything's just been so... abnormal, y'know?" She stood there for a moment longer, not wanting to let go. He was so warm and comforting. It was like wrapping herself in her favorite blanket as a younger child. It always had the power to make the tears stop.

After a second longer, she pulled away, a sheepish grin on her face. She rubbed away the tears with her arm. "S-sorry for just... going off like that..." She felt ashamed, putting all of that on him without even saying a word first. She looked over at her mother as an attempt to avert his eyes. She could tell just by looking at her that she was crying as well. Her mother would often yell everything she said when she was upset. She didn't want anyone touching her, hugging her, nothing. Kiki had learned to leave her mother be when she was distressed, so she stayed near Dai, just waiting.

[{Kaiji}]

Dai smiled a bit when she said it wasn't his fault. He was glad. "Yeah...I know. Just calm down at your own pace." He said, being as nice as he could. He looked at her after she pulled away. Her little grin warmed him up a little. "It's alright. It isn't like that was bad or anything. Plus, comforting people is something I'm pretty good at." He said. His eyes went to where hers did, over to Kiki's mom. She was crying as well, but he didn't feel that he should try to cheer her up. Dai put his hand on Kiki's shoulder to show his support, and that he wouldn't give up on making her feel better.

[kianne]

Kiki looked up nervously at Dai for a moment as his arm went around her shoulders. She wasn't sure what to make of this. Everything she had ever been told told her to run away from this boy and never look back. This was, however, much different for her. She felt comfortable. There wasn't any pressure or tension between them to do anything neither of them wanted to. The panicked look disappeared, and she smiled genuinely instead. "I would say you are..." She held his hand in hers just to make sure he didn't remove his arm any time soon. She had a sense of peace here, something she had been needing. Seeing her mother about to break, she called out softly, "Hey... Mommy?"

Her mother's head whipped around. It was bright red, her eyes were glassy, and tracks of tears were evident on her cheeks. Without an invitation, she walked over to her daughter and hugged her. She wrapped her hands around her head, just comfortable knowing she was still near her. "Oh, Kiki, what are we going to do with this big mess?"

[{Kaiji}]

Dai smiled brightly at Kiki. She had accepted his help and became happy. She grabed his hand with hers, which just made him smile a bit more. This was the best part of his life since attaining Guardianship. Since then it had mainly been work and no play. Luckily with more Guardians he could have more time to himself. He still would have come to her aid, but it might not have turned out this way. Then Kiki's mom came over and hugged her. Dai watched in silence, unsure of what to say. Her mother was just as sad as Kiki was, at the least. He felt the need to comfort her too, but it would be a little awkwarrd for him, "Please, don't be sad because of what I did. I hate seeing women crying or being sad." He said with a slight smile. This was all he would do for now.

[kianne]

Kiki just allowed her mother to embrace her tightly. "We're gonna be okay, mom. Even the guardian says so." That made them both chuckle and Kiki smiled at Dai. He really was pleasant company. So easy to get along with, understanding, passionate about his work. Her father had always told her to judge a man by his commitment. If he was wishy-washy, never stuck to one thing for too long, nothing good would come out of him. However, she got the exact opposite feeling from Dai. He had been training and harnessing his wizard skills for all of his life, well enough for him to become the Guardian of Wizards. That said an awful lot about him as a person.

"Is there anything we can do, right now?" Kiki asked, trying to be supportive and helpful. She was already fully aware there wasn't much she herself could do. Magic wasn't her area, which, ironically, made her feel unqualified to be a wizard. It was her birthright, but that didn't mean she could use it. Which she couldn't; very well, anyway.

[{Kaiji}]

Dai smiled back at her. He loved being here, with other wizards. He had enough time with one growing up, but only his master. From that he thought he was the only wizard under the age of 50. he and Kiki were proof that wizards weren't just old men with long long beards that cast spells with gnarled wooden staffs. Dai looked at her when she asked what they could do to help. He could possibly invite them to help with potios to restore some of the places. Places like the Lush Forest, maybe he could restore it with something. "You might be able to help with making things to attempt restoring the places that are being destroyed. You'd have to come to my zone of the other universe though..." He said.

[kianne]

Kiki's eyes widened with excitement. "R-really!? Seriously!? That would be amazing!" She grinned brightly, but the happiness faded as soon as she saw the look on her mother's face. It was a mixture of worry and skepticism, a dangerous mix. "Please..?" she pleaded, trying to look as sweet as possible.Kiki's mother's mouth twisted sideways in frustration. She wasn't a spoiled child; it was a difficult struggle to get anything extra that she wanted, especially in this case. Going off into the unknown with a boy was not one of the things her mother would easily give in to.

After all they had just witnessed, she also didn't want to leave her mother alone. It got lonely enough in the house as it was. What with her father off stewing who knows where and huge boulders hiding the remains of what was once an angry mob, it wasn't fair of Kiki to leave her mother alone. She was about to take back her plea, when to her surprise, Kiki's mother's shoulders sagged and she closed her eyes. A sign of defeat. "Just as long as you come back to me," she said with a forced smile. Kiki nodded and promised she would with a hug and a kiss. She felt incredibly guilty, but she just couldn't pass up an opportunity like this.

"So... how do we get there?" She asked Dai, her excitement boiling over.

[{Kaiji}]

Dai watched kiki beg and plead with her mother to let her go. It seemed as if she couldn't, but just as she was about to give up her mother gave in to her pleas. Then she turned to him and asked how they were going to get there. "Well, there are a couple ways. One, we could walk to the gates and go in from there. Or, we could teleport. Which is probably what we're going to be doing. Hm...Yep, teleporting." he said with a smile. "It will happen in a split second, and you might get dizzy since it would be your first time telporting so far. Get ready."

[kianne]

Kiki looked at him, her mind in a fog. What was that about a gate? She had never heard anything of a gate, especially one that connected two completely different universes. Nevertheless, her heart began to pound at the thought of teleporting. What would it feel like? Would she feel herself breaking up into a million tiny pieces? Perhaps it didn't work that way, though... Either way, the thought of visiting the world of the guardians, where it all happened, made her so excited her hands subconciously started to shake. All she could do was nod and mutter a quiet "uh huh" when he said that she needed to get ready. She braced herself for whatever coming impact.

[{Kaiji}]

Dai laughed a little at her. She was obviously very excited to go to the Guardians' realm. "Well... Here we go." Dai said, as he put one hand on Kiki's back and gipped his staff tight with the other. A bright light began to glow from deep within the staffm first turning blue, then to a bright white. Suddenly the light burst out and the space where Dai and Kiki were, was empty.