Kio and Kid Chapter 3

Kid groaned as he lifted his arms and stretched. The sun had just begun to shine through the trees, and his back was stiff from sleeping on such a narrow branch. Slowly, due to a rather large cramp in his back, he turned to look and see if Kio was awake yet.

Kio was already up, skinning a small animal that they'd eat for breakfast. The fire had already been prepared and he looked up to see Kid waking up. "Good morning sleepy head." He said with a grin. "We're about another day out from the city. I'm just making breakfast so we don't travel on an empty stomach."

"It's barely daybreak. How did you manage to fetch breakfast already? Or did your little hawk do all the work for you?" Kid could finally feel the blood starting to reach his limbs once again, so he decided it best to carefully make his way back down to the earth. Stranding strait on the branch, he began to carefully hop them one at a time until he reached the ground.

Kio watched as his new companion traversed the branches. "Nah, Veil is off getting his own food. I spotted this little guy snooping through the bushes and quickly nabbed him. The half-elf placed the meat on the pan and over the fire, letting it begin to cook. Brushing his hair back and leaning back on his hands, he smiled at Kid. "How did you sleep?"

"I slept fifty feet off of the ground on a thin strip of tree bark. What do you think?"
Kio chuckled and nodded. "Fair enough. Don't worry, once we get to the city and to headquarters, we'll set you up with a bed." Flipping the meat over as it sizzled, Kio adjusted his sleeves. His eyes flash and dance in the firelight and he nods.

"Since I'm probably going to have to learn sooner or later, do you have any rules that need following in this guild and village of yours?"

Kio rubs his chin for a moment. "Simple. Respect your family and all will be fine. The village has some generic laws, we tend to overlook those sometimes to keep the place safe." He flips the meat again and looks at Kid. "Don't steal from your comrades, be respectful, and basically don't be a lout. Pull your weight and you'll be fine."

"I guess I can skip rule one then, considering my circumstances?" Kid smirked and grabbed a piece of meat that had finished cooking, waving it in the air playfully for a moment before taking a bite out of it. "And I can't guarantee anything regarding theft."

Kio raises a brow at him. "Kid, the guild will be your family. We're a thieves guild. We don't steal from those in our village, but from the cities and towns around it. We're kinda the underhand that supports everyone." He takes a bite out of his own piece of meat and nods. "Don't steal from your guildmates, and show respect. Simple rules for a simple life."

Kid rolls his eyes. "Sorry, but I don't make friends immediately. And I could give a damn about having a family."

Kio sighs and leans against the tree. "You're surprisingly bratty for someone who grew up on the street. But, whatever. you'll turn around eventually." He chuckles and finishes his meat quickly as the hawk returns.

"Love me or hate me. I don't care which." Kid looks towards the direction of the risen sun and scowls at it for a brief moment. "Shouldn't we get going? You're the only one between us that knows the way."

He nods an stands up, putting the pan away and stamping out the fire. "Just saying. The rules are simple. Follow them, and you come out richer than a noble. Break them, and you lose your cut every time." His eyes flash as he lifts his pack and puts on his gauntlets. "We're thieves in the end...we're out to make a profit most of the time."

"Psh. As if I'd ever want to be a noble. All nobles may be thieves, but they're morals are far lower. A man with riches is a man in invisible chains. I told you before, food and shelter is all I ask."

"And food and shelter is what you'll get, friend." Kio said stretching and beckoning him to follow. He cracks his necks and touches each of the runes on his sleeves. "We may run into a few bandit raids, so be careful. I gave you a weapon fro a reason."

Kid frowned again at the mention of being called 'friend'. "I'd be more concerned about my own back if I were you. After all, I seem to remember a particular someone not being able to tell acid from ale. I dread to think how awful you are in a fight." Taking a quick glance at the Veil, he remarks, "I bet the hawk has better combat skills."

Kio smirks a bit, chuckling at that. "Fair enough. I wasn't expecting that tavern to try to kill us in the first place. But I know what I'm expecting now and I know how to prepare for it." He shrugs as Veil rests on his shoulder. "I'm curious as to how well you hold up in a fight, Kid." He begins walking down the road heading towards the west and following the forest's treeline.

A swift wind hits Kio from behind the ankles, and suddenly he finds himself laying flat on his back, staring into the canopy above. Hand on his hip, Kid walks past him without sparing a glace. "Hurry up, fair maiden. We need you for directions, after all."

Kio glares for a moment before getting up. "Little shit." He says and dusts himself off before heading back to Kid's side. "Cocky as ever. Glad to see the branch didn't give you a sense of decency." He smirks as they continue to walk.

"Oh, I have plenty of decency. After all, if I didn't, how could I protect thy fair maiden if we're to get jumped by bandits? You clearly need a knight for protection, but a I guess a rat in rags will have to do."

Kio just chuckles and smacks Kid in the back of the head. "You're brazen, a bit annoying, and snarky..yet for some reason I still feel like there's some good in you. All this bluster and attitude doesn't work on me, kid. It might on the nobles you tend to annoy, but I'd drop it. You stand to gain nothing if I simply leave you behind." Kio rolls his eyes. "Be as cocky as you want, but you treat any of our guildmates like this and you're out on your ass again."

"You make it seem as if I'd be afraid to walk the streets again."

Kio just rolls his eyes. "I just thought you'd be a little grateful someone's actually giving you a chance." He shrugs. "I'm not gonna give up on you either way."

"Why are you so intent on bringing me back to his guild with you anyways? I had a night in a tree to think about it, and I can't seem to come to a descent conclusion. You're not a member of the Blood Trade, are you?"

He shakes his head. "No. If I were, you'd probably be dead long before we got this far." Kio sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm not sure why I'm so focused on giving you a good home and possibly a purpose. I guess it's because I've been in your position once..and I hated it. I was miserable and hated the world for how I was treated...I kinda see some good in you and think you have a chance to let that shine."

"So...I'm like a pet...?" Kid cocked his head to the side. "I'm not convinced."
He shakes his head. "You're thick, you know that?" Kio chuckles and crosses his arms. "You're not a pet...you're a friend. Someone who deserves a chance to live a decent life and not starve on a cold street. I want to give you that chance, see what you'll do with it."

"So do you do this with everyone? Or was I just special. Not to be a downer, but there are a lot of starving rats in the world besides just myself. And you can't rescue them all through adoption."

He smirks a bit. "Not everyone...honestly, I know I can't help everyone...but I can help those that catch my eye. Everyone in the guild has come from a similar background. Either orphans, widows, street rats, even some runaway nobles seeking a different life." He looks Kid in the eyes. "We take in outcasts and anyone who either seeks us out, or when we seek them out."

"So what about me caught *your* eye?"

"Not sure yet. Just...something. About your aura or the way you walk in the world." He shrugs and sighs. "I won't lie, I have no idea what convinced me to bring you along, but I'm trusting my instinct on this. I'm putting some trust in you."

Kid gave a somewhat small, sarcastic laugh. "Funny. I could have sworn I was sitting when we met."

He chuckles. "You were. But the way you walked through the city, I guess. I don't know. you've got potential though, I can see that." Kio touches one of his runes and Veil flies high into the sky.

"Scouting for bandits?"

He nods. "Yeah. Making sure we're safe for a bit." The rune begins to glow a light red. "Hm, not good...there's a group of them about a mile ahead, blockading the road, possibly hiding in the woods too."

"The irony. A rat and a thief about to encounter bandits. Do you need to go hide in a bush while the hawk and I take care of things? Or are you holding any confidence that you wont get knocked on your ass this time?"

Kio glares at him. "Keep it up and I might just let them kill you." He draws his finger down his runes,lightning sparking down each sleeve. "Be ready, we won't let them take us by surprise."

Kid just smiles in return and draws out his dagger. "Don't worry, I know you depend on me." Closing his eyes for a few seconds, he then looks back to Kio with a the first real serious expression Kio had probably seen on him. "We'll make contact with them in exactly 3 minutes and 24 seconds. Get ready."

Kio just smirks at that snarky comment, actually finding it funny. When he hears the time they'll make contact, he nods and the smile falls from his face. "Don't let up at any time. These guys are ruthless and will chase us down easily...we need to kill enough of them to scare 'em off." His fingertips blur with sparks.

"They have two archers positioned in the back and cloaked by a spell, so try and take those out while I deal with the front flank. You won't see the archers unless you look for the ripple in magic. We'll see the main team as soon as we climb over this hill, so be prepared. Are you ready?"

Kio looks at him, raising a brow and smirking. "I have no idea how you're doing this...but I'm going to trust you to help be our eyes in this fight." He says, clenching his fists. "I'm ready...let's take them out." He says, taking a more offensive stance as they move and the bandits come into view. "I'll blast the archers as soon as they engage."

"No. If you wait for them to engage, one of us is going to become a pin cushion. Send a blast of magic into the forest as soon as I engage the bandits. It'll startle the them too much to know what happened, and you can search for them then. Meanwhile, I'll take care of the bandits, so stay out of the main fight until the archers are down. We're out of time." And with that, Kid leapt over the crest. The bandits were mildly surprised, and Kid managed to stab one in the back immediately, before engaging another, and locking daggers.

Kio nodded and send a massive burst of storm magic surging through the forest to send the bandits scattering. He leapt over Kid, trusting him to take care of the bandit while he closed his eyes and sent a ripple of mana into the area. Locating the hidden archers almost immediately and enrapturing them in a curtain of lightning, surging from his fists, bringing them down and frying them.

A shout from his left made Kio turn his head. "Hey, if you're done over there, you can maybe try helping out here!" Three bandits lay on the bloodsoaked ground, but Kid was still trying to fend off the remaining for. He had is dagger locked with one bandit, and other hand was busy holding the weapon arm of another.

Kio nods and lashes out, his daggers being unleashed by whips of lightning and they strike at two of the bandits before he rushes to Kid's back, standing back to back with him in the fight. His runes flare from lightning to ice and his hands become blades of crystalline ice.

Kid tackles into the bandit he was currently locked in combat with, knocking him to the ground before swiftly straddling him and plunging the dagger into the man's skull, killing him instantly.

Kio lashes out, quickly slashing the throats of the two remaining bandits while Veil, clutching the severed skull of an archer in its talon flies and lands beside Kid.

"Well, that was easy." Kid turns to Kio smiling, blood smeared over his left cheek from one of the bandits. "That was the last of them, so we're golden for a while." Climbing off of the bandit, he removes the bloodstained shirt he was wearing, and begins to de-robe the fallen bandit he had just slain.

Kio smirks, the runes fading to their dull color and the magic phasing from his skin. "Gotta say, Kid...you're one hell of a fighter...how did you do that? Read the battlefield before we even got here? You just...knew where everyone was and knew how to move."

Kid ignored his question and just continued to remove the tunic from the dead bandit. Wiping the blood off of his face with his previous shirt, he pulled on the tunic the bandit had been wearing. A tan tunic, almost long enough to reach his knees, with a small amount of orange embroidered around the cuffs. A small bloodstain could be scene on the back of the collar, most likely from when Kid had lifted the shirt over the man's punctured head. "It's a little long, but it's better than what I had before. What do you think?"

Kio chuckled and nodded. "Looks good on you. A little leather padding on the hem and it'll make up for the length." He sheathes his daggers and kneels down, beginning to search the bodies of the two he killed. He takes their coinpurses and hefts them.
"Huh. And here I thought you'd be the type against stealing from the dead." Kid walked over and slung one of the archer's bows over his shoulders. He then grabbed a quiver, and started picking up the arrows that had scattered along the nose. Pausing for a moment, he lifted his head and sniffed the air. "I smell food."

He chuckles and tosses Kid a coinpurse. "I'm a thief...and the dead don't need them." He says. He picks Veil up, who is viciously attacking the skull of the Archer the bird beheaded somehow, as if it were still alive. Placing the hawk on his shoulder, Kio sniffs the air. "Huh, quite the sniffer you got there...where's it coming from?"

"I would guess that it is probably coming from the direction of the wind. I guess the bandits were cooking a meal before attacking us. The scent's pretty strong, so it should be close by. Want to send Feathers to check it out?"

He nods, lifting Veil into the air who soars off in the direction the smell is coming from. "Let's hope the camp is clear, so we can sneak in."

"It should be. Considering all of the racket you made earlier. If anybody was around, we would have encountered them by now. I was just asking if the bird could determine whether the food was edible." Kid's regular smirk was back.

He chuckles and nods. "Fair enough." He nods as Veil returns, assuring them it's safe enough and with a chunk of meat in its mouth, implying the food is edible as well. "Shall we go have a look at their camp?"

"Maiden's first."

Kio gives him a smirk and just shakes his head. "Smart ass." He laughs, "You're the one in the dress." He says and heads into the woods, towards the camp.

Kid just shrug and follows Kio towards the scent of food. Upon arriving at the camp, they find bedrolls and a pot of stewing meat. The source of the aroma. Kid picks up a piece, sniffs it, and pops it into his mouth. "They definitely didn't know how to cook, but at least it's edible." Looking around some more, he sees some sacks near the bedrolls, containing cheese and potatoes. "At least we won't have to worry about food for a while."

"No kidding. We'll be set for the rest of our trip. Bedrolls, food, and whatever supplies they had. We're in the clear for now." He strokes his chin as he sits beside the stew pot. "Though I'm still curious...how did you know where all those bandits were?"

Kid just eats another bit of meat, scrunching his face at the taste. "I don't see a reason to state the obvious. Rather, I'm more curious about you. You're capable of using magic. This is the first time I've really witnessed magic other than armature cloaking from other street rats. Care you explain yourself? Where did you learn and when? Not just anybody can use offensive magic like that. Not since the southern empire's prohibition."

Kio sighs, and smirks. "Ah, I guess I'm not very subtle when it comes to straight on combat. I'm a Runic Tempest. I'm originally from the Eastern Kingdoms. Magic is taught to those with the aptitude at a young age. My parents died before I could finish primary school though so I was kicked out. I mainly focused on Rune Casting as it allows for infusion into other objects, making it more stable to cast in stressful situations. I can infuse a rune onto almost anything, turning it into a weapon."

"Well, I'd be more careful until we cross boarders. Remember, in this land, people who can cast either wholly submit to the empire, or die. You may be able to use magic, but I doubt you could stand up to the empires best were they to hunt you down."
"That's a good point. The Empire is very manaphobic. Luckily the town we're heading to is part of the Gnomish republic to the west. They're a bit more tolerant of magic, and especially my own."

"I suppose I'll have those rules and customs to learn too." Kid sighed. "This is going to be a long trip"