The First Lesson

[Wildfire]

“Well…uh…no?” Ashe tripped over his words. He noticed the coy smile Kit displayed and said, “Are you?...you’re messing around!” Ashe laughed.

OOC: Dray, please note that there is a "deviation" from what we originally wrote

[Dray]

OOC: I always read along, as I consider the original document merely just a guide. Note, I see what you wanted to edit, and I have therefore condensed what was to be the next few posts into something more simple. Kit's very last statement below will tell you where I ended up.

Kit giggled and with a smile looked upon Ashe for a few moments she crossed her ankles in front of her as she sat on the grass, her hands fidgeting with a few blades. Finally she said, "I know I can be a bit...dramatic[/i] once in awhile Grandfather. My apologies, I shouldn't let my emotions control me so."

"Indeed," Ashe said, knowing that to be an understatement.

Kit caught the underscore of his thought and giggled again.

As she sat comfortably on the grass, Ashe could see that she was truly relaxed. She took an intake of breath and looked at him with such sincere adoration that he almost looked away.

“Somehow I feel like I can tell you everything, I’m not nervous the way I was after the Stump that night.” she said to him as her finger began to idly play with the grass.

[Wildfire]

“The Stump?” he inquired.

[Dray]

“Yes,” Kit said, pausing as the memory summoned color to her cheeks. It appeared to Ashe that she had expected him to know of the event.

“I got into a discussion with my fellow Protectorate in what should task us next. One thing led to another and I told them of my kidnapping and torture at the hands of Drakyr.”

[Wildfire]

“Is that what you want to talk of, your captivity?” Ashe asked gently.

[Dray]

‘Paladine no! I do not want to hear that part. Please skip it Kitalia?!’ Jordan pleaded, sending her telepathic voice into Kit’s mind.

Kit covered the outside of her pocket with her hand and stuttered, “Well….yes, but I get ahead of myself, let me start at the beginning.” Kit paused and looked away, appearing to stare out at the beautiful view of Threshold as she pondered on how to begin.
 
“Grandfather, my true name is Kitalia Lightower, born in Mandin, a village just outside of Kazbourne. My father was a handyman, my mother a seamstress…”

And so Kit told her tale from the very beginning, it was if she was reciting written text. The detail to which she delved astounded Ashe, she seemed to have a very keen memory of all persons, places and things that even slightly passed her peripheral vision.

She spoke of her first tutor Mr. Gaigell, a kind middle-aged gentleman who taught her for over 4 years until he violated her parents trust by kissing her that hot summer day when she was ten.

‘I keep forgetting about him! We need to look out for him, he is probably stalking the woods outside of Threshold biding his time.’ Jordan pathed in a hushed tone.

‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ Kit telepathed back to her, causing her to stutter in her tale to Ashe. She resumed, “it was my first memory of the lavender scent, a scent that seems to be associated with my attraction power,” she paused her story for a moment. “Does that make any sense teacher?” she asked a bit embarrassed.

[Wildfire]

“It does,” Ashe stated in matter of fact tone, “but continue with your story, we will discuss your abilities later.”

[Dray]

She spoke of Mr. Gaigell’s immediate flight from town after the event and her parents subsequent confusion.

Then she spoke fondly of Dray who she met the day after her eleventh birthday. She reminisced happily of the many long summer days they spent together at a pond just outside of Mandin. She told Ashe of the day Dray revealed the magnificent dragon tattoo on his back and what it meant to him. She spoke of their chance encounter with a man named K’nell who lived in the woods in a magnificent hunting cabin.

She didn’t leave anything out in her story. If Ashe hadn’t found the girls persona so charismatic and full of life, the story at some points would have been one that he could easily had been distracted from. Instead, he found the idiosyncrasies of the minutia to be the most charming part of the tale.

She even spoke of the time later in that winter when her mother explained the reproductive cycle and what it truly meant for a man and a woman to be in love. Although she was clearly embarrassed speaking of it in the tale, Kit nevertheless seemed driven to tell Ashe everything.

Containing his laughter (for her insistence to get everything off her mind) turned out to be more difficult than the surgery itself, but he succeeded.

Kit had a far off look as she described the Dray’s coronation. He was to be inducted into the Knighthood of Kazbourne, for his mother was cousin to the Lord of the grand city. The coronation ball Kit attended with him was one of princess fairy tales, and Ashe was relieved that at one time she had seen this happiness. Through this telling, he was beginning to understand where she drew her strength from. It was evident to him that, at a very young age, the girl had discovered love.

Again blushing she explained how her and Dray snuck away to kiss all the time as they spent almost every day together. Ashe actually caught himself giving her a reprimanding look, for which she curtly apologized for.

‘He would have raped you too given time,’ Jordan telepathed to her in a hesitant and unsure voice. She knew Jordan was testing her.

‘In hindsight if I could go back in time I would let him,’ Kit telepathed back a little bit in anger.

‘Oh my Gods that is disgusting!’ Jordan pathed back in shock.

“I knew no better Grandfather, and I really liked the boy.” Kit said with a small laugh, her face flushed from both discussions.

[Wildfire]

“It is evident to me that you loved the boy. But you were an innocent child on the verge of discovery, so do not be ashamed. Relish in the memory as you evidently have, do not regret it.” He told her.

[Dray]

She smiled in appreciation for his understanding.

‘Ick. Is there a shut off button on me? Can you look?’

Kit continued her story for Ashe, adding more and more of her daily life as she became twelve and spent another summer with her little boyfriend. She started to repeat herself, her story losing continuity.

It was then that he sensed it.

[Wildfire]

“You’ve strayed off the page Kit,” he told her. She merely sat, looking at her hands in her lap. He reached over and touched her ankle, “one step at a time.”

As though the sky was listening, a cloud had passed under Kossuth and a slightly cooler breeze passed.

[Dray]

‘Please don’t tell him, please? As a favor to me?’ Jordan pleaded, already beginning to cry in Kit’s mind.

Kit took a deep breath and begun to spin the tale that was her tragedy. She spoke of the night she got home and was taken captive by Drakyr, and watched her father killed by Leech before her very eyes. The way she had passed out after feeling her mind splinter was something Ashe noted for later discussion.

The tale became darker as she moved into the horror of her captivity within Drakyr’s Keep, nestled at the edge of the Swamp of Seers. She shook as she spoke of Markell, the evil mind controlling parasite which rode her back. She went into great detail on how she couldn’t control any of the actions within her body. She was merely a passenger in her own mind. In effect, she was an entity pushed to the internal “back room” (her description) with but a mere small window to look out at the world. He recognized the cause of her current imbalance, for she was in that state for over two years. The fact she wasn’t completely insane was a testament to the strength of her mind.

She moved on to tell Ashe of the dire plans of Drakyr and Markell. They were attempting to create a potion that would allow the imbiber to cross bridges of magic, a too coincidental theme to that of his own brother which was incredibly disturbing.

“What’s the matter?” Kit asked him with considerable concern.

Jordan who had been quietly crying the entire time stopped, startled as much as she was.

[Wildfire]

He found himself standing, fully ten feet away from her. He had been so lost in thought of his brother that he hadn’t noticed he had retreated from her tale and walked away.

“I am sorry Kitalia,” he returned to his spot and sat across from her. It was difficult, but he made another note in his mind to discuss the alchemy with her at a later time.

“You were very wise in telling me all this today. We will discuss the ramifications of all that you have said later, for now, continue please.” Ashe pinched the bridge of his nose in concentration.

[Dray]

She simply stared at him, wet tears building in her eyes.

[Wildfire]

“What?!” he exclaimed alarmed that he may have said something out of turn, she was far more forthcoming thus far than he could have hoped for. They would be able to move onto her tutelage sooner than he thought.