Rain Dance

"What happened to your mother?" asked Adair, having a feeling that he would probably regret asking. "Did she get sick?"

"No. Talmara accused her of treason and had her killed." Kimi stated bluntly. "He accused her of making him weak."

"...Oh," said Adair, feeling awkward but not stunned. He had heard of royal families killing one of their own for less, and he suspected the Gales also did such things, if more quietly. That was key to Gale politics; being quiet about the right things. "So, this Talmara, is he your father? Stepfather?"

"Demon king. And yes, my father. But Tala wasn't my mother. Neggy and I are only half siblings." Kimi stated "Talmara had a harem on the side. He was only king through marriage of Lady Tala. She insisted I cal her mother"

"But you didn't like her," Adair guessed.

"I did like her. She was a wonderful person. Not like the other demons at all." Kimi sighed.

"Oh, so Tala wasn't your real mother but acted like she was. Sorry, got confused," answered Adair, feeling a bit stupid. "Who was your real mother then? Do you know?"

"No. I don't" Kimi replied softly.

"Oh," said Adair, as an awkward silence spanned between them for a moment. " 'Taire said that both you and your brother ran away, but that he got caught. What is he like?"

"Noble. Kind. Sensitive. Stupid. He's dense. He doesn't get that Talmara isn't going to stop. He pleads with him to stop but nothing ever happens. He would make a good king for a mortal kingdom, but I'm not sure if he is cut out to be a demon king. He's too fair." Kimi murmured.

"I don't know if he could handle being even a mortal king. Humans can be pretty nasty themselves," Adair commented. "Sometimes the only difference between demons and evil humans is that humans try to come up for a alibi or excuse. Demons just don't care enough."

"He... He has a good heart. He just doesn't entirely know what to do with it." Kimi sighed. "That's why I'm here. He took me away from my nightmare."

"Your kind has hearts?" questioned Adair, seeming skeptical. "Oh right, 'Taire mentioned something about that. Well, you're a step ahead of my family then."

"If you don't believe me, you can feel my heart beat." Kimi offered.

"No no, I believe you, I believe you," Adair insisted. "Though a so-called heartbeat could be just the pulse of demon energy moving your blood. That's how changelings like me and 'Taire are. We're still connected to our hearts, but they're no longer physically inside us. But I believe you, so you know."

"Alright." Kimi nodded. "I still think your life was better than mine, just so you know." She stated, trying out the new phrase.

Adair snorted, which was unlike him.

"You still have a healthy heart. Even with the bad people, you still have people who honestly cared for you. You knew who was bad and who was good," he muttered. "You know what I found out on my 18th birthday? That my family kills hearts while still keeping the body alive, leaving nothing but a heartless shell, the 'perfect Hero' who will never be swayed by cursed emotions. And all that family that supposedly loved me? Their hearts were dead before I was even born. They never loved me. I was nothing but livestock to them."

"I was a tool. Talmara never even pretended to care for me. After He killed lady Tala, he worked to kill Neggy's heart with hatred... By using me. My scars? All from him and his various forms of torture." Kimi closed her eyes and turned her back to Adair entirely.

Adair turned away also, noting the scars. She had a good reason of being afraid of everything, if that had been her daily life. But he still felt irked about his own story being dismissed so easily. He wondered if it was a demon thing.

"What did he do, rape you?" he asked, feeling especially spiteful.

Kimi stiffened. The tears, the tears she had worked so hard to hold back earlier, spilled down her cheeks. She swiftly stood, a soft sob wracking her frame as she hurriedly left the cavern. She wasn't going to let him see her cry.

(I thought Kimi didn't know the term rape, since she was wondering earlier if humans had a term for what happened to her.)

Adair sat there silence, a hole slowly opening up in his stomach. He had meant that as an insult, possibly getting her riled up. He hadn't realized that had it been the truth.

"Oh Adair, you freaking idiot," he muttered to himself, swaying back and forth slightly while some black-and-white flame leaked into his green firebreath. "Stupid stupid stupid..."

(no she knew the term rape, its kind of universal. She was wondering if there was a term for what she was as the victim)

Kimi stumbled back to the entrance. Instead of stopping at the mouth of the cave, she plunged out into the pouring rain. she stumbled forward until she suddenly found herself under the safety of a tree. She fell to her knees and just laid on the wet grass sobbing.

Voltaire was annoyed. He had not been drinking too much. He had only been just getting a buzz when Ava barged in and whisked him away from the bar. Now he was stuck on Ava's back, blue fire coming out of his mouth every other breath. But he wasn't drunk!

He was seething about this until he saw the bursts of black-and-white flame coming from their cavern room.

Dammit, he's gone Chiaroscuro again...Shit, Kimi!

Both he and Ava rushed toward the room.

(I think I'll probably skip the fight/struggle itself and just go to later results.)

(go for it)

Kimi cried until she couldn't cry anymore. It had been a long time since she had cried like that and it left her cheeks flushed (green of course) and swollen. She sat up with her back to the tree and hugged her knees close as she continued to hiccup softly in her misery.

Voltaire sat outside the (now-wrecked) cavern room miserably, Ava tending to the wounds and bruises left over from Adair's attacks. Parts of the Hunter and phoenix were splattered with black and white. Adair himself sat next to the cavern room, caught up in the usual depression that happened after Chiaroscuro.

Kimi hadn't been in there. That much relieved him, though he wished he knew that before he dove headfirst into the cave and got the tar beaten of out him by Adair. But where was she then? Had she seen what was going on in the cave and then fled? He'd have to look for her later once Ava stopped fussing over him.