Every Little Memory

Entry #13: Brick Red

The sky is a deep black and serves as a host to a countless amount of sparkling stars. The moon’s glow shines down on the field of blue bells. The flowers sway in a gentle breeze of the night air. I let out a sigh, wishing I could feel their petals tickle against my ankles.

My eyes fall on Kaiya, who stands alone in the middle of the field. She picks a flower and twirls it between her thumb and index finger while humming a tune to herself. It is one that I am unfamiliar with but then again, this is hundreds of years ago. The songs are bound to be different. She looks impatient; Kain is probably late for their meeting. Kaiya paces back and forth for a while. Her eyes scan the surrounding area every few minutes, no doubt looking for the man.

Moments later he seems to materialize out of nowhere and makes his way over to the impatient woman. She turns to stare at him, dropping the flower in the process. Something seems...off about him. The way he carries himself now is...different. Rather than standing straight and formidable as usual, his shoulders are a bit slouched. Those ice blue eyes show weakness, exhaustion. It may be because the darkness impairs my vision, but is that a few drops of blood on his tunic? Did something happen to him that made him late for their meeting? 

“There you are! I told you not to be late!” she growls, her mouth shaping into a frown. No doubt oblivious to his condition, she makes no comments about his different appearance. 

Kain stares down at her with those chilling blue eyes of his and replies, “Ah, I was...occupied at the moment. Though I apologize. It is poor manners to keep a lady waiting, hmm?”

I can’t tell if he’s being serious or not, but his tone was a bit jesting. Kaiya appears flustered for a moment, then turns her back to him and crosses her arms.

“I’m no lady,” she retorts, “And you’re full of it. Now, come on. This way.”

Kain chuckles as he follows her to the door in the ground. Kaiya bends down and fiddles with it for a moment. The multiple locks that must be on the other side of the doorknob stay in place, not allowing the hatch to budge. A low growl rumbles in the lupine's throat. 

“Problem?” Kain comments, his voice flat and toneless.

“Yeah, but not for long,” she says. She raises her foot and slams down hard on the door. I hear the wood splinter as she does so, and I can see tiny wood chips fly into the air.

Putting a hand on her shoulder, he speaks, “Allow me." With a blank stare she shifts out of the way and watches him intently. 

He holds his hand out over the door, eyes staring down at it. Drawing in a deep breath, he mutters something inaudible. I jump when I see his eyes glow a bright blue. The air around us seems to hum with some kind of unseen energy. In that instant, the door shudders and seems to disintegrate into dust. I swear, my jaw drops to the ground. I’ve never seen anything like that! Kaiya’s expression is similar to my own. As quickly as it came, the energy vanishes and his eyes dim. 

“How did you do that?!” she exclaims, watching him with caution in her eyes.

“That is classified, I’m afraid. Besides, lupines are unable to do it, so I wouldn’t concern yourself with it. Now, shall we?” he says, gesturing for her to enter first.

“U-uh, yeah. Right,” she stammers, and trots down through the hatch.

I follow, perhaps just as curious as Kain. The hatch opens up to a dust covered stone staircase that goes into complete darkness. A few blue flower petals are scattered across the first two steps, adding a distict floral scent to the corridor. 

“Watch your step down here. The tunnel’s a bit narrow,” Kaiya informs before she vanishes into the darkness.

“What is down here?” Kain asks, his hand sliding against the wall as he walks. Something squeaks when he accidentally steps on it, making him grit his teeth.