The Forgotten Zodiac

"Mm? Oh, I've had this since the cagefights. They weren't cagefights as you would think it; two people put in one cage and told to fight? Ridiculous." Avis snorted, shaking her head. "No...it's different. The fighters are each put in a cage and are forced to break out to get to the weapon in the middle. Whoever gets the weapon effectively wins, and gets to beat on the other people, however many there are. There are always lockpicking tools around; I figured out I had a skill for that sort of thing. I lost...when a beast of a fighter ignored the lock-picking part of it and just broke the cage entirely, instead. I was pretty badly cut up, I still have the scars...but, I got this thing out of it. Never found a good chance to use it until now, though."

"Oh." Karsenir said once she was finished. "I've seen those before." He sighed, shaking his head a little bit. "I've been told that my grandparents used to fight in similar situations..." He said quietly. "That's apparently how my parents met each other." He shook his head suddenly, scowling. "Are you close yet?" He said, his voice taking on an irritated tone.

Avis frowned up at him. "If you aren't going to be patient, maybe I won't do anything at all!" She snapped at him. There was a long moment of silence before the shackle she was working on finally fell away. She got to work on the other, moving through it much faster now that she knew what she was dealing with. "So, if you don't mind me asking, what species are you? I can't exactly see yet, so..."

Karsenir huffed and glared down at Avis, but said nothing. Finally the lock was undone and he cracked a small smile. "Thanks." He mumbled as she went to work on the next lock. When she asked about what species he was, he frowned deeply and it took a lot of control to keep from pulling himself away from her. After several long moment of silence, he hesitantly spoke. "Alright...Would you believe me if I told I mostly don't know?" He said as another lock came undone. "All I know is that I have a little bit of human on my father's side. The rest of me is a mix of who-knows-what. The species that my mother was had been bred for use as some type of security guards. They were big, fast, strong, had excellent night vision, blended well into darkness and had other traits that I don't have because of my father. They were rather incredible from what I've been told..." He sighed and looked away. "That answer your question, Avis?"

"That does," Avis nodded a bit, stepping away once all four shackles were off. She put the cap back on her tool and tucked it right back into her mouth, where she was completely comfortable in keeping it. "Thanks for answering honestly. And if you didn't answer honestly, thanks for at least easing my curiosity and breaking the silence. I guess my last question is," She sighed and bent down, scooping up the chains. "Should we hide these, or just leave them here?"

Karsenir blinked and then scowled a little. If only he'd thought to answer dishonestly... Oh well. Too late now. He sighed. "Uh," He shook his head and sighed "I guess it's probably best to hide them." He said. "If they do come looking for us we don't want to blatantly lead them on out trail." Karsenir shook his head again. "Or we could try to take them with us." He said. "We wouldn't be leaving any trace of ourselves and we might be able to sell them or something."

Karsenir blinked and then scowled a little. If only he'd thought to answer dishonestly... Oh well. Too late now. He sighed. "Uh," He shook his head and sighed "I guess it's probably best to hide them." He said. "If they do come looking for us we don't want to blatantly lead them on out trail." Karsenir shook his head again. "Or we could try to take them with us." He said. "We wouldn't be leaving any trace of ourselves and we might be able to sell them or something."

Avis looked down at the chains, then nodded a bit. "I'll carry them, then. You've been carrying them for awhile, after all. We just have to be careful not to go to the same town the circus is going to be in. That...would be a really stupid mistake." She sighed and rolled her eyes, then turned on heel and started walking. "Come on then, we might as well get a move on."

"We'd better not go back where the circus has already been, either." He said following Avis as she started moving again. "We would likely be recognizable and sent off to rejoin the circus." He added in a quieter voice, as if talkingn to himself. "Thanks for getting those things off of me. He said suddenly, grinning a bit. "I haven't had those things off in so long, you can almost see the marks they left in my skin." He said, chuckling a little bit at the word almost. His skin was so dark at his ankles and wrists that it was very difficult to see any trace of captivity there.

Avis smiled and picked slowly through the brush again, careful not to step on any branches or sticks. "You're welcome," She said. "Thanks for agreeing to come with me. I'm...not the brightest, when it comes to escaping. I'm on the verge of hyperventilation at this point; I'm free, for once in my life...and it's terrifying and wonderful at the same time."

Karsenir noted her caution and stepped closer. "Ah, well, I'll do what I can to help you." He hesitated. "If you like I could carry you for a while. Until we reach someplace where you won't be in danger of hurting your feet. Even up until we can get you some shoes or something." He offered, trying not to sound condescending in his choice of words or tone as he spoke. "I-It wouldn't be any trouble for me. We could move a lot faster since I can see better in this darkness too."

"Can you?" Avis paused, looking towards Karsenir again. "Just...up until we can find some shoes. I'll be good after I get some," She said with a short not, stepping a little closer to him. "If you're sure it won't be any trouble, I think that would work out. But..." She hesitated a bit, frowning slightly. "Why? You could easily just run off and leave me, you know. Especially since you can see in the dark. And you have shoes. I'm happy you're offering help, but...I'm curious to know why."

Karsenir bit his tongue when Avis asked him why he was sticking around. Like you said, you're not the brightest when it comes to escaping. You helped me get out, and now I'm going to help you out for a while. Unless you have a problem with that." He said, smiling a little bit as he was sure she wouldn't refuse his help right now.

"I guess that makes sense. I just...no, nevermind. I'm not trying to drive you off, my curiosity just gets me in trouble sometimes." She smiled sheepishly, then looked at Karseir again. "How...were you planning to carry me, though? Piggyback, or something else?"

Kasenir chuckled and shrugged. "I understand all of that entirely." He said, smiling a litte. "I'll carry you anyway that you'd like, Avis. Sure, I had some ideas, but piggyback works just as well as any of them." He said, kneeling down so she could climb onto his back. Once she was on they started moved. They weren't moving any slower than the had been before Karsenir took Avis on his back. In fact, they were moving much faster, as Karsenir was protected against branches, thorns and other obsticles by his clothes, and he could see, so they weren't going to run into a tree any time soon. In no time, the trees were beginning to thin and they could see open fields past the trees in front of them.

"Should we go out into an open field?" Avis asked, holding on with one hand while she kept the chains in the other. She didn't think it would be very bright, walking straight out into an open field where they could be seen. But then she remembered that it was almost midnight, and the moon was still high above them; so long as they didn't pass too close to a town or anything, they should be fine.

Karsenir stopped for a moment, thinking. "For now, I think it would be best to stay in the trees. At daylight we'll be able to better see what's around the area and make a better descision." Karsenir reasoned lightly, turning to walk parallel to the fields that were now to their right. "How does that sound to you?" He asked, looking back over his shoulder at Avis as best he could. 

"Yeah," Avis nodded thoughtfully. "Thanks, by the way. For carrying me. I know I'm not the heaviest person, but I'm not exactly the size of a child...or as light as a leaf. Just...yeah. You get it." Avis held on tightly, shifting her weight around before settling again on Karsenir's back. "Where are we going to go until dawn?" She questioned, watching their surroundings.

Karsenir sighed and nodded. "No problem. "If you weren't holding onto me I'd hardly know you were there." He said, smiling again. He resumed his silence while Avis settled herself on his back again, until she asked another question. "Just about anywhere. I don't have any ideas about where we are, so until I see something interesting, or you decide you want to sleep, I'll keep walking. Any objections?"

Avis didn't object for a second at the idea of sleeping. "I'll sleep, I think." She said quietly. "It would definitely help me shut up and be quiet for awhile." She yawned, though she was a little hesitant to lay her head down on Karsenir's shoulder and close her eyes. Finally she drifted off into sleep that was riddled with a few bad images here and there, but it was sleep nevertheless.