Kain laid out on the beach, his legs stretched out and his arms behind his head. Sand had gnawed at him all day and finally he had just given in. His eyes were closed and the sound of the waves just took him away. Up the shore, reaching his bare feet, down the shore, leaving them in the cold breeze. His eyes flashed open to see the final burst of light expel from the horizon before it finally made it's way beyond the horizon and darkness took the shore. The light was gone and the smell of fresh saltwater entered Kain's nostrils and he exhaled slowly. Gritty sand was in his ears and all down his back, he smiled, That's what happens when you lay down in sand. He continued to look up at the night sky, stars blinking in and twinkling before fading out, only to return again a moment later.

Kain let his eyes close again and he listened to the sound of the waves as they slid up and down on the shore. Eventually he found himself asleep and in a dream. He could see her again, for the first time in a long time. Her face was so prevailant in his mind and he could feel himself smile, but soon she faded out and he could only see his hand reach out, unable to catch her. Kain sat down in the middle of this "dark dream" of his and looked around... nothing, for the longest time. He could see the faces of recent friends, Amy and Shain, and recent foes, Ethstar and the mysterious creatures in the Purple Lantern.

Kain snapped awake to see his ankles covered in water. He was glad that he had woken up at this point and not when the water was up his neck or even over his head. He scrambled away from the water and sat up, drawng his legs to his chest and folding his arms over them. Man, I think I'm losing it...

Griffin was walking across the beach, his hands held deep in the pockets of his cloak. The slight breeze allowed his exposed hair to brush out behind him slightly. He inhaled the deep salty smell of the sea. Even if he didn't want to admit it, he felt slightly homesick. The ocean was the only thing that reminded him of his old country, the freedom, the silence, the calm. He thought as he strode along the shoreline, his shoes leaving deep imprints in the sand. He stared out blankly in front of him, thoughts of his beloved mother before her death filled his mind. He cast them away not wanting to linger in the past.

As he stared along the beach he caught site of a figure sitting in the sand. He sensed one of human decendance. He wasn't surprised, this city was crawling with their race. He wondered if the man had noticed him. He continued walking along the beach, not changing direction heading towards the man.He gaze stretched out in front of him and did not falter. Why should he cut his stroll short for anyone. He thought as he neared the man. He didn't take any notice of him until he was only a few meters away.

Kain’s eyes remained closed and yet he could sense that someone was approaching. It wasn’t really a sense, it was the sound of their feet crunching the sand beneath them. With his eyes still closed he felt like he could always stand to meet someone new. He called out, allowing the wind to catch his voice, it would reach this newcomer, “Lovely night… wouldn’t you say?” Kain would await a response from this person. He didn’t know who it was or anything about them; his eyes had stayed closed so, the person’s response and tone would tell him more about them. Whether they were male or female, whether they were course or lighthearted. A lot could be learned from the response to Kain’s question. If they had something to hide, they would answer his question with yet another question.

Kain wasn’t going to make any assumptions though; no judgments yet, until the person had responded to him. He continued to lay there, with his legs up, enjoying the light breeze. He took another deep breath of sea air and exhaled heavily, which came out as a sigh. He realized how this might seem but he let it pass off as a sigh and continued to wait… it would only take a few more moments, unless of course this person didn’t answer at all. Kain smiled…

Griffin continued his walk at the mans abrupt greeting. He came to a stop once he was standing a meter or so away from the figure. "If you say so..." He replied plainly as he turned from facing the man and gazed out over the ocean, the calm sound of the waves easing his mind.

Kain made an awkward look on his face and then returned it to his plain look of solitude. He returned deep into his thoughts again, time for him to make assumptions. It was a habit that Kain had not yet mastered and overcame. From the tone of voice, this was obviously a male, which automatically make Kain a bit less interested. However, the words that he used made Kain interested. He didn’t necessarily agree with Kain, but at the same time, he didn’t exactly disagree with Kain. So therefore, it was a good answer for Kain. If he had agreed, it might’ve just been a sign of a happy-go-lucky type, however, disagreeing would make it seem like the night was just to dull. Kain smirked and still laid there with his eyes shut.

Kain would wait for what seemed like a long time before finally giving an answer. He kept the smirk on his face and then let words loose from his mouth once again. They would hit the night air, piercing the silence, “I do say so… but I guess that doesn’t mean it’s true…” He shifted his right leg a little, allowing it to stretch out, barely touching the water as it slowly slid in and out on the shore. He didn’t wince, even thought the water was cold and it surprised him. Kain instead kept his face with a silent smirk, remaining unchanged, even as his words trailed off. He would wait for this newcomer’s response.

Griffin glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. This stranger seemed interesting and he couldn't help but smirk at his reply. For a brief moment he looked at the stranger on the ground then turned his gaze out over the ocean once again. He stood in silence, his hands in the deep pockets of his cloak, as if waiting for the opportune moment to reply. He was in no rush to go anywhere, why hurry his words for anyone. He thought, as he glanced back at the man on the ground. "It is true in a way, just not completely. I've seen better..." He replied, his thoughts flying back to the times of his time growing up in the elven parts of Chaon with his mother and her clan, before the time of battle, war, and strife. He thought, gazing at the shallow water in front of him, his focus not truely on it but memories in his minds eye.

Kain listened, leaving his eyes closed, to the response as it came from the man. Kain let the words sink in and he began to ponder them, as if he were analyzing this man. He hated to do this but he felt that it was necessary during these times. This man was not from here, and had seen better nights that this one. For once, Kain felt like there was a person who he could relate to. For Kain was not from this area either, he was not from Imythess originally… and his past had always bugged him. He hated the past, hated thoughts of the past, hated everything about his past. Except for one thing, but in order to remember that, he must think about the other things that caused him to burn with hate. He turned his head to the right, as if looking at something, but his eyes were closed so therefore, there was nothing for him to see.

He kept his head turned that way as he formulated his response. He picked and chose words carefully before releasing them, “Yes, I have as well. Still it doesn’t change the,” He paused for a moment, throwing out the word “fact” from the sentence, “opinion, that the night is, indeed “lovely.” If that’s a good enough word for it…” Kain continued to keep his head turned, as he waited for the man’s response. Kain smirked, he hoped he hadn’t sounded arrogant by seeming that his opinion was the best… which he was and therefore if he sounded that way, it would be the truth. Kain was indeed arrogant. He frowned as he waited…

Griffin looked at him again, this time his gaze falling on the man for a while. He sensed a certain anger within him, something Griffin held grudgingly as well. This man's responses and his personality caused a certain curiosity within Griffin however he didn't show it. He remained his calm, cold self. "If you do not mind me asking, where are you from?" He asked plainly, a slight hint of curiosity staining his smooth tone.

Kain heard the question but kept his head off to the side. He would think about this question for a long time. Thinking of whether he should answer this mysterious man with a lie, or with the truth, or even perhaps some diluted form of the truth. Kain’s options slimmed down for a moment, from a lie or truth, either way, he would have to be straight forward. He raced through some more thoughts that meant nothing before finally turning back, facing up. He would open his eyes slowly and look upon the man for the first time.

Kain would not be able to tell the man’s heritage, for he wasn’t familiar with many other life forms than human. It mattered not though, what mattered was the fact that he was waiting for a response and Kain was taking his sweet time in giving him one. Kain gave a question that he had hoped was unpredictable; as unpredictable as answering with a question could be, “Can you be trusted?” Kain didn’t want to know that answer, to be honest, all he wanted to hear was the response. From the response, he would tell more from the man and therefore the man would be worthy or unworthy to hear where he was from…

Griffin glared at him, the red of his eyes dancing in the moonlight. Deep within his eyes there showed a look of both amusement, curiosity, and thought. The man's question arose many of his own in Griffin's mind. Can I be trusted? The words danced in his mind, through and through. He was an intelligent yet sly and slightly arrogant person, yet did this affect his ability to be trusted. To be trusted with what? He thought. The mans question just seemed to arouse more questions. He pushed them to the side and wiped his mind clean. He gazed into the mans eyes, looking for a trace of emotion. Finally he let the words escape his mouth. "If I said yes, I could be trusted I'd be lying to you. If I said no, I couldn't be trusted I would be lying to you again." He said and paused as he looked out over the water. The moon caused a beautiful affect on the surface as its light hit the water and it seemed to break up into a million different little pieces. Griffin turned to the stranger again. "That depends on you. Do you trust me?" He asked, his stare locked onto the man, studying his features.

Kain listed intently to what the man said, acknowledging the words and formulating a response. Kain smirked. So many questions that needed to be answered before Kain could reveal pieces of his past. Kain waited for a moment, weighing his options, on what he should say. It was a simple question and yet, Kain was having to give some thought into what he would say. There was this fact of trust. What was trust to Kain? There were two different types of trust. There was the trust of telling some fact and expecting that person to keep it quiet and then there was the trust that if one jumped out of a tree would the other be there to stop them or catch them at the bottom.

Kain let another breeze go by before finally allowing himself to give an answer. This breeze would last a long time and wouldn’t die down for quite some time. This gave Kain a little extra time, but not much “I trust you, with information… not with my life. It is what you expected? No sane being trusts a person without knowing them.” Kain paused for a moment, “And if I trust you with information, then I suppose that I’ll go ahead and give you my name, Kain,” Kain gave another pause then added, “Now, I trust you, do you trust me? Pray tell, what is your name?”

Kain awaited the man’s response and as he did he thought about his own response and then smirked. Rather interesting, he was beginning to actually make sense to himself.

Griffin stared at this man. He was surprised to actualy see himself getting along with someone. He gazed curiously at Kain. "Griffin..." He said with a slight smirk as he held out his hand to shake Kain's. As he did this he thought about Kain's response to trusting him. If there was a right answer he would have gotten it. He pondered as he awaited Kain's reaction...

Kain heard the man’s name and made no obvious reaction. It was just a name, basic information that meant nothing at this point. Except that Kain was trusted with information at this point, just as Griffin was. Kain began to think of something he could say; he had revealed his name and should also reveal where he came from, seeing as it was the first question to be asked. Kain decided that he would do this, he would tell this man of his past, where he came from, and anything else he would like to know, except for what happened in the place that he came from. That was one thing that he would not reveal, it was his secret; a secret that he hated and he kept to himself; like most secrets.

Kain finally spoke, “Now that formalities are out of the way…” Kain sat up, and looked out over the ocean… off into the distance. His eyes scanned the dark horizon and found many stars that would keep him transfixed upon the sky. Kain would pause a while before finally finishing the sentence, “I can answer your original question.” He stopped for a moment, as if to think about where he originated from, “I am from a land that is not near Imythess at all. The place that I come from is a place known to most as Sehnsucht, city of Longing.” Kain looked up, reminiscing and sifting through memories, “It’s called the city of longing for one reason only. A person who lives in Sehnsucht, always longs for something more. I came to Imythess in search of something; something that I must find, before the Silent Lord makes his call…”

Kain finished his sentence but remained in a state of thinking. He was looking up into the night sky, the stars were twinkling out there and he felt himself bite his lip. He wasn’t hiding anything, and amazingly, this was the first person he had ever told about Sehnsucht. He wanted it to be the last…

Griffin gazed out over the ocean as the man spoke to him. he aborbed Kain's words and ran them through his mind. Sehnsucht, the word didn't seem to ring a bell Griffin shifted his glance to him once again, curiosity falling over his sharp features. "And would you be willing to tell me of what you must find?" He asked as he stared down at the man, his expression blank and hidden.

Kain waited as the predictable question was asked. He knew the man would ask, it was only natural to ask a follow up question when new information is received. He smiled and he took his time, but he finally got the energy to stand up. At this point he put his hand to his hip, where his sword remained in it's sheath. He put his hand on the sheath and pulled the blade out quickly and abruptly; he swung it once, then twice, pulling it up so that it was parallel with him. His left hand was at the bottom, holding the hilt, while his left hand rested against the blunt side of the blade. He turned his head so that he was looking at Griffin.

“I am searching for a reason to have this at my side. A reason to exist. I was told by one that a person could swing the sword with no skill at all but still defeat the most skilled warrior because the unskilled warrior had a reason.” Kain waited for a moment, allowing those words to sink in. Allowing them a chance to hit Griffin. “I have no reason to live at this point... I abandoned my samurai traditions for a new life. I left Sehnsucht in search of this reason because everything there is...” Kain didn't finish the sentence. He didn't want to. He had already said to much as it was. This would only be the second time he revealed why he roamed the land of Imythess.

Griffin did not make a move as he watched Kain slip his blade form its sheath. He observed the man as he swung the blade. As Kain spoke Griffin felt the words in his mind. He understood what this man mean't. He needed not to ask more questions about this. Griffin himself had a similar idea on battle, however he was not here to find out why he fights, he was here, in imythess, to escape his haunting and bloody past.

He looked curiously at the man as he took in details of his technique with a blade. "Perhapse you hold that at your side for a mere sense of protection, a sense of freedom from authority, or perhapse you even hold it from habit." Griffin said and paused for a moment as he gazed at the mans blades. He felt his own blades within his cloak but ignored there feeling. He was searching for a reason he fought. Griffin had a strange lust for battle and blood. Growing up in battle had put such an impression on him and killing many men over the course of his life only heightened his lust for blood. Yet strangely, Griffin avoided battle until he could no longer. "Do you have a certain need or want for battle?" Griffin asked the man curiouse for his responce. Perhapse Griffin was even looking for the man to answer the own questions wandering about in his own mind.

Kain shook his head as the sugestions came to him one by one from Griffin. He gave each of them a chance to be the correct one, but he had already weighed these options. “Protection is not a reason enough for me. Great reason is what kills, not great skill. Freedom from authority? There is not a man alive who rules ove r me; I will decide my own fate. Habit? I abandoned those habits long ago.” Kain glared, squinting his eyes, scanning the horizon once again. Perhaps this man would be the one to tell him what he wanted to hear, but then again, he would need to know the entire story. The last question was all that was left to answer, and then Griffin would most likely ask more. Kain didn't mind, it was better than being with Ethstar, whom he hated deeply.

Kain gave the last question some thought before finally giving an answer. It was quiet and it seemed like a long time to Kain before his response came, “I want to battle because I enjoy it. It keeps me focused on my goals. When I'm not fighting... I'm drinking.” Kain looked down at the sand, not particularly ashamed of this fact, but he didn't like admiting that he had a drinking problem. It was degrading...

Griffin had never drank any liqour since his time arriving in the city, plainly due to the fact that the liqour here tasted completely vial compared to the liqour from his home country. Even then he never drank much. Griffin listened intently to the rest of his answer and pondered his words one at a time. "So you enjoy battle. Does that mean you enjoy the bloodshed that comes along with it..." Griffin said, more rhetorical in a way than actualy asking kain if he enjoyed others suffering. He sighed as he gazed out over the plain landscape of the beach. Even now he felt himself long for blood however he had to find a way to get this weakness from his system. It was the only trace of his father that remained in him.

Kain made a slight smirk as the question came. He thought about it for a moment, but this question didn't need much time to answer. Kain had always been a man who enjoyed fighting, and everything that came with it. The adrinaline, the excitement, the speed, and the blood. Everything about fighting was great to him, it brought enjoyment with every swing of the sword. “Yes,” he spat out simply. He didn't need to add anything else, it was a simple question and therefore deserved a quick and simple answer.

Stars twinkled and caught his attention; however, anything at this point was catching his attention. Not that he was bored with the newcomer, just that he had more on his mind than his battles and his excitement went it came to them and bloodshed. Kain would wait a moment and, while still looking at the stars, allow himself to sit back down, after sheathing his sword. As he leaned back and kept his knees bent as he laid his head in his hands. They were behind his head, stopping direct contact with the sand. He wiped the smirk off his face and put on an empty appearance, one that was hard to read.

Griffin glanced at him upon the ground again and followed his gaze to the heavens. It was a pleasant night. Little to no clouds littered the sky overhead and the air had a certain comforting warmth to it. Griffin brought his glance back down to earth and stared blankly at the ground. Kain's answer was simple yet to the point, which he didn't mind. At least I am not alone in this strange lust for blood. He thought for a moment. At the reminder of battle he considered the mans appearence and his blade. Of course he was a warrior, but did he have that certain skill with the blade... "So you were a samurai. You must be a fair warrior, from what I have heard from their reputation." Griffin said, challnging the mans opinion of himself.

Kain laid back, continuing to enjoy the lovely view and the great breeze that blew by, every now and then. As the question came, Kain listened, waiting for the correct words to say. It would have to be more than a simple 'yes' this time. There was more to being a samurai than being a warrior and a talented swordsmam. A samurai was trained to kill and was trained to be an honorable man. The word honor was everything to them, when one samurai abandoned that way of honor, that code that binds, they lost everything. They were expected to end their lives at that point and abandon everything in this world.

“As long as we're clear on the fact that I ”was” as samurai. I abandoned my code of honor long ago.” Kain frowned a little, but returned to a face with no specific emotion. He was looking deep into the sky, but at the same time was looking deep into himself, ”I have my own life now, and it doesn't involve my sacrifice anymore.” He remembered the last words that had said to them all, the ones that made him hate his past... as he did, he said them out loud, not specifically to Griffin, but to anyone who would care, ”If you really don't care about people, you shouldn't pretend to. When you ask if I care, I don't tell you what you want to hear; I tell you no...”

Griffin listened intently to this as he cast his cold glance out over the ocean again. He folded his arms over his chest as he took in Kain's words. Obviously this man had a certain bitterness in his past. Griffin drew a conclusion from his last words and the fact that he repeated that he previously was a samurai. What had happened to have caused this bitterness. Could it be as terrible as my own past. The thoughts ran through Griffin's head as Kain's last words echoed within his mind. Obviously he was not reffering to Griffin as these words escaped his mouth. "And those words are as true as the earth we live on..." Griffin muttered more to himself as he thought how that related to his own past. It seemed like something my father tried to hammer into my mind as he taught me the senseless cause of slaughter. Not battle but slaughter. He wondered as his gazed shifted over the ocean, taking in every pointless detail of it.

The sound of the sloshing water hit Kain as he was brought back to reality by the swelling and receeding of the water. Kain shook his head at himself, he had zoned out a whole lot in this conversation, most likely because he kept thinking about the past. When he thought about the past, it got to him and he dazed out, letting memories flash in and out of his head. He cast a sidelong glance to the side, where he could see Griffin. He didn't look up, he just kept his eyes focused on the man's feet.

“They are more true than any absolute has ever spoken.” He rolled over onto his side, away from Griffin. He kept his eyes open and drew in the sand with his finger. Carving into it, making a symbol into the ground. The shapes resempled three raindrops turned on their sides. Kain would enscribe them with a circle and separate them with lines, making pie shaped “slices.” Kain was feeling bitter, about the world; telling about himself, including his past always him feel this way.

Griffin nodded as he gazed out over the ocean. He glanced down at the man then up at the sky. It was getting late and he had to go. "If you don't care about others then your heart can only be as bitter as those words, but I see you differently. There are beings you like being with, there are some you care about. If I am wrong then correct me. Unless your heart is complete darkness then you can contradict these words, Kain."[/i] He said quietly to the man as he pondered the words the man had said before. ”If you really don't care about people, you shouldn't pretend to. When you ask if I care, I don't tell you what you want to hear; I tell you no...” The words ran over and over in his mind as he slowly began to think. He began to believe, perhapse there was little hope for him afterall.

He slipped the hood over his head, cloaking his fatures once again. "Until next time, Kain Dunarrow." He said as he stared down at the man. Then with a nod of his head Griffin turned on his heals and began walking silently away in the darkness. As the darkness cloaked him, moments later his very form disapeared into the night.