Cain walked the dark streets of Balefire, holding Cassie close with his left arm. Not that is was necessary. The human girl was terrified by the mere darkness, the youth could sense the unnatural shadow over the city. She disliked the strange lanterns and torches all over, having so little a light radius. Even with all of that, Cain had told her of the people here.

Cain himself hated coming here with Cassie, but at this point she had to go with him everywhere. There was nobody he trusted enough to take care of her, nobody alive anymore. He had his cloak over her, covering all but one eye and a lock of hair, looking around. Her arms were wrapped around his waist.

A shadowy figure appeared behind them, following them in the otherwise abandoned alleyway. Cain's hand rested on his sword. His eyes picked out a small hole in a wall, a very small dead-end. He saw nothing there, and tapped Cassie, pointing to the alley. She began walking towards it for shelter, Cain having spotted the man draw a knife from his belt out of the corner of his eye.

Before Cassie was there, The man cocked his arm back and snapped it forward at the girl, an open shot. Cain's eyes shot wide, the turned to slits of fury. By reflex, a pearly white wing shot out from beneath the cloak, intercepting the thin blade. He hissed, retracting the wing and turning to face the man.

His arm shot forward as the man darted at him, holding nothing. His palm was outwards, ming reaching to his arm and waist. A metallic rattling sounded from beneath his clothing and shot out, a thin barbed chain with a wicked dagger blade on the end. It wrapped around the man's blade arm, digging into flesh. He tor it to the side with a pop, coming fast with his longsword. The man shifted hands with the blade as the chain unwound and retracted, shooting out once more like a snake, wrapping about the short sword. His longsword dug into the man's belly, jerked upwards. The man fell to the ground, Cain's whip taking home under his clothing once more.

Cain stumbled as he walked away, sheathing his sword. Cassie ran out and whimpered as she pulled the blade from his wing, the blade meant for her. Cain smiled at her, hugging her as she inspected the wound.

Aether Draka had been walking along the roofs of Balefire with Turin flying about around her head and a thin black shadow of a cat trailing behind her. She wasn't too sure about why the cat was still following her. It normally left her at the edge of the dark forest, but it had shown up at the Academy of Magic and now it was here. She didn't really know what to do about it, but she wasn't worried about that at the moment. At the moment she was just going for a stroll over the city.

Then she saw a flash of white out of the corner of her eye and paused. Turin paused in mid-air also and AD moved quickly and silently over the roof top between her and the movement. She was there on the roof, crouching low to pause in the shadows with Turin perched on her shoulder as Cain attacked in turn. She was curious about the wings... She had always liked wings... and he had been hurt. She looked to Turin and he looked back at her, then shrugged. The tiny creature was going to leave that decision up to AD.

Before AD could make a decision, she saw a little girl come forth from just out of AD's sight, right next to the building AD was perched on. The child approached him as if she knew him and she removed the blade. AD stood abruptly, though still managed not to make a sound. She motioned for Turin to go ahead and then AD walked calmly over to the ally the child had just been hiding it. She noted that it was a dead end, but paid it no heed.

The tiny copper fly dragon zipped down from above, flew once around the little girl's head and then landed on Cain's injured wing. The injury started to close up as he set his healing magic into the wing. As soon as it was done Turin zipped back over to AD, who was now standing calmly in the entrance of the ally Cassie had just left from. Aether Draka held up her hand for Turin to perch on and nodded to him. "Thank you, little one."

Cain smiled at Cassie and kissed her forehead lovingly, hugging her to his side. “I'll be fine.” He said. The half-celestial held out his wing painfully, fully aware of the ruby red drops of blood rolling from his feathers. He observed the wound with distaste, but with a sense of pride as well. He was an able guardian.

Cain spotted the little dragon and the chain began rattling, sliding out of the sleeve and hanging, ready for Cain's command. He watched it suspiciously, sword still away. Should anything go wrong, he could take care of it himself. He almost wanted to kill it for no good reason, to tear it apart. But he wanted Cassie's innocence more, and her seeing him be himself could ruin that.

The dragon healed his wing and Cain's brow furrowed while he stretched it out, an enormous wingspan. He folded it in underneath the cloak and looked around for the owner. Cassie watched it fly back to the alley, to the girl's side. Cain's hand jerked for his blade, but he resisted the urge. Why heal him if she was going to fight him?

He held Cassie back, whom had been watching the dragon and wanting to touch it. He kept her close as he walked over to the elf carefully, ever cautious. The chain shot up his sleeve and coiled around his bicep.

“I thank you.” Was all he said, all he knew to say. His hood was down, the struggled words creating an alien look for the deceptively angelic face.

Aether Draka 's emerald eyes left her fly dragon and went to Cain. A slight smile pulled at her lips. "I have a certain appreciation for those who not only have wings, but know how to use them and use them well. I don't like to see them injured. In my own opinion, there is nothing worse then having wings and not being able to fly." Turin lifted off of AD's finger and zipped to her shoulder to disappear between her neck and her hair.

He looked like an angel at first glance, but AD wasn't sure if she was really seeing an angel. First of all, what would an angel be doing here? Second of all, why hadn't more things happened around him upon entering the city. True, the place itself was not evil, but it seemed to attract the more evil types. AD felt at home here though. It was like the city was mid twilight all the time. It was one place she could shadow jump to at any time.

Aether Draka took a step forward and placed both hands behind her back. "So may I ask what brings you to this lovely little town? I have the feeling it wasn't to be attacked." She shifted her weight forward at the question and rocked back on her heels and her hands swung back around to the front of her. Her head tipped slightly to the right as she looked at the pair.

Cassie awwed in disappointment as the dragon hid away. She had wanted to look at it more closely, to hold it. Cain, however, was still unsure of both dragon and girl. He watched her actions, seeming innocent enough. But appearances could be deceptive. He knew this firsthand. On more than one occasion, people had believed Cain to be a holy warrior, there to protect the innocent and other such garbage. There was only one innocent he was here to protect.

Cain kept his stony face. Cassie grew bored and looked to the side, becoming uninterested. Unsure of what to say to her first comment, he decided to answer the second.

“We are here for supplies and boarding. She can't camp out all the time and I am perfectly capable of protecting her from such folk as him.” He said, watching her. The reply was as much a warning as it was an answer.. This elf made him uneasy, however youthfully she acted. Even her current actions broadcasted how young she was, compared to other elves.

“And what brings you here, elf?” He asked. The chains beneath his cloak rattled uneasily, unraveling in case he needed them.

His answer wasn't too clear, but for some reason she was reminded of Raven... minus the black wings. This person though didn't seem to know races too well though. She closed her eyes and shook her head. She felt no threat from anyone or anything in this city as a full powered shadowdancer, so any warning he had implied slipped right past her unnoticed.

Turin, not liking it when she shook her head when he was curled up at the base of her skull decided to take to the air again, zipping away from her at shoulder hight to zip around her, then all three off them and then around the entire area just over the roof tops.

"I'm not an elf. I'm not even half elf and no elves really seem that interested in having me around. I'm here because I like this place. I don't have to worry about anyone or anything." She paused as Turin sent her a telepathic message.

"There are some more of that little mob that decided they didn't like you heading this way. I don't think they have seen you just yet."

"Well, most of the time." Aether Draka frowned slightly as she fell silent. She could hear the sounds of them talking among themselves. Bullying each other as they walked along the road. She gestured towards the opening with her hand and the shadows there solidified into a black wall with indentations much like brick. Turin landed on the roof near by to be able to see on the other side of the wall. The men were just about to turn the corner to where the three of them were. They stopped and looked at the wall in surprise. Aether Draka put her finger to her lips to let the little girl and her protector know that they needed to keep quiet.

"What is this? More construction! I can't believe this!" One voice said, outraged.

The sound of a clip coming undone was heard and the sound of someone hefting a weapon. "Want mea ta knock it back doun boss?" someone with a deeper voice said, slurring some of his words.

"Nah. Give me a moment to think about this first." A third voice said, surprisingly calm and collected. The others all seemed to go quiet while they waited for that man to think.

Cain shrugged his shoulders as she told him she wasn't an elf. He couldn't care less. But her comment about not having to worry about anything was a little curious. What protection could this girl have for herself? Cain did not understand much of magic, besides a simple telekinesis spell.

She spoke to her dragon and raised a wall made purely of shadows. Cain raised an eyebrow as she did so, wondering if this was part of what she was saying. He smiled a little and held a finger to cassie's lips, who fell silent as well. He hugged her to his side, kissing her forehead.

Cain stood and resumed his stony, unemotional look. He listened to the voices on the other side of the wall, blade-headed chain slipping from under his sleeve quickly and silently. He drew his longsword, just in case they decided the wall was unneeded and tried to break it down.

In which case, he was certain their weapons would simply pass through. Cain gave a little smile as he approached the wall, chain whip frozen, like a snake ready to lash out. How fun it would be to seize one of the men and pull him through.