Yuriko narrowed her eyes as she, Ayami, and Abolith now sat at her kitchen table. Of all the things she had thought impossible Abolith, the elf assassin who had tried to kill not only her but her entire family, sitting in her home would be at the top of that list.
Abolith now approached the table cautiously, she had not expected this either. Slowly the elf now removed her shawl and veil, revealing her fire red hair and delicate features. Yuriko studied the woman now, she appeared far younger than Yuriko thought (perhaps 25 or 26). Abolith possessed a beautiful face, her hair cascading to the middle of her back. The elf now pushed her hair behind her pointed ears as she narrowed her eyes. Eyes that possessed a fierceness that made the elderly wizard shudder.
"I don't think I've ever seen your face," Ayami commented. Abolith now turned, training her steely glance on the angel of maternity. "And why would you," Abolith asked. "We have only faced eachother in battle."
"Why do you wear the mask," Misaki asked. "Is it a cultural thing or something?"
"I am an assassin child," Abolith replied coldly. "My profession dictates a certain amount of secrecy. Far too many of my enemies would like nothing more than to know what I look like."
"Like me," Yuriko replied acidly.
"I suppose," Abolith stated. An awkward silence descended on the others now as old enemies studied one another. Yuriko sighed, her shoulders slumping as she rubbed her eyes. "Can I offer you some tea?"
"Tea," Abolith asked. The assassin shifted in place nervously, uncertain of how to respond. "Yes I suppose."
Yuriko now stood, slowly making her way towards the stove as Hannah now sat before the elf. "So how old are you anyway," the gynoid asked. "Cause you look old enough to have been my babysitter."
"When an elf reaches maturity they age much slower," Abolith replied. "I am far older than your teacher. Almost as old as Fukushu to be precise."
"So why are you with him," Hannah continued. "I mean just from what I've heard and seen he seems like kind of a jerk."
"Do not speak ill of my beloved child," Abolith snarled. "You do not know him. I owe him my life!"
"Dont raise your voice at her," Ayami yelled. Abolith tensed, her face contorted in rage as she glared at everyone.
"Okay I'm sorry," Hannah said quietly. "Maybe I don't know him like you do. I do know though he has been trying to kill Ms. Yuriko, Ayami, and the other wizards for, what? A century?"
"Because of what happened to his sister Yomi," Abolith replied.
"Who kidnapped my godmother as well as Kellie and Jack," Yuriko added. "Dont leave that part out." Yuriko now returned to the table, laying out several cups before pouring tea for everyone.
"We have a bitter history Abolith," Yuriko sighed. "Neither one of us trusting the other. Yet Darren appears to have made an impression on Fukushu. Despite my personal feelings, I will support the Catalyst in how he deals with you two."
Abolith simply nodded, the elf rigid in her posture as she now examined the tea. "I have known of you my whole life Abolith," Yuriko continued. "Also you have nothing to fear, the tea is safe."
"Force of habit," Abolith said quietly as she picked up her cup. "Now, what is it do you wish to know?"
"In all my years," Yuriko said. "I have never known elves to venture outside their realm. Why are you so different?"
"I'm no different than any other of my race," she replied quietly. "I was happy in my homeland, yet my people betrayed me. Kidnapped me as I explored the woods of my home and sold me into slavery."
"You were a slave," Misaki gasped.
"Yes," Abolith nodded. "Elves are like humans, impossible to stereotype. While we mostly stay to ourselves our hearts, our souls, are just as evil as any human."
"How did it happen," Yuriko asked quietly.
Abolith sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She did not like thinking of this. "It was a day like any other," she said quietly. "Like many of my kind we roam the woods, communing with nature. What I did not know was some of my people had discovered that humankind had an interest in elves. Not in our culture or our ways but simply as an object to be lusted over."
Aboliths breathing became shallow, her body tense as she remembered how it happened. She had simply been strolling through the woods, oblivious to the snare concealed on the forest path. Years later, when she had been trained, she would recognize such traps. At the time though she was naive, untrained, and could not believe the evil in some peoples hearts.
"I was caught," she continued. "Dangling by my ankle as I saw three elves emerge from the woods. I at first thought they were there to free me. Instead they bound me, dragged me from the woods into the waiting arms of a group of soldiers. I watched as these soldiers paid my people 50 gold coins for me."
"How long," Ayami asked.
"Perhaps a year," Abolith shrugged. "I lost count of the days. But for that time I was nothing more than a release. A creature they could use to satisfy their needs. I don't know how many men it was. All I know that it was a hell I would wish on no one."
"And Fukushu found you," Hannah asked.
"Yes quite by accident," Abolith stated. "The humans who captured me were warlords, petty creatures bent on conquest. They quite accidentally stumbled into the kitsunes domain. When Fukushu discovered them he slaughtered them, mercilessly. Thats when he discovered me."
"And you've been together ever since," Yuriko asked.
"Yes," Abolith said quietly. "At first I was fearful of him. Fukushu is many things but personable is not one of them. He was quiet, intimidating, yet he treated me with kindness. Cared for me, fed me, taught me to care for myself. The skills he imparted upon me strengthened my body and my soul. I grew to love him, respect him."
"Know the feeling," Ayami said softly. "Akiras the same way. Quietly brooding but loving in his own way. Must be a kitsune thing."
Abolith chuckled, a high and cheerful sound the shocked all those around her. "I believe so," she smiled. "We have both felt like outcasts for centuries. Naturally an attraction formed. I would die for him and he would do the same."
Yuriko nodded, her view of her life long enemies becoming clouded. The elf and the kitsune were products of a life of misery. While forgiving them for the actions they had taken against her family seemed improbable, she was gaining an understanding of what molded them into the fearsome enemies she knew.