Deep in the woods, dense brush and trees surrounded a well-hidden cave that not many knew about. It was secret, a treasured spot of the Rangers, and of the Gods themselves. Far from society, far from the reaches of mankind or any other sort of intelligent being, it stayed tucked in the dark, the limbs of tall and ancient trees reaching high to form a dark canopy, barely any sunlight trickling through the greenery above to create a dim lighting to see by. The whole place had an air of mystery, magic, and lore, of old days and history as far back as the creation of time and the world itself.<br/><br/>And waiting there, were envoys of those said gods, in the form of two young men, one with silver hair the other with black, wearing unique looking outfits, both the same but different colors. One was completely black, while the other was white. They were positioned on either side of the cave entrance, one sitting on top of a stone pillar, crosslegged and somehow to keep himself from falling over, despite the fact the pillar he was sitting on wasn't large enough on the top point for him to be steady, though it was tall, reaching a height of nearly ten feet tall, with runes are written diagonally across the stone, glowing softly. The other one stood with his arms crossed over his chest, leaning back slightly against the stone wall, his eyes closed partly.<br/><br/>These two are known as Airis and Zephyr, twin brothers and sons of the high god Zarandur.<br/><br/>"Is there some reason we have to sit around and wait? It's been several days now and there is no sign of them in the least...I wanna go out and drink...or get laid." Airis looks down to his brother, a bored expression on his face, a half grin on his lips at the last bit he'd said, tilting his head to the side so his silver hair swayed in its ponytail. They had been indeed sitting around at the cave for quite some time now, and it was starting to get boring. At least, it was that way for Airis. On the other hand, Zephyr just looks over at Airis with a dull expression, his lips a set line on his face and his eyes held no amusement or any sort of reaction at all to what was said. At first, he said nothing, before turning his face away, shaking his head slowly. "You know full well that Father told us to come here and wait for the Rangers. We are not to move from this spot until we provide them our assistance and aid. If you leave now, you're going by yourself."<br/><br/>Airis groans, letting his head fall back in a dramatic way. "Why do you have to be so boring?" In response to this comment, Zephyr simply rolls his eyes and shrugs, not bothering to say anything. "Ugh, I don't know why I bother..." Airis looks up again, before jumping down from the pillar, landing nimbly as his feet hit the ground at the base, standing up straight and stretching his arms over his head, giving a satisfied sound as his muscles pulled nicely, sighing in relief. "I don't know how you do it. You have WAY more patience than I do. I'm going for a walk."<br/><br/>Another shrug was all he got, Zephyr closing his eyes now, silent and morose, making Airis huff slightly, turning and walking away, his hands at the back of his head. "He can be such a jerk sometimes..." As he made his way through the trees, his thoughts wandered, thinking of why they were told to come here, why Zarandur wanted them to stop their own journey to aid these 'Ranger' people. Despite having some doubts, he was going to do what he was told because it was rare they heard from their Almighty father. The guy never talked to them unless it was absolutely important and VERY urgent, so it must be something that only they could do.<br/><br/>Well, until they actually got there to the cave, Airis would only be left to wonder...because his questions could only be answered by the Rangers themselves. And for now, thinking and roaming the woods would have to do for his amusement, because as much as he wanted to, he wasn't going to leave his brother behind. Being too far from him made Airis uneasy, and he knew that Zephyr felt the same way...it was a special connection.<br/><br/>In a place far from the twins, in a dusty city of dirty morales and even dirtier streets, was the wandering grounds of a certain young man of unknown status, stature, and lineage. He'd called the Kingdom of Shirbi his home for as long as he could remember, but "home" was probably not the right term for his case. More like...cage. As the city of Nagashi was a dark marketplace where slaves and other such 'property' could be found.<br/><br/>And Orphan just happened to be one of those said pieces of 'property'. Or at least, he used to be. Up until a couple days ago, he'd been owned by a particularly nasty person, forcing him to do whatever awful things the guy could think up, and some weren't too...pure. For too long, this went on, until Orphan snapped, deciding to end things once and for all, turning on his owner and breaking free, leaving behind a rather messy and gruesome scene.<br/><br/>He had been on the run, after breaking the chains that kept his legs from moving far, the links broken and trailing behind the cuffs at his ankles and wrists, along with the larger collar at his neck. Underneath the large and heavy iron shackles, the skin was torn and raw, black and blue bruises, blisters and calloused skin, some festering with puss and others bleeding freely. But by this time, Orphan didn't feel it, he was used to the pain. So focused he was on getting as far as he could away from what he had done, he hadn't the time to try and wash, but now...after a few days of not being caught, and quite far from that horrible place...now was as good as time as any.<br/><br/>Kneeling down in the soft mud at the riverside, hiding beneath a wooden plank dock, he washed the blood from his hands and arms, watching as the crimson red flowed away down in the water, feeling much better as it scrubbed from his face and skin, getting it out of his pale hair. There really wasn't much he could do for the stains in his clothes, knowing at some point he would have to get new ones...but for now, just getting what he could wash off would have to be good enough.<br/><br/>Having finished washing up, he sighs, leaning back and just sitting there in the shadows of the dock, staring out at the water, resting his chin on his knees, holding his arms tight around his legs and pulling them close to his chest. He longed for freedom so long...but was what he had done to gain that freedom worth it? Was killing the answer? He didn't know, and he didn't want to...but as he sat there, he couldn't help but feel the fear that welled up within him. What he did know was that he would always be on edge. Never truly calm, never truly safe. But it was better...than going back. He would fight, and fight, and fight some more. Tooth and nail, he would struggle for his freedom, no matter what.