WHAT was taking this girl so long? Once she mentioned these special shoes a Takuto invented to make all their tracks look similar, Kai knew he needed to get his hands on one of them if he wanted to roam around without a hassle. He had the girl bring him a pair and they were meant to meet here and she was not present. A serious expression crossed his face soon after, did she get captured trying to sneak an extra pair out? That would really suck. All those years of grooming her to where she was the perfect fetching pet who would spill anything at the drop of a hat would be gone and he'd have to get another child and repeat the process.
Kai sat up against a tall tree with white flowers up on its branches. The grass was especially full all around, great for the animals here. The sun was shining much too brightly today so he opted to meet in a shaded area such as this but the newly formed clouds up ahead were worrisome.
Not being one to wait on people, Kai carefully stood up, dusting off some dirt from his purple cloak. He set off to gather some materials while he was here. This place is close to the Nex which had a few plants he wanted to use for a mixture. While cutting a some herbs, he wondered if he should train another kid to do this manual labor for him because this was a lot of work.
From tree top to tree top the young apprentice scurried, trying her best to get to the location of who she considered a dear friend. Hidden within her handmade rucksack, the trainee stored a pair of shoes, some water, and a poorly drawn map, courtesy of herself. Although she didn't bring much with her, she was close enough to home to pick up anything else she might need. Besides, now that her friend would be able to walk within clan limits, she didn't think to bring anything else. Well, except for a couple of flowers. She'd seen him with some on more than one occasion, so he had to have a liking of them.
Thumping along thick wooden bridges, she took the closest rope down into the forest below, yet missed her intended landing target. Hurtling into a bush, she remained stunned there for a moment before rolling out of the brush and entangling her hair with leaves.
"Ow, ow, ow..."
Swiping away at the top leaves, blonde locks became tangled and knotted until she gave up trying. Instead, she hurried her pace, running not far into the PG before finding him.
"Kai, Kai!"
A very excited delivery girl, she ran right up to him with a smile bright enough to rival the goddess's. After all, seeing him lit up her whole world, innocent of her true use to him. And her use would be extensive, breaking out both the map and pair of shoes from her back bag to offer him.
KAI'S face simply appeared lit up. He lifted her up to the sky, a quick throw and swiftly catching her before she fell again. The items she brought fell on the grass beneath. "Good job Ali!" The alchemist patted her hair, fairly roughly and completely destroying whatever hairdo she could have had before.
Soon after, he stopped and sat down. Kai looked the shoes over, picking them up and turning them over, sure enough there were spikes there in a particular pattern. Not the most appealing but it would do. The alchemist slipped the shoes on and immediately knew. They were too big. Kai's red eyes glinted over at Ali. His right hand wrapped around the end of her ponytail and he dragged her down, rather painfully.
"Do these look like they fit?" He hissed, practically snarling at her. With a simple flick, he flung her in the direction of her camp using the ponytail he held onto.
"Perhaps I've been too lenient lately. You must have forgotten what it felt like to displease me," Kai stared at her coldly, "Go on then, to your camp. Seems I must do things myself for them to be done well." This treatment was the complete opposite of his earlier display of affection, swinging her up into the sky.
Being thrown up into the sky made the golden retriever giggle, her fall gently returning her to the Wanderer's arms. When released after his patting, she backed away and picked up her backpack, clutching it close to her chest as she waited for him to try them on.
Well, the blonde should have known what was coming to her. She hadn't asked him of his shoe size and had only a vague idea what would fit. Rather than going smaller, she picked a bigger size, choosing them through a simple game of "miney mo". At least he could get them on, but given they were anything other than a perfect fit, she should have known.
Happiness was short lived as she stood frozen, yanked by the hair and tossed forward as her attempt to please him blew up in her face. Yet sapphire eyes held no resentment towards him, nor fear. It was an emptiness; she knew she could do better for him.
"I'm sorry."
Picking herself up, her first notion was to apologize. With a turn to face him, the Mender solemnly nodded in return for his words, realizing that he was to travel with her. Not an easy feat to keep him out of eyesight of the clan, but she was capable of it. She would do better.
With a more determined look than before, she beckoned him to follow her, racing back the way she came to meet him. Even if she descended by a rope, the ladder was close enough to it.
"You'd be safest waiting in my house, just in case."
Words spoken as cold as the glare that was given to her, though with no spite. She pointed on up at the ladder carved into the tree itself, only revealed once brush was shifted to reveal it.
KAI appeared to be ignoring her words. He didn't care for excuses or apologies, only results. If she failed to guide him towards the shoes-- well she wouldn't want to know the consequences for failing twice in a row.
Now that he was paying attention, he was still surprised how well concealed these people were. If Kai hadn't known what to look for and where, he still might have missed it.
"You'd be safest waiting in my house, just in case."
Kai was growing irritated every passing second. Waiting at Ali's house while she gets another pair of shoes that wouldn't fit, didn't sound too pleasant at the moment. Kai decided to give her the benefit of a doubt though. After all this time, making him unhappy should make her unhappy. He took a hold of the ladder, and climbed up until he reached the top.
"Go ahead, if you bring the wrong size again you'll never see me again."
