The Kaidia Chronicles 7: Of Redheads, Felines, and Family
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 10:15 pm
Kaidia burst into the guest room down the hall to find Mytheria standing on the bed clutching her upper right arm and Kitiara crouching on the floor, looking wild eyed and ready to fight. A broom lay discarded on the floor.
"What in the blue fuck are you two doing?!" Kaidia shouted, clearly at the end of her rope for the day. The redhead and the neko looked up, eyes wide. Mytheria was the first to talk, she took her hand away from her arm... some deep scratches were there, seeping blood. "She scratched me, Kaidia!" the thief exclaimed. "She hit me with a broom stick!" Kit countered, pointing to the discarded broom on the floor.
Kai just groaned and then looked to Myth. "No hitting anyone here with a broom, young lady!" she scolded. She then turned to the neko and growled. "And those claws do not come out at ANYONE in this family!" she practically shouted. Both Mytheria and Kitiara shrank back. Everyone paused for a moment. The use of the word "family" had not gone unnoticed.
"Rose, take Myth and take care of her wound, then bring her back here." Kai ordered. Rose didn't need to be told twice. She gently pulled Myth off the bed and escorted the redhead out of the room, leaving a less than happy Kaidia with Kit, who looked less than thrilled to be alone with the clearly irritated woman.
Kaidia's hands went to her belt buckle, which she promptly unbuckled. She slid her belt from the loops of her leather pants with soft hiss. "I have not had a moment's rest since the night before last. I am NOT in the mood for bratty behavior." the warrior said with a dangerous quiet to her voice.
Kit was on her feet and stepping backward. "But Kaidia! It was just a little tussle! No big deal! I'm sure Myth would agree!" the neko reasoned with little hope. "It doesn't matter, little kitten. You both did something wrong. Under my care, that means you take the punishment you earned. Now, get over the end of the bed." Kaidia replied. Kitiara looked between Kai and the bed, hesitating where she stood. Kaidia's face darkened with each passing moment. "NOW, Kitiara!" she demanded with a steel edge in her tone. The neko jumped, then skirted around Kaidia and to the bed. She slowly leaned herself over the end, presenting her leather clad bottom to the warrior's gaze... and belt.
Kaidia set the belt on the bed, slid her hands around Kit's waist, and started undoing the neko's pants. "So what caused your little spat with Myth?" the mercenary asked as her fingers hooked into Kit's pants and tugged them down to the cat girl's knees.
"She wouldn't share the bed." Kitiara grumbled as she felt her pants sliding down, revealing the plain white panties that hugged her toned bottom rather snugly. "And then?" Kaidia asked with a gently coaxing tone. "I tried to push her over so I could get on one side, she grabbed that broom, hit me in the head with it, and... well... I clawed her." the contrite neko finished.
"Neither of you were in the right. She shouldn't have refused to share the bed or hit you with the broom. However, you have to remember, you're bigger and much stronger than Myth. On top of that, those claws are dangerous. You shouldn't have used them." Kaidia admonished calmly, if sternly.
Kit could only nod. Now she just felt ashamed. She was probably as strong as Kai in terms of physical power. She could easily hurt Myth on accident in a moment of anger. She didn't want that. The neko gripped the covers and braced herself, resigned to her punishment.
Kai reached out and slid Kitara's panties down and let them fall to meet the pants at her knees. "Now. You're going to count each stroke, kitten." the mercenary stated, clearly expecting no argument from the bare bottomed neko. With that said, Kaidia took her position behind Kit and tapped the leather belt to those toned, firm cheeks. Quietly, she drew the belt back and then brought it forward hard, with all the power in her arm. The belt landed across the center of Kit's shapely ass with a resounding crack. The neko hissed and tensed up momentarily. "One!"
The room went quiet, all Kit could hear were Kaidia's calm breaths and the creak of the woman's leathers as her body twisted, her muscles wound for the next stroke of the belt. That stroke fell across the backs of Kit's thighs with a deafening crack that was almost twin to the first. The neko squealed through clenched teeth and then whined. "Two!"
The mercenary was putting her all into the lashes. Your average neko was tougher than most humans after all. Kai had to use considerable force to get her point across. From the looks of the bright red welts she had raised already, Kai was well on her way to making her point rather clear. The belt fell across Kitiara's sit spots next, the pop of leather on firm flesh echoing in the room. A yowl tore its way from Kit's throat with that one. "Three!!"
Kaidia decided to drive her point home a bit quicker, took a breath, raised the belt, and started in on the poor kitten's bottom about as quick as one could with a belt. It rose and fell with astonishing power, speed, and accuracy. Each crack of that belt sounding out through the house. Each one answered with a cried out number. "Four!! F-five!! Six!! Seven!! EIGHT!! N-NINE!! TEN!!"
Each stroke raised a fiery red welt across the cat girl's bottom or thighs. Kaidia brought that belt down several more times even though Kit had lost the ability to count after the tenth lash. She just yowled and wailed in place of the number she was supposed to exclaim. The final strike fell with an ear piercing snap and an ear splitting yowl from the neko. Kai had pushed it to twenty strokes, painting the neko's backside red in the process, as well as raising quite a few welts. Kit just lay there and sobbed into the blanket, letting it soak up the tears that she cried.
During that flurry of belt lashes, Rose and Mytheria had come back to the bedroom and witnessed the last few strokes. Kai knew they were there but paid them no mind as she slid her belt back on, buckled it, then settled down on the bed and gently stroked the crying neko's hair. "Shhh, There there, kitten. All done." she cooed softly. She even scratched behind one of Kit's ears.
The scratching slowly turned the neko's crying to sniffles and from sniffles to a weak purr. Kaidia smiled faintly. "That's my good kitty. Now you just stay put while I deal with the other trouble maker." she said as she turned her eyes toward Mytheria. The redhead paled a bit and stepped behind Rose. Kai scooted over on the bed, a little away from Kit. "Come here, Myth." she said firmly.
With a gentle push from Rose, Myth stepped over in front of Kaidia. The warrior woman reached out and undid the buckles at the side of the redhead's skirt and let it drop to the floor. The thief's panties followed suit before the thief was pulled unceremoniously over Kai's lap. The poor girl's bottom was still striped with red welts from the switching that had taken place that morning. One that, interestingly enough, Kitiara had administered.
Kai wasted no time in starting Myth's punishment, her hard hand coming down sharply and quickly on the redhead's already sore bottom. Swatting from the top of the girl's bottom down to the backs of her thighs and back up again. She alternated cheeks and thighs, each slap sounding out loudly. "Like I told your partner in crime, neither of you were in the right this evening, Mytheria. She shouldn't have clawed you but you shouldn't have smacked her with the broom or refused to share the bed. Which, by the way, is big enough for the both of you." Kaidia scolded as her hand reignited the fire in the thief's bottom.
Mytheria squirmed, kicked, and started crying almost immediately. "Sorryyy!" was all she could manage to cry out between yelps and gasps. The warrior's hand focused on the girl's sit spots, making Myth's cute bottom bounce as it slowly turned a darker shade of red. Kai's hand started raining swats down on the backs of the the redhead's thighs. This brought a fresh wave of howls and wails from the crying girl along with a lot of kicking and twisting over the mercenary's lap.
Rose just stood there and took it all in, her own bottom sore from that earlier switching as well as the elven toy that Kai had used on her not half an hour ago. Kit still hiding her face, draped over the end of the bed. Kaidia briskly slapping Myth's rear over and over again, turning said rear an intense shade of red that even overpowered Mytheria's fiery hair.
The poor redhead started bawling freely as Kai's hand found her sit spots over and over again, without relenting a bit. Each smack was hard and searing hot. For the thief, it felt like this spanking was going on forever.
But alas, Kai did stop. "Are we going to have this issue again, Mytheria?" she asked curtly. The sobbing girl shook her head vigorously. "Good." the warrior replied to the shaking of those red tresses. She landed one more solid slap to the center of Myth's bottom, eliciting a sharp yelp from the redhead.
Kai stood the chastised redhead up before pointing in front of her. "Kit, get over here next to Myth." the warrior ordered. Kit wasn't in any mood to disobey. She stood up, stepped out of her pants and panties, and padded over to stand next to Mytheria. Both girls were naked from the waist down, boots and socks having been removed in preparation for going to bed before their little tussle had brought Kaidia's wrath down on them. Both of them had their backs to Rose, giving the bar maid a lovely view of both reddened bottoms. A view that caused Rose to smirk a little without being able to help herself. After all, both Myth and Kitiara had wonderful rears. Myth's was heart shaped and firm with a lovely curve. Whereas the neko's was toned and, while luscious, wasn't quite as voluptuous as the redhead's.
"Let's get some things straight, girls. Rose, I'm talking to you too. If you want to rough house, that's fine. But no brooms, no claws, no weapons of any kind. And I better not see anything beyond a few scrapes or bruises. And nothing of mine had better end up broken or I will break some asses." Kaidia stated, looking between all three young women. "Do I make myself clear, girls?"
There were nods and affirmative murmurs. The mercenary stood up and pointed to the bed. "Kit, Myth. In bed. We're all bathing in the morning because I know we'll have visitors sometime tomorrow and we're all dirty from the last couple of days." Kai said as she headed for the door. The neko and her redheaded roommate both crawled into the bed and stretched out on their stomachs. Kai couldn't help but smirk a bit before she waved a hand, magically dousing the torches in the room and closed the door after ushering Rose out with a few pats on the bottom.
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The next morning, after waking everyone up and instructing them to get fresh clothes, Kai lead the girls down into the basement of her home. Rose, Kit, and Myth all gasped. Kaidia just smirked a bit. The room was huge, bordering on being cavernous. It was lit by a warm light that had no discernible source. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all made of black stone shot through with white veins. In the center was massive pool cut into the floor, the bottom and walls of it made from the same stone as the rest of the room. It was filled with steaming water, ready for the four women.
The redhead and the neko both looked to Kaidia, excitement obvious in their eyes. Kai just chuckled softly. "Yes, it's a bathtub. Go. Bathe." she said with a shooing motion of her hands. Myth and Kitiara stripped off what clothing they had on and made a run for the pool. They both dived in with a splash.
Rose and Kaidia were slower about getting undressed. Kai walked silent toward the edge of the pool, her strong body bore several scars that marred the pale flesh that covered strong, toned muscles. The tattoo covering her right arm seemed even darker in comparison to the nearly white skin of the warrior's body. She slid into the warm water quietly by way of a set of steps that descended into the pool.
The water only came up around Kai's waist. But she was easily the tallest in the pool. The water came up a little higher on Kit, just over her belly button. When Rose stepped into the water, it came up to just under her ribs. And poor Myth, it came halfway up her ribs.
Myth and Kit splashed about in one end of the pool, their fight from last eve forgotten. Kai and Rose stayed at the other end, quietly bathing. Soap and wash cloths were found all around the edge of the pool. They hadn't been there when the women had entered but the tavern wench, the neko, and the redhead had stopped questioning such occurrences, figuring it was simply Kaidia's doing. And, in this instance, it was.
The women spent the better part of the morning in the pool. The water never cooled and their skin never even wrinkled, much to Myth's astonishment. When they finally stepped out and dried off, they were all clean and smelled of some sweet fragrance that had no particular name or earthly source. It had Kitiara sniffing everyone and herself like mad.
Once Kit had decided that she couldn't place the smell, she got frustrated and pulled her clothes on whilst grumbling about unnatural scents. The neko had gotten her favorite outfit for today. A pair of snug pants that ended at her knees, boots, gloves, and a sleeveless top that left her stomach and lower back bare. All in a nice, black leather. Myth was in a long pair of loose fitting pants, her usual lightweight boots, and a loose tunic, all brightly colored. Rose had decided on snug leather breeches of a dark brown shade, a long sleeved cloth tunic of blue, and her plain boots. Kaidia was the most dourly dressed. Knee high boots, leather pants that fit rather tightly, a sleeveless leather tunic that displayed her powerful arms. All in black. Silver buckles and rings on her fingers were the only brightness among her dark attire. Even the sword scabbard and belt she buckled on here black. The pommel of the sword being black and silver as well. Apparently, she really liked those two colors.
Kai ushered her little family up the stairs and into the main part of the house. "To the kitchen. It occurs to me that we've yet to eat something today." she said with a chuckle. Before they could get two more steps, however, the light of the torches sputtered, then flared, then settled back to their steady burn. The warrior's eyes narrowed. "Kitchen, girls. Now." she ordered quietly. Rose lead the way, Myth followed, and Kit brought up the rear. Kaidia stayed where she was. All was quiet, almost eerily so.
The front door was thrown open with a bang and a hooded, masked female figure in the garb of an assassin shot in through the door, a long dagger drawn. The attacker struck at the mercenary's head and missed as Kai ducked the first shot, then rolled to her feet, her own dagger drawn from the small of her back. The assassin turned from her missed strike and the two dashed toward one another.
The neko, redhead, and Rose watched from the doorway of the kitchen as inhumanly quick strikes, blocks, parries, and dodges were put on display in an intricate dance of flashing blades. The two daggers clashed together over and over but neither combatant could even catch the other's clothing, let alone flesh. The assassin made a lunge to stab at Kai's chest but the warrior dodged, grabbed the assassin's arm, and made her own stab, this one at her opponent's face. The hooded woman jerked her head to the side... but the dagger cut her mask free and it fluttered to the ground as she broke loose and spun away, her hood still hiding most of her features.
The two fighters lunged at one another once more, collided, and went down. Kai's strength proved greater than her attacker's and the hooded woman landed on her back with a heavy thud but neither one moved. Kai had her dagger at the assassin's throat, while the assassin had her dagger at Kaidia's ribs. "I see you haven't lost your edge while you've been wandering the lands, Kaidia Valengaard." the assassin said with a happy tone to her voice. The two relaxed slowly, that voice ringing a bell in Kai's memory, and the mercenary pulled back her attacker's hood to reveal a grinning face that bore a striking resemblance to her own.
"Nadia!" Kai exclaimed with a grin to match. Their daggers were stowed away and the two hugged tightly. Meanwhile, Kitiara had gathered that this Nadia and Kaidia were sisters. They had nearly the same scent. Rose had put two and two together at the hug. Mytheria was staring at the two siblings, still trying to figure it out with a confused look on her face.
Kai stood up and pulled Nadia up with her. "You could've gotten yourself killed." she scolded lightly. "But I didn't." Nadia replied with a grin, unphased. The warrior shook her head. "You've not changed a bit in the two winters that I've been gone. Aside from growing into a proper woman, I see." Kai teased with a gesture to Nadia's breasts. The other girl blushed brightly, looked away, and covered her chest with her arms. "Yes, well, thanks." she muttered softly.
Kai just grinned. Nadia cleared her throat and looked up to her sister. "Mother wants you and yours over for dinner tonight." she said with a gesture toward the three young women standing in the kitchen doorway. "We will be there." Kaidia responded with a nod. "Good! See you tonight." Nadia said, then gave her sister a kiss on the cheek. She walked over, picked her mask up from the floor, and then glanced to the three women watching from the kitchen doorway. "Welcome to Vortha!" she said in a cheery tone, then walked out.
All three pairs of eyes went to Kaidia, who shrugged. "Well, we've got dinner taken care of for tonight. Eat light, don't want to ruin dinner. Mom tends to make too much." the warrior said with a smile. Kit and Rose nodded and slipped into the kitchen and started rummaging through it. Kai walked past the redheaded thief, who seemed rooted to the spot, and went to the pantry. Everyone was going about their business without a word, enjoying the quiet.
Myth sat down at the table in the center of the kitchen, obviously thinking hard. Her eyebrows knitted together, expression growing serious with intense thought. The redhead then slammed her fist down on the table with a bang, causing her companions to jerk and turn around in wide eyed alarm. "I have it!" Myth exclaimed. "Have what?" Kit asked, confused. Mytheria pointed a finger at Kaidia. "They're sisters!" she shouted triumphantly.
Kai put her hand to her face and groaned. Kit dropped the fork she had in her hand with a clatter of metal on stone and stared slack jawed. Lastly, Rose thunked her head against the cupboard door she'd just closed. The thief looked around at them all in innocent confusion.
"......what?"
"What in the blue fuck are you two doing?!" Kaidia shouted, clearly at the end of her rope for the day. The redhead and the neko looked up, eyes wide. Mytheria was the first to talk, she took her hand away from her arm... some deep scratches were there, seeping blood. "She scratched me, Kaidia!" the thief exclaimed. "She hit me with a broom stick!" Kit countered, pointing to the discarded broom on the floor.
Kai just groaned and then looked to Myth. "No hitting anyone here with a broom, young lady!" she scolded. She then turned to the neko and growled. "And those claws do not come out at ANYONE in this family!" she practically shouted. Both Mytheria and Kitiara shrank back. Everyone paused for a moment. The use of the word "family" had not gone unnoticed.
"Rose, take Myth and take care of her wound, then bring her back here." Kai ordered. Rose didn't need to be told twice. She gently pulled Myth off the bed and escorted the redhead out of the room, leaving a less than happy Kaidia with Kit, who looked less than thrilled to be alone with the clearly irritated woman.
Kaidia's hands went to her belt buckle, which she promptly unbuckled. She slid her belt from the loops of her leather pants with soft hiss. "I have not had a moment's rest since the night before last. I am NOT in the mood for bratty behavior." the warrior said with a dangerous quiet to her voice.
Kit was on her feet and stepping backward. "But Kaidia! It was just a little tussle! No big deal! I'm sure Myth would agree!" the neko reasoned with little hope. "It doesn't matter, little kitten. You both did something wrong. Under my care, that means you take the punishment you earned. Now, get over the end of the bed." Kaidia replied. Kitiara looked between Kai and the bed, hesitating where she stood. Kaidia's face darkened with each passing moment. "NOW, Kitiara!" she demanded with a steel edge in her tone. The neko jumped, then skirted around Kaidia and to the bed. She slowly leaned herself over the end, presenting her leather clad bottom to the warrior's gaze... and belt.
Kaidia set the belt on the bed, slid her hands around Kit's waist, and started undoing the neko's pants. "So what caused your little spat with Myth?" the mercenary asked as her fingers hooked into Kit's pants and tugged them down to the cat girl's knees.
"She wouldn't share the bed." Kitiara grumbled as she felt her pants sliding down, revealing the plain white panties that hugged her toned bottom rather snugly. "And then?" Kaidia asked with a gently coaxing tone. "I tried to push her over so I could get on one side, she grabbed that broom, hit me in the head with it, and... well... I clawed her." the contrite neko finished.
"Neither of you were in the right. She shouldn't have refused to share the bed or hit you with the broom. However, you have to remember, you're bigger and much stronger than Myth. On top of that, those claws are dangerous. You shouldn't have used them." Kaidia admonished calmly, if sternly.
Kit could only nod. Now she just felt ashamed. She was probably as strong as Kai in terms of physical power. She could easily hurt Myth on accident in a moment of anger. She didn't want that. The neko gripped the covers and braced herself, resigned to her punishment.
Kai reached out and slid Kitara's panties down and let them fall to meet the pants at her knees. "Now. You're going to count each stroke, kitten." the mercenary stated, clearly expecting no argument from the bare bottomed neko. With that said, Kaidia took her position behind Kit and tapped the leather belt to those toned, firm cheeks. Quietly, she drew the belt back and then brought it forward hard, with all the power in her arm. The belt landed across the center of Kit's shapely ass with a resounding crack. The neko hissed and tensed up momentarily. "One!"
The room went quiet, all Kit could hear were Kaidia's calm breaths and the creak of the woman's leathers as her body twisted, her muscles wound for the next stroke of the belt. That stroke fell across the backs of Kit's thighs with a deafening crack that was almost twin to the first. The neko squealed through clenched teeth and then whined. "Two!"
The mercenary was putting her all into the lashes. Your average neko was tougher than most humans after all. Kai had to use considerable force to get her point across. From the looks of the bright red welts she had raised already, Kai was well on her way to making her point rather clear. The belt fell across Kitiara's sit spots next, the pop of leather on firm flesh echoing in the room. A yowl tore its way from Kit's throat with that one. "Three!!"
Kaidia decided to drive her point home a bit quicker, took a breath, raised the belt, and started in on the poor kitten's bottom about as quick as one could with a belt. It rose and fell with astonishing power, speed, and accuracy. Each crack of that belt sounding out through the house. Each one answered with a cried out number. "Four!! F-five!! Six!! Seven!! EIGHT!! N-NINE!! TEN!!"
Each stroke raised a fiery red welt across the cat girl's bottom or thighs. Kaidia brought that belt down several more times even though Kit had lost the ability to count after the tenth lash. She just yowled and wailed in place of the number she was supposed to exclaim. The final strike fell with an ear piercing snap and an ear splitting yowl from the neko. Kai had pushed it to twenty strokes, painting the neko's backside red in the process, as well as raising quite a few welts. Kit just lay there and sobbed into the blanket, letting it soak up the tears that she cried.
During that flurry of belt lashes, Rose and Mytheria had come back to the bedroom and witnessed the last few strokes. Kai knew they were there but paid them no mind as she slid her belt back on, buckled it, then settled down on the bed and gently stroked the crying neko's hair. "Shhh, There there, kitten. All done." she cooed softly. She even scratched behind one of Kit's ears.
The scratching slowly turned the neko's crying to sniffles and from sniffles to a weak purr. Kaidia smiled faintly. "That's my good kitty. Now you just stay put while I deal with the other trouble maker." she said as she turned her eyes toward Mytheria. The redhead paled a bit and stepped behind Rose. Kai scooted over on the bed, a little away from Kit. "Come here, Myth." she said firmly.
With a gentle push from Rose, Myth stepped over in front of Kaidia. The warrior woman reached out and undid the buckles at the side of the redhead's skirt and let it drop to the floor. The thief's panties followed suit before the thief was pulled unceremoniously over Kai's lap. The poor girl's bottom was still striped with red welts from the switching that had taken place that morning. One that, interestingly enough, Kitiara had administered.
Kai wasted no time in starting Myth's punishment, her hard hand coming down sharply and quickly on the redhead's already sore bottom. Swatting from the top of the girl's bottom down to the backs of her thighs and back up again. She alternated cheeks and thighs, each slap sounding out loudly. "Like I told your partner in crime, neither of you were in the right this evening, Mytheria. She shouldn't have clawed you but you shouldn't have smacked her with the broom or refused to share the bed. Which, by the way, is big enough for the both of you." Kaidia scolded as her hand reignited the fire in the thief's bottom.
Mytheria squirmed, kicked, and started crying almost immediately. "Sorryyy!" was all she could manage to cry out between yelps and gasps. The warrior's hand focused on the girl's sit spots, making Myth's cute bottom bounce as it slowly turned a darker shade of red. Kai's hand started raining swats down on the backs of the the redhead's thighs. This brought a fresh wave of howls and wails from the crying girl along with a lot of kicking and twisting over the mercenary's lap.
Rose just stood there and took it all in, her own bottom sore from that earlier switching as well as the elven toy that Kai had used on her not half an hour ago. Kit still hiding her face, draped over the end of the bed. Kaidia briskly slapping Myth's rear over and over again, turning said rear an intense shade of red that even overpowered Mytheria's fiery hair.
The poor redhead started bawling freely as Kai's hand found her sit spots over and over again, without relenting a bit. Each smack was hard and searing hot. For the thief, it felt like this spanking was going on forever.
But alas, Kai did stop. "Are we going to have this issue again, Mytheria?" she asked curtly. The sobbing girl shook her head vigorously. "Good." the warrior replied to the shaking of those red tresses. She landed one more solid slap to the center of Myth's bottom, eliciting a sharp yelp from the redhead.
Kai stood the chastised redhead up before pointing in front of her. "Kit, get over here next to Myth." the warrior ordered. Kit wasn't in any mood to disobey. She stood up, stepped out of her pants and panties, and padded over to stand next to Mytheria. Both girls were naked from the waist down, boots and socks having been removed in preparation for going to bed before their little tussle had brought Kaidia's wrath down on them. Both of them had their backs to Rose, giving the bar maid a lovely view of both reddened bottoms. A view that caused Rose to smirk a little without being able to help herself. After all, both Myth and Kitiara had wonderful rears. Myth's was heart shaped and firm with a lovely curve. Whereas the neko's was toned and, while luscious, wasn't quite as voluptuous as the redhead's.
"Let's get some things straight, girls. Rose, I'm talking to you too. If you want to rough house, that's fine. But no brooms, no claws, no weapons of any kind. And I better not see anything beyond a few scrapes or bruises. And nothing of mine had better end up broken or I will break some asses." Kaidia stated, looking between all three young women. "Do I make myself clear, girls?"
There were nods and affirmative murmurs. The mercenary stood up and pointed to the bed. "Kit, Myth. In bed. We're all bathing in the morning because I know we'll have visitors sometime tomorrow and we're all dirty from the last couple of days." Kai said as she headed for the door. The neko and her redheaded roommate both crawled into the bed and stretched out on their stomachs. Kai couldn't help but smirk a bit before she waved a hand, magically dousing the torches in the room and closed the door after ushering Rose out with a few pats on the bottom.
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The next morning, after waking everyone up and instructing them to get fresh clothes, Kai lead the girls down into the basement of her home. Rose, Kit, and Myth all gasped. Kaidia just smirked a bit. The room was huge, bordering on being cavernous. It was lit by a warm light that had no discernible source. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all made of black stone shot through with white veins. In the center was massive pool cut into the floor, the bottom and walls of it made from the same stone as the rest of the room. It was filled with steaming water, ready for the four women.
The redhead and the neko both looked to Kaidia, excitement obvious in their eyes. Kai just chuckled softly. "Yes, it's a bathtub. Go. Bathe." she said with a shooing motion of her hands. Myth and Kitiara stripped off what clothing they had on and made a run for the pool. They both dived in with a splash.
Rose and Kaidia were slower about getting undressed. Kai walked silent toward the edge of the pool, her strong body bore several scars that marred the pale flesh that covered strong, toned muscles. The tattoo covering her right arm seemed even darker in comparison to the nearly white skin of the warrior's body. She slid into the warm water quietly by way of a set of steps that descended into the pool.
The water only came up around Kai's waist. But she was easily the tallest in the pool. The water came up a little higher on Kit, just over her belly button. When Rose stepped into the water, it came up to just under her ribs. And poor Myth, it came halfway up her ribs.
Myth and Kit splashed about in one end of the pool, their fight from last eve forgotten. Kai and Rose stayed at the other end, quietly bathing. Soap and wash cloths were found all around the edge of the pool. They hadn't been there when the women had entered but the tavern wench, the neko, and the redhead had stopped questioning such occurrences, figuring it was simply Kaidia's doing. And, in this instance, it was.
The women spent the better part of the morning in the pool. The water never cooled and their skin never even wrinkled, much to Myth's astonishment. When they finally stepped out and dried off, they were all clean and smelled of some sweet fragrance that had no particular name or earthly source. It had Kitiara sniffing everyone and herself like mad.
Once Kit had decided that she couldn't place the smell, she got frustrated and pulled her clothes on whilst grumbling about unnatural scents. The neko had gotten her favorite outfit for today. A pair of snug pants that ended at her knees, boots, gloves, and a sleeveless top that left her stomach and lower back bare. All in a nice, black leather. Myth was in a long pair of loose fitting pants, her usual lightweight boots, and a loose tunic, all brightly colored. Rose had decided on snug leather breeches of a dark brown shade, a long sleeved cloth tunic of blue, and her plain boots. Kaidia was the most dourly dressed. Knee high boots, leather pants that fit rather tightly, a sleeveless leather tunic that displayed her powerful arms. All in black. Silver buckles and rings on her fingers were the only brightness among her dark attire. Even the sword scabbard and belt she buckled on here black. The pommel of the sword being black and silver as well. Apparently, she really liked those two colors.
Kai ushered her little family up the stairs and into the main part of the house. "To the kitchen. It occurs to me that we've yet to eat something today." she said with a chuckle. Before they could get two more steps, however, the light of the torches sputtered, then flared, then settled back to their steady burn. The warrior's eyes narrowed. "Kitchen, girls. Now." she ordered quietly. Rose lead the way, Myth followed, and Kit brought up the rear. Kaidia stayed where she was. All was quiet, almost eerily so.
The front door was thrown open with a bang and a hooded, masked female figure in the garb of an assassin shot in through the door, a long dagger drawn. The attacker struck at the mercenary's head and missed as Kai ducked the first shot, then rolled to her feet, her own dagger drawn from the small of her back. The assassin turned from her missed strike and the two dashed toward one another.
The neko, redhead, and Rose watched from the doorway of the kitchen as inhumanly quick strikes, blocks, parries, and dodges were put on display in an intricate dance of flashing blades. The two daggers clashed together over and over but neither combatant could even catch the other's clothing, let alone flesh. The assassin made a lunge to stab at Kai's chest but the warrior dodged, grabbed the assassin's arm, and made her own stab, this one at her opponent's face. The hooded woman jerked her head to the side... but the dagger cut her mask free and it fluttered to the ground as she broke loose and spun away, her hood still hiding most of her features.
The two fighters lunged at one another once more, collided, and went down. Kai's strength proved greater than her attacker's and the hooded woman landed on her back with a heavy thud but neither one moved. Kai had her dagger at the assassin's throat, while the assassin had her dagger at Kaidia's ribs. "I see you haven't lost your edge while you've been wandering the lands, Kaidia Valengaard." the assassin said with a happy tone to her voice. The two relaxed slowly, that voice ringing a bell in Kai's memory, and the mercenary pulled back her attacker's hood to reveal a grinning face that bore a striking resemblance to her own.
"Nadia!" Kai exclaimed with a grin to match. Their daggers were stowed away and the two hugged tightly. Meanwhile, Kitiara had gathered that this Nadia and Kaidia were sisters. They had nearly the same scent. Rose had put two and two together at the hug. Mytheria was staring at the two siblings, still trying to figure it out with a confused look on her face.
Kai stood up and pulled Nadia up with her. "You could've gotten yourself killed." she scolded lightly. "But I didn't." Nadia replied with a grin, unphased. The warrior shook her head. "You've not changed a bit in the two winters that I've been gone. Aside from growing into a proper woman, I see." Kai teased with a gesture to Nadia's breasts. The other girl blushed brightly, looked away, and covered her chest with her arms. "Yes, well, thanks." she muttered softly.
Kai just grinned. Nadia cleared her throat and looked up to her sister. "Mother wants you and yours over for dinner tonight." she said with a gesture toward the three young women standing in the kitchen doorway. "We will be there." Kaidia responded with a nod. "Good! See you tonight." Nadia said, then gave her sister a kiss on the cheek. She walked over, picked her mask up from the floor, and then glanced to the three women watching from the kitchen doorway. "Welcome to Vortha!" she said in a cheery tone, then walked out.
All three pairs of eyes went to Kaidia, who shrugged. "Well, we've got dinner taken care of for tonight. Eat light, don't want to ruin dinner. Mom tends to make too much." the warrior said with a smile. Kit and Rose nodded and slipped into the kitchen and started rummaging through it. Kai walked past the redheaded thief, who seemed rooted to the spot, and went to the pantry. Everyone was going about their business without a word, enjoying the quiet.
Myth sat down at the table in the center of the kitchen, obviously thinking hard. Her eyebrows knitted together, expression growing serious with intense thought. The redhead then slammed her fist down on the table with a bang, causing her companions to jerk and turn around in wide eyed alarm. "I have it!" Myth exclaimed. "Have what?" Kit asked, confused. Mytheria pointed a finger at Kaidia. "They're sisters!" she shouted triumphantly.
Kai put her hand to her face and groaned. Kit dropped the fork she had in her hand with a clatter of metal on stone and stared slack jawed. Lastly, Rose thunked her head against the cupboard door she'd just closed. The thief looked around at them all in innocent confusion.
"......what?"