(I know I said I was going to wait for Ayumi to post before I did, but this is a perfect time to execute the event that sets the story into motion.)
Kai and Karana were both practicing with their weapons. Kai was practicing stances and attacks with his sword while Karana hit bull's-eye after bull's-eye into the target on the charred wall. They were having fun until Kai got a feeling of pure fear. It came so suddenly he didn't know what it was about before it disappeared. It had only lasted half a second, but Kai trusted his instincts. He stopped what he was doing and looked around the area.
That's when he saw black clouds over the coast south from Kuri City. They were thicker and more black than any storm clouds he had ever seen. He couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen very soon.
As Karana reached for another arrow from her quiver she saw Kai's worried expression. "What is it, Kai?"
"Look's like a storms coming in, a bad one at that."
Karana looked and saw the clouds as well. "Looks that way. But why do you look so worried?"
"I guess I just need a breather," he told her.
"Good idea. I actually packed some food for lunch," she said as she went for her bag. "We can eat during our break."
"Sounds good."
They sat down on the trunk of an old fallen tree to rest. Karana reached into her back and pulled out a drumstick. Kai immediately knew it was for him and snatched it right out of her hands. He had already bitten a large portion of the meat before Karana turned to him and lightly smacked him on the back of the head. "At least wait for me to hand it to you!"
"What can I say? I'm hungry."
Karana sighed and reached into the back for her own food. They ate in silence for a few minutes. When they were finished Karana let out a long, ragged sigh. "What's wrong?" Kai asked.
She shook her head. "It's nothing."
Being a half-demon Kai had an enhanced sense of sight, smell and hearing. His sense of smell was so good in fact that he could literally smell a lie. "You know you can't lie to me, Karana. What's up?"
"I'm sick of this place," she said.
Kai was taken off guard for a moment. He knew Karana wasn't very fond of Kuri City, but she never actually came right out and said she was sick of it. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"I want to leave this place," she told him. "Elves can be treated just as badly as half-breeds in this city from time to time. The only person these people respect are other humans. On top of that, people criticize me for befriending a half-breed." She looked at him then. "You're a great friend, Kai. Why should that be a bad thing?"
"It's not," he said. "These people are the ones who are wrong."
"I just don't want to stay in a place with so much hatred toward other races," she said.
"Then why don't you leave? You're over 16, you can make your own decisions now."
"Trust me, if I had the money I'd be out of here tomorrow."
Kai couldn't stand to see his best friend like this. He tried to think of some way to cheer her up, then he got an idea. "Hey, Karana?"
"Yeah?"
"My mother and I have been thinking the same thing. We've been saving up for a while so we could move away from this city. We've actually saved up quite a bit of money and we're going tomorrow."
Karana's eyes widened a bit. "...You're leaving?" She couldn't keep the shock out of her voice.
"I was going to tell you later," Kai said. "I don't want to never see you again, Karana. Your my best friend, the only real friend I've ever had. But since you don't like this place anymore than we do it got me thinking. We saved up enough money for three people, so if I talked to my mother I bet she'd let you come with us."
He gave her the full weight of his gaze. "So how 'bout it, Karana. Do you want to leave this place with my mother and I?"
