Kent was sitting on a nearby bench in the park. He was sitting with
his boot lying on top of his knee, and he had what looked like a
needle and string in his hands. With concentration, he repaired a hole
that made its way through his pantleg. His sword and shield were on
the ground beside him, instead of strapped to his person like usual.

Kimen yawned from her sleeping place in the jungle gym and pulled the
blanket more tightly around herself. Soon she would have to start
seeking out warmer places to sleep as staying out in the cold at night
like this would be no place for a child with a single blanket to her
name. She rolled over and sat up; blinking groggily out into the rest
of the park realizing that she wasn't alone. "Mrrm? Kent?" or at least
it looked like Kent from where she sat. Kimen folded up her blanket
and tucked it under her arm, climbed through the hole she had looked
out of and leapt to the ground.

Kent heard the child, but the sudden unexpected voice caused him to
look focus and prick himself with the needle. Silently, being used to
jabbing pains, he pulled it out and wiped the blood on his shirt
before going back to patching the hole. "Hello Kimen. Didn'y notice
you here."

Kimen approached the man, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he did,
"Good morning Mr. Kent." He said watching Kent mend a hole in his
clothed, then suddenly looked a little more awake as he remembered
something, "Oh! Thats right! How did your date go?"

The child amused Kent with his interest. "I thought that grown-up
parties were boring." Kent joked at you. He cut the string with his
teeth and began tying up a quick knot. "It went very well, but some
events caused Consiland to become very tired by the end of it. There
were many...unexpected moments"

"They are," Kimen said simply as she put the blanket now on the bench
and stretched her arms into the air. "But I am glad to hear that
things went well. It is good to see you are getting along better with
people and making friends." The child grinned at him then took a seat
upon her blanket, swinging her feet a little.

Kent Kent frowned a little. "People," He said. "Friends. Yes I suppose
I made a few. There was a headless man there, carrying around a
pumpkin. I usually wouldn't consider them people, but he acted just
like everyone else." He started patching a different hole. "This place
is very strange."

"Was that his costume? Neat!" Kimen seemed certain that people were
supposed to dress up for the event. So the headless man probably
wasn't so headless as Kent thought he was. "I heard if you're a kid
and dress up and go door to door you get candy. I tried it as a
pirate!" Kimen covered up one eye and made a hook with her other hand,
"Aarrg!"

Kent laughed happily. Kimen was always so energetic. "Haha, I heard
kids did that. I never got the oppurtunity as a child though." He
finally finished up his sewing and pinned the needle harmlessly into
his shirt. Kent fiddled with the patchwork a bit to make sure it was
tight. "Did you get a lot of candy then?" Kent asked amusedly.
"Oh yes!" Kimen answered excitedly, "And I ate a bunch of it that
night too. It kind of made me sick to my stomach but that was part of
the fun I guess." he reached into his pocket and withdrew a small
handful of pieces, "I still got lots left though! Would you like
some?"

Kent shook his head. "No, I'm fine. You enjoy your candy. Too much
sugar gives me a headache." The knight put his leg down and enjoyed
the morning. It was a bit chilly, but overall pleasent. Kent sighed.
"You were telling me you came from a different place as well. Do you
have people from there ever...talk to you?" He asked timidly.

Kimen looked confused, "Like... Do people from there ever talk to me
here? If they are talking to me I haven't head them at all. It would
be nice though. I've been a bit worried." So much had been happening
before she came here. New places, new people, new rules, new things to
study..."Oh!" Kimen shoved the candy back into her pocket. She had
neglected a number of her studies after coming here. She should
probably get back to them or else Doran might get mad.


Kent sighed. "Thank you." He said, not sure what his mood should be.
He perked up a little though, thinking of a new thing to talk about.
"What were you doing with a blanket here? Were you here all night?"

"Yeah. This is where I slept last night. I tend to sleep here a lot.
But I guess that is going to have to change with winter coming." Kimen
looked at the demon-slayer, tilting his head to the side. Resuming his
studies was still a concern on his mind. "Hey Mr. Kent, you are really
good at fighting, aren't you?"

Kent was rather surprised to hear the question. "I...I can be." He
stuttered. The knight immediately thought back to one of his previous
battles. His armor was much cleaner back then, and his obscured by a
helmet. Surrounding him were the stone walls of an underground cavern.
A beast roared at the exile, preparing for an attack.

With every assault, Kent positioned his shield or his body so to stay
out of harms way. With a tiring battle, neither gained the upper hand,
until the demon made a tragic mistake. The beast swung it's tail at
Kent, who thrust his sword through it and pinned the tail to the
ground below. With only his shield, the knight ran fast and jumped to
the demon's head. Through the heat of the beast's presence, Kent
slammed his sheild against it's neck, collapsing it's windpipe, and
the demon fell.

Kent shook his head violently and stared back at Kimen. He ran his
hands accross one of his burn scars. "Yes," He said simply.
Kimen frowned as she saw his reaction to her question and felt a
little hesitant to continue, "Well uh, back in my world I was just
starting to take lessons but... well, I haven't been able to continue
any of them since coming here." Kimen rubbed the back of her neck. Not
sure how to continue.

"Fighting is a good skill. Lessons are important for a little while."
Kent didn't enjoy the thought of you getting into battles very much.
The child still had a lot of years to live. "Few things that an
lessons can teach you will prepare you for some things. you'll face.
Fear is deadly. But you know the most deadly thing in battle?" Kent
was blunt in his obvious answer. "Death."


Kimen frowned, even if it was a joke Kents words made him nervous.
Death was kind of what the child was supposed to learn to avoid with
these lessons. Immune to magic or not, there were still plenty of ways
for him to die, and since his uncle decided he was his heir, the
chances of people coming to kill Kimen seemed to increase quite a bit.
"So um... then would you perhaps..." Kimen looked down not sure how to
best word this, "...Help me learn to avoid that kind of thing?"

Kent was a little disapointed at Kimen's interest. "To avoid that sort
of thing? It's easy." Kent held out his hand, and counted steps on his
fingers. "One, move away from people; Two, find a hole; Three, Go in
the hole; And four, never come back out." Kent looked into Kimen's
eyes. The child seemed determind in one way or another. He sighed,
"You're being serious, aren't you?"


The child shook her head but laughed a little at Kents advice on death
avoidance. "Running and hiding isn't always an option, is it?" Kimen
said grimly, "And magic isn't always an option either. I think I told
you what my home was like." And really, Kent didn't know the half of
it, and it was going to stay that way, "These studies were important
for me to learn. And I kind of been neglecting them since I came here.
I want to be able to fight for when I go back. I am very serious."

Kent was silent for a few moments. He tried to think of a way to
prepare the kid in any way for something that might happen on the
battlefield. He sighed, and stared at the park, and waited. As soon as
Kimen wasn't looking, Kent very suddenly picked up his shield, and
tossed it into Kimen's lap. Then Kent picked up his sword and lunged
it harmlessly into the sheild, but still making a rather loud
'thunk.'"Were you scared?" Kent asked, pulling the shield away.

Kimen yelped as soon as the sword fell into his lap and held it up,
already expecting what was coming. There was only so many reasons why
someone would suddenly throw a shield at you. It was much too large
and awkward in the childs hands, and also heavy too. The heavy thwack
of the sword connecting with the shield nearly caused kimen to drop
it. And when the man took the shield back and asked if Kimen had been
scared he had to take a moment to think about it. "Surprised, a little
panicked too. I don't think I had enough time to feel scared when it happened
though." Though the child looked nervously at the sword now. Kimen's
first lesson he was just being taught how to hold a weapon... and
there wasn't even a real sharp weapon involved.

Kent glared, almost disapointed at the awnser. "Not enough time..." He
muttered to himself. He put the shield and sword back on the ground
and sat down again. "Alright. What's so important about you learning
to fight at your age? Were you going to be a soldier or something?
Were you a squire?" He pointed at the grass, "It seems to me you have
plenty to keep yourself alive without a sword. I can't do that."

With Kent's harsh glare, the child's shoulders sagged a bit. Kimen
really didn't want to tell Kent what all was going on back home, and
she doubted the knight would be very approving of the idea. One of
Kimen's brothers certainly wasn't, and Kent kind of reminded the child
of him. "I told you already what I was going to be." Kimen said,
standing up from the bench. Already She was trying to think of a good
lie, or perhaps a half truth that would be convincing. "You think I
want to have to rely entirely on magic if I am in trouble? Magic can be silenced you know.
Its not easy, but some things can make it happen. What am I supposed
to do then if that fails? What if the person I am traveling with dies
and I am left alone out there in a country like that?" And more
importantly though left unsaid what does she do if her brothers decide
to kill her? Or any of the others for that matter. She was in no
position to step down, nor did she think it was the right thing to do.

Kent's eyes widened. Magic can be silenced? This was certainly news to
him. Still, he'd focus on that later. you was still trying to talk to
him. "I wouldn't know, I never had powers to help me." Kent sighed.
"You're very different than how I was as a child. You have so much
life. You could live here your entire life and..." Kent scratched his
head, "farm or something. You seem to like it here. Why would you go
back to a place where people always want you to put yourself in
danger?"

Kimen looked down at the ground, kicking a small pebble with his foot.
"Responsibility." He mumbled under his breath. Maybe he would have to
try to learn elsewhere since it didn't seem as though he could
convince Kent he needed to learn. "It is very nice here, Mr. Kent." He
agreed, but it felt like a vacation. It was nice to get away from
boring politics and the constant lessons, but now he was starting to
feel guilty. "And I have had a lot of fun, but it isn't my home any
more than it is yours. I have to go back eventually and when I do I want
to be prepared for what might be waiting for me. Thats all." Kimen
sighed himself and picked up his blanket, certain there would be no
convincing Kent at this point.

Kent stood up. "It's different for me. I want to go back and fight
because it's all I know. Because I have unfinished buissness. Because
I WANT to be put in danger. I've forgotten what peace like this is
like." Kent stood up and strapped on his sword. He didn't look at the
disapointed child as he did so. "I found reasons I want to stay
now..." He stopped. Alright." He said. He really didn't want to say
it, but he did. "Alright.... I'll teach you."

Kimen nearly dropped her blanket in shock and she turned to the Kent
almost not believing what she had heard him say, "You will?" she had
no idea what changed his mind but she was happy for it. At least she
would be able to tell Doran she wasn't slacking off all this time. She
ran over to kent and wrapped his arms around his neck, "Thank you!
thank you!"

"I had some smithing I needed to get done anyway. I suppose I
could make a sword while I'm at it." Kent scratched his head a bit,
wondering what do do. He never had a squire, he was exiled before he
had the honor. "But before I do get to that," Kent was almost
embarassed to ask, "What exactly do you need help fighting? Demons and
people aren't exactly similar."

"They're not?" Kimen looked genuinely confused, for a moment. "The
ones I've met seemed pretty human-like. I mean they had some features
that gave them away but..." Kimen bit his lip suddenly realizing that
it probably wasn't a very good idea for him to mention that he had met
a few demons before. They weren't exactly who Kimen expected to be
fighting though.

"Well some corruptors pose as-" He stopped himself. His eyes grew wide
as his brain finally registered what you was saying. He
sounded...friendly towards them. Kent grew a quick scowl and grabbed
you by the shoulders, holding the significantly smaller person in
place. "MET!?!"

Kimen cringed as Kent took hold of her, expecting this reaction. She
really should have been more careful with her words, "I told you what
it is like where I am from. It shouldn't be too surprising to hear
that there are demons there too." It seemed like a safe answer. No
need to mention all the details like the fact that she was under their
protection and expected to marry one of them when she grew up... Much
to her displeasure. Kimen didn't imagine that would go over very well
with Kent at all

Kent let Kimen go. "Speak better, next time. It sounded like you knew
one personally." He said, still upset with the possibilities.
"Alright. I'll get you a sword and teach you self defence." Kent
thought ahead about what else might be useful. It might be fun to have
an apprentice, if only for a short time. "You might have the makings
of a knight in you, Kimen. I don't like the idea of you associating
with creatures of that sort. Be sure that you don't." Kent glanced at
his sword. "They have ways of making you regret not killing them."

Kimen swallowed, still not quite relaxing as the man let him go.
"Alright, Mr. Kent" Kimen said slowly, glad to have dodged a bullet.
He would definately have to choose his words more carefully from here
on out. " Um...When do we start?"

Kent scratched his head as he went and strapped his shield back onto
his back. He had no idea, and Kimen seemed rather eager to start as
soon as possible. "Whenever I can get you a sword. I'll probably make
you a steel one, it'll last longer." He turned back to Kimen and
raised an eyebrow. "Unless theres a specific metal that you need. Some
spirits are a bit weaker against iron."

Kimen shrugged not sure which one would suit her purposes better.
Really, the child was certain she had enemies with man-kind spirit and
demon alike. "Steel should be fine." She answered.

"Very well," Kent said. He reached into the box strapped to his belt
and plopped a cigar in his mouth. He then took out a match, struck it
against his rough armor, and lit the tobacco. "In the meantime, I need
to get something or other for the innkeeper. Seems everyone has some
job or another to do, and I speant all my money on that party."

Kimen tilted his head to the side, "Was the party really that
expensive?" He couldn't imagine an adult spending all their money
just to party. Some adults went to parties all the time and still
managed to have plenty left over... Unless Kent spent all his money on
alchohol again.

Kent chuckled at the irony. Parties really aren't expensive at all.
Kent probably sounded like a bum. "No," He said, "But I had no money
to begin with. The tradesmen stopped accepting my foreign silver, and
so I took up jobs to pay rent and buy a nice suit." He sighed happily,
and stared at the blue sky. He didn't feel the cold air, just the
warmth of the sunshine. "Its moments, however, were priceless."

Kimen grinned at him, the mood of the conversation becoming a little
brighter now. "Oh? What happened? Did you get a kiiiissss~?" She asked
in a sort of sing-songy sort of tone followed by a small giggle. "I
should probably get to work myself before it gets any later."

"NO!" Kent said defensively, his cigar falling straight out of his
mouth. Kent laughed at how childish the statement was. "Well, not that
I don't want to but..." He stared at you. "You'll understand when
you're older." Kent had to keep reminding himself he was the adult in
this situation. He smothered the ashes on the ground "Yes well
uhh...Good day you. We both seem to have jobs to do."
Kimen laughed at Kent's reaction, taking off towards the park's gate,
he paused though when he reached it, turning back with a smile, "Have
a nice day Mr. Kent! Remember, no day dreaming on the job!"

Kent sighed. "Kids these days..." and with that, we was off.