Soul Stone

Diving In Headfirst

Forcier was hardly what one would call a large community. Boasting a population of a little under nine hundred people, it's only claim to fame was The Weary Traveller. The Weary Traveler was a modestly famous inn, and tavern, which held little name recognition outside of the county area. Even then, it wasn't famous so much for its food, drink, or service as it was for its tenants. For example, Room 13 had been rented out indefinitely to someone whom nobody in town ever remembered actually seeing. Payments were made under the table, and even room service was barred from entering the room. The oddest thing, however, was the odd flow of people whom nobody remembered entering the room, managing to leave at odd hours of the night. The most recent resident, however, had seemingly put an end to this practice, freely entering and exiting the room at will. He was a tall, thin, almost emancipated young man, with bright green eyes, and brown hair streaked with silver seemingly at random. He tended to gel his hair up, and walk around in extremely baggy clothing, with a guitar on his back. Although he seemed a little young to be living like a nomad, in a hotel room, he was always friendly if not a tad guarded, and his smile was infectious. He entered and exited the hotel as he pleased, often leaving all day on errands. What made him so memorable, however, was his tendency to talk to animals when he thought nobody was looking. Once, Old Lady Morgan, who owned a pet shop, had seen him looking up at a tree, speaking to an owl that happened to be perched there as if it could understand him. The nature of the one-sided conversation seemed sombre, but she'd dismissed it offhand as just another harmless quirk in a decidedly quirky, but harmless, young man. Reverend Peterson had noticed him whispering to a mouse he'd found just outside of the Church one morning, but he figured the boy had just been playing with it. Many people around town had similar stories, and they hadn't gone unnoticed to the boy himself. He simply didn't seem to care what anyone thought. All anyone really seemed to know about him was his name: Kayne.

Kayne Rydell sat on the bed in Room 13, stretching out his legs on the bed, which hadn't had its sheets properly washed in a couple of days. He glanced over at Baron, his roommate. The larger boy had passed out, which wasn't unusual. The injuries Baron had sustained going after that girl he'd been assigned could've been compared to miraculously surviving a shotgun blast to the chest from two inches away with one's body parts fully intact. Maybe the physical injuries had mostly recovered quickly, but the most badly affected part of Baron had been his psyche. Kayne wasn't quite sure what had happened, but from what he could piece together, Baron had his target cornered before something that felt like a wrecking ball had blasted him in the head and left him unconscious for two full days. According to Baron, he had never felt anything quite that explosive before. Even talking about it seemed to put Baron in a foul mood, however, so Kayne preferred to avoid the subject with his reluctant new roommate. Sure, Kayne had to admit he'd been beaten up pretty badly, too, but he had no hard feelings on the matter. Kael Chayse had proven himself to be more than worthy as an opponent, in a fair fight. Baron, however, had been blindsided by the soul stone equivalent of an out-of-control truck. There was no honor in that.

Baron finally rolled over, and Kayne noted that his eyes were still more than slightly glazed over. "Has he been in contact with you yet, today?" he asked, his voice stuck in a seemingly permanent monotone.

Kayne shook his head. "Not yet. How's that head feeling, buddy?" he asked, mostly out of concern.

"It's coming along" Baron replied, with a shrug "Still can't walk, though"

Both boys froze when they heard a knock on the door. Nobody ever knocked. Baron rolled off his bed, grunting as he hit the floor heavily. Nobody knew Baron was in the room. Kayne got up, slowly, walking over to the door, before gazing out to see who it was. It just appeared to be room service.

Kayne opened the door, smiling faux-cheerfully at the person standing awkwardly in the doorway. "Your meal is here" the young man in the red vest announced, awkwardly.