Between the Veil and Crown

Kylin 49

Rei wasted no time in the morning. At the crack of dawn, he had Kylin up and was preparing to go see the commander.

There were some soldiers standing guard at the encampment, all of whom looked cold and tired. When they saw the Rangers approaching, one stood up straight, a stern look on his face.

"State your business," he said in a gruff voice, partly because of the cold dry air.

"I'm here to see Commander Whily," Rei said. "The purpose of which is for him to know."

"Come back later," the soldier told him. "Commander Whily is still sleeping."

"Of course he is," Rei growled. He glanced back at Kylin.

Kylin understood what the instruction in that glance was.

Rei turned back to the soldier. "And what time can we expect him to be up?"

Kylin casually stepped back, ambling away as though he were bored with the conversation.

"For you, never," the soldier answered.

Kylin waited until the other soldiers had deemed his little excursion was not worth watching.

"He cannot avoid me," Rei said. "He does owe us for our help in his village."

"That does no mean he owes you anything," the soldier snapped.

Kylin slipped between a couple of bunkhouses.

"He at least owes me a conversation," Rei argued.

Kylin paused by every window, trying to focus on anything that could be heard inside. He could still hear the argument between the soldier and Ranger captain.

"No he doesn't," the soldier retorted. "Especially one so early."

"He'll see me now, whether he likes it or not," Rei insisted. "There are more important things than his beauty sleep."

Kylin would've loved to see the look on the soldier's face. The silence indicated it was a good one.

"You are not one of those more important things," the soldier said, as though he had delivered a crippling blow to Rei's ego.

"Perhaps I should keep that in mind the next time something else decides to take over a village," Rei said smoothly.

The soldier realized his mistake. "That's not- you know that's not what I meant-"

Kylin's attention was diverted by the sound of heavy snoring in one building. It sounded like it was coming from just one person, as opposed to the other bunkhouses that housed many sleeping soldiers. He glanced around, making sure he hadn't overlooked anyone. Seeing no one, he crept to a nearby window. He gripped the edge of the sill and quickly pulled himself up to catch a glimpse of the inside. The first time was too quick. The second time revealed a person on the bed of the one room bunkhouse. The third time confirmed that it was Whily.

He let go of the sill and headed to the front of the building. He gauged how far the soldier and Rei were, then lifted a fist and pounded on the door loud enough for Rei to hear it. He was rewarded with cursing on the other side of the door. Whily loudly demanded to know who was battering down his door at such an ungodly hour, but Kylin did not answer him. He instead watched as a couple of soldiers, including the one Rei was arguing with, rushed to the scene. Rei was right behind them, jogging at an easy pace.