Cinder walked through the door of the house to find Jika laid up on the couch, a bag of ice on his head. The druid looked like he was asleep, so Cinder turned and quietly pushed the door shut. The click of metal slipping into its designated place on the frame echoed far too loudly and he winced. Looking over his shoulder, he checked to see if Jika had woken from it though he thought it rather ridiculous for the man to be jolted from sleep by such a soft sound. 

Yet, as he turned to check, Jika had shifted on the couch and held the ice away from one side of his head so he could look at Cinder with one eye open. It startled Cinder. With a sigh, he brushed his fingers through his hair, sweeping back the long fringe and gathering it all up between his fingers. "Sorry, Jika."

"It's fine. Where did you go? Kydyn had a bitch fit."

"To the Capitol. I... Had to ask Odain something," Cinder gingerly tip toed around the topic as he crossed the room and took the love seat that sat on the opposite side of the couch.

Jika replaced the ice pack over his forehead and settled against the pillows. He moved again, trying to find a comfortable spot no doubt. One leg bent up against the arm of the sofa, his boot leaving a deep impression of the tread in the soft fabric. "What did you ask him?"

Cinder stared, swallowing thickly as he contemplated how he wanted to answer that question, or if he wanted to answer at all. Instead, he shifted the conversation. "What happened? How's Lyn?"

"Fine now. Broken ribs, a couple fractured. Nothing I can't heal, but it takes its toll," he made a gesture at the ice pack on his head, "Headaches are one side effect. Depending on the extent of the wounds, it can get worse. But that's not the point. A little sleep and some pain meds will do the trick for this. What did you ask Odain?"

Damn. Cinder grimaced. Jika had answered his question, but it seemed the druid wasn't letting go of the original topic any time soon. "I asked him about black magic."

"Yeah? What'd he say?"

"He didn't really say anything. Showed me, actually."

"Showed you?" Jika took the ice away from his head again and leveled Cinder with a calculating stare. "What do you mean he showed you?"

"Said it was a memory. I...." Cinder looked away. His gaze roamed the room as he searched for Kydyn before he continued. "I saw Kydyn kill a woman. She was... crazy. There was something terribly wrong with her. Like she'd turned into an animal. She killed so many people too. It was awful. But he stopped her. Ran her through with a spear thing he made from his magic."

"Sharing memories, hu? That's interesting. Didn't know Odain was capable of doing that," Jika sighed as he rested again, the bag of ice resuming its place over his eyes.

"Jika. Did Kydyn really kill her?"

"Probably."

"What do you mean 'probably'?"

"I've only known him for a few years, Cinder. We haven't killed anyone other than rebels who threaten to kill us first, and they've come close a few times let me tell you. But there hasn't been anyone who fell into black magic for a long time, so no. I don't really know if it's true or not. You'd have to ask him. But if he did, I don't think you wanna push him to talk about it."

"What, is he going to get pissed off if I ask him?"

"Yes, he will," Jika said sternly and leveled Cinder with a hard stare. "No matter what you might think of him, or how he acts, killing people isn't something he particularly enjoys. None of us do. In fact, we'd be happier if we didn't have to. But shit happens and sometimes shit happens to the best of us. That just makes it worse."

"I thought you said you didn't know about it."

"I don't. I'm speaking from my own experience."

Cinder froze as Jika looked away and stared daggers at the ceiling overhead. "Did you.... Kill someone?"

Jika's jaw tightened, anger flashed across his face, curling his lips back as he lay there. For a long while he didn't look over at Cinder. He seemed content to just glower at the dark ceiling. Cinder was ready to give up on the subject and just as he was starting to stand up from the loveseat, Jika spoke. "Yes. I did. Well. Kydyn did, but it would have been the same as me dealing it all the same."

"I-I'm sorry, Jika."

"It was a long time ago. Just keep in mind that we've all done things we really don't want to talk about or have someone prodding at. If he wanted us or anyone to know about it, he'd have said so."

Cinder just nodded. His throat was tight as he got up off the loveseat and fiddled with the edge of his jacket. "Think I'll hit the sack," he muttered.

"Good idea. You're gonna need it. Kydyn's planning on training you tomorrow on how to use your magic. If we're lucky, we'll get you headed back to white magic in no time."

"If I don't? What happens?"

Jika shrugged. "So long as you don't fall into black magic, then you're fine. It'd be unusual for a magus to be grey though, but weirder shit has happened before. I wouldn't be surprised. Go to bed, Cinder. He's an early riser."

Cinder nodded though Jika didn't see it as he had the ice packet over his eyes again. He left the living room to the druid and made his way down the hall to the room he'd been given to stay in. With the door closed, he leaned against it and stared into the pitch black. The silence was thick aside from the sound of his pounding heart. His thoughts were a mess. There was no way he could get them all in order that night. Shoving off the door, Cinder crossed the room, stripping as he went. Throwing himself onto the bed with an audible sigh, he sprawled out across the cool covers. 

He'd figure everything out in the morning. 

Jika was right, Kydyn was an unusually early riser. The door to Cinder's room rocked on the hinges as the warlock pounded on it. He thought for certain Kydyn was going to break it down. Rolling onto his stomach, Cinder groaned and buried his face into the pillows. When the pounding didn't cease, he scooted over to the edge of the bed and looked at the glowing blue lights that sketched out what time it was. 3 am in the morning... I'm going to kill him.

"Cinder! Get your ass up!"

Another pitiful moan filled the sheets before Cinder threw them back and stormed to the door. He supposed he would be grateful the warlock hadn't knocked the whole door down, or just come in seeing as it wasn't locked. Grabbing the handle, he yanked it open and glared at the warlock who stood in the hallway with a triumphant grin on his lips. 

"What the fuck, man? It's 3 am."

"It's time to get up is what it is," Kydyn snarled in return and the clipped anger sent a shiver of ice down Cinder's back. The warlock's nasty response was replaced with a wicked grin as his eyes darted down from Cinder's. He eyed Cinder who stood in the doorway with nothing on but his boxers. "You trying to seduce me or something?"

"What!" Cinder shouted the word. "Hell no! Get away from me!"

Kydyn snickering was muffled as the door slammed, and that time Cinder threw the lock. Not that a lock was going to keep a warlock out of the room, but at least Kydyn had the decency not to barge in. Grumbling, Cinder gathered up his clothes and dressed. Jika had said that Kydyn was going to train him in the use of his magic. He was a little worried about how that was going to go. Although the notion of learning how to use his power was also a bit exciting. 

Once he was dressed, he left the room and walked out into the living room where Kydyn was waiting. The lights in the house were on and someone was in the kitchen. The smell of coffee was wafting through the air and that was almost enough to perk Cinder up a little more. Rubbing at his hair, Cinder yawned as he walked over to the couch and sat down. Stretching his body he watched Kydyn who had his phone up to his ear. He wasn't saying anything, though. Cinder arched an eyebrow, wondering who he was talking to. 

Kydyn muttered something after a while and took the phone away. It disappeared in his pocket as he turned around. "Finally up. Come on, let's go. The sooner we do this the better." 

"Where are we going?" Cinder asked.

"To a nice spot where you're not going to destroy a bunch a shit or get people hurt, or killed. Any more questions?"

Cinder swallowed and shook his head. He followed after Kydyn to the front door. A pretty blue car was out front, the same that they'd used to go to the Capitol the other day. Kydyn slipped into the driver's seat and Cinder got in on the other side. As the vehicle roared to life, Kydyn flashed him a grin before tearing out of the driveway. Cinder's chest was tight as they shot down the street. Jika had driven last time and Cinder was wishing that it was Jika who was driving right then too. 

The drive was quiet for the most part. Once they hit the open road and there were less things for Kydyn to crash into, Cinder relaxed in the seat. Propping his arm up on the side of the door, he rested his head in his palm and watched the scenery flash by. At the back of his mind he wondered where they were going, but for the most part he didn't really think about it. He was caught up in what Odain had showed him the night before. 

The urge to ask the warlock was growing, but Jika's voice would constantly kill it. The fact that if he asked and pissed off Kydyn was not something he wanted to do. At least, it wasn't the result of having an angry, powerful, magic user that he wanted. Much less so when they were both stuck in a tiny little vehicle with not a whole lot of room to move and get out of the way if Kydyn decided Cinder no longer needed his head. 

"You're being extremely quiet and it's starting to irritate me," Kydyn finally said, and he really did sound angry. Cinder flinched in the seat and chanced a quick look over to him. "Where the hell did you go last night? And why did Jika have to patch up Lyn?"

"Jika didn't tell you?"

"No, he didn't," Kydyn snapped back and his hands tightened on the wheel. 

Cinder stared for a while longer before he spoke. The longer the silence stretched the worse it would get. "I... Lyn said a few things that pissed me off and I shoved him. But. Something happened when I hit him. I didn't mean to hurt him. I'm sorry."

"Lost your temper hu? What'd he say?"

"Something about being your bitch girlfriend."

Kydyn laughed, a deeper sound that didn't hold any mirth at all. "So, you lose your shit over being called a bitch and a girlfriend?"

"It wasn't just that," Cinder retorted. 

"Oh? Than what else was it?" Kydyn looked over at him just long enough for Cinder to see the sparking flashes of purple rippling through his pale blue eyes. 

"He... Said I was contradictory because I'm grey. I don't know. I guess I lost my temper because I don't understand what the hell is going on. I was afraid."

"Well, if you'd listen to what we said, then you wouldn't have this fucking problem, now would you."

"Kydyn! It's not that easy! Okay? Shit. I went to the Capitol yesterday. I wanted to talk to Odain. He said he'd answer my questions if I had any so I... Went there."

The car lurched forward and Cinder sucked in a sharp breath. His fingers dug into the leather of the seat and he reached for the handle on the door, clinging to it tightly as Kydyn powered the vehicle to go faster. The warlock was seriously pissed off at something Cinder had said. He couldn't think as to what that was though seeing as the steady speed they'd been going at had increased twice that. 

"K-Kydyn!"

"You seriously went and asked that old codger for advice? Why not talk to us! The people who actually have a fucking clue as to what's going on out here! Those bastards just hole themselves up in their fancy ass building and think they know every single fucking thing on the planet! So what, he said he'd answer all your questions. He's kissing your ass is what he's doing! He wants you to play into his hands so that he can manipulate you later!"

"Kydyn! Slow down!" Cinder shouted but the warlock wasn't listening. 

"I should fucking throw you out of the car right now. We were the ones to risk our asses keeping you safe. We were the ones who went and told the fucking Capitol that you were a magus. We were the ones who rescued you from those asshole rebels when they were tormenting you! The Capitol didn't listen to me when I told them we needed to pick you up the moment we knew you were the magus."

"H-hey, okay. I'm sorry! All right? I'm sorry! J-just slow down! Fuck!"

The car lurched forward as Kydyn slammed the brakes. Cinder braced himself against the dashboard, heart in his throat. When the car finally stopped, Cinder fell back in the seat, panting heavily and wild with terror. He didn't have much time to recover as Kydyn undid his seat belt and reached over to Cinder. The warlock's warm fingers were wrapped up under his chin and jaw in an iron grip. 

Half climbing over the center console, Kydyn slammed Cinder against his seat and forced his head up so that he was looking directly at Kydyn. Bracing himself against the back of Cinder's chair, the warlock snarled in his face as he got extremely close. "You have no fucking clue what you are, or what you have pulsing through your body. The council will do anything to make you their puppet."

"But. You work for them," Cinder replied in a tight voice. He'd wrapped one hand around Kydyn's wrist in the hopes that he could get the warlock's grip to loosen. It was a vain attempt. 

"I don't work for anyone you fucking moron. I might side with some of the things the Capitol does, but I sure as hell don't work for them. They don't have a claim on me and you shouldn't let them claim you either. You think the rebellion is bad? The Capitol will use you, break you down until you're nothing but a puppet, and that won't be the end of it. You hate killing people? You'd be the one who would massacre thousands."

Cinder stared up at him in shock. Getting air into his lungs was difficult, not because Kydyn's fingers were around his neck, but because of what Kydyn had said. Cinder being the cause of thousands dying? He couldn't handle that idea, not in the least. How would that even be possible? If he was supposed to be going towards white magic, why would the council use him to kill people?

"Why?"

"Because that's what they do. If they don't like someone, or a group of people, they get rid of them. What did Odain tell you yesterday?"

"He told me... About what happens to those who fall into black magic. He showed me a memory."

"What?" Kydyn looked bewildered at the idea. "What do you mean he showed you a memory?"

"That's just what he did," Cinder said as Kydyn removed his hand from his throat. "He told me it was better to show me than to tell me since I didn't believe that nothing could be done for people who fell into black magic. So he showed me a memory."

"What did he show you?" Kydyn's question was little more than a growl and the dark look crossing his face had Cinder pausing. Yet, with the warlock so close, hovering over him, he didn't dare keep quiet over it. This wasn't how he expected to ask Kydyn about the woman in that memory. 

"He showed me a girl. She had long black hair and her eyes were glowing red. This heavy feeling was all over me and then I saw all these other people surrounding her. They were using magic against her, but she was so strong. She was terrifying. I watched as she killed half of the people there and then-" Cinder's voice cracked and he swallowed before he continued. "T-then you were there. You walked through the crowd and confronted her. They managed to get her to stop throwing power around, but as you talked to her, tried to reason with her, she broke free and hurt you."

Cinder stopped for a moment and his eyes left Kydyn's to trace down to the warlock's waist. He stared at that spot for a while, imagining what he looked like underneath the black clothing, the heavy jacket he had on that zipped up at an angle with chains and buckles lacing his body. Kydyn shifted, drawing up the sleeves of his coat to reveal leather bracelets lacing both arms before he leaned against the seat, glaring down at Cinder.

"She threw you and then started killing people again with this strange black whip thing. It just cut through people like nothing and it had hurt you, there was blood everywhere. A lot of blood..."

"Keep going," Kydyn commanded, though his tone was different. He didn't sound pissed off, but something else. Not quite calm either. 

"I don't really know what happened after that, the memory was too quick, but you ended up in front of her and you killed her. Ran her through with some kind of spear thing. And that was it. Odain ended the memory there and that's all I know."

"Is that so?" Kydyn arched an eyebrow at him.

Cinder nodded, his mouth dry. "Y-yeah. That's it."

"You will never speak of that again. This is the only time. From here on, you will not ask me anything about it or mention it again. Or I'll remove that tongue of yours from your pretty mouth. Got it?"

"Yes!" Cinder answered so quickly that his voice pitched a little higher than normal and he felt the heat of a blush spreading across his face. Kydyn grinned, pleased with the answer, or so it seemed. 

"Good. Now get out, this is a good a place as any." Kydyn removed himself from leaning over the passenger seat and got out of the car. Cinder remained where he was, body trembling from the shock of Kydyn's speed racer driving and then his rage that had been directed at him. After he'd calmed down, Cinder got out as well and quickly trailed after Kydyn who had stalked through the tall grasses of the open plains. They walked quite a ways from the road, leaving the car far enough behind that it became a small speck. Kydyn stopped walking and pointed to a spot just opposite of him. "Stand there. Listen carefully because I won't be explaining it again. Power is generated through old language, it'll take some concentration to do it but it shouldn't be hard. Especially for you. You can conjure or make things happen by just envisioning it. Or, if you get angry enough, it'll just happen."

"Like with Lyn," Cinder asked, guilt thick in his voice. 

"Yeah, like that. For now, I want you to concentrate on defending yourself. I want you to make a barrier. One that's going to deflect what I'm going to throw at you."

"What?" Cinder gaped at him, shocked. "You're going to throw your magic at me! Are you trying to kill me?"

"Idiot. If I were trying to kill you, I would have done it already. I know what I'm doing and the most you're going to end up with is a couple of bruises if you don't fucking do what I say!"

Cinder sucked in a sharp breath as he felt the air growing thick. Kydyn didn't look like he was going to give any warning for what he was going to do so Cinder started frantically trying to think of how he was going to protect himself. He was right to think that Kydyn wouldn't warn him as the warlock flicked his hand and the air swirled into a tight whirlwind. The mini tornado slammed into Cinder, knocking him back. He hit the ground with a heavy thud and coughed hard as the wind had been knocked from his lungs. 

Kydyn snickered and it had Cinder's blood boiling. Picking himself up off the ground, he brushed himself off, wincing as he could feel where bruises were definitely going to start sprouting later. "I wasn't ready."

"No one's ever ready to be attacked, moron," Kydyn's amused laughter faded to anger. "What, do you expect some rebel to just agree to let you get ready for them? Gonna say 'excuse me, but could you wait a moment before you try to kill me so that I can properly defend myself'? Fucking idiot."

Kydyn flicked his wrist again and Cinder desperately tried to get out of the way of the whirling tornado. Dirt and dust went with the attack, kicked up by the power of the spell forcing the winds into the swirling momentum they'd become. Cinder managed to get most of his body out of the way, but it still caught his side and threw him into a spinning tumble. Dust puffed out from underneath him as he hit the ground on his stomach that time. 

He let out a cry as he hit. Cinder lay in the dirt for a little while before he forced his body up onto his hands and knees. At least Kydyn was kind enough to wait until he was up on his feet before he attacked again. "Come on, magus. You have got to be kidding me. Bessaias, say it."

"B-bessaias. Cinder coughed out the word as he fought off the tightness in his chest. 

"Good," Kydyn purred. "Say it while you think of blocking this one."

Cinder's eyes grew wide as Kydyn grinned wickedly at him. He spread his hands and the wind that had been small tornados turned into a thicker, wider one. Cinder took a step back, fear flooding him. He couldn't think for a minute and the word that Kydyn had told him to say to protect himself left his mind as the tornado grew a little darker than the last ones. He's going to kill me. 

"K-Kydyn!"

The warlock wasn't listening, that or just didn't hear Cinder's plea over the whipping tornado. The first two were nothing compared to what Kydyn was building. The dirt devil looked horrifying. Cinder's hands lifted just a little as he watched the monster. If he didn't protect himself from it, he doubted Kydyn would care much it if snapped his neck. 

"S-shit! Bessaias!" Cinder called the word and tried his best to form a mental image of a barrier. The tornado rushed him as Kydyn flung it forward. Closing his eyes, Cinder prayed that he'd done something to break the torrent of power hurtling at him. He felt something slam together in front of him and a strange burst of energy flooded him. It sucked at his strength, making him dizzy. 

Whatever he'd managed to put up, it didn't last long though. Sneaking a peek at what he'd managed, Cinder watched the tornado slowly break apart, but as he felt relief, the barrier shattered and the remnants of Kydyn's power took him off his feet yet again. He shouted in fear as he was flung back. Pounded into the ground, he sprawled out in the tall grass, dazed. That time he was certain he couldn't get up. 

"That wasn't too bad, pretty boy."

Cinder grimaced and lifted his head just enough to glare at Kydyn who was trudging over to him. The warlock only smirked as he came to stand over him. He knelt down slowly, the smirk slowly washing away to a frown. Kydyn turned Cinder's head with two fingers. He winced as he was forced to move his head off to the side. A muscle tightened and pain lanced down his shoulder and chest as Cinder was forced to move. It was almost like getting a kink in his neck after sleeping wrong, except twice as painful. 

Kydyn didn't say anything as he dragged his fingers down the side of Cinder's neck and pulled the dark red t-shirt down just enough to see his shoulder and collarbone. The warlock let go of the cloth a moment later, clicking his tongue in annoyance. Cradling Cinder's head, Kydyn pulled him upright slowly. "Lean on me," he ordered. 

Cinder frowned and contemplated ignoring it. After all if he was injured, it was Kydyn's fault. He glared at the warlock for a moment until Kydyn looked at him and anger darkened his eyes. Cinder could feel the air beginning to grow heavy and the first sparks of color flashing through his irises had Cinder doing what he'd been told. Kydyn was too intimidating to ignore most times. 

The warlock lifted Cinder up off the ground and carried him all the way back to the car. They were silent on the way back and Cinder was more than a little uncomfortable to be carried by the asshole who had knocked him to the ground not once, but three times. As Kydyn got him in the car, Cinder reached up and tried to rub at his neck. The warlock caught his hand and held tightly. "Don't. You'll make it worse. Just let Jika handle that. At least it's not bad."

"You're an asshole."

Kydyn grinned at him. "Of course. What, do you want me to be a fucking angel? Should I coddle you and praise you all day? Don't get any nasty ideas about me. I'm a fucking prick, all right? Deal with it."

"Jika said you were training me how to use my magic, not knocking me around because you can."

"Well, if that's how you're going to take it, then you can think of this session as me paying you back for landing that nasty hit on me the other day."

"I still don't know what the hell you're talking about. I didn't do anything and I certainly didn't do it on purpose, though I'm really thinking about it now."

"Oh please. You couldn't do it a second time even if you tried. I'd be ready for it now," Kydyn sneered. He released Cinder's hand, throwing it back at him. The gentle touch was long gone, replaced by the calloused edges that made up what Kydyn was. The warlock slammed the door to the car shut and walked around to the other side. 

As Kydyn turned the car around to head back to the city, Cinder rubbed absently at his wrist. Kydyn was a rollercoaster. Most times he was scary and twisted, then there were the few times that he was smooth and rather enjoyable. Cinder wasn't sure which was the true part of the warlock, or maybe it all was and it was just something he was going to have to get used to. That would be the difficult thing though. 

Not to mention the goal of a century.