She was not her mother.

It was a fact that many on Myna had often forgotten when addressing the young woman and over the years she had done her best to prove this fact to those who said they saw Kythe in her.

On many occasions Kaya had felt guilty about doing everything she could to demonstrate she was not her mother; it wasn’t that she didn’t love her mother, it wasn’t that she resented her or didn’t respect her… it was that she feared becoming like her.
When she had been little Kaya had had a nightmare, brought on by wandering into the caves in Lithyr Valley and hearing the whispers of the deceased within the halls of that mountainous dead place. She had run to her mother for comfort that night; finding Kythe awake in the early morning hours despite her father being in bed himself. She had crawled into her mother’s lap and cried into her chest; calming down only when Kythe had held her tightly and pressed Kaya’s ear to her chest so that the soft beating of her heart could soothe the child. Kaya had told her tale and her mother had spoken softly to her; telling her that the dead in those halls could do her no harm - that they only wished to reach out to the living because they were lonely and lost, that all the souls there were good people that she herself had known well.
It had been at this time that Kaya had looked into her mother’s eyes; she had looked before but never really seen and suddenly she had been afraid. There was strength there and love for her, she knew that, but behind all of that was a tired and terrible grief that Kaya had never noticed before, brought to the forefront of her mother’s emerald gaze as she spoke of the past and those lost within the mountains.
Her mother was one of the strongest people she knew, she adored her, she idolised her… but she was terrified of sharing that grief - Kythe had never told them the story of her past but from that moment Kaya had become curious, asking those who knew her mother of old about what she had seen… how her mother had not gone mad she did not know… but it only fuelled that fear of becoming her, especially since so many had said that she reminded them of Kythe when she had been young.

She was no warrior, not like her mother was - Kaya could fight; she could hold her own and she was deadly if she needed to be, she had inherited her mother’s determination and overall stubbornness after all however she preferred a ranged weapon to a melee one and had trained more as a healer than a warrior… she had no desire to be on the front lines, she wanted to protect those she loved in a different way.
Sadly when her mother had disappeared a lot of the responsibility that had once been Kythe’s had fallen to Kaya - Raith wanted nothing to do with his family beyond his rage and Luna had shied away from anything associated with their mother, wishing to be even less like Kythe than Kaya had… Who else was there but the eldest of the children to take their missing mother’s place in the world?
Swiftly she had learnt how to hold her own; she might not want to be a carbon copy of her dame but there was no denying whose daughter she was - her golden-amber locks were not like her mother’s and the jade coloured eyes were softer in expression than the emeralds that seemed constantly on fire that her mother was famous for… but swiftly her determination came to light and no one could deny that Kaya could just as easily hold herself in the position of a leader. Reluctant or otherwise.

So far the search for Kythe had been fruitless but neither Kaya, Valandil or Pol were remotely willing to give up - some people recognised the description of the woman but as many of the people they had spoken to had said… Elven women with wings like a Dragon were dime a dozen in Revaliir - sadly they didn’t know her by name, not personally at least, so they could not confirm whether or not she was the woman they were looking for. More was the pity.
So far Kaya had not been far from her father’s sight; she hadn’t minded much, she enjoyed his company and she had to admit that she had always been closer to Pol then she ever had to Kythe, she had always swayed to her wolven form over her Draconic one… She had wondered, as she had sat staring at the stars, if she had hurt her mother with her choices. The young woman had to admit that she remembered the looks her mother used to give her; the looks of longing when Kaya had chosen to transform into a wolf constantly, always looking to spend time with her father rather than seeking out her mother for even a moment… she had only really come to hate herself for that distance when Kythe had gone and she hated herself even more for the fact that even now, while searching for her mother, she was keeping that distance between them even with the woman not present.

Kaya had been deep within her thoughts when the invitation had mysteriously found its way into her hands, with her name written elaborately upon the front. Curiosity and a need to venture out on her own had driven the girl to answer it; she had forced Valandil to promise to stay quiet - that should her father wake before her return then Valandil would put his mind at ease; if she had received an invitation then maybe, just maybe, so too had her mother.
The Ancient Dragon had been reluctant to agree but had done so for one reason only - it was exactly what her mother would have done. For the first time since deciding to be anything other than her mother Kaya was quite proud of that statement from her mother’s Bonded; maybe being like her mother in this instance would allow her to find the woman at last.

For once the young woman had decided to let free her wings as her mother did - furled against her back the glistening golden limbs stood out like great ornaments picked out to compliment her dress. Picking up the long ivory coloured skirts of her dress Kaya settled her mask upon her face; the gold and red complimenting her golden locks and enhancing her jade eyes as she stepped into the Hanging Gardens, her expression full of wonder as she looked at the place she had found herself in.
Myna was beautiful but never had she seen anything like this before; a lantern floated past her face and she smiled, reaching out a hand to hover close to one of them, not quite daring to touch it as she did not wish to disturb its journey. Walking amongst the lanterns, wings furled against her back to ensure she did not known anyone over, the young woman watched the others who had been invited to this wondrous place. Their outfits made them look like butterflies and after a moment or two it became clear to Kaya that many of them were lovers. She blushed at that; suddenly feeling as though she were intruding on their most private moments.
Looking away Kaya found herself on the top level of the gardens, looking down the centre to watch as the lanterns released by lovers and friends alike drifted upwards towards the heavens, carrying the love of those who had released them up into the stars. She had never been in love; of the three children only Luna had found herself someone to give her heart to. She had envied her sister that union,envied that she could be so free and able to love where she could not… it wasn’t that she was not allowed but something always held her back - whenever men her age had made advances she had used her training to be a Healer as an excuse, or her duties since her mother had vanished… she knew deep down it was fear that kept her from letting them in, fear of having her heart broken, of letting them into her life and losing them somehow… her mother had become who she was because of such things and she did not want to run that risk in her life.
Now, as she stood watching the dancers and the lanterns and lovers together she wished she had given herself the chance to fall in love, watching Luna with her husband and her children had made her realise what she had passed up.

Sighing heavily Kaya watched the others dance, a sadness in her eyes that mirrored her mother’s in a way that Kaya would have shuddered at had she seen it for herself - in trying to be anything but her mother Kaya had created her own grief… and now her heart ached for the woman she had pushed away for so long.


Kaya’s outfit

Kiba's Suit
Damon's Suit

Strength’s Authority allowed his gaze to scan the event that was taking shape below and around him. The Reztreal that was socketed where his left eye used to be hardly flared from arrivals that came to the Hanging Gardens. This helped the knight relax as he stood quietly on the topmost level of the gardens to keep watch over the festivities. The deities were working diligently in an effort to help the citizens forget the tragedy that had befallen them not all that long ago. It had been a near miss with the potential of losing their gods. Thankfully, all had come together in an effort for a positive outcome. Rebuilding was in swift motion if not complete in some areas. Damages were being swept away to hide that it had ever happened.

”I thought brooding was my thing,” a deep voice commented with a laugh tagged on to the end. Kiba’s bicolored gaze shifted to the man that had been quietly standing beside him. A brow lifted along with a small shrug of his shoulders. ”It usually is, but it seems I have found it to my taste for the evening,” he responded with his own laugh. The diowolf rolled his eyes at the phoenix bodyguard that had finally found his old friend. ”I see that you are in a well-funded attire, and yet there is a bow…as always slung over your shoulder. Are you expecting an attack?” Kiba shifted his feet slightly to allow his body to face Damon as they began to speak. The Champion was in appropriate attire of the festivities, all while a sword was sheathed at his waist. White button up shirt had its sleeves rolled up to expose his arms. A black vest was buttoned up with silver trim along the edges. It would allow him to blend in with the festiveness, and yet would not restrict his movements.

”I am always waiting for something to happen. That is my set state of mind. If nothing happens, then we are having a great day,.” Damon had managed to fit his black suit coat well over the quiver that was strapped his back, while his bow was fit beautifully in his quiver for a quick grab if necessary. ”I would have thought you would have complimented my clean white shirt and clean black suit. There has been a stain yet on them.” Damon crossed his arms over his chest while allowing blue gaze to shift from his friend to the rest of the party below. Kiba chuckled as he hooked his thumb on his sword belt. ”Stain as meaning blood? I’ve never seen you as a messy eater. How is your charge doing, by the way?”

The conversation continued between the two men as they fell into old times. It was the first time that they had been able to be at ease since their recent reconnection. Kiba was doing his best not to call Damon ‘Captain’ as he had been the captain of the forces at Osta. He was sure that the phoenix would not have minded, but the world they were in was different. It was necessary for them both to realize that things had changed. There was no going back for either of them. The pair were pleased that they had been allowed some normalcy.

The two men eventually fell into silence, as was normal for them. Simply, they enjoyed the presence of the other even if there was nothing to talk about. Kiba frowned deeply as his shoulder was shoved hard by Damon to get his attention. ”Glance that way while not being obvious,” he spoke softly. The diowolf continued to frown as he followed his directions to see a young woman watching the dancing pairs. ”And?” Damon lifted a brow with an air of mischievousness. ”Just trying to get you to enjoy the view. She is right there,” he pointed out. The woman was only a few yards away, and yet Kiba had no intention of interacting. The last thing he needed was for his attention to be taken away from his post. True, it was not a mandate for him to monitor the event, but he wanted no chances to be taken.

A scent; faint but familiar caught Kaya's attention and the girl's golden wings trembled slightly on her back from the excitement and anticipation that smell brought to mind, stirring up old memories of her childhood, better days where there had been little to worry about beyond Luna hurting herself from her clumsiness or Raith throwing a temper tantrum over the fact that he could not do what his sisters could do. "Mother?" She whispered, standing to her full height as she turned to search the immediate crowd for the woman.
No. 
Not her mother… It reminded her of her mother but that was not the smell she remembered of the woman it was more masculine for a start. Quite why it brought up memories of her youth Kaya was beyond the young woman but the fact that it did tickled her curiosities. 

Looking around her jade coloured eyes found a pair of neatly dressed men; both clearly quite handsome in their pressed suits, being not so very subtle in the art of 'glancing' her way. It amused her somewhat, to know that she had caught their eye just as much as they had caught her own. "The view has ears you know, and you are correct, she is right there, you could learn to be a little more subtle." She said with a smile, shooting the two men a smile her mother would have been proud of - it said two things. Firstly, thank you for the compliment (as backward as calling her a view was she recognised it as a compliment at least) and secondly, that as lovely as the compliment was she would quite happily show both of them that she was not here for their enjoyment… and she was more than capable of putting the latter into practice if pushed to that point.

Moving towards the two men she clasped her hands behind her back and tilted her head slightly to one side as she looked at them both; her eyes lingering momentarily on the bow slung over the shoulder of one of the men. Now that she was closer to them she realised that the scent which had caught her attention mere moments ago was coming from the one who had been apparently disinterested in her when his companion had pointed her out. It was to this man she turned her attention, raising an eyebrow at him as she looked him in the eyes. "While I have to admit that I would rather not be stared at like a piece of meat here purely for your entertainment I also find it somewhat insulting that the most interest I got from you was merely 'and?'." She continued, glancing at his friend before looking back into his eyes. "Tell me Sir, am I not worthy of your attentions? Is that what you are saying? I won't be offended if I am not your type but given neither you nor your friend are exactly subtle in your conversation I do believe I deserve a little more than 'and?'. Don't you?" Again there was that wicked grin and the young woman blinked her eyes at him, the slitted pupils narrowing as her gaze intensified. "I believe you owe me either an apology or a dance, or both. Your choice." 

”I remember a time when you used to be quiet. Do you remember those days? I do; with fondness,” Kiba snipped at Damon though there was a hint of a smirk on his mouth. The phoenix warrior chuckled with a small shrug of his shoulders. ”There has been much that has happened since our parting all those years ago, my dear leader. I cannot remain stuck in the past. Nor can I allow myself to stay stoic in the face of a good evening with long lost friends. I am glad we have been able to meet once more.” This time, Damon had no hint of humor to his voice. Many had been lost to the Void of DaeLuin’s destruction and he had little hope of being able to meet up with those that had made a difference in the life of a creature that was known for a sense of immortality. ”I know you, Kiba. There is something that I bothering you. Do not let it completely consume you. That is no way to live a life that you have been fortunate to continue on with. There has been great loss for you. Know that you must not let it be in vain.”

The phoenix smiled at the diowolf before shrugging. There was no response given, but the body guard noticed a relaxation in the Champion’s shoulders. Damon made a satisfied laugh before leaving the topic alone. The pair would enjoy the event in most silence if there was no change to happen. Damon wanted to do something, especially since there was little time he actually did get off from his duties of protecting Astrid.

When the female voice called over to the pair, both Damon and Kiba shifted their gaze back to the woman they had been looking at prior. It took a moment for them to realize what was happening before Damon began laughing heartily. Kiba on the other hand looked mortified with a flush of his cheeks and an effort to look away. ”By the Flame. This one has a personality on her.” He made a bow before crossing his arms once more. ”Humble apologies, my lady. It was not meant as an insult or degrading. There is no excuse either way.” The phoenix raised a brow as the woman’s focus had begun to fall upon Kiba. He decided to remain quiet.

Kiba bowed in an effort to apologize, though he still felt uncomfortable. It was odd for the diowolf to not be the vocal one, while Damon speak up and out. His head leaned back as the woman came closer, but he made sure to not physically move away. The diowolf was stunned at how forward that she was being, and the behavior was almost familiar. Such thoughts were pushed away as his features returned to his usual self. ”I assure you, miss. If we were looking at you like a piece of meat…you would feel a different way.” The two men chuckled before Kiba put up his hands in a surrender like motion. ”I meant no insult when I said ‘and.’ My focus has been…elsewhere, and not upon the lovely ladies that are present.” He was hoping that his words were making sense and would help ease him from being in the continued ‘trouble’ that he was in at the moment.

He almost visibly flinched when that mischievous grin came across her face that again made him feel at a disadvantage. ”Well, miss, I will apologize to you, most certainly.” Kiba made a flourished bow of his head, but he glared sideways at Damon who was then covering his mouth to stifle his laugh. The glare was clear that a retribution would be made later. ”I humbly apologize for the slight that was made towards the elegance that is your person, my lady. If you would allow me to right this wrong doing, I would ask for a dance to pay as my penalty.” The diowolf stood up straight once more to hold out his hand to offer to direct to the dance floor. He did not want anyone to say that the honor of Lord Lokir was defamed by a rude Champion to represent him.

Strength’s Authority led the woman out onto the dance floor just as a new song began. It was an elegant waltz that was easy for even the most unaccustomed dancers to follow along. ”If I may. Your wings are quite unique…though they are similar in a way to a dear friend of mine’s. It’s uncommon for me to see this.”

Kaya smirked slightly as the two men shared a look before the one who had originally pointed her out laughed heartily. Walking over to them she smiled, hands clasped behind her back as she looked at Damon. ”My Father would tell me I get it from my Mother.” She responded with curt amusement; when she had been told that before she had flinched and regretted it immediately - she strove to be anything or anyone that didn’t resemble her Mother but apparently she could not escape it…
”I’ll let it slide this once since both of you are fairly handsome men and in being looked upon by yourselves it’s only fitting that I get to repay the favour.” She smiled wickedly, lifting her hands and with index fingers pointed downwards she span her hands in little circles before whispering the words, ”And twirl.”, all the while looking mischievous.

She smiled. ”I have the feeling that even when you’re off duty you’re on duty.” That was something that her Father and Valandil would have happily told her was very much her Mother’s attitude towards life, it was funny to find this man exhibiting such things when he already had a familiarity about him.
It amused Kaya to be able to get the man to apologise to her quite so quickly and it amused her further to see that his companion was loving every minute of this. Chuckling she offered him her hand and nodded. ”I humbly accept you apology and it is my honour to accept your invitation to dance Sir.” She added as she let him lead her out to join the others.

Years ago Kaya had hated her dance and etiquette lessons but in situations such as this she was grateful for them. Falling into the rhythm of the waltz almost as naturally as walking she was able to give Kiba her full attention. A soft, sad laugh left her throat and she tore her eyes away from his for a moment, glancing at the pair of golden Draconic wings upon her back. ”I’ll be honest… it’s not often I have them out like this… They’re inherited, on my Mother’s side… I have spent the majority of my life trying to be anyone other than my Mother; I didn’t want her Dragon side, I didn’t want her attitude or her responsibilities… but she was taken away from my family when I was still very young and suddenly as the eldest of my siblings things began to fall on my shoulders that once belonged to her despite me putting distance between us. When I received my invitation to this ball I realised that with a mask I was someone else, with the wings inherited from my mother it only adds further to that disguise while honouring her in a way I have not done… ever if I’m honest.” She shook her head. ”My apologies Sir you do not need to hear my sob story nor do I really know why I’m telling you… there is something so familiar about you but I cannot place it. It was one of the reasons you and your companion caught my eye in the first place; your scent seems so familiar to me and yet I know it cannot be since I have never been to this world before until recently and I have not met many people since arriving. That and I would certainly remember meeting a man as handsome as yourself.” She said boldly, smiling at him.
”Tell me about your friend. It amuses me to hear that there are others who share traits such as I despite this place being so foreign to me.”

The phoenix glanced over at Kiba with a smirk on his face that was a distinct look over approval. Damon had been opening up more since they had last been together, and it made Kiba curious to what that change was. His old Captain of the Guard had always kept it close to the chest when it came to anything that he was feeling. He had gotten his work done diligently. Never once had Kiba wondered if the patrols would not be done properly or his tenants safe. There was a wall between the phoenix and the rest of the world. Now…now the man was standing there with a bright playful smile that just did not seem like him. Kiba frowned a moment at his companion, but quickly wiped it off his face to make sure their newcomer didn’t think it was in regards to her.

As she spoke, the diowolf could not hold back the laugh that welled up in his chest. ”Well, I guess we will take whatever good graces we can get even if it is due to our looks.” This one had quite the personality as Damon had put it. The two men’s brows lifted in unison when she indicated that they should twirl. Quickly they looked at each other before laughing heartily. ”What the hell is going on now? I didn’t realize we had been entered into a pageant of sorts.” Damon had to hold onto Kiba’s arm to stay standing for he had been laughing hard. ”Okay, I am going to just leave that alone. This has been quite amusing for one such as myself. And you can be assured that Lord Kiba is always on duty no matter what is to be said.” The Captain squeezed his friend’s arm before standing up again to straighten up his suit.

The diowolf allowed himself to fall into a state of relaxation while listening to the woman’s words. Not lately had he been able to have a conversation that did not have to deal with some sort of report. Or the fact that his children were in some sort of new relationship that was beyond his understanding. It helped him not think about the one he was truly missing. The image of his wife was not haunting the back of his mind or sporadically in the background to torment his mind again. Finally, he felt calm enough to listen to her words.

He blinked a few times as he realized that she was apologizing towards him. His features softened into a genuine smile that reached even his eyes. ”No need to apologize, miss. I asked a question, and you answered. If you wondering about that familiar feeling, I am getting that as well. I can’t quite place as to why.” Kiba shifted his feet to allow her a small twirl that went along with the rest of the dancers that moved with the music. When she was brought back to him, his hand was upon her waist again. ”You don’t need to call me sir. My name is Kiba Balatro. I am the Champion for my Lord Lokir, God of Strength and War. That is why I am on duty; to make sure that this festivity goes smoothly.”

His gaze once again rested upon her wings that made him think. ”I think the reason why you feel familiar is because of your wings. They are the same as my adopted mother, Kythe. She has come to this land again to finally make us reunited. I am sure that I would remember meeting a lovely young woman as yourself if we had previously met. That must be it.” Kiba shrugged slightly and continued to move them along with the rest of the dancers to make sure they were keeping up.

Kaya smiled warmly as the pair laughed at her little jest of twirling for her pleasure; grinning at Damon she gave the man a cheeky wink as he left them to head to the dance floor together. As Kaya fell into rhythm with Kiba and the music she found her heart at peace for the first time in a long time; no longer was she worrying about her siblings or her mother or her father or her duties to Myna… for the first time since her mother's disappearance Kaya could be herself; not that she really knew who that was anymore. 

As he spoke she cocked her head to one side and scowled a little; wondering just what was making them both feel this odd familiarity with one another; it seemed strange that both of them should feel this way and for a brief moment her heart skipped a beat as he twirled her in time to the music before replacing his hand upon her waist. She had never danced like this with a man before; not a man as handsome as Kiba anyway. "How odd that we should both feel it." She chuckled, turning her eyes away from his as she could feel that she was dangerously close to blushing under his gaze. "A pleasure to meet you then Kiba, my name is Kaya, Kaya Silverheart. I'm afraid I don't carry any such titles though for the moment my mother's rest on my shoulders until we can find her." She added softly. "You are so very like her in terms of being on duty; I didn't get much time with her before she vanished from my life but my father would often tell me that she could not rest no matter where she was." 

And then he said it. Kaya jolted to a halt as the name left his lips and her body went rigid as she stared up at him in shock. It could not be… he hadn't just said her name had he? "You're mother?!" She repeated as she all but ripped the mask from her face, tears now forming in her eyes as she smiled at him with a mixture of relief and that ongoing shock that was causing her heart to pound so hard in her chest that she was sure he would hear it. "By the Gods she is alive… but what do you mean just arrived? She has been gone from Myna for nearly my entire life, for nearly two centuries! You're telling me she just arrived here? Where is she? Is she safe?" She asked breathlessly, still not quite comprehending the words he had spoken. "Your adopted mother… of all things." Kaya laughed as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. 
Well this wasn't quite how she had seen her evening going… 

There was a sense of surprise at the fact he was enjoying himself at ball. It had been some time since he had enjoyed himself in a social setting. Kiba smiled genuinely down at Kaya as they exchanged pleasantries. The conversation felt as if it flowed easily between them. He continued to watch her closely in an effort to catch a glimpse as to why she felt so familiar to him. Why they both had that feeling of familiarity did not make sense. Kiba glanced over quickly at Damon as he stood off to the side. The phoenix gave a rather cheesy grin with two thumbs up to give encouragement. A look of annoyance fell over Kiba’s face that he worked to fix by looking back down at Kaya. Her face was turned away as if collecting some thoughts to herself.

When she spoke again her introduction was made. His heart felt as if it skipped a beat. It sounded so familiar, and yet he could not quite place it. He managed to smile through his thoughts as Kaya continued to speak about the high honor her mother had as well as how alike Kiba and her were. The diowolf smiled in an understanding way. He knew greatly how the pressure of one’s family kept those still around under the weight to carry on the traditions. His family had been a great span across DaeLuin. They had demand respect just from the use of the name Balatro and the great members that came to join.

Kiba frowned as they stopped dancing to see what was wrong with Kaya. ”What did I say?” he questioned. Hands were still holding her to him as if they were to continue dancing any second. ”Yes, my surrogate mother. Why?” The diowolf frowned deepened as he moved the two of them off the dance floor to gather some privacy. He waved off Damon to keep them alone. The winged woman looked almost frantic and his wolf hearing allowed him to hear how hard her heart was pounding in her chest. Hand moved to rest on her shoulder while the other lightly touched her cheek to get her to look up at him.

As the pieces of information came together, Kiba jerked back in shock. ”You are Kaya Silverheart. Daughter of Kythe and Pol Silverheart. By the gods. You are here as well?” There were a couple of subconscious steps taken back as he attempted to bring his thoughts together to make sense of it all. Finally, Kiba lifted his gaze back to Kaya with a heartfelt grin. ”Yea, Kaya. She is here. She is safe, and well. As of right now, Kythe is at the Scarwood Fort under the protection of my patron god as well as myself. There was a grave injury to her shoulder; that was healed by our goddess of Life. There was some other news…but that can wait to be told by her.” Kiba couldn’t quite bring himself to disclose the fact that her mother was pregnant with twins. The time line was odd as it were, and could only make things more difficult. ”So wait, you are here. Is your father?” His hands grasped at Kaya’s shoulders in desperation. If he was there, then it would bring such joy and relief to Kythe that she desperately needed.

Time had come to a grinding halt for Kaya the moment he had mentioned her mother's name. The music had faded into little more than white noise and the other dancers no longer existed to the young woman - all that was left in the world to her was Kiba with his hand still upon her waist and her mother's name upon his lips, the sound of the word sweeter in his voice than she had ever expected it to sound. Everything that they had wanted, everything that they had worked for was suddenly falling into placed for her and Kaya did not quite dare believe that this was all real - they had known that her mother was alive because Valandil was alive; when the Gods of Myna had sent them to this world the Dragon had felt Kythe's presence though he had been unable to establish their connection enough to call out to her but still they had known that she was alive and well and in the same world as they were… and now she had found someone who knew her; someone who knew her intimately it appeared. 

When he uttered both her mother and father's names tears formed in her eyes and she found her heart stuck in her throat, her voice lost for a moment as she nodded vehemently at him - now she remembered his scent, now she remembered his name… her mother had trained Kiba back in DaeLuin; had taken him in as one of her own children before Kaya and her siblings had been even a blip on her parents minds let alone a factor in their lives. He had been there at her birth[/i[ of all things and for the first part of her youth growing up in DaeLuin before Kythe had found a way to take them to Myna to grow up… of course things had not gone as planned for her mother on that score either and she had been lost to them even then… Her hands covered her face as she let out a relieved sob at his words 'she is here, she is safe'. Over and over those words ran through her mind and she knew that those would be the words she would take back to her father and Valandil when she left here this night. 

Looking up at him as he grasped her shoulders Kaya smiled and nodded. "Here with me. Father and I went to the Gods and bid them send us to wherever she had gone… especially after my little brother came here ahead of us with malice in his heart towards mother. Father and Valandil are sleeping at our camp now far from here… I have to get back to him, I have to let him know that she's close by." Wiping the tears from her eyes she looked up at Kiba and smiled widely. "Jasumin lake. Tell mother; that's where we are. I have to get back to father but you can rest assured that you will see all of us again soon." She said softly, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek; blushing profusely as she did so at her own boldness. "Thank you Kiba; you have no idea what a gift you have given me this night." She whispered softly, bowing to him before she collected her skirts in her hands and ran through the crowd; the grin on her face reminiscent of a child… and for a moment that was exactly what she was…

There was a slight feel of panic as Kaya began to have tears well up in her eyes. He glanced over at Damon for a moment, who had been watching them carefully as the interaction had changed. The phoenix shrugged with a questioning look upon his face. He made no moves to join them as he could tell that the pair still needed some privacy. Even so, Damon glanced around to make sure that no one would decide to interrupt the pair as they tried to situate everything out.

The diowolf cleared his throat softly while in attempt to redirect her attention away from tears. He was little to no good at these sort of things. Kiba was now even more acclimated to dealing with soldiers. He had to work at his interactions with his daughter and the children, but even then they were not exactly the emotional kind. As the tears slipped down her face there was a finger of Kiba endeavoring to brush it away. ’I’m sorry for not realizing you were all here earlier. Kythe has been my first priority along with my children. We had little to no hope that anyone else from Myna would have the potential to get here.” Kiba had leaned down slightly to be at eye level with Kaya. He smiled at her before standing up straight again.

Hands grasped her shoulders in hope that the contact with help bring her some calm. Kiba flinched slightly at the mention of a young brother with malice towards Kythe. He had not come across anyone yet with a focus on his surrogate mother’s destruction, but it concerned him. ”How long ago did you all get here? What about your brother? What’s his name” There were questions that built upon the other that Kiba knew he would not get answered at that moment. There was now straight joy that was sparking in Kaya’s eyes. She had to get the information to Pol immediately. How long had they been waiting for the reunion?

”I will tell her.” He released his hold on her shoulders, but not before she placed a kiss on his cheek. Brow lifted in surprise and wonder at the action though he smiled in response. Kiba bowed towards her receding image before moving back to Damon. The captain did not break word. Merely, he stood there with a bright all-knowing grin upon his face that perfectly annoyed the diowolf to his very depths. ”Shut up.” Kiba crossed his arms over his chest tightly while not looking at his old friend. Finally, Damon broke down in a laugh that left him bent over with hands on his knees to hold himself up. ’You are so beside yourself. You went through ALL the colors of emotions right there. This was the best ball I have ever been to in years.’ The archer continued to laugh and when he finally collected himself there was a clasped hand on Kiba’s shoulder. ”Come, let us get a drink to collect your little thoughts that are left.’

With that, the pair walked through the crowd where they could gather refreshments and finish out the night.