Nossë was growing almost daily; since their involvement in saving Angela's life and their open house, people had been coming to pledge themselves to the Guild as members, or just to open up channels for potential alliances, for which Kythe was eternally grateful. The reconstruction of the newly named Mélamar was ongoing, and the Au-Ra were beginning to settle into their new lives as part of something once more, the tribe had spent so long hidden away in the mountains, separated from the world, that it had taken some persuasion to coax them from their stoney homes. 
Now? Now they were mingling happily with the others who had come and added their names to Nossë's roster. While the majority of them were still uncomfortable with the idea of leaving the safe embrace of the mountain, some had begun to venture further and further from the ruins, going out on missions with other Guild members and integrating themselves with the rest of Revaliir. 

Kythe had picked a room for her office where the mountain and the forest had truly integrated; feeling far more at home with the intrusion of plants than she would have been in a purely stone room. She and Kiba had agreed that the world had reclaimed the ruins for a reason, and that they stood a better chance of remaining hidden if people still believed the place empty. Looking up from her parchments, she smiled at her son. "Did you say something about sending a letter out to Kale? Did you warn him about the Little Ones? Ju'xa and Ry'at said the little buggers have been doubling their efforts to create mischief with anyone that forgets to light their candles," she sighed, rolling her eyes and smiling at the thought of the little woodland folk, creating their illusions and leading strangers away from the ruins and back out of the forests. "Might be best to have Valandil keep an eye out, or did you give him instructions to go to the cabin first? Mordekai's down there today."
"Again?" Valandil chuckled so that both Kythe and Kiba could hear. "What crime did that poor Elf commit this time?"
"He was fussing again, like a sodding mother hen, so I told him to go away." Kythe replied with a smile. 

Trust her….

Legs were draped over the side of the plush couch in Kythe’s office as he laid down flat across the comfort of it. Kiba held his arms up to hold the piece of parchment he was reading. Requisition orders to make sure that all the necessary supplies were in for the new hold. Things felt as if they were falling into place when it came to running the new organization with his surrogate mother. Transitioning out of Scarwood Fort had gone smoothly which had been a surprise since he had brought four others with him. They wanted to stay with their commander despite their Lord Lokir stepping away from his divinity. Kiba had been greatly surprised and grateful for their votes of confidence.

He shifted his glance over to Kythe who was sitting at her table. His bi-colored eyes seemed to dance as he looked at her with a roguish smile on his lips. ”I did indeed send him a letter. I may have left out the Littles from my wording…so would be best to have an escort set up. If Mordekai or Valandil are up to it then I won’t send down Willits. I don’t think any of the others would be pleasant enough to Kale for a greeting and fetching duty.” Kiba chuckled to himself at the thought of having Cindy or Scarlet trying to meet up with his long old friend. Neither had a really pleasant personality for the outside world until they accepted one into their pack.

The diowolf’s gaze shifted back to his paperwork before shifting to laying on his side with propping up his head on his hand. Legs were tucked on the couch while he read a rather interesting form that had come across his own desk that morning. ”What could possibly the Au’Ra need with twenty bolts of linen? I just supplied them with more not just the other week. I haven’t heard of any injuries.” He flopped down his head on the paper. Requests were going to become more frequent with the rate of growth, and it was important for them to know which ones they could supply. Money was going to be tight for a while, though thankfully there were some old favors Kiba had the ability to call in.

Finally, he sat up with elbows resting on his knees. A few cracks of his back were made before he stood up to stretch more fully. They had been there for a couple of hours going over the paperwork. His feet moved him over to the window where the vines had found their way in. He lightly tugged on one of the strands and rubbed the leaves there. ”What do you think of Kale possibly joining? We had done something similar to this back on DaeLuin. Poor bastard had been tied up for a long time. I think this could be good for him.” Kiba knew he was pretty much answering his own question, but he wanted to know his mother’s thoughts. She had been slightly quiet on the topic, though they were quite busy as of late.

It had been some time since Kale had last done much of anything for his own enjoyment; most of his time was spent in cities gathering information or sleeping, in Shiloh’s Machinarium testing or modifying the arm the goddess built, or traveling between trying to fulfill his contract. This time, though, he was on his way to visit an old friend who had written an invitation. Kale was to pay a visit to an ancient ruin in the mountains north of Adeluna and meet Kiba. It was a place he’d meant to visit long before, but hadn’t yet had the chance.

The Aeolus drifted to a stop above a dense forest, its greenery stretching out and melding into the vine-covered ruins in the distance. Even Kale could admire the tenacity of plant life to reclaim what no longer belonged to mortals. Ultimately, his gaze shifted to the dense foliage below, cracks of black breaking through where the leaves didn’t cover. “So it’s to be that kind of day, is it,” he questioned himself with a frown. Without hesitating, he leapt from the gunwale and disappeared through the greenery.

Kale’s body simply halted in the air before reaching the forest floor, pausing a moment before drifting over and down to more stable ground. From there, he pressed on until odd lights began to flicker into life around him, drifting about lazily and leading the man deeper into the forest. Obstacles seemed to appear before him whenever he tried to get closer to the lights, forcing him to twist and turn through the brush and wind around them. It wasn’t long before he was lost.

———————————————————————

Kale finally stumbled through the wall of forest setting upon the ruins at last. In a strangely metallic hand he held a small figure tightly. The hems of his pants were covered in mud as were his feet; there were tears where they’d caught on various debris. “Kiba,” he called, aggravation apparent. “Ya’d better not ‘ave lied ta me, little imp,” he threatened the creature in his hand, “You’ll wish ya hadn’t.” The thing croaked in terror and pointed frantically to a room nearby. Kale opened the door and stepped inside, releasing his captive upon finding Kiba within.

“Ya coulda warned me about those imps, ya know,” he said exasperated, “Ya know they tried ta feed me to some big thing out there!? Lucky for me they don’t much like the taste.” Kale held up his new arm, grinning and revealing the metallic creation of the goddess Shiloh as what remained of his sleeve fell down to his elbow.

Kythe raised an eyebrow at her son, rolling her eyes as he admitted he had omitted information regarding their little, mischievous, forest guardians. "Well he's going to thank you for that then," she chuckled. "Love? Keep an eye out for a man coming our way will you, his name is Kale, he's a friend of Kiba's and is probably going to fall foul of our companions." 
"I will keep a watch then. Who needs enemies when you have a friend like Kiba hey?" The Dragon replied, amused by the prospect of the poor man falling victim to the Little Ones and their games. 
"Val will keep an eye out, though goodness knows what Kale will think after he's been round in circles a hundred times thank to the Little Ones," Kythe chuckled. 

"I believe they're making clothes for themselves. They've spent so long on their own that they've not needed them, or haven't used them much, but now that more of us are coming to live here in the Hall they've become conscious of their naked frames. I think a few of them were going to make some soft furnishings for the Hall as well, to make it more homely. I don't mind, there's enough coin left in the coffers from when Angela let it all fall from the sky that time. I collected enough of it to cope with the expenses, especially given we're rebuilding ourselves," she shrugged. 

Smiling she nodded. "If he's happy to live by our principles then he's welcome, you know that love. Any friend of yours is a friend of mine, maybe being part of the Guild will give him some direction?" 
"I believe Kiba's friend has arrived… and fallen foul of our companions, I've called to them and they should allow him through now… though admittedly I think both parties are a little worse for wear…" 
By the Gods what had gone on?! Sighing Kythe stood up, putting down the papers she had been steadily working through. "Val says Kale is here, come on, I think the Little Ones have been leading him on a merry dance," she said with a roll of her eyes, only for the man to appear in the room. As he let go of the Little One it immediately shot towards Kythe, scurrying up her trouser leg and tucking itself into her jacket against her breast, hissing at the man that had captured it. "Hush now, hush, you lot have been playing your tricks on him have you not?" She chided, stroking the little, woody head. "Yes exactly. Welcome Kale, I'm sorry my son neglected to mention our little guardians, they come in handy when it comes to protecting our Hall. Ah… yes, that would be one of their elders. I'll have to smooth things over with them it seems," she rolled her eyes heavenward, things were never bloody quiet. "Welcome to our Hall! And nice arm, I don't remember that the last time we spoke."

At Kythe’s response, Kiba gave her a mischievous grin with a quick flick upward of his brows. It was amusing to play pranks on old friends from time to time. Kale was sure to not approve of this one, but Kiba couldn’t help himself. The diowolf shrugged lightly before giving Kythe a wink before laughing at Val’s response. ”The old Avatar has the ability to handle himself. One armed or not, he can hold his own. Besides, Kale needs a little spice in his life to keep things interesting. The Little Ones have the ability to give that too him. No harm done.” Kiba knew that as long as Kale didn’t end up too deep into the forest that he would be fine. It was going to annoy the hell out his old friend, but amuse him none the less.

Kiba went back to his requisition forms that Kythe felt she understood. Head cocked to the side slightly as he thought about the Au’Ra. They had changed much of themselves in order to fit in with the growing guild. Their efforts were appreciated despite the extra steps needed. Kiba felt pity for them and even empathy. It had not been the easiest for the diowolf to full integrate with the world of two-leggers as his uncle had called everyone as he grew up. Being a wolf by true nature was difficult when everyone else was upon two legs. Diowolves were greatly proud creatures that typically did not meld with the outside world. Kiba clicked his tongue as he thought how the proud Au’Ra were not the same closed off as his home Pack. This was the first time in a long time that he had thought about Delox or the Pack.

His mind was brought back to the present and Kythe about the dragon people. He nodded his head in response. ”Whatever they need. It doesn’t matter, I just was unsure of the large amount so quickly.”

The diowolf would have responded but Kale burst through the door with a Little One in his grasp. Kiba pressed his lips tightly thin to keep a laugh from exploding out of him. He watched as the Little ran to Kythe to hide. The hiding of his smile didn’t last long as he began to laugh at Kale. ”Welcome, old friend. And I guess welcome to the ‘two arm club’! Who knew that would have been possible?” Crossing the distance between them he clapped a hand on the shoulder of Kale with a giant grin. ”Don’t be too sour with me.”

Hearing the Kythe’s voice drew his attention and startled him a less frantic state. “Kythe, how lovely to see you again,” Kale said cheerfully “Fancy running into you once more! I trust you’re fairing well and ruminating over those memories now that you’ve found Kiba again?” He offered a warm smile before adding, “Uh by the way…. One of the larger things may have shattered some teeth while trying to eat me; through no fault of my own of course. Will they be okay?”

Kiba’s struggle drew Kale’s attention; the man was trying desperately to keep a straight face and not let out what would likely be an uproarious bout of laughter. Of course, the diowolf failed to contain himself and came to clap a hand on Kale’s shoulder. “Yes, yes, old friend. I’m just glad your memory’s returned. As for the ‘two arm club,’” he said with a smile, extending his arm and flexing the joints, “Next time I have to stitch your wounds they may actually hold without the intervention of a healer.” A grin graced Kale’s face as he continued, “I thought it possible in some fashion, though you know my history with Angela; I couldn’t ask her for help without endlessly being chastised. As overbearing as she was when I gave up Air, she’s become even more so in this world. She acts like that stereotype; the one where the sister dotes on the others and tries to replace their mother? But take a look at this.”

The blue-black metal of the arm split open and parts folded to the sides. A magical device was revealed within, electrical charges covering most of its surface as they arced across. “Compliments of the goddess Shiloh,” he said with a smirk, “I’ve not had reason to test it, but the theory is that I might weaponize this at the expense of use until enough charge can be built. I’m not familiar with the details, but she said something about the charge in my blood somehow keeping this thing going. I'm not too sure on the details, you understand; a bit beyond my field of knowledge,” Kale held his arm in front of Kiba to examine if he so desired; this was a creation based on trial and error combined with an ancient technology.

“Now then, let’s get business out of the way before we catch up, shall we? What was it you two wanted to see me about?”