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Chapter 3: Hunting

XxX

(In flight)

It was a few hours into their flight that Kai twisted his neck around to look back at the Templar. His weight was unfamiliar on Kai's back and while the dragon may not have hair, he still felt like something was standing on end with Skylar so close to him. He was much more sensitive to magic than his brother and Kai was surprised every time he looked to the Templar and didn't see random sparks flittering around him, restraint clearly wasn't a practice that the redhead believed in.

It was bothering Ian as well, sure his brother was trying to hide it but the Tempest that their father has found the human it had scared him. Skylar's magic was an all too painful reminder of that even and it was rubbing slat into another wound that Ian had been trying to bury for the past thirteen years. Ian was from Earth, not Terra something that Kai, their father and everyone else in the clan cared about very little but to Ian it was a very important fact and one that he wanted buried and forgotten. He didn't want to be Earth born like it would somehow change everything in his life if he suddenly admitted it to himself that he was different. Kai wondered if Skylar was from Earth or Terra, it wasn't really something that came up in conversation very often. If Skylar was from Earth, then maybe spending some time with him would do Ian some good with this old hurt and temper the rage he had built over years because of it. If Skylar stopped being an ass for more than ten seconds that is.

Kai suppressed the growl before the others could feel it, where he gets off at accusing him and his kind of being dishonest and dishonourable the dragon didn't know? The more he thought about it though the more he was beginning to see the truth in ray's words. Aside from the greeting, Skylar hadn't used kai's name once and now he was beginning to think that Skylar had only used his name then because it was protocol. Yes, the greeting was dated but technically it was the proper way to greet an Ignitus. Though if you listened to Skylar then Kai's name was actually just Ignitus.

Kai needed to find a way to break the glacier around the Templar, but he was honestly a little afraid of trying and maybe even more of succeeding. The look in Skylar's eyes earlier when they had just left the hanger had almost made kai miss a beat of his wings. he had never seen hate like that before, not directed at him at least but more than the hate there was the rage. Old rage as well, Kai wasn't an expert on humans, but he'd been around enough riders, both in and out of the academy, to recognise an old hurt from a recent one. Whatever it was that twisting Skylar up was old, something that had been allowed to fester and take root. Kai didn't want to be looked at with those eyes again but on the other hand he didn't like the idea of an Ignitus being the centre of that hate either.

So, Kai looked back to the Templar and said the first thing that came to mind.

"How are you doing that?"

"How am I doing what?" Skylar asked looking up from the book that he'd been reading. A book that no matter how bad the wind got wouldn't allow a single page to flap.

"The paper. How is it not flapping everywhere?" The dragon banked sharply and the sudden shift in wind did nothing to the paper. "Explain."

"My primary fulcrum is lightning, you may have noticed that the air around me is always charged. like a static shock in the air."

"No, how could we have missed that." Ian muttered surprising both Kai and Skylar. Okay now Kai was worried, Ian had snark in droves, he got it from their dad, but that hadn't been in jest at all. The Templar's magic must have really been making him uncomfortable.

"Yes... Well. My partner is a Ventaris."

"The Windragons?" Kai asked, he had always wanted to meet a windragon, but they were a small noble clan, if still a very powerful one. In fact, if Kai remembered correctly then they were one of the four great noble clans.

"Yes, they are one of the four great clans, they occupy one of the permeant seats on the high council." Skylar said when Kai asked. "They're a small clan now because of the-"

"Because of the attempted coup a hundred and sixty-three years ago. The province of Ventus was sacked by the army of General Casseca before the Sentinel forces could respond to the traitor Vanguard. The Ventaris clan took on the brunt of the enemy forces and paid a steep price for their bravery. Most of the clan was murdered as retribution for assault on the General's army but the main branch was able to survive and still rules the clan now as they rebuild."

"How do you know all that?" Ian asked his brother. Kai was privately giving himself a pat on the back for getting both of the humans out of their shells enough to engage with him. Even if it was only a little.

"Well the Ignitus have common ancestry with the windragons. It may be from thousands of years ago, but the two clans still treat each other like kin now."

"Except that the Vantaris are anthro's now not feral like the Igntus." Ian pointed out looking back to Skylar for conformation.

"And they have feathers rather than scales. The windragons are closer to avians now than dragons I'm afraid."

"They're still cousins no matter who they decide to sleep with." kai was immensely proud when that got a chuckle out of both humans. "How does your partner have anything to do with the book though?"

"Like I said my partner is a Ventus and his fulcrum is wind. Doing something like this is easy for me." Skylar explained. Kai was going to leave it there happy that they'd had a small conversation without hate filled looks but he could feel Ian's mind turning about something.

"Brother?" Kai prompted.

"I was just thinking." Ian twisted to look at Skylar. "You said partner, do you mean like a mate or like Kai and I with being Rider and Ignitus?"

"Like you and your brother. You two can feel what each other are feeling and thinking at times, can't you?" Kai nodded, it was part of the final tests at the academy, you had to go through a ritual that bound you mind and soul to a human, or in Ian's case a dragon. They had been an unorthodox pair as they were brothers and there was some resistance to their joining. Too many felt that they wouldn't be a productive pair, to many powerful emotions running around inside of them. Like far too often in their lives however the brothers broke the rules and went ahead with it anyway, it was truly a wonder that they had ever graduated the academy at all.

"Templar, and Sentinels, are bound together much more deeply than riders. We can feel each other more freely and pass far more across our bond, the point where my partners fulcrum becomes one of my own. "Skylar finished.

Kai wondered what it would be like to feel closer to someone then he did with his brother already. he could always get a general feel for his brother's mood and with a bit of effort his thoughts were easy to figure out but to be closer? To be standing back to back in each other's minds, adrift in a sea of thoughts not your own with feelings, doubts and fears crashing against you on a whim. Whereas the advantage in that?

"Wait! I know this one." Ian said when Kai asked. "Power, right?"

"Power?" Kai asked giving his brother a look, was he being sarcastic again? Ian twisted to look at Skylar again.

"You said that Templar walk the line of being too powerful, but you also get the best training, the best toy why not the best partner's as well? Make you better killers."

Kai slapped Ian within the confines of their bond and actually bothered to connect with him long enough to snarl an insult at the human.

"That's... close enough I suppose." Skylar admitted. "We get a boost to our magic being bonded so tightly and we work very efficiently in combat together."

"Right." Kai really didn't know what to say after that and again cursed his brother. They had been making a bit of progress and Ian just ruined it.

XxX

(Country side)

Night couldn't have come quickly enough, though they hadn't spoken a word Ian's irritation had begun to bleed over into Kai and the dragon was finding it harder and harder not to say something unwise. He was just glad that Skylar didn't expect him to fly in the dark, he could but they needed a break.

“Okay, dragons have good night vision and Ian's a rider." Kai said, trying to break some of the tension again. Skylar was pulling the saddlebags from the dragon's back and sorting the supplies in near total darkness. “why do you haver such good night vision?"

“Templar."

“Ah of course, how foolish of me." Kai rolled his eyes for Ian to see before scenting the air, they had dried rations, but some fresh meat would be nice. He felt a bit better when Ian grinned over at him, amused by the dragon's sense of humour and Kai sent a playful shove across their bond.

“So, Skylar, are you any good at hunting? We usually have to catch Kai's food in the wild. Likes a meat diet." That wasn't strictly true, Kai would be fine on the rations, but he preferred fresh meat and the hunt would get them away from the Templar for a little while and give Ian a chance to breath.

“I don't view it as hunting." Kai and Ian felt a pulse of static flow under their feet that came from Skylar before the Templar unsheathed his sword and hurled it into the woods. The loud yelp that echoed from within the trees proof of his aim. “Hunting implies a challenge."

“I mean, if you're just going to cheat, I suppose it's easy…" Ian muttered; Kai was grateful that Skylar had caught something, but he'd hoped it would take much longer... and get them further away from each other.

“While on a mission the team should stay close to each other and waste as little time as possible." Skylar admonished, already gathering loose wood for a small fire. “You and your partner both need to regain as much strength as possible for when we fly through the Snow Lands. Me 'cheating' as you call it, is the most efficient way to gather what resources we need."

Kai frowned for all of two seconds. “I can't be certain, but I think he just said he was concerned for us."

“My concern is the mission." Skylar ignited a small flame in the palm of his hand and set about starting the fire.

“Yeah, I wouldn't interpret it as concern for us," Ian replied. “But thanks for doing it anyway."

Skylar frowned for a moment but shrugged off the comment and retrieved the kill that would be their dinner for the evening.

XxX

(Snow lands)

The second day the weather took a drastic turn for the worst as Kai pulled closer to the mountains, with the time of year the storms and sheer volume of snow falling brought their visibility down to almost nothing. Kai couldn't get low enough to see the ground without seriously hindering his ability to fly.

“This is going to be a problem." Skylar eventually admitted struggling to see even Kai's head a few feet in front of him. “If we can't find him from the air I'm going to need you to take me to each village and landmark on the map so that I can search the ground."

“You can't just blow the snow away?" Ian asked sarcastically, sighing himself. “I guess we don't have a choice other than checking each location, though, you're right."

“We should land." Skylar grunted and that was something that Kai would very much like to do but his pride wouldn't let him admit it. He wanted to prove that the Ignitus were better than Skylar thought of them and he was the best flyer out of the Academy in generations. He was not going to be beaten by a little snow.

“I'm fine!" Kai called back, snarling as a particularly strong gust batted them off to one side.

“For now, but what about tomorrow?" Skylar called back, they could be searching for days and even the strongest dragons couldn't fly around inside of storms for days on end, not like this. Kai knew that, he didn't just know that, but he could feel it.

“Kai." Ian laid a hand gently on Kai's front leg. “He's right, we should set down and wait this one out."

“... Fine."

“There should be a few buildings below us." Skylar muttered leaning over to try and get a glimpse of the ground. “We can hold up inside one of them."

“Alright, we'll find one big enough for a dragon. Keep your eyes out," Ian asked, scouring the ground to look for a spot that would take the three of them.

As they dropped lower and lower they found the remains of an old town hall, the building was big enough to house Kai and was still mostly intact.

“I miscalculated the severity of the storm." Skylar ground out once they had landed and he was going through the pack that he had arranged for them. “There isn't sufficient cold weather gear for you, and we have no way of getting firewood."

“Kai and I will both be fine. I don't get cold," Ian pointed out. “Are you going to be all right?"

“I will be fine, I don't feel the cold either." Skylar said, though he was giving Ian a strange look. “Resistance to cold is not a trait that is shared between riders." It wasn't lost on the brother that it wasn't a question.

“I have innate fire magic, it keeps me warm regardless of temperature," Ian explained. “I can't really go into more details because I don't know them myself."

“A useful ability." Skylar commented before looking around. “This is going to take longer than I would have liked. I am going to check the buildings in this area, you remain here."

“Got it, see you shortly." Ian waited for Skylar to leave, before looking to Kai and rolling his eyes. “Holy shit. They shove rods up their asses as soon as they join the Templar training?"

“His must be massive… and barbed." Kai growled as he pushed away debris and snow until he had cleared a large enough patch. A burst of flames turned it into a comfortable bed of smouldering coals for the dragon to settle down in. He would be alright in this cold, but he was far from comfortable in it. “Makes me glad our academy wasn't too strict with us. That… what do you even call that, conditioning? Orders, mission. Yes sir!"

“Yeah, conditioning is exactly right," Ian agreed. “Kind of creepy, honestly."

“Well, maybe he's just too by the book." Kai shrugged settling down. “Still, if he was ordered to kill us at the end of this do you think he'd think twice about it?"

“No. Don't joke about that, I'm not going to be able to sleep," Ian complained.

“Well you know what I'm talking about, that look that he had." Kai pressed on even if he feared it himself. “Wonder what you have to do to get that look?"

“Or have done to you," Ian pointed out. “Either way, I doubt he's going to open up about it with us."

“Yeah, I don't want to do another mission with him." Kai said and surprised himself when he meant it as well. Not only was his magic making Ian uncomfortable and irritable, but Kai didn't trust the Templar not to lash out at him for whatever reason it was that he hated Ignitus. “He creeps me out."

“Well, I suspect he doesn't like us much either, so this'll probably be a one and done," Ian agreed. “Still, let's keep at it. Don't want to make the Riders look bad."

“Why don't you just sleep with him?" Kai giggled before he almost choked on that image. “Actually, forget I said that… I think that alone will give me nightmares."

“Yeah, let's not think that over," Ian chuckled. “Better for all of us."

“How would they even… No, no! Bad Kai!" The dragon shook his head and focused on something, anything, else. “So, are we actually just going to dump him when we find this Acrisus?"

“What? No, I don't like him, but leaving him seems harsh," Ian pointed out, before grinning. “Besides, I want to see an Acrisus in the flesh."

“Even if he ends up killing him?" Kai asked, he wasn't so sure he wanted to stand by and watch that. It was why he had always been against the pair of them coming to the military, he'd seen riders who had come back from long stints with Templars and Vanguard… they weren't the same.

“I was trying to be light-hearted, Kai, don't say that," Ian frowned. “I'm hoping it won't come to that."

“Yeah me too." Kai mumbled. The Dragon pulled Ian in closer to himself and looked around the hall. “Do you think he'll care if we get some sleep?"

“Doubt it. I'm sure he'll find a complaint regardless, and I'm exhausted, so let's do it," Ian smiled, snuggling into his brother. “Night, Kai."

“Night, Ian." Kai curled around his brother and let sleep overtake him.

XxX

(Snow lands, Town Hall)

The brothers were ripped from their sleep after what felt like only minutes, Kai felt Ian be dragged from his side and thought that it was their Templar until he registered the furred paws holding Ian's arms and the sharp blade pressed to his brother's throat.

Kai roared, throwing off the Terrans on his back and braced himself to unleash an inferno on these people until the coppery tang of blood hit his nose and he saw a few drops roll down Ian's neck. Kai's entire world went cold as he froze he couldn't tear his gaze away from the blood, his brothers blood. Ian was still struggling against his captors and Kai finally realised who was ambushing them.

They were Kitsune a dozen of them.

The Kitsune were an oddity even amount the Terrans, you could roughly guess their age by counting the number of tails that they had and until their twentieth year it was next to impossible to tell the difference between a normal Terran fox breed and a Kitsune.

Cursed with the stigma of being little more than thieves and tricksters many turned to being bandits and chose to roam the countryside in packs of their own kind rather than stay in cities. It wasn't uncommon for people to simply ignore the fox breeds because they didn't trust them, believing that they could weave their illusions around anything. Terrans even refused kitsune money, thinking it to be nothing more than a trick of magic. Such was the aptitude of their illusions.

The one that had a blade to Ian's throat had four tails swishing about behind him, putting him anywhere between eighty and a hundred years old.

“Well what do we have here?" The canine asked, they certainly fit the stereotype of bandits, rough clothes with more than a few patches sown on and mismatched pieces of armour. Their weapons were still very real though.

“What does it look like?" Ian snapped, but didn't struggle with the blades pressed so close. “Didn't think you guys would thrive out in this weather."

“Well it is the perfect place to hide." The kitsunes laughed, Ian got looked up and down as the rider's saddlebags were searched. “And with your friend out of the picture you're ripe for the taking."

“How long have you been watching us, then? Since we landed?" They should've realised the place was occupied, damn it. “What do you even want?"

“We didn't want anything, but then you just appeared right in our laps; it would be rude to not accept that invitation don't you agree?"

“Well, if you'd just wanted to talk, you could've asked me," Ian pointed out, managing to flash a smile. “I don't take issue with kitsune."

“I do!" Kai snarled and was ready to tear into the illusion masters, until the blood drew his attention to the cut on Ian's neck. Kai willed the growl out of his voice and tried to plead. “Let my brother go!"

“Oh, you're brothers?" The leader laughed, walking up to Ian, and letting a pale blonde furred tail drag over the side of his face. “That must be a very interesting story."

“How about you take the sword away from my throat, pour me a drink, and I'll tell you all about it?" Ian invited, keeping his tone level, even as the faint blush appeared on his cheek from the tail running over his skin.

The kitsune seemed to notice it as he leaned in and winked at Ian. “I'm afraid that's not possible, we need to leave before others find us. I will be taking all this fine-looking armour and the weapons of course. I'd love to take the swords from that Templar but I'm not going to mess with one of them."

“That seems wise," Ian muttered. “Though if you want my gear, you're going to have to take it off me. I can't really take this off when I'm being restrained."

“Oh, I'm sure we can get you out of- “The leader snapped his head up as the sound of heavy footsteps echoed around the hall.

Kai would never admit it but right then he could have kissed the Templar as that overbearing static filled aura seemed to slam down around them. Ian may have thought that he could talk or flirt his way out of any situation, but Kai would take the brute force of a Templar over that uncertainly.

Skylar too in the situation in an instant but Kai's relief died a quick death. The Templar was furious!

“So, it was Kitsune." The blanket of static over the room increased so much that the Terrans fur was beginning to stand on end and Kai was finding it harder and harder to breath as the Templar walked towards them. “You just signed your death warrants."

The magical pressure was too much for one of the Kitsune, who was barely able to breath under the growing weight of Skylar's magic. Armed with his sword he charged, lashing out only to hauled from his paws by the hand suddenly gripped around his throat.

“Hey, Skylar, calm down," Ian called out, looking to the lead Kitsune swiftly. “Let me go and leave, please. I don't want any blood spilled."

“What you want is irrelevant." Skylar said, lightning beginning to arc around the kitsune in his grip, the fox spasmed and cried out in pain as the magic course through him. “You're all bandits and killing you on site is fully within my standing orders. Surrender and I'll make it quick for you."

“Right, get off," Ian snarled, pushing the blade away from his throat and standing up, the kitsunes too shocked to stop him. “You kill them, and this mission is over."

“And so is your ridership," Skylar said, “You defend bandits and I'll name you outlaws yourselves, your very clan will hunt you down."

“I'm not stupid enough to fight you, but I don't give a shit about ridership," Ian replied, staring into Skylar's eyes evenly. “This is wrong. I won't stand by for it."

“Morality isn't a good enough reason," Skylar said, the fox in his grip going limp. “And I will kill you along with them." Skylar's eyes, he was serious the Templar would murder every one of them and not give a second thought to any of them afterwards.

“They're useful!" Kai shouted, knocking the last Kitsune off his back and moving to grab Ian in case things went south. “They know the area, they hunt here they can help us find Drake."

Skylar hesitated for a moment before looking to the leader, his grip loosening on the Kitsune enough to allow the poor fox to breath. “Is that true?"

“Yo-you're looking for someone?" The leader asked, almost on his knees from the magic pressure being exerted on the room.

“An Acrisus, he left Hanleth several days ago, heading for this region." Skylar said, the irises of his eyes glowed an electric blue from all the magic flowing off him.

“We can find him, please. Let Kanan go." Skylar looked at the Kitsune in his grip, he was a younger member, only two tails and his fur was the same pale blonde almost white as the leader. The Templar lowered Kanan to the floor and let go of his neck. “Thank y-"

Kanan yelped when Skylar gripped him by the back of the neck instead and the leader looked devastated.

“Here's the deal, you and your clan of bandits are going to scour this countryside until you find my prey. Then and only then will I give you your son back to you." Kai wondered how Skylar put their relation together so quickly but didn't question it. “Fail me or betray me and he dies. Then I'll rip your heads from your bodies."

His ultimatum delivered Skylar dragged Kanan over to the fire and sat down very clearly waiting for them to leave.

“Fail or betray me and I'll rip your heads from your bodies." Was all the Templar said, moving past the foxes and the riders to the saddle bags.

“I think we should head outside. I'll give you the details," Ian said once Skylar was past, gesturing to the door. “Now, please."

The kitsune didn't argue and all piled out of the room to escape the templar but not without mournful looks thrown at Kanan as they left.

“Thank you." the leader said looking to Kai. “You didn't have to do that."

“I didn't want to watch a blood bath."

“Likewise, but you should consider a career change. He's not beyond reporting where you're all camped up when he gets back," Ian pointed out. “Banditry is going to catch up to you eventually, without third chances."

“Well those are problems for later, who are you looking for, I'm very motivated to finding them."

“Skylar gave you most of the details," Ian admitted. “I just wanted to get out of there. He's an Acrisus Vanguard, looking to sell something on to a third party. If you see him, don't engage him, he's as likely to kill you as my colleague. Just tell us where you saw him straight away."

“We can do that, thank you." The leader said, and the rest of the pack bowed even the unfortunate soul who had been caught by Skylar. They all sped off afterwards, looking to put as much distance between themselves and the Templar as they could.

“As least they can run away." Kai muttered.

“Let's just hope they can actually do this job," Ian replied, sighing. “I'm definitely not working with Skylar again after this. Fucking maniac."

“You know we have to go back inside. With the maniac."

“Guess we should let the magic die down for a couple of minutes, then head in," Ian reluctantly agreed. “I'm just gonna hide against you all night."

“Oh cheers!" Kai growled, grabbing Ian in a paw and holding him out as if the human could shield him. “I'll just offer you as tribute."

“He might actually take that, at this point," Ian laughed, wriggling in Kai's paw.

The sight that greeted them when they walked back into the hall was not what they were expecting. Skylar had moved to lean against one of the farthest walls away from Kai's bed of coals, the kitsunes within arm's reach but the Templar had his head held in one hand and looked to be in pain. Kanan looked terrified and Skylar noticed the moment that they walked in and his eyes were... Different, but only for a moment. For a moment it looked like his eyes were-.

"You should get some sleep."

"And him?" Ian asked, and Kai wanted to strangle his brother, couldn't he let it rest for the moment?

"I've made a deal, I intend to honour it."

"Yeah, well..." Kai knew exactly what Ian wanted to say but the reality was that whatever the Templar wanted to do, he would do. The dragon was starting to understand the role that they played more and more.

"Night."

The riders barely heard a whispered good night from the Templar before they slipped into sleep.

XxX

(Snow lands, Town Hall)

Two days the Kitsune had been searching for the Vanguard and their little group was getting ready to settle down for the night. They had been using the hall as a rally point as they searched the surrounding area and each day a member of the clan came back to inform Skylar where they had searched and what they had found.

Skylar was utterly professional as he listened to their reports and when he wasn't making death threats he was good at being in command organising the clan to search with an efficient pattern. Ian and Kai knew that it wasn't that he cared, it was cold and calculated. Whatever he had to do to find this Vanguard that he was hunting.

Kanan was by the fire helpfully dishing up their evening meal with ian and seemed to be taking his captivity well. he hadn't tried to run; sheer terror probably saw to that and Skylar hadn't done anything more than make the Kitsune stay close to him in two days.

"Is it poisoned?" Skylar asked when Kanan brought him share over to 'their' little stretch of wall.

"Would that work?" The genuinely hopeful tone in the canine's voice made Skylar snort and look up with a small smirk. "Really would that work?"

"Probably not no."

"Are they really getting along?" Ian whispered to his brother and Kai was really beginning to hate how he couldn't figure Skylar out.

“Do you have a question to ask dragon?" There was a disgusted twist on the way that Skylar said dragon, but Kai got the feeling that it wasn't aimed at him. No matter how much it hurt hearing someone be disgusted with his species, Kai was finding it difficult to find any fire to throw back at Skylar.

“No." Kai said, settling down to try and sleep again, this time with a pair of burning blue eyes on his back.

“Does it not bother you, almost killing as many people as you did?" Ian asked, looking up and frowning. He'd been trying to understand it ever since they met the Kitsunes. “This Vanguard, I can sort of understand. But that...that was too much."

“... They were a threat." Skylar said turning his gaze away from the Riders.

“Hardly. They were incapacitated from fear," Ian replied. “That's not it."

A small arc of lightning coiled around Skylar for a moment before the Templar gripped his right hand in his left. Kai was shocked when Kanan actually looked ready to help. “You're Earthborn, aren't you?"

Earthborn, those who were born on Earth and then brought over to Terra. There were many reasons why the Trackers and other Terrans would bring children, teenagers, and adults from their places of birth. The most common being that somehow a Terran had made their way to Earth from their home and disrupted someone's life to such an extent that they would never be able to return to what was considered normal.

In Ian's case, he had been transported from Earth to Terra when he was just a child, though no one knew why or how it had happened.

“Yeah, that's what they tell me," Ian nodded, not remembering too well himself. “Why?"

“You don't remember it?" Skylar asked, looking to the rider. “Any of it?"

Ian shook his head. “First thing I remember is being picked up on this end. No idea how I even got here."

“Interesting. You should both get some sleep."

Ian was going to chase Skylar up on not answering his question, but then decided against it and shrugged, snuggling up to Kai. “Alright. G'night."

The next day, the report they were waiting for came in.

“You're sure?" Skylar asked, pinning the startled kitsune with the intensity of his gaze.

“Yes sir. A lone croc is holed up in a small temple about six hours north of here, it's one that's not on the maps because it was never finished." The kitsune said. “He's powerful as well, we could feel him as we got closer."

“Makes sense that he would hide somewhere not on the maps." Kai pointed out, they had already covered most of the sites that they knew about and turned up nothing.

“Alright, I'll head out then." Skylar said he was already half way to his pack. “If this is accurate then your clan is free to go, but I will have to report your presence in this region once I return." It was a fair warning, with the weather being this bad and the unpopulated remote area the clan probably had weeks if not months of time to find somewhere to relocate to.

Ian gave the kitsune a helpless shrug behind Skylar's back; to be fair, it was a reasonable deal, which he was somewhat surprised by. There was a big difference between murdering the bandits and just reporting them, after all.

“Tha- Thank you!" The Kitsune leader bowed deeply and dragged Kanan out of the hall with not time for any goodbyes.

“You may leave now if you want." Skylar said, remembering Ian's promise. “I have no doubt that the Kitsune were telling the truth and I will find my target."

“We'll stick around. Reflects poorly on us if you die," Ian muttered. “Can hardly expect you to walk back to the carrier either."

Skylar turned to look at the riders, but his only response was to unsheathe his sword. “So, you're prepared for the consequences that come with that action?"

“It's your mission, he's your target. You do you," Ian shrugged. “I only take issue when you start murdering everyone in the periphery. If you want to kill a good source of intel, it's your call, Templar."

“Then let's go."

“All aboard!" Kai chuckled, flexing his wings out for the flight ahead.

XxX

(Snow lands, Abandoned Temple)

They spent the flight there in silence until the Temple came into view for them, what the Kitsune said about it not being finished was made clear when they saw that there was scaffolding left unattended along one of the walls.

“He's here." Skylar muttered, his grip tightening on his sword. “And he's alone, good."

“Well, best of luck. We'll be here rooting for you," Ian said, pulling the bow off his back just in case. “Figure you'd want us non-military types away from the fighting."

“It would be best, but it is up to you, this will be a difficult fight for me." Skylar said suddenly sounding uneasy, almost nervous. “I won't be able to protect you from him."

Ian glanced down to Kai, before sighing and sliding off the dragon's back. “Don't worry about us. I'll try and help out if I can, but we'll keep our distance."

Skylar nodded dropping his pack with Kai before walking towards the temple. “Skylar." Kai called out to the templar. “Be careful." If he heard, he gave no indication and kept walking towards the building. “And he's still being an ass, jeez."

“That's not going to stop any time soon," Ian shrugged. “C'mon, let's try and stop him from doing anything too stupid."

The door seemed to scream as Skylar opened it, he had no doubt that Drake knew they were there anyway, but it did a wonderful job of announcing them anyway. The Acrisus was sat on one of the many benches scattered throughout the room and had his back to them when they walked in.

“So, they finally sent one of their lackeys to come and kill me, did they?" Drake asked though the Acrisus didn't bother turning around to face them. “I'm surprised that you found this place.

“Captain Drake Vaques, by order of the Sentallian High command you have been charged with High Treason and espionage with the intent to sell military secrets." Skylar declared marching further into the room. “You are ordered to return what you have stolen and report to the nearest Vanguard facility for arrest and to await a fair trial."

“Wonder how many take that option." Kai mumbled.

Drake chuckled to himself and finally turned to look at the three of them. “What this is it? A baby officer and two riders who can't be a tenth my age combined? Well I suppose that's what almost a century of servitude buys you."

“Hey, we just got told to be here," Ian sighed. “Like a glorified taxi service for this guy."

“Ah I see, so the riders haven't changed much have they. You might as well be dogs wagging your tails to please their masters." Drake spat. “And you, did you request the mission to apprehend a traitor or were you just ordered to come here as well?"

“If you're trying to aggravate me Captain it won't work. I've read your file." Drake Vaques wasn't just a Captain level Vanguard he was also one of the best they had when it came to interrogation, he had a knack for being able to get inside of people's heads without lifting a finger. “I am here for one reason. Give me the crystal."

The insults did not particularly impress Ian either; they'd heard about as much from Skylar. People outside of the mountain never seemed to think much of Riders, which was their mistake. “Just hand it over, Drake. Three against one isn't a fair fight, age gap aside."

“You're right of course." Drake sighed, holding out a crystal that made Skylar twitch. “They should have sent a hundred of you."

Ian gave Drake a tired look. “I knew you were going to say that, come on."

“Maybe less talking then, I'll prove it to you."

Kai didn't know how it happened, one moment the rogue Vanguard was in front of them and in the next he was in front of Skylar stabbing for the Templars heart. Skylar was thankfully ready but, in an effort, to protect his heart Vaques still managed to bury his dagger up the hilt in the human's gut.

If Skylar fell here... If the Templar fell, then they were all dead.

Kai was beginning to regret his life's choices.