His mouth formed a hard line as he seemed to be in deep thought. Kiel's mind raced with questions and answers all at the same time. He had no idea what he was searching for, but when the words "a child born of rain" were spoken, his mind took another lapse as his eyes widened in what appeared to be fear more so than surprise.

"I'm sorry, but a child born of rain?" He whispered, trying to keep it quiet. "I cannot fathom that at all. Didn't the child die within the murdered mother's whom? This is absolutely preposterous!" He slammed his fists to the table in annoyance and anger as he looked as though he was about to shed tears.

A dark past for a young priest, he had, yet he knew that he was only making a fuss. If he could give anything, he wished the rain would stop, or at least bring about happiness, rather than rot and destruction.

He gazed back up to meet Celest's gaze. His own was cold and filled with hatred and sorrow. "For my people to have trusted the god who cast us into eternal rain, make our kind ill with the plague...." Tears began to whell up in his eyes. "I cannot let it happen again. We weren't the ones who killed his wife and child!! Why punish the innocent also? Why can he not simply punish those who did him wrong?"

At this point, the priest was lost in his own past, sputtering out his emotions to people who never knew his kind existed. Even though his rage of emotions overtook him, in a way it was for the best. It was obvious he had kept this all under wraps, and needed to free it.

Lyn's eyes widened at the mention of the Rain Spirit. She knew the story all so well, having been told it quite often in her childhood. "Yes.."she said after a moment of thought. "I know it very well..." She closed her eyes and called upon the memories of the story from her childhood. The words pored from her lips like water from a jug, as she recited the story she had been told. She was not conscious of whether she was speaking them loudly or softly, or if other may have over heard; only of the words themselves.

"Many years ago, long before most that still walk this earth were born, the Rain Master, greatest and most powerful of all water spirits, came to our world in the form of a human. His intentions were to stay a year to experience life as a human, but that changed quickly when he met a beautiful young maiden. He fell in love with her beauty instantly and soon her herself. She was, in his eyes, the perfect woman. She was well mannered and talented, and to top it all off, she loved him back as well.

It wasn’t long after they met that the young couple married and began to make plans to start a family. The Rain Master swore to never leave his love to return to the spirit world, thus throwing the world into drought for the longest time. Little by little, the river and streams, ponds and lakes, all soon began to dry up, and the people began to fight over what little water was left.

Not every one fought though. There had been a small group of men from different towns and villages who met each day to think of ways to get more water. In the end, they devised a plan that might get the Rain Master to return to his home in the spirit world and make it rain again. And soon, a select few of them were on the front step of the Rain Master’s human home.

They knew he was out the house doing business in a near by town, and that his wife, who was heavy with their first child, was left home alone with no way to defend herself. They knocked on the door and she welcomed them graciously in, not knowing what they were planning. It wasn’t till they were all in and had her distracted that one of them pulled out a dagger and delivered a blow, that would not only kill her, but the child inside her as well.

She screamed in pain and her voice could be heard quite a bit of a distance away. Having heard the screams, the Rain Master, who had already been on his way home at this point, began to hurry, hoping that it might be time for his wife to give birth. When he got there, he did found his young bride, not ready to give birth, but lying motionless on the floor with a knife in her stomach. He quickly scooped the woman up and laid her on there bed. He pulled the blade out of her there and placed hid hand over the wound, hoping to heal her so that she may live through it, but to no avail. She had already passed and could no longer be saved.

He scooped the cold, lifeless body back up into his arms and carried her away till he reached a small pool of crystal clear water at the door between the human and spirit worlds. There he placed her in the water and her body slowly sank to the bottom where it is said to still rest to this very day.

After that he returned to the spirit world. His heart was now as cold as ice. He looked down onto the earth with a raging fury. Having only thoughts of revenge on his mind. He knew what he would do to make them pay for their heartless crime. He began to speak, and his voice was heard through out the world.

"So this is how far you'll go to get what you want. To heartlessly kill something so innocent and defenseless with out giving it a second though. I'll give you your rain. A of curse endless rain. I only hope you all drown in it."

That was the last anyone ever heard from him... I

It is rumored that when he placed the woman’s body in the water, the spirit of the child was released into the world to one day finally be born. And when it is, it’ll find a way to put an end to this eternal rain."

Shad paid full attention to Lyn's explanation about the Rain Master's past, doing his best to not speak up or add his comments as to not interrupt her, the emotions he felt were expressed through his face, anger, sadness, any emotion you could feel. When Lyn finished her story, his book was upon the table, Shad was holding his forehead, eyes closed, shaking his head. "Those barbarians... killing an innocent woman and her unborn child, why did they not think it through?!" He did his best to not yell, yet he wished he could, to vent the sheer rage he felt, hearing what caused the rains. He let out a disappointed sigh, but then his eyes opened, putting his anger aside and calming down, he got an idea, sitting up straight, his hands holding his book once more.

"Lyn, do you think it is possible to revive the rain master's wife?" He whispered, his book flipped through the pages by itself back to the spells and it stopped on the page that had a revival spell. "I have a revival spell right here, it could bring her back... but the child I cannot save, it only works for fully mortal beings, it requires very rare materials, but luckily I have enough of each one. What do you say?" He adjusted his glasses once more and waited for an answer.

Lyn closed her eyes and looked down. "I doubt it's possible." she sighed. "She died at least 100 years ago. Her flesh would have decomposed by now and only bone would remain, if anything at all..." She looked back up at Shad. "Even if it was possible, we'd have to find her first. Even then, I don't think the rain would stop. The Rain Master's heart turned to ice that day... He may even be so cold he'd reject the woman he loved, dead or alive."

He ears drooped, letting out a disappointed sigh, "you are right dear... if only I had been born long ago and heard of this trouble before it was too late, it might have been prevented, whatever can we do now?" He closed his book and pushed his chair back, standing up, "perhaps we should turn in for the night, we'll need plenty of rest for traveling tomorrow, come on, I'll pay for your room." Using his free hand he reached into one of the pouches on his belt, pulling out a bag of gold coins, big enough to fit within the palm of his hand, he smiled kindly. He then walked over to the door, grabbing his almost dry cloak off the rack and then over to the registry desk to buy their rooms.

He looked over at the table, hoping Lyn would come up to the desk as well.

Celest watched as Kiel spoke only fragments of his past. Seeing pain well in his eyes, she simply sat there. She didn't know how to comfort and she didn't know much about this so called Rain Master. Her people prayed to the Wind Deities and thus they weren't educated in other powers or lore such as the Rain Master.

When the woman at the other table started to quote a story of this so called Rain Master, she listened in on their conversation learning the story of this rain deity. She turned back to Kiel. "I do not know of this Rain lord... nor this woman or child. I speak only of what the winds have whispered to me." She said quietly, "But this child is who I seek." She would approach Lyn later. Perhaps this girl could help her on her search.

Lyn looked at Shad and smile. "That is quite kind of you, Shad." she said politely as she stood up from the table. "I hope it won't be too much trouble for you." She looked across the room and over at where Celest and Kiel sat, then at the rest of the room. She felt a bit guilty about what would happen to these people when she left the next morning. She wanted to warn them all, but that would only lead to them imprisoning her, or whores, killing her. She could only hope that most would have gone from the town before the floods could come in her wake.

Shad chuckled lightly, "no trouble at all, I wouldn't have offered if it was dear" he faced the owner of the inn behind the desk, "two rooms please, for me and my friend here if it is no trouble." The owner didn't say anything, they just grabbed two keys on the hooks, gave them to Shad, and then Shad gave the right amount of coins to pay the man, he smiled and gave Lyn one of the keys. Spotting the numbers on the keys, he chuckled once more, "looks like our rooms are right next to each other, lets hit the hay, shall we?" Placing his bag of money back into the pouch on his belt, then he folded his cloak neatly, carrying it at his side with his book, he then headed for the stairs.

Looking around through the long hallways of rooms he managed to find both their doors, sticking his key into the door and turned toward Lyn, giving her one last smile, "good night dear, sweet dreams, tomorrow will be a long day" he then stepped inside, gently closing the door behind him. The room was small, yet the perfect size for a single person, a wooden dresser, a comfortable looking bed, a lantern atop the dresser for lighting, a small table on the far wall away from the bed and a couple frames with interesting pictures upon the walls. He didn't focus on that, placing his cloak and then his book upon the table, walking over and then sitting down on his bed, sinking into it since it was so comfortable.

"Ahh..." he said pleasurably, laying on his back, but then he stared at the ceiling for a while, thinking about what Lyn said, "she is cursed... but what kind of curse could it be?" He then sat up and held his chin, "I must ask her in the morning... or my curiosity will never end." He removed his boots, placing them at the foot of his bed, removed his glasses, placing them on the dresser by the lantern, he got under the covers and blew the flame out in the lantern and closed his eyes, falling asleep.

"Night." Lyn said just before Shad entered his room. She then entered hers and closed the door quickly. The first thing she did was pule her cloak off and drop it to the floor. Then she hurried over to the window and closed to curtain, just to make sure no one could look in from the opposing buildings and see just who she was. After that was done, she fell back onto her bed and closed her eyes.

It had been quite some time since she'd had a bed to sleep in. Avoiding towns was one thing she tried to do. It was not her wish have inocent people drown just because she was to have the comfort of a roof over her head ans a bed to sleep in for only a night. She'd tried to stay in a town for once and not leave, but after a while, her identity was discovered and she was foolishly run out of it.

The bed was quite comfortable. Much firmer and cleaner than the muddy ground outside. She hated sleeping outside in the mud, she'd always wake up caked in it and it would take her quite some time to wash it off. On the bright side, it was good for the skin. As thoughts ran through her head, Lyn soon found herself drifting off to sleep.

Kiel heard the story of the Rain Master from Lyn and stopped dead in his tears, wiping them away instantly. His mind raced with many things, more hopeful things, like ending this bad omen. As long as his clan were safe, he was happy. The Kitsune, of course didn't want anything to happen to anyone else either, but he would hate to have to lead another pilgrimage.

"That's it! Celest, tomorrow morning, we shall wake up bright and early and try to accompany those two!" He exclaimed, punding his fist into his other palm.

The priest smiled and picked up his staff, coming to a stand. His hair bounced as he bounded his way to the desk. Before asking for a room, he looked back at Celest.

"Do you need a room, Miss?" His voice was much happier now that he had a better idea.

The chain of events left her a little confused. She looked towards Lyn and Shad as they stood, went to the counter and took a room. She was completely dry now, her white hair came to life with every movement she made, while the jewels on her head twinkled.

Kiel went from crying one minute to swiping away his tears and bounding off the chair and towards the desk. When he said that they would accompany the other two, her mouth opened slightly to protest. Lyn and Shad didn't know them, and to intrude on such a party was considered rude in her tribe.

'Do you need a room, Miss?' He said looking over to her.

She stood and walked over to him, keeping her voice low. "Yes... but I do not have anything to repay you with..." It was shameful to take and not give something in return.

Kiel protested her words and smiled.

"Do not worry, having met you and knowing that you seek something as well is enough payment for me." The priest nodded reassuringly.

Paying for the two rooms, he handed the key to Celest. "I will think of a way to introduce ourselves to those two tonight. Hopefully, we can catch them before they take off."

The Kitsune was a determined race. Once they had set their minds to something, they refused to let it go. Kiel Faust had some hard times in the past, but he shined when there was any form of hope at all.

She couldn't help but return the smile. She pushed some hair behind her ear and nodded. "You are very kind to someone you barely know. It reminds me a little of my village." She said quietly. "I thank you for doing this, I would've paid for myself... however, I seem to have come short on coin." It was a small white lie, seeing as though she never started out with any coin in the beginning.

She wondered if it was safe to travel with him, let alone a small group of people. Seeing as though she didn't quite remember what happened or how it happened to her village, she didn't quite trust herself anymore. But one thing was for sure. She knew she could be of help with her ability to shift into a gryphon.

The Kitsune priest smiled warmly. "You are very welcome. I don't mind helping out others. It's what I do for a living after all, but no need to repay me."

His smiled turned into a vacant expression as he appeared to be in deep thought. Kiel slowly turned his back to her, peering through the window at the rain. A low growl escaped his throat as he walked a little ahead, towards the stairs.

"Have a good night, Miss Celest. I will see you in the morning." He said, turning around with a smile.

His turn of expressions kept baffling her. She was a bit unsure of whether or not to trust him or the others, but then again, she couldn't even trust herself. Moving at a calm graceful pace, she turned to look at the songtress before taking her room key and moving upstairs. She went to her room and laid on her bed, listening to the pitter patter of the rain. Her eyes closed as the droplets lulled her to sleep.

She was back in her village again, which she always found fascinating. Their parents and their parents' parents had built and added to a thiving town that had been completely roofed where it mattered most. Pathways were roofed along with play areas for the children, houses and gathering areas. But being intuned with nature, it didn't look like it was completely roofed. There were thousands of wide openings that allowed the wind and rain to come through. Where the rain fell through it created ponds or lakes that streamed through the entire town creating a lush atmosphere under the roofing (they called the odd plants Shades). The sun never shown but fire torches lit up the area creating a never ending sun for the people. Rainbows formed from the raindrops and the torch light, scattering their colorful beauty everywhere. It was gorgeous. An oasis of sorts and a sanctuary for many a traveler. This was the way she loved to remember her village. Children laughed and played in a dry grassy area, while a elderly woman entertained the older kids with stories of the Wind deities. Men and women flirted with eachother and someone was about to propose his love to a young woman. A mother quieted her young with a bottle of warm milk while her children told her about their day. But the one thing she loved most was that there were smiles everywhere. There was a bright flash and the town changed. It seemed darker now. The smiles were nearly gone, parents frowned as food became scarce and disease plagued the elderly. She was in her home... a knock on the door. She opened it, only to be approached by a man. He had been coming to her with problems of his own, smiling whenever he left. He offered her protection, food, a family. She said she needed to feed the town before herself, and she was capable of protecting herself, a family would just slow her down at this point. Angered by being rejected his smile turned from a frown, pulling a knife out and pushed it towards her throat. She didn't feel any pain though. She remembered quite well that she felt a sense of freedom. Of losing the restriction of flesh... and being a free spirit. The man's face turned to horror, but anger... she still felt anger. There was another flash. She was now laying atop of rubble, when she opened her eyes she was staring into the face of a child. A child who was still silently screaming. She stood, frightened and looked around. The dead littered with the rubble. All the smiles were gone. The wind brushed her face as the once thriving town now laid silent. 'You did this...' The boy that had been dead moments before stared up at her. His eyes completely white while his body seemed disfigured. 'You did this...' he repeated, but his voice was more feminine. She turned to see why only to meet a tall figure cloaked in black, raindrops gliding down the fabric. The head of the figure turned to face her a wicked jagged smile glinted underneath that hood, but the rest was cloaked in shadow. 'You did this...' The jagged smile laughed and tried to reach for her.
'You should follow them...'

She jerked up, sweat dripped down her face as she looked around. Panick made her heartbeat race as she brushed back some of her white hair. The pitter patter of the rain continued outside as she finally rested back against her pillow. It was a nightmare. A nightmare that was too close to reality.

(( OOC: I didn't time skip. But I left the possibility of a time skip. D; I hope that's okay.))

Kiel made his way to his room and then stared out the window at the cold rain. His expression stayed vacant as his eyes narrowed. The priest wasn't sure if the rain itself was to blame, the rain master, or possibly this bad omen. Golden brown locks fell over his pale grey eyes as his head lowered. His legs moved towards the bed as he removed his robes and sat, taking off his boots and setting his staff against the side table. Many things ran through his mind and kept him awake.

Taking one last look out the window from the corner of his eye, Kiel yawned and closed his eyes, steadying his breathing as his mind relaxed. Finally able to sleep at once, his mind raced into a dream of a battle. It was not clear, and was not familiar. Possibly something of a past life, or even in the future. In the priest's dream, there was no sound, only a blurred vision and blood shed.

His eyes remained closed, afraid to open them, for he wanted to know for certain he was only dreaming. Opening one eye, Kiel looked around and sighed in relief. Not a word from him and his eyes were closed again as he turned on his side to continue sleeping.