OOS 105

Korrinoth 19, after the party returned to the Burnett Estate after clothes shopping in Wolis. It occurred during session 45, replacing the retconned interaction between Kiono and Concludion.  
== Transcript ==
Concludion: 
The halls of the Burnett manor are quiet after a hearty supper of stew and bread that totally happened and everyone was there. Concludion is checking his belongings in the front hall, repacking various bundles of equipment and clothing, perhaps nervously, perhaps distractedly. His eyes linger on one burlap bundle in particular before shoving it deep into his bag. 
Kiono: 
Kiono approaches nervously, as she does all things. In her arms is wrapped a long non-halberd object, wrapped in idk brown paper. She wordlessly sits on the floor near him, hugging the package, watching him work. 
Concludion: 
He stows one last brace of knives before closing the top flap of his bag. He looks at Kiono, and the warmth in his gaze does not quite match the sad smile he gives her. "Hey," He says. 
Kiono: 
"Hey," she says in return. She doesn't quite smile; she's still in trouble with him, and that makes smiling difficult. She looks at his bag, his hands, only glancing at his face occasionally. She fidgets a bit, then shoves the package toward him. 
Concludion: 
He looks over the bundle with a confused expression before taking it delicately in both hands "What's this?" 
Kiono: 
Kiono pulls her knees up to her chest and loosely wraps her arms around them. She glances at him and offers a small smile. "It's a gift." 
Concludion: 
He gives a surprised smile and unwraps(?) it, his eyes light up at the sight of the elegant elven craftsmanship, because the DM knows what item it is. The long curve of the dark green enameled wood gleams in the firelight of Sylmore's Broodin' Fire. "It's beautiful." Concludion says. "Thank you. What's it for?" 
Kiono: 
"Shooting people," Kiono says unhelpfully, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Your... your daggers aren't... especially useful when your enemy is too far away... You don't have spells, so..." 
She pulls a note out of her sleeve and hands that to him as well. "Instructions," she says by way of explanation. "For the bow's magic." 
Concludion: 
He chuckles, and accepts the note, reading it over "I meant 'what did I do to deserve such a gift' but 'Concludion, you've been utterly useless' is good enough, I'll warrant." He tucks the note into his clothes . "A magical bow, though, that's really an amazing present. Did you not need anything for yourself?" 
His voice is unmistakably playful, and he is unable to keep his glee off of his face. 
Kiono: 
Kiono's eyes widen, and she ducks her head in her arms to hide her reddening face. "You've... you've been very useful, I—" She heaves something between a sigh and a groan. "I just want you to be... safe..." 
"That's really... all I need right now..." she adds softly. 
Concludion: 
He smiles and sets the bow aside with his pack. "Thank you. I'll do my best." He seems to struggle with something internally for a moment, opening his mouth to speak a moment before any sound emerges. "And I'm sorry," he says. 
"I shouldn't have ambushed you about Anna like that. Especially not after you'd just seen... what my parents left me. It was unkind of me." 
"I also have a gift for you, I just... wasn't sure if you'd still want it." 
Kiono: 
She looks up at him over her arms, uncertain how to respond to his comment of a gift, and definitely not how to respond to his apology. 
"A gift— What— Why wouldn't I— I don't—" She sinks lower into her arms. Some day she'll finish a sentence again. 
"I'm sorry," she finally mutters into her arms. 
Concludion: 
He rifles through some of his pouches and retrieves a small object, about the size of his palm. He holds it out to her. 
Kiono: 
She looks back up at him, then at the object in his hand. She observes it carefully before gingerly picking it up for better examination. Unlike the DM, I don't know what it is. 
Concludion: 
It's a glittering black stone- a hag stone, the middle worn through and wide. "I found it in a stream near Eddleton when I wasn't sure where you were- When I left Barovia without thinking about where you might end up. I thought... I thought you might like to have it." "Anyway, it's fine. I'm not... I'm not mad about Anna. You did what we couldn't." He looks at his hands "what we might never have been able to do." "Anyway, some smart person once told me they had some kind of protective powers, so I wanted to give you this one." 
Kiono: 
Kiono silently rubs her thumb over the stone, considering. She looks up at him and gives him a small, sad smile. "Someone has to do the hard things, right? It might as well be the Chosen One." 
Concludion: 
He sighs, mirroring her smile, and puts a hand on her shoulder "Hopefully one day you won't have to." 
Kiono: 
Kiono looks away, her smiling fading quickly. "Yeah, maybe," she whispers to nobody in particular. 
After a moment's silence, she looks back in the general direction of Concludion's face. Quietly she asks, "Do you... Maybe we could spar and... you can... you can test out your bow?" 
Concludion: 
He seems momentarily alarmed, then amused. "I can probably practice just fine shooting at targets instead of you," he teases. "But yes, I think I'd like that." He checks that his short sword is free in its sheath before picking up the bow to take outside as well. 
Kiono: 
Kiono, who already had her sword with her because she knew what she was about, follows him outside and a very sweaty ten minutes is had in the back yard, beating the snot out of each other, I'm sure. 
Concludion: 
And how. 
On the grass in the expansive grounds of the Burnett estate, Concludion lays with his head next to Kiono's, limbs splayed in the opposite direction. Ten minutes of fighting is a long time, even for a seasoned combatant, and he's worn out as well. Once again, he seems unsure of himself. "There's something else I need to talk to you about," he says. 
Kiono: 
Kiono scrunches her eyes shut in a grimace. She isn't sure how much serious conversation she can take. She takes a steadying breath and releases it slowly. "Um... O-okay... What... what is it?" she asks hesitantly. 
Concludion: 
"I'm going to be leaving, probably tomorrow," Concludion says carefully. 
Kiono: 
Kiono's eyes open wide, darting about a moment before she sits up quickly — shoot, too quickly — and stares down at him. 
"What?" she asks, panicked. 
Concludion: 
He instinctively tries to steady her, which is awkward in this orientation, "Kitano- your brother- we talked the other night in Eddelton. He's got something in his head he wants to go do. I'm going to go with him to make sure he doesn't get himself killed." 
Kiono: 
She is instantly on the verge of tears, suffering from Overwhelming Panic. She focuses on maintaining the ability to breathe. Eventually she manages to say, "You— We were supposed... We were going to go together. We— You're leaving me with.. with them? You—" Her heart is beating so fast, too fast. Working too hard and trying to suffocate her. She once again focuses on breathing. 
Concludion: 
He rolls to his feet and kneels in front of her. "I don't want to leave you," he says. "But I have to. You've got things to do with these people- important things- and you don't need my help. Not here." He places a hand on her head. Blomp. "Kitano... listen. You want to save him, right?" 
Kiono: 
Kiono grips the grass tightly, mooring her to the planet's surface. She bites her lip and gives a small nod. It isn't fair. 
Concludion: 
"I... don't know if we can," Concludion admits. "Everything I know about him, everything I feel... I can't imagine a future with Kitano in it. He's relentless, focused... He's not going to be convinced." 
"But I'm going to go with him anyway. Because if I don't then there will be no chance at all." Concludion places his other hand on her cheek. "I don't know if Kitano can be saved. But It's enough for me that you want to try anyway." 
"I want to give you that chance." 
Kiono: 
"Why can't I go with you," she says, barely above a whisper. "I can finish my tasks with you just as easily as with them." 
Concludion: 
He seems conflicted, as if he wants to say something, but he shakes his head. "No, even if..." He sighs "Even if you could, these people need your help. They can't do what they need to without you, and we still need to save the world if we're going to try and save anyone else in it." 
"Kitano's got something planned- and before you ask, I can't tell you- and we're going to need everyone, eventually." He continues. "And you'll be the only one that can bring them." 
Kiono: 
"We could find— Why them? Why can't we— Izora could help. She can—" She is crying now, barely getting her words out coherently. "It's not fair." 
Concludion: 
"No, it isn't." Concludion said, as reassuringly as he can muster . "But we can work to make it that way, eventually. I'm... sorry. I don't want to leave." 
Kiono: 
Kiono is silent for a long moment, then struggles to her feet. "Just... just a moment," she says before toddling back into the estate. She comes back several minutes later carrying another package, this one smaller and softer. She hands it to Concludion, tears still wet on her cheeks, but not actively crying. Quietly she says, "This is for Kitano, since you're.... going to see him before I do..." 
Concludion: 
Concludion studies the package and accepts it, stowing it in his belt pouches. "I'll make sure he gets it." 
"I'm sorry, I wouldn't go, and I wouldn't ask you to stay, if it wasn't important." He says "I'm... I can stay for one more day, but I'm going to miss you." 
Kiono: 
Kiono nods and refuses to say anything else for a while. She stares at her feet. 
Eventually she presses her forehead to his and says, "Don't you dare die on me." 
Concludion: 
"Back at you," He says "I'll come back safely, make sure the kids are taken care of while I'm gone." 
"Just a little bit." 
Kiono: 
Kiono pouts a little, but gives a small nod. A strange effect when your forehead is pressed to someone else's. 
Concludion: 
"Good." He smiles, and then says a bit nervously, "If there's anything you want to do tomorrow before I go..." 
Kiono: 
Kiono leans down the couple of inches necessary to give him a quick kiss on the lips. "I don't know about tomorrow, but right now, I want a bath and then sleep," she says, exhaustion seeping into her voice. 
She frowns again and hesitantly backtracks. "No, actually... Maybe we can... do some work in the study...? O-or, take a walk around... Wolis? See what... what else there is... here.. ?" 
"Or if... if there's something you want... to do? We can... we could do any of that stuff." She stands up straight, flustered, trying desperately to come up with an endless list of things to do. "Maybe we c-could ask Izora for some... some ideas before she goes to bed?" 
Concludion: 
"Exploring Wolis sounds fun," Concludion says "Maybe we can ask Izora what places to see, since our last outing was interrupted by assassins." He chuckles, and kisses her back. "One last quiet day." "But first a bath and bed sounds wonderful." He sweeps Kiono off her feet in an obligatory princess-carry. 
Kiono: 
Kiono wraps her arms around him, as though afraid he'll disappear early if she lets go. She is mildly disappointed that sleep is the plan, but she can't deny that she is tired. She'd much rather spend her last day with him doing something other than sleeping, though... But they go inside and do those things. 
Gloom: 
And so they do.