New Year... New Start? (Open)

Keni nodded. "Been there, done that... got the postcard too. I had to put a few muggers in their place during my visit... But enough about that..." Keni said, hesitant to explain his own origins.

Sophie remembered what Keni had said to her. He would tell her anything she told him.
"So where are you from?" She asked, for some reason she was oddly curious and eager to know about him. Weird.

Keni sighed. Fantastic. He'd had to open his big mouth. "Well, if the truth has to be told, I don't know where I'm from. I was raised at an orphanage for most of my life. In fact, I still live there when I'm not at school. They never saw who my parents were or anything... for all I know, my parents could be dead, or they just plain didn't want me..." Keni told her. It was his best-kept secret, that he didn't have a family.

Sophie felt tears in her eyes then.
"At least you had an orphanage to go to. I never had any family or anywhere to go. I was just left there on the streets all by myself with no way of getting help. I had to learn everything the hard way. I barely kept myself alive," She ranted, as tears quickly streamed down her cheeks. She hated it, all of her past, she wished she could simply forget it.

Keni found himself hugging Sophie, the shoulder of his shirt catching her tears. He'd never known... that anyone could have life that rough. "I'm sorry, swee- Sophie... you'll be fine..." Keni said, keeping her in the embrace. If he'd known that life could be that rough... he shook his head again. "Is there anything I can do in order to help?" he asked.

Sophie held onto Keni, not even thinking of what she was doing.
You can't do anything really. Past is the past," She told him, trying to stop herself from crying. When she couldn't she just let Keni hug her.
"I'm sorry, I'm getting your shirt all wet..." She sighed, pulling herself away from him.

Keni didn't say anything. He just let her keep crying. When she pulled away, Keni smiled. "Don't worry about it. Tears will clean out." Keni said. He shook his head. "At any rate... you need to rest up." Keni said, motioning for Sophie to lay down.

Sophie sighed. "I'm fine, really," She argued. She really was but as usual nobody believed a word she said. She stood up, which was the exact opposite of what Keni wanted her to do. She shrugged. "See. Fine."

Keni shook his head in disbelief as Sophie stood up. This girl was unbelievable! Keni sighed. "Yes, I can see that you can stand up. However, you're still gonna lay down in order to ensure that you recover fully... If you don't, I won't teach you martial arts." Keni said, sitting down in the chair that he'd stood up from.

Sophie sighed and sat back down on the bed. She reached to her neck and unclasped a golden pendant and held it in her hands. She gently placed it on the edge of the bed and sighed. Who knew what power the thing had?
"I'm really okay, I promise," She muttered towards Keni.

Keni watched her take off the necklace. He stared at it curiously, until he heard Sophie's voice. Keni nodded. "I get that, but I'm just making sure." Keni replied to her, his posture not changing once.

Sophie lay herself down. She shrugged her jacket of her shoulders and took it off. She threw it to the end of the bed before pulling a blanket over her. She curled herself up and turned onto her side so she could see Keni. She noticed him looking at the pendant on the bed and pointed to it, "Do you like it?" She asked.

Keni nodded. "Yes... very lovely. Reminds me of this..." Keni said, pulling out the Agate Stone from his pocket. As the gem gleamed in the dull light, Keni's gaze was now transfixed upon it instead of Sophie's pendant. He got the feeling that the stone was to be used for something... he just didn't know what.

Sophie put the pendant down as she saw the stone that Keni was holding. She gazed at the gem, reaching forwards. "Can I have a look?" She asked him, reaching for the gem.

Keni instinctively pulled the stone back as Sophie tried to reach out and grab it. He then shook his head. "Sorry... don't know what came over me." Keni said, holding the Agate Stone out for her to see.

Sophie reached for the gem and held it gently. She felt how smooth it was and it seemed to gleam against the little light that was in the room.
"It's pretty..." She said, thinking it was like her pendant, more than just pretty.

Keni nodded. "Yes, it is. I've had it as long as I can remember. Apparently, it's a memento of my parents..." Keni said, holding his hand out to get the stone back.

Sophie gave the stone back to Keni, carefully. She picked up her own pendant and gave it to him. "Keep it, I don't want it," She told him. It was true, she didn't want anything else to happen so it was best if she gave it away.

Keni took the pendant... and felt a similar feeling that he felt when he looked at the black stone. Keni shook his head, placing the pendant back where Sophie laid it. "I cannot accept it. You must keep it for yourself. Who knows, you might find that it'll be useful eventually." Keni said.

She looked at the pendant. "No, nothing good can come from that thing," She muttered. She picked it up and stared at it. She stood up and walked over to the window. She reached back and moved forward, aiming to throw the pendant out of the window.

Keni saw the movements Sophie made, and rapidly reached for the pendant, aiming to snatch it from her hand. "Sophie. Don't. I'm telling you, you never know when an item such as that can come in handy." Keni told her.

"It'll never come in handy, it's caused bad things not good!" She yelled as she pushed him away and tried to throw it straight through the window.

Keni reeled back a bit from being pushed. He then sighed. "I'm sorry it's come to this..." Keni said. He then grabbed Sophie's wrist, prevent her from moving the arm. "Come to your senses, girl! When has a harmless piece of jewelry ever caused any harm?" Keni asked her, his tight grip not loosening in the slightest.

Sophie tried to fight against him but couldn't free her arm. "Since what happened before!" She yelled as she continue fighting against him. She dropped the pendant in her fighting and kicked it away, trying to get rid of it.

After Sophie dropped the pendant, Keni released her and quickly snatched the pendant up. He then turned to Sophie, shaking his head. "What happened?" he asked. If one looked closely, they could see a slight orange aura around Keni, though he appeared to not notice it.