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Aude peeked outside Rhydian's robe,  marveling at the vast garden filled with flowers. 'Wow! Such pretty colors. Is it because we're inside this inner core they call? Why do some people wear that black fabric thingy?' He eyed the workers trimming the hedges, focusing on their neck.

"Little fluff, it's okay, you can prance around. The inner core mostly has nobles who couldn't care less. Just stay away from them."  Aude leaped out of the robe, stretching his little limbs, his paw, feeling ticklish as he steps on the patch of grass.

'That guy is a witch?' Aude pointed his little nose towards the man with dirty blonde hair, speaking to Rhydian using a mind link. The vampire flinched from the sudden intrusion inside his mind as he follow where the button-like nose is pointing.

Rhydian cautiously glance towards the gardener, nodding. Aude tilts his head, confused by this. 'I can't feel any witch energy from him'. He thought to himself. 'Is it just me or am I losing my senses?' The little vampire tried to warn Aude not to bother them using the mind link, but the little fluff cuts it off, wanting to conserve his energy.

'Witches get their energy from the earth. With such pure resources. . . . maybe it's because of that limiter thingy?' Aude glance at Rhydian before sprinting towards the gardener. The little vampire gasps as he looks around, cautious their tail might grow suspicious. 'I hope they'll just see Aude as a playful kitten.' He shakes his head as he tries to compose himself.

The little witch enjoyed his new found agility, moving swiftly in a zigzag pattern as he approaches his target. "Meow" He tried to get the gardener's attention by clawing the hem of his pants. The gardener glance down, finally noticing the light brown orbs peering at him. Excited by the attention, Aude tried his best to appeal to the witch by tilting its fluffy head, his dirty blonde fur bounce to his movement.

The gardener glance around, noticing Rhydian's presence from afar, he gulped as he pretends to drop his pruning shear, perfectly aiming a safe distance. As smoothly as possible, the gardener kneeled picking up his tool, casually petting the fluff. "This is not a place for you." He mouthed, aware of a vampire's hearing. Aude blinked at his warning, wondering if his cover is blown.

Picking up the ball of fluff along with his shear, the gardener made sure his body blocked the dirty blonde creature, placing him on top of the hedge. Being on eye-level with the gardener witch, Aude tried to cast a mind link spell. 'Why don't I feel anything from you?' He asked, staring straight at him. The witch's expression briefly changed as he continues to trim the hedges. 'Don't.' The witch answered briefly, trying to put some distance between him and the creature, completely regretting his curious actions.

'Don't worry, they won't detect me. What's your name? I'm. . . Ciel.' Aude tried, as he licks his paw, rubbing it on his little nose. Perfectly imitating a harmless feline. 'It's Kairo, you don't need to know. It's dangerous here.' The gardener took another step back, his building anxiety evident from his trembling hand.

'Are you frightened by Rhydian? Don't worry, he's a nice vampir-' 'There's no such things as nice vampires. We've been wearing this piece of leather ever since before I can remember. . . Almost as soon as I was born. Little one, it's obvious you don't belong here. Escape while you still can.' Kairo slowly walked away.

The little kitten rubbed his paw on his face, stretching his hind legs, quietly watching Kairo disappear through the hedges.

'That was. . . so they even control the poor witches using 'leather'. This country is so mean.' Aude leapt down from the hedge as soon as he noticed Rhydian heading his way. 'Hey, will be back later. Don't worry.' Aude briefly used his mind link before sprinting away from the little vampire without glancing back.

'We need to return to our home as quickly as possible. It's the first time Raz acted that way. This is dangerous for him.  I should put my small body to use. Usually the library is supposed to be helpful.' Aude made his way towards the entrance, wanting to help look for information.

Making sure to travel along the perimeter of the wall, Aude bravely explores the castle alone. 'I'm sure I saw books here somewhere.' He reasoned, as he remembers catching a glimpse while Rhydian tour him around before arriving at the garden.

'I remember it having this red door with a soft fabric wrap. Weird but. . . memorable I guess.' The little witch glance around, stopping as soon as he catch a glimpse of red.

'Oh! Found it!' Aude cheered, his ear twitches as he prance towards the huge door. 'Now how do I open this?' He tried pawing his way in, pounding the hardwood with his little paw.

"Little fluff!" A familiar voice whispered, suddenly appearing behind Aude. The little ball of fur raise his head, catching a glimpse of Rhydian's red ruby orbs.

'That was fast.' Disappointed by his brief freedom, Aude nonetheless tried to ask for help, tapping on the door.

Rhydian sighs as he pushes the door open, glancing around the room to make sure they're alone. The moment the door turned, the curious Aude once again sprinted away.

"Little fluff!" Rhydian called after the kitten, a hint of annoyance in his voice, stomping after him. Although feeling bad, Aude decided to ignore this, letting his instincts lead the way.

'Oh wait. Do animals know how to read?' He asked himself as he looks up over the towering rows of bookcases. 'Will it look weird if a kitten starts reading?' Aude glanced around, trying to pick up the other's presence. 'Seems like it's only Rhydian.' The little fluff scrunched his nose, trying to figure out how he'll be able to scan through the books without using witchcraft. 'This is harder than I thought.'

Ciel Aude Sinclair faced his first dilemma in his 16 years of existence. 'What if I cast something indiscreet? Something like Ela Edo Nox Libro.' The little fluff pondered what to do as he eyes the book shelf, wanting to get any information about the Nox triplets. Aude waited for a book to fly towards him, but once again, nothing. 'It's almost like everything about the current Nox family is blacklisted.'

Taking advantage of his agility, Aude tried to change his plan, hoping shelf to shelf. 'This is fun!' He mused, enjoying his lightweight body. 'I could do this ever-' Aude screech as he missed his footing, slipping off the sixth shelf.

'I'm falling!' Aude flail his legs, extending his claws, hoping to grip on something, anything. 'Do cats always land on their paws? Now's the time to discover tha- ouch'. The little fluff managed to sink his claw on a book's bind, his hind legs almost touching the floor.

'Now what.' He awkwardly hanged on the book as he felt it slowly tip over, stopping at a 45° angle. Trying to retract his claw, Aude braced himself for a small thud. However, the floor turned into a steep-slope causing him to roll. 'I'm falling again?!' The little fluff flail desperately, his eyes darting everywhere, trying to figure out the sudden escalation. A sheltered child can only handle so much. For a young witch like himself, he's had adventure for the day. Anything more, he'll really have a heart attack. 'The outside world is scary!', he whined.

Finally, he felt a thud, suddenly finding himself on a different place. Aude looks up at the small opening. 'A hole on the floor? What is this,' The fluff glanced around, noticing the golden pedestal on the middle of the room. 'This is weird. Why do they have an empty space below the library with only that gold thingy.' Aude sprinted towards the only object in the room, hoping it will help his friend.

He hopelessly look up at the gigantic pedestal, not wanting to experience another fall. If only one could hear his brain working for a solution, his gears turning on full power. 'Well, I think I could transform quick into my human self. No one is here anyway.' He nods to himself, perfectly convinced.

The crackling sound of growing bones filled the room as Aude grit his teeth, enduring the transformation. 'Why did I even. . . .' He quickly regretted his decision as he appeared butt naked in his human form along with Raziel's raven hair still tied on his neck. 'Okay, bad idea. Bad idea. Bad idea.' He groaned to himself while pulling on his hair as if his breaking bones is not enough punishment.

'Hey, snap out of it. They might notice that hole soon. Get it together.' Aude quickly observed the golden pedestal, frowning at the ancient writing. 'Raz might know about this. Knowing that person, he'll peek inside my mind. Better stare at every inch of this pedestal then. Okay, that's a good idea right?'

The little witch meticulously stared at the ancient writings, trailing down to the very base of it. A familiar word is engraved on the bottom making Aude gasp. 'Nox!' Giddy by this discovery he crouched down, tracing the engraved letters. 'Zephyrus Nox?' He tilted his head trying to remember the familiar name.

'Along with this creed, I, Zephyrus Nox, offer half of my lifespan to cast protection to my offspring from their siblings.'