Please comment. No need to add another post.

How interested would you be in an entirely new RP?

Old RP? Darkness of Eden/Eragon/Ille

Personally, I am just ready to start RPing again. Meaning I am willing to cater. I see that the only problems we have is planning too much and then not just running freely like we so easily did in Eragon. (I found the 70243 page note book at the house, ha.) So. Ideas?

I have a lot of ideas for any of the old RPs. Darkness of Eden: I could do the next post. Eragon/Jericho: Might have to start in the future or past characters or something. I love fantasy. :D Ille: I would like to have a different starting character, but would like Maha to be involved. Do you remember the character Svv?

We couldddd also: brainstorm new rps. Ideas?

One could say the sun to be cruel.

The sun can stare warm and bright on a day the old pottery man around down the street is victim to accidental murder by trampling, his bony remain on the street, left to the hands of rigor mortis that worked his brown flesh; decay long sitting in before someone bothers to burn his sleeping corpse out of convenience.

The sun can lick the brown skin of young virgins, bright eyed, scared and beautiful in all of their innocence, light hitting their gold lace and robes and white flowers. The sun can be happy of their lives of servitude, to their worth being that of a single night with a single man.

And the sun can smile when slave boys are worth less than the books they read, not even worth the education, not worth their own urine used in the washing of clothes, not worth the blood they leave on the floor when they blister and bleed.

Some say the sun is cruel.

And that day, the sun rose with the same lack of mercy. Its menacing gaze all imposing, hitting the figurines of ivory on the shelves, casting shadows across the hand woven baskets, filtering through rooms of dust onto floors of deep crimson, greens and golden Parisian rugs. The sun stared at the stillness of the house, analyzing every detail of the illegal books that made the walls, watching as a boy scrubbed the floor with a horse haired brush, contemplating ideas of poetry of his hate of the very sun that glared down on him.

Saqr had always thought the sun was cruel.

He glanced up at the row of windows that made the house’s front, the stained glass colors scattered across his forehead, cheeks, and eyes like tribal war paint. Today, like every other day, was one where the sun rose just to humiliate him, Saqr thought in his eleven year old brain. The sun could be seen as a giver of light, of a source of warmth and comfort, though it could peer down on this world without looking away.

Perhaps Saqr’s detest was simple idolization, one day he hoped they could be one in the same, his eyes looking upon the world and seeing everything without being afraid, with understanding and apathy.

“Such ideas are not ones of aspiration, my dear Saqr,” her words like poetry, strange. He hated how her words had been like food to a hungry man, how the low intensity of her voice made him listen to every syllable. Saqr had never listened to anyone.

She peered at him as if she could read his mind, was he so obvious? That would be another goal, not to be so easily read. Even slaves had dignity in their secrets; they had one small thing to themselves if not their freedom.

Again, she read his mind with a smile, Saqr only watching her out of plain confusion. Such smiles he did not deserve nor understand- they were wasted. “I think you are a boy of feeling, why not embrace it? In a world where it is so easily not to care, it takes a strength just to.. feel.”

She touched her willow-like hands to the back of his neck, not repulsed by his sweat. Instead, she used the cloth of her Niqāb to wipe his face and bent down to be eye level. As if a slave boy was equal to a teacher, an unconceivable notion.

She was coated in layers of expensive cloth, nose, mouth and brow covered only to focus on the beauty of her experienced eyes, dark and kind. The Teacher lifted her hand and showing her palm to shield the stain glass of the windows that peered their way, blocking the light that touched Saqr’s features; the brilliant hues evaporated from the tribal warrior visage until Saqr again became an eleven year old youth, looking at her with eyes of someone older and more burdened. His strange blue gaze did not so much as inquire a second thought from The Teacher. Perhaps this is why he listened, because she looked at him.

Through maroon cloth and sweat, she leaned forward press a kiss to his forehead. He closed his eyes into the kiss, letting his stiff skinny shoulders relax under her kind hand. Still, he wouldn’t speak.

“I must leave for a time tonight, I know you don’t like my apprentice,” Saqr couldn’t help but hate it when she asked this, the girl didn’t want him cleaning her room, he never understood his purpose with The Teacher who gave him small simple tasks with little insight on her incentive. “I know you think Nasira does not need your help, but I think.. she would like.. a friend. I need you to make sure she is okay. You do not need to see her or talk to her if you don’t want to.”

The word ‘Okay’.. what did that mean? Safe? Saqr peered at her thoughtfully.

Without seeing her lips, Saqr knew she was smiling, he could see it in eyes. Sighing, he nodded his head. Of course, he always did what she asked. If she had asked him to slit someone’s throat, he would have done it; it was in his nature, though that was something The Teacher hoped to break him of. Break him of his brokenness, this, she had hoped he would learn with his education.

It was strange how well that memory played in his head, the last time he would see her alive.

The next day, the sun rose the same way it did every morning, still shining with its imminent glow of psycho-inducing cheeriness, though the scene it smiled down upon was anything but warm. It was strange, Saqr thought as he looked down at The Teacher’s sleeping body, mangled in the night brawl.

It was strange because, in a day so full of light with the sun so high in the sky, Saqr could only stare down at The Teacher and the only thing he could see, every day, for the rest of his life – was an all encompassing, impenetrable, suffocating

- darkness.

The shadows haunting him in his dreams, The Teacher’s eyes staring up out the broken windows, finally blinded by the knowledge the sun brought to her, though he could see it – her eyes, as though she finally understood something unconceivable before. The image haunted him.

The only conceivable thing was return again to the world, away from dreams, hundreds of miles away, Saqr woke up.

Nasira woke up gasping, feeling the cool night air give some relief to her sweat soaked body and the darkness surrounding her. It had been a while since she’d had that nightmare. She scooted her body to lean against the high walls of her roof where she slept almost every night, resting her head against the wall. She breathed deeply trying to gain some control of her swiftly pounding heart. Doing her job didn’t affect her this much so it irked her a little that a nightmare could cause her to have this much of a scare. She shook her head and assumed the meditative pose that had been ingrained into her body from the first day that she had set foot inside the Teacher’s house that could calm so many of her storms. It didn’t help. She was just too jittery.

Sighing she stood and leaned against the edge of the wall, her arms resting against it and looked up at the starry night sky. It was here that she felt at peace and free of judgment. Free of the lies and the veils that hid her from the world and the eyes of men. Free to be herself in the darkness that kept her from sight. The cool breeze lifted her hair off of her shoulders as the darkness enshrouded her, hiding her from the view of the rest of the city and the streets. She gazed thoughtfully at the stars. They were the one constant thing in her life. Even as a child she gazed at the sky thinking that the stars would dance just for her. As she looked at the sky the stars glistened in her eyes but there was a much different scene dancing in front of her gaze in her mind.

“Let me out! Let me out!”

Her fists pounded the walls and doors of her prison. She shouldn’t be here! She should be out there helping her teacher! She screamed and yelled but judging from the amount of noise that permeated through the walls of her prison, her pleas couldn’t be heard.

“Ussaz! Ussaz! Where are you?”

Still nothing to answer her cries except for loud crashes. Smoke began to waft through the cracks in the boards. She began to pound much more fiercely.

“USSAZ!”

Finally the door gave way and she fell to the ground with a crash. She could see nothing but debris and smoke. She saw flames coming from the other end of the hall. Where was she? She tried to remember which part of the house she was running through before she had been shoved and locked in the small cupboard. She managed to remember to stay low to the floor as she called and searched for her mentor. Where was she? As Nasira crawled along the floor she caught a glimpse of her teacher being dragged away by a group of men.

“Ussaz! Ussaz, NO!”

She suddenly heard loud creaking and looked up to see the roof begin to collapse. Before she could scramble out of the way, the roof fell on her, burying her with concrete and plaster, her back stabbed with broken glass and splinters of burning timber. Her vision went black.

Nasira brought herself back to reality and shook her head. Her eyes remained dry and unchanged as she remembered the rest of the events of that night. The time of tears was long gone. That was then and this was now, it was time to move on. Inwardly she winced. Another thing her teacher had taught her. Sighing she shook her head and moved to the center of her roof and began practicing the exercises that her teacher had taught her to keep her loose and limber. Taught to her to keep her alive. Her black eyes were focused and the golden flecks in her eyes remained steady as she went through the motions time after time remembering what the purpose of each pose was for and not wasting a single breath or any energy as she moved herself with a certain fluidity. She did this until the sun’s rays hit her eyes. She turned her gaze to the dying night and inwardly heaved a sigh-time to get through another day.

If an image can last forever on the back of Saqr’s eyelids, the smell of smoke was perhaps the only real smell he had anymore. Fire, always fire, burning, everywhere he went, all he could see was darkness and burning of wood and flesh. If there was one thing that Saqr could understand, it was that there was no such thing as “simple human nature” there was only “human behavior” and as a whole, humans were always corrupted creatures.

And he was a slate, more living in the past than in the present, seeing the world with the same apathy that he had once hoped himself to have, though with a cost he had not imagined paying. Being clear headed was a strange thing, without the strings of emotion as an obstruction to goals. A machine had no friends, had no religion, looked up to no one, it was simply a tool to be used. The sun didn’t stare at anyone with fear of its gaze being returned.

Some had called him arrogant, some had called him crazy. An assassin was created with a single death and, of course, living another day. A master assassin was forged with exactly nine organized public or private homicides – an impossible number. One that few ever reached before “retiring” to the life of a bureau assassin, an information gatherer, and instructor of others in the Brotherhood, giving up his mechanical pata and living a safer life in black robes, only to bask in the shadow of a glorified assassin.

Saqr had exactly ten high profile kills, and over fifteen low profile, and the inferred kills of countless non targets, only rivaled by The Master’s record. It was Saqr’s name that was whispered on the lips of the assassin villagers of Masyaf, the grand goal that all young apprentices wished to achieve. But as the Christians say in their book said be holier than the sacred Qua’ ran, while Lucifer was once beloved by a God only to fall from grace, it was Saqr that fell from his ranks as a legendary master assassin, to fall in the “red ranks”. Lowly, to follow orders, only to be redeemed, for he broke the three and most important laws that were breathed, and consumed and lived by, by all the assassins, masters and apprentices, old and young, of Masyaf.

Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent.
Hide in plain sight.
Do not compromise the Brotherhood.

And while the day he stood before the grand crowd of bluish-white and black robes, his arms held by the very instructors that taught him his first day when he was but eleven years old, stripped of his weapons by the Master – the only person in this world that could leave him to paradise. His face was blank as he stared at the elderly man’s black eyes, not glancing to the blade that he knew would be in his corpse by the end of the day.

Instead of being afraid, he could only think of death, ponder on how it was to be done, whether between the ribs into his lungs, a slice of the jugular, impaling the naval to give a slow and antagonizing death by stomach acid. It mattered little when all he could see was darkness, his own betrayal, of his best friend wanting to take everything away from him, even what little bit of humanity he had left.

It was gone now.

“It matters little,” he said to the Master only a few weeks before, “an excuse is an excuse, for my vision had been dark, and now it has been cleared. I will not beg for forgiveness, as I do not deserve paradise.” A clear and defined explanation. His childhood instructor to his left, ‘Akif, whispered in his hear, tightening grip on Saqr’s limp bicep, willing him to not stare into the face of death.

“Beg, Saqr, and he will spare you,” implored ‘Akif in his ear, his whisper frantic, his rancid breath on his cheek. Saqr only hung between the two men. Death was better, glorified, martyrdom, thought Saqr. Perhaps in death he could find peace, paradise was out of reach for him. Everything the master promised was obliterated.

And they were coming, the Templars, somehow they had followed him back. He did not understand, he had planned so well, there wasn’t a flaw he could see – his vision was still dark, for he had lied to the Master. Saqr did not see any clearer, only that he had made a mistake somewhere. Masyaf would survive the invasion, though Saqr would not. He had no doubt in the ability of the fortress, no longer was it his worry.

And his brothers had called him arrogant. They were not wrong.

“Do you think yourself swine to be gutted in front of the masses and eaten for dinner? Do you think I enjoy this?” His master glared, creases in his wrinkly forehead were deep with strife. To kill a brother for betrayal was not uncommon, though Saqr, to everyone, was a beacon of hope, the end of all assassin’s goals, to kill and be untouched – and what Saqr symbolized would be destroyed. The Master wondered if Saqr knew he was invincible to an execution, though strangely, he could see in the young man’s eyes, by killing him, ending his life – would be giving Saqr exactly what he wanted.

Everyone held their breath. A moment of silence as The Master stared at Saqr, who like the sun, stared back. Unafraid.

“Redeem yourself, and you will be saved,” said the Master, everyone letting out a breath of relief, everyone but Saqr, “But you will be stripped of your rank.” This finally caused Saqr to react, rising to sit erect upon the dirt on his knees, the two men that held him shoved him down once more as the master went on, “You will be as if you have killed no one, saved no one, a follower to learn again. No longer a Master. If you died now, you would die in infamy, your corpse would drug on the streets as a heretic, shown as an example, of how a lowly rank was given a lowly death.”

The words struck somewhere within Saqr, not the death, but the stripping of rank, a corpse had no feeling. Dying was easy, it was living – living without a rank, that was impossible – impossible to fathom. All those kills.. for nothing, he was starting over..

“Master, no!” He hissed through gritted teeth, jerking forward in protest—

“Quiet! The Master has decided, and you will fight in this battle,” powerful words for the crowd, giving a flicker of his hand before he was dragged away. Still staring, looking at The Master. He could only feel contempt.

The birds cawed on the roof, voices lingered outside. Masyaf was safe once more.

Saqr turned over his arm, strapping the intricate device, clamping the metal hinges, testing the gears with the extension and retraction of the dagger – zing! zing! zing! The pata sang in repetition, then snapped back into the gauntlet, quiet and still humming with vibration. Next came the white leather robes, pulling through each arm, and tying the front. His leather pants secured, he checked his boots for the small throwing daggers. Fourteen daggers were secured around his midsection, a sheathed sword at his belt, a crossbow on his back secured in the same leather of his robes, and a hood over his face. From a distance, none of the weapons could be seen except the sword, a commoner, a meager priest with a weapon of defense. The white color of robes the men’s style of the day.

Though as before he looked no different, his atmosphere was perhaps a quieter one, a more arrogant one. A rebel to authority, he had not taken the de-ranking well, hearing the words of his “instructor” on the other side of the thin walls of the fortress, in the Master’s chamber.

“He will not listen to me, he will not join the other apprentices, he went ahead and dispatched upon the target, a hazard to my group! And not only that, I lost a man because of him, his brother is at my heels, blind with revenge. He will not learn – his arrogance will kill everyone!”

“Wa’feeq, calm yourself,” said the Master, his voice low and calm, making his syllables difficult to decipher through the walls. A quietness that could be rivaled with Ussaz, a calmness and energy that forced people to listen.

“He listens to only you, my Master, please.. please do something,” begged Wa’feeq, stressed, nerves fried with the incident that happened only a night before.

“I will, Wa’feeq,” the name said gently, like a father to a child, Saqr could only imagine the Master placing his knotty hand on the small statured man’s shoulders, reassuring his words. “And please, while you may not be able to speak to Saqr, sway the motives of Jusuf. He is valuable, just as you are, and I do not want this house tainted with vengeance. Assure him of his rightness in his vendetta, but give him understanding of what it would cause. Enlighten him as I have been unable to enlighten Saqr. Things will change.”

Saqr could not hear much of the rest, slowing his heart beat and breathing to catch the flicker of conversation. He sat on the wooden bench of his room, arms crossed between his legs, fingers laced, he waited for the “change” that was promised and the judgment of the Master once more.

“Thank you, my lady, and thank your husband as well.”
Nasira nodded her assent as another customer walked away from her shop, happily carrying another sajada while Nasira calmly placed her money from the transaction in her strong box. Many a time someone had tried to rob her of her box, those that tried had soon became respectable citizens to never again bother another soul. Nasira hid her impatience for night to fall as people loitered around talking to friends, exchanging gossip, or haggling over prices with vendors. For a person that didn’t like being around people, she certainly had to deal with them for a good portion of the day.

Concealing her grimace as another customer walked up to her to place an order, Nasira calmly memorized the order and wrote it down as soon as the customer had left. To amuse herself she began to consider how she was going to fulfill her duty tonight and what she had to consider as threats and hindrances before she could strike. As she mused about this she suddenly thought about how easily manipulated a person could be. Everyone in this place accepted that she was married to an eccentric man who refused to meet with anyone or speak to anyone. Whenever it was imperative for someone to speak to him-her husband was away on business when it was a complaint, his wife would pass it along. He spoke to no one but his wife whom all believed to be a mute. Nasira’s whole livelihood was based on lies to keep her afloat and to keep her hidden. She knew the important lesson of hiding in plain sight and no one was more hidden than a woman who was married to a nonexistent husband and mute. At this, she almost snorted. She pretended to be mute, not deaf, but to others that was the same thing. To their logic, if you couldn’t speak, you obviously couldn’t hear. When the second hour of the afternoon struck, she closed shop and went into the back to begin weaving. She was able to let her mind wander and relax while she wove. It wasn’t the same as the rooftop at night but it did well for daylight hours.

Finding her rhythm, she began to plan.

The thundering of footsteps outside her door startled her out of the tranquility she had found and she went the front of her shop to see what it was. What she saw made her jump inside though her eyes showed nothing of what she felt.
Soldiers-every time she saw them, she knew that the quiver that she felt didn’t show, but she couldn’t help but worry that each time they passed by her place they were coming for her. Though she knew that if she was found out, she wouldn’t be running from soldiers-they wouldn’t get to her in time. She would be running from something much worse than soldiers. With that grim thought in mind she turned back to her loom. She had to take a look at the site before she went in.

Nasira tightened the laces on the side of her skirt so that the seam wouldn’t be as noticeable. She knew that passersby wouldn’t see the pants she wore underneath her skirt but she felt that it was best to make sure the laces that held the two halves of her skirt together were secure than to have them loosely tied and not notice until it was too late. She made sure that her boot and belt knives were hidden but easy to reach and then she carefully placed the knife at the back of her neck in its sheath just below the collar of her shirt. She took a moment to look at her necklace that Ussaz once wore, a silver chain with a silver medallion hanging from it with the emblem of a tree embellished on its once smooth surface. Now nicks and scratches were molded into its silver. Her thumb smoothed over the tree once as she tucked the necklace under her collar. Then the last piece to hide her ensemble of knives and keep the shape her knife at the back of her neck hidden, she pulled up her hood and wrapped her face with veils. She mentally checked over her appearance before going to the side door of her shop/house. Silently and unnoticed, she slipped in with a group of people. She knew she wasn’t going to be noticed. When they veered away from the route she needed to go she fell behind and wandered with another small group of people. Somebody pressed against her arm. She barely suppressed the gasp and just managed to keep herself from recoiling from the young man that had bumped into her. Not even noticing her, he went on chattering with his friends. She stifled the urge to rub her arm and bring her arms closer to her; she knew that it was best to act as though nothing had happened. She gritted her teeth and continued on her way to the residency that she would later enter that night.

When Nasira entered her shop again, it was four hours after the sun had been at its highest. She began thinking over the building that she had just visited; there were four levels and an underground cellar. The servants slept on the first floor, she had to get past them and that would be difficult. No matter what anyone else might say-it will be a servant rather than a guard who will notice an intruder first. It would be late at night so she had to enter from above-but how? There were no trees surrounding the house that were close enough for her to use for her purpose and she couldn’t leap to the roof- the other buildings were only two or three levels high at most. She had to enter from the second or third floor. That would be difficult. She would have to leap from a different building and grab hold of a parapet on the second or third floor. From there she could begin her climb and entrance to the home. She would’ve preferred a home that had a floor between the servants’ quarters and where her target would be, making it more difficult to be heard from either floors. As she began to think of that climb she looked over at her working gloves. She smiled a rare grim smile. They would do perfectly for the job.

But there was another question-how to get close to her target? She thought a moment and then looked over herself. She needed a quick bath before she left. She took out her special scentless soap that she used so that no one would recognize her scent other than her sweat when she was working. As she mulled over the question while she bathed, she came up with an answer and scowled-another rarity. She didn’t like the answer, but she could think of nothing else. Besides, she reasoned with herself, she’d done much worse. A glance at her arms reinforced that with a grimace and a rare spark of anger that made the gold in her eyes flicker just momentarily with a long forgotten smoldering fire. It was there and gone so fast that if a person had been watching her they would’ve thought that they imagined it. It was replaced with an indifferent steady gaze that hid the iron within them. She needed to get ready. It was time.

Masyaf was a quiet village once again, no Templars knocking at their doors, and no more would come. The small searching regiment had been cleverly dispatched, wiped from the dirt of the earth and no more – not even a messenger hawk was left alive after the battle. And the threat, for now, was staved, with Saqr quiet afterward.

His punishment had done little for his personality, still impulsive with his actions, quick and to the point with everyone including his Master. If he felt he could accomplish a mission, he would say it would be done, even feeling as though he could leave behind his own brothers in the process, the one thing that had indeed changed. Saqr did not seem part of the Brotherhood anymore, a man that would once give his life gladly to the cause, was now only bent on success no matter what the price.

A falcon to be tamed. To be broken to the glove, so to speak, but a power to be unleashed. The Master considered all of his men as great and wild birds that were useful, all with their own traits to adapt to. Musheer, for instance, was a Bureau Assassin, one long retired, though beauty was in his age, his beard black with streaks of silver, his skin dark with work. And he taught all of the young men in the courtyards, from the young ones of ten to the elders of late twenties, he could match almost any man, and was eager to do so. A falcon that was broken to the fist, always eager to eat from the Master’s hand, and reliable in all aspects he was needed.

Falcons did not know they were bound to any Master, only seeing what benefits they saw for themselves, and were merely guided by the Master. Their goals slowly turning to his, and while no falcon was completely sculpted in the view of the sculptor, the Master was skilled on who to release them upon. As Saqr had taken some work, he was also manageable. Or at least, he had been.

Always questioning, always inquisitive, learning, adapting, Saqr had been a fresh breathe of air to the Master. A challenge that had taken much work over the years, to find Saqr’s resolve for killing, to give him a reason. Not like the Muslim men he had been used to before, bent on prayer to another God before being turned in the ways of the Brotherhood and ideas of paradise. Saqr, unlike others so eagerly, accepted the paradise that was given to him. Being stabbed by a poisoned blade, and waking up in a garden of many virgin girls, with promises of paradise from the mouth of the Master, Saqr accepted the paradise.

Though the Master knew he accepted paradise, whether Saqr wanted it was another matter. He did not need it like others. He had had a different salvation in mind whether he understood it or not. Even now, with Saqr’s self destructing ways, the Master found his resolve again, steered his falcon once more and set him free. He was to have many tasks, in which to regain his Master Assassin ranking, and to clear his name again.

Saqr could take being killed in public, to be killed dishonorably, but living dishonorably was an entirely new thing for him. The Lucifer that wished to die knowing he was the most beloved Angel, and instead forced to live in damnation, vengeful. He was to be followed by Musheer, the beloved teacher of men, on his journey to Cairo, Egypt.

The Master had seen the fire that flickered in the frosted gaze at the words of his earlier childhood. Where he had been found, taken in sympathetically by the Assassins and turned into one of them. Where his one true mother had died, where so many things had happened.

And again, Saqr would return, he told him, explaining why, and who would be there. His mission was one of great importance, one that he did not deserve. Saqr would later be followed, should he fail and be killed, and the work done by someone else. A job so important that left undone would compromise the Brotherhood another time, and Saqr was as good as bone dust either way.

A red-ranked, juvenile Assassin given a job such as this one? Saqr confronted his Master (almost jovially) about it, saying a red-ranked Assassin such as himself did indeed not deserve this mission, in fact, he was not skilled enough. Having to learn from the beginnings. The Master knew Saqr to be playing a game, he played back.

“This is why we have Musheer, for he is much more skilled and will be a guide in the darkness. Use him, as the Brotherhood will use you. Be the sword that strikes the blow that ends the war, let him by your sharpening stone,” he waved his hand, “As you have been given back your weapons, you will be given back your rights to a kill. Though any more than necessary will leave this mission to someone else more worthy.”

A well planned assassination was viewed as the most honorable of things, a goal to be sought, a death that led to martyrdom if it so be. Given this opportunity, he would be despised by most of his peers, but it was not unlike before.

He was given a single eagle feather, black and white, large and beautiful. For the blood of his kill.

“You will hold your blade to Saladin,” Saqr’s facial expression did not stir, but his eyes of wonder gave him away, “I know, we had threatened him all ready, but now he has been forced into hiding. Even so, he has ran away, to seal a secret pact with the Templars. His forth daughter will be married in three days.”

His Master had turned his back, wood-like hands curled behind him. He peered at the messenger pigeons in their cages lovingly, if not sadly. “We will need his death to insure the innocent in this war. All ready has Acre been taken, you know that. Richard and Saladin want to take Jerusalem, a unified victory if they so unify. Their leaders corrupted, tainted, it is filth in our eyes.”

Always “our” never “my”.

“And a wedding that will mark the collapse of our world. Stop it with his death, and you will be given back your sword, not lent out of my good graces. Now go, your options before you. Choose.”

And with that, Saqr stared at his Master’s back, unable to see his face or read his expression. It was always this way, Saqr too far behind to see any detailed workings of the Master’s mind. No matter what his kills had been before, he had never come close to the Master. Always would he be in his shadow, staring at his back.

And so he left.

Ilhaam, a woman rightly named for her perceptive nature, always greeted Saqr with a smile that peeked from her veils. The stable woman that kept all of the trained horses of Masyaf and a liker of Saqr.

For the strangest of reasons, Saqr could never get used to the attention, especially from those of women. While he was used to the anxiety of his peers, it was quite the opposite from the opposing gender. The women in the village were all, for the most part, wives and well respected mothers of the men that would grow up to be Assassins as well. Some women came to them, however, only with the inclination to be useful, of course there being no female hashashin, there were many Bureau positions that equaled that of knowledgeable retirees.

Women were respected better here than other places, but still under the men they served. Covering everything but their face and hands, forced to carry water and manage children while the men were away. Saqr, however, had much regard for the women that gave so much of themselves as he had given much of himself to this place. It was a safe haven, and it was worth protecting. These women and men worth saving.

And he took the reins of his favorite deep brown horse, Sahar, he nodded her in thanks. Their conversations were short ones, but ones he enjoyed with Ilhaam. Intelligent, kind, and taken on a liking of Saqr, he could not find himself returning it. Their conversations were enough.

And Musheer came from behind him, on his own lighter colored horse, the name Saqr not recalling, and Saqr cut short the attentions of Ilhaam and gave a short nod in goodbye.

Musheer kicking his horse lightly in the sides, he forced her to move faster, to catch up with Saqr. A smile was brightly on his face, always kind, always optimistic. Saqr could see him either liking him or being extremely disturbed by it in any given amount of time. Either way, he hated being followed at the Master’s will.

The old man reached quite a ways to elbow Saqr, forcing the attention, he seemed energetic. “Oh Saqr, my boy, you have not changed, always shying away from attention, even of the beautiful women. I suppose you are used to it, eh? Then why not be married and be free of the attention?”

Musheer, he had known for many years, a childhood advisor, and a single kill from the Master rank before Saqr would pick up his first blade, only to retire before attaining the rank just before. He was a very skilled man, when it came to offensive fighting, he perhaps had Saqr beat, but he had not done it in many years and seemed as though he would never kill another man as long as he lived.

What good was someone that would not kill? Saqr had wondered, but none the less tried not to ponder. Musheer was a kind old man, but a useless one.

“Perhaps marrying a woman simply because she is a woman is not what I call a problem solved,” said Saqr idly, not wanting the conversation to go on. Musheer was a widower with a child, a little girl that was an apprentice cloth weaver of the village. He could speak of the joys of a family, but still Saqr would not understand them.

Musheer pondered the answer.

“Perhaps you are right, my friend, then maybe you will live through this and we will see what woman is worth marrying, Saqr,” Musheer’s face wrinkled a bit as he smiled his knowing smile once more.

The room was lit by the soft gentle glow of candles as Nasira walked to her bedroom wearing a simple robe and her hijab. She walked through it to her prayer room without even glancing at her work clothes. She didn’t want to defile her thoughts with what lay before her this night in her prayers. When she entered the room she opened her window leading outside. She knew it was unnecessary, but the night air helped her to relax. As she kneeled, she thought of how this daily ritual helped to cleanse her in more than one way.

It was much more than sending her prayers towards the holy city and to her creator. It was more than a time for reflection; it was more of a way for her to be at peace. It was the only time that all was quiet-even within her own soul. As she prayed, she could sense that inner peace and tranquility reforming itself inside of her, forming that solid wall that kept her cool, calm, and distant from everyone; what kept her at peace as she performed her duties, her service, her life.

Nasira kept her thoughts on her prayers, finding it easier to simply pray than to analyze why she did this exercise daily. This was the only constant thing in her life besides the stars. She found comfort in that, she was able to thrive on change, but she needed something constant to keep her grounded. As she bowed her head to the floor again, she breathed a deep sigh, closing up inside herself again; shutting the gates that separated her from the outside world. Her prayers finished; she sat quietly, kneeling on her prayer rug deep in meditation, clearing her thoughts and her heart. Outside, a dog barked and a door slammed. Inside there was silence, it was though all had become frozen in the house.

Nasira’s eyes opened slowly, her gaze went out the window to the starry sky. Just, as slowly she gathered up her rug and pulled off her hijab, her hair falling to her shoulders. Her gaze never left the night sky. She understood what was being said as she walked towards her room, she needed to go. She had a job to do.

Nasira’s gaze went over her work clothes inspecting them. Methodically, she pulled on her pants, her shirt, and her makeshift skirt, tucking in her shirt and belting her pants and skirt at the waist. Leaning over, she undid the leather laces that held the sides of her skirt together on both sides allowing her less constrained movement but her skirt was loose enough to fall back into place if she moved right. She pulled on her boots, making sure her knives were sharp, they should’ve been. She’d been honing them for the past hour. She rolled up her sleeves, stopping just before she reached her elbow, then she laced up her leather wrist guards that completely covered her forearms. These guards were special. They had a strip of metal that was on the inside of the guard, able to deflect blades and blows, and protecting her forearms from a break. She inspected them; making sure they were tight enough that they wouldn’t move, loose enough she could get the knife out from the sides and making sure the metal was in place between the leather and the cloth that rested against her skin. She slid her favorite throwing knife into its usual place, at the back of her neck. She then took her working veil, thick enough for someone else to not be able to see through but thin enough to breathe easily, and wrapped in place around the lower half of her face. Then she pulled up her hood, shielding her eyes from view. Then she went over her belt; extra knife, vial of powder, small cloth square, cord coil, and any other small necessities she might need. Satisfied, pulled on her gloves, the things that would be most helpful in getting close to her target. Her fingers were left bare, only her palms and the back of her hands her covered. On her palms there was a thick pad of leather, and embedded in the leather… Nasira gave her wrist a sharp flick… a small hook flipped out. Large enough to make a man’s throat a mess, small enough to get into niches and cracks, strong enough to hold her weight if she kept moving.

Dressed, she glanced down at herself, Nasira, the weaver, had disappeared. In her place stood Nasir. About time. She went up to her roof and looked over the city. She needed to get moving. She leapt from her roof to another heading towards the wall. Who needed her tonight?

Nasir played the part of a shadow well. Constantly behind an obstacle, in the shadows of a building, still and silent if any moved past the invisible silhouette patiently watching and waiting; waiting for its chance. She slunk from one shadow to the next, until she reached the wall. Quickly she studied the wall. A lucky night, no marks calling for help tonight. The city was still this evening and sleeping. A sudden shuffle of feet behind her told her she wasn’t alone. She tensed slightly. She knew she wasn’t to be worried about these steps.
“Nasir?”
Nasira turned, two young street boys gaped at her.
“You are him! I told you it was him!” the boy who seemed to be the youngest whispered in awe.
“Nasir…”
Her gaze fell on the older boy.
“Thank you, for helping us,”
Nasira held one finger up to her lips to signal that they remain silent about this and slowly melted back into the shadows.
“Wait!”
The boys raced to where their hero had previously stood and searched all around. Nasir, The Protector was nowhere to be found. Two rooftops over, Nasira watched the boys’ futile search for a moment. She had business to settle at the large house she’d previously inspected that day. She turned and raced into the shadows once more, embracing their dark cover. All the while, the stars gazed at her from overhead.

Saqr had been to enough weddings to know how much he did not like them. A holy reunion seemed strangely fraudulent, though little seemed real to him anymore. The answers he thought he may see by now did not come. Answers to what? The Master might have asked him, but he didn’t know. Happiness, perhaps? A sense of direction?

He saw a vendetta color his vision, for now it was all he could see.

The Knights of Templar wanted to make an alliance with Saladin, one that cripple everything the Brotherhood had fought for. This he knew without being told, the importance of his job was fed to him for many years now, any amount of decades from now, he would still be doing the same thing he was doing now, to some degree. The Brotherhood was everything, would be everything, and would be his food, his air, his life, forever. Unless he died before then, or the Brotherhood itself.

Once the Knights Templar had wanted Saladin’s head on a platter. King Richard claimed his hate for his rival in any letter that was taken intercepted and decoded by the Brotherhood. But all had changed now. He had sent a lieutenant to marry a daughter of Saladin. While Saladin was supposedly on the war fronts of Acre right now, he had been scared into hiding. Somewhere in Acre, a double agent roamed in his place, in perpetual fear of the hashashin threat that had been made upon him.

A group of three assassins, one including himself, had left the dagger and the cake with the note next to Saladin’s bed pillow as he slept without being detected by any of the 23 guards outside. A feat that had made history books, some had claimed. And when Saladin intervened in the fight for Acre none the less, his life was on the line. He had gone against the Asssassin’s warning.

Though another letter revealed he was elsewhere, using a doppelganger in Acre and now on a trip to Cairo, Egypt – Saqr did not know the details, only knew the job. And not only that, there was a chance that Hassan would be there. The calculated percentages low, though that was all he could see, opportunity. And if Saladin was dead and the wedding ruined, then it would only cause Hassan and his organization strife. Hassan had hoped to kill Saqr and failed. It was only a matter of time before the gesture would be returned and Saqr could wash his hands of this. Or so he wished.

If Hassan was there, he would be the first to die. And then Saladin. And then no doubted death would await him afterword, as one public kill seemed difficult as it was, two nearly impossible. Perhaps Hassan’s death could be in secret..

“Names?” – the gruff voice intervenes his stream of thought. Somehow he had come to follow Musheer on the horses. When behind him, his eye caught the sitar on his back, wondering why he had not noticed it until now. Perhaps Musheer had been too far behind for him to notice.

“My name is Abdul Azeem and this is Sayf Udeen,” said Musheer confidently. Saqr let him do all the talking.

“Purpose?” The guard at the gate of Cairo asked mechanically, not even looking at he wrote their names down, as though it were difficult for him. Saqr noticed him spell the word “input log” wrong at the top of the page before he wrote down their names. The third and fifth character of date was also backwards.

Noticing all the mistakes, as usual, Saqr did not speak.

And they entered with little disturbance, their horses trotting slowly on the cobble stone, hovering about the drowning sea of locals and foreigners that made the immense crowd in the streets. Both hoods up, shadowed faces, they did not look so strange, their swords average necessities in the current state of the world.

Finally they found where they would sleep, asking for rooms from a seemly kind old man with a long black beard and a wife that they never saw. After feeding the horses and leaving them at the crunched stables behind the building, Saqr followed Musheer up the stairs to the room he would less than likely even sleep in tonight.

“Musheer,” Saqr’s voice was deep, though low. It seemed to have surprised Musheer that Saqr was even addressing him after two days of non conversational travel.

“Yes, Saqr?” he asked curiously, looking over his shoulder as they made their way up the steps. His kind dark eyes were not unlike Saqr’s in the sense that they gave everything away. The sadness was there, but an optimism that Saqr did not understand was there as well. A sense of love that he held for living things. Infinite. Musheer was the kind of Brotherhood bureau member they all had wanted to become, loving his life, not collapsing under it.

“May I burrow your sitar?” he asked, straight to the point, not given a reason as they reached their room. Musheer, despite the difference in ranks, did not object to Saqr’s demand. Smiling broadly at Saqr, his brown face crinkled like old paper.

Nasira stole across the rooftops, taking advantage of the inky blackness that surrounded her. Just one more rooftop to go…

She stopped abruptly. Well this was unexpected.

There was laughter resounding all through the house as the lights and lamps burned brightly on almost every floor. Music permeated through the night air and people danced and sang back and forth. There were tinkles of glass clinking together as drinks were passed around. Oddly enough, wine was present, which was forbidden by the laws set down by Allah. Who was drinking the forbidden fermentation of grapes? Calls for toasts and speeches to be made were heard as the festivities rang out.

All this was happening as Nasir crouched in the darkness and gazed down upon the celebration. The presence of the wine puzzled her for a moment. Then she caught glimpses of the cross on tunic and shirtfronts as people danced in and out of the light. Templars?

Okay, time for a couple of plan changes; she didn’t expect this. There had been rumors of a wedding to take place between the bitter enemies but the likelihood of that happening was slim, and that the festivities would take place in this residence was even slimmer. Why didn’t she see any preparations for this when she was here earlier? That didn’t matter now, what mattered was if she should go through with the plan or wait for the target to return at a later date. She wasn’t sure if he would return though, and he was leaving the day after tomorrow, and she couldn’t get to him in all the preparations for his leaving. It would have to be tonight. But how? Could she get him in all the confusion of the party? Doubtful-there were too many innocents around and she might accidentally get them by mistake. So what to do? She could do only one thing before she acted-wait.

For four more hours, the party continued, and for four more hours, a shadow remained crouched on a rooftop, watching and waiting, moving only to relieve her legs; Nasira never moved. People began to leave and excuse themselves for the comfort of sleeping in a real bed for the first time in a long time. Still more remained as the celebration continued. Nasira watched for her target to appear. There he was, strolling through the guests. It was time to move.

Nasira gauged the distance between her position and where she needed to grab hold. She could make it with a little luck. She backed up to the edge of the rooftop. A figure appeared on the terrace. Cursing in her mind, she crouched once more. The figure wouldn’t move, it seemed content to simply stand out in the night air away from everyone and everything, unknowingly torturing the shadow that needed to move unnoticed to where the figure was standing.

“Sayf, we have yet to introduce you to our host!”

The figure turned around and obviously, somewhat reluctantly walked back inside. Nasira waited two minutes longer before taking her chance. She flicked both wrists, feeling the hooks locking into place. Then she ran; she had one shot, one chance. Her foot hit the edge of the rooftop and with a grunt, launched herself out into the night air.

“Huh!”

Her body slammed into the wall of the house, her feet scrambled to find a toe hold while her hooks dragged down the wall searching for a crack. Suddenly, she felt a tug on her arms. Her gloves had done their job. She had a hold. She reoriented herself. She was below the terrace, black against the shadow of the terrace looking up and invisible looking down. It was a good position if one didn’t want to be seen. For moving where she needed to go however could very well be a different story. Either way, she needed to move. She was on the second floor and she had to go up two more floors to reach the fourth floor.

She moved carefully to her right and up, hooks and toes always seeking. Her eyes drew level with the floor of the terrace finally and she stopped. A pair of booted feet started coming her way again. They stopped as though hesitating and then turned to go a different direction. Mentally breathing a sigh, she continued up. She pulled herself up onto the terrace railing and pushed off once more to continue her climb.

Her arms were feeling a slight fatigue as she pulled herself through a window to an old store room. Pausing to catch her breath, she leaned against a wall amidst the brooms evaluating about where she would be to the rest of the home. Once she exited this closet, she would have to turn to her right to get what she needed, then backtrack to get to her target. For now, she had to wait, wait for him to pass and go to his chambers. As she slowly breathed, regaining her breath and letting the tension out of her arms and legs, she heard a soft plucking of strings. Slowly, as though the player was reacquainting himself with the instrument, soft music began to fill the hall. Softly, so softly, tentatively making its way down the hall; poking in corners and filling Nasira’s straining ears. The music was filled with something that Nasira rarely heard in music. It was so different from the music being played downstairs, it was filled with soul.

Footsteps. Nasira stiffened and peeked out underneath the door. She knew those steps. After a moment’s pause, she heard low voices and continued on. A door shut. The music resumed. Now was her chance. She listened for anyone else coming and after hearing nothing else for a minute, she crept out of the storeroom. After a quick glance around she began her careful walk to her supplies. She moved slowly, not letting the sides of her skirt drift apart to reveal her pants or boots. She reached the station that held the pitcher of wine and goblets. The priest’s nightcap…

She poured some of the heated wine in a goblet and pulled the vial out of her belt. She pulled out the stopper and carefully poured in the powder. Quickly she tossed away the vial in a potted plant in the event she was caught, she didn’t want to be holding evidence against her. Not that it would do her much good anyways. Placing the goblet on a tray; she turned and made her way down the hall.

Somebody watching her would’ve said that she looked like a normal woman serving a master, but there was something different about her; something in the way that she walked and moved. She walked carefully without looking like she tried to and it was with a certain grace that she moved. It was that dignified grace, that careful walk that lead her down the hallway, to the room where a man was preparing for bed. As Nasira made her way towards the room, the music began to grow slightly louder. Soon, she came upon a man sitting back on a bench with a sitar in his hands. Carefully, strumming the strings, he paused for a mere second as she passed him, and then continued. She hated the idea she may have to deal with him if all didn’t go as planned. She did enjoy his music, and his was the only music that she had heard to have that much soul. She stopped; the priest’s doorway was in front of her. She felt herself going cold inside as she always did. She knocked-and at the voice’s bidding that answered her, she entered…

If ever Saqr learned of the name of Christ, it was that he had created this war. This Christ had been the center of his distress since he was young, when Ussaz spoke of the holy wars and Saladin and all that mattered in these crusades. The strange thing he did not understand was that Ussaz had spoken these same things to Hassan, about how religion had been a fallacy and used for war. How it gave men the powers in which to be irrational, and using God’s name to dictate the fate of others in his place.

I will kill this man in the name of Jesus Christ.

I will take this land in the name of Jesus Christ.

I will slaughter hundreds and use blood in exchange for gold in the name of Jesus Christ.

And if ever Saqr learned of the name of Christ, he did not understand it. He did not understand Hassan’s explanation of Christianity, of their stories that spoke of goodness and damnation. Of the creation of man. Nor did he understand the drinking of wine – something Allah did not allow – and eating of bread that was physically manifested to be the blood and flesh of Christ.

Saqr had seen heaven once, and he saw no man but the Master that bore the salvation that Hassan spoke of. This conviction he knew of.

And as well as Saqr knew of this religion, he had a Bible hidden in the walls of his room in Masyaf, given to him by Hassan in one of their many meetings since he discovered Hassan’s affiliation with the Templar’s when he was 16. The Bible was the only gift he ever received from Hassan, and he prized it for many different reasons than Hassan did.

Though the gift of knowledge, of his religion’s book, was stained in betrayal. And not soon after Saqr returned home, he burned the pages with disdain, using the fire to cook his meal that night and instead of eating it fed it to the dogs in the courtyards. That night he went hungry with regrets.

Saqr was the only one in Masyaf that could understand the text on the pages, so he was not so worried of it being discovered. At night, every night, he translated passages if only to keep up with Ussaz’s teachings and to understand the strange poetry of the book. It had brought imagination to Saqr’s machine-like lifestyle. As interesting as it was, never did it make Saqr question his religion – but only served the purpose of helping Saqr understand his enemy in some minute way. Never did he think he would use the knowledge tonight.

Though for whatever reason, he kept a single story in the bible from the burning purges of his guilt. This he kept close and hidden.

The night air was thick with the chatter and boisterous, drunken discussion of a party that was put together in haste. The likeliness of the groom’s arrival tonight had caused disarray in the downtown of Cairos where needs for a party were put together. This had not been expected in the least, as the groom was not to arrive until tomorrow, and even Musheer and Saqr had to reassess the situation. They needed to be present during the wedding, and establishing themselves as entertainers seemed to work well in a free invitation to the party.

As for time sake, Saqr remembered little of the hours, only that he listened to Musheer’s attempt at singing with some mild amusement. The old man wasn’t bad, though Saqr would be the last person to admit this, listening to the man’s rehearsed poetry, as though he had been waiting years to sing his song. He would make a good story teller, one that could perhaps parallel his ability as a swordsman. Alternate professions were impossible, but playing pretend seemed something that the old man enjoyed. As for Musheer’s performance, Saqr’s sitar playing skills were unneeded for the time being, so he watched idly, leaning upon the Sitar, hood up, and quiet.

Several times there seemed to be a flicker on the edge of his vision, like a golden flicker, a fire, or a shooting star in the open night sky. This, Saqr doubted, as the light seemed brighter than any star he had ever seen (save the Sun, of course), and became compelled to stare from beneath his hood at the rooftops, slightly frustrated at the annoying light that could have well been only his brain.

Always, had he had a gift, one that signifying portrayal of the world in colors. Of usual ‘happy’ yellows, and ‘passionate’ reds, and the occasional ‘calm’ blue, though it wasn’t until he had joined the Brotherhood had he learned to see the world in only three hues that never seemed to change. The Master had explained that if he could see who his enemies were and those who were his friend, he would be the greatest Assassin ever to live.

With this, the blues turned to enemy crimson. The yellows – a deep steel blue that meant ‘friend’. Colorless white – neither, potential enemies, potential friends, but at the moment, was a definite neutral. Red, blue and white: This was Saqr’s color spectrum and soon he learned to forget about the colors of auras. He had long forgotten what Ussaz’s color was, remembering only that it was a color he thought was beautiful, whatever it was – it was long gone.

Hassan’s aura had long been blood red, this Saqr had only thought true because he was a Templar, little did he know that his eyes did not lie. All these years, knowing he had been friends with a true enemy, and still embracing him like a brother.

Saqr no longer knew what a green or a purple aura looked like. The world seemed strangely divided, boring, strange, and dissected. People weren’t individuals to him anymore, and perhaps, once upon a time, this bothered him.

Tonight, however, he was sure he had seen a golden aura, one that was not unlike the Sun. The color he had seen glance the rooftops could only be described as many new golden coins being poured like a waterfall, constantly in motion, glittering and revealing shadows and highlights. Something exotic and strange, and unmistakably beautiful.

Saqr could not help but think – surely he had imagined it.

Putting the Sitar down for a moment, he walked outside, to peer around, wondering if he saw a shadow, or a flicker of light. Staring out at the curvature architecture, the occasional green light of a firefly, or the smoke from fires in the city – he saw no one on the clear terrace. Saqr, for whatever reason, felt slightly at ease with this realization, that perhaps something strange did not exist. Enigmatic auras were in fact for fiction stories.

“Sayf, we have yet to introduce you to our host!”

His brother in arms called to him from the buzzing room, Musheer peering at him curiously, beckoning with a wave of one of his wood-like hands. Saqr could’t help but give Musheer a slight glare, knowing that introducing themselves was likely a hazard they did not want to take. As well, Saqr did not like talking.

The host was a rich man, who currently had been living here for quite some time, despite being a foreigner. His name was Father Paul. It was Musheer who did not understand how this man was named Father without having children, and only Saqr who understood (though very vaguely grasped) that Father was a named given to those who bring faith to others. This being a Christianity concept strange in the land of the Muslims.

Christianity, Catholicism, Lutheranism… Saqr did not know these different sects, nor if they were in fact different religions all together, or if there were more. While Christ had been mentioned in the Qur’an, he was not so professed, neither was his mother Mary. The books so different yet so similar, he had never owned a Qur’an, only briefly knew passages read to him by various masters from when he was younger.

Religion… religion… how it controlled the lives of men. Though this rich man, Father Paul, was a representative of faith in his land, and was perhaps rich because of it. Saqr did not need details to know what holy men should act like, and this Father was no holy man in his eyes.

His color was an off white, yellowed, like bile, but otherwise, from what Saqr could tell, was harmless. Only when he got close, something strange happened – his aura shifted, and black, cigar burns touched the rays of his aura like many small eclipses. No bigger than a gold coins, there were only a few, more than 10 and less than 25, Saqr could not help but stare for a moment past this elder man’s shining bald head; the aura strongest there.

Black spots were strange, something he only saw twice in his life, both times in very small amounts, and only when he got close, or was peering intensely. Black was the color that let no other color escape, causing breath to leave Saqr’s lungs as he stared upon them, like staring at many small demon eyes, them peering back oh so intensely.

Black, the darkest color, of a never ending abyss, of a nightmare, of the inside of a tomb, the soulless eyes of a corpse. Though the burns in the aura were small, they left Saqr on high alert, every hair on the back of his neck on end, his muscles tense, and his eyes precise and seeing all. Something deep and dark rang about this man.

His rest of the color remained neutral however, though it took every effort of Saqr to allow himself to blink and bow his head. This man was not his enemy, yet he could not see his eyes.

“Father,” he said respectively, bowing, though small, “I apologize for I am a blind peasant and unworthy to be here. My name is Sayf.”

His voice was scratchy, as though he had not drank in many long days, or something had happened to his vocal chords. He sounded ten or twenty years older because of this.

“Ah my son,” his tone screeched, hardly above a whisper, heavily accented from the country he came from, “I welcome you into my house, as this may not be a house of God, but like all things he watches and peers upon us with favor, as well you. Play for me outside my room, Sayf, as Abdul has been so kind to sing for us this evening. Be gone with you until I call.”

He ushered them off with a hand, waving them away like flies. His voice sounded strange for someone that would be saying the wedding prayers at the dawn of tomorrow. Saqr felt much contempt, not saying a thing until they were far away from the holy man with blackness in his heart, and away from any wandering ears. They stood in the shadow of a hallway.

Saqr glared at Musheer, “you just jeopardized our position, you fool. I can’t leave in the night now, and I doubt he will let us both into his quarters,” Saqr said all of this through his teeth. “You have put off a night we could use to–“

Musheer lifted a hand, quieting Saqr, looking just as worried as he, “Don’t chastise this old man. We needed to make ourselves trustworthy-“

“Do you not realize that I have to do all the work alone? From the time this man calls for me, until the ‘morrow, I will begone of you, and you will be as useless as you were to the Brotherhood before. What? Do you plan to kill Saladin in the night so that we may leave without revealing our faces? Will you cast aside your cowardice and murder him while I serenade the priest, Musheer?” His voice was harsh, even if he did not yell, it carried a weight that bore on the old man’s face. Saqr felt no regret kicking this man who had put them in this position.

Musheer had long given up killing, and there had been the occasional worry that he was too old to be of any help. This, Saqr did not know bothered the man until now. Being called a coward made the old man’s face gain a hundred more wrinkles as it constricted in regrets.

“..I can not, Saqr,” hearing his own name on the mouth of the other, a man who had taught him in his youth, calmed, if only for a second, the thoughts of Saqr. In reality, he was not angry with the putting-off of Saladin’s kill until tomorrow, as he had planned it anyway. This night had been saved for the searching of Hassan – and the killing of the once brother of his heart, and his laughter. Hassan had been saved for his revenge, and if he lived, Saladin would see his last day tomorrow.

Musheer had put off his vengeance, and this was something he could not forgive.

“Give me the hash,” he said harshly, opening his gloved hand to the man, “I will call you when needed, go and repent, as you have compromised the Brotherhood.” Saqr’s voice was calm now, though held the reserve of someone long surpassed Musheer in rank, a son that casting aside a father, or father disappointed in a son. Saqr was the one dealing fate now, Musheer was no longer in control. He had lost and Saqr was fixing the problem now.

Ashamed, Musheer, took out a small leather pouch and willingly gave it to Saqr who put it in his belt pocket at once.

“I will wait for a signal,” said Musheer.

“Goodbye,” said Saqr, ending the conversation, killing anymore words that could have been.

Saqr put the sitar back on his back and made his way up to the hallway before the priest’s quarters, leaving Musheer staring after him, unsure of what all he had done.

And the night went on in much the same way – waiting and observing, though this time, alone. He had for the first time that evening placed the sitar on his lap, the strap over his shoulder and let his fingers hesitantly prick the unfamiliar strings, the sound something he couldn’t help but find calming, and strange.

It had been too long since he had played anything, a decade or more perhaps. This sitar was like an old friend, one in which he needed a long, deep conversation to be reacquainted with. After the anger he had just reaped upon Musheer, suddenly, he felt drained, his muscles relaxing, the crease between his eyebrows gone. Another string and another and the song sung between him and his old friend painted the walls of the hall in something strangely honest. The sound vibrated from the circular doors, mosaic windows, gilded statues and the tiled floors, an enveloping music, blocking the rasping of his own breathing in his skull. No longer could he hear his own heart beat, or make sense of the noise that was his own thoughts.

Saqr did not notice anyone go by at first, feeling alone yet not so alone. He thought he could play forever, be at this peace he had not felt in such a long… long time…

The assassin let his eyes close.

He had not noticed how cold it was in the hallway until he felt a strange warmth touch his face, like sunlight – so late at night? He thought, slowly, hesitantly opening his eyes to stare at the floor, continuing to play harmoniously, unperturbed. He had rehearsed his eye movements beneath the hood just as he had rehearsed every movement of his body. His eyes were as much as a beacon of caution as showing everyone his missing finger, or his battle scars. If someone recognized him later, being the only man ever to have such a color of eyes (as far as he knew), it could kill him.

Slowly, he looked up curiously from beneath his hood, seeing the light that had drawn him out earlier, though this time – no less than a few feet away. What he had felt then was loosely described as being robbed again of breath for the second time that night, though for much different reasons than seeing black spots – this time, he was awe-struck. If a string on the sitar broke right then, he doubted he would have noticed, as he kept on playing, staring at the colors of the aura that had such depth he doubted he could look away. His lips closed, unmoving, his face hard as he watched, trying to quell the emotion that came with such the brilliant display of life energy.

Hundreds of gold flakes flickering in dark waters, rotating swirling, a star that had the gravitational pull he had not felt before.

Like staring at the sun, though his eyes were not blinded.

The sight was beautiful, though beautiful in the way that a forest fire was beautiful. He was not sure if he wanted to get close.

And instead of simply looking at the color, Saqr, for the first time in a long time, found himself looking at the source of the energy, looking at the person instead of past them. What could give off something so – indescribable?

Not blood colored, or washed-white, or watery-blue. This did not fit the spectrum of Saqr’s vision. This color was something he had never seen before, real or imaginary, it was as though he were seeing for the first time.

Her movements would have looked simple enough, simply walking down the hall, a servant woman. But Saqr had a habit of watching movements, noticing how gracefully she took each step, her path of motion clear, defined. Her shoulders squared, not hunched, her feet were light upon the tile, and her back had a curve that reminded him strangely of a cat. He could not see her face clearly, though knew her chin was held high beneath her veils, her hair concealed like everyone else’s.

And the warmth left his features as she opened the door of the priest’s room, disappearing, her light leaving as quickly as it had come. Coldness returned to Saqr’s skin, and the hallways had only the sound of the sitar’s song that echoed into the shadows that seemed strangely darker than before.

All Saqr could ponder was – perhaps I am truly a blind man.

His back was to her as he hunched over something at his desk, his robe swished about him with his golden belt clasped at his waist, a crucifix dangling from the expensive piece of clothing. The cross caught her eye as it moved with his movements, as it swung back and forth, it seemed to be swinging further and further away from the man who claimed it as his own as though trying to leap off of his belt.

Nasira quickly took in the room, a small window that she wouldn’t be able to reach easily, the door behind her, and another door that lead to the adjacent room. From the silence issuing from the room next door, she hoped there wasn’t anybody in it. There was a bureau in which to keep clothing, his desk and chair, and a large trunk at the base of a rather large bed. Nasira had never seen a bed so big.

The priest spoke in a strange tongue foreign to her land. She was learning to speak the invaders’ language but she couldn’t catch what it was that he said he spoke so quickly. She cocked her head questioningly.

The priest spoke again irritably and swung around to find Nasira standing in front of him, holding the tray with his goblet of wine in her hands. Nasira’s first impression of the priest when she saw him was that he was the embodiment of defiled. She considered if what she knew about the man gave her this idea and she didn’t believe so. Just looking at him made her skin crawl. Very few people could do that to her, which gave her a bigger incentive for her mission tonight. His greedy eyes took her in for a moment as they tried to find a woman under the layers that she wore. Nasira was thankful for the veil that hid her grimace of disgust as his mottled hands rubbed together. The priest looked older than what he actually was with his wispy white hair that clung to the sides of his head and deep wrinkles cut brutally into his face, that didn’t make a difference to Nasira and her plans.

“Ah, thank you, my child. Would you place that here on my desk for me?” His screechy voice tried to adapt a comforting tone that felt like sticky, greasy oil covering Nasira’s ears. She had to resist the urge to shake her head to fling the sensation from her ears. Nasira slowly moved forward with a lowered head as a sign of respect and placed the tray on the desk and concealed the flinch that she felt in her mind as the priest moved slightly in her way so she had to touch his chest with her shoulder. Nasira quietly began to move back away from him, but his hand snatched up her wrist in a hard grip that he tried to disguise as a fatherly touch; his thumb running back and forth over her wrist. She tried to pull back but his grip held.

“Just a moment, my child,” he lifted up the goblet and took a slow drink as he regarded her. Nasira watched him from beneath her lashes and hood. Her eyes glanced at his throat as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he drank. She knew he couldn’t see her eyes but she wasn’t going to watch intently to see if her plan worked.

A few moments later, he returned the goblet to the tray and released her wrist. She bowed and picked up the tray. Would it really be this easy? Warily, she turned and began to take her steps towards to the door. She could faintly still hear the music from the hall permeate through the wooden door, it heartened her a bit as she mentally thanked the musician for his song. Suddenly, the musician’s image came unbidden to her mind. She could see him as clearly as though he was sitting in front of her. There was something strange about … His hand! He was missing his third finger on his right hand! That meant….!

Rough arms suddenly wrapped around her. How did she not hear him? Berating herself and cursing her stupidity for not staying focused, she attempted to break out of the priest’s grasp.

“Oh no, my child,” the man’s oiled covered voice made Nasira cringe and struggle harder, “You can’t go yet, we have much to discuss.”

For an older man, he certainly had a strong grip. Still holding Nasira captive, he managed to reach a hand up to claw at her veils. “It’s a pity that you’re taught to hide yourselves from the world,” the priest said as he fought to keep a hold on Nasira and remove the veil from her face, “I believe that women should show themselves for all to behold and enjoy.” Her response was less than womanly. Nasira stomped on his foot and as he groaned in pain, slammed the back of her head into his nose feeling a soft but profound crunch as his nose broke into his skull. She launched herself backwards against him sending him crashing into his desk. Nasira attempted to tear herself from the priest’s grasp, but the man was quick and managed to keep a firm grip on her. Why wasn’t the poison working? He should be writhing on the ground, clawing at his belly and throat, feeling the pain that he put every girl through that was unfortunate enough to cross his path!

“You wretched girl!” the priest snarled as Nasira slammed her shoulder into his chest and attempted to sweep her leg behind his knee to make him fall to the ground but he nimbly side stepped out of the way. “You’ll pay most dearly for that!” If she could just get her arms free! Sweeping her legs up, she firmly planted her feet onto a wall and shoved off as hard as she could, her head hitting his already broken nose once more. They tumbled over backwards, destroying his chair and slamming into the chest at the foot of his bed. Yes! She slipped an arm free and her elbow solidly connected with the priest’s throat. Enough of this! She twisted away from him as her fist hit the side of his jaw. Unable to yell in pain because of his throat, he jumped on Nasira, slamming her back into the floor once more. She caught him with her feet and pushed him, flipping him over her head. Did he not drink enough of the poison for it to work?

Nasira rolled quickly to her feet. She couldn’t wait for the poison to work; she had to take him out. Now! She ran at the priest and knocked aside his outstretched arm and flicked her wrist hard. His other arm came out of nowhere and grabbed her by the throat. Reaching up, she slashed his arm with her hook. He grimaced in pain, he still hadn’t recovered the use of his vocal cords, and yet he still held on. She kicked him in the stomach and slashed the inside of his wrist hitting the sensitive nerve. He recoiled and let go. As she moved in for the kill, he snatched out intending to capture her arm, he only grabbed cloth. Riiiiip. Nasira’s sleeve tore as she reached for his throat with her hook.

“Mary, Mother of God!” the priest swore in a hoarse whisper. He stared horrified at her. The panic that immediately rose in Nasira’s throat was squashed down by coldness. Now he had to die. Not just to pay for his crimes, but out of self-preservation, so she could survive, he had to die!

Nasira lunged for the priest.

Her hook caught him in the throat.

The priest spun and threw her. A sickening tearing sound was emitted as the hook came free.

Bam!

Nasira’s back hit the immense doors, the force of her impact forcing the doors to swing open. She flew through the opening and hit the ground sliding. Nasira took the blow with her shoulder and rolled to her feet, her left hand holding up her right sleeve, covering her arm.

The music stopped abruptly.

Her gaze rose to the musician who was half rising. He listened intently to the priest’s hoarse yelling from inside his room for a moment.

“Guards! Guards!”

Nasira began to run, her eyes locked on the closet door that she had arrived from. The musician snatched out his hand, “Trust me,” he murmured softly. He moved so quickly she didn’t have enough time to react. His hand closed over her left bicep, feeling her stiffen under his fingers, his other hand came up behind her grabbing her by the scruff of her neck. Nasira felt herself being spun around and suddenly she crashed through the blinds that covered the window behind the musician. Still keeping a grip on her, he swung her and she caught the edge of the balcony another room over.

“Wait there!” the sitar player called and he left the window. The hell she was going to wait for him! Especially him!

Nasira dropped down to the balcony below her so she was now on the third floor. She looked around and flicked out her other hook. This was going to be harder, she didn’t have quite enough room for a good running start, but she was going to take what she could get. She launched herself from the railing and landed on the cloth awning on the home across from the priest’s residency. Scrabbling with her hooks, she managed not to fall through the tearing cloth and pulled herself up onto the roof. She began running her escape route for home. In her mind she cursed herself repeatedly. How could she be so stupid? For all she knew the priest was still alive telling everyone what had happened, endangering her very existence! And what was more; she now owed a debt to an assassin!

He heard guards in the distance, echos of men in the halls coming for him. Or more specifically, coming for the priest.

Saqr now stood in the Priests’s room, his own white robes covered in blood, adrenaline making his heart beat so loud he could not think clear of what he had just done. His sweat was slimy against the door he leaned upon. The residue of piss and stink of the priest’s room was nauseating.

Saqr, looking back now would say what he did may have perhaps been the stupidest thing he had ever done in his few meager years of existence. If there was indeed a single God, Saqr knew then, he was being laughed at.

His memory came back to him like slow motion, tendrils of emotion and images flowing back into his mind like an inhalation of Hash, rolling from the lips and the nostrils, a haze.

He did not wish to remember in such detail, but he did none the less. The memory like an after effect of the adrenaline rush. An echo of the reality of what he had just done. Now staring down at the corpse of the man he had just killed, the memory came back to him.

It began with the quiet, the music stopping.

The silence that suffocated the hallways and rooms was louder than any profound song that Saqr had played. If the song of the sitar had filled him with a sense of peace, the quiet filled him with a bone chilling dread. There were scrapes and rustles in the silence, and a weezing, a haunting voice of someone screaming.

“Guards, guards!”

Her shadow was the first thing he saw as she ran out of the room. And then the door cracked as it hit the perpendicular wall, the light of her aura seemed strangely dim. She looked to him with a strange emotion that he could not place about her eyes.
Was it fear of the priest.. or of him?

His hand paused on the sitar, his lips pressed together, his eyes narrowed, he was frozen for a moment. Saqr had lost his mind in that second upon seeing her. Musheer could write choruses of his insanity. A minuet of one of the biggest mistakes Saqr the Assassin had ever made.

He had decided to save her.

Just as fear drove him during a mission, the fear to keep himself alive and breathing the next day, to survive the onslaught of guards that would soon come after killing a man, fear drove him now. A mastery of fear, to use it as a weapon just as his pata was a weapon. But in a much different fashion, he did not use this weapon to kill a man, or to save his own life. His fear was for this woman’s life.

And she was running the wrong way, the hallway only leading to the guards that may soon be coming for her.

He grabbed her bicep and the back of her neck, smelling her fear and her anxiety, and before he could stop himself.

“Trust me,” he assured her in a single honest breath.

So he threw her weight out the very window he sat by, through the papyrus blinds that cracked and broke easily. Her many veils caught the light of the fires below and the rays of moon from the skies, weightless. She looked like a ghost, with that strange aura about her, an image burned into Saqr’s memory as she seemed suspended in the air a moment before she fell.

Her body hit hard against the walls of the building, held up by Saqr’s secure grip to her wrist. They met eyes again, her face shadowed behind her veils and her eyes bright in the shadow like a smoldering cinders. A brief moment they understood what was to happen next, and he swung and let her go. She caught onto the balcony to the right of them safely.

“Wait here!” He called to her, turning away, he disappeared from the window and made his way blindly toward the priest’s room.

Saqr was not even sure why he was headed there. Did he really plan to divert the guards – kill the priest even? Blow his cover?

And doing this all while she dangled from the balcony? His blood pumped loudly in his ears – he had to make sure she was safe before she could return to the floor again. He touched his hand to the wall as he walked beside, an unconscious habit, he only then realized how slick his hands were.

Saqr stopped and peered at his gloves, once a gray-white cloth his gloves were now a darkened damp color. He sniffed his hand. It smelled metallic, like blood. It wasn’t his… it must have been…

Saqr cursed to himself as he turned heel to run back to the window – leaving a healthy woman to dangle for her life was risky enough – but an injured one? He thrust his weight against the window ceil to peer down at the balcony worriedly. And she was gone.

Instantly he looked down, searching for a body on the tiled floors of the courtyard below and saw nothing. There was no sign of her falling, and Saqr was not sure if he were relieved or not. The sudden realization of truth brought him momentarily back to his senses as he heard the footsteps draw near.

He was a witness to her escape, and numerous allegations could be taken against him if he stayed in the hallway. He thought a moment of escaping out the window as well, but all ready could he see that more guards were coming from below, looking up at the window – as if looking for a fire – and he had to step back quickly in order not to be seen. He felt cornered, the acoustics of the hallway making louder the sound of footsteps running toward his demise.

He had to disappear.. but how?

…

And he knew then what he must do. A quiet air came about him as he leisurely pushed open the wooden door of the one man bed quarters. Stepping in, he peered down at the priest, covered in blood, kneeling before his own altar in the room, staring at his cross upon the wall.

His speech was scattered in a foreign language Saqr knew so well, and had only heard spoken once
before..
“Have mercy, O Lord, have mercy upon me. I cry to you, when you…”

The priest did not hear Saqr enter through the door, did not hear Saqr’s light steps as he approached him from behind, silent as death, it was only when Saqr touched both hands on the man’s shoulders did the priest go silent. Saqr decided then, he would finish the priest’s prayer.

“…come with your angels to give to every person due return for his or her deeds.”

He said, his voice defined, imminent and strong compared the priest’s scratchy, oily tone.

Saqr refused to look down at the man, only past him toward the religious symbol upon the wall. A carved Jesus Christ upon his cross. Saqr could also see his own dark silhouette upon the stone wall, the moon behind him, he continued to stare at his own hooded shadow, quietly thinking.

The silence of the room was strangely deafening, only hearing the ragged breath of the dying man.

He decided to look down at the man before him, the man too afraid to look back at him, as if knowing Saqr’s next intentions. Looking at this man, he took in ever line of strife upon this man’s face. The scars on his forehead that he had not seen before. He took in the priest’s red nose, and his bloated belly. Every white hair. This man, the rapist, he had known what deed had been meant to be done. Saqr could only think of what this man could have done, and had done before. Every sunrise that Saqr woke up and looked forward to a day looking over the streets of Acre, Damascus or Jerusalem, all he could see was the pain of the people that suffered. Every child that was forced labor upon small frail shoulders, all the dying beggars on the streets old and young that had once been respectable.

The eyes of every woman that had been taken against her will.

Every day the Master promised a new life for these people, and with his vision the world would be wiped clean. That they must not treat a symptom but the roots of corruption, that men such as these must not be given any benevolence. Even now, he could see the man’s scars of what looked to be blows to the head, this man had once been poor and had risen to wealth. Perhaps even once he had been kind, under the black spots of his aura he could see a yellow tone of kindness, of love.

It was finally then, the man broke the silence with a hesitant breath, staring still forward at his cross, at Saqr’s shadow, “Oh.. angel,” he began to cry bloated tears that rolled down his chin,”..h-have mercy.” The priest spoke foolishly to Saqr, his hooded savior.

And Saqr stared down at him, though his gestures were neither scary nor hostile. Saqr touched his bloody hands to the priest’s face gently, and asked quietly, impulsively, condemningly, “..Tell me priest, and speak honestly. Do you deserve heaven with all that you have done?”

Saqr placed one hand at the base of the man’s thick neck.

The priest closed his eyes then, his body relaxing, his tears flowing, “..yes.”

Saqr without even a heart beat let his pata release into the thick meat of the man’s neck, between vertebras. Quiet and clean. Saqr himself let his eyes close as he let go of the dead man and let him collapsed to Saqr’s feet.

Regretfully, Saqr let his hood fall to his shoulders, opening his eyes again to stare forward at the symbol upon the wall. This corpse at his feet was all to become of the condition of man. A sense of loss filled him, he could think of little say except..

“Kyrie eleison, Lord have mercy on us all.”

Nasira was running; doubling back on her trail over and over again to be sure she wasn’t being followed. She heard the sound of people in the street laughing; one called something out and she fell back into the shadow’s embrace. What was she going to do? Well one thing was certain; she couldn’t keep running with her hand covering her arm. She had to make it to someplace where she could mend her sleeve quickly and safely. She didn’t want anybody seeing her arm if she could help it. It was better for her and for their health.

She leapt from rooftop to rooftop, avoiding buildings that were broken down or in the process of being rebuilt. She learned her lesson from a previous entanglement that involved a building such as those, resulting in a broken ankle… and a pain that she never wanted to experience again…

She shook her head to clear her mind. She was back in her home territory, she wasn’t completely safe, but she was on familiar ground and knew this part of town better than anyone else. Every rooftop, hiding place, shadow, and crack in walls and buildings she knew and used to the best of her advantage. She glanced backward for one second and instantly felt something coil around her legs, tumbling to her knees. She rolled over to her feet, spinning around to face her attacker.

A cat. A black cat was the attacker that managed to bring Nasira to her knees. If that didn’t take something out of a person’s pride… Well this place was as good as any to get her sleeve fixed up. She sat down, her back against the wall and sighed. Twice, that was twice she didn’t pay attention and paid for it. Once by getting her cover blown and the other took a shot to her ego by a cat! Nasira shook her head. What was with her lately? She didn’t make mistakes like this! She hadn’t done so since she started doing this for her teacher and she had been doing this for too long to start doing so again, too much was at stake for her. She searched her belt pouches for her extra lengths of cloth that she stored for cases such as this. She unrolled one of the rolls of cloth, and began to wind it around the torn fabric. She paused suddenly as she gazed at the scarred remnants of her arm. Usually she didn’t like to think about or look at it, it brought back too many painful memories for her, but now they seemed to surface whether or not she intended them to. Worse, they were distracting her from her job. She was supposed to kill the blasted priest and failed because she allowed her mind to wander-something that she NEVER allowed herself to do while working. It allowed too much room for mistakes and mistakes meant death. There was no excuse for it, but it seemed to be that her memories had been plaguing her more than usual lately. She hadn’t had dreams about the fire, the judge, or even Ussaz or Him for a long time until recently. She didn’t understand why, she had always been good about keeping the past in the past. It helped her to move on, to cope…to heal, but now…

Nasira jumped a little when she felt something rough graze against her skin on her fingers. She looked down to see that the cat had decided that he liked her enough to give her a little lick to snap her out of her thinking and demanded that she pet him…now. Nasira simply looked at the cat, trying to decide if it had tripped her on purpose or not, and merely resumed fixing up her sleeve so that no one could see that damage that had been inflicted on her arm so long ago. She scrunched herself closer against the wall and pulled down her veils just enough to free her mouth so that she could tie off the cloth, using her arm to shield her face from view, and quickly pulled the veils back up, covering her face once more. She leaned back against the wall, trying to figure out what she would do about the priest. It was obvious that he had to die that much was certain, but there was no way that she could possibly even get near him now. Well not as how she was dressed. If he could still talk, everyone would be on the lookout for a woman with a torn sleeve and an arm like hers. And if he couldn’t, he’d write it down. But before she did anything, she had to find out if the man was still alive. She knew she hadn’t severed the carotid artery like she had wanted, but she knew that she had seriously hurt him. So what to do?

Her eyes found the stars as she pondered her next move. What would Ussaz do? She had done this for much longer than Nasira ever had. Her fingers sought the necklace Ussaz gave her that she wore under her shirt, playing with it as she pondered. Her fingertips traced the pattern of the tree that was embedded in the silver medallion, a comforting feeling stole over her as she did so, making her think of Ussaz’s presence. She had often wondered if it was mere coincidence that her name was almost the same as the guardian that she played in the night’s darkness, or if Ussaz had singled her out for a reason. Why else would she pull a kid from the street that had recently acquired a bloody lip and a brilliant black eye? For pity? Or something more…

Nasira blinked, the priest would be heavily guarded and escorted everywhere he went. When would he possibly be alone? That’s when they would expect her if they were smart…if they thought like an assassin. The Assassin! Why had he been there? For the same reason as her? Was he sent there to hunt her? But why would he save her if he was meant to hunt her? Did he realize who it was that he had rescued? Why would they go after the priest? The Assassins didn’t care about a priest raping girls. They wanted political figures that made a statement, that would cause an impact if killed, that would frighten and inspire… no, they weren’t there for the priest. Wait…they? Was there more than one here in Cairo? That seemed logical to her. If they were smart they would have a partner to watch each other’s back and help gather information. So the question now was should she back off and lay low until he or they left? There were no real members of The Assassins here in Cairo, only those that would not or could not kill…too low in the food chain. They were just Whisperers, informants of who was where and when to kill; no reason to do so was given unless they thought it was necessary.

These questions whirled around and around in her mind until a smack brought her back to reality. The cat was apparently dissatisfied with the lack of attention that it had been receiving from Nasira and wanted to let her know its opinion of her thoughtlessness. For good measure, the cat smacked her once more but let out its claws as well, catching and tangling them in her veil. For a few moments, Nasira wrestled with the cat trying to free its paw. This is what she had come to-first the cat trips her, taking a stab at her pride making her feel like a youngling to this game of murder and deception, then feeling that it hadn’t done enough to her pride, smacks her and proceeds to get tangled in her veils, causing her to momentarily fight with it. How much lower could she sink? The cat sprang free of her and proceeded to sit a few paces away from her and wash itself as though nothing had happened and it hadn’t just gotten tangled up with a dangerous and deceptive woman that had punished many a criminal and force fed one of her blades to people that didn’t quite get the message the first time. No, it had just been smacking a silly young woman too absorbed in her own thoughts to pay attention to it. Nasira knocked her head back against the wall and groaned in disgust and defeat. Could this night get any worse?

She looked back up at the night sky. Dawn would be here soon and she must finish this! But was the priest even still alive? She shook her head as the cat nosed its head under her hand. Apparently it wouldn’t leave until it had gotten a good rub down and Nasira wasn’t quite getting its message. Absently mindedly, Nasira rubbed her hand down and over the cat’s back, his back arching where her hand touched and purring his satisfaction. Not quite sure what to make of this persistent creature, Nasira returned her thoughts to the priest. If he wasn’t dead, he was going to be that much was certain. What would he be doing at this moment? Other than seeking medical attention and trying to hunt her down… the wedding! That was it! Would he still be performing the wedding? Was he even the priest that had been going to perform the marriage ceremony- assuming of course that they were going to perform a Christian marriage instead of an Islamic one? One thing was certain…she had to go back. She looked down at herself: torn sleeve hastily covered and mended, blood covered hands, she reached up behind her head, yes, blood there too from smashing in the priest’s nose. Oh yeah, she was definitely going to get close to him like this.

Nasira blew out the air from her lungs; drawing a knee up to her chest as the cat kneaded its claws on her other pants leg. Well, she could always go with her usual stand by…make it up as she goes. She pushed herself to her feet, the cat yowled its displeasure at it being moved. Nasira looked down at the creature curiously trying to decide if she had met a more demanding creature in her life, when she noticed it had white eyes. Odd… but then she wasn’t one to really decide what qualified as odd physical characteristics. She had to admit that it was an oddity for her to see a cat with white eyes. They weren’t white, milky white, like a blind man’s eyes…the irises themselves were white, almost blending in perfectly with the whites of its eyes. They almost looked as though there was simply a black slit set in the white canvas of the cat’s eye. She scratched the cat’s chin once more for luck and then she headed off again. But instead of going home, she was headed back to the priest’s house.

How was she going to get back in? She wasn’t entirely sure if she could pull off the same stunt that she had done earlier to get into the house. She crouched down in the shadows watching the place. It looked like it had just quieted down although…it certainly felt like there was excitement humming in the air. It could’ve been the impending marriage-it also could’ve been that a priest had nearly been murdered…no-not murdered. He had nearly met his justice, had his evil deeds catch up with him and punish him, give justice to those girls. Almost three years ago she wouldn’t have hesitated to use the word murder to describe what she was doing. But then…she’d never had to explain herself before about what she was doing. It kind of put a new perspective on things, having to give reasons for doing what she did. It was one thing to tell herself why she does these things; it wass another trying to make another human being understand. Perched on her rooftop, she gazed down trying to find the solution to her problems. It couldn’t be as simple as walking through the front door and going from there. Could it?

Nasira breathed in the Cairo night air. The air always seemed to have a slight change to it as the dawn approached, little nuances in its scent and how it felt going through her body to her lungs. Here in the richer part of the city, she was away from the musty scent of the streets that seemed to hold a pitiful pride at not being cleaned daily and the dusty tang that tickled her nose from the crumbling ruins of the older part of the city. She allowed a small chuckle at herself in her mind at the idea that she could tell where she was in Cairo by the smells that reached her. This part of the city may be richer in the sense of money, but not in history. When walking, albeit at her own risk, through the older parts of the city, it was possible to see markings and chiseled impressions on walls and pillars-some of them dated back to when the Greeks had control of the city after the Persians had come through.

The Protector’s gaze turned back to the priest’s home. There was a large caravan of wagons and tents outside the home that was beginning to come alive. Only a few people were moving around more than likely cooks or servants. Nasira cocked her head for a moment and quickly moved to another rooftop that gave her a better view of the caravan and of the main doors. She studied the layout of the camp-more than likely servants and people that belonged to the bride’s party. Her eyes moved to the doors. Two guards at the front doors and at the side doors, but… there was no one at the servant’s entrance. No way that they would be that stupid. Or it could be a trap…

Nasira considered her position for a moment and then swiftly moved over to another rooftop that allowed her better observation of the servants’ entrance…it looked like it entered the kitchen; which at the moment was bustling with excitement. It appeared that the wedding was still on. Nasira considered her position. She couldn’t do much better and the household would probably not see or notice her in the excitement of the kitchen, more than likely they would assume she was with the bride…and she couldn’t afford the time that it would cost to climb up the wall again. She looked over the ground again. This was her best choice and her only shot.

Nasira hid among the tents and the colorful lines of clothing and cloth strung between them. There was nothing more colorful than a wedding in Egypt and the caravan looked like a giant flock of colorful birds in the dying night, almost ready to awaken and humming with a sleepy excited atmosphere. Nasira ducked behind a tent as children ran sleepily after an escaped goat who was trying to find a way to remove the flying yellow cloth that he had managed to get caught in his horns as he browsed for his early breakfast. Nasira’s eyes smiled in silent laughter at the sight of such a silly creature before turning her attention to the servants’ entrance. She watched a woman carting a basket of fruit approach the door. The door was opened for her and she was allowed in. Nasira managed to get a glimpse of what was going on inside and saw that there was indeed a guard just inside the door. Nasira blew out her air and looked down at herself once more. She wasn’t going to get past him like this. She looked up at the line of fluttering cloth above her…

Quickly glancing around, she saw that no one was around and she could hear that the person inside the tent was slumbering not so silently. She wanted a cloth that wouldn’t show her black clothing, so she selected a dark teal colored cloth from the line. Thankfully it was large enough that she could wrap easily around her body and it look like a dress, but she couldn’t have it covering her head and face and still look like she was wearing the cloth as a garment and not as a cover. So she had to steal another cloth, and murmured a silent apology in her mind as she wrapped the cloth around her head and veiled her face. Feeling slightly foolish and not quite comfortable with the extra layer, Nasira found a basket of nuts and dates among other baskets that she assumed would be making their way into the kitchen soon enough. Feeling herself grow cool inside once more, she approached the door in a hurried manner that a haggard woman would take on if she had to finish preparing the wedding feast.

The door opened suddenly as a woman stepped out and Nasira suddenly felt the basket being lifted from her hands. She stepped into the kitchen and saw that it was the guard that had opened the door for her as a woman that she assumed was a cook had taken the basket. The kitchen was total chaos. People were rushing in and out and winding about tables, chairs, and platters piled high with food. One platter was a tower of intricately cut fruit that when put together made a beautiful work of art while another was well on its way of duplicating it by a woman whose handy work and speed with a knife impressed even Nasira. The smells and sight of cinnamon, flour, and paprika filled the air and clung to workers as they bustled about the kitchen. Shouting and calling out to each other, the cooks and helpers worked as quickly as they could. Eavesdropping in on conversations, Nasira managed to catch snippets of meanings and stories. One of which interested her very much…

With a polite nod of thanks to the guard, she noticed that he was dressed as a Templar, but he had the weapons not of a European knight, but of an Islamic soldier. Glancing at him from under her lashes, she saw that he was indeed Arabic, but there was something different about him that bothered Nasira. Hiding her puzzlement, she tucked the memory of him into a corner of her mind, and continued on her way.

Nasira went up staircases as quietly as she could trying not to disturb anyone still sleeping. It was about dawn, and the early risers were beginning to awaken from their slumbers even though they had had a late night before. She crept down hallways, treading softly on the intricately tiled floors, feeling their smoothness underfoot as she continued on her way. She passed a maid carrying a load of towels stepping onto the second landing. As the girl set them down to free her hands to open the door, Nasira stole a few towels. Might as well make it look like she belonged somewhat in the home.

Nasira stepped out onto the third floor. She felt herself growing cold again…the time was nearing for her to finish the job… Her eyes moved involuntarily to where the Assassin had once been playing the sitar. He had been sitting on the bench in front of the window. Her gaze rose to the window. The lattice work was still broken from where she had been thrown through it. A design on the floor caught the corner of her eye as she moved on. The tiling where the Assassin had once sat had been designed to create a picture…an eagle…

There was no way that the priest was still going to be in his room. Not if they were smart about taking care of him, or suspected that she would return. She approached his door and took a quick glance about, listening carefully before she entered. Closing the door softly behind her, she looked about her seeing the damage that she and the priest had inflicted the last time she had entered this room. What drew her attention most was the stain on the carpeted floor. She knelt down beside it as she studied the pattern. She thought back to the moment she first saw the Assassin when she had been thrown into the door. In her mind’s eye, she saw herself, saw what she saw, heard what she heard.

Rolling from the blow of the door and the floor, her gaze rose to meet the Assassin’s stare-not hostile-calculating and indifferent. His eyes were invisible, hidden under the shadow of his hood, but she could still feel them on her and what feeling they held as they gazed at her. Her ears pricked as she turned her head slightly as she heard the cry of the priest calling for guards. His voice, which was once screechy, was now a gurgle and wet-wet from his blood that was pouring from his throat…into his throat. His artery and vein not severed, merely nicked or sliced. Her eyes sought out the priest as he tried to stumble to the door, pitifully calling for the men that couldn’t, shouldn’t try to save his life. He fell on his knees, begging…the words now becoming more and more difficult to understand or even form. He wouldn’t have much time…unless they had a skilled doctor there that arrived in time. Knowing this man-anything was possible.

Her sight returned to the present and to her surroundings. She listened for noises in the corridor to check she was alone before returning her gaze to the carpet that was stained with the blood of the priest. She cocked her head trying to solve the puzzle that confused her. She had seen enough killings and committed enough to know how the blood flows from the body and what shapes and patterns are created by the blood and by the position of the body as the blood leave its former host. This pattern…something was wrong. Even if he had been lying on his stomach it wouldn’t create a blotch such as this…

Nasira’s gaze snapped up to the door. Someone was coming… Her eyes sought a way to escape. They were too close to the door for her to leave unnoticed and she knew that they would stop her if they saw her coming out of the room… her gaze went to the ceiling. The rafters…

She rushed over to the bureau, the only thing that was unharmed in the previous skirmish, and tried to climb up it. Blast this cloth! The makeshift disguise was preventing Nasira the freedom of movement that she needed. Pulling out the knife from behind her neck, she quickly sliced the cloth up a side of her leg. She could hear voices…two men. Nasira ran up a wood column that was adjacent to the bureau. Leaping off of the column, she landed on the top of the tall bureau. Quickly running up the wall from the bureau, she pushed off the wall, just managing to let out her hooks, she slammed her palms into the wooden beams above the room. She barely succeeded to scramble up onto the beams just as the door opened. The two men walked in that she had heard talking. Nasira crouched down on the beams, holding as still as she could as the men shut the door.

“Look at this! How could two people create such a mess?”

“He was fighting for his life. That can be a powerful motivator and cause someone to…overreact in how to deal with things.”

Nasira watched the two men circle the room. They seemed also to be subtly circling each other… like they were wary of each other and expected something. Both were speaking Arabic, but one did so with an accent…English?

“Do you have any idea who it was that attacked him?” It was the English man that spoke.

“No, all that we know is that it was a woman.”

“Well, she didn’t do a very good job, all she managed to do is slice his throat and even that was very shallow.”

What? She had done much worse than that! A broken nose, a few cracked ribs, and she had caused a good amount of blood loss at the least! Were the English really that behind in medicine and science that they didn’t even realize when a nose was broken?

The Arabic man remained silent as the Templar surveyed the room, never stopping in his movement. Nasira watched the power play below her with a mixture of feelings: puzzlement, fascination, and impatience. She couldn’t move until they left, but she had a feeling that it was important that she heard what was being said.

“Is he still able to perform the marriage ceremony?” Templar asked suddenly.

The Arabic man bowed, “He is still able and willing.”

“Good,” Templar seemed to relax a little.

Arabic seemed to hesitate a little before asking, “Why do you suppose it was that he was attacked?” his accusatory tone could be heard only if one was listening carefully.

He knew! Of course the whole lower city of Cairo knew. Women suddenly seemed to disappear and stay with uncles or brothers when the man came to the city.

Templar stiffened slightly, “Could it be that some of your kin don’t want the marriage to occur? That they would foolishly hope that if the priest was killed, the alliance wouldn’t take place?”

Arabic shrugged, but his tone in his answer barely showed he was offended at the idea that it was his family that had plotted to kill the priest. Nasira nearly shook her head; Templar had poor word choice while forgetting whose home it was that he was staying in.

“It is possible that someone in the community doesn’t want the alliance to take place. They do have their own ideas.”

Nasira’s ears pricked. Someone else was approaching…

Templar finally turned to Arabic and, after a moment, spoke, “Be thankful that Father Roark survived, King Richard would’ve been most angry had he perished; especially on the eve of the alliance.”

The two stared at each other, half glaring, waiting for the other to turn away first. Finally Arabic spoke, “I believe it would be best if we left. I’m sure you and I are needed elsewhere to help in the preparations.”

Templar studied him for a moment before nodding his assent, believing him to be the victor. Nasira resisted the urge to shake her head at his foolishness as they left. If there had been a victor, it had not been him.
Nasira glanced down at the slashed cloth she wore; she couldn’t walk around with that and her black clothes showing… Her gaze snapped to the door. Those footsteps she had heard earlier had paused as the men left-now they had continued. Nasira listened carefully…the footsteps were light, and spaced close together- a woman.

A woman soon entered the room. From the shadow she cast, Nasira guessed the woman to be slightly shorter than her. The woman’s walk puzzled Nasira for a moment. It seemed to be too-too careful, too practiced. It was as though she had trained herself how to walk a certain way… a servant wouldn’t do that…

The woman approached the priest’s altar carefully and paused, a moment of hesitation. Nasira contemplated jumping down and taking the woman’s clothes so that she could pass through the house and continue her search for the priest…almost immediately she saw the foolishness of the plan. The woman knelt down at the altar and crossed herself. Nasira bit back a groan of impatience and suddenly the woman spoke her prayer out loud. Nasira hid her shock; the necklace against her skin grew warm, almost to the point of being hot. She pulled it out and held the hot metal against her gloved palm as the woman spoke.

“Give me strength, Protector, so that I may do what I must do. So that it will be safe, and You, the Protector of us all, will give strength and a voice to those of us who are not heard. Please be with me and guide my hand to do what must be done. Amen”

The strange woman looked up towards the heavens, or as close as she could get in this room. Nasira’s gaze was locked on the necklace…the appearance was the same as ever but it certainly didn’t feel the same. Her gaze went to the woman who had just crossed herself once more, trying to make out what she could of this woman. She had blond hair, so she couldn’t be Arabic-but she spoke flawless Arabic, with no European accent whatsoever. A Christian that prayed to the Christian God in Arabic? Nasira suddenly felt that she had to follow this woman- that it was possible that somehow she could provide some sort of insight for Nasira. The woman turned and began to walk out; suddenly she stopped, directly underneath Nasira. The woman bowed her head once more and Nasira barely heard the woman whisper, “Protector, please, give me the courage, and the strength to do what I must do.”

Nasira held herself in check as the woman waited for a few more moments before walking out the door. Nasira waited for a few more seconds, waiting for the sound of the woman’s footsteps to die before dropping from the rafters. Nasira resisted the urge to follow the woman. This was the sort of thing that was going to get herself killed! She must find the priest! Find him and kill him as soon as possible so that she could leave this place! Sunlight filtered through the dirty window, casting a distorted beam upon Nasira and the bloodstained carpet. She looked at the necklace in her hand. It felt cool to the touch once more; Nasira put the phenomena out of mind to be studied upon later as she tucked the necklace back under her shirt. Something about what the two men had said about the priest bothered her. There was no way that they could not see the damage that had been inflicted onto the priest-unless the Templar was withholding information from the other man?

She shook her head; she didn’t have time to consider politics in this case. This was an in and out job. Nothing more-no other angles to consider and no other motives. She already had her motives, evidence, and a partially completed job-she just needed to finish. She reached down and tore off the remaining cloth that was wrapped over her work clothes. She was already inside-and people were up and moving. She needed to find a better disguise; she thought she knew where she might find one… Nasira went to the doors and after checking for other people that could be in the halls, left the priest’s room. Questions and riddles plaguing her mind, hidden blades close to her hand, and a purpose hidden under her lashes in her cold steady eyes.

Here’s the assignment loves- in two or three paragraphs, take your favorite protagonist and your least favorite antagonist and put them in this scenario.

They both wake up, after being kidnapped and they are tied into chairs, with whatever will keep them down (aka- rope, not gonna work for my sorceress that is also a seamstress and controls anything used for sewing). They are both tied back to back and have to figure out how to escape.

Note: The two characters do not have to be from the same story. But if we have never heard of them before, give us a few lines explaining their story so we can be caught up =)

Ayomiko was mad. She was infuriated, outraged; full of wrath. She was so angry that she could no longer think of any other synonyms that expressed what her emotions were as she marched herself smartly to a darkly lit house that lay on the far outskirts of town, too far for anyone to know what was about to occur. The audacity of the man, what he had expected! Ayomiko glared at an owl that dared to hoot its nightly calls in her presence when she was in such a mood. She continued in this manner until she reached the door of the house. She opened the door and slammed it behind her in a huffy manner.

“Sulaman!” her voice rang out, “We need to talk.”

She heard a soft stirring in the room off to her left and immediately made straight for it. She opened the door only to be stopped by a brown haired woman whom she topped by a few inches. She looked oddly familiar…

“Move.” Ayo demanded.

“No.”

Ayo was taken aback, “Excuse me…”

“You’re excused, but I’m not moving,”

“Yes, you are,”

“No, I’m not. I’m not moving and you’re not coming in here until I’m finished.”

“I don’t know who you are, but-“

“You’re right, you don’t. Come back in a few minutes, but it won’t do you any good.”

“Why is that?” Ayo bent down the few inches it took to look the strange woman in the eye.

“Sulaman is no longer doing business.”

Ayo, startled, drew back and fell silent. The woman continued briskly, “You let that sink in and study on it and I’ll just collect what’s mine and I’ll be on my way.”

Ayo barely registered what the woman said as the full implication of what she had meant unveiled itself as the body of Sulaman lay visible on the floor behind the woman. She stood transfixed as she stared at the body, not noticing the woman grab a few odds and ends from the room and throwing them into a bag. Inside her mind was in utter chaos. She had come a long way to talk to this man! She’d had a speech set in her mind that told exactly what she thought of the man and everything! To have the moment she’d been waiting for robbed from her left her with utter disbelief and disappointment. She had worked hard on that speech, and it was pretty good if she said so herself. However, she was a modest creature so she wouldn’t.  It wasn’t until the woman brushed past her that Ayo brought herself back to the present.

“Wait!”

She rushed out the door following the woman.

Tenace wrapped the mouth of the bag around her fist and slung the bag over her shoulder.  She walked at a brisk pace that still somehow managed to come across as lazy as she crossed the road, ignoring paths as she went into the forest. Did she just hear a voice yelling at her? She chanced a glance back to see the young woman from the house chasing after her- great.

“Wait! Wait!”

Tenace kept walking. She didn’t want to talk to the girl; if the girl wanted to talk to her then she would catch up.  The girl came up alongside her panting, “Didn’t you hear me yell?”

“I’ve got a bad ear.”

“What happened back there? Did you kill him? You weren’t supposed to kill him! I was supposed to kill him!”

Tenace cocked an eyebrow but kept walking. Her usual subtle sarcasm wasn’t having any effect on the young woman.

“You don’t think I could’ve killed him? If you knew why I wanted to kill him, you’d know that I could.”

“If you’re looking to lay sins at that man’s feet, get in line. There was enough blackness in his soul that his blood should’ve run ebony. You’re not the first to lay claim to have sworn to take his life, many more are still shouting such oaths in many other cities and countries.”

“Don’t you want to know why I wanted to kill him?”

“No.”

It was the same “no” that Tenace had given the young woman back at the house: final and wanting nothing in return.

“But he is… I mean he was just this awful, awful man. I mean, he-“

“You don’t need to tell me his vices; I don’t care to know the full extent.”

“But if I tell you then you’d know that I was capable of killing him.”

“There’s no doubt that you could kill him. What you do not comprehend is that I don’t care.”

“Did you kill him? Are you an assassin?”

“No.”

“Are you the law?”

“No.”

“Are you a mercenary?”

Tenace ground her jaw. The irritating woman would not leave and her questions were hitting too close to home.

Tenace’s silence apparently didn’t bother the young woman. She used it as an excuse to babble on about the evils of Sulaman’s works and what a horrible vile gruesome being he was. Trying to make Tenace gasp and shake her head at the man’s atrocities was producing no effect as she walked on which only encouraged her to come up with more provocative adjectives and eventually brought the one sided conversation to her name.

“I’m Ayomiko; it means ‘my joy is full.’ But you can call me Ayo. Everyone else does.”

Tenace said nothing merely rolling her eyes upwards and pondered what bad luck she had instilled upon herself that had caused this woman to decide that Tenace was the best companion to be with. She stopped for a moment to glance about her surroundings and veered off in a different direction than her original trail. Ayo for the first time since coming into the forest had her mouth shut, expectantly waiting for her companion to say something. Tenace enjoyed the silence and savored it; ever since the blasted girl had followed her she had gotten precious little of it.  All too soon, the silence was broken, of course, by Ayo.

“Well…?”

Silence.

“Ahem, I said, ‘well’? “

Still no response.

“This is the part where you tell me your name, remember? I told you mine, you tell me yours.”

“I’d rather not.”

“Why? Are you on the run? Are you a fugitive? A spy?”

“Mother Dearest always told me to never talk to strangers. I’m simply following her advice.”

“But you know who I am, so we’re not strangers.”

“I’m a stranger to you, and I’d rather keep it that way.”

“Aww, but I like you.”

Tenace began wondering just how it was that this woman managed to survive to reach the age that she was and not fall into the hands of a murderer. Then there was the problem of how Ayo could like Tenace when she knew nothing about Tenace.

“So we’re going this way?”

Abruptly Tenace stopped and veered onto a different course.

“So we’re going to go this way?”

“No,” Tenace ground out.

“But why are we walking this way?”

For the first time Tenace turned to face Ayo. “We are not going this way. We are not going anywhere. I’m going somewhere. You are going somewhere else.”

“But I want to go with you.”

“Too bad, I’m traveling without you.”

“I’m going with you!”

“What are you, a puppy? Leave me alone, I’m traveling alone as are you.”

“No.”

Tenace blinked, Ayo had said ‘no’ the exact same way that Tenace did.

“Yes you are.”

“No, I’m not. I’m going with you.”

Tenace had to remind herself that she had a personal rule against killing innocent people that weren’t trying to kill her. And she couldn’t exactly kill someone simply because it would make life easier for her, no matter how annoying and infuriating they were.

“Why is it that you have such a great passion for my company?”

“You’re important.”

Tenace took a second to look at Ayo, really looked at her. Could she have been sent to hunt her? She looked Ayo up and down and studied her face. No, she hadn’t been sent after Tenace, but there was something different about her, something that made her different from the rest of the mortals…

“What do you want?”

“Your name.”

“You’re not getting that.”

Tenace turned to walk away, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

“How did you get metal into your knuckles? Was it some sort of surgery so that if you hit someone it would hurt more?”

Tenace stopped and slowly turned around.

“What did you say?”

Ayo looked at this woman that she knew she was meant to know.

“Did it hurt, getting that metal in your hands?”

“What makes you think I have metal in my hands?”

“I can see it.”

Ayo watched the emotions that she knew would play across the woman’s face. It was okay, it would take a while for the woman to get used to her. Ayo knew this and believed it in her heart of hearts. She knew that she was meant to befriend the woman in front of her. She had dreamed of her and what she dreamt came true. So one way or another, Ayo was going to get the woman to have Ayo travel with her.

Tenace turned back around and began to walk, faster, faster. She was running cutting through the woods, zigzagging through trees, putting as much distance between herself and Ayo. She could see…? Tenace looked up in time to stop before crashing into something.

“You!”

“Why are you running?”

Ayo was standing in front of her looking completely at ease.

“What do you want? You know what it doesn’t even matter, leave me alone!”

“No, I can’t do that.”

“Who sent you?”

“Myself,”

Tenace turned to walk away.

“This is a really good knife.”

Tenace whipped around to find Ayo holding a knife, her knife. How did…?

“I’d like that back.”

“I travel with you, you get it back.”

Tenace was stunned, absolutely stunned at the gall of this woman.  Ayo had stolen her knife, which Tenace still had yet to comprehend fully, and now the girl was trying to use it as a bargaining chip! Tenace was so shocked that she didn’t even hear the yell behind her. Ayo swiftly reacted, throwing the knife. Tenace swung herself out of the way by instinct; the knife missed her and buried itself into the throat of a bandit that just tried to stab Tenace.

Tenace stared at Ayo in shock.

“So, I think this is the part where you say ‘thank you’. And I just saved your life. You owe me.”

“I’ve already paid you back.”

“How’s that?”

“For not cutting off your hand for stealing my knife.”

Tenace retrieved her knife from the throat of the bandit and continued walking.

“Where are you going?”

“As far away from you as I can get. You’re hazardous to my health.”

Ayo simply smiled her little smile. She wasn’t worried; she’d convince the woman that she was someone good to have around. She jogged to catch up with Tenace.

A storm had been brewing all afternoon and finally broke as Tenace and Ayo entered a town, soaking them in minutes.

“I know where we can get some cover,” Ayo said.

“I’m not made of sugar so the likelihood of melting is relatively small,” was the terse reply.

“The storm is going to last for a while and I have a place where we can stay.”

“Frankly, I’d rather face the storm than stay in the same building as you.”

“It’s free, you’ll have a room of your own, and all that’s required of you is that you leave the dog alone and you help make and clean up dinner.”

“Thanks for the offer but-“

“We’re here!” Ayo’s excited smile lit up her face.

Tenace looked up at a three story building and managed to read the gold lettering on the sign above the front door: Threads of Life. The letters looped together and ended as a thread looped through a needle’s eye. She’s a seamstress.

“I’m a seamstress,”

“I gathered as much,”

Ayo leapt forward and opened the door stepping inside just enough to throw off her wet overcoat and hang it up. Tenace could hear the faint growling of the dog that Ayo had mentioned. The growling was more like a dog talking than in aggression.

“What are you waiting for? Come in,”

“Dogs don’t take to me,”

She saw a black lab come to the door and brave the rain long enough to sniff Tenace and race back to Ayo’s side shaking off the water. The dog sat next to her mistress and looked at Tenace expectantly.

“I can already tell that’s a lie, now get in here.”

Tenace rolled her eyes.

“What’s wrong? You’ll get a hot meal, dry off, and a place to sleep. No one will bother you.”

“No, no one will, just you.”

“You telling me that you managed to get enough money from that office to pay for a room and meal at an inn?”

“I’m telling you that’s none of your business.”

Ayo shrugged and smiled, “C’mon, Nellie.”

She and the dog turned, Nellie cast Tenace one last look as the dog and mistress walked into the shop. Tenace looked around and began walking. She meandered down the street as people rushed past her trying to get themselves and their belongings under cover. Tenace’s mind was buzzing; Ayo had been right, she managed to get some valuables, but not enough for a night’s stay and have enough for food. What she did get, she wasn’t willing to sell to get the money she needed. She stopped and realized that she had circled the town and was in front of Ayo’s shop once more. She glanced at the still open door of Ayo’s shop. The only real danger she felt from Ayo was from petty larceny which Ayo appeared to be quite good at, she could make a career switch and be just fine. Tenace shook her head, knowing what she was about to do was incredibly stupid of her.

“My life is about to get more complicated,” she muttered as she crossed the threshold.

As the door closed behind her, she could hear Ayo tell her dog, “We need to welcome Tenace home.”

Tenace stopped and was about to say something then abruptly closed her mouth. Something told her it would be easier if she didn’t question it. That was the first and one of the most important lessons she learned in staying in Ayo’s house.

Many, Many years later

Ayomiko hurried through the busy streets of the market, furious. She clutched the bolts of cloth to her chest as she tried to shove her way through the crowded streets to get back home. People shoved and pushed against her and she elbowed them back in aggravation. She knew she should’ve come with Tenace, but she didn’t want to disturb her- then again- accidentally starting a fire down at the port might prove to be a little distracting to her friend.

She finally found the door of her home and impatience seized her as a mass of people swarmed in front of her.

“MOVE”, she bellowed and instantly people snapped back and a path was made for her to get to the door. She walked through the doorway muttering to herself and slamming the door shut.

“Ten shaques!” she yelled in irritation, her fury getting the better of her, “Ten shaques for a bolt of cloth! I can’t afford that!”

The lanky, light-brown haired girl turned her blue eyes to the figure sitting, hunched, over the desk in a corner, scribbling sounds emitting continuously from a quill scratching along the paper.

Ayo’s gaze didn’t waver and neither did the scratching of the quill.

“Well?”

“What do you want me to say? Nothing can be said for it to make it any better- so why say anything?”

Ayo growled and threw a log onto the fire so hard sparks flew- one happened to land on Nell, the lanky black lab laying in front of the fireplace. Nell yipped and snapped at Ayo.

“Sorry”, Ayo muttered and took up the bolts of cloth once more, inspecting it with a well trained eye for such things. She did so more out of irritation than necessity. She heard Tenace yawn and stretch. The girl had gotten up from her cramped, hunched position to leave her writing momentarily and walked over to the window facing the street.

“Ummmm- Ayo?”

Ayo walked over and glanced out the window.

The people who had been in her way earlier were still in their snapped back positions- frozen.

Ayo groaned, “This is not my day” she closed her eyes and opened them slowly.

They still had not budged.

Ayo muttered under her breath- “Damn!”

“Concentrate girl, you can’t undo magic with an angry mind- or a guilty conscious,” Tenace said softly. Ayo breathed deeply for a moment. She sighed, opened her eyes slowly and waving her palm out in front of her attempting to unfreeze the crowd again.

Nothing happened.

“DAMMIT!” she screamed.

Tenace sighed and hid a smile from the younger woman. Placing her fingertips on Ayo’s neck, she sent waves of serenity through Ayo’s body, calming the young sorceress.

“Try now” Tenace instructed.

Ayomiko closed her eyes. With a deep sigh, she waved her hand, palm up, out in front of her body.

“Good” Tenace muttered, a tone of finality in her voice, as she returned to her desk, picking up her quill. With a glance at the moving street, Ayo turned around, grinning.

“So, what’re you doing for me since I gracefully put out your ‘accident’ this morning?” Tenace teased.

Ayo flushed.

“Thanks”, she muttered and attempted to busy herself with dinner.

“You need to learn control. It could be this house next time.” Tenace gently scolded.

“How the Hell am I supposed to control something that I don’t even know I have?” Ayo spat back. Tenace sighed.

“I’m sorry Tenny. I just hate it that I have no control over this power and I could very easily hurt those I care about.” A tear ran down Ayo’s cheek. She tuned away from Tenace, wiping it away. A gust of warm wind hit her back and a beautiful tiger with bright green eyes came up behind her. Ayo bent over and hugged the tiger around her neck. The tiger purred and nudged Ayo with her nose. After a minute, Ayo perked up. With a grin she pretended to scold the tiger.

“You’ll scratch my floors. Please change back.”

The tiger huffed and turned away- flicking Ayo’s nose with her tail as she went. Nell’s was used to the tiger, but she still growled in a half-hearted way.

Stretching the tiger yawned, claws coming out, threatening the look of the floor.

Ayo glared, the tiger responded with a wink. The girl shook her head as Tenace the Tiger swaggered to the back room at an easy gait.

Dinner was finished half an hour later and Nell was lying under the table at her place- waiting for scraps of food to somehow drop right in front of her as they always did every night.

Ayo had placed the last of the food on the table and looked around pleased with her work.

“Tenace!”

Her friend came out stretching and massaging her hand.

“How’s the writing coming?” Ayo asked as they sat down.

Tenace waved her hand carelessly and continued eating- “Oh- I need you to read over it- check to see if I have any snide comments in there.”

Ayo hid a smile and continued eating. After a while she looked up and studied her friend. With her long brown hair and hazel eyes she blended in with the town quite well it was just her very outspoken, blunt tongue that got her noticed. Ayo, who had lived in towns that had spoken in whispers most of her life, found Tenace’s nature a relief and also a bit refreshing but naturally at times funny and embarrassing.

Tenace looked up and caught Ayo studying her-

“What?” she asked, patient as always.

“Nothing” Ayo looked down and busied herself with her dinner.

“You can’t just stare at someone for five minutes and not explain why” Tenace growled.

“The light isn’t bright enough how did you know that I was staring?”

Tenace looked up and positioned her face so that it was in the light. Her eyes were cat eyes, bright green cat eyes.

“Now why can’t I have a cool power like that” Ayo said hotly, but half-teasing. Tenace’s face grew grim as she muttered; “what appears to be a blessing is quite easily a curse in disguise.”

“Hmmmm?” Ayo asked, not catching what Tenace had said.

“Nothing” Tenace sighed.

“Tenny…” Ayo started with a whine.

Tenace glared at Ayo. In a stone voice she answered; “I don’t understand how you can want something you don’t understand, something that’s a terrible curse and plagues your life, corrupts your soul and kills those you care about!”

Ayo was quiet for a minute, and then with tear-filled eyes she raised her proud chin and whispered, “You forget Tenny- I do understand!” Then she fled the room. Tenace attempted to follow- “Ayo!” The younger girl waved her arm behind her and ran out the front door. Unintentionally, a ball of fire flew at Tenace. With a deep sigh, she caught it in her hand and extinguished it by closing her fist. She changed her eyes back to normal and bolted the front door, leaving a window unlocked.

Nell growled at her from beside the fireplace.

“I can’t help it dog!” she scolded, a tear escaping the corner of her eye. “She doesn’t understand; she can’t possibly.”

Nell slouched over, begging for a belly scratch.

“Stupid dog,” Tenace mumbled as she bent over Nell, a smile spreading slowly across her face, “you went and ruined a perfectly bad mood!”

It was another two hours before Ayo came back. She crawled in through the open window, locking it back into place silently.

She tried to creep past Tenace- but the older girl opened her eyes, from what had appeared to be a deep slumber.

Ayo groaned silently, she had been hoping to avoid the lecture she was bound to receive for running out- not to mention the fact that she had nearly fried Tenace’s face off.

Ayo stood waiting for Tenace to begin her lecture.

Tenace didn’t say a thing; she just sat there looking at Ayo. Ayo started shifting impatiently.

Tenace finally broke the silence- “I think it would be best if we go to bed- we have a lot to do tomorrow.”

She got up and went to bed. Ayo just stood there- “what the hell?”

She just shook her head and sat down. Nell placed her head in Ayo’s lap.

“Just when I think that I know her” Ayo muttered.

Nell stretched whining, butting up against Ayo with her head.

“Let’s go to bed girl” Ayo muttered, a dazed look on her face.

The next morning was chaos. Ayo was running around fitting people in her seamstress shop. Tenace was running back and forth, between the clothes and her writing. The shop was so noisy they had to shut Nell into the back.

At their first break Ayo collapsed into a chair. Tenace dragged herself back to her writing.

As she sat there in front of the desk, her eyes started hurting.

“Huh?”

She looked in the mirror- her eyes were blue.

No!

Her eyes slowly changed back to hazel. Tenace rubbed her temples.

Oh shit- not again.

“Tenny!”

She looked up. Ayo was back working, chaos building in the front room. “I need your help up here… please!”

Tenace groaned, hauling herself up from her chair. This was going to be a long day.

“Tenace? You alright?”

Ayo had closed the shop early and was sewing by the fire. Tenace moved her quill slowly, almost dragging it across the page.

Tenace looked up- “What?”

“You okay? You seem kind of- out of it.”

Tenace thought of looking in the mirror and seeing her eyes that fateful color.

“I’m fine”

There was a silence. Tenace broke it.

“Ayo- what’s going on with you?”

Ayo put her sewing down, “What do you mean?”

“Yesterday- last night. Either you’re in your week or something’s up.”

Ayo didn’t say anything and Tenace didn’t push it, except for one last thing.

“Careful who you aim at when you’re upset- you got lucky last time.”

A couple of weeks later Tenace threw down her quill in frustration. “Why does he make me do these damned things when they have no point?!?”

“Because he can- he’s the king?” Ayo supplied.

“He’s an ass that thinks that the crown is a toy.” Tenace muttered.

“Maybe-“ Ayo said, “but you can’t refuse an order from royalty.”

“That’s why he’s a pain in the ass as well.” Tenace sighed.

“I thought you didn’t have to work for anyone.”

“I don’t have to,” Tenace growled.

“Then you can blame your mouth for it.” Ayo said grinning. Tenace glared, “If you weren’t half-“

The bell rang as the door opened and Ayo was instantly in the shop. Tenace rolled her eyes and groaned knowing Ayo was right. She sighed and took up her quill once more. She really needed to learn when to keep her mouth shut.

A man watched the shop in the shadows waiting. A low growl came from beside him.

“Quiet, Loup.” The man whispered in his deep voice. “We’ll see how it works, then we will proceed. “

The wolf he called Loup sat down silently and kept watch with his master.

Ayo was worried about Tenace. Every time she looked at her, she detected something different in Tenace’s appearance, but more importantly in her attitude. The normally sarcastic and witty woman had become bitter and reclusive. She was snappy and it seemed to Ayo that Tenace went out of her way to avoid contact with living things, like Nell, Ayo, costumers, even plants. When she confronted Tenace about it though, Ten got grouchy and began arguing.

“I’m fine” Tenace would snap- “Now leave me alone!” Then shut the door in Ayo’s face.

At first Ayo thought it was just one of these weeks, but then she started to second-guess it. Tenace started to act like her old self, but only around Ayo and she still kept her hands to herself. Every once and a while, Ayo would notice a couple bloody scars or red lines on Tenace’s knuckles but when she would look again- they weren’t there.

“Ayo!” a voice shouted from the front of the shop. Ayo dropped the pins in her mouth as she was pining the hem of a skirt.

“Yes?”

“Are you busy?”

“Only on Tuesdays”, Ayo muttered through the pins and continued the task at hand. The girl she was pining giggled.

“Ayo!”

Ayo rolled her eyes. A stout woman came hustling in the back room where Ayo was fitting the girl’s skirt, huffing, she came to an abrupt halt, her face bright red.

“I can help you in a second, I just need to finish this girl’s-“

“This is abominable work!” the woman burst out.

“Like I said – I can help you in-“

“I can’t believe the state of this shirt!” she thrust it into Ayo’s face for her inspection.

“Please Ma’am- go out to the front of the shop and wait so I-“

“I demand-“

“I said,” Ayo stood up temper flaring, “that you need to go to the front of the shop and wait so I can finish up here. She”, Ayo pointed to the girl, “was here first so therefore I will deal with her first. Thank You.”

Ayomiko then turned around smartly and sat on her knees to finish up the skirt.

Ayo still took her time with the skirt making sure it was done properly. She probably could’ve gone faster but her spiteful nature took over and she took her time.

She finally finished pining and told the girl to come back the next day when it would be done with being hemmed. That finished the girl waved goodbye and walked out of the shop.

Ayo turned to the woman sighing, a forced smile on her face, “Now, what’s the problem with the shirt?”

Ayo was sewing and Nell was wrestling with the end of the rug. Occasionally Ayo threw balls of yarn at the dog in attempt to stop the sounds of her rug ripping. Of course the dog would either chase the balls or bat them back at Ayo and resume her attack on the rug.

Tenace came in, rubbing her forehead, then immediately jerked her hands away from her face. She sighed and sat down.

“Everything alright Ten?”

“Bloody brilliant”, Tenace muttered.

Ayo glanced at her friend and continued sewing. “I did something pretty much amazing today, Tenny.”

“What?”

“I handled an angry customer- and I didn’t set anything, or one, on fire.”

“That’s great” Tenace said, mumbling.

They both sat in silence for a bit, Ayo sewing and glancing over at Tenace from time to time and Tenace rubbing her temples in slow, careful circles. Tenace looked tired, worn, like she had been wrestling with something heavy in her mind. Ayo pressed her lips together, she was trying to make herself concentrate on the shirt she was embroidering.

Tenace got up and went upstairs to her room. Ayo waited, wrestling with herself before getting up and following Tenace.

“Tenace!” Ayo took the stairs two at a time, “We have to talk!” she opened the older girl’s door. Tenace stood with her hands behind her back, a position that looked as though she had been pacing.

“Tenace, what is going on with you? You’re not like yourself!”

“Sorry, I’m a little stressed I guess. I’m trying to finish writing. I’m almost done.”

Ayo didn’t buy it, she stood waiting for a better explanation- Tenace wasn’t giving one.

Finally Ayo turned and left the room, a determined look on her face letting Tenace know she wasn’t finished yet.

Tenace waited until Ayo left and her footsteps had faded up next set of stairs, the younger girl making her way up to her room. When she was sure that Ayo was gone, she pulled her hands out of her back with a jerk and a grunt. Her hands ached as she examined them- three metal blades stuck out from her knuckles in both hands. They slowly shrank back into her hands, the marks left from the blades remaining on her knuckles. Where the blades were in her back bled and then her body healed- not a mark showed. The marks on her hands slowly disappeared. Tenace breathed deeply, this was happening too often.

How long can I keep it from Ayo?”

A week had passed. Ayo had gone to visit a friend in a neighboring town for a few days and Tenace was struggling with both her writing and her “problem”. Tenace had attempted to clean up the house a little for Ayo’s homecoming, but cleaning was futile when razor sharp claws kept shooting out of her knuckles. After breaking two vases and tearing through a set of lilac colored sheets. Finally she gave up and returned to her writing in the back room. Nell came in and curled up by her feet, growling when the blades occasionally popped out.

Ayo arrived around midday. She entered the house with flowers in her shoulder length, light-brown hair and two loaves of bread in her hand basket. She assumed that Tenace was asleep because she didn’t answer when Ayo called out. Ayo was in a cheerful mood and she half skipped to the black lump curled up on the pillow by the fire.

“Nelly!” She sang and reached out to scratch her pups ears.

“TENACE!” Ayo screamed.

The older girl was out of the back room in seconds.

“What?!?” she asked as bewildered as Ayo. Ayo didn’t look at Tenace, instead she pointed a finger to the black lump on the floor and yelled some more.

“WHAT THE HELL IS A PANTHER DOING IN NELL’S BED???” Tenace glanced at the large Black Panther lying on Nell’s pillow.

“Awww shit” she muttered, running her fingers through her hair. Ayo began to yell again but instead stopped short when she glanced over at Tenace.

“Tenace?” she asked in a half- whisper.

“Mmmm?” the older girl responded.

“Wow” Ayo mumbled. Tenace began to become a little uneasy by the look on Ayo’s face.

“What?” she growled, quickly checking her knuckles behind her back.

“Your hair” Ayo breathed, “it’s beautiful. But how is it yellow? It was brown a couple of days ago.” Ayo reached out and ran her slender fingers through the blonde hair on Tenace’s head. She stopped abruptly, putting her fingers under Tenace’s chin in a rough manner. The younger, but taller, girl cocked Tenace’s head so her face was in the light.

“Who are you?” she suddenly demanded, her hands griping Tenace’s wrists firmly.

“Knock it off Ayo! It’s me!”

“No- Tenace has hazel, or occasionally green eyes, yours are sky blue!”

“DAMMIT!” Tenace yelled. She flung herself into the back room, rummaging around for a mirror. Holding one in front of her, sure enough her waist-length hair was blonde as could be and her eyes were a full blue.

“That explains Malaki’s presence,” she muttered to herself.

“You have about two minutes to convince me that you are Tenny or be roasted alive,” a harsh voice behind Tenace said.

“Its me Ayo, for example who else knows that you hate making socks, or that a month ago you damn near burnt down the docks, or every other Tuesday we meditate together, that I help you control your magic?”

“Not good enough!” Ayo growled, letting a fireball collect in her hand. Tenace continued with a sigh.

“How about my shape-shifting, or the fact that I rescued you from raiders when we first met?”

“You’re running out of time”

Tenace let a snarl escape her throat. “Ayomiko if you try to roast me I will kick your ass! Who’re you to threaten me?” Tenace spun, facing Ayo as her temper flared, “maybe I’ll shift right now and show you how tigers fight!” She bent into a crouching position, planning on shifting as she leapt. Ayo tackled her.

“Tenny!” She yelped as she got up with a grin on her face.

“What convinced you I was me?” Tenace asked, stalling for time before the river of questions erupted.

“Your temper” Ayo laughed, “only you can stare me down and threaten back with full intentions of following through with your threats.”  Tenace smiled, it was true.

“Awww Tenny, don’t get upset. Now, tell me what’s going on here while I calm down Nells.” The lab had hidden under one of the beds and was yipping at the two women.

“What’d’ a mean?” Tenace asked, hoping that a lie could be concocted from Ayo’s conclusions.

“I think that you aren’t human” Ayo responded calmly.

“What?!?” Tenace gasped.

“Your wings are showing dear”

“Double Shit!” Tenace muttered as she waved her hand over her back in a futile attempt to recast the spell that kept her 6-foot wings hidden.

“Umm yeah- hehehe” Tenace gave a nervous smile, “Give me a sec will you?”

She managed to shoe Ayo out of the room and shut the door just as her blades ripped out of her hands. This slight technicality left her with one hand attached to the wooden door.

“Tenace?”

“Uhhh- yeah?”

“What was that?”

“Give me a sec.”

“Tenny-“ the tone was a warning.

“Yeah?”

“If you don’t come out right now, I swear I’ll…”

“Just give me a …”

“I’ve given you a second!”

Tenace braced herself against the door and pulled her hand hard. All she got was more pain and a bleeding hand before the blades receded as apposed to after they had gone back in.

“C’mon, let go now.” Tenace muttered.

“Ten- what’re you doing?”

“This is really not a good time!”

Tenace placed her feet on the door so that the only thing that connected her to the wall was her hand- and that didn’t feel too good!

“Tenace! I’m coming in there!”

“That would be a VERY bad idea”

“Why?”

“Because that would cause me a great deal of pain that could be avoided by you NOT coming in here right now! I’ll let you in; just give me a second. Just—“she braced her feet on the doorframe again, “Wait!”

Tenace shoved with her feet and pulled her hand.

“Unnnngh!”

“Tenace- what’re…?”

Tenace gave one more hard pull and suddenly the claws retracted into her hand, launching her across the room and allowing her to crash into her desk.

Ayo came rushing in and the first thing she saw was Tenace trying to shove her pearl white wings out of the way as she tried to stand.

“Tenny?”

Tenace blew her hair out of her eyes.

“Yes?”

“What on earth-?”

Tenace held up a finger for silence, ignoring the look on Ayo’s face that said “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Tenace made her wings shrink back into her back, shredding what was left of her shirt.

The older girl rolled her eyes and got a new shirt from her closet and as she put it on, Ayo tapped her foot, with her arms crossed and a look on her face that demanded an explanation.

When Tenace faced Ayo, the younger girl’s patience was just about gone- her curiosity and basic “need-to-know” nature was about to overcome what little self-control she was practicing at this point.

Tenace gave a weak smile, “What’s up?”

“Quit stalling!” Ayo snapped.

“Ayo I really-”

“This time I WILL fry your face off. Now talk!”

“Are you going to fry my face off if I don’t talk or if I talk regardless?”

“Tenace-” the warning in Ayo’s voice was perfectly audible.

“You are so easily annoyed when you’re already ticked off” Tenace observed.

A ball of fire appeared in Ayo’s hand and a wink from Tenace put it smartly out.

“HEY!”

Another ball of fire appeared and again it was put out.

“You know, I bet if you tried an ice ball it would be more effective”, Tenace said thoughtfully.

Ayo glared at her, but took the advice. The ice ball promptly melted.

“TENACE!” she screamed, completely exasperated.

“Hey, I didn’t do that one- your hand is too hot!”

Ayo just glared at Tenace.

A ball of fire now was in each hand.

“Are you gonna tell me what’s going on-?”

“Ayo, the fire is growing up your arms.”

“Or am I going to have to-?”

“It’s over your shoulders now.”

“FRY your face OFF?”

“It’s down your front now.”

“Because being kept in the dark…”

“Your legs are on fire.”

“…is really, REALLY, aggravating”

“You’re burning a hole in the floor.”

“Tenace-”

“The fire is going to spread.”

“You’d better-”

“Seriously- you’re burning a hole in the floor.”

“I don’t CARE!” Ayo was basically a human fireball now.

“You’re going to burn down the shop.”

“TEN-”

“Along with the house-”

“This isn’t…”

“You’re going to have to make more socks.”

Ayo stopped, “Damn”, she sighed, the fire immediately disappearing.

Tenace let out a small breath of relief. Okay, she’s distracted. That will help.

Tenace started to pace- in doing so she reflexively morphed into her tiger form.

She turned around to find Ayo was a tiger as well. Tenace was so stunned that she sat down human.

Wait- another distraction-THANK YOU!

“WHAT THE HELL?”

Ayo purred and turned as though strutting to show what she could do.

“AYO!”

Tenace didn’t know how Ayo did it without lips- but Tenace could’ve sworn she was smiling.

Tenace was almost at a loss for words- almost! After about five seconds of shock Tenace erupted.

“Ayo- when did- where- how could you?” Realization hit her, “You LIAR!”

Ayo was so shocked that she sat turned back into her human form.

“You said you went to a friend’s house- you really camped out in the woods to teach yourself how to do this!” Tenace indicated Ayo for the tiger form.

“You wouldn’t teach me!” Ayo said, crossing her arms and adopted the look of a four-year-old being scolded.

“You aren’t ready!” Tenace shot back, “I bet you didn’t know that you could become a huge human fire ball! You set things on fire when you’re upset- including me and yourself! Unintentionally! You don’t have the control yet! You freeze things and you still can’t control what happens when you get upset!”

As though to prove Tenace’s point, fire shot from Ayo to Tenace- right on cue.

Tenace sighed, putting it out with little effort. “I’m not saying that you can’t do it- I’m saying you’re not ready.”

Ayo was looking down at the floor- very angry. She slowly raised her head, staring down Tenace.

Tenace didn’t let the thought that crossed her mind show on her face.

Ah crap.

The man and Loup walked around the outside of the shop listening to the argument playing out between the two girls.

“Hmmm- sounds like the Loner hasn’t told the human everything.”

He looked down at his wolf, “She’s going to have to start talking soon.”

He laughed, fur sprouting on his skin, gray wings springing from his back.

“I’ll meet you there, Loup.”

The man sprang to the sky and flew away. Loup watched his master fly away and turned back to the house. He could hear that blasted panther growling at the door. Loup huffed and turned, walking away- disappearing into the evening mist.

Ayo was lying down on her bed; Nell curled up next to her.

“She is so aggravating.” Ayo growled, examining her hand. She slowly changed it back into a tiger’s paw, “she worries too much.”

Nell rolled her eyes and flopped over. Ayo looked at her pup ad smiled, then looked back at her paw. She tried to change it back into a human one- but-

“Oh- damn-”

The transformation was caught halfway. She had fingers and a palm. But she also had fur, skin, claws and the firm skin of the tough part of the pads.

Ayo almost called out for Tenace- but she caught herself.

She’d never let me hear the end of it.

“Maybe I should just relax. Then maybe it will work.”

Ayo turned out the light, letting the darkness of the night flood her room. She closed her eyes- maybe just a quick nap.

Ayo’s eyes opened- it was very early in the morning, probably two or three in the morning. She felt along her hand. It was normal again; Ayo breathed a sigh of relief.

I don’t need to run to Tenace for everything.

She sighed happily and pet Nell, remembering the shock, yesterday evening of seeing a panther downstairs. Ayo closed her eyes.

Yeah, that panther startled me-wait- why was there- Tenace NEVER explained.

Ayo’s eyes flew open. DAMN HER!

Ayo flew out of bed and ran down to the landing.

“TENACE!”

Ayo jumped onto Tenace’s bed. The older girl rolled over bleary eyed.

“Whassup? What’s wrong?” Tenace yawned.

“Tenace, you quit side-stepping the question and tell me what’s going on! What’s wrong with you?”

“It’s freaking two in the morning- you jump on MY bed, wake me up- after deciding at this time- two in the morning mind you- is the absolutely perfect time- and you MUST come ask me what’s going on NOW?”

“Yes.”

Tenace sighed, her head falling onto her pillow; she swung her head back up and glared at Ayo.

“Goodnight”, and promptly shoved the younger girl off the bed with her feet. Ayo’s not-so-graceful landing happened to be on Malaki the panther. What ensued were a surprised cat, a yelling girl and a yipping dog.

“SHUDDUP!”

A pillow hit Ayo on the head. “HEY!”

“GET!”

Tenace flopped back down and shut her eyes.

“Tenace, you-” Ayo got up and jumped back on Tenace’s bed, “are going to tell me what is going on RIGHT NOW!”

Tenace rolled her eyes and groaned.

“Ayo, get off.”

“Tenny!”

Tenace rolled over, grabbing Ayo’s hands to push her off again, but realized a second too late that it was a bad idea.

“NO!” Tenace yelled as her claws tore out of her hands, shooting into Ayo’s wrists.

NO, oh my god no! Please no… damn, damn, damn, damn, damn!

Ayo just looked down, a stunned but questioning look on her face, as the claws retracted as fast as they had come.

Ayo watched the blood slowly stop running, her wrists healing in front of her eyes.

“Are- are you?” Ayo stuttered.

“I’m fine” Tenace growled, trying to hide her confusion as she rolled over, tugging at the blankets.

“If- I- you- how- just came out- and- you-I-”

“You’re fine- you’re bloody brilliant!” Tenace’s impatience, confusion and drowsiness rang clear through the darkness.

“I just- I just- I just HEALED!”

“Yup- now go to bed.”

“But-”

“Go to BED!”

Ayo, still looking at her wrists slowly left the room and climbed the stairs.

Tenace lay in bed as she called herself every profane name she could think of for “a stupid idiot”, still confused by Ayo’s healing trick.

The only explanation: She is immortal, but immortals do not heal when they are hurt by other immortals. How could she have…?

Malaki jumped up, landing lightly next to her on the bed.

Tenace sighed and stroked his neck, barely registering the sweet sound of his purr, “What am I going to tell her?”

Malaki lay down next to her, curling up, providing comfort. Tenace still swearing and trying to reason out what had happened went back to sleep.

Tenace woke up late the next morning. She slowly washed her face, attempting to come up with a believable excuse for the claws and Ayo’s new ability. When she couldn’t figure out what to tell her adopted sister, she decided that it was time to tell the truth. Heading downstairs, Tenace was amazed when she found the kitchen and shop empty. While checking the backroom, she found a note left by Ayo:

Tenny,

Don’t worry about me; I’ll be home by sundown.

Tenace felt her jaw drop. She was off the hook, at least until sundown. She had an entire day to scheme up an answer for Ayo.

“Okay- whew- ok- I can take care of this.”

It was two hours later and Tenace was examining her reflection in the mirror. The entire left side of her face was tiger striped- but not orange- black and white. To top it all off- her left eye was a crystal blue cat’s eye. Malaki watched her curiously from the doorway. Tenace blew a strand of hair out of her eyes.

My eyes and hair were just getting back to normal when I left the backroom- for just an hour- I come back looking like THIS!

Malaki made an almost hissing sound, but Tenace knew that he was laughing at her.

“SHUT UP!” Tenace washed her face frantically, even though she knew it was futile- the stripes were embedded in her skin.

She heard Malaki sigh as he walked over to her. He jumped p onto his hind legs, wrapping his huge paws over Tenace’s shoulders and pulling her down to the floor.

“What are you doing you crazy-?”

The cat rolled his eyes, ignoring the insult, and appearing as though he were bracing himself, he licked the left side of her face.

“Malaki, I know you’re trying to-” she stopped and looked in the mirror- the stripes were gone.

Tenace wrapped her arms around the big cat’s neck, “Thank You!” she whispered as Malaki licked the right side of her face, clearing the rest of the stripes.

Pulling away, Tenace sighed, trying to keep herself together.

“Now what do I tell Ayo?”

You could try the truth.

Tenace spun around sharply.

“Since when do you speak?” she demanded.

Malaki looked as though he shrugged, I can’t really speak, and only those who I wish to can hear me.

“Why haven’t you spoken before now?”

I couldn’t before.

“What’s different now?”

As strange as it looked, the big cat looked as though he shrugged again.

“So I’m assuming that you’re regaining some of your basic necessities for being an angimal. What is it that you did to bring this on?”

I don’t know, helping you for as long as I have?

“Well if that’s the case then you should be back to your old self in, oh, say, 12,000 years. Congratulations,” she said with a smile.

Thanks, so what are you going to tell Ayo?

“Hell with it- I’ll just lie.”

Nothing you say will be convincing to her. Malaki sounded as though he were lecturing a five year old.

“I can’t tell her now! She’s not ready Malaki.”

Who is to decide when one is ready? It is usually the one receiving not the giver.

“When she doesn’t chuck fireballs at me every time she waves, then you can talk to me.” Tenace snapped.

Who says she is doing it on accident?

Tenace sat on her bed, rubbing her temples-

“I’m having an actual conversation- mind to mind that is- with you” she muttered.

Stranger things have happened to you. Malaki jumped on the bed and sat next to her, Loup and Garre are here.

Tenace snapped her eyes to Malaki.

“When?”

Two days ago.

Tenace ran her fingers through her hair.

Crap…

Someone was banging at the door and Tenace was hurriedly trying to maneuver her way over Nell to answer.

“Yeah?” she asked, throwing the door open.

A rather short man, wearing a fancy shirt with the king’s crest on it, sniffed and handed her a letter.

“Thanks” she said, slamming the door in his face and tossing the unopened letter on the table.

Nice tact there Tenakrel, Malaki muttered as he jumped over Nell. The dog snapped at the panther’s legs, Malaki kicked at her head.

“HEY- you two are going to have to be here for a while so get along! And I go by Tenace here-” Nell growled at Malaki.

“How far do you want my foot to go pup?”

Nell stared at Tenace, she had seen firsthand that Tenace never gave idle threats- but that time Ayo had tried to kick Tenace’s ass had almost been successful- the mere fact that she had momentarily distracted herself by accidentally catching her hair on fire was all that stopped her from giving Tenace the whipping that the cocky older girl so badly needed.

Nell gave one last growl and lay down on the floor.

“I still have to explain why you are here” Tenace told Malaki.

Tell her the truth! Malaki insisted, yet again.

“I can’t- considering the fact that I am not even supposed to exist.”

Why not? She’s going to find out one way or another- you’re eventually going to-

“I know!” Tenace rubbed her hands anxiously, “I always get weird when this happens” she muttered.

Malaki brushed her with his head; I am here for a reason Tenace.

“I know- I just- SHIT!”

The claws had burst out again and went through the palms of each entwined hand.

Tenace?!?!

“Okay- okay- oooo” Tenace bit her lip, sucking in air through her gritted teeth- “okay- ah shit- okay okay okay- don’t cry, don’t cry- bad things happen when you, cry Ten. Swear to high heavens- but DO NOT CRY- oh not good!”

The claws slowly pulled out of each palm, retracting at a painful pace, finally snapping back in her knuckles. Tenace grimaced and ground her teeth against the pain as her hand slowly healed.

Tenace-

“It’s nothing new to you.” Tenace said wearily.

Yes but I was never able to ask before- assuming that they don’t go into another part of your body, do they hurt? When they come out?

Tenace looked down at her hands.

“Every single time” she answered softly.

Tenace wrote in her “damn, God Forsaken” book until she needed a candle, realizing that the fact she needed a candle meant the sun was setting. She put her “damn, God Forsaken” book away. She tried to tidy up the backroom up and brought out a jug of honey mead.

“Wow!” she whispered softly.

Mmm? Malaki asked.

“This is the first time since Ayo and I met, that we’ve spent an entire day apart.”

What about when she left for those few days- LAST WEEK- he purred.

“To be honest I checked in on her through our magic everyday.”

Why bother? She’s a nuisance.

“Hey, she might be annoying but she’s the only family I’ve got. Besides, who else could come home to find a panther and be curious rather than freak?

Who else asks thousands of questions and talks nonstop?

Tenace’s face became soft.

“When we first met, we trusted each other immediately. We’d stay up late into the night, talking about our lives.” She laughed, “Her favorite tale about my ‘adventures’ was the one in Cyrma, with the Prince…”

“Who you punched in the stomach for grabbing your waist” a soft voice from behind Tenace laughed as the door clicked shut.

“Ayo!” Tenace forgot her annoyance with the younger girl and hugged her.

“I missed you too Tenny. Now let go and let me breath please”, Ayo was grinning.

“How much did you hear?” Tenace asked lightly.

“Enough,” the cheerful young woman replied, grabbing two cups for the mead.

Malaki purred, letting Tenace hear him chuckle at the irony. She shot him a glare.

“Aren’t we curious today,” Ayo teased.

“Ayo-” Tenace sighed.

“Sit!” Ayo commanded, passing Tenace a cup of honey mead and sitting down across from her at their small table. Tenace sat, knowing what was coming. She felt all her muscles tense up as she was waiting.

“Drink!” Ayo ordered. Tenace picked up her cup and drank, trying to hide her confusion. Ayo is rarely THIS aggressive.

After a long drink, Ayo set her cup down. Tenace was so confused; she missed the magic Ayo quickly performed. When Tenace tried to stand up, she realized she was stuck.

“Ayo?!?!” she asked, more confused than before.

Ayo smiled, remaining calm.

“We’re going to talk dear, whether you wish to or not.” Tenace growled deep in her throat.

“Ayomiko- you’re magic is no match for mine.” Tenace focused and let her magic flow through her. She sensed Ayo’s spell and began to search for points of weakness in the magical net that held her in place. She searched- and she searched- and she searched- with no luck.

Giving up she opened her eyes and glared at Ayo.

“I hate being caged. How can you do this? How is your magic so focused? You’re irresponsible and have no control! How?”

“Tenny- you and I really only ever spend time together when you’re helping me with my magic. Why would I let you know how powerful I am if you’re simply going to stop being there.” Ayo looked down, a single tear escaping the corner of her eye. Tenace’s expression softened.

“Ayo, I’ll always be here for you.” Malaki rolled his eyes. Ayo waved her hand, a cautious look on her face.

“We’re talking” she said firmly.

“You were right-” Tenace muttered.

I know, Malaki stopped licking his forearm, which thing are we referring to?

“She’s annoying as hell.”

Yep.

“Tenace-”

The older girl growled in her mind. The web wouldn’t include my wings- and I’m always stronger when I take my true form… No- it’s probably not a good idea.

Just do it- get it over with.

Tenace gaped at Malaki, “How did you?”

Ayo’s not the only one who has been around you for a while. You know for someone who is very blunt, you’re being very clammy.

Tenace glared at Malaki.

“Should I start or let you finish the conversation?” Ayo asked impatiently.

“Ayo, this is not-”

“That’s all I hear from you! No! This time- I’m getting answers.”

Tenace groaned. This isn’t FAIR!

She always had thought that her next Meta would come years from now! She wouldn’t have had to explain anything to Ayo by then, because Ayo would be gone- either dead or sick of her.

“Ayo, look,” Tenace sighed, “It’s best for both of us if little is said or nothing at all- much better.”

“Tenace- you can’t expect me to see you with wings, claws, sudden blue eyes and blond hair and not say anything? And what is up with you?”

Tenace grimaced.

Ten? Your teeth.

“Tenny?”

Tenace smacked her hand over her mouth. Crap- tiger fangs- they weren’t supposed to show for another few days, of course I’m going crazy anyways- so WHY NOT?

“Hey- how’d you move?”

Power from changing- big help here.

“Tenace- you are not human! Tell me what is going on!”

“You’re bossy nature is NOT helping right now.” Tenace growled.

“You can talk to Malaki, he understands, you understand, what else can you do?”

Tenace leaned forward. The tiger fangs made it slightly difficult to talk. She rubbed her temples and sighed, “You wouldn’t understand.”

“I would if you would JUST TELL ME! You don’t give me enough credit!”

“It’s an angimal thing- crap” Tenace smacked her hand to her mouth again.

I knew you’d slip sometime.

“-Obviously if Loup and Garre are here”, Tenace muttered.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Tenace shook her head, “I’m going to bed.”

“No you’re not!”

Ayo rewove her web and Tenace was stuck tight.

Tenace was getting irritated; this was starting to get out of hand.

She’s trying to make me mad; she is TRYING to make me mad.

“Malaki, is anyone around?”

No.

Ah- hell with it!

Tenace growled, shoving herself upward- standing as her wings came out. In her true form, she was monstrous, huge.

Ayo sat in her chair wide eyed, mouth slightly opened.

“Goodnight.” Tenace said with finality, she then turned and walked up the stairs to her room, wings shrinking back into her shoulder blades. Malaki took a last look at Ayo before following Tenace.

For the first time in a very long time, Ayo was beginning to feel a little scared.

Who is the woman I have been living with for the past ten years? What was she that is?

Not much had been said over the past two days. Tenace kept to herself in the back and Ayo sewed clothes that people ordered. It was a good thing that Ayo scheduled the shop to be open only every other week, because both of the young women needed distractions.

Tenace was fuming- how could I be so stupid? Now Ayo is going to be more inquisitive then ever!

Tenace- you couldn’t have been more discreet. Sooner or later, she’d find out!

“You wouldn’t know discreet if it reared up and slapped you in the face!” Tenace snapped.

Tenace- just tell her and get it over with! Malaki said wearily.

Tenace didn’t say anything and continued writing furiously.

Ayo waited until dark before sliding into her hooded cloak and slipping of into the night. Tenace watched her leave from the window in her bedroom.

Where is she going?

Tenace leaned against the frame, “To get some answers”.

Ayo glanced about her surroundings uneasily. Over the past two days, she’d been determined to get some answers, but now that she was actually carrying out her plan, she felt slightly nervous- things that were hard to explain tended to happen when she was nervous.

She shuddered remembering a time that she got incredibly nervous talking to an incredibly handsome customer. That had NOT ended well. If Tenace hadn’t- Ayo shook her head. She was here to find out what Tenace was and what was wrong, not take a stroll down memory lane.

Ayo stopped walking and found out that her feet had led her to the local pub. I guess if there were any place for answers, this would be it…

The bar was dusty, filled with smoke. Ayo quietly walked to a corner table in the shadows, watching everyone as they celebrated the end of a hard day.

Ayo ordered a small glass of honey mead with a shot of molasses and settled back. As she drank it slowly, she suddenly realized that Tenace hardly drank- and when she did, it was rarely more than a couple of sips. Tenace didn’t disapprove of drinking, but she was always hesitant to take up her glass.

Lost in her thoughts, Ayo barely heard the voice, “Be you needing anything, lass?”

Ayo glanced up at a serving girl carrying a pitcher on her hip.

“No, thank you.”

The girl smiled and began to walk away.

“Wait!” She turned around, a crooked smile on her face, “Do you happen to know of someone that could tell me a great deal about folklore?”

The girl had pointed out two people, an older man with a grizzled beard and a man about her age, handsome with a wolf tattooed on his upper arm and another on his cheek. Ayo opted for the older man; she needed plain facts without any unnecessary flirtations.

“You wanted to speak with me, lass?” the older man asked as Ayo sat down across from him, he was a loner, but friendly nonetheless. His voice was deep, created just for story-telling, Ayo loved it already.

“Yes, I was wondering if you knew any tidbits about ancient myths and legends.”

The man leaned back, “That I do, name’s Vallient by the way. Call me Val.”

“Ayomiko”, Ayo reached over and shook his hand. After ordering another round, Val gave his attention to Ayo.

“Now then, what is it that you wished to know?”

“Do you know anything about- what was it? Angimals? Am I saying that right?”

Val’s bushy eyebrows rose slightly, “Angimals, eh? Haven’t been asked about those in quite some time.” He sighed, leaning back in his chair and assuming a story-teller’s pose. “What exactly is it that you were wanting to know lass?”

“What are they?”

“Creatures- most powerful beings there ever was- or ever been. Only thing more powerful than an angimal were the gods themselves.”

“What do they look like?”

“Well-now, they all look different- angimal literally means ‘angel animal’. As with the animal kingdom, the animals had the characteristics of different animals. Each species were powerful, but- as with animals- there was always another species weaker or stronger than the last.” He took a long pull off his whiskey glass.

“Only exception would be the one, strongest species, and the most powerful of them all. This one species was directly second to the gods- even more powerful than some of the lesser gods.”

“And they were the-?”

“Tiger angimals.”

Ayo stared at her drink for a moment before adding a couple of slow drops of molasses.

“How would you know what species an angimal is?”

“Well, it’s pretty obvious. An angimal basically looks… it’s difficult to describe. In their true form-”

“Their true form?”

“Angimals can shift to look like anything they wish- anyways- angimals in their true form are built like humans, but that’s the only thing we have in common with them. Now a tiger angimal has the skin pattern of a tiger’s fur, but the stripes are black and white with varying shades of blue cat’s eyes. The pattern flows into the hair. All angimals have the claws and teeth of their animal, but only the carnivores have metal blades. They come out of the knuckles or rather between the knuckles. The blades range between six inches and a foot and a half in length.”

“Why the term angel in the name?”

“Because each angimal has a pair of wings- huge wings- ranging in different sizes for the height of the angimal.”

Ayo was silent as another round was ordered along with a glass of water for her. Is that was Tenny is? A tiger angel? That would explain her transformation into a tiger on occasion and the wings that Ayo had witnessed protrude from no where.

“Val?”

“Hmmm?”

“Is there- what sets the tigers apart from the other angimals?”

Val stroked his beard as he sat in silence for a moment, “Tiger angimals- every angimal has there own personality, like humans in fact. Tigers are unique in that they all were soldiers for hire.”

“Mercenaries” Ayo said quietly.

Val nodded his head, “Basically, but they weren’t heartless as some human mercenaries I’ve known.”

Ayo was silent as Val took a long drink, fiddling with her glass.

“Do you think that you could draw me a picture- of a tiger angel for instance?” She was hesitant, hoping he wouldn’t read too far into her interest with the tigers.

“I think I can.” He drew a quick sketch on a napkin, pausing occasionally and staring into nothing only to resume a minute later. After applying a final detail, he slid it across the table to Ayo.

It looks so fierce. Val was a good artist.

“You wouldn’t want to see that coming at you from across a battlefield now would you?” Val said with a grim chuckle.

“No, I wouldn’t,” Ayo muttered.

They sat in silence for a while and then Ayo spoke, carefully, choosing her words carefully.

“Have tiger angels ever lost control of when their blades come out or maybe their wings?”

Val looked at her sharply, “No, but only one has ever been expected to.”

“One? As in only one ever has, or only one ever will?”

“Both.”

Val stared at his drink, “There is a legend that one tiger angel broke away early on from the mercenary life. All tiger angels are raised to be hired blades so to speak. When one did break away, it was like blasphemy against the tigers.”

“How long ago did that happen?”

Val shrugged, “Some say at the dawn of time, others say at the beginning of the second generation of the gods. No one truly knows, but it was thousands of years ago regardless. Angimals are ageless some say. They are immortal- but some believe that they can be killed. It cannot be said for certain. – But getting back to the story, this particular tiger was a willful one- she wanted nothing to do with mercenaries. When she broke away, she was ‘arrested’ so to speak and held for trial. It’s said that her appearance changed due to her rebellion. Her fur became gold orange and black, her eyes turning emerald green and her black wings turning a lustrous white. It is said that she waited in her cell, knowing before it began how it would end- she was to be tried and executed by those who were her brethren.”

“I thought Angimals couldn’t die?” Ayo was beginning to get confused with the familiarity of the story, it was as though she knew it without ever being told- Val was merely filling in blanks.

“It’s the legend. Me, personally, I think they can be killed, but only by a being stronger, which would only be other tigers or the occasional god. – Anyways, her new appearance gave her more power for some unknown reason- personally I believe that if a lass is gonna fight that hard to break free, she must have some resources that the others don’t have.”

Yeah- an attitude that tears my linen and burns my house down.

“Her new powers gave her the strength to break free and flee. The tigers were naturally furious, the only tiger to ever rebel had in a sense ‘escaped justice’. They formed an alliance with their bitter rivals- the wolves, to catch the ‘loner’ as she was from then on called, and to return her in one piece for a trial and execution. The wolf angels- now they are a special lot- they love a challenge and to bring back the loner alive was almost too much to handle, but too much like a game for them to refuse. So naturally, the race was instantly on to catch the rogue loner.

The only problem with the loner’s condition is that the heart and mind may believe one value or moral, but nature will always be the downfall. The loner had trouble maintaining her new form, the former appearance consistently fighting, trying to break loose and force her mercenary blood into action. Risking everything, the loner went to the panther Angimals for help. The head panther, the emperor, blessed her and hid her as long as he could. When he could no longer protect her without endangering his people, he bestowed upon her a blessing and a curse. She would maintain her form for a certain amount of time, but her true form would regain superiority for a set time over a set interval, the only problem was that with her true form, came her mercenary blood.”

Val took a slow drink from his glass.

“Did they ever catch her?”

“Hold up there lass- you’re getting ahead of the story. The head panther also bestowed a guardian, one of his personal servants, to help guide her through her difficult transformations. Due to her drained body for fighting her true form for so long, the angimal realm was too dangerous for her. It is said that the Emperor of the Panthers foresaw this and set up a network of safe houses to get her out of the realm without being discovered by tigers or wolves. She went from house to house, rebuilding her strength everyday and becoming more comfortable in her new skin. At the last house, she was caught. They tried to take her, but with her new strength, she fought back- and when the loner fought- all hell broke loose.”

Val stopped speaking, refilling his glass from the pitcher that the serving girl had opted to leave on the table, saving herself from repeatedly walking back.

“So- what happened?”

“Can’t say really- the legends all vary after that point. The tigers never got her, but there was no trace of anyone leaving the angimal realm either. So she either escaped or died trying to flee again.”

“If she escaped-?”

“Then she must live in another realm still fighting her curse tooth and nail. Fighting to survive and remain secret since her species is not supposed to exist. Since the angimals themselves don’t know- they must still be looking for her.”

Val sighed, putting down his drink and leaning forward, stretching his legs. Ayo realized that the pub had cleared out and only the young man with the wolf tattoo remained. His tattoo gave her a strange feeling and she felt herself instinctively distrust him.

“Thank you so much Val. I really have appreciated listening to your- story.” Ayo stood, shaking his hand briefly, but giving him a sincere smile.

“No problem” Val looked up and returned the smile. “It was my pleasure lass.”

Ayo turned to leave and then remembered something about how Val had told the story that bothered her. “Val,” she asked turning around, “before you got to the legend you were talking as though angimals don’t exist, but then you changed tenses. Do they exist?”

“As far as I know lass, they are all supposed to be dead, long gone, part of a different time- but it is a legend and legends always contain some form of truth.

Ayo looked somber, “Thank you again Val. You are a genuine story-teller.”

“Goodnight lass.”

Ayo crept inside the shop and went up the dark stairs to the first landing. Peering into Tenace’s room, she noticed Malaki curled up on Tenny’s bed next to the “loner”. Tenace was sleeping with an arm curled around the panther’s middle. Malaki looked up at Ayo and Ayo returned his gaze with a sad smile. She looked back at Tenace and thought of that rogue tiger fighting for her life and running to save it.

Ayo’s face was soft as Tenace rolled over in her sleep, unrest etched across the slumbering girl’s face.

“You poor soul” Ayo thought, “You poor brave soul.” She didn’t say it aloud-she knew how Tenace felt about pity. Malaki’s eyes never left Ayo’s face as the young woman turned and continued up the stairs to her own room. Ayo shut her door and found Nell lying across her double bed, taking up more space than should be possible for a dog her size. Padding quietly across the floor, Ayo crawled into bed and found the humor in how she curled up around Nells as Tenace had around Malaki. Thinking of Tenace reminded Ayo of the story she had listened to tonight and with quiet sobs for the loner, Ayo fell into her dreams.

Tenace woke up early the next morning. She thought she had beat Ayo up, but when she managed to stumble downstairs, she found Ayo meditating in front of a roaring fire. Despite it being early fall, Ayo wasn’t too keen to the cold, and she liked to keep the house steaming hot. Not wanting to disturb the younger woman, Tenace began to climb back up the stairs, that was, until she heard a soft snore from behind her. Whipping back around, Tenace shaped her ears into tiger form and listened carefully to the younger woman’s breathing.

Another light snore came from where Ayo was “meditating”.

Tenace couldn’t help but smile. Her light smile turned into a giggle and soon she was covering her mouth in attempt to muffle the sound of her laughter.

Are you insane? Malaki asked silently from behind Tenace. Or did you merely get into Ayo’s poppy cache?

“Shut Up!” Tenace whispered, shoving her hand into her mouth. Malaki rolled his bright green eyes at her.

What’s so funny anyways?

“I…don’t… know!” Tenace kept giggling, unable to stop herself.

Ayo moved, her eyes fluttering open as she took in her surroundings when she caught sight of Tenace, her lips strained not to smile. Her eyes were dancing as she made her voice stern and began to untangle herself from her meditation position on the floor.

“Tenny?”

“Mmmm” Tenace giggled out from behind her engulfed hand.

“Get your hand out of your mouth before your claws rip your cheek open.” Ayo’s eyes grew somber as she spoke, as did Tenace’s and the giggling stopped abruptly. Tenace pulled her hand out of her mouth quickly and stared at her knuckles. I hadn’t even thought about my claws, or rather my knives. THAT would’ve hurt!

Tenace sat down on a rocking chair in the den.

“Did you get your questions answered?” There was no point in beating around the subject now, Tenace knew that Ayo knew what she was.

“Some of them,” Ayo answered staring straight into Tenace’s eyes. Tenace let out a deep sigh.

“Alright- ask away” she muttered, rubbing her temples and hoping that the onslaught of questions didn’t take too long to answer, she was getting hungry.

“Are you the loner? The legend?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Ayo turned, heading into the kitchen, muttering about making oats for breakfast.

That was it?!? There is no way she only wants one answer!” Tenace decided she wasn’t going to push it though, not if she was getting off so easy, she got up and followed Ayo into the kitchen. After a few minutes of stirring a pot with porridge inside it, Ayo perked her head up, as she poured the breakfast oats into two bowls.

“Tenny?”

There it is! Tenace thought, as Ayo poured sugar and cinnamon from the cupboard into the bowls.

“Yeah?”

“Did you happen to- uh- read that announcement that has been on the table for the past two days?” Tenace looked up scowling as Ayo set her bowl on the table. She recalled a short, stocky man delivering a letter, but thinking back, she had merely tossed it onto the table and ignored it.

“Uh- no.”

“Oh.” Ayo mumbled and continued to stir her porridge without eating it.

“Why?” Tenace asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

“Well-“ Ayo began, talking directly to her bowl, “it was from the king…”

Tenace growled in disgust for the “inept, dumbass” who had only come to power due to his father’s inability to reproduce another “intellectually based and slightly effective” heir as Tenace usually put it.

“He wrote to tell us that we are invited to a ball in a fortnight…”

“Fat- Chance I am going to any social get together of that ineffective sloth’s!” Tenace grumbled.

Ayo’s suddenly spoke at an alarmingly fast rate “and he wants the book done- edited, bound and dry by then.” She chanced a glance at Tenace.

The older girl had laid her head against the table and was cursing the “inept dumbass” king in multiple languages with beautifully colored diction while hitting her forehead against the table multiple times.

Ayo whistled. “DAMN Tenny!”

“Shuddup!” the older girl moaned and picked her head up only to shove another spoonful of oats into her mouth and slam her head back onto the tabletop. “I’ve got work to do” she grumbled and got up, heading towards her back workroom.

“Tenny” Ayo quietly cooed.

“Yeah?” The older girl responded without turning around, merely stopping mid-step.

“You could’ve told me. I love you no less for it, but you could’ve told me yourself” was the whisper that came from Ayo’s lips.

“I should’ve known,” Tenace said quietly, “I know now.”

Tenace quickly retreated to the back room, pulling out the “damn God-forsaken book”, a single tear of relief running down her cheek. She could never express to Ayo how much she had needed to hear those words, mainly because years of practice had made it impossible for her to truly show her strongest emotions, but in her heart, her best friend, hell- my sister for that matter, had just given her the greatest gift of all- true faith and love.

You’re lucky to have such a strong friendship, even with such a strange girl-child, Malaki purred from his cot by the desk.

“Sometimes I feel as though I don’t deserve her” Tenace muttered and began to write.

Ayo waited until noon to smuggle several bolts of cloth up to her room in order to begin a special project. Leaving a note for Tenace on the kitchen table, she explained that this week she was doing some side work and would be privately locked in her rooms and it would probably take all week. Adding that she wasn’t to be bothered and she would be done within the next five days, Ayo bolted excitedly up to her third story room and sat down to get to work.

Tenace was in her room writing furiously muttering under her breath. The shop was silent except for the scratching of quill against paper. She could feel Malaki peering over her shoulder, the weight of his paw on her shoulder much like that of a palm squeezing in encouragement. The chest of the big panther was pressed up against her back- almost like a man’s would be.

She shook her head- “What?” she snapped more at herself than anyone else.

Do you think using the term “damn fool king” is truly a wise idea?

“Right now- I really don’t give a damn.”

You’ve got two weeks, Malaki pointed out dryly.

“I know!” Tenace burst out, “but it’s gonna take me just one whole week to edit and bind the damn thing and…” she buried her face in her hands, frustration taking the place of what she didn’t have the words to say. “There is no possible way I can finish this in time Malaki.” She said simply when she got herself under control.

Malaki was about to respond when suddenly instead he got her attention- TENACE!

His paws hit her arms, making her hands fly from her face just as her blades came unsheathed. The good news was that her blades left her face unscathed, the bad news: they didn’t leave everything unscathed. The metal blades had pierced through the last ten pages of the book.

That was the last straw.

Tenace slammed her fist into the table, breaking it into two pieces and sending her inkwell, quill and the book on a one way trip for the dusty floor.

After a minute, she calmed herself down. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and willed the desk back into one piece. It instantly snapped back together, as thought nothing had happened.

You wanna break it again?

“Yes, but it wouldn’t really help and would just give me more to clean up” Tenace grumbled, picking the book up off the floor and first willing it clean, dry and whole and then scrubbing up the mess her inkwell had made by hand.

I know- I just thought it might be good for you

“It would and it wouldn’t” Tenace sighed, finishing up on the floor and falling back into her chair.

I think that your blades are getting longer.

Tenace glanced at her bloody knuckles, they were now eight inches long. Great, only four more to go, she thought sarcastically.

What do you call your transformations again?

“Metas” she sighed again, “I’d better get this done” she grumbled, pulling the book back towards her and getting out a new ink well and quill.

Don’t be so hard on yourself, Malaki said quietly.

The claws began to shrink back into her knuckles as Tenace stared at Malaki.

You’re almost done with the book, you will soon be done with your Meta and Ayo finally knows about you. You aren’t alone anymore. We’re almost at the end, please don’t push yourself so much that it will cause you harm. You ARE entitled to mess up every once and while.

There was so much warmth in his cool green eyes that Tenace felt herself blushing and had to look down.

Just remember that, Ten.

Her hand brushed over his back and down his flicking tail as Malaki walked out of room. It was only after he left that she found herself smiling. He called me by my Ayo-given nickname, she thought with amusement. Picking up her quill she looked down hopelessly at the book, if only he wasn’t a panther.

Ayo was sewing in her room when a knock came at the door. Ayo didn’t answer. On the other side, Malaki was rolling his eyes. Ayo! Let me in!

“Go away- I’m working! Go bug Tenace!”

Malaki grimaced, Ayo was being difficult and now he was going to have to, as he had overheard Tenace call it in a game of poker a few nights before, ‘reveal his ace’. She just has to be difficult sometimes doesn’t she- well two can play at that game!

The door swung open.

Without looking up, Ayo scowled and sounding as stern as possible she started to scold.

“I said to GO AWAY!” For emphasis she looked up to give him one of her infamous cold glares, and instead her jaw dropped in astonishment.

“Now will you talk to me?” Malaki asked irritated, the words coming sharply out of his mouth, his HUMAN mouth, with absolutely gorgeous lips.

“M-M- Mal-“

“Please don’t.”

Ayo couldn’t help it- she looked him over top to bottom. He was a MIGHTY fine specimen. She couldn’t help but try to imagine the last time a guy this classically good-looking had been in her bedroom- yeah, NEVER!

Ayo blinked, rubbing her eyes, trying to make sure that he was actually standing right in front of her. Holy Crap! The god still was By God!

She carefully took in his long cut black hair, which had bangs that swept into his dark green eyes. His mouth was frowning slightly, although she could tell that it would make a beautiful smile. The thought almost made her wanna make him laugh just to see what she knew was going to be a spectacular sight. Ignoring the frown, she continued to look him over. Malaki, seeing the blatant stare on her face started to fidget and move around the room, which proved pointless in stopping her stare- she just let her eyes follow him as he moved. She took in his broad shoulders, connected to his arms that were nothing but pure muscle, not so much that it looked abnormal but the guy would be a freaking blacksmith with arms like those! Ayo thought in awe. She noticed that his loose brown shirt was designed for movement, he could easily twist, dive and spin in a shirt like that- as a seamstress she couldn’t help but be impressed. The shirt didn’t hide the fact that he was powerfully built, if anything it amplified it to her, with that broad chest and thick arms, he is bound to have a six-pack under there, and no doubt there was extra cloth added on the side seams to provide even more room for a guy his size to move with comfort and grace and not by prohibited by his clothing and yet the style is one of nobility- working nobility but nobility nonetheless! Despite the fact she was obviously checking him out, it was second instinct for her to inspect clothing as well as the person in the clothing. He happened to have gotten close enough that she felt as though he was towering over her- My God he’s TALL! she couldn’t help but think as he dwarfed her by at least a hand span, and she was rather tall for a female, eye level even with most men in this town.

She felt her gaze continue to travel down until it reached the floor and that’s when she noticed him shifting slightly, her blue eyes returning to his very green ones. He was obviously uncomfortable.

“TEN-!!!”

Malaki clamped his hand over her mouth before she could get anymore out, holding a finger up to his lips to signal that he wanted her to shut up- IMMEDIATLEY! Try as she did, Ayo couldn’t remember a set of lips so full on any man she had ever met.

“Please don’t.” Malaki’s proud eyes were pleading. His rough voice was low, “She broke her work table earlier.”

So THAT’S what I had heard!

“If I take my hand away will you yell out to her again?”

Hell YES! was her immediate thought, but then she rethought it-Tenny’s all flustered as it is, and this is WAY too big of an event to throw at her- because she definitely doesn’t know he can do this- or he wouldn’t be pinching my lips closed and she CERTAINLY wouldn’t be cuddling with the panther form every night when she could be cuddling with this FINE specimen of a man!

Shaking her head, to clear away her ridiculous thoughts, Ayo nodded that she would stay quiet and Malaki let up on the clamp he had over her mouth. Quickly he stalked over to her door and closed it soundlessly. He turned over his shoulder and glanced at Ayo.

“I need a favor.”

Tenace rubbed her eyes and her hand. She had been writing furiously for an hour or so. She got up to get a drink and went downstairs to the kitchen. Opening the door in the back that led into the kitchen, Tenace stopped in her tracks. He was waiting for her- sitting at the table as though he had all the time in the world.

“You!” she hissed.

“Hello, long time no see.”

Despite the shaggy grey hair and aged wolf tattoo on his cheek, the man sitting in the kitchen was quite young. He was smiling.

“You’ve led us on quite a chase, Tenace” he tried out the name as though it were unfamiliar.

“Where’s Loup, Garre?” Tenace knew her voice sounded harsh, that was the tone she was going for.

“It is Tenace right?” He ignored her question, playing his own game, “that’s what you go by these days?”

A large grey wolf crept around the corner of the door leading out into the back garden, circling behind Tenace silently.

“Besides the obvious, just what the hell do you want?”

Garre watched as Loup circled her, a sickening smile spreading across his lips. “You know how difficult Metas are for you. Things happen, things tend to go horribly wrong. When it’s all over, you tend to be left terribly weak.” He winked at her with his last hauntingly whispered words.

“I’m going to ask you politely only once more Garre, and then I will have to resort to my less humane ways of getting answers. What exactly do you want?”

Garre laughed, the sound ringing in Tenace’s ears. “You know as well as I do the more you use your powers the faster you will Meta completely.” Dropping his voice to a whispering challenge he continued, “You wouldn’t dare!”

“Wanna try me?” Tenace asked, her mercenary blood running hot through her veins begging for just a drop of his blood.

Loup started to growl softly from where he stood behind Tenace, the growl grew into a snarl as he recognized her blood type begin to change.

“I’m assuming that Tenace doesn’t know about this form you can take?” Ayo murmured. Malaki bent down so she could properly take the measurements of his neck.

“No- and if you would kindly agree, I would like to keep it that way.”

Ayo couldn’t help herself; she shot him a challenging look- “Really?”

“Yes, really” he growled.

Ayo threw him a shirt, “Start with that, try it on for size.”

Loup’s snarl grew louder and louder as the challenge rang clear through the kitchen.

Garre stood up, looking at Tenace, “Must you ask?”

Malaki stopped frozen, the shirt pulled over his head, but not over those broad shoulders yet. He stared off into space, a puzzled, yet possessive look on his face.

“Tenace!” His whisper snapped the trance and he was suddenly bursting from the room, barely getting the shirt off before transforming back into his panther form. Ayo, puzzled, stared after him.

“Well, I was right about one thing, he definitely has a six-pack!”

Malaki got to the bottom of the stairs in time to see something he truly had not been expecting. Nell came flying out of the kitchen, soaring with a crash into the rocking chair in the living room. With a small whimper, she got up, shook herself and ran back into the kitchen, grim determination etched all over her small face.

Malaki raced in after her, keeping to the shadows.

“Call your dog off.” Garre’s voice was harsh; Malaki noticed a vicious bite mark was slowly disappearing from just under Garre’s cheekbone.

“I will when you will!” Tenace’s tone was purely grim; she wasn’t enjoying the fight, which surprised Malaki, he could smell as the mercenary blood in her veins thickened. Loup backed towards Garre as a gruesome bite disappeared on Tenace’s forearm.

“Think about my offer,” Garre repeated, “time is running out!” He backed out of the doorway, into the back garden, his eyes never leaving Tenace’s.

Tenace stood silently, unmoving in the kitchen for a moment, before turning and quickly running up the stairs. Malaki followed her silently, catching a glimpse of Nells twisting to lick a scratch on her long black hind leg.

Malaki found Tenace in her room. She was sitting on her bed, with her head buried in her hands. He could see her shoulders shaking, she had been crying. Malaki padded over to her, gracefully jumping up onto the bed. He wished that he could simply change into a man and pull her into his arms; sheltering her from all the pain this life caused her. But he knew that he couldn’t do that, instead he placed his paw on her arm.

Ten?

She looked at him; rather than tear stains, he saw fear in her eyes. She was terrified.

The big cat nuzzled her chin, Tenace griped his fur, hiding her face in his shoulder and hugging him fiercely.

What are you going to do?

“I’m going to stop running.”

Malaki would have smiled, had he been able to with panther lips. It’s high time this happened, he thought to himself.

He glanced up and saw Ayo, passing by the doorframe, a knowing smile on her cheerful face as she walked by.

Oh no, he inwardly groaned.

Tenace didn’t even notice her.

Malaki had worked out his week to where he spent mornings and evenings sparring with the tiger Tenace or helping her write and afternoons being measured, pinched, prodded and poked by needles with Ayo, who was making a wardrobe for him. On once such afternoon with Ayo, Malaki caught Ayo glancing at him with an amused look on her face.

“What?” he half-snarled, his short fuse of patience quickly depleting.

“Nothing-“ she replied, quickly averting her eyes. Malaki growled at her, it had been a long morning with Tenace and Ayo had already poked him five times in his sore ribs this afternoon.

“WHAT?” Curiosity, lack of patience and sore muscles getting the better of him.

Ayo pulled a pin out of a seam and moved it literally “a hair” to the left.

“You’re in love with her,” she murmured, the pins in her teeth making her speech slow and deliberate. She had a wicked gleam in her eye.

“With who?” Malaki felt as though he were choking, hoping his cheeks weren’t as red as they felt.

“Mmmm-hmm!” Ayo’s response felt like an accusation, making the already embarrassed Malaki begin to feel truly uncomfortable. Making up a ridiculous excuse and fleeing the room, Ayo watched with a grin as his stiff tail gave away his embarrassment.

Midday, the fourth day into her self-given lock in, Ayo needed a break. Her room felt stuffy, the window barely cracked and fabric thrown everywhere. Walking over to her window, Ayo threw the panes open, sticking her head outside and listening as the wind carried bits of gossip to her. After about 15 minutes of listening to who owed whom money, which maid was in the queen’s favor and whom the blacksmith’s boy had been caught canoodling with in the baker’s back shed, Ayo had affirmed what she already had known. Nothing truly new has happened and I should DEFINITELY take a break!

Deciding to merely walk the market for an hour or so, Ayo grabbed her shawl and jumped from her third story window, using the air currents to gently deliver her in the alleyway outside. Stepping into the light of the marketplace, Ayo felt unfamiliar eyes rake over her, but she ignored them, wanting to avoid drama for at least an hour.

Malaki glanced at Tenace. She’d been distracted all day; Malaki could sense the wolves watching the house.

What’s wrong? he asked, after Tenace began shaking for the third time in half an hour.

“Nothing-” Tenace began, but stopped turning to stare into Malaki’s eyes. “They threatened to hurt her. This is what I get for being attached. They promised to leave Ayo alone if I came quietly.”

Malaki felt a growl in his throat bubble up, but then it turned to laughter.

Tenace glared.

“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? Did you not hear me properly you dolt? Listen up you insensitive, bird-brained fool- I said that the wolves are gonna hurt Ayo unless I either go quietly with them, or basically destroy my home in the process of defeating them!”

Malaki stopped laughing and Tenace could’ve sworn the big panther was grinning at her.

Can you even imagine what that would look like? Oh, I almost feel sorry for the wolf-man who tries to hurt her. He broke out in laughter again, but his words couldn’t soothe the fear Tenace felt.

“They heal-“ she whispered. Malaki managed to yet again smile, his lips curling up, making him look vicious.

You forget Ten; angimals don’t heal when they are hurt by other immortals.

Tenace frowned.

Ayo had been out much longer than merely an hour. She wanted to go home. Infact, now she was wishing that she had never left. The unfamiliar eyes that had raked over her skin were still lingering on her. She wanted nothing as much as she wanted to escape from them. She had spent hours now waiting, running, hiding, getting lost in the market crowds, and running some more, yet the eyes had always been there. She could not lose them. She was standing on the outskirts of the marketplace now, only a few blocks from home, but unable to return.

Her patience finally running out, Ayo devised a plan. She sauntered into an alley, sitting down on the cobblestone and putting a determined look on her face. I will NOT be scared, I will NOT be run off from my own home!

“I know you’re there, I will give you 5 seconds to show yourself!” She spoke loud and clear, peering out at the entrance of the alleyway. Movement caught her eye, what appeared to be a large dog entered the mouth of the cave, as it got closer Ayo could see what it was.

A wolf!

He was large, with ice blue eyes. Ayo’s breath caught in her chest.

“Just my luck!” She muttered, more flustered now than scared. She blinked and suddenly the wolf was gone, a huge man in its place, blocking her escape out of the alley.

“Hello beautiful-” his voice was gruff as he strode closer and closer to where she was standing dumbstruck. It’s the younger man from the bar that night I spoke with Val! He is an angimal too!

Shaking herself, Ayo put her hand out in front of her. “Stay away!” she warned.

“I almost wish that I could, but you see we’ve a mutual friend you and I. The tiger won’t come quietly unless we offer her a fair bargain.” Ayo’s eyes grew large. This isn’t about me- it’s about Tenny! Suddenly her fear was gone, dissolved in an instant by her burning anger. Nobody messes with Tenny’s OR my emotions!

“Now don’t you think that her human pet would be a fair trade?”

Ayo stopped breathing, anger consuming her. I will not be used! Especially not against Tenace!

“Don’t be afraid deary-” he grinned, his sharp eyeteeth gleaming, “yet!” He barked out a laugh.

Ayo’s eyes flickered. The wolf-man was only a stride away, one step and he could grab her.

“You picked a BAD day mister!” Ayo said, standing up straight. She got into the horse stance, putting her arms up in front of her chest. The man barked out laughter.

“You’re obviously more ignorant than we’d hoped. You can’t beat me human! Not when I am in this form and especially not when I am in any other.”

“Oh?” Ayo asked sweetly, “Perhaps you should pay attention to who you call ‘human’!” Ayo flung a fireball at Garre. The man was caught off guard, but the fireball only scorched his jacket.

“Silly girl! We know that you can do sorcery, but you are still no match against my power- just give up!”

Ayo grinned, “Wait for it Garre”.

The man was surprised that Ayo knew his name. Then his eyes widened in acknowledgement. He could feel it; the scorch had slowly grown; now the hole in his jacket had been burnt through to his skin.

Yelping, he changed into his wolf-form.

Ayo smiled, she had been hoping that he would do that.

She quickly summoned her staff from her bedroom a few blocks away and then changed into a tiger, knowing that her staff would take a few minutes to get to her.

Garre had already gotten a hold of himself as she changed and wasted no time: he attacked immediately. Ayo was ready though, her long claws striking out to meet his fur.

Tenace heard a crash upstairs. What is Ayo doing up there? She glanced over her shoulder at the napping Malaki. He hasn’t slept well all this week, I’d go check on her, but I might wake him.

Ayo had been so sure that she would heal. If that was the case then why do I have an assortment of all these cuts and bites? Her fur was matted down with blood. At least I don’t look as bad as he does, she thought, reassuring herself that her human nose was NOT broken.

Ayo heard a swooshing noise coming from the mouth of the alley. Using the last of her magic, she morphed back into her human form. Spinning dramatically, she caught her staff and glared at the wolf that was growling at her. Subconsciously she noticed how tired she was in this form, but running was futile and giving up WASN’T an option. She vaguely noted the blood running down her arms and how matted her hair had become.

Garre leapt.

Ayo blocked with her staff. He snarled, his lips peeling back to reveal his large eyeteeth; the staff had cracked on his ribs. Ayo growled back, a deep guttural sound that part of her noted to ask about later. Swinging up her staff, she felt a twang of pain in her chest when she raised her arms. Biting back the pain, she kept swinging her staff, keeping Garre at bay.

He leapt again, transforming midair. Ayo was caught by surprise, barely getting her staff up high enough to block the dagger Garre had pulled out. She deflected it from her lung, but managed to get a nice gash along her side.

Both fell to the ground, a few yards apart from the force of pushing one another. Ayo knew she was finished, her body could endure no more and she’d have to tap into her life-source in order to use any more magic. She prayed Garre couldn’t move, she prayed he was unconscious.

Garre groaned and began to push himself up.

Shit, Ayo thought, I think that I am definitely in trouble now!

Ayo tried to push herself up off the ground. She was NOT just going to lie here and let this happen. Putting an arm underneath her, she pushed. Pain seared up her arm, forcing a scream from her lips.

“Hush deary” Garre whispered, finally standing and beginning to walk cautiously towards Ayo.

She knew it would hurt, but she pushed again. Another scream. Her vision blurred, starting to fade out. No! Keep trying! Pushing a third time, Ayo heard a fateful snap, her vision growing black as she felt tears roll down her cheeks and a final, pleading scream escape her sore throat. Garre was only three steps away, grinning foolishly.

“No” Ayo whispered, and slipped into darkness.

“Mmm” Ayo groaned. Every inch of her body ached. She opened her eyes, expecting the worst. She was lying in her bed, the curtains cracked to allow a little sunshine in through her window.

“How…where…he was…the alley… TENACE!”

“I’m right here, hush” a voice from her bedside said. Ayo turned her head and gazed into those ice-blue eyes.

“Oh boy- you’re mad.”

“Ya think!” Tenace growled.

“Not my fault!” Ayo moaned, lying back flat to avoid the sharp jolts of pain she got any time she even thought about sitting up.

“I know” Tenace said coolly.

“Not your fault” Ayo said protectively. Tenace rolled her eyes.

“How did I get back?” Ayo muttered, noticing that her arm and chest were bandaged, but no splints, so she must not have broken any bones, not even my nose!

“A strange man,” Tenace said a questioning look in her eyes.

“Oh?” Ayo’s curiosity peaked.

“Short, dark hair, DARK eyes almost black, tall, wiry, wearing a large black cloak and bright red tunic. He carried you home and mentioned ‘a gray wolf fleeing an alleyway’ and then left. He’s been coming everyday to check on your recovery. Do you know him?”

Ayo thought about the description.

“No,” she said thoughtfully, “has he come yet today?”

“Nope” Tenace said, standing up and casually stretching.

“Where are you going?” Ayo asked.

“Out” Tenace muttered under her breath.

“Tenny-” Ayo said warningly.

“I’ve got a business meeting and you are fine right where you are.”

“Tenace”, Ayo’s voice softened, “please don’t go alone, at least take Malaki, they’re strong.” Tenace gave a frightening smile and shook out her mane of hair.

“I’ve dealt with these wolves before, Ayo; they are NO match for me.” She turned to leave.

“Wait!” Ayo yelled after her. “Why are you doing this, it’s my honor? I don’t understand”

“Ayo, they have done a lot of cruel things in the past and messed with people that I truly cared for. But this time it’s truly personal. This time they messed with family, and that is utterly unacceptable.

“That’s what I was hoping she was going to say”, Ayo said aloud with a look of pride in her blue eyes.

Not my fault my ass, Tenace thought angrily, taking the stairs two at a time. She searched out for Malaki; he should stay to keep an alone to meet with the wolves. There was no sign of the panther in the house. Had he already gone out? She shook her head, she couldn’t help it if the panther had decided to take a walk and her business with the wolves couldn’t wait. She strode out the door and into the night as the brewing storm broke open.

Malaki kept his hood up as he strode quietly to the door. He glanced around at his surroundings as he knocked. The door opened a crack and Malaki tipped his hood enough so that he could be recognized. The door opened just enough for Malaki to slip through. Once inside, Malaki walked through the house to satisfy himself that there was no one else inside other than the man in front of him.

“I’m sorry for the rudeness of a search, old friend, but experience has taught me it’s better to be careful and rude than polite and dead.”

“I think I was the one that tried to instill that into you first, Majesty, you just didn’t fully understand what it meant until it was too late.”

“Don’t call me that, I’m only majesty by blood, not by title or right. I was stripped of that, remember?”

“Only too well, Malaki.”

Malaki smiled at his old mentor, “It’s good to see you again.”

Valient’s eyes smiled as he and Malaki embraced, “It’s good to see you too, my boy.”

As they sat down, Val regarded the young man in front of him. He had changed so much since he had fallen from favor, “Jacun wished to come with me when I told him I’d be meeting you here. Unfortunately, his duties kept him away.”

“I understand,” Malaki said with a smile, “It would’ve been good to see him again. However, this isn’t a social visit, Val.”

Val smiled, “I didn’t expect it would be with the recent attack on Ayomiko. She is such a charming girl.”

“That’s only when you first meet her, Val. The thing is, now Ayo is dragged into this. Where Ayo is concerned, Tenace may not think clearly. She’d do anything for her sister.”

“Sister? Then she is indeed close to Tenace. Someone other than you managed to break that hard exterior, Mal. Ayo must be quite a woman.”

“Val, I need your advice. The wolves are here.”

“You’ve handled them before.”

“This is different, Val. Something about this meta is different. I don’t know what but I can feel it. You’re an experienced warrior, I just need to talk to someone that can help me think things out so I can protect her-them- better.”

“You’ve never had to be terribly concerned with other people in Ten’s life before,” Val regarded Malaki for a moment, “She truly is quite a creature isn’t she?”

Malaki knew where Val was going with this, “Stay on track, Val, can you help me?”

Val chuckled at Malaki, “When have I let you down, my boy? What is it that troubles you?”

Tenace walked up the mountainside to the cave; she could sense the presence of angimals in the cave, it made sense that Garre wouldn’t come alone. Tenace growled, her teeth changing, and her eyes clamping shut.

If he had killed Ayo…

Her eyes flew open- bluer than blue as they shone in the dark.

Garre was lying down and trying to patch himself up. He couldn’t understand.

How could that pathetic little-?

Loup growled beside him staring towards the mouth of the cave.

“Quiet- give me a couple of hours and I’ll be-“

A wolf angimal came flying through the door, back slamming into the cave wall, a low groan escaped the battered wolf. The wolf that was sitting next to Garre stood up, a deep growl escaping its throat.

A lone figure stood in the mouth of the cave, rain pouring down behind the feminine figure, she was soaked, those eyes felt so cold to Garre, the coldest eyes he could remember ever having seen.

“Get up Garre.” The voice was quiet. Maybe attacking the girl had been a mistake.

“I said- get UP!”

Her hand flew out as she closed the space between them in the space of a second and immediately Garre was being suspended in the air. When she let him down a few inches, his feet hit the ground none to gently.

“What you did was the STUPIDEST,” Garre’s back hit the wall to emphasize Tenace’s anger, “most PATHETIC thing that you possibly could have done.”

The female wolf angimal that had been sitting at Garre’s side stepped forward, “Leave him be, Loner, he’s already-“

Tenace’s other hand flew out, colliding perfectly with the angimal’s mouth. “Quiet kid- let mommy and daddy have a nice little chat before bedtime okay?” Tenace’s voice was dripping with sarcasm and anger.

Loup ran up to try and bite Tenace.

WHAM!

The wolf was out cold, slumped down against the wall on the opposite side of the cave.

Garre’s head snapped up, “HEY!”

Tenace looked at Garre; a smarter man at this point would’ve fallen to his knees and begged for mercy and forgiveness.

To his surprise, Tenace dropped him, backing away a few feet.

Garre was immediately on his feet, starting towards Tenace. He had almost reached her when he pulled up short.

Maybe it was the look in her eyes, but looking back he was sure that it was the fact that whenever he reached a foot in front of her, Tenace buried three of her foot long blades into his gut.

“Now then”, her teeth were bared, “We’re all gonna calm down. We are going to be smart- rational if you will, and use good judgment. I haven’t lost my temper in over 600 years.”

Garre was choking on his blood, gagging as Tenace continued.

“You made a lot of trouble Garre, more than normal and you could’ve gotten someone killed.” Tenace was twisting her hands, turning the blades deeper and deeper into Garre.

“I think that the proper thing to do in a situation is go with our good sense. My good sense is telling me that you ought to be belted in the mouth. So I guess that I will.”

Garre tried to get his hands up in time, but Tenace moved too fast, removing the blades on one hand from his stomach, while she used the other hand to belt Garre square in the jaw, her blades conveniently still out.

“You know- I was considering accepting your proposal, but then you had to go and attack her and Buddy now you’ve really pissed me off. Life is gonna get a helluva lot more painful for you.

Garre was lying motionless on the floor, after having fallen from the force of Tenace’s blow. Hard as he tried it was almost impossible to breathe through all of his blood.

“Stay away from me, Garre, and everyone in my town and my home.” Tenace voice was a hiss, filled with hatred and anger, “Or else I will come back and finish the job.”

Tenace turned and walked out into the rain. When she made it down from the mouth of the cave and was halfway across the meadow on her way home, she plunged her blades into the ground, cleaning them of the wolf angel’s blood. Lightning flashed, reflecting in her eyes and making her look like a creature from a horror tale as she tossed her pearly white hair back and let a growling roar escape her throat into the night.

Ayo’s eyes flew open.

Tenace! Where is she?

Ayo glanced around and found Malaki in his human form pacing across the floor, he glanced over at Ayo, “Good, you’re awake. Now then, can you tell me where your dear sister is?”

Ayo glanced to the window as sheets of rain poured from the sky as though buckets were being emptied from the heavens.

She thought a moment before telling Malaki, “To be honest, Mal, I don’t know exactly where she is. I know that she left about the time that the storm hit.”

Malaki cursed in his mind; that was about three hours ago, “You can’t tell me anything useful, Ayo?”

Ayo fiddled with a small fraying in her blanket. She felt like a child being interrogated by a parent for a wrong doing. She knew it was ridiculous at holding out on Mal but she felt that Tenace could handle things. She had been gone so long though.

“She went after Garre.”

“WHAT?”

Ayo shrank into her pillow for a moment before gaining her usual impertinent courage and sitting up straight in her bed. She wasn’t scared of Malaki or of his temper, “She went after the wolf that attacked me.”

Malaki cursed out loud this time, “Ayo, do you comprehend at all what is happening?”

“I…”

“Tenace is becoming less and less herself…”

“She said she could handle it that sounds like Tenace.”

“Normally she can, Ayo, and she can now, but things are different for her now. At the moment, different can be dangerous!” he rounded on Ayo, “Now tell me everything!”

Tenace couldn’t move, too much anger, she had used so much magic. She tried to push herself up; she vaguely noted how much her body had transformed. Falling back to the mud caked earth, she let the rain pour down over her skin.

The cords in her throat burned as they changed back to human ones- she couldn’t speak, the burn from the transformation leaving her temporarily mute. She was so stiff. Where am I? She shook her head. Malaki…I NEED Malaki.

She tried again to stand. I need to get to him… I need… she fell to the ground. Malaki- oh damn the gods, if only he weren’t stuck as a panther- he could- her eyes closed, fighting the exhaustion of her transformation, she thought desperately out into the night- Malaki! I need you… please!

Three miles away, Malaki’s head flipped up as his eyes opened.

Ayo’s eyes snapped to his, “What? Where is she?”

He was already gone before she could finish the sentence.

“Tenace! TENACE!”

Malaki was outside running towards the mountains, as fast as his human form could take him.

Where the hell are you, woman!

He had shifted his eyes to those of a panther, but his human form was the one stumbling across the wet ground, fumbling for a grip as he tried to calm his mind long enough to catch a thought from Tenace. It had been a while since he’d had to run over muddy terrain as a human and it took some getting used to.

“TENACE!”

She was near, he could feel that she was near, but he knew she must be unconscious- because he could not hear any of her thoughts.

The cold rain slapped his face. He closed his eyes and shook his head, clearing the water from his eyes.

“TENACE!”

He wasn’t sure if it was safe to pray to the gods, they normally didn’t involve themselves in the troubles of other immortals, but the tigers may have asked them for aid.

“TENACE WHERE ARE YOU?”

He fell over a short bush and crashed into the mud finally at the base of the mountain.

“Ummmg…”

Malaki glanced towards the sound and ten feet away lay Tenace.

He found her lying face up, eyes shut. She wasn’t injured- but there is definitely something wrong with her…

“Tenny- Tenny, I’m going to get you home sweet, hang on okay?”

He looked down at her- she had transformed so much! He was shocked at her appearance not out of fear just mere confusion- She shouldn’t be able to change like this for at least a few more weeks!

Careful of her claws, he gently scooped her up in his arms, picking his way as carefully and quickly as he could.

“Just hold on Ten-” he whispered, “we’re almost back, please, just hold on!”

Her head fell against his shoulder, fitting perfectly, as her eyes cracked open- unseeing.

“Hold on.”

Malaki burst into the shop and ran upstairs, darting to Tenace’s room.

Ayo came stumbling in a few minutes later, wincing at her own pain and then again when she got a good look at Tenace.

“Malaki is she-?”

“She’ll be fine”, he growled, willing it to be so, as he wiped her face clean of  the little mud that the rain hadn’t washed away.

Ayo watched him with a sharp eye as her friend lay unconscious on the bed.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“She used too much magic and changed too much. I think that it has to do with her anger.”

So I caused this… Ayo thought with a mental grimace.

Malaki wrung out his rag, “Doing all that with her anger brought the transformation on more quickly. It’s speeding up her meta, it cannot be determined when she will meta this time…”

“This is unusual?”

“Yeah- yeah it is…” he sounded thoughtful, “She did too much too fast. Her body is worn out Ayo- she used too much energy trying to change back.”

He looked at Ayo, her face was ashen.

“Ayo- she’ll be fine- I didn’t mean to scare you. She just needs rest, that’s all. She just needs rest and then she’ll be fine.”

Ayo nodded, suddenly feeling dizzy.

Malaki looked her over sharply, “Go back to bed Ayomiko- you should know better! You shouldn’t be up.”

“I… I have been in bed Malaki. I just need some air, that’s all. I am bored in bed. I…”

“Bed!”

Ayo slid to the floor unconscious, her eyes closing and a small moan escaping her lips.

Malaki gritted his teeth and looked heavenward, biting back a groan of aggravation. He glanced at Tenace, when he was assured that she would be okay for a few minutes. He walked over and scooped up Ayo, carrying her back to her own room and tucking her in.

“When will these two learn?” he muttered, walking back to Tenace’s room.  He didn’t hesitate in the doorway, instead walked straight over to the bedside, pulling up a chair. He brushed Tenace’s hair out of her face, bending to kiss her forehead gently.

“What am I going to do with you?”

Tenace opened her eyes; a man had his head resting on the side of her bed. His eyes opened from an uneasy rest.

Tenace was speechless as she looked him in the face and he gazed steadily back into her eyes.

“You’re doing better?” he asked, his voice so kind.

“Who…I…I’m terribly sorry, but who… who exactly are you?”

She didn’t realize it was him.

“My name is O’Malley.” He had a sad smile on his face. “I found you last night and recognized you as one of the women who lives here.”

For once, Tenace found herself speechless, she managed a “thank you” and couldn’t keep her eyes still.

O’Malley smiled at her, “My pleasure”, he said softly. He quietly got up and left the room, silently excusing himself. Only after he had excused himself did Tenace feel the blush rise up from her neck to her cheeks, she was furious with herself!

Malaki sat down just outside the door, slouching up against the wall, breathing deeply.

Well, that went well I guess…

Malaki felt a thought from Ayo, Did you tell her?

Malaki growled and shut her out. He shook his head, changing to his panther form. Life has a way of being much easier when people can’t tell when you’re blushing.

Someone was looking at her. After her experience two days ago, Ayo DID NOT like having eyes on her skin. She quickly opened her eyes. Sunlight had flooded her bedroom and her window was cracked letting in a soft breeze that played with her hair. Nell looked up from her spot at the end of the bed and rolled over, begging for a belly scratch. Ayo continued to look around. There is someone here- I know I felt eyes.

She finally found him sitting on her windowsill.

“Good morning Mistress Ayomiko.” His voice was deep; Ayo tried to place it and realized that it was warm like the sun but as mysterious as the moon.

“Good morning sir.” Ayo pulled her covers tight to her chest; Malaki must have come back in the night and stripped her down to her loincloth and breast band.

The man averted his eyes, smiling out the window, Ayo felt herself blush. She looked him over.

He had short, dark brown hair. Ayo liked how curly it was. She looked over his face, it seemed perfect- strong jaw and when he smiled at the sunshine, Ayo noticed pearly white teeth. She grinned when she noticed the large male’s nose. It was large, but it seemed to fit his face perfectly. Ayo’s eyes sparkled as she continued looking him over. She took in the stubble on his chin that gave him a gruff look. She noticed his thick neck, broad shoulders and although his long black jacket covered them, she could tell that his arms were thin but muscular.  His hands were pale, but made Ayo feel safe for some reason. He was wearing loose pants, she couldn’t figure out whether his legs were muscular or not. She couldn’t help herself, she looked over his clothing. They were beautifully made, Ayo wanted to reach out and touch the fabric, it appeared to be silk, but she could smell cotton in the air.

A soft cough brought Ayo back to reality, she realized that she’d been staring at his chest. Blushing, Ayo forced herself to look into his face, she immediately was lost in his deep brown eyes, with huge black pupils and long, amazing lashes. Ayo felt as though she couldn’t breathe. Pulling herself together, she tried to regain her composure.

“I don’t mean to be rude sir, but who are you and why are you in my bedroom?”

“What a peculiar woman…” the man muttered. Ayo cut him off.

“Why am I peculiar?” she snapped, sitting up in bed and attempting to look dignified while half-naked.

The man grinned, “you wake up to find a man you’ve never met before in your bedroom and it takes you about 5 minutes to begin interrogating me, when most women would be yelling to get out or perhaps wondering how exactly I got in here.”

“And?” Ayo asked, slightly impressed by his evasive and interesting response.

“I am Stephan. I’m here because I have been visiting every day since your ‘accident’ and you happen to intrigue me. I came in through your front door, up the staircase and amazingly enough through your bedroom door.” He grinned, making Ayo feel jittery.

“A man with a sense of humor and here I had been led to believe that no more existed and men like that only existed in fairy tales.” Ayo watched as Stephan’s eyes laughed. “I suppose that teasing and badgering you will not suffice for the proper thanking that you deserve, nor will tormenting you with more questions. But I must inquire as to just how exactly you found me in that alley?”

“Very carefully miss”, Stephan answered slyly.

“So in other words, you aren’t going to tell me?” There was a long silence. “I’ll take that as a ‘no’. Well, on a more serious note, thank you very much for bringing me here after finding me. Also for visiting- despite the fact that your actions are definitely confusing me. I hate to be rude sir, but I must go see my sister, she’s been- well she’s also fallen ill and I would like to go and see if she needs anything. So I must ask you to let yourself out.”

Stephan stood up from the window seat, stepping towards Ayo’s bed.

“May I be blunt with you, miss?” Ayo had to bite her tongue from telling Mister Stephan were he may stick his blunt, his eyes stopped her, the depth and emotion in them like nothing she had ever seen before.

“Yes sir, please do-” she was curious now. Stephan stood at the end of her bed, stroking Nell’s head; he looked into Ayo’s deep blue eyes.

“I’m intrigued by you Miss Ayomiko, you’ve amazed me and I cannot seem to stay away from you.”

The room was silent; Ayo had to pinch herself to restart her lungs. She was speechless, completely and utterly humbled and breathless.

“I…I barely know you sir. You barely know me! How could you possibly be ‘amazed’ or ‘intrigued’ by me? Or anything else for that matter?” Ayo knew she was rambling, but she couldn’t put what she was thinking into words. She looked up at Stephan, he was grinning.

“WHAT ARE YOU SMILING AT?”

“You are utterly beautiful when you are flustered, yet only gorgeous when you are merely confused.”

Ayo pinched herself before she could stop breathing this time.

She sighed, throwing off her covers and stepping out of bed. Completely unembarrassed that she was in her underclothes and walking around her room in front of this complete stranger she walked right past Stephan to her armoire.

“Obviously I’m dreaming and there is no point in standing, or sitting for that matter, around doing absolutely nothing in this dream when I can be doing something interesting like dream skipping.”

“As terrible and rude as it is, I will enjoy your ignorance at your own expense.” He let his eyes slide over Ayo’s chest and down her legs.

“Perverted dreams”, Ayo muttered and put on a loose tunic and comfortable skirt. “Perhaps Tenny is awake and I can go and talk to her.”

Ayo meant to stomp past Stephan, but collapsed while striding in front of him instead. Stephan easily caught her before she could hit the floor. Ayo frowned as her vision faded to black.

“This isn’t a dream is it?” She could feel Stephan smile at her question.

“No, Miss, this is no dream. Goodnight.”

She felt gentle, warm hands brush against her face, pushing her hair back. She hoped that Stephan wouldn’t notice her blush.

“Shit!” she whispered as she passed out.

Ayo opened her eyes slowly. She peered into deep green eyes that were laughing at her from her bedside.

She groaned in embarrassment, pulling the sheets over her face to hide her blush. “Is he gone?”

Malaki restrained a grin, “Yes, he’s gone.” His voice was almost cracking with laughter that he was attempting to swallow.

“Please…please tell me that it was all my imagination. Please tell me that he wasn’t real?”

“What exactly do you want me to say?” Malaki was grinning like an idiot at the blunt, sarcastic Ayo’s sudden embarrassment.

“The truth- I am pretty sure that I want the truth… unless of course he really was real- then lie. Lie through your teeth and make me believe it panther-boy!”

Malaki got up and left the room without saying a word.

Dammit- he was real!

The panther jumped up onto Tenace’s bed.

How are you feeling?

“Much better”, she was up, finishing the book while staying in bed.

How close are you to finishing?

“Almost there”, she muttered.

Malaki stepped closer on the bed, close enough to rub his head against Tenace’s knee.

You’re lucky that you made back here last night Tenace.

Tenace lay down her quill, “I know”, she said quietly, “how’s Ayo?”

Malaki began to chuckle in a panther way, which consisted of short, high pitched yips.

“Ah- she made herself look like an ass huh?”

Malaki continued laughing as he jumped off of Tenace’s bed and sauntered out the door to the landing.

I wonder if I should go and check on her- an act that even Malaki won’t describe is worth interrogating over!

The door suddenly creaked open, being pushed back a few extra inches.

“Doing better?”

“I’m… I’m doing fine thanks.”

His voice gave her shivers- although I am pretty sure these are the good kind.

She lifted her head, taking in O’Malley leaning against her doorframe.

“I’m happy to hear that.” His simplicity made Tenace comfortable; she enjoyed just talking with him.

Tenace pulled her woven throw off of her legs and stood to face O’Malley.

“Thank you again for bringing me home.”

“It’s nothing. Like I said before- I knew that you lived here.”

“It’s not nothing”, Tenace muttered. “How did you know that this was my home?”

He shrugged, “I had placed an order from Miss Ayomiko a few weeks ago and noticed you working in the back room.”

Tenace glanced down, taken aback at the idea of this man noticing her when no one else did. Getting control of herself, she looked back up, holding her chin high. He is merely a man- he shouldn’t be able to fluster me like this! He seemed closer. She couldn’t help but think about how amazing O’Malley appeared in the high v-neck shirt that he was wearing. Her eyes immediately hit the floor in embarrassment. She shook her head slightly, trying to clear it.

Malaki’s ears turned scarlet as realization hit- she was just checking me out!

“I don’t know how good of an idea it is for you to be up- you were pretty badly hurt last night. Perhaps I could go and grab some food for you from your kitchen? You look as though you have some work to do.”

Tenace glanced over at her book.

She looked at him in surprise, no one worries over me- well, except for Malaki- but it’s his job! She found his eyes again and smiled.

“Sure…I’d … I’d like that very much. But… but only if you aren’t busy. I would hate to trouble you.”

He waved his hand at Tenace, dismissing the thought. “Think nothing of it.”

Before Tenace could protest, he was gone.

She sat down on the edge of the bed.

What just happened?

Fifteen minutes later the two were eating steak strips and veggie stir fry, sharing a loaf of bread between them.

They talked about a number of things, but Malaki kept quiet anytime Tenace picked up her quill. The longer they sat there, the fewer times she picked it up.

Tenace couldn’t remember a single human that she felt more at ease with, with the possible exception of Ayo- but since she had magic- she wasn’t human. There was something about O’Malley that made Tenace feel conscious of everything.

“So you haven’t told me what you’re writing?”

Tenace sighed, “It’s a history of the different lands surrounding the kingdom.”

“But-?” he smiled, sensing her underlying aggravation.

“It’s pointless. The king could just as easily go to the royal library and find a book on the history of the country for the exact information that I have been ordered to compose!” She turned back to her book, holding her quill carefully in her hand. Oh man I hope my blades stay in- please stay in! Tenace thought frightened- one slip up and she could lose her new friend. Hey- since he has been here- I haven’t lost control once.

Tenace looked over her shoulder at Malaki.

“What?”

“Nothing- just thinking is all.”

As Tenace turned back to her work, she silently pondered the absurdity of her sudden calm.

Malaki felt a sudden impulse; he stood up and walked up behind Tenace, placing a hand on her shoulder as he read over her shoulder.

Tenace felt a blush rise up as O’Malley laughed at what she had just written.

“I think it may be safe to assume that you didn’t exactly beg for this job?”

“You could say that…” Tenace muttered sarcastically.

His voice is so familiar. She shook her head.

“It’s been a stressful week” she said half-heartedly.

“I can see that it has.”

He is so easy to laugh with, Tenace thought, almost exactly like-

She shook her head again, focusing on her work.

A few minutes later, Malaki backed away, taking his hand from her shoulder. Tenace placed her hand on where his had been.

“I have to go…”

Tenace felt slightly disappointed.

“It was nice to see you again”, he continued as she turned to face him. “It’s nice to know that you are feeling better.” He was halfway to the door.

“Wait- umm…” what am I doing?

He waited expectantly.

“Do… do you want to come back? I mean… not do you want to… I meant… if you were to… uh… have the time- you are welcome to come back. I mean- I could use some help with putting this thing together”, she gestured at her book.

O’Malley smiled, “I would like that very much”, he looked her in the eyes. “Until then.”

After he left, Tenace sat on her bed.

“What the hell am I doing?” she muttered in disbelief to herself.

“So?” Ayo asked.

“What?” Malaki growled.

“Listen panther-boy! I am stuck in this bed, have barely enough magic to light a candle and I NEED some entertainment! So you ARE going to tell me what happened!”

“She wants me to help her with the book”, Malaki muttered.

“Really?” Ayo asked a wicked gleam in her eye.

“Yeah, but seeing as you’ve got a visitor coming up the stairs right now, I won’t elaborate.”

“Malaki- don’t you DARE leave me!” Ayo whispered warningly as the big man flashed a grin and transformed. Swishing his tail smartly, Malaki eased his way out of her room.

“I’m going to kill him someday!” Ayo muttered as she looked around for a way to distract Stephan when he arrived.

“Good Morning, Mistress Ayomiko!” Ayo’s eyes shot to her door where Stephan stood. He was wearing a white, low neck tunic. His eyes were a light, velvety brown today. Ayo couldn’t help but stop breathing, he is absolutely gorgeous! Great- he is as real as real can be. If that’s the case then why the hell is he standing all the way over there? – STOP IT; knock it off girl- you can’t think like that!

Ayo felt a blush creep up into her cheeks.

“Please don’t be ashamed of yesterday Miss Ay-“

“It’s ‘Ayo’, just Ayo… please.” Stephan smiled.

“Ayo- my dear, I cannot believe for even half a second that you would see me in one of your dreams, especially not one that you are only half-clothed in.” He teased.

You’d be very surprised then, Ayo thought before she could stop herself.

Stephan smiled.

Ayo blushed.

“Sir-“

“Stephan- please Ayo.”

“Stephan”, Ayo began again, slightly flustered, “it’s just- you see? – where’d you get your clothes?” Ayo finally stuttered, looking down because she was upset with herself for being such a coward.

“I made them”, he replied simply, stepping over the threshold into her room. Ayo openly gaped.

I think I may be in love, Ayo thought sarcastically.

“Not only does the gentleman rescue damsels in distress, but finds time between visiting his damsels and feeding the hungry orphans to make exquisite and beautiful clothing!”

Stephan spoke clearly, “Not only does the damsel recently rescued from distress blind the gentleman with her beauty, but plays him with her elegance and sarcasm.” Ayo pretended to scowl, but her eyes danced with amusement at Stephan’s wit.

“I believe I shall call you ‘Yeeto’.” Ayo said, finally losing her control and laughing.

“And what does that mean?” Stephan asked, a slight frown forming on his brow.

“Well- it is a word from my language that means ‘laughter’”, Ayo said. I can leave out the ‘laughter of my heart’ bit, she thought.

“And what does ‘Ayomiko’ mean?” Yeeto sounded genuinely curious. Ayo smiled her magic flicking from her fingertips to the curtains. Tendrils of magic wrapped around the cloth, pulling the curtains back and letting in the sunshine.

“It means ‘my joy is full’.”

“So Ayo means ‘my joy’?” Ayo thought for a minute.

“For all intensive purposes, yes, I guess it does.”

“Well then Ayo, how are you feeling today?” Ayo smiled, Yeeto was flirting with her again, It’s gonna be a good day!

Tenace HAD to focus. This is dumb- he is just a man. He is just a nice man, a nice, good-looking, intelligent man. That I happen to enjoy being around… and smells good… and makes me laugh.

NO! Focus woman! Come on! Tenace thought furious with herself.

“Tenace, are you alright?” the voice was having a very interesting effect on her… STOP!

“Maybe we should take a break, I mean, you look a little tired.” Tenace looked at her book. The same book that she personally referred to as the “damn-godforsaken-book”; it was lying in his hands.

Stop it Ten! Pull it together. Just a man… a very nice man that you enjoy spending time with. But that doesn’t matter because he is JUST A MAN!

“It’s not fair!” Ayo was whining again.

“What?” Malaki muttered, running his fingers through his hair.

“You get to be with her in two forms and I don’t get to see her at all! She won’t even come and see me in our dreams and neither of us can get more than 5 steps without collapsing!” Malaki contained a smile, the past few afternoons had been the most peaceful time of his life. And not just because Ayo has been bedridden either! He chuckled softly to himself.

“Are you gonna escort her to the ball?” Malaki groaned at Ayo’s relentlessness on the topic. She had been hounding him for over a week to finally ask Tenace to go.

“Drop it Ayo” he growled.

“No! When are you going to ask her?”

Malaki got up and was to the door before Ayo stopped him.

“Wait- I have some clothes for you to try on- not so fast!”

His hand was resting on the doorknob; Malaki rolled his eyes and barely suppressed a groan. She was probably lying.

Malaki let out a deep sigh, hitting his head against the thick door a few times. He finally turned to Ayo, “Where are the damn things then?”

Malaki held up a shirt reluctantly. It had a deep v-neck with gold embroidery on black cloth.

“I dunno Ayo…”

It was Ayo’s turn to roll her eyes, for a quarter of an hour Malaki had been looking over her work with a worried brow. I make damn fine pieces and I know what looks good. Damn fool!

“Just try on the shirt.”

Malaki hesitated and turned his back to Ayo as he pulled off his black tunic and put on the one she had made him.  He slowly turned around.

“Ayo- I don’t think this-”.

“Very nice”, Ayo smiled thoughtfully as she gazed at Malaki.

“Ayo-”

“What?” she responded exasperated.

Malaki gestured helplessly.

“What, you need a mirror? Look behind you.”

Malaki turned to humor her, opening his mouth to begin his rebuttal at being forced to wear such a garment and stopped short. He stood silently only for a second.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“What’s wrong with it?” Ayo frowned, trying to understand how any man with a chest like Malaki’s could refuse to want to wear such a great garment.

“The- the- the v! There is no way! It just-and this embroidery! This shirt would glitter the moment I stepped outside!”

“Oh”, Ayo was fighting with herself over her need to burst into laughter at her mistake. She had made the garment thinking of what Tenace would see when she saw him in that shirt, unfortunately that involved making the v neck extend much further down his torso than necessary without any lacings. And I won’t lie- I do damn fine work, but I think rags would look good on this man!

“I get it”, she gestured at his torso, “You don’t want it quite so… what are the words? Revealing and shiny?”

“Ayo! This is nearly…” he trailed off trying to express his embarrassment at how the shirt looked on him, “I can’t go walking around like this! ”

“Fine, you don’t like it- I’ll just fix it!”

“Thank you!” Malaki growled as he tore off the shirt and tossed it to her.

Ayo couldn’t take it anymore and broke into a fit of giggles.

Malaki glared at her with his old shirt in his hands. “WHAT?”

Ayo couldn’t answer, she was laughing so hard that her sides began to hurt.

Slightly red, knowing that Ayo was laughing at him, Malaki tried to put his shirt back on, but it dropped to the floor. He hastily stooped to catch it and fumbled with it as Ayo continued to laugh uncontrollably, completely consumed by her thoughts.

Malaki yanked the shirt on over his head, muttering under his breath. “I need to find a new seamstress.”

Tenace looked up at her ceiling, she was bored. She sighed and got up, taking the “god-forsaken-damn-book” in her hands. She walked up the stairs to Ayo’s room and walked in without knocking.

“Surprise sleepy-head” she muttered with amusement as Ayo’s head jerked up at the sound of Tenace’s voice.

“How are you?” Ayo was obviously thrilled to see her.

I’d forgotten how much I adore her, Tenace thought with a mental smile.

“I’m bloody brilliant”, she replied, “how are you?”

“Bored.” Ayo’s tone said it all. Tenace couldn’t help smiling at Ayo- the younger girl hated being in one place for long.

“I imagine you’ll be up and about tomorrow. You’ll have no problem then.”

“Ten?”

“Hmm?”

“Was Garre…?”

“Yes, he is a wolf-angimal. I suppose you know all about them now huh? He is still alive, I would not deny you your honor. It was difficult for me to leave him that way.”

“What’d you do Tenny?” Ayo’s voice was barely audible.

“We had a nice little chat. I explained some things about family ties to him.” Tenace’s tone was off hand, but her smoldering eyes told a different story.

I’m glad I’m on her side! Ayo thought, she had never been frightened of Tenace, but this was as close as she would ever come; I spent too many years losing the easiness of friendship because my supposed friends feared me- I will NEVER do that to Tenny.

Ayo was patient; she was able to exchange pleasantries for about an hour before her patience expired.

“I hear you’ve been having a visitor.”

“Yeah, so?” Tenace wasn’t going to give Ayo the satisfaction of laughing at her expense.

“What’s he like?” Ayo was trying very hard to not sound too interested.

“How do you know that it is a ‘he’?”

Ayo couldn’t contain herself any longer.

“Okay missy- I am asking the questions! Speak!”

Tenace shook her head. Leave it to Ayo to make a big deal out of nothing. Then she remembered how easily her mind wandered- NO! It’s no big deal There is nothing going on! Tenace rolled her eyes.

“He is nice, uncharacteristically sweet for a male, funny-”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, cut to the chase- what does he look like?”

Tenace sighed, “Ayo-” she said helplessly.

Ayo shot Tenny her most mischievous grin, “so I guess that means…”

“AYO!”

The two continued teasing each other about their individual “new friend”. Ayo’s blush told all and Tenny’s refusal to discuss O’Malley clued Ayo in as to how Tenny felt.

Tenace knew she had work to do, when dusk rolled around she regretfully stood to leave.

“I should get more of this damn thing done…” she paused, trying to figure out what to say; not very good at expressing to Ayo how badly she had needed to see her. Tenace could express anger or criticism at the drop of a pin, but love and appreciation was more difficult, even towards Ayo.

“I missed you too Tenny”, Ayo said with a heartfelt grin, she teased the older girl gently, “even if you won’t admit it, you loooooove me!”

“Shuddup you silly chit!” Tenny replied with a smile of her own.

Tenace left with a light heart, walking slowly back to her bedroom on the floor below, lightly running her fingers along the many bookshelves that lined the wall parallel to the staircase. She entered her room to find the lanky panther sprawled out on her bed. Malaki lazily lifted his head in acknowledgment of her entrance.

You guys have a nice chat?

“Yeah, it had been too long since we really talked.”

What’d you talk about?

Tenace detected a hint of mockery in Malaki’s tone. She felt her face grow red.

“What all chits talk about.”

There was a wicked gleam in Malaki’s eye as he sidled up to where Tenace leaned against the doorframe. He cocked his head to the side and Tenace’s face flushed.

Yep, exactly what I thought!

“Care to elaborate?” Tenace asked, trying to brush her embarrassment off with sarcasm.

She walked over to the end of her bed, Malaki following.

Do you want me too?

Tenace looked at the panther, surprised that he was teasing her so fiercely. She stopped short before telling him off, noticing his green eyes, so deep- almost-

Tenace?

His voice was so calm and soft, almost like-

Ten?

Tenace snapped back to reality.

“What? No- I mean- umm, I’m fine.”

Ok. He didn’t sound like he believed her, but he dropped it.

Malaki left Tenace to her thoughts, dashing out into the hall and closing her door with a flick of his tail. He started to breathe deeply when he made it to the bottom of the stairs on the landing.

Tenace had nearly figured him out and he had nearly- he nearly- Malaki shook his head.

Wake up Mal, this isn’t a small matter- there can be no mistakes!

“What happened?”

Malaki glared up into the darkness, Ayo was perched in her doorway, sitting on the balls of her feet at the top of the spiral staircase.

Malaki groaned and bolted to the only place he knew he was safe- the back of the shop.

Tenace shook her head. She couldn’t sleep; her thoughts were wandering and buzzing around inside of her tired head. Strangely they kept wandering back to Malaki.

If he’s regaining some of his powers…ah what’s the use? He’s been a panther for so long, and he’s just now regained his speech. There’s no possible way… She sighed slightly irritated with herself.

Her train of thought brought her to O’Malley. She groaned in frustration with herself, this was pointless!

After this meta I’ll be gone anyways! I’ll never see O’Malley again, or Ayo… what am I supposed to tell Ayo?

Tenace smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand.

Go to sleep!

Needless to say, it was another long night.

Ayo lay restlessly in bed. Her frustration at being trapped was at an unbelievable high this morning.

“I just want to do something!” she yelled at her wall, rolling over on her bed and screaming into her pillow. She was aware of the fact that she was throwing a tantrum like a toddler, but didn’t particularly care.

“Perhaps I may be of assistance then” a deep voice said from her doorway.

I have got to start closing my door! Ayo thought as her face turned a deep red, it was one thing to throw a tantrum when no one was looking, totally a different thing when he was paying attention.

Ayo straightened up in her bed, defying Yeeto to laugh at her childish behavior. He cleverly hid a grin, gliding across her floor to the side of her bed and taking his usual spot in the window seat.

“What do you have in mind? Do you care to practice your magic, or to get caught up on work, merely to read- I can bring you some food… your wish is my command.”

Ayo reveled for a moment on the extent of that statement, her cheeks burning as her thoughts led to images. She gathered herself together and looked at Yeeto.

“I don’t particularly know what I want to do- just something!” she noted in the back of her mind that her mood was improving by the second with him in the room.

“Perhaps you’d like to show me what you do on a normal day, if you weren’t bedridden?”

“That would be fun- but since I am bedridden I don’t know how exactly I could do that…”

“First what you do for your work” Yeeto said, ignoring her claim that it would be impossible to show him from her room.

“uhhh- well, I choose my fabric and use my magic to form new patterns. But I kinda have to be downstairs to do that.”

Yeeto stood up, coming to the side of the bed, “that’s easily arranged my dear” he said in his most charming way, dazzling Ayo with his eyes. “If you don’t object”, he said, gently lifting her hand to his lips and kissing her fingertips gently.

“Uhh- I don’t know where this is going, but I can assure you that objecting is far from my abilities at this moment” Ayo said breathlessly. Yeeto grinned triumphantly and scooped Ayo up in his arms.

“I will take you to your work my joy”, he said, as she giggled and they headed for the stairs.

“This stuff is ridiculously sticky!” Tenace said as paper stuck to her hand.

“I’ve heard glue was that way, but they were only rumors I think, you know how old women gossip.”

Tenace responded to O’Malley’s teasing by attempting to chuck a wad of sticky paper at his head, but it stuck to her glue covered fingers.

“I think that defeats the purpose…” Malaki said dryly.

The guy could use sarcasm! Wait- no, there is nothing going on here! Tenace reminded herself sharply.

Tenace and Malaki were binding the D.G.F.B (damn-god-forsaken-book) and were making quite a mess of it. Sure the book was getting done; it was the teasing between the two that was causing the distractions.

“Wait! Wait- you have some in your hair…” Malaki reached over and grabbed the paper, but only succeeded in tearing it.

“Ouch! Hey!” Tenace squeaked, noting the back of her mind that she had once made fun of females that squeaked in the presence of a male.

“Sorry, hold on…” Malaki was focused. He crossed the distance between them, gently picking out the small pieces of glue covered paper from Tenace’s messy pile of hair.

“There you go”, he finally cooed, “got it all out!”

Tenace turned to face him and realized just how close he had been when their faces were suddenly inches apart.

Tenace froze, shocked that anyone other than Ayo was so close to her; Malaki froze trying to interpret her movement. Their eyes locked.

Slowly, almost simultaneously, they both leaned in, closing the few inches separating their lips. Eyes closing slowly. Malaki’s hand finding the curve of her neck, Tenace’s fingers lightly touching his jaw, pulling them together. Almost-

“TENACE!”

Ayo’s shrilling voice broke the spell, the two sprang apart as though a fire had sprung up between them. Both had beet red faces, muttering ridiculous apologies and excuses. O’Malley said he’d clean up while Tenace went to figure out why Ayo was screaming.

As Tenace climbed the stairs, she cursed herself.

What the hell am I thinking?!

She stormed into Ayo’s room, a deep scowl on her brow.

“What?” she spat.

“Can I-” Ayo stopped short upon seeing Tenace’s face, “why are you so-?”

“What do you want?” Tenace cut her off sharply.

“I am sick of feeling left out- what is going on down there?” Ayo fired back.

Tenace shrugged and turned, heading back downstairs, leaving her sister in disbelief.

She walked all the to the first floor, resisting the urge to duck into her second story bedroom and splash her face with water, heading straight for the backroom.

“What’d she want?”

Tenace turned, Malaki was standing behind her.

“I-I didn’t stay to ask.” Tenace admitted, staring at the floor.

Malaki gave a nervous chuckle; neither of them said anything. Tenace couldn’t help but notice how awkward and yet normal the situation felt.

“Look, about before-” Malaki began.

“Don’t worry about it.” Tenace met his eyes.

Malaki read her expression for a moment and then let his eyes return to the floor.

“I’m sorry”, he said after a moment. “I have to say something. I’m sorry if I made you feel-”

“You didn’t! “Tenace assured him. She paused, “It’s just that I don’t think…” she trailed off, sighing as she searched for the right words to return the casual friendship they had had just minutes before.

“Goodnight Tenace”, Malaki said softly, turning and walking to the front door before Tenace could stop him.  He immediately went to the back garden, shifting and scaling the wall. He was lying down on her bed as Tenace entered her room, cursing herself- again.

Later that night, Tenace rolled over and thinking the panther was asleep, she suddenly felt inclined to spill her guts. She softly whispered, “I wish- I wish that you were able to transform now, . I really do.” She sighed, “This would be so much easier then.” She fell asleep stroking his long nose. Malaki opened his eyes, he had heard and he couldn’t agree more.

Ayo rolled over, restless. Ten had been up and moving for days now, Ayo couldn’t make it down more than one flight of stairs. I want nothing more than to go outside, she thought. It had been a fortnight since she had seen the moon. She could use her magic to open her windows and occasionally make it over to them, but she couldn’t see the moon from her room.

“Can’t sleep?” a voice asked from outside her window.

Ayo sat up abruptly, causing her head to spin.

“How’d you get up there?” She asked, amused and frightened at the same time, three stories was a long way to climb, and a lot longer to fall. Yeeto got a hold on the lip of the roof and flipped into her room.

“I climbed” he said, answering but giving her no clues as he always did.

“Yes” she answered, “I can’t sleep.”

“Well, then what do you wanna do?” he asked, a wicked gleam in his eye. Ayo felt a blush rise into her cheeks.

She was thankful for the sheet of darkness the night offered. “I wanna go outside” she said, her hope that he would take her dripping into her response.

Yeeto got up from her window seat and glided over to her bed. “And I suppose you’d like me to take you?”

He wasn’t going to give her a break tonight.

“Yes.” She said, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of making her blush.

“Good,” he responded, his voice playful.

He quickly seized Ayo up, cradling her in his arms as though she were porcelain and carried her towards her door. “Be quiet”, she reminded him, “Tenny is sleeping, and she might kill you if she sees you carry me off in the night, especially since she still has yet to meet you.”

Yeeto chuckled softly, causing an interesting reaction for Ayo who felt the rumble in his chest against hers. She blushed, making him snort at her prude nature.

“Shh!” she scolded gently as they finally made it to the first floor. Yeeto carried her through the backroom to the door that led to her garden. Ayo couldn’t help but smile when she felt the moonlight hit her skin. She decided that she would use some of her own strength now.

“Thank you, I truly appreciate it, but please put me down, I’d like to exercise a bit.” She looked at Yeeto pleadingly who studied her carefully before gently placing her on the ground. He held her elbow, steadying her and slipped her arm through his before she could argue.

“I will never forgive myself if you fall”, he muttered. Ayo smiled at him, amused by how protective he was towards her despite the fact they barely knew each other.

“What I don’t understand”, she said, hoping to lead into a conversation, “is how I am able to heal instantly fatal cuts, but broken bones and sore muscles are taking me forever!”

Yeeto looked at her curiously, “perhaps it is more a mental blockade then a magical or physical one.” Ayo stopped short of snapping back with a witty remark as his comment sunk in.

“Where are you from?” she asked quietly, in attempt to change the subject.

“Rather far from here, I doubt you have heard of it, it’s a place only native born citizens can find.”

Ayo pondered this, but asked another question to stall any he might have. “Are you under the jurisdiction of the King?”

Yeeto chuckled softly, “not yours my dear” he said softly. Ayo decided that she liked his face when he laughed, his stoic appearance often disturbed her, but when he laughed, Yeeto appeared to be carefree and vibrant.

“How old are you?” she continued, adjusting her arm in his, the brisk night air was chilling her slightly and she could feel heat pouring out of his skin.

“I do believe Ayo, that a lady never answers that question honestly, so because I am an advocate of equal rights, I shall pass gracefully as well.” He locked eyes with her and smiled charmingly.

“That’s hardly… that’s hardly fair…” Ayo managed, breaking eye contact and trying to breathe.

“Then I shall parry, how many moons have you been alive fair maiden?” Ayo blushed, the truth would shock the poor lad, and she decided to drop it.

“I must admit, I will not say” she batted her eyelashes at him playfully, “for what kind of woman would so easily admit her age to such a man?”

“I feel inclined to ask dear Ayo, what kind of man is that?” he replied a wicked gleam in his eye.

“Why, a true gentleman of course, or a burglar, whichever you choose. For surely gentleman do not know how to flip off roofs and surely burglars are not inclined to carry fair damsels to wherever they choose”, Ayo giggled as she ended her little speech, she had not had fun like this in ages. Tenny had been too caught up in her life to carry on a conversation like this, and all the men in Ayo’s life until now had always patronized her.

They walked for over an hour around the same small area, taking breaks here and there and sitting on the swings and stools Ayo had carved, talking about nothing of consequence and enjoying each other’s company. It wasn’t until Ayo took a step onto her small gazebo that she finally lost her strength. One moment she was stepping and laughing softly and the next she was falling to the ground; before she could hit though, Yeeto had scooped her up in his arms again.

“I do believe fair Ayo that you are ready to retire.”

Ayo curled into Yeeto’s chest, already almost asleep.

“Don’t wake Tenny”, she managed, closing her eyes and enjoying the warmth of Yeeto’s warm skin.

Tenace was avoiding people for a few days; she wanted a distraction from her thoughts returning to that almost-kiss, but anytime she saw people, it seemed as though it was almost always couples. It wasn’t helping to improve her mood, or rid her mind of romantic thoughts.

“Wake up Tenace! You knew that there was not going to be anything like that in your life when you left all those centuries ago- cut it out!” she muttered furiously to herself from time to time. But it was no use; she still felt something for O’Malley, even if she refused to admit it. Tenace was determined to keep her feelings shut out.

“What happened with you two?” Ayo’s voice was casual despite the fact her curiosity was about to make her explode.

“What are you talking about?” Malaki said roughly.

“She came up here rather red in the face- I am intelligent you know, I just put two and two together.”

Malaki couldn’t meet Ayo’s eyes.

“So what happened?” Ayo pressed. Malaki didn’t answer.

“Did you-”

“Ayo please, just drop it okay.” Ayo couldn’t help grinning in triumph; Malaki’s embarrassment told her enough to know that she was right- something had happened.

Malaki hadn’t wavered in his resistance against Ayo. She had spent over three hours poking and prodding him both physically while fitting him and mentally while berating him with questions about what had happened between him and Tenace.

Ayo sat down at her small desk. She was exhausted from standing all day and was irritated that such exercise was still leaving her useless.

“I should be better by now”, she said to Nell, “there is no way that what Yeeto said could be right. I have no mental blocks preventing my recovery. Hell, I want nothing more than to recover!”

Ayo glanced over at the dozing pup, “Well?” she demanded. Nell merely rolled her eyes and chewed at a flea on her forearm.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me! It’s true, I mean I enjoy having Yeeto around, but I don’t really think that his visits will stop just because I get better.” She paused, “Well, I hope that they won’t…”

Ayo picked up her hairbrush and began to brush out her hair. “I am fairly sure that I am not preventing myself from healing, I am angry with that bastard Garre, but if nothing else I want to heal so I can find him and slit his throat!” Her bitterness seeped out of every word. There was a knock at her door. Ayo was so deep in her pool of hatred that she jumped at the sound, causing her brush to get caught in her hair.

“Bugger!” she muttered, “who is it?” her irritation was obvious. The doorknob turned and Yeeto stood in her doorway, waiting for an invitation. Ayo felt her face flush.

“I… I… I just- oh bugger!” Ayo couldn’t hold it in- she was furious with Garre, her inability to heal and most of all for appearing weak every single time that she met with Yeeto.

Yeeto merely chuckled.

“What do you think you’re laughing at?” Ayo’s temper flared, her face burning with frustration and embarrassment. “And since when are you actually using the damn door anyways? Hell- by now I half expect to see you fly in from a neighboring roof, or perhaps a flying pony. You know what- it doesn’t matter. I would just like, JUST ONCE, for you to arrive and not see me in this damn position of damsel in distress! Or freaking out for that matter; of course hell must freeze over before the gods will allow that to occur! By all means, come in, the universe is chuckling along with you I am sure! And that damn panther- he just thinks that I am ignorant- what he doesn’t know is that I am ALL too aware of what is going on with him and the tiger! And to top it all off, I can barely stand YET AGAIN! This is utterly pathetic!” She was losing steam now, a few tears of frustration leaking down her face. “I guess I should just find a cone to permanently wear on my head, I am sure that I could find a quill around here to write Dunce on it with.”  Ayo ended her one woman show by throwing her arms onto her desk and burying her head in the crook of her elbow.

“Just go away and let me wallow in my self-pity would you please?”

Yeeto carefully walked over to where Ayo was sitting without saying a word and carefully began untangling the brush from her hair.

“You will get better Ayo, my joy. When you do, you will see that this was just a time for you to learn how to rely on others. Your sister portrays herself as independent openly. However I have learned that you are just like her, only you hide it better. You are independent and seem to think that you don’t need anyone but her, your dog and yourself. Perhaps you have not healed, because you have not learned your lesson yet. Everyone must rely on others. Even you sweet.” His soft, gentle fingers stroked her hair for a moment and Ayo couldn’t help but want him to never stop comforting her like this. After a minute, he stopped and she sighed, realizing that he was probably right. She turned around to tell him so.

“I hate to admit-”, he was gone.  Ayo turned around, facing one of her windows, watching the sun go down. “He didn’t even say goodbye.”

The shop was buzzing with business since the ball was in the next week. Tenace was helping Ayo, trying to be as antisocial as possible.

“Tenace, what’s wrong?”

“I’m fine, nothing is wrong” she growled.

“Tenny,”

She turned away to fetch a bolt of cloth. Ayo gritted her teeth; it was like when Tenace had left Ayo in the dark about being an angimal. I will figure this out, even if it’s the last thing that I do.

“Lift up your arm.” Ayo commanded. She had no humor today; it had been four  days since Yeeto had been to visit her.

Malaki silently complied as Ayo double checked the length. She was taking his measurements in the backroom, still maintaining the secrecy despite Tenace knowing that O’Malley existed.

“Are you an angimal as well?” Ayo asked, trying to distract her thoughts from her companion’s absence.

Malaki hesitated, “In a sense, yes. I was rash and irresponsible with my powers when I was younger.”

“How so?”

Again Malaki resisted. “I-…”

“Here”, Ayo tossed him a shirt, “see if you like that style.”

Malaki didn’t push it and pulled off his shirt trying on the other one.

“What do you think?”

“It’s okay I guess”, Malaki muttered, trying to decide what to say to let down Ayo easily- her taste was far from his and this shirt was something he would probably never wear.

“Malaki, your mind is obviously somewhere else, what’s wrong?”

At that moment Tenace opened the backroom door and stopped in her tracks. Malaki froze as her eyes met his. She shot back out the way she had come, a blush rising up in her cheeks.

“Tenace wait!” Malaki ran after her.

“Hey!” Ayo shouted out after both of them, “Where are you- what the-?” She gave up, realizing that neither would come back even if they could still hear her.

“Tenace! Tenace just wait a minute! Please!” Malaki shouted, breaking the threshold of the shop door and catching Tenace’s wrist as she attempted to run into the crowd of people walking in the street. She spun around to give, undoubtedly, one of her infamous snapping remarks, but couldn’t utter a sound. Malaki took advantage of the silence.

“Why’d you run?”

Tenace looked away, not letting her eyes focus on anything, especially not him.

“Tenny?” he whispered, sliding his fingers under her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Why? Why did you run?”

Tenace bit her lip, her eyes immediately finding the cobblestones on the ground.

“Is this how it’s going to be every time we see each other now?” Malaki had meant to keep his voice soft, but his temper was sparking a little, “are you going to run and hide because of one-?” Tenace cut him off.

“No! No it’s just-” Tenace let her eyes meet his for a split second and then immediately directed them back to the ground. She was far too aware of all the looks that they were receiving. A part of her was hyper-sensitive to all the women staring at O’Malley, who had conveniently forgotten to button up his shirt.

Malaki finally noticed the looks being directed at himself and was beginning to get a little hot under the collar. He couldn’t understand until he looked down and realized his lapse of judgment. Mentally calling himself every name in the book, Malaki ran his fingers through his hair cursing under his breath. More giggles. “Tenace, let’s go back inside, so we can talk okay?”

Tenace was more than aware of the strangers in the street and mutely nodded. Malaki kept a grip on her wrist and walked back inside, ignoring Ayo he immediately led Tenace back upstairs to her room.

Ayo was glaring at the closed door, she felt mildly insulted, since when have closed doors stopped her!
“Where are you going Ayo?” she turned to see Yeeto standing at the bottom of the stairs.

“I’m eavesdropping, wanna come?”

“Does this have anything to do with your sister and a friend of hers?”

“Maybe”, Ayo said sheepishly.

“I don’t suppose that a talk about morals and personal boundaries would cause you to choose a different approach to discovering what is occurring behind that closed door?”

“Nope”, Ayo said, slowly creeping up the stairs to the landing.  Sighing, Yeeto followed her.

Tenace was sitting on her bed as Malaki sat down in front of her. The one thing, the one thing, that she had been avoiding was sitting right in front of her.

“Tenace, please just tell me what is going on?” Tenace sighed.

“It’s just I was.. I really.. uhh” she gave up, she couldn’t express what was going on in her head, she just held her hands in her face.

“Does this have anything to do with…?” he let his voice trail off.

“No! No it doesn’t… well a little bit.. I mean.” Malaki waited for her to finish, but she just couldn’t say the words.

“Is it the fact that it could have happened or that it shouldn’t happen that is bothering you?”

“Do you think that it shouldn’t happen?” Tenace asked quietly.

“No” he said softly, “I think that it should happen” he met her gaze and she suddenly looked at the floor.

“What are they talking about” Ayo grumbled, her ear was pressed against the wall, the spell that she was using let her hear the conversation through the floor and all of Tenny’s protective spells, but that didn’t help with the meaning of the conversation. Yeeto was reading lazily on her bed, he rolled his eyes and continued reading, smiling to himself.

“Are you embarrassed?” Malaki asked. Tenace nodded. “Ten- the thing is, that it didn’t happen.”

“But it ALMOST did” she protested.

“Do you not want it to happen?” he asked again.

“It’s just that… well…”

“Tenace- we almost kissed… so what.. it doesn’t have to happen if you don’t want it too.”

“But YOU want it to” Tenace whispered.

“Yes”, Malaki said quietly, “I would like it to.”

“THEY WHAT!?” Ayo was staring at the wall in amazement before she jammed her ear back into the wall.

“Why is it that you don’t want it?” Malaki asked.

“I didn’t say…” she stopped when she met his eyes, she saw something in them that made her suddenly break their gaze, letting her eyes trail back to the floor. “I don’t want to get caught up.”

“I don’t…”

“I’m not going to be here very long. Pretty soon I’m leaving and…” she stopped once more, forcing herself to meet his eyes, to try and convey that it just couldn’t happen. Their eyes met and she was amazed by what she saw- complete understanding.

“I…”

“You don’t want to leave with heartache.” Malaki finished for her softly.

C’mon Mal! This is the part where you tell her! This is the part where you tell her that you love her and who you really are! TELL HER! Ayo was screaming in his mind, she obviously hadn’t registered what Tenace had said about leaving.

Malaki raised a hand to keep Tenace from saying anything more.

“Figure it out Tenny,” he said in a soft, kind voice, “Try to figure out what it is that you really want- what you really want to do okay?”

WHAT?!?! That’s it! Tell her damn you! TELL HER that you love her! That you’re the panther that has always been there for her! Tell her that you are the one thing that she is missing in her life! Tell her that you love her DAMN YOU TELL HER!!!!

“I’ll be around if you need me,” Malaki stood up.

“Will you come back?”

He looked back at her, feeling as though his bleeding heart were right there on his sleeve, “if you want me too, I will.” He tried to give her his charming smile, but all he could manage was a small one.

MALAKI- don’t you dare walk out! TELL HER!

He gave Tenace one last smile and walked out of her room.

“I want… I want both” Tenace whispered, but he was already gone.

MALAKI! You turn your ass around and go and tell her RIGHT NOW! Tell her and place a big passionate kiss on her! TURN AROUND!

Ayo, Malaki sighed.

No excuses just do it while she still hasn’t had time to irrationally rationalize everything!

I can’t.

And why the Hell NOT?

Because she loves O’Malley and I can’t until I am sure that she loves me as Malaki first. He remembered what Tenace had whispered two nights ago.

You know that she does, why does it matter if she owns up to it or not?! You act the same in both forms!

I want to be sure Ayomiko- she needs to love the man and the panther. It matters so me. His formality just fired Ayo’s temper even more.

She does you blockheaded imbecile! So what if you’re eye candy in the human form- we both know that under that idiotic man skin is the bloody panther that she’s loved all along! JUST GO DO IT!

AYO! Enough!

She’s not the kind of girl to let looks make her mind up for her- she loves you too you blundering buffoon! GO BACK IN THERE!

I can’t Ayo…

Here we go again with the “I cant’s”. JUST DO IT! Are you a man or a scaredy cat?! Give me ONE truthfully good reason!

She needs to figure some things out, if you are right and she really does love me all around then her “irrational rationalizations” won’t hold her back from being with me. Let her lie to herself for right now- when she stops lying to herself, if she comes around and loves me for me… then I will tell her… then I will.

BUT!

Malaki shut her out.

BUT SHE ALREADY DOES! Ayo screamed silently.

Ayo groaned.

“What’s wrong? Not as self-satisfying as you believed it to be- see had you taken my lecture instead I could have told you as much before you got yourself all mixed up in the whole thing to begin with.” He sat his book down, smiling at her.

“THEY…frustrate me!” Yeeto smiled, as Ayo recalled her listening spell and then he joined her on the floor next to the wall.

“I DON’T want to talk about it.” Ayo said stiffly and leaned against the wall with her eyes closed.

“Oh-ka”

“It’s DUMB- they love each other, but keep HUGE secrets! I’m just itching to set them up- AND Mal- O’Malley was gonna KISS HER! Awwww!” Ayo hadn’t opened her eyes, but her face had contorted in a manner of ways to show her frustration, mixed with anticipation and then overall satisfaction that her friends were in love. Yeeto smiled, watching her expressions.

“Why are you smiling?” Ayo asked, her eyes still clamped shut.

“Because  you said that you didn’t want to discuss it, and then promptly proceed to give me a lecture on your sister’s personal life. That and you look very humorous while lecturing.”

Ayo smiled at his response, she was confused as to how she could feel his smile with her eyes closed, but she liked it nonetheless.

Ah this guy is just too good, she thought, mentally wanting a good passionate kiss herself. Yeeto reached over and brushed her bangs from out of her eyes.

Oh jeez, she thought as her heart rate picked up. She peeked through her eyelids and noticed how close Yeeto’s face was to hers. His hand was still behind her ear and his eyes were concentrated solely on her face.

Kiss me! Ayo thought fervently, please, please, please!

Ayo had been kissed before, but when Yeeto’s lips touched hers, it was as though the whole world flipped, her stomach felt on fire, her head began to spin and she momentarily forgot where she was. Just as it fully hit her what was happening, he pulled away.

“wow” she muttered, thoroughly impressed. Yeeto was smiling, but he was also pulling away from her, moving back, until only seconds after their lips had stopped touching, he was on the other side of the room. He turned away from her and Ayo could hear him grumbling to himself.

“…shouldn’t….. idea…idiot!… plan… screwed everything up… so beautiful…” and suddenly it was as though he realized that he was speaking out loud and so he stopped. Ayo wasn’t sure what her face looked like, she was sure that anger and a broken hearted look were scribbled all over it. She stumbled to her feet and attempted to flee. Yeeto, without thinking, moved. He was instantly in front of the door, which Ayo knew wasn’t really possible, because she had been only inches from the door and he was on the other side of the room, and yet, here he was blocking her way.

“How did you do that?” her curiosity once more took charge over her other emotions.

Tenace was leaving her room when she heard a bellowed curse.

“THEY FRUSTRATE ME!!!!”

She looked up at the ceiling with gritted teeth. Dammit Ayo! Her hand was still on the doorjamb as she hung her head, “I am so kicking her ASS!” she said in a murderous whisper.

What did she do this time? Malaki asked as he sauntered up the stairs and into her room.

“She’s eavesdropping again” Tenace grumbled, “It’s starting to get REALLY old.”

Malaki hopped up onto the counter that ran across one wall of her room, stretching out as he did so.

What’s with you Ten?

Tenace merely shrugged, “Don’t worry about it.” Malaki cocked his head. He began to reply when there was a knock on the door downstairs.

“I better get that, Ayo is busy” Ten said, thankful for the distraction, even after several centuries of companionship, she still wasn’t sure what she cared to share with Malaki and what she would rather keep to herself.

Tenace trotted down the stairs and through backroom to the living area where the door to the main house was. She opened it with her normal scowl.

“Good evening.” There was a tall man with grey eyes and blond hair looking back at her. He was dressed in everyday clothing, but Tenace knew better and showed what respect she must.

“Sire,” she said indifferently and stepped back to allow him in, with the slightest of bows.

“Ms Tenace.” He stepped in, obviously taken aback by her tone, but quickly hiding his astonishment at her lack of tact. She turned to face him with her arms crossed.

“Can I help you with something?”

“I’m here to provide you with news of the upcoming ball and ask how your task is coming.” He said, getting right to the point, for all that Tenace complained he was dim witted the man understood politics and people and he could tell when one of his people wanted nothing more than for him to leave.

“Books fine”, she knew her reply was terse and she should do as Ayo was always saying and show a minimal amount of respect, “sire.”

The king blinked, taking in her pursed lips.

“Do you treat everyone this way?”

Only the dumbasses. She said nothing and merely returned his gaze.

“Well, considering you refuse to reply to your invitation to the ball that was to be held tomorrow evening…”

“Wait- was?”

“and you have shown no intention of coming anyways- the ball is take place in two weeks from the old date.”

“Why?” Tenace asked sharply, forgetting her hold on her tongue and glaring at the man who controlled this land.

“Guests that we were expecting to attend are unable to, I believe one of them got into a serious polo accident. Anyways,” he put his hand into his tunic, pulling out a piece of parchment, “here is your new invitation. I will see you there Ms Tenace. Good evening.” Tenace bit back her growl, only succeeding in holding it in until after the stubborn king had left the shop.

“Do you intend on staying in one piece, sire?” she spat at the door, her voice dripping with an invitation to punch the man square in the jaw.

I take it you are planning on turning down anyone bold enough to ask to attend this shin dig with you?

Tenace thought of O’Malley and being in a man’s arms dancing. She shook her head, willing such thoughts away.

“Seeing as I won’t be going…”

Malaki rolled his eyes.

“What?” Tenace demanded.

Does this dark, confused manner of yours have anything to do with a certain dark male that’s been going in and out of your room lately?

“It’s not like that” Tenace said quickly, a slight blush immediately rising to her cheeks.

What is it like then? Malaki asked impatiently, if you would quit lying to yourself all the time then things wouldn’t be this bad. You acting like an ass like this, makes things worse Tenace. Get your head out of your rear and think!

“Mal, I’m leaving though-”

He shook his head, Ten you don’t know that for sure, you love it here with Ayo. I doubt that you will go without her.

“I can’t ask her to go though.” Tenace said dispiritedly, “no more than..” she sighed, trailing off. Saying that she wanted to ask O’Malley to come would be like saying that she had feelings for him, she wasn’t ready to come to terms with that, whether the feelings existed or not.

You never know Ten…

“What should I do?”

What I said before, quit lying to yourself and be honest for once.

Tenace laughed and looked at Malaki, their gaze held for a moment, suddenly it was as though Tenace saw him in different light. He was-

“Mal? What else can you do?” He had been cleaning his paws and looked up at her warily. Pardon?

“What other abilities do you have?”

Malaki shrugged, My father gave me back a power orb that enabled me to speak and be understood again-in a manner of speaking, but there are odds and ends in each one that I don’t think about or have to find out about by accident.

Tenace continued to look at him strangely. Suddenly she bent down and grabbed his paws, tugging gently.

“Put your paws on my shoulders.” Malaki complied, intrigued by where she might be going with this, Tenace rested her hands on his paws. After a couple of seconds, she turned to look at him. His green eyes caught her attention again, she raised a hand and rested it on the side of his face.

Oh Crap- Ten?

She blinked, “What?”

What are you doing?

“I-“ Tenace thought quickly, “I wanted to see how well you danced. If I have to go then I might as well go with someone that will cause some regret on his part for making life more difficult for me.”

What in this realm makes you think that I would attend?

Tenace stopped, “You, you mean that you wouldn’t go with me?”

Maybe if you asked nicely…

“The man is supposed to ask!”

Ten, look at me. He winced, he had just pointed out one of the obstacles for her falling for him.

Tenace sighed and rested her forehead against the big cat’s head. Her grip tightened a moment on the back of his neck for a moment before her gaze rose to meet his. Malaki blinked as he stared into Ten’s green tiger eyes, “I am, Mal,” she said quietly, “and I see a good man, one of the best men I have ever known, Tiger, panther, human, it doesn’t matter.”

Malaki was taken aback for a moment before he found a reply, I wasn’t looking for a pity party, Ten.

Tenace’s eyes were confused at his reply then hardened, “I wasn’t aware you were looking for a pick me up. I thought I was giving a compliment to an angimal that I care about.”

Malaki was still standing on his hind legs in the partial embrace between him and Tenace. The tips of his paws changed into fingertips as his muzzle barely brushed Tenace’s nose. He was aching to change just so that he could prove Tenace wrong, that he was actually a bad man. They just stared at each other refusing to take the action that was running through their minds at that time. Suddenly, as though it was planned, they broke apart; Malaki fell on all fours and Tenace backed up with her arms crossed over her chest. The tension that had filled the room fled, leaving the feeling in the room as it was before Tenace and Malaki started dancing.

“I have to get back to work.”

I’ll leave you be then, Tenace

“What just happened?” Ayo asked for a third time, running out of patience. Yeeto groaned, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. Ayo took a deep breath, getting ready to ask again with more feeling if he didn’t answer pretty soon. She vaguely noticed a knock on the front door but ignored it since Tenace would probably answer it.

Ten’ll get it.

“She did”, Yeeto said, his eyes closed, leaning against the door thoughtfully.

“What?” Ayo asked, again distracted.

“She did get the door.” Did you just read my mind? Ayo asked silently.

“Yes, Ayo listen-” he began, a pained look on his face.

“What’s the other thing?” she asked thoughtfully, looking down.

“I’m sorry?” he looked caught off guard.

“You look torn, obviously I am one of the things that is tearing you in half, what is the other? Why am I one? Why are you an idiot for kissing me? Why can’t we kiss? Why did you stop me? HOW did you stop me?”

“Whoa- hang on Ayo, hush for a minute, one at a time…” he looked very taken aback suddenly, like she had read him like a book and he was suddenly unsure of what to think about it.

“How long do we have together tonight?” She asked, her mind flying. His head whipped up, a curious almost dangerous look in his eyes.

“Excuse me?” He asked gruffly, clenching his hands to his sides.

“Rephrased- How long may I question you this evening?” The look died away slowly as he carefully answered.

“I will- I can stay all- as long as you want me here.”

Can you hear my thoughts? Ayo asked silently once more. Yeeto didn’t answer.

“Why’d you stop me?” she asked quietly, laying on the rug in front of her door. Yeeto smiled as he watched her lay down, lying a few away on his back.

“Must this be your first question this evening Ayo?”

“Are you going to complain every time I ask you something uncomfortable, because eventually I will tire of repeating myself and hearing you whine!” she snapped.

“Fine your Highness!” he grinned at the ceiling as Ayo rolled onto her stomach.

“Because it’s not your fault, I didn’t want you to think it was your fault and run off. Because I wasn’t thinking straight and didn’t fully comprehend what I was doing- it was reflexive; because I care for you.”

Ayo couldn’t help it, she smiled at his words and the furrow of his brow. “Either you are telling the truth or you are one hell of a liar! Either way, I’m too confused to tell the difference!” She kissed him, ignoring the rational part of her brain that complained that he never answered any of her questions. Emotion fueling both of them, the kissing continued for some time. Ayo eventually released her grip on Yeeto’s wrists and immediately found herself pinned underneath him. When they heard footsteps coming up the spiral staircase, they broke apart, Ayo on top again with Yeeto’s hands on her ribcage.

“Tenace…” they both panted as Ayo’s door swung open. Tenace took in the sight of the two on the floor in the middle of the room.

“I do NOT want to know. You” she pointed at Yeeto, “disappear by tomorrow and you”, this time at Ayo, a mischievous look in her eyes, “no details. We will talk in the morning.” With that she turned around and left, closing the door behind her.

“Wow…” Ayo whispered, slowly shifting her weight and moving to a nearby couch, “she trusts me…”

Yeeto, slightly depressed that the kissing had ceased, got up and sat next to her. “Or something like that”

“Shuddup”, she said, smacking him. Yeeto grabbed her wrist, gently tugging her onto his lap. She wrapped her arms around his bicep, curling up in his lap with her head against his neck.

“What is it that tears us apart?” she whispered, her curiosity finally winning the internal battle of hormones versus rationality.

“Me…” he whispered into her hair, running his pale hands over her lower back. Tension had filled the room for a moment, but Ayo’s reaction to his hands, that of sitting bolt up and blushing, broke through the thick air.

“Maybe, we can discuss this in the morning? After a deep sleep?” she said, running her nose along his jaw line playfully. Yeeto let a frightening smile cross his face.

“Just kissing and cuddling my joy, this night cannot possibly handle any more excitement.” He ran a finger deliberately down Ayo’s spine.  Ayo grinned, sending out a spell to ward sound and stood, pulling Yeeto to her.

Tenace felt the magic consume Ayo’s room.

Well I sure hope she doesn’t need help, ‘cause there is no damn way I’m getting in there now. She thought with a slight frown, she wasn’t so sure that Yeeto was to be trusted, something about him struck her as strange.

Malaki sauntered into the room and jumped onto the end of Tenace’s bed. Tenace could have sworn he was scowling.

“What’s got your tail in a knot?” she asked sarcastically.

Him, the big cat growled, she’s too young to have a male in her room at all hours of the night.

Tenace knew better than to assume jealousy on Malaki’s part, this was more of an older brother’s tone of disgust.

“She’s grown on you” Tenace teased.

No, he snapped, it’s just… the damn dog’s locked out now and I’ll have to listen to her whine all night.

“Uh-huh”, Tenace yawned, pushing herself under the sheets, “you’ve accepted her, in fact you like her! Admit it!”

She’s annoying Malaki responded with a lazy flick of his tail.

Tenace yawned again, her eyes drooping, “Which means… you don’t want her heart broken and are worried.” Malaki gave up with a growl. Tenace muttered groggily, “night panther-man, sweet dreams.”

All of you, he thought to himself.

Ayo flung her eyes open, there was an incredibly attractive set of abs lying in bed next to her.

Oh Gods! Please tell me we didn’t, she thought frantically.

“No sweet, we didn’t… look, you’re still in your shift.” Ayo couldn’t help but smile at the sound of Yeeto’s voice.

“What time is it?” she asked, flinging her magic at the curtains lazily, ordering the fabric to spring away from the windows. The room was flooded with light.

“Shit!” Ayo yelped, attempting to sit up and roll out of bed at the same time, it resulted in a rather impressive knot of her sheets.

“Hold still! What’s the matter?” Yeeto’s arm pinned her down.

“Tenny said we would talk in the morning” she scowled at Yeeto. He grinned slowly.

“What?! Are you daft? She’ll burst in here and kill both of us! She wants YOU gone and ME downstairs!” Yeeto chuckled at the pitch of Ayo’s voice as she continued.

“ARE YOU INSANE!”

“No, simply amused.”

“What kind of bird-brained, daft fool of an idiot is amused by the idea that a she-demon with a temper is going to kill him?”

Yeeto laughed.

“I take it back” Ayo sighed, “you’re psychotic!” She groaned, pulling back the sheets.

“Stop!” Yeeto groaned, grabbing Ayo’s waist, gently pulling her towards him.

“Not unless you plan on explaining and guaranteeing that Tenny is still asleep!”

“In that case, perhaps you should move closer sweet…”

“Why?” Ayo asked, intrigued by his tone and unaware of how her body moved on its own into the hollow she had left next to his warm skin.

“First explain to me why it is that you are concerned with what your sister wants when it is your house and you are obviously old enough to care for yourself?” Ayo looked at Yeeto, blinked and laid back. She had never considered this  before.

“She’s my sister, most days we consider her the older one, she puts up with me and I live by what few house rules she gives me. I don’t actually know, when you put it like that… but that doesn’t matter, answer the damn question!”

“Ayomiko, my dear, it is before the lunch hour, your sister is deep in slumber. In fact, she is dreaming of… panthers?” Ayo pulled the sheets back up, finding the hollow between where Yeeto’s chin and chest lay, it smelled delicious.

“Are you sure that we cannot be together? You are clever, smell amazing and come in handy for spying on my sister…” Although Ayo was teasing, Yeeto’s entire body lost the ease that it had taken Ayo the entire night before to tease out.

“I’m afraid, sweet Ayo, that our relationship would prove more dangerous and ultimately frightening than your… “she-demon” of a sister at her worst.”

Ayo opened her mouth to protest, but decided to take an alternate route of attack.

“Why do you mock me? You say ‘she-demon’ with a sarcastic tone that hurts my feelings” she pouted, while quickly moving away from that seductive scent and sitting back against her headboard. She turned her head away from him, but looked into the mirror on her bureau as to watch his expression without his realizing what she was up to.

“On the unfortunate occasion that you have encountered a she-demon, you’d understand the hilarity of your sister being presented as such.” For a split second, Ayo thought that Yeeto’s eyes turned read and a strange dark 6 pointed star tattoo appeared on his cheek, when she blinked it was gone. Rolling over so that she could better watch him, she continued to talk.

“What was that?”

“What was what?”

“You just had a tattoo on your cheek.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Yeeto, I may be a lot of things, but blind is not one of them. I have a pet peeve, it has something to do with people keeping secrets from me…”

“Think of it as a surprise then.”

“I hate surprises, unless it’s the kind where parties are thrown and people are adoring and worshiping me- those kinds are allowed and something tells me that your tattoo is not going to fall under that category.”

Tenace was right outside Ayo’s door, about to knock as the spell from the night before wore off and she caught the words “worshipping me”. Her hand stopped midair, a look of irritation crossed her face as she rolled her eyes and shook her head. She then simply turned and walked away.

Yeeto’s hand travelled up Ayo’s side, “I thought last night I worshipped you.”

“Not quite…” that hand was starting to distract her, “cut that out!”

“Cut what out?” Yeeto asked innocently as his hand reached just under her arm and began to travel back down to her curved waist.

“The… the hand thing…”

“What hand thing?” His hand stopped at her waist, resting heavy on her skin since she had yet to add to her apparel and wore only a shift.

“That hand thi-” She was cut short as Yeeto kissed her and this wasn’t like the kiss that he had given her last night. This kiss he gave her seemed to try and convey to her every thought and every feeling he had concerning her and he was crushing her into the mattress.

When Ayo’s vision returned and her heart was beating almost normally, Yeeto was pulling a shirt over his shoulders.

“What…”

“By the way, Tenace just came up to check on you, but I believe we scared her away”

“What- what the hell was that?”

“We’ll talk later, I’m supposed to be gone remember.” He kissed her one last time and was gone. Ayo simply lay back on the mattress. Holy Shit.

Tenace was sitting in the kitchen, munching on a sandwich when Malaki came up to her.

Why did you tell Ayo to talk to you in the morning? You’re never actually up in the morning.

Tenace looked at him thoughtfully.

“Mmmm- just what are you saying?”

Is she avoiding you? Or are you avoiding her?

She gazed at the ceiling, pondering this idea as Malaki left and Ayo entered.

“Hey Ten.” Ayo gave what she hoped was a winning smile.

“Hey Ayo,” Tenace took a bite out of her sandwich, “so, I was wondering, are you avoiding me, or am I avoiding you?”

Ayo stopped and tapped her chin with her forefinger, “Depends, if we’re talking about who ate the last piece of chocolate, you’re avoiding me… If we are talking about last night, then I am avoiding you.”

“Hey Ayo…”

“I know you were at my door this morning, “Ayo said before Tenace could continue. Tenace cocked a brow and crossed her arms.

“Really?”

“Yup”

“Just how did you come across this information?”

“I have my sources…”

“Which are….?”

“Can’t say.”

“Uh-huh. So what else were your ‘sources’ telling you?” A sly grin slowly spread over Ayo’s face as she watched Malaki slowly stroll back into the kitchen and stretch.

“You dreamed about panthers last night.” Malaki froze in mid stretch, his jaw dropped, which looked very comical to Ayo.

“Just how did your source pick up this information?”

“He has his ways”

“He?”

“I… well… if you want to know about last night I’ll tell you.” Ayo stumbled over the words, trying to think of how best to rid herself of her sister, “Welllll, what happened first…”

“You’re side stepping..”

“He pinned me against the wall… annnnnd”

“You’re still not answering!”

“Well, if you must know, YES he does have great abs.” Tenace realized this was like arguing with a brick wall, only twelve times worse, because Ayo was probably telling the truth.

“Goodbye Ayo”, Tenace turned on her heel and left. Ayo let out a breath of relief. She turned to look for Malaki but the cat had already left.

Ayo had been lucky enough to have the excuse of weekly shopping to get her out of the house and shop for the rest of the day. Coming back in though the back garden that evening, Ayo found Yeeto sitting in her gazebo and plucking at a guitar, humming to himself.

“Been there long?” she asked, overwhelmed with joy, typically when he disappeared it was a few days before she would see him again.

“All afternoon, I assumed it would be wise to be invited in this time around.”

“By all means”, Ayo grinned as Yeeto gripped his guitar by the neck and grabbed a bag she carried that held groceries. “I didn’t know that you played guitar.”

“I am an endless mystery.”

Ayo opened her eyes the neck morning. She had fallen asleep on the loveseat.

Last night while Yeeto and I were talking, she remembered. She sat up slowly taking in the room. He was sitting in a chair just a few feet away, with a book in his lap. Their eyes met and Ayo felt herself blush. He smiled at her, they had talked about all their favorite things under the sun last night. Ayo opened her mouth to at least say good morning, but was cut short by the neighborhood rooster announcing it for her.

Oh No! Ayo thought, a new blush rising her to her cheeks as she waited for the dreaded moment.

Thump. Thump. Thump. CRASH!

Tenace entered the sitting room with her sleepy eyes half open, but a crazed look in them. Ayo moved over on the love seat only six inches, just in time.

Tenace stumbled over the low coffee table and broke a vase in her sleep deprived, ambling walk and stepped onto and then over the loveseat, without once, looking at Ayo or Yeeto. Ayo chanced a look at Yeeto, while Tenace wrenched open the closet door behind the loveseat. He looked dumbstruck, watching Tenace with his usual curiosity, but not understanding a moment of what was occurring.

Tenace, right on cue, began her normal string of curses as she managed to knock over a broom, three staves, stick her foot in a bucket and on top of it all, managed to stub her toe on the doorjamb.

“Damn bird… at this Godforsaken hour… right outside my window… just asking for it. Like the damn, stupid panther, ‘good morning’, psshh, tell me it’s a good morning again and I’ll kick you… dumbass… but that bloody bird, gonna have his ass for breakfast.

She managed to acquire what she had entered the closet for in the first place… a javelin. She spun a quick 180, managing to take out the top shelf in the closet with her newly found weapon and proceeded to crawl back over the loveseat, cut a hole in the wall painting and exited the room almost as gracefully as she had entered it.

“I…” Ayo began, but was again silenced, by a war cry just outside of the shop and the sound of shattering glass. Ayo simply curled back up, pulling the blanket over her head.

“Wake me when the humiliation ends, okay?”

Tenace’s skin kept becoming whiter with the occasional set of stripes that grew in her hair. It took three days for her completely black and white hair to go back to normal along with her blue cat eyes. Malaki walked into her room and found her sleeping on her desk. He gazed up at her, do you love me? He wondered, do you really love me?

Tenace’s eyelids fluttered, “Hmm?” She looked down to see Malaki washing his face. “Did you say something?”

Malaki shook his head, No.

Tenace rubbed her eyes with one hand and ran her fingers through her hair with the other.

You look tired Ten.

“You’re real good with the compliments, keep ‘em coming.”

He jumped up on the bed, What’s wrong?

“Oh I couldn’t sleep.” The fact that someone had been able to look in on her dreams was a little frightening.

Dreams about panthers keeping you awake? Malaki asked innocently.

“No!” people seeing those dreams is what worried her. “What makes you think I am having dreams about panthers?”

I heard the conversation downstairs.

“Ugh” Tenace rested her head against her hand.

Hey, Ten?

“Yeah, Mal?” She gave him a tired smile.

Malaki had to blink a couple times. Gods, he loved how she looked right there with her sleepy smile and her face looking like she just woke up. He just wished he could take away the stress and worry in her eyes.

“Mal?”

Right, What is it that you intend to do about O’Malley?

“Excuse me?” Tenace felt a brow rise with a slight blush.

It’s obvious you’re attracted to the man, Malaki said conversationally, keeping the trace of bitterness out of his voice. He nearly smacked himself, he WAS O’Malley! Why was he jealous of himself? Because O’Malley had managed to capture Tenace’s attention like he never had? Enough Malaki!

I was just wondering, you live with your sister and it took teeth pulling for you to tell her about you. What about him? What do you intend to do about him?

“You make him sound like a problem,” Tenace grumbled.

Malaki knew he was treading in dangerous territory. Tenace, as long as he’d known her, didn’t talk about possibilities of romance, and wasn’t comfortable speaking on the subject with Ayo.

I just want to know where you stand with him. I know you like him.

“Why are we talking about this?” Tenace muttered, passing a hand over her face. Malaki waited as she took a deep breath.

“I don’t intend to do anything about him. He’s human. I’m centuries older than him. While I may be…” she blushed and muttered the word, “attracted to the man, it doesn’t mean…”

She trailed off before she could answer, “It doesn’t mean that… I mean, I know that he likes me, but I can’t do, I can’t BE anything with him. Nothing will happen with him.”

Malaki was silent, trying to find the words. Tenace continued before he could.

“Besides, I don’t feel comfortable pursuing anything, if I…” she cleared her throat, “If I already…feel like I…” her eyes were focused intently on the book on her desk. Just say it, Ten!

Her mouth snapped shut before she revealed anything else and her tongue was firmly glued to the roof of her mouth, preventing her from saying anything further. Slowly she forced herself to raise her gaze to Malaki, half hoping, half fearing that he would understand what it was that she was trying to say. Immediately her eyes hit the book again.

Malaki crossed from the bed to her desk and stood up on his hind legs, his front paws resting on her book.

Ten… I…

“TENACE! THE NEIGHBOR HAS THE BILL FOR THE WINDOW YOU BROKE!”

Malaki and Tenace separately knew they were going to kill Ayo as Tenace grabbed her money purse and left the room as though she was escaping.

Malaki though, knew that Tenace loved him. She loved him! He had seen it in her eyes.

Malaki was pacing back and forth at the base of the stairs that night, his eyes drifting towards Tenace’s bedroom door.

“She’s already upstairs, Panther-boy,” Ayo said in a bored voice.

I know! He snapped. The fire glinted against his black fur as his paws thudded softly against the wood floor, reflecting his and Ayo’s impatience with himself. He threw his gaze up to Tenace’s door again.

“You never did say what the deal was with you being an angimal.”

My powers were taken away, I was left in the simplest form an angimal can take, the animal.

“Who took your powers?”

My father, I have to prove myself worthy of my powers and my form. Helping Tenace is how I can do so.”

“So you weren’t always in love with her.” Ayo said conversationally.

Malaki glared at her before he allowed his green gaze to return to the door upstairs.

“Just go,” Ayo said as she sewed in her chair, “It’s not fair to her or to you if you prolong this.”

Ayo, stay out…

“GO AND TELL HER OR YOUR ASS IS MINE!”

Ayo left the panther downstairs as she went up to bed. A backward glance told her the big cat was scowling at his paws as though frustrated with the form that he held, and how it was affecting him in Tenace’s eyes.  Ayo rolled her eyes and as she approached her door. The panther-man needed to just do it. The longer he waited, the worse Tenace would react.

Malaki thumped his forepaw against the floor in frustration with himself before he trotted up the stairs. He entered Tenace’s bedroom and shut the door behind him. His eyes swept to Tenace who was curled up in bed with her arms out in front of her, as though she was looking for her panther to curl up next to her. Malaki lightly landed on the bed and instantly Tenace’s arms encircled him, the tense brow relaxing. Malaki was where he was supposed to be. He nuzzled her neck with his nose as his tail curled over her legs. As far as he was concerned this was where he needed to be, next to her. He decided he would bother her in the morning. He settled against her, his back to her front. He felt better about Tenace being sandwiched between him and the wall than him being in that position. It made it more difficult and slowed his reaction time if he had to help Tenace. Malaki felt himself sink into the mattress and his eyes closed…

Malaki felt the long grass brush against his black fur as he walked across the meadow, his arms swinging at his sides. He breathed in deeply, and sighed. It was good to be back in his old body, his tail flicked behind him and his hands had the familiar weight of metal in them and his wings, oh how he had missed his wings, they unfurled and then closed around his body like a cloak as he walked. He didn’t know why he walked in this direction; he just knew that he had to. He felt a familiar presence in his mind and smiled. She was here with him. His pace quickened a little as he reached the base of the mountain. He knew that she was up there, he didn’t know how, but she was. He kept climbing, suddenly he heard voices float in the wind around him, calling and beckoning to him. He brushed them out of his mind, they weren’t important. Suddenly his father’s advisor was speaking to him, “You’ll never be half the angimal that your father is if you keep this up! You should be locked up for that stunt you pulled!”

Malaki’s pace began to quicken even further, they weren’t important, they weren’t important… He could hear nobles speaking in hushed whispers, “He set the wing on fire. Apparently things got a little too rowdy and his father ordered him and his friends to be forcibly removed.”

“He missed the meeting, good thing probably. Last time he went to one he was half drunk and he and the Emperor got into a shouting match.”

“Apparently he was in the fight and bet a good sum of money on himself and his friend. Then he took his winnings and lost it all on a race. If that’s how he handles his personal finances…”

Malaki was running now. The voices echoed in his mind as he ran up that mountain. Words of disapproval, words of disappointment, words of anger, spoken to him, spoken of him, spoken from him…

Then his father’s voice came to him, and he saw the scene play out as it had in the past… “You are not worthy of your title, nor of the powers or body that you bear. So if you want them…” His father’s claws rose, “you will have to prove that you can accept the weight and responsibility of owning them.” Malaki saw himself being lifted from the ground as orbs of light left his body, his voice yelling, screaming his anger, his protests; those words eventually becoming the yowls of a simple panther as did his body.

Malaki ran blindly up the mountain side, I am not the same panther; I am not the same panther! He raced against his voice, I’m not the same because of her! It’s because of… Malaki stopped as a figure came into view. …her. She turned… her orange and black fur rustled in the wind and her pulled back hair protested against its bondage as the wind pulled at it. Her white wings stretched as though testing out the feel of the breeze that played with her. Malaki began to walk to Tenace and when she saw him, she smiled, her green eyes changing to silver, as he knew his own did.

“Tenace,” he whispered when he reached her. She didn’t say anything, merely letting her eyes speak for her. He reached out and allowed a hand to caress her face, as he touched her, she moved closer and her fur disappeared to be replaced by skin. Without even realizing it, he had followed suit, his body going from angel to human as she changed. Before he realized it, Tenace had rolled up on her toes and kissed him gently on the lips. Before she could pull away, Malaki captured her face in his hands and kissed her back. Tenace pulled away with a smile on her lips, and Malaki still cradled her face in his hands. He looked at her and said out loud what his silver eyes spoke- “I love you, Tenace.”

Malaki’s arms wrapped around her as her lips met his again. Her hands reached up to his head and buried themselves in his hair as Malaki kissed her deeply. His hands moved up and down her back as he inhaled her scent, gods he couldn’t get enough. Tenace pressed against Malaki’s head, crushing his mouth against hers and Malaki’s arms tightened around Tenace, pulling her closer to him. Gods, he needed her, needed her so much in his life, needed her with him…

Malaki groaned as Tenace’s mouth moved against his. He tucked her closer against his body as her hands ran down his arms and up his chest. One hand came up to cradle her head as he kissed her even deeper.  “Tenny…” he murmured. The sound of his own voice made Malaki’s body stiffen. What the…? Malaki’s eyes snapped open and found himself in human form and halfway on top of Tenace. Holy…!

Malaki launched himself away from Tenace and her bed. He scrambled to get out of her room and had to remember how a doorknob worked before he could escape. Malaki ran downstairs and parked it under the stairs. Slowly his breathing began to return to normal as his heart continued to race. This was bad…bad, bad, bad. He wanted nothing more to go back up there, but that had a huge NO-NO flashing in front of his eyes before his brain fully considered it. Tenace, he had to protect her, it didn’t matter that he loved her. He had to get her through this meta. He looked down at his hands and human form. This was not going to work. He changed back into a panther. He had to control himself if he and Tenace were to survive what was to come. He would tell Tenace at the opportune moment, but for now, he had to do things right. Do what was right by Tenace, and if that meant playing the charade for a little longer, then that’s what he’d do.

Tenace’s eyes opened as she breathed deeply. That dream… Tenace turned her gaze to the warm empty space where Malaki always lay when she slept. Where was he? Tenace pressed her fingers to her tingling lips… what on earth? Her gaze swept down as she sat up, other than her blankets being slightly more mussed than usual, everything was normal. She pulled her night shirt closer around her as she curled back up under her blankets. Her hand reached uselessly to pet the big cat that wasn’t there. Where are you, Mal?

Malaki quickly found out that in trying to do what was best for Tenace, it got to be very difficult for him to maintain control. Every time, Tenace touched him to scratch his ears or let her hand trail down his back absent mindedly, the touch seemed to crackle with energy. So much so that Malaki began to avoid her touch which was extremely difficult for him. Every time he tried to tell Tenace, someone interrupted or something came up. There was one thought that Malaki couldn’t shake, If they could kiss like that in their sleep!

“So did you tell her?” Ayo asked for the fifth time that day. Malaki had conveniently ‘forgotten’ to tell Ayo about the episode that happened the night before.

No, Malaki growled, I’m waiting for the right time. Now leave me alone.

Ayo rolled her eyes and went to find Tenace. She peeked into her shop and spotted Tenny playing with a piece of satin black material. Ayo watched her thoughtfully for a moment, Tenace raised the fabric to her face and pressed it to her lips.

“Wanna see something I can do?’ she asked quietly.

Tenace dropped the material and picked up one or two others, feeling the textures absentmindedly.

“Hmm?” she asked, slightly red in the face.

“Watch Tenny-” Ayo pointed at the satin Tenace had kissed. The fabric sprung to life and began to unfold. Tenace looked questioningly at Ayo but remained silent; the younger woman had a look of severe concentration on her face. The material had unfolded and began to separate itself along a line, as though cut by scissors. It created a pattern, leaving the rest of the material in a neat pile on the floor. Ayo looked excited and flung her other hand at Tenace, whose clothes lost their seams and dropped to the floor, leaving the woman in her shift and underwear.

“Wonder where else you’ve directed that spell” Tenny said wickedly, making Ayo blush. Thread flew across the room and within seconds a dress had been made. Ayo then nodded at Tenace and the dress flew across the room and placed itself over Tenny’s head, resting on her shoulders, before she could protest. Ten pulled the dress over her shoulders, letting it settle.

“Damn” Ayo breathed.

“What?” Tenace asked, slightly embarrassed. Ayo merely pointed at the mirror behind Tenace, indicating Tenny should turn around and see for herself. She did. The dress was form fitting, with a long slit up the side and no sleeves. A decent amount of skin was exposed, enough Tenace blushed when she noted how nice her figure looked. The most dramatic and beautiful part was that her hair was acting up again and her skin was very pale. She looked as though she had walked straight out of a dream and the thought made her remember a dream she’d been having of late.

“Tenny?” Ayo asked quietly as a single tear darted from the corner of Tenace’s eye. Tenace didn’t answer; she simply fled the room.

Malaki was slumping through the kitchen, direly upset that he had not been letting Tenace scratch his ears because they were beginning to actually need the scratch. As he started towards the stairs, Tenace came running out of the workroom. Malaki stopped in his tracks when he realized what she was wearing. That dress made him want to be a man very badly. He barely had time to register the tears streaming down her face before she was passed him, bolting up the stairs. Before her bedroom door slammed, Ayo was already running up the stairs. Mal wasn’t even sure that he had seen her run by.

Ayo made it to the landing just as Tenace’s door slammed.

“Tenny”, she cooed through the door. “Honey-bee? Please- you don’t like dresses but this is a bit much. What’s wrong Tenny? Please open the door?” Ayo listened for a minute and heard sobs from right inside the door. Sitting against the outside of the door, she began speaking softly.

“Tenny, I’m going to talk. Please could you just listen?” The sobs calmed a little and Ayo knew she was being heard.

“I won’t pretend to know how a Meta feels. It would be an insult to you honey, but this boy trouble has to stop.” Ayo heard a short intake of breathe and knew she had guessed correctly. Feeling slightly silly for using plural terms, Ayo continued.

“Either would be lucky to have you. I can safely tell you that both want you.” She smiled to herself, trying to think of how to phrase this without blowing Mal’s secret. “Tenny, you need to wake up to what’s right in front of you. They are both good guys and perhaps you should get to know them better.” She paused, wondering if Tenny was still listening. “Tenny?”

“One is human and I could EASILY accidentally kill him and the other is a panther! How in hell do I choose either when there is no future with either? Here I am picturing myself dancing in this beautiful gown with either.” She was almost done crying, her emotions were turning to anger now. Ayo became wary of how she was phrasing things.

“Perhaps you are overlooking something.”  Suddenly the door popped open and Ayo fell in backwards. She stood up as Tenace started into her.

“OVERLOOKED! I’ve overlooked something? Yes because the past two weeks of dreams and questions and searching for loopholes have been me overlooking something! This, of course, coming from the chit who has spent one night with a man who has yet to visit her since. Let me explain something I have not overlooked! Tigers and Panthers cannot marry- there are laws forbidding it! And a human only lives so long. I’M IMMORTAL! As in DON’T DIE! And I’ll be leaving everyone behind soon enough as it is, so goodbye Mister O’Malley!” Tenace slammed the door in Ayo’s face.

“I’m sorry that humans bore you” Ayo whispered. “We can’t help but be overemotional and try to help those we love. I THOUGHT that was what I was doing, but I guess I am mistaken and you don’t need me. That is unfortunate.” She paused, tears streaming down her face. “And if I knew why Stephan was avoiding me I would fix it. Undo whatever it was that I did.”

Feeling slightly ashamed, Tenace opened the door to apologize for the part about Yeeto, but Ayo was gone. Tenace felt ashamed but still angry; she stared at the tear stains on the wooden floor.

Yeeto stood in the shadows in the alley beneath Ayo’s window. Her thoughts were tearing his heart in two.

I wish I could explain, love. He thought silently.

A red flash in the shadows made Yeeto’s guard go up. He planted himself firmly, loosening his muscles and prepared to fight should he need to. A dark skinned man with a tattoo of an eight pointed star on his right cheek stepped into the light.

“Krjen.” The figure’s blood red eyes were drilling into Yeeto’s. “You notified the Father a fortnight ago that the Tiger would be taken care of by now. The wolves are threatening to go to the Gods. That would prove to be a disadvantage to us. Why isn’t the cat securely stored away.”

Yeeto stared at the figure.

“It has proved more difficult that anticipated to penetrate this checkpoint Zbacx.” He spoke slowly, choosing his words very carefully.

“A half-blood, earth creature, panther and a big cat are a threat for a mutt like you? Perhaps we need a full-blood in here to finish this assignment.” Many years of training kept Yeeto from allowing any fear or anger to penetrate his mind in the presence of a demon. They fed off of it, and would know that he had stakes in this assignment that he had not let on about. Zbacx was from the older generation and the only reason that he was speaking to Yeeto was because the Father had ordered him to. Making sure his mind was protected he thought furiously- if others were to take over, they will harm Ayo. Either I take Tenace or Ayo gets hurt. I cannot win either way! Yeeto answered with a sneer across his face.

“Zbacx, perhaps you have forgotten who my father is? Because my mother was a mortal and you were able to kill her without invoking his wrath, means nothing since I am the only heir. I have the purest blood of any of you. I have the Father’s blood in my veins. If you cannot respect my assessment of this assignment, I can surely leave you here to finish and report to the Father that his messenger can surely accomplish what his own flesh has difficulty with!”

Zbacx flinched with every word, as Yeeto drove his point home- he was the superior and no amount of full blood was going to override him.

“I will tell the Father that you are still working, Krjen.” He said coldly. His embarrassment made him angry and Yeeto could taste the anger rolling off his skin. With a burst of flame, Zbacx was gone.

Yeeto smiled at himself, he rarely played that card, since for some reason his human blood actually made him a larger demon as far as size went and most of the others just stayed out of his way since they were smaller.

Where are you? Ayo was calling to him mentally again. He wanted to let her in, but he needed to feed and allow his demonic half the chance to roam this world. If he left Krjen in for too long, he would begin to lose what little hold he had on the beast. It was like sharing a brain, because together their form changed depended on who had control. In this realm he had better luck at keeping Krjen locked in the back of his mind. It had never been like this back in the Realms of Hell, there he never held this form, it was too dangerous to ever let his guard down.

“Why must we be mortal enemies, my sweet Ayo?” he whispered into the darkness of the alley. He sat down in the darkest of shadows. This was the trickiest part of his life, giving just enough control to Krjen that Krjen could feed and stay strong in case they needed to feed, but retain control as Yeeto, keep his human conscious active and in control. If he let Krjen have too much control, the demon would take over and suddenly in Yeeto’s place would be a seven foot giant with dark skin, the same tattoo as Zbacx and a want to feed off of every human fear, drop of anger and pain in the countryside. Not a good idea.

Time to feed the monster, Yeeto thought, dropping into a state of meditation.

His feeding didn’t last long, there were only a few minutes of raw fear, before Krjen retreated from the only thing any demon wouldn’t touch- unbearable grief.

Yeeto’s eyes snapped open, immediately darting to Ayo’s window, where the curtain was fluttering as a figure darted out of sight.

“Shit” he whispered. She’d seen him, had been watching him.

Why? He heard echo in his head.

I wanted to come see you. He was still watching her window. The curtain moved and she peered down at him from three stories above.

Then why not come up? Why not visit for days? Why leave me wondering when you know we can communicate like this? Was I just good enough to cuddle for a night? Did you just need the ego boost? Why?

They were just questions, what she really wanted to know was what she had done to drive him away. She was foolish enough to think that it was her fault that he had tried to give her up. Yeeto felt a piece of his heart simply break at the thought of her blaming herself, as conceited as it was.  Ayo watched him as he thought these things. She couldn’t understand what he was thinking about, but she saw the look of longing on his face. She somehow knew that if she jumped, he would catch her. So she did.

She wasn’t even halfway down when he crouched, springing to grab her in midair and catapult them both back into her room. They landed with a soft thump on her bed.

“Every inch of my skin says this is right, but every drop of my dark blood screams ‘enemy’. Can you understand that?”

“Would you laugh if I said that I couldn’t understand better?” She grabbed his face, pulling it to hers. The last time they had kissed it had been fast, hard and rushed- a race against time. This time, with his body pressed against Ayo’s in a perfect mold, Yeeto took his time, kissing sweet and slow. His worries and concerns had disappeared if only for that moment. Ayo let her hands travel over his shoulders, back down his chest and around to his back, lifting his shirt. He seemed of the same mindset, letting her up enough to get her shirt off. She looked at him innocently, “are you sure this is how mortal enemies treat each other?”

Yeeto smiled, running a finger from her neck down her chest and over her stomach- “no sweet, this is how immortal enemies treat each other” he replied, pressing back down onto her and covering her pale pink lips with his.

The sun had set, a full moon rising and Ayo and Yeeto didn’t seem to notice. They were completely wrapped up in each other. Ayo wasn’t afraid of Tenace’s plans or even the anger she had earlier. Yeeto wasn’t worried about his assignment. Both were utterly consumed by each other and perfectly happy to be so. In this state of mind, it thoroughly confused Ayo when she could suddenly hear Tenace’s thoughts.

She doesn’t understand and NEVER will, the voice growled inside Ayo’s head. Yeeto pulled his lips away, cocking his head with interest.

“Did you hear her too?” Ayo asked, a little worried.

“Only from inside your head, sweet.”

“Hold please” Ayo whispered, placing a finger on Yeeto’s jaw. He put his chin on Ayo’s chest and watched her with wonder. Closing her eyes, Ayo let her magic run through the house- Malaki!, she called.

What?! The panther growled sleepily. If this has to do with your “friend” I’m staying out here!

No, Ayo replied, did you hear Tenny’s thoughts a minute ago?

No, Malaki answered, why?

I just heard her thoughts, but don’t think I was supposed to . Yeeto didn’t hear either. Could you check on her? She’s still mad at me. Malaki left without answering. Ayo opened her eyes and looked into her angel’s eyes, picking up where they left off.

Malaki bounded up the stairs to Tenace’s room.

What now?

He opened the door and walked in. Tenace was sitting on her bed, fingering the dress- she was back in her normal clothes. A faraway look was on her face, her eyes slightly bitter.

Ten?

Her eyes snapped to Malaki.

Are you okay?

“I think so, yeah.”

Do you have a headache?”

Tenace gave a weak smile, “Always the mind reader.”

Malaki jumped up in her bed, Not quite. Tenace looked at the open door, “you always look out for me.” She said it quietly. Her gaze returned to the dress and Malaki followed her eyes with his.

You looked amazing in that, he said in barely a whisper.

“Mal- if there was any way that I could…I…” she broke off.

Ten? Malaki put a paw on her arm. There is something that I have to tell you. She looked at him. About O’Malley, and me. He took a breath, We are… actually… Ten!”

She had gripped her head and her eyes were watering in pain.

“My…head…” she whispered.

Ten…Ten? Can you control it?

His question was answered as images began to filter into his mind. If he couldn’t get control of those memories the whole town would see them!

Ten! Ten let me in!

She stumbled from the room her skin changing into white tiger pattern and her eyes and ice blue.

She was changing but it was not the full on set Meta. Her hell was just beginning.

Tenace! Malaki sprang after her as a bloody scene with Tenace’s frightened eyes filled his mind, down the stairs and out into the night.

Ayo had blocked Tenace from her mind. The only person allowed to distract her right now was him. Yeeto was an utter phenomenon to her. He was passionate when kissing her, exploring her skin with those hands and yet perfectly happy simply playing with her hair. This innocence silenced Ayo. The house was quiet, Tenace and Malaki had left only moments before, but Ayo wasn’t planning on taking advantage of an empty house.

I would hate to ruin your perfect virtue, sweet. Yeeto was grinning as Ayo kissed his collarbone. How about I see how your skin feels, hmm?

“Should we test the young demon’s loyalty, Loup?” Garre asked silently. The wolf snarled up at Ayo’s bedroom window.

“True, the Halfling is too trustworthy and forgiving- should he betray us, she would welcome him to their side.” Garre squat down in the shadows, waiting for Tenace to return, she would be weak, but still angry. If the demon was revealed when she first arrived, the panther would be distracted.

Malaki was sprinting after Tenace.

Ten! Ten wait!

She couldn’t get far.

A huge battlefield was laying before Tenace. She looked at the warriors beside her eager young tigers ready to fight. She looked down at the Creshna dog-like creatures below. They didn’t stand a chance.

Malaki found Tenace lying on the hard ground clutching her head.

Blades flew and blood spattered the ground as heads rolled and screams of pain and anger filled the air.

“Malaki” Tenace whispered, “Mal, help me.”

Tenace looks around the battlefield. Not a single Creshna remained. “This was a massacre, not a battle.” Every one of the Tigers that had fought was alive and well.

“What was the point?” she whispered.

“Mal.”

I’m trying Ten! You have to let me in! Tenace! You have to let me in!

She groaned in pain as her hands began to shake. More memories flew through Malaki’s mind. A lifeless body laid in a shallow grave, covered in blood, a child’s scream for his mother as her lifeless body lay before, just before he was beheaded.

“Why did you kill him?” Tenace voice was a roar, she was outraged. “He was barely five!”

“Our orders were to kill all! It’s what we’re getting paid for!”

“To hell with what we paid for!” Tenace shouted. “If this is simply a job then I QUIT!”

“You don’t mean that”, the tiger whispered dangerously.

“You bet your ass I do!” She was yelling. Claws that were too big for her hands were emerging, crushing the bones and knuckles.

Malaki was frantically trying to block the memories from other people, reducing the visions to only Tenace and himself.

The blades, almost two feet long, were cutting into her. She tried to stand but fell back with a cry of pain. Her legs were bending back to form the hind legs of a tiger, the bones breaking to form the backwards knees, but not continuing. They remained broken, her normal healing abilities not applying for some reasons.

Bloody, pain filled images filled Malaki’s mind as Tenace remembered.

Tenace!

Hands useless, legs broken, Tenace couldn’t move.

“Mal-” The whisper was terrified, he looked at her.

“This one’s going to be bad, isn’t it?”

Malaki swallowed hard as he nodded. She wanted to reach for him, but the claws prevented that.

Ten, I’ll always be there, ok?

Tenace tried an answer but suddenly a horrible pain ripped through her mouth, as though her teeth were being pulled by the roots. Her fangs were appearing. She shook, her shoulders hunched. Two bulges formed on her back, slowly and painfully swelling. Her throat burned, but Tenace didn’t know if it was her vocal chords changing or holding back the tears of pain as the bulges throbbed.

Mal—

She couldn’t speak to him mind to mind without more images washing over him.

“Malaki, please” she was almost sobbing. Her ice blue eyes glazed into deep green ones pleading. “Please.”

Malaki raced behind her and grimaced as he unsheathed his claws. Tenace braced herself. He cut quickly. Tenace roared as her almost black wings burst forth.

She struggled to sit up. After an hour of pain and transformation, she finally returned to normal, but all she could do was lay there and breath.

Ten?

She looked over at Malaki.

If that wasn’t even the real one, I’m concerned about your full Meta…

Tenace gave a weak smile, “The price I pay for my independence, huh.”

Yeah, some price.

“Helluva price- Metas, Ayo is mad at me, destruction wherever I go, wolves, tigers, and who knows what else set on capturing me, a Helluva price.” She sighed and rubbed her face. Malaki looked up at the sky, it was almost dawn.

Can you walk?

“We’ll just have to find out, won’t we?” her voice was as shaky as her legs. The world spun a little as she made it up and she shook her head.

You okay?

She stumbled back to the house as the sun began to peak out over the mountains, Malaki be her side.

He was wrapped in thoughts about the conversation he had with Tenace not more than a few hours ago. It seemed to have taken place ages ago. He was slightly scared to tell Tenace the truth now. What if she is outraged that I’ve kept it a secret? She may think that I have just been manipulating her feelings…

He sighed and walked on. They had just gotten inside the door when Tenace stumbled and fell against Malaki.

“Sorry” she whispered, her arms around his neck.

It’s okay, he lowered his head to the floor and Tenace hit it with a soft “thmp”, go to sleep.

“I need to get to my room” she mumbled.

I’ll get you there Ten. Just go to sleep. Her hand fell softly from his face.

Tenace saw Malaki’s paw reach for her own face, her eyes fluttering shut of their own accord. She knew it was a paw that reached out, but could’ve sworn that it was a hand that caressed her cheek.

Malaki gently laid Tenace on her bed, a hand rested on her hair. He remembered how it felt in his fingers as he had kissed her, how it always smelled of outdoors and irises. He closed his eyes, remembering every touch, every movement, every feeling of that kiss.

“Damn”, he muttered, he was making things more difficult.

“I’ll tell you,” he whispered, “I’ll tell you everything when you wake up.”

He was fighting an insane urge to have a repeat performance with Tenace from the last time they were alone with the door closed. He knew that she couldn’t take it, her body was exhausted from that pre-Meta she had just gone through. He walked out of her room and shut the door. He rested his head against the door.

“I’ll tell you.” She had enough problems and she didn’t need the O’Malley/Malaki thing to add to it.

His hands rested on the door before turning into paws. He didn’t know yet how, but he would do it.

I’ll tell you.

They had almost made love. Of this, Ayo was sure- mainly because she woke up naked. What she was furious about though, was not the fact that she and Tenace were fighting, nor was it that she’d almost lost her virginity. Rather, Ayo was livid because rather than waking to her “part time lover”, she awoke to a note on her pillow. His script was chicken scratch. It took her a moment to decipher the message but eventually she got it. “I will return when it’s safe for us to be together, sweet. You are by far the most beautiful creature in this world. Do not be mad with me sweet. When I return I will make it up to you. I promise. Explanations later. ~Yeeto”

“Don’t be angry,” she said heatedly, “We spend another night together, not saying much of anything and then he decides to up and leave AGAIN, without saying a proper goodbye, AGAIN and to top it all off, I get ABSOLUTELY no clues as to what is happening! This is ridiculous!” Ayo crawled off her bed, stumbling slightly in anger. She squeaked when her feet touched the cold floor and quickly slipped on her robe and slippers.

“Better go see how my lovely monster is feeling right now.” She opened her door slowly, listening for someone, anyone as she crept down the hall and down the stairs to the second floor by Tenny’s room. Down she went to ground level, there was no noise anywhere at all.

“Strange…” Ayo whispered, grabbing a pot for oatmeal.

“What?” Malaki asked from behind her.

“AH!” Ayo screamed for only a second before Mal slipped a hand over her mouth.

“Ten had a pre-Meta last night. She is in a LOT of pain and I would appreciate it if you didn’t let out bloodcurdling screams THANK YOU!” Malaki whispered. Ayo took a deep breath and then licked Malaki’s hand.

“Gross!” he growled, pulling his hand away, quickly rubbing it on his jeans. Ayo grinned, starting a fire magically to heat her water. She tried to sound calm as she whispered.

“What’s wrong with Tenace?” her face was schooled into looking unconcerned. Malaki wasn’t fooled.

“She’s got broken tiger bones in her human body, that are being as stubborn as the soul they are attached to. He claws are longer than they have ever been before and to top off the magnificent amount of pain, she’s scared.” He watched Ayo carefully. She was talented at hiding her real emotions, but he could see that her anger from last night was replaced with deep concern.

“There’s more.” She said it as a statement.

“Her mind has been unleashed. I’m doing all that I can to keep her memories restricted to me and her alone. That’s also why last night you heard her thoughts.”

“More.” Ayo pressed.

“Ayo?” he wanted to spare her. She wouldn’t have any of those manly heroics.

“Tell me Malaki.” This wasn’t a request. Malaki reported as he had been taught to report to the Panther Emperor.

“Her memories cause her great amounts of pain- where I only see from her perspective, she relives these terrible moments of her lifetime. It’s draining her power and energy, causing her to heal slower. Her fear consumes her, making it impossible for her to ignore any amount of pain.” He watched Ayo’s eyes. She was pouring her dry oats into the boiling water, stirring absentmindedly.

“What does she need?” She asked it, knowing that Malaki would know best what to tasks to give her. She had to trust him to make the right call for Tenny’s sake. Her voice was barely audible as she asked it.

Mal looked at Ayo in a new way. She’s annoying sometimes, but she loves my girl… our girl. Even after Ten insults her, babies her, bosses her around. She wants to ease her sister’s pain…

“If she had some other emotion to override her fear…”

“Tell her your secret!” Ayo was excited, her anticipation of the lovers finally being honest was buzzing through her.

“She would become confused and that could be worse than fear.”

“Then what?” she was whispering again.

“Well…” Malaki was uncertain of using Ayo like this, but Tenace was who his main instincts told him to protect, “anger would speed up the Meta, bringing everything out at once, rather than spreading it all out.”

Ayo continued stirring her oats. For this to work, Mal needed Ayo to alienate Tenace.

She will never agree… it’s against her nature to not try to coddle Tenace.

“On one condition Malaki.”

“Anything.” He was desperate. He couldn’t risk angering her himself and it had to be done for her safety.

“I will make her angry and keep her angry for as long as you need me to, if you will take her portion of the memories and give them to me.” She let her ice blue eyes burn into his green ones. She wanted it to be made clear that Tenace would not be left with an ounce of psychological obstacles in her way.

“Ayo… you don’t realize what you are asking. You are too sensitive to handle these kinds of memories.”

“Malaki,” she took her oats off the stove and faced him. She glared at him with an intensity that almost frightened that man.

“You said those memories cause her pain, but you are merely a spectator. Do not put her through those times again. She should not be in physical AND psychological pain. Either give me her half, or piss her off yourself.”

He tried not to flinch under that stone gaze. She was talking too much sense for him to refuse.

“Don’t say that I didn’t warn you. When she wakes, you will begin to live her hell.” With a grim, but thankful look Malaki slipped off the stool, shape shifting as he went.

Hold your end of the deal though! He called back to the eating Ayo.

Ayo was back in her room meditating when she heard the first scream. She had barely reached her door when the memory hit her.

Tenace was tied to a wall with several chains. Her Meta was in its final stages and Garre was leaning against the wall next to her.

“Pups” he called. Two small wolves came forward from the shadows. “Fetch.”

Tenace let out a snarl. “Leave her alone, asshole. She has nothing to do with this.” But the pups had already left the dark wooden shack.

“If they or you harm her, I WILL punish you!” Her legs were changing back to normal.

“Ah, Loner, you are not in any position to be doling out any threats. Besides,” he grinned dangerously, “you are too drained to do any harm to me.” Tenace began to reply, but stopped as the pups came through the door, clutching an old, frightened woman.

“Well done” Garre purred. The pups dropped the old woman on the floor, sauntering over to Garre. He pulled two raw steaks off a shelf above Tenace’s head and threw them outside. The wolves raced out the doorway as Garre softened his voice.

“Hello, Ms Goodwin,” he was practically cooing to the elderly woman.

She stuttered, trying to stand tall and be brave, “why was I dragged from my bed young man?” Her voice shook with fear.

“Because my friend here wouldn’t tell me what she did with my third pup. I can’t bring her back to my Master until I’ve got all my pups.”

“That doesn’t concern me. I ain’t seen no dogs running about?” Her voice was more even now.

“Your pain will loosen her tongue.” Goodwin’s eyes grew.

“Where is this ‘friend’ you speak of?” Garre lit a lamp near Tenace, putting the younger Tenny in the light.

Goodwin gasped.

“Tenakrel? Is that you honey? What’s wrong with you? Why are you chained up?” Then Tenace lifted her face and Goodwin looked into the ice blue eyes, noted the cuts across her face.

“Oh my dear girl, what has happened?” Her fear was gone for the moment, replaced with maternal concern.

“Garre, leave her be.” Tenace snarled.

“’fraid I can’t” he replied, grabbing the old woman’s arms.

“Release me you brute! My man will come after you, with all the men from our village! You’ll be sorry.” Garre laughed, his barking chortle scared Goodwin, as well it should.

“Silly woman- mortals cannot hurt your precious Tenakrel, nor I.”

He turned to Tenace, placing Goodwin between them.

“Tell your nanny where Akias is” he whispered.

“Goody, I’m sorry” Tenace whimpered.

Garre ripped the old woman’s arm off. Her scream made Ten’s blood boil.

“Tell your only friend, Tenakrel. Tell her where my Akias is.” Garre had a sickeningly pleasurable look on his face.

“Goody, forgive me.” Ten’s howl was louder than the blood curdling scream the old woman let out as Garre tore off her other arm.

‘Why?” she screamed, “how can you let him do this? I took you in, you are my child! How can you let him tear me apart? You horrible chit! Tell him where the damn wolf is” she was bleeding out and hysterical.

Tenace gave Garre a look that stopped his cold heart for a minute. “You will pay Garre,” she growled in an Old Tongue as she cursed him.

He looked into her eyes, “Tell your adopted mother why she is dying here tonight.”

Ayo opened her tear-filled eyes. Maybe Malaki was right, maybe I shouldn’t have taken on Tenny’s memories, she thought, getting up from the cold floor. A scream from the floor below reminded her of why she would be enduring these psychological dramas.

Walking slowly over to her desk, she pulled out her journal. “If I’m gonna fire the Loner up, I’m gonna do it properly.” She began to plan her attacks, a build up to an unforgivable act that would result in Tenace’s ultimate Meta. She cried the entire time she wrote, realizing how difficult it would be to go through with her plan.

“Well,” Ayo whispered to Nells, “I hope I’m as good of an actress as Tenny always says I am, or this won’t work.”

The big black dog groaned, rolling over to gaze into Ayo’s blue eyes.

The girl was ready, she’d handle this her way and if she was lucky~ Tenace wouldn’t hate her afterwards.

If I’m lucky, Ayo thought, pulling herself together. Closing the book, Ayo got up and crawled into bed to wait for the next memory.

Tenace groaned in pain. She was tired of this. Each memory got worse than the last and Tenace was tired of pain; she wanted something that was good for her. She lay back in bed, her legs still tiger-like, still broken, refused her movement.

Why am I thinking of this now? she wondered as images of O’Malley and Malaki flashed through her mind. She remembered the dream where Malaki had said that O’Malley and he were on in the same. She sighed wistfully. That would be amazing. Her tongue ran over her lips; she could still feel that kiss, it was in a dream but it felt so real. She glanced at her torn miserable hands. The blades were beginning to recede. That’s something at least, she thought wryly. If only there was some way that they could be one and the same… wait! Right before the pre-Meta Malaki began to say something… about O’Malley I thought. What did he say? Was it that… they were the same?

Tenace sighed and shook her head. No, Malaki wouldn’t lie to her, he knew how she felt and if he could, he would take on a human form, she could see it when she asked him about it. If it was possible she decided she would kiss him first, then kick him for not telling her sooner… at least she thought that would be her reaction. She sighed again, it felt like she didn’t know anything anymore. Her eyes began to close, maybe- just maybe, she could have that dream again…

A soft smile came to her lips.

Ayo came downstairs, rubbing her head. She was beginning to regret taking on this deal. She sighed, pushing open the kitchen door to find a man standing at the stove, his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, black hair falling in his face. He pushed it back carelessly with the back of his hand, glancing at Ayo as she walked into the kitchen. It was a good look for Malaki.

“You alright?”

“Fine,” Ayo lied, “what’re you doing?”

“Cooking. What does it look like?”

“You can cook?” her tone was one of shock.

“Yes.” A bite of impatience to the tone.

This was too good in Ayo’s opinion, he can cook and looks pretty good in those pants too. If Tenny doesn’t take him, we are going to be having a serious discussion. Very serious.

“What’re you making?”

“Food”

“Obviously…”

Mal sighed, “It’s chicken and steak strips with a flour wrapping and some cheese and vegetables in the wrapping. It’s one of her favorites.” When these two were talking there could only be one her.

Ayo twirled a hair around her finger, “we wouldn’t be getting on her good side, would we?”

“No, WE wouldn’t” Malaki glared at Ayo menacingly.

“That look doesn’t suit you…” she teased. Malaki rolled his eyes.

“You want some?”

“I’m not that brave.” When he turned to stare her down for the crack at his cooking, she stuck her tongue out at him.

“Suit yourself.”

Ayo watched as he added diced tomatoes, green peppers and onions to the meat before wrapping it all in the flour wrap. He added more cheese than she would have.

“It does smell good”, she admitted. She had made them before, but was curious as to the quality of his cooking. She stared at the pan, knowing he was watching her face.

Mal smiled, letting the wrap crisp in the pan as the cheese melted. He cut a slice handed it to Ayo, muttering about how it was hot and to be careful.

She grinned, putting it in her mouth. One of her mother’s had always sworn that anything cooked in a pan was food made for the soul. Her soul could use the warm, cheesy embrace.

She opened her eyes wide as she tasted the food. It was good, she was going to have to admit that he could cook.

“Tenace is lucky, you know that right?” Malaki didn’t look up at her words. He asked warily however, “How so?”

“Well”, Ayo paused as she took another warm, delicious bite, “She has you and me. I’m the aggravating but adorable little sister and you provide the good food, plans and,” she grinned wickedly, “ the loooooove.”

“You’re so childish.” Mal growled as he flipped a second batch of his dish. Ayo shrugged. He couldn’t help but feel a bit of the tension in the air lessen as he responded to her banter. “See if I ever cook for you again!”

“Hey Mal?”

“Yup?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“You just did… go ahead”

“I was wondering, how do angimals show emotion?” Malaki leaned back in his chair, balancing it on two legs. Ayo’s mouth twitched into a smile; Tenace did the same exact thing when she was thinking.

“Why do you want to know?”

“Tigers are mercenaries, wolves are the bad guys…” Mal raised an eyebrow at this. “You know, bounty hunters that play dirty, that kind of thing.”

“Your point?”

“Well,” Ayo chose her words carefully, “They can’t really express their joys, fears, love… that kind of stuff in their line of work or they put people and things at risk. So, they must have some outlet.”

Malaki looked at her thoughtfully; he still hadn’t figured this odd creature out. “Usually, for most emotions it is expressed through the wings or in the eyes. When an angel is a cub, the wings tell their parents how their cub is feeling. As a cub grows, he learns to transfer his expression to his eyes.”

“How can wings express emotion, besides forward and backwards?”

“No, no, no. It’s nothing like that, it’s the color. Much more obvious.” He tried to state it simply, so that there would be no confusion on how the colors worked, “different colors tell different moods. Blue for jealousy, Green for happy…”

“Red for angry” Ayo guessed. Malaki shook his head.

“No angry is a purple blue.”

“Then what is red?” Mal picked up the plates and started stacking them in the sink. “Well?’

“Lust, desire, passion, those are all red.”

“A kid would show that?” He shook his head again; it was hard to explain to someone who had no experience with his species.

“No you transfer emotions that you’ve felt. A teen angel, even an adult can still show emotion in their wings.”

“How would an angel show passion or desire in their eyes?”

“Can you see those things in a man’s eyes?” Ayo’s blush answered for her.

“Exactly, but for angels, the eyes still change sometimes in color, usually in color.”

“How else can they change? Does it change for those specific emotions being more prevalent? Like desire for example?” Malaki was silent for a moment, mulling over why exactly Ayo wasn’t letting down her interrogation.

“Have you ever seen a blind person? How their eyes are white, all clouded over, and milky? That’s what an angimal’s eyes become when they are lost in those emotions.”

“So, let’s say that you get Tenny excited?” she said it coyly and almost winked when he turned to glare at her.

“Her eyes would look like I described. Now are you done trying to figure out what would happen if I told Ten that I could take this form? Quit visualizing it, or I will stop answering any of your questions and start telling you to mind your own damn business.”

Ayo looked defeated for a moment and Malaki turned back to the counter to finish cleaning up. He didn’t see her whip her head back up and school her face into a calm expression.

“Both of your eyes would become cloudy you said?”

He blinked, trying to see what she was trying to get at, “Yes.”

“So that means that you have both felt those feeling before then!” She said it in a triumphant rush. Malaki didn’t say anything as he loaded up another tray of food for Tenace. He was caught in his words and justifying her curiosities would only lead to more trouble.

“SO?” Ayo demanded. Mal groaned, as it occurred to him that his magic was not keen enough to see if Tenace was sleeping still; he would have to ask Ayo for the information.

“Is she asleep?” he didn’t face her as he asked.

“Not until you tell me?”

“It’s not really…” he began shifting from one foot to the other, but Tenace cut him off.

“If it involves Tenace than it is.” She said it as a fact.

“I kissed her alright?! Now will you tell me if she is sleeping or not?” His outburst was caused by the irritation he felt coming on at this infuriating creature prancing in front of him. There was dead silence for half a second, before Ayo let it all out. “Was she conscious? Did she know it was you? As a panther or as a man? What did she do? Like on the lips right? Not the cheek or the forehead, you kissed her on the lips you mean?”

Malaki shook his head, turning to the stairs. “Forget it” he muttered.

“Hey get back here!” she hollered.

“It’s NOT your business” he emphasized each syllable as though she was slow, and in this case he felt like she was.

“Malaki!” she shouted after him, but he was already up the stairs.

He balanced the tray on one hand and pushed Tenace’s door open with the other. She was sleeping, occasionally a small sigh escaping from her lips. Malaki couldn’t help wondering what she was dreaming. He padded over to her bedside table in his bare feet and set the tray down. Something brushed his hand and he glanced down; Tenace’s hand and outstretched fingers were reaching for him. It was as though in her dream she was reaching for someone.

He smiled when as he grasped her fingers, another sigh escaped her lips. Her hand was healed and felt smooth and warm in his. She was almost completely healed, abnormal on such short notice. Mal cocked his head to the side, what are you dreaming about, beautiful?

He settled in next to her, his palm rested against her face.

Tenace and a human Malaki were walking together laughing. Snow was falling; it was the winter festival. They had just reached the shop when Mal grabbed Tenace, swinging her about to face him.

‘Malaki,” Tenace began, “what’re you-”

Malaki covered her mouth with his, a slow almost teasing kiss that left Tenace breathless. They broke apart, just barely, faces still so close. She looked into those green eyes and then he brought their lips together again.

Malaki blinked, wondering if these dreams were helping her heal.

Love certainly isn’t fear, he reminded himself. The hand that lay on her face, brushed a strand of hairs back. She looked so peaceful. He leaned over and kissed her forehead, a hand still on her cheek. He couldn’t help smiling to himself, pausing to leave an iris by her plate before he left the room.

Ayo pounced on Mal as soon as he left Tenny’s room.

“Answers, Panther-boy” she demanded. Malaki cocked an eyebrow yet again at her.

“Panther-man, whatever! Talk!”

“I don’t pester you about your escapades” he responded mildly, walking down the stairs.

“This is different!” she said fiercely, hiding a blush.

“Care to elaborate?”

“It just is!” she was following him back to the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway to face her abruptly.

“Promise you won’t tell her.” Ayo looked at his face. At least now she could infer that Tenny wasn’t aware she had been kissed.

“You sure are making me promise a lot mister! When is it my turn? Do I get any retributions out of these promises?”

“Promise.”

“Fine, but only if you tell me more.” He turned into the kitchen, closing the sliding door.

“Malaki…” Ayo whined, trying to get the door open without having to break it. Mal held it in place.

“Drop it Ayo.”

“You are SO infuriating!” she managed, before stomping back upstairs to confine herself to her room for the next set of memories.

Malaki smiled lazily on the other side of the kitchen door.

“Please?”

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“Pretty please?”

“No.”

“I’ll stare at you.”

“You have been. You are no cat Ayomiko.” Ayo was pouting, only Tenace could hold out this long against her.

“If I shut up for two hours will you tell me?”

“I know that you can do that; so no.”

Damn.

“I told you that I kissed her. That should be enough to satisfy your weird and twisted mind for a few days if not weeks.”

“Oh, you know that nothing satisfies my curiosity. I shall perish from it someday; awfully soon if you don’t talk!”

Malaki tried to change the subject; “Has Tenace eaten?’

“You have fed her only four times today. Just tell me already! How can she not know that you kissed her?”

“Fine,” he said, annoyed “I manipulated a dream she was in… we both got caught up in it and we kissed. Enough said, now leave it alone.”

“We need to work on your lack of details. So how did you manipulate a dream? Was she already dreaming of kissing you?”

“It’s not a difficult process. I was telling her who I was and then we kissed. Again, leave it alone Ayo. I have told you more than you needed to know, more than was your right to know. Men don’t gossip if you want to know about dreams, go talk to one of the neighbors.”

Mal was ignoring Ayo, thinking of how to manipulate her dreams to determine if it affected the healing process. He couldn’t help but fantasize that telling her the truth would be helpful. That and it would get him another chance at seeing her in that dress. Ayo’s next question caught him off guard.

“Does she know that the kiss was real?”

“No,” he glared at her. “She thinks it was just a dream.”

“Everything?”

“Yes.” Every move, touch, kiss… all just a dream, he thought bitterly.  Ayo keen manipulation of words led her to the next question.

“So you guys did more than kiss?”

Mal groaned.”I thought that I told you to drop it. That was my nice way of saying mind your own damn business.” He was blushing.

“I’ve never been good at subtlety” she joked. “So you did do more than kiss. Well, fear not dear Malaki, were I not a pleasant, thoughtful little being I would tease you.” She was grinning ear to ear as she sauntered from the room. She sent a listening spell back to the room though, to catch anything else he might say, now that she had finally left him alone on the subject.

‘Why yes Ayo, I do think that you are an ass. A lovable one, but an ass nonetheless! We kissed! Why don’t you beat me up some more for my lack of self-control? We kissed and I held her and it was the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me but, almighty Ass, it doesn’t matter. You’re sister doesn’t realize it was real.”

Ayo could hear him stomping around the kitchen, grumbling under his breath. She really did want to leave him alone to calm down, but she needed his help. Standing up from her spot on the stairs, she re-entered the kitchen.

“Mal?”

“WHAT?” he spun with a grimace, undoubtedly expecting another attack.

“I need your help with step one of our plan”, she attempted a crooked smile, but her eyes were sad.

“How?” he asked warily.

“Go see Tenny for me…” Mal stared at her, waiting for the catch.

“Fine” he shrugged, crouching to shift. Ayo placed a hand on his shoulder, “As O’Malley.”

Malaki looked up, standing abruptly. “I can’t!”

“That’s the point. Seeing you will upset her, but when she thinks that I sent you, it will be anger at me. Plus I have a feeling that it will please her that O’Malley still cares.” Malaki stared at Ayo as though she was a mental ward patient that had suddenly started talking sense.

“You had better be right. If my head is torn off, you will be paying for the stitches.”

“Just tell her that I sent you and had told you that she was sick. Be your wonderful, CHARMING self”, she rolled her eyes and pushed him out of the kitchen. “Don’t come back until she’s in love with you and ready to kill me!”

Malaki’s nerves were in shatters as he rapped on Tenace’s door.

“It’s open.” Taking a deep breath, he mentally slipped into his O’Malley mindset. Their eyes focused on each other immediately.

“Hi…” he managed to get out.

“Hey.” She was barely breathing; her face was a strange mixture of anger and longing. Malaki spoke quickly, trying to get Ayo’s words out of his mouth.

“Ayo sent your panther with a message saying you were ill. She thought that you might want some company.” He refused to look at her as he spoke; instead he focused on her bedside table where the D.G.F Book had been thrown recently.

“How are you feeling?” he asked quietly.

“I’m fine” she snapped. He had taken a step towards her, but stopped now.

“If you want me to leave, all you have to do is ask.” She looked at him and could see that her curtness had hurt.

“I’m sorry, I…” she stopped. Taking a deep breath she tried again, “today really hasn’t been going that great for me and I’m a little stressed. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

Malaki’s eyes rose level with hers. She looked tired and worried. He swore in his mind. This was a foolish idea! She is just more confused with her feelings by my presence in this form!

“I should go”, he said.

“Wait… I…”

“It’s better if I’m not here.”

“That’s not true!” Tenace protested.

“I can see it in your face. It’ll be easier for you if I’m not around.” He turned to leave.

“Stop!’ Tenace struggled to sit up. Malaki hesitated, his back to Tenace.

“I…I don’t… don’t want you to think that I don’t want you to stay O’Malley, please! It’s just not a good time right now.” She spoke so quickly that Malaki was only digesting the first few words whenever Tenace continued. “Please tell Ayo to come here”, she was whispering.

“I will…” he turned around, looking Tenace in the eyes, “and I don’t think that, Ten” he noted with pleasure that her eyes had changed. She loved him and just didn’t know it yet. Turning back around her walked out of her room.

Now Ayomiko, we have an overdue conversation concerning what is and what is not a good idea, he thought. His fists clenched tightly against his sides, he made his way downstairs.

Ayo raised a brow when Malaki came in. “That was quick.” Her eyes found Malaki’s clenched fists. Uh-oh. Her eyes met his. She was in trouble.

“Ayo, before you go see her, we need to talk.” Malaki said quietly.

Ayo’s face went blank, void of emotion, “Yes?”

“I told you that Ten was confused with her feelings, did I not?” His gaze bore into her face.

“Yes?”

“What was your thought process in sending me up there?”

“To get her angry at me and to let her know how much you still cared.” Malaki wasn’t expecting that, he didn’t respond for a minute. Ayo sighed, “What’s the problem, Mal?”

“She’s plenty pissed at you, but my going up there was the worst thing we could have done.” Malaki said dangerously.

“Oh?”

“You know bloody well what I’m talking about” he growled.

“Really?” Ayo made sure that Tenace wouldn’t be able to hear a word with a quick spell. She had a feeling that Mal was going to blow. “Refresh my memory for me?”

“Ayo, she’s just more confused now! That leads to frustration with her. She doesn’t need me making life more difficult for her! She would’ve been a lot better off without me going up there!”

Tenace had just finished eating her steak strips. Why did Ayo have to send that…that MAN up here?!? She was furious. And Malaki brought the message to O’Malley? What was up with that? “Ugh!”

She lay back in bed. When O’Malley walked in, she felt… she didn’t know what she felt. She groaned back pushed herself farther into the pillowcase. A flash of color caught her eye. A purple blue iris lay on her bedside table next to her plate. Her fingers gently touched the petals as she held it in her hands. Her arms felt weak and trembling and her heart was pounding. Only one person knew her favorite flowers: irises and gladiolas. Malaki.

She carefully placed it in a vase and wiped her eyes. She bit her lip. She needed to be held right now- she knew it. The thing was… she actually wanted it. She hugged herself and leaned against the wall.

Stupid freakin’ feelings…

“If you’re concerned about Tenace’s confused feelings over both of you, why don’t you just tell her who you are? One less thing for her to worry about?” Ayo asked icily.

“I can’t” Malaki muttered.

“I’m sorry, you’re having this damn little pity party and all you can come up with is ‘you can’t’? You’ll have to be a bit more original!”

“I CAN’T!” Malaki burst out, “Do you honestly think I like this? You think I like hiding who I am? Do you have any idea what it does to me to see her like this?”

He looked down at his big hands lying on the table. When he went into her room, when he carried her up the stairs, every time he saw her smile, saw her laugh, even just walk into a room or found her sleeping at peace, he wanted to hold her. He wanted it when he was a panther, Malaki, or O’Malley. When he saw her hiding her fears, her worries, her sadness, he wanted to kiss her until everything was better, whisper in her ear it was okay. He wanted it so bad it hurt. It hurt every time he resisted and fought it down. It hurt that he’d allow himself to get close enough to touch, to hold and then force himself back. It hurt like hell. Then that one moment, that one amazing moment when he kissed her, he could and couldn’t breathe at the same time. She fitted perfectly against him, when he carried her upstairs, her head found that perfect resting place against his shoulder. When he held her, her head fit snuggly under his chin as though there were both molded to fit.

He felt helpless, useless.

He clenched his fists, “I can’t tell her Ayo.” He was saying it calmly now, forcing his voice not to rise, “I want to. I want to tell her so bad it takes everything to keep from yelling it out to her. I want to tell her so bad it hurts. But I can’t. Not yet.”

He continued to stare at his fists, “When this Meta is over, I will. I hate myself for this. We need her angry- need her to burn out quickly and change back. Me telling her would complicate things. You may have forgotten the wolves, I haven’t. They’re still out there, waiting. They will probably attack right after the Meta- at her weakest.” He paused. “Tenace has been through this before, she understands its importance and she’s had to do burnouts before it’s just… they’ve never been this bad. This is…” he hesitated.

“Every cloud needs their silver lining, Mal.” Ayo kept her voice soft.

“She can’t be distracted, she’s supposed to be totally pissed off. My being a problem isn’t helping!”

He sighed and fell back in his chair.

“Now go piss off your sister.” He ended the conversation just like that.

A shadow clouded over Ayo’s face, but she quickly hid it with a grin. In a mock salute, Ayo straightened up- “Yes sir, Sergeant Panther Boy!” and walked out of the room and up the stairs.

Upon reaching the first landing, the grim faced Ayo was nearly knocked over by Nells, who promptly jumped up and went flying full speed at the shadows, only to fly back across the landing with a whimper.

Ayo put her had out, “enough girl, you can’t fight all our battles, sit!” Nells immediately sat, but growled into the shadows.

“A strange beast” a gruff voice growled from where Nells was glaring at, “no matter how evident it is that she’s got no chance, she still keeps fighting.”

“Why do you think I named her Nells? ‘One-with-honor’. What are you doing in my house Garre?” she kept her fear to herself and clutched her magic, ready to fight should the need arise.

“Just checking on our friend is all. I must thank you, her burning out makes my job that much easier.” Ayo couldn’t see him, but she could feel his evil grin radiating through the shadows.

“I’m going to enjoy killing you when this all goes down.” She barely got the words out, before her body was slammed into the wall and Garre’s hooded figure stood, clutching her throat.

“Your cocky mannerisms have left me with many opportunities to kill you. I just have come to realize that your rash actions make your ‘sister’ easy pickings, and that your stupidity jeopardizes her life and that if I wait long enough you will lead her right to me.” Garre was mad, but he had just said all the wrong words. Ayo’s deep blue eyes turned purple as she called on more magic than ever before. Her skin began to warm, her blood boiling. Grabbing the large angimal’s hand, Ayo dug her fingernails into the soft skin between Garre’s thumb and index finger. Yelping he snatched his hand away, dropping Ayo to a crouching position on the floor. She launched herself at the larger opponent, conveniently forgetting that Garre was a foot taller than her and a bred-warrior.

The large man soon found himself pinned against the wall, Ayo forgot about her magic and merely used her fighting skills. Pinching the tender skin at the top of the ear, she drug Garre down to eye level, pinning a foot against his groin. Grabbing a fistful of hair, Ayo began speaking in a tone that suggested Garre had better pay attention.

“Had I not been given explicit orders not to kill you yet, I would do so now. Something that you cannot fathom, is that friends, loyalty and honor are more than words, they mean something and whenever my SISTER,” she emphasized the word with a not so gentle tug at Garre’s scalp. He winced in pain as she continued, the pressure on his groin making it difficult for him to do much else. “When my sister is unable to fight, and you plan to attack, just remember that I’m looking for a pelt for my room, and I’m missing wolf skin. If I can do this, without magic, well…use your imagination.” With a sick grin, Ayo stepped back, releasing Garre. “I enjoyed our little chat, good day filth.” She flicked her fingers and Garre was instantly consumed by a purple glow and levitated out the 1^st story window into an alley. Ayo promptly let Garre take advantage of this situation and allowed him to fall the 25 feet to the ground.

Instead of continuing to Tenace’s room, Ayo ran downstairs, flying into the kitchen. Malaki looked up, startled.

“Woah…” he muttered, taking in Ayo’s appearance.

“Ayo- what?”

“If you want her to live, if you remotely love her, then you better get your shit together!”

“Ayo, you’re on fire… literally smoking.”

“That might have something to do with running into your pal Garre on the stairs just now. She was so angry but trying her best not to yell, her fists were clenched to her sides.

Malaki’s eyes widened, “what did you just say?”

“Yeah, you want her to survive? I suggest you keep a closer watch on her!” On that note, she spun on her heel and ran back up the stairs towards Ten’s room. Without knocking, Ayo stormed into the drowsy woman’s room.

“WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?!?”

Ayo quickly sent her magic out undetected to Tenace. The older girl was exhausted, pain and magic drainage taking its toll.

“I find it exhaustingly annoying, that on top of having to mend your shredded sheets, deal with your psychotic boyfriends and manage your wonderful mood swings, I also have my home and shop threatened by your angimal enemies!” Ayo hated herself for this, so the look of anger on her face was certainly genuine.

“What are you talking about?”

“You, Malaki, Garre, O’Malley- Why is that because you are suddenly bedridden I have to take on all of your responsibilities?” Tenace let out a low growl from between her pointed eye teeth.

“Ayomiko- you have no idea; none whatsoever of the pain that I am going through right now. NONE! If you don’t like the ‘problems’ that follow me, then you should’ve told me earlier and I would have left.” She threw back the sheets and pulled her slow-healing deformed legs about. In a rush, she was out of bed, but it only took a few steps before she collapsed. Trying to be the hard-headed, independent self that she normally was, she let out no cry of pain, but Ayo knew that she would not move on her own again tonight.

“I’d help, but you are right, it’s not my responsibility.” With that, Ayo summoned her magic and literally forced herself to turn around and leave her hurt and VERY angry sister lying on the floor.

The second the door closed, Ayo screamed telepathically for Malaki, “SHE NEEDS YOU… NOW!” He was there within seconds, took a split second to register the tears streaming down Ayo’s face, before bolting into Tenace’s room.

Ayo fell to the floor, heart-throbbing sighs escaping her as she whispered “I’m so sorry Tenny…” over and over again.

Tenace gritted her teeth and reached for the door. Her eyes fluttered shut and she lost consciousness just as Malaki came thundering up the stairs. He barely glanced at Ayo before bursting into Tenace’s room. His eyes fell on Tenace and he knelt next to her, gently touching her face. His eyes took in her damaged legs. He carefully gathered her in his arms and carried her to the bed, gently setting her down. He sat next to her feet and placed his hands on her ankle. Gently, he rubbed her legs slowly, inching his way up to her thigh, one inch at a time. Her legs changed and healed where he touched and as he reached her thigh, he started on the other leg.

Ayo peaked into her sister’s room once she had composed herself. She didn’t know what he was doing until he started on the second leg. His touch looked gentle but firm.

He forced his thoughts away from memories of the kiss, how her legs had easily rubbed against his, becoming entangled in his.

Malaki blinked and shook his head, finishing her healing. He stood up and took a seat on a chair next to her bed, just watching her. He was reaching for her face, when a voice stopped him.

“Malaki.”

He turned and stood. Two panther angels stood before him.

“You’ve been summoned,” the youngest stated.

“Jacun, who has summoned me/”

“Your Emperor.”

Malaki’s emerald eyes darkened, “Why?”

“He did not say,” answered Elren the eldest of the two. He crossed his big black arms. “He just said to get you.”

Malaki shook his head, “No.”

Elren frowned, “You remember what a loyal subject to the Emperor does?”

“He obeys-”

“He obeys the Emperor’s command”, finished Elren. “You have been commanded to go before his Majesty. You can’t choose. You just go.

“No.”

Elren stepped forward, “Maybe you didn’t hear me?”

“No!” Malaki interjected sharply, “You didn’t hear ME. I said no, I’m not going with you.”

“But-”

Jacun put his hand out and whispered something to Elren. The elder nodded and left as suddenly as he had come.

Malaki watched the angel.

“Malaki, how long have we been friends?”

“Centuries…ages.”

“A long time”, Jacun smiled, “You are my oldest friend.”

Malaki grunted and watched Jacun sharply.

“This is why?” Jacun asked.

“Yes, yes this is why”, he said it softly.

“You’ve been summoned.” It was a statement, not a question or a demand, Jacun knew better.

“I can’t leave her… not now.”

“Not ever?” Jacun raised a brow.

“Jacun,” he started slowly, “My job is to protect her, guide her…”

“Love her isn’t in that list, friend.” Jacun said it mildly, stepping softly.

“Who said I love her?” Mal asked, just as mild.

“You think I’ve never seen a panther in love? I saw you reach for her with your fingertips and your eyes.”

Malaki hid his silver eyes.

“He put me on this job for a reason”, Malaki said, “I cannot just leave her.”

“I know”, Jacun sighed, “I knew it when you saw us.” He looked over at Tenace, “Of all the angels you had to fall for the rogue tiger, huh?”

Malaki smiled weakly, “It makes life interesting.

Jacun chuckled, “Sounds like you, the jackals are going to get a kick out of this!”

His face grew grim, “Mal, they are going to try again.”

“I know.” He sighed, “I’m not leaving.”

“I’ll tell them, I’ll try to stall.”

”I appreciate it.”

Jacun grasped Malaki’s arm in a farewell and left.

Malaki stared at the spot where his friend was just at for a few seconds. He turned and looked at Tenace in silence.

“Ayo…” The girl let out a small squeak realizing she’d been caught and walked into the room.

They both silently watched Tenace as Ayo tried to put her questions into words.

“That’s what you are supposed to look like?” she finally asked.

Malaki normally would have laughed at this because it was Ayo, but right this second, he didn’t have the heart.

“Yes.”

“Why don’t you?”

“I’m not like every other angimal. I get powers a little at a time. I can’t even fully transform.”

“You can only go from human to panther?”

“With a little magic, yes.”

“Why?”

“I wasn’t the most responsible angel. My father took my powers- leaving me in my most basic form. I have to earn my powers back.” There was a short pause as Ayo let her thoughts simmer.

“Were you ever envious of Tenny’s ability to transform?”

“Many times… but I always realize that I would much rather be me than go through what she goes through.”

“The Metas?”

Malaki was silent. He didn’t know if he could do what Tenace did. Leave everything for a value- a belief and fight for her whole life almost alone.

For a long time, neither of them spoke, keeping their silent vigilance over Tenace.

“Ayo… could you…?”

“Fine,” Ayo rolled her eyes, “I’ll let you have your ‘alone’ time.” She gave Malaki a sad smile and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Ayo walked up the stairs, a single tear escaping the corner of her eye. She hated herself for it, but she envied both Malaki and Tenace. Tenace had this man, who loved her so much that he chose to rebel against his homeland and spend eternity with her. Ayo couldn’t even get the man she wanted to be hers to explain who he was. The Malaki, he still had Tenace, Tenace still wanted to be with him. Ayo had not missed the look of hatred in Tenace’s eyes when Ayo had left her helpless and hurting. Not only had she pissed off her sister she was borderline hatred.

What’s worse, Ayo thought as she collapsed onto her bed and buried her face into Nell’s thick black coat, what’s so terrible is that I’m going to push her over. She will hate me by sunset tomorrow, finally having her burn out, I pray. When it’s all over, I hope, I pray to whichever gods are listening… let Tenace forgive me someday, before she… she… before she leaves. She finished her prayer and cried herself to sleep.

Unfortunately the gods were listening- had Ayo never created a catastrophe before, she was on a roll now.

Malaki was holding Tenace her head on his shoulder.

“She doesn’t hate you”, he whispered, “she does this because she loves you.”

His arms tightened around her, “She is doing this because she’s your sister.”

Jacun and Elren bowed and kneeled as the panther emperor stood before them.

“He refused?”

“Yes, Majesty.”

Both of their eyes were staring straight at the floor; it was dangerous to look the emperor in the face.

“Why?”

“He refused to say, Majesty.”

The Emperor turned away from them, “Elren, please leave us.”

The elder panther stood, still bowed over, and walked backwards from the room.

“Please rise, Jacun”, the Emperor said finally. “Speak openly with me, as you once did.”

Jacun’s eyes rose to the Emperor’s familiar emerald green ones.

“Why wouldn’t he come?”

“He is doing the job that you gave him. He is not about to leave it.”

“Is there any particular reason?”

“She is doing a burnout Meta apparently.”

“He appears devoted to his position”, the Emperor said dryly, “more so than to his Emperor.”

“His Emperor gave him this job”, Jacun said quietly, “He won’t abandon it.”

“There is something that you aren’t telling me Jac.” The Emperor said this abruptly, “Will you tell me as friend to my son?”

Jacun hesitated, “Your Majesty, you must understand…”

The ruler stood before him patiently.

Jacun sighed, “The prince is… he’s- in love with the Tiger.”

The Emperor sat down slowly. “He’s in love with her?” He repeated the words. Jacun nodded.

“Yes.”

The Emperor was silent for a long time.

“What color were they?” he asked abruptly, “If they were gold…”

“They were silver, Majesty.” He said it steadily.

“So it’s real.”

“Yes.”

There was along pause before the Emperor rose and opened a hidden cabinet in the wall and took out a simple gold chest. He opened it slowly.

“Jac… come here please.”

The panther approached his Emperor respectfully. Inside the chest there was a velvet cushion with a few empty dimples in the velvet. There were about five more dimples, that were filled with small orbs, each no more than an inch in diameter. They were swirling with cloudy colors of aquamarine, lavender, turquoise, emerald and fiery red. The Emperor took out the small cloudy orb that was the red and threaded it’s silver loop with a silver chain.

“Give this to Malaki if you cannot convince him to come back” he said, handing the orb to Jacun, “Now go quickly, he will need it.”

Loup’s nails clicked on the marble floor as Garre’s own padded feet made no sound as they walked down the long hallway.

“Garre”, a lone female wolf angel padded silently beside him, “is this wise? Going to these people?”

“It’s our best bet”, he answered tersely. “The demons haven’t held to their deal. The love sick pup isn’t helping us and we’re running out of time.”

“Why don’t we get her the night she recovers?” growled a third angel, a male with murky brown eyes, “She’ll be at her weakest-”

“And even more carefully protected”, interrupted Garre, “her bleeding sister is only half… but strong enough to get at least two or three of us. Not to mention that bloody cat and the damn dog. You have to think Sever.”

“I didn’t like asking the demons for help”, Sever snapped. “I really don’t like asking these people. It makes me feel incompetent- like we can’t do our job.”

“You’re the only one here who hasn’t had a go with the Tiger, Sever”, snapped the female. “You haven’t been tossed around like a child’s plaything. She overcame most of the wolves AND a few tigers! We NEED the help.”

“Tiana, she’ll be weak-”

“And we’ve gone after her at that time,” growled Tiana, “and we still got our asses kicked. The pack leaders have agreed that we need the help. She’s tough.”

“You sound like you admire her…”

“I respect her, and her spirit.”

“She’s a fighter”, Garre spoke, “She was trained to fight, to survive, and she has done just that. She’s perfected the art of hiding and moving- of living on the run. She’s done so for a long time- centuries.”

“So, what makes you think that we can get her?” Sever demanded.

“She’s tired, she’s running out of steam, but she’ll replenish. This is a big meta and they’re burning her out so they’re nervous.”

“So what’s the plan?”

Garre was silent as Tiana answered.

“Attack unexpected.” Loup snarled.

“Yes, Captain Obvious, we will try, but were you not listening? They’re expecting us already!” The male was glancing at Garre for approval.

“Sever, Tiana- whether you like it or not, it is time to inform this god what his daughter has been meddling in.”

Calara glanced up from her toys.

“Who are you?” Her voice was musical and made the wolves eyes glaze over.

“We are in search of your brother, Nemar” replied Garre, meeting the goddess’ eyes for a split second. Her gold eyes frightened him, mainly because a god’s eyes couldn’t be read like an angimals.

“Why do you search for big brother?” Her white hair seemed to be in constant motion as she spoke. The beautiful sounds played on her child lips.

“We are in search of the father of a Halfling that has been causing conflict in our realm.”

“What makes you think Nemar fathered the Halfling?” Her voice had suddenly taken on an edge, but was still music to the angimal’s ears.

“We don’t know who the father is, Goddess. We have been looking everywhere in your realm for the father. If you could just let us see Nemar-”

“What does your Halfling look like and I will tell you if it is brother’s.” It was a command. Garre took a deep breath, trying to keep himself in the Goddess’ good graces.

“She’s young, female, light colored hair, light-hearted, strong but petite. She has blue eyes, but I have witnessed them blaze purple. He quivered at the memory, it wasn’t a pleasant one.

Calara looked thoughtful.

“Her name?” she asked thoughtfully.

“Ayomiko Serene.” Calara began to giggle, which sounded like a wind chime in a tornado.

“Oh yes, little Miko. She is so much like her father, but you are mistaken about something angimal.”

“What might that be?”

“She’s NOT a Halfling.” The giggling continued.

“Something’s changed…”

“What’re you talking about Mal?” Ayo put her yarn down and looked at her friend’s distressed face.

“This one IS different.”

“We already knew that… you already said that her meta is coming on words than she’s ever had.”

“Not that Ayo, it’s the wolf. He’s got an ace up his sleeve. Too cocky to not be playing dirty, well dirtier than usual that is.”

“Should we be concerned with the scum?” Ayo’s face was distorted with so much hatred.

“Normally no, but… I don’t know. He’s up to something very dangerous for us. My father sent me a new power, for fighting- he would not have done so if I weren’t in danger or wouldn’t need it to protect her.”

Ayo got up and walked over to Malaki. “What’re you doing?” he asked with an edge to his voice. She bent down, to reach his rocking chair, and hugged Malaki.

“WHAT’RE YOU DOING? STOP IT! EWW- IT BURNS!”

“Oh shut up, big baby!” Ayo pulled away. Both of them grinned impishly at each other.

“I’m going to enjoy having you for a brother in law” Malaki smiled at Ayo’s words.

“I’m keeping all my cubs at least 15 miles from you at all times until they’re grown!”

“Oh I don’t think so! Shut up before I hug you again,” Ayo teased, grabbing her yarn, before heading up the stairs.

“Ayo?” Malaki called after her.

“Yeah…” she paused at the first step of the stairs.

“We’ve got to hurry.”

“I know.” Then she hurried up to her bedroom before Malaki could say anything more.

“Big Brother”, Calara called over her shoulder, glancing down a dark hallway.

“What is it sweet one?” called a loud, booming voice from the shadows.

“We’ve visitors with news of little Miko.” Calara stood, as a glow surrounded her small body. The brighter the glow became, the larger she seemed to be, and her shadow was changing shape from a child’s to a woman’s. After reaching a blinding, white light, the glow began to dim, leaving a new figure behind. Calara was now a full grown woman with waist length silver hair. Her ringlets fell over petite shoulders, and pale skin revealed through slits on her sleeves. She had a slim figure, full lips, gold eyes and a button nose.

Garre recognized the nose and gulped.

“Nemar dear, come listen to our guests.” She held a hand out to the dark hallway.

A tall man stepped from the shadows. He had sky blue eyes, a large nose, and a short beard that covered a strong jaw. He was gangly, but appeared sturdy at the same time.

He carefully took Calara’s hand and as though she were porcelain, he carefully kissed her fingertips.

“Who are our guests, sweet?” He straightened as he asked, but never released Calara’s delicate palm.

“Wolf- angimals. They bring news of Miko.” At the sound of his daughter’s name, Nemar turned from his mate and gazed in the direction of the wolves.

He’s blind. Garre thought, taking in the mist that covered the dark blue eyes.

“Yes, I am, Wolf. Blind men are humble. For 127 human years I have chosen to be blind. After 3 more years, my self-given term will be complete and I will regain my vision.” His voice was strong and factual, but Garre detected an underlying tone of pride and that stubborn nature that he had personally encountered in the god’s young daughter.

“My daughter wolf?” Calara reminded as though she knew his thoughts.

“She has fallen into the company of the “Loner”. The latest Meta is taking place under your child’s roof. She also takes up bedspace with the Forsaken Father’s half-blood son. All angimal hunters will descend upon your daughter’s house directly following the meta. We have come to warn you to intervene in your child’s life, before she is truly endangered.”

Nemar looked in Calara’s direction, his hand still clutching hers.

“This fool is not truly trying to tell us how to control our child is he?”

“Obviously there is a second, selfish underlying. Wait Nemar.” Her voice was even, but angry.

“We mean not to offend!” Tiana stuttered.

Calara looked at her, “We placed our baby in that Realm during the Gods’ War. It was dangerous for her here and she was too wild for us to be able to take the time to raise her while protecting our territory. She chooses to ignore what she is”, her voice broke, she coughed slightly and then continued. “My baby had 15 mothers before she reached the human age of 10. She ages slower than other children. She got her fire at 7 human years, transformation at 12, mind powers at 13. We wanted to intervene, tell her who she was, why we’d left her, what was happening to her. She is safer without us.”

“No longer is that true goddess-” Garre stopped short, Nemar was literally two inches from his face.

“You smell of blood, pain… heartache.” Faltering a second, Garre continued carefully as the god continued to gaze with blind eyes.

“She has been attacked, kidnapped, hurt drained. The ‘Loner’ is VERY angry with her. When our army arrives, I cannot guarantee her safety. Perhaps were the both of you to accompany us, we… she would have better chances.”

When he stopped talking, the marble hall was silent.

Not good. Garre thought, making sure to throw up his mind guards.

Suddenly Calara was larger than before and her gold eyes were on fire.

Nemar grabbed Garre’s throat.

“I can smell Miko on you. I can smell her pain. You have harmed MY daughter and you DARE to come ask me for help in your pitiful games?!” His voice was soft, but the grip around Garre’s neck betrayed his calm façade.

The two younger wolves backed away, trying to escape the god’s wrath. Calara seized them both, an iron clasp around their necks.

“If you hadn’t noticed, little pups, by my earlier disguise, we are still at war! We don’t have time for your little games, nor patience for those who LIE!”

We are in a lot of trouble! Garre was finding it difficult to breathe.

He glanced over to see how the other two were managing but became entranced in the dazed look on Calara’s face. Her angry features had stilled and she was blankly staring off into space, her grip remaining tight, but her concentration obviously elsewhere. Suddenly she snapped back, dropping the pups roughly on the floor. With cold, penetrating eyes she glared at Garre.

“Release him Nemar!” It was a command. Gods don’t take too nicely to commands, he’ll kill me just to spite her!

The angry god’s fingers ground tighter into his neck, reaffirming Garre’s fear.

“Nemar, please. Release him.” With a firm pinch, the god let Garre fall to the floor, gasping for breath.

“Get out.” Calara commanded.

Gladly, Garre thought, confused but thankful. He ran, his pups not far behind.

“Why didn’t you let me avenge my Miko?!” He was outraged. He sense Calara floating towards him, he could smell her scent- fresh raindrops- she was sad. Her gentle fingers stretched out on his face, caressing his jaw.

“Because sweet, you will be more pleased with how I saw the foolish bastard die.”

“Which is?” Nemar demanded, trying to soften his tone at her expense.

“At the hand of our Miko.”

“Then why are you so sad dearest?” he tried to reach towards her. She took his hand, placing it in her hair.

“You won’t be able to see our warrior defeat him and I will have witnessed it twice.” Nemar said nothing, just stroked her hair slowly.

Tenace’s eyes opened. She breathed in and stopped. She could smell the scent of leather and cut wood- a scent that she particularly liked… shit.

O’Malley’s scent was in her room. She was trying to figure out if she was furious or not at the thought. She looked at her door. She could still see Ayo’s stiff form standing in the doorway, offering no help. No feeling.

At least there had been no pity. That was something that Tenace could never stand. However at this point something- ANYTHING- from Ayo would be comforting. It was unnerving for the young woman to be so cold. Tenace felt her eyes swell up with tears.

No. She was not going to cry because Ayo had done what she had come to expect from anyone who had befriended her. From that bitterness fury sprang from the inside of her.

If Ayo didn’t want her problems, or her, around, that was easily remedied. Tenace got up from her bed and grabbed her bag that was underneath it. She wrenched open the drawers of her dresser, shoving aside the pain that sprang up from each of her limbs. Ignoring the hurt that Ayo had created took more effort and required her undivided attention. She gathered up the few belongings that she had before she met Ayo. She never took what she acquired while living with someone.

Despite the fury and pain in her limbs, she carefully placed her treasures in her sack. They were all that she had that were truly hers.

She looked around the room. She cleaned what little things were on the floor and made the bed. She left things as she found them. Satisfied, she turned and bent down to grab her bag. Suddenly she felt quite dizzy. Shaking it off, she picked up her bag and strode to the door, just reaching it before she leaned heavily against it, losing her footing. Her head pounded in a familiar way. She needed to sit down.

No!

Ayo wanted her out. And Ayo was right, Tenace wasn’t Ayo’s problem- this was Ayo’s shop, with lodgings Ayo owned. Tenace was a guest, she had spent too long here since she had never actually felt like one before now. Tenace was too stubborn though, convincing herself that her business shouldn’t involve a headstrong Ayo.

She struggled to stay on her feet- that headache was making it difficult to stand. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed the handle.

If she didn’t sit down now, she was going to end up on the floor one way or another. Her teeth and hands felt sore. It was like someone was pushing and pulling them.

She had to get up, get out, leave Ayo out of this mess. She tried to get up, no good. Maybe she would do better to just close her eyes… for just a minute… a minute of rest and she would be fine… a minute of rest and this headache would pass.

Tenace opened her eyes. The sun was setting and her “little rest” had lasted about four hours. Attempting to stand, she clutched the wall and dragged herself to her feet. Slowly she opened the door, picked up her bag and carefully stepped onto the landing.

Where ya going? Malaki was lying just outside of her door.

“Why are you sitting outside of my door?”

Well, I found it difficult to get in… must have been some dead weight blocking the door. Oh and I’ve discovered I’m psychic. I just knew that you would try to find and idiotic way of making a fool of yourself. You can thank me now for stopping you if you’d like.

“Shut up. Ayo wants me gone. So I’m going…”

Where? Don’t be stupid Tenace… You’re going to Meta within the next sunset.

“Why do I bother? The words “shut” and “up” just don’t seem to be in your vocabulary.”

You’re so pleasant. Now get your ass back into bed.

“No!”

Okay, but I want you to know that I will relish this ‘I told you so’.

“What are you talking about?” Tenace took a step towards the stairs, a scowl spreading across her face at the panther’s cocky tone. Malaki had not been this stubborn in what seemed like centuries… of course she couldn’t hear him before now…

Shall I catch you? Or do you wish to remain a prideful ass and have me lug you back to bed AFTER you pass out?

“I’m not going to pass out!” For proof, Tenace heaved her bag over her shoulder and proceeded to take three full stride steps as Malaki taunted her.

Three, Two… One. Goodnight Ten.

That was when the room spun, everything went black and Tenace fought hard, but still managed to collapse in a heap 5 steps from the stairs.

With a grunt, Malaki changed and picked her up, carrying her tucked into his chest.

“We seem to be making a habit of this. I wish just once you could be conscious for it.”

Ayo finished toweling off and willed her candles to light.

“Sweet one?” she glanced around but her room was empty.

“Yeeto?” A shimmer of light appeared in the corner. “Hang on! Please!” Ayo quickly put on her robe, tying a knot. This time I will get some answers, before I let him near my skin!

“Okay” Ayo called, planting her fists on her hips. The shimmer grew until Yeeto was standing in the corner. He looked better than Ayo remembered- he was still thin, pale, with those beautiful brown eyes, but that mysterious tattoo was not on his face. He looked sheepish, but was grinning, taking in her appearance.

“Hello Ayo”, that voice made her want to thrust out her chest and look as sexy as possible. Instead, she checked her knot and started the interrogation.

“Where have you been?”

He smiled, “working.”

“Doing what exactly?”

“Warrior training.”

“You’re an officer?”

“To a degree- yes.”

“Where?”

“A different kingdom, you’ve never been there.”

“Hmpf! What makes you so sure?”

“Females aren’t allowed- if I recall correctly you are very much a female.” He was staring at her robe. Ayo felt a blush creep up.

“Why do you keep coming back? We’ve spent nights together, but you don’t really know me.”

“You are Ayomiko Serene. You protect your strange family; you are unwaveringly loyal to your sister, you are beautiful in every aspect of the word, intelligent, brave, daring and a perfect curiosity.”

“So you come back because you’re curious? That’s it?”

His face softened.

“Of course not sweet.”

“Then I don’t get it…”

“I’m in love with you.”

Blink. Blink, Blink. Blink, Blink, Blink. Blink?

“Ayo?”

“Please don’t take this the wrong way… but I need you to leave.” His face did a poor job of hiding his distraught emotions. “Yeeto… I… I just can’t deal with this right now. Once Ten finishes… healing… I promise we can figure this out.” A scowl crossed Yeeto’s face, letting Ayo catch another glimpse of that strange tattoo.

“Why does that make you angry?” Ayo had come to accept that she had no self-control when it came to her curiosity. She stepped closer, closing the gap between them.

“It’s not a good idea to be close to me Ayo.” She reached out to touch his face, but he caught her wrist with an iron grip.

“You’re hurting me…” she tried to pull it off in a nonchalant voice, but her eyes showed her confusion.

“Don’t touch me!”

That sounded remotely like a command. Ayo was now going to show this… whatever he was… just how well she took to commands. Calling on her power, Ayo heated her skin up to something akin to thousands of open flames.

“I’m sorry in advance for this, but you really shouldn’t tell people what to do.” She could feel her skin getting hotter. She thought it must be as warm as brimstone. Yeeto laughed.

“How are you not burnt?”

“Where I’m from, this is what a nice day feels like.”

“Where are you from? What are you?”

“When a man says he loves you, you don’t ask questions. In fact, normal humans respond by repeating the phrase and then there is passionate love making.”

“Well obviously you aren’t human! What do they do where you’re from?” Ayo let her skin cool slightly, but realized that it was no longer hot in anger, she wanted him, even with her wild temper, she warmed up for him.

Well that’s new…

“We skip the polite exchange and skip right to the sex.”

“Sounds good.” Ayo knew she must have grinned, because Yeeto began to laugh.

“Only you could argue with a fired up-” he stopped short.

“A fired up what?”

“Me. A fired up me with a bad temper and still manage to make me laugh. See- I don’t love you to get inside you”, he stroked her hair, “I love you because you are my perfect balance. The yin to my yang.”

Hokay let me just start off by saying that the fact that this thing is being put online is a big freakin deal for me. So I want comments if you read but I also request patience. Internet is kind of sketchy where I am and bursts of inspiration coincide with just how tired or wired I am. So if I go a couple weeks without updating it means I’m either tired or wrestling with how to continue a scene or the fact that I have no internet. Also, some scenes still need work and need to be completed. Again bear with me seeing as there are some scenes that I’m dreading writing and just don’t want to but I have to. So as I work through my personal deals with these scenes please just work with me. ‘K that’s all I got for now, enjoy!

Eighteen Years Ago

“Doesn’t it feel good to finally be able to get up and walk around?” The family of six walked down the ramp from the plane as an announcer told the leaving passengers to watch their step. The warm Phoenix air slipped in through the cracks of the makeshift walls of the ramp and the droning of the plane engines faded as the Wolf family trekked into the airport. Eight year old Anya clutched her book to her chest with one hand and her backpack with the other. Her father, Mike Wolf held her little sister and called out to her big brother to stay with the family as he half walked half ran towards the bathrooms. Anya tugged on her mother’s pant leg. Maria Wolf leaned down and held a finger to her lips to tell Anya to whisper. She didn’t want to wake her youngest child that slept in her arms. He had fitfully slept on the plane and had been fussy half of the trip before finally falling asleep as they had left the plane. Anya glanced at her baby brother before telling her mom, “I have to go to the bathroom too.”

Maria nodded, “Mike, let’s all take a quick trip to the bathroom before we get our bags, ok?”

Mike had just caught up to his oldest son and had him by the wrist as he led him back to the rest of his family. “All right, you want to trade me children?” He handed over his youngest daughter and Maria gave the sleeping child to her husband. (to be continued)

Seven Years Later

Anya knew the routine by now; follow the prisoner ahead of you, about face, wait calmly as your chains were lifted and secured to the ceiling. Take the beating. Try to remain standing as your chains were released from their hold on the ceiling, stumble back to your cell, hit the ground, and hope to die. She had been following a good portion of it for the past six years; it was only recently that she had adopted the last step – what the rest of the guests of Hoyo de Infierno begged for. It was a nice reprieve for those that the Grim Reaper had the mercy to visit. For those that still lived, it was something that was seen every day – something that was envied.  Yes, she knew the routine- and she hated it.

There was a general silence in the marching line. The only light was the ever dancing flames of torches. Up in the newer portion of Infierno there were light bulbs here and there. Anya could remember seeing them, barely. She hadn’t been up there since she first was shoved and dragged through the doors as nine year old. The warden had laughed. How many guards does it take to hold onto a little girl? It had taken at least three. She wished she had fought harder, not that it would have done any good…

Her arms ached still. She had fought two days ago, a big man. He had been fast. She had been faster. If she wasn’t, she’d have lost. If she’d lost, she would be dead. She hated the fighting, the killing she was forced to perform, to endure so that she would survive. This last fight was different though. She had fought in defiance of the warden. He had tried to cripple her. She rolled her shoulders in remembrance and her jaw set. He learned she didn’t break easy. She welcomed the small discomfort in her arms; it was a treat compared to what she was about to receive. The clinking of chains never ceased in this place. Someone was screaming, someone was shouting, someone dying, and through it all there was always the clinking of metal on metal as chains were disturbed. Her bare calloused feet stumbled as the man in front of her hit the ground. The line halted and the general mutterings and shouts occurred as guards hurried trying to find the cause of the hold up.

Anya impatiently reached for the struggling man. She grabbed his arms and pulled him up just as a guard reached them, baton raised. “Detenéis! Detenéis!,” Anya indicated that the man was now standing and the line was moving. As she shuffled along once more the baton fell on her bad shoulder. She bit back her cry of pain as her still healing flesh broke open again. That was her punishment for interfering. She groaned as the baton fell again for good measure. The guard glared at her, screaming obscenities at her as the line of prisoners passed him.

She glared straight forward, keeping her curses to herself as she entered what she liked to call one of the lungs of Infierno. Most of the screaming came from this room, she had contributed many times.  The order to halt arrived and the line ambled to a stop. Following protocol, they turned and waited as their arms were raised and chains were properly secured to the ceiling. The man she had helped glanced at her, studying Anya for a moment before giving a nod of thanks. Anya shrugged and closed her eyes for a moment, retreating behind her mental wall as her shirt was raised and secured around her shoulders. If she was lucky, she’d block this out. She never had. She waited for the inevitable crack and pain.

Infierno refused to disappoint.

Twenty prisoners hung from their chains, exhausted; tired from screaming, tired from crying, tired from struggling, tired of waiting to die. Anya struggled to catch her breath as blood coursed down her back and her raw skin burned. She would live, she always did. It was what came next that might kill her. A couple of the prisoners warily began watching the guards as they put away their batons and whips and took out bottles. She glanced at the man beside her. He was slightly graying in his beard and hair. The deep cut wrinkles in his face made him appear older than what he probably was. He was hanging from his chains, letting his arms above him hold his weight as he panted and struggled to breathe between coughing fits. He was having a hard time of it. Anya recognized the watery cough – pneumonia. The way the sick were treated here he’d be lucky if he lived the next two days.

Anya’s head snapped up as the sudden shouts of pain and groans began. Tequila thrown on open wounds helped to burn away possible infection – it also just burned. Some of the guards laughed and made bets on which prisoner would scream loudest. Some saw this as part of the job and tried to go through the process as quickly as possible. Some days it stopped at the tequila. Some days it didn’t. Unfortunately, today wasn’t a day where it ended at simply burning away infection.  Anya’s face contorted in pain as the liquor was splashed on her back and couldn’t suppress the shout that escaped her lips as the pain coursed through her. She managed to breathe a sigh of relief when the guard moved on. She heard a shout of pain from the man beside her as his turn came and then out of the corner of her eye she saw the striking of the match. He lit up like a bonfire when the flame hit the alcohol.

Anya laid her head against the stone floor of her cell and closed her eyes. They immediately opened again as the image of the man on fire appeared. She would smell burning flesh for a long time. She tried to think of her family. What did they look like now? She closed her eyes as she tried to picture them. It had been so long… she couldn’t see her mother’s face anymore; hear her father’s voice…

She opened her eyes. Her sister would be about thirteen now, her brother was only a year older than her and her little brother; she closed her eyes again, what did he look like now? He would be about eight or nine. Did he know of her? Did her family still look for her? Her throat seemed to close as it tightened with emotion. She had long given up hope of rescue; it would take a miracle for her to escape. Her eyes traveled to the hole that made up her window. It wasn’t even a window, it was for ventilation; a tube that traveled from numerous cells to the outside. For six years, Anya had tried to come up with ways to use the tubes to her advantage. She might’ve been able to crawl through the tubes with some difficulty as a nine year old –at fifteen – Anya shook her head. She laid her head back down as she rested on her stomach. She was going to get what sleep she could before dinner and the rats arrived. But she couldn’t sleep; her back hurt too much for her to be capable of ignoring it. Pain had become something that Anya simply lived with. Just as her heart beat and she breathed, she felt pain in some fashion. She had forgotten what it was like to not feel pain every day. She closed her gray eyes again and tried to find a way to breathe that didn’t make her want to scream.

Maria Wolf finally lay down next to her husband tired from her day’s work. As she did every night before going to sleep, she kissed her husband on the cheek and turned to look at the pictures on her bed side table. Her oldest son, Dall, looked back at her with a determined glint in his eye as he prepared to get on a wild horse at a rodeo. Her daughter, Jesse, laughed as onlookers clapped as she received a trophy with her swim team. Michael, her youngest, smiled as he roped a troublesome calf as he helped his father take care of the cows. Then there was the final picture that made Maria’s heart twist every night. The picture of Anya, age progressed to show what Anya would look like at fifteen. Maria often wondered if it truly was what her daughter really looked like if she was still alive. Maria studied the picture a moment – her daughter looked a lot like her. People often timidly approached her to ask if it was time to call off the search for her eldest daughter. Seven years was a long time, the likelihood of Anya still living was slim to none. Maria would always answer quietly that she would stop searching when her daughter was brought back to her alive or (God forbid) in a pine box. She hugged her husband and as he did every night, he rolled over and wrapped his arms around his wife. She whispered the same prayer that she always prayed before falling asleep. Thanking Him for all her blessings and to please bring her daughter home.

Anya’s eyes showed no feelings as she took the dead man’s clothes for her own. Her own shirt was too small and in tatters. She may as well walk around shirtless for all the good it was doing her. She shoved her way through the crowd of prisoners that didn’t manage to back away fast enough; dropping the makeshift knife she had been given to fight like it was hot metal. She hated it. She hated the way the knife felt in her grip. She hated the feel of warm blood flowing on her hands. She hated the looks of wonder and fear that she felt from her fellow prisoners. She hated her nickname that was whispered as she passed. She hated killing. She used to go back to her cell and throw up in her waste bucket after taking a life. Now she just felt dead. She hated that most of all.

She was roughly shoved back into her cell. As she hit the floor she heard the lock click, mockingly telling her there was no way out – just as it did the first time that she was thrown in this cell. She remembered the tears were streaming out of her eyes as she’d called out for help. She’d called out for God to send someone to save her. Her neck still burned raw from having her cell number placed there. For a while she’d prayed, begging for her family to find her. After six months she stopped begging. Four more and she stopped praying and started conniving. God wasn’t going to save her. She had to do it herself. So far many attempts were made. No successes- just more beatings, more deaths. And so she learned patience, she learned to bide her time. She still watched and waited. She was constantly waiting… Staring at the brick wall, she began to recite in English, “My name is Anya Elizabeth Wolf. My parents are Nick and Maria Wolf. Their phone number is…” Every night for seven years, ever since she had been kidnapped, ever since she had been taken to that house, ever since she had been brought to Infierno she had recited the same words over and over. Her name, her birthday, her parents’ names, her siblings’ names, address, phone number… She could barely remember faces, voices, smells, feelings but those words, those small facts kept her with her family. She refused to consider the concept that the numbers may have changed. Her family may have moved. No, her parents still lived on a small ranch in Oklahoma. Their phone number was still the same. Her older brother still tried to catch snakes and raccoons and keep them for pets. Her baby sister still loved having tea parties in the bath tub. Her little brother still… her breath caught as she fought down the emotion that rose in her chest and throat. She knew her baby brother, knew Michael, probably about as well as he knew her – very little.

Suddenly angry, she hit one of the walls of her cell. These walls kept her here, kept her away from her family. She hit them again. They kept her from sunlight. She hit the wall again. They kept her from the stars. She punched the door with her bleeding knuckles. They kept her in this prison. She kicked the door as the tears that she had fought for years arose and managed to overcome the mask that she so carefully placed and wore each day. These walls kept her from her brother, her brother that she didn’t know. She wanted to know him. She threw herself against the door. She wanted to know him. Her body hit the door again. She wanted to know him! Again she felt the door against her battered skin. She wanted to know him! Her scream resounded throughout the stone walls of the prison. It mixed and mingled with the screams and cries of the other prisoners. Their pain, their agony rose and filled the stifling air of Hoyo de Infierno. It echoed up until it reached the warden in his office at the top of the winding stair case, the only room with a window that looked out to the sea. He glanced up at his assistant and motioned to shut the door. His gaze squinted out his window for a moment before turning his back to the crashing sea and returned to his paperwork.

Maria walked briskly into the fast food restaurant to avoid the chill of the January air. She turned to look around for her husband and spotted him at a booth chatting with a couple of his buddies from the station. She walked over and slid into the booth next to her husband. Mike’s friends, Matt and Chris greeted her warmly as they always did. They had been there for her and Mike when Anya had been kidnapped. They were family. They too had bumper stickers and flyers attached to their cars and doors with Anya’s picture and their numbers to call for any information. In fifteen years, there had been no calls. The three officers knew the odds of finding a missing child after they crossed into Mexico were slim to none. After fifteen years, it was hopeless. Still, they vainly searched crowds in the vague hope that Anya’s face would pop out and she would run to them with open arms as though she had never been missing.

“Sorry I’m late,” Maria told her husband after giving him a quick peck on the cheek, “I had a troublesome second grader that didn’t want to listen to me or the principle.”

Mike smiled at his wife of nineteen years. “I’ve got your sandwich right here and your tea.” She smiled at him thanking him for ordering her usual for her; their ritual of eating together every Tuesday at this restaurant remained unbroken. The last time that they didn’t eat together was about three years ago when Mike had been interrogating a suspect and he was too close to getting him to crack to stop. The four chatted for a little while talking about things that were happening in each other’s families, news about mutual friends, and trying to say how the other person had to deal with the most aggravating people in their jobs. All too soon, it was time for Maria to return to her job at the elementary school. She kissed her husband goodbye as he walked her to her car. Ever since their first date, he had always walked her to the door be it to a house or a vehicle and opened the door for her; something that his parents had ingrained into him deeply since childhood. Maria smiled in thanks and settled into the seat and waved goodbye as she drove off. Mike then turned and walked back through the slush of the Oklahoma winter.

Chris was staring into his coffee cup when Mike returned. His fingers interchanged between warming themselves on his coffee cup and tapping on the table.
“What’s got you all stirred up?” Matt asked as Mike sat himself at the table.
“It’s just a case that I’m working on. A group of children and young women were found in the back of a semi headed for Mexico. The driver is giving us nothing, so he’s going to go down with kidnapping and participating in human trafficking.”
“And the big fish is getting off Scott free because you can’t find anything to tie him to it. So he’s going to be still in business at the end of the day.” Matt finished for him. He threw down his napkin disgusted.
“That about sums it up,” Chris murmured taking a sip of his coffee.

“McBride, you there?” Anya was turning a pebble in her fingertips as she leaned against the wall with her ventilation hole, “McBride!”

There was muffled coughing and swearing in Gaelic as her neighbor started to shift around in his cell.

“McBri-ide, wakey, wakey.”

“Why in God’s name did you have to wake me the hell up, Lass? I was having a quite enjoyable dream.”

“Any dreams in this place turn to nightmares eventually. God is even scarcer than good dreams so it does no good to swear by Him.”

“You saved me from one horror so I could wake up to another. Excuse me if my gratitude doesn’t overflow and spill into your soul.”

Anya gave a grim chuckle. It was the best that she could do in this place. McBride was her sixteenth neighbor to have in that particular cell. She seemed to go through them quickly. McBride had been part of the Irish underground that was too God damn stubborn to quit when the uneasy cease fire had been given. He had tried to bomb a government building when members of the English, Scottish, and both Irish governments had been present. Fortunately (Anya never said so), he had been caught before the bombs could go off. Rather than face the possibility of breaking the uneasy truce by making the event publicly known, Ireland had decided that McBride would be sent to Infierno. If he stayed in Ireland there was always the possibility that he would be aided in escape from a sympathetic supporter and would wreak more havoc. There were prisoners from all over the world in this hole, the place where governments sent the people they were ashamed of. People that they felt were better off dead but still could not harm; the trouble makers that legally they could do nothing to. Only a powerful select few of those governments knew of this place. Frankly they didn’t care of the conditions just as long as those that they never wanted to see or hear from again never came back. And if the prison helped that along in any way shape or form, so be it.

There was one little ray of sunshine in this fact. Due to the ever changing neighbors, Anya in a sense had met many people from many different countries. They were all too happy to have someone to talk to. All there was to do in this infernal place was to sleep, cry, beg, and pray. Eventually the begging and praying stopped. The crying broke through every once in a while like clockwork. Anya provided conversation; the neighbors gave Anya knowledge of other languages, cultures, and governments. Anya now spoke nine different languages and three different dialects not including English. She was working on her tenth language with McBride-Gaelic.

“Why do you insist on this madness, Lass?” He always called her that. It wasn’t her name, but at the same time it wasn’t her nickname the prison had given her and she appreciated that. He had asked her if she was Catholic the first time she had broached the subject of him teaching her. She had responded that she believed that Christ had died for her sins and was resurrected on the third day and that should be enough. She added that the belief means little difference around here other than how to pray so it should not create much difference between sects of the Church. McBride had been silent for three days before he started to teach her.

Anya’s mouth turned into a crooked slash that was meant to be a smile, “This madness beats the much scarier kind that I’ll more than likely fall into. Besides, what else are we to do other than pick our noses?” She began writing in the dirt of her floor where they had left off last week. McBride had been badly beaten and breathing was the only thing that he could do for a while.

McBride sighed, “Did you at least catch anything that I said when you woke me up?”

“Nothing worth repeating under the sun.” Anya tossed her pebble into the air and caught it again.

“The sun doesn’t shine here, Lass, so it does you no good to be prudish about your vocabulary.” Anya managed something that might have resembled a grin. She certainly knew more profanities in Gaelic than she did in any other language; Spanish was just a hair behind. She wondered if all Irishman swore like McBride. Maybe it was just his sunny nature; she smiled another grim smile as she continued to play catch with the pebble. As McBride taught her, Anya wrote out what she was learning in the dirt. If she could speak it, she may as well know how to write it. If she knew how to write it, she could read it.

“You should have been a teacher, McBride. I think you’re certainly much better at this than being a mad bomber.”

“I was not a bloody mad bomber,” he said indignantly, “and I was a teacher.”

“Really?” Anya raised a brow, “What’d you teach?”

“How to blow damn things up.”

After a while, McBride went back to sleep. He was still relatively weak no matter how much bravado and impressive swearing he put on for his audience and his captors. Anya went back to her other languages and created her own lessons. Her Swahili was relatively weak though she was certain she could get around without too much trouble if by some miracle she managed to get herself to Africa or got herself another neighbor from eastern Africa. Spanish was her second strongest language followed by Italian and French.  Russian gave her the most trouble and German was something that she still struggled with grammatically. Her Mandarin Chinese was decent and her Japanese was on the same level as her Swahili. She knew two different dialects of Arabic and from those two she was starting to get a feel for the root language. When they all started to run together in her head she sighed and stopped for the day. She learned to watch for those signs because she used to get hopelessly confused and once spouted off something in a Russian and Mandarin mix to her Japanese teacher and he started to laugh so much that Anya was rendered speechless and had to remember that was what laughter sounded like. It had just been so long since she had heard it. Understandably, laughter was something that was rarely heard in this place.

Anya sighed and rested her head against the floor of her cell as her legs rose up with the wall. Anya did not so much as pray as she tried to converse with God. So far there had been no signs of him receiving any kind of message that she could see. For all she knew, He was working on the outside world to break into hers. At least that was how she consoled herself. Many times she had broken from her faith only to return to it. She had nothing in here but her thoughts and her lessons that she gave herself to occupy her time. And in seven years in this prison she had been given a lot of time to question, doubt, and answer philosophical and religious questions that she had had. A lot of them still remained unanswered. She had been fortunate enough to have a priest for a neighbor once, unfortunate for him to be stuck in this hole. She still was not sure if he had been any help or not. He had only lasted two weeks before he had died. Hope was a dangerous thing to have in this place, but it was all that she had. It was all that her faith had given her.

Is this the life I am to lead, Lord, for as long as I am here? To kill, to harm, to be harmed and memorize languages to keep from going mad? Is this all that I am to do before You take me?

No

Anya was so shocked her legs fell from the wall and she rolled automatically to a sitting position. She didn’t know if what she had heard was real or if she was already succumbing to madness but she was fairly certain that she had heard it. It was not a physical sound; it was more in her head, or her heart…

Breathing deeply, Anya returned to the position that she had been in. No had been her answer. That no filled her with warmth, with fear, certainty. No – this was not all who she was meant to be; it was not all she was meant to do. She was meant for more. And she knew this-she believed this…

Her eyes slowly closed as her breathing slowed as it did when she began to fall asleep, her time was near; she could feel it. She just needed to be a little more patient for a little while longer. Patient? She rolled her shoulders a little as she sought as much comfort as she would get from a stone and dirt floor. Patience was something she had plenty of…

“His name is Esteban Quintero, he’s risen up in the ranks quite quickly (research gang and Mexico maps) and he’s starting to become a big fish with his people.” Dan was pining up pictures of the Mexican outlaw next to a map of Mexico as he spoke. “We’ve been able to establish several of the routes that he uses for narcotics and we’ve recently discovered a possible human trafficking route that stretches from Northern California, through Arizona, and down across the border. He’s taken more than just young women. He also specializes in child kidnappings. Unfortunately, child slavery is still a problem down south of the border and even worse, it’s creeping up to take American children.”

Mike Wolf sat in the back row listening to what his best friend was telling him. Is this what happened to Anya? Had she been taken for slave labor?

“We’ve received word that his new line for human trafficking stretches up through Texas and is running through Oklahoma and Kansas. A lot of people are willing to pay for children and young women. They want variety in appearances and ages which is why the child trafficking has stretched across the border into our country. They want more than brown eyes and black or brown hair. Now the FBI has agreed to help us strike at the line. There’s a shipment of people due at the end of this week and we’re going to intercept them. The Mexican government has offered full cooperation to catch these guys. Agent Jethro, you may proceed.”

Dan turned the floor over to the slightly graying FBI agent and he proceeded in his rough voice to outline his plan of attack to capture this bandit. He was hoping that if this venture went successfully, they might get some of the people that bought the young women and children and find out who else was on Quintero’s payroll. Meanwhile Dan made a beeline for Mike and pulled him out of the room.

“What in God’s name are you doing here, Mike?”

“What do you think I’m here for Dan? It’s not as though that’s a very difficult question to answer on your own.”

“You shouldn’t be here,”

“When you’re discussing plans to capture the man that may have kidnapped my daughter? You just try to keep me out of here.”

Dan sighed, he knew his friend too well. When he got settled into his stubborn nature with a fight in mind, there was no pushing him. “Fine, you can listen and that’s ALL. Do you understand? I know you’re a good cop, one of the best, Mike. But this is more than about your daughter; it’s more than local police, or state. This is federal. You can’t interfere. Got it?”

“I’m not stupid, Dan,” Mike ground out frustrated, “I just can’t sit here not knowing anything while I know you’re going after the bastard.”

Dan looked around, “You come in, you sit, you listen, then you go home and you see Maria and your kids-you got that?”

Mike didn’t argue; he just walked back into the room to catch the rest of Agent Jethro’s plan.  Dan ground his teeth, that wasn’t a no, but it wasn’t a yes either.

“Quintero uses a network of safe houses to get his cache deep into Mexico.” Agent Jethro continued, “We’ve learned that there are numerous private residences and a couple of prisons that aid him in hiding his newly acquired prisoners. He’s paid up with the right people to look away, but he’s starting to get careless. The fact that he has Americans for sale is becoming too well known. And it’s reaching ears of people that have to deal with the repercussions. They want embarrassment under control and out of their country so it is no longer their problem.”

“So what are we going to do?” an agent asked, “Are we going to attack him while he’s here in the States?”

“No, in the States he is going to be too careful, well guarded. Once he crosses into Mexico he will think that he is home free. We are to observe and tail, gentlemen, and once we cross that Rio Grande according to the Mexicans he is all ours. They want this guy gone.”

“So they are going to make him our problem,” someone muttered.

Jethro gave a wolfish grin, “Exactly”

Anya’s head was spinning. That punch had caught her right where she didn’t need it and she needed all of her wits about her to stay alive. She spat out the blood and regarded her opponent. The knife flipped in her hand to have the blade pointing towards her in a reverse grip and she circled her opponent to give herself time. He was a larger build than her. He topped her by about a foot but he was still lean having spent too much time here in Infierno. The warden really wanted her dead if he was going to pair her with a man that had so much more experience than her. She kept her eyes open, never really moving but taking in everything about the man. His stance, knife position, shifting in weight, where his eyes were pointing; anything and everything she could see. In doing so she began to piece together how he would strike. She wished she had seen that before he had punched her, she thought ruefully.  He feinted to her left and she moved to block the blow that would come in to her right. His blade in his left hand met her blade; she swung her arm up to open up his guard to his belly where she promptly sunk her left fist. He staggered for a moment, just enough time for Anya to get behind him. She rounded his left shoulder and tried to jam her knife into his shoulder. He reached up and threw her over his shoulder. Quickly rolling to her feet, she felt his right hand on the back of her neck, holding her in place so that he could stab her. She jerked out of his grip and quickly went down on one knee, pivoting to come around on that knee and slid her knife between his exposed ribs on his right side. As he staggered back, she pulled on his right arm bringing him to the ground. Before she could perform the killing stroke, his right elbow solidly connected with where her jaw met her skull. Anya rocked back, stars dancing behind her eyes as her back hit the ground. Suddenly she felt a heavy weight on her and instinctively shoved her knife hand up to block the strike. Her opponent’s hand closed around her throat as he brought all his weight down on her knife arm. Gasping, Anya found that her left arm wasn’t trapped and hit him in the ribs where her knife had struck. Once, twice, three times and he rolled off of her groaning in pain as blood continued to flow from his wound. Anya rolled over and promptly knocked aside the knife that he held in his weakening grasp and slit his throat. Her opponent lay still.

She rocked back on her heels panting, staggering a little as she tried to get much needed oxygen into her system. Her eyes found the warden just as he was passing money to one of his underlings. He had lost his bet against Anya…again. She turned away before his eyes would find hers. She handed her knife over to one of the guards and allowed herself to be taken back to her cell without a fight. She caught herself before she hit the floor and she rolled over to sit with her back to the wall.

“An impressive performance, my dear.”

Anya’s mask was perfectly in place as the warden swept into her cell. He never looked at her as he looked around her cell, “Once again, you have beaten my man.”

Anya said nothing, merely wiping the blood from her mouth and pretended to ignore the man.

“This cell is rather small; perhaps you’d like different accommodations?”

“It’d be a shame to ruin the nice job that you did on me when I first got here. I’d hate to inconvenience you.” Anya said dryly-Spanish spilling out of her mouth as easily as though it was her natural born language.

“It’d be no bother.”

“I just got use to this place, it’s starting to grow on me.”

The warden paused for a moment in his inspection of her cell and swept his gaze to her, “All these fights, all these years…why don’t you die? Why won’t you just die?” he demanded.

Anya shrugged unconcernedly, “Don’t know, it’d be a nice break from the monotony.” But Anya had died, she had died once and for some reason she had refused to stay dead. Anya fought the slash of a smile that she had acquired here.

With two steps the warden was inches from her face, “If you want to die, I can arrange that.”

“Look how well that’s been going for the past couple years,” Anya countered. Of all the creatures in this place, this was the man that called the shots, and she was not afraid of him. He got other people to do his work, he’d get his lily white hands dirty if he killed her himself. She held him in contempt. He knew it, and he’d seen what she could do. That was what made him afraid of her.

The only thing that he could think of to say was, “You will die, very soon…”

“It’d be a nice reprieve.”

They stared at each other, one with something to prove and one with nothing to lose. After a few moments the warden turned roughly away and walked out of her cell, the door locking behind him. Anya let out the breath that she had been holding and reached into her shirt.

“Maybe I will die soon,” she muttered as she withdrew the knife that her opponent from the fight had used against her, “But you will die first.”

The next few days Anya waited. She barely slept; her ears pricked at every noise and she sharpened her stolen weapon almost methodically as though it was her last hope and her last chance to finally find her way out. She was tense, full of energy. She found herself pacing, scratching the stone walls of her cell with pebbles trying to form words, anything to fill up time. She tried to do her language exercises but found she had little focus and a smaller attention span. She could not sit still save for the few hours of sleep she managed to drag from the night. Even McBride knew not to prod her; he knew that she was a ticking bomb. Eventually she had to force herself to stop from pacing. It was almost time for her biannual whipping. She would need all the strength that she could muster and maybe, just maybe, she would still survive. If the warden was to make good on his threat, it would most likely be at this time that Anya would be killed.  If she was to survive, she would need a plan; an ace in the hole, anything that could help her to stay alive. She had her knife, yes, but that does little good when her arms are chained to the ceiling. She lay on her back with her legs resting against the wall and let out a huff of air. This would be difficult.

Work in Progress and I am trying to edit the old without changing the style too much. I want it to flow, but I want it to keep the authenticity of my original writing style 7 years ago…

Kalieda Moon

Chapter One

The chaos of the market was becoming unbearable. The marketplace was bursting with color and full of people preparing for the summer festival, the Kalieda Celebrations. Cheiascanfal was beginning to feel uncomfortable in the swelling crowd. The 16 year old thanked the charmer she’d just purchased a necklace from and began to make her way back towards the Juggling Inn. Although the crowd made her uneasy, Cheia took her time, enjoying the colors and decorations in the streets of Byra.  She was turning onto Grasshopper Lane when she was literally knocked out of her peaceful state of mind. Stabling herself, she grabbed the young man who had almost knocked her over. Rather than look directly at him though, she searched the crowd for what or who he had been running from.
“Outta th’ way! Tha’ lil’ Kiran stole my bag” shouted a heavy set man hobbling towards Cheia and her captive.
“Did you steal that man’s moneybag?” she quickly asked the youth.
“I din’ take nuthin’ ‘is ya Cacka. I’s jus’ mindin’ my own an’ ‘e started yellin’ a’ me so I ran s’all”, the teenage boy rudely replied in Street. Still speaking Byranian Cheia replied in a hushed voice; “Hold still while I take care of what you ‘didn’t’ steal.” Her tone made it clear she knew he wouldn’t disobey. The large man continued to push his way through the crowds towards Cheia and the youth.
“Overhand that boy” he ordered, “so I may retrieve my money.” His tone annoyed Cheia, but she innocently replied “this boy? Why sir, surely this boy has better things to do than steal your purse. I do believe he was just trying to nick mine right before you arrived. Never you mind, I’ll take care of him.”
“Who’re you? You mock me wench! I, Johnathon Gerald III, demand that you allow me to retrieve my belongings from that ‘creature’ that lurks, I’m sure, under your skirts.”
By the end of his insult, Cheia’s temper was flaring. She’d had enough of this Gerald the III and his annoying arrogance. Drawing herself up to her full five feet nine inches, she scowled down at the idiotic noble.
“Spoken like a noble; obviously a noble who knows not who he is addressing. In response to your idiocy, I, Cheiascanfal the Santeryn Butterfly, state; with full intention of carrying out my threat, that if you ever set a harmful finger on anyone in this market, I will have your ‘high rank’ stripped from your family, leaving you and your kin to be the poor souls forced to muck out the streets! If I have made myself clear enough and we are through, I will compensate you for your purse.” She smiled mockingly and reached for her purse. Although she’d been talking, she had noticed Gerald shift his weight. She was ready for his attack.
He lunged.
Cheia waited for him to be within an arm’s reach, then grabbed his tunic, knelt and threw him directly over her shoulder and into a nearby wall. The crowd that had indiscreetly gathered during her speech stepped back, creating a circle for a fight. Waiting for Gerald to get up, Cheia noticed a silver glint in the corner of her eye. As she stood, Cheia loosened one of the straps hidden under her sleeves that held daggers to her wrists. The knife slid into her palm as the man from the crowd charged her from behind. She turned gracefully, grabbing his wrist with her right hand and stabbing into his chest with the knife in her left.
As the dead man fell to the ground, Cheia noticed Gerald being to stir. Walking over to where he was clutching his wounded head, Cheia spat at where he knelt and tossed two silver coins into his lap.
“That should cover your purse for today ‘milord’ and kindly tell your archer to lower his bow and help you to an infirmary.”
Gerald grabbed at the coins with astonishing greed and yelled at his man to “leave some Kiran alone” and help him up. The body of the dead man was carried off as the crowd began to move again.
Turning with a sigh, Cheia began her walk back to the Juggling Inn only to run directly into the young man she’d just defended. She looked down a short distance into his very brown eyes with what she hoped was a patient look on her face.
“Why’d  ya do tha’?” he had a rough Byranian accent. Motioning for him to follow her, Cheia continued her trip back to the inn.
“Because I was a Street once”, she responded after a minute, “and its irritating when nobility thinks that just because they’ve a title, they’re better than regular folks. Most especially when one acts like a single stolen purse is all they own. That brute would’ve whipped your hide, just ‘cause he’s mean spirited. Mainly though, I did it because I know how hard it is to get a scrap.” That seemed to shock the man.
“do not! Ya’re lyin’! Once a Street, always a Street!” he paused for a minute, faltering a step. Che glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw him flinch slightly, as though expecting to get smacked for saying as much. When she didn’t stop walking, he continued “Miss, if ya don’ mind me askin’ but if ya’re really a Santi, what’re ya doin’ ‘ere in th’ slums anyways?”   Cheia grinned.
“Like you said kid, ‘once a Street, always a Street’.” They were only a few blocks from the inn now. Cheia looked at the Street from the corner of her eye again as they continued walking. He was short, probably 16 or 17, dark shaggy hair, deep brown eyes and much too thin. His clothes had patches, but to an eye trained to see it, Che could see he wasn’t just wiry under those patches, he was muscular, just underfed.
He should be an apprentice by now, not a Street. Is he stupid?
She looked at his eyes again briefly and saw the intelligence; the mischievous intelligence. Quickly she made the decision to break some very old rules. She didn’t have much time, but she needed to know a little more before she formally did anything drastic.
Like rewrite 200 year old warrior training guidelines!
Switching to Street, she continued their conversation.
“What’s ya tags kid?”
“Shelbi” he replied in Byranian, then with a questioning look he continued in Street, “but I go by Spider with my gang.”
“Gang? Like the kids ya house with?” she asked, genuinely curious. They had arrived at the Juggling Inn and he answered as they approached the threshold.
“Ya, sorta. Don’ be yackin’ or nothin’, I’d druther house with a merchant… or travel.” Cheia was slightly amazed at how fast he had caught onto her motive, as she went inside. She had no idea what was driving her to do this, but she liked this man-child, she felt a kindred spirit in him somehow, not that she believed in that stuff of course. She started to go inside, opening her mouth to ask another question, only to realize that Shelbi had not followed her inside.
“Well- are you coming or what?” she stomped outside and was glaring the short distance down at him.
“Likes o’ me don’ belong in there.”
“Don’t get me started boy! Are you coming with me or not?” He blinked, and then nodded slowly. They both entered the noisy common room. Shelbi made an attempt to appear meek as Cheia defiantly stared down anyone that dared to shoot the ‘Street kid’ a dirty look.
“How old are you?” she asked softly, her expression softening for him alone.
“17 miss”, only a year older than herself.
“Stay here please, I must speak with the owner. I’ve got a proposition for you, Shelbi Spider.”
She noticed the look of envy and hunger in his eyes as he took in the feast that lay on the long table at the front of the room. Stalling, she motioned for Shelbi to sit at a table and quickly looked him over again.

He was short for seventeen, only a few knuckles shorter than her, but she knew that males grew at a different rate and he would probably be at least four knuckles taller than her by the Balieda Festivals in the winter. He was nicely built- strong but wiry- probably from a difficult life in the streets. He had black hair and beautiful brown eyes.
He was much too old, but she was the legacy Santi, had finished the youngest in Santeryn history, only thirteen, and now she would train the oldest apprentice in Santeryn history and pass him in the shortest time. He would live a respected life if her plan worked.
He appears as a typical Byranian, but his eyes are wrong…
Once he was seated, she walked over to the bar where the owner and a dreamy-eyed tenant were warily eyeing Shelbi.

He watched her float over to the bar. Never believing in magic before, he was surprised to find that he trusted this woman that he had dreamed of. She was strong, sharp and just. She was also beautiful and supposedly a former Street. Her strawberry blonde hair was just as he had dreamt it. He knew she was the woman who held his destiny though because of those unnerving, knowing, purple eyes. She hadn’t scolded him for stealing that Cacka’s moneybag.
Perhaps she wasn’t lying about being a Street.
Cheia finished whispering with the owner and beckoned for Shelbi to follow her up the stairs. Once they were alone, climbing the stairs, she started her flow of questions again.
“How long ya been out?”
“11 years on my own ma’am.”
“Let’s get something straight kid” she grumbled spinning around to face Shelbi, “whether you accept my offer or not, my name is Cheia! In public it is fine to address me formally, but in private it is ridiculous. Got it?”
No formalities; got it. Wonder if she’s got a sense of humor though…
“Yes ma’am”, Cheia glared at Shelbi, she looked as though her tongue needed sharpening and he was the splint. Then she must have realized he was joking because she laughed and continued climbing.
“Know why I’ve been askin’?”
“Need a worker I ‘ope” he answered quietly.
“I need a student.”
“Me… Ya’re gunna take me on?”
“Exactly. You’re quick. I hope you accept- I could use an apprentice on my journeys.”
“Don’t apprentices normally have to be young?”, he whispered, not wanting to ruin his chance but curious as to why she’d bend the rules.
“Yes, but I do enjoy stirring things up. Streets are born to break rules boy!” Shelbi grinned.
“Why though? I’m but a small whelp with no sire or dam.”
“’cause, ya’re quick kid. Strong, fast, full o’ wit. Ya made to be a Santi- ya just need me t’ pick ya up. It’ll make you stronger, respected, smarter. You will never have to grovel for a meal again. You won’t have to sleep on rags, in a box or under ya mates.”
They had reached the third floor, Cheia stopped in front of a large doo. Turning to Shelbi, she asked in a formal tone: “Shelbi Spider, will you become my apprentice and allow me to lead you in the ways of a Santeryn warrior?”
This was exactly what Shelbi had dreamed of every night for a fortnight. On impulse he replied, using the words he always answered with every night.
“Lead me Mistress Butterfly. Teach me your ways.”
“Good” she said with a  strange , perplexed look on her face and turned the doorknob revealing a large room.
One wall was almost all windows, there were two beds, a wash stand and a small writing desk. A young woman was writing at the desk. She sat with her back to the door, scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment.

“Hey Kai” Cheia said calmly, settling onto one of the beds.
“Che, you’re finally back. What took so long? Never mind, I don’t care. I wish to leave on the morrow, Mother just wrote and Father is ill”, Kairinsifia said without turning around. “So, find anything good at the market?”
“Yup. Nice slicker, fight, charmed necklace and an apprentice”, Cheia answered lightly. Kairi whipped around in her chair with an annoyed, obviously to scold Cheia, but her eyes narrowed instead on Shelbi, who remained in the door frame.
“There is a Street Rat at our door.”
“No there isn’t” Cheia stated calmly, accompanying her bored tone with a yawn. She stretched out on the bed, placing her arms behind her head and closing her eyes.
“Yes there is Che, he’s right there. Look!”
“You’re imagining things” Cheia replied without moving.
“Cheiascanfal Kellner! I’ve had one Helluva day! There is a Street boy right there in our door! Now look!”
“My dear Kairi, perhaps you are mistaking my apprentice, Shelbi Spider for a Street. That’s most unfortunate, dear.”
Kairi gave up with a sigh and turned back to her desk. After a moment she spoke up in a huffy manner, “you collect some of the strangest things Cheia.”

Shelbi decided that the mood had lifted and worked up the courage to speak to the fast pace Kairi.
“What’d you mean?” he asked in sloppy Byranian.
“What do I mean?” she snapped. Shelbi flinched at the tone.
So much for doesn’t bite…
She sighed, turning to face him and softening her expression.
“I apologize Shelbi Spider- having a long day is not reason to bite someone’s head off-”
“I’ll hold you to that!” Cheia piped up, with a grin, her eyes still closed. Kairi ignored her, rolling her eyes.
“Let me introduce myself, seeing as someone has forgotten her manners today.” She glared at Cheia, who merely kept smiling and stretched out on the bed again.
“I am Kairinsifia, Santeryn Monkey. What I meant by my previous comment is complicated. She really does adopt some of the strangest things. She has a dragon, God forbid I call it a pet, and she brings home a man-child who looks at least 8 years too old for apprenticeship. Besides that, she is friends with the King, yet speaks a language only the Streets understand. She’s given me reasons to believe that she was raised a noble, but Apprentice Shelbi, if you spend any time with the woman whatsoever you will question that theory because she never acts like one!” Kairi huffed as she braided her waist length, light brown hair. Shelbi could barely comprehend it all.
“Do you really have a dragon?” he managed softly.
Cheia eyed him warily, but she smiled and answered in a sing song voice, “Miro”.
Then to Shelbi’s surprise, she turned and stared at a colorful bowl on the wash bin table. The silence that stretched began to annoy Shelbi. Finding himself getting frustrated Shelbi balled his fists up.
How is a bowl even remotely more interesting than a dragon?
When his patience had almost worn out, a small reptilian head popped up out of the bowl. With a  yawn that made the 17 year old laugh softly, the little dragon stretched, much like a kitten and surveyed the room slowly.
Shelbi’s light laughter startled the dragon. She settled her intelligent, narrow eyes on the suddenly uneasy young man. Gracefully, she spread her transparent wings and took flight, circling the large room twice before gliding down to Shelbi’s shoulder. Hesitantly, she began to lick the veins protruding from his neck.
“Hey stop! That tickles!” he snorted.
“Hold still” Cheia’s muffled voice ordered from her bed, “that’s how she smells. According to the research I’ve done she’s still a baby.”
“She’s beautiful”, Shelbi whispered as he took the teacup sized dragon off his shoulder and admired her from his palm. “What’s her color called?”
“Purple. Her full name, Miroskina, means ‘purple light-fire’”, Cheia was whispering, watching the boy and dragon examine each other.
She’s not quite purple like Cheia’s eyes or I wouldn’t have asked.
Covering the sunlight from the dragon’s scales, Shelbi discovered she was purple in the shade and a rose-purple in the light. The small reptile had a butterfly emblem on her chest and looking closer, Shelbi noticed another one on her tail.
“Did you mark her with these?”
Cheia moved across the room, and shook her head as Shelbi pointed at the one on Miro’s chest.
“No she was born that way, it was the reason I finally settled with my Santeryn title.”

Shelbi was entirely consumed by the dragon, so much in fact that he was completely unaware of the two tenants who carried a cot into the room and placed a bundle of clothing on top of it.
After a while, Miro got restless. Spreading her beautiful wings, she elegantly flew from the window into the courtyard below. Shelbi followed Miro to the window and then watched as she flew around. Eventually, Miro zipped into a rosebush, immerging with rose petals stuck to her wings. Cheia moved to the window to watch as the baby dragon bathed first in a nearby birdbath and then in the sunlight.
“Beautiful isn’t she?” The young man barely came out of his trance at the sound of her voice.
“Yeah” was his breathless response. After a minute of watching Miro curl up like a kitten on a bench and nap, he finally turned around. Facing Kairi and Cheia, he suddenly looked unsure.
“Should I leave?” He appeared as though he would rather jump from the roof than leave.
He’s never been an apprentice before. How could he know the etiquette for what happens next?

“Of course not you dolt” Cheia answered playfully, as Kai snorted at her tact, “those tenants will be angry for not getting a better tip after dragging this cot up if you don’t even use it! Here, try these on.” She tossed his a few pairs of the loose pants and a couple of plain tunics. He didn’t look surprised when they fit. Cheia found herself impressed by how unabashedly calm he remained while changing in from of two teenagers who weren’t much younger than he was.
The little dragon eventually became bored of lying in the sun and made a graceful entrance back through the window, after an uncoordinated crash into a second rosebush. Not long after Miro’s entrance, the sun was setting and everyone was yawning.
“Well if we’re off in the morning then I’d better get some sleep” Kairi said with yet another yawn. Shelbi was next, gathering Miro into his hands; he curled up on his cot by the door.
After seeing everyone else tucked in, Cheia blew out the candle by her bed and crawled into her sleeping bad, positioned against the wall by her bed, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

As the watchman on the city wall called the hour after midnight, Kairi awoke to see a man holding a dagger, standing over Cheia, glaring down in hatred. The door stood ajar behind him.
It’s the hour past midnight and all is NOT well!

Chapter Two

Shelbi had watched the dark figures enter the room- one had moved towards Cheia and the other was in the shadows behind the door. Shelbi tightened his grip on Miro’s muzzle, preventing her from sounding a warning. Before he even had a chance to blink Kairi jumped from her bed, kicking out. Her bare foot met the shin of the man bent over Cheia and the sound of breaking bone made Shelbi shudder. Cheia awoke as Gerald III hit the floor and she was crouched over him, dagger in hand, within seconds.
“Well, Lord Gerald, it appears you recover quickly and now I am forced to give you a wound you will NOT get up from. Say hello to Serin for me, milord.” Cheia spat, slitting his throat.
Shelbi watched the man behind the door draw his knife, Cheia sensed this as well, dropping onto one knee while spinning and throwing another hidden dagger at him.
Kairi quickly got up and shut the door quietly, as Che grabbed her bow and quiver. Pulling both over her head, she stalked over to the window, swiftly flinging herself out. Although he couldn’t see her, Shelbi knew she was on the roof.  A few minutes later two bodies went hurtling down to the earth below and Cheia climbed back in through the window.
Shelbi quickly shut his eyes, pretending to be asleep as he heard Cheia move towards his cot. He felt a gentle hand brush over his arm, picking up the dragon, which happened to be chirping and whistling extremely fast. Shelbi cracked his eyelids just in time to see Cheia set Miroskina down and turn back to his cot.
Uh-oh, he thought, slightly terrified. Cheia grabbed the cuff of his tunic. Dragging him up to eye level with one swift movement, she glared into his suddenly wide-open eyes.
“DON’T EVER KEEP MY DRAGON FROM WARNING ME OF DANGER EVER AGAIN!” she whispered it with a terrifying intensity, leaving him speechless. “I DON’T CARE WHAT YOUR REASON IS SHELBI SPIDER. I WILL NOT BE PUT INTO A SITUATION WHERE I COULD BE MURDERED FOR ANY OF YOUR SELFISH REASONS. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?”
“Yes Butterfly.” He dropped his eyes to the floor, guilt and fear making his stomach clench. “Are you plannin’ t’ send me away now?” Cheia was frightening when she was angry. I just wanted to see her fight again.
Cheia gently set Shelbi down on the floor, a great sigh escaping her lungs. “No”, she answered, rubbing her eyes in slow circles, “consider this your first lesson.”
Shelbi couldn’t stop himself from sighing in relief. “Thank you Butterfly” he muttered.
Cheia merely turned to her bedroll, beginning to pack. Shelbi chanced a glance at Kairi. She shot him a look of mixed anger and pity. Feeling he was beginning to turn red, Shelbi looked around for something to do. Realizing he had nothing to pack but his already bundled new clothes, Shelbi slipped downstairs. Innkeepers would retire after a certain hour, but in Byra there was ALWAYS someone in the kitchen.
Silently climbing the stairs after an hour and half another in the kitchen, Shelbi balanced two trays of fruit, nuts, sausage and scones. He entered the room with what he hoped was a humble expression on his face. After setting a tray next to each of the young women, he retreated to the corner where his cot waited. Sitting down quietly, Shelbi focused all his thoughts on eating the two scones he’d slipped into his own pockets before leaving the kitchen.
Hearing a chair scrape back, creaking as it relinquished weight, Shelbi tried to appear engrossed by his scones. Slow footsteps approached his cot, finally bringing purple clothed legs and a pair of well-made, mud-caked leather slippers into his vision. Shelbi watched the muscles under the purple cloth tense as Cheia bent her legs, squatting next to his cot. Cold fingers slipped under Shelbi’s chin, forcing him with gentle ease to lift his head.
“Thank you for breakfast. I’m sorry for scaring you. I forget how intense I look after a kill.” She handed him her tray with half the food still on it. “Now eat.” She stood to return to her desk.
“But Butterfly!”
Cheia spun quickly, her eyes harsh.
“If I were hungry, I would eat. You on the other hand, need more nutrition. Now eat while I see about a horse for you.”
“I can’t let you get me a horse!” Shelbi blurted, forgetting his temporary bashfulness.
Cheia glared at him.
“Do you want people saying I am a terrible teacher? That I can’t even provide for my student? It’s my duty to equip you. Someone did it for me and now I will do it for you and you AREN’T going to complain! Understand?”
“Yes Cheia”, Shelbi said sheepishly. “May I come with you?” Che looked away pondering the request.
“Yes. Just watch yourself. These people are shady.”  Turning to Kairi, Cheia half smiled, “Kai, as usual- at the gates.”
“Aye, you be careful. I really would like to avoid another Cherinal run.” Both women burst out laughing.
“We’ll see.” Che said, when they both calmed down. “I have a bad feeling we might be forced into a repeat. Be ready. Be sure to saddle Sadie properly for it. We’ll catch up.”
Cheia and Shelbi left, leaving Miro buzzing around the packing Kairi.
When the made it outside, Shelbi immediately saw his friend Zelor. “Che?”
“Ya?” she answered in Street.
“Gotta see my mates?”
“Catch up- Mingo and Carpenters’ Lane?”
“Aye”, Shelbi was immediately moving, trying to catch up with Zelor. “Z- wait up!” he hollered as Zelor slipped around a corner and into an alley. Turning the corner, Shelbi walked directly into a trap. The whole gang was waiting for him- Colby, Zelor, Cassa, Metea, Taylor, Nezu, Balor and Sari. They circled Shelbi.
“So Spider, why’d’ya crawl outta tha’ nice lil’ web ya found?” jeered Taylor.
“Shoulda stayed in tha’ girls arm Spider, now we gunna hav’ta teach ya ‘bout runnin’ out on ya gang” said Balor with a nasty grin. He had been the most difficult for Shelbi to gain acceptance from.
“Try ya Kirans” Shelbi spat, “when I’m done with ya, ya’ll wish I’m not learnin’ t’ be a Santeryn!” That got the interest of Colby and Sari, whose siblings had been picked up by Santi.
“Ya’re lyin’” Balor choked out, suddenly uncertain. Shelbi grimace at the tone, Balor was ignorant and in Shelbi’s experience, stupidity was the real cause of death in the Street life.
“Am too” Shelbi shot back, “tha’ girls a Santi and I’ve seen ‘er kill five in only two moons.” Metea, the gang’s executioner when the need arose, whistled. She was obviously impressed.
“Mates, I gotta go. If ya’re gunna try sommat, do’t now so I can.” Colby, Cassa and Taylor all glanced at Nezu. Nezu had been a scribe’s apprentice before he became a Street. He was the mastermind behind every operation of their gang.  Nezu looked thoughtful, but not vengeful.
Looking back later, considering how he could’ve avoided it, Shelbi realized that his mistake was turning to face Nezu; turning his back on Balor.
In a few short seconds, Balor jumped onto Shelbi’s back, knocking Shelbi to the ground. Shelbi barely got his arms up before Balor was pounding the back of his hands and consequently the back of his head with ham-like fists.
To inexperienced fighters, this was a losing battle, but Shelbi had spent the past eleven years fighting for his essentials, unlike Balor who had spent his entire existence bullying small Streets, like Shelbi.
As Balor kicked into a rhythm of punching, Shelbi counted. In the small gap of time, where no fists were impaling the back of his head, Shelbi quickly rolled over. Balor faltered in surprise, giving Shelbi an opening.
Shelbi let his fist fly. It connected solidly with Balor’s left eye. As Balor reeled backwards, Shelbi pushed himself up.
“We wouldn’t want your endless stupidity unleashed on this world now would we?” Shelbi saw fear flicker over Balor’s face, “don’t fret- I am entirely to attached to kill ya friend.” Shelbi stood up. “But I will better the chance of spreading it through offspring.” Shelbi kicked Balor in the groin, “a return for trying to ruin my perfect nose for all these years.”
Shelbi spun, waiting for the next attack, instead finding warm smiles on each face.
“See ya round Spidey” Sari whispered with gratitude in her eyes. Shelbi alone knew the things Balor had done to Sari in the shadows of these alleys.
“Don’t forget us lil uns when ya strong”, Nezu said, in his usual thoughtful tone. He clasped arms with Shelbi.
“Don’t go all straight on us Spidey”, Metea muttered as Cassa nodded along.
“Better come back Spidey-boy, gunna need help fixin’ tha house on Peterman’s Street”, Colby said with a grin.
“Yeah, we don’t want the girls t’win”, Taylor added, shooting a smile at Metea. Peterman’s Street was the richest block in the market and Colby had made a bet with Sari that the guys could pick the most houses successfully. Nezu, Zelor and Baylor had stayed out of it, so it was a fair game.
Shelbi just laughed and clasped hands with his old friends.
“Take care of yourselves ya rats!” he called over his shoulder as he made a quick exit down an alleyway. The sun was finally coming up and the marketplace was flooded with vendors and buyers. It wasn’t long before Shelbi found Carpenter’s Lane and on ahead he recognized a strawberry-blonde ponytail turning the corner onto Mingo Street.
With a shortcut through a garden, two alleyways and over a wall, Shelbi found himself directly across the street from Cheia.
Crossing the cobblestone and dodging a cart, Shelbi made it safely to her side.
“Nice to see you can make your way around a city”, she said in Byranian, “they should’ve called you lemur-boy rather than spider.”
Shelbi humored Cheia with a single bark of laughter and then backed against the 10 foot wall she leaned against, peering around for a stable.
“Che- I don’t see a stable. Just how shady is this guy?”
“Don’t worry, the worst that could happen would be you losing a few limbs” she muttered sarcastically.
“Hopefully none I may need later for dancing”, he responded drily; a smile escaped him. “Out of curiosity, just what did happen in Cherinal?” Shelbi let his eyes rake the crowd for a ‘shady’ man as he listened to her response.
“Have you ever heard of the Holy City? There are thousands of religious troops, who guard it and no one is allowed near the inner city. Nothing truly interesting happened thought. I had some last minute business.” Cheia paused, continuing in a rushed whisper, “and I ended up running to the gates, followed by an entire legion of troops in my favorite ball gown, jumped on Sadie and almost lost Kairi in all the confusion, BUT”, she finished at a normal speed and tone, “nothing very interesting really.”
Shelbi couldn’t think of an appropriate response, so he merely laughed. Just then a whistle came from the wall behind them.
“That’s the signal”, Cheia turned to face the wall, but reached out grabbing Shelbi’s arm, “be on your guard boy, and if you are tired from your squall earlier then do not follow me.” Cheia’s voice was all command, completely serious.
How did she know? Shelbi thought flustered. He pushed the thought aside as a secret door was revealed in the brick wall and Cheia stepped through.
Shelbi took a deep breath and followed. Once on the other side, he ran into an arm the size of a toddler.
“Whose this?” a gruff voice asked, as an arm scooped around Shelbi and his view continued to be blocked by the toddler-sized bicep.
“My guard” Shelbi heard Ch say, “you wouldn’t expect me to travel alone.”
There was a bark of laughter.
“This whelp is a guard?”
“Doesn’t matter Maurice”, a slimy voice replied, “just be sure he doesn’t act out Mistress Naru.”

Sometimes he saw her in dreams, this dancing figure that lingered behind his eyelids, hovering on sightless irises. He could not see a single thing, but strangely enough, she had a form. Color Svv the Blind Iile did not understand, but if her dress had a color, it was the color of cold wind on dry teeth, her skin like a frosty touch on steamed water, her eyes? The hue of death, but not a violent one, but a death of something ugly, only becoming more beautiful as a corpse.

He heard her whispers on the other side, beyond a wall few knew about save for the dangerous persons that thought a waltz between humans and immortals was beautiful or entertaining. To Iile, humans were an enigma, to Svv, however, they were useless and half-there, but this one in particular, no, she sung to him, across the forests and the spidery canopy of trees, beyond distances, between the layers of the Immortal World and that human world. Though as she slept, he was always awake, always there to greet her slumber. Watching her since she were young, all Svv had to do- was wait.