« I just don't understand why you don't want to go with me! »

Cana brought her hands to her temple. Were they really having this conversation again? Just this week it had already been the fourth time, and they were just starting Wednesday. During the past month the Plague had been creeping closer to the city, and just the last few days it had finally started to bring its red death alongside it, within the walls. Asra had been absolutely impossible since then, he wouldn't stop talking about leaving this place to go somewhere else. Of course it was a nice thought, getting away from the city, going someplace safe where they could relax while it spread. But she couldn't, and he knew it.

    "For the last time Asra, I am not leaving. You can do whatever you want, I'm staying."
   "But why is what I don't understand! There's nothing keeping you here, we can all leave and we'll all be okay, would it be you, Mélusine, or even Faust. I just don't get why you're so fixated on staying here!"

   Did he really not get it? She would have liked to believe he was just delusional but she was starting to question it.

  "I just can't go without trying to do something Asi. I care about the people in this city, I don't want innocent people to die when maybe there's something we can do about this"

She tried to keep her voice steady, calm. She knew she would regret it if she was to have a real confrontation with the white haired man. They were friends, she loved him dearly, and with all the tension she feared maybe they would end up at each other's throat. The look of disbelief he sent back her way finished beating down any ounce of hope she still had: he did not understand; he didn't care about the people of Vesuvia. Not enough to risk his life. Could she blame him though; the city had treated him roughly ever since he came here as a child. If he was not happy to see them die he was not going to get out of his way to help them either; it was their problem and in his mind they could deal with it themselves.

   "I'm not asking you to understand, I'm getting pretty clearly you don't. It's just what I want. You know me, you know I'm not kidding when I say that I'd never forgive myself if we find out I could have done something to help."
   "You can't! You can't help them Cana! This is not a flu or a simple sickness, this is a PLAGUE we're talking about! We can't help those people and neither would they help us if we were the ones getting sick. We still have time if we leave now, we can still be sure that we won't risk anything. I know, I can guess how you feel about leaving, but what can we do?"
"I spoke with Julian the other day, he and some other doctors are trying to find a potential cure, if we could bring our help then maybe we'll figure something out..."

  Cana saw his eyes grow dark immediately after she spoke the name Ilya used nowadays. The both of them had a history the younger man would probably wish never happened; he never told her exactly what or why, she had just guessed it through their –rare- interactions. Asra let out a sigh and went forward toward her, taking her hands in his.

   "Listen Cana. I know just how much you care. But Ilya? he has no idea what he's doing. Trust me, they won't find anything, we can only wait for the sickness to die out on its own after there's no more people to catch it. I know it sounds cruel, I sound heartless. But I don't want you to die out there, in just a few days there are already so many dead they can barely keep up. I don't want to see you added to the piles rotting in the streets... I couldn't handle it, neither could Mélusine. Really, let's just go. I know this place in Nopal, it's a kind of little sanctuary, we can hide there, no one will bother us and we can wait it out without risking lack of food or water. Please Cana, they don't deserve you dying for you."

Oh. Oh oh. He almost had her. She almost believed him, she was almost going to give in this time. But this? No way. Without even thinking her hand flew up and she slapped him. Both stayed still in silence, the tension suddenly so strong it seemed palpable. She heard something rummage upstairs, Mélu had probably heard the sound of the slap. Cana almost couldn't believe she had done it, but before she could think of it, words started spewing out of her mouth like poison.

   "How dare you? So in your head they all deserve to die? The baker who helped us getting this building? The children playing in the streets? The elderly, the infants, they all deserve to die anyway? If they leave before us it doesn't matter, because we would still be there, that's what you think? Of course there are bad people out there, I won't mind them getting sick, but what about the innocents? How many lives are going to be lost here? And you'd rather leave and do absolutely nothing? You don't sound heartless, you fucking are Asra! What if Nadia get sick? God what if Muriel get sick as well, huh? Are they lives you're ready to let be lost just to keep three of us alive? Heartless, cruel, but you know what I think you are? I think you're a fucking coward. So go hide in your hole, come back in a few months when this is safer for your cowardly ass to set foot back into Vesuvia. I'm staying, I'm going to help these people, even if I die trying. Take Mélu if she wants, but please, don't ever try to use me as an excuse to hide from something, never again."

Without a word more, Cana left the shop, slamming the door behind her. She wandered in the city for the rest of the day, she didn't want to go back home. The truth was, she was scared. Of course she was, there was a pandemic going on, and for all she knew she would be the next corpse littering the pavement, just like Asra said. But she wanted to put up a fight, for those who deserved it. Walking back to the shop, she started regretting yelling at Asra, telling him he was a coward. She had been so angry at that moment she went overboard.
  When she pushed the door she found it unlocked, which was weird. Entering into her so familiar workplace, she found a lot of the ingredients and some potions had disappeared. She immediately thought they had been robbed, but she could also hear the familiar pacing of Mélusine, still upstairs. She climbed the steps and found the ginger girl pouting next to the stove, whispering angrily at the salamander that helped them produce fire. The girl looked up and her pout grew only stronger

   "Asra left"