Deja peeked into the common room, it was dinner time and the place was packed with workers who had just gotten off second shift at the mines. She spotted her father in his usual place at the bar. He was talking animatedly to Eon who was nodding in between swallows of beer but doing little else to contribute to the conversation.

      She doubted her father even noticed. As long as he had someone willing to listen, he could spin yarns all night long, tall tales that told of grand adventures in far off places. Deja loved listening to his stories, especially ones about the Ocean. The way her father described it made it seem as vast and endless as the sky itself and, because of that, she was skeptical that such a place was real.

      Nothing, she had concluded, could be as endless as the sky.

      Tempting as it was to wander over and listen, Deja didn't have time. It was nearly dusk and if she didn't leave soon she would be late for her meet up with Abraham.

      Easing away from the door so as not to draw attention to herself, Deja moved towards a metal door at the end of a narrow hall. Shoving it open, she slipped out into a narrow, trash littered alley and eased the door closed so as not to alert anyone within to its use. The local strays, startled by her abrupt arrival, turned to regard her cautiously with their glowing golden-green eyes.

      Paying them no mind, Deja moved deeper into the alley rather than out to the street. While taking the main roads would have certainly been more direct, she didn't want to risk someone on the way to the cafe seeing her.

      At the far end of the alley, just before reaching the street, Deja climbed onto a pile of empty storage crates and used a rusty pipe to shimmy up onto the roof of the adjoining building.

      A cool breeze tugged at her dark curls, tangling them around her face and slim neck. She frowned and took a moment to tie the hair back into a loose braid before continuing on her way across the rooftop towards her destination.

      She was nearly there when a commotion below caught her attention.

      "Who do ya think you are talkin' to me like that?"

      Deja rolled her eyes as she recognized the voice. It belonged to a local thug named Kirst. He ran with a few others and liked to bully the younger kids or people who encroached on his self proclaimed turf. From her vantage point it appeared there were four of them in total and they had backed their victim into a corner.

      Crouching on the edge of a wide wall just above the altercation, Deja tried to make out their target in the deepening gloom. It wasn't a kid, and it wasn't anyone that she recognized. It was a tall boy with dark hair and pale skin. His clothing was plain and from what Deja could see was relatively clean though sporting a few tears. She couldn't know for sure if he'd shown up that way or if the tears were a result of Kirst and his minions.

      One thing she did know, whoever this boy was, he didn't live in the Cogworks.

      The boy in question chuckled, but there was no joy or mirth contained within the sound. She saw him bring his hand to his face and swipe at it, the motion leaving behind a streak of crimson.

      "You call that a punch?" The boy said at last.

      "This kid..." Kirst said with a shake of his head. He looked back towards his friends a moment before suddenly raising his arm and swinging it towards the boy. Deja grimaced, waiting for the blow to land. To her surprise the boy ducked, avoiding the blow while swinging his own fist towards his assailant. In the end it was Kirst who went staggering backwards, clutching at his stomach and shouting a string of swears that would have gotten his ears boxed if her mother had heard him.

      "Get him," Kirst managed at last, pointing with a trembling figure towards the boy.

      The three thugs, all holding some sort of makeshift club, turned on the boy who began looking in every direction for some means of escape.

      Deja, unable to bring herself to abandon the stranger, looked around for something that could help. Scattered across the rooftop she had just crossed where several crumbling pieces of brick. Retreating from the edge of the wall, she grabbed the largest piece of brick she could find and returned in time to see one of the thugs raising his club to strike the boy. Without pausing to consider the consequences, she threw the brick piece at the thug.

      It struck his shoulder causing him to yowl in pain and drop the stick he'd been holding. She ducked back as all eyes moved in her direction. Reaching out she found another piece of brick and returned to the ledge. This time she moved with more caution, peeking out to make sure they were distracted again before making a move. This time she aimed for one of the others and once again threw the piece as hard as she could.

      This time she came into contact with his head, right above his ear. Like his friend before him, the thug let out a yell, grabbing at the side of his head as he stumbled backwards. Deja was so caught up in the moment that she forgot to duck out of sight.

      "What the hell! Who's up there?"

      Realizing she'd been discovered, Deja decided it was best to make herself scarce. As she began to retreat, however, she noticed that the boy was looking up at her. She could see where his lip had been split and where a bruise was beginning to blossom on his right cheek.

      She had to help him.

      "Someone get up there!" One of the injured boys yelled, reminding her of the danger she had put herself in.

      Why did she always have to be so impulsive?

      Groaning, she lay flat on her stomach and reached down as far as she could. "Come on!" she shouted when he simply stared at her. "Grab my hand!"

      Deja looked back towards the thugs, one of which had disappeared and she presumed he was trying to find a way up to her. The other three were regrouping, Kirst leading the charge towards the boy.

      Realizing he had no other choices, the boy darted towards Deja, leaping onto a trash bin before grasping her outstretched hand.

      At the same time Kirst leaped forward and grabbed hold of the boy's shirt in an attempt to stop his escape. The unexpected weight caused Deja to slide and nearly sent both of them tumbling back down into the alley, but she managed to maintain her hold.

      She wasn't sure for how long.

      "Grab the wall!" she shouted as she reached down to grasp his wrist with her other hand. She began to pull, but without his help she'd never be able to get him all the way up. "Hurry!"

      The boy braced one foot against the stone and kicked back with the other. His heel made contact with Kirst's face and Deja heard a distinct cracking sound just before Kirst began screaming. Deja gave another hard tug and pulled the boy up just high enough that he could reach the ledge. Once he had a solid grip they worked together to get him the rest of the way up.

      Collapsing back onto the adjacent rooftop, Deja lay there with her eyes closed and her heart hammering wildly against her ribs. That had to be the craziest thing she had ever done in her entire life.

      "Are you okay?" she asked, once she had caught her breath.

      When she received no response, she sat up and turned to where the boy should have been. To her surprise she found herself completely alone. Rising to her feet, she moved to the opposite side of the roof and looked down in time to see the boy in question disappearing around the corner.

      "You're welcome," she muttered before scrambling down off the rooftop into the alley below. She considered following after him but reminded herself that Abraham was waiting for her and she was going to be late enough as it was.

      When she arrived at her destination she was not surprised to find the place seemingly abandoned. She wasted no time making her way across the quarry dotted with pools. The calm waters looked like liquid silver in the light of the moon which hung low on the horizon and Deja was careful to stay clear of the edges so as not to fall in. While the pools appeared calm on the surface, there was actually a strong current swirling beneath that would drag her down in seconds if she wasn't careful.

      As she neared the remains of an old foreman shack, she let out a sharp whistle.

      Within moments another whistle sounded, this one lower in pitch.

      She smiled and hurried in the direction of the rundown building.

      "You're late," Abraham said when she was close enough that he could speak without raising his voice. Technically the pools were off limits and while most of the time the locals would turn a blind eye, they didn't want to catch the attention of the Crimson Keepers who sometimes patrolled the area.

      "I know, I'm sorry, I got caught up," Deja replied.

      "In what exactly? You look like you rolled around in the dirt," Abraham replied as he reached out to wipe a smudge of brick dust from her cheek. "Your hair is a mess and... are you missing a shoe?"

      Deja reached up and realized her hair had come partially loose from its braid. She felt her cheeks grow flush from embarrassment and was grateful for the darkness that kept it hidden. It was a strange and unusual feeling, one she had never experienced before and didn't quite know how to manage. In the past she hadn't cared what she looked like when Abraham was around but for some reason she did now.

     She pulled the hair tie out and ran her fingers through the curls in an attempt to tame them back into the braid..

      "Don't," he said, reaching out to grab hold of her hand.

      Deja could only stare at him, suddenly very aware of the warmth of his fingers. He stared back, his blue eyes filled with an intensity that caused her heart to flutter.

      "I like it... when you wear your hair down," he said, breaking the silence, "the wildness of it suits you."

      Deja felt her cheeks grow even hotter and averted her eyes. The flutter in her chest had grown to a full blown stacco that beat erratically against her ribs.

      "Come on, I want to show you something," Abraham said before giving her hand a tentative tug. She nodded and allowed him to guide her around towards the backside of the shack.

      "Wait, close your eyes," he insisted. He had positioned himself in such a way that she couldn't see past him.

      "Abraham..." Deja protested. "It's so dark already..."

      "Please? I promise, it'll be worth it," he begged.

      "Fine," she mumbled before reluctantly closing her eyes.