Mirror stared at the wall in shock, lost in her thoughts.

It had been three weeks since the announcement. Three painful weeks that might as well have been three months in her mind. Three weeks of training her speed and resistance, then her air capabilities. She still couldn't make the mannequin "unconscious" in less than a minute.

"They could attack and bind you in a minute"- her trainer Vertigo repeated each session. "Aris knows you won't have the speed to run away in time." It was true. Her running was abysmal as always. Short legs like hers couldn't carry her far, even if she did master her breathing technique.

But there was one thing she was good at. And she got a little better every time she practiced it. Soon, the mission would be a cakewalk.

She still wasn't mentally ready for it.

Their quarters were drab as always. From her point of view, she could catch a glimpse of Sunbeam's bed hanging from the ceiling. Giant's bed was in the corner, messy and undone. Mirror slept directly under Sunbeam's bed, next to a cabinet where they kept their few belongings.

Menace didn't sleep with them. She had a minuscule room all to herself. Not much to brag about, to be honest.

Their uniforms were found under a trapdoor, custom made to fit their body type. The only other clothes were kept for religious ceremonies and special occasions. The room seemed to get more cramped every day that passed. And it still didn't feel like home.

–Hey, Mirror.- Giant stumbled into the room carrying a large, brown bag. She got up, her staring interrupted.

–What is that?- she asked, mildly curious. Servants of the Gods weren't allowed to buy anything from the outside world. She briefly entertained the thought that Giant would be kicked out for stealing and replaced with someone her age, whom she could talk to and trust.

–That kitchen girl, Hyacinth, let me take the scraps of yesterday's dinner rations. Said she'd cover for me, too.- Giant popped a piece of dried meat in his mouth.

–Sounds like she has a crush on you.- Mirror teased him with no enthusiasm, as the thought faded in the back of her head. Troupe witches should tease each other, she'd heard a thousand times. Leader's words. Sacred words.

–She better have. I'm awesome!- Giant sat down with his bag.- Want some?- he asked. Mirror didn't know if out of pity or politeness- probably both.

–I'm good- Mirror answered. She wasn't good. She was actually starving. But then again, to take food from Giant... She preferred to take her chances with another witch.

–The mission's in a few days, right?- Giant kept on talking when Mirror didn't answer. -I'm kind of nervous. It's my first one, you know.

"Yes. I know. I'm on the same team as you."- Mirror thought, remaining silent. It was best not to feed his chatter. Why was he bothering to make conversation, anyway?

–Right. Anyway, they want us to train together. Something about our elements being opposites. Kind of weird if you ask me. I told them I was okay with it, but I don't know about you. I mean, it's not like you have a choice in the matter...

–I'll do it.- Mirror didn't know if it was a test of some sort, but if she allowed herself to freak out like she always did, chances were it would find its way to Menace. And she didn't want anything bad on her mission report.

–Good, because, um, it's in five minutes.- Giant chuckled nervously, a guilty look on his face.

Mirror inhaled. This wasn't anything new. She could do this. It was her usual training routine- the only difference being there was someone else watching. Knowing Giant, he would probably take a food break two hours in.

–Right. Let me just get ready.

As Giant mercifully left her alone, she wondered if she'd been too hard on him. "He's too good of a person to ever make it anywhere here"- she pondered. "He may not shut up sometimes, but he's not completely crazy like Sunbeam."

Not completely crazy. That was a pretty good sign in the Servants of the Gods. Who was Giant before he joined? "Probably a good citizen of... wherever"- she thought. Maybe she should ask him where he was from? It could be good bonding.

Servants bond in battle, she remembered. Before this new, intense training regime, in her first year after joining, she'd had daily history classes to get her up to speed. The first thing she'd been taught was not to ask any questions. The first thing she'd learned on her own was not to ask Menace any questions. The leader would just respectfully say "that is classified information" with her ice-cold gaze.

The others, though, were far more supportive. She'd learned Sunbeam had been born and raised here, being the daughter of the Leader. (It was not an excuse for her behavior, but it certainly seemed to be an explanation.) She'd learned why ice was the fourth element: water had been outlawed years ago for not being efficient enough. Whatever that meant.

And she'd learned... next to nothing about Giant. Her bulky teammate had always been a mystery. "I should ask him some questions"- she decided. "Just to see how it goes."