In most cases when Mira got here, she wasn't in the least surprised to find bone man in the exact place Zalaena said he would be. So here he was carving about his bones with literally about no care in the world.

Mira can't place herself as to why she came here if she were honest; and it was definitely not because of how good the men looked inside the blacksmith; but she had to say, having bone man squat here as his home place was an advantage. She saw a few glimpses of wet tanned sculpted arms inside and she had to prevent herself from curling her toes inside her boots, because the last time she did that her boots got damaged. Just how hard did she do it. So she went for going about softly if she really couldn't stop herself.

Unfortunately for her the young man at the candy stall was quite vigilant which meant she couldn't snatch a candy on a stick away as she always did, so she resulted for going directly to him and purchasing it upfront as she should do.

She sighed as she got the yellow one. It was the worst flavour in her opinion, just who liked sucking on sweet lemon? She rolled her eyes when she realized it was the only flavour they had to offer too. Pathetic.

Now Mira stands before the bone man watching him carve out his bones into what looked like needle-like sticks. She starts feeling repulsed and gags out loud. She didn't want to know where those bones came from.

Her gag caught the bone man's attention. He stares at her with wide eyes and an open mouth and begins to crawl forward on all fours towards her at the entrance of this dead aisle.

She continues gazing at how expertly he did that crawl and she freezes after putting the lolly in her mouth. She most certainly didn't want to know how he learned that crawl either.

She frowns, her brows knotting together with each step he got closer to her. His long toenails scraped the sand floor in the process with a sound that sounded like nails scratching on a chalkboard. Mira didn't know why or how it could possibly sound like that, but one thing is clear— he had to cut his toenails. Whoever came and groomed his face could of at least seen to the rest of his being, by attending to his toenails, nails, hair and clothes instead of letting him smell like a damn garbage bag.

Obviously the person who did this has clearly felt pitiful for the old man if he had to return to clean his mouth, washing away any sort of evidence. It's brilliant thinking Mira had to admit, there was no way; well there could be; that they could find the culprit who did this who has already rid of his ability to talk and the rest of the evidence needed to catch him. This left the person with 1 and them with 0.

Sometimes being too intelligent was a sin.

Mira stands still as the man looks up at her with dull eyes. He moans and groans as he looks back down and searching in the sand deeply embedded with bones now resting on his bottom.

"What are you doing?"  She looks to him for some sort of indication or bone language or something of what he was doing, but he ignored her and continued his searches. He starts groaning again, but this one sounded like annoyance.

So Mira realizes that he was looking for something and in this bone factory of his he couldn't find it.

He scuttles about — becoming more restless by the second glancing around and around —throwing sand around as it were confetti. She found plenty bone pieces discarded around and she was afraid that if she didn't ask him if this was what he was looking for that they'd be here for years getting absolutely nowhere.

Mira looks around the rest of the Village in sight for Jezio. She knows he was in the area around this time, either retrieving his new stock, or plotting his next heist. Especially since this time they had more stocks available ranging from clothes to ornaments to foods and thus Jezio's opportunity to get right at it with his stealing.

She knows she'll see him today. It was her main reason of coming out today anyway. Even though her life has reached a standstill, she still had Jezio to communicate with and she at least wanted this fight (if that was what she could call it) to end with him. Oh and then there was festival, tomorrow evening. She wasn't even looking forward to it.

She leans her back against the wall and props her one leg up against it, before glancing to the man seeing him doing the same thing again. Scratching. She rolls her eyes and sighs dramatically simultaneously before once again scanning the busy market.

She already eyed the tops of the buildings in hopes of seeing him and she even searched the brothel but still no sign of him. He was definitely going to be here today, no ways would be miss this opportunity. She was restricted to looking for Jezio since she was waiting for the old man, so she was worried about finding him.

If this man did nothing in the next five minutes she was leaving.

She brings the lolly between her teeth and bites hard into it, getting too impatient to reach the chewy part.

Her jaws are hard at work at crushing and mashing, the sound filled her ears dampening the sound of screams and walking and running from all over the place here in the Village.

She stops chewing. Everything went too silent all of a sudden. Mira frowns and walks more out of the aisle towards the trees and benches surrounding the various markets before her. Even the blacksmith was quiet. In the distance she could hear echoing and cheering. Looks like many villagers came about watching at another fight which broke out about five times a day. Classic.

Mira shrugs and goes back to the old man. This happened too many times. She wondered who slept with who this time.

The old man has finally stopped throwing his sand and bones around and has come to a point of sitting. He sits cross-legs and is carving out a bone which looked sharper than the point of the knife with another bone just as sharp as that one. The size of the weapon was about the length of her arm, from her fingers to her elbow.

Mira tugs on the last of the lolly into her mouth and chews it. Well now she was getting another one.

"What are you doing? You wanted me to see your bones?"

She chews and chews as he continues carving and shaping this weapon ignoring her again.

"I really don't have time for this old man. Are you going to kill me? If you are, a warning would of been rather nice. And who did that to your mouth? For the tenth time."

The man stills. He looks at her boots, not raising his eyes to her at all. He brings up one hand, the hand with the carved bone, to his mouth. He looks so entranced Mira wanted to give him some space to continue his thinking.

As if nothing just happened he resumes his shaping; this time with humming.

"Well, if you're not going to do anything then I'll go." Mira was already searching her backpack for some coin for another lolly in case she couldn't steal another one.

She turns to leave when his groans and protests halts her again. Aye she was getting sick of this.

"What? I've been standing here and you're making new knives to what? Cut your rats with? You're using a rats bone to cut through a rat. That's pretty disgusting if you ask me-"

The words stop rolling out of her mouth as she gawks at the man before her. He stood up, with a hump back and he hands her the sharp dagger like weapon, hilt first.

She looks from the dagger to him and back to the dagger again before slowly taking it from him. The weapon was smooth and long in her hand, and warm from how he touched it. The white bone is also stained with soot and some other debrish from his very sordid hands.

"No thank you. I'll use a normal knife." It didn't look like a knife actually, but a very sharp tooth.

She gives it back but he steps back from her and gets in a praying gesture down on his knees. She seriously despised him not having a tongue right now, how the hell was she supposed to know what he was doing.

"I have to keep it?" He nods his head vigorously Mira was surprised it didn't fall off like a girl's doll head would.

"But why? It's so dirty. Wait. This can't be a rats bone, it's too long. What the hell is this animal?" Mira — all grossed out drops the thing immediately and wipes her hand on her dark breeches like she was scrubbing off soot-stained walls.

The man, ignores her doings, takes the bone, still on his knees— makes a queer sound with his throat and suddenly a rat comes rushing out right towards him from beneath a big tattered rag on the floor beside him.

Mira takes a small step away from that exact thing. She wasn't inclined on knowing what was beneath that cloth. What else could be buried from beneath there? The rest of the old man's and rats children? Mira was thinking its their breeding season for them both.

In an unhealthy manner, he pets the rat as if they were old time peers as the rat squeals in delight; and then within seconds he picks up the dagger bone and stabs it right into the midriff of the rat.

The rodent first squealed in delight and then in terror and pain and was cut off short as it died. Blood started coating the old man's hands, dripping over his fingers and falling onto the floor. The metallic scent sent a wave of nausea wafting within Mira.

It turned his dirty hands into gloves of scarlet, and the same with the sandy floor.

Mira gulps hard, "You stabbed it's heart? For what?"

The bone man— with a closed mouth gives her a firm look. It looked as if he were trying to tell her something with his eyes, but Mira didn't know for shit what he was trying to tell her.

She thinks he was telling her that this was his supper.

After some time of him sitting cross-legs quietly studying her, Mira decides it's time to take her leave. It wasn't her plan to be here. She is on the look for Jezio. Judging from the silence in the  area she was currently in told her that the fight was still progressing there, and that maybe Jezio was there watching it. Or worst-case scenario — he was partaking in it.

Aye. She should definitely make sure that wasn't what was happening.

She is also looking for an excuse to leave this place, the old man was beginning to creep her.

Mira scares away her thoughts before facing the man again. He took out a waterbottle which Mira was significantly proud that he had and pours it over the bone he had offered her, washing the rodents blood off it.

There was still some stains on the bone, but at least the water fell to the ground and washed away the blood that has fallen onto it.

After he rubbed his dirty fingers on the bone to rid of the tougher stains, he gets up and lifts his mattress where he pulls out a scrap cloth and dries it thoroughly.

Mira gets overwhelmed by how horrendous this place stank. Adding the rodents, which she was dead sure had some sort of sickness, blood made the place smell even worse. She lifts her finger up to beneath her nose and lays it horizontally to smell her finger instead of the filthy smell of unwashed bodies and dead rodents with fresh blood littering the floor.

Her eyes widens when she sees the dead creature bleeding out right next to a silver can which she could only assume was his privy. She refrains a gag and closes her eyes for a second to not feed her head with more thoughts of... Well —shit.

At least he had fresh skins to wipe himself with after his new kill.

Mira steers her gaze away from his filth to his other filth which consisted of his makeshift bed now leaning against the wall, with sheets dirtier than a public privy and with even more stains —  some looking green. What the hell could that green of been? She cringes at how it rhymed firstly. Then she decided nothing else could be green besides for grass.

The filth also consisted of himself, unfortunately. Mira did feel the strong urge to help this man, to at least get him a bath and cleaner clothes and food. But he would just object, completely ignoring everything she had to offer him, like he already did.

Mira watches him as he lifts the still dirty bone to the sky, and utters out a satisfied grimace before throwing the rag onto the floor and makes his way to her.

The first thing Mira notices when he threw that rag down was a certain deep blue velvet pouch  which had to be laying beneath the bed sticking out to her. Mira involuntary removes her hand from her nose slowly and frowns as she takes a step closer to him.

She has seen that pouch before. That exact colour. The pouch could not of been his, how could he possibly afford it if he couldn't so much as afford to get a loaf of bread.

Mira can't get to who the pouch belonged to, but she knows she has seen it before.

The old man steps into her vision just as she was about to comment on it. She sees him still in his stern expression, and the fact that his long beard and greying atrocious hair stood out for her, it somehow made him look even more firm.

Mira decides to keep her mouth shut. It'll come to her eventually.

She takes the drying weapon from him, praying that this particular creature wasn't infested with a deadly plague and slips it into a gap in her backpack.

She keeps the coin hard in her other hand. She didn't completely trust this man, there was no reason she had to. She would of given him this coin that she had for her lolly, but why should she when he clearly had a full pouch of coin on him.

Also. She was really craving a lolly. Not that she was selfish or anything, her cravings are somewhat more important than anything else.

Mira sighs, giving the man a quick once-off look. He stood still, not uttering a single sound about why he gave her this thing.

But she thinks the purpose of it was clear.

"So this, I'm using to stab someone in the heart?"

Mira left shortly after that without gaining any response, till she remembered that she couldn't since the man couldn't speak. She already face-palmed herself at her own stupidity, it was the least she could do.

She is currently sucking her new lolly, heading towards to the commotion further in the village. Her steps were fast and efficient, matching her sucking. She could laugh at how hard she was sucking her candy — hard enough to say that she was blatantly sucking the life out it. She blames it entirely on her woe.

She was just reaching the commotion surrounding all the stalls and shops close to the trellis, when her steps falters. Mira couldn't see beyond all the people and she asks herself if this is really worth going to. She might as well go back to her home and sleep some more to forget that any of this happened, but was that worth it too? She really wanted to check on Jezio more than anything else. It was her sole purpose for coming out either way.

Mira shrugs. Let her finish her mission so that she could get a peace of mind for once in her life.

Mira turns in the direction of Jezio's residence at the tavern, because there might be a higher chance of him being there right this minute drinking himself sick than to be here; even though it was his job to be here. She did avoid going to the crazy party fight, obviously she was making an excuse to leave that pandemonium. And maybe after she checked his room, that the fight would be done by then.

She would only sigh in relief to find him at his room and not fighting, it it were him.

Mira pauses. What if it was him fighting? It's been a long time that everyone has been cheering and going on without stopping. Was it a fight should be the main question right now. She turns around again.

Jezio can be a stupid ass at times, but he was smart enough to not initiate a brawl. He wasn't even a brawler dammit so no it wasn't him. It couldn't be him.

Mira turns around again. Fuck it. She's going to his room first, and then she'll go to the war house afterwards.

Even the taverns were silent, there were only the older men who were either divorced from their wives or those who were waiting for the next set of whores to enter the room to get their way with, seated at the tavern.

At least they were smart enough to not give a damn about what was happening. Wasn't their problem so why bother.

Most of them were lounging about against the  wooden walls of the tavern with a half empty bottle of rum in their hands, some with bulbous hairy bellies and some looking like they just came out of a hair salon. Those were the recently divorced ones for sure.

They all glanced at Mira as she took the two steps leading to the double doors of the tavern. She removes the straps from her shoulders letting her backpack lay directly on her bottom, so that when she passed they couldn't get a glimpse of it. She loved attention, don't get her wrong. But she wanted it from one's that she was interested in, and definitely not from drunkards who were double her age.

She could feel their gazes burning into her, from all directions especially her legs and the curves of her thighs. She just had to go for her tight pants today and her revealing V shirt. Another face-palm. This time mentally.

"Hey there sweetie pie. Want some?" Mira slowly turns her head to the source of the voice and sees a young man, clearly half-drunk seated on a wooden bench on the porch of the tavern.

He was leaning his head against the wall, with a woman bobbing her head up and down between his legs, his one hand tangled in her hair.

Mira wrinkles her nose, the sight made her want to gag more than at the old man's aisle home. "I'd rather lick the back of your shoe."

With that she pushes the doors opens and just as she walked in she crashes into a hard body; one she was heavily familiar with. Her chest eases out more, she hadn't realized how bad it hurt from how stressed she was about where he was. Her heartbeat thumps normally again and she feels herself breathing evenly again. It really took a huge weight off her shoulders.

"What?" Jezio bit angrily into a hard apple walking straight past her, after getting a thorough glance at the guy who just spoke to her.

His shoulder knocked into hers as he stormed briskly away from his insanely perverted so called home.

Mira walks right behind him. She sees his hand falling down after he took a bite from his apple. From the back she could see him dressed in his normal tunic and three-quarter pants with boots. He had a leather bag slung over his shoulder, most likely the bag for his next grappling.

"Good morning to you too." Mira keeps her steps small behind him tailing after him. He was heading towards the clusters of markets and stalls which were stating to become more loud once again.

He takes another bite. "Aye indeed it is."

Mira pulls on his tunic as she forces him to turn around to face her. "I'll cut the crap and just get straight to the point."

He forcefully takes another bite, baring how his strong jaws cut through the hard green apple— without meeting her eyes. So clearly he was angry.

"Look at me."

He looks down at her. Mira lifts her chin to show that she was serious too. He had bags under his eyes, his blue eyes is a shade paler than usual and so was his skin. He looked ashen and empty, like an old and empty glass container. She grimaces and immediately removes her gaze from his blue lips.

He looked worse than Grasel did.

Jezio rolls his eyes before bringing his one hand up to grasp the sling of his bag while the other brought the apple, nearly gone to its core back to his mouth. "I have shit to do. Make it quick."

He has goosebumps on his skin. Mira is confused why he didn't dress warmer. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

He rolls his eyes again, grinding his molars hard. He looked as if he were restraining himself from attacking something. Anything. "Mira look, I really have no time for this-"

"What happened to you last time? You were drunk, so drunk. I know that's not you."

He still didn't meet her eyes. Either he felt intimidated by  or the blowjob behind her was much more interesting than her.

"Just forget everything I said."

Mira didn't appreciate that his sentences were kept short. It meant he didn't want this talk to go further. "I can't do that. Something had to be bothering you. Why won't you talk to me?"

He finally meets her eyes, a look full of ice. "Just leave it."

Mira sighs outwardly. She was clearly not going to get anywhere with him being such an asshole.

"You're an asshole." Might as well say her thoughts out loud.

He was in the process of taking his last bite from his apple, a very melodramatic one at that. After that he faces her with a calm face. This one was worse than him being angry.

He gently discards the apple over her shoulder without taking his eyes away from her and very very slowly lowers his face to hers; not daring to break their contact.

His breathe smelled of sour alcohol. She held in her breathe but had to let it to and inhale it after her lungs started screaming. That was just a few seconds. Mira was disappointed.

"An asshole?" His nose was inches from hers. She didn't so much as change her stance nor her expression. He still kept his peacemaker facade.

"Yes. That's what you are."

He pulls away and chuckles mockingly under his breathe. "You know Mira, you've been the best person to me. You've always been there for me, for absolutely everything. But when I ask this of you you can't do it?"

"I'm not going to ignore you. You're not yourself, you're not in a good space and I'm worried about you. It's killing me."

"Then stop concerning yourself about me. I'm great." He turns around and once again starts walking around the bends and corners of the buildings in the markets, passing them with a few passerbys who were keeping themselves company on benches beneath the trees randomly dotting the Village.

Mira didn't fail to notice how most were in the sun, some has even moved the benches away from the trees to be in the sun and with others who didn't get affected were under the trees seeking shade in the hot humid day.

Mira simply couldn't understand how people could get cold. The entire city was golden skinned from the plenty hours spent in the sun, with barely any rain. To see villagers getting cold, keeping warm in the hot dry everyday weather was something to frown upon.

Mira forces her attention away from the villagers and continues following Jezio from behind. He knew all too well that she was right behind him.

"So explain to me why you drink so much nowadays. And also tell me how you fucked up the last time you passed out on my bed after kissing a fucking thirteen year old."

Jezio halts without turning around to face her.

Oh shit. Mira must have hit a nerve or something. He is definitely going to be mad at her.

"Jezio? I said something bad didn't I? Ugh. It really wasn't my intention to hurt you. I am just-"

Mira halts just behind Jezio. He was frozen, his gaze solely focused on the happenings before him. He didn't so much as take note of what she was saying, rather he was deeply focused on the sight before him.

His eyes are wide, his mouth was parted, his face looked even whiter than it did just seconds ago.

Mira slowly follows his line of vision to what stood before them.

It was as if time stood still. Mira's own hearing became blocked by outsiders. She sees right past all the villagers standing and cheering about excitedly as she faces the huge gathering before them.

What Mira thought was a simple brawl between two beings who could not tolerate one another, was not the case at all. The gathering, which only consisted of the villagers following guards from the Court around; is what made this entire... thing a gathering. Without them it would be a normal event of guards doing their duties around here.

Mira sees about six guards all standing guard around a palanquain, with four others holding it abroad. They were all dressed in their specific austere guard attire with blue ropes circling their waists as well as scabbards with their swords sheathed in neatly at their sides.

A few others stood around them to form a circle in the middle of the Markets, with the palanquain being the center of attention which all the villagers must have been so grapplingly excited for.

It was obvious that the Elemental was in that palanquain but why was she here? It drew everyone's attention and Mira shook her head at them. All the Villagers were busy— full of gossip and other blatherskites.

Majority of the woman barely had their breasts covered. Mira couldn't point on whether it was to gain the guards attention or the Elemental, or whether the women weren't feel like dressing today. If that was actually a thing.

It was definitely a good approach to show the Elemental exactly what they had to offer.

Mira looks back to Jezio who has gone still as a ghost beside her just to see him still wholly focused on the palanquain to be specific, before them.

Mira frowns. Why was everyone so crazy? Half of the villagers were singing praises which was the sounds that Mira heard earlier making her think it was a brawl, just to learn that it wasn't one. And the other half was quiet, standing with hands on hips waiting for her to show herself, like the classic busy-body they get each day.

Mira even glimpsed a few villagers seating themselves beneath a tree sharing snacks, watching the party before them.

Mira distinctly remembers that there was no meeting to be summoned with the villagers and the Elemental. Hell she never even stepped foot in this place. So why was she here? And why was everyone so entranced with her like obsessive anomalies.

She was sure as hell that Jezio didn't know how his body worked anymore too. His eyes are glued to the palanquain. He didn't so much as glance at the guards trying to shoo them away to make way for them to go to where they needed to go.

With a shock, Mira realizes that Kaleb wasn't with them. She searches all the guards faces willing at least one of them to be Kaleb, but none of them was him. He wasn't here. Shouldn't a King of the guard be guarding his queen at all times. Yet, right now he wasn't even present. Mira holds her thumbs in her palms. Oh she hopes nothing happened to him. Maybe he was on other duties today. So the Elemental picked someone else to accompany her.

Mira feels something brushing her thighs and when she looks down she sees Jezio clenching his fists. She looks to his face again and sees a dark shadow covering his eyes. He was suddenly filled with ire once again.

"Jezio?"

She calls his name again when he didn't respond nor glance at her.

She clicks her fingers in front of his face. He blinks rapidly from it but still doesn't draw his attention from the palanquain.

She tugs on her lower lip hard. As the Court came closer, Mira took this as her opportunity to scan the area for Adelaide or Zalaena, but there wasn't a sign of them. Either they were deeper in the crowd or they refused to pitch up for this petty show.

It wasn't even for them anyway. The Court will do their business here and leave.

The palanquain is made from rich red silk draped on all four sides covering the person inside, and the wood at which they were carrying her with was made from some hard wood completely covered in golden powders. It made it look as if the palanquain was made from golden wood.

As it passed Jezio and herself with there instantly being villagers on their lefts and rights, Mira caught a glimpse from the inside of the palanquain through which the dry winds blew it asunder. She saw nothing inside save for more red silk blowing on the other side. Mira scented fumes as it passed them with a fluff of wind.

Jezio has defrosted because he was walking with the entire noisy crowd  following closely with the palanquain. Completely ignoring her.

Mira stands still at first but after seeing the remaining crowd standing about, looking like crumbs compared to the whole gathering following too, Mira rolls her eyes and has no choice but to go with the flow as well. These people are insane.

She gallops till she reached Jezio. She grasps tunic in her hand forcing him to stop walking forward. He falls back into her, and immediately shakes her hand off.

He faces her with a scowl on his face. "What the fuck Mira?" He motions to where she was still tightly holding his tunic in her fist.

"Why are you following-"

"Did someone think this was funny?"

Mira got cut off. She and Jezio both looked to the front again.

It was her. Oh damn she was so beautiful. She really doubted Adelaide for a second there. The Elemental has gotten off the palanquain as she stood barefeet on the floor, pointing to the palanquain with her forefinger. A scowl that matched Jezio's was on her face.

She was dressed in a loose silk black dress reaching her ankles. The dress was tightly wound around her chest, with the back completely open. According to Kaleb she liked short dresses... Mira decides to not dwell her thoughts into that.

Mira runs her gaze fascinatingly over the rest of her body. Hell. Mira fathoms why nearly everyone was so enchanted with her. It was like once you looked at her you couldn't look away. She was so foxy and enthralling to the eyes. Knowing that she possessed a certain power made her look ten times more attractive.

The Elemental continues pointing to the palanquain and then utters loud enough for everyone to hear. "The sheet I was laying on, has beads on it. Beads. I can't even take a damn nap in this thing without the beads digging into my body like knives. If I wanted to-"

She stops quickly and efficiently. She slowly and shakily turns around. Her long black hair was loose and had slight waves in them as it brushed her bottom. Her finger was still out as she studied the villagers who has gone dead silent after she spoke, watching her with awe.

The young woman studied nearly everyone from head to toe. A few guards had to stand forward baring their swords as the villagers attempted to get closer to her.

Luckily Jezio and herself was at the back of the palanquain whilst the Elemental was in front. So they didn't have to get her attention and be studied like books in the front of everyone else.

Mira is all too familiar with that hair. The night she found that strand on herself, it came from Kaleb. It, without a doubt belonged to the Elemental. It obviously suggests that Kaleb and her had to be close. Close enough that they shared hair strands. The thought made her stomach turn. She pressed her hand to her sternum feeling a wave of nausea wanting to creep out of her body.

Mira was just about to pull Jezio away from the scene and to finish their talk, because they are much more important than this stupid scene before them. The gathering would soon break up after the Elemental disappeared from sight. It had to be soon as well, till they found the sole purpose for coming today. Mira didn't know what it was.

She places her hand on the small of Jezio's back feeling the muscle he made solely from jumping buildings and stealing. He still couldn't take his eyes off from the Elemental.

She fists his tunic again and looks up his low bun. "Jez. Please I really need to talk to you. She's not such a big deal, I don't understand why you're all looking at her like that.

Jezio still refused to take his eyes off her. His mouth has closed at least, and his eyes when Mira turned to him again, was filled with a look of longing. Mira frowns even more.

Jezio steers his gaze to a guard who was standing close to the Elemental as the man whispered something in her ear. Jezio's mouth turned into a straight line and his hands formed into fists again.

Mira drops her hand from him and but doesn't take a step back from Jezio. "Just tell me when you want to talk."

With one last look to him who was still deeply involved with her, Mira glances back to the Elemental. After her seeing gone, Mira scans the area but still doesn't see her. She looks to the villagers, jus to find them already all watching her. Mira's breath hitches in her chest, her heart beats faster and faster as her blood runs cold.

She feels eyes burning into her left side. Mira didn't want to turn her head. But her body did it involuntary.

She meets icy sea-green eyes. They were so cold and hollow and practically sent daggers to her that it scared Mira. She flinched.

Mira feels herself panicking, it started in her toes rising up to her chest and face; forcing her to breathe through her mouth. Her hands are clammy. Her face gloomy. Mira feels cold. So so cold. She had goosebumps on her face especially. Every thump of her heart hurt her chest. Her skin feels gray and cold.

Mira swallows away her parched throat, never taking her eyes from her. She looked the opposite of Mira, her skin was golden and luster with her fringe not even stuck to her forehead the way Mira's loose strands were plastered to her temples. The girl looked exactly Mira's age, much more smaller and thinner than her. She had small curves but a very attractive face. Her hair is rich ebony, it resulted in her eyes standing out more. Glowing poison green.

She had a fresh big scar on the side of her neck, it didn't look deep but it was red and angry and it looked as if hurt it a lot from a mere touch.

Mira was thinking that she must have gotten it the previous evening or early this morning for the latest. She still couldn't take her eyes off her scar.

The Elemental glances away from her to Jezio. She kept her eyes locked to his for a while before glancing to the minimal space between them and then meeting Jezio's eyes again, and lastly settling back to hers.

She takes a step away from herself and Jezio and immediately a guard settled between the Elemental and them, holding his hand on the hilt of his sword in case of any interference.

The woman skims the faces for the last time as she makes her way back to the front of the and center of the crowd.

Mira takes her gaze away from her, before settling it to Jezio, who still had his gaze on hers. A hungry gaze this time.

Mira flicks her eyes back to the Elemental just as she uttered words that she'll walk instead of getting stabbed and demanded to know the designer of the quilt she lay upon in her palanquain.

After the Elemental said those words she looked back to Mira, a look of distraught in her eyes. Mira couldn't place on why she looked at her like that. It was then that Mira realizes that she has seen that stance before, the figure and silhouette. It looked vaguely familiar. Although there were plenty villagers who looked the exact same.  But damn she couldn't miss the deja vu she overcame.

By the time Mira distrangled herself from her thoughts the Elemental and her circle of guards are already in the distance about to turn a corner in the direction of the infirmary.

Mira shakes her head slightly clearing her head. She turns her back to face Jezio, but he was gone.

Mira moves in a circle seeking for him at every direction and corners of the markets but there was just the crowd falling into their roles again, a few kept the Elemental company but majority of them went back to their lives as if nothing happened. Mira noticed that the half naked women have pulled their dresses back up again.

Mira still feels cold. She still couldn't get those icy green eyes out of her head. It was drilled into the backs of her eyes. She still feels vulnerable even with the girl gone. The way her eyes locked with hers, it was as if Mira were slowly peeling her clothes away one by one for her to judge.

Mira shakes the slithering feeling she got down her spine. She could feel a migraine forming. She is also shaking uncontrollably, her legs had it worse. Her fingertips and toes are numb. Her chest feels restricted.

Mira holds her hand to her chest. Her heart is pacing faster and faster, every beat hurt. She couldn't breathe. She forces air into her lungs but it made the pain worse. Her nose is suddenly blocked, leaving her mouth the only way to force in air.

Without another glance at the one corncerned woman giving her a worrisome glance and has even held out a handkerchief for her; Mira ignored the women and took off. Fast.

She heads back home. She needed to see Grasel, she would know how to handle Mira in her current panic state. Mira keeps her hand to her chest and with foggy eyes jogs right back quickly.

Her head hurt a shit ton. Her adrenaline has spiked, but in the bad way. The panic way. She needed water. Did she have? Fuck.

She had nothing on her. Absolutely nothing.

Mira wants to weep hard. Her brother ran away from her, she was trying desperately to cling to thoughts of him to stray her mind away from her state. It was obvious that her mind was playing vicious tricks on her, telling her she's safe when in reality she wasn't.

She feels her heart skipping beats one after the other over and over. She comes to a halt and rests her hand on a terracotta wall. Mira glances up panting like a dog and with a shock and a roll of the eyes she leans her face against the wall of the brothel.

The wall cooled her face even though it poked her. She was sweating but she was shivering. She wanted the cool but she wanted to lay in the hot baking sun too.

Mira tries stilling her breathing. Taking slower deeper breathes. She was nearly in the Beggar Area. She just had to pass a few more buildings and she would be there. Safe.

Mira pushes off the wall, but her jelly legs fails her so she just collapsed against it again.

She hears a door opening but she doesn't look. She keeps her head against the wall looking down to her sand powdered boots.

Her breathing was still ragged and uneven and it brought a piercing pain in her chest with each inhale. 

"Oh well look. It's you again."

Mira didn't dare raise her head. From his voice Mira knew it belonged to the idiot she saw earlier with the woman between his legs.

She takes a huge gulp of air, spasming her chest in the process but she still kept her vision down. "Fuck off."

The guy laughs  and snorts at her as she hears him coming closer towards her.

That made Mira's anger boil inside of her, she fists the wall which she held herself against.

"You look a little stressed. I know a specific remedy for that. Just for you love."

"I said go away." Mira could feel him not coming closer but he still didn't leave.

She couldn't move her damn legs. She grinds her teeth feeling sweat drip into her mouth in the process.

She feels an uncomfortable dirty cold hand touching her shoulder and then it ran down her back-

A few seconds later, Mira hears scuttling and a faint groan and then him choking.

She looks up and her head feels even more faint.

Sea green eyes meets hers. She had one hand clamped on the man's throat, steaming leaving her handprint and the rest of her body looked as calm as ever as she looked at Mira.

The man's cries is what created noise between them. He was choking and gasping, his hands at his throat but he couldn't get passed the sizzling of his skin. He roars and kicks his legs widely— something Mira was rather proud that he could at least do. She thought he could only think with his manhood.

The Elemental drops the man, and he falls to his knees gasping and shaking uncontrollably. His skin didn't have a mark, it was just red from the steam. The Elemental didn't want him killed, only hurt.

He looked up at the both of them. His eyes were blood red and his face looked as if it was going to explode.

The young woman looks at him and says calmly with a rich velvet voice. "Get you and your little cock out of here. If I see you again, I won't just use steam."

The man, after many failed attempts at rising up steadily on his feet with his hands protecting his throat; finally rose and before he could leave, the Elemental wraps her hand around the back of his neck as if she was going to kiss him, but instead she kicks him hard between the legs with her shin.

"Now you can go." She smiles.

That smile made Mira want to crawl beneath a dark robe and never come out.

The man was gone faster than light.

She faced her, and Mira feels herself wanting to puke.

"You dropped this." She holds out a white long and outstandingly piercing weapon out to Mira, hilt first.

It was her dagger.

But Mira was more concerned with why she followed her.