Each time you look into the past, every replay of memory is played differently, seen from different angles and mindsets, the person who goes back to watch, curious about something they before, did not know to wonder about. So, it is a given, that when you come out from your memory, you too have changed from the new insight gained.

The Virty household could be spotted from the roof of any building in the southeastern part of the city. Not because it towered over all the other buildings or because it was situated so far out that surrounded by nature the lone building was visible. It was the bronze dome top, cage-like that connected at the heart of their territory that was visible. It resembled a bird cage without the multiple bars, just six towering bronze beams all connecting over all of their lands, there were multiple short poles sticking out from each beam in no certain pattern that I could see but I figured they might have just been perch's for those who took to the sky. There were other houses and streets beneath the structure, but at the outskirts of it all, a large abstract house, with more windows than walls, but with right angling for privacy, sat the Virty house. They really were at the edge of their own territory, nearing closer to the open desert that began at their generous backyard.

The lights on the house were all on, some movement here and now but no solid figures could be made out. There was probably block magic on the windows to keep others from, well, doing what we were currently up to. Something further out form their house, reflected the night moons, some sort of large pond, I saved that for later.

"What do you think you'll be able to learn from them if we manage to get in?" Venom stood to my right, eyeing the streets and buildings as I was. He had on the white tunic, the long sleeve gray shirt I had grabbed earlier, and black dressing pants. His hair was back to its normal shade of simmering white, so he must have taken another shower at some point, the strands were all pushed away from his face, but since he did not have any of the products he used to hold them in place, a few moved about when a strong gust of wind picked up. The shirt fit him loosely while the tunic was tight around his shoulders and chest, the pants far too short but he pulled it off as if everything had been intentional.

When he turned to look at me questioningly I remembered he had asked me something. "I don't have much hope in there being anything actually useful within the house, it's been too long  but I would hope that perhaps Fleckff wrote about the experiences that turned him into the man he became-"

"Like a diary?" Viper snickered from in front of me, crouched low.

"Men would call it journalling." Venom interjected defensively.

We both turned and looked at him. He turned away stoically. 

"Right, a journal. It wouldn't have been uncommon back then if he had one, even a daily planner would be useful. " I pondered for a moment, I hadn't gotten to know him very well, but he certainly had come off as someone well-known or rather well-connected and on the rise to a promising future. His name had been on the line in regard to the disappearance ad while nothing had been officially solved, the disappearances had certainly ceased to happen. "It has to be a reason why he managed to remain, especially if this happened before he became well known. A loose end...or did no one come to speak to him?"

The more I thought of Fleckff and his involvement, his escaping their clutches, the stranger it seemed. It might have been because his family was so social and outgoing back then, and his disappearance might have sturred questions so soon after my own vanishing, but if they had waited months, it would have been appropriate. The only reasons I could think for them to have not done anything would have been because something larger had been going on and my disappearance had been nothing but a nuisance worth only a wanted poster, or... I was getting too ahead of myself, we hadn't gone near the house at all and I was already theorizing. But now I had the question roaming about. Was I as important as I made myself to be in the council's opinions? Important? I thought back to my answer to Venom's question. No, but I was useful, but I knew too much. One would always outweigh the other. I had the knowledge of their moves, but they held the keys to my chains and now that the chains were removed, just how valuable was what I knew or could insinuate too?

"Could you explain that last part?" Someone asked suddenly.

"Hmm?" I withdrew from my mind and back to the present moment. The siblings were a mirror of each other, both looking at me with a curious but knowing expression. "Ah, I meant that there might be some deal or reason Fleckff managed to remain as the only living link directly involved in the last case. Be it his social standing that saved him or something else, I would like to know." I shrugged. I couldn't discard any possibility, but having an idea of what we could start looking at would be helpful.

"How come I've yet to see one camera or smart phone here?It's like the middle-ages, but way more advance." Viper brought up abruptly. Her question wasn't all that off course since we were going thave to worry about anything that might alert others to our movements. I had noticed it or rather noticed the lack of people looking down at their smart devices, checking their smart watches and all of those little mindless yet soul consuming devices as well.

"Walking around with headphones here might be taken as an invitation to being attacked from all sides. Communication is key here, but since magic widens the scope of the how's, I would imagine only certain places might use actual electricity like moder day humans if they wish to keep trickery and traps at bay." The vampires would be especially fond of anything that worked like magic without the actual cost of trade. What was moniatry value to someone who collected forever?

"Helpful for us, but not something to rule out."

"Yes, your right on that point. Just because it might be seen as a primal way to go about thing's doesn't mean it isn't useful and i imaine far cheaper than hiring a caster."

"How close do you think we could get before it's too close?" Venom started, cupping his hands over his eyes and squinting. I had no idea what he was looking at, but by first-hand knowledge of how sharp his eyes were, I wouldn't be surprised if he could see the chipped paint on someone's walls. "The way their houses are set up..."

Viper picked up from where he trailed off, bobbing her head. "It gives off the illusion of an open house but the more you stare the more false openings you can make out."

"Yes, it's brilliant."

I had the notion that way they were appeasing the houses and the streets was different from my own, a different type of hunter. I tightened the coat around me.

"To be safe, remain outside of the bronze cage, if you stick to high ground even if you watch and they catch on, best let them think the sky people are watching." It was for their safety and the safety of the residents. More so for the residents, I admitted inwardly.

"Just to clarify we're snooping and not robbing them blind?" Viper leaned back, tilting her head back until she looked at me with her face turned upside down.

"No."I paused, pursing my lips before answering with a wince. "Well, it depends on what we come across."

"Look at you becoming all fun suddenly." She grinned at me before straightening up and standing. "I'll take tonight's watch."

"Are you sure?" I frowned as she stretched her arms over her head, leaning over to the side. There was a pop. She rolled her shoulder and cracked her neck.

"I'm happier outside than indoors and this place is fascinating." She winked over to us and began skipping to the edge of the roof ledge.

"Alright. We'll come back at sun up." I called out softly. She could handle herself so there wasn't much to worry about in that regard and she seemed to be having fun so I wasn't about to argue over who kept first watch.

"I'll check in with you in a few hours." It seems that job fell to Venom.

"If you can find me." She called out, a pinch of exasperation in her voice, but she still sounded excited overall.

"Hide well." He called behind me. Her laughter faded off as she got farther away from us.

Our walk back to the In was slow, both of us not pushing to return when there was nothing for us to do yet. I kept my hands in my pockets, his were held behind his back while we walked in the quiet of the night. This side of the city was quieter, with more homes and fewer businesses, families all starting to settle for the night, and house lights turning on or off as the nighttime folk left for their work. We turned into vacant streets, where the buildings looked older than the ground we walked on, pebbles flying around as we trudged, a three eyes small animal with five tails poked its head from out of somewhere before making a dash in front of us and burying itself into a hole.

"Mykela."

"Hmm?" I looked over my shoulder to watch him pull something out of his pocket.

I blinked repeatedly, unsure if I was seeing things correctly. Where the hell did he get a sandwich from? Why did he keep pulling things out of his pockets? Did he even actually have pockets? I eyed his pants speculatively, when I looked back at his face his lips were pressed tightly, but his smile could not be hidden. I took it out of his hands without a fight.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Seriously, where did he get the sandwich from? I took a bite, looking down when the flavors filled my mouth. It wasn't bad. At all. I looked over my shoulder. He smiled. I finished my sandwich with gratitude and suspicion. The only times I hadn't been with him had been when I had slept earlier and during my shower. There was plenty of time for him to gather food on either occasion but from where? When I finished I tucked the wrapper in my pocket. I was half glad to see he didn't pull water out of anywhere. Stepping out into a slightly more trafficked area, I kept my head down for good measure. Venom came up and walked up slightly in front of me, blocking me out of view from anyone who looked over. Seeing the familiar turn we had taken before I made the turn that would lead us a block to the In.

I looked up to the sky, the clouds and buildings blocked out the sight of the moons but there was enough peaking from out to give enough light to walk around without stumbling over the old crates and empty bottles littered on the floor. The night sky was rather blue on this side, painting and shadowing everything in interesting hues, but locking a rather melancholic feel to the air. Or perhaps that was all on my part. I looked over my shoulder to check on Venom to find his eyes already on me.

I couldn't read the expression on his face, but whatever occupied his thoughts left a feverish flame in his eyes, the only color that blazed through the night. How could I have not felt those eyes so focused on my back, telling me of their intent earlier? My legs froze mid-step and the phrase 'trapped in a predator's gaze came to mind. I understood it profoundly then, but there was that fear of being hunted that was missing and in its place was something else that left my heart pounding and my mind a mess. He continued moving towards me without saying a word until he hovered over me, my lips parted, he took a step around me and then another until my head turned to not break contact with his eyes. He was circling me. Then he stopped and took a step forward. Dirt and pebbles scrapped under my shoes as I took a slow step back and then another as he advanced until my back met a cold surface that let me move no further.

He only stopped when he was standing toe to toe with me, hands slowly coming from behind his back, the palms of his hands coming out on either side of me while he bent low so his face was closer to mine. I tried to even out my breathing. I tried to swallow, but there was tension in my throat, and my whole body felt ridged. My eyes went down to his lips as he parted them.

"I have a question." He said softly to me. My eyes flickered back up to his serious ones, there was no hint of amusement in his gaze. It was like earlier. Immediately I was wary and on guard. I didn't like when he asked questions.

"Why are you asking it like this?" I shot back.

"I want to look at you when you answer." He replied just as quickly. I straightened up, eyeing him with a hint of dread forming like a boulder in my stomach. He saw the unwillingness in my eyes and his own narrowed unhappily in response.

"What is it?" I pursed my lips, waiting. He always came at me from where I least expected it, I could not figure-

"Why have you never spoken of this Fleckff man before?" The sound of the boulder cracking cleared all of the thoughts I had in my mind as soon as his words solidified. I stared at him in disbelief, at once understanding the intense edge to his eyes, the stiffness with which his shoulders remained.

Yet, I could not help but choke out. "What?"

He leaned in just the slightest bit, his breath colder than the night air, the tip of my nose stung like I was standing out in the snow.

"We've always gone over how we came to meet and not once did you mention him by name, but the moment we come here we met where there is a statue in his honor and now you wish to visit his home." His lips crept up humorlessly, his pupil expanding before narrowing on me. The barest hit of red and green came peaking out. Something pale and bright shimmered over his cheeks. His control over his guise slipped. "Was he really just your guide?"

Caution told me to restrain the disbelieving laugh that wanted to escape me, reason told me he had lost his. Something cracked beside me. I stilled. Alright, I was on thin ice.

"This is your question?" I asked slowly, trying to keep the disbelief off of my face, but my eyes were still wide from shock and I was having a hard time clearing my expression. He could slap me with a fish and I wouldn't have been as taken off guard.

"It is. Please answer it." He was serious. He was genuinely serious. I opened my mouth, closed it, and then opened it again but the words evaded me.

Venom was...jealous? The thought was absurd, preposterous, and unbelievable had I not had the very madman nearly pinning me to the wall to confirm the very object of his disdain and apparently my made-up affection. Did he think that- no, I did not even want to ponder over what he thought I was thinking of in regards to a lost flame. The very thought made me grimace. He let out a wild hiss.

"I knew-" He began, his words a rumble in a tone so low I was momentarily surprised it had come from him. 

"No." I cut him off quickly as he began to rise. "Your thoughts delude you and leave me deeply distraught and just so this conversation does not repeat itself I'll have you know I've left no lover behind," I confessed rigidly, hands balled up at my sides. I let him peer at me, his eyes scanning me over with his own disbelief now.

"None?"

I shook my head and rolled my eyes looking off to the side, annoyed. When exactly was I to have time to pursue my romantic interests? While in prison? Certainly not, those maniacs were far quite literally, the worst batch. When I was out hunting? Perhaps he imagined I had a dalliance with the partners I teamed up with? Or a romp with the targets after a fierce fight? A gentle hold on my chin turned my face back.

"Eyes on me." He breathed out.

"None," I repeated sourly, knocking his hand off.  His hand slipped from the side of the wall beside me as he straightened up. There was a notable difference in his demure, the calm air about him back in place, the green and red from his eyes now gone as gold remained dominant. I looked up at him, hand on my hips as I shook my head.

"You are absolutely ridiculous." I turned and made my way down the alley, still shaking my head.

"In the interest of clearing the air." He began behind me, I stopped, he was still where I had left him. An odd expression on his face. "I too have left no lovers behind."

"I didn't ask."

He smiled, tilting his head to the side.

"You didn't have to." Viper's words from earlier came to mind. The sound of the ticking got louder. I turned around and made my way back. His steps coincided with each tick my mind made up.

We spent the next day watching the Virty's house from different angles, as close to the house as we dared. Viper went back to sleep in the In, sometimes I would watch the house alone, but it wasn't for long. Throughout the day either of the two would come to check in or do their own walk around. The Virty household had an abundance of family members and staff walking within the mansion, guarding the outside. People came and went from the gate, be it workers to drop things off or pick up members of the family. That could become useful for us, I was already coming up with ideas while I continued to scan for other openings with less contact. I doubt we would be the first to try and enter the house without permission so they had to have some sort of security unseen to the regular eyes and a defense unique to their family. There was a structure at the back of the house, some sort of green room from what I could make out, but since it wasn't directly connected to the house structure, it might be a good base for taking cover.

Since Viper was the most sociable out of us, I asked to gather as much information as she had woken up, when she came back I used the information she gathered about the house's history and the renovations it had come under. There was an obvious gap between street knowledge and managing to find the security firm and what type of magic they might use on the house, but I was confident enough in my skill and cautious enough about my lack of knowledge to be careful not to get cocky and come up with a backup plan. I ran various simulations in my head as I watched the house, but by the time the night arrived, I had a plan in mind.

"What type of people break into a house in the middle of the morning?" Viper hissed uneasily. Ever since I had told them of the plan they had listened with varying degrees of surprise and understanding, albeit, they were still looking at me like I was as fascinating as crazy as they thought me to be.

"Idiots and professionals."

"We aren't professionals."

"We also aren't idiots which gives us a fair chance of doing well so long as you work to be as fast and quiet as possible. Their sense for predators will be sharper than humans, but we'll be using the early morning drowsiness with the hustle and bustle of getting the Virty's ready for the start of their days in our favor." I watched venom out of the corner of my eye, after his reaction yesterday I was half wondering half worried he was having more strange thoughts. I needed him to focus. "We need to get within the perimeter and see if your presence can be felt, if so, I think it would be easier for me to go-"

"No." They said in unison. As expected, but still worth a shot. If I was the only one to enter I felt a lot better about our chances of not getting caught.

"Fine, we go together to let them get used to your presence before they fully awaken to lessen the risk of getting discovered by their senses, get into the house and become the best tip toes in the city as you evade everyone and snoop around."

"She just used the word 'tip toes' to describe ninja work." Viper gave me a mortified expression, turning to her brother as she waved a hand in my general direction. "Why the heck is she the one that gets to come up with the plan?"

"Because she managed to evade us without the full capacity of her experienced memories." He didn't look over as reminded her, staring far off.

That drew her short, she looked away from both of us, her lips pushing out in a disgruntled grimace. "Right. Right." She clicked her tongue as she looked away, muttering something that was definitely insulting.

"Once we're on the inside we have to split up, I'll take the west side of the house, Viper north and you can take the east side of the house. If at any point you hear that there are too many people on the side of the house you can change the direction to where ever it's most convenient. Since we're technically after any of Fleckffs possessions they might have, I'm willing to bet there might be a storage area within the house or a room of his they might have kept untouched or for viewing."

"Basements, attic, offices, and the works?" Viper listed off before springing up, pointing a finger at both of us warningly, her lip curling up. "No one get greedy and go for the safe or we'll all be fucked."

Venom chuckled, looking over and giving her a mocking pitting look, his hand patting her head. "Speaking from experience dear sister?"

She swatted his hand away. "Choke on it. Who needs passwords when you can just rip it straight open?"

"That way of thinking is was why you got blown up." He shook his head at her disapprovingly, she just rolled her eyes.

"No, stealing from a mad bomber is what got me there, you telling me you had deactivated all of the bombs when he had an extra in the safe is what got me blown up." She countered with ire in her voice. I could tell this was another one of their long drawn-out arguments.

"I told you already. The safe was anti-" Venom squeezed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose, hand on his hip.

"Can you not do this now?" I muttered, waving my hands to get their attention. "I'd say we have a fifteen-minute window of getting inside while the family heads get ready for the day, twenty minutes during their breakfast, and roughly ten minutes after they start leaving before our exit window without detection starts to get smaller."

"What if someone sounds the alarm?" Venom brought up, searching my eyes.

"No killing," I said declared clearly to both of them.

"Understood." Viper called out all too casually, making me glare at her. I knew I was right when seconds after she asked. "But why exactly?"

"So you don't get cuffed when they eventually come for you." That was all I gave her. She took my answer for a literal answer and didn't ask to further elaborate. "Do you think you could pull your auras in tighter around you?"

"More?" Venom frowned.

"Better safe than sorry. I don't think their six senses will have evolved to be all that sharp, in which case other senses will have developed."

"Easier said than done." He muttered before closing his eyes, a look of concentration coming across, his brows coming together.

"It will just be for when we get into position and within the house. As soon as we're back on this side you won't need to be so strict." I promised them. I watched him for a moment before closing my own eyes and trying to feel for the air around me. He had always kept his presence as small as possible, but the airs of danger that came from him were not something he ever felt the need to hide. It also worked as a layer of protection for him, a warning to all others that messing with him would be an idiotic move that would not end well, but for this mission, it would be the opposite of helpful.

"How's this?" I kept my eyes closed and focused. Other than his physical presence, I walked around him, making sure not to bump into him, but trying to feel out for any instincts that told me I was near something dangerous. It was like he was gone.

"Release your hold a bit, you've disappeared." I opened my eyes, I was behind him now.

"Ah," He understood at once. "The shadow that lurks is felt for its absence." He tried it again, this time the faintest hint remaining. Once that was settled I turned to Viper who eyed him and adjusted her own presence until it matched.

"You never answered what to do if we get caught?" Cold fanned at my right ear, I resisted the urge to turn around. He leaned from behind me, smiling innocently, his hair falling to the side, the longer strands swaying as he waited for my answer. I felt Viper's own eyes on me even if she played disinterested.

"I'll leave it to your own judgment," I said cautiously. "If any one of us is to get found, do not get captured and make a run for it. Feel free to break a wall to let us know to leave the house before everything goes into whatever protocol they have for a break-in."

"Very well." He handed me a purple pouch. "What exactly is this for?"

"I can't learn new magic fast enough to figure out what type of defensive spells they might have on the house, so the best thing to do in this situation," I  opened the pouch and grabbed a handful of smooth rocks. "Is to overwrite it with old-school magic. Nothing too grand, but something even they will miss."

"I have a comment to make on the rocks but I'm going to wait for you to explain before I decide whether I should say it or not." Viper declared, staring at them with raised brows and twitching lips.

"I'm ever so grateful for your restraint," I said dryly. "These aren't just dumb normal rocks, I had your brother take this off of a wishing well wall." I handed them both one.

"Break it." Viper eyed it and then me. "Just do it."

"Fine." She took hold of it with both hands and snapped it in half. A raw ruby held firmly to one side of the rock. "What the fuck?" She exclaimed loudly, eyes widening. Venom eyed hers and snapped his, raw peridot popping out. His eyebrows rose comically.

I tapped mine in my open palm twice before waving it around. " This isn't common knowledge or else the wishing wells would have been removed long ago, but when magical beings make a wish and toss something into the well, it starts to accumulate over time and that's what gives the well the power to grant some random lucky fellow a wish. Every time a wish is made, that person's essence, for whatever little amount of time they held onto what they threw in, left a trace of magic and so as it grows over time, the structure that holds all of these wishes becomes coated in pressure so great it wouldn't be false to compare it to magma. I found out a long time ago that when in need of a spell without using my own energy, wishing wells were the places to go to."

"I can wish for anything?" She asked looking less excited than I would have originally expected.

"No, that would be too easy," I confessed, I brought the stone up to my mouth and whispered to it as if I were telling it some grand secret. "I wish to fly." They both took two steps away from me like I was about to sprout wings.

"See?" I opened my palm and showed them the ruby which ad remained the same then I brought it back to my mouth and whispered. "I wish to walk through the new defenses that wish to keep all intruders out, to slip through undetected." The stone glowed bright, heating up in my hand before it turned black within the center, swirling until the red was swallowed whole, losing its color and turning pitch black.

I opened my hand to show them just as it shook slightly, stopped, and crumbled into a fine powder. I blew it out of my hand, it flew away as if a strong gust of wind had blown instead of my breath and swirled around me three times before vanishing from the air without a trace. Ah, this was why I liked wishing wells, they really were the best when leaving no traces of magic behind.

"Why did that work and not the other wish?" Venom demanded, looking eminently interested, and perplexed. Viper lifted a long leg and swiped at the air around me as if she was testing if there was some type of force field around me now. When she confirmed there was none, she prowled around me, I tried not to take it personally and continued.

"What's the most common phrase used to warn others about wishes?" I asked him, ignoring Vipers probing finger at my side. He squinted as he thought about it.

"Be careful what you wish for."  He answered slowly.

"The first was too open to interpretation, but most importantly, it was not taking into account that this is old, accumulated magic that has waited a very long time to be put to use. You've also got to use the right wording." Old magic filled with wishes that leaned more towards devious and menacing desires than wishing for the lottery numbers. "When trying to beat out new magic, always go old school."

"Magic has an ego." Viper muttered behind me.

"And don't you forget it." I teased.

I had them both repeat what I said, they held very still as the ashes went around them, and used a few more for future usages, the ones that remained I put the rest of the rocks in the pouch and put it in my pocket. These were for if things went wrong and if not, then for when things went right. The sky would begin to lighten in an hour or two while we neared the house. The closer got to the house the more we separated from one another, I came from the front, Venom on my right and Viper on my left. I slipped through the metaphorical boundary line that was the beginning of the Virty territory first, running on top of rooftops wasn't an option here since the majority of the houses were modified to be open from up top, roof to floor windows facing every direction. Speed and agility would be the biggest factor for us, even if someone were to see us, a blurry figure was better than a detailed one. I wasn't sure if only bird folk filled the blocks around us, but even their senses were not to be understated. I was proven correct in my thoughts when the siblings made their way down the vacant streets.

The night had been filled with deep breaths, snoring and even cute little chirps but after a moment or so of them running through the streets the silence that took over the streets was hard to ignore. I held still in wait to see if anyone had awoken. When no notable ruse and commotion came about I continued on a bit slowly, listing closely. Everyone still seemed to be asleep even if their deep slumber had been disturbed by the primal instinct that told them that something dangerous had suddenly made its way into their dwellings. I caught sight of Viper's nimble figure lung and roll over the top of a car without so much as brushing over the hood of the car, heels seemingly not touching the ground for long before she was another blur of a tall shadow gone in the night, nothing more than a possible flicker of the street lights.                

My breathing was controlled and even, and my body beginning to warm up to this light work. The rush of going about, alert and on edge was exhilarating, everything that I passed by was filtered in clear detail rather than a blur. I made a right and raced down a sloped street, letting gravity take me as I jumped high and tucked my knees in, the bottom of my shoes skimming the railing as I flew over it and into the darkness below. My hands shot up just as my head passed the perch sticking out from the side of the wall, I cupped my hands and kicked up, I let out a small breath at the sudden pressure on my shoulders but let go, letting the momentum spin me out for a moment before correcting myself and landing on the next perch. I hung upside down, knees bent around the pole.

From this point on, a few miles ahead the Virty house was surrounded by trees and three main roads, at the front gate there were two large guards, armed and certainly awake as they looked around. By Viper's account, there were another two on the outside walking about and three inside the house, minus the staff. In the morning there would be a team to come to switch out with only four, the remaining three left with the heads of the house while the rest stayed to keep watch. I watched Venom and Viper dive into the forest, and remain there, the guards at the front door stiffened, looked at each other, and looked around with a lot more caution than they had before. One of them pulled something out of their pocket and brought their fists up to their mouth, a bright light shined out immediately, piercing through the night as if he had the sun itself in his hand. Where he pointed, the forest came to life. He scanned it around various times, from top to bottom. The trees and plants became nearly transparent, glowing blue and red where he lingered. I straightened out my lips and fell, kicking out into the air and landing in a crouched lunge before straightening up. I slide down the side of the wall and sat in wait as the morning day slowly began to creep across the wall and when the first sun rays began to reflect off of the first-floor windows it was time for us to make our way into the house.

The guards had remained alert and uneasy as time passed by, but since no other movement came from around them they left it be, even if their eyes did wander over to the forest quite often. I suppose it had been far too long since anyone had ever tried anything against a Virty if walking in to check suspicious activity wasn't even worth it. I made my way around the large property, walking on the outskirts of the forest, peaking through the trees until I found the wall that had become familiar to me, although through a distance. The eastern side wall surrounding the house was a pale yellow color, eye-grabbing if one could see through the thick of trees surrounding the house, so I had naturally looked over it and the more I looked the more I  began to study the structure of the house and the layout. The house was slopped, tilting like a tower, but made four buildings, seemingly hazardously pushed together and then smoothed out, but it wasn't unintentional. The random holes that had confused Venom stood out to her as openings for nests, like the ones birds had in trees. They were openings into the house that from afar looked small due to the large windows, but when seen up close were the actual doorways into the home. They were all open on this side of the house and in the back.

I heard the sound of the last walk around of the night shift and lay flatly on the ground until they passed by, I stared up into the sky as the footsteps faded just out. Once I was up I wasted no time with hesitation, placed my hands on the fence, jumped, and was over the wall. I felt it immediately once I was halfway over the fence, saw the thin red thin vale burn around my body and come back together as I walked over to the side of the house. The wishing stone had certainly worked. I wasted no time climbing onto the side of the house, aiming for the second window. The odd slopes and angles of the house were helpful in climbing up, but I was torn at the sight of the smudge prints I was leaving on the walls from the force used to push myself up. I grimaced but climbed up to the opening.

I placed my fingers through the opening and waited without breathing o see if the wishing stone would still hold true. I listened in for anyone who was close to this entrance, there was some commotion coming from the house but it was too far for me to pinpoint at the moment, but since it was far enough I hosted myself up and was in. Just like the outside, a yellow thin veil seemed to burn around my body before reconnecting once I was out of it. There was a long glass table with an orange vase and white lilies, and a painting in front of me, nothing else. A dark smudge on my palms let me know that it was all up to skill from now on as the power of the stone evaporated. All right, the two uses weren't all that bad.

The plan was fairly easy. Enter the house while the help was getting up and ready themselves, walk among them without their knowledge and make our way around the house. Why go after a lone house when one would never suspect or easily accept that those who did not belong in their house were snooping around without their knowledge. Easy, but risky. If we went after the house when it was the least occupied if anything were out of place, or even if nothing were out of place, I didn't want to run the risk of one of them sensing that something was off about their house on their return. At least with this plan, assuming it was one of the maids in the next room would give us a cover.

I pressed myself against the front wall and looked around. The entrance was at the end of a dead-end hallway, leaving only one way to go, straight ahead to my left. The lights in the house were on dimly in the hallway, be it because the day was about to begin or because they were always like that, I neared the entrance of the hall and looked to the open space on my right. An open living room with a large couch facing the eastern wall, another facing north, a large rug on the floor, and other homey things. Looking over my left shoulder I counted the doors that ran the length of the hall. Six doors, the sound of beds creaking and shuffling. Scanning once more I crouched low and nearly crawled over to the living room space, keeping a look out for the rest of the open space on the right of me, more doors running down the hallway. I was in the servants sleeping space when the sound of a door opening and shutting rang out just as I rolled over the couch and laid flat on the floor as close to the couch as possible. Someone from the right came out of their room, yawning as they made their way down the hall. Another door opened and the sound of running water rang out as someone rushed out, running on the tips of their toes. I had to move quickly. There was always someone who managed to pull themselves out of bed just to sit for minutes somewhere else staring elsewhere. I looked over the living room from the floor.

The view into the backyard was just a floor-to-ceiling window without any openings-ah, there. Of course, there were no actual door openings to the back, but if one looked off the ground there were perches running along the wall, like stairs that lead to another open doorway. Another floor. But was it the next building or more servant rooms? There were at least five doors to choose from and I was running out of time just laying there. The more of them came from their rooms the more I ran the risk of being seen. I rolled across the floor and crawled around the eastern-facing couch, reached up for the nearest perch, and began to climb up, passing two doors. More halls and doors. I was going to make my way to the first door but the sound of someone exiting and making their way out from below me chose for me, I dived into the doorway and without having much time, slid across the slick tile floor of the kitchen and scrambled around the counter as at least three people came into the kitchen. My heart thudded in my ears, my eyes widened as I stared at myself from the reflection in the oven. Shit.

I paddled backward as one of them made their way around the counter, an older woman talking animatedly to one of the people with her. My teeth bit into my bottom lip, excitement and apprehension making my mind race as I took in everything around me, the corner of my eyes noting the darkened shadow that could be either an entrance or someone else nearing. I looked away from my reflection for a moment to check. Something scrapped on the floor on the other side of the counter as someone sat down.  Steps came my way. I would be seen if I didn't move and I would be seen if I didn't move fast enough. I spun to face the counter and kicked with as much strength as I could, sliding across the floor and through the door opening, I rolled on my back and way on the carpet, the momentum and friction flipping me. my eyes were wild as I looked around me to see if anyone was in the hallway with me, I was crouched, fingers spread and curled, ready. The kitchen went silent.

"What was that?" One of them murmured confused, not worried, just puzzled. That relaxed me to some extent.

"What?" One of them responded. I remained in the middle of the hall, not sticking close to either side of the wall as the sounds of people getting ready on the other side of the doors sounded out, a lot more people were awake now. I walked down the hall quickly, pausing at the opening. There was now a grand staircase with glass and metallic railing, the carpet changing to white marble.

"I just heard something-" The voice that answered was a half-dazed voice, something clinked around, bowls and utensils.

"I think it's Thomas running down the hall again, I've already to that boy..." The voices faded as I neared the staircase, this floor was far quieter, nearly silent. I was halfway up when I caught sight of a looming shadow growing as I raced up.

We said nothing as we passed each other by, Viper didn't bother to go down the stairs as she jumped over the railing and landed in a crouched position, peering down the hall just as doors began to open and multiple in uniforms came out. By the time I was around the corner and checked on her, she was out of sight. Ignoring the grand living room and its exotic colorings of cushions, I passed another kitchen that look for show more than for usage and went down an empty hall with three openings. I closed my ears and strained my ears, in the second hall there was a soft but higher-pitched snoring, childlike. The first hall was quieter, but there was movement and rustling. I went directly to the third hall, the dark double doors beckoning me to check it. I passed by a small closet door and a balcony, I peeked through the curtains, pulling back when I caught sight of a guard.

I stopped in front of the doors and reached for a handle, letting my fingers hover just in front of them. There was subtle power flow from the door itself, or rather running all around the length of the room. A barrier to protect, as a spell for silence, I frowned, trying to concentrate on the layer beneath it, trying to recall the feel of what the one beneath it was. I hated to admit I was a bit rusty in recalling what it was. I dropped to my knees in front of the door handle and went into my pocket taking out one of the stones that remained on the wish I had made.

I wish to slip through that which is kept from before me, to become and belong to that which is hidden.

I curled my fingers around the stone and stood up, I reached out, watching as the tips of my fingers became transparent and went right through the door, my fingertips tingling as they came in contact with the barriers in place, it burned but I pushed through and stepped forward. My stomach clenched as my nerves burned and sizzled, I let out a shaky breath and began to look around. The room was dark and had a dark academic-type feel by the art on the walls, black walls with bronze trimmings, dark wood, and beautiful and large marble statues pushed against the far walls, a large bookcase filling the whole of the front wall in front of the doors, a quiet fireplace direct line of the large desk, a window blocked by long curtains behind it. I walked over to the bookcase, anything that would be on the desk or locked away into it would belong to the current head of Virty and would most likely hold recent documentation on projects and such, but the bookcase? There were always secrets hidden in these. I stepped back for a moment to look over where everything was placed, papers stacked on the corners nearly on the desks, a table with later night drinks still there, and a coat thrown over the back of the chair. Not exactly personal touches, more so a clean work setting. I walked over to the books closest to the desk and scanned from the ones with the most wear on the spines. There were a few notebooks, but the majority were account books, and photo albums with written entries, the only diary here dated back to even father than Fleckff's timeline.

I pulled on multiple books at the same time when nothing happened I pushed them all back in and went to the end of the bookcase and did the same, nothing. I turned to the statue and looked for the spot on it that would be the smoothest from repeated touches over time. It wasn't long before I found the sunken hole inside the lion's mouth, a button at the end of it. A painting over the fireplace popped open, I pushed it open and sighed. Just a safe. There were no strong magical impulses coming from within or around it so I had the sneaking suspicion it was either of monetary value or documents, but if they were risky, I doubt they would have them so under-protected. Then again, I wonder if anyone had ever managed to get this far into the house.

Shutting that, I spun back around to look for a better clue. I walked over to the desk and pushed the chair back, standing over the late-night documents. A few family pictures, a group photo, and three children. I knelt and began feeling on the smooth wood, first on the inside of the desk, the side panels, and then pulling the unlocked drawers open. The first two were locked. I stared at them for a moment before deciding they weren't worth the hassle. I sat on the floor in ticked frustration, I moved the curtain behind me for a bit, not liking how quickly time had passed since I got into the house, the sun was starting to get higher in the sky. It was probably closer to six in the morning now.

The back view of the office was quite present, a stoned pathway that lead to a victorian glass house, plants, and wildlife, spilling from the open windows, a drastic scenery compared to that of the desert just a few feet away. The stone way was rather unkept, with wild grass overcoming comes of the pathway stones, and weeds climbing up the walls. I dropped the curtain, staring ahead coldly as I fought the urge to tick, pushing the frustration and worry that someone would come into the office for documents away. If there was one hidden mechanical safe here then it was safe to think there might be another, something hiding something else. If it was another safe it would be a pain to think I'd have to actually check both but I'd find a way to get it done.  I placed my hand on my knee and looked down, about to rise when I noted the actual structure of the desk. The desk wasn't floating but the front right leg was at least three and a half inches off the floor. I stood up and slid my foot beneath it and pressed up.

Click

I would have missed the sound if I hadn't been listening to it. It didn't come from inside the office. I parted the curtains behind me and peered out the window, this time the front door to the garden was open, creaking as it swung open a bit before stopping.  It was too early to grin but I couldn't help it for a second. I made sure I left the office as it was before stopping by the door and listening to see if anyone was in the hallway. I stepped through and made my way to the balcony, opening the door just as someone came from around the corner. All I saw was a uniform before I dove over the balcony railings, twisting to grab onto the edge, pulling my torso up, and planking to avoid having my legs just hang in front of the window below. My fingers protested at the sudden weight, and my core burned as I held myself as still as possible, toes touching the bottom of the balcony floor. The person neared the door and stepped out. One step forward, another and another until they were nearly on the edge, hands on the railing.

"Hmm." With a click of the tongue and a slight scrapping sound, they stepped back. The door shut. I still didn't move. The door opened once more. Five seconds. Twenty. They finally shut the door and walked away. The office was roughly eight steps away from the balcony door, if this person looked out the window I would be in plain sight. I looked to my right at the garden. I could make it behind or better yet to the side, at an able where I would be blocked from view and so long as the next round did not come over here, be back at the front door of the garden before long. With that quick thought-out plan I dropped to the ground in an exhale and crawled over to the side garden, going from grass to sand and then rough stones, and weeds in the little space where it all met. I rolled right into a prickly bush and held still. I rugged at a weed gently as I waited, pulling my legs in slowly. The cold ground seeped in through my coat, but my elevated body temperature didn't recoil from it. I placed my forehead on the ground and breathed in the fresh scent of dew and wet grass and smiled at the ground. Power thrummed through my body, rising and waiting for me to will it out. I took a deep breath in and another out.

Something dropped from the ceiling farther away, a blur of white and gray flashed before me and he was suddenly lying at my side, nearly on top of me. I glared at him, he raised a brow at me. I brought my finger to my lips and then pointed next to us. He nodded once. I leaned over slightly to watch the office window, when there was no movement from inside the office I pushed back and went around the structure, it wasn't too big, but there was definitely something here, there was a thrum of power, a low buzz or some sorts, but it wasn't easy to pinpoint.

When I was closer to the open door I went in, Venom was already there, looking around. I made a face at his back before straightening up and standing closer to a large plant that would provide enough cover. I made sure it wasn't the type that lashed out and ate people first, of course, no use in doing all this to end up getting swallowed by a plant. I peered around Venom and narrowed my eyes. The structure was a lot bigger than it appeared from the outside, in the center of this house there was a large circle, a mosaic of some sort, old in the center, large pillars surrounding it, old dried branches and plants intertwined, leaves scattered everywhere. We were on the outside of it, only the plants by the walls were bright green and lively. I reached out and touched a leaf. Synthetic. I turned around and looked back outside to the main house.

The way to open the front door was in the main office, at the foot of the desk, right behind their office. I was certain I was in the right spot. I walked past Venom and stood in the middle of the mosaic piece, ignoring the leaves and trying to make sense of the image on the ground.

"What does that look like to you?" Venom made his way to stand where I was before moving to stand across from me. There was a lack of color, so I wasn't all too sure if it was due to old age or on purpose, it looked empty to me, but I wasn't exactly the best qualified to judge art.

"I believe it's an egg." I looked from his assumed gaze back to the ground and just took his word for it. If it was anything, I'd believe it to be an egg even though I didn't see it. I walked around the circle, looking at the pillars for a clue or something out of place, I was nearing the entrance where Venom stood when I felt a slight zap run through me. I froze.

Venom looked over at me, about to say something when I held a hand up. I took a step back and concentrated, sticking both hands out and moving them around me. There was a thrum of power, but finding it was like trying to pinpoint where a sudden high pitch noise was coming from. I lifted my hands and it got fainter, I frowned and lowered my hands at waist level and then lower until I was crouching, hands flat on the floor.

"Tell me," I balled my fist and put it to the ground. "What do you hear?" I knocked thrice.

He didn't have to concentrate. "There's open space below." He confirmed.

"Now how do we get in?" I murmured. I couldn't use the stone to go through anymore and if I wasn't too keen on sinking through the floor. Stepping through a door and going down were two different risks. I looked around the outside of the circle, Venom had already vanished from in front of me, doing his own investigating. I stood up but remained looking at the floor, there was a way to get under this damn egg and I had to find it.

I looked back over to the house, half making sure no one was looking over here and the other half, thinking. I lowered my hands and felt the low hum of power. I looked up to the sky, seeing the top of the cage that surrounded the land. The color was nothing similar but it must have been that I was in his house, that Fleffck's statue came to mind. The way his wings were extended. There was no way the statue had anything to do with how to get below, but just thinking about it made me want to look at the egg once more so I walked over to the center of the supposed egg and kicked the leaves away, but instead of looking for the details that weren't there, I looked for what had remained. The fragmented black shards outlined shapes, covered in leaves and dust, and dirt. No one had been here recently, the thought was both welcoming and no help at all. The sun was starting to really come out and chatter from inside the house was growing, the clinking of glasses and forks scraping against plates.

Venom appeared at my side and crouched, his hands spread across the floor, fingers spaning out and running along the floor, his head bent in concentration. I didn't ask what he was up to in case that broke whatever concentration he had. While he continued doing that I turned around and went back looking around for a clue. It didn't take long for that to be unnecessary, there was a scraping sound, a click, and the familiar sound of hinges turning. I whirled around to see him lift a trap door, the top part of the egg. It wasn't big, just slightly wider than my shoulders I walked over and patted him on the shoulders.

"Thanks," I said before jumping into the darkness below, ignoring the stairs. There was a hiss before the light above me disappeared as he followed.

As soon as my feet touched the ground I took a step forward to give him space, it was uneasy as he landed just slightly behind me in a slight crouch behind us, back to back we stilled waiting to see if something would jump out at us. When nothing did I whirled on him half whispering, half shouting. As my eyes adjusted all I saw was the shine of his eyes, it was looking at a cat or rather a cat looking down on me.

"Why would you jump down as well, what if we end up trapped here-" I snapped, gabbing a finger forward, knowing it would land somewhere on his being. It did.

"Then you should have thought about that before you jumped in." He said brusquely, his own ire in his voice, he leaned into the finger, his pupils dilating.

"You damn fool-" I shook my head in disbelief, stepping back as he advanced. His eyes flickered over my shoulder before coming back over to me, my eyes were beginning to adjust to the dark, and he looked less irked than he sounded. Now if the door shut we could both end up trapped here and Viper would be free to cause chaos in the house until she found us.

"Say's the one who jumps in blind-" He said roughly, his eyes flickering over my shoulder and staying there, he blinked twice before his lips parted. He looked surprised.

"You-"

"Mykela." He interrupted urgently, putting his hands on my shoulder and turning me around. I didn't resist despite the annoyance. He had to go back up while he could to stand guard. "Look."

I stared at the wall, squinting a bit at all of the papers plastered to the wall, the one in front of me began to come into focus. "Oh."

I was looking right back at myself. I walked over and ripped the paper off the wall. It was that same wanted page I had found in the library. I looked back over. My family tree. Clippings of cases I had worked on that had been permitted to be documented on the news for good publicity, scrawled notes pinned to the bottom of some of them, a framed document that congratulated Fleckff for his accomplishment in aiding in peace for the community with the disappearance, on the bottom the words 'if only they knew' were written on the glass. The room we were in left us only with four steps in each direction, but it was mostly due to the clutter of things here. It was definitely a storage of some kind and judging by a few forbidden signals I caught sight of I could already imagine why it was kept below ground. But why keep it?  There was a long table that ran the length of the wall, documents, files, and books closed and open, notes tucked into different pages, even more, shoved beneath, boxes brimming with so much. I put the pepper down and picked up a random notebook, I went to the beginning and skimmed some of it. It started off like a continuation, the words too heavy to have been the only time he wrote with such...grief.

"...it torments me so, to know that the more I dig the deeper the word is blinded by the scales of which time is lead by malice to an end I can not foretell. It might have saved my mind to never have known the ways in which we all walk blindly, passing one another, never looking and never wanting to look for more at what little glimpse of despair we might catch slipping through another mask. It would have saved my mind not to dig, but it would have condemned my soul to turn away from those children. It would have shredded what little I could cling to for peace, just imagining what would have happened to them had I not moved frightens me now. Is this the same world I had always been a part of? Is this the same air I had once laughed and boasted so loudly, without care for those who stood in the corner wishing for quiet? Then if this is that very same world, why have I found that I recognize nothing and that which I do, casts shame and guilt into my conscious? How could I be the same man and not want to be another? A better man. Maddie wants children, but how can I bear to bring them into this world? What would happen to them if I were to leave, who would slink from the shadows and taint whatever good reason I managed to bring them up with? The world is too grand for me to change, but perhaps I can change the land where I stand. Let my steps speak for me long after I am gone. Maddie will see..."

I flipped further in, nearly to the end.

"None of us can sleep that of lately. We all feel it, there is something in the air, the sky rumbles above us like never before, and it hurts to breathe, it's as if the very air is toxic. The ground rumbles and shakes at times. Something is coming and I fear that whatever it may be, might be the end of us all. I can not pretend to be stronger than I am, but I will share my fear and comfort those who listen and let them know that if the end is to come, it will find us together."

I set that one down and picked another, aware that Venom was doing some digging of his own, leaning over the wall and staring intently at all the newspaper articles, his finger skimming over lightly a long-distance photo of me where I was standing near someone before I moved to look over at the camera with a passive expression, my eyes darker than my expression could reveal. I looked away and began skimming for the dates on the pages. It was the wrong notebook, the dates were a few years after the destruction of the city. I dropped the notebook and started digging through the files.

Names and case filings, the majority of them criminals sentenced to death before his time, notes if the rulings were truly fair. More documents on subjects I wasn't familiar with but I caught on enough to recognize an investigation on corruption and illegal dealings when I saw one. I placed my hands on the table and stared at my own small section here.

"The Councils puts an end to the rouge wizards known as Kastiel Morigfitz by sending in the great Mykela Debrouh's, hunter of the worst criminals. The battle later three days with a town's annihilation and mass burnings. Did they send a hero or chaos..." I tuned out Venom's voice, not waiting to go down memory lane.

At the corner, under a lot of them, there was a brown clipping, no not brown, crisp, burnt. I lifted the pages in front of it and read what was left. I felt something settle as I read it once, twice, and two more times. Now sure that my hunches had been right. The council had come to talk to Fleckff and they had done so with the intention of having him remain silent on anything he had seen and experienced. The sender's name was burnt, but the council stamp, the parchment paper, and the hidden threat in a letter of inquiry remained the same. I dropped my hands and looked over to the right of me. A large trunk surrounded by candles and a mishappen cloth, torn and bloodied covered it partially. There was a tightness at my back, an instinctive aversion the closer I got to the trunk, all types of possibilities coming to mind as I stared at it, but I took a step forward anyway. Immediately, I regretted it.

Under my foot a circle lit up before moving at rapid speed in all directions of the room, shooting up the corners where on all four sides a circle lit in glimmering pink sparked as signs and words appeared intertwined and glowing brighter by the second. Venom, who had been a few steps behind me had pulled me close, but my front faced his back, and his right arm shot out to the side to keep me out of sight. He stood directly beneath the opening while I was covered by the shadows of the ceiling. He wasn't moving, but the silent tension I felt from his tense muscles had me looking up to see what I had missed. I knew before seeing the shoes at the opening, I must have activated some warning just by stepping closer to the trunk.

Polished black shoes, long legs in dress slacks, the uniform from earlier that I had a moment's glance, an elderly man, a clean-shaven face, gray hair combed back. He was smiling down at us warmly, like a grandfather seeing his grandchildren play around at his feet. An amused woman peered next to him, long voluminous orange-brown hair stacked on top of her head in a messy clipping, a purple-green robe wrapped around her. She looked to be mid-forty but well taken care of, there was a casual way to how she stood, her hand just under her chin, and well-manicured long nails, but her eyes, tawny eyes with three orange rings that ran around her pupil, were cold and calculating. There were a few more people behind them, guards I presume, but while Venom held the majority of everyone's eyes, her's frequently flickered over and around him, like she could tell he was hiding something behind his back. By his protective stance, she was sharp to notice it for what it was.

I moved only my eyes, already looking for a way to deactivate whatever spell was in place. Something to hold us here indefinitely no doubt if I was right from the glimmer that outlined the fourth step coming down. It was like a lid on a box and we were on the inside. The thin veil that burned when I jumped the gate and went through the doorway came to mind. Whoever this person was, they were the ones in charge of the barriers of the house. One outside the house at the gate bored, one inside the structure of the house, three in the office, and one down here, there might be more but so far this was a proficient caster with strengths in barriers and bindings. Not as knowledgeable as I was at keeping their barriers impenetrable, but at the moment, someone not to take lightly. Just as we could be trapped in here for as long as he pleased, I was more worried about there being more they could do to the subjects within their barriers.

"When I received notice of a rat inside the house I was taken off guard. You see," I was almost distracted from my calculating because of the jovial older man's voice, but when lowered and the words came out in a dark snarl it felt a lot more appropriate. "It has been a very long time since I cleaned house."

"Wow, we were actually getting robbed." The woman chimed in, playing the role of a distressed house owner. I looked back at the circle just a step around me, wondering if I tried to break the circle if the spell would break. "Oh my, it's been so long since anyone ever attempted anything at the house. Kiri dear, go call Robert, please. He will be so ruffled to know he almost missed this."

There was some shuffling as someone jogged back to the house. I lifted a foot and leaning back tried to feel out for the circle. I dragged the tip of my shoe near an outline, but when it simply went through I straightened up. Crap, that left one other alternative, but now we had witnesses to deal with.

"Hohoho," The older man shook his head down at us, shamefaced before looking over to the woman. "It seems I'll have to discipline the guard's Madame, I am so sorry for this."

"Mom, do we have unexpected guests?" A voice called out further away. I scanned the room for a clue, anything else. Could brute force do anything? What if we tried and it shocked the arm off of one of us? I eyed Venom's shoulder for a second. Could he grow- no, no that was a terrible thought to have.

"Can your arm grow back?" I whispered.

"It looks like we do." She clicked her tongue. "Grab your sister before she comes out here, she's already peaking out of the window."

"What?" He murmured back, taken aback by my question. He hadn't been on the same train of thought as I was.

"Oh'kay." 

"If you used force against the shield and it blew your arm off would it grow back?" I rushed the words out, nearly blending them all together but he understood since he was used to faster speed when he conversed with his sister.

"Now what should I do with you?" Ignoring the question Venom reached out tentatively, not stepping away from me but reaching for the opening and pushing with the tips of his fingers. I held my breath, waiting for the worst. He applied more pressure, but it did not give, instead, the area around his fingers shimmered, and the rest of the wall gave a flex, like a twitch. He dropped his hand, but I was already calculating how much force the shield could take before it became weak in other spots. Perhaps one grand hit would be all that was needed for one of us to weaken the shield and the other to take out the caster.

"Tall fellow isn't he?" The woman made a face and motioned with her fingers in a quick circling motion at her wrist. "I think it best he is unconscious to extract him, that's a nasty look on his face. Gusto, get ready to grab him."

"Should I strike it?" Venom asked, his height lowering as he prepared himself for whatever they were about to do.

"On it." Said the older man, his gloved hands shooting out in front of him, fingers spread wide before coming together.

He said a few words and all of the air in the room disappeared and all of the remaining air in my lungs felt as if it was being pushed out, a cement wall crushing me from all sides. My worry of earlier came true as I dug my hand into Venom's back. He made a choking sound as the air was forced out of him as well, but then held very still. A part of me knew he would be fine, his real body was far larger than what they knew it to be, and he would not run out of air so fast. I wasn't as lucky. If it had only been the lack of sudden air, I would have had a few seconds to concentrate on breaking free, but that and the sudden pressure on my lungs burned the living hell out of my nerves, pressure assaulted my mind as my concentration slipped and power began to build, an uncomfortable sensation rising in my eyes as I tried to hold still and focus on one thing on a time, but the instinctive need to do anything to survive was hard to push down on. I couldn't tell if it was my heart beating like a hummingbird's wings, the rush of blood pumping, but there was a chilling sound, so disturbing it refused to allow me to succumb to being unconscious, interstices warning me I was standing too close to it. To him. It was a ripping, wet, thrumming sound, with deep malevolence and it promised trouble. Beneath my fingers, under his shirt, he began to fluctuate between hot and cold, but he was hardening.

"By the god's what is that!" A high-pitched voice rang out, my hand shook as it fumbled and missed the opening of my pocket. I blinked repeatedly as spots started to break holes in my sight. Or maybe it was the back of Venom's shirt starting to rip.

"Quick, put him to sleep before he-" Finally, I dug my hand in and wrapped my hand around the final wishing stone I had. It shook and warmed in my hand.

I wish to break the hold placed on me, to break free of the confinements that wished to keep me captive.

There was a sizzling sound, I turned to look over my shoulder at the mark at the corner, the pink signals and words were burning away, disappearing, along with the outline that connected all the corners. It was slow, but the crushing weight on my torso lessened enough for me to start taking small little gasps of air. Always have a backup plan for the worse case. Admittedly, I had imagined using it on either one of the siblings if they got caught, but now that slight had saved my own hind. 

"How-" The stunning voice shook, but before he could finish his sentence his voice cut out as he began to choke. Loud thumps hit the ground.

"Drop the spell or I snap her neck and then yours just for the kick of it." Viper warned cheerfully, I looked up, only seeing her hands wrapped around the old man's throat, the woman out of sight.   "Don't test me, old man, I'm faster than I look."

"I-It's down." He choked out, eyes bugging out as her grip tightened.

"Come on up brother." She called out.

Venom wasted no time, turning around, I was in his arms before I could blink, but when I did we were already out and in the same position we had been below but now we stood a few steps away from the opening. I took in a deep breath until I no longer felt that crippling need to swallow air. I took in our situation. Three guards were on the ground, face down, the woman and older man in Viper's hold, their feet now off the ground as she grinned at them, teeth sharp, out, and jagged. The woman thrashed in her hold, hands clawing with enlonged tallon-like fingers that had shifted into four thick fingers. The old man was starting to turn violet, his feet twitched sickeningly.

"No killing." I reminded her, my voice coming out croaky. She dropped them unceremoniously, keeping a sharp eye on the man, hands on her hips as she poked him in the chest with her foot, rocking him back and forth slowly as he spluttered out and gasped for air. The woman was on her knees, rubbing her throat, coughing.

"Are you alright?" Venom asked me, not turning around as he remained rigid in front of me. I frowned, he was acting off somehow but I didn't have the luxury of asking what was wrong. There was too much wrong here, at the present moment.

"Fine." I looked over at the house. We had a minute before we were about to be joined by a lot more than whoever she had just called. We had to go, but I needed more time to look into the documents below. If we left now they could erase all traces of the room below all the while putting a lookout for us.

If we were no longer able to hide, then perhaps drastic measures would have to be taken. I needed more time and they had to be kept shut, for now at least. I'd never taken a family hostage, but if it had to be done... I glanced over to the woman on the ground, she was undoubtedly the lady of the house, he being here would make putting the others under reign easier, but the staff inside the house would be- big tawny eyes with three orange rings were staring at me wide, horrified as if she could hear my thoughts. My lips parted, an apologetic excuse already about to come forth, we would kill them, but holding them hostage would probably lessen the persuasion of whatever words I could use at the moment.

"Mykela Debrouhs." She whispered.

Oh, right. She had probably been to the room below while living here. Which meant she would recognize me. I straightened, looking down at her expressionlessly. This would be the one family that would know of me regardless of time.

"Viper, grab her." She was off the ground, in Viper's hold once more, but she didn't so much as look away from me during her capture.

"I've always wanted to take someone hostage." She sang,  grinning down at the woman. That seemed to snap her out of her trance, her brows furrowed, mouth parting as she started to look back and forth between us all.

"Wait, wait!" She cried out, shaking her head rapidly, kicking up. "T-This can't be right, wait, we can help. We can help!"

I stared at her. There was something wrong with her reaction. I mean, I understood the sudden offer, it was her way of trying to be useful before we made our own plans for her, but that wasn't what was off.

"Why don't you look surprised to see me?" I asked, looking over to the door. Figures were already making their way over, a tall man in a dark suit in tow. Time was ticking. Venom too turned to face the door, silver scales climbed up from his neck to the side of his face, nearly circling his eye.

"I-It's..." She licked her bottom lip nervously, eyes flickering to the door and back. "We know all about you, please, we can provide you with everything you will need. We're indebted to the Debrouhs family, blood bound until its completion."

Chills raced up my spine, I watched her carefully. "Venom, close the door." The door slammed shut before the words were out, and he remained in the same spot.

"I don't think that flimsy lock is going to be keeping anyone out." Viper chuckled, shoulders shaking as she snickered.

If she was lying and I decided to trust her words, all it would take would be one sound of commotion for her family to sound an alarm. Already there were too many people here. The older man was eyeing me with a mixture of shock and something else. The people stepped away from entering, the rocks shifting under their feet.

"Fine," I said to her and focused on the older man, staring him deep in the eyes. "Prove it."

I welcomed the pull and tugged at his essence, willing it to become a part of me even faster. His eyes widened as my own copied his dark gaze, something bloomed within my chest, like a bud sprouting. My mind raced to acknowledge the layers of each petal and all of its gifts and purposes, I pulled the pink one and pushed out the energy that flowed from it and into me, from my feet it seeped and traveled through all of the floors, traveling up to copy the structure of the garden house. The old man gaped at me as his powers created the same box he had kept Venom and me in, now he too, a part of a bigger cage. I looked over at the woman.

"Chole?" A man called out from the outside, the door handle twisted, but the actual door did not budge. "Owen, lower the barrier. Owen?"

"Your husband?" I walked over to stand in front of her, Venom followed close like my own personal shadow, keeping his eyes on the door and the astonished older man, who must have been Owen.

She had gone pale, holding very still in Viper's hold. "Yes." She whispered. Viper's watchful gaze was glued on me, her eyes were slightly curled as if something had suddenly made her very happy and she was trying very hard to hide it.

"Chole?" The man called out, panic beginning to take root. He made a distressed sound before barking out orders to whoever had accompanied him over here.

Owens's power fluttered, a golden petal being pulled, I doubled the force from the pink one, unsure what he was planning but instead surrounding him in his own power. He spluttered, now trapped within his own personal box. He plucked at the golden petal again, and the corners of his box began burning through. I continued to reapply the box as he repeatedly tried to break out. I turned back to Chole who was watching a sweat-covered Owen struggle in vain. There was a draining sensation from his power, an ache began at my shoulders.

"What exactly are you offering?"

"No one else knows you are alive, right? " I remained silent, staring at her plainly. My lack of reaction bothered her, but she continued on. " As you've undoubtedly seen, our family holds a bit of interest in things we shouldn't delve our noses into."

"All I've heard are words that have nothing to do with my question." I pointed out, leaning away from her and sighing as if disappointed, looking off to the side. The windows of the house were filled with crazed eyes trying to peer into the garden house. The banging outside continued. I stepped back into the covering of the greens.

"Chole," I smiled pleasantly, clasping my hands in front of me. "I'm not sure what you've heard or have read up about me, but I think it's only fair to inform you that I specialize in minimizing problems, removing potential risks, burying leads." I stopped there.

Chole was a smart woman, I could see it in her eyes as she listened to the words I was not saying. She inhaled sharply, chin coming up as she stared at me, her lips trembled the slightest, but she did not start babbling or going on about how useful she could be, instead, she seemed to weigh and choose her next few words very carefully. I appreciated that since every second that passed meant I had to make new adjustments and I hated last-minute abruptness. And we were in the middle of a terrible one at the moment.

The banging and words being shouted outside were easy to ignore, the multiple attempts of Owen to take down his cage and my rebuilding it. Not so much. Sweat was beginning to trail down my back, my stomach feeling warm from the sudden usage of so much magic. I would have a wicked headache later.

"Mykela," Venom called out softly. He hadn't moved, like a statue of frozen ice, from the spot closest to her, his eyes on the door. "Something's building up on the other side. Should I step out and handle them?"

My brows furrowed, I looked over to the door and squinted. I couldn't feel anything. I looked over at Owen and then back. This gift was great for keeping people in but it had its drawbacks if losing a sense of when another outside attack would take place was the downside. Chole, Owen, and the guards on the floor. Not many and yet already too many.

"What do you feel?" I couldn't risk dropping the shields if they were going to attack, we could all get blow to hmmm, that would actually come to aid us if we were to use it to fake our deaths, but those who saw us would unquestionably have to perish.

Chole must have had a sense for real threats, she made a sound, not quite a yelp or a cry, but it slipped her mouth nonetheless. I turned back to her, brow raised. Was she a mind reader?

"All the essentials you may need, transportation without having to go through the checking ports or identifying yourself and the contract of Nevihdas." She declared boldly, eyes fixed on me. There was a triumph to her words, not like someone bragging of what they could give, but of someone finally being able to use something that had been tucked away. One of the guards on the floor stirred.

"Hold long do you predict we have? Venom." I did not remove my gaze from her.

"Twenty, nineteen, eighteen...."He began counting down.

Basic necessities aside, we had been thieves long before we had been allies, the transportation offer was hard to shrug off but who was to say she would do as she promised and soon after not tells the authorities where we were headed? A three-second head start really wasn't much when teleportation circles were around, anyone who had used one in recent times always left traces of mana. I couldn't imagine anyone volunteering to fix that side effect, not when it made tracking people so much easier. Whatever Nevihdahs might be, she had brought it up for a reason. Necessities, transportation, and this. Some things I would need, like the usage of the other two. She had to know I wouldn't know what she spoke of. A contract? It couldn't be land she was offering, a place to hide. Holding still anywhere for too long would not be the sensible thing to do. So was it a person? Someone or something to do my bidding that they could not force to do their own? She had my attention and we both knew it.

"I'll tell you all you want to know and even tell you the things you've yet to ask. Just promise not to hurt, kill or take anyone from my home." Her demands were fair, even if Viper did not agree by the tightening of her hold. Chole lifted a hand, trying to tug Viper's arm away from her throat.  "I want your word for it before I give my own. You need my help even if you do not know it yet, but I will not give it willingly if you so much as touch one of my children." 

A grin spread over my face. It had been a long time since I had heard those words. Amusement, even in such a tense situation fluttered. Someone had done their homework on me it appears. 

"I don't know your character, you seem to think to know mine. That's hardly a fair request since you seem to know what that would mean for me." I shook my head, looking over at Venom, he was still mouthing the seconds.

"That's why I asked it of you. " She pushed, now on the tips of her toes to find a better position to breathe.The time to think things through was gone.

"Tell your husband to cease his activities outside and tell everyone to step away from the house. I will let only him in once he does."

"I want your word for it." She repeated stubbornly. She would not bend on this matter.

"Mykela," Venom called.  Either in warning or questioning, I couldn't differentiate.

"I give you my word," I stated simply.

"I give you my word as well." There was no flash of magic or binding tattoo to appear. This was not a magical binding but rather a personal one, brought from childhood morals. A coven binding. A parents teaching their young. I huffed but looked at a skeptical Viper.

"Let her go." Her eyes narrowed, face impassive for a moment as if she were about to refuse the request but she released her hold, hands in the air as she looked up and groaned in annoyance.

Chole dropped and took three steps away from us all, hands rubbing at her throat. I motioned over to the door. Owen's attempts renewed with a feverish vigor. I pondered on releasing him.

"Robert!" She called out loudly.

"Chole! What's going on in there, why won't Owen drop the barrier?" The man called out. "Who else is in there?"

"Tell everyone to step away from the garden-"

"What-" His voice rose from disbelief, but before she could say anything to clarify or warn him he silenced himself before saying. "I see."

Gone was the surprised panicked voice and in place, a cold and collected personality had taken over. He had quickly taken an assessment of what was going on. He had been called about a possible break in and then he had been denied access to the space where his wife had caught such trespassers and now she was asking only him to enter. I doubted he would have followed through with her sudden request if they didn't have a solid foundation of trust, so this was clearly a business deal about to be made. Even if he was entering a possible hostage situation. Chole must have been sure about what she was promising if she was willing to bring him in all for something called the contract of Nehvidahs.

But it couldn't hurt to be cautious. I strolled over to her casually, she held still, watching me with distrust and something else. I leaned closer to her just slightly, lowering my voice as I watched her from the corner of my eye, facing the door. The people outside were indeed stepping back, but not very far.

"I'd like to remind you that your word means nothing to me unless you follow through with what you have promised to deliver."I peeled a layer from the barrier down, taking a page from Owen's book and letting the space in front of the door burn. I waved a hand in Venom and Viper's direction. "They have made no such oaths. Tread carefully. Your husband can come in now."

Rather than looking bothered or angered by the veiled threat she straightened her back and jerked her head up once, as if in agreement. I straightened myself uneasy about something. I knew when I was being rude and disagreeable with someone, while I applauded her composure, there was too much of an inkling in me whispering that she might know more about my methods and personality than I would be happy for any stranger to know. How much had Fleckff looked into me?

"Just you Robert," She called out loudly, her voice far from a human pitch, she cleared her throat and tried again. "Just you."

As soon as the door began to open my sight was obstructed by Venom's back, Viper stood closer than before. Her pose was not as outright protective as he brother, her arms were crossed loosely over her stomach, hip popped in one direction but the stillness in which she held herself was too controlled to be casual. Footsteps sounded out before the door closed behind him, he headed straight for his wife, stepping in front of where I knew her to be standing.

"What do you want?" A cold but calm voice rang out, there was no fear in his voice but the tinge of anger was undisguised.

I leaned from around Venom a smidge, the dark-haired man with a clean complexion didn't so much as look away from Venom. I studied him while he waited for who he thought was in charge to start speaking. The nose was a dead giveaway, not as prominent as his predecessors but certainly a prominent masculine feature. Where Fleckff had been almost all light and airy, tall and thin, this man was fairly muscular with a build that rivaled Venom's height. Dark wavy hair pushed away from his face, a dark mustache, and straight framed brows that suited his no-wavering stare. He wore a soft blue button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up, the shirt tucked into the belt of his dress slacks, his hands tucked into his pockets. I wasn't sure if this was a man used to bluffing or someone sure of their skill and uncaring of the unknown that stop before him.

I recalled Viper's briefing on the members of the family. If he was the one that held the government office position then standing before the unknown and dangerous was a daily work task. Even now the way he stared at Venom was as calculating as it was measuring. He had labeled Venom and Viper as the biggest threats, but his wife was the better judge of character. I looked over at her to find her own restless eyes on me. She had known better than he and so she had watched me study her husband. She shook her head at him, fingers digging into his forearms. He did not look down at her but his brows lowered slightly.

"Robert, look at her." She warned, motioning with her chin at me. He was slow to look away from Venom but even when his eyes met my own briefly he was quick to scan me over before looking back at what he classified as the most obvious threat.

"Who..." His furrowed brows scrunched for a moment, his eyes flickering back to me and Venom, back and lingering on me for a moment until he seemed to forget about Venom completely.

He stared undaunted, concentrating as he took in my facial features and tried to recall why I might seem so familiar. I looked over to the opening at the ground and back, giving him a hint, he looked at the opening and stared before his eyes went wide. His mouth parted but no words left his mouth as he shook his head, his hands coming from out of his pockets.

"How?" Far from a wonder-led curiosity, there was a shaky note in his voice, trepidation in eyes that seconds before had been as steady as a rock.  "Are you really Mykela Debrouhs? The woman who vanished in eighteen forty-three while working on a case with Fleckff Virty?"

"Yes." There was no point in hiding it.

"Prove it." He demanded at once. I made a face as I looked away in a humorless chuckle. Why was a demonstration of power always a requirement of a woman?

"It's her Robert, look at her eyes. It wasn't Owen keeping the barrier up. It was her." Chloe promised with urgency, shaking him slightly. Her husband threw me an incredulous, if not carefully controlled skeptical look but nodded slowly. He didn't look away from us but turned his head slightly in her direction, she nodded, confirming his silent question.

"In that case then it appears I do not have a choice in deciding if I wish to aid you or not." His lips came up to form a wry polite smile that did nothing to hide the quick calculations going on behind his eyes. He held out his hand to me. "Robert Virty, head of the house."

I reached my own out and shook his in a firm grasp. "Mykela Debrouhs." At our contact once more multiple attempts at dropping the barriers came forth, a not-so-surprise, surprise attack from Owen. A nerve pinched at my back, I straightened up slightly.    

"A legend in person," He held his hand over his lower face, cupping his jaw as he studied me. "While this is pleasant unexpected in counter I hope you understand both my caution and question when I ask why you broke into our home?" His eyes flickered to my companions.

"A reasonable question I would not mind answering as soon as you give Owen the order to cease his attempts to break out of his barrier as well as take down the one I have up." I gave forth a polite smile that lacked any real warmth but was far from hostile which was what mattered the most here. "I have a few more requests before we can have the lengthy conversation at hand, no doubt there will be things you to will have to reschedule for the remainder of the day. Or no?"

Robert's expression flipped between annoyance and reluctant amusement, he looked around at nothing in particular, shaking his head this way and that way before settling back on us. If I had to guess at his thoughts then I knew that for a person in his position my requests were in no way appropriate for someone who had broken into his home regardless of whatever reason it was they wished to help. I imagine he was a man used to negotiating or knowing when it was best to cease fire for peace, or even to wait for an opportunity to flip the game board.

"...you're right. I hope those requests will be within reason." His expression was a match for my own.

"A good guest follows their host's guidance." My words made his mouth twitch, but I couldn't tell in which way it would have gone. 

"Very well, I shall take your word for it." I ignored the sarcasm that dripped from his lips, but still, Chole nodded seriously so perhaps he would follow through even if her husband's suspicion did try to hinder it. "I think Owen would cease his attempts if you released him first, how about that?"

A show of good faith was what he was really asking for. We both knew that if I released Owen there was more than likely a chance he would try to reverse everything I had done and try to trap us again. I looked over at Owen, he was tired from his constant attempts at breaking out, but that had not lessened nor silenced the fire in his attempt or the strength in his eyes. Oh, perhaps he would listen now, but there was not a doubt in my mind that as soon as he had permission from Robert or Chole he would make a spectacular comeback with a show to make up for this no doubt, humiliating situation he had found himself in. Trapped by his own magic and having it used against him, he became a bargain and a weakness for his employer. 

He glared back at me, pale with sweat beading up on his face, but certainly with a fighting spirit. Venom began leaning further away from me. Owen's glare froze on his face for a moment, losing some of his ire as it became a stuck expression, eyes almost glossy as he stilled under the gaze of a predator. I looked over at Robert, he too had taken a different expression, Chole had her eyes on Viper. I check on her to see her upper lip curled up slightly, but I recognized that expression on her, it was approval soaked in with expectation which meant I was apparently the only one here who was semi-content to be holding a long conversation with someone other the two individuals I have been speaking to for centuries. 

I turned to Owen once more, getting his attention even though he had been looking at me before was slightly harder than before, snapping him out of whatever instinctual stillness he had fallen into, I waved a hand, snapping him out of his trance. Immediately I lowered the barrier around just him, and at the same time that he sprung up, the pinch at my back disappeared as only the barrier around the glass house remained. He planted himself near Robert and Chole, holding his hand up as he began preparing another barrier. 

"Stop," Robert commanded at once, lifting both hands up at us in a peaceful motion. Owen halted but the distrusting expression did not waver. Chole walked over and patted him on the back, checking him over. "Thank you, now for your other requests?"

"I have one question I wished to be answered before I can know what would be appropriate to ask of you." He said nothing, lowering his hands and nodding briskly. I looked over to Chole. "Why did you say you were blood bound to pay off a debt to the Debrouhs family?" I had certainly never done them any favors, which left me with a probable explanation, that only felt impossible because I could not imagine the circumstances.

"Ah," Her eyes widened for a moment as she looked around nervously before taking in a deep breath and continuing. "Well, you see, Fleckff Virtry's short involvement with you seemed to have sparked a personal development that left us all a legacy to protect with pride for actual accomplishments that were not all materialistic or frivolous as we had once been accustomed to, but it also introduced him to the worst of the world. He found himself taken and shackled for something he knew nothing about for a brief moment of contact-"

"Surely you aren't insinuating that your family is grateful to her for getting your ancestor locked up?"

"No, not at all, but it is not her, that we are grateful to. At least not as much as we are to Janice Debrouhs."

Her words struck me in the chest just as thoroughly as if she had thrown a projectile. The unexpectedness of hearing her name threw me off, but not for long, too many questions arose for the sudden slow pace I felt we were all taking part in. Anxiety and fear buzzed at my core, like a swarm of angry bees all wanting to use their stinger on me, allowing with their own questions and opinions.

"Who is that?" Venom spoke up in his soft hiss of a voice, I was only vaguely aware that his tone was lower than normal, like a low, unrhythmic hum. 

They all flinched but Chole continued on, eyes on me. I could have answered but again, to voice something I struggled to accept mentally was like asking for a physical reaction from my body. I ran my thumb over my pointer finger back and forth repeatedly until the sensation took the forefront of my mind.

"Her mother." Her smile was indistinct, but I could almost see the honesty in her reaction, by the way, her eyes curved, the lines that appeared around her mouth.  "And one hell of a mother at that."

I looked away from her eyes, staring at the ground, the scattered old leaves that littered the ground. Information, they certainly did have information that I might need. I would lie if I wasn't astonished at the urge my legs had at fleeing. I almost didn't want to ask, to hear whatever they might have to say with regard to my family. I was avoiding it. I knew it. There was no other way to spin the truth before me, not when my reaction was so telling. I did not want to hear about their lives or how they ended without me. I had a lump stuck in my throat. I was almost glad when one of the men on the ground began stirring. 

"My curiosity has been captured, I think it best we prepare for this conversation."

"Agreed, I suspect secrecy will be the one matter we can both agree needs to be maintained." Robert was not shy in disguising both the things unspoken and the meaningful look he gave us all. 

"We will mirror your behavior," Viper promised happily eyeing him, grinning at him. "So nothing should go wrong, right?" He shared at her for a moment before turning to look over at Venom and then me, a look of multiple questions but the most prevalent that I could read were 'can you make sure they don't act out like out-of-control mercenaries?' and 'what the hell has snuck into my house?'

"Of course." He answered tersely.

"One of my first requests will be to minimize contact with those in your house, only those who have seen us should continue contact. If as your wife promised, we can receive care here then I think you would approve that we also keep your family members that do not need to know away and quiet with whatever they might suspect has already happened already-"

"We do know how to maintain secrecy and what protocols to follow through depending on occurrences," Chole informed me at once, the softness she had displayed earlier gone as she seemed to shift back into the detached and aloof woman I had first heard when we had been trapped below. "I'll everyone continue on with their day so that nothing looks off and warn them to remain silent as well returning to their rooms while I settle where you'll be staying."

"Your children will say nothing of this?" I asked skeptically. It was always an accidental comment, after all, that pulled the floor from beneath everyone's feet.

Both of them blazed at once, throwing me warning and ravenous stares that would have made lesser creatures take a step back. A parent was a fearful foe to have. 

"Our children will not be a part of this in any manner or form. They will know no part of this." Chole almost took a step forward, fingers turning into claws, eyes glowing. "Am I clear?"

"Children were and never shall be a part of any plans I have by design." 

They stared at me for a moment, trying to measure my words. Chole patted her husband on the back, motioned for Owen to stay, and made her way to the door before haunting at the door. She turned to look over her shoulder at me with a raised brow. I purposefully stared at her for a long moment with a blank expression, until her brows came together, an uncertain look beginning to creep over her eyes.

"Should I go with her?" Viper was already taking a step forward. Chole's face paled slightly, her lips coming together as her hand went to her throat for a moment but she did not oppose the idea. I glanced over at Robert before shaking my head slowly. I lowered the barrier enough for her to exit and then raised it again. Both men in front of us noticed it, their bodies stiffened.

"Is there something else you would like to add?"

"If we want this to remain a small circle of secrecy then you should probably tell your guards outside to disperse or whatever it is that will get them out of sight from us."

He had dark eyes, a blend of various shades that all came together in a murky blend which made it difficult to read what was on the surface, but by how little he gave away facially, that control alone spoke volumes. he knew as we all did that he would send Owen out because Owen was the only one I would allow to go. So long as Chole was out, one Virty had to stay. This wasn't about a show of good faith, I was covering my bases, and the most important one at the moment was making sure I had a bargaining chip if Chole was doing the opposite of what she had promised. It wasn't personal, it was me being thorough. 

"Owen," He called out without removing his eyes from us. Not once since he had entered had he moved from his position, his feet were firmly planted on the ground, but I also noted that he made sure he had an eye on one of us at all times. I wasn't the only one that was lacking trust here. That, at least, comforted me. I could trust his caution to some extent to keep him from doing something foolish for the time being. Cautious people were easier to read than fools. "Go out there and tell the boys to return to their posts but that for the time being this part of the house and the family quarters are to be void of servants. Tell them I have an unexpected guest with diplomatic immunity that likes to use their position to play pranks."

"...yes, sir." He was reluctant to leave his side, that much was obvious by the grimace but he nodded hastily and walked away from us, his back ram straight.

"Owen," Robert called out a few seconds later, he looked as if he had just recalled something important. Owen half turned to look over his shoulder. "Inform them that I will be speaking to them about our security measures as well." Ah, that is important.

"Understood." I lowered the barrier much more smoother than before, getting a hang of it. My stomach burned as if I were in the middle of holding a straining position, but it was tolerable. Magic always pulls from some source, Owen's pulled from his physical stamina. 

"Sir?" One of the men on the ground had frightened himself after checking on his comrade on the ground but had wisely chosen to remain quiet while all of us were talking. He inched closer to Robert, tawny eyes hard as he tried to assess us. 

"Hold." That was all his boss said to him. "How did you manage to break in?" Robert's agitated question was a welcoming distraction, his hands went back into the pockets of his trousers but his shoulders were squared, a slight vein appearing at his jaw. I wondered briefly if he was substituting any nervousness with anger now that his wife was out and safe.

I looked over to the house, there were no longer eyes trying to peer into the glass house, so Chole had moved everyone from out of our sight. Or she was clearing the house. I looked back to his expectant stare. I clasped my hands in front of me. 

"I take it you have the newest home protection spells as well as Owen monitoring any unregistered life form that might enter what he marks as his domain?"

"That is exactly right." There was no pride or confusion in his tone when he answered, he didn't seem to be so much so angry that I broke in as much as he really did want to know the how. He wanted to rectify the problem. I thought it over for a second, his home security was actually pretty good, if I hadn't known of multiple ways to break in and had to have used some modern magic there would have most definitely been some error in place.

Then again, the fact that this conversation was taking place was also a good show that an error had taken place anyway so I'd say his security was top-notch. I wonder if I was rusty or if I'd had more time to watch the house things would have gone differently. 

I smiled at him. When he realized I wasn't going to elaborate after that his expression turned funny. He opened his mouth but nothing came forth.

 "Yeah," Viper chuckled, shaking her head at him."She's old school buddy." She said smugly.

"What does that mean?" He looked back and forth between us both, his face turning slightly red as she shrugged her shoulders, hands coming up in a 'who knows?' motion. My lips twitched, fighting back a slight grin. 

I would have loved to ask for ht short version of what my mother had to do with Fleckff's family, but if we were to have that conversation I'd prefer for only the necessary party members to be present. I looked over to the guard that was watching us with familiar intensity, looking at all of our features. Venom's head inched in his direction.

"I trust his discretion." Robert took a slight step in front of the man.

"I'd hope so," Viper muttered, the heel of her shoe on the ground as she rocked it side to side before straightening up,n dropping her hands to her side as she started walking away from us. She walked over to the pillars from away and began slowly walking as if she was going on a stole. This made both men tense, Robert's eyes were the only thing that moved, but since he refused to turn his body away from Venom and me he lost sight of her but the guard had no problem turning to watch her. Viper had set herself as the perfect distraction. He would still hear everything spoken, but his main focus was now on the mischievous smile Viper wore as she weaved back and forth between some of the pillars, disappearing and appearing at the wrong pillar.

"What's with the room?" I motioned to the hole in the ground. He frowned, clearly disliking the question.

"The thorn at my side." He grumbled, a little too honestly for once. He stared at the space with unhidden disapproval. "That began shortly after my family had a not-so-pleasant run-in with the Council."

At the mention of the council, an unplanned scoff left me. It was automatic, I knew at once what type of run-in it must have been. 

"They leave quite the ever-lasting impact on a person."  

"Try a generation."  

"You can't get rid of it all," I speculated, watching the displeasure come off of him in waves the longer he stared at the hidden room. He did not outright hate it, but the sensation he was giving off was more like someone who wanted to get rid of something and found the entrance blocked and had to now figure out another exit strategy. From the look of things down there, there was plenty to get rid of but if it ever got linked back to his family the problems would be almost triple times the amount of trouble compared to simply leaving it be. "Can you?"

"Even if I really wished to do so, it's worth the risk. My family once lived with the splendor of power we had without knowing exactly who we were mixing in with. This reminds every future heir that comes into power that the coin can land on any side. We work for the people because we are the people, when we drop the line, those who wear masks become very apparent as well as their agendas."

"I can't imagine that all of the members of your family feel the same." It simply wasn't plausible. The black sheep of the family was a well-known saying for a reason. "Power tends to taint slowly, one wrong move for the right reason can be justified-" The knowing look on his face silenced me, he did not look at all put off by the accusation, but rather agreeable.

"You're right, not all of them care to uphold the valorous honor we have found our name carrying, fighting for rights and care for all who ask for help against the overpowered." A distorted, knowing tone darkened his voice, his face looking sinister for a moment. He could have been misjudged to have been the villain of this situation had anyone entered.  "But if you wish to partake in the glory then you must pay your weight in gold. I'll accept the pretentious aid so long as they complete the task I give them."

"That sounds like a bribe."

He threw a pointed look towards the room of questionably attained information and banned items and shrugged. "I work in politics."

"Hmm," A fair statement on his job, but since we were on the matter. "Are you going to be alright missing out suddenly on today's work day with the celebration coming up? I can't imagine you taking a sudden day off of work unless it's an emergency or without leaving proper notice. You seem like a thorough man."

A dark brow lifted quizzically, an unhappy look about his mouth. "If I ask how long you've been watching us you wouldn't be forthcoming in answering me, will you?" Beside me, Venom scoffed softly, I glanced away.

"Just be at ease at knowing your security is sufficient enough at repealing most people."

"Not most people. You really are as he described." He muttered under his breath, giving me a strange look. It was a mixture of expectancy and pity. I wasn't sure where the last part came from. "You are going to flip the coin."

"She did not spend enough time with your ancestor for him to think that he knew her well, why is it that you seem to think you do?" Venom suddenly interjected, an edge to his voice. Robert shuddered slightly but for the most part, managed not to flinch.

"I take it you didn't spend much time going through all of the journals down there? Most of the information collected on you was from case clippings, testimonies of people you talked to, and a few files that were stolen, but the majority of the information we have on your personality was from the stories your mother told Fleckff. He was meticulous in writing all of them down."

A foreign sensation welled within my body at the mention of my mother, for a moment I was a balloon filled with a river of water, my skin a thin layer of rubber. What did she say about me? What did she tell you? How had she been? Was she alone? How had she found you're family? So many questions that wanted to spill forth and yet I knew not how to part my lips. like a newborn wanting to wail, I knew that if I opened my mouth a sound, not a question would escape me so I pinched my lips together and took in a slow breath, rubbing my thumb over my finger pointer finger once more. 

A shadow fell over me, not physically, but subtly, the bond was coated in a soft sensation of silk and silence, for a second my ears rang as if all the air had left my head. A pitched sound rang out in my ears, but I knew instinctively that only I had heard it. 

"What is this near obsession that he seemed to have with her?" Venom continued on, either for his own curiosity or because he had noticed my lack of continuing on the matter. 

"I wouldn't call it an obsession. It was just that through a series of events she became his figure of representation for hidden truths and corruption. It did not hurt that her life story was fitting to show just how unjust forces can turn even the most innocent of witches into something else." So I was a symbol for the unfortunate now? Well, in a sense I could see the connection. I cleared my throat, pushing away the unpleasantness that wanted to stick to me.

"Speaking of witches, what is your role in the coven hunting?" He looked me over, a peaked interest tilting his head slightly. I had tried to be evasive with my real question, but clearly, he had found something in my question.

 If I had been watching them then surely I had been doing my own digging about his work. If I had broken into his home he must have suspected that I was after something he was working on recently that pertained to him since it was now obvious I knew nothing of my mother's working with the Virty family, but my question just now had removed that pretense. Why had I broken into his home and what was I after? If I told him that I had broken in to search blindly I wonder if his carefully held mask would slip. 

"I do not deal directly or even indirectly in coven work. That's asking for-" He cut himself off, a sudden widening in his eyes before they narrowed on me, a stupefied tone to his voice as a sudden realization hit him. "You haven't aged at all." He stated slowly, the statement more so a voiced thought than an accusation.

"A lot of creatures don't age or do so slowly." I wasn't too worried about this alarm of his, there were thousands of possibilities for my unchanged appearance, and as intelligent as he was, the possibility of him grasping the truth was slim. Unless he knew something. If he did, I would soon learn about it.

"You still have the aura of impermanence." He countered, staring at her strangely now, leaning away, looking around her to something only his eyes were able to discern. 

"Magic is a wonderful thing, isn't it?" I'm sure he saw through my chillingly unamused smile. 

"My family has studied on you for a very long time Ms.Debrouhs." Over Robert's shoulder Viper stilled at a pillar, the whites of her eyes nearly nonexistent as she looked at him blankly, the guard she had been taunting took a step away. Robert, himself, did not seem aware of the way his hair began standing, like ruffled feathers, unnerved. "One thing we learned for certain is that you've never been a good caster. Certainly not on the level of spells that last for a long period of time."

"I have been proven to be a good student." I looked away from Viper who had started to walk back over to us. Sweat collected at the back of my neck and under my arms, the air warm for a glass house that held fake plants.

"You have, but-"

"Your wife is coming back," Venom interjected. 

"Perfect timing." I clapped, rocking on my feet. "Shall we take this to that nice office you have?"

His eyes narrowed at the obvious taunt.

"Let us go, shall we?"                                                                                                

*                         *                                 *                                 *                               *

There was a sad tranquility, a hypnotic and numb release of some sort in watching the fire. The flames in all their flickering red, orange, and yellow hues, the natural colors, danced in a heat punishing to all who held no business in partaking in the destruction or heat that they promised. Sit far enough and one could become accustomed to that popping and crackling of the burning fire, sit too close and the heat could scorch the hair from your uncovered skin. I didn't have to think as I watched, I didn't want to right now, but I knew that my mind was blank because I was focused on not paying any mind to the ghosts that were trying to crawl from my chest. It was as if the heaviness of it all, the questions and memories I had were coming from out of my stomach, a boiling pit of acid created by me, but that choked and burned me as it crawled up my throat, trying to force itself forefront into my mind. My emotions were trying to tell me what to think, for once. I knew what would be waiting for me if I allowed my mind to process it all. I would detach from the truth, reason with the truth, store it, pull what was useful, and move on, knowing it was a waste to dwell.

Dwell? But that's what I was doing now, was it not? I both did and did not know why I did not want to move on so quickly. Because it was wrong, and inhumane, but most importantly, it was about my mother. It was only human to be overtaken by emotion at times even if we did not understand where they had come from. A huff of air left me as I shook my head and looked away, the emotions in my throat nearly suffocating me. I had begun thinking about it all before I could stop myself. It was the type of person I was, I suppose. No stone left unturned, no emotional bag left over packed, ready to be a heavyweight. My problem, one of many, was not that I could not unpack my baggage. It was that I could do so in a clinical, cold, and brusque way. If it was human to feel emotions, then why was it also human to want to push them away? The conflicting thought was answered at once. Grief. 

I knew there was nothing I could do to regain the lost time I had been robbed of with my family, but it was only the past memories that I held close to me. I was mentally prepared to hear of their passing, to know that I had been left behind. What I was not prepared to listen to, was the fierce grief my own passing might bring upon them. Often selfish people hear the phrase; The world does not revolve around you. And it does not, but it is hard for some to step into the shoes of others, but that was what I had been trained to do for so long that I now knew not what was mine then and what is mine now, but buried beneath the grief and sadness was guilt. How long had I worried about my own reaction to the knowledge of their deaths, an anxious air as the years went by in some strange world, knowing that on any given mundane day that I had lived could have been the last day, the last breath a loved one had lived through and I would know not. All those worried thoughts on my lack of knowledge, that I did not for once think of their pain. Or perhaps I had, a thought so brief I could not recollect when it could have happened, but the worry for myself overpowered it completely. Was I selfish to not think of their suffering for my own sanity of mind, or had I done it to focus, consumed with the need to understand and find a way back? 

My eyes stung, so I closed them to keep whatever it was that wanted out at bay. I feared that if I wept now, I would never stop. It was an impossible idea, but the confidence in that thought felt as real as stone. Grief indeed, I did not know all of the stages, but it felt as if this new knowledge had scrapped whatever concrete covering I had poured over my gaping wound. I was not bleeding, but surely I was close to it. I let out a breath so shaky I could have been shaking back and forth myself. The world was not sitting on my shoulders. It was on top of my head, pushing my face into the river as I drowned in mystery. I threw my head back and laughed silently, shoulders shaking at the dark joke. I wanted a moment of peace, a moment where everything stopped and nothing dangerous sprung up around waiting to catch me off guard to swallow me whole. I wanted a moment where the whole world stopped, where no one moved as I allowed myself to feel everything I had kept repressed and pushed down. Just one, one moment to be completely and utterly-

There was a knock on the door that snapped my back straight, I did not move from my position in the chair, simply watching as the door creaked open before Venom stepped in and shut the door behind him. Ah, yes. Him. It appears I had dwelled too deeply into my emotions if the expression on his face was a telling sign. I had forgotten about him for a moment. Him and the bond that no doubt, echoed the fast-evolving emotions I speed through. We watched each other. I was still feeling too raw to prop up a proper mask of indifference, I could not tell what expression I wore exactly, but it couldn't have been much kinder than usual. He didn't seem put off by what he saw as he stepped further into the room. The fire cast an odd glow on him, pushing all of his inhumane traits to the surface with the way his hair caught the light, looking almost like fire at the transparent white tips, giving him half a halo of sorts. A devilish one of course. 

Without moving my head, staring at him at this angle was beginning to bother my eyes so I looked away first. There was nothing my face would tell him that my emotions hadn't already insinuated. At least I didn't have to pretend with him. Much. The last word made my brows come together as I blinked and looked off to the side. 

"Are you in need of comforting?"

"There's something funny in that question." My mouth twitched, fighting back a small smile at something I was unable to grasp.  "A normal person would have comforted someone if they suspected them to be in distress, but you know I am in distress and yet you still ask."

"I don't care about a normal person, I care for you and I know you. So I know that comfort might be the most uncomfortable thing to give you, whereas an honest approach might be better accepted." 

It was strange to be known so well by someone when you had never verbalized something about yourself. To see firsthand that you had been watched carefully, closely. I pondered over his question, and although the answer was immediate I made sure I was honest about it. Not so much for me, but I did not feel I had it in me to be so...I sighed, unsure of where my thoughts would take me, but already I could feel the lid of it all closing, but I was drained. It had been a long day full of excitement and I was more than exhausted enough to sleep and yet I knew the night would not be peaceful for me tonight. 

"I'm not sure I want it, but a different topic of discussion would be appreciated." I didn't add that any topic he brought up would surely make me wary and regret this choice. It wasn't that I disliked talking to Venom, he was a fascinating creature with posied and interesting insights or stances on various topics. I just had a personal aversion to his biggest interest. Me. He sat down next to me in the lone chair, crossing a long leg over the other, fingers interlocking as he placed them on his knee.

"Do I get to choose the topic of discussion or?"

"I'm sure there are plenty of new questions that don't have anything to do with me roaming around your head as soon as we got here. Why not start there." He mumbled something before making a sound, almost disgruntled before continuing. 

"There are many creatures here, all with their own laws and jurisdictions that pertain to or claim them, correct?" I nodded once, still staring at the fire. "Under which jurisdiction or law would Viper and I fall to if we were to get into trouble."

I almost turned to look at him, but I turned back. His question wasn't all that surprising, but if I knew Venom even the slightest, then he knew the answer which mean there was something else he was digging for. the what was what would be the prize? His interest in comparison to his keen skill of understanding beyond instincts was what frightened me about him most. It was easy to get lost in the facade that he was somewhat human or so the same line, but he wasn't at all. Even other creatures, the sirens, the werewolves, vampires, goblins, etc. had something in common. If he resembled anyone here it would be-

"I know you said Dinosiour to add comedic softening and because you're probably closer to being one of them than anything any other world has ever seen, but you would most likely fall under Dragon protection which would be a blessed thing for you two if it weren't for the fact that I'm not sure where in their hierarchy you might fall. To close to the bottom and they might tear you to shreds if they see you as some anomalous abomination, an insult to their race. Too high up top and you and Viper might disappear in a sea of challenges to see just how strong you are." I shrugged a shoulder, crossing my arms over my chest. "You're unregistered for now which is something that helps until we bump into someone who knows what dragon auras feel like and might make an inquiry to which lair you belong, but it also works against you if the Council or anyone one looking to try and tame dragons gets ahold of you two before you can be protected by your own laws."

"You've thought about this." The corners of his lips lifted slightly, but it was a humorless smile, more so apologetic. "I had been under the impression that you would be in favor of continuing this journey on your own if you had the choice. It pleases me to think you would come back if were to get separated." 

"It's only natural to wonder where one's companions might be imprisoned when causing so much mischief." Some prisons were worse than others. 

"Oh?" His tone rose playfully, both brows raised at me, eyes gleaming. "So our prison cells won't be adjoined?"  I huffed at his insinuation, rolling my eyes.

"Not even in the same place." I was really hoping there were no cells for me after death, I'd had enough to last me multiple lifetimes, but I also wouldn't be astonished if I had one with my name on it. "Don't worry I've thought of a few plans to prevent your captures."

"How kind." His smile was genuine, full of laughter that lit his eyes, but he continued on. "Have you our next destination in mind already?"

"That depends on what Robert has to tell us later." I crossed my legs, foot tapping impatiently in the air. There was no change in the fire and yet with him here, there had been a shift in the room. "But regardless we can not stay long."

"Ever so quick to move around, but there is an urgency here that is different from your usual behavior." I didn't so much as movie besides the lifting of my chest, he shifted in his chair, leaning closer in. "Hmm, could it be influence from here, or do some senses I lack tell you we are being followed? I've not sensed anyone trailing us." His words were directed to both of us, but his words were that of an internal conversation with himself. The weight of his stare was heavy, I could almost hear the wheel in his head turning, churning thoughts and connecting theories to one another until he could find a rational reason for my actions. If he saw me as a puzzle, then he was the crafter of puzzle shapes, finding out what worked and discarding anything that did not fit the form he wished to mold.

I decided to be nice for once and dropped a hint. "It's not a matter of feeling someone is following us but knowing it. Even if they don't know it's us, me, that they are following." 

I had to have hallucinated the spark that I saw come from his direction from the corner of my eyes, but the sensation of intrigue and glee bordering on manic joy from his side of the bond was not a fault of my mind, the sensations he was imitating nearly made me regret extending any sort of branch. Despite all of that, he held perfectly still, a play on a frozen statue as he continued to piece things together. 

"If this something you know but do not sense then it must be related to the experience of hunting, and although I am one myself, this is certainly a field I take your lead in meaning that it must be related to magic." He made a sound of interest. "If they are following us without knowing of us, then it is only then evident that the only rational conclusion is that they are investigating the door and any that might have landed in their world."

It was unnerving how quickly he grasped things simply because he used what he did not know to add information to what he did know. I gave him a brief nod. He clapped his hands together once and chuckled, pleased with himself. 

"So we have a future altercation promised?" My shoulders tensed at the dark murmur, a rumble of violence lurking beneath his words.

"I already have something in hand, less altercation and much more a tense interaction. Stow your claws please."

"Do you think you will bump into anyone who might know you?" It did not fail my attention to note how he did not answer me.

"If any of them are smart, which I'd be willing to wager they are, the possibility is high." No inexperienced fighter or lackey with questionable intelligence would be sent to investigate a worldwide threat, some experienced person would be put at the head of this operation and more likely be the one to recognize me. The only question that mattered to me was if they would recognize me from the wanted poster or in person. I prefer it to be the latter but either worked so long as they did recognize me. The plan counted on this notion. 

"Then I can make no promises of peace." I glanced over to him at this, but now he was the one sitting forward, eyes on the flames. I sighed and turned back to the fire, no point in arguing with a wall.

"Where's Viper?" 

"Watching the birds molt." He answered casually. I closed my eyes briefly, a pang of slight guilt that left as soon as it came. I had asked for the servants of the house to have as less contact with us as possible, but Chole was adamant about treating us as guests and so the only servants that were to attend to us would bare the heavy burden of having Viper's attention on them.

"How unfortunate." 

"Hmm," He agreed. "You are, putting the obvious aside, very calm for someone who has returned home. Had it been Viper or me in your shoes I do not think we would have been as focused as you."

I grimaced, there was a question coming, I didn't know what he wanted to know but there was too much interest in his tone to be played off for anything else.

"May I ask you a personal question that may make you uncomfortable to answer?"

"I thought you were here to distract me from uncomfortable thoughts?" When he didn't answer I sighed before nodding. It was too much I could just not answer it, but I lost nothing but a superficial layer of comfort if I chose to answer him.

"What is it like to know all of those people with human life spans, your family, are more than likely gone while you sit here?"

A flash of pain struck my chest, like a hand squeezing my heart, I held still instead of curling inward, but I wI could do nothing about the sharp inhalation of air I took. In the wake of that sudden unexpected pain, he struck, a trail of infuriated shock took hold, my insides heated. The flames took on a red hue brighter than the orange it had been seconds before. What had been a hypnotic and calming sight was now an appropriate and expressive form of my emotions.

"That," I choked out through clenched teeth, my fingers digging into the armrest, I turned to glare at him. "was a cruel question, not an uncomfortable one."

He turned to look at me, not a stitch of pity or regret for his question, his emotions were far from human as he looked at me, scanning my expression with a calculating angle. He wasn't even attempting to hide his open study, it was unlike him and yet fitting at the same time. Had I grown accustomed to the consideration he so often showed me that any other version of Venom was...

"You would have avoided a softer question, what is your last joyous memory here? Too jovial for you to be open about its hold on you. Who do you wish to see that might still be alive? You wouldn't dare mention a name in case someone were to hear it and use it against you in some way. Where would you wish to go if you knew you were free to do so without repercussions or being followed? Too paranoid to answer in case someone was to look for you there if you were to fake your death or vanish. So that leaves me with only the cruel questions because they are as direct and harsh as you've accustomed yourself to being and in a sense, familiar and you only work with things you are familiar with."

Ah, things clicked into place, his actions and manners now made sense. "And here I thought I was the detective."

"You are, but I've studied conversations for decades because, for the longest of time, you held the upper hand in dismissing or evading questions so I had to find a way to figure out how and why."

"What was your conclusion?"

"A conversation can be a frivolous thing to do as a pass of time or to get to know someone, but you only get to truly know someone by what they aren't saying and by how they run the conversation and you Mykela Debrouhs are someone used to wordplay. You presume that if someone is telling the truth it will not be the full story and if they are not then the lie is based on some truth." His eyes shined down on me as if I were a deer caught in headlights, his body leaning over the chair to stair at me, hands reaching out to land on the back of my chair, his words a hiss that nearly blended together as the passionate belief he held brought them to life. "Yet, for someone who hunts for it and wields it as a shield to beat everyone to the place she wishes them to be, you share the least unless it is something that might make the one asking balk at the weight of your truth. You prefer to give a heavy truth than a small one and I suspect that is because in the small answers lay the image of who you are, not who you play to be."

His face was closer than the chairs were, his body leaning towards me as he watched me. I stared back unblinkingly, face still as I processed his words until finally, I took in a sharp breath. His lips parted expectantly, his whole being on the edge.

"I presume whatever response I was to have to this revelation of yours was supposed to either confirm or deny some suspicion you had of me?" I waited patiently for him to unfreeze.

His expression dropped, clear disappointment and exasperation taking over. He leaned back against his chair roughly, his leg beginning to bounce in clear annoyance. I smirked. "Yes, now answer my original question please." He demanded roughly. I chuckled. I would do so not because he was right but because his attempt to shake me was indubitably cute.

"There is some guilt to being here when my time to wander has long passed, sadness from not being around for their passing." And rage.

"And rage." I blinked, startled for a moment. He gave me a knowing look as he spoke the words, voicing my thoughts, perhaps too knowingly. I switched my legs, recrossing them. 

"Yes, and rage." I raised a brow at him. "Now, what's with the attempt at emotional exposure?"

"I figured if I got you to open up because your smoke screen had been seen through you might be more open to speaking to me about it and thus further develop our confidence." He admitted without a shred of ignominy. 

"You were too direct, your attempt exposed your eagerness far more than it did my own character." Was it smart of me to tell him where his faults lay in his attempt? Perhaps not, as I suspected he would try again in the future, and yet I could not find it within me to not correct him.  

"But I wasn't completely wrong was I?" He looked at me with slanted eyes, lashes gleaming transparent and orange, light playing off of his hair like a shimmering light of fairy dust.

"Don't expect me to clarify it for you." I changed the topic at hand, there was something I wanted to discuss. "How have you been adjusting?"

"To the changes here? It is easier to blend in when I no longer have to pretend to be so mundane, but I have found that the struggles here will most likely be a lot more vicious than the slight annoyances I had to face before."

"For example?"

"How truthful can I be?" Alarm took hold of me so instinctively I immediately turned to face him, his sheepish tone not fooling me, nor the innocent expression he wore. Venom was usually too forthcoming with the truth and the only times he ever did withhold something from me was when he was more worried about my reaction to his actions than any actual concern for the actions themselves.

"We work on honesty don't we?"

"Let's not lie so quickly after having just discussed truth." He wanted softly, his voice a creasing hiss, the flames in the room broke from their natural pattern, almost dying out completely before picking back up.

"Fine," I said curtly. "Let us be as brutally honest for the rest of this conversation then."

He gauged how far my determination to keep to this new deal was before speaking. I had to work to maintain my face as passively uncaring as I could.

"The creatures of this world smell a lot more delectable than I had recalled. Their life force is filled with the richness of this world. " He ran his tongue over the top of his teeth, and for the first time in a long time, I caught sight of his sharp and lengthy teeth. "It's proving difficult to remain or rather, remember, why I wish to remain rational over ignoring what my nature wishes for me to do." The whole time he had spoken he had kept his eyes on the ground, as if confessing to something shameful, his eyes peaked up to check for my reaction.

I had asked and so I had received the answer to my question. It wasn't as if I had done so without a vague notion that I wouldn't like the answer, it would have been unfair to him for me to ask something I was not ready to hear just as any rejection of his being would be a slight to the character he had worked so hard for me get accustomed to. By exposing his own plight, he put at risk tearing down what he had struggled so hard to build from the ground up, but I also wasn't naive enough to forget that the very reason he never showed his teeth to me was that he wished for me to forget his nature and nothing was more dangerous than the preditor that neared the hunter with a plan in mind. There was a reason why I struggled with Venom so much more than with Viper. The small and worried expression he wore as he looked up at me, the nearly fearful look in his eyes as he worried about my reaction, would have won anyone over, but I looked passed that and recognized the calculative and observant vivacity, the alertness of an individual that never lost sight of its goal. Viper was as he was in nature, but she had assimilated human nature faster than he had, perhaps because of how often she fed off of their life force to keep her human figure or because she was genuinely more interested in the lives and expressions of human usage, but Venom...

Venom's interest in the arts and literature spanned from his own desire to not be taken advantage of in some ways, his interest in expression and impressions, and displays of emotion. All that alone told me that he was a creature of internal turmoil he wished to sort through, which in sense was frightening because I had the impression that he had learned to differentiate between his instincts born of his nature and gained the perspective to see into what else made him. In part, our bond had removed the choice for him to feed so often, my own humanity lessening his desire for the conditions he needed, but it was not to the extent where he was as starved as he was now. That was by choice because if there was an unspoken truth between us, it was that more than I interested him, more than he was fascinated in me in an emotionally involved way, he wished to feed from me. I suspected our bond would not allow it to kill me, but rather link us so intimately that taking us apart would be done only after death and even then, it would be only our bones that would drift apart.

I knew that rationally thinking, I had encountered people similar to Venom, animals with intelligence that put other creatures to shame with the brilliance of their understanding of the natures of other being apart from their own, but it might have been the sole attention Venom directed to me, the intensity of his near obsession at gaining my trust that rubbed me the wrong way. Did that speak more to my character or his? He had by all accounts been by my side from the moment we first met, and had remained so forth, aiding and caring for me in his own way, so much as I allowed of course, but he had never done anything that others could label as suspicious and yet...I knew I was not wrong for listening to my instinct and remaining as cautious as I have been for so long because there was something here and yet for the life of me I could never directly put my finger on it. Ah, as we stared at one another, his confession came to mind once more, my mind spun the words and gave them a new train of thought. We were back to the topic of truth and his truth was that he was afraid of my reaction to his nature. Not the one he had painted for me to grow accustomed to, but the very nature he shied away from letting me see aside from the few glimpses I caught by accident.

The man I could not trust was Venom, as he wished for me to know him, but was that because the true Venom was so different he feared I would never wish to get near him? There was something very wrong here and I wished to delve no further at this moment. I refocused on him at the present moment. 

"It would be wrong for you to suppress your instincts for so long and be able to remain in control when the temptation is stronger here, " I began cautiously, only vaguely aware of what I wanted to say. I promised the truth, but I could not guide him to the correct path when our instincts were so opposite of one another. "I would suggest a careful evaluation of what the best course for you would be, removing any obstacle that would hinder the truth of your desire, within reason of course."

"To succumb to my desire by removing that which tortures me so?" He smiled at me softly for a moment before the very same expression turned sharp, edged, and mocking. "How cruel a choice."

"Hunger, I imagine, will always win out over desire." It was ridiculous at this point, one's well-being should always come first over embarrassment over another opinion on their character. I disapproved of certain things, but I'd never belittle their needs. It would be repugnant and ignorant of me to do so. That he refrain from doing something he needed to because he thought it would sway me to see him in a favorable light, was a completely different matter. 

I didn't hate what he was, sure, I feared it, but I was much more afraid of his overall being and what it wanted with mine.

"There are many different kinds of hungers and multitudes of desires, the two also aren't as dissimilar as one might think. Plus, I've heard of humans that starve for enlightenment." He argued back, chin lifting slightly.

"Will you starve for peace?" I questioned at once. He narrowed those golden eyes at my quick pace.

"No," He stated firmly, before continuing on much more calmly, a hard look in his eyes. "but I do not wish to be damned a monster for my nature."

Those were strong words and so obviously directed at me. It felt almost unfair. I had never asked him to not do what was needed for him. I pushed for caution, reason and asked at times if it was at all avoidable in certain cases, but I could not recall the slightest even where I demeaned them for their very nature. I looked away, searching within my memories although I was so sure of my answer. My brows came together, my mouth pinched as I glared at nothing in particular. I could recall no memories of me ever doing such a thing, but the more I went over my actions when it came time for their feedings, only a few things replayed repeatedly. Me, turning away, my expressions clearing of any emotion or hint at opinion, the silence before and afterward that carried on until his voicing of where he would disappear to would no longer be known to me. 

It was as if I was being punished for my lack of reaction. No. It was my lack of reaction that he took as an expression of his nature, I figured. Truly unfair, I had done my best to respect their nature to the best of my ability, and yet that had somehow already been taken as a sign of disgust of sorts.

"You punish me for silence." I snapped at him suddenly. He was taken off guard by the fever of my tone, leaning back slightly with the widening of his eyes, lips parting.

"And you for my nature!" He bit back at once. I stood at once, hands on my hips as I looked down.

"When have I ever-" 

"You do not have to say something for it to be made obvious." He hissed quietly.

"It is nature, regardless of species to kill and devour something, I hold no different opinion on that because of what you are, now, if you wanted to know if I approve of what it is you consume then I would have to say that my answer can be taken in only two parts. The first would be no, that I do not approve of so much life being taken just to maintain a form, but when put into consideration that your true shape would no doubt devour a thousand times more than it is preferable. The second part is that since all nature kill and eat something, it makes my opinion on the matter irrelevant and useless as it is nature and opinions should not hinder one from sticking to the truth."

He eyed me skeptically, distrust in the pull and form of his mouth. "So you say that it does not bother you what I am?"

I paused before answering, lifting a hand, palm out. "I did not say that my opinion about what you are and what you have to do because of what you are, are two different facts." He wanted the truth so I would give it to him as it was. He nodded, not unhappily, but almost much more accepting of my opinion now. I frowned, taking a seat. I felt tired, but also oddly sated as if I were vacant of something. 

"Ever so complex." He clicked his tongue.

I groaned, looking up at the ceiling as I ran a hand down my face. "Why do you care at all for my opinion, Venom? It's not as if I've never seen Viper or you at one point or another, feed. Putting the feeding aside, why do you care at all what I think of your nature? You are who you are, or what you are and the same could be said for me."

"Yes, the same could be said for you, and yet it is not. Why is that Mykela?" My eyes narrowed on him, not understanding what he was insinuating. We were nothing alike, what could he ever have to compare? His knowing, smug look poked at something that riled me up once more. 

"You are exhausting." 

"And you are so very obdurate."

We glowered at one another, although I felt as if he was far more amused than my irate state of mind at his words.

"Now what?" 

"Do you wish to continue to bicker?" I gave him a look. 

"That's not what I meant." He rolled his eyes at me as if I were being obtuse. " I mean, surely in all of this-" He waved his hand in the air in a grand gesture. "-you wish to go to your childhood home even if the people are not there."

I stared at him, torn on if I should be amazed by his stubbornness to charge forward with his attempt in getting me to open up about my thoughts or if I was too exhausted to fight him on it. He waited patiently while I sorted my thoughts. 

"Of course, that is something I thoughts about and would wish to do so, but to go there would mean that everything would be over."

"Over how?" He demanded harshly.

"I would want to go there only when I know I would not have to go in hiding and that no one would be after me no matter how long I stay."

"Oh, yes. That makes sense." 

We spoke nothing more on that subject for a long time, both of us perhaps preoccupied with our own thoughts and plans as we looked ahead to the crackling fire. The day was no closer to ending and I already wished for night to cover me in its inky veil of slumber. I went over the events of earlier, cataloging what I needed and pulling what was useful for later, but eventually, there were parts of the day that I wished to skip over and so I found myself turning over something Venom had asked me.

The same could be said for you and yet it is not, why is that Mykela?

I twisted and tried to pull from his words but nothing I conjured stayed within my hands, the words spilling from my fingers, refusing my hold as if the person who was trying o hold them together was a phantom compared to who he had directed that sentence too. It bothered me more than I cared to admit and stuck to me like a ghostly skin. Was there something founded in his words that I was ignorant of? It was in my personality to know as much as I could, about others and myself and I knew that had I not had such an emotionally taxing day, I would have never done so but I simply had to ask while he was here. While we were alone and as far away from prying eyes and ears.

"Venom?" I called out softly. He turned his head questioning in my direction, surprised and confusion obvious.

"Mykela?" His voice was as soft as mine but tentative. There was something in the room, the air, that had not been there when we were bickering earlier that felt softer, scarce, and all the more fragile. It frightened me in a sense, but curiosity and urge pushed me forward. An edge, that's what it felt like at the moment, as if we were on some edge and my question would push us all over into the unknown.

"The same could be said for you and yet it is not, why is that?" I repeated. "What did you mean by that?"

He turned away from me, a pensive look about him, every now and then he turned to look my way. He might be trying to figure out if my question was a trap or if it were as straightforward as I asked. He took another moment to look me over, looking for a clue, but I did not bother looking any which way to him. He sighed, head dropping into his hands for a moment before he stood, spun the chair to face me, and plopped himself back down. He leaned towards me as he spoke, his gaze intent on my reactions.

"Prey and predator are as different as can be as one kills and devours the other for sustenance and at times fun. They exist in all forms." He stated calmly. "You see me as predator, do you not?"

"Yes."

"Yet you fear me as much as you enjoy our fights, correct?" He said with detached indifference, his tone was perfectly chilled, but there was a slight tightening around his eyes, his eyes far too alert and sharp for him to ever hide the scrutiny behind the uncaring facade he wished to utilize.

"Yes." The masked cracked as a small smile crept over his face before he lowered his eyes. It took me a moment to realize that he hadn't lowered them, from the bottom of my feet to my legs, knees and so on his eyes trailed on slowly in a way that was not of man. There was nothing sexual or appeasing, I had unknowingly held still to this look of his, only exhaling once his eyes had locked in with my own. I glared at him, unsure of his intention. 

"And you have no issue with what I am but rather what I need?"

"In some ways, yes," I said slowly, not following since I was unsure where he was leading. 

I was uncomfortably tense, as tight as a trying on a bow about to be launched. He nodded, looked away for a moment, and then looked back in a manner that was almost eerie. So focused on his eyes, his next question sounded like a string snapping.

"Then tell me, what is the difference between the predator and the hunter?" 

I could feel it, the tipping of us all, falling over the edge.

A/N: 

Hi, I did say we would see each other very soon didn't I? Wow, way to sound like a stalker...speaking of stalkers...THE GRIP 'THE GLORY' HAD ON MEEEE. The ending? The beginning? The characters and their personalities? Mann *standing ovation* Did I first ship Dong-eun with Do-yeong and then went to Dong-eun and Yeo-jeong when I saw he was not in fact juuust a nice guy and then back and forth and realize I might have a thing for green flags with red spots? Let's NOT talk about it. How about that?

I have to admit that when I go back to writing after a long time, I too forget where tf I left off on. Lol not what you want to hear from the author probably. Fear not, though my mind might be a mess and so are my notes, I can make sense of it...eventually. Thank god for saved revisions and drafts, huh?

You know even for me, I'm quite interested in seeing how this story goes because these characters are all very different from how I usually write or rather prefer to write them.  *stares off into the distance in wonder like I DONT know how this is all going to go down.*

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