Tiraris lowered her head and hand, her eyes still trained on Caden. "I am tired of running boy, quit testing my patience. I have been generous up until now, but I can be cruel. You have no idea what I am capable of. Out of my sight worm! My blade should not have to suffer your caustic blood," she said to him in a low voice. Her control on the magic within was faltering. If her emotions were pushed anymore they would both pay the price.

She pulled Isilotsë from its sheath, holding it in a defensive posture, tip pointing towards the ground in a diagonal. She gave him the ultimatum, "last chance, leave or die."

Tiraris raised her brow in response to his questioning. "While I thank you for hospitality and sacrifices, I have never asked for it. I have tried to repay you, and you refuse. You have taken all choice out of my hands. Is it so wrong for me to want freedom, to want security, to want my fate resting once more in my own hands? Or have you forgotten what I am, what I do on a daily basis, multiple times a day? Let me remind you. I. AM. AN. ASSASSIN. A murder, a killer, a taker of life, a destroyer and a monster!" Her voice rose with each word she hurled. Her breathing came fast and heavy as she her ribs protested the outburst.

She opened her mouth to say more when a bang reverberated through the building as a door was flung open. "We need a healer now!" sounded a man's gruff voice that was coming closer. The unmistakeable sound of armor clinking about indicated at least one if not more soldiers were present.

"Ah, that is quite understandable. Should you not go there, then? I am sure you have clients that need your attention. If you trust your mentor enough to house me here, then you have no reason to stay. Any man who can train such a healer as you, can take care of my minor injuries." The compliment was veiled but there nonetheless. If he chose to hear it for what it was, was none of her business. The art of twisting words had always been a favorite of hers.

Feigning confusion she continued, "The land of you'll get them later? I am afraid I have never heard of it. Perhaps you can show it to me on a map? I really could use a few important items that were in the rucksack," she bluffed. 'All I need is the location of the bag and I am free!'

His voice in her ear, brought memories of other words whispered into it on a night she wished to forget. Exhaling slowly she curled herself inward. Then on the inhale she firmly kicked the soles of her boots against the wall as she threw her head backwards, wrenching herself from his grasp. Her arms came up pressing into his shoulders as she used the momentum to flip over Caden's body and behind him.

Now behind him she started to back away slowly. Under the surface she could feel energy and tension building within her. If Caden was not careful she would literally not be responsible for her actions. She brought her right hand up extended in front of her, palm outward, fingers spread. "D'Andarce you need to leave. Please! Just stay away from me."

'I do not want to hurt you,' her locked up heart whispered. 'Liar. Lecher. Traitor. Murderer. Brother,' her poison mind screamed out, drowning out the other voice.

"My business is not with you on this night. Leave and I will not be forced to kill you where you stand. Do not think I cannot. I have killed far greater than your filth. You would be easy prey, pet," she sneered.

"The obvious being, be the perfect little patient and stay in bed," she huffed playfully. "Do you often have clients? I know most of my stay I have been unconscious but, it does not seem like many people have come through today."

Looking about slowly, she tried to think of something else to say. 'Wait. Why do I want him to stay? I should be trying to think of a way to get out of here. A week? I can mend faster than that.'

"My things. I know for a fact this is not the outfit I was wearing when I was injured," she said pointing to the nightgown. "I believe I had some lovely armor and a few knives. You would not happen to know where they walked off to, would you?"

Sonia's grasp, both physical and magical, released on Zurna in surprise at being struck. Gasping and sputtering Zurna crab-walked away from Sonia. She clutched her throat as white pain coursed through her, arresting her breath.

Her chest heaved as she tried to breathe. After a few stressing seconds, her body cooperated allowing her to function once again. The pain did not recede and when she tried to thank Brynmor she found herself entertaining more pain. Tears flooded her eyes as she stood and faced Sonia. Her stance placed her protectively in front of Brynmor despite it being him who had helped her.

The act of speech may have been excruciating for her but she had a few choice words for Sonia.

She smiled at his awe and praise. "Thank you," she said humbly bowing her head. "It has been my privilege to journey with you here." Up ahead the snow crunched and crackled under the running feet of her youthful brothers. The youngest set of triplets-Ville, Washint, and Xalam-reached her first closely followed by the youngest of the twenty-five boys, Yotar.

Zurna gently placed her burden on the ground before standing and handing a short hunting knife to Yotar, "Your turn to clean it, squirt," she laughed before being tightly embraced by the identical boys.

"Looks like good hunting, sister!" they said in unison before pointing and laughing at each other.
"How long did you practice that for?" Zurna queried.
She then joined them in the reply, "I don't know what you are talking about it!"

The exchange was a game they had played since they were little. The triplets had always had a tendency for doing things together.
"Zurna," called Yotar from the ground. "Were you cold? You spilled the blood."
"I had an accident. In fact I am being very rude." She turned towards Drest. "This fine fellow is owed a drink. I seem to have nearly shot him. Boys, this is Drest. Drest these are some of my brothers." She pointed to each and named them. "I'll go get you that drink," she said beginning to walk away.
"So.....,"
"What are you doing with-"
"-our sister," the trio asked in sequence with arms crossed. On the ground Yotar just shook his head, listening intently to the coming response.

Tiraris was so focused on the thief that she had missed the sleight of hand that her purse had undergone. However, what she did not miss was how the purse no longer held the same weight. To someone unaccustomed to recognizing tiny details, the purse would have felt the same. To Tiraris it was at least five or six coins lighter, if it was even her purse at all. Thinking quickly she deducted that the only people other than her to have touched the purse were the thief she had caught and the stranger who had handed her the purse back.

'If the thief was in the process of stealing his hand would have been in my purse not on top of it. Therefore, the real thief here is, she turned to the departing and babbling stranger. "You! Wait, sir I think you dropped something," she called after him watching as he disappeared into the crowd. 'I will take care of him later.'

She looked towards the healer and saw him making his way towards her. Quickly she made her transaction giving the merchant her entire unopened purse. To her money was not important. Killing lined her pockets handsomely.

The healer began to fawn over her and led her to a shaded, out of the way area to look her over. Making quick work of the target, Tiraris had him murdered and disposed of in a manner of minutes before she was off again. Feeling in the mood for a real hunt she took off in search of a thief.

"Secrets, yes I can understand that." Turning she caught his hand in her own and looked him in the eye despite the pain. "I respect you for that."

After holding his gaze for a few seconds more, she turned away fixing her nightgown. "Do not concern yourself with the pain. I can bear it," she said trying to smile at him. All she managed was a slight upturning of her lips before she looked away again. 'I must bear it!'

"How much longer do you think it will take to heal? Is there anything I should be aware of and take care of?"

Zurna had been expecting an outburst from Sonia, but not the physical one she received. Her sister-in-law was a former Connloathian nobleman's daughter before she had been disowned and chased out for being a magic-user. She was a constant thorn in Zurna's side as she commanded and demanded without ever helping. She always expected things to be done for her, and complained when they were not up to her standards.

Sonia had always preferred to resort to verbal insults and berating rather than dirty her hands. If that did not work then petty magic attacks would plague Zurna. A glove would be missing, an arrow would not fly straight, a crate would trip her up, Zurna was used to Sonia's childish antics. Up until now she had for the most part dealt with it.

For Sonia to grab Zurna in a choke-hold meant she was beyond furious; she was out to kill. Shock paralyzed Zurna into place, wasting life-dependent seconds of her limited air supply. When she could finally think semi-coherently she let herself go limp, forcing Sonia off-balance. Together the pair dropped to the ground clawing and grappling for a better grip. Realizing she was not going to win against her stronger opponent, Sonia resorted to dirty tricks. She used her magic to lock Zurna's limbs, rendering her efforts useless.

Pure terror warred within the chocking girl. With her body no longer obeying her commands she had no hope for survival. Even if her brothers came to defend her they would be too late. A tear escaped her as her vision turned black and she thought, 'She always wins.'

Tiraris dropped her purse on the ground hoping to trick the merchant into thinking he could "pull the wool over her eyes" so to speak. She hated her current role. It was too close to a life she had willingly given up.

Testily, she ran her hand down her side, feeling for her knives hidden out of sight. A simpering smile and a sigh, left the merchant groveling. 'What I would give to be wearing armor and holding Isilotsë.' Fanning herself, she pretended to be out of breath. Grabbing the cart's edge, she collapsed to her knees.

In front of her was her change purse. Placing her hand on it, she was surprised to find another hand already there. Looking up she met the eyes of the stranger. "Theif," she hissed under her breath.

She struggled as she was caught, squirming about, trying to break free. Her breathing pattern was rapidly increasing as fear and adrenaline kicked in. Giving up, she went limp in his hold. She rested her head against against the rough sod of the building in front of them. "Release me sir, or I'll scream!"

The rain soaked into her hair, plastering it against her neck and face and plinking off her armor. She concentrated on her surroundings, trying to get her mind off of her current situation. She listened to the rain falling around them. Focusing on this she began to get distracted by his breathing in her ear, every inhale and exhale sounding like a hammer on the anvil. Blinking, she tried to find something else to distract her.

'The rain!' She counted each drop as they pressed icy kisses on her face and hands. But, as she grew colder she could not ignore the wall of fire radiating at her back and around her waist. 'Forget him!' her traitorous mind screamed. 'Flee!'

"I meant now fool!" she yelled harshly at him.

'My childhood was something, that's for sure,' she thought remember the good times and the bad.

She paused, curiously looking back to see what was holding Brynmor up and smiled warmly. Her eyes lit in wonder at seeing the beautifully carved figurines that her nieces were being gifted. Each girl thanked him kindly; shy Aliyah even kissed his cheek before running to hide behind Zurna. "Come on Ali, let's go show mommy and daddy!" Cara beckoned excitedly.

Zurna bowed her head in thanks to Brynmor. No words could be said to express all that she felt like saying. But, the happy moment was not to last. Sonia's screeching tones once more rang out, this time against the girls. "Where did you get those?" When the girls pointed behind them to Brynmor, Zurna saw the rage in the woman's eyes. Snatching the carvings from the twins, she threw them as far away from them as she could. "You stay away from that man! You hear me?" she screamed at the girls, making them cry as she pushed them inside.

Zurna was helpless to it all as it happened in matter of seconds. She watched her brother turn away cowed and follow his daughters inside. 'Coward,' she accused. 'You should not stand for this!' Sonia angrily made her way towards the lone two as her other brothers began peaking their heads from inside the tents. Culturally, they would not interfere and neither should she. It was not her place to interfere unless she could draw the blame to herself.

Steeling herself, Zurna stepped into Sonia's path. "You are disrespecting are elder guest, Sonia. It was I that invited him here." Any moment now things were going to get bloody. Zurna just hoped that did not mean literally.

Tiraris was rudely startled from her thoughts when she heard a familiar voice call her name. Looking up, her breath caught and her chest squeezed painfully as mahogany met violet. Nervously, she looked down and around, anywhere that was not him.

Growling the fickle feline jumped from her lap and ran off into the dark, abandoning the desperate human. "Caydence!" she screamed after the cat, scrambling to her feet and out into the rain. "Come back here you, mangy beast!" Breathing hard she did not realize her steps had taken her within arm's length of Caden. "Well fine then! See if I let you sleep inside tonight!" she called after it angrily.

Once more aware of her surroundings, she realized her mistake. Tiraris hid her face behind a curtain of crimson locks as she faced Caden. "A good evening to you Mr. D'Andarce," she murmured before turning tail and fleeing.

It had been a torturous month for Tiraris. Between hunting the monstrous demon, gaining more information, and hiding for Caden, Tiraris had found little peace. The killings were on a clockwork basis, driving Tiraris insane as she came within minutes of catching Remina on more than one occasion. Many of the more recent deaths had been from a group young of pick-pockets. While no one else seemed to care, Tiraris was furious. The deaths of the innocents weighed heavy on her heart.

After kicking Caden out of the room last month, she had switched locations frequently. She never stayed in the same place twice and for more than a few days. She always made sure to stay away from the public if she could help it. She knew he was looking for her and had already had a few close calls. She slept by day and stalked the streets by night in search of her illusive prey.

Her only companion for the past month had been a stray calico cat that had taken a shine to her. The two had become inseparable despite Tiraris' attempts for otherwise. Even now as Tiraris sat on a stoop in another darkened alley, the cat had weaseled her way into the human's lap. Absentmindedly, the troubled woman ran her fingers through the thick fur of her feline companion, listening to the purring and the rain sing her a slow, sad duet.

Shuffling footsteps to her left alerted her to the sound of an approaching passerby. "What do you think Caydence?" she asked the cat. "Is the informant going to stand us up again?" She did not know why she bothered trying. The people were too scared to talk to her, afraid of being killed by either side.

But her mind was not focused on the present. Instead, it revolved around that night a month ago. She could still see the mask of hurt Caden had worn as she lashed out him. She remembered his gentle kisses, his embrace, his silken hair, his eyes. 'His ego, his lust, his toying with you. He is worthless, Tiraris. Remember he would have hurt you in the end, all men do. Men cannot be trusted, no one can.' Looking down at the purring cat in her arms, she wished it was another purring cat with dreamy purple eyes.

'Nothing. He knows nothing. Why do foreigners always underestimate the tundra? Is it so hard to imagine that a frozen wasteland is going to be cold and dangerous!'

Zurna's right hand unconsciously raised and brushed against the skin at her left shoulder and neck juncture. Realizing what she was doing she quickly busied her hands with rolling the map up as she began telling Ryuu about the matukyu.

"The matukyu are a vicious breed only when they are disturbed during nesting season." 'And nesting season happens to be all-year-round on the tundra,' her mind cheerfully supplied. "They build their nests in the peat moss underneath the snow. From the surface it would only look like a very slight depression followed by a dome in the snow. It can easily be mistaken for a snowdrift.

"Disturbing a nest is a death sentence. The matukyu," she swallowed running her hand through her hair. "You won't see it until it's got you in its grasp, and that's if you are lucky. They can only be killed by short-ranged weapons because of the thickness of their white hides. Magic just bounces off them. However, getting close to one means being at perfect goring and gnawing range. The matukyu's limps are humanoid in appearance even though they prefer to move on all fours. They are strong enough to tear a man to pieces, and will do so if given the chance."

Memories flashed before her mind's eye of the enormous white beasts stained in crimson human blood. Shaking her head she continued, "They travel in herds. If you did manage to somehow kill one, you still have the rest to contend with. An encounter with them is next to impossible to survive. To date, there has been a small handful of people that have done so, of them only one is still alive today," she ended.

She stared into the flames not seeing them but past fires and horrors. Pulling her layers closer around her, she stood picking up the now warmed blanket bundle as she did. "Take this," she said offering the soft glossy pelt to Ryuu. "It will keep you warm tonight when the embers die. I won't be needing it." Part of her was loath to give it up, but her kind heart won out. The temporary gift she offered her companion was none other than the pelt of the very beast they had been discussing. Among the sionadyaki, the possession of the matukyu pelt was seen as a symbol of a great warrior. Only those who had slain one could carry it. The pelts alone were worth a fortune because of their defense properties; the rarity of their attainability just added to the value. Zurna recalled that many a trapper had come seeking to gain the elusive hide. None had succeeded.

"I understand," she replied with bowed head. "Could you help me?" she asked still refusing to look at him as she lowered the blankets and pointed to her side. "I seem to have really strained it with my stretching exercises this morning."

She turned her back towards him struggling to lift her nightgown to show him the damage. Her silken red locks felt like cool caresses on her inflamed cheeks. "What does he come here for, your client?" she asked glancing back at him over her shoulder. She could not hold his gaze though and allowed her head to drop forward once more.

The prayers and meditation grounded her, making Zurna feel a little bit better. Her aggravation was gone but the wariness she had been cultivating remained. She took it in stride, acknowledging it as a warning from the gods.

Returning to the camp, she was caught off guard by Ryuu's question and statement. Looking at him impassively she nodded her head once and softly replied, "Im fine. Thank you for asking." Ignoring him further she went about finishing dinner. It was simple fare, a thick stew with some hearty meat in it. She more played with it than actually ate as she contemplated the roads they should and should not take. It was cold by the time she finished it.

She cleaned up her utensils and supplies, stalling so she did not have to address Ryuu again. When she had nothing more to do but stare at his shivering form across the fire, she gave up and grabbed the map and her warmest fur blanket. She sat down next to Ryuu placing the neatly rolled fur bundle by the fire and unfurling the map.

The map itself did not have a single word on it only symbols. Different lines and drawings marked marshes, rivers, lakes, food trails, game migration paths, and most importantly to her, the location of the Salix arctica grounds. Pointing to the map she showed Ryuu their current location. "Normally, I would take the straight path here," she ran her across the map demonstrating what she was saying. "But the lake has swelled this summer due to how warm it has been. I fear the ice won't hold us if we try and cross. When we get to this point we will have to decide whether we should go one or go around it. My other more present concern is this," she informed him pointing to the picture of a horned beast with large teeth that bisected their desired path. "The matukyu have made their nesting grounds through the only way we can get to the holy grounds. Tomorrow will be the first day we travel through it. What do you know about them?"

The inside was warm, dark and hazy from the fire. It took a moment for the eyes to become accustomed to it, but Zurna knew her way well enough to move about blindly. "Zurna," her mother called, "who is that with you dear?"

"Hello mother!" Zurna moved to each of her elderly family kissing her mother, father and four eldest brothers and their wives in turn before answering. "This is Kaven Damal. I found him cold and weary talking to naught but his pony."

"Enough of your teasing Zurna, you'll frighten the poor dear," her Minali chastised her daughter. "Come here son, warm yourself by the fire. Don't be afraid to make yourself at home. Whatever yarns Zurna has been spinning are all false, I promise you." Looking towards her smirking daughter Minali commanded her attention. "Zurna! What are you doing? Get the boy some food, he looks half-starved."

Zurna smiled knowingly at Kaven before obeying her mother's orders. The men smoked and talked amongst themselves as the women worked on mending nets, darning socks, or sewing clothes. Handing him a wooden bowl of stew, Zurna sat on some cushions on the floor. "Sit," she whispered to him, patting beside her. From there she proceeded to name and point out her various family members. "My mother Minali and father Trafford." The matriarch and patriarch of the family were sat beside each other leading their circle's conversations and commenting on the work that was being done. "My parents are almost a hundred years old. My oldest brother Atenteben," here she pointed to a dozing man with deep wrinkles and a weather-worn face, "is about sixty years older than my youngest brother and I. In fact his family is expecting his first great-grandchild if you can believe that," she said laughing softly. "What about you? Where are you from? What is your family like? Why have you come this far north?"

Her heart pinged painfully at seeing the dry doctor return. 'It is just business. You are his patient, nothing more. He was indulging you because you were nearly dying. Now he non-criminal paying patients to take care of. Of course he will choose them over you.'

Tiraris played the frightened woman when Phoenix barged in. She gasped, pulling the covers up to hide her chest and shoulder, as was proper. While her body language was the perfect imitation of a frightened hurt, young woman. Her eyes told a different story. Those mahogany eyes blazed with the fires of hatred, distrust, and anger. Her left hand slipped under the covers reaching for a knife that was not there.

In an attempt to calm herself she lowered her head with closed eyes, her hands clenching tightly in the blankets. 'It would not do to blow up Wind- the healer's quarters because of his obnoxious patient.'

"Healer Wright, when you are done with your patient I believe my bandages need changing," she told him moving her hair back to cover her face. 'Please do not hate me Windsor!' the child Tiraris screamed.