Spirits of the Earth

@Eckhart_Von_Musel
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Teryn landed with Blexoir just outside of Ketra, the gryphon being met by an eager elf woman who ran over with a wide smile. She hugged Blex, then grasped Teryn's arm out of respect. Goldie went back to her gryphon partner, while Teryn stepped away.

"Tazzy!" A little girl's voice shouted. Teryn crouched down with his arms open and an ear-to-ear smile on his face. Lizzie ran into his arms, her frizzy hair getting in his mouth slightly. He chuckled, squeezing the girl's small frame against his body. Glancing to where she had come, Teryn saw the mismatched eyes of a stunning woman. She walked over to them, as Teryn stood up. Her eyes asked the question that she wouldn't ask in front of the child.

He nodded. "Melissa's under control," Teryn said, leaning over and kissing her forehead. "She had me worried for a little while, but everyone made it out alive."

Jezebel saw the worry that Teryn was hiding in front of the little girl, so she decided not to push it. "As long as everyone's alive. Oh! GG wanted to speak with you when you got back."

Teryn snorted slightly, shaking his head. "Tell GG to take Lizzie into town for some spices. I'm making dinner and the five of us are going to have a little chat." Jezebel's confused look indicated she didn't know who the fifth person was, so Teryn pursed his lips with a stern energy behind his eyes. "I need to have a little chat with Phoenix."


Lizzie swung GG's hand with a smile, as they walked through the marketplace. It was crowded in the mid-afternoon hours, but she was used to navigating through large groups of people. They bought a few different types of seasoning, as Teryn didn't actually specify what he wanted brought back. GG knew Teryn was usually pretty vague when he was sending people on an errand just to get rid of them.

GG wore a scarf around his neck that covered his jawline. It wasn't that he was particularly cold, but he tried his best to hide the obvious symptoms of his sickness. Lizzie skipped next to him in two different socks that ended beneath her dress.

"Should take you around two hours total," GG remembered Jezebel saying. After about half an hour of walking and an hour shopping, he decided they were gone long enough. Lizzie pointed out a beaded necklace, so the boy bought it for her, then started back in the direction from which they had come. Teryn's house was on the outskirts of the city, so they had a decent distance to cover.

Terrence closed his eyes as he stepped out the door of Addie's room in Zantaric and into the streets of Ketra. The sensation of traveling thousands of miles in a few steps was something he wasn't used to, and it still made him feel rather uneasy. As he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of a bustling marketplace, each stall more colorful that the next. The smell of freshly cooked meat and spices wafted through the air, causing the boy's mouth to water

Terrence looked behind him, hoping to wave goodbye to his Friend- only to see the door had already closed. "Oh..." he thought, shoulders slumped. "I guess she forgot about me already..." The boy abrubtly puffed up his chest. "No. She's still new, I just need to give her more time. She'll remember me eventually."

He sighed. "Man, staying positive is harder then it looks. How does Hildegarde do it?"

The young spy began to walk down the market street, taking in the sights and sounds. He didn't have much to go on- his list only had five bullet points so far. "Bug names. I need to look for bug names." he thought. "Could be worse, I guess..."

Teryn pressed his right hand on the wall with his left on his hip. He couldn't look at the woman in the room with him. "How the fuck could you give Melissa permission... No! You ordered her to go after that kid! 'No survivors' I believe was the wording you used! You stepped in between us and just cut the leash I had on her! Do you understand how disgustingly out of line that was?"

"I did it for you!" Phoenix sat, practically shaking. "You always talk about how much easier everything would be without the other gangs, so I sent her to weaken one of the most powerful ones!"

"Phoenix!" Teryn whirled around to face her. "You didn't weaken anyone! You pissed off Hildegarde fucking Von Musel! That's the stupidest thing you have ever done. I can't comprehend how you thought this would make me happy! You never just think! Do you realize that you are the cause of a potential war between us and them? A fucking war!"

"But this was for-"

"If you say this was for me one more time, I will turn you in to the Adelan authorities within the hour."

Phoenix pursed her lips. "Maybe if you gave me the attention that you give to that multicolored whore, I wouldn't need-" Her snappy comment was cut short by a sharp sting across her right cheek. Teryn stepped back, astonished at himself, as Phoenix regained her composure with her hand over the red mark.

"Phoenix, I-"

She ran out of his house, fighting tears to keep her pride. She glared at GG, Lizzie, and Jezebel outside near the steps before she stormed off. Jezebel just gave GG a look, and the boy took Lizzie's hand to go back into town. She had no idea what was going on, instead looking at GG's happy demeanor as a sign they were going on an adventure.

There is, of course, a process you must follow if you're an information gatherer. The first, most basic step is getting to know your surroundings. As Terrence had never been to Ketra before, he took it upon himself to explore the city. As the city was huge it'd likely take a few days to truly get a feel for it, but it wasn't a job that could be half-assed.

"I'll need to find a meeting point too." the boy thought as he turned off of Ketra's main street an onto Wyrmsbreath Ave., which seemed to have the bulk of the city's bars and taverns. "And I'll need a place to stay, somewhere nobody would think to look if these bug guys catch on to me." 

Terrence took another turn, this time onto Lake St. This seemed to be mostly houses belonging to nobles and well off citizens, and the streets were noticeably cleaner the the last two he'd been on. "Man, I'm going about this wrong." he thought. "The rougher neighborhoods will be the ones farthest from the center of town." 

"Goddamn." he sighed, well aware nobody would hear him. "Why can't every city be like Zantaric? Everything is backwards here.. "

"Why was Phoenix's face red?" Lizzie asked, looking up at GG.

The boy pursed his lips, trying to think quickly. He wasn't great on the spot, but he knew he couldn't tell Lizzie the truth. "Uh, Teryn got her new makeup,"  GG said. "She was upset because it wasn't the right color."

Lizzie tutted as though Phoenix was there to hear it. "Tazzy says you always say thank you with a smile when someone brings you a present, even if you don't like it. Do you think I can have the makeup since Phoenix doesn't like it?"

GG huffed slightly, shaking his head. "That isn't the kind of makeup you want, squirt. I'll tell you what..." The boy crouched down, taking both of her hands. "I'll get you whatever makeup you want today."

The girl frowned slightly. "Can we play in the woods instead?"

They started running together away from Teryn's house to the nearby woods. It was pretty close, but far enough that the house was no longer in sight. GG interlocked his fingers, and Lizzie stepped up onto them. He helped to make sure she had a firm grip on the branch when she pulled herself up. Then, the boy grabbed onto the branch and flipped upside down, hanging by his knees, while Lizzie straddled the branch and laughed uncontrollably.

About four hours had passed, and Terrence had barely made a dent in exploring the city. He'd bought a map, and had been spiraling outwards from the center of town- but so far he'd only managed to cover about a fifth of the city. The spy looked up at the sky. "I'd give it another two hours before it gets dark." he thought glumly. "I guess I'd better find an inn soon..."

It took Terrence another thirty minutes to find a cheap room, and another hour and a half to actually book it- the innkeeper kept forgetting the boy was there, and he had to start over the process three times before he finally got his room key. When he had finally unpacked the small amount of things he had brought with him, the sun had already set.

Terrence looked out his window. While not quite in the bad part of town, the inn he'd found wasn't the nicest place he could have chosen to stay. His room overlooked a back alley, and he could hear a loud argument coming from the room above his. "Well," he thought as he grabbed his coat. "I guess I should find someplace to eat..."

The walk back to Teryn's house wasn't too bad, maybe ten minutes or so. The two entered and saw Jezebel sitting on the couch, while Teryn tossed another log onto the fire. "Tazzy, why didn't Phoenix like the makeup color you picked for her?" Lizzie asked immediately.

Teryn's brows furrowed, and GG made a face that told Teryn just to go with it. "She didn't like the color because it didn't match her skin right," Jezebel said quickly. "You know that girls want to look so pretty! That was the wrong color to make her look pretty."

"Go get dressed for bed, princess," Teryn said.

Lizzie bounded up the stairs, and GG stood in front of Teryn and Jezebel. "I'm sorry we're late," he said meekly. "I lost track of time."

Teryn dismissed his apology with a nod. "Jezebel said you wanted to talk to me?"

GG looked at Jezebel. He swallowed nervously and sat next to the woman. "I, um, wanted to know if you're going to be needing my service?" He managed to get it out with a slight stutter, but nothing too extreme. "With the brother of that woman you were talking about being injured, it doesn't take a scholar to figure out something bad could start."

The man released a sigh, kneeling near the fire with his hands folded. "GG you know that you're in charge of your power. I might ask for your help at some point, but I'm not going to force you to do anything. You should know that by now."

The boy nodded, blinking away the tears that were threatening to fall. He leaned his head on Jezebel's shoulder, and she put her arm around him. Teryn stood up, sensing he didn't need to be there, and went to start dinner.

Of course, Terrence had to find the right place eat. Taverns and bars were a great place to gather information- the seedier the establishment, the better. It only took the boy a few minutes to find what he was looking for, and he was soon staring at a small building crammed in between a smithy and a shop selling dragon saddles.


He stepped inside, smiling at the sound of drunken arguing and mugs slamming on the counter. "It's just like home..."

Taking a seat at the bar, Terrence would close his eyes and listen...

The man dropped a coin on the counter, throwing back half of the cup with ease. "Ya owe double that," the man behind the counter said gruffly. Eruann stood up with a roll of his eyes to walk to his usual table in that particular tavern. "Hey! Flower boy! I'm talkin' to ya!"

Eruann stopped in his tracks, the flower cloak waving slight beneath the twin swords strapped to his back. He glared at the barkeep with his mismatched eyes. Turning around, he walked back over to the counter and dumped the rest of the ale on the floor in front of the man. "It ain't worth double," he said. Placing the cup on the counter, Eruann tapped on the wood twice with pursed lips. "Gimme another."

He was given a glare, as the man poured another cup of ale. Once again, Eruann placed one coin and walked away. That time, he wasn't stopped. Bastard thinks he gonna rip me off for this horse piss, he said, taking a drink.

"You could've just paid the right amount," a woman with most of her breasts exposed said.

Eruann sat next to the woman, putting his arm around her waist. "I don't pay the right amount for you, big red," he sneered.

"It's Jess."

"Not tonight," he said. "Besides, if ya listen to me at all, you'd remember I'm short on coin after I had my contract tooken by that Wasp bitch!" He took another drink, scowling slightly. "Fucking cunt couldn't get her own, so she stole mine."

It's very hard to listen when the loudest, most obnoxious patron is standing right next to you.

"Man." Terrence thought as the man poured his drink out in front of the bartender. "What is this guy doing here? He'd fit right in at the Winking Cyclops back home..." He watched the man walk away, smiling to himself. He turned back to the bar, closing his eyes once more...

And that's when he heard it.

"Wasp!" the boy thought excitedly. "I didn't think I'd get info this soon!" He slipped off of his stool and quietly walked over to where the man was sitting. The seat across from the man was pulled away from the table slightly, so Terrence sat in it without a sound. If there was one thing he was confident in, it was his ability to sit right next to somebody and stay unnoticed.

"Okay. Please elaborate for me."

The whore leaned into Eruann, running her hand up and down his chest. "I know, handsome," she said. "I can make you forget all about her."

He scoffed, looking directly at her breasts. "You best be sure of that!" He threw back the rest of his ale, coughing a bit. "The whole nest of them bugs needs to be stomped out! I'm sick of them. Although..." Eruann snorted briefly. "That Butterfly lady ain't bad on the eyes."

"Butterfly?" Jess asked, knitting her brows. "Who's that?"

"Uh, you know... She's a whore, like you. Hot as fuck with two skin colors."

The girl laughed, shaking her head. "You mean Jezebel!" She chirped. "Oh, she's an absolute delight!"

Eruann glared at her. "I don't give a shit what you think of her. As long as she do her job good, I don't care if she's the queen of this fucking shithole."

"She might as well be," Jess said, moving away from him with a pout. "Hell, she's basically married to that Spider guy."

Terrence smiled. "A two-colored prostitute?" he thought, standing up. "But that's so... Easy! I'll have no trouble tracking her down." He began to walk away, brows furrowed. "I guess that Spider is the leader then, if sleeping with him makes this Jezebel woman a queen..."

As he walked towards the exit, Terrence saw a sandwich that had been untouched by the man who had ordered it. The man was looking at his date, so Terrence leaned over and snatched his meal. The man didn't notice, and Terrence walked out of the bar with a grin. As he began to head back towards his inn, he took a bite. "Aww, turkey?" he thought as he chewed. "Without mustard? Goddamn, this bites."

Jezebel took a breath, bringing the plates into the other room. GG brought Lizzie upstairs for bed after Teryn gave the little girl a kiss on the cheek.

When they disappeared upstairs, Teryn walked into the other room. Jezebel was sitting over a bucket of suds and dishes. The man walked behind her, listening to her hum a soft tune to herself, and crouched down with his hands running gently along her bare sides. He kissed the back of her shoulder, but she took a deep breath. "Teryn," she whispered.

"No," he said. "Don't say it."

"I don't have to," she said, turning to face him. "You already know. We've been down this path before. Please, don't make this harder." She took a cloth and dried her hands, standing up and leaving him crouching by the bucket. The woman buckled her belt pouch on and wrapped a red lace shawl around her for warmth. She glanced at Teryn before walking out the door.

Her usual spot was near the tavern The Furious Wyvern, so she started off in that direction. Along the way, she got a few calls from random nobodies. Jezebel just ignored them, knowing that she had a job to do and a place to get to.

As Terrence walked, he went over the brothels he had seen that day. "Alright, so the Randy Peach seems pretty high end, that seems like a good place to start. Vinnie's Parlor was fairly nice as well, so that should be my second stop..." He smiled, passing a woman on the street. "Man, it's only been a couple of hours! I'm making great progress! Tomorrow will be-"

Terrence paused, then turned around. "No way..."

The woman he had passed had to be the Jezebel the man had spoken of- there was not a shred of doubt in his mind. Even in the dimly lit streets the woman's two-toned skin stood out, her cloths making it incredibly clear what career path she had chosen. "A-already?" the boy thought, a bit apprehensive. "Am I being set up?"

Terrence shook his head. "Doesn't matter- I may not get another chance like this!" Walking back towards the woman, the boy said hello. The woman didn't seem to hear him - "As usual" - so he poked at the prostitute's arm. "How much?"

"Oh god, I've never actually done this before. I hope that was the right thing to say!"

As Jezebel walked, she swore there was a little buzzing sound that had come out of nowhere. Ignoring it, she continued until she felt a small poke at her arm. The woman whirled around, ready to kick the shit out of whoever touched her without permission.

Instead, she found it had been a boy who couldn't have been older than GG. He was significantly smaller, though.

A kind smile spread across her lips. "No offense, sweetie," she said, "but I don't think you know what you'd be getting with me." She started walking away, but stopped briefly, turning around to look at him again. "What's your name?"

"Eckhart."  Terrence lied, crossing his arms. "And I'm of age, if that's what you're getting at."

This can't be happening, Jezebel thought to herself. She kept her cool, giving him another smile. He would never be able to tell that her heart was actually racing.

"Eckhart," she repeated sweetly, burning his face into her mind. "What an unusual name! I like it."

She took a step towards him, pushing her breasts forward ever so slightly. I have to figure out what he's doing here.

Flipping her hair to one side, Jezebel nodded and looked around. "There's an inn right around the corner that I enjoy. They can get you a discounted rate for the night, unless you already have a place somewhere?"

"She bought it!" Terrence thought excitedly as the Jezebel stepped towards him. "This is perfect! What better way to get her to talk then pretend to be one of her targets!" He beamed at the woman. "Thanks, gorgeous." he said, trying not to sound like the awkward teenager he was. The boy looked Jezebel up and down, eyes finally resting on her breasts. "I'm sure your name isn't half as beautiful as you are."

"That was suave, right?"

Finally peeling his eyes away from Jezebel's assets, he looked her in the eyes. "Your place is probably closer, I'm staying on the other side of town."

Jezebel shrugged, glancing at him with a sensual stare. "In that case, right this way." Turning around, she made sure to stay a few feet ahead of Terrence. "Teryn," her voice was barely audible to even herself, "I need you to keep your ears open tonight."

"No," Teryn's voice said. "As if knowing about your job isn't enough torture?"

"I'm serious," she said with no change in tone or volume. "This is important."

She knew him well enough to recognize his silence as agreeing without having to voice it. It was a short walk to get to a tall building with a worn sign out front. If the sign ever had anything written on it, it was done away with over years.

"This place belongs to a few friends of mine," she said, walking through the front door.

A young woman emerged with beauty almost matching Jezebel's. She had a similar clothing style, as well as a tattoo near her belly button. The two women hugged each other, then the new woman handed Jezebel a key with the number three on the tag. "Have fun," she said with a wink to Jezebel.

Still grinning, Terrence went over his plan in his head. "Ok, so I need to say enough to get her to think I could be Hildegarde's brother, but not enough to confirm it. That's the key." As they approached what he assumed must be the inn, Terrence struggled to think of a good last name for his new alter-ego. "Eckhart Mittermeyer? No, too recognizable. Eckhart Von Lohengramm? No, too similar..."

He stepped inside the building, nodding politely to the tattooed woman- not that she was likely to see him do it. As they reached room three and Terrence stepped inside, he suddenly realized something he hadn't truly considered up until that point.

"Holy shit, I'm actually getting laid!"

Grinning ear to ear, Terrence would begin to unbutton his shirt...

Jezebel locked the door behind them, then turned around with her back against the door and a smirk spreading across her lips. She placed the key on a chair near the door.

She started walking towards Terrence with a slightly exaggerated sway to her already voluptuous hips. The boy began unbuttoning his shirt, and Jezebel quickly took his hands to stop him. "That's not how we play this game, Eckhart," she whispered. She removed her red shawl, placing it around the back of his neck and kneeling in front of him to finish unbuttoning his shirt.

"I'm not liking this so far, Jezebel," Teryn said in her mind.

The woman sighed softly. He's just a kid, Jezebel thought, seeing Terrence's body. She stood back up, then bit her lip. Putting her lips barely inches from his own, she would push him down gently to sit on the foot of the plush bed. "Tell me about yourself, handsome."

Terrence went red in the face as Jezebel began to unbutton his shirt for him. "No fucking way..." he thought, head clouded with excitement. "Is this really happening right now?"

"Argh, get it together Terry!" he thought as he was gently pushed down on the bed. "What would Hildegarde say?"

An image of Hildegarde giving him a thumbs up flashed in his head, nodding her head as if to say "Nice!" Terrence quickly pushed it to the side, instead focusing on Jezebel's eyes. "U-um, well, I'm not really from around here, I'm here to meet my sister and you're really pretty..."

The woman captured his eyes with her own in sensual gaze that could've weakened even the strongest of men.

She smiled at his nervous energy, climbing onto the bed behind him. Jezebel untied the strings from behind her neck, letting her top fall loosely. She remained covered, but the allure of what was underneath was the real purpose of the action.

Jezebel moved closer to Terrence, pressing her breasts against his back with her fingers running up and down his arms. She kissed the back of his neck. "That's a shame," she whispered, her breath warm behind his ear. "We only get so long to get to know each other." Gently, she bit his ear and released a breathy laugh. "How often do you come around here, hmm? I'd love to see you again."

"Concentrate! I gotta concentrate!" Terrence thought numbly as he felt Jezebel's breasts push up against his back. He gasped as she bit his ear, shuddering in excitement. "Come on! Focus!"

"I-I'm afraid this will be the only time..." Terrence said, eyes wide. "I had to rush here from Serendipity, I'm leaving with my sister tomorrow. W-we're heading back to where she lives..."

Deciding to be bold, Terrence turned his body to face the woman. He cupped one of her breasts in his hand, and gently stroked her cheek with his other. "So why don't we make the best of this?"

"Oh my god, I'm touching boobs! Awesome!"

A slight chuckle escaped her, as he suddenly tried to take control of the situation. She smirked, giving him a deviously erotic smirk. "Why don't you let me show you how to make the best of this..." Jezebel put her hand over his on her cheek. She turned her head into his hand, closing her eyes and slowly bringing his fingers over her lips, then eventually between her lips.

She knew someone inexperienced when she saw one, so she was impressed by his confidence level. Even so, there was no way in hell she would actually go too far with Terrence. It was like being intimate with GG, who was like her son.

Jezebel brought her leg over, resting it across both of Terrence's. She ran her hand along Terrence's inner thigh. "Come on, baby," she breathed. "Every time you tell me something I want to know, you get closer and closer and closer to giving you something you desperately want." Jezebel moved his hand to her thigh, letting him feel her silken skin beneath her skirt.

"How'd you find me, huh? Of everyone in the city, why did you make me the luckiest girl in the world?"

Terrence's eyes widened as Jezebel moved his hand to her thigh. "This is so hot! I can't believe this is happening!" Before he could tell the woman anything else, however, his brain processed what she had said. "Wait... I can use that, get her group to panic..."

"Whoa, settle down Terry." said the boy's boner. "You gave her all the misinformation you needed to, so just settle down and let this happen."

"I can't, this is more important!"

"I won't let you do it Terry! I've waited far, far too long for this." 

"I'm sorry! I have to!"

Struggling to remain focused, Terrence shut his eyes for the briefest of moments, imagining the least sexy thing he could think of- Chrysanthemum.

Opening his eyes and mentally replacing the prostitute with the midwife, he slowly pulled his hand away. He shook his head timidly. "Um... W-what do you mean I have to answer questions?" he asked, feigning nervousness. He slowly stood up and began to back away, eyes wide. "Um, I don't want to do this anymore..."

"See! Now they'll think we're onto them! When people get scared, they make mistakes!"

"...I fucking hate you, Terry."

Fuck, Jezebel thought, as soon as Terrence stood up. He really is skittish... Let's try this again.

Teryn's voice came through in her mind. "Maybe this is good," he said. "Maybe you should leave him alone!" She simply rolled her eyes.

She swung her legs off the bed and stood up with him. While slowly releasing a soft sigh, Jezebel approached him once again. She gently placed two fingers on his cheek, running her thumb along his lips. His mouth was saying one thing, but she was well aware that the southern brain also had quite an influence.

"Everyone gets nervous the first time around," she said quietly. "If you'd like, I can go first." She undid the single button in the front of her top, letting it fall to the ground to leave her unusually perfect chest bare.

"Shit! She's still going?" Terrence thought, beginning to get nervous for real. "I need to get out of- whoa." 

Jezebel had taken off her top, revealing her breasts. They were patterned, much like the rest of skin, and it took everything Terrence had not to fold. "Oh god! Damnit, not now!" He shook his head violently. "Think of Chrys! Just think of Chrys!"

Terrence pushed Jezebel's hand away. "I said no!" He turned towards the door, only to panic when he found it was locked. "Fuck! What now?"

He turned towards Jezebel, forcing himself to cry. "W-what do want f-from me?" he sobbed. "Oh... Oh god, you're one of them aren't you?"

I'm patient, she thought, picking up her top and covering herself up again, but I'm not this patient. Jezebel retied the strings behind her neck and huffed. "I tried to warn you," she said. "You aren't ready."

The woman wrapped her shawl around her. "I'm not going to charge you because, well, nothing happened. Do yourself a favor, Eckhart, and don't bite off more than you can chew. Just might get robbed next time."

She walked over to the door, picking up the key and dangling it in front of his face. She unlocked the door and smirked. "I don't know who this 'them' is, but watch yourself. A lot of people will take that as an insult."

Walking back down the stairs, Jezebel smiled at Maria, who was at the base of the stairs. "That was pretty quick," Maria said with a grin and slight chuckle.

"Eckhart Von Musel's upstairs," Jezebel said. "Make sure to get rid of him. Last thing we need is Hildegarde Von Musel thinking we're holding her brother." She strode out of the building to resume her normal duties.

Terrence felt immensely relieved as the woman covered her breasts once more. "Good god, that was close."

Terrence made a show of flinching as Jezebel dangled the keys in front of his face, taking a step back as she unlocked the door. He couldn't help but smile inwardly as she brought up "them", however. "Nice damage control." he thought smugly as she walked down the stairs. "You sure convinced me."

When he was sure she was gone, Terrence wiped the crocodile tears from his eyes and buttoned his shirt back up. "I did it! I did everything I wanted to do." Walking over to the bedroom window, he opened it and hopped outside, shutting it behind him. "Everything. One hundred percent." He began to walk back towards his hotel (which was not on the other side of town as he had claimed), looking behind him ever couple of seconds to make sure he wasn't being followed. "All of the information I wanted them to get, they got. I did it perfectly." Soon enough he was lying in his hotel bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Man, I was so close! Why do I have to take my job so seriously? God, I fucked up..."

The next six hours of Jezebel's night was filled with wealthy men and stolen trinkets. She went back to Teryn's house and walked inside. Teryn was sitting on the couch with a book, so Jezebel simply smiled at him. "So," Teryn said, putting the book down, "Eckhart? How'd that happen?"

"He asked for it," she said with a shrug. "Can we talk about this another time? I want to go to sleep." She unbuckled the pouch from her hip and tossed it to him. "Got a few things from wealthy adulterers. Up to you what you want to keep." Walking upstairs, she heard a small sniffle. Knocking on the door, she walked into GG's room and saw him sitting on his bed with his legs tucked to his chest under the blankets. He quickly wiped his eyes, gulping before he realized who it was. "GG, what's wrong?"

The woman sat at the foot of GG's bed and lit a candle. GG shook his messy hair, shuddering slightly. "Jez, I..." He choked on his words. Kicking the blankets off, GG pulled up the right leg of his pants. On the inside of his right leg, Jezebel could see the faint lines of GG's disease spreading.

There was nothing she could say. Instead, she looked at him and moved up to sit next to him. She kissed the side of his head, running her fingers through his hair. GG laid on her shoulder, and she stayed with him until he fell asleep. Teryn walked past the open door and saw them. Jezebel smiled softly at him, and he blew out the candle for her, nodding slightly when he left.

Terrence woke up early the next morning, yawning as the sunlight poured through his window. He slipped out of bed, getting dressed quickly. "I should get some wanted posters for Griselda's collection today." he thought as he walked out the door and into the street. "Iggy will also need to see them, maybe he'll be able to point out Wasp and Spider if I end up being unable to find them."

Terrence kept his hands in his pockets as he once again began to spiral outwards from where he was staying. Despite the rising sun, it was rather chilly outside. Not many people were up and about yet, which made Terrence feel incredibly self conscious- he had nobody to blend into. "With any luck, none of them will be up either." he thought. "I really don't want to run into Jezebel now..."

Jezebel woke up still in GG's bed. She smiled and stood up, pulling the blankets over the young man. He wouldn't be asleep for too much longer, but she didn't want to wake him earlier than need be.

Teryn was making breakfast downstairs with Lizzie sitting next to him, studying everything he did. He let her stir the pot a few times, satisfying her desire to help. Jezebel smiled, leaning against the wall and rubbing her arm. "Morning, sweetie," she said to Lizzie.

Both of them looked up. Teryn gave her a smile, while Lizzie jumped up. "Jez, can you show me how to do makeup today?" She asked excitedly.

"A bit later!" Jezebel said. "Bring my makeup downstairs, okay?"

The little girl disappeared up the stairs, and Teryn sat on the couch. "What's up?" He asked. "How's GG doing? I haven't seen you two spend a night like that in a long time."

She shook her head. "He's scared, Teryn," she said. "And honestly, he could use a little more support from you. Forget this gang drama bullshit for a day to spend time with a boy who looks at you like a father." Teryn frowned slightly, and Jezebel huffed. "Could've guessed as much. I'll finish breakfast. You take Lizzie out for a bit and figure out what you're going to do about Melissa and Phoenix."

About an hour had passed since he'd left, and Terrence hadn't had much luck. He had been inside every tavern he'd passed, but none of them had wanted posters displayed. "It kinda makes sense I suppose." he thought glumly. "The further out I go, the rougher the neighborhoods get. Most government sanctioned bounties will be displayed near the center of town." 

Finally, after another ten minutes, Terrence found something- an old billboard on the side if the road. It was covered in layers of faded notices and flyers, seemingly never having been cleared off since it's creation. The boys eyes lit up- there were some wanted posters hidden underneath the newer papers. Smiling, he began to take them off of the board.

"Some if these date back years! Griselda's gonna be thrilled!"

After Lizzie dressed herself properly and Teryn put on his tunic and belt, he helped the little girl onto one of his horses and mounted behind her. He knew Jezebel was right. She was better with the touchy-feely crap, so he needed to decide how to punish Phoenix for her disobedience.

Riding into town was a good way for the man to clear his head. He enjoyed being among people, and more importantly, they loved to be around him. Teryn dismounted, holding his horse's reins, and led Lizzie around on the grey mare. "What's wrong?" Lizzie asked.

He smiled at her. "I just have a few things on my mind, Ladybug," he said sweetly. "One of which is to figure out what gift to buy you!" He saw her eyes light up and chuckled. "How about this?" He helped her off the horse and pinched her chin lightly. "Pick out anything you want, then come get me. I'm gonna talk to a few people, okay?"

She ran off, beaming excitedly. After a few minutes of looking at the different shops and people, Lizzie spotted a boy standing near a cluttered board. He was looking through the papers, so the girl strolled over, standing silently behind him for a few seconds before announcing herself. "Tazzy says it's bad to take down wanted posters!" She said suddenly, rocking back on her heels momentarily. She caught a glance at who the posters were for. "Why are you taking down pictures of Moth and Grasshopper?"

"Ah!" Terrence cried, nearly dropping the papers out of shock. "What's going on! Somebody saw me?" he thought, whipping his head around to find the source of the voice. His eyes settled on the young girl nervously. "Alright, play this cool. She just namedropped more bugs." Terrence eyed the two posters she'd mentioned, making making a mental note not to forget them. "Philip Silver and Goldie Fauto. That's handy information to have."

Terrence tilted his head to the side. "Um..." he began. "Because spider told me to?"

"She's about the same age as I was when I joined  Hildegarde. This could backfire pretty hard if I fuck it up."

The girl squinted, looking him up and down. "Spider always tells me when we have a new member of the Silence!" She shrugged, thinking that it could make sense. He wouldn't know Spider's name if he wasn't part of the gang after all! Or was it the opposite?

As quickly as the thought came, it had disappeared. She shook her head, reaching to take the posters. It was a control thing for the girl. If he had ordered it, she wanted to bring the posters to Teryn.

"What's your name?" She asked with bright eyes. "I'm Liz- erm, Ladybug!"

Terrence held the papers out of Ladybug's reach. "Haha, sorry." he laughed. "Spider asked me to burn these." The boy smiled sweetly. "And it's Gnat! I only joined a couple of days ago, so I still haven't met everybody yet!" Terrence scratched the back of his head. "Fly was the one who introduced me, so I've only met them and Spider so far, haha!"

"New plan: Get as much info out of this girl as possible, then skip town."

Lizzie tutted briefly. "We aren't too happy with Fly," she said quietly. "She was the one who told Wasp to be mean to the other lady's brother. It's okay, though. When you come back, I'll introduce you to everyone!"


Maria strolled into Teryn's house to see GG and Jezebel having breakfast by the fire. She smiled, squeezing GG's shoulder and sitting next to him on the floor. "Jez, what happened last night?" Maria asked. "You told me to make sure the Von Musel kid left, but he was nowhere in sight. Hell, I didn't even see him walk in."

Jezebel frowned. "What are you talking about?" She thought hard. It was surprisingly difficult to keep his face in her mind, but she was able to recall. "He had dark hair, was pretty short, plain clothes."

The dancer scoffed. "Honey, that describes most of the people I see every day!"

GG furrowed his brows. "Wait," he said. "Dark hair?" Jezebel nodded, and the boy shook his head. "That can't be right... Teryn had me learn everything possible about the gangs that could pose a threat, and Hildegarde Von Musel's Friends were high on the list. She has light blonde hair. I know that it isn't necessarily guaranteed, but I don't think her brother would have dark hair."

"Wait, so this is all Fly's fault? Spider and the others don't want Eckhart dead? Terrence's shoulders tensed. "That's huge! I only need to find out her identity then!"

Terrence smiled. "Thanks Ladybug! I would love that!" He turned. "I think this should be it..." the boy mused, nodding. "Yep! Alright!" Terrence ruffled the girl's hair. "I'm off to burn these now. I'll see you later!"

With that, Terrence would walk away. "Man, talk about a lucky break! We may be able to get out of this without a war!"

"Hey!" The little girl said, smoothing or her hair. "Don't touch my head!" Lizzie glanced back towards the direction she had come from, then jogged over to catch up with Terrence.

She felt a little insulted that he didn't invite her to come along! She was Spider's favorite girl, after all. That meant she had the right to be part of what he ordered. She looked up at Terrence with wide eyes and walked beside him.


Melissa crouched outside of Teryn's house, listening through the open window. She was completely silent, making sure she heard correctly. The whore didn't even meet the Von Musel brat, she thought, a dead grin spreading across her face. That's wonderful news.

Walking around the back of the house, the assassin mounted a long-legged stallion that was blacker than her own soul. With her daggers secured in their sheaths and six smooth stones ready to be charged, Melissa disappeared with the rapid thunder of hooves as the only evidence.

Maria raced out of the house just in time to see Melissa vanish on the path to Serendipity. "Spider," Maria said, using the web to reach him. "Your dog's off her leash again!"

"Alright, so I should probably head back to the hotel, get my stuff." Terrence thought as he walked. "I'll find someplace out of town that Addie can pick me up from, if I stick around somebody may-"

It was at that moment that Terrence saw Ladybug had followed him, and was looking at him expectantly. "Shit, she didn't lose sight of me? That never happens! Now what?"

The boy glanced at the child, smiling nervously. "Um, didja need something?"

Lizzie flashed him a wide smile. "Wanna play with me?" She asked eagerly. "Ant is busy right now. I wanna play!"

"Lizzie." She heard Teryn's voice in her head. "Lizzie, we have to go. Come back."

The little girl huffed and folded her arms with a pout. "Never mind, Gnat," she grumbled. "Spider is calling me back. See ya later!" She waved and turned around, skipping back towards Teryn.

Terrence's eyes widened as the girl asked to play with him. "Hide and go seek. I'll tell her to hide, then leave." Just as the boy opened his mouth to suggest this, Ladybug dropped a bombshell on him.

"He's calling her back? So... That must mean he's a telepath! That's huge!" His smile faded. "Or he's watching me right now. Either way, I gotta disappear."

He waved at the girl as he left. "See you later, alligator!" As soon as the girl was far enough away, Terrence began to run back to his hotel. Upon getting there, he immediately began to pack the few belongings he had brought. "If I stay any longer, this will get hairy."

"Tazzy," Lizzie chirped with a smile, "I met Gnat! You didn't tell me you brought someone new in!"

The man frowned slightly. "I didn't?" He asked. "I'm sorry! I forgot to tell you! Come on. We can talk at home." He helped Lizzie back onto the horse, then swung up behind her. "Hold on," he said to her, whipping the horse around. He held her against him with the reins in his free hand, while she gripped the horn of the saddle tightly.

It was just a few minutes' trip on horseback to his house, so they arrived pretty quickly. They were greeted by several members of the Silence outside of his house. Jezebel, GG, and Maria were obviously there, but Goldie and Philip had since joined them. When Melissa went off on her own, everyone knew that it was a major problem.

Teryn dismounted, bringing Lizzie down next. They walked over to the group, who all wore worried expressions. "GG," Teryn started in a whispered, "take Lizzie upstairs and find out who this Gnat person is. Don't use your power. I didn't bring anyone new in, and if someone's just randomly claiming to be part of us now, I don't think it's a coincidence." GG nodded, taking Lizzie's hand and going inside. "Melissa's gone," Teryn said to the others. "Everyone knows what shitstorm rolled in last time she went off on her own. We can't have that again. Maria, talk to people: try to find out if anyone has seen her. Philip, take one of the horses and follow her trail. She should be heading towards Serendipity. Goldie, I need you in the air. Use Blex and give me a bird's eye view. We have to cut this off before it starts."

They fanned out, and Jezebel looked at Teryn. "What're you going to do?" She asked.

"I'm writing to Vivianne," Teryn said, walking inside. "If anyone has a chance of stopping Melissa and keeping Eckhart alive, it would be her."

Terrence hurriedly walked out the hotel door and into the street, a small rucksack slung over his shoulder. "A carriage! I need a carriage!" the boy thought in a pseudo-panic. "If Spider knows I exist, then I need to get out of his range before he starts reading my thoughts!"

The boy walked down the street, looking desperately for somebody to take him out of the city. "The carriages are all likely to be near the edge of town." he thought as a woman on horseback rushed past him. "That's where I need to be."

Philip leapt onto the fastest horse in Teryn's possession. He wasn't the most skilled horseman, but he knew that he would be able to chase Melissa down. What happened once he caught up to her was a question he was afraid to have answered.

Goldie and Blex soared in the sky, the girl watching for any sign of the assassin. Again, she really didn't know what would happen. She was no match for Melissa in a fight, and the woman had no fear of death, so she was virtually unstoppable.

Maria came to a dead end every time she asked someone. No one had seen her. She was starting to worry they wouldn't be able to stop her in time.

GG and Lizzie sat upstairs, and the young man questioned Lizzie about Gnat to no avail. "How about we draw, squirt?" He asked her, pulling out parchment and ink. "Can you draw me a picture of him?" She eagerly accepted, so they drew together for a little bit. Her drawing wasn't perfect, but it was a decent replication. Unfortunately, the imposter looked like ninety percent of the population. Another dead end.

"Hildegarde is tied to this," Teryn said to Jezebel, as he handed the sealed letter to a messenger. "It's no accident, and I intend to figure out just what she knows."

Jezebel huffed. "How? She's in Zantaric."

"That's true, but she doesn't know who I have in my back pocket. I already webbed one of her little minions. Soon, I'll have another. Plus, Shards will help me out if I need her to. I trust her."

Another horse galloped past Terrence as the boy made his way to the edge of town. Terrence actually turned his head to look at this one- the speed at which it was running was unusual, considering where they were. "What's that all about?" he thought as he watched them pass. "You're gonna run somebody ever like that, man."

The boy shook his head, and continued walking. "It doesn't matter." he told himself. "It has nothing to do with me."

Melissa noticed the echoed hoofbeats of another horse in pursuit of her own. She turned back to see Teryn's white stallion with who only could have been Philip riding. He always was a shaky rider. Unfortunately, his horse was faster than hers.

Reaching into her pouch, she took out one of her stones. A small breath gave the stone a significant charge, and she hurled it back at him.

The explosion was massive and close to her pursuers. It would likely have even been seen from town. Philip and the horse were blown backward. The horse landed on the man's leg, and Philip cried out suddenly. Luckily, neither were killed. Unluckily, Melissa continued on with only Goldie to chase her down.

Philip stood with support from the horse, but he couldn't remount easily. Any pressure on his left leg was like he was being ripped apart. Favoring his right leg, he jumped up and clumsily pulled himself onto the horse's saddle. Riding at a much slower pace, the man started back to Teryn's house. Anyone who saw him could read the absolute agony on his face.

Startled, Terrence looked over his shoulder. He couldn't see what had happened, but smoke was beginning to rise in the distance. Other passersby were beginning to get worried as well, and a few guards began to rush in the direction the noise had come from. Eyes wide, Terrence continued down the road. "It's nothing to do with me. I can't let myself get-"

The horseback rider from before passed him again, this time at a much slower pace. His clothes were singed, and his face made it clear that he was in pain. "His face..." 

Terrence pulled the wanted posters out of jacket pocket. Sure enough, the man on the horse was Phillip Silver- "Grasshopper", as Ladybug had called him. "Never mind," the boy thought as he began to follow the horse. "This does concern me..."

Philip made it back to Teryn's house, groaning slightly with each step the horse took. By the time he reached the house, his face was ghostly. GG, Jezebel, and Teryn all raced outside to greet him. "Philip," Teryn said urgently, "what happened?"

"Not the time," Jezebel snapped. She walked around the horse, as GG took hold of the reins. Lightly touching his left leg, Jezebel removed her hand with a grimace. "His leg's broken."

"How do you know?" Teryn asked.

She glared at him. "Because part of his bone is sticking out from his leg, Teryn. Do I need a degree to diagnose that?"

Teryn pursed his lips, helping Jezebel to get Philip off of the horse. "GG, take the horse. Get Master Ariel. If you see Maria, tell her to come back." GG leapt onto the horse and instantly disappeared toward town, while Teryn and Jezebel went inside to try and contain the bleeding from his calf wound.

It isn't easy to follow a horse inconspicuously- even at a trot they're faster than humans. Luckily, Terrence couldn't help but be inconspicuous, and he managed to keep the horse within his sights until he saw it stop at a brick house on the outskirts of town. "Shit, this is it!" the boy thought anxiously. "What street am I on?" Looking around hastily, he saw that he was on Webster Ave. Terrence blinked twice. "Wow. That's, uh, fitting."

As he slowly made his way down the street, the horse galloped away from the house once more- this time with a different rider. As he got even closer, Terrence saw a dark haired man waiting outside the house. The boy's heart began to race. He couldn't put his finger on why, but the man gave him a strange sense of dread. "That's it! I found their hive, now I'm done!" 

The boy walked on the sidewalk, past the the house. If he wasn't stopped, he would keep walking untill the house was well out of sight.

It only took a few minutes for the white horse to come back into view, followed by a chestnut horse with a pump, older man in the saddle. Teryn stepped forward, as Master Ariel dismounted. GG took Maria's hand from around his back and helped her off the horse before he swung down. She raced inside, then the older man took his satchel followed. GG took both horses around back to brush them down, and Teryn followed the others into the house.

"Philip!" Maria cried, crouching next to him. He was lying on Jezebel's lap near the fire, while she ran her fingers through his sweat-drenched hair.

Master Ariel looked at Teryn. "The boy told me it was a horse accident?" He asked, to which Teryn gave a brief nod. The less the man knew, the safer he'd be. He knelt next to Philip, mixing a few herbs together into a yellow cream. Unwrapping the makeshift bandage Jezebel had applied, Master Ariel frowned. The bone stuck out of the man's leg, worse than the healer had ever seen.

Teryn came back with a bottle of whiskey, giving it to Philip, who took a large drink. He knew from Master Ariel's face what needed to be done, so he took a thin block of wood and touched Jezebel's shoulder. "Get Lizzie out of the house," he whispered. Teryn switched spots with the woman, and Maria looked away squeamishly. As soon as Jezebel and Lizzie left, Teryn looked at the man lying on his lap. "Philip, this is going to hurt like nothing you've ever felt, but you're going to be fine."

The older man took a razor-sharp knife and easily cut away excess skin. Philip winced, but it wasn't too bad. "Open your mouth, son," Master Ariel said, frowning and putting on his gloves.

Philip took another drink, then opened his mouth. Teryn placed the block in his mouth, and Philip closed his mouth on it. Master Ariel put one hand under Philip's leg and the other on the bone. In a swift movement...

*SNAP!*

Philip bit down and screamed, but passed out from the pain. Maria shook with her hands over her ears. Master Ariel looked at Teryn with a nod. "That's a normal reaction to the pain," he said. "Don't judge him too harshly." Teryn smiled slightly, shaking his head. Master Ariel applied the cream onto the wound and dressed it properly. "He'll be fine in a few weeks. Don't let him put too much stress on it, or he'll do permanent damage."

Terrence sighed in relief as the house disappeared from view. "Alright, that was close. Now I'm going to find a carriage-"

Terrence's thoughts were interrupted by a low growl coming from his stomach. The boy frowned- he hadn't eaten breakfast that morning. "Ok. Brunch, then carriage."

Luckily, there was a small diner nearby. A small bell jingled as Terrence entered the building- not that anybody would have heard it over the chatter of the other patrons. The young spy decided to take a window seat, as he figured it'd be better if he was able to see who else was about to enter the restaurant. Settling in his seat, the boy would wait for somebody to take his order...

Jezebel was honestly thrilled to be out of the house for what was going to happen, but Lizzie just thought they were eating out, a treat in her eyes. Teryn's diner - one that he owned, not worked at - was nearby, and Lizzie absolutely loved it. It had the best hash browns she ever tasted.

"Jez, it's Gnat!" Lizzie said eagerly, pointing to one of the diner windows. Jezebel followed the girl's gesture, narrowing her eyes slightly to focus. Sure as hell, she saw the boy that had told her he was Eckhart.

They walked into the diner, welcomed by the bell's brief chime. Lizzie let go of Jezebel's hand and skipped over to Terrence's table. She made herself comfortable in the seat across from his, and Jezebel sat in a nearby booth to listen to them. "Teryn," she whispered, "Gnat is sitting at your diner and talking to your daughter. I suggest you listen in with me."

"I'll listen in with Lizzie," Teryn said, switching to listen through Lizzie's ears.

"Hi, Gnat," the girl said excitedly. "I like it here, too. You need to try the hash browns."

It had been about fifteen minutes since Terrence had taken his seat, and a waiter still hadn't shown up to take his order. He stared at the table blankly. "Nobody's going to show up, they don't even know I'm here." the boy thought sadly. "Man, I hate restaurants..." Deciding to find a waiter and call them over, Terrence looked up to see Ladybug's smiling face staring at him.

"Shit!"

"Oh, um, hello again!" Terrence said, eyes wide. "I was planning on getting the flapjacks, I'm not really into potatoes..." Terrence forced his shoulders to relax. "Did you come here by yourself? The city can be dangerous for kids your age, you know. Lotta creeps out there."

"Tell him you are here alone, princess," Teryn's voice said in the girl's mind.

Lizzie knew better than to blurt out Teryn was talking to her at that moment. She just shifted slightly and smiled. "I'm here alone," she said convincingly. "No one will hurt me because Spider won't let them." She frowned when she realized Terrence wasn't going to take her suggestion. "But the hash browns are the best here! The flap jacks are good too, I guess."

She pouted briefly, quickly jumping up and waving a waitress over to order.

"You're lucky you picked this diner," the girl said. "I eat here for free because Spider owns it. And you can too because I like you!"

"Shit, shit, shit!"

"He owns it? Really?" Terrence asked, putting on a false smile. "He never told me we got free food when we joined! That's awesome! What else does he own?"

"Is Spider a telepath? She was talking about him calling her before, so maybe that's how? Or maybe he has a crystal ball, and he's watching her from it? Either way, I need to find an excuse to leave."

A waitress walked over to the table, notepad in hand. Her eyes seemed to glaze over Terrence, and she focused her gaze on Ladybug. "What can I get you, sugar?"

"He owns everything!" She said excitedly. "Well, I guess not everything, but a whole lot!" As soon as the waitress came over, Lizzie smiled at her. "My hash browns, please!" It was a rare occasion that she got to go out to eat, as Teryn usually wants to feed her himself. She was just extremely excited for the chance to have her hash browns again.

"Lock the doors," Teryn's voice said in the waitress' mind. "Do it quietly. That place is being locked down until I or one of my people get there." He had every employee in every establishment he owned webbed to him, so they simply thought he was telepathic. Nobody argues with the boss!

"What do you want?" Lizzie asked Terrence.

"Um..." Terrence replied. "The strawberry flapjacks, please." The waitress stared blankly at him. "I said the strawberry flapjacks!" he said a bit more forcefully. The woman seemed to hear him this time, and she hurriedly walked away. Terrence's eye twitched. "Just wait, she's going to forget my order."

Not that Terrence still planned on eating there. He gave the young girl a smile. "I'll be right back, I need to attend to business." Not waiting for a response, the boy stood up and walked towards the door...

...Just in time to see the waitress locking it. "What! How?" Terrence thought, eyes wide. "Shit, I was right! Spider has gotta be a telepath! It's the only way!"

Terrence quickly walked back to his seat and sat down. "Haha, there's a line. I can wait."

"Shit! What do I do?" he thought, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. "I'll- I'll throw her off! Tell her something she doesn't expect!" 

Terrence scratched the back of his head, grinning embarrassedly. "Um, this is a bit silly but... How long will it take before hearing the voice in my head feels normal? It's really hard to get used to..."

"Repeat after me, Lizzie," Teryn said in her mind.

Lizzie gave Terrence a look of confusion. "What voice?" She said, echoing what Teryn told her. "Spider wouldn't have linked you yet."

A word of praise from Teryn ended his instructions to her. Jezebel sat nearby, silently listening to the conversation between Terrence and Lizzie. She was there more as a second pair of eyes and ears. This was Lizzie's role, but Jezebel was there to support the young girl if she needed it.

"Besides," Lizzie continued, "he would've told you how it worked, if he tied you into his web."

"Lizzie, no!" Teryn groaned.

"Hm, yes, I remember now." Terrence said, nodding. "Thank you for reminding me, Ladybug."

Before the girl could react, Terrence had drawn his knife, slamming the hilt into the window pane. The glass cracked, and another hit caused it to shatter completely. The boy hastily clambered over the broken glass, and was soon running at full speed down the street. "A crowd! I need a crowd!"

Lizzie flinched at the sudden shatter, and Jezebel jumped up. The woman immediately unlocked the door, but Lizzie had already climbed through the broken window, cutting her hands a bit on the way out. "Why are you running away?" Lizzie cried after Terrence.

GG showed up on the white horse. The horse was fidgeting, trying to run, and GG was about to let it. "Where'd he go?" The young man asked.

Jezebel raced out, grabbing Lizzie's wrist and pointing at Terrence. Even though there weren't a ton of people in sight at the moment, GG had trouble focusing on the practically blurry figure running away from them. Regardless, he spurred the horse on, trying his best to lock onto the boy.

Overhead, an eagle's screech rang out ten times louder than a typical bird. GG looked up to see the white shape of the familiar gryphon. Goldie, he thought, slowing the horse. If anyone could catch the guy, it would be Goldie and Blex. Hurry, Goldie. If he turns the bend, he'll vanish into that gathering.

Ladybug called out to him as he ran, but Terrence ignored her. The Silence was onto him, and he was running put of time. Terrence could hear somebody on horseback behind him, and the boy pushed his legs to move even faster. "There's a crowd up ahead!" he thought, looking ahead. "If I can just make it there in time..."

A loud screech from above him caused Terrence to flinch. He stumbled, but quickly regained his footing. Reaching the end of the street, the boy would slow down and attempt to disappear among the crowd of people...

Goldie leaned forward on the gryphon, diving toward the ground. They couldn't risk injuring anyone in the crowd. Blex was a large, some would consider uncontrollable, creature. Goldie wouldn't put the trust of the public at stake to catch up to her target.

She quickly pulled up, Blex's large wings nearly touching some of the citizens at the low height he was flying. "He's gone, Goldie," Blex said, looking at the crowd of people.

"Spider's gonna throw a bitch fit," Goldie mumbled. "Let's perch." They lifted higher into the air, landing atop one of the nearby buildings. Blex sat with his wings spread for intimidation, while Goldie crouched at the edge of the roof, staring into the crowd for any hint of distress or escape.

Terrence felt a rush of air above him as he began to move with the crowd. Glancing upwards, the boy saw what appeared to be gryphon flying overhead. "But those are native to Featherfall!" he thought in a panic. "Why the fuck do they have one?"

Terrence found that walking normally was hard to do when he was frightened. "I should have known they'd use a kid." he thought anxiously, biting his nails. "We do that too- I was that kid for a while." Children confused Terrence- for some reason, they were more likely to notice him then adults were. "Ladybug must be their Randal. I gotta be careful of her, more than anyone."

Following the general direction the crowd was headed, Terrence found himself heading towards the center of town. The Castle was in view, it's towers rising high above the other buildings. The boy swallowed nervously. "Shit! I could get boxed in if I keep going this way!

The way the crowd was moving, Goldie realized that it could strategically work to trap her target toward the Castle. Then again, she didn't want to be forced there. The success of the gang was based on not interfering with the government. Despite how much Goldie wanted that to change, Teryn was still technically in charge.

She didn't want to be cornered near the Castle, but she also knew that the boy she was hunting wouldn't want to be either. I need to use this, she thought.

"Goldie, I saw him," Blex told her, cutting off her thought. "Make them disperse, and I can pick him out."

The woman smirked, looking over the crowd. She cupped her hands around her mouth to amplify her sound. "Fire!" Goldie shouted. "Run! Fire!"

As if his own panic wasn't enough, Terrence soon found himself in a stampede of frightened people. Cries of "Help!" and "Fire!" filled the air, and the boy found himself getting pushed around by people who couldn't see him. A particularly large man barreled past him, knocking him over. "Shit!" the spy thought as he hastily scrambled to his feet.

The crowd was beginning to disperse, leaving Terrence behind. The boy hurriedly looked around, then darted towards the nearest alley...

"There!" Blex said, seeing Terrence get shoved to the ground.

"Where?"

"He's right there! Goldie, are you blind?"

She squinted. "I don't see him!"

The gryphon leapt off the roof, his wings extended to glide downward. If Terrence made it to the alley, Blex wouldn't be able to grab him. He released another eagle-like screech and dove towards the fleeing boy in an attempt to grab him with his talons.

A screech from behind him caused Terrence to flinch. He pushed himself to move faster, but it was too late- he felt the Gryphon's talons grab him by the shoulders, lifting him up into the air. With a cry of shock, Terrence unsheathed his dagger and swung it blindly above him. "Let me go you piece of shit!"

A sharp pain shot up and down Blex's right arm. He cursed the little bastard silently, but the pain wasn't anything he hadn't felt growing up with rough siblings. He would have Teryn look at it when they returned, but the primary focus was getting back.

With a smooth movement, the gryphon swung around, flying back towards Goldie. "Jump on," he said to her. She sprinted to the opposite end of the roof, pushing off and landing smoothly on his back.

"Good job," the elf said with a smile. "Let's get back to Spider's."

"He's going to be pissed that you disobeyed him."

She huffed. "He'll have to deal with it." They made it back in no time, landing in the front. Goldie got off of Blex and walked around to take a look at the boy. It was weird... She saw him, but it was almost like looking through a blurry lens. "Dagger," she demanded, holding out her hand. "And don't try anything funny, or Blex will have you for dinner."

Terrence felt his swings connect, but it was to no avail- the gryphon didn't let go. "Nng! Let me go!" he cried as he was carried high into the air. "Help! Somebody help!" 

"Nobody will save me." he reminded himself. "Only I can do this. If I don't, then Hildegarde won't be able to kill these fuckers later. I gotta think of a way to escape..."

The gryphon landed at the brick house, dropping Terrence to the ground. The boy winced- the gryphon's talons hadn't been gentle on his shoulders. When asked for his dagger, Terrence looked up to see an elven woman with brown hair. "The gryphon's rider. Alright, here goes." Knowing that he could look like just about anybody with a bit of suggestion, Terrence did the first thing that came to mind- he began to cry.

Bursting into tears, Terrence dropped his dagger and shrunk back. "W-who are y-you?" he sobbed. "W-w-why are y-you d-doing this to m-me?"

Goldie suddenly felt her chest tighten. Her eyes widened, and she snatched the dagger from the ground. "What's this?" She said too quickly. "Why- What're you... What's he doing?"

"He's crying, Goldie," Blex said simply. "Don't worry about it. Just get Teryn."

The elf shook her head. "No, Blex, what the fuck? Why's he crying? He's-"

"Goldie, now!" Blex snapped at her. Goldie jumped slightly, running into the house just as GG, Jezebel, and Lizzie trotted over on the horse. The gryphon sighed, shifting his telepathy so Terrence would be able to hear him. "Stop your crying. You don't fool me; you're only making yourself look pathetic."


Goldie walked into the house, grimacing at the sight of blood all over. "Teryn," she said, "got him."

The man furrowed his brows. "Him? I thought-" He pursed his lips. "What about Melissa?"

"We can talk later. Just come outside."

For a split second, Terrence thought his gambit had worked. He smiled inwardly, expecting the elf to dismiss him...

Until the women left, and a voice in his head told him to stop. Terrence paused, a pit forming in his stomach. He looked up at the gryphon in shock, blinking tears out of his eyes.

"Wait... You're Spider?"

"No, you fool," Blex said, shaking out his wings briefly. He looked at the house, as the door opened. Goldie came out followed by Teryn, who now had his hood up like he usually did. The gryphon narrowed his eyes slightly. "That's Spider."

Teryn glowered at the boy standing next to Blex. He pursed his lips together, glancing at the other three nearby. Lizzie was still atop the horse, while GG held the reins and Jezebel watched nervously.

"Butterfly," Teryn said, "bring Ladybug inside. I want her present for this." Jezebel walked with Lizzie into the house. There were a few bloodstains, but Maria had helped Philip upstairs and out of sight. "Moth, bring the boy inside and tie him up." Goldie walked towards Blex and Terrence. "Ant..." Teryn and GG made eye contact with a brief moment of silence. The young man's heart started racing, and Teryn nodded once. "I'm going to require your services."

Terrence looked at the man who stepped out of the house, shoulders sagging. Ladybug and Jezebel had arrived on horseback, as well as another boy he didn't recognize. "It's over..." Terrence realized. "I'm outnumbered. I can't possibly win. They'll probably torture information out of me, then kill me."

"But if I die here, they lose."

At that moment, Terrence accepted his fate. He looked up at the gryphon, a sad smile on his face. "I'm sorry Lady Hildegarde. I fucked up."

Springing upwards, Terrence aimed his fist at the gryphon's eye, his knuckle extended into a point...

The boy's knuckle connected directly with Blex's eye, and the gryphon screeched in pain, rearing back and rubbing at his face. Teryn and Goldie started running towards Terrence, but Blex whipped around. He hissed loudly, his right eye clamped shut, with his feathers ruffled and wings extended.

"You shitstain!" Goldie shouted at Terrence, raising the dagger she had taken from the boy.

"Moth, no!" Teryn cried, grabbing her arms and pulling her back. Blex lunged forward. "Stop!" Teryn shouted. That wouldn't stop the gryphon from getting his revenge. His eagle beak snapped at Terrence's left pinky finger in an attempt to tear it clean off.

Terrence's hit collided, and the gryphon screeched in pain. He could hear Spider and the elf start to run towards him, but their cries for it to stop went unanswered. The beast lunged at Terrence, snapping at his hand. In an instant, the boy's little finger had been torn clean off.

It was pain like nothing he'd experienced before. Terrence's vision seemed to flash red, and he staggered backward. He clutched his hand, blood pouring from his wound. "No! It's not good enough!"

What had been a cry of pain turned into malicious laughter. "Ha... Hahaha... Didn't you hear him? He... He told you to stop..." The boy grinned madly. "But I guess in the end you're just an animal, huh? Nothing but instinct."

"That ought to do it. He's gotta kill me now!"

Terrence suddenly lunged at the Gryphon again, this time aiming a punch at it's throat...

The boy's second hit met its target, and the gryphon backed away slightly, shaking his head to try and clear his failing vision in his right eye. Goldie cried out, fighting against Teryn's grip, but he refused to let her go. "Moth, he's a gryphon!" Teryn said. "He can take care of himself!"

When he saw Teryn wasn't going to let Goldie after Terrence, GG dropped the horse's reins and sprinted over. Blex went to attack the boy again, but quickly stopped himself at GG's sudden appearance. The young man whipped around, shoving Terrence to the ground. 

Teryn and Goldie both looked astonished at GG's sudden reaction. The quiet boy was never one for violence, which made his tackle incredibly unexpected. He held Terrence on the ground, while Teryn released Goldie. She raced over to Blex, who immediately laid down for her to examine him. Teryn gave GG a soft smile and approached the two boys with his eyes emitting an almost unnoticeable purple glow.

"Calm down," he said to Terrence. "We're not going to hurt you. You have my word." Teryn's voice was completely genuine. "Come inside. I'll wrap your hand, and you can leave unharmed."

Terrence's second hit met it's mark, and the gryphon staggered backwards. "No, no, no!" he thought, panicked. "Why am I winning! I need to- oof!"

Somebody much larger and heavier that Terrence had tackled him, pinning him to the ground. "Nng!" grunted the boy. "Get off of me you dickhead! Just let the gryphon kill me!" Tried as he might to squirm free, the larger boy's grip was too tight. "Fuck you!"

It was at this moment that spider approached them, promising that Terrence wouldn't be hurt. The boy strained to look up at the man, who was now wearing a hood. "Yeah right you fucking liar! I bet that's what you told Eckhart before you sent assassins after him!" Terrence smiled maliciously. "But by all means, take me into your house. I'm sure you won't regret it..."

"Bring him inside," Teryn said, not answering the boy. He knew that he had to protect Melissa from Hildegarde, otherwise she would be taken out. Despite how much of a pain she was, Melissa was also the best assassin Teryn had encountered.

Dragging the struggling boy inside, GG and Goldie held tightly to him. It was shockingly difficult to tie him, but they knew it was necessary. Once Terrence's ankles and wrists had been bound together inside, Jezebel glared at Teryn with Lizzie sitting next to her. GG's eyes flicked between everyone in the room, his breathing unsteady and anxious.

The little girl looked at Terrence in confusion, while Jezebel walked over to Teryn. "Don't you dare make him use his power," she said in a quiet scold that everyone could probably hear.

"Butterfly, I need him to use his power," the man said. "I almost never make him use it, but now is necessary."

Jezebel looked at GG. "You don't have to do this."

"He does need to do this! How else-"

"Than you're killing hi-!" She spat at Teryn, suddenly cut off. They looked to the side and saw Lizzie curled up on the couch with her eyes squeezed closed and hands over her ears. Teryn sighed, remembering Lizzie's problem with loud fights. He waved his hand at GG to comfort the girl so that they could speak again.

Spider ignored his poorly veiled (and entirely baseless) threat, and Terrence was dragged into the brick house. Upon getting him inside, the elf and the boy who had tackled him sat him in a chair and attempted to bind his arms and legs. It took them a few tries- they were being oddly gentle at first- but they finally got Terrence in a position were he couldn't escape.

Terrence watched on as Jezebel and Spider proceeded to argue about whether or not the blonde boy should use his powers. The gears in his head began to turn. "So, he can die if he uses his abilities too frequently? Alright, I can use that." He shot a quick glance at Ladybug, who had curled up into a ball on the couch. "Let's make this guy feel like a dick."

Terrence stared up at Spider, a look of disgust on his face. "Wait, so do you just not care about his wellbeing then? Is he just a tool to you?" His eyes narrowed. "Lady Hildegarde would never treat a Friend that way..."

If he could speak, Teryn would've ripped Terrence a new asshole. He looked at GG and gently shook his head. GG gave Lizzie a hug, whispering to her that everything was fine and nothing bad would happen. The girl walked upstairs, followed by Jezebel. Teryn felt his voice return to him. "Moth," he said, jerking his head toward the door, "out. Now."

Goldie glared at Terrence, before slamming the door shut behind her. She breathed shakily, wanting to drive her fist through the boy's skull.

GG walked over to Teryn in front of the chair Terrence was tied to. The young man took a breath and leaned against the wall, looking at Terrence. "He doesn't make me do anything," GG said. "I believe in him. I've studied the leaders of every major gang in current existence, and the fact that you would compare this man to the blonde whore you work for is disgusting."

Teryn walked behind Terrence, his fingers working quickly to weave a web between himself and the boy. GG stepped forward, an uncharacteristic passion in his eyes, and smirked. "You're...sixteen? Seventeen?" The young man continued. "Damn... Hildegarde starts young... She was fucking you in the cradle, wasn't she?" A grin crossed his lips, as he crouched in front of Terrence with his elbows resting on his legs and hands folded. "What's it like? Probably throwing a sausage down an empty alley... That's how she keeps all her Friends, huh?"

Terrence smirked. "At least she's not as loose as Jezebel."

I gave him my word he wouldn't be hurt, Teryn thought, his heart racing and mind suddenly flooded. I gave my word. You keep your word. Without your word, you're nothing. But no one would know if I broke it, except the people in the house. I can kill him, if I wanted... No!

Teryn whirled around, slamming his fist into the wall. The wall had a dent in it, and Teryn withdrew his hand. He was nearly positive that he had broken his hand, which was covered in blood and immediately bruised.

GG's grin disappeared, and he stayed quiet, glancing at Teryn and glaring at Terrence. He took a deep breath. "Did you tie him?" He asked softly. Teryn nodded slightly, and GG sighed. "These people are my family..." He peered slightly at the boy. "...Terrence." Standing up, the young man pulled over another chair, sitting opposite Terrence. "You've crossed the line, so I'm going to tear you to shreds."

Terrence burst out into mocking, derisive laughter. "Hahahaha! Oh, I'm so sorry!" He grinned cruelly at the boy in front of him. "Didn't mean to hurt them! Honest! Us Friends would never dream of going after the families of our rivals!" The boy laughed again. "You've crossed the line, so I'm going to tear you to shreds!" he mimicked in a poor impression of his captor's voice. "God, you sound like a fucking joke."

Suddenly feeling dizzy, Terrence looked down to see that blood from his missing finger had begun to pool up on the floor. He blinked, then strained his neck to look at Spider. "Hey! You said you'd patch me up, right? Better do it before I die of blood loss!" The boy's gaze snapped back to his interrogator. "After all, tearing me to shreds will kill him, right? You don't want two dead teenagers on your hands."

Teryn pursed his lips, pulling a rag out and wrapping it a bit too tightly around Terrence's hand. He held the chair up with his body, aware that the boy clearly wasn't going to give up without a fight. Standing up again, he looked at GG. "Ant, forget it," he said softly. "This is going to push you too far."

"Spider, leave," GG said, his eyes not leaving Terrence.

"I said-"

"Walk the fuck away," the young man snapped, glaring at his boss. "You think I give a shit at this point?" He shook his head, rolling up his sleeves to reveal the black lines on his left arm. "This one session isn't going to kill me, so I'm not walking away until I have what I want." Teryn sat against the wall, not leaving the boys alone together but not stopping what would happen. Looking back to Terrence, GG's eyes faded to pure white. "Let's begin."

Terrence winced as Spider bandaged his hand. He hadn't expected him to actually do it, and he wasn't happy about it. "Fuck! If I hadn't said anything, I'd have died before they could get more info out of me! Damnit!"

The boy smiled at Ant. "Ok! I'll go first!" he said enthusiastically. "We all think the bug codenames are lame. Seriously, you could have gone with big cats! Spider could be Lion, Wasp could be Jaguar, Ladybug could be Bobcat..." Terrence grinned. "And you could have been Serval! But nope! You chose bugs." He rolled his eyes. "Talk about poor taste. Why do you wanna be named after something that gets stepped on? Idiots."

"Taza..." GG said, completely ignoring Terrence's desperate insults. "The one who's been stepping in Fly's path for her business is Taza."

Teryn shook his head. "Go deeper," he said. "I don't care about Fly's business rival right now."

"Hildegarde's gang is built on friendship, Spider. I assume she'd be pretty upset if one were to go missing. And don't fight her head on. She's much too powerful: it would be suicide."

"Okay," Teryn said, standing. "That's enough."

"Not yet!" GG smirked. "So, you really are in love with the blonde slut." He chuckled. "That's a shame. She... She has a complicated relationship with her brother. Eckhart hasn't spoken to her in years."

Teryn grabbed GG's shoulder, snapping the young man out of his trance. He picked up GG's right hand, which was now completely covered in black lines. "I said it was enough." GG's heart started racing, as Teryn squeezed his shoulder with a tight frown. "You did really well."

"You did fucking awful, Ant!" Terrence cut in. "I bet you don't even know what I know about you. That's what you should have looked for."

In reality, Terrence was rather shook up. Having your memories picked through wasn't a pleasant experience in the least, nor was your enemy learning about your secret crush. He had nothing else to loose however, so he tried to make what he assumed were his final moments defiant ones.

"And you!" he spat at Terrence. "Letting him put himself at risk! Some substitute father figure you are!"

"I can get more!" GG said, looking up at Teryn. "Just give me five minutes! I'll find out everything about him!"

Teryn shook his head. "Stop. We're done here. Go splash some cold water on your face or something. Just relax. I'm not letting you go any further with him."

GG stood up, glaring at Terrence and running up the stairs, two at a time. Teryn grabbed a knife from the table and walked behind the boy. He sighed, cutting through the ropes around his wrists and ankles.

He stood and took a step back. "Get out," he said simply. "You're free to go. I told you you wouldn't be hurt, so that's it. I don't want to see you again."

Ant left, and Spider stepped forward. A wickedly sharp knife was in his hand, and Terrence closed his eyes in defeat. "Well, looks like that's it. I'm sorry Hildegarde." A few stray tears fell from the boys eyes. "At least I got to touch boobs before I died."

Terrence shut his eyes even tighter. "I never got to tell her how I feel. What if she forgets about me? I don't want- huh?"

Spider had cut his binds, freeing him. Terrence looked up at the man, wide eyed. "He's letting me go? Really? But... That's such a dumb decision! What is he thinking?" The boy subtlety began to pat himself down, as if to check if something had been planted on him. "Um... Do you..." Terrence gave the man a funny look as he slowly backed away. "God, I was so mean to them. Maybe I should apologize..."

Terrence stopped in front of the door, looking Spider up and down. "Uh... I-I'm sorry. J-just forget me, okay?" He smiled awkwardly for a moment, then darted out the door. He ran down the pathway and into the street, not looking back.

"That was an absolute disaster! Hildegarde is going to be so mad when she finds out!"

Teryn walked upstairs and saw Maria and Philip in a room. She sat in a chair, while he was asleep on the bed. He continued to see Jezebel and Lizzie in the little girl's room. The woman saw him and kissed Lizzie's forehead, before walking into the hall. "What happened?" She asked in a hushed whisper.

"Too much, and not enough," Teryn said, matching her volume. "It took a toll on the kid. I had to tear him away before he actually did kill himself."

"How far did it...?" She asked, dreading the answer.

Teryn just shook his head and wrapped his arms around Jezebel, his hand now throbbing. "He's going to get himself killed to impress me," Teryn said in a shaky breath, "and I don't think I can handle that."

Jezebel pushed away from Teryn with a soft smile. "I'll talk to GG," she said. "You have to find Phoenix and Goldie. Phoenix needs to be roped in before she does something else stupid, and Goldie needs you to talk her down. You and I both know that Blex lost his vision in his right eye, so she's going to be out for blood. And you have to do something about her disobeying you earlier."

The man took a deep breath, nodding slowly. He walked back downstairs and took the reins of the white horse GG never untacked. He mounted and started off in the direction Goldie and Blex had disappeared.

It only took a few minutes before Spider showed up again. The hooded man galloped past Terrence on his horse, causing the boy a brief moment of panic. "Shit! No! Did he change his mind?" he thought, watching the man disappear into the distance. "He didn't see me, but he's looking. This keeps getting worse and worse..."

Teryn stopped outside of Goldie's house, dismounting and tying the horse to a stand outside. She walked around back and saw Goldie sitting with Blex. "He's blinded in his right eye," Goldie said without turning to look at the man. "That little bastard blinded him."

"I'm sorry," Teryn said. "Blex, how badly does it hurt?"

The gryphon huffed. "I'm fine. She's being dramatic."

Goldie pursed her lips, standing to face Teryn. "Where is he? I want my turn with him." Teryn simply shook his head, and Goldie started shaking. "You actually let him go? Teryn, you weak fucking soft asshole! Grow a pair and kill someone when they deserve it!"

"You are in no place to be scolding me!" He shouted. "You deliberately disobeyed me! I ordered you to keep on Melissa. She was top priority because she is after Hildegarde's brother! If he dies, I can promise that we will all be killed! She's fucking powerful, so I have a reason behind ordering you to do something!"

"This is so typical," she said, folding her arms. "You can't handle being wrong." Teryn's eyes widened in shock. "Yeah, that's right! You just can't deal with people thinking for themselves."

"I told you he'd be mad," Blex grumbled.

The elf woman laughed in defeat, shrugged dramatically. "Fine," she said. "Whatever. If we had continued after her, we'd be in worse shape than Philip. I made the right call."

Teryn bit his tongue. "This isn't over, but I have to find Fly."

"She's at the Black Candle tavern," Goldie said, sitting back down with Blex. "Doesn't want to be bothered." Teryn nodded and started back to his horse.

Terrence had decided the best course of action was to stick to the back alleys. Even with his ability to go entirely unnoticed, the boy felt much safer hiding in the shadows. "I just gotta find a meeting point, then hold out for another day. I'll make it out of this as long as I can- eep!"

The sound of wings made the boy cower. Looking up slowly, he saw a dragon in the sky overhead, a human rider on it's back. "Great. I forgot about the dragons here. Maybe I'll luck out and one will eat the gryphon..."

It was then that the boy's stomach let out a low growl, reminding him that he still hadn't eaten at all that day. Letting out an annoyed sigh, Terrence made his way out of the alley. It was past noon at this point, and there was a lull in traffic. There was only one tavern within Terrence's sight from where he was- an expensive looking tavern called The Black Candle. "Well, I suppose that's better than nothing."

Upon entering, Terrence was struck by just how... atmospheric the tavern was. Black curtains covered the windows, with the scattered candles being the only source of light. "Gosh, this is like, some artisan place." he thought as he sat down at the dimly lit bar. "We don't have anything like this in Zantaric..."

Phoenix sat at the bar counter with four glasses already emptied. She threw back the fifth one, tear stains down her cheeks. The woman's left hand was in her already messed up hair, and the hefty man behind the counter stared at her with slight judgement.

The dark building helped to hide her despair from unwanted eyes, but the sudden light from the door wasn't a welcome feeling. She didn't look back. The man behind the bar didn't acknowledge the presence of the black haired boy who walked in, especially when the door swung open once again.

Teryn walked in, hood still up and saw the glowing orange strands in Phoenix's dark hair. He strolled up to the bar, putting two fingers up to the barkeep. Sitting next to Phoenix, Teryn took a breath. "I think an apology is in order," he said quietly.

She scoffed, glaring at him out of the corner of her eye. "If you actually think I'll even think of apologizing for-"

"I meant from me," the man said. She looked at him with wide eyes. "I never should've hit you. That was completely out of line, and I swear I'll never even think of doing anything like that again." Phoenix sighed in relief, wrapping her arms around his neck. Teryn gently pushed away from her. "I'm not making up with you, Phoenix. You're the reason Wasp is out right now hunting for Eckhart, and you're the reason I had to reach out to Vivianne to protect him. She might be his only hope of staying alive, and therefore our only hope. And this is your fault."

It soon became apparent that the barkeeper wouldn't serve Terrence unless the boy spoke up. Just as he was about to do so, another patron entered the bar and sat next to him.

"Oh, fuck."

It was Spider. He evidentially hadn't noticed the boy sitting on the stool next to him, because he struck up conversation with the woman to his left- an Adelan with glowing red hair. Terrence quickly looked down at the counter, eyes wide. "Damn it! Why here? Why now?"

Terrence, despite his fear, wasn't about to let this opportunity slip by. He stayed completely motionless, listening closely to the conversation the two were having. "Ah. So this is Fly, huh? She's certainly... Distinctive." The boy smiled. "This is perfect! Now Hildegarde will know exactly who to-"

Terrence felt his body freeze up. "Vivianne?" he thought, feeling a bead of sweat go down his neck. The news that Spider's assassin was targeting Eckhart again was bad enough, but it wasn't nearly as worrying as hearing that name spoken aloud. "No... It couldn't be. There's gotta be other criminals with that name, right?"

"You seriously brought Vivianne into this?" Phoenix asked. "Come on, Spider. You don't need to go crying to her with evey issue you have."

Teryn huffed. "You kind of tied my hands!" He said. "Wasp was gone! You know what she's capable of. I sent Grasshopper after her, and he came back with his bone sticking out of his leg. I sent Moth and Blex after her, and she had enough sense to come back before the same thing happened to them."

Phoenix turned away from him with a pout. "What about Terrence?" Teryn looked slightly shocked that she knew the boy's name, and Phoenix rolled her eyes. "Do you forget that I can read your webs? I've been listening."

"Doesn't matter what happened with Terrence. I let him go, as I promised I would. He's probably half way back to Hildegarde by now. He'll report back to her, and we'll have to figure out our next move. As long as Vivianne keeps Eckhart alive, we have a chance to make some kind of peace."

"The bitch hops around mirrors," Phoenix said. "How is she gonna help him?"

The corner of his lips turned upward. "Shards doesn't just hop around mirrors, Phoenix. She can basically travel through them. If she's with him, Eckhart will be safe."

What was a bad situation had just become a disaster. Terrence's breathing grew sharp, fear spreading through his body like poison. "What? How?" he thought, squirming in his seat uncomfortably. He raised his hand to his mouth, and began to bite his nails. "This is bad! If Vivianne works for Spider, then they already have all the info on us they need! No wonder they found me so quickly!"

Steeling himself, Terrence slipped out of his seat and began to walk towards the door. "I don't have time to wait another day! I'll- I'll steal a dragon, fly home!" Upon walking out of the door, the boy broke into a run. "Alright, where do they keep the dragons? Do they have stables?

The wind was deafening at the speed which Baylrys flew. Freisae held tightly upon his back, occasionally getting whipped by her own braided hair. She stretched to her left to look down from the massive dragon. Directing Baylrys wasn't exactly an easy thing to do, but she had gotten it to be as simple as it could be.

By pounding her fist twice on his left side, Freisae told Baylrys to land. His speed slowed significantly to the point that the woman could direct him vocally. As they landed in an open area, townsfolk scattered or walked to the side to see the interesting pair. Freisae clearly wasn't one of the Adelan Dragonriders, but Baylrys listened to her like they had military training.

He lifted his hand to his shoulder. She climbed on and was carefully lowered to the ground. "Want anything, Rys?" Freisae asked, looking upward.

The dragon folded his wings against his body, laying down to relax. "See if they have any cows," he said, grinning.

"It's a diner," she said with a smirk, walking towards the small building. "I'll be out in twenty minutes."

Terrence didn't have to go far. "Oh! There's one!" he thought, noting the massive black dragon that had landed nearby. "And it's unattended!"

Running up to the dragon and climbing onto it's back, Terrence attempted to give it an order. "Ok! Mush!"

Baylrys heard what was comparable to the buzzing of a gnat. He felt something small scurry up onto his back and frowned slightly. Out of instinct, he went to look behind him and stopped. "Mush?" He groaned, lifting his top lip. "Who do you think you are?"

Freisae stopped in the open door and turned around with furrowed brows. "Rys, who the hell are you talking to?"

"Something's on my back."

A rage grew in the woman's eyes. She was extremely possessive over her dragons, and anyone who tried to take one would surely feel her wrath. "Lift me," she said, marching towards the dragon. She stepped onto his hand, and he lifted her to his back once again. There was a small boy on Baylrys' back acting like he owned the damn place! "Who are you?" She asked angrily. "Why are you touching my dragon? And why the fuck do you actually have the stones to try to fly him?"

Terrence looked at the dragon, eyes wide. "Um..."

"Shit! What do I say?"

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, a very angry looking woman was lifted up by the dragon. Terrence scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Oh, um, is this dragon yours?" he said, a sheepish look on his face. "I... Thought he was public transportation?"

"Okay, that was really lame. This won't end well."

Freisae's low chuckle was probably less comforting than if she had physically harmed the boy. Folding her arms over her chest, she crouched down to be at the boy's level.

"Alright, pipsqueak," she started. "First off, I call bullshit. No one's stupid enough to just climb onto a dragon's back and think it's public transportation. Dragons are noble creatures, fit for only certain people to fly. You are obviously not one of them."

Baylrys shook his head, blowing a puff of smoke from his nostrils.

"What?" She asked, turning around to look at the dragon. He simply smirked, and Freisae rolled her eyes. "Fine! You're too nice!" Looking at the boy again, the woman patted the dragon. "My name's Freisae Norkait. He's Baylrys. If it was one of my other dragons, you would've been dead by now, so I suggest you never try something this foolish again. Luckily for you, we don't have anything to do today. Where were you trying to take my dragon?"

"Gosh, she's awfully full of herself." Terrence thought at he stared up at Freisae. "I guess if you spend enough time around dragons, you start to act like one." He shrunk back slightly. "Um... Right. Never again. Gotcha."

The boy looked to the side nervously. "I need to get to Zantaric by tonight." he said, clearly distressed. "My Best Friend's brother is in danger."

The corner of the woman's lips curved upward, as she turned to her left and opened her satchel. "I can get you there in hour, if you can handle Baylrys' top speed."

She pulled out a pair of what had to have been custom-made goggles and a very small vile of clear liquid. "I work cheap for my profession, but not free. For a trip to Zantaric, it'll cost you 45 silver. You'll need to wear these goggles and drink the vile. You'll be blinded by the wind and suffocate because gonna how high he flies. This will allow you to survive - temporarily - on the thin air. I promise I'm not trying to poison you." She held the goggles and vile out to him. "Acceptable terms?"