A little while ter, Fern was asleep yet again - this time with pink studs sparkling on her ears.

  Ravenna stopped staring for a moment to shift her gaze to Ember, rexing in her chair by the window as usual. "Thank you," she began softly. "You've made her very happy. Both of us, really."

  The healer opened oard her, then closed it, giving a nont shrug. "You're the one who bought the jewelry. Besides, it's not that big a deal; you could've just got it doer."

  "Maybe so. But no one else would have do so well, or so fast; or e to her while she was in bed. It's a bigger deal than you think." Ravenna's gaze flicked back over to the woman in bed, a thoughtful expression ing to her fabsp; "She... hasn't had the ce to enjoy a lot of the little pleasures of life. I wao give her at least some taste of that. I still do - probably always will."

  One eye opened again. "And you still protest that you're not going out? After you just bought jewelry for her? You know, that thing friends do for each other, all the time. Or are heartfelt gifts such a on thing in this try?"

  The dark mage huffed softly. "Maybe I just... didn't want to admit it, okay?" She paused for a moment. "I... tried not to think about it. How close we're already being. It should make me happy, a - that's the entire reason she was targeted. Because we were - we are close. It's all my fault."

  "Bullshit," Ember returly, both eyes opening, her gaze fixing on Ravenna. "You tell yourself that, but it doesn't do anything about the root of the problem. Sure, she may have been targeted because of you; but the real reason is because there's some worthless piece of shit out there who wants to hurt you. Find them, hunt them down, and make them hurt, until they learn to leave you alone. Don't do stupid shit like throwing away what happiness you do have. That's exactly what they want, if they're going after people you care about."

  She stared back at the redhead, seeing the iy in her look, like twin fires. "... You've been down this road before." It was a statement, not a question.

  "Me and people I know, yeah. Or... knew." The healer's eyes half-lidded. "I guess people over here really are just the same, huh? The worst of them are the ones with the most powerful tools in hand, but their hearts are no different. Rotten all the way through."

  Ravenna's lips curled in a half-smile. "You're n about that. We're all just people, in the end - good or bad. I certainly could have ended up as one of the bad ones, in fairness."

  Ember blinked. "Yeah? What stopped you?"

  She smiled a little more, her own eyes closing. "A lot of things. Fragments of uanding assembled over the years. Most of all, though? Probably my sister."

  "Huh - wouldn't expect that from being in the same family. By blood?"

  "Half."

  The healer made a thoughtful little 'mmm' and leaned ba her chair once more. "All sorts of hidden facets to you, aren't there?"

  "Right back at you, Ms. Grace."

  Ember just smiled, closed her eyes all the way, and... rexed. Nid fortable.

  "I feel like I missed a lot while I was... out," Fern began, apropos of nothing.

  It was just after breakfast; a little more substantial this time, with fresh fruit and a couple equally fresh eggs. Ravenna had been a few steps from the door, but she stopped and turard her partner when she heard her speak up. "Is there anything in particur that's b you?"

  The fallen hero shook her head. "Not 'b' per se, just..." She looked over at Ember, rexing in her chair as usual, the m sunlight filtering through the window and giving her red hair a brilliant shine. "I 't help thinking you two have gottey fortable being this close all the time - for a couple of strangers, I mean. I don't even know how you met."

  Ravenna blinked. "Oh. Well... that night is rather a blur in memory, I'm ashamed to admit. All I thought of was keeping you safe, and finding someoo take care of you, since you were beyond my own abilities - not that I'm any sort of healer, you uand." She looked over toward the window as well. "Perhaps you should tell the tale, dear? It might jog a few memories, now that I think of it."

  The healer opened one eye, theher - halfway, at least, the half-circles of gold faintly glimmering. "Mm. I don't see why not." She sat up a little straighter, g her hands in her p. "So there I was, fresh off the boat from Witchpoint..."

  "Except 'fresh' was hardly the word for it, if I'm being ho."

  Ember Grace - that was her name now, as far as anyone knew or cared - stepped off the a (to her) wooden passenger ship and onto the docks with a sigh of relief. If not for the slick little bancer hidden under her coat, it would've been more of a stagger; but she mao remain upright. After a quick visual s, seeing nothing but dockworkers and a handful of merts, she stalked toward firmer, drier ground.

  "Right then I never wao see the o again, if I could help it."

  The docks of a busy port let off an awful smell even at the best of times, made even worse with her enhanced senses. But - at least for the moment - it beat suffering the cramped fines of the cheapest seats on an already cheap vessel, choked with fear and misery and all the other smells humans gave off when you squeezed them into a tiny spaake as much money as possible.

  Ember wasn't hungry; or more accurately, she didn't think she'd be able to keep anything down after that trip. But she knew hunger and especially fatigue would catch up with her at some point, so she started looking for a hostel. Or an inn, or whatever they had on this side of the world. If a pce had rooms upstairs and food below, ces are the meals would be simple and trustworthy enough to keep her from spilling it all back out.

  "So I headed into town to find a pce to crash out for a while."

  She checked her pockets on the way, grimag a little at the few s that remained within. Esg the west had cost her dearly, after the currency exge on Witchpoint and her passenger fare - both of which she knew were unfairly weighted against her. But at least she was out of that hell, and able to start fresh. If she could just find someoo pay her what she was worth, even a fra of it, she'd surely be set for the rest of her life.

  Everything in the ter of the port was too rich for her taste; staying would have ed her out ihan a couple days, and she didn't trust luck to find her a t that soon. Ember gritted her teeth in irritation, but moved on toward the south, the very frio look for somewhere she could linger a while without emptying her purse pletely. It was already dark and she was tired of staring at barkeeps who didn't want her around.

  "Didn't have much left after the trip, so I wao find a cheap spot."

  The south was clearly the rougher part of town, judging by its people - how they carried themselves, how they looked at her and at each other. They were a lot like her, she mused as her shoulders rexed ever so slightly; always on guard, always watg.

  But they weren't the same. When the unnatural chill struck her, setting her subreceptors tingling with notes of danger - and desperation - no one around her reacted at all. Only several mier, when an oily bet emerged from the trees outside of town, did the mood around her shift from vigio apprehension. People rapidly disappeared down alleys and into buildings. Soon she was the only one around but for the guards iowers.

  Uurbed - mostly - Ember watched the inky streak bob up and down along the road, approag at what she estimated was about equal to her own top speed in bat form. An impressive show, whatever it was, and it got her adrenaline surging as she slipped ched fists into her coat. But a short distance away from the guard towers it slowed, the deep shadows abrading away like the skin of some exotic fruit being peeled; and a white-haired woman emerged, carrying another woman in her arms.

  She noticed three things: first, the woman looked rid soft, like she'd led an easy and det life. Sed, she looked desperate; this was doubtless the source of what she'd felt earlier.

  And third, the woman in her arms smelled like death. Not just normal death, but westerh; and a familiar smell, too.

  "Before I could bed down, I ran into you two - though Fern wasly scious at the time."

  Ember sighed inwardly. She'd wao get away from her past life; she really, really didn't want to get her fingers right bato the mess. But the ce to put some well-off easy mark in her debt was just too good to pass up. Besides, she'd seen that desperate look before, and the memories grabbed at her heart and twisted it inside her. It might be a fone clusion, depending on what had happened, but she couldn't just ighem. She might be the only one who could help.

  She lifted an arm and waved, and was greeted with immediate notes of suspi; uandable, of course. But the desperation was still stronger, and the white-haired proached. "I smell the poison on her," Ember said, without preamble. "She needs help, and soon. Like, now."

  The woman's eyes narrowed, but the need was too great, and they both k. "And you provide it?"

  "No promises," she returned, "but I do a better job than any other healer in town, seeing as I'm from the west. That's how I know the smell."

  The woman gritted her teeth - but she nodded. "Just tell me what to do, Miss..."

  "Ember is fine," Ember replied, turning back toward the ter of town - to the more expensive pces. "Th here, she needs a det bed in a quiet room. I hope you spare the cost, Miss..."

  There was a brief pause. "Ravenna," she said quietly. "And yes, I'll ma." So they walked.

  "It was clear you were in a bad way, so we exged pleasantries real quid headed somewhere nicer."

  She wasn't taking it slowly, ahis woman was staying abreast of her, even while carrying someone else. Definitely not your average rich kid, this one. "So... what happened? Assassin find her?"

  "Normal bandit, we thought. Turned out to be hunting her specifically." There was a deep bitterness iohat warned Ember not to pursue the matter any further. Well, if it was important, she'd find out in time.

  They stopped at the very first inn, their appearance dampening but not sileng the versation, and Ravenna strht up to the bar and fished a little leather sack out of her robe, tossing it on the ter with a weighty k of age. From the look on the barkeep's face, Ember had definitely picked the right t.

  "Two rooms side by side. Something quiet. Might be a few days." It was the tone of someone who was not going to accept no for an answer - not that Ember could bme her. Fortunately, the barkeep just nodded, reag uhe bar for a pair of keys and handing them over. They headed for the stairs as the inn's bar resumed its previous quiet murmur.

  Not how she'd expected her fresh start to go, but life had never beeo offer her an easy route. If she had to work for it, well, that was to be expected.

  "So we came here, went upstairs, and I got to work on you," Ember finished with a little shrug. "We didn't talk a whole lot at the time, I guess. Mostly Ravenna whispering hings in your ear."

  Fern looked over to see her partner's cheeks flushed a delicate pink. "I had to do something useful," she grumbled softly.

  The fallen hero just smiled. "You did."

  They're cute and all, a little voiagged at her, but she still hasn't paid you yet.

  She ig with a faint smile. Their happiness could take prece for a while; this was a fresh start, after all.