“Actually, this feels weird,” Sheen said. “Are we like, overstepping boundaries here?”

“You ever seen a rom com?” I countered. “This is a grand gesture,” I said, sweeping my arms wide. The action made my head swim.

He shrugged, as if to say it wasn’t his girl on the line here. I gulped; this could definitely be a problem. I suppose we were about to find out.

We had arrived at a residential area in the Nari’e quarter, not far from where I’d originally met Mea. I think. The ground swayed under my feet, a strange phenomenon that seemed to always happen when I was here. Couldn’t possibly have been the alcohol I often consumed when in this part of town. No, definitely not.

“Hello?” a woman questioned.

She awoke us from our drunken stupor. We’d been rambling down the street, in the middle of the road, stumbling about for several minutes now. We had no idea where we were going, or where we were. We just knew we were on a mission.

I blinked, taking in the woman’s appearance. She was, clearly, Nari’e, with the distinctive dark toned skin, high cheekbones, and slightly angled almond eyes. Her head was shaved short, only accentuating her sharp and angled cheekbones. She was small, and impossibly thin. If she were to turn a certain way, I was sure she’d disappear. It was as if she were a wisp of smoke, threatening to dissolve into the wind. Her septum was pierced, the only visible jewelry that she wore an ebony ring in the piercing. Her clothes were as dark as night, and hard to make out in the evening moonlight. It was like she wanted to be invisible - it made me question whether I was really seeing her.

I blinked some more, not trusting my vision. Was this person even real?

“D’ya….d’ya know Mea?” Sheen slurred. “Um, Mea something? What’s her last name mate…”

I smacked his arm. “Shh!” I hissed. “This isn’t real.”

The woman raised her eyebrows at us. I think. I was beginning to wonder if there were actually two of her, or if that was just my drunken mind playing tricks on me. This couldn’t be real.

“I’m very real,” the woman insisted. “And you’re very drunk.”

“Cheers,” Sheen said, smiling.

“Did I hear you say you’re looking for Mea?” the woman said, inching closer.

We exchanged glances. Was it possible this woman could take us to her? I wanted nothing more than to see Mea right now. Her warm smile lit in my mind, teasing me.

“Mmyeah,” I said decisively. “Mea Kaika. You know ‘er?”

The woman smiled, her teeth glinting. “Rather well.” She tilted her head, examining us. “And why should I help you? Who are you?”

I smoothed my shirt with shaking hands. This worked last time - throwing my name around here seemed to have some weight, for some reason. “I’m Torven Montgomery, and this is my colleague, Dr. Fisher. Mea and I are friends.”

The woman smiled wider. “How intriguing. Follow me.” She turned and walked in the opposite direction, towards the houses packed close together.

I stared at Sheen, who just shrugged.

“My name is Ohelo, by the way,” the woman called back at us, never ceasing in her pace. “Pleased to meet you, Montgomery.”