These are not Nuzi people, at least not the ones we have a record of. Turns they have splintered from the Ablerns. These ones call themselves the Itsu. There's one other splinter who call themselves the Tamewi. It’s been so for at least a hundred years. A hundred years… we've become so ignorant of the ways of the world beyond our borders.

I spoke to the muraqib of the Itsu as well as their sun chief. They’d come back from transferring Hemerlains to their sister tribe the Ablerns to further their studies. Before I could get into my reason for being on their land the muraqib asked if I'm looking for someone, namely a young girl. After explaining my reasoning for being there they claimed to have seen someone with the same description I explained.

We are now making haste to Abler village. They'd mentioned she looked in a hurry to leave but that was just an educated guess. For my sake, I pray that they are wrong. We are so close! It's possible that we will catch up with them but we’d have to pull an all-nighter of nonstop running. It will take a toll on us but for the sake of our mission, I hope that we will make it.

Sophie - July 23rd, 2764

The journey to Lucas was simple… in the physical sense at least. Of the three times that they'd encountered demons, only once did any real cause of concern seem necessary. Tention was building with the children but that soon pittered down to relieved sighs as the ground of them the group of them just remained there at the outskirts of the thick forest. One on the five, a horned nose did try and make a run out of the forest to charge the guardian rock.

Natalie was about to strike thunder at it until the guardian stomps the demon it flat under its feet without hardly breaking stride. The remaining demons that were stalking the guardian rock faded deeper into the undergrowth of the forest as if they'd simply lost interest.

Apart from remarks of some of the children on whether the guardian had crushed the demon intentionally, nothing of note was said thereafter. The children for the most part seemed calm, casual even. At least it looked so on the outset but Natalie could see the visible shivers they had whenever they looked back over to the forest and the road behind them.

Even when she told them that the rest were gone there morbid expressions continued. They knew that her purple eyes could see through things like trees and rock and helped them be at ease a little, that was until the distant cries of the forsaken creatures echoed from the forest. Kele marched up the back of the guardian looking down that direction as if he could see them.

When asked he said nothing. Kele had not said a single word to anyone-not even Aiyana which Natalie thought was odd. Stranger still was the bird-like mask that placed over his face since the start of their journey. Thanks to that things felt tense but and that was ok in Natalie’s book. She could handle the tense silence, she could even bear the fact that she was going somewhere without Andrew by her side for a long time. But as the time passed with her and Aiyana’s eyes brief meeting in between her ‘patrols' around the guardian rock Natalie wished she’d at least taken the map off of Andrew’s person beforehand. At least that way she could have gotten started working out just what that man stuck under a pile of rubble was thinking. At Least that way she’d have an excuse to ignore Aiyana outright. It was not because she felt bad for how she turned her away, certainly not. It's just Minda set this up and she did not want to play her games any more than she needed.

Despite that and everything else, Natalie had not felt this at ease since crossing the Herbenry desert strip to get here. Sure the situation was not ideal but it could be worse. Aiyana could have demanded her to have a word. Her eyes seem to be burning with the urge to communicate something whenever they met. She just had to keep to herself until they reached their destination then she could fly back. Until then she tried to look busy keeping watch. Had the dynamics of the journey remained as it was then perhaps this might have worked. But…

“Are you sure you don’t want any food? It's going to be all gone before you finish looking around... I could try to sneak some over.” Edith whispered conspiratorially just behind Natalie. She’d been eyeing the back trail for a while now, eyes gazing at a darkening horizon of frosted trees but she did not realize just how long she'd been standing there until that very moment.

Shaking her head but Natalie whispered a word of thanks to the young Edith. With another question on whether she will eat something, Natalie gave a noncommittal sound and nod. That put a mischievous smile on Edith's lips as he ran back to the others. Natalie for a moment could not help but smile a little herself. Looking up at the darkening sky however her face matched its slow dimming.

Must have been standing here for hours.

She took this moment to double back to their front trail. Kele was there as predicted. Every time she moved to look out one end of the guardian rock he’d do the exact same on the opposite end. He’d still not said a word to anyone since the journey but occasionally he’d give her a slow nod when they move across another to keep a lookout. It was a nod of approval, one given to an equal. Natalie did know in what way he measured her up to come to that conclusion but she could not help but nod back after the third time. In a strange way, despite knowing the least about him among all who were on the guardian rock Natalie felt like she knew him fairly well. He was observant, quiet, and sometimes that all you needed to know of a person.

Though the journey was calm it was still nice knowing that she no longer needed to watch her back. That however got her mind drifting to who had always watched her back, Andrew.

When was the last time he ate?

Unwilling to face Aiyana, Natalie bit her lip in conflict. In truth, she was not that hungry but... recollections of Andrew calling out the fact that she neglected to look after herself came to mind. She earnestly wanted to try and take better care of herself but the thought of sitting there beside Aiyana ate at her.

She initially felt guilty about making Aiyana upset but why should she? Andrew was dying and she was around strange people who all looked like they wanted to harm him for words, words that ‘she’ uttered.

Words she got punished for…

Natalie gritted her teeth, just because she had a slip of the tongue doesn't excuse what happened. She had one hundred and one things on her mind and what she did only added to it.

You don't have a thousand things on your mind anymore.

With a snort, Natalie shook those thoughts aside. Even if Andrew was ok, that dough eye way she seemed so fascinated in the world ticked her off. Had she known how it really is out there, had she seen what she’d seen then she would not have had high enough expectations to be disappointed. What was done was done. Minda had no right to butt her nose in.

Most of the kids remain sitting near and around the fledgling stargazer making Natalie hours keeping watch isolating, that was until one by one some of the other kids started coming to her. Cheona was first, having tailed her for the first hour and before she could grow bored tired of tailing Natalie, Aiyana silently ushered the girl to her side.

Next came Damien who what do the demons out there look like. Natalie told him that they were too far to see and since they could not be seen they were of no threat to them. Damien corrected her by speaking of the Shootingflee demon who could launch themselves at dangerous speeds turning their small frame into cannonballs. That cleared her takes of reassurance out of her mind until he ended his explanation of the demon with never hearing or seeing one back at his home village so they don't have to worry. Given the things she heard about them maybe it was best it stayed that way.

Between Damien’s visit, Chenoa came back. And although Natalie had stopped pacing around the young girl seemed to have a thing for sitting far too close to the edge of the guardian rocks back for comfort. The last thing they needed was an accident and so Natalie pulled Chenoa back from the edge which she gave little objection to. The Nuzien girl just gave her another of those troubled looks before she went back with the others. Unsure what to make of all of it Natalie sighed to herself. Cheona’s safety aside she could not help but feel frustrated every passing second. It quickly became apparent that even the younger kids knew that something was up between her and the apprentice stargazer.

Before she could dwell on her stupid action she felt a hand latch onto her own as it suddenly pulled her away from the edge and towards Aiyana and the children. Shocked, Natalie watched as Cheona let go and push her from behind in front of them before pulling her down on the rocky surface of the guardian rock. She then proceeded to glare at her for a moment before stropping herself on Natalie’s lap.

Completely baffled by this, Natalie searched the faces of Aiyana and the other kids for answers, maybe one of them goaded her into doing it. Confused expressions mirroring her's told Natalie that they were are surprised as she was.

With a grunt, Chenoa pushed herself off her lap and matched her way to the spread of food, picked up a crust of bread, and pushed it to her face. Taking it gingerly Chenona nodded her head before once again sitting herself down on Natalie’s lap.

Seeing the baffled children's faces turn into sympathy helped her understand, however. They were there when she passed out in the underground base due to a lack of eating. They saw her get lectured by Andrew about that very thing. Her face heating up she silently ate what was given to her. Meanwhile, her mind was ablaze with thoughts. She didn't look that vulnerable back then… did she? The way the children studied her eating said otherwise. Although they held their own food in hand they all had slowed down to just look at her. Natalie in turn drew her attention to the passing forests. It beat looking into their knowing eyes.

Slowly, mercifully, they'll return to eating and talking among themselves. Natalie felt a knot loose on her shoulder as she unknowingly let out a breath. They were all eating now, Cheona too if going by the constant ripping sound of breaking bread was any indication. Glaring at the back of the girl's head Natalie really began to wonder what was going on inside it. Forgetting once more the recent issue she'd been having that thought became something as to a phantom nail drilling into her own skull.

From that pain came a faint taste in her mouth like that of chestnuts along with the faint awareness of some other voice occupying a part of her mind.

“-have to look after her like some child,” It was just like how she read her thoughts before Natalie knew, even so, the words shocked her.

She'd thought that her own fancy had not fit so well with Chenona’s demeanor since reuniting with her. She was about to tap Cheona’s shoulder and try to get to the bottom of this until something else came through her thoughts.

“Why me, why do I have to go with her? I want to go home!”

Sighing to herself Natalie looked up at Aiyana now. She sat there, kneeling along with the rest of the children as she shared a water skin with them. To have her own issues is one thing but then have a young girl feel the need to step in, well... it was shameful.

With that thought in mind, Natalie prepared herself to say what she should have said a while back.

“I’m… I’m sorry,” she sighed.

Aiyana kept on sharing the water skin among the children as if Natalie had not said anything. She is definitely mad about it. Muttering to herself Natalie felt like getting up and walking away, she was no good in situations like this but if Aiyana wanted to give her the same treatment then… then fair play! She would have got up and left right then and there had Cheona not been sitting on her lap so instead, she sighed to herself.

“I was already worried about my friend, you saw what happened outside the village,” she omitted the ‘you were responsible’ part. No matter how she felt about it, they were past that.

It seemed like a good move because this time Aiyana nodded in understanding.

“You did no wrong, just… I think you see me as a liar,” Aiyana said, drawing Natalie to attention.

She was about to protest but nothing came out of her mouth. She’d be lying if she said what she wanted to say.

“Honestly, I don't know what to think,” she sighed.

Aiyana nodded to herself again.

“Muraqib say people outside the Rahim are like three head thueban.”

“‘Thueban’?”

Aiyana seeing her confusion drew in on herself to think.

“She doesn't know what ‘snake’ means.” a faint impression of the phantom taste of chestnut came to her. It was Cheona’s thoughts again.

Confused on its context, Natalie's uncertain face deepened until a crazy theory stuck her. Goosebumps ran up her spine but before she could put into words what she thought Aiyana spoke up.

“Thueban... like slither. Cold body. Very dangerous bite. Like-”

“-a snake,” she mumbled.

Aiyana paused mid-sentence a moment before nodding emphatically.

“Like snake!”

Aiyama continued on with her explanation but Natalie's mind drifted back to what she just done. She just worked out what Aiyana was trying to tell her through Cheona’s thoughts. It made an odd kind of sense. She’d understood what Cheona was saying the same way. She just never considered doing such a thing to understand others through proxy.

“She says they have three heads. One wants, other lies about what wants while the last try take what you have as it wants,”

Is that her way of saying that they manipulate and lie to get what they want from others? Natalie must have been looking at Aiyana intensely because she practically leaped out of her rambles in a head-shaking daze.

“-N-not that I think you a snake!” With a blink of her own Natalie simply chuckled and looked up at the patchy clouded sky.

“Minda may be onto something.” She mumbled.

She hated to admit it but Minda was right about how it was like navigating in ‘that’ world. But just because she was right doesn't mean enjoyed agreeing.

“Sorry?” It took Aiyana saying that to realize that she’d just groaned to herself.

“Is she always so frustratingly right?” Natalie asked.

Aiyana's lips twitched to a slight smile at that.

“Muraqib is very wise, she, not three head thueban.” she said, an air of dignified authority came over her as she locked eyes with Natalie. Aiyana looked every bit a wise woman right there except that glimmer of a childish smirk betrayed her. Soon her eyes rolled upwards as she leaned back and nodded to herself in a strop. “But yes, she... very-very difficult.”

“But I can truly trust her to keep her word?” Natalie asked.

Looking back down at Natalie, Aiyana nodded her head firmly.

“You made a deal with shackled, so your wish is done,” she said as if that answered everything and perhaps it did.

The silence dragged on soon after but it did not feel awkward. In that time Natalie helped herself to some of the dried meat, bread, and a water skin that was passed over to her by the time she’d finished eating. Walta came over to sit by Natalie’s all of a sudden. With knees tucked to her chest she flashed Natalie a smile that hardly reached her eyes. Uncertain Natalie asked her if everything was ok, about the dream she woke up from with screams back in the village only to be distracted by the sudden vertical slope the guardian rock began taking. The upward slant forced everyone to quickly adjust to risk tumbling off the back of the guardian.

The guardian rock had made its way to the side of a mountain and began its ascent up the slope. In quick order, Aiyana snatched the spread of food back in a bundle as she took a hold of some of the kids' hands. Natalie did the same with the other children who all took a hold of another hand in a kind of desperate chain. Eyes frantic, Natalie looked around for Kele to see if he couldn't be a backup on keeping the kids from falling only to discover that he was already standing in the optimal spot. Looking up at them from the back end of the guardian, ready to stop any of them from tumbling.

With the mist growing thicker by the second it soon came hard to gauge how much more slanted the guardian rocks back would get and so there was some concern it would get slanted enough to have to hold onto some of the kids to prevent them from slipping and tumbling off. Fortunately with Natalie's angel sight, they were able to make out the slope and gauge the next cause for concern. Natalie guessed in about five minutes they would be on the leveled ground again.

Standing in defiant balance Natalie took a hold of four of the kids, two holding two fingers between them, Cheona held by her shoulder, and Walta hugging tight at her waist. Some of the younger kids were making jokes about rolling down the guardian's back. That was until Tien almost did roll-off. Watching Aiyana topple a little from Tien's trip made Natalie realize how useless she would have been in stopping it since she already had her hands full. Any drastic move would have most likely made them all topple down. It made her all the more grateful for Kele being there.

With all that the daunting thought of a slip up in mind the minutes of ascending in the thick mist feel like hours. When things did level out there was a visible sigh from most of the kids as they all sat back down.

“There is still a bit of an incline, but compared to that it should not be a problem,” Natalie said as she seated herself.

Everyone nodded save for Aiyana who had begun explaining that they still should be on the right path. Given Natalie's experience with the guardians (having first met them up on the mountain slopes.), she was not really that worried, surrounded by thick mist she was more concerned with making sure none of them were worried. She tried asking Walta what she was going to ask before the guardian ascended up the mountain. Instead of distracting her from her show of concern however it made her swallow and bury her face behind her knees as she sat by her side. Not even Damien or the other kid's prodding got her to open up after that.

Since then Natalie had kept silent on the matter. In an odd sort of way, Natalie felt relieved. It was not like they were related by blood. As much as she sympathizes with their situation and could relate from personal experience she did all that she could. After today they would go their separate ways. Having done this a number of times she learned that a clean break was often better for both sides, for her most of all. She held enough unpleasant memories of her own to drive her under. This rescue is just another one to add to the pile.

Walta remained withdrawn until a stir occurred among the other kids. Having steadily ascended they had reached an altitude where they barely broke out of the thick fog, at that moment it was as if the world had been whipped clean of everything, the sky and sea of mist stood clear all around. Save for them and the mountain tops they may as well have been the only people in existence. It was like walking atop clouds.

‘’Walking on clouds’ But… couldn't I do that already?’ a distant voice echoed.

In shock, Natalie turned to where she thought she heard it only to startle Walta. In a bizarre twist that voice, (her younger voice she was convinced,) gasped in start element just as Walta did confuse Natalie's brain even further. It was not until Walta carefully asked what was the matter that Natalie blinked back to the now. According to Walta, she had abruptly asked ‘who’s there at that moment. Although she did not recall it Natalie still apologized.

It was not her voice.

They watched as the setting sun painted the sky a gold crimson. And at that moment, bar all that had happened these last couple of days Natalie was just glad that she pulled it off. Whether it was by luck or respite she did save those kids and sent them bastards packing. For now, it was enough to be thankful for at least that. And most of all, above and beyond everything Natalie was burdened with enough baggage as it, it was just as well that things ended the way they did.

Had the golden moment above the mist lasted forever then perhaps her last thoughts of gratitude would have lasted for a bit longer, but…

~#~

They reached down the other side of the mountain an hour later. With most of the kids exhausted from the excitement of the journey, it took a bit of doing to wake them up and have them hold hands together as the guardian rock descended down the other side of the mountain. Although it did not feel as steep as the climb up there, there were some scares. One child thought that it was better to just lay down flat on the guardian rock back let go of the chain to do just that. All seems fine until the guardian rockets snagged a particular unstable rock and slipped down and slope a moment before recovering. That small trip practically threw the boy into the air where he was caught by Kele.

Angry, Aiyana lectured him in a broken mix of Kamish and Alermuric that the boy, although confused, still flinched and shrank at the sound of before nodding emphatically when she asked ‘Do you understand at the end. Needless to then he not only did keep hold of a hand the next time but continued holding hand long after the descent was behind them. Now back on the road leading back to Lucais village things looked to be turning up and they were for the most part. The kids began getting a lot more talkative and animated as they slowly began recognizing their surroundings. The places they journeyed to with their parents. The spots that at one point had been the furthest they had ever been away from home now felt as good as the home itself after the alien world they had experienced until now. Some said as much.

As they pointed at footpaths and places some began arguing on who had truly been the furthest from their home before now. Things were looking to escalate to an unnecessary amount until Aiyana intervened.

“You all gone much much further home now! Fighting over farness now is no good!”

They all fell silent to that as they looked at another bashfully.

“We should give ourselves a cool hunter’s title for how far we have been,” Edith said.

“Hunter’s title?” Tien asked.

Edith nodded.

“All the best hunters have em,”

“Yeah! That way all the other kids will have to accept how cool we are for going out of the village and making it back alive!”

“Make it sound like we did it deliberately,” Walta mumbled.

“Maybe it was not how we planned it but-”

“-I don’t care, do what you like.” Walta walked off to the very back of the guardian leaving the other kids looking at another baffled.

With some shrugging their shoulders and others looking at her in concern they sheepishly picked up the conversation.

“Do you have one?” Natalie was startled to see Edith right by her side, it went to show how distracted she was by Walta’s actions that he’d managed it.

“I… No, I don’t,” she said.

That made most of the kids sigh in disapproval.

“Do you at least have a hunter name?” Edith asked.

Natalie nodded.

“Dark Angel,” she replied.

That got an ‘ahh’ from a few of the kids who got the reference instantly.

“And your friend?” Tien asked.

“The protector,”

Silent fell soon after as each of the kids seemed to be reliving the horrid events they’d been through.

“Thank you, for protecting us,” one child said.

That show of gratitude could be seen behind most of their eyes as they sat there smiling and talking among themselves. Natalie tried to put on a smile as but it hardly altered her lips. As grateful as she was that she got here with the kids, the thought of them four echoing gunshots in the night air made her want to turn her back away from where thankful expressions. Just as she turned to look up at the ascending slopes of frosted trees did instant recognition of where they hit her. It was almost as dark as it was that night, and although she was too preoccupied in chasing the van she recognized the shape of the slopes and tall trees and adorned it, she instantly spotted the slight opening that Andrew had grabbed her arm as to stop her from coming completely out in the open and messing up the plan they had in mind.

With a gasp, some of the children began to stand up and point to the opposite side of the road for they too recognized this place. This was the place where she made that stupid decision. Where these kids' loved ones were-

Walta all of sudden ran right past her and Aiyana before they could have got a hold of her.

The corpses!

Heart thumping Natalie watched in shock as Walta ran towards the edge of the guardian as if to leap off the but she skidded to a halt barely as knife's edge. With her arms pinwheeling for balance and toes as tipping point until Natalie and Kele reached and took a hold of each of her waists just before gravity had its way.

“Don’t do that!'' More words were on the brink of flooding out of her mouth until Natalie looked up the road. She expected to see their corpses meters from the roadside swarming with flies, crows, and other scavengers but there was nothing there except a sheet of golden leaves. Just like everywhere else in the forest.

The sound of the kids exclaiming and arguing over why Walta ran over here as she pulled her back into the present. Pulling her back from the edge the other children's protests fell silent as they saw the pain on her face. That’s when Aiyana stepped in and herded the abashed kids away from Natalie giving them some privacy. She was about to call in Walta but stopped with the subtle shake of Natalie’s head.

Natalie did not stop Walta from hanging her legs over the guardian rock as she moved to sit down. With her eyes trained at the spot the four dead bodies should have been, Natalie took the moment of silence to sit there waiting in the same way beside her. Silently her heart thumped in her ears as she waits to hear the things she doesn't want to hear.

“I thought I’d woken up from the bad dreams, but it was no dream.” The forest trees had long covered the spot but Walta still looked in the direction as if she could still see it clearly.

“I’m sorry,” Natalie said, tucking her knees to her chest. “I thought I could save more of you if I'd found where they took you. I didn't think they’d act so fast and-” Walta looked at her then. Unable to look at her glare, Natalie averted her gaze with a meek apology.

Walta just blinked before looking over the forest and copying Natalie's fetal posture. She had drifted to sleep when the kidnappers came but not enough to be unaware of what was going on, she was aware enough to see men stepping over the grown up’s, she was awake enough to see them shoot the grown up’s and her older brother in cold blood.

“Luca was... he was,” Walta buried her face behind her knees to sob.

It was only after that memory was sneered into her mind did sleep truly take her paralyzing her screams into a throated grown. Recollection of the gun being pulled right over her brother's head, the warm spray of something hitting her face. The first thing she did when she woke up in a cage wrapped in total darkness wiped the smell of faint iron from her face. She was grateful for the downpour when she finally came out of the base and under the raging storm. That way she did not have to see what she knew to be there.

She thought, hoped that so long as there was no sign of there ever being blood on her face, so long as she did not bring life to it by asking-by thinking then she could write it all off as a bad dream. The other kids not voicing anything made her think it was true but now she had to accept it. Not just that her brother was not coming back, Damien’s father Elies, and both Tien’s parents made up the remaining three that were killed. She'd been burdened with the thought since, although the other children did not know, Walta wagered that Tien perhaps knows the truth on a deeper level and Natalie couldn't say otherwise. It did explain why he got so snappy the night before.

Her waking nightmare was a rude reminder of the reality of things. But even then she held onto some figment of hope. Now seeing the scene again, however, left her with little doubt.

Natalie thought that Walta would shout accusations at her, perhaps blame her for her brother's death. She deserved it. Instead, Walta just sat there silently watching the spot where she lost her brother go by with arms wrapped around her knees as glistening streams of tears ran down her face. Somehow that hurt Natalie far more than any amount of screaming could have done. With a heavy heart, Natalie offered another apology but Walta said nothing in response. The blanket of silence held in what Natalie felt like was forever. Behind them, the other kids were growing rowdier as they recognized things that indicated that they were very close to their home village. They talked about mothers that they miss and fathers that they just know will somehow blame them for running the wrong way, but despite the looming threat of punishment, it will all be worth it for their smiles the hugs, and the nice warm beds, and meals they will be showed with when they return home. With their chipper mood a contrast to Walta's silence and mourning, Natalie closed her eyes wishing to be anywhere else but here.

“You will stop them all, won’t you?”

Blinking Natalie looked over to Walta. She was still looking dead ahead at the sprawling forest as if seeing something on some far distant horizon, but even in that vague expression there was a pointed weight to the question. One that squeezed Natalie’s chest and made it hard for her to breathe.

"Of course," she breathed. As much as it hurt her, Natalie accepted Walta’s vengeful burden. It was just a fresh kindling. Just another piece of firewood to add to the eight-year pile of blazing pain she endured until now that kept alight her thirst for payback.

Although she’d grown used to it, the pain of seeing such tragedies only grew heavier on her heart.

~#~

She seldom recollected when they’d come down from the guardian rock until they began making the short trek up the slopes to reach the village, a faint recollection of such a thing sprang into mind only when she asked herself why she was now standing in front of an elderly woman and an entourage of villagers. Having completed its orders the guardian rock turned back to the mountains to go back to its grazing of volcanic rock. She almost knocked her flat on the floor as the giant thing turned to leave, making most of the children gasp in worry.

After the walk-up, the next thing she recalled was the here and now. They were swarmed by people as soon as their heads made it over the sharp slope. Sounds of hammers knocking nails into planks became cries of relief and words of disbelief and village men and women had dropped what they were doing and huddled around them. Tears of joy rolled on loved ones' faces as they embraced and hugged their children as if never dealing to let go.

Natalie stood a few meters from the heartfelt reunion. She felt like she was intruding upon something private, like her very existence next to it will taint it somehow. With it being a fresh reminder of the things she longed lost, a gaping void could be felt in the out of her stomach making her feel like an imposter. So stuck in her own self-pity she’d jumped to the voice of one of the villagers who’d somehow approached without her notice.

“Oh thank the cycles you really found them! You must be with Miss Emerson, right? I-is she coming back?” A stocky middle-aged lady in a green mint dress said.

‘Miss Emerson’? Natalie's perplexed look must have exposed her confusion because the lady frowned and blinked a few times as if replaying events in her head before she settled with a relaxed smile.

“Well never mind all that, whether you come from here, the Nuzi tribe, or the cycles themselves I’m eternally grateful that you brought our children back to us- really I am.”

Most of the other men and women stood up to look around at her, Aiyana as if seeing them for the first time. Some eyes fell on her and Aiyana. Most, however, fell on the shackled standing beside Aiyana with a cautious stare. Some of the men who still had tools in hand from repairing their village clench and unclench them with uncertainty. The rest of their eyes however seemed to slide off of him like one would ignore an ever bee in hopes that it just goes away without stinging them. There were questions, too many questions if they had it their way. Emotionally spent the thought of listening to even one of their queries filled her mind with dread.

Aiyana looked over to Natalie in confused concern. Natalie hardly realized she’d taken a step back from the crowd until she saw that look of concern in the apprentice stargazer. As the silence grew to suspense the villagers waited for someone to explain what happen to their children's until it was unbearable. It all came to a head with praises and thanks when Aiyana simply opened her mouth to try and say something that got lost in the sudden uproar. Visibly stiff, she tried to form sentences in Kemish only to stutter’ fail and say something in Alermuric instead. At that moment it didn't matter what she’d said.

Sizable guilt aside, Natalie was relieved with the turnout of things. Backing away from the scene she turned towards the slope that led to the road back down the slope and towards the womb. She needed time away from this to process and think before-

“You over there! Do you speak Kamish?” Natalie froze in place to the voice, as she regretfully turned around to face then her eyes bulged open.

She was a middle-aged woman much like the first but whereas that one was stocky this one was thin in comparison but had a toughness to her. With blond and a fiery composition, she was much in the likeness of Walta. She did not need to see Walta herself holding onto this woman's hand to instantly know the relation between the two and knowing what she’d likely wanted to ask made Natalie’s gut do backflips. To her slight surprise, however, the woman looked abashed as their eyes met. Natalie couldn't help but notice the red puffs around her eye. That could not have only happened just now.

She'd been crying a lot before now.

“You're in a hurry, I understand that but I need to know the connection between the kidnapping of my child and the Nuzi. Why are they the ones bringing them back? She is struggling to give us any answers so please help us.” She had a soft-spoken voice. Soft, but desperate.

“I’ll tell you why she’s struggling to speak! It’s because her people are the ones who took'em!” One man, an elderly man, balding with hair as thin as web strings shouted with the shake of his knurled fist. Waddling along with stiff legs he supported himself with a gnarly old walking stick that somehow did a better job at looking old than he did.

Walat’s mother did not say anything but her face visibly darkened to the old man's comments as if exasperated at hearing the same old thing.

“Shut your crate mouth, Casper! Why don't you just get indoors and let the parents speak?!” a man from among the crowd shouted and most gave a jeer of agreement.

“They were involved in everything I tell you! Murdering savages. This is why I told Ernest not to trade with their kind but nobody listened and now look what happened?”

“We are not savages!” Aiyana exclaimed. Although she protested nonviolence, the way that she marched up to Casper however could have fooled anyone.

Casper staggered back before falling onto his back raising his crooked stick up at her as if to defend himself. The gesture however seemed a bit more dramatic than done from earnest fear.

“You see?! You see how violent they are?!” he said, looking around for support.

“We were attacked too! People hurt us! We gained kids and bring them here to help!” Aiyana said red-faced. It looked like she wanted to say so much more to them but was unable.

After a short while, the plump woman sighed before telling someone to escort Casper back to his home. Two men came out of the crowd and pulled Casper back up onto his feet from either side before escorting him deeper into the village.

Walat’s mother watched as Casper despaired behind the village house with half its wall fallen off as she shook her head.

“You see why I’m asking for your take on things?” she said, turning her eyes back to them. “Although we have very good evidence to prove that Nuzi people were not involved, and even if my daughter says that they'd never harmed them, I still need to know how they got into your care. What happened to have them riding on the back of that… that thing.”

Walta tried to get her mother's attention but she ignored her to continue.

“If you could come back to the village to talk, we don’t much but-”

Just then she and the others were distracted by Tien breaking away from the crowd to make his way into the village.

“Where are you going young man,” a plump woman said.

“I'm gonna get dad, he can translate for us,” he said.

That left a painful silence among the group watching him. Pity was what best described their features. Tien looked back in bafflement.

“Is he gone on another trip? Then... where is mum?” his eyes darted to the grown up’s worried.

“Who’s going to tell him?” a young man asked.

“I will,” the plump woman said walking to Tien.

The young boy seemed to shrink at the sight of her, like a child being caught pinching cupped pies on the window seal but quickly recovered.

“Miss Bess, I-I was just trying to help everyone that’s all. My dad trades with the Nuzi often and knows the language so I thought I'd get him.”

“And how do you know that young man?” the lady said, hand on her hips.

“Because he’d told me! He’d been learning a lot! He’d even told the mayor about it. The mayor was with us before we fell asleep and woke up in the cage. Him, my parents and Walat’s older brother.'' He looked around at the faces around him worried, unaware that his words struck a chord with the plump lady as she placed a hand on her chest.

Everyone else's demeanor darkened as quiet sobs could be heard from some of the women among the crowd. Walta again tried to get her mother's attention but she too engrossed in what the plump woman had to say to Tien tapped her hand away.

“I’m… I’m sure the mayor was there with your mother and father at the end.” she breathed out faintly. She played with a chained necklace around her neck as she composed herself. In the next breath, she recovered and looked at Tien with a warm smile. “You needn't worry, I believe you. But still, I need to talk to you about something. Let’s take a seat over there.”

Gesturing to a nearby stomp the plump lady gently guided Tien over to take a seat away from the others. It was not just her getting ready to speak of losses. All among the crowd, grown-up parents and loved ones were speaking to each of the children in hushed whispers as they held faces of empathy. Looking at them Walat’s mother sighed deeply to herself.

“Just been trying to avoid it by asking questions. But I guess there’s no point holding it off,” she mumbled as she watched Tien and the plump lady off to the side.

Kneeling down to Walta’s level she placed her hands on her shoulder and spoke.

“Say, sweety, you know your big brother Luca? Well… he's no longer with us. You see he-”

“-I know,” Walta said meekly, which shocked her mother.

“‘You know’?” Before she could ask or say anything Walta then pointed to Tien and said.

“Can Tien live with us? He doesn't have a family anymore.”

The mother understood then, the terrible horrors that her daughter must have seen. Must have endured in silence, one of her children was returned to her but at what cost? Hugging her tightly the mother cried, she cried for her lost son, cried for the child that had returned, and cried for the innocence that was forever lost.

“Of course, he can! He’s always been like family to us!” the mother reassured Walta. “Just let me and mayoress Bess handle this ok?”

With shouts of denial coming from Tien, Natalie gathered that he’d gotten the bad news. The mayoress Bass was trying to comfort her but he was not having any of it. Smacking her hand away as if a viper his face was red with anger as he began shouting.

Everyone was stunned except Walta. Without saying a word she gently stepped out of her mother's embrace and proceeded to envelop Tien in a hug.

“You can live with us, ok?” Tien tried to fight her off until her words were out, by then his protests came to a screeching halt as he succumbed to his sorrow and hugged her back.

All around them, Natalie saw the other kids taking in the news from one form or another. Although most had not lost a family member they’d lost an uncle or aunt and good family friend to the demons themselves. All these young lives fractured because of those bastards. Among the grieving mayoress, Bass had simply thanked Natalie in passing and moved on to Aiyana to have a chat.

Between then and now Walta’s mother had also moved on to talk to both her daughter and Tien off to the side. Everyone seemed to be moving on. Moving on whilst she stood frozen, stuck in a cycle of her own choosing. It was how it must be, how it should be. Still… the sight of a close community and familial bonds tugged on a part of her long forgotten.

Got to get back to Andrew. He was waiting for her. Aiyana, although a fish out of water when it came to speaking Kemish, seemed to be managing just fine now that the sandstorm of emotions had subsided. Aiyana would understand if she’d gone on ahead, wouldn't she?

Taking one last glance back, Natalie's eyes met with Walta’s, she was holding Tien's hand as her mother gilded them both deeper into the broken village. In those eyes laid a roaring flame that spoke to her clear words without the need of mind reading-without the need of gesture or translation… she just knew. ‘Get them back for everything they've done.’

Natalie did not need another reason to seek the people that she was seeking. Having long gone past the point of no return she knew that her journey will either end with them all dead at her feet or her death in a gutter. Being filled with hate for them she needed no more reasons to hate them even more. But this gesture along with the things she'd witnessed today threatened to overflow, so she filed those thoughts and feelings. They will be unleashed the next time she confronts one of them, sick bastards. They will be used as kindling. And once they’ve burned out they shall know what trouble they had befallen onto themselves.

With eyes brimming with a deep and tempered anger Natalie marched onward back towards the womb to reunite with Andrew. She will return back to the south and begin her hunt anew.