Unedited.

Ruy tried to become one with the chair with how far he was slinking down in it. Elves trying to get matched or registered gasped and giggled at him, his dark tan skin darkening around his cheeks. He is pretty sure one winked at him. The elven shirt was too tight around his neck, the pants bunched around his hips, and he nearly slipped twice with the piss poor elven boots. His hair was gelled and combed to the side like Alvar often wears it. He was taller than most of the people there, his voice was deep and had a light Inalian accent, more muscled- it was clear as day he wasn't from around here.

He glared at Hathem and Dom, who casually waited off to the side. Hathem gave Ruy an awkward thumbs up while Dom took a picture on her imparter, kicking herself to stop snort laughing.

He should've just killed them.

The girl next to Ruy had be around 17, but she shuffled closer to him.

"Hey, why are you here?" Ruy looked at her, then up to Dom and Hathem. Hathem mouthed the answer.

"I-I'm here to get registered?" Ruy awkwardly coughed, staring at Hathem's awkward mouthing.

"Oh really? You look older than normal, you didn't get registered during your 5th year at Foxfire?" She asked, twirling a piece of hair around her finger.

"Uh, no. I was, uh, pretty busy during my fifth year at Foxfire. I wasn't interested." Ruy punctuated the last sentence a bit, hoping she would go away, but she only scooted closer.

"Oh really? Yeah, I waited a little bit too. So, are you getting matched with someone in mind-"

"Clary Quine?" The Matchmaker called out. The girl next to him perked up, flattening out her fluffy yellow dress before shuffling into the office, giving him a wave as she went in. Dom and Hathem took their cues when the matchmakers were distracted, heading further into the building.

Ruy groaned, bumping his head on the top of his chair. How much longer did he have to wait? Hathem and Dom didn't tell him much. They were gonna call his fake elven name; he would go in and distract them for a little bit and then escape when they were done. He had no idea what their plan was, just that it was something simple but effective. And they wouldn't know what happened right away.

Another person sat down next to Ruy, but he glared at the office where the Matchmakers resided.

"You look like this is the last place you want to be." An older man laughed beside him. Ruy snickered, turning to look at him, "Yeah, no, I'm not exactly thrilled to be here-"

Ruy's sentence turned into a coughing fit when he looked at the man, terror settling in his bones when he realized Grady Ruewen was sitting next to him.

"Woah, you okay?" Grady asked, patting Ruy on the back.

"Yes, of course, sorry." Ruy fought the last of his coughing out of his system.

Grady smiled, "I remember being nervous too. You'll get over it."

Ruy awkwardly nodded, pursing his lips and refusing to make eye contact with him. This was not how he imagined meeting his girlfriend's dad.

"What's your name?"

Oh shit. What was his name? He had a fake one that Hathem made, but every thought had eddied out of his head. Hathem told him everything to say and do with the Matchmakers, but anyone else, Ruy was on his own.

"Uh, Halloway? Kyer Halloway?" Ruy said more to himself than to Grady.

"Oh, you are a part of the Halloway family? I didn't know they had a son!" Grady held out his hand, "I'm Grady Ruewen. I'm here on Council business."

"Nice to meet you sir." Ruy shook his hand, trying to keep his accent out of his voice completely.

"Oh, you don't need to call me sir. Grady is fine, it's not like you're getting matched to my children or anything."

Oh, gods above. This was his punishment. Karma was coming back to Ruy all in this very moment; the gods were screwing with him.

Ruy awkwardly laughed. This felt wrong. Normally, Sophie would introduce him to her parents, they would sit down for an awkward dinner, and then he would mope to Sophie about how he fucked it up, and her parents hate him, and nothing ever goes smoothly. The good old-fashioned way.

"Yeah, that would be crazy." Ruy stated, a bit too low for his taste. Vatarians had lower voices and accents naturally; it had to be a conscious decision to talk differently.

"You look mighty familiar. Have we met?" Grady asked. The only time Ruy has been seen without an addler on is after the battle of Foxfire, and he had massive wings, pointed ears, and canines then.

"No, I don't think so."

"Huh, I could've sworn I've seen you before. So, you here to get matched?"

"Just here to register. What about you?"

"Council stuff. They want to get an offical list of unmatchable couples and bad matches."

And that explains why Hathem and Dom are here. Ruy had only heard through the grapevine that the Matchmakers were the reason they left the Lost Cities.

"I see." Ruy muttered. He wasn't faking the distaste in his voice. He hated this place with a passion.

"I know, this whole match making thing is cruel. I've never been a fan of it." Grady sighed. He looked over the seas of nervous teens looking to register.

"I remember bringing my daughter here. I wasn't happy about it, it was a reminder that she was growing up. And I never got the chance to bring my second one here."

Ruy looked at Grady, clenching his jaw a bit, "I'm sorry."

Grady looked at him and smiled, shaking his head, "My second is okay, she is just off doing hero work somewhere else. She left the Lost Cities in order to help people. I'm really proud of her. And even if she did stay, I don't think she would exactly be happy about getting registered and matched. Just wasn't her style."

Ruy smiled a bit. He wasn't wrong. Sophie would probably take one step in here and start clawing at the walls to leave.

Ruy knew the answer, but he asked anyway, "What are they like?"

Grady sighed, leaning back in his chair, "Well, my oldest was very... how do I describe her? Graceful and happy. Every step Jolie took seemed to brighten the room. She looked a lot like her mom. My second daughter, we adopted her. She is much more reserved then Jolie was. Quiet and intelligent, but had so much running through her mind. She left when she was only 16, can you believe that?"

Grady scoffed a bit, smiling nonetheless, "Granted, we didn't exactly allow her to leave, but it is not like she listened. Rebellious and proud." Grady laughed, "They were kinda opposite, now that I'm looking back. But they look a lot alike. Though I know she is busy, maybe I can get in contact with my youngest. Have a family dinner like when she was younger. Maybe she can invite her family as well." He was muttering more to himself near the end of it, forgetting that Ruy was there.

"They sound like wonderful people." Ruy answered.

"Yeah, I just hope my second hasn't gotten herself into more trouble. She always gets herself in the stickiest of situations."

"Kyer Halloway?" The matchmakers asked among the crowd. Ruy stood up, remembering the reason he was here.

"I'm sure she is fine. Sounds like she can handle herself." Ruy pulled at the collar of his shirt.

"Have a good day, Grady." Ruy smiled.

"You too, Kyer." Grady responded.

Sophie loved a good fight, but she was really tired of getting thrown onto tables. It has happened a least six times in her life, and that is six times too many.

The massive guard growled at her, and she snarled in kind, shaking the table debris out of her hair. She sprinted at him, snatching the pistol off his belt. He tried to snatch her, but she ducked under his hands again and popped up behind him, smacking the hilt of the pistol on the back of his head. He dropped like a stone, leaving Sophie panting. She placed the pistol in the waistband of her pants, triple-checking to make sure the safety was on.

Sophie dragged him by the back of his jacket, shoving him into the hallway closet along with most of the table debris. Maha was already gone, and Sophie sighed, weakly high fiving herself in the form of celebration. She then meandered into the office, where Maha had mesmerized three guards to stand facing the wall, all of them silent and useless until Maha let go of their minds. Sophie huffed, "You couldn't have done that to the guards outside?"

"You had it handled. I can't strain myself either." Maha plainly answered, shifting through the merchant's documents. They arrived in Membe only a few hours after leaving Okoye's island. The ship and their crew lie in wait for them in a nearby cove, staying out of sight. It was quite easy to break into noble man's house; there was no sign of the Nilfa that originally scared Okoye's men away from the land. But there was no sign of the nobleman either, and he was their only real lead.

"Anything?" Sophie asked.

"This guy is super shady, we should've seen him earlier. But no, his ledgers seem too clean. Nothing about the Mirthless or Neverseen at all, not even a foot note. But he has multiple estates, investments, and mroe that require a lot of money that wouldn't generate the proper amount of money needed for any of it." Maha sighed. Sophie took a look at the ledger, Maha stepping away to get another look at the desk. She ran her fingers over the light wood of the desk and hummed in curiosity. Her sapphire eyes snagged on the drawers of the noble's desk.

"I wonder." Maha rounded the desk, sliding open the drawers. She pulled all of the files out of the drawers, feeling around the bottom of the drawer. Then a small click.

Sophie looked up from the ledger, her mouth dropping as Maha pulled out the false panel on the bottom of the drawer to grab documents.

"How did you know that?" Sophie gasped.

"When I was spending time in the temple in Avrima, one of my fathers noticed that the donations meant to go to me were going missing. Since I was "A child of a God," the donations were meant to make sure I had the best clothes and luxuries in life, worthy of the gods. So it was a big deal when they went missing." Maha hauled the hidden documents onto the desk, smiling at Sophie.

"The head priest had a desk made from this same wood, made only from one carpenter. It turns out the carpenter was making secret compartments and things for her customers. My father found the donations in the priest's desk in this exact same compartment." Maha shrugged, "I thought since it was the same wood, they might both have the secret compartment."

"Nice going! What is in there?" Sophie asked, rounding the table. Maha knowingly smiled, "The real ledger."

Shifty transactions and secret deals were scribbled on those pages. Gods, even that was an understatement. Sophie flipped through the pages, and she saw one name that stuck out.

"The warehouse on Pearl and 29th. He has constant things going in and out of it. Could he possibly be smuggling?" Sophie proposed.

"But what would smuggling have to do with the Neverseen? Or even the Mirthless."

"Cynna and Kartek were wrapped up with smuggling in Egypitnat, which was just a Neverseen cover up operation. A similar thing could be happening here." Sophie proposed.

Maha shrugged, "It's the best we got-" The air hadn't even gone cold before they heard it. The scrape of a claw against the hardwood lining the halls.

Wherever they were before doesn't matter because the Nilfa were here now. And they knew Maha and Sophie were in the house.

Sophie couldn't move. She looked to Maha, whose hands covered her mouth, her eyes blown wide. They didn't need to know what the Nilfa look like. Cynna was enough for Sophie. They barely took down Cynna, and that was with two other Assassins trained in heavy combat. Maha is trained in light combat at best; she works best as a spy or a scout. Sophie could barely make an ice cube and her hand can make sparkles at best, so no powers.

Fighting wasn't an option here.

Though her pride was begging her to bravely fight off the Nilfa, she instead grabbed one of the decoration swords off the wall. The Nilfa went quiet, and Sophie's breath hitched.

The sound it made was something not even the gods could fathom. Sophie grunted as she slammed the sword into the handles of the doors, barring them close as the Nilfa slammed into it.

Again and again, the door boomed and crashed as the monsters waited outside the door. The sword rattled in the handles, bending more and more before the monsters ripped the doors off the hinges.

But the girls were gone.

~

"Never do that again!" Maha sputtered as she sputtered saltwater, struggling to surface herself. Sophie struggled as well, looking back up at the window she threw the two of them out of. She luckily scouted the outside of the mansion, noticing the saline pool outside the man's office. Hitting the water hurt like a bitch, but they still had warm breath in their lungs. It doesn't matter if they escaped now; the Nilfa have a sense of smell like no other. Sophie didn't want to wait to see if they used the night to cover their hunt like Cynna did. They needed to cover their tracks and quick.

"Come one, we aren't done yet." Sophie dragged Maha out of the pool, scrambling through the bushes and over the fences. They needed to cover their scents.

Maha and Sophie skidded around a street corner, finding themselves on a rich street corner, fancy shops lining the sides of the cobbled road.

"There!" Maha pointed the Perfumery across the way. They both tried to act normal, but they were drenched to the bone with their tattered cloaks covering barely anything anymore. It was quite obvious they didn't fit in. Sophie picked up one of the perfumes, a battered brown bottle with a fluffy green squeeze. She sprayed it behind her ears, around her neck, her wrists, her elbows, and behind her knees. It smelled like brown sugar or molasses. The scent was so sweet Sophie got a bit sick by it. But she no longer smelled like herself, and that's what matters. Maha was covered with a thick scent of flowers and rain, but it was also fairly heavy.

They knew their cloaks would also be recognized, so they shoved them in the trash near the back of the store.

"Can I help you ladies-"

"Nope- thanks!" Sophie and Maha blew past the employee and out the back door. They both wore chest pieces and pauldrons, that was it, but that was still enough to get them cornered and questioned by patrols.

"We need to get to that warehouse and fast." Sophie breathed.

"Do you know where Pearl and 29th is?" Maha asked.

Sophie slumped, "I thought you did."

Maha shrugged, "Well, the sign out there is 21st Perfumery. I say we take the back alleyways down the street until we hit 21st. Then we follow that street until we find the warehouse."

"Not much else we can do besides that. Lets move." Sophie and Maha follow the streets in silence, constantly checking over their shoulders and peeping around corners. Maha doesn't even know what the Nilfa look like, but after Cynna, Sophie wasn't desperate to show her.

They made it to 29th street. The first street's rich facade peeled away to show rats, grime, crime, and mysterious puddles lining the uneven roads. They luckily enough didn't need to search that far tor the warehouse. It was only a few streets down and was easily spotted. That wasn't the problem.

The problem was that they were accepting tours.

"This doesn't seem like a smuggling scheme." Sophie whispered as they approached the candy factory, children jumping up and down, waiting for a ticket. Maha blinked at it all, trying to process it as well.

"It has to be a front. That ledger made it clear that all the operations were going through here." Maha whispered in kind. They spied a back door that a special tour group was going through, those who paid extra, it seems. They slyly followed the group. They were both armored women with blades strapped to them with no children; they were clearly going to be spotted any second. They needed to find their way further into the factory.

"Blegh. At least that perfume you put on matches this place." Maha gagged, covering her nose at the sugary scent.

"At least it will do the job. Plus, I think some of the ladies in the shop are attending tours with their kids. It will help disguise us even more." Sophie stopped as she spotted the security office, the guard dozing off. Maha didn't even need to raise a finger to grab hold of his mind, "Stand up. Go to the break room. You deserve a break." She whispered. The guard's eyes went glassy, "I do deserve a break." He whimpered, grabbing his coat off the back of his chair. Sophie gently took it from him, "I'll hold on to that, it's okay, it will be waiting for you on the coat rack when you get back." She said sweetly as if she were coddling a child. The guard nodded, a dopy smile on his face, "My hat is in the locker if you wanna put that away too."

"Aw, thank you, I'll do that." Sophie shucked on the coat and snatched the hat out of the locker, pointing at Maha to find others. Sophie slid into the chair, clicking through the security cameras on the holo screen.

It looked like a normal candy factory- A vat of caramel here and a peppermint rolling station there, smattering of childish tour groups across all the cameras.

"I'm not seeing anything," Sophie complained. Maha leaned over her shoulder, scanning the screens as well.

"There," She pointed to one of the displays, where two employees walked past a large vat covering a large part of the camera, but they didn't show up on the other display showing the rest of the hallway.

"A blind spot." Sophie breathed.

"Let's go." Maha breathed, tying up her braids in a bun that sit on the nape of her neck, sliding the hat on. Sophie did the same with her hair, a few red strands sticking to her face as the two of them walked further into the hot factory.

Sophie held out a hand as they approached the vat. She let her eyes flash golden, her senses immediately being overwhelmed.

The scent of sugar, saps, and flavors was so strong her eyes watered. But tucked beneath it was another scent.

The smell of decay.

Her heightened sight made the scuffles of boots easier to see, and the path behind the vat was as clear as day.

"Follow my lead." Sophie whispered.

Carefully, they both descended behind the vat. A sharp decline made out of cement leads into darkness. Even with her eyes sharper and keener, Sophie struggled to see through the dark. Maha was completely sightless, holding onto Sophie's arm to not lose each other.

It felt like the tunnel was getting smaller and tighter, Sophie now able to run her hands along the wall.

"Amalia..." Maha whimpered, noting their bodies were now grazing along the walls.

The scent of rot was stronger now, though, leading her as the tunnel began to open back up again.