Nora was walking away from Mark's wagon when she heard a voice from behind her.

"He didn't deserve any of that."

Whirling around, she saw a tall figure leaning against the metal wall, looking down at her with cold red eyes. She was a slender, elegant girl with silver locks that tumbled over the padded shoulders of her faded threadbare suit.

"Look, I don't have the time or the patience for you, Alice." She grunted.

But Alice seemed to disagree. "I get that you're frustrated with the Elder's decision, but-"

"What "but"?" Nora interrupted. "We have a perfectly nice oasis here! Why are we leaving all this behind?"

"The premonition was the only reason we will ever need."

"Fuck the goddamn premon- pre- what you said!" Nora yelled.

Alice's eyes flashed. "Is that heresy I sense? Do you no longer trust the goddess Aesha to enlighten our glorious Elder?"

Nora's eyes widened. "N,no! Of course not!"

"Good. Oh and by the way. I just remembered that she told the Elder today to tell all of us to help out the unblessed more. "

"Hey!" Nora shouted. "You just made that up! I'm not stupid, you know!"

Alice looked disappointed. "Regardless. Just because you are disgruntled with the departure does not mean you are justified in taking your anger out on someone weaker than you. You will not harm Mark any further. Do you understand?"

Nora gritted her teeth. She despised Alice, always using her status as heir to the Elder's post to help out Mark and the other unblessed. "Fine, I understand." She grumbled. "But just in case you haven't realized it yet, you're gonna have to try much harder if you're planning to fuck him before he turns into a shriveled old codger."

Leaving a stammering, blushing Alice behind, Nora thought back to her earlier confrontation with Mark as she made her way back home. Had she been too hard on him? After all, unblessed that worked slowly were not unheard of. But then again, he did kind of deserve it. Why couldn't he just make a big gun? Or a plasma sword? Sure, those would never be as strong as what the blessed could do, but there was a reason the unblessed hadn't been blessed, right? Mark's job as an unblessed was to make a small, simple weapon fast and support her as she pursued a fruitful career as a hunter. It was her job to help provide for the clan, not his. In her opinion, fighting the natural order and the Mycelial Gods' will was sacrilege. Telling herself that Mark had earned the day's violence by forgetting his place, Nora smiled, her mind finally free of the guilt that had almost overtaken it. It was not long before she reached her caravan, which sat only a few meters away from the oasis. Pulling open a panel made of cardboard which served as a door, she went in.

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Her room was a messy one, filled with ragged rugs and tattered curtains. Cellophane tape sealed up the many holes in the walls, and the only pieces of furniture were a run-down fridge for storing her food and an ancient cot for sleep. Kicking off her boots and throwing off her thick scarf, she fell onto the mattress with a moan. Every muscle in her body ached, but it was to be expected. After all, not even blessings could fight off fatigue.

After a few minutes on the cot, Nora was feeling more or less functional again. Struggling to her feet, she padded across the room and opened the fridge. She needed dinner. Nora fished around inside the shuddering metal container and found a frozen drumstick. Dragging it out, she sighed. It was a shame her blessing was more about explosions and less about fires. Sitting back down on her cot, Nora bit into the rock-hard meat as she threw off her itchy pink sweater and peeled off her tight jeans.

A green glow emanated through the room and illuminated the dusty haze that filled it. Nora grimaced and squeezed her eyes shut as if that would make the ugly gashes disappear. Every one of the blessed had unique features on their bodies that they displayed with pride. Some had large wings that they used to soar high above the clouds (and sometimes never come back down). Others had long tails that served a myriad of purposes. But all she had were jagged, shining strips of skin that did little more than displaying her comfort levels for the world to see. She sighed as she watched helplessly as the scars flared brightly.

Tucking her blanket up to her chin, Nora closed her eyes and felt the awkward warmth of the scars die down. It felt so good to lie in bed without the rumble of the road below. Sleep came so easily without the obnoxious squeak of wheels that annoyed her to no end whenever the clan traveled. Her scars' glow died down and she fell asleep.

Meanwhile, not too far away from the sleeping camp of nomads, a smooth, scaly form rose from the dark murky depths of the oasis and broke the surface of the lake.