Azgat was just as wonderful as Sonya remembered it. A sprawling hub of life in the form of a half-moon located next to gigantic "plains" of deep blue, the calm inner sea of Iterna, untouched and untainted by the destruction of the Old World.

The city had a few tall skyscrapers. For one reason or another, iternians liked to build wide, rather than tall. The wide roads were surrounded by growing trees, the passing cars produced no sound except for the friction of wheels against concrete. Massive parks held large squares in the city, allowing the citizens to enjoy walking next to pleasantly gurgling small streams. From the taxicab, Sonya saw countless families relaxing in the parks, painters and artists selling their craft to the population and tourists. No matter where she looked, the picture was the same. The youthful looking citizens of Iterna went on about their lives, showing no signs of the hardships and scars that could be seen so often in the Ravaged Lands.

Schools, protected by stone walls, located next to living quarters at equal intervals, are easily within walking distance. Nice looking shops, selling gifts for tourists, or clothing, or exotic foods, line the road leading to the sea. The police officers were few and far between, and a traveller could see a few rich people's flying cars in the skies above the city.

The taxi stopped before a regular-looking two-story tall house, painted in gentle yellow and green, giving it good contrast with the nearby houses and a line of greenery that ran across the edge of the paved road. Sonya paid for the taxi and wished luck to the young-looking driver before walking directly to the house. Noticing the lack of a doorbell, she stopped, unsure how to proceed. This house, like the ones on the right and left, was built from countless pieces of stone, giving it a nice old look, despite the fact that its walls were clean from any dirt or dust that may have come from the road. Several windows were made of glass rather than plastic, instead of the usual folding windows that were common in Iterna, these were the rotary. The stone chimney could be seen on the roof of the house, leaving the scout wondering why in the world would the owner need it here in Azgat, in a place where even winters were warm enough for normies. Out of curiosity, Sonya ran her paw around the stones, noticing the slight unevenness. Despite the fact that the sun was shining directly on the house, the stones were cold, giving the scout a hint that some sort of cooling system was installed in these walls.

Finally, Sonya gave up on the idea of finding the doorbell and knocked on the door. Her ears caught the sound of footsteps on the other side of the door, followed by the sound of an opening lock.

"Greetings, ma'am," Sonya said as she straightened up and made a quick bow to the elderly lady who opened the door. The woman’s hair was once brown, but now gray claimed most of the color. Her face was filled with wrinkles and the skin was loose in several places, but the woman’s black eyes were lit with the flame of life and she looked at Sonya with curiosity and hospitality, "I am Sonya, of the Wolf Tribe."

"Oh, of course, come in, come in, dear!" The woman almost dragged Sonya inside by her arm.

The walls of the hallway inside were made from soft-looking brown wood. A small carpet for wiping feet was placed before the entrance door. Sonya used it, reaching for the skippers in her backpack when the woman threw her arms up.

"Beat it, I will clean the floor later. You must be so tired after the trip. Oh, if I only knew the time, I would have prepared the food and…"

"There is no need for this, ma’am, I brought the food with myself." Sonya tried to argue.

"I will hear nothing of it! And drop the "ma’am", name’s Lexi Atkinson, nice to meet you," She shook Sonya’s paw with a surprisingly strong grip, "Come, I’ll show you the room, and then you can join me for the late breakfast."

"Uhm… thank you very much, ma’am," Sonya followed after the woman like a cusack after a trader. She looked around the hallway, noticing plants in pots, family photos on the walls. The house was very well maintained, not a single plank on the floor creaked beneath her weight, the carpets on the floor were clean and soft to touch, "I am very grateful for your hospitality, miss. Usually, people are a bit afraid of all… this," She pointed at her snout, "Please feel free to shout at me, if I do something wrong, I am not biting."

"Stop worrying, my dear!" The woman smiled encouragingly at her, "The tourist agencies ran background checks on everyone coming to Iterna. If you are here, this is enough for me to consider you a good person."

This is where you are wrong. Sonya thought grimly, following after the woman to look at the room. But I’ll try to become one.

****

"…About the wires, every single device in this house receives energy via wireless transfer." Lexi smiled, pouring tea for herself and Sonya and putting cakes before the confused scout.

"But… how can this be possible?" Sonya asked, taking the warm cup into her paws and carefully taking a sip. The tea tasted awesome. Whatever this "honey" is, Sonya was glad that the homeowner added it to the tea.

"Ah, it all thanks to the orbital elevators," Lexi waved her spoon in the air, "You know, these massive towers that reach into outer space, right? Well, at the very top of them are mounted research facilities that are producing the energy supply for the entire Iterna. I don’t know specifics, but the energy is then sent onto the satellites that are circling around the world and finally to our cities and our homes. Like, for example, this heater." The woman pointed at the device on a nearby windowsill.

"Simply amazing," Sonya took a bite from the cake, licking the treat off her fingers, "Sorry if my question will sound rude, but…"

"Oh, please shoot ahead." The woman laughed.

"Why are you old, Lexi?" Sonya dared to ask the question that bothered her for a long time, "I have seen other iternians and they all look young, twenty, thirty years top!"

"Ah, that. We age like all other people and lock our elderly in their houses in order not to taint the view. Once you're over forty, that’s it, locked forever," Lexi laughed, seeing Sonya’s shocked face, "Just kidding! In Iterna, the rejuvenation shots are provided by the government, to keep us young. Life is the most precious thing, after all. But after ninety years, I feel pretty content with what I have achieved in life. I decided to let nature run its course with me and finally see what exactly is there, behind the veil."

"Thank you for your honesty, ma’am… Lexi," Sonya corrected herself, noticing the woman’s look.

"Enough about me. What will you do in the coming year?"

"Year?" Sonya raised her ears, finishing the cake, "There's got to be some misunderstanding. Tomorrow I will visit a couple of places, and then I will leave the day after."

"But... you paid for the entire season," Lexi exclaimed, "which means you can stay for the entire year. Is it something that I have done?"

"Oh, no, nothing of the sort!" Sonya jumped off her chair, seeing how the woman started gathering cups and plates to wash them, "Please at least let me clean the dishes! This is the least I can do for…"

"I will need to refund you the money somehow." Lexi frowned her brows, ignoring Sonya.

"Please, don’t worry about the money, it was my fault all…"

"Nonsense, my dear! I won’t get any poorer and, quite frankly, at my age I simply have nowhere to spend credits anyway."

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

"My sentiment exactly." Sonya mumbled, causing Lexi to look at her. The two women laughed at the same time, and Lexi allowed Sonya to help her with washing the plates.

The rest of the evening is spent chatting and sharing stories from their youth, as well as stories about their culture and people. And laughing, of course.

****

"Are you really one of my fans?" The man sitting behind the table raised his brow, looking Sonya over.

People around her threw curious looks at her, some of them even hushed each other, something about a werewolf, pointing first at her, then at the book. Sonya ignored their looks, instead hungrily looking at the rows of books around her while she waited in line to meet with the author who wrote the novels that Lizzie liked.

There were so many interesting stories here. The smell of fresh paper, perfume from people, and the wood from the walls made her senses tingle. The scout felt like an idiot, towering over everyone while she was standing in the line that slowly moved to the author.

But all that took a backseat when she looked over the books. Stories. All around her, in this bookstore, on the countless shelves, the books stood, ready to be taken and read. From the Old World, from today’s times, so many books that were not available in the library… Sonya liked to read, ever since Janine first took her in. Back then, the warlord liked gathering cubs around herself, reading aloud various stories from a dirty and torn book. After Janine lost her arm, she abandoned this tradition, but Sonya quickly picked it up, reading stories to young Aranea and others. When they earn this, of course.

Well, it looks like I found something to spend money on, huh.

"Sir, no, sir. Too bloody for my taste," Sonya bowed to the man, hanging over three books for him while he carefully opened the first to write an autograph. The man was relatively well known among the authors of Iterna, and the scout was in luck that one of his scheduled meetings with fans was planned for today, "But my niece Lizzie quite likes them."

"Is this your natural look then? No operations, you are one of abnormals?" The man lifted up his lensless glasses to look her over.

"Yes, sir. Sonya, a new breed from the Wolf Tribe. Pleased to meet you," Sonya bowed to the man, taking the books back. She briefly looked over the autograph, noticing with a smile that the author mentioned Lizzie directly, "Thank you so much, sir. Sorry for taking up your time." She bowed to the man who stood up.

"Mind taking a photo with me and the others?" The man asked, gesturing to the fans to come closer, "It just… rare to see one of the people from your tribe in our lands. Believe it or not, I am a fan of your people."

"Of course, sir." This is no doubt why you made your parody of us, into your titular killer. Sonya swallowed the bile, allowing several people to take photos with her and smile happily. The day started out great!

****

One goal achieved, now for the next. Sonya put her cap back on, walking from the store and holding the books tightly to her chest. She walked to the busy crossing, waiting for the traffic lights to allow her to pass. The street was small enough for her to simply jump over if she wanted to, but this would probably cause the police to get on her case.

Her goal was a few streets away, at a small but very expensive shop that sold various types of ice-cream. This was what Sonya’s mother gave her as her prize. Sonya once ordered ice-creams from the Core Lands, they came in a special container to preserve the treat, but alas, their taste paled in comparison with the ones from Iterna. Covered by a thin layer of chocolate, placed in a long cone made of waffle… The scout felt her mouth watering at the memories of her childhood.

Sonya was not foolish enough to think that she could deliver this treat safely on her own. She did the research. This store was able to deliver the treats via drones on its own. All in all…

"You want to tell me that my boy failed the exam on his own?" Sonya glanced at the other side of the street, noticing a woman in a richly dressed green business suit.

The woman’s black hair flowed all the way to her shoulder blades, her hands, covered by gloves, held an elegant looking handbag with an image of a snake painted on it. She was standing in front of a school’s wall, with an embarrassed-looking young man behind her. The youth was dressed in a pitch-black uniform, with white trimming around the edges and a symbol of a golden snake on his left chest, a copy of the image on the woman’s handbag. Before the woman stood a nervous-looking teacher.

"Mom, please, I simply failed this time, it happens with…" The young man threw a pleading look at the teacher.

"Hush, Surano!" The woman looked at him strictly, turning back to the teacher, who coughed in his fist, "Are you sick? No wonder you made my boy to fall the exam, your sickness clouded your mind!"

"Mom, please, this was my fault and my fault only…" The youth coughed as well.

Sonya rolled her eyes at the scene, stepping on the pedestrian crossing. She took two steps and her vision blurred. The scout lifted her paw, unsure of what exactly was happening to her. Sonya felt like she was about to vomit, even in her glasses, she barely saw the trembling paw. The scout focused her vision, cursing the cold around.

The explosion made her jump. In place. The wall on the opposite side of the crossing simply evaporated, allowing flame and smoke to pour outside, rising to the skies. The people on the paved walkways looked in confusion while a figure locked in power armor stepped outside, crushing the rubble beneath its feet. The chest armor was of pitch-black color, the inner sides of the attacker shared the same color, while the rest of the armor was painted crimson. The helmet was made in a Y-shape, several lenses were installed on the upper ends of the helmet, giving the strange person an uncanny resemblance to an insect head.

"Freedom for the abnormals!" The figures shouted in a booming male voice, "Down with the oppressors!" He threw his arm up, pointing his palm at the woman, her son, and the teacher, "No restriction! No rules!"

Sonya leaped, allowing her training to carry her own. The forms of the people before her were just a blur, all three were coughing. The scout was able to navigate without the use of her eyes, grabbing the people based on their coughing alone and tackling them down when the stream of fire hit the wall above them, triggering a forcefield which rose in the air, protecting the school while the stone itself melted.

"Just power!" The maniac shouted, moving his arm down and nearly engulfing the scout in a flame. Sonya let go of the books, grabbing the people better, and jumped from the line of fire, covering five meters in one leap.

She landed next to an unconscious woman, releasing three people from her grasp. The teacher’s body fell limp on the ground, the man was vomiting nonstop. The woman was also unconscious, while the youth fared better.

"Turn them to the side!" Sonya snapped at the coughing youth, standing up and facing the maniac on the street.

All around the crossing, people were falling. The ones who screamed in panic just a few moments ago fainted, and several more people stood on their knees, vomiting on the ground. She could see several people in the book store, looking at their trembling hands, just before steel walls slid up from the ground, hiding and protecting the people in the bookstore.

The maniac in power armor laughed, pointing his hand at the stopped car nearby. He boomed with laughter, ready to unleash the fire on the car. His laughter was cut short and he himself stumbled, enduring a hit from a human-sized chunk of concrete.

Sonya thrust her arm into the road ahead of her, cracking it again and tearing up another chunk of stone to throw at her foe. The man in crimson armor clenched his fists together, shattering the stone with a single hit.

Amateur. Sonya smirked, charging forward, focusing her straining eyes and running on all fours towards the foe before her. Vigilantism or no, she will not stand by and allow the son of a whore to kill anyone. It was her duty as a soldier to end the threat, right here, right now.

She moved in a zigzag, keeping herself in the middle of a road. The man’s armored gauntlets unclenched before the scout could reach him, fire was born on his palms, while Sonya was near a stopped car. Just as planned. She kicked the car with her left elbow, sending it sideways between two unconscious civilians, ensuring that neither the passengers in the car, nor civilians will be hurt. Using her right arm to grab the ground, she propelled herself aside while the flame licked the stone of the road, creating a small pool of melted concrete.

And now you’re mine. The scout fiercely smirked, covering the distance between herself and the foe. She could have reached him by hiding behind cars, but this would have caused danger to the civilians. Instead, she led him by the nose, first provoking him with a throw, guiding his movements. Her eyes were locked on his palms. The blurriness returned, but she could still see the shape well enough to dodge the fire, should he try to burn her at close quarters.

Something slid from beneath his arm, striking forward on a small retracting mechanical arm, and Sonya leaned backwards, almost falling. Her bet paid off. She caught the blade between her palms before her very snout, relying more on her reflexes and hearing to deduce the threat, rather than on her eyes and using the enemy’s weapon to hold herself steady. Moron. There is a reason why everyone tries to use electric blades nowadays. If you don’t, I can just hold it like this! And now you’re dead. She kicked with her right leg, aiming to disembowel him.

Her leg moved forward in a blinding arc, making the very air scream. Sonya aimed at the maniac’s chest, right where his heart should be. Her claws will pierce the metal of his armor, liquidating his heart and moving further, tearing at the lung, or breaking inside his body, depending on…

Sonya blinked, feeling how his arm closed around her ankle, halting the kick just enough for the terrorist to shift his body backward, evading the mortal blow. Her claws only left a minor crack on the chest of her foe.

Her opponent wasn’t slow at all.