Micheal cursed his brother under his breath as he rounded the corner. Not only was he running late because of him but he also had to find a way to shake the tail he had gotten, and all of that because his brother could not make a correct decision to save his life. Just that it's gonna cost me mine. While he doubted the people following him would go as far as to kill him, he was most certain that they would do their best to send him to the hospital, something he could ill afford at the moment.

"And now there is fucking fog everywhere," he mumbled before offering a half-hearted smile and nod to the group of cosplayers that were currently looking at the electronics store that had yet to open.

As the tallest of them met his gaze, Micheal could have sworn that time itself froze for a moment and that something in her eyes had moved; tiny specks dancing on her iris. He shook his head — he had been too far away to make out the detail of anyone’s eyes — and walked past, turning into the small alleyway behind the store. With any luck, he would be able to lose his pursuers here.

At least, he had thought that would be the case, but the door he usually used to exit into another alley was not where it should be. Had he taken a wrong turn? Micheal was sure that he didn't, but the fact that he was being followed by goons coupled with the sudden onset of unseasonal fog might have messed with him a little too much.

His heart sank as he heard the unmistakable shuffling of his pursuers behind him, followed shortly thereafter by the sound of a round being chambered. What Micheal had not expected to hear was the sound of someone clearing their throat, let alone said noise somehow managing to make his heart skip a beat.

"Hunting an unarmed man… Is this not most uncivilised?" the voice of a woman asked, each word burrowing its way through his mind and into his soul, rooting him in place and weighing heavily enough on his chest that he had trouble breathing. "Perhaps you would like to face a more worthy adversary instead?"

Micheal could not make out much, but he could clearly see the three people that pursued him turning around to face the outline of a figure that loomed over them. The only one he could think of that would match what he saw was the woman he had just passed, and going by her accent she was from elsewhere in the world. She didn't know how things were handled here, by the less lawfully inclined denizens of Riverburg.

"Do you have nothing to say?" the woman asked, stepping close enough to his pursuers that Micheal could see her.

Perhaps it was the fog or the overall situation, but he could swear that her eyes were shifting every time she blinked; the blue of her iris seemed dotted with flecks of silver that never ceased to move.

A flash illuminated the alley, allowing Micheal a glimpse of the tall woman smiling at his pursuers before the deafening bang of the weapon followed. He instinctively covered his ears, nervous fear rising in his throat. Strong though she may have seemed, muscle strength did not protect you from bullets, and now that he was a witness to a murder he knew he would not make it out alive.

///

The projectile travelled towards the All-Mother, slow enough in her eyes that she considered moving out of its path for a moment simply because she could. It would defeat the purpose for which she had let herself be shot in the first place, so she stayed put, bemoaning the loss of amusement that might have come from the way the mortals might have reacted to someone moving faster than the weapon they had.

She let the bullet hit her, almost raising a brow as she barely felt anything once it had impacted onto her stomach. Aperio looked down at herself, the small metal projectile having all but disintegrated as soon as it had made contact with her dress. She brushed her hand over the spot, only able to feel the silky smooth fabric and the resistance of her own body beneath. There wasn't even a whisper of a disturbance in the fabric of her garment.

"How peculiar," she mumbled before reaching for the weapon and pulling it from the shaking man's hands. While Aperio turned the gun, looking at it from every angle, she moved a bit more of the fog she had created between the miscreants and the man they had been following before squeezing her hand shut, turning the gun into a ball of scrap metal. "I expected more from this."

The mortals before her did not speak, simply staring at her and sometimes daring to dart a glance to the ball of metal in her hand. "Come now," Aperio said, taking a small step towards the frozen mortals and standing just a little straighter. "I am not usually that scary." She leaned herself forward, looming over them. "But, just for today, I am your nightmare."

A gentle push caused something in the first man's shoulder to give, and he toppled over backwards. Aperio frowned at that; she had used as much force as she would to open a door, definitely not enough to break anything. For the other two, she simply waved her hand, a touch of her mana placing them next to the first mortal she had incapacitated.

"Did I overdo it?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at Adam and Caethya. "I was sure I held back enough." Aperio frowned slightly as she began to slowly let go of the fog she had made, her aura having passed through a mortal that did not truly fit with the others she had seen on Earth.

"You held back with your physical actions, yes," Caethya replied as she stepped up next the All-Mother and looked at the downed mortals. She inspected them for a moment before setting her gaze upon the man they had essentially saved. "But you did lace your voice with enough mana to knock out some adventurers."

"But I did not change anything," Aperio said and looked down at her love. "Though, I will say that I was a little excited. Too much, in hindsight, but I really wanted to see what that weapon could do." She looked down at the crumpled gun, then at the two other mortals who still had their weapons and shook her head. "After what Adam had said, I expected more. Truly a disappointment."

In the end, it really was nothing more than a more effective bow. Very deadly to most mortals, no questions there, but utterly boring for the All-Mother and her want for a proper fight. A thought brought the remaining guns into her Void. They might not be good enough for her liking now, but she could always tinker with them to make them better.

"You also let yourself get shot," Adam said with a shake of his head. "At least the other dude can't understand what you are saying."

"He can't even hear us," Caethya said. "Though, I do think we should talk to him now that we took care of his assailants so handily."

"We should," the All-Mother agreed. "But I have also found a rather… interesting mortal I would like to speak to. Quite unlike these ones here" —she gestured towards the four mortals in front of her— "they actually have enough mana inside them to do something with it."

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

///

Micheal peeked between the tips of his fingers, the first thing greeting him the sight of the tall woman striding through the remains of the fog towards him. Behind her, he could see three bodies on the floor, most definitely unconscious as they did not react to the other woman poking them.

"Are you alright?" another voice asked, one coming from the other side of the tall woman. "Those three seem to have given you quite the scare."

He could only give a nod in reply as something he could not quite place had wrapped around his neck, squeezing tight enough that the thought of talking alone was enough to hurt. Micheal firmly closed his eyes, holding his breath for a moment before exhaling, then breathing in as deep as he could.

Despite nothing much happening anymore, he felt overwhelmed. The slight breeze against his skin, the fog, the woman in front of him who had somehow not been injured by a point blank shot, and the mere fact that he had been hunted in the first place; it all was just too much for his mind to handle.

The tall woman said something in a language he did not understand, but he could still somehow feel what she had asked. Almost as if her words had gone past the need to be heard.

"I'm fine," he managed to croak out, taking a step back to steady himself against the wall. "Just need a moment to catch my breath."

"You do not seem fine," the woman said as she took a single step to close the remaining distance that separated them and lowered herself. She reached out with her hand, hesitating for a moment before she placed it on his chest.

A warm tingle spread through his skin, starting at the spot the woman had touched before it faded and Micheal felt an all-too-real weight lift off of his chest.

"You must calm yourself," the woman said, tilting her head slightly and withdrawing her hand. "The danger is gone and nobody has been hurt." She offered him a smile. "They were most inadequate fighters and while I would like to punish them myself, I have been informed that I should not."

Micheal remained still for a moment, frozen as the words danced around his head, matching the melody that seemed to underline every syllable the woman uttered. There had been no implication as to what her punishment would have been and the smile she had given seemed to have been genuine, but Micheal could not shake the feeling that this woman, whoever she was, could — and would — unleash hell on Earth if she considered it necessary.

That thought was only underlined by the fact that he had seen and heard a gun being fired. At the range they were at, nobody would have missed. And yet, he could see no blood or even dishevelled clothes. Just a woman in a dress that looked like she did not belong here.

The only problem was that none of that mattered. Sure, he could tell the police that he had heard a shot — knew it had been fired with every fibre of his being — but they would not believe him. There was no evidence to support it. And the other two would also say that nothing happened.

///

Aperio frowned slightly at the man in front of her. Physically, he was fine, but he was most definitely not okay. A sliver of her mana still flowed through him, ensuring that he at least retained some measure of calm, but that would not help him forever. Why is he doing that to himself?

If it was not for her magic, his heart would be racing and he would be on the floor taking more breaths than his lungs could manage, and all of that for no reason she could discern.

A thought caused Caethya to perk up as the All-Mother showed her what she saw. Aperio knew what the man would be experiencing if she was not currently preventing it — she pushed away the memories that loomed at the edge of her mind — she simply did not understand why it was happening to him now. There was no longer any danger to induce the reaction, nor had he seen or heard anything that she had done.

"I do believe he will require medical attention," she eventually said, using English and turning slightly to face Adam. "He might claim that he is fine, but he is not and I cannot help him more than I already have."

The man's breath quickened at her words, causing Aperio to furrow her brows. Did he not wish to be aided by a professional, or did the fact that she knew something was wrong cause the reaction? Even without her aura's help, it would be clear as day that the man needed aid.

"We'll have to call the police anyway," Adam replied as he took out the phone Aperio had made and touched the screen three times in rapid succession. "At least emergency calls work without a sim…"

Aperio returned her attention to the man and sat herself down cross legged in front of him. She eyed him for a moment, leaning from side to side to get a view of him from all angles that had not been supplied by her aura. With a satisfied nod she reached out again, hesitating before actually touching him.

"May I?" she asked, turning her hand so he could see her empty palm. Showing that she did not hide anything was probably unneeded — nor was it even likely that he understood the gesture — but it was a habit the All-Mother had picked up long ago and would not rid herself of anytime soon.

"If you tell me your name," he replied before placing a hand over his mouth as if he had not intended to speak the words.

The All-Mother pulled her hand back and placed it on her chest, fingers slightly spread apart. She lowered her head slightly, the formal greeting demanding at least the attempt of a bow. "My name is Aperio," she said, raising her head again and matching his gaze. "To whom do I have the honour of speaking?"

"Micheal," the man replied, his voice barely a whisper.

Having kept her end of the bargain, Aperio extended her arm again, tracing her fingers across the man's shoulder, down his chest, and towards his heart. "You require aid, Mister Micheal," she said as another minuscule sliver of her mana flowed into him, causing him to visibly relax. "I do not know why, but you seem to be highly… stressed."

"I feel fine," he replied. "Really."

The All-Mother offered him a small smile at the words. "I have that effect on people." Should I wish for it. "That does not mean that you will be fine once I leave."

Micheal looked at her, obviously not believing her words. It mattered not, of course; his calm state was indeed her doing but explaining that to the Human would be a futile endeavour. And if it's not, it would reveal my presence sooner than intended.

"Police and an ambulance will be here in a few minutes," Adam said, causing Aperio to look at him. He hesitated before continuing in the Ancient Common of Verenier. "Now we need to figure out how to identify ourselves. At least a full name and a phone number." He scratched the back of his head. "Can you get us a hotel room or something? I can explain the part where I lost my phone, but they will want a number and address so they can reach us again."

"I can certainly try," Aperio replied, a part of her mind already looking through the various giant inns the city had. "But I am unsure I can do anything without physically being present and asking them for a room."

Her attention was drawn to a smaller house that only had a few rooms on offer. Its size did not mean much, but the fact that the owner seemed to keep track of their residents in a physical book did. Not to mention that the mortal with more mana than anyone else she had seen on Earth was currently moving towards the same inn. "Take care of Micheal for me for a moment, please," she said as she stood up. "I will acquire a place for us to stay."

After Adam had given her a rather weak nod, the All-Mother left the alleyway, disappearing from view as soon as none of the mortals could see her. She emerged outside the inn she had chosen, fixing her dress with a thought before going inside.