"City guards? You mean, you want to go to the barracks?"

'Actually, not a bad idea. But...'

"... no. I mean, they do patrol the streets, right?"

At least, that's what I believed the guardswomen Elira and Vara were doing before they were tasked with escorting me. Why them? Well, not the two women in particular, but the city guards in general? They, for sure, were better equipped to deal with whatever was breathing down my neck, be it a thief, a beast, or my sanity, than me or my little guide.

"Yes, they do." Ria nodded, looking around, trying to spot what I was having trouble finding. "Have you seen... a bad guy, Korra?"

"No," I said earnestly, struggling to find the right words for the little kitare to understand. "It may sound silly. But I have this bad feeling, you see."

Her eyes went wide, but instead of doubting me, as I feared she would, she nodded resolutely, grabbed my hand, and took off. "The city guards do patrol the entire city, but our best chance of bumping into them is on a main street."

"You… you believe me?"

"Why wouldn't I? Grandma followed her instincts all the time."

'The late matriarch Hou that Scoresby mentioned? Damn!'

I guess she really was a great woman, at least one that I was now grateful for the way she taught her granddaughter. Few would believe me, let alone act based on my bad "gut" feeling. And so, saying no more, I strained my senses and let Ria lead the way, doing my best to keep up with her in the crowd.

We rushed through several blocks on the street we were on, judging by the improving condition of the buildings and the glowing diaglyphs in the distance deeper into the city, with the little kitare never ceasing to amaze me. Utterly unfathomable to me, she was able to find a way amidst the people without us bumping into anyone, almost flawlessly, not just for her but for me, too.

Almost flawlessly.

As the air around us quivered and the hairs all over my body bristled, I failed to avoid a man who stepped between me and Ria. Not my little guide's fault, though. After all, it's hard to avoid someone who gets in your way on purpose.

"S-so sorry," I gushed out of habit as the kitara’s little paw slipped from my fingers, and I had to take a step to the side to avoid stumbling - exactly what the big guy wanted. Even with half of my focus on the domain, I didn't notice the man's movement until too late. His fist hit me in the gut with a force that sent me flying to the side of the street, knocking the wind out of me.

Not even a hint of a whimper escaped my throat, nor a defiant growl when two others grabbed me by the arms and started to drag me into the depths of the back alley. No, all I had mustered to do was barely getting enough air into my lungs to keep me from passing out and try to see through a veil of tears that the pain brought to my eyes while kicking around pointlessly.

"Pretty feisty one, huh?" one of the men dragging me deeper into the back alley remarked, leaning in closer. "I love twats that are eager to put up a fight."

His sick whisper in my ear sent a shiver down my spine and twisted my guts. No doubt it was this man's gaze that I felt on my back the whole time the most. There was no mistaking the revolting nature that not only his voice gave off. Add to that the earlier blow to my stomach, and I struggled not to throw up.

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"Shut your mouth, Ravel, and do your fucking job," the other one, a woman, sputtered just as I managed to get some more air into my lungs and thus bring a bit of clarity to my mind.

'Shit! Shit, shit, shit!'

In a few heartbeats, everything went to shit.

'How?'

I knew something was coming; they shouldn't have caught me off guard. Yet, they did.

'Just, how? Shouldn't my instincts kick in or something?'

Finding a reason why I hadn't noticed them sooner wasn't the most pressing issue right now, though.

'What the bloody heck did they want from me? And what about Ria?!'

"W-what...?"

I didn't get to finish the rest of the question as a massive hand grabbed me by the throat, lifted me off the ground, and pinned me to the wall with a force that knocked the breath out of me again.

"Yara, is that her?" Judging by the size of his hand, this was a man whose fist I had already had the pleasure of dealing with. Even more annoyingly, this massive piece of shit seemed utterly oblivious to my lame attempts to break free of his grip.

"Well, she's definitely the one the Tender Way guys talked to, but let's see," the bitch muttered, paper rustling in her hands.

"For the tit's sake, give me that," the massive piece of shit grumbled, grabbing the paper out of the woman's hand and slapping it next to my head.

"Runaway slave around ninety-seven sigils, half beast cunt, big ears, antlers, fucking wings - and tail. Well, I'd say, cunts and dickheads, we've found ourselves the tit-ass worth two hundred gold."

"Yeah! And she's not dead."

"Fuck yes! Shouldn't they give us even more for a live one?"

"Do you have shit for brains, you two?" yet another guy sputtered in a whisper. "Yell louder if you want to get caught, idiots."

"Who are you calling an idiot, you impotent failure of a mage? You better be careful I don't cut your balls off."

"For the tit's sake, Yara! He's right. Lower your yelp or shut your trap," the massive shithead growled, tightening his grip on my throat and denying me the oxygen my brain so desperately needed. "Stom, how does it look on the street?"

"Just like any other day. My illusions are perfect."

'Illusions? What the fuck? What was going on? What was that about the paper, my description, and…?'

No! No, that wasn't what was important right now. I had to get out of here before they could shackle me or, worse, put a collar around my neck. Death would be more merciful than to lose my own will - than to be at the mercy of some shitty master again.

"Perfect my ass," spat that sick Ravel guy. "Your illusion almost got me busted last time."

"Then you shouldn't have tried to grope her ass. Argg… fuck it. What am I supposed to do with this kid?"

'Eh? Kid?'

With terror gripping my heart tighter than I thought possible, I pushed past the shithead's grip on my throat and, and looked at the illusionist through the fog of my teary eyes. He was holding an unconscious Ria by the hem of her shirt.

"L-a-e...h-r... al-o-e!"

The sheer rage oozing from my choked words startled not only me, but the shithead as well.

"What did you just say, cunt?" he snapped in my face, amused but, unlike me, unaware of where the rage was coming from. Had he known, he wouldn't have loosened his grip on my neck to let me speak.

"Leave... her... alone!"

"Or?"

"...or ...IT... will... kill you ...all."

Except for the mage guy, everyone laughed.

"Thinking you hit the cunt too hard, Kif."

"Or too lightly," the huge shithead growled at the woman's bitchy remark, and the next thing I knew he slammed his fist into my abdomen again. The pain twisting my insides aside, the yet-again-knocked-out breath turned out to be the least of my worries.

"Traiana's tits! Let go of her, Kif, or she'll choke on her own vomit!" The mage guy raised his voice for the first time, and much to my relief, the grip on my neck loosened. What followed was not pretty. But as disgusting as the vomit coming even out of my nose was, I feared that what was to come would be even nastier.

Along with the vomit, a growl came out of my throat.