There's a rustle in the bushes when Nina readies an arrow pointed straight at the source. Ara had spent the entire day evading Militia with Akheela and the Leopards, they finally got time to rest for a few hours. They're all a bit on edge and this becomes apparent when a small rodent pokes its head out of the bushes- completely unaware of its near assassination.

The dark forest drowns in a cool mist as the pastel orange sky softly backdrop the darkening, evergreen cover of the towering trees. They're all huddled around a campfire Yasuke had rapidly put together, eating the sludge which has surprisingly gotten easier to deal with. Amongst the wandering haze of the forest, no one says a word as they all chow down trying to regain their energy.

Ara glances over to Akheela, who's scraping the 'food' down like she hasn't eaten in days. Akheela's magic was amazing to witness. She's so quick and reactive- She probably would've handled it better if I wasn't there. Her mind adds, reminiscing about Akheela's efforts to protect her.

"Where did you learn those techniques?" Ara asks Akheela, who's barely taken a breath between her bites. The image of the throwing knives spiraling around Akheela's head is plastered in her mind.

Like a goal.

"A great relative taught me when I was young," Akheela responds with inflated cheeks. "I have no memories of anything before Tolith adopted me, but that's what he told me."

"You're Tolith's assassin, correct?" Nina butts into the conversation.

Akheela nearly chokes on her food, swallowing a mouth full to save herself as she gazes at Nina with a bewildered look on her face.

"That's why they captured you, right?" Kimi adds, eyeing Akheela with suspicion.

Akheela says nothing, her hand slightly shuddering before putting the bowl of food down. She slowly hides her hands between her crossed legs.

"When did this turn into an interrogation?" Chaung asks, chuckling to himself. "They're much nicer once you get to know them." He tells Akheela.

"We know stories of an assassin that is a child of magic," Nina directs to Akheela, still holding her gaze.

"I am not Spritus," She answers with conviction. "I am not a savage."

Akheela's body responds to the group as though she's afraid, but her voice doesn't falter. She's just as stern and confident as before. She couldn't see very much in Akheela's mind earlier, but she feels like she should trust Akheela after she saved Ara's life. Maybe this is my chance to learn more about the magic. The perpetual numbness in her core grows deeper at the thought of it.

"Could you teach me?" She asks, more shyly than she would have liked.

"Only if you teach me as well," Akheela barters.

Ara draws a blank, wondering if Akheela is messing with her. "Teach you what?"

"The healing," Akheela responds, glancing at the shoulder an arrow had wounded when she protected Ara. "It is like I was never harmed."

"Okay, deal," Ara says as she tries to hold back a smile. "Oh, and the healing techniques don't fix injuries. They just seal the wound by stretching the muscle and vessels near it."

"I see," Akheela says, feeling her clear patch of skin. "It works better with small wounds then?"

"Yes," Ara says, finding it strange to talk to someone about her 'knowledge'. "There are techniques to repair bigger wounds too, but I don't know of any techniques that truly heal a wound."

"Hmmm," Akheela mumbles, "You use your voice to repair them?"

"Voice?" Ara asks.

"Everyone has a voice. Like the blue one you could see around me. Around you I saw a voice of flames, scorching like the sun."

"I think I saw a light blue mist around you when I could see it,"

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"The voice is the source of the ma'gic. You can manipulate your voice and the voice of others if you can see them." Akheela brings her bowl back up from the floor, gathering a spoonful. "Your friends here are quite skilled at hiding theirs."

Ara glances over at Chaung with a hint of distrust glinting in her eyes.

"You know how to hide it?" Ara asks Chaung. "Did our parents teach you?"

Chaung nods his head.

They were so careful about how they would teach us. She reminisces. Ma'ma and Apa would only teach her after she became of sixteen, they believed the magic had to be learned slowly so that one understands the true capabilities of a technique… What else would they have taught me?

"When?" She asks as an itch builds within her, wanting to learn more about what her parents knew of the magic.

"When I left," He responds, putting his empty bowl down. "They said it is a way I could protect myself."

"So you taught them too?" She pries further, glancing at everyone else around the campfire.

He nods again, "In case we run into spies or assassins, like Akheela here."

"How do you do it?"

"Presence," He responds. "You need to detach from the flow of thought."

This sounds very philosophical but doesn't make much practical sense to Ara. Especially considering the invasiveness of her mind- It just isn't something I can tame. She thinks to herself.

"You will learn," Akheela responds. Sternly, like a disciplinarian that motivates. "The thoughts will always be there, but you must not participate."

Ara feels her mind straining at the concept but it remains lost to her, "I don't understand."

Chaung chuckles at her absent-mindedness, "A few sessions of focus and you will know what we mean."

He rises to his feet, stashing away his bowl and whipping his bag onto his back. "We should get moving." He says before tossing his shawl into Akheela's lap, "That hair of yours is visible from beyond the horizon."

Ara scrapes down the last bite of her food before stashing her bowl away too. The group's energy has visibly reignited, everyone hops to their feet like the day has just begun whilst Yasuke stomps out the fire before they begin their trek through the evening mist.

"Your friends are in the North West?" Chaung asks Akheela.

"When I last saw them, yes." She responds, squeezing her head through the shawl and covering her hair with the hood.

"Were you the only reason they wanted to invade Aliim?"

"No, it was good fortune they took me there."

"What do the rebels want with it, then?"

"Liberation. Zeno's military has enslaved its population for the city's production of food. Aliim used to supply most of Dantas with grains and vegetables until our wise ruler decided it should all be for his military." Akheela grits her teeth, staring at the darkness ahead of her before she clenches her jaw, "His family has no interest in the people."

"His family?" Nina asks, walking beside Ara.

"He has appointed five of his sons as his commanders. Each of them has inherited one of the major cities,"

"If we kill him, will they surrender?" Chaung asks Akheela.

"Surrender? What is this?"

Chaung passes Ara a perplexed look, before glancing back at Akheela, "You don't know what it means to surrender?" He confirms.

"I do not."

Chaung chuckles, as usual being louder than necessary. His distinct laugh echoing through the forest. If those searching for us had heard his laugh, it would be as obvious as Akheela's hair.

"You Dantians are tough," He adds.

The group trods through the abyssal forest, the sun is completely gone and the only source of light is the faint rays of moonlight that are funneled through the treetops. Ara glances over at her hip before remembering that she has no more throwing knives- What will she do if she's in danger? It's the only thing she's been able to learn that can actually protect her.

She glances over at Kimi, who looks back at her. But Ara drops her eye contact in response, making it a bit obvious that she has something on her mind.

"Yeah?" Kimi asks Ara, still staring at her.

"Uhh-" Ara stammers, as she scratches the back of her neck. "I may have lost all your knives,"

"Not all of them," Akheela interrupts, dropping the last throwing knife into Ara's hand. She smiles at Ara as if this will make some sort of a difference.

"Actually, she lost them," Ara corrects, ratting out Akheela who is staring at Ara with eyes of betrayal.

Kimi chuckles, "You mean she lost your knives,"

"My knives?" Ara asks.

"Yes. But now they're the forest's knives," She chuckles again, prompting Akheela to laugh alongside her.

"I will repay my debts when we reach the camp," Akheela adds.

Ara smiles, giggling under her breath. "You aren't allowed to touch my next set."

"Zeno Arel is the only child of Markum Arel- The liberator of Dantas." - The A'shic Records