"Are you as they say you are?" River asked to Crow, who was organizing empty vials on the wooden table by its sizes. "Aidan says you're a ringleader for a crime syndicate, and it worries me."

His serious expression grew amused, continuing to open boxes that held ingredients he asked for. When the gatekeeper brothers offered their resources, it was imperative she requested a laboratory for the master of poison. She did kidnap the guy for this purpose. But the more she spent time with him, the more it felt like he was indulging her.

After he accounted for the chemistry equipment on the long mahogany table, he began lighting candles on every surface. "I work better in the dark" he said, turning off the knob switch that connected to the chandelier. "And no. Those accounts you may have heard of are mostly false. I spread false rumors to lure people away from sniffing out the real truth. It was actually my father who was the crimelord. I hadn't followed his footsteps but I did inherit his loyal followings. Never had much use for them. But they proved well in spreading the word."

"So that's how you got to telling everyone you're behagthi, when you're really a god prince."

"Yes." he drew back in surprise, "You understand more than you let on. Are you sure you're not tricking me? I thought all behagthis are fools."

Shrugging his blatant sarcasm off, she seated herself on the red cushioned sofa. "I have another question."

"Starlight, I've been tortured for hundreds of years. Your endless battering of questions is nothing to sneeze at." he said, flicking a knob dial twice to start a small blue fire under a water-filled glass flask.

"Did the brothers knew all this time that you weren't behagthi?"

"Obviously."

"Then why did they send people to have you tortured?"

"I see that you are granted some benign level of intelligence."

As he seated himself next to her, she murmured. "Well, fuck you too."

He grinned like she had just given him a gift, slouching back on the sofa with a deep sigh. "Anyone belonging to the god tribe has a unique set of supernatural ability. They may say they're oracles but there is a lot more to it than visions. The gatekeeper brothers you see now are the grandchildren of the former god tribe enforcers who were sent to dole out retribution to my grandfather, the exiled god prince."

Her jaw fell, "Are you saying those damned brothers were punishing you for your grandfather's sins? That's ridiculous! You shouldn't have to pay for anyone's sins but your own."

"But I do, starlight. It's my price to pay."

She clutched his fisted hand. "You shouldn't have to. It isn't fair for you or your father." she said growing annoyed, "If those damned brothers start bothering you— you. tell. me. And I'll rip them a new asshole to shit out of. They won't see it coming. "

He laughed, splaying a hand to cover his face. Then he laughed harder. And harder. When his irritating laughed died down, he muttered "Sometimes I think you don't see how ridiculous you are."

She shrugged. "I'm sure anything new will make it seem that way. After all, I'm a behagthi."

He shook his head, "You don't understand. It takes years and years for a behagthi to even begin exhibiting a world-saving innovation. You, as a behagthi, you have already made large strides that might make a difference in the prophecy. You ought to be careful, you know. This is the fate of the universe we're talking about, you're about to have serious repercussions for your actions."

Her brows puckered in confusion. "What are you telling me?"

"I'm trying to talk about sense of self-preservation." he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his thighs, "You should grow a better one."

She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.

"You can't just enter a stronghold laden with heavily-armed guardsmen without so much as a weapon."

"I had a backpack." she countered. "and a freaking disguise. It worked well, didn't it?"

"Yeah. Until it didn't. You were lucky I was there when the Ensign and Lady found you out. They could have killed you on the spot right then and there or worse.." he shut his eyes closed. "You can't rely on fool's chances, starlight."

She groaned. "I'm not a fool. I made sure to know what I can to keep us safe before we left for the snow tribe. It isn't my fault that those damned brothers were lying to me this whole time."

"Which makes you a fool. You should have known better. You can't just take their word for it." Then he gripped her elbow hard, pulling her closer to him so he can level his piercing gaze "You forced me to come with you. Even brought back that cursed viper back inside me. And yet you're sitting here, without a worry in the world, not caring that a repercussion is only a breath away from you."

It took her a moment to realize what his words implied. "You won't hurt me."

"You're a fool for thinking that." he rasped, clutching her throat in a vise-like grip. "I could end you right here."

"You're not gonna do that." she said, thinking where in the damned hell Aidan was. Last time she saw him, he was furiously grilling the damned brothers for any more lies. And the kids and U'tu right now would have been sound asleep next to the roaring fireplace. She swallowed audibly, "I'm a behagthi, remember? If you do, you will be inviting the blazing wrath of the gods."

"Divine retribution is nothing new to me. What is to stop me from asking for some more?"

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She stared at him, gauging his motives and carefully figuring what sort of message was hidden underneath in all that long black hair. Tucking a stray ebony lock of hair behind his ear, she said. "What is to stop you?"

A thick brow twitched, then his eyebrows furrowed deeper as if he's trying to penetrate an impossible brick wall.

Even through the terrible stories surrounding this man, she can never muster a healthy fear of him. Maybe it was because he reminded her of what Dr. Malia would say. Displays of aggression, more often than not, are tricks to hide away the painful truths to the common observer. By taking a deep breath, she willed her heartbeat to even out at a calm pace. His choke-hold loosened and she stood up, moving to the mahogany table where the water-filled flask boiled under a blue fire. "Do you know the cure to the poison?"

"If I had known then I would have done it a long time ago." When he saw the tiny smile that crept up on her face, he quickly followed it with, "For profit."

"Whatever you say" she said holding his gaze, deliberately reaching for an open flask that held a dark green chemical.

He swiped her hand off in a flash, "Don't touch that."

She didn't bat an eye but instead kept staring into his piercing gaze in silence. He gulped, his adam's apple bobbing.

"Downright dim, isn't it?" Aidan appeared in the hallway, rubbing his arms with gloved hands. "Who turned off the lights?" he said, glancing at the chandelier.

River broke off her gaze and told him, "Crow doesn't like too much light when he works."

Grumbling back to his seat, Crow leaned back "It keeps me on my feet."

"I thought you guys are making an antidote." said Aidan.

"I don't know how many times I've got to tell you until you get it. I don't know. Poisons are my specialty; not cures."

She made a patient sigh, "Have you ever made a cure before?"

"No." he gritted, covering his eyes with an arm over his head.

"Then how do you know that you can't if you haven't tried before?"

He flashed her with a confounding look of disbelief.

Gesturing to Aidan, she invited him. "Take a seat, Aidan. It's my turn for story time."

He obliged, taking a seat next to Crow.

She wondered if they noticed their natural balance together when their hackles stopped raising from near proximity. Like their animals, the air between them was easy. They no longer directed their aggressiveness to each other but to someone else. Make that three someones whose lush cable-knit sweaters she would actually kill for, she thought, noting to herself that 16 requests for luscious sweaters will be made later.

"Back in my world, we have a chemical compound called salt. It's used as a preservative on almost every food we eat. Not only that, it also enhances the taste of food. And it's used on a variety of ways; not just food. But the thing is, what most people don't know is that the makings of this wondrous universal salt preservative that's ingested by billions of people without danger are actually two highly dangerous chemicals when separated on its own. It is made up of two chemicals; one on its own can cause such flames of fire—" she raised a blue chemical flask and let loose a drop of it on a water-filled flask and as the sparks flew upwards in a tiny explosive gas, she saw Crow on the edge of his seat, claws digging into the cushioned arm of the sofa, ready to spring on his feet. She smiled when he sent her a mental message calling her a new level of a fool, grumbling about protective equipment.

She waved a dismissive hand, her chef co-bloggers were science-obsessed and their apartment cluttered in experimental flasks and chemicals for their gourmet food all the time. This was nothing. "See how violently it reacts? Dangerous, isn't it?"

Should we stop her? she heard Aidan, leaning in to Crow.

No I want to see how far her insanity goes

Setting back the flask to its place, she murmured "You know, I can hear you."

Aidan beamed and lit up in a smile that would have made the birds sing and clouds to pull apart for sunlight to come through. She shook her head at Crow who wore a perpetual frown and a deep set of lines that marred between his thick brows.

"The other chemical is known to be a poison; an insidious substance. It causes a burning sensation from the inside when ingested, and it makes it hard to breathe for someone. A poison like this when ingested can enlarge the skin of our inner muscles. Which is the dangerous part because when our lungs and airways are enlarged to such a degree, we stop breathing and die."

At that, Crow gave a triumphant sneer "I know that one." he said, his glance falling upon a flask right behind her. River followed the direction of his glance and reached. It was a flask filled to the brim with a viscous red chemical. With her other hand holding the flask of blue chemical, the two of them shot to their feet in distress.

A playful smiled teased on the sides of her mouth. "Have I got your attention now?"

"River—" Aidan started.

"Come any closer" she said, grasping into her untapped potential for theatrics "and I'll burn this place to the ground." It was a bluff, but they didn't know that. Putting the two flasks dangerously near together when Aidan even so much as twitched, remembering how fast he can move.

"River, listen to what you are saying." He was keeping his palms out wide and open in front of him in a steadying gesture. "You are tired. You are exhausted. You're still not used to this world. When was the last time you slept? We can talk about this."

Crow rasped, "Starli—" he stopped when she cut him an irritated glance, "My glorious behagthi, understand that what you are holding are two highly incendiary explosives that will ignite and burn us all down in a flash. Set them on the table carefully."

She scoffed. "You don't tell me what to do."

Sul'ahvi appeared in the shadows of the doorway with his arms crossing. His appearance went unnoticed. Leaning his shoulder against the doorframe, he watched her lazily with a knowing smile.

She asked Sul'ahvi, "Enjoying the show?"

When the two princes turned both of their heads to the doorway, she began filling an empty glass plate with the red chemical and blue chemical at the same time. She heard Crow roar in distress but it was too late. When he moved to grab her, pulling her back, the red viscous substance was already fizzling together with the blue chemical.

"Do something" she heard Aidan say to Sul'ahvi. But it was met with silence.

In a few seconds, crystals bubbled up with cracking sounds. It hardened inside the liquid mixture. Then it grew larger, expanding but then decreasing and expanding bigger once more before solidifying to a single crystalline form. It grew up into a large rock of salt colored in pink.

It was then that she realized, there was a twenty-ton shield right in front of her with strong arms fastening around her body completely. The minty scent of him told her exactly who it is that held her so protectively. She hugged him back, bracing a stronger hug that had undone the tension in his body with a shuddering sigh. "It's okay." Reaching up to cup his face with both hands she said, "Perhaps a little faith in your behagthi would do you some good."

"For someone who doesn't have normal speed and strength like we do," he said, narrowing his eyes. "I don't think I will be able to put your protection in your own hands anytime soon."

Aidan piped up. "River, this is hardly the time and place to be kidding around."

Sul'ahvi marched up to her table, sliding a finger over the surface of the crystal and licking it clean off. "Salt is what you call it, teh? They have a better name for it in the dark tribe." He turned to face Aidan, "It's a closely guarded secret. It is what makes their food stores widely sought for and in-demand. River, you are definitely going to give the dark tribe a run for their money by handing these out to the sun tribe."

She met Aidan with a shrug, "Do with it as you please. I already showed you how to make it."

Aidan stilled for a moment, then he asked Sul'ahvi. "You don't mean that this is—?"

"Yes." Sul'ahvi nodded sagely.

"But this is—" he struggled to push the words out.

"Yes." the oracle of the future repeated.

"Did you see that she was about to do that?"

"I already told you about the exception to my ability."

His tone turned solemn. "If the sun tribe were to have something like this at a massive scale and distributed accordingly for every tribespeople then our hunters wouldn't have to risk their lives every single day for our daily sustenance. No one needs to die every turn of the season."

"Isn't it great?" River tipped her head up to look at Crow, "You are too serious. I was teasing. You should have seen the look on your face."

His hold didn't let up, if anything, it felt like he grew bigger and he had to push her up towards him to keep her close. "I fail to see the lesson in the story. How has it got anything to do with a cure?"

"You fight fire with fire." At his raised brows, she explained further "You are going to kill off the poison with poison. In the right amount of doses so it doesn't do damage to the body. In this case, bird boy, two bad things can make a right."