"Problems?" The Cloaked figure eyed Elend in another drawn out silence. Elend returned his gaze, unfazed by the ominous aura the four eyed creature exuded.

"Yes, somebody hired Hanged men to intercept the merchandise...So, we'd like extra compensation, after all you only hired us to get it." Elend explained further. His hand slipped under the counter to a gun hidden under it.

The cloaked figure stayed silent for another long while but suddenly it screeched with multiple voices. An unbearable gurgling ensued until it settled with the voice of a little girl.

"Protection is part of retrieval...I don't think we need to pay more." The cloaked figure spoke in perfect high loci. The tone of its voice was out of place and eerie but it enabled it to speak properly now.

"...But we are generous...we will deposit another sum into the accounts...we thank you for the help." The cloaked figure bowed its head and promptly turned around to leave.

When the tension was finally easing its voice echoed one last time.

"We will remember you in the future." It said these words as it left, eying the three of them much to their confusion. Another long silence empty of breath at the ominous words. It continued until the same grunt as before barged in

"They're gone." He announced as the trio eased up.

"Who...what in the hells was that?" Asher asked first. He could still feel the lingering presence of whatever that thing was and it made his skin crawl.

"A fleshweaver...you rarely see one outside of stories." Desil said with a long frown. He felt as uncomfortable as Asher.

The word flesh weaver rolled over his tongue for a while now. All could the boy think of was the inhuman monsters that collected flesh. Stephan called them gene stealers. Monsters made of monsters. Beings that drew flesh from many creatures into one.

"First thing Stephan taught me was to avoid them...why in the great thunders did we not?" Asher eyed Elend who looked a pit pale. A creepy smile was plastered on his face.

"Ahhh...Stephan doesn't know everything...the details don't matter...all that matters is that we're fucking rich...Rich I tell...Don't sour the mood...Desil tell the men to bring out the booze!" Elend shouted and Desil who was infected with his enthusiasm obliged.

Asher was going to go to his room but Desil dragged him to the bubbling party where he was forced to sit with the grunts.

"V...sit here...sit here...I was just telling the lads of how you blew up the mast." One of the men put his arm around him.

"Ey now...you know the shorty doesn't like it when you touch him." Another shouted with a laugh. Asher removed the man's arm off him.

"Our V doesn't know fear I tell ya...The damned monster jumped in a parachute mid fire!" Another screamed.

'V that...V this...its hard getting used to.' Asher thought. He'd build up this persona with the help of Elend. It was just a few rumors thrown here and there till he became the mercenary V...The former guard at the magisterium's border. The experienced sword looking for quick money.

Throw random facts, curse words, and weird moments of silence and you could fool these poor sods into believing anything. But he couldn't show neither the irritation no the pain of his bruised body or the bullet grazes he expertly hid beneath bandages and make up.

"Drink with us...come tell us another story of the time you'd caught a group of runaway slaves." Another shouted. Before could Asher speak up Desil arrived.

"You know the lad doesn't drink." Desil eyed the fellow who was too drunk already to notice.

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"And why not?" The fellow asked which caused the others to perk up as Asher had refused before. The answer was simple really cause the last time he did with Desil he was knocked out after one drink.

'Cause I'm a lightweight.' Is that what Asher wanted to say but V wouldn't say that.

"Cause every time I drink I end up at your mum's place." V shouted causing Asher to blush under his mask. The men around laughed and roared even the fellow himself. A good joke always smoothed things over. Another trick he learned from Elend.

Asher was about to thank Desil for butting in when a man approached Desil and whispered in his ear. Asher could hear it clearly. "Elend got too deep in his cups again."

Desil sighed and was about to head over but Asher stopped him.

"I'll take care of it...have my share of the fun." Asher mused and headed up to the office again.

Elend was still drinking. If Asher was a lightweight than he lacked the words to describe the sylph's tenacity when it came to drinking. Once Elend started drinking, he just didn't know when to stop.

Asher took the bottle out of his hands. It read 834 Lambart.

"I didn't realize you liked money that much." Asher placed the almost empty bottle aside and propped Elend on his chair properly.

"This old thing...It's just a couple hundred years old...with all the money we got we could buy a couple." Elend mused. He looked at Asher for a long while before pointing to a nearby corner.

"Come get me up there...I'm feeling like playing the old thing." Elend insisted until Asher sighed and took the sylph towards a piano.

"Didn't know you could play." Asher stated to Elend who laughed.

"I could play an entire orchestra...I used to play an entire orchestra." Elend said with a soft tone. He stretched his hands gently across the keys. It took him a while to gather the courage to finally touch one. It was like he was scared to but once he did an entire symphony played out.

"Come sit next to me...let me teach you how...everybody should know how to play at least one instrument." Elend's speech was becoming clearer. The previous fog in his eyes brightened and insisted that Asher sit next to him and to the Sylph's surprise the boy didn't resist.

Elend pointed at the key's Asher was supposed to press to harmonize. Asher played his part perfectly and this continued on for a while until Elend finished his little concert. He stood up and bowed. Asher taken by the moment applauded the sylph who sat on the edge of his desk.

"How about that...my little pupil has an ear for music...you should've told me you knew how to play." Elend nodded with a bit of pride.

"I don't...my mother used to play...I watched her for a long time." Asher reminisced. He was fond of the memory, but his fondness was cut short when he saw the reflection of Longing on the piano's surface.

"I think we had enough fun for today." Asher said with a disparaged tone. He closed the piano case and got up to leave.

Elend noticed the change in the boy's mood. He took a puff of the cigar he'd lit and controlled it to grab onto the boy's shoulder.

"What's the first thing I taught you...!" Elend asked with a bit of firmness in his voice.

"The creed...the actor's code." Asher answered. His voice carried a mixture of guilt and dejection.

"Exactly...right now you're V...you only have to be Asher when you want to be...Once you choose to take the role of another cog in the grand machine you stick to it to the bloody end...well at least while its useful." Elend laughed a bit.

"Come...sit longer...let me teach you how to play...I'll have you know I got Stephan to enjoy music...he should still have a collection of old records I gave him." Elend laughed and sat next to the piano again. He morphed the smoke into a rope and began to drag Asher towards him.

Asher finally resigned and let the rope drag him. He sat next to the sylph who was jovially shaking his head in anticipation. The boy obliged and stroked the key's remembering faintly how his mother used to do it.

Key by key...He eventually started to play a sorrowful lullaby with the help of Elend who filled the gaps in his knowledge. Figments of shadows danced to the music. They clashed with the melody that prevailed until it lost the rhythm suddenly.

Asher gritted his teeth trying to hold in whatever was bubbling inside.

'Fuck...fuck...fuck...it shouldn't be this hard...I should calm down...breathe...' Asher tried his best not to indulge but playing the keys felt just right. His heart however was in agony. His entire body was revulsed and the moment he stared at the piano longing was staring right at him.

He closed his eyes and tried not to remember anymore...he closed his mind off the to sudden snickering and laughter echoing in his head. The dancing shadows grew wider till they formed into Regret and Fear.

"Do you think you deserve this fun...so much time wasted on this when you could be learning...growing stronger...repenting!" Regret roared taking corporeal form. She floated over his head and continued shouting.

"We can't...we can't remember...you promised not to remember...remembering is sad...we should leave...we should hide." Fear screeched. His form was shorter and clung to Asher's side.

Before Asher could burst Elend closed the piano and clapped. He felt the chaos brewing in Asher. He felt it on occasion but this was different, so he acted fast to help his pupil.

"You shared with me something beautiful today my pupil...let me share something myself...let me tell you why they call me the ripper." Elend grabbed his cigar and turned his back towards the glass venue overlooking the arena down below.