stolen goods (amaranth)

[MERINA]

"Careful! With stab wounds, blood tends to release as soon as the spike is removed. ...I need..."

It might have been the fact she was in a lot of pain, but he truly sounded worried. Like the way she worried for the +anima. Maybe some humans did have hearts, just set on the wrong things. No, she couldn't afford to think like that, and especially not now. He applied pressure to the wound. It hurt, but she didn't mind that kind of thing. He was touching her. If she hadn't been "Katrina" right then and there, her instant reflex would have been to defend herself with the chains that binds her. She might have even wrap them around his neck; how fun that would be!

But she knew she thought of herself as better, she also knew she was in no condition to do anything, but it was worth it. The +anima had escaped, making it all worthwhile. So instead, she replaced his hand with her own. It stung, throbbed and instantly drenched her hands in blood. This wasn't something new to her, but the fact it was her blood was something new. Oh, yes, he will pay as soon as she's able to collect.

It was almost too much for her to bear when he apologized to her. Only her self control kept her from breaking the scared, hurt mask she wore to laugh. Sorry? He's sorry? What a hoot! She hasn't heard that one before! She could just imagine one of the city guards hurting a bystander. "Oh, I'm sorry! I hope this apology makes everything better!" she imagined them saying. She kept a straight face for the concerned man, though, if not a twitch of the corner of her lips to say that she 'accepted' his apology. God. Wait till Alven hears of this.

"Thank you," she managed to get out. She was loosing strength and pretty quickly. Damn it! She hated actually being weak. Pretending was one thing, but being helpless reminded her of older times when she was all on her own and food was a rarity, or when she was in prison. What if she fainted and he found the 'retrieved' items she carried, or a guard could recognize her and take her away. She would have to serve out her sentence, if not more for recent charges! This frustration and determination gives her just enough energy to help herself help.

Merina took him up on his offer to support her and held on to his shoulder with a crimson stained hand. She looked down at her dress and thought a petty thought: she had this dress for a while now, one of the first after her break out from jail. It was a shame she had to ruin it now, with her own blood nonetheless.

Once again, he put his hand on the wound and she grimaced. Though she might not be able to hurt him now, the look on his face said it all: her getting hurt was emotionally distressing. He didn't seem too fazed about +anima getting hurt. She wondered what would happen if he found out that the person he helped really loved +anima? Maybe she could hurt a few people along the way, play with his head a little bit? But that woman... she looked so strong, so sturdy. What to do with her...

The edges of her vision began to blur and darken. She needed to close this wound, and soon. What would Alven do in a situation like this? Knowing him, he would probably down a bottle of alcohol and then burn the wound closed, but she didn't have any wine, hot object and the will to actually do that to herself. "Amaran..." she began, though she couldn't finish; she was too busy vomiting the bread she had only eaten an hour ago.

She cursed under her breath and held on to her stomach, letting go of the pale man and falling to her knees. Struggling to keep her eyes opened, she looked up at Amaranth to spout out a few more lies.

"Don't let me die," she pleaded, her eyes looking at the ground. "I don't want to go without saying goodbye to," she choked on her words with tears that were half faked. The lack of blood could be felt in her body all over. "To...my...fam..." And with that, she blacked out, only remembering hitting the hard stone ground.

[AMARANTH & SHAKAYA]

The girl moved his hand away, replacing it with her own. In her current weakness, Amaranth wondered whether she'd have the strength to apply the pressure needed to keep the wound from bleeding too quickly, but he decided that fighting the issue wouldn't be worth it if that made her more comfortable.

Instead, he focused on getting her to safety. The guilt and panic eating away at his consciousness made even such a simple task difficult, his mind flying way too fast in all different directions at once. He had to force down a deep breath, remembering to take this, like anything else, step-by-step - the same way experiments were done or reports were written. After all, that was how scientists worked. First, they had to get out of that mess, second, he would have stop the bleeding as best he could, third, they would have to look for an actual doctor.

"Thank you" The girl muttered, holding on to his shoulder with a bloodstained hand. Normally, the thought of having his day clothes ruined in such a way - bloodstains were quite tricky to get out - would've sparked protest, but at this point, the thought didn't even cross his mind.

The man opened his mouth to speak, but realized there was nothing else he could say. No amount of apologies would make the situation any better. This was his fault. If she died, he'd have her blood - the blood of an innocent human girl - on his hands. That was unacceptable.

"Amaran..." Her voice, followed by a harsh choking sound, abruptly knocked him from his thoughts. She lost her grip as nausea overcame her, falling to her knees and vomiting violently. Not good, not good at all. At this rate...

This type of situation was entirely outside his range of expertise. Feeling panic threaten to overtake rational thought again, Amaranth simply leaned down next to her, hoping to assist if she lost her balance and to help her back up when she could manage it.

But she never raised her gaze, muttering a few quiet, desperate words before all at once collapsing onto the stone street below. She was unconscious.

Amaranth just stood there a moment, stunned. She'd already lost a frightening amount of blood. He couldn't move her anymore - the wound had to be treated now.

"Don't let me die" If he couldn't save her, he knew he'd be hearing those words in his sleep many nights from now. "I won't." He assured aloud, as much to himself as the unconscious girl.

If only he had his lab supplies with him... But now wasn't the time for if only's - they'd have to make due. Thankfully, though, he did have a needle - it was meant more for gathering samples while he was out and about, but in a pinch, it could work as a surgical needle. Now for some kind of thread... Taking the cloth he'd snatched up from the market earlier, he carefully separated as long of thread as he could. It wasn't even close to the variety normally used in stitches...but hopefully it would suffice temporarily.

As carefully as he could with the way his hands were shaking, the man dabbed the wound clean with the edge of his already ruined shirt, attempted to partially close the wound with temporary stitching, and finally wrapped the rest of the market cloth around her chest in an attempt at a makeshift bandage.

He finished just in time to see Shakaya rush down the alley. Apparently the commotion in the square had died down. Her mouth was open as if to speak, but she didn't say anything, stopping in her tracks as she caught sight of the girl.

"Help me carry the girl to a proper hospital!" Amaranth quickly stood up, not having time to explain.

Shakaya just stood there a moment, staring at the girl with a coldness that blotted out the confusion. "Shakaya!" Amaranth urged.

The woman seemed to take the hint, helping to hoist her up.

It wasn't too long before they managed to find a clinic on the main-street, but, as luck, or rather, the lack of, would have it, the doctor was absent. Perhaps it was due to the chaos at the square. If that was the case, the fact that it was dying down would hopefully mean he'd be back soon.

Deciding that their best bet was to wait at this point, the two set the girl down on an empty patient bed. While Shakaya leaned against a wall, still not saying a world, Amaranth covered the girl with one of the clinic's sheets to hopefully aid in the chills blood loss usually brought and placed a glass of water by her bedside in case she was to wake up.

Afterwards, he simply paced the room. For the moment, that was all he could do.

[MERINA]

Dr. Dynias had been called out in a medical emergency. +Anima had caused such havoc in the market that it was almost uncanny. Even he, a man that never took sides in politics, found this to be an outrageous act from the +anima. He couldn't really put the blame on the who race of +anima. So many different gangs and groups that everyone was split up into that there was no way one could associate one with the other. Still, tending to +anima was bad for business and thus he tried to steer clear from their kind.

There seemed not to be any causalities whatsoever and very few serious injuries, though many minor ones. As he treated some guards and market's people, they told him about an odd blue-haired woman that had fought many of them away. If I ever see her, he thought to himself, I will have to thank her; she saved me a lot of time here.

Returning to his office, he took first notice of the bleeding girl on one of his medical beds, then to the man pacing back and forth. Pacing was a pet peeve of the dear doctor's, who's seen one too many people pace. Pacing solved nothing, especially in the medical field, but that didn't mean he wouldn't do his job. He pushed up his sleeves and walked past the couple.

"Please step outside if you're sensitive to blood," he said. There was nothing more annoying to do than cleaning up the vomit of watchers. They were welcome to watch; like most doctors, he didn't take the patient to another room to work on them. Right there, he took notice of the blue-haired woman, giving her a nod. "Thank you for protecting the people."

It was a hard case, but he managed to close the wound and stop the bleeding. There was some internal damage, but nothing that required any serious surgery. Her blood supply was low, but she would survive. Those chains of hers had been hard to work around. He even considered getting something out to get them off as they seemed very tight on her, but if he had, the bleeding wouldn't have stopped. He weighed the possibilities as to why she was chained, but she didn't seem as much of a threat.

He found some clippers he usually used to break open ribs for heart surgery and used them on the chains. The cuffs seemed much more of a problem. The only way, he figured, was to dislocate her wrist and (with the help of some butter or grease) slip them off. The couple hadn't seemed like they were her parents, or even guardians and it was for the best interest to get these off as soon as possible. The cuffs could stop the circulation from her hands if she continued to grow into them and would even cause bone damage.

She still seemed to be out and he wasn't surprised seeing how much blood she had lost, so he quickly put his plan into action. Her wrists had a tan line around them and the skin around it looked twisted like they had been chaffed for too long.

"That's about all I can do," he said, running his hand though his hair. "Was this anything to do with the +anima thing a while ago?" he asked. If so, he wouldn't ask for payment. If it was just something stupid she had done, the bill would be quite expensive.

Merina woke up a while later, seeing some bread by the bedside with a cup of orange juice. Her wrists hurt, as did her side, but over all, she felt so much better than she had before. She really had cut it close, hadn't she? All to fully convince this man and save the +anima, but it was worth it. She would do it again, if she had to.

She reached for the bread and took a bite. Something was different... the chains! They were gone! She couldn't believe it? Sitting up quickly in the bed despite her wound, she had to take everything in. Was she in a hospital? No, the room was too tight to be a hospital. A local medic would be a better speculation.

Finally, she gave in to the pain in her wound and laid back down with the bread, taking small bites, wondering where Amaranth was so she knew when to put up her innocent act again. But until then, she decided to gawk at her freed wrists. Sure, she lost a weapon, but she gained a bit more security from the guards, or people that would find her suspicious for wearing them.

She sighed. Today had done much better than she could have hoped for.

[AMARANTH & SHAKAYA]

Sure enough, the doctor returned to his clinic after just a few minutes. Thank goodness! Amaranth opened his mouth to speak, but the doctor seemed intent on getting straight to business as soon as he saw the injured girl.

"Please step outside if you're sensitive to blood." The first thing he said as he prepared to start work immediately. That was good, really. A good doctor understood how precious seconds could be.

"We're fine." Amaranth answered simply. While witnessing the spilled blood of a human was different that of a +anima, he'd seen so much of the crimson liquid in his career that he'd been desensitized to the stuff, itself. He somehow doubted Shakaya would have a problem with it - even now, there were still traces of vermillion on her boots and the edges of her weapon.

"Thank you for protecting the people." The doctor did spare a moment to address Shakaya, though. Was word of her presence at the incident getting around already? That wasn't good. While they hadn't necessarily done anything wrong, it was probably for the best that they didn't attract too much attention on their visit to Astaria.

Shakaya gave a small smile. "...It was my pleasure."

The two lingered silently as the doctor performed his craft. Amaranth watched intently, as if that might somehow make a difference in the outcome; he at least understood most of what the doctor was doing, but was too tense to really comprehend many of the details. Besides, it wasn't exactly pleasant to see. Especially not when he was the one responsible. Shakaya seemed entirely disinterested, giving a yawn here and there or fiddling with the hem of her white coat as she leaned against the wall.

What was surprising, though, was when he managed to remove the chains from around her wrists. That was probably just as well. Whatever reason she had them on, they couldn't have been comfortable or healthy.

Amaranth nodded as the doctor spoke afterwards. "Yes, that's right. I tried to keep her from harms way...but she was injured in the incident. It was a blade wound." He confirmed. Although a bit of guilt slipped through, he neglected to mention that he'd been the one who'd stabbed her. He noticed Shakaya frown slightly at his expression out of the corner of his eye.

After that, it was back to the waiting game. Amaranth explained the full situation to Shakaya in a hushed whisper. How he'd met the girl, who she said she was, and...how exactly she'd been hurt. She'd said hardly a word. The scientist heaved a tired sigh as he finished. "I need to get some air." He announced, heading towards the exit. He looked back just as he reached the door, as if half expecting Shakaya to follow. But she didn't; instead, she remained where she was against the wall. Deciding not to think anything of it, the man left the building.

It was a few minutes later that the girl woke up. Shakaya did nothing at first, keeping her position while watching the patient out of the edges of her gaze and remaining utterly silent. After a few minutes of watching the girl, Amaranth had called her Katrina, she finally stepped forwards, towards her bed.

"Who are you?" The woman demanded. She kept her voice low. Amaranth hadn't returned yet, but she wasn't quite sure where the doctor was. "Your name isn't Katrina, is it? Your entire backstory is just a little too perfect." Shakaya gave a slight grin, hoping to intimidate the girl. She didn't have Amaranth's way with words, but she did have a bit more in the way of street smarts. Amaranth had genuinely bought the girl's story, but as he retold the events to her, the entire thing seemed off to the soldier. It was as if this girl had custom tailored her story just to get under his skin. And, from her experience, that probably meant she'd done just that.

"And why would a young, unarmed civilian really rush to get involved in the chaos at the square, anyway?" She pressed, her tone cold. Either this girl was an utter fool, or she had something to hide. "And somehow I doubt those chains you had locked around your wrists were symbolic." She arched an eyebrow. "Shall I ask the city guards what their opinion on the matter is?"

[MERINA]

The joy of her freedom of the chains lasted only so long when the blue haired woman approached her, trying to be intimidating, but Merina wasn't so easily scared away. If Merina had been anyone else, she wouldn't have even been pulled into something like this, so she made sure to have an expression that said she wasn't intimidated at all and amused by it. It might make the woman spiteful, but she didn't care.

But what she had feared -perhaps speculated was a better description- had come true. The woman had caught on. Finally! Someone smart. There wasn't going to be a way for her to wiggle out of this one, not without making things worse, or increasing the risks. But the way she had attacked those +anima... it might be best to alter her history a bit.

"Fine," she says, letting the cute act drop. Her shoulders slouched, she began to scowl and her movements harsh and powerful, as if she was ready to attack, compared to 'Katrina's' smooth ones. To even slide some of the truth by the woman was going to be tricky, but she believed she could manage it. If not, there was always the option of fleeing.

"You got me. I'm not who I say I am. I'm a thief. I stole something I wasn't supposed to and was locked up for it. They put the chains on me to, and I quote, 'keep those dirty, grubby hands from touching anything'. Look through my stuff if you don't believe me." Merina gestured towards the bag she had, of things she had stolen for the +anima. It wouldn't be hard to explain the variety of things in her bag. Variety of stock always sold best.

She laid back in the bed, clutching her side where Amaranth had wounded her. Looking at it, it was stitched up, but recently so. The wound didn't feel as bad, but seemed to respond to movement. There was no way she could make an escape flawless enough to get out of here. She doubted she could even get out of the bed without falling over. No, there was no way out but by through words. How disappointing.

And exciting.

Grimacing at the wound, she looked back up at Shakaya. "I couldn't get the chains off; it was so annoying, but I got used to it. As for faking my past, I didn't change too much. My sister did die from the hands of the wrecked +anima," she said, sounding disgusted from the thought of +anima. "What I told Amaranth was that I lived outside Sandra with my mom. My mom's dead as well and my dad left us when I was young, so I have to keep making up stories. It's how I survive."

Merina laid on her side, still facing the woman, though her eyes drifted elsewhere. "As for going into the chaos of the fight," she began, "I thought it would be a good time to snatch up something. Fights like those are great for stealing. I guess I just wasn't as careful enough to not get hurt." She softly smiled. "I know I didn't deserve saving, and the only reason I was, was because I lied to him, but I am really grateful."

Oh, great. She didn't mean to have that sappy side of her come out. The woman most likely didn't respond to sympathy seeing how she fought the +anima without a moment's hesitation. Merina coughed, hoping to cover up her sappy slip. Taking a peak at the door, she made sure Amaranth wasn't in sight. If he heard, this next part would be useless.

"I do hope, Shakaya, that you keep this to yourself and do not disclose this to Amaranth." An almost evil expression transformed her face as she stared at the woman, but quickly died down to neutral grin. "I am one hundred percent human and understand from what Amaranth has told me that he has a strong hate for +anima. I would like to keep my facade as Katrina. I don't plan to stick around, but I would rather not leave him knowing he's been fooled by someone as low as I am. I, truthfully, would like it if he kept his faith in humanity."

What she said was half a lie and half the truth, but even she couldn't distinguish which was which. After a long silence, she decides to speak up once more.

"Amaranth has told me you're from Sailand. I have one question," she states. "How does it feel knowing the +anima there are enslaved? Not having to worry that someone on the street is hiding the fact they're a monster?"

[AMARANTH & SHAKAYA]

It didn't take long for the girl's cute little facade to shatter. As soon as Shakaya accused her, her mild-mannered expression was replaced by a deep scowl and she moved to rough slouch. She put on an amused grin, though, as if to prove that she wasn't intimated or bothered.

How very interesting.

Shakaya casually crossed her arms as she listened, letting her own grin widen. If the girl was trying to discourage or irritate her by brushing off her threats, two could play that game. After slaying hundreds of +anima, she wasn't about to be intimidated or worked up by a young human girl. Especially not an injured one.

As she spoke, admitting to being a thief, the woman took her up on her offer to look through her things. She moved towards the bag, moving in an angle that could be described as sliding sideways, so as to keep her gaze on the girl. Rule number one of combat was to never take your eyes off your enemy. Here, while her 'enemy' was a heavily injured girl who likely couldn't even stand up yet, it was probably a bit silly...but it was a force of habit.

There was an odd variety of stuff in her bag, ranging from what looked like expensive jewelry to a few odder offerings such as stuffed animals, journals, and other knick-knacks. "Now some of this, I can understand." The woman commented. "But what, exactly, do you plan to do with these journals and cheap trinkets. I doubt they'd fetch much at markets."

The girl, who seemed to have been examining her wound - assessing her chances of attacking or escaping, perhaps? - looked back up again as the soldier re-approached and leaned against a nearby wall. The woman was quiet again, listening as the girl gave an explanation of her past.

It sounded reasonable enough, though the soldier raised her eyebrow slightly as the girl continued. "You would risk getting in the way of the creatures who apparently killed your sister for a chance at petty theft?" And as the girl mentioned being thankful, a softer smile once again on her face, her slight disbelief flickered up into certainty.

She was still lying - this wasn't the whole truth. She didn't have solid evidence or an easy way of rebutting her story - it was pretty solid, really; the girl was clever - but something definitely still felt off. The girl who'd smiled again just now had been the Katrina mask Amaranth had fallen for. That meant she hadn't quite taken it all the way off yet.

The woman gave a slight chuckle. "Really? Because he was also the one that stabbed you." Her companion had explained the whole fiasco to her before he'd stepped outside. "All he did was save you from a wound he inflicted. Had you not lied, you likely never would've been injured in the first place...so saying you're grateful seems just a bit odd."

"I do hope, Shakaya, that you keep this to yourself and do not disclose this to Amaranth."

Shakaya considered this a moment as the girl finished. Straightening from her place against the wall, she started to pace. Not the pace of someone nervous or troubled, but more the wide, controlled movements of a predator toying with prey.

The girl did seem to be telling the truth when she'd said she was human. If she wasn't, the doctor likely would've discovered her markings or evidence to the contrary during the procedure. At least she wasn't planning on staying; that was relief, she would've had to make quite a fuss if the girl had wanted to.

"Hmm, I don't know." She started casually, sparing a brief glance to make sure that her companion hadn't returned yet before continuing. "Ama is already rather torn up about this whole thing. At least learning he was deceived might take away some of the guilt. And honestly..." She paused, turning back towards the girl. "Sometimes I think he has just a bit too much faith. As smart as he is when it comes to his work, he can sure be a fool sometimes. I take my eyes off him for five minutes and he gets himself in all kinds of trouble. Just look what happened this time."

In truth, the soldier hadn't yet decided whether or not she was going to tell Amaranth. His naivety was also one of his more endearing traits. She supposed it depended a bit on the outcome of this little conversation.

After a silence, the girl spoke up once more.

Shakaya let another smile creep across her lips. This wasn't the mock casual smile she'd been wearing moments before, but instead a cruel grin. "It's both dangerous and quite unappealing. Held captive or not, that doesn't eliminate the risk of a rebellion. And I for one don't like walking into a cafe and wondering if my food was prepared by a +anima's hands. If it were up to me, I'd have them all executed. Asteria has the right idea, in that regard."

She had a hunch about something. And if she was right...she'd have to do something about it.

But as she didn't have any solid lead to follow, perhaps simply trying to press a reaction out of the girl would be the best approach. Noting that her motions and carefully planted grins hadn't worked earlier, she decided to try a bit of a different approach.

She walked back over towards the girl's bedside, bending down so that she was at eye level. The woman leaned in so close that she was sure the girl could feel her breath on her face. She narrowed her cold blue eyes. "Besides, it's quite boring. It doesn't leave much work for me. Well...it leaves jobs catching and carting off +anima to the slave markets, sure. But that isn't quite the same thing - it lacks a climax. You see...the best part of my job is the moment when I get to slice my blade across their necks or stick a knife in their hearts. It's sweet revenge - animals like them deserve no better for what they'd done to society. Of course, it's much more fun to play around a bit first. Some of them plead with me to let them go while others call for help and others still go out a screaming, panicked mess. Seeing all the different reactions is quite amusing, but it never makes any difference in the end - I'd be dead before I'd let one go. Tiger, lion, eagle...it doesn't matter what they are. Hit them in the right places and they all rip apart so easily. It's ever so satisfying." She licked one of her fingers - there was a slight bit of red on it from holding her bloodied weapon - as if to emphasize the point. She was embellishing a bit in hopes of coaxing out a reaction.

[MERINA]

The woman actually went through her bag? Interesting. Not many people did that, calling her bluff (though it wasn't much of one), like when she suggested to Amaranth to call the guards. He hadn't, simply for the fact that if the guards were that ignorant, it wasn't his duty to do their job. That was surely an interesting position, but it helped her, nonetheless. Well, maybe not now, seeing as she's in a bed with a big wound.

"Hey, I just pick up what I can find," Merina said with a shrug when Shakaya commented on the fact she had some useless stuff in there. Besides, people stored a bunch of different stuff in things, such as childrens' toys and in books. "And you never know who you can trick into buying useless stuff. People these days... they're all idiots."

She started to not like the situation she was in. The woman picked up on little details much quicker than most people did. She did love challenges, but not when they got on the scary side of things. Still, there wasn't really much she could do but continue to pile lie on top of lie. The lady wouldn't know anything unless she told her herself. Without a doubt, there wasn't anyone here that knew who she was or what she did, so it wasn't like Shakaya could ask around. This seemed pretty cut and dry, so why did she have the feeling that this woman could figure anything out?

She huffed, as if to say "you-know-nothing" and kept her eyes on the blue haired wench. "Have you never experienced poverty? Or hardships? When you have nothing, it doesn't matter. It's not like anyone will really care." Hopefully, playing the family (or lack there of) card would get her a bit off the hook. Though Katrina's story was false, it was built on a bit of truth; the truth being she had no family that would care if she died or not. Keeping +anima safe was her only real aim in doing anything with her life.

Damn it. Another lie torn apart by Shakaya. At this rate, she was going to disband all of this, but still learn nothing. There wasn't anyway she was going to tell her any truth! Never! Like how she got stabbed, there wasn't anything she wasn't willing to do to save her beloved +anima.

"Odd or not, he could have left me behind. It was my fault I got in his way. It should have been my responsibility; like it always has been," she said, defiantly. Still laying on the bed, she hugged her pillow for a sense of security, though if she wanted her dead, a pillow wouldn't stop her. "Besides, isn't it polite or something to be grateful? Whatever."

Due to habit, Merina began to chew on the inner walls of her mouth as she listened to the woman continue to talk. Quick! She needed a new plan, or a new angle. The "oh-well-here's-the-truth" angle had already been used and this woman was undoubtedly could not be emotionally manipulated, unlike Amaranth. If only the woman didn't keep up such a cold front, she could probably pry in and figure a way to join the woman's side, but all she knew about her was that she was into weapons and enjoyed killing +anima with said weapons. Was there an angle she could play with that?

She stayed silent and unresponsive while the woman contemplated telling Amaranth to ease the guilt. That would be a bit her fault, seeing as she's the one who twisted things to get his favor and then got herself stabbed by him.

However, when Shakaya started talking about Sailand, Merina perked up a little bit. "I see," she mumbled as she was told about Sailand's ways. "But I would rather have them at least chained up compared to letting them hide under the protection of Asteria. Kill on sight is a good plan, but you guys have got it organized. If you wanted them all gone, you know where to find them. Here, it'd be a wild goose chase." It was getting a bit harder to keep up the facade, pretending like she hated the people she thought of highly.

"Huh?" was her response as Shakaya began to very descriptively describe how killing +anima was to her, sending shivers down her spine. The way she described it all made her stomach toss and feel like it was happening to her. One of her hands left the pillow to lightly touch her throat, imagining what it would feel like to have her throat cut open.

"Ple... Please stop," she began to plead. "I don't have the stomach to... to listen to that." Her hand went to her stomach, the source of her anxiety, as if she tried to stop it. Sadly enough, that was near her wound and pressing on it didn't at all release her anxiety. "Am..." she cried loudly, hoping to get the woman to back of with the presence of her partner, "Amaranth!" The energy put into the cry was real, but not because of the wound. She needed that woman away. Far, far away.

[AMARANTH & SHAKAYA]

"Hey, I just pick up what I can find. And you never know who you can trick into buying useless stuff. People these days... they're all idiots."

The girl had a point, but Shakaya simply gave a nonchalant snort, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of answering. While the stuff in her bag was a bit strange, it wasn't necessarily incriminating, either.

Abandoning that lead, she turned back towards the younger woman as the latter gave a haughty, defiant huff. Shakaya was quiet for a moment. While she'd never necessarily experienced true hardship, she knew what it was like to lose everything. She knew what it was like to be left without family. If it wasn't for Amaranth...if it wasn't for him, she would still have no one. Her melancholy flashed across her face for just a moment, before she swiftly forced her lips back into their usual, stoic thin line. She didn't answer, not wanting to risk losing the cold flatness in her voice.

She gave a hollow chuckle as the younger girl spoke up again and clung to her pillow, though. "Aren't you noble?" She piqued, her dry, dull tone sarcastic. It seemed the girl was starting to realize that the soldier wasn't going to eat her lies so easily, but all the same...she hadn't succeeded in getting any new, legitimate information out of her, either.

She gave a casual nod as the tense conversation continued. "Fair enough." She agreed, she'd give the girl that, at least. "Astaria is horribly disorganized when it comes to their efforts to exterminate +anima. Making it as easy as it is in Sailand would eliminate a bit of the fun, but it would be more practical."

It seemed she finally hit home as she leaned in closer, continuing the topic of +anima in a...rather pointed way. Sure enough, the girl appeared rather taken aback, only managing a meager "huh?". Encouraged, the grim smile on Shakaya's face widened. This wasn't the way the girl had been acting just moments earlier. As she'd suspected, perhaps this stranger did have a soft spot for +anima. That wouldn't do at all. "Ple... Please stop. I don't have the stomach to... to listen to that." The other girl finally added as she clutched her wounded stomach.

Bull's eye.

Shakaya opened her mouth, about to continue with a threat - she couldn't simply leave an ally of her enemies alone, after all, that wasn't how war worked; Astaria may not have been her country, but her enemy was the +anima, it didn't matter where they were - when the girl suddenly let out an unexpected cry. "Am...Amaranth!"

Damn.

Shakaya tensed, there was no way her companion couldn't have heard. And sure enough, he burst through the door just moments later, looking startled and shaken. "Katrina?"

The soldier was still bent partially over the younger girl's bedside, leaned it close. The source of Katrina's distress was pretty obvious; after all, it's not like the blue-haired woman would be assisting in anyway. Amaranth's eyes widened as he took in the scene.

Shakaya didn't say anything as he hurried towards them and wrapped a hand around her wrist, as if to pull her away. The man looked from one of the two woman to the other. "...What is this? What happened?"

The soldier narrowed her eyes. Her companion seemed genuinely concerned for the injured girl, his face pale. ...He cared far too much about her for someone he'd just met. She hesitated a moment, debating on saying something, but in the end, she simply brushed away his hand for now. "Nothing, I simply thought to check on the girl when she awoke. I think I'll follow your lead and get some air." And with that, she turned her back on the stranger with a last suspicious glare, and walked out. She needed some time to think this over.

Amaranth quickly turned back towards Katrina. "What happened? Did Shakaya...do something?" He asked again once the door had closed, hoping that he might get an answer now that the soldier was gone. People don't suddenly cry out like the girl had for no reason. He anxiously scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry, she can be rather...intense." He felt an abrupt tinge of irritation at the woman.

He forcibly softened his voice a bit. "I'm glad to see that you've awoken, at least. ...How are you feeling?"

[MERINA]

The woman didn't seem to buy her excuse for the random items in her bag, but she didn't seem intent on following in on it. Thank goodness. Merina guessed it was all thanks to the fact the woman wasn't as thorough as she might think she was. What she had in there were diaries that some people in her faction wanted back, having forgotten it. She had personally read the diaries, but she was fairly sure that there was something written in them about becoming or hiding the fact they were +anima. That would have been much harder to wiggle out from.

She ignored Shakaya's comment about being noble- as if she were ever to be noble to anyone other than +anima. If her act to save that one from being mutilated by Amaranth didn't prove that, nothing would. Still, she continued to listen to the woman like she agreed with what she said although it broke her heart that +anima would be turned to slavery for having such a gift. A passing thought came as the woman talked about Sailand for a moment: could she do more good helping the +anima there rather than here? She wanted to think longer on this, but decided it could wait until she got this lady off her back.

She could only hope her unforeseen response to the woman's detailed description of her line of work. Maybe she could go from the angle that she just had a weak stomach when it came to blood and death, but then running into the battle wouldn't make any sense. Damn. Thankfully, Amaranth came to her rescue by entering the room. Shakaya seemed to stop her accusations and backed off a bit. Huh, that was interesting. Did she not want to be viewed badly by him? Was there something between them or something one-sided? That would be very, very useful later.

Merina waited until the blue haired woman before considering to answer the man's questions as her stomach pained her. It was almost like the sword was still in her body, though she knew that to be false. Upon inspection, there was nothing out of the ordinary, such as blood spottings. She took in a deep breath, feeling the pain of her inflating wounds move the healing wound, but calming her down. She laid back down and quickly tried to think of what to say, what lie to spin to get Shakaya out of her hair using Amaranth.

Alright, Katrina, do your thing, she thought to herself sarcastically. "Yeah, I'm feeling a lot better... well, compared to before," she said, managing a small smile, like she was glad he was concerned. "I guess she is," she said softly. "She... well, uh," she began, meaning to tease the man, her tone implying that she was a bit shocked from Shakaya's actions. This was going to be tricky seeing as they were partners- or something of the sort- but she had this man on a guilt trip.

"We were talking for a while when I woke up. We talked about some harmless stuff, but then we got on the topic of +anima and she started to describe what she does to them. D-don't get me wrong, I'm all for what you two do, but..." she said, wincing at the pain in her side. It seemed that a lack of air felt just as bad as too much. "She began to talk about it in detail. I don't know... it made me squeamish, but it didn't seem like she planned on stopping on her own accord. I called you for that..." the brown haired girl said looking from her lap to the man and back down again. "I'm sorry."

Maybe she went a little overboard, but she needed to get that out of her way. Holding secrets from him would only lead to the loss of his trust if he suspected she wasn't being truthful or leaned that she had lied. That would mean two against one, but as long as she had him within her grasp, she doubted much of what Shakaya could say would influence him. It was Shakaya's word against hers. As the one laying in bed with a stab wound, she knew she had the upper hand.

"Did the doctor say how long it would it would take to heal? I wouldn't want to waste any more of your time. I've only been a bother to you," she apologized, closing her eyes tightly. "I didn't mean to be such nuisance to you."

[AMARANTH & SHAKAYA]

Katrina didn't answer right away. She seemed to calm just a bit as Shakaya left the room though, taking a deep breath and lying herself back down. That was good, at least - it was probably best that she didn't try to sit or move too much yet. The wound was still fresh.

Amaranth returned the expression as the girl said that she was feeling better than she had and passed him a small smile. What a relief! This could have turned out much worse. He felt a brief shiver creep up his spine at the thought of what could've happened - how he would've felt if his careless actions had ended up taking an innocent human girl's life. He would've had to live with that forever.

The man snapped back to attention as the girl kept speaking, dismissing those now unnecessary thoughts as he considered what Katrina was saying. It took her a moment before she finally began to explain, her voice sounding a bit shocked. ...What had Shakaya done now?

Her response was a bit strange.

For one thing, Shakaya wasn't one in any way for casual conversation, especially not about 'harmless stuff'. She was always all business, especially with strangers. If she wasn't talking about assignments or work, she generally wouldn't say anything at all. She was both quiet and stoic. As far as he knew, he was the only one she would actually converse casually with, and even then, that was actually rather rare.

For another, even though she did talk about her work, she still wasn't the type who would randomly converse about it in great detail with strangers. If the topic had come up - and clearly it had, he believed that much - there had to be a reason.

Finally, if the girl was squeamish, why had she run so determinedly into the middle of a battlefield? Well...he supposed he could attribute that last one to a mixture of panic and good intentions. It was probably nothing.

He felt the briefest tinge of suspicion, but quickly dismissed it. Even if the way she'd described Shakaya's behavior had been slightly odd, she had no reason to lie about it. To get the full story, he could try and get Shakaya to talk to him about it later. Maybe it would make sense, then.

Amaranth looked back towards the girl. "No, I'm sorry. It doesn't bother her, so she doesn't always realize that other people can be sensitive to that sort of thing. I'll ask her not to bring it up again if it bothers you." Or rather, Shakaya didn't care if other people were sensitive to it, but he figured wording it this way was better.

He paused, considering whether he wanted to continue before searching for the girl's eyes with his. "I'm actually surprised she was talking with you at all. She's honestly not a particularly friendly sort, I'm afraid." It wasn't a question, but the tone of his voice signaled that he was interested in some sort of explanation, though he probably wasn't going to press for it.

Amaranth tried to recall the brief conversation they'd had with the doctor after the man had finished his work on her wounds. "I believe he said it'd take several weeks to fully heal, but if everything goes well, he thought you'd be able to leave in a week or so, if you wish, as long as you don't overdo it." The scientist gave another small smile, this time more genuine. "But don't worry, it's not a bother at all. We'll stay here at least until you can get around on your own; we're not in a hurry, really. ...And this was my fault, after all. I'm going to make sure you fully recover."

[MERINA]

Oh I am so screwed, was Merina's first thought. Those eyes, those small staggered movements and subtle changes in his voice did not mean anything good for her. She must have missed some clue, said something wrong or overplayed it. Whatever she did, she knew she wouldn't be able to fix it. If he hasn't figured out that she was lying already, trying to fix something she didn't know about would seem suspicious. She's only been in this kind of situation once before and got out fine. Then again, she hadn't been stabbed and hospitalized that time. Perhaps Shakaya would have been easier to deal with. At least she hadn't been a sucker.

"O-oh, that would make sense then," she said timidly, not adding anything extra or special. She simply laid on the bed, both hands covering the wound. "She sure is... different," she offered with a purposely obvious fake smile. Katrina would be the type to find the good in others and be selfless or something like that. Ugh, switching covers in an instant wasn't an easy thing to do. Her only hope was he didn't notice it.

So that was it! She should have guessed by the way Shakaya had approached her that she wasn't a peoples person. There had been the possibly the blue haired woman was just always suspicious and picked apart her quickly spun lies. The way she had attacked those +anima... she could only imagine what would happen if they found out she was a +anima supporter-or even considered a fan.

"Yeah, I wonder why she did,"she said, metaphorically tossing the ball into Shakaya's court. If she played it right and twisted the story just right, she could make her seem like she was over analyzing everything. The tricky part was that it seemed the two have known each other for an extensive time. Sure, Merina had the guilt trip and relate-able background, but time and trust triumphs all.

"Oh! You don't have to! I still have my mom." Instantly, she regretted those words. They'll want to meet the nonexistent mother, or at least make sure she got to the also nonexistent house with said fake mother. "It was all my fault; I shouldn't have ran into that fight. I though... I could make a difference," said the humble character. Satisfied with that angle, her mind quickly ran through more scenarios and possibilities.

Pit. That was the theme she needed to keep with. "I guess I just made the wrong kind of difference," she said with a heavy sigh, like she was about to cry. The convict turned her head, snuggling it into the poorly fluffed pillow. "I should have..." She stifled a few fake sobs. "You guys were just trying to help and... I messed everything up." She removed one of her hands from the wound to wipe away the tears for her eyes.

She took a moment to pause, making herself take deep, even breaths. "I'm sorry. Its just... I messed up so much and you're taking responsibility for it. I... I can't let you do that," Merina stopped hiding her face in the pillow and looked at Amaranth with determined eyes. "You've done enough, but I can take care of myself."

She was reverting back to the Katrina Amaranth first met, the one that used chains as a symbolic meaning, independent and strong. Sure, she acted a bit weak for a bit, but that was because she had been, well, stabbed. That was justifiable weakness.

[AMARANTH & SHAKAYA]

"She sure is... different."

Amaranth gave a slight chuckle, in spite of himself. The girl was clearly trying to find some nice way of putting it, although it was pretty obvious that she'd been shaken up. "That she is, I suppose." He'd spoken with a small smile, but he felt his irritation at his companion creep back up again as the girl continued.

"Yeah, I wonder why she did..."

That was a very good question, indeed. The soldier never did anything without a purpose. Her mind simply didn't work that way. Everything was the ends to a means. Regardless of why she'd talked to the younger girl, she had to have felt there was some reason, there. She must've noticed something to gain, something she didn't like, or something that caught her interest. Amaranth gave Katrina another brief looking over, hoping that she wouldn't notice. ...But with a harmless, injured girl, what could it possibly be? Nothing seemed odd.

Amaranth forced a smile back to his face, though, as the girl broke down and began to sob. He approached and gently placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "It was a show of bravery and good intentions, just make sure to keep your own safety and limits in mind in the future." He heaved a brief sigh. "That's a lesson I need to learn, as well. I did the exact same thing; I tried to help and made things worse. My mistakes were far greater; for that, I truly am sorry." He apologized again, though he knew it wouldn't make any difference.

He thought about her idea of taking care of herself for a few moments. She seemed pretty set on this. ...Would them staying only make it worse? "I still have plenty to take responsibility for." Amaranth shook his head. "How about this? We'll stay at least for a few days and see how you're doing, and then we'll decide. I'd at least like to talk to your mother first and apologize."

As his thoughts idly wandered back towards the incident with Shakaya, he passed Katrina a quick glance. "I think I'm going to talk with Shakaya for a bit. Holler if you need anything." Maybe the soldier would explain what happened. And beyond that, he needed to check in and see what she wanted to do in regards to staying or leaving, as well. There was no way he could simply abandon the girl he'd injured, though.

He cracked open the door and peered outside. "Shakaya?"

No answer. He took a step out and glanced around. She wasn't there. ...Huh. He blinked, feeling a slight tinge of unease. She'd said that she was simply going to step outside the clinic for a bit...where could she have gone? It wasn't like her to wander off without at least letting him know of her plans first. Giving his head a bewildered shake, he stepped back inside. "...She's not here." He commented aloud.

------------------------------

Shakaya quickly made her way about the city in search of guards. She didn't want to be gone too long. If she played her cards right - and made it back swiftly - Amaranth would never have to know that she'd left.

He'd never have to know that she was the one who reported the girl.

"Sirs?" Catching sight of a few guards walking by, she hurried over. Most of them were busy with the aftermath of the incident in the square, but they looked up as she approached. Her lips curved to a small, cold grin. The girl seemed to have a soft spot for +anima, and Amaranth seemed to have a soft spot for her. Neither of those things would do, and especially not in combination. She needed to nip this in the bud. "I'd like to anonymously report a suspicious person."

[MERINA]

"Well, I guess we both have something to work on, huh?" she asked bashfully. This innocent act was starting to be almost sickening. How much longer would she have to keep this up? Damn, if only she hadn't gotten stabbed... No, it was a good thing. She would rather it be her than the +anima that was hurt, but this was starting to be a very sticky situation she had put herself in and to think it all began because she didn't want people to look at her chains funny. But... if she hadn't done something like that, she wouldn't have been able to save that +anima properly without too much questioning, though Shakaya provided that well enough. What was that woman up to, anyways?

Yeah, she's doomed. Merina should have never brought up the mother subject. He wanted to talk to her now, taking some type of 'responsibility'. Give her a break; people like him just wanted to make themselves feel better. He probably didn't even give a crap about how this would all end up... No, she had formed a fake bond with him so he probably did care. At the moment, he seemed like a decent person, but for all she knew it was because of her lies. Once he found out, he'd be after her or his partner would be hunting her down like prey. "Okay then," she agreed, knowing she'd have to figure out an escape plan for later. The last thing she needed was for him to turn on her.

"Alright," she said. Her voice slipped a bit, showing a bit of weakness. If she had a mirror, she could even see that she paled a little bit. They would both be away from her which meant time to talk together privately. She could keep him here! She could- Nope. He's gone. The stress began to build up inside of her and her mind ran through several possibilities and outcomes it made her head hurt. Should she attempt an escape? Or wait and see how things turned out? No matter how good a shield Amaranth was to her against Shakaya, there was no telling what that crazy lady would do.

So it's settled: she's going to escape. When Merina heard Amaranth call for his partner, she quickly slid out of the bed, seeing that she still wore her bloodied dress. "That's revolting," she sneered, fingering the fabric. Even parts of it were cut open by the doctor, leaving a gaping hole that exposed her stitched wound. In a few seconds, she gathered her belongings and exited through a window in the back, closing it once she was on the other side, knowing that leaving it open was a big no-no when trying to make a get away.. With each step she took, the cut in her side ached, but it would take more than that to make her slow down from her already slow walk, using the wall as a support.

"Mmph!" She clasped her hand over her mouth when her hand touched the cool brick surface. She turned to look at it, seeing the tender skin where the cuffs once were and a few scrapes. She looked up and down the dimmed alleyway, hoping she had silenced herself soon enough and no one had hear it. She took a deep breath and kept moving, trying to ignore the pain signals her body was filled with.

Her bag held many items of irrelevance, but if she had remembered correctly, there was a jacket in there. She had never been able to wear a jacket since the chains would get in the way, so why not? A jacket could hide the hole in her body and dress and hide her if anyone came looking. To further the disguise she pulled out her braids and slipped on the rough jacket, hiding the backpack under it. But she could not help but take a peep back to see how far she had gotten and if anyone had bothered to take notice of her absence. The thought of not getting a chase out of this, thinking she wasn't important enough to go after, somehow disappointed her despite knowing such a circumstance could aid her in her escape.

[AMARANTH & SHAKAYA]

Silence.

Amaranth blinked when his words got no response upon re-entering the office. "...Katrina?" He spared a bewildered glance around. His chest gave a jolt as his mind processed that the injured girl's bed was empty, and it was only a few seconds before he comprehended that the rest of the room was, too. "Katrina!" He peered deeper into the clinic, gazing into the employee area only to catch a glimpse of nothing but the doctor sifting through his files. The other man passed him a confused look, but he didn't stop to explain.

Shakaya was gone. And apparently, Katrina was, too. Even her belongings had disappeared. Suddenly abandoned, the scientist was seized by an abrupt sense of panic. Something was going on, but as to what, he'd been left in the dark.

Why would Katrina leave? Shakaya wandering off was peculiar enough, but Katrina had been seriously injured! She'd only just awoken from surgery! They'd only just talked about being less careless! She was undergoing necessary and skilled care!

So...why would she...?

She couldn't have left out the front door - that's where he'd been standing as he'd looked for Shakaya. And judging from the doctor's confused, nonchalant reaction, she hadn't gone through the employee door, either. Amaranth hurried to the room's only window. It was shut, but it opened when he pulled on the rim - it was closed, but not locked.

The man rushed back outside, towards the opposite end of the window. She wasn't there. "Katrina!" He shouted, as loud as his voice would allow.

"...Ama?"

It was Shakaya who answered, padding up to him with a bewildered gaze. A tense shadow tightened her features; she wasn't sure what was going on, but if he was outside, he'd surely noticed her absence earlier.

Amaranth spun to face his companion. "Where were you?" He shouted, his panic coming out in his voice. There was a slight, accusatory tone there that made the woman narrow her eyes. The man shook his head when he got no answer, as if realizing that now wasn't the time. "Katrina's gone missing! We have to find -"

Shakaya reached out and grabbed his shoulders before he could turn around, trying to get her companion to calm down. ...It wasn't supposed to happen this way. "Ama, listen to me! ...I talked to her earlier; she's not who you think she is. There's a chance that she might be dangerous."

For a moment, Amaranth just stared. ...Not who he thought she was? Dangerous? What on earth did she mean by that? Either way, none of that mattered right now. "She's a young, injured girl!" He argued. That was one fact that he knew was true, and right now, that eclipsed anything else. After all, what happened had been his fault. "She's still recovering, if she pushes herself too hard right now, she might..." The man's voice trailed off as he heard voices approaching.

A group of armed men was steadily making its way towards the small clinic. They were city guards.

The connection with Shakaya's absence all at once clicked. Had she...? He passed his companion a wide, incredulous gaze. Her own darkened. "She seems to be a +anima sympathizer; she's dangerous." The woman repeated.

Amaranth all at once pulled away and took off running without a second glance. ...A +anima sympathizer? Where they hell would she get an idea like that? It was utterly preposterous! Who in their right mind would...

His thoughts were interrupted as he suddenly caught sight of a small dot of blood on the cobblestone ground. There were a few more not far away, near the alleyways behind the building. That's right - the girl hadn't yet been changed out of her bloodied clothes. Perhaps...

"Katrina!" He shouted, rushing off into the alleyway nearest the stains. Maybe if he kept following the trail, he'd come across her soon. In her condition, she couldn't have gotten far. He needed to find Katrina before the guards or Shakaya did.

[MERINA]

Her desires were met and a demented grin crept it's way to her face. Good. Her ears perked at the sound of her 'name' as it was yelled over and over by the man. She hadn't gotten too far, she realized, if she could hear this, but she didn't keep going on. Instead, Merina stayed where she weakly stood to listen as the woman -that dreadful woman- began to talk to Amaranth. She had been right! It was a good thing she had gotten out of there when she had. There was no telling what would happen if the guards caught her. First, they'd throw her back in prison. The chains... she didn't want any more chains!

Feeling a boost of adrenaline course through her veins, she slipped into a narrow alleyway that led to a busy street where she could blend in to the crowd. Well, as much as she could blend, feeling like a rose in a field of dandelion. From all that blood loss, she probably looked as pale as a ghost and her hair felt stringy. Was it blood or merely sweat? From the corner of her eye, she spotted one guard talk to the other and then surveying the street and she forced herself to turn away. Eye contact would be a death wish at this moment.

Once more, the name Katherine rung in the air above the commotion of the people. What did he want? After all Shakaya said, did he still believe she was simply some injured girl that hated +anima? That ran away from help? What a moron! She couldn't believe he was a scientist. Actually, she couldn't believe he even managed to get in to Asteria without accidentally stabbing himself in the foot or robbed by some amateur pickpockets. Then again, she couldn't be surprised. The man couldn't even help to notice the way Shakaya acted towards him! He was such an idiot.

Well, why not play with him more?

She managed to push her way through the crowd without disturbing anyone or getting their attention, looking for something familiar so she knew which way to go to get out of this town. It disappointed her greatly that she decided escape over a chase, but it couldn't be helped, could it? She carried in her bag some objects her fellow faction-mates treasured. There was no way she could disappoint them! A good chase or helping +anima? The latter would always be the one she chose.

Seeing the baker she had bought her lunch from and the seat she had met Amaranth at, Merina managed to locate her position and began to make her way towards the exit, her pace quickening and slowing as she went on, keeping her as inconsistent as ever. Only a block, now, from sweet freedom of the +anima killers, she hid around a corner, pulling up her jacket for a moment to check her wound. This wasn't good; it was already bleeding out. Risking a peak around the corner, she noticed the drips of blood that marked her path.

"Damn," she swore to herself, her head whipping back from around the corner, her body resting against the building. There were less people around here, but none of them seemed to notice her too much. They're all idiots, she thought to herself with a shrug, but at least it works in my favor. Taking in a deep breath and letting it out, she began, again, for the exit.

One step... two steps.. three steps she had taken outside of the town's boarders when a guard grabbed her wrist. "I got'er!" the brute sounded over his shoulder. Tugging and pulling didn't seem to get back her hand so she relaxed, letting him hold her there for a few moments before looking up at him with teary eyes.

"Please, sir, what have I done?" she asked, sniffing. "I've got to get my mom her medicine. What do you want with me?" The man looked at her, his face distorted with the look of confusion, giving her an open window for a second. She struck upward with her palm at his nose. The force had been meant to break his nose, but in her weakened state, she bet she barely even cracked it and decided to take his moment of distortion and pain to thrust her elbow at the center of his chest, between the ribs. "Damn..." he wheezed as he keeled over.

Without so much as a glance around her, she sprinted away to get out of sight as soon as she could. It was barely two minutes when she ran out of energy and hid behind a tree, letting herself fall down and gasping for air. This wound... it was taking too much of a toll on her. Merina tried to lift herself up, but was unsuccessful, leaving her laying on the ground, grasping at the hole in her side.

"Damn that woman," she said to herself, biting her bottom lip to keep herself from moaning from the pain. "That idiotic man..."

[AMARANTH & SHAKAYA]

Shakaya watched Amaranth as he pulled away and took off, vanishing into the alleyways behind the clinic. ...What a child.

Her fingernails dug into the fabric of her white coat as she crossed her arms. Had her companion truly formed such a fast 'bond' with the stranger that he would trust her but doubt the words of his childhood friend? She hardly enjoyed stirring up drama like this - she never moved without reason. She wouldn't have said such things if she didn't truly believe that they were true. He should know that. And yet he still wouldn't believe her. He still wanted to aid the 'innocent injured girl'.

Naive, stubborn fool. She grit her teeth, trying not to let the tightness constricting her ribs reach her face. She should go after him...but it was difficult to want to when he'd blatantly chosen to put himself at risk despite her words. When he'd chosen to put faith in the stranger instead of her. When had she ever been wrong about something like this before?

The woman heaved a quiet grunt. This wasn't helping anything. Forcing her hurt and irritation aside, she rushed off in the direction her companion had a few minutes earlier. He was lucky that the girl was wounded, but the possibility that she could be dangerous remained. After all, no sane human would sympathize with the +anima - it was difficult to say just what they were dealing with here. Leaving Amaranth alone with her wouldn't be wise, regardless of how determined he seemed to be to put himself in as much danger as possible.

-------------------------------

Amaranth hurried through the busy city streets, keeping his eye on the faint trail of crimson. None of the civilians seemed riled up. Not the way he would've expected them to be if they'd seen a girl wearing a bloodied hospital gown, at least. ...Was it possible that Katrina was wearing a disguise of some kind? ...She truly was serious about escaping, wasn't she?

There were a few groups of guards out and about in their search, as well, but he ignored them. He could only hope that they hadn't noticed the trail of blood yet. But as he neared the town border, he all at once caught sight of a man in uniform laying on the ground.

His pace picked up with a jolt of adrenaline, the scientist rushing over towards the limp shape. Sure enough, it was a fallen guard. A quick scan of the ground near him revealed taletell marks of crimson. As far as he knew, there weren't any threats around the city now that the +anima incident earlier had been dealt with. ...So what had befallen the man below him? Had it...been Katrina? ...Had she truly taken out a guard?

He briefly recalled Shakaya's words, before pushing them away with a shake of his head and continuing to follow the trail. He ran for another few minutes before the path led him around the trunk of a tree.

He saw her. She was there as he turned the corner, lying spread out on the ground. The blood that had guided his way stopped and slowly pooled here, and he could her the girl's breaths come in gasps from where he stood. Amaranth's eyes widened. "Katrina!" He rushed towards her and knelt down beside her, not thinking clearly. "What the hell is this? Why didn't you stay?" His voice quivered with a medley of anger and worry.

[MERINA]

Her mind began to spin, searching for ways to regain her strength, hide herself to rest, ways to get out of here, but her thoughts were muddled by exhaustion and blood loss. She hadn't lost too much, but it was enough to make her feel a bit light headed and keep her from devising a plan quickly. Fix the more critical thing first, she told herself as she motionlessly assessed her condition. The wound had been stitched up well but it had opened - she hadn't given it enough time to heal properly. She needed pressure on the wound, but she could barely keep her head straight much less put the strength into helping the rest of her body.

Maybe I've bought myself enough time to rest, she thought to herself, hoping she was right. If she wasn't, all the effort she had put into getting out of town would have been for naught and she could've as well let Shakaya do what she wanted with her: jail or worse. At least then she could plan some kind of escape while people thought she was a helpless, wounded street urchin, which would get her some form of leniency that could aid her in a non-perused escape. No! If she had done that, that could give them information as to who she was with, who she supported. The diaries in her bag could give away a lot.

Merina's ears perked at the sound of heavy footsteps, gaining to her position quickly. In a panic, she tried to roll over on her side. What that would accomplish, she had no clue. She just knew she needed to move. It could be anyone: the mad woman, the guards, etc. She had no way of knowing who was coming for her, but if she could move maybe -just maybe- she wouldn't be noticed.

To her luck, that wasn't the case. The footsteps stopped near her, but she didn't dare open her eyes to find out who. It seemed like a waste of strength considering what eyesore she might see. But the voice that supposedly belonged to the footsteps changed her mind instantly: Amaranth!

The brunette couldn't tell whether is was fear, anger or confusion in his voice, but at the moment she was just glad it was the moronic scientist instead of a pair of guards. Or the guard she knocked out. God knows how that man would react when he woke up. She put her strength into pushing herself up, wrapping her arms around the man's neck in an embrace. If she really wanted to escape, she would really need to pull the strings in his head.

"Oh, Amaranth!" she cried, holding on tighter to the man, mainly because the strength in her back was falling out from keeping her sitting up. Well, somewhat. "I was so scared!" Shakaya might be the woman he trusted, but if he was here without here, something must have gone down.

"I don't know what I said, but Shakaya was accusing me of being a +anima sympathizer along with other accusations. She was just so scary... I didn't know what to do. When she left, I feared the worst. I thought you might have been on her side so I left," she told the man, still not willing to let go of him. At this point, she didn't want him to see her face. Faking a scared face was hard to do when you had little energy left from running, blood loss and a recent stab wound and she would rather save her energy for getting her out of this situation and playing with his emotions.

Finally, she willingly let go, hitting the ground harder than she thought she would, a root from the tree poking her shoulder blade though nothing that would leave more than a small bruise. She put some effort in to crying real tears. "I'm sorry, Amaranth. I'm really sorry." Alright, her came the big punch line. If this didn't work, she might as well start getting her mindset ready for whatever was going to happen to her. "I lied to you. It's what I do. Yes, my sister was killed by a +anima and my father left us, but I don't have a home. I don't have a mother to go to- she died along with my sister."

She stopped talking to catch her breath, gasping with each lungful of air. "I'm a petty thief. Those chains weren't a political statement, I had escaped from jail. I had been arrested for trying to survive and I couldn't do much else after I left. You seemed so... nice. I didn't want to tell you the truth, but please - please - help me." Each word was painful and she didn't try to hide it in her voice. A little more incentive to get him to help her.

It was disgusting asking for help like this- actually, it was bad enough she was asking for help in the first place from a human, but she didn't see much of a choice at the moment. She had a fifty/fifty chance of managing to manipulate the man enough to help her. She was human and a +anima attack victim - as far as he would know - but she didn't know his view on thieves. Besides, how would he help her? Would he go back and get the guards off her trail or take her back and try to explain things to everyone? Or, would it not work at all and he'd toss her to the guards?

She looked up to him with teary green eyes. "Please," she mouthed.

[AMARANTH & SHAKAYA]

"Oh, Amaranth!"

The man tensed in spite of himself as the girl wrapped her arms around his neck. His body jerked with a flight instinct - he didn't like to be touched - but he forced himself to relax his muscles as the girl sobbed. After all, the poor girl was already terrified...and he knew how that felt. He bit his lip as he listened to her speak.

He wasn't good at comforting people, but he tried to loosely return the embrace as she cried, refusing to let go. "Everything will be fine, now." They could take her back to clinic and have her wound stitched up again. He could talk to Shakaya - she would understand now, wouldn't she? Katrina was completely helpless! - and they could clear up the misunderstanding with the guards. But...

Even if the emotional part of his mind saw nothing but an injured girl, some part of his logic pulsed with a prickle of suspicion. It clung on like sticky little fingers and replayed Shakaya's words in the back of his mind. As she spoke, he couldn't help but wonder again where his companion had gotten the idea from to begin with. ...It was surely just as illogical that an injured girl could be what Shakaya described. Although...

Amaranth stared at the grass. Faint traces of red still tainted the green. "But...why did you run? You needed to rest and give the wound time to heal! Surely you understood that! What could you have possibly had to gain?" His voice had raised louder than he'd anticipated. He quickly bit his lip to bring it back down. There had to be a reason. Running about town with a fresh wound and with no purpose whatsoever would be, quite frankly, insane. ...Had she known that Shakaya was going to call the guards, by chance?

The girl finally let go. Her weakness was almost painfully apparent - she collapsed with a thud and bruised her shoulder on a nearby root. Amaranth's concern once again eclipsed his suspicions, but he said nothing as she started speaking.

...A thief, huh? He briefly closed his eyes. He knew what that felt like - being left with nothing and doing what you had to do to survive, whatever that was. You simply had to work with the cards fate dealt you. He'd simply been fortunate that he'd gotten a better hand after the one that had destroyed his family. "...I see." He tried to smile. "None of that really matters at this moment, though, does it?"

So...was that the truth, then? All of it?

Either way, there was something that was still left unexplained. Something that did still matter in his mind, even if he felt like it shouldn't. "...But how did Shakaya come up with the idea that you were a +anima sympathizer?" He couldn't stop himself from asking. "What were you talking about?" He figured he better dress his slight suspicions with something that sounded more reasonable. "If you tell me what happened, maybe I can convince her that it was a misunderstanding."

Because it was a misunderstanding...right?

"So you've found your damsel in distress, I see."

Amaranth almost jumped, in spite of himself. He looked up to see Shakaya standing over him, as if she'd stepped right out of his thoughts. She must've followed him using the same blood trail. ...She hadn't heard that last bit, had she?

Her voice was low, but her eyes weren't set on him - they were set on Katrina. They were narrowed and solemn, their blue irises as cold as the ice they resembled. Amaranth felt himself tense. It was the gaze she usually reserved for +anima.

The man heaved a deep swallow to steady his voice before speaking. "Shakaya...we'll talk about this later, but for now we have to get Katrina back to the clinic. Please...explain to the guards that it was a misunderstanding." He pleaded, hoping that she'd be rational.

The woman's gaze never faltered. "But it's not. My conclusions are solid." Her gaze flickered to Amaranth, just for an instant. "You're behaving like a child."

Amaranth spoke before he could stop himself. "If we don't get the wound fixed up again, she could die! You're the one letting your paranoia risk someone's life, and I'm the child?"

Silence.

The man's gaze fell, his lips curving into a frown before he again raised his eyes to meet his companion's. "...Please? I don't want to be responsible for a human girl's death."

The woman finally looked down, her shoulders tense. When she looked up, she passed Katrina a last, hateful glare and turned away. "Fine. But we aren't letting her go free." She walked off before Amaranth could say anything else.

But...that meant that she was at least going to call off the guards, didn't it? It would be safe to head back.

Fighting off the icky, heavy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach, Amaranth turned back towards Katrina and leaned down closer. He wasn't quite strong enough to pick her up - curse his frail figure - but the injured girl could at least lean against him once more on the way back. "Can you make it back to the clinic? We have to get that wound stitched up again."

[MERINA]

Merina managed a meek smiled when dealing with all of Amaranth's questions, though on the inside she felt like screaming at him. Her head was starting to feel dizzy. She couldn't have possibly lost that much blood, but she probably hadn't recovered all the blood she lost from the original attack. Despite the annoyance of his questions, she felt proud. He was still at the mercy of Katrina's helplessness. She chose the right character to get out of this properly, if only he hadn't charged at the +anima she wouldn't have had to step in the way.

"I know people. It's how I survive. That woman," she couldn't even bring herself to say the name, "is different, but there was malice. I don't know what I did or said that caused it. She has something against me. I could see it." Alright, alright, he probably got the point. That she was just a poor confused girl, befuddled with the situation she was in. Sadly, she didn't have the option of playing dumb. She sealed that away with "her" strong opinions against the government. Anyways, the man wasn't a complete idiot. He would see right through that act.

He dismissed her confession. Time to play up the guilt. "I just thought I'd let you know," she told him sorrowfully. "I never intended to be around you this long. But I trust you. You've done so much for me." She'd add more, about how she was thankful he came after her or whatever, but playing it up that much would just be suspicious. Plus, she was getting really tired. This whole ordeal was just extinguishing. How she managed to do it this long was anyone's guess.

He then proceeded to bombard her with questions, one following the next, promising to clear the bad air between the two females. She managed to resist the urge to roll her eyes and laugh. That woman was insane. There was no possible way to reason with her. So Merina opened her mouth once given the chance to speak, starting off with: "She-" only to be cut off by the woman they were talking about.

Speak of the devil.

She let the two bicker all they wanted, using the time to gather her wits and put pressure on the open wound. Shakaya had her gaze fixed on the brunette and it felt like she was boring a hole into her skull. With Amaranth's back on her, Merina returned the glare for a few moments, somewhat scared that the man would turn around and see it.

Their bicker was music to her ears, Amaranth defending her side. Perhaps it was a good thing that Shakaya stepped in as the antagonist of this situation. It kept the man from peering too closely into her lies and finding a loophole if she had left one open. She felt the desire to pitch it, saying something along the lines of "don't I get a say in this?" or something to that extent, but kept her mouth shut mainly because she hadn't the energy to voice herself that loudly.

Finally, the dreadful woman left and Amaranth returned to her side. Could she make it back? Surely. She might've lost some blood but that wouldn't be enough to stop her. She's survived on her own for quite a while, it would take a lot more to keep her down. But did she want to go back? The woman had said that she wouldn't be allowed free afterwards, but if she didn't get help there was no way she'd be able to arrive back to base for help in time.

"Yes," she said at long last. "I can."

Amaranth helped her back to town, letting her put most of her weight on him as they headed back to the same clinic she escaped from, passing the guard that she had attacked. He didn't seem to appreciate the fact he had been knocked down by a girl. An injured girl, nonetheless. Back at the clinic, the doctor tutted as he fixed her back up, redoing the stitches that had come undone in her escape. Unlike last time, she was not unconscious. Seeing as she was a potential criminal by the look of the guards he hadn't bothered to do anything to ease the pain other than lending her a strip of leather to bite down on.

After all was said and done, she rested on the same bed as before, more food by her bedside to help replace the blood she had lost, which she ate slowly.

"Amaranth," she called softly, hoping the man was within hearing distance.

[AMARANTH & SHAKAYA]

Shakaya ground her jaw, trying to come up with something to say.

She and Amaranth had started talking - or arguing, rather - outside of the clinic while 'Katrina' had undergone her procedure, but so far it was going nowhere. What she needed was cold, hard evidence to snap the man back to his senses, but infuriatingly enough, she had none. She was right. She knew she was right. But she had no way to prove it.

She'd already told Amaranth about what the girl had said to her earlier, but 'Katrina' had apparently given him the same thief story, as well. And unfortunately, the account she'd told both of them matched up. Heh. She doubted the girl had told him in the same tone she'd told her, but there was no way to prove that, either. Amaranth had decided that he didn't care about the girl lying to him earlier.

Shakaya's fingers clenched into fists at her side. "It all makes sense. She was likely injured because she moved to protect the +anima. Many of the items in her bag wouldn't sell to a normal, human market, but might have value to a certain, other subset. She snapped when I went on about +anima. What further proof do you need? She's already lied to you once!"

Amaranth stared down at the alleyway street. "You probably frightened her. You pressured her into 'snapping'."

"...And why, perchance, would I bother doing so if I didn't believe there was reason for it?" Shakaya kept her voice level, refusing to let her anger and hurt reach it at the accusation. Of course, it wasn't entirely untrue, but... But there had been reason for it.

The man never looked up. It took him a while to answer. "..You can't seriously believe..."

"I do." Shakaya insisted, as if it were the simplest thing in the word. "And if you still believe her, then you're choosing to trust her over me."

Silence. The man fumbled with one hand grasping his opposite wrist.

"Amaranth."

It was the girl's quiet voice that broke the hush, managing to find its way to them from inside the clinic.

Amaranth cast a glance towards the doorway, before moving to walk inside without another word. He heaved a sigh as he turned away - perhaps it would be best if they both took the time to cool off for a while.

"You are a fool."

He paused to look back at Shakaya at her words. Her eyes were narrowed in undisguised anger, her voice completely flat. He'd seen the expression many times before, but not directed at him.

"Take a look inside her bag. Maybe the diaries will offer evidence - I should've taken a better look to begin with." Shakaya moved to lean against the wall as she spoke, making it clear that she had no plans of going inside for the time being.

Amaranth never answered. Instead, he opened the door to the clinic and stepped inside. He closed to door behind him.

Shakaya... It wasn't that he didn't trust her but... But it wasn't like she couldn't be wrong. He believed that she believed her own words, but the whole idea was still utterly mad! Besides...she never should've alerted the guards without at least talking to him first. It was clear that he cared about what happened to the girl he'd injured, and she'd gone behind his back and had almost gotten her killed.

Still...he found his eyes wandering towards Katrina's bag as he glanced about the room, but he shook his head and turned away. The girl herself was picking at food in her bed.

He tried to smile as he stepped closer. "...What is it?"