Work Text:
“It doesn’t work like that!”
“It does and I can prove it!”
Castti and Ochette were debating the ability to eat meat after stuffing oneself to the absolute peak of fullness. The women had just helped Agnea deal with Lamani and were now taking a nice evening stroll through New Delsta. They weren’t exactly sure what to do, so Throné decided to give the ladies a tour of New Delsta. However, Agnea found herself enchanted with all the different dancewear that a merchant was displaying at their stall, and Ochette wanted to eat everything in sight. This left Throné and Castti extremely exasperated, as they had not yet figured out how to keep both of these two from running off on their own.
“Ochette, the human body does not have any room for an extra ‘meat-only’ stomach-”
“I’m not human, though!”
“Ochette.”
“UUUGH.” Ochette groaned in frustration. “Ma, you don’t understand! I’m starving!” Throné looked on fondly as the two of them continued to squabble. She sighed. Things had gotten a lot more complicated since she joined up with the travelers. But she didn’t regret it. Not for an instant. Having people to simply be with was a desire Throné didn’t even know she had. That… and she is extremely thankful for having Castti in her life. Gods above, I love that woman. Though she would never say that in front of the others. She wanted to keep their relationship a secret until they met up with the group's men again, at which point Temenos would uncover it immediately.
“Fine!”
A sudden shout halted Throné’s train of thought. She looked up to see Ochette running ahead, a bewildered look on Castti’s face. Ochette looked up defiantly. “If you won’t provide me with meat, I’ll go find my own! Come on, Akala!” With that, she turned around and took off at full speed-
“Hahaha- MPPHUH!”
“AH!”
Only to dive face-first into an unsuspecting passerby. They both fell to the ground.
“Ow, ow…” The stranger rubbed her elbow. Castti was immediately at her side. “Are you alright, miss?” Throné checked up on Ochette. “You good?” Ochette got up. “Yeah.” She turned to the stranger. “I’m really sorry, Miss! Are you okay?” The stranger got up. Wait a minute. Don’t I know that lady from somewhere? Throné thought to herself. “Y-yeah! No problems here. I gotta get going! Ooo, this is definitely gonna make the front page!” Ah, it’s the loud woman. “Wait a minute. Ori, right?”
Ori looked back at Throné. “Yeah, how did you- OH! I recognize you!” She exclaimed. “You were in that group that Partitio dragged everywhere!” Throné chuckled. “‘Dragged’ is a bit of an overstatement. We help each other out and get helped in return. What brings you here?”
“What else?” Ori opens her notebook. “Oh yeah! You’re a jernailisk or something, right?” Ochette chimed in. “...yeah, close enough. And boy have I got a scoop!” Ori beckoned the group closer, signaling a whisper. All of them leaned in.
“I found out that this loan shark company has been taking money from people who have already paid their dues!” Throné’s expression immediately darkened. This sounds familiar. “Even worse, they target the impoverished, because they can’t read and believe whatever the debt collectors tell them is on the contract.” Ok, this is VERY familiar. “And they don’t stop there! They target the middle class with blackmail, so they draw in even more cash! They’ve apparently been doing this for-”
“About three years,” Throné finished.
Ori stood in shock. “How did you know that?” Throné grimaced. “...would this happen to be the Golden Phoenix you’ve been investigating?” Ori’s posture shot straight up. “Y-yeah! How did you know that!?!”
“...what I’m about to tell you stays off the books, understand?”
Ori nodded, putting her pen and journal away.
“...they came up with this ‘business infrastructure’ around 4 years ago. They loaned money to those people, and someone figured out what they were doing within the group, and they tried to blow the whistle on them. But what that whistleblower didn’t know was that the Phoenixes had recruited the service of the Blacksnakes as a sort of ‘insurance.’ The whistleblower was silenced.”
Ori could only stare. “How do you know all this?”
“Because I’m the one they sent to silence her.”
All eyes were on Throné.
“... I’ve said too much. I should be going.” She tried to leave, but a hand held her in place. Castti. “Throné, we know you wouldn’t do that of your own free will. And as far as any of us are concerned, you aren’t one of them. Not anymore.” Throné smiled at her. Even now, Castti kept her grounded. “...thanks.” Castti flashed a smirk back at her. “What are friends for?”
Throné glanced at Ori. Her finger was twitching, resisting the urge to reach for her book and pen. “...put me down as an anonymous former member of the Blacksnakes.” Ori’s eyes widened, and she was writing within seconds. “OOOOOO! Thank you thank you thank you thank you!” Throné sighed. Maybe she could shed some light on the truth. A good way to start making amends for her past.
Or…
“Ori.” The journalist looked up. “Yeah?” Are they still holed up in the weapons shop by the alleyway? The one that no one even realizes is there?” Ori looked at her. “Yeah, why?”
Throné removed her dagger from its holster. She weighed the edge against her finger. Still perfectly sharp. “...no reason.” She looked up. “Anyways, it’s been a long day. I’d best retire for the evening.” Agnea started after her. “Throné! What are you-” But she was soon out of earshot.
Exposing the truth would be the moral way to do things, yes. But having Ori’s name on the article would likely incite the Phoenixes, and spur the Blacksnakes to action. Granted, Mother was not around to give them orders, and Father was probably holed up in Montwise. But the Blacksnakes of New Delsta were likely unaware of the fracture in the chain of command or wanted to climb to the top by making a name for themselves.
Which is why, Throné reasoned, I need to clean up this filth before the article gets published.
That’s what I do best, after all.
____________________________________________________________________________
An hour had passed. 10 pm. Very few people were out at this hour, making it the opportune time to strike. She was by the intersection where Lamani had beaten the homeless man earlier that day, scouting out the exterior of the base. Stealth was going to be key in this attack. She hid behind the corner of the alleyway, using a makeup mirror and a puddle to look at the entrance of her target. One…no, two guards. I could use the other alleyway to get to them, but- Huh!?! She peered into a trash heap. Someone was hiding in there. Wait. She squinted. …Castti!?!
Before she could even express her shock at seeing her girlfriend in a trash heap by a loan shark base, a cheerful shout rang through the air. “Excuse me!” Throné didn’t even need to look to know who that voice belonged to.
“Excuse me!” Agnea repeated. The guards raised their eyebrows. “I’m so sorry! I just moved here recently, and I don’t know how to get back to my home!” Throné looked on pridefully. …she’s gotten much better at lying. Wait, why is she here!?! “I don’t suppose you two would be kind enough to see me on my way? It’s dangerous around here…” Much to Throné’s lack of shock, the two men weren’t paying much attention to anything Agnea was saying. They were too busy looking at Agnea. “Uh… sure. Couldn’t let a lil’ lady like yourself be alone at this time.” The other guard chuckled. “My thoughts exactly- MMPH!”
Two hands, each holding a cloth, wrapped around the men’s faces and covered their noses and mouths. Agnea chuckled as the guards began to panic. “As I said,” she smirked, “It’s dangerous at this time of night.” One guard fell unconscious. The other thrashed around for a moment, then laid still.
Throné stepped out of the shadows, walking towards her companions. “What are you doing here?” Agnea looked at Throné, cocking her head. “Why wouldn’t we be? Our friend needs our help.” Throné sighed. “...this is a personal matter. I’ll deal with this myself.” She went to step into the building but was halted by Castti’s hand on her shoulder. “Throné, as long as I’m here you don’t have to deal with anything by yourself.” Throné sighed. If only. Brushing Castti’s hand away, she didn’t even look at Castti. “Not this time, Castti.” She didn’t even wait for a reaction as she entered the Phoenix den.
____________________________________________________________________________
The building reeked of booze.
The smell invaded Throné’s nose immediately upon entering the den. …It’s probably safe to assume that they’re all piss drunk. That’ll make things easier. She slid into the shadow of a wall. Then again, better safe than sorry.
She traversed the hallway, not a single word spoken by her feet against the hardwood floor. Around a corner, there were another two guards. And unfortunately for Throné, they did not appear intoxicated in the slightest. …no other connecting hallways. No chance of them turning around, either. If I want to avoid drawing attention, I’ll have to back off and find another path-
“Hi, Néné!”
Throné jumped six feet in the air. Both guards whipped their heads toward the hallway. Ochette’s voice rang through the hallway and reverberated in every room in the building.
Throné sighed. “...hello, Ochette.” So much for stealth.
Both guards drew their weapons and approached the hallway. Throné drew hers as well. “Listen to me, Ochette. Things are about to get violent.” Ochette looked at Throné, expecting more. “They’re out for blood. If it comes between your life and theirs, do not hesitate to kill them.” Ochette nodded. “Fight for survival. Got it.”
Clang!
Steel rang against steel as Castti drove the assailant’s sword back. “Are you hurt, Throné?” The thief rose to her feet. “I told you I can handle this.”
“And I’m telling you you’re full of shit.”
“What’s shit?”
“Not now, Ochette.”
A blur skirted between them and punched the other guard in the gut. He doubled over, allowing Agnea to put her hand on his back and kick his legs, flipping him over and knocking his head into a decorative table. She looked at her handiwork. “...I hope I didn’t hurt him too badly.”
Castti hefted her axe onto her shoulder. “ His injuries are the least of your worries. After all this commotion, there are definitely more on the way.” She turned to Throné. “How do you want to handle this?” Throné scoffed. “Oh, now you ask for my opinion?”
“It’s your operation, isn’t it?”
The thief barked a laugh. “It was until a certain group of people barged in on it.” She sighed. “Alright, listen up. We don’t have much time. We’re looking for the ringleader. He’s probably holed up in the upper floors of the building. Most groups like this set up their base of operations defensively like that. If we attack together, they’ll zero in on us and overwhelm us with sheer numbers. So we divide their focus. One person will act as a decoy whilst leading the enemy to the other two, who will be waiting for them to pass by. In the meantime, I will clear each floor and uncover the location of the ringleader. Once I have done so, I will return and assist you with the ‘cleaning up.’”
Throné could hear footsteps. They’re getting close. “Any questions?”
Silence. Throné smiled. “Ochette?” The beastling perked up. “...run circles around ‘em.”
“...hehehAHAH! The hunt awaits!” On all fours, the young woman scrambled down the hall. Suddenly there was screaming, confusion, and confused screaming. “...this can only go well,” Castti muttered. “Go on ahead, Throné.” Agnea looked her dead in the eye. “We can take care of things here.”
Throné nodded, slipping back into the shadows.
____________________________________________________________________________
“HAHAHA! THAT’S MY QUARRY!”
“What the hell!?!”
This was so much fun! All these big, burly men were helpless against Ochette. But of course, she didn’t need to kill them. There’s no reason for that, after all. She just needed to scrape them up and break a couple of ribs to rile them up.
“RAAAAAAH!”
“Kill the bitch!”
Gosh, this was so fun! Though she had probably riled them up plenty at this point, so it was time to lead them away. Normally Ochette was not a fan of being the prey, but the tables would turn in a minute. “Catch me if you can!” Ochette leapt off of a helpless victim and onto the ground, mounting Akala and running away.
“What the fuck!?!”
“Get her!”
“Let’s tear her apart!”
A large mob of angry men began to chase after Ochette, but she didn’t care. Wait a second, Ochette thought. Aren’t these people keeping other people from eating? I remember N é né saying something about that earlier. So… that means these guys are bad guys! This isn’t a time for fun!
A fire now burning in her chest, she turned around. “Come and get me, you jerks!” She taunted. She expected a grand cheer and a lively chase, but it was more pandemonium than anything. The men were tripping over each other and bumping into walls as they tried to chase her. “...hey Akala?”
“Yes?”
“Is it me, or does something seem off about these guys?”
Akala sniffed the air, slowing to a trot. “They’re probably drunk. Alcohol dulls the senses.” Ochette looked back at them. “Oh.” This isn’t how I expected this to go. “...think we have time to chat?”
“What about?”
“The others, of course!” Ochette exclaimed. “I’m so happy Throné is finally opening up to us! It’s been a long time of waiting, and I get why she wouldn’t want to at first. But it makes me so happy! It looks like Ma and Néné are becoming really good friends lately!”
“...friends?”
“Yeah!”
“...if you say so.” Akala looked ahead. “We’re almost there. Give them the signal.” Ochette looked up. “Got it!” She hopped off Akala’s back, slowing to a halt. She turned around, planting her feet in the ground. “Oh boy.” Akala ran around the corner. Ochette took a deep breath.
“RAAAAAAAAAH!”
Glass shattered. Ears bled. The lucky ones covered their ears. All was still for a moment, but soon there was rage. Rage that was directed at Ochette. Good, she thought to herself. She sprinted around the corner.
The men were naught but a hive mind at this point. They charged toward the corner, tripping one by one.
A certain apothecary tossed bags of slumbersage powder to meet a dancer’s blade.
____________________________________________________________________________
Considering all the ruckus she could hear downstairs, Throné assumed the plan was working. But she couldn’t let her guard down. This was an unknown place after all, and the enemy knew she was there. But as long as she could avoid detection-
Wait.
Throné stopped dead in her tracks.
The enemy knows I’m here.
Aside from the chaos downstairs, all was silent.
One.
Two.
She crouched down, barely avoiding a mercenary’s sword. Grabbing his ankle, she spun the man around, forcing him off balance. A faint gurgle could be heard as the back of his neck landed on Throné’s blade.
Blood spattered on Throné’s face and shoulder.
“We’ve been discovered!”
“Kill her!”
More mercenaries emerged from every corner of the halls. Throné attempted to raise her dagger, but all her strength had suddenly left her limbs. She fell, sitting against the wall as nausea overtook her senses.
Blood.
No, no, no, not now. Get up. Get up! GET UP OR DIE. But Throné's body did not respond. She glanced up. A woman, wearing a dark cloak, brandished a sword and charged at her. Throné knew she only had a split second before the sword split her head in two, but she could barely lift a finger.
“You have to face your fears eventually, Throné. Otherwise, they will overtake you when you least expect it.”
Oh, Castti. How right you were.
Throné closed her eyes, waiting for the sword to make contact. A second passed. Two seconds. But the blow never came.
Throné opened her eyes to see an Orange Jakal throwing the woman into her comrade. Akala darted around as fast as lightning, beating her assailants back.
Throné wiped the blood off her face. I remember what Castti told me. Blood absent by her nose, she began to breathe again. In. Out. In. Out. Within a second, she was off the ground and fighting side by side with Akala. The jackal grappled a man’s leg, allowing Throné to deliver a swift right hook to the man’s temple. He crumpled like a paper house in the rain. Back on her game, Throné knocked two heads together, swept the legs of another, then brought the back of a fourth merc’s head down on the fallen one.
Silence once again filled the hall. Throné felt a nudge by her leg. Akala looked at her with what Throné could only assume was concern in his eyes. She smiled. Animals are much better people that we humans. She knelt to stroke his head. “Don’t worry. I’m okay.” They don’t have ulterior motives. They just want food, water, and companionship. She sighed. If only humans could be honest like that.
The Snake stood up. “Are Ochette and the others alright?” The jackal sat up straight. “Arf!” Throné chuckled. “That’s good. Think you can help me find the ringleader?” Akala watched her attentively. “Don’t let anyone see you. I’ll take the lower floors, you go higher. If you find them, find me and bring me to them. Got-”
“Boss! Get out of here!”
“Hell no! If they take this place, we’re done for. Now get off your ass and deal with them, or I’ll kill you. Understand?”
Throné and Akala looked down the hall. “...well, that was easy.” Akala nuzzled her hand. “Throné!” In the other direction, her 3 other companions emerged from the stairwell. “Are you okay!?!”
“Yes, Agnea. I’m fine. More importantly, what of the distraction?”
“They’re all out like a light!” Ochette puffed her chest out triumphantly. “I ran circles around ‘em, just like you told me to! They’re all having a nice little nap.”
“...what?”
“We drugged them,” Castti explained. Why did I expect any different? “There they are! Oh jeez.” Three large men turned the corner, obviously ready for a fight. However, they quite evidently began to have second thoughts after seeing the mess that used to be their comrades.
Throné stood up. “My name is Throné Anguis. I have a question for you.” The men did not speak. “How much do you get paid under this company?” After a moment, the one in front broke his silence. “More than you could dream of.”
Throné chuckled. “Is that so?” She began walking forward. “A piece of advice for you, then.” She brandished her dagger, still dripping red with blood. “Money is worthless if you’re dead.”
No one spoke for a moment. Then, one by one, the men walked past Throné and disappeared into the stairwell.
Throné turned to face her companions. She took out a handkerchief, wiping down her dagger. “Well then,” she began. “Shall we?”
____________________________________________________________________________
…what the actual fuck!?!
The women had forced down the door, quite obviously where the boss would be hiding out. To be fair, he did have a gold-plated sign on the door that read “Boss’s Office.” But this… this is all kinds of wrong.
What the fuck is Scarraci doing here!?! She stared at him. There’s no mistaking it. This is him. How the hell is he alive!?!
“W-who are you!?!” Scarraci backed up. “Look, you can have anything you want! You want money? It’s yours! Dirt? Take it!” He scrambled away as Castti approached him, dragging her axe across the ground as she inched closer and closer. “Wait wait WAIT WAIT! I DON’T WANT TO DIE!!!”
“Castti, stop.”
The apothecary turned to look at her. She had stopped approaching, but there was a quizzical look in her eye. Throné made a mental note to explain later.
The thief looked her long-lost friend in the eye. Or was he..? There was no way he was still alive. She crouched down to him. “...what is your name?” “...Brock Warner!” So this isn’t Scarraci. “Do I look familiar to you?” “N-no! Not at all!”
“Throné, what are you doing?”
“Where do you keep your money?” Throné ignored the apothecary’s question. “T-take a left down the hall! It’s the third door on your right!” She stood up. “Got it. Castti, Ochette, keep an eye on this piece of filth. Agnea, come with me.”
Upon opening the door, they found a pile of leaves large enough to fill half a bedroom. “G-gosh…” Agnea was awestruck. “I didn’t think I’d ever even see this many leaves…” Throné looked at the pile. Something’s not right here. “...Ori, come on out. I know you’re here.”
A noise that could only be described as somewhere between a squeak and a shout emerged from behind the doorway. The scrivener slowly came into view. “How did you-” “I didn’t. I just assumed you were, seeing as you managed to follow Partitio all over the place.” She turned to face Ori. “You’ve got intel on these guys, right? Around how much money do you estimate they amass daily?”
Ori scrunched up her face. “I dunno… uh… maybe 5000 average on a daily basis. Probably a lot more than that, if I’m being realistic.”
“5,000 will do for our purposes. And they’ve been doing this for 3 years, correct?”
“Y-yeah.”
“Which means that over the course of 3 years, they would have amassed around… five and a half billion leaves, give or take.” Throné looked back at the pile of leaves. “Agnea, does that pile look like five and a half billion leaves to you?”
The dancer looked at the shining coins. “...well, there’s a whole lotta ‘em here, but… I don’t think this is anywhere near that much.” Throné nodded. “I agree. Which means that they’re either holding it somewhere else…or they've already spent it.”
“Either way, they have to have records of transfers and expenditures,” Ori chimed in. “I mean, if you’re moving money or spending it, you’d want to be able to remember where it went.” Throné thought on this for a moment. “...it’s a long shot, but it’s not like we have any better leads. Good work, Ori.” As she started to walk out, Throné turned to Ori again. “And Ori… I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention any of our names in this article. Having our names out in the open like that will seriously set back our goals.”
“O-oh! Yeah, don’t worry about that. No one’s gonna know it was you guys.”
“Thanks.”
____________________________________________________________________________
“Maaaa! I’m tired!”
“I know, Ochette.”
The hunt for records had begun. After trying (and failing) to get Mr. Warner to talk, Castti chloroformed him and tied him up, leaving him for law enforcement. And while it was quite late into the night, the ladies could not leave until they knew where the money had gone.
“We’re all tired, but if Throné’s account of this city is anything to go by then we can’t trust the police to properly take care of evidence. Which leaves the task to us.” Castti turned to Throné. “Find anything yet?”
The thief turned to look at her, and the apothecary’s tired mind couldn’t help but give Throné the quick up-down. Even covered in blood and grime, she was still stunning. “Nothing yet, but that’s to be expected. Bookshelves take a long time to go through. What about you guys?”
“I don’t even know what I’m looking for!” Ochette moaned. “Can’t we just leave this for tomorrow?” Castti sighed. I really am the mom of the group, aren’t I? “If we leave it for tomorrow, the police will have already had their way with the place, and any lead we could have had will be lost. We have to get this done now. ” Ochette groaned. “Fiiiiine.”
Having finished pawing through the bottom shelf of her bookshelf, Castti turned her attention to the desk. She opened a drawer, saw nothing, and closed it.
“What was that?”
Throné was on alert. “...what was what?” Castti inquired. “...open that again.” Castti complied. “Anything in there?”
“Not that I can see.”
“Let me have a look.” Throné walked over and crouched next to Castti. “This is a fake bottom.” Throné reached her hand into the drawer and hooked her finger around an unseen hole near the back of it.
She lifted the bottom out, and inside was a small file. “Nice find, Throné.” Castti lifted it out and opened it-
“Wh-what on earth is this!?!”
There was nothing legible written on it. Just a bunch of scribbles scrawled in conformity with lines on multiple pieces of paper.
“...no it’s not,” Throné objected. “This is a cipher.” “A what?” Agnea asked. The women were all converging around the desk. “A cipher. A code designed to ensure that sensitive information cannot be viewed by outsiders.” Throné looked at it, squinting her eyes. “...I recognize this one. Chickenscratch.”
“What does it say?” Is what Castti tried to ask before Ochette shoved her way between them. “Ooo! Ooo! Lemme see lemme see?” The purple-clad woman smirked. “I thought you were supposed to be dead tired.” The beastling paid no heed to her comment and continued reaching for the papers.
“Let’s see…” Throné examined the paper. “...Mayor’s campaign, 238,000 leaves. Moonshade Order, 500,000 leaves. Moonshade Order, 61,000 leaves. Moonshade Order…” Throné began flipping through the papers. “...this dates back the last 6 months, and the majority of these payments are to this ‘Moonshade Order.’” She turned to look at Castti. “I’d say this accounts for about a sixth of their total funds.”
“So assuming they were spending this much every six months, it looks like we know where the money went,” Ori summarized.
“Just about, yeah.”
Castti put the papers back into the file and tucked them into her satchel.
If they managed to find out more about this, it would be quite an interesting ride to tag along for.
____________________________________________________________________________
“We should really get to bed.”
“I know, but I just can’t sleep until I get clean.”
“I know exactly what you mean.”
Before returning to the inn to get whatever sleep they could, Throné and Castti retreated to the bathhouse to get clean. “This evening was quite the wild ride though. I just wanted to walk around town.”
Throné chuckled. “Turn around, let me get your hair.” “Thank you, Throné.” Castti couldn’t help but relax in Throné’s hands. After all that stress earlier in the evening, she desperately needed to unwind. “...hey, Throné?”
“What’s up?”
“Doesn’t ‘Moonshade Order sound familiar?” Castti inquired. Throné was silent for a moment. “...it rings a bell, yeah. I think I remember Temenos talking about them at one point.” Castti hummed. “We should probably let him know what we found when we meet up in a couple of months.”
Throné lightly bopped Castti on the head. “No more thinking about that. We’re trying to de-stress here, aren’t we?” She pushed Castti off of her and turned around. “Your turn,” Throné said. Lifting her hair.
Throné knew exactly what she was doing. Castti, of course, would play dumb. But she did steal a glance at Throné’s bare shoulders, and the top of her back before saying “Of course, dear.” As Castti began washing her girlfriend’s hair, Throné suddenly moved back and laid her head on Castti’s shoulder, kissing her neck. “I love you,” she whispered.
Gods above, it was going to be a long night.
____________________________________________________________________________
“Everyone packed?”
Having no further business in New Delsta, the women decided to head to the next continent over. They still had plenty of time before they were scheduled to meet up with the men, so they decided to help Castti pursue her memories by traveling to Sai. “I got my jerky!”
“...and your clothes and weapons?”
“Well, duh.”
“Are you guys leaving?” Castti looked up to find Ori standing in the doorway of the inn. “You were a huge help. The article got published, and the mayor issued an arrest warrant for everyone involved with the Phoenixes.”
Throné scoffed. “You say that like it’s a good thing. He was taking money from them too, remember?”
Ori sighed. “Yeah, I know that. But now they’re gone, and the money we found in the building is being distributed to the impoverished and middle class. I think that’s as good of an ending as we’re going to get.”
Castti laughed. “True. Partitio will be proud of you when I tell him about it.” Ori’s eyes widened, and she suddenly looked away, covering her face with her cap. “Y-yeah. It’s not that great, though.”
Castti raised an eyebrow. “...huh.”
“What!?!”
“Nothing, nothing.”
“Castti! We’re all set over here,” Agnea called out. “I’ll be there in a minute!” Castti yelled back. She turned back to Ori. “You’re doing good work here. There’s so much evil in the world, and shining a light on it takes a lot of courage.” She put a hand on Ori’s shoulder. “And you jump at it every chance you get. You’re filled to the brim with courage. Never forget that.”
Ori’s expression fell for a split second. But then she looked Castti dead in the eyes. “I won’t.”
Castti grinned. “I’ve got to get going. I’ll be looking for the next big headline.”
Ori nodded. “Catch you later!”
The women set out, and Castti couldn’t help but feel a sort of warm pride. We helped people. She looked at her hands. These hands hurt people, but… they extended a helping hand to those in need. Suddenly, another hand grasped her own. Throné. They smiled at each other. Even if I don’t like who I was, it doesn’t change who I am now.
The travelers walked into the distance, leaving New Delsta far behind them.