"Where are we going?" He asked into the brisk air as he hurried behind her, taking several steps for each of her longer strides.

"A friend of mine," she tipped her head in thought, "His name is Tarot, he's got a larger apartment and hopefully plenty of room for both of us."

"Then what?"

She hadn't thought that far out.

"Probably see if Frederick has some spare room for us when we've stayed our welcome," she sighed as a weight settled over her. Slowly, the shock was wearing off with each passing second, and real emotion was able to come filtering through her body. First it had been grief, and an indescribable chasm of loss in her chest. Then, it was the unparalleled burning of protection over Alexei. Without her, he would hardly last a night.

"Alex," she started, looking back at him as they paused on the corner. With night came cold, and he had left the house in hardly more than a long sleeved olive green t shirt and black shorts. A fresh guilt was striking at her nerves. She was ultimately responsible for Alexei, and she could hardly keep him from freezing, and now their home had been ravaged and was unsafe, hardly half a day after he had a roof over his head. "Set your backpack down."

For a moment, he looked confused, but did as he was told as they stopped on the sidewalk. Shouting voices drifted across the pavement. Far off, she could hear the rumbling of a riot as it broke out and rose into a cacophony of sound. Kneeling, she set her own bags down and shrugged off her jacket, roughly pulling it over his shoulders and helping his arms into it. It was a bit bigger than he was, but its wool inside would keep him well warm, even with his lack of trousers.

"There, now give me your bag," Eliseus nodded as she rose to her feet once more, slinging her own bags onto her aching shoulders, and then taking his as well.

"Let's go."

They wound down the streets slowly, often times doubling back or taking a rest beside a dumpster mermaid, chatting and sharing casual conversation. Twice they bowed to werewolves and asked permission to travel with them, at which they begrudgingly agreed, allowing them departure a few blocks later. Throughout each encounter, Alex's face held a sort of childlike bewilderment.

Do they not see these people in the Upper Heights?

Once, a cackling specter passed by, followed by several cultists who were waving unmarked books and items of worship in their hands. On a corner stood several tommy-knockers, kicking at the dust rubble and laughing as a flyaway-haired woman came out of the front door of the building, beating them with a broom. Pixies were having moonlit picnics on street lanterns.

"Ever see anything like this?" Eliseus finally asked as Alexei stared at a fey from across the sidewalk where they walked. She smiled in return, the needle-toothed grin eliciting a sound of surprise from him.

"Not really," he answered slowly, toying with a Devil's Claw he had picked up on the way out, "We aren't allowed to go to the gate. Los of kids get... You know," he shrugged a bit and glanced up at her.

"Yeah, I didn't think so," she shrugged back, glancing down at him with shallow grey eyes, "A lot of Upper Heights kids are ruined when they reach your age," she guiltily admitted her opinion to the child, "There's a pretty big divide between the two halves of the city, even though it just looks like a small guarded fence."

"You people aren't as savage as I had heard," he casually commented as they crossed the street with a crowd of fey and vampyres.

Her heart sank a little. Did the child know?

"I mean, the werewolves were pretty neat, and even the mermaids are kind to me," he went on. Relief seeped through her, and she cleared her throat in the chilly air as they continued.

"I suppose they are."

The closer they got to the northern part of the Bottom Lights, the louder the din seemed to become. Riots here were daily, and although they couldn't hear it from where they used to reside, it often brought weary and injured people their way. It brought in coin as they healed their wounds and sold them poisons, and helped grow their repertoire.

All that's gone now. She thought bitterly, glancing at the child. Her scales were itching again, burning with a newfound heat that she couldn't place. They were ugly, though she wasn't too worried about them. Ultimately, they were just little holes in the mortal meat suit she had to wear.

Sighing, they avoided the gold glow of fire, skirting around the market. By now, her feet were aching and she was sure Alexei was tired as well. It was well towards midnight, the full moon casting a shadow directly under them.

Spotting a familiar door, Eliseus lead Alexei into a shadow of a building, "Not much further."

Weariness and the exhaustion that replaced the shock and tidal wave of emotions was riding well over the incessant anxiety that thundered in her chest and made her blunt fingers shake. Sweat made her palms sticky, but the ache that burned her shoulders pushed her beyond that. They walked to the door and she dropped the bags, taking a deep breath and pressing the small white button.

Soft chiming sounded inside.

Stepping back off of the front step, she glanced back out at the street as the yelling grew louder. Footsteps approached, drawing Alexei closer to her as he stared at the door.

The knob turned, after a soft clicking, and opened. Warm light spilled out onto the street, and for the third time that day Eliseus felt her chest fill with indescribably painful emotion.

There was a little girl, about five, with light golden hair and gorgeous russet eyes. Blunt cheekbones and a soft jawline accented her small girlish features, and thick lashes batted as she looked up at Eliseus.

"Da, some girl is here. She's got a boy with her," a light mountain accent escaped her small lungs. Eliseus was struck dumb. Tarot's accent was what spilled from her thin lips, capturing the air with a certain magic.

"I told you not to answer the door," a thicker accent broke out in a hurry, and the sound of heavier footsteps thrummed through the walls as Tarot rushed to the door, pulling his daughter back with reproachful eyes. As his gaze flickered over to Eliseus, she felt frozen, heart beating so loudly in her chest she was certain he could hear it.

"Eliseus," he spoke plainly, in a way that was not disapproving nor happy, then he saw Alexei, pressed close to her legs. Her tired eyes met his for a few moments, and her shoulders sagged.

Tarot was just as tall as she was, with thick mahogany curls that were cropped close on the sides. Blunt cheekbones and gorgeously reflective amber eyes accented his square jaw and thick-rimmed glasses. A flexion in his jaw was his subconscious way of thinking, just a twitch and then he sighed softly, square shoulders dropping a little bit. He was toned, from years of work and prior centuries of war. Peeking from under his navy blue shirt were scars, thick and worn, over his tanned skin.

"What are you doing here?"

Eliseus was still in disbelief. How could she have not known that he had a family? Was she stupid for wasting her time in walking here, instead of going to Frederick's house?

Bitter resentment made her mouth dry for a second. At least Frederick had the decency to talk to her.

But that had not been the agreement they had made.

"I... It's a long story," was all she could presently force from her frozen lips. Fingers aching with the cold, she pulled Alexei even closer, "We couldn't stay where we were, someone broke in. I," she paused for breath, the thick, ugly scales on her face burning, "You have a daughter?"

Tarot must have seen the hurt in her eyes, and finally noticed that she was shaking in shock. Opening the door wider, he motioned her in, "Come on, get out of the cold. Both of you," he finally settled, "We can talk when you get in."

Thanking him, the two awkwardly shuffled into the foyer, where his daughter stood just out of sight, around the corner of a wall. Her clear russet eyes sparkled with mischief before they vanished.

"Eleanora," Tarot stepped aside, shutting the door behind them and awkwardly giving Eliseus a gentle touch of reassurance before quickly pulling away and pocketing his hands, "Come back out, love, we have guests."

Tarot gave the pair half of a grin, shaking his head, "She's seven, has a hard time with guests, but you wouldn't believe how she can talk. She's a regular dictionary."

He bent down and gently removed Alexei's coat, hanging it on a peg to warm up on the gold-painted wall. There were shelves here and there, and to the right was a winding staircase that lead to an upper half. It was no less inexpensive than Baba Yaga's apartments were for tenants, but it was much more spacious, being further north in the Bottom Lights.

Once more, the eyes slid out from around the corner and into view. Now that her eyes had adjusted to the light, she could properly see Tarot's daughter.

Eleanora had the same blunt features as her father, but was far more delicately refined like her mother, with slender fingers and a curious gaze that left Eliseus feeling vulnerable.

"Elly, this is Eliseus," Tarot explained, before looking at Alexei, "And..."

"Alex," he spoke softly, keeping close to Eliseus. He looked up at her with wide eyes, then back at Eleanora. For a thirteen year old kid, he was small. It was no wonder he was being picked on, on the street. He was an easy target.

"Why don't you show Alex the rest of the apartment?" Tarot suggested, raising an eyebrow and sharing a glance with Eliseus, who nodded, "Then you can make him up the bed in the spare room and play together."

Alexei gave Eliseus a pleading look, but she simply shook her head, urging him on towards the younger child. Reluctantly, the two trudged upstairs. Tarot and Eliseus stood in silence, until a door shutting announced the children were well out of earshot.

"Elly, huh?" She asked, earning a warning glance.

"It's an easy nickname, lots of people have it," he protested, walking into the room to their left, and then through the doorway to the right. Swaths of gold made the small kitchen cheery.

A little too happy. Eliseus thought.

"Sit down, I'll make tea," he sighed, digging into a cabinet above the stainless steal sink, pulling down two mugs and several boxes. Gratefully, Eliseus sank into one of the padded bronze cushioned chairs at a small wooden table.

"Where's-" She began to ask him about the golden haired beauty she last saw him with, but was abruptly cut off by Tarot's sharp voice.

"Dead. Riots," he stated simply.

"Sorry."

"I hate it," he glanced sharply at her, dropping teabags into both mugs, "When people apologize. Please, don't."

What could she have expected? A warm welcome and a hug? It had been fifteen years give or take, since they had last spoken, not exactly on great terms either. Last time, it had been a goodbye that neither of them intended to break. Bitterness stirred in her chest.

They sat in silence as he set a kettle on to boil, lighting the gas stove and turning the knob, then sitting at the table. Uncomfortably close, Eliseus backed up a few inches.

"You said it was a long story, now we've got time," he nodded, prompting her to speak.

Again uncomfortable, Eliseus shifted in her seat and set her hands on the table to ground herself, bringing her best foot forward as she started, still in awe of the fact that she was sitting in front of him again, talking, whether it be on bad terms or good.

"I was taken in by Baba Yaga, you remember that, and I've been with her ever since. We made a good profit, and had our fingers in the Midnight Market," fond memories of trips to the illegal selling place drew painful breaths from her lungs. Clearing her throat, she continued, "I stayed here awhile and we had it good. Met and talked with someone regularly in the market. Had a friend over in the old garrison fort. Then today, I found Alexei. He lost his family, so I took him in."

"He's... He was quick to grow on me, I guess, and even though his parents died maybe a few days ago, he seems to be a really good kid, so I took him home and we taught him some stuff."

Tarot had been listening quietly, folding his hands on the table and watching as Eliseus's chest rose and fell with a shaky breath. She was so different from when they had last met, so much more vulnerable, that it was almost shocking. She wasn't the pain-hardened war hero she once was, but scared and what he could only guess at as alone.

"Then?" He softly asked.

"I went out after someone ransacked the place, and I shouldn't have," she admitted, voice bottoming out into a gravelly inflection, "When I came back, all that was alive was Alexei. Whoever did it knew what they were doing to kill a Loric Being, and they wrote these stupid things on the wall." She shook her head, rubbing her eyes with her fingers. She was utterly spent.

"Stupid things? They can't be stupid if they've upset you," he stood to grab the kettle, which was now whistling violently on the stove, and poured the boiling water over the teabags in the mugs, adding sugar to one and stirring both a bit with spoons, "What were they?"

"Slurs," she shook her head, sighing melancholic-ally against her breath, "Stupid things."

Of all of the people on this earth that could hardly guess at what exactly Eliseus was, Tarot was the only one she entrusted that information to, and thus was the obvious choice when they needed somewhere to go. It was for this very reason that the words on the will had deeply disturbed her in a way that was hard to do. How could they have known?

After a moment he nodded and brought the mugs, passing the sweetened one to her, "So do you think it had anything to do with the slurs, or do you think it might have been a coincidence?" He asked quietly, sipping and blowing from his steaming cup.

Steam swirled from the thin green liquid in her own ceramic cup as Eliseus dipped the bag of crushed leaves in and out of the water, darkening it, "I really don't know. I didn't have much time to think about anything, I just had to get Alexei out of there as fast as possible."

Pausing, she sipped the hot liquid, letting it pleasantly scald her tongue with a rich, almost skunk-y flavor. Green tea.

"I think that what it looks like, is that Alex did it," she glanced up at Tarot. Warmth seeped into her limbs as she drank the tea, exhaustion ripping at her mind as she drank a little more. Tea always did that after a long day, "But he's hardly more than capable of anything like that, I mean, look at how big he is."

A yawn escaped her, and she glanced at the clock. 12:30 am, was what time it was. In the distance, the sounds of the rioting Bottom Lights residents thundered occasionally.

"So you came here," the handsome-faced man nodded, then gave a short smile, "Why not go to your friends place? The one at the market?"

Truthfully, she couldn't answer that straight. Despite the warmth she shared with Frederick, the inherent trust and deep understanding she shared with Tarot was something of a phenomenon that drew her to him in her time of need, despite all logical reasoning. Something was there that she didn't share with Frederick, something that completely and utterly took over when disaster struck.

"If I could tell you, we would both know," she finally muttered.

"Well, we've been trying to sleep ever since the riot started," Tarot eventually drank the rest of the cup and stood, setting it in the sink, "So I might as well get Elly to bed while she's tired."

"If you'd like I could help, or-" she stood, setting aside her mug and pushing her chair in a bit before Tarot stopped hr.

"No. I," he took a breath and gave her a soft look, "I appreciate it, but I've got it. There's something I need to do anyways."

Taken aback, Eliseus gripped the chair and silently watched him turn and leave, striding out of sight and up the stairs.

To take her mind off of the awkward shame she felt, Eliseus thought about the slurs. Could it have been a coincidence? Did she really believe that something like that could have just happened to someone like her?

On the other hand, as rage fueled her thought process and blazed across the black plates that stuck out from her skin, Eliseus could only think of one person this attack could have been linked to: Griffin.

The unjust ruler had been the one to coin the name Skyletter, and with that single word, had turned all of her kind into taboo. With his words, he made them murderers of children and of innocent people. He made them killers. He made them daemons. He made them unholy and therefore unfit for life on the new world.

If it hadn't been for him, perhaps Baba Yaga would still be alive.

Oh, I have a new reason for murder, she spat out in her mind.

And now? Nobody is going to stop me.

Realizing she was gripping her empty mug white-knuckled, Eliseus slowly set it down again and decided to preoccupy herself by checking on Alexei. That was what a mother was supposed to do, right?

Finding her way up the stairs, she trailed her fingers along the smooth oak banister, aching at how the peeling paint railing of her old apartment was probably going to rot away with its death. Pushing the thought away, she calmed herself with the knowledge that this was currently the safest place to be. Even if someone had followed the pair, the crowds that surged through the streets was enough of a deterrent for anyone that might have followed them from breaking and entering.

The guest bedroom door, she assumed it to be, was tightly shut. Across he hall from it to her right was another door, from with lamplight cast warm light over lilac-painted walls.

"There's something I never told you," Tarot softly murmured. A soft fan blew Eliseus's hair from her forehead as she peeked in and watched from the door frame. Although she felt like she was eavesdropping rather blatantly, she couldn't exactly help herself. Tarot's broad, but well proportioned back was facing her, and Eleanora's eyes were too intently focused on her father's face to notice Eliseus.

"A long time ago, there was all kinds of bad things on this earth," he began, "This story that I'm going to tell you, I want you to pay close attention, do you understand?"

She gave a solemn nod, hugging a stuffed lizard under her chin.

"When these things came onto the earth, all sorts of good people came to fight against them, but they couldn't win. These good people were Angyls, and all of the good creatures they raised with them. The earth was covered in war, ad blood, and very bad things," his voice turned grave. Eliseus quietly watched his side give a soft heave in a sigh.

"The only way these good people could win to keep the earth for people like us, was to create a very special order of Angyls," he tipped his head to her, "Are you following?"

Eleanora gave a nod, her nose scrunching up as she stifled a sneeze, then spoke, "The Angyls made more Angyls," she confirmed, "But I thought only the creator could do that?"

"Angyls can make more good things," he nodded, "They just aren't as skilled at it as the creator. In the end, they made great big beasts that were part Angyl, and pat Daemon. They were Heavyn-made Hell-Beasts, with thousands of different forms and tongues, and could wipe out hundreds of daemons in minutes. The Angyl who made them Zachariel, called them Subcinctus. Shifters of a holy order."

As he spoke, her eyes grew round with wonder.

"The Angyls won, and rose the new world that we live in now, centuries after the earth healed and the war had been over. Then, the Angyl Zachariel sent his creations down onto Earth with the rest of the Angyls and himself, so that no bad could ever rise again to try and make it a bad place for us," he whispered. Eliseus didn't need to see his face to hear the smile in his voice.

"But soon, the Subcinctus that had been sent down to Earth became corrupted. He daemon blood they shared caused little mistakes on them. Maybe a weird twisting horn, or one cat eye, claws for fingernails," he paused, "Scales, even."

Eliseus gripped the door frame as the ugly black plated scales burned shortly. Mistakes.

"The Daemon blood made hem bad, and then they had to be killed."

"They were heroes," Eleanora pressed, "Why kill them?"

"No," Tarot sharply scolded, "They were murderers."

His daughter's face turned up at his remark, and she fussed over her blankets, readjusting the stuffed lizard she held, "They won for the Angyls, that means they were heroes." Her stubbornness was just another trait she had received from Tarot, "So where are they now?"

Tarot let out a slow sigh, and Eliseus felt her heart break as Eleanora's face fell. It wasn't fair. None of it was, and the expression on that child's face summed up everything she couldn't outwardly express without being flagged as a potential threat. It was that emotion she had to suffer silently when the order had been given.

It was what she and all of her kind couldn't be given, a moment to grieve.

"Most died, some escaped," he carefully told her, before taking a pause and twisting o look over his shoulder at Eliseus. Her heart leaped, not knowing he had known she was there. Tarot tuned back towards his daughter, "And right now, there's one here with us."

Hesitantly, Eliseus slid into the room, and a mixture of fear and wonder lit up Eleanora's face.

"Hey Elly," she awkwardly started, slowly walking over and kneeling beside Tarot. She playfully extended a hand to shake, lips curling with a little bit of a smile. Even more now than ever, she was aware of the ugly scales that dotted her skin, "My name is Elly too, people call me that instead of Eliseus."

Eleanora seemed frozen, before she shoved Eliseus's hand aside and leaped forward, slamming her body unexpectedly into hers. Dizzy with the sudden hit, it took Eliseus a moment of panic to realize the child was hugging her.

"Subcinctus," Elly carefully murmured, pulling away and closely inspecting Eliseus's face. Shallow grey eyes and blunt jaw was all there was to see. Gentle fingers feathered the scales that dotted her face, causing Eliseus to pull her abruptly away.

Tarot had been watching with mild amusement, but now detached the child from Eliseus, "You mustn't say that out loud, Elly. If they hear you, they'll kill her." His words weren't sweetened, but he managed to say it in gentle precaution as he spoke.

Eleanora gave a nod and looked up at him, then at Eliseus, before pulling the blanket around her small frame, "I'll get bedtime stories from Good Elly from now on?"

The sweet name made Eliseus want to pull up her hackles in disgust, but she forced her face flat, glancing over towards Tarot, who shook his head, "Maybe tomorrow. You need sleep, and Eliseus has to get going soon."

Eleanora gave a nod of solemn understanding, tucking into her bed and peeking out of the covers as the pair left, keeping the lamp on for her, but shutting the door.

"I know what it is you're wanting to do," Tarot spoke as they moved down the hall. He peeked quietly into the guest room, hearing the soft breathing of Alexei, and then shut the door again, "I can feel it coming off of you in practical waves."

"Don't tell me I can't do it too," she said in playful distress as she paused, narrowing her eyes on him. It was a three bedroom apartment, she was plenty sure.

"I wasn't going to," he nonchalantly shrugged, opening a side door and pulling out a small stack of blankets.

"And I'm sleeping...?" She prompted, raising an eyebrow.

"On the couch," he gave half of a grin and saluted mockingly to her as they parted ways at the bottom of the stairs with the blankets being handed off to her. Tarot went for a door just past the staircase, calling out behind him, "Goodnight, Good Elly." He taunted, the door shutting behind him.

Eliseus flipped the door off as it shut and walked to the couch. On one hand, both children would be sleeping comfortably. On the other, the couch would not accommodate her towering height.

Well, Elly, here we are.

She spread the blankets over the couch, in the room to the right of the foyer that lead into the kitchen through a wide entrance, and crawled beneath them as she kicked off her sneakers, relishing the safe warmth of the apartment. After a moment, she sighed into the dark as the lights shut off.

Right where we left off.