Pulling the pin through the hem, Gelland was nearly finished with the dress. She wiped her brow with her sleeve. She had been concentrating on this one task for hours. Her shoulders clenched. Acacia was still out there. Her hands started shaking, more sweat running down her face. 

She set her needles down, putting her head in her hands. What have I gotten her into? Maybe Makkus got to her? She shivered. Was this my fault, should I have had her come with me the other night? Feeling a hand on her back, she flinched, turning. She met Sihs' eyes. Sihs looked gorgeous, her bright green eyes matching the accents of her beige work gown, an orange sash tied around her waist. Her gown's sleeves produced a steaming mug in her hand. Gelland thought she must have looked a mess. Sihs handed the mug of tea to Gelland, who nodded appreciatively.

"You messed up another dress. You're work is getting sloppy, Bristel." Sihs began tugging at the folds of the dress.

"I'm not finished. Please don't judge the unfinished product." She started sipping.

"I know you work hard, Bristel. But you have sweat stains on this."

"Oh, right..." she grimaced. "I can steam them out?" 

Sihs put her fingers in the stains, which were still wet. "There's no use trying to keep things from me." The stains disappeared from the dress, small trails of mist coming up from each spot. Sihs had a work permit to use Densing in the city, as did many business owners. The work permit included themselves and designated associates under them, which were monitored by the government. She really couln't imagine Hals being useful for work. That also helped her blend in here, as a "non-denser".

"Tell me what's going on."

Gelland looked down. "It's probably not something you can help with."

"You seem to think you're in a different situation than me? Come on. We have a few years between us, but I'm not out of touch yet." She winked. She was, in fact, fifteen years older than Gelland, her husband in the next room over working on shoes.

"I haven't seen my friend in several days. I think she's gone missing."

"Have you talked to any of the guard?"

"No. They have been told by others. Her boss is missing both she and another worker."

"That sounds like it would be around the night they found those two bodies."

Bodies. Her heart trembled. "Who- where?"

"I should say people. A male and female. Not that you can tell it from their faces. Poor things. I bet The Slag did it."

"The Slag?"

"The thing's been leaping rooftops, assaulting leaders in the city. Leaving brands with its name in their foreheads."

Gelland cocked her head. "And the two that were found, they had the same marks?"

"Close enough. I heard there's no way to tell who they are, their faces were burned off. And they can't say who they were. It seems they can't speak yet."

She breathed softly. Still alive. "If The Slag always leaves its name on foreheads, why assume it was them?"

Sihs shrugged. "Just seems likely. There were two other incidents in the past two months that could've been them as well. The annual Tercet celebration bombing and the Hoffer Iadon murder."

"I heard about those. I heard the Hoffer Iadon bled out on a street. Doesn't sound like The Slag, either. And the other one was that giant jewel that was stolen. Had to be someone else. So what about the female victim, was she tall?"

"I really don't know. I couldn't really say even where the two are being kept. That could be somewhere to start."

"Thank you, Sihs. That really helps." She finished her mug, Sihs taking it from her. "I should get back to this."

"This whole thing reminds me of stories I used to hear when I was a girl. There were two figures, one called Agony. Instead of branding people, they just slaughtered them. But it was said that Agony left black lightning trailing behind them. The lesser known one was called Callous, who was said to have kept the blood of those they killed as armor. Not much was known about them personally, though it seemed they worked in a pair. It's like someone is trying to revive the legend."

"I've never heard of them."

"Then you had kind parents. Mine used to scare me when I misbehaved, and tell them they'd come and get me."

"Mean."

"It did the trick though." She headed to the doorway. Gelland couldn't close it, as it was just beads, which made her wonder how Sihs could have snuck up on her. She had been too distracted. "Bristel, do you know any Hals?"

Gelland turned slowly, frowning. "I don't. Why do you ask?"

Sihs put her hand through her black hair. "It's an odd reason, I know. I feel that if you pressed a garment with a fiery pan, then it would crease more efficiently."

Gelland smiled. "I bet you'd look pretty hot with it."

Sihs flexed her eyebrows. "Exactly. Still, I think it's a good idea, and I wish there was a way to test it. Anyways, I don't know anyone to ask about it, so there's no use asking, right?" She walked out through the beads.

Gelland started sweating again. Does she know? My disguise isn't great, but she's seen me smile. She shook her head. If she knew, she wouldn't play with me, I'd be turned in immediately. 

She continued to work, this time using a hankerchief to wipe the sweat from her brow, leaving no marks on the dress.

"Why don't you leave early tonight. It will give you time to ask around about your friend." Sihs said.

 "You would be okay with that?" Gelland asked.

"Absolutely. And you will get back to me after you've found her."

Gelland nodded.

She packed her utensils away, hugged Sihs, then trotted to her first stop. Ferti's coffee shop was a mess. Customers started setting out their own chairs, yelling at him to hurry with their drinks. And he did not look well. 

"Ferti." Gelland said, stepping up to him. 

"It may be a few minutes, I can't keep up with everything!" he said, frantically wiping glasses.

"Ferti, it's me! Acacia's friend. Heard anything yet?"

"Oh, it is you. This is very, very bad. I saw nothing. I left four days ago, the two were still here. Neither of them has come back, and those two in that alleyway..."

"Did you see what they looked like, was the girl short or tall?"

"Not very tall, about your height."

"So that means it wasn't her..."

"It still could've been Safit, my other worker. There was no way to tell it was him, too badly burnt. If I had worked with him more often, I could be able to tell his features."

"Was there anything else that happened that was odd? I heard The Slag may be involved?"

"There was something. I saw the alley they were found in. A shoe was found, stuck in the ground. It looks like The Slag is a Breaker, and trapped the guy. The second shoe was found on him." He shook his head. "This Slag is bad news." 

The tension from Gelland's shoulders slacked slightly. So she wasn't one of them that was burnt. But a Breaker being there is too much of a coincidence. She was the one who burned them. She used her training.

Her eyes snapped open from darkness. Acacia lay on a mattress, dimly lit by candles, to which her eyes were growing accustom. What is this place- what have they done to me? She prodded at her clothes. They were all still on. Including her bloodied shirt, crusted and rough compared to the sheets. The air smelled of sweat and... clay?

Her eyes flitted to the candles again. They flickered, and she thought they would go out. They remained, but the light left an afterimage to her eyes. Darkness. The stench and taste of sweat being shoved into her mouth. A man's body pressed up against her back. A dagger in her stomach. She jumped back into the covers, pulling them up against herself to ward away anyone lurking in that darkness beyond the flickering light. And she was alone. Gelland wasn't here.

She heard movement in the next room, where the candles were most concentrated. She jumped again, stifling a wimper. Then she caught herself. She wasn't helpless anymore, whoever this was, they had taken the wrong girl. Acacia Tahud would not wimper.

She found her boots next to the bed. Groaning quietly from the movement, she felt again at her abdomen. The cavity from the knife wound had closed with the healing drink, but the inside still felt wrong. She quickly downed a glass of water she found on the nearest stand. It was a rough surface, feeling fingerprint ridges.

"I still do not understand." a strange voice said, coming from the next room. She jumped, freezing in place. "Why still do this when this Den-Sing could do this within moments?" Realizing that the voice wasn't directed at her, she slipped on her boots, not bothering to tie them, but stuffed the laces into the top.

"People today do not know the meaning of hard work," a different voice responded, saying a word she couldn't place. "There are still those today who appreciate an object for the craftsmanship itself." 

She heard a thud, then a soft scraping, followed by water trickling. It was enough noise. She lightly stepped out of the bed. A hallway separated this room from the next. Crouching low, she made her way to the threshhold, pearing out to the left. There was red sunlight lightly making its way through the covered window in the door. How long had she been held there?

Pulling back, she placed both hands on the ground. She sensed through two walls, the floor opposite her, a spinning object. Then, one thing that she couldn't dense. It left a few blank spaces where she couldn't feel, but knew intuitively. A person. Moving water. Empty air. She searched more, but could only find the one.

Gelland had explained that this sensing was similar to what she could use. It was called proprioception, or environment feeling. Gelland walked in the dark, her eyes picking up the heat signatures of things. The closer to bright yellow something was for Gelland, the more it moved towards being plasma.

For Acacia, she could push her senses out from herself, and get a blur of a likeness in her minds eye. For a few minutes, she worked around the edges of objects, getting a better impression as she went. Where something would end, she would find another way around. What she couldn't pick up as a solid, she could guess at.

The farther from herself she got, the more skill it would take to change a solid gently. From experimenting on trees after her fight with Gelland, she learned that focus on too many things was detrimental. If she extended her mind's eye too far, she could end up pouring her aug into something and blowing in up. Spending mental energy, when she could conserve it and hide.

And no denser could affect living flesh, so she couldn't feel their skin, but one set of clothes hovered in place to her mind's eye. After covering much of the surfaces, she got a gray, blurry image in her mind of the room. Just the one man, hunched over something that moved.

Not understanding, she peared over again. She heard vague garbled accents, muffled through the scraping. This man's insane. Taking a deep breath, she took a step out of the room into the hallway. Foot catching a rise in the rug, she stumbled. She took no more time. Dashing to the door, she jiggled the knob, but it stuck fast. Hurry! She dared not look behind herself, but fumbled with the latch and pulled. The door opened and she stepped out amongst people walking in the street, slamming it behind. Then she ran, huffing from pain, ignoring startled looks.

"Sorry about the wait." Gelland said. "Here's your coffee!" Handing the two men their drinks, she started turning to continue helping Ferti get the late orders out. Out of the corner of her eye she caught one of the men reaching for her behind. She brought her nails over the hand, smoothly returning her hand to her side, as if nothing had happened. The man hissed quietly, having retracted it as soon as she'd touched him. She continued handing out the orders, noting that he held his bleeding hand in a kerchief. Chuckling inwardly, she smiled.

"Thank you again for helping, Bristel. But the sun has just set. You should head home. Your parents will be getting worried." Ferti said, working furiously.

"You're probably right. I just wish that I could help you more."

Ferti sighed. "You're sweet. I really don't want what may have happened to those two..." She placed a hand on his arm. "Was it my fault?" he asked.

"I don't know. Neither of us were there. We'll just have to-"

A banging sound came from the entrance. They both turned. A disheveled blonde woman in bloody clothes leaned against a wall. One blue eye met Gelland's from under the locks. "Everyone out! We are closed!" Ferti shouted immediately. Ferti shooed the customers out, Gelland taking Acacia from under her arm. She slumped weakly into a chair while Ferti pulled tables inside. "Water." Acacia managed.

Ferti rushed to a closet, pulling out a clear cylinder of pure water and put it into a tall glass. In an instant the solid relaxed back into its original liquid form. It didn't change color, it wasn't ice, so Gelland just barely noticed the change. Then he made a sign, a clear block appearing in his hand. As she watched, the block formed condensation on its cold surface, and it separated into some chunks, dropping off into the glass.

Acacia downed it in a hurry. He made more for her, himself, and Gelland. When exposed to siliva inside the body, Densing would break down after a short amount of time, making this ice form back into water. An effective way to keep ice, as keeping something in a chip put its temperature into stasis. 

"Acacia, what happened?" Gelland asked, sitting down next to her, while Ferti finished pulling down the metal doors. He sat as well, after bringing another glass of water.

"It was bad..." she said. "My coworker," she turned to Ferti, "Safit- he tricked me. Then he tried to rape me in an alley..."

They both stared. Then Gelland said, "Ferti, would you wait outside for just a moment? I have to discuss something with her."

"I have every right to know her story, don't think I will let you go away without hearing it!"

"I agree that you do. And you will. Just please do me this favor?"

He huffed, but stepped outside. Gelland whispered in her ear, an extra precaution as he could try eavesdropping. Acacia frowned. "So you'll take all the credit, huh?"

"With interest."

Acacia nodded. Gelland banged on the door for him to come back, setting the metal door back down behind him. He took his seat next to her.

"So," he said, "tell me the details... if you're comfortable."

Acacia nodded. "The Slag helped me before anything could have happened. But the girl that showed up after Safit stabbed me, almost in my chest. The Slag told me to run, and I don't know what happened next. I passed out in an alley. This all happened after I dropped off the money at the bank, which they were wanting to take from me. They came a little late, so they tried to just kill me instead."

"This really is my fault, Acacia. I shouldn't have left you with him! I assume he coaxed you into staying until the evening?"

She nodded. "Said he had to see his grandmother."

He shook his head. "Have you eaten? Are you still hurt? I will get you food!" With that, he set to work prepping her meal.

"I saw a doctor the morning after, and they patched me up. I'm fine."

Acacia whispered in Gelland's ear, "I am still hurt, Gel. It feels like something's still wrong inside of me. I didn't get help from a doctor."

"I'll fix you up at my place." she whispered back. "It's a good thing 'The Slag' was there. Thanks for playing along with that. You used those chips I gave you?"

"No. I'll tell you later." She looked concerned suddenly, as if remembering something. Then she ate. A lot. 

"Are you well enough to walk?" Ferti asked. "I need to walk you home."

"She will be staying with me." Gelland answered for her.

"Good friend!" he clapped. "I will walk you both home, then."

They shuffled towards her apartment, Gelland under Acacia's arm, helping her walk. Thankfully for Acacia, it wasn't far. "I think it would be fair to say that she won't be working for a few days. I know that's not going to be convenient for you..."

"Think nothing of it. I'll manage. I'm just happy to have my best worker back!"

Acacia grunted a laugh. A good sign. "I'm your only worker."

"Yes, well I'll be more discerning of who I hire next time." He paused. "About The Slag. What did they look like?"

"You know, it was dark... but I'd say it was a man. Definitely had some masculine features."

"That's strange..." He said no more about it, but Gelland could read his mind. Gelland had gone back and forth on who she'd displayed herself as, and Acacia had thrown them even farther off her scent.

Reaching her apartment, they bid farewell to Ferti, who gave his best wishes to the pair. Stepping inside, Acacia flopped on the bed. "You made me lie a whole lot back there."

"Well, it had to be you. I can't marr my excellent character with falsehoods."

She rolled her eyes, then coughed. "Sure, Face-Stealer. Can you heal me, now?"

"Of course." she said, fixating on Acacia. What's mine is yours. The power poured from her, Gelland being able to see a ripple around the girl. Then her eyes started glowing. 

She trembled, clutching her chest, then stood up. That vigor was too much to take lying down. She bounced up and down for a few moments, testing her breath. "It feels so good!"

"I'm glad." Gelland said. "Now tell me everything."

Acacia told her the true version of what had happened that night. That they were after the money that Safit knew was on her person, but Safit had other plans. Acacia had repelled them, using what Gelland had taught her. Then about how she messed up her signs.

"They had me, and the dagger was in. But something else happened. I made the wrong signs, but lightning came out anyways!"

"So you ended up getting them right, even though you thought you were wrong?"

"No, I called from a Stockpile."

"That can't be right, Acacia. That's-"

"Just for people whose immediate relatives have a contract. So I pulled the dagger out, and I did this." She made the signs Call Coffee. A flask appeared in her hands a couple seconds later, and she proffered it to her.

Gelland gaped, took a moment, then reached out and grabbed it. The warm metal excited her. She started loosening the top when it vanished. She slumped her shoulders. Looking back up, Acacia shrugged. "Looks like it has a time limit or something."

"An immediate family member is still alive, huh? But you thought you were an orphan."

"Looks like whoever gave me up for adoption wanted it to seem that way. And like I said, my deformation isn't well regarded."

"Well I think that's stupid."

"Thanks, Gel."

"We should try to find them." Gelland said. "And we should definitely keep using that new contract."

"Maybe..." Acacia sighed. Gelland could tell she didn't want to talk about it right then. "You'll just keep me around for the coffee, is that it? Well, I have something else that happened. Someone had kidnapped me."

Gelland put her hand up to her head. "You're just now telling me?"

"It looks like they hadn't tried anything yet. But I didn't stay to find out if they would. I ran to your shop, then to your house, then I caught you while I was trying to find Ferti."

"I'm just so glad you're safe." Gelland sat on the bed and hugged her.

"Me too... it was so strange. The man was talking to himself. He kept using this strange voice half the time, and I couldn't tell what he was doing."

"So he responded with a different voice?" Gelland asked, sitting up.

"Yeah. Why?"

Gelland paused. "That's what the blind man said about the person who told him that I would come and tell him about 'The One Who Sees'."

"I didn't even think about that."

"We have to go back there. Tomorrow morning, can you take us back?"

"On my day off?"