The mist was... oddly satisfying. It wasn't much unlike being in the embrace of the drink. Worries slipping away, the stress melting into nothing and most importantly, the pain on her face dulling to a manageable level. Freiya unconsciously grit her teeth a lot and she felt a strange numbness as her jaw relaxed, before almost lazily bending her knee to pick up the brittle crystals growing out from the soil. It was like being blindingly drunk and just practicing Ki-Tan at the same time! [i]If such a feat were even possible. Well, the old drake could do it...[/i], Freiya thought, her mind wandering as she picked up more crystals. The thought of wandering deeper into the mist did cross her mind. Maybe deeper within, there was no pain, no thrice-accursed nightmares, a place where her father...

Freiya almost dropped her bag once she realized what she was actually considering. Her father was dead. Stolen from her by what enabled the very nature of this Scar. How could she possibly entertain such a thought? What was wrong with her?! Disgust and shame rose up in her chest, pushing away all the emotions clouding her mind as clarity returned, along with the pain. Snarling softly under her breath, Freiya felt suddenly glad for the slight masking nature of the mist as red filled her cheeks from shame and rage. Cursing the whole place in her head, she began to pick up the crystals much faster.

She was only shaken from her thoughts as the Captain rushed past her to... grab Alicia? [i]Huh... would you look at that?[/i] Freiya thought as she stood up to her full height, her bag full. Freiya had never idolized Alicia like many of the other recruits had. To her, Alicia was closer to an ideal. Maybe the sort of person her father would have liked her to be. But she was not Alicia and would never be, she had realized that during the first two weeks of training after the younger girl had arrived. But Alicia could be a waypoint to her, just like all the respected Captains and Overlords. One to reach and surpass one day. Freiya however disliked any idea of a rivalry, merely playing the role of a spectator from afar, gauging Alicia's skill and growth with her own eyes. The fact that Alicia progressed at a ridiculously fast rate in comparison to herself deterred her a little. How could she ever catch up to someone like that?

But everyone had to have limits. It was why Freiya was so keen and reaching her's and shattering them into a million pieces. It was why that damn old drake had taught her pathetic self anything back then. It was useless comparing herself to Alicia, who was still growing. The Overlords and other established Knights of already great renown would do just fine. Freiya was sure she'd meet Alicia again, at the very top of the food chain.

But it seemed even the seemingly immaculate Alicia had her weaknesses. Not particularly hidden, as evidenced by Varkasan's knowledge. But having spent little to no time at all with Alicia, Freiya had no idea. She had merely assumed Alicia was cold like herself, with a serving of charisma and charming on the side. The girl was certainly popular enough for no one to even attempt disproving that. But maybe she was wrong about Alicia, having assumed she was just a cold knight aspiring to be something more... nothing to apologize over, but certainly enough for Freiya to reform her image of the younger swordswoman.

...

Finally, they were out. While the mist's effects on her head had disappeared a while ago, Freiya was more than glad to be out of such a revolting place. Playing on people's emotions, snaring them in like a hunter would do to a rabbit... what a vile place even the safest Scar could be. Freiya let out a deep sigh of relief, reaching once more for her wine-skin, cursing solemnly as she found it empty. She then spotted Alicia, looking likewise relieved as herself to be out. [i]Are you alright?[/i] The questioned burned at her throat, unbidden and surprising to even Freiya herself. Maybe it was the seeds of her [i]new[/i] image of the recruits' Luminous Princess growing. But she bit her tongue. Alicia had friends. They'd look after her.

Freiya had looked after others enough for a single lifetime.