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[sub]Location: The Road Between the Jail and the Inn[/sub]
[i][h1]Part I[/h1][/i]
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Elio still regretted not shoving a boulder up Volkov’s ass, but his mood had much improved from this morning. Hands in his pockets, he sauntered down the path towards the inn. Elio’d need to follow up with Barrett about the prisoner and Seth he was sure, because no one in this fucking town could be [i]trusted,[/i] but at least he’d set things in motion. In the meantime, there was always other work to do.

And there’d be other opportunities to fuck with Volkov. 

For now, he planned on getting a bite to eat, some entertainment among the masses, and then off to the residential district to finish up the latest batch of home foundations Astaros had put in an order for – because people kept [i]moving[/i] to this shithole for some reason. World really [i]must’ve[/i] been falling apart, if this was their preferred destination. People didn’t come to Dawnhaven, they [i]ended up[/i] here.

But that meant that everyone here was just a little bit desperate – and desperation always added a fun new layer to human behavior. Made people make interesting choices. They were a little quicker to snap, a little harder to recognize in the mirror. 

A little more entertaining to poke and prod.

So, perhaps Elio didn’t [i]always[/i] hate that he’d ended up in Dawnhaven, too.

Something stood out against the glittering snow and shadowed night in the distance – a pale figure walking down the path towards him. Elio raised an eyebrow, amber gaze darting over the approaching stranger.

Tia massaged her cold fingers as she listened to the [i]crunch crunch crunch[/i] of her steps, mind replaying the conversation she’d had with Ivor and Kira. Her mouth skewed to the side. She’d added yet another person to the growing list of names who knew too much because of her – another person who might get in trouble or be at risk because of her.

But at risk of [i]what?[/i]

There was still too much Tia didn’t know about her visions – where they were coming from, if they could be trusted, what they meant… Images of her fourth vision – the last one that she’d yet to investigate – ran through her mind. A burning hand, coated in flames and hanging from chains suspended above. 

But the hand had been uninjured – there’d been no charred, blackened skin, no bubbling, blistered flesh. Burn wounds were some of Tia’s least favorite to treat, but she knew them well. But the hand… it’d worn the flames like a garment, limp but uninjured. 

And then there was the gemstone, and its ominous vision. Tia hoped Eris would be able to make sense of it. She hoped even more that she hadn’t inadvertently put [i]her[/i] at risk, too. She remembered the visceral, petrifying [i]hate[/i] that had coursed through Tia’s body – the burning force of the colossus’ gaze, older than she could possibly imagine. 

The snowy path blurred in her vision as Tia looked down at the cobblestones, lost in thought. A cold winter breeze picked up, tangling her long, loose hair around her face, and Tia scrunched up her shoulders, shivering. Lifting a cold, shivering hand, Tia tried to push the loose strands of hair from her face and –

The toe of her boot caught against the edge of a cobblestone, higher than expected. 

Letting out a squeak, Tia’s eyes widened as lurched forward, the world suddenly rotating around her in a way it [i]definitely[/i] wasn’t supposed to.

It stopped turning though, when a pair of strong hands caught her.

[color=darkorange]“Careful there,”[/color] came a smooth, low voice directly above her.

Blinking with wide eyes, Tia stared down at a sturdy pair of legs standing on the path. There were large hands on her – one spanning the distance between her hip and the middle of her ribs, the other securely on her narrow shoulder

Catching her breath, Tia turned her head to look at the hand at her shoulder. Warm brown skin, a large palm, long fingers with old, faint scars along the knuckles. It moved slightly, the muscles flexing as the hand repositioned itself, fingers curving and flexing over her shoulder to get a better grip.

Tia finally looked up — and up, and up — to see eyes that danced like firelight, shining raven hair, and full lips curving upwards, surrounded by dark stubble. 

Her face began to warm. Was an inordinate amount of Dawnhaven’s citizens exceedingly tall and beautiful?

[color=darkorange]“Evening,”[/color] he said, smile growing. 

Tia was fairly certain it was noon.