The Calm Stone Tavern had many rooms but when at capacity they charged a cheap price for those looking to camp behind the building. Hills rose up behind the building serving as protection from gusts of wind from the valley but the camping space wasn't exactly large. Indigo hesitated in finding a good spot to rest. Zo had introduced her to some other members of her organization but Indigo was not used to getting friendly with people she didn't know. Having cried in front of many of them left her feeling self conscious, which wasn't very like her. But this entire day hadn't been very much like a typical day for Indigo.

The night was a long one, but not in a bad way. Indigo sat around one of the campfires with the warriors of this band of freedom fighters and listened to them tell stories and sing. Zo was a masterful storyteller. Her comrades applauded and cheered her on as she recounted some adventures from years ago.

"There were many of us there for that battle against the Third Company troops -- those slimy Royal Soldiers serving the Divine Force! And we showed them exactly what they're up against!"

The members of the Extreme Liberation Team were not afraid of making noise. Men and women cheered for themselves and stood up when they were called by name.

"They were up against Vivian, with her dual-blade skills and her masterful agility!"

Indigo looked over as a lean woman with short cropped hair stood up and drew two curved blades, holding them high into the air. Her face was harsh and full of determination. The entire company applauded her from every fire circle as she twirled around and basked in the pride, slicing her blades against one another.

"They were up against Nyle, his strength and durability overpowering five men at once -- the might of his battleaxe knowing no match!"

A large man with deeply hued skin towered over all else sitting at the fire circle next to Indigo's. He lifted his weapon, an enormous double-edged battle-axe that certainly needed two hands to wield but he lifted it over his head easily with only one. His hair trailed down his back, in thick strands and he let out a battlecry that shook Indigo's bones.

Every person who stood lifted Indigo's spirits higher. A darkness was being removed from her being. She had found a truly free group of people. A strong band of individuals who held close ties with one another. She knew what that was like once. And it fell apart.

But maybe, this time, it wouldn't. Maybe this was the beginning of something wonderful.

Ryton, a man with a simple longsword stood and twirled his blade when he was named, turning the metal into a blur as he switched and tossed the weapon between his hands, the speed and accuracy of the twirls and tricks unreal -- one mess up would surely remove an arm or leave a hefty gash in him. But he sheathed it with a quickness that would be missed with a single blink.

Willow, a woman in light armor and light brown hair tied tightly behind her head, removed her bow and aimed a lengthy, sturdy arrow at a log next to the third fire circle close to the hills. The arrow lodged itself in the wood with a thunk and within seconds another arrow was hurtling toward it, past heads, and ripped that arrow straight down the middle. The crowd erupted.

"And, of course," Zo bowed, "Myself included --" Zo received the loudest appraisal yet, the warriors, including those who stood and demonstrated their skill, chanting the words:

Iron Fist! Iron Fist! Iron Fist!

"--us five led the charge against the Third Company, slaying--Every. Last. One of them. The twisted leaders of that high cabal, the Artificers, knew our strength then." She smirked. "And we all remember that pathetic display the leader, Sight, gave us when all his men were dead."

Laughter all around. Indigo looked about, watching some men and women act the same way, holding their hands before them as if they were reenacting the incident. Zo continued,

"'No! Please! There's so much I haven't done yet!'" Zo exclaimed, pretending to be the man in question.

The energy of the mockery was cruel but Indigo couldn't help but grin. These men of the Divine Force were cruel. Task was one of them... and he was exactly what the Church said about the Gifted -- demonspawn. Laughter sounded all around until Zo screamed, her expression shifting into one of severity.

"Well, what about all the innocents he and his Divine Force slaughtered and continue to massacre?! What of the suppression his order places upon their own people and the people of the Scarred Lands?!"

Shouts of agreement. Indigo couldn't help but join in, shouting a resounding YES alongside the rest of them.

"What about the Gifted, the children of the Goddesses? What of these powerful individuals who have had their powers stripped away by lies and oppression?!"

Indigo screamed this time with the crowd, their voices echoing across the land. She caught Zo giving her a smile. Indigo smiled back reflexively. She felt like she was no longer fighting out of revenge or desperation. She was a part of something greater now with her cry of solidarity -- she was fighting for a cause now. For a greater good.

"The High-Priest is the head of this snake we are being devoured by!!" Zo's teeth were bared. She screamed over the sounds of warriors clanging their weapons together in cheer, stomping their feet, whamming their chests with fists. They were no longer the lighthearted dancers and singers Indigo was presented with earlier. No, they held hearts of burning intensity beneath their layers of aloofness and fun. They were frightening in their passion. "Together," Zo continued, "We will finalize this conflict! Together, we will infiltrate the Kingdom and put an end to the Church! Together, we will sever the head of the serpent that strangles this world!!"

Everyone got on their feet. Indigo did so alongside them and she heard drums. She only had to search for a moment to see about a dozen Liberators whamming their hands onto hand-held drums, some larger than others. Those without drums, stomped their feet and clapped their hands to an intense beat. Others stoked the fires more.

And all present danced wildly, removing their armor, loosening themselves and becoming comfortable in their own clothing beneath. Indigo laughed and felt out of place. When on Nadi was the last time she ever danced?

Suddenly, she recalled. When she was so young. J'son had taken her hands back in the courtyard of Rosebury. He was dating Kila then, but they were all friends and Indigo was so shy -- still was, deep down, but beneath layers of anger and violence now. He moved first and laughed while her face lit aflame with embarrassment. She felt pitied at first. But when the music from the bards in the courtyard overtook her and she saw all the other townsfolk dancing and enjoying themselves on that Full Moon Festival, she gave in. Kila danced alongside them both and Indigo felt free.

Now, Indigo looked out at everyone, so passionate, so full of meaning and camaraderie that she wasn't sure if she was capable of such things anymore. She smiled and eased herself back, looking to duck away next to the hills and deal with the cold night away from flames and drift away to sleep.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Indigo spun around and was face to face with Zo.

"Oh," she laughed, acting nonchalant. "Not much of a dancer, really. Everyone is in such high spirits from your speech. Great stuff."

Zo smirked. "I saw you shouting with them all." She stepped closer. "There's some high spirits buried inside there somewhere."

Indigo shook her head and laughed nervously. "I'm really... I don't know..."

Zo started to move her body and step her feet in a rhythm. So loose, so free, and she didn't mind when she moved in a way that looked awkward or silly. In fact she seemed to move in bizarre ways on purpose, to prove a point. "Maybe En-Maer doesn't dance," Zo said, then snatched up Indigo's hand. "But Indigo Scout? I don't know, I feel like she's a dancer. Maybe even a good one."

Indigo watched Zo move. She was tall and strong. Her body wore only a basic cloth tunic and pants. Her feet were bare and dirty. Zo's hair was long and loose and her eyes were bursting with green from the firelight all around them. Indigo felt younger again when Zo took her hand. She felt as nervous, as full of anticipation, as full of possibility as she did back when J'son guided her.

She whipped her head about to see the bodies of all the Liberators dancing in circles around the flames. Dancing with one another, some intense, others seductively, most full of the wildness of music basking in the fun of moving with each other.

To her fear, and a little to her interest, men and women started to notice her not moving, notice her standing still before their dancing leader. One by one, people moved in a circle around them, still moving their bodies to the intensifying drumming and stomping. Indigo whirled about, still stuck in place from Zo holding her hand.

All around her chanted a phrase, slowly at first, but it built up to a statement they all believed in, something they would fight for. It began with one woman, the one who rose from Zo's tale -- Vivan, who shouted loudly above all other noise.

Usamea! she cried. Usamea! Usamea!

Then, one by one, they all were chanting it. Indigo was shivering from the sheer adrenaline they exuded from their voices.

USAMEA! USAMEA! USAMEA!

Indigo looked at Zo, her eyes wide as the moon. Her body was shaking all over. Their words had a strange power over her, though she had no idea what it meant. Zo grinned widely, her face glimmering in the firelight that burst through the gaps in the bodies circling them. and took her other hand.

"Usamea," she said. "Means Liberated One in Goddesshood. It is a title we all accept when we free ourselves from chains of fear and pain. Usamea. You are Usamea."

Indigo's lips trembled. "I am..." she hesitated.

USAMEA! USAMEA! USAMEA!

"I am..."

Death. Abandonment. Isolation.

USAMEA! USAMEA!

Fearful. Hated.

USAMEA!

En-Maer.

"I am..." Indigo couldn't say it herself. It was difficult. So Zo helped her.

"You are whoever you decide to be," Zo said.

Indigo sniffed and held back tears. "I want to be Usamea," she said.

Zo released her hands and stepped back into the crowd circling her. Indigo's heart had never raced so fast. Had never pounded so powerfully. The drumbeats were shimmering through her, boiling her blood, pushing against her heavy eyes and making her cry. The chants of USAMEA! made her high on herself for the first time in her life.

Indigo moved slowly at first, exploring how it felt to move in ways she never had. She spun and used her shoulders. Then, she used her hips. And before she knew it, she was laughing with others, stomping her feet, crying happily, grinning at all she met eyes with. Indigo was dancing. Cheers all around.

Some of the Scarred inhabitants peeked around the Calm Stone Tavern to witness the excitement. The townsfolk did not see such wild energy often, so they were not bothered in the slightest despite the late hour. Some of the citizens joined their music and dance, the warriors letting up their more seductive motions as children entered the fray, their parents watching closely. But it was clear that the Extreme Liberation Team was welcome and loved within the Scarred Lands, whether it was from frequent visits or their positive enticing demeanor.

Indigo was sweating, the flames roaring, pushing back the cold night. She danced alongside people she didn't know. She leaped and spun and held hands with others. Children approached and Indigo twirled girls around and she and so many others clapped for their bravery in putting themselves out there -- though children were always braver than adults.

Eventually, the party dwindled down. Children were sent to bed being carried off by just-as-tired parents. Some Liberators had collapsed and were snoring, some not even in their bed rolls. Indigo didn't stop dancing until Zo nudged her. The drumming had seemingly stopped long ago. Indigo laughed and fell into Zo's arms, exhausted, drunk on the aftermath of adrenaline.

"Look at you go," Zo laughed.

"That was... that was..." Indigo giggled and was guided to a bed roll near a dimming fire. "Wow."

Zo lowered her as others settled into their bags, some still tapping on drums sleepily.

Indigo fell into her bed and Zo covered her up. Indigo grabbed her arm and smiled, for the first time not bothered by the feeling of her scars stretching along with her skin in order to do so.

"Thank you," she said. "For saving me."

Zo stared at her for a moment. Then she slowly lowered herself.

Indigo was tired and couldn't help feeling nervous in a really good way. Zo was an incredible human, beautiful, strong with her words and hands. She rested on the ground beside Indigo, not on her bed roll which was a few feet away. No, Zo was resting close to Indigo, propped up on one arm. Indigo stared into her green, intense eyes and had never felt this way about another woman before. Whether it was attraction or passion for her very being she couldn't say.

Zo stroked Indigo's hair and she tingled, grew goosebumps at the touch. It had been so long since another person had looked at her or touched her so intimately, especially with... well, with her visible damages.

"Can I kiss you, Indigo? Usamea?"

Indigo's face burst into heat. Her eyes were tired and her body was sore but she could be awake a while longer. Could she kiss her? This woman was the first person in years to look into her eyes, to touch her, to encourage and be there for her. Indigo couldn't remember the last time she had cried into someone's shoulder. This wasn't just admiration she was feeling toward this woman... It was desire.

"Yes," Indigo said, parting her lips, chest heaving. Zo leaned in close and she could smell her -- her sweat, her energy. Indigo was self conscious of her own scent, her own breath, having traveled for so long without a proper wash in a while but Zo didn't seem to mind. Their lips touched slowly. Then Zo was pressing into her, kissing her.

The feeling was exhilarating, terrifying -- she breathed in deeply and kissed back and they remained touching for some time. Then, they separated, Indigo's eyes closed, taking in the feeling a little longer.

They kissed again. Deeper. Indigo took in a shuddering breath when Zo moved closer and explored her with a hand. Zo paused.

"Should I not?" Zo looked at her intently. "Tell me not to if you don't --"

Indigo shook her head, but before Zo got the wrong idea, she quickly said, "I want you to. I've just... never..."

Seeing Zo blush was surprising. "I'll move slowly," she said.

Indigo didn't mind being surrounded by strangers as her and Zo made love by the dying embers of the fire. In fact, many other Liberators didn't seem to mind, having some fun themselves in other corners of the camp they had dominated. They were all lovers as much as fighters. Besides that, most were asleep.

She had never felt more loved by another. Zo felt her and breathed into her with an intensity she never felt before.

Eventually, when their strength gave out, they fell into each other's warmth.

Indigo drifted away, dreaming.

Dreaming.

For the first time, it was not a nightmare.

Indigo was up early the next morning, feeling as though she rested well for the first time in ages. Zo and her had shifted away from each other's grasp through the night, so she could get up before the sunrise without stirring her. She couldn't help but feel lighter. A heaviness still weighed down on her but not as persistently. Something had cleared away from her heart. A darkness.

She climbed one of the hills near the camp and looked out at the sun rising over the distant mountains. The air was chilly and the sky was a dim orange. The vastness of the Scarred Lands carried on and on in all directions. But, to the North was a faraway blur of a structure, traveling far across the land, looking much like the distant mountains, but this was a distinct silver, with distinct architecture to it. It was the wall to Shieldhome. Hundreds of miles away still, but the fortress-home was so massive, its walls could be seen far, far away.

She breathed deeply as the ball of light in the sky emerged fully and bathed the land in warmth. Her eyes burned right through those walls. Could she really change the world? With these wonderful souls she had just met? For a moment, she considered that wondrous possibility but she knew it wouldn't be easy. For a moment, she was filled with the fear of Kila's demise befalling these people... befalling Zo... people she barely knew but felt like she had known for lifetimes.

Then, someone was climbing the hill behind her. Zo, only dressed in her tunic, coming up behind her and kissing her neck.

"You're an early-bird," Zo said.

"Why do you want to kill the High-Priest?" Indigo asked.

"Because someone has to." Zo moved next to her and lifted her legs to pull on her trousers. They looked at each other. Zo laughed. "You worried about me, Indigo Scout?"

"Of course I am," she said. "I... the rumors you've heard. The parts about bad luck. They're true. I've lost people I deeply cared about, and the only thing they did wrong was know me."

"Rumors about who?"

Indigo stared at her. "You know who."

"No," Zo said, leaning in slowly to kiss her cheek, "I really don't. Why don't we talk about our goals together over some breakfast? We're heading out at midday."

Indigo watched Zo go, who turned around to look at her once more before gathering her things. For a moment, Indigo considered running. She could evade Task and assassinate the High-Priest with ease if she was alone. And her job would be done. But also... the traps and abilities of the Divine Force were not only vast but very hidden. And they know of Indigo's true power. Perhaps it wouldn't be so easy alone. Perhaps Indigo wasn't as invincible as she assumed.

So, she followed Zo into the tavern.