Ellie brushed her lengthy hair over her shoulder and studied the runes in her Grimoire with a keen glare. This time, she was certain she had done it right- she had crafted a masterwork of a rune, beyond all doubt... this would be the one. Inside the circle drawn on the page, she had gone through all the steps: The circled rim to gather the energies, the canals to ensure the circulation- this one... would show Asrael how much of an asset she could be. This one, would put her on the front lines of his coming assault... this one would let her avenge her mother. For days, she had sat there, in the metallic-scented, decrepit cellar and studied the runes while cautiously picking the proper ones to form her own Magnum Opus. She breathed a satisfied exhalation as she ran her finger down the page and reset her focus on attempting to memorize her spell.

The cellar door swung open and the Blightlander ceremoniously made her way down, careful to keep her dress raised as to not trip and fall- again. The alembic’s bubbling filled the air with the calming scent of rosewater, rather than the seeped-in metallic odor they had both become well accustomed to, by then. Ellie no longer needed to turn- she could recognize Neda’s steps from across the city and for now, she needed to verify her spell before her fellow student would resume her ceaseless talking. Not that she mattered the talking too much... she was Neda, after all- the one person who could ever make her smile.

The tan Blightlander sat down next to her fragrant companion and reached an arm around her in a warm, friendly embrace. The faintest outline of a forced smile crossed Ellie’s lips- reminding Neda how beautiful the girl could be. Her pallor made her freckles stand out- an unusual condition Neda had never seen before meeting Ellie, but Asrael had assured her it was neither dangerous, nor contagious... if only they had been contagious. She could imagine it- her own face with those pretty, little dots on her cheeks and the ridge of her nose. Surely, that would serve to motivate him to finally claim her.

“Whacha doin?” Neda questioned her companion. Ellie shut her Grimoire and closed her eyes in hopes of being able to construe the rune from her memory. Satisfied with her attempts, she informed: “I’m making a spell, but... I kinda need to test it before I show it to Asrael.” Neda had to rack her mind as a feeling of dissonance struck her.

“Didn’t he tell you to show it to him before using it?” She asked after a moment’s thought. Ellie squeezed the book to her chest- hesitating before nodding.

“Y-yeah, but... if I show up with a rune that works, he’ll be impressed... right?” Neda thumbed her chin as she nodded.

“Yeah, I think so... but don’t you think he’ll be angry if we do magicky stuff without him?” Ellie wouldn’t dare to risk discovery- not by he who had done so much for her. Therefore, she braved: “Well, that’s why I was thinking I could do it outside. If I can find someone out there, I could try to power the rune. Since there are no more guards, though, I guess I could find someone from the Gauja Gang.”

Neda wished to see the spell in action, possibly even more so than Ellie, but could not entirely shake the feeling that... they shouldn’t.

“I think he’d get suspicious, y’know...” Ellie nodded in agreement- he would get suspicious, but Asrael had gifted them the perfect distraction. She informed:

“Y-yeah... but he’s been asking you to go learn from Berral. We could pretend to go to the Village, when we’ll actually be going down to the plaza.” Neda looked over at her companion while rubbing her chin. She’d given this some thought- a lot of thought, by the sound of it.

“I like seeing magic, but... why do you wanna make this spell so bad?” Neda questioned. Ellie grabbed her elbows and looked down on the cluttered table before her.

“I’m tired of being weak and useless... I don’t want to be the Ellie who did all those things with Gerathar. I don’t want to be stuck in a cell again- I don’t want to have to sit there and wait for someone to come and-…" Neda needed not hear another word. She knew exactly how she felt- it was part of what had motivated her, as well.

Ellie’s stomach churned as she thought of Gerathar’s hands all over her- those poisonous words of his, that gradual shift from his kind self to the cruel monster she would later know him to be... she thought of her uselessness and felt the sting of an unwelcomed thought- if she had been reduced to that, then... how could she ever know she had truly improved without testing her new skills? If she were to sit idly on her hands and wait for Asrael to say that she was ready, what then, when the next Gerathar appeared? Neda tightened her grip around Ellie’s shoulder and raised an encouraging thumb.

“Let’s do it. If it doesn’t work, I’ll keep us safe with the daggers, but I’m sure it will. You're goot with the magicky stuff.” Ellie felt her shoulders lighten- as much with Neda’s encouragement as with her company... she had dreaded performing the test alone, but if Neda would come with her, surely, all would be well... it had to.