Mags

Welcome to the shard!! I'm sure everyone else will give you reading order suggestions so . . . Do you like bagels? If so what kind? What's your least favorite character in Mistborn?

"We're brothers," he replied lightly. "Actually . . . we're not." July interjected. August gave him an endearing little frown. "You don't want to be brothers this time?" "Well . . . Ma'Tani' and I are working together, I feel like it'd be a breach of trust to lie to her. "It's not exactly a lie," He replied with a cheeky grin. "It's not exactly the truth either." July said, sternly this time. "Fiiine . . . let's see, closer to the truth . . ." August tapped his chin thoughtfully. "We're childhood friends, grew up together and such. And I suppose you met July in trying to help this girl?"

August turned, noticing her for the first time since he'd come over. "I believe it's the innkeeper who owns the tables, but nevertheless," He stood, like a gentlemen, and offered Ma'tani a gloved had to shake. "My name is Yua Witnia, pleasure to meet you." August had never had trouble switching names in public. He wore them like clothes and tossed the ones he was bored with away without thought. July wondered if he'd ever feel the same way. It was a strange freedom of the mind he couldn't quite reach.

ITS FINALLY DONE THANKS SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING YOU DID EDDIE IT WAS AMAZING!! Thanks to everybody who worked with me on this!! It was a ton of fun, as always.

He chuckled. "You should try our sea food, there's nothing like it."

"My country has better food, I promise." Aki insisted lightheartedly.

"Never had it myself," Aki said, handing him some draw cracker thingies.

Sharlin sat on the steps of the warehouse. Focusing on breathing. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. One of Sharanna's higher officers came to check on her, but she waved him away. She didn't need anything. Everything she needed was gone. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. Just keep breathing. Nothing mattered but breathing. There was only her, and her breath. There was no corpse in the basement. There was no dead sister. Just breath. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. It had started raining. The drops threatened to rip her back into reality, but she fought it away. Sharlin had no grasp of what time of day it was. That didn't matter. Nothing mattered, because everything that mattered was gone. What was she going to do? What was she going to do? What was she going to do? What was she going to do? What was she going to do? What was she going to do? What was she going to do? What was she going to do? What was she going to do? What was she going to do? What was she going to do? What was she going to do? What was she going to do? In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. Nothing. She would do nothing but breathe. Her grip tightened on her revolver. For now, she would do nothing. Someone out there had done this. Someone who had scrawled FOR SHARLEE in Sharanna's blood on the wall. Sharlee was something, Sharlin supposed. Something to keep track of. Important, just like the breaths. Yes, Sharlin would remember the message. It was a lead to follow, and invitation for revenge. Sharlin meant to take it. But for now, while her hands still shook and her lungs spasmed beyond her control, she did nothing. Nothing but breathe.

July nodded in understanding. "Yeah . . . it's not like there's a group of your people around here for you to chat with." He tapped his chin. "Gosh . . . I don't know." The inn's front doors opened, and a thin, richly dressed, man entered. He glanced around quickly, clearly looking for someone, and smoothly began crossing through the common room. Despite his expensive presentation, he had the stride of soldier. July turned his head at the right moment, and they made eye contact. What was August doing here so soon? July was sure he hadn't meant to meet him for another another few weeks. His heart sank as he realized that something in their plan must've gone wrong. Of course it had. August finished crossing the room, coming to where he stood by Ma'tani's table. He gave her a curious glance, but his attention was clearly on July. Other then the fact that July was almost a head taller then him, they looked eerily similar. The same pale skin, the same shade of black hair, they even held themselves in the same, nervous way. They could have been brothers. They were not. Augusts features were more refined, handsomer. While it was easy to tell that July was in his mid-twenties, it was almost impossible to place Augusts age just from looking at him. His rounder face and his larger eyes surely made him look younger then he really was. He could've been anywhere from late-twenties to early forties. July had long determined, with his friend as a prime example, that pretty people just didn't age right. "Why . . . Why are you wearing an apron?" Not the first thing he'd expected August to say, but then again, when was the last July had hung around in a work uniform with a tray of drinks? "I got a job." ". . . Why?" August asked, confusion written all over his face. "I suppose it isn't a terrible idea . . . but it might draw attention." He tugged on his gloved fingers--a old nervous habit. "Well, I got it so I could help someone--there's this girl and--" "Your involved in someone else's business again?" He ran a hand through his hair, and sighed softly. "I understand you want to help people, but we have to worry about ourselves, Leal." It was old nickname, from when their real names had carried burdens too heavy to bear. But even now, when July could be called whatever he liked, he never used it for himself. There was something too private about it. "I know that Yua." Augusts name. "But . . ." He didn't really want to explain this. Not in front of his new friend, in the middle of a loud tavern where anyone could overhear. "But what?" "She reminds me of us." July mumbled quietly. Augusts stern expression softened, and he hesitantly sat down at Ma'tanis table. "What is this about?" July quickly explained everything, it wasn't hard as they didn't have much information themselves. August nodded when he had finished. "Alright . . ." He seemed to be considering what to do about the whole thing. "Why've you come here early?" July asked, sitting at the table himself. He had to make sure it wasn't horrible news. It'd be bad for sure, but maybe not horrible. August was broken away from his thoughts. "Ah! Yes, our time-frame has moved up. September discovered it was gone much faster then we expected . . . you have it, don't you?" "Yes, the thief I hired to get it back gave it to me a few days ago." That's why he'd been there in the first place. "Good, we still have a few weeks before she comes this way, but not the months we thought we had." July nodded. Septembers endless wisdom and thoughtfulness also made her endlessly slow. "So, we can still help Jolane before we have to run again?" August shifted in his chair. Clearly, he'd rather move on now, but he'd stay. For July. ". . . Sure."

"Ah, alright then." Aki said, a little defeated. He didn't quite miss his homeland--he was glad to go on this weird journey, really. Bur from what he'd heard his world was large, and he thought it was strange that he was the only one from there. Or, maybe they were all from the same place, but it was so big there was no way to tell. "Yes, you explained so earlier I believe." "Are either of you hungry?"

"Where are you from?" Aki asked, wondering if they were from the same world. He pulled some dried rations out of his pack as well, realizing he hadn't eaten in while.

Aki pulls some small kindling out of his pack and lights it with the matches. The fire is small, but it's better then nothing. "Mhm," Aki grunted as he finished on the fire.

"Alright then," Aki said, heaping the entire thing on top of Sleeper. He pulled out a match box. "Any chance you could make a hole in the roof for a fire?"

"Probably . . . " Aki said, huddling down. He took his thick cloak off and wrapped it around the kids. He was wearing several more layers then they were. "Hopefully the strange Kami will give him back to us."

"Of course. There's bound to be rumors about this sort of thing and I'm serving tables anyway." July glanced around the room at the motely crowd of strangers. Ma'tani was right--they would trust him more, even though he was foreign to this place too. He spoke their languages and looked like them, but that didn't make him one of them. Growing up in solitude did that to someone, he supposed. "What do you plan on doing?"

"GOSH DANGIT WHERES NICK."

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!! What a guy