Ankaa watched Jasmin skip ahead, her enthusiasm and curiosity like that of a child's, the red hair an apparent vibrant extension of her personality. Ankaa shook her head, a small smile forming at the corners of her mouth, hidden beneath the hood. Had she ever been so carefree?

She cast a quick glance behind her, but the men that had so rashly attacked her were scrambling in the other direction.

"There's nothing really in Gomora that I want," she replied. " I just need enough supplies to make it over the mountain pass." Ankaa squinted ahead on the darkening path. "There'll be plenty of ambushes in the mountains. They're hunting Magii more aggressively now, although I can't think as to why." Another frown. "Historically, they've been content to burn villages at leisure and rape and pillage those few gifted that they manage to flush out in the process." She couldn't keep the bitterness out of her voice, even if she had wanted to.

"It just makes me wonder," said Ankaa thoughtfully, "what new catalyst fuels their destruction now."

The two walked at an even pace down the path, the sound of metal clacking against metal and leather against ground the only sounds that rose up in the valley. She glanced over at the girl, and saw her for what she was- a welcome respite in the tediousness of journeying alone. The girl had magic, and it would be convenient enough to have an extra pair of eyes through the mountains. The girl would be useful.

For now.

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