Even though an outsider would never classify Sareth’s life as dull, she herself couldn’t help but be bored by the consistent thieving and murdering she had surrounded herself with. One can only experience a sense of fear for so long before you get used to it, before you adjust and settle in. Sareth had settled in just fine, but this only meant that the thrill of simply wandering the streets at night had vanished, and that she had to find her thrill someplace else. Now, of course, there was still something to walking through poorly lit alleys on your own, dressed as only Sareth would dress in these places, and knowing that your safety wasn’t even guaranteed if you were fully armored and ready to fight at any moment. Of course she knew that she should at the very least be a little cautious when going out alone, but after a while even that state of being becomes manual, one that you slide into unnoticed, as if it’s always been there.

To everyone who even slightly knows Sareth, it would come as no surprise that her first attempt at finding a new source of entertainment was turning to the bottle. It would also come as no surprise that this first attempt had also been her last attempt, and that, even though it still felt like there was something missing, the bottle had stayed as a life long friend. This was why she still dragged herself out into the streets almost every night. Unless Oliver and her decided to be nice to each other for once and drink together, she could be found in any one of the many pubs covering the surface of Seere.

Thus, it was only natural that tonight, too, she had claimed a barstool for herself to sit down and only get up to get her bathroom breaks. She had been sitting there for an hour or two now, and had kept the number of conversations to a minimum. In fact, she had only spoken to two people: the bartender and some guy making gross comments to anyone entering the place. Admittedly, she could have chosen a friendlier place to do her drinking, but where was the fun in that?

Her eyes were fixed on the empty glass in front of her. It’s content had been gone for a good 15 minutes, but Sareth had decided to be wise for once and drink at a lower pace. Right when she made eye contact with the guy standing behind the bar and waved him over, she noticed the door opening in the corner of her eye. Or rather, she noticed the figure walking through the opening door. Her hand lowered, her head turned, and as she fully realized who had just entered the venue, for a short second her eyes widened.

It was amazing what the presence and memory of one individual can do with a person. Sareth didn’t believe she’d ever been in love. Love was for the weak, love was a liability and something you didn’t need if you wanted to survive in this world. But if she could even imagine what it would feel like to experience something as trivial as love, it was because the brunette who just entered the pub had stirred that in Sareth once. They had been young, which is why Sareth didn’t count these feelings as real or relevant, but up to this date there had been no one who fascinated Sareth as much as Aella.
“Make that two,” she spoke to the bartender, who had asked Sareth what he could get her twice before pulling her back into reality.

As the man started pouring two glasses, Sareth noticed how her eyes returned to the dark haired figure as she made her way through the guests.

“There ya go,” the man tried to get her attention.

“Thanks,” mumbled Sareth as she slid a piece of coin out of her low cut shirt and threw it on the counter.

She grabbed the drinks and got up, glancing around to locate her old crush that was now, coincidentally, also her best friend, if Sareth had any friends. She found her taking place at the bar, not far from where Sareth had just been sitting. Smoothly she slipped between two men blocking her way to Aella. After she passed them, she pulled back the empty barstool next to Aella.

“Anyone sitting here?”  

Sareth didn’t really know what she had expected. She knew enough about the abstract concept of friendship and how it should look like in practice to expect an enthusiastic reaction to her presence, but at the same time she knew enough about herself to know that she never stirred those kinds of emotions in anyone, and enough about Aella to know that her enthusiasm was never expressed in big gestures. However, the reaction at first was so flat, so nonexistent even that Sareth couldn’t help but worry. Had approaching her been the best choice? It was almost as if she froze upon seeing Sareth. At first she could only blink, and Sareth was already planning on backing away slowly and pretending nothing happened when she finally said something.

“No, go ahead.”

Her voice was flat, her whole face seemed devoid of any emotion. But Sareth heard what only those who spent a long time in her presence could hear. She heard the awareness in her voice and saw the hidden excitement in her eyes.

Reassured, she lowered herself on the seat and handed Aella the drink she ordered for her. The seat was turned a little sideways, so that Sareth her whole vision was now filled with the sight of the only person that had ever truly made Sareth feel insecure about herself and her abilities. Someone with that power over her had to be special, and seeing how, once again, she knew how to capture Sareth’s attention completely, she still was.

The corners of her mouth were slightly curled up as she fully took in the woman sitting in front of her. How long had it been since they had last seen each other? Two, three years maybe? Even longer? She didn’t know, but it had been long enough. The both of them never had fixed addresses or places they stayed, so there had never been a way for them to stay in touch. The only times they were ever reunited, was when they happened to bump into each other like this.

“So,” she started, the look on her face as cold as of the one she was talking to, but with a slightly sarcastic, entertained curve in her lips, “what have you been up to since the last time I saw you?”

Before she could answer, Sareth first bumped her glass against the one she had handed to Aella, and took a sip. She had never heard boring words come out of the lady’s mouth, and believed that whatever had kept her busy for the last few years was worth drinking on.