Machinery hummed softly beneath her feet. It was amazing to feel how smoothly the whole thing operated, the airship carving its way through the sky. Raziel could imagine that this was how it felt to have the air beneath her wings, pressing up against them as she flew through the air. Such a thought lifted her heart in exhilaration, giddy with the dream. Sadly, she was unable to see, and thus was unable to navigate in flight.

The airship landed, the passengers disembarked. Zander sat close by the angel's feet. She stood on the dock, clutching her staff tightly. "You sure you're going to be alright, missy?" Raziel nodded hesitantly. Her mother gave her this mission, and she needed to see it through. This thought steeled her resolve. "Could you point me to the market please? I'll be fine once I get there." "Go down this road and when you… um… Make a right at the… Are you-?"

"Thanks." His question was interrupted. The last thing she wanted was for someone to be so worried about her safety they wanted to coddle her as a child. After nearly a century of darkness, it wasn't difficult to navigate. Yet, as she began to walk forward, the clicks of canine nails against stone following her, her senses were assaulted. Scents of breads, meats, cooked vegetables watered her mouth. Thousands of voices filled her ears, disorienting her.

For all her timidity, her cautiousness, however, she was not fortunate. Zander let out a single bark, grabbing onto her clothing. He was far too late as she was clipped by someone pushing a cart of wares. Raziel lost balance and was sent sprawling onto the ground. Her pack flew off her back, contents spilling here and there, her staff went rolling away. She stayed there, unmoving as she heard shouts of an angry merchant above her, and Zander barking angrily at him.

    The day had been a long one for Nelanna in Adeluna City, and unfortunately it hadn’t been a good one either. She was all over the place, searching the libraries for books on curses, asking people about them as well, and trying to buy herbs that couldn’t be found in Virens Forest. All of this was for Cecil, whom awaited her return back at her cottage. If he didn’t have broken ribs and was more steady on his feet she would’ve brought him along for help, considering she was running out of options and wasn’t sure what to look for. She already used everything she had and looked in all of her books for curse lifting and wound healing, but most of them hardly helped at all. Now, she was getting desperate.

Upon exiting another shop with only one new herb in her basket, her ears twitched and raised a little at the commotion. A man was yelling, a wolf barking at him angrily, someone’s belongings scattered over the ground, and a young girl lying on the ground. At the sight, Nelanna quickly ran over to aid the poor girl. Gently, she took a hand in one of her own and helped her to her feet with a soft smile, looking her over for any injuries. “That girl needs to watch where she’s going!” Yowled the man, to which Nelanna reacted by shooting him a deadly glare that made him shut up, grunt angrily, and walk away. “Are you alright, dear?” She asked, looking back at the girl.

Boots and heels pounding or clicking on pavement, so many voices chatting at once. The cacophony was enough to drive her crazy. As it was, she was frozen with timid fear, petrified that she would be struck for no reason. He screamed at her about being blind, disrespectful, and something about pulling her head out of the clouds.

When a hand touched her, skin warm and smooth, Raziel instantly flinched. Yet, the aura from this contact was calm, a sense of trust, at least temporarily, washed over her. Accepting the assistance, the angel stood and stooped to dust her legs. She froze when she heard the angry man's last statement. Could he not see what was wrong with that statement?

All at once, as she straightened her back, the lavender haired woman wanted to smile. "Was he a comedian, or just dumb?" This was the first comment that came through her mind, coming off as quite snarky, yet a joke to be laughed at with friendly acquaintances. Raziel held it in, ducking her head. "I'll be fine." Zander pressed his nose against the palm of her hand. Idly, she scratched behind his ear.

"Is everyone so prickly here?" While she turned her ear toward the girl, hopefully the kind one would notice the lack of certain body language. Her eyes stared straight ahead, not even trying to make eye contact. There were times she attempted this, using sound to judge the person's height and location, and therefore simulating the appearance of not being handicapped. Yet, there was no reason to do so here now.

    After helping the girl back to her feet, Nelanna took the liberty to help dust off her clothes, for the ground had been very dusty. It was just something girls did for each other sometimes. But it wasn’t until the girl tried looking towards Nelanna that she realized something was off. It only took her a moment to notice that this girl was blind, for her body language made it quite obvious. She had met many blind people before, you see, so she knew how to read their actions and tell if one had no sight. But that was not all she knew, for she had also learned that most blind people didn’t want to be pitied, and wished to be treated like everyone else. It was easy to make them feel as if they couldn’t handle themselves just because they can’t see, this she knew, and it was something she felt should be avoided. Just because they lacked one sense, it didn’t make them entirely incapable.

She smiled even though the girl couldn’t see it, and replied, “Not everyone. There are just some people who are far less considerate than others.” Nelanna looked down at the girl’s belongings that had been scattered across the ground, and dropped to her knees where she began picking them up. “My name is Nelanna Ray Fox, but you may call me Nelanna,” she introduce herself. “You seem to be traveling someplace. Might I ask where you might be headed?” She finished picking up the girl’s belongings and held them firmly in hand, pressed up against her breast in a protective manner so they wouldn’t fall and scatter again.

An uncomfortable feeling began to descend upon the angel. To stand there with absolutely no idea what was happening around her, this seemingly kind woman doing Heavens know what. For all she knew, helping her up was a ploy to gain her trust, to quickly steal her stuff and run off. Not that there was much of anything to steal. Or, what if she intended Raziel harm? At the same time, she did help Raziel out of a pinch. While it would be rude to accuse the woman of anything without proof, the angel did sense a deep kindness.

Perhaps she was being too irrational, jumpy due to the irritation from the cruel merchant and overly protective sailor. ”Raziel, and… This is Zander. Um… You don’t happen to see my staff, do you?” When it was firmly placed in her hands, the angel said her thanks softly, half mumbled. ”Actually, I was headed to the market. Trying to find someone?” While the last sentence sounded like a question, it wasn’t actually directed to Nelanna, more like she was unsure of what exactly she was doing.

With the assistance of both Nelanna and Zander, they made their way toward the market. =But once she got there, the angel did not know what to do. ”Perhaps, we can sit down at a cafe. Some tea? Might clear the mind?” If she had to be honest, there were just so many voices surrounding her, she couldn’t quite pick out individual conversations, let alone separating each voice from the next. Once seated, Raziel attempted smalltalk. ”So… What brings you to the city?”

    “I’m Nelanna, and this-” she glanced around briefly, eyes blinking with wonder. She had come to the city with her Phoenix, Sol, but it seemed the spoiled bird had wandered off on his own. Of course, she was against any attempts to keep him from doing as he pleased, feeling she would be stealing away his freedom, but she would much prefer him to stay at her side. “Uh…It seems my companion has wandered off somewhere,” she continued with a sheepish giggle.

Nelanna handed Raziel her staff when she asked for it, and did her best to hand her the rest of her belongings. And at her next question, one seemingly directed more towards herself than Nelanna, she smiled softly. The poor girl appeared to be lost, and didn’t even seem to know what exactly she was there for. So, of course, being as caring as she was, Nelanna was more than happy to help any way she could. She helped lead Raziel to the market, which she had luckily discovered the destination of earlier that day, otherwise she too would have been at a loss in finding it.

The market was as busy as Nelanna recalled, bustling with business with people pushing others out of the way, some in a hurry, some taking their sweet time. There was so much going on Nelanna feared the young girl may get lost, and find it difficult to escape the crowds. So she stayed close by her side, holding her hand to help with guidance as they worked their way. She would even make sure no others were rude to Raziel again and push her out of the way. It wasn’t as if she had any doubt that Zander was capable of leading Raziel instead, but there were some things a wolf could not do that a person could. She only hoped she wasn’t upsetting Raziel and making her feel as if she was incapable herself.

Upon Raziel’s suggestion on finding a cafe, Nelanna led them straight to the nearest one and found them a table set from two. She sat across from the angel, taking a moment to straighten her skirts so that they would not wrinkle. The two ordered some well deserved tea and began their wait. “I’ve come to see the sights,” Nelanna replied to Raziel’s question. “Well, more to see what the city has to offer. I haven’t been here before, you see.” She paused when their teas finally arrived and she took the first sip before asking a question of her own. “How about yourself?” Nelanna might receive the same answer she was given earlier, about Raziel looking for someone, but she seemed so unsure, so she figured she might ask again. Of course, if she still wasn’t sure, Nelanna would not push it.

If Nelanna would ask, Raziel would explain the difference between holding hands and grasping her elbow. The elbow gave the angel much more information. Such as how to move, to navigate through a crowd, or to be easily pulled out of the way if necessary. Yet, the kind woman managed to exceed all other expectations.

She gave a soft chuckle at the words “you see.” ”No, I don’t, actually.” It was obviously a joke at her own expense. China clinked onto the table before them, her auditory clue that their tea had arrived. Carefully, her hands extended to find and wrap her fingers around the warm cup. Butthe return to her own situation seemed to despirit her, deflating her as a popped bubble.

”My appointed task is to find Gabe and Rammie. Problems block my every path. Without knowing who they are, where to begin, or even what they look like, the task is daunting.” ’You know… who they are…’ Those were Elithia’s last words before falling unconscious once more. That was also the last time she saw her mother awake.

In a desperate attempt to pull herself from that dangerous train of thought, Raziel asked another question. ”What has the city offered you?” She lifted her cup and took a sip, allowing the warmth to calm and comfort her.