She could hear his footsteps and the phrase seek her out, as he hadn't been far from her spot. The snake had slithered into a hole covered up by bricks but had found a way to squeeze through. Dala didn't notice the snake, she instead was searching through her purple bag that had been tied tightly onto her belt. Her roughed up hands pulled out two things from the back. One was a silver ring with three magical blue stones and the other was a golden egg. She moved further away from the entrance and quietly opened up the egg. She hid it under the bag to keep the light from escaping and put her head under the bag.

Opening up the egg, she saw her favorite memory. The day she met Raith and Alairia. They called her a little wolf and opened up their home to her, even though she thought she'd be the last person they would ever care about. The memory continued, showing her mom's comforting smile and her dad's warm embrace. Things she would fight against the world to return to. Nobody could stop her. Everything in her body told her to survive. Not just for herself but for them too. In the end she'd do anything for her parents. Closing the egg, she tucked it away into her bag.

The child slipped the magical ring onto her left hand and quietly waited. The snake would be able to find her quickly and be able to report back to Lewis. But there was one last ace up her sleeve. She hadn't wanted to use it, as the magical ring required magical charging once it was used for more than nine hours. And she also wanted to eat a proper supper. But if she had to wait the rest of the day to avoid death, she would do so. The other consequence was that there was a possibility her bag might end up left behind. She didn't want to lose the memory container.

But life was more important. She needed to make new memories. Dala gritted her teeth and waited to see what the predator would do next. Her determination was strong as was her will for survival. There was no way she'd be taken down by some random assassin. She was too cool for that! Dala was silent as she prepared for whatever may come next.

It did not take long for the puppet of a snake to find the target, and reported back with due haste. Lewis smiled. This wouldn’t take too long after all.

“It was a fun run after all,” he said aloud, nearing the hiding spot that the poor, unfortunate child had chosen. Still, it was smaller than he could really fit in comfortably. Oh what it was to be a child. Those were the days, running and hiding, instead of fighting.

“I’ll give you one chance…” Lewis said confidently. “Come out and face your death with courage, Asher! I’ll make it quick! I promise…” The assassin smiled cruelly. The world was not a happy place. There were plenty that deserved to die horrible deaths, but a child? The least he could do was make it quick and painless. After all, he had done so many times without the knowledge of Xeik. Those poor children who had been used up…the ones that they could not save. Death was a better release for them than trying to survive…

“I swear on my honor as the protégé of Lord Raith that I’ll make your death nice and painless!”

The assassin spoke out directly to her, making her aware he knew where she was. And he used her middle name…the connection with Marcov was obvious the moment he'd gone after her but now it was confirmed. She wrapped her hand around the wring, ready to hide for however long she needed. Alairia and Raith had given her that ring in case Emerald and her own defenses had fallen. The ring would take her to a pocket dimension where she could hide until danger passed. Using it would mean she'd have to stay in the pocket dimension for hours upon hours, as assassins didn't give up easily even if their target had vanished. The last five assassins had taught her that. Just as she was about to hide, the man said something surprising.

"Wait what." She said in a deadpan tone.

The child was shocked. This dude claimed to be a protégé, whatever that meant, of her dad?! Stopping what she was doing, Dala reached into her bag again for the golden egg and climbed her way out of the hole. Dirt covered her face and her simple clothes were a mess. But her face had an annoyed look, as though Lewis had done something to really irritate her. She opened up the egg to show him a memory. That particular memory displayed Raith, Alairia, and Dala all snuggled together. The child pointed at the moving image of her father and looked up to the assassin.

"Are you talking about this guy? My fucking dad?!" She asked, "This is an memory egg. It shows me one of my most cherished memories."

The child allowed him a better look to ensure he knew what was up. Once she realized that he was working for her dad the entire time, she realized that this entire cat and mouse game had been for nothing. There was never any real danger. A misunderstanding could have lost her hours of her precious time! Dala face-palmed with her open hand and then put the golden egg in her bag.

"This entire time I thought I was running from a legitimate threat and it turns out to be one of my dad's workers!" The child was really pissed now and she looked him directly in the eyes, "I'm guessing Marcov sent you. My dad's enemies barely know what I look like or where I ever go. So there's only one other asshole who'd even have a reason to send trouble."

She was less angry at Lewis and more angry at Marcov for tricking one of her dad's people. It was one thing to get killed by a random stranger. But by a coworker of her dad? That was just embarrassing.

The fact that his target blatantly spoke from her hiding point made Lewis pause. In his entire career of being an assassin, not once had he heard his mark give away their location so willingly. Furthermore, the child scrambled out of her hidey hole, her face mirroring that of an irate Lord Raith.

The irony of that statement would soon be apparent.

She produced a small, golden egg for Lewis, which had a strange scene on repeat on display. Lewis had heard of these trinkets…a magical device that let one relive fond memories in times of despair. While the assassin had no real use for one, he could not deny that the artifact was genuine, nor that it produced a scene to which Lewis had only one reply.

“Well…fuck.”

He looked down at the child, and again at the cherished memory. He had heard of Lord Raith adopting a child, but had been too busy to ever meet said child. I can at least…say we’ve met now. His eye twitched. It was entirely possible that Lord Raith would kill him.

But not before he killed Marcov. There was now ay that the benefactor wouldn’t have known. Still, tot he girl, Lewis had just been standing there, staring with a dead eye’d look at the memory.

Should probably say something.

“So you’re the run-….kid he adopted,” Lewis said, curbing his language. “I’d definitely say that you have excellent survival skills…” He knelt down, looking her in the eye. “But I think you and I need to have a chat about this…Marcov.” There was an edge in his voice. “For instance…where he happens to lay his head…”

The frustration died down and she now had a big issue to worry about. Marcov. After all these years, the bastard was still after her. The child couldn't complete quests or jobs if he was always on her tale. He was the last one who really knew anything about her past who would use it against her. Now she doubly wanted him dead. Before, she just vaguely wanted his head on a pike but now she was going to make sure that happened. Lewis knelt down and began asking her where this Marcov person was. The child had a grin on her face.

"Uptown part of the city. He would have came here to make sure you got the job done properly. Look for a large noble house over caves or nearby any underground caves." She explained in great detail, "Marcov's guards are paid off but paid off well. Marcov uses a fortune to make them loyal so paying them off won't be easy. His slaves will be too scared to betray him. It's been two years since I was that guy's slave, so I don't know if he even keeps his slaves around him anymore."

The child reached out to her knife and chopped off a small part of her hair. After tying it with a ribbon, she handed it over to Lewis.

"I'm guessing he asked for my hair? He used to burn hair it in the fire to imagine the death of his enemies." Dala said nonchalantly, "If you kill him, none of this will ever get out to my dad. Deal?"

She held up her hand to Lewis to let him shake. There wasn't any official contract but Dala was always true to her word and the threat of Raith was more powerful than any silver coin could be. There wasn't any anger about the attempt assassination. Marcov was too important of a threat to get rid of and holding onto old grudges wasn't worth it if she could get rid of that disgusting vile man.

For her being so young, this ‘Asher’ had a surprising amount of intel on Marcov. He graciously took the hair that was offered, as well as the deal that she made. It was rather telling that Lord Raith had adopted her. She had the same kind of spirit that he looked for in most of his circle.

“Very well,” he replied finally. “I’ll take care of Marcov, though don’t expect results anytime soon.” Dae had taught him that lesson a long time ago. ‘Cut the head off the snake’ rarely applied when it came down to syndicates like the one that Marcov had. Dismantling it would take quite some time.

“When we meet again, maybe we should have a talk under better circumstances.” Lewis held out his hand. She may have been a child, but she still deserved the same respect that he gave others when they’ve earned it. “Lewis Dusk.”

This Marcov has made a mistake. He won’t like where this ends…

"Dala Asher Balato is my name. As long as you get it done, I don't care how long it takes." Dala said letting go of his hand, "His business is in slavery so I'd reckon to start there if you wanna get more info."

Now Marcov would have to watch his back. For once she wouldn't be hunted without any retribution. And once that bastard was dead, she wouldn't have to worry about hiding anymore. Her father's enemies might target her but then again, if Lewis knew nothing about her then it appeared she was doing a good job at staying low. Now she wouldn't have to worry about watching her back half as much. She whistled for her snake who came slithering back. Dala knew Emerald wouldn't abandon her like that and was waiting to see what would happen.

"There you are emerald. Lets get you patched up." Dala said before looking back at Lewis, "I tend to head back to the temple on weekends if you need to talk again. And whatever I said stays with us. I don't want dad to get involved with my fights. It'll just cause more issues."

She didn't want to have her dad fight her battles. It was different with Lewis since this was a deal. But with her dad, it felt wrong to have him take on her issues, no matter what they were.

"I'd better get back to my inn. See ya later." Dala said keeping her snake close.

She gave Lewis a quick wave then went off, as though nothing had happened. As though she wasn't a mess and that all of this was perfectly normal to her. Just another day in the life of Dala.