There's another one! The voice came from around the corner at the intersection where she had stopped.

She would knee that jerk too.

She turned down the street and found herself face to face with him.

Well, more or less. She stood there, infuriated, while the other was sitting, his chin raised in the pursuit of draining a lovely bottle of local liquor.

Without a second thought, she slapped the bottle out of his hand, and it flew the distance of two arms' lengths, touched the ground, bounced a couple of times, and then shattered into a thousand pieces.

They locked eyes for a moment, and then the guy burst into loud laughter.

She continued to glare at him, dark-faced, as he laughed heartily.

He was like her. In the sense that the other guy also had a human appearance. Or at least, that's how it seemed. Never trust appearances in the Thousand Worlds, after all.

Dark-haired, blue-eyed, fair-skinned, clean-shaven and look how he's dressed. Her attention was caught by him and by the tattered, bulging swamp-green backpack he had set beside him.

"You have quite the courage, girl!" he managed to say after finishing his chuckling.

"Who are you?" she snapped.

"Huh?"

"Are you deaf or just dumb? I asked you a question!" she pointed her finger almost theatrically.

"I'm surprised that you want to chitchat. I thought you would've given me a knee to the holy groin like the other one."

"What? How do you know? Were you there?"

"No, but I have good hearing. And I know when someone screams in a certain way and why they've met the wrong lady."

"How funny you are, wise man!"

"You have the shrill voice of a goose, you know?"

E in the midst of a conversation, he blocked her again with a slap in the face.

They resumed their staring match for a moment before he let her go. She took a few steps back, leaning against the wall. She never diverted her gaze.

"Who are you?" she repeated, calmer.

"I'll tell you if you stop staring right into my eyes."

"Don't you like it when people look at you while talking?"

"It's more that they stop liking it after a while."

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind. Anyway..." He rose, slightly swaying. He was certainly fit, almost an arm's length taller and at least ten years older than her. "I'm Achero. And you are?"

"The name's Bria!"

"What kind of a name is Bria?"

"What kind of a name is Achero, then?"

And they glared at each other again.

"Alright," he sighed, "it was nice meeting you, kid, but I really have to go now."

"Wait!"

"What now?"

"You're a Seeker too, aren't you?"

He wasn't looking at him anymore but at the burnt edge of a red sleeve peeking out from the backpack on the ground.

Achero shifted his gaze between that and Bria's flushed face.

"Do you want me to take you to the Antiquarium?"

"You're going there, right?"

"You should be better at asking for help. Someone might take offense at your behavior and refuse to do it."

"Not you! A Seeker can't refuse to help a colleague in trouble. It's written in the Guide," she said with such a mocking smile that it seemed unquestionable.

"Maybe I'm a thief who stole the goods and clothes from your colleague and then killed him!"

Another round of glaring at each other.

"Let's forget it! Come on, follow me! The sooner we get to the center, the sooner I get rid of you."

"Thanks! You know the way, right?" she asked skeptically as he lifted the heavy backpack.

They took a couple of steps. Then Achero had to lean against the wall. With his hand in front of his mouth and a distorted gaze lost in the void.

"What's the matter with you?"

"Maybe I should've had that liquor with something in my stomach bblurrrggg."

"Are you serious?!?!?"