knives and scars [kat x eight]

junebug

lets weave soulless threads
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  1. Looking for partners
Posting Speed
  1. Slow As Molasses
Online Availability
evening on thur , fri, and sat
Writing Levels
  1. Advanced
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
  3. Nonbinary
Genres
dragon age series, asoiaf series, erotic, dark fantasy, high fantasy, suspense, adventure
There was no doubt that the incredibly foul stench of grease and oil would make her puke sooner or later. Nasira made sure she’d wiped down every nook and cranny of the two person table she sat at; you never knew when employees were using rags with expired sanitizer. The red leather chair squeaked a little as she shifted slightly, legs crossed, eyes on her phone as she sipped from a small paper cup with a yellow curved "M" on the side. All of this for a double big mac, extra special sauce, and no tomatoes. She could've easily cooked something at home for her papa and now, she found herself waiting on quite a few orders because the whole family seemed to be interested in McDonald's. Apparently, her life revolved around making errands instead of killing.

Nasira was at least glad she didn’t have to pay for the thirty dollar meal. Her dad’s platinum credit card took care of that. She wasn’t the one getting anything anyways, aside from the small vanilla ice cream cone she bought on impulse. It made her feel awful afterwards though. Nasira craved the thrill of stabbing someone in the neck, particularly of those who’d wronged her, of the woman who’d killed her mama, Santana Fuego. Her papa told her that it would take time, that as long as she did her due diligence, everything would be fine and they’d craft the perfect plan for her to take down the bitch. Nasira was tired of waiting though; the Mexican cartel moved places like no other.

It was difficult to track them– they hadn’t been able to properly do so for twenty three years now. Nasira felt it was only because her papa kept putting it off every single time the police came up on their tail for racketeering, money laundering, or another activity they deemed immoral. Her phone rang and Nasira immediately picked it up the moment she saw who was calling.

“Do you need me to get anything else, papa? The line is long, it’s twelve forty seven in the afternoon, and your food is taking forever to get out here,” she grumbled in Urdu.

“Now, now. Not even a hello? My, what a grumpy lady you are today. You didn’t even give me a hug this morning. We don’t have anything else we want to add. It’s only been a few minutes, I’m sure. Patience.”

“Kattan!” A clear voice rang throughout the McDonald’s restaurant.

Nasira’s ears perked upon hearing her last name– albeit pronounced horribly wrong– and stood up.

“They can’t even pronounce our last name right after I told them how to do so,” she told her papa and went over to the counter, using her shoulder to hold her phone against her ear.

“It’s Kah-tahn, not Kat-tahn, thank you,” Nasira didn’t look at the woman and grabbed both bags. She intended to leave right away, but a new figure, fairly handsome– actually, he looked much better when he stepped inside and she could actually see his face from a distance. Goatee– she always enjoyed men with beards– blue eyes. Her mind fogged a bit as she stared before she immediately sat down behind the only barrier between her and him- the half open wall in the middle of the fast food place.

“Princess?” She heard her papa speak from afar and realized that her phone had slipped from between her neck and shoulder. She picked up the phone from the ground and held it to her ear while she grabbed a wipe from her purse.

“Yes, yes, I’m fine. I’ve got your things. I’ll be home soon, okay?”

“Okay, love. The boys and I will see you soon. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

She hung up and wiped her phone case down vicariously before she tossed the dirty wipe away and checked for any cracks. There was a small one that’d formed at the upper left side and she grimaced. So much for getting her iphone upgraded for her birthday yesterday.
 
For once, Benjamin had a day off after working back-to-back-to-back shifts. Things were a little crazy in Las Vegas the past few days. The influx of tourists during this time of year had made every single police officer in the city's job that much harder with the more people they had to deal with. Casinos and restaurants often had to call the LVMPD in to make sure that a belligerent guest was removed and taken care of with the hands of the law. Ben was often one of the officers on scene to handle a perpetrator. As crazy Sin City was, it didn't mean that people were free to do whatever. There were still laws and rules to uphold.

Days of having to wrangle drunk people, arrest drunk drivers, or take care of domestic disputes had taken a toll on Ben. He'd been on the job for eight years, but even the most seasoned veterans would've been worn down after going through what he went to. And with the blessing of the job gods, he'd been given a couple days off in exchange of his service. So what exactly was Ben doing? That was a good question. It was the middle of the afternoon and Ben was in his car, completely dressed in regular clothes. Nobody would expect that he was a police officer if you took a look at him. Errands had to be run. He didn't have much time to run them a few days prior due to how much time he had to spend on the job.

But right now, Ben determined that a little lunch was due up. Going across the city and maneuvering the traffic all these hours had left Ben a little peckish. Seeing the giant, signature golden arches of a very familiar American restaurant, he decided to pull into the parking lot. It wasn't exactly the healthiest option around right now, but Ben was pretty sure that he was going to end up burning off those calories anyway. It didn't matter too much to him right now. He exercised and did enough physical activity to the point where calories were a non-factor to him.

Making his way into the restaurant after parking his car, he looked up at the menu as soon as stepped into the air-conditioned chain. Everything looked so good... and apparently it had been a while since he'd been here, considering that there were a few new items on the menu that he hadn't seen before. Was he feeling adventurous? Ben didn't know, and he certainly wasn't going to know by the time he got to the cashier. He decided to stick with something much more familiar. A butttermilk crispy chicken sandwich was on the agenda, as well as a medium Coke and some large fries.

Once he had paid, he had decided to find his seat at the restaurant. They were calling out the numbers, and from the looks of it, they weren't gonna be calling out his number for a while. So, he had plenty of time to find a seat to hang out for the time being. However, as soon as he made his way into the dining hall, he heard a noise that made him jump a bit. It sounded just like a gunshot, a loud crack, but yet nobody was panicking or running away. So, it might not have been a gunshot after all. So what was it exactly?

Looking around, he could see a woman picking up her phone nearby. But for whatever reason, the face struck a chord with him. She looked awfully familiar... but how? What made that face look so familiar? He had a name... but he couldn't nail the name just yet. It started with an N. Nina? Nasha? Noelle? Something like that. There was a focused look on his face as he tried to figure her out. Just who was this woman... and why did she look so god damn familiar?
 
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A small clutter on the ground was nothing most would say, but it irked Nasira that she'd let a stranger distract for a moment only to have her phone break a little. She wiped the screen down with a small cloth and shoved her phone back in her purse to keep that incident from happening again. The moment she rose and grabbed the bags to leave, however, she caught him staring at her. Nasira arched a fine eyebrow at him. It wasn’t that she minded it, however, he seemed too caught up in facts to consider the weight of what he was doing to her.

“Are you staring at me?”

Her question was blunt, to the point. One might’ve even considered her to sound a bit offended at his gesture, though Nasira didn’t even realize what she sounded like. Did he have something he wanted to say to her? The young woman wasn’t quite sure what to think when he took a moment to himself and spoke her name straight from the tip of his tongue like he’d known it all along. That was unexpected and an embarrassing situation to put her in.

She smiled, though it was forced, “I’m sorry, I don’t know who that is. Please excuse me.”

Nasira maneuvered around the gentleman and walked straight to the parking lot where her sleek red Maserati convertible was waiting for her. She placed the bags in a small box on the passenger’s side and opened the driver’s door up when she heard his voice again and a plea. Nasira took a deep breath; being confronted with him, with Ben… a silly crush she used to have back in middle school from lunch time was not high on her priority list right now.

“Yes?” She sounded exasperated, pained even, to see him. Nasira didn’t even understand how he could recognize her. Perhaps photographic memory was a real thing afterall. She swallowed back her nerves, body itching to sit down in her car and drive off like this encounter never happened. Nasira wouldn’t be able to erase him from her mind now with how persistent and stubborn he was, even though she’d given him signs to leave.

Hopefully, she could forget everything that happened here. Hopefully, she could erase him from her mind. Nasira ran her hand over her face, cheeks flustered from the sudden rush of adrenaline she’d felt darting out of the fast food place. She didn't even turn around to look at him, at least not yet.

“I’m sorry I…” She took a deep breath. “I just didn’t expect… this…”
 
Ben was a little caught off guard when the woman made eye contact back with him. He had slightly spaced out, which might have given the illusion that he was staring. However, it was far too late as she had gone so far as to call him out. Poor Ben had been embarrassed. The lapse in his focus had caused undue attention to be casted onto him. He tried to hide and play it off, but it was far too late as everyone in a twenty five foot radius was now staring at him. Great. This had taken a turn that he hadn't anticipated on taking. Scratching his chin, he remained stoic and terse as the woman simply rushed out after making eye contact with him. The woman's behavior had struck him as suspicious. Even though he was off duty, that still didn't mean that he was able to leave it alone. Standing up, he had to go after her now.

Ignoring the fact that his order was called up, he stepped outside only to see her walk straight toward a red Maserati. What was this lady trying to hide? Ben's interest was at full tilt now, and there was nothing that was going to stop him from conducting his own little investigation. Maybe this was going to turn into something that the LVMPD was going to be interested in? There was only one way to find out. Before she could leave, Ben darted across the parking lot to catch up to the car before she could even think about departing. He wanted to get to the bottom of this. There was no way someone would behave like this unless they had something to hide.

Placing his hands on the driver's side door, he held up a hand. "Wait up." He pleaded, before putting his hand down. Was he intruding her right to privacy? Yes, he was. But, Ben also did have probable cause on his side. The lady was acting real suspicious. Up close at this angle, he got a much better look at her figure. That hair of hers were unmistakable now that he got a better look at her. Even all of these years later, nearly two decades later, he knew who exactly he was looking at. He hadn't thought of this person in a long time, but fate had a funny way of working after all of these days.

"Nasira? Is that you?" Ben asked curiously, before placing a hand on his chest, "It's me, Ben. From middle school, yeah? It's okay. I didn't know if it was you. That's why I was staring."
 
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She hated how embarrassed she felt right now. Ben the nerd from middle school, or was he more of a gamer guy who loved computers? She couldn't remember what his thing was back then, but it was certainly different than the well, man, he'd become. She took another deep breath, trying to piece everything all together in her mind. How did he find her? Why was he here at Mcdonald's in the first place? She let her fear sit in her throat before she turned around to face him, eyes averted, awkward smile at play. She placed her hands on her hips.

"Ben... It's been a while."

Oh, now she was just being unoriginal. Puns.

"I mean, it's been- it's a long time since middle school. Since I've seen you, I mean. We've seen each other."

She could feel her temperature rising with every little mistake she made. Middle school was just that. Middle school. This was... This was a different encounter entirely. Nasira didn't know what to make of it. They led completely different lives for so long and now, it's pure coincidence that they meet again. She bit her lip, praying that if this turned into full fledged conversation, he wouldn't ask her what she did for a living, though she could very well lie, but he'd probably see right through that, just like he did back in middle school.

"I– I don't know what to say... honestly."

At least she was being honest there. Nasira's eyes managed to travel up to catch his blue eyes once more and she found herself melting at the sight. He was more of a gem now than he was in middle school. She paid attention to him more now. Was it the beard or the friendliness? It was probably the beard. She loved men with beards, not that she love loved him. She cleared her throat and brushed her hands on her dress.
 
"Neither do I."

Understandably, things had been a little awkward between the after not seeing each other for over a decade. That was expected. What was not expected was the fact that the two were in vastly different places in their lives. They were about the same age, give or take a few months, but yet here Nasira was standing outside what was presumably her car. It was a nice one at that, too. It looked clean, new, and certainly very lightly used. It was a sign of wealth - wealth that he didn't know that his former friend had. What did she do for a living? It certainly wasn't working at this dump of a restaurant or being a cop at least. So what was Nasira up to?

He knew she was up to a lot, but what exactly was she doing? He was curious, but usually people like her with the fancy car, fancy purse, and the fancy dress hardly ever talked about their work. It wasn't worth a shot, he didn't want to make things more awkward than they already were. Ben smiled awkwardly as he looked at her. Boy, was she gorgeous. Those eyebrows were a dead ringer for the girl he once had a slight crush on back in middle school. Back when he was a fat nerd who was a little too into Star Wars and Ghost Busters. Acne, greasy hair, and body odor. Those were the days, and Ben was more than happy that it wasn't the case to this day.

The two were clearly very different people. Ben wasn't fat or awkward. He knew what he was. He knew he was somewhat of an attractive person. Nasira had gone the same way, as well. He was deathly curious now. Something had brought them together (maybe the food), but now he had to take advantage of it. An encounter as unlikely as this clearly wasn't up to coincidence. It was like something had brought them together, and Ben had to capitalize at this point. Opportunities like this didn't come by often.

"So... what have you been up to? I know it's been a while..."
 
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Nasira’s throat dried up the moment he asked her what she’d been up to. It was nothing he wanted to hear, she knew that. She’d been making a profit off of illegal practices, human trafficking, prostitution inside the seven massage parlors she managed in Las Vegas. She’d been helping her father track down criminals, interrogating them, destroying them with her words, with her knives. Nasira hadn’t been anything like she used to be when she was younger.

She wasn’t bred for the good life; she was meant to be part of the crime world.

“I was going to school,” she lied, trying to hide her fear, her panic. “For my master’s in beauty, spa and wellness, and technology. I learned about spa technology in school.”

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Nasira didn’t know how long she could stand here lying straight to his face and heart pounding hard like a hammer. She stared straight ahead, unable to comprehend what was going on properly. Her father was right; she could never lie. She could kill someone, she could seduce them, but never lie. She lacked that persuasiveness, that silver tongue. Nasira looked away and placed her sweating hands on the car. Her mind was telling her to run, run far away.

“What about you? You must’ve been busy, probably catching a few girls and educating yourself too, right?” she joked, glancing back over at him and leaning up against the side of her mirror. She had to diverge everything on her to him. “You look so much different now, Ben. You’re not that nerd who talked his ass off in high school anymore. I like this new you.”
 
The hesitance from his long lost friend had instilled some anxiety into the police officer. Usually when people hesitated it wasn't good... or it might have just been the fact that Nasira was nervous. Yeah, that must have been it. She must've been super nervous after not seeing him for so long. He understood her dilemma, so he was more than willing to be accommodating to it. If he was on the job, hesitance usually meant that there was smoke, and where there was smoke, there was fire. This wasn't the job, though. This was simply a mere interaction between two people who just so happened to not have seen each other in years. There was bound to be some awkwardness. Ben understood that more than anyone.

So as it turned out, she was into the fashion business. Why wasn't he surprised? Ever since the two met, he'd always known Nasira to be that girl super into fashion and whatnot, even if she wasn't exactly the prettiest during the stages. It looked like she had bloomed later, and boy had she become a beautiful flower. If she was into the spa business, he might have had to hit her up later down the line for some massages. Lord knows his body needed some TLC after all the shit he did with it. Hopefully Nasira was nice enough to let him indulge in her business down the line, if she was nice enough to also let him know what she did.

But as it would turn out, the questions were now turned back onto him. What was he up to? "Well... after I graduated high school I just started hitting the gym and taking care of myself more. College was a great time for me to realize myself and see just how much care I needed to take care of myself and my body. It ain't getting any easier with how old I'm getting.. so I might as well just take good care of my body now so I can have an easier time later down the line, y'know?" He smiled, before putting his hands behind his back to hide the fact that he was sweating bullets. He hadn't been this nervous since the first day at the academy.

"What brought you to a place like this? Surely someone of your status can do way better than the golden arches..."
 
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It seemed that flattery with Ben would get her nowhere. He didn’t even acknowledge her compliment. He only answered her question and turned the tables once more. Nasira had to play it safe; she couldn’t let anything slip, not even the briefest clue into what she did, or what he thought she was doing if she gave him any strange ideas or thoughts.

“My family just wanted something a little different and cheap. I don’t blame them. Afterall, I can’t cook,” she joked. That was another lie. Nasira was confident in her culinary skills; her mother taught her great. Her paneer makhani and paneer tikka were to die for. She knew something bad would happen if she came to McDonald’s; it was happening right now.

“Listen, I know we weren’t really close in middle school, so it’s kind of awkward to talk now, however, I hope everything’s been well. You’ve got great potential. What do you do for a living, Ben? You were all over those video games. Did you find a passion in game development?”

Nasira stood up straight as she regarded Ben once more. It’d taken a moment for his previous words to finally seep in. Someone of her status shouldn’t be around public, that was right. Her dad could’ve done better than a damn hamburger. He could’ve done better and thought about the implications of what it meant to look nice and have a nice car in public.

Not to mention, a Maserati in public. Nasira prayed Ben did not probe her. She wasn’t going to share anything of her life with him. It was too risky. Nasira, however, was interested in what Ben had to say about himself. Athleticism was a great first step. What other magic tricks did he have up his sleeve? She gestured towards her car.

“Would you like to go for a drive?”
 
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Ben? In game development? No way. As much as Ben was into video games, he didn't have the smarts to figure out the computer stuff that went into creating games and perfecting them. He just liked playing them, but he wanted no part in creating them since he knew what went on in the video game industry. It wasn't for him. The thought of him being in such an industry had put a smile on his face, admittedly. He wasn't surprised that Nasira would make such an assumption either. He really was into video games back then, he still was now, but he didn't have the same amount of time to devote to them now as he did to them earlier. His job as a police officer sucked up too much of his time, and whatever free time he did have was spent maintaining his body, taking care of himself, and doing other un-fun adult things. He barely had time to keep up with video game news these days.

"Nah. That isn't for me." He chuckled, folding his arms, "Although I can see why you would assume that." Now came the question as to what Ben actually did. It was a tricky line for him to walk. There were people out there who only dated law enforcement officers, more than likely for the reason that Ben didn't like. They wanted to manipulate the officer into letting them do what they want. He had the unfortunate experience of having to deal with that before, thus leading him to his current rule of not disclosing his current occupation to anyone until he knows he can trust them. Still, this was Nasira he was talking about. On one hand he knew this girl, but on the other hand it had been YEARS since they'd last seen each other. He didn't know what Nasira was like now. Maybe she was a badge chaser, maybe she had hated cops, or maybe she was even a criminal herself. He didn't know, and he didn't want to risk having someone find out his occupation just yet.

"Let's just say I do something a little less white collar." He was going to leave it at that. He wasn't going to entertain any further inquiries into what he did. Nasira didn't deserve to find out what he did - yet. Ben did feel a little bad, considering that Nasira did disclose what she did. But, she didn't do what he did. It was much more acceptable to be in her field of work than it was hers. The news nowadays had demonized his professional, and overall society had a sour image of law enforcement officers overall. There were more and more factors as to why Ben hid his job, despite his pride in it. Hell, his Facebook profile had no trace of what he did for a living. He figured that the people who deserved to know, like his family, had known already and it didn't matter.

Now onto a different subject. He was now given the offer to ride in that sweet Maserati of hers. On one hand he really wanted to take a ride. It beat the shit out of his shitty little Honda, but on the other hand, he barely knew her. Was Nasira really a stranger though? There was a lot to consider. In the end, though, he'd come to a decision fairly quickly. "Yeah, sure. I'll take a spin with ya." He smiled, before walking over to the other side of the car. If things had gone sour in this encounter, at least the LVMPD would raise hell trying to find him. He had that going for him. Opening the door, he first took a moment to relocate the bags of McDonald's away, so he wouldn't ruin the seats or his clothes with the various food items that rested inside of those bags. "How'd you get such a sweet car, anyway? I couldn't even dream of owning one of these things."
 
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Less white collar. Nasira's mind immediately went through all of the different occupations he could be a part of. Scientist, cop, administration in the corporate world. She didn't prod him any further, but she had to tread carefully. There was no telling who he was; he looked like a normal guy who was a server, or if she wanted to go big, maybe a doctor. Nasira immediately regretted her decision about asking him if he wanted to ride with her. She still needed to deliver the food home.

Her fingers thumbed over her phone, quickly texting her older brother, Raj, to pick up the meals at a different location, like the gas station. He could pretend to be at the gas station and she would drop it off there. Or a different house. That would be a god awful tactic; Maserati and suburban house did not go together. Nasira drove down the road, wind hitting their faces as the convertible made it through thick and thin. Without her music, it felt somewhat peaceful minus the horns and screeches that popped up here and there.

"My dad invested in me when I was little. I couldn't believe it either. He invested in a car for me, my college, and my life. He wanted the best for me, so my college and my car were paid for completely by the time I rolled out as an adult in the real world," she explained. "We're going to stop by the gas station a few blocks down or so. My brother Raj happened to be there and my papa is growing impatient about not having his meal. It'll be a few minutes."

The duo arrived fairly fast at the gas station and Nasira made a quick move to take the box out of her car and meet Raj halfway across the parking lot while Ben was hanging out in the car. She handed over the meals and leaned forward to her brother, whispering as it appeared like she was giving him a gesture of affection. He could understand clearly; The guy in her car was someone they had to keep an eye on. His name was Benjamin Love and he had a "white collar" job. Raj couldn't quite understand why she was hanging out with an old friend of hers, someone she barely knew now.

Nasira placed a quick kiss on her brother's and patted it a little. It was an innocent gesture. Hopefully, things were just as innocent between her and Ben. She couldn't have him tiptoeing across the line, only to find out she was a criminal. Nasira hopped back inside her car after she and Raj exchanged glances and words. Nasira buckled her seatbelt back up and looked over at Ben, a smile on her face.

"Let's drive to ninety three, out in the middle of nowhere."
 
The past few minutes felt like a blur to Ben once he sat down in the car. One minute he was in the McDonald's parking lot, and the next he was in a gas station in the middle of nowhere. Something about her brother and the McDonald's in the compartment right below him? He didn't really remember as he was stuck in the loop of having to process the fact that he was really sitting a car as nice as this one and being with what he presumed to be one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, especially one that had come such a long way since they had first met. God, what time and distance did to someone. No version of Ben from the first day he was born to now could have seen Nasira becoming such a beautiful woman. Even though that they'd come back and met by pure chance, it was still amazing that they'd manage to come around and see each other at this point in their lives. Nasira definitely would have won the biggest glow up award if they had a reunion. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Sitting in the parking lot, Ben was still a little spaced out as he waited for whatever Nasira was waiting for. It wasn't like he had a say in what they could do anyway. Whatever Nasira wanted to do was what he was going to do, since it was her car, after all. She was outside of the car and he was left inside by himself. Something felt off about this car despite the things Nasira had told him. How could someone like her become someone like this? Someone so dorky become a practical princess? Ben had a feeling that there was way more than met the eye when it came to Nasira and her situation, but he felt that it wasn't his place to press just yet. He had better priorities. Besides, he had barely reunited with her. Maybe his senses were going off falsely. Whatever the case may be, the truth was slowly going to unravel as the two get to know each other.

Watching the beautiful woman return, Ben had a smile on his face as she sat back down. At least she buckled up. He couldn't ding her for not wearing a seatbelt. Then Nasira proposed something he wasn't entirely expecting her to propose. "Ninety three? I mean..." Ben looked at the car's clock. There was no reason for him not to accept the proposal. "Sure. Let's do it."
 
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The drive to ninety-three was quite the breeze, both literally and figuratively. Nasira enjoyed the quiet, for the most part, and sometimes, even poked fun at Ben along the way because of how long it’d been since they’d last seen each other. There was your favorite gas station sandwiches and a pack of beer once the two arrived on top of a mountain and stopped at the very top. The scenery was magnificent and looked over a vast array of desert out in the middle of nowhere. She grabbed a bottle of German lager and got out of the car.

Time had flown by with Ben, even during the car ride. It hadn’t felt as long as it should’ve been and Nasira enjoyed that limitless freedom of time. It used to be such an obstacle in her every day life, but now, it was an asset. She leaned against the hood of her maserati convertible and popped open the bottle of beer with her bottle opener before taking a sip of the light, fruity drink. She chowed down on the cheese and cracker snack she’d grabbed last minute.

“So, Ben, how’s your love life? Seeing anyone? Or at least casually dating? I can tell you right now, with those guns, any girl or guy would fawn over you,” she laughed and took another sip of her drink. “Thank you for coming out here, by the way. My life’s, well, crazy, you could say. I like driving out here to take a breather and it just got a little better with you.”

She stared out into the plains. The dust and dirt lifted and moved with such grace, twisting in abnormal direction and the sun shone over the large mountain they were on, casting a huge shadow out in the middle of nowhere. The sun was setting and all Nasira could feel in the moment was joy. Pure bliss.