"You and I are going to change the world."

It wasn't all that shocking that by the end of the day, the rumours of the...incident that had taken place on the training grounds was upon everyone's lips, questions and speculations falling from cruel tongues, whispering like haunting ghosts around Delia's ears wherever she went. But still, she kept quiet, kept her head down even more so that usual as she walked through the halls and avoided looking at everyone and everything, glancing down at her hands every so often, hands that she was sure were the reason of such devastation but unable to find it in herself to test her ominous theory.

And that was because she was terrified of the answer, terrified of the thought of just what she may of done, what she may of become all those hours ago, that she'd controlled something so unnatural and wrong that it wasn't even spoken or heard about in myths or legends that had been spun to teach lessons and scare children into eating their vegetables...because not even in the wildest depths of dark and blistering imaginations from storytellers could they think of something so inhumane and monstrous.

The thoughts kept swirling inside of her head, raw and uncouth as her whole body began to tremble and shake, feeling as though everyone was watching her, staring her down like the General had, wondering if she truly was broken and from those ruined pieces that was once her soul, something else took flight. And then her legs almost gave way underneath her as she finally reached around the corner, away from prying eyes as she stumbled into the closet of cleaning supplies and sunk to the floor with wounded sobs slipping through her mouth, dragging her terrible hands down her face as she cried in the darkness.

She'd wanted to be powerful, that much was true, but not if this was the price, the memory of something moving beneath her will which had been alive and human, thick and putrid and so reluctant but having no choice but to twist and bend, like nothing she'd ever felt before. The water, the tides, the ocean had never bowed to her like it did to others, never tried to silence her storm, only getting more and more restless and weak as the years went on to the point where she truly did wonder if she was truly hardly grisha at all, wondered if someone, somewhere had a made a mistake and left her to pay the price.

However it was until then, until today where she'd made Zoya of all people, always so proud and unwavering like the burning masses that was the stars above, get on her knees and scream with nothing more than a twist of her fingers did she realise that she was wrong, and that her fears should be saved for something truly catastrophic. Delia could still feel it, even now, a rush in her veins that made them run hot, scorching it's way through her body and making her a slave to such devotion as she gasped and whimpered in her own privacy...and wondering if some things, like power, were truly worth spilling blood for.

Delia sat there, her back against the door and shaking from limb to limb for saints only knows how long, but when she finally moved to stretch her aching legs, it was to find that they were numb and cold to the touch like something belonging to a corpse. She knew she should get up, knew that people, no, that Genya would probably be looking for her, worried and curious about the gossip that was still haunting the halls like everlasting ghosts that were sworn to the earth by tragedy...but she didn't want to, didn't want to talk about it, didn't want to remember that what had happened was real.

But she knew she had to, had to move before she began sobbing again and so, after finally regaining some semblance of composure she stood up slowly, grimacing at the pain in her body that felt like it hadn't moved for eons, creaking and filled with aches she'd associate with people older than she...but both having seen the monsters of the world and lived through such things, it seemed a shame, a misery to be this young and still feel that with every day she was running out of time, that death would only wait for so long before it would take her

Maybe that's why she desired power, but she wasn't sure she wanted it like this.

The door shut behind her, a dull thud that echoed through the quiet halls as she took a deep breath and then quickly glanced around, sighing when she noticed how empty everything actually was and when she happened to glance outside to see the sky slowly darkening in some deep purple, she chalked it up to the rest of the grisha going off for dinner...which she'd obviously missed as her stomach rumbled obnoxiously as she began to walk, her footsteps quiet and light as she tried to think of just what she was going to say to someone if they asked where she'd been or what had happened.

And then she heard the sounds of shoes squeaking against the marble floors and lifted her gaze up to find Genya storming around the hall frantically, her perfect brows set in an anxious frown and seemingly looking through ever creek and crevice with her cream kefta looking almost white in the soft light of the rising moon outside, like a saint among men or something far more heavenly as she allowed herself just a moment to stare, always in awe of beauty when she seen it like looking at a sunset set with hues of amber and pink, like a story where every page was breathing with colour and life.

But when Genya finally caught sight of Delia, standing in the middle of the hallway with a heat high on her sharpened cheeks...she quickly swallowed those devoted thoughts as she watched the tailor's face change, the way her eyes tightened, the way her lips pursed before she was marching over towards her, a certain relief settling in her bones that allowed her shoulders to sag just an inch as she closed the distance, but still completely and utterly enraged by the fact her friend had been missing for almost the whole day and leaving her worried sick like a fretting mother!

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you! Where have you been?"

The shu girl floundered, her mouth opening and closing and her eyes wide at the rather aggressive sounding questions that were thrown at her far quicker than she could catch them, her mind still turned to mush and reeling from the events of the day as she blinked up at the red-head who quirked a brow, obviously waiting impatiently for an answer while tapping her foot against the marble...and Delia didn't even attempt to come up with a lie as she gestured rather weakly over her shoulder. "I was- well, I was in the closet."

"Why on earth were you in the closet? Don't tell me someone threw butter over your head again." Genya sighed in exasperation, looking her up and down for any sign of ill intent while the tide-maker tried not to grimace in disgust at that particular memory, she'd never realized how hard it was to get butter out of your hair until she and the tailor had spent the whole day attempting to wash it out as it fell in thick clumps of curdles...she couldn't even look at a slice of toast for a month after that incident, and it truly was one of the worst abuses she'd ever been given.

"No, no I just, I needed a breather I guess." She finally spoke up, clearing her throat awkwardly as her fingers began to nervously fiddle with her dark hair, making sure her whispy fringe was covering the small cut on her forehead courtesy of Zoya, not really wanting her friend to catch a glimpse of such a thing, not just because she was scared that she was going to get the usual speech about her needing to stand up for herself more, but also because she'd always hated the worried look those blue eyes of crystallised sapphires held when she'd happen upon a new injury, the way her brows dipped, her lips thinned...it was an expression that Delia hated to see on her tailor, not when the girl deserved every bit of happiness the world had to offer.

"Hm, I suppose I'll believe you..so did you see it? The whole palace is talking about what happened to Zoya, they're saying she was possessed by a demon."

There was a hint of amusement in Genya's voice, of gossip as her gaze twisted with something playful, not quite seeing the way the shu girl seemed to freeze, trying not to turn her internal screaming into external screaming as her mind flashed back to the way the squaller had twisted and contorted into shapes no living thing should ever be able to become, before pulling her expression into a fake curious look to hide the turmoil twisting in her stomach and making her feel ill. "Oh, no, no I didn't, I guess I was too busy trying to not throw up in front of the General, I did hear the screaming though."

"Well apparantly Zoya still hasn't stopped crying, would it be too optimistic to think she may of been brought down a peg or two? Maybe she might even start being nice." The tailor grinned, sliding up beside her to link their arms together and the using that grip to start pulling Delia along, their feet making soft rhythmic tapping noises as their shoes echoed across marble and seemed to amplify through the walls until it was all they could hear as they shared a quiet laugh, their cheeks flushed and hearts intertwined with something more that just friendship, but neither ever brave enough to take that step.

"Yeah, strangely enough I don't see that happening."

"Neither do I, but we can dream can't we?" Genya pretended to mourn before giggling, pulling the shu girl along faster as her stomach rumbled and she remembered just why she'd been so frustrated in the first place as they practically started to run but in a far more dignified manner. "Now, come along, because of you I missed dinner, and assuming from your tangle with the closet you haven't eaten anything either and I'm famished. But luckily for us I know where the cook keeps the keys."

However, it seemed the moment that the two finally turned the corner, about to forget all pretensions and sprint towards the kitchens to steal whatever they could get their hands on, a red kefta was suddenly blocking the way like an ominous wall, his gaze dark and set in an indifferent frown as he looked the two girls over who'd quieted quite quickly, watching him cautiously as his upper lips curled in distaste, before finally dragging his gaze to look down at the tide-maker like she was the most reluctant disease ready to infect him with her imperfections. "Miss Vyaseva. The General wishes to speak to you."

"Well she was just about to come-"

"I didn't ask you, Tailor. The General wants her audience now." He spat, shooting her a dark glare that silenced Genya in her tracks, and Delia could feel the way her arm linked in her own gave a sudden tremor, the way she'd swallowed tightly, the way she was quick to disguise the hurt in her blue eyes...and then her hand twitched by her side, and the heartrender suddenly grunted as his leg jerked and almost brought him to his knees, cracking as bones felt pressure from something inside him...and then the tide-maker quickly realised what she was doing as she forced her hand fo still.

"It's okay, Genya. I'll come see you after it's done, just- just go have your dinner, and keep me some chocolate if you find any." She whispered, smiling up at her when it looked like the red-head was about to protest before she pulled her arm away and followed after the man as he stalked down the halls, feeling like she was heading down towards the firing squad or the flames of a burning pyre to succumb to her wicked sin as she struggled to catch her breath lest she collapse in fear, following him at every twist, every turn until finally, they were in front of a pair of heavy doors that set something foreboding in her stomach.

"Come in."

She didn't even have to knock it seemed as she gulped quietly, watching as the heartrender opened the door and gestured her inside while rolling his eyes, as if he couldn't believe he'd been downgraded to a delivery boy as she stumbled in, nervously beginning to pick at the skin of her wrist until it became blotchy and pink with irritated flesh, her blood blossoming to the surface, the very thing that brought her there in the first place as the door shut behind her and plunged her into darkness where the only light came from the flickering embers of the fire place...and that's when she seen him as he turned around to look at her.

"Ah, I see they finally found you then. You made it all quite difficult."

Delia stalled, her lips moving only to find that nothing was coming out but greedy gasps of air as she struggled to say something, to say anything because what the fuck was she meant to say? That she was far too busy having a panic attack in a closet, having an existential crisis about what she most definitely did to someone who was apparantly still crying from her monstrous actions? However, eventually, she found herself finally able to say something, though even she could hear the hesitancy in her voice as she spoke no louder than a whisper. "I'm sorry, General...you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, why don't you take a seat." He gestured lazily over towards one of the rather rich looking chairs near the fire, his dark eyes of dangerous shadow watching her every move like a predator ready to wrap their crushing jaws around their preys struggling throat as she awkwardly stumbled over and sat on the very edge of the cushion, trying not to physically moan aloud at how absolutely comfy it was, like it was made of blackened clouds that cradled her like a loving embrace and making her never want to leave as she shuffled just a bit higher against it.

"Would you care for a drink, Delia?"

She froze at the sound of her own name heavy on her ears like a lullaby, looking back over towards General Kirigan slowly as he stalked towards a small table, long fingers stained with sin and shadow dancing over the rim of the glass like a dance, too stunned to speak because the shadow summoner, the shadow summoner knew her name and said it like it was a blessed thing, not an inconvenience, nothing of the sort as she continued to watch him cautiously. "...I'm fifteen, sir."

He chuckled, a rich and thick sounding thing that smothered the air like warm melted chocolate, looking at her from over his shoulder that sent an uncomfortable flush to her cheeks and the tips of her ears as everything inside her screamed at her to look away, to look anywhere but him, but still, he began to pour two glasses of the red wine in the crystal glass anyway that made her rather sick to her stomach as she stared at it, her mind flashing back to that feeling of death, of control that shot tingle through her fingers...before he spoke up and tore her attention back towards him. "Well, I won't tell if you won't, yes?"

"Okay, but even if I did I have very serious doubt anyone would believe me." Delia mumbled dryly, taking the offered glass as he handed it to her, smiling down at her with something hungry in his dark eyes as he took the seat opposite her, holding a certain scrutiny in his gaze as he tapped his index finger against the rim of his cup.

"Yes, you're somewhat of an...outcast here, aren't you? It's why I'm assuming it was so difficult for my men to catch you, it's easy to slip through fingers when you're invisible now, isn't it?" General Kirigan said firmly, but it wasn't a question at all, it was a simple observation framed that way to soften a blow, almost a compliment, almost an insult, waving between the lines of the two and never truly settling on one as she looked up sharply, a frown on her brow and her features twisting with unease as he smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to offend."

"It's not offence it's just- well, it just feels like you went straight for the jugular. If I'm here for some kind of punishment I'd rather it be physical rather than psychological if it's all the same to you." The tide-maker snapped neverously, her hands trembling from where they still held onto the cup, refusing to drink it until he did but he only laughed quietly, shaking his head in amusement but she didn't quite catch the joke as she swallowed, trying not to let herself succumb to her own emotion lest she wanted to rip herself apart by the seams.

"And why would I punish you, Delia?"

She decided that she liked the way he said her name, like it filled his mouth with every syllable, rolling around his tongue, not rushing it to leave his lips like everyone else did, his dark eyes that seemed to swallow the light, that seemed completely overwhelmed by his shadows never tearing away from hers...as if he could see her, as if she was something worth looking at, like there was something there that no one else did when they simply glanced at her like she was nothing when she wanted to be everything. "Because-" but she cut herself off before she could finish the sentence, hands clenching by her side as she remembered that rush of power.

"Because of what happened on the training grounds? Because of what you did to one of my squallers?"

And Delia tried not to physically flinch as it was finally thrown out in the open, blossoming in the air as the tension that had been mounting reached its peak, nodding her head with her shoulders practically bunched up to her ears, feeling the heavy weight of what she did upon her shoulders pulling her downward, like she was being pulled into damnation for her disgusting sins that were wrong and unnatural, that weren't even whispered about in stories because it was monstrous and vile...she awaited the punishment, awaited something.

But when he finally spoke up again it was nothing like she'd been expecting as she prepared for a blow only to get some kind of twisted reassurance. "And why would I punish you for what she deserved."

Her eyes snapped open, not even sure when she'd closed them in the first place as she blinked up at him in shock, finding him closer than before, standing in front of her, looking down at her with his face set in a hard line and composure lost, like he was offended by the mere implication she would damn herself for defending herself. "Don't think I didn't see the way she tormented you before you struck out, the way they all laughed at you like there was something funny. They're cruel to you for a reason, Delia...they're cruel because they envy you."

The General smiled at her, something in his gaze that she couldn't place even if she tried as the warmth of the fire bathed him in an amber glow, highlighting over his handsome features as he lowered himself to his knees in front of her, holding her gaze as he matched her height and then placed his hand upon her knee softly. "I was like you once, shunned, looked down upon for the way the shadows bent to my will, different from the rest...but they soon learned that when grisha like us aren't loved...we are feared."

"Like us?"

"I've read through many stories, many accounts of grisha over the years Delia and in all of them there had never been something quite like you, someone who doesn't need to control the tides to drown their enemies, someone who holds more power than any tide-maker or even any heart-render that I've ever come across...a grisha who can control blood and make it bend to their will so completely that they can control others to the point of ruin."

It felt like her breath had been stolen from her, punched out of her lungs until she was choking on nothing but her own tongue, frantically looking around to find something to distract herself from his words but only finding more and more darkness, like the shadows were closing in on them, sealing them off until it was just the two of them, so there was nothing but the shadow summoner and a tide-maker that were both unnatural creatures that controlled something far worse than the others like them but not. "I don't think I want to be like that. I- I don't want to be a monster."

"You don't have a choice." Kirigan said grimly like it was an absolution, like it was a fact as she heaved a sob, but when she tried to look away once more, tried to compose herself, his long fingers wrapped around her jaw causing her to gasp at the coldness against her burning skin as he forced her to look back towards him and hold his dark gaze. "Don't silence your power because you fear how others will treat you, Delia...Because you and I both know that they're opinions don't matter to you, no, that right seems to only belong to Miss Safin, doesn't it? The only one who's ever seen you completely."

Her heart began to pound, the blood rushing to her head as her mind flashed back to the feeling of Genya's hair running through her fingers when she'd ask her to play with it, the girls soft smile that she only reserved for her, her eyes, her lips, her warm vanilla smell that would cling to her even hours after their departure, everything about her that made her Genya which had her unraveling by the seams, one single thread at a time until she was naked and bare with her heart bleeding out of her chest for the whole world to see.

"Look at how powerfully you carry her with you, even now. Your fear may be consuming, Delia...but your love for the tailor is stronger...and imagine how safe she'd be by your side if you simply accept your potential, that she'd become more than a servant, that grisha and Fjeran alike would fear her because she's yours...she'd be the safest tailor in the whole of the world...don't you want that for her? Don't you want to be that person for her?" He asked, gripping her leg tighter as she swallowed tightly, the thought of the tailor never having to feel scared a day in her life pulling her in a chokehold she couldn't escape even if she tried.

"Yes." Always.

"Then accept what you did. Accept what you are." And then she finally looked down to the drink that he'd placed in her hand, the drink she hadn't sipped, not even to calm her nerves, the drink he hadn't even touched, only swirling it around in the glass but never letting it past his lips, and realised that it wasn't wine, it was never wine, that it was too thick, too red and too full of sin...and then she forced her trembling fingers to dance over the rim of the glass slowly, feeling that rush, that calling, that raw and unfiltered power as it rose to meet her...and then the blood began to sing.

"You and I are going to change the world." And just like a fool...she believed him.