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S. A. A

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The heat was the first thing that hit me when I entered. The next was the familiar and stuffy smell of metal that filled the small room and each shelf. The last thing I noticed was the small table in the corner where Abrax was sat, sharpening each weapon.

I made my way over to him, waving when he looked to me with a smile.

"Do you mind if I have a seat?" I questioned politely and Abrax's smile deepened as he shook his head.

"Not at all, I could use the company." He responded to which I sat down on the chair beside him and copied his actions of sharpening the weapons. He smiled at this, but stayed silent as he continued on with his work.

I watched carefully, smiling at how nimble his hands were working despite the fact that his ability was the opposite of gentle.

"You really do this every day, huh?" I asked, amazed at his tenacity as my wrists were already starting to ache slightly. He chuckled at my words, nodding.

"Yes, I find I quite enjoy it." He answered jovially and my eyebrows furrowed at his words.

"You really enjoy it?" I asked, finally believing Ayla when she said that he focused mostly on his work. He nodded at my words before grabbing another weapon from the shelf.

"Yes, I guess it reminds me of the job I had before I came here." He said, looking out the window and I nodded, processing his words with a smile.

"Full circle then, you sharpened knives at work?" I asked and Abrax shook his head, now grinning as he looked to the blue sky outside.

"Not quite; I polished shoes. You'll find that the movement you do for both is very similar." He jested slightly and I nodded at his words. He had sounded almost upset and I let out a small noise of agreement.

"Which province were you a part of?" I asked in a bid to change the subject and I watched as Abrax notably bristled, looking down to his hands. I followed his gaze as he stared at his palms. He finally chose to speak and I leaned back in the chair as I listened.

"I was from a very different place than the others, Hanna. I came from the west." He explained and my eyebrows furrowed at his words, but I didn't stop him as he recalled the events.

"Their... practices are very different to here, particularly with people like me." He ground out and I frowned at his words, confused by his ambiguous wording.

"Like you? Meaning?" I questioned to which he smiled, looking back down at his hands.

"A very hard concept to explain to someone who doesn't notably see my colour as an issue." He remarked and I joined the dots together, my mouth opening in shock.

"Abrax- I" he interrupted me as I spoke with a wave of his hand as he continued with his work.

"I don't harbour any negative feelings about it anymore, Hanna. I was made to hide my powers for a long time because I wasn't deemed worthy of them, but Negus and the others still found me. And, that's it, I found my actual home." He consoled me more than I did him and I bit my lip, unsure of what to say. This is why he had come later than the others because his abilities were hidden. They had did that to him.

"I wish you had used your power against them." I grit out honestly to which Abrax smiled at my words.

"And how would that make me any better than them?" He retorted simply and I felt completely baffled by his kindness. Perhaps, it could be something I could learn from.

He stood up then, dusting his hands off.

"I believe it is dinner time. Shall we make way?" He questioned and I nodded as we walked out of the stuffy room. I sighed when the cooler air of outside caressed my face before turning to Abrax, a serious look on my face.

"I'm glad you finally found home, Abrax." I said earnestly and he smiled, opening the doors of the dining hall for me.

"I guess, you could say we both did." He said and I smiled at the truth in his words. I had finally found somewhere that I belonged and as did he- a place where biological relations and colour didn't matter.

We neared the dining table and I ignored the glare Ayla was sending me as I sat down.

"Care to explain what happened?" She asked when I sat down, her arms folded. I knew her enough to know that she wasn't angry at all so I pouted, going along with the joke.

"I think I'm in love. Sorry, Ayla, but we're gonna have to have a fight to the death for his hand." I said dramatically, putting a hand to my heart and she laughed, slapping my arm.

"Is there a moment where you both ever stop giggling?"

I looked up, smiling when Maya sat down, a look of annoyance on her face but the malice she would usually hold for me was long gone. Ayla laughed at this before turning to Maya.

"You could try spending time with us and finding out yourself?" She said perkily to which Maya groaned and Abrax laughed.

I stilled then when Emut and Demir both entered. The last time I had seen them, I was watching them argue through a keyhole, so I was curious as to what had happened.

They sat down, both silent, and I observed closely, drinking from my cup. It was only when Emut placed an arm around Demir's shoulder to which Demir raised an eyebrow and they laughed to each other about something that I turned away, rolling my eyes.

They were back to normal

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"And then Abrax said he's glad we both found our home and that was it really." I said finally, letting out a breath as Ayla lay on the pillow beside me, a sigh escaping her lips as I finished.

"I still can't believe you like him." Maya said from her position at the edge of the bed as she lay on her stomach, looking through the book Negus had given me.

Ayla turned to glare at her, slapping her legs with a pillow.

"Better than being in love with two daggers." She countered to which Maya let out a snort of a laugh.

"Daggers listen to every command; men don't." She spat out simply and I shook my head at her words, leaning back into the pillows.

"Men aren't supposed to bend to our will for everything. They're their own people too." I reasoned to which Maya turned to me, a look of disgust on her face.

"Then why, for the love of the Gods, would you want one?" She asked in bewilderment and I laughed at the repulsion in her voice, even harder when Ayla let out a noise of indignation.

"Don't listen to her, Hanna. She'll poison your mind with her nonsense." She berated Maya who glared at Ayla, her red hair pinned back.

"I'll poison you if you don't shut it!" She exclaimed and I let out a small noise of shock, turning to them both.

"We can all have different opinions on men and still be civil." I remarked watching as Ayla nodded before turning to me with a playful smile.

"And what is your opinion about men, Hanna?" She asked intrusively and I blushed at her words, kicking her leg lightly. Maya laughed sardonically at Ayla's words, sitting up and looking at her nails.

"Oh please, Hanna's too smart to succumb to such sleazy company." She said and I turned my gaze to her curiously.

"You seriously have never liked anyone?" I asked watching as she shook her head. Ayla let out an exasperated sigh at this, slapping a palm against her forehead.

"No handsome soldier? Dashing villager?" Ayla joked, pretending to swoon and Maya rolled her eyes.

"I'd much rather bathe in dung." She drawled out and Ayla looked at me, a look of disgust on her face before turning back to Maya and clearing her throat.

"What about you and Demir? You're always at each other's throats." She asked to which Maya scoffed.

"And, me wanting to strangle him now suddenly equates to wanting his heart?" She replied, confused and I laughed at the accuracy of her statement.

"There's a very fine line between love and hate." I reasoned and Maya's lip curled up at this.

"If that's the case then my 'fine line' is a barbed wire." She said bluntly, making Ayla and I laugh hard before Ayla spoke.

"Speaking of Demir, I heard him and Emut argued today from Arun who was in his room." She let out, and I turned watching as Maya glanced at Ayla before shrugging.

"It's most likely about Demir's powers." She guessed and, instead of telling them that I was there and knew what it was about, I leaned in, a serious look on my face.

"Why would Demir's powers cause an argument?" I asked, watching as a look of hesitation passed Ayla's face.

"I don't know if we're supposed to say anything." She let out meekly and Maya looked to Ayla and huffed in annoyance.

"What's the harm in Hanna knowing if she's staying with us?" She asked before turning her gaze on me, her voice quiet so no prying ears could hear.

"As you know, Demir can manipulate sand which you've probably seen a few times, but there's also other things he can do; things he prefers to hide." She began and I nodded at her words as Ayla leaned against my arm.

"We don't know much about his powers. I think only Negus and Emut actually know the full extent of what he can do, but I do know that there's a reason he doesn't use them." She finished and I processed her words, my mind lost in thought.

I wanted to continue; I wanted to ask questions, but before I could, Ayla's voice rang out next to me.

"Where did you get this flower?!" She exclaimed, looking to the bedside table and picking up the red flower that Emut had given me. I could see the suggestive way that Ayla was smiling at me and I felt heat crawl up my cheeks at the prospect of what she was thinking.

"It's nothing, Ayla, it's just a flower. Shouldn't we be sleeping now anyway?" I rambled out before hurriedly lying down and closing my eyes. Ayla whined at this but lied down near me, swearing that she'd find out.

The last thing I heard before I fell into sleep was Maya.

"Great, I've lost them both."

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Hope you guys liked it! Let me know how it was!

I will be updating weekly now so make sure to add to your library to get the notifications!

S. A. A