Knifeholder swept aside the overhanging blanket that covered the entrance to her home. "Mother? Starstabber?" She called out.

"Here," came a voice from the bedroom.

Knifeholder put down her satchel and walked from the living room to the other one. There were only two rooms in the house- the Living room and the Bedroom. Knifeholder, Mother, and starstabber all slept in the bedroom. The living area had all the food, weapons, and books.

Knifeholder walked into the bedroom.

"Starstabber, hey- Wait, are you enchanting things again??"

Starstabber was sitting on her cot, hunched over a curved dagger with a tungsten blade and a willow handle. It looked deadly, and it was. Starstabber's shoulder blades stuck out of her back, and she had a shadowy look in her eye. She looked like that when she was using her animus power. She had an opal bracelet that hung loosely on her right talon, while her left talon fiddled with it incessantly.

"So what if I am? I'm simply making this dagger better than it was. You could use this."

Knifeholder stamped across the room and snatched the knife from her.

"Think about your soul! All of this ends in madness. Why don't you just try to act normal?"

"Hah! My soul. I can easily create something to save it any time I want."

Knifeholder scoffed and laid the knife off to the side. "Enchanting something like that didn't stop Darkstalker from killing his father and millions of other dragons, and it didn't stop Queen Anemone from attacking her brother. Dragons go insane from this. Nevermind that, in simple, Your soul is in danger!"

"You're one to talk. You kill for a living. You're lucky I don't have you reported!"

Knifeholder snarled, "YOU WOULDN'T, BECAUSE IF YOU DID, I WOULD REPORT YOU, ANIMUS MAGGOT."

"Knifeholder? Starstabber? Are you two alright?"

Their mother, Skysight, swept into the room, her odd bright blue eyes sparkling with worry. She had a large bag over her shoulder, and some bruises on her neck. A long scar cut from the bottom of her left eye to her chest, a scar she had had for years.

"We are alright mother, I'm sorry for outbursting like that. Starstabber was using her magic again."

Skysight put down her bag, which was filled with food. Mother was a thief. She only stole food, and was oblivious to Knifeholder's murders. Skysight believed that Knifeholder sold weapons, which is why she had them in her satchel all the time.

"Starstabber, you know what could happen if you keep using your power. You could lose your soul, or worse, someone could find out and take you away."

Mother sat next to Starstabber and put her wing around her.

"I couldn't bear it if something happened to you."

These days, Animus dragons were outlawed. If a dragon was found to be an animus, an assigned guard or two would follow them everywhere to make sure they didn't go insane or cast any spells. Any suspicious behavior was immediately reported to the Queen, who inevitably sent them to a superpowered prison on one of the islands off the coast of the ice kingdom. The prison was originally created by a powerful animus dragon, who was threatened into making it once they got a hold of the dragon's lover. They threatened to kill him if the animus dragon didn't create an enchanted animus-proof prison. She did, and was inevitably put into that prison herself. When a dragonet turns out an animus, the mother usually reacts one of three ways: they are super overprotective of their child, reject them completely and hand them to someone else, or spill the truth to the Queen for a reward.

Mother was very overprotective of Statstabber, but Knifeholder got the feeling she smothered her in love just to cover up her animus secret. Deep down, Knifeholder thought she was just scared of her.

While Mother talked to Starstabber, Knifeholder slipped silently into the living area with an apple and ate it. It was all she'd eaten all day.

She remembered how Avalanche had found a loophole in her policy so easily. Maybe she should refer this to Jet.

No, she decided, not yet. Jet was as unpredictable as ever nowadays- he might decide to take her off the job. She needed that Goldtear to get her family out of this spiral of poverty.

Her mother walked up and placed a talon on Knifeholder's shoulder.

"How was business today, darling?"

Nothing would ever hurt her family.

"Great, mother. But tomorrow I have to work late. I have to make a night sale."