Erin trailed behind Tara, trying her best to hold the weight of half a man against her back. She had felt the warmth of the sheets contents fade away as they made their way up into the mountains, but the burden remained the same.

Tara had made quick work of the man, but not quick enough for Erin who hadn't been able to avoid catching a glimpse of a glistening blade coming down hard and quick. She had shuddered at the reflection of that image through the window and attempted to avert her eyes to a bare wall. There she remained until Tara had walked over and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Not bad tonight, Erin, but there's definitely room for improvement," Tara stated, hoisting a bloody sheet higher and tightening her grip.

Erin watched as the sun climbed into the sky and removed the hood covering her golden hair. Most of the furies had darker hair, but if by chance they were born with lighter hair such as Erin, they were given the option to dye it darker or to wear a hooded cape. Erin always liked how her hair made her different and opted to keep it.

     "Is it always that bad Tara?" Erin quietly asked.

     "What do you mean, "that bad"?"

     Erin stopped walking and dropped the sheet to the ground. A loud thud echoed beneath mountaintops that stopped Tara in her tracks. She spun around to face Erin, her black hair clinging in large clumps to the side of her face.

"We need to keep going. C'mon ," Tara yelled.

     "I just need a minute--please."

Tara let out a long sigh and walked over to Erin. She took the sheet she had been carrying and gently placed it beside the one Erin had dropped not so gracefully moments before. Tara watched as Erin rested her head in the palms of her hands. She looked at the delicate fingers wrapping around the milky skin of Erin's face. Looking down at her own hands all she saw was the rough callouses from years of climbing and the cracked skin from years of high winds.

     "Erin, each time is always the same. After awhile you'll get used to it," Tara said grabbing  a seat beside Erin.

     "I don't think I could ever get used to it," Erin said  attempting to cover a sob,"what was his name?"

     Tara puffed up her cheeks and let out a gust of air through her lips,"you don't need to know that. It's just a name."

They sat there against the rocky terrain of a mountain with the heat of the morning sun against their backs. Erin felt the soreness in her legs and reached down to rub at her calves. She peered to her right to look at the cape covering Tara wondering how many blood stains were hidden within the dark fabric. Tara's eyes had always appeared to hold nothing more than a blank stare, but Erin was beginning to understand; it wasn't a blank stare but a deeper sadness that laid buried beneath.

"How do you do this without feeling a thing?" Erin asked, looking up into Tara's eyes. Her tears dripped down her cheeks and onto her cape becoming lost against the blackness.

     Tara wrapped an arm around Erin and brought her blonde covered head to rest upon her own shoulder. She felt the moist heat of freshly drawn tears.

"You just can't think about it, and if you do just remember what they did to deserve it."

Erin attempted her best head nod given her position and sniffled up the last of her tears. She continued to look out past the mountains to the crudely made wagons swaying in odd directions on their arrival to Lethra and felt a tinge of jealously. Sounds of items slamming in town echoed to where they sat followed by a loud echo of steel against steel; a blacksmith perhaps. Together they watched the town come into view as the sun rose behind them and made way for a new day.

      *****************************************

     Dia watched from her balcony. She had known that transitioning from in--training to an actual real life situation was always difficult at first. Each one had made their first kills and had come back with either blank stares or looks of horror plastered on their faces, but they never faltered.

"Gwen, prepare another hole in the boneyard. Tara and Erin should be here shortly."

"Anything else, Dia?" Gwen asked standing straight with her hands held behind her back.

"That's it for now, but please report to me when they return."

Gwen bowed her head silently and retreated from the doorway leading to the balcony. Dia looked down  and beyond the base of the mountain from which she resided. The furies had lived in housing carved into these mountains for as long as time could remember,  and it was Dia's goal to ensure that it always remained so. She smiled at the thought.

The world was a better place with the enforcement of the furies since they were put in charge many years prior. The crime rate had decreased significantly and the need to expand on prisons also declined. Those who were branded with a small mark on their hands bore the extent of their sins. There were so many that Dia had lost count, but there were a few that were seen most frequently. The ones who stole received a small circle on their right hand; the punishment would be to lose said hand. Ones who were charged with rape would receive a small triangle brand and with that came mutilation of lower extremities; but the most final punishment involved the crescent mark for those who took another's life.

Dia rested her hands against the balcony. Rings and bangles hit against the steel causing an echo that vibrated through the mountains. She gently shook her head back and forth right after spotting two dark figures sitting closely side by side; their capes swaying gently against the wind.

"What am I to do with the two of you?" Dia asked herself before turning her back to Lethra and hiding behind the darkness of her drapes.