It was as if they had jumped from one fantasy world straight into another. 

No longer were they in a steampunk city, instead they found themselves in an Arabian paradise. Completely lost, completely broke, and bleeding from a gunshot wound, Ever wandered through the city until they found themselves in the center of a bazaar. 

There were vendors selling everything from livestock to jewelry to foodstuffs. As Ever passed a booth that was selling baked goods, the smell hitting their nose causing their stomach to growl loudly. 

Ever clutched at their stomach as they remembered the pie Jaxson had made and the fact that they had never gotten their slice. They forced themselves to continue forward away from the pastries, ignoring the lightheadedness and the stabbing pain as they pushed through the crowded market. 

Every time they passed a vendor selling food, Ever’s stomach would pang with hunger and their mouth would begin to water. 

Ever turned down another lane to find it populated by vendors selling clothing and fabric of varying types and textures. They approached a vendor that was selling tunics and trousers along with other clothing items. 

Ever used their left hand to try to casually peruse the selection of tunics that covered the table made of wooden crates. Ever took an olive green tunic between their fingers, trying to seem as if they were casually perusing the selections.

“Can I help you?” Came a deep male voice speaking with an accent that Ever couldn’t quite place. Despite the man's thick accent, they could hear that his question held a certain amount of suspicion toward Ever, the kind one would lobby towards a thief. 

Ever looked up at the source of a voice to see a hulk of a man who could probably snap them in half if he wanted to. Ever knew they would have to choose their words carefully if they didn’t want that to be their fate, and they didn’t. 

Ever forced a smile as they spoke. “Just browsing.” They returned their eyes to the tunic for a short while, hoping that they looked like a normal window shopper. Not like they were planning on grabbing it and running as soon as he turned his back. After a few tense moments of silence, Ever looked up, still holding the tunic in their hand. “How much is this?” Gotta play it cool.

“D’ya got any money?” The man crossed his arm over his Goliath of a chest and Ever swallowed clutching tunic, they opened their mouth respond, when a hand on their shoulder stopped them. Ever looked up to see a woman with short sandy blonde hair, green eyes, and a freckled face smiling up at the vendor. 

“Of course she does. How much is the tunic?” The woman spoke and Ever felt her slip something into their back pocket. 

“Three silver.”

Ever looked up at the woman who smiled down at them. “Go on. Pay the man.” Ever let go of the tunic and reached into their back pocket, pulling out a leather pouch that jingled when it moved. Ever hesitantly opened the pouch, fishing out three silver pieces, handing them to the vendor who took the silver, counting it. 

He gave Ever a final once over before opening a wooden box and placing the coins in it as he said. “Thank you for your business.” 

Ever grabbed the tunic as the woman steered them away from the booth and through the crowded street. Ever looked up at the woman clutching the tunic in one hand and the money pouch in the other and asked. “Where are you taking me?”

The woman smiled down at them. “Somewhere safe. Don’t worry.” Suddenly an image of a familiar smiling face flashed in their mind and Ever pulled themselves from the woman. They stumbled backward as the woman turned to look at Ever. “Is something wrong?”

Ever shook their head. “No. I’m fine.” Ever gripped the tunic tighter as their eyes darted around for escape routes. “I just need to go.” They turned to go only to be stopped by a hand on their wrist. 

“You’re not fine. You’re hurt and bleeding and I can help.” The woman practically pleaded, but Ever couldn’t trust her. They couldn’t randomly trust a stranger. Not again. ‘Not after she ‘helped’ me.’ 

Ever pulled against the woman’s grip. “I don’t need your help. I’m fine.” Ever held out their hand with the money pouch in it. “You can even have your money back.” 

The woman tightened her grip on Ever’s wrist, refusing to let go. “You can trust me.”

“I’ve heard that before.” Ever mumbled, letting their arm go limp, having given up on escaping from the vice-like grip when the woman let go of their arm. “And look where believing that bullshit got me.” 

Ever looked up at the woman who gave her a pitying look. “Listen, I don’t know what you’ve been through, and I know I can’t make you trust me, but at least let me help you.” Ever looked down at the front of their shirt and frowned.

“Fine.” Ever muttered. The woman placed her hand on their shoulder and began leading them through the crowded Bazaar once more.  

“My name’s Cia by the way. Cia King.” The woman spoke as they exited the bazaar and entered the streets of the city. “Can you tell me your name?” 

Ever ignored the question, taking in their surroundings as they moved downside street after side street. Ever was slowly becoming more and more unsure about putting their trust in this stranger in this unfamiliar place. They looked over their shoulder at the entrance to the alleyway when they came to a stop. The unsure person looked forward to seeing that they had stopped in front of a door that was nearly hidden in the wall. She knocked on the door and a small hatch slid open, revealing a pair of reddish-brown eyes. “Who goes there?”

“It’s Cia. I have a Drifter in need of help.” Cia spoke.

Ever was flooded with panic and adrenaline at the word ‘Drifter’ as they pulled themselves from Cia’s grip, stumbling backward. They turned hard on their foot and started running, turning the corner only to find themselves at a dead end. Ever stared up at the wall with no way over it as lightheadedness overcame them. ‘Damn. Fucking blood loss. Why’s it hitting me now…’ They stumbled into the corner of the dead-end and the wall of a building, pulling their legs up to their chest. Ever listened to footsteps and felt the presence of someone kneeling down next to them. “Hey. You dropped this.” Ever looked up to see Cia holding out the tunic that they had bought, and they reached out taking it from them. “Can you tell me why you ran?”

Ever avoided eye contact, glaring at their thighs as they spoke. “I can’t.” 

Cia sighed. “I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I’m going to assume that it has something to do with F.A.D, right?” Ever gave a hesitant nod, and a hand on their shoulder caused them to look up. “I’m not with F.A.D. I'm part of D.A.F.T.” She could be lying for Ever knew, but part of them wanted to believe her. “It’s my job to help drifters like you. So, I’d like to help you if you’d let me.” Cia stood up and held out her hand in an offer that Ever was more than willing to refuse until their vision began to blur at the edges. 

Reluctantly, Ever took the hand letting her pull them to their feet, placing a steadying hand on their shoulder.

Ever let Cia lead them back the way they had come until they came to the door once more. She knocked again, and the hatch slid open once more to reveal the same reddish-brown eyes. “You sure this time?” The voice spoke, eyeing Ever suspiciously before turning its gaze to Cia.

“Yes, so let us in already, Cruz.” Cia spoke in a harsh tone, hand on her hips. The hatch closed, and the door slid open, revealing a stout man with messy brown ear-length hair and stubble. He moved to let Cia and Ever enter the building. Ever let Cia lead them through the building, taking one turn after another until they came to a door marked ‘DOCTOR’. 

Cia released Ever’s shoulder and quickly rapped her knuckles on the door in quick succession. Ever listened as a dull thud emanated from inside the room and the sound of someone moving around in the room. The door opened inward, revealing a middle-aged man with messy, disheveled hair and a face of stubble. He glared at the pair, looking like he wanted to kill them. 

“Wadd’ya want, King?” The man spoke with a gruff voice as he looked down at Cia who simply smiled up at him.

“She’s injured, and I need you to look at her. It is your job, after all.” She spoke with a smirk and the man looked at Ever.

He pointed a finger at them. “You got shot?”

“Yes, she-”

“I wasn’t talking to you.” He gruffed at Cia and fixed his eyes on Ever. “Well, were you?” They swallowed, giving a shallow nod, leaning back against the wall. “How long has it been since it happened?”

“A couple of hours.” Ever gave a half-hearted shrug, unsure of how long it had been. They hadn’t even realized they’d been shot until well after the fact. “I think. I’m honestly not sure.” 

Ever’s legs felt weak, and they pressed their hand back into their stomach. The man, who Ever assumed was a doctor if the placard was anything to go by, gave them another once-over before giving a grunt and opening the door all the way. “Okay. Bring ‘er in. I’ll see what I can do.” 

Pushing themselves up, Ever stumbled forward, barely managing to catch themselves before they collapsed to the ground. A hand on their shoulder helped steady them as they were led through the door into the makeshift doctor’s office. It looked like a normal doctor's office with a desk in the back corner that was covered in papers and notebooks, and there was a pillow and blanket piled on the ground. ‘Was this man sleeping here?’ 

There were posters on the wall proclaiming ‘Don’t forget to wash your hands’ and the shelves were full of medical supplies sorted into baskets by type. Cia led them to the exam table, which was really just a piece of metal screwed into two metal boxes with padding on the top. 

She helped them up and looked to the doctor. “Alright, do you need me to help with anything?” Really uncomfortable padding. ‘I hope I don’t have to stay long.’

The doctor gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “Leave.” 

“But-”

“I can handle this. It is my job, after all.” He snarked and Cia glared at him before returning her attention to Ever, giving them what was probably supposed to be a reassuring look. It wasn’t. 

“I’m going to go make arrangements for your stay. If you need anything, just yell. It’s a small base, so odds are someone will hear.” She smiled, obviously trying to be reassuring, but Ever just wanted to be left alone. “Okay?” Ever gave a tight nod and watched as she disappeared out of the door. ‘Stay? Who said anything about staying?’