Yasen and Isra returned back to the inn. The pirate captain's eyes were swollen from crying which she did little to cover up. She scolded herself in her mind for crying in front of Yasen; it was incredibly embarrassing. Along her head being warmer, Isra also developed a mild headache. She moved her hand toward her forehead to rub her aching temples.

Yasen noticed this as they walked upstairs to the rooms. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Isra didn't turn around to face her. "Aye, just a little headache."

The brunette remained silent thinking about making her tea once they reached her room. Other thoughts such as what was bothering the captain crossed her mind. 

Maybe I can get her to talk to me about it, Yasen thought with hope.

Isra unlocked the door with the key and headed toward her bed. Relief surrounded her as she plopped herself down. 

"Home sweet home," Isra muttered quietly, with slight sarcasm as her voice drew Yasen's attention.

Yasen smiled at her, and Isra returned back a small smile. It broke the sadness that was left lingering in Isra's eyes. It warmed Yasen's heart to see Isra slightly happy again. 

Yasen watched the pirate captain kick off her worn knee high leather boots, revealing the slender outline of her legs through her black trousers. There was something in her movement that aroused Yasen's senses that she dared not dwell on.

Isra looked up Yasen, startling at her. Isra was fully aware she was being stared at, though, she ignored it. 

"Thank you for putting up with me," Isra began. "May I ask why you haven't left Brassport yet?"

"I'm still deciding on a bounty hunt," Yasen replied. She hesitated to add that she wanted to stay with her until she was better. The captain would find her suspicious if she told her or downright strange. Yasen definitely didn't want to give her those impressions.

"Another bounty hunt?" Isra asked curiously.

"Aye." Yasen explained to her what happened with the previous bounty hunt.

Isra nodded understandingly. "Good luck on finding your next one."

Yasen thanked her. "Would you like some tea?" she offered, looking over to the wooden cup on the drawer. I wonder if Manami made her the catnip tea earlier, she wondered.

Isra followed Yasen's gaze. She remembered Manami mentioning Yasen had bought the herb for her from a merchant. "Oh, thank you for getting me the catnip."

Yasen nodded, slightly embarrassed. "I was in the square market earlier and thought of your fever. I wanted to thank you for inviting me on your ship and… just for not killing me."

Isra's dark brown eyes lit up with amusement. "Killing you? Rather, I should thank you for working with me."

Yasen shook her head. "You could've have easily turned against me with your crew. You didn't though."

"I am not like that," Isra replied. "I may be a pirate, but I have honor. I keep my word." The captain thought of Desert Flower, the wretched assassin that broke her promise with her. She was the cause of everything that Isra had lost. Thinking of the woman returned chills to her spine, but she clutched her fists tightly with anger. Nothing could heal the scars of that distant past.

A hand touched Isra's shoulder, making her flinch. She looked up at Yasen, realizing she was being overwhelmed by her emotions again. "I am so sorry," Isra apologized. "Please don't mind me."

I mind you, Yasen thought silently. She gave her shoulder a squeeze before releasing it. "It's all right. If you don't mind, I shall make you some tea."

Isra wasn't in the mood for tea, but she wasn't in the mood to voice her refusal either. She watched Yasen's hand take the wooden cup from the desk. Yasen soon left the room, closing the door behind.

Meanwhile, Isra hugged her knees on the bed, ignoring the headache. She slept majority of the day, yet she felt she had a long day already. Sighing, she hoped her fever would be gone by morning. She was slowing everyone down. 

The door opened, revealing Yasen's return with the cup of tea. Her fine locks of hair swept toward her eyes, and she brushed them away with one hand before shutting the door.

"Manami told me that she'll come in later to check up on you," Yasen said, passing the cup to Isra. She found the redhead associating with a stranger at the bar. Manami noticed her presence and told her she would be with Isra soon before resuming her conversation.

Isra frowned. "That woman…" she muttered. Throughout her years in Garnet, it wasn't unusual for Manami to worry whenever she fell sick. It was touching to know that she cared about her. However, she and the redhead were quite similar. Neither of them wanted help when they were ill, making them both stubborn.

Yasen didn't know whether she should leave Isra in peace or stay with her until Manami arrived. Part of her wanted to stay, so she could get Isra to reveal what was bothering her. It was nosy of her, but there was a desire that she had to know. She stood aimlessly, feeling awkward as she watched Isra in silence sip her tea. Isra seemed to had forgotten about her until she placed the cup down on the desk.

"You know…" Isra began, gazing up at Yasen, "do you know what it's like to have an animal companion so dear to you?"

"An animal… companion?" Yasen asked with slight confusion. She was not expecting such a question from the pirate captain. It was strange of her to ask her that.

Isra nodded. "You should sit down," she said, inviting Yasen to the empty chair by her bed, "unless I am keeping you too long." Although her mind was in a mess, Isra felt like bringing about Nanya to Yasen. She didn't know why she felt like talking about something so personal, but perhaps it was the fever making her feel out of character. Besides, the woman had witnessed her crying and was probably expecting some sort of explanation.

Yasen gladly seated herself.

"I used to live in Tíméli, a small village that used to be in Sachmesa," Isra began. I was right, Yasen thought, recalling her prediction of Isra's racial origin. "I took in a wild sand cat whom I called Nanya. Nanya was everything to me when I've felt no support or love from my mother. So, Nanya became important to me because although she wasn't human, she loved me unconditionally."

"What about your father?" Yasen asked.

"I didn't have one."

No father? Yasen couldn't imagine herself without a father. Her parents had passed away long ago; they were good loving parents. She apologized for touching upon a sensitive topic.

Isra shook her head, letting Yasen know it was okay. "I never met my 'father.' I was mainly an accident after my mother got raped."

Yasen stared hard at Isra whose dark brown eyes read no emotion. She couldn't understand how Isra could say that with ease. Yasen would feel ashamed of her existence if she discovered she was a product of an unwanted birth.

Isra hesitated before continuing. It was the first time she was revealing her past to someone. Not even Damon or Manami knew that much about her. "Before I was born, the village was plundered by a band of barbarians from the mountains. They stole whatever they found valuable and killed anyone that would try to stop them. One of men found my mother hiding in her hut. She was a very attractive girl for her age, merely sixteen years old. She became a target to his pleasure, and then I came along."

Yasen remained silent, feeling extremely sorry for her the pirate captain. Isra sipped more tea before continuing.

"Anyway, my mother had to put up with me. I couldn't blame her that she hated me. She had to be reminded of the rape incident every day because of my face. I looked too much like the barbarian that raped her, a half breed. An 'ugly child' as my mother called me whenever I frustrated her…"

"Did she still call you that when you were older?" Yasen asked, frowning. She would believe that her mother would accept Isra as time passed.

Isra nodded.

"Well, you are the most beautiful woman I've ever laid my eyes on," Yasen remarked as if it was truth set in stone. She did not notice those words had even slipped out. 

Beautiful? Isra's cheeks lit up in a deep shade of red. Her dark brown eyes widened; she didn't know why Yasen would flatter her. "There are far more beautiful women than me," Isra replied, her cheeks still flustered. Her eyes moved away from Yasen's that were still intensely gazing at hers. The dark haired woman wondered how the brunette could keep a stare that long. "There is no need to pity me with flattery. The early past doesn't bother me. I have no attachments with my mother or the harsh things she had said to me."

Yasen shook her head at Isra's misunderstanding. "I may like to flatter women, but what I've said is true." The brunette cheeks started to flush, realizing what she had said. By the Gods, did I just say what I think I just said? Yasen remained eyeing Isra whom looked as much embarrassed as she was. Yasen's heart pounded against her chest. What had just possessed her to say such things that were supposed to be kept secretive?

She remained staring at Isra whom stopped speaking for a moment. Now that Isra knew that she found her attractive… maybe Yasen could pick up signs of interest... To Yasen's disappointment, Isra changed the subject.

"Everything started to change after a few years I took Nanya in. I managed to raise her when she was a cub in secrecy. My mother never questioned my whereabouts as long I did my chores. Then one day when I was out in the savannah, I didn't expect anything to be different. I was…" Isra, whose cheeks retained their color, counted in her head. "Fourteen years old I suppose. I was playing a game of chase with Nanya. While I was looking for her, I came across a woman alone by the grasses. Little did I know that the woman that shook my hand would become my enemy."

"Her name was Assyria, but she called herself Desert Flower." Isra shivered, recalling the woman's face. Desert Flower was a beautiful woman; curly long black hair always tied back from an orange-red bandana. Her ears were always hooped by large golden rings. She was beautiful but dangerous. "I only found out her real name when I turned fifteen when someone acquainted with her spoke her real name. Assyria was surprised at first to see me, but she was friendly to me and asked why I was doing out here alone."

"Eventually, I told her too much about me. I was pretty much naïve and talkative when I was fourteen years old. She felt bad for me that I wasn't worth anything to my mother, and that I was pretty much 'alone' with a wild cat. While I was chatting with her, I found something glimmering in the sides of her robes. She caught my curiosity and slipped it out."

Isra paused silently, recalling everything in clear detail. She could just remember everything like yesterday. "It was a dagger—just not one. She revealed another one to me. They were beautiful twin daggers that she called 'sai.' I was strangely awed by these weapons. As a young girl, I wasn't frightened by them for some reason, and Assyria found that amusing."

"But she made me flinch when she whipped the daggers into my direction. She laughed at me and said she was only teasing." Isra grimaced, remembering the experience. Desert Flower had always teased her even when she was older. "I felt a bit uneasy afterwards. Then she offered to teach me to use them, and… that's how I became what I am now."

Isra stared down at her hands, hesitating to tell any more. Some things were better left unsaid; and her past was quite brutal. She did not want Yasen to hear about it.

"Where is… she now?" Yasen finally spoke. She was curious about the woman that had trained Isra; a woman that has now become an enemy to the pirate captain.

"Desert Flower can be anywhere," Isra replied, rubbing her tired eyes. "She's an assassin. Much worse than being a pirate. A bandit and an assassin."

Thinking about Nanya made Isra's eyes teary. Quickly brushing them away, she continued. "Eventually, I became very valuable to Desert Flower and her gang during those years. She taught me the skills of the sai, and she was very impress I picked up the daggers quickly. Why she decided to 'train me'… I later found out when I was eighteen when she lied to me about a contract. I… rebelled against her, and she… she killed Nanya and exiled me from my own village."

Yasen widened her eyes. "Exiled?"

Isra nodded. She did not want to talk about it anymore. She knew she already told Yasen too much even though she did not explain so much. "I am… very tired now. I will retire."

Yasen nodded understandingly, knowing that Isra was not comfortable telling her the rest of the story. But now she knew why Isra was crying. The pirate captain was haunted by Desert Flower for killing her beloved cat and exiling her from her home. However, Yasen still had a lot of questions unanswered. How did Desert Flower managed to exile her? Was the assassin that powerful and reputed in the village? And what was that contract she lied to Isra about?

The questions remained in Yasen's head after she left the room. She headed downstairs, reminding herself to decide on a bounty hunt in the morning.