SK's shack crouched in the clearing like something that had grown there rather than been built. Its walls leaned inward, warped planks stitched together with iron nails and stubbornness, roof bowed under old snow and newer repairs. The air inside smelled of damp wood, smoke, and something sharp—chemical, medicinal, unpleasant.
SK stood with his arms crossed, feet planted wide apart, glowering down at the two figures who had intruded on his solitude. Again.
Elias met his stare without flinching.
Jamie did not.
She had already drifted off, fingers trailing over hanging charms, peering at shelves crowded with sheets of paper wth engravings, bone fragments, scraps of metal, bits of fur, feathers, and things Elias suspected had once been alive and intelligent enough to resent their current state. She kept muttering a name as she inspected the space.
SK clicked his tongue.
"So what the bloody hell are you two doing back here?" he snapped.
"Have you come to destroy my house again?"
Jamie crouched to inspect a crooked wooden idol with too many eyes.
"Baba Yaga," she muttered under her breath.
SK scowled. "Who the hell is Baba Yaga. You keep repeating their name."
"You don't look like her." Jamie responded after sizing him up.
"Excuse me?''
Elias spoke evenly. " Look old man, we're here because we have questions."
SK raised an eyebrow slowly, unimpressed.
"Questions," he echoed. "And why the fuck should I listen to you?"
Silence stretched.
Elias's hand slipped behind his belt.
In one smooth motion, he drew the Jade Dagger free. The blade caught the dim light, white surface pristine, humming faintly with restrained Flow.
SK didn't even blink.
The air snapped.
Thin, pale ribbons burst into existence, coiling around Elias's limbs in an instant. His wrist twisted painfully as the dagger slipped from his grasp and clattered to the floor. The ribbons yanked upward, lifting him clean off his feet.
Elias sucked in a sharp breath as he was hauled toward the ceiling, limbs pinned, body suspended like a marionette.
SK sighed. "Bloody predictable."
Elias struggled, trying to break free—but the ribbons tightened in response, humming as they drank in the resistance.
"See, after you two led a murderous Saint to inturupt my lunch, I put measures in place," SK said calmly. "To ensured I wouldn't get caught lacking again."
He glanced toward the door. "Best thing for me would be to leave the area. Unfortunately, I can't just yet."
The ribbons constricted further.
"These things were made to restrain even a Saint. You won't be the one to break free. Stop and maybe 'll let you go." SK said.
Jamie spun around and saw Elias hanging in the air. "Hey!"
She marched toward Elias.
SK lifted her hand toward her friend.
"Careful, girl. Do anything stupid and you'll get caught too."
Jamie ignored him.
Ice bloomed along her arm, jagged and imperfect, anti-Flow pulsing erratically as a blade manifested. She slashed at the nearest ribbon.
The ice connected—and several strands snapped free, recoiling violently.
Others surged toward her.
Jamie twisted aside, parrying with instinct more than technique. Her fluctuating Flow caused the ribbons to vibrate strangely, their cohesion faltering, retreating just long enough to avoid binding her.
Elias noticed.
They weren't resisting her. They were destabilising.
'If vibration breaks their structure…'
He inhaled and stopped fighting.
Then he pushed.
Flow surged outward—not refined, not elegant, but vast. The ribbons screamed, stretched, and shattered like brittle glass.
Elias dropped hard, landing in a crouch, breath sharp but controlled.
SK stared.
Then he laughed—a short, barking sound. "Well I'll be fucked. I din't think a small vulnerablity would be exploted by kids. Guess I need to work on that."
His eyes scanned Elias as he bent down to pick up his weapon. Months ago, he had peered into the unconcious Elias's soul—just a glimpse. Endless. Dense. Seeing it now, wielded with intent…
'Interesting...'
His gaze shifted to Jamie, to the way her anti-Flow bucked and pulsed beneath her skin.
The two of them together were…unique.
'Just like their parents.'
"Someone from the Mellous gave you this," he said, commenting on the weapon. "Probably that other blonde girl."
Elias looked at him. "How do you know?"
SK shrugged. "Saw you lot around."
He turned away dismissively and began grinding something with a mortar and pestle, movements slow and practiced.
"So," he said, "what are you doing in my shack?"
Jamie folded her arms. "We have questions."
He glanced over his shoulder. "Both of you?"
They nodded.
"Will you fuck off if they're answered?"
Elias's voice stayed calm. "If the answers are satisfactory."
SK snorted. "Cheeky little shit."
He turned and nodded toward Jamie. "Ladies first."
Jamie frowned, thinking hard as if trying to remember. Then her eyes brightened.
"What's your name?"
Elias sighed and covered his face.
SK raised an eyebrow.
"Been on the run long enough that you youngins wouldn't know who I am. In fact you should have recognised me by now-"
"Is is strange to no know strange, scrawny old men?" Jamie asked innocently.
"Oi, who you calling old."
Jamie looked him up and down.
"Are you one of those old people with a few screws loose?''
Elias nudged her.
"What?''
SK fronwed and wanted to respond but changed his mind and sighed turning back to the things he was grinding.
"Sigmund Kilgowe. Feel free to call me SK, though I'd prefer it if you brats didn't call me at all."
"I'm Jamie Thorne," she said proudly. "This is Elias Linford Dukker."
"You didn't need to say my full name," Elias muttered.
SK waved it off. "Don't give a shit."
Jamie opened her mouth again—
Elias clamped a hand over it. "My turn."
She glared daggers at him.
"You've already asked two questions."
"The first one doesn't count."
He ignored her.
"That Kitsune mask?" Elias asked.
"What was it?"
SK froze.
He dropped the pistle on the table with a dull thud.
Slowly, he turned.
His eyes locked onto Elias—cold, sharp, ancient.
And for the first time since they'd entered the shack, the air went utterly still.