Regardless of her ‘unstable’ personality, Elisa watched in amazement, the woman’s sensuality bursting through into the most vibrant picture of a beautiful soul. Her entire being moved with a purposeful clarity. Expression through movement was her genius, it seemed and watching her hone it was more breathtaking than the newly bloomed flowers of spring. A coy smile lingered about her curved lips. Hand over heart, she folded forward in a slight bow.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(184, 49, 47)">“I’m Elisa Kautzer. Herbalist and scholar with a curious soul. Also, don’t call me that,”</span>she grinned, knowing full well that a loose cannon like her, would undoubtedly let herself influence with such ease.<br/><br/>The man’s complaints had whistled by her during the theatrical display of flexibility. She stepped back into the hallway with a horrifying revelation before her very eyes. Her smile died then, faster than wisps of smoke dissipating after a snuffed candle flame's extinction.<br/><br/>The knife met flesh, soft and pudgy, like parting dough. It made an appalling squelch as the tip of the blade sank deep, followed by a short-lived cry, a guttural choke mixed with an agonized roar. The body convulsing and trembled to the floor like a rabid animal, thick blood flowing freely from the gaping gash in his neck. The cascade of the man’s life-source gushed out in all directions, scarlet liquid squirting left and right, the sweet tang of blood tinging the air.<br/><br/>A sorrowful scowl grew pronounced under tenting brows and a caustic ribble settled in the back of her throat then. Her vision blurred with each turbulent tidal wave of blood rushing through her coursing veins, fuelled by an overloaded, rapidly beating heart. At first, she swallowed her retort, white knuckles clenched painfully tight, teeth grit from an effort to remain silent, to ignore the life altering moment that had just passed. Her cloaked form exuded an animosity that was like acid; burning, slicing, potent. Her face reddened slightly with suppressed anger, veins pulsing on her forehead.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(184, 49, 47)">“What in the world!?”</span>The bubble popped,<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(184, 49, 47)">“I bust a lifeless lock and suddenly you’re the master of who gets to live and die?!”</span>Her temper was a slowly filling glass, a simmering pot. There was no problem, no outward sign of fury until the liquid boiled to the top, then all bets were off. If you were smart, you ran for cover.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(184, 49, 47)">“You fool! You are NOT qualified to take another humans' life. Murder is a premeditated action, a clear decision to kill, and evidently, you lack the strict regimen that is so paramount, if one is to master the brutal arithmetic of combat!”</span><br/><br/>Her eyes had narrowed; rigid, cold, hard, the former softness replaced by an icy property. They harboured aggression and resentment in visible exertion, yet there was an undertone of anguish under the steely surface. From the ferocity of her vent, it seemed like this was her first time. Sure, death loomed everywhere, but most remained unpreventable and cut in stone, the way nature intended it, but this had been entirely avoidable.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(184, 49, 47)">“Not only deceitful, but also a mindless murderer… He was just doing his job, you bore.” </span>A quivering hand dug into the endless pit of her bag. It vacated moments later with a large, multi-coloured mineral between its digits. She cracked the sharpened stone against hallway wall, the long, chromatic outlines oddly reminiscent of a doorframe. And indeed, it was. Upon the snap of her fingers, the very fabric of earthly elements faded within the border and allowed an unobstructed view to the other side.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(184, 49, 47)"> “Out, the both of you!”</span>she barked, awaiting their compliance.