That evening, at about dusk, Sascha and Akfek were once again leaving
Thamasa. Sascha's mind was bubbling over with excitement. She was extremely
eager to get to the meting and set Akfek's plan into motion. And what a plan!
But despite her enthusiasm, she was wise enough to keep silent. She knew that
Akfek wanted to maintain a low profile, and she didn't want to blow it.
Especially not now, when she'd finally gained his confidence.
  The two kept mainly to the shadows as they walked, and thusly managed to
avoid any travellers along the way. That is, until a red headed teenaged boy
barreled into Sascha, knocking her over. She loked up at her assailant from a
somewhat undignified postion, expecting at least an 'excuse me'. That was not,
however, what she received.
  "Geez, lady!" the boy exclaimed, "Why didn't you get outta my way?" Sascha's
jaw dropped, her good mood broken. Akfek glared at the impudent youth.
  "And just who do you think you are, young man?" he asked icily.
  "I," he replied with a flourish, "am Palom, the great mag - er, _ninja_!"
  "Of course you are." Sascha's voice dripped venom. At this point, a girl
appeared. She was apparently the offender's twin.
  "Oh, I'm so sorry! Please excuse him -"
  "But sister! She was in my _way_!" Sascha could feel her anger start to
rise.
  The girl was speaking again. "My brother is just a little, um -"
  "Your brother," interrupted Sascha, as Akfek helped her to her feet, "is an
_idiot_! And _you_- "
  "Not _now_, Sascha," Akfek whispered. Sascha quickly calmed herself.
  "And you," she continued, her rage barely contained, "had better get out of
here, before I do something you'll regret..."
  "Sheesh, lady!" said the boy, looking indignant. "You don't have to get so
uptight just because you're a klutz!" His sister looked mortified, and more
than a little frightened. She was clutching at a pendant around her neck.
  "Palom..."
  "Leave _now_," commanded Akfek. The girl needed no more encouragement. She
dashed off, dragging her brother along. The latter was protesting quite
loudly.
  "Let _go_, Sister! I can take 'em! Hey! Come back here and fight, you
pansies! I'll take you! I'm invincible!" The boy's voice faded in the
distance.
  "Sorry to rob you of your fun," Akfek said to Sascha as she dusted herself
off, "but it wouldn't do to have a magical 'incident' so close to Thamasa."
  "Brats," muttered Sascha. "If I ever see those two again..."
  "Ah yes," Akfek affected a sigh, "they have such little respect for their
elders nowadays.."

****

  Some time afterward, they approached the dock. Sascha's mood had
deteriorated substantially since the incident, and she wasn't altogether sure
that her mind hadn't been playing tricks on her. She almost thouht she'd seen
those two pesky children out of the corner of her eye... But no, it was just
her imagination. In any case, they were insignificant, really, in the grand
scheme of things. She dismissed the two rude adolescents from her thoughts.
  They soon learned from a friendly sailor (over-friendly, in Sascha's
opinion) that Mikail's boat was actually docked about a mile down the coast.
He was apparently about to receive a particularly large shipment, and wanted
it to be discreet. "Discreet! HA!' thought Sascha, 'That man couldn't be
_discreet_ if he were invisible!' After the man left, she asked her companion,
"Why do we have to go on _his_ boat again, anyway? I _hate_ that guy!"
  "I know," replied Akfek with a wicked grin. "And that, my dear, is why you
are going to _love_ this plan! Come, I'll tell you on the way..."