“Tell me Mir, why did you attack me?” Jia asked, not moving an inch.

Mir gulped audibly. “I…I come down here every day to get water for the tribe; there’s a well nearby,” he managed. “Then I saw you, and well, you looked off your guard, and you’re our enemy so…” his voice trailed off.

Jia tried as best as she could to keep her face porcelain mask, but inside her mind his words were echoing. “You’re our enemy…”

Jia had a job to do. Jia had a job to do that was given to her by a goddess. Her job was to protect people, but it hadn’t really hit her that by protecting some, she was making others miserable. Of course, Jia had always known this, but it wasn’t until this Mir had uttered the word enemy had it sunk in.

‘Focus on the task at hand Jia,’ she told herself. ‘Don’t let your emotions come through.’ Shaking her head angrily at herself, Jia quickly straightened up, taking a few quick, cautious steps away from Mir. “I’m nobody’s enemy,” she said dully, sheathing her dagger. She was unsure if this boy would attack again. “I’m simply doing my job.”

Mir for his part had no intentions of another attack. He was shocked at the girl’s speed. He was even more shocked when she had moved away; he had been sure that his life was over. Slightly shaken, he put a question to her, choosing to ignore her previous statement. “Who are you?”
 

Jia raised an eyebrow, as if she was surprised he had dared to ask her a question. Then all emotion washed off her face. “They call me Jia,” she said in a monotone.

Mir was never usually a cautious person. He was always a curious being, always asking questions and poking his nose in places where it shouldn’t be. Mir wasn’t an idiot. He could tell that this “Jia” was not an ordinary girl - that much was clear. But he also deduced that by the way she had moved away, she did not want to kill Mir. Pushing himself into a standing position, Mir kept his distance. His curiosity had gotten the better of him. Well, curiosity killed the cat – or in this case, the Wolf.

“Jia may be your name, but that doesn’t answer my question,” he said, wondering whether she would answer, leave or hit him. “Who are you?” he asked again.

 Jia’s eyes were unsettling. They stared like glass ornaments, rarely blinking, never leaving Mir’s. “Who I am is none of your concern.”

Mir spoke again, once more hoping he wouldn’t irritate Jia. He didn’t know how much she would tolerate before leaving or hurting him. Then again, she didn’t look like she could be irritated. Jia looked more like a doll than a human.

“I disagree,” he ventured. “You turn up out of nowhere and kill my people and then tackle me to the ground. Who you are is very much my concern.”

Was that a small, amused smile Mir glanced on Jia’s mouth? If so, it was gone again in a second. “I tackled you to the ground because you attacked me,” she replied.

“Well,” Mir was somewhat relieved that she at least seemed to be amused instead of annoyed at him, despite the seriousness of their conversation. “How about the two of us agree not to tackle or hurt each other for the remainder of this conversation? And then you can tell me who you are.”

Jia’s face remained blank. “Who I am is a bit of a long story.”

Mir shrugged. “I have time.”

As if contradicting what he just said, a call was heard from the somewhere inside the woods.

“Mir? Where the hell are you?” Mir recognized the voice as Joon’s.

“Well, maybe I don’t have the time.” Mir took a few steps away from the expressionless female. “But you owe me an explanation.”

To his surprise, Jia gave a slight nod.

Mir took his steps back, eyes never falling from her, never letting his guard down. Once he reached the safety of the trees he turned and broke into a run.