#people are starting to be nice to rakha and it's weirding her out but she also desperately needs to hear it

[blackjackkent]

On closer inspection, our final murder target - Figaro the Facemaker - is now marked with a second quest indicator:

So I guess this is where our final showdown with Dolor is going to take place.

Figaro was super rude to Hector for literally no reason, so maybe this is just desserts, but probably not, so hopefully Rakha can end her foray into CSI on a high note.

(Side note - I've been trying to figure out a reason for Rakha to head into the west side of the city so she could run into Elerrathin's home, and guess what - it's directly across the street from the Facemaker's! Fantastic.)

Rakha doesn't really get the best first impression of the place, as a boutique customer immediately shouts at her as soon as she gets in the door.

"Oi! You! Get in the bloody queue!"

This young man is deeply lucky that Rakha is WAY too preoccupied to get stabby right now. Even the beast urge in her head is entirely focused on the possibility of blood being spilled in Bhaal's name in the next room.

She definitely, however, does not get in the queue but instead goes charging through the main doors into the boutique's back room - and comes to a sharp halt, crouching into the shadow of the door as she sees movement within.

(A/N: Once again, this is way more interesting if you actually do the murder questline. Hector only got here after killing Orin, and I literally didn't know this NPC had another purpose besides insulting your clothes unprompted.)

In a chair at the far end of the room sits a dwarf in a fancy outfit of blue and gold. His body is rigid - rigor mortis, Rakha thinks at first, but then she sees the almost imperceptible rise and fall of his chest. No - paralysis.

Another paralyzed body lies on the floor nearer the door. Rakha recognizes this one. Devella - Valeria's assistant from the Elfsong.

And Dolor, the Bhaalist killer, the dwarf dressed in red, stalks the edge of the room, a maniacal grin on his face.

"It's unusual for prey to supply the tools of its own butchery," he purrs mockingly, coming to a halt next to a large table lain with a variety of tools. "Razors, scissors, nail files - so many cuts one could make. And yet... such a fleeting window..."

With a delicate touch, he lifts a large knife, positions it at the Facemaker's throat. "But then... who am I to deny the auspices of destiny? For we are celebrating, Master Figaro! You have the delicious honor of being my crowning achievement. Your body is my ultimate gift to my lord Bhaal! Together, we shall transcend!"

(A/N: Props to Dolor's VA; this is a legitimately creepy little speech.)

Rakha has gone stock-still, her eyes fixed on the blade. The beast, having reached the critical moment, has woken and is roaring in her head. Yessss... slit his throat, spill his blood, present your gift to my Father with it painted across your hands...

She finds herself possessed of a sudden terrifying urge not to help but to leap forward, to steal the kill away from this upstart dwarf and rend apart Figaro's chest with her own hands. The blood pulse pounds in her temple like a drum.

"Rakha!" Wyll hisses. "Rakha, come on! We have to do something!"

His voice cuts through the haze and she draws a ragged, groaning breath. She releases the knife she had begun to draw unwittingly from its sheathe, clenching both hands instead into fists.

"Stop... right... there..." she rasps out.

The dwarf freezes, the edge of the blade just touching Figaro's neck. Then his hand drops to his side and he turns to face Rakha, and the manic light in his eyes sends an involuntarily shiver of ice down her spine.

Do you recognize me, boy? she wonders, unsure if it is her own voice or the beast's in her thoughts. Do you know who I am?

"A challenger..." Dolor hisses. He lifts the knife again, this time turning its point towards Rakha. "My lord tests me. This piteous hovel will be your grave, challenger!"

Rakha's head spasms. Kill him first, then, hisses the beast. Fool. Blasphemer. He threatens us. Kill him.

And there's no time to think about this further as Dolor hurls himself at her with a scream of fury.

----

There are, it turns out, five doppelgangers in the shop here to watch the show (including the two "customers" in the front hallway). Not a terribly hard fight, although Dolor is a pain who likes to go invisible which is always annoying.

When the battle is done and the dwarf lies dead, Rakha leans heavily against the wall, her eyes squeezed shut, focusing on keeping hold of herself and ignoring the beast urge, which very much wants her to finish the job by crossing the room and slitting Figaro's throat.

When she opens her eyes again, she finds that Devella - unparalyzed again and looking deeply frazzled - has come to stand in front of her.

"I can't believe I'm glad to see a Bhaalspawn," she says, sober and earnest and just the slightest bit shaky. "But gods... I knew you'd be the one to stop this." She rubs the back of her neck wearily. "If it had been the dwarf alone, we might have stood a chance, but those doppelgangers... they swarmed us." She shudders. "We were paralyzed before we even had the chance to fight back."

Rakha doesn't say anything for a moment or two. People being glad to see her is a new and rare enough concept that it is not something she really knows how to handle well just yet.

Devella has been a strange one - seemingly unbothered by Rakha's heritage and far more focused on her actions, her willingness to fight the Bhaalists and the plot against innocents. And now she's pleased that Rakha is here, without question or hesitation.

Minsc is not here to judge, she remembers Minsc telling her, only a few nights ago. That is a thing for hamsters and hathrans alone. It seems Devella might agree.

The feeling of gratification this brings is unfortunately muffled and deadened by the darker urges; Rakha's instinctive response, with the beast still roaring in her head, is something along the lines of the more fool you, followed by a knife in the neck.

But she waits out the urge, her fingers rapidly flexing into and out of fists, until it passes, and then her shoulders slump as she exhales slowly between her teeth. "I'm glad," she says, carefully and deliberately, "I could keep you safe."

"And I'm glad you're fighting the fight to keep the Dread Lord out of the city," Devella answers gravely.

She takes a few steps over to Dolor's body and peers down at him thoughtfully. "I was on my way to the Upper City when I heard a commotion," she goes on. "I stepped in to see if I could help." She looks up at Rakha with a flicker of a rueful smile. "It's not every day you have the chance to catch a killer in action, not even in this profession. You, on the other hand - you've probably seen your fair share of murders since you discovered your heritage."

If it's meant to be a joke, it doesn't really land. Rakha just stares at her unblinkingly until she clears her throat awkwardly and goes on. "We can question the assailant later, once he comes round, but I think I have it now."

(A/N: Pretty sure the assailant is big dead, Devella, but you're welcome to have a go.)

She begins to tick items off one by one on her fingers. "These killings aren't random. In fact, they seem to be part of some sort of test. That document you showed me before - the one with the victims' names on it? That was the briefing. The killers paralyze their victims, take their hands as an offering for Bhaal, and make it look like the cult of the Absolute was behind it all. It offers access to the 'tribunal' - an initiation rite, held by your Father's acolytes, that brings a new cultist into the fold. And it's taking place beneath 'Candulhallow's Tombstones,'" she finishes triumphantly.

In other circumstances, this would no doubt be an impressive display of deduction. Unfortunately for Devella, literally every one of these things is something Rakha already knows. So Rakha just continues to stare at her expectantly, seeming not to notice as the silence draws out awkwardly.

Devella squints at her cautiously after the pause has stretched a while. "Perhaps they've even asked you to undertake this gruesome sacrament."

(A/N: This is unfortunately one of those moments where none of the available dialog options really quite fit Rakha. The closest thing to an explanation of her intentions is I must find a hand, so I can infiltrate the tribunal and tear it down from within. But to be honest, Rakha isn't really thinking that broadly. Her concern, first and foremost, is finding Lae'zel, and then taking Orin out of the equation. It's not really a concerted effort to bring down the Bhaalist cult. Everything else is, at the moment, an afterthought.

So we're going to take a little artistic license here and adjust the line a little for clarity.)

Rakha shrugs slightly. "I need a hand to enter the tribunal. From there, I have to find the temple," she says curtly. "They have my--" A pause. "My friend."

Devella's eyebrows lift in sudden understanding, and she looks down at the body of the dead dwarf. "Technically," she says pensively, "I haven't yet done an inventory of this crime scene. So... if something were to go missing from a corpse..."

(A/N: OK, so now you admit Dolor is not going to be 'coming round'? Or are you trying to suggest we cut a hand off someone you think is still alive? Make up your mind, Devella! Bit sloppy writing there. XD )

She lets out a heavy breath, and her eyes meet Rakha's with a troubled expression. "You're brave, spawn, to put yourself into the heart of the Hells like that," she says with quiet sincerity. "Braver than us all. But you're just one sword against a god. Are you sure you're up to it?"

Rakha closes her eyes against a sudden stab of pain through her head. Devella is right, of course - in going after Lae'zel, she is at bottom talking about deliberately standing against the god whose blood runs in her own veins. But... there's also no other choice.

"I don't know,"(*) she admits gruffly, opening her eyes and staring down at the blood puddles slowly soaking into the carpet.

Devella studies her for a moment, then nods. "A word of advice, then, if I may. Infiltrate the cult. Deceive your father's lackeys. If Bhaal believes he has you, they will let down their guard. There's bound to be one moment where he trips up, and you see a way to stand against him.'

Rakha considers this. In truth, she hadn't really formulated a particular plan for what to do once they've found the Bhaalist temple, but knowing her, the most likely strategy would be to run in, blasting fire in all directions, and hope for the best. Deception and subterfuge are, to put it mildly, not her strong suit.

But perhaps Devella has a point. Pretend to be under the beast's thrall long enough to get close before striking. Perhaps it's a better chance. Perhaps it will help keep Lae'zel alive...

The only worry is that she very well might start to believe herself. And then all would be lost...

She nods wordlessly.

Devella relaxes and manages another slight smile. "I don't know what will happen to the Gate if you don't," she says gravely. "But I do know that you're damn well the best hope we have. In the meantime I'm going to Basilisk Gate. I'll try to drum up some support - and warn as many important people as possible. Hope I can yell loud enough."

She turns to start walking out of the boutique - but Rakha's hand flashes out, catches her by the shoulder, halts her in her tracks. For a moment wariness flashes through Devella's eyes - but she doesn't pull away, just waits, watching Rakha carefully.

"Thank you," Rakha mutters. "For believing in me."

Devella smiles crookedly, draws back, and offers her a Fist salute. "See you around, Bhaalspawn," she says lightly. "Stay alive for me, won't you?"

-----

(*) Another slight dialogue tweak. In-game line is "I really don't know if I'm up to it..."

[sideeffectsofhavingnolife]

IPKKND S:1 EP-4

I don't know why but I feel strangely exhausted today. Eh! Just one of those days.

Fourth Episode of Iss pyaar ko kya naam doon, here we come

"Maine tumse pehle bhi kaha hai, apni aukaat me raha karo" Sir, what?!

We just started and he's got her beat again. Let my girl vent once. I want her to say some real ugly stuff, he deserves it.

"Kyu... Kya kiya maine? "This bitch! Look at his smug face.

Girl, stop clutching your Kurta and try to snap back at least.

There he goes, Score 4:0

Yeah, sure! Follow him and preach about God. Definitely the next best course of action.

Look at him talking about dard, you're not the only one who has endured pain in life, buddy, it doesn't give you the right to be an asshole or to harass women.

I thought the speech would be about him being a dick the last time they met and possibly a threat of lodging a harassment complaint.

But go off, Khushi, tell him how big and universal God is, whom Arnav doesn't even believe in. Seems like it should work.

Damn! I was just being sarcastic but looks like it actually worked, he looks pissed.

Where are you even scurrying off to? Oh right! She has to apologize to a lot of people.

Fuck! I knew that the fashion show footage would be on the news but I didn't predict that Arnav would do it to take revenge.

Lol, he cares more about a girl who made a lousy speech than his own company's reputation.

I can't say this enough, the sister and the dad are the most sweetest.

Who was the groom, anyway? Are we ever gonna meet him?

Oh, she mentioned the missing pearls.

I feel bad for my girl, sexual harassment is not a joke, it can be so traumatizing.

Yay! The return of 'Laard Governer'.

Did this man just called him 'bhai'

"Bhai, navratre chal rahe hai" same here dude, perfectly matched the timing.

Let's not oversell, Khushi.

You barely made a dent and it still made him mad.

"Chote log aksar aukaat se bada mooh kholte hai" There's no end to this shit.

This guy seems really close to Arnav. Wonder what's their deal?

We are in for a dance sequence, I guess.

Or more like casual fun.

The mother saw, she is gonna be even more upset.

Not the freeze with the broom right in her face.

Mom! Come be a part of this.

Yes, coax her in. I want to spend some good moments with the mother, I feel like she has been sulking from the very start.

That's right! collective Bua slander is what we live for in this house.

"Aap hi ki beti hu na?"

Let's go! Be the wholesome family you all deserve.

I already know the dad's gonna be a part of it. So stop with the tense music.

Aghh this Bua needs to shut the fuck up and get out of the house.

Why is your head aching Bua? Aap ne hi to sabke sar me dard kar rakha hai.

Thanks Dad! Keep your daughter away from this poisonous bitch.

What's with this nosy caterer? I guess we are not done with our toxicity quota of the day yet.

Somebody shoot this motherfucker down, please.

That's your signal, Khushi. Tear this man a new one.

Nice, so that's her thing, she is good with accounting stuff.

The dad is so proud of her as well.

I wish the sister was here too but she is stuck making chai for the Bua at home.

What a weird shooting set! The fake stars, disco balls, and a backdrop that looks like someone upscaled a screenshot of a Google image. Not to mention the bad lighting. Like what exactly are you even shooting for?

Are those the dresses from the Runway? Because they look just as terrible.

He basically called him a kutta and I am not surprised.

But I don't understand why won't he just throw money at his face if he is so rich.

Are padaaa!

He shouldn't have challanged Arnav's childhood trauma.

Don't talk about people's mother disrespectfully in general, though.

Another one!

2 Crores for two slaps. I wish I got a deal like that. I'd be a billionare by now, if only my mother beating me counted.

Back to Bua ji. 🙄

Fuck! she'll discover the footage first. That's not gonna end well.

What the fuck is this news reporter?

No but why are the needless arrows and circles so absurdly accurate, I've seen it in real news channels.

The sister showed up as well.

Nah! There's no way any cameras were taking those close ups.

How did these people even saw this news?

Somebody in the crowd literally said "Dekh dekh, kaise chal rahi hai?" like what?

Of, course, they are standing in front of a television store but also how did they recognise her so fast? Am I the only person in the world who won't be able to tell even the most famous celebrity apart from a crowd. If they were not surrounded by a crew.

Holy shit! The reporter's voice over just scared me.

"Pakke hue aam ki tarah tapak jaati hai" Please! 😂I am guessing they paid the reporter or he has a personal vendetta against her because why would you deliver these statements with such intristic passion if not for money?

Okay, so it reallly picked up at the end. Excited to see what happens next. I mean I am sure this would lead to some sort of inciting incident but at the same time, it would reallly hurt to see Khushi's parents' dissapointed faces.

But let's not act like I didn't wish for more drama.

[tellywoodtrash]

ishqbaaz 02.06.17 lb

plain text version here. 

ouff, starting off straight away with screaminggggg. whyyyy? 😣😣😣

anika looks like she's been shot. which she didn't look like when she was ACTUALLY SHOT.  😕😕😕

"humne yeh baat puri duniya se chupaake rakha."

which is why i'm SCREAMING about it right now, in the living room of the house. 🙄🙄🙄

... aaah man. allll of us and our theories were right. still-born baby, replaced by one of kameeni's babies. a random stroke of luck elevated shivaay to the oberoi scion, while mahi ve was relegated to the chawl. 😔😔😔

why would they pick the kanji eyed baby though? like, surely mahi with the dark eyes would have been easier to pass off as shakti/pinky's baby? 🤔🤔🤔

anika looks like she's gonna faint, and tbh, i feel like it a little too. 😖😖😖

pinky's compleeeeetely lost it. like, now knowing the reason is making sense to me a little and i'm sympathetic, but man... 🙁🙁🙁

#same face of the day. 

god i feel like i've been punched in the stomach. 😫😫😫

"my smart girls" - lol. 😂😂😂

back to feeling punched in the stomach. 😖😖😖

BULBUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *THROWS MY ARMS AROUND HER AND FALLS INTO HER LAP* 😩😩😩

wait does that mean gauri heard everything???? 😧😧😧

ohhhhhh mannnn. man oh mannnnn. anika, my poor babyyyyy. 😢😢😢

oh shit, the instrumental sad o jaana. fuck, just stab me through the heart already. 😭😭😭

OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT. NOOOOOO. 😥😥😥

BULLLLLLLBULLLLLLLL, DO SOMETHINGGGGGG. 😭😭😭😭

YAAAAAAASSSSSSS!!!!!!!!! BULBUL BANI CUPIDDDDD!!!!!!!! AND SHE'S TEAMING UP WITH OMKARAAAAAAAA. *screaminggggg with happy* 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

fuckingggggg hell, shivaaaaay. stop being so fucking good to her. she doesn't deserve it. 😒😒😒

ugh fuck youuuuu prinku. hand over the pasta to me, my man. i never say no to carbs. 😌😌😌

god, i actually want to cry rn. why is he so selfless and pure? other than omRu, this fam sooooooo doesn't deserve him. 😑😑😑

ugh this bitchhhhhhh man. like i'd understand if all this drama was over a man who was WORTH it. but for fucking ranveeeeer. fucking gaslighting, rapey rapist, looks-like-a-rodent-with-a-dark-draco-malfoy-wig-slapped-on ranveer. 😒😒😒

bhaiyya is melting. bhaiyya is fucking meltingggggggg. fucking bhaiyya and his bloody defective dil that is patthar at the wrong time, and melts for entirely the wrong ppl. 😣😣😣

you know what, i'd just leave. i'd just fucking leave. honestly it's all tooooooo much to take and i'd gtfo there. give him time to cool off, and me time to think up a new plan of action. 😶😶😶

bulbullllllllll!!!!! 😍😍😍

yes, i will continue to be this excited every time she shows up in this show. 😗😗😗

yessssssss, bond over your shitty but oh-so-dreamy-can't-help-but-love-them husbands! 😊😊😊

oh boy. "kasrat". i think i know bulbul's plan, based on a spoiler pic i saw. 😏😏😏

just when i thought i couldn't love gauri any more, she call the boys out on their BS bipolar behaviour. i loveeeeee herrrr. 😚😚😚

"istone singh oberoi" 😂😂😂

TADIIIIIIIIIIIIIII. 😂😂😂

hahahaha "nandiiii bellll" 😂😂😂

gauri, don't you think you're working on the wrong half of the relationship? he's the one you gotta bringggg aroundddd. 😕😕😕

is bulbul is gonna do whatttt i thinkkkk she's gonna dooooo??? 😬😬😬

YUUUUUUUUUUUUHP. 🙃🙃🙃

lmaooooo, and you watched it happen, and came running HERE to him across the house, leaving her to drown there???? 😂😂😂

FFS, this pool is like... 3 feet deeeeeeep. is there really need for suchhhhhhhhhhhh theatrics? 🙄🙄🙄

looooool omggggggg these twooooooooo. 😂😂😂

also, hottttt dayumm, the way he’s looking at her in the first pic. 😍😍😍

i reaaallllllllly don't care about these two assholes. they could die rn, for all i care.  😒😒😒

HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE GOING TO FEED PRINKU? LIKE... THERE WAS ONE TRAY THERE ALREADY, SHIVAAY CAME WITH THE SECOND, AND NOW JHANVI WITH THE THIRD???? LIKE... COME ON. 😐😐😐

pffffffft, no need to look at her so fondlyyyy jhanvi. save your love for a kid who deserves it. 😒😒😒

omkara, i’m talking about omkara. 😚😚😚

oh, so it was all about just... straightening your knees and standing up then? 🙄🙄🙄

lollllllllll gauri knows the scene's about to get hottttt and heavyyyy. 😂😂😂

"jab terna nahi aata toh paani mein kyun GIRI?" 

who GIROFIES intentionally, stupid singh oberoi???? 🙄🙄🙄

lmaoooo, jhatttt se gauri par ilzaam. remember #girlCode, anika. sisters > your moody misters! 👯🏽👯🏽👯🏽

LMAOOOOOOOOO THESE LITTLE SHITSSSSSSSSS. I LOVE THEMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. 😂😂😂😂😂

ugh nooooooo anikaaa, stop taking the blame for prinku, AGAIN. 😤😤😤

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!!!!!!!!!! SEXXXXXXXXX HERRRRRR UPPPPPPP, IN THE POOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!! 😏😏😏

ugh, why is everything so fucking ORANGE tho? 😣😣😣

coulddddddddd either one of you make a damn move? that would be nice, thanks. 😑😑😑

YAAAAAAAAS, THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUTTTTT! 😏😏😏

HOT WET APOLOGETIC SINGH OBEROI. GIRL, JUST BANGGGG HIM ALREADY. 😘😘😘

siiiiiiiiiiiiiigh. how's she going to leave him NOW???????? 😩😩😩

ohhhhhh hot daaaaaayummmm. #theyGonnaBang 👉🏽👌🏽👉🏽👌🏽👉🏽👌🏽

OMFGGGGGGGGGG WHAT THE FUCKINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG 😧😧😧😦😧😧😧😧

also lmaooooooooooo, she wore it on TOP of what she's wearing now. 😂😂😂

(whichhhhh was alreadyyyy sexier than this weird pink frou frou thing. 😐😐😐)

ALSO HOW THE F AM I SUPPOSED TO WAIT TILL MONDAY NOWWWW OMFGGGGGGGGGGGG 😱😱😱😱

[blackjackkent]

Wandered Rakha around the rest of the tiefling party. She's not overly interested in a ton of interaction with the tieflings themselves (because she's still pretty worried she's going to lash out at them).

It's weird not having Rolan and his siblings here. :(

Rakha mostly hangs around with her companions.

Chatted with Shadowheart about how she never expected to care about the refugees or want to help them - that she was trained not to focus on anything that distracted from Shar. Rakha feels pretty odd about that too; she isn't particularly good at altruism, yet, but she recognizes that they did a good thing for these people, even if the beast's bloodthirst was involved half the time. (I had to reload because I accidentally had Rakha agree to share some wine with her, because I thought she meant just sharing a drink while they were chatting, but she actually meant the cutscene wine later where you can make out with her, and all the other companions started talking about how cute we looked together. XD LEAVE ME ALONE I HAD A NICE MOMENT WITH WYLL AND THAT'S ALL THAT'S HAPPENING.)

Astarion is, as usual, having a terrible time at the party. Rakha kind of doesn't blame him, but they had a nice moment of connection thinking about all the goblins they killed. Astarion tried to come onto her and suggested they find each other after the party, which she found kind of baffling and shut him down directly. He got grumpy about it. She decides it was probably the wine talking and moves on.

Lae'zel is ABSOLUTELY acting like a spurned lover and I feel bad for finding it quite funny - not because she's clearly upset (I love Lae'zel far too much for that) but because Rakha is SO fucking confused about it. Lae'zel> "I have seen the kith'raki tear a screaming neogi's legs from its belly to fashion into blades. Yet they could not match your nerve today. It was enough to drive me to madness. I smell their blood on you still. I smell your moisture. How torturous for us both that I'll never get a taste. Oh, but do enjoy yourself this night. I intend to, myself." Rakha, inwardly> Look, I respect and trust you more than basically anyone in camp and I don't know how we got onto such completely different pages on this, but also WHAT are you talking about?

Gale told Rakha about Tara - how he locked himself in his tower in a depressive haze after his failure with the orb, and how Tara helped him discover the treatment and find magical items to help him. He says she would be proud of them for helping the tieflings. Rakha... frankly doesn't much care what Gale's cat would think of her, but it does make her think more about Wyll telling her he was proud of her, earlier in the evening. (He also went down the dialogue pathway of talking about how phenomenal she is and stuff like that - the romance setup. I had Rakha basically tell him it's not happening, but realistically I don't think, for her story, that that part of the conversation happened at all; she and Gale are cautious allies and definitely connected over some things today, but neither of them feels that way about each other.)

Karlach, as usual, is just a total sweetheart about the whole thing. She's incredibly excited about seeing the refugees safe, about her own freedom, about her friendship with Rakha and the others. Rakha is considerably less effusive... but Karlach has, in her own way, had almost as much of an effect on her as Lae'zel and Wyll have, purely by virtue of how her kindness comes as naturally to her as breathing.

Narrator: The buzz of celebration quiets to a soothing hum as you approach your bunk. You've picked up a few pleasant memories on your journey, amongst your struggles.

Go to bed, hoping to dream of Wyll.

Narrator: Somewhere, in the corner of your heart, you suspect he might be dreaming of you too.

-----

When bedtime rolls around, I think Rakha asks the others to post a guard over her. It's been a good night, and the beast has quieted since her interaction with Wyll... but she doesn't trust it and has no reason to. And for once she is absolutely determined that she will not spill blood tonight.

In the end, Lae'zel keeps watch the whole night, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on Rakha as she sleeps. Wyll tries to take over from her halfway to morning and she snarls at him and tells him she has the matter handled.