A week had passed since her trip to the swamp, and Cordelia was itching to go back so badly. They had managed to heal Nan's wound for the time being, but they had no idea when their enemies would attack them again.

With her sight, Cordelia felt more powerful, more in control. She even went as far as to blame her mother for having provoked Marie Laveau, which the Supreme shrugged off with an arrogant snort. It was obvious to everyone's eyes the Supreme wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice anyone in order to protect herself.

She found herself walking in the swamp, searching for someone even though there was no clue where to look. The only hope was the necklace, as she later had figured out, that her healer had left. Cordelia somehow felt confident that she would find the owner of the accessory here.

It was a rather cloudy day, ground muddier than usual due to the rain last night. Although in the middle of the summer, the marsh gave her goosebumps. She was feeling ambivalent; something was highly alarming about this place, but her feet couldn't stop going further and deeper.

Just as she stopped to wipe sweat off her forehead, she thought she'd heard a gunshot. Guessing from the sound, it couldn't be that far. The closer she got, the faster her heart beat against her ribcage.

###

Somewhere near the water, a man, who appeared to be a poacher, was surrounded by huge alligators. Frightened, he desperately resisted by shooting at them, but the gators were greater in numbers. As soon as the human ran out of bullets, they climbed up him like a tree.

The girl with untamed curls slowly walked to the mountain of gators, observing the scene as the screams of the man died. Her hair humbly danced in the wind, while the pale blue eyes watched his limbs torn apart. There was nothing but contempt in her eyes.

Another man sneaked up behind her with a gun in his hands. His hand clutched the weapon tightly, before pointing it at the back of the girl's head.

###

Cordelia heard another gunshot, from somewhere very close. Walking at a faster speed, she nervously sought the source of the sound. Her nerves were on edge; something was happening at the swamp that she wouldn't like.

When she finally came to a small open field, she saw a bunch of alligators eating and dragging two humans into the water. The predators were enormous, and their teeth were as sharp as gardening shears. Hiding behind a tree, the woman attempted to regulate her breathing. She imagined they could somehow hear her heartbeat from feet away.

She shifted her gaze to the object left behind on the ground. It was…a human, with her chest weakly moving up and down. Cordelia's eyes widened, and she ran to the person, ignoring her rationality screaming about the gators. But to her surprise and relief, none of the animals showed a sign of hostility toward her. The girl was lying on her back, and Cordelia's mismatched eyes spotted the blood-stained stomach. Her pool of blood was getting larger slowly, and the woman knew the girl would die if left untreated.

Gathering her physical strength, Cordelia lifted the body in order to secure their safety. The body in her arms was strangely light and limp. The wild curls with its unique scent of green touched Cordelia's nose, and she knew it smelled familiar. She had smelt that when she got attacked here a week ago. Could it be that the girl in her arms was her healer, and now she was the one healing her?

The alchemist left the girl under a grand tree after treating the wound. The bullet had gone through her body, which meant no struggle to get it out. All she could do at the moment was to wait for her to wake up. So the woman had decided to wander around the marsh more to look at the flora and fauna.

When she came back with her pockets full of rare plants, she saw the girl awake.

Cordelia smiled as she strolled toward her. There was something about the way the girl blended in the nature so perfectly, making her look almost surreal. Someone from a different world, perhaps.

The wild blonde touched her abdomen, where the blood stain remained, only to find out it had been healed.

At the sound of a twig snapped into two under Cordelia's weight, her eyes quickly moved from the wound to the woman standing in front of her. She got on her feet with the ferocity of an animal, glaring at the woman.

"It's fine. I'm not going to hurt you," Cordelia ensured, timidly with her hands held up in the air.

The wild blonde kept baring her teeth at her. She stood there with her knuckles on her sides, shoulders tense, in the same manner of an angry ape.

Cordelia kept staring at her in the eye, although somewhat intimidated by the animalistic reaction from the other. But she knew, somewhere in her heart, that she wouldn't hurt her. A wounded animal might try to attack those who try to offer help, but it could differentiate the harmful and the harmless in no time.

So she took a step closer, earning a hiss from the feral girl. Yet, as soon as the girl noticed Cordelia's eyes, all her aggression vanished instantaneously. Cordelia smiled and stepped closer until she could see the hues of the girl's eyes. The girl was slightly taller than Cordelia, and perhaps younger.

The alchemist reached to lift the girl's shirt to take a look at the wound underneath it. To her surprise, the girl let her. Her body was still rigid, probably due to the unaccustomed proximity, but she didn't run or push Cordelia away. The wound was starting to heal, and if the girl was cooperative, it would be fully healed by the next week.

The mismatched eyes looked up. "How are you feeling?" she softly asked, though she wasn't sure of the girl's ability to speak. She hadn't heard her voice yet.

"Are you hungry?" the older woman asked another question. She dug up her purse, and held a small package. "Here."

Looking at the mysterious thing and the woman with mismatched eyes, the feral girl stayed motionless.

At the suspicion evident in the baby blue eyes, Cordelia's grin grew bigger. "It's a protein bar."

Still, the younger woman didn't speak. She was determined not to touch that thing as equally as Cordelia was patient with her. But their silent battle came to an end when the girl abruptly started to walk away.

"Wait." The girl moved so quickly that the only thing Cordelia could to stop her was to grab her wrist.

The girl span around, hissing at her again. But Cordelia didn't flinch, nor did she let go of the wrist. There was so much unsolved and unanswered. She couldn't just let her go, could she? Their exchange of silence continued, as if both of them were transfixed by the intensity of it.

It was the girl who looked away first. The blue eyes awkwardly stared at the ground. It was as though she couldn't endure the gaze of the woman longer than a second or two.

The expression of the other gave Cordelia an ache in her heart for an unknown reason. They had only known each other for an hour, and she didn't even know what the girl's voice sounded like. And yet, Cordelia was feeling sentimental, so riveted by the odd girl with her clothes covered in blood and dirt.

The alchemist had been in love before, both with males and females. But this feeling, it was something different from lust and desire. It felt like her soul had been longing for the other.

"We've met before, haven't we?" the older blonde whispered.

Slowly letting go of the girl while sticking the unwanted protein bar in a pocket, she reached for the back of her neck to undo the necklace. On her palm, the charm glimmered in a greenish golden color under the sun.

"This is yours, isn't it? You left it when you healed my blind eyes."

No answer. The girl merely glanced at the accessory, before her eyes went back Cordelia.

There seemed to be no use trying to have a conversation with her, the alchemist figured. So she offered a smile and held the necklace closer to the other, wishing for her to take it.

"Keep it," the girl spoke. "You'll need it."

Her voice was lower than Cordelia had imagined. It was like a voice of a lioness coming out from an eagle. But somehow it fit her so perfectly.

While the alchemist was left speechless, the girl started to walk away once more.

"Wait," Cordelia begged almost too frantically. "I'm Cordelia. What is your name?"

The girl gave her no answer. "Don't come here again."

With that, the wild blonde disappeared deeper into the wetland, leaving Cordelia with the necklace and the fragile muddy scent of hers.