Some swearing coming up, including a couple of f bombs.

That cut ended up needing a couple of stitches, but overall wasn't serious. The other attacking Descendants of Pitch had disappeared not long after Paura had. I had to quickly retrieve my ear piece to avoid mentioning Paura and spun a story at being a bit too pre-occupied to report back on the radio. When asked about the blood I said I punched someone in the face and they bled on me. The best lie is a half truth after all.

Life got back to normal, busy as hell. HOG, bookshop, my own training, and being a mother. It was a miracle I had time to eat and sleep, as always.

Even better, I got the impression the whole week after the incident with Paura that I was being watched whenever I wasn't in the HOG base or the meeting place.

I wasn't the only one, Taboo would randomly growl at shadows, and when I asked her, the response was always the same.

"They've gone." She'd sigh.

Finally, I was at the lake when I'd decided I'd had enough.

"Why are you stalking me?" I asked point blank, while sitting with my legs crossed in the middle of frozen lake.

"I'm deciding whether to stab you in the back or not."

"From that tone, I don't know whether to take you seriously or not." I said, with a half smirk.

"Well, I've had enough opportunities to kill you." Paura stepped out of the shadows on the side of the lake I was facing, but didn't step onto the lake itself. "At this point it's out of my system."

"That's good. I quite like being alive." I responded. "So, now what?"

Paura shrugged. "I'm not sure. I hadn't realised how much time obsessing over revenge takes up."

"Any new hobbies in mind? Unless you want to take up murder?"

"Like I would tell you!" Paura laughed, a surprisingly non evil laugh. "You're a Head, you could have me exiled for that!" Paura tilted her head to one side, laughter fading from her face. "I'm surprised you haven't already."

"I lied on the official report." I admitted. "I didn't think exile would do you any good."

"That's the point isn't it?"

I put my hands in my hoodie pocket. "If you were exiled that would have left you free to come after me again, with no consequences unless you were found. And if I was the one who got you exiled then you would have even more of a reason to hate me."

Paura shrugged. "Can't argue with that. I'll also not mention the lying to anyone."

"Thanks, although you're more likely to get in more trouble from it than me."

"Yeah, although I don't know if anyone back home would mind if you died."

"The only Descendant of Pitch who would is already dead."

"Oh yeah, her. Weird one she was." Paura suddenly paused, and sighed. "Um, I'm... I'm sorry that I used her to try and kill you, back in Melbourne. I can understand that freakout."

I groaned, running a hand over my face and under glasses. "I really didn't want to remember that."

"You looked utterly psycho!" Paura laughed.

"Please don't." It was another subject of my nightmares.

"Sorry, jeez. Didn't think you'd be so touchy. I should be the one touchy about that, that was an embarrassing defeat."

I looked up again and Paura was looking down at the ground, which was still carpeted with leaves.

"...Yeah, she was a bit odd." I agreed, ignoring Melbourne for now. "Comes with the territory."

"Don't know why she liked you so much." Paura scoffed. "I bet you didn't know anything about her."

"She didn't like to talk about it." I shrugged.

"Don't blame her. It's not a nice story. Maybe I'll tell you. Maybe I won't."

"Do you have to be so mysterious?"

"I've got to get my kicks somehow with you. Now that I no longer plan on killing you."

I chuckled morbidly, then tapped my knee with my fingers as I thought about something that had been bothering me.

"In that list of yours, you didn't mention Samuel." I stated. "I can understand not mentioning Pete, he was a Descendant of Lupine, but wasn't Samuel your leader?"

Paura snorted. "Samuel was a dick. An unstable dick. How he got to control the North America sector is beyond me. It was his plan that got Tetro killed, and his decision to do the ambush in Pitch's lair, and we all know how that went. So, no I didn't mind too much when he died."

She looked right at me. "I figured it was something to do with you for years. The ice gave it away, but unless you'd gone full Hannibal Lector, you didn't kill them. It was only when I found about that tiger did it click."

"I'm surprised you know who Hannibal Lector is." I said. "I thought you guys didn't interact with normal humans?"

"Believe it or not, we have an internet connection. How else do we find out about creepy pastas?"

"...What now?"

"Slenderman? Jeff the Killer? Ben Drowned? These are classics!"

"I know the first one." I admitted.

Paura laughed again. "Wow, the person who actually lives in the world with the rest of humanity, and I'm the one who knows what a creepy pasta is?"

"You think I care?"

"You probably don't do you? Too busy, being married with kids."

"Why do bring that up?" I asked suspiciously. "Not worrying about that yourself?"

"Working on it. I'm a little jealous to be honest."

"Well, that's your new hobby. Get a guy or girl."

Paura chuckled. "I guess that could work, the Frica line commands respect. Even if one is dead, the other one was obsessed with revenge for 15 odd years, and we have a reputation for being a bit pretentious."

"Well, that's not my problem."

"No, it isn't."

We fell into silence, then Paura pushed herself off the tree she was leaning on and started pacing, still not going within touching distance of the lake.

"Look, here's the thing. You're a Descendant of a Guardian, I'm a Descendant of Pitch. You and me, we're enemies. I've wanted you dead for over a decade and I doubt you've been that fond of me. And here we are, having lovely chat about nothing!"

I nodded. "I think we can both agree that there's too much history for us to become friends. I'd be constantly watching my back for one thing."

Paura scowled back at me, clearly no longer in the mood for jokes.

"How much clearer can I make it? We're on opposite sides, and I know you've pissed off Pitch before, so I won't be surprised if he decides he doesn't want you sticking your nose in and gets us to do the dirty work."

"You don't have to get involved with that."

"I can't tell everyone that I bottled out!" she cried. "If the option comes up to kill you, I'm going to be the first person they turn to!"

"Okay, okay. We can't be friends, but we don't have to enemies."

"Why are you so chummy? I tried to kill you!"

"I suppose breaking your nose isn't quite appropriate, but you'd be amazed how quickly I can sweep something like that under the rug." I said with a nonchalant shrug.

Paura shook her head in disbelief. "You're mad."

"Thank you Captain Obvious."

"Darkness, you're not even denying it! What is wrong with you?"

"Mostly PTSD and sleep deprivation."

Paura shook her head in disbelief. "Insane, absolutely fucking insane."

"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"You don't swear?"

"I have 3 infant kids, one of whom is starting to talk."

"Alright, alright. So, to get your train of thought, you know that we can't really be friends, and you don't want to be enemies. So, I'll humour you, what do you suggest?"

"A form of light hearted rivalry?"

"What?"

"That's what we do anyway? Come on, those raids are really just training exercises for both sides, not actual raids." I reasoned. "Might liven them up a bit, instead of standing on a roof or patrolling an empty town for hours until dawn."

Paura sighed. "Alright, having a contact in HOG might be useful."

"And same for me." I said standing up. "So, deal? No more trying to kill each other?"

"And settling for rivals? Fine, if it'll get you to shut up." Paura held out her to shake. I tilted my head to one side, then went over to shake on it.

Paura let go pretty quickly. "Alright, now that, this, has happened, I'm off. See you around you crazy fucker."

"Language!" I said as she turned around with one hand raised in farewell.

"You're not my mother." Paura replied, sounding somewhat amused before disappearing into the shadows.

Something like this has mentally been in the works for a while, I've been wanting to redeem and develop Paura's character a bit more for ages, but was hoping to do it as part of a larger story. In the end, it got it's own 3 part series. I somehow doubt anyone's complaining, I know I'm not.