I'm back! Greece was amazing, thanks to all of you who wished me well! I've actually been back for about two weeks now, so I'm sorry this took so long. I came back to my manager taking me aside to talk about my job performance after I'd been back at work for all of two days. I think SOMEONE'S jealous I got to take a two week vacation when I've only been there a couple months. Oh well, the trip was planned and paid for before I even started there, so I wasn't going to give it up. But anyway, I've been looking for a new job - this was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak.
But you don't care about my personal life, you only care about the story, and now it's back! I know I promised there would likely be two chapter before they got to the North Pole. But, like I said before, when I sat down to write them it just didn't work. They felt really filler-y and there wasn't much actually going on except for at the very end. I finally gave up and combined them, cutting out the filler-y stuff, and now you have this nice, long chapter. Enjoy!
The Avatar and his friends may have gone, but they were still surrounded by enemies, in a sense. The nuns slowly crept from their shelter under the awning, lifting their hems up out of the perfume puddles. They looked at the fallen hunting party with a mixture of curiosity and anger, coming closer and closer as they grew more and more confident.
Asuni's fingers tried desperately to flex, to command the water around her, but nothing happened.
"Stay back!" she snapped at them. It was an empty threat. She was utterly helpless right now, and so was Zuko. The idea drove her crazy. The only way she was protecting him now was that anyone who attacked him would have to strike through her first. "I don't want to hurt any of you, but I will if I have to!"
She felt Zuko's eyes burning a hole in her face as she tried to let off a warning burst of darts. Her fingers twitched, but it wasn't enough.
"Asuni…" he muttered. Asuni's eyes flicked to look at him.
"Yes, my prince?" she whispered back.
"The way you fought was like…"
"My dear cook, they are nuns. They won't kill us. It would go against their vows," Iroh broke in, trying to reassure her.
"He is correct," said Mother Superior, stepping forwards. "It is against our vows to harm any living creature."
"Well you harmed my shirshu!" June shouted angrily. Her body gave a spasm as she tried to get up, the toxin in her blood stopping her. Iroh suppressed a grin from his position under her.
"It will recover," the nun said, but she didn't look entirely sure.
"Uncle," Zuko said, staring at the general. "I didn't see you get hit by the tongue."
Iroh was very lucky he couldn't see June's face, because Asuni was quite sure that she could currently melt flesh with her glare.
Mother Superior pulled her hands from her sleeves, a small vial clutched in one hand. She held it to her chest and asked, "If I revive you, will you leave here with no further damage to us or our home?"
Asuni's eyes darted to Zuko. If it were her, she'd agree immediately and take her leave. But it was ultimately Zuko's decision and he was notorious about not accepting help. It seemed that even he understood how helpless they were though, because he mustered a sharp nod.
"Then we will help," the nun said, stepping forwards and kneeling next to Zuko. She unstoppered the vial with wrinkled hands and held it under Zuko's nose. He inhaled deeply and felt his muscles begin to unloosen. Experimentally he wiggled his toes, rolled his ankles and shoulders, and then curled his fingers.
Asuni could feel him heating up with embarrassment as he realized his position before he scrambled out from under her and got to his feet.
Mother Superior gave Zuko a thoroughly unimpressed look. He quickly averted his eyes, crossing his arms across his chest. She took pity on Asuni, waving the vial under her nose next. Asuni sighed in relief as her muscles uncoiled. She raised her hands over her head and stretched out along the ground, her back letting out a series of pops. Satisfied, she got to her feet, rolling her head to pop her neck.
Mother Superior moved over to June and Iroh next, and Asuni sidled over to Zuko. He was studiously glaring at a cobblestone a few feet to his left. He cleared his throat as she came closer.
"About… that. I didn't mean to-"
"Not a problem," Asuni said shortly, crossing her arms over her chest. Zuko's eyes flicked to her face and away.
"I just meant-"
"Seriously, don't mention it."
Zuko nodded, looking slightly relieved as June got to her feet, spitting out enough curses to make even a sailor blush. Certainly the nuns were scandalized, a few of them outright gasping as she continued to rant colorfully.
Iroh climbed to his feet as Mother Superior waved the vial under his nose – rolling her eyes the whole time.
"You!" June shouted, pointing at Zuko and Iroh thunderously. "You Fire Nation bastards got me mixed up in this! Thanks to you sons of bitches my Nyla's run off and is probably scared out of his mind and doesn't know where he is or what's going on or-"
"Peace," Iroh said soothingly, placing a hand on her shoulder. June shoved it off, muttering, "Old pervert," under her breath.
"We'll help you find your shirshu," Iroh assured her.
"Uncle!" Zuko protested sharply. "The Avatar-"
"Will keep," Iroh assured him.
"She's right," Asuni admitted. "It's our fault that her shirshu is gone and that it got… perfumed in the face."
Zuko scowled, fists clenching, but even he had to admit that they were right.
"Fine," he grunted, and turned towards the gate, which was still gaping open on broken hinges.
"There, see?" Iroh announced brightly. He turned to the assembled nuns and bowed deeply. "We'll get out of your hair now. If there's anything we can do-"
As one, the nuns seemed to raise their hands and point towards the ruined gate. "Get out!" they ordered.
Iroh winced. "Ah hah. Yes, we can do that."
Under the glares of a few dozen angry nuns they all took off for the gate, venturing around the side of the abbey to the spot where Nyla went over the wall.
"I think I know which way he went," Asuni said, pointing to a path made of downed trees and trampled brush. Some trunks had lash marks on the bark from the shirshu's tongue.
"Poor baby," June cooed as she hustled along the path. She shot glared at the Firebenders. "If my shirshu's hurt, I'm gonna do worse to you."
Asuni pointed to herself. "Not me?"
"Nah. Like I said, Chef, I like you. Also, you work for those idiots, so you don't have a choice."
Asuni sighed. "They're not really idiots. And we will find your shirshu," she promised.
And they did, after walking a full mile through the trees. The shirshu seemed to have accidentally hit itself with its own tongue, because when they found him, he was twitching spasmodically under a tree at the end of a long gouge in the dirt where it seemed to have slid to a stop against the trunk.
"Nyla!" June cried, and threw herself onto her shirshu's neck, showering the whimpering shirshu's face in kisses. "My poor baby! Did you hurt yourself? Aw, Nyla…" She whipped around, standing up and cracking her knuckles. Rage fairly rolled off of her as she took a step closer to Zuko and Iroh. "Like I said…" she began, curling her hands into fists.
"Wait!" Asuni said, throwing herself in front of Zuko. "I can help!"
June looked at her skeptically. "What're you going to do?"
"Waterbenders can heal injuries. If I tried, I'm sure I could get the toxin out too," Asuni offered.
"With what water?" June asked pointedly, gesturing to the empty forest around them.
Asuni raised her arms, spinning them in a wide circle. Water leeched from the trees and grass and into the air, turning the flora brown and brittle. June's eyes widened, and she stepped away from her shirshu, leaving the way clear for Asuni
"Hold his mouth shut," Asuni advised as she moved closer to the shirshu. "If he hits me with his tongue again, I'm going to be miffed."
"Something wrong nephew?" Iroh asked, idling closer to Zuko as Asuni knelt by the shirshu and began to sweep the water up and down its body, searching for injuries and gathering the toxin in its blood. June was all but lying on the shirshu's face, her arms and legs holding its massive jaws shut.
"I didn't realize she could do that," Zuko said, reaching out to prod the trunk of a dead tree. The bark crumbled under his touch and he jerked his hand back.
"Ah, yes," Iroh nodded grimly. "One of the less popular sources of water among Waterbenders, but one they can still use. There are even old stories about Waterbenders who could manipulate blood in the human body, turning people into puppets."
Zuko looked at his uncle, disgusted. "Can she-?"
Iroh chuckled. "Oh, the art died out centuries ago!"
"Quiet please," Asuni requested tartly, sweat breaking out on her brow. "This is a little difficult."
She was slowly tracking down every bit of the paralytic in the shirshu's bloodstream and pulling it towards the cut in its shoulder where it had originally gone in. When she had it all, she pulled one hand back from the glowing mass of water over the cut. Toxic blood seeped out of the wound and into the water. With another wave of her hand, Asuni healed the cut. She tossed the tainted water aside, where it splashed harmlessly into the dirt.
June leaned away from Nyla, but the animal still didn't stand up. He just lay in the dirt, whimpering and shaking his head.
"Something's still wrong," June said, concerned. "He won't get up."
Asuni sidled around the shirshu's body. It whimpered pitifully as she knelt down in front of its nose, observing it.
"I think it's the perfume," Asuni reasoned. "It's still on his fur and in his nose." She reached out her hands and began pulling them back towards her over and over, siphoning perfume from the shirshu's fur and nostrils. When she was finished, she had a blob about the size of a small puddle floating in front of her. Asuni carefully moved it away and dropped it several yards from the shirshu's sensitive nose.
"He should be okay no-" she began. The shirshu leapt to its feet, landing with a thud, tail making loud wooshing sounds as it swept through the air. Its large nose bumped into Asuni, knocking her over as it snuffled at her.
"Hey!" Zuko protested, stepping forwards with blazing hands to roast the animal before it crushed Asuni. Iroh caught his arm, stopping him short.
"Prince Zuko, look closer," the old man encouraged. Zuko looked again and realized that Asuni was smiling as the shirshu sniffed her clothes and hair. It almost seemed… affectionate as it nudged her with his nose.
"Nyla!" June cried happily, flinging herself against her shirshu and hugging it tight around the chest. "You're okay!"
The shirshu stepped back from Asuni and turned its head, nuzzling against June happily.
"Thanks, Chef!" June said genuinely as she rubbed the shirshu fondly. "I was really worried about my snookums there for a second."
"I think he'll be okay," Asuni said, getting to her feet and swatting the dirt from her skirt. "A real bath might not be a bad idea though," she advised. "With lots of soap."
The shirshu's tail wagged faster, like it liked the idea of a good scrub. June scratched it behind the ears and it let out a whine of pleasure. "Good boy," June cooed, and turned to Asuni. "Well Chef. Looks like Nyla and I owe you a favor."
Asuni blinked, raising her eyebrows. "No, it's not a problem, really."
"Seriously," June said, and going by her face, she meant it. "You patched Nyla off and you could have just left him. If you ever need help… look me up." June smirked, offering her hand to Asuni.
Asuni smiled, taking her hand and giving a firm shake. She and June both tugged the other closer, patting each other on the back heartily. Zuko raised an eyebrow. He'd only ever seen men hug like that.
The two women released each other and June gave Asuni's hair a parting ruffle. Asuni scowled, sticking out her tongue as she pushed the strands back into place.
"See you around Chef, Angry Boy, Uncle Pervert," June said, raising her hand in farewell as she swung onto her shirshu. With a crack of her whip and a shake of the reins, she was off, thundering through the trees on Nyla.
"Bye June!" Asuni called, waving at her back. She gave a sigh and turned back to face the Firebenders, who were both staring at her.
"I think you made a friend," Iroh said, amused.
Zuko shook his head. "She's a bounty hunter, Asuni. I don't want you going anywhere near her."
Asuni scowled. "I am a grown woman, my prince."
"Maybe," Zuko allowed. "But you saw the sort of places where she was spending her time."
Asuni smiled slightly. "My prince," she asked slyly, "are you under the impression that I've never been to a bar before?"
Zuko blinked. "Er… haven't you?"
Asuni pressed a hand over her mouth, smothering giggles. "Prince Zuko," she said slowly. "I could drink you and your crew under the table."
Her giggles turned into full-bodied laughs as she stared at Zuko's startled face. It didn't help that foggy memories drifted up of the time Hikari had convinced Eiji to bring her to a bar one night when she was twelve. On the record, it was a chance for Asuni to prove her skill at disguise by ordering drinks when she was under-aged. Off the books, Hikari wanted to give Eiji a heart attack and figured that corrupting the general's daughter in front of him was a good way to do it.
All in all, it was a great night, she recalled. It began with Hikari giving her a stern lecture on how to keep her drink from getting drugged and how to drug someone else's drink. From there it descended in Eiji giving a surprising lecture on how to stay sober while engaging in arm wrestling matches. They ended the night with Hikari drunkenly kissing Eiji and then promptly passing out in his lap.
While Asuni was laughing, Zuko wasn't quite as amused. He was surprised by the idea of Asuni in a bar. She may seem innocent and friendly most of the time, but he knew she had a pronounced mischievous streak. But that wasn't what threw him, not really. It was the way she'd said it, the tone of her voice and the dips and nuances of it. It was familiar to him.
They were perched on the wall of the Puhai Stronghold, peering through the crenellations in the guardrail. She was crouched, only a little strip of her mask illuminated. He stared down at Zhao on his balcony, giving his grand speech to the troops gathered below feeling the rage fill him.
"I hate him," he whispered.
He could see out of the corner of his eye as she turned to look at him, one hand coming up absently to brace against the wall and her sleeve sliding back. He heard a soft 'ha' of laughter come out from beneath the mask and then a sly suggestion.
"If you'd like, I could arrange to have him killed."
The voice was different, but the sound of it, the nuances, it was the same. Asuni sounded the same when she was teasing as the woman in black. She fought the same, she sounded the same in some ways, and she…
He could see out of the corner of his eye as she turned to look at him, one hand coming up absently to brace against the wall and her sleeve sliding back.
Her skin. In that brief little glimpse it was revealed. He could see the color, but he'd never registered it consciously. She wasn't pale like a native Fire Nation woman. She didn't have the tanned skin of an Earth Kingdom native either. No, her skin was the smooth mocha sort of color of the Water Tribe.
Just. Like. Asuni.
Zuko stared at Asuni as she stood in front of him. Her hand was up, covering her mouth still, blue eyes glowing with delight at the look on his face. Her stance was relaxed but ready, he noticed for the first time. She stood as if she was ready to move in any direction at any moment. For the first time he really, seriously considered the idea that maybe, just maybe…
"My prince?"
Zuko jerked out of his thoughts, looking back at Asuni. Her hand was lowered, her head cocked to the side as she stared at him curiously. Her eyes were wide with interest and concern as she asked, "Are you alright?"
Could someone who looked like that really be the vicious, unforgiving fighter he'd stood beside? The idea was ridiculous in theory, but at the same time…
"Yes, I'm fine," Zuko said sharply. "We need to get back to the boat."
"That shirshu did bring us a decent piece away," Asuni agreed, looking around.
"Then I suggest we start walking!" Iroh said brightly.
A single candle illuminated Asuni's room. It was ridiculously late, she could tell because her eyes were starting to lower, and she was used to staying up late to train. The words on the scroll she'd been pouring over for the past few hours were starting to blur and become unreadable. She let out a huge yawn and stretched her arms up above her, letting out a content sigh.
Asuni rolled up the scroll and deposited it back into her cubby. She shut the door and reached for the candle, ready to blow it out. That was when she heard the door to the kitchen open. She glanced over her shoulder, surprised. Zuko was the only one that visited this late, but he hadn't been by in a while. She suspected it probably had to do with the awkward way they ended up at the abbey nearly a week ago.
Since then, conversation between herself and Zuko had been a little stilted, and now he was showing up at her door at… what, one in the morning?
Asuni paused by the door between her room and the kitchen and grabbed a wide shawl off of her bed, dragging it over her shoulders to cover herself a little more.
"My prince," she greeted softly as she opened the door and stepped out. Zuko was sitting at the table, the fire from the oven flickering on his skin eerily. He nodded to her but didn't say anything, just stared at the flames.
Asuni moved to the stove to heat some water from tea, just as usual. But something made her think that this wasn't an 'as usual' sort of visit. Zuko was quiet, but there was a tenseness to his shoulders. The kitchen was silent as the water boiled. The kettle whistling was like an explosion. Asuni quickly yanked it off the oven to silence it and prepared a soothing raspberry tea. It was one of her favorites, but she only had one small tin of tea leaves, so she didn't use it often.
Asuni set the tea down beside Zuko and sat down across from him. He reached for the tea cup and picked it up.
"Raspberry," he observed. "That's your favorite, right?"
Asuni blinked. She remembered mentioning that to Iroh once or twice, but she hadn't realized Zuko was listening, or that he cared enough to remember.
"It is," she replied, surprise coloring her tone. Zuko nodded to himself as he took a sip.
"'s good," he muttered, and set the cup down. Asuni held the cup between her hands to warm them and sat for a moment, inhaling the comforting scent. Golden eyes locked on her. Asuni stared back, waiting for whatever it was that Zuko wanted to say.
Zuko stared at the girl across from him. She was small, barely coming up to his shoulder, and she was thin. But he knew that every bit of weight to her was muscle, not fat. She was deceptively strong. Particularly with the way she was now, curled up in a shawl with tea sending spirals of steam up, dancing entrancingly in front of her eyes, she looked quiet and fragile.
But he knew she wasn't. And if he was right, she might be one of the strongest people he'd ever met.
The idea that Asuni could be the woman in black. He'd gone over and over it in his head, ever since that fight at the abbey. That was the moment when he really began to consider the possibility, and then it was like he couldn't stop. Every free moment it seemed like he spent trying to fit all of the pieces together.
At first, the idea that Asuni was a member of a secret military society was laughable. She was his age! But then he thought back, to all that he knew of her and all that he knew of the woman in black, and some things began to line up.
The way they moved, for one. The graceful flow of a Waterbender and a trained fighter. Both women had it, and it wasn't out of place for either. He'd just never considered that the way she moved could have been the result of both, not one or the other until now. And it seemed completely plausible.
And then there was the fact that Asuni knew things that a cook shouldn't. She carried a dagger with her even on the ship like she was constantly on guard, and if she was on board to protect him, then she would be. She knew about the anatomy of animal with paralytic abilities, and she knew how to ride like a pro, and that was only the things he'd observed recently.
Farther back there was a lot out of place. Asuni always seemed to know who they were talking about when a military officer was brought up, despite the fact that your average cook would probably be able to name only two or three generals. She even had expressed her own opinions on a few of them before. And she seemed oddly well-informed on the positions of various ongoing battles as well, and the general political climate. She could simply have an interest in current events, but this was beyond that.
He vividly remembered when she'd presented him with the pirate captain's sword. It was still leaning in a corner of his room, gathering dust. Most servants would have no idea that at the end of a battle it was customary for the general to present the sword of the fallen party's leader to their own leader. Even if they did, they likely wouldn't know how to go about doing it, something Asuni had clearly been aware of.
And then there was her knowledge of herbal medicine. When he'd first come down she'd prepared the aloe and lavender for him like it was second nature. He could understand cooks knowing things about burns, but he'd seen her patch up cuts and bruises before as well if, for whatever reason, she didn't heal with water. Even broken bones and some illnesses didn't seem beyond her.
And her Waterbending, that was another thing. No matter what she said about being self-taught, no matter how many times she may have snuck into the palace library to read old scrolls, you didn't get to be as good as she was without some kind of real training. The kind you got from another master, not from the pages of a book or a few diagrams in a scroll.
Then there were little things she did that were characteristic of a fighter. Her reflexes, the way she'd caught the cup that fell that first night before it could spill much. The way she stood sometimes, utterly straight and tall as if a pole was welded to her spine. Perfect military posture. Even the way she gripped her knives when she cooked was subtly more reminiscent of someone getting ready to slash a person's throat than someone cutting vegetables, not that Zuko's coking experience was extensive.
There were things that had happened too. Like when he'd come back from the temple on Crescent Island, Asuni had a smudge of ash on his wrist. And as much as she might say it was from the stove, she had the faint odor of heat and volcanic ash lingering on her when he really thought about it. And when he went back on their conversation he couldn't remember her ever outright denying that she was in fact the woman in black when he asked.
It would make sense of one of the biggest mysteries about the woman in black outside of her identity: how was the always in the right place at the right time? If she was travelling with him, it wouldn't be a problem. At any time she could check and see where he was and if he was safe. When his boat had launched to bring them ashore, she could have easily slipped inside. Going over the side of the ship was not a problem for her, because water was her element. She could swim under it, unseen, for miles without difficulty.
And Asuni's loyalty…
It took his breath away sometimes. The absolute patriotism she held, her devotion to the Fire Nation no matter what was said against it, no matter what they did, even when it was a fellow Waterbender speaking against her. That was the kind of loyalty the legends all said that the Royal Guards had: unwavering, unshakeable.
And her own personal loyalty to him. If she had been assigned here to protect him like the woman in black had said, then she would definitely be loyal. There were times she'd seemed ready to give her life for him. For a cook that seemed incredibly strange, but for a Royal Guard member who'd sworn to protect him at all costs? It made a lot more sense.
"The woman in black," he said slowly, watching her intently. He was tense as he waited for any kind of reaction. A slight flinch, a tightening of her fingers around the cup. But aside from a blink that could have been caused by anything from the abrupt topic to dry eyes, he got nothing. If she was the woman in black, then she was an amazing actress.
"What about her?" Asuni asked absently, but inside she was tense as a bowstring, internally screaming not now not now!
Zuko took a deep breath and continued, "I asked once before… but you never answered, not really."
Asuni's eyebrows went up innocently as she took a sip of her tea. "Asked what?"
"Is it you?"
Asuni froze. Her innocent expression suddenly felt like a mask, not her actual face. Zuko saw all of this. He could actually watch as her entire demeanor shifted with that question. Her polite smile faded in a thin line. The innocent raise of her eyebrows vanished. In fact, her eyes seemed to dim. Her eyelids became hooded as she lowered her cup to the table with a slight thunk. Her shoulders squared and her back straightened almost imperceptibly.
Gone was the happy-go-lucky cook. All traces of amusement that usually glimmered in her eyes had been replaced by professionalism and pragmatism. It was like a blow to the gut to watch the change occur.
Zuko understood that now that he had asked her directly, she had no way to lie. She couldn't redirect him this time, she couldn't change the subject. Asuni had to answer, and she knew it.
Really, her change in expression was proof enough, to some extent. But it still wasn't the solid yes or no he craved to hear. Zuko needed a definite, no more theories, no more guesswork, no more reading between the lines.
Asuni opened her mouth. She was caught, there was no other word for it. She would have to tell Lo Shen – she would have to report that her cover had been blown. Her first big mission… she'd lasted two years, but when it came down to it… she had failed. The shame, the embarrassment, that she would feel when she finally returned to the capitol were already beginning to well up inside of her. She felt the prick of tears at her eyes, but quickly forced them down.
And oddly enough, it wasn't just the idea of how the Royal Guards would react that was making her want to cry. It was the way Zuko was looking at her now – like he was sizing up a stranger, like he didn't know her. All familiarity and warmth seemed to have been sucked from the room, replaced with such suspicion it made her breathless for a moment.
It had seemed to her that they had become something like friends. Maybe they didn't always get along – their arguments were nearly legendary on board – but they were at the very least friendly. She teased him gently and he had whiled away countless hours talking to her in this very kitchen. Now all of that rapport that she had worked – and not even really worked, it had been a pleasure to get to know the prince – for two years to build was erased, like a teacher wiping clean a chalkboard after class.
But she had to answer him.
And so she did. Asuni gave her answer carefully, giving every word the weight it deserved. "I will answer your question," she said slowly. "But you have to answer one of mine first… Do you really want to know?"
Zuko opened his mouth to snap out an affirmative, to yell that yes he did want to know, so she should stop wasting time… But then he paused.
Did he really want to know? Did he want to give up the relationship he'd built with the cook and trade it for the necessary comradeship of a bodyguard? The kitchen had been his sanctuary on board this ship for two years, and its master had been his confidant. Did he honestly want to give that up now, now that he knew his goal wasn't hopeless, now that he needed someone to sit calmly while he ranted about the Avatar sliding through his fingers, needed someone to roll their eyes and chide him gently when he began to get so obsessed he refused to eat, needed what his relationship with Asuni had been built on… could he really give it up?
He knew the answer already. He'd known for a while now, he thought, but he hadn't wanted to acknowledge it. The evidence that he'd streadfastly ignored for so long was insurmountable. Asuni was the woman in black.
But she was offering him an out. They could ignore it, put it in a drawer to be pulled out an examined again at a later date. Asuni was giving him a chance to keep the closest thing he had to a friend on the boat. She was doing what she had always done, both as the ship's cook and the woman in black: taking care of him. And he wasn't ready to throw that away.
Zuko finally replied, his voice barely more than a whisper. Asuni had to strain to hear it over the waves rocking against the boat and the gently popping of the fire.
"No, I don't."
She could have collapsed bonelessly back in relief, but she didn't. Instead she kept her poise, kept her face and body the same, didn't let it waver an inch. She raised the cup to her mouth and took a sip. When it lowered again, her normal friendly smile was back in place.
"So, did you hear about Shan getting caught by Yu heading into a brothel at the last port?" she said casually, like she would if it was any other night. "His wife wouldn't be pleased about that."
"I don't care what my men do in their time off the ship, so long as they do what they're supposed to when they're on it," Zuko replied, like he would if it were any other night.
But the image of the woman in black, mask gone from her face, seemed to linger over them like a ghost in the shadows.