(Elvira's POV)

"Hey! Hey, you!"

I turn and see several rain soaked villagers brandishing swords, pitchforks, shovels and various other makeshift weapons. Angry scowls stare back at me. I regard them calmly, taking a tighter hold on Titan's bridle. "Yes? How can I help you?"

One of them, an elderly man, steps forward, his sword held ready. "You can help us by getting the hell out of our village!" His beady eyes glare at me from the folds of his face. "We don't like strangers, and you especially!" The sword's tip comes dangerously close to stabbing me as the man takes another step forward.

Titan, noticing the growing danger, steps closer to me, eyeing the crowd warily and shaking his horned head. A quiet nicker escapes him. I steal a glance at him, tightening my grip further. "Oh? And why is that? I've never been here, old man." I glance behind me, waiting for the feed and other supplies I ordered to make an appearance.

"We've been warned about you, witch!" A younger man, brandishing a rusty spear, shoves through the crowd, pushing his elder back into the folds of the villagers. "You travel around on that two horned beast," He waves his spear toward Titan, nearly piercing the equine's black hide. "Stealing the souls of the innocent to feed to him. Well, not here, you won't! Hya!" The man lunges forward, aiming for Titan's exposed flank.

The old wood snaps easily, leaving its rusty spear head behind in my hand. "I suggest," I toss the useless article to the ground in front of the crowd. "You stop listening to rumors." I pick up the feed and supplies I ordered, settle them on my saddle, and mount up, turning Titan toward the town's southern entrance. None of the villagers offer to escort me on my way.

(Stein's POV)

"Now, Lord Death," The cloaked reaper turns to face me. "You said these visitors aren't meisters?"

"Well, one isn't, per se." He scratches his head with one massive hand.

"Well, are they or aren't they?" I reach up and twist the screw through my skull, eyeing Lord Death curiously. "They can't be both a meister and not."

Lord Death is quiet for a minute. "I'll put it this way, Stein. Meister is not their official title."

"Then what are they, Lord Death?" I stop twisting my screw to lean forward in my chair, resting my arms on the back of it.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you yet, Stein." Lord Death turns his back to me. "It would put you in too much danger. You'll just have to see when they get here."

(Elvira's POV)

"Well, Titan," I stop my cappal vahree* at the top of a hill overlooking Death City. The DWMA's massive shape looms over the rest of the buildings, a yellow moon with a crooked, blood dripping grin hovering over it, just barely visible through a gap in the clouds. "We'll be there within the next two days," I tug his jacket closer to him and pull my hood closer about my head to block out the endless rain. "Weather permitting, that is."

*Pronounced CAP-al VAH-ree