The crescent moons were brightening up the sky and they were getting higher and higher.

Porrim stepped away from the window and looked around her block to find her bag. She took it in her hands and threw on the floor every piece of clothing that she stuffed in there. At the bottom, there was a small sack of money that she managed to take from the Brooding Caverns. Afterwards, she looked through what she brought with her and took a long, black cloak that would cover her entire figure.

She was about to leave, but before she did, she looked at the corner of the block where Kankri was resting. The jade troll suppressed any thought that something might happen in her absence and ran down the stairs and left through the door, making sure to lock it.

The air of the desert was cold and the sand shifted beneath her feet with every step she took. Porrim used to follow this road almost every day, when she was younger. She was going into the small city, that was just west of her hive, to get some food supplies. She had to be careful, because it is unusual for a young jade blooded troll who is supposed to be an auxiliatrice walk around, outside. She wouldn't be able to explain her presence there if a highblood caught her.

The journey took about 20 minutes and when Porrim caught sight of the city in the distance, she started feeling nervous.

The buildings were large with a main road going through the middle of the it. The different colored constructions had small, narrow streets between. The jade troll decided to walk on the backstreets because the main road was way too full of trolls of all kinds of castes and ages. Some of them were walking alone, trying not to be noticed and others, in groups shouting and laughing.

Porrim made sure her cloak was covering her face before she entered the city, in case someone would recognize her. She started walking through the back streets in the direction of shop she knew it had what she wanted: good food at a cheap price.

She didn't run into too many trolls, but she still made sure to look around, in case someone followed her. She entered the shop in a hurry and slammed the door shut. The troll behind the counter, a bronze blood, gave her a look of annoyance before he returned to the book he was reading.

The jade troll took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She was way too nervous and she might mess something up because of that. After she managed to calm her nerves, Porrim started walking around the store and picked up as much food as she could get and still have some money afterwards. She put it in a bag and placed in front of the other troll.

He seemed annoyed again, but he looked through what Porrim got. After he was done he told her the price and she placed a few coins in his hand. He quickly got back to his book as Porrim picked up her bag and walked out the door.

She walked fast ignoring the few trolls that were hanging around the backstreets. She wanted to get out of the city as soon as possible but a commotion caught her attention. She stopped after she passed by a small street that was connecting to the main road. Trying not to be seen, Porrim peeked at what was happening.

Her breath hitched in her throat in shock after she saw what happened.

In the middle of the street, there was a rust blood kneeling in front of Subjugglator. He had small pointed horns curved outwards. His black hair was curly and short. He was wearing a set of completely black clothes with a symbol on his chest: Arrius- The sign of the Visualizer.

He was Tremok Lumvax. He is Porrim's moirail. Or at least he used to be before she left to fulfill her duty as an auxiliatrix. Leaving him was the hardest thing she has ever done. They used to be so close and did almost everything together. She couldn't believe what she was witnessing.

"Just let it go," Tremok cried out to the highblood in front of him as he clutched his stomach in pain.

Porrim looked at her. She was tall and big like every other Subjugglator but unlike them she wasn't wearing any face paint and was wielding two long, sharp knives. Her hair was straight and it was barely reaching her shoulder. Her horns were long, thick at the bottom and sharp at the top. They were slightly curved inwards. Capriga- The sign of the Surveyor was beautifully embroidered on her black shirt. She wore a sick grin on her face.

The jade troll has never seen her before, but recognized her as Sernah Imviar. A purple blood that lived in this city, walking around killing lots of lowbloods. She loved killing. The color on her fluffy pants and drops of blood on her left cheek was proof enough.

"Oh, and why would I do that? You wasted my time by not letting me pass." She licked her lips as she started approaching Tremok. He struggled to stand up and looked into her eyes.

"I already apologized. Are you seriously going to kill me just because of that? What gives you the right to do it? I am in no way beneath you," Tremok shouted trying his best to ignore the pain that was going through his body.

Sernah's eyes started filling with rage as she shouted. "You? You damn fudgeblood are not beneath me? Are you fucking around with me? I should kill you just for saying that!" All of the trolls in the vicinity flinched after hearing her powerful voice. "You are at the bottom, the lowest of the low, beneath me, yet you talk like you are my equal?"

The highblood kept walking towards Tremok. In a flash, she ran past him and put her knives away. The rust blood let out a cry of pain as he fell to the ground. The purple blood turned around and spit in his direction.

"Bleed to death, fudgeblood." She turned around and left not looking behind her once.

Porrim screamed Tremok's name as she ran towards him. She dropped her bag on the ground as she helped him sit on his back. She looked at his stomach which had a giant, horizontal cut. There was blood everywhere. She used her hands to press as hard as she could trying to stop it.

"Porrim, what are you doing here?" Tremok's voice was shaking as he talked.

"Shh, don't speak. Let me treat you, we can stop the bleeding." It took Porrim everything to hold her tears back.

Tremok chuckled. "I lost too much blood. I won't make it. Please, at least let me hear your voice in my last moments," he couldn't talk anymore, his words turning to violent coughs that caused him even more pain.

"No, there must be something we can do. I can't let you die." Jade tears started falling down her grey cheeks. Tremok smiled and used his clawed hand to wipe them.

"Please, Porrim." Even though he didn't say it, she knew what that plead meant. 'Let me die in peace.'

Porrim sighed and tried her best to smile. "I adopted a grub. He was different and I knew that he wouldn't survive alone. I took him and ran away. He pupated and I came here to get food. He is the most wonderful creature I have ever seen," she stuttered when she spoke trying to control her tears.

"That's unusual," Tremok smiled. "But you always did things like that. You stood out from everyone else. I am so glad that I spent my sweeps with you."

"No, please, don't leave me. You can't die here. Not like this," Porrim started rambling uncontrollably as sobs took over her body.

The rust blood sighed. "Please, don't cry because of me. I will always be with you. Just promise me one thing: stay safe and don't let anyone tell you how to live your life."

Tremok closed three fingers on his right hand leaving the index and middle finger. He used the last of his strength to raise his hand. Porrim followed and used her own blood stained hand to form a diamond.

"I promise." As soon as Porrim whispered those words, Tremok's burgundy eyes closed, his smile froze and his hand fell leaving Porrim's fingers to symbolize their broken moirallegiance.

Porrim started crying and sobbing, holding the body of her best friend to her chest. The rest of the trolls, however, were just walking past her. The lowbloods looked at her with pity, maybe understanding what she was going through. The highbloods were just passing by without a care.

She kept crying in the middle of the road before she remembered the promise she made to him. She wiped her tears and stood up. She put her bag on her shoulder and took the lifeless body of her moirail in her arms.

She stepped past the city gates and into the unforgiving desert. She walked for a few minutes until she reached a big, withered tree. They spent a lot of time laying under that tree. Watching the infinite sky and talking about anything and everything.

Porrim put Tremok down near the tree stump. She started digging a hole using her hands. It took her a few hours, and her hands even started bleeding but she didn't give up. By the time she was done, the morning sun peeked from over the sand dunes. She picked up Tremok and put him slowly into the ground. She looked at him and caressed him cheek softly. Tears threatened to spill again but she got to work before they did.

She filled the hole with sand and after she was done, she put a rock to symbolize the place where her friend was resting. She couldn't control her tears anymore, so she let them fall. She kept crying until there were no more tears to shed. And even then she sat down near the grave she made, mourning the death of her best friend.

When the sun of the desert started heating up the sand in such a way that she couldn't bear it anymore she stood up, took her bag and returned to her hive. She unlocked the front door and let herself fall on the dusted sofa she didn't have time to clean.

She fell asleep instantly, but unlike other times, nightmares didn't plague her sleep. Instead, beautiful memories of her and Tremok that hurt more than any nightmare. How he loved crafting and her hive would fill with items made by him. And how much she hated his fashion sense and made him clothes. Everything they did together came back to her.

She didn't sleep for long and when she woke up she could still feel tears on her cheeks. She felt more rested, so she decided to go upstairs to check on Kankri.

Porrim opened the door to her respiteblock slowly. She walked over to where the crystallized form of her grub was. She touched it and tears spilling from her eyes again.

She decided right then and there that she would never let anyone she loved, die again. Not while she watched helplessly. Kankri was all she had now, and she swore she would protect him.