"Blame? I don't think you can blame someone for righteous fury. Knowing Ellen, this girl is lucky that she still has all of her limbs. A good thing, I guess. You said she uses Lunar magic, Lex?"

"Just two spells, both of which are common for any thief worth their salt. What surprised me was... Well, she really doesn't look like a thief, much less a thief that could cast like that. Then again, I only met her on the road, so it's also possible that she's the kind of mage who just attacks travelers at random."

"Either way..." The commanding person stopped, pausing for a moment. "We know you're awake, you know. You can open your eyes now."

"Go away..." Lilith thought, not moving an inch. "Let them go away..."

"Huh, that typically works. She might actually be asleep..." Her words trailed off, before she continued in a mischievous tone, "Hey, Saki. Can I wake her up?"

"Sure, sure..." Saki yawned, prodding Lilith with her foot, "Just don't kill her. I suggest cooking her legs off with a fireball."

"Good idea!" the servant responded, with unnerving enthusiasm. "Alright then... Alexei's-"

Lilith's eyes flew open, as she began shaking her head as hard as she could. She tried to scream for them to stop, but found that the silencing spell was still in effect.

"Good morning!" Saki greeted, as a shadow fell over Lilith. "Well, I suppose it's evening now. Either way, it'll be good. For both of us, if you'll listen to me." Laughing, "Not that you have a choice, I see. Sorry about that, by the way." Lilith clenched her jaw, as she strained her entire being in an effort to break free of the spells, to at least get a look at who was behind her.

"Okay, tell you what. Alexei'll remove her spell, as an act of good faith. But you have to promise not to try and kill us, okay?" Her tone was light and breezy, causing Lilith's mind to conjure up an image of some ditzy witch in a cliched black outfit.

"Oh, um..." Saki looked for her train of thought, "If you understand, then nod your head. If you can't nod your head, then... Uhh..." The shadow moved out of sight, and vanished. A moment later, Saki stood in front of Lilith, kneeling down to an uncomfortable distance away from her face. "Just... umm... Blink your eyes, okay?"

As horrifically awkward as the situation was, Lilith couldn't help but be impressed. Saki's face was dominated by a large smile, one of pure happiness, rather than malice or smugness. Above that, both her hair and eyes were a similar shade of light green, just as Alexei's had been. Underneath her hair, Lilith could barely make out a small mark, or tattoo, on Saki's forehead.

"Or study my face, I guess that works too..." Saki mumbled, looking mildly confused. "Anyway, you understand what I'm saying, so I guess that counts for something... Here, as a sign of good faith, I'll do you a favor." Scooting her knees back, Saki brought her right hand to Lilith's throat.

"Goodness..." Saki gasped, her eyes widening. "Who on earth did you anger? This is... Umm... Hey, Lex, come help me out. This is why I keep you around."

"The fact that I do your dirty work is just a fringe benefit, I'm sure..." Alexei retorted, stepping over to Saki. Taking a deep breath, she further added to Lilith's discomfort by adding her hand to Lilith's throat. "Yeah, I think I can manage this. Can you lend me anything?"

"I'm no good with this brand of magic, so I doubt my assistance would be of much help..." Saki scratched her head, "This is Ellen's fault, so it's her problem. Ask her for help. She could use a chance to actually make good on her promises."

"Do I really have to...?" Alexei sighed, "I mean... It's Ellen... Sure, she's useful, but-"

"But what, hmm? Surely, my follower isn't slandering me behind my back, is she?"

"Speak of the devil," Alexei muttered under her breath, taking her hand away from Lilith's throat.

Ellen laughed, "It helps for the Devil to have good hearing. Now, anyway, what do you need?"