Chapter 4: Negotiations

Six years ago…

“Hiyah!” I shout with a swing of my wooden sword.

“Whoa nice one! But how about this?!” Mikel shouts with a thrust forward.

As we've been left to our own devices, everyone else is sorting through the spoils of our recent ambush. It’s already an uncommon sighting to find an avian caravan, but to find one traveling by foot is especially rare. Since along with their bountiful supplies comes a delicacy just as valuable.

“Sintobi! Mikel!” Theresa shouts.

Hearing her excitement, we turn around to find her running towards us while waving something in her hand. But as she’s approaching us, we realize it’s not what she is carrying, but who. In her hand is the blood-soaked feather of one of the pigeons we ambushed.

“Can’t you see we’re training over here? We’ll eat dinner later!” Mikel says with a shake of his head, resting his sword on his shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m not letting him take another point off me.” I say to her, looking at her blood stained lips and hands.

“Would you two stop yapping and listen for a second! Geez!” She protests with a tinge of annoyance in her voice while turning her back to us and raising her shirt. “Look what happened when I ate a piece of her!”

On her back are two wings, both the same light gray color as the wing she’s holding.

“I snuck a piece while they were draining the rest of her, and this happened when I drank her blood.”

“Yeah yeah, we already know you can do that, what about it?” Mikel says with a shrug while putting his hand on his hip.

“What do you mean ‘What about it’? I have wings for crying out loud! Isn’t that cool?!”

“Yeah, it is, but....” I say to her, before sticking my sword in the soft grass beneath us. “Mother and Father might get mad at you.”

“Oh please, if they were going to get mad at anyone, it’ll be you two. All you guys do is spar everyday and never help out!” She scoffs while crossing her arms.

“Yeah well…” I say with a glance towards Mikel. “We’re allowed to because we’re so good at combat, unlike you. You have to mimic someone else's traits.”

“Not everything is about fighting you meatheads!” Theresa shouts with a stomp of her foot, clenching harder on the wing in her hand. “Besides, you’re acting like I can’t fight!”

“Well, as the studying type, you should know that not doing it makes it harder to maintain that same discipline. And since we’re so strong, we can’t afford to miss a day!” Mikel yells.

Hearing the rummaging of the grass behind me, I raise my sword to the side of my head, blocking his strike.

“Isn’t that right, Sintobi?” Mikel says with a huge grin, as he continues pressing his sword against mine.

“Haha true, but nice try.” I say before pushing him away with my sword and turning to Theresa. “When was the last time you trained anyways?”

“Ugh, did you two even hear what I just said? Sure sparring is important, but would it kill you guys to put that muscle to good use for something else other than fighting sometimes?”

“We could, but if we did that…” Mikel says while leaning away from my swing at his head, which misses by a few inches. “...We’d end up just as weak as you.”

“Weak as me?! What is that supposed to mean? I can still…” Theresa yells, but lowers her head. “Oh whatever! Why do I even bother with you two? I knew you guys wouldn’t care…”

Mikel and I look at each other, realizing we’ve gone a bit too far.

Mikel drops his sword and walks to her. “Look we’re sorry, it’s just that you got in the middle of us-”

“Oh come on, that’s no way to apologize.” I say to him while grabbing his shoulder. “Come on, try again, no excuses this time!”

“Oh no, I wasn’t making any excuses! It’s just that-” Mikel tries to explain while throwing me a wink.

Noticing his signal, I shake my head. “Well if you can’t, then I’ll show you!”

It may sound like I’m putting all the blame on Mikel, but this is our way of saying sorry. It could have been either of us, but since she got upset with the last thing he said, he's the bad cop this time. And so long as I, the good cop, corrects him, she will likely forgive us. It’s a dumb way to apologize, which makes it believable since she already believes we're idiots anyway.

“We’re sorry for ignoring you and we hope you can forgive us.” I say with the hopes of softening her pouty expression.

“Yeah and I’m sorry for calling you weak, that was really uncalled for!” Mikel says while nodding with vigor. “So, uh, can you do it?”

“Do what?” Theresa asks, still looking a bit annoyed.

“Can you fly? I mean, what’s the point of having wings if you can’t fly? Am I right, Sintobi?” Mikel laughs.

“Well, I haven't tried yet…”

“You should try!” Mikel blurts out while grabbing her hand. “I bet you could make it to the moon if you tried!”

Suspicious of us, Theresa stares at us for a moment and sighs.

“Honestly, you two are such idiots.” Theresa says with a smile, before taking another bite out of the wing. “They’re wings after all, why wouldn’t I be able to fly? She was a pigeon!”

“You can stop reminding us it was a girl, it's a bit…” I say to her as she turns her back towards us.

The wings protruding from her back grow out further, reaching a wingspan as long as her arm span. Yet when she starts flapping them, her feet don’t leave the ground. And even when she starts flapping like crazy, she can’t get much higher than a foot off the ground.

“Dammit! Why aren’t they working!” She groans, now hopping in the air while flailing her wings.

Still though, the fact that it grew this much with a single part of them is impressive. But we wouldn’t hear the end of it if I told her that.

“It’s fine Theresa, I’m sure you’ll get a hang of it one day with more prac-” Mikel attempts to console but is hit in the face with her wing.

“Would you quit it already! Your little nice guy act is starting to get real annoying!” Theresa shouts while pointing her wings at him.

“Heh, I guess she’s on to us.” Mikel says with a nervous laugh while laying on his back. “Sintobi, help me out here.”

“Yeah, you shouldn’t worry too much…”

“See, I told you Theresa, so just-”

“Especially when you have someone as strong as me around!”

“That’s the exact opposite of what you should say!” Mikel shouts, jumping to his feet.

“Heh, but it’s true though. I’m the one that’s going to save everyone, whether you two choose to train or not!” I say with my thumb pointed towards my chest.

“Is that so?” Theresa asks, furrowing her brow.

“Of course! You guys won’t even need to lift a finger. I’ll just keep fighting them off until we have a real place to call our own, that’s what everyone wants right?”

“Yeah, but…I don’t think it will be that easy.” Mikel says with a shake of his head.

“What do you mean? Mother and Father said I’m special.” I say to them, noticing the tense look on their faces. “You even said I should be leader because they said so.”

“True, but fighting is the only thing everyone does. I was thinking that we should try to do things peacefully, right Theresa?”

“Right…” Theresa agrees with a nervous smile, as she tosses away the wing and wipes her mouth with her forearm.

“But everyone hates us, they aren’t going to listen to us. Which is why it’s better to let me handle it instead. Mother and Father said-”

“I know what they said, and I get that other races hate us, but I still think we should try. Don’t you ever wonder what Earth was like before this war? My guess is that it was a lot more peaceful back then.” Mikel asks before pointing to the sky. “I bet if we were to ask the moon, it would know. After all, it has been up there the whole time.”

Looking up at the crescent moon, I can’t help but shake my head. The world before doesn’t matter, it was the old humans who started this war anyway. They created the potions that ultimately led to their demise as a race, leaving them enslaved to creatures like us. Yet somehow, they have the country of Humanity.

But wait…

Despite being the weakest among us, they’ve managed to carve out a home to call their own. Maybe it’s out of pity? No, none pity the weak of this world, so it has to be something else. Is it because they have each other? That must be it, but doesn’t that mean we don’t have to be the strongest to find a place in the world?

Coming to this realization, I look towards the moon. As its soft glow illuminates the night sky, I wonder, what has it seen?

“Yeah, I wonder the same thing.” I say to Mikel with a smile.

Current day, capitol building…

The grandfather clock in the corner tick…tick…tick…ticks away while I sit at the edge of my bed, fiddling with my own essence, as it seeps out from underneath my fingernail. Like a wizard with his wand, red streams of blood dance before me with a wave of my finger. I’m glad I have this room to myself, since counting ceiling tiles was far less interesting.

After dinner, Ava showed us our rooms and pretty much left us to ourselves. I’m surprised at the amount of trust she has in us, considering who we are. She’s letting us pretty much go wherever we please without supervision. I knew she intended on accommodating us, but didn’t expect this level of certainty from someone of another race. It feels odd.

“You’re an interesting lady Ms.Ava…” I chuckle, while shaping a smiley face suspended mid-air.

“Have you taken an interest in her?” asks The Man, now sitting at the foot of the bed.

“You tend to appear out of nowhere, it’s a bit unnerving…”

“Oh come now, it’s been a little over a week and you’re already annoyed by my presence?” The Man says while standing up. “It would be really disappointing for this to be a one-sided relationship.”

“Or maybe you're just jumping to conclusions.”

“So you do you love me?!” The Man asks with a grin.

I shake my head. “I’m sorry, my love is reserved for those closest to me.”

The Man laughs.

“What’s so funny?” I ask while he continues laughing. It’s the kind of laugh one does until they’re out of breath, but he stops just short of being breathless and sits down in the love seat beside my bed.

“To think you would give such a serious answer to an obvious joke. Do you really believe I’m some sort of lovesick teenage girl?”

“Hmph, well considering you still haven’t left, I can’t tell the difference.” I say, while fingering the shape of a star midair. “Though if I’m wrong, forgive me for the confusion.”

“Nice one. But if that’s the case, why haven’t you told me to leave?”

“I’m concerned about your wellbeing. It would be heartless to turn away a man who was just on the brink of death… And you’ve done alot for us.”

The Man sits back and rubs his chin. “I can’t seem to think of a witty comeback to yet another genuine response. I’m at a loss for words.”

“I heard that if it happens more than once, you might be in love.” I laugh.

“Curse this one-sided relationship…” The Man quips with his fist in the air.

There’s a knock on the door.

“Sintobi, you awake?” Mikel shouts before knocking again.

Taking my mock facemask from the nightstand, I reabsorb my blood with a flick of my finger. It doesn’t have a function like the old one, so it serves as an accessory to hide my bleeding nose.

When opening the door, I’m met with Mikels look of disapproval.

“Oh, so you are awake.”

“I woke up not too long ago.” I mention while looking down both sides of the hallway. It seems like they’ve taken in more refugees.

“And you've gotten rather comfortable…” He says while appraising my light blue silk pajamas with his deep red eyes.

I shrug. “I mean, why not? We’re still waiting for everyone else to recover anyway.”

“Yeah, but were you really planning on lying around all day?” He asks while crossing his bandaged arms.

“Wow, you're starting to sound like Theresa.” I laugh, noticing he’s tapping his foot. “I was actually waiting for Ava. She mentioned yesterday that someone wants to meet with me.”

“Wait, really?” Mikel says, his eyes widening. “Did she say who it is?”

“Nope, but I assume it’s Greene. We still haven’t spoken since that day.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Mikel says with a glance down the hallway before poking my chest. “Well, what are you waiting for? Get out of those pajamas.”

“Yeah, I will. By the way, you should ask Ava for some of these. They’re super comfortable!” I say while picking at the silk fabric of my sleeve.

“Indeed, providing you a set would be no trouble.”

With a smile on her face, Ava comes walking down the hall; wearing the same skirted business attire she always does. I wonder if she feels stuffy wearing that all the time.

“Good Morning!” We blurt out at the same time.

“Wow, what a greeting. And a good morning to you two as well!” she giggles.

I clear my throat. “Is it time?”

“If you’re referring to what I mentioned yesterday, then yes. She’s waiting for you in her office.”

“She? So it’s not the Mayor?”

“No, I’m afraid not. He’s busy with the recent influx of refugees that came in this morning. Though rest assured, this will not be a waste of your time.”

“Well that’s good to hear…” I say while again noticing our difference in clothing. “Give me a second to change into something more appropriate.”

“Of course, take your time.” She says with a smile.

After closing my room door, I take a deep breath. I know it’s best to be patient with these things, but I was really hoping to start negotiations soon. I know Ava said this meeting wouldn’t be a waste of my time, but I can’t imagine it being anything but. Who is this lady anyway, and why does she need to see me?

Mikel and I follow Ava into the main lobby, where it is somehow more crowded than the hallway. She wasn’t kidding when she said it was an influx. As we’re making our way through the slew of creatures towards the rightmost staircase, the guards continue yelling commands with hopes they will maintain something resembling a single file line. Yet, despite their efforts, their demands get lost amidst all the idle chatter and clamoring to move about.

With so many beastmen in one place, one would expect a fight to have broken out already. Though I guess it makes sense, their situation is already dire as is. It’s apparent from the looks on their faces that just getting here has been difficult on its own. I doubt they have the will to argue.

“You’ve noticed?” Mikel asks, noticing my interest towards the crowd as we walk up the stairs. “We’re not getting as many dirty looks.”

“It’s because they’re more concerned with their own demons than the ones roaming among them.” I say with a shake of my head, still gazing down at the crowd.

“I see you’ve taken that title to heart… you really shouldn’t. We’re the ones negotiating for peace after all. We’re nothing like the ‘actual’ demons.”

“I suppose you're right…” I say with a glance at the back of Ava's head, as her heels click with each step. “You think it will work?”

Mikel raises his brow. “Think what will work?”

“Are peaceful negotiations really the way to go?” I ask, which makes him furrow his brow.

“I think so, I mean, we’ve gotten this far haven’t we?” Mikel insists, tilting his head with a shrug.

“Yeah, but all of us got hurt. I thought this was supposed to be better…”

“Come on, what’s gotten into you?” Mikels urges while putting his arm around my shoulder. “Sure we got hurt, but the reason we got the help we needed is because we didn’t come out swinging. No one wants to help out the bad guys.”

“Yeah, but it didn’t change how everyone thinks of us.”

“None of this is supposed to be easy, we are working towards peace.” He explains with a grin.

“I suppose you’re right…” I agree with a glance at the crowd once more. “It’s just, seeing all of you guys hurt while I’m left unscathed is-”

Mikel chuckles. “What do you mean? That’s a good thing. We know you’re special, that's why you’re our leader!”

“But a good leader protects his comrades…just like a good friend would.”

“You are a good leader. You got everyone to pull themselves together when it mattered after that explosion. If anything, it showed me that I needed to work harder.”

“Huh, but working harder wouldn’t have helped, it was still-”

“Remember when I suggested we do things peacefully? I know it has been a while, but you kept mentioning you didn't need our help. Which sucked to hear that, but I'm glad you came around.” Mikel reminisces, recalling a moment that has stuck with me. “I bring it up again because, sure, maybe you can do more by yourself, but you have us. And while we may not be like you, the fact we survived means we’re made of stronger stuff than you think!”

In an attempt to reassure me further, Mikel flexes his other bandaged arm with a grin. And like a gust of fresh air filling a stuffy room, my doubts start to clear.

I laugh. “You’re right, I almost forgot. I don’t know what came over me.”

“Well, I’m glad that I can remind you! That’s what friends are for after all.”

While giving each other a high five, I realize. The path we've chosen is the road less traveled, and we've gotten this far because we have each other. But if we had chosen violence, we would have surely fallen. I doubt I would have met The Man if we'd chosen the latter either.

Still following behind Ava through the hall, we stop in front of two double doors.

“Sorry to interrupt, but we’re here.” Ava says with a smile.

“Perfect, I guess both of us can-”

“About that…” Ava interrupts with a look of disappointment. “She made it very clear that she only wants to speak to you.

“Nonsense, Mikel is-” I start to protest, but Mikel nudges my arm.

“Don’t sweat it, I’ll just wait out here.” Mikel insists with a nod.

“Well if you insist…” I say to him, before turning to her. “Let's go.”

With a nod, Ava pushes open the double doors. Inside is a large circular table in the middle of the room, with a handful of black office chairs surrounding it. And like everywhere else, dark curtains covering the windows. But while it's apparent that it's a simple office meant for simple occasions, it's clear that two beastmen sitting at the table have come to discuss pressing matters.

The older wolfman gets up from his seat. “Hello, Mr.Temory. My name is Gilbert Milkova, it is a pleasure to meet you!”

As we shake hands, the wolf-girl beside him continues glaring my way. Her bright yellow eyes beam an enmity that isn't so severe yet is just enough to put me on edge.

“Likewise…” I say in turn, noticing the clamminess of the coarse gray fur on the palm of his hand.

Ava pats my shoulder before pulling out one of the office chairs across from them. And as we sit down, it becomes increasingly difficult to avoid her gaze as the room falls silent. The kind of silence that leaves the four of us staring at each other. The kind that leaves me with the rhythm of my beating hearts. The kind where even Ava is having trouble breaking the ice. The kind that leaves one’s associate fidgeting in their seat while they glare at you. An awkward silence.

“Tsk!” the wolf-girl says with a smack against the table. “So you’re not gonna ask my name?”

Her narrow gaze intensifies with that outburst, yet I’m still lost for words. Does she believe that expressing her disdain upon first meeting someone makes a good impression? If anything, I have all the reasons to respond to her in kind, but I won’t. She did send for me after all.

“My apologies. I’ve been having a rough morning, you must know how it is.” I chuckle while rubbing the back of my neck. “Would you be so kind as to tell me your name.…”

“Hmph, Ariani.” she says while sitting back in her chair with her arms crossed. “Ariani Houndrex.”

What!? She’s related to them?

“Oh my, it is a pleasure to meet you Ms.Houndrex. I wasn’t expecting to meet you so-”

“ Just call me Ariani, Ms.Houndrex is my mother. I’m nowhere near as old as that bit-”

“Miss Ariani, please! Not in front of the guests.” Gilbert shouts while waving his hands.

She's not just related to them; she’s the daughter of the household. Though I suppose it makes sense, with the light brown fur covering her body being a lot sleeker than her associates'. Her face is also more human-like. Without her pointy ears that poke out from her short brown hair and small black snout, you’d think she’s a human in cosplay.

Still, for someone of such high status, she lacks serious decorum. Though I guess she doesn't have much to prove, this is her country.

Ava claps her hands. “Well, since now we know each other, isn’t there something you’d like to discuss with Sintobi, Miss Ariani?”

“Huh, are you rushing me?” Ariani hisses, throwing her a dirty look. “I still have some words for him!”

Ariani turns to me with the same intensity, as her ears subtly twitch.

“You annoy me.” she declares, making her stance clear while Gilbert turns to her with a gasp.

“Heh, what is it about me that annoys you?” I ask.

“First, you and your group enter our territory without notice. Then, you seek shelter in our building. And after all that, we’ve yet to see even a semblance of appreciation for our almost never-ending kindness…” She asserts while tapping her finger on the table. “Look, I know vampires are used to just doing as they please, but are you so morally bankrupt as to take our goodwill for granted?”

“No, not at all! I’ve already given my thanks to Ava and the may-”

“Ah, I’m talking about us!” Ariani shouts while shaking Gilbert by the shoulder. “While those two may have invited all of you, it was up to us whether or not you received care!”

“Wait, so you weren’t aware of our arrival?” I ask, looking at Ava with a glance.

Ariani shakes her head. “Nope, which is precisely my gripe. And sure, we have plenty of resources, but who do you think had to round up those supplies at such short notice?”

“Uh, I’m not sure…”

“It was me! I had to scramble to get all those supplies together!” Ariani cries, slamming her hand against the table again. “Aw, the heavy-lifting, the paperwork, it was such a pain… I haven’t gotten a wink of sleep this past week. And yet, I still haven’t gotten a single word of thanks…”

Seeing her pout while slumped on the table leaves me without words. I thought we had broken some unspoken rule, but it turns out she's just complaining about a week's worth of hard work. The Houndrex family is regarded highly by those in Hunters End, yet their daughter acts this way. My parents would never tolerate such behavior, and we don’t even have a nation to call our own yet.

“Miss Ariani, please calm yourself.” Gilberts begs while rubbing her back. “You are embarrassing yourself in front of our…”

“Shut it geezer!” Ariani shouts as sits back up and turns up her snout. “You don’t know how tiring it was…”

“But I did most of the heavy lifting…”

While her outburst threw me for a loop, if what she is saying is true, then she’s why everyone is getting treatment. And with everything going so well these past few days, I suppose we do owe her a lot. She may act like a spoiled princess, but at least she’s responsible. Although, I question why she even has a retainer, considering she barely listens to him.

“Miss Ariani…” I blurt out while standing up into a bow.

“Huh, what are you doing?” she asks.

“Miss Ariani, thank you for all your hard work. I wanted to thank you one of these days, but with all that’s happened, it has been difficult to do so.”

Ariani raises her brow. “Funny, I didn’t hear about this. Ava, is this true?”

“Well, Sintobi has been rather grateful for everything we have done, considering the explosion and all…”

“Ah yes, that’s another thing. Everyone at the mages academy is tightlipped about who broke protocol and authorized the cancellation of the ceasefire.” Ariani explains while scratching behind her ear. “Our usual defensive protocol is to use magic missiles or send mage’s on the ground, but not that spell. It was a highly experimental spell that can only be used and authorized by a select few in the academy, but no one wants to rat the other out.”

“So you don’t know? How is that even possible?” I ask, noticing the nervous look on Gilbert's face.

“The academy has its own chain of command.” Ariani continues with a shake of her head. “We supply them with the money and resources, but they are still a separate entity with their own autonomy. With a sworn oath to protect Hunters End and its citizens of course.”

“So because they had your safety in mind, you’re gonna let what they did slide?” I say before slamming the table. “We were invited here!”

“Sintobi, please calm down…”Ava warns.

“I wonder, how many tears did they shed?” Ariani scoffs while kicking her feet up on the table.

“What?” I ask, noticing her smug expression.

“How many tears did your victims shed before you rang their bodies dry, leaving behind sacks of flesh you put aside to consume later?” Ariani argues with a shake of her head. “Did you ever think about how they felt?””

“Yes! That’s why we’re here in the first place, we want peace!”

“Another lie.”

“What?”

“Earlier you said that the reason you didn’t ask my name was because you were having a ‘rough morning’, yet I am already well aware that your mornings have been anything but, thanks to me of course. Then you lied and said that you couldn’t thank me because ‘it has been difficult to do so.’, even though you’ve clearly shown gratitude towards the two of them. And now you’re saying you want peace?” Ariani questions while holding her forehead and sighs. “Are you only capable of lying?

“But it’s true, we-”

“Which part is true? Tell me! Explain to me why the lies you’ve told me thus far are in fact the truth!”

My heart is racing. I thought appealing to her would get me closer to negotiations, but it seems I’ve messed up big time. Not only is she convinced that I am untrustworthy, but now I’m taking too long to respond. I don’t have a leg to stand on right now.

Ava stands up beside me. “I think you two just started on the wrong foot. Ariani, please hear him out. I assure you Sintobi means well, he’s just a bit nervous.”

Nervous? I’m nervous? I can't be nervous…

Ariani grits her teeth with a click of her tongue. “I usually don’t give second chances, but I trust Ava more than I trust you, so… explain yourself. What is it that you hope to gain from this invitation?”

Stunned by her change of heart, I look to Ava who gives me a nod. I’m glad she’s by my side, but I still have this feeling of unease in my chest. If Theresa were here she’d know the right words… But I can’t let this doubt get the best of me. This could be my only chance to make things right.

Taking a deep breath, I sit back down to explain our goal. Ariani sits up in her seat and rests her head against her palm while listening to my story. It’s similar to what I told Ava, but not quite. I made sure to only explain the details, while omitting the reasons why this mission is important to us. Since I doubt the sentiments will be understood.

I make my position as leader clear, along with our goal of ending this war. Since trying to convince her of anything else could be considered a distraction. A waste of her time. But in doing so, I get a damning response.

She covers her mouth and snickers before bursting into laughter. Gilbert’s shoulders jump in at her outburst, but when he raises his hand to stop her, he stops just short of her touching her arm.

“Wait, so you’re telling me that, you want to stop this war?” She asks before falling into laughter yet again, like a madwoman triggered by her own hysterics. “I’ll admit, while you are a terrible liar, your attempts at humor are decent.”

“I’m telling the truth! We came here to negotiate an alliance, surely that’s-” I try to explain, but Ava grabs my shoulder. That look on her face says it all.

“Alliances are possible, but not with your kind I’m afraid. Whether the fault lies with your clan or with the others, we have lost too many to vampires.” Ariani explains with a shrug before nudging Gilbert’s arm.

“Y-yes…” Gilbert says with a gulp. “While we are tending to your comrades' injuries, we are doing so out of obligation. The casting of that spell was our fault. It wasn’t supposed to happen. So assisting in your recovery is our way of making it up to you, but if your goal was to have an alliance…”

Gilberts takes a deep breath before raising his paw-like hand to his chest. “Then on behalf of Mr. and Mrs.Houndrex, I decli-”

“Gilbert please!” Ava begs, putting her hands forwards. “They came all this way to work with us, please give it some more thought…”

“Give it some more thought, huh?” Ariani sneers while Gilbert lowers his hand. “Tell me, Sintobi, if your belief is that all we do is fight, then how will you stop the fighting?”

“We…we…we…” I mutter, as each attempt at a complete thought comes out weaker than the last, until…

I know what they said, and I get that others hate us, but I still think we should try. Don’t you ever wonder what Earth was like before this war?

“Don’t you ever wonder…what earth was like before the war?” I ask, with each word coming out just as dry as the inside of my mouth.

“What was that?” Ariani asks with a raise of her brow.

“So you haven’t? Well, I think it was a lot more peaceful back then. But that’s just my hunch of course.” I laugh.

“Sintobi, what are you…” I hear Ava mutter.

“Though I guess it makes sense that you haven’t. After all, it’s the sort of question that can keep one up at night, but I think the answer becomes more obvious the more one thinks about it.” I chuckle to myself, as the deafening silence weighs down on my voice. “While many places are either crowded or in ruins, much of nature remains untouched, which leads me to believe that the world wasn’t always like this. And if that’s the case, I’m sure we can all come together to end this conflict, and if we were to run into trouble… ”

With a swift motion, I point towards the blacked out window.

“...We can just ask the moon, it has to know. It's been up there the whole time!”

Mikels words once again come to mind, reminding me of the purpose of our journey. Back then, I was dumbfounded at the notion of communicating with something so far away, but that wasn’t his point.

Since then, I have seen many places untouched by war, and while I understood that it was only a matter of time, it made me realize that there are still some places in this world that are peaceful. Which made me wonder during those long nights, what else has the moon seen from up there?

Ariani takes a deep breath. “I see, so not only are you untrustworthy, but you’re also an idiot.”

“I may be an idiot, but I am not without direction…” I retort while laying my hands flat on the table. “My path is clear, and it’s thanks to those that stand by my side that I can be a leader. My only hope is that you will do the same.”

“Hmm…” Ariani mulls over while leaning against her palm. “Gilbert, what are your thoughts?”

“I believe Mr.Temory is an idealist for sure. I have seen many like him in the past, but none had a substantial backing, so perhaps he’s different…”

“Ah, come on, quit yammering! Should I trust him or not?” She yells, startling him again.

“W-what, Miss Ari…” Gilbert stammers but stops with a sigh. “Nevermind. What I was trying to say is, his comrades seem to have a great deal of trust in him, even when they could have just as easily defected like many have already.”

“...And they do seem organized.” Ariani says, still mulling over her decision. “...Ava, has the racoon boy fully recovered?”

Racoon boy? Wait, she isn’t talking about…

Ava nods. “Yes, Donavan finished his recovery a little over three days ago. They were just minor scratches, but judging from his story, we know for sure that this is another case of trafficking…”

“I assumed so, features like his only come from a pedigree as fine as my own.” Ariani says with a smirk, before turning to me. “Well isn’t that good news, seems like the kid you saved is okay.”

“I’m glad, that cheetah-woman did seem suspicious…”

“Can you escort him back to his mother?”

“You mean you know where she’s at?”

“Don’t get me wrong, It’s not like I keep tabs on all of the riff-raff that end up crawling out onto Domesticatia streets. The boy is special. His mother is Sally Star, she’s one of the infamous warlords of The Underground and I suspect she would be happy to see her little boy again.”

“That’s great, but what’s The Underground?” I ask with a glance towards Ava, who is sinking into her chair.

“Like the name suggests, it’s a black market network that resides underneath us. Most of their activities are usually limited within their own settlements down there, but something has emboldened them recently.” Ariani explains while tapping finger against her cheek. “We’ve noticed they’ve been having more encounters with other troublemakers on the surface across all cities, which isn’t helping our refugee crisis. We’re fighting a war on two fronts.”

“Well if that’s the case, why hasn’t the mages academy gotten rid of them?” I ask her, only for her to shake her head.

“That's the thing, they’re also the reason we have so much supplies. Without them we won’t be able to keep up with the increasing number of refugees or the war effort itself.”

“First the mages academy, now The Underground. Can’t you get control of anything?”

“It’s called running a well oiled machine, though I guess you wouldn’t understand, seeing as how it’s likely that most of your group will end up defecting anyway.”

“Miss Ariani!” Gilbert shouts.

Ariani sighs. “I know, that was uncalled for… anyway, will you escort the kid or not?”

“You want me to go alone?”

“You will be escorted by Ava, she will be your navigator.” Ariani says while looking at her.

Ava stands up. “Are you sure Miss Ariani? There is still a lot I have to take care of…”

“I know that fat cat is just pushing all his work onto you. He can handle it himself.” Ariani declares, prompting Ava to sit back down. “Besides, It’ll be his responsibility to see that little Donavan gets home safely. If he can do that, then I will consider him trustworthy.”

It was a headache, but it seems I’ve somewhat gotten on her good side. And while I do believe her actions earlier were disgraceful, it turns out she is rather adept at handling important matters. Ariani is no doubt an unpleasant girl to be around, but she isn’t unreasonable… mostly.

“I’ll do it…” I agree while standing up. “But on one condition.”

“Go on…”she says, crossing her arms.

“I want Mikel to come with us. I assure you he is just as capable for the job.”

“You did drag him all the way here, so for your sake, I hope he is.” Ariani scoffs before snapping her fingers. “Gilbert!”

“Miss Ariani, I’m sitting right next to you…”

“We're going home now! Make sure my bed is ready when we get back. All this talking is truly tiring…” Ariani says with a yawn while getting up from her seat.

“Yes milady…” Gilbert says, following behind her towards the door.

As Ava opens the door, both of them head towards the stairwell at the end of the hall. Noticing us, Mikel gets up from in front of the door across from us.

“Hey, so how did it go?” Mikel asks with a glance at the two of them leaving.

“We got a mission. One we can’t fail.”

“Well what are we waiting for? Let's go.” Mikel says, grabbing my shoulder.

Ava clears her throat. “There’s still a few things I need to take care of, but more importantly we need to wait for nightfall.”

“Oh, that shouldn’t be an issue.” I mention, prompting the two of them to turn their heads.

“It shouldn’t?” Mikel asks, sounding just as confused as he looks.

“What do you mean?” Ava asks, looking just as troubled.

“Uh, I mean, it’s just like the curtains.” I explain to her while pointing at one of the windows. “So long as we have a cloak and some long gloves, we should be fine…”

“Is that tr-” Mikel almost asks, but stops the moment I turn to him with a glare.

“Interesting, I didn’t know it was that simple. This is the first time I’ve heard about this.” Ava agrees with a nod, albeit, with reluctance in voice.

“Yup!” I laugh, before throwing another glance at Mikel when she starts walking away.

No one can know yet…