Answers.

After cleaning the floors and getting the scratches out, Annie and Lilin retreated to the relative quiet of the library. Annie needed some time to calm down after an encounter like that, and Lilin figured it'd be a good place for Annie to get the answers to some of the obnoxious questions she'd been asking. It was entirely irrelevant that Lilin was a bit shaken by Tristan's attack. She should have expected it, honestly. Why had she forgotten that he was an asshole? Why didn't she assume he'd swing?

"Alright, Ten," Lilin said, "You got questions? Ask them now, while I can answer without tearing your throat out."

"Okay, well, let's see...."
Annie thought to herself, noting just how many questions she's had. Cores were at the forefront, but Tristan seemed like a far more important topic. Not to mention, Annie still wasn't sure how suspicious it would be to ask about Cores. Well, by this point, Lilin had answered enough questions that were probably suspicious enough that Annie didn't really doubt that she'd just answer.

"Let's start with Tristan, dear. I don't know anything about him."

Lilin suppressed a scowl. "Ugh, fuck... Tristan, he's just the worst. Look, I kill stuff that doesn't serve a purpose, okay? But he just... Kills. He doesn't kill stuff that annoys him, or stuff that bothers him, or anything like that. He just kills people. For fun. A waste, if you ask me. There's some stuff that's worth keeping around. Like you, Ten, when you're quiet."

"Uh, thanks?" Annie replied.

"You're welcome," Lilin responded without missing a beat. "Don't let that get to your head, though. Anyways, yeah. The less attention you bring to yourself around him, the better."

"Well, why haven't I seen him before?" Annie asked.

"He's been out on duty. Think he was somewhere to the east of here, with his little troop. He was monitoring the people there, making sure nobody's getting any funny ideas. He was sent off a day before Nine got banished, so he didn't get to see her banishment. That's why he was in such a bad mood- hell, I'd be in one if I missed that."

Annie winced at Lilin's grin. She had met Charlie, seen how scared she was, talked with her. It actually hurt her to think there were people who wanted nothing more than to kill Charlie. Somehow, she had convinced herself that Lilin wasn't like that. That Lilin didn't want to kill things. She carefully considered her next words, deciding it was best to ask about something else.

"What about that other man, who called Tristan over?"

"Oh, that was Gavin... I think. I dunno. Just one of the guys who can keep Tristan in check sometimes. Not somebody that I'd know, really. Everybody who travels with Tristan has to at least be capable of standing up to him, otherwise the King wouldn't keep Tristan around. Control, and all that."

"I see... I assume the men with Tristan change frequently?"

"Hah! Yeah, they die pretty often. I think he's on his, what, fifth or sixth fresh batch? And that's considering how long Lance held out, too. Lance was... Damn. He was a damn fine man..."

"Oh?" Annie's curiosity was piqued. "Was he your type?"

"I'll be damned if he wasn't," Lilin chuckled. "Massive, and muscular too. A face sharp enough to cut stone, and ruthless. He didn't talk much, but when he did... It was hard to ignore."

Annie giggled a bit. She'd never seen a look like this on Lilin's face. She was daydreaming, a slight blush as the ghost of a smile crossed her lips. This was one of the first times Lilin had a smile that wasn't fueled by suffering or sadism since Annie had met her, and it was the first time Annie had gotten to see it. The moment didn't last, though, as her face darkened.

"He was killed by some damned wolves after a fight," she said sullenly. "And Tristan didn't do a damn thing about it. Probably laughed about it, or... Fucking... I don't know."

Annie nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry to hear that," she replied.

"Bullshit," Lilin shot back, "you're not sorry. You hate me."

Lilin's words weren't meant to guilt Annie, nor to mock her. They weren't playful, either. They felt like Lilin was just stating something she knew, like a tutor telling their student not to worry about a question they hadn't learned how to answer. 

Lilin continued without pause.
"Anyways, what else do you wanna fucking ask about, Ten?"

"Actually," Annie said, "where did you learn to swear like that?"

"What? Like, fuck?" She asked. "I dunno. Some words come from what traveler told me, before the whole Demon King rule was instated. Why?"

"Well, I haven't heard anybody else swear like you."
Annie wasn't giving quite the full truth. What she really wanted to know was how Lilin knew so many modern swear words. For as many things were the same here as back on Earth, there wasn't anybody else who talked like Lilin did.

"Well, of course nobody swears like me!" Lilin replied, grinning. "I'm the best at it, fuckface!"

Fuckface took Annie off-guard entirely. That wasn't just a profanity, that was a very recent phrase that had started popping up within her lifetime on Earth. If she had learned that from a traveler before the Demon King had begun to rule...

"Anyways, Ten, next question."

Annie had to scramble for thoughts. She cut her train of thought short and asked the first question that came to mind.
"Oh! Uhm, did you save any of those seeds?"

Lilin blinked. She was hoping this wouldn't come up. Now she had to admit it.
"Ugh, yes. I did. Here, look, you happy? I only saved some because they didn't break, and I wonder if they're some crazy strong material or something."

Lilin held up a hand, showing she had saved a few seeds. Less than ten, but still enough to get a few sprouts if she treated them right. Annie smiled gleefully, hoping her plan could still work.

"Wonderful! Do you know how to grow them, dear?"

Lilin rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know how to grow a stupid plant. Don't try to teach me."

"Okay, wonderful! Just let me know if you have any troubles, I've grown quite a few myself."

Lilin retracted her hand quickly, looking at Annie with concern. "Don't try that on me, Ten."

Annie raised an eyebrow. "Try what?"

"Trying to force something on me like I don't know how to do something!" Lilin growled. "Now, you got any more good questions?"

"One more," Annie said, "why were you so upset about me using my Core before?"

Lilin's eyes sparked with rage. Why was Ten still asking stupid questions? Was she TRYING to get on her bad side? Like, what the hell kind of question even was that? Who didn't know about Cores? That was like asking why it would be bad to rip your heart out! Lilin took a breath so she could reply, but was interrupted by a gentle, monotone voice.

"Perhaps I could explain," Six said, walking into view.