After a terribly long wait, I'm happy to announce that part five is almost finished! Topping 2300+ words, it's going to be the longest part yet. Dropping tomorrow or the day after...

and Top as well.

Part 5, First Assignments with Your Mentor be like...

“Well well well, if it isn’t Moon Wolf, our living legend.” Peregrine said ironically over the breakfast table the next day as Moon sat down in front of her plate of eggs and bacon. “I admit that I might have been in doubt of your survival skills in the past, but no, you actually managed to come out of  Emerald Grove walking. My hat is off to you, my friend.”

Moon passed Hawkstar the sugar for her coffee and didn’t even bat an eye at the provocation. “Looks like you haven’t realized what I’m capable of yet? I can do anything if I put my mind to it. Watch and learn.”

“Oh please, just because Periwinkle didn’t break your legs going out doesn’t mean you have bragging rights.” Peregrine snorted.

“If I don’t, then what rights do you have when it comes to irony?”

“I’m older than you by half a year. Respect your elders, Moon.” Peregrine said with a self-assured look of vanity as she cut her sandwich in half with a butter knife.

“Dear me, never in my entire life have I seen an elder still stuck as an apprentice.” Moon snickered. “How about you ask Periwinkle to give you some well-deserved retirement?”

There was a loud crack from Peregrine’s plate it splintered into two jagged halves beneath her sandwich.

Hawkstar, sensing the heavy smell of gunpowder between the two, cut into the conversation: “Enough with the arguing, both of you. Let’s settle down and have breakfast, shall we?”

Peregrine huffed. “Humph.”

Moon crossed her arms and, suppressing a grin, imitated her. “Humph.”

The people sitting around the three jumped in unison as Peregrine sprang up from her seat and pointed her butter knife in Moon’s face. “You try that again.”

Hawkstar pushed it gently away. “Contain yourself, Peregrine. Everyone’s watching us you know.” Moon and Peregrine were like Rubidium and water- chemical reactions always ignited
whenever they were stuck together. Hawkstar more than often ended up being the only one in the trio keeping the  conversation alive, talking to both sides.

To Peregrine: “So, how’s Mx. Octavia, the secretary’s cat doing? Given birth yet?”

Peregrine: “Oh, you mean Ginger? No, there was a mistake. Xen checked her up and found out that she was just too fat that she looked like she was pregnant.”

“Ah…”

And then after an awkward pause, to Moon: “Hey Moon, do you think that Miss Periwinkle’s going to assign you more tasks today?”

“Nah, I think not. I’ve done all there was to be done. How about I help you with copying the institute’s rules?”

“Oh, well, that would be-”

Peregrine cocked her head and glanced curiously at Hawkstar, who never broke any rules: “Why do you need to copy the rules by hand?"

Hawkstar reddened with embarrassment, but before she could answer the hum of chatter around them died down like a spell of silence. The three friends looked over their shoulder in time to see Periwinkle drift into the canteen with her normal  emotionless expression.

The atmosphere in the massive canteen went deathly silent with the addition of only one person-Periwinkle. Everyone kept their heads down, and communication was done by whispering as gently as one could manage.

Hawkstar watched as Periwinkle sat down in her usual small corner and began to eat her porridge and sighed. “You know, sometimes I think Miss Periwinkle’s really lonely.”

Moon looked up. “How so?”

“Because no one dares to come close to wherever she’s sitting. Because no one dares to talk normally when she appears. It was better when Valda was still around, at
least she had someone to chat to. Now that Valda is out on business, she doesn’t even have anyone to talk with anymore. Isn’t that lonely enough?”

“I guess you have a point. But she chose that herself, didn’t she? Comes from being shady all day.” Moon said.

“Don’t you try to insult her again.” Peregrine warned.

“You have a problem? It’s the truth, sorry.” Moon grinned back. “If you think I’m wrong, feel free to sit with her instead of us. I’m not holding you back.”

She corked Peregrine up with one sentence. She gave up on the spot, unable to find a good answer. She did respect  Periwinkle, but like most in the institute, that respect came  more from subconscious fear. She could only kick the table leg in irritation and glare at Moon.

Knowing that she had won the argument, Moon glanced at Peregrine victoriously and let her gaze wander back to Periwinkle in the corner. Her smile faltered for a second as she
remembered the small, tired figure under the mountains of cold books she had stumbled upon the past night. Hawkstar was right, in every sense. Periwinkle was incredibly lonely.

But what did that matter to Moon anyway? She wasn’t her.

The rest of the month passed like soft wind through the trees. Periwinkle never bothered her again, and Moon spent her time weeding the gardens of the biology department, cleaning test tubes, and dusting books in the library.

It was shortly after the end of the month when Xen showed up with a message for her.

“Now Moon, I know that you must be very excited.” They said as she devoured the floating projection of the E-mail with wide eyes. “You’ve shown yourself to be capable and eager to prove yourself, which is why Chief decided to inform you of your first assignment early of schedule. A certain successful  entrepreneur by the name of Mona has recently been plagued by apparitions and terrible occurrences, and he’s  commissioned us to solve his problems. Exciting of course, but I do have to remind you of the dangers of dealing with situations in real life. As regulations state, Director Ivy will accompany you on your first assignment, but since no one can be entirely sure of what might occur, she may not be always available to ensure your safety. Whatever you do, remember not to get yourself killed.”

Moon nodded excitedly until her head was a blur. “I know, I know.”

It was obvious that that she wasn’t paying attention. “Moon, this matter is, as far as I’ve heard, a confusing one. Chief is trusting you to knock this out of the park. Do be careful.” Xen repeated.

“Sure, sure! Thanks for the reminder Xen I’ll be going to pack my gear bye!” Moon said, hurrying off as quickly as possible.

“That girl…” Xen sighed, looking after Moon’s receding figure. “What is she so happy about? It’s an assignment, not a vacation…”

Moon had her own reasons to be elated. The assignment said it allowed her to bring a companion! And who better to bring along than Hawkstar? She was already envisioning them fighting together against a horde of anomalies. She was going to see true action after all the time spent cramped up in the institute, and she was going to be with Hawkstar at the same time, imagine that! It was such a win-win situation that the fact that Periwinkle was going to be with them could be overlooked.

It was sunset when Moon, Hawkstar and Periwinkle finally set out. Their destination: Mokishindu District, 909 Teller’s street, the once glamorous, now weathered center of a nearby city.

It was nearing 7P.M. when they finally arrived, bumping over waterlogged potholes and bumps in the road. The narrow streets were bustling with activity, with people flocking back and forth from street side vendors and small convenient  stores. Neon lights, which seemed to be everywhere, attacked the eye with their flashing proclamations at every turn. Peddlers and entertainers were sitting at each corner, each attracting their share of attention and customers.

“Don’t they have street regulations around here?” Hawkstar asked exasperatedly, pressing the horn for the umpteenth time as a dozen citizens, laughing and making jokes, cut through the road without warning.

Periwinkle glanced out of the window. “No one bothers. The night market in Mokishindu is one of the more cherished local practices, and it isn’t held with automobiles in mind.”

“Nor adequate hygiene. There’s a lot of crow-food to go around, that’s for sure.” Moon added, eying the murders of black crows that were perched on the power lines, observing the hustling avenues below with beady eyes. “Do they have a garbage dump nearby?”

“Not any that I know of.” Periwinkle said. “But the abundance of crows here are normal. Mokishindu’s district bird is the crow. The people here see it as a welcome presence instead bringers of bad luck.” She brought her gaze back. “Keep
pressing on. The sooner we arrive at our commissioner’s house, the better.”

The car eventually inched its way through the densest streets and braked in front of a quaint, clean little villa that stood out like a swan in ducks in the endless grimy forests of apartment buildings.

“So this is the place?” a voice that wasn’t Periwinkle’s or Hawkstar’s asked off to the side just as Moon closed the car door behind her. Startled, she shot a searching glance
in the direction of the voice. 

“Yes, 909. Can’t be wrong.” A second voice said, and at the same time the owners of the voice walked into the light of a streetlamp. “Ah. Looks like we have company to boot. Who goes there?”

Moon hesitated. She saw that both of the speakers were enveloped in cloaks that covered their faces in shadow so unnaturally dark that even with her enhanced vison, she had a hard time making out features. There was certainly a cloaking enchantment infused in the cloth. 

“Hey, I’m talking to you you know.” The same person said with a tone that was clearly used to being obeyed to, and now Moon could be sure that both were girls. “Are you deaf?”

“It is I who should be asking you two.” A voice responded from beside Moon, saving her from the predicament.  Periwinkle had appeared beside Moon, and with a firm step, positioned herself in front of her apprentice. “State your identity and purpose for being here.”

The two figures were not counting on a girl of seventeen to have such a commanding aura about her, and to Moon’s surprise they were subdued. “Who is this?” The one in lead
asked.

“I am not sure… Perhaps they are also here for the same cause as we were. An experienced veteran doing her rounds, perhaps?”

“You shall know after you tell me your names.” Periwinkle pressed, taking a step forwards.

“You have fine hearing, miss. Why don’t you tell us who you are first? Do you even have the right to ask us?” The leader
shot back, growing prickly at the incessant questioning.

“Periwinkle Ivy, psychology director of East Gate.” Periwinkle said, walking forwards into the light of the same streetlamp so that her face was illuminated. “Your names?”

“D-director Ivy!” Both the figures gasped in stupefaction. Periwinkle’s reputation was quite the useful passport.

“Your names. My patience has its limits.” Periwinkle repeated, narrowing her eyes.

“Sempeverde Della Montagna!”

“Luna Silvermoon. Both of CSL.” And both let their hoods drop down in respect.

“Cantura Scholar’s League.” Hawkstar murmured at Moon’s other side. “What are they doing here?”

Moon didn’t answer. She was studying the two with great interest.

Sempeverde was the younger of the two. Her face was glowing with the unique luminescence that the coattails of childhood naivety left in passing. Her silky black hair, though
bound into a ponytail, did little to hide the fact that it was long and combed meticulously. Luna, on the other hand, looked older owing to her taller than average height. The rounded hilt of a sword extended from the folds of her cloak. Her sea blue eyes were a stark contrast to Sempeverde’s sharp indigo gaze. But by the way they carried themselves and their way of talking, it was easy to see who the important one here  was. Montagna… where had she heard that before…

“Sempeverde, Luna.” Periwinkle nodded, pulling Moon out of her reflections. “Companions from CSL are always welcome here at East Gate. I would guess that you are also here in
response to Mona’s commission?”

“Yes.” Luna said smoothly. “The League thought that it was high time for Verde here to gain some combat experience in practice.”

“I would rather not have come.” Sempeverde said, rolling her eyes. “But-”

“I believe that we should not be wasting precious time on  unimportant chitchat.” Periwinkle interrupted. “Let us concentrate on the task at hand first, and pay Mona and his  family a visit.”

“Oh, thank goodness that you all have arrived, Miss Periwinkle and Miss Sempeverde! You have absolutely no idea how torturous these past days have been for me and my wife- there’s the devil in all of this, I swear…”

Mona was the stereotype of an entrepreneur. Suit, fancy watch, luxurious house. But now he was no longer the smug, successful man he had been last Friday. His hair was grayed,
his suit wrinkled and in desperate need of dry-cleaning. The once spotless house now surpassed even Periwinkle’s in terms of messiness. Paintings lay on the ground, the kitchen sink was clogged with unwashed plates, and the table was  overturned. His wife sat huddled in the corner, reduced to a  nervous wreck.

He had been preparing to build a new factory. Everything was planned out, the architects had the blueprints ready, workers were in place, but the day that they put the first shovel to the ground, the unexpected happened. The ground caved in. The instant the unfortunate worker saw what was underneath, he fainted on the spot- it was a child's doll, floating in a pool of red liquid.

No one dared to attempt an excavation after that, not even after they discovered that the liquid was paint. They covered it up and left the site as fast as possible. 

Too late. 

“Evil. Pure evil!” Mona cried, tearing at his hair. “Everything collapsed. My stocks plummeted, I’m bankrupt, and two of my brothers have passed away within a day of each other without any warning! Heart stoppage and seizure- happening to  someone only in their forties, who would believe it?! And look at this-” He shoved an envelope into Periwinkle’s hands. “There’s a curse on our family, I see it now. Goodness sake, I’m losing my mind!” And he sank to the floor, shuddering. “You have to help us, please…”

Hawkstar, the most compassionate of the team, hurried over to comfort the unstable man. “Miss Periwinkle, what do you think we can do?”

Periwinkle who was not keen on people overstepping her personal space wiped her hands with slight disdain before she opened the letter and read the contents wordlessly. Moon huddled in on her side. Blood-red words were written in on the page in scrawling, childlike handwriting.

Let’s play a little game.

Ms. Mona

“No! I never wrote such a thing!” Mona’s wife exclaimed when Periwinkle looked at her. “I would never!”

Moon glanced at the writing once more. Though childish at first glance, she could see that there were some parts resembling practiced cursive. Periwinkle must have noticed the detail as well, because after a few seconds of silent reflection, she raised her head. “You would never do such a thing awake, that is true. But what if you were asleep?” 

Fabulous! Glad to show up with sempverde in this chapter.

I'm sorry to announce the fact that the posting of the next part may be delayed for a few more days... there's been some mounting stress at school and I couldn't keep up with my writing. Updates may be temporarily slowed down, but I won't let this die, you can be sure of that.

Again!