I'm sorry about the delay!

Kirah~

Eniyan and I are will aware of how useless small talk would be while we wait for Ember and... whoever else to show up, but Dar'sava isn't. At least, not until I shut him up with a raised eyebrow. There aren't many things I'm good at, but I'm very skilled when it comes to getting people to shut up.

"They're getting close," Dar'sava informs us. "Ember's coming with Jira- that elf girl from the Grasplands- and someone named Lysette."

Eniyan looks up at that. "Lysette? I met her at the hospital. She was with an old man named Eron."

"What's she doing with Jira and Ember, I wonder?" Dar'sava asks. Eniyan shrugs. We're silent for a few minutes until we hear a sof knock at the door.

"It's us," Ember says quietly. I let her, Jira and Lysette in. Ember smiles at me, Jira nods uncomfortably, and Lysette introduces herself to me and Dar'sava. When her eyes land on Eniyan tied to a chair, she breathes "Oh my sweet peaches" and it takes a lot of effort not to laugh at her.

"So... what are we doing now?" Lysette asks.

"You ask an excellent question," I say. "We have no idea who or what possessed Eniyan, and we're not completely sure how to figure it out. But we need to, because whatever it is could easily possess Eniyan again or even one of us." Eniyan's throwing me a look that plainly states that he doesn't appreciate me talking like he isn't in the room, but I pretend not to notice. 

"Ah," Lysette says with a nod. "So, we're going to... um... what in the world are we going to do?"

None of us get the chance to answer, because at that moment, something explodes through the door. Dar'sava and I immediately raise our pistols as Lysette screams and Jira darts towards the corner of the room.

"Lysette, shut up or you'll wake up the whole hotel!" I snap, training my gun on the figure- all I can make of it is that it's tall, has a tail, and seems to be intent on killing us.

"Kirah, don't shoot!" Ember cries. Her shout catches the thing's attention, and it leaps towards her. Dar'sava charges at it and attempts to kick it in what is presumably the thing's stomach, which works out horribly for him. Defying my instinct to shoot it, I go back to my trusty trick- whack the side of its head with my pistol as it lunges for Dar'sava. It doesn't knock the thing out, but distracts it enough for Dar'sava to kick it in the stomach and me to once again hit it on the head, hard enough to give it a concussion, probably. This time, it slumps to the ground.

"What... is... what is that? And what just happened?" Lysette demands, her voice shaking. Jira comes out from the shadows with a flashlight in her hands and silently shines it on the thing.

I've never seen anything like it. It isn't an SOCS experiment, but it's definitely humanoid, like some kind of... lizard anthro? It/they/he/whatever has dark blue skin, clawed feet, and a black ridge that starts between their eyes, runs over their head, and disappears under thair collar.

We all observe everything in silence for a moment before I mutter something about finding another chair. 

Davina~~

Now that Eniyan and Ember have run off to Claaws knows where, the hospital has fallen silent again. They must have turned off the news at some point--I don't have the heart to turn it back on, though, so I stare at the empty black screen instead. 

There's a knock at the door, and I turn to see a nurse step in. There's a sympathetic look on his face, and his white uniform stands out against his dark skin. I notice his eyes have a wild, feral look to them. A shapeshifter, maybe?

He walks across the floor slowly, as if he doesn't want it to be known he's moving. Eventually, he reaches the side of my bed. The nurse takes a deep breath, pauses, and then speaks.

"Ms. Starr, I'm...I'm terribly sorry, but... your father..."

He pauses, and anxiety festers inside my heart.

"Ms. Starr, your father...he's passed away."

My emotions cave in all at once, and I find myself frozen, a void, a shell. My brain feels hollow and broken. 

"No." My mouth speaks the word but it feels like it's coming from a different person.

"He...died fighting. Against Catastrophe."

"No. No. No!" I stand up but it doesn't feel real. This is a nightmare. It isn't real. 

It can't be real.

I suddenly feel sick to stomach and run to the window, throwing it open and sucking in the air. My eyes are stinging but there's no tears coming from them.

Suddenly, there's a loud crash from one room over. "KIMI!" I scream.

NO NO NO SHE CAN'T DIE TOO NO NO NO

I'm vaguely aware of the nurse chasing me as I sprint like a rabid dog down the hallways, crashing into random staff members and knocking over priceless equipment. 

When I swing open the door to Kimi's room, it's empty. Panic and adrenaline are coursing through my veins and I'm about to shout at the nurse to do something when suddenly--

"Davina! I could use your help!"

I run towards the direction Kimi's voice is coming from. She's in the pirate's room, I realize. I burst into the room just in time to witness a cloaked figure raising a dagger above their head, and Kimi is pinned against the wall.

I body-slam the figure, who grunts in pain and drops the dagger. Kimi snatches it off the ground, and I pin the assassin to the ground with my foot. 

The nurse nervously clears his throat behind us. "I'll, uh, get security."

Kimi reaches for the person's hood, and pulls it behind their head. She gasps, and I can see so many emotions flooding through her eyes--shock, anger, and most notably, horror.

The assassin is a raccon anthro.

~~~ 

Dar'sava--

Kirah drags a second chair from her room into mine, and I help her tie the lizard-thing to a chair. Whatever it is, it's wearing a uniform from Catastrophe's Army and has a Song of War bird pin, which means it's nothing good.

"Jira, Eniyan, do either of you recognize them?" Ember asks. Neither of them do. Ember's radio suddenly crackles--it's Hviti who's on the other end.

"Ember, we've just been informed that a Reptithilan by the name of Karthicha would be sent to take Kirah and Dar'sava captive," Hviti said. "Make sure they're safe, and tell them to turn their Power-forsaken radios on!"

I click on my radio, feeling a little embarrassed. Kirah does the same.

"Yes, we've just run into him. He's unconcious, and we've got him bound," Ember replies. "Eniyan was also temporarily possessed."

"I feared that would happen," Hviti says. "I might know a way to fix that. Hurry up and get back to base before he's possessed again."

"Who's telling him all this information?" Eniyan growls. Ember repeats the question into her radio.

"There's a mole in the Black Skull. We don't know their exact identity yet, though. I'll explain more at the base. And watch out for Catastrophe's men! They seem to be looking for a girl, an old man, and some boy." With that, Hviti's voice vanishes.

"That girl would probably be me," Lysette says. "And the old man is probably Eron. He mentioned something about a servant when we were at the hospital, maybe that's the boy?"

"If Catastrophe is after you, then that means we need to move," Kirah says. "I think I have some handcuffs in my bag." Kirah leaves once again and then returns with a pair of silver handcuffs. We use them for Eniyan and simply tie the Reptithilan's hands behind their back--hopefully that's good enough.

Ember has motorcycles waiting out front, but we decide they'll be too noisy. Thankfully, Jira knows these streets well, and begins to guide us down twisting back alleys that keep us away from any guard patrols.

After a while, though, I can tell somethings not right. I think Eniyan and Kirah can sense it as well.

"Jira!" I call. She stops, and turns towards me. 

"What's wrong?" She asks innocently.

"You're leading us away from the base," I respond. "Where are you trying to take us?"

"Oh--um, sorry, must have gotten sidetracked," Jira replies. She continues to lead us, but still we get further from the hospital.

"Jira," Kirah says. "What on Kyngdom is going on?"

Jira looks up at the roof, and there it is-- a slight, nearly invisible nod. 

"She tricked us!" I shout, just as gunfire rains down from the roofs. We take cover behind a dumpster, Jira included.

"I didn't--I swear I didn't trick you!" She replies. "They must have followed us." Despite her suspicious behavior, I know she's not lying. I wonder, however, if she knew the soldiers were on the roof, and that's why she led us on such a strange path.

"The Repithilan!" I realize. "They must have told the guards we were at the hotel!" 

"Right now, that doesn't matter," Kirah says. "We've got to deal with these guards. How many of you can use a gun?"

Lysette and Jira both don't know how. Ember can, but refuses to kill and her hands tremble when she holds it so her aim is always off. That leaves me, Kirah, and Eniyan. Just Kirah and I won't be enough to deal with all of the guards, so we're forced to unshackle Eniyan. He looks equally unhappy about it, but there's not much we can do.

~~~ 

Kirah~

Ember unshackles Eniyan and hands him her gun. Nobody is super confident in this plan, but we don't have any other options thanks to Jira's trick. She hasn't convinced me in the least that she didn't know about this, but that obviously isn't my priority right now. Bullets hit the dumpster we've hidden behind as I peek around the side and take down one, two of the guards in quick succession. 

It's about ten intense minutes before it goes quiet. Thank Claaws Dar'sava, Eniyan and I are all good shots. Ember and Lysette look queasy, and the Reptithilan- Karthicha or whatever- is doing his best to unobtrusively free himself.

After a few seconds, I laugh dryly. "Forget waking up whoever else was in that hotel, at least half of the town must know we're here now. Let's get the heck out of here."

Eniyan is put in handcuffs once again, Jira is given a stern warning to lead us the correct way, and Dar'sava and I watch the Reptithilan closely. We get out of Spiaggia as quickly as we can- which, to our credit, is fast enough.

Hviti is waiting for us. "There you are," he greets unhappily. "Remind me to lecture you two later on not having your blasted radios on. You tied the Reptithilan's hands with rope? That's the best you could manage?" I can't decide if I should be amused or embarrassed by Hviti's mood, knowing that I helped cause it.

Eniyan is ushered one way, Karthicha another. It dawns on me that I just walked to this base in the company of a Tenebris in danger of being possessed and a Reptithilan who was intent on killing me, and now I've got the choice of who I'm going to accompany further. I look around. Jira looks somewhat uncomfortable- I remember the Catastrophe soldier whose life she saved; Lysette looks lost; Dar'sava seems to be humming casually; and Ember has disappeared. I think she tagged along with Eniyan, wherever he went.

"So... what's happening now?" Lysette asks, rocking back and forth from tiptoe to flat-footed.

Just as I'm opening my mouth to say that I have no idea, Hviti reappears. "Kirah, Dar'sava, come with me. We're going to interrogate the Reptithilan."

~~~~~

We'd planned this out in the YWP classroom, but I can't remember what all is supposed to be said with Karthicha's interrogation, so I'm going to leave it there.

Okay...

*winces*

How long has it been?

Yeah, I've disappeared off the face of Kyngdom, I'm so sorry. BUT- I'm back! I think! Hopefully I don't do that again (but no promises). I'm working on a post right now :)

Eniyan~~

Kirah and Dar’sava were taken somewhere by Hviti, and Eniyan was taken somewhere by a group of Sanukan soldiers. Ember had followed him, looking deeply concerned. It didn’t feel like Eniyan was being taken captive, though. There were only three soldiers, and all of them were basically unarmed. Eniyan wondered if they were idiots or if they trusted him. Maybe both.

They were on the second floor of the headquarters-- large glass windows overlooked the town, and Eniyan could see the moon slowly beginning to set. Had it really been that long? No wonder he felt tired. He wondered how Ember was doing. Hopefully she’d gotten some sleep.

The soldiers guided them into a hallway which was separated from the rest of the lodge by a clear plastic curtain. There were rooms lining the hall, and Sanukans in white jumpsuits everywhere. So, the infirmary was where they were taking him. At least he wasn’t in the prisons.

He wished he could have gone here instead of the hospital.

The soldiers led Eniyan and Ember into one of the rooms, and Eniyan realized why he’d gone to the hospital instead of here. It wasn’t an infirmary at all. It was a laboratory. 

Eniyan and Ember were instructed to sit in two white, cloth chairs--which they did, and then the soldiers left the room. One of them paused before leaving, walked towards Eniyan, and removed his handcuffs. Afterwards, she quickly rushed out of the room. Evidently, they didn’t trust him as much as he’d assumed. 

The room was filled with only Ember and Eniyan, and was eerily silent. There were vials of blood samples sitting on a counter. The labels were printed in Northern, so Eniyan had no idea what kind of blood was inside. He hoped it wasn’t human blood.

“I...wonder what’s going to happen.” Ember’s voice was soft, with a hint of worry. He could tell she was trying to mask her concern. Eniyan wasn’t sure how to reply. He didn’t know what was going to happen either.

Ember wrapped her arms around herself. “They’re taking a long time.” He wondered if she was trying to calm herself by talking. He couldn’t imagine her actually wanting to talk to him.

“They seemed to have a lot to do.” Ember seemed almost shocked that Eniyan replied to her. It made sense. It wasn’t like they’d ever really spoken before.

“Yeah… I guess they did.” Ember seemed distracted. “I guess being in a lab is probably uncomfortable for you.” Eniyan hadn’t really considered it, but she was right. He’d been on edge the entire time they were in this room. The sight of needles and stark white halls and lab equipment reminded him too much of his days at SOCS. Claaws, Ember was good at knowing how people felt. 

“It’s not that bad.” Ember looked at him, and Eniyan could see that there was worry written all over her face. For him, or herself, he had no idea. Maybe it was for both. 

“I…” She faltered. “I was thinking, after all this over--by that, I mean the attack on the Black Skull--maybe I would join one of the groups of travelling healers. Maybe for the Resistance… maybe for the Sanukans. I’m… not sure yet.”

He wondered why she was telling him this.

“And… I know, after this, you’re going to need...something to do, right?” He nodded.

“I know you probably don’t want to be involved with the war any more, but… maybe… you could come with us? As a guard...or something…”

Before Eniyan could respond, the door opened to reveal a Sanukan in a white jumpsuit. They had pale skin, and long blonde hair tied into a braid that reached their waist. The Sanukan towered over both Eniyan and Ember. 

“Hello. I’m Mx. Skulkakr Guskoenulum.” The scientist said nothing else, nor did they wait for Ember and Eniyan to introduce themselves. They simply grabbed a syringe and began to mix something from various samples. “You weren’t possessed, by the way. Catastrophe--well, probably not him personally, but you should understand what I mean--used something called a niyantrana to control you.”

“Niyantrana? That’s… a kind of crystal, right?” Ember said. “I know some medicines used to treat hallucinations are made from it…”

“Correct. Fragments from the same crystal also have some kind of link between them, allowing them to be used for mind controlling purposes.” Skulkakr pointed at Eniyan. “In fact, you have a fragment in your brain. Removing it would kill you. Thankfully, there is another solution… though you might not like it.”

Eniyan figured there’d have to be a catch of some kind. “What is it?”

“Lycanthropy.” Skulkakr said it so casually Eniyan assumed they were joking. Skulkakr raised an eyebrow.

“What? The volatility of lycanthropy is more than enough to cloud any sort of link between the fragment and its source. At most, you might hear voices in the back of your head. Nothing you can’t handle, I’m sure.”

“Can Tenebri even be werewolves?” Ember asked.

“Lycanthropes, dear, not ‘werewolves’. And yes. I’d imagine you’d probably lose whatever weak magic you have, but it’s not as if there aren’t benefits. You’ll be immune to most diseases--not poisons, though--and once you learn how, you can shift… whenever, basically. For now, though, you’ll probably be stuck to only transforming at night. Oh, and wolfsbane will turn you back. Might want to avoid silver, too.” Skulkakr filled the syringe with whatever they’d been mixing.

“Be careful not to wear yourself out when shifting, too. You could go into a coma. Or die. But at least you’ll have enhanced healing! Only when you’re a lycan, though…” Skulkakr shrugged. “You’ll be fine.”

“Do I get a choice in this?” Eniyan growled.

“Uh, no. Unless you want to be brainwashed?” 

Eniyan stayed silent.

~~~~~

Dione Janik~

To the Black Skull, I am Arevi Edrez: I can blend into a crowd, know my way around a gun, and would never give information to the Resistance.

And of course, Arevi Edrez would never. But Dione Janik sure as Claaws would.

I've gotten to the point where being under cover has lost the rush it gives me at first. I love taking on a new persona, but Arevi isn't nearly as reckless (or flirty) as I like to be. I'm grateful for the people at the Resistance who have magic that can alter my appearance, but I miss my tattoos and shaved head. It's great fun to live in places I shouldn't, but I've long since gotten used to my tiny living quarters and the secretive but boring Black Skull base. Of course, my own enjoyment isn't the point here, but it sure would be nice.

Right now, I'm trying my best to find out how the Black Skull would respond to the attack the Resistance is planning. I've tried to guess based on what I know about them- they mainly operate by infiltration and stealth, so the Resistance already has an advantage if they ambush them or even attack outright. But of course, you can count on the Black Skull to have some kind of deadly ace up its sleeve. And it's not like I could just walk up to one of the higher-ups and say, "Hey, if the Resistance were to hypothetically attack us, how do you suppose we would respond? For no reason at all, just curious." I mean, I'll be able to figure out how to get to that information. But there's a thin line of curiosity and suspicion, and I can stay on my side well... it's just so much work.

I sigh and walk out into the hallway, where I find Airini- I'm not supposed to refer to her by her first name, but she gets so annoyed with me, it's hilarious. It might be best to stop, though- she was top of her class at SOCS, and I heard a rumor that she found the burnt ashes of her old village and stared at them with zero emotion before saying, "What a mess," and moving on. I wouldn't doubt it whatsoever. So she's probably not my best bet. I give her a semi-polite nod, and she scowls back, which is probably the best response I'll get from her.

Rounding the corner, I find someone I'm much more likely to have luck with- Angen Freiu, an excellent smuggler who is often locked up in stuffy rooms making evil plans. They see me as something of a friend, which combined with their scheming, makes them one of the best opportunities for information.

"Evening, Arevi," they say cheerfully. "Fancy seeing you out this late!"

"I haven't had a proper sleep schedule for years," I joke. "They're for the weak, if you ask me. What about you?"

"Just coming back from another meeting."

"I would say I'm jealous if I didn't think they were boring as watching paint dry. You've had a thousand in the past few days- what could you even be talking about?"

"Well... we're not supposed to tell," they admit, dropping their voice to almost a whisper, "but I trust you. We got a tip-off that the Resistance is planning an attack on us in the coming days. We're planning to beat them to it and ambush a few of their bases in the Grasplands."

My heart drops into my stomach. This is serious information, stuff that could result in the deaths of hundreds of good people if I don't get it into the right hands in time. But I lied my way into this army, and I'll lie a thousand more times to save it. 

I mask my panic with a look of impressed shock. "Some nerve the Resistance has got! Thank Claaws for that tip-off, whoever gave it to us," I say in an admittedly weak attempt to find out if I'm not the only mole around.

"Yeah," Angen responds simply. "Well, nice running into you. And remember, it's our secret, yeah?"

"My lips are sealed," I reassure them. "Catch you later."

I round the corner, then look back to make sure Angen doesn't suspect and isn't following. Then I speed-walk towards a broom closet, shut myself in, and dig a transmitter from a hidden pocket on the inside of my bulky jacket. I send a coded message relaying what little information I have and say that I'll try to get more. I'll sneak into the room where Angen and the others just met and look for anything that might be useful, maybe even go into their quarters. Stuffing the transmitter back into my jacket, I jerk the door open and almost faceplant. I'm dusting off my knees when Airini rounds the corner.

For a millisecond, I freeze altogether, then casually finish brushing my knees off and straighten my posture. "Evening," I say casually.

"You just fell out of that closet," she states, in a half-accusation.

"Of course not. I haven't been in any closets since I was twelve."

"I don't appreciate your jokes, Edrez," she hisses. The emphasis she puts on my "name" makes my insides squirm.

"Alright, you've caught me. I was having my daily crisis. Didn't want to burden my roommate with all that existential dread."

"You had better be dreading something," she mutters before stalking off with a look so venomous I'm surprised it doesn't kill me.

I walk away from Airini, away from the meeting rooms and my bunk. With dear old Rini on my case, stealing further information will be rough. But I'll get it. I have to.

Adrion K'rosi~~

Adrion hated the HQ people. He'd forgotten how much he really hated them until he'd been forced to start going to their meetings. And then he remembered very, very clearly.

The HQ people never did any of the work and yet they thought so very, very highly of themselves. It was funny--technically, it was Adrion and the other agents who worked outside of the HQ who actually had more power, but the HQ people never seemed to understand that. The worst was Airini Tourmaline-- she almost seemed to think she was the leader. She wasn't even a lieutenant, she was just one of the scientists who kept an eye on things.

Really, Adrion wondered why the SOCS dropouts were even allowed to stay in the Black Skull. They were all awfully eager to swear loyalty to Catastrophe instead. 

Angen Freiu was saying something. Adrion didn't particularly mind Freiu--after all, Adrion used to be the lieutenant in charge of Freiu at one point. They were a hardworking  person, but could be overly trusting. Adrion decided it would be too much of a risk to have them working out in the field, so he'd requested they be transferred to the HQ. He wondered if Angen resented him for it.

"Do we know if the Sanukans have allied with the Resistance yet?" Putticali Ormur, another lieutenant like Adrion, asked. Ormur was a brilliant and cold man in his thirties, with slightly pointed ears due to his half-elvish blood. 

"According to Skriven--that coyote anthro who was going by R'oko--they had plans to form one. Skriven's plot to ruin the alliance failed, though. And since he's dead, we've got no way of knowing if one's been formed or not," Airini explained. 

"But we know that somehow, the Sanukans have been gaining knowledge of our operations," Adrion said. "There has to be a mole amongst us."

"I'll leave the detective work up to you and Ormur," Airini said. "I have an informant on Bleak Peak who's been telling me more about Catastrophe's experiment. Unfortunately, I doubt it will be of use to us."

"Was the old man connected to it somehow?"

Airini nodded. "Yes. We need to recapture him as soon as we can."

"It would be best if we didn't tell Catastrophe," Adrion admitted. "He may be of use to us."

"Very well, then," Ormur said. "I believe that concludes this meeting?" 

The others all voiced their consent, and soon they were going their own ways. Adrion knew each and every person here was sure to be looking for the escaped old man--he was near certain that soon, infighting would begin as everyone raced to be the ones to get their hands on him first. 

Adrion had already seen the man, so he had a bit of an advantage. He knew the man was traveling with that young girl, and he knew she was Resistance-supporting. If he could find a Resistance agent, it was more than likely he could find her. And, hadn't they already established someone was spying on them from within? Sanukans didn't do much spying-- it was more likely that a Resistance agent was working for them. So all Adrion had to do was figure out who the spy was--which was the exact task he'd been assigned to.

Things were working out surprisingly well.

Adrion had begun to head towards his temporary bunk when he heard a solid thunk--Airini was just ahead of him, and he grew curious. He stepped against the wall and listened to what was happening just around the corner.

“You just fell out of the closet.” Airini’s voice sounded suspicious and accusatory. 

“Of course not. I haven’t been in any closets since I was twelve.” This voice wasn’t one Adrion recognized--definitely someone from HQ, then. He knew everyone who worked out in the field.

“I don’t appreciate your jokes, Erdez,” Airini hissed, lingering on the word ‘Erdez’. Erdez wasn’t a name Adrion recognized in the slightest. 

“Alright, you’ve caught me,” the other person--Erdez, Adrion assumed--replied. “I was having my daily crisis. Didn’t want to burden my roommate with all that existential dread.”

“You better be dreading something,” Airini snarls. Adrion heard the click of her boots, becoming fainter.

Erdez swung around the corner and suddenly crashed into Adrion. Both stumbled backwards, Erdez’s eyebrows raising. They were short, with olive skin and long hair so messy Adrion felt like she didn’t actually know how to take care of long hair. He took a step back and looked upwards at Adrion’s face.

“Ah, Claaws. Sorry about that.” Erdez seemed to be examining Adrion--did she really not recognize him? Adrion decided he must be a new recruit.

“Walk straighter next time,” Adrion muttered.

“Yeah, well, being straight’s kind of hard for me,” Erdez said. Adrion snorted. 

“I’m sure it is,” Adrion said. “You’re new, aren’t you?”

Erdez paused for a moment. “Relatively.” That was vague. 

“Then where in Claaws’ name do you think you’re going? This wing is off-limits to lower ranks.” A lie--he wanted to test Erdez.

“Is it? I haven’t heard that before.” There seemed to be faint worry in Erdez’s eyes. Hmm. That answer wasn’t entirely helpful.

“No.”

“...Oh?” Erdez raised an eyebrow. 

“Sorry. I was trying to make sure you weren’t a spy,” Adrion replied. “Unfortunately, your answer wasn’t very helpful.”

Erdez shrugged. “Sorry about that. You don’t have to worry about me, though.”

“I would hope not,” Adrion said. “I have enough to worry about.”

“Oh, I’m sure you do.”

“...Seriously, though. Where were you going? It’s late, and you’re walking away from the bunks.”

~~~~

Davina Starr~

Kimi trembles, visibly shaken. She steps back from the assassin, leaving me to pin him down myself. He twists and writhes frantically, but he doesn't escape.

Kimi sits down on the edge of the pirate's hospital bed, silent. The last time she was like this was when we were trapped in Jokull, waiting to die. I want to comfort her, but I've got to keep the assassin under control.

"Get off me," He snarls, purple eyes narrowing. 

"No." He growls, but says nothing more. I turn to Kimi.

"Do you...know him?" I ask quietly. 

Kimi lowers her head. "Not personally. But I thought… I thought all the other anthros from the Forest had been killed."

Ah. "So, you, you're from the Forest, aren't you?" I ask the assassin.

"So what if I am?" He spits.

"He is," Kimi says. "I recognize him. I… thought he was just an illusion. I mean, I thought most of the others were decoys."

I can't imagine what it must be like to not know if your loved ones were even real or not. To have new neighbors appear at random and old friends vanish in the blink of an eye. Kimi hasn't said much about her past to me. I can only imagine it being at least decently traumatic.

"And you thought you were the only surviving member of your tribe?" I ask.

Kimi nods. The assassin scowls.

"Do you know his name?"

She shakes her head. The assassin continues to scowl. 

Before I can ask any more questions, the nurse returns with two burly women. They're not Sanukans, but they're not wearing Catastrophe's uniform either--maybe they're with local law enforcement? That being said, most Grasplands towns use Catastrophe's soldiers as their police officers.

"We'll take him from here," One of the women says. She's human, well-muscled, with dark olive skin and a shaved head. Her clothes are dark in color and seem to be brand-new, and I think I can see the outline of a bulletproof vest underneath. Weird outfit for a local militia member--that seems more like something the bodyguard of a Nobyl would wear. The other woman wears a similar outfit, which blends into her dark brown skin.

"Right," I say. I stand up slowly, giving time for the two women to secure him. I notice both have pistols of some kind--pistols that look eerily similar to the dark magic blasters Saorise made for Kimi and I. 

"Where are you taking him?" Kimi asks quietly. 

"Away," The woman with darker skin says. They offer no other information as they drag the assassin away, who curses loudly.

"Who do you think wants her dead?" Kimi says after a moment. She gestures to the pirate, who she's still sitting next to. 

"Black Skull, probably," I say. "They don't like loose ends."

"Oh." Kimi falls silent again. For once, I have nothing to say. I leave her in the room with the burned pirate, and slip back to my own room.

I crawl onto the bed, and lay down, wishing for sleep that doesn't come. I want to cry but I feel too numb to do anything. That numbness slowly fades and lets anger take its place.

I want to hurt the people who killed my father.

I want vengeance.

I hear a quiet knock at my door. There's a tug in my leg as I sit up--did I pull a muscle? Probably. I stand, carefully. The gentle knocking returns.

I open the door to reveal Kimi. The sad, numb look on her face has been replaced with one of determination and strength--I take this as a sign she's doing alright. 'Strong and determined' sums up the Kimi I know. 

"Davina," She says, her voice clear and certain. "I want to free that assassin."

“How do you plan on finding him?” 

“...I don’t know.”

“Ah.”

“Davina, this is… important to me. More than you can understand,” Kimi says, her voice stronger. “He’s the last bit of home I have.”

That I understand. “Okay. Fine. I’m in the mood to spill some blood anyway.” 

Her face brightens. “Great! Let’s go!”

~~~

‘Let’s go’ is easier said than done. We won’t be receiving the special treatment until tomorrow, and we’re both so badly burned and hurt we can at most ‘stumble quickly’. Thankfully, the nurses don’t seem overly interested in chasing us down. 

“So how are we going to find them?” I whisper to Kimi as we reach the main lobby. It’s silent, which is to be expected this late...early? Hard to say when it’s after midnight. Certainly, it's a time most people would be asleep. 

“I mean, they can’t be that far. It hasn’t even been an hour since they left.” Kimi sounds as if she’s trying to convince herself of this. I elect against reminding her that it’s only a ten minute boat ride to the next city. 

We make it outside of the hospital. The streets are quiet, but from the fields surrounding Spiaggia I hear the howls of wolves. They’re eerie, and chilling. I can see Kimi’s fur rising. 

“Uh… any ideas?” Kimi asks me in a soft tone.

“What? This was your plan!” I snap.

“Well, I can’t be expected to do all the thinking!” Kimi retorts.

I sigh. “Well, we can start by figuring out who those two people were. They weren’t with Catastrophe, and they certainly weren’t Sanukans.”

Kimi pauses to think when we hear a shout.

“I’m not going to tell you anything!” That voice--I know it. It’s him, the assassin. Kimi sprints--limps, really--towards the source of the voice before I can say anything. I do my best to keep up with her, but she’s determined. And faster than me. 

She turns down a side alley, and I follow. There’s a loud thunk, followed by an even louder curse. Kimi crashes through the door of an abandoned warehouse. I can hear shouting from within.

I hit the door a second later, already reaching for my pistol--when I realize I don’t have one. Of course I’d left it in the hospital. The only weapon I currently had was a small switchblade I kept hidden in my boot--hardly a trustworthy weapon to use against guns powered by black magic.

Which, of course, was what the assassin’s captors had. They were the same women from before, and they were so shocked by Kimi and I’s arrival they hadn’t shot us yet. The assassin lays curled on the ground, his hands bound, blood spurting from his nose. He had several bruises and one of his ankles seems swollen. So they’d been interrogating him--but why?

“What are you doing with him?” Despite being woefully unprepared, Kimi doesn’t seem to be scared at all. Vruero, she really does care a lot about this. 

“What in Claaws’ name are you doing here?” One of the women snaps. It’s the one with olive skin and shaved hair--her eyes are narrowed further than even the assassin’s. 

“Saving him.” I point towards the assassin. “Maybe. Possibly. I think so.”

“Yes. We are,” Kimi says. Well, at least one of us knows what we’re doing. 

“And why,” the lady with shaved hair says, “are you doing that?”

“Because he’s…” Kimi trails off. “He’s family. Of a sort.”

The shaved-hair lady raises an eyebrow. The other woman, who has dark curly hair pulled back into a tight bun, takes over the job of speaking. Broken glass crunches under her feet as she steps closer to us.

“I should kill you, for interfering,” She says. “But, Claaws, you’re both injured and also Sanukans, and I owe the Sanukans more than I owe sweet Lunee. So I’m willing to hear you out. What about you, Clarke?” 

Shaved-hair lady (Clarke, I guess) shrugs. “Fine. At least they’re not Catastrophe’s pigs.”

“So you don’t like Catastrophe,” I muse. “Funny, considering everyone around here does.”

“Nearly everyone, that is,” the lady with a bun says. “What do you mean by him being family?”

“We’re both from the Forest,” Kimi explains. “Decoy Forest, I mean. I..um, I haven’t seen any other members of my tribe. For a really long time.”

“So you’re from the Decoy Forest?” Clarke says. “Huh. Thought Catastrophe captured you all.”

“I was captured by him. Uh, multiple times, actually. The Resistance freed me the first time, and the Sanukans the second.” Ah, so I was right. She had been imprisoned by Catastrophe before.

“Maybe you can help us figure out who he is, then,” Bun-lady says. “He’s well-trained. It’ll take hours for us to get him to talk.”

“Hold on,” I interrupt. “How can we trust you? We’ve got no idea who either of you are. To me, you seem like gangsters.” Sudden nervousness in both of their eyes--or is that just my own wishful thinking? 

“What makes you think that?” Clarke snaps.

“Who else would interrogate someone this brutally, who would also hate Catastrophe, and would be hired to protect a hospital--one that’s neutral, I might add--and would have the money to buy clothes like that?” I gesture towards their unnaturally clean outfits. 

“I’ve had enough of this,” Clarke says to Bun-lady. “We’re not gonna get anything out of these three.” They step towards Kimi and I, their pistols drawn. I pull out my switchblade, the blade springing out with a clean swish.

“I’m not going down without a fight.” I hold out the switchblade protectively. Kimi doesn’t have any weapons, but she’s got her claws.

“You’re still going down, though,” Clarke snarls. 

“Wait, wait, wait. We were having such a nice conversation! What’s with the guns?” Kimi says. 

“What if we made a deal?” I offer. This makes them pause.

“What kind of deal?” Bun-lady asks.

“A deal to look the other way,” I say. “Look, I don’t know how big your gang is, but you clearly operate in the Grasplands. Sanukans have control over a good deal of trade and several cities down here. I’m the daughter of Rubiana and Victor Starr, so I’ve got a lot of say in things. I can make so your gang can do whatever it wants in any Sanukan territories, without any law enforcement ever getting in your way. I mean, you’d basically have control of the cities.” This is a terrible idea. Horrible, really--I’ve given away my identity and placed Hviti in a nasty position. But I didn’t have any other ideas.

“What do you want in return?” Bun-lady asks.

“First, your name. Second, that assassin. Third, I want you to tell me what gang you’re in, and why you hate Catastrophe so much.”

“First one I can do,” Bun-lady says. “Call me Edwards.”

“Thanks.”

“Assassin? Maybe. Here’s this--he tells me what I want, and I’ll hand him over to General Hviti, alive. Third--well, that’s a long story,” Edwards says.

“I have time.”

“Hold on, Edwards. How do we know she’s going to keep up her end of the bargain?” Clarke says.

“I’m betting that she won’t,” Edwards admits.

“Oh, come on. I’m at least moderately trustworthy,” I say. “And besides, you know who I am, so if you want to kill me it wouldn’t be hard to find me.”

“I’m betting that she won’t,” Edwards repeats, “But I’m still willing to make that deal with you. If, of course, the Sanukans help us kill our boss.”

“Uh, what?” Kimi blurts.

“Not everyone in the Black Skull likes working with Catastrophe,” Clarke says with a smirk. “But the Sanukans are planning an attack on the Black Skull, aren’t they?”

“How’d you figure that out?” Kimi asks.

“We have our methods,” Edwards says. “Let’s say I give you a list of names. If the Sanukans spare the lives of everyone on that list, but kill all those loyal to the boss--we won’t hunt you down and kill you. But, if you so much as injure even one of them, both of you are dead.”

“Fine,” I say. “But I want the assassin now. I’ll have the Sanukans interrogate him themselves. We’ll tell you everything he says.”

“No,” Edwards says. “But I’ll promise not to kill him.”

“...Okay. That should be fine,” Kimi says after a brief moment of silence. “Just… make sure you don’t injure him too badly.”

“I’ve made enough deals tonight,” Edwards says curtly. “Clarke, make sure those two get back to the hospital safely. The two of you will be under tight surveillance.”

“Got it,” I say. “But wait, one more thing. Who is the current boss? I’ll need to know if we’re to kill them.” 

“That’s the funny thing. We don’t know the true identity of the current boss. Used to be Rigga, but those Dolor Felis killed her,” Clarke says. “K’rosi’s been loo--” 

She stops suddenly, realizing she’s said too much. Edwards glares at her, and she curses softly.

“I’m guessing this ‘K’rosi’ person is your band of traitors’ leader?” I ask. Clarke doesn’t say anything else.

“Let’s just… get going.”

~~~~~~

Sorry that was so long! I really messed with the plot there so, if we want to totally throw this whole post out the window that's fine.