The tall man with the tired face sighed. “Tell me again, how did this happen?”

Z could see Ashi gulp, his Adams Apple bobbing and he was wringing his hands so hard he may leave marks. Ashi stuttered for a moment, his face pale not only from the poison, but the nervousness clearly running through his veins.

Z smiled a smile that wasn’t exactly that, a sinister grin that stretched across their face like the Cheshire Cat.

I did that, Z thought. The lethal poison running through Ashi’s veins was their doing.

Because Ashi, this useless captain, deserved to die.

“Z… Z stabbed me with a poisoned knife.”

The tired man rubbed his face with his hands and groaned. “What the fuck.”

It wasn’t a question, really. It was more a statement, pointed at Ashi like a dagger.

Z shifted, not from nerves but excitement instead. They were in the brig, Z watching the conversation unfold with wide eyes. They were going back home, with an army to drive out the wrongdoers who’d killed their people.

“I’m sorry, Ela,” Ashi whined, taking a step closer. “I didn’t mean it!”

“Why did they stab you?” the tired man (Ela?) leered.

Z grinned. “He killed my people, it was rightful revenge.”

Now, Z was known for causing chaos. Whether it was stealing supplies from the snooty nobles in the city, lighting a corporate warehouse on fire, or, or course, sneaking onto a Guild ship and attempting to kill a man—it was their calling. Z reveled in the looks of terror from their victims. People were easy too easy to read sometimes, and Z was an expert.

The tired man stuttered, his calm and slightly annoyed mask flashing to an expression of surprise and terror.

“Ela,” Ashi began, but his words fizzled out at the dead look in Elameere’s eyes. “I’m sorry,” he repeated. “I’m sorry.”

“So, you’re still working for the Guild?”the exhausted man tried, his face void of hope.

Ashi gave him a reluctantly sad expression. “Yeah.”

“Well, then,” the other man breathed, “I guess we’ll be in Luminaria soon.”

The tired man Ela swiftly turned away and exited the room, leaving as quick as he came.

Ashi looked dumbfounded, confused, utterly pathetic. “Where did I go wrong?”

Z clicked their tongue. “When you joined the Guild in the first place, at the very least.”

Ashi scowled, denial turning to anger. “I don’t need your input, you fucking fanged menace.”

Z smirked. They leaned back against the stone walls of the prison, licking their lips. They’d done a good job this time, all the knots were tied and loose ends cut. They could be as mean as they wanted. “Oh but darling, I’m not giving you the cure if you talk to me like that.”

Ashi seethed. “Do we need to gag you, too?”

Z innocently batted their eyes, contrasting with their fangs glinting predatorily in the low light. “Only if you want to, babe.”

“I don’t need this right now.” Ashi just took a deep breath and turned around the same way the other man did, slamming the door behind him.

Z was satisfied. Torture the poor man, that was their goal. Push his buttons till he ran out of battery.

And now they had time alone to rest until they were back home. A double victory, they figured.

They lay on the cold floor and slept.

***

If Z had to choose, they wouldn’t have woken up on the cold floor of a large boat’s prison cell with nothing but spiders and a sea sick stomach to greet them. Of course, there’s the whole “I’m going to finally return home and kill the man who caused my species so much pain” factor, which made their stomach calm and their head clear.

However, it did nothing for the spiders.

Z stood up quickly, swatting the newly made cobwebs and tiny critters off. “Damn nuisances,” they muttered, “these assholes must never clean.”

The cell stank of moist stone and certain leftover smells of past occupants, but honestly it was a pretty nice cell. Minus the spiders, and the splintery bench. And the mysterious red puddle on the ground in the left corner. But, all in all, it was plenty better than many other cells Z had ended up locked in.

Z sighed, stretched all the knots in their tired and sore body out, and started banging on the bars. “Hungryyy,” they whined like a child. They continued until a wimpy looking guard with a lopsided helmet entered with a clattering plate.

“Here you go. Breakfast.” The guard shuffled awkwardly, trembling in his too-large boots. He slipped the tray through the bars without making eye contact. Z didn’t mind, really, but he could be a fun toy. Way too easy to read, thus much to easy to manipulate.

Z snatched the plate and began scarfing food down. It tasted like absolute shit, but Luminaria was near, as was the time for revenge. Food, no matter how unappealing the taste, was important to their success.

But the food was really bad.

“Who the hell’s your chef?” Z asked with a mouthful of plaster-like mashed potatoes.

The guard’s eyes bore holes into the ground. “We don’t… we don’t have one anymore.”

Z raised an eyebrow. “Did he, like, leave?”

The guard twiddled his thumbs. (He really didn’t seem like an authoritative person, why was this man even assigned to this position?) “He, uh, he died.” His voice was squeaky, slightly too bright for Z’s taste, but utterly adorable. There was a blush high on his cheeks.

“Hm. That’s unfortunate,” Z dismissed, shoving another handful of vile food into their mouth.

“You… you killed him, didn’t you?” The guard made eye contact with Z after long last. His eyes were cobalt blue, a vast and turbulent sea.

Z shrugged. “Dunno. What’s your name?”

The guard furled his eyebrows. “Aboney. Aboney Gray. But you didnt answer me.”

Z rolled their eyes. “Look, I dunno. May have, may have not, I don’t keep track of that.”

“You don’t… you don’t keep track of who you ki-kill?”

“I kill too many for that.”

Aboney shuffled his comically large boots. “I don’t understand.”

Z scoffed. “Look. You probably grew up in a home that was warm and safe, correct?” Aboney nodded slowly. “So you wouldn’t know. I’ve lived in a home where it’s a crime to be the species that I am. Where houses like mine burned in the night. I had to steal, kill, manipulate to survive.”

Aboney seemed to ponder this for a second. Before exiting the room without a word, he tipped his stupid little sailor hat and gave Z a sad smile. Z wasn’t exactly sure why the silence bothered them. They never minded silence before. They sat back and thought for a second, furiously worrying at their lip.

Interesting, they thought, before a clatter arose from outside the door. Z was violently ripped out of their pondering.

“Aboney, tell Z that we’re almost in Luminaria.”

***

Z had forgotten what Luminaria had looked like in the long time they were gone. Stretches of pure white sand littered the beach along with scraps of driftwood and seagulls. The beaches framed a beautiful jungle of vines and rainforest trees vying for the cloudy sky. It already smelled of fish, as there were multitudes of fishing boats searching for an extra buck here and there. Nets of bioluminescent fish still glowing in the broad daylight were hoisted up into the air, the main source of food for almost every Luminarian. Z could see smoke from the small huts along the beach, knowing their own home was close.

Z slowly stepped towards the railing on the edge of the boat, now handcuffed and without a weapon. Evan, Ashi, and Ela all stood and gazed at Z.

“You ready?” Z asked them all, smirking.

Evan rolled his eyes. “I mean—I can’t say no, can I?”

Z shook their head. “Ha, no.”

Ela placed a reassuring hand on Evan’s shoulder. “Then we’re ready as we’ll ever be,” he said.

“Yeah, sure. Your name is Ela, right?” Z asked, joining them at the rail.

The man scoffed. “Ashi, look what you’ve started. My name is Elameere, you may not refer to me as anything otherwise.”

Z grinned. “Okay, Ela.”

Elameere growled and reared his fists just as a yelling voice called from the lookout. “Ready for docking, captain!”

Ashi nodded and turned to the group. “That’s my cue, we’ll be off the Bonavis in a bit.”

Z leaned over the railing and inhaled the scent of home.

“I’m coming,” they whispered.