After the exchange with the police officers, Nav goes silent, instead forcing the three of us to return to the trailer. The moment we arrive, we all find Nav standing there with his arms crossed, a tablet held in his right hand. He seems impatient, but at the same time, he has a small grin on his face, something that makes me nervous. “We’ll talk about this over lunch,” Nav announces. It seems he’s not interested in immediately divulging his plan or just doesn’t want to talk about it here.

I look around, it’s not very busy right now, mostly because it’s still the middle of the week, though it’s bound to grow busier as it draws closer to lunch time. “Not sure it’s a good idea, perhaps we should pace ourselves, we can eat in the trailer,” Mattie mutters. I know he’s talking for my sake, he’s trying to do this all for me, and I’m thankful for it, even though I feel like a complete coward for wanting this.

“There’s actually a place I want to go to and it’s important to the plan. Good luck trying to get the job done staying in the trailer.” Nav immediately retaliates, a firm expression glued to his face, wiping away his former grin. It seems that he’s a man of more expressions than I took him for, but now he’s pressing me to step outside my comfort zone.

“You can at least try to explain from the trailer,” Hercules responds.

“I can, but I won’t. I don’t want to go through the effort and even if I did, I would stubbornly refuse because I selfishly would like to attend a small cafe at the edge of locale I wish to travel to.” Nav lifts his tablet, blocking his face from view, cutting off direct communication.

Hercules looks at Mattie who shrugs, he then looks at me. It seems they know each other well enough to communicate through body language alone, but I don’t know any of this, I’m waiting for either a question or some sort of firm reprisal toward Nav. Neither of them comes, though I begin to notice exactly what he’s looking at me for. He’s asking me whether I will follow Nav’s little excursion.

I tilt my head forward, sighing to myself. “I could just stay in the trailer,” I mutter, so softly that they can barely hear me. I raise my head again to see Mattie frowning and Hercules raising an eyebrow, giving me a quizzical glance. I don’t really want to be left alone in the trailer, though. It’s incredibly infuriating, I’m both scared of isolation and of being amongst strangers. It seems almost contrary and that’s what’s the most infuriating of it all. In the end, I need to make an effort to find which I prefer more, being alone, or being part of a bigger group. And to me, being with people, being with people who care about me as friends is more important, and as a result, I need to learn to take a step out of my comfort zone, expand my little box. “No- I’ll- I’ll try,” I mutter.

“It won’t be the same as before-” Mattie whispers. “You can’t hide your-”

“I know,” I interrupt. “I know and I understand- it’s just that- I need to try. I need to take large steps forward and I’ve got an opportunity to do so, but I also know that you’re making it easy for me, you’re trying to make me comfortable. It’s- It’s making me-” I stumble over the words for a few moments. “Take the feeling of disconnection for granted.”

“You want to be disconnected?” Hercules inquires.

“I want to be separated from people who look at me strangely because I look different, but at the same time, I want to have friends and spend time with them doing what they want to do and eventually, what I want to do. I- I can’t have one without the other. I have to get used to the glares, to be able to ignore the look of disgust that some people give me.”

“Respect where respect is due,” Nav mutters. “She’s taken a step further that a good portion of Vigors and Magic Users will never take. I’d applaud her, but I don’t really care enough to put my map away. Anyone else got some incredible revelation that wish to reveal.” I feel like I’ve been stabbed in the heart like Nav is just as bad as the people that would stare at me in disgust. I look down at the ground, making out the individual pieces of asphalt.

“Fuck you, Jo,” Hercules growls. “Keep that shit in your head.”

“What? I was complimenting her. She’s done more than I ever will or care to do. Respect to her for that, but just as much as I could have kept that shit in my head, so could she. So are we going, or what?”

“She talked because we wanted her to talk because it’s necessary for her to share information with us pertaining to how she will be assisting the team,” Mattie says, his voice eerily calm. I glance up at him, his expression is a blank scowl, showing that he too is annoyed but he’s maintaining a sense of calm in spite of his anger. “Unless you have a problem with team communication.”

Nav blinks slowly and nods. “Touche, I retract my harsh pessimism in the face of your cold optimism, no matter how paradoxical that might sound. We’ll go whenever you want then.”

“Let’s,” I mutter, not wanting to continue the terse exchange in spite of my desire to delay. Nav starts walking, and I move up beside Mattie. He places a hand on my shoulder and I look at him, a thin line pasted to my face, torn between a desire to smile at him and my contrary mood. He stoops his head in agreement to my mood and we follow Nav closely down the pathway to the street.

Nav clears his throat. “So our little newbie knows, my power works in a specific way. I can tell which way people go and what actions they take only if I know their faces. The police know this information and thusly I have access to their servers and have the information of the other three victims. They were all left in the same state and all had similar appearances. Women, early twenties, white and pretty. In the same category Gates shares. They were left with a mark, similar to a brand on their left breast and naked. Honestly, a lot of it seems like this guy was going through extreme efforts to throw everyone off his scent- of course, a lot of this was under the assumption that they might assume he was a serial rapist too. Kinda weird considering one of them was a virgin and none of them had semen left-”

“You’re rambling,” Hercules interjects. “And not in a good way either.”

He clears his throat. “Hmm- Let’s just say that it’s rather strange that he’s only had troubles now considering he has a very simple way of looking at throwing people off his scent. Even without our help, the police would inevitably track him down.”

We walk into a small park with gates surrounding the lush green gardens and large trees, there are long walkways that twist through the greenery allowing close access to the plethora of flowers, sadly, not budding due to the winter. All the paths seem to converge to a center point, a large, white painted building with a seemingly smooth upward flow, reaching a triangular peak. It reminds me of plastic, except perhaps a little more durable. It’s surrounded by tables, which continue inside, visible through the glass windows, an aroma of bacon can be smelt on the air, an aroma I have smelt in the past, cooked by Gabbie and Walter.

Nav draws us toward it, twisting his screen around a few times and tapping on it. “Let’s just say, there’s a very simple solution to tracking this guy down when my power is involved.”

“No. Besides eating some breakfast here, that was a bad idea. The idea you’re having now is worse. Not a chance it is happening,” Mattie says.

“You’re not the one who I’ll ask and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t reveal anything,” Nav growls.

Mattie sighs loudly, and he has a look on his face that makes him look like he’s suddenly aged a decade. He looks both stressed and worried. I’m beginning to worry exactly what Nav has in mind. As we draw closer to the building a few people come into view. Some elderly gentlemen and women, some of whom are eating, others seem to be playing small games on the tables, accompanied by a steaming mug. None of them seem to notice me yet, but Nav moving the chair of one of the tables alerts them and a few heads turn our way.

Their eyes look over us, but stop on me, not even bothering to look at Mattie and Nav for more than a split second. I can see confusion burning on their faces, as if I’m not really there, one of them rubs their eyes and blinks a few times as if trying to check if he’s not imagining my existence. My sideshow is eventually cast aside by most of them, though it’s those who decide to forgo their original activities that I really take note of.

Nav clears his throat and I look at him. He waves a hand to a chair. “Sit, Hercules, you too. Mattie, can you-?”

Mattie clicks his tongue and takes a step away before snapping back toward Nav. “I swear to god- If you- You have no clue what I will-”

“Oh, I know,” Nav interjects, a small smile forming on his face. “That’s part of what makes this so interesting.” Mattie grinds his teeth, clenching his fists and he stomps off, anger getting the better of him. He’s royally pissed and I don’t know what got him this way. As he disappears into the building Nav leans forward on his elbows. “You know, I don’t understand what he sees in you. His righteous indignation at every insult thrown your way. He takes it as if he himself were insulted. I find it far too funny-,” he stops his grin widening.

“What do you find funny?” Hercules growls, leaning heavily on the table, making the wood groan in protest.

“That he knows that his own brother is attracted to her, yet he feels the same feelings for her. Just imagine how their relationship would end up should she choose one of them.”

I swallow and I feel almost as if the life is being sucked out of me. “That’s-” I manage. “Don’t fuck with me- Shut the fuck up.”

“Oo- she’s annoyed,” Nav laughs. “How does it feel being in the middle of a love triangle? It feels good doesn’t it? Hurting both Janus and Kaiden. Pretty sure that’s what Demons like doing, ri-”

I shoot up and slam my gauntleted fist into the table which explodes into splinters, “Shut up!” I scream. “I’ve got it! Just stop!” It hurts, I’m angry because it’s hurting me. It’s just more proof that my existence is causing more harm than good, in a place I thought that my existence was doing something good.

People are definitely looking now, stunned looks are pasted to their faces, some are retreating with phones in their hands. This look is shared by Hercules for a moment, who moments later steels himself and grinds his teeth. “As much as I say one’s temper shouldn’t get the better of oneself-” I open my mouth to rebuke what he’s saying but he raises a finger, uttering one, “Ah!” He continues. “This situation I find myself wondering whether in your position I would do the same- And I’m actually impressed at your self-control. I would’ve clocked Nav in the jaw which likely would have given him a nice break.”

“That’s a break!?” Nav yells. “She could have killed me!”

“If she didn’t I fucking will!” Mattie yells, he came back at the sound of commotion and his face is bright red with rage. He passes me and he pushes Nav to the ground, his tablet slides across the ground as Mattie raises his fist. I grab his wrist to stop him. He turns to me, opening his mouth to say something but he stops, almost shocked that it’s me stopping him and not Hercules.

I shake my head. “Don’t-” I’m shivering, I barely believe my own word, I want to let him punch Nav, but I don’t want to be responsible for hurting anyone- not deliberately anyway. This would have been my fault. I feel tears well up in my eyes and I wipe them away with my free hand. Mattie seems stunned and his clenched teeth seem to weaken and the corners of his mouth turn down, influenced by my strong emotions.

He turns back to Nav, “What did you say?” He mutters, his voice shaking with emotion. Nav doesn’t say a thing but there’s no need to. “How did you-? Why did you-?” It’s an admission, he does love me. “God damn it, why do you have to do this now? Why did you have to bring in dirty laundry? Can’t you see the person you’re hurting the most is her,” Mattie whispers.

“She’s a Demon, she doesn’t give a damn. She lives on the pain of others.”

I lower my head and take a few steps back, feeling awash with emotion. Mattie turns back and I can see tears in his eyes, they're not toward me, but he’s sharing my pain as of this moment. He’s not upset that this stuff got unveiled, he’s upset that it was unveiled to me and that he can feel my pain. “Does this look like she feeds on pain?” Mattie hisses, turning back to Nav and pulling on his shirt. “Because to me this looks like the pain of someone who keeps getting betrayed. She trusted you! She allowed you a modicum of trust by coming here and she expected others to hurt her! And it was you!” He stands up and approaches me. “Hercules, please can you-”

Hercules nods. “No problem. I guess I’ll- pay for the table too.”

“Please, we’ll wring it out of Nav later, for now-” He wraps a hand around my waist and leads me toward a bench in the distance. We reach it and sit down together and silence takes hold. There’s a lot of talking and yelling by the small cafe, but it’s almost disconnected from our spot on the bench. I tilt my head forward and place them in my hands, releasing a shaky breath. What is there to say that hasn’t been said? “Are you feeling-?” Mattie doesn’t complete the sentence, starting to notice how stupid that might sound. He clicks his tongue, “I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault.” I’ll get over it. It’s not something I don’t expect, it’s not as bad anymore, I can deal with it. I just don’t want to be the one that hurts Mattie and Kai. “I don’t want to- With you and Kai, I want your relationship to work out, I don’t want it ruined by me,” I whisper.

“I won’t say it will work out all the way you want it to work out, because I’m not sure how, emotions are difficult to keep track of and even if you can read someone's mind, you can’t tell what will hurt them, even if it seems so obvious that it won’t. Maybe something will go wrong, but the only person I’m angry with right now is Jo. He's-" He clicks his tongue. "He likes playing with people and he doesn't know where to draw the line, I won't make excuses, but thinking of others-. Kai and our… Relationship with you is our problem, not yours, and I doubt that anything will change from what they already are. Everything will get better, and it’s not as if my situation can get any worse.”

I let off a bitter snort and rub my fingers across my eyelids. “That seems all too optimistic.”

“Someone’s gotta be.”

“And then what am I?”

“Probably as pessimistic as Jo, and that’s saying something. Then again, I’m the odd one here, being forced to endure the harshness of everyone and coming up positive.” He raises his head and digs a hand into his pocket, retrieving his medallion. “The police are here,” he mutters.

I raise my head and wipe my eyes once more, feeling perhaps a little too self-conscious. There are two men in blue uniforms, the same uniforms I saw before, a small woman with dark skin and short hair and a man with graying brown hair, they seem to work in groups of two, obviously, for some reason, I don’t know about. The woman starts increasing her walking speed and the man has to walk faster to keep up, a look of surprise coming over his face. He opens his mouth to talk. “Excu-”

“Excuse me,” the woman talks over him, her voice is more powerful, and she has a commanding presence in spite of her small size. “We’ve come at the call of a few troubled people who wanted us to come talk to the two of you.”

“Miss, please,” Mattie grins, perhaps a little forced. He stands up and extends the medallion. “We came here at the behest of one of our team members and while I was gone he harassed my friend until she lost her temper. She wasn’t going to harm anyone and we are going through the effort to pay the cafe for the table-”

“Whether you’re paying for the table or not is irrelevant, there’s no way people can be safe with that-”

“Nayla!” The older man yells. Clearly, he’s done with being shut out of the conversation. “No charges have been filed, and no-one has been hurt. For now, we’re here to keep order and there’s no plan to arrest anyone.”

Mattie nods, as if he already knew that, but he still felt the urge to engage with the woman, likely because he thought he could change her in some way. The woman crosses her arms, as if annoyed, but she doesn’t say anything, fuming to herself. It’s almost as if she wanted something bad to happen. Hercules has moved up behind them, with two boxes in his hands and a few cupboard cups. The two police officers look behind them, almost as if startled by his presence and then the older man exhales. He extends a palm and Mattie places the medallion on his palm.

The older man then walks off, leaving the woman there, staring at me. She almost flounders when she realizes the other man is gone and she chases after him. Hercules then approaches, handing a box and cup to me. I nod my head in thanks and open the box revealing a toasted sandwich in nestled in some paper. “Thank you.”

“No problem, are you feeling alright now?” He asks.

I close my eyes and sigh, shrugging once. “I donno. I guess I’ve felt worse before, but- I don’t really want to be subjected to stuff like that everytime I step a foot outside my comfort zone.” I pull out my sandwich, chewing on its corner. It’s got cheese and tomato in it, not bad, not my favorite, but not bad. “I’ll get over it, thanks for taking my side.”

He snorts. “I did what I would’ve done for everyone. No-one deserves that treatment.”

“And the job?”

Mattie groans loudly. “I guess we’ll have to leave it until Gates comes back.”

“No-” I say, immediately, loudly protesting to being treated like someone worse than Gates. “I want to help and I’m not going to let my feelings get in the way of that. What was Nav’s plan?”

Mattie’s mouth forms a thin line, unimpressed and annoyed. “It’s risky- I don’t want to put you at risk.”

“So you want to put Gates at risk?”

“I don’t know Gates as well as I know you-”

“So, when you said earlier that you wanted to protect all strangers at the cost of your life, you were lying?”

“Jesus,” Hercules laughs. “That’s harsh.”

Mattie sighs loudly, but he nods slowly. “Touche. Fine, I’ll say it, but you have a right to deny it. You know this bench?”

“That’s an… Odd thing to mention.”

“The four victims all came into this park and sat here. At a late hour every Wednesday night a young woman would be taken from here to inevitably be killed in such a way. It seems they all went willingly with our murderer and he would take them to alleyways to dump them. We have to assume either this person is charming or very easy to trust.”

“So a very normal guy, likely a psychopath or sociopath. The plan is to use Elmira as bait and if it’s not Elmira, then Gates.”

“Correct, which is why I don’t want to put Elmira at risk, she’s been through enough trouble already.”

“I’ll do it,” I mutter.

“See- Wait what!?” Mattie gasps, he shoots up and his cup falls to the ground, sending coffee across the ground. Hercules also looks surprised, though I don’t really think it’s all that surprising. I want to help and I want to slowly slip into a sense of normality in this Plane. I can hardly think of a better way. “Why?”

“If Gates can do it, then I should at least try-”

“That shouldn’t be your main reasoning. It shouldn’t be anyone’s.”

“But regardless, I want to try. Not because Gates would do it, but because it’s something I should do.”

“That’s not something you should do either, it’s reckless and just one of Jo’s quick fixes without thinking of the safe course of action. He could just wait for a camera or something-”

Hercules rolls his eyes. “No cameras. Jo would have used the cameras if that were the case. If she wants to do it, then let her do it.”

“It’s not safe-”

“Neither is taking part in an assault by Demons. So what if I’m reckless, I’m only doing what I think is the best- Same as you might,” I counter.

Hercules seems to hide a grin behind his hand and Mattie’s shoulders slump as he sighs. “Yeah- fine, fair enough. What about if there are Demons who come here?”

“I can hold my own now. I should at least be able to take on two Arcanists at once and they definitely won’t be patrolling this area. There might be other Demons, but it’s unlikely that they’ll be looking in the parks anymore anyway.”

Mattie covers his right eye and nods. “I guess I can’t stop you, but we’ll make sure to keep a close eye on you. We’d do the same if it were Gates too.” I shrug, a non-committal agreement. “Good, now I have to make sure Jo doesn’t pull the same shit he did today.”

“I suppose he’s required for a job like this?”

“He’s a core part of it, yes. Each team requires an information gatherer of sorts, they make sure things don’t go wrong, but to sum it up, them being angry at you is like a healer being angry at you. You don’t live for long.”

“Right,” I mutter. I look around, everyone’s still looking at us, but with veiled hostility, a look of dislike for disturbing their meals. “Maybe we should just go. I don’t think they appreciate my presence.”

“Fuck ‘em,” Hercules announces as if challenging them.

“Uh, let’s not outlive our welcome. I’m comfortable with the time I’ve had here and now I think I want to go home.” Hercules shrugs in response to me and I look at Mattie.

“Yeah. Let’s go.” Mattie leads the way toward the cafe. Jo is sitting alone, casting a wary glance at those around him. He’s busy correcting his clothes, after the harsh treatment, even dislodging a few splinters of wood and paint. He looks at the three of us but doesn’t hold eye contact for long, looking away, ashamed. Mattie clears his throat and then his massages his temple, he opens his mouth to say something and a vein pops up on his forehead. He shakes his head and glances at Hercules.

“Jo,” Hercules grumbles. There’s a hint of anger in his voice, but he manages not to lose his temper. “El-” He looks around for a second, noting the people around us. “Elementalist will assist in your plan. The question is will you help keep her safe?”

Jo looks at me, surprise in his eyes, but again he doesn’t maintain eye contact for long. “She will?” He asks, doubt creeping into his voice.

“I will.”

“I- That’s good.” He pulls himself up, and I can see he’s shaking just a little. “Look, I-” For a moment he tries to compose himself. “Being with Gates- Demons and- I’m- Look I’m sorry.”

He’s apologizing and while it does sound genuine it doesn’t feel genuine to me. I understand that apologies are meant to be a solution to some problems, but an apology here seems like a small payment for the damage done. It doesn’t seem like it’s enough. It doesn’t feel like there’s been any development in Nav’s character, just like James from Expedition. It’s a word, a very cheap word that can be falsified and is only worth as much as the person who says it. “Save it,” I intone. “Just do your job without thinking about who I am next time.”

He stares blankly at me, then lowers his head, defeated. Mattie places a hand on my shoulder and gestures in the direction of the van. I start walking, with Mattie taking up my rear. He stops suddenly and I stop too and then he runs back toward the officers. He talks for a moment and then returns with the medallion in his hands, blushing a little. "Oops," he whispers to me and I feel a bitter smile crawl across my face. He continues walking and I walk by his side, casting a look back to see Nav and Hercules finally start moving, Hercules at Jo's back, close enough for Jo to feel his breath on his neck.

As we leave the area, there’s a clear intake of breath, a wave of comfort going through the area as if they felt I was a far greater threat than I actually was. Which I wasn’t but it’s not as if people had formed different ideas of me. Their opinions were clearly created by me being a danger to them, which I understand, being a Demon in a Human world.

We arrive at the vehicle, and Hercules leads Nav around the back while Mattie and I step in the front seats. Mattie pushes the keys into the keyhole and starting the car. It isn’t long before we get an affirmation from Hercules that we can move and we turn onto the main road. “So Gates is off next week too?”

“Yeah, one more week, then it’s back to same-old-same-old. Today was actually similar to how it would have usually run, but instead of Gates yelling at the people employing at us, we yelled at Jo. I’m glad for solidarity on at least one problem.”

I snort, laughing without humor. “Sounds dysfunctional.”

“It really is.” He pauses, I can tell he wants to continue, but he’s thinking of a way to word it. He glances at me, then he turns to face the road. “Uh- I might be overstepping my boundaries here, but why do you wear the same clothes all the time? I mean it’s gotta get boring wearing jeans and a hoodie daily.”

I feel my face burn red, I feel embarrassed. I’ve been aware enough to know that jeans and hoodies aren’t exactly a common thing for women in this plane, but it’s not stuff I’m used to, I’ve never worn any of it. I feel like I’ve missed a core part of an introduction to the idea of femininity, that women here already have. “It’s comfortable and- Well, I’ve never really- Uh, worn it before. I’ve seen people here wearing different things and while they look good I- I’m not sure I’m comfortable.”

“No introduction,” Mattie nods, as if understanding my plight. “But you do want to branch out?”

“Mhm.”

“I can speak to Gates if you want.”

“Please, no!” I gasp.

He grins a little. “Then Gabbie?”

I shrug, “Yeah, I suppose.”

“You suppose?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Are you?”

“You’re teasing me now,” I grumble. "I'm trying to be adventurous."

He grins widely at my use of wording, but he doesn’t say anything. I shrug to myself and lean forward on the dashboard, silently watching the cars go by, waiting for the CPO building to come into view. I’m pretty sure I’ve had more than enough experiences today. I place my box on the dashboard and extricate my food, eating it over the box. I’d prefer to eat it before it gets cold.

having taken my eyes off the road I still feel every jolt as the car clips potholes and comes to a halt at traffic lights. It’s disorienting, but I’m happy to exchange that feeling for some food in my stomach.

By the time I finish the food, we’re driving into the CPO building, through the boon gates. I shut the box and sit up to look at Mattie. The car slows until it comes to a stop in the usual spot. I quickly unbuckle my seatbelt and swing open the door. “I’m gonna go on ahead.”

“You don’t want me to go with you?” Mattie asks.

“That would mean Nav will come with.” I shake my head. “I’ll be fine on my own.”

“Not necessarily, we can go separately.”

“Regardless, I’ll be fine on my own. If you want to talk a bit more, you know where to find me.”

He shrugs as if giving up. I drop out of the car and jog across the asphalt toward where the elevators are. “I’ll talk to Gabbie later!” I hear him yell after me.

I turn around until I’m running backward. “Yeah! Alright.” The second word is nothing more than a mumble. He clearly can’t hear it, but it’s that last part of me that doesn’t want to step forward, the part of me that is seizing hold of the idea of cowardice. My inner-thoughts. Two planes, the Demon Plane is a representation of fear, while the Mortal plane represents a second chance and a second life. I don’t want to be scared here. I can’t live life if I’m scared and living without experiencing that which everyone else experiences is hardly living at all.

I turn around and run over to the button of the lift, colliding with the marble wall with my hands outstretched to stop my jog. I press the button and wait impatiently for the elevator to descend. Impatience largely stemming from the desire to avoid an avoidable clash with Nav. The elevator dings and the doors slide open, I step in and press the button for my floor and the doors slide close just as I watch Nav and Hercules step out of the vehicle.

The elevator climbs upward and it doesn’t halt once. In spite of the many people in the building, I barely ever see it stop once. I am curious about why that might be the case, though the reason might be as simple as it’s designed that way or as complex as someone doesn’t want me to meet specific people. The only time it stops is once I reach my floor, allowing me to step out the elevator and look around. I scratch my chin, come to think of it, I’ve never seen my neighbors either. Weird.

I enter my apartment, spending a few moments looking around. Kai is back in his spot at his desk, staring at his little pieces of machinery, only giving me a small look of notice before continuing with his work, but he’s not the only one here. Walter and Gabbie are both at school, while there’s someone in the kitchen. To my delighted surprise, Sebastian is back in spite of the fact Oracle expressed some doubt about his return so soon. He’s cooking something, but at the same time he’s looking at me out of the corner of his eye, the corner of his mouth seems to twist into a small grin, a very simple greeting, yet appreciated none-the-less. “Sebastian. Oracle said you might not be back for a while.”

“Ah, with you gone, they didn’t really have a reason to keep me in the VCF so they drove me back here” He moves a pan off the heat and turns around to look at me, leaning on the side of the table when he completes his rotation. “I didn’t expect to return to find you gone. What were you doing?”

“I was fulfilling the requirements that were asked of me at the same time I wanted to get out into the world and stop being afraid of my own shadow.”

“With your brothers about, now is not the time to not be afraid of your own shadow, but I respect that you’re trying to take steps forward. Maybe your steps are a little too fast and you’re risking a lot already. When next you go out, I will be with you-” I open my mouth, ready to say something in opposition, but he raises his hand. “Of course, you can deny me my attempts, but I’d prefer to keep my distance just in case the worst happens. I think the only time I will allow you to go out by yourself is the moment you are capable of taking many Arcanists at once.”

I lower my head in surrender, that’s only fair and it’s not like he’ll be marching by my side. He’ll just be close enough to respond, which in most cases everyone is close enough to respond in the case of emergencies. “Yeah- okay,” I mutter.

“Good-” He clears his throat and turns back to the food he’s making. “Are you hungry?”

“No, I just ate, thank you. I’ll just be in my room, like- I guess, normal.” He nods his head in response and I start making my way to my room where I drop down onto my bed. I can think of one good thing about dealing with the serial killer. I get to experience what many Humans might call the worst of the worst.

Author's Notes

Hoo, boy. Time for a plethora of excuses. I've been away from my computer a lot. Family came from South Africa and I was to show them around (and maybe some video games). Now to talk about Nav, there's a short statement in the chapter that's a little canned as it was added post chapter completetion that calls him manipulative. It makes a lot of sense. In the Mirror Knight's side story, there was a short psychological insight that spoke about people's psyche being influenced by the powers they have. As such, it seemed appropriate to have Nav be manipulative, in this chapter, he tried and failed to manipulate Elmira. However, in the past, he forced Elmira to step outside of the trailer to deal with an armed enemy, something that he could have prevented if he forced someone like Walter to stay in the trailer. We'll work some more with Nav in the future, but I'm hoping to avoid so many good assholes. I think at this time I have more than enough. I'll try and get some more of part eight done, but hopefully this tides you over for a while.