32.1B: 《A》 In Need Of [Dis/Re]planting

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Atienna stared at the manilla folders on her lap, studied the labels on each tab. She sounded out the names there, testing each syllable on her tongue. She wondered how long Olive had to gather these files. A few minutes, most likely, give his breathlessness. Were all of these files then a reflection of who he cared for most? Were there files he had left behind in favor of these ones? What was the measure for selection? Relevance? Importance? Familiarity?

And why should she care about these files? VNW, diagnoses, the operations of Ndoto—none of it was relevant to her. But Olive was.

He had come down like a comet in front of her, like a symbol of hope during  uncertain times, like a main character in one of the many novels she’s perused over the years. At the moment their eyes met, Atienna had certainly felt a weight taken off of her shoulders, felt a breath of relief escaping her chest, felt a familiar warmth spread from her chest to her fingers. 

Personally, however, Atienna did not know how she felt now after the fact—which in itself felt wrong. Now that Olive was here—

“Atienna. We’re here.”

Atienna looked up and out the car window. A familiar glass building loomed there, reflecting the light of the grand tree that stretched just behind it. The car door opened. Sefu stood there, hand extended.

“If you don’t mind me asking, Miss Imamu,” the driver said, glancing at the two of them from the rearview mirror, “they’re going to do something about this, right? About that murderer? That’s why you’re here, right? To talk to the chief guidance officers and the council?”

Atienna stared back at him. She thought for a moment and averted her eyes. Then she met his gaze,  offered him a smile, and exited the vehicle. 

The receptionist inside had Atienna and Sefu wait in the lobby for half an hour before leading Atienna and Atienna alone up a glass elevator that led out into a windowed hall. The receptionist hopped back into the elevator after indicating the big red oak doors at the end of the hall. As the elevator door dinged closed, the oak doors on the opposite end swung open. 

A handful of men and women in navy and khaki uniforms filtered out from the room. Atienna’s heart skipped a beat as she recognized a few of them. Leonhart.  Leonce. Stelleona. Isabelle. They offered her spare glances and nods of acknowledgement as they filtered past her. And with that, a calmness overtook Atienna. No, it was not exactly calmness nor did it overtake her. It was something that had already been laying in wait at the pit of her stomach.

Atienna slipped past the crowd and into the room they had just emerged out of. There sat a long wooden table that could seat a party of fifty or more. Several guidance officers were still lingering  at their seats collecting their things. Atienna paid them no mind and paced to the head of the table where a familiar woman sat doing an unfamiliar task—taking notes. 

“Atienna…?”

Atienna glanced at the woman a few seats down. It was Shion. She seemed happy to see her.

“Dear Atienna!” Maria greeted Atienna next as she set down her pen. “I heard you asked to see me, but I did not expect to see you so soon! You are okay, yes? What can I do for you?”

“I was working with Nico on the Raincoat Killer investigation,” Atienna said calmly. “I would like access to all of his investigation materials.”

Maria’s brows rose. “You would like to continue?”

“Would you not like me to?” Atienna inquired. 

“It’s not that I do not want you to,” Maria replied with a smile. “I want you to be happy, dear Atienna. And I want you to be safe. We have many guidance officers on this now. I would not wish for you to be caught up in something, yes?”

“I wasn’t sure at first if I should continue with the investigation at first,” Atienna admitted. “I wasn’t certain if it was worth investment.”

“Worth the investment…?” Shion murmured.

Atienna ignored her.

“You speak in riddles as always!” Maria laughed. “As long as it will make you happy, then it shall be done!” 

“That easy, is it?” Atienna wondered to herself.

Maria’s gaze shifted to behind her and the woman waved brightly. Atienna followed her gaze and found Simon and Lita standing at the threshold of the door. Lita’s eyes immediately locked onto Atienna causing her to avert her gaze momentarily. After some thought, however, Atienna returned the girl’s stare until she looked away.

* * *

Sitting in a secluded corner in a small cafe within the Harvest District, Atienna poured over the files Maria handed her. They had come tightly packed in a leather suitcase that made her briefly think of Jericho. She had initially been rather overwhelmed with how many folders there were inside and the thickness of each folder. After some perusing, however, she realized half of the contents consisted of investigative notes as well as grievances and complaints from affected family members. Nico’s thoughts and notes on the topic were irrelevant as were the grievances, so putting them aside reduced the load by quite a bit.

From the many reports, Atienna was able to compile a complete list of victims, the way they were murdered, and their suspected times of death. ‘Victim’, ‘murder’, ‘death’. Those words imparted meaning of existence and importance onto those they were bestowed upon. It felt wrong for her to use those words herself. If only there were a better word she could use.

“Here it is!”

Sefu swung into the seat across from her. He set down two cups of what appeared to be tea and two plates—one with toppled bagels paired with blocks of cream cheese and another with a cornucopia of fruit.

Atienna accepted the tea with a thanks as Sefu began to wolf the food down. 

“I don’t mean to overstep, Atienna,” he said in-between bites of banana, “but, seeing how dangerous this Raincoat Killer is, should we really be seeking them out?”

Atienna hummed. “I wonder… We would just need to be cautious, right? Rather than viewing this person as an adversary, it would be more sensible to view them as an acquaintance, don’t you think? Their view of Ndotoans and… well… it wouldn’t be farfetched to assume that they’re the reason why Olive has returned to the way he used to be…”

Sefu stopped eating. “Their view of Ndotoans?” When Atienna didn’t answer, he said next, “You’re referring to the Ariesian prince, right? You said he was himself?”

“I wonder…”

Sefu swallowed the rest of his mouthful. “Is he alright there?” He cleared his throat. “It is certainly not my duty to oversee him but is he alright by himself? I know he is… important to you—”

“Is it your responsibility to oversee me?” Atienna returned.

“Well…” 

“Not right now. Perhaps later—the visit,” Atienna murmured. She offered him a smile. “I do value your opinion, Sefu, and if it reassures you any, we’re… most likely going to stumble across the original instead of the copycat.”

“The original….” Sefu drew slowly. “As in your theory with the two killers—one original and the other a copycat? My apologies, Atienna, but that doesn’t reassure me one bit.”

Atienna supposed that wasn’t surprising. 

“But I will do everything in my power to make sure you are safe.” He nodded. “Why… do you suspect that will happen—us encountering the copycat instead of the original?” 

“The alleged copycat hasn’t made any appearances or left any trails since the incident at the mall,” Atienna murmured after some thought. 

Sefu arched a brow. “Perhaps they are just lying low after the disaster they caused.”

“I did consider that… but laying low is associated with being concerned with repercussions,” Atienna replied. “In this particular case—or perhaps ‘location’ is a better word—that doesn’t seem to be on the mind of the copycat, don’t you think? Leaving messages with body parts and attacking multiple people in an area with high traffic aren’t exactly actions you’d attribute to someone who is inclined to ‘lay low’, don’t you think?”

“If they aren’t laying low then what do you think happened?”

“I have an inclination the first killer perhaps knows the answer to that.” Atienna pondered for a moment before plucking a grape from the plate and popping it into her mouth. “Whatever happened, we’ll get to them.” She noticed Sefu pause for a moment and in turn placed a reassuring hand on his arm. “And we will get out of here.” 

Sefu cleared his throat and glanced away in a rare act of sheepishness. “Of course, Atienna.” He only spoke again when she removed her hand. “Is there… a point in interacting with the original killer? Is it not the copycat with the ability to ‘fix’ people?” 

Atienna smiled at him. “You certainly have a lot of questions today, Sefu. Wasn’t it you who followed me beyond your duties to the tribe?”

“Well, I couldn’t let you go off on your own,” Sefu replied immediately as if practiced. “You are still a high-profile member of the Imamu tribe. After what happened with Usian, we cannot take your safety lightly. Besides, your family has done so much for Virgo. I owe this much at least.”

Ha.

“High-profile…” Atienna knitted her fingers beneath her chin. “Is that what I am to you? I wonder… You left famil…iarity for this ‘high-profile’ person. This would be more like me owing you now, wouldn’t it?”

Sefu leaned back in his chair. “Enough with the jests, Atienna…” He rubbed his head and smiled. “Besides, I know you enjoy my company.”

Atienna hummed. “You’re getting more and more comfortable with each day, aren’t you?”

Sefu cleared his throat. “Well…”

Atienna returned her attention to flipping through the files.  It was still quite a lot of filler—

There.

She pulled out a news article³⁷ paperclipped to a red sticky note that read PRIORITY. CAN THERE BE MURDER IN UTOPIA? the article title read. She took note of the date in the corner. 1969/06/11.

She popped open Nico’s notebook, tracking back the dates until she reached the date that matched the article. 

FN: Franjo, LN: Bartalomej, 22. Worked as clerk in mall. Family, parents and younger sister. 

There. Just below that there was an address. 

Atienna jotted the location down in her own notebook. The street followed the naming pattern of the streets of the immigrant areas of Ndoto. It was a small detail Atienna found rather amusing.

“Is that where we are headed?” Sefu peered down at her notebook. “To speak with the family members?”

Atienna nodded. “When in doubt, one just needs to go back to the beginning.” 

After Sefu finished his seventh bagel, they headed out of the cafe. It was evening now or at least Atienna assumed it was. She imagined it would not be the best choice to visit the residence now. If she recalled correctly, it would take them an hour to get to the outskirts. It would be dark by then. She wasn’t too concerned with the visit being in poor taste given the lateness of the day. She was more concerned with the demeanor of the family members if she were to come in inquiring about their deceased relative. It was going to be past evening, after all, and they’d already been brought in for questioning multiple times. Most likely, they would turn her away at the door and she couldn’t have that.

Sefu suddenly put a hand out in front of her and pulled her from her thoughts. She looked up and registered two rather familiar men standing on the sidewalk ahead of her. There was a crosswalk just ahead of them and the light across the street indicated it was safe to walk—and yet the duo remained there fixated on each other.

Yuseong Claire and Renee LeBlanc³⁸. The former lazily spun an umbrella around by the handle and the latter carried a brown grocery bag.

Claire turned, grinned, waved. “Well, look who it is!” 

Renee turned. His gaze hardened upon registering Atienna but she found it didn’t bother her as much as it had before. 

“We were just talking about you,” Claire said. He glanced at Renee. “Right?”

“Only good things, I hope,” Atienna replied lightly. 

The light across the street signalled that pedestrians no longer had the right of way. 

Renee’s gaze flitted between them before eventually resting on Atienna. “It’s a pleasure to see you, Miss Imamu. And, of course, it is a pleasure to be in the company of your company as well.”

Hm…? 

Atienna knew Renee had been putting on a thin amicable facade since he’d arrived here. She was rather curious why that was—pride as a Chevalier, pride as a Cancerian, his experiences ‘outside’? That aside, his approach now was different…

Atienna decided to offer Renee a smile and turned to Claire instead. She eyed his umbrella. “Are you expecting rain?”

Claire threw his head back and laughed as if she’d asked the funniest thing in the world. He swung the thing up and opened it above his head. “There was some hippie artist down the road giving out these things for free. I think he was trying to promote his art.”

Patches of different colored thin tissue paper made up the umbrella’s canopy. The way the light shone through the thin sheets cast an iridescent glow on Claire’s face. It reminded Atienna of the stained glass windows of the temples in Leo and also of the variegation of a plant.

“Not very practical, in my opinion,” Claire said.

More people began to gather around them—waiting for the light to change to cross the road.

Renee almost chuckled before he visibly caught himself. “Art is not supposed to be practical. It’s an expression of the self. A creation. If the message in that expression is meant for you, then you’ll understand it.”

“That sounds kind of like the cope of an artist that didn’t make it big.”

Renee shrugged. “Let’s agree to disagree.”

Claire looked back up at the umbrella. “You know, most people spend all of their lives striving to prove their existence in the world. Others try to find where their existence fits in the world. Then there’s the people who don’t care about that at all. Those are the ones you need to look out for. The hippie artist dude is probably in the first group.” He closed the umbrella and studied it. “The thing is, Renee, if a creation is only meant for a select few then most people’ll just view it as trash.” Then he tossed the thing in the trash bin beside the lamp post.

The light across the street changed. The crowd that had gathered around them began to move forward. 

“See you two around.” Claire waved with both hands as he followed the herd and disappeared into the pedestrian traffic across the street.

Atienna’s side of the street was empty now save for herself, Sefu, and—Renee.

“You look like you want to say something to me,” Atienna noted as she studied the Cancerian.

Renee appeared slightly thrown off by her forwardness but the right corner of his lip pulled upwards. His eyes narrowed. Oh, he definitely hated her. “It’s more like I have something for you.”

“Not a fight, I hope.”

Sefu tensed beside her and eyed the man’s grocery bags.

Renee chuckled. “Haven’t I already said I’m more of a lover than a fighter? I am a chevalier, and therefore a man of my word. I promise you that what I have in my company will interest you quite a bit.”

* * *

Atienna had not been aware of the fact that Renee lived in the Harvest District. His apartment building was nestled away at the district’s edge, just touching the lip of the adjacent Market District. He lived on the second floor, and the first thing she noticed when they walked into his apartment was the smell of lilacs. The second thing she noticed was that the apartment was small. 

The entry hall was narrow and the walls were decorated with large paintings of old castles occupied by ghost-like figures. The residence was clearly only meant for one person. That was why Atienna was surprised when she saw a pair of shoes—a size larger than Renee’s—resting at the end of the hall.

Company, it seemed. Cancerian soldiers? One of the captains? One of the peacekeepers? Atienna didn’t really care to see them at the moment. However—curiosity convinced her to not retreat.

Renee led them down another hall and into a small kitchen with a small one-person island table that was already occupied. A man sat there, leaning back on the single chair, feet kicked up on the table. He sat up when they entered the room— “What the hell took you so long? I’m starving—oh. It’s you two.”

“Oh…” Atienna stared at the man. “Hello… Derik. I suppose it was you that the news has been talking about? That escape from Small Services…?”

Derik grunted before getting up and pulling the grocery bags from Renee’s arms. He then proceeded to dig through them at the table. Although he grimaced at most of the bags’ contents, he did offer agreeable nods to a bag of bagels and a block of cheese which he proceeded to devour standing. Sefu cleared his throat, slipped beside Derik, and peered into the bags himself.

Renee sighed but then smiled. “You’re welcome, Monsieur Stein.”

Derik grunted.

“I found him wandering the alleys here a day or two ago—”

“This place is like a fucking maze,” Derik grumbled. “I was at the hauptmann’s place—”

Werner?

“—and stepped out for a smoke and ended up in some ass-backwards alley.” He thumbed Renee. “Cancerian there begged me to come back with him so here I am.”

“Right…” Renee cleared his throat. “Derik, might I suggest you inform Miss Atienna here of how exactly you ended up here?”

“Oh yeah.” Derik sat back down on the chair. “Well, I was at the looney bin. Met that one other Cancerian guy—that duke’s brother—there—”

Atienna froze. “Albertine…?”

“Something like that. That one Virgoan criminal was there too. Oh, and that Leonian pirate’s bounty hunter friend. The guy with a few screws loose and thinks he’s a hot shot.”

“Veles…?” Atienna let out a quiet breath. “Usian as well?”

“Apparently that looney bin is a ‘root’ or something and we planned a breakout but wound up in another garden. A bunch of weird shit happened.” Derik continued munching on his bagels. “Oh yeah—the Sagitarian prince is a saint candidate. Don’t know what his deal is but he got us out of the garden and into this one. Whatever the fuck that means. That one Aquarian bitch and the silent guy were there too.”

Atienna took a moment to digest the information. “I… see…” She glanced at Renee.

Renee let out a sigh and proceeded to delve into more detail regarding Derik’s adventures up until now. Atienna assumed the chevalier had to fight tooth and nail in order to get this information from the other man.

“I see…”

“You don’t seem to be very surprised,” Renee noted.

“Ah…” Atienna hummed. “I’ve had my suspicions about Claire’s identity and I’ve already had an idea about the roots myself. There’s not much to mull over. It certainly is helpful knowing where one of them is. It’ll make getting rid of it much easier, don’t you think?”

“I suppose so…” Renee drew slowly.

Atienna turned her attention back to Derik. “Olive appears to be himself again, Derik.”

Derik finally looked up at her. “What?”

Renee seemed rather surprised as well.

“I’m not sure if you’ve been paying attention to the news here but the Raincoat Killer went after Olive and nearly took his life.”

Derik’s jaw tightened just slightly. “And?”

“He was taken to a hospital. He recovered and woke up just recently.” She paused, feeling a fondness blossom in her chest. “He tried for an escape the moment he woke up.” She felt a bit of fondness at this. “We didn’t speak much but I knew that he knew he was the Ariesian prince. ‘Regal air’—I wonder if that’s the correct term for it…” She let out a breath. “Anyways, I believe that one of the ‘Raincoat Killer’s has the ability to… well, I’m not quite sure actually. But… I believe many would theorize that they have the ability to undo whatever Ndoto has done to someone.”

Atienna could feel Renee stiffen at this.

Derik visibly relaxed and took another bite from his bagel.

Curious. 

Atienna asked, “Wouldn’t you like to visit him? See if he’s alright? He’s probably worried about you.”

Derik froze before shrugging. “Will take a lot more than some shittily named murderer to make the brat kick the bucket. More important is getting the bastard who got him.”

Ah. An opportunity…

“That’s… actually what Sefu and I are working on,” Atienna drew. “The occupation I have here has given me quite a bit of access to the guidance officers’ investigations on this killer, so…” She thought for a moment. “I’m hoping to catch them by the end of this week.”

Derik stopped eating and glanced between her and Sefu. “Just the two of you?”

How to word this in a way that would attract Derik…

“Well… I was hoping that perhaps you’d be willing to lend us a hand,” Atienna replied. “Our pursuit might get rather physical.”

Sefu stopped going through the grocery bag. 

“Me?” Derik arched a brow.

“Your skillset and experience would be very helpful in this kind of thing, don’t you think?” Atienna asked. “Tracking and hunting down someone who could be rather dangerous.”

Derik leaned back in his seat. “Sure.” He didn’t elaborate.

Derik was a rather simple man so Atienna didn’t really need him to explain himself. He was not one for secondary motives.

Renee interjected, “Would it be so much to ask to be extended the invitation as well?”

“You would like to join us?” Atienna studied the man. Unlike Derik, Renee certainly seemed to be the type to be inclined to have ulterior motives. That and his particular perspectives on sensitive topics would most likely delay her search.

“Is there some sort of restriction on my joining due to my VNW status?” Renee inquired lightly.

Ah, so he still cared about law and order even in this sort of place. Honor as a chevalier?

“That shouldn’t matter, don’t you think?” Atienna replied. “I was just wondering… I thought you would be more concerned about Albertine…? I’m not sure how long he’s been here, but his absence in Cancer surely has been noticed.”

Renee smiled pleasantly. “While I do appreciate your concern, Miss Imamu, the best way to ensure the duke’s safety is to remove the danger or remove him from the danger. This Raincoat Killer’s ability is also something that would be an aid, non? Given that we can convince them to use that ability for us. Perhaps we can even gain an understanding of what we’re up against.”

Atienna thought for a moment. “Ah… Hilton?”

Renee’s eyes narrowed slightly. A nerve hit clearly. “Is that not why you’re also pursuing this murderer?”

“I just want Ndoto to end.”

---

The next day, Atienna departed for the residence of the Raincoat Killer’s first victim. With her was Sefu as always and Renee. Derik, on the other hand, elected to remain at the apartment after learning they were going to go out interviewing people.  Derik was a loose cannon that even Werner could barely control so Atienna knew it was best to have him close by even though she suspected she would not need him until later.

It took them two hours to get to the development where the first victim formerly resided. The housing building was nondescript—a one-story thing composed of many housing units squeezed tight together. The particular housing unit of interest was also rather plain. 

Renee took the initiative to knock on the door.

A worn-looking woman with dark black curls tied into a loose bun answered the door. The flower print on her blouse was faded.

Atienna extended her hand first. “Policymaker Atienna Imamu. I’m investigating the Raincoat Killer and I’m trying to retrace old investigations to see if there was anything they missed.”

The woman’s face warmed. “Ah, she said someone might stop by. Please come in.”

Renee dipped his head politely.

She?

Atienna shared a look with Sefu before following the woman inside. She noted that there was a hint of cinnamon and coffee in the air. There were also four pairs of shoes at the end of the entrance hall. There was a guest.

Sure enough, upon entering the kitchen, Atienna spied someone sitting at the large central table. A familiar someone who was sipping on a cup of coffee and nibbling on small bites of cinnamon roll.

“Shion…” Atienna realized. 

Shion looked up, startled, set down her cup. “Atienna? What are you doing here…?”

Atienna next smiled at the victim’s mother who was looking between them in confusion. “Can we ask you a few questions?”

“Of course, of course!” The woman nodded. “But first…”

She ushered Atienna, Sefu, and the others to sit and brought them plates of cinnamon rolls and cups of coffee. She spilled some coffee as she set everything down on the table and immediately whipped out a rag to mop it up.  “I’m so sorry! I wasn’t expecting so many guests!” She sent Atienna an apologetic look. “I’m terribly sorry about it being just me. My husband and my daughter—they are still having a very hard time. They would join us otherwise so—”

“It’s alright, Anja,” Shion reassured the woman as she took the rag from her and cleaned up the rest of the table. She sat the woman down in the chair she had previously been occupying. “You should have some coffee yourself.”

The woman—Anja apparently—stammered for a moment before she relented. “Thank you…for everything you do.” She glanced across the table at Atienna. “Both of you.” She registered the others. “All of you. You’re… guidance officers too, right…?”

“Something of that nature,” Renee replied. “An occupation that is adjacent.”

“Are you here because of the investigation?” Atienna asked Shion.

“Ah, no…” Shion’s gaze softened and she looked down the entrance hall. “Not exactly.”

Atienna followed her gaze and realized that there were photos hanging on the walls there. A family of four. One in front of a small tent in front of a great wall. Another at a quiet park. More standing in front of this very housing unit. 

Hm. 

“Officer Myosotis has been coming here almost every week since”—Anja’s voice caught in her throat— “Franjo died. It’s just been so difficult since then… for my daughter and my husband… for me… We thought coming here would take us away from all of that, but…” She took a breath and looked at Shion as if the woman was her savior. “But having another helping hand makes it a bit easier.”

“That’s very kind of you, Shion,” Atienna said. 

“I—”

Atienna turned to Anja, paused, asked, “Have you kept Franjo’s belongings?”

Anja froze but then nodded. “Yes, I haven’t moved anything. Everything is exactly the same… like he never left.”

“Can you show me?”

Anja led them down another hall. There were three doors there, all closed. No sound behind any of them. Rather lonely. 

Quietly, Anja opened the door on the left. Soft gray light spilled out into the hall followed by a sweet scent. A plant of some kind. 

Anja pulled back slightly and stammered. “Please… put everything back the way you found it.”

 She pulled back after that, returning to the kitchen. Shion stared after her, hesitating.

“You should go make sure she’s alright if you’re concerned,” Atienna said before slipping into the room. 

Renee and Sefu followed her in but she paid no mind to them. Instead she took note of the smallness of the room, of the shoddily but lovingly blue-painted walls, of the posters of Cadence that hung there, of the posters of ELPIS’s unmistakable symbol. 

Atienna went to the small wooden desk situated in the corner of the room and pulled open the drawers. She sifted through the papers and rifled through the notebooks she found inside. From her skimming, she gathered that Franjo was a rather studious young man attending Ndoto University. He most likely was inclined to politics. It seemed as if he wanted to be part of the guidance council.

The information wasn’t too relevant to Atienna, however. The only thing it did was confirm why Franjo was so inclined to ELPIS. 

She put everything back where she found it and moved to the single story bookcase nestled beside it. She scanned the book titles there—

On Becoming An Ndotoan

A Unified Society

“It seems Franjo was a revolutionary,” Renee commented, seemingly

“Was he?” Atienna wondered as she continued to peruse. “You can’t really call yourself a revolutionary when all you do is read about revolutionaries and admire them from afar, don’t you think?”

Renee arched a brow but said nothing.

Two Sides of the Same Coin

The Quiescent Six

Atienna froze.

“What is it?” Sefu asked.

She pulled the book from the shelf and could tell immediately by the weight of it that the pages were missing. Sure enough, upon flipping the book open, Atienna found jagged white teeth instead of inked pages.

“What’s this?” Renee was picking something off the ground beside her feet. A slip of paper folded into a square. He opened it, scanned it, offered it to her.

“It fell out of that book,” he explained.

Atienna accepted the paper. It was a flier. Bright colors. Splashes of that verdant green and yellow. A headline that screamed in bubble letters JOIN US FOR UNDERSTANDING. And in tiny print—a talk led by Proteus.

Ah.

The beginning—the first murder. And the beginning—the first member of ELPIS. Jericho’s epoch. How ironic. It was almost funny. 

Proteus.

Something colorful from the corner of her eye caught Atienna’s attention. She glanced at the window at the adjacent wall. There was a flower there sitting on the sill. It had a drooping bulb, petals bleeding white into purple. 

“Franjo was a bit of a green thumb.” Anja was standing by the door with Shion. She’d returned, it seemed. “I don’t know much about them. I’ve been watering it every day but the leaves are always yellow no matter how water I give it.”

“It’s a common misconception that yellowing leaves mean that the plant is underwatered,” Atienna said, returning her attention to the plant. “Yellowing leaves can mean that a plant is overwatered too.”

“Oh.” Anja flushed. “You seem to know very much about handling flowers—”

“Do you have any pets?” Atienna asked as she held one of the bulbs in her palm.

“No, we don’t. Do you suggest we get one? A guidance officer told me that pets can be great companions—that they can help you get through hard times.

“Ah, no, that wasn’t what I was saying.”  Atienna pulled away from the plant. “This is a foxglove plant. It’s quite poisonous. Ingesting it can even lead to death.”

Anja’s hand went to her mouth. “I had no idea…”

“There’s another plant that mimics this one. It’s called henglove,” Atienna murmured. “That one is a harmless plant—not even poisonous to the smallest of insects. Perhaps Franjo got them mixed up.”

Mimicry.  Like sorrowheat, cholorwheat, morrowheat. Sheep in wolf’s clothing. Wolf in sheep’s clothing.

“That’s probably it…” Anja muttered. She wrung her hands for a second before she continued, “Perhaps the plant would be better in your care, Miss Imamu?”

“Are you sure?” Shion interrupted, appearing concerned. “I could get you some how-to books on how to take care of them if you’d like.”

“No, no.” Anja shook her head. “Franjo would probably be happy with it going into better, more capable hands.”

Atienna pulled the pot off the sill. “I’ll take good care of it, Anja.”

Anja smiled. “Thank you—”

“By the way, I have a question about Franjo. How deeply was he involved in ELPIS?

Anja appeared rather taken aback and it took her several seconds for her to recollect hesrelf. “I’m not very sure, honestly. I know he was very fond of one of the members—Proteus—and didn’t get along with some of the other ones…” She startled. “You don’t think that one of them did it, do you…?”

Atienna didn’t answer her and instead asked, “And where did he get this?” She held up the green book and studied both her and Shion’s reactions. 

Anja squinted at the book. “Maybe he bought it? I don’t really know. He’s always loved reading.” She squinted at Atienna for a moment as if really looking at her. “Actually, I thought…” She shook her head. “Nevermind…”

Shion’s gaze was sharply focused on the book. 

“Shion, can I ask you a favor?”

Shion startled, paused, before nodding deeply. “Of course—anything.”

* * *

Once back at her apartment, Atienna admired the foxglove’s beauty. She noticed one particular bulb was doing much more poorly than the others. And so, after some thought, she snipped it right off. She considered composting the bulb but then caught a glimpse of her reflection in the window she was working beside.  

After some thought, she wove the flower into her hair and admired it. 

---

Shion made quick use of the resources provided to guidance officers and was able to get her hands on Proteus’s daily schedule at the university the following day. Although Atienna didn’t take her for the type to deal in dealings, the deal that Shion proposed in exchange for the information was for Atienna to allow her to be a part of her own personal investigation. Atienna agreed, of course, but elected to depart for Proteus before their agreed upon meeting time.

Proteus assisted in teaching philosophy classes at Ndoto University for the better part of the morning. Around noon were his office hours which lasted about an hour. So, at five before one, Atienna arrived with Sefu at Proteus’s office—rather the office he shared with the tenured professors at the university. 

The office was full of filled bookshelves and odd paraphernalia that hung on the walls. Horns of the animal and musical kind, paintings of shapes and landscapes, and ornate clothing pieces.

“Policymaker Imamu?” Proteus looked up from his desk in surprise when she knocked on the door frame. “Atienna, what brings you here?”

“I just have a few questions,” Atienna said, approaching the table. She declined his offer to sit and placed the flier she’d gotten from Franjo’s house on the table. “It’s regarding the victims of the Raincoat Killer. Back when you were still a part of ELPIS, were you familiar with Franjo Bartalomej?”

Proteus put aside the papers he was marking in red pen and pulled the flier close to him. He smiled and nodded. “Yes, I knew Franjo. We had conversations most people would call interesting.”

“Was Franjo a part of ELPIS until his death?”

“Yes—”

“Was there anyone he didn’t get along with?”

Proteus paused and regarded her. His smile remained ever present. “I don’t pay attention to who gets along with who. By the sound of it, it seems like you’re suspecting a member of ELPIS.”

“That was something I was considering,” Atienna drew slowly, averting her eyes. “After all, all the victims attended ELPIS meetings and discussions before they were murdered.”

Proteus leaned back in his chair. “Is that so? Is this confidential information? I haven’t heard anything about it in the news. Do you think it was one of us who did it? Shouldn’t that be something kept under wraps? Well, no matter. I won’t say anything.”

“‘Us’ as in an ELPIS member?” Atienna returned after a pause. Now, she held Proteus’s gaze. “But you aren’t accepted by ELPIS anymore, isn’t that right?”

Proteus chuckled. “That’s right.”

“But… speaking of which… it would be rather interesting for someone to be a member of ELPIS and target people who attend ELPIS meetings, don’t you think?”

“If you say so,” Proteus replied. 

“Perhaps it would be sensible to quit after the first murder to dissociate with the group or perhaps it would be sensible to stay to hunt better.”

“Hunt,” Proteus repeated. “An interesting choice of word.”

“If there was time, perhaps we could test the case by working with some news stations to sensationalize the connection between the Raincoat Killer and ELPIS.” She glanced over her shoulder at Renee. “We do know someone, don’t we?”

Renee frowned. 

“However… doing that might lead to a rather unpleasant outcome for ELPIS, don’t you think? Public opinion and what not.” 

Proteus shrugged. “I’m not particularly attached to ELPIS as an organization. It’s the ideology that I follow.”

“Ah, is that so?” Atienna reflected his smile back. “Then you wouldn’t mind providing me with a list of ELPIS members who have quit prior to you or during you leaving ELPIS? You were the faculty member for the club, weren’t you?”

Proteus strummed his fingers on his desk before he reached into his drawers and sifted around there. “We only have these lists because of Francis. He was particularly interested in the demographics of the ones who left for whatever reason. I think he wanted to increase retention. He’s always had trouble letting go. Lucky for you, they forgot to collect my copy.” After some time, he pulled out a green folder filled with a thick stack of papers. He flipped through these too before pulling out a stapled pack of papers. He pushed them across the desk. “Here.”

Atienna skimmed the list of names on the first page. “Do any of these members stand out to you?”

“Not particularly.”

Atienna continued down the list, turned to the next page, went down the list. She repeated this several times until she was on the seventh page, fifth name down.

Nuru Imamu.

Unlike all the other names on the list, it was Virgoan. That and the man bore the name of her tribe. She didn’t recognize it though.

“How about him?” Atienna asked

“Ah, Nuru.” Proteus hummed. “He left when I left.”

“Were you the reason he left?”

Proteus shrugged. “We had interesting conversations about transience and reality and would go for coffee from time to time, but I doubt he was attached enough to leave because of me. He had a history of joining and leaving organizations though. If I recall correctly, he used to be a member of the guidance council.”

Atienna looked up at this. “He was in the guidance council?”

Even though he was not related to the chieftain family? Regardless, this meant that he had some awareness of Ndoto’s nature. And he’d left. Joined ELPIS. Left again. 

Ah.

Atienna pushed the paper stack back to Proteus. “That’s all I needed.” She headed back out the office and paused when she felt three stares at her back. She turned and offered Proteus a smile as Sefu and Renee joined her. “Thank you.”

“It’s no problem.” Proteus returned. “But—I have to ask… Why ask me instead of Jericho?” 

“Because you’re not Jericho,” Atienna replied.

---

If Shion was upset by Atienna leaving for Proteus before her, she did not show it when they met up at their designated meeting time. In fact, when Atienna passed along the name of Nuru Imamu to her, Shion happily offered to gather information on the man for her using her guidance officer rank. 

As Atienna waited in a local cafe with Sefu, Renee, and Derik for Shion’s return, she couldn’t help but wonder how Shion could be so generous to someone who was so evidently using her. Yes, perhaps they did have that deeper connection—perhaps Shion was that mysterious seventh—but that affection and connection only went in one direction. Did Shion not have any pride? Any sense of self-worth? A simple woman.

When Shion finally arrived at the cafe, the first thing she did was stare at Derik whose face was barely concealed by a pair of sunglasses and the shadow of a large hat.

Derik simply leered at her.

Shion merely offered him a reassuring smile and nodded at Atienna. “It’s alright. I won’t say anything—so long as… he doesn’t hurt anyone.”

She handed over a thin manilla folder. Atienna immediately began perusing it. 

“Do you know him?” Shion asked. 

Why did that name sound so familiar? 

“I don’t know.”

* * *

Nuru Imamu lived in the Judge District in a small neighborhood consisting of houses that resembled the Virgoan open houses Atienna was familiar with and the closed blocky houses that were popular outside of her home country. The yard of Nuru’s house was rather plain compared to the extravagant, decorated, garden-filled yards of his neighbors. 

Upon arriving at the man’s house, Renee again took the initiative to knock on the door. Immediately after he did so, loud barking resounded within. It seemed as if Nuru had a dog. It also seemed as if Nuru wasn’t home. 

Derik grimaced and pounded on the door hard. “Shut up! Open up!”

The dog barked louder. Derik pounded louder. 

Renee grabbed him by the wrist and sighed. “Let’s not draw too much attention to ourselves.”

Derik grumbled and jerked his hand away.

“Perhaps we should come back some other time,” Shion suggested.

Atienna hummed at the idea before noticing a window at ground-level a few steps away. She paced down to it and tried it. Easily, it slid open.

“Atienna…” Shion hesitated. “Wait—”

Atienna pulled the window open fully and stepped in. She was barely halfway inside when she was greeted by the jowls of a large brown dog with pointed ears. It barked aggressively at her, nipping her ankles and bearing its teeth. She stared at it then at its black button nose and then at its throat—

Sefu pressed himself through the window beside her and swatted at it. “Git! Git! Get away! Shoo!”

Atienna scanned the room while Sefu distracted the dog. It was a dining room, consisting of a central long table and a Virgoan rug just beneath it. There were several cabinets filled with plates and cups along the wall. A small cupboard was just an arms reach away below her. Resting on top of it was a small clear glass jar filled with tiny little biscuits.

Hm.

Atienna reached for the jar. The dog’s barking lowered to a growling.

Ah.

She reached into the jar, pulled out two biscuits, and tossed them onto the ground. The dog’s tail wagged as it quietly ate up the treats. Atienna grabbed a handful more and continued to toss them on the ground as she slipped inside. Sefu, Renee, and Derik followed just behind her. As they situated themselves, Atienna sank to the ground and held out a treat on her hand. The dog, tail still wagging, happily ate up the treats.

Derik stuck his jaw out at the dog. “Stupid mutt.”

“It’s name appears to be Bheka,” Renee noted

Sefu snorted. When he got stares from Renee and Derik, he explained, “The name means ‘to watch’.”

“Ah…” Renee nodded. “Aptly named, no?”

“We… shouldn’t be doing this,” Shion murmured from the window. 

Atienna looked back at her as she stood. “You don’t have to come in if you don’t feel comfortable.”

“No… that’s not it.” Shion shook her head. “This is… crossing the line, Atienna.”

Crossing the line?

“Isn’t not reporting Derik also crossing the line?” Atienna inquired. 

Shion’s lips pressed thin. “This is someone’s house. It’s… an invasion of someone’s privacy.”

Someone who wasn’t important to Atienna. Well, Nuru was important due to the fact that he was her number one suspect right now for being the original Raincoat Killer. Outside of that, however…

“If it concerns you so much, then you can report this to whoever is above you if you’d like,” Atienna said. “I’ll try to finish up before then.”

Atienna didn’t wait for Shion to respond and instead began to walk cautiously, quietly through the house. There was hall filled with pictures of Nuru posed with familiar members of the guidance council and familiar members of ELPIS. Atienna could not identify any photos that contained Nuru posed with any person that could possibly be a family member. 

She entered what she assumed was his personal room next. It was a single bedroom with no other furniture. A single window let in light.

“It’s depressing in here,” Sefu noted.

“I think it’s rather interesting,” Atienna murmured. “You can tell a lot from a person not only from what they have but what they choose not to have—”

“Over here,” came Renee’s voice.

Atienna found Renee standing in front of a closed door.

“It’s locked,” he informed her.

Derik stormed in from nowhere and rolled up his sleeves. He raised up his foot—“Not anymore”—and nailed the weak spot in the door with a solid kick. The door flew open, wood splinters soaring.

Sefu pulled Atienna back and took the brunt of the wood chips, while Renee simply sighed and waved the dust cloud away from his face.

Atienna entered the room first. It looked like an artist’s workshop of some kind with a long wooden table running along the back wall. It was difficult to see anything because there didn’t appear to be a window present to let in the light. Atienna resolved this issue by pulling the cord of the single hanging light bulb above her head.

The first thing she registered when the bright yellow light lit up the room was that there was indeed a window present just above the long wooden table. Its glass panes were, however, painted over in black, preventing light from shining through. Or perhaps preventing the outside from seeing in. 

On the left side wall, several phrases were scrawled out in large bleeding green letters. Painted on, it seemed. On the right, hung picture frames—

“‘Dubito, ergo sum. Cogito, ergo sum’,” Renee read out slowly as he faced the left-side wall. His eyes narrowed. “This is Ophiuchian. I recognize it.”

“I doubt therefore I am,” Atienna drew, recalling every so faintly her late night discussions with Jericho.

“I think therefore I am…” came a voice from behind.

It was Shion, hesitantly stepping into the room and surveying everything cautiously.

So she had decided to cross that line after all.

Atienna returned her attention to the wall, to the line just below the one Renee had just read.

DUBITO DUBITAS. COGITO NON COGITAS.

“I doubt you doubt,” Shion translated. “I think you do not think.”

“A poet,” Renee mused. 

“Should not be,” Sefu returned, brow arched.

“The fuck is this shit?”

Atienna turned to find Derik squinting at the objects on the right-side wall. There were about twelve picture frames there lined up neatly. What was held within each frame was not a picture but two unique items taped beside each other in a way that resembled the shape of a heart. Beneath each heart-shape was an alphabetical letter in front of three seemingly random numbers.

The last frame contained the petal of what Atienna believed to be a daisy flower and a looped pink ribbon. Beneath it was the string ‘D0623’. The next frame contained the looped stem of some sort of thorny flower and a small whistle. Beneath it— ‘Z0619.’

Hm…?

There had to be a meaning behind the letter and numbers. 

The next right frame’s letter and number combination was ‘D0615.’

The numbers were descending—rather, ascending from left to right. Counting? No. Dates.

Atienna immediately looked at the very first picture frame. Captured behind the glass there was a familiar heart shape formed from the full bulb of a foxglove plant and a folded book page. 

‘F0605’.

Franjo, June 5th.

“Trophies…” Atienna murmured. “From his hunt. A flower he associates with his victim—or perhaps a flower he gifted to his victim—and a personal item from them.” She slowly stepped back until she was at the center of the room. She looked to the left wall. “The reason…” She looked to the right wall. “The action.”

Sefu frowned. “This is a sick man…”

“We should come back with a warrant,” Shion said quietly. “And let the guidance office handle this.”

Barking resounded down the hall. The sound was followed by the click of a door opening and then closing. 

Renee pressed his finger to his lip. Shion nodded. 

Derik scowled and spat in a whisper, “What? Let’s just take the bastard out now—”

Renee slapped a hand over his mouth.

The dog had stopped barking.

Atienna shared a look with Shion and Sefu.

Sefu cautiously peered around the corner and then immediately tensed. He shouted, “Wait—”

Atienna peeled around the corner just in time to see a man dressed in light green robes round the corner at the end of the hall. Sefu was after him in an instant, whipping around the corner after him. A crash resounded a second later followed by the shattering of glass.

Atienna bolted out of the room following the sounds of chaos until she found herself back in the dining room. There she found Sefu pinned flat against the table by the light green robbed man. The man—Nuru—was skilled, Atienna realized. He knew combat well enough to catch Sefu off guard. She would have to be careful to not hurt Sefu when—

Atienna froze as she registered the glass shard in Nuru’s hand. Her mind raced. Something out of the corner caught her eye. A plate. She grabbed it and threw it just as Nuru brought the shard down. The plate made contact with his hand shattered—but not soon enough. Sefu grimaced as a long red gash formed on his chest.

Atienna lurched forward as Nuru threw himself out the ajar window. She ignored him and ran to Sefu’s side. Her heart hammered—

“Sefu—”

Sefu struggled to a sit. “I-I’m fine.”

—and then her heart stilled.

Atienna pushed him back down. “Sefu, stay.” She looked up at Shion just as the woman entered the room alongside Derik and Renee. “Shion, please help him.”

Shion was at Sefu’s side immediately. Atienna shared a look with Sefu, saw him will her to stay, but turned and leapt out the window after Nuru. She could hear Renee and Derik clamber after her and could see Nuru dashing just ahead of her.

Atienna broke out into  a mad run after him, dodging the stray rocks and branches he threw at her—no, at Derik and Renee. Most likely, he was trying to split them up. The distance between them seemed to remain unchanged as they weaved around the neighboring houses and crashed through yards. Soon, the neighborhood scenery bled into urban cityscape. Somewhere along the way, Renee and Derik fell away behind her. She heard their shouts but ignored them. There was only one person that was important to her now. 

Nuru Imamu.

Eventually, the two of them tore down a narrow alley that stopped at a dead end. Nuru whipped around, panting, but made no move to run or attack. Did he not see her as a threat?

“You…” Nuru pointed at her. “Atienna… I didn’t think the former chieftain’s daughter would be chasing me down.”

Atienna stared at the man. Her chest was beating with heat but her head felt cold. “You know who I really am?”

Nuru made a face. “How could I not?”

“Ah…” She stilled herself. “If we’re going to be discussing identities, I think it would be appropriate to discuss your own. You’re Nuru Imamu, the original Raincoat Killer.”

Nuru tensed, swallowing. “Original?”

Ah.

“I know the person who left that interesting display of limbs and flowers in that square was not you,” Atienna drew. “And yet, you didn’t do anything drastic after you saw that person copy you which is strange given the fact that you make trophies of your victims, don’t you think? Because you’re proud of your work.”

Nuru lifted his chin.

“So given your pride and lack of retaliation against someone copying you, I assume you approve of their actions,” Atienna drew slowly. “Perhaps… you even know them. Perhaps you‘re working together with them. Perhaps you even provided them with the limb of a victim or two. Ah, that’s not a perhaps. I know it. One of your trophies is one of the victims from that display, isn’t that right?”

Nuru pulled back slightly, evaluating her. “So you think you know everything?”

“I wish I did,” Atienna admitted. She smiled calmly, “Since we’re being civil, then let’s discuss something I’m quite curious about. What is your motive? Cutting roots? Destroying gardens?”

“Roots? Gardens?” Nuru shook his head. “What are you going on about?” He spread his arms wide and took a threatening step forward. “Look around us. Look at us. Look at them.” He pointed past her before he patted his chest. “We are intricate, detailed, carefully crafted with our histories and dreams and goals.” He pointed past her. “They are vague, shapeless, meaningless, barely-held-together existences. When I kill them, when the light fades from their eyes, when they are mourned over—don’t you see? I give them meaning.”

Hm, curious perspective.

“So you also don’t think any of this is real?” She inquired.

“It is not. Nothing here is real. Nothing here matters. There is no consequence to any action because the action has to have meaning to have consequence. Decapitating someone inside your head has no consequence because it has no meaning. The only real thing that I know of here is me.  That is why I can be my truest self. And—” He stared at her. “Why are you saying this like you don’t know it?” He scoffed to himself. “And why are you standing here calmly discussing this with me when I’ve hurt a man who must be close to you—I saw the way you looked at me. There is something wrong with you. Maybe you have become vague and shapeless too.”

Something wrong with her? This coming from a mad man who collected and immortalized moments of him taking another’s life? Ah, perhaps ‘mad’ wasn’t the correct word here. Madness was relative, wasn’t it? If the majority were mad and deemed sane to be mad then sane would be mad.

Nuru’s gaze darkened.

Ah—had she said that out loud?

A beat of silence passed, then Nuru charged and swung at her with a fist. Atienna dodged it with a lean to the right before she swung her leg up and cracked her opponent’s head with her foot. She followed through the momentum of the spin and used the force of it to power her punch which connected with  his skull again a second after. 

Everything here—vague, shapeless, meaningless? Ah yes, she’d accepted that already.

Nuru stumbled backward in stupor, but she did not relent. She swung her leg out again and swept his legs out from underneath him. 

No consequence. No situation. No circumstance?  Ah—she’d been on the border of this for a while now.

Before he could fall, she sent out another kick that sent him toppling sideways. Once again, she did not let him fall.

“That’s why I can become my truest self—”

 She cut upward with her fist. 

Ah, she was nearing it now—a certain pinnacle, a peak, a turning point which she had been on the edge for quite some time now.

Again and again. 

Crossing the line—she was so close now.

Punch after punch. Kick after kick. She didn’t know how long it was before she stopped throwing punches and kicks, but when she was done, Nuru lay motionless in the dirt.

As Atienna stared at him, she felt a ping of nostalgia.

The man cracked a grin through bloody teeth.  “No names. No tribes. No conductors.”

Ah.

“Queen of the Night,” he rasped.

It was him.

---

Derik and Shion arrived shortly after. 

Derik ogled the state of Nuru before walking over and kicking the man in the side. Shion rushed to him and then glanced back at Atienna questioningly. There was worry in the woman’s eyes. However, Atienna was not concerned with what they were concerned with.

“What happened to Sefu?” she asked.

“Renee’s taking care of him,” Shion informed her. “He has first aid experience. He’s taken Sefu to the local clinic.” She glanced back at Nuru. “He’s okay, Atienna. Don’t worry.”

* * *

With Derik’s and Shion’s assistance, Atienna dragged Nuru back to his house and tied him up to a chair in his bedroom. Shion motioned for Atienna to follow her into Nuru’s workshop. 

“Now that he’s been apprehended, Atienna,” Shion drew, “I can take it from here. I’ll contact my department and have them send additional officers—”

“Before that…” Atienna interjected in a quiet voice. “Could you please go tell Sefu and Renee that we’ve apprehended our suspect? Could you tell me if Sefu’s alright?”

Shion appeared caught off-guard. “But… Atienna… don’t you want to tell them yourself?”

Atienna held Shion’s gaze. “I know I’ve asked a lot from you recently, Shion, even though I barely know you—”

Shion’s brows knit.

Truly, so simple.

Atienna held up one finger and continued to hold the woman’s gaze. “One more time.” 

Shion hesitated and looked away for a moment. She sighed, nodded. “Okay. I’ll back in half an hour.”

Atienna felt something lighten in her chest—like she was being freed from something.

After Shion departed to the clinic, Atienna returned to the room where Nuru resided with a bucket of water and a rag. Derik was guarding the door. Atienna was rather surprised and perhaps even mildly disappointed that he had not entered the room and shaken Nuru up a bit.

Upon entering the room, Atienna set the bucket beside Nuru and began to wipe away the blood from his face.

Nuru remained silent. Atienna could feel Derik’s eyes on her.

“I’d like for you to tell me about your relationship with the copycat killer,” Atienna said calmly. “How did you meet? What is their goal? Where are they now?”

Nuru  pulled away from the rag. “You’re more interested in her instead of me?”

“Her?” Atienna inquired.

“Don’t you know why I did it?” he asked.

“You already told me why you did it,” Atienna responded.

“But don’t you want to know how?” Nuru pressed. “I knew I was going to kill Franjo two weeks before he died.”

Atienna let out a breath. “And did you know you were going to work together with the copycat when you became aware of her?”

“How did you find out that it was me?” Nuru pressed. He looked up at the ceiling. “Because you could tell that I was one of the few meaningful and real things about this place?”

He was a narcissist. 

Atienna stared back at him. “Ah… is it that you wanted to prove your existence here? Prove that you’re real? Is that why you killed them all?”

Nuru went silent.

“Prove yourself in a world that—as you say— ‘has no meaning’?”

“If you want to know about me, I am an open book,” Nuru finally said, “but I will not say anything about my partner. Someone must continue my work—”

“Oh shut the fuck up!” Derik stormed into the room and kicked Nuru in the chest. The men was sent sailing back in his chair, but Derik caught before he hit the ground and shook him hard. “You’re a sick bastard—thinking you’re special or something for killing a few people?” He whipped to Atienna. “Leave me in the room with him for a minute and I’ll get the answers you want.”

“I’m not sure if beating him will be that effective,” Atienna murmured. “A different approach would be—”

Derik rolled his eyes and pointed out the door. “Just stand out there and let me work him. Or you could stay here.” He sneered and looked back at Nuru. “Then you’d be the perfect witness to this guy spilling his guts either literally or figuratively.”

Atienna hesitated, contemplating before she took a step back and then another.

Nuru merely laughed as Atienna walked to the threshold of the door. “You can’t do anything to me. You’re meaningless too.”

The next ten minutes were filled with thuds and grunts. Derik did not ask any questions as he beat Nuru over and over again. He merely demanded “Talk! Talk! Talk!” over and over again. He flipped between Capricornian and Common as he shouted which made Atienna wonder how much he truly realized how much he’d been affected by this place. How much was he affected by this place? The language was one thing, his relationship with Olive was another, but his behavior was—

Ah… wasn’t it not too long ago she had looked down at Cadence for allowing someone to beaten within an inch of their life? She’d called it cruel then and passed judgement but that had only been because… no one had viewed it from that perspective on Cadence’s end. Certainly, she had felt a sort of sympathy for that beaten man, but… not empathy.

“I think that’s enough, Derik…” Atienna said from the doorway.

Derik didn’t relent. Perhaps he hadn’t heard her? No, he certainly did. That meant—

Atienna let out a breath. “Derik, Olive wouldn’t want this.”

Derik paused and looked back at her. His fist was raised. “You think I give a shit what the brat wants? I’m doing this for him. Just give me a few more minutes—”

“Derik, please.”

Derik remained silent for a few more seconds before lowering his fist. He gave Nuru one last shove, sending the man rocking in his chair. He stormed back to the doorway while Atienna took his place. Atienna righted the bucket of water that Derik had knocked down and used the rag thrown to the side to begin cleaning Nuru’s wounds again.

“Don’t baby the bastard,” Derik snapped.

Atienna glanced over her shoulder briefly but continued to wipe the blood from Nuru’s face. His eyes never left hers. It was as if he was seeking something there. Ah, did he think that she pitied him? Felt a drop of empathy for him? No—perhaps he was searching to see if he found meaning in her. Or perhaps he was wondering what she thought was wrong with him or what was wrong with her. She supposed on that front, they were similar to each other. Perhaps the beating had chipped away something.

“When I was younger,” Atienna found herself saying, “my teacher took my entire class to the outskirts of my people’s land. There were small villages there, spread far and few in-between. The particular village we visited was a two day’s journey by v-ehicle from the nearest city. They were self-sustaining out there, living peacefully off the land. Hunting, farming, gathering. In fact, the very first thing we saw when entering the village was a wild boar caught in one of their noose traps.”

“I remember,” Nuru croaked.

Hm? “You do?”

“I was there. I was in your class.”

“Were you?” Atienna wondered. That wasn’t too strange. They were the same age and he was Virgoan and a member of her tribe. She had never really paid attention to any of her classmates back then. The only ones in her circle had been her family members, her guards, and of course Safiyah. She was quite glad that they weren’t here with her. 

“Your head was always buried in a book so I’m not surprised you don’t remember me.”

Hm. Was that why?

“The poor boar had been out there for an entire day,” Nuru recalled. “Every time it moved, the noose just got tighter and tighter.”

“That’s right. Everyone’s reactions to that poor boar ranged from disgust to sympathy. Some talked about freeing the boar while others argued that freeing it would—”

“—just lead to it being caught again. That and the villagers would be left without an important food source.” Nuru shook his head. “All of that back and forth was pointless. The next day, we went out to see that the villagers had killed the boar. We ate it that very night…” 

Ah—sympathy for an animal?

“Hm, I do agree with the discussion being rather pointless. It was mostly just a contest between everyone to prove their own moral superiority. Children are quaint, don’t you think?” Atienna mused, wiping the blood from her hands onto the rag as she rose to a stand. She paced to where Derik stood by the door and paused. “You were wrong about two things though, Nuru.”

The threshold here was a metaphor, wasn’t it? It served as a line to cross. If she crossed it now—well, it would be meaningless to her, wouldn’t it? She had to admit that to herself. It would be meaningless since no one she cared about was present.

Atienna stepped over the threshold and felt as if she was shedding her skin—no, as if she was blossoming. She returned not too long later with the dog in tow and tethered by a makeshift leash of rope.

Derik arched a brow at this while Nuru stared at them impassively. She brought herself and the dog a few steps deeper into the room and in front of Nuru.

“The first thing you’re wrong about is the reason I don’t remember you,” Atienna said calmly. She reached into her pocket, pulled out a handful of treats, and threw them onto the ground. She watched as the dog happily ate them up before she continued, “It was not because my head was always buried in a book. It was because you simply weren’t interesting enough for me to pay attention to.”

Nuru’s gaze narrowed.

Atienna reached into her pocket and threw out a couple more treats. When the dog lunged for them this time, however, she pulled back on the leash. The dog whimpered, straining and unable to reach the food. Eventually it stopped resisting and sat down—eyes never leaving the treats.

“The second thing you’re wrong about is that it wasn’t the villagers that killed the boar.”

She slackened the leash. The dog leapt forward and happily ate up the treats before she reeled it back again. She threw more treats and again held the dog back.

 “It was me.”

Nuru looked up at her.

“At first I tried to break its neck with the very rope that was holding it in place, but I wasn’t strong enough back then.  I considered looking for a knife to slit its throat but it was took too much effort and time to find one. I eventually found a very large rock the size of its head. It was almost too heavy for me to lift up but gravity did the work. All I had to do was bring the rock up and drop it—”

She released the dog and it charged at the treats and slobbered it all up like a starving man. She pulled it back again, throwing another few treats on the ground. 

“Again and again and again.”

She released the leash again but pulled back just as the dog was about to snap up one of the treats.

“No one talked about the boar on our way back home. How could they? They ate it, after all. All of that morally righteous talk about their idea being the one that was completely right. Whether it was right or wrong, I won that argument by ending the argument, don’t you think?”

She released the dog—just a little—and allowed it to eat up one of the many treats scattered on the ground. She reeled it back in.

“When I told my mother about it, I was rather surprised by how upset she was. I didn’t quite understand because I thought what I did was perfectly right. Ah, but she said that when it came to many things in life, there was a grayness involved—especially when it came to living things. ‘Every living being deserved to choose whether it had a chance to live or die. Other living things would feel the absence of another living thing if that living thing died‘.”

She reached for her hair and pulled out the purple flower bulb there.

“I was rather confused. I had been so certain of myself until that point, but my mother—whom I looked up to and respected—was telling me my perspective was wrong. That I wasn’t quite normal. Because I looked up to her so much, I accepted her perspective as the right one even if it meant discarding my own.”

She plucked a petal from the bulb and tossed it into the scattered pile of treats.

Nuru’s eyes widened.

Ah, he recognized it.

“I even took up gardening half-heartedly at her insistence. She told me that raising and nurturing something on my own would teach me understanding and empathy.” 

She continued to deflower the bulb until all the petals were scattered amongst the treats—all while holding the now barking dog at bay.

“Honestly, I just became more confused after her accident. What was right and wrong, my desire to be right—I struggled with it and gardened away hoping to get closer to the answer my mother wanted me to. It didn’t help that my siblings then became my responsibility alone. Unlike me, they were normal. So—I suppressed myself.”

Atienna let the leash slacken. The dog leapt forward, jowls nearly snapping close around a petal that had fallen onto a treat. Nuru yelped. Atienna pulled back the leash just before the dog could eat it and smiled.

“But the pressure built so I found relief in the Night Circle. Recently I’ve been thinking—especially with your convincing—that perhaps I could also find relief here. Here in this place where nothing is real nor has meaning. Here where no one important is by my side.”

Nuru shook his head. “You won’t do it. Don’t do it.”

“Why are you so concerned?” Atienna inquired. “Isn’t this dog not real as well? Isn’t it a meaningless existence?I’ve never quite understood why people tend to feel more sympathy towards creatures of a different species than their fellow mankind. Ah, well, I do acknowledge their reasoning behind it—‘lesser beings’ being pure and innocent and our responsibility to protect them…. However in all honesty, if I had to choose between saving an animal and a human I’ve known for an equal amount of time, I would not hesitate to choose the human.” 

With that, Atienna released the leash completely. The dog leapt forward and immediately began to slop up everything on the ground. 

“No!” Nuru lurched forward straining and hit the ground and he flailed there hopelessly. “Bekha, stop! Bekha, no!”

The dog continued its feast.

“No! No!” he wailed. “Please stop her! Please! I’ll tell you everything I know. Please just—

Atienna immediately leapt onto the dog and pinned its face to the ground. She reached in its mouth and pulled out a mush of chewed up treats and petals.

“You have to take her to a vet,” Nuru wheezed. “Take her!”

“Will you truly tell me everything I want to know?”

Nuru stared into her. “I will, so please—”

Atienna stood up, pulled the dog back, and kicked the treats and petals to the corner of the room. She walked to the door where Derik stood watching her with tight lips.

“Was your boar story true?”

“Whether it is or it isn’t,” Atienna drew, slowly, thoughtfully as she felt a smile crinkle the corner of her eyes, “you’re technically the witness now, don’t you think?” After a pause, she handed the leash to him. “There’s a vet clinic just down the road, I believe. Could you take it there?”

Derik’s eyes narrowed but he grimaced down at the dog and took the leash from her. She waited until he was gone before turning back to Nuru. She paced over to him, righted his chair, and wiped his face with a rag.

Rain droplets began to hit the window behind him. She brushed past him, cracked it open, and caught the droplets in her hands. She allowed the rain to wash off the blood there and considered visiting Olive after this. She shut the window and turned back to Nuru–to the man who saw the real her.

“Now, shall we talk?”

°

「

I am loved,

I am taught,

I am cared for.

And yet,

I am cruel.

」

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