“You still didn't answer my question!” I uttered abruptly.
“Oh, because I need to answer it?” Adeth replied, sneering.
Arrogant creep, I thought darkly.
“What are you?!” I asked, “I never saw a being able to move when it's made of stone!”
“Seems that my small camouflage is working perfectly then,” Adeth mentioned.
“Eh?”
“I'm covered in the same substance as you are,” Adeth explained, “it just looks so much like stone.”
“And what race are you?!” I demanded, my index tensing on the trigger.
“By the smell of your blood,” Adeth answered, “the same as you.”
“You're a kuijin?” I asked.
“In other words, yes,” Adeth murmured.
“Wat kind of Soul animal do you have?” I asked, “I don't know any animal that resembles a human and a bat.”
Adeth's right ear twitched at my words. “Except maybe a mix of those two, perhaps?”
“You're a hybrid?” I answered. Adeth nodded slowly, as if he was looking at an idiot. Nayru barged in, standing in between me and Adeth. I lowered my weapon to take out any risk of shooting Nayru by reflex.
“Why did you attack us last night?” Nayru asked.
“You put damn fire right in front of my face,” Adeth replied coldly, “I only defended myself. Explaining why I didn't kill every one of you on the spot.”
“But what were you doing there?” Nayru asked. Adeth turned his head away, scowling at something at his side, but there was only thin air. He glared at Nayru.
“I was sleeping,” Adeth replied. I sensed that there was another answer behind that, but he didn't want to talk about it.
“I know that, but-” Nayru began. She was interrupted by Adeth, who stepped away, and then flew away, further into the cemetery. I tried to follow him, but nothing moved. Everything was silent, all of a sudden. I scowled, and I threw my fist at the air.
“Damn it,” I muttered darkly, “he hid himself. Probably as another gargoyle, or something.”
“It's not a total loss,” Nayru replied. “First, we're not dead, and, second, we learned some new things. Some, maybe important, things.”
“Yeah, I guess,” I mumbled. I looked at the direction where Adeth had disappeared. I wondered who that kuijin really was. I frowned. “Anyways, I ain't calmer than before.”
Nayru stepped up to me and she flattened her hand out on my chest. I lifted one eyebrow, and she smiled at me.
“Yes, you are,” Nayru replied, turning around, taking the same path the opposite way to get back to the hideout. I huffed, and I followed her, putting the gun in the back of my trousers, and pulling my shirt over it to hide it.
We arrived at the closed entrance of the hideout a while after, and I dug out the metal poll that Dippy normally used to open the door. I wedged it inside the small slit, and I pulled. The door creaked open, and it slammed onto the ground. Nayru jumped backwards instinctively from the area of impact. I buried the metal poll again, and I stepped into the stairs. In the darkness, I grabbed the rope, and strained with it to pull the door up. I clenched my teeth, and pulled once with great strength, and I managed to close it. I looked down the stairs, and I noticed that the candles were lit. I jumped the rest of the staircase, and I entered the room, where Dippy, Jamina and Seir were awake, but bored, like if they were waiting for something.
“So?” Dippy asked.
“We got some good stuff,” I replied.
“Hm?” Dippy answered, sitting up on the hammock. “Like what, Gun?”
“Well,” Nayru began, “we 'met' that thing again.”
“Ah?”
“Yeah, and we learned that it wasn't a thing, but a twat,” I answered darkly.
“Leorn!” Nayru exclaimed.
“Still pissed off at it?” Dippy asked, smirking.
“Not an 'it', a 'he',” I replied.
“How do you know?” Nayru asked.
“If that... Thing was a girl, she would be flatter than my singing voice.”
Dippy rolled his eyes, and put his hands on his knees. “Okay, anything else?”
“Yes,” Nayru replied, “he's a kuijin.”
“Eh?” Dippy, Seir and Jamina uttered in unison.
“That's impossible,” Dippy answered, “there's no animal like that.”
“That's what I said,” I replied, lifting one eyebrow, “he says he's a hybrid.”
Dippy stood silent for a moment, then raised his hand to his chin. “Hm... Interesting.”

“Yes, very,” I replied sarcastically.
“But he's made of stone!” Jamina exclaimed.
“Not really,” I answered, “the color of his skin resembles greatly the surface of stone, and that's why Nayru mistook Adeth for a statue, last night.”
“Adeth?” Dippy repeated, “This guys name's Adeth?”
“Adeth Etatus, to be exact,” I replied, getting back to serious. “Honestly, I don't know where that name comes from. He said he was born here, but I know that nobody else in Lyon is named Adeth.”
“If you had let me continue,” Nayru grumbled, “I would've found out.”
“Uh huh,” I muttered, rolling my eyes. “Sorry, I was pissed at the guy for yesterday. Couldn't help myself. Male thing, take no notice.”
“I know that,” Nayru replied sarcastically, “I saw that your finger was about to press the trigger on that gun.”
“Colt, to be exact,” I replied, “took it from the old Its hideout.”
“Talking about the old Its hideout,” Dippy interrupted, hopping off of the dirty white-colored hammock, making it swing gently behind him, “we need to go back there.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Not permanently, though,” Dippy corrected, “just to get some stuff. Might help us with this. Books, maybe.”
More books? I mumbled to myself darkly, turning away. “Don't count on me to get them,” I replied, “I don't want to meet Adeth again for today.”
“Honestly, I wasn't going to ask you anyways, no offense,” Dippy answered, turning his head to Jamina, “Galop, let's go.”
“Fine,” Jamina mumbled, standing up. Dippy nodded, and he started stepping up the stairs. He opened the door, and it slammed onto the ground heavily. Jamina followed him out into the sunlight.
“Wait for me!” Seir exclaimed, “I need to note the hours when the people are able to come!”
Seir ran up the stairs, and I heard his grunt as he fell down to the bottom again. He quickly got back up, ad ran upwards again. He hopped out into the open, and the marble door was slammed back in place. I sighed, and I rested on the mattress. Nayru sat right next to me, watching my every movement. I looked up at her, and she smiled back at me. I sniffed the air, and I sighed, looking up at the ceiling.
“Isn't there any way to take a shower here?” I asked, “Because I smell bull.”
Nayru laughed, arching her head backwards. “Yes, I guess it is pretty hard to wash yourself in the Its,” she replied, “I can't see any way.”
“Christ,” I muttered. I thought a while, and then turned my head to look at her. “Wait a sec...” I stood up, and I walked to the other side of the room, grabbing various things and tossing them away. Nayru crawled over to me.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Searching for a small metal basket,” I replied, throwing a wooden stick behind me, “that I saw when we searched the room.” I saw a hole in the mass of objects, and I put my hand in it. I searched with my fingers for something cold and hard, and I caught it. I started to pull it out, and the pile followed. I was buried under a mix of wooden objects, dirty clothing and metal. I stood up, pushing away the things, carrying the small metal basket I had found. I threw it to the other side of the room, and I stacked the fallen things into a pile again, as messily as before. I looked around.
“Water,” I whispered. Nayru nodded, and headed over to a bag. She rummaged through it, taking away multiple diverse objects. She grabbed six bottles of water, and threw them to me. I caught one, and caught the second, but I crumbled under the others. I popped my head up, beside a plastic Evian bottle.
“Do you think we'll have enough?” I asked.
“There are ten more,” Nayru answered.
“I was kidding,” I muttered quietly. Nayru rolled her eyes, and I turned the metal basket over. I checked for occasional holes inside the basket, and saw none. I turned it over again, to put it on its foot, and I opened the six bottles.
“Pour them in,” I demanded, and Nayru crawled over to me, grabbing a bottle, and versing the liquid into the large container. I stood up, and I looked through the bag that Jamina had on her back before we departed from the previous hideout. I quickly opened it, noticing even more things. I picked out tree long lengths of cloth. I flattened them on the floor, and I folded each one of them three times, to have a convenient width to dry. I took one, and I put it next to the basket. I then helped Nayru with the bottles.
Once the metal basket was full, I waited a small while to see if water spread on the floor. There was no sign of water, and I sighed. I looked around, and then at Nayru, who tilted her head at me.
“Gah, heck with it,” I murmured. I grabbed the rim of my shirt, and I pulled it off. I threw the dirty shirt behind me, on my mattress. I leaned over the metal basket, crouched near it. I squinted. “Cold water. Eek.”
Nayru rolled her eyes, and she dunked me inside the water, head first. I pulled myself out, throwing water everywhere around me. I blinked multiple times at Nayru, the coldness of the water freezing me.
“You're d-d-amn luck-cky I didn't get hypo-pothermi-mi-mia,” I stuttered.

She sneered at me, and pushed my head into the water, up to my neck. I was lucky that she didn't throw my whole body in, and that only my torso got wet. I prodded her hand, and she slid it off my hair, and I pulled my head out of the water, gasping for air.
“Jesus Christ. Cold.” I said, very silently.
“I guess we could've heated the water first, with the candles...” Nayru remarked.
“So you knew that all along?” I asked.
“Stop talking and wash yourself!” Nayru exclaimed, plunging my head into the water. Instead of instantly pulling it out again, since I was used to the cold, I let my hair float at the surface of the water, and I held my breath. I opened my eyes underwater, and it felt slightly awkward. My vision was blurry. I smirked to myself, trying to last as long as possible without breathing.
After about one minute, I pulled my head out of the water, taking a quick gasp for air. I let the water flow from my hair into the metal container. It clicked gently as the drops hit the surface of the water, disturbing it. I turned my head to Nayru, closing my mouth. I lifted one eyebrow at her, and I sat away from the basket, lending one hand, in the direction of the water.
“Well?” I asked, teasingly, “aren't you going to go?”
“I don't want to have to wear a soaked shirt,” she muttered, glaring playfully at me.
“You can always take it off,” I replied.
“In the Its, we buy the minimum for clothing, if you hadn't noticed yet,” Nayru warned.
“Ah, I get it,” I replied, sneering. “well, don't feel timid. I already learned this stuff in school.”
“Uh huh,” Nayru answered sarcastically, “because you think that's going to change my mind?”
“I know you want to wash yourself,” I snickered, “you don't want to keep my blood all over your face all day long.”
“Keep trying,” Nayru answered, lifting one eyebrow.
“Like if anyone is going to know,” I replied. She smirked at me, and forcefully dunked my head into the water again. I rolled my eyes behind my eyelids, and I held my breath underwater. I put one hand in the water, to massage my face, taking off the blood from my mouth and from my face. I then slowly took my head out, letting the water drip from my soaked hair and face. I stared at the liquid for a while, the droplets falling from my hair and face making a faint dropping sound. I turned my head to Nayru, and I lifted one eyebrow as I noticed that she also had taken her shirt off.
She glared playfully at me, and I smirked back. She had her arms curled up around her chest to hide her nudity. I shook my head, forcing the last drops to let go of my head, and I sat up on my mattress, looking at Nayru.
“So, changed your mind?” I asked.
“Shut up, I haven't washed my hair in months, maybe years,” she replied playfully.
“Well, water's waiting,” I answered, pointing to the liquid.
“You know very well that I'll have to take my arms off of their current place when I'll have to put my head in there,” she snapped coldly.
“Why do you need to?” I asked, sneering.
“To prevent you from dunking my head in,” she said, reading my thoughts.
“Aw, c'mon, I ain't that evil,” I mentioned.
“Coming from a killer, that's hard to believe,” Nayru muttered.
I let a small sigh get out of my nearly closed lips, showing an almost exaggerated sense of 'you know what? You're acting pretty dumb at the moment'. But, maybe luckily for me, Nayru didn't understand what I meant. An idea crossed my mind, and I turned my head to the side, outstretching my arm to grab a towel. My fingers felt the gentle fabric, even though I could sense it wasn't really a towel, because I had just quickly folded long strips of approximately same-colored cloths. I handed one over to Nayru, but she didn't grab it. I only understood why a second later, as she shifted the position of one arm on her body, and moved her finger in a circle at me, asking me to turn around. I looked up at the ceiling, wondering why I was doing this in the first place, and I flattened out my hand on my forehead irritatedly, feeling the rest of the water clinging to my face and hair. I then lowered my head, sliding my humid hand onto my knee, and I noticed that Nayru had wound up the towel around her chest, and her hands were curled up on her knees.
“Not a bad idea, hmm?” I asked, lifting one eyebrow mockingly at the kuijin. She glared playfully back at me, and she slowly turned to the metal basket. The glint that reflected from the metal surface was seen in her eyes, but I couldn't distinguish if it was unintentional, or if it was some sort of sly expression towards me. Nayru shoved her head in the water, making water splash all around her, including me. I sighed, and I grabbed another towel, drying my face and hair from the rest of the water. In the middle of drying my hair by scrubbing it frenetically, I turned my head to look at Nayru. She was trying to take off my blood from her face, using her hands. I looked away, and I slowly continued taking the water off my skin.
She pulled her head out of the liquid, spraying it again on me. I frowned dramatically, as I felt the water drip down my previously dried hair. She turned to look at me, and she laughed happily.
“Whatcha laughing at?” I hissed coldly.

“Nah, I was just laughing at your face,” Nayru answered, tilting her head sideways. I went silent for a moment, and I began drying my hair again with the towel.
“At least that answers my question,” I replied silently. Even though I tried to force my hair to dry, it seemed that it had a consciousness of its own, and that it wouldn't let the water go onto the towel. I grumbled angrily at myself, and I laid the towel on my lap, formed by my crossed legs. I looked up at Nayru, and she gazed back at me with her green eyes. I looked down, and quickly looked back up, clearing my throat loudly. She didn't move, and she kept staring at me. I cleared my throat again, trying to give her a message. She tilted her head to the side, lifting one eyebrow at me, letting her brown hair fall on her shoulder. I rolled me eyes deceivingly, and I slapped my palm against my forehead. I shook my head, as if I was addressing myself to an idiot. I lifted my face from my palm, and I leaned my chin on my fist, putting my elbow on my right knee.
“I think I should be laughing at your face right now,” I remarked.
“Eh?” she replied questioningly. I grabbed my towel, and I threw it against her chest.
“Towel,” I muttered, “you didn't notice it slipped off?”
Nayru's face flushed to a bright red, as she flattened out the towel on her chest, lowering her head. Her hair fell in front of her embarrassed face, as she tightened her grip around the towel with her arms. I kept silent, looking away, near one of the higher corners of the room.
“Sorry...” she whispered, as low as she could.
“Why do you need to be?” I asked, turning my eyes over to her again, “I mean, there's nothing there that I didn't know about.”
Nayru suddenly lifted her head, and she glared at me, she positioned her arm on the towel to keep it up with only that arm, and she slapped me upside the head with her other hand. I fell sideways on the mattress, but I pushed myself back up into my sitting position, lifting both eyebrows.
“Getting your energy back, aren't you?” I asked teasingly, as I reached out to her head, and I dunked her face in the water. She squirmed to get out of my grip, but I kept it firm and stable. I shook my head joyfully, thinking that this was the weirdest situation I was in up until then.
She forcedly pulled her head out of the water, taking my hand off the back of her head. She took one gasp for air, and she glared playfully at me through her dripping hair. I smirked arrogantly back at her, trying to show that she wasn't the boss around here. She didn't get the message, and she pushed my head into the water again. I grabbed her hand, and tightened it around hers, pulling it off instantly, as I rose my head from the liquid. She laughed at me, taking her hand away from mine. I smirked, sitting back up. I took the towel, and I began shaking it fiercely, freeing the water from their grasp on my hair. When I had dried it out, I looked up at Nayru who had tightened the towel I had given her around her chest, and that she was also drying her head with the third towel I had folded with the long strip of pale yellow cloth. She glanced at me, and turned her finger at me. I rolled my eyes back, turning around on myself. I felt the mattress with my hand, and I grabbed my shirt, pulling it on my body. After waiting for about half a minute, I turned around, thinking that it would be her problem whether she finished or not. She tilted her head at me with a questioning look, having put back her shirt again. I lifted my eyebrows, and I sighed.
“Well, at least I'm clean now,” I silently murmured.
“The others are going to come back anytime soon,” Nayru remarked, crossing her arms, and standing up. I also stood up, putting my hands into my pockets. As Nayru had mentioned, a loud slamming noise resonated around the room as someone opened the door. Two pairs of footsteps padded downstairs, and Jamina appeared, closely followed by Dippy. They were both holding books of different colors and sizes. Dippy dropped them on the floor near the desk, and Jamina did the same, in a second pile. I read the titles on the covers of the first books on the piles Dippy and Jamina had just organized. There was a book on medicine, and another on the Its history. That one was smaller than the tome on medicine, ironically. Dippy turned to us, and glanced at the water-filled metal basket. He turned his gaze to me, lifting one intrigued eyebrow.
“We needed a wash, ok?” I uttered. “We just found this metal basket here, along with six one-liter bottles of Evian, and I folded up three long pieces of cloth. Nothing too bad.”
“Never said it was,” Dippy replied quickly, heading over to the metal container, “actually, quite good idea you have there. I need a wash too.” Dippy pulled off his large wool sweater, and I noticed what made him look like a porcupine. His back was full of small, black points. They looked rigid enough to pierce someone's skin, maybe even flesh. The hand he had used to pull off the sweater also had long resistant nails. Dippy crouched next to the water, and he dunked his head inside, splashing water all around. He lifted his head from the water, teeth chattering.
“Cold?!” he blurted out, turning to Nayru and me.
“Yeah, we forgot to heat it with candles,” I replied, “just continue, and you'll get used to it.”
Dippy mumbled something, and shoved his head into the liquid again. I took a step back, dodging the splash of water. His spike hair floated in the water, and I only saw then how long it was. He slowly pulled his head out of the liquid, water dripping on the surface, creating small waves.

He grabbed a towel behind him, and he had to do the very exhausting task of drying one spike of hair one after the other, so that he wouldn't pierce the towel. Jamina stepped over, leaning slightly above the water.
“But then how do we do it, eh?” she asked, turning to me. I gulped.
“Um,” I muttered, “you're talking about the clothes problem, right?”
“Exactly,” Jamina replied. She turned to Nayru, lifting one eyebrow, noticing that Nayru still had humid hair. Nayru blushed, turning her head away timidly, letting her hair hide her face. “Nayru, you...” Jamina gaped.
“Aw, c'mon, it ain't so bad,” Dippy interrupted, “I mean, just by looking in the medicine book, we learn all about this. Ain't I right, Ghost?”
“Yeah!” Seir exclaimed from the stairs, pulling the rope as hard as he could to try and close the door. A half smile crept along my lips. I didn't know that stuff when I was his age, but, then again, I wasn't interested in it. And I didn't live in the Its. Dippy pulled his sweater back on over his head, and helped Seir with the rope, both of them pulling it to close it. A loud slam echoed, then faded away, as Seir and Dippy appeared in the room again. Dippy sneered, and he stepped over to me, approaching his face dangerously close to mine, with a hand over his mouth, as he whispered something to me.
“Did you see...” he murmured quietly, “anything else?”
Luckily for me and unluckily for him, Nayru heard that question, and slapped him violently. He fell on one of the mattresses, one hand on his right, red cheek. He glared up at Nayru, who loomed over him, hands on hips.
“We don't even have the right to grab a laugh, now?!” he exclaimed. I snickered quietly to myself, as Nayru huffed.
“Don't even think about that,” Nayru replied coldly, “even though you're our leader, I still think it should be an example to us all.”
“Bah, you girls ain't any fun,” Dippy mumbled, as he shakily stood up, pushing off the mattress to do so. I stepped over to him.
“Oh, by the way, I didn't,” I mentioned. I turned to Nayru, lifting one eyebrow mockingly, as she glared back at me. She stomped over to me, and shoved one finger just under my chin. She opened her mouth to say something, but she sighed, and eased her body. I grabbed her wrist, and I pushed it down. “Exactly,” I replied, “nothing.”
“Anyways,” Jamina continued, “I find that this way is kind of sexist.”
“Sexist?!” Dippy exclaimed, “I bite my thumb at that. Nayru did it well!” Dippy jerked his head to the pigeon kuijin, lifting one eyebrow. “By the way, how did you manage?”
“I gave her a towel to wrap around her chest,” I explained, “nothing too hard, even though...” Nayru glared at me, almost daring me to continue burying my grave. I gulped nervously, lifting my hands. “Nothing.”
“Even though what?” Dippy asked, suddenly interested.
“Even though...” I continued, “it ain't that... Comfortable, but at least it prevents indiscreet eyes?”
“Hm, yeah,” Dippy replied, turning around, “that's logical.”
We all stood quite as Dippy and Nayru casted venomous glances at each other, even though I stood in the middle of their path. I sat down on the mattress, putting my face into my hand, sighing heavily.
“Hey, what time is it outside?” I asked.
“About 6:00 AM,” Dippy replied quickly. He turned to Seir. “You did your job?”
“Uh huh,” Seir answered, “everything was written down on a small sheet of paper near the entrance. I got it all in my head. Open hours are 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM each day, and 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM on Saturday.”
“Great,” Dippy answered. Jamina was still muttering incomprehensible curse words, possibly in another language. I hoped that they weren't dedicated to me. I yawned, and I slowly stood up, putting my hands in my pockets, and beginning to step up the stairs. Dippy leaned on the mattress, wondering where I was going.
“Hey, Leorn,” Seir called out.
“Hmm?”
“Whatcha doin'?”
“Going back out, to look at the graves. Isn't it obvious?”
I kicked the marble door, and it slammed down onto the ground. I wandered in my mind, searching for the answer why people hadn't found out about the big, obvious noise they heard everyday. Bah, humans, I thought. I was tackled from behind, and I fell on the ground. By reflex, I had put my hands in front of my face to slow down the impact. I turned my head around, to see that Nayru was standing over me, lending out her hand. I lifted one eyebrow, grabbing it, trying to pull myself up. She fell on me, accidentally. I rolled my eyes.
“What do you think you're doing?” I asked.
“Going with you,” Nayru answered, “isn't it obvious?”
“Not with you,” I replied, standing up, and pulling Nayru up onto her feet. By grabbing her arm, I pulled up the sleeve of her shirt. I didn't do it on purpose, but I saw small feathers stick out of her forearms. She noticed, and she quickly stepped away, pulling her sleeve down to her hand, lowering her head. I tilted my head, wondering what made her so tensed.
“What's wrong?” I asked.

“I don't like people looking at my feathers,” she replied quietly.
“But you're a kuijin,” I answered, “I mean, you have to live with it. It was only recently that I lost my tail, you know.”
“I don't know,” Nayru murmured, “I just like being as human as possible.”
“Don't,” I snapped. She lifted her head questioningly at me.
“That was... brutal,” she remarked.
I grabbed her wrist, and I tightened my hand. She tried taking one step back, but I pulled her closer. “Don't try being too human, Nayru,” I continued, “it only leads to bad things, for the kuijin race. Be as you are. There's nothing wrong with your feathers, as there was nothing wrong with Cruor's lack of hair, okay?”
“I... guess so...” she muttered.
“Don't guess, know,” I replied, letting go of her hand, “mark my words.” I crouched to the marble door, and I put my hands under it, trying to push it up back into place. After hesitation, Nayru joined me, and we both slammed the door back shut. I turned around, fitting my hands into my pockets, and walking away on the path. I felt the colt bump on my spine as I moved, and I took out one hand to position it so that it wouldn't do so. Nayru followed me by my side.
“Why don't you like humans?” she asked.
“Not that I don't like them,” I replied coldly, “just that it's wrong for a kuijin to be too much like a human. I would really like to get my tail back, to know that I'm still a kuijin. I fear that I might forget if I get too good in morphing.”
“But isn't that the goal?” Nayru asked, “A kuijin is supposed to hide in society. Isn't it better for the kuijin to look exactly like a human?”
“I thought you would know better, Nayru,” I answered, “if a kuijin develops its morphing power too much, it risks not being able to morph back into a human. Pretty horrible fate, if you ask me, being something else than you really are, and forced to live a life of one of your most dangerous predators, even though you ave kuijin blood still running through your veins.”
“I didn't know that,” Nayru replied quietly.
“I expected you to, but I guess I was wrong,” I mumbled, “it's one of the most important kuijin rules, to my mind, that is, though.”
We both stood silent, walking along the path, along the gravestones of many, many people. I wondered what it was like, after death. I wondered what James felt after the darkness enveloped him when I shot him in the head. A dark shiver crawled up my spine.
“Nayru, why did you join the Its?” I asked, trying to change the subject from my mind. Her face darkened, as a cold murmur escaped from her mouth.
“I was able to escape ALSAN with Owen, in 2006. We didn't know each other before we escaped. We just found each other in one of the ALSAN halls, and we decided to help one another to get out of there. The day we escaped, when we were roaming inside Lyon's alleys, Cruor found us and picked us up. I only joined the Its, because I knew that my father, mother and little brother were dead in the ALSAN building, because of James' experiments. I'm glad that you killed him.”
More or less, the words repeated in my mind, thinking about James' ghost.
“Mh,” I replied, “I'm sorry that we had to inform you of Owen's death back on Alsan, when we had to recuperate Cruor...”
“Don't worry, it's passed now,” she answered, “I need to go on with life, as long as I have a reason.”
“A reason?” I asked.
“Survival.”
“Even though you may find out that that is completely irrelevant?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well,” I explained, “if somehow the Its came to a complete end, and that you were the only sole survivor, what would you do?”
“Be just like you,” she replied.
“You mean, roaming for no reason around the city, always moving from spot to spot like a lost nomad, trying to find shelter and a way to live, killing people who go in your way, trying to find some people who are probably dead, or searching for you on the other side of the planet?”
“If I had no other choice, I would have to adapt myself to live with it.”
“I'm telling you, it's a shitty way to live, but I guess I won't try to change your mind, as it is your decision after all,” I replied. We stopped the conversation there, and we started stopping in front of graves to look at their names.
The wind was calm, but the temperature was pretty low. The eaves rattled gently with the small breeze, making them twirl in a morbid dance around my feet. My hair flowed along with the wing, being blown in my face. My footsteps echoed dimly on the rocky ground, as the stifling odor that mixed the gentle smell of plants and the bitter stench of pollution painfully entered my nose when I breathed through it. The sun was hidden by the gray clouds hanging over stickily in the sky, like if someone had glued a picture on it. A newspaper was blown sideways by the wind across the path, crumpling silently on itself as it slid roughly on the ground. Everything was silent, though, as if no sense actually managed to be transferred to my mind. I could feel a lone buzzing in the back of my head.

“Hey, Leorn,” Nayru called out quietly, standing in front of a grave in the middle of many others, pulling me out of my trance.”
“Yes?”
“The hybrid's name was... Adeth, right?” she asked.
“If I remember correctly, yes,” I answered, beginning to move over to her, passing multiple small and medium-sized graves. “Why?”
“You better come here,” she suggested, staring blankly at a black marble grave standing in front of her. I stepped over to it, and I read in my mind what was written in golden letters on the gravestone. I frowned.
“'To the memory of the Ormenes family',” I read out loud, “what's wrong with that?”
“Look at the names of the parents and children,” Nayru replied. I lifted one eyebrow, and I leaned closer to the grave. I felt as if a dark aura emanated from the grave, as a leaf passed on it.
“Adrin Ormenes, Daell Ormenes, Ericka Ormenes, Tosrin Ormenes, Hudis Ormenes,” I answered.
“Don't you notice anything strange?” Nayru asked.
“Yes, yes I do,” I replied, “they're all dead at the same time, in 1978.”
“Not that.”
“Then what?” I asked, wanting to know. “Please explain,” I added, with an almost shaking voice.
“Adeth is written with the beginning letters of these people's names,” Nayru answered quietly. I stood silent, and I reread the names. She was right. Adeth used the beginning letters. There was something there, and it wasn't good.
“Leorn,” Nayru squeaked, “it's just a coincidence, right?”
I quickly morphed into my coyote form. Fur shot out of my skin, at the same time as my tail sprouted. My nails grew into claws, and my eyes went black. My muzzle elongated, and my teeth grew. After my transformation had finished, I sniffed the earth around the grave. I smelled many different odors. It was confusing me. I looked at the earth. I went to one side of the grave, and I started pushing the black marble plate that covered it. Nayru helped me. The heavy plate budged, grinding against the marble. As a small hole appeared, letting me look at the ground under, I lifted a canine eyebrow. I stuck my nose in the small slit, and I sniffed. I pulled it out quickly.
“The soil has been moved,” I growled. My voice barked. “Like if it had been turned over.”
“What do you mean?” Nayru asked.
“I mean that there's something very wrong here,” I answered quietly, morphing back into a human. I stood up, looking at Nayru with my green eyes, lifting one eyebrow. “We need to talk about this. This isn't coincidence.”
“You sure?” Nayru asked, looking up at me worriedly.
“Sadly,” I muttered, turning to the grave, “I'm going to have to say that I'm positive.” We both looked at each other for a long while, our hearts starting to beat faster out of adrenalin and confusion. We both needed to know what was happening.

“Dippy!” I yelled out, trying to wake him up. I shook his shoulder violently, as Nayru slammed the door back into place behind me, and quickly descended the stairs. “Dippy, damn it, wake up!” I grabbed his face, and I gave him an outright slap on his cheek. His eyes shot open, and he quickly sat up.
“Huh? What? Where? We're being attacked?” Dippy looked up at me, confused, as he felt his cheek. “Leorn, what the hell is wrong with you?!”
“Maybe my mind is getting dumped, but Nayru found something,” I explained.
“Something?” Dippy murmured, leaning back on the hammock, shaking it gently. “That isn't something to wake me up so brutally for.” I grabbed Dippy's shirt collar, and pulled his face to him. I had an aggressive air on my face.
“Dippy,” I muttered darkly, “that something may be the most important something in your freaking life.”
“Woah, okay, Gun,” Dippy stuttered, “put me down, please.”
I let him go, and he toppled over the side of the hammock onto te mattress below. He quickly sat up, and looked up at us. Seir and Jamina joined Dippy, sitting next to him. Nayru sat down, as if to follow the rest of the group, but I kept standing, crossing my arms.
“It's a grave,” I explained. Dippy didn't understand, and I didn't blame him. “You know, that gargoyle's name is... Adeth, right?”
“Uh huh...” Dippy answered slowly, still trying to comprehend.
“Nayru found a gravestone, where the beginning letters of the names of the buried people matched exactly Adeth,” I continued.
“And?” Dippy replied, lifting one eyebrow, “That's just coincidence, guys.”
“It isn't,” I snapped, “I sniffed out many different smells emanating from the ground, and I noticed that the earth had been moved, turned around, kinda. Like if we dug a hole, and then filled it again.”
“That's the case when we bury coffins,” Dippy answered, “we dig, we fill. End of story.”
“You don't understand!” I outraged. “Someone has been playing with that grave, and we don't know who!”

“There are a lot of goth kids and junkies who go over here, y'know,” Dippy answered coldly, “and they dig up stuff for the fun.”
“I'm still convinced that there's something wrong,” I answered.
“Fine!” Dippy exclaimed, suddenly standing up, “this night, we will dig up some of that grave's crap! And I'll prove that there's nothing but coincidence in there!”
He huffed, and lied down on the hammock again. Nayru, Jamina and Seir stood silent, trying to work out what the heck this was. I sat down on my mattress, glaring at Dippy. Doesn't he understand?! I yelled within my mind, I know that there's one damn thing in that grave. Tonight, I'll prove that I'm right. Nayru sat next to me, looking at me. She hesitated, lowering her head slightly and looking away, but then turned her head to me.
“You sure about this, Leorn?” she asked.
“Absolutely,” I answered, “anyways, there was something else that I didn't mention.”
“And what is that?”
“Behind all those smells, I recognized one. I'm still not sure about it, because sometimes my nose gets confuses with all the odors,” I replied. “One of the smells were the same as Adeth's.”
“It might be a mistake,” Nayru replied quietly. “I'm beginning to have doubts about this.”
“Not me, Nayru,” I hissed, “not me.”
Time passed quickly. I don't know why, but I thought that it must be my determination to prove Dippy wrong that made me be so patient. Dippy brought back some food, but I only ate half of my ration. He looked at me angrily throughout the whole day, and I casted glares back at him. When night had come, Seir checked that everyone was gone. Without him, everything was silent in the hideout. A loud slam announced his return.
“Nobody's out!” he called, “Let's go!”
I shot up onto my feet, and I stepped up the steps quickly, followed by Dippy. Jamina and Nayru were behind him. They both had candles for light. I hopped out of the entrance of the grave, and Seir stepped away. I began walking down the path, remembering exactly where we needed to go, to get to the grave. An eerie sensation coiled around each of our bodies, fear constricting us in its tormenting claws. Dippy, Seir, Jamina and Nayru followed us. The stars twinkled above our heads, as the flames flickered gently in Nayru's and Jamina's hands. They cupped their hand over the flame as wind blew, to protect it. I took a sharp turn to the right, going inside a small terrain full of graves. Nayru dashed up to my side, and lightened the graves with the candle. We passed many, before arriving to the black-marbeled gravestone, with the golden letters that shined as the light hit them. Dippy stepped up to me, and looked down. He read the names, and nodded once, going to the other side of the gravestone, putting his hands under the stone plate. I put myself on the opposite side, and Seir grabbed the last side.
“At three,” Dippy warned, “one, two, three!”
We each pulled with our arms, and we lifted the very heavy plate. Seir pulled it towards him, and we followed his direction slowly. The stone covering slid roughly on the tombstone, a small crack being heard now and then as we pulled. Seir let it go, stepping backwards when the cover had been completely, or nearly removed. Dippy grabbed his wool sweater, and threw it away. I caught it, and the putrid odor emanated from it. I stuck out my tongue disgustingly. Jamina and Nayru covered their lights, leaving Dippy in the darkness. He also threw his pants onto me. I dropped all of his clothes on another gravestone. Dippy morphed into his porcupine form. His hair lengthened, as he slowly went on his four paws. His nails grew black and long, and hardened. The spikes shot out of his back, and his muzzle tightened. His nose grew black and small. A huge porcupine stood, on the ground of the grave.
“Okay, let's do this,” Dippy squeak, his voice changed. He put his claws on the ground, and started burrowing. I knew that porcupines dug up earth to go in the hole afterwards, for protection or something. But a huge porcupine did the work twice as fast, throwing unbelievable mounts of earth on its sides. The mounds of dirt grew higher and higher as Dippy dug further and further. Nayru and Jamina were peering over the edge, with their candles in their hands. The light flickered gently, as a cold breeze passed us. A thud was heard, and I looked over the edge of the grave. I saw that Dippy had stopped digging. He slowly morphed back into his human state. Nayru and Jamina covered their flames again, and I grabbed his pair of pants. He heaved himself up from the hole, being helped by Seir. I threw his pants on him, and he hastily put them back on. Jamina put her candle over the hole, and Nayru did the same. We all looked over the edge. What was under us was scary, and at first I didn't know what the heck was going on.
“Leorn was right,” Dippy muttered, “I noticed that the ground was way too fragile. If this was dug soon after their death, in 1978, the ground would be more compact. Here, it felt like it was dug up... At most five or six years ago.”
“And there's not only that,” Nayru continued.
“I know,” Dippy answered, “but I don't get it.
“Do you think anyone here does?” I snapped. At least I'm right, I thought, there was something weird. We continued staring into the dark hole, illuminated by the small flames of the candles. Five coffins were seen, four surrounding one, which was in the middle. Bits of wood were scattered in the mounds of ground that Dippy had just dug up.

At the bottom, in the middle, a black coffin, with 'Tosrin Ormenes' marked on top. The wood that made the coffin had been shattered, crunched and broken. A really heavy work. The most surprising thing was the most obvious thing.
There was no body.
I gulped, as Dippy grabbed his sweater, and pulled it over his head. He looked into the grave, and started throwing the dirt back inside. We all helped him.

Back at the hideout, we all sat in a circle, on the mattresses. Everyone was silent, even Dippy. And I didn't know whether I should feel happy or bad that I was right.
“Leorn was right,” Dippy began, “there is something abnormally weird going on around here.”
“It certainly is weird,” Jamina concurred, “I mean, no body in the coffin, and it was beaten up. What happened?”
“I don't know, but, looking at how the wood was cracked and broken, it was done from the inside,” Dippy explained.
“Eh?” we all replied in unison.
“I would say 'eh' as well if I had the chance,” Dippy muttered, “but I am formal: the body that was in there went out of it, by some way or the other.”
“Thing is,” I replied, “that's almost impossible to break it like that. I mean...”
“It would need incredible strength to do so, yes,” Dippy answered, “but, theoretically, it is possible to break in from inside a badly made coffin, and then dig yourself up to the top, and push the plate from below.” We all stood silent, looking at each other. “One thing,” Dippy continued. Confidentially, the flames of the lit candles flickered around us, foreseeing something. “Can we associate this to Adeth?”
“Well,” I replied, “in my coyote form, I was able to detect multiple smells, and I recognized Adeth's.”
“Okay, fine,” Dippy replied, “let's say this has something to do with Adeth, okay? That means that Adeth would've dug up from the coffin..”
“Yeah, that's possible,” I added, “he nearly killed me with one punch.”
“Yes, and so that would mean that Adeth is some sort of undead guy, and that is completely illogical, hmm?” Dippy answered. We all stood silent. Tat was true. The dead don't come back, even though we hope for some to come back, and we pray for some to not come back. James came back in my head, but I remembered that James was only a ghost, and that Adeth was real.
“Hey, wait a second...” I muttered, looking up at Dippy, “would it be possible that Adeth is related to Tlynen, in one way or the other?”
“There's a very small chance, but it is possible, if you really want to know,” Dippy answered.
“We need to find Adeth, and talk to him a bit,” I replied.
“I thought you hated that guy,” Dippy murmured.
“Hate doesn't matter at the moment!” I snapped, “This might be the explanation of Tlynen's works. Anyways, for now, we don't have any other choice.”
“I guess you're right,” Dippy muttered, “tomorrow, Gun and Gray, find Adeth, and try to get some information out of him.”
“Why do I need to be accompanied by Nayru?” I asked angrily.
“Because I know you'll bring that colt with you, Leorn,” Dippy explained, “and that you will be most tempted to use it.”
“Hmph.”
I went to my mattress, and I lied down, pulling my arms behind my head. As Dippy and Jamina put off their candles, Nayru crept over to me, coiling herself in the covers. She curled into a ball near me, closing her eyes. I licked my fingers, and I put off the candle standing right next to the mattress. I looked at Nayru, who was in a really tight ball, and I pulled another cover over her body. She opened her eyes, and looked up at me, smiling.
“You sure?” she whispered.
“I don't think I need it,” I replied, morphing into my coyote form. Fur sprouted from my skin, enabling me with another dose of heat. My muzzle lengthened, and my smirk became unrecognizable. My teeth grew, and my gums went black, just as my eyes did. My ears pricked, and a tail slid out of my spine. I laid myself on my side on the mattress, closing my eyes. I felt a heavy weight lie on my stomach, and just by opening my eyes ever so slightly, I noticed that Nayru had taken advantage of my morph to shove her head in my warm canine stomach. I sneered, and I laid my head on my paws, yawning, and I closed my eyes.

I was the first to open my eyes again early the next morning. I yawned, and I stood up to sake my fur. I hadn't noticed tat Nayru's head was still on my stomach, and it bumped against the mattress. She woke up, stunned, wondering what was happening.
“Sorry,” I growled quietly. “I... didn't notice...”
“It's okay,” Nayru replied, lifting her head. She stretched her arms and legs, smacked her lips and sat up on the mattress, putting her hands down on the fabric. “Had a good night, despite the weight of my head?” she asked, turning her eyes to me.

“Perfect,” I barked, “I'm used to it.”
“You should go back to your human form,” Nayru suggested.
“Eh, nah, I prefer my Soul animal shape, thank you,” I yapped.
Nayru shrugged halfheartedly, and she pulled her hand over to the match box, opening it, and grabbing one of the few matches inside. She scratched it against the side of the box, and it flared up. Nayru tilted the flame on one of the candles, and it lit, with a docile flame. She shook the match, turning it off, and threw it away. She put her finger through the golden hole of the metal plate, and lifted the candle above her eyes, shining light on my brownish-black fur. I panted gleefully, looking up at the dancing flame at the tip of the wax candle. Nayru put it back down on the ground, and she leaned on the mattress, piling the covers under her chin with her arms to use them as a pillow, as she gazed dreamingly at me. I blinked multiple times, lifting my eyebrow at her. She tilted her head at me, and I tilted it in the opposite direction. She giggled sweetly at me, before laughing loudly. I laid a paw on her mouth, to stop her from laughing too loud and waking up everyone around. She huffed, and put her head gently back on the cover-cushion.
“I would really like to have a canine for a Soul animal...” she admitted.
“I wonder why,” I growled gently, “I don't have as much of a 'free' feeling as you do.”
“What do you mean?” she asked. I rolled my eyes.
“Wings,” I replied, “fly, duh. Dogs can't do that, except if they're hybrids...”
'Hmmm' was her brief answer. “I wonder if you can change your Soul animal after the choice,” she asked herself.
“I don't know where you're getting to,” I answered slowly.
“Like, for example, could we put hybrid blood in our body, and change ourself?”
“Don't even think of that, Nayru,” I snapped, “Tlynen probably has the answer in those books, but we don't know if it's bad or good.”
“I wonder how it could be bad,” she replied.
“I wonder how it could be good,” I returned. “I don't think someone like you should mess with kuijin life.”
“Oh, because you think you could?” Nayru hissed.
“I never said that,” I answered coldly, “but I think that you may be too mentally fragile to suffer the consequences for now.”
“Me, mentally fragile?” Nayru cut, sitting up, putting her hand to her chest.
“I might be not the one to talk, but please don't do it.”
“Why shouldn't I? It's my life, after all!” she huffed.
“Because I care about you, maybe?” I barked, also standing up, “Because I don't want to lose someone like you?! Didn't that ever cross your mind?!”
“Leorn...” Nayru murmured softly.
“What now?!” I barked.
“Dippy's listening,” she warned me. I lifted one eyebrow, and I turned my head to the hammock, where Dippy was lying, peering with one eye, from the side of the hammock, looking at us. I quickly morphed back into my human form. Instantly, my fur and tail slunk back into my spine, and my eyes got their normal green color. My claws and teeth shortened, and I sat up, looking at our leader.
“Good morning, Gin,” I murmured.
“Yeah, good mornin',” he answered sleepily, “what were you talkin' about?”
“Eh, nothing,” I replied quickly.
“Really?” Dippy asked, “Then I was hearing things, huh?”
“Surely,” I answered sarcastically, “anyways, that's not the problem. What do we need to do today?”
“You don't remember?” Dippy asked, “You and Nayru need to go meet Adeth again to get some information.”
“Oh, yeah, that's right,” I replied, “well, better get moving, then. Nayru, follow me.” I stood up, and I grabbed the colt on the mattress, putting it in the back of my trousers, and pulling my shirt over it. Can't be too cautious, I thought. Nayru clung to my shirt, and pulled herself up. I began heading for the marble door, and I kicked it down heavily, making the normal noise even louder than before, even though it was unnoticeable. I hopped out of the grave, followed by Nayru. We both pulled the door back up against the grave, another slamming signifying the complete closure. I looked around for Adeth, and he wasn't to be seen anywhere around. I frowned.
“Adeth!” I called.
As I thought would happen, a loud thud was heard behind me. I turned myself, and I saw the gargoyle standing on one of the winged skulls of Alexander's gravestone. Nayru went next to me, almost gluing herself against me. I pushed her gently away.
“You called, Leorn?” it hissed.
“Get down from there, and I'll explain why I'm not filling you with holes right now,” I replied. Adeth grunted, and jumped from the top of Alexander's tomb, landing heavily on the ground, which shook under my feet slightly. I kept my stability, even though Adeth's imposing figure stretched out further as he straightened.
“Speak,” he ordered.

“I'll get to the point,” I warned, “yesterday, Nayru found a gravestone, that seemed normal, before we looked with a little more attention at it.”
“And?” Adeth asked.
“I'm getting to it,” I answered, “on this grave, was marked that a whole family died, exactly at the same time. The beginning letters of the family members' names were, coincidentally, able to constitute your name. At first, we thought of coincidence, until another one of us, Dippy Marron, came to the grave, and dug up the earth of that grave. And guess what we saw. A black coffin, with 'Tosrin' marked on it, and it was shredded. From the inside. We think that you have something to do with this.”
“And you're right,” Adeth answered, “I came from there.”
“Explain 'came',” I snapped.
“I was born,” Adeth replied calmly.
“Eh, what?” I uttered, “Born?!”
“The words speaks for itself,” Adeth replied, “long ago, many, many moons ago, I was born in darkness. I crawled my way through the earth, until I reached the light.”
“That's impossible!” I hissed, “You came out of Tosrin's coffin, meaning that-” Hold it! Screamed my mind. I thought a bit. Something had just flashed into my mind.
“Do you know who Tosrin is?” I asked.
“I don't remember anyone of that name,” Adeth answered.
“How about...” I began, “a certain Tlynen Igris?”
Adeth took a step back, blinking, his yellow eyes flashing. His wings folded tightly against his back. He frowned at me.
“He's with you,” Adeth murmured darkly.
“I thought so,” I answered.
“Leorn, tell me what is going on!” Nayru demanded.
“Adeth, Tlynen is dead since 2007,” I explained, “the kid that you see with us, is his little brother, Seir Igris. You're mistaking Tlynen with Seir.”
“Tlynen is not dead...” Adeth muttered coldly.
“Death of a mortal genetic disease,” I replied.
“He. Is. Not. Dead!” Adeth stormed. Swiftly, I grabbed the colt behind my trousers, and I aimed it at Adeth. “I know that he was hurt in his soul moons ago, but he is not dead!”
“You have to accept it, Adeth,” I answered calmly, “Tlynen Igris is dead. Why don't you accept it?!”
“Tlynen was like a father to me! He was immortal! He gave me my name, gave me my reason to stay!” Adeth howled.
“Huh?” I uttered, lifting one eyebrow. Gave him the name? Adeth didn't give himself that name? I thought.
“We're terribly sorry,” Nayru replied, “if we had to inform the death of one of your friends, if not your only one.”
“You can't understand, girl!” Adeth hissed.
“Look, Adeth, we're Tlynen's friends!” I snapped, “If you help us with something, it will be exactly like if you help the long gone Tlynen!”
“Nobody will replace Tlynen!” Adth exclaimed.
“I never said replace, Adeth,” I hissed, “I meant that it would be what Tlynen would want best!” I lied. “Do you want to refuse the desire, maybe the last, of who you call your father?!”
“No...” Adeth whispered, calming down. He lowered his arms, and hands. His face darkened of the thoughts.
“Exactly,” I replied, putting the gun back in the behind of my trousers. I pulled my marine blue shirt over it, as I walked over to the dark Adeth. I tapped him on his high shoulder as I passed him. “Look, all you got to do is read some books, okay?”
“Books?” Adeth repeated.
“Yes,” I answered, “books that Tlynen wrote, giving some precious information to us.”
“I may not read the books,” Adeth replied, “but I may give you the code of the language Tlynen used to write them, if it is his last favor.”
“Give it to us,” I demanded.
“Tomorrow,” Adeth answered.
“Why not now?” I asked.
“Now is not the time,” Adeth hissed abruptly. He unfolded his wings, and began flapping. Nayru and I both lifted our arms to our face to protect ourselves from the gusts of wind that were blown by Adeth's tremendous pushes. He liftes off the ground, and darted away, disappearing in the graves behind the trees. We both stood silent for a moment, looking at the direction where Adeth had left off. I turned to Nayru, lifting one eyebrow, and she walked over to me.
“Well, we learned some new things,” she remarked.
“Yes, we did. Let's go inform the others,” I suggested. She nodded, and I went over to the marble door. I pulled the metal poll out of the ground, and I wedged it inside the hole.

I pushed on it violently, and the door slid out of its hole, slamming onto the ground. I beckoned Nayru inside, and she did so. I buried the metal poll, and I followed her inside the grave. I tugged the rope, and I pulled fiercely at it. The door slowly lifted, and then Nayru helped me pull up the door. It slammed back into place, and we both hopped down to the hideout room. Dippy looked at me from the hammock. Jamina and Seir, who had awoken while we were talking to Adeth, also turned their heads to us.
“So?” Dippy asked.
“Well, we got more good stuff,” I answered, sitting down on my brown mattress. Nayru crouched next to me, and then sat up.
“Okay, tell me the goodies,” he asked.
“First, I want to say that we haven't got anything more on the 'Adeth equals Undead' part. Second, I learned that Adeth knew Tlynen, as a father. Seems that Tlynen was the only person he really knew. Third, he accepted to give us the code for the alphabet Tlynen used in his books. Fourth, he's less of a twat than last time we met him,” I explained.
“That,” Dippy uttered, jumping off the hammock and landing on the mattress below, throwing his arms in the air. He then threw his arms back down, grinning like mad. “is freaking awesome!”
“Well, yeah, I guess,” I muttered.
“You guess?!” Dippy outraged, “This is a istorical event! Quick, write this whole thing, beginning from, well, the beginning, into the Its history book!”
“Uh huh,” I replied, nodding slowly. “He's giving us the code tomorrow.”
“That's less time than we need, thankfully,” Dippy replied, “Seir, Jamina, come with me, we'll start looking for other stuff, that may be interesting. We can't let Leorn and Nayru ave all the good findings.”
He dashed out of the room, hesitantly followed by Jamina and Seir. The door opened (slam), letting Dippy, Seir and Jamina hop out of the grave. They then closed the heavy marble door back into place (Urg, huf, slam). Then, Nayru and I were alone again. I sighed, shaking my head.
“He's hyperactive, isn't he?” I asked.
“Sometimes, yeah,” Nayru replied.
I looked around, and I leaned over to the side, to grab a blue bag that on of us had carried up to here. I pulled it over to me, and I grabbed at bottle of water. I opened it, pushing the bag away, and I pulled a candle next to the mattress. I gulped down some of the water. It was refreshing, at least. I tilted it to Nayru, and she took it from my hand, and drank some of it. I lifted an eyebrow again, and I took the plastic Evian bottle back once she had finished drinking.
I took another gulp from the bottle of water, sloshing it around in my mouth expertly, then gulping it down. I put my hand up to my face, cleaning off the sweat from my forehead. I kept the bottle in my hand, as I noticed that Nayru was staring at me. I lifted one eyebrow.
“What?” I asked.
“Leorn,” Nayru began, “about this morning...”
“Hmm?” I asked, tilting the bottle to my lips, taking in a few more gulps. The heat was abnormally high in the room. But, then again, with lit candles all day, it didn't really have time to cool down.
“I think...” Nayru hesitated, “I think I love you too.”
I hacked while drinking the water, and the liquid spewed from my mouth onto the floor. It hit a candle, and it turned it off, blowing it cleanly off from the metal plate. I quickly took another candle and I put it to my side, on the puddle of water that had formed. I then put the bottle next to the candle, water dripping from my gaping mouth. Not only did her sentence shock me, there was another thing that had made me as uneasy as I was right then. I put my hand to my forehead, cleaning off the drops of water that had sprayed everywhere, even on my hair.
“Define 'too',” I demanded.
“Uhhh...” Nayru answered silently. I rolled my eyes.
“Why do you think you love me?” I asked.
“Well,” Nayru began, “it's my stomach...” This is beginning good, I thought darkly. “I always had a knot in it,” Nayru continued, “until I met Cruor... When he died, it tightened, and turned itself into a knot again... Since some time, I don't feel the knot anymore, when I'm with you...”
“I'm happy I cured your stomachache,” I replied coldly.
God, please, wherever you are, now that I'm really believing in you, make it so that this won't end terribly, I thought, as hard as I could. I closed my eyes tightly, and I felt Nayru's arms curl around my body, which tensed almost immediately. Nayru put her head on my shoulder, and I slowly opened my eyes, waiting for something to happen. Nayru tightened her embrace. That was all. God had helped me.
“Leorn...” she whispered in my ear, “I love you...”
I took back what I had thought earlier. God hadn't helped me at all. But, then again, why would God help someone who doesn't believe in him? I thought. I silently gulped, waiting for something else to happen. My arms wouldn't obey my brain's commands.

Nayru pushed me down backwards on the mattress. I small sweat drop appeared on my temple, sliding down my cheek. Nayru lifted her head from my shoulder, and gazed at me, like I've never seen her eyes do before. My eyes widened as she approached her face slowly to mine.
“All I want you to do,” she murmured very quietly, “is love me back...”
Love you back?! My mind yelled, because you honestly think I know how to love, eh?! Even though my brain was shouting, my limbs wouldn't move from where they were. Nayru reminded me way too much of Haylyn, that I almost thought that it was her on me at that moment. I was completely paralyzed, for the one time in my life. And not in the situation I had hoped in, I had to admit subconsciously. Nayru closed her eyes, and gently kissed me on the lips. A shiver rolled up my spine. My hair stood up on my arms and legs, and Nayru let a small smile through her kiss. She put her legs to the sides of my stomach, tightening them delicately. Oh God, this is going way too fast! My brain screamed, way, way too fast! Wait, it's not even supposed to go slowly! It's not supposed to go at any speed at all! It's not supposed to go anywhere! Move, Jesus Christ! Move your damn body! But my body stayed tensed, and stuck. Nayru kissed me again, hugging me tightly in her arms. I could feel the warmth radiate from her body, as her heart fastened in beat. I thought that a heart beating so quickly would normally stop dead, but it seemed I was wrong. Bad situation, my mind shouted, Bad situation! Get the hell out of there, Leorn! Why aren't you moving, damn it?! Do something! Nayru began kissing me with more passion, sliding her hands from my back to my neck. I gulped nervously, trying to find a way out. But nothing throughout the whole hunk of flesh and bone that my brain resided in answered.
Nayru's hands caressed my neck slowly. The flame that flickered behind Nayru danced extravagantly, just like my mind was running. My heart thudded against my chest, and my hands tightened against the fabric of the mattress. It was a whole panic on board the ship of my body, as Nayru's hand slithered down my throat to my body. She caressed my chest, still kissing me back tenderly. I wanted to do something -Gah?! What is she doing now?!- but I was confused, dazzled, and, most of all, scared. What worried me the most is that I feared this thirteen year old girl, and that James' men would be something I ate at breakfast everyday if I needed to. But then I thought that I didn't fear her, really, but what she was doing. I was a killer, not a lover! Exactly! Concurred my mind, killing her would go a bit too far, but you need to protect yourself! It's your body! But, the way Nayru caressed 'my' body, I couldn't really convince myself if it was mine or if she took it as part of her property. I was lucky that she hadn't gone very far up until now, but I feared that it might happen.
Nayru kissed me fiercely, and I only noticed then that my breathing had become much more unstable and deep. Move your ass! My brain ordered, or else, you'll be in some really deep ahem...! What? Yes, deeper than the ahem... you are in right now! Jesus Christ, why aren't you moving?! You're stuck in there, like an idiot who doesn't know what to do? Huh? What do you mean, it's the case?! My body wasn't stressed physically anymore, it was even eased, but, even then, my body seemed like it wasn't mine. Nayru slowly began kissing down my chin, down my neck. It was hard to breathe when she did so, but not because she was squeezing my neck. She reached down to my jugular, stalling near my collarbone. I had the cold sensation that her lips, as they went nearer to my chest, became more feeling, more caring. She then kissed back up my throat, to my lips again. She kissed me back, throwing the flames of passion in my body. Why didn't you move?! My consciousness outraged, you had the chance of a lifetime!Yes, maybe the only one in your life, before I order a heart attack! I gulped furtively again. I didn't want this to happen. I had never wanted it to. It had never came into my mind that something like this would happen to me. Especially from Nayru. I breathed heavily, looking everywhere, for an idea to get out of this place, however the manner.
“I love you, Leorn...” she whispered through her kiss. You think I didn't notice?! My thoughts screamed, thanks for stating the obvious, lady! Move that freaking body of yours, Leorn! Just show here that you're actually alive here! You're in danger!
Danger?
Danger!
My hands unstuck themselves from the mattress, gripping onto Nayru's arms. I pushed her away from me, and turned around on myself. I put Nayru under me, pinning her arms down on the mattress violently. I breathed heavily, and Nayru stared at me with a fearing look. I noticed that my body had actually moved. I panted, sweat sliding from my forehead down my cheeks, as I glared at Nayru. She tried squirming away from my grasp, but I kept a firm grip on her arms. I then recognized where I was. I looked all around. The room. The hideout. Alexander's grave. Everything went back into my mind. I pushed myself off Nayru, sitting on another mattress. I was still breathing heavily, but I could think straight, at least. Nayru quickly sat up, a scared air spreading over her face. My hand slid to my back, and I flicked out the colt from behind my trousers, aiming it at Nayru. Her frightened face turned terrorized, and she lifted one arm to her face.
“Please...” she whimpered, “Don't hurt me....”
My hand wasn't shaking on the gun. I knew that my hand never shook when I was determined to do something. My glare became even more fierce, turning into a scowl.
“Leorn...” she begged, nearly crying, “please don't shoot...” She curled up on herself, lowering her head to the mattress. “Please...” she whimpered, “I'm sorry...”
My index tightened on the trigger. With my thumb, I flicked the security off the gun.

“Leorn...”
I lowered the gun, my face darkening. What had I been thinking? Nothing had happened. I should understand this sort of pulse, even though I'm not used to it, I thought.. I stood up, keeping a tight grip on my gun. I walked over to Nayru, who's face was still buried in her hands. She sobbed quietly, and I crouched near her, putting my armed hand on my knee. I put my other hand on her shoulder, and she lifted her head slowly. I pulled her up, and I coiled my arms around her body, leaning my head on her shoulder. My gun bumped her back, but she didn't pay any attention, and she hugged me back tightly. Her arms tightened against my body, and her hands laid themselves on my shoulder blades. I closed my eyes.
“I'm sorry too,” I replied silently.
We both stood there, hugging each other tenderly, for a long time. I could tell that Nayru didn't want to move from the position of her arms and hands around my back. Her heart was beating slower than it was before, and my mind was put into place again. I gently pulled away from her, and I looked at her straight in the eyes. With my hand, I flicked away a last tear on her cheek. I sighed, letting my hands slip off from her body, onto my knees.
“Just...” I began, “bear in mind that I may present friendship for you, but not what you would call love. My body and mind, are to me incapable of having such emotions.”
“I understand,” Nayru replied, “but please don't go away too far...”
“That might happen, Nayru,” I replied, standing up. She looked up at me. “And you know that well.” I lent out my hand, and she caught it, pulling herself up. I was pulled slightly, but I managed to keep stable, and to help Nayru up. A loud slam coming from the entrance made me jerk my head to the side. I eased as I saw Dippy, Jamina and Seir hop down the stairs, entering the room. Dippy looked at me, walking over to me.
“Eh, we didn't find anything,” he mumbled.
“Good luck next time,” I replied. Dippy lifted one eyebrow at me, then at Nayru. He squinted in a suspecting manner, and he sniffed around the room. I gulped silently, and I saw that Nayru wasn't all that comfortable too.
“Jesus Christ!” Dippy exclaimed, “It's hot in this room!”
“It surprises you?” I asked, “With all those damn candles...”
“Eh, I guess,” Dippy replied calmly. He glanced at the turned out candle. He crouched near it, and prodded it. He put his fingers in front of his face, wiping his fingers against each other. “Why is this candle wet?” he asked.
“I accidentally tipped some water,” Nayru replied, “why? Are you suspicious about something?”
“I don't know,” he answered, “I just sense that you two are... Different.”
“You're being paranoid again,” I cut.
“Yeah, I guess I am, ain't I?” Dippy answered, smiling embarrassingly, scratching the back of his head with his hand. I let out a sigh of relief.
“So,” Dippy continued, putting his hands on his hips, “what do you guys wanna eat this morning?”
“Ooh, that's a new question,” Jamina remarked.
“Well, why I was away, back at the graves,” Dippy explained, shoving his hand into his pocket, “I just... Borrowed some money from a tip box.”
“A har har har,” I laughed sarcastically.
“Can't hurt anybody,” Dippy commented, taking out slips of money and pieces from his pocket, lying them down on the desk. “In all, it does near fifty euros,” Dippy mentioned, “enough to have a good meal for the five of us.”
“I wonder, how did you survive with the money you had, back at the Its, before I came?” I asked.
“Isen was used to keep the money members of the Its had brought, and then, I took some money from the oblivious people in the street,” Dippy explained, “ah, I remember those times...”
“You don't do it anymore?” I asked.
“Less. I need to learn how to get money by myself,” Dippy explained.
“Says the guy who just took out the money from a donation box,” Jamina commented.
“It was bound to happen one moment or the other,” Dippy answered, “so, anyways, what do you guys wanna eat? We have enough money to buy something good.”
We ended up eating by picking from a packet of normal, bland, tasteless biscuits, ironically.
We stood inside, all day. We longed for tomorrow, when Adeth would give us the meaning of the bizarre alphabet Tlynen used. Dippy supposed that the weird zero with a line across it was an 'E', but he wasn't sure. We kept reading the books, or at least, trying. The symbols still had no apparent meaning to us. Only the images we looked at could give us an -unfortunately, very vague- idea of what Tlynen was talking about on hybrids.
I thought about the scene Nayru and I had just been. If I hadn't reacted, something bad would of happened. Maybe something very, very bad. And then, I would've killed her for sure. The wandering thoughts within my mind didn't enable me to concentrate enough on the books we had to read. Now that I looked at her, she seemed, well, like somebody else, and I couldn't justify whether it was in the good or bad way. The words she had whispered, 'love me back', echoed through my mind, like if she had said in in a never ending hallway.

The flame on the candle next to me flicked at the air, swaying away with my breath. I sighed, and turned my head to the bizarre letters written on the pages.
At night, after eating, when we were sure that no one was outside, Nayru and I went walking in the graveyard. Nayru brought a small candle with her for light, and I didn't refuse. I could see well in the darkness, at least, better than the most of normal people, and I wasn't sure if pigeon eyes were that good.
We silently passed the many graves of various people of different exploits and lives. We recognized none of them, but we didn't really care. We just went up to the tombstone, and read the names written on them. As we were passing a tight gray stone-floored path, with defying trees looming over the passage, Nayru spoke.
“Leorn...” she murmured.
“Hm?” I asked, briefly, not turning my head from the gray marble stone, where a whole family was buried under.
“I want to say sorry for...” she began, “well, you know.”
“Yes, I do,” I answered, “and you already said sorry.”
“But-”
“No buts,” I insisted, “it's done and gone, all right?” I turned to her, laying my green gaze on hers, “I'm not angered at you, even though you seem like a different person to me now.”
“Different... as in?” she asked quietly.
“Well, different, as in,” I explained, sighing, searching my words, “let's just say that you aren't the same Nayru as I knew before.”
“Is that good or bad?” she questioned.
“I don't know, honestly,” I muttered darkly, “let me think of it for some more time, and maybe I'll have an answer for you by tomorrow.”
Nayru quietly put the candle down on the ground, and rushed over to me to hug me from behind. I stopped my pace, looking down at her over my shoulder. She buried her head in between my shoulder blades. She tightened her squeeze around my chest. I wasn't surprised by her reaction, and I even felt calm, for some odd reason. I had always thought that I didn't like different genders approaching me too much.
“Forgive me, Leorn...” she whispered. I stood silent for a while, sighing silently.
“It's okay, Nayru,” I replied calmly, lifting my hand to drop it on hers delicately, “It's okay...” I turned around, pulling her arms off my body. I only saw then how small she really was. Sitting around in the room, with everybody at your height all day could confuse someone. “Don't worry about it...”
“You sure?” she murmured, looking up at me Her fingers entwined with mine, and I let her do so. She needed to feel comforted, anyways. I pulled my hands gently out of her grasp, and I put them on her shoulders. I stared at her for a long time. I lifted my head, and I kissed her on her forehead. My lips were dry, but I took no notice. I looked back down at her. She looked slightly shocked, which I didn't blame.
“Is that enough for a yes?” I asked. She slowly nodded. “Good,” I answered, “but don't think that I'm in love with you. As I said earlier, I'm incapable of sensing such things.”
“Okay...” Nayru replied silently, as if she didn't have any other words to use. I smirked, and I turned around, putting my hands in my pockets, starting to walk away.
“Well, now that that's done,” I continued, suddenly changing the subject, embarrassed, “let's finish our small tour, and go back to the hideout.”
Nayru grabbed the metal plate under the candle with her hand, and she walked beside me, looking around. The moon's light pierced the thin clouds of the night, but was still hidden by the dense leafing of the trees. The flame flickered gently as we both walked, sending shadows on the looming trees and leaves above our heads, making dark shadows dance on the ground.
We soon appeared in front of Alexander's grave. I bent down, and I took the metal poll. I shoved it inside the small opening, and I quickly opened the door. Nayru caught it before it slammed the ground. She strained to keep it up, but eventually, she let it go, and it fell onto the earth, but with less noise. I beckoned her inside as I buried the metal poll again. She hopped into the stairs, nearly slipping on the first stair, and I followed her, following the rope with my hand. We both turned around, and we pulled the cord, lifting the door back into place. After it had been closed, we descended into the dark room, where everyone was sleeping. No candles were lit, except the one that Nayru had in her hands. We stepped over Jamina's and Seir's bodies, up to our mattress, where I took the candle, and gently dropped it down aside the mattress. Nayru took a cover, and pulled it over her body. I took mine, and I gently laid it down on Nayru's cover, giving er some extra warmth. She smiled, closing her eyes.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“Welcome,” I answered quietly.
“G'night,” Dippy muttered.
“Still awake, Gin?” I asked.
“Duh,” he answered, “or else we would let anybody inside this thing. Now shut up, and sleep.”