Somewhere Someplace

“…” the peer stared silently at what was now before her eyes, having been laid out and sorted for display… those five Guild receptionist amulets…silently and gently laying upon the counter.

Her drained and exhausted eyes gazed down at them; despite having been told by the foreigner that she, in fact, had them, her eyes could not help…but widen in bewilderment, as if this had come as more a surprise.

She nodded away; “Alrightly…you actually…huh, it’s been more than half a month…so here I actually…thought you weren’t going to…huh” her breaths mumbled out, at a loss for words.

The foreigner herself stood silently before the counter, having…at least swiped some of the sticking ash off herself before entering the Guild hall this time. She was…slow to reply, her mind…lingered elsewhere. Indeed, one amulet…was intentionally kept separate from the rest, still…in that satchel of hers; she did not know why she did such, only that she had done such.

“I said I would…retrieve them, thus I retrieved” thus foreigner finally replied.

The peer let out a faint…chuckling breath; “…so you did, so you…did” she replied in more murmur. The peer took each amulet into hand, one at a time, evaluating them…stroking them…feeling them, as if…she were hearing those whispering echoes of the dead. “White…” so began to speak her voice, “Yellow… Amber… Forest… Orange” she read aloud…with a nostalgically warm voice, one that hid her sorrow.

The foreigner…tilted her head slightly, somewhat confused.

“Their names…those are their…first names…” the peer remarked. She chuckled rather lightly; “I think I…said this before but…our lands don’t have very original names or…even false-names, always just…our hair or eyes or…something stupid like that, sometimes whatever just fancies our parents” she remarked…warmly, suppressing any urge to show any…vulnerability and…express what was boiling within.

The peer returned her attention the foreigner, far more…cordial than she was the last time…or really ever before, to be frank. “Well…looks like you actually…find some; though, given’s been more than half a month I was expecting…more, but…these five’ll do” she said, her affect shifting to one more…forcefully normal; “it will…bring their families some closure…even without any bodies… and this branch too…the chief will sure wanna see these…” she remarked.

The foreigner stood silently…before sighing somewhat; “I will not…be able to collect any more, I was…dismissed from the Company…efforts here and I will be…leaving this city for…something else” she stated…atypically more awkward.

The peer became…somewhat more mellow, albeit suppressed, upon hearing this; “Oh…that so now? How mysterious and Bureau-y…bet’s above my pay and need-to-know” she remarked…somewhat sarcastically; “Well…thanks for…bringing these five back…at least” she thanked, eyes…evading down slightly. “But…I guess to match your…bad news with some good, a couple of the…missing…have actually turned up… recovering, but fine enough…so, that’s at least a few less dead staff than thought…” she said, eyes returning.

“Oh, well, that is…goodly heard” the foreigner replied; “though, there is…not just this bad news; I was told by the…leading officer person…that the Company will honor its ‘mutual understanding’…and return any of the amulets that they find…and also the bodies too, so…I would not be needed…anyway” she added.

“Heh…oh wow, well isn’t that so courteous of our friends at United Trade… wonder how much they’re gonna charge us” the peer said, rather scoffingly so. She certainly did not seem to fancy the Company, suffice it to say.

The peer then suddenly shifted her attention to the foreigner, her eyes peering at the sack upon which the amulets laid, and then at the foreigner; “…so, should I assume the lil’ cute Company sack you brought these in…and that…Company-looking satchel you’ve got on you…were…given to you? Or…did your thieving habits carry over?” she inquired, more humorous than serious.

The foreigner…averted somewhat; “No…but…well, I maybe…did borrow these…from them…without their knowing…to help carry the amulets I found…” she…admitted.

The peer chucked lightly; “Well, that’s a noble theft in my log, especially since the Company probably made those from shit they robbed from our lands to begin with—so, I’d say that’s more reacquisition than thievery” she remarked, rather humored. Though…this quickly faded, for such was…merely a facade.

“No…but…but, yeah, thanks for…for doing this; I know we…can’t pay you or anything, but…I think this branch’ll…look more nicely towards you…going forward, or maybe just me…at least” she said.

“It is not a problem…” the foreigner replied.

The peer sighed; “Well…it’s getting late, so…best you get going; nights aren’t as safe…as they used to be…doubly so for a Far West looking lady, and especially in dead-pens like here” she said; “though, I’m more worried for the sucker who tries to bugger you than you” she added with a light chuckle.

The foreigner nodded…before stepping back; “I will…take the leave then…” she said, bowing somewhat graciously…something she hadn’t done in rather the time, before she turned around and…began to make way for departing.

Though, she abruptly halted in place, frozen in contemplation, hesitating for reasons…she did not really understand nor comprehend, even if they ensnared her so. She still…had something; she had to…return it; it was not her place to keep it…yet, what was she to say? If she kept it, she would not have to deal with…this…problem…in her mind, yet…keeping it only caused…more problems in kind.

“Wait…” thus the foreigner said before she turned back around and returned to the counter. Standing before it once again, she opened that specific satchel; “I was…hesitant to give this, I do not know why, so…I give sorry” she…apologized as she took out the other…sixth amulet, placing it onto the counter; “it is…ehm…hers, your friend, I found it…this day…” she…said, though omitting the other half of the truth.

The peer immediately froze, eyes…instantly widening, her head tilting somewhat; she was far too surprised by this suddenty…to be frustrated by the foreigner’s lack of…telling her immediately.

“I…see…so you…did” the peer murmured out…her hand trembling…as she took that distinct and…unmistakable amulet in hand…eyes peering into it; “yeah…this is…hers…”

Her demeanor became visibly more awkward; she struggled to maintain her donned persona and suppressed composure. Yet…abruptly…she simply began to…giggle and chuckle. “Pfft haha…of course she’d be wearing her Gods’ abandoned receptilady uniform during a honey-date… can’t blame her, our uniforms…are a nice outfit… but still, when she said she had to leave early and immediately, I thought it was so she could pretty herself up and get changed…but…nope… bet she was actually…running late to meet her hubby” thus she said…with a warm smile…reminiscing.

The peer sighed; “I gave that man…a lot of nasty words…but, honestly…he wasn’t even that bad…you’d surprised how many men are just…awful, but…he was just…a typical Trinity-loving urban-boy-minded man… I hope, at least, they…were able to make up in their last moments and…depart together, would be…a romantic way to leave…” she remarked…solemnly.

« … » the foreigner stood there, frozen in silence, listening, unable to breathe a single word.

She was baffled by her own inaction. Normally, she would have simply informed the peer of the blunt reality and…full circumstances surrounding the discovery of that amulet; logically, she knew that the peer would be informed eventually, anyway. Yet, despite all of that…deep down within her mind’s shadow…the idea of saying a single word about this…made her feel so…strange and weird…in such an incomprehensible way…that any words were blocked from being said.

Was it better…to keep everything in shadow for now, than to imply…in this moment…that the receptionist—that peer’s subordinate and friend—had likely been a victim of some bad conspiracy before the bombardment even happened? Though, so much…still remained in shadow, even to her. She might never know the truth…of what had transpired; quite frankly, she doubted she ever would.

Yet the foreigner sighed…the answer was obvious; there was no point in delaying an inevitability, and it was not her place to do so…either. She made ready to open her mouth and speak, yet before she could…

“Thank you…” the peer suddenly said…with such a genuine and solemn voice…never mind faint smile, the foreigner…freezing in place. “Seriously…I mean it, thank you…so much; I wasn’t…really expecting much from you, to be honest…let alone…this… so, to say again, thank you…for bringing her back to me…” she thanked, voice and words true to herself.

« … » the foreigner remained mute, unable to speak any word she so wanted to actually speak; “…of course, I understand the…importance; I would have done the same for my own…” she finally replied.

The peer smiled…a smile neither donned nor forced, one completely her own; “Maybe I can see now why…she dolled over you so much, you sure are a weird one alright—definitely one who ought to’ve been dumped in the New World and not here…” she remarked in cordial humor.

« … » the foreigner…remained silent. She sighed; this was dragging out long enough; this hesitancy was frustrating her deep down within. She needed to make a single decisive strike…now.

“Listen…I must tell you” she began to say, “that…amulet, it was found with a body along with…three others…in what I heard was…an abandoned warehouse; shot in the head, all of them…the Company will be sending the…bodies and the other three…amulets… I was allowed to…only bring this one to you, though” she finally…said it; “I do not know what happened…but it is clear…that something did” she added.

“…” the peer went silent, her jaws…quivering somewhat, her face muscles and eyes…twitching ever-faintly and awkwardly, clearly suppressing it all within. Yet she smiled a…certain smile; “I see, well…thank you…for…telling me that…instead of…making me find out…later; I can…see why…you might’ve been…hesitant to say that; I will tell the chief…that information…and await…their return…for an investigation…” she said; “anyway, you should…start to get going, like right now, it’s getting too late…”

The foreigner nodded; “I will…take the leave, then, now” she replied and bowed, before…turning around as she began to make way. Yet…approaching the main doors, she once again…halted…as a sudden…strange desire…entered her mind, freezing her in place.

“…‘Lavender’…her name was?” she murmured to herself, before turning around…facing the peer. “Name… What is…your name?” she asked; “I am not…good with remembering…names, and I am especially not…good with faces; but…even though I may not ever…see faces like you, I can at least…try to…remember the names” she…specified, in a rare moment…of true sincerity, even if flat affect in voice.

The peer…stared, her mind still…taking in what had just been said earlier, though…she still found room to be bewildered by this…unexpected inquiry. “You’re just…full of surprises today, huh? Never expected you…to ask…that” she remarked…before sighing; “Pear” thus she replied cordially, “that’s my name…Pear—don’t ask why I was named after some fruit, not like I ever knew my mom to ask…”

“…‘Pear’, thus the name is?” the foreigner repeated to herself, looking down somewhat with a tilt, before returning her focus to the peer; “Pear, alrightly…I will keep it in memory…this time” she replied. With a final bow, she turned around and finally departed away, exiting back into the darkening ashen world beyond.

The peer…let loose rather the sigh…as the Guild hall’s doors closed; finally, she was all alone, the only eyes and ears around…her own. She looked down…at her subordinate’s amulet, still in hand. Her teeth, jaws, mouth, cheeks…her face began to tremble ever-more, her eyes darkening in their affect, the dam cracking and cracking.

“Heh…your first…year as a main vest, aye?” she remarked to the amulet; “it…really…really isn’t fair, you know that, Lav? That the Gods…can just…snap their fingers and suddenly…someone who had so much more going for herself…can be taken away, for reasons fuck if I know…fuck if even the Gods know why” she remarked further; “…it’s always…the good apples who get culled…leaving only us rotten ones…behind… all because the Crown of Smiles…just had to…turn a frown…and fill the whole fucking world…with so much…evil… I am…so sorry, Lav, you…probably didn’t even get to…see him…did you?”

Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop.

Suddenly came one, then two, then three, then five, then ten, then a hundred ever-more…

Tears began to drip and drop onto the amulet’s face. Hands, jaws, teeth, all trembling and twitching…she could no longer force it to be contained within; the dam broke in a snap. The peer fell, her face tucked into her arms and counter, sobbing and crying, unrelenting like a cyclone, as more than a month’s worth of repressed emotions…were finally allowed to break free.

-||-

Dark. The world around was dark…yet perhaps not quite. The half-crescent glow of the atmosphered moon shined in some glory from the night-sky up high; its beaming light stretched down to touch the world below.

And truly, for most locals, what a night it certainly was.

The perfect balanced harmony between the countless stars and the half-moon’s polluting light. So many stars twinkled up high, yet…one or two…did not; brighter and more potent than any star, one more so than the other, yet nothing compared to even a half-moon; ‘planets’, not stars.

Though, what sight would catch the eyes of most…was, of course, that milky stream of heavenly cloud and dust…stretched across entire night-sky…whose heart and core glowed with cosmic glory, now more visible than ever before…with Coastfield being a darkened ruin.

Yet for as much as the world seemed connected and a part of this milky stream, the world also appeared to be less within it and more…underneath it; the spiraling disk shape…being somewhat more apparent, as if the world were slowly being casted out, even if it was by no means outside of it.

Truly, the locals so often flaunted with such words about how blessed the Goddess of the Stars must be to have dominion…over such beauty.

Though, even now, the foreigner herself…refused to look up. She still could not see any such beauty in the sights to be gazed upon above, only that everlasting cold abyss…devoid of meaning and purpose beyond simple existence, doomed to forever expand and erode until there was nothing left; an eternal reminder of the nightmare hunting and stalking.

Yet…as she made her way down the dark and…empty streets, she did…eventually…glare up, to a point, for something had caught her attention.

A star, thus it seemed, yet one that moved across the sky as if it were a moon, yet not; it rose fast and swift…and within minutes, traversed the whole sky…until setting. Indeed, neither a star nor a planet, and certainly not one of the Remnant’s.

Eventually, the foreigner halted in place, having finally arrived at her destination. Truly…what a long and dragged out…yet simultaneously abrupt and fast…one and a half months it had been…since she was last here.

That wide and girthy…apartment building, it was still standing; albeit, it was a bit more…damaged than she last remembered, windows having been cracked or shattered from the large detonation that night, and…with some burn-damage here and there; though, most holes and broken windows…seemed to have been…boarded up. Lights…luminated faintly from windows that still remained. It was still standing…and it was still occupied, regardless of…dubious safety.

She entered the building, heading down the familiar halls and up the stairs. Standing…occupied, but…not necessarily maintained. Dirty and dusty, with some ash sprinkled around, but…it was not as ashen as the world outside—or at least, some sections of it.

She reached a familiar floor and made way down an even more familiar hall of many doors. Sounds…she could hear the sounds and noises of…a few neighbors, still alive…and some still being…rather…active. Yet finally, she halted…and stood before a familiar numbered door. Maybe this time…she could actually open it; though, wait…it was…still locked since…right…she had exited through the window…not bringing her key…or anything for that matter.

She stared at the door. Perhaps to her…slight surprise, there was no notice pinned onto it; even despite all that happened, she was still expecting someone to come rent-collecting. Hmm…well, maybe the ‘property owner’ was dead…or had just abandoned this facility; regardless, at least for now, she doubted any of the residents would have to worry about…rent anytime soon.

Hmm…though, now to open it. Normally, she would simply kick the door open, but…she had, in fact, learned an…interesting trick of sorts, one taught by another…Company volunteer who…tended to…sneak out of the volunteer quarters and into the officer’s barracks to…requisition…their surplus of dried animal flesh. That volunteer was eventually thrown out…but…not before spreading their…legacy to others.

The foreigner took out a pin of sorts, one meant for hair although she never used it. She inserted it into the lock and carefully…began to twist, turn, and finick around, picking it until…with a light click…it was unlocked. This done, she quickly opened the door…and finally, after all of this time, stepped into her former associate’s apartment, the one she herself had so pretended was ‘home’. She stood in place…as the door shut from behind.