Eight shifted uncomfortably as her hand was forcefully run under cold water. Zero-sixteen had taken her back to the main square after her little incident with the bird. The paper she took from it crinkled in her t-shirt, a reminder of the encounter. She recalled the cryptic message.

16. Caree

What did that mean? It was either an elaborate message, or a simple mistake made by a simple bird. She's read about ravens before; smart creatures that can learn patterns and figure out puzzles. Albino ravens were quite rare, surely someone from the outside would have domesticated it. Who know, maybe it's owner trained it to give a piece of paper in exchange for a treat. And it flew away because she didn't give it a treat.

Yes, yes. Definitely. For the life of her, she couldn't remember if it had any foot-tag. If-

A finger snapped in her face and she recoiled sharply.

"'Ello? You zone out alot, Eight. That shouldn't be a surprise to me though, One told me all about that."

She scratched her neck sheepishly with her one free hand, but suddenly frowned. "Eight?" she questioned. The only one who ever called her Eight was One.

Zero-sixteen replied, "mhm, it's a nickname! Zero-zero-eight is a mouthful."

She took a second to absorb the information. Of course; when she was in Quarter D, most people shortened eachother's names. It was a sign of friendship. She did the same with One after all, but not many did that for her in return.

She nodded, trying and failing to hide her excitement. Zero-sixteen's face split into a bright grin at her futile attempt at hiding her joy.

"Alright. Then, I'll call you Sixteen," she replied. This was probably her third ever friend, after One and Zero-twelve.

....wait

Sixteen.

16. Caree.

Could it be?

Zero-sixteen dried off her arm before she could analyse the thought. The cuts stung every time he lowered the towel on them, and she couldn't help but flinch. A wave of despair crashed over her. If this hurts so much, I stand no chance training with Quarter A's.

"So, mind telling me what happened again? I find it hard to believe that a raven did all of this," he said, quite loudly. She frowned. If she told him about the note, he'd think that she was crazy. She needed more information first.

"Ah, I-I was messing with one and it got pretty mad. I admit, it wa-was a dumb thing to do," she lied pathetically. How did she lie so smoothly yesterday and completely mess up today? Was it the adrenaline? Or maybe it was because yesterday wasn't a full lie.

Sixteen nodded dubiously.

"Mhm," he hummed. He didn't believe her, damn. She had to change the subject.

"So, can we get bandages from Miss Heathershine?" she asked carefully. She needed to speak to her. If she could barely handle a bird scratch, she wouldn't be able to handle serious fighting, and she was sure Miss Heathershine knew that. Yet here she was, in Quarter A.

The woman was an enigma, she deduced. An ever-burning supernova that went anywhere and did anything it wanted, destroying all in its path. And in this case, 'destroying all in its path' was just destroying her nerves.

Something flashed in Sixteen's eyes, but it was gone before she could decipher it. "Yeah, we should get you patched up," he said, letting go of her arm so she could inspect her hand. The scratches were deeper than she thought.

Sixteen whirled around and began trudging out of the main square. He had a bad habit of doing this.

She quickly walked to match his strides, noting that it was surprisingly empty today. She recalled that the year two's were training tomorrow, and assumed most of them were off preparing. Sixteen should be preparing too. Guilt hit her like a sharp stab to the heart.

"Wait, how do you know where she is?" She questioned.

"I don't," he replied. She was about to call him out on this when he steamrolled over her, "but, I've noticed that her peacock familiar isn't here. And when her familiar isn't here, it's back watching over everyone in Quarter D. Which means that she's in Quarter A." He explained, like noticing something like that was a walk-in-the-park. "We'll find her eventually if we walk around long enough."

By now, her legs seemed to stop working and she stared Sixteen with open-mouthed shock. "How did you manage to piece together all that?!" she cried.

He shrugged artfully. "You're just unobservant."

She huffed out an irritated sigh and surged forward to hit him on the shoulder. "I've only been here for a little while. Don't be mean."

"Alright, but you're still unobservant," he said, like it was a fact already proven.

"Am not!"

"So too."

She grumbled. "Fine, let's just find Miss Heathershine. I'm bleeding out here, if you haven't noticed," she hissed. In truth, he washed out the cuts very well and she was beginning to clot in some areas, but there was no way she'd tell him that now. His eyes widened in guilt and he was back to being focused.

"Oh, I forgot. Let's find Miss Heathershine fast!" he exclaimed, his pace quickening. How did his personality go from zero to a hundred so fast?

"She must be in the library," Eight said, still trailing behind Sixteen as the tiling of the main square gave way to the grass of the grounds. Quarter D, while being a strength sector, had a passable library. Of course, not as extensive as Quarter B's library, but still decent. Something told her Miss Heathershine would spend most of her time there.

Sixteen nodded in approval. "So you're observant when it comes to Miss Heathershine?" he teased. She nodded unabashedly. Miss Heathershine, no matter how much she frustrated her at the moment, was still her idol. When she remembered that he couldn't see her nodding, she responded instead with a resounding 'yes!'

The two made quick turns until the small library finally came within sight. It was small and homey, warm tones of brown and peach patterning the roof . The library at Quarter B is probably ten times bigger. A sense of loss suddenly hit her head-on as she realised that she's never had the chance as yet to visit Quarter A's library. Was she intentionally avoiding it, or was it too painful to visit and unearth memories of what could have been, had she been placed in Quarter B?

They approached the library, and Sixteen gently pried open the mahogany wooden door. The first thing she processed was the dusky scent of books and plants, making her want to cozy up and read until the sun burnt out.

It was very welcoming. Small shelves of books dotted the edges of the room and tiny potted-plants stood gracefully above them, reaching out towards the sun. Wooden desks and chairs dotted around the centre, almost like a silent invitation. A large, furry carpet sat underneath the desks, and she had a mad urge to see how it would feel underneath her toes. Memories of Quarter D slammed into her. She would always read with One in the library; they usually picked the same book and raced to see who finished it first.

Shaking her head, she took another glance at the potted plants. They seemed healthy and green. Miss Heathershine probably has to mantain all of this by herself.
A spark of respect lit up inside of her; no matter how irritated she may be by Miss Heathershine, she was still an amazing woman. A woman that was meant to be looked up to.

A hand tugged gently at her arm and she instinctively knew that it was Sixteen. "Look." He whispered. She turned her head to the direction he was pointing in, and a pair of blue eyes greeted her.

Miss Heathershine.

Gone was the stunning blue gown. She was seated on one of the wooden chairs. A simple dress ran down her figure, ending just above her crossed knees. It was baby blue, with a slightly darker collar around her neck. It still matched perfectly with her mask, glittering just as brightly as it did on placement day. For a brief second, her irritation with Miss Heathershine was forgotten and replaced by awe. A quick glance at Sixteen showed that he also had forgotten what they were there for. A large book sat primly in her hands, and she could just barely make out the title before Miss Heathershine snapped it shut.

"Zero-sixteen and Zero zero-eight. What a pleasant surprise," she cooed, placing the book down onto the wooden desk. From her distance, she could just about make out a white bird on the cover. It had an uncanny resemblance to a raven.

Sixteen seemed to regain his poise before she did. "Eight got hurt on her hand. She needs bandages." he supplied before she could even think. It was true; her white pants were already soiled with red. It was still paining, but by this point it became a dull ache that she could just barely blot out. Miss Heathershine's lips widened in an 'O' and she was up and by her side before she could even think. She marveled at her raw speed, remembering the rumors that Miss Heathershine got her mask from Quarter C; the speed sector.

Her injured hand was gently picked up by her bigger ones; Miss Heathershine's nails were painted a silvery blue today. The older woman tsked as the blood coated her fingers. It turns out that she didn't fully clot as expected.

"Would you mind telling me how this happened?" she asked, still inspecting Eights hands. She froze; would Miss Heathershine believe that a bird did this to her?

Sixteen made the decision for her.

"A raven did it. She said that she was messing with it a bit too much."

Miss Heathershine's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure? Ravens wouldn't pick a fight with something bigger than them."

"I'm very sure! See, it even looks like bird scratches," she motioned to her hand. It definitely looked like a bird ripped them to shreds.
Miss Heathershine nodded, seemingly appeased.

"Did it try to peck at your neck, Zero zero-eight?"

She froze. How did she know? She looked up at Miss Heathershine, yet her expression was Indecipherable. She nodded demurely, and Sixteen shot her a sharp look. She'd have the explain that later.

Miss Heathershine's eyes suddenly lit up, a calm smile gracing her lips. "Ah, I see. Then, I'll get some bandages for you," she cooed, placing a hand on her back. "Why don't you sit on these chairs so long?" She led her to the chair she was sitting on earlier, and whirled around.

"Zero-sixteen, do you mind coming with me? I believe we'll need anti-septic as well." Miss Heathershine asked. Sixteen shot a quick glance to Eight, and when she nodded he obediently followed Miss Heathershine out of the library.

The room suddenly seemed very quiet. Eight glanced at the sunlight streaming in through the window. It was mid-afternoon. What to do?

The book Miss Heathershine was reading sat on the table. Enticingly so.

She quickly glanced around before pulling it into her non-bleeding hand.
__

The History of Masks: Mudrost edition.
__

Who was Mudrost?

She flipped the book open to a section Miss Heathershine bookmarked.

"...the first 'True Mask' was considered to be Mudrost. To date, he is one of the few Masks to not go insane while bearing his sin...."

Bearing his sin?

"As the mask of intelligence and foresight, he dealt with his sin of Jealousy in questionable ways. Some say he slaughtered one of the other true Masks, Illsuria, in cold blood once she showed the slightest indication of being overwhelmed by...."

She skimmed over the parts, turning to the other bookmarked section.

"Mudrosts familiar was a large, white raven. Accounts say other True Masks manifested upon being cut on the neck by the sin - also known as a familiar. This is the same for Mudrost. She is nicknamed, 'Invidia, the white raven.'

The door suddenly opened, and she quickly placed the book back down onto the table. Miss Heathershine and Sixteen walked up to her, briskly working on her hand. They took a while to get the bandages and anti-septic, she noted. Sixteen seemed nervous. Miss Heathershine was the epitome of indifference. Once her hand was completely wrapped, she politely thanked Miss Heathershine as she ushered them out of the library.

"Remember, be careful around these ravens. There seems to be much more now than there was before," she said, a tight smile gracing her lips. Eight nodded, and Miss Heathershine slammed the door closed.

Sixteen still seemed frazzled. "Sixteen?" She questioned. He jumped violently, turning around to her. "Yeah?" he asked.

"Are you okay?"

"...yes," he replied after a long silence, already walking away from her.

What happened to him when he was with Miss Heathershine?

----

2184 words, this killed me to write.