I forced myself to wake up early the following morning. I was instantly struck with a fiercely aching back and hunger that I knew I would have to grow accustomed to. But as much as I wanted to subdue the internal stabs, my curiosity about the man I saw last night was more important.

   Bracing myself to be kicked out, I entered the inn I'd seen him at. The lobby was small and sparsely decorated to match. On the room's right side there was a doorway covered by a curtain, and adjacent to it was a steep staircase. On the chair behind the front desk, a Skitty sat curled in a cute ball of pink fuzz, fast asleep. A row of keys hung on the wall behind the desk, most of them missing.

   "Uh, hello?" I called hesitantly. The Skitty sleepily raised their head to look at me before standing and stretching, yawning audibly. They then jumped from the chair and padded out of the room through the curtained door.

   I stood awkwardly in the room for what felt like hours. But I wouldn't leave until I asked the innkeeper about the man or encountered him for myself.

   The Skitty then returned with an older woman with tired green eyes in tow. Her thin eyebrows lifted when she saw me.

   "Oh, a customer?" she inquired.

   I shook my head. "Sorry, but no."

   "Then what do you need?" she asked with a smile.

   I was taken aback by her sunniness. I fully expected to be booted from this place when she found out I wouldn't be giving her any business, or had gotten a dirty look at the least. "I-I'm here to ask about somebody who's stayin' here," I said. "A man with dark hair and purple eyes. Does that sound familiar?"

   "It actually does, yes," the woman said with a nod. "He checked out at sunrise. A quiet one, that fellow, but quite kind."

   My heart sank. "Oh... Did he say where he was going?"

   "Yes he did. He was headed to Erinne." She frowned, puzzled. "Are you looking for him? Because I overheard him saying something about looking for somebody."

   "Yeah. I was supposed to meet him, but I guess we just missed each other," I lied.

   She looked pensive. "Someone as young as you out on their own?"

    I didn't say a word in response to that. I knew it wouldn't be a short trip since Erinne's placement on the map was farther out than Stilden's, so I'd better move quickly. "But thanks for your help. I 'preciate it." I felt a bit bad for leaving since she was a genuinely nice person to talk with, but I had what I needed now.

   The woman nodded. "Of course. And you be careful now. Kids like you are prime targets for pirates, especially in coastal places like Erinne." Her expression grew serious and somber. "They'll kidnap you and try to sell you if you aren't useful to them."

   A chill swept through me at that. I'd mostly dismissed the similar things Hayden and his sons had said, but hearing them reaffirmed like that again definitely worried me. I tried to get my mind off of it. Besides, before I could go anywhere, I had a certain bakery to pay a visit to. I bid the innkeeper farewell and hurried out of there.

   Words couldn't describe the excitement I felt when I arrived at the back of the bakery, only to see the woman I saw yesterday throwing out what looked like an armful of baked goods. Another scramble ensued between me and the waiting Pokémon, during which I received a scrape from an Aerial Ace aimed at my arm and narrowly avoided a Bite to the leg. I still managed to make off with most of the food though.

   I examined my findings a street over and was disappointed when I discovered that maybe half of it was edible. I'd grabbed what I could, and that included whatever had touched the sides of the bin and what had been safely nestled in the center. I was hungry, but I wasn't about to eat anything that had mystery gunk and dirt on it.

   What I could salvage was a mixture of burned and stale goods, which were disposed of because they wouldn't sell, and in the stale foods' case because they were too hard to chew. But I was stubborn, and I managed to rip apart two bread rolls in a brutal scene that might've reminded an onlooker of a wild Beartic tearing into a Sealeo.

   After filling my canteen to the brim at the local well and following some street markers, I again found myself at the edge of town. This time, instead of absolute terror, I was filled with resolve. And I could say it was definitely a foreign feeling.

—~*~—

One thing I noticed right away when I started out from Lainsel was how much more "lively" this path was. Well, "lively" consisted of the two whole people I passed, one riding a Zebstrika and the other on foot like me. Fortunately neither paid me any mind, which I was glad for.

   To not have to go into all the boring details, it was horrible. Nature's natural beauty and fair temperatures were rendered moot when walking for ten or so hours with minimal breaks stood in your way. I encountered nobody else besides those two people unless the occasional passing flock of bird Pokémon or Buneary bounding through the grass counted.

   As I watched the Pokémon go about their business, I wondered if there was a way I could hunt them. Disregarding how I still didn't exactly know how to trigger my magician abilities at will, I could try to take one of them down with an Ice Shard. But then again, I wouldn't be able to do anything past that. I didn't know how to properly clean the thing or even cook it. I sighed. That idea was shot down as quickly as it arose. So no Buneary or Starly in the foreseeable future.

   At sundown I was still nowhere near my destination. And though I wanted to keep going, my aching legs told me to sit down and shut up for the day. I gave in and sat at the base of a nearby tree, happy to finally be off my feet for more than five minutes. I fished a stale roll out of my bag and ate it slowly as it was all I was going to allow myself that night.

   While I enjoyed my measly dinner, I sat back and watched the stars slowly come out. I had been asleep before the moon had risen that first night, and when I was in Lainsel the stars were the last thing I was looking out for, so it was nice being able to see them now.

   The names of the constellations came to me the longer I observed them, both their names and their stories. Lone Mightyena, her muzzle pointing to the moon as she howled. Fora and her Follower, the wandering healer woman accompanied by her steadfast Deerling in their journey across the sky. The Dancing Kirlia, their slim, shimmering bodies frozen in a perpetual state of reaching out for each other.

   When I thought about it, the constellations really were something. Their stories were so small, yet their stellar forms towered over me, making me feel smaller than I already knew I was.

   Then there was one more. It was a grouping of stars that formed an odd shape. I found myself drawing a blank here. What was it supposed to be? What was its name? I both knew it and didn't at the same time.

   Some sensation pricked at my mind then. I felt like somebody should have been here with me, looking up at the stars, pointing them out. I wanted to picture it, but it was like trying to see the bottom of a silt-muddied pond. On some instinct I glanced to my sides, for some reason expecting someone to be with me. But of course, there wasn't.

   I was alone.

   That fact hadn't really registered with me until now. I'd thought about it, but sitting under the empty sky made me truly think about it. When I did, it struck me harder than anything else, hit me like a Sucker Punch to the gut. Was there anyone looking for me or waiting for me to come back to them? Did I even have someone in the first place?

   I turned my gaze upwards again. Even the stars weren't alone. Mightyena had the moon, Fora her Deerling, and the Kirlia each other. Who did I have? Nobody.

Fear crawled up my spine as I pulled my knees up to my chest. This was reality, and I was out here alone in it. Why was I even out here in the first place? Really, why was I doing this? I was chasing some random man that I vaguely recognized, and only by his eyes!

Well... I guess I was desperate, desperate for something to go right. The past few days had felt so long to me, made even longer by the barrage of things that just kept hitting me, one after the other. All this was happening because I didn't know who I was, surely. So fixing that would make things better, right? That had to be it, I'd have to feel better when I found out something about myself. Even if it meant chasing any possible lead I could get. My fingers clenched as the chill in the air became frigid. I'd be happier once I learned who I was.

   Then the ice I thought I felt seemed to become solid, encasing my core. I recognized the feeling in an instant and tried to stop it. I willed it to stop as I clenched my teeth in concentration. Somehow, the cold did halt and slowly began to recede. It returned to that one initial point before that too faded.

   That near-disaster snapped me out of the fear I was burying myself in. Though it still lingered as dread, it was too late now for me to go back. I'd made my bed, so I should just lay in it, even if the bed was studded with nails.

   I couldn't believe this was the third time I'd transformed against my will. Well, really there was only two times, but the point still stood. Regardless of full transformations or not, I really had to get a grasp on my magic before I or anyone else paid for it... again.

I found myself wishing I'd also taken the magician encyclopedia since I'd only looked at the types and their spells. If I had, then something about transformations might've been included. These instances were definitely instinctual, like some kind of defense mechanism, another aspect to fight or flight maybe. The best thing I could try right now was to trigger a transformation by my own will. At least if I practiced out here while I knew nobody was around, I wouldn't be making a scene.

   Before I did anything, I unwrapped the bandages from my arms; I didn't need them being damaged. I then wadded up the neckline of my tunic and stuffed it in my mouth as an impromptu gag. I knew it was going to hurt again, so I took a moment to prepare myself. However I had grasped my magic, I needed to do it again. I even closed my eyes, trying to imagine something, anything.

   Then I could picture them, golden streams infected by ice-blue weaving throughout my body, strongest in my arms and upper chest. I reached out for those shining veins. Then it happened. The moment I grasped those veins, the freezing cold grasped me back. I doubled over, body buckling while my screams were barely muffled by the gag. If only I could deafen myself from the sound of icicles tearing through my flesh... I breathed a sigh of relief when the pain started to fade.

   Moonlight sparkled off my frost-covered skin, the icicles catching the light and causing them to spark white. "Glacies Testa," I spoke, and shards of ice formed at my fingertips. It was then that I noticed that I only had four shards at my disposal on my right hand. Ice had piled up maybe half an inch high on my stump of a pinky. It was like the absence of my finger didn't give the shard enough time to form properly... I flung the shards away with the flick of my hand, and the white flashes vanished into the darkness.

   I forced myself to transform a couple more times, enduring it until the skin on my arms and neck was more red than brown. It was then that I stopped. There was no way I was about to risk anything because of blood loss. I dared to use up some of my water to wash the blood away before wrapping myself up again. I'd definitely have to find a way to get some new bandages in Erinne.

My mind buzzed with thought, some of them kind of positive, actually. Now that I knew how to willingly activate my magic, hopefully I didn't have to worry about hurting people with it anymore. I could search for the purple-eyed man, and if I got into any more trouble, I could just use Caligo and run.

I laughed hesitantly. Yeah, maybe this'll all somehow work out.

—~*~—

It was afternoon when I arrived in Erinne. From a mere glance, it was clear that this place was nothing like the boonies town of Lainsel. Buildings several stories high loomed over me, built from stone that seemed to have been purposefully chosen for its darker hue. Large, sloping, wooden awnings extended from the rooftops, which mostly blanketed the streets below in shadow. The entire place radiated an oppressive atmosphere.

   The people were numerous and didn't seem to regard my presence in the slightest. They really had no reason to. While I had looked out of place previously, people of all shapes and sizes with varying skin and hair colors were now commonplace. It made some sense, being that Erinne was a coastal city.

   Now that I was here, it was time to get down to business. I started by locating the nearest inn—a rundown little place—and asking the person running the lobby if they had seen anyone matching the description of the purple-eyed man. Unfortunately, my encounter wasn't as pleasant as the one in Lainsel, and I was sent packing in moments with an angry Glameow trying to claw at my heels on the way out.

   Locals: one, Loto: zero.

   I spent hours tracking down every inn in the city, all with sour results. I didn't know what I was expecting, given that by now I looked like a mess. But maybe somebody wouldn't instantly look at me like I was something they picked off their boot?

   My search brought me closer and closer to the east edge of Erinne. According to the map I found in the encyclopedia, the eastern edge of the city bordered Tranquelum's coast. For a moment, my curiosity about the coast overpowered my need to continue searching. After some hesitance I decided to go take a look. I could always see if there were any places of interest on that side of town, as well.

   Not far from the main street, piles upon piles of stacked crates and barrels rose up like wooden hills—clearly a cargo yard. And behind them were the ships. Vessels of all sizes bobbed about, tethered to the docks by thick ropes and connected by gangplanks.

   But these ships were airborne.

   Air lapped at the ships and the edges of the land. What appeared to be massive tarps were extended above the ships, probably contributing to how they were kept aloft. I edged as close as I could to the edge of one of the docks and peered over and down. Clouds stretched downwards in a seemingly infinite void of open sky, tinted pale orange by late-afternoon light. A large flock of Pidgeot flew past in the sky below, trailed by a few Pidgeotto.

This sight should have been mind-blowing, since it was unlike anything I'd seen so far. But it wasn't. It was disorienting, yeah, but I found myself looking at it like it was something I'd seen dozens of times before. Same with the ships. Normal, commonplace. So why did I recognize this and nothing else?

The thoughts still flitting about, I turned my attention away from the dock to the establishments bordering the side of the street. There was at least one place I could see that I could check.

   "You have no business asking about my patrons! Now get the hell out of here!"

   I booked it out of the building mere minutes later, narrowly dodging a thrown book. What was with people and throwing things at me? I wasn't some annoying Chatot or other pest!

"Dammit, what am I supposed to do now?" I muttered to myself as I walked away down the street. Of course, it was a rhetorical question. But at this point, I was getting a bit more than frustrated.

   "Hey, kid. Wait a moment!"

   I turned around, instantly wary. Walking up to me was a rough-looking woman, her olive skin marred by scars. I narrowed my eyes. She must've followed me out.

   "I heard ya say you're lookin' for a purple-eyed guy?" the woman said.

   "Yeah," I said cautiously, clenching my fists.

   The woman held up her hands. "No need to get hostile," she said. "Just sayin' I saw someone like that."

   At that, I relaxed a little, but I didn't dare let my guard down. "Did he have dark hair too?"

   "Aye," the woman said with a nod. "Try East Wind. It's a tavern out by the docks. Lots o' people sailin' in and out of town stop by there."

   My heart dropped. I hadn't even considered that the guy could've been planning on leaving Tranquelum. But at least I had a new set of places to look. I didn't know why I hadn't considered taverns before. "Oh, thanks," I said. "But why tell me?"

"Makin' up for some things. Need all the good karma I can get," the woman said bluntly, and she left before I could ask more. I shook my head incredulously. Some people were weird as hell.

It didn't take too long to find the place the woman had mentioned. It was some ways down the street bordering the docks. It was the first floor of a multi-story building, its entrance partially hidden around the corner of an alley. Of course it looked like a dump from the outside, contributed to by a lack of maintenance combined with a steady stream of "overzealous" customers.

   The moment I entered, I was nearly overcome by the pungent odor of alcohol. Sweat and something much more sour mingled with the booze, turning my insides and making me want to vomit. Dim oil lamps barely illuminated the mess of too-loud people gathered around small tables or the stained bar counter. They howled and brayed like wild Pokémon as they knocked back tankards of liquid stupidity.

   Not a minute after I'd entered, I had to literally jump away from the door as I was almost knocked over by more people entering from behind me. Unlike out on the streets, they paid me mind, grumbling angrily for me to move away.

   While standing flattened against the wall, I scanned the crowd, trying to look for who I hoped was here. It became apparent all too quickly that I wouldn't be able to find him. The place was just too crowded, not to mention that the smell was really starting to get to me. Bile crept up my throat, and I found myself unable to keep it down. Covering my mouth saved my stomach from having to empty itself right there in the entryway, but I had to leave.

   The slightly fresher air outside was heavenly compared to what I'd just walked out of. But it wasn't enough. At least I could take solace in knowing that I wasn't the first person to throw up outside this place.

After losing whatever I had left in me, I took a moment to steady myself. I leaned against the wall and slowly took deep breaths. It barely helped. I stifled a sick belch, shuddering as I did so. This was so damn disgusting...

   "Aw, the kid can't hold his booze!"

   I weakly looked up, wiping my mouth as I did so. A trio of passing men had stopped to throw jeers at me, at which I gritted my teeth at.

   "Maybe wait until you're older and you can handle it!" another called.

   It was hard to ignore the clearly wrong remarks, but I managed to dismiss it and righted myself, turning to them. "W-wait, did you see a guy in there with dark hair and purple eyes?" I asked.

   One of the guys scoffed. "Why the hell would we tell you?" he said before the group walked away.

   I leaned my head back against the wall, thoroughly pissed off and exhausted from all of this. Maybe it would be for the best that I stayed out here for a bit, at least until my stomach settled.

   While I waited, I closely watched the tavern's door. If the guy didn't come out soon, I decided that I'd go back in there and try to look again. At least I had nothing left in me to lose.

   At one point a broad-shouldered man left the tavern. He sported an eyepatch and a sheathed blade, probably a dagger, hung from his belt.

   "What's with the look?" he asked in a tone slurred by a drink too many. "Ya got a problem, boy?"

   In an instant, goosebumps broke out across my skin, uneasiness pricking at my core. Please don't let this turn into somethin', I still feel horrible... "Huh? No, I don't! J-just waitin' for somebody." The nervous feeling wasn't because of the guy, though he didn't really look like the nicest person, but rather because of the blade on his belt. I didn't know why, but its presence unnerved me.

   The man wasn't deterred by my purposefully dismissive tone. "And who's that?" he asked.

   "Wh-what's it to you?" I asked back with a wary frown.

   "If ya can't go in there, I can tell 'em to come out 'ere."

   I hesitated, puzzled. "Wait, really?"

   He nodded. "Aye. Who're ya lookin' for?"

   "A... a man with dark hair and purple eyes."

   "He your pops?" I didn't answer. I hadn't even thought about that as a possibility until now, though I wasn't about to start questioning it around this guy. At my silence, the guy shrugged. "Fine."

   He vanished back into the tavern, and I was left stunned. He was actually doing it? Then again, he probably wanted some good karma too. Unless... he was being genuinely nice.

Adding to my surprise, the man exited with another person in tow. Brief excitement sparked, only to instantly die out when I saw that the newcomer wasn't who I was looking for. His hair was too short, and while he had purple eyes, they were wide instead of the narrow shape I remembered seeing.

   "This your guy?" the eye-patched man asked.

   I shook my head. "No. Was there anyone else?"

   The guy also shook his head, to which the purple-eyed man asked, "Are we done here? Can I go?"

   "Yeah," I answered. "Sorry for botherin' you, I thought you were someone else." The purple-eyed man nodded curtly before vanishing back into the tavern. "Sorry for wasting your time like that," I said to the first guy, "guess what I heard was wrong." I tried to walk past him, but he blocked my way. "What're you doing?"

   "An apology ain't good enough," he said. "I think I'm owed a little somethin' extra."

  It figured that this situation was too good to be true. So much for getting my hopes up for running into another nice person. "Well, I don't have shit. So sorry about that," I said.

   "For 'not havin' shit', that cloak is high-quality," the man noted.

   I instantly knew what he wanted and scowled. "No way!"

   He gave me a mocking sigh before he smiled at me. "Then maybe ya could do me a favor." He took a step closer to me, then another.

   I backed away from him, hesitating in my words before unintentionally stuttering out, "Wh-what kind of favor?"

   He shook his head. "Don't play dumb. Street urchins, 'specially exotic ones like you, do those worse than me favors all the time." His good eye looked me up and down all the while.

   My stomach started churning again. Exotic? His smile was unlike any I'd seen. It was somehow more sinister than Dahlia's. Then what he said next put the final nail in the coffin.

   "The Spinnin' Web stops by 'ere often. Surprised they haven't snatched ya up yet. How lucky for me."  

   "Get away from me," I said slowly, trying to sound angry. It didn't stop me from wanting to be sick again. Of course he has to be a pirate, of course I'd run into someone like him out of anyone else...

   "Feisty, eh?" the man chuckled as he stepped closer still. "I can 'preciate that." I then realized that he was backing me further into the alley, further out of sight from the street and the tavern door. I couldn't go around him, so I had to stop him here.

   "G-get away, or I'll shove an Ice Shard so deep into your eye that it'll come out the back of your damn skull," I lied in as threatening a tone I could while holding up my hand.

   He arched a brow. "A magician? Now this just got really interestin'." He unsheathed his blade, which turned out to be a dagger decorated with flaming designs. A shudder ran down my spine at the sight of it. It was like my instincts knew what this thing was even though my mind didn't. "Ignis," the guy hissed.

   My breath hitched as the etched flames glowed orange before bursting to life in a flurry of fire and heat. He raised the blade so the firelight illuminated his face, outlining it in goulish shadows and putting a dangerous spark in his remaining eye.

   "Go on, try to get off a spell," he chuckled. "I'll just melt ya before ya can even get a word out. Now c'mere."

   What else was I supposed to do but run? And that was what I did. Well, I tried to. But what could I do against a six-foot behemoth, even if he was drunk? He knew he could get me, so he let me go. I was stupid to continue running down the alley, getting myself farther away from any help, but I couldn't go anywhere else. Of course, this backfired when the man decided that I'd run far enough.

He was able to catch and restrain me in moments, shoving me to the ground and pinning me down on my back. One of his hands ensnared my throat while he seemed to lay his whole weight on me to keep me in place. I grasped wildly at his arm, clawing at it as I struggled to breathe. Even as my nails were drawing blood, he didn't seem fazed at all as he loomed over me.

   "Did ya really think you could run from me?" he taunted, still wearing that twisted grin. I tried to scream, and I was cut off as he held the blistering blade as close to my face as possible without it burning me. "Shut up, or I'll make this worse for ya."

   I didn't say a thing, but I squirmed, futility trying to free myself. His closeness was suffocating, and he was almost crushing my throat with his hold. The heat from the dagger was unbearable; I could almost feel it cooking my skin. Sweat began to bead and drip down my face. Or was that tears?

   "When we're done 'ere, maybe I can get the captain to lemme keep ya," he considered, a sick tone of amusement in his voice. He moved the dagger so he could put his face close to mine. There was an undeniable hunger in his eyes as he continued to speak. "I'd 'preciate ya more than the rest 'o the crew would." I felt the man's booze-poisoned breath on my skin, the smell making me retch. He clamped the hilt of the dagger between his teeth before he grabbed the bottom hem of my tunic and began to wrench it up. I shivered as chilled air slithered across my now-exposed skin. "Now let's 'ave some fun, eh?" I heard him say.

   "What's goin' on 'ere?"

   The voice had sounded behind us. I looked around the pirate's form, seeing that a passerby was strolling towards us. My heart leapt when I recognized the person as the rough-looking woman I had spoken with earlier.

   "H-help me, please!" I managed to choke out.

   "Wha?" The pirate took the dagger back in hand before looking over his shoulder, his hold not budging in the slightest. "Mere? Thought you'd be waitin' back at the ship."

   My heart plummeted into my boots.

   The rough-looking woman, Mere, sighed. "You were takin' so damn long that I had a mind to come searchin'. And what do I find? The first mate messin' with a kid. That dagger could easily go back to the captain if I tell 'im what you've been up to," she said. She then finally seemed to recognize me, and she let out a frustrated huff. "Great, it's this one again. So much for my day's good deed."

   "Shut it," the man spat. "I got us somethin' good 'ere. Bit soft, but I'm not complainin'!" He ran his thumb across my cheek when he said that, and I stiffened with disgust and terror. Mere rolled her eyes at the comment. "But he's a rarity. Ice magician," the man continued.

   That caught the woman's interest. "Really? And I thought Normal and Electric were all that were 'round 'ere. Good thing we got 'im 'fore a rotten lot like the Spinning Web."

   The whole time I was hearing this, I was utterly terrified. I couldn't let them take me, who knew what would happen if they did? Well, I had some idea, and it was disgusting. Every instinct in me screamed for me to call out for help, but deep down I had a feeling that help wouldn't come. Against my better judgement, I wildly grasped for the ice-infected streams within me.

   "Now," the man squeezed my throat a bit tighter before looking back at me, "either come quietly, or do ya need to sleep on it?" He lifted the pommel of the dagger, making what he would do with it clear to me. But then he scowled when he saw my trembling form, saw the frost snaking its way up my neck and up to my lower face.

   Before either of the pirates could react, I screamed, letting out the building pain in a sound that shredded my throat as my skin did the same. They froze in surprise from my sudden outburst, and the man cried out in pain.

His hand left me in an instant as he jerked back, and I took in a lung-wrenching breath, ignoring the fire fiercely burning in my throat. A clatter of metal sounded right beside my head, startling me. Sitting up, I recoiled in shock when I saw the man clutching his wrist. He was staring at the puncture wounds my icicle-spiked arms left behind in his hand. I hadn't intended for that to happen.

   "You little monster!" Mere roared, lunging for me. Instinctively I retaliated, not with the spell my mind wanted, but the one my instincts said I needed.

   "Glacies Testa!"

   Why hadn't her hand been just a bit farther to the left? It it had, then it would have prevented a point-blank shard from plunging straight into the center of her chest. She sank to the ground, her eyes wide and her hand twitching as she debated whether or not to pull the shard out. Her hesitance allowed her blood to well and spread, quickly dying her tunic a muddier shade of brown. I stared on in horror.

Run.

   What had I just done?

   Run now.

   I swore I wouldn't hurt someone else with my magic again, and yet I did.

   Run away right now!

   Disgust welling, stomach twisting and heaving, I scrambled to my feet and ran.

   "No you don't!"

   A hand grabbed me by the wrist and yanked back violently. At the person's touch, utter revulsion overcame me. I screamed and whirled around, meeting the glare of the man. In just that one eye I could see malice and total rage writhing about. A familiar, horrifying scene played out in my mind as I raised my free hand to that gaze. With a sickening spilling of words, it was pierced and began streaming red.

   The man's screams rang through the alley, haltingly loud. I didn't hesitate a moment longer and bolted. I shoved past people who had started gathering around its entrances in morbid curiosity. Wayward hands grabbed at me, but I managed to pull myself away, each touch sending horrible shudders of terror through me.

   An indeterminate amount of time later, I found myself on my hands and knees in another alleyway. Where in the city? I didn't know. I also had no idea how I'd gotten here or how long I'd been here. But what I did know was that I was retching, and that my eyes and throat burned.

   I fell back into a sitting position, shivering, numbly wiping dregs of bile, splattered blood, and tears from my face. Had I started crying while I was running? Who knew? Everything was a blur. The disgust I felt for the situation was miniscule in favor of what I felt for myself.

   Monster, monster, you're a monster.

   I couldn't deny it, that was what I was. How couldn't I be? I'd tried and failed to not hurt anybody. No, not even hurt, I might have just killed two people! I was horrible. I was sick. I was a monster.

I sat there and cried for what seemed like hours. A few people passed by me, but they did nothing, and nothing else happened. It was just me, feeling even more alone than I'd felt previously. I almost wanted somebody to come help me. I was hurting, I was feeling sick, I was terrified. But instead of someone even trying to offer help or at least sparing me a glance, I was left alone. My tears began to dry up, something else replacing the horror and loneliness. Anger.

Why? Why is nobody caring?

   The anger began to swell, burning me from the inside out. Yeah, I was a monster, but somebody could at least pretend to care. These people were no better than me for ignoring a crying, injured child. They were like monsters themselves.

No, they were monsters.

Actually, when I thought about it, why was I a monster? What had I done? Defended myself from being attacked? I'd had no choice but to do it. What would I have done if I hadn't retaliated? Let those pirates kill me? Give myself up to whatever disgusting things they had planned? My hands slowly clenched into fists. No matter my true age, those grown adults had pulled weapons on and attacked what they saw as a child.

   Now that I thought about it, there shouldn't have been any reason for Dahlia's extreme actions either. There could have been another way to solve things than just trying to kill me. And if I hadn't been the one to tip her over the edge, then another poor kid might have.

   For a moment I imagined some other kid, my age or even younger, stealing out of desperation or running into those pirates, only to not be able to fight back and suffering because of it. I'd felt guilty for attacking, but now that guilt was completely gone.

   For all you know, you could have done others a favor for doing what you did.

   I unwillingly felt bitter ice churning in me, barely dulling the heat of the fire within my chest. I almost couldn't feel the icicles tearing themselves free, all-encompassing anger keeping the pain at bay.

   I stared down at the dully-glittering frost on my hands. I was a monster, though now I didn't care. After all, I was already surrounded by them. And I would just have to accept that.

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The Sky Goddess herself, Cora-chan, crafted for me this magnificent cover! Thank you so much for being the proud conductor of the MNiL hype train, Cora, and my god never stop driving it! Without you, this story literally wouldn't have been possible.