Setsuna finished her shower and reached for her towel. After making sure that all of the blood had been cleaned up, Setsuna hid her things in her bag and stepped out the stall. To her surprise, Yelena was already out.

"Wow, you took even longer than me tonight!"

Yelena smiled at Setsuna, who forced out a weak smile in return.

"Yeah..."

As the two girls walked back to their rooms, Yelena could feel that Setsuna was not her usual self.

"Are you OK? You look... kinda sad."

"What are you talking about!?"

"Don't lie. I can see it in your eyes. Something is bothering you Setsuna."

"Goodness Yelena... you can see right through me, huh?" Setsuna stopped walking. "I was just thinking about the past."

If she had been thinking, Setsuna would have known that mentioning her past would pique Yelena's interest.

"What about your past?"

Setsuna let out a sigh, "I shouldn't have mentioned it. Never mind."

"WHAT!? You bought it up!"

Setsuna placed a hand on her forehead. "Must you be so loud? Fine, I'll tell you back in the room." Yelena began to smile with delight; Setsuna couldn't help but smile too.

"Nosy!"

As Setsuna and Yelena turned the corner to reach their room, they ran into Laurel.

"Laurie! You're back!" Yelena let out a sigh of relief. "What took so long!?"

Laurel pushed her straight black hair from in front of her eyes.

"Flat tire," she replied bluntly before adding, "but your brother fixed it."

"Wow... well at least you guys could fix it!"

Laurel couldn't help but smile. "Thank you for worrying Yelena, but I know the land well. We were never in danger."

"If anybody knows this land, it would be Laurel." Setsuna thought. "She's a member of the Santerre Nomads of the Terre Verdoyant. She would have no problem catching a wild horse to ride back."

"I'm surprised you waited for Janus to fix the tire. You know he isn't good with machines."

"I was in no rush." Laurel replied. "Besides, I feel no guilt in making Renard wait for his liquor."

Yelena giggled, "Yeah... it is kinda sad that our commanding officer is such a lazy alcoholic!"

"Among other things..." Setsuna added jadedly. Yelena continued to laugh, making Setsuna sigh. "I hope she doesn't go into another one of her laughing fits..."

Amidst Yelena's laughter, Laurel let out a soft yawn. "I'm really beat. I'm going to bed."

After saying good night, the girls went into their rooms. Setsuna fell right onto her bed without even getting under the sheets. "I'm so sleepy," she thought, "But Yelena wants to talk. Maybe she forgot?" At that moment, Setsuna could hear Yelena pulling out her chair. "So what's up Setsuna?"
"Should've known better..." Setsuna muttered into her pillow.

"OK, here we go." Setsuna sat up and moved to the edge of her bed. "My family... well... um..."

Yelena was quick to notice Setsuna's hesitation.

"Do you really not want to talk about it? If it makes you uncomfortable, I understand."

Setsuna began to message her temple. "I would rather not," she thought, "But I want her to believe that I'm thinking about my family, not the man I just killed."

Setsuna shook her head. "It's alright." Setsuna closed her eyes as she slowly exhaled.

"I never knew my father. He died before I was born. I basically lived to please my mother, which was, well... difficult."

"Wow, I'm sorry to hear that." Yelena's voice was filled with empathy.

"It's fine. It's not as if she was mean to me or anything. She was just hard to impress. It's not as if I don't love her or anything."

Yelena smiled. "Well that's good! Family should stay close. Do you have any siblings?"

Setsuna's expression instantly changed as she began to frown. Seeing Yelena's startled reaction, Setsuna diverted her glance as she tried to straighten her face.

"So... um, like, what was it like growing up in Nushima?" Yelena asked. Setsuna looked back at Yelena. "I have an older sister. The less said about her, the better."

"Oh.. OK."

The room was silent after that.

"Sorry. I shouldn't of snapped at you."

"No, I shouldn't of been prying..."

"No, no. I'm in the wrong here Yelena. It's not as if you have anything to do with her." Setsuna forced a smile onto her face. "I have a sister named Reina. She's four years older than me. I haven't seen her in a long time though..."

Yelena nodded silently. "I'm such a killjoy," Setsuna thought. "I need to change the topic."

"My sister is nothing like your brother though! Janus is great!"

Just as Setsuna expected, the smile returned to Yelena's face.

"Janus is a great big brother! He always looks out for me! I really love him!"

Setsuna couldn't help but grin at Yelena's admiration of her brother.

"You certainly are fond of him, aren't you?"

"Well of course!"

"If I didn't know that cheesy lines come so naturally to you, I would say you were pulling my leg."

"Well he is the only person in my family that I feel truly has my best interest in mind."

"What do you mean?" Setsuna leaned toward Yelena, her curiosity piqued.

"Well, you know that I'm from Narodnaya, right? It's a religious state and my family is part of the church."

Setsuna nodded as she listened intently to Yelena's words.

"As a part of the church, those born into my family have certain... obligations. My feelings about those obligations don't matter to my father, and my sister has already accepted her role. Janus is the only one who acknowledges my anxieties: my anxiety towards working in the church, the politics of it all, everything. He saved me from it all."

Setsuna was amazed. "Janus sounds like a good brother indeed. I envy you." "He is," Yelena said as she placed a hand on her chest, "and I'm thankful for him everyday."

"It's good that Yelena can turn to her older brother." Setsuna thought. "I could never do that. Reina is too self-centered..." Setsuna began to clench her teeth.

"Ummm... Setsuna? Why are you so worked up? You look, like, really tense."

Hearing the concern in Yelena's voice, Setsuna made an effort to calm herself down. "Just keep the conversation going. Don't be mean..."

"Yelena, I have a question. Janus is your biological brother, right?"

Yelena nodded.

"Yes"

"So if you two have the same parents, why do you have different last names? Why is he 'Sergeyevich' while you go by 'Sergeyevna'?"

Yelena laughed. "Those aren't our family names! Those are our patronyms!"

Setsuna had a confused look on her face.

"What's a patronym?"

Yelena tilted her head as she gave Setsuna a dumbfounded look.

"You never learned that in school?"

Setsuna blushed as she broke eye contact with Yelena.

"Are you gonna tell me or not!"

"Sorry, Sorry! Don't be mad!"

After a short bit of chuckling, Yelena began explaining.

"Unlike a family name, a patronym comes from the father's first name. My father is named Sergei. 'Sergeyevna' means 'Daughter of Sergei' and 'Sergeyevich' means 'Son of Sergei'. My sister Tatiana goes by Sergeyevna like me because we're both daughters of the same man. Get it?"

Setsuna nodded.

"Wait, so what is your family name, Yelena?"

"Lipovsky. My full name is Yelena Sergeyevna Lipovsky. But that's a mouth full!"

"So your father is... Sergei, patronym, Lipovsky?"

"Well, he stopped using his patronym a long time ago. He just goes by Sergei Lipovski."

Setsuna was quiet for a moment before she responded.

"I get it! Thanks for explaining it!"

After a few more minutes of small talk, the girls decided to go to bed. Yelena quickly fell asleep, however Setsuna was deep in thought. "Where have I heard the name 'Sergei Lipovsky' before?" When she remembered, Setsuna was fear stricken.

"Igarashi would occasionally mention communications he had with a man named Sergei Lipovsky from Narodnaya! Could Yelena's father be the same man? If so, why would he have his children come to Sinclaire? If he truly is working with Igarashi, then he surely knows what's to befall this place soon. I don't understand..."

Setsuna drifted off to sleep trying to make sense of the situation.