Chapter 10: Garnet-all-garnet

My head rests in Mirka's lap, the familiar action movie illuminating us both in a flickering blue glow. Mirka is enraptured, watching every frame, barely paying attention to me as gunshots come through the older speakers. I have nothing to complain about, though, as my shells eyes only briefly open on occasion anyway. The movie only serves as a distraction, anyway.

According to an MBR-affiliated doctor Mirka had visited, it would only be a couple days until her shoulder was healed enough to be ready for action again. There wasn't much actual damage in the first place, and it helped that they have a resident half-fey who inherited some minor healing ability from his ancestry. There's more going on there, I'm certain, but Mirka didn't probe the person healing her with a thousand questions about his unique lineage. A shame.

In a roundabout way, her going into fieldwork is my fault, and I can't stomach the idea of letting her do it alone. I know for certain that if I offered to come, she'd indignantly protest to safeguard her likely damaged pride. As such, I've spent the last few days tweaking small aspects my raven shell: increasing the range of frequencies it can hear to encompass the human range, modifying the syrinx to mimic human speech more convincingly, increasing lung efficiency for more prolonged speed, changing the feather pigmentation to be entirely black instead of the distinctive white and black feather pattern, and dulling the iridescent effect of the feather structures through essentially 'painting' over them with a thin layer of cephalopod ink. I should be nearly invisible, given the right conditions, while remaining relatively unobtrusive while out in the open.

In short, I'm going to follow a girl around who I fell in love with before our first date without telling her, because I need to be there to protect her.

...upon reflection, maybe this isn't a great plan. Being a stalker isn't ideal.

"Soooo... Mirka." I think if I phrase this the right way, I can get away with it.

"Hmm?" She starts firmly rubbing my upper back, putting in surprising effort for someone engrossed in a movie. Admittedly, it doesn't do much for me on a physical level, but I'm never confessing that. The fact she's conscientious enough to give me her affection while distracted is more than satisfactory for me.

"As a show of trust, I'm not going to stalk you." That didn't come across with the humor it did while playing in my mind.

"...thanks?" she replies, a half-confused, half-amused smile briefly looking down to me.

"Instead, I'm going to tell you ahead of time that I'll be looking out for you from above. As a raven, I should specify." I faintly smile at her,

She halts her backrub, fleeting shadows from the flashes of light on the TV fully solidified as she pauses the movie. "Don't you have a job?"

"Not one I need to be at physically. Besides, this seems like more fun."

Mirka's bright hazel eyes now fully linger on mine, reflecting a frozen cloud of fire from the paused screen. "Can I stop you from following me?"

"I... yeah. I won't follow if you tell me not to." I won't force her to let me tag along, though I hope she allows me to. Despite the implication, the truth of the matter is that I am incredibly versatile, and there's no job I can think of that requires more versatility than a monster hunter.

Mirka sharply fills her lungs, but exhales slowly, her gaze leaving my own and moving to the window. "I don't know if it's a good idea. You don't have a great track record in combat situations..."

"I promise not to kill anyone. Or severely injure anyone. I'll be careful, so stop looking at me like that."

My head vibrates pleasantly from her newly bouncing knee. "I'm going to have an assigned partner, you know. I don't get to pick one until I've been at it for a while. It's a really bad idea to keep you a secret from whoever that partner is."

I can't help but smile. How hard could it be? "Leave that to me. I'm extremely charming, right? It wouldn't be the first MBR agent I've won over. Actually, I think I'm technically at four, if you count the hell dog thing."

"...the what?" Right, Mirka wasn't there when the MBR sorcerer summoned the hazy blue and gray doglike creature.

"Don't worry about it." I playfully pat her on the cheek. "Besides, are you telling your girlfriend that you don't want her around more often?"

Her brows pull inward towards her nose, creating wrinkled waves across her forehead. I sense I've messed up somehow.

"What did I say?" I ask after a slight pause.

"You called me your girlfriend. I don't think we ever discussed that." He leg stops bouncing.

Damn it. I thought that was just a word for the person you're dating. I didn't realize it was some kind of formal title. "Sorry, if you don't want-"

"No, I do. I'm just surprised. I figured you'd keep me at arm's length for a bit, on account of all the crap I've put us through."

I groan dismissively, adjusting my head slightly deeper into her lap. "Are you going to dwell on this for the next decade? I think this is more about you feeling guilty than it is about me. I get it, I really do, but come oooon. Let us both be happy."

With a bitter chuckle, her nails start scratching my back. My shell's muscles tense for only a moment, before loosening as I contently hum. My reaction instantly makes her smile, relaxing her as well. "Okay. Open and honest communication between us. Sound good?"

"Sounds good..." A subtle vibration in my thigh makes me instinctively reach for my phone, only to find my pocket empty and left leg twitching slightly in tune with her scratching. I stifle it as soon as I notice, realizing I must have misplaced yet another nerve connection, and not wanting Mirka to notice. Despite her insistence that it doesn't matter, I try not to project just how artificial my shell truly is. It's what I use to interact with the world around me, but that's all I see it as: a reliable, well-made tool. To Mirka, though, it's all she sees me as the majority of the time. The shell is what looks at and talks to her, that expresses emotion, that can watch movies with her. Stripping away the illusion of humanity I present is a deeply rooted insecurity of mine, borne of necessity to fade into human society and transplanted into every interaction I have.

Mirka must have noticed how lost in thought I was, and yanks me out of it with a gentle voice. "Then you're my girlfriend. Also, is your leg okay?"

My newly confirmed girlfriend is frustratingly observant. My naturally furtive nature never seems to work with her, and she catches on when my mask slips for even a short few seconds. I appreciate it, I think. It keeps me honest with my goal of not faking who myself. "Yeah. I just messed something up with my nerves. My left leg starts kicking when I'm having my back scratched, apparently."

She snorts. "I'll let you come with me if you don't change that. That's probably the cutest thing I've ever seen you do."

If that's what she wants, I'll relent. I let my leg twitch, to Mirka's delight. She resumes the movie, but she doesn't seem particularly interested anymore. As good a moment as any to add to my journal.

#51: I think I'm still missing nuances of both romantic and platonic relationships.

#52: I can be tactless, especially when it affects me.

#53: I'm needlessly insecure around people who I trust.

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Mirka's first assignment comes exactly one week after our shared apology. It's a simple case, but only on the surface. A jewelry store was broken into, and there were traces of magic used. It was neither sorcery or the modern human magic that magicians use, which leaves a magical beast as essentially the only possibility. Nothing too noteworthy.

We arrive on the scene first, Mirka wearing slightly faded cargo pants and a very practical gray top, along with an unadorned baseball cap. She's a pair of socks and sandals away from full Michigan dad-wear. Fortunately for her, I can increase someone's cool factor significantly by perching on her shoulder in my raven shell. I fully intend to reveal myself to her partner, eventually, but for now observation is the safest option.

Despite the 9am meeting time, it isn't until 9:33 that her partner arrives, pulling a rusting gray van along the side of the street and accidentally running over the curb. He gets out, clearly winded, and glances at Mirka immediately, before observing the scene. He's a sinewy man, probably mid twenties, with blue eyes and a shaved head that harbors the vestiges of blonde hair. My first impression of him gives the impression of danger, even without being an MBR hunter, though a pair of sheathed short swords loosely strapped to his hip dismisses it as more illusion than reality. He could just bring a gun, right?

He takes a another look at Mirka, before respectfully nodding. "Miss? Are you my partner?"

"Pretty sure. You're Springtail, right?" she asks, referring to a small notebook. What a stupid name.

"Yep, you can call me Spring if its easier. That makes you Meerkat?" I wait patiently for Mirka to correct him, but she instead affirms he's correct. She briefly shows Springtail her MBR ID, which I catch a glimpse of as she pulls it from her leather wallet. Sure enough, her name is listed as 'Meerkat S.' I wonder what the codenames are for.

"Great." Springtail's eyes linger on me for a moment. "So is the bird your pet or something?

Mirka flatly smiles. "That depends."

"Great introduction already, I love it when supposed partners are weirdly cryptic. I'm going to assume a familiar, based on your spellbook and sigil-plated sidearm. Strange to see one, not a lot of magicians bother with familiars. At least, not tangible familiars."

A familiar... it's the perfect cover, delivered on a silver platter. A familiar is a an animal magically bonded to a magician, and I'm certainly bonded to Mirka in my own way. "Familiar," I echo, using Springtail's voice. This shell is challenging to speak through, not through actual difficulty, but because it only instinctively knows how to mimic sounds. Theoretically, I should be able to speak as normal, but I can't seem to get a grasp on the intuitive function behind the complicated syrinx.

Mirka glances at me on her shoulder. I reply with "depends," in her voice, trying to hint that I don't trust this guy. Not yet, at least.

Springtail looks at us in amusement. "Damn, your bird doesn't like me already, huh?"

"Lena doesn't like anyone at first. Don't worry, she'll keep her opinions to herself from here." She jostles the shoulder I'm perched on, to which I hang on by digging my claws a little deeper into her. I'm going to regret that later.

"I'm not going to get on a crow's bad side. That's bad luck, right?" He methodically treads to the jewelry store's broken window, though 'window' is hardly accurate anymore. It's almost entirely devoid of glass, with only small shards remaining along the edges. There's plenty of shattered glass on the floor, though, much of it ground so finely that it resembles snow.

Mirka follows his lead, leaning down to investigate, and pushing the shining dust around with a red pocket knife pulled from her belt. "Anything weird, Lena?"

I hop off her shoulder, and snap up one of the more intact shards of glass. One advantage of a this shell in particular is that I can house my core near the stomach, letting me absorb small objects simply by eating them. Unfortunately, though, the glass is just that: normal tempered safety glass, with only the usual trace contaminants like dust and pollen.

"Bad luck," I reply in Sprigtail's voice.

"Damn."

Springtail appraises me for a few seconds too long, before trying the door. It's unlocked, and inside is a tall and rotund man, pacing nervously. As soon as the three of us enter, he waits anxiously for Mirka and Springtail to speak.

The two hunters exchange a glance, both expecting the other to interview the owner. Mirka eventually yields to his superior tactic of apathetic staring, and approaches the man, flipping out her identification with practiced ease and showing it to him. "Meerkat S, MBR."

It's funny how my own initial reaction to seeing the simple plastic badge and this person's are the same: fear.

"Julius. I'm the owner. Why is MBR here?" He shifts his attention to Springtail, who is examining broken display cases.

"Why do you think?" Mirka jokes, taking down his name into her little notebook, before following up with actual questions. "What did you see?"

He avoids eye contact with Mirka by looking at me instead. "Nothing. Alarm went off when no one was here, and when I got here a few cops were swarming my store. Haven't finished taking inventory of what was stolen, but I have a few pieces I know are missing."

"They didn't take everything?"

"No, and they didn't take the most expensive stuff, either. Left most of it untouched, like they were after something specific."

Springtail sharply whistles to get Mirka's attention. Her jaw clenches for a moment in irritation. "Excuse me," she says to Julius before marching next to Springtail. "Don't whistle at me," she commands.

"Sorry. How about I snap my fingers like I'm a shitty customer at a restaurant?" he retorts, smirking.

"Just use my name."

He folds his muscular arms, disappointed by the lack of banter. "Fine, killjoy. Check this out." He points a finger to the shattered safety glass. "Think you can magic up an explanation?"

"...to what?"

He stands aside, smugly explaining what he discovered. "The case is completely full, but they broke the glass anyway. In fact, every single piece of glass in the whole store is shattered, down to the watch faces."

"Bizarre... lemme cast an object memory spell, see what happened." Mirka takes her spellbook from the leather holster on her left. To me, it looks more like a college student's annotated notebook, complete with colored tabs sticking out and labelled by section. She opens to a page marked by a blue tab, and flips a couple pages over to one entitled "Echoed Object Memory." The magic circle, inlaid with dozens of overlapping rings and triangles hand-drawn with obvious care, glows faintly in a pale blue. An ethereal, slaty haze creeps across the store, taking the shape of every surface, creating a thin smoky outline around every object and surface. It notably deviates from the cracked glass, instead taking the shape of cases as they were before being broken, forming a perfect replica of the store as it was last night. Mirka, with concentration, keeps the spell active for a moment, until the foggy visage of every piece of glass in the store shatters simultaneously. As the spell progresses, the ghosts of specific necklaces and rings are picked up, but returned to their original space. Springtail quickly notes which ones are disturbed. The spell ends, leaving the room once again clear and in disarray.

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Springtail doesn't comment on the spell Mirka cast, instead immediately showing her a list of what he wrote down. Mirka takes it from him.

"More and more strange... Hey, Julius!"

He pokes his head out from behind the low counter. "Is the spell over?"

Mirka nods, and waves him over. "What did you find was stolen so far?"

"Right. A silver and pyrope pendant, a silver bracelet with a andradite inlay, and a pair of gold earrings with a pyrope center, and another pair of earring with some kind of junk metal and another garnet." He scratches his head. "All garnets."

"Okay... there were three that were examined and rejected. What can you tell me about this one, this one, aaaaaand this one?" Mirka points out the three pieces.

"Chrysoberyl and silver bracelet, chrysoberyl and gold bracelet, and a beautiful pink beryl brooch with a platinum bezel."

Mirka and Springtail exchange a bemused frown, before Mirka turns back to Julius. "Okay. We'll get right on this."

Julius doesn't seem particularly confident, but sequesters himself in his office anyway. Mirka and Springtail are both lost in thought, looking for some kind of pattern.

Mirka gives up first, instead moving on to investigating the glass. She takes a small piece in her hand, rolling it around between her fingers. "So whatever it was blew out all the displays at once. I'd usually say it was an explosion, but nothing else was so much as knocked over. The shattering is irregular but thorough... I have an idea for this one, at least."

Springtail lifts his head. "Resonance?"

"Yeah, although this is tempered glass. It'd have to be pretty loud and sustained if it were resonance. These aren't cheap wine glasses."

"They all broke simultaneously, though. Is that normal?"

"How the hell would I know?" Mirka asks, tossing the fragment of glass into the pile with the rest. "Okay. I'm going to start brute forcing this, unless you have any ideas."

He attempts to run a hand through the hair he no longer has, settling on scratching his scalp instead. "This is my first assignment."

Mirka laughs lowly, sardonically smiling. "Same here. I get the feeling this is a test of some kind."

"That's pretty screwed up. Hang on, lemme grab something from the van. I've got a bunch of tools for this kind of thing." He carefully moves around the glass on the floor, trying to avoid disturbing evidence. As soon as he's out of earshot, Mirka looks at me. "Any thoughts?"

"Garnet," I croak out.

"Huh?"

"Garnet-all-garnet." Stringing together words I've heard recently is as close to a sentence as I can manage.

She taps her foot. "And? How does that help us?"

I use a full sentence stolen from Mirka. "How the hell would I know?"

With quiet amusement, she slips out her phone, and searches through wiki pages on garnets, beryl, and chrysoberyl.

In the meantime, Springtail saunters back with newfound confidence, equipped with green and tan camouflage tactical vest brimming with tools which hide purposes I can't discern.

"Okay. First things first..." He cracks his knuckles, and withdraws a pair of round, silver eyeglasses from an case engraved with a seemingly inert magic circle. He slips them on his face, looking around for only a second before fixating on me. A faint green glow emanates from the rims of the glasses, encircling the lenses with light. His eyebrows start to furrow the longer he looks to me. With a cautious hand, he adjusts them, before slowly closing the distance between us like a hunter stalking its prey.

"I don't know much about familiars, but Lena is giving off a weird signature." There's suspicion in his words, though he's not accusing us of anything yet. "It's vaguely magical, but completely empty of magic toward its center. Never seen anything like that." He steps just a little too close to me, so I snap my beak in response. It only serves to make him tense as he flinches back, but he doesn't take a single step away.

Mirka says, "I thought that was normal," before returning to her internet investigation.

"How long have you had the girl?" He puts away the glasses, and takes out a small magnifying lens instead.

"A few years." Mirka takes a step back as Springtail gets a little too close. "You're kind of creeping me out, Spring."

He backs off, putting the magnifying glass away and stuffing his hands into some of the only empty pockets he has. "Sorry. Just wasn't expecting your familiar to read like it did. I like to be thorough."

"She bites, just saying."

"Yeah... you know, that glass it ate is still inside it."

I quickly start reconstructing it, but it'll take a minute or two. Mirka takes over instead. "She didn't eat it, just tasted it and dropped it."

He doesn't continue the line of questioning, but I can sense his skepticism as he puts his eyeglasses back on. "Let's see... nothing magical still here. You got anything?"

"If we had even a scrap of physical material from whatever took the jewelry, I could probably track it."

I flap off her shoulder, taking one of the necklaces the creature picked up but didn't take.

"That could work too. The spell works far better with magic-infused material, but I could probably do a three mile range and sweep the city by car. Could I get a silver and pyrope pendant?"

I drop the necklace I was holding, and start hopping around, stopping once I recognize the chemical makeup. It's not pyrope specifically, but its a garnet and silver. I hold it out for Mirka, who takes it. "Find any with an pyrope?"

"Garnet," I reply.

"Gemstones are conduits for magical energy, the impurities are important. Not to mention how the cut and clarity are also factors involved. It has to be pyrope."

With an irritated squawk, I go back to hopping until I find a silver and andradite bracelet, like another one that was stolen.

"That works." She takes it and slips it onto her wrist, casting another spell. "Spell's active. I can maintain this for a while, but it takes sustained concentration. First rule of concentrating on a spell: don't think and drive. You up to play chauffeur, Spring?"

Springtail doesn't look particularly amused, but waves her over anyway. He climbs into his windowless van, brushing crumbs and other detritus off the torn passenger seat. Mirka and I exchange a look, before getting in, empty fast food bags crumpling beneath Springtail's feet. A deeply unsettling miasma permeates the van, coiling deep around my core. It's far beyond a normal level of uncomfortable I'd get from getting into a near-stranger's windowless gray van. It feels targeted, and judging by Mirka's casual expression as she maintains the spell, I'm the only one affected. I nestle in Mirka's lap, holding her cargo pants tightly, trying not to betray anything. Fortunately, this shell isn't capable of involuntary motion, so it remains completely placid on the surface. Other than my darting eyes, which I struggle to keep steady.

Springtail takes out a mapping app on his phone, and plots a course that widely spirals outward from the current location. Mirka affirms the searching route, after a minor correction. Springtail slots his phone on a well-used holder flimsily attached to an AC vent, and slowly pulls away from the curb. It's going to be a long day, judging by the 6 hour ETA, and the oppressive atmosphere isn't lifting. I keep getting glances from Springtail as I stay hunkered down in Mirka's lap, trying to ignore the feeling. Pretending it doesn't exist doesn't help, thinking about it makes it worse. There's no way I can suffer through even ten minutes of this crushing anxiety, but I don't know how to signal I'm in distress without tipping off Springtail.

I try and wait it out, hoping it will fade over time, but it steadily continues to deepen. What the hell is wrong with this van? Or is it coming from Springtail, trying to smoke me out?

This is the same blistering fear that I had experienced many times as a captive of the brain-razed sorcerer. Closed in on all sides, feeling very small, a dangerous person only inches away. Sorry, Mirka. I start to subtly pinch her leg with my claws, remaining otherwise inactive in the hope she takes the hint.

"Hey, Springtail, I got something. Roll down the window so my familiar can check for us?"

He glares at me for a moment before doing so. I waste no time escaping, flying high into the sky while keeping track of the van. The near-panic starts to fade. It is the van, it seems, doing something to my state of mind. But why is it only affecting me? Is it targeted towards anything magical? If so, shouldn't he have warned Mirka about it affecting her familiar?

No, this has to be targeted to magical beasts. There's a slight reassurance that I actually am one, at least. I never ruled out the possibility of being something else entirely. Knowing I'm one of many is comforting, in a strange way, as though I'm a unique piece of a massive puzzle.

After a few more minutes of aimlessly flying, I return to the van, struggling to will myself through the window. It takes a pair of failed attempts before I manage it. It's worse than before. Before Mirka can speak, I fly out the window again, following the grungy van from the air. Hopefully Mirka can make up a good excuse.

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After only half an hour or so, Springtail pulls over, once again running over the curb, making me wonder if its actually intentional. He and Mirka both get out, bickering quietly so as not to draw attention. I glide over to their space on the sidewalk, landing on Mirka's shoulder just in time to catch the end of the discussion.

"-beast. There are a lot of bracelets like this, but this one has a weird movement pattern. I'm telling you, this is it."

Springtail sighs, but doesn't continue the argument. He opens the rear doors to his van, and it's instantly obvious why the I had such a strong feeling: some kind of sigil I don't recognize has been painted on the floor and ceiling, and lightly reacts with red light as Springtail approaches. Just looking at it makes me want to take off.

The van itself is full of gear: various weapons, different types of dusts and opaque liquids, camping supplies, field rations, a small metal shelf of tied down field guides... it's impressively well-suited for killing me. After a few quick selections that go immediately to his vest, he closes the door with a quiet clunk, carrying only a small dart gun. I'm not sure I want to know what's inside the darts.

Mirka tries the doorknob to a fairly nice looking house, painted white with a freshly mowed lawn. Finding it locked, she knocks on the metal door politely. Within half a minute, the front door opens, revealing an older woman in her pajamas. Springtail puts on his glasses before immediately taking them off.

"Excuse me," Mirka says with authority, "I'm Meerkat, and this is Springtail. If the names didn't make it clear, we're MBR. Would you mind if we came in?"

The woman looks between the two, unimpressed. "Why?"

"Suspected burglary of a jewelry store, we believe the stolen goods are inside your basement."

"That's absurd."

"Then you won't mind a quick peek, Miss..."

"Val is fine. And I don't make a habit of letting strangers with guns into my house without a warrant... but if it'll get you off my back, sure, have it." She stands aside, letting us in. The house reflects the occupant perfectly, from the loudly ticking cat-shaped clock, to the dozens of angel collectibles scattered on every shelf. I keep close watch on everything, just to be sure. Mirka descends into the basement first, me on her shoulder. The basement is tiny, far smaller than a basement should be. Worse, the bracelet is on the other side of a concrete wall.

I briefly consider nitroglycerin, but I doubt that'd go over well with the homeowner.

"Okay..." Mirka flips through her spellbook. "I can maintain intangibility on all of us for exactly three seconds. When I cast it, we have to go, okay? I don't want you getting entombed in concrete."

"How are you sure there's an other side to the concrete?"

"Because the bracelet I'm tracking is right there." She points to a blank spot on the wall, starting the spell. I remain on her shoulder, wings slightly spread.

After a brief nod from Springtail, Mirka begins a dramatic countdown.

"Three... Two... One... Go!"

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The other side of the wall is a hastily made concrete bunker, poorly smoothed floor and walls left to dry despite the ridges. All around the floor are fast food bags, MREs, bottled water, bottles of beer, an unassembled table, sleeping bags, and other signs of life. There's a tunnel leading away, though its impossible to tell where it leads.

More importantly, there are a man, woman, and a magical beast in the room. The people appear to be family, sharing a tan complexion and a certain likeness to each other.

The magical beast, though, captures all attention. It's made almost entirely of some kind of red gemstone, formed loosely humanoid, but with a disproportionately large torso and squat legs that keep it upright. Small chips and cracks across its body are filled in with green, turquoise, orange, and a multitude of other colors. A bare lightbulb behind it shines outward, filling the room like a stained glass masterwork, evoking an almost religious aura.

Mirka and Springtail both keep a level head, neither reach straight for their weapons. The two other humans remain still as well, frozen in place. There's a short standoff, tension mounting, before Springtail sneezes.

"Wait!" the woman shouts, "We don't want trouble, just tell us why you're here!"

Mirka keeps her hands at her sides. "Take it easy. I'm Meerkat, this is-"

"Meerkat? Are you MBR?!" she quails, hiding behind the gemstone magical beast. It's ironic how she's hiding behind the same thing that she's been protecting, as she fumbles around, visible only through the heavy red distortion of the garnet creature

Springtail sidesteps closer to Mirka, quickly whispering. "I have something for this. Kills earth elementals."

Mirka shakes her head. "They haven't tried anything yet. Let's just keep it calm. There's still-"

The elemental shifts slightly, the brilliant refracted light cloaking its movement, as it starts to emit a high-pitched shriek, like dragging a knife down a glass window. It starts fairly quiet, but grows steadily louder as the seconds tick by. Mirka's warnings to stop are drowned out by the noise. She looks to me, forcefully jabbing her finger at the beast, saying something about quiet. I don't know what she expects me to do to it, as she helplessly covers her ears in desperation, with Springtail barely managing to drop his vest and belt before the time bomb of glass vials tucked within shatter in unison, along with the hanging lightbulb. It's dim, but there's enough light being emitted to see, created by some kind of bright green chemical reaction seeping from Springtail's broken vials.

Wait, that's right. How are those other two dealing with the noise? I launch myself off of her shoulder, flapping in a wide arc to the left of the elemental. Right behind it, the two people are crouched down with bulky-looking yellow earmuffs. I try to swoop low and get past the crystalline beast. To my dismay, its surprisingly fast, easily swatting me from the air and killing my shell instantly. Damn.

Fortunately, it seems to have considered the problem resolved, as I quickly send out my Lena shell and leap at the two people hiding behind it. Even with the high-grade ear protection, they're in pain. I quickly yank both earmuffs off, exposing them to the noise as well. I feel my own hearing start to fade, no doubt from being less than two feet from the source.

The elemental's sound rapidly starts to diminish as it perceives what's happening, while I snatch its two accomplices by their throats while I begin the repairs on my raven shell.

"Fucking try me," I think I say. It's hard to tell past the loud ringing. Even with Amber's improved vestibular system design that I stole, I'm starting to feel slightly dizzy from the damage.

The elemental takes a few steps back. Mirka and Springtail slowly start to uncover their ears, and seem to be yelling to each other, Mirka casting a sigil and Springtail lighting a flare to get some more light in the room. I try to move the now-hostages along the side of the elemental, and it lets me pass with them in tow. Springtail leaps at the opportunity once I'm beside him, and quickly binds them both with zip-ties. They don't put up any struggle, having already accepted defeat. I drop the pair by Mirka's feet, as I swap to my raven shell for the sale of repairing my other. It's not fully repaired, but I have the ears, brain, and skull, at least.

The elemental is stressed, shuddering and moving from side to side, unsure what to do.

Mirka and Springtail yell at each other on their next course of action, debating what to do.

"I'M SAYING WE DO THE JOB! I CAN KILL IT!" Springtail shouts, as the bound pair start to yell as well, adding to the stressful cacophony of sound.

"I CAN TOO, BUT IT'S NOT DOING ANYTHING! I'M GOING TO MAKE THE RETRIEVAL CALL!" Mirka yanks out her now completely useless phone, both the screen and internals obliterated. I quickly retract my shell, and extrude my phone before switching back to Lena. The hearing was the only real damage, and took a scant fifteen seconds to fix.

Mirka takes my phone, turning the volume to max and having a short screaming match with the person on the other end of the line. She hangs up, handing my phone back to me. Springtail stands watch, the silence interrupted by only the sounds of heavy breaths. Thankfully, the retrieval team finds their way to the tunnel after twenty grueling minutes.

We accompany the captives and the elemental to the surface, the retrieval team guiding them through the deceptively long dirt tunnel. It's a three minute march until it lets out at an entirely different basement several blocks away. This house, though, is completely uninhabited, clearly having been abandoned some time ago. It's almost nostalgic, in its own way, to my first home. Almost.

Just outside the house is a large metal box on eight wheels. The box is made entirely of iron, smoothed and slightly rounded, without a single sharp corner. The driver's cabin is barely large enough to fit someone. The whole thing is much more like a tank than a car, realistically.

The three of us watch as the elemental is marched into box, while the others are placed inside a normal police car. As we watch the spectacle, Mirka and Springtail's hearing both slowly start to return to normal. As soon as they can hear each other properly, they jump right into an argument, as expected.

"What the fuck, why didn't you say you had a magical beast on standby? Actually, I retract that. Obviously you wouldn't say anything, because we kill magical beasts! That's the whole job!"

"No the hell it isn't. We deal with problems, not jump to the most extreme solution every time. And last I checked, Lena saved our asses."

Springtail shudders, trying to restrain himself. "I could have handled it without having to rely on that thing! You're the one who stopped me from killing the elemental!"

I loudly clap my hands to gain both Springtail's and Mirka's attention. I return my hands to my pockets, standing straight. "How about you just talk to me? Hi, I'm Lena. I'm a non-human. Obviously."

He reels back, looking almost sick. "The fuck, it can talk?"

"I can. Last I checked, anyway..." I say with derision. "So why do you want to kill me?"

Springtail starts to make his way to the van, Mirka and I following behind. "Not you. I thought you weren't sapient."

"In fairness, I am pretty stupid most of the time."

He huffs out a single stifled laugh as he opens the side door for Mirka, an empty soda cup dropping onto the sidewalk. "Well, Lena, I guess you're flying home, since I can't turn off the warding sigil. Sorry about that outburst, by the way, I thought you were more bird than person. We cool?"

"We're cool."

With a silent nod, Mirka is taken away by the other hunter, leaving me alone on the filthy sidewalk.

Now all I have to do is find my way back... but for now, I have a moment to write in my journal.

#54: I don't have any more affection towards magical beasts than I do towards humans. It doesn't seem to matter much to me.

#55: I'm weak-willed, judging by how quickly I caved to whatever sigil Springtail rigged the van with. Mirka says its designed specifically to repel me, but still

#56: I don't like seeing people in pain. Death I can handle, suffering less so.