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Fantasy ＩＭＰＥＲＩＵＭ

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liv eione
time of day: afternoon--- location: gryphus base; training room--- interactions: vita, adrian, vinnie
The Gryphus base’s training room was a familiar sight to her by now–it was one of the locations she frequented the most, aside from the commons and the cafeteria. If she wasn’t there alone, she was often with Vita, and sometimes, one or both of her brothers. In truth, the undercover Specter would have liked to have more time to train alone, seeing that it was difficult to train to her full extent with others around, but there was always the advantage of being able to get closer to the Griffins. Today just happened to be a mixture of both.

Standing face-to-face with Vita, she guided the other girl’s hands as she explained how to perform a basic throw. “So now what you do is, you make the space under the arm, then you pivot.” Vita followed suit, spinning close while holding onto Liv’s arm. “Okay, now, pull and bend forward,” she instructed, to which the Fulmen Prod managed to flip Liv over her shoulder, albeit a bit clumsily. “Good!” Liv encouraged, catching herself with the other hand and cushioning the fall. She was back on her feet in the next second, smiling as she positioned herself to Vita again. “Alright, so this time, instead of just your shoulder, you want to make sure your entire back is pressed against my chest.”

A sharp wolf whistle caught the girls’ attention, and they turned to look at the culprit–Adrian, who was spotting Vinnie as he lifted weights. “Got something to add?” Liv asked, quirking her brows at him.

“Oh, no. I’m just excited to watch you lovely ladies get hot and sweaty,” he grinned at them, the big boyish kind that made it hard to stay mad at him.

Liv rolled her eyes, trying to hide the bulk of her annoyance, but luckily, it was Vita who stepped up to the challenge. “Voyeurism,” the Fulmen Prod replied, nodding seriously. Looking from Adrian to Liv, she fanned herself with a hand, pretending to fawn over the idea. “Now that’s what I find most attractive in a guy,” she joked, to which both the Ventus and Ignis Prods couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’m glad someone gets it,” Adrian tossed back, still chuckling.

“Well you know what, we can’t have you miss out on the fun!” Liv interjected, stepping away from Vita to beckon at the young man. “Come on, I’ll show you how.”

“Ooooh,” Vita added playfully as Adrian hesitated. He looked back at Vinnie, who promptly placed his weight back into place and sat up, looking quite attentive. For a second the two boys seemed to have a silent exchange only communicated by expressions, but it was over quickly as the Ventus Prod shrugged.

“Can’t say no to a private demonstration,” he remarked charmingly, approaching the mat and removing his shoes. Good naturedly, he readily let her put him into the proper position, squaring his shoulders as he faced her.

“Okay, so you’re going to grab my arm, like this,” Liv explained as she led him through the steps. “Then you turn, back to chest,” she continued, blatantly ignoring the way he wiggled his eyebrows and the sound of Vinnie snickering. “–then pull as you squat. Got it?” she asked as she disengaged, holding her arms out in position.

“Let’s go, Adriii!” Vinnie called from the sidelines as the Ventus Prod nodded. Patiently, she held still–but as soon as he grabbed her arm, she twisted around his grasp and countered, completing the throw and sending him slamming into the mat below with a thud. Adrian groaned as rolled in place, shaking his head.

Casually, Liv knelt over the prone young man. “Want another demonstration?” she asked.

“No yeah I’m good,” he winced, exhaling in a shaky chuckle as he pulled himself up. “Should’ve known better after that initiation.”

“Yeah, where’d you learn how to do that?” Vinnie chimed in eagerly.

“My dad,” Liv answered easily. “I grew up in the roughest part of Favonius and I was kinda hotheaded.”

“You?” Vita interjected, sounding rather incredulous.

“Yeah,” she laughed, then went on, a tinge of sheepish embarrassment in her voice. “I liked to pick fights with kids bigger than me.”

The other female Griffin chuckled as well, shaking her head. “I can’t imagine.”

“I can,” Adrian snorted.

“Anyway, my dad wanted me to know how to defend myself,” she shrugged, smiling. “Taught me the necessities.” Dad. Leander Eione, Ignis Prod. A warm-hearted, passionate man who had wanted nothing but to provide for and protect his only child, the last remnant of his beloved wife. This image of ‘dad’ was a far cry from the father she remembered–distant, cold, never there, never pleased. It helped that she’d never once called him ‘dad’ or ‘daddy,’ but still, there was a weird buzz in her head as she said the word again and again. Dad.

“Man, I’d like to learn from him. He sounds badass,” the youngest Amara sibling said, and Liv noticed Vita wordlessly pinch his arm. “Ow! What the hell, Vi?” he yowled.

The Specter let out an easy-going chuckle. “I’d like to let you, really. But sorry, he’s dead.”

“Oh.” Vinnie clammed up for a moment, awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other. “Oh, um. Shit, I’m sorry.”

“You’re fine,” she shook her head, offering him a reassuring smile. Stepping back, she nodded playfully at the mat as she took her stance again. “Come on, let’s see if I can’t be a decent substitute.”
 
REMY VARICK
Time of Day: Late afternoon -- Location: In front of bunker entrance-- Interactions: Cass
On the morning of January 9, Remy woke up from his bunker with jitters in his stomach. It seemed the familiar butterflies were beginning to surface more frequently since the patrol incident with Liv a couple months ago. Today was her birthday and he had planned a sunset picnic for the two of them at one of the tallest dunes several miles from the bunker. It was by far the best sunset spot on this side of the desert and he knew Liv had never been yet, as it was a secret spot he and Adrian had discovered themselves. He had made a mental note of today's date when she told everyone when her birthday was after Adrian's messy birthday bash. The Aqua Prod knew she preferred something small and didn't want anything nearly as big as Adrian's party based on what she had told Vita.

Later that afternoon, Remy pulled out his sturdy backpack and placed two sports drinks, a picnic blanket, two flashlights, two tumbler cups, and a couple ham sandwiches he had made himself from the kitchen. He pulled out the drawer of his night desk and took out the Swiss army knife he had bought from the downtown market. Last month, he and Liv had been strolling through the market when she stopped to admire a knifemaker's sharp, shiny pieces of metal. As she eagerly asked the knifemaker questions about his different types of knives, Remy had made a mental note that she was a knife enthusiast. The Gryphus leader returned to the same stall last week and picked out an all-purpose Swiss army knife she could carry around with her, as it was small enough to fit inside any pocket. He was caught between a few options, but the seller eventually convinced him of this one. Remy suspected it was because the Swiss army knife was the most expensive, but the seller's reasoning had seemed quite sound too, so he hoped she would like it. He placed the knife inside his backpack and made his way towards the greenhouse on the main floor.

As he stepped into the hot, humid greenhouse, his eyes scanned the place until he saw a familiar figure crouched in the back of the room. "Hey Cass," Remy approached the Terra Prodigium.

Cass looked up at him and smiled. "Oh hey Remy, you need something?"

"Do you have any tea leaves?" He asked her, the corners of his lips lifting into a smile. Remy was happy that they had gotten back onto friendlier terms after that awkward night in the prayer room. Being in the same friend group and living in such close quarters with each other had eventually forced them to start talking again. He was relieved to have what was once a very close friend back into his life.

"Hmm... let me check." Cass walked up to the front of the greenhouse and sifted through a box of tea leaves, each separated into it's own plastic bag. "I have jasmine, chamomile, or honeysuckle."

Remy studied each of the options carefully. "Could I have a couple pinches of the jasmine?"

"Sure! You can't go wrong with jasmine." She placed a few pinches of the jasmine leaves into a separate bag and handed it to Remy. "So what do you need the tea leaves for? There's no way you're drinking tea." She chuckled, familiar with his distaste for tea.

A slight pink blush passed over Remy's face, but he kept his face composed. He put the bag of leaves into his backpack along with a tea steeper. "Oh I'm just grabbing some for Dominic. We're going to play Beludus later, so I'm gonna distract with with some delicious tea since you know what a tea fanatic he is." The lie poured seamlessly out of the Aqua Prod's mouth. Remy immediately kicked himself internally for lying, as he would be caught red-handed if Cass ran into Dominic later and mentioned something. He wasn't sure why he had just lied about needing tea. It wasn't like he was taking Liv out on a date. It was simply her birthday and he wanted to do something nice for her. Still, Remy knew that his feelings for Liv had been building up over the past couple months and he wasn't ready for Cass' look of suspicion or guilt when he hadn't even fully processed his own feelings.

Cass nodded slowly. He wasn't sure if she believed him, as she had become quite good at detecting his telltale signs of lying over their years of friendship. "Cool, well I hope you win. You know he always opens with the cannon."

Remy laughed a little too loudly, relieved when she didn't question him further. "Dominic is a little predictable, isn't he?" He smiled. "Well you looked like you were doing some work with the orchids. I'll leave you to it." He quickly ended the conversation, hopefully not too abruptly, and waved goodbye.

He exited the greenhouse and made his way to the tunnels where he kept his dirt bike, used specifically for desert riding. Remy rolled his bike out to the front of the bunker's main entrance and sat down on his parked bike, leaning his arms casually against the handle. He could see the sun heading down towards the horizon, but they still had plenty of time to get to the dune. He had asked Liv to meet him out here at around 4:00 PM yesterday, giving them three hours to get to the dune, climb up to the top, and relax with their sandwiches and tea in time for the sunset.
 
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liv eione
time of day: late afternoon --- location: the wastes --- interactions: remy
The creak of the door sent her eyes snapping open in the gloom. Sitting up, she quickly spotted the dark figure approaching, not quite illuminated by a dimmed flashlight. “What are you doing?” she hissed, careful to keep her voice down.

“It’s almost midnight,” the figure whispered back as if it was the only explanation needed–and right on cue, the red glowing numbers on the wall snapped to 0:00. Smiling broadly, the nighttime visitor turned to her. “Happy birthday, Minerva.”

A sharp, exasperated sigh left her lips as she regarded the grinning girl before her. “Cyra,” she corrected sternly, straightening up and crossing her arms over her chest like a miniature replica of Magister Scylla. “Not Minerva.”

“Okay, okay, fine,” the older girl said placatingly, only to snip back smugly, “Happy birthday, Cyra.”

“You know that’s not what I mean, Evadne,” she retorted, her lips pressing into a thin line. “Our past lives are irrelevant now, remember? Now get back to your room, before you get us both in trouble.”

“Fine, but not before I sing you happy birthday,” Ev insisted, ignoring Cyra’s protests as she ducked under the covers. Drawing the blankets over the two of them like a makeshift tent, Evadne softly began to sing the tune under the glow of the flashlight, blissfully unaware of the flicker of pain crossing the impassive girl’s face. Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you–

She woke with the song rimming the edges of her mind, a voice from more than a decade prior. For a moment she couldn’t quite place why such a memory had been at the forefront of her brain–that was, until Vita hung down the side of the bunk and cheerfully wished her a happy birthday. Ah, yes. It was her birthday. Well, Liv’s birthday.

The subject of birthdays had come up rather naturally when the group had celebrated Adrian’s birthday, and she had given the date that was also printed on her ID: January 9th, 706. It was a birthdate easy enough to memorize, but she’d made an effort to make sure that her so-called birthday wouldn’t be turned into a big deal. She’d never liked her birthday, fake or not. Luckily, it had seemed that the Griffins were the type to listen if someone said they didn’t want a party, but she’d then been surprised by the young leader of the Gryphus himself when he’d invited her out for the occasion.

He’d promised it would be extremely small scale and casual, and so she’d acquiesed–though, she would’ve been stupid to turn down yet another chance to strengthen their bond. He had been secretive, calling it a surprise, only giving her the time and place to meet him–outside the base at 16:00, which also didn’t provide much clues. When she’d mentioned it to Vita, however, the girl had given her a cheeky little ‘ooooh’ and a knowing smile. Of course, Liv had immediately laughed it off as it being ‘not like that.’ It was hard to say, really, but it didn’t matter much to the Specter. All she knew was that Remy was starting to see her as a close friend and confidant, and that trumped any discomfort she might have to endure on her ‘birthday.’

So it was with that firm resolve that she marched out to meet Remy outside at the appointed time, where he sat waiting for her on his dirt bike. Her inquisitive look was once again met with secretiveness, and she had no choice but to go along, biking after him as the young man led her farther and farther out into the Wastes. While he seemed to be in a pretty genial mood, Liv’s inner thoughts began to grow darker as the base behind them faded away, swallowed up by the curving sands. As she’d noted the night of the initiation, these dunes were choice hiding places for an ambush. She wracked her brain, trying to recall if she’d noticed a markedly fewer Griffins in the bunker–could it be that someone had found out, and now Remy was leading her out to an unknown second location? She could tell that they were traveling west, but that wouldn’t help her if this was a premeditated trap.

Just when she began to consider coming to a halt and asking for a proper explanation, another dune came into view on the horizon–but it was no regular dune. It towered over all the others, and even with the distance, she could tell it was absolutely massive. Could that be their destination? Sure enough, within the next ten minutes the pair came to a stop at the base of the enormous dune. Remy got off of his bike and she followed suit, glancing up at the dune and back at the young man. “Well,” she began, gesturing around them. “I suppose this isn’t the worst place to be murdered,” she said jokingly–or so it would’ve seemed to Remy. In truth, she half-expected several dozen Griffins to jump out of the dune and seize her.

“No, we’re gonna climb to the top,” Remy explained, a small chuckle in his voice.

“You’re really going to make me hike up a ginormous dune before you murder me?” she volleyed back, raising her eyebrows high in an exaggerated fashion. “Now that’s just cruel.”

“Just trust me. It’ll be worth it, I promise,” the Aqua Prod countered good-naturedly, already trodding up the dune. “Come on.”

Liv blew out a breath, offering him a bemused smile. “Okaaay, I’ll trust you,” she replied in a sing-song tone before she quickly joined him. At least it seemed that it wasn’t an ambush…unless he was going to throw her off the summit.
 
REMY VARICK
Time of Day: Sunset -- Location: Desert Wastes-- Interactions: Liv
Remy chuckled with amusement when Liv accused him of plotting her murder. He handed her one of the sports drinks from his backpack. "Drink up," he said. They were lucky the sun was already low in the sky. Hiking uphill a large dune would be far too exhausting in the middle of the day with the sun beaming down at them at it's most powerful time. Later in the afternoon, the sun's rays still bore down on them, but it was much more tolerable.

As they climbed, the two young Griffins made small talk about what was going on at base and how their weeks had been. Sweat was beginning to drip down the side of his face and he wiped the droplets away with his arm. During one of their silent moments, he decided to throw out a hypothetical scenario. "I have a fun question for you," Remy started. "If you could live in anyone's head for one hour, who would you choose?" He glanced over at her and saw a pondering look on her face.

"Hmm....." Liv thought hard. "My mom," she finally answered. "I never really knew her and don't remember her at all. So I'd like to know what kind of person she was since my dad always had a difficult time talking about her."

Remy nodded. "That's a good answer. I'm sure she was a lovely person," he replied with a sympathetic look on his face.

"What about you?" Liv asked, returning the question.

The Gryphus leader had also thought hard about his answer while he was waiting for Liv's response. "I have a few answers," he said. "My practical answer would be Tycho, the Intelligence Consul, so that I would instantly know Rhea's exact location. That would make my life so much easier." He paused, thinking about how he would march right into the heart of the capital to rescue her if only he knew where she was. "Or even Kato. Then I would get a better idea of the man's weaknesses and form a long-term strategy for how Gryphus can take down his regime." Remy turned to look at Liv. "But if I didn't have any practical reasons, I would choose one of the Primas who sought out the Lux Libertas in the Old Empire. That must've been both an awesome and terrifying journey. And then I would be able to use my abilities to help repair our communities and be treated equally in society." He let out a wistful sigh.

Liv nodded and responded sympathetically. She seemed to understand his motivations for each of his answers. "Alright I have a hypothetical question too," she said.

"Shoot," Remy replied.

"Which element would you choose to wield other than the one you have right now?" Liv asked, looking over at him.

"Easy. Ventus," Remy responded immediately. This was a no-brainer for him. As a young child, he had always felt a deep affinity for Ventus magic, but Aqua magic had followed as a close second. After that bunker fire, Remy was able to call out his Aqua magic in a desperate moment to prevent the fire from destroying their entire base. As Gryphus was dangerously low on Aqua Prodigium at the time, his father had requested him to pursue Aqua magic. A young teenager at the time, Remy acquiesced for the sake of the Griffins. He met Liv's gaze, squinting against the sunlight, and revealed to her the story behind why he had become an Aqua Prod. "I love using Aqua magic and I wouldn't change my decision," he said. "But I've always loved feeling like a part of the wind. It's why I love dirt biking and mopedding so much. If we lived in a world where we were treated equally, I probably would've become a Ventus Prod," Remy explained to her. "What about you?"

The young Ignis Prod seemed intrigued by his story and nodded in understanding. "I would actually choose Aqua because it's so versatile and useful in nature, especially in the desert," she replied.

"Yeah it would be awesome if I got to actually see the ocean one day," Remy said. "It's kind of... sad? weird? that I'm an Aqua Prod, and yet I've never even been near a large body of water, not even a river." He had always heard stories of how mighty the Alpheus Sea was and he longed to visit the oceanside.

They continued their hypothetical scenarios as they journeyed up the side of the dune. Remy found that he related more to Liv than he had originally thought based on her answers to various potential situations. She shared with him that even though losing her parents at a young age was very painful, she would not be the person she was today without having gone through that experience. Liv expressed that she was happy with the direction her life was going now and she would be on a very different path if she hadn't lost her parents. As a result, Remy connected with her by sharing that if he hadn't lost his mother, then his father would never have created Gryphus and moved them out to the desert where they could finally live in freedom with their magic. He found a strong, close-knit community amongst the Griffins and it was far better than living under the oppressions of the government and patrols in Lutum. Ultimately, he was satisfied with the life trajectory he is currently on now. Additionally, Remy opened up about his insecurities surrounding his leadership role. If Gryphus failed their mission, he would feel like such a disappointment to his family and that his father and sister would've sacrificed their lives for nothing. As Remy and Liv shared more about their past life experiences, it was apparent that they had both overcome harsh adversities in their childhoods and grew more resilient as a result of them.

About an hour and a half later, they finally reached the top of the dune, which flattened out into a plateau. They could see the desert and it's rolling dunes for miles on end from atop the tall dune. Remy set his backpack down and laid out the picnic blanket he brought to sit on. After they settled down onto the blanket, he handed Liv one of the ham sandwiches and an empty cup. "I brought some jasmine tea for us too," the Aqua Prod said, taking out the bag of tea leaves. He placed his open palm above their cups and allowed water to flow out of his hands. "You mind boiling the water for us?" he asked her.

Once the water was boiled, he placed some leaves into the tea steeper and soaked it into Liv's cup for several minutes. "That should be long enough. Give it a try and let me know how it is," Remy told her. He placed another set of tea leaves into the steeper and soaked it into his own cup. Although he did not particularly enjoy drinking tea himself, he knew that she liked it based on their previous conversations. He decided he would pretend to like jasmine tea for the sake of her birthday. It was only a cup, after all. He took a sip from his cup and a bite of his sandwich. "Happy birthday, Liv." Remy smiled at her, the wind tossing his hair.

As they finished their sandwiches, the sun began to settle down against the horizon line and painted a mixture of gold, pink, and purple strokes against the sky. The sun rays broke across the blue canvas with golden lines, breaking up the purple and pink hues. From their vantage point on top of the tallest dune in the immediate area, the clouds looked like they were on fire. The bright orange and yellow clouds drifted ever so slightly above the dunes. "Worth the hike, right?" Remy glanced over at Liv, a twinkle in his eyes.

Sunset: 1 - 2
 
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liv eione
time of day: sundown --- location: the wastes --- interactions: remy
The climb up the dune was a decent hike, but not at all one that felt unwelcome to Liv. Despite her forays into Lutum and her bouts of training, it felt nice to get some more activity that relied on her endurance. They chatted casually as they hiked, occasionally pausing to get in a gulp of sports drink. The topics were mostly light and friendly, small talk–but a game of hypotheticals proved to be an interesting way to gain insight on the young Gryphus leader. If you could live in anyone’s head for one hour, who would you choose?

She knew what Liv would say–her mom, who she never got to know and barely had any information on. Of course, in many ways, that was also how she felt about her actual father, Emericus Silvius. He wasn’t dead, of course, but he’d been so absent in her childhood, and when he’d been home, she’d always seemed invisible and forgettable to him. Even a lifetime later, she couldn’t help but wonder, deep down, what he’d thought of his daughter. Had he ever cared, even for a moment? Or had he hated her for being a ball-and-chain? She’d never know, and normally those questions were buried away, but now they’d been brought to the surface by his question.

His own answers to his question were perhaps unsurprising, but she couldn’t help but find it interesting that he had so many answers–both practical and idealistic. It seemed that he wasn’t just an insurgent; he had other things in life that wished to pursue and think on. Regardless, she was glad that there wasn’t a Prodigium who was able to do such a mind transfer, or the whole of the Spectare would be in dire straits indeed.

At one point their conversation veered into something a little more heartfelt, with potential scenarios where they might have avoided the largest losses of their childhood. While she answered on the assumption that she was talking about the deaths of her parents, in truth, she didn’t have to pretend much when she told him that she couldn’t imagine who’d she be without the loss. Her parents had ejected her out of their lives, her mother depositing her at the Liberi Home without once looking back. It had admittedly been a devastating period in her life, but without being at the Liberi Home, she would’ve never been chosen as a trainee, and she wouldn’t be a Specter. In that case, she’d be a pampered but miserable heiress, surrounded by luxury in a gilded cage. Here, she had a purpose.

They reached the top sooner than she’d expected, the incline sloping gently as the pair came to a halt. “Wow,” she mused as she admired the view of the surrounding Wastes; for miles and miles, there was nothing but dunes. She struggled with the strange feeling it scratched at–discomfort, perhaps, at the thought of being cut off from everything. Here, it was almost like the world didn’t know or care who she was. She wasn’t sure if she liked that.

Putting the feeling aside, she focused on the little spread Remy had readied for the two of them. He’d had the foresight to bring a picnic blanket, which she found a bit amusing, but she kept it to herself as he put out the food. Gratefully, she received the sandwich he handed to her, along with an empty cup.

“I brought some jasmine tea for us too,” he told her, holding up a bag of telltale tea leaves. She watched as he generated water into their cups–nothing fancy, of course, but coming from her background as a non-Prod, she never quite tired of seeing it in action. “You mind boiling the water for us?” he asked.

“No prob,” she answered, readily reaching out for both of their cups. She remembered this being one of the first things she’d mastered–heating liquid in a cup. Within seconds the water was steaming, drawing to a quick roiling boil. She let him place the steeper, waiting for his approval to take the tea leaves out of the cup. She brought the cup up to her face, letting the fragrance wash over her–sharp and floral, no trace of any unwelcome additions, like bitter almonds. She took a sip, savoring the flavor, then nodded with a smile. “It’s good tea,” she acknowledged, and he too drank from his cup, taking a bite of his sandwich as well.

“Happy birthday, Liv,” he told her, smiling–and as much as she’d always hated those words, the irony of it all, she found herself smiling back.

“Thanks,” she returned quietly, almost meaning the words. She turned away, taking a huge bite of the sandwich so she could give herself an excuse to break the atmosphere. After she swallowed, she looked back at him, giving the sandwich a little shake. “Did you make these yourself?” she asked, a teasing edge in the way she said the words. When he indicated that he had, she laughed, eating some more before joking: “You should just quit and start a restaurant.”

Their light-hearted banter settled down as the sun began to set in earnest, painting the desert sky in glorious shades. Liv watched wordlessly, silently marveling at the sight despite herself. She wouldn’t have considered herself someone easily moved by aesthetics–if anything, she was often utilitarian to a fault. Perhaps it was to be expected; she’d spent her short childhood surrounded by the most beautiful things money could buy, and had been taught to paint scenes much like this. And yet, none of those fineries had reached her–not like this sight did.

“Worth the hike, right?” she heard Remy say. Belatedly, she turned to him, watching the way the oranges and reds sparked in his eyes like dying embers.

“Yeah,” the young woman whispered, her voice and expression near-solemn. It felt like it was something to be admired quietly, the sublime which deserved to be witnessed in full. Perhaps he also felt similarly, for both of them fell into a peaceful sort of silence as they watched the sky aglow in beauty.

As the reds and oranges began to fade into dusky pinks and purples, it was Remy who spoke up again, a wistfulness in his tone. “Sometimes I think about what it’d be like to live in a society where Prods can live in freedom and peace,” he murmured. “And then there are times where it seems so far away…but seeing beautiful things like this, it calms me down.”

“I think I know what you mean,” she commented sympathetically, even though she had never once truly considered such a future.

“Do you ever wonder what it would be like if the regime ends and we’re treated equally?” he suddenly went on, a new glint in his eyes. “Sometimes I wonder what I’d be doing instead of fighting for Gryphus and all the Prods. What would you be doing?”

“What?” she asked, a disbelieving laugh bubbling up to her lips.

“You know, if you could do or be anything you wanted in a post-regime world, what would it be? Your dream job.”

“Well, I uh…” she trailed off with another chuckle. Her dream job–anything she wanted to do or be? Something she wasn’t already doing? Not a Specter? Her thought process seemed to grind to stop as she struggled to come up with an answer. Not once had she thought of what she wanted to be–it wasn’t about want, especially her own wants. It was about what she needed to be, about how she could be useful. What did she want? For this mission to succeed, for her to exceed every expectation set out for her–and then? And then, she would go onto the next mission, her next part, whatever it was…rinse and repeat. That was all she’d ever needed to focus on.

“You know what?” Liv finally began, tucking her hair back in embarrassment as she met his eyes. “I honestly don’t know. I’m so used to being whatever I need to be and doing whatever needs to be done in the present.” Smiling wryly, she picked at her nails, clicking them against each other. “I guess I’ve never even thought about a dream job. Stupid, right?” She laughed at herself, shrugging. “What about you? I’m sure you have a real answer.”
 
REMY VARICK
Time of Day: Sundown -- Location: Desert Wastes-- Interactions: Liv
When Remy indicated he had made the sandwiches himself, Liv joked that he should quit and start a restaurant. "That would be fun," he mused, a smile on his face. Truthfully, he did enjoy cooking a lot in his spare time and experimenting with different flavors. Ever since he had assumed the leadership position, however, he hadn't had much time for many of his hobbies. "Me and Adri joke about opening a restaurant together. You know... after all this is over, if it's all over," Remy replied, looking off into the distance.

As the sun hid below the horizon line, the bright neon warm colors faded into a dull, pastel pallet. Remy let in a deep breath and felt the arid desert air move through his windpipe into his lungs before expelling back out through his mouth. He became acutely aware of his own breathing, as his light brown eyes scanned the rolling dunes below the twilight sky. He could never grow tired of such a magnificent sight. The sunset brought him a sense of inner calm and all his usual worries seemed to fade away with the sunlight.

When Remy asked Liv about her future dream job in a post-regime world, she seemed perplexed. He was surprised that this was the question that had stumped her, as she had answered all his previous hypothetical questions with such clarity and assurance. An embarrassed look crossed her face. “You know what? I honestly don’t know. I’m so used to being whatever I need to be and doing whatever needs to be done in the present.” She met his eyes, smiling wryly. “I guess I’ve never even thought about a dream job. Stupid, right?” Liv let out a small chuckle. “What about you? I’m sure you have a real answer.”

"No, that's not stupid. You've clearly had to fight at every turn in your life, so I can see why you'd be so focused in the present." Although Remy felt the need to reassure her, he still raised his eyebrows with surprise upon learning that she had never thought about life in a post-regime society. Almost every Griffin he had ever had a personal conversation with had expressed some sort of idealistic picture of the future where they lived in freedom and peace. After all, this vision was what they were all fighting for. That's what got them out of bed each morning. The only exceptions he had noticed were a few of the young Griffins who were born in the bunker, as the only life they ever knew was with the insurgency. These teenagers never made the active choice to join Gryphus, but the majority of them still felt the same fighting spirit as the adults. Remy began to wonder what Liv had told Cleo during her initial recruitment screening. He knew the Dream Prodigium prodded each potential recruit at their motivations for joining Gryphus, including a future they were fighting for.

The Gryphus leader smiled at Liv. "Aside from mine and Adri's restaurant? I would enjoy being a mechanic too," he replied. "Working on bikes all day... that'd be fun. Maybe we can open a part-time restaurant, part-time mechanic store." Remy chuckled at the thought of a place with two such distinct purposes.

Liv smiled back at him, commenting on how she would certainly visit their part-restaurant, part-mechanic store. "This is the nicest birthday I've ever had," she said softly, meeting his gaze.

"Really?" Remy was surprised to hear that as well. He found it interesting that he was learning so many new things about her today. "I wanted to do something nice for you and I'm happy you had such a good time. I know I did." He smiled, locking eyes with her. He noticed the freckles on her cheek and the way the wind brushed her black hair against her face. "What about the birthdays with your grandma? I'm sure those must've been nice too."

The young Ignis Prodigium explained the nature of her birthdays with her grandma during her childhood.

As their conversation began to die down, Remy brought up his previous question about her future again. "So I know you said you had never thought about a dream job before, but what does your gut say? Without even thinking about it, what would you want to do? It can be anything." Although he was genuinely curious to hear her answer, he felt that reflecting on one's ideal vision of the future also helped push them through the everyday challenges of insurgent life.
 
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liv eione
time of day: sundown --- location: the wastes --- interactions: remy
Liv smiled warmly as Remy reassured her that she wasn’t stupid at all for being so focused on the present. “Thanks, you’re sweet,” she told him. Yes, it was sweet of him to try so hard to place himself in the undercover agent’s shoes–even if it only led him deeper into a trap. Luckily for her, it seemed that her answer hadn’t triggered suspicion within the Aqua Prod, even if it might’ve been an unexpected thing for him to hear.

He seemed eager enough to indulge her when she asked about his own dream job, speaking readily. “Aside from mine and Adri’s restaurant? I would enjoy being a mechanic, too. Working on bikes all day…that’d be fun,” he told her, smiling–whether at her or the thought of the idea, she wasn’t quite sure.

“I can totally see you doing that,” she nodded along. It wasn’t hard to imagine him working on a bike with a wrench, a smear of grease on his cheek. The leader of an insurgency was a far cry from the pressed and immaculate image of the Principate.

“Maybe we can open a part-time restaurant, part-time mechanic store,” he suggested humorously, and she choked back a laugh.

“Well, I’ll be the first customer in line, then,” Liv retorted in turn, which seemed to please him. The conversation flowed easily, fading to a brief but comfortable silence as they both looked back out at the scenery.

The light was dimming, setting the desert sky into deepening purples and ink blues. Easy–comfortable–this was nothing like any birthdays she’d had before. The few that she recalled from her privileged youth had hardly been joyous circumstances. Oh, they’d always be the biggest events. No expenses spared–a lavish party and gifts that would be impossible to even imagine for a child growing up in Lutum. She could only remember her father attending once, because the highs her mother had soared to had made things so much worse when disappointment came rolling back in. Then again, maybe her father couldn’t be blamed for forgetting her so-called birthdays. After all, they were always celebrated on October 24th, which wasn’t really her birthday but rather, the day three months after it. October 24th was the day her parents had announced her birth, so as to make the math fit–the day they wanted her to be born. July 24th, on the other hand, was nothing. It didn’t suit the perfect narrative. Anything that didn’t fit the image was culled. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been surprising that eventually, she too had been written out.

Her mother would have been aghast at this ‘table,’ Liv thought. Ham sandwiches and tea on top of a mound of sand. Aghast, beside herself with disgust, perhaps–and yet, she realized she didn’t feel the same way at all. “This is the nicest birthday I’ve ever had,” she uttered before she could quite catch herself, turning to meet Remy’s gaze.

She realized her mistake as quickly as he did. “Really?” he asked, sounding surprised–as anyone would be. Internally, she kicked herself–hard. He appeared more flattered than disturbed by this information, though he wasn’t thick enough to let it slide. “What about birthdays with your grandma?” he went on to inquire. “I’m sure those must’ve been nice too.”

Placida Eione, Livia’s paternal grandmother–the only family either woman had left in this world. Indeed, it would only make sense that her grandmother would’ve made sure to make her birthdays good occasions. “Of course,” she answered quickly, “but maybe–too nice, if that makes sense.” She tapped at the rim of her cup for a moment. “We didn’t have a lot of money, right? But she’d go so far to make it special, she’d buy all this expensive food for me. And then she’d say she wasn’t hungry and make me eat it all, even though I knew it wasn’t true.” She scrunched up her face, laughing a little. “I mean, I know why, but…man, it was hard to choke the food down and not feel guilty about it, y’know?” Smiling, she patted the picnic blanket below them. “This is just right.”

Just when it seemed that she might’ve smoothed down her mistake, Remy circled back to the previous point of surprise. She kept herself from grimacing. It must have not been enough. “Without even thinking about it, what would you want to do? It can be anything,” he prompted her. What was his fixation with this question? How was not thinking about it even an option?

“You know what? I take back what I said earlier,” the young woman began, that tell-tale mischievous smirk at the corner of her lips. Hopefully turning on the charm would distract him from digging deeper when she didn’t have a real answer to give him. “I’m going to work at your restaurant-slash-mechanic shop,” she declared rather assertively, quirking her brows at him. “Yeah, that’s right. Waitress-slash-salesperson, fry-cook-slash-gearhead. Whatever you need, I’m your gal.”
 
REMY VARICK
Time of Day: Evening -- Location: Desert Wastes > Gryphus bunker -- Interactions: Liv, Adrian
As Liv explained how her grandma would plan expensive birthday dinners for her that made her feel guilty, Remy nodded with understanding. "That was sweet of your grandma, but I would feel bad about that too," he replied, empathy filling his eyes. "Well I had a great time with you and I'm glad you enjoyed the picnic," he added softly and met her gaze.

Remy let out a chuckle when Liv joked about how she would help out at his and Adri's part-restaurant part-mechanic store. “Yeah, that’s right. Waitress-slash-salesperson, fry-cook-slash-gearhead. Whatever you need, I’m your gal," the Ignis Prodigium declared confidently.

"I'll hold you to do that," the Gryphus leader responded with amusement. "I'll have you running the entire restaurant and mechanic shop yourself with all those useful skills you have." Although Remy found her joke entertaining, he couldn't help but notice how she still did not have a concrete answer to his question. Perhaps she was working towards a vague, ideal future, but he was curious what her everyday motivations were fueled by. In both of her answers, she mentioned molding herself to the needs of the present moment while adapting to different situations. Although Remy didn't receive the answer he was looking for, he didn't press further, as he was reluctant to make her feel pressured or awkward.

"Oh I almost forgot." Remy caught her attention again and drove the conversation in a new direction. He opened his backpack and reached for the multi-purpose knife, handing it to Liv. "I got you a present." He smiled, looking intently at her face to see her reaction. "You seemed pretty excited when we passed that one knifemaker's stand at the market," he added, referencing one of their trips to Lutum together.

As the sunlight began to dim, the sky darkened into indigo and violet hues. He could see the bright full moon peeking over the dunes to the south of them. "We should probably start to head back. It's getting dark," the Aqua Prodigium said, packing up their picnic spread. He took out a flashlight from his backpack and switched it on, a bright beam of light shooting out. "This should help."

Walking downhill the large dune turned out to be much easier than the way up, especially with the flashlight and full moon lighting their way. As the wind started to blow, Remy wrapped his jacket tighter around his body. The desert temperature was plummeting with the sun. Before long, they reached the base of the dune where their dirt bikes were waiting for them. He clasped his helmet around his head and swung a leg over his bike. The engine roared to life and the single bright headlight lit up the sand. "Ready?" He called back to Liv. When he heard an affirmation, he twisted the throttle and took off into the dune. It was a straight shot back to base in the eastward direction this time. Soon enough, the familiar bunker door came into view and Remy turned the engine off, dismounting his bike.

Before he swung open the metal entrance, he turned to face Liv. "I had a lot of fun with you today. Happy birthday again." Remy smiled. He leaned in for a quick goodbye hug, wrapping his arms loosely around her. The familiar butterflies began to flutter in his stomach as he breathed in her scent. He broke away from her after a couple seconds and met her dark brown eyes. "Good night," he said softly.

---

After the Gryphus leader parked his dirt bike by the rest of the mopeds, he headed to the ground floor and entered his bedroom where he saw Adrian getting ready for bed. "How'd your date go?" his best friend joked, an amused smile on his face.

Remy looked taken aback as he set down his backpack. "What date?" he shot back. "It wasn't a date, dude. It was just her birthday."

It seemed like Remy's retort only served to widen Adri's smile. "Suuuure," he said in a singsong voice. "Like you take all the girls out to a romantic sunset picnic on their birthday."

"How did you find out about that?" Remy asked defensively. He took off his shirt and jeans, wrapping a clean towel around his hips in preparation for a shower.

"You told me just now," Adrian answered with a satisfied smirk. "And I saw you riding off with her earlier."

The Aqua Prodigium rolled his eyes. "It's called being a good friend. You should try it sometime." Adrian laughed in response as Remy exited their bedroom and closed the door. He was glad his friend couldn't see the bright smile growing on his face as he walked towards the men's bathroom. He let out a deep sigh, thinking back to the picnic. Today was a good day.
 
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liv eione
time of day: late afternoon --- location: the wastes, gryphus base --- interactions: remy, vita
Her answer seemed to go over well enough, much to her relief. It was hard to say if his curiosity was permanently sated, but Liv made a note to herself that she ought to think of a better answer to give him, lest he bring the subject up again.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” he began, and Liv mentally tensed, wondering if there was another strange question he planned to lob her way. Instead, he brought something out of his backpack, handing it over to her with a smile. “I got you a present.” She recognized it at once–it was none other than a knife, one loaded with sixteen different tools in a light and compact body. She remembered the model, she’d seen it– “You seemed pretty excited when we passed that one knifemaker’s stand at the market,” he finished her thought, peering eagerly at her face, seemingly for a reaction.

She uttered a laugh, half-surprise, half-sheepish recognition. “I can’t believe you remembered that,” the young woman remarked, turning the knife around in her palm. With almost childish glee, she systematically went through every tool as she had that day in the market, deftly deploying each for consideration. Several different blades, a wire stripper, drivers, a wood saw, and more. Good quality steel–oh, nothing like the tools she was used to, but seeing as almost all of her gear was left behind or hidden away in stashes, she was rather pleased to have such a multi-use knife on hand. She did have a penchant for useful things, after all. One never knew when a tool could come in handy.

Carefully putting the knife back together, she turned to Remy with a smile. “Thank you so much,” she told him, holding the knife aloft before tucking it straight into her pocket. “I’ll always keep it on me. Who knows, maybe it’ll get me out of a pinch someday.” Briefly, in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but wonder if there’d be a point where he would dearly regret giving her anything with a potentially dangerous component. Pushing the thought aside, she decided to focus on the fading scenery–a much prettier picture.

Once the last traces of the sun were gone, the desert was quick to dip into darkness, though it was still lit up by the cold glow of the moon. It was the moon that followed them down the dune and all the way back to the base, stately and cool in the distance. They slowed as they came closer to the bunker door, and soon the pair were hopping off of their dirt bikes in the dark.

In front of the door, however, Remy gave a pause–and sensing the momentary hesitation, Liv turned to him. “I had a lot of fun with you today. Happy birthday again.”

“That’s my line. Well–not the happy birthday part,” Liv corrected herself wryly. “But…thanks…for all the stuff you planned,” she went on, gesturing a bit awkwardly. The embarrassment seemed to settle quickly, however, as her gaze met his again, and her lips quirked into a soft smile. “Y’know, you didn’t have to, but I’m kinda glad you did.”

The agent felt herself hold her breath as the young man leaned in for a hug, steeling herself for the gesture. Fortunately, he kept the embrace brief and loose, and she managed to clasp his back quickly in some manner of reciprocation. Innocent enough, sure, but it was still one she wasn’t quite used to. She had made a point of letting her ‘grandmother’ hug her in front of Vita, but in truth, such displays of affection were rather alien to her–strange at best, disquieting at worst. It didn’t seem to have any negative effects on the young Gryphus leader, on the other hand, and Liv was careful to keep any awkwardness at bay as they pulled away. “Good night,” he murmured, and she offered him a smile that veered on a cheeky grin as she pulled the door open.

“Night.”


******

Though Vita hardly looked any different from the usual night, sitting on her bed as she fiddled with her phone, the interest in the air was practically tangible as Liv returned from the showers and began to dry her hair. Eyeing the girl lounging on the top bunk, Liv shook her head. “Just get it over with,” she snorted.

At that, Vita scooted forward on her mattress, eyes agleam. “Soooo, where’d he take you?” she blurted out.

“To this giant dune out in the Wastes,” Liv answered matter-of-factly. “We hiked up to the top.”

“And then?”

She sighed, meeting the other girl’s expectant gaze with a wry smile. She knew this next bit would cause some kind of reaction. “We ate sandwiches and drank tea on a picnic blanket while watching the sunset.”

“Are you serious?” Vita asked, though the gleeful way she was grinning at her didn’t imply skepticism. “You’re serious.”

“Well yeah, but–” she began, only for the Fulmen Prod to cut her off with a laugh.

“Liv, are you really gonna tell me that you don’t think he’s got a thing for you?” Vita pressed, her eyebrows arched high. “Hmm? Are you gonna give me the ‘not like that’ BS again?” For a second she held Vita’s knowing gaze, resistant–but finally, she chuckled to herself, looking away with a hint of a smile at the memory of the way he'd looked at her.

“Okay yeah, so maybe it is a little ‘like that.’”

 
liv eione
time of day: midday--- location: gryphus base; rec room -- favonius district --- interactions: vinnie, vita, remy
Within an insurgency, peace and quiet was never something that lasted particularly long–even if the day-to-day felt mundane, there were always moments that popped up that made it clear that the lives they led were far from normal. Not that her life had ever been so. Still, it was one of those very moments that happened as she lounged on a beaten-up couch in the rec room with Vita, waiting for Vinnie to make the next move on the Luxbel board. He squinted at the board, scratching at the back of his head. As they were both Ignis Prods, it was a good exercise of their fine motor skills, trying to make sure they didn’t move the other’s pieces by accident. Though Beladus Lux, as the Griffins called it, was indeed new to her, the game it was based off of was not at all foreign to the specter, who had an affinity for strategy games. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said of Vinnie.

“I dunno what to do,” the long-haired young man groaned.

“How about…Cannon to…here?” Vita suggested, scooching forward onto the couch. Vinne readily followed suit, concentrating with his fingers outstretched as he moved the piece.

Liv didn’t budge from her position, lifting her arm to move her piece. It took a little bit of time to maneuver, but when she did get her piece in the right spot, she quirked her eyebrows meaningfully. “Check,” she announced.

“What the heck, Vi!” Vinnie yowled, glowering resentfully at his sister.

“Listen, you were going to get checked no matter what you did,” his sister replied, raising and dropping her shoulder nonchalantly. “Might as well rip the bandaid off.”

“I can still make a comeback,” he insisted–but the girls’ attention had already left him in favor of the young man who had just walked in: none other than Remy. Upon sighting the trio, he strode over, clearly something on his mind.

“Hey Remy,” Vita greeted him, shooting the girl next to her a sly look–one that Liv promptly ignored as she nodded a hello to the young Griffin leader.

“What’s up?” she prompted casually.

“Well,” he began thoughtfully. “Just got done with a Circle Meeting, and there’s been some reports of people going missing through multiple districts. I was thinking we should get a group together and check it out.”

“I’m game,” the young woman spoke up without a moment of hesitation–after all, Liv was meant to be dependable, responsible, and always ready to volunteer.

“Yeah, me too!” Vinnie chimed in.

Vita gave them all her signature, easy-going smile. “I’ve certainly got nothing better to do. I’ll tag along.”

Remy gave them all a relieved smile in return, the troubled crease in his forehead now gone. “Awesome,” he told them. “I’ll go see if I can get a few more guys and then we can get down to business.”

And it was so that roughly an hour later, the specter pretending to be a Griffin was now pretending to be just another civilian, strolling around with the rest of the crowd in the busiest part of the Favonius District. It had been decided that they–Liv, Remy, Vita, Adri, Cass, and Vinnie–would split Lutum amongst themselves to cover the most ground. A few of them were strategically being sent back to their home districts–notably, Remy, and Liv herself. The idea was that it would be easier for them to gather information if they were well-liked in their old neighborhoods. While it worked in theory, ‘Liv’ had never grown up at Favonius at all. She’d have to turn to her other skills for this little recon mission.

She studied the building that had caught her attention: a cafe of decent size on a busy street–easily a hub for people and information. The bell clinked merrily above her as she entered it, and the aroma of coffee and bread wafted over to her. It was fairly busy, she noted, taking in the details of the place with her keen gaze. Behind the counter, two girls bustled about, restocking beans and paper cups in the absence of a line. “Hey Alyna, can you grab me the large lids from the back?” the brunette asked, and the red headed barista nodded in turn, scurrying off.

It was time for a gamble.

Liv strolled closer to the counter, looking up contemplatively at the menu. Then, as the red-haired girl returned, she pretended to do a double take.

“Ally? Is that you?” she began incredulously, a smile starting to spread at her lips. “It is!” Alyna, however, looked at her blankly, with no recognition on her face. “You don’t remember me?” she persisted nonetheless, laying on the pressure as she looked at the girl expectantly. “We had a bunch of classes together...”

There was only a moment of awkward silence before something sparked in the girl’s wide green eyes. “Wait, Maia?” she asked, her tone doubly incredulous. “From Villo Secondary–Mr. Amaro’s history class and art class?”

Bingo.

She smiled wide, her delight hardly needing to be exaggerated. “Yeah!”

“Whoa, I barely recognized you! You look so different!”

“I mean, it’s been a while,” the imposter chuckled easily. “You look great, though! You’re not still getting into trouble, are you?” she remarked playfully–a question that was carefully worded despite how simple it sounded.

“Nope, still a goody-two-shoes,” Alyna laughed sheepishly.

“Just as I thought,” she returned, a good-natured note of teasing in her voice. However, it soon transitioned into something a bit more serious and hushed. “I mean, you gotta watch out. You’ve heard that some people are going missing, right?”

The redhead pursed her lips, lowering her own voice as she leaned a bit closer over the counter. “Yeah. It’s probably those patrols,” she replied.

“You think so?”

“Yeah…We get some homeless guys in the alley near the dumpster, y’know.” Her gaze flicked away, towards the back exit. “They look for leftovers. I’ve overheard the patrols saying they needed to get the trash off the street.” The specter only reacted with her expression, pressing her lips into a thin line in a perfect mimic of Alyna’s pursed lips. A silent mirror, prompting her to go on. “And…I saw one kick one of the regular homeless guys–Kino,” the hesitant words came in a whisper. “We haven’t seen him for a week and a half now.”

“That’s so messed up,” she supplied with a glower, distaste and anger running thick in her tone.

“Yeah. The other homeless guys still hang around, but they’ve been really spooked,” the barista shook her head.

“Who can blame them?” she frowned, subtly shaking her own head. “You really have to be careful these days…” she trailed off, and then gave a start, as if she was remembering something important. “I really wanna chat longer, but I just popped in to grab something on my way to an appointment,” she explained hurriedly, looking to the refrigerated section next to the register. “It was really nice to see you, though.” Reaching down, she grabbed two pre-wrapped sandwiches and placed them on the counter. “Can you ring me up for these?”

“Oh, of course,” Alyna answered quickly, swiftly tapping at her screen. “Stop by again sometime.”

Unlikely, she thought, but she answered to the contrary. “Will do,” returned sunnily, handing over the amount displayed on the register. With a smile and a wave, she exited the cafe, rejoining the stream of people briefly before turning down a cramped alley that already smelled faintly of garbage. It was time to see just how much info she could get for two fresh sandwiches.
 
REMY VARICK
Time of Day: Mid day -- Location: Auster -- Interactions: Mr. Flynn
The sun hung high in the clear blue sky as a black moped turned down a narrow residential road of the Auster district. Remy slowed to a stop and locked his biked against the chain-linked fence at the end of his childhood street. He took in a slow, deep breath, the polluted air filling his lungs. His dark brown eyes scanned the familiar scene before him, only this time the houses in front of him seemed more desolate than in his memories. Perhaps that was because he was here alone now, his family gone forever. No, not forever, Remy reminded himself, the resolve to find his sister sparking up again inside him.

He took slow, wide strides towards his childhood home, briefly glancing at it before moving on to the adjacent house: Mr. Flynn's. Although he knew he could spend all afternoon staring at his old home, replaying all his childhood memories, he was on a mission today. Remy almost couldn't believe that he was going back to the man who caused Rhea's capture for help, but as the Gryphus leader, he knew he needed to place his own personal feelings aside for the greater cause.

He rapped his knuckles against the old man's wooden door. Remy saw the window of the peephole uncover and Mr. Flynn's eye peering through from the other side. When they made eye contact, Mr. Flynn's eye widened with fear and the peephole immediately shut. "I'm not here to hurt you," Remy raised his voice through the door to the cowering man on the other side.

Silence.

"I need your help," the Aqua Prodigium added.

A few seconds passed. Remy considered breaking down the door with his internal water but was reluctant to do so, as it would only draw unnecessary attention and intimidate the old man even more.

Finally, he heard the door click open and swing ajar. "I don't want any trouble," Mr. Flynn told him, his gaze boring into Remy's.

"Me neither," the Gryphus leader replied, throwing both his hands up in the air as a sign of peace.

"Come on in," his neighbor responded and led the way into his living room.

Remy closed the door behind him and sat down in a wooden chair after Mr. Flynn gestured for him to take a seat across from him. His eyes danced around the inside of his house. The man's humble abode was a rather simple layout with rustic wooden furniture and bare decorations on the walls. "Where's Mrs. Flynn?" he asked.

Mr. Flynn's eyes fell. "She passed away last month," he responded softly, averting his gaze.

The Gryphus leader's heartstrings tugged. He knew what it was like to lose a loved one. "I'm truly sorry to hear that."

"Don't be," his neighbor replied, bitterness in his voice.

"What do you mean?" Remy asked, confusion knitting his eyebrows together.

Mr. Flynn let out a dry chuckle. "I essentially traded Rhea for 8 more months of my wife's life." The man met Remy's gaze. "The money I was given to set up that trap was enough for 8 months of her medication.... but she ended up dying a month after we ran out anyway."

The Aqua Prodigium was surprised at himself for feeling empathy towards the man in front of him. He had spent so long harboring such hatred and resentment for him that he had dehumanized his old neighbor altogether in his mind. He had somehow forgotten that every single person in Lutum was just fighting to survive. "You said you didn't know they were trapping Rhea," Remy pointed out.

"I didn't," Mr. Flynn confirmed. "But it doesn't matter," he added, remorse filling his voice. "For every extra month of my wife's life, I was able to justify what I did. But the second she passed.... I realized we're all going to die anyway."

"But we can use the time we have left to make a difference," Remy said. He had demonized the man for so long that his remorseful display was unexpected.

"No, it's hopeless. You may as well just kill me now," the old man replied, dejected.

"Listen," the Gryphus leader said. "The reason I came to you today is that people are disappearing off the streets and I wanted to ask you if you knew anything at all about that."

"Hmm...." Mr. Flynn was thinking. "Well Fat Derek is a homeless guy who usually sleeps a couple blocks over and he went missing last week. From what I've heard from people who live on that street, one moment he was there, and the next, he was gone. Like a ghost!"

"A ghost?" Remy repeated, a bit incredulous.

"That's what the locals say. Mrs. Bretta is an old lady who lives in the house right next to Fat Derek's tent and she said that she saw shadowy figures appear out of nowhere one night from her window. She had woken up in the middle of the night for a glass of water and she just happened to look out her window at that moment. But by the time she was done rubbing her eyes to see if she was seeing things clearly, they were gone. The next morning, Fat Derek's tent was empty. She claims that he was taken by ghosts."

"Interesting," the Gryphus leader replied, the gears in his brain turning. "Well thank you for sharing that with me. I'm going to head over to the street Fat Derek was on and ask around for some more information."

"Glad to be of some help," Mr. Flynn smiled. "Just go 3 blocks south and you'll reach the street."

Remy touched the old man's shoulder out of gratitude. "Take care." He rose from his seat and exited the house, waving a final goodbye and heading towards his moped. There was a lot from that conversation he needed to emotionally unpack, but now was not the time.
 
liv eione
time of day: afternoon--- location: safe house; caurus district --- interactions: medea
She landed none-too-gently on a set of drawers with a crash, scrabbling to maintain her balance as she threatened to keel over onto the floor. Even as everything spun she took in the surroundings, trying to judge if she had made it safely to her target location. Relief hit her as she spotted the familiar weapons safe hidden behind a decorative wooden panel, but it did little to stave off the wave of dizziness and nausea. Gritting her teeth, she slid off of the piece of furniture, trying to steady herself on wobbly feet as she felt the warm rush of blood pitching to her face. Immediately, she pressed a sleeve to her nose before it could start dripping blood everywhere–after all, this was hardly the first time she’d suffered the side effects of teleportation.

Unlike her Ignis abilities, which she had managed to hone to a respectable degree in her handful of months in training, her Spacial abilities had been a struggle every step of the way. Teleportation was the most disorienting experience, feeling like every cell, every part of her was disintegrating and coming back together through a thick veil of resistance. Not only that, there was always the subconscious fear that she might come back wrong–put together out of order, leaving behind something crucial in the turbulent jumble of chaos and matter. Even now, she tried to avoid using it as much as possible, seeing that the after-effects were too often a trade-off she didn’t see the worth of. Unfortunately, she hadn’t had much of a choice this time.

“Who’s there?” a quavering voice called out from the hall, the perfect imitation of a frightened, helpless old lady.

“It’s me,” she answered. Refusing to be seen in such a weakened state, she clenched her jaw and pushed herself away from the wall, steadying herself.

Quiet as a shadow, the slight figure slid into view, a gun with a silencer at the ready. “Such a noisy entrance,” Medea remarked pointedly, tucking her pistol away with a languid nonchalance. Gone was the veneer of the fussy, busy-body grandmother next door; in her place was a hardened veteran Specter, quick and keen-eyed.

“I was about to be spotted,” she retorted. It had been the worst of luck for it to be none other than Adrian who had been making his way out of the area. Only her reflexes and the success of her unreliable teleportation skills had saved her from a very suspicious encounter. After all, she had no reason at all to be in Caurus–especially not today. “Who chose this dead-end location? There’s only one entrance and exit.”

“Which means only one route to watch,” Medea returned, making it clear that it was very likely that she was the one who had picked it.

Cyra pinched the bridge of her bloody nose, hiding the spark of irritation within her–Medea had chosen a location that only made the handler’s job simpler, at the expense of the Hand. “Then there will be more noisy entrances,” she remarked flatly.

Medea scoffed. “A poor excuse for a lack of training,” she said dismissively, and at that, Cyra’s eyes narrowed, her hand dropping from her face.

“Are you accusing me of slacking off?” she demanded quietly, and though her expression remained blank, her gaze was as hard as flint.

Hardly intimidated, the elderly woman squared her frail frame to the younger agent’s, her lips pursing into an all-too-familiar line. “In regards to your control over this so-called mythic ability? The results speak for themselves, don’t they?”

Useless, her mother sneered. Is this all you can do?

The two women stared each other down in silence, both unflinching in their stony gazes. Blood steadily dripped from her face, splattering on the yellowed vinyl between their feet in near rhythmic fashion, but neither of them moved. The seething tension was only broken when a door slammed in the next building, accompanied by the sound of a bunch of footsteps and the voice of a matronly woman yelling after children. Immediately, the older woman tutted, bringing out a floral print handkerchief and pressing the cloth to the girl’s bloody nose. “Haven’t I told you that a lady should always carry one of these?” she chided, her demeanor snapping back to the roles they had been assigned.

“And haven’t I told you that only old grandmas carry those?” she returned, rolling her eyes like a beleaguered youngster.

“And look how useful it can be.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she muttered, clutching the handkerchief to her nose as the Eye stepped away.

“Come, I was just cutting up some apples,” the woman beckoned her, waving her towards the cramped but well-furnished room. Liv trailed behind her obediently, sitting down on a vinyl-covered dining chair across from the elderly woman. On Placida’s side, a plate of half-peeled apples sat with a paring knife. Instead of offering to help, the Hand reached for the innocent-looking memo pad pushed to the side of the table. “So? How’s the job coming along?” Placida asked, resuming the peeling of the small, round fruit.

“The usual. I had some business nearby.”

“Oh?”

“A survey project of Lutum–demographics, mostly, to see if there are any outlying figures.”

“Sounds complicated.”

“Not really. The hardest part is trying to get straight-forward data,” she answered.

The volley of questions came and went, devolving into meaningless small talk and neighborhood gossip. During the entire exchange, her hand moved non-stop, scribbling out her report in code. Missing people, patrols suspected. The homeless men she’d managed to coax into talking hadn’t been very helpful. All they’d done was rave about ghosts and monsters, along with the usual paranoid fare about government spies–completely unaware they were ranting to one of those government agents. Their conspiracies, however, held very little weight–generic as they came, especially from men who were clearly scared out of their already unstable minds. Next came the usual reports; numbers, observations, the schedule for the Gryphus’ activities in Lutum for the next two weeks.

When her report was done, she made her way to the front of the house, peering out the window to make sure that the coast was clear. Adrian was leaving when she’d come across him, but she didn’t want any more surprises.

“You should stay for dinner,” Placida said from behind her. “Mrs. Mateo has been dying to meet you–she’s got a nephew who’s a doctor.”

“I’d love to, but I’m already running late,” she made a face, shouldering her bag as the two made their way to the foyer.

“Oh. If only there was a way you could get back in a blink of an eye.” Her wheedling tone and syrupy smile was nowhere near enough to hide the barbed remark in her words. “Remember, drive safe. It’s okay if you’re a little late,” she continued in her grandmotherly fashion, patting her hand in a way that only felt condescending.

“I will, grandma,” Liv answered, offering her a sunny smile instead of clenching her teeth. “See you.” Trotting down the steps she moved down the curving alley, looking back at the corner to wave one last time. The thin figure at the end of the street waved back. Lowering her arm, she made her way around the corner, her smile dropping as she did. Briskly, she walked towards the Favonius border, where her bike was hidden away. With each step, she tried to carve away the burning, twisting feeling in her gut, to bring everything back down to nil, but it only seemed to grow.

Useless, the voice in her head mocked again, and she felt her nails bite into her palms.

 
REMY VARICK
Time of Day: Late afternoon -- Location: Gryphus base -- Interactions: Liv, Cass, Vinnie, Vita, Adrian
Remy twisted the accelerator to give his moped a little kick as he sped through the underground tunnels of Lutum back to base. He thought about both his conversations with Mr. Flynn and Mrs. Bretta. The old lady had corroborated everything Mr. Flynn said about Fat Derek's disappearance, confirming that he wasn't lying. Although Remy would have been surprised if Mr. Flynn had falsified the story, his attempted attack on his old neighbor must've left a poor taste in the man's mouth and he could never be too careful. People would do anything to survive. After all, hadn't Mr. Flynn proven that when he accepted the bribe to trap one of his fellow Lutum residents?

Remy's heart twisted when he remembered how the old man had lost his wife. There was not a shadow of a doubt that if they were living in any of the Valorum Districts, they would have received the most advanced medicine and doctors the country could provide. Instead, they were treated as the scum on the bottom of Principate Kato's fancy boot.

The Aqua Prodigium noticed how both Mr. Flynn and Mrs. Bretta had described Fat Derek's disappearance as "ghostly." His biggest suspicion of the culprits behind the disappearance were still the military patrols, as they held the biggest adversarial role in the day to day lives of Lutum residents. However, it was also possible that a new gang had taken over the underbelly of Lutum and they were forcing new recruits by kidnapping people who clearly had no one looking out for them. Or perhaps the wealthy residents of the Valorum Districts needed cheap labor to run all their advanced technology.

And then there was the Spectare. Ever since Rhea had been captured, the intelligence organization had been tugging on the back of his mind. He had asked the older Gryphus folks if they knew anything, but the classified government agency sure kept their secrets covered up well in a mysterious veil. Remy gritted his teeth in frustration. He would have to wait to hear from his friends to see if anyone had received any concrete information aside from just ghosts and demons.

Remy parked his moped at the end of the tunnel and entered the Gryphus base. He arrived in the meeting room to find Cass, Vita, Vinnie, and Adrian already there. "Hey guys, Liv's not here yet?" he asked, noticing that the Ignis Prodigium was the only one missing. The others shook their head. "Well we can get started and she can hop in whenever she arrives. What did you guys find?"

Cass spoke up. "I talked with a family in Aquilo who said that an orphan girl who usually begs on their street corner went missing one night and they haven't seen her since. They weren't sure where she could've gone since she doesn't have any family." She paused. "The family's neighbor said that the girl was taken by ghosts... I'm not too sure that that means."

"The bartender in Vulturnous said that too! I laughed it off like it was a joke, but he kept insisting on it. Maybe he had one too many if you know what I mean," Vinnie joked and winked at them.

Vita rolled her eyes at Vinnie. "I spoke with the owner of Lady Luck and she said that a few of the homeless guys who usually spend way too much time there than what's good for them haven't showed up in a couple weeks. She said it's out of character for them because they're usually on the slot machines every day."

"Hmm.... so it seems like everyone who's been reported missing so far are either orphaned kids or homeless people," Adrian noticed.

"Basically people without families, so no one would stir up too much noise if they went missing," Remy added on.

Suddenly, the door slammed open and Liv stepped into the room. Remy instantly noticed the road rash on her lower leg, her scraped knees that seemed to still be bleeding, and scrapes on her hands after bracing herself from a fall. "Liv, are you okay?" he asked, concern in his voice. "Did you fall off your moped? You should head over to the med--" He was about to suggest that she should go to the med bay to see Atticus and his medical team when Liv interrupted him and launched into her report.
 
liv eione
time of day: late afternoon --- location: the gryphus base --- interactions: remy, vita, atticus
Her quick footsteps echoed as she rushed down the twisting hallways of the Gryphus Base, headed towards the room they’d agreed to meet up at. She was late–a feeling that pounded away in her head, even more than the dull, pulsing ache of her knees and legs. She hurried into the room, throwing open the door a little too hard in her haste. If anyone flinched at her sudden entrance, she didn’t even notice. “I apologize for being late,” she immediately began, her stance almost stiff and formal. Everyone was staring.

“Liv, are you okay?” Remy was the first to venture, but his worried tone and suggestion seemed to fall of deaf ears as she cut him off without hesitation, eyes strangely focused.

“I’m fine. I surveyed Favonius, as assigned. I was able to confirm at least one case of a missing person, a homeless man in his mid forties named Kino,” she rattled off, her tone falling into the practiced, efficient speaking pattern of one used to giving long, detailed reports. “It seems that he spent most of his time around the dumpster in the back alley of the cafe Early Rise–”

“Liv, dude–” Adrian chuckled a bit, as if he wasn’t quite sure what to make of the situation.

“Maybe she hit her head,” Vinnie whispered.

“I’m alright,” she repeated briskly, then continued on. “I managed to talk to some of other homeless men he associated with, but–”

“Alriiiight, you’re clearly not okay,” Vita interrupted, getting up to stand next to her. “The report can wait until you’re not bleeding. Right, Remy?”

“Yeah, absolutely. You can find me once you’re done getting patched up,” he told her.

Immediately, Liv opened her mouth to argue, feeling that same spark of irritation flare to life. It wasn’t a big deal–she could do what was needed. These silly scrapes were nothing! She wasn’t fragile, or incapable, or soft. However, as she looked from Vita to Remy to the rest of the faces surrounding her, ranging from confused to concerned to amused, she could finally see that the way she was acting was being viewed as abnormal. “Fine,” she breathed, reluctance running thick in her voice.

“I’ll walk you to the medics,” Vita offered. “C’mon.”

“No,” the Ignis prod retorted, perhaps a little too quickly. Pressing down the swirl of unwanted emotions, she forced herself to utter a sheepish laugh. “Seriously, I’m not dying. I can get there myself.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, mom,” she joked–and as much as it seemed to put Vita at ease, the word only burned in her mouth. After swapping a few more quips and laughs, Liv left the room behind to head towards the medical bay.

It was just her luck that as soon as she entered through the door, it was none other than Atticus that greeted her in a most characteristic manner. “The fuck did you get into?” he asked brusquely, looking none-too-pleased.

“I ate pavement,” she explained dryly, trying to make light of it all. He scowled, jerking his chin at a stool–a silent order to sit, stay still, and don’t do anything stupid. She complied, keeping her mouth shut as he worked. He, on the other hand, grumbled the entire time. In truth, she felt bitter about the whole thing, too. It’d been a stupid mistake. She’d sped around a corner too fast, too hard, and she’d slipped. It could have been worse, but she’d been taught to make rough landings in training; she’d ridden away relatively unscatched–just with some surface damage. And yet, it still bothered her. Everything inside her prickled with annoyance, a restlessness that wouldn’t disappear.

Despite that, by the time she found herself walking into the Reading Room in search of Remy, she had managed to shove the feeling just deep enough under the surface in favor of another imperative. Now, she had to smooth things over and ensure that the earlier scene didn’t leave any lasting negative impressions. “Hey,” she called out to the young Aqua prod as she spotted him, next to some heavy looking tomes. “I finally tracked you down.” She’d had to ask at least four people before one had pointed her this way. She had changed since she’d stopped by the medbay–her bandaged legs were now hidden under sweatpants, while her hands were shoved into the pockets. “I’m here to give you that report I was too late to give,” she quipped, offering him a wry smile.
 
REMY VARICK
Time of Day: Early evening -- Location: Gryphus base -- Interactions: Liv
Remy was surprised that Liv seemed adamant on continuing her report even though she had bleeding injuries on her. Their other friends picked up on the same oddity and insisted that she go to the Med Bay first. Eventually, she relented and exited the meeting room, but the Gryphus Leader surmised she was frustrated that they wouldn't let her finish the report. He guessed she must have felt passionate about their mission and prioritized it before her own physical needs, but he found it a bit strange that she could ignore her injuries so easily, especially when the report was certainly not a life or death situation.

Remy finished up the meeting with the rest of their friends. Although there was no concrete evidence, it seemed like most of the people who disappeared were suspected to be Prods. He thought back on his own conversation with Mr. Flynn and Mrs. Bretta, and although neither of them explicitly stated that Fat Derek was a Prod, there were certainly implications. Such as how he always seemed to be able to cook his food and boil his water despite never having a stove.

All the remaining information they reported fell onto the same theme. Ghosts. He was frustrated that they weren't able to find anything more concrete, but perhaps they ought to take the locals' sightings more seriously. What were the chances that all these unconnected people from different sectors of Lutum were saying the exact same thing? Perhaps there was something paranormal at play. Or perhaps it was just humans acting as ghosts.

He headed a couple rooms over to the Reading Room to see if he could scrounge up any helpful information. With his head tilted to the side, he perused the spines, skimming the title of each book. "Hey, I finally tracked you down," a familiar voice sounded behind him.

Remy turned around and smiled at Liv. He glanced down at her legs to see how her injuries were holding up, but she had changed into pants and a long-sleeved shirt. "Glad Atticus took care of you, even though he probably grumbled through the whole thing."

“I’m here to give you that report I was too late to give,” she replied with a smile.

"Oh perfect. Please tell me you have something other than just "ghosts."" He put up air quotes with the last word.
 
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liv eione
time of day: early evening --- location: the gryphus base; reading room --- interactions: remy
Remy turned to look at her, giving her a smile. They were off to a good start, she thought. “Glad Atticus took care of you, even though he probably grumbled through the whole thing,” he commented.

“He totally did,” she laughed, “but it was nothing compared to Marcy’s face when she saw what I’d done to the moped. I dunno if she’ll ever forgive me.” It was a little bit of exaggeration for humor’s sake–though, admittedly, her moped did look worse for wear than she did. Marcy had let out a dramatic shriek when she’d shown up with the moped in tow, rushing over to go on and on about ‘her baby.’ Granted, Liv suspected this was just Marcy letting out that creative itch of hers, but she hadn’t had much intent in playing along, far too occupied with getting to the meeting. Now, she could finally make her report.

“Oh perfect. Please tell me you have something other than just “ghosts,”” he remarked, sounding a bit frustrated.

“I mean–I did hear about ghosts and monsters. Even an alien,” she shook her head. “The homeless men were going on and on about things like that, but…I don’t know if they were…mentally fit. They were terrified.” She moved on quickly, focused on the information she found more credible. “The girl at the cafe, though–she suspected the patrols. She’d seen them do things like kick the homeless man who went missing. She claimed that she heard them talk about how they ought to ‘get the trash off the street.’” Liv grimaced, her lips curling with distaste. “That can’t be a coincidence. Those snails have always tried to crack down in the rougher parts of Favonius.”

There was a beat of silence, and then she gave a start, as if she’d remembered something. “By the way–Kino, the missing person I was able to confirm? His friends said he was a Ventus Prod. And the other rumors I chased down, two of three suspected missing were also Prods.” She leant against the bookcase and crossed her arms, lost in thought for a moment before she glanced up to meet Remy’s gaze. “You think the patrols are starting to just…get rid of Prods when they catch them using their abilities instead of the usual–?” she asked, tapping at her wrist. It certainly wasn’t a bad theory. Some patrols might have grown more sadistic and callous over the years, enough to decide that it was easier to kill off those who disobeyed–especially if they were those who would go unnoticed.
 
REMY VARICK
Time of Day: Early evening -- Location: Gryphus base- Reading room -- Interactions: Liv
Remy listened to Liv talk about how the patrols had wanted to "get the trash off the street." His lips tightened in disgust. "I've long suspected the military patrols as well. They've always abused the homeless people and orphan kids on the street. The most vulnerable ones," he snarled.

Liv mentioned how quite a few of the missing people in her district were Prods, reinforcing what he and their other friends had been hearing too. She wondered if the patrols have started killing the Prods instead of cutting off their hands. "That's certainly possible... If they are, they've chosen the most strategic population to do that with. No one's going to come looking for trouble over a street kid," he responded. "Although it's interesting how no one has encountered any dead bodies. It sounds like an awful lot of work to go through the trouble of kidnapping someone just to kill them later. Why not kill them then and there?" he wondered. "Perhaps it would cause too much attention."

His mind flashed back to his conversation with Cleo yesterday. "Regardless, all of these disappearances have created panic amongst the other people in the streets. Cleo said that she saw a message graffitied onto the wall requesting a Gryphus invitation, which rarely ever happens," Remy said, his eyebrows furrowing. "We'll have to keep an eye out for those and cover them up with spray paint. Can't be drawing that much attention to us."

The Aqua Prodigium shifted his gaze back onto her, a look of concern in his eyes. "Anyways, are you okay after your moped incident?" he asked. "Did something else happen today?"
 
liv eione
time of day: early evening --- location: the gryphus base; reading room --- interactions: remy
The young Gryphus leader seemed to be on the same page as her when it came to her prime suspects–the military patrols. His vitriol for them was more than apparent in the anger glowing in his eyes as he spoke about them, always preying on the most vulnerable. Still, he seemed to be able to keep his head on straight despite his anger. “Although it’s interesting how no one has encountered any dead bodies,” he pointed out, going on to muse on how it was a lot of effort to kidnap a victim and then murder them, instead of murdering them on the spot.

“That’s true…but I imagine there are a lot of ways to make sure even bodies aren’t found,” Liv added grimly. In fact, she didn’t need to imagine at all–she knew there were plenty of ways to ensure that no evidence would be found. It hadn’t been that long since she’d considered melting his corpse with acid in a barrel, after all. “The desert’s a big place, too, and in some rough places…people might not even blink at a dead body.” She heaved a sigh, worrying her lip as she traded thoughts with Remy. “But if they’re trying not to garner attention–there’s a possibility that an individual or a small group of patrols are doing this without official mandate.” A budding serial killer patrol might have sounded a little far fetched…but then again, perhaps not.

Liv mirrored Remy’s frown as he relayed the information he’d heard from Cleo–it appeared that some Prods, panicked and afraid, were tagging invitations to the Gryphus. Now, the recruitment team would have to cover up the graffiti in addition to their normal duties to ensure they wouldn’t gain unwanted attention. “They should be careful,” she noted. “It could be a trap.” It was a piece of solid advice–one she didn’t hesitate to give, even if it meant she would be protecting Gryphus operatives. After all, she had to be seen as reliable and trustworthy, no?

“Anyways,” Remy said, bringing her gaze back to his face. “Are you okay after your moped incident? Did something else happen today?”

“Are you ever gonna let me forget about it?” Liv joked back, pulling an exaggerated face. She uttered a sheepish laugh, shrugging as she looked away. “I was just…a little distracted. I couldn’t stop thinking about…” she let out another chuckle, though it faded quickly. “The past, I guess,” the words tasted too much like the truth, and something in her gut twisted. Too much too real, the specter veered away into some place safer, and much more calculated as she shrugged again, looking up at him with a half-hearted smile. “You know, being back in Favonius, and hearing about all these patrols treating Prods like trash, and I just couldn’t help but think about my dad, y’know?” she rambled. “I tried to get it out of my head, but it kept bothering me, and then I realized what time it was, and well,” she held up her bandaged palms, quirking her brows in a forced, playful gesture. “This is what I get.”
 
REMY VARICK
Time of Day: Early evening -- Location: Gryphus base- Reading room -- Interactions: Liv
"That's true, there are plenty of places to hide a dead body in these wastes," Remy agreed. "The patrols can be vicious but there's still a chain of command and they usually just follow orders from whoever's above them. But it is possible that a particularly sick patrol member is going rogue."

When Liv cautioned him that the graffiti messages could be a trap, he nodded. "Cleo's not an easy one to get past. We never answer anyone trying to get to us. Recruitment is a one way street." Although Remy had full faith in the Recruitment Head, he still appreciated her concern.

Remy's face softened as Liv reflected on the painful memories elicited from going back to her childhood streets. He felt the same stab in his heart when he walked past the house he grew up in. It had taken every ounce of willpower not to stand there longer, staring at his old home and replaying the memories from when there was still four of them. "I know what that feels like. Revisiting those old places can be really hard," he replied softly, looking into her light brown eyes. "Where is he buried? Do you want to go visit him together this week?" Remy asked. "Having my father as a stone statue in the room next door definitely has it's ups and downs, but it feels like he's still there when I talk to him."

He paused and shifted his gaze to his feet. "Hearing about these Prods disappearing makes me feel like I'm failing at my job. We're supposed to be protecting them, but we can't even keep our most vulnerable ones alive." Remy sighed. "I wonder what my father would do. Or my sister," he said, mostly to himself.
 
liv eione
time of day: early evening --- location: the gryphus base; reading room --- interactions: remy
As she’d expected, sympathy seemed to wash over the young man’s face. How could it not? Her backstory was one designed to elicit that sort of response. While that had all been calculated, what he asked next took her by surprise. “Where is he buried?” he began, setting off a red light in her brain. It was then followed by a different sort of alarm when he continued, “Do you want to visit him together this week?” She couldn’t help but feel strangely stricken by the offer, despite the other parts of her quickly scrambling to come up with a believable story. Luckily, she was given some more precious time as Remy explained his own emotions regarding visiting his father–how despite it all, it felt like he was still there when he spoke to his stone remains.

“That sounds nice,” she responded, a wistful smile hovering in the corner of her mouth. “I don’t know where he’s buried, actually. The patrols dragged him off after they shot him. Didn’t let us keep the body.” Liv shook her head slowly, as if recalling the scene. “My grandma’s never gotten over that,” the sentiment was quiet, more somber. But then she met his eyes and smiled. “But hey, thanks for offering. It means a lot, that you’d go visit his grave with me.” It was a sweet and heartfelt gesture, even though it was all in service to a lie.

Though Remy hadn’t seemed terribly affected by the disappearances initially, as he confessed his own negative feelings, she could see how it weighed on him–how it made him feel inadequate, like a failure. It was a feeling she’d run from her whole entire life, if anything, but she knew that if she could lift him up in this moment, it would be to her favor. “Hey, don’t say that,” she chided. “It’s not your fault. Or…if it is, it’s all of our faults. Mine too. It’s not just on you.” She waited for him to raise his head to meet her gaze before going on. “I’m sure your father and sister were amazing people, but even they had help, right?” Moving a bit closer to his side, she gave him an encouraging nudge with her elbow. “We’ll figure this out, together.”

When her words seemed to have sunken in, the young woman pushed herself off of the bookcase, clasping her hands and clearing her throat. “Alright, enough of this heavy stuff,” she declared, a newfound energy in her voice. “I was going to get some training in—wanna come with? I can show you some hand-to-hand, and you can give me pointers on control.” Quickly, she held up a finger, as if she could guess what he’d say. “And don’t you tell me I should rest. A few scratches aren’t going to hold me back.” Then she gave him the same wry smile as she had before. “Besides…I just don’t think I can sit still right now,” Liv admitted, a little more softly. It was true. Despite how tired she was, drained by her dipping into her Spacial abilities, every cell inside her felt restless, still a-buzz. She knew this feeling well–and she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight until she was dead on her feet, too exhausted to hear the word pulsing in her head.
 
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-- 3 DAYS LATER --​

CLEO VULCAN
Time of Day: Night -- Location: Vulturnus streets-- Interactions: Celia, Gabinus
The air was as still as a snowy winter day, laying a thick blanket over the dark streets of Vulturnus. The hazy moon combined with the lack of street lights kept the majority of residents inside their homes, especially at this time of night. Everyone knew that Lutum turned into a different beast when the sun set.

Cleo signaled her recruitment team, Celia and Gabinus, to follow her as she stayed glued to the alley walls and traveled silently down a narrow, unsuspecting street off Sandstorm Rd. A block ahead of them walked a pair of teenagers that seemed far too comfortable taking a stroll in the middle of the night through Vulturnus alleys. Their slow paces, slouched postures, and loud whispering indicated to her that the very street others may avoid at all cost was their home. They stopped when they reached a rundown black car with all its tires slashed and windows broken. The vehicle had clearly been abandoned years ago and the city never bothered to remove it. Pieces of glass still lay stuck to the ground even after all this time. The teenagers walked behind the dilapidated car and disappeared.

The Head of Recruitment quickened her pace and ducked behind a nearby dumpster, staying in the shadows. Peering around, she saw that the side of the car created a triangle with the back corner of the alley and the teenagers had set up a tent in the perfect pouch. She was impressed at how put together and hidden away their makeshift house was. A scratched up radio was sticking out of their tent and Cleo thought back to how Remy had informed her of the twins' ability to fix up cellphones using their Metal control. Clearly, they could do more than just phones. The radio looked busted to her but she would bet a week of bathroom duty that if someone were to turn it on, it would work like brand new.

Cleo looked back at Gabinus and made a drawing motion with her hand. He nodded and quietly took out an etching knife from his pocket. He slowly stood up to unpeel himself from the dumpster when Celia forcefully pulled his forearm back down. Gabinus gave her a questioning look with a raised eyebrow and she brought a finger to her lips to silent him before nodding towards the tent.

Both Cleo and Gabinus shifted their gazes back to the twins when two shadowy figures revealed themselves from the other side of the car. Her instinct was to press herself even closer to the dumpster. She sensed a newfound danger in the air and she was sure the newcomers were the source. Every muscle in her body was tense, ready to fight or flight as needed.
 
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june & jo
time of day: night --- location: vuturnus backstreets --- interactions: mysterious figures
Though the night was still and quiet, the streets deserted, the two youngsters walked with a comfortable jaunt in their steps. It was always this way when they came home after a long day of hustling–especially when they could feel the weight of their spoils in their backpacks. “See, I told you it would work,” June grinned, giving her load an extra heft as she walked. “Did you see the look on that shopkeep’s face?”

“Fine, yeah, okay,” her brother whispered back, rolling his eyes. “But now you can’t show up at that place anymore.”

“So what? Give it a few weeks. The heat’ll die down.”

“If you’re lucky.”

“If we’re lucky,” the girl corrected.

Jo blew out a sigh, but there was a begrudging smile at the corner of his lips. “Yeah, yeah.” It was true. The two of them were all each other had left in the world, after all.

Unaware of the danger they were in, the two teens entered their little home, eagerly pulling out their tech loot. They spread the phones and tablets on a flattened cardboard box, arranging them neatly–a strong contrast to their cluttered tent. “Okay, so you take care of this, this, and that,” June began enthusiastically, “And I’ll–”

Suddenly, the back wall of their tent was gone. Slashed open, Jo realized a bit too late–by a figure near swallowed by the gloomy darkness.

“Who the hell–” June began furiously, but her words gave way to a chilling shriek as the figure moved, grabbing her by the collar and twisting, bringing her into a headlock before either of them could react.

“June!” the boy shouted, his voice cracking with fear, shock, and anger. “Get off of–” his voice was also cut short when he realized that someone was behind him already, an almost gentle hand at his shoulder. He froze, breaths growing ragged with terror as he turned around to face what was there. It was another figure, but even though it was standing right in front of him, his brain couldn’t seem to process what he was seeing. Was it a man? A woman? The only thing he could see were the glittering eyes piercing through the shadow, sharp as a blade. Slowly, deliberately, the figure lifted a finger to its face, signaling him to be quiet–a normally innocuous gesture that only sent ice down his spine. He knew instantly that if he didn’t do as he was told, something very, very bad was going to happen.

“Jo–” he heard his sister gasp out from behind him.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he whispered back shakily, though he felt like he couldn’t breathe. “We’re gonna be okay–”

Just then, an arc of light shot through the dark, nearly blinding him. “Get away from them!” a voice snarled. Out of the alleyway, two–no, three people charged towards them, each shouting. June felt the person seizing her tense up, a second of hesitation as they seemed to reach for a weapon. But the figure at Jo’s side was already on the move, swiftly jumping back away from the barrage of elemental attacks. Finally, she felt the death grip on her neck loosen as she was shoved towards the newcomers. She landed hard on her hands and knees, swearing bitterly as she jerked her head around to see their assailants, but Jo was already yanking her to her feet.

“Run!” a woman commanded them, pushing them out of the alley.

“Wait, who the fuck are you?!” June demanded, trying not to cough. “How do we know–”

“This isn’t the time,” a man hissed, grasping the twins by the arm and half-dragging them along. “They could come back. Move it!”

Biting back the questions and doubt, the two teens ran as fast as they could with the mystery pair, until they got to a hidden corner of an alley. Three mopeds stood in wait, and they were ushered onto the backs of each. “But Cleo–” the man hissed.

“She was right behind us,” the woman retorted. “She’ll be here any second.” Just as she’d said, a woman came racing down the alley, eyes keen and focused. She jumped on her moped without a moment’s hesitation, then signaled to the other two. They started their engines, pealing out of the alley as quickly as they could.

“But wait–where are you taking us?” Jo finally managed to ask, raising his voice over the howling wind.

“Somewhere safe,” the man he was riding with returned. “You’ll see.”
 
REMY VARICK
Time of Day: Night -- Location: Gryphus base, Auster safehouse -- Interactions: Celia, Adrian, Cleo, Gabinus
"Your Gryphus leader has arrived!" Remy announced as he walked into the meeting room, glancing at each of the Circle members. A look of shock washed over each of their faces and the Aqua Prodigium furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

Dominic cleared his throat, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and averted his eyes from Remy. He opened his mouth to say something before Timotheus interrupted. "Remy, is there a reason why you decided to show up to this meeting naked?" His voice was filled with contempt.

Remy gasped and glanced down at himself, instantly covering his groin with his hands, and backed up against the wall. His worst nightmare had come true.

A high-pitched laughter filled the room. "How in the world are you supposed to lead us if you can't even dress yourself?" Cleo asked with a smirk.

"N-no, this was an a-accident," Remy stuttered before a loud knock interrupted all of them.

---

The Gryphus leader shot up in his bed, panting rapidly in the darkness. He immediately grabbed his shirt and shorts to ensure that he was dressed before he got out of bed. He heard Adrian groan and roll over towards the wall, covering his ears with his blanket. Remy rubbed his eyes and opened the door to find Celia standing there, her eyes wide with alarm.

"Remy! We were tailing the pair of teenagers you asked us to recruit, June and Jo, when two people appeared out of nowhere and tried to kidnap them. We jumped in and got the kids out of there and brought them to the Auster safehouse. Cleo sent me back to base for reinforcements just in case we were followed," Celia reported.

"Shit. Were you followed on the way here?" Remy asked.

"No, I was only on the streets for a couple minutes before I ducked back into the tunnels to get to base," she responded. "At least I didn't see anyone following me..." she added on, doubting herself.

"Thanks for grabbing us. You can head back to the safehouse in case Cleo needs you. We'll be right behind you," Remy responded. Celia nodded and jogged back down the hall that she came from. "Adrian!" the Aqua Prodigium shouted, shaking his friend's shoulder. "Get your ass up!"

Adri groaned. "Do you know what time it is?" he sighed.

"Cleo and her team are in trouble. Let's go," Remy put on a pair of black jeans and brown boots. "I'll meet you at the mopeds," he said to his friend who was slowly rising from his bed. He ran down the hall and knocked on Liv's and Vita's door. Remy waited a couple seconds before cracking the door open. "Liv! Vita! Wake up! I need you guys STAT. Meet me at the mopeds," he shouted through the door before continuing on to Cass' room and waking her up too.

Several minutes later, the gang congregated at the tunnel entrance where Remy relayed to them what Celia had told him. They sped their mopeds through the tunnels towards the Auster safehouse with the Aqua Prodigium taking the lead. Finally, they reached a small wooden building hidden behind an abandoned factory where Gabinus was standing guard outside. He greeted the group and rapped the secret knock on the wooden door, which clicked open a few seconds later. Remy walked into the small dim room where he saw June and Jo slumped over in their chairs with Cleo standing above them. From their drowsy eyes and relaxed limbs, the Gryphus leader could tell they were under the full force of an inflicted Dream state.

The Dream Prodigium paused the interrogation upon their arrival. "Why don't you guys take a little nap?" Cleo suggested in a soft voice. The twins instantly closed their eyes and rolled their heads back against their chairs.

"What happened?" Remy asked.

"We were tailing the Metal Prods that you recommended through a small side street off Sandstorm Road when two people appeared out of nowhere. They slashed open the teenagers' tent and captured them in a chokehold when we jumped in and scared them off," Cleo explained. "But they moved in a way that I've never seen anyone move before. And definitely not those clunky military patrols." She paused to think. "The two of them moved in perfect sync with each other and it was like they were moving with the shadows."

Celia jumped in. "I couldn't even tell if it was a man or woman. They were dressed in all black and their faces were covered up except for their eyes, so there weren't any distinguishing features. And the speed at which they appeared and disappeared was insane. I blinked and they had vanished into thin air."

"How much do we really know about these mythic abilities?" Gabinus asked slowly, looking at each of them. Remy gave him a questioning look. "What if there are some new Shadow Prods in town that we don't know about? Didn't the government destroy all the books on Prodigium magic after Mandate 13 was passed? How do we know for sure that there are only 5 mythic powers?"

The Gryphus leader paused before answering. "I guess it's not something we can 100% rule out until we have hard evidence, but there must be a more likely explanation for who these people are." He glanced over at his friends to see if they had any ideas.
 
Last edited:
liv eione
time of day: night --- location: the gryphus base; auster safehouse --- interactions: remy, vita, celia
Her eyes snapped open in the darkness before she had quite realized what was wrong. She could hear Vita’s breathing above her, slow and steady. No, that wasn’t it. Footsteps. Fast, racing down the hall. The person rushed past their door, their destination clearly further along the corridor. Quick, hurried knocks sounded against the door–and by the rough distance and the very fact that this was likely an emergency, Liv could guess the person being woken up was likely none other than their young Gryphus leader. Silently, she rose from her mattress, her gleaming eyes fixed on the door as she tried to make out the contents of the report. The words safehouse and reinforcements–and Cleo. Something had gone wrong on a recruitment run–or perhaps an interrogation?

She didn’t have to muse for long; within the minute, it was their door that was being pounded on next. “Liv! Vita!” Remy called urgently. “Wake up! I need you guys STAT.” She was already up on her feet when he cracked the door open, tugging on her shoes. Vita was also sitting up, squinting at the light streaming in from the hall. “Meet me at the mopeds,” he ordered, and Liv gave him a sharp nod.

“We’ll be there,” she promised. Turning, she threw Vita’s hoodie up to the bunk bed before grabbing her own jacket. “C’mon, let’s move,” she told her bunkmate. “I think someone needs back up.”

Vita didn’t need much convincing to move quickly after that, and soon they were all en route to the safehouse in the Auster District. As they sped down the tunnels, she mulled over the explanation that had been given to them only minutes prior. Her guess hadn’t been too far off: Cleo and her team had been tailing those Metal Prod twins that she and Remy had encountered in front of Mason’s Motos–only to encounter them being attacked. It sounded a bit too familiar to the disappearances recently–on that front, all of them seemed to agree.

It was all starting to look like a real, valid threat.

As they reached the safehouse, Liv couldn’t help but look about, quietly casing the area. These locations were chosen carefully, but that didn’t mean they were foolproof, which was precisely why they had been called up. Satisfied but not quite at ease, she entered the safehouse with the rest of the group, to which they were greeted by Cleo and the sight of the twins mid-interrogation. She approached them in that swift, business-like manner she always did, hardly waiting for Remy’s question to explain what had gone down. At first, it sounded identical to the hurried summary they’d all been given–but then Cleo said something that made her stop short.

“But they moved in a way that I've never seen anyone move before,” Cleo was saying. “And definitely not those clunky military patrols. The two of them moved in perfect sync with each other and it was like they were moving with the shadows.”

Liv kept her expression neutral, even as she could feel her pulse threaten to quicken. A pair of silent shadows, moving in tandem. That was more than familiar. That was–

Celia cut in, clearly worked up about the assailants that they had the misfortune of encountering. As she described the two dressed in black, with only their eyes visible, the Ignis Prod knew that there was no mistake. Though Gabinus seemed taken with the idea of a new mythical Prod, she knew it was something both more mundane and sinister.

Specters. More specifically, Hands. What were Hands doing in Lutum–and why were they abducting homeless men and street kids? For what mission–Project Phoenix? Why hadn’t she been informed of this operation, especially when it was clear that it would overlap with her own? Medea–she’d reported the disappearances to the veteran Eye. Had she known already, or was she just as uninformed as she had been? The questions swirled in her mind, so all-consuming that she was completely oblivious to Remy’s words until he turned to look at them in a prompting way.

The young woman kicked herself mentally. She had to focus–this wasn’t the time to get distracted. There would be time for questions and answers later. Luckily for her, Vita remained helpful as ever. The Fulmen Prod frowned, thinking. “And you’re sure it wasn’t the military patrol, or some gangsters,” Vita reconfirmed. Celia shook her head immediately.

“There’s no way. They weren’t wearing that clunky body armor, and just…the way they moved? None of that brash, authoritative bullshit that the patrols have, or even that loud swaggering gangsters have. They were so quiet, almost like–”

“–Like ghosts,” the Specter finished. It wasn’t a question. Perhaps it never had been–it should have been obvious from the start.

“Yeah,” Celia admitted.

“Any thoughts?” Vita asked, turning to her.

“Not really,” Liv responded carefully. “But we can theorize about this later. We should secure the perimeter, maybe set up a lookout, if that’s okay with you,” she suggested, glancing towards Remy. She had half a mind to volunteer for it herself. There was a lot to pick apart in her mind, and well, she’d never been afraid of ghosts–not when she was one of them.
 
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