He sits down, collecting himself and eyeing the note with a look of concern. He buries his face into his arm, letting out a muffled sigh. Meanwhile, his restless foot taps away on the ground furiously. The bird, now reminded of the boy’s presence, wings her way towards the table and edges towards Blue’s face, cocking her head to the side in curiosity and concern.

The boy peers up and gives the cockatiel a gentle smile.

A chirp. She questions his trouble.

“I’m fine. It’s just that-” A pause. Then: “Well the thing is, this note here, it’s from someone who knows my identity- or at least some part of it- and from the tone of this note, clearly wants to exploit it.” He talks fast. Too fast. “And obviously, I can’t meet with this person. Zodia knows if it could be a bounty hunter. Even common folk will turn me in to the Riders at this point. But if I don’t go then… Well, if they tracked me once, they can do it again, right?” He ends in an exasperated sigh, making eye contact with the bird once again.

“Citrux, what do I do? ” The bird cranes her neck and lands on his lap. He needs to calm down. Deep breaths. “This person, whoever it is- hey don’t sleep, I’m talking to you.” The bird plants her face inside her left wing and proceeds to kick at his knees to make herself comfortable. “Stop-”

The note in his hand slips and falls on Citrux, who now forms a shape like- a donut, Blue decides. A yellow lemon sugar powder donut. The donut unravels the paper and it lands on her head like a hat. Blue is tempted to just let her keep it and send her with the note instead.

She just looks up at him from his lap.

Remove this at once and let me sleep in peace.

“Yes, ma’am.” He gently removes the note by pinching an end. He reads through it once again. Soon she’s sleeping and now he can’t stand up or move.

“Ma’am?”

“Citrux??”

“Can I stand up now, please? No? I’ll just put you down on the table- hey! No bad- I need to stand up, I can’t just sit here-”

***

He doesn’t exist.

The owner of this wallet never was. Or at least not blatantly.

There are no traces of this man. Anywhere. The Marauder scavenged the wallet several times, searching for any subtle clues, hints, even hidden pockets; anything that might point him to the right direction. But no. All he got was an old, familiar coin, and an empty shell of a name.

Elias.

He flipped through every record he owned. Every document, past even Aries’ boundaries.

Nothing.

Blue sighs, speechless. The seventh hora approaches fast. He must depart shortly.

The Marauder steps out into the city once again, watching the collision of reds and yellows into the calm of night. The night falls and he strides within the Ariesan kingdom; observing.

He bears a simple beige tunic, walking among the civilians. The setting masks his presence. He listens to the commoners, then to his thoug​hts.

This is prone to be an ambush, He thinks. It isn’t ideal but I can’t turn back now. If the Riders do capture me, I have a way out. He glances at the Auxilia Rod, now in his hand. I just have to protect it. Subtly, Blue conceals the cerulean crystal beneath his attire, deep within a secret pocket. He must remain vigilant. He mustn’t let his guard down. It’s him against the world- but he can prevail. He just needs to play his cards right.

He leaves loose syhoses within his pockets and ruffles his hair. Slowly, he crosses the town, advancing towards a dreadful sight. He stops in his tracks and watches the bridge in horror.

This could be a beginning.

Or the end.

He advances.