In the sunwake after the let-water incident, and the murders of the people that Sui admired, she did something terrible. Thettan was gone. No officers had been promoted to replace him. Sui admired the officers for how they had helped kids like her. However, she knew a way she could keep more of them alive. She collected the unusable plasma rods, and one shiv that remained. She’d bring them to the shivs. She’d find Lilly and bring them together. She’d have them meet with the Militant Head Commander. Then she would help them stop hurting each other! Was that too much for a ten-cycles-old girl? It had worked when she tried it between militants that scuffled. 

First She needed to figure out how where Lilly lived. She probably went to back to her house sometimes. She was definitely going to get arrested again if Sui didn’t find her first. She found her address in the officer’s notes. She arrived at sunsleep. Why had that taken her so long?

She knocked on the door. A burst of water flashed out of every seam around the door. and circled her. There were icey spikes protruding towards her from the spiral. 

“Uh Lilly? Are you going to hurt me? I’m innocent… of murder. Not theft, but that's why I’m here!”

“Were you followed?”

“I think I'm being stalked by a Shiv or a street spy.”

“Okay.”

The door opened, but a wall of water was there.

The ice thorns melted but she was pulled into the wall.

“Please don’t kill me-!”

She would drown! She screamed but water entered her mouth and nose. A moment later she was pushed out the other side and coughed the water out. “Cuh-cuh…”

Sui looked up. “I thought you were going to drown me.”

“No, you just let it in when you screamed.”

Sui slumped into a couch near the door. 

“We need to stalk your stalker.”

“Noonono.”

“I know it’s not safe. Your mama taught you and my Mama taught me.”

“You’re not safe! You killed the people who are protecting us!”

“Shawn killed my mama. The officer tried to kill me. He would keep trying. I know how terrible your militant friends can be.”

_________—-

Le-falyne found the stalker. It seemed keen on finding life now that Sui was here. Her intent seemed to be answered by the intelligent water without her knowing about it.

It was a little boy. “Are you younger than me?”

“I’m not telling!”

 “Wow the Shivs are even worse. They’re putting kids in danger.”

“I’m not a kid! I’m a tyke!”

“Hahaha!” Sui bent over laughing. “Oww…. That means the same thing, kid. I’m still a kid too.” 

“I’m a big tyke!’

“That does sound kind of slicin’.”

“Slicin’?”

“That’s right! I’m slicin’ and you're clapped!”

“Is that good?”

“So, Sui. That means he’s going to tell on us. He thinks he can get away, even though we already caught him.”

“Oh. He might be right. See? He’s already gone!”

Lilly looked around. He was gone. Le’falyne bring him back.

The let-water in the area re-emerged over the rooftops of these maze-like back alleys and crashed down somewhere behind the apartments. 

“Ah!”

The water rushed back to them and carried the boy - who slid right into Lilly’s leg and knocked her over. She fell on her hands and knees in a dramatic splash. “Are you still mad at me?”

“Ugh. You’re double-clapped now you flickin’ boogers!” The body was up and sprinting away again. This time Le’falyne washed aside to provide him a dry path of stone.

“You are still mad at me.”

“He made a booger insult! I guess those ones are timeless. Just like butt jokes.”

Lilly looked at Sui. “Did you let him get away too?”

“Yeah,” Sui mumbled, “You killed someone I look up to! I’ve seen a lot so I’m not going to show it, but I’m not going to forgive you.”

“I'm going to kill Doan.”

Sui’s eyes became unfocused with contemplation. Her posture was stiff but leaning toward Lilly a bit. She reached up and held Lilly’s arm. Please, find out if he was responsible for the murders. He’s a reliable militant. I admire him. If he did terrible things, he can face the justice of the militants. He will have to sit before the top militant. I think they’re called the Myriad Ring. They represent all the ranks.” 

Lilly’s mind was stuck on Doan. “Fine-na!” 

“Alsoo, follow me to my home. The Shivs and the militants know you live here now.”

Lilly let herself be dragged. Someone else’s apartment. Does she have parents living there?

One outlet from the alleys behind Lilly’s apartment building, there were wide streets that wound in gentle curves and had apartment buildings taller than her’s. The doors were each different and elaborate. There were plaques with names of the resident family on the side of each door. 

Sui dragged her to a door on a building that curved around a small park in a nearly full circle. “Now, promise you won’t try to kill me and my whole family.” 

“I promise.” She stared in awe of the huge redwood trees that rose from the circular park. “Well, unless they’ve killed innocents.”

“You need help, and that’s why I’m not letting the Shivs get to you, or the militants! No killing in my home even if it's a dangerous person.”

“What if they are about to kill you all?”

“There might be exceptions.”

Sui touched her family plaques. “These are welded on. Can your let-water friend get them off?”

“Yes.” Lilly commanded Le’falyne to erode the backs of the plaques. The atmosphere became very dry as the water ran behind each plaque. A high-pitched vrrreee! sound preceded each plaque falling into Sui’s hands. 

“You stood prepared.”

Sui smiled and her cheeks grew pinkish. “I don’t want them to find my home. I’m not going to let my family be in danger. Well more danger than having you over. The Shivs are wassy less predictable than you.”

“What, uh does ‘wassy’ mean?”

“Oh, uh, wassy. Hmm I dunno. It's like ‘way more’ but in a sizzly way. Like when oil splatters off a hot pan! Yeah. you know it will happen, but you never know from what spot or in what direction the next splatter will go. Yes. That is what wassy means.”

Sui pulled a key out of her shirt and flicked it up with her thumb. She tried to catch it, but knocked it into the door instead. The key fell to the top step. A clang surprised Lilly. She impulsively ordered the let-water to shoot out icy spikes toward the top step and behind her in all directions. At the same time she flinched halfway up the steps. 

“Ah-owh.” Lilly was stuck with one of the spikes. Lilly released her will off the let-water and it instantly melted into a healing effect on her newfound friend. 

“Sorry.”

The door burst open and a knife went in it’s place. 

‘Ah! Momther!” Sui cried out and fell back into Lilly. Somehow Lilly caught her and stayed put. Le-falyne had secured her from upper back to feet with itself. That was new. She never saw it act on its own except to heal physical wounds. 

“Momther? Sui!? Come in!”

A tall and firmly built woman pulled Sui into the foyer past the doorway. “And… who-what by Laysop’s grace are you?” She still held the shiv out straight and steady. Lilly looked at her un-shaking hands and admired the resolve she used to see in her mother’s movements. This woman could be her new role model.

_______________

Rhe wanted so much to leave the city. Every single fiber of her body and mind hummed with the urge and urgency to run! She had to rely on her host to keep her mania in check. ‘I need to find my Le’falyne. Since I am staying here, where I belong, so you say - that’s all I can think to do.”

“Yes, the ‘shops are still under surveillance. Are you sure you don’t want to talk to the militants? You’ve valuable eye-witness information!”

“Nope, Not really. I threw my let-water bomb and ran the other way.”

__

“Proprietor! I need you to use your little spy.” A lean and plainly handsome man entered and walked quickly up to her.

“You cannot use him. He decides on his own to help.”

“Hmm.”

Rhe was mildly interested. She listened from her lounging position on the low sofa nearest to the bar. 

“I’ve something I need to return to the girl, but nobody has seen her since the sham trial last night.”

Now Rhe was extremely interested. “Do you mean a girl with short curly orange hair and decent gentile clothes who still has some of her baby fat?” 

The irrelevantly handsome man looked down at her. “Yes. Lilly Greyvlat.”

“Lilly. What do you need to bring back to her?”

“This chilton stuffed doll.” He placed a doll on the sofa edge as if sitting. Rhe had to twist around to see it. 

She was stunned. “That’s my rare Le’falyne!” 

The water in the hole of the doll orbed out and hovered over her hand. Then it de-orbed and spun in a beautiful display around her hand and flowed over the back of her hand and between her fingers. “Hehe. That tickles.”

The water returned to the hole it was occupying and calmed.

______

The proprietor stared at the water filling the hole in the doll. “Wait, Lilly Greyvlat. She’s at our home! I can bring that to her!”

“Why is she at your place!?”

“Does she still have my orb?”

“You could both come over this evening and see her before the guests start trickling in tonight.”

Nathan looked back at a tinted window to the side of the front entrance door. “No, I need to go speak to the Dean.”

“I’ll accept your invitation.”

“Wait. Proprietor. You’ve helped me even though you don’t like me. I need to tell you I saw how the attacker held that plasma rod in a military stance. They’re militants. Not sure about the others, but most likely. Either in the force or defected.”

“I will, Nathan. Thank you.”

__________

Sui sat across from Lilly. “You can command the let-water to do things. Since it doesn't want to do those things, I’m worried.”

The secret knock was made outside the door. Sui opened the door to let her mother in, and a stranger followed behind. This is getting close to a dangerous situation.

The stranger took a seat in the only cushioned seat. “Aoooooph. So, Lilly, do you still have my orb?”

“I… no.”

“Come to the table everyone. I’ve some tea and cookies. Let’s talk like civilized people.”

Rhea made no motion to stand. The others went to a small table at the edge of the kitchen where floor mats gave way to tile. 

“Girls, this is Rhea. She’s an artificer at the university. She created an orb that we think saved your life, Lilly.”

Lilly took a thin cookie and looked at the woman. She was unlike anyone Lilly knew. She wasn’t skinny like most citizens, and not plump like Sui’s mom. This Rhea seemed to be healthier than everyone. She had just the right amount of fat. Lilly suddenly felt better about herself too. She felt a sameness with this woman. 

“Rhe is fine. I'm not refined or ‘gentile’ enough for the a and the end.”

Sui and her mom laughed. 

Sui’s mother said, “I guess we are gentile. We’re gentle at the least.”

“Lilly. We need to keep talking about your problem!”

Lilly glanced at Sui next to her. She groaned. She knew Sui was right, but she was right too. “Sometimes I need Le’falyne to do something that will help. Its doesn’t understand, so I have to command it. It doesnt understand that some people will cause a lot of death in the future, unless we kill that one person.”

Sui’s mother stopped with steaming cups in her hand. “Why are you saying such things?”

“I’m sorry mama. I thought you could help her be human again.”

“I am human. They’re attacking people in the gentile district! They could get you next! Don’t you know any of the people who were killed?”

“I …do.”

“Yes, they weep at my business at night.”

“So I have to stop them. The militants don’t do enough. They’ll keep killing mamas and papas! I don’t want anyone else’s mama to die until she’s an old wrinkly wise lady like my mom should’ave become.”

Rhea spoke without standing. She didn’t seem to like standing at all. “Le’falyne will not hurt anyone for you. It loves life and will only try to preserve it. Let-water does not want things to die. Don’t try to kill with it. You might succeed, but you’ll go mad. Have you heard of elves? There are desert elves that force the elements to do things against their nature. This slowly causes madness in the elves. This is the case for anyone imposing their will too aggressively on someone or something else’s will. 

Rhe had all of their attention now. Sui asked, “How do you know all this, but nobody else does?”

Rhe shrugged. “I think I read more. I can’t stop. It’s like pleasureseeking, except I get a lot more out of it than one moment of joy.”

Sui’s mother leaned closer to Rhe. “Let’s not talk about that topic with the kids.”

“Oh. Uh, hugs give pleasure. And smiles, and letters to friends…”

Sui’s mother frowned. “You’re really stretching it.”

“Then I’ll kill without forcing my will on Le’falyne. I’ll use regular water.”

Rhe laughed. “Oh.” She stood up and went over to Lilly. Without asking she lifted Lilly’s tattered shirt. “Wow, I’ve never seen this happen before. I’ve never even read about it. Le’falyne kept you alive by taking the place of your flesh! It’s too bad I was late for your mama. Wow, I can see your spine - and your intestines!”

Lilly was too surprised to stop the woman.

Sui looked at Rhe. “Lilly, I have clothes that might fit you. C’mon.”

She took Lilly by the hand to an open closet set in the wall on the far side of the room. Lilly changed right there while the two adults talked to each other.

Lilly felt a surge of appreciation for Sui. She felt safe. She knew she wouldn’t stop killing. She had to protect these people. her rage was still there. Now she was filled with rage and insight.