Caretaker

-•-

"Right now on The Sparrow," the reporter started on a static television in front of two glasses with a tall bottle of Ataraxia(Firebloom wine). The strong rainfall made it suitable for one to douse their stomachs with hot liquor.

"Warning: To those who are eating their meals please exercise caution as this news can create a displeasure in your appetite. The citizens of Pueblo Tres were shocked upon stumbling on a thrown blender with a cat inside." A loud 'plop' resounded as the cork was freed from its almost eternal position as an obstruction. "Unfortunately, the poor animal did not survive as its lower regions were blended down. The local police are now collaborating with international detectives on solving one of the many cases of animal slaughter."

And the television was turned off with its remote flown to the gods knows where.

"Boss? What are we going to do?"

"You coward now? Just as we always do, sit down and drink" The 'boss' poured his glass with ataraxia, the flowing wine sounded refreshing as it bubbled and sizzled. The said lackey swallowed air in fear, "But boss, eventually they'll spot a pattern and-"

"BAHHH,"The other inhaled sharply in annoyance, we have tons of money ey? Money can solve anything"

A short moment of silence but pitter patter of rain pouring on the roof passed when meowing sounds came behind the door.

"It's haunting us boss!" A frightened voice said which the other made a 'tsk' sound. The boss stood up from his chair and angrily stomped to open the door. Behind the wooden slab was a cat drenched in rain, meowing repeatedly in hopes to find shelter from the rain.

"See? It's just some stupid cat" The boss said, "Get lost you little mongrel!" In an instant, the cat was kicked away from their vicinity, landing on a bush distances away.

"Why'd you do that boss?!"

"Yea, why'd you do that?" Both men in the house froze when a feminine voice chimed in. Their television suddenly fell and his lackey backed to a nearby wall.

"B-b-b-boss?" He trembled after lightning lighted the surroundings for a brief moment, revealing four black felines stalking him. A girl seemingly 5'4 stood behind his boss with shoulder length hair and something behind her back.

"Get lost missy. Didn't you see this is a private property???" He slurred as the younger woman he referred to, chuckled.

"Your foot seems to be inching....." the shadowed figure said, her expressions unseen but by flashes of lightning it revealed an expression to kill. Paired with a twisted grin, a machine whirred behind her to which the man gulped and backed out, sweating profusely as it mixed with the rain.

"I'll do you a favor of scratching it out~"

"N-no stay back!"

-•-

In contrast to the bright sky adorning the country of Icycillis, the atmosphere inside the medbay was grim.

"What?!" Xiuying poked her head over their cubicle to see her master conversing with Yato, she deadpanned but proceeded to listen to the conversation.

"Yes, Lady Nieve, it appears that several cases such as this surfaced the same time animal cruelty was prominent"

"Good for them" Her master said haughtily that Yato scrunched his face.

"Well, they torture animals for kicks. What comes around goes around" Adrianna quotes with a shrug. Well, she does have her own type of justice: it's not a crime if you deserve it.

"I guess that's another work for Madame Velaria"

Xiuying slipped back to watch over her sister. She wiped down the sweat on her forehead and brushed Linthea's hair away from her face. The younger sibling straightened her blanket and patiently waited for her to gain consciousness.

Linthea woke up an hour prior to this moment but mere seconds only passed when she blacked out again due to a severe headache where the whole room was deafened by her screams, Xiuying hugged Soren tightly whilst crying, burying her face on the fabrics of his attire with Soren looking away with his fist and jaw clenched in anger before Adrianna injected her with a serum that renders her to fall asleep peacefully in any case.

Adrianna and Yato took their conversation somewhere else when Soren got inside, his brow furrowed upon seeing Xiuying and sighed,"Xiu, we need to talk about Lin" Xiuying looked from the device she's playing and stood up with a quizzical look; she's never seen him so serious before lest the tone of his voice.

"Alright...but who'll watch Jiejie?"

Soren gave her a pat on the shoulder as his voice turned back to the normal gentler tone,"Don't worry, Kale's watching" and Kale arrived just in time for his duty.

Soren turned towards the door with Xiuying following close but not without lingering an eye to Kale's back.

"As always" Xiuying gaped at what she heard, confirming her thoughts that there's more to her sister's relationship with that guy.

-•-

Soren stopped outside the building and sat on one of the benches away from the entrance, enigmatically, that Xiuying suspected he had become blind with rage. Slowly following his actions, she sat inches next to him and silently inquired for his presence.

"You need to know something about Linthea" he started.

"Go on?"Xiuying urged him calmly while studying his face of seriousness. She suppressed to question him of the grim look and instead listened to what he's about to say. "You always ask me, on why Lin doesn't have any powers, true?"Soren asked and all she can respond is nod her head anticipating for what comes next.

"The truth....is that she had powers but mother and father sealed them from her"

Xiuying was shocked. She thought- One can think she has a lot more to understand about their family, "What? Whoa, whoa, wait a minute! what kind of powers?"She inquired with excitement. Now she can piece together why her sister is one of the most wanted bounty of the Arc and a dangerous woman at that. Although this begs the question: Why is it sealed from her?

"Well, her powers are from mother's side only much stronger. She controls nature and every plant is at her disposal. I haven't learned the whole story to it since my time around the royal vault is short but there's this spirit beast that inhibited in her body that made her powers uncontrollable and puissant to contain at such a young age" Soren explained while Xiuying clasped her hands together with stars seemingly in her eyes, "Tell me more!"

Soren's POV

'Ah, she still doesn't understand'

"I know what you're thinking Xiuying but it's not all rainbows and unicorns for us. It all happened when you were just 3 years old. Father took us to the castle's training ground while mother was carrying you looking from a distant balcony. He explained that Linthea should train to control her powers and the beast with me as her training partner.."

—[Mass Flashback]–