“So,” Ryuu started, setting himself across the table from her, “What are you going to do?” His long fingers intertwined at his chin, elbows resting on the table. Green iridescent scales cantilevered the right side of his face. Heartless looked over at Amel and then back at Seren.
“I go to Peter’s Square.” Ryuu shifted his look to Armel. Armel did not look back at him.
“What’s at Peter’s Square?” Ryuu asked. Heartless placed the baby on the table in front of her, next to the bowl of gruel. She looked over at Armel.
“Hornclaw. I am going to leave now,” she said as she rose to her feet, clumsily tying a knot in the blanket to carry the baby hands free.
“Heartless. You are strong in body and spirit,” Armel replied, standing with her, “You are wise to take advantage of our supplies.” She hesitated and puffed her chest.
“Where is Peter’s Square?” Ryuu smiled, but Armel only motioned.
“You are here.” Heartless sat down and placed the baby back on the table. Seren calmed a little bit, and she let him play with her fingers.
“So then. I should know that the place is full of bastards,” she replied, leaning back in her chair. Armel sat down after her.
“We are a colony of humans,” Armel said, “Together, we can have enough to eat.” Heartless snarled at him.
“We aren’t human anymore. No one is human. We live in isolated shapes of rock, metal, and glass. There is none but what you find.” Armel cracked his neck and grunted.
“There is none but what you find,” he agreed, “We are here to survive. Nothing more or less.” She pulled away from the baby and used her good arm to bring the bowl of gruel to her lips. She swished it in her mouth before swallowing.
“What do you want with the fire fowl?” she asked, taking another slurp. Armel tapped the table.
“We want nothing with the fire fowl,” he replied. She raised her eyebrows.
“Seren wanted here. Last thing he told me before he went up in smoke.” Ryuu started a bit, pursed his lips together and folded his hands in his lap, glancing back and forth from the baby to the mangled unicorn to the other mangled unicorn.
“We will take him then, if that is your wish,” Armel replied, showing no consternation. Heartless slammed the empty bowl on the table.
“I will stay until I fight again,” she replied, flaring her nostrils.
“Then I will take leave,” Armel replied, “There is a place across that is suitable.” He walked towards the door that had not been opened yet. Heartless stood, picking up Seren, and followed him through the doors. Ryuu quietly followed a few steps behind.
Along the hall were four closed doors. The walls were made of concrete with cracks, both deep and small. It led to a dead end.
“This is our wing,” Armel replied, “I take my sleep here.” He pointed to the first room.
“You are here,” he said, pushing open the door next to it. It was a small room with pipes and other metal debris. In the corner was a pile of raggedy blankets. She turned to look at them.
“We will be back in the morning. The hall, the cell, the center room are yours to roam.” Armel turned and left, leaving the door open behind him. Ryuu led the way out to the main room.
Armel followed him further through the doors on the far right into a long hallway lined with brick. Going further, he moved through a door that led to another open area tunnel. The tunnel went deep both ways, so far that the darkness seemed like a pit.
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“Are we far enough away, you think? She won’t follow us?” Ryuu asked as they walked down the long tunnel. Armel shook his head.
“She will not follow.”
“So you think she’s telling the truth? Who is she really?”
“Unicorns do not lie to others. Only to themselves,” Armel responded, whipping his tail a bit.
“She seemed to relax quite a bit after we told her she reached her destination.”
“She is of the Bloodfury clan.”
“Is that important?” Armel snorted and stopped walking, turning towards Ryuu, eyes intense.
“The Bloodfury do not kill only in raids. The Bloodfury kill for sport. My own clan made sure to avoid any territories they had taken because of the wrath they inflict on victims.”
“Then how in the world are we not dead?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why does she have the baby?”
“I don’t know.”
“Are others following her? Can we expect problems?”
“I don’t know.” Ryuu slapped his head and wrinkled his forehead.
“So. What can you tell me?” he asked, leaning against the tunnel wall. Armel paused, twitching his ears through his bandages.
“She is strong, a chief’s daughter.”
“Stronger than you?”
“She bested me.” Ryuu laughed.
“Ah. Or you let her win?” Armel made no change in his expression.
“She bested me,” he repeated, “Do you not know how a unicorn gets his name?”
“Yeah, yeah. There’s a whole ceremony with the first kill. Where they pit you against someone they captured.”
“My name is Hornclaw,” Armel said, looking away, “I used my horn to impale my enemy when I headbutted him in the stomach. To earn the name ‘Heartless.’…” Ryuu clasped his hands together.
“So…you think she actually took out someone’s heart on her first go?” Armel did not answer for a minute or so, but only twitched his ears.
“Or she killed one of her own,” he said finally. Ryuu stood straight.
“Unicorn clans are pretty horrible, but I thought I remember you saying that the first kill is always an enemy.”
“Sometimes the enemy is within,” Armel responded, “She has been vicious from the beginning. But she will do no harm while the child is in sight. You were wise to take him away, but not wise enough to give him to her sooner. You should have called me earlier.”
“Yeah,” Ryuu sighed, “Somda wasn’t around, so I had to send Porter. Porter isn’t nearly as quick about messages as Somda, but you know…I don’t have too many options at this point with all the problems going around. We need to move again, you know. The unicorn clans have been particularly oppressive and violent in the past few months, hitting up the crash settlements more than once and totally decimating some established settlements. We’re in a rough spot.” He rubbed his hands through his hair. They were silent for a moment. Armel closed his eyes and turned his head to the side.
“I know, I know,” Ryuu said, “There are better things to do than rehabilitate unicorns. But I feel like we can’t just leave them out there to die. It’s not right, Armel. They’ll die out if they keep going the way they go.”
“It might be best,” Armel replied.
“But it is unfair. It’s unfair that they suffer from themselves. And you were able to get out of it when you realized this. By the way, did she realize it? If she is so strong, did she have a change of heart?”
“I wouldn’t call it a change of heart, but she is no coward. It is dangerous to leave her alone for too long. It will take time to earn trust after keeping her locked up for so long. It is best if you let me watch her for a while.” Ryuu nodded.
“Alright. I know. I figured that would be the case. Alright. I’ll put Unter on your block. Will you need any help?”
“I don’t take care of children,” Armel said, bluntly, “But you’d need someone stout hearted to be able to deal with an unstable unicorn mare who is hell bent on keeping this fire fowl…I’m sorry…phoenix child under her own watchful eye.” Ryuu flashed a grin.
“Fine. Then I’ll look for someone who might do well to visit often or stick around there. Alright. Just send word if you need anything else. I need to get going to reassure the families nearby that you’ve got things under control. They trust you.” Armel snorted.
“Yes. As much as anyone can trust a unicorn,” he replied and turned to go back through the hall towards Heartless, ears jingling loudly. Ryuu stayed a moment and blew smoke at the ceiling.
“My word, she is something else,” he muttered under his breath, “I hope Armel can get through to her.” He rubbed his hands through his head, mussing up his patchy hair, outlined with green scales instead of bald spots.