Though not very tall for a man, actually about my height, the Swordmaster was strong, easily on par with Rayden, according to my instincts. Did he work for her, though? He certainly didn't make it easy for me to tell. Not by his looks, at least. Dressed not in the uniform of the city guards, but in black, covered by a cloak from the shoulders down, shaved, short-cut hair, he bore a sharp look. A look that wasn't so unfamiliar to me.

In fact, it was a look that had been digging into my back since yesterday, the one I made sure to remember before I left the barracks.

"D-did you send the...?" I didn't finish the sentence, not really wanting to give away more until absolutely sure about who he was.

His lips curved into a smile. "The cat? I call her Alley."

'Huh? Alley? Like...like the back alley, where they found her, where I fought for my freedom?'

"T-That's not very original," I stuttered out, unable to hide my unease, but a bit relieved. He was the one who sent the note, that was for sure. Whether he was working for Rayden was something I was still on the fence about, though.

The man shrugged. "Practical. Anyway, good you showed up - kind of stupid, but good and, well, necessary."

'Was he serious? He's the one who wrote me to come.' Not that he wasn't right. Coming here was stupid, no doubt. "I a-almost didn't - went to the wrong place the first time."

"No. You were in the right spot. Only the man was - well, an unplanned variability. My bad."

"Oh..."

'Wait! He knew they'd send me to the old unused outhouses?'

"Look, Grey, let's skip the niceties. We don't have much time. As I suspected, your stunt yesterday got things moving. As a matter of fact, so should we."

"Huh? Y-you want to go somewhere? I have a job, you know."

It was only a brief moment for which he closed his eyes, sighing under his breath, but more than telling that this was not what he wanted to hear.

"Quite an inconvenient job. Anyway, I meant just get out of sight," the man said, motioning to a spot behind the outhouses further along the wall of the main building, some kind of recess intended for a purpose long forgotten. A glance into the shadows and a shiver ran through my body. It looked no different from the back alley.

"I see," the man observed, noting my reaction. "The second option, then. You take one, I'll take the other."

"Y-you mean the stalls?"

"Is that a problem, too?"

"N-no, it's just..."

'It was simply weird - like something out of an old spy movie.'

"Couldn't we have talked somewhere in the corner of the stables?"

"Too many eyes, too many ears, if you know what I mean. Please."

Of course, I knew - animals, Moira maybe. Still, the stalls?

"Won't they hear us, anyway?"

"That's taken care of," he said, as if that explained everything. “Just don't lift the lid.”

"What lid?"

"Come on, Grey. Let's not make this any more obvious."

'Fuck you. I'm not a bloody spy.' I thought to myself, gritting my teeth.

Nevertheless, weirded out by the whole thing, baffled and wary, I decided to trust my instincts about the man and plucked up the courage to take one of the stalls. Stupid? No doubt. But if this man, Blaine, was who my instincts were telling me he was, it was in my best interest to hear him out. Besides, so far, I had found no malice in his words, no falsehood. Of course, as I learned from scalehoofs, that didn't necessarily mean he was telling me the whole truth. But I wouldn't expect him to.

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"Alright, ten minutes, tops," came a man's voice from the next stall even before I could find a place to sit. There was an obvious spot covered by a LID.

'What would happen if I removed it?’

The obvious - the runes would activate and I wouldn't hear shit from the other stall.

"Allow me to reintroduce myself, Lieutenant Blaine Ardaivel'cas."

"K-Korra Grey," I said, finally finding a position to sit on the toilet lid.

'This is so weird. Why couldn't we just… hold on!'

"Did you say Ardaivel'cas?"

"Yes."

"Are you Marcus's brother?"

"In a sense. It's a surname given to orphans here in Castiana."

"Oh. Oh, shit. I didn't know… s-sorry."

"Don't sweat it, Grey. Not your fault. It happened in the past. What matters is the present. And your presence in the city has set things in motion. Finally, if I may add."

"Y-you wanted this to happen?" Whatever "this" meant.

"Having mind mages in the city, quite possibly more to come? No. Did I live under the illusion that they didn't have their fingers here, though? No, I did not. There are too many places for them to hide in Castiana, and even more minds in which to dwell."

A chill went down my spine at those last words.

"Declaring an end to the Mind Wars was very short-sighted of the Emperor. What people wanted to hear at the time for sure, but that played into the hands of the mind mages as well. Restrictions were lifted, and the bastards moved in. And once they're in, it's hard to get rid of them until they pop their heads out on their own. Which brings us to you, Grey."

'Here we go.'

"I didn't think anything could surprise me anymore, but you proved me wrong yesterday. I almost slashed my blade at your neck."

'What?! Did I hear him right?'

"Y-you did?"

"It's my duty to protect the city."

"I s-see." At that moment yesterday in the stables, I was a wild beast to him, one that needed to be put down before it hurt anyone in the city. Terrifyingly enough, though, I didn't recall feeling anything out of place - except for the obvious shock of everyone present at my beast might - no murderous intent at the time. He could easily live up to his words if the man wanted to. Further proof of how weak I was. Quite frustrating, but just the way it was.

"Unsurprisingly, the stunt also caught the attention of many."

'Many?'

"H-how far did my might reach?"

"Barely outside the walls of Building Two. But it doesn't matter; word got out. There were already two snoopers in the stables last night, and no doubt more will come to check out the rumors tonight."

"Wait, w-what rumors?"

"About you, the beast talker, with the presence of a mighty beast."

'Was he serious? He was, wasn't he? I didn't hear him wrong because of the two wooden walls separating us, did I?'

Suppressing the urge to barge into his stall and demand an answer, I hit my mind with [Indomitable Will]. "That's bad, isn't it?" It was supposed to be just the mind mages. At least, that was what Rayden, Marcus, and I discussed when I agreed to be the bait. The whole thing wasn't supposed to involve anyone else, and yet...

"Not ideal, but an opportunity nonetheless. If the bastards are as interested in you as it seems, they'll have to act fast before anyone else makes a move."

"Someone else? Like who?"

"Seeker Companies. No doubt many will want to acquire your talents."

'Shit, shit, shit!'

"I s-see."

"Then, of course, there's us, Castiana Cty Guards, and therefore the Empire - which should be the main driver for the bastards. Hence, my urgent need to talk to you. Beware of strange behavior in animals; with your talent, you should be able to tell better than anyone."

"Wait, you think they'll use scalehoofs?"

"Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't. The scalehoofs don't last long under their spells. To use them would give away their involvement, but now? They'll need to act fast and using animals to gather information is - well, easier."

"So you're telling me that from now on, I should suspect every animal in the stables and worry that what…? They might die?"

"Believe it or not, Grey, not the ugliest side of the Mind Wars. In my book, better animals than humans."

'Was it - better?' The thought twisted my guts. Unless you count my fight with squirrels, I had yet to meet an animal that was downright nasty to me. The same could not be said of the people I ran into.

"Well, time's up. Do your best, Grey. And remember, you're not alone."

"What? Wait. No. No, no, no. I have so many questions."

However, instead of an answer, the faint creaking of the door of the next outhouse reached my ears. When I rushed out, there was no sign of Lieutenant Blaine ever being there. What came back, though, was the sense of his eyes on the back of my neck.