Keoni liked the peace and quiet of the library more than anything else. Nobody could disturb her while she engulfed herself in a world, far, far away.
The commotion outside - Mir-Hunters yelling at one another - could be easily ignored with a good book.
Keoni didn’t want anything else. Gardening and reading. Nobody bothered her in her little corner.
The little plant in her reading corner seemed especially droopy today. Its leaves tried touching the wooden windowsill, but without luck. Keoni kept giving it the perfect amount of love to keep it alive, and it seemed to be working, more or less. That was something else she enjoyed more than anything.
The chaos outside continued to pursue. She couldn’t care less, however. Everything the hunters were capable of doing was being loud, stupid, and overly aggressive. Their noise was consistent. Every day, they were chasing another so-called ‘Mir-Cognate’ for their magic. Every time, they had been chasing a normal civilian because a “bit more than usual” amount of magic was radiating off of them.
That was just the way Everton always was: Mir-Hunters, trying to make their living. Keoni wasn’t stupid like that. She instead spent most of her day reading in the library. Half of these books she was yet to peruse through, an entire half of the dusty shelves brimming with leather covers on paper.
The roof of the library was tall and rounded, allowing for an attic to be placed there. Ryley had taken Keoni up there a few times, so that she could help him bind some books. That was another thing she enjoyed; making books was so relaxing, with the constant rhythm of folding and sewing.
The walls were made of cobblestone, the quadrilateral-looking blocks always fun to trace with the eye. Though it was built long before most of Everton had ever existed, it was still more stable than most residence buildings built by hand. The more recent, modern buildings such as the apartment complex Keoni lived in were much, much better due to the more advanced technology organizations were moving to using.
Ryley was the main assistant here. He was Keoni’s age, and she’d known him for a long time. His family adopted her, though she still lived in her own home. He was a red deer with still-growing antlers and a love for linguistics. He mostly cleaned up in the library, returning any misplaced books back onto their shelves or helping people check books out. Him and her were technically siblings, but Keoni treated him more like a very close friend.
More muffled yells came through the walls. The Mir-Hunters were nearby, “hot on the case.” Their persistence was really quite annoying. Never had Keoni actually seen them catch a Mir-Cognate, nor did she believe they actually existed.
The doors to the library burst open as several Mir-Hunters rushed inside, knocking books off the shelves and sending whitewash dust off the walls. They ignored the mess as they stormed in and right up to Ryley, who was sitting at his desk and reading. He glanced up at them casually.
Alright, now they were her problem.
Keoni closed her book after marking her spot, stuffing the book and her other items into her bag. She looked up and strained her ears to listen to their quarrel.
“Hand over the fugitive and no one in here gets hurt.” The lead of the pack - a middle-aged human - boomed through the echoey space. He slammed his hands onto the desk, causing Keoni to flinch. Ryley looked back down at his book, turning the page, then marking his place. He stared at them for several moments, then sighed.
“What do you mean?” He asked, keeping his tone soft. Keoni would not have the courage to keep a calm face like that.
“The Deformity!! I know you’re hiding one here!” He spat. At this, the deer just leaned on his hand across the table, looking unimpressed.
“You keep saying that there are hidden Mir-Cognates in the community,'' He retaliated, “But have you ever actually found one?” The human across from him seemed a bit flustered, yet Ryley continued to humiliate him.
“And now you’ve barged into a public place, where a hidden Mir-Cognate would be as easy to find as a black sheep in a white herd.”
The man, now embarrassed and unable to respond to the insult steeled his face, gathered his weapons, and directed his group back outside. Ryley watched with a smirk on his face as the group, defeated and embarrassed, shuffled out of the library. He picked up his book and continued reading.
Keoni took this as her chance to leave, thanking the deer on her way out with a small nod. Typically one would see this as a dismissive action, but Ryley knew that she doesn’t like to speak unless necessary.
She avoided eye contact with the villagers on the street as she walked home. A mix of many different races of humans, most of them darker colored, mixed with scruffy Phys-Conidae. Everton was fairly new, although there were clear borders between the rich and the poor. Keoni’s only source of income was taking care of the many plants in her great-aunt’s manor. Other than that, she lived by herself in a small building jammed with all the others.
As she gripped the copper handle and turned it, she took a solid breath before opening the door. It moaned as the hinges moved for the thousandth time, as no one had ever bothered to replace or take care of them. Inside, the fire had died, leaving a dark fireplace and a dark room. She ignited the candle on a nearby table and opened the curtains by the back window to let in some light. She had planters both on the windowsill and outside the windows, green as can be. In one planter she was growing marigolds, the other, pansies. Other than that, she slept in the living room, prepared meals in the kitchen, and that was all.
Ryley had helped her make a small greenhouse up on her roof not too long ago, fully prepared with a steamy humidifier that worked as a heater as well.
She climbed up the secret ladder in her small pantry up to the room, scooping up a watering can pre-filled with water. She went inside, touched by sudden humid air in her fur and the smell of fresh, plant-produced air. Keoni checked on every pot, making sure the plants were all comfortable. She moistened the dirt inside the pots, (which she didn’t take from a nearby cornfield) and adjusted any plant that didn’t seem to get the perfect amount of light.
Afterward, she clamored down the ladder and closed the trapdoor.
Ever since she came here, to this town, it had always felt different than when she had lived with her family. Sometimes she missed them, even just the little habits they had that annoyed her. Father with his constant teasing and silliness, Mother with her ever-calm demeanor, and her younger sister Samara with her rambunctiousness and unusual vocabulary. Keoni could almost see her family living in this apartment of hers, watching them play and laugh. It helped her sometimes when she needed someone other than her plants to talk to.
A muffled clunk sounded from inside her kitchen, ripping her from her memory. Keoni quickly opened the pantry door to see if someone was there.
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Nothing and nobody was there. She craned her ears. That sound came from somewhere.
Keoni crept silently around the corner. There.
On the ground, there was a small amount of blood. She bent down and sniffed. Fresh.
There was a trail leading to under her table where the candle was still steadily burning. It was dark down there, but the trail was still leading strong.
Keoni rested her paw on the table and bent down, looking under it.
Sitting there was an orange… Phys-Conidae, grumbling to himself and wrapping one of her bandages around his leg, where blood was pooling. He had a pained scowl on his face, and straight horns that looked very sharp, yet he didn’t have hooves. He had the main attributes of a fox, though his tail looked thinner and more pliable. Some kind of hybrid?
She cast a shadow on him as she approached, causing him to look up. When he saw her, he yipped loudly and tried to jump to his feet, hitting his head on the top of the table.
“Ow,” he squeaked, in a voice that sounded young, yet mature at the same time. He tripped over the leftover bandages as he tried to scramble away, falling onto the floor with another grunt.
“How in the name of Trin did you get in here?” Keoni finally said, taking a step towards him.
He yipped again and in another feeble attempt to flee, he stubbed his injured leg on the table and cried out, dragging himself on the floor, still trying to get away. “Please!” He whimpered. “Don’t kill me!” He’d managed to make it halfway across the room, the wrap still marking where he went. Keoni, fascinated by the creature, continued to follow him. He had now pressed himself against the wall and was breathing heavily, his eyes wild with fear.
Why is he so scared?
“Look, I thought you were somebody entirely different.” His voice cracked when he blurted that. “Do you even know what the Mirae-World is!?”
Keoni opened her mouth to answer, but she was interrupted by pounding on her door.
“Are you hiding from them?” She quietly demanded, pointing at the door. He nodded dazily.
“Go up the chimney. It’s the best hiding place.”
“But-”
She didn’t let him finish. She made sure the ashes were cold before ushering him up. He was wincing and mumbling the whole time he shimmied up. It seemed like he could stay, so Keoni walked to the door just as another knock sounded.
She peeked through a crack she opened. Three humans - probably Mir-Hunters - were grouped, heavily armored and menacing.
“Orders from the hierarchy to search this residence.” He hissed. Keoni opened the door and let them in without a word. The last time her house was searched, she had profusely objected, and it ended in her being taken in for interrogation. The three searched high and low, checking every cupboard, cushion, and anywhere else they could think of. Fortunately, they did not take the ladder up to the roof. The three probably weren’t desperate enough.
“Clear.” The ‘lead’ said, storming out. The others followed suit, not bothering to close the door. Keoni did it for them, then sighed. Those searches always racked her nerves.
“You can come down.” She muttered. The guy she’d been sheltering slid down and into the living room, covered in soot.
He was grumbling, something about getting dirty and if it was worth it or not. Keoni wasn’t completely paying attention to what he was saying.
The room was unsettlingly, awkwardly quiet.
“You’re a Mir-Cognate, let’s establish that.” Keoni finally said.
“Gee, you couldn’t tell.” He rolled his eyes. “What’s your name, hospitalizing stranger?”
“Keoni. Keoni Ngo. You?”
“Caste.”
She waited for him to say his surname.
He noticed. “It’s… just Caste.”
Man, Caste just kept getting weirder and weirder.
“Look, kid.” He spoke up again. “You may not know much about Mirae, but I do.” He pointed to himself. “If they take you in, they’re going to think you’re a Cognate, and you do not want that to happen to you.” He looked genuinely worried for Keoni, which confused her. Why would a stranger worry about someone they just met? What kind of a moron is he? She thought.
“They?”
“Yes. Not this dumb organization that runs around pointing swords and guns at everyone they see with a spectrum strength of above 300. They don’t know a thing. You should really keep an eye out for their Mir-Hunters.”
“Why, exactly, are you telling me this?”
“If I’m correct, your spectrum strength is really high. It’s rare, but not impossible for a non-Mir-Cognate. Since you aren’t one, I couldn’t tell you an exact number. That means, if their Mir-Hunters find you, you’ll-” he choked, rubbing his shoulder. He looked like he was about to cry. It took a moment before Caste was able to compose himself enough to speak again.
“You’ll be taken to one of their camps and forced to conform to what they want you to do, no matter how long it takes. It’s next to impossible to escape, and if you try, they’ll do worse things to you.” Saying these things was taking a toll on him like he was reliving the memory. His eyes were blank, he had stopped moving, and the fur on his shoulders and the back of his head was raised.
He gathered his strength and sighed. “They’ll kill you if you can’t create a Mir-Gate.”
Keoni shrugged. “And why does it matter if I die?’
He stared at her, dumbfounded. “Look, if you want to be killed, fine. But it’s not a quick death. They’ll either drown you, burn you alive, or interrupt your Mir-Link. Which will rip your body apart. It’s extremely painful.” He stared into her eyes, and it felt like he was staring into her soul. “I can show you if you want.” He whispered eerily.
Keoni raised her brow. She’d never seen anything to do with Mirae. Her life seemed perfectly fine without it.
Caste huffed. “I’m sure there are plenty of wights that are about to be torn apart in Limbo.”
“Limbo?”
“I don’t come up with the names for everything!” He muttered. “I’m still going to get you out of here. It’s not safe.”
“Ahem,” Keoni gave him a look. “You’re the one hiding in my house.”
“I’m also the one who wants to protect you.” Caste exasperated.
“I never asked for you to protect me.” Keoni snorted.
“Alright, alright. Fine. But if you ever see this symbol, you have to run. Get away as fast as possible, because your life will depend on it.”
“What sym…” she watched as he undid the clasp on his vest and pulled his undershirt down, revealing a burn scar tearing away all of the fur that used to be on the left side of his back.
The number 481 was written in bold under the sign Caste was talking about. Once Keoni looked at the sign, she could hear screaming.
Her screams.
Tears streamed down her face. “Don’t take them!” She screeched, vainly reaching her claws out as huge, hulking tigers were grabbing her parents.
They didn’t respond. Embroidered on the sleeves, fronts, and backs of their clothing was a symbol that looked like a Q, a hexagon. A thin line was drawn from the center, representing the little tail of the Q. The hexagon itself was shaded teal and had an eerie stare.
“Stay strong, Keoni!” Her mother wailed as she was being shoved out the door. “I’ll see you again, my love!”
She stared as the door was slammed in her face and her little sister, father, and mother were being forced down the road, swarmed by more of the men with the Q symbol.
Keoni fell to the floor. She’d run out of tears. Instead, she choked out weak sobs as she curled up against the door, clutching her hands on her chest.
They were gone and they were never coming back.
“Keoni?” Caste’s odd voice snapped her out of it.
“They took my parents.” She whispered. She hadn’t realized she’d curled up weakly on the floor. “And my sister.”
“Do you want to be taken too?” Caste asked gently.
“I-I don’t know. If I see my family again-”
“If you want to see them again, I can help, and so can you.”
She glanced up at him, actually feeling comforted by his piercing gray eyes for once.
“You must learn to travel between the two worlds.”