The storm had calmed, and the dim life of Boneclad ensued as nothing happened. The survivors carried their guilt as they laid down the nameless remains of the deceased, not knowing which grave they should cry on. It seemed that the city housed more dead than living as the cemetery grew overcrowded with each battle, and although this particular battle hadn't resulted in many casualties, it baffled the generals with its strange outcome.

I. The council.

Tension arose in the council as suspicions begun to pass around the city. Anysa's successful hunting was not mentioned to any living soul but Carvo and her assistant. It was a strange situation where everyone doubted each other yet refused to lay out their fears in order to connect the dots, only their eyes spoke across their large oak table decorated with the peculiarly morbid skulls and red odorless roses.

All those empty bottles of water laid in front of their representatives, one after another shugged the cold water while sweating nervously, eyes chasing everyone left and right. It was a common thought passing between their minds, one that they knowingly shared yet didn't dare to open their mouths knowing the fire it would bring. Someone around that table was a traitor, a phony. And all they could do was look and wonder, who's their ally?

"I suggest we begin looking into the subject we've ignored for far too long." Julies, a major council member spoke.

"Concerning what issue exactly? Our tables are stacked with papers!" Complained another council member as the whispers arose within the quiet room.

"It's not my concern what happens on the battlefield. That's not my division. However, my concern had always been the mechanism of the city, the engines. The ones we've spoken about yet never reached an agreement." Julies spoke confidently, presenting an issue that seemed overlooked by the council for almost a decade, however, it was not a smart move.

Anysa sighed at his actions.

"I suggest we keep this asleep for now, Julies." She spoke, "We've got a very serious situation here, we can talk about this later on." She eyed him in a sharp glare, hoping he would understand it's dangerous to speak about such a topic in this infested council.

"I need the permission, now." Julies stupidly perused the matter while flipping his long coal-black hair. Anysa rolled her eyes in frustration as she dismissed his request. "The city is not flying anywhere while its residents are eating each other alive, do you get that?" She shut him down. Julie's sat down furiously, his pale face turning red. How dare she embarrass him that way? It was true that he was the only council member with a single strand of white hair, he wasn't worthy of his seat as some claimed, but he was adamant about bringing the spotlight to his life work, the city's engines.

"Now, moving on to our most important topic. The abductions." Anysa read through her paper. The council's members' heartbeats could be felt through the table as their attention moved on quickly to Anysa.

"It seems that the last battle included a technique that we are unaware of, one that cost us more soldiers than we've originally calculated." Anysa continued as the council members began to look through their report papers from every division.

"The casualties were the lowest we've encountered, isn't that right?" Inquired a council member.

"Not really." Anysa sighed, "We've lost more soldiers but not in the attack, it was during the smoke bomb." She continued. "Soldiers reported the sudden disappearance of their subordinates once the smoke wore off, they just vanished, without a trace." Anysa explained.

The council members were baffled, they were blindsided by how quickly the Mooncallers developed their weaponry and tactics. Before this meeting, humans of Boneclad believed they have won the battle, but as more details unravel, there was a secret victory pushed by a secret motive they were ignorant of.

"Is there's any hope they're alive?" Julies asked.

"We hope not." Anysa firmly spoke.

"They're better off dead." Commented a silent council member, one that hardly spoke during any meetings and worked cautiously with his fellow council members. He was Berat Arslan.

"What an awful thing to say!" Complained some, "Is it awful to wish mercy upon the unfortunate?" Replied Berat. "They're our soldiers, we should save them!" Shrugged a council member who was met by nothing but silent mockery. "I believe some of the council has spent so much time in the north they're oblivious to the slaughter outside their white walls." Berat boldly spoke, and while. Anysa and Julies both sounded in agreement, the rest of the council was furious.

"Enough!"

Sometimes those little men and women become too blinded by their arrogance that they forget who they bow to. A council that voted off their king two times wouldn't be trustworthy. But that decade was different, in front of the boots of one man they kneeled and shut their mouths up. A man that only appeared when necessary, some say he refused to bask in publicity while the city is in pain and others believe his ego had swallowed his concern long ago, but where did the truth lay?

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Anysa was his little puppy, which in turn made her the highest of power in this council. They'd listen to whatever she had to say to avoid spending an eternity in his favorite dungeon.

Silence has overtaken the meeting room once again as Anysa's temper changed. From this moment on, Anysa's eyes had picked whom she deems reasonable enough to indulge more into her secret investigation concerning the abductions, and one more important issue arose in her mind as Julies persistence towards the engines issue became stronger than ever. It seemed that it was inevitable to try to kick life into the engines once again.

"We shall not pursue the abducted soldiers, they will be deemed as dead from now on. However, I assign the mission of developing efficient gas masks for our legions to you, Ada." Anysa addressed Ada, leader of the biological division who silently nodded while she gathered her papers. The council was enraged, eyeing each other in disagreement with the dismissing of this subject.

Why would Anysa bring this matter up, only to dismiss it? Their noses smelt a lingering conspiracy, but they feared for their positions.

"And the rest of us?" Wondered one of them.

"You shall continue your activities normally and prepare for the next battle." Anysa replied. "And we'll just leave it at that?" Inquired the same member. "Yes. There's nothing more to be done, any issue with that?" She shut down his pursuit as the rest of the council eyes each other in annoyance, believing Anysa knew something they didn't know, and perhaps it would be better to not dwell deep into the muddy waters.

They were too caught up in their egos.

Their water bottles have emptied, but their suspicions among themselves poisoned the atmosphere as they excused themselves, sharing very low small talks as Anysa asked for Berat and Julies to stay behind.

Anysa knew the next move.

II. Bond.

Few days ago, before Anysa's arrival in Carvo's house.

Clyde slowly sneaked in Abigail's slumber where she laid on the bed, sleeping. For a second, his heart fluttered seeing her alive and well. Surprisingly, he wasn't repulsed by her unusual looks. That metal jaw didn't bother him, and that metal arm didn't scare him. He felt bewildered by her although for the common eye she would be a monster, and at that moment Clyde felt strangely connected to this young girl, in a way he would understand, yet.

"Uh-Abigail? It's me-" He stuttered as he approached the bed slowly, hoping to calmly wake her up but to no avail, she was a heavy sleeper.

"Abigail, wake up. It's Clyde." He hesitated to touch her arm, he could see the scarred skin on her shoulder, exposed to him revealing the remains of the human Carvo always addressed before Clyde could unravel her on his own. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he gently touched her arm with only one finger, "Come on, wake up!" He whispered, sweating nervously as he was too close to her face.

He was met by her charming ocean blue eyes, she didn't have a violent reaction to his touch as he quickly removed his finger and backed down to the end of the bed. She quickly got up and closely examined his face before she realized who this was, "Clyde!" She breathed, "Keep your voice down, there's a council member downstairs." He asked her, she nodded in confusion.

Abigail slowly got off the bed, somehow a bit embarrassed by the state Clyde saw her in. She wore a pajama trouser that belonged to Carvo's former wife and a black mismatching top as she hated covering her arm. It was strange how she was growing hair, there were tiny strands on her head, barely visible. Carvo believed mooncallers bodies were merely functioning corpses, but seeing how Abigail could grow hair and nails, he realized he was wrong.

"Who's down there?" She asked, sitting far from Clyde on the bed. "It's Anysa." Clyde whispered, but Abigail couldn't hear him. He gestured her to come closer to hear him but as she did so, Clyde's face was exploding red. "Anysa." He visibly trembled but Abigail couldn't tell why he was embarrassed.

"Is Carvo okay?" Abigail wondered in concern, "Yes, yes! He is." Clyde replied, nervous by how close Abigail sat next to him.

"Thank God." She sighed in relief. "Good thing you're okay, though." She eyed Clyde with a slightly warm smile, remembering their last encounter.

"Uh.. That's why I'm here. I need to Thank you." He paused. "And.. I need to apologize." He continued. Abigail seemed saddened and looked away.

"I know what people think of me, I'm not blind. The mirror is right there." She shied away from his eyes. "I am not ignorant anymore, I believe I have accepted my reality, but I can't force anyone around me to do so." She continued. "You're scared of me."

Clyde felt ashamed, he wouldn't face her eyes, seeing how Abigail processed the incident made him mad at himself, and he knew no words would ease her heart, but that wouldn't make him simply shut up.

"I'm not. I'm not scared of you." He firmly said, gathering the courage to look into her eyes, "I was scared of my demise. I was a selfish coward, I had tangled you in all of this." He spoke. "I refused to believe that there's good in you, I doubted you to fulfill my anxieties."

"I guess that's a bit too late."

"I don't want to believe that."

"It's not for you to decide."

"But it's up for me to try and gain your trust back."

"Is that so?"

Clyde's eyes were captivated by Abigail's. She was teary and she couldn't hide it, the bigger situation wasn't discussed as they felt the words fade from their lips. Clyde didn't hesitate to wrap his healed arm around her, pulling her closer. Abigail didn't hesitate, she felt she needed his hug, resting her head on his shoulder as he comforted her.

"I have your back, Abby." Clyde assured her as Abigail pulled herself back. She was clearly taken back by his affection, considering she hardly reckoned how human interactions worked, and she was yet to realize Clyde was a confused young man when it came to her.

Abigail reached her iron fist to Clyde, looking at him with a sweet smile, still insecure about herself yet confident to build an alliance.

"From now on, we'll fight together." Abigail spoke.

"We are in this together." Clyde fist-bumped her, smiling back in relief.