The Bell Church… was more than just a church with a bell.

Walking behind the older woman as she guided me to the library, I wondered if there were as many buildings as there were people here. It felt as if there were several dozen buildings, yet I hadn’t seen more than a handful of people yet.

The whole village was centered around the church, but it was done in a way that left a lot of room open. Large gardens, small patches of tree clusters, and even swaths of well kept grass were in-between all the buildings. It was obvious they had built this place to be… nice. Pretty. Calming.

Even the houses were large, yet not imposing. Only a few had more than a single floor, but they all had fancy roofs and large windows. Most were made of stone too. Stuff not usually seen in smaller villages.

“Such a pity. To suffer in such a way for your sisters,” the old woman spoke evenly, but seemingly to her own self more than me. After hearing the story of what had happened from Reatti and the rest of us, she and most that were here seemed… well… A little too calm and unbothered over it. It wasn’t that they were indifferent, or not sympathetic… they were just…

They reminded me of Rapti. Even natured folk who were rather religious.

The older woman in front of me was even wearing the familiar gray ropes that I had seen in Telmik.

She hadn’t introduced herself yet, and now it felt a little awkward to ask for her name. I’d been talking and walking with her for the better part of the morning. We had arrived here late last night, too late to do more than inform the few who had been awake in the church of what had happened in Lumen and who we were.

It was a good thing I had slept a bit before getting here, on the cart with Reatti and the rest… otherwise I’d be exhausted. I hadn’t slept at all last night. Though I really wasn’t sure why.

We passed some large hedges that looked freshly cut. I studied the way they rounded the path we walked upon, and led to a larger building to our right. It wasn’t the building we were heading to, but it looked bigger and more important than most of the others we were passing.

“Are there a lot of us here?” I asked.

“If you three join our numbers here will grow to twenty nine. There are only three humans here, and they’re elderly. Too old to be a threat,” she said as she glanced back at me.

I frowned at her words, and wondered if she had said that because she thought I hated and despised humans. I mean… I guess I could understand that. Not only because of who and what I was, but also with me being hurt.

“I’ve been told men aren’t really allowed here either,” I said.

She nodded as we approached what was likely our destination. We walked onto a new path, one that led to a circular building. “There are four men here. Three are our kind. They too are harmless,” she said.

I opened my mouth, to try and explain to her that she didn’t need to be so gentle with me… but decided against it. Maybe she wasn’t being gentle, but rather giving me a warning. I’d hate to embarrass myself like that, making a mistaken assumption in such a way.

“And… you’re believers of the same religion in Telmik?” I asked.

“We’re members of the Church of Songs, yes. There are a few others here who don’t necessarily subscribe to our particular order, but they’re sisters all the same,” she said.

“I’ve read your bible,” I said gently as we walked up to the building’s front door.

She paused before the door and turned to look at me. She studied me for a moment, and I wondered how old she actually was. She looked old. She was hunched a little, her hair more white than not, and her eyes were a little faded. Yet she wasn’t… wrinkly, at all.

Shifting a little I nodded. “I enjoyed reading it, even though Vim complained when I did,” I said.

The older woman tilted her head, and then smiled knowingly. “Of course he did. I didn’t know you knew our protector,” she said.

“I’ve been traveling with him. Ever since Ruvindale, where I met him. A little over a year ago, I guess,” I said.

“Interesting…” she mumbled the word as she turned and opened the door to the library.

Watching the older woman enter first, I hesitated at the bright place inside. I studied it for a moment, and then looked around outside. Off in the distanced I could see people. Some walking between buildings, other mingling with one another near the church. It was odd how… flat this place was, compared to the huge mountains that surrounded us.

Yet the oddest part was that the world was kind of dark. It wasn’t raining, or windy, but it was cloudy. Dark clouds hovered above, making the world seem melancholic… yet…

Looking back into the library, I narrowed my eyes at the bright glow from within. How was the inside of a building so much brighter than the outside?

Entering carefully, I turned as to use my left hand to close the door. My right was still in my sling, even though it no longer ached as badly as it had been.

“Oh my, you brought a guest Sister Yana,” a new voice greeted me as I turned and stepped deeper into the library.

As I walked up to the two women, one who I now knew was named Yana, I looked up at the source of the place’s brightness.

Huge windows were on the ceiling. In fact… the entire roof looked to be made of glass. The glass was somehow amplifying the little bit of sunlight peering through the clouds, to the point that it felt as if I was looking up at a brightly lit sunny day in summer and not a cloudy one.

“Why look at you, such fascination. Is she a fox, Yana?” the new voice brought my attention back down to earth, and I smiled gently at the younger looking woman who was smiling at me. She too wore the same gray robes Yana was wearing, but she had oddly shaped ears. They were pointed outward and down.

“No. She’s a cat I’m told,” Yana said calmly.

I nodded. “A jaguar, the Chronicler said,” I said.

The two tilted their heads, and I felt very self conscious again as they studied me. Why did it feel like they were judging me?

Well… I mean… they probably were. Just like everywhere else I’ve been, the residents of the location always judged and assessed me. Sometimes even as to vote on if I could stay or not.

If that was what they were doing, it made sense… and I couldn’t blame them, even if it felt weird.

“Very interesting,” the pointy eared woman said.

“It is,” Yana nodded, agreeing.

Was it?

“Young Renn, this is Sister Braid. She’s our poor soul who spends more time with paper and words than people, but we love her all the same,” Yana said as she introduced me.

Warmly smiling at Braid, I nodded and gestured lightly with my right arm. Hopefully she didn’t take offense if I didn’t shake her hand. “Hello Braid. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I said.

“Indeed it is… Why then is the first building you visit our sanctuary of stories?” she asked.

Oh? Did she not like me? She hadn’t sounded abrasive, but that was definitely her way of asking what I wanted and why I was here.

“She’s come to request the second volume of the Queen’s Lament. Lumen would like it back, for awhile,” Yana explained for me.

I nodded. “If it’s all right,” I said.

“Woe is the one who would deny another the right of knowledge,” Braid said as she nodded.

Was… was that an okay? I glanced at Yana, who smirked at me. “She’s an odd one, isn’t she?” she said.

Oh. I see. Maybe she wasn’t being abrasive with me, but was just… well…

Strange.

“Odd she says. Tell me Jaguar, what if it’s not me who is odd but all of you? A mirror doesn’t know it’s a mirror, does it?” she asked me.

“Uh…” I was lost, yet nodded anyway.

“She gets it,” Braid nodded back, smiling happily.

“No one does. I don’t think even you do, sometimes. Renn does bring something to offer in exchange though, right Renn?” Yana reminded me.

“Oh. Yes!” I hurriedly reached into the little space between my right arm and chest, where the book rested inside my sling.

Pulling out the fourth volume, I barely got the book out of my sling as to offer it to Braid before she rushed towards me.

“No way!” She screamed at me, or rather the sight of the small black book, causing me to stumble backwards in shock. Falling to the ground, I let out a tiny yelp as I landed on my butt… and thus my tail.

“Braid!” Yana yelled at the woman who realized what she had just done, and the both of them quickly stepped up to me and reached down to help me up. I did my best to not whine or start crying as my tail throbbed, sending waves of pain up my spine.

“I’m all right. Sorry…” I apologized as the two held my arms as to support me.

“No, I’m sorry Renn. Are you okay? That was a real bad scream. I shouldn’t of reacted like that,” Braid’s voice was full of compassion, and her eyes were watery as she looked me up and down… checking me for wounds.

“I’m all right. Here, sorry,” I offered her the book, but Braid ignored it as she studied me. There were a few long uncomfortable moments of silence as Yana and Braid stared at me, making me feel very weird.

I probably looked hurt. My eyes were watering, since my tail was still throbbing, but I wasn’t going to blame her. She had just gotten startled at the book, and I had overreacted.

“I’m sorry Renn. You sure you’re okay?” Braid asked.

“Of course she isn’t! I’ve told you before you need to start being more conscious of people! People aren’t like books; we’re not cold and hard!” Yana yelled at Braid, and did so in a way that told me this wasn’t the first time… and likely wouldn’t be the last time that Braid had done something like this.

Though this really wasn’t her fault. It was mine. Why had I been startled so badly? Yes she had yelled and rushed towards me… but it was obvious she was simply reacting to the book I had shown her. She had been excited. Merit had gotten excited at the sight of it too; I should have expected Braid’s reaction… especially since Yana had made it clear Braid was a bookworm just a few seconds ago.

Handing Braid the book, I smiled and did my best to look as calm as I could… even though I was everything but.

Something was wrong with me. I’ve never been the most stalwart of people, but such a thing shouldn’t have happened.

“Fourth installment. I’m told by Merit that it’s the best one yet,” I said.

“Oh! Oh… Merit said that? Gueh,” Braid made an odd noise as she took the book from me, and wrapped it in her arms as to hold it to her chest.

I tilted my head at her, and then looked at Yana when it was clear Braid wouldn’t explain. Yana smiled at me. “She and Merit don’t get along,” she said.

Ah… Merit had said she hated a few people here. Maybe Braid was one of them.

Which was interesting, since Merit had also held that book close in such a way.

Or well, not that exact copy…

“I’ll get the second volume. Just the second right? Not the third?” Braid asked as she stepped away.

“Just the second… I’m told that they have the third volume already too,” I said.

“Good! These things are too precious to endanger so readily… one alone is bad enough as it is and…” Braid’s voice went softer as she disappeared behind a wall. She kept on talking though, and it sounded as if she was mumbling to herself.

Stepping forward, I ignored Yana’s happy smile as she watched me peer around the wall… to the library itself.

An odd chill ran down my spine as I took in the sight of large shelves. Most taller than me, to the point I knew I’d need a ladder to reach the upper shelves… and somehow, impossibly, each and every one was filled to the brim with books.

“A real library,” I whispered, and was a little shocked to find myself so surprised. After all, this was the Society. Of course they’d have so many books…

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The way the bright amplified sunlight illuminated the shelves made it seem almost dream like… as if it wasn’t real at all.

“Fascinating isn’t it? The only other place with more books is at the Cathedral, at least within the Society,” Yana said from behind me.

Yes. I had seen a lot of books there… but I hadn’t gotten to enjoy any of them. Like always life kept me busy and…

“Is Vim here Yana?” Braid asked from somewhere inside the shelves.

“Not this time,” Yana said, raising her voice as to clearly be heard.

Braid mumbled something, and I wondered if she was upset or glad over Yana’s answer. It was interesting that when it came to Vim, it really could be either response.

Stepping over to one of the shelves, I studied the spines of the many books upon it. They varied in shape, size and color… but only a few had lettering on their spines. And of those that did, only one of them had letters I recognized.

“Like to read, do you?” Yana asked as I reached out to touch the book I was able to read. The small yellow thing had only a single word, the same as the city Reatti and I would be returning to soon. Lumen.

“I do. Very much so,” I said.

“And she should!” Braid returned, and I tore my eyes away from the books as to carefully take the small black book she offered to me.

It like the one I had just given her had nothing on the cover or spine. It was a dark black book, and… felt a little smaller and lighter than the fourth volume.

“Book two of Queen’s Lament,” Braid said.

“Thank you,” I said, and meant it. Now I could read all four back to back and not have to wait years, maybe even decades.

“Take care of it,” Braid said.

I nodded as I slid it into the small space between my chest and right arm, inside the arm sling.

Once it was safely tucked away, I realized Braid and Yana were staring at me again… which wasn’t too surprising. I mean… I was new, and odd, plus although I wasn’t covered in as many bandages as I was before I still had quite a few… but…

Smiling gently at them, I realized their stares weren’t just curiosity. There was something else in their expressions. Something I didn’t really… like to see at all.

Worry. Concern. And not just over me and my condition.

“Just what was able to hurt you like this, anyway? You’re not as weak as foxes; based off your smell… did the humans do this?” Braid then frowned as she tilted her head, and I realized why she had been staring at me in such a way.

“Well…” I hesitated, since her question told me that Braid didn’t know. Didn’t know about Lumen, or what had happened. She hadn’t been in the church last night when we arrived, or a part of any of the groups who had arrived since then… but…

Well… I had kind of assumed anyone who had heard the news had already run around to tell everyone else already. Maybe the people here weren’t as quick to spread the news and gossip as I was used to.

“Creatures and our own kind. Predators. It’s why she’s here; Reatti brought her with two others who will be joining us. New members,” Yana said.

“Oh? You mean you’re actually a new member? Not just someone who I’ve never met before?” Braid’s eyes got a little wider, and her strangely pointed ears actually rose upward in shock.

“Well… yes. I’ve been a member of the Society for over a year now, but Fly and Wool are genuinely new members,” I said.

Braid smiled. “Fly and Wool? Let me guess, a bird and a sheep,” she said.

I smiled and nodded as Yana sighed. It was nice that she’d focus on that more than the news of danger. To some that might seem like something a scatter brain would do, but I found it endearing. I was growing… tired of people being meek and running from what scared them. Even if I wanted to do the same sometimes.

“Interesting! And Vim isn’t here, really? During such an important moment? Not like him,” Braid said as she sighed.

“He’s in Lumen… handling the aftermath,” I said gently.

Braid frowned and nodded, understanding.

Before I could ask about the library right within my reach, I heard the door to the building open.

“Sister Yana?” the new voice drew our attention to the door. It opened slowly, and a younger woman stepped in. She wasn’t wearing the grey robes as the others, but instead wore a yellow dress… and she only had one arm. Her right was missing at the shoulder.

The woman smiled at the sight of us and gestured behind her. “Sister Yana, Grandmother Plumb would like you and the guest to return to the church,” she said.

“Does she now? Well, let’s go then,” Yana said with a huff.

“Bye Renn. Sorry for startling you, and thank you for the book,” Braid raised the book, to nod to it.

Although a little upset, I didn’t complain. I wanted to linger here, I hadn’t even looked around at all… but the reality was I had no choice. Everyone had made it very clear that Reatti and I were supposed to leave as quickly as possible and return to Lumen as soon as we could.

That meant no loitering. No time for rest, or to enjoy the village and its inhabitants.

Doing my best to not get too bothered or upset, I smiled and waved at Braid as Yana stepped past me.

“See you, Braid,” I followed Yana out of the library, alongside the one armed woman, and we three returned to the main path and started heading back to the large church in the center of the village.

“Renn is it? I’m Limb, nice to meet you,” the one armed woman held out her left arm, to greet me.

I smiled as I took it, and was thankful her remaining arm was the one I could shake comfortably. It would have been awkward otherwise. “Nice to meet you Limb.” Her namesake was obvious… which made me wonder if she had been born without the arm.

“Fly speaks highly of you. She’ll be living with me for awhile, so I promise to take good care of her. I’m also a bird, though I have no idea what type,” Limb said as she pointed at herself.

“Oh? Please do take care of her. She’s a very sweet girl, but she’s… well… a little odd, thanks to her upbringing,” I said as we walked side by side.

Limb broke out into a huge smile as she nodded quickly. “Of course! We’re used to new members being… well…” Limb hesitated, and I realized she was worried she would insult me by saying what she had been thinking.

“You speak as if Renn is leaving, is that true?” Yana though changed the topic of the conversation, and did it in a way that bothered me. Her tone had sounded a little off.

“Hm? Aren’t you Renn?” Limb asked me.

I nodded. Reatti must have told her. “I am. I’ll be going back with Reatti… whenever she’s ready,” I said. Though honestly I wished I wasn’t. Although I wanted to return to Vim… This place was interesting. There were many people here who were obviously older members of the Society, and each with their own stories. I’d love to hear why so many of those in Lumen didn’t like this place, especially when it seemed so quiet and peaceful.

Yana glanced back at us, since she was walking in front of us, but she said nothing as she looked back ahead.

Studying her, after a moment of silence I glanced at Limb… who only shrugged. She didn’t seem to know why Yana seemed to care either.

If anything… I would think that she’d be happy I was leaving. After all, I was a predator. One who now genuinely smelled of blood and death?

Though… maybe she pitied me. Maybe in her eyes, the eyes of a devout believer in a gentle faith… maybe to her I was a… well… a lost lamb, which needed shelter and aid.

Maybe I did.

“Are you a pure blood, Renn?” Limb then asked.

“Huh? Oh… Yes, I think so, why?” I asked. What an odd question.

She smirked at me. “Don’t meet many of you anymore. In you might be one of the last full blooded predators left, huh,” she said.

I blinked at Limb, but didn’t take offense. She spoke in an upbeat attitude… but she sounded a little happy over the fact she had brought up. A little too happy, honestly.

“So I’ve heard, yes,” I decided to just nod my head.

“I’m a half blood myself. My father was a human,” Limb said as she pointed at herself.

I blinked at her again, for a new reason. “Really?” I asked, a little surprised.

That would explain her lack of… any visible non-human traits. Though maybe that had something to do with her missing arm…?

She nodded as she pointed at the arm in question, or rather the lack of it. “Yep. I was born with a stump of a wing. They amputated it for me, when I was young, so I could blend in if I ever needed to,” Limb said.

“I see…” I did my best to smile, even though I really didn’t want to. How could she say such a thing so happily? She was practically beaming, as if it she was displaying a mighty scar earned from a horrid battle long ago.

How sad.

“Most of our members here are either broken, or descendants of those who were,” Yana said in front of us.

Limb nodded. “Yeah!” she happily agreed.

Broken. She didn’t meant that just in the sense of someone who was physically or mentally so. She meant by blood.

Most of those here weren’t full-blooded non-humans.

Which explained why there were some humans living here. They were the parents, likely. Since they weren’t allowed here at all, under normal circumstances. That also explained why there were some men here too, even though they too weren’t supposed to be.

“Fly’s interesting Sister Yana. She’s covered in feathers! Not even Ma’ was like that,” Limb said cheerfully.

“Most of our ancestors were like her, yes. Though most we remember anymore are those like Renn,” Yana said.

My ears on top of my head fluttered, and I wondered if our kind slowly becoming more and more human over the generations was really the inevitable end game. So far it seemed to be going that way… though that didn’t account for those like Fly.

Nearing the church, I wasn’t too surprised to find Reatti outside with a small group of people. She and the rest were loading packs onto two horses. The cart we had rode in on, and the horses that had pulled it, were nowhere to be seen.

Reatti glanced at me, and then nodded. I nodded back, and was a little glad to see she wasn’t really… glaring anymore. She still didn’t have a smile on her face, but at least she only looked peeved and not absolutely furious.

“Where’s Grandma!?” Limb shouted at the group as we neared.

“Inside!” one of the other women shouted back. Limb didn’t even bother or wait to look at Yana or me and simply went straight to the church’s large doors and went inside.

Yana sighed as she followed, and I hesitated a moment before following too. Reatti was obviously getting ready to leave… but it looked like they still had some stuff to pack onto the horses. So I decided to just go back into the church.

I did want to meet this Grandma she spoke of, since I hadn’t yet… plus I also wanted to say goodbye to Fly and Wool.

My time with Wool had been short. Only two days, and she had spent most of those two days chatting with Fly, but I had decided she was a rather… simple woman. Although older than Fly, she acted just like her. Her attention span was short, her vocabulary dismal, and she knew about as much of the world as Fly did… if not less, somehow.

She wasn’t a threat to the Society, not in any real shape or form. Especially since she was notably weak. She had tried to help unload the cart with Fly and Reatti when we got here, and had been told to sit aside with me since she couldn’t lift any of the boxes.

Entering the church, I slowly followed after Yana who was following Limb to the main center room. The place where all the pews and chairs were located. Unlike most churches where the entire room faced a single direction, this one instead was built in a circular form. The center of the church had a small hole in the ground, where there was something of a stadium. A place to stand and give an oration. And all around the hole in the floor were the pews and chairs, all of them slowly rising upward… which was strange, since all of the chairs were the same size and height, and I wasn’t able to see a visible incline or decline in the floor.

Away from the center of the room, near the doors we passed through to reach it, was a small group of people. Most of them were dressed in the same robes as Yana and the rest, even Fly and Wool now wore them.

“Renn!” Fly happily noticed me, and I couldn’t help but break out into a huge smile as she ran out of the small circle of people, passing pews and running between chairs as to come up to me.

She slowed down, but still ran into me. I accepted her impact, and gave her a small hug. Luckily it didn’t hurt much anymore. It told me I was healing, just very… slowly.

Although my tail was definitely healing the slowest. Based off the way it was still throbbing from my earlier fall, it felt as if it had only just broken recently. Maybe it had in the fall… maybe I had broken it again or something.

Tossing the bad thoughts away I smiled down at Fly as she beamed a grin back up at me. “How you doing Fly?” I asked.

“Great! I get my own room here too!” she happily told me.

I nodded. “I know, isn’t that nice?” How wonderful. She didn’t seem sad I was leaving at all. Bless this place, and her, for being what she needed.

She nodded back, and I looked up… as to smile at the crowd watching us… but…

Staring at the small group of women, I felt my smile slowly die… as I realized something was wrong.

Fly still hung on to me, so I wasn’t able to move or get any closer… but it wasn’t as if I was too far away. Limb and Yana were now a part of the group, talking to the others… but there was a strange tension in the air, and nearly all of them were staring at me.

At least, I hoped they were staring at me… and not Fly. Hopefully they didn’t banish or deny Fly residence here, though I couldn’t possibly see why they’d do that. Not only was she just a young child, she wasn’t a threat in any way! She wasn’t a real predator… wasn’t someone who had blood-lust or…

“She’s their child.”

Even Fly noticed the cold tone. She went still, and turned around as to see who had spoken. My eyes locked onto an older woman with white hair. She had stood upon my entrance into the room, and she was staring at me with bright blue eyes that almost looked as if they shone. And not just because of the layer of tears within them. She really did look like a grandmother. She might be one of the oldest members I’ve met, at least appearance wise.

“Excuse me…?” I asked worriedly as I glanced around at the other people. Why were they all standing so awkwardly? Why were the two women near Wool backing away, with looks of fear?

And why was it me they were staring at in such a way?

Then the old woman looked away from me, and rather forcefully. “Please. Get her out,” she whispered with a pained husk of a voice.

My stiff body went cold as Yana hurriedly turned and began walking towards me. She strode forward… with a purpose. The type that made one anxious.

I stepped back, and Fly actually squeezed me tighter. “Renn?” she asked worriedly. Before I could even gather my wits or nerve, Yana grabbed me by my left arm… and dragged me out of the church.

Fly stayed wrapped around my waist as I gawked and tried to ask what was wrong, but somehow… somehow I knew. Instinctively. I felt familiar bile start to squirm in my stomach and rise upward. I felt the terrible sweat begin to form, and not the hot itchy type from the bandages.

“Yana…” I groaned as she got us outside completely. I ignored the sounds of Reatti and the others nearby, loading the horses. One of them neighed.

“Renn… I am sorry. But you are officially banished from the Bells. You are to leave immediately, and unless given authorized permission never allowed to return,” Yana spoke slowly, but firmly. She held my gaze with her eyes… and even though I could barely comprehend what she was saying, I did at least acknowledge she was doing it without a hint of fear or vehemence. She actually looked hurt and sad, as if this was painful for her.

“I don’t understand…” I whispered as my eyes began to water.

I was going to leave. Yet I hadn’t wanted to. Plus… I had looked forward to someday returning, with Vim. Even if years from now.

“Renn?” Fly asked worriedly, the feathers on her head swooshed loudly as she kept looking back and forth. From me to Yana.

Yana frowned, and then she shook her head and lowered her gaze. “I’m so sorry Renn. Our Lords decree that the sins of the child are not those of the blood, yet here we are. Weak souls unable to forget the scourge of our fears,” Yana said.

“Wait… wait… am I being banished because of what I am?” I asked, and actually felt relieved over it. That was it? That’s all? Yes that was horrible but… but…

Understandable.

Yana shook her head… and someone stepped up next to us. I ignored Reatti as she too waited for the answer.

Apprehensive, I squeezed Fly a little as she squeezed me back… and we all waited until Yana gathered her nerve. What would her answer be? What could possibly be the reason I was being banished all of a sudden? If not my bloodline? If not the fact I was a predator?

Especially when they knew I was leaving right away anyway. I mean… why? For what reason? Why not just wait until I was gone? Why make a scene and…

My eyes blurred as I began to cry… as I felt the whole world once again display its hatred and anger for me.

After a heavy moment… Yana sighed and then looked me in the eyes once more.

“You bear the resemblance of your ancestors. The same ones who destroyed the Matriarch’s village. The same as those who slaughtered and ate her family. Your colors. Your scent. Your presence. I’m sorry Renn, but because of the actions of your ancestors… you must leave the Bell Church and never return.”