Mabel stops the car in a parking lot and everyone steps out. Niel isn't sure where they are at this angle of the building, but he soon recognizes this place once they make their way to its front. He called it ornate before, with its frontward architecture comprising of pillars and arches made of white stone—likely marble—with a wide flight of stairs leading to the entrance. The rest of the building is made of glass and red brick from previous renovations. He and Reed once stumbled upon here after their fight with Maverick some time ago. Now here they all are at Illia's behest: the Soul Public Library.

"Why did you want to come here?" Niel asks.

'I want to look around and borrow a book,' Illia signs, which Mabel then translates.

"About as good of a reason for going to a library as you can get," Reed comments.

"I might get a book too if Illia's getting one," Lydia says.

"Do either of you have a library card?"

"They can get one inside," Mabel says.

Though not made of marble, the inside is just as extravagant as the outside, if not more so. Brownish-red tiles make up most of the floor design accented by white walls that are easy on the eyes, all illuminated with ceiling lights, expansive windows, and a large skylight. Plants and gentle waterworks help to decorate, with greenery even hanging from the two levels above them. Myriad benches and chair-and-table sets of varying shapes give the public a place to sit and read or do work; some spaces are even equipped with computers. Last—though certainly not least—bookshelves upon bookshelves upon bookshelves are neatly organized into rows throughout the library, giving access to hundreds of thousands of books, maps, newspapers, and more.

"Quite the place, isn't it?" Reed says to Niel upon seeing his astounded expression.

"I didn't know such a place existed," he responds.

Despite all of the people walking about or idling, the library is surprisingly quiet compared to other public places in the city. That said, it's far from being devoid of chatter, but many people are making a conscious effort to limit their voice and volume. Mabel leads the group to the main desk, and Niel and Reed watch as the girls get a library card each with Mabel's assistance.

"What kind of book are you planning to get?" Reed asks Lydia.

"Don't know. I'm going to wander around until I find something," she responds. Reed turns to Illia next.

"And you?"

Illia points at Lydia—same plan.

Lydia grabs the unawakened girl by the wrist. "We'll go together!" she calls as she pulls Illia along.

"Is it just me, or is Lydia getting... livelier recently?" Reed questions.

"It's not just you," Niel confirms.

"And it's not just Lydia," Mabel steps in, placing a hand on Niel's shoulder. "You've changed a lot too since you first got here!"

Mabel's words and smile trigger something Niel hasn't experienced before: his face feels hot. Reed starts to prod at him for this, and Niel shyly pulls away and runs into the library. He wasn't explicitly trying to hide from Reed, but turning around and scanning with Dust reveals he left Reed and Mabel behind and that they are nowhere to be found. The two girls aren't in sight, either. Finding them all again won't be hard, so Niel decides to stay solo and explore by himself.

The floor of the library is vast and the bookshelves plentiful—Niel could be in here all day and still not see everything. One thing he didn't expect is that there is significantly more offered here than just books and other papers. CDs and VHS tapes are available to use in-house, and old vinyl records are on display, often next to old related maps and pictures. There are 2D and 3D printing rooms, small and large study and meeting rooms, a section designed after the home of a famous author's character, and even a café. He half-expects to find Reed at a table of computers.

After wandering the floors of the building and browsing many a shelf, Niel's gaze becomes locked on a series of newspapers dated more than 50 years ago. The article he's most curious about revolves around the history of Francis Mendelv, a biologist and chemist who became famous for his contributions to Mute-related science, including the classification and naming of the three Mute archetypes, connecting Mute elements to the periodic table, and discovering the connection between Mutes and metabolism and DNA, among others. Much of this Niel did not know. But there's more.

Mendelv had eight children in his life, with a few of his descendants becoming scientists like him. One such descendant—his great-grandson, Theodore Mendelv—discovered a link between Mute archetypes and different parts of the brain. However, Theodore went missing in the wake of public scorn due to unprofessionalism and questionable practices and has still not been found. Strange. Niel hopes he wasn't found by the lab or anything such.

"There you are!"

Niel nearly jumps out of his skin at Reed's sudden arrival. He was so enraptured in his reading that he didn't hear Reed or Mabel coming.

"What were you reading?" Reed asks, leaning over to scan the newspaper.

"Nothing much," Niel says. "Know where the girls are?"

"No. We haven't seen them yet, and they're not answering their phones," Mabel responds. "Think you could help?"

"Of course."

The three of them wander around the library as Niel deploys his scans. Reed then suggests that they may be in areas containing fiction books, citing Illia's more innocent tastes. Sure enough, that's where the two girls are found, each with a book in hand.

"Happy with your selection?" Mabel asks them.

"Yeah," Lydia says. Illia nods her head too.

"What did you get?" Reed asks.

"Something you wouldn't read." Niel glances to her waist and spies a romance novel that Reed would absolutely mock. "You know, for someone named Reed, you don't do a lot of reading," she states.

"The only reads I make are in fighting games."

"I'm not even going to make fun of how sad that sounds."

Illia bashfully shows Niel the book she picked out: a short novel about a single man raising an orphaned girl, only for the mother to reappear after a near decade-long disappearance. Niel feels a slight kinship with this storybook girl. With the books checked out, they finally return home to an empty house.

"Is Gabriel not back yet?" Reed questions.

"No! I'm up here!" Gabriel calls from the second floor. After finishing up with whatever he's doing, he greets them all downstairs.

"How was Clara's idea?" Mabel asks.

"It's good to go!" he responds. Niel recalls that Gabriel went to church today and then met with Clara afterward to plan Reed's birthday trip, hence why he hasn't been with them.

"Oh! What is it!?" Reed asks excitedly. He knows he won't get an answer, but it never hurts to try, right?

"Obviously we can't tell you that," Gabriel says as he playfully pokes Reed's forehead.

"You'll just have to wait another week!" Mabel teases.

Trying to keep Reed entertained, the four kids decide to go to Breeze Pond after supper in the hopes of seeing the fireflies that are rumoured to come out in the evening. Illia even brings her kalimba, theorizing they may be lured out of hiding if she plays well enough. The sun is low in the sky once they arrive, though before she finds any glowing bugs, Illia notices that the pink memorial that once stood here has been taken down. Time keeps moving forward.

Everyone sits down at a picnic table and converses to pass the time. They don't say it, but Niel and Reed remember the time they came here alone. The ember-like fallen leaves have since decayed, leaving little for the breeze to carry this time of year. Nocturnal frogs begin to chirp from the pond. Illia gives a devilish smile—Lydia would rather not experience history again. The frog song indicates that the time of fireflies is close, so Illia prepares her instrument and relocates to the bank to play.

She sits on the grass and plucks away at the metal tines of her kalimba, though the music can only barely be heard above the frogs, wind, and city noise around them. In reality, she's just a little shy, playing in front of everyone like this. The encroaching nighttime making it harder to see doesn't help any, either. After half an hour of sporadic playing and with hope dwindling across the group, Reed finally spots a twinkle in the dark, and soon the surface of the pond is filled with the flickering lights of countless fireflies.

"Looks like your music worked!" Lydia says to Illia as they watch the light show. Niel stands behind them entranced as well. Meanwhile, Reed is doing his own thing further back.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Woah! Look at this!" he calls. The other three wander over wondering what could be better than the fireflies, until they find something large and green crawling on the grass.

"Oh my god, why is it so big!?" Lydia exclaims, visibly disgusted by the moth illuminated by Reed's phone's flashlight.

"That's what—"

"Reed, shut up!"

Niel brings out his phone and searches for it, using the moth's large lime wings as an identifier. It turns out to be a luna moth, a common species, though Niel wonders why he hasn't seen more of them.

Being the bravest of them all (in only the strangest scenarios), Illia holds out her finger for the moth to climb on, and it accepts the invitation. She admires the creature's beauty, and once she has her fill, she raises her hand to the night sky, and it flies away. Illia knows why it's hard to find such a common species. The adult life of a luna moth spans only a single week. So little time to live—a fate cruelly bestowed by those who came before, and yet they live regardless.

And that scares her the most.

>>>>>>

"...Happy birthday to you!" everyone sings. August 16th has finally arrived, and Reed is the guest of honour sitting in front of his 17th birthday cake. After blowing out his candles (but not before wishing for a copy of that new fighting game that came out recently), the cake is cut and its slices distributed to everyone around the table. Even if he didn't already know most of his history, Reed can tell just from Niel's reaction that this is his first time eating an ice cream cake. It should also be Illia's as well.

"Reed? Do you want my chocolate?" Clara asks, having separated the chocolate ice cream from the rest of her slice.

"I don't get how you don't like chocolate," he responds in place of a proper answer. "And yeah." Clara slides the chocolate onto Reed's plate.

Reed has a particular way in which he eats his cake. He first starts with the vanilla ice cream and the icing, as it's his relative least favourite, then he eats the chocolate, and last he enjoys his favourite part: the chocolate fudge and crumble that separates the two ice cream flavours. As he's indulging, laughter takes hold around the table. The colouring in the icing is so potent that it dyed Niel and Illia's tongues blue. Of course, everyone finds it funny until they reach their share of icing, and Reed finds it even funnier because he doesn't have to worry about eating what's already been eaten.

After the cake is eaten, they all relocate to the living room to watch a movie Reed's had his eye on ever since watching viral clips of it online. It's an old western, with no shortage of rootin' tootin' cowboys, spinning revolvers, and fanning hammers. There's also little shortage of jokes from Reed giving vague references to a specific ranch housing eighteen finely-clad cowboys. Of all of them, it appears that Niel is the most inspired by the movie in the way he moulds his Dust into a revolver identical to the protagonist's. Once the credits begin to roll over a cowboy riding off into the sunset, everyone gets up from the couch to stretch their legs.

"Having fun with that?" Reed questions as Niel spins the fake gun on his finger.

"Yeah," Niel says blandly.

"Man, that movie was so cheesy," Lydia comments.

"It was original back when it came out. Besides, a little cheese doesn't hurt," Reed responds.

"Not this much. Do you really like that stuff?"

"Yeah, I do. Shoot me."

"Okay." Niel points his revolver at Reed and pulls the trigger.

>>>>>>

The trip with Clara wasn't just an expedition, but also Reed's birthday gift. And where are they going? Why, to the trampoline park! He was hoping to go to the arcade or something, but this is also good. They reach the building and go inside.

You need special rubber-soled socks to bounce on the trampolines. Because of that, the kids and Clara take off their shoes and switch out their socks for these newly bought black ones. Reed thought he'd be able to reuse his old pink socks from a previous trip here, but they're too small for him now.

Illia looks out across the expanse of trampolines as electronic music blares from somewhere behind her. Some are small, others are large, and a few others climb the wall! As soon as she's about to take a step into the springy unknown, Reed blasts past her bouncing across the trampolines like a kangaroo, with Clara right behind him. Niel, though slower, follows in their footsteps.

"Let's go together," Lydia says to Illia as she takes a more subdued step onto the first trampoline. Illia follows her while keeping a curious eye on the rambunctious boys.

She and Lydia bounce on the smaller pads while avoiding the younger jumpers, which eventually leads them to the same wall the boys and Clara are bouncing off of. Clara sprints full speed up the trampoline slope and kicks off at its peak, bouncing and doing a flip at the bottom. Reed copies Clara and performs the same sprint and jump, but does a shoulder roll instead of a flip. Egged on by him, Niel copies Reed with a more fluid roll.

Without saying a word (though it would be stranger if she did), a tempted Illia lines herself up with the other wall-climbing trampoline and emulates the boys. Her sprint speed ends up being lower, her climb shorter, and her landing roll resembles a rag-doll more than anything else. She's glad she's wearing old hand-me-down pants from Lydia rather than melting the fabric of a good pair instead. Despite this, it was fun enough to try again, much to Reed's delight.

There are several foam pits located throughout the building; the group takes their turns leaping as high, as far, or as stylishly as they can into one of these. Soon it gets stale and Reed transitions to an obstacle course featuring a rock wall bridging a gap. Clara leads the way and wastes no movement crossing to the other side. Lydia is voluntold to go next, and despite physical activity not being her forte, she makes her jumps and crosses the wall with slow grace. Illia's crossing goes faster than Lydia's, and Niel's faster than Illia's. Wanting to show off, Reed tries going even faster by skipping unnecessary jumps, but when he tries to do the same at the wall, he ends up slipping and falling pathetically into the foam half a metre below. The four of them just stare at him.

"What are you looking at? Reed says to Niel pseudo-confrontationally.

"Not much," Niel retorts, causing Illia to laugh the loudest anyone has ever heard from her before. They don't see it, but Reed falling also gets a chuckle from their watchful guardians, too.

Last on their list of things to try is trampoline dodgeball, sectioned off by screen walls to contain the foam balls. Reed first suggests splitting the teams into guys vs girls, and with Clara to assist Illia and Lydia, the teams are balanced enough to run multiple rounds. Free-for-all goes just as well, but Clara wants to take a short break, so Niel and Illia vs Reed and Lydia is what they go with in her absence.

Illia knocks Lydia out first, but then she gets picked off soon after by Reed. The boys keep missing their throws against each other, so in an attempt to surprise Reed with something unique, Niel sets up a ball with an underhand toss and then hits it in midair with another. The result is both balls splitting in a fork, one catching Reed in the hip, much to his shock.

"What!? How!?" he exclaims, bewildered.

"I'm just better," Niel says, feeling prideful about his play.

"Nah, you used your— You used your Mute, didn't you?"

Niel's heart skipped a beat when he thought Reed was going to accidentally leak his Dust. "Nope. No Mute. Just me."

"I... I-I'm at a loss for words!"

Despite Reed being lost for words, he proceeds to complain for the next ten minutes. They all keep bouncing around, playing dodgeball, and falling into foam, but it's eventually time to pack up and go.

"So did you all have fun?" Gabriel asks in the car.

"I had fun!" Reed exclaims.

"So did I," Niel says. Illia gives a thumbs up.

"I had fun watching Reed fail at climbing a wall," Lydia adds. Illia gives a second thumbs up.

"Hey, I redeemed myself after, plus I beat all of the other courses first try!" Reed protests.

"You beat an obstacle course designed for kids, woohoo..." Lydia groans just to annoy him.

The rest of the day goes quietly now that everyone's energy has been spent—Niel, Illia, and Lydia even fall asleep at various points. But before they're all ready for bed, Dwayne makes a surprise visit. The adults have something to share.

"To cut to the point, we're taking someone new in," Dwayne announces, to the surprise of the kids.

"Whoa!" Reed exclaims. "Who is it?"

"His name is Voltaire Vesper, 14 years old," Gabriel explains.

"Oh wow, he's young."

"He's not that much younger than us, you know," Lydia says.

"Voltaire's a bit... troubled," Dwayne bemoans, "So I ask everyone to be patient and considerate with him."

"No worries about that," Reed assures. "When's he coming?"

"Next Friday, the 23rd," Mabel says.

Just six days away. Illia was worried about Niel when Dwayne said he would be staying with them. He never gave any warnings about Niel, though. Will this Voltaire person be okay, too? She's not sure if she's ready for this.

The days pass with constant preparations being made. The empty room on the third floor is cleaned with new bedsheets put in, a new meal plan made, budgets rebalanced, and the rest of the home's staff debriefed for the new arrival. It's making the kids uneasy about Voltaire.

Late on the last night before his arrival, Illia decides to confide in Niel about her worries. She picks a time when he'll likely be finished writing in his journal and enters his room. He's... not here? She looks around some more and finds that the window is open a crack. Did he leave? As she opens the window and sticks her head out, a noise can be heard about her.

"I'm up here," Niel says, revealing that he is sitting on the roof.

'Why are you up there?' Illia signs. Niel takes a moment to compute what she said through his Dust.

"Want to come up?" he asks in place of an answer. She raises her arms in confirmation and Niel sends lengths of chain down to retrieve her. The shingles are gritty and the slope is too steep to sit comfortably.

"I've been coming up here every night for the past few nights," Niel reveals. "I've been... thinking. Worried."

'About the new boy?'

"Yeah."

'I've been worried, too. The adults have been preparing for him more than we did for you.'

"And that's saying something, I take."

'Yeah.'

Niel shifts his weight on the roof. Dust manifests on his arm and coagulates into a black pseudo-fireball in his palm. Its darkness looks almost deep enough to swallow the moonlight around them.

"He'll know about my Dust. I won't be able to hide it from him forever," Niel says. "I've taken risks with it before, but they're risks. I can't keep making them. And I can't trust the new kid just because he's staying here."

Illia never considered this. This is absolutely a problem, and Niel's been up here alone to contend with it for several days now.

'You never spoke to Dwayne about it?'

"I haven't found the time to. ...Or maybe I've been too scared to."

'Why would you be scared?'

"I don't know. Maybe he would give me an answer I wouldn't like." Niel shifts again. "I still don't like my Dust. That hasn't changed."

'At least you have a Mute to hate.'

"What's it like, being unawakened?"

'Hell. I feel so...' Illia's hands pause. '...weak. Like everyone has to take care of me.'

"I can assure you, power isn't all it's cracked up to be."

'It's better than being powerless.'

"Not when it's taken everything else away from you."

They continue their chat for some time, but it's eventually time for them to tuck in for the night. Voltaire will be here at noon, and they'll need their rest. Niel helps Illia off of the roof and they bid each a good night.

The next morning after a hasty breakfast, the staff of the home converge with the children to await Dwayne's arrival with Voltaire. Niel can tell the adults aren't as calm as they let on. Everyone is anxious.

"Um..." Niel says to catch everyone's attention. It's been a while since he's had so many eyes on him. The anticipation of the new arrival and the anxiety from attention are compounding to clog his throat. "...Please don't tell the new kid about my Dust. I want to be the one to tell him when I'm ready to."

"Alright. We'll leave it to you," Mabel says, understanding where his feelings are coming from.

Dutifully watching through the window, Illia alerts everyone of the car pulling into the driveway, and they all stand close to the door ready to welcome the new kid. Reed is the first to speak up out of the group, giving a similar welcome as he did for Niel all that time ago. Niel, on the other hand, is stuck behind a few of the adults. He can't see Voltaire's face, but he can tell, however, that both his stature and blonde hair are quite short. Once Dwayne takes his shoes off too, everyone stands back to give them room to enter. Now Niel can get a good look at Voltaire's face, and...

His eyes are met by the cold glare of the Electric Mute Thief.