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The chill Autumn air blew leaves across the insubstantial staircase. Like tears in winter, the leaves slowly crystallized, becoming more than they were. Clad in a simple gray cloak, the Kamishiba known as Noir placed one dark paw on the first stair. Her sorrowful eyes looked up and ahead, following the path of the staircase. Her quarry lay ahead, unaware that they were being followed. “Welcome, Sister.” The voice was as chilly as the air. Noir turned her head, looking deep into the eyes of the Balladeer. “Sister?” She repeated. The Balladeer chuckled, slowly circling her. “You might hide yourself beneath a cloak, but we are kin. Like calls to like.” The blue-green Kamishiba blinked slowly. “What is it that you seek?” They asked. “It is not simply the staircase that draws you, nor is it what waits at the top.” Noir looked ahead again, and the Balladeer’s glowing eyes followed. “Ahhh! I see! So you, like many others, are intrigued by the Astral Gemini.” Meanwhile, the object, or

The sky had been threatening all day to let go some rain, and a fine mist finally began to fall. Kage no Karasu looked up in disgust as the mist turned quickly to large droplets that sank into her fur. Being Siberian-coated, rain could mat her fur in a matter of minutes. It added weight to her body, dragging her down. Of course it would rain when they were going spirit hunting. She tapped her foot impatiently. Where were the other two? It was past time to get going! She really should have gone alone. But she’d overheard other Kodai insisting it was easier to go in teams of three. So she’d relented. Looking at the sky and its darkening clouds, she noticed a streak of white heading her way, getting bigger as it approached. Finally. The streak solidified into another Kodai, white with red points. Her expression was one of long sorrow. “The rain mirrors my feelings.” It was the only greeting she gave. Kage no Karasu blinked, not sure what to make of this other Kodai. She opened her

“Demon! Cur!” Pip scrambled to his paws as something was thrown at him. It missed, but the pup took off. Focused on escaping, he didn’t watch where he was going, and fell right into a muddy hole in the road. Thick grayish-brown water coated him, darkening his fur and chilling him to the bone. Thanks rain. With a sigh, he pulled himself out. It had always been like this. He’d been treated as an ill omen from his earliest memories. He didn’t understand; it wasn’t like he was Marked or anything. But no parent was around to raise him, or tell him why he was treated like this. He’d had to learn how to search for scraps. It wasn’t easy. When he’d heard about the World Fair that accepted all through its doors, he’d thought that maybe they’d take him on. Or that he’d at least be able to find a decent meal here. What he hadn’t expected was getting overwhelmed by the sheer number of Reoseans attending. He’d stuck to the outskirts, watching, waiting. But it appeared even the outskirts were

The feeling of being watched continued to prickle Shaded’s pelt, causing him to look around uneasily. Yet the eyes he was certain were watching him were nowhere to be found. Sitting in a patch of shadow outside the library, he gave his ruffled fur a good scratch. Yet the feeling didn’t alleviate. Grumbling, he joined the queue heading into the library. With this many Niravar around, no one would notice an old stray like him. They’d simply assume he’d been with the tour all along. And he had, sort of. At least, they’d been to the same places at relatively the same time. He couldn’t help but feel some appreciation while looking at the library. Those that carved this must have been very skilled indeed. Shaded padded along behind the tour, until he heard the guide going on and on about the book sorting system. Ugh, boriiing. About to slip away, he caught sight of a familiar pale green pelt slinking up the stairs. Interesting. Well, he had no interest in upstairs. Let her get caught. He

The tour was long, but Understanding finally stood in front of the library. She felt daunted by its sheer size. Maybe, just maybe, someone really was hiding in here. A shame, really. It was such a beautiful place. “Hey, don’t dawdle!" Understanding jumped. “Oh, yes, of course!” Hastily, the pale emerald Niravar followed Zoltim into the library. She was immediately distracted by the carved marble shelving. “Beautiful.” She breathed. Zoltim smiled proudly. “Yes, designed and carved by only the best craftsmen. You’ll see that each book is meticulously ordered by title, making each one easy to find. The system was created ages ago, and it continues to work to this day.” As Zoltim continued to talk about the system, Understanding let her eyes wander. In the shadowed patches of the library, the air almost seemed to turn crimson. See-through and insubstantial, disappearing when she tried to focus on them. Strangely, she felt something from these red pockets. Almost like… it was someone or

There was something about Sasha, as the red Vexxil had finally given Kulo her name, that was alluring. Before this, Kulo had thought only to destroy, to eat, sleep, eat, sleep. It was a pattern he was familiar with. He was mad, the experiments having twisted something inside him, or maybe several somethings. He didn’t see things the way others did. And the voice kept him on the side of insanity, yearning for violence and carnage. But Sasha, oh, Sasha. She was like a breath of fresh air, a thing he never knew he needed in his life. He watched her as she flew through the air, the action appearing effortless. She stirred something within him that he couldn’t name. It was different from the insanity. This emotion felt warm, and even the voice didn’t know what to make of it. Sasha landed on top of the fountain he’d killed the Vexxil in earlier. Her wings fanned out, catching the sunlight, making her look like living flame. ‘Ours.’ The voice startled him. He cocked his head to

The sound of voices woke him. He stretched, dislodging the trash that hid him from sight. The voices retreated, and he growled in disappointment. He would have loved some blood to quench his perpetual thirst. Kulois was his name, but he went by Kulo. To most, he was simply known as The Destroyer. A tall, muscular Vexxil with an experimental tail. He’d been born in the lab, created and abandoned by those he could trace his bloodline to. They’d made a mistake with him, run together too many experiments. It had twisted something inside him, giving him a craving for violence. Right out of the egg, he would have killed those ‘parents.’ But he didn’t have the capabilities then. The one had thought to control him, kept him chained and under control. But despite the drugs he was fed, he had broken free, escaping out into the city. He was still young, still had some growing left to do. But he was free, to plague the unsuspecting. Sounds broke through his musings of the past. A