<hr><hr>


    ENVY


    <hr><hr>


    Kat heard Whiskers think back to her, My sweet, sweet Katarina…


    “Hey, idiot!”


    Jules didn’t respond. Might''ve gone in too strong.


    “Jules…can we talk?”


    Silence. K, cool.


    “I’m gonna sit down.” She sat down. More silence. “I want you to know that I’m here for you. We’re a team, we’re friends, we’re—more than that, I think.”


    Jules shifted his body, so he wasn’t angled toward any of them.


    “You’ve given up on me? Already? Given up on the world? Hey—I’m talking to you!”


    “Go. Away.”


    The fury of Salvos engulfed her, beyond that of Wrath himself. She shoved a shoulder back, so he faced her again.


    “What you did to me back there—You don’t get to ignore me,” she snapped.


    Jules’ eyes widened, his terse lips separated briefly in awe before his new perma-frown returned, and he looked back down. “That’s exactly why I can’t talk to you.”


    SMACK!


    Jules rubbed his cheek and looked at her, bewilderment in his eyes. She slapped his other cheek, about five times harder. Jules stretched out his jaw in every direction. The blood from Kat''s finger stained Jules’ cheeks, which he smeared as he stretched and rubbed his face.


    “Now we’re even,” she said with listless eyes. “One smack for each agonizing death you put me through.”


    Jules turned the other cheek. “Don’t stop at two. It rained for a long time. You told me there were more than two.”


    “You''re an idiot.” She resisted the urge to slap him again. “If I say two times, it''s because I mean two times. The rain killed me once when it fell from the sky. Then it kept me from reviving until it had mostly gone away. The last few drops of it killed me again—”


    “You would have died hundreds of times, Kat.”


    “I died eighty-seven times that day, Jules. Your rain actually kept me from doubling it. Cy and I did the math. The other eighty-five times were courtesy of Zeke.”


    “I’m sure it was a terrible second revival—”


    “Jules. I—Look at me, dammit." Kat’s eyes welled with tears. Jules’ remained dry. "I forgive you.”


    “I’m…sorry Kat. I’m sorry.”


    “I forgive you, but only for killing me. You have something else to apologize for.”


    You don’t even remember what it is, do you? Ha! And here I thought…


    “Don’t tell me you forgot. You made me a promise and you’re two days late. I’ve been waiting, and—"


    "A lady doesn’t like to be kept waiting," Whiskers added. "Nor does a lady slap her courtier, either, but—"


    Envy leered at the cat, and he scurried away.


    Jules sighed and looked to the sky. “Do it alone. I’m not in the mood.”


    A lady does not slap her courtier. A lady does not slap her…


    “So that’s how much I mean to you? We’re going to Unlock our Systems. Now. Together.”


    “No.”


    “And why the hell not?” He was silent, and Kat gave him the space to take it all in. “Are you gonna force my hand? A promise is a promise, Jules.”


    After a while, Jules broke into bitter laughter.


    “Finally, you crack a smile.”


    “Nobody can win against you, can they?” Jules stood up. “Thanks, Kat. Really, thank you.”


    Of course, Jules.


    “Fine, whatever, who cares? Are you ready?”


    “No. Not right now.”


    “You asshole!” Kat jammed her finger into his chest. “Are you screwing with me?” Now, of all times?This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Jules grabbed her hand and wagged it back and forth with another smile. She tried to yank it back, but he didn''t let go.


    Is he toying with me?


    “Cy’s still gone.”


    Kat paused, then smiled back. “That’s a fair ask.”


    “Honestly, Kat. I didn’t know you could be so selfish.”


    Kat frowned, and her eyelids dropped halfway down. “Don’t press your luck, kid.”


    With a faint grin, Jules sat back down. He’s back to team mode. Mission accomplished.


    “Happy Birthday, Kat.”


    “Belated. But Happy Birthday to you, too, Jules. We made it to adulthood.”


    They played with the grass for a while. Kat let the wind take some from her hands and blow into Jules’ face. She blushed. Jules ripped out a patch of grass and tossed it in her face. One eye twitched in annoyance.


    “Thanks, Kat. I know… I know Cy had to step up to be the leader. And be stoic and make survival decisions, and all that crap. He was just so…clinical about it all.” Jules'' smile faded.


    “Yeah, I know. Cy''s a dick. It was necessary, though.”


    “I already felt dehumanized. I guess I just needed to be treated like a person again. Not a demon, or a burden to be managed. I appreciate you holding me to a promise. I don’t know why, but it made me feel real again. Like a person, and not an Arcanic, or…" Jules glanced over at Evelyn''s remains.


    “Good. You know, Jules. We can’t wait around forever for you to make a move.”


    We? Whiskers thought. Or you specifically?


    I said can it, fur ball!


    Jules sighed.


    “OK, get up,” she ordered. When he didn’t, she forced him up and dusted him off. “You will go do…anything. Anything at all. Walk the beach for all I care. Go visit with your mom. Just do something. Right now.”


    Jules looked into her emerald green eyes. “OK. I will. What will you do?”


    Kat looked back towards the hills, towards the Shrine.


    “I’m going to help Cy. When I come back, I want you focused. I need you focused. I need…you. Back. With me, with us.” She walked away.


    Jules grabbed her arm.


    “Kat…” She wanted affection, needed it. “When you get back, I have something for you. Something special. It’s a day or two late, but…”


    “Better late than never.”


    Kat left him on the cliff side.


    <hr><hr>


    JULES


    <hr><hr>


    Jules’ back leaned against the tree. He looked out past the cliff that fell sharply before him. Evelyn laid six feet in front of and underneath him, Cy about six miles behind him, and Katarina somewhere in between.


    Clouds approached them from the north and darkened the sky. The lighthouse is still out. Guess it’s darkest just before the light, but who will guide everyone in the coming storm? Rukia rested next to him. She licked and chewed at her paws to remove sand from the beach they’d just walked below the cliffs.


    I know Ruke''s giving me space, but that gnawing sound is driving me insane. Still, I know she’d rather play right now. One more thing to feel guilty about, I suppose.


    <blockquote>


    [Quest Reminder: Go Long! is still available.]


    </blockquote>


    His eyes glazed over as he gazed at the fresh mound of dirt in front of him. What do I do now, Mom? The wind picked up and blew his hair and leaves about, as if she replied, Just let it all go.


    “I killed them all, Rukia,” Jules said. “Every single one of them. People I hated, but also people I loved.”


    Rukia placed her paws down and perked up. “Oh, Jules. It’s OK. I slaughtered your entire home village except for one person, and of course he’s the guy out on a vengeance kick.”


    Jules stared at her, wide-eyed.


    “Er," she continued. "What I mean to say is, you really didn’t mean to, Jules. You had no other choice. Whereas I did!” Rukia tilted her head and smiled at him, then resumed gnawing her paws.


    “No offense, Rukia…but how could you do that?” Jules couldn’t help but notice her sharp, though little, fangs.


    “You see, Jules. Whether subconsciously or not, you are acknowledging the difference between our two acts. I acted out of fear and rage. But I also acted out of protection, and out of the wisdom of a thousand lives lived, which you do not possess—uh, have. Sorry, poor choice of words. But I know that you would have had Greed and Sloth’s fate if I didn’t intervene.”


    Jules raised his brows. “How could you have known that?”


    “I saw pitchforks, torches… You’ve been trapped before at birth. Probably a few times. It’s just the odds of countless iterations." She stopped her Salvos-damned gnawing and pinned her ears back in shame. "Those were terrible Cycles, Jules. I don’t have the hard memories to support them, but the underlying anxiety is there.”


    “So, self-preservation? Self defense? That’s your excuse?”


    She slammed a paw down, then stood on all fours.


    “No, it’s not my excuse. It’s inexcusable. But it is my reasoning. They were actively seeking to kill you, and when they would have eventually found out they couldn’t, they’d''ve trapped you, tortured you… I made my choice, but only after they made theirs.”


    “So how do you, uh, not linger on it, then?”


    “I’m sure I did, the first few times it happened in different Cycles. But it’s so common for me now… Don’t forget. I am the Stormfront.”


    “Right. I''m not entirely sure what that—”


    A streak of lightning cracked out at sea, away from the clouds. She looked at him coolly, so coolly. Whoah…


    “But you’re just a harmless little fur ball.”


    “Because you haven’t trained hard enough. Yourself, or me. You’re in for a surprise once you’ve fully assembled the Sound.”


    Fully assembled the Sound…?


    <blockquote>


    [Quest Reminder: Seeketh Patience is still available.]


    </blockquote>


    <hr><hr>


    ENVY


    <hr><hr>


    It was a long walk to the Shrine, at least an hour. Kat thought about Jules the entire way, about what his surprise could be. She approached the Shrine’s gate.


    “Whiskers. Stay here and wait for us.”


    “No. I will—”


    “Yes. I need to do this on my own, just like he did, just like Jules must.”


    “Katarina…”


    “You have helped me as a friend. I’ve just helped Jules as a friend. Now I must do the same for Cy, and blah blah blah.” I''m not built for this kind of emotional labor.


    Whiskers grunted, but she felt his pride for her through their shared channel.


    Growing up, aren''t I? she asked.


    I wouldn''t call it that, he replied. But some might, he conceded.


    Kat walked through the gate without waiting for Whiskers’ answer. She fell through the vortex void and crashed into the courtroom’s audience benches.


    No Shrine rules? She winced and sat upright. Djinns were everywhere—


    No, the same Djinn.


    The walls were lined with smoke and mirrors. Kat saw Cy at the front, on trial.


    “Cy…what the hell is going on?”


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