Unease 0.3

Glaring up at the white ceiling halfheartedly, Pierce took out her novel from beneath her pillow and compared the white cover page to the color of the plaster, it greatly resembled her life at this current point of time. Returning from the trip had been easy enough but not the questioning gazes she had to tolerate the entire time they were walking together. She suspected he was trying to convey something to her by keeping the silence though she ignored it by simply staring at the walkways or the pedestrian passing by.

White was the perfect term for the blanks she was unable to fill her entire life, 'imaginary threads', 'moving shadows', 'sixth senses' and the needless other stuffs that assaulted her daily were taking a toll on her mind now. All she could say to convince herself of her sanity was the constant assurance from Gracia still ringing in her ears, "You are different but so are many others, don't take it to heart."

"I think I am finally getting insane," she mumbled to herself dreamily, almost acknowledging the fact that she was going bonkers. If it hadn't been for the gentle knock on the door, she was sure she would have been declaring herself compatible with the mental asylum without any hesitation. She was definitely certifiable.

Without taking a look at the door she sat up in bed as sleeping in front of her father was bad manners, her father had been thorough with it. "Come in please, the door's open." Needless to say she could tell it was him, only he was this silent with his approach.

"You have been missing out on the snacks." It was a command to come downstairs immediately, not a question or request. She knew from his tone.

"I am not feeling too well dad, so I will have to decline the offer."

Feeling well or not, manners were manners and a young lady such as herself needed to be polite. In any case the answer seemed to have come out as a surprise to her unsuspecting father who still stood at the door with a heavy silence surrounding him. He was wearing a black suit with navy blue shirt, blue being his most favorite color. He must have come back from his office. "You don't feel well?" he started slowly, asking almost hesitantly. Did he think she was immune to health problems? It appeared so.

"Does it has to do something with you feeling down since morning?" Bull's eye it did, but she wasn't going to say it out loud. "Not really." There, she said the exact thing she didn't want to.

"Alright," he wasn't persuasive with her, which she at times felt to be frustrating, she didn't want company at present but that didn't mean she wouldn't feel good knowing someone cared. She waited for him to leave, her eyes closed with anticipation, yet he didn't go. 'What is he waiting for?'

"Feel free to rest and do come down to dinner. Sleeping with an empty stomach burns out blood and that is unhealthy for a growing child." he spoke his part and went away leaving her alone with her thoughts.

There was a cold silence in the room, it was hollow. A minute passed and she started to smile at his concern, he had said the right thing in the end although a little off the track but it was what she had wanted to hear. He was worried about her and it showed in his voice, she wasn't keen on making him worry but his concern made her feel safe again, protected.

"Since when did I start needing this security," she mumbled to herself and went to sleep, she felt too tired to do anything any further.

--

With Judith,

Just below the floor Judith sat on the empty couch sipping warm tea from a delicate china but his mood was far from warm at the moment. "What?"

"She's not one of us but also not a human, what is she?"

"I do not understand your question."

Vladius laughed dryly, "You know well enough who or what I am talking about Slayworth Zeeno."

A hard stare followed by a minuscule frown made its way on his normally stoic and professional poker face. Even he was finding the fact hard to believe.

"You didn't tell me anything specific," the boy started, he was sitting on another couch eating chocolate cookies, "but I do know she isn't one of us... from the past relics it is difficult to understand her origin."

"You searched about her?" Judith went on with his frown deepening.

Vladius thoughtfully weighted his answer, "You said she was adopted and was a human, I understood that, not why you would adopt a human... but rather her origin, then I saw the incidents where she would freak out even at the slightest glimpses of them and that is a feat the human race can never achieve."

"Shadows can be seen, krutz can manipulate the light and thus the vision but not fully."

"You are the senior here," Vladius stated admitting his verbal defeat but also knowing he was on to something. And as he had suspected, he was stopped by Judith when he got up to leave.

"You and I both know what she will face when this all gets out." The seriousness in Judith's tone was difficult to miss and Vladius knew the reality which awaited her if she was declared anything other than human.

"What do you tell the others?"

"That she is a human I adopted."

"Then her powers didn't show before now?"

"This is for the first time she has shown any indication that she sees them, I never got the slightest hint about her fears as you told me, although she is definitely different from the usual humans."

This puzzled the boy, because from what he saw she seemed almost sure of herself as if it was a regular everyday occurring. "Are you sure about that?" he asked slowly, thoughtfully, looking at the man sitting in front of him, stirring the tea occasionally to divert his mind.

"She never lies to me."

Vladius smirked, "That doesn't mean she tells you everything."

A glare send his way quickly shut him up.

Judith checked the time almost timidly, almost, as if wanting to be ready to hear a war gong anytime. "You didn't use your powers to attract them did you?" he asked the boy with narrowed eyes.

"Don't look at me like that, I wasn't the one they were attracted to."

"I am sure of that."

"It's the truth."

A silence passed between the two as both of them came across some or the other revelation, it was taxing and Vladius was the first one to break the silence, he did not like the growing tension, "If they have started moving then we should too."

"I am not sure about that. We move, they move, the war moves. It's a lose-lose situation."

"Then we let them harm the humans?"

"For now we have no choice. The US government has yet to take a decision."

"We aren't their pawns," reminded Vladius with slight hostility, which was quickly doused out by Judith's small scowl.

"I know that, but a pact is a pact and we can't avoid the confrontation if things go awry. We need to be level headed about this."

"Then we stay quiet?"

"Who said that, we will just do our job from behind the scenes, nobody needs to know what we are up to."

"Playing the innocent while still doing the dirty deed, nice... very nice, very verlon of you." Vladius said thoughtfully, finally catching up to him.

Judith returned back to maintaining a poker face but his eyes were soft with pride, looking pleased with himself for coming up with the formidable plan. "You Sparka will be stationed at the greenhouse you went to today and I will take the park again which you had suspected was one of their bases."

The guest looked surprised, "You went there yesterday? The park I mean."

"When my daughter's life is at risk, I take every chance at securing it to my best."

The dialogue must have impressed the boy as he grinned and started to head straight for the door, he was on a mission and for once it wasn't about finding hidden stash of chocolate wafers in kitchen cupboards.

"Do well Vladius," he heard the older man call after him.

He shivered once he reached outside, 'I will remember to ask her not to call me that, or else...' Let's just say slaying shadows was a far better option than returning back to a suspicious and defensive father.