Why Not Enjoy It?

"You should take a day off tommorow," Yoru says, halfway out of the door to the garden, hand on the doorknob, "Maybe Alyra will accompany you."

Cage purses his lips, standing before her, eyes to the night sky. He looks at Yoru, brows furrowed, "Is there really time for that? I have to remove those trackers," he says.

"I know that," Yoru responds, sighing, "But you've been training yourself to the bone. I know you'll be able to do it, so... Just relax tomorrow. You won't be able to change the result, no matter how much you stress over it."

"That stress is what's pushing me forward," Cage says, "I need it."

Yoru pauses, gazing into those black, empty eyes. She shakes her head, "Just think about it," she says.

Cage nods, "I will."

Yoru returns her own nod, closing the door and leaving Cage alone in the night. Yoru is heading off to bed, and had urged Cage to do the same earlier. However, even if he needed sleep, he wouldn't be able to. The silence and stillness needed for sleep is the last thing Cage wants right now.

Alyra returned to her own home after discussing the plan. She lives with her uncle and his wife, and when Cage asked, Alyra seemed hurt to even think about her parents. Another one, Cage had thought at the moment, everyone here has lost someone. He is no exception, not in the least. With this thought, a question slithered its way into his mind, and it still hurts him to think of the answer.

Can there be a universe where loss doesn't rule every person's life?

Cage walks through the garden, forcing himself to forget the thought. As he walks, he looks at the plant life surrounding him. Green, blue, yellow, glistening white. Thorns, hanging stalks, and wide leaves. A different plant grows from every row, all bathing in the violet moonlight. Though they share characteristics, not one plant is what he remembers from Earth.

With the size of the garden, and the number of different plants, Cage wondered for a time if Yoru was attempting to collect every plant on Raj. She clearly has some infatuation with nature. There had been a few mornings that Cage had seen her tending to each and every plant.

Cage has been testing his powers, trying to find different ways to use them. For a while, he wondered if he could do more with the tendrils. They are much faster than before, and he has more control over them. One of the things he wanted to test was if he could absorb several things at once. He found that he could if he spread the tendrils out more, however, the action take much more focus than normal.

Cage wanted to test more things, but images of Kyro and Ingen always crossed his mind, steering him back to pulling seeds from fruit.

For the last few nights, this well-tended garden has comforted him. The moonlight, the plants waving with the wind, the song of insects in the distance. Cage has grown fond of every detail, and while he trained his powers, they kept his anxiety from intruding on his mind.

However, that is not the case tonight. There is too much on Cage's mind for him to focus under the same circumstances. And so, he gathers a few fruits and absorbs them into the vault. In the past few days, he's had to dump half-absorbed fruits on his way to the Collector Village. Hopefully, there will only be seeds to dump after tonight.

After absorbing enough fruit, Cage walks to the wall farthest from Yoru's home. He leaps, grabbing the lip with his arm and lifting himself over in one swift motion, his robe waving with the wind all the while. He lands on the other side with bent knees, standing and walking a second later. There was a time that he would have had trouble doing that. As much as he worries about it, Cage is making progress. Even if the rate at which he does is slower than he likes.

Cage pulls a small white fruit from the vault, and splits it, beginning his training as he walks. In the middle of the night like this, he doesn't have to worry about being seen. The streets are empty, and even if there was a straggling passerby, his powers blend into the darkness enough that he can hide them before being noticed.

He shivers as he walks and peels fruit. Even during the day, it's a bit cooler than what Cage is used to on Raj. When Cage mentioned the detail, Ingen told him that winter is near. It could be days or weeks from now, but soon, Raj will shift from its usual humid state to finger-biting cold. According to the violet-skinned Rajin, the shift is sudden, one day hot, then the next cold.

Cage was surprised at first, but soon remembered that the rules of his long-lost home do not apply here in the Praesi. He will have to rid himself of this thought process eventually. It is good to remember his previous life, however, for Cage to be successful on his journey, he will need to adapt to his new way of life. Both physically and mentally.

Cage tries to distract himself with more thoughts, but anxiety soon forces itself into his brain. How will he know if Kyro and Ingen are to be executed? Will there be an announcement? No, Cage thinks, the Epochs want to keep this entire situation under wraps. Announcing the execution of two Collectors will only cause confusion. People will start asking questions, and from what he has learned, Cage can guess that questions are the last thing-

"Hello there, Cage, my fellow Trezeran," A smooth, relaxed voice calls out to Cage.

Cage jolts, pulled from his river of thoughts. He has arrived at Yoru's home, and against the wall leans a familiar man. It's the dark-skinned man that Cage saw at the Foreign affairs building and Scribe office. He wears the same silky white button-up shirt and loose trousers that cuff his ankles. Are those... joggers?

"I've seen you before," Cage says, meeting the man's milky white eyes, the opposite of Cage's own. The man has a narrow face, pointy nose, and flowing white hair that falls past his shoulders, "You're a Trezeran?" Cage asks.

The man smirks, "That I am, my friend. Grishnalshian at your service. That name is a little... complex, so you may call me Grish," he replies. His posture, tone, and smirk all say one thing; this man is in control, and he does not fear Cage one bit. In fact, it's as if he's speaking to an old comrade.

Cage pauses, frowning, "Okay, then. Grish..." he says, "...How do you know my name? and that I'm Trezeran?"

Grish shrugs, "It wasn't difficult. When you have lived for as long as I have, you learn how to sweet talk women, no matter the race. Though I will say, those women at the Foreign affairs building were more tight-lipped than most," he says.

Cage raises a brow, "By sweet talk you mean manipulation, I'm guessing?" he asks.

Grish chuckles, shaking his head, "No, no, my friend. Manipulation is coaxing a person into a devious action, which I have never done... I think," he says, still smiling, "I merely asked for a sheet of parchment, one which had your name on it. 'Cage'. I must say, I've never heard such a strange name."

Cage sighs, rubbing his forehead, "I understand that we're the same race, but what is the point of this conversation again?" he asks.

"I would be happy to answer," Grish says, the smirk on his lips widening, "With Azelah conquered and most of the Trezeran population culled, it makes sense that you have fooled everyone here. However, as a true Trezeran, I know something that these people here do not; you are not the race you claim. I haven't figured out your actual race, nor the reason you present this ridiculous facade, and that is why I am here."

Cage furrows his brows, fear poking at his heart, "How do you know?" he asks.

Grish chuckles, "Questions, questions, questions. Curious man, aren't you?" he responds, pushing off the wall with his leg. The man raises his hand, raising his brows at Cage and smiling. He grabs his forefinger, then in one swift motion, pulls it from his hand. The skin tears, and pitch-black blood spurts from the injury, splattering on the white stone below.

Cage takes a step back, surprised, and even a little fearful. However, the man never loses his smile, even as he places the finger back in its original spot. He holds the appendage there for a moment, then lets go, revealing a completely healed finger. That black blood still stains his hand and the street, however, his finger shows no scar or scab, as if he hadn't just ripped it off.

Grish holds the hand away from his body as if avoiding staining his shirt, then pulls a black handkerchief from his pocket. He wipes the blood from his hand, looking at Cage with that same smile, "If you were Trezeran, then you wouldn't look as if a whore just told you she was carrying your child. And..." he glances at Cage's right shoulder, the sleeve of his robe hanging lazily.

He meets Cage's eyes again, "If you're wondering why no one told you of this, you should know that I checked the Rajin library. There are no Records of Trezeran healing here. The Head Scribe made a good choice though. Many of my people have your hair and eyes. Even so, I doubt she expected your secret to be uncovered by an actual Trezeran."

Cage pauses, looking around. The streets are still empty. Good, Cage thinks, this conversation is not one to be heard by passing ears. He looks at the man, brows furrowed, "So? What do you plan on doing with me?" he asks. Cage's secret is uncovered now, however, he reaches for one of the boulders in the vault. The man may be able to reconnect limbs, but can he reconnect his brain to his skull?

Grish scoffs, "Nothing," he says, "I came to kill time, and perhaps investigate an anomaly while I'm at it."

"Anomaly?" Cage asks.

Grish nods, "I've traveled to enough places to know things. Lots of things. And one thing that I know for sure is that every person has a soul. Anima. Call it what you may," he says, gesturing toward Cage with a smile, "Everyone has it, except for you."

Well... Damn it, Cage thinks with a sigh. His lack of Anima and Vas had slipped his mind after being safe for so long. Cage feels that he should be scared right now, but for some reason, he is extremely calm. Whether this is because of his own acceptance of the situation, or the relaxed posture of the man before him, Cage does not know.

Cage gazes at the man for a moment, brows furrowed, "You're an Anima user?" he asks, "I've never met one before."

Grish nods, raising an open palm to the sky, "Understandable. After a hundred years and... a number of visited planets, I've only met a handful myself," he says. As he speaks, a dark purple aura shrouds his arm. Something appears from Grish's light-colored palm, a phantasmic, slithering entity resembling an Eel.

Cage watches with wide eyes as several more of the creatures crawl from Grish's skin, all of them several feet long with skinless bodies. The eel-like creatures, much like the Massor Cage had seen, only have thin, transparent layers of skin covering their misty bones. The creatures curl around the brown-skinned man that summoned them, as if swimming through an ocean.

Suddenly, one of the Eels bolts towards Cage. He sucks a quick breath through his teeth, jumping backward with every bit of strength he has in his legs. Cage skids to a stop a few meters away, looking back up at Krish with furrowed brows.

Grish laughs as the eel returns, joining the others swimming around his body, "Tense, aren't we?" he asks. The stone surrounding the man is splashed with the soft dark purple light of the eels.

Cage stands, silent as he stares at Grish. It was only by a fraction of a second, but Cage's reaction to the attack was delayed. If Grish didn't pull the eel back at the last second, then Cage would have undoubtedly been hit.

Grish gazes at Cage and his scowling expression. He shakes his head, clicking his tongue, "Another mind too skeptical to enjoy a good joke," Krish says, sighing and locking eyes with Cage, "Do you enjoy being so tense? So paranoid?"

Cage cocks his head back, an incredulous expression on his face, "Did you expect me to just take the attack? I'm not that stupid," he asks, "And jokes? Is that what you call a joke? Do you do that to everyone, expecting them to laugh?."

"Only those I find interesting," Grish replies, eyes tracking one of his eels as it passes before him, "I enjoy seeing others smile. Is that so bad? Me, you, the woman caring for you right now... we will all die in the end. Why not have a good time and smile while we're here?"

Cage pauses. He finds himself agreeing with Grish. Cage nearly smacks himself as he realizes it. True, he needs to keep the possibility of Kyro and Ingen's execution in his mind. However, why does he stress over it so much? There is no time to be worrying over if he will fail or not. After all, if he does, then just like Kyro and Ingen, Cage will most likely be killed himself.

If that happens, then all of his worrying will have been for nothing.

Cage chuckles, meeting Krish's solid white eyes, the opposite of his own, "I understand, but did you really think I would enjoy being attacked?" he asks.

Krish pauses, tapping a finger on his chin, "I suppose not. I apologize. I admit I got ahead of myself there," he says, looking at Cage with that same grin, "But you do enjoy a good fight, against man and beast alike. You seemed to enjoy being thrown around in that forest quite a bit. I suppose you are aloud to enjoy the battles when you have a giant behind you."

Cage raises a brow, pausing. If Krish saw him in the forest, then that means... "You saw it, didn't you?" he asks.

The smile widens on Krish's face, and he chuckles as he begins to speak, "I did. Not even Massor's give me goosebumps like those powers of yours," he says, taking a step forward as the eels twitch around him, "So how about it? Why don't you show me how those powers work?"

Cage tenses, flexing his hand, "I can't say I'm in the mood for a fight."

Krish walks forward, palm open to the sky, eels zipping around him, "That's too bad," he says, waving his hand forward, directing every single eel toward Cage, "Because I am."