Crow had tried to make conversation with the Knight several times. The first few had been met by nothing but the same silence he’d been treated to for the entire journey, so thick that it made the grind of carriage wheel against cobble sound shockingly loud by comparison. The most recent try had been interrupted when Gemini Menza politely informed him that what he was trying to talk to was called a “Kin”, and that they, unlike Knights and Beacons, did not talk.

There was something very disturbing about the Kin. An air of insidiousness, as though just sitting near it was akin to willingly placing his own head beneath a guillotine blade. Crow had tried to abate the sensation by getting the armoured man to speak, finding out that such efforts were futile did nothing to settle his frayed nerves.

It seemed he wasn’t alone in being disconcerted around them. The reactions of the powerful mystics at the party upon seeing the Kin were still fresh in his mind, in fact even now Crow couldn’t help glancing at the Gemini and taking note of the rather sideways, cautious looks she peppered their escort with.

Olympus, Crow decided, made use of very unsettling subordinates.

Eager to distract himself from his anxiety, Crow turned to look out of the window. He impassively watched the buildings and alleys cross his vision- finding himself picturing the warm light of the lamps as the glinting eyes of some great predator. How large would a creature need to be for its head to be wide enough that it could accommodate such a space? A week ago Crow would have dismissed such a hypothetical with the conclusion that it was the size found only in fairy tales. Now, however, he found himself measuring it against the height of Bermuda’s towers.

“Are you nervous?”

Crow turned to meet the incandescent eyes of the Gemini. There was a smile at her lips, but none of the creases across the rest of her face that showed it was real. In a way the sight of someone as amazing as her being anxious of anything was more unnerving than the Kin, yet it was simultaneously more comforting than anything she could have said.

“A little”, he admitted. “I hadn’t enjoyed being stared at by everyone in the stadium before the second stage, but this is going to be… something else."

The moment after he spoke, Crow realised who he was talking to- his face burning with embarrassment as he hurriedly corrected himself.

“Of course you’ll already know all about that, won’t you? I’ll bet your first time dealing with crowds and public appearances was when you were even younger."

The Gemini shifted in her seat slightly, and Crow found himself unable to name the emotion which crept onto her face.

“Actually, I didn’t deal with crowds, or public appearances at all really, until I was…” She frowned, apparently struggling to recall the time. “Oh Eclipse, twelve. Two years ago.”

“Really? But that’s…” Crow trailed off as he replied, thinking back to all the stories he’d heard of the Gemini. Now that he scrutinised his memories, he realised her name had started appearing much more in recent years. In fact mention of her had been almost entirely eclipsed by such individuals as Karma Alabaster or Ignis Pennance- the latter having caught Crow’s attention far more with his notoriety as the “God Unborn”.

“Twelve is still young, though.” He finally finished. The Gemini seemed to have a far-off look in her eyes as she answered.

“I suppose it was. Really I can’t complain, I got a lot of years of peace and quiet- more than I have any right to. Gilasev, my father, used to keep me out of public perception.” A smile blossomed back onto her, seeming to light her features up from beneath. “He complained a lot about how hard that was, as well. The way he described it, there were people from all corners of the world who wanted to use me as some political tool, but he wouldn’t let any of them.”

Crow felt wrong to watch the girl reminisce, almost as though he were intruding in secret. Mystics as political tools? Surely that couldn’t be right, the leaders of the Unixian Alliance would never allow such a thing- not from other nations, certainly not from within their own ranks. He found himself opening his mouth to speak- if nothing else, simply to remind her that she had company. Lest she regret sharing any more uncomfortable knowledge.

“It sounds like he really cares about you.”

Immediately he regretted his words, The Gemini’s face fell flat- all traces of her smile evaporating. She lost her distant stare, and as she returned to the present so too did her expression return to its usual, cheerful neutrality.

“He does”, she answered simply.

Crow recognised her tone, it was the same one he took on when speaking of Galad. The kind used to bury a recent and burning pain. All thoughts of politeness and propriety abandoned him, replaced by the sudden urge to comfort the girl.

“He hasn’t been… around. Not for a while, at least. He isn’t on this island, in fact I don’t even know where he is. I’ve tried contacting him with a resonance stone but he just won’t answer.”

The Gemini’s gaze was locked firmly on the floor of the carriage as she spoke. Crow waited a few moments to see if she’d meet his eye, then began speaking anyway when she didn’t.

“I’m sorry, that must be… difficult.”

She didn’t say anything, just nodded. Crow tried again.

“I’m sure he’s alright, he is a Deity after all-”

He was cut off as the Gemini looked up and snapped.

“Of course he’s alright, he’s Gilasev fucking Menza. There isn’t a creature in this world that can hurt him.”

Crow mumbled an apology, realising that it was probably best if he stopped speaking altogether. A few seconds passed in silence before the Gemini continued in a far softer tone.

“I’m sorry”, she sighed. “I’m just… well, this is my first time being on my own- or without Gilasev rather. It feels… unnerving. Oh, I can’t describe it. Nevermind-”

“It feels like you’ve lived your entire life under a shelter, only to see it get torn away by some hurricane wind and realise it was never really there?”

The Gemini stared at Crow, and he forced a smile.

“My uncle was a mystic, a powerful one. He was the talk of the town, at least before my sister and I came along. Gladiator mystics are rare, after all. At least they’re rare outside of places like Bermuda.”

Mouth suddenly dry, Crow wanted nothing more than to clamp up and stop speaking. He didn’t, however. Something pushed him on, gave him the feeling that he needed to be saying what he was.

“He left me, too. But I don’t think he’s coming back. And the way it happened, the way he just… disappeared. I’d lived my whole life thinking he was always going to be there, invincible as he was.”

Crow trailed off, finding himself unable to finish. The Gemini stared at him with something refreshing- honest sympathy. So different from the kind Astra showed him, that seemed to try and convince him he was sick and in need of help. It was pure. And the voice that accompanied it was like that of an angel.

“I’m sorry, both for what happened with your uncle and… well, for being such a brat.”

The girl smiled, but Crow could tell it was more out of awkwardness than happiness.

“Here I was complaining that Gilasev hadn’t contacted me for a few weeks, I really am spoiled aren’t I?”

Crow felt a smile creep across his own face, as well as a great relief as the tension vanished from the air. It didn’t last long, however. He knew that it was well within his power to clear things up, tell the Gemini the truth rather than letting her keep to what she mistakenly assumed happened. He didn’t, though. He couldn’t. The guilt of lying by omission would weigh on him less than the guilt of sharing his worries with Astra, and each person who knew the truth increased the chances of her finding it just that little bit more.

“I don’t think so. I was helpless in that party, if you hadn’t rescued me I’d probably have made a fool out of myself within seconds. Thank you again for that, Gemini.”

The Gemini frowned before answering.

“Hm, I never liked that name... I’ll tell you what, oh-incarnation-of-Chronos, you can call me Gem.”

Her smile returned as she finished. Crow nodded, then without thinking extended his fist.

“Nice to meet you, Gem.”

The girl stared at his knuckles, an eyebrow arched questioningly. Realising his blunder, Crow hurriedly explained.

“Oh, sorry. This is a greeting in Selsis- or, well, the area around Selsis actually. You basically press your knuckle against the other person’s, then slide them off each other.”

Gem’s brow furrowed in understanding as the corner of her mouth twitched up into an indulgent smirk. She met Crow’s fist with her own, completing the gesture, then answered.

“Olympus has something similar to this, you know. Only instead of just pressing the knuckles together, they punch each other and then kiss.”

Crow found himself frowning even as he smiled in amusement at his mishearing.

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

Gem grinned.

“You heard me right, they punch each other and then kiss. Apparently it’s got something to do with violence and physical attraction being two aspects of passion, which is something their culture values quite a lot.”

Crow thought back to his narrow knowledge of Olympus, finding his thoughts drifting mostly to its princess.

“Karma Alabaster doesn’t seem like she’s… uh, like that.”

Gem sighed at that, her voice sounding almost defeated.

“I’ve long since given up trying to decide what Karma’s “like”. She seems to change her nature as it suits her.”

Almost immediately her eyes widened.

“Shit, I shouldn’t have said that.”

Crow raised a hand in a comforting gesture.

“Don’t worry, my lips are sealed. It’s not like anyone will believe what I tell them anyway, right?”

Gem seemed genuinely confused at that, tilting her head slightly.

“Why wouldn’t anyone believe you?”

“Uh, well… I don’t know. I’m not from Bermuda, am I? I’m a nobody, from nowhere. Eclipse’s sake I apparently have a reputation for being some cold-blooded betrayer.”

The girl opposite stared at him as though he’d just grown another head.

“You have the Eye of Chronos, Crow. Don’t sell yourself short. Talent brings status. Even if you’re a complete moron, and I’m not saying you are, there’s someone out there who’d think you worth listening to purely because of how powerful you are.”

Crow wasn’t sure what to say to that, so he just nodded and tried to keep back the frown that he found growing across his face. Bermuda, no- the world, was a very different place than he’d ever imagined it to be.

Their journey continued in silence for some ten minutes more, and Crow found himself struggling to remain awake. A combination of the late hour, comfortable carriage and soothing fog gradually thickening outside compelled him to his bed more strongly with each passing moment. He briefly considered slapping himself to remain awake, deciding against it only because of his company.

When they reached their destination, the vehicle's uneven, jittery stop almost made Crow yelp in surprise- shocking him out of the half-dreamy state he’d succumbed to. He looked to Gem for instruction, or perhaps guidance, as to their next move.

“I think you’re supposed to get out first, as the guest.” The girl mused. “But then that’s a stupid tradition, come on.”

Without another word she reached to her door and pushed it outward, letting a wave of frigid air wash in and climbing out so deftly that Crow found himself wondering whether she’d trained to do so.

Crow had been expecting to find himself outside the front entrance of the stadium, however when his feet touched the ground he realised that, not only were they nowhere near it, the only entrance to the enormous structure he could see was barely larger than a regular door. There were no crowds of people lining up to enter, either. Merely a handful of serious looking individuals- all wearing the same knight uniform as the driver of the carriage.

The area around them was similarly different, far less craning spires and towering archways and far more chimneys and encircling fences. Crow had seen a factory before, he’d once taken a trip to Seoris- a city near Selsis. The site of those great stone cylinders wouldn’t have shocked him, even if they’d still been churning out the black smoke which came from their internal production. On the other hand, it still felt extremely surreal to see them next to the stadium- a structure he’d found himself associating with the finery and wealth of Bermuda’s most affluent areas.

His attention was pulled from his surroundings by a voice from behind. Crow and Gem both turned to the knight at the same time.

“I’m authorised to go no further, good luck ma’m, sir.”

“Thank you”, Gem beamed in response. The knight nodded, then turned and made his way back to the carriage. Almost at the exact same instance, the Kin made his way out from the other side. Crow hadn’t seen a person walk in full plate armour before, but he’d always assumed there would be no small amount of noise accompanying it. It seemed that he had been mistaken, as the Kin’s every step was quieter than most people’s were in regular clothing.

“Let’s go”, Gem breathed out- apparently eager to make her way to the orientation sooner rather than later. She didn’t so much as glance at Crow before beginning a brisk walk towards what was apparently to be their entrance, and Crow found himself waiting no more than a few moments before following.