“Change the topic.” Adam snapped.

“Adam, I know you’re upset, but—”

“No, I don’t give a shit.” Adam said, his voice rising to a snarl. “That bitch is the reason why I’m here. Talk about something else, or get the hell out.”

He expected Lucy to rebuke him for insulting her friend. She indeed looked conflicted, her expression shifting from instant anger, then falling into moroseness. She sat down on the bench outside the cell, glancing down at her hands. Adam continued to eat, enduring the silent awkwardness by focusing on his meal. Potatoes, tomatoes and chicken. He wondered how much of this stuff he had a hand in growing.

“Are you feeling alright?” Lucy said.

“Been through worse.”

“But what about the past week or so? Have you been alright then?”

Adam glared at her. “What do you think? Why do you even care?”

Lucy flinched at this. “I…you’re my comrades here. I’m supposed to care.”

“Sure, doesn’t seem like it. What camaraderie am I supposed to get out of this?”

“That’s…”

“Fuck, I don’t even know what the point of all this is! Why you guys want my Pactbearer powers in the first place. I never asked for them, but you all seem fine with working my ass off for something I don’t even know about!”

He threw the food tray to the ground and stood up. He marched over the bars of the cell and gripped them, his snarling face peering through the gaps.

“And I wouldn’t give a shit about any of that because I get it—can’t trust the new guy, need to haze him first and it’s exactly the same thing I would have done in your shoes. But it’s been a month and the fact that Saria—”

He couldn’t finish it. To reconcile the insult Saria had said with the image of Mary made him want to puke. He stomped back to the cell’s bed and buried his face in it. Let Lucy or whoever think he was throwing a tantrum. had just insulted the only person who had ever given a single crap about him. He wasn’t wrong.

Once again, Lucy did not berate him. She just stared at him with that sad look of hers. The two remained in that silence for several minutes. Adam, eventually sat back up, still seething”

“I’m sorry.” Lucy began. Her head was bowed, just like she had done in the clinic a month ago. “We, as a community here, have made several terrible mistakes in our treatment of you. Part of it was because we were unsure how to handle a new Pactbearer, but it’s no excuse. We didn’t treat you the same as we treated past newcomers.”

“At least you admit it.” Adam said. “You’re the only reasonable one here.”

“Not reasonable enough to bring it up beforehand. It may not sound like much, but I am truly sorry, Adam.” Lucy chuckled bitterly. “Adam, which part of it hurt the most?”

“What do you mean?”

“When Saria insulted you. She was wrong to do that. Very wrong.” Lucy continued. “Especially since we’ve lost comrades before.”

“Then why the hell did she do it, if she knows about it?” Adam demanded.

“She has…personal reasons to be frustrated. Again, they are not excuses.” Lucy said. She sighed. “In any case, insulting families is not something she does as a habit.”

“Care to tell me what those reasons are?”

Lucy shook her head. “It would be improper. If anyone will tell you, it will be Saria herself.”

“Great. Well, I’m not holding my breath.” Adam said.

“Do you want to talk about it, Adam?”

“Talk about what?”

“Your family. The part that made you so upset.”

“Why?” Adam asked. “What’s the point?”

“Adam, you might not believe me, but I chose to come here out of my own volition.” Lucy said. “Not knowing you well enough was a mistake, so I want to rectify it. I want to get to know you better.”

Internally, he scoffed. Lucy was still a hand of the West Junction higher ups. Whatever she did, they had to know. And they would control her to act in certain ways. This was just another ploy to sway him to their side. No way anyone was this generous.

He folded his arms and clamped his mouth tight. Lucy got the hint. She stood up. He gave her the empty tray.

“It’s okay. Tell me at your own pace, or don’t. It’s your decision.” She gave another bow. “I’ll be back tomorrow, Adam.”

He watched her back retreat through the doorframe and out of sight.

Being stuck in detainment was just as boring as he remembered it. Sitting on the bed, pacing around the cell, being left to his own thoughts. At least that one thing that hadn’t changed from the great transition. The meals they provided him, while bare, gave him enough nutrients to practice his routine.

He performed pushups until his upper muscles begged him to stop. He shadowboxed as if he was back on the streets. He shuffled around the tiny space, pretending he was trapped on a crowded train. A sense of familiar, wonderfully tiring peace washed over him. There was no sun beating down on him, nor were there the harsh shouts from the peanut gallery.

Yet again, it was just him and his fists. The story of his life.

Though, he had to admit, the lessons the guys at West Junction taught him were useful. They were straight out of those martial arts programs he could never afford.

The door behind the cell bars swung open. Lucy stepped through, holding another meal tray. Adam lowered his fists and headed back to the bed, where shirt lay. The girl never seemed bothered by the fact that he practiced with his shirt off, but he at least knew this little tidbit of decency.

“Hello, Adam.” Lucy said. She pushed the tray through the slot on the cell door. Today’s meal was potato and meat stew with bread and lettuce. There was also a ration bar and a bottle of water for tomorrow’s breakfast. “Happy eating.”

She had been bringing his meals for the past few days. Every time, she gave him the food, then sat down on the chair outside the cell to wait. He would eat in silence, pass the tray back and Lucy would ask him questions. For example:

“How are you doing today?”

“Do you want any books?”

“Are you ready to talk about your sister?”

To which his responses were:

“Fine.”

“Sure, it’s boring as hell in here.”

“Definitely not.”

She never got angry, or even frustrated at him. She just nodded, smiled and left after saying goodbye. It was infuriating. Why couldn’t she just give her his food and go, like a good dog of authority? Don’t tell him she was unironically trying to make friends with him? No way, man.

“Just get out of here.” he snapped at her.

“No, I don’t want to.” Lucy replied.

“Don’t you Saria to attend to?”

“Oh, she is locked up for the same reasons as you are.” Lucy said. Adam blinked. Now that was a surprise. “Besides, you can’t make me leave.”

He opened to mouth to retort, only to realise that she was right. The girl smiled, as if the two were sharing a secret. He scowled and huffed.

“Whatever, do what you want.”

“Adam, have I told you about my home world?” Lucy asked.

“Astraea. Yeah, you’re part of those War Maidens, aren’t you?”

“Oh, you remember its name?”

“My memory isn’t that shit.” Adam said. It was just another semi-useful skillset he picked up when living on the streets. You never knew when some innocuous detail about your surroundings could mean the difference between life and death. “You haven’t told me anything about it.”

“Would you like to hear about it?”

“Not really, but you seem like you’re determined to yap on about it, anyway.”

Lucy giggled.

“God, you are, aren’t you?”

Beneath the starry skies blessed by the goddess, there existed a prestigious family in one of Astraea’s many metropolises. Their main claims to fame were mercantile in nature; their fortune grew from calculated trading on the market. They showed their faith to the Goddess by sponsoring endeavors in Her name and providing frequent donations to the many prayer halls.

A girl, the fourth child, was born to that household eighteen years ago. As the heir was already decided, it was determined the child would be used as a pawn in the game of nobility upon Astraea’s upper crust. Connections, arranged marriages and the like.

Thus, the girl was raised that way. She played the lyre at a young age. She studied languages old, new and noble. She learned etiquette until she could memorize speeches and specific movements on command. Throughout it all, the girl was dutiful. She knew her place. To show her devotion to the world she was born in, she had to support her family.

It was suffocating, but she persevered, because it was the right thing to do.

Then, one day, she was out shopping in the markets for a new set of clothes. A splash of mud came her way, soiling her fine dress. Angered, she whirled around to see a girl with a small rifle on her back.

“Hey, what are you doing?” The girl asked.

“You ruined my dress! I was supposed to bring this to the prayer hall today!”

“Oh, sorry.” The girl said, “But you don’t need a dress to show devotion.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

“That was Saria, wasn’t it?”

“Correct. Yes, she was crass back then, though she’s much more mannered now.” Lucy said. “Training worked out the kinks in us.”

“So, what happened next?” The words left Adam’s mouth before he could dwell on them.

“Oh, you want to know more?”

“No—never mind.” Adam blurted out. He turned away, arms folded. “Don’t tell me, I don’t care.”

“We met up at the prayer hall and got into a fight.” Lucy continued, chuckling at the memories. “It was quite a shock for the upper society I was in at the time. As for the rest of it, it’s a long story. I’ll have to tell you some other time, Adam.”

With that, she stepped up and prepared to leave.

“Wait.”

“Hm?”

Part of him was yelling at him to shut his mouth, but the other part hated letting debts like this go.

“You told me something about yourself, so I better return the favor.” He spoke. “It was my sister. My sister died seven years ago.”

“That pendant belongs to her, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah. I was eleven. Mary disappeared for three days, then came back to our front doorstep covered in wounds. Died straight after giving me the pendant. Never found out why, no thanks to the shitty police.” Adam turned his head away. Why was he even telling her this? The moment had passed and now he felt troubled. Mary’s mere existence was his biggest secret back on Earth. He never bothered telling the guys about her. It made her feel more special.

“That must’ve been horrible, Adam. I’m sorry.” Mary said, sympathetically.

“Why?” He asked. “You didn’t kill her.”

“It still shouldn’t have happened. You didn’t deserve it.”

“Yeah, well, that applies to a lot of stuff.” He waved her away. “You done here.”

“Yes, I’ll be off now. Thank you for sharing that with me.”

She left. Adam returned to training, his heart feeling strangely lighter.

The next day, Lucy didn’t come. Instead…

“You!”

“Hey, Adam.” Saria said, holding the tray of food. She sounded guilty and did not smile. “How’s it going?”