Yeren Back Again

Link to article: Yeren Back Again.

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[[span class="fliph"]]➢[[/span]] [[[goodbye-nightflower-the-shining-city |]]] | [[[UnHuman Hub]]] | [[[goodbye-nightflower-nomads|Goodbye Nightflower: Nomads]]] ➢
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The silhouette towering over them was breathtaking. There was simply no other way to describe it, it took their breath away. Though not quite as tall as Sebastian, its presence was just as profound and its graceful movement elevated it to something so ethereal, it almost seemed impossible.

"Is that...?" Mio asked, mouth agape.

"A [[[scp-1000 |yeren]]]," Sebastian confirmed.

"I thought you said they never pass through Haphway," Nitro said, turning to Candela. All she could do was smile up at the thing.

"There's a first time for everything!" She replied excited.

"So, what's the deal?" Mio asked. The creature was magnificent, sure, but what was it even doing here?

"I'm not sure. I know they wanted to see the town, and they're quiet but amenable to conversation. Probably. Hasn't really stopped me or expressed disinterest."

"Alright," Nitro said, cautiously moving forward, "just be careful. We don't want to offend and we certainly don't want to get hurt."

"Do they understand English?" Nitro asked.

"I'm not sure, I mean, why would that--"

"I'd be surprised if there was a yeren alive with a translator."

Candela's eyes widened in realization. "We should probably figure that out first."

She stepped up to the yeren cautiously, while the others waited behind.

"Excuse me," she said. "I'm so sorry, you must think I'm incredibly rude. Can you understand me?" The yeren looked at her curiously. "You don't have to reply, just give us a sign, a nod or...?" The yeren stayed unmoving. Nitro grimaced.

"Looks like they can't understand," Nitro said. "I could try a short form translation, might take a while but it would guarantee we could understand each other."

The yeren finally spoke. "No need," their low voice slowly mumbled. Nitro stopped confused. Candela's eyes widened in realization.

"Of course, I'm so stupid!" Candela cleared her throat. "Now can you understand me?" she said. Mio couldn't exactly describe it, but something had changed in the way she had said this, like the way her words sounded immediately became clearer too her.

The yeren nodded slowly. "I'm so sorry," Candela apologized. "I was speaking in Spanish before. You must think I'm incredibly rude, going on and on in a language you don't speak."

"No," the yeren replied.

"Oh, well that's kind of you," Candela said. "Well I won't talk your ear off again, but my name is Candela, I'm the custodian-- it's sort of a local leadership position here which is, well, what I mean to say I welcome you here. Which is a town called Haphway."

"I know," the yeren said. Every word felt deliberate. It was hard to tell whether it was because the yeren didn't speak English well or because they didn't have much to say. "I have seen before, when we pass. I wished to see inside."

Candela nodded. "Well, I wish to impart to you and your people that Haphway is a safe haven for all, including the yeren. My mother wished it to be that and I have done all I can to ensure it remains that way."

The yeren looked down the street, towards the rest of the city, seeing its various citizens mill about and look in wonder at the yeren.

"Beautiful," the yeren said. Mio didn't need her translator to know how honest this comment was.

"You're welcome to stay here, if you want, for a morning. Rest yourself. It won't be too long until sunrise now." The pitch in her tone indicated Candela was quite hopeful.

"I must get back," the yeren said, this time quieter.

Candela nodded. "I understand." Nitro gave her a look, and she nodded, running to him and grabbing his arm. "Before you go, he has a question for you."

"Yes," Nitro said before removing himself from Candela's grasp. "Yes, I was hoping to ask you if you'd let me and my..." Nitro hesitated as he turned to the girls and Sebastian, "...companions travel alongside you and your people. We wouldn't want to be an imposition but we really must get going and would prefer to travel in a group."

The yeren observed the group. Sebastian flashed eir biggest smile, Mio shrank in the discomfort of being observed, but Gabriella took a step forward.

"Incredible," Gabriella said. She quickly remembered herself and tried to explain. "I'm sorry, I just mean I've never met anyone quite like you before and it's... incredible."

Mio couldn't quite describe the yeren's shift in expression. If she had to guess, it looked as though there was a brighter shine in their eyes than before Gabriella's comment.

"You may ask the elder. Only she decides," the yeren finally replied. Then they turned to Candela. "Thank you."

Candela smiled. "Anytime. Really."

With that, the yeren turned and began walking away, leaving Mio thoroughly confused.

"What... what was that, what do we do?"

"Follow them," Sebastian said simply.

And they did.

----

It had been silent since the five had left the city. None had wanted to disturb their new guide too much, but Gabriella was getting tired. She couldn't go on like this.

"Thank you again for letting us travel with you," she said. She ignored the concerned glances from both Mio and Nitro as she kept talking. "I was wondering, what's your name? I'd like to call you something, but I don't want to make up a name that's not yours, I mean unless you're okay with that like Sebastian. But also I don't even know your gender."

The yeren turned to her. For a moment, Mio prepared for the worst, ready to grab her best friend and run into the night as quick as their legs would take them. But they yeren answered her question.

"Ko'a. Boy."

"Ko'a," Gabriella repeated, trying her best to recreate the sound. "Well it's very nice to meet you. I'm Gabriella. The girl walking next to me is Mio, the grumpy one is Nitro, and the crab one is the aforementioned Sebastian."

"I concur with Gabriella, I'm very gald to make your acquaintance Ko'a," Sebastian said. Ko'a turned to Gabriella, frowning in confusion.

"Right, English." Gabriella said. "Sebastian doesn't speak it, but ne said that ne's also happy to meet you." Ko'a turned back to Sebastian and nodded, earning a smile from the crab-friend. "How do you happen to know English? I can't imagine there's much overlap between that and... what you speak."

It was silent for a moment. Then Ko'a replied, "for you."

Mio looked up, confused. "What does that mean?"

"We're close," Nitro said. Sure enough, ahead in the distance, the group could make out more Yeren, traveling in a caravan.

"Stay here," Ko'a said, putting his hands out. "I'll ask the elder. She decides."

The group stayed put as Ko'a returned to the group of Yeren in the distance. Nitro however, did not stay still. He paced back and forth anxiously, wringing his hands. With the fragility of his skin and the energy he was putting into it, Mio was worried he'd tear the whole thing clean off. She imagined him accidentally skinning his own hand, leaving a sickly, bleeding mass of muscle, bone, and sinew, the putrid smell of it wafting to her nose as she looked on transfixed by horror, and he turned to her and finally--

"I don't like this," he finally said.

Mio snapped back to reality. Both of his hands were still there, and while he was still rubbing them nervously, they did not actually seem to be liable to come off.

"I don't like this one bit," he repeated.

"What?" Mio almost had to laugh (if only to break her gruesome reverie). "You're the one who wanted to travel with the Yeren."

"I know. I still don't like it."

"It's safer to travel in a large group," Sebastian gently reminded.

"Plus, Ko'a is really nice!" Gabriella insisted.

"Yeah," Nitro said through gritted teeth, "but the rest of his kind might not be so fond of us."

"What would the Yeren have against the four of us?" Gabriella asked. "They haven't even met--"

"Not //us//," Nitro said, gesturing to the way the four were standing in the group. "//Us.//" This time, he gestured just to himself and the two girls. "Humans."

Mio raised an eyebrow. "Humans?"

Nitro sighed. "Humanoids, human descendants, whatever."

"What do the Yeren have against humans?" Gabriella asked.

Nitro stopped and inhaled sharply. "It's a long story."

"And one that will have to wait," Sebastian interrupted. "They're coming." Sure enough, Ko'a was returning.

"The elder will see you," Ko'a said. "She decides from there. Follow." He turned and walked back to the group of Yeren, leaving not much choice but to follow.

As the four followed their yeren guide, Mio turned to Nitro, who only shrugged in response. "What the hell did you get us into?" she harshly whispered, hoping beyond hope Ko'a could not hear her.

Whether or not he heard, the group kept moving, approaching the inspiring yet formidable yeren caravan one step at a time.

----

The elder was only slightly bigger than Ko'a, but her presence made her seem ten times his size. Her face had more wrinkles than the younger yeren's, and her fur was tinted a bit more grey, but she still stood tall.

"Ko'a spoke highly of you." The elder seemed to choose her words carefully, like Ko'a, but spoke them with more confidence. Though she probably wasn't speaking much louder than he had been, the very sound waves of her words resonated in their bones in a way they didn't understand. "I'm impressed," she continued. "He does not ask for much. Yet he asked for you."

Gabriella smiled at Ko'a. It was hard to read the yeren's expression, but he seemed nervous. The next sentence threw that into sharp focus.

"He was not supposed to go to Haphway." The group was quiet for a moment. "That is where you came from, yes?"

"Yes," Nitro said hesitantly. Mio could tell the situation was about to go sideways. She looked at Gabriella, a question in her eyes. Gabriella instantly knew what Mio was asking and nodded.

"We came from Haphway," Gabriella said, interrupting, "but we found Ko'a outside the city. He didn't go to Haphway."

The elder seemed to smile at this. "Is that so?" she said, casting a quick glance to Ko'a. She wasn't asking a question to be answered, more making an observation. She looked back to the group. "You've heard we don't like children of the sun," she said. Again, not a question.

Nitro frowned. This was not going as intended. "We understand your hesitance to let us travel with you. Our request is a humble one." The elder's expression did not change. Nitro quickly added, "we're happy to surrender any of our possessions while traveling if that would make you feel safer." The elder raised an eyebrow before looking over to Gabriella. "Yes, her things, too," Nitro readily agreed.

"What? No," Gabriella said, seeming annoyed for the first time to either Nitro or Sebastian.

"Gabriella, just go along with it," Nitro said through gritted teeth. "We need to travel with them."

"Then you should have asked before volunteering me," she replied. She turned to the elder, saying, "he does not speak for me. I'm sorry, but I won't let you have my equipment. I have so much respect for you and Ko'a and your community, it's just this equipment is very delicate. But I promise it will be of no harm to you. I can even demonstrate it, if you'd like." She held the camera up, pointing it at Mio. "It's just a camera, designed to capture what we see on our travels. We're making a documentary."

The Elder seemed to follow along until the end of the sentence. Gabriella started panicking, wondering what tripped her up.

Sebastian's face lit up. "She probably doesn't know what a documentary is," ne quickly said.

"You're probably right Sebastian!" The crab beamed at this and Gabriella continued to talk to the elder. "What I mean is, we're making a movie about... about the real places we've gone and people we've met since leaving our home."

The elder puzzled at this. "So young. Your family let you leave?"

Mio felt a pang of guilt. "Not exactly," she admitted.

The elder took all of this in, processing. The group looked over to Ko'a for some indication of what to expect, but his expression was not helpful in the slightest. Nitro finally broke the silence.

"So. Can we please travel with you? Just for a few nights?"

The elder seemed to focus back on the situation. After another agonizing pause, she nodded her head. "Yes," she said. The group breathed a sigh of relief as one. "But," the elder said, motioning to Gabriella, "ask before using."

Gabriella nodded. "Of course."

The elder smiled. "Welcome to the caravan."

----

Mio was taking a quick break after the weirdest, most tense meeting of her life. She thought about what her life had become in the past week or so. The fighting, the constant walking, the strange people, the unimaginable places. Then the obtuse companions, the annoying chores, the confusing communities.

It almost made her miss home.

"Well, isn't this a twist?" a voice said, interrupting Mio's thoughts. She looked over and found the vampire lady right next to her. "Traveling with the yeren."

Mio sighed. "Great, and you're here."

"Does Nitro really think the caravan will protect him? Heh, he should know better."

"Hey, vampire lady, can we just not do this tonight? I'm tired and I don't have time for your vaguely menacing bullshit--"

Before Mio could even blink, the woman was upon her, her hands sharply pressing into Mio. "I could make you like me," she said, salivating over Mio's neck. Mio was frozen. Was she seriously about to get bitten by a vampire? "Give you all that power. You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Mio tried to steady her breathing. The grip on her shoulder was so sharp and painful she almost didn't notice the equally strong but much more awkward grip on her head. But the vampire was only focused on her neck. "I've never tasted civ blood before."

That broke whatever fear response Mio was trapped in. She ripped the vampire's hand off her head, giving her enough leverage to push her away. "I'm not a civ," she responded. "They don't exist anymore, right?"

"Feisty! I like that. Promise me that it's not just for show. Promise me that when I come for you, you'll fight back."

"Trust me, it won't be much of a fight." Mio had no idea why she was so confident. She didn't know much about fighting in the first place. But she refused to let this creep intimidate her.

"Still, the question remains. If you're not a civ, what are you?" Before Mio could retort, the vampire shushed her. "Oh, don't tell me! I so love guessing games. I simply need more time to observe you."

"You follow every random traveler you meet?"

"Only the ones who interest me." She looked into the middle distance. "And the ones who travel with //him//." Mio didn't question which one she was. "I wonder what your blood would taste like. What your tissue would do."

"Either way, can you actually fuck off now?" Before she could turn to look at her the vampire lady was gone again. Mio sighed. "I hate how she does that," she muttered to herself. Before she could get back to camp she replayed the last thing the vampire had said in her head.

//Tissue.// There's been one other time "tissue" had been a topic of discussion. Everything this woman said led back to Nitro, to the zombie man with the wrong name.

What had she gotten into with traveling with this man?

----

"...So that, in summary, is the current state, of the humanoid-yeren relationship," Nitro said, the sun rising behind him. Mio and Grabriella's jaws were on the ground.

The caravan had just stopped to set up camp for the day. Nitro had set them up a bit apart from the rest, getting them just out of earshot of the other yeren, giving Nitro the opportunity to explain what he'd refused to before.

The girls couldn't help but feel like the yeren were eyeing them suspiciously.

"So," Mio said, taking it in, "just to recap. Yeren, very smart, smart as humans. Hunted humans to near extinction. Humans retaliated with something arguably much worse. The yeren persisted, but only started to get their footing //after// the calamity."

"I mean. Missing some nuance," Nitro said, "but basically."

"Jeez. No wonder they're suspicious of us," Gabriella said.

"And you don't think the timing of it is somewhat convenient?" Mio asked. "That things get better post-calamity?"

"What you're implying has been suggested before, but there's absolutely no evidence of it," Nitro said.

"I'm just saying, add two and two--"

"Mio!" Gabriella chided.

"He led us into a caravan of creatures that may just //be// the calamity, and didn't bother to tell us until we were already here."

"The Yeren are usually very peaceful," Sebastian supplied.

"Usually? Yeah, thanks, that makes me feel safe. I mean it's not like they hate humans and might seek out the most civ-like ones remaining for, I don't know, retribution? No, I'm sure you're right and we're totally safe."

"You still don't get it," Nitro said. "None of this is safe. None of it. Especially not for you. We don't live as scavengers because it's safe, we do it to survive. I thought you would've learned that quicker. If you can't deal with that you should go back home. Seriously, you will be safe there. But if you want to stay out here, 'see the world', be a scavenger, and remain as safe as you can- not safe, mind you, but as close to it as you can get- then traveling in a group, even an interspecies one, is safer than traveling on your own."

"He's right." Mio jumped at Ko'a's voice. How the hell had he snuck up on her? "Group is safer."

"Thanks for all your help tonight, Ko'a," Gabriella said.

Ko'a nodded. "Here to help."

"We really do appreciate it," Sebastian said. "What brings you over yonder before bedtime?"

Mio didn't know how she could tell this, but the look on Ko'a's face was one of distress.

"Um, ey asked what you're doing over here now? Since, you know, we should be preparing for sleep."

Ko'a looked at Sebastian. "As I said. Here to help." With this he looked over to the tents some of the Yeren had set up in the distance and looked back at the group meaningfully. Nitro nodded, pulling a tarp out of his bag.

"There's no way that covers all of us," Mio whispered to Gabriella, who gently smacked her in response.

"Ko'a," Nitro said as he followed the yeren's lead in setting up their camp, "would it be helpful to set up some neural link-- um, I mean, like, a connection between your brain and Sebastian's? So you don't have to wait for us to translate for nem?" Ko'a didn't answer immediately. It was hard to tell if he was considering, didn't want to answer, or simply didn't know what Nitro meant. "I mean, it might take a little while, but... could be worth it for the brief time we're traveling."

"Perhaps..." Ko'a answered, thoughtful as ever.

"Honestly technomancy is easier for me, and a universal translator earpiece would allow you to talk to anyone..."

"Anyone?" Ko'a said, just a little too quickly.

Nitro nodded. "Yeah. Anyone. So if you decided to... visit Haphway again..." Ko'a's face quickly fell at this. Nitro stepped back. "Right. You're not supposed to go back. Plus, I know yeren are especially suspicious of human-derived tech. Can't say I blame them. Just... let me know if you'd like to set up the neural link."

The tent was set up. Sturdy. And somehow, big enough to house all four of the scavengers and have even more space inside. Mio's jaw dropped. The design was so simple, but had been maximized for space. She had no clue how they had made this simple yet spacious tent from the tarp. And yet...

"Yes," Ko'a finally answered. Then, quieter, "please."

Nitro nodded. "Sebastian, you ready to help set it up?"

Sebastian nodded. "Of course."

"Wait are you guys about to do another spell thingy?" Gabriella asked.

Nitro turned to her, slightly annoyed. "Yes."

"...Can you teach us?"

Nitro sighed in exasperation. "Couldn't you ask me how to do something simpler than //linking two entire consciousnesses//? That's such a stupidly hard spell it's like teaching advanced science to a child--"

"What Nitro //means// to say," Sebastian interrupted, "is that he would be //happy// to show you the basics because magic is a necessary skill to survive as a scavenger, //right//?"

Nitro sighed. "I hate it when you use my own words against me. Fine. I'll... explain what I can."

"Yes! Ooh, let me get my camera ready," Gabriella said, pulling the device out. "Um, Ko'a, is it alright with you if I film this, for the documentary Mio and I are making? I don't want to make you uncomfortable or anything." Ko'a nodded. "Great! ...Would you also maybe mind being interviewed for it?"

"Give the guy a rest," Nitro muttered.

"Interview?"

"Like, film you talking," Mio answered. "Answering questions. Telling us about your life. Your community. Your home."

Ko'a thought again, then nodded. "For you," he said. And somehow it was more enigmatic than the first time he'd said those two words.

----

The footage they had captured so far had been great, and was sure to make the documentary more interesting, but after several days (or nights, rather), their interactions with the yeren still seemed... chilled. The yeren never walked to close to her and the others. She'd only barely managed to get footage of a few because Ko'a had managed to convince some people, seemingly his parents and a few friends. It seemed a little tense any time she'd had to talk to any yeren other than Ko'a, and even that was kind of shaky.

Mio privately wondered whether it was because they were suspicious of her or because she was suspicious of them. Perhaps it was some kind of vicious cycle. But how was she supposed to break it without offending the yeren?

Gabriella was overcome with another kind of emotion though.

"I'm bored," she said as she heaved a heavy sigh. "Again."

"You're always bored," Nitro replied.

"I thought you said scavenging was dangerous."

"No, I said it wasn't safe. Big difference."

"I just thought traveling in a group might make things more... interesting."

Nitro cracked a wry smile. "You mean the constant suspicion hasn't been interesting to you?"

"Not in a fun way!" Gabriella moped.

"Scavenging is not fun," Sebastian agreed. "It's just... working to survive. What little fun there is to be had is the fun you make or the company you keep. There's certainly not much reason to choose this life when there's a better life to be had elsewhere."

"So... why do you choose it?" Mio asked. "You've never told us that."

Sebastian sighed. "Do I really need to say it?" ne mumbled before looking over at Nitro. Mio thought about it. The only reason she'd been able to do any of this was because of Gabriella. And she wondered what she would do if her options were to live in safety without Gabriella or in danger with her. The choice, to her, was obvious.

Nitro, meanwhile, seemed oblivious. "What?" he said under Sebastian's watchful gaze.

"Nothing."

Nitro's gaze followed as ey turned away from him. Mio recognized something in the way he looked at Sebastian. Something oddly familiar. She tried to look away.

"Hello," Ko'a's voice came, interrupting Mio's thoughts. With the neural link, the yeren's voice sounded more natural, fluid, and warm. It was clear that whatever ability of English he had, it didn't compare to his native language. "The elder has called to stop for morning."

"Sounds good," Nitro said, setting down his things.

"Take some time to rest, pick a camp spot. Sunrise will come soon." Ko'a paused. "The elder has invited you to supper with the caravan tonight, if you want."

"Thanks," Nitro said, answering for the group, "but I think everyone would probably be more comfortable if we have our supper separate from the rest of the caravan."

"I think it would be fun," Gabriella said. "The only problem I foresee is the language barrier."

"Precisely," Nitro continued as if Gabriella had in any way agreed with what he said. "The language barrier. Would hate to put you in the role of translator to anyone else."

Ko'a paused. "I think you would enjoy it. Just once."

Nitro sighed. "Look, kid, it's... better this way. Okay?"

"We'll give you our final answer in a little bit, Ko'a," Gabriella interrupted. "Thanks for taking such good care of us, we're really in your debt."

Ko'a nodded as he left. Nitro turned to Gabriella with an exasperated look.

"You never know when to stop."

"Kinda my thing."

"Mio, can the two of you go and... find kindling, or something, okay? Somewhere where she's not going to disrupt humanoid-yeren relations irreparably?"

"Yeah, sure," Mio said, "but you know this won't be the end of the discussion."

"Of course not. That would be too easy."

Gabriella stormed off, and Mio followed quickly behind.

"Irreparably damage humanoid-yeren relations? How? Maybe by, say, declining an invitation? That idiot."

Mio chuckled. "You make a good point."

"I'm starting to see why you get so annoyed with him," Gabriella huffed.

"Yeah, but angry with Nitro is a state only one of us can inhabit at a time. And maybe you should leave that to me. It's better if you stay sunshine-y."

"I just... want to learn more. And it's like he doesn't want us to learn anything."

"I don't think it's that. I just think it's like... like he wants to spare us hurt? Almost like he wants to protect us."

"But that's so condescending!" Gabriella raved. "As if we can't protect ourselves. Okay, sure, we don't know as much as him, the //almighty scavenger//," she said in a mocking tone, "but how is he going to say we can't protect ourselves and then get mad when we want to learn how?" Gabriella didn't notice as Mio slowed, distracted by something nearby. "And we've barely seen anything dangerous to us! The yeren don't seem to want to harm us. "So what exactly is he protecting us from?"

Mio yelped, snapping Gabriella out of her rant. She turned around, running to where Mio was. She stood, hand over her mouth, practically shaking.

"What's wrong?" Gabriella asked, panicked. She followed Mio's finger as it pointed to the ground scarcely a few yards from them. And that's when she saw it.

The body was distinctly human. Much of it seemed to have decomposed, but the skeleton was human, as were the clothes on it. As the wind shifted the sand it was buried in, Mio swore she could see bits of rotting flesh poking through the clothes. What flesh was there seemed torn, as if by a wild animal. It was grotesque, a macabre sight unlike any the girls had seen before.

Well, Mio had certainly never seen anything like it in real life.

Gabriella instinctively stepped back, unsure how to deal with this grisly new experience.

"What's wrong?" Sebastian said as ey and Nitro rushed to the girls. They stopped when they saw the corpse.

"Oh," Nitro said quietly. "Let's..." he started, but couldn't seem to finish. He grabbed Mio, gently turning her away from the sight.

"Do you think...?" Sebastian asked.

"Maybe, could be shifter. We could try a sample tonight but... the girls," he said, gesturing away from himself.

"Of course," Sebastian said, corralling the girls to move them away from the body. "I'm sorry you had to stumble upon that. Sometimes... the wasteland is harsh." Ne paused. "It doesn't get easier," ne quietly added. Before either could respond, they heard the heavy footfall of a yeren approach them.

"I heard screaming," Ko'a said, worried.

He followed Sebastian's gaze as ne looked back to the corpse.

"I'm sorry," Mio said, finally composing herself. "I've just never seen-//we've// never seen..." Unable to find the words, she shook her head.

"It's horrible," Gabriella whispered.

"The best thing you can do is move on," Nitro said, still leaning over the body. "Maybe look for supplies but otherwise just... try to put it out of your mind." He paused. "It doesn't look like they suffered. But there's nothing else to be done."

"I know," Mio said, voice still shaky. "I just wish that wasn't true."

"Wait here," Ko'a said, leaving the four by the corpse.

"Nothing?" Gabriella asked. Sebastian and Nitro looked at each other, uneasy.

"Burial would be pointless. Just... let it decay, the way it's meant to."

"But how can you just... move on?"

"I tried to tell you. Scavenging is not safe. It's not easy. It's not fun. It's only done when you have no choice."

"But you //have// a choice," Mio protested. "Candela is begging you to stay in Haphway. Sebastian clearly doesn't want to be a scavenger. And everything and everyone I've met out here seems to want to kill you, specifically. So why keep doing it?"

"Who else could you have possibly met besides us and the yeren?" Nitro asked. But Mio didn't hear. All she could hear was the foot fall of dozens of yeren.

The caravan had come over to them, led by Ko'a and the elder. As they arrived, they formed a large circle around the corpse. Nitro looked warily, until the elder grabbed his shoulder, whispering something as she pulled him back into it the circle. Sebastian, Mio, and Gabriella were led into the circle by Ko'a. Once the circle was complete, everyone was silent. The four scavengers looked around, searching for some kind of clue as to what was going on.

Soon, the elder began to vocalize. As she continued, they realized it was singing. The elder was singing something. When she ended, Ko'a picked up and continued. Though the musical language was unfamiliar, both yeren were clearly adept singers. The translation wasn't perfect, but it seemed to be about loss, grief, and remembrance.

This was a funereal ceremony.

When Ko'a finished, he held out his hands, as did the elder. Seeing the other yeren grab hands, the scavengers did the same, linking the entire circle. Then, starting with Ko'a and the Elder, the yeren began to chant. This chant was about life, celebrating life lived and the natural final step in that process. Though the music was still different from anything they had heard, the chant was easy to follow and the scavengers joined in.

They chanted for a while, and as the other yeren died down, the elder and Ko'a continued to lead, repeating one line that was translated perfectly: //may you live on in the earth, may you live on in the sky, may you live on in our memory.//

After all the singing and chanting, the yeren, silently, one by one, each grabbed a handful of sand and poured it over the body, until slowly but surely the body started to be buried by the sand. The scavengers each took part when it came to them. As the sun began to rise, the elder, at last, placed the final handful. With that, she once more said, "may you live on in our memory." The yeren replied in one voice with a word that the translator could only interpret as "spirit."

And with that, the yeren walked the scavengers back to the caravan, step by step, each muttering that same word as they passed by the scavengers.

Nitro didn't argue this time as the yeren sat the four down for supper.

----

Mio hesitated outside. She didn't want to bother her...

"Come in," the elder said, sensing her presence. Well, she didn't have much of a choice now, did she?

Mio timidly stepped into the tent. The elder sat and smiled warmly at her.

"Hello, Mio."

"Hi," she responded quietly. "I just wanted to say thank you for the meal."

The elder nodded. "You're welcome."

Mio hesitated. "And... for what you did back..." Mio swallowed. "You know. The funeral."

The elder regarded her warmly. She gestured for Mio to sit down. Mio obliged.

"I've never... had to deal with that, never even had to think about..."

"Death?" the elder supplied. "It's not an easy thing to deal with, even at the best of times. And the children of the sun don't often have to deal with it anymore."

"It was beautiful," Mio said softly. "And it made me realize some things. About me. About the world. About you."

The elder let out a breath that was almost a chuckle. "You are not the first child of the sun to think we were the calamity."

"I don't think that anymore," Mio responded quietly, ashamed. "I just didn't know what to make of you-- your people? Or rather, my people? Our... history."

"Indeed, our history is fraught. But it is shared. What we did not know, what you never got the chance to learn, is that we are inextricably linked. The yeren and the human, like the moon and the sun. Though the survivors of your species still fear us, we have come to recognize you as siblings, torn apart by our shared flaws."

"We did horrible things to you."

"And we did horrible things to you. But we can't undo either of those things, nor can we undo the calamity." The elder paused, for once her stoic control of herself slipping. "It's... odd to see you hurting. It's not something we like. But we have been separated for so long, we scarcely know how to act around each other. So we simply stay separate."

Mio frowned. "I don't think we should stay separate anymore." She paused, unsure whether to say the next thought on her mind. She relented upon feeling the elder's watchful gaze. "And I think some of your caravan think so, too. I think Ko'a wants to live in Haphway. But I also think he'll never even think about leaving unless you tell him it's okay first."

"You think Ko'a should leave the caravan?"

"I think he should at least have the option. To leave, to explore, to strengthen ties between the yeren and others to... I dunno. To figure out where his home is?"

"That's what you're doing out here?"

"I have no idea," Mio admitted. "I think I just wanted to leave the place that felt like it was trapping me. But nothing I've found feels right. I'm definitely not build for scavenging forever, Haphway was nice, but not quite home. The caravan is lovely but we're not yeren and people barely talked to me before today so..."

"Finding home is tricky," the elder said. "Have you thought about where you come from?"

"Like I said, I felt trapped there."

"No, where //you// come from," the elder said, pointing to her. "Your ancestral home. Maybe visiting would give you some guidance."

"But that's... that's Japan, I don't even know where... isn't there an ocean in the way?"

"Finding home is never easy. But maybe for you it could help."

Mio thought about it. "I'll consider it. Thank you. For everything."

"And thank you for telling me about Ko'a. No matter his path in life, my only wish is for him and all of the caravan to be happy." The elder smiled. "That goes for you, too, Mio."

Mio nodded. She considered this as she left the tent. She wasn't sure where she was happy. She wasn't happy in Nightflower, otherwise why would she have left? Haphway had been nice but she still wanted to explore. And traveling with the caravan had been enlightening, but this still wasn't right.

As she approached her group, she saw Sebastian and Ko'a deep in conversation. Nitro rolled his eyes but smiled as he surveyed the scene. And even from here she could see Gabriella and hear her perfect laugh ringing out.

Maybe the question of where she felt happy didn't need to be answered right this second. Maybe, for now, it was enough to simply join her friends.

She joined in the laughter as she sat down next to Gabriella, smiling at her. Gabriella looked back and chuckled.

"What is it?"

Mio shook her head. "Nothing. Just happy I'm here with you." Gabriella smiled at this.

As Ko'a and Sebastian carried on their conversation, Mio turned to Nitro. "Can I ask a question?"

Mio was surprised by his completely unsnarky reaction. "Yeah, sure."

She took a deep breath. "How hard is it to cross an ocean?"

As Nitro's eyes widened, Ko'a and Sebastian burst into laughter.

"One of these days you're gonna give me a fucking aneurysm."

Mio nodded. She understood.

//Hard.//

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