Kire answered his question, still marveling at how such a warm person could have any resemblance to the three that attacked them earlier, and, to a lesser degree, how a grouch like Rulitus could have ever been close to him. She nodded when he reassured her that the Kartaians wouldn’t track them here, and followed quietly when they went back inside. Now that there wasn’t any immediate danger she could foresee, Kire felt the tiredness of the day weigh upon her. There was a dull ache at her side, [i]when did that happen?[/i], and she grunted, assumed she had been hit during the fight. The Ring would ensure the bruising wouldn’t last long, but she’d still feel it in the meantime.

Once inside, Kire leaned back on the opposite corner where Rulitus stood and sighed. [i]The beginning, eh?[/i] Her tired mind ran through which information she had already volunteered to her companion earlier, disentangling it from the more complicated whole she had yet to divulge, and told that to Envy:  Ikegai’s drive to control and own the world, his blood magic, his dolls. How he must have struck some dark deal with the Kartaians. And how he had been using her likeness for his own schemes. She told Envy about her arrival in Ziad up to the Kartaian attack, though to her credit she had omitted much of her confrontation with Rulitus. “I am sorry that he’s spread his influence here and all the pain that came with it. And for dragging you into this.” Kire frowned at the floor. “I’m hoping I can put an end to him, and destroy my double, with your help.”