While Kire ate her breakfast in the kitchen, Gavin watched Envy speak to Rab, trying to devise some way for the both of them to communicate better. Apparently he was teaching Rab to make signs with his hands. Gavin watched, fascinated, the whole scene a collection of impossible things: a Kartaian being compassionate, and a mutilated half-Kartaian former slave receiving instruction. Back in the mines—a thought that made him shudder—some of the slaves there were those who had some impairment whose families couldn’t afford to care for them, or those considered an embarrassment even if they could. [i]Were things just different in Ziad, or is this because of Envy?[/i] 

When Rab moved away to explore, Envy turned his attention to him. His question made his heart sink down to his stomach. “Any other task wouldn’t feel like a chore after—you know.” He ran a hand through his mussed-up hair. “Aside from being made to do the—the magic, I was tasked with running errands on behalf of the lor—of Itallo. Speaking to merchants, representing him when he was indisposed, things like that. Before that, before they found me—” Gavin swallowed, pausing, trying to rearrange his thoughts. “—before I was taken, I was just some brat indentured to a travelling merchant. Honestly, it wasn’t much different: I was his errand boy, and I didn’t really get much back besides some food and shelter, which wasn’t much to speak of. He wasn’t kind to me, but I had nowhere else after being orphaned. So I’d resort to thieving sometimes.” He said the latter parts in one go before he lost his nerve. “Beyond the bad I have done, I don’t have much to offer, but I will work for my stay.”

Behind them, Kire had finished her breakfast and peeked in to listen. Just days ago, the mere thought of this Gemini boiled her blood in anger, and now here he was, stammering through his conversation with Envy. Her mind had mostly accepted it, for as long as she blocked out the part of his heritage. [i]He was caught up by something he didn’t ask for.[/i] What he needed right now was something else other than the conflict Ikegai had forced him to participate in, and Envy was perfect for that. She watched him a while longer, then, with a yawn, she went off to the sleeping chambers to nap.