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12 hrs ago
Current Bad upper respiratory infection started yesterday evening and got worse overnight. And it was pouring this morning with seemingly continuous rain today and tomorrow. Happy Monday I guess...
3 likes
2 days ago
Excuse me @Avis but you are dead wrong, and how dare you even mention such thing! Also, Happy Mother's Day 😊
2 days ago
You always feel it the next day. Good luck 🫡
2 likes
3 days ago
I thought I would chop off the bangs from my son's head like an expert. I thought wrong.
3 likes
5 days ago
@Chronicle Congrats!
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Had a different character halfway done then changed my mind 🤦🏻‍♀️
I can't wait!
North Carolina and on the 5th or maybe 6th we'll make the rp

<Snipped quote by Xandrya>


Sounds good, thanks!
Anyone got Questions about the RP?

@Xandrya@princess@Doughboy@AnakisutoYT


In game location? Also, when can we expect a CS to fill out? I have some ideas brewing.
I like crazy. Sign me up!
Three's a crowd

In collaboration with @The Savant



There was so much going on and too many people talking that Pilka was shutting down — sirens, shouting, his handcuffs being way too tight, and him being dragged along in the streets like something to mock. It was hard to feel any pride in the moment and there were slight twinges of embarrassment while he watched people stare at him. Those feelings would dissipate once he was away from everyone’s eyes yet he was wrong. Once he was in the holding block that the safety officers put him in, he sat there in the cuffs they put him in. These cuffs were around his ankles and his wrists while being attached with a chain so he couldn’t run or do anything “funny” as one of the officers put it. Everything except his clothes were stripped from him and they took his leather jacket. His overly worn shirt that was once an off-white was a more tan-ish color because of all the muck and grim along with the inconsistent washing. His dark gray jean-like utility pants had plenty of patches in them too and were baggy. They were held up with a belt.

Pilka let his hands fold together and he stared at the floor for a while until he heard the door down the hall open up and people walk towards him. This was when a familiar face appeared, he didn’t have his shades, and he was stripped from all of his stuff as well. They pushed him into the holding cell to share and he didn’t have the same bindings as Pilka did — he only had cuffs around his wrists and ones that gave him a bit more leeway to move. “You look fucking horrible,” he joked while stepping into the cell.

The guards slamming the cell door shut behind him and he looked a bit irritated, “Have fun you two!” the one guard smacked the bars with their baton. They were acting like this was a game and one they were being careless about. Roach watched as the guards walked down the hall and waited for the door to close before looking back at Pilka.

I’m not going to bite unless you do,” he spoke while walking over to an unoccupied bench and sitting down. “Wish they let me keep my cigarettes and lighter but I guess those could be used as weapons.” Roach was speaking like he didn’t just chase Pilka in the street and tried gunning him down.

Pilka stared at him with an emotionless expression before looking back at the floor with a sigh, “I’m not going to do anything to you.

Roach seemed to lean back and relax against the cell bars when Pilka finally spoke up, “Why were you after that girl anyways? She said you didn’t hurt her but I heard otherwise.

She was telling the truth… to a point,” he shrugged before looking off to the side and seeing the painfully off white concrete walls that were beyond the bars. “It doesn’t matter anymore.

It matters to me.

The transfer to holding had been mostly uneventful. Kara didn't recognize any of the safety officers handling her, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. They asked her the basic questions they presumably asked everyone else during the intake; name, address, etc., but no one had yet brought up the previous incident or the fact that she was a Council employee. Even the thought of being in that interrogation room again made her stomach turn as unfortunately it wasn't a matter of "if", but rather, "when".

Eventually, Kara was taken to her holding cell. It was in a bay that housed a number of cells on either side. She passed a few empty ones then they stopped at the second to last from the end.

"Inside."

One of the officers held the cell door open for her and she walked in, hands still secured. The door was then locked and he heard their retreating footsteps. She was finally able to breathe a little easier, at least for the moment.

around right away as she was listening to the voices from the last cell. Two male voices, as a matter of fact.

Both Pilka and Roach fell silent when they heard the doors open and they both looked at each other with a wonder if the officers were coming for one of them. After the long and grueling initial interrogations they both went through… they knew they were not getting out anytime soon. However, Roach was surprised when the cell beside them opened up, someone entered, and the officers left. Once the officers were gone, Roach spoke up, “Is that your doll face? The one that was running around with this poor son of a bitch?” he found humor in his own words as he leaned against the wall and bars. “Why are they keeping you here?” He was slightly curious but he was surprised he was in here. They interrogated him and didn’t let him go which was an oddity in itself.

Pilka watched him with a silence before almost grumpily responded, “She’s probably in here because of me…” his voice sounded pained with guilt. It was a hard truth to swallow but it was the reality of it.

"Pilka?" her voice was a whisper, practically inaudible. But he wasn't alone. Kara recognized the second voice as the man responsible for their arrest. The fact that Roach was in the same cell as her friend was a vile tactic. The same man who was hunting Pilka down not too along. As such, Kara ignored him. She stepped over to the corner and leaned her head against the bars. "Hey, how are you holding up?"

Kara refrained from asking whether he was okay. Of course he wasn't okay, and who would be? What he'd said to her back in the alley had stuck in her mind, and she worried not only about her future, but his as well. But even more concerning was the fact that he probably hadn't received medical attention yet. And why would they waste time and resources if Pilka was considered subhuman to them? Kara imagined the horrors he could potentially face, and she had to shake the thought away.

There was a silence between the two cells for a few minutes before Pilka sighed, “I could be worse,” he plainly stated while letting his fingers play with each other. Looking down at his primarily tattooed skin and thinking. “How are you holding up?” he asked and he didn’t mean to sound so emotionless but he was in pain and trying to behave. There wasn’t much he could do or anything to really cheer him up.

As generic of a response as one would expect. Of course, Kara wouldn't hold it against him, especially since they weren't alone. "I'm in one piece. Got a minor cut during the arrest but that's nothing compared to the injury you've sustained..." She felt for him, she really did. Sitting in the same cell as his assailant and knowing what awaited him. That would do her in for sure.

You know, you could try smiling,” Roach chuckled while looking Pilka dead in the eyes.

Pilka glared at him, “And you could learn how to stop talking.” Their words didn’t sound aggressive nor did they sound like they were talking to people they hated or despised. Neither of them probably hated each other directly but they were not put into a good situation.

"I believe this is a conversation between Pilka and I, so how about you take his advice and shut your damn mouth." Kara was worked up. After all that had occurred and now Roach spewing garbage, she'd had it with him. But what made it worse was the fact that she was stuck on the other side of the wall and wasn't able to get one good punch on him to vent her frustrations.

Roach rolled his eyes at the woman’s response, “You two are rays of sunshine,” he huffed out while roaming around in the clothes that he did have. Finding a small flask before opening it up and taking a sip. Staring at Pilka with some form of twisted humor since they didn’t check everyone too thoroughly — at least he didn’t have weapons on him.

I’m sorry, Kara,” Pilka didn’t know what else to say except to apologize. He shouldn’t have come into the city but he was delivering the cave fruits to her and he was going to Khia to get into the Gray market to find something that could help his wounds heal. Now he had another one because of Roach. He honestly should be more upset but he couldn’t find it in himself because he understood at the same time.

"No, stop. It's not your fault... You were only minding your own business and not actively hunting someone down to eliminate them." Kara was taking a jab at Roach, her seething resentment obvious. After a brief pause, a sigh escaped her lips. She hated not being able to do anything, that feeling of helplessness that hung over one's head and lingered. Kara backed away to take a seat on the bench, feeling the cold metal through the thin layer of fabric. She looked down at her hands restrained by another piece of metal, thinking for a moment about her father and what he would say to her during this predicament. He'd show concern, of course, but he'd also scold her and her careless actions.

Roach scoffed, “Get off your fucking high horse, some of us have jobs,” he took another swig while getting up and moving towards Pilka. “Take off your shirt.” The man demanded while standing in front of the other. His face hardened not out of anger but out of age and life experiences. Pilka looked up at him and stayed quiet.

I shouldn’t have been in the city anyways. It’s not like I am allowed, isn’t that right?” He asked Roach.

The older man’s eyes sharpened at him, “For good reason to… now take off your shirt,” he almost demanded it this time.

My cuffs are a little tighter than yours. I can’t without hurting myself,” Pilka responded with a bit of annoyance at the man’s pressure.

A disappointed sound came from Roach as he got Pilka’s shirt off the best he could so he could look at the man’s shoulder. “You are colorful,” It was said almost teasingly before he poured the alcohol on the man’s tattooed shoulder. Pilka groaned while clenching his jaw.

The people of the caverns decorate their most trusted and honored,” Pilka spoke out softly and made it sound very unimportant for the most part even if he was proud of all the color on his body. The wild designs of the people of Sevet ul Krav.

You must be such a hero,” Roach said this almost tauntingly. “If you didn’t hurt her. What happened because I heard a totally different story,” Roach asked while grabbing his wounded shoulder, not right where the wounds were, and it caused Pilka to snarl and bare his teeth.

Roach chuckled, “A little feral are you?

It hurts,” Pilka growled out these words. “I didn’t hurt her. Well, I did. She followed me out of the city because safety officers saw her with me, she panicked, and I probably did too. She asked me to punch her to make her story believable so I did. That’s all that happened,” Pilka sounded annoyed before his actions tried clenching Roach’s hand in between his head and shoulder. “Let go!” Pilka was getting loud.

Just a second. You have a piece of the arrow head in your shoulder. I’m taking it out,” that was when a gaspy airy sound. “Now stop your whining,” Roach showed him the piece of metal he fetched from his shoulder before pouring some more alcohol on the wound and backing up. “You could say thank you, you know?

Pilka glared at him, “Thank you,” then his eyes looked away from the man. It sounded like Roach sat back down.

Kara just sat there and listened. She listened as her friend attempted to keep his composure despite the pain. She listened as she subconsciously clenched a fist resting within the opposite hand as if she were the one in pain.

In all honesty, Kara was surprised at the irony of Roach taking the time to patch up Pilka. But she was also concerned. Now that Roach knew she had lied and misled the Council, she feared he would pass along that information to them, possibly to reduce whatever punishment awaited him, if any. Kara wasn't exactly sure why he was locked up too, though they could probably fine him with a public disturbance charge and not attempted murder. After all, Pilka wasn't human in their eyes. But that was also odd, unless the Council hadn't been the ones to send him after Pilka. And if not them, then whom?

"Roach, who do you work for? Who sent you to kill him?"

The man couldn’t help but chuckle at the question, “Didn’t you hear me back in the city square?” This was rhetorical so he continued on. “I told this sorry ass for sore eyes that I don’t give my client information away and I am surely not giving it to you either, sweetheart~” He emphasized the little pet name so much that it would make most young women sick upon hearing how it was vocalized. It wasn’t a compliment or positive. He was using it to cause internal conflict.

She shook her head in disgust, the annoyed expression another tell that she had not appreciated his comment to say the least. But she ignored that too, because in that moment Kara wasn't able to march up to him and tell him exactly what was in her mind.

Pilka sat there in silence and his eyes were watching Roach. He didn’t want to say or do the wrong things and ended up having to fight at a major disadvantage with the man he was sharing a cell with. “Why are they keeping you here?” he asked back. “If you get to ask questions. I get to ask questions.

"You don't get to ask anything, especially since you already know why I'm here..." Kara stood up again, feeling the need to suddenly walk off the bit of rage threatening to surface, even if she was walking in circles within the small cell. "Imagine seeing a friend being hunted by a prick without remorse, you're telling me you wouldn't try to help? I bet you go after just about anyone they tell you, huh? The elderly, women, children... And no doubt you just have to use that little gun of yours otherwise you'd be shit out of luck. Face, it, you're nothing but someone's sorry lapdog and you know it."

Roach rolled his shoulders back when he heard Kara accusing him of all the different things and he stood up while twisting the cap to the flask closed. “How about you…” he inhaled sharply and skarily, “Shut the fuck up unless you know what you are talking about.” There was amusement in his tone because he knew Kara didn’t know what she was talking about — acting like he’s a murder.

How about you look to your boyfriend for those answers? If you could see him now, you might change your mind,” Roach looked over to Pilka who was keeping his eyes on him. “You should tell her about what those pretty tattoos all over your hands, arms, and body mean,” he egged Pilka on while letting his tongue slide against his upper teeth on the side of his mouth.

Also, I could have killed him without the gun but I don’t care to kill people quickly. Also…” Roach chuckled. “If you told the truth, your sugar daddy here wouldn’t be in this mess. I was hired because you made it sound like he assaulted you, severely, and when there are dangerous people like him. I take them out. It’s better for society but you lied. Meaning you were the one that put him in this mess. Not me. Not the person that hired me. You did.

This was when Roach put the flask back into his pocket, “How about you share some stories with that little girl in the other cell, tell her how much of a hero you are. What does this one mean?” Roach asked while walking closer to him.

Do not touch me,” Pilka sounded out and watched as Roach rolled his eyes. “And you may be right. I might be a lot like you but we are both in a cell waiting to figure out what they plan to do with us. There is no point arguing and attacking each other like wild dogs,” Pilka leaned back on the cold stone. “There is no reason for any of us to be jumping at each other’s throats,” his words were balanced in sound and tinges of tiredness were in them.

How did you get that nasty burn and slash on your left shoulder?” Roach continued to press while Pilka stared up at him. The man completely ignored everything he said and it irritated Pilka a little but he wasn’t going to comment on it.

When Kara was confronted with the truth that deep down she knew was the reason for this entire mess, she lost it. "Fuck you, asshole!" Kara spat back, winding up then delivering a kick to the bench with the heel of her foot, the noise echoing loudly but not loud enough to be heard by the officers outside. Her face felt extremely hot and beads of sweat began to form. She was breathing as if she had ran a marathon, her chest heaving up and down while her gaze remained fixated on the plain, white wall immediately ahead of her. Kara's mind was racing with what felt like a million thoughts simultaneously. She was angry and she wanted to cry, but even more so, she was defeated.

Kara didn't like admitting defeat in an argument, but this time, that's exactly what had occurred. After what felt like an eternity, her breathing began to slow enough to clear her thoughts. That's when she sat down again, not caring about what else Roach had to say. Not caring about Pilka's tattoos or what they meant. A single tear escaped the corner of her eye, but she didn't start crying. Instead, Kara brought her legs up so she could rest her face on her knees as her restrained hands rested on her feet.

"I'm sorry, Pilka. I really am."
Kara gets questioned, pt. 2
Collaboration between @The Savant and myself.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••


A couple of knocks on her door. In an otherwise quiet room, the sound startled Kara. She sat up from the spot on her couch, puzzled as to who would be paying her a visit. The only expecting guests were her family later in the evening who were coming over for dinner.

"Kara Voss, open up."

That sounded...official. She rushed to the door, not bothering to don her slippers. It was the mid afternoon but she hadn't yet changed out of her pajamas. Clearing her throat, Kara opened the door to see a man who was easily 6 and a half feet tall dressed in all black. "May I help you?"

He looked her up and down without so much as an introduction, his face bearing an expression as if she were a lowly criminal. "I'm with The Crystalline Council. Get dressed, we need to ask you a few questions."

"Oh...okay." she nodded, mindlessly tapping the edge of the door. "Give me a minute and I'll be right out."

He nodded in response, signaling to someone down the hall she hadn't laid eyes on. Kara felt uneasy. "May I?" she motioned as if she were about to close the door.

"Of course."

She closed the door, backing up against it as her mind raced. They either caught Pilka or they found out she was lying. Kara played out multiple scenarios in her head, and she didn’t like any single one of them. But there wasn’t time for “what ifs”. She pushed herself off the door and headed to her bedroom, eventually getting dressed in black pants, a white turtleneck, and an olive green jacket. Kara was quick to fix up her hair, pulling it back into a ponytail. Lastly, she looked herself up and down in the mirror to double-check she looked presentable, to her standards anyway.

A few moments later, she again made her way to the door, this time with her bag holding some of her belongings. Who knew how long she'd be away, or whether she’d be back that day at all.

"I'm ready," Kara smiled lightly, turning her back to the man to lock her door.

This man was not familiar, it was not Klay, and he didn’t give off the impression that he was going to investigate Kara or ask her questions. He was simply a retriever. Without saying anything else other than, “Follow me,” with a gesture. This agent of the Crystalline Council would lead Kara all the way from the safety of her home to the city district of Esille. They would enter a government building that required badges to be scanned in to get past the common spaces for the public.

He would have led her down a very long hall or at least it seemed long before he turned to a door and opened it, “Please wait in here. A safety officer and a public servant will be in to go over the events of the other day with you,” the man would have waited until Kara entered the room to shut and clearly lock the door with a click. Then there was no sound on the other side of the door for a moment before his footsteps could be heard going down the hallway.

"Okay," was her only response.

He locked it... Kara was curious, and slightly disturbed as to the man's actions. As far as she knew, one typically didn't get locked into an interrogation room. Sure, there was always the chance of the individual running out, but in a government building, one wouldn't get very far. And so Kara sat alone with her thoughts, mindful of her actions as she was very likely being recorded. Not that she had much to hide save for the fact that the report was fabricated. But at least she had the bumps and bruises, and most importantly, the hospital visit on record. Now she only needed to wait and wonder what they wanted with her.

It was probably somewhere between fifteen minutes and a half hour before a knock could be heard on the door, “Kara Voss, I am Safety Officer Kapin and with me is Public Servant Akito Dwell,” a much older woman’s voice rang out while the door unlocked and opened up. Safety Officer Kapin was actually the department head of the dweller and burrower initiative on understanding their behaviors, genetics, and other aspects of their being which was publicly known. She went to university to study genetics, biology, and to figure out how different and similar people were to burrowers and dwellers. She had written various journals about their behaviors, communities outside, and had actually spent as little as a few days to a handful of months outside of the walls to study the communities and people.

Akito Dwell was no one of importance, not heard about publicly for the most part, but what Kara or others might have heard about the woman was that she was good at being a public servant and someone that laid neutrality on the table for individuals and worked on cases to clear people’s names about mishaps and situations like Kara found herself in though she was known to be viscous when it came to categorizing people; who did wrong and who did right.

I’m sorry that you had to wait, would you like a glass of water or anything to eat?” Safety officer Kapin asked while gesturing for Akito to close the door, which she quietly did. The older woman came to take a seat on the other side of the table from Kara while Akito stood at the end of the table with Kara on her left and Mrs. Kapin on her right.

"I'm okay, thank you," Kara stood up, formally greeting Officer Kapin and Ms. Dwell. "Nice to officially meet you." Kara smiled politely, slightly relieved when the woman had entered the room and not someone else. When Kara was undergoing orientation for her new position at the lab, she had sat in for a presentation put together by Kapin. It was mainly about dwellers and burrowers...safety measures, etc. She'd seen her in passing a handful of other times too, but never had a one-on-one with her. And now, well, Kara was going to be asked a handful of questions by her regarding her interaction with Pilka. Unnerving, but not something she couldn't lie herself out of, or so she hoped.

And as for Dwell, Kara was glad she was there but she wasn't letting her guard down. She eyed the woman momentarily, a friendly expression masking her thoughts. "The wait is no issue at all. Tell me, how can I be of help?" She was trying to sound as confident as possible.

I wish we could have formally met in different circumstances,” Mrs. Kapin gave a reassuring smile to the younger woman. It was an honest comment because she hated having to meet anyone through interrogation rooms.

Akito Dwell stayed silent, she happened to pull out a notebook and a writing utensil.

Mrs. Kapin sat on the other side of the table with such confidence in her posture, unmoving, and strong. “We are hoping you would tell us more about your conversation with the burrower Pilka, because lesser officers are confused,” she got straight to the point while glancing up at Akito when the young woman with dark hair started scribbling.

You see, Officer Klay was on this case, but he couldn’t understand the footage of you and the burrower. He said it didn’t line up with your story, so they gave me the case to figure out more,” the woman was not here to be Kara’s friend but clearly she was not here to be her enemy either. Possibly? In her opinion, the footage showed two individuals that looked more like friends than anything, but she would let Kara explain everything in her perspective before accusing her of lying. People could look so friendly while threatening to cut one’s throat. “What I am saying is that, your description of an aggressor was odd when you watch the footage, Kara. Can you go back over that day with me? What happened?

She wasn't angry; the question would make anyone wonder the same. Kara nodded, exhaling slowly as if it were hard having to relive that day. "I can imagine how bad the footage looks, I would ask the same question. But he..." she paused, looking for the right words while theatrically playing it off. "At first he wasn't menacing, do you know what I mean? I didn't believe him initially, figuring I'd see how far we'd go before the act stopped—I mean, I could have alerted an officer, but at the same time, I was a little cautious, and admittedly my curiosity got the better of me. Why had he picked me out of an entire crowd? If you're in a rally of that size, of course you're going to bump into people. But then he led me away..."

Kara shifted in her seat, clearing her throat. "We walked a little further before being stopped by a couple of safety officers. He was deliberate with his words, demanding I either follow him and try to get way or I’d get hurt,” she scoffed. ”I was hurt either way. They tased me and I was suddenly unable to move but then I was plucked from the ground like a flower…” She stopped, leaning forward on her arms and looking at Kapin dead in the eyes. ”It was then I realized I was a hostage because who in their right mind goes through that much hassle for a nobody?" A sigh followed, and Kara leaned back once more. "There was no going back at that point. He led through the roof and eventually into some tunnels. I couldn’t see anything at that point. Eventually, he, um, he led me to…" her gaze fell down to her lap, almost as if she were ashamed. "I'm sorry, I think I’m going to need some water, please."

Both of the women sat there and listened to Kara, giving her their full attention, and Akito continued to scribble things down in her notebook. Taking notes of what Kara was saying and probably trying to formulate some kind of case when it came down to it — one never knew if it would be the court against Kara or Kara having to sit on a stand in the future with Pilka in cuffs. Anything could happen.

Kapin held eye contact with Kara when she spoke of the events, especially being plucked from the ground like a flower and she out of everyone knew how strong burrowers could be. She had experienced how easily they could lift someone else up while climbing up walls that looked impossible even with the proper gear. The older woman ignored the comment about water for at least what she wanted to say. “I understand this is difficult and possibly embarrassing for you Kara but we understand that there is a curiosity. Most people are curious about burrowers even if they have no idea what they look like or will never see one. Humans are curious and you are a scientist. You are in a field of curiosity. However, I need you to go over everything,” the older woman stood up. Looked at Akito before giving a gentle smile towards kara, “I’ll get us all water and something to snack on. Then we can continue after a small break, okay?

She did not pause for an answer before gesturing for Akito to leave the room first before she left. Closing and this time there was no click — it wasn’t locked. Maybe it showed they believed her? Or believed she wouldn't run at all.

When the women came back into the room, Kapin sat back down, and Akito placed a tray with water, juice, and a few wrapped snacks in front of her — pretzels, a granola bar, and a wafer.

She nodded silently, taking a moment to go back to that day in her head; the conversations she and Pilka had had. Sometime after they'd been walking, they had touched upon some troubling topics. If one was following their movements through the video feed, then they would have noticed her and Pilka's expressions shifting to a more serious one. Kara hoped that would be enough to corroborate her confession this time around.

"He took me to an area where he had a couple of his friends around. I only heard their voices because I still couldn't see anything. Eventually he began asking me questions. Whether I knew anyone of importance, whether there were any plans in motion to permanently deal with the burrowers. I kept telling him I was no one of importance, but no matter how many times I repeated myself, he wouldn't take my response. Eventually he lost his temper and he...he punched me. I'm sure you read my hospital report, right? I remember signing off a Notice of Release."

Kara exhaled, as if a big weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "One of his friends intervened before he managed to inflict further damage and I was able to escape. I got away, moving as fast as I could while practically blind until I was back in the city and found help."

Kara stared down at her hands. "I haven't seen another burrower since..." She took a sip of water, grabbing the granola bar right after.

Both of them listened while Kara explained more, Akito continuing to write everything down, and Kapin’s face shifting with questions not vocalized until Kara was done. “Both of us looked over your hospital report and the officer reports that were filed about that day and incident,” her voice sounded more soothing and almost sympathetic yet too formal for a friend or someone close.

I know you said you only heard his friends voices but you have said that one intervened and stopped the violence and that let you get away. Can you describe that one at all?” Kapin was curious if she could or not. She didn’t believe Kara was lying or didn’t have a reason to, yet, but she wanted to see if Kara could remember finer details that she might not have remembered before.

She rested her chin on the palm of her hand with furrowed eyebrows as if trying to recall the information being asked of her. Kara felt a hint of guilt leading them on with nonsense lies that would send them on a wild goose chase, but the atrocities committed against those like Pilka was inconceivable and so that minor feeling of guilt wasn’t necessarily eating away at her. ”If I had to guess, I’d say he was as tall, if not taller than my assailant. I was stunned after the punch, and they got into a bit of a tussle...wait—” Kara straightened up on the chair. ”His name was Kane! I remember now how he cursed his name!”

A faked eureka moment was all that was, and Kapin and Dwell were none the wiser.

Akito continued to write down the information that Kara was giving them and clearly made notes besides the statements. Kapin watched with a pleased smile, “A name is good. It'll help us in our investigation of this burrower group. Do you remember any finer details? How did Kane's eyes or skin look? Possibly any markings on the skin like scars or native marks?” This would help them determine if they were nomadic individuals or not as well. A ton of burrowers had tribal markings to link them back to parents or communities. Some had forced marks that meant that a tribe could not trust them.

She chewed on that for a moment, pursing her lips. "Sorry, I can't do that. I'd only be giving you false leads and that's not fair to you nor the rest of the team." Kara took another bite of the granola bar as her stomach growled. She hadn't realized how hungry she was, and she was making it a point to eat something after the interview. "It was really dark there too; I could barely make out their outlines. But..." she went on, shrugging her shoulders, "My best guess is that they are close with one another, or at the least, Kane cares about his friend, otherwise why would he stop him from making matters worse for himself?. Kane couldn't have cared less about me; I believe he was stopping his friend from crossing a line."

Kapin sat there cooly while listening to Kara and she wasn’t surprised the young woman couldn’t see the individuals — most burrowers seemed to have some form of night vision or capability. “Not all borrowers want to hurt citizens of Dominion, Kara,” she explained. “A lot of them are very family and community orientated so even if Kane didn’t know you. He still respected your life. And that could be true as well. He could have been stopping his friend from crossing a line. The majority of communities beyond the wall are not aggressive or violent though there are quite a few angry individuals from when Dominion exiled them,” Kapin explained evenly while giving an almost saddened smile.

“You remember Kane’s name, do you remember the name of the burrower that hurt you?” The woman was curious. “Or any of the other names that could have been stated?”

Kara sunk a little into herself. She had become so caught up in her lies that she was bad-mouthing a made-up acquaintance of Pilka's. And oddly enough, for a moment, she was ashamed of herself for generalizing an entire marginalized group. But this lie of hers would keep her out of trouble, and it wasn't like this Kane guy existed in reality.

"You're right, I apologize. I guess I'm angry at them, angry that this happened to me and that I ended up in this position. I really don't think they're all bad, I guess I just figured if Kane is hanging out with those types of burrowers, then maybe he's a bit like them too. I don't know..."

She took another sip of water and cleared her throat, hoping to start wrapping up the questions. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid that's all the information I have on them. I didn't stick around at the end, I only wanted to get away from them as fast as I could."

Mrs. Kapin gave a reassuring smile, “We understand that it was a traumatic situation and didn't think you would remember more from when Officer Klay interviewed you. We appreciate you coming in, Miss Voss,” she stood up and Akito nodded her head before leaving.

The older woman gestured for Kara to leave first before shutting the door, “I don't think you will be interviewed again unless we find something new,” she informed her.

Kara extended a hand to shake hers as she stood up. "Well I'll be back at work soon if you need to find me." She smiled, now more confident than before. Kara had lied her way out of some serious repercussions, but she couldn't exactly pop open a champagne bottle so to speak. "Thank you for your time in this matter. I really hope you catch him before he hurts anyone else."

That wouldn't happen. Pilka was smart enough to stay under the radar even if he did decide to sneak back into the city. "And thank you as well Ms. Dwell."

It was then Kara took her leave, smiling internally at her own small victory.
@ErosSense

I'm really sorry to hear that. And please, this should be the last thing on your mind. We'll be here when you return.
Sorry for the wait!


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