( Rrrr I thought I checked here when I woke up but I guess I didn't hard-refresh. OTL Sorry this is kind of late in the day. )

Anders crossed his arms when the girl spoke. "You told her your name?" he asked in Silas's direction, but Silas was still. Once the two shinigami left, Anders put a hand on Silas's shoulder. "Come on," he said as the shinigami left. "Let's finish the report," he began. Then he noticed the tears.

"He's mine," Silas whispered.

"What? Silas, what are you talking about―they're shinigami," Anders reminded him. "We don't have time to waste down here. I'm calling headquarters to let them know we can head back soon."

"He was mine all those years ago," Silas continued. His voice shook. "Now he's with them!" he yelled. He looked down and lifted his hand to his forehead. "He was sick when I left..." he choked.

Anders drew in a slow breath and sighed. "So that's it." He closed his eyes and furrowed his brows together in frustration. Moments passed of silence. "Look," he said at last. When he opened his eyes, he squeezed Silas's shoulder and pulled his comrade toward him, face to face. "It's not your fault. This isn't your fault," Anders insisted. "I know this is hard for you," he admitted. "We can't go after them." Silas looked away, but Anders immediately yanked his jaw back. "I need you to help me run this district. I can't do it alone." Silas glared for a moment in defiance. Then, he lowered his gaze and relaxed his stance. Anders let go of Silas's jaw and his shoulder. "You should head back and get some rest. I can give the update to the complex and wrap up the rest of this."

Silas took a step backward. He trusted in Anders to take care of the residents while they returned to the building. He trusted Anders to file the shinigami interaction statements. Silas knew he could add his mirage arrow statement in the morning before it was submitted. He steadied his wings and put on his thin flight goggles in preparation to leave, though his head kept spinning.

"Silas," Anders said before Silas took flight. "I'm sorry."


When Silas re-gained sense of time he was already beyond the flight deck. He had landed smoothly for the most part, de-materialized his arm guard, made it to clan grounds, let himself into his living quarters, found his way to his room, set his headgear in its place, undone his wristwatch strap, and changed into nightwear. He sat on the left edge of his bed and gazed out the tall, thin window above his left nightstand. The sky and the moon stared back. He could feel his body aching to sleep but his mind was well-wired. So, he settled for some tea.

Quietly, he slipped into the hallway and made his way to the staircase. He descended to second floor lounge: a small area with warm-colored chairs and coffee tables. It was quieter than the first level―and warmer, at this hour. In the past it was a lively place to enjoy a cup of cocoa with friends, though as numbers grew short and Highrose grew stricter there was hardly any time for that. Silas moved past an arrangement of lounge chairs and headed for the tiny cabinet set on the other side of the room. He found a kettle in a cupboard and and filled it with water from a dispenser nearby. The steam from the kettle rose toward the cabinets and deflected toward Silas's face. It soothed him. He imagined most guardians were asleep so he was careful to avoid making too much noise while he prepared his cup of tea, but he couldn't help wonder if the shinigami incident had left anyone else sleepless.