Relik sat on a stool that felt dangerously close to collapsing, clutching a skewer of grilled squid as if it were a holy relic.
There was a spy in the North. A traitor among the "blessed."
To Relik, this was a cosmic emergency. There was an Astran who walked among everyone else more than willing to kill his brethren. One too coward to show his face, so that Relik could identify the fraud.
Thousands of years fighting a losing battle only for some stray animal to seek the demise of his own people.
Relik needed council, he needed the Shiear.
Instead, he had Wyva.
The Hand who had spent the last hour "monitoring" Relik by dragging him on a rooftop tour of Remu's most questionable alleyways. Wyva didn't seem to care that the fate of the Empire hung in the balance; he seemed much more concerned with the fact that the local noodle shop had raised its prices.
Even though the two of them were getting the meal for free.
"You could have left me in the lobby," Relik muttered, eyeing a group of street performers who looked like they were one bad tip away from a riot, "The meeting with that girl couldn't have taken this long."
Wyva adjusted his balaclava, pulling it down to his chin to reveal a face that looked aggressively tired. He shoveled a spoonful of grain into his mouth with the mechanical efficiency of a man who had forgotten what joy tasted like.
"First rule of the Temple, Kid 'Just a few minutes' is clerical code for 'I'm going to go have a nap and hope you die of old age.' Besides," Wyva gestured vaguely at the bustling city square, "you smelled like river silt and failure. I'm doing the Shiear a favor by letting the wind scrub you a bit."
"First of all, we're the same age stop calling me kid and second, where I'm from that's not the case. The people take prescedent in our Temple."
"Where you're from clean running water isn't available when it rains."
Relik scowled, looking at the children on the corner. One was currently eyeing his squid with the intensity of a starving wolf. "We have food. They don't. How can everyone just... walk past?"
"Don't stare," Wyva warned, not looking up from his bowl. "You'll give them a reason to come over. And believe me, that kid has a better right-hook than a Hurc sergeant."
"But—"
"Listen," Wyva interrupted, pointing his spoon at Relik's chest. "I'm from Remu. That means I have years of experience dealing with this 'adaptive chaos.' You're from... where was it? The Mountain of Wine?"
"The Von Vino Estate," Relik corrected loftily. "Where people actually help each other."
"Right. Very quaint. When we're in a village that smells like fermented grapes and brotherly love, you can take the lead. But here? Do something stupid and it's more paperwork for me. Now eat your squid before a hobo steals it."
Relik opened his mouth to argue, realized Wyva was already halfway through his second bowl, and decided silence was the only winning move. He took a bite of the squid. It was rubbery, spicy, and tasted faintly of charcoal.
"What did I just tell you?" Wyva asked, noticing Relik's wandering eyes.
"Eat before a hobo steals it," Relik droned.
"Exactly. You haven't eaten in over a week. If you faint in front of Jabaani, she'll think I've been starving you, and I'm not losing my dental plan because you wanted to be a martyr for a street urchin."
Relik nodded, chewing slowly. He looked at the rushing crowd the Alven scholars, the towering Hurc laborers, the Shahari merchants. Everyone was moving with "unyielding tunnel vision."
Something was wrong. It wasn't just the lack of community; it was the vibe. Remu felt like a beautiful clock where half the gears were made of glass.
"I just want to tell them," Relik said quietly. "About the traitor. About the green eyes. Once I provide the account, I'll feel as though I vindicated them... All twenty three of them."
Wyva paused, his spoon hovering near his mouth. He looked at Relik, and for a split second, the cynical mask slipped. There was a flash of something like pity in the Alven's eyes.
"Kid," Wyva said softly. "Everyone in that Temple believes that their Marks are perfect. They think if someone breathed a word of treason, Astra would personally smite them. Telling them there's a traitor is like telling a fish it's wet. They won't believe you because they can't imagine a world where it isn't true."
He snapped his mask back up, the "Hand" returning in full force.
"Finish the squid. Jabaani is expecting us, and I'd rather face a Shink-Ra Titan than to leave that mad woman waiting."