The small cottage Adori and Emis inhabited was filled with the sounds of clanking of tablewares. The rays of sunlight was peeking through the windows and landed on their dining table and other furnitures—encapsulating their home with cozy ambience.
The two of them had been talking about their schedule for the day. Adori wanted to visit Rebek while Emis suggested going to the port again.
"We should go and investigate further," he had said.
"I'm not saying we aren't going to. I just want to check on Rebek. I want to know how she's doing."
"She's fine," Emis said, exasperated.
"How can you be so sure about that? For all we know, she could be beating herself up for the disappearance."
"She has a whole family who can look after her if that happens."
Adori frowned at Emis' words. "But she's my friend."
Emis looked at Adori the same way parents used to watch their kids when they spouted nonsense.
"Adori," he calmly said her name. This startled Adori a bit. "Sometimes, I think you are way too invested in this little friendship of yours."
Adori scoffed. After all, what would a being like Emis know about friendship? She would even bet all the money she had in her name on him not having a single friend other than herself.
"Why wouldn't I? She's a good person who cares a lot about other people." Her tone turned defensive.
"You mentioned just yesterday on how she hides too many things from you. I wouldn't call that a good friend."
Adori turned her gaze away from Emis in frustration since she could not come with a suitable response.
It had been true—what Emis had said—about Rebek hiding too many things from her. Starting from her relationship with the residents of Ime island to the way she, allegedly, was a witch who seduced Tobias and in order to live among them.
It would be a flat-out lie to say she was not the least bit curious.
However, if truth be told, she had not been completely honest with Rebek either. After all, it was herself who was hiding way too many things from Rebek.
And Adori wanted to keep things that way, however much she wished to let her friend in on her secret. She would even be willing to walk into a pit of fire if the alternative was for her to disclose her identity.
"I hide things from her too. And I wouldn't call myself a bad friend, as far as I'm aware."
It was Emis' turn to remain silent. Even if he wanted to refute her words, he knew Adori was telling the truth.
"Whatever," he muttered under his breath.
That brought a smile on Adori's face.
***
The residential area of Ime was a sight of behold. Though the area was not filled with towering blocks of buildings, it was the amalgamation of nature and the houses that were build with pleasantness in mind that charmed the eyes of passerbys.
Adori had been on the area thrice before. Every time she visited the place, she would get a homely comfort from the humble beauty of the place.
She loved watching the way people decorated their houses with flowers and plants. She would often made a mental of note of their style so that she could try it on her home later. Although she had way more failure than success attempting their decorations.
With Emis in tow, they walked around the area. Since the Varn residence was on the western end of the block, they both had been walking for a while.
The area was quiet, Adori noted. She had rarely ran into people that day. Maybe the gloomy weather was to be blamed.
Adori had noticed that the residents of Ime loved coming out of the comfort of their homes whenever the sun was bright in the sky. During the three months she had lived in the island, it was the most obvious thing she had noticed.
When they arrived at the periphery of the residential area, she turned a slight corner and approached the house a bit isolated from the other residences.
Adori rang the doorbell and waited. Since no one was answering her, she rang it again. This time as well, no one answered.
"That's strange," she muttered.
Beside her, Emis was yawing on their porch looking like he was bored to death.
"We should have just gone to the port."
Adori side-eyed him. "Rebek rarely left her house. And even if she did, Lukas should be here."
"Maybe they have things they needed to attend. Or they could be looking around for information as well. Who knows?"
Adori saw the logic in Emis' statement. But she couldn't shake the weird feeling blooming inside her.
"Even so, what could they be doing in a time like this?"
She looked around. The area was silent save for the little sounds the birds, animals and little insects made in the area.
"You worry too much about other people's business." Emis sighed.
Adori walked away from their porch in defeat. She turned toward Emis, who was watching her with a poorly concealed smugness. Adori rolled her eyes.
"Fine, you win. Let's go to the port."
Emis finally got up from the space he took for himself in the Varn family's porch. He made his way to the port, not even bothering to wait for Adori who followed behind him. The steps he took felt lighter than any of the steps he took previously.
Adori scoffed behind him.
"You keep on telling me to keep clear from other people's business. Yet here you are, all happy and excited to investigate a case involving someone else's child."
Adori teased Emis and he could practically hear the grin in her voice.
"This isn't me worrying about kids." Emis spluttered. "I want to know what exactly is inside that forest, that's the only reason why I'm investigating this case."
"Whatever you say…"
Adori's sing-song voice irked Emis. He rolled his eyes at her, as if to let her know how irritated she made him feel. Adori laughed from behind him seeing the sight.
***
The port was still as busy as the day before. Adori almost had a whiplash from how different the mood was between the residential area and this place.
She scooped Emis—who was walking beside her—up in her arms. Looking around and making sure that no one was paying them attention, she lowered her head to the Yvelin.
"What exactly are we looking for here?" She whispered.
"Clues…" The Yvelin whispered back.
"Just so you know, I'm not going back to that alley again."
Emis watched her in bafflement. "What's the point of us being here if we don't go there?"
"Do you want to run into the old man again?" Adori whisper-shouted.
Emis shook his head in frustration. He had followed her on wherever she wanted to investigate without question the day before. But here she was, not even wanting to spare a few minutes looking for clues on where he want to look.
"But the detective hadn't ran into him, did he?"
Adori pouted at his question. "I told you I'm not exactly sure if Elias—"
"What about me?"
"Ahhhhhh..."
Both Emis and Adori screamed without reservation when Elias suddenly entered their personal space.
Elias watched Emis with both confusion and intrigue.
"Did the cat just scream?"
Shit! Do normal cats scream?
Adori bit her lips as she thought of things normal people usually would not even waste their time thinking.
"He's weird, isn't he?" She finally settled on saying.
Adori acted like she did not see Emis glaring towards her.
"He's an interesting cat." Elias softly turned his lips upward. The sight almost spook Adori. "Although I have to ask why you're here again. I'm pretty sure you don't work at the port."
Adori gulped. Was he suspecting her now? This was why Adori really did not like the man.
"Do I need a reason to be at the port?" She asked, her tone almost turning defensive.
Elias slowly regarded Adori. The silence that stretched during that time almost made Adori want to turn around and return to the safety of her home.
"Not really," Elias finally said. "But I want to ask you something else."
Adori watched Elias who had an unreadable expression on his face. It really was hard for Adori to tell what was going on inside his head. Normally, she did not have a problem with guessing other people's thoughts—not as exactly but the essence of their line of thought.
But with Elias, she felt like she was being deliberately misled.
"What is it?" Adori wanted to get it over with.
"Why did you leave Verdant to settle here? I heard it's a nice place."
"...Huh?"
Adori was shocked and baffled. Because why did he suddenly asked about that? She did not felt—not even once—during their entire conversation that could have led him to ask her that question.
Unless...
He really is suspecting me.