Meeting of Families

[Eidolon]

Eido was surprised to recognise the voice as one she had heard speaking inside the bar earlier. The immediate question was not expected either, and it showed in both her expression and her long silence after he spoke. She did not feel she owed an answer, yet secrecy was a shroud worn for so long that it had begun to feel like the woman underneath eroded to nothing. Most days she existed like little more than a ghost. She kept no real company and she sought no connections with strangers, this moment included. Yet the opportunity to share something true while saying nothing of real consequence did not present itself often.

“Duty and honour leave their marks upon us even when both have been forfeit. But sometimes we seek those paths still, even when we no longer deserve them. That is why I came out to ask.”

She did not think it likely he was Atharim any longer. If this were a trap it was slow to spring. To subdue her kind successfully, surprise and efficiency were essential tools – indeed perhaps the only ones in a hunter's arsenal. Eido could not differentiate between the disappointment and relief that stirred in her like ash on dry earth, and she did not pause to reflect on it. Rather she considered if he was here looking for Kōta, and what that might mean. She knew he was searching for a man; she had overheard as much in the bar. Given her brother’s predilection for trouble, it would not have surprised her to discover a grievance, but none had ever sought to go through her before.

The stranger was dressed like one of the gokudō; she assessed that much without meeting his eye in the brief illumination of his vape. Instead she watched shadows while she considered a response. Kōta rarely spoke to her in Japanese anymore, for she would not answer it in kind. Nor did she now, though she felt a brief pang of regret. “Perhaps you have mistaken me for someone else. I cannot help you.”