Cerberus Rex, Nameless

Doppelganger, 20

Feri and Mr. Noarwin returned to his apartment in the Sootra Slums. They found Silas staring out the window and Asinis sitting crisscross on the floor reading a book he found in a pile Mr. Noarwin kept in a corner. Feri glanced at him, thoughts churning as sick as her stomach.

"Did anyone come by?" Mr. Noarwin asked Silas. Mr. Noarwin had asked him to keep watch, and so he had. Though, that he hadn't left the apartment in so long continued to weigh on Feri.

Silas shook his head. "People have passed by, but no one has approached."

"Thank you," Mr. Noarwin said.

Silas nodded, though Feri thought he seemed troubled. She wanted to ask him if he was alright, but she figured she knew the answer and didn't want it confirmed. She looked at Asinis, remembered the woman she'd spotted in the Cerulean Hatch, and squatted in front of him.

"Asinis," she called, though she knew stealing his attention from a book would be a chore. He didn't respond. She pushed her face closer. "Asinis." His eyes darted across the text without hearing her. She pursed her lips and slipped the book free from his grip.

"Ah—oh..." He resembled a little boy who'd just learned the meaning of disappointment.

"Asinis. Can we go for a walk?" she whispered.

He fluttered his eyes until they focused on her. "Sure. Is everything alright?"

She pursed her lips. "I—don't know."

He frowned and then glanced around. Silas still stood at the window, but Mr. Noarwin had gone into the back. Asinis stood. "We'll be right back, Silas," he said.

Silas glanced at them. Feri frowned at his pained expression, but Silas nodded and let them go without a word.

Feri led Asinis through the streets. She didn't know where to go, but she didn't want Silas or Mr. Noarwin to overhear them. She walked aimlessly, searching for a place to take Asinis until she decided on an alley back near Sajna West Plaza. She found its shadow and then, after climbing onto a crate to match Asinis's height, sat down. It moaned, and the splintered wood poked her, so she adjusted herself to find a semblance of comfort.

"Feri?" Asinis said. "Is everything alright?"

She shook her head, gnome nose pointed down. "Asinis. I saw something in the Cerulean Hatch that I can't wrap my head around."

"Okay?" He came beside her and leaned on the wall her crate stood next to.

She sucked in her lips. "There was a woman down there who—looked like your twin. Not even a twin. She looked exactly like you except. She was a woman."

Asinis's face grayed over and his breath caught. "Gunilla," he whispered.

"It was her?" Feri cried in a tone that matched his.

"I... well. Maybe? I don't know anyone else who would want to look like me. But. Why would she? It doesn't make any sense. Especially since I'm wanted for the Isenvel Tower's destruction."

"Asinis, I need to understand what happened between you two," Feri said taking his hands. "Please. I didn't know what to do when I saw her. And I couldn't tell Mr. Noarwin even though he's the one who needs to know most. That is... if we're going to trust him."

Asinis swallowed, and seeming weak, nodded as he sat on the smaller crate beside her. "Where do I start?" He pushed his hair back and then ran his hands down his face into his scruff. "Gunilla and I came from the same village. We were both capable of magic, but neither of us exuded any great talent. It didn't matter. We wanted to study. We wanted to learn and make a difference but..." Asinis hesitated, his eyes shifted. And then he clamped them closed as he remembered. "A friend of ours, significantly more talented than either of us, got involved with some shady people. Magic supremacist or something. Gunilla and I didn't want anything to do with them, so I didn't learn who they were. But. He disguised himself as her and framed her for a terrible, terrible thing. She went into hiding, and I tried to keep in contact with her. Send her news about the manhunt while also trying not to lead anyone to her."