Having woken up, Solaris was eating the food left by whoever or whatever had been living in the house before them. He had grabbed a few items that looked similar to what he'd seen before, yet at the same time very different. The taste was much worse to boot, but it still satiated him.
As he was chewing on what was essentially a protein bar, Ember walked out of his room.
"Good morning."
Solaris said in passing, still chewing, his arm held out, offering the other half of the bar.
Ember rubbed his eye and grabbed the snack.
"Any good?"
"Nope."
Ember snickered at the quick response and took a bite.
"yea thats pretty bad."
"Right?"
They ate the rest of the bar and prepared to leave.
"Wait, where are we going?"
"I was just following you. I had guessed your shards had sensed something again."
"Okay, um... let's just go into the inner city, I guess. It should take a few hours, though"
Ember nodded in agreement, and they opened the door and began on their way to the inner part of the city.
Solaris had healed enough to walk, so the two had been moving on foot since they reached the city. Using his shards to fly may have looked fun, but Solaris was under lots of stress during those moments. The shards were only a standing ground, not attached, so he was forced to balance and do lots of calculations as he floated to make sure he didn't fall.
As well as the simple fact that it was exhausting to use the shards for long periods of time, this was the same reason Ember never used his wings outside of combat.
Their feet sounded as they marched through the slums in hopes of entering the middle-class ring; unlike the former megacity, this one was much bigger and much more secure. Each class was separated by tall walls, which grew taller the closer to the center.
Luckily for them, they could both fly. So walls were not going to be an issue.
As the two walked, a few questions flew at one another.
From theories to personal questions and even some in between.
"What are you going to do when you get back home, or if?"
Ember glanced at Solaris. The question was something they had shockingly never discussed before, and it had caught him off guard.
"Get some food, drinks, and a new pack of cigarettes. Oh, and write a report up for HQ.
"Why would Cedric and Sami need a report?"
"What they don't. HQ does, however."
"HQ? Aren't they HQ?"
"No were only a branch, and a very new one at that. What did Sami even teach you?"
"Math, Science, Reading, and Writing, with lots of demon anatomy tied in."
"And Cedric?"
"Extramicy."
"Ohh, No were not HQ, in fact, we are the smallest and newest branch in the Hunters, this is why there aren't very many of us. Bigger branches have many more people; some even have twenty. I'm shocked we've never told you."
Solaris stared at Ember in bewilderment. It was not the most groundbreaking, it was not the most terrifying, but it was the most absurd.
"WHY THE HELL DO WE ONLY HAVE FIVE PEOPLE, WITH ONLY ONE ON THE FIELD??!?!?"
Solaris demanded an answer.
"Because we're special. All of us have Extramicy."
Solaris's expression softened as he thought about his Extramicy. He hadn't been able to use it at all; he wasn't even sure what it was. All he'd seen was the aftermath and one video of it.
"But I don't."
"....Yeah, I'm sure you'll get it."
Embers's face betrayed his words.
Leaving Solaris, grimacing in discontent. before rolling his eyes and asking.
"So not all demon hunters have the powers y'all do?"
"Yes and no, ours are much stronger and more altering than some others, but a lot of them simply lack them, like the branch in Kikin is much more human-run, and was actually where I first went before.... He brought me to Tolen."
Solaris nodded his head. He had traveled a lot during his time in foster care and knew of a lot of places; in fact, one of the kinder families had lived in Kikin, so it brought him minor joy to hear that they were protected.
"If that's the case, then how do they kill the demons?'
"I'm sure Sami has explained the 'tools of the trade' to you."
"Yeah, that she did."
Ember motioned as if telling him to explain them. Seemingly, after the past few days of hearing how no one had taught him, he was glad to finally hear that something had been learned.
"Let's see, well, first, the crystal crushers."
Ember nodded and motioned for him to continue.
"Then the skin piercers, and finally the movement boots."
Solaris held up fingers as he named the items, then he looked at Ember for approval.
"Yep, very good, but don't forget the coats."
"Oh yeah, the protection coats... These names suck."
Ember looked at him with an agreeing look and simply nodded.
"From what Sami had said, those items were made from Extramicy's, but I had figured it was from her, you, and Cedric"
"Yeah, that's right, we have made a few, but it's usually left up to others within HQ."
"I see but..."
Solaris nodded and began to speak, yet stopped as a feeling began to wash over him.
They had reached the wall of the middle-class section.
Solaris stared up at the wall and felt a sense of dread, not of the wall but of what was behind it.