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CHAPTER 46
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Zenryth Hail

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The Thirilin base was much larger than the Sylfheim base. Thirlin was the capital country of Laestrithan -- while Sylfheim was not very large or populated in comparison. The Thirilin base was so large, in fact, that it was almost the size of the Reaper Headquarters in Ossa Morsa.

I had just finished washing the blood and grime off myself, dressing into fresh clothes and cleaning my neglected scythe -- when Murkai oozed under the bathroom door and stopped in the air nearby. I glanced at him as I inspected my healing forearm.

"Found anything interesting?" I thought to him absently. When he obviously didn't respond, I sighed, ignoring my bodies aches and walking toward the door. "Alright, where's the Reaper in charge of this place?"

I followed Murkai along the halls, already mentally tired and irritated. With Sythar Sleet and Rysk Sidian being in Sylfheim, that meant that whoever we would be debriefing to would be a Lieutenant, not a Head.

While only the most senior and experienced Reaper's were given the role, it was not always a set one as they were needed on the field. So I had no way of knowing who I'd be debriefing to and whether or not I liked them.

My anticipatory, world-weary thoughts were interrupted as I started to recognise where Murkai was leading me. And sure enough, within moments, the Thirilin PRTC came into view. Unlike in Sylfheim, it was inside the Reaper base and quite large, looking more like a hospital than a centre.

When I pushed through the doors and followed Murkai toward one of the curtained beds that lined the wall, I did not find a Leutenant. Instead, Murkai stopped in front of Lylock Rin's bed.

I mentally gave Murkai a questioning and irritated probe, but he simply remained where he was.

Lylock Rin looked at me from where he lay, no longer splattered with blood -- his leg wrapped professionally and held still in a horizontally folded blanket.

"Did you finish the debrief already?" he asked, propping himself up on his elbow. Thyra Thorne was sitting in the chair beside him, her curled hair white again.

"No," I said simply, looking around in case I'd missed what Murkai was trying to show me. When my gaze returned back to the two, they were staring at me in an awkward question.

"Do you want a chair?" Thyra Thorne asked.

I grunted. "No. I'm not staying."

As I turned around to leave, the door opened, and two Reaper's entered. I paused, a question forming in my mind. Senior Reaper's Vallen Lyth and En Skar. I had never met them, but they were well known for being frequent Leutenants in Gathén.

They travelled across the room with purpose, both tall, lean, and groomed like they were royalty, not hunters. Vallen Lyth's pale green eyes caught on us, and she directed her stride in our direction.

She didn't stop until she was at the edge of the bed, an armspan away from where I stood. She leaned down and, in one swift motion, slapped Lylock Rin's leg right where his injury lay.

He yelped, recoiling it into his arms as Vallen Lyth, eyes like stone, and voice almost as solid, said, "Lylock Rin Rinae, how could you possibly get yourself into this state?"

Thyra Thorne's mouth opened as she stood to speak. But Vallen Lyth instantly glared daggers at her so intensely Thyra Thorne sat back in her chair and closed her mouth.

"Speak, boy!" Her voice cut through the air, directed right at Lylock Rin's pained face. Her own expression hardly changed, but her eyes bore all her fury.

En Skar approached the side of the bed, ignoring her as he lifted Lylock Rin's hand away from his leg and inspected his freshly bleeding wound.

"Ripper. It was a ripper, Mother," Lylock Rin said, his tone a unique mixture of casual apprehension.

I leaned back against the wall now, observing the two Rinae's with a fresh lense of observation. I could see the resemblance. They all seemed to think they were getting ready for a photoshoot.

En Skar brushed a fluff off of his bandage, saying in a soft yet crisp tone. "It's not bad."

Vallen Lyth huffed, a high, almost indignant hum. "Bad or not -- you should've been better prepared! Now I have to write a report about your negligence." Her long, straight white hair bounced along her shoulders and back like a wasp posing to strike.

Lylock Rin's hand returned to his injury, rubbing the spot as he said, "I'm fine, Mother, really."

She huffed, her intensity unwavering as she said, "after the debrief, I'll be the judge of that."

While watching Lylock Rin be scolded by his mother was entertaining, my patience wore thin -- thinner at the mention of debriefing.

I sighed, pushing off the wall and taking the step toward Lylcok Rin's tormentor. Her head spun, rounding on me. But I ignored her dramatics, nodding as per custom and saying, "Zenryth Hail. I'll be starting the debrief now."

She stared at me for a moment, her brain visually changing her eyes from angry mother to professional Leutenant. Then, the former still lingering in her pale green eyes, she nodded.

En Skar circled around the bed and his wife extending his hand to me and shaking it firmly. His eyes matched Lylock Rin's-- forest green -- and his hair was nearly identical. However, he apparently managed to keep it flat, unlike his son. His small, sharp beard moved gently as he spoke, his voice a low hum.

"En Skar. Rysk Sidian has mentioned you." As he spoke to me, Vallen Lyth, apparently choosing to tame herself, exchanged nods with Thyra Thorne.

I raised my brow a fraction, releasing his hand. "In what context?"

En Skar smiled, eyes squinting in the corners. "Only good ones."

I grunted at his non-reply, returning to lean on the wall, only slightly curious about what the Head could have possibly said about me. Then Vallen Lyth took a stance beside Lylock Rin's bed, arms crossed, feet wide, and facing him.

"Alright. Debrief. Now."

Lylock Rin exhaled a small and resigned sound through his nose before leaning back -- elbow in his pillow and began talking.

The three of us covered every necessary detail of what happened since we arrived at Needle's Pass, up until the rippers retreat, and the purpose of our investigation. En Skar, who, like his wife, had been taking notes, sighed wearily, likely thinking about how big this report would need to be.

"That's a lot of cleaning up to do," Vallen Lyth said, voice heavy as she placed her fingers against her forehead. "You four were lucky to not end up on a missing Reaper's file."

Lylock Rin shifted awkwardly on the bed. "Mother, it was not a big deal. You have no responsibility for my mistakes."

Vallen Lyth pulled her hand away from her face sharply, using it to slap the boy over the head. "No, but what I will have is the consequences. Do you understand the gravity of what we're facing right now?!"

Lylock Rin was grumbling and rubbing his head as I frowned slightly from where I leaned against the wall. "Should I assume you're not referring to paperwork?"

Vallen Lyth looked at me, the question apparently not so easy to answer. En Skar, who still stood at the foot of Lylock Rin's bed, turned to me. "So you four were gone when it happened?" he said quietly, rubbing his temble with one hand.

"In response to the veterans' deaths... Sythar Sleet and Rysk Sidian sent Reaper's out to hunt their killers."

I nodded impatiently. I already knew this.

"Well, as they have failed to return... all ten Reaper's have been deemed MIA."