#causalty

Ellissay couldn't sleep. It had been some time since she had been hurried from the cabin that night and taken to an unknown location. It would be weeks after Whisper had explained that the group they had been infiltrating, a massive slave ring, had figured out Shiloh was spying on them. Months before they would be able to end the threat.

It hadn't been a good ending. There had been several losses on both sides, including a man Elu had been relatively close to. A good man, from what Ellissay could tell. Elu seemed to have blamed herself, and she had been holed up in her office for some time, not taking any visitors except her twin sister Sia.

Shiloh, of course, blamed himself. Someone had ratted him out. Somebody he thought he could trust. The man in question was in the wind. Took the money he was paid and ran. Shiloh had wanted to track him down, but Elu had persuaded him otherwise.

Ellissay, however, knew the woman hadn't let it go. Sia had gone missing for several days. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together that his sister had gone after the traitor. She didn't envy the traitorous man. Sia could be a cold, calculating killer. Her psychic abilities making her deadly even without a weapon. The truth was, the woman was the weapon.

Ellissay swings her legs over the side of the bed and slips her feet into her pink slippers, grabbing a night coat and slipping it around her, tying it at the waist. She stands and makes her way into the kitchen to pour herself a shot of whiskey. Cause why not. It could help her sleep. Her mind went over and over everything that had happened. Could she have done more? Was those deaths partly her fault.

She knew the ambush on him could have been her next. Except he had fought them off enough to thwart the attack. Of course, he had paid the price by almost dying on her cabin floor. Had they thought she was part of his operation? Did the pictures she took have something they thought she could use against them?

She had no more answers than she had months ago, which irritated her. Even after they had taken down the organization, she hadn't found the answer she sought.

She downed the whiskey, feeling the heat of the liquid as it rushed down her throat. It felt good. Relaxing. She moves through the apartment to the doors leading to a patio. She opened the doors, and the night air instantly brought goosebumps upon her flesh. She closes her eyes for a moment and inhales the salty air as it comes in off the sea.

She suddenly realizes she misses her brothers. She misses her mom as well, perhaps especially her. It has been some time since she has seen her. Maybe it was time she took a trip to find her. Get away from everything and enjoy a bit of downtime.

Whisper said she had gone off with an old friend who was trying to help her come to grips with her loss. A man she and her Aunt Elutia have known for some time. A family friend of sorts, from her understanding.

Ellissay lets out the bit of air she hadn't realized she was holding. She hoped he could help her mother. She felt she really needed somebody in her life. Apparently, that hadn't been her children. After their father had passed away, her mother had turned from them all. She knew that her mother blamed herself. It had been Eclesia, her mother, that he was trying to save when that portal had closed, leaving him to perish in the fires of Teldrassil.

Ellissay brings the glass to her lips once more. Again, there were too many questions and not enough answers. That seems to be her life lately. Questions. She sipped the whiskey this time, taking a deep breath through her nose and letting it out with a soft sigh. She should get back to bed. Tomorrow was a new day, and she was expected to be bright and early in Elu's office. Something about a new assignment. Her eyes go to the black envelope with the crimson-red rose seal.

Of course, she no longer worked for SI:7. She wondered how her mother would feel about her following in her footsteps so closely. She moved back inside, closing the doors before walking to the kitchen and rinsing the glass. She makes her way back toward the bedroom. At least now she felt more relaxed, the alcohol having worked its way into her system. Perhaps it would help her find sleep.

“Heavy With Dew”