Cybele was trapped.

At first glance, it probably didn't seem that way. She was a Valloma — daughter of the infamous Valin Valloma, the man all the humans loved and all the species hated. She had it all: money, fame, everything and anything a person could want.

Or at least, that's what everyone thought — what her parents expected her to believe.

Cybele knew she was likely supposed to be proud of her father; Valin Valloma was one of the most prominent, outspoken anti-hibri and patrias activists in the world of Selino — she should have been proud of him, proud of the fact that she was even related to him at all.

But that — that was the problem.

Ever since she was a child, she'd been taught to hate all the species. To be disgusted by them. They were repulsive, disgraceful, primal. She was supposed to despise them.

Except she didn't.

She never had. And she wasn't sure what that meant. Something was clearly wrong with her, wrong with her mind.

Of course, she couldn't tell anyone her thoughts. She couldn't afford to. A human who didn't mind the species — the whole world would believe her insane, her parents would disown her. She'd be a humiliation, an abomination.

So ever since she was old enough to fully understand the ever-growing rift between the humans and the species, she'd kept quiet. Everyone thought she was only shy, but Cybele knew she wasn't born that way — she'd been forced into silence. She couldn't risk dropping any hints about her true feelings, which was why she'd always preferred to stay out of the spotlight.

And that meant nothing particularly exciting ever happened to her. She'd never really minded it that way, though it did make exciting things, when they did happen, that much more intriguing.

And the news the apparently drunk girl who'd fallen down the stairs had given her was, by definition, very intriguing.

Cybele knew it would be a bad idea — a terrible idea — to go to the fountain the drunk girl had told her about, especially with the knowledge that Cynth Leeyung would be there as well. If it were possible, Cynth was almost worse than Cybele's father; with her all-too-recognizable hair and perpetual sneer, Cybele had always had a wary aversion to the Leeyung daughter. Especially because if Cynth somehow found out that Cybele didn't mind the hibri and patrias as much as she should have, well — Cybele would be dead, and not only metaphorically.

So yes, it was a terrible, terrible idea. The girl had been drunk, anyway; she was probably just spewing out random nonsense words in her delirium. There was no reason — no reason — that Cybele should listen to her.

But then again.

It was so goddamned intriguing.

And anyway, if this really was about the patrias sources... then her father would certainly be interested. So maybe she'd go to the fountain, only for a few minutes, just to see what they were talking about.

Which was how, the next day at noon, she found herself standing near the fountain, hidden behind a bush and prepared to eavesdrop. She wouldn't engage — would only listen.

Just to see what they were talking about.

Such a terrible idea, the sensible side of her mind snapped at her. And it really, really was. If her parents found her out here, she'd be dead — dead.

She waited.

Waited until she suddenly saw that flash of silvery-blue hair, felt that brief feeling of nausea as she glimpsed Cynth Leeyung's all-too-familiar sneer.

She held her breath as she heard Cynth mutter someone along the lines of Of course that piece of shit is late, watching carefully for the drunk girl to appear.

And a few minutes later, she finally did, looking undeniably hungover.

Cynth regarded the drunk girl with an expression of disgust as she walked toward the fountain, steps slightly unsteady. Cybele's eyebrows knitted together as she struggled to process everything happening at once; the drunk girl, despite her drunkenness, clearly hadn't been making up this little rendezvous, which in itself was interesting enough — Cynth Leeyung certainly wasn't the type to hang out with anyone.

"Where the hell have you been?" Cynth snapped at the drunk girl, and Cybele leaned forward, trying in vain to keep them both in her view.

The formerly-drunk girl scowled, bloodshot eyes narrowing. "I'm here now, right? What's the problem?"

Cynth's gaze turned icy. "This isn't a joke. Unlike you, Willa."

The drunk girl's tone darkened. "Will. It's Will. Get it right."

"I'm not here for a little entertainment, you damned fool." Cynth's voice lowered to a hiss. "I'm here to put an end to those vile hibri once and for all. And if you want to be a part of it, you need to at least pretend to care about what we're doing. So just fucking get here on time."

Put an end to those vile hibri once and for all. It wasn't the first time Cybele had heard a phrase like that, but it was far more concerning coming out of someone like Cynth Leeyung's mouth. Unlike most diplomats' sons and daughters Cybele knew, Cynth wasn't the type to leave her threats empty.

"Fine," the drunk girl — Will — snapped. "Whatever."

Cybele couldn't help but give a slight wince; anyone who knew Cynth Leeyung was well aware that talking back to her never ended well — which led her to wonder just how long these two had known each other.

As if she'd heard Cybele's thoughts, Cynth stepped forward, towering over Will — who, despite being taller than average, seemed to shrink under Cynth's death stare. "It would do you some good to watch your words, Willa."

Will's expression shifted from intimidated to defensive, not even bothering to correct Cynth on her name as she frowned, seemingly taken aback. "Okay! Moons!"

Moons? Cybele's eyebrows rose. Only the species used curses like that; where would the drunk girl have picked that up?

Cynth seemed to be having similar thoughts, her suspicion clear in the way her eyes narrowed. "What did you just say?"

"Uh — nothing!" Will replied almost too quickly, her gaze briefly shifting away from Cynth's. "It was nothing."

"Sure," Cynth replied, tone skeptical, before allowing the subject to drop just as abruptly as she'd questioned it. "I was sifting through some of the pages I scanned earlier, and it brought up some... conspiracy theories." Cynth looked pained as she said the words, almost as if she despised anything but the straight facts. Beating around the bush, Cybele knew, had never been the Leeyung daughter's style. "Would you happen to know any of those, you know, in regards to the whereabouts of the sources and all?"

Cybele stared at the unlikely pair glaring at each other by the fountain, her mind racing. The drunk girl had been serious about the entire sources quest, then, though it still sounded absolutely insane. The patrias sources were exactly the sort of bullshit fairytale Cynth would scorn — physical objects that acted as wellsprings to the patrias' magic, long lost after being scattered and hidden around Selino so the humans wouldn't get their hands on them? It sounded ridiculous even to Cybele, and she knew Cynth was far more judgmental.

Will audibly gulped. "I... well. Tercy's a rana. Right? Yes right. Why did I say right?" She gave a small, hysterical chuckle. Cynth raised a suspicious brow at her words, but allowed her to continue. "And, um. That means she lived. In a place where ranae lived. Ri — yeah."

"No shit, Will," Cynth deadpanned.

Will stammered over her words, struggling to continue. "Um. If we... if we go to a rana village, and — ask ranae what they know about Tercy, maybe it'll lead us to a — a clue? On where the sources are hidden? Or something."

Cybele frowned, feeling more and more unsure about this entire situation. Clearly, this Will girl had something Cynth wanted, because the only way Cynth Leeyung would ever choose to associate with a person like her would be for practical purposes that benefited her and her alone.

Cynth furrowed her brows before releasing an all-suffering sigh, regret evident in her unnervingly empty eyes. "Rana village. I suppose we don't have any other leads. But... how would we get there? I don't know if you even realized, but this face is pretty famous." Cynth gestured to her own face, causing Cybele to shift uncomfortably. She wasn't wrong.

"We could sneak onto a monorail?" Will suggested, visibly fighting the urge to fidget. "I... hear that works sometimes."

"You don't even use human curses," Cynth snapped. "You'd hardly be well-versed in how to sneak onto monorails." She released a sigh of exasperation, right before she suddenly paused, something — a realization, or perhaps an idea, Cybele wasn't sure — briefly flicking across her features, leaving Cybele warily baffled. And from the looks of her expression, Will was just as confused.

Cybele shook her head, taking a shaky breath. This was insane. Cybele was all too aware of that fact as she stared at both Cynth and Will; this whole plan was pointless, barely thrown together, and altogether idiotic. But it couldn't help but cross Cybele's mind that, if she really wanted to ensure that no one — no one — would know how she truly felt about the species...

No. No, she wouldn't do it. It would be stupid of her, it was stupid of her to even consider —

She stepped out from behind the bush.

Cynth's head whipped up, and the drunk girl — Will, Cybele reminded herself — similarly glanced over in alarm. Cynth's expression went from shocked to murderous faster than Cybele could blink, and Will — well, Will was staring at her, strangely violet eyes wide, mouth half-open in disbelief.

For a moment too long, Cybele was frozen. Now that she'd been stupid enough to reveal herself, every word in her vocabulary suddenly seemed to vanish from her tongue as she stood in silent panic, searching for what she'd been planning to say just moments before.

Too afraid to keep her gaze locked with Cynth's dangerous glare, Cybele's eyes shifted to Will's, though she wasn't sure why — what was she looking for? Solidarity? Reassurance that 'No, Cynth isn't going to reach over and strangle you right now, don't worry'?

But now that Will was sober, Cybele could clearly see that she was just as worried about being murdered by Cynth as she was.

Before Cybele could even begin to regain her composure, Cynth spoke, her harsh voice promising plenty of threats Cybele didn't want to discover were empty or not. "What the hell are you doing here?"

And for all her careful, calculated contemplation, the only goddamned thing Cybele could think to blurt in answer was, "The drunk girl invited me."

Cynth turned her poisonous stare to Will, who blanched, horror coloring her features. "I — I didn't," she stammered desperately. "I wouldn't — I've never even seen this girl before, I — "

"You sure about that, Willa?" Cynth cut her off. Her eyes glinted with a dangerous, almost maniacal light as she tilted her head, her low, cutting voice coldly cruel. "Because by the way you look like you're about to shit your pants right now, I'd say you have met her before."

Caught between panic and pity for Will — who looked to be in such a frantic state that Cybele couldn't help but feel sorry for her — Cybele finally gathered herself enough to interrupt, "I want in."

"Excuse me?" Cynth snapped at the same time as Will blurted something that sounded like, "Oh, six tides."

"I want — I want to go with you," Cybele repeated, her thoughts spiraling, already regretting this. "To search for the sources, I mean."

"You?" Cynth asked, her eyes flicking distastefully over Cybele's form. "And what would you get out of it?"

Cybele forced a calm smile. "I'm a human," she said. "What do you think?"

Cynth frowned dismissively. "Right. But what do you want, Little Miss Valloma? I'm sure your father's left plenty of hibri carcasses for you to play with — what could possibly entice you to put in all this effort?"

Cybele didn't waver, though her head was spinning. Such a stupid, stupid idea. "I could say the same for you, couldn't I?"

For three endless heartbeats, the two locked gazes, Cynth's eyes narrowing.

Just as Cybele was about to give up on this insane endeavor and leave the drunk-girl-and-psychopath duo to their ludicrous quest, Cynth's features, with a seemingly great deal of effort, appeared to shift into neutrality. "Whatever you like, Valloma." Her trademark sinister smile stretched across her face, and Cybele hoped she wasn't visibly pale as the blue-haired girl murmured her next words. "It'll be fun to watch you struggle to keep up."

Cybele fought to keep her expression casually blank. "Yes, well — "

Before she had a chance to finish the sentence, Will's voice cut her off. "Wait. Wait." Her violet eyes were wide, with panic or disbelief, Cybele couldn't decide — likely both. "So, Cybele is — actually doing the quest with us? Now?" Her voice faded to a whisper as she took in the others' expressions — startled bafflement in Cybele's case, glowering annoyance in Cynth's. "I don't... do I have to..."

"Shut up," Cynth snapped. "Christ, Willa. You just don't know how to get a hint, do you?" When Will didn't respond, she made a noise of disgust before turning to Cybele. "And you — Valloma. If you screw anything up — "

Cybele offered Cynth a composed smile. "You don't need to worry," she replied, her voice remaining steady despite her slightly trembling hands. She clutched them together behind her back to hide their shaking, telling herself to feel triumphant — because she'd done it.

She'd accomplished what she'd planned.

She was part of this quest, this hunt for the sources; she was part of this plan to seize full dominance over the species once and for all.

She could finally prove herself, not only to her parents — to her father — but to the rest of the world.

She was a human.

And she hated the species.

But as Cybele's eyes shifted to Will's once more, her heartbeat racing uncontrollably, she couldn't help but feel the lingering, inescapable sense that she'd just made an enormous mistake.

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New character!!! It was later confirmed that Cybele is written by Volt (-lightsabove), so good job! And thanks for reading chapter eight! The more characters there are featured in one chapter, the more work it is for us, so we hope you appreciate it!

Also, there's now a glossary! It should be the chapter following the last posted one, and we hope it's helpful.

With virtual hugs, purple Google features, and possible love triangles,

Google Form Crew

(G.F.C.)