As Lucinda kept walking down the alley, the sound of traffic and people talking or walking slowly faded away. Soon, the only thing she could hear were the sounds of her heels clicking or the occasional breeze blowing something away. Usually, she loathed the silence. And right now, it was tempting to talk to herself just so it wouldn't be too quiet. But now, while she searched for her crystallized blood, she had to endure it. It was just a small drop of blood, perhaps barely enough to kill a rat. If she would lose focus, she might lose its trace.

Her brows furrowed as she lowered her head. She shouldn't have let him go, or at least made sure she was behind him before doing that. But even then, how did he run so fast and far without anyone noticing? How did he manage to do so in such a short amount of time?

Whatever the answers were, she would ask him once she found him.

She lifted her head from the ground. It was a good thing this alley didn't lead to any more streets or highways. At least she didn't have to worry about him getting run over or getting kidnapped by a white van. In fact, if she kept following this, it led to... ah, there it was.

Once she stepped out, she placed a hand on her waist and took a deep breath. Now that she was by the bay, the smell of the ocean was stronger. The salty scent soothed her nerves, even a little bit, letting her relax her shoulders.

If this was a normal situation, she would have kept walking until she was leaning on the railings and listening to the sound of the waves. Unfortunately, not only was it not a normal situation, Greyson wouldn't be here to enjoy it as well. So for now, she turned to her right.

Her blood's pull was getting stronger. Which meant he was closer.

Her ears twitched as she listened to her surroundings. The gentle waves of the ocean, birds chirping from the sky and slowly flying to the ground, the people around her talking with one another—it was definitely noisier than the alley. And since Greyson was closer, she didn't have to worry about the noise being louder.

Just as she was about to take another turn, the sound of soft sobs made her ears perk up and stop in her tracks. She didn't need to listen a second time to know it was Greyson crying. Apart from her blood's pull being closer, she could recognize his voice anywhere.

She clenched her hands into fists. The rock inside her chest became heavier.

She kept walking until she reached a small food stand, which was closed for the morning. Behind the food stand, Greyson sat next to a garbage bin. His knees were close to his chest, and his pale brown hood covered his black and white hair.

He lifted his head and faced the ocean. The corners of his eyes had turned red as tears continued falling down his eyes, and it seemed like snot had fallen down his nose. He wiped his face with his sleeve before slumping his back on the wall.

A sigh left her lips. "Chuchu?"

Greyson jumped up. When his gold and silver eyes met hers, they widened. He continued wiping his tears with his jacket's sleeve as he sniffed his nose. "M- Mima."

"Can I sit down next to you?"

He paused for a second, but still nodded.

With a nod of her own, she slid down next to him until she was sitting on the warm pavement. She grabbed a handkerchief from her pocket and placed it in front of his face. "Sinisipon ka, o. Blow your nose here before it makes a bigger mess."

He blew his nose in her handkerchief. It was a tiny blow, but it sounded like it was enough to clear his nose. She folded the handkerchief again to wipe his cheeks and his chin before placing it back in her coat's pocket.

"Take off your jacket," she said. "It's dirty now."

Hisears flopped down, but he slowly took it off and passed it to her.

"If your jacket ever gets dirty"—she wrapped the sleeves around his waist—"take it off and tie it like this. That way, you don't have to wear a dirty jacket anymore and you won't lose it. Okay?"

"Okay."

Lucinda hummed. She propped one knee up and let her arm rest there. Her other arm reached towards him, placing it on his shoulder and pulling him closer to her. He sniffed his nose, but he moved towards her and rested his head on her side.

"Did you open your eyes?" she asked.

His ears flopped down, and it seemed like she flinched. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright." She leaned towards him and pressed a kiss to his temple. "I guess I can't really say not to do it next time since you've already seen it. But next time, don't run away, alright? I know you were scared, but you shouldn't have left my side. You could have gotten hurt."

If it was possible, his ears flattened even more as he looked away. He didn't say a word, but he vigorously shook his head. "I- I wasn't scared."

She sighed again. Somehow, it turned into a chuckle. "You know, Chuchu, whenever you lie, your nose turns red."

His pointy ears perked up as his eyes widened. He placed a hand over his nose, and he poked his tongue out. "I- I wasn't scared. It didn't look scary."

"It's alright if you feel scared." She brushed the curls of his hair between her fingers. "You know, when I killed someone for the first time, I was also scared."

"You were?"

No, she wasn't. At least, she didn't remember if she was or not. If she felt something back then, it was lost in her mind now. Her first kill felt so distant and long ago, and everything after that all blurred together. It was difficult to tell who was who, when was when, or how she killed each of them.

Still, she nodded. "There are times I still feel scared, too. In fact, I was scared earlier because I thought you must be so lost and scared as well, and I couldn't be there."

He turned his head to her again, but his eyes were facing down. "I- I guess it was a little scary. Everything smelled bad, and I wanted to know what it was. But when- when I opened my eyes, it was..."

Tears welled in his eyes once again as his lips quivered. When he started crying, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in for a hug. His arms reached for her, and his hands gripped her coat. He buried his face in her chest, but that didn't stop his sobs from growing louder and hiccups turning into coughs.

"Shh, shh." Lucinda pressed a kiss on his forehead as her own hug tightened. "It's okay, mahal. I'm here."

Greyson coughed as he parted from her. He placed a hand on his stomach, and another on his mouth. Before he could throw up on the floor, Lucinda lifted him from the ground and carried him to the bay's railings. As expected, he threw up. She patted his back as he continued retching, then threw up for a second time.

"Oh, Chuchu." She let him sit on the pavement once again and knelt down, wiping the vomit and tears on his face. The rock in her chest not only felt heavier, but it was dragging her down and rooting her in her spot. It was a surprise that she could still move. "How do you feel?"

He wiped his nose and eyes, calming himself from crying. "M- Mima, if dead bodies look so scary... why do you kill people?"

A cold chill traveled down Lucinda's spine, making the hairs on her arm and back stand straight. Her brows furrowed down, and she looked away. Greyson kept sniffing his nose, but he didn't say another word. When she looked at him again, he was just staring at her, blinking and waiting for an answer.

She always knew this question would come eventually, but she didn't think it would be so soon.

"It's... complicated." She placed a hand on the white side of his hair and brushed his locks. "There are bad people out there that kill innocent people because they think it's fun. There are people who don't mean to kill people, but they're too ashamed to face the consequences and hide. And sometimes, there are people like me and your uncle that have to kill people because they might hurt other people. There are different reasons for each person."

"But you're not a bad person, right?"

"It's not just that." She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close, pressing a kiss on his lips, then his forehead. "Don't worry, you'll understand when you're older."

"But I wanna understand now."

"I know you do." She scooped up, scooping him up as well. "You know what, I'll treat you to something. Do you want anything when we get back?"

His fingers held her coat as she nodded. "Can I get cake?"

"No." She giggled, making his ears flop. "You broke your promise, so you're not getting any cake.

"How about street food, then?"

"Alright, we can get street food." She pressed another kiss on his forehead, which he returned by kissing her cheek.

As he sighed, he closed his eyes and rested his head on her shoulder. Fortunately, he seemed to have calmed down. His breaths were deep, but they were evenly paced. He looked like he might fall asleep soon.

She brushed her thumb on his cheek. Maybe she should let him sleep for now.

She closed her eyes and headed back to the area. The other ambulance had already left, fortunately, And Tayla and the other cop had already picked up the other remaining corpses. The only thing that remained were the traces of blood, blending in the road.

Tayla was the first to notice her. She opened her mouth, but her gaze immediately shifted to Greyson. "Cried himself to sleep, huh?"

"I'm glad he's sleeping." SHe tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear. "It means he won't have to continue seeing this. I apologize for the delay, but he still is a child. It's only normal that this would be his reaction."

"I completely understand." A flash of pity appeared in Taya's eyes. When she shook her head, it disappeared. She turned around, grabbing a plastic container from the other cop, before passing it to Lucinda. "I'll leave the victim's bag to you, then. I'm gonna guess we'll have to wait longer for answers, but I understand that. In fact, I'd be more surprised if an eight year old single handedly solves this case. Do you need a ride back to the DUO?"

"I appreciate that. Thank you."

She nodded. Just as Tayla turned around to head to her car, another cold chill traveled down her spine. Judging from Tayla suddenly freezing before she continued walking, she sensed it as well. Her brows furrowed, but she didn't say a word. Instead, she just opened one of the doors to the passenger's seat with her head low.

Lucinda turned around. Her eyes scanned the area from left to right, examining each tree, building, or even the Baywalk in front of her. Unsurprisingly, she didn't find anything. Still, her grip on Greyson tightened when she turned around and entered Tayla's car.

Someone was keeping an eye on them. She wasn't sure how long they had been doing it, but they must have been for a while and she just noticed it now.

"I'll have someone survey the area," Tayla said as she started the car. "They might be connected to this."

"Do you have an idea on who it could be?"

She shook her head. "I'd say it's one of the Furies, but not every issue in the city is from the Underworld's top members. But you'll never know, especially with Alecto and Nyx."

Lucinda lowered her head and hummed. Now that she thought about it, the SCD didn't have a lot of info about the Underworld's Furies for almost a decade or two now. It was unsurprising, especially since those three were only second to Zeus. But at the same time, they knew more info about Zeus than her three executives. Apart from their code names being Charon, Nyx, and Alecto, there wasn't a single info about them.

She tapped her finger on the leather seat. Even if Tayla would deny it, the Underworld was definitely connected here.

The question was how and why.

Word count: 2128
Total: 11845

Have I told you all how much I love Greyson. The tiny bby. The widdle Chuchu. The ball of floof. My son T^T I love him so much :snad: He's my baby ;-;