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Soulin’s favorite outfits From her perspective When I looked down, I realized I was in dark blue gymnastics leggings and a slightly dark red sleeveless turtleneck that was a little loose like a tank top and no longer than where my leggings began. From Keith’s perspective Soulin wore a pale peach shirt under a white jeanjacket with thin gold chains hanging out of the pockets, blue leggings that complimented her legs as usual, and two silverstreamed french braids. I was the only person who knew the real reason why her hair had silver in it, and it wasn’t a happy story. From Keith’s perspective Soulin’s hair was frenchbraided, but at the end of her head, the hair was released into silverhinted ponytails. The two ponytails were like thick black rivers flowing down her back, with a few silver strands clumped together in each low ponytail, and two strands of wavy black hair in her face. From Soulin’s perspective “You couldn’t sleep” Keith said, head down as he closed my door and made his way over to me. “Neither could I,” Keith wasn’t in pajamas like I expected him to be. He was wearing militarystyle black pants, a loose black sleeveless, hooded, thick shirt, plus greynavyblue bandages covering his forearm and hands like really long fingerless gloves. I stood there, a confused expression on my face as he stepped to where I stood just out of the moonlight’s reach, aware that I was in leggings… and a wispy pink, silky glittering nightgown. Keith snickered, “Nice outfit,” I rewarded the comment by shoving him so hard he nearly toppled onto my desk. “Geez, I get it But I just came ‘cause I stole some of those diamondshaped things and I could feel what you were feeling all the way from downstairs,” Keith explained. “Everyone else is probably sleeping, or lying awake in bed,” I was going to ask him if he felt any other emotions, but I was glaring at him because “You stole my crystals” “Well, yeah,” Keith didn’t sound sorry as he said this. “So you stole them” I asked, hoping he would imagine the part I hadn’t said from me “But it was sort of dull, and it wasn’t as clear as last time,” He continued, “even though I ate all three of the ones I took,” I sighed, bored of my unsuccessful search for an apology, “That’s because it works best when eaten by the will of the hand of its maker,” “So you have to feed it to me to make it work” “It worked,” I corrected, refusing to confirm his interpretation. “but in a limited way that will wear off in minutes.” That was because he had eaten them without me willing him to. “Oh, ok then.” Keith sighed, “no more stealing crystal candy stuff because the effect is disappointing,” I smiled and grabbed a jar at the far corner of my desk, and sniffed the extremely delicate fruit which was still good thanks to the crystal skulls. “So you won’t have to steal my fruit either,” “You know that I like hollowers” “What was that” I asked, leaning in and pretending I couldn’t hear him, “You hate hollowers” The hollowers are aquamarine, clear crystallike, almondshaped fruits that taste like flavored seltzer and are completely hollow. Keith grabbed a small handful, using his free hand to eat them one by one. I snatched one from him and watched it crumble between my fingers into crisp, powdery sand, wishing that the shades would crumble that way. Instead, they were steady, brutal, aggressive, and definitely not backing down. Hollowers sparkle when you crush them into powdery sand, and it floats away if you don’t eat it fast enough. “So anyway,” Keith said. “I felt your desperation, and that resolve poking through I didn’t miss it. It was small, but it cut deep. So what’s making you so desperate” “I’m not desperate,” I said. “I’m just… never mind, it’s nothing.” “Just what Leaving” I flinched just barely when he said the last part, and he figured it out a millisecond afterward, his expression calmly changing. “When Tonight” I looked away, “I’m not leaving, but I did think you would, so I decided I’d try something. To stop you from being ruthless,” “You’re the ruth and reckless one,” Keith said. I hated that he was right, even if it was only a little true stepping into my closet and closing the door. “What are you doing” He asked. “Changing,” I called. “So you were going to leave” “No,” “Then what were you deciding to do” I paused, trying to piece my words together in the right way as I traded my nightgown for a black leather jacket and fingerless leather gloves, one of which had a gold chain on the back. I’d unclipped the other chains to make sure they didn’t make sounds, I wanted to unclip them all, but the last one was stuck and wouldn’t budge. “I found something, actually,” I said. “And it’s really that important” He asked. “Important enough for you to have that resolve as the foundation for your new desperation” “I’m not desperate, and rhymes We don’t have time to rhyme” “You rhymed And whatever you found has got to be good,” “I didn’t find anything,” “You want me to believe that” He asked as I stepped out of the closet after pulling my hair into a quick bun, some of the strands still swinging in my face as I made my way over. “A second ago you said you found something,” “I wasn’t finished yet,” I told him, putting my hand on his face and pushing it down and back. “I didn’t actually find anything, someone found me.” Keith rubs his face, “hey” I smile sugarsweet at him, to show exactly how sorry I am. “Ugh, Soulin, at least your hands are soft. Who” “I don’t really know,” I said, placing weapons in my pockets. “He’s kind of creepy, and no one really knows who he is because no one knows he exists. It’s weird, I know,” “Isn’t there anyone who knows” “I do,” Emery said, wearing his cobalt blue buttonup shirt which looked awesome on him, actually. “He’s a moonheart, I think. That’s what the clues say,” Now that Emery was here, and I wasn’t in my pink nightgown I could feel embarrassment crawling over me just imagining what it would’ve been like if I was wearing the nightgown. “Clues” Keith asked, and then I felt ashamed for not staying on track I should’ve asked that question. “Didn’t you see him at the top of the school” Emery asked. “Why were you at the top of the school” I asked. “That’s where you were, wasn’t it” Emery pushed. “Yes. But why were you there That area is offlimits right now,” “That’s why I went to try and figure out, you know, Keith’s way.” “I am so proud,” Keith said, smirking. “Taking the ‘FCC only’ sign and saying ‘challenge accepted’” “Well,” Emery said, “I didn’t think that. I just thought that this would be a moment that Keith would breakin. So I broke in. Just barely pulling it off. I got kicked out, but not before I figured something out,” “Well, good.” I decided, reminding Emery of what he’d been talking about. “That means you know who it is now,” “Yeah,” He agreed, and then looked down, “I don’t know everything, but I know it’s a, ...a moonheart,” “How do you know” Kassiani asked as she walked into the room adjacent to Bianca. The two of them work silky nightgowns like the one I’d had on, only theirs were mint green and orangered. “Yeah, how can some scratch marks and symbols tell you it’s a Moonheart” Bianca said, echoing Kassiani’s question. “Simple,” Matt said, following them in. “the scorch marks. They were made from fire. And the scorch marks were covered in remnants of a firediamond marble.” “They were covered in what” Keith gasped a smirk appearing where I would’ve expected something else. “I thought that only moon hearts could make fire from a firediamond marble” Bianca asked. “They’re the only ones that can, which means…” I stopped myself from saying anything, the guy I’d seen didn’t feel like a Moonheart to me. “Which means, that a Moonheart was there” Emery finished for me, a triumphant smile spreading across his face. It’s not actually a moonheart, it’s just Carter, and Soulin doesn’t know that she caused the fire. From Keith’s perspective I suck the tiny orange diamondshaped crystal not bigger than the top of my pinkie.