It had been a few good days after the incident at Alleviate, many of the residents were afraid of what had transpired. An explosion injured a ton of people including students and destroyed a ton of property.
On the other hand, the Province have rebuilt the Branding Glove which caused everyone a lot of worry. Plus, The Bane had made themselves known and what his intentions are. His goal is to be like the person Belos was, which was a zealot.
Azura was lying on her bed still thinking about what happened at Alleviate. This was meant to be her time off and instead, she got hit by an attack. The only injuries she managed to sustain were a few scratched from the glass and debris.
Mildred had a ringing in her ear, Evelyn was disturbed by the events, Neil was indifferent, Rentley was recovering in the Healing Ward while Hecate got off easy.
She couldn't believe it had happened. The suddenness, the screams, the fear, the panic and terror of the events were still plastered in her mind.
Then, Manny entered the bedroom and smiled. "Hey, sis."
Azura groaned. "Manny…You're supposed to knock."
"Sorry, your door was open so I saw it as an invitation." Manny said.
"Oh."
"You okay?" Manny asked.
"I….I…I don't know, Manny." Azura replied. "I'm just afraid right now. There's a lot going on. I can't get my Palisman to come alive, I don't know what I want in my future, the Province, Rentley getting hurt and Hecate and her pretty face! There's too much going on that I feel like I'm forgetting something important!"
Manny stared at Azura with sadness and exhaled. "I'm sorry this is going on in your life. Hey, I hope that doesn't put you off with spending time with me, tomorrow."
Azura sat up on her bed and gave a warm smile for her little brother. "That would be lovely. Thanks, Hermano."
"You're welcome." Manny left his sister's room so she could be alone with her thoughts.
After Manny left, Luz entered the bedroom with an enthusiastic smile on her face. "Oooooooohhhhhhh, I'm excited, Mija."
Azura looked confused by her mother's excitement. Shouldn't she be worried over recent events instead of excited?
"Mami, aren't you afraid?" Azura asked.
Luz laughed. "About what?"
"Ya know, about what happened at Alleviate." Azura replied. "The explosion! Rentley being hospitalised! And the Province rebuilding a perfect replica of the Branding Glove! How are you not afraid?"
Luz wiped what appeared to be sweat from her forehead. "Me? Afraid?! Azura, there's nothing to be afraid of. Those are just a bunch of crazy fanatics who are going to get arrested. They only strive to exploit fear so people will be too weak to refuse their offer to join their little cult. And fortunately, we are not going to join that cult. Trust Grandma Eda and the rest on the council, okay?"
Azura, was reluctant due to how unpredictable the Province were but she decided to just lie. "Yeah….Sure….Sure…..Yeah….Sure….By the way, why are you excited for tomorrow?"
"Come on Azura don't kid around with me like that." Luz playfully shoved her daughter's elbow. "It's Manny's birthday!"
Azura froze in horror with realisation. "Oooooh, so that's what I forgot about."