I lean back in my chair, trying to make myself as comfortable as possible. With a sigh, Nia begins to talk.
"So... As I said, I am what's known as a Blade. A living weapon, born from a crystal and bonded to a human of strong will. I belonged to a wealthy lord. All lords have a Blade, it's a status symbol. He tried to turn me into his perfect daughter, forcing me to learn how to be a right proper lady. Table manners, what to say, all that useless shite." Maki scoffs. "Clearly didn't stick." Nia looks at her, seemingly offended at the interruption. "He had a daughter, fragile little thing that one. I spent a lot of time at her bedside. She was suffering from a severe illness and father was desperately looking for a solution. He ended up spending more and more of his fortune to get something to work."
"In due time, we came to lose our house and became drifters. Not long after, my sis ended up succumbing to her fate." Nia looks at the window, wistfully. "Then... something happened. Something, I never wish to relive." She looks at the floor and for the first time, Nia seems... vulnerable. Her eyes are vacant and unfocused. She sits there, staring at nothing, trying to gather the courage to continue. Her next words are barely audible as she speaks them. "She... became a part of me..." Nia sounds like she's on the verge of tears. She pulls her knees up to her face and just sits there. A quiet sobbing can be heard from her. Maki and I look at each other, a wordless understanding between us as we look back to Nia. We just sit and wait, giving her the space to cry and vent all the emotions she had been suppressing.

Seeing her cry like this, I feel very awkward just sitting there, doing nothing. I try to think of a way to help. Then it hits me. I carefully get up. "Maki, can you keep an eye on her? I'll be back in a moment." She gives me a questioning look, her eyes darting between me and Nia. Then she slowly nods a wordless agreement. After leaving the room, I head to my own. "This is the least I can do for her." About a minute later, I re-enter the room and place something next to Nia's shuddering form. As her sobs calm a little, Nia uncurls and relaxes a bit. She looks at the two of us, her eyes red from her tears. She notices the object placed next to her, a glass of water and picks it up. With another little sob, she takes a sip of the water. "Thanks." She whispers, her voice small and fragile. After finishing the glass, she sighs heavily. "Dad died not long after her. I bonded with his Blade, a beast by the name of Dromarch, and left. We ended up wandering around. We had no real purpose, nothing but each other. We made living as bounty hunters. However... there were some people who... found out about me. Called me all sorts of names. Cannibal, Flesh Eater, monster... that sorta thing. They captured me, threw me into a dungeon, making sure I was suffering for being an abomination. Until I was rescued, by someone..." She looks away for a moment. "I... I fell in with a bad crowd. They did some terrible things. Please don't ask. But then, one day... One day, someone showed up. Someone, who changed my life forever. Rex... He helped me out, he chose to accept me for who I am. Him... and the others too. And together, we made things right. Took bloody forever, but we got there in the end." Nia's signature smirk slowly returns to her face as she remembers her friends back home.

I simply sit there, completely overwhelmed by Nia's life story. A thousand questions fly through my mind, each searching for an answer. As I try to process everything I just heard, Maki speaks up. "Let me get this straight. You were a bounty hunter? Like... hunting people down for money? Because someone told you to?" Nia looks up at Maki. "Well... I'm not proud of it. But, in the end, I did what I needed to get by. It was the only way to keep myself safe." Maki look wistfully at the girl before her as she starts fiddling with the large white ribbon on her chest. "You know... I get that. Doing something out of necessity. Story of my life really. The group I work for... they recruit kids from an orphanage. Train them to be killers. Most don't make it. I chose this path so that my best friend would be spared the torture. I wanted a better future for her and all those other kids. And if putting my life on the line is the price for that future, then so be it. If it weren't for me, someone else would have suffered."

Nia stands up and sits down on the bed next to Maki. "Listen, you had a point there. I'm sorry you had to go through all that. I was wrong to make assumptions. I guess you just remind me a lot of myself. So, I take back whatever I said." Nia puts her hand on Maki's shoulder. "I hope we can still be friends." "Would be kinda hard to live in the same house otherwise, wouldn't it?" Maki replies, with a sigh and a small smile. She slowly reaches out a hand towards Nia. They shake hands, seemingly finding some common ground. "Don't expect me to get all buddy buddy with you, though."
Nia relaxes her posture. "Of course, but still, I hope you can at least trust us and be more open about problems." Maki is silent for a little bit, thinking something over. "I'll try." She says simply. "This stays between us. At least for now. I'll tell the others later." "Sure. Sounds like a plan." I say, slowly getting up and looking at the two girls before me. "Just, let me know when there is a problem and I'll do my best to help you." With that, I turn back to the door and make to leave. "Hey Lucas." I look back as Maki speaks up. "Thank you." I smile broadly at her. "No problem. I'll always be there for you. Both of you."

As I return to my room, the heavy feeling in my stomach has abated somewhat. The room seems brighter somehow and I feel like everything will be alright. I sit back down at my desk and get back to painting my figurines. I get into a comfortable groove, between brushing, looking at reference material and listening to a podcast. I completely lose myself in the activity.
As I squint hard, trying to get some details down very precisely, my concentration is suddenly broken. My podcast has stopped. I look up and see Maki standing there, hand on the keyboard as looks at me. "Dinner is ready, you up for it?" I blink a few times at her, before realizing what she just said. "Oh wow, is it that time already? I'll be down in a few." I give her a thumbs up and I start cleaning up my workspace. "Hey Lucas," I hear a voice from behind me. I look over and meet Maki's gaze. Something seems to have changed in her eyes. "thank you." It is all she says, but those two simple words convey a flood of emotions. Foremost among them, gratitude and happiness. She even smiles a little. "Of course." I simply respond. With an unspoken conversation between us, she goes back downstairs as I start cleaning up. While washing my brushes, my hands and my face, I realize how hungry I actually am. I look at myself in the mirror. "Despite everything, you're still you." I say to my own reflection. My whole face looks tired. My eyes somewhat sunken and bags starting to form under them. I start brushing my unkempt hair. "I should at least look presentable." At that moment, I look down and notice what I'm wearing. I quickly finish up and head over to my closet, grab a t-shirt and some pants, then quickly change out of my pyjamas. With that taken care of, I leave the room and head downstairs.