Proof

After dinner, Mallory got home to the condominium unit he shared with Eddie. He had been there for a long while, but he couldn't bring himself to sleep. He looked at the clock, and it was coming close to midnight. He also looked around and found no trace of his friend.

"What am I even doing? He often stays over at Gibson's place nowadays…" he muttered. "I shouldn't even be worried."

But a lingering feeling of irritation and unease was still eating him away, despite the explanation to himself.

He jumped out of his bed and paced back and forth on the carpet. Whenever he paused, he curled his toes much like how a cat would scratch objects to sharpen their claws. It made him feel slightly better.

He did this until he heard the sound of the door being unlocked. He went straight to it and opened it before the one outside could.

"Oh, Mallory! You're still awake?" asked Eddie, surprised by his friend's move.

"Yes, I couldn't sleep well."

"Is it the dream again?"

"Not this time," said Mallory. "It's just this unusual feeling I get from time to time."

"I see… That feeling's pretty spot-on now, huh?" said Eddie with a chuckle. "It's like you knew I was coming."

"Shut up."

Eddie couldn't help but be amused by his friend, who had gone to start making tea for both of them. It was catmint, their favorite, which Mallory kept a stock of in the office for Caitlyn to make from time to time. While waiting, he sat on one of the chairs in the dining area.

After a few minutes, the tea was done. Mallory set the cups on the small table and served the infusion from the pot.

"Thanks!" said Eddie.

"You're welcome," replied Mallory, not letting his pleasant side become too obvious in his voice. However, he was rather bad at hiding such details, and people teased him for his body language's honesty at times.

He set down the pot on the empty space on the table, sat down in front of Eddie, and proceeded to drink his tea. Most people would consider it weak, but it was more than enough for him. It was the same case with Eddie.

"So, why are you here now?" asked Mallory.

"This is my condo too, you know," answered Eddie with a smile.

"Tch, but you rarely come here ever since Gibson left Spiritbooks in my care. You've been assisting him with those government projects almost non-stop. It's a wonder you're not Vice-Mayor at all."

Eddie laughed a bit, amused by Mallory's liberal use of their superior's surname. "I just wanted to see how you are."

"You already saw me earlier, and we already saw each other the other day," said Mallory. "Is my state not obvious?"

"Now I wonder, do you actually want to see me, or do you not want to see me?" Eddie's tone was teasing at this point.

Mallory sighed. "You're the one who came back here after a long time in the first place."

"All right, I'll be honest," said Eddie with the usual smile that came as almost too easy, in a cheesy tone that made his friend doubt his actual truthfulness. "I just wanted to sleep here again for a bit. Frank's place is comfortable, yes, but this place feels much more like home. And I do miss it."

"Whatever," Mallory said, expressing some of that doubt. "You can use the bed. That's your favorite spot, anyway."

"Thanks!"

They had a bit more tea, and Eddie soon went to sleep, drowsy, partly from staying up late, and partly from the infusion. Mallory, on the other hand, had opened his laptop and reviewed a few pages of manuscripts to spend his time until he felt sleepy as well.

Or rather, until he was sure that Eddie was actually asleep.

As soon as his friend was already happily snoring, he went up to his slumbering figure. He gave him a once-over and then lifted a part of his clothing that covered his otherwise-exposed midsection.

I knew it, he thought to himself.

His friend had new marks on his skin, as a result of being hit too hard by either a whip or a leather belt. He carefully pulled the clothing back down and went back to his laptop, silently fuming in anger. He didn't make a sound himself, but his fingers hit the keys heavily as he tried to continue his work.

That person… He's going to pay soon. He's going to pay hard.

----------

The next day, Ryne, Nini, Prauza, and Fonmi went out to the first area on the map to put their plan into action. It was one of the parks, where a small stray cat colony lived near one of the trash bins, and a few solitary ones roamed around.

As the others went to do what they've suggested, Ryne went to look for a quiet spot to focus on. He usually just saw spirits and the like without much thought, but he decided that he needed to be able to use his ability consciously.

He had heard of humans doing it through a process called meditation and wanted to try and see if it would work to his benefit.

He soon found a bench that was in a relatively peaceful part of the park and sat there. He closed his eyes, concentrating on what he wanted to see. In this case, it was the spirits of fallen felines.

He remembered the time when he first saw them when he was younger. Back then, he was overwhelmed with the energy that they emitted, which was probably how he came to first realize his human form.

This time, however, he had a greater awareness of what was happening, as well as what he wanted to happen.

When he opened his eyes, the normally faint traces of feline specters had become more solid in his vision. He was surprised, but not scared anymore. In fact, he felt a calmness he didn't realize that he had before.

As he followed a few of them with his eyes, one of them came up to him and said, "Help… please…"

"H-how can I help you?" He whispered, a little unsure as to what he can do for the ghost.

The cat spirit expressed slight surprise. "You can… talk…? Please… tell my family… Can't… go home… sorry…"

Ryne put his hand on his chest and tried to hold back his tears from feeling the ghost's sadness.

"All right… But could you… lead me to your body first? I need to know… how you died," he struggled to say.

The spirit disappeared from in front of him and appeared again nearby, its eyes telling him to follow. He did until the ghost stopped under one of the trees that was hidden from the view of most people.

"Here…" it said, pointing slightly to the roots.

He noticed that the spot had been previously dug up and covered with soil, as well as a few rocks. He started to dig it up again, noticing on the way that it was rather deep. After a few minutes, he had found the body.

It had one deep stab wound on it, matching what Nini had said she'd seen on Theema. It had a collar as well, with the name Ginger on it.

"Oh no, this is one of the pets…" he thought.

"Please… tell my family… sorry…" Ginger said, still emanating this great feeling of regret.

"Yes… I will. But could you tell me something… about who or what killed you, first?" asked Ryne, who was slowly getting used to the waves of emotion that came from the spirit.

"Taken by… a human… big cloth… sharp rock…"

Sharp rock? A dagger, maybe? I wonder why it's that kind of weapon, though? asked Ryne to himself.

Not wanting to keep the spirit waiting, he went on to ask, "So… can you tell me where you lived? Anything that you remember, like your house or surroundings."

Ginger described her home's area the best she could. Figuring out from the landmarks on the map, it was somewhat far from the place where she was buried.

"I see," Ryne told Ginger. "I'll make sure to tell them. Don't worry."

"Thank you…" said Ginger as she gradually faded away.

Ryne was getting the idea that it was all deliberate, but he wanted to see a few more pieces of evidence to be sure. He went to look for another ghost to ask…