Nigredo could hear the retort before the response. If anything was to be said of that one, it was that he was quite efficient in conveying doubts. "Why bother?" he asked. "Everyone is the same."

They were. She probably was herself, and the chance was high Senna did not understand the consequences of those words. She, however, had not hesitated. More importantly, she had stood by her statements. So far, at any rate.

A strained silence transpired for a single minute, before the child nodded. Without further prompting, he holstered his gun, speaking quietly in the process. "I'll explain everything he said," began Nigredo, "in the morning. But please--" He inhaled, the breath taken in with difficulty. "--keep this to yourself."