Amanises tapped the fountain pen to her temple, this has become quite a habit ever since she transmigrated into this world.
"This verse does not sound right..." She whispered under her breath while crossing over a line.
Taking inspiration from the poems stolen by Leonard, Amanises worked hard on making her own.
This was far harder than she thought.
How do those damned poets do this for fuck's sake!
She was in slight distress.
Goddammit!
Maybe more than slight.
But nonetheless, there was some progress.
Watch, as everything turns to dust;
Whispers of the unknown shroud my mind;
I alone, stand on the verge of dusk,
Waiting for the veil of evernight.
She read it a couple of times.
Eh. Could be better.
Short ones are easier to write, but just making verses, stitching them together like a Frankenstein and citing them during midnight isn't going to count as acting.
Unfortunately, I was never a poet...
She lifted herself up from the study desk, heading to the window.
Someone better hand me a skull.
She opened it, letting the cold night air brush through her silky hair, lifting it up a little, fluttering in the wind.
She took a deep breath, fixed her gaze on the crimson dot that hung in the endless sky, and cited.
Watch, as everything turns to dust;
Whispers of the unknown shroud my mind;
I alone, stand on the verge of dusk,
Waiting for the veil of evernight.
After she was done, Amanises took another deep breath and analyzed the poem in a small voice, not loud so as to not disturb Daly, who was sleeping in the next room.
"The poem starts with death, it's mostly about watching as everything dear falls into the embrace of finality, unable to do anything. Then, madness takes over, enveloping the saddened mind.
"The final two verses speak about loneliness, waiting for life to pass and join their kin in the afterlife."
That analysis should do just fine. She thought, as the window closed.
"In the end the only tranquility can be truly received by the hours of darkness, letting the whispers die out."
As Amanises finished her own analysis, she suddenly frowned.
No—This isn't going to cut it.
A poet doesn't analyze, they simply let others do that work for them!
She was still new to this poetry stuff, and poets in her era were as scarce as tumbleweed outside of the desert and movies.
She went back to her desk, clutching the fountain pen again.
Maybe the poet part wasn't grasped yet, but Midnight sure was!
The key to Midnight Poet is to understand why the night should be revered, why tranquility can truly be welcomed under the moonlight and why the soul feels alone...
She grasped the acting principle quite fast, of course the insight received from Dunn, Leonard and her Captain did wonders, but Amanises read felt like this was an achievement of her own.
Anyways, I need to get back into composing, I don't need to make everything from scratch. No one is truly original!
Basically, digesting this potion needed some knowledge in the domain of literature, and some amount of brainpower too.
Even if most of my poems are made up from stolen stanzas that I learned during my time on Earth, it doesn't matter.
My teacher always told me that this is just 'creative inspiration'! In other words, plagiarism is okay!
She clutched the pen in her hand and then started to write.
Scribbles, scribbles and cuts across the papers, countless scrapped verses and concepts filled each page, one by one.
Her poetic grace filled with stolen inspiration continued to word until dawn made itself known by drawing a thin line of sunlight across her desk, through the nearly closed blackout curtains.
When the sounds of birds chirping and idle chatter resonated in her eardrums did she finally settle the fountain black pen back in its designated place careful to not knock it over.
She ripped apart the pages that didn't fit her tastes and threw them in the nearby trash can, then she stood up and walked towards the kitchen.
Rumble! Rumblleeee! Her stomach was nearly screaming for fulfillment.
She patted it down and opened two cupboards, taking out a tea cup, tea packet and a kettle.
Then, the woman turned to the tin iceboxes, removing some eggs, cheese and mutton.
A rich breakfast for today! She rubbed her palms while carrying the items to the stove, in her irises was nothing but gluttony.
Before she could turn on the stove however, a hand pressed itself over her own, stopping the woman from doing any motion.
"No, no, no. I can't let you burn anything else!"
Eh? Burn? What did I burn? What are you talking about? Amanises looked at Daly with frown and confusion.
Daly snatched the mutton, eggs and cheese away from her hands and pushed the woman away with her hip. "Let me do this, you can—" She threw a glance around, landing on the kettle. "Make tea. That shouldn't be too hard."
"Huh? O-okay." Amanises was overall confused but didn't press on, whatever Daly wanted to do wasn't her concern.
Well, I didn't like cooking that much anyways. The Midnight Poet nearly let out a 'hmph' but felt like that would be far too childish so she just let it go.
After everything was done, both women took their designated seats at the table, munching on their breakfast, sipping their tea and engaging in idle chatter.
"Mm! By the way, you should head to the Spirit Domain with me soon." Daly caught her attention.
"That early? Isn't evening a much better time? That's when everyone is free..."
"I mean, that's true. But, we received some Intel from that Spectator of the Psychology Alchemists, Dexter Guderian. Apparently something to do with his patient."
"Hood Eugen? Did something happen to him?"
"Unsure."
Amanises nodded while taking a bite. Meanwhile, Daly continued to talk. "Since my Spirit Medium potion has been long digested, I thought of asking for an advancement."
"Why didn't you ask before? Surely not because you're lazy, right?"
"Of course not! How could I, Daly Simone, ever be lazy?" She put a hand up to her chest in a dramatic gesture then fluttered it around.
"Anyways, I just didn't feel like it before. But thinking now, maybe I should've. My paranoia is getting worse..."
"Send the application today, mine didn't even sit through for a day before it got accepted. I'm sure it won't take long."
"Well for your case, you're just a newbie. A lower sequence will always have a better time advancing than a higher one. Not to mention the possibility of missing ingredients."
"I get it, I get it. Still, write it today. Any later and you'll regret it more."
"Okay." She finished her tea in one last gulp, before picking up her plate and carrying it to the sink. Your turn today."
Amanises had a stiff smile, but didn't say anything.
***
The BlackThorn Spirit Domain of Tingen.
A number of Arcanists gathered together in the Captain's office, waiting for instructions.
Dunn Smith held his pipe close to his nose, then his gaze switched to Kenley.
The young Seer took that as a note and started talking. "I met up with Dexter Guderian today at the shooting club, he said that Hood Eugen has lost control completely."
"Completely? Shouldn't he be making a ruckus now?" Asked Seeka, who still held a pen and a notebook in her hand.
She's looking for novel inspiration right now? Maybe I should do that too for my poems... Amanises became lost in thought.
Kenley shook his head. "The abilities of a psychiatrist allow them to maintain a semblance of consciousness even after losing control, he is probably still hanging onto that thread."
He looked at his feet then added. "I'm not sure how long that would last, but for the sake of the other patients and Dexter himself, let's take action as soon as possible."
Dunn nodded and then gave his insight. "We cannot act during daytime, let's move tonight."
"Who will be deployed?" Inquired Daly.
"Me, Kenley and someone else." He then scanned the room looking for a participant.
From the still gazes of the other members, Amanises raised her hand. Dunn was just about to nod, when she opened her mouth. "Can I sit this one out?"
Even though the woman just advanced, her condition still wasn't that good, not to mention her obvious memory gaps.
This could be troublesome.
Though slightly dejected, Dunn nodded in understanding and then fixed his gaze on Seeka. The poor author couldn't even refuse, her shoulders slinched while the notebook nearly kissed the floor.
"Well then, it's set. See you all here by midnight."
"Understood." Replied Kenley and Seeka in unison, before heading out.
Amanises and Daly also wanted to head out, but were both stopped by Dunn's mellow voice.
"Hold on for a second. You two, I have another mission for the two of you."
As expected, Dunn Smith wouldn't have just called that many members here for nothing.
"There's something else I want the two of you to investigate today."
Daly smiled brightly, while Amanises remained passive.
"There's been another death today. Come here. Take a look at this file."
Daly took it first as she was closest to him, ran through the document with one eye then handed it for Amanises to observe.
'Case handed by Inspector Tolle, regarding the sudden death of a Member of Parliament, John Maynard. Last seen with a mistress. The witness claimed that he passed out mid act.'
Reading the document, Amanises only had one thought. What a way to die!
Since her mood wasn't in its best condition, her sense of humor also suffered greatly. Had Dunn Smith not been here she might've cracked a tasteless joke out loud.
Amanises opted to remain silent, prompting Daly to do all the questioning.
"So what do we do? Is his corpse still present?"
"It is indeed still present at the place. I recommend you go and take a look right now and see for yourself."
Daly Simone looked back towards the person whose hand was still on the door.
Amanises silently agreed and left with her friend, leaving Dunn alone in his office, contemplating everything.
***
Not even one hour later, the women found themselves in front of a well-off looking house.
Amanises took out the police inspector badge from her pocket and entered the house, being greeted by the servants.
The inspector badges had been handed out by Dunn after calling them back a few seconds after they left.
The reason why he could do that and not be eaten out by his superiors was because Daly was also a trusted member to them.
Turns out she was known as an actual Spirit Medium by the officials for a long time, and she had been allowed to work with them on occasion.
Therefore, she wasn't even a suspect in these kinds of matters.
As for Amansies, she was merely seen as her assistant.
"Sir Maynard's corpse is on the second floor to the right." The headmaid said briefly."
Without waiting for directions, Daly and Amanises climbed up the stairs onto the second floor, looking around the place in the meantime.
The room on the second floor was mostly empty, devoid of any meaningless decoration.
In the middle, on a plain bed laid a corpse shrouded in white cloth.
Daly removed the cloth in a simple move, letting them see the deceased man.
Suddenly, the room was filled with a pungent smell. Amanises nearly gagged while Daly remained unaffected.
Actually, she might even seem to enjoy it.
The corpse looks nearly untouched, could this really be caused by a heart attack as the mistress claimed?
Daly started analyzing it attentively, touching countless spots on the body with her fingertips and checking the condition.
Then, she stopped all movement as her eyes turned ethereal.
Amanises knew that this was the process of communicating with the deceased's spirit. The best way to find out how one died was to ask them, of course!
A few minutes passed, as Amanises took a seat on a nearby chair, from boredom of waiting, her foot started bobbing up and down restlessly.
She simply stared at the floor for a while, when from the corner of her eye, she noticed slight movement.
Amanises stood up thinking Daly was done, when all of a sudden, the corpse plunged at her, nearly knocking the air out of her chest.
What the fuck?!
Amanises didn't have time to move, the dead man already grabbed her coat and started tugging forward, hands grabbing her head.
Amanises was now face to face with the soulless gaze, instead of freezing over, she headbutted the corpse right in the nose! Causing it to stagger back.
Without waiting for it to regain its bearings, she kicked it with full force in the stomach, making the already wavy corpse fall back on the bed.
Meanwhile, Daly regained her focus, she moved in experienced motions, grabbing the white cloth, draping it over the corpse' neck and holding it over from the side.
Amanises took the cue, grabbed the other side and pushed with all her strength, strangling the deceased with almost no effort on the bed.
One second, two seconds... ten seconds passed until complete, utter stillness.
Seeing that the corpse didn't move another inch, she let out a breath of relief while letting go of the cloth.
Daly did the same, but this time she frowned.
"Didn't I say to not approach corpses with that whistle?"
"You said cemeteries."
"Same thing!"
She patted down the slightly inflated stomach of the corpse.
"Well anyways, this should be a lesson for you." Turning back to the corpse she continued. "This guy actually said he died of a heart attack, so there's no need to investigate further. Let's make our way out."
"Sure…" She said between light panting.
Walking back down the wooden stairs, Amanises caught wind of a conversation. Only it wasn't a conversation, but yelling instead.
"You homewrecker! How could you ruin my marriage then kill my husband!"
What? The Poet held a stiff gaze.
She observed as the woman of the house Maynard yelled vigorously at another beautiful woman who covered behind a maid's back.
"I haven't done anything I swear! Look, look, ask them!" She pointed towards the two 'investigators'.
Daly simply shook her head. "She's right. Maynard died of a heart attack. Nothing out of the ordinary."
"No! No, I refuse! This witch must've done something for sure!" She once again pointed towards the mistress.
"This bitch is everything but innocent!" She continued to yell in distress.
Amanises shot her gaze back at Daly, who simply signaled for the two to make their way out, continuing to mind their own business.
Before reaching the main gates, the two were stopped when the wife came back running in broken heels.
"Stop! Stop right there!"
"Ah sweet! Maybe we're going to be the bitches next!" Amanises didn't hold her remark this time, earning a rigid smile from her friend.
Luckily, the widow didn't hear that at all, as she was too preoccupied catching back her lost breaths.
"The two of you, I'd like to hire you." She said after a few seconds.
"I'm sorry, you have to speak with our superiors first. We can't act on our own." Responded Amanises, familiar with the code.
"No, no! Don't tell anybody else! Investigate that witch's house! I'm sure you'll find something! But do it before she notices otherwise there won't be any evidence left!"
Amanises opened her mouth to repeat her previous statement, when the widow cut her off again. "A hundred pounds, a hundred pounds I'll pay!"
Her remark died on her lips, as they curled into a strange smile.
Ehehehehe! That's business! Pure greed flashed in her eyes.
There's nothing wrong with making a quick penny!
"Alright. Sure." Her eagerness caught Daly off guard.
"Are you sure you want to do this? I'm not going with you, you know?"
"Yes, yes I do. But this is just an investigation. Surely, if the woman says that she's innocent, I won't find anything." She put her hands up. "I'll just go in, check some stuff and then head out. Easy as that!"
But in her mind—
One hundred poundsss. So much food!
At the thought of expensive delicacies, her heart palpitated.
Daly simply shook her head. "Don't you have savings? Why do you need so much money?"
"There's never enough money! You should know that best!"
Daly couldn't retort, for she too was on the hunt for them.
"Alright, alright. You do you."
Amanises took the widow's hand and shook it eagerly. "I'll search every corner!"
The widow let out a breath of relief.