a/n: I'm about to be super busy with college, but I'm slowly getting back into the practice of writing something once a week or two. Chapter 86 hurt me on a whole new level. So why not write about the stuff that pains me?

The day was clear, and hot. Come noon, there was little work to be done; the only people that were likely to be wandering outside city limits by the zeppelin were workers and, on the occasion, curious kids. Everyone else stayed inside, if they could help it.

It was an ideal place to sit back and forget about your troubles, if you were prone to that sort of thing.

Krueger had found a place to settle on the grassy hill. Gross sat beside him, a cigarette trailing smoke between his teeth. The grass felt pleasant enough upon his skin.

The sound of smaller footsteps scuffed the earth, then a boy and girl crept up the bank. Judging by the shabby nature of their clothes and the tell-tale armbands, they couldn't be Marlian. Eldians, then. Krueger observed from the corner of one eye as the girl, now beaming with pleasure, grabbed the boy's arm and exclaimed: "Look at it! It's huge!"

"You came up to see the zeppelin, too?" Krueger called languidly.

The boy in cap looked over at him with a small start. "Y-yes, sir…."

Krueger got to his feet, stretching; Gross followed suit, putting out his cigarette, slightly disgruntled. The minute the boy saw their uniforms his face fell.

"You're from the Liberio internment zone, aren't you?" Krueger inquired coolly. "Where are your exit permits?"

At the question, the boy began to lose what little nerve he still possessed; fumbling, he turned out his pockets to no avail, only to buy time, putting off the inevitable. He swallowed hard, his voice uneven: "I-I don't know, sir."

Krueger's expression did not change. "So you entered the city without a permit?"

"Yes, sir."

"You know what that means for you, right?"

The boy was trembling in fear, and avoided his eyes. "Yes, s-sir."

Krueger looked at the pair of them, sorry as they were, and was struck by something not unlike pity, but he was much too professional for that sort of sentiment. He got down on bended knee, and asked: "Then which'll it be for you? Labour or punishment?"

The boy seemed to steel himself for the worst, not meeting his eyes. "P-punishment, sir."

The girl shrank back in fear, clinging to the boy. "Grisha?"

The boy—Grisha—clasped for her hand behind his back, offering a clumsy squeeze.

Krueger had to smile. "Don't want to worry your parents, eh?"

"No, sir," Grisha said, a little too loudly. Before Krueger could say anything else, he added, hurriedly: "A-and I forced my sister to come out here with me, so you—you can punish me in her place!"

He wasn't a very good liar, Krueger mused. The truth was all in his eyes, laying him bare. The boy was far too honourable for his own good. But he'd agreed to it, and Krueger wasn't going to argue the matter.

"All right," he said coolly. Without further discourse or unnecessary flair, he hauled the boy roughly from the earth and brought his knee home with a solid thud. The boy choked on a cry, too stunned to react; the girl did not:

"Grisha!"

The boy was still reeling, bug-eyed and unfocused. She looked away, shaking like a leaf.

"One more," Krueger muttered, really just for the boy's sake.

Gross, who had been silent behind him all this time, now scoffed: "You're merciless, Krueger." He moved in towards the girl, took her by the hand before she could think better of it. "Come on, let's take you home first."

And Gross led her away, simple as that. Easy pickings, Krueger thought dryly.

Grisha gasped, sputtering out excess saliva; before he could protest, or take note of his sister's absence, Krueger dealt him another blow.

He let the boy go after that, crumpled into a ball on the grass beside him. It was a while before he stopped heaving; Krueger passed the time with a cigarette of his own.

"It was smart of you to keep your armbands on," he said, once Grisha had settled. "Any Eldian that takes theirs off out here gets sent straight to Heaven. Even kids like you."

Grisha didn't seem to be listening. Krueger chanced a glance his way. The boy was on all fours, trailing spit.

"I'm going back," he said harshly.

"You've taken enough licks for one day," said Krueger. "Why don't you stay a while and watch the airship?"

The boy stopped, turning around to stare at him in disbelief. Krueger merely turned his eyes back to the zeppelin in the distance, taking another drag.

The boy stayed.