Seeping Whispers

Jet and Osiris strolled behind Harmonic and Atmospheric's home. Vast woodlands covered the remaining landscape, barely separated from the structure by a small patch of grass. They found the couple waiting with their children in tow. Atmospheric whispered into her husband's ear.

"He's in no condition to fight..."

"I know..."

When the teens were within earshot, Harmonic directly confronted Osiris.

"What kind of training are we doing exactly?" the adolescent questioned.

"For you? None. Not today."

"Then why did I bother coming here?"

"Look at yourself, man. You're not eating, you're not sleeping: in your condition, you couldn't fight a cold, let alone a hardened murderer."

"My girlfriend just died! How the fuck am I supposed to feel!?"

"Nobody's telling you to feel anything, but what about her? How would she feel if she saw you like this?"

"You know what? Fuck this. I didn't come here for a lecture. I'm outta here."

Osiris turned around to walk away. A gentle hoof pressed against his shoulder.

"Please," Atmospheric pleaded, "stay with us, just for this one night."

The softness of her tone...It frightened him somehow. With pained eyes and clenched teeth, he jerked his head. He began to cry. Atmospheric wrapped her free leg around him. With the other, she cradled Shadow between them...

Harmonic and Atmospheric began preparing dinner. When Harmonic reached a point where he could handle the rest on his own, Atmospheric returned to Osiris's side.

"Would you like to hold her?" she asked, drawing their attention to the sleeping infant in her foreleg.

Osiris nodded. He retrieved Shadow from her mother's grasp.

"It's funny," the adolescent spoke, "I never really gave the idea of a family much thought. I was so focused on college the rest just kind of escaped me."

"You wanted to spend your life with her, didn't you?"

"I did."

"You have a good heart. She saw it, too."

"It's nothing compared to your son's."

Atmospheric took the seat across from Osiris. She put her hooves together in a contemplative manner.

"Jet's probably noticed already his personality starkly contrasts his sisters'." she began.

"Fuck yeah, I did," Jet confirmed, "What kind of kid asks his parents the meaning of life at six years old? He's smart, like...Scary smart."

"Harmonic and Hard Core are extremely deep thinkers," the angel continued, "They're believers in the power of cognition and perception. What you think, the things you feel: those are what determine your path in life. For them, they see the world from an existential point of view. They believe that suffering is pointless and unnecessary. What they desire above all else is a utopian world guided by compassion."

"No wonder I couldn't faze him. He brushed me off like I was nothing."

"I wish they could've met her..." Osiris uttered sadly.

"..."

"..."

Jet began his training while Osiris caught up on sleep. For the first time in almost a week, he was able to shut his eyes and let himself drift off. The next morning, the group laid out their plans.

"I just don't get it...," Osiris said, "Why would someone do that to a kid...?"

"It's par for the course , unfortunately." Harmonic replied.

"What was his motive? Was it personal?"

"Not that we could tell. I think it's a lot more simple than that. There wasn't any evidence of sexual assault, and her family was questioned by police. What's one of the most common questions you hear in homicide cases?"

"Whether they had any enemies."

"It's more likely we're dealing with a tried and true misanthrope."

"A rage killing!?"

"Think about it. The way he killed her was quick, but brutal. This suggests two things: one, the perpetrator is male, and two, he clearly isn't concerned with the legal implications. God knows how many people he's killed already."

"Plenty of people I know identify as misanthropes. Why haven't they gone on killing sprees yet?"

"Most who claim the title are really just nihilists. A true misanthrope doesn't give a rat's ass about following social protocol."

"His body count could already be in the hundreds..." Jet pointed out.

"Why do you think he'll come back?" Osiris questioned.

"I don't know," Harmonic replied honestly, "Just a gut feeling."

"So we're acting on nothing more than a hunch? Great..."

"Sometimes killers return to crime scenes. Wouldn't it be better to be ready if he does?"

"I guess."

"Right now you should focus on getting your strength back. We'll get him."

"Yeah..."

Osiris finished packing and headed for the door. Jet attempted to follow him.

"Jet, can you stay behind for a moment," Atmospheric requested, "We'd like to talk to you in private."

"I really gotta get goin'." the teen protested nervously.

"It won't take long. Osiris can wait outside."

Jet gazed at his friend.

"You mind?" he asked.

"Sure." Osiris agreed.

Osiris shut the door behind him, leaving Jet to speak with the unusual pair.

"You're scared." Atmospheric stated. Her tone was gentle; soothing.

"We barely met you guys three days ago. Now we're helping you hunt down a serial killer. How am I supposed to wrap my mind around all this?"

"The second you told me Osiris's story, you became part of our family," Harmonic revealed, "I'll tell you the same thing I told him. In this world, everyone has to look out for each other. We're all we've got in this lifetime."

"I know..." Jet replied.

"I want you to be honest with me," the older stallion spoke, "Do you suspect us?"

Jet wanted to lie and say he didn't, but he couldn't hide his true feelings.

"You know a lot about these kind of crimes."

"That's true. I've been studying criminal behavior for a long time. It's a lot more nuanced and complex than crime shows make it look."

"I assume the reason you're asking is because you want to prove your innocence."

"Bingo."

"How can you?"

"Wait here."

Harmonic left the room. He returned moments later with his son.

"Show him, bud." Harmonic told the child.

Hard Core removed his jacket and the t-shirt below.

"Dude, your kid's fucking ripped!" Jet yelped.

"I've been training with him and Melodic since they were old enough to speak. Just recently, I taught them how to calm their minds through meditation. That's what he was doing last night when it looked like he was watching us."

"Holy shit..."

"I lied to you the other day. We're not the ones who are gonna bring this scumbag down..."

Atmospheric approached Jet. She whispered into his ear before showing him her wings. In the blink of an eye, his whole world changed.