Woodworking and metalworking may almost sound the same. They could even said to be interrelated, after all, they're just two similar categories of craft for both furniture, weaponry, and other things mechanically possible. Just with different materials. If you have learned the basics of one, the other should easy, right?

Wrong! Our silly mannequin came to realize she had no actual knowledge when it come to woodworking, causing Zufior, her centaur employer, almost had a heart attack when he saw that she asked him how should she glue the two broken pieces together.

"No, no, you must not use glue ever. These two pieces... they won't be the same but maybe you can try to design a joint... but given your current experience, that would be too much to ask of you to learn yet." Zu sighed, grasping the two pieces with jagged ends and putting them aside. He tried to lower the skill bar and gave her an easier task, allowing her creativity to take over instead. Creativity can sometimes triumph over deliberate logic. "This time, I will have need of you to simply carve a jewellery box that can be opened and clasped closed. The design is yours to make, whether simple or not. As long as it's about this size."

ZhuQiu looked at a displayed box he pointed at. It was about fifteen by ten centimeters with the height of approximately eight centimeters. ZhuQiu nodded and began to brain storm how to carve the hinge. Actually Zu didn't think she would include the hinge as part of the project as well, but our silly dummy is overambitious as always. It's true that ZhuQiu could just forge and hammer herself a nice simple hinge, but it wouldn't be a challenge since it wasn't made of wood. Besides, she have seen the various designs that seemed so geometrical and thought it might be easier to do diamond pattern rather than the swirls of delicate curves and then try to replicate that on the other side. ZhuQiu began to take a block of wood stared at it, to mentally measure out her plan.

The kitty laid at her feet, while diligently biting her hakama. ZhuQiu patted the kitty for good luck and began her work under Zu's occasional guidance.

Somewhere far into the heart of the town, inside the mock castle, Bi'An was stiff and indifference as a ceremony is going on. It was the celebration of the newborn prince's one month. The proud mother kalaviṅka rocked the cot where her royal child lain asleep. The father sat on the throne, watching the well-wishers with some pride as well. Bi'An's ear twitched as she pretend to be distracted by the food in the buffet. YaZi shadowed after her, of course.

"... a wife and a child ... jerk ... promised but ... damned guy... jerk ..."

YaZi was amused by the mutterings of Bi'An, since he knew half the story, and continued to watch her in the corner of his eye as he assessed the pastries. He didn't really liked the spicy taste of their meals which consist of mostly vegetarian diet, therefore he aimed to get as much of the meat pies they served for the minority of carnivorous kalaviṅkas. It was tasty, but he was too preoccupied with being alert for strange or suspicious activities. He wasn't born yesterday, therefore he will never let down his guard even if the fleeting presence was only a coincidence. Better be safe, than sorry.

"If Feruus knew you called him a jerk, you'll be in trouble for slandering the monarch, hehe." YaZi whispered to Bi'An as she turned back to start circling the buffet again like a predator.

"So, what?" Bi'An snorted quietly.

"Aren't you afraid the queen would be the one to take over your punishment?" YaZi teased.

"The queen? Who is she that I have to be afraid of her? I was his woman before her existence was even made known." Jealousy hopped around Bi'An's mind as she strained to keep her voice whisper-low. No one seemed to hear her, but she looked around anyway, and spotted something that froze her.

Ai, Yazi wanted to say, spoke too soon. But he kept mum and pretend to be interested in the spicy vegetarian dishes instead.

"We are sorry that Gate Guard feels that way. We would like to extend our apologies and invite Gate Guard of the Space Pirates to a private dinner tonight."

"N-no, no need. Y-your majesty." Bi'An took a step back and half-bowed. YaZi, no longer being able to ignore the majestic presence, knelt on one knee to show submission.

"We insist, Gate Guard. We have some history between us, and we would like to catch up and exchange news." King Feruus X's words contained intention of persuading without restrain.

"That's the history, there is no need to stir the lake of past." Bi'An shredded the last bit of her submission.

"I command you." Feruus' temples twitch.

"No." Bi'An was firm.

"Allow me to interrupt," YaZi voiced as he rise to his feet and bowed slightly, "I am assigned here to watch the safety of Gate Guard. I may need to crash the dinner if Gate Guard is to accept your proposal to keep my job as a fellow sect member. But inviting others to a private event without your Highness's explicit invitation is a breach of law. Therefore Gate Guard had no choice but to turn down your offer in order to avoid law-breaking consequences."

Bi'An wanted to strangle YaZi on spot.

"Very well. You are invited as well. We can assume that there is no other conflicts?"

"No, your highness." YaZi lowered himself back into the kneel.

"Then it is official." Without another word, the centaur overlord trotted away to attend to other guests.

"Perceiver, you are so dead." Bi'An gritted under her breath as she acknowledge other's nod of acknowledgement.

"You do know that I like to live dangerously, Gate Guard." YaZi pats his heart in a faux flattery and flashed an easy grin. However, only he himself knew the troubled that plagued his mind.

***

Back in Zu's woodworking shop, the mental plan and design in our silly dummy's mind had altered itself yet again due to a tiny discovery she made. ZhuQiu gotten smarter as she was allowed some room to unleash her creativity.

As much as the tools in the workshop are of top quality, ZhuQiu find that she could use her dainty steel fingers to precisely scrape fine details into the rough shape of the box. This is what we call borrowing someone's hands to complete a work. Although the hand in question is hers, it still was a work of someone's hands as well. ZhuQiu was delighted to find that shortcut. But the delight soon faded away when she thought about how to drill the holes for the hinge. Her fingers are tapered, no way to drill out the hollow cylindrical shape into  the tabs.

ZhuQiu thought hard and long as she looked around at the tools on the table she is using. There are different sizes of drills, but the smallest was slightly bigger than ZhuQiu felt comfortable to use. Better not let the tab crack.

"Does Autumn Chaser need assistance?" Zufior's voice floated over. He had just finished polishing a wooden scale.

"Well, I wasn't sure how to drill the hinge."

"The hinge?" Zufior came over to look and understood. He try to pacify her, "You don't have to do the hinge, it's acceptable to have two separate pieces. As long as it can be sealed."

"True, but I'm just thinking." ZhuQiu smiled in gratitude for his good nature. 

ZhuQiu sat on a long bench, that is made for centaurs, opposite ZhuQiu and watch her as she continued to craved the decorations with her fingers.

"Oh, love. You don't need to be too detailed. Jewellery boxes aren't very popular."

"Is that why you ask me to make one?" ZhuQiu joked.

Zufior laughed nervously but found an opportunity to be ambiguous, "No, no. It's just a beginner's piece. I'll slowly let you handle the real stuff."

"I was only joking, I understand that I have much to learn." ZhuQiu laughed awkwardly.

Meow. (Imbecile!)

"Yes, yes, kitty" ZhuQiu mindlessly replied.

"Is he your companion?" Zu peered carefully over the table at the white stripped toyger on ZhuQiu's lap.

"Well... I don't know who's his owner—" Meow! (Insolence!) "— but I suppose he's accompanying me at the moment." ZhuQiu petted the cat that bit on her metal arm. "There, there, you'll hurt your teeth, kitty." It bit her arm some more.

"He seems possessive." Zu's eyebrow rise at the kitty. It bared its teeth.

"Possessive? I think he's in a bad mood. I don't.. Oh, I forgot to get fish for him." ZhuQiu suddenly remembered she hadn't even fed the cat once since she met it. "Ah, that is probably why." She nodded to herself.

M-meowoooww... (This is the idiot I have to see everyday...)

ZhuQiu tilted her head at the toyger's yowling, "Did I guess right?"

Zu laughed and had a wicked gleam, "How come you do not know what he is saying?"

ZhuQiu looked at Zu in surprise, "What he is saying?" What is Zu implying, ah? Is he saying he understood the toyger?

"As fellow cultivators, we can allow mind connection with our companions."

"What?"

"Did they not teach you that?"

ZhuQiu thought back and remembers that FuZi once mentioned telepathic communication, but it seemed that he had forgotten to teach her. ZhuQiu searched her memory more and realized there's so many lessons FuZi hadn't touch on yet.

"I think they were about to, but we landed and we had to pause on that." ZhuQiu didn't mention her silent rebellious episode. The toyger looked at ZhuQiu.

"Well, I can teach you, would you like that?" Zu offered.

"Tha—" Hissss.

The toyger snarled before ZhuQiu could affirm her response.

"— Are you okay, kitty?"

Meoorwwwwww! (No!) The kitty howled and puffed its fur.

At the same time, someone approached the opening of the workshop, shouting for Zufior's attention. Zu got up and trotted away.

"There, there, it's okay. I know it's boring in here, that's why I wanted you to stay home, kitty." ZhuQiu half-reprimanding, half- cajoling the cat into calmness. She truly didn't know why the toyger acted up. She hadn't stopped it from going out to play, but it would always stuck by her. It would slink between her feet when she's standing, and it would jump onto her lap and curl up when she sat. If ZhuQiu was a human, she would understand that such actions was inspired to steal some of her body heat, but she wasn't even an organic life-form. Truly a puzzle.

Meorrwwww. (I don't like that horseboy.)

"Yes, kitty." ZhuQiu chattered back, working on the jewellery box.

Meoooorrwww. (I don't like you interacting with him.)

"Mn. Yes, kitty."

Meooooww. (I want to go home.)

"En."

Meoowww. (You're an idiot.)

"Mn."

Meow. (I mean it.)

"Oh." ZhuQiu nodded for good measure.

"..." Kitty has got nothing to say.

ZhuQiu continued working on her project as she finally thought up a good plan to manage with the hinge. She worked hard and well until the closing time and was urged by Zufior to go back. "Nighttime is not a good time to wander around." He warned her.

"Why?" ZhuQiu already packed up and cuddled the sleepy kitty in her arms as Zu sees her off.

"Because of Nightmare. It's a dangerous creature. Nobody knows what it looks like and live. Witnesses said it paralyses everyone in vicinity of the victim. They could hear it as it slaughters the victims, frozen and unable to move."

"How? Why?" ZhuQiu winced. She know the helpless feeling of not being able to move at all.

"No one really knows. So you have to make sure you get home before dark." Zu sent her off into the evening with a warm smile.

After walking around for a while, ZhuQiu looked around and did not see Bi'An or YaZi. She looked at her in-built wrist watch and saw it had a faint glow throbbing. It meant she had unread messages. So, ZhuQiu tapped on it and accessed the hologram before her eyes. After finding her message box, she opened the one that Bi'An sent.

"Autumn Chaser, if you're reading this, you must be looking for me. I regret to inform you a little too late that Warring Perceiver and I will be required to be in the castle for dinner. Do not wait for us." — Bi'An paused and then urged subtly— "Do go home before the sunset, though."

Bi'An already seemed to know about the Nightmare, and ZhuQiu was curious about it. Was it a recent development?

With that in mind, ZhuQiu looked at the setting sun and estimated that there might not be enough time to frolic around, thus decided to heed the advises to go back.

And so, our silly mannequin strolled back to the yurt with a sleeping kitty in her arms.

***

"BaXia, do you know about the Nightmare?" ZhuQiu asked, laying on her back on her floor mattress.

BaXia paused in the middle of sorting the raw materials he had collected into a bin he put beside the wall near his mattress. "I do heard of it. Why?"

"Is it real?"

"It must be, since there are a lot of missing victims and some confirmed report of being paralyzed while actually being near the victim."

"Are they looking for it? Is it a sentient creature?"

"They halted the case. The conclusion is that it's sentient, because although it seemed to randomly picking the victims, it didn't pick on the surviving witnesses. There must be a reason. They have yet to know that, though." BaXia sighed at the end and added, "It must be horrifying to be a witness."

"Do the victims have some relationship to each other?" ZhuQiu swiveled her head to look at BaXia, but the sight was blocked by a certain kitty, who is currently grooming itself with its back facing her face. ZhuQiu did not turn back, she found the view comforting.

"Not really. The first five victims... they seemed to have something to do with a  previous case of a missing person. But now that case had to be marked unsolvable because there was no way to find out the truth anymore. The rest of the victims doesn't seemed to have similar interest or relativity to that missing person's case."

"Did they suspect the missing person? Maybe they was taking revenge and developed a taste for killing?" ZhuQiu mused, thinking about all the thriller crime fiction she read.

"They did, but it could also be someone else entirely, who was involved in the case, trying to silence the remaining five witnesses."

"Oh." ZhuQiu saw the logic. It made sense to her too.

"Although they couldn't find any clues, they did figured that the Nightmare only attacks at night and when it is dark. That's why we called it Nightmare."

ZhuQiu had a feeling she missed the clue earlier. "Only in the dark? What if the victim is in a bright area at night?"

"There's one time the Nightmare struck and left no victim. Everyone happened to be in a well-lit area. The next night, it struck again, this time successful. The victim it had intended to attacked was involved in the previous night's unsuccessful attack. So, it was theorized the Nightmare limited itself, or was limited, to the dark."

"Oh." ZhuQiu felt chills. She suddenly realized that there seemed to be a lot of oil lamps and torches all around the residential areas.

BaXia almost guessed her thoughts. "Fire can be put out if not careful. Just don't wander out at night."

A moment of silence before ZhuQiu asked another question, "Then what about Bi'An and YaZi? They're having dinner at the castle, won't they be coming home late in the dark...?"

"I'm sure they're allowed to stay in the castle for the night." BaXia smiled at the concern.

"Oh." ZhuQiu felt a little less worrying.

GongFu, who was in the shower, entered the yurt and settled in his place. No one spoke anymore. There was only the sound of soft clinking of the fish scale against the wall of his glass vial pendant.

The silence stretched until their centaur roommates finally returned and began to relax as they settle themselves down as well.

Alexore, the lean black maned centaur, noticed the missing people. "Where's Gate Guard and Warring Perceiver?"

"They were invited to the castle for dinner." BaXia answered with smile.

"That's wonderful!! I heard His Majesty had been an old acquaintance of Gate Guard." Kenatorus, the honey brow maned centaur, gossiped.

"Really?" ZhuQiu was curious. BaXia scratched his head.

"That's what one of the cooks said." Alexore grins.

"You work in the castle?" ZhuQiu was genuinely curious.

"Yes, I am one of the kitchen helper."

"Wow, it must be wonderful to be surrounded by food!"

"Indeed! I see you are a fan of the culinary arts?" Alexore was almost beside himself with a fellow foodie.

ZhuQiu chuckled sadly, "I wish. I don't exactly have taste buds anymore." She truly miss tasting food again.

Alexore was slightly disappointed but he was curious as well. "What is it like to be a synthmanoid?"

"I-I don't really feel much different, to be honest." ZhuQiu began to analyze herself. "I can see and hear very well. I can't smell much. I can't feel different textures. I don't have taste.. and.. well, I don't need to sleep, eat, or go to the bathroom unless I soil myself."

"Is it a good thing, though?" Benniduos, one of the twins, asked.

"Well, in a way, I think..." ZhuQiu was also unsure. But at least she didn't have to worry much about food.

"At least, you won't have to worry about sweating and then smell too badly." Alexore attempt to lighten the mood.

ZhuQiu laughed in agreement. The kitty beside was silent as it thought about what ZhuQiu said.

Everyone began to go back into their own nightly routine and prepared for the next day as ZhuQiu took out one of the remaining Drystals to absorb.

The night seemed to be as normal as everyone fell asleep, exhausted from work.

ZhuQiu stared blankly at the dancing shadows in ceiling, caused by several small fire lamps. She still had more Drystal to absorb, but she wasn't feeling it. She seemed to be meditating but in actuality, she was only thinking about her previous life.

While thinking about her step-mother— who was honestly gentle and kind before someone sowed discord between ZhuQiu and her step-sisters, who used to be close as real siblings can get— when she heard a rustle from the curtained doorway.

Distracted from her memory, ZhuQiu lifted her head up and peered at the entrance, thinking maybe Bi'An and YaZi had planned to return after all. But what she saw was not the two familiar figure, but one suspicious shadow.

ZhuQiu's eye widen as the figure was startled by her action. It began to very quickly jump across the yurt towards her.

ZhuQiu didn't had enough calmness to yell and instinctively screw shut her eyes and whipped her hand out to stop the fast approaching shadow. Between the seam of her metal eyelids, ZhuQiu see a bright flash of red and panicked. She curled her hands over her head instead, shaking.

There was shouting and then there was chaos.

"Autumn Chaser!!"