When they arrived, Lowell was already waiting.


    The moment the car stopped, Lowell swung the passenger door open and hopped in, his face alight with curiosity. "Tarquin, why are we tailing Ms. Thorne''s kid?"


    Tarquin shot back, "Are they still at home?"


    "Where else would they be on an evening like this? Probably cuddled up with a bedtime story."


    Leaning back, Tarquin lit a cigarette, casting a nce towards the Thorne residence...


    Seeing he wasn''t inclined to share, Axel stepped out of the car. Lowell followed, seeking answers Tarquin hadn''t given. "What''s Tarquin''s n with Ms. Thorne''s kid?"


    "No clue."


    "Why''s he so fixated on them? They''re just kids."


    "No clue."


    Lowell scratched his head, "You''ve noticed Tarquin''s acting off today, right?"


    "Yeah."


    "Any idea why?"


    "Nope."


    Axel''s consistent mystery only served to douse Lowell''s burning curiosity with cold indifference.


    "Aren''t you curious at all?" Lowell prodded.


    "Not really," Axel replied tly, continuing on his way.


    Lowell watched Axel''s retreating figure, baffled. How could he not crave the juicy details? Was he void of all curiosity?


    The neighborhood was eerily quiet. The winter nights in Jindale City were bitterly cold, keeping everyone indoors by the warmth of their fires, with hardly a soul wandering outside.


    Hands in his pockets, Axel kept to the shadows, avoiding the streetlights. He wasn''t entirely clueless about Lowell''s questions; he simply preferred silence over the hassle of exnations.


    Suddenly, a familiar figure caught Axel''s eye. He swiftly blended into the dark.


    Blossom, bundled up in a thick down jacket and a fluffy hat, approached with a trash bag, sniffling and sneezing along the way - clear signs of a cold. A gust of wind stirred the silence, sending a shiver through her. Blossom quickened her pace, then stumbled.


    "Ah!"


    Rushing too fast, she fell, looking like a toppled bear, her trash bags rolling towards a nearby bin. After a moment on the ground, she clumsily got up, brushed herself off with a huff, and stomped the ground in frustration, as if to scold it for her fall.


    Then, she hurried to the bin, disposed of the trash, and wrapped herself tightly as she rushed back to her building.


    The cold wind carried a faint scent of blood, causing Axel to frown. Once Blossom was out of sight, Axel approached the bin and examined the contents of the trash bag she''d discarded.


    What he found made his expression turn stone cold.


    Momentster, Axel returned to Tarquin, handing over his phone. It disyed photos he''d just taken. Tarquin nced at them, then looked up at Axel. "It''s from Professor Folly''s daughter," Axel exined. "Just found it in the trash."