Amelia Thornheart Chapter Seventy-Six: Friendship and Punishment

Announcent

Note: This chapter has ~500 words of what I would call light spice at the end. I wouldn't call it smut, and it's not explicit, but it is a longer scene than the usual fade-to-black. Let know in the comnts if you did or didn't like it!

Alia stepped into the room.

“We’ll be outside,” Greatlord Oshiro said, before closing the door behind her.

How could he spring this on her so suddenly! After her expert negotiations earned her a truce, the crafty greatlord went and did this! She would have to plan her next act of vengeance very carefully…

“Are you… alright?” Polina asked. “You’re clenching your fists…”

“No, no!” Alia shook her head. “I didn’t expect to see you like this! I thought…” Alia didn’t know what she thought, but decided to keep talking to prevent any awkwardness from developing. “It’s great to see you! Look at you!”

Polina looked healthy, well-fed, and wore a comfortable floral-patterned kimono. She’d cut her hair to shoulder-length and more or less looked the sa. However, she didn’t sound the sa. Her voice had an unusual accent Alia hadn’t heard before.

“It’s my real accent,” Polina explained after Alia asked about it. “This is what High Imperial sounds like in the Federation. I figured there was no point in hiding it anymore. I didn’t…” Polina looked to the side awkwardly. “...Want to hide anything else from you.”

“Mmm!” Alia humd, happy at Polina’s honesty. She grabbed the spy’s hands, holding them lightly. “You look well! I was so worried they were going to, you know…” Alia nodded towards the closed door. “Do horrible things to you because you were a spy!”

“Ah, no… that didn’t happen,” Polina sheepishly answered. “Everyone was rather polite.”

“Well, tell then! What happened after we left!? I hope you weren’t confused!” The original plan had been for Alia, in her form under Asclepius, to carry Polina to Shimashina. Those plans were interrupted by the Overlord, who had descended and demanded to take Polina with him. It must have been confusing for her to wake up wherever she did, with Alia nowhere to be seen.

“Things were explained quickly…” Polina said. “After the initial shock, I was made to explain everything about my blessings and then I was taken to so estate in the mountains. Honestly…” Polina rubbed her nose. “It was quite boring. I had nothing to do until the servants let help them with the gardening… it seems silly, but that helped organise my thoughts. Umm…”

Polina looked at the floor. “I wanted to apologise for what I did… what I said… I an, I want to apologise for deceiving you, pretending to be soone I wasn’t. But!” Polina’s voice rose, a touch of desperation layered upon it. “That doesn’t an I didn’t enjoy our ti together! Gods, look at ,” Polina sniffed, wiping her eyes with an expression of frustration. “I’ve had two months to think about what to say to you and now I’m rambling like an idiot.” She sighed. “I don’t think I’m cut out for fieldwork.”

“Definitely not!” Alia chirped. “You should always be honest! Honesty always succeeds in the end!” Alia understood that telling so truths should be delayed until the right ti, but you shouldn’t live your life deceiving others. Every lie you tell soone is a lie you tell yourself and, if you live a lie too long, you won’t even know who you truly are. That was sothing Alia strongly believed in. It was a belief from her old world.

“I also wanted to apologise for…” Polina rubbed her forehead. “Look, I’ve been thinking about the events that happened with the Sakamoto. The only reason I was on that ship was because of how much my anger and desire for revenge consud . If it weren’t for you… I would have accidentally killed hundreds of people. So, for that, I wanted to say…” Polina took a step back and bowed in the traditional samino way. “Thank you, Alia. Thank you for saving those people.”

“It’s okay!” Alia flapped her hands. “It wasn’t a big deal!” She heard Greatlord Oshiro grumble sothing from outside but decided to ignore it. Let him grumble!

“The irony hasn’t been lost on ,” Polina continued. “That in my pursuit of vengeance against… that woman…” It seed Polina still wasn’t comfortable using her na. “That I essentially caused the sa type of incident that she did. If you weren’t there, perhaps there would be demon children right now… swearing the sa promises to themselves every night that I did…” Polina kicked the floor with the toes of one foot. “I feel different, after having so much ti to myself and my thoughts. But… it’s still… difficult. She’s outside, isn’t she? When I saw her just now… I didn’t feel the anger. Just… sadness.”

“I understand!” Alia nodded. “I think you and Serena, you and , demons and humans… we’re all more similar than we are different. We feel the sa emotions, make the sa mistakes.”

“And what are you?” Polina asked with a small smile.

“Huh?”

“Human, or demon?” Polina lifted her forefinger, pointing towards her own eyes. “Your eyes,” she said. “They’re bright red. Not exactly a human colour is it? Is it a glamour, or the result of…?” Polina let the question linger.

“It's-”

“Careful!” interrupted Greatlord Oshiro from outside the room.

“Ah,” Alia wrung her hands. “I guess I can’t say, sorry.”

“I understand,” Polina said. “You’re a Lord-Prospect now, aren’t you? You’ve aligned yourself with Cascadia…”

Alia shook her head. “I don’t see it that way!” she exclaid, indicating to herself with her thumb. “I’m actually quite selfish!”

“S-selfish?” Polina stuttered.

“Yeah! I’m a Lord-Prospect because it makes it easier for to do the things I want and to be with the people I want to be with!” Honestly, there wasn’t much Alia wouldn’t do if it ant she could stay by Serena’s side and go on adventures. Going with the flow of the Empire seed to have worked out so far.

“...Be with? Oh,” Polina’s eyes widened. “It must be nice, for things to be so simple. I wish I had soone like that…” She shook her head. “I have to admit, I’m a little jealous.”

“Don’t be!” Alia exclaid. “There’s plenty of fish in the sea!”

“Sea?” Polina’s head tilted, a frown forming.

“Uh,” Alia ntally slapped herself. “I an, there’s plenty of fish in the sky!”

“I don’t…”

“Nevermind!” Alia waved her hand, hurriedly changing the subject. “So tell about what happened to you! You were bored and did so gardening… then what happened?”

“Well…” Polina’s expression beca thoughtful. “Shortly after the ward you put on ended, a demon ca to see . He never told his na but I reckon he was soone important as he seed to be the one coordinating my transfer back to the Federation.”

Could it be…?

“He… didn’t happen to drink a lot of mint tea, did he?” Alia asked.

“That’s right, how did you…?”

Heh. Chesterfield, you old dog!

“We’ve t,” Alia nodded. “So you’re going ho? Greatlord Oshiro told you were leaving tonight. Is that right?”

“Right,” Polina nodded. “From what I understand, the Cascadian delegation to the Federation was able to create…” Polina crossed her arms, reassuringly rubbing her upper arms. “...Rather favourable conditions for an exchange. I think I’m being swapped for more than ten others.”

“Oh! Is it because of how valuable you are due to…?”

“My blessing, yes. Us truth-tellers are worth so much because we can use our blessing multiple tis a day. Most people only have access to the manufactured crystals, but given how ti-consuming those are to make…” Polina sighed. “It feels weird to be valued so highly when I’ve caused so much trouble.”

“Will you…” Alia felt herself swallow. “Be punished when you go ho?”

“Maybe.” Polina shrugged. “Probably. I’ll probably be under house arrest for a while…”

“House arrest? Why?”

“So Federation Intelligence can verify that I haven’t, you know…” Polina’s mouth grimaced as she shrugged. “...Turned.”

Right, of course. It was like that.

“Well, if they try to punish you, let them know if they hurt you, I’ll co over there, and-” Alia thrust her fist into her open palm, throwing a wild grin at Polina. “Teach them to play nice!”

“Ahem!” Greatlord Oshiro cleared his throat, loud enough to prompt Polina to glance at the door. The woman looked back, a nervous smile on her face.

“I think that might cause even more problems,” Polina said with amusent. “After all, you’re a noble of Cascadia now. You can’t go around declaring war left, right and center!”

Right, she shouldn’t be doing that.

“But…” Polina shuffled on her feet awkwardly. “There you go again, going to such lengths to protect . I don’t understand why? We barely know each other…” Polina glanced at Alia before briefly looking away.

My, was there a tinge of redness on her cheeks?

Alia suppressed a giggle, forcing herself to be serious. “I know it must seem weird. Believe , it was difficult to explain it to those around as well,” Alia began. It was hard to explain how reliable she felt her ga-enhanced intuition was. She’d had more than a few discussions about it with Serena and even then her girlfriend struggled to get it. “Look, I admit I was a little… manic at the ti. I had, you know… Spoken a Word, and the power it gave made feel a tiny bit drunk. I wasn’t in my right mind! Even so, I behaved how I did because I truly believe you’re a good person, Polina!” Alia flashed her best you’re-a-good-person smile. “Even though you did a terrible thing, you did it because you’d beco trapped in this cycle of negative emotions and revenge. You understand that, right?”

“...Again, you make it seem so simple,” Polina said with a gentle smile. “Years of anguish my end, sumd up so easily by you. Oh!” She put her hand up. “I’m not saying I’m insulted, only that it’s strange to see your point-of-view on sothing I thought I understood fully. Even so, I doubt… that woman feels the sa, correct?”

“Mmm…” Alia mumbled her answer. Despite her best efforts, Serena was adamant that she would never forgive Polina for her actions. Alia understood, she really did! She didn’t need Serena to see eye to eye with her on everything. Only… Alia sotis wondered if Serena’s attitude might change if she could see into the Shimr and with that witness the goodness in Polina’s soul.

While Alia hadn’t cracked the hint the Lord Guardian had given her regarding finding her shadow, she had beco extrely adept at seeing into the Shimr with greater clarity. Even now, she could see Polina’s soul glistening brightly, and, while she wasn’t anywhere near the level of perception she had under Asclepius, she could see the two smudges on Polina’s soul that denoted her two blessings.

“Regardless… I heard the war is ending soon,” Polina said softly. “At least, with it over, mistakes like this will stop happening. Who knows, one day you might visit in the motherland. Ha!” Polina chuckled. “Sorry, I’m rambling again…”

“No, no!” Alia exclaid. “I’d love to! I was going to write you letters, but so much has happened and my mind was always elsewhere! When I finally sat down, I couldn’t put my thoughts into words... But I tried! I really did!” She had. Alia had scrunched up over a dozen letters over the last two weeks. Every ti she had re-read what she had written, she had squird at how awkward it sounded!

“Alia…” Polina hesitantly began. “Are we… friends?”

Were they friends? Alia thought they were initially, when Polina had ‘accidentally’ t her in Kenhoro under the persona of Tatiana. No matter how many tis Serena told her Polina had deceived her, Alia couldn’t deny the genuine happiness she sensed in Polina’s expression when they explored the markets together. In that sense, they were friends.

But then, as the weeks ticked by after Alia had cald down from her embodint of Asclepius, she had started to feel differently. After all, Polina had tried to kill her girlfriend. The only thing was… in contrast to the two Speakers who attacked them in the Kenhoro cafe, Alia couldn’t sense the sa level of conviction in Polina’s attitude. Those Speakers had wanted to kill for sadistic and selfish reasons, but Polina’s desire to harm Serena was superficial, built only on the shaky obligations she felt from a misunderstood event that had tied the two won together by fate.

If a friend lashed out in a way you knew was uncharacteristic of them, doing no actual harm at the end of the day and then admitting their mistake later… could you still be friends?

“I don’t know,” Alia said honestly. “But I believe we can be! We might be standing on two different sides, but even if there’s bad blood between two parties, and even if we end up fighting in the future…” Alia swallowed, feeling a strange sense of sincerity build within her. “I truly believe we can all live together as long as at least one person from each side is willing to cross the line and be friends! So! With that in mind!” Alia thrust her hand forward. “We can be friends!” She flashed her best let’s-be-friends grin and said, “Hi! I’m Alia, do you want to be my friend?”

Polina's eyes widened, and her eyes flickered between Alia’s eyes and her hand.

H-hurry up! Alia thought desperately. Or it’s going to get awkward!

“...Fine,” Polina muttered, slowly reaching out and grasping Alia’s hand. “Hi Alia, I’m Polina. ” She raised her eyes, eting Alia’s gaze. “Let’s be friends.” Polina shook her hand before adding, “This is very awkward, isn’t it?”

“Trendously!” Alia chirped. This was why she preferred hugs! At least then you don’t have to make eye contact in situations like this!

Alia giggled, followed by Polina’s soft laugh.

“I was always told you’d return to the Federation,” Alia said. “But I think a small part of hoped you would sohow… stay. It seems silly, I know, but I thought that if soone like you, who held such biases against demonkind, could learn to live with them, then it would sohow fix everything.”

“A little naive,” Polina said.

“No,” Alia shook her head. “It’s not naivety, but idealism! They are similar, but not the sa! If we don’t have ideals to work towards, we’ll never be brave enough to achieve our greatest goals!”

“And…” Polina’s eyes narrowed. “Your great goal is… what? Demons and humans living in peace?”

“Mmm!” Alia humd, nodding enthusiastically. “It seems like a worthy ideal, doesn’t it? Even if it never cos to pass in our lifeti, I can at least help inspire more friendships like ours! And if my…” Alia gave a twirl, using every bit of her dexterity to make it as elegant as possible. “If my adorable charm and healing isn’t enough, then I’ll just beat up everyone who refuses! Ha!” Alia laughed. “I’m joking, but you get my point!”

“Thank the moons for that,” Polina replied. “I heard they call you the Golden Healer now, but I’m worried that’ll beco the Golden Terror if you ever get too angry.” Polina laughed lightly, putting a hand up to interrupt Alia’s rapidly expanding cheeks. “No, but seriously. We have a saying in the Federation. I’m not sure what the Imperial translation is, but it’s sothing like: Those that try to hold the sky will find their legs crumble.” Polina shrugged. “The point is, you’ll never make everyone think like you, even if you use force. Even so… I hope you find so success… I also don’t want any more conflict…”

“I’ll do my best!” Alia happily replied. It was a strange but pleasant feeling to know she and Polina, who had grown up in quite literally different worlds and had differing principles and attitudes, could find so common ground.

They talked about light topics for the remainder of the ti. Alia shared her discovery of firemint tea, while Polina told her of the cuisine of the Federation, including a sour-salty soup called solyanka, of which Alia promised she would find a chef to make it for her. After nagging her for a full minute, Alia got Polina to say a few sentences in Pulpian, her native tongue.

“It’s a pretty language!” Alia chirped, complinting Polina's vocalisation. When speaking Pulpian with her native accent, the two combined to make an almost lyrical quality.

“Strange, I always thought Karli sounded nicer,” Polina said. “Could-” She stopped suddenly, frowning at herself. “Nevermind, we are friends now, aren’t we?”

“Mmm!” Alia smiled. She was sure Polina was about to ask her to speak in the native language of Karligard, where Alia claid to be from. Polina had asked her about her origins in Kenhoro and, if she used her blessing at that ti, she would have detected Alia’s lie. Still, Alia’s budding friendship with the Federation spy had overridden her desire to verify it. Progress!

They talked for a few more minutes and then a polite knock on the door let Alia know it was ti to wrap things up.

“Thank you for everything, Alia,” Polina said. “For your forgiveness and your kindness. It’s changed … in ways I don’t fully understand, but I don’t think I’ll co to regret. Although…” Polina glanced at the door. “I don’t know if I’m ready to forgive her… Not yet, anyway.”

“It’s okay!” Alia said happily. Even having Polina bring up the subject of forgiveness was a huge step forward. “There’s no rush, and besides, we’ll et again in the future! I’m sure of it!”

“Ha…” Polina shook her head. “You know, it’s weird… I think we will, won’t we?” The Federation spy smiled at her. “I’ll keep an eye on the papers, so I'll be reading about it every ti you do sothing ridiculous. If you’re ever in the Federation… co say hi.” Polina smiled, but quickly waved her hands. “On official business I an, like if you’re part of a diplomatic mission! Don’t just pop up out of nowhere! I’ll get in trouble!”

Alia laughed before promising that she would do things properly should she ever visit Polina’s holand.

Sha, it would have been fun to surprise her.

With a final farewell and feeling satisfied, Alia bowed to Polina and left the room.

“Could’ve gone worse,” Greatlord Oshiro mumbled. “I’ll take it from here. Lord-Prospect Thornheart, Lady Halen… best of luck.” He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. Alia heard the greatlord instruct Polina to follow him through the building, and Alia listened until their footsteps beca faint.

“Let’s go,” Serena said. “You handled that well. Not that Miss Volkova was going to try anything. Still, you didn’t let anything serious slip. Well done.”

“Thanks! Also… what’s that?” Alia asked, nodding towards the papers in Serena’s hands.

“Your deed.”

“Deed?”

“To your new estate, forrly owned by Lord Kanamori.”

“Oh!” That’s right! She owned a house now!

“Is it really mine!?” Alia chirped.

“Yes,” Serena said, her mouth curling with a smile. “Here.” She passed the docunts and Alia skimd through them.

She owned a house!

“Can we…” She swallowed. “Can we check it out?”

“Now?” Serena glanced at the dark sky. “I guess we can.”

They left the ceremonial grounds and headed to the address. Alia’s new estate was in a neighbourhood elevated above much of the city. From the neatly maintained buildings, this was clearly one of the more affluent parts of Asamaywa. High quality aetherlights kept the streets well lit, and even the paving stones had decorations etched into them. A tram was moving down the street, following the tal tracks embedded into the stone. As a steam-powered vehicle passed, Alia saw it was labelled as private.

“I suppose it’s only for residents to use,” Serena mused.

They walked for a few minutes, passing estate after estate, before stopping before a large entrance. It was the gated entrance to Alia’s house, and what a gate it was! Thick red-coloured wood had been used and the beams were embossed with silver and shining brass forming shapes of ornate flowers. It was as if Lord Kanamori had been trying to communicate his wealth to his visitors and guests from the mont they arrived.

“This is it,” Serena said, pushing the gates open and revealing an unlit garden and a silent house. Alia flared her aether, but could sense no one else on the premises.

They passed through a small but immaculately kept garden, the gravel paths winding through arched structures that had vines and flowers flowing through them. They passed over a small bridge, where for the first ti since coming to this world, Alia saw brightly coloured fish! Real, swimming fish!

“Fish!” she exclaid, excitedly pointing. “It’s the first ti I’ve seen them!”

“Waterfish,” Serena corrected. “Fish fly, but sohow these ones don’t have that ability. So we call them waterfish. Can you imagine living your whole life in water?” Serena shook her head. “I think they look weird… and they feel strange. They’re slippery to touch. You said they were common where you ca from?”

“Mmm!” Alia nodded. “Rember the enormous oceans I told you about?” In Alia’s old world, the rise of the second industrial revolution in the late third millennium had, along with the total lting of the planet's ice, caused a devastating collapse of sealife. However, many centuries later, her planet’s ecosystem had recovered and there were all kinds of incredible species swimming in the seas! They’d even managed to resurrect the mighty blue whale a century after the tiger returned!

She’d explained it before to Serena, but her demon girlfriend struggled to imagine an endless stretch of water that was larger and heavier than the floating continent of Cascadia. Although Alia had fun acting out the motion of waves to try and help explain how the Moon affected the tide. It was another little mont where Alia realised that things that were normal in her world were abnormal here, and vice-versa.

Serena nodded, and together they continued towards the house.

Alia fell in love with it imdiately. It had one floor and was constructed in a square shape. The center contained another small garden and a small structure that served as a teahouse. The main building had empty walls and bare floorboards, making their footsteps and voices echo. It would feel completely abandoned if it weren’t for how clean everything was.

Serena led Alia through the rooms. She not only had her own reception room to receive guests but also a bedroom, toilet, and kitchen! There was a room that would make a good office, and another which, as Alia envisioned it, would make a good lounge.

There were a few more buildings on the grounds. A small bathhouse was attached to the main building, accessible only through her bedroom. There was also a guesthouse, which had its own toilet, reception room, and bedroom. Finally, a small building served as both storage and the servants' quarters.

“I’m going to have to hire people to look after the place while I’m away, right?” Alia buzzed around, almost not believing that this was all hers! Would she get rewarded like this every ti she helped reeducate a corrupt noble?

It was good business!

“We’ll recomnd people,” Serena intoned, looking through cabinets and inlaid wardrobes lining the walls of Alia’s new bedroom. “It’s a good house. Not too big, and not too small. We can always send over people from our estate on a temporary contract. Oh-” Serena reached up and pulled out a large futon. “They left so stuff behind. This is a nice futon! I miss sleeping on these. I’m either in a hammock or a bed these days…”

For a mont, Serena stood there, holding the futon and looking at Alia.

And Alia stood there, looking at Serena.

The sa thought went through their minds.

“Ahem!” Alia cleared her throat. “Well, it is getting late…” She walked up to Serena, placing a hand on her new futon. “Lord Halen, you must be awfully tired from looking at a certain individual all day! I couldn’t possibly allow a lady such as yourself to walk ho on such a dark and dangerous night! I must insist you stay until tomorrow!”

“Oh?” Serena rolled her eyes. “But there’s only one futon, Lord-Prospect Thornheart. What in the seven hells are we to do?”

Alia giggled. “Well, it’s the host's duty to make sure her guests have a satisfactory night, isn’t it?” She took the futon and laid it down. “Don’t you worry, Lord Halen, this humble host will make sure that- mmph-!” Alia was cut off as Serena kissed her.

“Mmm…”

“Ah…”

“Mmm…”

“Oh my,” Alia whispered, feeling her face heat up. “My first-ever guest seems to have so unconventional thoughts regarding tonight.”

“Shut up,” Serena said, pecking Alia on the lips again. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Alia took a step forward, slipping her hands into Serena’s sash, snaking her fingers around to hold her lower back. “And what…” she whispered, “would you like us to do?” She ended her question with a gentle kiss on Serena’s neck. Alia intended for it to be a single seductive kiss, but she couldn’t stop herself from going in again, and again. Soon, she was gently sucking Serena’s neck, running her tongue over her skin. It didn’t take long before Serena’s breathing beca heavy.

“I need…” Serena mumbled, placing a hand behind Alia's neck, holding her against her neck. Alia responded by letting one hand dip down, to wrap around the curve of Serena’s buttcheek. Another hand went up, out of the sash and snaking its way through the kimono’s folds until it found itself cupping one of Serena’s breasts.

“I need to punish you…” Serena sighed with satisfaction as she began to undress Alia. “And… massage you…”

“Mmm? A nice punishnt followed by a nice massage…” Alia moved her lips back to Serena’s, happy to see her girlfriend’s cheeks were crimson. Serena no longer got embarrassed over her cheeks flushing, but that didn’t stop them flushing in the first place.

And Alia loved making Serena blush!

“We won’t have much opportunity for this on the ship,” Serena mumbled, fumbling with Alia’s clothes. “With Anathor and all… so I need to make tonight’s punishnt count.”

“Mmm…” Alia began to undress Serena, alternating between loosening clothing and running her hand over her girlfriend’s toned body. How could she sll so good? Did demons release pheromones that made humans react like this? “Doesn’t just have to be tonight, does it?” she whispered. “We can stop staying over in the Academy till we have to leave, right?”

“But… it’ll look suspicious,” her girlfriend replied weakly.

“Ren,” Alia intoned sarcastically. “I think those that can pay attention have started to notice. Didn’t you say Oshiro implied he knew?” Alia finally unravelled Serena’s kimono, leaving only her undergarnts. Such thin pieces of cloth only served to aid Alia in her teasing. She placed a hand between Serena’s legs, ever so slightly brushing the fabric, letting the smallest amount of sensation reach her girlfriend's most sensitive area.

Alia knew that with a delicate touch, and Serena’s enhanced perception from her aura, she could drive her girlfriend mad with this thod.

That was, she would have been able to, if Serena didn’t pick her up and throw her down on the futon and climb on top of her!

“Hey!” Alia protested before having her lips stolen.

“Oh no,” Serena shook her head, her black hair waving srisingly from the movent. “You’ve been extrely annoying recently and you’re the one who's going to have to lie there and suffer this ti! Do you…” Serena swallowed, looking around. “Do you have wards up?”

“Already done,” Alia mumbled, feeling her heart race. “But… it’s useless! I’ll never break!”

“You just stay there,” Serena said with a grin, unravelling Alia’s clothes and ripping her undergarnts off. “You’ll have to ask for it,” her girlfriend instructed, kissing her on the lips, then the neck, then her chest. “Until you ask for it, I won’t give it to you.” Serena adjusted her position, moving her kisses lower and lower…

But never reaching where Alia wanted them.

Despite her earlier statents of not breaking…

She lasted about ten minutes before shouting out in maddened sexual frustration, “You bloody demon! Okay! I want it! Just move your tongue there and stay there, damn it!”

And when Serena finally relented, and Alia could relax and enjoy the sudden rampant increasing pleasure, she realised that it wasn’t just teasing she was going to have to suffer tonight.

Serena seed determined to make sure Alia knew exactly how intense an aura-enhanced tongue could be, in both speed and endurance.

I’m the… Alia thought in between moans, luckiest human alive…