Silica was escorted home later that night after relaying the message of the upcoming mission in Mitras to Elite Advancement. The warm air that she had only just begun to grow used to during her months above ground slowly started to chill, and she shivered against the billows as she approached the front door of her house.
She could hear Amelia's laughter clearly from inside, and felt her unsettled nerves subside just barely as she opened the door. The sight of Nora, Peter, and Ama sitting on the floor of the den drew in her gaze immediately, and she froze in her tracks upon hearing the tiny barks of a puppy coming from within their semicircle.
Amelia whipped her head around immediately at her mother's entry, and flashed a smile that could rival the sun as she hoisted the tiny, squirming animal up in her arms.
"Mama!" Amelia giggled with glee as she held up the dog. "We found a lost puppy on our morning walk! Can we keep him? Pleaaaase?"
Silica opened her mouth like a gaping fish, and quickly snapped it closed again as she finally found it within herself to shut the door behind her. The small Doberman whined from the way Amelia held it from under its arms, and its dark coal eyes looked at Silica pleadingly, as if it also begged her to stay.
"I do apologize for this, Miss Silica," Nora quickly rose to her feet and took the puppy from Amelia's hands. "If you don't wish to keep him, I will gladly take him off your hands and find him a good home myself."
"Aw, but Nora!" Peter whined. "Why can't we keep it if Ama doesn't?"
"Uh..." Silica bit her lip as she contemplated the responsibility of a dog — on top of the task it would be in taking care of her baby — and as she lingered in her sea of thoughts, the front door opened once more to reveal Mike's arrival home from base.
"Oh! Mike!" Amelia scampered up to his side immediately and grabbed onto his hand. "Tell Mom that we should keep this dog! Pleaaase? I've always wanted one!"
"A dog?" Mike blinked, appearing none the wiser, and slightly surprised, to be bombarded as soon as he walked in. His gaze flickered over to Silica, who looked sick by the whole idea.
"A dog." Silica sighed tiredly, and leaned toward the small animal to get a better look at him. He was scrawny after God knows how long of being alone in the woods, but his eyes were soulful and sweet. She took one of his paws.
"What do you think?" Mike asked. Amelia clung to his arm like her life depended on it.
Silica's attention was on Amelia now. "If I let you keep this dog, you understand that you're the one who will have to take care of it, right?"
"Yes!" Amelia nodded quickly.
"That means walking it," Silica began. "Feeding it, bathing it, training it."
"Yes Mama I can do it! I promise!" Amelia skipped up to her mother with her hands clasped together, begging. "Please let me keep him! Please, please, please!"
Silica pursed her lips before sighing in defeat and gesturing for Nora to hand over the dog. She complied, and Amelia let off a squeal that made her new pet howl.
"And keep him quiet!" Silica called after her daughter as she scurried up the stairs, and let out yet another sigh as she turned to Nora.
"She named him Duke." Nora grinned, and Silica couldn't help but scoff in amusement as she walked passed her to sit down.
"She's been set on a dog since we moved here," She said tiredly, leaning back on the cushion with her eyes closed. "Must be fate that she found him."
"It appears that way," Nora hummed whilst motioning that Peter stand. "We'll leave you to your evening, now. Say goodbye, Peter."
Silica's eyes opened slowly at the feeling of Peter's tiny hands on her stomach, and smiled as he gently pat her.
"See you tomorrow, Miss Silica," he said before turning to her midsection. "See you tomorrow, Little Brother."
"Little brother, huh?" Silica rose a brow at him as Mike ruffled the top of his head.
"Mhm," he nodded. "I bet it'll be a boy."
"Come now, Peter," Nora waved him along, smiling. "Have a nice evening. We will be back in the morning."
Silica rose a hand in farewell, and only turned away from the door when Nora and Peter left the house.
"How's everything with Erwin?" Mike asked as he plopped down beside her. He kissed her cheek with a hand on her stomach.
"Fine..." she trailed off with a scowl. "For the most part."
"What's that mean?"
"Nile Doc came for a visit today," she proceeded in her summarized explanation. "Saying that my mother is in Mitras stirring up trouble."
"Your mother?" Mike looked bewildered.
"Yup," she looked down. "He wants me to go into Mitras tomorrow with him to talk to her about an allegation against her."
"You're kidding, right?" Mike sounded tense.
"I wish I was," she said. "We leave in the morning. Erwin and Elite Advancement are coming to make sure nothing happens."
"What part of 'no physical labor or strenuous activities' do these jackasses not understand?" Mike snapped and stood up. Silica was quick to follow him once she realized he was headed towards the door. "This is ridiculous. I'll be damned if I —"
"Mike, wait," Silica grabbed hold of his hand to halt him. He turned over his shoulder with a scowl on his face. "I already agreed to it. It'll —"
"It'll what, Silica?" He interrupted her. "'Be fine'? I don't think so. We have a baby on the way and I'll kick everyone's ass within the interior before I let you go anywhere near something dangerous."
"What if you came too?" She proposed, knowing well that she wouldn't be able to get out of seeing her mother even if she tried.
"Sil —"
"Please," she tugged on his arm for emphasis. "I don't want to do this just as much as you don't want me to, but I don't have a choice. All I'm doing is going to talk to her."
Mike's shoulders sagged in defeat as he stared at her, and the hold he had on the doorknob finally released after a moment of silence.
"Fine," he mumbled, irritated. "But I'm going."
Silica agreed wordlessly and tugged him into a hug, and sealed her eyes closed as she breathed in the smell of his clothes.
She wasn't sure how the coming morning would go, but she knew that she'd be okay, so long as Mike was there.
__________
The next morning rolled along much faster than Silica would have preferred, and she and Mike were up and out of the house by the time Erwin — along with Elite Advancement — arrived on their property.
Brief salutes were given in greeting as Silica carefully settled herself inside the carriage, and her eyes met the staring hues of Nile seated across from her. The whole ordeal gave her an overwhelming sense of deja vu, and so she settled with fixating her attention on Erwin, who appeared to be in deep thought as the carriage proceeded toward Mitras.
Her eyes closed momentarily as she placed a discreet hand on her anxious stomach, and silently wished she had thrown a bigger fit when the proposition of facing her mother was brought up in the first place. Her mind raced, but was blank all at the same time. As she sat there, she couldn't even strongly recall what her mother's face even looked like. How she smelled. The way her smile looked. Nothing came to mind when she thought of Agnis Pixis, and so she wasn't sure what to expect.
Silica hated being out of control of the situations she found herself in, and during the hour-and-a-half long ride to the interior, she silently prepared herself for the worst.
"We've arrived." Nile said densely as the carriage stopped. Silica opened her eyes to see him staring at her.
"Are you ready?" Mike asked from beside her, and after a brief moment of silence, she nodded.
"Let's go." She said, and with that, Nile was moving to open the door.
When the trio stepped out of the carriage, Silica looked up to see a relatively modern building before her. White plaster made up the bulk of it, with stone lining the foundation and edges where the walls met. A rustic paned ceiling carried a wooden sign with 'Man's World' etched into it, and the sight of it alone made her brow narrow in distaste.
"It'll be okay," Mike whispered with a hand on her shoulder. He gave it a squeeze when she looked down. "We'll be in and out before you know it."
"Right," she sighed as their group approached the entrance. "Let's just get this over with."
She exchanged brief looks with Erwin and Brutus as Nile took it upon himself to push open the old fashioned swing doors, and the immediate scent of cigar smoke hit her in the face. There was a haze that settled into the air within the brothel, and an immediate wave of nausea made her flinch subtly. A bar was situated on the wall across from them, and a few men sat upon the benches sitting in front of it. The young bartender looked up with amber eyes upon their entry, and a subtle frown settled on his face as Silica continued to look around. There was a staircase on the left hand side of the main room leading into a dark hallway, and a small stage filled up the right side. Lounge chairs and a few bungalows took up most of the floor space.
Silica followed Nile up to the bar counter as her gaze paned across the establishment, and the women who were tending to the few men that were seated wore dull, unhappy expressions. She crossed her arms loosely in front of her and looked down.
"We are here to speak with Agnis Pixis," Nile said as he held up a presumed photo of Silica's mother. "And have brought her daughter, as requested."
The bartender's eyes flicked in Silica's direction and paused in polishing the glass cup in his hand. He remained silent for another minute before finally setting it down, and let out a brief sigh as he turned.
"Take a seat in the corner," he said. "I'll have her out in a minute."
"Thank you," Nile nodded once and beckoned for Silica, Erwin and Mike to follow. "Elite Advancement, I want two of you to stay inside by the door. The rest of you, outside."
With salutes given in acknowledgment, Silica's squad dispersed. She followed in between Mike and Erwin with her scowl glued to the floor, and didn't sit down once they came upon the corner seating they were directed towards. Her finger tapped ceaselessly on her arm as she stood there, and it felt as if an eternity of silence went by before Silica heard the clicking of heels halting behind her.
"Well, well," a deep woman's voice echoed familiarly in her head. It made her ears ring. "It's about time you visited your mother."