It wasn't until she got to the office on the second floor and handed the papers to the approval officer, that Kestrel suddenly remembered when she'd heard that wave sound before.
It was probably a few years ago when she hadn't yet earned the right to leave the Tower. For some reason, she'd decided to sneak out of the Tower on a snowy night.
The Kestrel of now couldn't really understand her thoughts back then. Maybe it was what they call "teenage mood swings" or "teenage angst". Anyway, her feelings were all over the place at that time. Sometimes she would get really caught up in small things for no reason, like a snowfall or fireworks in the sky... all small stuff.
Some folks say that to make sure betas are safe, the beta school in the Tower has the strongest security system in the whole Empire, and no one can come or go as they please. But, Kestrel felt things weren't as over the top as the rumors said. If she wanted, she could always sneak out.
Her tendrils could reach far underground. Often, before those people even noticed her, she would have already trapped them with her tendrils. Without much effort, she just needed to lightly stir their surface thoughts, and they would unconsciously ignore her. She could walk past those teachers, security guys, and alphas without being noticed. They wouldn't spot her - not because they couldn't see, but because they subconsciously ignored her, and when they realized it later, they would be puzzled, wondering how they missed her.
This kind of easy psychic induction was as simple as eating for Kestrel, almost like a natural instinct, as if she had known how to do it since birth. But not every beta could do this, and it wasn't a necessary skill for betas. It was hard to learn and not publicly accepted, thought to be only picked up by some "out of the ordinary" people.
People usually believe that betas should be gentle, patient, full of kindness and loaded with empathetic abilities. An outstanding beta should be proud of being able to comfort alphas. A beta's main job should be giving better mental care.
The school inside the Tower was like it was always spring. Everyone wore fancy silk clothes, ate nutritious and yummy healthy food, and besides having to think about who their future partner would be, they lived carefree, luxury, and successful lives. Yet for some unknown reason, Kestrel always wanted to sneak out then. She wanted to step into the chilly snow, blend in the dusty streets, take a few breaths of unfiltered air outside the Tower, or look at the wide-open sky.
She could aimlessly roam under the open sky for a bit. Those people would hardly find her.
On that day, the snow was heavy, the streets were deserted, and white, fluffy heaps of snow were everywhere, making the whole world feel like a far-off dream. Kestrel stepped out from the cozy beta academy, wearing only a thin uniform and oversized boots, feeling the bitter cold. But she had no plans to go back. She sat down in an alley, leaning against a snow-covered garbage bin, looking up at a small piece of the gray sky blanketed with snow.
The alpha appeared suddenly. As Kestrel heard the faint sound of waves, he landed on top of the metal garbage bin. Dressed in the black uniform of the alpha academy, with one foot crushing the snow on top of the bin, he rudely held a cold dagger to Kestrel's throat.
He reported into his intercom, "Target found. Yes, it's her. Fully contained. Okay, I'll bring her back immediately."
While talking, he was staring coldly at Kestrel, his eyes having a slight purple hue, indicating the activation of his psychic abilities. It wasn't the look an alpha gave a beta, but that of a special forces soldier eyeing a troublesome runaway in the heavy snow. Cool and cautious, leaving her no chance to escape, the sharp dagger in his hand pressed firmly against Kestrel's neck.
Even now, when Kestrel thought about it, she could still remember the feel of the sharp blade against her neck.
"So it was him." Kestrel touched her neck and looked out of the window on the second floor. The screen in the yard was still playing the same loop, surrounded by countless angry alphas.
"You want to apply to the Special Research Division?" The officer sitting across from Kestrel brought her attention back.
The officer was a middle-aged woman, wearing a military cap, with the badge of an officer on her chest. Looking through the documents Kestrel had handed over, her expression seemed a bit impatient.
"This... seems against the rules, little lady" she said.
She had a small stamp in her hand, twirling it around, reluctant to stamp it down.
Even though there was nothing in Kestrel's application that actually went against the rules, the officer held power in her hands and seemed to enjoy making things difficult.
Kestrel had encountered Officer Woo before. Previously, she had always greeted her with a warm smile, had never spoken to her in this tone, and never called her "little lady" in such a demeaning way.
People's attitudes can change so suddenly. It wasn't just her.
Even without extending her psychic tendrils, Kestrel could pick up on the change in their attitudes towards her. The respectful treatment she had received before had turned into trouble, suggesting that without her marriage contract, she had suddenly become less and was supposed to be given a hard time, looked down upon, and pitied wherever she went.
Two unseen tendrils withdrew from the direction of the officer, shaking with distaste before curling up unhappily.
Once again, she had unintentionally encountered unpleasant emotions... Kestrel was sometimes exasperated with her own psychic abilities.
"It" was too big and had a character that was unlike Kestrel's, frequently roaming around and touching everything within reach, uncontrollable. It would unintentionally touch the surface consciousness that some people exposed. Especially those intense, unrestrained emotions, they were easily touched and then fed back to Kestrel.
Actually, Kestrel really didn't want to know about those emotions and thoughts. To her, they were unrelated people and unrelated matters. Being forced to experience such emotions, the whole world became much more annoying. Unfortunately, this wasn't something she could completely control.
Every alpha and beta in the world had their own psychic incarnation, which appeared in the form of animals that ordinary people couldn't see. The psychic bodies of alphas were often predators like tigers, coyotes, hawks, and sharks, fierce and aggressive. Betas were usually represented by gentle herbivores such as deer, koi, and snow rabbits, all very adorable.
And Kestrel knew she was a bit of an oddball. To comfort herself, she thought that her psychic incarnation wasn't THAT peculiar, and that "it" was cute, just a "little bit" larger.
"It's not that I'm not giving you the pass. It's just..." The officer was murmuring as she flipped through the pages, when suddenly she paused, "Huh, is this psychic induction?"
She paused, closed the file, as if she remembered something, her eyes looked at Kestrel with a renewed smile, "Little lady, you are a beta, running around everywhere, it's not quite appropriate. I'm a bit conflicted about this."
"However..." her tone changed, "We do have a very important matter at hand."
"Did you see that prisoner? He's a murderer," she pointed with her chin towards the window, "We need a beta to infiltrate his psychic barrier, pry open his mouth, and make him confess to his crimes."
Betas, being part of the military, must obey the officer's orders. But betas were naturally inclined to pacify alphas, and no one wanted to do the dirty work of interrogating criminals. Betas who had been matched with a marriage contract to nobles and the royal family wouldn't be assigned such tasks. The officer felt it was suitable to put this task on Kestrel.
Perhaps fearing Kestrel wouldn't agree, she extended her hand, patting Kestrel's hand across the table, as if they had some kind of close relationship. "If you help the military solve this problem, no matter what you need, I will help you out, understand?"
Roy, who had been waiting on the side, heard this and pushed Kestrel, about to step forward and speak for her.
However, he heard Kestrel respond lightly: "Sure."
Roy turned his head in surprise, thinking that this young girl was indeed naive. On the way here, she had promised to be obedient. But she had forgotten as soon as she turned around. When faced with such an unreasonable request, she agreed without hesitation. She might not even know how terrifying such a desperate criminal could be.
The guy she would face was nothing like the clueless alphas from the Tower who'd get flustered when they met a female beta. They were hardened individuals, having survived gruesome battles, crawled out from the darkest places, and taken lives with their own hands. They were often ruthless, cruel, and relentless. Breaking down their psychic walls and stepping into their mental spaces was not just tough, but extremely risky. It was pure naivety.
Roy tried to get Kestrel's attention, but she didn't notice him. Her eyes were locked on the screen that played the same clip over and over, like she was deep in thought.
Seeing Kestrel's agreement, the officer felt happy. She walked up to the window, standing next to Kestrel, and started whispering some important details.
"Actually... getting him to confess isn't the main goal. The real key is finding the insectoid stone," she squinted, making a mysterious face as if hinting at something more, and lowered her voice even further. "That's a living insectoid stone. It's worth a fortune. That's what the bigwigs want. We have to get it."
Kestrel peered at the scene outside the window, her face giving away no emotions, making it hard to tell what she was thinking. She just hummed lightly in reply.
The officer felt relieved. She figured Kestrel was just a young girl who had never left the Tower and needed her help. She should be easy to boss around. So, she gave Kestrel's shoulder a reassuring pat, saying, "Just do what you gotta do. As long as you can find out where the stone is, it doesn't matter if that alpha ends up dead or crazy."
Kestrel, in her school uniform, turned her face to look at the officer. Something about her pale face and dark eyes gave the officer an eerie feeling.
For a moment, the officer though the feeling was just an illusion, because she soon heard Kestrel's unhesitating answer, "Got it."