"Sorry for what? You didn't do anything to me. That jerk came out of the blue." Roan said gently. But he'd noticed something very profound about Isla. The glasses were not a fashion choice, as much as a mask. She was either almost blind or the light hurt her eyes.
"We've hardly just met," Cyra thought aloud, her natural wisdom to not trust someone she did not know well overridden by the pleasure he fed her dark side with, "and yet I feel like I've know you all my life.""Good!" Indigo said as he brought her wrist to his lips and pressed a soft kiss on his bit mark.
~~~
()
"Oh nothing. Vasper was just regaling me with a joke. I'd tell you, but I don't know if you would laugh or cry." Ryker said as he took another bite of his sausage and chewed with a smirk.
(She grabbed his arm earlier to keep him from walking away, that's what I meant)
(Yeah, she does. But she picks up on vibrations and has stereoscopic vision so she isn't completely vulnerable by lack of hearing.)
"My son was killed." Ioan stated slowly after a period of silence. "You can't imagine the guilt I felt.. I feel, for not trying harder to save him. I couldn't let hundreds of children be slaughtered in the same way. I couldn't let them die. If my son wasn't killed, and had been among those the government planned to execute, I would have done everything in my power to save them. When I saw the children, they reminded me of my son. You were innocent and deserving of a chance to live the life that was meant for you, despite the changes you overcome after being considered mere experiments. You deserved a second chance." Ioan admitted with conviction.
Zaine listened intently to the explanation. Well that was more than he had asked for. But better too much than too less, right? By the time Ioan finished, Zaine was a bit teary eyed. He subtly dabbed at his eyes with his sleeve, pretending there was a bug or something. "Thank you, sir. For everything you've done and are doing for us," he said gratefully. But now how was he supposed to smoothly transition to his real point.
Ioan was trying to hard to keep himself from crying to notice Zaine's similar struggle. "You're welcome," He answered softly, "but that isn't why you're here, is it?" He asked pointedly, gaze directed towards Zaine.
"No, sir, it's not," Zaine admitted. "I actually came about my personal file. As you can imagine, there are a lot of things that have gone unanswered. They've left me unsettled. I was hoping something in my file would give clues or answer the biggest one I've got."
"Do you care to share what these questions are?" Ioan inquired, leaning back in his office chair.
Zaine grew slightly uncomfortable, unsure how much he wanted to say. But if he expected to receive any answers, he needed to give Ioan the whole story, so he began. "The day up to the last point I remember before waking at the lab. That's where my biggest question lay, but I'm going to have to give you some background for you to understand how much an answer means to me." Shoving his hands in his pockets, he paced slowly in front of the desk. "I come from a middle class family, easy life compared to most of the people here. But my family was large, and a little distant from each other. We were left to our own entertainments more often than not. I spent most of my time exploring the woods near our house or reading with my best, and pretty much only, friend. Ellie. She was everything to me." Looking to the ground, he took a deep breath to calm himself. These were things that hadn't been said aloud in ages and he wasn't sure he could say it all. "To cut to the chase, she was with me in my last memory of before. We were exploring an old house and it caved in. I assume that's where Ryker discovered me—us. That's the thing, sir. I was never told whether she had been found and saved, as I was. Ryker always gave me indirect answers when I asked. The not knowing is killing me. Surely you, of anyone, can relate. Even knowing that she didn't make it would be okay, just so long as I know that I haven't gone ten years without seeing her for a reason." He looked imploringly to Ioan and the thought crossed him that it was silly to expect answers from the man. But he had to try, at least.
