Rita awakened in a cold sweat that morning. What the hell was that all about!? It had to be a trick, like the moving shadows from the other night... It just couldn't be real
( Read more... )
Thanks for posting first! I've been so behind in school work lately, I can't focus! ;;avengingfistsMay 1 2011, 21:22:55 UTC
A field trip was the last thing Ilia expected when morning dawned. So far, Landel's institute had been full of a great deal of surprises. Most of them were of a horrific and fantastical nature. But a trip into town seemed so... mundane for this place, especially considering the changing of hands that had occurred recently. From the sound of it, this wasn't a new experiment though Ilia had to wonder how often the patients were taken out of the institute and when the tradition began. Perhaps this was something better answered by a veteran member of the institute, like Anise or Claude.
Ilia wasn't exactly thrilled with the wardrobe provided for her, but she put on the clothing that was demanded of her. It wasn't that bad, actually. The black jeans were faded and a little too short for her, and the orange blouse was also a bit tight, but the blue windbreaker jacket at least held back the chill of the air. The snow expedited her movements, and she jogged up to the nearest bus after retrieving her own breakfast and card. Five dollars, Berg had said. Well, maybe if they had a convenience store she could grab a cheap beer or two.
She wasn't looking for any seatmate in particular and thought maybe she would stretch out a bit in one of the open seats in the back. Last night's run in with the burning man had been a little stressful, but her legs had at least gotten a good workout trying to skirt him without upsetting him too much.
“I-I’m so meaningless…” The whispered words caught Ilia's ear just as she passed a seat and she paused, almost missing the man sitting there, hunched and practically invisible. "Such a worthless..." Ilia could have sworn he said 'nation' but convinced herself she just misheard.
His words reminded her of Ritsu, that poor woman so down on herself about everything. Ilia didn't believe she was necessarily qualified to be a guidance counselor, but she understood that this place had quite a disturbing effect on some of the more fragile patients. People who weren't used to combat or even mildly stressful situations found themselves breaking down. At least Ilia knew she could help these people out a little bit by offering an open ear.
"Hey there," Ilia said softly, sitting down next to the man and ducking her head a little to catch his eye. "Something wrong? Want to talk about it?"
She took in his pale face, blue eyes and slightly curly blond hair poking out from under a hat that was clearly meant for someone several years younger than him. He seemed quite vulnerable, though that may also have been partially caused by the on-coming cold he seemed to be fighting.
Lmao, it's no problem at all!flou_canadianMay 3 2011, 20:11:00 UTC
Matthew straightened his back as he heard the voice nearby, looking up nervously to watch as a young woman began to sit beside him. “H-Hello!” He really didn't want anybody to speak to him at that moment, but...there was no way he could just ask her to leave. Shifting to the side of the seat so she had more space, the youth-like nation quickly began to piece together a politely happy mask, only to have it quickly cracked at her question. Well…so much for hiding all of this. Was it really that obvious? He was truly beginning to experience moments where he really missed his invisibility.
“O-Oh, it’s nothing much.” He grinned weakly, his hands tightening around the corners of his plaid jacket as he glanced over her appearance. Blond hair, brown eyes, and while not as young as some of the patients he had seen, she still looked to be in her younger years; perhaps her early 20s. She appeared to be a very confident person, although the way she spoke to him was quite gentle. For a brief moment, Matthew felt tempted to tell the truth, but he quickly pushed that urge away; everyone was going through these difficulties. He truly could not bother another person with it. Gulping lightly, he continued to speak. “I-I just…don’t feel that well right now.” He rubbed at his nose with his sleeve, to show what he was talking about.
Matthew tried his best to fight back the sadness digging away at his chest, although he was positive that some of it appeared amongst his falsely smiling expression. He reached up and adjusted his glasses, hoping that they would at least hide it a little bit. “So, what’s your name? I’m Matthew Williams!” He forced his grin to increase in size.
Whether Matthew was typically skilled at hiding his feelings or not was of no consequence to Ilia. She had a natural talent for reading into someone's distress. It was a good thing too, or else she and the Captain would have gotten into who knows how many scrapes just from his inability to read the atmosphere.
She could see him playing it off as just a simple cold, but Ilia had already seen his mask crack once. He was trying to keep her from worrying, or maybe he didn't trust her. The latter was just as understandable as the former. This place wasn't built to breed trust between strangers, and yet Ilia still felt optimistic.
"It's certainly cold. That time of year, I suppose." She wiped a strand of blond hair out of her face, a knowing glance coming to her eyes. "I have a feeling that's not the only thing bothering you, though."
He had a surprisingly plain name compared to most of the patients she had met here. It almost sounded like an institute-given name. But then again, not everyone had to be a magic-user or a time traveler just to be picked up for this place and its odd experiments. "Nice to meet you, Matthew. I'm Ilia. Ilia Silvestri."
She sat back and stretched out her legs under the seat in front of them, reaching into her bagged breakfast. The juice box caught her interest first. Orange.
"It might do you some good to eat, especially if you're under the weather. You need to keep up your strength." She held up the juice box. "If you've got a different flavor and want to trade, I'm game. Citrus is good for you."
Sorry for the late comment orz orz. I was really busy and then had a stupid internet access ;~:flou_canadianMay 10 2011, 08:13:30 UTC
“Y-Yeah. I didn’t think it was that cold compared to my country…but…I underestimated how quickly the normal human body can get sick in this weather.” He grinned softly, his red nose beginning to fit the shade of his plaid jacket, only for his smile to weaken slightly at her second comment. He said nothing, casting his gaze towards the seat in front of him. “It’s…really nothing.”
Once she introduced herself, Matthew grinned towards her. “It’s nice to meet you, Illia!" He was about to offer a handshake, but, remembering his cold, he quickly moved his hand back. "What country are you from?" Although his habit of asking everyone that question originated at one point from a genuine interest in a person’s national origins, after what Matthew had learned from Sasuke, it now had a more ulterior motive. He now wanted to learn whether or not the person was from Earth or another world.
Matthew wasn’t sure how to help everyone from different worlds, but…he needed to try his best. To be located in a world and culture thoroughly different from their own would certainly be a disadvantage in the long run if they managed to escape the area. To try to lessen that disadvantage for them in whatever way he could was the right thing to do.
Imitating her movements, Matthew also lifted up his bagged breakfast. He…really did not have an appetite at the moment, but…eating food was a good way to avoid getting sick when you’re a human, wasn’t it? As if responding to his concerns, she offered her orange juice, explaining why it would keep him from getting sick.
“Oh really? It does?” He gawked for a moment, as the memories of mostly-ignored TV talk shows and newspaper articles came back to mind. …Why didn’t he work harder at paying attention to health advice when he was a nation? Sure, since he only got sick from the bad economy it had no real significance in his own life…but it was still important to his population! “Um…I think I got…” He reached into his bag, digging out an apple juice box. Well…that was boring. Showing the package to Illia, he asked. “Are you sure you’re okay with trading this? I know apple juice isn’t the best tasting so…”
…But really, how did normal humans even take care of their health? From what he did see, it appeared to be incredibly conflicting and confusing.
“Um…how do people avoid getting sick?” He grinned awkwardly, the embarrassment hardly hidden on his face. “I-I think I got sick because I went out into the snow right after having a shower yesterday, and...that happened because I didn’t realize that people can get ill so easily. …But what else do people do so they don’t get sick? Other then drinking citrus juice, I mean?” Unaware of how clueless he was being, Matthew tucked away the "citrus juice=drink it daily" in his mind as if it was an all-encompassing, important rule of living as a human. "Exactly how many minutes and seconds can you be outside in the snow before you get sick?"
No problem, bb <3avengingfistsMay 12 2011, 08:22:51 UTC
Ilia listened to him ramble on, nodding occasionally at his somewhat strange phrasing. Huh. He almost sounded as if he hadn't been human before. She didn't want to jump to conclusions, though. He had a fairly normal name, after all.
"You mean, what nationality am I?" she asked, a little surprised. It was almost more commonplace to hear someone asking another patient something like "what world" or "what time" they came from. But... country? Did he mean like, country from Earth, or was he actually from a different planet? "Well, I don't really like to bind myself to one country. I guess you could say I'm a cosmopolitan." She smiled wryly. "I'm definitely from Earth, though."
He seemed so unsure about everything that Ilia sincerely did start to worry about him. He was much more clueless than most of the other patients she had met here. "Sure, I don't mind at all. I actually really like apple." She swapped the juice boxes with him without a qualm.
She had to wonder what kind of country he could have lived in if he thought it was colder there and yet he still found himself getting sick so easily. It was like he didn't know any better. "Well, there's no set time or anything. When you feel cold, you should know its best to bundle up and keep dry. Actually, I would suggest take a hot shower after being out in the cold. Eating warm things like soup can also cut down on getting sick...."
She wasn't sure how much longer she should go on. How could he have lived without knowing such basic information? Only one solution came to mind but she was almost hesitant to ask.
"Matthew, I hope you don't mind me asking such a personal question but... you're not human, are you?" Best to be polite in times like this.
Re: No problem, bb <3flou_canadianMay 13 2011, 09:10:51 UTC
“Oh, okay. Yeah, I’m from Earth too, but…I generally just stay in Canada.” Matthew grinned, using the clear straw to break the orange juice boxes foil before beginning to sip away at it. “Still, my job has made it so I have to travel internationally quite a bit still.” That was a rather ambiguous answer…but he supposed she had her reasons. Still, since she’d made a point of specifying that she was from Earth, then that probably meant she was aware of the different dimensions that everyone was from.
He nodded as she explained to him different health tips, closely paying attention and attempting to force everything to memory. So…it really was rather difficult to define, wasn’t it? Humans did have rather complicated concerns. At the very least though, being transformed into a human was giving him an idea of how his own citizens lived, and in itself, that was a rather fascinating thing to experience.
Sadly, his optimistic thoughts were cut short at one simple question.
“-you’re not human, are you?”
In the first second, Matthew stared blankly, a smile frozen on his face. In the next second, he was plastered up against the window, attempting to create as much distance between him and Illia as possible. However, with seats to either side, the wall to his back, and a nicely smiling girl blocking his only path to escape, Canada realized with increased dread that he had no way out of this. He couldn’t run, he couldn’t stay silent and pretend to be invisible, he would just have to man up and…
…tell the best lie he’d ever told.
“What? No! I’m a 100% Canadian human being!” He stammered, nearly flailing his hands in anxiety. “I-I’m nineteen years old, was born in New Brunswick, I study history and politics, and my name is certainly just Matthew Williams!” In his four centuries of life, he’d never ever had anyone bluntly ask him if he was human. And while Canada had tried to practice his response to this terrifying question before, he was quickly realizing it was unable to prevent him from running his words together in panic. He was sounding less and less believable by the moment.
And yet…he couldn’t just tell this girl the truth! After all, nobody but high class politicians and government workers had ever known his real identity, and if he told her the truth, then the information could spread. And if it spread, then things would spiral rapidly out of control before he could even order a large double double coffee at Tim Hortons.
As the millions of terrible scenerios passed through his mind, Canada almost felt like he wanted to stuff his face into his hideous hat and never see the light of day again. ‘England. Englaaaand. What do you do in this situation?!’
Ilia sipped her own little pack of apple juice as she listened in on Matthew's back story. Canadian. Well, she would accept that. If he traveled internationally then perhaps he knew what she meant when she said cosmopolitan. Even if someone identified one place as their home country then that was one thing, though she would only ever consider Earth and the human race as roots. There was just too much space in the universe to pinpoint her loyalties any further than that.
His knee-jerk reaction to her question made her jump in her seat and she almost spit out her juice in her surprise. If he already wasn't acting suspicious then the extreme vehemence of his string of denials would have given him away. She reached out her free hand, waving it in a placating manner.
"Okay, okay! I get it, you can't say." She tried to smile, but it was twisting into a nervous grimace. "Just calm down. You're going to get hurt if the bus turns over." Not that she wanted to worry him any more than necessary, but jumping around on a crowded bus as it rumbled its way to who knew where wasn't a great idea by any stretch of the imagination.
She took a deep breath then smiled again, hoping to alleviate some of the damage she had done. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so straight-forward. You don't have to answer anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. It was thoughtless of me."
Despite her reassurances, it still took a few moments for Matthew to calm down enough for him to unglue himself from the window behind him. “Really?! It’ll roll over?!” Adjusting his hat, he quickly plopped himself back into his seat, sending several nervous looks to the patients around him. He was getting that upset?! ’So much for keeping your cool, Canada…’ He sighed weakly, an embarrassed expression on his face as he fearfully looked back to Illia, fidgeting with his now semi-crushed juice box. “S-Sorry about that …” He sighed wistfully.
Seeing as she openly asked that question, she was definitely aware of the different world situation, as well as the downright bizarre abilities that some of the patients had. “I-I guess with all these…strange people here, it’s that obvious now…?” He sighed weakly, a somewhat disappointed look on his face. He was normally able to avoid unwanted attention from regular citizens through his invisibility; apparently other than that he had been lacking abit in the “normal” factor.
‘Well atleast I’m not like Russia or America!’ He reminded himself, in a failed attempt at cheering himself up as he leaned down and grabbed the bagged breakfast that had been shoved onto the floor. Once he sat back up again, he watched her apologize, quickly pasting a nervously polite smile on his own face. “O-Oh, it’s fine, it’s fine! Please don’t feel bad!” He waved his hand. “With so many different people around here now, it’s a bit natural t-to want to figure that out, isn’t it?” He grinned, before breaking into a sigh. “I just…haven’t really told anybody about it before. It’s not something I’ m suppost to ever reveal to regular citizens, and…that was the first time anybody had ever asked that question. I-I was really unprepared.” At the back of his mind, something was telling him that even revealing that information was wrong, but he quickly shoved it away. Him and Illia were not even apart of the same worlds! Discussing this was harmless!
…But if that was the case, then…was there even any real harm in telling her the truth? “Still…this entire situation is just…” His lips thinned into a depressed line as he looked down into the ground, his voice dying before he could finish his sentence. He doubted that there was any word in all the languages on Earth that could ever describe their situation.
She was going to reassure Matthew that it was only if the bus happened to turn over that he would get hurt, and not that his standing would do such a thing, but he was already wound up as it was. Maybe it was best to let him think that than risk having him jumping around any more.
It really was natural to jump to the conclusion that most people here were not of Earth. Or even if they were, it was of a different time, or with strange powers even Ilia had never heard of. To hear the young man speak, though, he wasn't used to revealing his own special something, whatever it was, even back in his time and proper place. Ilia reached over and patted his arm gently.
"I understand. Even I've had some trouble trying to discern what I should keep quiet here and what's important to reveal." She nodded encouragingly. "But we can't hide everything. Here, it's important that we share anything about ourselves that might help in escape, but not everything is required to be shared." She wanted to let him know it wasn't necessary to tell it all, but that leaving information and skills hidden could also potentially work against them. It was a fine line to walk for some, she was sure.
"It's not easy." That was the simplest way anyone could put it. Ilia offered him a slight smile, hoping he was coming to grips a bit more with the situation. "But it's not hopeless."
Ilia wasn't exactly thrilled with the wardrobe provided for her, but she put on the clothing that was demanded of her. It wasn't that bad, actually. The black jeans were faded and a little too short for her, and the orange blouse was also a bit tight, but the blue windbreaker jacket at least held back the chill of the air. The snow expedited her movements, and she jogged up to the nearest bus after retrieving her own breakfast and card. Five dollars, Berg had said. Well, maybe if they had a convenience store she could grab a cheap beer or two.
She wasn't looking for any seatmate in particular and thought maybe she would stretch out a bit in one of the open seats in the back. Last night's run in with the burning man had been a little stressful, but her legs had at least gotten a good workout trying to skirt him without upsetting him too much.
“I-I’m so meaningless…” The whispered words caught Ilia's ear just as she passed a seat and she paused, almost missing the man sitting there, hunched and practically invisible. "Such a worthless..." Ilia could have sworn he said 'nation' but convinced herself she just misheard.
His words reminded her of Ritsu, that poor woman so down on herself about everything. Ilia didn't believe she was necessarily qualified to be a guidance counselor, but she understood that this place had quite a disturbing effect on some of the more fragile patients. People who weren't used to combat or even mildly stressful situations found themselves breaking down. At least Ilia knew she could help these people out a little bit by offering an open ear.
"Hey there," Ilia said softly, sitting down next to the man and ducking her head a little to catch his eye. "Something wrong? Want to talk about it?"
She took in his pale face, blue eyes and slightly curly blond hair poking out from under a hat that was clearly meant for someone several years younger than him. He seemed quite vulnerable, though that may also have been partially caused by the on-coming cold he seemed to be fighting.
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“O-Oh, it’s nothing much.” He grinned weakly, his hands tightening around the corners of his plaid jacket as he glanced over her appearance. Blond hair, brown eyes, and while not as young as some of the patients he had seen, she still looked to be in her younger years; perhaps her early 20s. She appeared to be a very confident person, although the way she spoke to him was quite gentle. For a brief moment, Matthew felt tempted to tell the truth, but he quickly pushed that urge away; everyone was going through these difficulties. He truly could not bother another person with it. Gulping lightly, he continued to speak. “I-I just…don’t feel that well right now.” He rubbed at his nose with his sleeve, to show what he was talking about.
Matthew tried his best to fight back the sadness digging away at his chest, although he was positive that some of it appeared amongst his falsely smiling expression. He reached up and adjusted his glasses, hoping that they would at least hide it a little bit. “So, what’s your name? I’m Matthew Williams!” He forced his grin to increase in size.
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She could see him playing it off as just a simple cold, but Ilia had already seen his mask crack once. He was trying to keep her from worrying, or maybe he didn't trust her. The latter was just as understandable as the former. This place wasn't built to breed trust between strangers, and yet Ilia still felt optimistic.
"It's certainly cold. That time of year, I suppose." She wiped a strand of blond hair out of her face, a knowing glance coming to her eyes. "I have a feeling that's not the only thing bothering you, though."
He had a surprisingly plain name compared to most of the patients she had met here. It almost sounded like an institute-given name. But then again, not everyone had to be a magic-user or a time traveler just to be picked up for this place and its odd experiments. "Nice to meet you, Matthew. I'm Ilia. Ilia Silvestri."
She sat back and stretched out her legs under the seat in front of them, reaching into her bagged breakfast. The juice box caught her interest first. Orange.
"It might do you some good to eat, especially if you're under the weather. You need to keep up your strength." She held up the juice box. "If you've got a different flavor and want to trade, I'm game. Citrus is good for you."
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Once she introduced herself, Matthew grinned towards her. “It’s nice to meet you, Illia!" He was about to offer a handshake, but, remembering his cold, he quickly moved his hand back. "What country are you from?" Although his habit of asking everyone that question originated at one point from a genuine interest in a person’s national origins, after what Matthew had learned from Sasuke, it now had a more ulterior motive. He now wanted to learn whether or not the person was from Earth or another world.
Matthew wasn’t sure how to help everyone from different worlds, but…he needed to try his best. To be located in a world and culture thoroughly different from their own would certainly be a disadvantage in the long run if they managed to escape the area. To try to lessen that disadvantage for them in whatever way he could was the right thing to do.
Imitating her movements, Matthew also lifted up his bagged breakfast. He…really did not have an appetite at the moment, but…eating food was a good way to avoid getting sick when you’re a human, wasn’t it? As if responding to his concerns, she offered her orange juice, explaining why it would keep him from getting sick.
“Oh really? It does?” He gawked for a moment, as the memories of mostly-ignored TV talk shows and newspaper articles came back to mind. …Why didn’t he work harder at paying attention to health advice when he was a nation? Sure, since he only got sick from the bad economy it had no real significance in his own life…but it was still important to his population! “Um…I think I got…” He reached into his bag, digging out an apple juice box. Well…that was boring. Showing the package to Illia, he asked. “Are you sure you’re okay with trading this? I know apple juice isn’t the best tasting so…”
…But really, how did normal humans even take care of their health? From what he did see, it appeared to be incredibly conflicting and confusing.
“Um…how do people avoid getting sick?” He grinned awkwardly, the embarrassment hardly hidden on his face. “I-I think I got sick because I went out into the snow right after having a shower yesterday, and...that happened because I didn’t realize that people can get ill so easily. …But what else do people do so they don’t get sick? Other then drinking citrus juice, I mean?” Unaware of how clueless he was being, Matthew tucked away the "citrus juice=drink it daily" in his mind as if it was an all-encompassing, important rule of living as a human. "Exactly how many minutes and seconds can you be outside in the snow before you get sick?"
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"You mean, what nationality am I?" she asked, a little surprised. It was almost more commonplace to hear someone asking another patient something like "what world" or "what time" they came from. But... country? Did he mean like, country from Earth, or was he actually from a different planet? "Well, I don't really like to bind myself to one country. I guess you could say I'm a cosmopolitan." She smiled wryly. "I'm definitely from Earth, though."
He seemed so unsure about everything that Ilia sincerely did start to worry about him. He was much more clueless than most of the other patients she had met here. "Sure, I don't mind at all. I actually really like apple." She swapped the juice boxes with him without a qualm.
She had to wonder what kind of country he could have lived in if he thought it was colder there and yet he still found himself getting sick so easily. It was like he didn't know any better. "Well, there's no set time or anything. When you feel cold, you should know its best to bundle up and keep dry. Actually, I would suggest take a hot shower after being out in the cold. Eating warm things like soup can also cut down on getting sick...."
She wasn't sure how much longer she should go on. How could he have lived without knowing such basic information? Only one solution came to mind but she was almost hesitant to ask.
"Matthew, I hope you don't mind me asking such a personal question but... you're not human, are you?" Best to be polite in times like this.
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He nodded as she explained to him different health tips, closely paying attention and attempting to force everything to memory. So…it really was rather difficult to define, wasn’t it? Humans did have rather complicated concerns. At the very least though, being transformed into a human was giving him an idea of how his own citizens lived, and in itself, that was a rather fascinating thing to experience.
Sadly, his optimistic thoughts were cut short at one simple question.
“-you’re not human, are you?”
In the first second, Matthew stared blankly, a smile frozen on his face. In the next second, he was plastered up against the window, attempting to create as much distance between him and Illia as possible. However, with seats to either side, the wall to his back, and a nicely smiling girl blocking his only path to escape, Canada realized with increased dread that he had no way out of this. He couldn’t run, he couldn’t stay silent and pretend to be invisible, he would just have to man up and…
…tell the best lie he’d ever told.
“What? No! I’m a 100% Canadian human being!” He stammered, nearly flailing his hands in anxiety. “I-I’m nineteen years old, was born in New Brunswick, I study history and politics, and my name is certainly just Matthew Williams!” In his four centuries of life, he’d never ever had anyone bluntly ask him if he was human. And while Canada had tried to practice his response to this terrifying question before, he was quickly realizing it was unable to prevent him from running his words together in panic. He was sounding less and less believable by the moment.
And yet…he couldn’t just tell this girl the truth! After all, nobody but high class politicians and government workers had ever known his real identity, and if he told her the truth, then the information could spread. And if it spread, then things would spiral rapidly out of control before he could even order a large double double coffee at Tim Hortons.
As the millions of terrible scenerios passed through his mind, Canada almost felt like he wanted to stuff his face into his hideous hat and never see the light of day again. ‘England. Englaaaand. What do you do in this situation?!’
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His knee-jerk reaction to her question made her jump in her seat and she almost spit out her juice in her surprise. If he already wasn't acting suspicious then the extreme vehemence of his string of denials would have given him away. She reached out her free hand, waving it in a placating manner.
"Okay, okay! I get it, you can't say." She tried to smile, but it was twisting into a nervous grimace. "Just calm down. You're going to get hurt if the bus turns over." Not that she wanted to worry him any more than necessary, but jumping around on a crowded bus as it rumbled its way to who knew where wasn't a great idea by any stretch of the imagination.
She took a deep breath then smiled again, hoping to alleviate some of the damage she had done. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so straight-forward. You don't have to answer anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. It was thoughtless of me."
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Seeing as she openly asked that question, she was definitely aware of the different world situation, as well as the downright bizarre abilities that some of the patients had. “I-I guess with all these…strange people here, it’s that obvious now…?” He sighed weakly, a somewhat disappointed look on his face. He was normally able to avoid unwanted attention from regular citizens through his invisibility; apparently other than that he had been lacking abit in the “normal” factor.
‘Well atleast I’m not like Russia or America!’ He reminded himself, in a failed attempt at cheering himself up as he leaned down and grabbed the bagged breakfast that had been shoved onto the floor. Once he sat back up again, he watched her apologize, quickly pasting a nervously polite smile on his own face. “O-Oh, it’s fine, it’s fine! Please don’t feel bad!” He waved his hand. “With so many different people around here now, it’s a bit natural t-to want to figure that out, isn’t it?” He grinned, before breaking into a sigh. “I just…haven’t really told anybody about it before. It’s not something I’ m suppost to ever reveal to regular citizens, and…that was the first time anybody had ever asked that question. I-I was really unprepared.” At the back of his mind, something was telling him that even revealing that information was wrong, but he quickly shoved it away. Him and Illia were not even apart of the same worlds! Discussing this was harmless!
…But if that was the case, then…was there even any real harm in telling her the truth? “Still…this entire situation is just…” His lips thinned into a depressed line as he looked down into the ground, his voice dying before he could finish his sentence. He doubted that there was any word in all the languages on Earth that could ever describe their situation.
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It really was natural to jump to the conclusion that most people here were not of Earth. Or even if they were, it was of a different time, or with strange powers even Ilia had never heard of. To hear the young man speak, though, he wasn't used to revealing his own special something, whatever it was, even back in his time and proper place. Ilia reached over and patted his arm gently.
"I understand. Even I've had some trouble trying to discern what I should keep quiet here and what's important to reveal." She nodded encouragingly. "But we can't hide everything. Here, it's important that we share anything about ourselves that might help in escape, but not everything is required to be shared." She wanted to let him know it wasn't necessary to tell it all, but that leaving information and skills hidden could also potentially work against them. It was a fine line to walk for some, she was sure.
"It's not easy." That was the simplest way anyone could put it. Ilia offered him a slight smile, hoping he was coming to grips a bit more with the situation. "But it's not hopeless."
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