bravenewworld | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Who: Elly, Thorin
Where: The library
When: 3/13, afternoon
What: Former enemies meet to discuss personal issues with Thorin's extended family.

Warnings: None yet

Elly was early. The idea of meeting Thorin still set her on edge, their previous conversation terse and a bit awkward. He needed her help; someone close to him had been affected by Gigas and the Enhanced project. Normally, she would not agree to meet in person, but she could not in good faith deny him what she knew. Thorin was not her enemy, and she was not his.

Watching the door, the redhead sighed, doing her best to center herself before their meeting. She spoke about the Enhanced before, when Team Evolution made the initial announcement. It was an uncomfortable subject, with an uncomfortable individual.

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Elly nodded simply as she listened, her expression unchanging as she processed everything. He hadn't lost himself. That was good. This man was one of the lucky ones. There were horror stories of those who went through the Enhanced project, and how they changed. Became erratic, uncontrollable. Violent.

"How long was he missing?" A finger curled at her lips, she looked up at Thorin again. She could make assumptions, but it was best to hear from the source--or, rather, someone related to them.

She paused, her expression softening somewhat. "It's good to know he hasn't lost himself." She tried to make her words sound as genuine as she could. Things could have turned out much differently, and she was truly happy they hadn't.

He hadn't expected her to express this kind of emotion. If she was watching closely, she might have seen the way his eyes shifted up to hers, as if looking for something there. Finding nothing, his gaze rested on the table between them, without truly focusing.

"Months. I cannot say how long exactly - he was marked down as missing in action not long before the end of the siege, so it would have been four months at the least." He couldn't say how much time Hayato had spent lost and wandering. It weighed on him, felt like a failure, the fact that even a photographer would have been taken captive and put through... well. On top of that, there were too many relatives and friends of his own whose bodies had not been found. Was it really any kindness to hope they might be alive, if it would mean they were in Gigas' hands?

"How long does the... procedure take?"

Four months. It wasn't that long at all, but at the same time, for him it was likely an eternity. Crossing an arm over her chest, she let her other elbow rest on it, lips pressed to her knuckles. It was hard to say what happened in that time, how long he had been in the facility, or what he had seen.

"It varies, I think." She said, after a moment. "I've heard for some it's pretty quick. Others long and painful. It could take months, even years." If they lived to see the end. It was unclear how many went through the program and never saw the other side.

Too many.

...Was he sizing her up again? His expression was hard to read, and Elly found herself trying to draw meaning from it and coming up short. Brow furrowing slightly, she adjusted in her seat slightly, crossing her arms over her chest.

She sat in that silence for a moment before speaking again. "Most of the soldiers we saw were loose cannons. We always had to step lightly around them. Have you noticed anything similar with your friend?"

"Not so far, no," he answered with a shake of his head.

"Does it get worse over time?" That was what worried him. If it was merely a matter of getting used to his new strength, training and adjusting was all it took. But if it was like a disability, or a disease... that was another matter. His concern won out over wariness. He shifted as she did, sitting back somewhat, but left his hands on the table.

"It can, without treatment. Although that depends on the person." She spoke before she could think, a tinge of regret filling her face as the words left her. Not regret for having shared that, but for what it likely did to Thorin. For the life that this man was left to live.

She lowered her head. "I'm sorry, I feel like all I have to give is bad news." Lingering in that moment, she looked up again, trying to smile, to reassure him. "There are those who can live perfectly normal lives, so I hear. The ones brought here, for example. They seem happy.

"Quite frankly, the only ones I've known have been in the military, outside of those who were brought into the city just recently. There's a lot about them I don't know. Given the stressful environment, just about anyone could crack. I--"

She stopped abruptly. No. She didn't want to talk about that here. Elly cleared her throat.

She cut herself off, and he dove right in. "I didn't come out here looking for good news," he offered as reassuringly straightforward as he could manage, "I came here hoping for information."

If she would look at him, he held her gaze steady, calm and composed.

"So there's no reason for you to apologize. I would sooner know, especially when it's bad. If I know, I can prepare, and speak to him about what may be necessary."

Shaking her head, Elly continued. "Unfortunately, that's all I know. Like I said, it's possible that he will be just fine, and that he'll go the rest of his life without feeling any of the averse effects."

"But," And for this she leaned in, expression a bit grave, "You also need to be prepared for something to set him off. Something you or he might not be aware of or prepared for. He might change unexpectedly."

Immediately his thoughts went to his nephew. Someone who wasn't as experienced in combat would not be ready - even he himself might be caught unawares, but Thorin had never worried about himself overmuch. He wasn't about to start now.

Either way though, his expression darkened, turning into a grim sort of acceptance. He would do whatever he needed to to protect his family.

"If it happens, I will stop him," he answered, solemn like a promise, completely confident, "and do my best to find out what it is that sets him off."

Elly noted that herself, frowning a bit as his expression turned a bit more bleak. "I have no doubt of that," She said, with conviction. "Although I would hope that you would do everything you could to keep it from coming to that."

It wasn't her business, she knew, but somehow the thought of punishing someone like that, when they could no longer account for their actions, felt wrong.

Perhaps she had been away from Gigas for too long, had become soft. Elly didn't mind that.

That sentence alone was enough to make him sit back with his arms crossed, placing a distance firmly between them. What did she take him for, to think she would need to remind him of that? Would he have come to her if he did not care what happened? Even so, he took care not to let his temper carry him off.

"He is like family to me. One would think that might go without saying."

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