(REWRITING) The Skylar Experiment : Coveting

19. Reprimand

--Nathaniel's villa, where meetings often happen between adults. He is an elder mutant with influence--

Under the vaulted ceiling painted in fresques, Lauren lowered her chin. The adults judged her in a furious silence that transcended the elegance of the open room with many glass doors leading to gardens. Her brother scraped his jaw in discomfort, sitting beside her on the cabriole divan. They rarely visited Nathaniel unless it was for urgent matters. 

The man paced while Heather and Greg watched the twins. Finally, Nathaniel spoke. 

"Do you have any idea what you have done?"

Lauren dared to lift her eyes but responded in a whisper. "I am fully aware, yes."

Charcoal, smoldering eyes connected with hers with an imperative gleam. "You're telling me that, despite knowing how dangerous it is, how reckless you acted, you still decided to expose us to your little friend? Have you listened to all of us when we warned you countless times and explained you why this is unacceptable?" His voice resonated through the wide, airy hallways. "What do we do if it backfires like all the other ones have? You will have given us another threat, Lauren. She is a risk we can't allow and you had the nerve to ignore what we tell you. For a smart girl, I expected far more from you." 

She absorbed the insult without searching for anybody else's support and didn't reply. If she did, it'd make matters worse. After a moment where Nathaniel glared at her, a vein pulsing along his temple and at a loss for words, she decided it was safe to talk, seeing that he wanted her to. 

"I... didn't tell her about hunters. Even if it was possible to become one at that age, it can't happen if she doesn't know. I didn't tell her everything or even gave names." 

Nathaniel leaned over another sofa. "You know this is punishable by exile. You can't possibly think it's worth putting yourself in jeopardy for a foolish idea or conclusion you came to without consulting anybody wiser. You are still a child and you do not have the right to take such decisions. Tell me, what am I supposed to make of this? Should I exile you?" 

Luc stared up, eyes narrowing for a split-second, but he remained silent as did everyone else. Lauren blinked, clenching her fists on her lap. This was indisputably a trick question, and she chose not to answer before the man could use her words against her. 

"Let's say I don't banish you." His hand waved around. "How will I explain this to everybody else who will wonder why I bent the rules when we clearly established them long ago? Why should I tolerate this from you, of all people? And what do we do if people will begin to think it's okay to copy this behaviour? How are we going to control the reactions?" 

It seemed that there were more advantages to the other option. Lauren felt a weight push onto her chest. The lecture was painful to endure, but she couldn't say she regretted revealing herself to Emma. Nathaniel hadn't been there to witness how easily the girl had accepted her and her reality. There was something deeply comforting about a different person understanding Lauren for once. It meant the world to her, and it showed that her friend had a heart of gold. 

This fear of humans was based on the threat they represented, but it was a vulgar generalisation meant to keep mutants from trying to approach them and committing a mistake--stumbling on an individual who would turn out a hunter. Lauren longed to see that change and never expected anyone else to take the risk for her own belief. 

But it was then that Luc spoke up. 

"Nathaniel," he said and stared directly at him. "You're considering that girl like she's a terrorist when in fact we are debating over someone who's not even fifteen yet. I know it's not ideal, but it could have been much worse. It could have been an accident where Lauren lost control, and without the proper conditions to introduce Emma to our kind, it might have turned out differently." He leaned in, drawing all the attention to himself. "Think about it, when have we ever had the chance to sit down with a human and show ourselves in a pacific way?"

The man's lip curled in disdain and indignation. 

"You defend your sister's action?" he clipped, gripping the back of the sofa. "I thought you had more clarity than this."

Luc rubbed his hands together, evaluating the approach he needed to take and clean up this mess. He didn't like where this was going, not more than he liked leaning towards Lauren's opinion, but if it meant saving her from exile... 

"No disrespect, but having clarity--as in the quality--means being able to treat a particular case accordingly even if the rules say otherwise. The girl understands the stakes and we will make sure to keep tabs. Again, we are talking about a child and Lauren, as you just said, is also one." He earned himself a dirty sidestare from his twin, but he shrugged. Collateral damage he'll deal with later, after saving her ass. "Don't tell me you'd actually punish a kid that hard for a mistake, even if it's a significant one."

Heather cleared her throat. She couldn't stand seeing her adoptive daughter being convicted like she was a criminal. "He has a point. We have to recognize the fact that Lauren didn't just go ahead and expose herself to the first human she could find. And she conveniantly left out the hunters. Besides, most of them learn about us at an older age where they are close-minded. Perhaps making friends with a human at a much younger age can alter that. Emma can see through her--and frankly, I think no one fits the situation better to prove it--that we are not monsters." She smiled warmly at Lauren, despite being disappointed. 

Nathaniel resumed pacing with a caustic flare in his gaze. It all sounded like a string of blasphemy and it screeched in his ears. His footsteps echoed on the marble floor and a mild breeze flowed from the corridor archways. He rubbed his chin, assessing the way everyone teetered in Lauren's favour. 

"Nate," Greg called in a calmer tone. "You know Micheal will be extremely upset. We're all upset already, but maybe we don't have to take drastic measures here." He sent Lauren a look that promised an extensive scolding during the ride home. "The sun will rise tomorrow and we'll wake up like any other day. There's no use in banishing a child. She knows it was incredibly stupid and won't ever do that again. Right, Lauren?" 

She suppressed an eyeroll and nodded. No, she didn't feel the need to start spreading her secret to more people. The danger was real, after all. Her twin's shoulders tightened as he draped an arm around the sofa's edge. 

"Not to be dramatic here, but wherever my sister goes, I follow." Defiance overtook his expression as he stared at all the adults, stopping at Nathaniel and hooking his gaze onto his. "If you make her leave, don't expect me to sit there and watch."