As soon as the gentle evening air kissed her skin, any fatigue she was feeling from the late night dispersed in an instant, rushing out of her and floating away in the breeze. Feeling more comfortable and trusting of both of her companions, she freely moved about the cottage, the old wooden floorboards creaking under her feet. It looked about the same since she last saw it, albeit with some furniture moved around or missing altogether. For a brief moment, she couldn't help but wonder if all the trinkets Kairo had brought for her cell were just repurposed from the cottage. She didn't dwell on it too long, however, as her mind drifted back to the present. The first thing she did was make a beeline for the front door, nudging the rickety boards aside so that she could get outside. It was a clear and breezy night, and she settled down on the porch in content, staring up at the stars twinkling in the sky. Resting her chin in her hands, she sat in silence by herself, ignoring the hushed murmurs of Kairo and Yves behind her. Even though she was undoubtedly feeling the best she had in a long time, an acute pain settled in her heart just thinking that freedom was so close and yet so far. But what "freedom" was she thinking about anyway? She certainly didn't belong here, but she couldn't even imagine living out on her own. But did that mean she belonged back at the school? Yes, she had security, but at what cost? She hardly even spoke at all to the point that her own voice was unfamiliar to her. It was a wonder how she managed to live like that for so long. Then again, things were much simpler there. All she had to do was follow the rules and carry out the routines day after day. Nothing really unexpected happened, and that never really bothered her. She sighed, shutting her eyes and savoring the moment while it lasted.
Casting occasional glances at the quiet girl on the porch, Yves set her gaze on Kairo. He offered her a sheepish smile as his eyes met hers which matched with her own shy expression. "I still can't believe you convinced me to do this."
"What, are you regretting it already?"
"No, not yet at least. It's just not something I'd normally do, as you probably know."
Kairo chuckled, nudging her with his elbow in a playful manner. "Are you worried?"
"About her?" Yves asked, cocking her head toward the other girl who still hadn't moved from where she was sitting. "Not at all. She hasn't caused much trouble for you, has she?"
"Hardly any at all. She's pretty cooperative in general, but still better keep an eye on her because this gives me deja vu," he remarked, remembering how she vanished from her place on the porch the second he took his eyes off of her the last time they were outside.
Yves laughed slightly, taking a seat on top of one of the tables with her feet swinging just above the floor. "She's really sweet, you know. I don't know what it is exactly, but there's something really genuine about her, if you know what I mean."
Kairo hummed, absentmindedly kicking dirt around with his boot. "Yeah, I guess so."
Yves tilted her head, noticing the strange, almost strained tone to his voice. "Is it weird to say that I'm a little worried about what's going to happen to her? Like, what Clovis plans to do with her since we're keeping her around for so long."
Kairo raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you're already getting attached. You've only really been with her twice now."
"Yeah, but I just feel so bad. What did she ever do wrong?" Seeing Kairo's blank expression, she ran a hand through her hair with a sigh. "You don't feel anything at all?"
Kairo was silent for a moment, his eyes away from his friend who was looking at him expectantly. "I...I find it better not to care so much. As I said before, I can't get attached when doing this kind of job."
Yves frowned. "I don't believe that."
"Believe what exactly?"
"That you don't care one bit about her."
"Yves, what are you even saying?" Kairo asked, his head snapping up to stare at her.
"Why would you risk taking her out here if you didn't care? Why would you furnish her room? Why would you visit her just to chat even though there's really nothing you can interrogate her about?"
"Hey, keep it down," Kairo ordered sharply, trying to dodge her questions as best as he could. He tried his best to keep his expression neutral, but a small storm was starting to brew inside, making him more and more uncomfortable by the second. And for what? He didn't lie; it was true that he wouldn't let himself get too attached. But at the same time, the doubt laced in his words betrayed what even he was hiding from himself. Deep down, he knew Yves was right. He knew he had developed a soft spot for her, perhaps nothing major, but enough that it would prompt him to go out of his way to make sure she was happy. At least, as happy as she could be given her situation. He had made her a promise after all.
"Look, I'm not trying to imply that you're in love with her or anything that crazy, but what's wrong with just admitting that you care about her wellbeing too?" Yves continued, keeping her voice as even and gentle as she could.
Kairo sighed, running a hand through his already messy hair as he settled down in a nearby chair. "Okay, okay fine. Yes, I am trying my best to make her life more bearable. Just from those nasty scars on her back and from the timid way she acts, I can tell she's been through a lot of shit already even before she came here. Just recently, she's been more comfortable speaking freely with me and sometimes, admittedly, I forget that she's just a Blank because I don't know, I guess I enjoy her company as crazy as that sounds."
"I knew it," Yves remarked, snapping her fingers in satisfaction that she finally got him to admit it. "You know that you can never lie to me."
"Unfortunately not," he replied, causing Yves to laugh softly. Looking back to the other girl, he saw that she hadn't moved from where she was sitting, although he did notice her rocking slightly in place, as if she was trying to comfort herself. He frowned, scuffing his shoe against the floor again.
"I do really appreciate you helping me out with this," he murmured, looking back at Yves. "I know that you probably didn't want to, but I'm glad you're here."
She smiled. "Don't worry about it. That's what friends are for, right?"
"Yeah, but seriously. You've never let me down on anything, even if I'm being an absolute pain."
"Well, you're welcome, Kairo."
He was quiet for a bit, looking back to check on the other girl and seeing her pacing about the porch while still staying within their line of sight. His thoughts, however, were elsewhere.
"It's a shame that we didn't work out," he said out of the blue, causing Yves to raise her eyebrows in surprise.
"I mean, did you want us to?"
He bit his lip, glancing at her sheepishly. "I don't know."
Yves hummed, searching his face in an attempt to discern his true feelings. "Well, we didn't just break up for nothing."
"True, but you can't deny that we had something going on."
"It was definitely something, but I don't think it was anything substantial. I mean, we only lasted a few months and we argued way too much for our own good."
"Yeah, but you can't just ignore all the good moments. We both made each other happy."
"Yes, but we've always done that ever since we were friends. Us being in a relationship never changed that; it just changed the way we saw each other."
"Did it though?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well...did you ever love me in that way?"
Yves was silent, thinking over her own feelings and trying to think of the right words to say. She had always cared for Kairo when they were just friends, when they were together, and even now. But had that care ever turned into love, even a fleeting one? Looking at him, she couldn't tell what he was feeling, what he wanted to hear, what would hurt him to hear. The way he stared at her with his blue eyes seemed like he was hoping for her to confirm something. But she couldn't.
"Kai...I'm sorry, but I don't think..."
He exhaled audibly, running a hand through his hair again. "Don't apologize. You're just being honest," he spoke lightly.
"But—"
"Yves, it's okay. If I'm being honest, I wouldn't call what I was feeling love either. I don't know what it was exactly, but it sure wasn't that," he admitted with a shrug. "Besides, we're better off as friends anyway, right?"
Yves was about to reply but the sound of soft footsteps approaching them alerted their attention. Looking away from each other, their eyes rested on the Blank girl who had timidly made her way over to where they were sitting with a black and white cat nestled in her arms.
"I see you found Blue again," Kairo remarked, offering her a slight smile. He held his hand out to pet the little creature and she moved closer to him so that he could. The cat purred in content as he gently ran his hand over its fur.
She smiled back. "He found me, actually."
He glanced at his watch. "We still have quite a bit of time left. Is there anything you want to do in particular?"
She hesitated for a moment. "Can...can I go outside the cottage? Past the porch, I mean."
"Yeah, of course. I probably don't need to say this, but just don't stray too far, alright?"
"I will stay close, I promise."
Yves smiled warmly. "Just enjoy yourself and don't worry too much. We trust you."
Nodding in agreement, Kairo tilted his head toward the door, silently allowing her to walk freely. She thanked them quickly before scurrying off to the front door again, feeling her heart rate pick up. Gingerly, she set Blue down on the ground before making her way toward the grassy fields. The little cat lingered on the porch, watching her as intently as the two Insurgents with its piercing eyes. The plains contained probably the most amount of green she had ever seen in her entire life, with the only plants in close proximity to the school being the tufts of grass peeking out between the solid concrete. The blades of grass here were tall and tickled her legs, but she loved the gentle feeling on her skin. Everything outside just felt so safe and comforting and serene, so different than most of her life as a whole. Kicking her ratty old shoes off, she stepped onto the grass with her bare feet, squishing the dirt between her toes. She didn't know how long it had been since she took a good bath, but getting dirty was the least of her concerns at that moment. Acutely aware that she was still being watched by her companions, she wandered around the open fields, putting some distance between herself and the cottage. The fields seemed to go on and on until the end of the world, encasing the entire earth in its warm green blanket. Out of nowhere, she felt a strong urge to run, to thrust herself toward the dark horizon and never look back. She took a few quick steps forward, as if testing to see how much her legs could take. Glancing over at the cottage, she saw Yves sitting on the porch with Blue and Kairo wandering around the perimeter of the house. Even if they were distracted now, they'd surely catch up within a matter of seconds. Maybe if she moved quietly she could secure a significant distance before actually running...
No, what was she even thinking? Running away? To where? She shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing loudly. What a foolish thought. The fact that she even considered it was absurd in itself. Feeling a little disheartened, she trudged back the way she came, the shoes in her hand bumping against her leg. Her eyes fell on the vehicle shed and realizing she'd never seen it up close yet, she made her way toward it. It was nothing really that special from the outside, though she was curious to see what sort of modes of transportation they had. Unsurprisingly, however, the door was locked tight. Sighing to herself, she settled down next to one of the scrawny trees to put her shoes back on. As she was busy fiddling with the laces, she heard a dull thump on the ground close to her. She froze in her spot, immediately tensing up as she listened closely. It was silent for a few seconds, but she hardly had time to relax before more thumps followed, quicker this time. It didn't take long for her to realize it was footsteps coming up behind her, though she couldn't even fathom how that was possible. With only one shoe on, she attempted to stand up, only for a grimy hand to latch onto her hair and slam her head back on the tree trunk. A pained cry escaped her as her vision blurred and she fell back to the ground.
"What are you doing out here, missy?" a raspy voice sneered, his low voice right next to her ear.
Blinking rapidly to get a bearing of herself, she blindly swung the shoe in her hand to where the voice came from, the side colliding with what she assumed to be a face. Scrambling back slightly, she could make out the shape of a middle aged man with a scruffy beard dressed in ragged clothing. Before she could even process more of what was happening, he let out an angry growl, launching himself at her and pinning her securely to the ground with one hand on her throat. She kicked at him frantically, but the weak hits from her small legs did little to loosen his grip. Filling her hands with dirt, she tried throwing it into his face, but his hold on her only tightened.
"No, please!" she gasped, clawing at the hand at her throat. "Stop, stop, don't, no no please no—"
Rapid footsteps approached close to her head and the next thing she knew, the weight was off of her. Gasping and coughing for air, she felt two hands latch onto her and drag her back and away from her attacker. She instinctively struggled, trying to throw the new hands off of her, fearing that this new person was out to get her as well.
"Feina, Feina, it's me!" Yves called, trying to get the other girl to look at her. "It's okay, I've got you!"
"Yves," she breathed in relief, her hands now gripping onto Yves's arms. "Someone—" Looking ahead of her, she could make out the figures of Kairo and the other man, sounds of struggle filling her ears.
As soon as Kairo had heard her cry, he was immediately sprinting to where the noise had come from with Yves trailing behind him. His first thought was that there was some other Insurgent who also happened to be outside and had caught them. A slew of curses flew out of his mouth, as he wondered who it could possibly be. Once he turned the corner to look around the vehicle shed, his eyes fell on someone completely unfamiliar pinning the helpless girl to the ground. He immediately rushed forward, delivering a swift kick to the side of the man's face. He recoiled, Kairo kicked him again so that he was completely off the girl on the ground. Yves rushed toward the Blank girl while he continued to beat down the attacker.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded, glowering at the man.
"Look, look I don't mean no trouble. I was just passing by, you see," the man tried to explain, his voice slurred and nearly incoherent. Seeing him fiddling with something in his jacket, Kairo immediately kicked him flat onto his back, the knife he was attempting to draw out slipping from his grip.
"Goddamn Scrounger," Kairo sneered, swiping the knife up from off the ground. "You think you're slick, huh?" Flipping the knife backward, he harshly bashed the handle into the side of the man's head, knocking him out cold. Breathing hard, he turned to look back at the two girls, worried and fearful expressions crossing their faces. He knelt down next to them, trying to assess the Blank girl's injuries as best as he could in the dark.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" he asked, his voice panicked.
Hardly processing everything that had happened, she attempted to stand, pushing herself off the ground and forcing her wobbly legs to work. An overwhelming dizziness overcame her and her knees buckled, but he rushed quickly to catch her, stopping her from getting any more injured. Raising a shaking hand to the back of her head, her fingers came in contact with a warm liquid and her stomach immediately turned. Her breaths came out in quick, light gasps, and her hand weakly clutched his jacket, hanging on to him in a futile attempt to steady herself as her eyes slowly met his worried gaze. Seeing her dazed state, he quickly scooped her into his arms and lifted her off the ground.
"I'm sorry," she whispered weakly. "He came up behind me and I didn't know..."
"Shh, it's not your fault. Yves, take care of this bastard. I'm gonna take her in."
Yves frowned in distress. "This isn't good. What is a Scrounger doing out here?"
"I don't know, and quite frankly, I don't even want to know. Just tie him up for now and we'll deal with him later," he held the knife out to her. "Keep this with you, just in case."
She nodded, but her green eyes remained fixed on him. "What are you gonna do? You're going to get caught when you take her to the medical bay."
He sighed. "I guess we just have to hope Doc is in a good mood."