FADED PICTURES ON THE WALL ♠ private

Inglisse almost laughed as he mentioned the option of humane and inhumane. Did he not realize that both words had the word, ‘human’ in them? Different species understood morals differently. Blood-drinking species were perfectly fine with draining the blood of someone. Youkai happily ate other species. Many species did things others would disapprove of to survive. Perhaps she was human and should have aligned herself with “human morals”, but that was hard to do in a world shared by other species. Besides, she doubted that she could even call herself human anymore. Nothing about her body functioned like the average human. She looked and acted the part, but in reality, the Sacramentum dictated her biology.

“You saw the experiment I performed before you,” she said, solemnly returning his gaze. “Make your own judgement; was that “inhumane” or “humane”?”

Morality varied from species to species. Hopefully she did not have to state that; it was common sense. She personally saw no lines to cross for her experiments. So long as nothing was wasted and everything had a purpose. She was not out for her own enjoyment, but to further the research that would be written in the Book of Baskerville. That, and she hoped to find the answer to end the suffering she knew.

He missed a more neutral point. Had he even once considered that “inhumane” things could be done for the overall good? Life was unfair and naturally inhumane. Most species followed the laws of survival of the fittest. Inglisse was no different. She conducted her harsher experiments not out of pleasure, but out of necessity. She was going to find the answers she was looking for or she was going to finally find a way to die trying.

Oras’ blue eyes flashed to a bright white before they settled to a strong and forceful gaze directed on her. Amber eyes only met them calmly, the girl notice the drastic shift in temperature once again. He seemed to know that she was dodging the question, but what was she supposed to tell him- that she had a phoenix held in a secret lab waiting on her for dinner, in exchange for feathers or other body parts? Absolutely not.

At least the question to come was easy enough to answer. “I created the nervous system out of raw components, nothing living or dead was used,” she explained simply. That much was true. She had broken down the elements and proteins needed for the nerves and constructed them that way, using Sacramentum as a means of binding them all together. Inglisse decided to say nothing further, and instead keep her gaze and demeanor calm. Were she lucky, she could easily play this off as him being unnecessarily suspicious and assuming once again.

The question he asked seemed oddly specific, and really too close for comfort to the girl who lived with what was basically a curse. It was not a curse by definition, but it certainly did make her life hellish. “I would, if that were the case,” she answered honestly, expression still calm. “Simply because of the rule of survival of the fittest. The vampires drink the humans dry, the youkai take whatever they feel like eating, the demons devour the innocent, the daemons prey on the innocent. If anyone were forced into such a situation, it could only be expected. Of course, I personally would not resort to something like that unless I had tried every other option,” Inglisse responded honestly. It was true, she had tried every possible option. Hopefully, her words would dissuade the idea of the hell she was trapped in. Nobody knew about that. Nobody needed to know. The talk on morality was getting old.

Inglisse crossed her arms as the ice drew closer. Her amber eyes remained calmly yet stoically fixed on the glacier atranoch. Eventually the ice stopped, as she knew it would. Oras enjoyed threatening and using force to get his points across, she had observed. If he really hurt her, he would have contradicted his earlier words of seeking friendship. She only sighed as he apologized and the ice began to recede. “Always taking drastic actions, aren’t you? And you wonder why I have trust issues,” she left the snarky comment hanging in the air, arms still crossed and expression calm yet confident. She could see his actions as partially logical, but highly risky. She too enjoyed taking similar gambles, but with someone who could so easily figure out the full picture of her past, she was much more careful.

“I do have some questions. You mentioned that you had experience with the Baskerville organization. I want details on your encounter,” Inglisse said in response to his offering for more questions.

He patronized her once again, claiming she was looking for an excuse for her trust issues. If anything, she was verbally acknowledging them, something she had never really done. However, she was not too surprised he called her out on that, when it was far from the truth. She always had had trust issues; she was simply being sarcastic with him, taking a jab at his rather poor behavior. He told her not to take it personally, and fortunately for her, she had no connection to that sort of thing. It was not hurtful or damaging, merely a mixture of interesting and annoying.

Oras then spilled the details on his encounter with the Baskervilles. Their process sounded fitting and quite similar to how she sometimes operated, performing every possible experiment for the sake of research and record. She had wondered about the details written on the atranoch page in her Book of Baskerville, and it seemed that knowledge had been uncovered by the family’s experimentation on Oras. For sure, that page was something she would not be allowing him to see without good reason.

Amber eyes met the malice in his now-white eyes. It was not uncommon for most species to enter wrathful states after their encounters with the Baskervilles. For better or worse, it seemed that branch or division had been killed by the atranoch. The records of the experiments, however, remained safely in the Book of Baskerville.

“I see,” was all Inglisse could say, uncrossing her arms and leaning against the counter. What else was there to say? She had no right or reason to apologize for her family’s sins. While she appreciated what they left behind, she refused to take responsibility for their actions. What he stated he believed in sounded fair and just, but was not reality in Inglisse’s mind. Nothing was that straightforward or simple. Sometimes, in order to survive or find a means of obtaining peace, one had to commit horrendous acts. There was no escape. That was what survival of the fittest really meant.

“Ask your question now. I don’t need another interrogation with ice pointed at me,” she stated bluntly, sharp amber eyes still focused on him. She understood he did not enjoy talking about this, for the same reasons she disliked talking about her own past. However, she was not about to let him go just like that after everything that had just happened. Especially when it was not complete.

Only the most extreme cases? It seemed that in the atranoch’s eyes, many situations were extreme. This one did not have to be, but it was made extreme regardless. Hell, even their first meeting had been extreme; he had attacked her and made assumptions without having really met her. While a small part of her wanted to trust him, he had more or less made it quite clear to her that that was impossible. His thinking was the exact opposite of hers, and with his stubbornness, he likely would never come around to see her perspective.

“Given your track record, I’d say that that’s out of the question. Notice I have never once aimed a sharp object at you, yet you always threaten physical violence upon me,” she observed. Inglisse followed him in smooth steps to the door. He said he hoped that she hoped that things would work out between them. She did, but probably not for the reasons he wished. “Ask the question. Let’s get this over with,” she said again, amber eyes determined.