ALiCE in WoNDeRLaND
-24-
The guys all widened their eyes at once, but remained silent.
I couldn't stand it anymore. "What's wrong with you guys?"
Zione walked over to our new friend.
"Zione," Zale began.
"It's cool, Zale," Zione replied, turning to the associate. "So, Caol," he practically shouted, throwing an arm around this Caol person, "how've you been?"
Before Caol could reply Zione let out a horrific scream and backed away from him, holding his head in his hands, as if he were in a terrible amount of physical pain.
I started to run to him, but the others stopped me. I began to protest, but they cut me off.
"He's fine," Miyka'el told me, but I didn't believe him.
"But... what..." I stammered, concerned.
Zione shook himself, as if clearing his head. "Damn. It always hurts worse than I remember."
"It's a defensive device, to make sure we don't hurt our associates," Miyka'el continued.
"Why do you need to..."
"Just in case," Miyka'el finished, signaling the talk was over.
I paused. "Who did this?"
No reply. I hated it when they did that to me.
I was so confused. "You can't even talk to them?"
"Apparently not," Nam replied, watching Zione.
Aurick raised an eyebrow. "Believe it or not, it's not something we like to experiment with."
"But Zione just..."
"Zione is a sado-masochist," Miyka'el interjected.
"A what?"
The others snickered, except for Zale. "Miyka'el..."
"Come on, Zale. She doesn't even know what the word means," Miyka'el reminded him.
"Should I?" I wondered aloud.
Miyka'el grinned. This was the most fun I'd ever seen him having. "I'm sure you'll remember, sooner or later."
"Miyka'el..." Zale practically growled.
"Alright, alright. I'm done." With that he turned and walked off, still smiling.
Zione had rejoined us.
"Zione, what's a sado-masochist?" I asked.
Zione burst out laughing. He wasn't expecting that.
"What?" I pressed, insulted.
Zione shook his head. "I'll tell you later." Catching the look on Zale's face, he added, "or not."
Caol had been watching our exchange with a slight smile. I left the others to talk to him. "What's so funny?"
"You all," he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Here we are in the middle of a war, and yet you can take the time to have the most random conversations with one another. I'm amazed."
I didn't know what to say in response. I simply turned toward the direction of the guys and watched them as they all circled around Zione, making sure he was alright... For all that they talked about professionalism and not having friends and all that, they sure did seem to care about each other. The question was, did they care about me? Really, I mean. It wasn't like I could get out of my own body and watch them when they spoke to me, the way I was watching them interact with each other. It was nice, in a way, to see that they were actually capable of some sort of emotion, yet at the same time, I couldn't get Miyka'el's stern warnings to Zione out of my head. It just gave me some bad vibes.
Caol shook his head, speaking to me as I watched them. "Amnesia, again. I can't believe it. You've got some serious problems, kid."
Without looking back in his direction, I simply asked, "Who doesn't?"
* * *
-24-
The guys all widened their eyes at once, but remained silent.
I couldn't stand it anymore. "What's wrong with you guys?"
Zione walked over to our new friend.
"Zione," Zale began.
"It's cool, Zale," Zione replied, turning to the associate. "So, Caol," he practically shouted, throwing an arm around this Caol person, "how've you been?"
Before Caol could reply Zione let out a horrific scream and backed away from him, holding his head in his hands, as if he were in a terrible amount of physical pain.
I started to run to him, but the others stopped me. I began to protest, but they cut me off.
"He's fine," Miyka'el told me, but I didn't believe him.
"But... what..." I stammered, concerned.
Zione shook himself, as if clearing his head. "Damn. It always hurts worse than I remember."
"It's a defensive device, to make sure we don't hurt our associates," Miyka'el continued.
"Why do you need to..."
"Just in case," Miyka'el finished, signaling the talk was over.
I paused. "Who did this?"
No reply. I hated it when they did that to me.
I was so confused. "You can't even talk to them?"
"Apparently not," Nam replied, watching Zione.
Aurick raised an eyebrow. "Believe it or not, it's not something we like to experiment with."
"But Zione just..."
"Zione is a sado-masochist," Miyka'el interjected.
"A what?"
The others snickered, except for Zale. "Miyka'el..."
"Come on, Zale. She doesn't even know what the word means," Miyka'el reminded him.
"Should I?" I wondered aloud.
Miyka'el grinned. This was the most fun I'd ever seen him having. "I'm sure you'll remember, sooner or later."
"Miyka'el..." Zale practically growled.
"Alright, alright. I'm done." With that he turned and walked off, still smiling.
Zione had rejoined us.
"Zione, what's a sado-masochist?" I asked.
Zione burst out laughing. He wasn't expecting that.
"What?" I pressed, insulted.
Zione shook his head. "I'll tell you later." Catching the look on Zale's face, he added, "or not."
Caol had been watching our exchange with a slight smile. I left the others to talk to him. "What's so funny?"
"You all," he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Here we are in the middle of a war, and yet you can take the time to have the most random conversations with one another. I'm amazed."
I didn't know what to say in response. I simply turned toward the direction of the guys and watched them as they all circled around Zione, making sure he was alright... For all that they talked about professionalism and not having friends and all that, they sure did seem to care about each other. The question was, did they care about me? Really, I mean. It wasn't like I could get out of my own body and watch them when they spoke to me, the way I was watching them interact with each other. It was nice, in a way, to see that they were actually capable of some sort of emotion, yet at the same time, I couldn't get Miyka'el's stern warnings to Zione out of my head. It just gave me some bad vibes.
Caol shook his head, speaking to me as I watched them. "Amnesia, again. I can't believe it. You've got some serious problems, kid."
Without looking back in his direction, I simply asked, "Who doesn't?"
* * *