xiii.

part thirteen

"...What is this?" Octavia stares down at the large incubator. Inside is a small, pale… creature.

"A baby, Octavia. Have you not seen one before?" Jeb replies with a chuckle. He stands on the other side of the machine, a hand placed protectively on the transparent casing. Octavia glances between him and the tiny body; she had been told she was meeting another important member of her "family".

She supposed this was one of them.

"It's ugly.'

Jeb laughed again, "Yes, she certainly isn't looking her best." The smile on his face fades a bit, and the atmosphere turns a bit more serious. Octavia remains unphased, always silent and never speaking much anyway for it to make a difference. "She was born prematurely, so she has to stay inside this machine."

Octavia doesn't question why there is a baby within this hellhole. What would the point be? These monsters didn't care how old or how innocent you were; all they saw were blank canvases. Ready to be torn up and ripped apart to fit whatever vision it was they were working towards.

After several more minutes of silence, Jeb finally sighs. Shouldn't he know by now that Octavia wasn't the type to play along with his social cues?

"This is Gazzy's younger sister. She'll be a member of our family, so I wanted you to meet her. You'll probably see her more often than the others, since she is the youngest and therefore more…" He pauses, "Impressionable than the others. The others will want her to follow in your footsteps; we hope for her to be just as strong and capable as you."

"And obedient."

Octavia adds, not removing her eyes from the slumbering thing.

Jeb frowns, but says nothing.

He knows that what she said is the truth.

"She still doesn't have a name," The older man decides to say instead. "I think it's best for Gazzy to decide since he is her brother, but that won't happen until he can expand his vocabulary a bit more…"

Silence.

Jeb sighs, "I know you probably disapprove of this, but I'm sure you already understand the circumstances… I just wanted you to meet her now, so you wouldn't be blindsided later. I— Let's just get you back to the training field. If we stay any longer I'm sure they'll get suspicious."

Octavia is led back to her regular routine, and if she is much more aggressive than usual, Jeb doesn't comment on it.