xvi.

part sixteen


It's easy for Octavia to grow attached to these children once she actually gets to spend time and bond with them. She feared what that would mean for her in the future; she doesn't think she can handle losing any more people that are dear to her.

She isn't alone in her thoughts, however. Unknown to her, the Flock feels just as attached to her as she does to them. They worry about her in their own way, and if Octavia ever bothered to ask Jeb, he'd tell her about how they all seem to bristle like cats whenever they overhear the whitecoats talking about her.

Jeb knows this information would only prove to make Octavia worry for their safety from the whitecoats, so he doesn't bother relaying it to the girl.

The Flock continues to grow together, and despite the fact Octavia can't be with them every day their bond doesn't falter. If anything, it strengthens with each passing day. The more hardships and trials the School puts the group through, the closer they grow to one another in their shared suffering.

Coldly, sometimes Octavia will look at Jeb (a man with a kind face and comforting actions, yet he wears the whitecoat they hate so much) had that in mind all along.

She never asks, too afraid to break the fairy tale the others are in. Maybe once they've escaped she'll confront the man; if he doesn't betray them first.

Soon, another year has passed within the confines of this wretched place, and Octavia is now eleven.

Since then, she never displayed any kind of new mutations. It seemed as if she was immune to any kind of new experiment they tried to perform with her, much to the whitecoats' displeasure.

They deemed her as an old dog, which as you know, can't be taught new tricks.

Octavia was far from useless, however. She was a great fighter and a master of the powers she did possess. The School wouldn't be disposing of her anytime soon; not when she was still their perfect weapon.

Whenever things began to seem hopeless —Why am I still here? Why haven't we escaped? Was Jeb lying all along?— the Flock always helped Octavia grasp onto sanity once more.

To them, Octavia was unbreakable and strong. She was truly someone to look up to. It was hard for her to keep on that mask, but she knew how important it was to have a beacon of light when the rest of your world was nothing but darkness.

Her bond with the Flock grew stronger, but other than that, the year that had passed hadn't changed much.

Except maybe one thing.

"Octavia," Jeb enters her room one day, an apologetic smile on his mustache face. "I know you're most likely tired of me introducing you to people but…"

He doesn't finish the sentence, and instead ushers someone inside the room with him.

A small boy with messy light brown hair is now attached to Jeb's legs. He glares at Octavia with brown eyes; she merely blinks back.

Jeb answers her unspoken question, "This is my son, Ari."

Octavia's eyes widen, "Son?"

He nods, "He's only two, but I wanted to give him a tour of the facility and what I do. I expect him to also be working here one day."

Octavia says nothing; her mouth sealed as thoughts fill her mind. She looks blankly at Jeb, who is looking down at Ari with adoration in his eyes, clueless to her sprouting hatred.

'Work here…? Is he just saying that? Why would you want your son to grow up to be a disgusting whitecoat? Are you planning to stay here? What's the truth? What's the truth?'

"You look ugly."

A petulant voice saves Octavia from drowning in her thoughts. She blinks slowly back into awareness before looking down to even acknowledge the said voice.

Ari is glaring at her. Jeb looks upset.

"I know."

"Octavia, don't listen to him." Jeb sighs. He gives her a meaningful look and lowers his voice so the boy can't hear. "I believe he is jealous, as lately I've been working more often and haven't spent much time with him. That's actually why I brought him with me today; he wouldn't let me leave until I agreed to take him."

The brunette nods, turning her attention back to Ari.

"Want to see something cool?"

The brown-haired boy eyes Octavia dubiously, but eventually nods his head. A child's curiosity could never be beat.

Before Ari's eyes, Octavia makes an intricately detailed ice sculpture of a dragon. His eyes sparkle and he goes to grab it but recoils at the temperature.

"Sorry, I should have warned you."

Ari pouts, rubbing his hands against his pants repeatedly.

"Do it again!"

Jeb and Octavia share a look, before the girl's face softens. The dragon in her hand morphs and shifts into a gargoyle.

"Another!"

Octavia sighs, already regretting what she had ultimately brought on herself.


Octavia's life at the School was once again altered. After being introduced to Ari by Jeb, it was clear to the brunette that the older man wanted her to influence the boy somehow. She wasn't interested in doing anything intentionally. If Ari learned from her, it would be the boy's own doing.

Octavia didn't see anything about herself that would be desirable to other people. Except, maybe her obedience, which was actually just meager (and temporary) compliance. Octavia is playing the waiting game, after all.

When she wasn't training and being used to set an example to the other experiments by the whitecoats, she was secretly meeting with the Flock, and when she wasn't doing either of those things… Jeb was subjecting her to babysitting duty.

Despite the cute moment they had shared after shortly meeting, Ari was always quick to revert back to being a difficult toddler. He wasn't about to make Octavia's life easy, and made that fact clear whether Jeb was present or not.

Those intentions eventually became blurred after staying with Octavia for a couple hours. Ari would forget his goal and allow himself to open up to the older girl. He'd either immerse himself in her stories and games, or just cuddle up to her for the remainder of his visit.

"You're too cold," Ari would always complain when he wrapped his tiny arms around her waist. Octavia would merely stare down at him with a blank expression.

For one, she couldn't control the result of her experimentation. Secondly, she wasn't forcing Ari to glue himself to her. In fact, he was the one who always initiated it. She just sat there— complicit, while she tried to meditate.

Just like when she was with Gazzy, Octavia tries not to let herself stay too present in the current moment when Ari is around.

They remind her too much of what she has lost, and some memories hurt too much to even linger on for just a second. For her own sake, Octavia feels like it's something that should be buried deep, lest she completely lose herself to her emotions.

So it comes to a relief when the door to her cell eventually opens and Jeb is there to retrieve his son. A soft smile on his face; to him, the picture of Ari napping in Octavia's nap is perfect. Her wings cocoon them both, an unconscious habit she has developed when her mind wanders as a way to offer some sort of protection.

To Octavia, this picture is a dangerous line. It is a memory that will either make her heart warm when she thinks back on it, or it will make her want to rip it out just to be free of the pain.

She is scared, and at this point, she thinks that is just how it will be from now on.

Give an inch, and hope that no one snatches a mile.