He saw the tree out of the corner of his eye, falling from his left at an odd angle, and he tried to pull himself over the edge before it landed.

To say the least, he didn't succeed. His foot was tucked into a crevice between two stones, and those two stones just happened to be where the tree landed.

It was both a stroke of luck and misfortune that the two stones didn't break from the force. On the one hand, shattered stone didn't embed itself into his flesh and the tree only scraped against the back of his foot rather than crushing it completely.

On the other hand, his foot was stuck and he was now in the awkward position of his hands against the ground, bracing himself on one knee and the other leg stretching awkwardly and somewhat-painfully down to the cranny he had been using to boost himself up.

In other words, he was a sitting duck for any other trees that might come crashing down.

Frustration quickly filled him as he tugged at his foot, but the tree and stone refused to budge. He was sufficiently trapped; he could feel the pressure from the tree and the stone both, pressing against his foot and even his leg right above the crevice, where the tree was balancing.

He could only gather the tree's position from the branches hanging over him, what he could see to his left and right, and the feeling of the tree against the back of his foot and calf. He could also feel a warmth gathering, thinly, on the back of his heel where the tree had scraped him.

It was stinging lightly, but he paid it no mind as Cator pulled himself up over the wall finally. He watched the tree fall on the other side of the rabbit, wincing slightly as the Rabbit yelped and scrambled away. Even from the distance he was at, he had heard the fleshy sound of what might as well have been a thin whip hitting the Lapinian.

Whether it hurt or not, the Lapinian didn't dwell on it; instead he looked around before his eyes landed on Bonnie. Before the purple Rabbit could determine what the younger was thinking, Cator was by his side.

Are you an idiot? Run!

He didn't say it aloud, though; it was clear to him that the blue Rabbit was focusing on anything but conversation and his words would go right over the other's head. Figuring that the young scientist- at least, Bonnie assumed he was a scientist, based on his insistence of experiment- was paying him no real mind, he attempted yet again to free his foot despite knowing it was futile.

A crash not far behind startled him and he winced, the sharp sound somewhat painful to his ears. He glanced back at the Lapinian in time to see him turn back to Bonnie's foot, his brows drawn together in clear thought.

"Don't bother, kid, just go," he growled slightly, but the Rabbit gave no indication of hearing- just as he expected. "This is useless and you're gonna get yourself killed."

There was still no reaction. Just as he thought, there was no way to actually talk to the Rabbit when he got this way. Damn Lapinian, listen to me you jerk.

He silently watched as the Lapinian's expression loosened and his eyes flicked between the tree and stone, as though noticing something that Bonnie hadn't. That wouldn't have been hard at all, considering Bonnie couldn't see his trapped foot at the moment.

Whatever it was the Rabbit had realized had apparently been groundbreaking- at least pertaining to this moment. The Lapinian didn't even react to the tree that collided with the stone wall right behind him, the wood shattering and scattering across the grass, as he scrambled to his feet and circled around Bonnie.

Bonnie furrowed his brow, watching the Lapinian move underneath where the tree was hanging over. "What are you doing?" he questioned, despite knowing the smaller Rabbit wouldn't answer. "Getting under it seems like a- what are you doing? " The Lapinian dropped down under the tree on his back and Bonnie stared, incredulous. It looked extremely dangerous. It made no sense to him.

At least, it didn't until the Rabbit lifted his legs and planted them against the tree. His feet shifted only slightly once he had done so and his hands dug into the ground before he began pushing the tree.

Leverage.

There's no way it's gonna work, he thought, but already he could feel the tree slipping away, very slightly. The Lapinian didn't let the slight motion deter him, continuing to push until the tree jerked, losing its- precarious, it was precarious- perch.

The tree began to fall, its branches heading straight for the Lapinian's spot, but Cator was faster; releasing the ground and dropping his legs, he rolled out of the tree's path.

He hit Bonnie but Bonnie couldn't be bothered to care at the moment, watching wide-eyed as the tree's branches smashed into and through the ground, sending stone and soil and grass flying into the air while the tree twisted and spun as it continued its fall to the forest floor below the drop.

Bonnie briefly closed his eyes and ducked his head as some of the debris hit him. Thankfully it was nothing too big and it wasn't moving nearly fast enough to actually pierce his skin.

It took him a moment to really register that his foot was free, and as the Lapinian was getting up to his feet Bonnie pulled his own foot free and practically leapt up. Without really thinking about it, Bonnie grabbed the other's wrist and took off running again, ignoring the slight throbbing in his foot that reminded him that he had at the very least been scraped. Cator didn't protest the motion, though Bonnie knew that could very well have been because he wasn't breathing correctly as they ran and simply could not make any protest.

Mind you, Bonnie wasn't breathing correctly either and it, along with the sheer amount of running and climbing and the forced kneeling and stretching, was taking its toll on him. He could only imagine how the less physically-fit Lapinian felt at the moment.

The wind kept howling through the treetops above, and Bonnie was absolutely sure that it hadn't done that in the short time they'd been on the planet. Just my luck that it'd happen when we're in literally the most dangerous and susceptible place on the fucking planet. What the hell even was that shit anyway?!

He slowed to a stop when, at last, he could no longer hear the crashing of falling trees. How any of the trees remained standing was a mystery to Bonnie, but he decided that that was a question he would much rather not have answered.

He wasn't sure he'd like what he heard.

Note to self; never go there again, he told himself, releasing the smaller Rabbit's wrist at last.

Almost immediately, Cator let himself fall to the ground and Bonnie frowned as he leaned back against a tree. It was clear to the Rabbit that the Lapinian was exhausted, but as he caught sight of the younger's hands he knew they needed to get to the stream they had found.

The younger Rabbit's hands were covered in dirt and blood. Undoubtedly the wounds had reopened. On Cator's left cheek he could also see several thin, bleeding cuts. Those looked shallow enough, but they were clearly visible even through the Rabbit's fur, which somewhat concerned Bonnie.

The fact that they could be mistaken for clawmarks was almost unnerving; he knew exactly what the Ursian back at camp's first assumption would be. However, that was honestly the least of Bonnie's concern; it was obvious that both of them had been through an ordeal, with their clothes stained with mud and both sporting a few new scrapes and bruises.

Bonnie could feel the scrapes on his own hands from slipping against the wet stone stinging, but he chose to ignore it for the moment. He could focus on and count his own injuries later.

"Come on," he called to Cator, "get up. We need to get to the stream at least."

The Lapinian's emerald eyes shifted from his hands up to Bonnie, clearly unhappy. "We just escaped a death trap," he complained, letting his hands drop down onto his raised knees. "Can't we rest even a little while?"

Bonnie's first instinct was to say no but he paused. His own breathing was somewhat ragged but the Lapinian's sounded like he was about to die. And, admittedly, Bonnie's own body was protesting the thought of continuing on right then as well.

I should make sure nothing major happened, anyway. A short rest won't kill us.

Hopefully.

With a sigh, Bonnie sat down across from the blue Rabbit. Seeing this, Cator closed his eyes and rested against the tree.

Bonnie looked at his own hands, brushing the dirt off and frowning at the way the fur had been scraped away, revealing raw and slightly-bleeding palms. His grip had slipped a few times in the hole and on the drop's wall, so the sight wasn't any surprise to him. It was minor, though, so he moved his gaze to his foot that was grazed by the tree.

The back of the heel and the flesh right above it had been scraped and was lightly bleeding as well, but again no real damage had been done. Thankfully; that could have easily disabled him, even if it was temporarily. A slight ache told him that the pressure from the tree had caused more strain than what it had first appeared to, but it was nothing debilitating.

Satisfied that his own injuries were only mild, he turned his attention to the Lapinian sitting in front of him. A quick scan revealed what he had already assumed; the worst damage was the Rabbit's pre-existing injuries. The scratches on his cheek were shallow, and the cloth on his shoulder was torn but it lacked blood, so Bonnie believed it safe to assume that the branches hadn't managed to break through his skin. There was a slice in the Lapinian's shoe, probably from climbing the stone wall, but Bonnie hadn't detected any sort of limp as they ran so he doubted there was an injury there.

Of course, as he watched the Lapinian sit there silently, showing absolutely zero sign of pain despite what had to be burning agony in his hands, Bonnie knew looks could be deceiving.

He watched the teen, reluctantly admitting to himself that the Lapinian was at a disadvantage from the very start. Not even old enough by Lacatran standards to leave his parents and claim a mate, he was in that awkward stage between childhood and adulthood, and he had abruptly been pulled away from everything he knew- computers, automatic systems, planetwide connection, vehicles, factories, and so much more that Bonnie could never even imagine- and dropped into a place more primitive than but similar to Bonnie's own planet...

With a bunch of strangers.

Of course the Lapinian would struggle. This was a situation he didn't know or understand, a situation over which he had no control. No technology, no safetynets, no other Lapinians to confer with, nothing but his own wits and forced trust in complete strangers to rely on.

But Bonnie had to give him props, anyway; he was quick, both physically and mentally. Bonnie wouldn't have even considered trying to leverage the tree- not that he could, anyway, being the one trapped by it- and he wouldn't have put the pieces together nearly soon enough to get himself out of the "death trap," as the Lapinian had called it.

Then again, if the Lapinian hadn't wandered off in the first place they wouldn't have even been there.

And maybe Bonnie would still feel perfectly alright with hating the Rabbit at face value.

He closed his eyes, scowling to himself as certain memories flashed through his mind. They were vivid memories; he could remember the sounds, the smells, the sights, could even remember the symbols that had been carved into the trees around...

He had only been around eight or nine, but clear as day he could remember hiding with his injured brothers, watching from the trees as a Lapinian walked through the burning remains of his village. He could remember how the Rabbit had passed a young girl crying for help, barely even glancing her way as he did so.

He could remember the satisfied expression on his face, knowing that he had successfully quelled the growing rebellion. That he had been the one to destroy innocent lives, forcing the survivors back into subservience and reminding them all of what Lapinia was capable of. That he had put them back in their place, reinforcing Lapinian rule over the colony.

General Commander Cator had no sympathy, no regrets, as he watched villages burn and demanded the deaths of Lacatrans- old, young, male, female, village leader, village gravekeeper, it didn't matter who or what they were. In the end, they were all Lacatrans and they were all rebellious.

General Commander Cator had not even batted an eye at the sight of a child, barely past toddler years, bleeding out on the ground- and the fact that Bonnie now knew he'd had a son around the same age only made it worse. General Commander Cator had looked at a child who, for all intents and purposes, could have been his own... and walked away, leaving her to die as their world burned around them.

Bandi Cator, however, put himself in danger's way to help Bonnie- a Lacatran who made his stance on Lapinia clear. The General Commander's own son had saved someone who was making his life more difficult, even though they weren't friends. Even though they didn't like each other- even though Bonnie made it clear he outright hated the Lapinian, antagonizing him at every turn- he had still chosen to help rather than run and save himself.

General Commander Cator would not have been in any danger if he had helped the suffering child. Bandi Cator nearly got himself killed.

Maybe Freddy was right. The son's not his father.

Even in his mind's eye, he couldn't put the teen in front of him in his father's place. There was just too much difference now. They weren't nearly as interchangeable as he had thought.

"I don't get you," he suddenly started, not even thinking about his words.

"Huh?"

Bonnie opened his eyes and looked at the blue Rabbit, who was now looking at him in confusion. Of course the Lapinian wouldn't understand his statement; he was smart, not a mind reader.

"You are General Commander Cator's son, right?" he questioned, watching as the Rabbit's expression hardened.

"Yes. I'm the son of General Commander Akrai Cator and Dr. Aniya Martel."

His voice was dull and his eyes looked almost dead as he stated this. It sounded like a pre-prepared message, an answer to a question he got asked a lot. He didn't sound like he was happy about the fact.

Bonnie just watched him, frowning. "You don't act anything like him."

"That's because I'm not him," Cator scoffed, looking away. "I'm Bandi Cator, not Akrai Cator."

"But he raised you."

"Yeah. Raised me," he snorted, as though it was the funniest thing he had ever heard. His eyes were like steel, though, as he turned back to Bonnie, voice taking on a harsh edge. "My father has authority over me, but never make that mistake; my father didn't raise me, and neither did my mother. " Bonnie chose not to interrupt, allowing the Lapinian to say his piece with only a little confusion. "I live with them and I obey them as is proper, but I was raised inside a school. The lessons I learned in that house are lessons I won't carry into my own."

It sounded bitter, tinged with hatred, and Bonnie suddenly wondered what kind of childhood he must have had to hate his parents and the lessons they taught him so much. Bonnie barely had any memories of his own parents but- distantly- he could still remember the values they had begun teaching him before the last Rebellion. He couldn't imagine hating them or the things they had instilled in him.

Of course, Cator wasn't Bonnie. Everything was completely different on Lapinia.

"But isn't that how it always is with Lapinians?" he prodded, raising a brow. He didn't know much about Lapinian society, but he did know education was a large part of their lives. "You basically live half at school and half at home."

"My house was a school itself," Cator muttered, turning his gaze to the ground. Bonnie noticed the distance phrasing; house. Not home. "When I got back from school I studied until dinner. That was the rule. And yes- that is how most Lapinians are. I just didn't like it but I could live with it."

There was something that the teen wasn't saying... but Bonnie decided not to pry. It wasn't any of his business, after all. Instead, he commented, "Well I hope you're not expected to follow your father's footsteps. You don't... seem like that kind of person," he admitted, albeit begrudgingly. He didn't like even admitting to himself that any Lapinian didn't seem like the kind of person who wouldn't destroy lives.

"I'm not," Cator muttered, brushing his hands off on his already-dirty pants. "Expected to, that is. I mean, when I was born I was. Most sons are expected to follow their father's path and most daughters are expected to follow their mother's, few change it up, but shit happened and I was requested to be transferred to military science dual pathway."

Something sounded strange in that sentence. Bonnie raised a brow. "You requested or you were requested?"

"I was requested," he muttered. "By the Chancellor. Because reasons."

It was clear that Cator wasn't going to give more on that specific topic so Bonnie dropped it. "So if you're still in military, why aren't you expected to become the General Commander?"

"Because I'm a scientist, not a soldier," was the simple answer. "Military scientists don't fight or command, we... build and repair. We... work on the ships and..." The Rabbit's voice trailed off, his emerald eyes refusing to look at Bonnie now.

It didn't matter, though. Bonnie knew what he meant.

Military scientists built weapons.

Weapons to destroy.

Had the... Rabbit mentioned that fact just hours before, Bonnie would have completely flipped out on him. Weapons, like the ones that destroyed Lacatran villages and stole Lacatran lives. It would have been all of the "proof" he needed that Cator was just like all of the other Lapinians- just like his father. However, the way the blue Rabbit refused to look at him, the way he sounded, how bitter and downright hateful he was towards his own parents- and potentially the entire planet...

Bandi Cator did not look happy. He did not sound happy. He didn't even sound content or complacent; he sounded more like he was cursing his very existence at that moment. Like he wished he could be anyone other than Bandi Cator.

He doesn't want to be a scientist.

That realization struck him hard; the teen didn't sound happy about science at all. He was always looking for logic and facts, but not once had Cator bemoaned the lack of computers or holograms or... whatever else existed on Lapinia. He was upset that he was being forced to pursue science, he was angry, he was... hurt.

The Rabbit was smart but... is it possible he wishes he wasn't Lapinian?

Slowly, hesitantly, Bonnie asked, "What do you... want to do, though?"

The silence that fell between them felt heavier than the silence in the Death Forest had. Something flashed through the Rabbit's eyes, but Bonnie couldn't decipher it as, suddenly, Cator stood up.

"It doesn't matter," the Rabbit informed him bitterly, turning away. "My future isn't my choice." Before Bonnie could say anything to contradict his words or question their meaning, Cator continued, "We should go, we don't know how long day lasts on this planet."

Bonnie watched, somewhat shocked, as the blue Rabbit abruptly moved away, back towards camp and, by extension, the stream. After registering exactly what had just happened, he shoved himself to his feet to follow the younger Rabbit. He caught up within seconds.

"Wait, but you-" he started, but the Lapinian cut him off.

"Childhood fantasies shouldn't be entertained at my age. It's not my choice, so back off."

The aggression that entered his voice almost caused Bonnie to pause. Clearly the younger Rabbit was very upset over it, upset enough to very nearly challenge Bonnie.

Bonnie knew it wasn't a challenge, of course; the teen was just getting defensive about a sensitive issue as all teens do. However, Bonnie just didn't understand- did the Lapinian really get no say in his own future?

Despite his curiosity and confusion, Bonnie knew better than to push it. The younger wasn't his friend and they were still on bad terms, their shared near-death experience aside. If he pushed too far, pried too much, into something that Cator wasn't willing to share, it would only make matters worse- as impossible as that seemed.

But, he thought as he followed the younger Rabbit silently, I think I know why he was hurting himself earlier.

Again, he said nothing. He knew Cator would simply deny it again.

Maybe the other Rabbit didn't even recognize the destructive behavior for what it was. Maybe he had managed to convince himself it was just an experiment. Somehow Bonnie wouldn't be surprised, and briefly he wondered just what else Cator didn't know.

He let the silence continue for a while, mulling over his thoughts and watching the Rabbit in front of him. Cator was small, not that that was any surprise; Lapinians in general were small, but what they lacked in strength and size they made up for in wits and weapons. However, Bonnie had never met a Lapinian scientist before, only their soldiers; did all of their scientists look so small, so young? And if so, why? Or was Bandi Cator yet another exception to the rule?

Then his gaze landed on the Rabbit's hands. He frowned at the way the fingers seemed to unconsciously curl in on themselves. The teen hadn't even attempted to care for or protect them, and now- we're not even going the right way.

Bonnie sighed, feeling only slightly irritated that he had chosen to follow rather than lead when he knew a Lapinian wouldn't be very good with directions. "The stream's to the right, Cator," he called up to the teen. The blue Rabbit's ears twitched and Bonnie had a feeling that he did not appreciate being called by his surname, if the way he huffed was any indication. However, he (surprisingly) followed Bonnie's directions anyway, changing course to the right and towards the stream.

The trip to the stream was completely silent, and when they finally did reach the waterway neither of them said a word. Cator sat heavily on the ground next to the water and, as Bonnie sat several feet away to care for his own wounds, tore out a strip of his shirt. Bonnie observed, almost boredly, as the other Rabbit dipped the strip of cloth into the water, allowing it to take as much of the dirt it could.

Bonnie turned to the water and began cleaning his own wounds, watching as the dirt and scant amount of blood washed away and dissipated in the water. It was somewhat fascinating; no hint of it remained, the water going clear within seconds of the foreign substance being added. It didn't do that on Lacatra; any pollution added to the rivers had to be removed manually, including minerals and blood. That was not easily done, especially since the water dilated it. In fact, it was next to impossible. That was why they couldn't drink the water straight from the river; in Lacatra, rainwater and boiling river water were the only safe ways to have water to drink.

I bet the original colonists would have loved knowing, but no one bothered to check, did they?

Realizing he was getting off track, Bonnie turned his gaze and his attention back to his wounds.

After a few moments, he decided the scrapes didn't warrant bandaging- which was good, because he really didn't want to rip his shirt. Clothes weren't easy to make on Lacatra and they certainly weren't provided, so unnecessarily tearing them apart wasn't a pleasant thought to the purple Rabbit. It-

"Music."

It was said so suddenly, so flatly, so quietly that Bonnie almost missed it. Blinking, he looked towards the blue Rabbit, who was at that moment wrapping his hands up again. "Huh?"

"I just want to play music," the Lapinian muttered, not looking up to meet his gaze. "It's the only thing I liked on Lapinia."

With that, the younger Rabbit stood up and began walking back towards camp. Bonnie watched him for a few silent seconds before he got up to follow. He didn't need to question what the problem with that was.

Even on Lacatra, they knew Lapinians didn't do art.

Briefly, he wondered how Cator even knew about music.

When they reached the camp, all three Bears were standing, and at the sight of them Spring leapt to his feet as well. The others in the camp were either sitting or lying down, but they all turned their attention to the approaching Rabbits.

"It's about time!" Spring huffed, annoyed as he turned to Bonnie. "What took you- what the hell happened?" His brother's tone abruptly took on worry the moment he actually looked at them, with their clothes dirty and ruined and their fur messy. Plus the scratches on Cator's face didn't help.

It occurred to Bonnie that they were quite a sight to see at that moment.

"I'd like to know that, too," Freddy voiced, eying Cator's cheek. When he glanced at Bonnie, there was accusation in his blue eyes.

Bonnie crossed his arms, frowning at Freddy. "Oh, y'know, we just took a leisurely stroll through a death trap forest and almost got ourselves killed multiple times in a row, that's all," he drawled sarcastically, ears twitching as Cator snorted from beside him.

"What? "

"I slipped off a drop-off," Cator deadpanned. "And instead of climbing back up I went to explore. Long story short, it was the collapsed roof of a flooded cave system and the trees growing on top had no grip, holes were everywhere, and, oh, by the way, the wind can get really strong and knock trees over, how fun! Take a guess at what happened," he muttered the last part. His words actually surprised Bonnie- and not just because the younger Rabbit was being sarcastic.

Not that he didn't know the Rabbit could be sarcastic, he'd showed that plenty of times, but he hadn't expected Cator to act sarcastically towards Freddy. It had seemed like Cator respected Freddy.

"Okay," Bonnie sighed, glancing at Cator with a slight frown, "I was not aware of the flooded cave system thing."

"And now you are," Cator snorted. Bonnie didn't get a chance to respond.

"How'd you even figure all of that out, Blu?" Fredric questioned, raising a brow at the blue Rabbit.

Blu?

Cator looked at the rosy bear and just shrugged. "I noted my surroundings," he explained vaguely. "Just... y'know, looked around. Put the pieces together. A seemingly-bottomless pond, three-inch layer of soil being held together by grass over stone, fallen trees, a stone wall that extended far as I could see, and holes in the ground with condensation on the walls and water at the bottom. I just feel like an idiot for not realizing sooner."

Bonnie decided not to point out he himself hadn't realized at all, not until that moment as Cator was telling them.

"And your face...?" Fredric trailed, and Bonnie could tell he was trying so hard to not jump to conclusions. Bonnie wondered how the Bear would have reacted if Bonnie told them about the Rabbit's earlier "experiment."

He didn't like the imagined reaction.

"I got smacked by a tree when it almost landed on me," Cator muttered with a dismissive wave of his hand. Bonnie didn't miss the way Fredric eyed it, clearly noticing that it was a different bandage.

"So wait," Spring started, glancing between the blue and purple Rabbits. Irritatingly enough, he sounded somewhat amused. "You two nearly got killed by trees and holes?"

"Spring, I swear, if you make a joke out of this I will strangle you in your sleep," Bonnie immediately threatened, eying his brother.

"Fine, I won't make a joke- but what's the problem with water? I mean, couldn't you have just waited it out in one of the holes or something?"

Bonnie blinked and frowned at his brother. It was a viable option, but really, who knew what was in the water? "I don't fancy breathing in water vapour, Spring. I also don't like the thought of a tree landing over the hole and getting trapped, y'know."

"Point," Spring conceded with a shrug.

"Well," Fredric started with a sigh, "I guess that means it's a good thing Blu was looking for answers."

"What?" Bonnie questioned, raising a brow. He had a feeling he knew where the Bear was going.

"If he had done what you said and didn't look for the answer, then he wouldn't have realized what was happening until it was too late."

He had a point. He had a point and Bonnie hated it because he couldn't say anything against it. Unable to think of anything to say, he just scowled and rolled his eyes, and that was the end of it.

Neither of them mentioned what Cator was doing when Bonnie found him. Neither of them mentioned Cator leveraging the tree, either, or mentioned them falling into the hole.

Instead, the younger Rabbit let out a sigh and just said, "I'm just gonna go sit down, if you'll excuse me." Before any of them could protest, though none of them were going to, the blue Rabbit walked over to a tree and sat down, leaning against it and drawing his knees up to his chest. Bonnie watched as the Rabbit leaned his forehead against his knees, his hands curling against his chest and out of sight.

He's in pain.

That was the simple fact of it; the teen was in pain. There was nothing Bonnie could do, so instead he turned to his brother and said, "Spring, you and I need to talk." It was true; they did need to talk. He needed to tell him what he had figured out- needed to tell him everything that happened.

Spring looked at him, raising a brow. "About what?" he questioned, clearly confused.

Aware of their audience, Bonnie added, "Privately." Without waiting for a response, he grabbed his younger brother's arm and dragged him away, ignoring Freddy's call to not go off on their own.

Bonnie had yet to figure out a way past the... "translation program" in their heads. Any time he even tried to speak Lacatran it came out in English, and it frustrated him to no end to hear the words that he could yet could not understand in place of his (in his mind) much smoother mother tongue.

As he dragged his brother away from the camp, he failed to notice the shadow watching them.

"Ooh, what's this..."

"An interesting new development."

"Two, in fact. I wonder- did the Winds soften the Lacatran? Or was it the Lapinian's confessions afterwards?"

"Who knows. What I'm more interested in is their... guest."

"I wonder what it's after? Why is it here?"

"Does it know what's going on? Will it interfere?"

"That is definitely a concern to have, Shafred..."

"Perhaps we'll get more out of this experiment than we first anticipated."

"Perhaps we will. Let us check on the others, and then we can return to these on the morrow. If their guest is going to act, I doubt it will act while we are watching. Undoubtedly it knows we are here- its kind are much too intelligent to not know our presence."

"Quite right you are, Bonsha. Let's go."

A/N: If you're reading this, gimme an opinion; should I post some of my other stories here?