Day 30: Handlers

Beast POV

Two months. It's been two months today I've been alive or so I'm told... About two weeks ago, I shed my shell. It didn't seem very surprising to the people that saw. I've learned since then, ways to act and words for things. The lady that gave birth to me, Elsa, had been angry when I shed the shell. I shudder as I remember that day... It was so terrible...I was so scared...

Slowly, I climb out of my shell. I use my tail, sliding out the needle through the tail's shell, to slice down the thin length to my main body. It's a tight area, but I manage to squirm and cut the rest I need to and wiggle out. My legs are shaky, but my tail helps to steady me. Once out of my shell, I notice I have small feelers by my nose that test the air. I can smell the various people around me. They all stare at me, with emotions ranging from disgust on Elsa's face to amazement on a sweet looking brunette girl with glasses. I'm in a room that seems huge for my size. There's different items I'll look at later, but right now my gaze is focused on the two exits: one a currently closed door and two a very large window where the faces currently stare out at me from.

I watch a timid man ask Elsa about me. He has short black hair and seems...mousy to me. My instincts tell me when he talks to Elsa he's the victim and she's the attacker, a vicious animal ready to pounce on her prey, and I'm right. When he speaks to her, her words come out quick and harsh. Their voices are muffled through the glass, but I have keen ears. "M...Miss Kast? We have to i...identify the sex of Beast now that it's come...come out of its shell..."

"And you're telling me this because?!" I understand why the man seems scared. The woman scares me too...

The man is taken aback by her harsh tone. Unlike me, he didn't expect it. "We...well, is there any physical way to tell the sex?" I glance at the others and they seem to be thinking the same thing. Well, they had said I was one of a kind...

Elsa makes an irritated noise and enters my room through the door. She kneels and brushes a hand gently against my forehead. Her face seems softer and I coo at the kind gesture.

Suddenly, her hand presses firmly on my forehead and she pushes me backward, holding my head to the ground. I thrash with my legs and shriek, but she's far stronger and I'm still young, so I'm no match for her. Her hand reaches and shoves my legs apart, making me go limp with shock. I'm not that old and I don't know much, but I know this is wrong by the way my blood runs cold and the faces of the people watching pale. Elsa points with her free hand and talks in a bitter tone. "See, this?! This is usually only on a male." Most of the people look sick or ashamed they didn't think of this. The sweet looking girl I noticed earlier seems to barely contain her anger. I don't know why she's so angry, but it makes me feel better. It makes me feel less pathetic as I lay here.

The people hurriedly find things to write or check and take their attention off Elsa and me. She looks at me coldly and speaks in a low hiss. "Don't ever fight me again or you will be punished. Just like you will be now." I try to figure out what she means, but before I can her hand moves lower and she grabs me and tears shoot to my eyes. It hurts...it hurts... I scream, but no one understands me and no one seems to care, but I see the delighted look on Elsa's face as she watches me writhe in pain. Finally, after an eternity, she lets go of my flesh and I can breath. I lay coughing and as soon as her hand is off my head, I scramble to my feet and hurry to the corner. One of the more bizarre things in the room, is a small tower made of material. It has shelves to climb on and boxes with holes, one of which I now jump into and curl up in the corner. My body shakes, from pain or fear I don't know, and I croon sadly. Why? Why does she hate me? What did I do? I press my face between my knees and cry softly, fat tears that drop from my eyes like stones down to the plush material at my feet.

Elsa POV

I stand briskly and wipe off my jeans. It wasn't professional how I acted, but I don't care. No one saw me. Besides, they're all spineless little 'scientists.' In all honesty, I haven't gotten to know any yet to see if any are actually decent scientists. These people will be working with me long enough so I should find out, I guess.

My eyes scan the cat climbing tower that Beast has currently hidden himself in. It's a fairly elaborate tower. If he takes to it we may put in a larger one or a small children's playground to accompany his size. We've already started to create a plan to see how lithe and agile Beast can be. If he stays fairly small for a while, I plan to install reinforced cat climbing walls for him. Dren couldn't be properly trained and monitored, but the same mistakes that happened with Dren won't happen to Beast. There'd be no excuse for it.

I stride to the door confidently and just before I cross the threshold I glance back at the tower. Beast has his head poked out the smallest bit, but, upon seeing me, he hides back among the shadows. Good. Dren was never obedient enough. We'll fix that with Beast.

The door closes behind me and I scan the reports quickly being written. Naturally, they're flawed so I correct them. I call out corrections as I walk behind the writing figures. "Beast is fifteen pounds, not eleven. He has feelers in front in less quantity than Dren. Beast does not have a head division as profound as Dren's was. We have only given him shredded meat, not chopped."

I pause behind the last station. It is a smaller woman with light brunette hair, although I see sun streaks in it. Unlike the others frantically writing, she is sitting studying Beast's housing station. Her chin rests on the back of a hand and I see by her posture she is nearly in a trance as she waits for Beast to reappear. "We do not have regular glass instead of one-way so that you can waste time idly staring into space."

The woman jumps, startled by my voice. She turns to look up at me and I take in her appearance. Her skin is ghostly white, as if I scared her far beyond I realized, but I can tell by her narrow, offended eyes this isn't the case. Wide, chocolate brown eyes sit above a small nose and small lips. Overall, her face seems to belong more to a girl than a woman, but her body has the full curves of a woman. As a scientist, I'm used to observing things and noticing patterns and while her breasts and curves aren't as dramatic as many men may desire, I can tell she has a sweet face and her curves are more than enough attraction to capture attention. Her work seems to be serious to her though because unlike a woman named Denise three stations down, who has barely more impressive cleavage, this woman's lab coat has only one button undone for breathing room and her hair is drawn back in a thick headband, out of her face. My entire analysis probably only takes about a minute, but you can gauge a lot based on a person's demeanor and appearance. For example, the fact that she is nearly as attractive as Denise, but doesn't flaunt it with a revealing top and gaudy makeup makes me more relying on this woman for useful information. Perhaps it is unfair to judge upon looks, but I feel this is not true. I feel I am free to judge someone on the way they choose to make themselves look, but not physical imperfections beyond their control.

"Ma'am." The woman's soft voice draws my attention, but I do not start. I can not allow myself to be seen doing something I just chastised someone for doing. "I was observing Beast, not wasting time."

"Beast is currently in hiding. There is nothing to be gained from observing him at the moment." I turn to leave her station, but she hurriedly speaks, making me pause.

"I don't think that's true, ma'am."

Slowly, I turn back to the woman. "Pardon?"

She fixes her glasses and stands. "If someone is observing Beast, when he comes out of hiding we can better tell his nature. For instance, if he comes out slowly, he has more of a timid nature, but..."

"Then we shall install cameras."

"Ms. Kast. With all due respect, witnessing these things firsthand can be greatly different than merely watching on a video screen." She stares at me fiercely.

Slowly, I smile. This girl...I like her. She has an edge to her unlike the others. This girl isn't stupid, but she is soft enough that she may fill the position I have been at a loss of how to fill until now... "Well, Miss..."

"Williams. Kris Williams." She smiles at me, but it's a careful smile, a calculated smile. This girl thinks she can appeal to my gentler side. Unfortunately for her, anything I had that may have resembled a gentle side died the day that Clive died.

"Well, Miss Williams, I have been looking for someone to fill a certain position and I think you may be quite suitable for the job." She simply nods expectantly, eyes patiently searching my face for a hint or clue as to the position I'm referring to. "You see, I need to be at different facilities that monitor different readings and samples we extract from Beast. Naturally, I will be performing tests myself and I need to check in on these various testing areas. While away, I need someone to keep an eye on Beast. Yes, I am very much aware there will be various people and machines monitoring Beast at all times, but Beast needs to be familiar with a few select people in person so he is not overwhelmed and it isn't miscommunicated who has the permission to directly interact with him. He is very young and one of a kind, so he needs to be handled with care. So I am offering you the position of co-caretaker alongside myself."

Something flashes across her eyes, although I'm not quite sure what it is. She glances back at the cat tower and I see Beast poke his head out, feelers sensing for danger. When his eyes land on me, he freezes and quickly withdraws back into the tower. As he vanishes from view, something in the girl's demeanor hardens. Her body stiffens and she turns toward me with a fierce determination in her eyes. "I accept."

I nod. "Very well. I'll have the proper paperwork drawn up as soon as possible for legal reasons, but you can start immediately. Basically, you'll be his handler when I'm not around or I'm busy. However, this will be different than in the case of Fred and Ginger. You won't be held accountable for mistakes made by others, only your own. That will be all." The girl nods and her enthusiasm is nearly tangible.

"May I go in now, Miss Kast?" Her voice holds a note of hope and I know I have chosen the right person for this role.

"Go ahead, but be brief. We'll be wrapping up shortly." As she heads toward the door, I turn in the opposite direction to continue my assessments.

Kris POV

Due to my being co-handler to Beast, I am supposed to do these logs. So here it goes...

The day I first meet Beast, I'm terrified. What if he doesn't respond well to me? I so badly want to work closely with him. It would be an incredible experience!

I slowly open the door and look around, but I'm pretty sure I'll still find Beast in the cat tower. While everyone was rapidly typing in information or writing notes, I saw what Elsa did. I saw the look of horror on his face and the pain in his eyes. His squealing and squeaking go unnoticed by most of the scientists, but I'm constantly keeping an eye on him, if possible. I couldn't do anything because back then I couldn't get close. Now, I crouch and crab walk over to the tower, keeping a hand cupped toward the ceiling.

Beast's nose hesitantly pokes out of the hole, his feelers squishing and tasting the air. He turns his head to focus one eye on me. It's still wide with fear, so I talk in a soothing voice. "Hey...hey there...my name is Kris. Everyone is calling you Beast, but you're just a sweetheart, aren't you...?" His head pokes fully out and my hand is less than two feet away, but I very slowly move it closer as I speak. "Tell you what...I'll be your friend...how's that sound? I'll be your very best friend...why don't you say hi...?" I smile and his form seems to let the fear instantly fade from it. He chirps softly and leans his cheek into my hand, making me smile.

I can't speak freely due to the monitors, but mentally I make a promise. I won't allow Elsa to hurt Beast like this again. He won't be humiliated or inflicted with pain like that again. My hands had held him as he came out of Elsa. He was squirming, noisy, and bloody, just like a human baby, and in his own way, he was just as beautiful as a regular human baby. It's difficult to describe. Most people would say I'm a freak or mental for thinking such things, but that doesn't change how I feel. I'll watch out for Beast. His own mother doesn't love him and won't look out for him so I will. I'll protect him and love him. He croons and I smile. Yes, my little friend. I promise.

Well, there's chapter 2! Hope you guys liked it. A couple quick things I want to get out of the way, though. I'm not very good at science so if I include anything of science that doesn't make sense just let me know and I'll fix it. Also, I'm probably only going to have the 3 POVs so it doesn't get too confusing. So any ideas or things you'd want to see just let me know! As always I love to hear from you guys so please review! Till next time!:D