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 Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 12:16 pm
Bix still hadn't said a word. He remained with his arms crossed and looked completely unhappy. Did he really need repeat that they wanted answers? The doctor knew exactly why they were there. The slip of paper was still in his own wallet from when the others had left him with it.
He didn't want to pull it out for fear it would be taken from him.
Bix seemed unaffected by the doctor's flowery language and his insistance on riling Sasha up with what he said. The sun hunter was not here for over dramatics and the longer he stood silently the more his anger came back. When he'd first seen the paper he'd been filled with rage. It may have been the Insanity but the knowledge of being manipulated, of being lied to, just made him uncontrollably angry.
Bix was controlling it now but his white skin gave him away as his face slowly, slowly, filled with pink and then red. Visions of his mother danced in his head, manipulated and used. His wonderful loving mother who now sat home and mourned him.
Uh oh.. he was getting a bulging vein on his temple.
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 12:49 pm
Jerry bit his lip, letting Sasha slip past but as she brushed beside him, he caught her hand, gently giving her fingers a squeeze. So H wanted to rile them up. He wouldn't let him. He had had enough of that man's nonsense. The three of them were in this together, and it would be fine. They weren't alone, whatever this news might be.
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 1:06 pm
The doctor's face was impassive at the small shows of strength and determination in the young hunters. The dry mockery, however, subsided as he folded back the cuffs of his shirt. Raising a hand, he gestured for them to take a seat, "So you found someone's laundry list of bloodlines, yes? Ask your questions, ducklings, and I may provide a few of those answers you seek."
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 1:28 pm
This was it. This was questioning time. Whatever they wanted to know about it, he seemed ready to divulge.
Jerry stifled the inclination to vomit.
"Is... is it a geneology er... list? Or... I mean..." He glanced to Bix's look of carefully bottled rage and indignation and Sasha's pale look of defiance, but he knew how upset she had been at the news.
He felt like he was the only one that was... just... plain curious about it. He was raised by his grandparents, he knew them both. Neither were... especially Hunterish. His grandfather killed a mouse by throwing a shoe once. He didn't think that counted. Mostly he was just... confused, and curious about why HIS name of all names would be on some 'laundry list'. "Are... I mean... are there any um. Records. Of... of.." God, he didn't want to say it, not to HIM of all people. His stomach clenched as he shifted in his seat, letting go of Sasha's hand to nervously fidget with the bottom of his scarf.
No fidgeting.
Alpha Wolf.
He let someone else ask a more coherent question first.
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 2:50 pm
To assuage any feelings of guilt - or at least, to make an attempt to - Sasha pulled the picture and the note she'd taken and placed it on the doctor's desk before him. Only then did she seat herself, biting her lip as she eased back in the seat. She couldn't meet his eyes quite yet, but her voice was strong when she found it.
"Why am I on.. on that list?"
It was a good start. She only hoped his answer was a real answer, and not a careful manipulation of words. Agitated, jittery.. she felt on edge, standing on a precipice, desperately not trying to fall into the black void that yawned at her feet.
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 3:07 pm
"And what exactly.." Bix was being careful to keep his temper. He rarely got angry but when he did he had a hard time with it. He'd always had a bad temper it just usually took a lot to get him worked up. "What is this Breeding Program.. and what 'Line' am I from?" It was scratched out on the paper. He read Dune. He knew all about people trying to control breeding lines. The doctor may not even know, it would be such a stupid detail to remember. But Bix figured he was recruited for a reason and if he was now a hunter then maybe someone had looked in his 'file' or whatever.
Was Deus still doing this? He'd ask that next depending on how forthcoming the doctor seemed.
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 6:42 pm
"Well, Jerry, I'd have to see said list itself to discern exactly what sort of list it is, and why you're on it," the doctor's voice even and reasonable as he answered. "There are, indeed, records. Unfortunately none of you have clearance to access them." Picking up Sasha's little offerings if guilt, he glanced at them and continued without acknowledging what the indicated.
"You all seem...quite on edge over this, so let me explain to you a few things. The potential to become a Hunter is hereditary. At this point it's harder to find a hunter without several potentials, or even 'deceased' hunters amongst their family tree. The Breeding Program ensures those trees aren't cut short."
He traced the edge of the photo, "Now, you may not have realized it is passed down, but many of our enemies have. And what better way of eliminating a problem that to simply destroy the source? To be sure, the matter wouldn't end so easily for anyone, but snuffing out a bloodline is considered quite the desirable feat. Thus the secrecy. Thus your own supposed deaths and why we strongly discourage you from any ill-advised attempts to reconnect with your past lest you endanger those others who carry the seeds of potential."
Dropping the photo he clasped his hands and continued pleasantly, "You may also be unaware of the fact that female hunters are unable to bear children." He paused a moment, considering, and then corrected himself, "Well, living, human children, that is."
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 7:44 pm
"I... I d-dn't have it anymore..." Jerry was momentarily taken by a surge of panic, patting the pockets of his jacket and jumpsuit just in case. In the flurry of the last few days, everything was a bit of a foggy blur. It couldn't have gotten thrown out- someone had it, right? Hell, hell hell, he was doing so well, don't lose your cool now- He glanced to Sasha and Bix with a look of anxiety.
Records. Keeping track of... potential? That... made some sort of sense at least? For a moment he had mental images of his faceless parents valiantly battling against the forces of darkness. List, list, they needed that list so he could clarify!
As H kept speaking, Jerry froze, his brows knit. For the briefest of moments, his eyes darted to Sasha, his face turning red, "C-can't... have children, sir?"
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 7:57 pm
Everything H was saying made sense. Bix reached into his pocket and pulled out a wallet. It was devoid of everything except for a family photo, a debit card, and the folded up piece of yellowed paper.
Since he was hovering towards the back he shifted around and dropped it onto H's desk. He had taken pictures and photocopies and written down everything he saw. Then of course the bombshell. Well to him it was.
"Do the girls all know this?" Did they get a special girly hunter debriefing? "What..." Bix realized it was the first he had spoken. "Why did you specify... human?"
He wasn't keen on ranting about how this was the LOST island. But it still was important for them to get their own personal answers. At least now he was reassured that his mother wasn't a hunter.
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 8:17 pm
Sasha didn't speak for a long time. She sat in the chair, legs crossed at the ankles. Uncrossed. Recrossed. She listened intently to the doctor as he spoke, her expression unchanging. She didn't catch the sideways glance that Jerry sent her; instead, her eyes were on the photo that the doctor held. When he dropped it, her eyes lifted to his face. She cleared her throat uncomfortably, fidgeting in her seat.
"I didn't know," Sasha whispered softly. It was a blanket statement; she didn't know about the reasons for secrecy, she didn't know about the fact that she'd never have children, she didn't know about the bloodlines or about hunter potential being hereditary.
She didn't know what she was doing when she'd gone through the doctor's desk.
Suddenly Sasha wished she was anywhere other than where she was. This news, this explanation, hadn't been as life-changing as she'd thought it'd be. She felt mortified. Embarassed. Ashamed.
"The.. the name listed after mine is smudged," she mumbled quietly.
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 10:17 pm
"The hunter body, once bonded with a weapon, is no longer purely human. It's a matter few wish to really discuss, but the simple fact is that something as fragile and easily influenced as developing fetus cannot remain inside a female hunter's body long without changing quite dramatically. Undead are the most likely result but for the rest, I'll spare you the details." The doctor's attention shifted from Jerry to Bix, but not before catching that little look toward Sasha. The corner of his lip twitched and he continued, "Women are give a shot to prevent pregnancy while in the pods, should they wake up, they're given the option to continue getting shots every year. Those who choose not to are given a small explanation." The smile widened, "Of course, its not unusual for certain hunters to personally take aside sexually active trainees and explain. Clarice has a decided habit of startling people with it in such delightfully well-meaning ways."
Sasha's whisper brought his focus back to her, and the doctor's gaze visibly darkened, "Yes, well I imagine now you know quite a few things, hm?" Sitting back in his chair he regarded the three and drummed his fingers on the table and finally picked up the list, taking his time to scan it.
"New Year's 1999," he dropped it back down, "...the majority of hunters were slaughtered in New York. In the aftermath, many of the survivors were sent to seek out known children of several bloodlines and assessing their safety, along with the likelihood of them becoming hunters later in life. This is one such checklist."
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 11:06 pm
Jerry listened dimly to H's explanation. He wasn't sure he full yunderstood but...
So.... a family... was probably out of the question. He pursed his lips, fidgeting with his scarf again. No wonder Huntresses like Clarice seemed to practically mother many of them.
Things to think about later. Stay focused. Stay on target. 1999... he would have been about 14.... "I... I was in New York on New Years that year..." He murmured quietly. "I don't remember anything too..." Faces in files cascading across the floor in Caelius' office. So many faces.
All, apparently, deceased.
Had... his father been among them? Alive all this time? Had he taken his mother with him, maybe? Alive all that time fighting the creatures of nightmare as he lived safe and hidden with his grandmother, ensuring the continuation of their line?
Or had they really died back when he was an infant, when everyone said they had, of some accident no one spoke about? Too many questions, and none he wanted to ask H. There had to be a way to dance around it.
While the others contemplated H's words, Jerry glanced aside to both of them, his brows furrowing. "M-mine said... Collins Line. Would... would there be any... I mean... would you have access to information about... any... any recent Collins... besides me, I mean?" That was safe enough, wasn't it?
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 5:55 am
"I think we have a right to know." Bix was still a bit red but the forthcoming information seemed to keep him on task. Apparently once the teasing ended and information came forth, it was enough to keep him calmer. "Now that we're.. aware, who they were or.. what the connection is."
Bix frowned and was as outright with it as he could be. "He didn't know his parents." he pointed at Jerry. "She didn't know her mother.." He pointed as Sasha, "And even though I have a mom and dad... I was told my biological father died." He specified again. "In a normal sort of way." H probably knew all of it.
"It's not selfish to want to know who your parents were. I think I," He looked at the other two, unsure if he was speaking for himself. "I don't have illusions about who loved and raised me but I think I'd like to know everything I can about my 'bloodline.'" He even did finger quotes.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 7:31 am
Sasha cringed at the doctor's words, sinking back in her chair. She promptly averted her eyes. She had a burning urge to ask about the details - who was she related to, what were their names, why hadn't her papa mentioned them, where they were - but doctor had been fair in giving out the knowledge he had, the knowledge he could. Secrecy was important with delicate topics such as this, and while Sasha despaired for more information about her family, the family she'd never known, the family she would likely never know, it was hard to ask when she felt so ashamed.
It was difficult to ask when the answers felt so vague.
Readjusting herself in her seat, Sasha lifted her gaze back to the picture she'd returned to the doctor's possession. She did have questions about that, but it was a topic that she wasn't ready to pursue, not while the doctor seemed displeased. Besides, Jerry and Bix were asking questions that pertained to the matter at hand, and Sasha wasn't selfish enough to interject. She did, however, offer Bix a thankful look; he was bold where she couldn't be, and she appreciated the questions that both of the men were asking.
"My papa never spoke of any other family," the trainee mumbled miserably, coming to the crushing realization that her mother couldn't have been a hunter. Not if Sasha was here. So... who then? Sasha chanced a glance at the doctor, a sad smile twisting her lips. Her voice bordered on monotone.
"I thought... I thought I was the only one left."
Sasha hoped this meeting ended soon. The urge to play her flute was slowly clawing its way into her chest, and escape - from both the doctor and the situation at hand - had never felt so necessary. Tears, weak, stupid tears, welled up in her eyes.
She wanted to disappear.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 8:15 am
"Of course I have access, Jerry," the doctor was generally considered fairly patient, especially for a leader, but it wasn't a trait he often wasted in situations such as this. A hissing, mocking edge crept into his voice as he went on, "It's you who don't...and won't, until you either reach full hunter or until you're the last living member of your line and no longer able to endanger others with what amounts to idle curiosity."
He gave Bix a droll smile, "A right to know? Really, since when have you actually had any rights since the moment you woke up here? The answer is, you have not. You'll wait, and you'll deal with it, or you won't and you'll find some other way to gain what you wish without relying on self-declared entitlement."
Finally his focused lasered in on Sasha, and his features did not soften or gentle for the girl, "Yes, well...he wouldn't have, even had he known." He contemplated the tears in her eyes with a hooded expression and continued, "And congratulations, you are not the only one left..for now."
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