Welcome to Gaia! ::

Zylah saw the slight nod of Charlotte's head to answer her question. It was followed almost immediately bully the soft rumble of her stomach which caused a faint red color to fill her cheeks. It wasn't a pleasant fact, but Zylah didn't seem to view her any differently, and she wouldn't. There was no reason. No reason to hold on the past... no need to blame someone for actions that were not entirely within their control. Easier said than done, considering as much as she pretended she wasn't the least bit phased by her past, the reaction ahe'd has moments ago proved otherwise. However, in this instant, it was different. For starters, she didn't even have the full story and she wasn't about to drag it out of her. Least of all with Luina in the room. Zylah couldn't quite imagine she'd want to tell Luina anymore than she'd been willing to let to her... Or maybe she'd rather tell Luina. It was hard to say... Charlotte's and her had a complicated relationship so to speak. Up until this point, Charlotte seemed to usually avoid Zylah at all costs... Except for that times she had rushed into help protect her from the grim, but that didn't necessarily have any reason to do with her. Charlotte loved a fight, after all. So they had gone from total avoidance to the faunus drugged and half asleep on her lap. Complicated was a good choice. Then again, all of her relationships here were complicated because they were full of lies, secrets and a mess of confusing feelings. She wasn't here to make friends. So why did she care if Charlotte hated her or not? Why did she want to make Luina laugh after seeing her so upset? Why did she feel... guilty? Is that what that was?

It was Charlotte's daze comment about how broken things were pretty that drew her out of her thoughts. Plopping her chin back into her hand she tilted her head to the side slightly as she gazed down at the girl. By the look on her face that comment had escaped her lips without full permission. Granted, in her loopy state she was certain that was not the first and even more so that it wasn't going to be the last. "What sort of broken things do you think are pretty, Char?" She questioned, cerulean orbs never leaving those sienna orbs of hers. It was an interesting color, and more so, it was interesting to watch all these different emotions play over a face that was usually so blank, so carefully guarded. Charlotte didn't have quite as much control over her actions or her expressions in this state and maybe Zylah should have felt guilty for taking advantage of it, but those truly were not her intentions. The petite, white-haired girl was no stranger to taking advantage of people, using them. She'd done it before and would do it again. This was different though. It was just pure curiosity driving her emotions. That, and the wary thought that things might just go back to the way they used to be when the medication wore off.

Zylah looked up from Charlotte towards Luina just in time to see her reaction to her teasing. Zylah's smirked, her eyes lighting up mischievously as she took in the red cheeks before quickly attempting to brush the comment off. She did laugh though, and that was something. It had been her goal after all. "Are you sure? Seems pretty persistent whoever it is." She looked rather satisfied with herself, but didn't take it any further, for now at least. Then there was Charlotte's question, returning her gaze to the faunus still using her for a pillow, she seemed to mull over the best way to explain such a thing to her. "Boyfriend... girlfriend... no space... it would imply that they were together, romantically involved I mean." She explained, examining her expression to make sure she actually understood. Then there was the comment about the punch, Luina admitting the caller might deserve one. "On it, Cap!" She said with a signature Zylah smirk. It was often the way the girl responded to her orders. However, Charlotte had an objection and she couldn't help but let out a small laugh, smirking down at her. The faunus looked genuinely concerned. "Later then. After my pillow duties are over."

Noting the look of discern in Luina's face as she went on to explain about her sister, Zylah frowned. Honestly, she wasn't sure what sure of comfort or advice to offer in that situation. She had never had siblings and her parents hadn't exactly played their roll well. The closest she'd had was the faunus boy that used to come visit her in her cage, but in the end... even he had betrayed her. Maimed her, taken away her sight, and took the already shattered remains of her heart and burnt them to ash. So family problems weren't her forte... and as much as she knew she shouldn't care, a part of her couldn't help it. Luina had put her life on the line for her, saved her even. That was something not a single soul had ever done for her. No one had ever been willing to sacrifice even the smallest bit of anything for her, but her captain had been ready to defend her with her life. That was something that would stick with Zylah. Something she couldn't forget. Something that brought forth a whole new wave of confusing thoughts and feelings. All strange and foriegn to her. As if things weren't complicated enough. Sighing softly and brushing the thoughts aside for the time being, she patted the spot on the other side of her for Luina to sit. "Wanna vent?" She asked as she invited the girl over. Really it was Charlotte's ed and likely not Zylah's place to invite others to sit on it, but that wasn't about to stop Zylah. Nothing ever did. "Or we could just snack each other with pillows until we all fill better?" She suggested, a devilish smirk lighting up her face.

At Charlotte's comment about the door, Zylah rose her hands in a mock surrender and in turn, pulled Charlotte's hand up with hers. It was hard to say wheather she'd merely forgotten to let go or simply enjoyed the feeling. "Okay, okay. I won't." She agreed, but the devilish grin and the michivious twinkle in her eye gave her away. Zylah was not above destruction or vandalism but at this time it would before a good cause, if it even came down to that. Did it make her a horrible person if she enjoyed the process? However, before she'd even had the time to think about exactly how she'd open the door, Luina answered on the other side. It wasn't long after that she opened it and stepped out. Leaping to her feet with that uncanny amount of grace she always held she tugged Charlotte a long with her, sitting back on the faunus's bed without a second thought.

Cerulean orbs followed their blue-haired captain as she meandered across the room, explaining her reaction. Only it seemed her explanation required an explanation of it's own. Zylah was silent, listening to the words leaving the girl's mouth while almost subconsciously still hanging onto the holding into the hand of the poor faunus she'd just dragged back and forth across the room. Charlotte hadn't quite accepted her hand, leaving her fingers straight rather than curling them around, but that didn't deter Zylah in the slightest. It was almost like she didn't notice at all, and perhaps she didn't. She was no expert on hand holding or anything if the sort. Yet another thing she had missed out on. Still, maybe it was a good thing Zylah had latched onto her and refused to let go. Hearing the truth about Luina's family was a shock for Zylah, but it would be so much more for Charlotte and there was no saying how she would react.

It was a lot to take in and at first all Zylah could do was blink as her eyes darted from Luina to Charlotte and back again. Her mind was racing, several different thought processes on a collision course, bound to wreck havoc on the train wreck her brain had become. Zylah didn't know much of the specifics of Charlotte's past, but over the time they'd spent together she had picked up on a few things. She recognized the look in her eyes and all the other warning signs. She knew whatever Charlotte had been through it must have been horrible. She had picked up bits and pieces of the experiments, but now here she was listening to Luina explain that her father was responsible for the legalization of such experiments. Not to mention her uncle who was affiliated with the tribe. The tribe who was also responsible for such tortures... as a member of the Tribe... didn't that mean she was just as equally responsible.

The look on Luina's face could be described as nothing short of guilt... remorse... but was she really the one who should be consumed by such feelings? The girl had played no real part in this. She didn't have any control over the action of her parents, the same way Zylah hadn't had the slightest control over her own parents. However, Luina had acted out against them. Her brother had died trying to do just that... what had she done? She'd ended up in exactly the same position her parents had been, doing the same horrid things they had done, the things she'd use to hate. In reality, Zylah was nmblind to it all. She'd still been a child when she had wondered her way into the Tribe. Many of her assignments she'd done without much thought or question. It was a way to survive and she'd become numb to the death, the blood, and the pain. She didn't know how to live. She didn't know where to go. She didn't know what to do... they had taken her in and given her a home... or at least a place to sleep and food in her starving stomach.

Zylah hadn't joined the Tribe because she hated faunus. She didn't hate the. Any more or less than she hated humans. She had seen the evil in both races. She had inflicted pain and death equally upon both. Thus... she hadn't joined out of hatred, but rather necessity. However. She had never once regretted that decision. She'd never thought twice about any of the lives she had taken. So why did she feel so sick to her stomach now? What was that strange feeling constricting her chest. Why was it so very hard to breathe? Stomach churning uncomfortably, heart thudding rapidly against her rib cage, her breaths coming short and raspy. Guilt... that's what it was, and it was a horrible feeling... one she wasn't used to. She felt like it was digging away at her insides, carving her hollow and feasting on her from the inside out. The more she looked at Charlotte, the worse the feeling got. Rising and growing until it was fire within her veins, burning her alive. She felt like she might just spontaneously combust. It was all too much.

Why? Why did she feel this way? She knew the answer to the question even if she didn't want to admit it. She cared for them both on some level or another. As much as she had tried to hold back, to keep her past a secret and her emotions at bay, she had failed. So.ehow they'd both managed to fond away to wriggle their way into her heart. Maybe it hadn't been as hard as she'd intended it to be. She had never been able to relate to a person the same way she could relate to Charlotte and she'd never had someone willing protect her and sacrifice for her like Luina had. Zylah had always been confident, sure of herself. Despite all the torment she'd been put through.. she had always been happy with herself. She felt exactly the opposite now. She had no idea what to do or what to say. The guilt was spiraling out if control turning into something far more toxic. She hated that she'd been a part of what happened to Charlotte... or what happened to Luina's brother. Even if she had played no real role I it... she was still affiliated with the people that had done it.

But... what was she supposed to do? She couldn't take back her past or her decision. She couldn't change the things she'd done. But she couldn't apologize either. Apologizing meant telling the truth and the truth meant that not only would she get kicked out of Beacon, that Luina and Charlotte would hate her. She couldn't stand the idea of losing them... she couldn't lose the only real home she'd ever had. She had been silent far too long, but she was stuck on the verge of a panic attack and was no closer to an outcome than she had been before. There was no right answer, no easy solution, no quick fix. Every outcome but silence ended in despair but what would silence bring? Lies and deceit that would eventually unravel and explode around her. Probably... but she couldn't tell the truth... not yet. Even if she were ready to face the consequences... no was not the time.

Shaking her head slowly to clear it, pale locks tumbling about her shoulder, she looked up to her two teammates. Her expression, as always, was calm and unreadable, but there was a strange look in her eyes... pain, panic, uncertainty. She hadn't realized how tightly she h as d been grasping Charlotte's hand until then and released her from her group with a mumbled apologized. "No one should he held accountable for the actions of their parents." She stated in a voice that was much softer and sincere than usual. This was a lesson she knew better than anyone... after all, she had suffered u thinkable torture on behalf of her parents mistakes. The statement was meant for both of them, to help relieve Luina's guilt and hopefully subdue sny of the anger Charlotte might feel towards Luina for things that were out of her control. It wasn't much, but it was all she could manage at the moment.

"You don't know that, Lu." She stated, her words coming out a bit louder than she intended. She wasn't shouting, and she wasn't angry. Rather she sounded just a tad bit harsh in her urgency. That desperate need inside her to keep both of them save... and in this moment, she had to keep them safe from each other. She felt small, insignificant... a child caught in the middle of something far beyond her grasp. She knew what could happen when someone was pushed over the edge. She'd seen it, been there herself even. As much as they both loved Charlotte, she'd been tossed over the edge and the already unpredictable girl had become a ticking time bomb. Zylah knew that Charlotte would never intentionally hurt Luina. She knew the pain that causing injury to such a dear friend would put her through, but there was always that chance... She had seen it time and time again. Not just with faunus but humans as well. When someone felt trapped, back into a corner. When they were so far past gone their brain was no longer functioning properly, a protective and defensive instinct kicked in. One that was sometimes blind to the thing sand people around them. Even loved ones. "She would never hurt you on purpose... but she's not in her right state of mind right now. That was... a lot for her to take in." Her voice was softer now, more if a desperate plea than anything else.

There was still that fear that they would come to blows. If Charlotte attacked, Luina would have to defend, but where did that leave Zylah? What was she to do? Finally Charlotte was speaking. It was kept broken than before, but no less confusing. On the verge of hysteria, her words came much too quickly, slipping in and out of a language Zylah could not understand. It was hard to piece it all together, too make sense of it all. One thing stood out among the rest. She was hurt... she felt betrayed. However, some of that initial anger seemed to have faded. It wasn't a moment later that Luina reached her arm past her, reaching for Charlotte. The tiny huntress sighed, before stepping back slightly. This didn't involve her... well it did, she was more twisted up into this story than either of them knew, but she could reveal that. Not now. It seemed relatively safe, if Charlotte was going to hurt Luina... she probably would have done it by now. So she dropped her gaze, hanging her head so that her blonde locks hid the anxiety written out in her expression, and listened silently. Silent was such a strange thing to witness from Zylah. It was not a common occurrence.

What drew her out of the daze was Charlotte's whimpering. Her tail was still poised, ready to attack at a moment's notice, but she looked nothing more than broken. It was expression she recognized. One she used to wear. One that lay hidden far beneath the bubbly exterior. Zylah couldn't help herself. Maybe she should have thought twice about it, but when did she ever do that? She didn't have the same boundaries that normal people did and things like personal space didn't occur to her. She remembered a time... years ago when she'd been so lost, so broken. Locked in a cage in too much pain to move. She remembered that hand, so soft and gentle on her own. Just like everyone always did, he too had betrayed her. Maimed her and left her too die... but in that moment, that gentle touch had meant the world. In a matter of moments she had closed the distance between her and Charlotte, flinging her tiny arms around the girl's waist. At least if Charlotte did decide to attack, it would be her and not Luina. Without her heels that she normally wore, the size difference was enough that Zylah's head was only just resting upon her shoulder. "You're okay... it's going to be okay." She murmured softly. Those were comforting words, right?