Jayken was waiting, hands in his pockets, inside the waiting room with Yona. They both perked up as soon as they saw Silas' face peer through the door, out from behind Charybdis' back. Jayken chuckled to himself at the funny sight and held his hand out in greeting. Silas bashfully took it and was surprised to see nothing but warmth emanating from Jayken's smile. His hand was warm, even through the glove, and his fluffy fingers encased in black gloves curled around Silas' smaller digits like a warm electric blanket. They enveloped him in an iron, secure grip. Silas looked up at Jayken's face, and Jayken tipped his hat to him.
Next to Jayken and Yona,, seated beside them, were Rekka, Macy, Axel, and Evelynn. Macy waved hello and Silas nodded his headi in acknowledgement.
"Well, well! Now that we've finally gotten some time to ourselves, let's unwind a bit, shall we? We'll be taking little breaks like these every day, and I'm delighted that I get the opportunity to get to know you more before you have to leave. I'd be honored to be your guide in RimOps. And not just because of the money."
"Yeah, man. I'm jealous. You seem like a really cute guy," Yona quipped, her chipper voice lightening the tone and providing Silas with a much-needed sense of relief after the escapade with Scylla. He felt his heartbeat begin to slow down as he was surrounded by such smiling faces. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that he couldn't and shouldn't let his guard down, but he was so desperate for stability in this tumultuous new world that he decided to let it slide.
"Ah, well. You win some, you lose some. I'm just glad to have met you. I'll be telling my children and my grandchildren, that's for sure. I'll start my own family history, thanks to you guys. So congratulations!"
"That," Charybdis said, beaming suddenly, "would be greatly appreciated, Yona. Make sure you never forget this moment."
"Hah!" Yona guffawed, throwing her head back. Her shrill laughter was reminiscent of the feral hyena her DNA was derived from. "Like I'd ever."
"We're on our break, too," Macy said, smiling. "Yona and Jayken are supervising us, but we're split into two groups. Rekka and I are in you and Saya's group. You and Saya have a longer break than us, and we'll have to go back into testing before yours is done, since we finished earlier."
"Saya will be coming in about twenty minutes," Charybdis said. "I apologize for making you two," she pointed to Macy and Rekka, "stay here, but I hope you can understand why."
"It's no problem, really!" Macy said eagerly. Silas respected her positivity and optimism. He hoped that it wouldn't come back to harm her one day. It would be painful to see that naivety be shattered. "Rekka and I wanted to wait, anyway. We were thinking of seeing Wicke once Saya finishes."
"Why would you want to see her?" Axel blurted. "She's probably scared stiff of you. Especially you, Rekka."
"We ought to apologize," Macy said. "I kind of feel bad for what we did. We should visit her and make sure she's okay."
"Even when she wanted you dead?" Axel scoffed. "You do realize we're in a society that literally wants us wiped off the face of the planet. She's no exception. I bet she's been trained to hate us."
"That doesn't make her any less deserving of help," Macy said stoutly. Axel bit his lip and quieted himself.
"It will also be a great opportunity to explore the facilities and learn more about our environment," Rekka added. She looked away as she said this to hide her embarrassment. After all, it had been her who had tormented Wicke. It was important that she be the one who apologized personally. It had supposedly been necessary. It was Rekka's quick thinking that had allowed them to use Wicke for information. But at the same time, if she'd left Wicke alone, she wouldn't have led the rescue team to Last Stand.
Though, Wicke had encountered Last Stand out of sheer misfortune. If they let her go, she would simply bring them to her. It was only a matter of time. Silas didn't blame Rekka for her actions, but he could still sense the shame and regret in Rekka's eyes, hiding just below a surface of cool and calm confidence.
Silas absentmindedly watched Charybdis click away at her holographic projection. Even from the other side, he could still see what was pbeing projected on the screen for her, just in reverse. The screen in front of the tall dragon lady revealed a small dark blue darting around the screen as sparks of fire and light crashed all around it. A second dark blur moved past them, following the first. Silas shuddered. Had Charybdis been watching Silas' performance as well? What had she thought of his pathetic display?
The minutes passed as Saya continued to dodge and outmaneuver Scylla. Silas tried not to show any reactions on his face, but his eyes widened as several small and fast flames shot across the screen at increasing speeds. Saya moved in a way that seemed not humanly possible. Silas noticed that Axel was watching the screen as well, something akin to jealousy in his eyes. Silas remembered Axel's score was almost three minutes. He would've guessed that someone with air magic powers like him would be able to evade Scylla's combos for much longer. It seemed that there was something Saya had that Axel was missing.
As the clocked ticked on Silas realized that as the fire grazed past Saya's face, it revealed her posture was upright and her face was focused. Charybdis, interested in the same thing Silas was, zoomed in on her figure. Silas realized that she was breathing lightly. She didn't seem tired at all. Scylla, in comparison, was huffing and puffing in more than just anger.
The three minute mark passed and Scylla was running out of steam. It seemed that she was giving it her all, her spells becoming more and more rapid and harder to dodge. Scylla threw them in a way that dodging one would usually make the opponent run straight into the other projectile. She threw out water, air, earth, and fire magic in an attempt to pin Saya down. Eventually, as the timer reached four minutes on the scoreboard, a flame licked Saya's shoulders and a beeping noise sounded from the board as the projection turned red. Scylla panted, catching her breath as she leaned against the wall.
Saya looked ahead in disappointment, but still managed a proud smile as her name appeared at the top of the leaderboard, with a score of 240. She was leagues above Silas, who only managed a measly 20. Silas saw how own name in reverse and felt hot shame prickle through his body. Charybdis' eyes remained focused on the projection, her eyes wide as Saya's display of talent.
Silas sighed inwardly. From what he knew of Saya, he would have to bear with her teasing all throughout the break. He supposed he should be happy for her. But in reality, all he was was ashamed.