It was the night before the big operation when they finally let Nia go outside, deeming her recovered enough to move around as normal. Though, she got the impression that she was more being kept inside so that she wouldn't go and injure herself again, rather than for healing.
As she stepped onto the stairs outside the house that the group had been given to stay in, she noticed someone was sitting a bit further down. Carefully, she approached them to see familiar, long pink hair.
"Elliot?"
They turned back to look at her and smiled, "Hey, Nia. Did they finally let you out of there?" They asked.
She snorted, "It took a lot of convincing, but yeah. Finally. Honestly, I thought I was going to go insane if I was stuck in there for one more day. I need to do things."
"What, you're going to say you weren't having fun playing with Alya and Ehan? Here, sit down. Don't strain your injuries," Elliot patted the stairs next to them.
Nia rolled her eyes as she sat down, "I am basically completely healed, you do know that, right?"
They shrugged, "I'd rather not risk it," They said simply before looking up at the sky. Nia followed their gaze before sighing.
"Alright, what is it?" She asked.
"Huh?"
"You're obviously concerned about something, so, what is it?"
Elliot sighed, "Is it that obvious?" They ran their hand through their hair, pulling out the hair tie just to tie it a bit more securely.
Nia hummed, "A little bit, yeah. I think we were all kind of just waiting for you to say whatever it is, but you haven't brought it up so I guess I'm asking you now. What's up with you?"
Elliot was silent for a moment before starting hesitantly, "...It's stupid but…I have a really bad feeling about what we're going to do."
"I mean, of course," Nia said, "What we're doing is stupid and it's basically running straight into a trap but…If we can get the Wings, it's worth it."
"Glad to know that we know this is stupid and we're still going through with it," Elliot muttered, "But it's not just that, it's…It's like…I really have a strong feeling something bad is going to happen."
Nia was quiet, "Do you…Know that?" She asked, emphasizing the third word so they understood what she meant.
They shook their head, "No, I can't predict the future. None of us can."
The girl hummed, "I thought maybe you could, seeing as you're…You know, different from the rest of us."
Elliot turned to her, eyes wide, "You know?"
"I overheard when you and Leon were talking about it a couple of weeks back. Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop."
"It's fine," Elliot ran their hand through their hair again, "It's alright. Yeah, even like that, I still can't predict the future. But I still…I can't tell if it's because of that or if it's just my gut feeling but…Something's going to go wrong," They turned to look at her, "Which is why I need to ask you for something."
Nia shifted slightly, "Yeah? What is it?" She asked.
They looked directly at her for a moment before taking a deep breath, "You're not going to like this, but I need you to hear me out, okay?" They warned, and she nodded, "I want you to stay back for this mission."
"What?!" She stood up, "I can't do that, I can't just let you guys go put yourself in danger while I just sit back here doing nothing—"
"Listen to me, Nia," Elliot reminded her, grabbing her arm, "I'm not asking this just for your sake. I'm asking for Val's as well."
Nia paused. Then, she sat back down.
Elliot took this as the sign to continue, "You might be healed, but Val isn't completely healed, as much as she likes to think she is. Chaewon has already made the decision that Val isn't coming, and you know that's not going to go down well. You have to understand though, if you stay back, it'll be easier to convince Val, too."
"You're putting a lot of importance on me," Nia murmured, "You think she'd be okay with staying here while Hyunwoo goes?"
"I didn't say she'd be okay with it," Elliot shook their head, "But she'd be a bit more likely to listen if you stay back with her. Please, Nia," They took her hands, "Please, stay back with her. I don't know what's going to happen, but if something happens to the both of you…"
Nia took a deep breath, "...You have to let us know everything that's happening, okay? Constant updates on positions and situations. I don't want to be left out of anything."
Elliot let out a sigh of relief, nodding before reaching over and hugging her, "Thank you, Nia."
She hummed, "...Elliot, why are you so intent on making sure Val and I are safe?" She asked, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I know you care about everyone, but you've always gone out of your way to make sure the two of us are safe and happy."
"You guys are the youngest, it's our job as one of the oldest to take care of you guys," Elliot responded, but Nia shook her head.
"No, it's more than that. You seem…Familiar in a way that I can't explain," She said slowly.
They were both quiet for a moment before Elliot sighed, "You were going to figure it out eventually, I suppose," They said softly, "How much do you remember about where you came from?"
Nia was confused, "...Not much, just that it was an island that wasn't really near people in general. And we all had the, uh, the glowing constellation freckles," She pointed at her own face, "It was why the White Lotus first wanted to take me."
Elliot shook their head, "No, you were a special case. None of them had it the way you did, that's why the White Lotus was so intent on taking you, even though there was no actual reason for your freckles to look the way they do. Just an outlier by chance. Most of the people on the island—Most of us, we just had glowing freckles, nothing like the constellations you do."
"...We?" She asked, her eyes widening.
They sighed and shrugged off their jacket. Nia noticed for the first time that the top they were wearing was actually backless, and she gasped.
Their back was covered in freckles, but not just any freckles—They were like the freckles on Nia's face. They glowed slightly on their dark skin like stars, and Nia looked at him, "How? Who are you?"
"I suppose you don't remember everything, then," Elliot sighed, "When you were younger…Before you were taken by the White Lotus, you lived on an island, right? It was almost like its own society, you lived near the docks, no?"
Nia frowned, furrowing her eyebrows, "I…I think so. It sounds familiar, what you're saying, but I don't—How do you know all this—"
"I'm getting to it," Elliot said gently, "You might have been too young, but do you remember there were talks about one of the people on the island working on the mainland as a scientist?"
"...Sort of? A little bit, yeah, I think I remember," Nia replied,
The other nodded, "Well, that was me. It was…Something they were trying. Mixing outside culture into theirs. Their test subject was me. I went to school on the mainland to learn the way they did things outside of our island, though that started when I was thirteen, probably around the time you were born. I didn't know what the White Lotus was when they first brought me into it. Then I met Chaewon and I just…I couldn't leave her there alone. Leon was so young and she was practically acting as a single mother starting at the age of twelve, though I didn't meet her until she was fifteen. So, even though I knew what was happening…I stayed for her and Leon."
"Did you…Did you come back to visit often?" Nia said, scrunching her face, thinking, "I…Think I remember you coming back?"
"Yeah, I came to visit every weekend or so. I…" They sighed, "You don't remember this but you used to follow me around quite a bit. You always kind of wanted to go to the mainland, so I used to tell you about school and work there. I never quite knew what happened to your parents so I always bought you food or made food for you."
Nia's eyes widened, "...Really?" She asked softly, "I…I don't really remember that. Maybe…" She bit her lip, "I think I remember a bit? But I didn't…That was you?"
Elliot nodded, smiling a bit, "When people asked, you always just said your parents went on a trip. It had been years since they disappeared, so we all stopped asking."
"They told me to say that. It didn't take me too long to realize they'd…Just abandoned me. Probably dead. Doesn't really matter to me," Nia said nonchalantly. To her surprise, she really meant it, "I have a better family now anyway. I'm just…Surprised I don't remember much of this."
"I'm glad you feel that way," Elliot said, rubbing her shoulder, "But you probably don't remember much of your child due to…Repressed memories. You may have gone through something horrible that you don't want to remember."
Nia frowned, "But I can't remember—Ah," She stopped, "That kind of makes sense, I guess," They sat silently for a moment before Nia spoke again, "Thank you."
"What for?"
"Taking care of me when I was younger. If I know anything about you, it's that you like to make it seem like you did less than you did. I'm assuming you took care of me more than just getting me food. So, thank you."
Elliot hummed, "You have good intuition, at least we can say that," They looked up to the sky, "You lived in my home. I wasn't there all that often, and my parents had moved to the mainland when I was pretty young, so I thought that someone should live there."
Nia cracked a smile, "I really owe you a lot, huh? I know you looked out for me when I was taken, and Val said you did the same for her…I didn't know you were looking out for me before that."
They shook their head, "You don't owe me anything," Elliot said, "I don't expect anything in return for what I did. I just want you to live a happy life. Though I suppose, the White Lotus has made sure that wouldn't be the case…"
"Not all of it was bad," Nia said quietly, "I mean, I got to meet all of you. My life has been a lot better since I left the army."
"I'm glad about that. But it doesn't change that you were literally in the army before the age of sixteen. That's fucked up, Nia."
"Let's be honest, Elliot," She said, "Who's life story isn't fucked up at this point? I mean Chaewon and Xander both were practically raising their younger siblings, Kaedan was experimented on and found his mother killed his brother, all I need to say about Lumina is just…Veronica, Mina's family has tried to murder her more times than we can count, I don't want to think about what Hyunwoo went through, Bella started a rebellion when she was a child and she has to carry the burden herself even now, Leon is just—Well, we know about his life, we don't know about Risále's life but I can certainly guess it's probably as bad as Leon's, Val—I can't talk about what they went through without feeling sick, Fenix was forced into being a scientist and I'm pretty sure his aunt and uncle were more horrible to him than he's willing to say, and Owen was experimented on before he was even a teen. We all went through some serious shit. All we can do now is keep going. And I know you probably have something going on as well that you're not willing to share. You don't need to."
Elliot looked surprised, but they laughed a bit, "For a seventeen-year-old, you certainly are wise."
"I'm going to be eighteen soon anyway."
"Like that makes much of a difference."
"I mean, it might."
Elliot shook their head, giggling a bit, "Don't try to grow up too quickly. Cherish your childhood. Once you lose it, in this world, it's hard to get it back," Their tone was light but the look in their eyes was serious.
Nia nodded, "I know. We're—We're trying to enjoy it as much as we can. All four of us."
The older let out a sigh of relief, "Good. That's good," Looking at the watch on their wrist, they spoke again, "We should go to bed. Important day tomorrow," With that, they stood up, helping Nia to their feet, "Good night, Nia."
"Wait."
They turned back to look at her, eyebrows raised, "What is it?"
She shuffled a bit nervously, "When you have time," She began, "Can you…Tell me more about this stuff? Before I came to the White Lotus?"
Elliot smiled.
"Of course, Nia. I have so much to tell you."