"What do you mean she's not... human?" Eltic asked, his both brows raised. "I mean, sure. You're the doctor here, but I trust my eyes more. She looks human so she must be one."
"Wrong," Theodore declared. He passed the scanner nonchalantly to Eltic. "Look at it,"
Eltic eyed him for a second at him, but obliged.
In sight, mirrored something... bizzare. An êtheric body distored in many ways, an amalgation. It was impossible for it to be owned by the girl lying on the bed, right.
It was different from what he saw with his eyes. It morphed, changed—fluid-like. As Eltic observed the image, he remembered a troublesome man he fought in the past that shapeshifted at discretion.
"Holy hell!" Eltic exclaimed, hands trembling.
He peeked closer, his heart began to race. The image seemed sentient. It writhed, deforming, hiding from peering gazes.
Theodore noticed Eltic's actions. "Don't bother," he said. "The signals that allow for additional physiological observations are mixed and clouded up because of the background body radiation emitting from her body, or well… Her abilities."
"Oh," Eltic muttered, not fully comprehensing Theodore's words, but he analyzed the meaning through Theodore's facial expressions—a peculiar relation they both had.
No one spoke any longer after that. A disgusting silence permeated, clicking bulbs echoing. The artifical air ruffled the inhabitant's hair, harshly.
The standstill lasted for a long minute. Too lengthy to count. They knew the question, the consequences. None dared to speak.
Eyes snuck glances, fear-ridden. The situation replayed in their mental space like church bells, ringing continuously—it would not stop.
Soon after, someone broke the silence.
Eltic asked: "Do we… kill her?" His hands shook at his own tquestion.
He had done a lot of bad things in the past, things he regrets. However, he had a limit sworn never to break—harming children was in the line.
A line he was bent on never crossing, even now.
Theodore, on the other hand, didn't talk. His body shifted abnormally, breath disordered.
His head veered, slowly. Those bleak eyes gazed upon at Eltic.
He finally declared. "I say we eliminate her."
"What!?" Eltic asked, eye agape; his legs strayed back unconsciously.
"The situation is too risky. Although it's clear that she's not one of them… There's a chance she could be worse than them. We can't handle another hostile race, Eltic… So I recommend we kill IT," Theodore said loudly, stoic-faced. His finger jerked, joints cracked— energy flared.
His gaze fell to her chest.
"You know the laws Eltic. You may be stupid, but you know."
Arelin healer's act: healers are permitted to kill on sight if the patient has.
1) Committed treason
2) Possession of forbidden weapons
.
.
.
404)All Non-humans should be killed on sight.
Eltic hands sped forth, clutching the fingers hovering over the girl's chest. Veins slithered on both arms
For a moment, they'd become enemies.
"Theodore you bloody fool! What are you doing?" He glared at the man, waiting. He needed a reasonable one, or he swore to the Aether he would deck this fellow.
"Killing it," Theodore answered. "Why stop me?"
"You're a doctor you stupid dullard! Do you save people and kill them right after?" Eltic bellowed, emotions rioting. His eyes reddened.
Theodore took in Eltic's arguments; his tense fingers relaxed. In a moment, his ability retracted back into his body.
He remembered.
He was a doctor first. A soldier second.
"You are correct." He suddenly grabbed Eltic's arm. "Then you do it."
"You can't be serious." Eltic mouth opened, cofused. He quickly pried his hands away from the steel-like grip.
"Are you willing to jeopardize a million lives because you couldn't kill one person?!" Theodore shouted, dissapointment and disdain reflected in his eyes. Those were lives, many, at stake.
People with a future, families. It was unfair to ruin theirs for a single person, unethical.
Though, he might have much preferred a standardized interrogation to gain more information about her specie. That was also treason.
Past experiences with weird results; call for strange laws with weird results.
"Well, what if we kill her and that sends like a"— Eltic mind raced, thoughts arising. A sharp headache ensued, no lie or reason was enough to convince this murderous madman — "a signal! Yes a signal to whatever race she belongs. What if she is a princess?"
"A princess?" Theodore reeled back at the absurdness.
"Or a diplomat." Eltic waved his hands to the side.
"Your reason is foolis—"
"But what if!" Eltic shouted, banging the bed next to them and shaking it.
This time, Theodore paused and reasoned. The frown on his face lessened.
In a twisted, bizzare way, that sentence made sense.
"But, that is still against the law, Eltic. it's kill on sight."
"No one has to know that."
"No, still." Theodore bobbed his head left-right.
"Yes!" Eltic smiled. "I was never here."
"Why are you doing this?" Theodore said. "You just met the thin- this girl?"
"Reminds me of myself." Eltic shrugged. "What's the worst that could happen… sure I could die. But meh."
"You weren't an off-realm-er."
"Doesn't matter!"
Theodore observed the desperate, the man who grasped at straws.
He knew. He understood his friend planned to shoulder the blame if the situation was ever discovered—a foolish action.
"Well, suit yourself… illogical bastard."
Theodore sighed. He tried his best and had goten the creature back to normal. What more could be asked of him?
Eltic breathed in relief, feeling like he would have a heart-attack if this continued.
"Thank—"
The bed jerked suddenly, cutting Eltic's thanks halfway. He looked to the source… the girl was awake.
Theodore was ready to engage, but an open palm from Eltic stopped him. Eltic crouched by the bed and looked at the girl.
"Are you going to kill me?" the girl asked; she had heard everything, precisely when Eltic banged his hands on the bed.
"No, we wouldn't do that. we aren't child killers; you should have been worried if it was someone like Yanz—"
Eltic stopped as Theodore hit his leg.
He changed his wording.
"A special old man with interesting objects. Anyways, you are safe here, so." He paused. "What's your name?" Eltic leaned forward.
"I didn't have one, but the children at the orphanage called me… Ina." The girl answered with her head drooping low, a steady stream of tears dripping down.
Eltic huffed out. "Iña: cursed child… I take it you weren't well received there. May I know the reason."
The girl didn't answer. Her words were stuck and died in her throat. Memories she hid crawled out to the surface: each waiting for release.
Ińa hated it. She loathed them.
Eltic noticed her reaction and decided it was best to move on to another topic: "Well if you don't—"
"My voice… It hurts them. They hate me for it." Ińa answered in-between sobs.
"Oh, sorry for that. I can't say I can relate, but my condolences." Eltic said; he avoided looking at her and gazed at the floor, keeping his mind busy, so he could think of an answer.
Soon, he thought of something— 'why couldn't he give a helping hand?'
"What if I could train you to control it?" Eltic suggested amicably and with a smile. "What do you say want to say? Want to be my apprentice?"
It seemed like all sounds disappeared at the arrival of the question. Everything became silent. The question lingered in the air and hummed the girl's mind.
'Want to be my apprentice…'
She thought; she looked up at the man, wanting to see if he was trustworthy or whether this was another sick game by some twisted individual. The caretaker at the orphanage came to mind: a scheming and cruel witch.
"I…" the girl whispered. She was not confident in her judgment skills. She did not want to make a decision she would regret. She did- did- did: "I accept."
She accepted.
"Be my mentor," Ińa yelled, her voice cracking as it took every strength she could muster to say it.
"Good answer. But first. We have to change that name. It's not very child friendly." Eltic replied, contemplating while pinching his nose. "I am not very good at names. I gave a friend of mine, Aran, bush face as a nickname. Because he had a lot of facial hair. Fun guy that one... Too bad he is now dead."
Eltic paused as he remembered one of the targets in his extermination mission. He shook his head and continued: "But let's make it simple. Your name's Ina, and mine's Eltic. Let's do some simple naming. Eltic+ Ina: inatic?" He asked.
Inatic shook her head, almost jerking it off by the force she used.
"Ok, what about. Elna." Eltic said, and the girl looked interested, but he also saw it wasn't sticking too much, so he had a bright idea.
"No, why did silly me remove the I. What about…"
"Elina." He said. "What about Elina."
The girl nodded rapidly with a shit-eating smile; her once dim world now turned bright: "yes!" She shouted.
"Then it's settled." Eltic grinned, and he looked like a kind visiting uncle. "Your name shall be…" the room faded into mist, and one word echoed through the endless haze: "Elina."