Writer's notes:
What's good Fam? Ok so this took a bit longer than expected. I have had a pretty crazy work load. Plus, finals were coming up and been working on bringing my grade up in thermodynamics. I plan to update at least once every 1-2 weeks but I can't promise too much because well…engineering is a bitch and my boss is relentless. In this chapter I hope to address the incident Caleb had with the two ruffians they encountered. Keep in mind I'm not 100% familiar with how the U.S. justice system works so excuse me if they scenario seems far from the realms of plausibility. Alright lets get into it.
"Mirabelle, what are you doing in my room?!", Caleb asked turning the lamp on the nightstand, while the confused centaur managed to pick herself up from the floor.
"Well…um…I…I thought…you see I…uhhh…", Mirabelle stuttered out brushing off her lavender pajamas top and adjust to bottom portion that covered her horse half.
Caleb sat up and slid down to the foot of his bed and lightly placed a hand on her shoulder. Mirabelle felt her entire body become stiff as stone. She felt trapped; she had nowhere to run.
"Mirabelle.", Caleb said as she stared into his eye, "What's wrong? Yer shaking like a caterpillar in a bird's nest."
The young centaur remained silent for a few seconds trying to think of an excuse before Caleb asked, "Did you have a nightmare?". Mirabelle blinked comically as he paused and thought about what he had uttered, "I'm sorry poor choice of words". A slight giggle could be heard coming from Mirabelle as he felt her shoulders shake trying to contain her laughter.
"Uh, Mirabelle, you feelin' alright?", Caleb inquired perplexed by her odd behavior.
"Caleb, I'm sorry, you just…you just have weird way of putting me at ease. Any way I was just confirming something.", she spoke between giggles.
"Something like what?", Caleb asked as Mirabelle knelt her entire horse half on Caleb's carpeted floor. "I wanted to really confirm that you are the man you've me."
"O…k?, and how exactly did you do that?", he continued as Mirabelle lightly grabbed Caleb's right hand in both of hers and spoke with a gentle tone, "I found out through your dreams."
"Beg parden? I think I'm still half asleep. I swear you just said 'You found out through my dreams'", Caleb questioned with an incredulous giggle. "Yes, I did. We Nightmares have to ability to project ourselves into the consciousness of others."
Caleb sat dumbfounded at her explanation. He pondered momentarily; searching for the right words on just how to respond to something so random. "You can enter…dreams. What like Freddy Krueger or something?", He asked mentally slapping himself for such an idiotic statement. Mirabelle tilted her head with a confused look. "I…don't know what that is…but, yes I suppose". "Well, ok then. Gotta say you sho'nough explaining it like it's no big deal. Still, I got to say that is really amazing.", Mirabelle blushed at the compliment. "So…wait…the weird dreams I've been havin' lately—", Caleb started but Mirabelle interrupted him, "Y-Yes, they were my doing. I am so very sorry for putting you through that."
"Well…not gonna lie that first dream was a bit intense. Caleb responded dryly rubbing his scalp. Mirabelle fiddled with her hands and looked back up at Caleb. "Yes well, when we project our consciousness into a person's dream we normally take the form of what we believe is an ideal consul." She continued. "Someone that person would be comfortable conversing with. It's how we find out a person's true nature or weaknesses we could exploit for protection. However, since our projections are a construct of our emotions…they'll sometimes be prone to fits of aggression which usually results in the person experiencing awful dream. For most, the stress is too great and go into a hysterical fit shortly after awakening."
Caleb stared at her absorbing all the info he was just presented. "Geez, that seems like a bit of an overreaction over a little old bad dream. You must have really thought I was bad guy huh?"
"I'm so sorry, Caleb, it's just at the time I wasn't sure I could trust you at the time. You don't know hard it's been since I joined the exchange program. My last host I did this too…was a truly…truly terrible person" she finished trembling while holder her waist. Caleb's eyes widened at her quivering form and began to rub her shoulder to console her.
"Mirabelle…I don't know. If you want to tell me I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere. It's never good to hold your feelings inside like this. They'll only cause you more suffering down the road. Trust me, you don't want to go down that road, it's dark and lonely. Whatever you need, I'm here." Caleb finished in a benevolent tone still rubbing her shoulder tenderly. Mirabelle looked up at his kind dark brown eyes; a wave of comfort and safety washing over her.
"Caleb. …Ok, I'll tell you.", she said adjusting her lower body on the floor so that her upper body was closer to the bed. Caleb sat in the same spot but crossed his legs on the bed to give her more room. He had her full attention.
"As I told you, ever since I got into the exchange program, every other host either rejected me upon introduction or had me sent away after one night; Typically, after experiencing my ability.", Caleb nodded thinking of all those hosts reactions to what was likely the craziest night's sleep they ever had. "I started to believe I would never find a person accepting enough to take me in. I was so close to just giving up. That is until I met…him, Jason Chambers.", Mirabelle shifted slightly feeling a shudder creeping up on her. She quickly shook it off and continued. "He seemed like a kind person. However, I thought as soon as I entered his dream and saw his true nature he'd react exactly like the others. He'd become hysterical and run out spouting everything he felt towards me and call Exchange program to have me removed from the house out of fear."
Caleb sat wondering how many times has she done this if it's become a routine for her before he shook it off—his attention going back to her. "However, when I entered his dream, instead of immediately succumbing to my consuls charm and exposing himself….well, he reacted in a similar fashion you did, only instead of showing concern and compassion for the consul, he viciously lashed out at her. I was quite surprised and frightened, I was afraid of what he was capable of in his subconcious."
" what did he do afterwards?", Caleb asked
"The next morning, and a couple times afterwards, he acted as if nothing even happened. I soon stopped going into his dreams because of how violent his mental state was. My mind told me immediately to pack up and leave, but I couldn't.", Mirabelle paused thinking of all the horrifying things he said he'd do to her, "When he was awake, he treated me rather nicely. He would take me to me out shopping, cook for me, and we'd talk for hours about our hobbies. I wasn't sure what to make of him. In his dreams he was a psychopath, awake he was a sweetheart. It confounded my senses to point where I didn't know what to believe. Who was the real Jason?, Mirabelle looked down at the blue sheets on the bed pensively.
"Overtime though, he began to change. He began working later shifts at his job so he started becoming stressed. Soon he began to ask favors of me. I didn't mind at first because they were little things and I was happy to because of all he had done for me. But soon, he started demanding more from me and whenever I said 'no' he would react violently and guilt trip me with phrases like 'I did this' or 'I did that' for you. We soon started going out less and less, and there were times when he wouldn't give me any food or water as a kind of punishment." She paused again, tears starting to well up.
"Mirabelle…", Caleb started but when she shook her head and placed a hand on his knee. "Then…", she continued composing herself, "He started asking me personal questions about how centaurs mate. I felt so uncomfortable. When I said I didn't want to answer the question, he soon started…doing things to me.", she tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Everyday…he would grope… and molest me… and…every day… I could feel myself dying inside a little more…", spoke between sobs.
Caleb couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Mirabelle, wasn't your coordinator watching out for you?! Couldn't you tell them what he was doing?", Caleb asked his voice filled with horror.
"I wanted to, so badly.", she paused wiping her tears. "But, whenever the coordinator would visit, he would have me put on an act that everything was fine. He threatened to kill me if I ever said anything.", she spoke sadly.
Caleb clenched his covers trying to control his rage, "How was he caught?!", he managed to spit out.
"I…It was during one of the visits. At the time, Jason was experiencing a lot more stress from his job. After the coordinator left…he came and found me in my room. He backed me into a corner and grabbed my arm tightly, I was so afraid my body froze in place, I couldn't even speak. *sniff*, H-H-He whispered in my ear that 'He needed to relieve some stress', N-next thing I knew, he was unbuttoning my shirt and…trying to tear off my skirt." She spoke with a lot of discomfort and humiliation in her voice. Caleb could feel his heart drowning in sorrow for the young woman in front of him.
"I shut my eyes tightly and prayed for him to go away, but then I heard a thump sound. When I opened my eyes, I saw Jason lying on the floor unconscious and my coordinator standing behind him. Apparently, then left their documents in the house and came back to retrieve them", She spoke dryly
"Mirabelle, who was your coordinator at that time", He inquired
"It was…agent Sterling", she spoke softly
Ok, he and I need to have a little chat next time we meet. Caleb thought trying not to appear irate
"Afterwards, he was arrested, and I was brought into Interspecies Affairs and underwent rigorous therapy sessions", She spoke coldly as her shoulders slumped, "I…had had enough. But I had nowhere else to go. I didn't want to return to my homeland, back to living in constant ridicule, isolation, and fear. It was Agent Sterling who convinced me to not give up on the program and to try one last time. I reluctantly said yes, I figured I didn't have much else too lose.", she finished with a painfully strained giggle.
Caleb got up from his position, grabbing Mirabelle's attention, and knelt down next to her on the floor. He embraced the young woman in a tight hug burying her head in his shoulder.
"It's ok. He cannot and will not hurt you or anyone else ever again. Mirabelle, I know I can never fully understand the pain you've experienced throughout your life, and I won't tell you something as superficial as 'it's all in the past' or 'in time you'll get over it'. It just doesn't work that way. No one truly gets over anything as terrible as that. Hell, I'm still not over the death of my parents. Add that to the fact that my own brothers and sister hate my guts and to this day want nothing to do with me, I'm surprised I even have the will to get up in the morning." Mirabelle pulled her head up staring into Caleb's eye, her own full of sadness.
"But, one thing i've learned about pain…", he continued while resting a hand to his chest, "is that it lessens over time. It's still there, but you've learned to acknowledge it, learn from it, and tolerate it. You have to keep moving forward because if you stop, it will only grow until you are swallowed up into despair. It's like my uncle Andrew always says, Everyday it gets a little bit easier, the hard part is doing it everyday", Caleb finished staring into her eyes.
"But…I…I don't know if I have the strength to anymore", said Mirabelle sadly
"What do you mean? The fact that you could bring yourself to tell me something so personal. You've only known me for one weekend. Plus, you gave the whole exchange student thing one more shot, despite what your last host did. That shows you still have some strength left, you're stronger than you believe Mirabelle. So come on, we'll both keep growing together.", Caleb said assuredly as Mirabelle looked at him with hopeful gaze.
"Caleb…I'm still very weak. I'll just end up leaning on you.", She said looking down at the floor.
"What's wrong with that?", Caleb said causing her head to perk up in surprise, "I'm still pretty weak. I'm also quick to anger, a little perverted, a weirdo, and kinda dumb sometimes. As we move forward, lets lean on each other. If engineering has taught me anything, the best supports comes from two stable structures. I'm right here Mirabelle, whatever pain you have, you won't bare it alone." After saying this Mirabelle broke down into a crying mess as her emotions came rushing in like a tsunami. Caleb held her in tight hug which she returned with her own even tighter hug sobbing into his chest leaving Caleb's pajama shirt drenched in tears. Caleb just held her tight the entire time, lightly massaging her scalp.
"Y-You're so kind.", She uttered starting to regain her composure. "You're the first host I've met, who's treated me with such earnest compassion. Why? Why couldn't I have met you sooner?!", She said penitently.
Caleb used his finger to tilt her head up at his face, "Well…you know what they say. Better late, then never.", he said with a playful giggle.
Mirabelle gave him the biggest smile she could mustered. "I'm so glad I met you. I knew I made the right choice giving you this", she spoke pulling down on Caleb's shirt revealing the hoof mark with a crescent moon in the center on the left side of his chest.
Caleb raised an eyebrow at the strange hoof mark on his chest. "What in the world is this? It kinda looks like a birthmark.", he spoke examining his chest with his hand.
"It's my mark. In my culture, if we find a person we care for deeply, we enter their dream and place a mark on them that bonds us forever. We each have our own individual mark and It is a symbol of our trust, loyalty, and…fondness towards that individual. It connects me to you; even if we are thousands of miles apart, I will always find you through your dreams.", she explained with a light-hearted voice.
"So, it's something of best friends forever ring, that's pretty cool.", he responded casually.
Mirabelle gave a befuddled expression before refuting " U-uh…yes? But it has even greater meaning than that.", She finished shyly covering her smile.
Caleb giggled at her expression. "Yeah, but if it means you recognize me as your friend, I'm cool with it."
Mirabelle giggled examining Caleb's expression "Hehe, you know, I must say…you are taking this surprisingly well."
"Well, I've always been receptive to new things. Even if I don't fully understand them. It's one of my more unusual flaws.", He joked with a shrug.
"I don't think it's a flaw, it's a gift.", She said with bright glowing eyes with admiration.
Caleb let out a low chuckle before looking at the time on his phone—4:30a.m. it read. "Wow, it's pretty late. We should get some rest if I'm going to make you your hero's breakfast on time."
Mirabelle looked away fidgeting to herself before Caleb said, "Hey, you alright there". "I'm fine, it's just..." she paused before a blush came on her cheeks. Caleb thought for a minute then it hit him, of course she doesn't want to be alone right now, "Mirabelle, do you want to sleep with me tonight?", he asked causing her jump slightly covering her mouth before nodding quickly. "B-but I mean like next to me, within the same vicinity, not like, uh you know", Caleb mumbled as Mirabelle giggle at his nervousness. "But wait, I don't think the bed will support you very well.", Caleb said. "It's no trouble. Just like regular horses, we centaur can sleep standing up and sitting down.", Mirabelle explained. "Well, the least I can do is make it more comfortable for you", Caleb stated before taking the blankets off his bed and lying them on the floor along with two big pillows for each side of her body. "Thank you, Caleb", she replied with an elated grin. She loved how considerate towards her he was. It gave her an indescribable amount of comfort. "*yawn* Good night, Mirabelle.", Caleb said climbing into bed and drifting off to sleep. "Good night, Caleb. My dear.", she spoke the last part softly to herself before falling asleep next to her human.
A damn I have to send those notes to Rodney. …Ah fuck it, it's a revival at his church so he's gonna be there til 8 tonight. I got plenty of time., he thought before drifting off again.
***************4 hours later****************
It was a quiet peaceful Sunday morning in Huntsville. Everyone was either taking some much-needed rest from work or heading off to worship at the alter for a sure to be enthusiastic sermon. As Caleb was waking from his slumber. He looked off to his right to the pile of blankets on his floor but no sleeping centaur. He figured she went to her room to change out of her pajamas. Pulling himself out of bed, followed by a few long stretches, he picked up the blankets and pillows and stuffed them in the closet. He suddenly remembered everything that was brought upon him in the middle of the night.
Well…that sure was a revelation. After an experience like that I can't blame her for being suspicious of me. Tch, hope that piece of shit got what more than deserved. He thought rubbing the sleepy from his eyes. He then went to a mirror and examined the hoof mark on the side of his chest. I think she said this gets darker the more we grow closer. Looks kinda cool though, I can pass this off as tattoo I always said I'd get but never did, he thought putting on a purple t-shirt with a ghost Pokemon that looked like a ragdoll on it and grey sweatpants to wear. As he left his room he noticed the scent of smoke wafting throughout his home. He followed the scent to the kitchen; which he found was permeated with a cloud of smoke and the sounds of panicked shrieks. Kicking his survival senses in high gear, he ran toward the smoke and saw that it was Mirabelle frantically trying to put out a burning flame.
"AIIIIIYYEEEE!", she shrieked again as the skillet started to catch fire. Caleb shouted in panic rushing towards her, turning off the stovetop, putting out the flaming skillet with the extinguisher in the lower cabinet. As the sound of the crackling metal and popping of the charred remains of food began to die down, Caleb let out a sigh of relief and turned to see Mirabelle still shaking and fidgeting with her apron…or really one of Caleb's aprons.
"ahem…so, wanna tell me what the early morning fire drill was all about?", he said sarcastically showing off the burned-up matter in the pan.
"I-I was trying to surprise you by making you breakfast. I wasn't sure what you like so I just chose randomly. I made you…an omelet.", she replied embarrassedly looking over at the mess of egg shells at the edge of the counter. Sweet mother of Christ, she cooked the eggs THIS badly and the whole thing is drowning in melted butter., Caleb thought staring at the culinary catastrophe in his hand.
"I…am an herbivore so I don't have the right taste pallet for meats but I still wanted to try anyway", she said snapping Caleb out of his thoughts.
Caleb scratched the back of his head looking at her then back at the black clump before walking up to her petting her head. "That's fine. You don't have to cook meat. I'll eat whatever you make. I really need to eat more veggies anyway", he said with toothy grin as Mirabelle gazed up at his face.
"Besides I promised you a hero's breakfast. So, let me get started on that. How do you feel about some French toast, a big fruit salad, carrot pancakes, and some scrumptious mango juice smoothie?", he said graciously with a wink. Mirabelle slightly drooled at the thought "Oh yes, yes, yes, that would be fantastic."
"Indeed that would be fantastic, set me up a place too would ya", said an unknown voice. "Hubba wha?!", Caleb and Mirabelle both exclaimed as they comically looked in the direction of their surprise visitor. It was Agent Sterling leaning over the counter with a content smirk sipping a cup of coffee. "Good morning to you too Mr. Beezle and Ms. Marequine."
"Urgh, It's Bizzell.", Caleb growled clenching his teeth before continuing, "what are you doing here Agent Sterling? How'd you even get in my house the front door was locked?", Caleb questioned scanning the man's weirdly composed posture.
"Well, A: This is one of my checkup days where I see how program participants are doing. And B: I have government clearance to enter your home with or without your consent. All apart of making sure nothing…suspicious is going on.", he explained slightly tilting down his sunglasses eyeing Caleb.
"You know people can abuse authority like that. I really don't want to think you may be up to anything sketchy Agent Sterling", Caleb replied raising an eyebrow.
"Hmm true, it's possible. However, as it stands I am very professional in my work and wouldn't dream of doing anything that is not standard protocol. Really, as a host, you are the one who is under constant observation for anything 'sketchy' so I do hope you keep your snarky comments to yourself.", he finished with a slightly menacing tone.
"Y-Yes sir.", Caleb uttered feeling a wave of fear go through his spine.
"Now how's about that breakfast, I haven't eaten at all yet and I got five my families to visit.", he asked with a sigh sipping his coffee. "Alright, i'll get started now. Mirabelle, be a dear and set the table for me", Caleb said relenting to the situation.
"Oh, of course, Caleb", She replied happily walking off to the kitchen grabbing plates and silverware before heading off into the dining room.
Caleb walked into the kitchen grabbing the box pancake mix dumping it in a bowl and cracking eggs in another bowl for the French toast. "So, I see you guys are on a first name basis now.", inquired the Agent sitting at the counter with a smirk., "Seems to me you're are getting along well?"
"Yeah, I'd say we're getting along swimmingly. Heck I'd say we've become fast friends", Caleb answered dumping the chopped carrots in the batter. He then mixed the eggs, vanilla, sugar, and cinnamon for the bread.
"mmmhm yes, I can see she's really taken a liking to you. Seeing as how she's nearly going to burn the house down trying to make you breakfast.", He replied with a chuckle taking adding some bourbon into his coffee. Caleb sweat-dropped at the thought of his house being engulfed in flames and Mirabelle shouting, "I just wanted to make you pancakes!".
"Now what exactly is 'Heroes Breakfast'? Is it like some special occasion?", Sterling asked taking a sip of his drink. Caleb, placing the pieces of toast on a serving tray turned around to reply. "In a way, yes. Think of it like…celebrating a heroic deed. FYI, I made it up myself.", He finished with a haughty smirk.
"Obviously, and what would that deed be exactly?", He said glancing up from his cup.
"Well…you know like—", Caleb started but was then cut off, "Like defending another person from a couple of uppity bigots?", Sterling stated shooting a look that said 'I know everything' at Caleb causing a chill to run up his spine.
"W-what? how do you know about that—", Caleb was cut off again, "Well, if I'm being honest we were keeping tabs on you two from you little garden outing yesterday. We just want to be sure the student in our programs is receiving a proper introduction into our culture and our host is abiding by all the guidelines. ALL the guidelines. But what I want to know is why you didn't report the incident to me sooner?!"
Caleb, finishing Mirabelle's the fruit salad and began to start on the pancakes. "I…I guess I wasn't thinking clearly at the time. Both Mirabelle and I were just wanted to get home and forget that whole mess ever happened. But wait, why didn't you have your guys step in during that whole altercation?!"
Agent Sterling adjusted his glasses "I wanted to see for myself what your intentions were. Our program participants are faced with all aspects of human culture, this includes the uglier aspects. It is the host's duty to prepare their house guests for whatever civil challenges they'll face. So, for some hosts we keep a very close eye on them for the first few days after joining the program to confirm they're obeying their Civic duty", he said swirling to coffee with a straw pensively.
"So, you were seeing if I could protect Mirabelle in situations like that? That's a little irresponsible, what if Mirabelle had gotten seriously hurt?!", Caleb asked incredulously making sure not to burn the pancakes.
"There was no need to worry, there were 4 MON agents nearby in case the situation looked dire. However, it looks like the host managed to handle everything fine, and came out unscathed.", He replied casually.
"Well yeah, relatively at least.". Caleb said showing the half-scabbed wound he received from the knife.
Agent Sterling examined the cut for a minute "Ah that's…unfortunate. Mr. Bizzell on behalf of my associates, we apologize for neglecting your safety as well.", He said apologetically.
"Eh, it's cool, I guess. It's not even that bad of a cut. So what about those dip shits that attacked us?
"Well seeing how this an aggravated assault by them on a Host and his homestay—and given that it constitutes racially motivated assault—they will likely receive 5 years in prison with supervised community service. You, on the other hand, since your actions were in the service of protecting your and your homestay, you'll likely get off on self-defense. However, in the future any incidents involving your homestays MUST be reported the exchange program or to MON immediately to be dealt with appropriately. Incidents like these can reflect poorly on the Exchange program and the last thing we need is any more controversy. This is your ONLY freebie don't take it lightly Mr. Bezzell.", he finished taking a bite of the French toast.
"I will sir, thank you, it's Bizzell by the way.", He replied with a nod showing clear understanding.
Agent Sterling cracked a smile at the young man and nodded back. Caleb finished making the last of the pancakes. He then quickly blended a mango smoothie and took a tray of food to the dining room where Mirabelle was happily waiting at the table reading a book. By the looks of it, it was from the Harry Potter series. "Hey, Hey, Hey, here comes food for yo tum-may", Caleb exclaimed comically as Mirabelle let out a hearty chuckle. She took her place as Caleb placed her bowl of fruit salad and pancakes in front of her and placed two pieces of toast on her plate. "~ooooh, Caleb this is so good~. The berries in the salad are so fresh and these. Mmmm so warm and carrots are so rich mmhm.", she cooed as she contently ate her food. "Hehehe, glad you like it. I put in a little extra love seeing as how this IS your hero breakfast", He said handing her a glass of mango smoothie. Mirabelle blushed and shot him a glowing smile, "There goes that charm again, but you're also my hero too you know". Caleb simply shrug eating his sausage "Afterwards, let's play some Dragonball Fighterz, I'll show you the ropes then proceed to beat you into them.", he said with a challenging grin. Mirabelle finished up her salad and shot him the same look, "Ha, we shall see about that." "You look like an Android 18 kind of girl. So I'll start you off with her. Don't worry, I'll be fair and pick someone I'm only a little good with" he said pointing his fork. Mirabelle rolled her eyes taking a bite of her toast, "Gee, what a noble guy".
"Pffhahahahaha, man you guys rich. I swear it won't be long before you're wearing matching cloths", Agent Sterling spat out getting the attention of the two in the other room. He then scanned their attire noticing Mirabelle's light purple shirt and light grey cloak over horse half and Caleb purple t-shirt and grey sweatpants, "Oh my god, it's already happening, Hahahahahaha.". Caleb and Mirabelle examined each other up and down then looked away in embarrassment.
"Ah, whatever. I happen to think we look good together. Right, Mirabelle?", He replied finishing the last of his toast. "R-right.", Mirabelle giggled looking up at him lovingly.
After finishing up breakfast, Caleb took up all their dishes and placed them all in the dishwasher. Mirabelle went off into the bathroom to take a quick bath. After wiping down whatever mess was left on the counter, Caleb noticed Agent Sterling examining the files in his leather briefcase before getting up and walking to Caleb's direction.
"So , are you enjoying your job as a host so far?", he said closing the briefcase putting away a small manila folder.
"Well, yeah, got to say Mirabelle's really nice, sweet, patient—", he was suddenly cut off.
"Beautiful?", Sterling said with smirk
"Gorgeous in fa—Whoa ohohoho holllld up.", he stopped himself before finishing that sentence.
"hahahahaha kid, you are too easy. But uh, remember, no 'funny business'", he finished with a furrowing his eyebrows. "Got to say though, I don't think I've ever seen that girl so happy to be living with any host.", He stated looking off at where Mirabelle once was.
Suddenly a thought came to Caleb, "hey Agent Sterling, I have a question I wanted to ask you?"
"Hm, oh ok, shoot", he said nonchalantly looking at the young man with attentive eyes.
"It's about Mirabelle's host before me, Jason Chambers.", Caleb asked clenching his fist tightly against washcloth.
"How do you know that name?", Sterling asked quizzically eyeing Caleb behind his shades.
"I didn't do anything illegal in case your wondering, I found out from Mirabelle. She told me... everything. And I mean everything. And I know how confidential information like that is and I promise have no intention using it for malicious gains. I have too much respect for her.", Caleb finished in somber tone.
Sterling continued to observe the young trying to find any trace of dishonesty, he found none. "Very well, now your question?" , He adked finally.
"I wanted to know how you guys didn't notice something was wrong? During all those visits you realize Mirabelle was being abused and mistreated? How?!" , He questioned trying his best to restrain himself.
Sterling let out an annoyed sigh before standing from the kitchen counter seat, "Mr. Bizzell, do know how many liminal students sign up for the exchange program daily? Over 350 on a biweekly basis, and more than a third of them are liminals that were taken out of situations similar to Mirabelle's. Many of their past hosts passed their screenings but later proved to be the most disgusting I've ever laid my eyes on. This program is still relatively new mistakes can be made. In the passed 6 years, there have been dozens of incarnations for the abuse of liminal by hosts, in many cases the abused liminals don't or won't testify for fear of deportation or the host themselves.", He finished getting up and walking into the living room.
Caleb was about to say something before Sterling stopped him, " You have any idea how much I regret not checking into Mirabelle's situation thoroughly? If I was a bit more observant she wouldn't have had to suffer like that. I honestly didn't want to have her go to another host but I saw that look in her eyes at the mention of going back to her homeland. It was the most heart wrenching thing I ever seen", he finished with a strained look on his face
"So what happened to that son of a bitch?", Caleb asked in a serious tone.
"He's currently serving a life sentence, he'll never see the light of day again", Sterling finished with a noticeable amount of venom.
"Good", Caleb stated plainly as Sterling nodded.
"There's one last thing I want to ask you Agent Sterling. It's about Mirabelle's species.", Caleb asked simply while his thoughts went back to the events from last night. Sterling raised an eyebrow at him taking a seat on the couch. "I kinda found out first-hand about a Nightmare's ability to enter dreams."
"Hehehe, did you now?, Sterling stated with grim, "That's a first, usually they end up hollering like they seen the holy ghost or something." Sterling finished with a hearty chuckle. "So how'd you do it, kid?". Caleb stared for a second in disbelief before saying, "She told me herself".
"Wait really, damn she must really like you more than I thought." , Sterling said
"Yeah, but what I want to know is why there was nothing about it in her information packet about her species. I even looked up info about it online and came up with nothing." Sterling leaning back in contemplation before giving his answer. "Well, it's quite simple we just didn't include it.", he said plainly.
Caleb confounded by his answer continued, "Why? Wouldn't that be vital information to know?"
Sterling adjusted his position on the couch, "Remember when I told you that her centaur species are very timid? Well, to be frank, most of them are pacifists. The moment they feel threatened they either run away or freeze instantly, they rarely ever fight back at their attackers. According to the Exchange Bill of America, every liminal has the right to defend themselves from attackers using whatever means to subdue them until proper authorities may deal with them. We need to allow all liminals the same right to self-defense with any means they can. However, there have been criminal organizations and even some hosts to take advantage of liminal by using their abilities for personal gain or commit vicious crimes. It's much worse if the liminal produces high quality material, like milk from Minotaur and lamias shedded skin or has special powers like a Yuki onna's cryo-kinesis and mimics shape shifting. Imagine what someone could do with a liminal that can enter dreams-learning everything about a target from bank account numbers to blackmail material.", he finished with contemplative tone.
Caleb nodded for a minute thinking about the new information relayed to him before Sterling continued. "So, to answer your question, we omitted the information of that ability to avoid any public discord. Imagine the scumbags that would want to get their hands on a being like that. Not to mention the rumors that would spread here in the states. Those rumors would turn to fear, fear will turn to hate, which will then lead to people acting on hate. Other centaur species would be targeted as well just because of mistaken identity.", he said looking intently at Caleb.
Caleb nodded beginning to comprehend their reasoning behind their actions. "Well, you're not wrong about us humans overreacting, but wouldn't there be people that are also hosting a Nightmare to figure about this ability eventually?"
Agent Sterling looked at his phone at the time and rose from the couch, "I don't think that's a problem. Mirabelle's the only Nightmare in the Exchange program here in the States."
"Wait, seriously?!", Caleb spouted incredulously
"Well yeah, few the no Nightmares actually signed up to take part in the program here. Apparently, much of the species has been in hiding for decades and they're very difficult to find. You have no idea how difficult it is to even interview ONE. What information that's available was provided for us by the European branch under a confidentiality agreement. There's still much we don't know about them. Annnnd that's where you come in.", He finished with a haughty smirk.
"What, Me? Why me?", Caleb asked with a surprised look.
"As a host of one of the most elusive species to date, it is your job to learn as much as you can about her, so the exchange program can understand them better. Can I count on you Mr. Bizzill",
"It's Bizzell, dammit, and yeah of course, it's my duty as a host after all. Actually,I think there's some info you guys could use.", Caleb finished as he adjusted his shirt to show the hoof print on his chest.
"What in the world is that? You have a tattoo of a hoof?", he said curiously looking at the mark.
"Actually no, Mirabelle placed it on me in a dream last night. She says it's a thing in her culture to place these on people they truly care for. Also, it apparently grows darker in color as we grow closer", Caleb explained.
"Whoa, that's incredible. Hang on, I need to make a note of all this.", He said taking out a silver colored Tablet from the side pocket of his briefcase, "is there anything else you learned about her ?"
Caleb explained everything he had learned from Mirabelle the night before. "That's about all I learned so far"
"haha alright, I tell ya you're already proving to be a valued participant in the Exchange program. Keep it up, and I may consider doing something nice for ya.", Caleb rolled his eyes at the grinning man in the suit.
"Yeah, can't wait", Caleb said sarcastically giving a thumbs-up. As Sterling was finishing typing down the notes he looked at the clock to see it was almost 9:30, "Well kid, thanks for breakfast among other things, I need. to finish my rounds for the day. I'll be back again to check up on you guys. Goodbye, ", he said.
" That one was on purpose", Caleb replied irritated.
"Probably" he exclaimed as he left out of the front door, leaving it partially open.
"Sigh, alright (could at least close the damn door behind yourself)", Caleb said under his breath before closing it.
Caleb, feeling exasperated from all the information swirling in his head, went into the kitchen to the refrigerator for the only thing that would put his mind at ease. . He pulled out a can from the door rack and popped the cap. "Oh take me away you can of liquid bliss", He said enjoying the sweet, heavenly carbonated nectar of Heaven. As it burned the back of his throat he could feel his mind settling down. He composed himself leaning his back against the refrigerator and began to think. This is really getting more complicated by the minute. Sigh, I really want to be a good host for Mirabelle, but I wonder if I'm really up for the challenge. She needs some stability in her life, we both do, I don't know if can really give her that. I only became a host for own benefit. I've just been so depressed lately. Uncle Andrew talking about moving back to Cleveland to help his daughter, I hardly see my best friends anymore—Jamie's getting transferred to another site and Blake's been busy with his new family after getting married—they are all moving forward with their lives but I'm just here in a big empty house…alone. I needed something to distract me from that feeling instead of dealing with it. Goddamit, I'm such a selfish coward., He thought sinking down the fridge while looking up at the ceiling.
"C-Caleb?", a voice said shaking the young man out of his thoughts. He stood straight up and saw Mirabelle holding a towel around her neck looking at him with a concerned expression. "Are you…Alright?"
"Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm good.", he said forcing out a smile, "Did you enjoy your bath?"
"Yes, I did, I left you plenty of hot water if you need one too", she said sweetly.
"Thanks, I'll take a shower a little later first I'm going school you in how to be awesome at video games", he said with a pompous tone.
"Oh…are you certain about that dear?", she said attempting to copy his tone.
"Indeed, here I'll get us set up", He said moving quickly to the living room, turning on the flat screen and PS4. He tapped on the Dragonball FighterZ logo and it placed the controller on the pillow. He adjusted the couch so that Mirabelle could sit down next to him and handed her a controller.
"Alright, get ready hun. You're about to see a master at work", Caleb proclaimed as Mirabelle rolled her eyes.
****************************2 hours later***********************************
"What. The. Hell. Is. Happening?!", Caleb announced gritting his teeth and hold his controller intensely.
Mirabelle simply giggled at how cute he looked when he was frustrated. "Are…you ok over there dear?"
"How are you so good at this Mirabelle? I showed you all the controls once, how are you dominating me 11 matches to nothing?!", he asked befuddled.
"Well…remember the dream you had last night?", she began.
Caleb paused the game and asked curiously, "Yeah, why?"
"Well…when I was looking into your personality more I may have taken a look at your knowledge on the game.", she said placing a finger to her mouth and tilting her heard to look adorable. It worked.
"Then…why did you let me explain the controls of the game and how to use the controller then?", he asked raising an eyebrow.
Mirabelle blushed thinking about when he was standing close to her holding her hands showing her the controls. She thought of his strong but kind hands to hers and how close their faces were. She blushed even harder and looked down, steam rising from her head. "I-I-I wanted to be extra certain."
"um…ok?", Caleb said tilting his head slightly.
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Ok, this was good. A lot of information to digest at once so here's your complimentary plot fiber tablet to help thing break down. *Hands you plot fiber tablet and some water*. Well in the next chapter I wanted to introduce a new character. Thing is, I'm not sure whether to make her an Arachne, a devil, or a werewolf. I'll let you guys vote on which you'd like to see, just PM me before the 8th of May and I'll decide to write the winner. Also, hope the explanation for the dream sequences at least made some semblance of sense but at the end of the day it's my story so….
Alright, I'll see you guys next time. Peace Fam.