Chapter 03
Brynn was stunned into silence. It was a lot of information to take in. Staring at him, she just focused on her breathing. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in...she needed something simple to focus on. Something that would keep her head from spinning off into a whole other universe. Very slowly, Brynn stood up, arms hugging herself tightly, and she walked to the door, then turned to walk back, then back to the door, then towards the closet in the room. It was an endless, circular pace that she started up, staring at the ground. She needed to just focus, to process everything that had just been thrown at her. Finally, she disappeared into the refresher and emerged with a few tissues, walking over to him, and without a word, or a change in her stunned expression, wiped his damp face tenderly. Biting her lower lip, she continued to clean him up 'til he had a dry face, then she gently backed away, disposing of the tissues. Walking back to him, she stood in front of him, staring down at him.
"...Idris. I'm sorry. That is the only thing I can think of to say to you right now. I...you had so much pain. I...I understand, but I also understand that if you want to let someone in, you let them be part of all of you. Future, present...past."
Brynn knew that was a direct contradiction for herself. She had never told him about where she came from, what her childhood had been like and yet...Shaking her head she reached out and gently caressed his face. "I have no more words, Idris. I just...I don't."
And then she stepped away again beginning her pace, still not sure what to do with herself. And because it calmed her, because it helped even more than focusing on her breathing, she held up a hand as it became engulfed into calm orange flames. And she stopped walking, stared at the flames watching as they changed colors - orange, red, blue, orange...and she felt herself begin to settle down with the information.
He went to reach out for her, to take her wrist and bring her back to him as he watched her pace, panicked all the more by her unordinary reactions. When his hand went to grasp her, however, he thought better of it, because just at that moment, he watched the flames come to life in her hand. He frowned at her and exhaled through his nose.
"I...I'm sorry, Brynn. I just...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..." He shook his head and stood, waking into the refresher chamber again.
He shut his eyes, leaning his head against the wall. His forehead sat there a long moment, as he chided himself for being so selfish. He shouldn't have told her. It wasn't his place to do that to her, and he had no right.
"I'm so sorry..." He said softly, his hands up on the wall, holding it as he just stood there. He was trembling now, so afraid that he had put their...whatever they had...on a road to destruction. He didn't want to lose her, and he'd practically blown down the door to her out. If she wanted out, she certainly had one now.
The flames vanished and Brynn slowly followed him, leaning against the doorway of the refresher. Eyes remained locked on him, shaking her head slowly as she realized the pain he was in.
"You're wrong, you know. You had to tell me. I wanted to know. But what I don't understand is...why are you sorry? What the hell is there to be sorry about?" Despite the tone of voice she should have had, or what he expected her to have, possibly angry, or frustrated - she spoke calmly. On one even level, never altering. She needed to stay calm right now, because he was hurting, he was in distress, and if they were both panicking then only bad would come of it. More tears, more things on fire.
He looked at her, his voice breaking as the tears streamed down his face. "BECAUSE, Brynn. I...I don't want to lose you. I don't want to wake up one day and find you...just missing. I don't want SI to find out about you, or these harvesters that they are fighting. If THEY find you..." He shook his head, running his hands over his face and sniffling. "It's only by a sheer miracle that I've evaded them. And I know they want me. Dead or alive. Because, I chose a side, and as far as they are concerned, now you have too! And it's not even our fight! You...you shouldn't..."
His hands were moving like he wanted to hit something, rising and falling, balling into fists. "You should be safe, and I've jeopardized your safety. If SI can find me in antispace...then they can find me anywhere. And it's only a matter of time before..." He exhaled a long breath and balled his hands into fists.
He swung at the wall and obliterated one of the tiles. The dent in the wall was about the size of his fist, but his fist had only bounced off of it. His hand had not been as lucky, as the fingers of his left hand no longer looked very straight. The skin on his knuckles had been broken and were bleeding, but not much more than to shed a few drops on the floor. The purple and black in his hand only lasted, however, for a few moments. He gasped, and turned away from her. He cried out and swore loudly, holding his broken fist with his right hand. He shut his eyes as he turned away from her.
She'd heard the crack of his bones as he'd lost the fight with the wall, but now he was trying to hide it from her. Blood continued to trail on the floor as he walked away from her. He grabbed a towel and wrapped his hand in it. He sighed and shut his eyes a long moment before he looked at her again. He was at a loss as to what to say, his face paled as he occasionally shut his eyes, holding his hand in the towel.
A little cry escaped her as soon as she watched his fist come in contact with the wall. Even though he turned away from her, tried to hide his hand she walked up to him, grabbing his shoulder to spin him till he was facing her.
"Stop it." She ordered, her voice suddenly low and intense like he probably had never heard from her.
"You stop it right now, Idris!" Reaching for his hand, not wearing the expression of a woman who wanted to be told "no" right now, she slowly moved the towel to the side. Eyes studied the wound and she nodded. "Lead me to your medical supplies, I can fix this. DON'T argue with me, please. I'm going to take care of you."
And with that, she stepped back to allow him to lead her. She was still calm, despite the intensity that had been in her voice. She was realizing so many things, in this one moment, that she could barely keep up, but for Idris' sake, she was going to take one thing at a time. And right now she wanted to focus on fixing his hand.
He shook his head, trying to pull his hand away, but she managed to get the towel. He covered his left hand with his right, trying to hide it from her. He was adamant.
"No, it's ok. I just...it's...it's not that bad. I just..." He tried to turn away from her.
"I don't need any medical supplies. I just need to..." He pulled his hand apart. He took his hand in his right, deftly, and she could hear the crunching as he set the bones straight. He cried out softly as he did each one. The purple had already faded to a red and his skin was no longer bleeding. The tones and colors seemed to shift about on his hands, like the silhouette of a swarm of bugs. He sighed and went to hide it from her again. When she'd get his hand again, she'd see that the purple had faded completely and that his fingers were only covered in dried blood, the red in his hands having shifted in their deepness, obtaining a lighter tone until it was only a pale red. He sighed and turned to her, his expression blank and his mouth wordless.
"You just...Idris!" She frowned as he proceeded to crack his own bones, and she felt her stomach turn slightly. What was he doing to himself? She stepped forward immediately after he was done, and found herself once again in shock.
"...Idris? Wha...I..." Quickly, she turned his hand over, then back again as if she might find some sign, besides the dried blood, of his fist being broken. Dropping his hand, she stepped back to stare at him. "What happened? What is this?"
