“No it wouldn’t,” the Chancellor said, surprising Nia. As much as she wanted to see the boy-creature she’d seen earlier that day, Nia didn’t like the Moroi official and didn’t trust anything he suggested. However, the desire to feed her curiosity was strong — stronger that her dislike for the strange, blind Moroi. [color=moccasin]“I’d like to bring my guards if possible,”[/color] Nia said, taking the Moroi official’s outstretched hand hesitantly before glancing towards the door. Desmond's grin widened and then settled into a hard line. He guided the girl, retracing his steps back to the dungeon. The cell, still lined with all of the precautionary wards was somehow darker. It felt darker. The moroi official could not see, but the energy in the air was palpable. **** Orion froze in his shadowed corner. It was the girl, the one he swore had been a hallucination from the blood loss and near-death experience. She was real, and the ghoul wasn't sure if he was terrified, or awestruck. His red and black eyes stayed fixed on her, keeping his peripheral vision on the others. Nia looked at the boy curiously. There was no mistake — he was a boy. But there was also no mistake that he was no mere boy. The scent of his cell, the smell that wafted off the boy himself, and his eyes… [i]Red pupils on eyes of pure black? It’s just like that childrens’ story about the night stalker that’ll come eat disobedient Moroi children… No, it can’t be, right?[/i] Nia thought, snapping to look back at the Moroi official next to her in alarm. [color=moccasin]“What is he? Not Moroi or Dhampir,”[/color] she continued, frowning. While having Finlay and Aoife waiting outside reassured her — the Chancellor had recommended that they come along since their duty was to protect the princess at all times — she still didn’t feel completely comfortable meeting one of the beings she’d heard horror stories about as a child. [i]I’m probably just overreacting,[/i] Nia realized, take a deep breath and exhaling before looking the boy in the eyes. [color=moccasin]“Hello, I’m Cordellenia, but you can call me Nia,”[/color] she said with smile. [color=moccasin]“Can I get your name?”[/color] Orion maintained his gaze, watching the girl's every move. Her hair swished through the air with her movement as she snapped a look at the others like her, but they weren't like her. She was [i]much[/i] more beautiful. "No, he is not like any of us." The blind one replied. When she addressed him, a pressure formed in his chest. There was no way to identify what to call it. There was some kind of pressure and heat. Her eyes were like hazel gems, seeming to draw him in, but he finally broke his gaze. The red in his eyes began to glow ever so slightly in the dark as the flesh in is belly began to permeate his body, and engorge his kagune with the RC cells. When he felt it begin to hit his blood stream, there was a strange feeling. He wasn't supposed to feel that strong from eating such weak flesh. Something was off. "Orion." He said, tempering his voice so that it sounded, in some measure, soft and inviting. It felt odd as it left his lips, but the innocent tone was true. He had done nothing wrong... He had done nothing wrong... [color=moccasin]“Orion,”[/color] Nia repeated, trying the name out on her tongue before looking at the boy with a kind smile. [color=moccasin]“Interesting name. After the constellation, right? The one of the hunter.”[/color] Glancing at the blind official, Nia figured that -- since he'd volunteered to bring her down here -- she had some leeway with her questions. She couldn't fathom why the older Moroi had done so, but she had too many questions beside ones about the official -- more pressing questions about Orion, the mysterious boy that so resembled the "night stalkers" in bedtime stories Nia had heard when she was young. [color=moccasin]“What happened to you, Orion? How did you end up here?”[/color] she asked, eyes wide with curiosity. [color=moccasin]“And why were you so hurt?”[/color] The question stung, and he physically recoiled from it, taking a moment to think. The torture. The pliers. The chair. He was zoned out for a long moment before his mind returned to the now. Slowly he leaned his head to the left, audibly popping the vertebrae as he did. When he replied, he didn't look at her. He couldn't, and he didn't know why. "Nia is a nice name. It sounds soft." He deflected. [hr][@theminorfall]