Why wouldn’t he dream about regrets? He certainly has plenty enough for his sleeping brain to dwell on. Perhaps it’s a little odd that he’d dream of them without memories—not his, nor Shan’s, nor Aras’s—but even he has these more formless dreams sometimes. So he wakes and turns over without opening his eyes, a bit bemused but not particularly unsettled… until he registers just how cold it is and how quiet. Have Shan and Aras already got up? He stretches an arm out, searching for another body in the bed with him and finding none. He can’t smell them, either…
The realization hits him like ice water: this isn’t their bed.
Just like that, he’s up like a shot. His eyes dart around the room in confusion, heart pounding. The sterile, clinical setting does nothing to reassure him, nor does the just-woken figure in the bed across from him—especially if they’re human.
His first thought, naturally, is that he’s been captured—that the FEU or Sino-states or someone had managed to get their hands on him to drag back to Earth. But… why wouldn’t they restrain him in that case? And why is he in a room with another person?
He backs away on instinct, almost hitting the wall behind him in his attempt to make space. ]
Who are you? [ he demands, an edge of panic in his voice. ] Where— [ He looks around again, looking for identifiers and finding none in the white-walled room. ] Where are we?
ii. the sunlight room
[ He’s trying to calm down.
The voice in his ear had provided him an explanation for why he’s here and even if it feels incomplete, it’s still better than being captured. Even so, he’s agitated. He shouldn’t be here. He’s a contagion, an outbreak risk. And Shan and Aras must be worried sick.
He ends up in the sunlight room, seeking a distraction. The little nature scene is better than the sterile halls of the station—and he certainly fits in with the weather in his arctic camo fatigues—but there’s still something off about the place. His nose wrinkles as he comes to a stop under a snow-laced tree. ]
Doesn’t smell right in here, [ he mutters. ]
iii. change of face
[ It’s just a simulation. Right?
The drink itself doesn’t seem to do much, though perhaps that’s just the result of c’nataat neutralizing its effects like it does with alcohol. He looks himself over just to be sure, but he can’t find anything that’s changed. He looks up at his crewmate with a shrug. ]
Guess it was a dud.
[ Of course, he has no way of knowing that his eyes are now completely black. ]
ade bennett | the wess'har wars | OTA
ii. the sunlight room
iii. change of face