>>5182436The Father of Alexander and Anthony. He watched you with marble orbs. "You make all that racket by yourself?" The man's voice was like gravel rolling down a hill, it rumbled through the quiet room. You weren't sure what to do, so you just stood there. Everything was weighing down on you. You wanted to be anywhere else, the man stepped into the room. His harsh features reminded you of the boy in bed. "I heard you were bed ridden. I hadn't expected another set of pilots to break into the medical ward to visit one of their own. But I'll admit, the selection process is a lot softer than when I was undergoing it." He spoke slowly in a long breath, walking around you and coming to a stop at the plastic tent. The aged pilot moved with a slight limp.
"I spoiled them. I admit that, it is only natural for a man to strive for his children to have better than he did. But now I see you. And I wonder. Should I have been cruel and distant to my boys? Would that have made them stronger…" You didn't answer, like a stone on a beach you didn't move. Simply standing in the tide as it came and went. The man turned his attention to you, eyes meeting for a second but you looked away first. You just wanted to leave. "Do you feel like a pariah? It must be difficult becoming accustomed to the world after being kept from it for so long. But you've been doing a pretty impressive job. I'll admit, I was expecting Yuga to haul up from that hole a misshapen and sick creature. Yet here you are, arguably the best pilot of the entire batch."
The aged warrior steps closer. "Well answer me boy. Don't tell me all the fight has left you already? Because a comrade had been wounded? Accept this as the world. Times ahead will be hard, but you must be harder. Like steel. If not for yourself, then for those who will be following you. Can you do that?" He grins a dark thing. The man's eyes as black as a those of a shark. He was a predator. You avoid reacting, climbing back into your shell after what felt like a lifetime. The cool hideaway, reinvigorated you. The moment you do he flicks you on the forehead. "Hiding isn't always the answer. What do you say pilot?"
>What do you do, Pilot?>What do you say? Write in.>Talk with the Commander?Write in?>Excuse yourself?>Avoid the question?>Explore the rest of the Ward?>Do something else? Write in 