Experiments Reborn

[Saren]

Jami was gone and Mark was snapping at him. The golden eyes hardened and turned in a glare. "Worried? She did this to me!" he roared, stepping up right in front of Mark. "If she hadn't touched me, this never would have happened!" Kain was taken aback by his next statement. He'd knew what he did was wrong, but he was angry. However, there was no lying to the wolf-man. "I tried to kill her!" he snapped. He hated admitting to his fault, but he had no reason to lie.

"Svaklar ui Jami?" he asked, aware that he was speaking the wrong language and too upset to care. When he didn't get the immediate response he was looking for, he roared, "Where is she?"

"...Outside," came the almost inaudible reply from Tanya, who'd managed to slip back into the room. Kain lashed his tail and stalked out of the room, nearly running over Tanya in the process. She squeaked and dashed to Mark, hiding behind him until Kain was gone.

"...Mark? Did I do the wrong thing? I thought he would want to be normal...." She sounded sad, but almost determined, as if she would make him normal one day.

Kain was following Jami's scent, but he smelled blood. Normally, that would have excited him, but now it just tasted bad in his mouth. He was going to walk outside to find her, but he was stopped by an ancient voice. "Well, aren't you a looker, dragon-man?" Tanya's Nana managed to say. Kain stopped and turned, glaring at the woman. Her eyes were barely open, so how did she know what he looked like. Besides, he wasn't in the mood to be told about his appearance. He went to walk again before she spoke.

"You wish to find your family? Find the nymphs. There is a family of them nearby... They will help you remember." Kain looked at her but she appeared to have fallen asleep. Shaking his head in frustration, he slid open the door to find Jami outside, hiding in a few bushes of leaves.

"Jami, confn ekik," he said, walking a few steps forward. He didn't approach her... he didn't know how to. Jami had always been the one who'd come to him.

 

[Kaisaan]

Mark hadn't backed down before Kain, too angry with the dragon to care about caution and when the werewolf head about what he'd done to Jami, that anger spiked. Mark knew that werewolf-halbreeds were the more common type of dependents and he'd met a few, but when one wolf found another, they looked out for one another because they were social creatures, pack creatures and he was already trying to look out for Jami, whether the she-wolf - as he'd called her - would appreciate it or not.

Anything the male werewolf would have said was cut off by Kain's demand to know where Jami was and Mark purposely didn't answer, shooting Tanya a look when she did. Sometimes that girl frustrated him, even if he loved her like a little sister. When she hid behind him, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and sighed, looking down at her with a wry expression. "Little T, I did tell you to be cautious with that power of yours. You didn't do anything wrong, but...some people don't want to change and you should leave them well enough alone."

--

Jami knew when Kain emerged outside, his scent hitting her nose, his very presence something almost felt by her senses and she flinched back before she could help it, much to her shame. The female hybrid stilled then, hiccuping as she watched the male from overtop her knees. She didn't know what to do. For the first time since meeting Kain, she'd felt true fear OF him and she didn't like it at all. She didn't like this knot in her stomach, the tension in her limbs.

She didn't like feeling wary of the dragon-hybrid.

Everything had changed so fast and it had shaken her badly, and now when Kain told her to come out, she hesitated. She didn't want to. No, now that wasn't true. Part of her didn't want to. Part of her was absolutely terrified of how close he'd gotten to killing her. Last time, she'd seen it coming. She'd been able to think rationally and even repel him. This time...had been violent and surprising and...her mindset had been to HELP Kain, not hurt him and she hadn't had the time to activate her power at all. Hadn't even thought about it.

So part of her wanted to tell the male no and stay where she was, keeping him at bay if she had to.

But another part of her, MORE of her exactly, wanted to go to him when he called, recognized that he was rational again, in control. It understood that Kain hadn't been in his right mind and it was fully ready to forgive and move on. Jami just had to decide which side she was going to listen to and the long-term consequences of each decision. She knew that if she were to say no and keep away from Kain...then he'd withdraw. He'd be rejected, angry, hurt. He'd associate her with those who only saw a monster and all progress would be wiped away. She'd be breaking her promise to him to not leave him because she would be. She'd be withdrawing, giving up and that was the last thing Kain needed.

It wasn't fair. Not at all. He'd hurt her so she should not have to come to him, but Jami knew Kain....didn't know that. Didn't understand things like that yet and...he'd come looking for her. At least that was a start.

The blond sighed, knowing her decision was already made and she stood slowly. She wiped her eyes and nose on her sleeve, taking a deep, shaky breath before coming out of the bushes and cautiously approaching the dragon-hybrid. She stopped before Kain and looked up at him, unable to help but admire the way his dragon-side had been righted by transforming again. He truly was magnificent to behold.

Her hazel eyes met his gold and Jami spoke in a low tone, not daring to raise her voice. "Re wux still harkajup?"

 

[Saren]

"But Nana said he wants to find his family, and they won't want him like that!" Tanya protested. "He can't change back like you can! He's not normal and they won't like him." Kain's story was saddening to her and she wanted to fix it. There was an imbalance in him and she'd helped him for a day. Mark, or anyone else, didn't seem to agree with her.

~

She had been crying, and Kain hated tears. He'd cried when he'd first transformed, but the scientists had hit him and told him to be quiet. Crying wasn't for dragons, because they were tough and less emotional than any other creature. But seeing the faint marks on her face and smelling the salt lingering on her skin, his ears flicked down and his tail no longer twitched. Physically, she'd healed, but the hurt he'd caused her mind was far greater than he'd thought.

At her words, he shook his head. His hand started to come up and touch her face, but he faltered and let it fall. He couldn't actively touch her, not while he was thinking about it. Or he could... he just didn't want her to react negatively. So he tried something else.

His wings, healed with no holes or rips, opened up and came around her, similar to what he'd done when he had decided to protect Jami from her father. There was a gentle force to tighten his wings in a circle so her body was just brushing against his bare chest.

"Si tir ti tuor ekess qe harkajup sva wux. wux letocloa, vur si xoal'si ekess svent wux ihk coi. si... huven ekess tir batobot thric drongilt. Si mi bivai, Jami." He sighed, and the anger flew from his body in a puff of smoke curling from his nose.

 

[Kaisaan]

Mark sighed, knowing of Tanya's stubborn persistence when she believed she was right about something and the werewolf looked down at her with a fond expression, ruffling her hair. There really would be no convincing her to let this go. "Well, then I guess you'll have to convince Grumpy that he wants to be normal. I wish you luck. You'll need it."

---

Jami had stayed very still as she watched Kain, taking immediate note of his stilled tail and his pinned ears, knowing them to be indications of a calm, but unhappy state of mind. If he'd been angry, his tail would have been lashing, his jaw either clenched or fangs parted, his ears pinned tightly. She knew all those signs and was relieved to not see them as he reassured her at the same time with a head shake that he wasn't angered anymore, that he was thinking rationally.

The female hybrid watched as his clawed hand came up and despite herself, she stiffened just a little and breathed out slowly, feeling better when he didn't make contact with her that way. Her head still throbbed and her neck had ached with a phantom pain at seeing his hand coming toward her. It was confusing for Jami, wanting his touch, his comfort - and she DID - but not comfortable with the way he'd been about to do it.

And then his wings were coming around her, familiar, sheltering and Jami felt a watery smile slip onto her face as he drew her close, her heart softening toward him once more as his powerful scent enveloped her and his rumbling voice rolled over her ears. At his words, Jami gave in and slowly wrapped her slender arms around his waist, careful of the spikes that greeted her hands. She pressed the side of her face into his abdomen and slow, warm tears wet both his skin and hers as the blond nodded, voice quiet.

"Vucoti. Vucoti vur si onelka wux. Si onelka wux, Kain vur si tir ti tuor wux ekess qe loaw. Wux re ti loaw, sia darastrix. Si geou ti jaseve. Si inglata."

She meant every single word and her scent didn't lie.

 

[Saren]

Kain stiffened as she hugged him and there was the beginnings of a snarl in his throat, but he rid himself of the noise before it manifested. She wasn't harming him. Her touch was gentle and her fingers weren't digging into his skin. His warm breath spilled over her hair as he sighed. Her touch was like her mothers: soothing and soft.

He felt her tears and heard her words. He really had scared her. He hadn't reminded her of her place then; there would always be a killer instinct buried in him, something time could not erase from his mind. But maybe having someone around would ease his thoughts and lessen the blood lust carved into his heart.

His purring growl vibrated his body and his eyes closed, remaining still. Any quick movement from either of them and he would bolt away.

She was promising never to leave him, that she was here to help... her dragon.

 

[Kaisaan]

He didn't leave and Jami found herself relaxing as his breathing soothed her frayed mind and the warm puff of breath made her smile. She breathed in deeply and sighed out slowly, her breath probably tickling his skin a little as she listened to Kain's rumbling, purring growl. The fear left then - not the caution, though, not the understanding of the savage nature inside him - and Jami was glad to be rid of it as she stayed close to Kain, her heart mending, truly forgiving his actions.

THIS was the reason she fought so hard, why she risked things like what had happened. It was because she could see THIS in Kain, this gentleness and humanity. She could see the child inside him when all everyone else saw was the beast, the killer Greenwater had forced him to become.

It was this creature right here, a mixture of dragon and human that she'd claimed as HERS and Jami's smile grew a little at the thought. She finally pulled back slowly, letting go of his waist, not wanting to overstep his limit and green-hazel eyes looked up into gold. "Wux re vi smunsoua di vi svent lilbhiahin creol times. Wux vucot batobot, harkt?"

She was smiling at him warmly, fondly and very clearly teasing.

 

[Saren]

Kain's ears perked up and his eyes opened to look down at her. He wasn't the nicest person to be around... almost all the time. In fact, he would have rather eaten someone than spend time with him. However, Jami seemed to be the exception, outside of her family, and even then, he had wanted to eat her brother for yelling at Jami.

Still, she was teasing him. He could have said that he killed for joy, but that would have been exactly the kind of thing she was teasing him about. Instead, he growled in almost a playful way and shook his head. He opened his wings so she was free to move around again, stretching them to their maximum width. The membrane had repaired itself while he was human. It really was like he'd transformed for the first time again. He didn't understand. The scars were still on his body and the patches of scales had changed position, but everything else was... better. He liked it, but the pain... oh, the suffering. That was something he didn't want to happen again. His claws clinked together as he brought his hands up, bending his fingers back to an extreme angle, even though his bone didn't break.

"Wer juanth wieva aesthyr tepohaic told ve di voga rekisix, vi nymph. Jaciv tepohaic said batobot nomeno rekisix geou visp ve svaust si mi, vur batobot yth jalla ehtah jacioniv."

 

[Kaisaan]

Jami chuckled at his growl, not at all alarmed as she stepped back, his wings freeing her. She took that as a sign that he might want her to move back and the blond respected it, watching Kain's wings expand, admiring their form and then making a face as he bent his fingers back, wrinkling her nose in distaste, but making no comment as to his actions as she listened to the dragon-hybrid's words.

The female hybrid tilted her head, thoughtful as she crossed her arms and tried to think about the creature he'd mentioned, what she knew of it. Not very surprising that the answer to that question was; very little. Jami growled in annoyance, shaking her head. "Si shilta ti yenta sjek jaciv ui harkt usv ti. Si tir ti vucot zahae nymphs, shar..."

Jami didn't finish the sentence as an idea struck and she darted past Kain to the sliding glass door, glancing back at him in indication that he should follow as she went inside. The blond almost ran into Mark's chest then as the male werewolf had been heading for the door and Jami blinked up at him for a moment as he smiled down at her before she shook her head, coming out of her daze, giving him a narrow-eyed look.

"Do you have books on mythical creatures? Or a computer?"

Mark's brows rose into his hairline, but he chuckled and nodded, stepping back so she could follow him. "A few books, yeah. Nana likes to collect them." He moved into the living room and Jami followed, looking to the older woman as Mark went to her side and crouched, speaking quietly. "Nana, can you tell me where you keep the Mythie books?"

 

[Saren]

Kain turned as she dashed away, his ears going down instantly as Jami got the wolf-man's smell mixed with her own. He came inside just as Mark moved to go speak with the ancient woman, but he followed Jami slowly.

"Of course, my dear. On the... shelf... in the master bedroom... very top," she wheezed and coughed, turning a dial on the oxygen tank's top. Coming in at the middle of her sentence, Kain didn't know what what they were asking about, but shelves meant books. Jami must have meant to read and learn about the nymphs and what they could do for him. It was... smart, and he could respect that.

"Don't you... have a computer to... share with her?" Nana inquired, tilting her head to eye the man, even if her eyelids could barely open. She smelled of death, Kain thought, but Mark must have ignored it all the time. He spotted Tanya in the corner, but she ran as her bright eyes met his. She was still frightened of him, that was for sure. He meant to keep it that way. The farther away she stayed from him, the better. Nana was also of fairy blood, but she was so old that there was no push or pressure from her scent. It was like she didn't even have any blood in her at all.

 

[Kaisaan]

Mark smiled, touching her shoulder gently and Jami noted that there was something sad in his eyes as he looked upon the frail old woman. He knew very well she was dying. The male werewolf nodded. "I do. I just figured it would be good to know what we are looking for first. The internet is not all that reliable in this day and age, Nana." he reminded her gently before leaving her to her nap. He beckoned Jami and then, with some trepidation, Kain, to follow him.

The female hybrid did so without hesitation, having a goal in her mind now and when Mark got the books down from the shelf in the master bedroom, she smiled at him gratefully and then moved to the doorway, halfheartedly pushing Kain out of the way with one hand as she flipped open one of the books while she walked, hardly paying attention to either male at the moment as she found her way into the kitchen and sat at the table, already well into the first page about griffins.

If there was anything Jami absolutely LOVED, it was reading and getting to read about animals or something that she could actually USE, was thrilling for her.

A clearing of a throat made her look up, slightly startled and Mark tilted his head, a smile on his lips. "Anything you're looking for in particular, sweetheart?"

"Nymphs. Maybe something on dragons or werewolves...elves..." Jami trailed off, already reading again and she hardly seemed to hear the term of endearment that came off Mark's tongue as her fingers flipped the pages, eyes scanning for what she wanted before landing on something that made her smile. "Kain, look." She looked toward where she knew his towering form to be - probably behind her if she knew him - and held up the book. On the page was a black and white depiction of a dragon by a stream, it's mouth open in a savage snarl or perhaps roar, horns curling around it's head, jagged spikes, a long tail, wicked claws....and the name of the dragon below the picture.

"It's Maulkainthur."

 

[Saren]

Kain followed her and watched as Mark got the books down. He felt Jami push him to the side, but he was in the way, and he was quick to follow her, cutting Mark off in the process. His claws gripped the chair and he looked over her shoulder as she sped through the pages. He knew how to read, but he hadn't looked at any words in a long time. Some of them were jumbled and didn't make sense. It also wasn't helping how quickly Jami was going with the pages. He eventually stopped trying to follow, but his head snapped up as Mark spoke and pushed his luck by calling Jami a 'sweetheart.' He growled at the other male before Jami spoke his name.

He looked down... at himself. Well, what he would have looked like if he'd lived centuries ago and wasn't human. The horns and the claws and the wings... everything was the same. The picture was black and white, but Kain knew the dragon in the picture had golden eyes and golden-tan underbelly scales. It was the reason he was tan and had golden eyes. For all intents and purposes, he was the dragon in the picture. He really had existed.

Kain was named after the most fearsome and bloodthirsty dragon that ever existed. Maulkainthur's memories and the blood lust and the affinity for eating people had all transferred into Kain, even if the scientists had reinforced that far beyond even what the ancient dragon had done.

His head hovered close to hers as he read the description on the dragon, his eyes adjusting to the text and what it said. He was like Maulkainthur in every way, and for an odd reason, that was pleasing. He'd lived up to the expectations other dragons might have held if they existed nowadays.

 

[Kaisaan]

Jami found a smile creep its way onto her face as she watched Kain. The dragon-hybrid wasn't giving much of a reaction, but he hadn't lost interest yet and that was a good sign in and of itself. In fact, if Jami was willing to bet on something, it would be that Kain was strangely happy to see the picture of the dragon and to know what the creature had been like. It sounded very much like Kain himself. She slowly lowered the boo then and when Kain didn't protest, she knew he'd read what he wanted to. She settled the thing back on the table and then started to read further herself, frowning a little as she turned the page....only to see it had been ripped out.

The female hybrid lifted the book and shook it a little, making sure that it hadn't been tucked in somewhere, but when nothing fell out she huffed, irritated and proceeded to scowl for a moment before she sighed and seemed to give up, turning the pages further.

"What was supposed to be on that page?" Mark had sat down by her side, slightly to her right and Jami glanced at him before looking back at the text. "Mating habits." Her answer was calm, factual and Mark seemed to choke a little, glancing at Kain and then back to the female hybrid with wide eyes....only to see that Jami was grinning.

"....along with habitat preferences, eating habits, scale care, claw maintenance...."

"Okay, okay, I get it. You don't have a clue."

Jami smirked, turning the page of the book. "You catch on quick."

Mark growled, but he didn't retort and Jami continued reading, but this book held nothing about nymphs, elves or werewolves, but only contained the far more powerful species and not very many of them, only specific mythical creatures by name. She closed the book and pulled another one forward, looking through the index until she landed on what she wanted.

"Ah-ha!"

The blond flipped to the page she wanted and then started to read out loud. Sort of. "Nymphs can either be fresh water or salt water creatures that...blah, blah, blah....take the form of a woman....blah, blah....immortal...Ah, here we go...Nymphs are notorious for their foresight and gifts in prophecy. It is said that if you can incur the favor and respect of a nymph she will show you your future and for some, the past."

Jami looked up, tilting her head back so that she was looking at Kain upside down. "Algbo, batobot anyuiri wer visidark di svanoa jaciv shilta letoclo."

"There is a family of Nymphs in Portland. They move around a lot, but I could look into finding them for you if you want." Mark offered, looking between the two.

 

[Saren]

Kain was quiet after she flipped the page from Maulkainthur, but he glared at Mark when the man looked at him after Jami mentioned mating habits. Kain sensed the humor, only he was serious. If this wolf man ever decided that was what he wanted for Jami, Kain was going to have a word... or a roar to say about it. He growled when Mark did as a warning, but after that, he was quiet. He let his eyes scan the pages until she threw the book away and picked up another. When she found what she was looking for, he listened to her describe the nymphs. She was right. If he could win the respect of one of the nymphs, maybe she could read into his past.

Before he could answer, Mark butted in with his helpful words. Kain glowered at him before he spoke. "Visp jacion ekess tir zyak. Yth jalla ehtah astahi qeelak, tagoa astahii janik ehtah voga goawy tenamalo." He was more comfortable speaking the language of the dragons, but he did it almost to spite Mark, who wouldn't understand them.

He sighed, knowing that Mark had mentioned having a computer, and he knew computers could be used for a lot of things. It also could include missing persons reports, even if he'd been gone for thirteen years. One could hope, but Kain had lost hope a long time ago, and now, it was being restored. "Jami... si huven ekess ehtah vi woari xiekiv ikilwa... Shafaer sio. Si... Si jikahshi sia svihelen ornla tepoha plyntor ir ghent astahii claxon ve. Sjek wer nymph letocloic ve, yth jalla vorq ihk ir."

 

[Kaisaan]

Mark seemed unfazed by Kain's dislike of him - the feeling was mutual - and when the dragon-hybrid spoke, he raised a brow, looking to Jami who elaborated quickly before Kain started speaking again and her attention went solely to him. She blinked in surprise at his request, but then smiled, nodding. "Batobot ui vi nafl othokent ulhyrr." she praised before looking to Mark. "You said you had a computer?"

"I did."

Jami raised a brow, expectant and then spoke again, a touch of impatience in her voice. Now that she had a goal, a purpose, something to DO she was determined to do it. "Can we use it?"

The male werewolf smiled and Jami found she was unsure about the expression. It held too much of a 'gotcha' message in it. "That depends."

Jami immediately held up a finger to Kain, knowing very well that this would be the point where he might be tempted to rip Mark's arms off. She was clearly telling him to let her deal with this for the moment. Her eyes narrowed at Mark. He did have guts, she'd give him that. Too bad Kain wanted to rip them out of him and Jami wasn't sure she was against the idea as of yet. "Depends on what?"

"Will you let me train you?"

Of all the things he could have said, that one startled Jami and she blinked, sitting back, face less hostile and more confused than anything. "Why?"

Mark chuckled. "Because you need it. No offense, sweetheart, but you're like a three-moon old pup tripping over your own feet. You have no idea what you can really do and I don't know how you became the way you are, but you're kind of screwed up at the moment."

"Boy, you make training with you sound so appealing." Jami snapped back and Mark merely shrugged, looking her in the eye. "At least I'm not going to tell you you're doing great when you're not. Just give me a week, Princess."

Jami remained silent for a long moment, weighing the pros and cons, but finally she answered. "Fine. You have a week. Now show us the computer." She stood then and Mark followed. They hadn't even left the kitchen, though, when the female hybrid whirled and she'd grabbed Mark's throat, slamming him against the fridge, a deep snarl in her throat. "Oh, and call me 'princess' again and I'll rip out your tongue."

She released the male werewolf then and stalked away, leaving Mark to look after her with a slightly shocked expression.

 

[Saren]

Kain, as usual, was silent during the exchange, but the various nicknames Mark was giving Jami were beginning to irritate him. However, Jami held up her finger. She didn't want him to get involved, even if his claws itched to slash the smirking grin off of Mark's face. When he called her 'Princess,' Kain growled, his arms crossing over his bare chest and his claws digging into his skin. He could have lashed out, but Jami stood and he backed up. There was a change in the air and then he was up against the stainless-steel fridge, pinned underneath Jami's hand.

Kain was almost impressed. The day she got the drop on him would be the day he was impressed.

Still, Jami made her point very clear, and once she was finished with the wolf-man, he followed her, shooting another glare at him. There was nothing to say, but hostility sparked in his eyes and it was enough. Even if Mark was older than him, Kain was the alpha, and he would stay that way.

Kain trailed after Jami, his wings staying close and his tail tip curled around his ankle. "Tir wux nafl jikahshi jaci huvenic ekess kem wux?" he asked, his growling voice asking the serious question. It almost sounded like a sarcastic inquiry, but Kain didn't really know what that was, even if he could sense when Jami was teasing or being that way with him.

 

[Kaisaan]

Jami felt better. It would seem, perhaps, that Kain was rubbing off on her. She found she didn't much mind that. The blond smiled to herself, letting Mark move past them to show them where the computer was - and the male werewolf was uncharacteristically quiet - and looked back at Kain at his question, her smile growing into a smirk as she shrugged one shoulder. She was definitely feeling like the powerful creature she was at this precise moment.

Kain being happy with her tended to do that. Jami wasn't sure why, though.

"Si jikahshi batobot jaci ui vis persvek jacida huven ekess ocuir ve itrewic desta sva slathalinir vur batobot si geou yor throden youwei, shar thric, si tir ti jikahshi batobot ui jacida ergriff huven." she answered without concern and then refocused on Mark as they came into what had to be the male werewolf's bedroom. It certainly smelled a great deal like him. He brought over a laptop and then closed the door, leading them back into the kitchen and Jami sighed.

"I feel like I'm going in circles."

"You didn't have to follow." Mark said, starting the device and Jami growled, resting her chin in her hand and blinking slowly, tired still, but perking up when the computer was slid toward her. She did some tab-opening and search-bar typing before coming upon what she wanted. She then started to glance from Kain in the computer, writing in his hair color, gender, ethnic group, putting in the state of Oregon just because she was going to start close and then the female hybrid paused, glancing up again.

"Svabol kluchuduun jahen dout saurivic ghoros dout jahen vi darastrix? Svanoa juanth jahen wux svadrav wux jahen woari?"

 

[Saren]

Jami had the same feeling as Kain, but she was still going to allow him to train her. After all, she would need to get better at defending herself. If Greenwater ever found them, there would be fighting, and while Kain could trust in his own ability to kill someone, he didn't know about her.

He would have to trust her, and to some extent, Mark. Kain couldn't bring himself to even think about trusting the wolf-man. There would be nothing to make him do so.

They walked to Mark's room only to walk back into the kitchen, and Jami voiced his irritations. Somehow, Mark's answer only made it worse. Still, Jami got control of the computer, and Kain watched her fingers fly across the keyboard with little taps. He remembered seeing computers, but they belonged to the scientists, and they used them to log his vitals and other notes about his condition. He didn't like computers, but he knew this one was to help him figure out who he was.

He looked down at her question before he looked away. He couldn't remember what his eyes were, but he closed them, trying to rack his brain for the answer. He knew that he could eventually figure it out, but to be asked for it right now... he didn't know. Growling in frustration, he thought as hard as he could before he finally figured it out. "...Ulhar." The darkest shade he could imagine, and those were his eyes. People thought they were black, but in the right light, they had various and obscure shades of blue.

The age question he was able to answer a little easier. He knew he'd been young, but they always told him when another year passed that he'd 'joined' the scientists. "Aovbiaj."

 

[Kaisaan]

Jami waited patiently for Kain to answer, sensing that the simple question was hard for him and knowing the reason for it. So much had happened in the last thirteen years that the color of his eyes was probably something Kain had never thought to remember. It wouldn't matter in the long run. Still, she was glad when he answered both her questions and she nodded, turning back to the computer and typing in the answers into the information bar.

She took a deep breath, unsure why she felt nervous and pressed enter. Five different pages came up, each containing thirty kids to a page and Jami resisted the urge to groan. No. This was for Kain. This was worth it. With that thought in her mind, the female hybrid set about her task with determination, moving the computer so that Kain could see the pictures, too. She started to scroll down the page and the blond's voice was soft.

"Visp ve sjek wux ocuir vi xinpivi batobot vorqic hefoc wux tira."

Every face could have been a possibility to Jami, but as she looked at those on the first page, she was sure Kain was not among them and when he didn't stop her, she went to the second...and then the third....

 

[Saren]

Kain crouched on the ground, but his body was still tall enough to look at the screen with no glare on the shiny thing. A soft growl escaped him as there was nothing on the first page, or the second, or the third. He was getting irritated. If his family had really cared about him, they would have done something like this. After all, there were many other children on the page similar to him, so they couldn't have possibly not done this for him.

By the fourth page, he was convinced that he wasn't on the missing persons report at all and that his family no longer cared for him. He looked away as Jami scrolled, growling again with increased volume. However, she still had one page to go, and he knew he had to look. The last bits of hope he had were being shredded, until she reached the middle of the last page. There was a picture of a shy-looking boy with a bush of black hair covering one eye. It was a home picture, as the background appeared to be a kitchen. The slightest of smiles was on the child's face and his blue eyes were dark, but there was happiness in them. His skin was only slightly tanned, different from Kain's, but... he didn't know. It felt the same, even if he couldn't feel the picture.

It had to be him. There was no other child with those eyes in all the pages Jami had gone through.

Kain glared down at the name, noticing a red x-symbol next to it. However, that didn't catch his eye immediately. What did was the full name... his full name. Blake Austin Drascan.

"batobot vrak... batobot ui ve," he rumbled, pointing to the one titled with his name. "...Blake." The name didn't roll off of his tongue as he thought it might, and then he was hit with a rush of memories. He remembered everything from before he belonged to Greenwater. The images in his head made him snap and roar, shaking his head. He almost seemed to be having a mental breakdown as he leaned heavily against the wall, the spikes creating indents in the wallpaper.

 

[Kaisaan]

As they scrolled through the children, each one a negative, Jami had started to seriously worry that they wouldn't find what they were looking for. Maybe they were looking in the wrong state? Maybe..maybe Kain had gotten his age wrong. Maybe his parents hadn't put up any missing ad at all. Maybe they'd been killed by Greenwater and hadn't had that chance. There were so many maybes and uncertainties that Jami's mind swam with them and when Kain finally pointed at a picture, she didn't register it for a moment.

And then he was speaking and she child with the slight smile on his face, an innocent looking his eyes, a clear sweet disposition and she found that her chest ached. She...had seen that child. Never this picture, never that innocence, but she'd seen that child in every confused expression, every fascinated glance, ever tilt of the head, every purring growl, every moment of genteness. She'd seen, met this child and Jami found herself smiling softly at the image.

Until her eyes caught on the red x-symbol by the name. Blake. Odd, she couldn't really picture Kain as a Blake, but perhaps that was because she'd always known him as Kain. Wait, the mark. What did that mean. Jami frowned, clicking on it. She only got the time to read the word 'deceased' before Kain's roar made her jump....right out of her chair and to him.

It was an instinctive action and this time as Jami approached, she prepared herself to be hurt, to be killed even and her power crackled at the edges of her mind, ready to be released. She didn't WANT to, but if Kain gave her a reason, she'd use it. Knowing this, she once again, for the second time that day, reached up and grabbed his head in firm, but gentle fingers, making him stop his shaking, her eyes finding his.

"Kain! Ifpesp! Qe ssej, sia darastrix. Coi ui|ulph kruth. Ifpesp doutan."

If there was one thing Jami was....it was persistently stubborn.