The Hard Road to Truth (TaliesinxLady Alainn)

The director shrugged and made a so-so motion with his hand. "My staff has had many propositions to reach our goal but nothing has panned out so far. There's been a burst of work since we heard about the elf so I am expecting good news any day now." He seemed to have a lot of confidence in his staff at the very least. He took his own time answering the rest of her questions, taking several bites of food and chewing thoughtfully. "For the moment your task is just to observe. The parents will be siphoned tomorrow so it would probably be worth your while to observe that. Perhaps even speak with them. We are slowly taking them off the medications so they are something resembling coherent now and 3 cooperative elves would be much better than 1." He hummed appreciatively at the thought.
 
She picked at the remaining noodles on her plate while the director spoke. "I would be most interested in observing the adults, certainly," Smithers replied at last. "This is all so fascinating and a foreign concept to me still." She reclined in her chair and folded her arms across her chest. "Two years ago I was thoroughly convinced magic couldn't exist and yet here we are. It's incredible what most people don't know about the world-- what we still don't know about it." A long look accompanied her short speech. The director intrigued her and unnerved her at the same time. Not being able to put a finger on why annoyed her. After her scrutiny, Myleen sat up and made ready to leave.

"It was a delectable dinner, thank you, but today has been a long day and I have unpacking to do yet. Is there anything else I need to know before you dismiss me?"
 
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The director chuckled and nodded his head. He still remembered when he first discovered that so many of the creatures of his stories were real. It was a moment that was hard to forget. When Myleen stood up, so did he, brushing imaginary crumbs from his lap and holding out a hand, flashing her a warm smile. "By all means Agent, go settle in. I think we've covered enough for the moment."

Down in the labs, the torturous testing was still going on, though Darren was starting to feel the weight of what he had been doing for several hours now. He hadn't been doing anything other than answering questions and performing minor feats with his magic but he was still drained as if he had run a marathon.
 
"Thank you, sir," Myleen replied, slipping her hand in his for a firm shake. "Good evening."

After departing from the opulent quarters, Myleen headed straight for her apartment. Poor Darren would be continuing his "interviews" until midnight so she had a few hours to arrange her things before sneaking in to catch the last bit of the tests. Upon entering her quarters she discovered that her office belongings as well as a few boxes of clothes and household goods from her California rental suite had arrived. She pulled out her pocket knife and began sawing through the packing tape on the first box.

Her rooms were large enough for one person to be fairly comfortable; the apartment comprising of a sitting area and breakfast nook with three adjacent rooms jutting from each wall. It was smaller than her suite had been, but only because there was no kitchen. She supposed that to be because she was expected to eat in the lounge with the other non-military personnel. The room directly across from the main door was the washroom. To the left was a larger room that she would make into her office/den and to the right was a smaller room she would make into her bedroom, which meant dragging a double mattress, box spring, and bed frame across the main room. Exerting work, but rewarding in the long run as the smaller room had a skylight. Although one couldn't actually see the sky when one looked up at it, the reflected sky was just as refreshing in the underground mansion. All in all, Myleen felt satisfied.

Twenty minutes to 12:00 the last cushion had been added to the sofa and the kettle plugged in for a cup of chamomile tea before bed. It finally looked like home. Flipping off the lights, Myleen left her apartment in search of the lab where Darren was. She took a wrong turn somewhere and had to back track, but eventually located the elf. She quietly opened the door and stepped into the room. Dr. Mouse met her immediately with a stern finger to his lips and a thrust of the white lab coat. Obediently, Myleen shrugged into it and settled with her back against the wall and arms crossed over her chest to observe the final proceedings of the evening.
 
"So, we've determined at this moment your strongest magic is your mesmer. For the last test of the night I want you to go back to that moment with the general and focus on that when you speak to Susan this time." Doctor Bradley was saying, practically rubbing his hands together with anticipation.

Darren was not at all enthused to be revisiting the moment, despite the euphoria he had briefly felt at the rush of power. He had been the perfect test subject all day though and now was not the time to stop. He closed his eyes and took a deep steadying breath. His eyes opened and narrowed on Susan, also dressed in a lab coat but with somewhat more normal clothing underneath. "Leave." He spoke quietly but the word seemed to echo in the room. Even those not targeted by the spell and equipped with magic resistant gear quivered with the desire to run. Poor Susan was out the door almost before he finished speaking the word.

Doctor Bradley stared intently at the computer screen, nodding to himself. "Hmm, decent. I suppose it's as much as we can expect considering your circumstances."

Darren let his gaze slid from the door to fix the doctor with a disbelieving gaze. That had been just decent? Before he had even started to sort through the ramifications of that he found the numerous monitoring devices attached to him being removed finally. He practically jumped from the chair once they were gone, rubbing at the places they had been with some distress. "Itches..." He muttered to himself.

"Well, that concludes this round of test." Doctor Bradley turned to smile brightly at Myleen despite the hour. "He's all yours now."
 
If it weren't for her training and the anti-magic charm humming in the lab coat pocket, Agent Smithers would have been just as shaken as the other scientists. As it was, she found their reactions amusing, especially the poor test subject. Smithers doubted even she could have run faster than the girl. The tests concluded, she slipped out of the coat and draped it across the nearest surface while Darren was unplugged from the machine. She crossed her arms over her chest again and returned a much-less-enthusiastic-but-beguiling-in-its-own-way smile to Dr. Bradley.

"Much obliged. Come along, Darren." Myleen made no move to suggest she was going to clap him in irons again, but instead walked back to the door and waited for him to join her. "He'll be ready for you day after tomorrow, Dr.Bradley," she promised before departing. "In the meantime, enjoy processing your results."
 
Darren nodded and had to check himself before he ran out of the room after Myleen. He couldn't wait to be out of there. It was not the thing, but he couldn't say that he wouldn't have taken another whipping session instead. There was a reason he did not think or talk about his past at all if he could help it. He was thrilled to hear that he wouldn't be subjected to it again for at least another day. He was silent for several minutes while they walked, letting the people pass by until they were in a quieter area before indulging in his curiosity. "W-what are we going to do tomorrow?" It was only his curiosity that was giving him any kind of energy now. He would probably pass out the second he had a chance.
 
"I don't know what we're going to do. It's your day off," she replied with emphasis and a side-long glance at the elf. "You don't have to see me or anybody else all day if you wish it, though I have the morning free if you want the company." She paused as they passed a couple of doors set in from the hallway and slipped her hand in his, pulling him into the secluded nook. "Listen, neither one of us wants to be here. When we're... alone... we're partners, ok? Feel free to tell me to bug off or ask me to be a friend."

Myleen couldn't place it, but something about Darren's skittishness and vulnerability endeared him to her and brought out her soft side. She found herself being... friendly of all things. God only knew the last time she felt friendly toward anyone, especially of the male variety. And truth was, she was way out of practice. "Friend..." she murmured with a small smile on her lips "what a foreign word in this world."
 
Darren looked quite bemused at her words, he almost didn't notice the hand in his at first. Once he did it felt oddly warm and he didn't know what to think of that any more than the strange warmth in his chest. Friend? He couldn't even remember the last time he had even thought of the word aside from a good one for mesmering his way into someones house for the night. "Yeah..." He agreed to her mutter in a dazed tone, not even aware that it had probably been mostly directed at herself.

He blinked himself back to something resembling attention and looked down at the ground with an embarrassed or uncomfortable expression.. "I...would like it, if you were around while you can." He realized that he wasn't very good at relaxing or having fun either. The things of his time before didn't really appeal to him anymore and the only thing that stirred something resembling contentedness from him these days were beautiful sights and minor creature comforts. He had been on the run for 10 years after all. His teenage development involved thinking of new ways to stay safe and provide for himself. He was quite stunted in several areas of development if one thought about it.
 
Myleen's smile blossomed in spite of herself. He liked her. Or rather, he didn't find her repulsive anymore. There was no "like" and "dislike" in a situation like this. It was more "who is the least frightening." Now that she had given him the option she realized that if he had told her to go away, she would have been deeply hurt. She peered up at him over her spectacles and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"Then I'll be around as often as I can," she promised. Remembering the scenario when she first had squeezed his hand, her gaze dropped to his wrist and she brought his hand closer to herself for inspection. Her thumb slid lightly up the side of his thumb and pushed against his shirt sleeve to reveal the bandage. For some reason, her breath quickened at the gesture. "I-I think we'd better get you to your room and look at those wrists of yours," she stammered, dropping his hand as her cheeks grew warm. Without giving him another glance nor another word, she stepped back into the hall and walked with a brisk pace the rest of the way to Darren's quarters. When they approached, she unlocked the door and held it open for him to enter first.
 
Darren found a smile blossoming on his own face in response to hers, though it did dampen a bit as he followed her gaze. He held his hand out without resistance but he pointedly looked away while she inspected his wrist. There was something odd about the way she did it, something sent just the hint of a shiver up his spine and confused his otherwise rather dark feelings at the subject of her gaze. He felt stupid and worthless for simply thinking about what he had done.

He was quickly drawn out of his thoughts by the odd tone in her words and he stared after her for a couple seconds before belatedly realizing he should be following her. He turned and quickly caught up, staying a few steps behind to indicate his proper subservience. He couldn't help ducking his head a bit as she held the door open as she entered, feeling a bit awkward for some reason. He walked well inside so she would be able to enter without bumping into him and then looked around. His room was pretty nice, though a bit bland. It was all soft blues and tans. The bed looked fairly comfortable, if small, as well as the dressers, bedside table and what looked like a tiny bathroom in the corner with barely enough room for the toilet and shower.

It was quite the improvement over his previous accommodations, though he wasn't much more fond of these ones. Once again he tried to picture the future, himself in these rooms doing goodness knows what. It made him feel sick. He was supposed to be helping Myleen figure out what was going on here but he had held so little hope before this and now doing more than functioning moment to moment was extremely overwhelming for him.

Rather than sit on the bed or at the small table with two matching wooden chairs, he moved to the side of the door and slid down into a sitting position on the floor before doing his usual pulling his knees up to his chest and hiding his face. The carpet was cool, but not enough to ground him, like he felt like he needed right now. He hadn't meant to do it but that one unguarded thought and now he felt like he was cracking once again. He had completely forgotten about Myleen wanting to check his bandages.
 
Myleen scarcely understood the turmoil of feelings the elf elicited from her. He confused her. This whole concept of "friend" confused her. It was pathetic how emotionally and socially shut up she'd become since joining the agency. This strange bond with Darren was laying her neatly built castle under siege, forcing her to find herself again. The true her. The person she was before the years of hardening brought about by her job. That must be it. It had to be. What else could explain the emotional exhaustion and intense feelings this elf invoked in her breast?

Sleep began tugging on her as she stood there with the door open. Myleen had half a mind to leave Darren in his room, get a good night's sleep-- with what was left of the night-- and come at this again with a clear head in the morning. But when she turned to bid Darren good night, she found him huddled on the floor with his face buried. Oh, the bandages! She was going to change them. However, something was clearly bothering the elf. She sank onto the floor next to him and gently set a hand on his shoulder. "Darren?" she asked hesitantly. Her hand started rubbing his upper back. "What is it?"
 
Darren barely noticed Myleen's hand other than to shiver slightly. Her words made him lift his head briefly to show eyes starting to brim with tears before he quickly hid his face again. He didn't want to talk about it with her. He wasn't entirely sure he could put all of his emotions in a coherent string of words. "I-it's nothing." He muttered, trying not to sniffle. "I'll....I'll be fine." The words left a bad taste in his mouth. They were probably a terrible lie. He could get a hold of himself soon or he could spiral out of control. He couldn't say which outcome was more likely.
 
Myleen leaned her back against the door to close it and settled her arm around his shoulders with a long sigh. Leaving him alone tonight was sounding worse and worse all the time. She'd already witnessed part of a meltdown before and wasn't sure how much farther Darren would go if he really did snap. "Go ahead and cry if you want to," she said in a low voice. "I've heard it's better for you than holding it all in."
 
Darren was already on the verge so her words were much unneeded encouragement, tears had already started pouring from his eyes. "I cant do it." He sobbed. "It's too much. I'm too young! This situation...how can I survive?" Whether he would have reached this state again quite so quickly if it hadn't been for the grueling 'interview' that had been purposely full of triggers for him, it was hard to say, but it certainly had helped. It reminded him of just how weak and pathetic he was and underlined just how much of a struggle he was going to have to endure in the future. The worst part was is that he knew there was no escape from it either. He could try and go back to where he was born but he doubted he would be accepted and was far to afraid that he would lead the humans there even if he was. Aside from that his options were suffer this or die, and he had already proven that the latter seemed like a far preferable option.
 
Myleen settled her head back and closed her eyes while Darren bawled. She didn't blame him for wanting to end such a miserable experience. While she could sneak around and make plans in her head, he had unending torturous interviewing sessions and strenuous activities. However, she had no intention of leaving him in here-- a prisoner-- for very long. Or his parents, if they were still intact enough to save. His parents... Myleen opened an eye to glance at Darren's bowed head and closed it again. He needed a reason to keep on going, at least for a little bit longer. Long enough for Myleen to learn the system here and plan out a way to undermine it. It hadn't been right when one human enslaved another and enslaving a different species wasn't right either. If Darren's kind had landed in a spaceship, the government would have been overjoyed to negotiate treaties and cater to the elves. It just wasn't right.

The agent sat up, both eyes open, and moved her hand to the base of Darren's neck and gently massaged the tense muscles. "Darren--" She paused. Tomorrow, er, today, was his day off. A full day of rest before who knew how many tests and exercises. If she told him about his parents without having seen them first to make sure they were, well, mostly alive, would she be giving him false hope? At this point in time, it seemed cruel to give him false security. Yes, he could use the reason to keep living, but if his parents had been reduced to mere vegetables he needed to know that at the same time. What else would lift his spirits? Myleen reached into her pocket to pull out the crumbled itinerary and permission slip as a small smile stretched across her lips.

"Darren, would you like to go star-gazing with me tonight?"
 
Darren appreciated the contact, though it only seemed to make him cry harder. He couldn't help himself. It was like he was crying for everything he had always been too busy, too anxious to be able to feel before. He had cried plenty on the run, but it never felt quite the same as this moment. He was so beyond anything of his own control that it all just sneaked out. "Outside?" He mumbled, taking a few moments to lift his head, eyes still streaming tears. He rubbed at them with the back of his hands until the tears eased somewhat. "Damn it." He sniffled. "I'm sorry..." The tears just wouldn't stop. "I really would like to they just won't turn off..."
 
She had hoped the offer of fresh air would perk him up, but the continual flow of tears testified that his melancholy was a whole lot more severe than she'd thought. 'Elves do not do well in captivity,' the grim thought echoed. Checking his wounds on his wrists flitted completely from her memory. Giving Darren a taste of freedom was far more important. Myleen gripped the slip of paper tightly in one hand and pushed herself off the floor with the other. Turning to Darren, she held out her free hand and tried to smile reassuringly. "Let's go. Maybe your eyes will dry on the way, hm?"

Myleen escorted him through the quickest route she knew of to the upper levels. They paused long enough on her floor for her to change outfits and grab a couple blankets, pillows, and handcuffs. The pillows and blankets she folded tightly into a large bag and the handcuffs she stuffed into her pocket. She would not force them on until absolutely necessary. When they approached the main entrance, Myleen dug out the steel cuffs and held them up apologetically. "They'll ask more questions if we don't wear them. Which wrist do you want it on?"
 
Darren gave up on the scrubbing of his face for the moment and gingerly took her hand, wobbling a bit as he pulled himself onto his feet. "Alright." He spoke barely audibly but obviously was fine with following her direction. The thought of getting outside did sound quite nice, though the sight of the handcuffs somewhat dampened his budding excitement. He did manage to stop crying on the way up though it was obvious he had been and he still looked 10 kinds of miserable. The bonus to this was that his state would probably not evoke any questions in this environment and would probably make their leaving of the facility less suspicious.

First though, he had to tolerate more of that damn metal. He reluctantly held out his right hand and tried not to shudder as she snapped it on. Thankfully the guards did not question them much, though they did give the large bag a curious look. The two were out within minutes and free to go where they would though the guards did extract an expected return time from them.
 
The night air was mild, but still cool. High above, the stars were free to shine brightly without the glare from city lights to compete with and the round moon gave off enough light for them to see relatively well. Myleen led Darren down the drive a little ways before detouring off it to climb a hill. It wasn't much of a hill, but it had just enough definition to shield them from the eyes of the compound once they slid down the other side. Setting the bag down in the grass, Myleen turned to the elf to remove the cuff and hesitated.

What was she thinking? Once uncuffed, the elf could pull anything on her. She was completely unarmed. Her anti-magic accessories lay in her dresser drawer. She was a trained agent, for goodness sakes. Agents didn't put themselves in these predicaments. Agents didn't cuddle up with prisoners. They dominated them. 'He's not dangerous...' Who was she kidding? Darren was plenty dangerous. She'd seen the effect of his magic, his mesmers. He may not hurt her, but he was definitely capable of dangerous. She knew nothing about this elf, except that he was very sensitive and cried easily. And she was just going to let him go? But he needed freedom if he was going to survive. She wanted to give him freedom. To comfort him. Help him. She didn't know him. Couldn't trust him. Could she?

Myleen breathed in sharply and looked away, her face contorting into a grimace of conflicted emotions. 'This is why... this is why we don't get involved...'
 
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