Post by Oliver on Jul 13, 2008 16:52:51 GMT -5
Sweat dampened the teal colored hair of the oldest Kilaverian female. She was lying on her back on a metallic lab table. Her wings fit into small indents on the table’s surface to keep them from being injured while in the position. Normally she was on her side or stomach when resting, but she didn’t have the strength to move herself from where she’d been placed.
Benedict stood beside the table, his clip board in hand and brown eyes aimed down at the pale face of his specimen. He’d only exposed her to versions of the common cold, but her body wasn’t taking it well. Her immune system didn’t appear to be ready for the outside world yet, Benedict concluded as he watched the Kilaverian shiver in a cold sweat.
His pen scribbled down notes and observations before he set the clip board down and moved closer to the side of the lab table. A pair of golden eyes slightly opened to look up at him as he reached out and grabbed the specimens arm. His touch was gentle but firm, not exactly caring, and he didn’t look into the bird-like orbs. He felt a slight tug, but she was too weak and disoriented to free herself from his grip.
One hand held her arm while the other positioned a thin hypodermic needle. There was a sharp intake of breath and a soft groan as the sharp top pushed through the kilaverian’s skin and into the blue vein running underneath. In a moment it was out again and he put a small bandage over the area.
The arm in his hand was trembling. It was a different shaking motion then how she shivered from the cold brought on by her fever. He glanced more towards the specimen’s body, seeing her chest heaving unevenly, then to her face. Her eyes were watching him; an emotion in them caught his attention and made his hand release her arm.
For a moment he pictured his daughter, Elizabeth. Derived unnaturally from his DNA and that of the women whose life he had ruined, his daughter was like the others in creation. The difference was he had nurtured her, raising her as his own child rather than placing her in the lab to undergo studies. Elizabeth had no wings or golden eyes like the siblings she knew nothing about; she appeared as a perfectly normal Kilate and was treated as such.
The look that appeared in the specimens eyes shocked him, along with the sudden image of his daughter that it brought to his mind. The emotion within those golden hues was fear. It was the same look the small Kilate child held in her own eyes when Benedict shut the light off in her room at night only to have her run to him moments later with talk of monsters and noises in the dark. What he saw struck him harder than he thought possible, and was the reason he’d always been careful to avoid staring at the creature’s face for too long.
Benedict looked away quickly, turning his gaze to the clip board he’d set down. He stepped away from the lab table, grabbing the board before heading to the computer not far away. The chair was still warm from a previous sitting and he focused his eyes on the computer screen in front of him, placing the clip board where he could see. With his fingers on the keyboard he began to type up his observations.
It was several minutes later that his fingers paused, the sound behind him once more leaving him shocked by how hard it had hit him. It was a sobbing noise, quiet and restrained. Again he pictured Elizabeth when she was frightened of the shadows in her room at night and ran to him for comfort. The specimen was afraid, showing the emotions his daughter was capable of. In truth they weren’t so different, were they? Both had been created the same exact way, only one had been given a home and a father, the other had been given a cage and a scientist.
Normally Benedict had no problem staying focused during his work. His head was always clear and his purpose in his experiments straightforward and undeniable. He knew what needed to be done and was unwavering his work, but maybe being a father was softening him. He wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or not.
Slowly he pushed the chair away from his desk, looking over where the girl was lying. She was still shaking and too weak to move from where he’d placed her not long ago. Part of him said to stay where he was, let her cry and go back to work, but there was another part that was urging him to go to her. The urge was strong and though he felt he shouldn’t listen, he felt himself moving from the chair and quietly walking to the side of the lab table.
The tears on the Kilaverian’s face were mixing with the salty sweat glistening on her face. With a quiet sigh, Benedict reached out, placing his hand gently on the top of the girl’s head. She flinched slightly, groaning quietly through a frightened sob, and then remained still.
“Calm down…” Benedict said, his voice unusually quiet for being in the lab.
His hand gently brushed through the girl’s hair in an attempt to comfort her. The gesture felt alien to him in this environment, but as the girl sobbed he couldn’t get the picture of Elizabeth out of his mind.
“It’s alright…” He spoke as if he were actually speaking to the image of his daughter, “Calm down…”
For several minutes he stayed at the side of the lab table. He spoke softly to the experimental girl, trying to sooth her. At first she just cried, inching away feebly, but after a bit his attempts seemed to be successful. She began to calm down, her eyes closing. After a bit of time, she appeared to be asleep with her chest rising and falling to a steady rhythm. Benedict checked her vitals before heading back to his chair and sitting down, watching the specimen sleep.
Something was changing inside him. He would have never done this during the FeLane project. Was he slipping as a scientist? His brow furrowed slightly as he tried to find an answer to what was happening to him, but for now he would remain confused and unsure about what he had just done.
Benedict stood beside the table, his clip board in hand and brown eyes aimed down at the pale face of his specimen. He’d only exposed her to versions of the common cold, but her body wasn’t taking it well. Her immune system didn’t appear to be ready for the outside world yet, Benedict concluded as he watched the Kilaverian shiver in a cold sweat.
His pen scribbled down notes and observations before he set the clip board down and moved closer to the side of the lab table. A pair of golden eyes slightly opened to look up at him as he reached out and grabbed the specimens arm. His touch was gentle but firm, not exactly caring, and he didn’t look into the bird-like orbs. He felt a slight tug, but she was too weak and disoriented to free herself from his grip.
One hand held her arm while the other positioned a thin hypodermic needle. There was a sharp intake of breath and a soft groan as the sharp top pushed through the kilaverian’s skin and into the blue vein running underneath. In a moment it was out again and he put a small bandage over the area.
The arm in his hand was trembling. It was a different shaking motion then how she shivered from the cold brought on by her fever. He glanced more towards the specimen’s body, seeing her chest heaving unevenly, then to her face. Her eyes were watching him; an emotion in them caught his attention and made his hand release her arm.
For a moment he pictured his daughter, Elizabeth. Derived unnaturally from his DNA and that of the women whose life he had ruined, his daughter was like the others in creation. The difference was he had nurtured her, raising her as his own child rather than placing her in the lab to undergo studies. Elizabeth had no wings or golden eyes like the siblings she knew nothing about; she appeared as a perfectly normal Kilate and was treated as such.
The look that appeared in the specimens eyes shocked him, along with the sudden image of his daughter that it brought to his mind. The emotion within those golden hues was fear. It was the same look the small Kilate child held in her own eyes when Benedict shut the light off in her room at night only to have her run to him moments later with talk of monsters and noises in the dark. What he saw struck him harder than he thought possible, and was the reason he’d always been careful to avoid staring at the creature’s face for too long.
Benedict looked away quickly, turning his gaze to the clip board he’d set down. He stepped away from the lab table, grabbing the board before heading to the computer not far away. The chair was still warm from a previous sitting and he focused his eyes on the computer screen in front of him, placing the clip board where he could see. With his fingers on the keyboard he began to type up his observations.
It was several minutes later that his fingers paused, the sound behind him once more leaving him shocked by how hard it had hit him. It was a sobbing noise, quiet and restrained. Again he pictured Elizabeth when she was frightened of the shadows in her room at night and ran to him for comfort. The specimen was afraid, showing the emotions his daughter was capable of. In truth they weren’t so different, were they? Both had been created the same exact way, only one had been given a home and a father, the other had been given a cage and a scientist.
Normally Benedict had no problem staying focused during his work. His head was always clear and his purpose in his experiments straightforward and undeniable. He knew what needed to be done and was unwavering his work, but maybe being a father was softening him. He wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or not.
Slowly he pushed the chair away from his desk, looking over where the girl was lying. She was still shaking and too weak to move from where he’d placed her not long ago. Part of him said to stay where he was, let her cry and go back to work, but there was another part that was urging him to go to her. The urge was strong and though he felt he shouldn’t listen, he felt himself moving from the chair and quietly walking to the side of the lab table.
The tears on the Kilaverian’s face were mixing with the salty sweat glistening on her face. With a quiet sigh, Benedict reached out, placing his hand gently on the top of the girl’s head. She flinched slightly, groaning quietly through a frightened sob, and then remained still.
“Calm down…” Benedict said, his voice unusually quiet for being in the lab.
His hand gently brushed through the girl’s hair in an attempt to comfort her. The gesture felt alien to him in this environment, but as the girl sobbed he couldn’t get the picture of Elizabeth out of his mind.
“It’s alright…” He spoke as if he were actually speaking to the image of his daughter, “Calm down…”
For several minutes he stayed at the side of the lab table. He spoke softly to the experimental girl, trying to sooth her. At first she just cried, inching away feebly, but after a bit his attempts seemed to be successful. She began to calm down, her eyes closing. After a bit of time, she appeared to be asleep with her chest rising and falling to a steady rhythm. Benedict checked her vitals before heading back to his chair and sitting down, watching the specimen sleep.
Something was changing inside him. He would have never done this during the FeLane project. Was he slipping as a scientist? His brow furrowed slightly as he tried to find an answer to what was happening to him, but for now he would remain confused and unsure about what he had just done.