ＷＨＩＴＥＲＡＢＢＩＴ ¨ˢᵉᵐᶤ⁻ᴬᵈᵛᵃᶰᶜᵉᵈ ᴿᴾ¨ discussion

A flood of voices poured out from dining hall as Hermes neared the entrance. The homestlyed scents of burgers and fries wafted out into the halls and the young man couldn't help but pop in for a quick bite. The clank of dirty dishes being hustled into the kitchen by the paid help began to over power the lingering voices from the empty hall. It wasn't that the scientists dining hall was bad, just... different. The food, less casual, and zero conversation. It was like eating with mannequins, with lifeless bodies, then again, his family always seemed to act like the living dead.

As he entered the room his soft hazel scanned for familiar faces, very few subjects remained in the hall and those who did were hunched over scarps of food or busying themselves with other mundane distractions, not eager to be bothered. Deciding not to frighten any of the newer arrivals Hermie found himself waltzing over to the countertop and requesting one of the islands famous deserts, taking a seat at the end of one of the table near the beautiful wall high windows.

Because she didn't bother even arguing most of the time, Foxtrot was commonly tested on. It didn't worry her too much though. After all, this was all she'd ever experienced in life. How was she supposed to know it could ever be better than this? Still, her arm still stung from the long needle that had been jabbed in it to inject her with something, though the other arm had just had blood withdrawn which wasn't bad. She rubbed the inside of her elbow absently, wincing slightly. But she strode in, looking around with her curious gray gaze to check what there was to eat today.

Here and there she nodded to people, but she didn't stop to talk to people. She didn't dislike any of them, she just wasn't especially close to them. So after she got her bacon cheese burger, well, where to sit? She didn't want to have to deal with any of them so she was planning on sitting on one of the corner table. But when she looked there, she instead spotted one of the scientists. Which was a positive. After all, the Greeks could carry on an intelligent conversation about actual topics. The Wests weren't stupid, she just found better conversation in the scientists. So she headed over to sit near him, smiling slightly as she hovered just before setting her tray down. "Hermes, right? Is it alright if I sit here?" She smiled briefly, knowing that some of the Greeks disliked the experiments.

Startled from the sudden voice that erupt from behind him Hermie sung around, looking up to see another subject he'd recognized, one that'd been on his mind for a long time, a very long time.
"Oh hey! Foxy right?", he soothed with a sweet lull, "and oh course, call me Hermie".
He looked her up and down, his palms sweating ever so slightly. Hermes was a social guy, he never got nervous or afraid, yet there was something about Foxtrot that kept him in the edge.
"A little late to dinner aren't we?", he asked, tossing his head in the direction of the bustling maids and the lack of subjects.

"Yes. Foxtrot, Foxy, Fox, any variation thereof." Fox smiled, setting her tray neatly on the table across from him. "Thanks." She shifted up to sit in her seat, looking over at him. "Yeah, sorry." She waved a hand, rubbing a spot on her elbow. "Got held up. Hera wanted a blood test and had something else she wanted to try. Took a little bit." She smiled as she used a knife to nearly cut her hamburger in half, obviously not bothered by it. "Besides, didn't know I'd have a welcoming committee waiting for me." She teased him with a grin.

"Well I've been waiting all day", he said with a goofy wink, "and I'm quite angry that you left me waiting for "Hera", actually".
Hermes looked around, watching a few more people drop off their plates and leave. As Foxy began to dig into her burger Hermie couldn't help but wonder if there was a coincidence. Hera, it was always Hera, and if she knew, knew how fond he was of Foxtrot, then there'd be a big problem.
"So, what's new with you Foxy?"

"Oh, I am dreadfully sorry. I beg your forgiveness with all of my heart." Foxy said dramatically, shoving her tray aside simply in order to drop her head to the table, on top of her arms. Her form trembled slightly and almost crying sounds came up, but when she flipped back her red hair and sat back up it was evident she was simply laughing, shaking her head. "I would choose you over her or anyone else given the option." She teased.

"Your forgiveness will be taken into advisement child", he teased, puffing up his chest and speaking in a posh voice, "for now, however you are under strict surveillance".
He laughed along side her, smiling as she flipped her beautiful fiery hair back.
"That means a lot coming from you, Red" he said with a perfect smile, "she can be kinda a buzz kill sometimes".

"One of these times she's going to be a literal kill." Foxy predicted ominously, shaking her head slightly. With a sigh she lifted her burger up and took a bite, giggling slightly as she wiped ketchup off of her cheek. After a moment she had swallowed and was able to speak. "How come you ended up so different? I mean the others are dedicated to their task in some way, whether silently working or flipping like Hera. But you just don't care. I mean, most of the would attack us both if they heard you call me Foxy, let alone Red." She pointed out intelligently.

"Trust me, Kitten", he sung, adding another kick name to the list of many he'd lined up for Foxtrot and hoping for her to crack a laugh, "Hera might be a hard ass but she she'd never... You know... Kill".

He paused for a moment, wondering how about to go answering Foxy's question.
"I'm not the only on", he frowned, trying to choose the right words; something he'd never been very good at. "There's a few who look like they care, yet they truly see the bigger picture. I don't know", he laughed with a shtick, picking up a fallen pickle from her plate and flicking it into his mouth, chomping loudly with a foolish grin on his face, "I guess I just see things... Differently. I don't know, I guess my job does kinda help me realize how crazy this all is".

"Wouldn't she?" Foxtrot challenged, chuckling at yet another new nickname. "I mean, all of them inject us with these drugs and chemicals they come up with to make us better. Everyone is incredibly smart, but there's always a risk of them messing up or it not working and they know it. They just don't care. Hera is part of that group and with her anger, it wouldn't be that much of a leap for her to purposefully kill." She explained logically, studying him. She pouted when he stole the pickle, reaching over and stealing his spoon to sneak a bite of his dessert before passing him his utensil back.

"True", he frowned watching her pass back his spoon as he took a turn digging into his strange chocolate desert. "It's just... I was created here, and so were most of them, it was the way we were made to see the world. Imagine being created to be apart of a great race and then one day... You realize that you'll be alone... Forever"
It wasn't as though the others felt like he did, emotions and such, Hermie was alone in a sense were he'd seen love, and hate, and family.
"How could they ever really know happiness, love, just mundane emotions knowing that, unlike them, everyone they talk to is going to eventually die".
He looked up at the girl with the red hair and flashed her a small sweet smile, "I leave the island a lot for my job, so, i see things. Human things. Things that they dont".

"What's it like?" Foxtrot asked curiously, studying him. She started to pick the burger but finished her question first. "What is it like on the mainland? I was made here too and I've never seen the mainland. I've never even seen pictures. What's it like?" She asked intensely, studying him intently. She took S bite of her burger and set it down, but her focus was still entirely on him as she waited keenly for the answer to her question.

"It's massive", it was the first word that came to mind as Hermie closed his eyes and reached into his mind for pictures of what he remember of the outside world.
"Buildings higher than mountains and made out of glass and steel. Cars speeding down busy streets, people selling food, families everywhere, fighting couples, and the people", he smiled thinking of all the fun he'd had roaming about the busy nightlife of Manhattan and the many other cities he'd traveled too, all across the globe.
Looking around the room to make sure the coast was clear Hermie reached into the side pocket of his Hawaiian styled beach shorts and pulled out a photo. The edges crumpled and a few tears here and there yet it was a perfect image of the New York City skyline with Hermes in the background, his arms draped around two lovely ladies, the names of which he couldn't remember even if he tried.

Foxtrot stared at him, her gray eyes sparkling as she listened. It was obvious she was hanging onto every word he said. She'd always been interested in learning more, and particularly fascinated with stories of the main land and how it worked. When he pulled out the picture she lit up brilliantly, leaning forward eagerly to study it. She stared at it in wonder, smiling widely as she studied it intently, examining every bit of the picture. "Looks like you're popular." She teased, tapping him and the women in the picture. Despite commenting it was obvious she was still intent on the skyline part.

A small blush came to Hermie's cheeks as he messaged his neck with his hand eager to find somewhere to look other than the photograph.
"I guess you could say that", he laughed looking town at the photo once more, "but the skyline... It was breath taking. The sounds you could hear from that high up, it was as though the city had come to life. And the people? They looked like ants bellow".
He wanted to tell her that one day she'd see it too but he knew the grim reality of the subjects and knew that the idea of happiness was one not often realized

((Sorry for the late reply homework and stuff))

"You guess? Oh come on Hermes. Look, they're even almost as cute as me." Foxtrot teased him with a grin, even glancing up from the picture to smirk at him before looking back down at the picture. "What sounds are there?" She asked curiously. It seemed such a mundane question, but she wanted to picture it, imagine she was there. "What are the people like?"

((Not a problem))

"Almost", he winked, snatching the picture out of her hand before any one could see them. He thought another moment, thinking about how each country was different.
"It's hard to say", he laughed, thinking back to his travels, "the word is divided into these little pieces of land even though it's all connected. Each country has different religions and rules. Some cities you go to are calm and safe others are loud and dangerous. Those are the funniest ones in my opinion", he said with a chuckle, "the people are so diverse, they come from all over the world and the sounds you hear can be anything from fighting, to the metallic squeal of vehicles". There wasn't much else he could say on the matter, Hermie was never good at describing what he thought.

"Someday I'll get a chance to visit." Foxy sighed, staring longingly at the picture before it was out of her view. Then she blinked and shook her head sharply, shaking herself out of fantasy and back into reality. She knew logically she would never get a chance to see the real world. But that didn't mean she couldn't dream. "Besides, there are good things on the island too. I love the little foxes you can see in the forest sometimes, I always wanted one since they match my name." She smiled.

Hermie couldn't help but laugh as Foxy compared herself to the small helpless animals that scurried across the forest floors and stole food from the court yard outside.
"Really?", he laughed imagining this red haired girl toting around a little fox. "Why?" He questioned. It wasn't that Hermes hated animals, he loved dogs and cats but anything that bit and lived in the wild he wasn't fond of. That and Hera's behemoth of a guard dog, of course

"Because they're adorable and I'm named for them. Besides, they're clever little things. Who wouldn't want one?" Foxy smiled, flicking her red hair back out of her way. "Some of the others have a pet. Why can't I?" She pouted teasingly, tilting her head. Then she frowned thoughtfully. "Well, I know Hera does and I've seen some of the others with some. But are we technically allowed to?" She asked curiously.

"As long as it doesn't bite anyways", Hermie's laughed, "but I wouldn't want a fox, they scratch and bite! And I feel like the damn thing would eat all of my stuff. Plus I'm pretty sure I saw one steal my cookie last week".
Hermes thought trying to remember all the rules the scientists go over at the weekly meetings.
"I'm sure it be cool. But you have to catch one first", he said with a wink.

"Well you find it as a baby, and you teach it not to scratch and bite. Duh." Foxy teased him, shaking her head with a grin. "And you're supposed to be one of the smart ones." She made a tsking sound, looking disappointed as she looked over at him. "And a little one would be easier to catch too. And even cuter. Do you think I could train it to always steal your cookie?" She grinned.

"I'll admit that I'm charismatic, roguishly handsome and have an award winning smile", he soothed, flashing a gorgeous smile, "but I never said I was "smart".
He shook his head as she spoke, imagining a small fox following this red haired girl around, it was too much to handle.
"Tell you what", he offered, "If you agree to not teach your fox to steal my cookies then maybe I'll help you catch one".

"Award winning, hmm...." Foxtrot studied him with a raised eyebrow and a crooked, mischievous grin. "I mean, if they give consolation prizes maybe." She sassed, then laughed. "Kidding." She promised, her teasing grin fading into a sincere smile. When he spoke again she stopped and listened, her smile slowly widening.
"Yes!" She exclaimed happily, lighting up as she looked over at him. "I mean I'm not going to promise it won't accidentally eat your cookies, but I definitely want your help in catching one."

Hermie placed a hand on his heart feigning heart break as he looked at her with puppy dog eyes.
"Well, now I'm not going to help you!", he whined, pouting like a little kid, "especially if you're going to let this brat eat my damned cookies". He looked around the hall to realize that it was completely empty, not even the cooks remained. Foxtrot and Hermes were completely alone.

Foxtrot pouted, blinking pitifully as she looked over at him. "Oh come on. You have to help me." She pleaded, biting her lower lip as she stared across the table at him. Glancing around rather pointedly, she frowned as she looked back at him. "You're the only one around who can help me. Pleaseeeee I'll love you forever." She begged.

Hermes simply couldn't resist. "Are you aware what flirting is, Subject?", he questioned, pretending to be one of the other uptight scientist by puffing up his chest,"Cause you are nailin' it".
Before she could respond Hermie was on his feet holding out his hand, "Come on, Red. Lets go catch you a new best friend".

Foxtrot paused, considering before she got up. She was smart like all the rest, but had no real world knowledge. Her head was filled with textbooks and tests, not young adult fiction. "No." She answered bluntly, making a mental note to find out. Or she could just, "What is it?" She asked curiously, rising to her feet and taking his hand with a confused smile. But she grinned excitedly, "Yay!"

"Doesn't matter", he laughed, looking around the room one last time before he looked down and saw their hands intertwined. Quickly he let go, spinning on his heels and slipping on a quick smile.
"Come on, Red. Let's go".

Though she didn't look entirely pleased that he didn't answer her question, Foxtrot didn't voice her complaints. She just made the mental note to look it up or ask someone about it later. But she grinned over at him brightly, looking completely excited. "Yay!" She lit up happily, spinning to follow him. "Where are we going?"

"The forest of course", he sung as a sweet smiled slipped onto his lips and they headed towards the exit of the Tower...

((Sorry about the late reply my wi-fi's been down. Anyway you wanna post at the Forest??))

Easy blinked against the shard contrast of light to dark and closed her eyes for a moment before easing them open, her blue eyes bouncing around the room and trying to take everything in. It was blurry for a few moments before everything came into focus, though it wasn't as good as it was before the scientists had given her night vision, she suspected she would need the glasses that some people on the island had for the day time and for light places, though she wasn't inclined to ask. "Here we are." She announced, waving her arms around the area and turning to face John, her teeth landing on her lip as the scent of food hit her nose.

The walk there may have been easy for her but treacherous for him. Having tripped four times and banged his knee against a boulder he was at least happy when they arrived in the dining hall. The harsh bright lights caused him to squint a bit before his eyes adjusted. "Must be hell for you with all these lights." John said as the smell of food hit his nose. "Smells good what's on the menu?" He said whilst he moved up towards the line to grab a tray. As his fingers reached out for a tray John stopped and quickly covered his mouth with his sleeved arm. A rather violent cough followed along with the stains of blood on both his mouth and sleeve.

"It definitely is. I can't see properly in the light anymore." Easy said, going to answer his question but frowning instead when he coughed. "Are you sure you're alright? Would you like to see one of the scientists? They might be able to help." She said softly, concern written all over her face. The cough had sounded terrible, even compared to the other ones and it bugged her that she couldn't help.

"I am fine." John smiled widely revealing his blood covered teeth. "But you are right, I should go see one of them, or do I wait for them to come get me?" John said as he moved down the line looking at all the options of food, eventually he decided on an entire tray of tacos. Slightly dodging the task he made his way over to a table that had been positioned in a way where the light seemed less.

Easy followed, grabbing a burger and fries before following him to the table, taking the time to think over the question. She couldn't remember if the scientists summoned her all the time or not. Sometimes she just showed up and they had wanted her, but that could also be her thinking she just showed up but had truthfully forgotten she had been summoned. "Im not sure. I think they come to us, but maybe you could go to them anyways. They'll see you as an eager subject." She said, sit in with her back to the light and picking up a warm fry, her blue eyes drifting around the table.

John had said something but the words were lost as he had already started devouring the tacos. His tray had held twelve tacos when he sat down yet now held only eight as he munched away rapidly, unaware of how hungry he really was. Finally swallowing he said," Well hopefully that will be good." But before he could say another word he stuffed another taco into his mouth with a smile. Finishing this taco John spoke again, "So what's an interesting vampire like yourself do for fun besides walk at night and drink blood?" He joked as he watched Easy.

Easy watched him and slowly are her food, not wanting to get a stomach ache from eating too fast though she was starving. She gave up on slow and easily are her burger in a few bites before answering his question. "I sing sometimes. And dancing is fun" she said with a shy shrug. She had her hobbies and she was good at them, but no one really knew because she was almost always asleep during he day and awake at night. Not to mention that she sometimes avoided others while awake.

"That would explain you enjoyment of the hokey pokey." He said with a laugh between bites of tacos. Looking over to her with a smile. "Now singing is something I did not think you would say." Leaning forward John took her hand gently into his own. "Sing to me like one of your french men." He said jokingly before looking away dramatically seconds later bursting out into laughter.

Easy smiled at his first comment, though she tilted her head at his second one, a confused look crossing her face. "Like one of my what?" She questioned, her brows furrowing together, though she couldn't help but smile as he laughed. She tried to think back to anything that sounded similar to what he had said but she couldn't think of anything and only pulled a big blank. Moments like this were the ones that left her with a feeling of frustration. She often felt like she frustrated people with her lack of memory.

"Ah so you have never seen the movie titanic." He said as more of statement than a question. "No matter think nothing of it." He said as he watched the frustration flash across Easy's face. He quickly went back to finishing the remainder of his tacos, once done he smiled widely. "So anything else besides dancing fun dances and singing with most likely a lovely voice?" He questioned while using a napkin to wipe his mouth clean.

Easy relaxed a bit, glad they were on a different topic, and picked up a fry, taking a moment to think as she took a bite. "Running is nice. And reading when I can. The one good thing about my crappy memory is that I can relive a book even if I've already read it." She smiled and finished the fry, picking up another and popping it into her mouth, easily finishing off the rest. "What do you like to do? Other than swim late at night and teach people new dances?" She questioned.

"Well I like to go on long walks and watch the sunset." He said jokingly. "But in truth I enjoy partying, making people happy is a fun hobby of mine as is getting drunk and having twice as much fun. But making people enjoy life is probably most enjoyable." John said before leaving only to return with another tray of tacos."Want one?" He said as he ate a taco covered in hot sauce.

Easy nodded and took a taco. "Thank you" she said, taking a bite and leaning back a bit. "I'm sure you'll like it here then. Lots of people need cheering up." She said, taking another bite and letting out a low groan and finishing it off. "Give me a sec" she said, taking off and retuning with more food. She had grabbed some more fries and another burger as well as a couple of tacos. "I didn't realize I was so hungry."

John looked at the new tray before finally laughing at Easy's comment. "Well welcome to the club Ms.Easy you have been gone for quite some time. Here is your membership card and your complimentary napkins." He said with a smile before returning to stuffing his face with more tacos. Once most of his food was gone he glanced around the room. "Not much on design are they?" He chuckled slightly.

Easy laughed a bit at his comments and ate quickly, relaxing when she finally finished the food and was full. "No they really aren't." She said with a shrug. "I don't think they much care for that kind of thing, they're more concentrated on making the human race better and that doesn't require much design." She said with a shrug, running a hand through her hair and letting her eyes wander around, though they quickly returned to John's face, a bit sore from all the light.

"Well then full stomachs fun times were had I think it's time to go catch some zzz's." John said with a yawn as the food coma was beginning to set in. Making his way over to the trash bin John sighed as he glanced down at his shirt taking note of the ten different stains of blood. "You wouldn't happen to have a spare shirt would you?" He said looking back at Easy.

Easy followed him and dumped her garbage, setting her tray on top. "Yeah I do. I should have one that will fit you." She said with a smile, pushing her hair out of her face. "Come on we can stop by my room to grab it." She offered, covering a yawn with her hand and gesturing for him to follow and walking towards the doors. "I also have some sweats that are too big for me if you'd like." She offered. ((I just requested her room so I'll post when it's made))