[Juniperstar45]

Belle sat down and sighed, staring at the stars again. She wiped her bloody paw off in the snow and licked it a few times. Blood was, as it should be to normal people, disgusting. Absolutely repulsive smell and taste! Though it wasn't a weakness, only one thing could do that to her. Love. She shuddered at the thought and began licking her paw again to draw it over her head in a very feline fashion. Her head cocked slightly with a very astonished look on her face. She assessed his mood, his motions. Yup, he's hurt. Bad. Belle felt a bit of resentfulness, "Don't worry about it. Please. The Bruma is... gone...I think." She couldn't quite remember but a battle had been fought. And she had won. Suddenly a pang of nausea struck, it was a wild creature, it knew nothing of civilization, and she had slaughtered it. Like a piece of bait! She felt disgusted, letting that emotion twist her face. "I was a monster..." She whispered but snapped out of the mood quickly, staring back at Mereel's staggering figure. Belle could see everything, even in the dark. It was one of her...'powers' she so called had. His helmet twisted on the ground in a half circle and she watched it roll, not looking at the pain that was present on Mereel's face. It hurt her too. Like they were...connected? No, impossible! She shook her head and gazed back at his eyes, looking deep. "Yes, I...No, I'm..." She tried to answer his questions, but they were flowing out of his mouth like a waterfall. It was starting to annoy her. She twitched and shouted, "Mereel! Calm. Down." She got quieter with him. The silence of the falling snow calmed her a bit as well. Belle smiled sweetly, something she rarely did -as he knew- and walked closer to him. "I'm fine. I'm not injured. I killed the Bruma. Listen to what I tell you now. I am not normal, I'm superhuman. I just about killed every blasted animal in Evelon because of it! So, just because I can toss a three hundred pound Bruma 5 miles into oblivion or see in the night or scale frozen mountains the size of a 94 story building doesn't mean I can't coexist with the 'Normals'. That's how I even got up here in the first place, I've got powers." She finished her miniature rant/story with a sigh. She patted Mereel on top of his head with her paw and turned for the tent, her personality somewhat returning, "By the way, you look like a hag! Let me help you, or do you plan to end up a popsicle as well?" She smirked and padded into the tent to find the supplies. Grabbing his medicine kit she hulled it out to were he was sitting. "Now, what do I do first?" She wasn't a doctor, how would she know how to use a syringe...

.:21:.

[MillietheWarrior]

Mereel slid to sit back against the pile of snow he'd created when he'd been flung across the clearing. He stared at Belle, completely unfazed by anything she said or did. He stared at the blood in the snow, and as he slowly assessed her up close, he realized it wasn't hers. He reached out a gloved hand, as if to touch her, but drew it back, covering his stomach with both arms and leaning back against the snow. Whatever had happened, it had clearly disgusted and frightened her. Mereel could...Almost sense her emotions. He kept the astonishment off of his face, but the surprise was there. He finally understood what it must be like, at least partially, to be a Jedi. To feel someone else's feelings, and to know what was going on inside their head. Was this how Etain felt? It scared him that he could understand and feel Belle's emotions, but what scared him the most was that lingering of bloodlust and a complete and total lack of control. Mereel knew this wasn't normal, and neither was the fact that he could feel any of this.

He closed his eyes and tried to block out the feelings and emotions he saw, concentrating only on his own pain. Pain was what kept him alert and conscious; it told him he was still alive.  When she shouted, he winced slightly, his ears ringing. "Sorry," he said at last, though his voice was slightly subdued, as if he didn't know what to do with himself. He sounded like a chastised child. "I was worried...But I guess I didn't need to." But Belle explained what had just happened, and Mereel pinched the bridge of his nose. His confusion and surprise at her words would most likely be evident, and Mereel had no doubt she knew what he was feeling. "You...Killed it?" he asked. He tried to wrap his head around what she was telling him, and found that he didn't mind. He'd seen and heard stranger things. Scaling a mountain, seeing in the dark, tossing a one ton monster five miles away...He'd seen Jedi do things just as astonishing, but he kept it to himself.

The fact that this tiny little female was telling him that she could do the same startled and pacified him. It explained why she was so different, but it also brought up a myriad of questions that Mereel didn't want to ask at the moment. He felt like his mind just wouldn't be able to take those answers and it would probably break in half. When she patted him on the head, Mereel distinctly felt like a child again, receiving praise for something he'd done exceptionally well. It brought back fond and yet, somehow some unhappy memories. He opened his eyes to see her trotting towards his tent and hauling the med kit back to where he sat. He stared at her, not saying a word. Her jibes did nothing, and his face was set in a grim expression. "Powers..." he said at last, grabbing the med kit. He popped the seal and opened it, pulling out what looked like a medical scanner. He held it over himself, and after a few seconds, it beeped. Mereel studied the readouts calmly.

"No broken ribs. No internal damage. Just a huge bruise and a lot of pain. It'll be hard to move for the next few days, but otherwise, it's all good." He sighed, and struggled to his feet, dragging the med kit up with him in his free hand. "Let's go into the tent. It's too kriffing cold out here," he muttered. He still hadn't said anything that would've given a hint to how he felt about what Belle had told him. He stumbled over to the tent, zig-zagging as he walked. He stumbled once or twice, but made it. The inside of his tent was well fortified. It was large, and the walls were made of sturdy canvas, made to keep the cold out and the heat in, but reversible for the hot summer days to do just the opposite. There were three large blankets spread out inside, along with the rest of Mereel's equipment, pack and weaponry. Mereel collapsed against his pack, using it as a pillow.

He laid the med-kit beside him, and took out a roll of bandages. "Fierfek," he muttered, wincing in pain. He hadn't really waited for Belle to follow him inside, but it was implied, and he knew she would. He began removing his armor, taking off his shoulder plates and gauntlets. As he clicked off the broken chest plate, he laid it out in front of him, cursing the giant hole in the front. "Great..." The only thing covering his upper torso was his black bodysuit. He sat in silence, staring down at his armor, before glancing up to see Belle through the flaps. "So...Powers, huh?" he asked, his smile finally returning. "Tell me more about 'em. I'm all ears..." He began to open the med kit again, taking out a roll of bandages and getting ready to wrap them around his bruised and damaged torso.

[15, 68]

((Daaaang...I just wrote and wrote and wrote...XD Fierfek is like 'dang' but a little stronger. Kriffing is the same.))

[Juniperstar45]

She saw him wince and felt a pain stab her, like a knife being drawn right through her stomach. It was a retched feeling absorbing her. Belle reached out with a paw but looked down shocked. She was going to what now? Hug him? What's gotten into her? Her entire body contracted in awe, it was so odd. Why did the first person she met draw her in like a force? An...attraction. She mentally shuttered at the word. Belle couldn't believe that her brother had already had an affair with another woman. He was still so young at the time! And now there are two new kids running around the house. Am I that old? She licked her paw again for a distraction, not wanting to think about the man sitting in front of her that she somewhat felt she needed to be around or the fact that life around her is blossoming and she's not even moving from her solitary position. She pondered that instead of the first one. Dreaming was a good outlet for her, unless it involved something you are trying to avoid. It started out as a normal little fantasy, sitting on the beach, combing her long wavy hair, and swinging her legs back and forth in the miniature pool outside a vibrant white house. A few young kids danced out from the house and she smiled at them though she knew nothing of them. The little boy motioned to his sister and she glanced down at the steep cliff. A few rocks clattering down alerted her that something was up and she opened her eyes into the bright shinning sun. The boy poised on the edge and gazed back at her, with crystal blue eyes. He looked somewhat familiar, like...Oh god...

Snapping her eyes open and jolting a little forward almost as a reflexive impulse. She gazed at Mereel for a moment and sighed, shaking her head, "I'm sorry, I-I really shouldn't yell. You're hurt. I know. Please. I need too...do something." Her paws hovered over his bent over figure but she paused again staring dejectedly at her unhelpful wolf paws. She growled and sighed. "Mereel..." That was all she really could say. Her heart wanted to say much more but she wouldn't...couldn't let it..."Yes, I did. I feel retched about it but..." Belle's brain worked faster and her thoughts came easier, "If I hadn't acted then, it would have killed us both. I wonder if it was the jerky we ate..." She smirked slightly. She sensed questions, and a multitude of them, coming from Mereel. Either that, or she hadn't gotten much sleep at all. Probable...

Sighing with relief at the not so dismal reading on the damage checker -or...whatever the heck that thing was-Belle smiled. She followed him willingly, remembering to grab the extra blanket that was outside and his cloak-ish thing. Feeling a slight eagerness to get into the warmth of the tent, Belle sped up as soon as the cloth was secure in her mouth. She paused right outside the tent and remembered her abject feeling that come over her. Glaring down at her paws a strike of inspiration shocked her. She smiled crookedly at her plan and poked her head through the flaps of the tent.

Hearing him muttering in the tent she sat down right before the exit. She laid his cloak and her blanket...thing on the ground and stretched her paws out in front of her. Belle began to ponder everything that had happened, trying to retrace her blood lusted blackout. Trying to remember was hard, she hadn't noticed that Mereel was talking until there was an abnormal silence, "Oh, um. Right. Can we talk in a minute, I've got to do something. I like to sleep human, um. It's sorta hard to explain. I feel...more...like myself, rather then in my wolf-y form. My lucain form, it contains the blasphemy of my memories. But my human, it is just...different." She grinned half-heartedly at Mereel then stepped half out of the tent, "By the way you probably wouldn't want to hear -or see for that matter- me screaming in my sleep." She shuttered and stepped all the way out. Leaping into a near by bush, her figure shuttered and shifted into a slight human female form. Belle agilely leapt from the bush and back towards the tent, her clothing still unrecognizable in the dark. Though she knew what they were, it was still too dim. A flock of snowflakes trailed in after her when she sat back down in the tent, more relaxed. "There, much better." Her tense form of a Lucain was completely gone and replaced with a more mysterious female with oddly matched clothes. She was wearing regular old jeans, except they still had blood stains on them. Her long chestnut brown hair was slightly waving and went down to the middle of her back. A pair of wide chocolate brown eyes gazed directly at Mereel, a smile playing on the edges of her lips. A long sleeved orange and yellow striped shirt was layered under a mint green tie-die t-shirt. Trailing down her back she quickly rapped a small translucent looking orange scarf around her neck, pulling a sun shaped necklace over her scarf before she flipped it away. But those were only the prominent things that stood out. Her ‘fall leaves’ earrings dangled lightly from her ears, shimmering slightly. She folded her legs and sat down before Mereel, looking at him in his tight black suite. Suddenly she felt overdressed, though it was her normal attire. Too fancy... She mused to herself.

"Oh fine, since you insist. But seriously, I tried to tell you that I wasn't 'real'. And what did you say? 'Oh uh, yea, I've seen things that are worse!' Please, nothing's worse then-" She looked away, pained. "Never mind. Let's just say I don't like to be messed with." Belle shrugged self consciously. Her mouth was a little turned down at the corners but it was something subconsciously that was bothering her. She only felt the muscles on her face straining... It was too hard to be dampened by Mereel. Inside her mind, she made a revolted sound. Sap, sap, sap, sap, sap, sap. "Ugh, whatever." She muttered, curling her hair behind her ear only for it to fall back into place. "So, I can do a lot of things actually. Um, I used to be able to tap into...minds." A flashback hit her like a tidal wave. A rotting carcass, herself, had taught her to control her powers. Learn them. She had never been the same loveable fur ball of a pup ever again. "Oh, my mother, she's a mad scientist, had powers like me. She could use a very powerful magical hand to get things too far away or force people to give her money -at least that's how I put it!- or anything involving an extra arm." A moment of silence and then she squinted her eyes, "I wonder..." Closing her eyes all the way she focused on 'seeing the power' in action. That's what she had called it before...A hand shot out from her left side towards the tent's exit. She flexed it and moved it around with her mind. "It's almost like having a third arm, except...cooler." Contracting the extra hand she gazed at Mereel with a neutral expression on her face.

.:22:.

((Holy chicken! Wow, sorry I wrote too much. You got me inspired~ This wouldn't have taken so dang long if it weren’t for Subeta...I was trying to multi-task. When I was explaining Belle, I was also making her on Subeta. But apparently my computer doesn't agree with Subeta. Ugh... Anywho, I loved writing this, it was great to get into Belle more deeply! Thanks for inspiring me!))

[MillietheWarrior]

Mereel's senses were assaulted with a strange vision. Children, blue eyes, water and then the sound of the ocean. He shook his head, wondering if the Bruma had knocked some of his brains loose. He was loosing his mind. "Don't worry about it," he grunted. "If you hadn't killed that thing, it would've killed us. Defending yourself and the lives of others is nothing to be ashamed of. You should let it go. Dwelling on it won't bring that creature back. So no worries." He slipped one arm out of his black flight suit, and then the other, pulling it down to rest just below his mid-section. Already, dark purple bruises were forming on his tanned skin. He had a large paw print shaped bruise across his torso, and he hissed when the jumpsuit touched it. "Ow, shab..."

He glanced up curiously, confused at what she was saying. Belle had a human form? Why didn't she use it to begin with? Human forms were far more convenient. He blinked slightly, waited, and then stared when she came back into the tent. Belle was nothing like he imagined her. She was much...Prettier. He hadn't though she would look anything like that. Mereel stared at her for a moment longer, before he shook himself out of his stupor and shivered. The wind was cold against his bare torso. He pulled the bandages from the kit and unrolled them, carefully winding them around his bruised body. "Tap into minds, huh?" he asked, then hissed as the bandages went over a particularly dark bruise.

"Shab...Uh..." he was trying not to focus on the pain and follow her story at the same time. It was a bit difficult, but he got the gist of what she was saying. Belle was strange, even by his standards. She was far more different than anyone he'd ever met. When the hand shot out, Mereel drew back his head, startled. "Fierfek, your one odd girl, Belle," he said quietly. "I've never seen anything like that." He continued wrapping the bandage around his torso, and stopped mid back. He picked up a small clip from the med kit. "Mind securing this?" he asked, holding it out to her. "I can't see my own back." He sighed heavily, the bandages contracting and pulling tight against his skin. "I honestly didn't expect to meet someone like you while I was up here, Belle. And I can say, it's been a very strange night..."

He paused and then turned to look at her. "Do you have a family, by any chance?" he asked, curious now about who she really was. "You mentioned a mother...Must be nice to have one." He shrugged one shoulder in an off-handed gesture. "I have a father, you know. His name is Kal Skirata. He took my brothers and I under his wing when we were only a few years old." Of course, a few years old in regular years was about ten in Clone years. The Kaminoan scientists had thought he and his brothers were a failed batch of Clones, a worthless product. They were going to 'recondition' them; Which meant, they were going to be disposed of.  Kal Skirata had literally saved their lives. "He's the one who taught us what it meant to be Mando'ade and how to speak Mando'a."

[16, 69]

((Rambling... Mando'ade is literally 'children of Mandalore.' Mando'a is the language he speaks. ))

[Juniperstar45]

A sudden swell of relief washed up on her feelings. She felt great, a little buoyant even. "Alright." Belle whispered and sat down cross-legged on the fluffy carpet of blankets, robes and cloaks. She gazed around at the secure tent, watching as it rippled when the glacial wind blew past or as it sagged when more snow clumps gathered together. She tapped one and the snow ran down the edge of the tent to her immense pleasure. Concern crossed her face when she saw the damage. She wanted to cover her eyes like a child would do to ignore an angry parent. It was too much. Belle watched Mereel fumble around with some bandage looking things. It suddenly struck her for how tan he was, if he really had been up in the plants far away in outer space, you'd think he'd be lighter, paler. She nonchalantly gazed down at her own complexion in comparison. It wasn't as if she hated being pale, it just off set her hair in an odd way. Like she was extremely dark and full of foreboding. She smirked at that.

"Yea, I haven't been able to do it for a long while now...It sort of, disappeared. Like a shadow." Belle mused a little. She adjusted her necklace a bit out of habit, holding it up to her face so that she could stare at it. She began staring at the object, it literally burned on the inside. Little flames swirled up and down in the orb to her amusement. She watched them dance until Mereel pulled her out of the trance. Feeling his aggravation in the tent made her look up, checking his progress. "Thank you for understanding!" She grinned at him, her tone filled with sarcasm. "I wish more people did...You know, I bet you know more about what I'm talking about then my own brother. We're on the same wave length..." She murmured quietly. Nodding to him with a smile on her face, she scooted closer to him and carefully secured the clip on the bandages. Belle gazed at the markings on his back for a moment then shook her head. Crawling back to her spot she giggled, "Same, I guess you could say that we are one odd pair."

She somewhat blushed at that, hiding her chin underneath her orange scarf. "Well, I don't live with most of my relatives. I do have a mom, she's a little crazy. Maybe that's where I got it from." She smirked at her joke, "I also have a dad, and he’s rather odd as well. My brother is more like my dad. He's a lot nicer though and doesn't have to deal with his powers as often as I do." Belle glared at the fringe of the blanket beneath her. "My niece and nephew, my brothers little boy and girl, are just as odd. And I think one of them hates me." Curling her hair behind her ear again she sighed, "They were so adorable as children, but I could never..." She whispered. A shocked expression filled her feature and she looked up at Mereel, "I'm not a very good mother. I barely let anyone in on anything, let alone my brother. You're the only person I have really ever opened up to. Consider yourself lucky!" She chortled for a moment. Listening to his childhood made her wonder, or rather dream. She considered not having a mom and shuttered immediately. How terrible. What kind of life did Mereel live?

"That's interesting. I never thought someone could live without a mom. As you can see I'm not exposed to the world as much as you are." She grinned at her snide comment towards herself. "You told me that you had come from plants far away. Or you'd been there at least. So the language you speak must be from somewhere, at least where you grew up. Man-do-a, or whatever you called it. Is that where you were from?" Her words were a little distraught with unfocused thoughts. So much had happened tonight that she couldn't control it.

.:23:.  

((Haha, this is fun. Belle's so sweet now, never thought she had it in her! xD))

[MillietheWarrior]

“Wave length,” Mereel repeated, grunted as he tugged a bit on the bandages. He pulled his black body suit up, and began to zip the front back up, securing it at the top of his neck. He grabbed his armor, and slowly began to put it back on, his eyes narrowing in concentration as he ignored the pain. When he was younger, he’d fallen and broken plenty of bones. Of course, he’d been hanging from a ceiling nearly one hundred feet up, shooting at the Kaminoan minders below...But that was beside the point. Mereel was no stranger to pain, but he hadn’t expected anything like this. Broken bones and blaster wounds he could handle. But being bruised and battered...It was rather annoying that something so small could nearly incapacitate him. He couldn’t help but think that if he’d been Ordo, this wouldn’t have happened. He sighed, and squashed the thought immediately, surprised and confused at where it had come from.

“We sure are. Funny how fate works, isn‘t it?” he said at last, looking up to flash her a grin as he began securing his shoulder plates. “You certainly have a large family. Must be nice,” he said at last. He jerked his head up quickly, staring at her in slight confusion. “You really shouldn’t say that,” he said, referring to her comment about not being a good mother. “'Gar taldin ni jaonyc; gar sa buir, ori'wadaas'la'. 'Bloodline is not important, but you as a mother are the most valuable thing'. As a Mandalorian, there is nothing more important than parenthood and taking care of our children. Everyone can be a good parent if they love their children and provide, teach and care for them. That is all anyone can ask of you.” He smiled kindly, and then began putting his chest plate on, grumbling under his breath about the large gouge in the front. It was still fairly intact, but the claw marks were very noticeable.

“It’s very possible to live without one or either parent. If it wasn’t for Kal’buir, my brothers and I would’ve grown up without a father and a mother.” He shrugged one shoulder. “We were born in a vat, not in a hospital like normal children. Our mothers were nothing more than glass tubes.” He tightened the straps on his armor, grunting slightly. He picked up his gauntlets and began to put them back on, ejecting and then sheathing the integrated vibroblade with a ‘shunk-shunk’ to make sure it was still in good working order. Mereel paused and glanced at Belle, debating on what was safe to tell her, and what was off-limits. He sighed mentally, and smiled. “Yeah. Mando’a is the language common to Mandalorians. We’re nomads, always moving about. We do have a home planet, but really, it’s more of a gathering place for Mandalorians. Most Mandos haven't even set foot on it's soil, so they can't exactly call it a 'home planet.' More of a 'base,' I suppose. We don’t live all together on one planet, but we do gather, and our paths do occasionally cross. We’re bounty hunters and nomads, and we move about to keep ourselves and our families safe. Our language, our culture, and our armor unite us as one people.”

He tilted his head, and touched her shoulder with two fingers, before laying his arms over his knees. “From what I saw tonight, you're Mandokarla.” He winked. “It means you’ve got the right stuff, ad’ika. You’d fit in with us crazy Mando’ade perfectly.” He stared at her for a few minutes, as if waiting for her to ask him more questions. He could already see thoughts swirling in an unfocused manner behind her eyes; she looked faintly distracted.

[Juniperstar45]

Belle, who was somewhat distracted, waved her hand dismissively as her eyes began to wander. She watched as the suit was pulled up into its normal position. Wondering was a common thing she did, whether it was superficial or an important clicking point in her mind, she did it always. Right now was probably a superficial moment because nothing in particular was going on inside her head. Her eyes darted to the fringe of the tent where the edge flapped noisily in the wind. Twirling her index finger around her necklace, she began to gaze around the tent again. She finally figured out then why she was so skittish, she had never actually been in trouble before, with some one (in this case a guy to add to the matters), and had never been farther then a few miles from her own house. This was like a toddler accidently skydiving. Truly a first time because of the age -and terrifying at that- first experience.

Shivering slightly she gazed around one more time, "Hmm, fate." She re-quoted him back. "Well sure, I guess.   My family is rather large...But the problem is-" She stood up and walked over to him, pacing in a tight circle that wobbled and veered every time she got a spurt of anger, "I never see them! At all, it's like not even having anyone around at all! That's why I'm so messed up," She snarled, swerving around a bump in the tent. "I can't even know who my own parents are?! All I get is the hand-me-down stories from my beautiful, perfectly self reliant brother who can do everything perfectly and has no troubles in his life what so ever...I just..." Trailing off she glanced down at her feet and sat down on the ground. "I-I don't know what I'm saying anymore... But, no, you're right." She sighed heavily and looked back at Mereel, "Ask of me? That is all...anyone...can ask of me." Slipping down further into a slump, she glared at the ceiling. If it was any other girl in the world, they would probably be bawling right now. Which in this case didn't really comfort her at all.

"G-glass tubes?" She stammered, looking back at him with wide eyes. Meeting his eyes she looked away awkwardly, hoping that he didn't sense the deep sense of alarm radiating from inside her bones. Slipping back into the wondering state that she had been in before, and she cocked her head to the side while she wondered, all traces of anger were practically gone. "Wow, a secret society...I always wondered when I was a very young child, what that would be like. Full of adventure, and discoveries." Her eyes twinkled brightly at the memory until they faded like a dying candle, "But, I never got the chance. After t-the "eruption" or whatever happened to me, I sentenced myself to stay confined."

Belle blushed slightly, only a tiny blush but it was still perfectly rosy pink, "Uh, hum." She grunted, closing her eyes, "Well, thanks I guess..?" Saying the last word with a little catch. She smiled cautiously, feeling a tiny bit of hope trickle into her. And quoting myself, I won't let it get to my head. Because I'm an idiot...

.:24:.

((Sorry, this took me so long! I went on an unexpected vacation (thanks mom! x3) and I have had very  little computer access. xD Thanks for being patience...I think this is an awesome RP~ I just recently re-read it all and it was pretty amusing!)

[MillietheWarrior]

Mereel watched her silently, not even bothering to comment on her anger towards her family. It was a sad thing to see; family was the most important thing in his life. It had kept him alive when he felt like nothing else would, and his family had been there to love him, and offer him something other than the cold, emotionless walls of Kamino and a lonely, empty death as a child. He shook his head gently, and leaned back against his pack, looking on as Belle ranted about her life and her family. "Don't worry," he said, patting her arm. He really had no idea what to say. And as she slumped down, he nudged her cheek with the back of his hand, his knuckles brushing against her skin.

"We all deal with the hand dealt to us. Yours is just a little harder to play the game with. But like I said, don't worry. Everything has a way of working itself out. And besides..." He reached over to pull his pack out, and handed her some dried meat. Gihaal. Dried fish meat. It had an odd odor, but it was fairly good. And it kept you from starving, that was for sure. “You have people like me around to help you out.” He shrugged as he tore off a chunk of the meat for himself, and popped it into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. Her wide-eyed surprise at his admission of his ‘birth’ was pretty standard. Everyone always found it strange.

“My childhood was not filled with adventures and discoveries...It was filled with live ordinance testing, weapons training, survival tests, and being 'put down' because I wasn't good enough. It was anything but fun...trust me.” he shrugged one shoulder, as if it meant nothing to him. But it did; he still had problems sleeping at night sometimes, and it’d even messed up Ordo, the toughest of all the Nulls. Ordo slept with a blanket covering his entire body, including his head. It was what live ordinance tests would do to children. Lightning and thunder still frightened the Nulls form time to time. Mereel blinked over at Belle. “No problem, ad’ika,” he said, smiling lightly. “You know...I don’t know if I ever asked...But why are you up here, exactly?”

[18/71]