Wonderer's Wish World 2: Evolutionary Rebirth

Normal Day at Work

Day 11

Time: 10:38 PM

Location: Docking Station, Fourth Moon Quarter

Darius shifted uncomfortably in his plastic chair, feeling like a bad kid that had gone to the principal's office to be chewed out. He'd had his fair share of being on adult's bad sides (although he was usually in the right), but that didn't mean that he had ever gotten used to it.

Besides, being forced to sit in a chair in front of the person who was supposed to chew him out, at some mysterious time, while they weren't even looking at him, just letting him stew in silence and his own fear while they shuffled around some papers was pure psychological torture. Darius felt like he was almost on the edge of confessing everything.

But finally, just as it was on the tip of his tongue, the person stopped, setting aside the paper and sitting up, crossing their hands in a steepled pose in front of them. On the edge of their desk, Darius saw a modest name plaque reading 'Luya', along with their pronouns.

So, this was who Luya was. Darius had instantly recognized what made Ai like them so much, as Luya had this powerful, calm energy about them, and, even though they had a perpetual smile on their face, Darius couldn't tell what they were thinking. He'd think they were cool if he wasn't so terrified.

"So, Darius Bowman," they finally said, and they had a low, airy voice that would probably imply pleasantries and politeness no matter what they were saying. "You certainly took your time getting here."

Darius shrugged, trying to seem casually, though the motion actually came off as more stilted and awkward. "W-Well, it's a long way from the guard tower, so..."

"And you came from straight there?"

Luya knew the answer to that, and Darius knew they knew the answer to that, but his next words came out as a lie anyway.

"Well, yeah," he said weakly. "Where else would I have come from?"

"That's true," Luya mused, but Darius easily saw the quirk of their mouth. They were doing this for their own amusement, apparently. "Where else could you have come from? And yet... the door to your tower was not opened. Can you pass through walls, Bowman?"

Darius stayed silent. He really had no defense, lie or not, for that, did he? So he didn't say anything at all.

But Luya seemed to think that was funny, too, and they laughed. "Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you. In fact, I should be thanking you for giving us the chance to talk. But don't get me wrong, you still are in very big trouble."

Darius gulped. For the moment, he decided to ignore that last part. "Why... did you want to talk, again?"

Luya stood up suddenly, moving around the desk to lean against the front of it. Darius leaned away from them as they studied him intensely through narrowed eyes. He couldn't meet their eyes as he looked down at his hands, feeling as if he was on a microscope. He had so much to hide... he really was in a den of snakes right now.

"May I see your Red Box?" Luya asked, not unkindly. Darius' head snapped us; he hadn't been expecting them to say that. His eyes were met with an outstretched hand, with the palm up and open.

Darius blinked. Out of all the things he had to hide, he hadn't thought The Red Box would be one of them, and still he hesitated. For some reason, he felt as if Luya should not see The Red Box, but the reasoning for that feeling alluded him.

"Bowman," Luya said, and Darius jolted. There wasn't any malice or danger in what they said, but Darius knew it was a threat, or, at the very least, the reminder of a threat. Darius forcibly shook up that feeling and held out his wrist.