Water Bender of DC

-{ Adapting }-

-[Wayne Manor, Gotham City]-

After Dick dragged off Tonraq, Bruce went into his office to work through his emails. Alfred, after he finished up in the dining room, went into Bruce's office shortly after.

"What do you think of the kid, Alfred?" Bruce asked as he looked up from where he was sitting.

"I do believe he is in need of help, sir. He was very tense, as if preparing himself for something. And he obviously has had bad experiences pretaining to food. He watched you the whole meal as he took each bite. But these behaviors would have to be learned and conditioned." Alfred assessed as he stood in the middle of the room.

"Yeah, I came to the same conclusions." Bruce agreed as he began to think.

"I don't know what the situation is with his parents, but I'll start documenting his progress." Bruce said as he went back to his computer.

"I will inform you on what happens whenever I am present." Alfred stated with a nod as he excused himself from the room. Bruce just continued on with his work as he thought about the steps he needed to take with the kid.

—

Through the halls of the manor Dick led Tonraq, while randomly having a semi one sided conversation or explaining something that they past or looked at. By the time they finished the little tour it was time for lunch, so Dick led them back to the dinning room. Everyone sat in the same spot, Tonraq was again surprised to be given food, and he continued to watch Bruce's reactions as he ate. When everyone was finished Alfred again praised Tonraq for finishing his portion, and cleared off the table, but this time no one got up.

"I'm not sure any of us are ready for this mess, but we do still need to go get you some things." Bruce spoke up looking towards Tonraq, who seemed a little confused and worried, but he tried to keep an indifference towards it.

"We'll have to start with clothes and other immediate needs, we can set a aside a different time for other items later on." Bruce thought out loud while also explaining the concept of his plan to Tonraq. And at this point Tonraq was just along for the ride.

Once everything seemed settled the four went into the city, and so far everything was going well. To avoid the media Bruce took Tonraq to a more discreet, little shop to get measured for his size and matched for complementary colors. Which could have gone a little better, as Tonraq remained tense, flinched many times, and he even decked the guy doing the measurements when he suddenly came up behind Tonraq. But in the end they managed to make an order for the clothes needed, as they could always come back if they needed something for a different occasion.

Next and last thing on the list was just basic hygiene stuff, which took a lot longer than they had expected. Tonraq was already very uncomfortable, stressed, disoriented, and exhausted, but they still needed to get this over with. So in the end they went with the things that Tonraq was drawn to since he wouldn't out right say he liked anything. After the whole ordeal they went back to the manor, put everything in the room Tonraq was given, Alfred gave him a treat, and they left him alone afterwards.

-[Tonraq]-

To say that I was confused would be a complete understatement. Today alone I was given two complete meals and a treat. I wasn't asked to do anything besides follow Dick for a bit and stand still to be measured, and when I punched that guy I wasn't even in any trouble. They even gave me the things they got, told me that the room I stayed in was now mine, I could organize everything however I wanted, and that I could also go wherever I wanted within the property. However I am still very skeptical about how I am currently being treated since my mind is still denying that there isn't any other motives behind Bruce gaining my trust. So for the time being I'll take it a step at a time, and push for the boundaries to see where they are.

And that's exactly what I did for the next couple of weeks. I walked around exploring and memorizing the layout of the property, I even picked up a couple things to get a better look at it, at one point I even moved a couple things to see what would happen, and got more comfortable with Bruce and Alfred, which led me to be closer to the two at about arms length.

Nothing really changed during this time and that put my mind more at ease. It also led me to do more things like helping out here and there, finally changing things the the room, and the most recent thing I wanted to do after dinner. Alfred was clearing the table as usual, and both Bruce and Dick were still sitting, so I built up the courage to go through with this.

"Very good, young master. More than the last." Alfred spoke as he grabbed my plate.

"Tonraq." I suddenly spoke up gaining the attention of all three present. They seemed both shocked and excited at the same time, so I remained silent to let them process what just happened and to gage their reactions.

"Your name?" Bruce asked being the first to snap out of his shock, and I nodded in confirmation.

"'Tonraq', I like your name. It sounds cool." Dick spoke next with excitement.

"Well master Tonraq, it is good to finally know your name." Alfred spoke with a small smile before he walked away. And after he walked out so did the other two, also with a smile, then it was like nothing happened. After seeing that nothing happened I calmed down and left as well, and to tell you the truth, I felt happy.

After the fact, they started to frequently call me by my name. I got closer, more comfortable with them. I could now stand within their reach. I gave slight verbal confirmations. I even began to train slightly again, even though it was just going through the motions. And before I knew it it had already been a month since I came here.