Voice

Hoarse

 The room seemed vacant. The only sound being the sniffles of a girl-currently turned towards him with watery eyes dyed in a red tint.

He continued to sit red eyes watching her loosely. 

Outwardly, she seemed to be fine, however mentally...that was a different matter all together.

A sniff and she glanced down, bundling herself and stared at her feet. 

The wall of embarrassment flowing in waves from her form.

She had heard him. 

She saw him sitting there.

She had also been hiding from two of her tormentors not too long ago.

(E/C) turned in his direction once more. His form was relaxed, though he was sitting cross legged.

The only sound she heard was her sniffling and his previous question floating in the air.

'Why are you crying?'

No one had asked her that before. Not when they took all but two pairs of her clothes, to the back of the house and burned them.

Not when they took all of her parents possessions and split them among themselves.

And most certainly, not when they were tormenting her, bullying, cutting her hair, and physically if not mentally harming her.

All the voice from them spoke was:

'Oh look, she's crying.'

Swallowing thickly, she turned her head towards him and to the best of her ability spoke as clearly as she could without choking.

"I- don't like it here."

The sound was ragged, scratchy.

The signs of a strained voice. 

Shortly after her tears resurface, the plague of a thousand memories none good breaking to the surface.

She tried clumsily with her arms to wipe them away. 

He stared through her, a faint feeling bubbling, working it's way to the surface. He seemed agitated.

He could feel it as he looked at her. The eyes were not the only thing they had in common. 

She was the same as him,  a demi-human, in this day and age where they have grown extinct long ago.

Perhaps the source of his agitation was this?

Or simply because she was where she did not belong.  Time and time again what it is different is treated with scrutiny, unfortunately, she was the victim of that scrutiny though had she been born in older times, she would be as normal as the air others breath. 

The reasoning seemed to no longer matter as his voice flowed out not with the inquiry within his mind, but with another probing  line of wording.

"Why is that?"

"....."

He was met with silence that he did not wait for. He continued speaking as if he had received an answer, his eyes still passing through her. 

It was quiet simple to deduce her line of thinking, the source of the problem being found. 

"You think running away and hiding will solve everything?"

She sniffled and watery eyes turned his way a silent reply transmitting through them as her shoulders shook.

"Poor child, nothing changes unless you force it. Bloodshed and pain are taken in daily life, it's a given part of the cycle. Hiding and running solves nothing, only prolonging the inevitable. Your secluded state is entirely your own doing."

"N-no it..is not, I- did not-hing wrong! I- tried b-but.."

His sigh broke the scratchy and bubbling reply, her crying making full sentences break into segments. Slowly he rose to his full height, red eyes glancing down at her.

"I suppose-"

Turning to her fully, he placed one hand on his hip as he watched her. 

She was secluded for far too long, her sobbing and whispering to herself told tales of how long she has been hiding...running from them.

People who have been playing this game, they could have ended it by burning the house with her in it. 

Since they have yet to do so, meant there was a reason they couldn't.

The girl still had a chance at a normal life. 

Narrowing his eyes, he watched as she shivered and balled her self in reaction to his narrowing gaze.

She was weak. Mentally weak, the girl lost the most important weapon a person has. 

Her voice. 

It was hoarse, soft spoken, weak, lacked a strength in it that compelled people to listen. 

They took her voice from her. 

And she unknowingly allowed them to.

The heave of his lungs gave a smug remark as he reopened red eyes that seemed to glow as the corners of his lips twitched. 

He approached her, watching as she seemed to shrink with his every step.

And when he bent down on his haunches, when his red glowing eyes met her own, the trade mark of a full smirk was in play.

She swallowed hard and despite her best efforts, for the first time in years she looked someone in the face and manage to maintain eye contact for more than a few seconds. 

'What will they do when I give that back?'