So we just skirt the hallway sides, a phantom and a fly
The Shins, Phantom Limb
ii
Chela didn’t know these people, but she could feel the halfling breaking under the weight of the room. Perhaps the stress of the situation was too much for her. Maybe she was even experiencing negative effects from the infusion. Regardless, Chela was done being represented by this splintering envoy. And as exposed as she felt, a vulnerable alpha forced to bond with a new pack, she was also troubled by her ignorance of this place, this predicament, this day. Is it day? Confusion raked across her brain, and she reacted impulsively, instinctually, wondering if a wolf howl’s at the moon in rapture or in dominance.
The voice rose out of her throat like trapped gas, a relief but not to be shared in polite company. “No, she’s not alone,” she said to the door beside her, ashamed to be neglecting the same advice of silence she’d only just recently demanded from the halfling. She brushed the feeling aside, rationalizing that she’d been forced to trudge the path of negotiation by her wayward acquaintance. She would nevertheless use this development to her advantage. “Why are we locked in here?”
Of course, she could have assumed one of the many answers to her question, safety of the minister being chief among them. Someone was trying to practice blood ministration on a large scale, but there was no telling how unpredictable the results might be. Someone, Chela could easily imagine, might react poorly to being experimented upon, exacting violence against the perpetrator if given the chance. Then there was always the possibility of transformation to contend with. If Chela were of the malignant mind to conduct blood healing on an unwilling participant, she probably would have taken even stronger precautions; chains came to mind.
The voice from beyond the door seemed not at all surprised by the turn in conversation or the addition of another voice, but Chela was convinced she could hear a degree of giddiness rise in its reply. “W-well I certainly couldn’t have you just… running off, could I? N-no no, that would have been… irresponsible of me. That would have been wrong, letting the children go off into the great big world without a word of caution.”