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Christopher Drayton sighed a bit as he lounged on one of the couches in the Handler's Area on the first floor of Gentech Laboratories. It wasn't actually a LAB - and for that, he was mostly grateful. He had his charge in his lap, a cub with the label CC. He was a sickly little thing, and really didn't seem like he would live very long. Chris had been nursing the poor little one back to health, but it was slow going, and not much progress was being made. CC remained sick as ever, even after repeated attempts at various new drugs to try and perk him up a bit.

Said cub was lying with his head resting on his handler's thigh, eyes closed, and one paw tucked under him, the other by his head. His tail hung limply, the tip of it draped over his handler's other leg. He was a small thing, growth stunted by months of constant illness. Not that he seemed to mind. He was still sick, but seemed to be quite content just to rest and relax where he was.

Chris desperately wished for some company. Especially if said company knew more about these 'Layhr' than he did. He had been afraid, ever since gaining the cub, that he had been doing more harm than good. It was part of the reason he was here - to ask someone for help.

A soft scraping of the door opening resounded down the hall and Rose pushed it open, pleading with a dejected VI to follow. Ever since she brought him here and left for nearly a year, he really didn’t trust her; and especially didn’t trust this place. She sighed in thought as he cowered, shuffling in. It was just as hard on her as it was on him, it tore her apart to see him like this, but what could she do? Every month she had to come back to make a report to GenTech, and if she didn’t they’d reclaim him; and he’d certainly hate that more than just a monthly visit.
Her Crimson eyes focused on VI, she didn’t notice the others in the room until she collapsed in a chair close to the door, VI finally settling down into his familiar sprawl on the floor. Her attention caught by the slight sounds of the breathing of others, Rose brushed a lock of multihued hair behind her ear before looking at the others. The cub seemed in a sorry state, and she instantly felt horrible for him, but he at least looked content; the other Layhr, however, emitted sorrow from her as if you could see and taste it. Her beautiful fur soiled a dark red from the mutiliated wing stubs protruding from her back. Alarms were going off in Rose’s head, but she tried not to start in shock, it didn’t look like it was bleeding… it didn’t look recent at all…
“I.. I’m so sorry… I didn’t realize… If you would rather VI and I wait outside… I mean…”
She stammered shyly, not sure if maybe she was in a waiting room for medical help, both of the other Layhr looked in need of it.

His ears tucked back in disapproval, he lifted his green muzzle off the cool floor just enough to see the bundle on the man’s lap. He sniffed slightly, laying his curiosities to rest, before resettling. The man was probably disposing of the cub, seeing as how weary it was. He wouldn’t be surprised. After all, the stupid female that looked after him had abandoned him, left him right back here at this hellhole; and he wasn’t even sickly or hard to manage. VI considered calling out to the cub, but thought better of it. What had he to say? Run while you can? No… let the little thing rest while it still has the chance. No sense in him popping the little thing’s happy illusion.
The other one, the female, she seemed to understand though. A bit of sympathy welled inside of him. He could see that the wounds weren’t recent, but the torn limbs caused her grief all the same. Keeping to himself, he closed his eyes; there was nothing he could really offer in the way of comfort; and she looked like she wanted to keep to herself anyway.

Kai turned as she heard the door open, taking a couple of short steps away from the entrance to allow them both space. And, another couple of steps for the uncertainty of this green Layhr's behavior and personality. At the handler's stutterings, she shook her head, curious glance looking from handler to charge, and back again, "Sorry? What for?" A somewhat sarcastic response was offered, though this particular girl had a way of making even jokes rather gentle and meant only to provoke an ease-of-mind when dealing with concerns.

As she spoke, she'd lean back against one of the nice, clean walls- though everything was sickeningly clean in labs, wasn't it?- and slide down in a tediously slow process, her long ponytail splaying messily as it's pressed behind her head. She'd slide right down to sitting position, drawing her knees up a little closer to herself, arms crossed over her knees, hands dangling on either side lazily. "It'd be nice to have some company," She added, dipping her head ever so slightly towards Chris as if taking the liberty of including him in that assumption, "It's a free area."

As Chris spoke, though, her expression took on a more serious front, the grin having drained away as concern replaced it in observation of the little Layhr at his side. "Yes, LV is mine. She.. is being nursed too, in a way I guess you could say." Was agreed, "Do you know what's wrong with CC? They must have run tests on him..." She trailed off- she was no medical professional, and her attention would sway towards Rose in a hopeful way- perhaps she knew?

LV lifted a clawed forepaw, digging at a relatively large pillow that was more than likely meant for handlers, not for her. But it looked far more welcoming than the hard floor that she had to deal with enough in her kennel. Her handler- she wouldn't go away. No matter what cold shoulder she would give her, no matter how little she'd respond, the girl just didn't seem to get the hint. There are levels of pain which must be gone through, and perhaps a sense of bitterness has now been reached, though it too is muted through her distant blue gaze.

As she lifted herself upon the now-flattened pillow, she curled herself in a way that hid her broken pinions behind her, against the wall, though they didn't touch. Not at all. She wanted to keep them away from prying eyes, and even farther from a straying touch. The bloody marks that stained her hide were hidden with a curled fur-tipped tail that coated just enough of her to cover the most of it.

Head, despite being lowered, was higher than before, her black nose sniffed quietly towards the green one. His feelings seemed just as 'loud' as hers, and although she'd sworn away all friendship and otherwise, perhaps a word or two wouldn't hurt- she was stuck here until Kai was happy with any 'progress' anyhow. "....Hello.." Came a very small, soft voice, curiously shy and withdrawn.

Eurgh. All of these immaculately cleaned and polished floors and drab walls... There was barely anything to signal to him that he was going in the proper direction. Everything looked identical... Clutching his temporary 'Handler Applicant' card, the young man paused to irritatedly brush a wisp of pale blonde hair out of his chocolate-brown eyes. The desk attendant had said that the Handler's area was down this way, but... oh, wait a second... were those voices? Moving forward a few stiff steps due to the starched suit he was wearing (more to impress the lab staff than anything), the man strained to listen. Yes, there was definitely some conversation going on up ahead - naturally he couldn't make out any of what was being said, but that didn't matter. He was going in the right direction, and that was what counted. At the moment he reached the door to the room where he was certain that the voices had been coming from, the murmuring stopped. Somewhat awkwardly, he began to pull at the door handle before realizing that it was indeed a 'push' door. Cursing inwardly at himself for his stupidity, he finally managed to get the door open.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting anyth- Woah." The man's sentence was cut short as he noticed the three Layhr in the room, two adults and one... was that a cub? He hadn't known that cub-like Layhr existed... and the two adults were just as captivating. "Erm... um," he spluttered, standing halfway in and out of the door, completely awe-struck by the fascinating creatures in the room.

Turning her head up from her spot on the floor, her position awkward to see them both at the same time, so she'd be doing the back-and-forth glancing often during the conversation. "..How come?" Kaisumi would question Rose, curious. Perhaps she failed to notice the fact that both Layhr had medical... troubles. Though, she also didn't think of LV's trouble as medical, either, really. "You can call me Kai," Said the other, in an openly informal manner, one hand folding behind her head as a pillow against the hardness of the wall that didn't work so well with the lump of the ponytail tie on the back of her head, "And that sad-looking girl over there is LV." That note seemed to quiet the tomboy for a moment, a short frown tugging at the edges of her expression, "It's.. uh.." She would try to pull her mind away from memories and reforce a slight smile upon her face, "It's good to meet you, Roserain, and your VI."

To that note, she refocused her attention on the jaded Layhr, one brow raised, head tilted, "He seems to not like your touch all that much. Though.. admittedly LV doesn't like to be touched either. Have you been with him for awhile or just receive him?"

The struggling with the door snagged her gaze, watching the one who emerged through it- finally- with a silence until he'd speak. The first question that she could come up with for him was an obvious one, "Hey... Are you alright?"

LV extended a foreleg, letting the other drape over the first in a light, slow manner that made her seem as if nothing was meant to be rushed- life felt over before it began here in these labs. What effort could she give to it now? Words weren't her specialty, and she had no particular interest in forcing a conversation, but the shuddering she'd seen on the green one with the glowing VI moniker and his overall personality made her feel.. like maybe someone else was suffering too. She couldn't believe, in the self-hindered world that is made by a loss of love, that anyone could feel the same as her, but at least he wasn't happy- as bad as that sounds, it was true. Bubbliness, excitement.. It was like shining a spotlight in the eyes of someone with a migrain.

"...Did she do something to you?.." Came that low voice again, careful but curious.. and apparently quick to blame humans for their downfalls. The squeak of little CC made one of her long, flattened ears pull up from its plastered position, turning in his direction long before her blue eyes would follow..

Again berating himself mentally for looking like such a fool, the young man silently regained his composure, stepped inside the room, and shut the door behind him. "Sorry... I'm fine. Jerome Conor; it's a pleasure to meet you." He tried to give a polite bow, but the starchiness of his suit made it difficult. "It's just... I'm a Handler Applicant, you see-" he held up his applicant card "-but I've never actually seen a real Layhr... They're... really beautiful, huh?" The man introduced as Jerome appeared to be on the verge of sinking back into a contemplative silence, but suddenly he moved forward as if to sit on the floor. That move was interrupted by his abrupt decision to occupy an empty spot on one of the room's couches. Upholstery would probably be better for his suit than the hard linoleum floor. Sinking back into the fabric, Jerome began to relax and drifted into a state of quiet contemplation of his surroundings. He recalled some talk of a sick or injured Layhr and slowly pulled his attention towards that idea. Now, which one had they said it was...? He was fairly certain that some gesture had been made to the Layhr cub, but it didn't look injured at all... Maybe that was the sick one and one of the others was injured? His gaze passed over the two adult Layhr in turn. The finned green one appeared to be all right - disinterested and somewhat distant, but otherwise physically all right. The (rather beautiful) white Layhr didn't seem to be hurt, either, though her tail was draped over her back in such a way that he couldn't get a good view of it. Well... better to focus on what he knew. "You say your Layhr's ill?" he asked Chris, bringing his attention back to him. "I'm no vet, but I do know a thing or two about taking care of animals - I did volunteer at the local vet's office when I was a kid. I don't know how much I can help, though... What have you been trying to feed him, for starters?"

"That's thought of a lot when others see LV," Kai dipped her head in the white Layhr's direction, "I, too, sometimes think perhaps it's gotten worse, but it's all just a stain.. Mentally and physically for her. She's got a rough road, even without a 'real' injury to tend to." As Rose continued, LV's handler's gaze swept towards VI again, observing the jaded beast with a subtle curiousity, "Two and a half years? That is quite a while-" She, too, broke off as Rain did, letting her attention fall upon the new entrant.

The 'injured' Layhr's handler nodded slowly, that partial grin still just slightly tweaking her expression. Apparently, the somewhat morbid and depressing conditions upon which the others were speaking didn't affect her much, or perhaps she just wasn't paying attention. The latter seemed more likely, since her gaze had long since turned away from the ill cub. "Good to meet you as well, Jerome. An applicant, eh? You can say they're beautiful, that's true, but there's certainly more to them than looks.." The girl's shoulders bobbed in a small shrug, head leaned back against the wall with her hair splayed out against it. In essence, she looked tired, as if perhaps she had been around the facility for a good long while today, at least.

Her mind reeled slowly with the various troubles and ideas that becoming a handler involved- and the struggles that it continued to entail as time went on. Nothing really got easier, but perhaps she didn't want them to. A sigh, exhaled deeply, would bring her back to present times, dull grey-blue eyes turning upwards to peer half-distractedly at Roserain.

"Awhile back?.." She'd continue encouragingly to Rose, with the same coaxing, gentle voice that she must have used with LV.

LV seemed to withdraw a little further as another human graced the room with his presence, one hindpaw slipping from its position upon her bunched-together pillow which she had long-since claimed. Claws clicked upon the floor softly, and briefly, the paw replaced as quickly as it had fallen as if she wanted nobody to know she had moved. The pain that welled within her, which beat against her chest and paralyzed her limbs and fragile mind, throbbed yet again. The emptiness which pushed away everything that tried tirelessly to fill it, pushed away at all these voices. Why must she be surrounded all the time?

So many voices.. So many people.

Discomfort grew and shifted her form, her long fur-tipped tail fell from her body as she slowly lifted herself from her resting place. Her gentle head remained low, below her shoulders, hair fallen down across her eyes and muzzle. One soft, glowing blue eye lingered on VI as he spoke again, denoting distrust in humans- distrust which she shared. Denial, pain, bitterness.. they were all bound into one. They were all part of her loss. "They do that.. Humans do.." She agreed with a growing feeling of utter sadness, turning her gaze from him to look across to the small cub, "...I guess he doesn't know yet... about them.. That little one." LV spoke to VI again in that airey, pained voice, her reasons and diction and somewhat broken grammar laced with her own feelings and experience, her own pain and resentment. She herself didn't know exactly why she cared so much to speak to the jaded Layhr. But nevertheless, she was distanced and hollow, and seemed to be growing moreso as time went on.