[center][h1]Stasya Volkov[/h1]

[h3]Location: Session Room[/h3][/center]

(for the sake of not having giant blocks of text cluttering things up, assume this is all done in Russian)

Stasya's return to consciousness was as difficult as wading through waist-deep snow without snowshoes. Every time she tried to pull a thought together, it slipped away from her grasp, leaving her floundering in murky darkness. She didn't know how long she had been like that, but eventually she began to perceive some sensations. Faint light shining through her eyelids, indistinct murmurs, something against her wrists that was somehow soft and rough at the same time. But, nothing seemed to stick or make sense.

When she finally felt coherent enough to form proper thoughts, there were several things that she was aware of. She seemed to be reclining on a chair of some kind, and every few seconds there was a tapping sound that didn't seem to follow any particular rhythm, along with a soft humming sound. Her mouth felt like it had been filled with cotton balls and her body with lead. 

Cracking open her eyes, Stasya (with great effort) raised her head and looked around. She was in some kind of office, laying on an armless recliner. Sitting in a chair across the room  from her was a youngish looking woman with brown hair and glasses, brow furrowed as she tapped away at her tablet, a pair of earbuds in her ears. She was pretty, almost the "nerdy-girl-next-door" type, though the look was tempered by the white blouse and black skirt she wore. 

Groaning softly, Stasya tried to push herself up, but her arms jerked to a stop when she tried to raise them, causing her to look down. Brown leather straps had been buckled around her wrists, and from the feel of things they had been linked together under the recliner. Somebody had changed her clothes as well, exchanging the hospital gown for a pair of white shorts and a white t-shirt. Frowning, and becoming increasingly disturbed by what was going on, she pushed herself up the recliner awkwardly, tugging at the straps.

The woman looked up at the motion, and smiled brightly as she pulled out her earbuds. "Oh good, you're awake. Welcome back to the land of the living." Slipping her tablet into the purse at her feet, her smile became apologetic. "I'm sorry about the restraints, but... you did bite one of the guards. Left a nasty-looking wound. So, we weren't sure how you would be when you woke up."

Stasya stopped and stared at the woman. She was Russian? "Who are you?" 

The woman smiled kindly. "My name is Kara, and yes, I am Russian, just like you. I'm glad to meet you Stasya." 

"How do you know my name?" 

"I saw it when I read your medical file." She gestured to the straps. "Tell you what. I don't really think that those are necessary right now. All things considered, your reaction was pretty forgivable. You woke up in a strange place, you don't know what's going on, and then told that you can't leave, I don't blame you for getting upset. They put them on as a precaution, but I don't think you really want to hurt anybody, do you?"

Stasya didn't quite know what to make of this woman. She seemed nice enough, and her voice sounded really nice. But if she worked for the people who had kidnapped her, then she was keeping her from going home. 

"So, how about this." Kara leaned over in her chair, bracing her arms on her legs. "If you promise not to bite me, I'll take the straps off. Deal?" Again, she gave the younger girl a kind smile, eyes betraying nothing but sympathy. After a moment, Stasya nodded, and her smile broadened. "Excellent. Let's get you a little more comfortable, huh?" Rising from her chair, she unbuckled the straps and dropped them into her purse, leading the girl to the empty chair across from hers. "There we go. Doesn't that feel better?"

Rubbing her wrists, Stasya simply looked at the woman with distrust. "Where am I?" 

Looking a little off-put by her response, Kara sighed. "Well, as Elisa explained, this is a research facility for... special people. People like you, who can do unusual things that other people can't." She gestured to the scaled around Stasya's face. "We've been tasked by various governments around the world, including Russia, to determine how and why you are able to do what you do, help you control your ability so that you don't accidentally hurt yourself or those around you, and hopefully find ways that your ability can be used to help others." She smiled. "I actually asked to be assigned to you. You see, I'm a biologist, so when I heard that you were a shapeshifter, well, I just [b]had[/b] to see what you could do." Her smile turned slightly awkward. "I also minored in psychology while I was in college, I want to make sure you feel as comfortable as possible."

"Assigned?"

"Yes. Officially, I'm your "coach"," Kara said, making air quotes as she did so. "It's my job to help you learn and control what you can do, so we'll be spending a lot of time together. But," she smiled and leaned forward again, "what I'd really like, is to be your friend. I know all of this seems scary and strange, but I promise you, my top priority is to make sure that you're as happy and healthy as possible." A slight hopeful look appeared on her face. "Do you think that could happen, Stasya? Could we be friends?"

Again, Stasya remained silent. "When can I go home?"

For the first time, Kara's expression fell. "Ah. Right, that." She sighed again, looking off to the side. "I know why you want to go home. You're worried about your sister. But, until we know more about what you can do and how to control it, it's too dangerous for you to leave right now." 

"Then can I at least talk to her?" Stasya cried, moving to edge of the chair. "I want to talk to Natali!" 

For a moment, Kara looked genuinely sad, and just a little bit guilty. "That's the other thing." She bit her lip. "Stasya, I need you to believe me when I say this. I promise you it's the truth. We've tried to get in touch with your family. We really have." She sighed again. "But, the only time somebody answered, they hung up."

To say that Stasya was devastated was an understatement. A yawning pit of fear and horror opened up in her stomach, and again she felt that itching, burning sensation across her skin and scales. For a moment, Stasya thought she was going to be sick. "Please," she whispered, tears pooling in her eyes, "I have to go back."

Kara scooted forward in her chair, reaching out to tentatively place her hand on the weeping girl's knee. Stasya flinched away from the contact and retreated further into her chair. "I know you want to go back. But for the time being, you have to stay here. If you go back now, there's no telling what might happen." She smiled sympathetically. "Think of it this way. What if you go back, and then something happened, and you accidentally hurt Natali?"

A chill ran down Stasya's back so fast it was like someone had injected ice water directly into her spine. The fear that she had felt before was magnified ten-fold, and she wanted to burrow deeper into the chair. 

However, as she looked at the other woman, that fear began to be replaced by a growing sense of outrage and disgust, and the itching in her skin moved to inside her teeth and fingers. How [b]DARE[/b] they try to use Natali against her like that! How dare they try to use her sister to manipulate her. This... woman, had no idea what she been forced to endure, what she had had to do. She didn't even care that Kara had a point; if they had genuinely cared about her well-being, they would have let her see her sister before taking her to... wherever she was. 

No, she was just an interesting science project to this woman. Unfortunately, she [b]was[/b] right. Stasya couldn't take the chance that she might accidentally harm her sister. So, if they wanted to see what she could do, then she would play along. [b]That[/b], at least, she was good at by now. Fixing the most defeated expression on her face that she could, Stasya nodded. "Okay."

Kara smiled, reaching towards her again, then withdrew her hand. "Thank you, Stasya. I know this is hard for you. I promise, we'll keep trying. But for now, let's just focus on you, and maybe once you have better control over this, we'll see about trying to bring Natali here to see you, okay?"

Stasya had no doubt that the woman was lying through her teeth. In fact, she doubted that they had made much effort to reach her family. But, she simply nodded again, drawing her knees to her chest. "What happens now?"

"Now? Not much." Kara shrugged. "Honestly, this was mostly just a chance for you and I to meet and talk. I do need to take a blood sample from you though, so that our lab guys can see what your DNA tells us. Is that okay? Your ability really is fascinating."

Nodding, Stasya let her legs relax as she rolled up her sleeve. A thought occurred to her, and she looked at her "coach" as the woman retrieved a small kit and tied off a tourniquet over the scales on her upper arm. "Where did these clothes come from?"

Kara smiled as she ran her fingers along the inside of her elbow, gently flicking the skin. "I picked them out for you. I figured they might be a little more comfortable than that hospital gown you had before. Now, this might hurt just a little bit, so take deep breaths." Inserting the needle, she pulled back on the plunger, watching the syringe fill up with red blood. "I'm really looking forward to getting to know you better, Stasya."

[i]I bet you are,[/i] Stasya thought to herself, biting her tongue as she looked away. 

Gently pulling out the needle, Kara pressed a small cotton ball to the pinprick, holding it in place with a band-aid. "There we go, all done. That wasn't so hard, was it?" Placing the syringe of blood into her kit, she sat down and smiled again. "That's it. Unless you have any other questions you'd like answered now, you can head back to your room. I know that you don't know any English, which is going to make it a little hard for you to interact with the others, so as part of our sessions I could teach you. Would you like that?"

Stasya nodded. Being able to communicate with the others was definitely going to be helpful, especially if that Lyra girl needed help again. They'd gotten lucky with the wheelchair announcement and the translator, but Stasya wasn't going to rely on these people unless she absolutely had to. Because Kara was wrong about two things: they were [b]not[/b] going to be friends, and Stasya [b]was[/b] going to go home. 

And when she did, they had better hope that her father hadn't laid so much as a [b]finger[/b] on Stasya's baby sister.