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


[h3]Location: Lyra’s room → Cafeteria[/h3][/center]


Blinking, Stasya tilted her head. It seemed as if Lyra wanted her to go on without her. Something that Stasya was reluctant to do; she didn’t want the other girl to be alone. “Lyra, конечно? Хорошо? (Lyra, sure? Okay?)” The other girl nodded vigorously, even giving her a gentle push towards the door. Stasya smiled, bending to place a small kiss on her forehead. “Stasya, назад, в ближайшее время, (Stasya, back, soon,)” she said, patting the bed and tapping her wrist. 


Slipping out of the room, Stasya quietly padded through the empty hallway until she found a room that looked like a kitchen or cafeteria of some kind. A few of the other teens were already seated at one of the tables, though none of them seemed to notice her. Perhaps it was because of the quiet manner in which she entered the room, perhaps they were just that absorbed in their conversation (which, of course, she couldn’t understand), or it could be a combination of the two. Whatever the case, it suited her just fine. 


Making something simple for herself, Stasya sat down at a table not far from the other group, far enough that her presence wouldn’t disturb them, but close enough that she could still keep an eye on them. She knew that if she was ever going to get out of here, and back home, that she would likely need the help of the others. She couldn’t ask for help, not just yet, but she could still observe the others, try to get a read on them and see who would be most likely to help her. 


[hr]
[i]One week later[/i]


[center][h3]Location: Cafeteria → Auditorium[/h3][/center]



To say that Stasya was miserable this morning would be an understatement. Even if they hadn’t kidnapped her and were keeping her from her sister, she would have hated this place on principle. 


Sure, it was nice enough. The beds and rooms were lovingly furnished and comfortable. The food was good. If she had known how to swim, then she figured that she would have enjoyed the pool (the hot tub, at least, was borderline heavenly, though there had been a bit of an incident involving one of the jets, a ridge of scales running over her spine, and a shredded bathing suit bottom). Even the other teens seemed nice enough for the most part, though the Russian boy still scared her, and the other Russian girl seemed angry all the time. And her English lessons with Kara, while going slowly, were still progressing.


All in all, though, she was miserable. Comfortable beds were worthless when she kept waking up in the middle of night screaming her sister’s name, and having pretty bars doesn’t make a cage any less of a cage. With only a week of lessons, she still couldn’t communicate with others very well, despite the attempts of one or two, and she still didn’t feel comfortable speaking to the aforementioned Russians. Furthermore, not being able to communicate meant that she hadn’t learned very much at all about them. And Kara, oh how she was starting to dislike that woman. It wasn’t anything that she had done, in fact, other than Lyra, Kara had probably been the nicest person to her yet. But she was still one of [u]them[/u], one of the people keeping her from going home. Thus far, the only bright point of being there at all was Lyra, who had patiently been with her in her attempts to learn English and keep her company. She had even graciously allowed Stasya to sleep with her after a couple of particularly bad nightmares, which had helped a little. She still didn’t get a lot of sleep though, and it was starting to show around her eyes.. 


Most of all, however, she hated the voices that came over the intercom. First was the woman’s, unable to be understood but still conveying a tone that suggested everything was fine, that this was just a normal day when it was anything but. Then came the man to translate everything. He at least had the decency to not sound so cheerful, though she still loathed hearing him speak. Just another reminder of her circumstances, and her need to get out. 


This morning, however, was somewhat different. Stasya was rather surprised to learn that, instead the normal session in the morning, they would all be together again in the auditorium. That in itself made her wonder if perhaps more kids were being brought, or if something else was going to happen. Something about “working alongside others with abilities”? Stasya and Kara hadn’t done very much work towards her own “ability”; their sessions had mostly been dedicated towards her English lessons, though a couple of times Kara would take another blood sample, hair and nail clippings, and other things that Stasya didn’t want to think about. 


Unfortunately, this was going to be something she couldn’t avoid, and it might give her a chance to find out what the others could do. So, she finished up her cereal, waited for Lyra to finish, and stood up. “Готов идти? (Ready, go?)” she asked, and when her dark friend nodded she began pushing her wheelchair towards the auditorium. When they arrived, she took a position in the back, where she would be able to see everyone, and once again began watching quietly.


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