Eli remained in his still position, his fingers tightly wound through his hair, pulling at it slightly. The pain created by this action was small, but assisted in him centering himself back in the present. The flashbacks from a simple touch was painful, and he could feel his enotions reeling. It was hard for him to pull himself back, but he had found, albeit unhealthy, ways of doing so. He was never seen in short sleeves for a reason, he did not wish to discuss his scars. 

He started at the feeling of power that filled him, his eyes snapping open and he looked around the room, before focusing on the view of the northern lights. The vibrant colors danced against each other, a natural light show, one he had read about and wished to see in person. He wished to travel the world, to view all the wonders. But alas, here he was, trapped in the institute with others of insane powers and sent to fight monsters. He shook his head, lowering his gaze back to the ground. The wonders of the world did nothing to help him, only wish for what cannot be.

His eyes closed again as the muscles in his back and arms rippled, once again reflecting on how severely the touch of the guard effects him. At least he is able to bring himself back under control in those immediate moments of flashbacks. He drew in a shaky breath, withdrawing himself once again from the world around him. He began slowly capartmentalizing his thoughts, shoving most deep down within his mind to try to avoid thinking about them. However, they always lingered, always in the back of his mind of how he could simply end his suffering. 

A frown was pulling at his lips when he was greated by Cynthia, the frown disappearing from his lips and replaced with a neutral look, he opened his eyes. He sat back in the chair, his hands lowering from the hair at the back of his head. He looked at her, a very small, yet slightly genuine smile pulling at his lips. He and Cynthia had an odd relationship. They understood one another, to an extent. He found it easier to speak to her, the times that he felt willing to do so. He cleared his throat slightly," Hi."

His fingers played with the cut of his sleeve, pondering her question briefly before answering, his voice nearly uncannily even, attempting to not reveal much of his emotion about his topic. "Nothing new... per say. I've been doing slightly better, they still don't trust me anywhere without some sort of supervision," His fingers drifted down his sleeve, brushing over his skin as his voice dropped lower," I assume they dislike when we purposely do things to hurt ourselves..." [I]But it's fine if they hurt us...[/I] His thoughts interjected his speech, a mildly sour look crossing his face before fading as he continued to speak," how about you? How have you been?"