As Mina stepped in front of the door, Drake took a step or so back, not wanting to cause any trouble. His hard gaze had begun to soften as she spoke. 

[color=#A2A2A2]“You know Larke?”[/color]

Much like Mina, this came to him as a surprise, and understandably so. It wasn’t like the two had any similar history between them, so for both to have crossed paths with him certainly sang ‘it’s a small world’ loud and proud. And with this new bit of knowledge, the tension shifted and crumbled, his stubbornness withering away with it. He was left with a hollow feeling, her words ringing in his ears, conflicting with everything he knew prior about Larke.

It took the winged boy a moment to gather his thoughts long enough to explain himself.

[color=#A2A2A2]”Larke and I shared a prison cell way back when I was captured by Erubesco. It wasn’t your typical prison, granted. More of a prison/experimentation room hybrid. The scientists were trying to learn more about my self-resurrection ability, but their methods involved killing me over and over again while taking notes… It was hardly science, if you ask me. Larke was placed intentionally into my cell. They manipulated his guilt and soft heart and used him to speed up the resurrection process. He continuously healed me, only for Erubesco to kill me again. It broke his heart every time, too,” [/color]Drake relayed carefully, recalling the memory with a bittersweet taste in his mouth. 

[color=#A2A2A2]“My time in that place felt like an eternity... If it wasn’t for Larke’s company, I might very well have gone insane.”[/color]

His eyebrows furrowed, lids closing as the headache from earlier pounded harder against his temples. It was growing worse with the new information now spinning in his brain. He shook his head as if to clear it, opening his eyes, but he still seemed equally unsure of what to believe.

[color=#A2A2A2]“There’s no way… You know how Larke is, he couldn’t hurt a fly, let alone a person. And he tried to stab you? That just... That can’t be right... Larke, he-”[/color] the boy trailed off, his eyes squeezing shut as he reached to grip the table behind him for support. One hand moved to hold his head which was reeling. 

[color=#A2A2A2]“I’m sorry, Mina. I just assumed he was a stranger to everyone, that there had been some kind of miscommunication... I didn’t know he was dangerous.”[/color]

Perhaps Erubesco had done something to his friend. Maybe he was different now.

[color=#A2A2A2]“I’ve really missed a lot, haven’t I?”[/color]