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[[div class="blockquote"]] [[[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/friday-morning/offset/0|06:58, Cafeteria]]] [[[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/friday-morning/offset/1|07:23, Cafeteria]]] [[[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/friday-morning/offset/2|07:48, Third Floor Lounge]]] [[[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/friday-morning/offset/3|09:32, Executive Wing Offices]]] [[[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/friday-morning/offset/4|10:42, Site-17 Hallways]]] [[[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/friday-morning/offset/5|11:23, Humanoid Common Room]]] [[[Friday afternoon |Afternoon]]] [[[Friday night |Night]]] [[/div]] "Iwona? You there?" Dave called out as he pushed the door to the third-floor lounge, the sun casting the room in a warm light. "I'm here," a quiet, measured voice replied. Dave let out a sigh of relief - of course, he knew Iwona wouldn't try to fly the coup, but he never felt great when she didn't know where she was. Granted, this was the first place he looked. Despite the view, the lounge was too out of the way to see much use, and he knew that appealed to her. The bare furnishings served only to provide a clearer view of the mountain overlook outside, which had become Iwona's favorite painting subject. With a twinge of guilt, Dave figured there wasn't much else that was nice to look at in Site-17. Dave ran his hand through his hair and made his way over to her. "Look, I know you won't do anything," he said as he took up a spot next to where she was standing with her easel. "You just need to do what we talked about with telling the staff when you move around." The new head of Humanoid Containment seemed sympathetic to their relationship, at least, but seeming like he was ignoring protocol for a humanoid would look very, very bad for a member of the security team. "I did," Iwona replied, looking up from her unfinished painting to face Dave and point towards the far wall. He followed her finger to see a health tech slumped over in a chair, either sleeping or so tired the distinction didn't matter. Dave had half a mind to scold him - as an ex-task force operator, he should probably act tougher - but he had other fish to fry. "Alright, that's fine." He turned back to look at Iwona's reddish-brown eyes. "Why'd you leave the cafeteria, though?" A short pause, which would have seemed natural if Dave didn't know her cadence so well. "I brought food up here, so I've already eaten." She gestured to a tray sitting on a table a few feet away with scraps of eggs still on it. Dave pursed his lips. "Iwona." "I just wanted to get up here while the sun was still rising. I need to work on the way I draw lighting." She broke eye contact for just a second, barely noticeable. She was being evasive, but pushing her wasn't going to go anywhere. Deciding to just drop it for the time being, Dave turned to look out at the view. It //was// quite nice, now that the trees were starting to bud again, even if the sun could be a little harsh. Iwona took that as a cue to get back to work on her painting. It had taken her years to find something she was truly, genuinely interested in, and only a few short weeks to figure out how to use it as an excuse. In some ways, at least, she was still like any other kid. After a minute, though, Dave figured he should probably cut to the chase and cleared his throat. Iwona's grip on her paintbrush tightened. "So, I was, uh... speaking with Miss Rodgers." "That's nice," Iwona deadpanned without looking up. "There's a precedent for reclassifying SCPs who qualified for the designation on technicalities as CPOIs now," Dave continued, the rehearsed explanation feeling awkward to say aloud. "That... would mean you, Iwona." Iwona's brush fell at an odd angle, and she puffed some air through her nostrils at the inconvenience. "I see," was all she offered in response. A marked improvement from the way she used to just stare at him when he tried speaking to her. After giving her a moment to think about that, Dave realized either she didn't see where he was going with this, or she didn't want to. He took a deep breath. "Provided a history of good behavior - which you have - it's possible for CPOIs to be reclassified as POIs." Iwona stopped painting, still looking at her canvas. David waited another moment before clarifying "It would mean you wouldn't be considered a contained-" "I know what it means." She placed her paintbrush back down on her easel. She took a moment to compose her thoughts. "However, I find such a thing unlikely. Pigmentation has still not returned to my hair or eyes fully, and such irregularities may-" "Iwona, please." Dave cut her off, guilt coiling in his chest. He knew how she was going to react, but part of him was hoping she'd at least be more open to the idea. "Look, we can - we can dye your hair if we need to... Would you look at me, please?" His voice was almost pleading. Iwona turned to look up at Dave with a soft exhale from her mouth. Her brow was a little bit furrowed, in that way it got when she didn't want to have a conversation. Like when he told her about the Foundation's child education program, or when they had The Talk. He wished he could have seen it more. It felt like all they could talk about was the Foundation. Not boys at school he disapproved of, not her first parking ticket. He couldn't give her any of that. At least not before. "I don't see the benefit of what will probably be a difficult process," Iwona countered. Dave felt the urge to put his head in his hands. Of course she didn't, he wasn't ever able to show her. "I could - we could - pull a few strings," he said thoughtfully. "Get you into a good college where you could study art, you know. You'll be 18 soon." Well, probably. Dave just sort of picked her 'birthday' based on the doctor's best estimates when they found her. "I don't think there's anything they could teach me anything that Dr. Laurent can't," Iwona said through pursed lips. Dave failed to hold in a sigh. "Iwona, Laurent is //nice,// but he spent two years in art school three decades ago. I wouldn't call him an expert." "I still have a lot to learn from him." Iwona turned back to look out at the trees. "And... I've got everything I want right here. I don't see a reason to leave that." "Iwona, I..." Dave gritted his teeth. "There's a lot more things to paint that this one view." "It's a nice view." "I've seen better." His eyes trailed down to the canvas. The way she drew the tree bark looked much better than when she had started years ago, but she'd spent those years only drawing the same kind of bark. Of course she'd be good at it. He wondered if she'd be as good at painting birchwood bark. Probably not. "I'm satisfied with it." She stared out towards the sun, a static gaze toward the horizon. Dave frowned. "But don't you want to-" "Why should I?" Iwona cut him off. Her expression barely changed, but her hands balled into fists around her shirt. "Is it wrong that I'm happy?" Dave's stomach dropped. Did she really think that? Did she have such a stunted frame of reference? "I just..." He struggled to find the right words, looking out at the horizon. "I want what's best for you, is all." A moment of silence. A breeze blew through the trees, and Dave began wondering if he had held Iwona up for so long that the lighting had changed and he'd ruined her painting, and that was all he had accomplished. "I know." Iwona broke the silence with a mumble. Tearing his eyes back to the cold interior, Dave smiled at Iwona. "Would you at least consider it?" Her unhappy expression stayed, but she picked her paintbrush back up. "...I'll think about it." "Thank you," Dave said with a nod. Well, it was something. Maybe it would be best for him to let her think - girls her age tended to hate anything they were told to do by their... guardian? Caretaker... figure? Whatever Dave was to her. And if he just had to let her mull things over, it gave him more time to deal with his job. Though, uh, wait, would that be prioritizing his job over his... responsibility? No, that was a bad thing to call a person. His person-to-be-guardianed - uh, no, guarded? His- "I just wasn't any good at it, is all," Iwona blurted out in the silence. Dave blinked at the rare unprompted sentence from her. "What?" "All this... talking. I don't know any of them as well as I know you," she clarified, furtively glancing toward him. "You say the same things all the time. I know how to talk to you. I didn't know any of them. So I left." "What do you-" Then it clicked. //The cafeteria,// Dave thought. She must have known he didn't buy her reasoning for leaving early. Iwona nodded once before returning to her painting. This was all somewhat frustrating to Dave, though he should have seen it coming. The whole reason he wanted her to participate in the socialization thing in the first place to work on that. Dave squinted as the gears in his head started turning. "If I, um... get someone for you to talk to, will you try again later?" A moment passed. Then several. The tech stirred, but didn't get up. Iwona blankly scrutinized her canvas. Then, just as Dave was going to say something, she let out a quiet "...Maybe." That was something, for sure. "Alright," Dave said as he straightened out his shirt, "I'll go see what I can do and get outta your hair. Just make sure you tell that guy when you want to leave." He turned around and started making his way back toward the more populated sections of the site. "Wait," Iwona called back, turning her head ninety degrees. She waited a moment to be sure that he had stopped before continuing. "You wouldn't be bothering me if you stayed, if that's what you mean." Dave sighed again, though not out of tiredness or frustration. "Do you want me to stay?" "I just meant you wouldn't be a bother. I didn't want any miscommunication." Iwona turned back to her painting. "That's all." Well, she never was the best at expressing herself. Glancing at his watch, Dave figured he had some time to spare as long as he picked up the slack later. Overseeing an anomaly was a decent enough excuse anyways. He picked up a chair and placed it a respectful distance behind Iwona and looked out at the climbing sun as Iwona began humming, just barely audible. [[div class="footer-wikiwalk-nav"]] [[=]] << [[[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/friday-morning/offset/1|07:23, Cafeteria]]] | [[[devils advocate hub|Devil's Advocate Hub]]] | [[[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/friday-morning/offset/3|09:32, Executive Wing Offices]]] >> [[/=]] [[/div]]