Thread: Love is for Suckers [Goody + Incendo]

Yet again, Howe was struck by how articulate she was, even as he listened to her story with a growing amount of empathy for her. It was in particular ironic because the drama on the TV screen currently playing at a low enough volume for them to converse without it being too distracting, actually had sapien characters on the show. Pets of the main family that the story followed and very minor background characters. They were played by Frith, their makeup and costumes exaggerated to make them look like grimy little animals who couldn't take care of themselves, given false teeth to cover the dual canine fangs all Frith had. And all of them talked in stilted American, their sentences simple, articulating simple thoughts, and usually missing important grammatical connectors like the or and. The contrast, as Amina told him her story, while a sap character mumbled in pigeon-talk on screen actually struck him as slightly amusing. They did all take for granted how unreal television was, while at the same depending on it to inform the general society how general society was supposed to live. Howe had been a little nervous when she mentioned being on the run but as she explained it, he realized it wasn't something she'd done intentionally. And it made sense that even when the Catchers brought them in, she would have been spared and sent back to the Farms rather than the Blood Bank. Generally, runaway saplings were treated with a bit more leniency, up until they reached the age of sexual maturity when they were considered as grown as they were going to get. Saps past that threshold who ran away were sent to the blood banks without any considerations or caution, since it was found that once they had a particular mindset to escape, they could spread such sentiments to others. When her hand touched his, her skin smooth against his own and pleasantly warm, Howe felt momentarily drawn by it. It was gone way too quickly but at the same time he was grateful she'd drawn away, since his first instinct had been to flip his hand over and slide his fingers between hers to capture more of her warmth. That certainly wouldn't be appropriate though and to stave off the spiraling thoughts as he tried to reason why or why not he couldn't hold the hand of his pet, he turned to her again. You 'know what happened'? he asked. The blood banks, you mean? He pressed his lips together and heaved a silent sigh through his chest. Mostly talking to himself, he intoned, All saps of breeding age who runaway and are caught are sent there without prejudice. No trials, no interviews. Just shipped off to become a sleeping blood bag until their veins collapse from too much daily draining. One thing that makes me glad I'm not a Catcher anymore. Howe moved his lips over his teeth in a mild show of disgust, his expression softening as he looked at Amina again. That use to piss me off to no end the way they'd do that. Especially since 'breeding age' means any female sap that has bled and any male that has mated. Which can be as early as 15 or 16 for some of them. It's a rough time for saps, I hear, when their blood changes and they mature. So a lot of what I went chasing after were little more than saplings who'd gone through those changes. I always thought they could be retrained if we put in the effort and programs. Howe shook his head and shrugged, basically telling her that it never went over well when he'd tried to advocate for such silly things. And worse, when I knew the Farms they ran from and could understand why they had. Not that a sap is ever entitled to run but... Well, let's just say some Farms do the bare minimum to maintain their license, leaving a lot of saps in poor conditions. Which they'll keep doing because poorer restaurants will still buy such saps. He shook his head again, having depressed himself and inadvertently reminded himself of that loser, Dr. Powell. It was because of Howe's tendency towards sympathy for saps that the good Doctor had put in his original assessment for his Enforcer interview that Howe might not be stable enough for the job. Thank the Light that the higher ups had read between the lines of the report and given him a chance anyway. Reminded of her sweet promise to never run from him, Howe gave Amina a smile and pet her hair, his hand lingering on the back of her head before falling away, fingertips tingling with the silken impression of the golden strands still ghosting across his flesh. You're a good girl, he said with a nod. I'm in charge of you, of course. But I'm hoping to keep you for as long as I can. So, I'd like to make sure you're comfortable and happy, Amina. Boundaries, he tried to remind himself but took a deep breath and brushed it aside as he continued. If...there's anything that makes you unhappy, please let me know and I will see if it's something I can fix. Some things will not be pleasant and I can't change. And of course, you're never to order me to do anything. ...But if I can make things easier, I will.