“I left Artemo someplace safe,” Alyssia quietly said, not adding any more details. "And I've come to pay you back."

The first part of Alyssia's speech, Arthur could understand. The alien woman was very overprotective when it came to her younger brother and it made sense that she wasn't willing to share details regarding his whereabouts. he was quite literally her reverse scale, the one weakness anyone could exploit to control her. the fact that the American government had done so already meant her paranoia was definitely warranted.

The second sentence that she'd spoken had Arthur a lot more excited. Whilst he would have healed Artemo regardless of the behest of the researchers at the underground bunker, he'd be lying if he said he'd done so merely out of an altruistic sense of doing the right thing. Sure the young child had reminded him of his sister, and he was happy with how things had played out, he wouldn't say no to a little reward for his good deeds.

“So what are you planning to do now that you have your freedom? You are in a whole new dimension now. Are you planning to get back home?” Arthur asked, trying to make idle conversation before getting into the meat of matters.

Alyssia smirked at him.

"Stop trying to be polite." She chuckled. "I can see that you're dying to ask a question."

She shook her head with a wry smile on her face.

"You humans have very strange communication protocols. It's amazing the lengths you go to, to make someone happy. What's the word for it?" She mused. "I saw it on one of your strange shows on a picture box. Aha, that's it." Alyssia grinned as realisation dawned on her.

"Ass licker. That's what you are. An ass licker."

She seemed so proud of herself, a massive smile on her face as if she'd managed to figure out the nuance of algebraic division, so happy and carefree. Arthur put his head in his hands and rubbed at his temples.

"Okay, I think we need to censor what content you have access to. TV shows are not an accurate representation of the human race. Well, she isn't wrong though, a voice whispered in the back of Arthur's head. You've bent over backwards to avoid any conflict you can with people in charge. Sure, he'd done it because it was the smart thing to do, but he'd let a lot of people get away with way too much in recent times.

Case in point, his latest meeting with the government. General Bradley had literally admitted to stealing his blood and using it as a trade resource. Sure, he'd gotten a new skill out of it, and he'd yet to choose another item, but that was definitely a line the old him wouldn't let anyone cross. Heck, in retrospect, it was amazing how meek he'd been. They'd stolen his blood, made a killing off of it, and only offered him a selection of scraps to choose from as his compensation. Bradley had the audacity to say they'd offer the purify skill to someone else if I didn't want to work for the government but they paid for it with my blood in the first place. What the fuck! I need to go slap that cunt in the face.

"Ah, there's that look in your eye," Alyssia said, a knowing smirk on her face. "I'm not dumb, Arthur. I know what I said."

"I meant it. Ever since I've met you, you've been kissing ass. Bradley's, Bryan's, The evil doctors, heck, even mine."

Arthur didn't know what to say. Alyssia's blunt delivery, and the genial smile she'd maintained whilst insulting him, left him at a loss for words. He felt a spark of rage ignite in his chest, only to be snuffed out by his self-control. Now wasn't a time to get angry.

"See," Alyssia chirped. "You got angry right now, at least your aura shows you did. It literally screamed at me. But you did nothing. Your aura says you want to slap me, but your face looks as placid as ever. It's like you're not in sync with yourself. There's a word for it in my language. I don't know how it'll translate with the myriad tongues, but we used to call Aito."

She repeated the word when she saw the confusion on his face and this time he got something. Disassociation. That's the meaning his skill gave him. It wasn't a perfect reflection of her intent, but it was the best he it currently gave him.

"What did your skill tell you? It looks like you understood something." She asked.

Arthur quickly explained what he knew about the condition. He wasn't a mental health expert by any means, but he did know a little with all his experience with therapy the past half year. Alyssia listened to his explanation carefully, asking questions when she didn't quite get things. She was, all things considered, one of the best listeners Arthur had ever come across. It was so easy talking to her and he found himself forgetting the fact that she'd started this conversation by calling him a bitch.

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"Okay. I think I've got it. I need to thank Ma for making me carry that annoying skill around all the time. It seems like Myriad Tongues isn't so useful for you. It wasn't a perfect translation, but it's close enough."

Arthur took a sip from the tea he'd prepared.

"So is this where you tell me where you get off insulting me?" Arthur asked frostily. he couldn't help but let a little anger leak its way into his speech.

This time it was Alyssia's turn to look confused.

"What do you mean? Insult you. I merely told you the truth. I thought you'd get angry because you didn't want to face it, not because you thought I was bringing your character into question."

Alyssia sighed and mumbled something under her breath.

"Why would I even insult you?" She asked, stupefied. "The first words I said was that I wanted to help you. And when I called you an ass licker, I did it with a smile on my face. If I was trying to hurt you, I'd have been frowning. Maybe even laughing, but the context wouldn't work here." Alyssia muttered, waving her hands in the air. She looked quite flustered. It was obvious enough that even he noticed it.

Arthur raised his hand to get her to stop explaining herself.

"Okay. I think I get what's going on here. It's a cultural difference. Maybe things are different for the Alverin, but humans insult each other with a smile on their faces all the time. Most of the time actually. It annoys a person more." Arthur explained.

The shock on Alyssia's face was so cartoonish, Arthur wished he could take a picture. He didn't think the woman would appreciate that though, so he kept the impulse to himself.

"You humans are insane," Alyssia whispered. "I've seen thousands of interactions already, thousands, where your people said horrendous things whilst smiling. I thought it was all advice." She trailed off, a look of rage coming across her face.

"You mean all the times that female doctor called me a bumbling idiot, she was insulting me." She asked in a quiet voice.

"If you're talking about the old woman in charge of your brother's care, then yes, Alyssia, I think she was insulting you," Arthur explained placatingly.

"But she was smiling..." Alyssia whined.

"Sorry, but that's not how it works here."

She looked up at him.

"I can go kill her, right?"

It took Arthur five minutes to talk the apoplectic woman out of murder, something he found quite amusing. He could tell it only took three and the last two were just her winding him up. Still, this was one of the first major things that truly showed Alyssia's alien status, and amazingly enough, it was a simple difference in their cultures approach to insulting someone.

"I'm sorry," Alyssia said. "I came here to offer you help and I wasted so much time on top of insulting you. I may not have known, but ignorance is not an excuse. I hurt you and for that, I sincerely apologise."

Alyssia stood up and bowed to him at a ninety-degree angle. This time it was his turn to feel awkward.

"None of that, please," Arthur said. "You didn't mean it. There's nothing to forgive in the first place." When that didn't get the woman to raise her head, he sighed.

"For what it's worth, I offer you my forgiveness," Arthur finally grumbled. It was far too formal, and he felt slimy even saying the words, but it was only after he'd actually offered the woman forgiveness, that she finally raised her head. Alyssia sat back down on the sofa.

"So, I'm sure you wondering how I can help solve your little Aito problem. Well, it's not really a little problem, actually," she warned. "I've seen it kill people if left untreated and it's not a pleasant sight. "A person at war with himself, their aura attacking them. No sleep, no peace. Only pain, regret and fear." She smiled at him to take the sting out of her words, but he could tell that it was strained.

"Okay. that definitely sounds like something I'd want to get treated as soon as possible." Arthur agreed. "So what do I have to do?"

"Well, that's where I come in." Alyssia declared, once again as happy as ever. "With my help, we'll get you sorted in no time. Just a little training in a Locus Of Power and operation 'stop Arthur being a bitch-boy' will finally be underway."

She wasn't smiling when she said that. Not this time.

Arthur felt his eyebrow twitch. This cunt.

~Alyssia Sil’vorken~

Feeling the wind whip through her hair as she rushed through the woodlands at a brisk run, Alyssia mentally went through the conversation she’d had with Arthur a few minutes ago. I could have handled that a whole lot better, she concluded. Still, Alyssia didn’t really blame herself. It was an honest mistake and Arthur's presence had a way of unnerving her at the best of times.

Anyone she knew would have conducted themselves far worse if they saw how much stronger the young healer had become in just a few days. Still, she was twenty-seven years old, far beyond the age where errors in etiquette and decorum could be overlooked and Alyssia resolved that she’d make sure to never allow herself to reveal such an unsightly visage to anyone ever again, especially not her saviour. Besides her little tantrum, however, everything had gone well, or at least she thought so.

Arthur had been interested in what she’d told him, and now all she needed to do was wait for tomorrow and see if he turned up or not. She'd be a truly wretched person if she let the young man down when she knew how she could solve his problems. Alyssia hadn't lied to him. If anything she'd understated the matter to keep him from panicking.

Already, she noticed how separate Arthur was from his aura, almost like they were two distinct beings. Things would only get worse from here.