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When Klaus first caught sight of Aria, his first assumption was that she was following his example. But her fists were free of bruises. Other than the blood spattered across her face and clothes, she seemed unharmed.
The trees around her shook so hard that the leaves were rustling. The wind was strong - it ripped through Aria's coat, blowing it around her with such ferocity he thought it was going to throw her back. The branches creaked and the wind blew and Aria looked like she wanted to scream.
Concern pricked at him. He thought about calling out her name, but couldn't tell if she wanted to be alone.
When Aria saw him staring, her face smoothed into something blank. "You're here," she said.
"Where else would I be?"
"Doing whatever it is that you do before you come home bloody."
Fair point. He was just about to head out and do exactly that. Maybe Alex and Eli would get off his back if he sparred with Aria instead of going out, but it wasn't enough for what he needed.
Klaus couldn't get the look he saw on her face before out of his mind and sat down on the porch, gesturing for her to join him. She did, quiet, and letting Klaus laugh at her when the wind decided to throw her hair about until it looked like a nest. Either she didn't mind it or she was too tired to care.
Klaus wiped his eyes after he stopped laughing, letting them sit in silence for a few moments before asking what was on her mind.
"Tell me about the Elites, Klaus."
Klaus' mouth opened in surprise. He didn't know what he expected, but it wasn't that. "What about them?"
"Everything you know."
"Ah, well, I got dragged into it when Alex found me. I was a wreck back then. The doctors who were experimenting on me figured I was a lost cause and threw me out to die. I wasn't showing them any results, I was just getting sick, so they thought I was dying anyway. Alex thought I was Enhanced and took me for the Elites for a healer."
Klaus couldn't remember who tried healing him or the scene he later found out he made, just the memory of feeling like he was going to burn alive.
"Knox was the one who identified me. They found out I was from the labs and kept me there for a while."
"What did they do?" she asked, and though her voice was calm, Klaus could hear the undercurrent of anger.
Klaus smiled, touched. "Nothing. Eventually, I exploded."
"Exploded?"
"You'll see eventually. But I seemed useful, so they decided to keep me around. They rarely make use of me though. More trouble than I'm worth, usually. If they find out you're alive, they'll probably want you in hiding until they decide they want to use you."
