The hall was warm; it was always warm. She liked it that way. It was best when she was happy. Nightshade sighed, loosening his tie. It was necessary he keep his attire as loose as possible. She didn't care for it being formal, despite it being his preferred apparel. That said, her happiness meant the most to him. He made it halfway down the hall when he sensed her field of influence. He'd taught her well; it was near imperceivable. He continued forward, keeping his body calm and his mind at ease.
Others were forbidden from coming to this place without permission and escort. It seemed that nobody had attempted to break that rule recently; good. Less trouble amongst the slaves. Once they got the thought of freedom in their minds, they were as good as food anyways. Blade was good at ensuring that security was upheld. Nightshade reached the door, his outfit noticeably ruffled about, his tie hanging loosely around his neck. He placed his hand gently on the smooth white surface of the door. Even now, having known her for some time now, he still couldn't fully ease the excitement and fear within his heart. Darkness began to spread from him- his acquisition of new abilities was still causing annoyances here and there. With a slow slide, he opens the door and is met with a blast of hot, moist air. He let out an exasperated sigh. He really didn't much care for the heat. Another reason to keep his clothes loose; it helped keep him a bit cool.
The room was something of a cross between a children's bedroom and a garden. While the walls were pure, untouched white, the four corners of the floor were modified to support the growth of special trees, modified so that they didn't grow too large and were constantly flowering. Their noble flowers appeared in many colors, offering a sense of vibrancy to the chambers. The back wall held a bookshelf, filled with books on different subject; while biology and chemistry dominated the spaces, there were also technical books, novels, coloring books, some anthologies, and even a few magazines. Nightshade enjoyed providing different forms of literature for her; once she'd grown enough to read, she became deeply fixated on reading books of all kinds.
He glanced around slowly. The bed was empty, and nobody was underneath; the deep violet sheets looked near untouched. The toy chest was closed; she likely wasn't hiding in there. So where was she...?
From above, a weight crashed onto Nightshade, sending him to the ground. A knife found its way to his throat and held. For a few breathless moments, the silence was complete and absolute. There was no movement, only the hand gripping his hair and the knife to his throat. The moment passed however, and he found lips pressed to his cheek. Nightshade smiled. "You've been improving, Magnolia. I was almost caught totally unaware."
The weight lifts from him, and he gets to his knees, turning to see his little sister. Magnolia was a beautiful young lady. Though she was old, ancient really, she appeared no older than twelve years old. Her skin was pale like his, but whereas his was due to unnatural causes, hers seemed to shine with a natural luster, like the finest ivory statue. Her silky black hair curled lovingly down her back and around her shoulders like ebony vines. Her eyes were the same deep violet as her bed sheets, and a faint purple blush spread across her face as she gave Nightshade a toothy grin. It seemed today she was taking after some carnivorous species, as her teeth were sharp; made to rip and tear through flesh and crunch through bones. Despite this, they were evenly spaced and polished a deep clean, like a human's might be. Her experiments were getting more and more curious. Atop her head and leaning to the right rested a crown made of twisted branches and bone, miniature magnolias exploding across its surface like the magnolia trees about the room.
Today, she was wearing a white flower dress with lilac flower prints about it in watercolor-style, and a purple half-sweater atop. There was nothing on her feet, though they appeared somewhat scaled on the bottom. Magnolia catches his sight, and smiles. She raises up a foot, showing pads along the bottom. "Gecko. I thought it would help me hide, but big bro still knew where I was!" Nightshade chuckles as he picks her up and sets her on his shoulder.
"I am the one raising you after all. Well, Bastet plays with you on occasion. Has she been teaching you anything naughty again?"
Magnolia shakes her head, grinning. How long ago had it been that those eyes of hers had been dull, almost doll-like? When Nightshade had first heard tell of the existence of a creature that seemed to be a petri dish of that which filled nature, he had little interest in it. What use was there in having such a being? That's when he learned of its abilities: not only could it help with repopulation of any species, plant, animal or other, it could also affect them with its presence. If it came into contact, it could even blatantly mutate them. It could singlehandedly lead to extinction or salvation for any organic life; though he'd modified and adjusted this body, at its core it was still human. No matter how long he corrupted it, some part of it would remain human. That meant that this creature could have an effect on him. It could prove to be a threat; he wouldn't go back to how he once was.
When he found the facility holding her, it seemed she was being treated as a test subject. She wasn't human, so why treat her as one? They simply needed to experiment with her and gain all the knowledge they could. Killing them had brought him a strangely unique pleasure. Magnolia had watched it all with empty, emotionless eyes. Back then, she had no name. He'd only taken to calling her Magnolia because of the flower, a violet magnolia, that she seemed to be fond of spawning from her hand. When he had arrived, he expected to simply leave a corpse behind. Perhaps it was her influence, perhaps it was something from the human that had once existed, whose place he had stolen. Something inside of him stayed his hand, and he took her with him. He brought her here to his base, and slowly but surely, she began to change.
The introduction to knowledge began to change her. He first noticed it when she began to mimic what he said whenever he was on the phone, whenever one of the higher NCO members were around with him. She began to move about on her own, rather than simply sit in the corner like a puppet. It seemed that she was able to survive entirely on sunlight and moisture alone. Nightshade introduced other foods to her, and it seemed the different creatures within her would react. It seemed her maturity was still low, as she didn't have full control. On more than one occasion, she'd attacked him, viewing him as a food source.
Bastet had been the first she seemed taken to. Likely, it was due to her being female. Normally, it wasn't a problem, though Bastet on occasion seemed to take a delight in teaching Magnolia things she didn't need to know. It had caused more than a few problematic incidents... that said, Bastet had also taught her how to produce various poisons and toxins, as well as mutate certain genetic properties within humans. It seemed that Bastet wasn't influenced by Magnolia's abilities; it said a lot about her in several ways.
Grey avoided Magnolia as often as possible. Nightshade didn't understand why, and Grey refused to comment on it. It was a mystery that nobody cared to solve. Still, when they were together, he remained civil. That was good. It was strange to think of, but he couldn't honestly decide between Grey and Magnolia in regards to who he preferred. Grey was almost like a son to him, in as best a way he could be feel such a thing, but Magnolia... she truly was like a sister to him.
Magnolia poked his head with a vine that sprouted formed somewhere beneath her dress, coming from her sleeve. "What're you thinking about, big bro? You've just been standing here."
Nightshade shook his head. "Nothing, nothing. Just thinking about when you were younger is all. Have you finished all your books?"
"Yep!" Magnolia smiles. "And I've gotten better at drawing, too! When's Bastet coming home? I wanna draw her, I wanna draw her!"
Nightshade shakes his head. "She'll be back when she's back. And when she's back, I'll bring her here, alright?" Magnolia cheered, before sliding off of Nightshade's shoulder. She went to her toy box and grabbed out a familiar looking doll. Nightshade's heart started to beat a touch faster. The rag doll was modeled after the one person who he could never bring himself to stop fearing: Manny Ken. Why Bastet had gotten Grey to make it for Magnolia, he'd never know. Likely, she just wanted to see him squirm. That said, Magnolia loved it, so he couldn't simply destroy it. Not without hurting her. "Magnolia, I think we're going to go on a little field trip soon. There's some place I'd like you to see. It's very... special to me."
Magnolia gasped, then ran and gave Nightshade a hug. Awkwardly, he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back. He didn't know where she picked up the gesture; probably one of those magazines. Still, it felt right to hug the little lady. At the end of the day, that was all that mattered. Nightshade gave the little lady a pat on the forehead, then putting her to bed, he moved out. Fixing his clothes, he found a slave roaming near the hall. Placing his hand on the slave's face, he smashes their head into a stain against the wall, the young man's body falling to the floor, twitching. A shudder rippled through his body. Nothing helped him feel more like himself like culling the herd. After all, there were plenty of slaves, and with Magnolia's influence... well, there would always be plenty more.
