Chapter 8: Probing
'Head of Ferrum, huh!' Ray thought, staring at the tank of a man standing in front of Meloni's bed.
'He's pretty good at concealing his core,' He thought. 'Not just him but the snow-white beside him too...Peak Horizon.'
"How's your body holding up, kiddo?" Hugo asked with his hands in his pockets.
"Uh, just some minor injuries, nothing severe..." Meloni replied. She was getting nervous by the minute.
"You're lucky you survived the encounter with hounds, kid. But luck, it has a habit of running out in these things, quite often," Hugo continued.
"..." She didn't say anything. Just stayed there with her head hung low.
"I'm sorry," Hugo, then turned the conversation around. "What happened to you last night should never have happened."
"A rift opened under our jurisdiction. Two agents and a civilian died. Something like this happened right under my watch, I prefer to apologise in person." He said, but his body language didn't match his words. All while saying that, he stood stern.
"..." Meloni stayed quiet, again.
'Is he expecting a response from her? What is she supposed to say? 'It's okay?'' Ray thought, looking at Hugo.
"As an apology, Ferrum will support you with the best of its assistance until you're strong enough to live in the world of conduits alone. Of course, we won't force any contracts on you, this is purely a gesture of apology." Hugo continued.