dot.

28: Dad?

  The next few hours had been all in a whirl: packing, cleaning, saying tearful goodbyes- but now, Nimue was sat in the plane with her head rested against the window; only one thought in her mind.

  Please stay safe.

...

  "So this, this is where we keep him." Tiro gestured to the sturdy door that trapped Dot and Felix inside, hand shaking slightly as he addressed the intimidating man beside him.

   He was tall, very tall; and had dark brown eyes with equally dark hair, cut short and styled with gel. The man was prepared to impress from top to bottom, with freshly polished shoes and a suit Tiro struggled to find even one crease in. He was very handsome, actually, but gave off a nerve-wracking aura that this was not someone to be trusted.

  "Interesting." He stroked a nimble finger down the hinges of the door and eventually the lock, admiring what he had paid for. "I take it there is constant CCTV observation in this room?"

  "Yes, sir."

  " Excellent. Well, let us go on."

  "Yes, sir."

  The tour continued as Tiro showed the boss all of the inner workings and rooms of the place, explaining what each were used for as he went.

  When they got to Nimue's room, looking much cleaner than usual with surfaces clear of dust and a bed that was actually made for once, he stopped in his tracks. "This is where Nimue sleeps?"

  "Yes. She asked me to keep it clear for her-"

  "Then this is where I shall sleep."

  "But she has prepared a different room for you-"

  "Nonsense. It would do us good to share a bed again, however indirectly."

  Again?

  He thought back to how distressed Nimue had been last night, and the first few seeds of discomfort planted themselves inside him. What exactly had happened between them?

  "I'd really prefer that you used the room she wanted you to."

  The boss glared at him, taking off his jacket and hanging it on the back of Nimue's desk chair with a stubborn air of finality. "I make the rules."

  Tiro backed down, shuffling backwards and fiddling with his fingers as he stared meaninglessly at the floor. "Okay, sir."

  "Now we are going to meet Dot." It was an order, not a question.

  "Yes, sir."

  "Good."

  Pleased at the man's unwillingness to disobey, the boss followed Tiro down the winding corridors until they stood next to the bolted white door once again.

  "So, uh- Boss? Should I call you that? He's been a little... violent, recently, and so you should really be careful."

  "I shall. But that behaviour will be eliminated." As much as Tiro was happy at the implication that Dot would not be treated well with him in charge, he was aware that Nimue wanted the hybrid to be kept safe. "And you may call me either Digorn or sir. I do not like being called Boss."

  "Yes sir."

  "One more thing, before we go in..." He eyed Tiro's chest with an uncomfortable curiosity, "Show me what she did."

  Without further prompting, he undid the top few buttons of his stainless white shirt and pulled it down to expose the messily grafted on snakeskin, waiting for a prompt from Digiorno that he should put it back on.

  "Good. May I have the key to the room?"

  "Okay, sir." Tiro did his buttons up again and handed him the key, allowing him to open the door in front of them with a soft click.

  Digorn lead the way inside, Tiro following closely and doing his best to look in past the man to see into the room first.

  Dot and Felix were awake, playing a card game in peace while they snacked on a bowl of mango together. When the pair walked in, both of them backed away a little in fear, Dot hissing quietly- which made the Digorn frown.

  He stormed over and grabbed the hybrid by his hair, slapping him harshly to shut him up. "You will not treat me like that."

  Felix tried to push him away from the boy but failed as the stronger man avoided his attack, slapping him too equally as hard. "You too. But mostly," he glared at Dot, "mostly you."

  The hybrid was doing his best not to hiss or growl but that was difficult, with a scary new man holding onto his hair and tugging on his scalp painfully. Who was he? Why was he here?

  Felix evidently had the same questions, asking the man who he was while demanding he let go of Dot and holding his reddened face with one hand.

  Digorn gripped the boy tighter and smirked. "I am his father."

  Now, both Dot and Felix were frozen in confusion. What? He had to be lying. Nimue had said Dot had been made with anonymous donors... but then again, did they really trust Nimue not to lie to them?

  Of course they didn't.

  "Oh, that shut you up, didn't it?" He spoke in a sickening drawl, knowing that he had the upper hand here.

  Dot was staring up at him with a strange expression, chewing on his lip lightly as he fought the urge to hiss. This man couldn't be his father. No, surely his father was a kind man, one that would arrive one day and take him away to a cottage in a field, and love him just as Felix's father loved his son. Surely.

  Finally, he released Dot's hair and the hybrid shuffled away from him, hiding behind Felix with a final soft hiss that he just couldn't contain. When he heard the noise, Digorn glard at him and then looked to Tiro in understanding. "I see what you mean about the aggression."

  "Ah- yes, sir."

  "Well, I should let you all know that there are going to be a few changes around here." He cleared his throat and continued.

  "Nimue has gone to visit her mother for the week. Until she has returned, I shall be in charge of you. There will be no hissing, no biting, no unpleasant behaviour- unless you wish to suffer the consequences."

   The room was silent, all listening intently to what Digorn had to say as he backed up nearer the door and began to pace forwards and backwards.

  "We are behind schedule, as you should have been able to figure out by now. This facility is currently losing me money, which isn't ideal, and so the trials and experiments will be resumed at an intensity they have never been preformed at before. You may use the remainder of this day to prepare yourselves before tomorrow morning."

  Tomorrow? That was too soon. Dot began to shake lightly as he crouched behind Felix's legs, hugging them tight and doing his best to hide from the man's glare.

  "Oh, and one last thing." He added, stepping out of the door and closing it so only a crack was left open, "Dot is not the only one doing trials this time."

  And with that, he fully closed and locked the door, walking away with a smirk- leaving behind a terrified Dot, furious Felix and a very bewildered Tiro.