[ChicletPrime]

Chapter 9: Blindfold

• okay, that's an ominous chapter title.
  
• awww. Caleb's first thing to do after flattening the last Wanderer into a smudge of itself is to lean in and brush the  hair out of my eyes. "Are you hurt?"  Only my ego, but its okay, it's an inflatable rubber toy and will be back to operational condition in no time flat.
  
• The bad guy is getting away! no problem, Caleb just reaches out and everything not nailed down chases after the fleeing figure.
  
• okay, honestly. this is so hot. Completely Appropriate Displays Of Evol really, REALLY do it for me. 
  
• i am now in charge of the bag of apples, with instructions to help myself, and over the railing he goes disappearing into the rain. 
  
• oh. hey. good question girlfriend. how did Caleb get here so quickly? 
  
• .... he was probably trailing us from a block and a half away the entire time, duh. 
  
• Snake Eyed Boy is upset about a "a perfect vessel, my ass" and he called himself an "unfinished product". is he talking about me or.. Caleb, or... wut? gotta be talking about me. i guess i did not measure up somehow? 
  
• oh, his name is Viper.  and the half a street of debris just caught up with him and knocked him on his actual ass.
  
• "A powerful force slams him into the ground which instantly destroys the other half of his face."  Caleb, you are pushing all of my buttons here.
  
• oh, you two are acquainted?  /popcorn, swivels head back and forth
  
• "Caleb increases the weight. Immediately the crisp sound of something cracking reverberates."  i am just going to quote this whole damned chapter at this point.  the evol mixed with the rain is a nice effect it has to be said. "A white prosthetic eye floats into Caleb's hand and is crushed in an instant."  
  
• just, wow. ruthless.
  
• "Who gave you the right to approach her?"  /swivels to Viper
  
• "The Professor said... not the time to go after her... I was just playing around! There are less than 72 hours before the Final Clean Up. If you can't retrieve the protocore fragments, you're done for!"  /swivels to Caleb
  
• Who seems to care less. "Which hand did you touch her with? ... This one?" /swivels back to Viper
  
• ooooh. owwww. that... that had to hurt a LOT. 
  
• "Your need to protect her borders obsess...!" 
  
• Raindrops are suddenly suspended in the air. Countless silver needles ready to pierce.
  
• /hides face in hands oh my god this is everything i've ever wanted in an older brother i am never playing another otome game ever again without comparing it unfavorably to this one i am almost afraid to advance this 
  
• "Caleb crouches down. Meeting Viper's gaze, he smiles slightly." 
  
• pretty sure he means that threat Viper buddy, might wanna skip town for a bit or lose your other hand too, along with whatever remains of your spine.
  
• Meanwhile, Our Heroine Is Communing With The Produce Selection Under The Overpass Because Rafayel Is Still Upset Somewhere
  
• yeah, they knew you had an aether core, sweet thing. it hasn't been a secret to anybody since about two main segments ago, mostly because you keep talking about it out loud. 
  
• gege has returned, with umbrella. awwww.
  
• you big fat liar, you did not lose track of him. he'll be leaking bolts and springs for the next several blocks at minimum.
  
• and we rush to check his hand for bruises or cuts, because nobody better dare land a finger on him that isn't us.
  
• (love that the umbrella casts a shadow over his eyes. intentional? mayyybe).
  
• "he takes off his coat and drapes it over my head. with his arm around my shoulders, his warmth quickly envelops me."  at home i am hustled into a hot shower and given soft loungewear. awwww. a hot bowl of ginger soup appears on the coffee table for me. i am chastised for not drying my hair.
  
• wow, he's going  to rub my hair dry FOR ME? 
  
• i don't care if he betrays me later, this is worth its weight in gold. god, i wish i could draw.
  
• i cannot wait to check out the chinese version after this. also, that zipper on his sweater makes no sense at all. who dressed this guy? 
  
• (oh god he's so pretty. i love that the boys are handsome without being caricatures.)
  
• hey, we came up with good questions. what ABOUT the DAA? and his involvement with the Fleet? what about his friends? 
  
• oooh THAT'S INTERESTING. per Caleb, the DAA does NOT know anything about his Fleet activities and he wants to keep it that way. "They aren't required to know everything about me anyway."   That is a stunning revelation. he.. he never told them he was alive? he just moved into the Fleet and left his pilot career behind without saying anything?!
  
• and now we suddenly have the very, very late but finally dawning thought that if Caleb's messed up in Fleet business, and the sibling(s) are being closely monitored by the Fleet, that maybe, just maybe, Caleb knows more than he's saying.
  
• fantastic. choices. ask "Are Kevi's parents important?" or "(I don't want to doubt him.)
  
• i.. oh man. i am not sure how to answer - as the girlfriend or as me. 
  
• fuck it, the girlfriend has given Caleb a sweeping pass on every sketchy thing he's done so far right in front of her, we are not going to yuck her yum now.
  
• oh, now she feels guilty about not saying anything.