Opening up, Looking in.

They all had dark eyes, every color of the rainbow. Lucinda's was violet, Julian's green, Gabriel's a wicked shade of blue, and the Youngest's was orange. They kept their eyes narrow, for if eyes are the window to the soul, shouldn't they be able to decide who comes in?

Lucinda, the original Youngest, sat far across the room from her. She was disturbed by the child's silent nature. People who kept quiet either knew more than they let on or knew nothing at all. She couldn't be trusted. And as Julian almost shared his twin sister's feelings toward the newcomer, he knew they should treat her kindly, and show her the ways of the City. But neither Gabriel or Lucinda would allow that, talking in their backwards ways to confuse the observant child.

"Have you ever wondered that maybe it's someone to blame for what happened to us?" Lucinda whispered. Gabriel scoffed.

"They had a chance to save us from ourselves, and look what they did. Turn their backs on us without a second glance. And yet of all the people in this godforsaken City, you keep going back. They don't want us."

This used to be a blow to Lucinda, a feeling as if being stabbed in the heart would blossom in her chest, but tonight there was no feeling. She had successfully nummbed herself to that pain. "No. There's something there. I need to know."

The child frowned. Reason. Curiosity. That's what drove Lucinda.

"But," Julian joined in, looking apologetic to the Youngest, "If you're asking that question, you already know the answer. You always do."

"I just want to proven wrong."

Gabriel's sarcastic amusement diminished into annnoyance. He shook his red dredlocks, "Maybe two months ago, you would've been wrong. But after what we did, and what they've done. There's no way you couldn't be wrong now..."

"What are you talking about?" A small voice came from the lips of the child nestled in the couch. Jack, their gaurdian, had dressed her in white, like a doll, which Lucinda found entirely too eerie for her. "Who are they? Why does Luci care about them? Why is Gabriel mad?"

Gabriel looked at Lucinda, "Don't answer. She's aiming for ann emotional opening. Did you catch the tone?"

Julian tried to defend her, but it lacked conviction. "Oh come Gabe. She's just a child."

"And so were we. We were the same age as she when we started. But people were dumber then, and had no idea what we wanted."

Regret. Sorrow. Confusion. This is what gripped them and they protected themselves by being distant. It was...pitiful.

"How cold." Lucinda stared directly into the child's eyes. "You think because we're distant, we're to be pitied. But we're not distant because we're hurt. Not entirely. We're distant to present a challenge. How far would you go to get in? How much do you really want to know?"

"Seems like you're asking a lot of people who don't know you, yet. Why not be open?"

Julian and Gabriel who had been day dreaming, immediately turned to Lucinda at the word "open". It was a part of Luci's problem, opening up. But she laughed. "Why don't you be open with us and see where the problem really lies?"