"So for starters, can you tell me the name of your species, dear brother?"
Aaron stood very still for a moment.
This was the kind of question that required a brief internal meeting — the sort where various parts of your brain gather around a table, look at each other, and collectively decide on a strategy for the next thirty seconds of your life.
His strategy turned out to be: look around casually, as if the question had been directed at someone else, or possibly at the large metallic walls themselves.
The walls did not answer. He was forced to.
"What is that supposed to mean, Ariana?" He turned to look at her.
"You know exactly what it means, brother." She smiled, drifting slightly closer with the unhurried confidence of someone who is very aware they hold all the cards and is in absolutely no rush to play them. "And why are you saying my name instead of calling me sister like normal, brother? Do you hate me so much?"
Aaron looked at her.
