⇀ Lake Washington

@Nayati Kit knew that Nayati was not expecting him to reply – they had talked about this quite a few times already but they had never found an answer. Or, at least not a satisfying.
If they weren’t needed anymore Kit feared that someone might eliminate them. Or lock them up but that would be quite some work – more work than just taking their lives and letting it look like someone had gone rampage. It had happened before, a hybrid getting so scared that they tried to get out – killing people on its way. Kit still had nightmares from it but the worst thing was that he could understand it. They were not the good ones in here, neither the psychologists, the workers nor the scientists. They supported the lock up of innocent creatures and even worse, they were helping to create new creatures which were then called failures. How disgusting.

“Maybe one day I’ll be able to send you home,” Kit mumbled. He knew that there was no way he could do it with the approval of the higher ups but to be honest Kit honestly did not care- Yes, Nayati was a strong creature, one that was able to easily get along, to socialize and to just be like one of them but deep inside he was not one of them. Kit knew that the Wild Ones were different. There was a reason why their name was Wild One. They were supposed to be free creatures, not locked up in a facility to help with other creatures that were created in a lab, in a glass, with lots of chemicals. But no matter how often Kit had mentioned that people did not care. No one listened to them. Not if it wasn’t something they wanted to hear. And clearly, hearing about how wrong this was… they never listened. Kit knew he would never make it out alive if he left this facility but then again he did not want to. This place was everything he had left, the only family was here, Nayati was here… how could he leave without them? No.

“Mhm,” Kit agreed when Nayati said not to talk about saddening stuff anymore. They had enough sad stuff in their lives already, they did not need more.
Kit blinked while watching Nayati go into the water. Oh, obviously someone wanted to swim even though he was sure the lake was ice cold. He’d give Nayati an extra warm blanket later and maybe prepare some tea for him. Nayati was strong but the water was still really cold.

Aside from that, Nayati looked beautiful, as if he was made for water – or water made for him. A soft smile appeared on Kit’s lips while he watched the graceful creature glide through the water. “Yah, don’t freeze,” he still said even though he knew Nayati would not. He also knew that this was not the first time Nayati went into ice cold water to swim so it was okay, it was easy for Kit to worry less. If there was someone he trusted, it was Nayati.

“I believe so but I don’t want to freeze my limbs off,” he then said, chuckling softly, acting as if he was dodging the water. He did not mind if Nayati splashed him with water but they both knew that Kit got sick surprisingly easily. He had grown up in the facility and as a child he hadn’t liked to go out a lot. Honestly, if it was not for Nayati he probably would never have learned the beauty of nature.
“Maybe next time,” he then said, tilting his head. And, surprisingly, he meant it.

@Kit Nayati watched when Kit sat down next to him, a cold evening breeze caused Goosebumps on Naya’s skin, which he enjoyed more than he would enjoy and warmth. The night sky was beautifully mirrored on the lake’s surface, and the urge to just jump into it grew bigger the longer he looked at it.

“It’s not like they’ll let any of us go. I keep wondering what’ll happen once they don’t need us anymore – you and me. The other wild ones, the failed Hybrids, the psychologists – will they get a chance of survival? Will /we/ get the chance to live the life we’ve always wanted to live?” He asked, but not really Kit, because he doubted the latter would know the answer. It was just a thought, caused by the lingering fear of never being able to escape. And, even if he could, what would he do? Leave every loved one behind? Was he really that selfish?

“Whatever,” he said and shifted a little, “let’s not talk about such saddening stuff.” He stood up, got out of his jacket, took off his shirt and instantly got Goosebumps. He knew he’d definitely regret it, but he didn’t know when he’d get the next chance to come to the lake, and it had a certain magic to it at night; just like water always had to him. If one didn’t know better, he’d assume Nayati grew up with whales, or seals, maybe. He couldn’t tell where his love for water came from, but in a different life, he probably would’ve been a swimmer, and a real good one at that.

Without giving himself the time to hesitate, he jumped out of his pants, too, flashed a grin at Kit and began running into the water. It was ice cold, and his body stiffened at the water’s touch, but Nayati just kept going until the water got deep enough for him to dive in. When he got to the surface again, he laughed with all his heart and waved at Kit. “, it’s ice cold!” He shouted, laughter still lingering in his voice. He swam as close to Kit as he could get, his cold limbs getting warmer and warmer at every move he made. If one was to look into his eyes that moment, he would see an unusual spark in them, one that never was there unless Nayati was really, truly, and absolutely happy.

“You’re really missing out, Kitty.” He called, and splashed some water into his direction, but made sure not to hit him.