Holding Jean in her right hand, Emily walked out of the room, using her other hand to close the door behind her. Her mind was already a whirlwind of emotions from the day before, but Shana and Jane's double revelations had left her emotionally devastated. Right now, all she wanted to do was barricade herself in a room and scream at someone... preferably Jane, if for no other reason than to get back at her. Nodding to herself, Emily decided on her next course of action and made her way to her room... the one she had just left. Irritated, she started to think. Where else could she go?

Her own room was a no with Shana there trying to rest.

Maya was sleeping in Shana's room and also Emily didn't want her to hear what had just been revealed, so that was another no.

Suki's room was a no-no.

Since no one lived there, the other rooms were locked and the keys were in the possession of the dormitory owner.

The living room and the kitchen were out of the question because of the lack of privacy there…

“Uh, Emily? As much as I love being cradled in your hand, could you please put me down somewhere? I'm starting to feel a little uncomfortable with all the blood rushing to my head…” Jane interrupted her thought process from the upside down position she was in in her hands.

“Hush, I'm thinking.” Emily replied sharply, trying to get her train of thought back on track, but not before repositioning Jane in her breast pocket to make her more comfortable.

After a great deal of thought, Emily finally had a destination in mind, and she smiled with satisfaction. She walked briskly to the place where she wanted to go and locked the door behind her as soon as she had reached it. Taking Jane out of her breast pocket, Emily knelt down and placed her on the surface in front of her, before standing up and looking down at her.

As she looked around at the white tiles on the walls and on the floor, Jane got an idea of where they were. She recognized it from several of the programs she had seen on television, and she became confused, “Emily? Why am I standing on a toilet?”

"Oh, well, I couldn't think of anywhere else to go..." Emily admitted sheepishly before getting serious again, "But let's leave that aside for now. What about the things you said earlier? Were they all true?"

Jane sighed, as she already knew that this was going to happen, "While the theory that I shared with Shana is just an assumption... yes. Everything I said is the truth.”

“Then why did you never tell me anything about it?” Emily asked, barely concealing her annoyance.

“Because I didn't want you to be exposed to the dark side of my species.” Jane tried to explain, but it only served to make Emily angrier, and she punched the wall, breaking a tile in the process.

“I don't need you to protect and coddle me!” she shouted angrily, “Why were you hiding this from me, Jane? Tell me!”

Jane's body shook with fear, but she did not flinch or cower because she knew that Emily would never actually do anything to hurt her. “I didn't think you would be able to handle this. And judging by the way you are reacting, it looks like I was right.”

Emily shook with anger at her words, “Do you think I'm so weak that you can't say anything to me without being afraid you'll break me?”

“Do you think Maya is weak?” Jane shot back, crossing her arms and glaring at her defiantly.

“What does Maya have to do with anything?” Emily asked in a confused tone and Jane replied, “Have you ever told her about what happened to you as a child?”

“Absolutely not!” Emily replied scandalized, “I could never tell her!”

“And why's that?” Jane asked with a scowl on her face, “Do you think she is a weak and pathetic little girl?”

“Because telling her would be pointless! It would only make her sad! Nothing she can do will change what I've been through-” Emily yelled before realizing what she'd said and muttering to herself, “Oh…”

“Exactly.” Jane nodded.

There was a moment of silence, during which no one moved a muscle, before Emily began to speak again, “But... this is different…”

“And how?” Jane asked her, tapping her foot.

“Well, Maya's still a child, while I'm an adult…” Emily tried to explain, “Surely there's something I can do to help!”

“No, there's nothing you can do!” Jane scolded her, “Don't fool yourself into thinking you can.”

“Why are you being like this?” Emily said in exasperation, “Together we can change things! Don't you believe in me?”

“Emily, it's not that easy!” Jane said with a sigh, shaking her head, “And of course I believe in you, Emily, with all my heart and soul. That is why I have no hesitation in entrusting you with my life.”

"As if you could do anything else," Emily scoffed, "and considering how easy it is for your species to throw away life - their own or someone else's - it's not a big deal."

"That's really unfair, Emily." Jane replied in an indignant and insulted tone, "It's not something that we can help with, given the circumstances of our situation."

Emily winced as she realized what she had said and tried to correct herself, "But what about other alternatives? Like... like finding someone to take care of you! Wouldn't that be a better alternative?"

But she only dug herself in deeper, and flinched again when she saw the look of disgust on Jane's face.

"Is that it, Emily? Is this how you'll solve it? Turning us into pets for the humans in exchange for food and a place to stay?" Jane asked with a sound of complete and utter disgust in her voice.

“That's not what I meant! I... I mean... You don't hate being with me... do you?” Emily tried to explain, but Jane just shook her head. 

“Emily... I like to be with you because you treat me as if I were a human being.” she replied as she sat down on the toilet seat, leaning back until she looked up at Emily, “Having an easier and safer life is certainly something I like. But if I had to give up my freedom, or even worse, if I had to be treated like a lesser being…”

She closed her eyes and shook her head in disgust at the mere thought of such a thing, “Then it's not worth it. Death would be a much better alternative.”

Emily let out a gasp of shock. Even though Jane could be a bit of a prankster and often cracked jokes, this was not one of those moments.

With her back against the wall, Emily slid down the floor until she was eye-to-eye with Jane. She was silent for a long time, just thinking about all the things that had happened today, while Jane was doing the same thing.

When the brooding was over, Emily let out a sigh and hung her head in shame, “Jane... I'm sorry. I said some awful things to you today. I... I'm so ashamed of myself. If there is anything I can do to make it up to you, I will. Anything at all!”

Tears started rolling down her cheeks, “But if you don't think that you will be able to forgive me, then I understand. What I said was-”

“Oh, stop crying... If anyone should be ashamed, it's me…” Jane rolled her eyes, angry with herself, “This is a day for celebration! I shouldn't ruin it over some petty argument! “

“But why should you be ashamed?” Emily looked up at her, surprised, “I am the one who was disrespectful to you.”

“Well... that's because…” Jane said as she crossed her arms and looked away, “I mean... You're kind of right?”

“I am what?” Emily said in shock and Jane sighed again.

“You are right. We could lead better lives if we weren't so stupidly proud... And many of my kind do indeed surrender to the humans.” Jane explained before she became embarrassed, “And... So did I... sort of.”

“But you didn't do that…” Emily whispered with a smile, “You remained strong and resolute, and-”

“I literally threw away my freedom to you the moment that creature was about to kill me!” Jane screamed, shaking her head, “That I ended up with a person who respects me instead of, I don't know, someone like Suki was just dumb luck. How can I act so proud when I'm just as bad?”

Pacing back and forth on the toilet seat, Jane continued, her voice rising in anger as she spoke, “I know I shouldn't speak, since I've been so lucky with you, but is it really so terrible to be a pet for humans? I mean... I know it is in my head and in my heart. But how can I really know what it feels like for someone to be held as a pet? Maybe I'm right. Maybe it is a worse thing than death. And yet…”

Jane stopped in her tracks and clenched her fists in anger, “What if it isn't? And even if I'm right, is it really worse than sending members of our own species to certain death?”

“Has anyone ever survived and returned from one of those… great journeys?” Emily asked, recalling what Jane had said about her own species.

“I've never seen it myself, but some of the elders on our Council of Wise Ones say they have... But is it true, though? And even if it is true, is it really worth it? All they could get was the 'Master's Blade' and the 'Lifesaver'... Which are nothing but broken scissors and the bottom of a plastic bottle we use to collect rainwater! Is this as good as it gets? Is being free really worth living like this?”

She let out a long sigh and closed her eyes, “I... I don't know anymore. To tell you the truth, I don't want to go back to my old life... not now that I've gotten to know this one. Damn it all! I would rather be eaten alive than go back to my old life!”

“Don't you have someone over there that you miss? A family member or a friend?” Emily asked again, resting her head on her knees.

“No. I was raised and trained by the elders. Whether it was because my parents had died or because they just handed me over to them, I don't know. Either way, the elders spent a lot of time filling our heads with the idea that we should only care about the community, and that individuals are expendable, preventing any relationship beyond simple camaraderie…” she said, wistfully scratching her cheeks, “For a long time I believed that all I had to live for was to work, fight and die for my people…”

But then, with a shake of her head, her eyes returned to Emily, “But even though I've only been here with you for a short while, I can't do that anymore... I don't want to live my life for the sake of others! I want to live a happy life! Just for myself! Is that such a terrible thing for me to ask?”

“No, it isn't. What's wrong with wanting to be happy?” Emily replied, smiling a little before she sighed, “But I know exactly what you mean. Because I feel the same way.”

Her eyes were fixed on the ceiling, and her thoughts were on the past, “The day that I left the orphanage for good was the happiest day of my life... I was over the moon! I danced and ran and cried and smiled... I thought there was nothing that could ruin my happiness.”

Then her eyes darkened, her smile faded to a frown, “Until it hit me: The others were still there, still suffering. It took me a long time to move on without feeling guilty that I wasn't as miserable as they were.”

Her face flushed with embarrassment, “And while I have to admit that I'm probably not the best example of someone who overcame it… If there's one thing that I've come to understand, especially in the last few days, it's this. Life isn't fair. And as long as it's not at the expense of someone else, you have to take every chance you get to be happy, because they don't come that often.”

She brought her hand up to Jane and caressed her face with her forefinger, smiling softly, “I've said this before and I'll say it again. If you're ever in the mood to help other little folks like yourself, you don't even have to ask for my help. You already have it. But at the same time, don't beat yourself up about it. Go and enjoy your life. You deserve it as much as anyone else.”

"E-Emily..." Jane mumbled softly before bursting out crying, tears streaming down her face.

Emily just let her, staying close to her in a silent show of support.

When she calmed down, Emily used her finger to wipe the tears from her eyes, "There. Feeling better now?"

“A little.” Jane nodded, smiling slightly, “Still not 100%, but better.”

“Glad to hear that!” Emily said, clapping her hands happily. Then she stood up and dusted off her clothes before looking at Jane with a slight grin on her face.

"So..." she joked in an attempt to lighten the situation, "are you offering to be my personal pet?"

"Why, yes, I am," Jane nodded, immediately recognizing her intention and feigning consideration, "I'd really like to be your pet. What would that entail?"

Emily, taken aback by Jane's easy acceptance of what was supposed to be a joke, began to stutter in panic, "W-well... if you want to experience what it feels like to be a pet, we could experiment together... I mean, m-maybe I could get you a collar, and, and..."

Then her brain re-connected and she blushed with shame and embarrassment at the realization of her words, "What did I just say?! Forget my words just now! Block them out of your mind!"

Jane was shocked for a moment before bursting into laughter, “Is that so, Emily? I never imagined you to be so... adventurous! Is there something that you would like to tell me?”

Emily whimpered, the sound of her voice muffled as she covered her face with her hands, "S-shut up! Don't say anything more! P-please."

“All right, all right, that's fine. As you wish.” Jane chuckled before continuing in a softer voice. “Uh, hey, Emily?”

“What do you want?” Emily said sullenly, still annoyed that her joke had backfired,

“I'm really glad I got the chance to meet you.” Jane said happily, smiling broadly as she said it.

"...shut up..." Emily repeated in embarrassment before moving her fingers away from her face to show her eyes and adding, "But... I'm also glad..."