☼ - The outside world. Delphinium had always fantasized of roaming plains without borders, without boundary, without walls to stop her. She'd caught glimpses of the beyond as a child, what felt to be ages ago. Roaming through the halls of the Sanctuary, so free from the confines strapped even to her other Sanctuary 13 companions. Perhaps it was her aptitude that gave her such freedom. 015. The tracking collar around her collar seemed to suffocate her at the thought. A life she had once been content with, with petty desires and wants, unaware of what could be waiting for her on the other side of the bleached white walls and men in lab coats. As she aged, as she was forced apart from old friends and pushed into a new social circle, Delphinium began to see the world around her differently. More realistically. She saw it for what it was, a cruel place she had the privilege of being spared from because she was different. Different in a way they could not afford to lose. An achievement, an asset, but she took what little blessings she could in the fact that Delphi knew her friends would not be harmed so long as they were like her. Chlorophytum, Argentea, Genista - her sisters, connected in a way flesh could not accomplish. Where were they now? Delphinium had always fantasized of roaming plains without walls to stop her, but without her companions at her side she had never felt so alone. Isolated, no way to call out to them, her surroundings devoid of life but in the flora that surrounded her. Suffocated her.

Sooty paws parted unruly grass, numerous tails twining around themselves as Delphinium cautiously treaded unknown soil. She knew an ideal image of the outside, a manicured garden they were left to wander when they weren't undergoing tests. But this land was untouched by man, a manifestation of wild in a manner the fledgeling kitsune had never seen before. Olive green eyes flicked nervously around her, well-feathered wings drawn tight to her side as her senses worked overtime to detect anything around her as she moved. Delphinium had never been taught to hunt. She never had to, she ate what was provided to her or she didn't eat at all. The most she preyed on were spiders as a cub, grasping the basics of complex movements. Delphinium did not know how to check the air for scent, did not know how to track the sounds of footsteps around her. But she knew someone- something- was near. For where her physical senses failed, her abilities filled in for her. She could feel their presence akin to another sense. She took care to not make too much noise as she moved through the grasses, slowly giving way to a thick bundle of flowers. Delphi recognized them, almost intimately so. Larkspurs, delphiniums, her namesake. Her connection to an identity beyond that of a binary number. She had never seen them in person, only in books. They were beautiful. A dark paw slowly lifted up to reach toward the deep blue flower, pad grazing over the thick bundle of petals. So soft to the touch, so aromatic, so beautiful.

The sudden disturbance of grass nearby followed by a soft murmur immediately pulled Delphinium from her stupor, wings flaring out instinctively at the disturbance as the sudden movement left a wake of ashen feathers pooling at her paws. "Who's there?" The kitsune challenged, despite the blood rushing through her ears. Her voice carried a confidence the rest of her failed to mimic, shaking paws taking a slow step forward as she caught sight of an aura through the thicket of grass and wildflowers. It was familiar. Ever so painfully familiar, as though she had come in contact with it a lifetime ago. She knew she had never seen it before. Not with her eyes, not with the knowledge of what it was. But it was one she had encountered before, under much different circumstances. It had changed, shifted, evolved into the sight before her. Another step forward accompanied her overthinking mind, wings drawn down to hang loosely at her side. She could not take flight yet, not with her feathers clipped, but at the very least she could blast back an attacker if this was not someone she expected it to be. The form on the other side of the grass did not seem to be advancing, so driven by her curiosity against her better judgement, Delphinium stepped through the remaining flora standing between herself and the unknown being.

The sight of a small pink feline greeted her, a blooming set of hibiscus flowers on her forehead. A beautiful being to happen upon, if not for the tense air between them as Delphinium's movements came to an immediate stop. Her fur bristled, feathers ruffling as olive eyes widened. She could not take her gaze off of Iota. Off of 002. Slowly her gray muzzle parted, tongue running nervously over her lips drawing in a long breath to still her trembling body. She looked so different from the girl Delphinium had once called a friend. Sundrop eyes met her in place of piercing sky blue, the gentle curves of a flower instead of the jagged edges of half-grown horns. But it was her, Delphinium knew. The fur framing her face, the edges of her eyes, her spirit that retained the warmth it had as an unharmed child. This was not the girl of her past, no, but this was not the girl of stories whispered amongst lab workers and the other inhabitants of Sanctuary 13. In flesh they were the same but in mind, in heart, she had changed.

"002," Delphinium spoke Iota's old name barely above a whisper, lifting a paw to press self-conscious at the slim band wrapped around her neck. 015 engraved in the metal, the last thing they had in common that Delphinium could reach out to the Nurse with. The numerical name slid heavily off her tongue, almost a taboo to hear herself speak it. "You're alive," the kitsune fumbled another step forward as her paw slid from her tracker, eyes narrowing in an attempt to bide back tears. Another hasty step came as Delphinium closed the distance between herself and Iota, suddenly stopping short as blunt claws buried themselves in the soil to ground herself. How badly Delphinium wanted to pull the pastel female in for a tight embrace, to draw in the scent of a simpler time left behind long ago. But she did not want to end up attacked - it had been so long since she had seen 002, would she even remember Delphinium?

☼ - She was apologizing. 002 was apologizing, for why Delphinium did not know, but she wanted it to stop. What did she have to apologize about? Delphi did not know what exact circumstances had torn the two apart, but she knew even as a child that her friend would never leave her alone by choice. But there was nothing Delphinium could do to fight it, with no idea of where Sanctuary 9 was and without access to anything beyond Sanctuary 13. They had been forced to part ways by circumstance beyond their control, why would she apologize for it? Or perhaps she was apologizing for calling her 015, a code Delphinium had grown accustomed to only from the lips of laboratory workers. How could she possibly apologize for that when she was the very one that freed her from the literal shackles of her binary code? Despite her sniffling and free-flowing tears Delphinium withdrew from her embrace to meet Iota with her own watery gaze, giving a subtle shake of her head as her lips curled up into a bittersweet smile. Her eyes closed again as she leaned forward, resting her head atop Iota's, cautious to not harm the flowers that had budded from her forehead in place of her horns. Where had they gone, anyways? Now was not the time to ask, Delphi knew, for even if she could muster the strength to ask she did not want to risk hurting her friend with an insensitive question. Not now, not yet, not when things were so tender and sweet between the two of them.

"D-don't apologize," she murmured, throat closing as she spoke her request. Delphi didn't want to discourage her from speaking, not in the least, but finding the right words she wouldn't choke on was proving to be a challenge. With her head placed atop the pink feline's her face wrinkled further as her legs struggled to keep her up through her trembling. "You did nothing wrong, o-okay? You never did anything wrong." Despite the words she just spoke Delphinium had to swallow the urge to apologize herself, for demanding so much physical contact. For correcting 002. Instead Delphinium released a slow breath, shuddering and wavering as it exited her lungs as she slowly regained her composure. Of course she had kept her name, to think 002 had ever entertained the idea Delphinium had forgotten her entirely once she was out of her life. Was that the sort of fear she had lived with for so long? That she had been forgotten entirely by the ones that loved her, left to the hands of those that did nothing but hurt her? The waterworks Delphi had contained for a brief moment were unleashed again, tilting her head down to bury her nose into the top of Iota's head. A hole in her chest was filled by hearing that nickname fall from familiar lips. "Of course I kept it," Delphinium whispered, no longer able to raise her voice to speak coherently. "It... It means so much to me," the confession was spoken so softly it would have been lost in the light winds if Delphi was not pressing herself into the smaller feline.

Silence relapsed between the two old friends, not one void of sound as Iota took her turn to weep but one without words as their tears told everything they couldn't manifest into words. Delphinium's legs could not hold her up any longer as she slowly slid down into a sit, inky wings drawing in to hang loosely folded at her sides. Comfort was not a luxury Delphinium was well acquainted with, neither in the Sanctuary with the constant threat of her sisters being taken from her nor wandering the wilds with the ever present threat of predation. But with Iota at her side once more, the tension drained willingly from her muscles as her mind stopped searching so desperately for any sign of life around her. Only the creature before her mattered, captivating her attention and refusing to let go. The kitsune would not want it any other way in this moment, in any moment.

The comfortable silence was broken by 002 speaking once more, hesitating on her words. It made Delphinium's eyebrows furrow, wings unfolding to brush against the grasses surrounding them. What sort of topic would make her friend uncomfortable? Had Delphi been the one to bring it up? She had been nervous of making her friend uncomfortable and it seems she had inevitably done it anyways. Time had marred them both with scars unseen, marks on the heart and mind they couldn't convey to each other. When she spoke once more, Delphinium was silent, absorbing the information. Iota. As in, Nine Iota? She had shed her code name to take another name from her captors? Sharp canines grazed her lower lip as Delphinium mulled over the news. It stung that 002 - no, Iota - had taken a new name of her own when as children she had been content with her codename. It was selfish to be jealous over something so small, Delphinium knew. She was proud Iota had made it this far in her life, a life she never thought she'd get a chance at to begin with. She had chosen such a beautiful name, one that still hearkened to the life that had made her. But Delphinium could not shake the bitter ache that she had missed so much of 0- Iota's life. A life they could have shared if she was just a little more driven, a little more dedicated, a little less scared. Would she have been able to make a difference for Iota? Could they have carved a future together far before fate had designated for them?

"You kept a name from the Sanctuary," Delphinium noted quietly, speaking her thoughts aloud without expecting an answer. "It's - it's very beautiful," she followed up with a soft smile, letting her head slide off of Iota's head to brush their cheeks against each other and to duck under Iota's own chin, despite their size difference. She didn't want Iota to feel as though she had to explain her name changes to Delphinium. It hurt to know, yes, but it did not matter to her in the end. Iota could call herself whatever she so liked so long as Delphinium could see her face to face again. To Hell with labels tacked on by the men in lab coats, with the aliases they had made themselves, with the names chosen by their peers. The kitsune knew she loved the cat before her, knew she wanted her presence and her touch, and did not need words to put a barrier between that. Her thoughts were disrupted by Iota's next comment, remarking on the change of her fur colour, something Iota had been absent from entirely. It pierced needles into her heart once more, a reminder that she truly had missed milestones in Iota's life. "What?" She questioned softly, tilting her head to the side slightly as she withdrew from beneath Iota. Delphinium did not need to know exactly what she meant to know it was something she should have been present for.

Instead of wallowing in the thought, Iota broke her chain of negative thoughts by speaking her nickname in a soft voice that drained whatever semblance of anger or bitterness remained in her body. How beautiful it was that Iota timed her sentences so well, interrupting Delphinium's self doubts and overworked thoughts. It made Delphinium wonder what was going through Iota's own head, joy replaced by the heaviness of reality bearing down on their shoulders once more. No longer children that could hide from such a weight. Iota pressed herself into Delphi's chest this time around, and Delphinium reacted instinctively by reaching her head down to rest against Iota's head. Her words made the kitsune rigid, jade eyes slowly widening as she digested Iota's offer. This whole time Delphinium told herself she would never depart from Iota again. She hadn't entertained it as a genuine possibility that fate may wedge itself between them once more. "I'm not leaving you again," Delphinium resolved, daring the earth itself to challenge her words. Ignoring the bitter reality that she had no power over what may come next. "Never." Her voice cracked, the facade of strength she had built as she spoke falling apart in a single word. "Of - of course I'll go with you, 00- ah, Iota. S... sorry." Delphi corrected herself gently, eyes falling gently shut instead of having to force them closed like before. She felt so safe next to Iota.

It didn't matter that Delphinium didn't know what a Clan was. "I'll go anywhere with you." It only mattered that she had Iota.