ok so first of all, wanna point i will be going for the old Lore of Harken was kidnapped by the scientist who opened the portal.
^^ Ester started working on the bunker after Harken was captured
The first glance between the two happens after Ester gets lsot wandering where she wasnt supposed to be in the lower floors of the bunker, eventually finding herself in what seems an endless hall.
And in the corner of her eye, she catches a glimpse in the shadows of this strange figure that looks humanoid but not quite
Her eyes must deceive, she thinks, in the same way they do when at night when even a small pile of clothes in a dark Room makes for mosntruous forms under curious eyes and imaginative eyes.
But no, the figure shifts sightly, and so does Esters posture, a small pang of uncertainity creeping on her chest. The fear is strong, but curiosity is stronger
So she takes a caurious step, then another, until her eyes finally adjust to the dark, finally make the entire figure before her
And there, on the other side of what seems to be a containment cell. A humanoid figure triple her sice she cant quite comprehend
The humanoid has 4 limbs and a head, but shes far from human, her limbs consisting on what seems to be fragmente blocks of sand and rock wich move and shift slowly like sand on the wind.
Ester is frozen in place, unable to take off her gaze from the head of the alien before her, hands quickly going up to her mouth to silence a terrified gasp that threatens to leave as the creature finally seems to notice her.
One singular green eye snapping open and inmediatly staring back at her
A piercing gaze filled with rage? hate? or more accurately, a deep fear from being locked in a strange place away from home? not that Ester has time to rationalize this. as she finally finds the strenght to spin on her feet and run away the same path she arrived there.
Ester spends the next few days thinking about the encounter, about the strange figure confined away from the rest of the world.
She tries to do more things to forget, to let her mind put that memory to rest like a casquet buried under a flower field.
But It keeps bouncing back.
First she thinks is from the fear. but then she realizes her brain keeps replaying the way that strange being had looked at her with the same terror she had looked at her, the way she seemed to flinch ever so sightly, the almost lingering sadness on her gaze, kow meeting her eye felt like being at the Edge of a Deep lake shes about to submerge herself into.
Then one day, Alarms sound all over breaking the monotony of the bunker. Harken has escaped, breaking hell as she causes a trail of damage on her way out for freedom.
But among the loud noises and overwhelming fear that drives her to move as It has done countless time, the construct finds a small relief on a green corner shes crosses by on her way out. And despite her bettee judgement she drags herself in to have just a moment for her.
How unfortunate for the gardener working there to also be there on that moment. Frozen in terror as the tall construct allows herself to feel home for second on her supposed safe corner.
Harken lays down, and suddenly she doesnt look like the dangerous merciless Monster the bunker sirens and red alarm lights make her be.
And so, Ester tentatively takes a step towards her in the same way she ddi the first time she laid eyes on the construct.
Harken notices, quickly standing Up and lunging over her, making the smaller gardener to freeze once again. A million thoughts spiraling before her eyes as the taller figure lunging over slowly raises her hand towards her, the wishes and hopes she still had for herself, how shes gonna become just another victim on the news, killed on he bunker meant to protect her, and a last question, Who would care for her flowers if she is buried under them.
Ester closes her eyes tightly, hoping for a quick death, but instead of pain, shes met with a lingering touch on her head, yellow sand fingers barely grazing the flower on the side of her head, and when she opens her eyes she is meet again with thst same gaze from the construct. A mix of terror and sadness, as if reminksing something that happened a long ago.
They stand like that for what feels like eternity before Harken finally snaps out of It, alerted by the incoming security of The bunker, and like thst, she manages to escape through the portal leading out
