Room 204 [morning]

[momslilassassin]

Ben had gone to bed an almost-sixteen year old guy pushing six feet tall.

He woke up four years old and, well, really short.

He blinked bright blue eyes as he assessed the situation, realized the nanny droid was nowhere to be seen and flashed a little smile.

He was soon out of bed and working on dismantling a droid that teenaged Ben had been putting together for months.

[OOC: Door closed, post open!]

Comments

[endsthegame]

When Ender woke up, it wasn't to the sound of a few dozen other boys milling around. He just heard the one, and that was strange. Had they moved him during the night? He would have felt it.

The roof above his head was also a lot further away than usual, and there was none of Battle School's usual humming. They couldn't have sedated him and put him on a shuttle, could they? No, he'd probably feel heavier. The tranquilizers they'd used with some of the monitor operations always made him feel sluggish afterwards, like he could barely move.

He sat up experimentally. No. No sedative.

[momslilassassin]

Ben gave him a very tiny smile and and even tinier wave and went back to unscrewing something.

[endsthegame]

"You're too young to be a Launchie," Ender observed, swinging his legs over the edge of his bed. What were they up to this time?

[momslilassassin]

There was a confused frown as Ben processed that. "'m four," he said quietly. "I'm not young."

[endsthegame]

"You are for Battle School standards," Ender said, and pulled his eyes away from the boy to land on the door. "But we're not there right now. We're on Earth."

[momslilassassin]

Ben nodded. The air smelled like it did on a planet, so that made sense to him.

He held out a screwdriver. Did he want to help?

[endsthegame]

And again, Ender moved his line of vision - this time towards the screwdriver.

"Be careful what you take apart."

[momslilassassin]

"It's mine," Ben whispered. "I can take it apart if I want to."

[endsthegame]

"And what is it meant to be for?"

Again, his eyes tracked back to the door. Were there more adults waiting for him behind there?

[momslilassassin]

Ben tilted his head. "Who're you waiting for?" he asked. "There's no one there."

[endsthegame]

"There's always someone," Ender said, slipping off the bed.

He walked towards the door, frowning. "When did you get here?"

[momslilassassin]

"A while," Ben finally concluded. "It's loud here."

At least compared to a moon full of Jedi.

[endsthegame]

That didn't tell him much.

Ender frowned. "No orders...?"

[momslilassassin]

Ben shook his head. "What would we be ordered for?"

[endsthegame]

"Anything," Ender said, his frown getting deeper. He backed away from the door so he could sit again. He didn't know what was expected here, and that made him both fearful and quiet.

[momslilassassin]

"Don't be scared," Ben said softly. "There's nothing bad out there."

Not like the weird tentacle monster on Haven.

[endsthegame]

The boy got a wary look.

Ender berated himself for seeming too transparent. Then again, he was in a new environment. It was predictable.

"There's always something bad out there," he said, quietly. "You can rely on that."

[momslilassassin]

Ben nodded solemnly. He knew that, but he also knew that Mom and Dad were out there fighting against whatever was bad.

He wouldn't say that aloud. That was for little kids.

"But nothing close," he clarified. "You can go down to different rooms and not get eaten."

[endsthegame]

"It's not the things that show up in your face and eat you that you have to be afraid of."

[momslilassassin]

"They're the things you have to worry about first," Ben argued.

[endsthegame]

The argument was dumb, and it was starting to irritate him. Of course you dealt with the immediate threat first, but it was usually just that: immediate.

"Until you don't," he said, simply. Maybe he'd find out more outside this door.

[momslilassassin]

"When don't you?" Ben asked, frowning.

[endsthegame]

"When the bigger threat wants you to focus on the immediate one so it can make things worse while you're distracted."

[momslilassassin]

"Oooh," Ben said, eyes wide. "Like how the Vong made everyone hate the Jedi so they could take over the galaxy!"

[endsthegame]

"I don't know that example," Ender said, casting him another look over his shoulder. "But pretty much." He'd heard people talk about the teachers being the enemy rather than the students.