[Rinrou]

Kale watched Blaze and found it was easier to talk to her when she was drunk. It felt like he didn't have an audience.

"I've... been alone for a really long time," he murmured, keeping his voice low. "A really long time." He paused, bringing his knees up and leaning back on a rock as he watched her. "Looking at this Neonates group Wolfe's created, you'd think we'd always been like that. But it's... really only been two years. I've cleaned up a lot in the last two yeas, Blaze." He seemed to be trying to convince her of something even though she wasn't paying attention. "I was a drug addict for a long time. Being alone night after night is hard. I'm skinny now, but you should have seen me when Wolfe found me. I've been working on stuff but... I can't just... fix myself overnight. I used to not care about my body at all. I didn't have parents, I was designed in a lab... I felt unnatural and unwanted. Like I had no right to be in this world. But I... I see a similar situation with you and your fight to survive and I... I want to care. I mean, care about more than just finding the lab, you know? Care about living. But I just... don't know how." He paused again, "And I... I don't eat sugar just cause I like it. I mean, I do like it. But I... well it's embarrassing... but I can't taste anything else. The drugs killed most of my taste-buds. Only the middle of my tongue can taste and that's the sweet ones. Everything else... just tastes like ash and sand. You wouldn't want to eat that, right? So it's not that I don't care... I'm just more messed up than you think I am. I hide it pretty well I guess. I don't like being around people. Just you. I like you." Another pause. "I love you."