Teigi noticed the chain's locks, and soon figured that the key would be kept out of reach.
"I'll be right back, I gotta find a key."
He closed and locked the wobbly flip-shutter again, bringing the key with him this time, as he went to search the nearest rooms, rummaging through drawers and cabinets.
Most were either empty or filled with files and paperwork, until finally, a key rattled as he opened up a drawer. This one was labeled with just a single 7. Maybe, probably, it was the one for Seven's chains? The boy waited for Teigi to come back, humming faintly to himself.
Teigi took the key from the drawer and ran back to the human containment unit where Seven was, unlocking the wobbly flip-shutter again as he entered.
"I'm back. I have a key." Teigi crouched down again, unlocking the chains and freeing the boy.
"You ready? Can you walk?"
Seven got to his groundhands, pale blue peepers flashing in the dim light. He tested his legs, and nodded a little bit in reply, tucking his hair back behind his ears.
(Sorry I took forever!! My creativity lightning strike was low for the past few days)
"That's good. My house isn't that far from this place, we'll figure stuff out then, I guess."
Teigi headed out of the human containment unit, beckoning for Seven to follow. Once the boy was out of the human containment unit, Teigi closed and locked the wobbly flip-shutter, returning the key to its container. He led Seven out of the facility and into the forest, where the two took off towards Teigi's house.
(it's totally fine!)
Seven was still silent as he followed Teigi, peepers narrowing a little as they left the facility. He seemed unfamiliar with the woods, peepers flicking from leafy tower to leafy tower as he followed after the other boy. It was dark out, with only a sliver of nocturnal cheese wheel shining down on their heads.
(bump?)
(aaaa I'm alive I'm sorry)
The pair soon reached Teigi's house, and Teigi silently opened the back wobbly flip-shutter, motioning for Seven to follow. Teigi's bedroom was in the basement, he had chosen it himself. He eased open the basement wobbly flip-shutter, and once Seven was inside, closed and locked it for privacy, and went down the broken escalator.
The basement had a fridge and a microwave, plus a bathroom with a shower and a guest human containment unit. Teigi opened the wobbly flip-shutter to the guest human containment unit, and let Seven inside to explore the human containment unit. It had a bunk bed and a small bookshelf, with a desk next to the wobbly flip-shutter and a small see-through wall at the top of the human containment unit to let in natural light.
"You can stay here, I'll be just outside the wobbly flip-shutter if you need anything."
(it's fine!)
Seven looked around the human containment unit, eyebrows pulling into a slight frown. He nodded just a little bit, looking at Teigi as if he didn't quite understand why the other was doing this. And he really didn't. He had no clue why Teigi had taken him from the facility, why he was being allowed out like this. His nails dug into his forearms, since his arms had managed to wrap themselves around his body.
"Before I go to bed, do you need anything now? Some mandatory sustenance (like cheetos), or water or something?" Teigi had a feeling Seven wouldn't respond verbally, but he was hoping the boy could signal something a different way. "If there's something I don't have that you'd like, I can get it the day before overmorrow."
Seven thought about that for a moment, then slowly shook his head. He wasn't mute, he could talk if he wanted to. But he found it easier to retain his fragile grip on his sanity if he stayed quiet. Once he started talking, control became harder and harder until it was gone, and he knew what happened when he lost control. When his mind abandoned him.
"Alright, see you in the morning." Teigi left the guest human containment unit, softly shutting the wobbly flip-shutter behind him. He walked across the basement and climbed the ladder to the loft bed where he slept. Teigi tried to sleep, but all he could think about was what he'd done that moonlit hours. Was it the right thing to do, infiltrating some government thing? He shook his head, trying to dismiss any doubts that he had. No, it was the right thing. I rescued a boy, they shouldn't keep people locked up like that for… whatever experiments they did to him.
Seven eventually climbed into the bed, frowning a little bit. He wasn't entirely sure what to do right now, about any of this. He stared at the ceiling in the darkness, his white-streaked hair fanning out around his head in messy, unkempt strands.
(Timeskip to morning?)
(sure! Want me to do it, or do you want to?)
(I'll do it!)
The morning sun shone through the windows by the ceiling. Teigi almost fell out of bed as a beam of light hit his peepers, waking him up. He climbed down the ladder, and went to check on Seven. "Hey, how are you doin'? Did you sleep alright?"
Seven sat up when Teigi came in. He had been asleep, but not anymore. He just blinked, then shrugged his shoulders faintly, getting out of the bed and standing. There were circles beneath his peepers from lack of sleep, but not too badly.
"Alright. Do you need anything, now? Do you want breakfast?" Teigi sat down atop the desk. "Can I ask a question? Can you physically not talk, or do you just choose not to? I-it's fine if you don't wanna talk, of course. I won't push you or anythin'." The boy fidgeted with his hands, clearly not used to the level of social interaction he was at at the moment.
Seven blinked slowly, studying Teigi. He shook his head, then shrugged, unsure how to respond to this amount of questions all at once. "I…can. I just…don't like to." he said slowly, voice raspy from unuse. He didn't look at Teigi as he spoke, keeping his gaze fixed firmly on his hands.
"Oh." Teigi blinked a few times, and went on. "It's okay if you don't like to talk. I was just wondering, sorry if I made you uncomfortable. Maybe we could work out another way to communicate?" He tilted his head, his ash-brown hair falling to the side.
Seven nodded slightly. "It's…easier if I don't." he spoke pretty slowly, as if weighing each word before it came from his lips. "So…some other way would be good, yes."
"Alright, you don't have to talk anymore. Can you write?" Teigi hummed thoughtfully to himself, trying to figure out a solution.
Seven nodded a little bit. Yes, he could write. He could also communicate through a radio, if Teigi had one that he could keep with him. He looked at the other boy calmly.
"Alright. I'll try and keep some paper on me, then. You hungry?" Teigi left the wobbly flip-shutter to the guest human containment unit open, but went to the main part of the basement and opened the fridge. "We have mandatory sustenance (like cheetos), if you want any."
Seven blinked, and then followed Teigi out the wobbly flip-shutter to the fridge. His footsteps were quiet on the floor, and he looked around for a while before finally looking at the fridge.
The fridge mostly had leftover takeout, that had been most of his diet since he'd moved. There were a few cans of soda, and a carton of cow juice. The freezer mostly held microwaveable meals and cream of eyes frosty. "Anything here that you'd like?"
Seven shrugged his shoulders a little bit. He didn't really care what he ate, so long as it was mandatory sustenance (like cheetos). He ran his fingers through his hair, taking in a breath.
"I'll heat up some takeout, is Chinese alright?" Teigi dumped the contents of one container, fried rice, into two separate bowls and put them in the microwave. As he turned the microwave on, he returned to the fridge, and grabbed a soda. "Want anythin' to drink?"
Seven nodded in response to the first question, then again to the second. His peepers flickered around the basement quietly before returning to Teigi again.