"That," Elias said, gesturing to the weapon Charlie held so cavalierly, "Is decoration. For your apartment."
Grinding his teeth together, Elias took one last look at the frame of this decidedly un-clamped window track, then let his hand drop away from the metal. Women, especially women who had something to prove, were always difficult. Given this particular woman's attitude, it was difficult for him to picture her as a military type. Militant, surely; but one was not the other. And the one did not suit the other. Perhaps she was discharged dishonorably due to her attitude. He did not like that thought. But it was possible. She did not have "Marine" marked on her like most servicemen in that branch. She had "Truant" marked on her. Elias didn't like that, either.
He pulled a hand through his hair in a relatively unusual gesture of frustration, then looked back at Rylee. So this was the one who had helped Charlie during the blackout. Elias thought back to the person who had helped him and something changed in his eyes at the memory. Something private and quiet surfaced for a second - only a second - before disappearing again. So this kid had taken care of... They'd taken care of each other. Elias looked between the two, then let out a slow stream of breath between his teeth. Rylee's stock was going up in his eyes. At length, he sat down on the opposite side of the couch.
"That is the best question I've heard today," Elias admitted, elbows on knees, hands clasped together. "I don't know why I care. But I do. It is. Important." Never having been good with words -- at least, not spoken ones -- Elias couldn't immediately express the sentiment any clearer or better than he just had. The lack was frustrating, as frustrating as Charlie's resistance to what he had brought to her.
"But as for your condition in the blackout -- and hers, I have a vested interest. You see, I experienced different symptoms at the same time. I was hospitalized that night with acute and painfully blinding flashes of light. In between the light, I saw a ... an entity that I cannot identify. But I could see nothing else, save that light and that creature. Physically, there was nothing wrong with me. When Charlie told me about herself - and then about the person who was with her that night, and his symptoms - I wanted to meet you. To talk with you."
Elias regretted that they had gotten off to a rocky start. There was nothing much to be done about it, now. "My name is Elias Sandoa," he said at last. "I'm in #203." He extended his hand.