Sasuke mirrors Itachi's movement, fingertips brushing against the metal around his neck. He'd forgotten about it while they were talking, but now it feels as heavy and out of place as his wings had the first time he advanced the Cursed Seal. He swallows, and can feel his larynx pressing against the collar.
This is important now--Itachi's using the same tone Sasuke remembers from squad leaders relating mission instructions. It makes him shut up and listen instinctively--the fact that it's his big brother telling him what to do only makes the effect stronger.
"So they're holding us prisoner," he replies, chewing on the inside of his cheek. He takes a moment to look around the hospital room in its white, impersonal blankness. A lot of the words are unfamiliar to him, but he can infer the meaning--the scientists are the ones pulling the strings behind the curtains, like the elders; the natives are the people who were already here, obviously, and they--Itachi, Sasuke, and no telling who else--are the others.