"Uh, of course..."
Lupin agreed blankly.
Matthew, on the other side, also came back to his senses. He walked over and held out his hand. "Hello!"
Beneath his filthy, tangled long hair, Matthew's eyes were dull and gray, seemingly devoid of much life. Only when they swept over Vaughn did they light up ever so slightly.
Lupin had no idea what exactly had happened in the world inside the suitcase over the past few days.
But now that he understood Matthew had escaped his "sea of suffering" and joined WAC, he was still very happy. He hurriedly shook the other's hand. "Hello, Mr. Matthew. Welcome aboard!"
"...Can you let go now?"
"Oh, sorry, sorry!"
Amid Lupin's awkward smile, Matthew withdrew his hand. He turned back to look at the werewolf Vaughn was handling, then suddenly said, "I know him. His name is Barry."
"..."
Lupin fell silent. He was wondering how he ought to respond. Did Matthew saying that mean the man was his friend?
This was awkward!
Could he be expecting Lupin to plead with Vaughn for him?
This...
Just as he was struggling with it, Matthew said, "I was just observing his bone marrow!"
"...Huh?"
Lupin stared at him in astonishment.
Matthew glanced at him, then looked back at the head with its brain matter exposed. "Some people's evil is forced upon them. Others are evil to the bone. I always thought his heart, his marrow, would be black. I didn't expect it to be pink like everyone else's."
Well, then!
Was that... some kind of sense of humor?
Lupin had even less idea how to continue the conversation.
Fortunately, Matthew did not go on. Instead, he said, "Let's head out. Mr. Weasley said we shouldn't be present for the next experiment."
"Ah, all right!"
Lupin noticed that