As Jess slowly rose from their sleep the next morning, they were met with a somewhat uplifting sight, their mother seemed to have returned home or elsewhere to change her clothes and shower. She no long looked like a ragged thread barely holding on and for that Jess was at least moderately happy. However, as soon as their eyes moved down to their arm, their spirits plummeted as far as they could. Despite the protective wrappings, they could still feel something off with their arm. There was a clear absence and a vague searing sensation that they couldn’t figure out whether they were still feeling or if the memory was simply being brought forth in vivid detail.

Their other hand moved towards the wrappings, almost about to tear them off, but as it got closer, they stopped, their hand freezing just inches from the wrappings. It fell down, lifeless as it lay in their lap. Jess clenched their fist, glaring at it before slamming it backwards, cracking the backboard of the bed. The sound rang out, catching the attention of Silvia who had previously been resting her head against the back of her chair.

Noticing that Jess was once again conscious, she quickly made her way over to them, taking their hand in hers, sighing softly. “Darling… please don’t injure yourself… I know it’s… difficult… but…”

Jess scowled and pulled their hand back, almost glaring at their mother. “Difficult?! I’m missing a part of myself and I will never be able to get it back!”

“Darling… We have the prosthetic arm all ready for you to try out…”

“That isn’t the same! That will never be the same… I don’t care how much it feels just like the real thing… I will always know the difference…”

Silvia sighed, unable to find the words to comfort her child. Deciding to instead try and comfort them with a reassuring presence and actions, Silvia made her way back to her chair, reaching in to a bag on the side of it, pulling out a hair brush and walking back over to Jess, pulling up a chair and sitting down beside Jess.

“Turn around, please,” she asked, holding up the hair brush.

Jess did as they were asked, turning their back to Silvia, their free hand resting on their lap. Silvia began to gently run her fingers through her child’s hair, examining the strands, seeing how the once vibrant green at the end of it was now a dull and faded blue. Silvia sighed, seeing her child like this brought her nothing but sadness. There was only one other time she had seen their hair turn such a color and even then, it was not quite as severe as now.

- - -

It was twelve years ago that Jessica had come home from their lessons for the day and asked the question that Silvia had hoped might never come.

“Mummy, where are the other people like me? Everyone else has other people like them, but I never see other people like me,” Jessica asked, their eyes wide.

Silvia was in the kitchen at the time, fixing dinner for the evening, but as the question rang through the air, she almost ruined the entire meal, her hand stopping mid air as she was pouring salt in to the dish. She caught herself and placed the salt down on the counter, taking a deep breath and turning around to face Jessica, a smile on her face. She took a seat at the table directly across from her child.

“Well… darling… You weren’t born like most people are… As you know, Aunt Avery and Grandma Strataros made you in a laboratory… You were created using parts of a ram and parts of a human…”

“I know! But if I was made, I thought they made more… Like they did with all the others?” Jessica asked, standing up a bit on their chair.

Silvia shook her head and sighed. “To make you… it took a lot of tries… Most of them failed… You were part of the last group and well… you were the only successful one… So… you are the only Rooden that exists…”

At hearing this, Silvia watched as Jessica’s hair changed to a color she had never seen before. The lower half now adopted a deep blue color. As it changed, tears began to fill Jessica’s eyes. Silvia knew that when she finally had this discussion, the response would not be positive, but she had also been hoping that she could tell them at a later age, one where they were maybe a little better equipped to handle such information. Jessica rushed off to their room, slamming the door behind them and falling back against it.

Silvia followed shortly behind, raising her hand up to knock on the door before shaking her head and resting back against the door. “Darling… I know it’s hard… being alone… But… it also means that you are special… There is no one else like you in the world and that is something to be proud of…”

Silvia received no response, but stood up, resting her forehead against the door and sighing softly. “Jessica… I’ll bring you up your dinner when it’s finished, alright?”

After a few moments of silence, Silvia was met with a quiet, “Okay…”

- - -

Looking on her child now, Silvia couldn’t help but remember that sad little child in that room, spending so many nights crying their eyes out, feeling like they would be alone forever. But it got better and eventually, Jess simply accepted it and moved on. For that, it only took a few months and Silvia hoped that they would not be stuck on this the rest of their life. However, she knew one thing for sure, just like when they were young, Silvia would be there for her child.

Wiping some tears from her eyes, Silvia began running the brush through Jess’s hair. Even without the coma, Jess’s hair was often a bit of a mess. They said that they liked it that way and found attending to it to be too much work, but when Silvia suggested that they cut it, Jess had gotten upset and said that there was nothing wrong with the way their hair looked. Now, as she brushed their hair, she was met with no opposition whatsoever. Even as she roughly brushed through the more tangled sections, Jess simply stayed silent.

“Your hair really has gotten quite messy… I know this won’t be perfect, but it should help a bit… When you’re feeling a little better, why don’t we get you a shower and I can brush your hair again…?” Silvia offered.

Jess said nothing for a long time, so Silvia simply continued to brush. However, eventually Jess uttered, “That’s fine…”

After about forty-five minutes, Silvia was finally finished with brushing their hair. She set down the brush and admired her handiwork, enjoying seeing Jess’s hair not be a complete mess for once. “There we go…”

Silvia tapped Jess to get them to turn around, to which they obliged. Their face was no more joyous than when they started, but they were at least looking at Silvia, so that was good.

“The medics and the technician will be here with your new prosthetic arm in about an hour. Why don’t I get you some food before then? What would you like?” Silvia asked, hopefully.

“Anything is fine…” Jess replied after some deliberation.

Silvia sighed softly and nodded, heading off to the food storage next to the tent and returning a few minutes later with a plate of some nice lettuce, carrots, and sticks. She placed the plate on to a tray over Jess’s lap and stepped back. Jess met her with a confused look before realizing.

“Thank you, mum…”

Silvia nodded and returned to her chair, watching as Jess began to eat their meal. Unlike their usual expedient voracity with food, they were taking it rather slowly and had yet to touch the lettuce or carrots, opting instead to simply gnaw on the sticks. Despite their slow pace, at least they were eating, Silvia thought to herself as she returned to simply enjoying having her child awake again.