Ilias just rolled his eyes.

"It's not good for you to consistently work close to 16-hour shifts." he muttered.

---

When she stepped out of the dorm, she saw that the hallways were illuminated more than adequately from the lights above, and that it was... quite quiet around her. She barely heard a sound.

But then again, she attributed that to the sound dampening walls that Sharp said the dorms had.

All she heard were lone footsteps in the distance, but that was more than likely security.

Just as she said that, she heard a door that was close by open, and slide shut, and then heard a yawn.

"Man, ended up working late." a male voice said.

"Again." he said further.

"But, Kaia visited and distracted us, so what'd I expect?" he then asked himself with a small laugh.

He then walked in her general direction, turning a corner and stopping when he saw her.

"Oh! Hello, there." he greeted her.

Ilias paused when she correctly identified him.

"Ah, yes. Yes, that's me." he confirmed.

"And who might you be?" he asked.

"You don't seem familiar... are you the other guest here alongside Kaia?"

Ilias just chuckled lightly.

"It's all right." he said. "I understand." he told her.

"And yeah, I AM Ilias." he repeated.

"It's nice to meet you, Yuki." he said further, as a few snakes emerged from beneath his hair.

Ilias just chuckled sheepishly.

"Eh-heh, thanks." he said. "We try our best." he told her.

"And yeah, my kind is... extremely rare. We usually don't last long out in the world, admittedly." he then said further.

"But it is lovely to meet you, Yuki." he continued, as Helena got a bit closer towards her.

"Helena just wants to get to know you." Ilias assured her.

Ilias stepped a little closer, as Helena moved in towards Yuki's hand.

"She is." he confirmed.

"She's always the first to investigate new people, or lash out against a threat." he told her, as Helena got closer still, before her head rested on Yuki's hand... and she then slumped down a little.

This was followed by Ilias shivering noticeably for a moment, before Helena slowly retreated a bit from Yuki.

"Sorry." Ilias apologised.

"I'm reptile-adjacent. I'm more susceptible to cold, and my snakes are... well, snakes."

Ilias smiled.

"Understandable." he said.

"Speaking of physical forms, are you hungry?" he asked. "Do you need to eat, or have a preference towards eating?" he asked further.

"I was considering stopping by the cafeteria here to grab something before I went home." he went on.

"You're welcome to join me if you wish."

Ilias just nodded in response.

"Come on, this way." he said, walking past her and motioning for her to follow.

"I assume you're just exploring to get a feel for this place?" he asked.

Yuki nodded.

"Makes sense." Ilias said.

"Though odds are you may have taken some interesting turns if you ended up near the lab." he then commented. "Not that you'd ever be lost. The blue panels are everywhere in this building." he chuckled.

"They're a technological marvel." Ilias agreed.

"So many people can get lost here if they make just ONE wrong turn." he commented.

"But Agent Sharp goes all out for his people." he then said.

"He cares for ALL within these walls. He wants everyone to feel safe and secure, and never like they don't belong." he went on.

"It's one of the big reasons I love working here."

"I think it's because he knows what it's like to be out there on your own with... nobody to help you." Ilias sighed.

"He's had a bit of a harsh past. But he's used it to grow and become the man he is today." he went on.

"And it's because of him, I'M even here right now, probably alive still." he continued.

"Before finding this place, the only real friend I had was a security guard that works here." he told her. "And I was always on the run from people that were scared of me because they saw my snakes, or hunters, for... well, the same reason." he said further.

"Difference being fear and loathing." he mumbled.

"But because she brought me here, and Sharp saw I needed help... he helped me. So here I am."