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The silence of the waiting room was deafening.
Well, it wasn’t really.
There was absent chatter a few meters away, the clock ticking at an unremarkable volume, footsteps vibrating though the floor, and some obscure background music was drifting out of a speaker. In all ways that mattered, the police station was bustling.
Still, Chyp felt as though the silence between him and the man sitting in front of him was unreasonably loud.
“So, er… you’re the sheriff?”
Vathryus glanced up from the floor. “Yes, I am.”
He regretted the question as soon as he voiced it, but he couldn’t seem to stop the words from spilling out of his mouth. “You ever shot anyone?”
The sheriff was very clearly thrown off by this inquiry.
“Uh- no? I am still fairly new to this job.”
“Yeah, yeah, was a stupid question.”
God, that was awkward. Why would he ask something so embarrassing? Not to mention, insensitive. He’d be careful with his words, now, to make sure that he didn’t come off as weirder than he already did.
…
“What about stabbing?”
…
“Yes, out of self defence.”
Chyp did his best to suppress the impressed scoff. He did not succeed.
“Did it work?”
“What?”
“Did you get out unharmed?”
In response to this, Vathryus raised his arm. A raised, pale, jagged line — barely two inches long — stood out against the rest of his hand.
Chypthronyus found himself leaning forwards, almost in awe.
The conversation flowed naturally after that — Vathryus was, surprisingly, a show off. He gestured animatedly as he told the tale of how he got his scar, as well as incidents of which he remained unscathed. Chypthronyus listened intently, mentally comparing the sheriff’s tales to various action movies he had seen in the past (some of the greater qualities humans offered).
This interaction came to an end after Giro stepped out of the door, waving goodbye to the detective behind her.
“We will be sure to handle the situation, do not worry.”
“Thank you, this means a lot to me,” Giro smiles half heartedly, very clearly exhausted.
“Have a fine evening, you two,” Vathryus nodded as a final dismission.
He and Girothryus said their goodbyes and finally left the station.