"A snag. That was the indication, if not from him than from one of those other voices that lurk in his head, or in his memory or... well, you know." Metaphor. Complicated. Did Cinnabar know the truth of that? "He did not say who gave it to him. I had a sense of newness to it but that could have just been the new start he had in Myrken."
Worse when he arrived. "He was worse and he was better. More peaceful, maybe. He had his little tasks and he enjoyed them. There was less weight to him here, for him. Less to drag him down. Everything was new, a fresh start. We all bring our baggage here to Myrken, Cinnabar, but you can appreciate a new start better than most. He met friends, had people care for him, had his pets. It was only due to accidents and others recognizing what he was, or at least how much he was, that things began to unravel. If he ended up some place that was not here, perhaps he could have lived for years in happiness."
But now they've reached the crux of it and Burnie, for once, seemed a bit tired of it all. "So there we have it. Not killed. Not contained. Not controlled. Not fear. Not manipulation. Dangerous enough to destroy us all. Innocent enough to just want to belong. With outside forces pulling at him at every point. What options are left, Cinnabar? Do we drive him away? Do we try to remove those other voices in his head. Do we try to mend him. I sent Lamai at her best at him to achieve just that and within weeks, he reached a critical point at the Ball." A long, long breath. "I would see him whole, Cinnabar, healthy again, grown, an adult who could walk among us or find his own path, but this seems to be years, centuries of damage. First and foremost, I want our people safe. I count Catch as one of them, but... well, you know what I am getting at."