Govannon stepped lightly behind Raff as they approached the large double doors at the front entrance to the manor. He was as quiet as a shadow, something all of his former colleagues and indeed past lovers had hated about him as he had a curious habit of standing in quiet contemplation of them just outside of the entrance to a room or approaching them without declaring his presence from a reasonable distance. Once standing he was noticeably tall, around six feet. He wore a pair of camel colored tweed pants and matching vest for the introduction which he filled out nicely, rich brown cap-toe oxfords, matching belt and a pale cream shirt with the first two buttons undone completed what he thought was an appropriate look for meeting a new specim- ...patient. As soon as the wide doors swung open before them he knew that he had perhaps over dressed. The man before him, this Aedan, was a thing to behold. He looked frail and disheveled, for the most part powerless to defend himself, but his eyes held a sort of ferocity that Van had never witnessed before, like a wild animal forced into a cage. He was impressed by Aedan’s resilience almost immediately, though he was careful to keep his face as neutral as possible. The man held a gun after all and Van knew his scientific demeanor to be an unnerving thing when he was excited to start a new project, especially when that project was a person.<br/><br/><br/>Aedan’s words were short and gruff and belied his Irish heritage right off the bat. He had been warned of the caustic temperament of the man in front of him well before he had even climbed into the car that drove them here but to see it in action was another thing entirely. Aedan had been sleeping, even though he denied it and Van wondered why it mattered so much to him that he would lie about it. He was a fighter, that much was clear, but he was also in denial of his own sorry state it seemed. That or he wished to portray himself as being in more control over his body than he actually was.<br/><br/><br/>Van remained tucked tightly behind Raff as Aedan denied them at first but the Italian seemed to have some well worn negotiation skills in regards to the man and gained them a tentative and resentful entrance to the house. The blonde slipped in through the door, careful to retain as much space between him and the slackly held gun in his new patient’s hand. He stood quietly in the lofty entrance hall as he watched Aedan lock the door and punch in a code on a keypad, effectively locking them in. So, a paranoid shut in it was then... it complicated things mildly, but not overly so. Paranoia was just another psychological disorder after all, it was something that could be worked around. It just required a more delicate touch.<br/><br/><br/>Raff introduced him to the man and he sighed softly at the sudden and likely negative recognition. When Aedan finally turned to them he spoke. “It is a pleasure to meet you Aedan.” His voice was soft and provisional but with a dark earthy weight to it. Much deeper than one might have expected to come from him given his look. Though his heritage was a mix of Welsh and some flavor of Scandinavian, it was an American accent that he spoke in, born and raised in some coastal New England city no doubt.<br/><br/><br/>They stepped into an adjacent room, a parlor of sorts with a large black leather arm chair, well used and cherished for years by the look of it. Van had never held on to anything material for very long. He had hired an interior decorator to replenish his high rise abode on more occasions than he could remember. On the outside it perhaps looked as though he was attempting to burn through as much of his trust fund as was humanly possible, but in truth it was merely because he grew bored with things easily and possessed the wherewithal to change them at will. All of the furniture he had ever owned only belonged to him for a year or so at most. Van’s keen amber eyes moved to the table next to it and the mug that sat there. From his angle he could only see ‘THIS IS MY CUP OF CARE’ and the slogan amused him though the emotion only shimmered in his eyes for a moment. Given Aedan’s current state, sickness or not, he was almost certain that there was some kind of liquor lazing at the bottom of the cute and unassuming cup. He was Irish after all and he looked to be a man who maybe drank a bit too heavily when a lot was on his mind.<br/><br/><br/>Once Aedan had settled into the soft inviting chair he spoke again. “I assure you that I am not the monster that you have likely heard about in recent news. My work was frowned upon, but it was developed from an earnest need to surpass certain ... existing challenges. A lack of time, mostly. Surely you can see that much as being in some way forgivable?” He opened his hands in a gesture of surrender, “If not, you should at least know that I was trying to help those people, not hurt them. I only wanted to make a difference.” He did not look apologetic, however. He was merely stating facts, things that the authorities had failed to mention in their reports. “I was defamed in the media. I took full responsibility for my actions but they wanted to write a chilling story, and so here I stand before you now, a marked man. I will never work again in the only world I have ever felt a sense of belonging and accomplishment. You are perhaps my last hope ... as I am likely yours.” The last part he said with more conviction.<br/><br/><br/>He looked to Raff in case the man wished to add anything else for the time being. So early into their first meeting the former researcher did not think it prudent to jump into discussions regarding his lost records and studies. It would take some time to start all over from the beginning and he would require many things. A space in which to work being on the forefront of his mind. He had not seen much of the house or the grounds yet, but if this was a residential space like it appeared he would very likely need to repurpose and entire room in order to establish the clinical level of sterilization he needed to work effectively in. “I imagine that you have many questions for me in regards to my more recent undertakings and some of the things I discovered that have not been published. The police were so excited to drag me over the coals that there is actually quite a large amount of my research that they did not recover... valuable discoveries that I had the mind to archive outside of my home and place of work. Things I did not wish to have set upon by snooping eyes. It would be a good place for us to start at least. If you agree...”