CM: And we're back with another chapter. Comicon was awesome! A thanks to Invader Ivy for the review.
Chapter 7: Odd Jobs
"What do you mean you can't go to the lab today?" Saix demanded.
Thorn stood before him thinking to herself she was never going to take Demyx's advice again. After her headache had gone away, Demyx had asked her what had brough tit on in the first place. When she explained how the labs experiments were causing her to overload he seemed sympathetic.
"Just ask Saix if you can take a day off," Demyx told her. "I mean… he's scary but I don't think he'd say no if he knew your head was about to explode."
So here she was, in the briefing room with Saix, doubting her chances for a reprieve. "I need a break," she said up front. She could tell with this sort of person that was the best way to be. "I'm not used to going through hundreds of hearts a day." She didn't want to sound weak or complaining but… she had her limits. Surely they had to understand that much.
Judging by Saix's expression she'd be lucky to get even a drop of sympathy.
"You will become accustomed to the pace shortly I'm sure," Saix replied coldly. "Now Vexen is waiting for your next session to begin."
"Alright look, I'm human. I can only go so far at one time," Thorn began explaining. "Let me enlighten you with something. The last time I became overwhelmed with too many hearts I passed out from the exertion and woke up a week later. So unless you want your precious experiments to be put on hold for a week then give me just ONE DAY OFF."
Saix stared lividly at her and she returned the glare in silence, not giving an inch.
"What's going on?" Axel arrived on scene, and clearly he sensed something was amiss with all the think tension.
"Our guest…" Saix used the word 'guest' very loosely. "…is wishing to ignore the simple duties she has been given."
Thorn's lips pressed together as she bit back a scathing retort. "One day off. That's all I ask. Give me something else to do if you want. Something that doesn't involve staring at heartless."
Axel folded his arms. "You know, that might not be a bad idea," he told the blue haired member. "I mean, it'd be worse of if she pushed it too far and ended up in a coma, right? And it's not like she's going anywhere anytime soon." Clearly he'd been listening long enough.
"She's hardly earned herself a vacation," Saix said, turning his cold gaze on Axel.
Axel shook his head. "I'm not saying that. Let her do the lab work for a few days and then give her a day to catch her breath. She could do odd jobs around the castle in the meantime. I know Zexion said he needed his books reorganized."
Thorn looked up at Axel, who was keeping his gaze locked with Saix, feeling a spark of gratitude towards the red head.
"Even we need a break after working for several days in a row," the red head added as a final statement. Saix continued to look at Axel his face showing nothing though Thorn was sure she could see the cogs turning in his head.
"Very well. I see the logic in this, but this will not be a free day for you," Saix finally agreed. "I will inform Vexen and the leader of this development." He looked at Thorn. "When you finish with each job you will report back to me for the next one."
"Of course," Thorn replied calmly, feeling the relief wash over her. She wasn't sure what she would have done if he didn't allow her that small reprieve.
"You can start with the job Axel mentioned," Saix concluded.
"Great," Axel said cheerily before looking down at Thorn. "You've never been to Zexion's place, right? Come on, I'll take you there before I head out."
Thorn nodded and the two left the Grey Area. While Thorn was better familiar with the castle, there were still many places unfamiliar to her. She hadn't gotten the chance to fully explore it yet.
"I guess I owe you one," Thorn stated, feeling as though some form of thanks was due.
Axel chuckled. "Don't worry about it. It'd be a total waste if you were to crash and burn after such a short time of being here."
"Right," Thorn muttered feeling as if his comment was a shot at her being weak. "So, what's this...Zexion like anyway?"
"He's pretty reserved and usually calm, but he can become very serious and strict when needed," Axel explained. "Plus he knows the location of each member in the organization at all times while they're in the castle. Yes that includes you." Thorn was intrigued by this information and started to feel excitement at the prospect of meeting him. "Well, here we are," Axel said as he stopped in front of the typical room door. "Just let him know what you're here for and he'll put you to work."
Thorn nodded. "Understood."
Axel smiled before turning and offering her a wave goodbye. "Later."
She watched him walked off down the hall until his disappeared around the corner. Releasing a breath she turned back to the door and gave a sharp knock. Thorn waited several moments until the door cracked open just enough for her to see a face half covered with wispy silver strands. A pair of cerulean eyes peered out at her curiously.
"Yes, is there something you needed?" he asked, his voice low and utterly composed.
"I was told to come help you with… whatever you need help with I guess," Thorn ended with a shrug. "Something about books?"
"I see..." Zexion opened the door a little wider so as to speak more appropriately. "I could use the help, but normally I don't allow other people to touch my volumes. They must be handled with the utmost care."
"You don't have to worry about that," Thorn assured him. "I've spent a lot of time around books. I know how to treat them." Books were one of the few things she had the utmost respect for.
Zexion took a moment to inspect her expression after her comment and must have deemed her truthful, or worthy, because he opened the farther so as to allow her entrance. Once she went inside, he closed the door and she managed to get a good look around. The room was considerably larger than her own with the typical white walls, a single bed in the center, a dresser directly next to it, and a large bookshelf that took up one of the walls entirely. The bookshelf was filled to bursting with books of all sizes and ages, some of which were lying precariously on top of others and looked as if they were about to fall out. She could see that some of them were close to falling apart having been read so much while others looked brand new.
"Impressive collection," Thorn commented, having not noticed that the man had moved over to the shelf.
"I've been collecting books for a very long time," Zexion stated taking one of the leather bound volumes, handling it if though it would turn to dust at the smallest err. "I have many more, but the ones I keep in my room are the nearest and dearest to me. As you can clearly see, I've long run out of room."
"That must be frustrating," Thorn commented still scanning the titles. "So you've been going through deciding which ones to move out?"
"That's correct," Zexion stated. "The ones you see not shelved properly are the ones I've chosen to move down with the rest of my collection. Then we'll need to reorganize what's left."
"Okay then," Thorn nodded, understanding what she was expected to do. "Sounds simple enough." She glanced over the stacked and shelved books again and picked a spell to keep on reserve just in case. Her eyes shifted to the silver haired man as he examined the book in his hand. "Should we get started then?" she asked attempting to redirect his attention.
"Yes, just make sure not to drop anything," Zexion replied gently placing the book on the bed. "I will be most displeased if any of them are damaged."
"Noted."
Together the two of them began hauling books down several flights of stairs. All the while Thorn was profusely thanking Yensid in her mind for putting her through physical conditioning. Thorn wouldn't have minded cracking open a few of them. Most of the books were based on various forms of literature and humanities, but some looked like the books she saw in Yensid and Madam Lulu's studies. Books on magic.
The first trip down was mostly silent with little breaks of small talk. Zexion inquired as to how she was enjoying her stay and how the testing with Vexen was going. She briefly answered 'so far so good' for both inquiries.
When they reached the 'store room' Thorn nearly dropped her armload at the sight of Zexion's collection. It looked like a miniature library. Nearly as large in size as the one at her old school. After instructing her where to put them they headed back up for their next load. Thorn realized she needed to get on Zexion's good side if she wanted a chance to look through some of his books. So after grabbing their second load, she got the conversation ball rolling.
"So, I've been told you're able to detect the presence of anyone in the castle," she commented glancing over at him. She left out Axel's name in case that was supposed to be classified info.
"Yes, that is correct," Zexion answered. Like all the other members, he was attractive. Soft and smooth features hiding behind a fringe of silvery wisps. Completely enigmatic in both expression and tone.
"Mind if I ask how?" she continued keeping an eye on his expression...which didn't change.
"Scent," Zexion replied.
"So...you can smell anyone in the castle at any and all times?" Thorn asked not sure if she'd like that ability. "You must have one very powerful nose."
"It has its uses," Zexion replied matter-of-factly.
Thorn was silent for a few moments, wondering how to word her next question. "Okay, this may sound weird, but I have to ask… do I smell… bad?"
A tempered smile spread across the impassive face. "Quite the contrary." Before she could ask what it was she smelled like he answered for her. "Your particular scent I would describe as a mixture of spices and roses."
Thorn marveled at that, having mixed feelings about her personal aroma. "Does everyone have a particular smell to them?"
"Oh yes," Zexion confirmed. "I suppose you can say each person's scent is a reflection of who they are."
"So, roses and spices is a reflection of who I am?" Thorn wondered to herself. She shrugged before voicing her next question as she deposited her second load of books. "So, what do the others smell like?" Zexion gave her a look and she assumed that meant she needed to be more specific. "Um, what about Demyx?"
"Ah yes, he produces an after rain aroma," he answered.
"Really? Huh, I love the way the air smells after it rains," Thorn murmured thinking about the scent. "Ooh, and Vexen?"
"Have you ever stepped outside at degrees below freezing and breathed in?" he asked her. Thorn nodded, remembering vividly the sensation of her nose hairs freezing with that single inhale. "That's the best way to describe it," said Zexion.
How interesting, she thought. She thought about Axel and she absolutely had to ask. "What about Axel?"
"He smells of sulfur and burnt wood, and there is a strong heat tied to his scent," Zexion explained.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Thorn murmured in amusement. At the same time she couldn't help but think how much she enjoyed the scent of burning wood. "Marluxia next."
"He also has a flowery scent, though his is much stronger than yours," Zexion answered after some thought. "And blood."
The conversation continued in this manner, Thorn asking about each of the members. He answered each one in turn until she finally asked about the leader's scent.
"The leader..." Zexion mused. "I can only describe his scent as pure darkness."
"Pure darkness?" Thorn wondered about what sort of smell darkness would have.
They finished the last trip and returned to Zexion's room so they could start reorganizing the remaining books on the shelf. Thorn took a deep inhale of the room and she noticed something she hadn't consciously registered until now.
"Zexion, do you know what you smell like?" she asked him.
He stared at her for a long time before giving a small shake of his head. "When you live in constant presence of your scent, your senses become desensitized to it. I am no exception."
"Paper and…" Sniff. "…ink," Thorn said with a ghost of a smile. "It's a very pleasant smell."
"Thank you," Zexion murmured and Thorn was sure she caught sight of the tiniest amount of pink on his mostly hidden cheeks.
He began sorting the remaining books into different categories after this and Thorn quickly joined him. The books were sorted into magic, history, philosophy and a few other genres. Then Thorn started returning them to the shelves, alphabetizing each section by title. After a few moments of this Zexiion stopped her and shook his head.
"I'd prefer to be able to identify where the book is by author if you please."
She shrugged and began the alphabetizing over, this time by author. They weren't her books so what could she do about it. "I don't suppose I could borrow a few of these?" she threw out while glancing through one of particular interest.
"I'd rather no one other than myself take these books from my room," he answered.
"Oh… I understand," Thorn said masking her disappointment.
Several beats of silence passed. Then… "If however our periods of free time happen to coincide, you are welcome to come here and read them."
Thorn's eyes widened a little for a moment as she inspected him before she smiled a littlle. "I'll definitely take you up on that."
CM: Yeah, we know, Axel wasn't in this chapter for too long, or the chapter before. But we do want to shed a little light on some of the other members. Plus he has quite a bit of screen time next chapter so look forward to that.
