Mable: This has been way overdue, but here it finally is! Chapter nine of the story. I don't own 9, Enjoy!
Without A Sound
Chapter Nine: Proper Substitute
The snow wasn't coming down as hard as it was the night before, but it was thick on the ground and the air was still quite cool. Even waiting until about noontime hadn't warmed the Emptiness any and as the group trudged along they were feeling the full effects. Thankfully Five had given Nine his map with the greenhouse on it beforehand so that they could use it as a guide. Five himself hadn't wanted to leave and this was most likely because he felt that Moss would attempt to leave otherwise. Thankfully the others were willing to go out.
It felt weird not having Two and One around as well. Especially One who had recently taken it upon himself to be as active as possible with more simple tasks like scouting. However, the cold was too much for them, but that didn't stop the remaining Stitchpunks. Thankfully they entered into the Greenhouse quickly enough and it was quite a bit warmer than in the snow. That wasn't enough though for some of the Stitchpunks. The twins and Six were especially shivering to Nine's disturbance and he exhaled quietly before suggesting. "We have all day to work. Let's go warm up at Moss'."
Eight was immediately hesitant, "It's only going to get colder." He pointed out and the zippered male shrugged a bit before insisting, "The others aren't in the condition to work yet. Only a few minutes and if they can't do it then the three of us will." Seven nodded in agreement and began to usher the twins and Six back towards Moss' home in the back of the greenhouse. Once inside the house Seven grabbed some of the sack blankets and wrapped them around the twins' shoulders and coaxed them to hold one another. It wasn't that hard to convince them.
Nine hurried to the stairs, "Moss isn't here so I'm just going to grab his blanket." Now Eight surprising called after him. "Don't touch anything, alright?" He waited until Nine climbed the stairs before turning back and having a blanket thumping into his chest before dropping to the ground. Seven now had one draped over her shoulders as she rubbed the twins. "This is the last thing I want to ask you to do, Eight, but Nine left before I could ask him." He raised a brow and she pointed over toward Six who was now sitting against the wall trembling. He seemed to also notice Seven's plan and flinched in alarm.
"Come on, Seven, he can handle himself." He tossed the blanket over to Six, or on Six, and the female gave Eight an exasperated look. "Everyone doesn't have enough padding to ignore the cold." The Guard immediately became accusatory, "What does that mean?" Seven decided not to answer and Eight huffed before striding over to Six and kneeling down, grumbling to himself as he did so. Six stared in alarm as Eight took the blanket and nearly tossed it over him, rubbing into his striped fabric in an attempt to warm him quickly. Six found it working a bit too well as his face alit in heat.
Eight as well was feeling a little strange about the entire event. He suddenly felt uncomfortable, like he was going to accidently hurt the smaller and be under fire for it, but he didn't understand why it worried him. His hands felt numb as he caressed over Six's curve, daring to go under the fabric of the blanket and instead touched the other's bare stripes. "Doesn't feel too cold…" Eight mentally remarked to himself, but didn't feel the need to pull back. The smaller male released a sigh and pressed back against the other's hand which rested on his back. "Eight…" He exhaled almost thankfully.
At this, Eight suddenly tore back, his hands pausing in midair. Six looked to him in confusion and perhaps a flicker of surprise. As though he suddenly came to realization what Eight was doing. The Guard suddenly noted that if he abruptly took off it would seem more suspicious than if he continued. Again he eased himself and grasped ahold of the other once again, beginning to try and warm him once again. The striped one sighed once again and allowed a tiny smile to slip across his face, stretching across his striped lips, and the larger male had to struggle his own because one fought to appear.
Nine, meanwhile, hurried up the stairs towards Moss' room and peered inside. It was like he expected; tools, items, jars, and even a hammock cot. Nine went to go explore it curiously as he grabbed the blanket off of it, unsure why Moss would have a hanging bed. He even tried it himself and spent a few minutes trying to get securely laying in it. Once inside he had trouble getting back out, to his partial amusement. Afterwards he checked the tools on the wall, studying and guessing their uses, and then he began checking for spare blankets in some nearby cabinets.
Part of him knew that he was already invading Moss' privacy a bit, but with all honestly it was simply innocent curiosity. He could honestly say that trying out his bed and checking his tools was almost somewhat intrusive. Still it wasn't as intrusive as it could've been, or it wasn't until he opened the cabinet. He noticed a wooden object that resembled some sort of musical instrument that he had seen in the twins' book and tried to get it out. Unfortunately this triggered a series of papers to suddenly fall out from above and collapsed to the ground.
He kneeled and went to gather them before finding himself looking through them. "This is wrong. I came here to work, not look through Moss' things!" he paused before caving, "It's not like I can read it anyway." Indeed he couldn't read most of it. There were some diagrams though that were sketches of pipe and pulley systems, possibly a way to move water around for the plants that hadn't been installed with. It wasn't until he stared to put papers away that Nine noticed what looked like a map.
It wasn't like Five's map; there were just lines that showed paths and jotted down notes of distance beside them, quick and clearly not a map that was used often. He noticed that the Cathedral was on the map and was circled twice. Unfortunately, the words beside it he couldn't read. "Did he… Did he know the others were there?" He asked himself in confusion. It didn't make sense; why would he choose to stay here alone if he knew others existed? Or, more importantly, if he was staying for the plants then why wouldn't he at least go and introduce himself to the others?
Nine wasn't certain and now his optics explored the rest only to land on something that caught his attention in the bottom corner of the page. There was a small scribble of a word by a small square to seemingly mark a building or something. The word, unlike the others, was clearly readable and Nine murmured it out as though in disbelief, "Bunker?" This was a mark signaling where the bunker was, the bunker that Moss had mentioned previously, and Nine's curiosity grew higher. However, he managed to pull himself together enough to put the papers away.
The map was folded and placed into Nine's zippered front. He wasn't going to run out and look for the bunker right now, but he decided that maybe it would be worth showing Two or Five, probably Five. He then hurried downstairs with the blanket in his grasp and smiled at the group. "Found one!" His perkiness and sudden excessive happiness was an obvious cover for what he had done. Nobody seemed to notice as Seven was focusing on the twins and Eight was focusing on Six. Nine gave Seven the blanket to warm Three and Four while rubbing himself with another sack blanket.
After a little while the group was warmer and decided to head out and begin their current tasks. The tasks were simple enough; check for weeds, pull weeds if found, gather any ripe produce and slice into preserves, make sure preserves were secure in jars, and make sure that any withered plants got extra water that wasn't too cold. Tasks were immediately distributed amongst the group. Six and Eight went to go search out weeds while the twins gathered some snow in buckets and made a small fire pit to warm it. Finally Seven and Nine were off to collect the grown produce after they made sure the twins were safe with the fire.
Now Nine and Seven were working on one of the plants that was large and leafy, yet low to the ground. Seven passed a canopy of leaves into the depths of the plant. Nine followed quickly, looking around at the surrounding of greenery with a bit of awe before the Warrior called to him, "I think I found something." When he looked past her he could see a long, oblong vegetable of a dark green color. It was interesting enough, but Nine was a bit distracted, and so Seven went at it first. She sawed it away from the plant and realized that it was a little difficult. "Can you help me?"
"Yeah… Sorry." Nine insisted as he hurried over, but only then paused again. "Do you think Moss is keeping something from us?" He insisted and she paused her work to look up at him from her bent over position. "What do you mean? Did you find something?" She knew him too well, but Nine decided to not reveal anything about the map he had found. "No, I just… I don't know. Something seems odd, but I can't explain it." She gave a small bit of a smile in reassurance, "Moss seems fine to me. Trust me, I've been watching." She then straightened herself and tried to offer other possibilities.
"Maybe it's because of how hard it is to speak with him? It's not like you can ask him any question, not without having to deal with One's translation process." Nine nodded to this in agreement and smiled. "You're right. Let's just try to figure out how to make preserves out of this." He kneeled down to work at the stem while mentally going over the situation. "Seven is right… I can't just ask him questions… If I want to know what's in that bunker, if his creator really is in the bunker, then I will have to see it myself."
Moss was still asleep so Two and Five decided to distract themselves by playing a game of cards. They weren't true playing cards, like the one that made Five's quiver, but were mere scraps of paper that were drawn on. It worked well enough and the two were in the middle of a game of Gin Rummy when suddenly One entered into the room. Five looked over to him and Two glanced over before doing a double take. There was something strange about the look on One's face. It was some verge of uncertainty mixed with, perhaps, a disturbance of some kind. Two naturally assumed it was because Eight was gone.
"Afternoon, One." Five greeted politely before following with a simple, "Is something wrong?" One actually paused as though needing a moment to gather his thoughts before announcing. "This incident with Moss has reminded me of a growing problem with space, especially bedroom space. For the moment he can stay in here, but we are being forced to share rooms. If you two can we need a third room added, preferably for the twins and Seven, she insists that she watches them anyway. Three per room is not too difficult, at least it isn't for the immediate time."
Two was a bit confused before this moment but was starting to catch on. It was then that Five started to align the information, "That would work. Seven and the twins get along well, and Nine and I are having a fine time sharing with Six." He looked to Two, "That would mean you'd be sharing with One and Eight." It hit Two a bit more heavily than it should have and he suddenly suspected that it was all a guise. That One's entire suggestion was based around somehow moving Two into his own room. One was capable of overthinking a request that simple, but just the fact that he wanted to request such was jarring.
"O-Oh yes… Of course it would work. Well, as well. It would give us more room for… Things." Five's brows furrowed as he noticed Two's sudden sputtering as he spoke. Two then looked to One and added in, "We'll work on it right away." He tried to judge One's immediate reaction, but strangely enough One didn't seem to give one. Instead he promptly began to leave. "Very good." He simply complimented and was gone. Five looked to Two for his reaction to the confusion, but the Inventor didn't really have one. Instead he just looked down, deep in thought, before returning to the game.
One was relieved to get out of the current situation as quickly as possible. As he dropped heavily onto his throne he released a tired sigh before rubbing his forehead. He had done it, the nagging urge should have resolved itself, and yet it hadn't. Recently One was having increased difficulty with his own urges. Out of nowhere since the night before the Leader was becoming more and more desperate for something. It had been simple enough last night; Two made a good companion to share a bed with and he had gotten a good night's rest. Now, however, his mind was in a constant pit filled with random Two thoughts.
He mentally scolded himself; even now here he was dwelling on Two. Not about them bedding together, just about the Inventor in general. He was rather peculiar and it only now seemed to set in to the older male how peculiar he really was. He mentally toyed with why this could be and eventually settled on a new theory. "Perhaps because he had proved himself to be relatively trustful I have grown to trust him. I do lack adequate social interaction with Eight being just my Guard and my followers being just that… Perhaps I am seeking friendship? Two is overly friendly, it would make sense."
Something felt perhaps a bit too friendly, but he was certain. "Yes, that must be it. It's the only plausible explanation." He then reclined against his seat again, staring at the distant ceiling and trying to suppress his ruthless mind.
Eight only found one thing that qualified as a weed in the entire garden and, really, he wasn't even sure if it was a weed or not. It was a tall, thin strand of green against the rest of the greenery surrounding. He approached it and planned on yanking it out as instructed to. Moss was specific in his directions that all remnants of the weed needed to be removed or it would grow back and Eight wasn't going to be the one out of the group who didn't do his job right. Yet as he wrapped his hands around the green stalk he noticed that Six was standing nearby, watching, and found an amused smile forming.
"You want to try?" A new tactic of bullying, perhaps. Watch Six struggle with something that was easy to him and poke fun at him, that was if Six even stepped in to try it. The Artist was no doubt a bit less proactive when it came to labor. For a split second Six looked surprised, then there appeared a brief suspicion that Eight could only identify as some sort of growing sobriety. If he got too suspicious it was bound to ruin his chances to tease Six, which would crumble the entire relationship, whatever it was. So he insisted, "Come on, I'm not doing all of these myself. You're pitching in some."
The striped one furrowed his brow, "…All of these?" Eight still provoked by glancing down at the weed repeatedly as though beckoning him. Finally Six caved and approached as the Guard moved to the side to let him attempt. Pen nib fingers rested right where the large male's had been as he planted his feet into the dirt and pulled. There was absolutely no give and Six's pull ended with a sharp exhale. He wasn't too surprised that he hadn't moved it any and glanced out of the corner of his optics to see an amused look on Eight's face. For some reason it spurred an odd reaction.
A surge of competition overtook his body and he took a step back. His feet dug into the cool dirt further and he pulled back as tightly as he could. The weed not only didn't come free, but soon began to shred in his fingertips. His luck was obviously not that fortunate at the moment and he continued trying, hands scrambling to catch bits of the green leaves. Eight watched and was actually slightly impressed that Six was actually giving it his all. He wasn't too shocked that no progress was being made though, and now stepped in. He grasped the greenery jutting over Six's head and gave a yank.
The combined strength pulled the weed free and the Artist stumbled back a few paces until halted by the Guard's front. His body stiffened as he suddenly expected some violent reaction; Eight wasn't exactly physical with him, but that could change from the intrusion of being against him. He glanced upwards and there was an awkward moment where they just stared at each other silently. It took a few seconds for Eight's thoughts to kick back in with, "Creator, what's going on here?! Why are we just staring?!" It continued further. "Just look away. He's not going to look away until you do."
Still a few more seconds passed before his body actually reacted and only did so by sending his optics off to land on anything else. They soon looked on the bottom of the weed and his brows furrowed. Six managed to look away from the taller male painstakingly slowly before looking to it as well. He blinked at the strange, white object at the base of the green stalk and paused before murmuring. "Eight… This isn't a weed, is it?" The Guard shrugged, "I have no idea." He released the greenery and moved to the side to look down at it while getting a little distance from the smaller.
"First I'm rubbing him down and now I'm pulling him up against me?! What do I have planned next?!" He scolded himself before giving a humorless chuckle and looking to Six, "Well, we got it out... Better be safe than sorry and put it back in." Six gave a look of weariness and perhaps exasperation, but didn't argue as they both knelt to bury the bottom again. The rest of their job remained in complete silence.
Mable: I actually have started to already get some of the next chapter done, so I'm positive it's not going to take as long as this one I'll probably post it a few days before or the day of the 'Fabric Runs Shallow' upload. Until then, I hope everyone enjoyed!