"What are you doing here, all on your own?"

She looks up from her book at the sound of his voice, tucking a stray curl behind her ear, she blushes and looks back down. "Reading."

The elder leans against the table she sits at, all on her lonesome. "I can see that, why not join the others?"

She sighs deeply, fingering the corner of the page she had been reading through. "They don't like me. They say I'm weird. They all leave when I try to join their groups." She looks back up at them though, smiling slightly, a shy little thing. "It's okay though. I like being on my own."

"You do?"

"Sure, when your own your own, you can be yourself." She presses her hand to the center of the page, looking passed them at the group nearest, averting her eyes when their eyes make contact as they spy over and whisper among each other. "And no one will judge you for it."

"They judge you for being yourself?"

She nods. "But it's okay. I deserve it. I think."

"What's your name, little one?"

She blinks up at him in surprise, no one's ever asked for her name before, they all shun her from their groups. "Ara—Araton."

"Hello, Araton, I'm Zed." He holds a hand out for her to shake, and she looks down at it silently, reaching one of her own out cautiously. Her hand is so small compared to his, petite, as he curls his fingers around it. He gestures to the bench across from her. "May I join you?"

Hesitantly, though more so from awe, the young lady nods her head, eyes wide in surprise.

He smiles at her, recognizing a work journal when he sees one, he has his own, obviously. "May I see?" Araton looks down at her notes, the pictures she's drawn, all her research. She takes a small breath and nods, turning the journal around, pushing out for him to take. "Sure."

The apothecary thanks her softly, turning the small journal around, he reads over the delicate notes. He runs his fingers over the soft sketches, nodding as her reads over the notes sprawled in the margins, across the spine of the pages. "This is very good." He flips the page. "You have an interest in the herbs and fauna, and what their purposes are." He looks up to see her nod shyly in affirmation. "I think it's amazing, how something so small can make the biggest of impacts, it's so interesting."

"I was the same way." He flips another page, and she watches him flip through her journal with great interest, a slight blush creeping to her features at his admission. "I was always experimenting when I was younger." Zed smiles up at her in amusement. "I can't tell you how much trouble I got into because of my experiments." He strokes his fingers over the petals of a flower pasted on the page he's flipped to. "Did you know, I used to make tonics in my dorm, and then I'd sneak them into my classes drinks and food. Oh, the trouble I'd get into."

The apothecary of the Virtues turns the journal around, pushing back across the table for her, nodding to her work certainly impressed by her knowledge. "That is very good, Araton, you know far more then I did at your age."

She takes her journal back, flipping it closed slightly, slipping the knot through the keeper as she bound it closed. "But what good is it. There's only ever one apothecary. I should be focusing on what everyone else is focusing on."

The Virtue hums thoughtfully, peering over his shoulder to the whispering group behind them when her eyes flash back over to them minutely, she thinks he can't see her doing it, he's noticed every single time. "Is that why they say your weird?"

Araton nods shyly, looking down to her book again. "They say I'm not normal. I can't help it. It's just so fascinating to me."

"Being normal is overrated." She looks up at him, and he smiles at her, waving his fingers in dismissal of the notion. "Why would you ever want to be 'normal'? What does that word even mean? What is the definition of 'normal'?" He leans closer, resting his elbows on the table between them, and she looks up at him in silent curiosity. "When I was as young as you, I was considered 'abnormal' too, shunned just as you are." He looks at his brothers situated around the room. "And then I met the ones who would care about me the most. Who stood by me no matter what others thought. Someone took notice of my interest, they gave me a place to belong, helped me take hold of my interest and excel with it."

"You made friends?"

He shakes his head lightly. "I found my brothers."

"But no one wants to be my friend." She averts her eyes again, her voice small, smaller then he's ever heard before. "No one wants me to be in their family."

Zed hums again, leaning back slightly, looking her over carefully, and feeling self-conscious, she averts her eyes. "That's hardly the truth." He nods to himself, as if asserting something to himself, and stands from his bench. He gestures for her to follow, and she stands quickly, stumbling out from over the bench, scooping her book and pencils up in quick succession. He watches her carefully, as she wraps her arms around her treasures, and gestures for her to follow as he turns.

They both ignore the whispering from the others as they pass them, but he spies her shrinking from the corner of his eye and turns a sharp look in their direction to bring them to silence. "Talking poorly about another is not tolerated in these walls, do you understand?" They nodded shyly, red in the cheeks, embarrassed at being chastised by a Virtue, of all healers who could come to chastise them. The apothecary curls his arm around Araton's thin shoulders, and turns away from the young healers, their whispering drawn into silence.

The Healer looks up as they approach, smiling in greeting to the both of them, his hand slowly lowering as his writing comes to a sudden unexpected stop. "Hello, Zed, Araton." He looks between them both curiously. "What can I do for you?" An eyebrow raises at the way the young girl's eyes widen, seemingly from the notion that he knows her name, he knows all of his healers names. The Virtue squeezes her shoulder lightly. "Show him."

"Show me what?" He looks down to the young healer curiously, she gulps deeply, slowly unwinding her arms from the leather journal she hugs to her chest and holds it out for the Healer to take. He takes the journal carefully. "What's this?" Slipping the knot out from the keeper, he opens to a random page, eyes skimming over the delicately written notes. "This is truly well done." He rubs his fingers over the intricately drawn examples.

The Healer looks up at her and she looks down slightly, her head tilted downwards, though her eyes meet his. "You did this all on your own?" She nods cautiously, silently, and fingers rub at her shoulder. "Apparently, it's 'weird'." Zed sounds slightly miffed.

Raphael looks up at him coolly, though a hint of interest in his eyes. "'Weird' you say?" He holds the journal back out to it's owner. "I don't see what's so odd in having an interest, especially one such as this." He looks back over to the young healer. "Do the others in your class call you that?"

Araton nods shyly and he hums in disapproval. "Zed this is becoming unacceptable. I want to have a word with this class."

"I would say someone should."

He eyes his Virtue curiously. "Speak your request, Zed, what brings you to me, with young Araton at your side."

Zed nods slightly, his fingers tightening around her shoulder, and she looks down to her feet shyly at all the attention that's suddenly being shown to her. And by a Virtue and their Archangel, no less. "I haven't taken someone under my wing for a number of eons."

"No, you haven't." The Healer nods in agreement. "What does that fact have to play in this?"

"I want to take her."

Araton looks up at him, her head whipping around, eyes wide with surprise at the unexpected request.

The Healer smiles. "Granted." He looks between them both with interest. "I take it you want to teach her your craft."

"You would be correct."

"Also granted. You've picked the right one." The Archangel smiles at her kindly. "You both can be 'odd' together."

Zed snorts. "I think that's the nicest thing you've said to me all week." He jumps back, pulling Araton back with him, laughing lightly when the Healer snatches out for him. "Let me show you 'nice'."

"Come along, Araton."

He turns quickly, tugging her forward, until their far enough away from the Healer that they only thing that manages to reach them is his fond chuckles. He guides her across the threshold, passing between healers, under the shocked eyes of her class, they come to stand at his work station.

Two large tables, jars and vials cluttered around, herbs and flowers and fauna litters the table tops. The cauldron behind them always warm, the embers always glowing a faint orange, ready for the flames to be stoked and the concoction boiled together.

"We'll set you up a workstation here." He stands before the second table and begins clearing it up. "This'll be yours."

She watches him wide eyes, her head turning ever so slightly with every move he makes. "W-W-What did you mean by taking me under your wing?"

Zed looks back at her, smiling kindly. "The others in your class may not see how brilliant you really are, but I can." He nods at her, gesturing for her to step up to the table as he clears it for her. "If they won't let you be apart of their family, then you will be a part of mine." He nods assertively. "No one deserves to be alone."