Chapter 44

Axton woke up, slowly lifting his heavy eyelids but eventually it was opened fully. Judging by his habit, it was just before dawn where the night was still dark. The temperature was the coolest.

He yawned long and adjusted his throat. He wanted to get up but Maya held him tightly as she locked her arms around him. He couldn't blame her, the night was the best moment to sleep. His lazy side seduced him so he decided to hug her back and nap with her for a few minutes. Maya visibly enjoyed Axton's hug, seeing her smile widen just a bit. He played with her hair, his fingers flowed with her blue hair. He patted her back and wanted lul himself to sleep. Axton was also enjoying the moment too.

But his thoughts denied him of sleeping together with Maya. His eyes were opened wide, he yawned again and groaned slowly. He gently pushed Maya away and her hold slowly weakened. They separated from each other and Axton sat up. Stretched his body and cracked his neck, he looked at Maya again and was happy to see her sleeping soundly. He put his hand on her face and wiped her cheeks with his thumb. The smile was more visible on Maya's face. Then he moved across her and stood up.

He moved to the kitchen and filled the kettle to make hot water. Proceeded to the bathroom, washed his face and brushed his teeth. He stared at his reflection, his thought slowly became clear. Most important part, the whisper was next to no more. He wet his hair with water and combed his hair back. The kettle tings; signaling that the water was ready and he exited the bathroom. Leaving the door halfway open so he could see in the dark room.

Went to kitchen table and made tea like Searcher Red recommended. He put his tea on the table then sat down at the edge of his bed. He turned to Maya and keenly looked at her Siren marks. Maya was in deep sleep and she was not disturbed by it. Axton held her arm carefully, delicately moved her arm to see the marks. After he saw what he wanted to see, he put it down gently but Maya was awakened by his touch.

"Axton?" She got up but her eyes were a quarter opened. "What time is it?"

"It's still night. I just wanted to drink some water. Let's go back to sleep."

"Okay…" Maya put her head down.

Axton lulled her to sleep by putting his hand on her head. Played with her hair again then whispered to the ear. "Sleep tight."

At the end of the bed was his jacket and he took a few things from it. A small piece of paper, a pen and a few photographs. One of them was Alesia when she was younger. He went to the table and put the things that he was holding on top of it. His tea was cooled down and the colour was already dark. He looked at the photos, one after the other, he gave a long thought about it. He pulled the chair and sat down without a sound to be heard. He smelled the tea and sipped it slowly. He never liked tea and rarely drank coffee.The taste was slowly growing on him, courtesy of Searcher Red. He put the drink to the side and looked at the blank paper.

Axton grabbed the pen and started to jot down his thoughts. He then looked at the photos again, pictures of strangers but in the end it had some kind of meaning to it. He writes again and pauses every now and then. He looked at the empty space, then wrote again in bullet points. He turned to his back to see Maya again, fixated on her arm. More moments of silence then continued writing.

The exciting man that Axton was, now deep in his thoughts and writing down on a small piece of paper.

What he was writing specifically? No one knows but him. Maybe it was his thoughts that etched the paper. But what would it be? Did he discover something new? What was the subject that The Hero of Pandora currently delved in? Perhaps there was a reason he was so carefully quiet. He doesn't want anyone to know.

Apparently, his tea remained untouched until the arrival of dawn. Some things that Axton simply could not adapt.