The Matrix: Legacy
Twenty-One
Aisling
The wolf wasn't moving, just staring at the door. Seraph watched him for a moment, then shook his head. He had never thought he'd see Abel in this sort of a state. There was a shocked, almost forlorn expression on the younger program's face; he had completely forgotten that one of the most feared and hated Exiles in existence was standing not three feet away from him.
The Oracle's door opened and Sati looked out. "The Oracle says that Avalon will not be home until well past midnight, so you might as well stop staring at a door that will not move and come inside," the young program stated. Abel jumped in surprise and Seraph smiled. Sati was the equivalent of a young teenager by now, thirteen and in the seventh grade.
Abel turned to the girl and sniffed the air, then looked surprised. "You're that Exile from-"
"The park, yes," Sati answered, giving him a glare. "When you tried to kidnap me."
Abel tried to look innocent and failed quite miserably, so he settled for giving her his best Intimidating Lookâ˘. Instead of being properly intimidated, Sati started to giggle. "Kids these days," he muttered. "So desensitised by movies and television."
Seraph shook his head. "Come." The werewolf sighed and followed the other two programs, wondering idly how long he'd have camera duty for this little stunt. Camera duty just wasn't fun without Avalon dancing. Ah well, he'd been meaning to reread the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and camera duty was the perfect opportunity for it.
Sati flounced off to another room, pausing just long enough to pick up a book titled The Giver. There were three other children in the apartment, all of them ignoring him. A little African girl in the corner was playing with her blocks by levitating them; an Icelandic boy of about six was sitting on the wall, reading a book in some Oriental script (actually, it was written in runes, but Abel had never been good with symbols).
There was a tug on the hem of his trench coat, and he looked down into the copper eyes of a child who reminded him eerily of the twins. 'You are not like us,' she signed to him. 'You do not belong to that other world.'
Abel bent his knees until he was crouched at the child's level. "How do you know that?" There was no response, and Abel utilised his ability to see code and realised that the girl was deaf. He repeated his question in sign language, and her face lit up with a bright smile.
'Because your glow is silver, not blue or green or gold.'
'What's the difference?' he asked her, curious.
'Gold are the not-humans that come from the other world. Green is the colour of the humans who are sleeping here, and blue is the colour of the humans who come here to wake up the ones who are sleeping.'
Abel blinked. She could tell the difference between humans and programs? And she could tell the rebels and coppertops apart, as well as the Exiles from the System-sanctioned ones? How interesting.
"Don't even think about it," Seraph said from behind him, causing Abel to jump and lose his balance, toppling onto his back.
He glared up at the wingless angel. "I wasn't," he muttered as he rose to his feet.
A small hand slid itself into his, and he looked down in shock to see the girl holding onto his hand and smiling. Seraph looked as surprised as he. "Strange... Aisling does not like many people."
Abel gave the angel a stunned look. "She... likes me? She's not afraid?"
"Children see what adults can't," came the stately voice of the Oracle. Abel turned to one of the oldest programs in existence, green-grey eyes taking in her new shell. The yin-yang earrings were a nice touch, he thought, they symbolised her relationship with the Architect quite nicely. "Apparently, she can see something in you that she likes."
"What?" Abel asked, curious. He hadn't thought a human would find any of him likeable.
The Oracle smiled. "Perhaps the affection you hold in your heart for another."
It took Abel a moment to realise what she was getting at. When he did, a slight blush came to his cheeks and he stammered, "I d-don't know what y-you're talking about."
"Of course you don't," the Oracle said soothingly. "Why don't you come on back to the kitchen with me and we can talk about it?" 'Aisling,' she signed to the girl, 'go with Seraph and see if you can't find that book you were reading.' Aisling nodded, releasing Abel's hand and taking Seraph's instead.
Abel followed the Oracle to the kitchen, where a scent very similar to Avalon's was flooding the room. How she had kept that scent confined was a mystery to the young wolf. "Cookies," the Oracle answered Abel's unasked question. "Chocolate chip. I considered making sugar cookies, but that would have been unfair to you."
"Why?" Abel asked.
"Because their scent is enough like Avalon's that you would have believed she was here."
Abel's jaw fell open. "Y-you mean that my craving for sugar cookies was actually-"
"Yes," the Oracle replied. After two years, he finally got it. "You didn't actually want cookies, you wanted her."
Abel sank into a chair, stunned as he finally realised what was wrong with him. "I... I'm in love with her?"
"That was quicker than your cousin. No, you're in lust. However, that could easily develop into love."
Abel didn't hear the statement about Cain. He was busy reflecting on this new revelation. He was fond of the girl, certainly. She was a wonderful dancer and an intelligent girl; she looked so much like Trinity but her personality and scent were so different from the rebel's that Abel wondered how anyone could possibly mix the two up.
Obviously, Abel didn't put much stock in what he could see and much more in what he could smell. "Where is she?" Abel asked.
"She's out with her friend Horizon. They are both of them preparing for a Halloween party at a club they both attend."
The Oracle didn't mention the fact that both girls were in trouble, mainly because Abel would go rushing off and all sorts of unneeded chaos would ensue. Just because she was chaos personified didn't mean that she caused it unnecessarily.
Abel considered her words for a moment. "What's this club called?"
"Freedman."
Abel had heard of that club. "Don't David and Benjamin run that place?"
"Yes, but they're known as Alex and Joe now. Don't forget that the Merovingian agreed to let them live."
Abel sighed. "How could I forget? Cujo and Vlad are still complaining about that."
The Oracle smiled, casually mentioned that she needed to go out... and before he knew it, Abel had been shanghaied into babysitting the kids.