Chapter 4 - Unknown affection
He would read to her out of his notebook from this day onward. A thoroughly enjoyable experience compared to the dull conversations with her fellow orphans. His soothing voice combined with the mental stimulation of the discussed subjects made her eager to return to his chamber every evening. When she did Bondrewd somehow always knew when she was right outside his door and let her in without question. They would then spend hours discussing and debating all the theories and findings Bondrewd had made. Truly, an invigorating experience.
Even though she wanted to sit on the floor she knew that it would appear strange after her initial decision and would probably strain their relationship unnecessary. There was no helping it; she had to sit on his lap while he read to her when she wanted to make her act seem believable. It was kind of nice actually to see what exactly he was reading and comparing it to the surprisingly detailed illustrations on the page.
That and his comforting body warmth. Tanya would never admit that she secretly enjoyed the physical contact that the other children had denied her for years. Even if it was totally normal. Completely understandable for a kid of her age. Just a natural reaction of the body. Anything else would have been illogical and she was a logical being through and through. No other explanation possible.
Her opinion of Bondrewd rose steadily with every detail he explained. It must have taken him decades to get as proficient in observing and wielding the powers of the Abyss. Hard work and honest efforts were always appreciated by her. That was doubly true when these efforts were spent to better not only one´s own standing, but that of society at large.
Tanya just hoped that he wasn't growing bored of her ignorant questions. To a man as knowledgeable as him her mental faculties must seem pitiful. She vowed to strive harder to impress him. Maybe in a few years a promotion would be in order and she was ready to earn it.
Then at the same time he never showed any signs of impatience with her. He truly was a wonderful human being: Diligent, polite, honest, intelligent and caring. What luck she had to land in his care. Her only wish would be to see his real face once in a while. Sometimes she wondered what was going on behind that ever present mask of his.
∞•۞˂Bondrewd´s point of view˃۞•∞
When Bondrewd had set out for Sereny he had expected to find a couple of half-starved kids that nobody would miss and whose disappearance could not be easily traced back to him. It was an annoying, but sadly necessary precaution. The world was simply not ready to accept the needed sacrifices his work demanded. Ironic, when some countries would wage a senseless war amongst each other that could cost tens of thousands their lives and the whole affair was called "justified". How was this justifiable? As far as he was concerned their deaths had served no purpose.
He on the other hand worked only with an end goal in mind. Every tragic fate brought him one step forward and was appropriately valued. They were all his children and he loved and admired every single one of them. When they gave their life, their sanity, their very being for science then was that not "justified"? Alas, most people were not rational enough to understand the truth.
These children that he wanted to acquire in the frozen north appeared to be the ordinary, sweet, innocent creatures that he worked with for so long. All except for one. Tanya Degurechaff defied his every anticipation. He had been informed that she was not even six years old, which could have come as shock to him when one only considered her physical appearance. True, she was exceptionally fit, but very small for her age, likely due to malnutrition. But the way she spoke and held herself spoke of an age far beyond her biological one. Especially her eyes were not that of a naive and soft child, but that of a calculating and ruthless thinker. In a way she reminded Bondrewd of himself.
It was a first time experience for him when she approached him by herself and basically asked for a job like in a regular interview. Her abilities were astounding and would have made him honestly consider her offer if the circumstances had been different. She was perfect in every way. Eager, talented, smart and fit. He thanked the Abyss that day for gifting him this hidden jewel. Tanya was perhaps the one that would ultimately survive the curse of the 6th layer and potentially lead humanity into a new era where the lower levels of the Abyss were finally accessible. It was common knowledge that the artefacts grew in power the deeper they were found after all. He shuddered to think what unimaginable wonders would be unearthed.
That opinion of her as the ideal candidate for his plans changed when Tanya revealed that she desperately wanted to learn more about the Abyss. He saw the same drive in drive in her that he had once possessed before he gave his body up. In that moment when she crawled into his lap like it was most normal thing in the world and beamed up at him with her angelic smile he could only see her as the daughter he never had.
He was a realist and knew that even if she was the ideal candidate for the procedure that did not automatically mean that it would succeed this time. The possibility was indeed rather high that she too would end up as a hollow. Tanya was too precious for that. Too valuable to lose so easily. He would have to find another one until the process was perfected. Until then he would teach her everything he knew; guide her and mould her into his successor to continue his work should he pass away one day.
The depths of her intellect were continuing to surprise him with every hour they spent together and only cemented his decision further. Sometimes she would ask questions he had never thought of before or even found connections that as far as knew nobody had ever made until now. How such a perfect creature ended up in an orphanage at the end of the world boggled the mind. Had he been a lesser man he would have tracked her parents down (if they were still alive) and would have sharply questioned them why they had abandoned such a living miracle.
Still, as much as he loved her and as much as he trusted her rationality she was still a child. He would have to protect her from the truth about his experiments as long as possible to not scare her of before she was ready. When he finally told her about his great work he would have to be extremely careful in order to make her properly understand the necessity of his actions. To do all that he would have to isolate her from the rest of the children what shouldn't really be a problem considering what his Umbra Hands had told him about her general loneliness.
Now he would wait and eagerly study the development of his new favourite human.
- Cue Subarashii
