CHAPTER 4

Alek and Deryn had walked back to their apartment building in relative silence, both minds still on the surprisingly unproductive and uninformative meeting with Dr. Barlow. Deryn wanted to spill everything she was thinking onto Alek but felt like too many thoughts and possibilities were running through her head for her to concentrate on anything else but her thoughts and her footsteps.

Alek too wished that Deryn would simply share what she was feeling, but he knew that with Deryn, patience was necessary and that she would open up to him when she was ready. But then again. . . they did promise each other no more secrets…

" Deryn, what's going on? I can tell that something is wrong." Alek gently grabbed Deyns elbow, softly spinning her around. Deryn could feel her resolve slowly diminish as she looked at Alek's worried face, but she bit her lip before she could blurt out something she would regret saying out loud.

Damn you Alek, Deryn thought, her eyes darting around at all the strolling Londoners and all the potential listening ears. Oh, bloody hell, why the hell not... Deryn huffed, her stern eyes finally coming back to Aleks's inquisitive ones.

Alek couldn't tell what Deryn was thinking as she frustratingly looked around, her mouth in a firm line. But before he could ask her what was wrong once more, Deryn roughly grabbed Alek's arm, briskly leading him up the stairs of their apartment which they had arrived at. Deryn ran up the stairs, Alek in tow, and practically threw Alek into her room before quickly shutting the door and locking it behind her, her chest heaving up and down and she looked around the room.

Alek could feel his own heart thumping as he watched Deryn press herself up against the closed door, the feeling of red heat rising up the back of his neck and cheeks as he wondered why she had so brazenly pushed him into the room, and locked the door after her. But he felt more curious than before as he watched Deryn scurry to the other side of the room, closing her window and pulling down the curtain. Alek barely moved out of the way fast enough as Deryn darted to the bed, grabbing her pillows and stuffing them into the crack under her door.

" Deryn… are you… okay?" What in the world Deryn was doing all this for, Alek had no inclination. After a minute of snooping around her own apartment, Deryn finally came back to Alek, her steps bringing her only a few small inches from him, consequently making his heart race just a little.

" there's another Behemoth." Alek Blinked at such a blunt response, not really believing what he was hearing.

" another…" But Deryn interrupted his unbelief, her hands clenching in excitement.

" Well not exactly another behemoth, but it was the weirdest fab I think I have ever seen. I wanted to ask Dr. Barlow about it but there was no way that boffin head would willingly divulge her secrets with me, even if we are a part of the society now. What a sneaky boots. " Deryn tsks, looking down at her feet again in contemplation, hands on her hips.

Alek tried to wrap his head around the thought of another monstrosity such as the Behemoth, with its otherworldly face, and larger than life anatomy. He shuddered at the thought and reached up to pet Bovril as a move of comfort, as his little paws wrung together "... Behemoth.." The little perspicacious loris said slowly, feeling the familiarity of the word as he said it again and again.

" but of course Alek, what I told you that I suspect can not leave this room, do you understand?" Alek felt a shift in the room, as the excitement turned into a serious tone, just like it had in the lady boffins private study. But instead of Dr. Barlow's hands on their shoulders, it was Deryn's hands, taking both of Alek's hands into her own. Alek felt his breath suck in and stop at the feeling of her small but calloused hands in his own, less worked hands. He couldn't deny that he missed the feeling.

" Yes. But not even Volger?"

She rolled her eyes, but her grip never loosened, instead, it became the slightest bit stronger, her thumb beginning to course softly over his.

" no, not even Volger. Doctor Barlow, the sneaky boots that she is, has a reason for everything. Heavens, she let me see what was in that box, but notice, she didn't let you. You may have caught a glimpse, but she shut it before you could really see. I don't know what she's up to, Alek. But whatever it is, it's big. And whether she admits it or not, she is involving both you and me. "

Alek heard what she was saying, and knew it was important, but all he could truly focus on was her thumb and how it lazily rubbed over his, the feeling sentimental and affectionate, something he hadn't really been given since before his mother passed. But this time he wouldn't take it for granted.

"... I'm going to kiss you now " Deryn's eyebrows shot up in surprise but before she could protest, or even think, his lips were on hers. And although the few times they had kissed before had been nice, they were rushed, and slightly heated. This time, Alek took his time, pressing his lips against hers in soft determination.

Even though Alek had his own vision in mind about how this would go, Deryn had much more… interesting ideas as she took the time to move her hands from his, into soft grasps in his hair. His light gasp at this new feeling gave Deryn an opportunity to deepen the kiss, his mouth open like an invitation.

Deryn felt giddy, kissing Alek like this. Any other time she had kissed a boy, it had never felt like this. It had never felt as right as it did with Alek. But then again, her experience was limited. Though something told Deryn though that living next to Alek, was going to change that for her.

"Bovril, do it again!" Deryn gleefully cheered Bovril on as he did a little summersault in the small pond-like pool that Deryn had constructed in Alek's room because of the new heat that had begun to hit London during the afternoons. Why she had done it in Alek's room, he didn't know. But there was a constant reminder of its presence every time he accidentally stepped into it, splashing water everywhere.

"How did you even teach him how to do that?" Alek asked, before sitting at his desk, his mind racing on the days to come, where he and Deryn would begin to receive training with the boffins and whatever secret society they had committed themselves to.

" I didn't do anything, not really. I helped him with the swimming bit, but honestly, I think he learned by just having fun! I'm sure he's got some otter in him now." Deryn kept adoring eyes on Bovril, letting her index finger be taken into his tiny paw as she crouched next to his little pool.

Alek felt the hum of comfort come over him as he watched Deryn and Bovril, but that was soon interrupted when a knock on the door broke the spell.

" Hello, Mr. Hohenberg - " Gibbins and his cat smiled at Alek before stopping to notice Deryn, who was still crouched with Bovril. She quickly got up and whipped her hands on her pants. " and hello to you too, Mr. Sharp."

" Rancher " Deryn said in her best boy voice, saluting the old fellow with a cat wrapped around the back of his neck with two lazy fingers.

Gibbins snorted at this, letting out a gruff chuckle, before handing Alek a letter and waving goodbye to the three-some.

" Who's it from? '' Deryn was still using her boy voice, just in case Gibbons was still close enough to hear their conversation.

Alek Shut the door to his room, his full concentration now on opening and reading a letter addressed to him from Siberia.

" It's from Volger…" What was Volger doing, writing Alek from Siberia? Alek knew that there was trouble up in Russia. There was unrest from the commoners in Russia due to some of the Tsars' decision that was making Russia a dangerous place to be if you sided with the monarchy. So he couldn't understand why the count would go up there at a time like this.

Deryn watched as Alek sat down on his bed to read the finely written contents of the letter.

" Dear Aleksander,

I am writing to you from the confines of a prison in Siberia - but do not fret, I am not the one under arrest. I have come to visit an old friend who was involved in opposition to the tsar as an intelligente. I cannot say much more than that at this time. I have written to you with the main objective of informing you that I shall be returning in a few days' time and will be back soon enough to assist you with your new transition into the ever-mysterious Zoological society.

Good luck, and stay safe,

Yours dutifully, Volgar "

This information made Alek's nerves flare up, and not just form the mini-heart attack he almost had when Volger's first line in his letter was "a prison in Siberia"

"Intelligente?" Alek looked up from his letter to see that Deryn was looking over at the letter, which was written in German, her eyes skimming over, most likely trying to see how much german she had learned how to read since she had met Alek and his men.

" yes. Those intelligent folk who are able to make their own informed decisions about government. If there's one thing an "all-consuming power" leader hates, its citizens that can think for themselves…" Alek felt his resentment for his Uncle rise in the back of his throat like bile, before handing the letter to a still curious Deryn who had adjusted herself on the bed so that her head was now resting on his lap, and her feet sitting comfortably on the wall.

" that daft man. He knows Russia is headed for a civil war, most likely. And yet he goes up to Siberia! Do you know why he would go up there?" She said, her eyes never leaving the parchment in her hands.

Despite Alek and Volger's growing closeness, Alek indeed did not know why Volger was up in Siberia, as the contents of the letter were sparring. Even now, after all, they had gone through together, he was still secretive with Alek - though not as much since the events aboard the Leviathan. Like, hiding the gold on the ship and not telling Alek until the ship was racing to get away from German soldiers who wanted them dead.

" No clue. I wasn't exactly acquainted with any of Volger's old chums. Or any of my men's, as shameful as that is. '' he felt horrible about not taking a greater interest in the lives of Volger, Otto, Bruer, and Hoffman, while he had the chance. But he still had time with Volger. The count was the last piece of his old life as the son of an Archduke, and now he was the closest thing he had to family besides Deryn. Alek was silent about the matter and began to lose himself in his thoughts, his hand gently and absentmindedly running through Deryn's hair, her head still on his lap.

Deryn couldn't help but stare at Alek, while Alek stared into nothing - his gentle hand lulling her in a comfortable trance. It couldn't be helped, she felt. He looked sad, about what exactly - she didn't know. But what could she do?

" … You know, Volger loves you. I know that may sound a bit strange to the ear, but he does. Klopp, Bauer, and Hoffman too…" Deryn sat up in kind determination. She wanted to be more gentle with Alek as she knew just how delicate the subject of his family could be, and how sad he could get if he let those thoughts fester and build up. Even if the more soldiery part of her wanted to tell him to move on, the part of her that was in love with him, told her otherwise. " They knew that you cared for them. You may not have known every detail of their past, but you knew them. You cared! "

Deryn sighed and grabbed Aleks's face in between both of her hands, forcing him to look at her and the determination set in her eyes. "Sometimes we do the best we can, when we can, even if we feel like we didn't do enough when it's all said and done. Okay?" Deryn waited for an answer, a reassurance that her words got through even a little. And then there it was - Alek's gaze went soft, and his hand reached up to cover hers that were still residing on his cheeks that were building up as he smiled gently.

" Okay."

Wanting to get his mind off of his men back in the U.S, Deryn changed the subject towards more, secretive subjects.

" Did we ever figure out what that globe was all about, that we got in the mail from the lady boffin?" Now that Deryn had brought it up, she realized that she had never addressed it with Dr. Barlow. It was still on Deryn's dresser back in her room.

" did you ask her about it? When we went to see her?" Alek too had completely forgotten about the small fabricated wood globe that had to mean something but didn't seem to mean anything at all. It didn't do anything either, as far as Alek or Deryn could tell.

" No, I was busy going batting mad about the lady boffin's private study… I forgot, I suppose. "

" Well, should we?..." a loss for ideas, they both quickly got up and raced to Deryn's room, their curiosity reignited.

Deryn was the first to grab the globe, her eyes quickly searching over it before handing it to Alek to examine it as well.

" I just can't figure out what exactly it means, or does…" then suddenly Deryn's eyes went wide, and she quickly snatched the globe back form Aleks curious hands, setting it down onto the floor, and then setting Bovril on the floor right in front of it.

" I don't know why we didn't try this earlier. I mean we have a perspicacious Loris for God's sake! Bloody brilliant... " Alek was silent as he watched Deryn set down Bovril, wondering if he had any more chance at figuring this little globe out then they did.

Bovril sniffed around the globe, scratched it, and at one point even licked it a bit. And although it was in a small way alarming to watch, it was fascinating to know that although it didn't look like it, Bovril's mind was possibly racing through everything he had picked up and every connection that could be made.

But alas, it seemed not even Bovril, what with the little information they were all given, could seem to pull some miraculous conclusion about the plain little globe. Deflated, Bovril huffed and waddled back up upon Alek's shoulder, whispering once more the words " Dover strait ". This inconclusive experiment left Deryn and Alek more confused than ever before.

" maybe it's just for decoration?" Alek suggested, but Deryn's unamused face told him that he may be a bit off on that conclusion.

" Barking likely! The lady boffin always has some kind of ulterior motive. It's safer to assume that this is more than just a globe. But for now, until we can figure it out, we just keep our eye out for any information that might help us."

" and we bring Bovril with us everywhere we go. He helped us with Tesla's magnetic finder. And countless other things. We can't afford for him to miss any chance to gain some knowledge." Alek sighed, giving Bovril a soft scratch under his fuzzy chin. Deryn nodded silently in agreement before picking the globe back up and placing it back on top of her dresser, her eyes hardly able to leave it.

" Deryn, are you alright?" Deryn finally looked up at Alek then, her eyes determined as they searched Alek's.

" I … I know it's probably barking ridiculous and a far stretch, but I just got a feeling that we should probably be more careful than we initially thought. These are powerful people we're getting involved with, Alek" Deryn sighed her hand reaching up to pet the equally defeated loris on Alek's shoulder " … promise me we'll always put each other first. Before the society, before a cause, before Clankers or Darwinists, before England… Promise me?"

Alek smiled despite his confusion with Deryn's concerns. Nevertheless, he nodded, reaching down to grab Dreryn's free hand in a tight grip, the promise unspoken but understood that no matter what would happen, the two best friends would always put each other before anything or anyone.

AUTHOR NOTES:

I was finally stressed out enough from school to finish this chapter because honestly, this story is like my own fanfic stress ball. Anyway, I like how fluffy it is, but I wanna try to write few un-fluffy chapters for the heck of it. We - shall - see.