"I'm the Supervisor of Science, Komui Lee! And who could this be?" A man with a beret and glasses grins. He's holding a mug with a bright pink bunny on it, which Flynn finds rather odd for someone who must be in his early thirties.
"Um, I'm Flynn Roth… I'm from London." The girl shuffles her foot across the stone flooring causing Charm to skitter back.
"Hm. Allen, weren't you and Kanda just on a mission in London?"
"Yeah. Flynn was attacked by Akuma, we helped her out, and then we discovered she was an accommodator of innocence." Allen explains in a somewhat bored tone.
"Oh! Well then, get her set up in a room right away! I believe the one next to Lavi and Bookman is open. Unless you'd prefer to be closer to Allen… We can always move some people around. It's quite traumatic to be randomly attacked and you need to be comfortable here."
"Um, I don't want to be a bother. I can just use the open one near Lavi." Flynn looks up suddenly and watches a little gold orb flutter around Allen's head. 'What could that be?'
"Then show her the way Allen! Maybe Reever or Johnny will help you with your bag. I'm afraid I have no idea where any of the Science Department is as of yet…" Allen and Flynn exchange a glance and seem to come to an understanding.
"That's alright. I can help Flynn get settled and show her around." Allen beams and practically drags Flynn from the room. "Okay, Lavi and Bookman's room is just across the building from mine. Let's see if we can make it there."
"I take it you're not great at navigating." Flynn smirks.
"I'm not the best, but just so long as we get there eventually, everything will be fine."
"Allen, who or what is a Bookman?"
"Oh, that's Lavi's master I suppose you could say. Lavi is training to be the next Bookman, so he has to stay with the current one. A Bookman is in charge of recording events as they happen with no opinion, so they don't usually form relationships so as not to be biased."
"Huh. How long have you been an exorcist?"
"Not too long. I trained with General Cross for about four years and then he sent me here only a few months ago."
"Is it hard? Being an exorcist?"
"At first, but you get used to it over time."
"Your power is in your left arm, right?"
"Yeah."
"Why isn't mine in my body?"
"Sometimes innocence is in an object. There are different types of exorcists. I happen to be a parasitic type, where the weapon is generally made of the Accommodator's body. I think you're an equipment type, which is where innocence takes on the form of a common object."
"You seem well-read in this subject."
"I would hope so." Charm woofs at a pair of people approaching them. "There's Lavi and Bookman. You ought to meet Bookman."
"Hey Allen, Flynn!" Lavi waves good-naturedly, but with a false smile on his face. Flynn faintly wonders if Allen notices this, but shakes her head to clear it.
"It is good to see you again," Flynn beams, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. She turns her gaze to the old man beside Lavi. He has dark circles around his eyes and a tall question mark shaped patch of hair.
"Is this the new girl you were telling me about?" He asks, without looking at Lavi. He appears to be plotting what may happen next.
"Yes. Bookman, meet Flynn. Flynn, meet Bookman." Lavi grins again.
"Have you seen Hevlaska yet?" Bookman is clearly addressing Flynn.
"Um, what is that?" Flynn begins to chew on her lower lip as she says this.
"I'll take that as a no. Lavi, go with them to see Hevlaska."
"Alright you old panda." Lavi rolls his eyes as Bookman scurries past. "Do you want some help with that bag?"
"Oh, it's fine." Flynn blinks twice. She had forgotten that she had been carrying it.
"We should drop it off in your new room before we see Hevlaska." Allen says, stepping up to the door beside the one Lavi and Bookman had come out of. He opens it wide and steps in, closely followed by Lavi and Flynn. There's a small bed pushed up against the wall in one corner of the room and a large tile mural of Van Gogh's Starry Night is that wall. The other three are gray and colorless. A little nightstand is beside the bed. Atop it sits a small lantern that has a few matchboxes beside it. Charm jumps onto the bed when Flynn drops his leash and her bag. Flynn walks to the mural and runs a hand across it.
"I guess you like your room." Allen smiles slightly. She can only nod in response. A broad grin spreads across her face as she stares at the art.
"I believe it's going to be nice here. Shall we see Hevlaska now?" She turns to the men with a somewhat mournful expression Lavi notes. He'll have to remember that this mosaic produces emotional turmoil in her.
"We shall. Have you been on an elevator before?" Lavi grins wickedly.
"This is horrible!" Flynn shrieks, holding onto the safety bar for dear life as the elevator lurches downward at an unimpressive speed. The guys chuckle softly at her. A few minutes later the elevator halts at Hevlaska's floor. Flynn waits for the men to get off before following them off the elevator. A massive figure looms before them. Pale tendrils swirl around it, the only prominent humanoid features being the nose and lips. Hevlaska.
"Junior Bookman… the Destroyer of Time… and… a new face." Hevlaska whispers. It reaches for Flynn and she squeaks and backs up dangerously close to the elevator shaft.
"Flynn, just stay calm. She's only going to gauge how attuned you are to your innocence." Allen says soothingly. Flynn glares daggers at him, but stops her retreat and allows Hevlaska to pick her up. A glance at Lavi seems to prove him to be studying the current situation. An odd feeling overcomes Flynn, as though something is probing her. She looks up at Hevlaska with faint fear in her eyes. Lavi takes note of this, but remembers his own caution when he was brought before Hevlaska's power. Of course, he has been briefed vaguely about what would happen and he had read some of Bookman's old documents on the process of gauging the synchronization of a person with their innocence.
"2%... 8%... 14%... 23%..." Lavi can't help but be a bit surprised at such a low number. At least the girl didn't have below 10%, otherwise she'd have been stripped of her innocence. Allen is having the same thoughts as Lavi as he watches Hevlaska set Flynn back on the ground.
"Excuse me, Hevlaska… May I ask what you are? I've never seen anything so ethereal. You are quite beautiful, if I might be that forward." Flynn peers up somewhat sheepishly. Hevlaska's lips curl up slightly at her question and then the smile broadens a bit at the uncertain compliment.
"I am a human… My innocence changed so I appear this way… This is how I have appeared for the last century."
"That's incredible."
"Flynn Roth… You will play a great role in events to come soon… You might change history; for better or for worse."
"Oh… I will?"
"You will…"
"Why?"
"Be the Savior of Life or the Harbinger of Death."
"What…? I-I don't know what that means." Lavi takes note when Flynn begins to grow flustered. "Could you maybe elaborate?"
"You are a wild card… Taking you in is a great chance, but it is a chance we must take… There are many creatures that would like to take advantage of you… There are many things you have yet to discover about yourself…" It's clear that Hevlaska is no longer willing to share. Allen gently touches Flynn's shoulder and she allows herself to be lead back to the elevator.
"I'm starving." Flynn sighs when they stumble off of the dreaded contraption. "Is there somewhere to get food?"
"Ahaha! Jeryy will be quite pleased to meet you," Lavi chuckles. To Flynn the tone sounds just a bit off- like he doesn't really mean it. Allen doesn't seem to notice it so she just takes it that she's hearing things.
"Allen!" A flamboyant man shrieks excitedly when they enter the dining hall. A few people glance up. "The usual?"
"Yeah." Allen nods, beaming.
"What about you Lavi?"
"Let's see… Yakiniku, kimchi, a bowl of rice, and ice cream, sa." Lavi grins. They've just reached the counter. Flynn is shyly looking down at the floor and is partially hiding behind Allen.
"And who is this? Oh my god you are so adorable! Oh, come here, sweetie, no need to be afraid!" Jeryy has just noticed Flynn, who is now coming out from behind Allen.
"Um… I'm Flynn…" She whispers and awkwardly curtsies.
"I'm Jeryy. It's good to meet you Flynn. Would you like something to eat?"
"Um, yes please. May I have pancakes with berries, a steak, a poached egg, spaghetti with olive oil, French toast, shrimp lo mein, phở, and chicken noodle soup? Oh, and may I have a glass of milk?"
"…Alright! Coming right up!"
"Wow. I'm used to Allen eating a ton, but that's amazing, especially since you're so little!" Lavi grins. He had finished his food several minutes ago and is now watching Allen and Flynn eat. Flynn frowns and stabs Lavi's hand with her fork. "Ow!"
"It's your own fault." She beams. "Do you think Jeryy will make food for Charm?"
"I'm sure he will. He loves cooking." Allen snickers, watching Lavi press ice against his slightly bleeding hand.
"Then I'll go see if he'll make anything. I need a new fork anyway. It has your blood on it now…"
"What do you think of her?" Allen turns to Lavi when Flynn's out of earshot.
"She seems to be adjusting quite well, even though she's only been here a few hours. I feel like she may not be telling us everything that we need to know." Lavi sighs.
"I get that feeling, too. She seems really nice. I hope all of this doesn't stress her out too much. It's kind of wild in the beginning and I knew what to expect."
"Hm… Do you remember anything she said to you before you got her to headquarters?"
"I remember when I was fighting the Akuma, right before I blacked out she yelled that she needed me to get up, that she didn't know how to fight. She scolded a prostitute she knew after the battle was over. She also doesn't seem to understand religion. A lot of her questions circled back to trying to understand how this is a part of the Vatican."
"Do you know if she's religious?"
"She isn't. The prostitute picked a fight with her and it came up."
"Then she's just trying to get a better feel of what religion is. She probably doesn't understand the concept of a higher power in general. And then the way she said she didn't know how to fight, do you remember it word for word?"
"Uh yeah… She said "Allen! You have to get up! I don't know how to fight this thing! Allen, please get up!" but I was out right after that."
"That's interesting… She from the context, she knows how to fight. I wonder what drove her to learn."
"She was orphaned four years ago. Could that have something to do with it?"
"How did they die?"
"A carriage accident, I believe."
"It's probable that had something to do with it… Something such as that would drive nearly anyone to learn some form of self defense. Did anything else happen?"
"A drunken man tried to get certain services from her. Luckily I showed up before anything serious happened. She mentioned that she likes walking."
"She would probably walk with one of her parents and the dog around town and, after they passed, learned to defend herself in case something like that were to happen."
"What are you talking about? It sounds depressing." Lenalee approaches them with Flynn a few paces behind.
"Oh, just some book I read. I wanted to see if Allen had any thoughts as to why the hero did what they did." Lavi stretches then stands. "I think I'm going to turn in. Never know when we might get sent out again."
"I'll go with you. I might get lost otherwise…" Flynn smiles.
"Goodnight!" Lenalee chirps.
"See you tomorrow." Allen grins.
"So, what's your initial impression of this place?"Lavi asks while they walk the halls.
"It's confusing and large, but I think I'll get used to it. That mosaic helps though. It's so colorful while the rest of this is just kind of drab." Flynn replies easily. She feels rather comfortable here, despite the fact that she's pretty much surrounded by strangers.
"You looked kind of sad when you were looking at it."
"My mother had a copy of it and it always relaxed me when I was a girl."
"Did you have to leave it behind?"
"It was actually burned when my parents died. Some of my neighbors thought I shouldn't be able to keep the house or any of the objects in it because of my age, despite what their will said."
"I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you… May we talk about something a tad more cheerful?"
"Komui will probably send you out on missions with us once you get the hang of using your innocence."
"Was that what Kanda, Allen, and Toma were on when they found me?"
"Yeah. They're really fun. Oh and next time you see Kanda, call him Yu. That's his first name."
"I feel as though he won't react well to that."
"You'll be fine just so long as you're in a room full of exorcists. Or at least near Jeryy. He seems to like you. Though he loves anyone who orders that much."
"What'll he do? Hit him with a frying pan?"
"Probably, yeah."
"Then I just might have to start using Kanda's first name. He's rather icy isn't he?"
"Kanda? He's not so bad after awhile. He just doesn't really like people. Give him soba noodles and you'll be best of friends in no time."
"Mm… He seems equally likely to slice me in half."
"He almost did that to Allen when he first got here. The gatekeeper thought he was an Akuma, so Kanda was sent to check."
"Oh dear. At least no one was hurt… Were they?"
"Kanda temporarily disabled Allen's anti-Akuma arm. You do not want to damage your innocence if Bookman or I aren't around. Komui's great with fixing them, just not so great with no pain. The anesthesia doesn't even help all that much. It just keeps you from activating your innocence too soon."
"I hope that doesn't happen to me. Though my innocence isn't attached to my body, so it wouldn't be painful, right?"
"It shouldn't be."
"Do you enjoy being a Bookman? Allen explained some it to me earlier."
"For the most part, I do. It's intriguing to be able to look at something and be completely objective. And it's pretty cool to have a photographic memory. If I didn't enjoy reading, I would dread having to do this job. Basically all of it is reading or taking notes, mentally or physically."
"I think it sounds fun. Difficult, but fun."
"Difficult is a good description. As a Bookman, I'm not allowed to form personal relationships. It's sort of a taboo."
"I don't think I could do that…"
"I've been training since I was a kid."
"How old were you?"
"Six."
"At six, I was trying to dress up a stray cat."
"And how did that turn out?"
"Not well. That cat gave me scars. Yet, I was a stupid kid and tried to put clothing on it anyway."
"Ouch. Where? Bookman might know of something to help them fade."
"My neck." Flynn pushes her hair back and long, thin strips of rough scar tissue are visible from her ear down past the collar of her tunic. Lavi notes that several other scars are scattered along her neck, but he can only see the tips of them. Flynn shakes her hair back into place and they continue walking. "I'd rather just leave them. They're a part of me."
"Alright. If you change your mind, just tell me."
"I will."
"…Did you train Charm yourself?"
"Mhmm. He's only two but he's brilliant with commands."
"He seems very protective of you."
"Hardly. He just likes me because I'm the one giving him food. Did you ever have any pets?"
"No, that old panda thought they'd make me too soft to be a Bookman."
"I can see the logic in that. Maybe you could get a fish of some sort. They're rather low maintenance and you don't really get attached to them."
"I doubt that'll happen."
"If I ever get out of here and have some free time, I am getting you a pet fish. And you have to name it."
"If that happens, I will be amazed."
"And if you're with me when I get the fish, you have to choose it."
"You have to train before you can get out of here."
"How hard could that be?"
"It depends on how good you are with hand to hand combat and summoning your innocence."
"Oh. Even if it takes ten years, you are getting a fish and you will like it."
"Alright, you win. And we're here."
"Already?"
"It's been about fifteen minutes."
"Really?"
"Yes. Goodnight, Flynn."
"Nighty night Lavi!"
"Were you with the new girl?" Bookman asks without looking up.
"Yeah. Her room's right next to ours so I walked her back." Lavi shrugs out of his cloak.
"Good, good. What did Hevlaska say about her?"
"She's 23% attuned with her innocence and is apparently going to be either the Savior of Life or the Harbinger of Death."
"Hm. I want you to keep a close eye on her. Keep notes on what she says and does."
"Very well, you old panda."
Yay! Chapter two is done! It's kind of rough around the edges, but it works. Okay, and now I won't be able to write until after vacation next week, so it might be awhile until my next update. R&R and I'll give you a mental hug and a virtual cookie!