Ayanami Rei was perturbed.
There had been a routine.
School, five full days and a morning.
Synchronisation test every Wednesday afternoon.
Dinner with the Commander every other Thursday evening.
Her accommodations were familiar.
Then she had been injured.
Then the Angels had attacked.
Then Ikari had arrived.
She watches the birds in the sky outside the classroom window. They ride the eddies in the air as naturally as she walks. They must have learned it at some point. A little curl of the wing there. A flap at the right moment. Experiencing things she could not. Unperturbed by the constant changes in their environment.
The Commander cared for her. She knew that. She had evidence of that. Evidence she kept. He was reassuring in his consistency and single mindedness.
Ikari-kun cared for her. She knew that. Every day he brought her food. When she could tolerate it no longer he would hold her. She had no evidence once she had consumed the food. Its inconsistency should have been annoying. She had no evidence once he let go. Except the awareness of distance.
She watched the sparrowhawk circling high above. Riding different air flows. Carving different patterns than those below.
She hoped the next perturbation to her life would be less probably fatal.
She would speak to Ikari-kun to schedule her hugs.