Xelqua Rising || The Lost One AU

8.The Books

Grian sat at his desk. He replayed every moment that had been revealed to him over and over again in his mind. He had been in danger. Someone was after him. And Taurtis... they had been after him, too. They had got him, and he looked dead, but he couldn't be just yet— he had alive and well all of the time they had spent back in Evo together. Maybe he was wrong about the Watchers after all. They had saved him from whatever nightmare he had just been shown. Miesall had just saved him earlier that day as well. They couldn't have done it without the watching they always did.

He placed his arms on the desk and laid his head on top of them before sighing. He had been at this, thinking of it all, for hours now. He was tired... so very tired. A lot had happened since he woke up earlier. Just how long had it been since then? It had to have been more than a few hours. At the same time, there was no way that a full day had past. It didn't really matter though— either way, he was tired. He closed his eyes and soon found that sleep overtook him.

Once again, he had no idea how much time had passed since he had fallen asleep. It didn't really matter— time was all but meaningless here in the Downside Up, he was quickly finding. He got up from his chair, stretching. A yawn exited from his lips before he turned towards the door. He stood there, waiting, wondering if someone was going to walk into his room without warning like they had the other times he had slept. If they did, he hoped it would be Miesall.. But no one came.

Grian adjusted his robe and matted his hair before opening the door. He looked around, finding a single Watcher at the end of the hall, standing there silently. He walked over to them without saying anything. Getting closer, he realized that this one was female and thus, she could not enter the wing. Therefore, she had been waiting for him there at the mouth.

"Hello," She said. Her voice sounded familiar. Had they interacted before? Or had he caught her talking at some point as they passed one another?

"Hello," he responded with a nod. The two stood in place, silence overcasting them. She 'stared' at him-- that is, her head was directed at him; who knew where she was actually looking. All of the Watchers seemed to do this when talking to him, mimicking eye contact. They never seemed to do it with each other. Grian had come to realize it was a human thing they were copying, that they were trying to make him more comfortable. They missed the mark a bit, however, having a bit too much focus on him than regular eye contact did. He appreciated the effort, though.

"Do you remember me?" She asked after a minute. So they had interacted before! But when exactly?

"Not really..." Grian admitted, looking away out of embarrassment.

"I was the one that brought you here." She said plainly, not seeming to care that he had forgotten.

Oh... right.

"I don't think I caught your name..." Grian began. There was already one Watcher that had interacted quite a bit with but didn't know the name of. He didn't want to be anywhere near him, but he was still annoyed by the fact he didn't have a name to put with his face. 

"Juden." She replied bluntly, frowning, before turning around and walking away. She didn't seem to want to make small talk, but then again, none of them really did. They were comfortable in silence. Grian? Not so much. The human hurried to follow the Watcher; something that seemed to be quickly becoming a routine. A bit of nervousness collected in his stomach, which made him yet again, realize that he needed nutrition. He could only hope that this Watcher wasn't as cruel as the last.

She led him to the lecture hall without another word. On the board was still the image of the cow the other Watcher had drawn last time he was in here. With a flick of her hand, the drawing faded, the whiteboard turning back to a pure white.