Generis

24. Identity

"Ithella. Fancy seeing you here again," Adriel said, not even looking up when she glided past. Instead, he only looked up to make sure Timburu was still there at the tables. And indeed she was, but instead of reading, she was deep asleep with a book wide open to a page he assumed she fell asleep on.

Ever since the occurrence in Belseau Woods, Adriel had been drilling into her the importance of being on time and staying awake. Wide awake, that is. But he understood that, for someone like her, staying awake for days without sleep was already a burden enough already. So he let her be without shocking her awake this time.

He finally turned to Ithella, "To what do I owe the pleasure of you coming in so close to closing time? I have other business to get on with, and I haven't got all day."

"Sorry I was absent for the last few sessions with you and the girl," Ithella apologised, "But there is an... incident... I'm in the middle of unraveling right now."

"Oh.?" Adriel leaned forward in his chair, intrigued, "And would you mind filling me in? After all, I assume that you're here to require information. Information held under my name."

"Oh Adriel, I'll tell you in due time. Don't you worry." She reassured, taking a quick glance at Timburu, "And yes, I do need your help. I do need information from here."

"Fine, fine, I can make some exceptions. Especially since you helped me a whole lot back then," He set his pen down and smiled at her, "What is it you need, hm?"

Ithella walked up and down, as if on patrol duty, before exhaling and looking at him straight in the eye, "I need information on plazma—"

"Section D5, Column 6: Stones and Crystals, second to last book from up to down," He said, looking back at his book.

"You didn't even let me finish- and you didn't even question me like I had expected you to."

"For a number of reasons. One, by interrogating you, I'm drawing out information that I think you would rather have kept to yourself. Two, you're not the kind of person who would ever plan on such an act anyway. And three, the way you phrased the question implies you have no harmful intentions. After all, if you did, you never would have asked why, but instead would've taken your legs and hurried over there before I could blink."

Ithella was silent for a moment, soaking in all of these words, before replying with a concerned, "Okay...." And walked off. Instead of heading to where she was directed to, however, she went to sit next to Timburu, who was still asleep. Adriel watched her pat the girls back before getting back up and striding away to the Section she needed to go to. That was weird.

Adriel didn't struggle with making friends; his communication skills were unmatched. But he never regarded someone, or anyone for that matter, as a 'friend'. When asked, though no one ever did, he'd call someone such as Ithella, a 'close associate'.

Despite the fact he could easily talk to anyone, he chose not to. Instead, Adriel enjoyed the fact the sweet silence that he savoured like a sweet at the back of his mouth was back, and he loved it. It was a momentary taste though, and it soon dwindled away when the doors swung open, slamming against the walls, which caused him to stand up suddenly, on high alert. Everyone else's attention suddenly turned towards the door, apart from Timburu, who merely stirred. He rose, and was prepared to have the perpetrator on the floor, wailing and apologetic, until he saw the person was none other than Minnu.

Adriel expected her arrival, of course. It was idealistic for him to think that these little sessions would run trouble-free. And he soon faced reality when she, stormier than he had ever seen in his life, marched over and pretty much slammed her hands on the desk, which he knew hurt from the subtle wince she tried to cover up with an angry facade.