'I died?'
The help he received was unexpected, he really believed that was his end, yet he was here, conversing and breathing, feeling the muscle aches and tingling from his wounds, so how could he be dead?
"Isn't it unbelievable how they still found the remains of this said terrorist that blew up the ship, after massacring all those civilians, it is an easy death for him, don't you think so?"
He stared at her phone while she stated those words. Unable to decipher what she truly thought and felt. She forced a laugh.
"Of course you do"
She put down her phone, making sure to put it on mute for now. She will need to cut off her communication with the outside world soon. What valid excuse can she give, she wonders. For now, They can only stare at each other.
"You are in front of me, Alive and breathing."
Forcing a smile and looking at the bowls of ramen. Aziel being alive or dead does not change anything or does not help in solving the tragedy that occurred.
Knowing who he was and what he did! And her she was, inviting him to eat ramen like he was a casual friend.
Who. was. She? That's all Aziel could conclude. He was perplexed with everything, ever since he woke up, nothing was and felt familiar.
"You... Who are you really?"
Who was she? It doesn't make sense to her either. Why did she go to all the trouble to save him? She can't weight the benefit in their motives and decisions.
"You can guess while we eat, I'm starving."
Hoping to divert his attention for now, she placed the other bowl beside her and got 2 pairs of chopsticks she placed on top of the bowl. She patted the high chair beside her.
"You can sit here."
Aziel hesitantly walked beside her and sat on the other chair.
The aroma the noodles wafted their nose, it made him remember those days when he used to eat at the nearby convenience of his home. Full of msg and all those unhealthy preservatives, yet it was comforting. It gave his such nostalgia.
'This girl...Why would she save him? Feed him and aid him despite knowing what he is did? How can she seem to eat so peacefully despite knowing what he truly is capable of? He is a murderer.
Yes. He does not feel a sense of remorse for those who he killed, but it does't mean he is not aware of the consequences of what he did, of what he truly deserved. A weird feeling started to bubble within him. He does not deserve such act of kindness nor hospitality. He preferred it if she was hostile to him, rather than being unable to read her.
Noticing that Aziel wasn't touching his food, rather, he was in a deep thought after she showed him the article and invited him to eat. She bit her lip softly, she had rather have him sit beside her. In that way, she would have some privacy with her expressions, which might reveal how she truly feels.
Still too engrossed thinking, she gave a small cough calling Aziel's attention. Azriel looked at her side profile.
"You must eat... in that way you can compose your questions better" she told him.
Aziel still does not know her name.
He felt like a child, she felt strange. But He does not feel paranoid and alert in her presence.
"Ah!"
She expressed loudly as if she remembered something important.
"I remember I actually have some fruits, wait up"
Running to the refrigerator. And brought up some vibrant yellow colored mangoes and strawberries.
"As long as we have some fibers right"
She then went to get a medium-size wooden chopping board and began to cut up the fruits.
Putting it in a wooden bowl, she went to the fridge and opened it to get a jar full of orange liquid. Carrying it to a counter and poured it equally into 2 cups.
"This is freshly squeezed orange juice if you're wondering."
After putting it all on a wooden tray, she walked back onto the high granite counter and arranged it in a way she liked.
"Dig in" she smiled at him.
Aziel stared at the meal in front of him.
'It doesn't seem to be poisoned. She won't save him just to go to all that trouble'
He took his first slurp of the instant ramen using his chopstick. It's exactly how it felt. Comforting.
Hearing his continuous slurps, she gave a sigh of relief, things were going well for now at the very least. Spooning some of the ramen soup, it was a little salty and spicy for her liking, yet it also started to feel warm.
Aziel finished his food first. Way faster than the lady in front of him did.
"Your name? I don't think it would be fair if you're the only one who knows who i am, wouldn't it?"
He wondered what she would be called, would it be the most common of names or a name he had never heard before. He had never met a girl... No. A woman similar to this one beside him.
The woman swallowed her ramen, hard.
'Should I give my real name or not?'
"Astraea... Archer"
She decided to tell him half-half. Her identity is well hidden from the world, but if she tells him of her real identity after connecting the dots, there is a possibility Aziel might blow up or worse, she doesn't want to know.
"Like the stars"
He knows that she's obviously not telling the truth, but he'll know why soon, He's not rushing it. They can both take their time playing this game.
"Why... Why did you save me?" he asked next.
Astrea put down her chopstick.
"I needed too."
She was telling the truth she knows. She needed him. It was a vague answer. An answer that made sense for him yet at the same time did not. even for her, she was mutually confused.
"What do you mean that you needed to?"
'Is she the one, He referred as help? When I think about it, it's the only answer to why she needed too, but why go to all these effort of playing questions with him when she can just tell me who she truly is'
Picking her next words and answers carefully, betting on her replies.
"Cause we need you alive, Aziel."
He gave a chuckle and drank his orange juice. It moistened his throat enough to make his next words full and clear.
"Who are you exactly then? What made you so special that you got accepted into your role"
'Role? So he might actually belong to an organisation, as we assume... he might truly be a terrorist. What did I get myself into!'
Astraea is aware that this was a risky role she was acting upon.
"I'm good at a lot of things. There are information I also don't know that only the higher up does. They only told me to take you in and help you recover while they try to do their best in whatever they do best."
Confidence and courage she needs right now. She can't get specific about anything since she also does not know what she's playing at. Using her common sense in the hierarchy of all organization, maybe it'd make sense if she just played a normal member, who only knows and does what the ones in power say and commands.
"What's next then? Am I just going to hide here till things cool down?"
If she was truly someone he sent to help him, she would at least know what to do with him. He cannot stay here forever.
"Things won't exactly cool down in a long while, Aziel... you survived the hardest part, literally, but going into the outside world where such major tragedy just happened wouldn't be in our best interest"
For her to find out who he truly was and his motives in bombing their cruise, she needed to be his friend.