Chris woke us when Zeven shifted in his sleep.
He curled further into himself slipping down closer to Chris's stomach than her chest. She tried to wiggle free, but only managed to make her way to a sitting position before Zeven latched back on her in his sleep. Wrapping his arms around her waist he rested his head on her lap. "Gunter?" Chris called quietly, hoping he was in the area.
Sure enough a head popped out from around the corner to the kitchen. Chris waved him over. "Can I get some paper? It looks like he won't be moving for a while yet." Chris leaned sideways into the back of the couch. Resting her arms on the top she leaned over and sat her chin on her crossed arms, avoiding moving her waist as much as possible. "Please? And a cup of coffee?" The end of her sentence had an upward lilt. Crossing her fingers that her coffee privileges hadn't been permanently revoked. Gunter looked at Chris, and then down at Zeven before closing his eyes and shaking his head. He turned and headed back towards the kitchen.
Chris was alone with Zeven again, she had freer movement now, but was still very much trapped by him. He was a lot clingier than she had expected. But this side of him was almost sweet. When he wasn't running his mouth, he was almost tolerable. Smiling softly, Chris brushed a stray lock of hair out of his face.
Pulling her attention away, Gunter returned with a pencil, paper, coffee, and food. A soft roll was sitting on top of the rim of her cup, for convenient carrying. She said her thanks and Gunter left the way he'd come, leaving without saying anything.
Lacking space, Chris sat the pad of paper on Zeven's back and the pencil in her hair. She removed the bun from the cup and bit into it. She was surprised to find that there was a filling in the middle. A hearty blend of meat and vegetables were stuffed into the center of the bun. It was creative and expedient, ridding the use of utensils and dinnerware completely. But, it didn't pair extremely well with the coffee, so Chris finished the bun before sipping at her drink.
With her brain working again, Chris started anew at the problem. Lacking a table within reach, Chris moved the mug to her left hand and wrote with the right. Using Zeven's broad back as a writing surface. She worked comfortably for an hour or so. Taking breaks here and there to drink her coffee or run her fingers through Zeven's hair.
It was well into the afternoon before Zeven came to.
A soothing hand combed through his hair, rousing him. Usually when he woke up he felt more tired than when he went to sleep, but he only felt relaxed at the moment. He began to sit up, and the hand fell away. Immediately missing its warmth, his eyes sought out its source. Looking up he found himself staring into the steel grey's belonging to Chris. For a moment he was mesmerized. Sinking into the black hole of her pupil. He almost didn't call out to him. "How did you sleep." Zeven leaned in closer to her, stopping an inch from her nose. Everything felt relaxed, and before he could stop himself his words came out. "You look just like your mom." A pregnant pause fell between them, as they both realized what had been said. Chris's eyebrows creased, and a question started forming on her lips.
But before she had the chance to ask, Zeven practically flew backwards to get away from her. Shocked that those words came from him. His eyes were wide and frenzied as he scrambled off the couch and onto the floor. "No. Sorry. Forget I said anything." He was not subtle.
Chris got up to chase after him. Standing slower, not rushing. "What did you say." "Forget it Chris, it was nothing." Zeven backed himself against the wall, slightly light headed from moving so quickly. Chris kept space between them. "That is the first interesting thing you've said since I got here. And now is when you're going to stop talking. If it has something to do with my mother, I think I deserve to know." She didn't sound angry, but it was clear she wasn't going to give up on getting an answer.
"All I said was that you look like your mother on occasion. That's it... I need to leave now." Chris wasn't ready to surrender, she took a step closer. "That is clearly not all. What are you leaving out?" Chris caught Zeven's eyes. "Would you trust me that if it was important I'd tell you?" Zeven seemed less frantic than before, but still on edge.
"I don't trust you."
"That's probably a good thing." Zeven looked away,
"Zeven-" "Tell Gunter I'll be back by dinner." Escaping her, Zeven made a dash for the front door. Leaving in his night clothes and without shoes on his feet he fled.
"Gunter!" Chris yelled. Marching into the kitchen, "why does Zeven know my mother?" Her voice was strong and demanding. Gunter, who was busy tidying the kitchen, turned his attention to Chris. "Christopher, your mother was the Queen of Ametade. It is hard to believe that someone would not know of her." Swiftly moving from the kitchen to the common area, he began dusting off the fixings.
"After that stunt you can't expect me to believe that there is nothing more than that, he practically ran from the answer." Gunter stopped for a minute, turning over his shoulder to look at her. "Maybe there is and maybe there isn't. Believe what you like and do what you see fit." "Give me your key!" Gunter kept dusting and Chris had to fight back a scream. "I'm doing as I see fit, now give me the key so I can go after him." Smiling where she couldn't see, Gunter grabbed the key and lofted it over his shoulder. "I trust you've seen the stable out back. I'd imagine that's where he is, provided you weren't too slow."