Simply an Experiment (Tales of the Abyss) Title: Simply an Experiment Author: Queenie Z Fandom: Tales of the Abyss Rating: G Warnings: Jade/Saphir. Sort of? Spoilers: Jade's past.
Summary: Sometimes he was a person - many times, however, he was simply an experiment.
Jade adjusted his glasses and scribbled down a few equations. The workspace in his room was a mess - books, notebooks, ink stains, diagrams - things that would lead one to think that the tiny room belonged to an old, reclusive scholar instead of a young boy.
His thoughts were like a multitude of gears and cogs, turning over and over within his head. Seventh fonons could only be used by seventh fonists. One that was not born with the power of the seventh fonon could not even attempt to invoke it. However, if his hypothesis was correct, then...
He looked up after hearing a series of faint knocks. Frowning, the boy stood up and went to his window, where he saw a familiar light-haired cockroach standing at the door below him. Saphir always showed up to bother him at the most inopportune times. Nevertheless, he would probably continue to bug him if he didn't answer the door, so Jade descended the staircase and opened the front door.
"Jade! Jade!" cried Saphir, his eyes bright with enthusiasm and his cheeks flushed from the cold, "I did it, Jade! I built the igloo all by myself!"
Jade raised an eyebrow. "An igloo."
"You said I wasn't good enough to make one by myself," continued the other boy, "but I did! Jade, you have to come see!"
Inside the doorway, Jade removed his glasses and wiped the fog from the lenses. "All right, Saphir," he said, "I'll come see it."
Saphir beamed with delight. "J-Jade, you'll really...?!"
"But I need to put away some things first," he replied. "Wait here until I come back." He shut the door on him and went back up to his room. There, he grabbed a pocket watch from his dresser drawer, opened it up, and sat it next to his books before sitting down and returning to work.
---
"J-J-J-Jade?" said Saphir to the closed window above. "Y-you're still gonna see my igloo... r-right?" He rubbed his hands against his face, shivering uncontrollably. "It's been... three... three hours... aren’t you c-c-coming?"
He looked down at his feet. They felt numb, even with his wool socks and leather boots on. His hands were shaking, even with his mittens. If he could have seen his face, he would have noticed his lips turning a dark blue. He was so cold he could barely feel the blanket being draped around his shoulders.
"Saphir Wyon Neis," said a voice from behind him, "what in the name of Lorelei have you been doing?"
Saphir jumped and turned around. "P-P-P-Professor... I was... w-waiting for Jade..."
Nebilim frowned, her eyes heavy with concern and exasperation. "For three hours?" She took him by the hand and began to lead him away. "I'm taking you to a doctor before hypothermia sets in." However, Saphir resisted.
"No!" he cried, stubbornly planting himself in place. "Jade p-promised me he would come! He - he said he would come!!"
The professor tugged harder. "Now, Saphir!" She quickly overpowered the young boy, dragging him down the streets of Keterburg towards the doctor's office.
"J-Jade! Jade...!!"
---
An amused smile crept across Jade's face as he watched his companion being towed away from his bedroom window. He took a glance at the pocket watch in his hand.
Three hours, sixteen minutes, and forty-five seconds. Perhaps, had Professor Nebilim not interfered, his subject would have lasted much longer in the cold.
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exaudi) wrote,
chipper
