Division of Worlds

CH6--To work


Vespat stood at the base of what was a giant glass pyramid for the eighth time, Jocelyn looking over her shoulder at him. "Well, come on. It's not going to launch into the air if you stand inside. You always do this when we get here."She said as he snapped out of his daze.

Eight days had passed since the beast's attack and Jocelyn made Vespat come to work with her every day since. Each time, he would stand to gawk at the building.

"What is this place again? It's like the grand temple of Azure in my dimension."Ves said as he looked up to it in awe. "Except made of glass and not white stone."

"It's the Northern Museum of World Treasures. Now will you stop gawking, I'm late enough already." Jocelyn said as she grabbed him by the sleeve and pulled him inside through the back entrance of the building. She dragged him past some of the exhibits to a back room where there were some glass tables, one which had a ton of books stacked on top of it. Immediately, they both went to it, Jocelyn setting the case with the discus on the desk while she went to dress in a lab coat.

As she turned, she saw Ves staring at the case, raising his head. "What?"He asked.

"It's just…odd…Now that Jon's not here…I'm usually here with just him and it's odd to see you here even after all this time…"She said as she shook her head and went to go sit down on a stool near it, removing the discus from the case.

"What are you going to do with it today?"Ves asked, seeing her pull out a small pick and brush from a toolkit.

"It still needs some more cleaning…It was buried in the ground for some time and there are so many symbols left to uncover I think."Jocelyn said as she started to use the brush to clean it some and using the pick to remove a little clot of dirt.

"It's made of stone, just dip it in some water."Ves said as he pulled up a stool and sat watching her.

"Absolutely not! It could cause it to deteriorate and then where would you be?"Jocelyn chastised as she took a small, slightly wiry brush and chipped away at some more soil on it.

"Stuck."Ves grumbled, removing a book from the table and looking at it. Promptly closing it, he set it on another table and looked through another one, doing the same as Jocelyn worked. Soon, there were two specific piles on the floor as she pulled away from the work to look at his own doing.

"What on earth are you doing?"She asked, getting off of the stool and opening one of the books.

"Going through the material…You, of course, have some relevant material and some completely inane. How on the Goddess's sweet earth did you think that the discus was a wheel or a sexual item?"Ves said as he crossed his arms in annoyance and amusement.

"In our world we don't know about this so we explore all boundaries and possibilities, Ves…"Jocelyn said, shaking her curls. "Honestly, you thought a car was an animal and a dog someone who could talk…"

The elf narrowed his eyes, the purple frames sliding down his face some. With a quick push of his fingers, he went back to the pile of books that were the incorrect sources just to amuse him. The first he picked up was the book on ancient intercourse, turning the book on it's side and such as he looked to the images. Looking to Jocelyn, he tried to almost picture some of the inane things they were describing with her, the possibilities making him smile evilly in his mind.

The sound of the picking stopped, the archaeologist sitting back at some of the work she had been uncovering. So far, it was just a few squiggly lines and ornate carvings but it was slowly getting closer to being uncovered. Leaning back over, she gave it another brush before feeling a pair of eyes over her shoulders.

"Ves…That still feels very creepy. Stop it."She said as she narrowed her eyes.

"I'm just looking."Ves said as he stepped back some.

"You're prying."She said, sweeping a hand behind her. Ves chuckled deeply, crossing his arms again and looking around. His eyes fell on a picture frame tucked under some notes, tilting his head and pulling it out.

"Who is this man with you?"He inquired, showing her the picture.

Jocelyn didn't move from her work. "A friend."She answered.

"Seems very intimate for a friend. Look at him. He's actually touching you."Ves said as he set it down.

Jocelyn stopped, sitting up. "That's because he was my fiance…my 'companion' I guess you could call him. He died."She answered bluntly. "Just put that picture back where you found it and drop the subject."

"What happened to him?"He prodded.

"An accident at a dig site…He was very badly hurt."She said as she chipped away at the discus a little further. "We were engaged for only a few months…His name was Allen."

"Allen…Handsome fellow."Vespat said as he put the frame back down. Of course, he was still interested in this man in the picture. The frames he wore on the face were exactly like the ones the man wore in the picture and his hair was a similar, fair blonde color though Ves colored his hair in a cultural practice for the bit of maroon in his hair.

"Yeah…he was…"Jocelyn said as she sat back some.

An odd silence fell about the room, Jocelyn looking back down to her work in some awe. She had uncovered more than half of what she had originally found, admiring the carving in the stone. Oddly enough, the discuss itself didn't feel heavy at all and even sounded hollow when it was set down on a hard surface. Vespat, intrigued, watched her face with interest.

"Are you expecting it to leap off of the table and start talking?"Ves teased. "If I had my books, I could probably tell you that."

"Uh-huh, but for now it's time for the elf to shut up and let me work."Jocelyn said, shoving a gloved hand into his face and pushing it back away from her work desk.

Hours passed by. Ves made himself comfortable on the only sturdy and cushioned furniture in the room, having reclined back some and drifted off to sleep. As the scientist cleaned, she would occasionally glance up at him, cracking an odd smile. Around lunch time, she removed her science-fiction garb and moved over to the chair, pulling off the glasses from his face.

Vespat jumped, his head and eyes whipping around though finding he couldn't see anything. "Give those back."He said, extending a naked hand compared to the gloved one when they first encountered each other.

"Only when you're on your feet. I'm going to go get lunch for the both of us…and I'm going to trust you to watch the discus. I'll be just upstairs."She said as she slid them back on his face, the elf giving a disapproving, yet curious frown.

"You're trusting me with it? Even though I nearly slit your throat and gave you all hell for it?"Ves said as he rose to his feet, dusting off his sleeve.

"I figured that I 'owed' you one for doing what you did on the roof…"She said as she grabbed his wrists, turning them around so she could see the underside of them. They were red and irritated, most likely burned from that incredible spell he performed. "And for these…They haven't healed yet?"

"These? These are nothing."Ves said, pulling his hands away. "It's a price to pay to use that spell, it happens a bit. This is merely a friction burn compared to the first time. They'll heal in another few days."

That was a lie. Nothing would be undermining it too much. Vespat used that spell numerous times to protect himself and had to in order to build a tolerance to it. However, it still hurt and he would still receive just the heat burns like now.

Jocelyn shook her head. After the roof incident, she noticed he was being delicate with everything he did and usually favored in rolling his sleeves up a little before he would put on a clean shirt after the fight or helped around the apartment the days after. An odd motion for someone so gruff and she finally had noticed the burns when she felt the heat radiating off of his arm when he touched her hair that night.

"You're terrible at lying…"She said as she stepped away to grab her plaid shawl. "Stay here, I'll be back in about ten minutes."

"Whatever…."The foreigner grumbled, tucking his hands in the pockets of his long tunic, sitting back down. Jocelyn left, and he was alone in the room. His eyes fell immediately on the discus. 'You had best be worth this trouble…and not be some useless bobble like in those books.' He thought, staring at the symbols. Sighing, he leaned his head back some. 'What the hell am I still doing here…I could have tried to leave through the portal the beast made and be back home…'

The sight of the woman's petrified face in his head made him twitch uncomfortably, lifting his head up and staring at the door she had disappeared through. 'I could have very well just let her die and lived at peace with it…'He continued to think though the sight of 'Jon' the beast's tail coming so close to her beating heart that his own body and mouth had reacted before his mind could catch up. 'Could I?'

The handle of the door jiggled some and Jocelyn came back with a cardboard tray with two drinks with two paper bags of food. She saw his look, pausing a moment in an awkward position with her body leaned against the door to keep it open while juggling everything. "What's that look for?"She asked, stepping aside so the door would close on it's own.

"I'm curious…"He said as he stood up. "Of my own actions as of recently…I'm sure it's nothing."

"Really…Well here's your sandwich and drink. I just got you something plain…I know you didn't like some of the stuff on the last sandwich I made for you other than the bread, meat and cheese."She said as she calmly set them on the small table next to the chair Ves had claimed and went to a different desk to eat her own.

The elf stood there for a little while longer, watching her and then looking over his shoulder. "Many thanks…"He said as he fell back into the chair.


Evening fell and Jocelyn closed the case to the discus with a stretch, set it aside and began to clean up her station. Ves had dosed off in the chair, the glasses tilted awkwardly on his face. Sneaking over, she leaned down and removed his glasses which was enough to make him jump, stirring.

"You like doing that don't you?"Ves yawned, reaching for the glasses and putting them back on his face.

"It got you up. I'm done for the day. We can talk more privately at home."She said as she went to retrieve the protective box, turning around to see the elf right behind her in his typical spooky way.

"Let me see it."He asked, Jocelyn raising an eyebrow. She stood there with the box in her hands, opening the lid to show him the work she had finished. The discus was almost near completion in being cleaned up on just the top side. Ves could very much make out the symbols and shapes that were on it, biting the inside of his lip some as to not get too excited. "That is…quite remarkable that you've got so much done now…Another day, you should have this all cleaned up."

"Can you tell what it says?"She asked, Ves leaning closer.

"Eventually…The symbols inscribed there are like your hieroglyphics like in some of your books in my world. It just needs to be translated."He said as he rose back up, Jocelyn closing the case quickly and tucking it into the padded back she carried around when dealing with delicate items.

"For now, let's get out of here. I don't trust anyone here."Jocelyn said as she removed her lab coat and gloves, picking up the bag and shouldering it.

"Not even me?"Vespat teased.

"Especially not you."She smirked, turning and leading him out.

Jocelyn, for a change, chatted more excitedly about work on the way home. She was ecstatic over what she had uncovered and how much work had been done. Vespat would just nod, his arms crossed over his chest. At the apartment, she cooked up a small feast for the two of them, the elf assisting where told and peeling the potatoes.

A servant's job.

A sharp jolt on his hand made him drop the potato and the knife, looking down at a cut. "Curses of a thousand…"He swore, grabbing a paper towel and holding his hand.

"I warned you about that knife."Jocelyn said as she moved away from her own work to go check on him. Ves growled a little when she went to touch his hand, her hand unwavering as she grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him over to the sink. Gently, she peeled away the towel, turning the faucet on and running the elf's injured finger over some lukewarm water.

"It doesn't look too bad…We should still wrap it up."She noted as she turned off the water.

"Confounded, stupid…"The man beside her seethed, his hand recoiling from the water. Jocelyn rolled her eyes and pulled him to the bathroom, making him sit down on the toilet. "I can care for this on my own."

"Not in this dimension you don't."

Ves shut his mouth though still growled in his throat as the woman cared for his injured hand and cringed as something stung it painfully. It was only a few seconds when he felt something be tugged closed and saw a vibrantly colored bandage around his finger. He looked at it, examining it and frowning.

"What?"She asked as she closed her first aid kit and tucked it back into the cabinet.

"Nothing."He said as he stood up.

"It's something Ves…You've been acting aggressive and angrier than usual."She said as she turned to wash her hands of the little bit of blood she had gotten on her. Ves towered behind her in the mirror, his face despondent. "Are you feeling homesick?"She asked, staring at him through the mirror.

"No."

"Did I did something wrong?"

"…No."

"Then what?"She said as she turned around, having to lean back on the sink to look at him. The elfling had a very…odd expression about his face.