The 10th Circle - Abyss [Complete]

8. Engram: Wings (2)

"So... what are you two up to?" I asked.

I sat down on the other side of her bed across from Edge, and spotted several quadratic pieces of paper scattered on the blanket between them. I had always felt a strange fascination for the material, perhaps because it was such a rare thing in this digital day and age. And I wondered where they had gotten it from. The only paper I had seen in Tartaros so far were the densely printed pages of the books in the library, but these sheets were perfectly blank and white, and immaculate except for some bearing traces of repeated folding and unfolding. And amidst the sheets, there were various paper-made shapes and even little figurines.

"Edge is teaching me origami," Feather explained, beaming with excitement.

"Origami? What's that?"

"It's when you fold paper to make different shapes and things."

She picked up one of the paper figurines and put it in my hand. It looked like a butterfly.

"You made this?" I asked Edge, "It's beautiful."

He looked back at me with his mismatched eyes and nodded in silence. There was a hint of a smile on his lips, hidden somewhere among his dark beard, as he took another piece of paper and began to meticulously fold it in an intricate sequence of steps. The result was a little bird. He held it at the bottom and pulled at the tail, causing it to flap its wings, and Feather to laugh in delight.

"Can you show me how to do it, too?" I asked Edge, and he nodded again.

Together, the three of us created some more birds, butterflies, frogs, flowers and other shapes, first until we ran out of paper, and then until we had unfolded and refolded the sheets so many times that they had become frayed and crumpled.

"What a pity," Feather sighed with disappointment, after we had decided to leave the last set of figurines as they were, out of fear of tearing the paper if we took them apart once more.

"Where did you get that paper anyway?" I asked.

"A favor. I brought it with me from a trial," Edge replied.

I hadn't really expected him to answer at all, so the sudden sound of his deep voice startled me.

So he is able to speak, after all.

"Oh. I see."

Though I didn't really understand, I felt like it was not my place to inquire any further. There was not a hint of hostility in his voice or demeanor, yet there was still something vaguely intimidating about this silent man.

"I will try to bring more the next time," he said and got up. "Promise."

He looked at Feather with a warm smile, and the intimidating vibe vanished instantly. He ruffled her hair, and got up to leave, taking the neglected dishes from the previous meal with him.

"You will stay with her?" he asked me, now wearing his deadpan, serious look again. It sounded less like a question, and more like a rather urgent request.

"Sure."

After all, it wasn't like I had any specific plans, other than learning more about this place. This seemed as good a point to start my quest as any.

When I turned back after Edge had left, I found Feather eyeing me up and down with great curiosity.

"Do I have something on my face?" I asked.

"Ohh, no! Sorry for staring," she said and laughed nervously. "It's just... good to see a new face!"

"Thanks... I guess."