Fragments of Alchemy: The Code Breaker

Chapter Twenty-Nine ~ Life Savers ~ Part I

Chadwick woke up very early the next morning to his godfather shaking his shoulder. He sat up groggily, realising that he was on a futon on the floor of the painfully tiny spare room, but he had fallen asleep directly on the tatami reed floor of the living room. His back hurt from sleeping without a bed, but he got up as quickly as he could and hurried out of the room, intending to get ready for the day quickly. After a hot shower, he almost felt ready to tackle the hard work the day would surely bring.

'Sorry for taking over your living room last night,' Chadwick said as he was putting his boots on by the door.

Miyamoto looked up from his seat on the floor near the low table, where he was reading what looked like a newspaper. 'You fell asleep. I used the Manipulation Conversion to move you to your futon without waking you,' Miyamoto explained. Chadwick noticed that his godfather had put on his Intuition Amulet this morning, and they could finally communicate properly. 'Did you mean to sleep on the floor?' his godfather asked.

'I'm claustrophobic, remember?' Chadwick said, not unkindly. 'That spare room you've got back there is half the size of my dorm, and even my dorm is so small, about all's I can manage to do in the room is sleep. I never spend any time in there because it always puts me on edge. Sometimes just the reminder that this whole place is underground is enough to make me go stir crazy.' Chadwick was surprised at his own honesty, but the way he said it made him realise how big of a pillock he'd been last night. The stress of the day had turned him into a complete prat. Chadwick stood back up and bowed his head in shame. 'I guess I just lost it last night. I apologise if I upset you.'

Miyamoto stood up and bowed, and Chadwick felt his face flush with warmth. 'No need to apologise. I forgot about your claustrophobia. I knew that you hate small spaces. I knew that you were having a rough day. I should have supported you better yesterday.'

Chadwick shook his head. 'You're a lifesaver, honestly! I don't know what I would have done last night without you, and Guru Amathaon, too. I hadn't even realised that I needed a break from my Protégé, big time. Don't tell her I said that.'

Miyamoto winked at Chadwick. 'I think I know exactly what you mean. You had best be on your way to go fetch her though, if you want to have time for breakfast before your lessons start.'

'You're right. Cheers, Miyamoto Sensei.'

'Itteresshai,' his godfather said, and his Intuition Amulet translated the phrase as go and return safely. Chadwick turned and left the flat. He hurried up the Canopy Corridor to the Violet Hallway and easily found Guru Amathaon's flat at the end of the hall.

Chadwick knocked and then looked down at Stella as he waited. 'You won't tell Thea what I said, will you, Stella?' He smiled down at his Chimaera, who seemed to be having as hard of a time waking up as he always did. She was still coiled tightly around his wrist, her wings stiff and her fluffy hair all knotted up, most likely from the shower they'd taken combined with not drying off properly. Chadwick was beginning to suspect that maybe she just wasn't a morning Chimaera, and it took a bit for her to perk up after waking. 'Stella?' Chadwick quietly stretched out his voice, coaxing her to wake up.

Stella gave Chadwick a slow wink as she opened her left eye. Her antennae unrolled and her wings began to open up wide. Finally, she lifted herself to a sitting position on his wrist and shook out her fluff. She seemed to notice that her yellow hair had gone a bit crusty, and she started grooming herself, using her claws as combs on her yellow fuzz.

The door opened to reveal the old Guru. 'Chadwick, before you and Thea leave for your lessons, I need to teach you some things that will help her make it through her day,' Guru Amathaon said as she led Chadwick to the mound of pillows and took a seat. Chadwick crossed his legs on a pillow and nodded.