Zorn and Thorn had always found ways to eat, even if their parents had not supported them very well in this area. They could always find someone that'd be willing to give them a handout or something of that nature. When you became as desperate to survive as the twins had over the years, shame had long since ceased to be a problem. While they had deep pride in themselves for their accomplishments over the years, it was easy to swallow when it came to food.
Their next the next day class began an hour later then their shift at the Bookstore, so the two of them decided to use this extra hour as well as they could. Prepared with bottles and small containers, they set themselves to raid the dining hall so the previous night's episode would not be repeated. Considering how skilled they were at this particular practice, plus their ability to make food last for long periods, they would not have to repeat this entire endeavor for at least two weeks. If everything went to plan, that is.
They surveyed the dining area quickly when they came in, making a plan before they had gone more then five steps. Thorn positioned himself near an area with fruit, bread, and other food items meant as accompaniments for main dishes, including cookies and other desserts.
He stared at the food in front of him and waited, toying with the small containers he had concealed in the large sweater he had worn today for this purpose.
As he had expected, from behind him there was a loud crash as Zorn deliberately knocked over a display stand. Thorn glanced behind him to see Zorn already apologizing and attempting (or appearing to be) to clean up the mess he had created while all eyes fell on him.
Thorn shoved things eagerly in his pouch, not bothering with opening them or putting them in containers for the moment in favor of quantity. His jean's pockets and the large pocket on the front of his sweatshirt were quickly filled before the stand could be uprighted, after which he went and joined his brothers side nonchalantly.
"Zorn..." Thorn put a disapproving tone in his voice, but said no more, not wanting to speak in front of such a large group of people. Zorn brushed himself off, avoiding eye contact as he attempted to look irritated.
"I know, I know..."
The few who had stopped to actually help in cleaning up the mess looked up, giving the twins the customary double-take that seemed to accompany them no matter where they went. The jester hats, of course, did not help.
"Just be more careful, alright?" One of the more authoritative figures steadied the stand unnecessarily as she glanced at them. She looked vaguely familiar, but Zorn and Thorn knew from personal experience how temporary such a relationship had to be.
The two of them nodded, even though the statement had been addressed towards the blue one of the pair, and they walked off.
"How much?" Zorn whispered underneath his breath as soon as they were out of earshot.
"Full."
"Good..."
Knowing they could not pull off the same scheme twice in a such a short time, they instead got in line for the main breakfast entree. Both of them got far more then either of them could eat, something that did not garner too many stares considering how thin they were. Most assumed that they had just not eaten in a while, or were overloading on food as most freshmen had a habit of doing. Afterwards, they headed for a corner hidden by a wall as far away from the others as possible. They had never liked sitting with other people anyway.
Once they felt reasonably safe, the majority of what was on their plates went into the plastic bowls with lids and other things they had brought with them. The extra glasses of juice and milk got poured into thermos' and they finally settled down to eat, glancing around occasionally to check if anyone was watching them. So far, no one seemed to notice. They had been extra careful, after all.
Thorn spent most of the meal moving the contents of his pockets into safer and more sanitary places, eating hurriedly out of instinct when he had the time. His brother followed him in this regard automatically, the two of them so accustomed to a tight and unforgiving schedule -- such as they one they had now and had seemed to have for the majority of their lives -- that they did not allot a lot of time to food consumption.
"Enough do you think this is?"
"I think so. What time is it?" Zorn asked the question semi-rhetorically, as both of them wore a watch. They were rarely apart, but it wasn't worth taking the chance of being late. He glanced at it quickly. Although he preferred digital watches, his brother preferred older kinds. It was one of their twin idiosyncracies. "We've got some time..."
"Use this time later for homework we can...when food we have enough of that is..." Thorn picked some of the last scraps from his plate.
"That sounds about right." Zorn nodded and held a hand to his forehead for a moment, wincing. Thorn only had to look at him for a moment.
"Got one I have as well." Zorn looked at his brother. Thorn returned his attention back to his plate. "Go away I hope it will..."
"Sleep...I think it's because we need more sleep..."
The two of them matched eyes and then laughed shortly and humorlessly before standing, taking their plates and glasses with them. They left the cafeteria without so much as a second glance, the others present either too tired or too hungry to pay attention to them.
The extra time that had been given to them due to their speedy breakfast was used to store the food in their room before they had to again run off to classes. Exhaustion was taking a longer time to settle in now, considering that there had been coffee available in the cafeteria that they had taken advantage of.
Their next class took place in one of the large art-related buildings on the campus. They knew these buildings were related to the Liberal Arts, but never having found a vested interest in the field, they had not ventured or paid much attention to them during their short stay. Their only experience had been the theater troupe, which met in the same building but in an entirely different area.
Above the large theater were several open rooms with large windows, where Zorn and Thorn found themselves precisely fifteen minutes before class started. It was a rather pretty room, wide and clear with clean, hardwood floors and large windows that took up the majority of the opposite wall. Sunlight made the room seem accommodating and warm.
Finding the room empty but verifying its location with their schedules, they instantly gravitated towards a corner and began to rifle through the books in their backpacks, whispering to one another quietly about what they thought of their recent classes.
Ten minutes before class started, a woman entered the room. She was had long brown hair tied back into a ponytail and kind eyes, covered with a pair of thin squarish spectacles. She was dressed in loose clothing with movement clearly in mind. She noticed the jester twins in the corner immediately, waving to them with a kind smile.
"Hello! Are you two in my class?"
Jerked out of their ensuing argument, the two of them blinked rapidly, trying to hide their slight surprise at being interrupted. Zorn glanced down at the schedule that he had placed on the floor before looking up again.
"Dr. Shera?"
"That's me." She smiled at them again. Although she was reacting to them much like Lucrecia and almost every authority figure they had encountered had -- soft and slow with short words -- for some reason she seemed genuine. There was none of the condescension or pity that was common to them, or the awkwardness that one got when they weren't sure whether they were talking to someone with "special needs" as they had referred to it.
That was an object of constant debate between the two of them: why was it that because they were twins, red and blue, and wore jester hats they were assumed to have some kind of mental problem? Zorn believed that they did look rather psychotic, particularly with the hats, and therefore the assumption was understandable, while Thorn blamed it on the over-emphasis on political correctness and the desire not to offend anyone in any way. Arguments on this topic had often resulted in fist fights and occasional bloody noses or black eyes. They could be remarkably stubborn at times.
Something about Dr. Shera did not seem threatening...it was very unlike the other teachers the twins had encountered so far. It almost seemed as if she could not hurt them in any way...or rather, she had no intention of doing so. No private agenda hidden in her words...peculiar. "What are your names?"
"I'm Zorn, he's Thorn." Zorn gestured appropriately.
"Well, I'm glad to have you both here with me." She did not question Thorn's apparent lack of speech yet, only moving to one side to stretch before the class started. Zorn and Thorn had heard the line before from many people who had been lying through their teeth. It was too early to decide whether Shera was following that path, so they remained silent.
Yoga and Meditation was apparently a far more popular class then either Zorn or Thorn had ever guessed. People kept filtering in, even after the class had begun, although Shera did not notice or perhaps did not care enough to admonish them for being late. Zorn and Thorn had secured their spot in the corner however, thus ensuring that they would have little contact with others during the class which was how they preferred it anyway.
They sat with their legs crossed, feeling extremely self-conscious, as Shera told them to close their eyes and focus.
"Now sit and think. Listen. And breathe. Count your breathing, hold it for a few seconds, and release. You are nothing but your breathing. Concentrate on nothing else."
Each of the brothers was convinced that his counterpart was falling for this new-age hype while he was just sitting there breathing. It was ironic, really.
Her voice throughout the class became a drone, a comforting hum in the back of their minds. She narrated long stories, explaining in great detail where they were, what they were doing, and how at peace they should be. Breathing was also a large part of it, so much so that both Zorn and Thorn were more aware of their breathing then they had ever been before. Although her guided meditation did not exactly work on them, it did make them more aware of exactly how exhausted they were. Sometimes breathing seemed so difficult...
She continued speaking, talking about losing yourself and letting everything go, and Zorn and Thorn sat with their eyes closed, breathing deep and long, trying to clear their minds of everything like she had instructed.
When she had them do an exercise on their backs, the twins were doomed. They were half-asleep while they had been sitting up, barely able to keep their heads from falling forward onto their chests. Now that they were lying on the floor in a relaxed position, with Shera's voice continuing in the background, before they even were aware of it, they had fallen asleep.
Fortunately, some of the exercises that Shera was encouraging them to do required non-movement for long periods of time and deep introspection, so the fact that Zorn and Thorn slept went unnoticed. It was also fortunate that they were totally silent. It was only when they were required to sit up again that finally their exhaustion was noticed.
Shera eventually made her way over to them, through the soft giggles from the rest of the class, and nudged both of them softly. "Zorn? Thorn?"
Instinctively and immediately, the two of them lashed out with their arms, desperately seeking the other. Once they made contact with their counterpart, they used their support and weight to scrabble away from her almost as if she had been attempting to attack them. Thorn clutching Zorn's arm tightly, the two of them lept upwards, slipping and sliding for a moment on the hardwood floor before they regained their balance. They stood in perfect unison in almost matching poses, poised on their toes to either run or fight, breathing in sporadic, frightened gasps, accessing the area for potential avenues of escape for only a second before returning wide, uncomprehending and frightened eyes towards the rest of their classmates. The two of them stood at ready, at a defensive.
The class stared at them for a few moments before they realized where they were and what they were doing, and the two of them relaxed, feeling trapped and awkward. Self-consciously checking their jester caps and brushing down their clothes, Zorn covered his eyes with his hand in embarrassment, mumbling under his breath while Thorn toyed with the sleeve of his shirt.
"We...we're sorry. We didn't mean to fall asleep...we haven't...slept much lately. I'm sorry."
"That's alright." The concern in Shera's eyes made it painfully clear that they were going to be detained for a discussion after class. "Just try to pay more attention, alright?"
They nodded, both turning soft red from embarrassment as they settled back on the floor. While the rest of the class tittered in the background amidst some hushed whispers, Shera glared at them as well as she could, gaining silence after a few minutes.
"Let's continue."
Deeply embarassed about what happened, Zorn and Thorn forced themselves to stay awake throughout the rest of the class, even when the exercise required lying prostrate on the floor. Through sheer force of will, they managed to make it through the class without another embarassing moment. Ironically, by focusing so hard on not falling asleep they only managed to tense themselves up further then they were when they had originally come in.
As they had expected, after class ended Shera looked over at the two of them again. "May I speak with you?"
The two of them nodded, moving back into their corner and sitting down, both sighing at the same time. Speaking with a teacher after class was never good and their schedule was far too tight to allow for a great deal of time to be spent in this way.
They sat and waited for her as she approached them, sitting crosslegged in front of them. Neither of them wanted to initiate the conversation, but finally Shera made the first move.
"Are you two...how much sleep do you get?"
Zorn and Thorn exchanged quick glances. "Eight hours."
They had always lied about how much they slept. People could not understand or tolerate how hard they had to work, how sleeping for long periods of time was just not an option for them. They always had a suggestion, a different method, an admonition for being so deliberatly harmful to their bodies, and eventually the pair had just become tired of it. However, it seemed that Shera knew this was a falsehood. They had almost expected that. She sighed slightly.
"You probably wouldn't listen to me even if I told you to get more..."
Zorn and Thorn nodded subconsciously and she smiled at them softly.
"What I'm more worried about is how you reacted when you woke up. Do you always get so...defensive?"
"Only when others wake us up."
"Why?"
Zorn and Thorn stared at one another, searching for a quick answer in each other's eyes, before Zorn finally turned back to Shera, pulling his backpack on while he did so.
"Why not?"
Thorn followed his lead and Shera stood, almost as if giving permission for the two to begin their trip to the door.
"I'm just worried, that's all." She called after them. They didn't respond as they left, already a few minutes behind in getting to their next job.
"Nosy I think she is." Thorn mumbled as they walked to the mailroom. "None of her business it is."
"What I'm more concerned is that she might try to get us into counseling again." Zorn scratched at the side of his face. "That would not be good."
"Conflict...not good at all that would be." Thorn mimicked his movements. "If she does that...what do we do?"
Zorn paused before finally shrugging. His tone was a bit more hostile then he intended. "I don't know."
Thorn left it at that, the two of them making it to the mailroom in time to avoid getting admonished by the supervisor.
While they were inquiring around about any jobs that were available, Zorn and Thorn had made several posters to advertise their desire for money and the exchange of their services for it. These posters had made their rounds around the school and ran thusly:
Work Wanted
Two Jesters will
do anything for money
Any task or job
We'll do it!
Must be able to set hours
Find us at the following locations
at the following times:
...followed by information to help prospective employers come in contact with the pair, after which they would negotiate the job. As they bickered and argued in the mailroom, Thorn veritably throwing packages at his brother, who was making biting and vicious remarks in return, someone they had not anticipated had found one of their fliers and became interested.
Two jesters who worked in the mailroom could be very useful, particularly if they were as desperate as the poster seemed to state.
"654."
"Getting it I am, hold on..."
"I don't have all day-"
Zorn was writing busily on the clipboard in front of him, preparing to turn and catch the package which he had little doubt would be coming directly for his head. When he looked up to confirm the package owner's presence, something caught his attention; a blur of white and silver out of the corner of his eye.
When he turned his head slightly to see the blur more clearly, it formed into the shape of a person, leaning forward on the counter beside the visibly uncomfortable person at the front of the line. He was leaning on thin, feminine hands, a dangerous and somehow sultry look on his face as he stared at Zorn with a very palpable...hunger.
The package hit the back of Zorn's head with a loud noise, thumping onto the counter into the eager hands of its owner, who rapidly vacated. Zorn did not react, only slightly and almost subconsciously leaning away from the man, now in the newly-empty space, who was leaning close to him.
"Wrong with you what is, catch that why didn't you, so stupid you are-" Thorn remarked from behind his brother, flipping his way to the ground and stomping up to the counter, staring at his brother angrily before noticing their visitor. Once he noticed the hunger in the person in front of him's frightening, blue eyes, he was just as equally struck silent. The two of them stood, leaning back as their visitor leaned forward, frightened and paralyzed all at once.
"Are you Zorn and Thorn?" Silky, frightening voice. Zorn and Thorn nodded at the same time. Both looked behind the man and found no one else in line, perhaps intimidated out of coming up.
"That's good." He turned his head to one side, long silver hair, adorned with a few feathers that matched in color, falling around his shoulders in waves as he regarded one perfect hand. He brushed his hand off on the tight black leather vest he was wearing before he reached downwards, pulling one of their crumpled posters out of what they assumed were his pockets. "Is this yours?"
Zorn, trembling, reached out a hand, taking it from him with great trepidation. He flattened it out, recognizing he and his brother's alternating handwriting on the piece of paper. While he stared at the paper, his brother nodded in response to his question.
"Good." The man turned his attention back to the twins, smiling in an entirely disturbing way. Zorn and Thorn were seized by the desire to run away, run anywhere as long as it was away from this man.
"My name is Kuja, and I have a job for you both. I think you may be of use to me."
Zorn and Thorn looked at eachother for a moment, exchanging panicked expressions for a moment in an effort to communicate the fear they were enthralled in, before turning back. Zorn put the paper on the counter, staring at it and moving it back and forth as an excuse not to make eye contact as he stammered in his response.
"W-we're not supposed t-to talk when we're on d-duty-"
"Is that so?" Kuja craned his head forward, words almost purring from his throat which only made him more terrifying. The quiet dignity and calm he regarded the twins was frightening...like some kind of hideous snake. When Kuja put one hand on the paper to steady it, Zorn pulled his hand back as if it were burnt. Kuja smiled at them in a way that did not fit the situation in the least. "It will only take a moment, and I am willing to pay you both well. That is what you want, isn't it?"
Money. Their one weakness. Even if Kuja was the most frightening person they had ever encountered, excluding that one brush with the stranger in the car, they could not refuse money and a job from him.
"W-what do you want us to do? P-please make it quick, we're not supposed to-"
"What's wrong with him?" Utter condescension and superiority in Kuja's voice and face as he looked over at Thorn. His expression was cool and unconcerned, almost calculating. "Why won't he speak? It's okay...I won't bite." Another frightening smile at Thorn, who physically recoiled from him.
Zorn and Thorn exchanged glances again, trying desperatly to convey messages back and forth nonverbally as effectively as possible.
"No...he doesn't like talking in front of people..." Zorn tried to keep a handle on his voice, trying to keep himself steady. Kuja had every advantage in this conversation so far and, having realized this, Zorn tried desperatly to regain some ground. Kuja feigned a concerned expression.
"Oh, that's too bad. No...people skills, I presume." Neither of the twins liked his voice or how he pronounced words. "Well, that's inconsequential really...you won't have to deal with people."
"What do you want us to do?" Zorn looked around quickly to see if their supervisor was present, which they weren't. Whether or not this was a good thing was debatable.
"I have...packages coming in for me..." Kuja looked down and studied his hand which still rested on the paper. He lifted it slowly, hand extended in almost a pose, towards his face. Zorn wasn't sure exactly what he was doing. The hand drifted so close to Zorn's face that he was too frightened to move away before it continued on its upward journey. "And there are packages I wish to send. The problem is..." He brushed a strand of a hair away from his hair with grace that should not have been possible. "I would rather not have anyone know about it." He looked back at them. "Do you understand?"
Again the twins exchanged glances and this time it was not hard to interpret. This sounded illegal.
"You want us to-"
"Shh." Kuja's hand flashed outwards without warning, one of his fingers pressing against Zorn's lips with speed impossible to track. Zorn jumped backwards violently, startled and frightened, arms moving rapidly to block his face and wave away a hand that had already left. Kuja smiled at his reaction, as Thorn looked back and forth between the two, apparently trying to decide what to do. "Let's not talk about it more then we have to, alright?"
"How much?" Thorn finally managed to speak, watching as his brother hesitantly returned to the counter after rubbing at his mouth with his sleeve. Kuja looked at him with mock surprise.
"So it does speak! Marvelous." It all sounded so wrong coming from him. Kuja leaned towards him now, and having that attention being paid to him was making Thorn extremely uncomfortable. "You're both so..." Kuja paused for a moment, cocking his head to one side as he looked upwards. He looked back down at them with a predatory air, and the two could have sworn that the next word out of his mouth was going to be 'delicious'.
"Refreshing. I am..." He paused again, brushing another errant strand of his hair. "Quite sure that you will not get another offer like this...believe me...your pay would best be described as...exorbitant." He smiled at them both.
Zorn and Thorn exchanged glances again. It was a tempting offer, but Kuja was just so...so creepy. But it was a job, one that could be done discreetly and without much effort, and if the pay was as good as Kuja made it sound, then...
"Alright."
"Splendid." Kuja leaned forward again, placing one hand on each of the brothers shoulders. Fear and slight disgust was present on their features as Kuja smiled at them knowingly. "I'll bring something by tomorrow. I trust you'll be here." The tone in his voice denoted dire consequences if they were not. "We can talk more then. Right now, I have other...business to attend to."
The dominant thought in both the jesters minds at the moment ran something along the lines of 'Please please please stop touching me.'
"Okay."
"Alright."
The two were desperate to be rid of him and Kuja seemed to be quite aware of this. He removed his hands from their shoulders with lingering movements, almost making as if to move his hands towards their necks before finally pulling away.
"I'll see you two later. Thank you so much for being so very co-operative."
He walked away, revealing tight leather pants in the exact same vein of his shirt and a very graceful gait. As soon as he was out of sight, the two brothers shuddered at the same time.
"I don't want to work for him. He's..." Zorn shuddered again, brushing at his shoulder with one hand as if hoping to remove the memory of his touch. Thorn managed to get a handle on his distaste with more speed then his brother, slowly heading back to the shelves.
"Money it is, so work we will. Don't like him either though...he looks..."
"I don't like how he looks at us." Zorn struggled to keep himself under control, his body already weak and tired and now shivering as well. "I don't like that at all. He's..."
"Money it is...easy work it is...so do it we will..." Thorn tried to make himself sound stronger then his brother, but he knew that the same fear that was present in Zorn's voice was present in his own. He busied himself organizing packages that were already in order as he tried to forget what had just happened.
"I know...just..." Zorn shuddered once more before looking down at his clipboard, picking up his pencil with shaking fingers. "Just..." He couldn't really put Kuja into words. Something was just...
Kuja just was.
Neither Zorn or Thorn were happy about that or the situation they had just found themselves in. It wasn't the thought that maybe they were going to be party to some illegal activity that had frightened them.
It was that blatant, sexual energy that had flowed off of Kuja, the whole way he carried himself, the sexuality that was present in every movement he made. The fact that for a few moments, all of Kuja's attention had been focused on them, and for a few frightening moments, they had felt desired. They had felt sexually desired, and that was incomprehensibly terrifying to them.
Neither of them had any desire to see Kuja again, but they had feeling they would not have much of a choice.