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Eve’s training, the singular fact that she is still alive, is based on a finely honed ability to assess a situation in a glance and discern the most probable outcome. She is very damn good at seeing threats and taking action to ensure the safety of herself and those around her. That being said, she needs a moment after the goddamn Apple of Discord fiasco. Well, she needed a couple moments after Flynn and that kiss, but she’s already put that into a box to await the reemergence of her Librarian at the completion of his mission. He will find the library and he will come back to her, but in the meantime she has three baby Librarians to protect and herd as they try to save the world.
But back to that ridiculous fruit. At the same time that she is assessing their enemies, she is also constantly monitoring and assessing the abilities and liabilities inherent in her team. Eve prides herself in noticing small things and making connections, but she doesn’t need to tap into that skill at all given the plethora of information thrown at her feet during this mission. Give someone enough arrogance, enough disregard for rules and consequences and what would they do? Take everything else away, what is the person standing next to you capable of?
Prior to today, Eve would have put the threat assessment at Jones followed at quite a distance by Cassandra, Flynn, Jenkins, and lastly Stone in order of who was most likely to do something unpredictable. The order of who is most likely to fly off the rails at an inopportune time, who has the capacity inside them to be a real threat to a member of her team individually or as a group. But today, shit, after today, everything has changed.
Eve can remember being under the influence of the apple herself. It amplified and focused her desires and it is quite telling that her greatest immediate wish was to just say fuck this shit and go away. She wanted the freedom to curl up with her favorite librarian, explore everything between them, and order room service. When that failed, she just wanted everyone to listen to her for ten goddamn seconds and have an honest to god chain of command. For everything to be simple and streamlined and predictable for just one day. But once the veil had been lifted, Eve won’t lie to herself that the inherent unpredictability is what makes this job, this life so fascinating. She still wants that massage though.
If she’s being honest, Stone’s reaction didn’t surprise her at all and therefore he is the only one keeping his place on her mental list. There is one thing in the world that Jake has let himself care about over the last decade or so and that’s art. The facade he hid behind of a stereotypical worker on an oil rig was something that Jake held up for so long because enough of it is true. He did grow up in the world and therefore has the capacity and sometimes the inclination to react to situations with bar brawl tactics. You pair that with the one thing he’s passionate about and Jacob Stone has the capacity to beat the living shit out of someone unprovoked due to a lack of the proper respect and appreciation for a piece of art. There are worse flaws to have.
Jenkins didn’t even touch the damned fruit and yet today still further entrenched in her that there is so much more to that man than he seems. There is a history with these people and places, a knowledge that does not simply come from books and experiments hidden away in the Annex. One day, he’ll reveal more, but Eve knows enough that it will only be on his time and volition.
And Flynn, goodness her Librarian has so much bitterness holed up in that pretty head. He puts on a good show, but there is deep hurt and pain, guilt and anger that has been building up for years. He’s seen too much and let go too little. Maybe one day he’ll let Eve share some of that weight. Maybe someday he’ll even let loose some of that responsibility that he places squarely upon his shoulders. He even tried to do that. He asked the gathered council to take away the Library just so he could have some peace. He also wanted to use the tools of the library to take over the world, but that’s neither here nor there.
Moving on.
Then there’s Cassandra. Fragile little math geek Cassandra under all of those curls, those disarming tights and shorts combinations, those innocent eyes and stuttering mathematical conclusions is the potential for mad scientist of epic proportions. “Because practical applications are more fun than theories,” is a phrase that Eve never thought to fear, but she does now. Jake reacted to what was around him, but Cassandra planned ahead. Cassandra sought out the “experiment” that would cause the most destruction, the highest casualties, the largest infrastructure collapse with no remorse and not a single care for the chaos that it would create. With so much information pouring through her head at all times, that girl has the potential to not just fly off the rails but soar. Deep down inside her is the capacity to turn into a sociopath. It isn’t knowledge that Eve would wish to have seen first hand, but now that she has, she must take note. That note is highlighted, starred, bolded, and underlined. Keep an eye on Cassandra. And keep Stone nearby, because while Eve watches all of them, Jake watches her and that has already come in handy.
Last but certainly not least is Ezekiel Jones. That kid, because somehow he seems implausibly younger than the rest of them, is just full of surprises. He managed being the Arbiter with help from Jenkins and that is a pair that the Colonel would never have assigned and a mutual respect that she didn’t see coming. Moreso, Jones is already the worst version of himself. But after some deliberation, that isn’t really how Eve would phrase it. Hubris is the way Flynn had described the apple’s powers, excessive pride and self-confidence is definitely an accurate description of Ezekiel on an everyday basis. And there is something inherently comforting about someone who has already found the outer reaches of his morality and become comfortable there. Jones knows exactly who and what he is and what he is capable of. He doesn’t need pep talks or threats, he does what he does because he wants to. He plays his morals fast and loose, but he even his most extreme self has barriers of what he won’t do. There is a true comfort in knowing that even magically enhanced, Jones knows exactly what he’s capable of and how far he’s willing to go.
All of that and he’s still here. He is already his “worst possible self” and yet he isn’t the one that betrayed them. He never sold them out, never put them in danger for his own self gain. He’s a criminal at heart, but he’s chosen them and he’s not going to betray that. If magic couldn’t make him do it, she doubts it’ll ever happen organically. And that’s a relief, because with the apple in hand, they were in the room with some of the highest powers of the magical world. He didn’t try to curry favor and didn’t try to take over the world and live in the lap of luxury for the rest of his days. He just calmly let Flynn finish his speech and gave Jenkins back the apple. She’s been underestimating the kid this whole and time for that, Eve is a little ashamed of herself. He deserves more from her, from all of them, and now she finally sees why the Library chose him in the first place.
And on that note, she more than deserves a good night’s sleep before the insanity begins again tomorrow. It’s unsettling to admit it, but she doesn’t regret signing those papers. She wouldn’t have it any other way.
Well, maybe some room service. And that massage still sounds glorious, maybe a jacuzzi…