#lorientale

She looked around the room. It was long, a large rectangle made of cement. She knew she was in a laboratory, or at least in a part of it, and yet she expected to see windows on the top of the wall in front of her. In Hotland, you’d want the fewer windows you can get. She was the only person in the room, lying in silence. 

Her body felt numb, as if she couldn’t move it. A black, thin cable hanged from the wall behind her, plugged into a source of electricity. It reached into the center of her back, charging her up so she could have power. Her battery was filling up and the action sent waves of heat through her. A wide glass door caught her eye and a second after a pair of brown shoes appeared behind it.

Her eyes went up to a person who pushed the door and let himself in. When he raised his head, a surprised gasp came from his mouth. He was tall, dressed in a clean, white coat and he was rushing to her side. As he came closer, she wondered if she had seen him before or not. He was carrying a tablet on one hand. The sleeves of his jacket were rolled up, revealing thorny arms that were on his head too, like a strange hair. Small iron surfaces covered what seemed to be random parts of his hands. It was difficult to tell the difference between them and his skin if it wasn’t for their width that formed another layer.

A dragon, she thought. Dragons were rare in their world, much like skeletons. Her type, ghosts, were quite common. They all lived in Waterfall, as if an acient ghost declared that no other of them was allowed to settle anywhere else centuries ago. She had never seen a dragon before and she thought it made sense he was working in Hotland. Rough skin, heat resistant.

“Hello,” she spoke quietly. If he had gotten so excited from the sight of her, she assumed he would help her understand her new body. There was a gap in her memory like a black hole.

“Hi!” he answered, half shocked and amazed. He hadn’t expected her to wake up so early. He watched her as she pushed herself up from the pillow she was resting on and sat down.

“Do you mind taking the blanket off me?” she gestured with her head on the thin sheet that was covering her from her waist and down. There was an ache in her head that came and disappeard, stinging her like a needle. Her head was spinning in addition to an annoying feeling of pain behind her eyes. She wasn’t quiet sure why the blanket was on her. She didn’t really need heat.  

“Uh, yes, of course,” he lingered for a moment, probably still unable to believe his eyes, and removed the sheet away. While he walked to the other side of the bed and started to fold it, she looked at herself.

Her legs got to the end of the bed, grey colored, so well built one wouldn’t have guessed they were made from metal and wires if it wasn’t for their color. She cracked a smile when she noticed her shoes, high red heels like she wanted. Then she checked her arms, graceful and even soft. Her fingers were long and she stretched and moved them as she wished. A lock of hair fell onto her face and it felt fine as silk when she pushed it away, golden like flowers. She didn’t know who dressed her, but they had a wonderful taste in clothes. She noticed thin and transparent pipes that began also in her back and entered her arms and her chest, where her soul was. Glowing red liquid was floating inside of them.

The dragon man cleared her throat and turned to her. “It’s wonderful to see you conscious,” his voice was warm and he couldn’t stop looking at her. “Do you remember anything?”

“Not a lot. I remember the careful guy with the kind eyes. Crayton. He’s a biologist, explores the nature of monsters and humans. He wanted to see what would happen if a ghost’s soul tranforms into a physical body. And that’s me,” Again, she thought there was somthing familiar about the person standing in front of her. She swore she had heard his voice before and dug in her mind for an answer. “But you...” She twisted her head in circles and groaned a bit, fingers on her temples.

“Are you in pain?”

“No, I’m... adjusting,” she muttered and opened her eyes. “You don’t seem like a software engineer. No, there’s a girl. A tall, tall girl. You’re a mechanical  engineer. You’re the one who built my body."

Then, the memories flood back. Before she was injected with DT in order for her soul to persist on living just for a little while, most of her time she was talking to Crayton. He explained her the meaning of his research and how grateful he was that she was willing to participate. All the small details, the process itself and its hazards didn’t appeal to her and she asked who would build her body. Crayton introduced her to Sandor, the dragon man who was now visiting her, and to Lexa, another brilliant engineer who worked together with Sandor as her copartner.

“Crayton is here, isn’t it? I think he will be happy to see me,” she smiled. 

“How do you know? He just got here,” Sandor asked, a bit suspicious.

“I gain information from the environment with my magic,” besides being able to manipulate light and have singing skills she could use in a battle, if she’d ever need to, she could read the mind of other monsters. Because of that, she could view the basic data about a person without trying to, such as their name, their ATK and their DF. 

“Mind reading?”

“Yes. Most of the time.” they stared at each other for a while in silence. “Sandor,” she blurted out his name, “Can I stand?”

A light blush spread across his face. Only now she had realized how green his eyes were. Like grass in a windy field, but shinier, sparkling. They reminded her of the crystals in her hometown, only emerald colored instead of purple. “You should be able to.”

She moved her weight to her side and shifted her balance into one leg once it was on the pale tiled floor. After her other leg, she stood up completely. Sandor took a step back and scanned her with his eyes, checking if everything was fine, that she wasn’t collapsing because the pressure on her body. She began to walk forward slowly, listening to the click of her heels. With every second step, she stumbled. She thought that walking is rather difficult at this point and that maybe she shouldn’t have asked for heels.

It felt strange, to have a greater mass than before. As a ghost, she didn’t have arms or legs. Her magic sure worked, but it seemed weak. Now, she could show more of it, she could do things she once was unable to. Passing through walls was an ability she didn’t mind losing. In her old body, she felt trapped, confused, not special, just another ghost who’s fate was to either stay a ghost or become a dummy for her living. Her life was grim and boring that only her writing and singing brought a sparkle to it. When she heard that Crayton was looking for volunteers of her kind for an operation that would give them a real body, she jumped on the opportunity without hesitation. She didn’t know what were the intentions of Sandor and Lexa, but she was going to be a big star.

“By the way, what are these for?” she touched the pipes. It was one thing she had a cable to give her enegry, but she didn’t like the look of the tubes that were a bit too close to her soul. 

“They’re providing you DT,” Sandor answered matter of factly in a patient smile however.

“More DT? For what? With the amount you gave me before, I was sure I was going to melt.”

The engineer laughed and stepped by her. “The DT you got before the surgery was for your soul to keep persisting. The DT you’re now getting will only be until today’s evening, top, just to give you some extra power. There is a chance the transfer is effecting your soul and the DT prevents you from over working it. Do you feel tired? Is a part of you hurting?”

“Yes, my head. But it has been wearing off since I woke up,” Sandor held the door opened for her and they exist the room together.

“That’s great, it means the DT is working. Also, Crayton told me multiple times to mention that if you feel any sort of discomfort during this week you are more than welcomed to give us a call.”

“Thank you,” she said when they arrived at the spacious lobby. 

It was also white, like the rest of the building, to keep the heat of Hotlands’ lava out as much. Small metallic openings on the walls allowed the supply of cold, fresh air. A heavy screen took up space on a key pillar in front of the main door, showing updated statuses about every of the cities in colorful pie charts. Near the entrance of the lab, Crayton was talking to Lexa, the second physicist who had worked with Sandor on her body. It wasn’t a surprise to see her carrying a laptop, since her field of knowledge and work was computer science. It stood in stark contrast to her white coat that Sandor was wearing as well. The two seemed to have a friendly conversation that got Lexa to chuckle but it wasn’t to be impressed of since Crayton was able become a friend with everyone he met.

Her and Sandor continued to walk until Crayton and Lexa heard them and turned their heads. Upon seeing her, Crayton gasped, his eyes were sparkling in joy and ran to her side.

“Oh my Lorien, look at you!” he got a hold of her arms. Truly, he had been the only one she was waiting to see. With Sandor she had only one talk and while he was very kind to her, she had spend more time with Crayton. Between the three of their group, he was the one to be considered as a friend, at least for now.

“I know, it worked!” she wrapped her arms around him in a big hug. His fur was moist, perhaps from sweating because of the tempature, and yet she enjoyed the embrace.

“So how are you feeling?” he asked as Sandor and Lexa switched looks with each other due to their unexpected burst of affection.

“I didn’t think using your legs to walk would be such a hassle, but other than that I’m fine,” she lightly joked. The headache was gone. The DT pipes were bothering her more and more. Crayton laughed in response until Lexa cut him off.

“Sorry to interrupt but, Cray? I need your info so I can set it in the computers,” she bumped her elbow against his arm and gave him a playful smile.

“Oh, yeah, of course,” he smiled apologetically and it seemed like they were about to leave without saying goodbye.

“Wait, before you go,” she looked at the three of them, the people who helped her become what she had always dreamt of. “I want to thank you. You don’t know how much your hard work and dedication means to me. It’s not something anyone would do for a stranger and I really appreciate that.”

The trio shared an invisible agreement between them. She didn’t know much about them, about their lives. She didn’t know Lexa who suffered a great loss that still haunted her in nights she stayed up until sunrise and worked on her handwritten programs. She didn’t know Crayton who had a creeping feeling behind his back that he was wasting his time doing researchers of the surface of his world. She didn’t know Sandor and why he needed metal stuck to his skin to stay alive for a longer time. There was one thing she knew about the trio, that she was thankful for them.

“It was our pleasure,” Lexa said and the boys nodded. They had the same look of understanding and welcoming in their eyes. Lexa reached over to shake Devektra’s hand, shadow skin against her robotic metal. “See you around.”

Her and Crayton then proceed to the elevator to take them to Lexa’s lab. On their way, Lexa threw her arm around Crayton’s shoulder, whispering close to his face, “About dinner tonight, I was thinking maybe out of your place this time?”

Sandor and her turned their heads away from the rising elevator. They were alone again, same as when they started, although they were surrounded by several people around the lab, talking with their coats fluttering around their legs. Seeting all of them made her feel like she didn’t belong and remind her she had a life to go back to. Or in her view, to continue in a new path.

“I guess I should get going to my house now,” she said, half to herself half for him to hear.

“Do you mind if I come with you? It’s my break anyway,” he requested and she could tell he was considering his every word in case she didn’t want him to come along.

“Sure. I could use some company for the way.”