The lone crescent moon that hung high in the darkened sky shone a single light through the window. It traveled in a straight line, covering one side of the living room in an almost eerie, pale iridescent that might of been pretty had there not been so much tension that flooded the apartment. Even the stars seemed to lack their usual luster despite the fact that the night sky was clear and without muffled clouds.
Silence fills the entire living space before there was the sound of something shuffling from one of the rooms -- a door opens with a quiet creak before it is pushed shut just as gently, a few timid footsteps are heard against the wood and then the clicking of a nearby lamp from one of the end tables sounds hesitantly.
As soon as the living room is flooded with the warm orange glow, the young assistant examines her surroundings before deciding she is alone. Again.
To be honest, she's confused --
She'd never experienced something like true terror. She'd never come face to face with anything like pure fright. There had never been a time where she'd been unsure of her safety. Never a time where she thought she might never be able to see the light of day again. Not once did she ever think that there would never be a blue sky again.
She'd never brushed against the red thread that connected her fate. She'd never owned up to her fears and challenged them only to lose. She'd never seen her very short life flash before her violet eyes. She'd never dreamed that her life would come to a screeching halt. That she might of been dancing with death, tiptoeing around certain doom.
She'd never felt so helpless, so lost, so scared -- but now she had encountered all of those things and more.
".. I guess it was silly of me to think that he'd actually be here," she whispers into the empty room, conflicting emotions pulsing through her. She can still feel the desperate grip on his hand on her shoulder, his shaky plea for her to run -- to leave the forest, to leave this place, to leave him.
She hadn't seen him since then.
Chiyo had been trying to at least catch a glimpse of Haise since the whole forest incident happened, but she never had the opportunity. She wasn't exactly sure what she would say or how she would feel, but she felt like she needed to at least see him. Though, he must of come home after she had already gone to sleep and he'd already been long gone by the time she'd woken up. He wasn't in the recreational room in the afternoons or in the library and she was too nervous to search the forest on her own to find him given the fact that experiments could still be lurking around within the gates.
Even the kitchen had gone untouched save for the occasional snack he seemed to of left out when she was away -- a plate of freshly cut apples here, a small plate of hot spaghetti there and juices left for her in the refrigerator. She knew he must of at least come by to check in on her.. but he felt so far away, even though she could occasionally feel his mixed emotions overwhelm her own.
Chiyo moved slowly across the carpeting, a picture frame clutched tight to her chest. It had been her latest project and she'd been staying up early into the morning in an attempt to finish it. She hadn't had much time at all considering she had just learned that it was almost Christmas time, but she did her best with what she had.
With extra caution, the young girl made her way towards the center of the room where their large coffee table was. It had gone untouched since their incident, but it seemed like the perfect place to leave his present. Even if he only came by for a few moments, there was no way that he was going to miss it! And even if he didn't see it, she at least knew she had left it out -- that would be good enough for her given the circumstances.
Chiyo gingerly places the picture frame upright on the wood, leaning it against the small vase of flowers she'd picked. She moves back before leaning forward to adjust it before she's satisfied. She takes a step or two back, carefully examining her work before allowing herself to smile. The first smile she's shown since this whole thing had started.
It's nothing special, but she hopes that he'll like it. That he'll understand what it means and that he'll try to meet her half way once again like he had when they first met. The young girl extends her fingers and glides it alone the glass, her face reflecting in the picture --
It's a neatly drawn portrait of the two of them, precisely colored and heavy on details. They're standing together, holding hands and smiling -- there is no hint of fright or malicious intent. Only what she hopes is happiness.
After all, Christmas is the time when families are supposed to spend time together. And Haise is her family and the only person she really can count on. He had protected her and while he had been strange on that day, he'd never touched her again. He'd never caused her any discomfort. He was really only looking out for her. She still doesn't understand everything that had transpired and she probably never will, but she knew that he just couldn't truly be evil at heart. Even if it was a naive thing to think, she didn't want to believe it.. she couldn't.
Haise was Haise -- and the Haise that she knew was a gentle, kind soul who protected his family. He protected Chiyo. And she would do everything to protect him. Even if it meant pretending that everything would be alright after what had happened.
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Despite her present and uncharacteristic apathy, Usagi had somehow managed to muster the courage to collect herself and begin the process of...acclimation. She wasn't certain if she would ever be comfortable with her current situation, but the least she could do was attempt to collect as much information as possible until she was able to figure out a way to escape this prison. Surveillance wasn't exactly her area of expertise, so she attempted to channel her inner Ami. Where would Ami-chan look first...? The answer was pretty obvious: the library.
Although Usagi wasn't exactly fond of research of any kind, it was something that she felt she had to do, so she took a deep breath and began her search for the library. There was a problem with simply wondering around such a large facility, and that was her lack of familiarity with the floor plan. Maybe...down here? Well, it couldn't hurt to look! If I'm lucky, maybe I'll find the kitchens, instead. Her stomach grumbled in approval, just as she took a misstep and came tumbling down the flight of stairs, slamming into a solid mass at the bottom, softening her landing.
"Itai, itai, itai! Geez, who put that step there?! My poor tailbone..." She reached back to rub the afflicted area, before freezing in place, suddenly realizing that she was currently perched on a downed body. "Ah! Are you okay? Did I hurt you? Oh no! I've been here for barely a day, and already something like this has...! Please, are you at least still alive?"
Since Ava was smaller than most fifteen year old girls, and most people in general, she found that as long as she continued keeping her breathing normal and avoiding lighting up-- quite literally-- she could get by without being spotted by both people and beasts. Thankfully, this was to her advantage, as she had been able to grab quite a few things scattered around the large grounds they had been forced to roam. Occasionally, she'd even spark a flame, just to see where she was going. The person in charge said fires weren't exactly recommended here-- this entire place was one huge problem for her.
Yet her partner was still nowhere in sight, whoever they were.
Still, she had gathered enough to keep her going for now. She wasn't in this to win, she was in it to survive, and if people wanted to slaughter themselves, she wanted no part in it. Already leaning against the tree for a rest, exhausted from scampering here and there, she tried to block out the yells from all over the apparent arena. A couple of cans of beans easily cooked if she wanted to eat them, a few bandages she didn't need and a flash light without batteries-- wonderful.
She wished she wasn't alone doing all this by herself.
But, the sound of someone approaching rang out and she held in a breath, snapping out of any negatives thoughts and only focusing on holding back any added color to her skin. Her heart was probably going 50 miles an hour but she didn't dare look behind the tree, there was no reason for her to, it wasn't important at all-- shit, the beans had been left in plain view.
They knew she was here and they were going to take her food.
The sea of memories that she possessed had suffered through a tremendous storm. They'd been stripped from her, shaken around and put back in no particular order -- a dull throbbing present every time she attempted to recall the past. Her lithe frame seemed abnormally heavy, her head still foggy and her limbs responses delayed slightly. She hadn't been doing anything remarkably exhausting that day, but she felt as if an enormous amount of fatigue had come over here. The marking etched into her arm burned, the stinging sensation flowing through her as she stumbled down the hallway towards her room.
She could remember certain things such as her life before now. She could clearly see her friends at the beach and the fireworks she'd watched with her beloved. Her house and her parents, the annoying numbers neatly printed in her mathematics textbook. She could even recall some of the residents she'd met and befriended, along with their encounters. Ice cream cones and fallen books, someone sleeping in the middle of the hallway -- she could recollect everything as vividly as if it had just happened...
There seemed to be something missing, however, but the idea that a piece of her was missing was quickly thrown out the window as a flood of emotions poured down on her.
Confusion. Anxiety. Frustration. Distress.
They were all familiar feelings she'd felt countless times since she'd been here, but somehow they felt.. more overwhelming. Almost as if she had no control over them, as if someone else was controlling them. Was this the power of being connected? Was this what they'd talked about when they said you were to be with someone? Was the warning really that literal when they'd talked about the string of fate? But she hadn't even found her partner yet.. so how could she..
Chiyo let out a small sigh as she approached the door to her room, her mind feeling a little less murky then it did a few moments ago. Perhaps she'd just been feeling ill? Being a little over dramatic? The feelings that had rained down on her passed without another second. Maybe she'd be better off laying down for the rest of the day to try and recover.
The young assistant steeled her resolve, pausing a moment to try and gather herself back together. Maybe this place was finally getting to her -- but she wasn't about to be defeated! She still had plenty of things left that she wanted to do, wanted to accomplish. For starters, she'd like to try her hand again at a familiar confession..
"Okay, let's get it together, Chiyo! There's no sense in just being a downer," she whispered to herself, trying to cheer up the growing loneliness in her heart. "We'll get through this no matter what!"
It was reassuring to hear herself be so confident, so she nodded her head once before her hand reached out to the handle and she pulled open the door.
Huh? It's unlocked? Had she been so forgetful earlier that she'd just left it alone? That didn't seem like her at all! Chiyo blinked a few times, violet hues sweeping over the smudged handle before they lifted up.. only to come face to face with a young man she'd never seen before in the middle of her room.
