Location: Terra Colony Andromeda
North Sector - Draco Outpost - Infirmary Wing
Date: January 31, 2050
Time - Nightfall
Run.. Run! RUN! I have to run!
It was all that Sinder could think as she trudged through the forest, her small legs tiring with every step. She was barefoot, sweaty, and her heart was pounding in her ears. There was the smell of her hometown in the air. That autumn scent from the leaves had always stood out. There was safety, it was close. Vaulting over an overgrown tree root, she caught a glimpse of the thing behind her. A mass of black flesh, with disfigured limbs bent in unnatural directions, snarled with a bestial rage. She watched in horror as it smashed through trees and stained the grass in black ooze frothing off of it.
Just what is that! What was happening? How did I get here? The last thing she recalled was.. Was.. She didn’t know. Her heavy breathing pulled her back into the moment. Her home was close, she just needed to get there, so for now that was all she kept thinking about. Run. But.. Which way. It all looks the same.
From tree to tree, she dashed and weaved between them, gaining some distance and time from the creature hunting her. She wanted to fight back, except she couldn’t. Her hands were unusually small, she was a child, and she was.. Alone. So very alone.
This doesn’t make any sense. I’m.. I’m.. Sinder shook herself, putting greater effort into every kick across the grassy ground. Just what happened to my body? I’m not a kid.. I’m older, aren’t I?
Part of her said yes, yet what her eyes told her said no. There was a disconnect in her identity, as if she were separated from her body, her real body. As she cleared a brush and a tangle of hanging vines, she saw a cave ahead. Yes.. Yes, That’s right. The cave.. Just past it should be home, right?. I’m almost there, right? She stopped in her tracks, trying to remember any other landmarks to get her bearings.
“Grahhhhhh!” The creature's roar carried itself across the air. It was coming closer, gaining on her. It was going to eat her, it would.. Kill her.
Just like before.
Sinder no longer hesitated, her legs moved as she ignored the shadows casted by the cave walls. After taking a few turns, a chasm came into view. She didn’t stop, she jumped what seemed like a 3 meter gap. Coming up short, her fingers clawing at the edge of the ledge. The endless fall beneath beckoned for her.
Sinder inhaled sharply, fighting her inner turmoil. No. No! NO! She pulled, giving it everything she had. I can do this! A new found energy surged in her arms. Her fingers became noticeably bigger and her hair grew longer. When she finally climbed up, she realized she was much taller since the ground was much farther than before.
Yes..Yes.. I’m back to normal. She inspected herself, finding how she remembered to be. Then it dawned on her. A dream.. Yes. This was all a dream.
Just as she thought that, a small ghostly figure appeared and separated from her. The outline of it was human, dressed in kid clothing, and had her face. It was like an echo of her younger self, its voice dimmed and afraid.
“Help! Anyone!” It yelled, running to the shaded maze of passages ahead. “Mama! Papa! Help me!”
Sinder watched the echo disappear into the distance, the last glimpse of its white dress slipping around a corner. Now she knew she was dreaming and a question presented itself. Is this a memory? Or a nightmare? All of this was too real, it was lucid, she could touch and feel the hard rock of the cave walls and hear the familiar dripping of water bouncing about the stalactites. And there was that snarling again, and the crashing stomps of steps from the other side of the chasm.
The monster.
Sinder tensed, the fear in her core rising and almost engulfing her. No.. Not this time.. She readied herself, her fingers spread, ready to slash and claw her opponent. I can do this. I won’t run away.. I won’t! Not like.. Like.. Like what? She got the impression this had happened before in her past, in her youth. She feared something, something unknown, traumatic, and.. forgotten.
“Grahhhhhhhhh!” The monster’s bellowing drew closer, just seconds away. Its black smokey visage emerged from the darkness on the other side of the chasm. Lit by the little light creeping down from the cave’s imperfect ceiling walls, it stopped at the edge.
Sinder stared at its red eyes. The thing seemed to be stalking its side of the chasm, seemingly in irritation. “Come on!” She screamed, her voice amplified by the cave’s walls. “I’m not afraid! I’m not scared! Fight me!”
She was of course lying, her legs trembled and she wished for the comfort of escape. A dream this may have been, but real did it feel. The monster gave a low growl. Its shadowy aura and blackened flesh shifted, the air around its misshapen form wavered as if unstable.
Wake up.
The monster began to shrink, its imposing form coalescing into a smaller body. It was.. Becoming human? Sinder clenched her hands into fists, but then let them relax. She realized what the monster was turning into.
“Itsuki?” She was dumbfounded. Why was he here? “What is.. Ugh!” A headache assailed her before the question could fall past her lips. “What.. Is.. Ugh.. AH!”
Wake up.
The monster, no.. Itsuki.. Blinked, and his blank black eyes became alit with silver pupils, their shape in the familiar form of a predatory animal. They pierced Sinder’s very mind, shaking the foundations of the dream. “Forget.” She heard him say. “Forget.. It.. all.”
Sinder winced, trying to see through her squinting gaze. Itsuki’s visage was again shifting, he was becoming smaller, shorter, younger, but the eyes were the same. He’s.. crying? She thought she saw tears roll down his face, a face she hadn’t known. Or did she?
“Forget.” Itsuki said once again. “Forget me.. forever.”
As if prompted by the words, Sinder fell into a bout of faint lightheadedness. The cave's walls were washed away, replaced by a new place in her memories. The fight, the battle, the training exercise. She stood off against Itsuki, and her body moved on its own. Now she was the spectator, watching from within herself as she slashed Itsuki’s arm off. This was like a movie she had already seen, and it was replaying itself. The dream from before felt so far away now, washed away now by the struggle in front. Her attention was stolen, forced to turn away.
Wake up. Again, those persistent words crept into the background of all the noise. It got louder, more insistent. Wake up! Sinder! Wake up! You’re having a nightmare!
As Itsuki dove into her, tackling her to the ground, Sinder felt a push against her shoulder. She woke up. Bright white light blinded her from overhead. She gasped, then coughed as she rubbed at her moist eyes.
“Sinder!” To her left, someone clung onto her with a tight hug. “Thank goodness, you’re awake.”
Sinder needed a second to gather herself to understand that she was in the infirmary, and around her were a few faces she knew. A pair of girls stood at the foot of her bed while three others crowded around her on either side of her bed. They were beast humans, like her. Some had tails, a pair of feathery wings, horns, or uniquely shaped ears. It filled her heart with a comforting warmth to see them.
“Numi?” Sinder noted the pair of red horns on the hugger’s head. “Is that you?”
The girl hugging her let off a bit on her embrace and smiled at her. “Course I’m Numi, don’t tell me you forgot what I looked like.”
Sinder giggled. “Never.” How could she? Numi was one of the first friends she made when she left her hometown to attend the explorer academy. If she ever did forget, she wasn’t sure if she could live with herself. As she was about to return the hug, a sudden bout of soreness thrummed in her chest, interrupting the warm moment. “Oof.. sorry, but could you lighten up on the hug some more.”
Numi flushed, her teary eyes drying somewhat. “S-sorry.”
A snicker from another girl on Sinder’s left drew Numi’s glare. Bao, as spunky and energetic as always, nuzzled up to Sinder. “Okay, my turn. Stop hogging her already, and let the rest of us get our hugs in.”
Before Bao could get the chance, the pair at the foot of Sinder’s bed rushed over and pulled her away. Tricky flicked Bao’s forehead while Vienna shook her head in disappointment. “Will you quit it!” They both said, locking their arms under and around Bao, trapping the slippery girl.
“Hey! Let me go!” Bao struggled against them. She was completely overpowered the next second. “It’s just a hug you guys, and we agreed we’d take turns.”
A fifth girl cut in, bopping Bao on the head with a firm chop. Yuzu made a face, utterly fed up with her out of control attitude. “Bao, No one agreed to that.” She said, “You just wanted an excuse to grope Sinder, didn’t you.”
“Hmph.” Bao discreetly clicked her tongue. Tricky and Vienna slowly let her go, but stayed relatively close in case she did anything. Bao glowered at them all and said, “It’s not like any of you didn’t want to, plus, we’re all friends here, right?”
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She shot them all with an unconvincing smile, to which Vienna responded by wrapping her long scaly blue tail around Bao’s waist. Tricky, following suit, coiled her thin, leathery black tail around Bao’s face to silence her. Together, the two of them tossed Bao to one of the unoccupied infirmary beds. It seemed that she’d be removed from their little reunion for the time being.
“So? How are you feeling?” Yuzu asked, pulling up a chair to the right of Sinder’s bed. She swept her silky white dress, making sure it wouldn’t wrinkle as she sat down. “Any lasting injuries?”
“Well, I’m sore.” Sinder admitted, making a face. “Just.. Really sore.”
On the bright side, the numerous bruises across her arm had vanished, as did the sharp pain in her side from one of Itsuki’s lucky shots. Sinder touched her tummy through her patient gown, there wasn’t any discomfort or swelling she could notice.
Yuzu hid her chuckling with a hand. “I bet. But seeing as you’re okay, it should pass with some rest. You’ll be back up in no time.”
“How long have I been asleep?”
“For a few hours, it’s already midnight.” Yuzu checked the health monitor. “You didn’t miss much. When we got here you were completely knocked out. The nurses assured us you were fine, except, we thought your injuries were pretty serious since you weren’t waking up.”
“And you were all waiting?”
“Yeah! Of course we were waiting.” Numi said, wiping away a tear and vigorously nodding her agreement. “We were all so worried.” She knelt and slumped her head at the side of the bed. She was very cat-like, almost wanting to be spoiled and asking for a pat on the head. “When we saw the recordings from your earpiece, we were shocked. Of all people, you got into a fight with Itsuki? Why? You know that it’s dangerous to get him mad right?”
Sinder scratched her cheek. Oh.. how am I going to explain this. Her friends hadn’t been part of her group during the training exercise, and weren’t given the extra details from Headmaster Joel. On top of this, Joel had stated to not let anyone else know about the arrangement as it was stipulated in their contract.
“Let’s just say.” Sinder said awkwardly. “That I wanted to test myself.”
“Then at least tell us before you do anything reckless like that again.” Numi rose to her feet and her long black hair fell from her shoulder. Her make up was smudging in a few places so she must’ve been crying.
Sinder reached out to pat her friend’s head, calming her down. Numi’s face immediately melted into a content smile. She sat back down to rest her head on the infirmary bed, quite definitely like a cat now, just an adorable and cuddly creature.
“Alright, Alright.” Sinder said, feeling responsible and slightly guilty. “I promise. But, what are you? My mom?”
Yuzu, unable to contain her giggling, said, “Maybe she is. I’m sure Numi would love the role, isn’t that right?”
Numi blushed, her cheeks getting even hotter than before. Their complexion even began to match the color of her pale pink eyes. “I.. I.. I.. uh.. Um..” She stuttered, fidgeted, then began to squeal into the bed sheets.
Sinder laughed, even if it did hurt to do so. It was just so damn great to be among her friends. Yuzu was often teasing at times. In reality, they all teased each other in some way. Numi though was usually the most enjoyable to get a rise out of. Her reactions were always so cute, and the way her eyes changed colors made it both obvious and more embarrassing for her since she couldn’t hide it. While Numi did her best to wipe away her tears and overcome her earlier embarrassment, off to the side Bao was still getting wrangled in by Tricky and Vienna.
“By the way, what was that earlier?” Numi asked, her voice firmer and concerned. “You were talking in your sleep. We guessed it was a nightmare by how much you were crying, but what was that?”
“I don’t really know.” Sinder gazed down at her hands on her lap, then to Yuzu. “Did I say anything in particular? I don’t recall being a sleep talker.”
“I didn’t hear much, it was mostly gibberish, but I did hear you say something about.. An Uncle?”
“An Uncle?” Sinder had a few, most of them brothers and sisters to her parents. None of them really stood out to her when she recalled what she dreamed about. Wait. She caught herself, finding a small discrepancy when she tried to recall what had happened. Just what did I dream about again?
This was a case of the usual amnesia. You’d always forget your dreams when you’d wake up. That was a sad fact, and also irksome. Something was scratching at the back of her mind, something she was sure was important, and it had to do with that dream. Numi touched her hand to draw Sinder back to their conversation.
“Sinder?” Numi clasped and held on with a reassuring squeeze. Her eyes were searching Sinder’s for an answer, relaying her undivided attention and care.
“It’s nothing.” Sinder put her other hand on top of Numi’s. “Thanks.”
“No problem, if you need to talk to us about anything, we’re here for you.”
From the side, Yuzu cooed. “Ooh! How forward of you, Numi. I didn’t know you could be so gallant.”
Numi frowned at her. “That’s not what I meant, and stop teasing me already.”
“Teasing you about what?” Yuzu asked coyly. “It was a compliment.”
Sinder again relished the bantering between them. They were like a sisterhood, a family not connected by blood. She hoped times like this would last forever, where they could joke around until they grew old and retired. It was pretty long term thinking for someone as young as her, it was more like daydreaming, but why not?
“Okay, so how about a bath?” Yuzu said. “After that, we can get a meal.”
Numi and Sinder nodded, they didn’t have any disagreement, and neither did the rest. Yeah, A shower would be nice. Sinder sniffed herself and didn’t like what she smelt. Sweat, dirt, and.. Ugh.. I reek.
It couldn’t be helped, this was inevitable in her line of work. Fighting and being an explorer could be dirty work. Hitting the showers together, they all relished the hot water washing over them. Like the students, they hadn’t been given any time to rest during the training exercise. Sinder was about ready to fall asleep from how comfortably warm the water felt, that was until she felt someone grab her breasts from behind.
“Wah! Hey! Bao!” Sinder already knew who it was by how firm the culprit groped her. Bao was always handsy, like a little rascal, and one heck of a sneaky one. Sinder hadn’t even heard her coming. She tried to shake her off, except Bao stuck to her back like hot glue. “Come on! Stop that! If you wanna grope a pair of breasts then grope yourself!”
“But it’s not the same.” Bao got a second squeeze in. Of the group, she was the pervert that rounded out everyone else. “You have to admit, yours are so much softer. Just how the heck do you eat to get them so.. Ow!”
Yuzu and Numi smacked Bao in the head and she slumped to the ground like a limp noodle. Just as they were hauling her over to the side, Arielle strode in from the communal showers entrance. Oddly, Haruka sauntered in with her like a lost child.
Arielle perked up when she saw Sinder up and about, she waved. “You’re awake. Good, I was getting worried.”
“Yeah, I’m all better. How about you? And why is Haruka so sleepy?”
“Well, I’m pretty good. Haruka here though is another story. She just went through the process of getting part of her antler attached back on. Doctors had to give her a sedative since it was a.. Delicate procedure.” Arielle turned on the shower next to Sinder’s, and got down to cleaning herself up.
They passed the time talking. When it was Haruka’s turn, Arielle sat her up on a stool and scrubbed down her long leafy green hair. Sinder did one last rinse as they all finished up. As she patted her hair down to dry in the changing room, the next group to shower went in.
“Wait, so you lost?” Sinder was surprised to hear what had gone down for Haruka and Arielle. “Let me get this straight, a couple of first years and a few upperclassmen got one over you both?”
Arielle shrugged, she seemed to give no excuse. “Yup, and they gave Haruka a run for her money. The broken part of her antler was hard proof.”
“Unbelievable.”
“Not really.” Arielle said. “I’m more surprised by what you did.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, you drove Itsuki pretty hard. Granted, he didn’t have all his weapons, but he didn’t come out of that without a few bumps and scratches, courtesy of your claws.”
Sinder didn’t think that was true. Itsuki had still beaten her, she was the one on the ropes, not him. Sinder made to pull up the zipper on the back of her red top that went with her short and leathery, black skirt.
“Hmmm.” She grumbled as she went to rearrange her bra, it seemed a bit tight. Did they get bigger? If they did, she should’ve been happy. Except, there were some drawbacks if they got any bigger.
Over at the side, example A of the drawbacks showed itself. Bao was at it again. Her eyes were leering, and she wasn’t hiding exactly what she was looking at. Those pearly red eyes were locked on her assets and her lips had a line of drop falling down to her chin. Granted, it was sort of endearing how her fishy blue tail wagged about. Tricky nudged her with her elbow, pretty much telling her to stop being so obvious.
Well.. Sinder thought. Bao wouldn’t be Bao if she wasn’t.. A pervert.
“So where to now?” Numi asked everyone as she got her short crop top on. Their part in the training exercise was done for now, and this period of rest was more for the students rather than them. “Should we grab a bite to eat? Or do you all want to see a few of our friends?”
“I’d be down if we could go see Nagzz.” Vienna said, arranging her hair so that they didn't cover up her horns too much. “We could talk about our next job.”
“Or we could catch up with Haruka and Arielle?” Tricky suggested, turning to the pair as she was finishing up wrapping her tanned skin in a cloth. “We haven’t seen you in a while, and we can catch up over a meal.”
Numi grimaced and rubbed her stomach. It didn’t growl, but it conveyed what everyone was thinking, they were starving.
Arielle, somewhat ashamed, shook her head. “Sorry, but I need to check on someone.”
“Well, where are you off to?” Tricky asked. “Whoever you’re meeting with, they can join us for a bite.”
Arielle cringed. “Uh, about that. I was about to go see Itsuki. He went off somewhere, all secretly and stuff.”
Numi frowned at hearing Itsuki’s name. “And why would you want to see him? And if he’s doing something secret, then it’s best you avoid him. Getting involved with that guy isn’t.. Well.. not bad.. But not good either.”
“Yeah, but I just got this feeling something is wrong. He’s hiding something.”
“He usually does.” Bao mumbled. “What a jerk.”
“What do you think it is?” Sinder asked.
“Not sure.” Arielle zipped up her white crop top and tilted her neck to stretch it. “But I’m going to find out.”
Vienna crossed her arms. “Do you even know where he is? The outpost is massive, he could be anywhere by now.”
Arielle raised her arm to show off the glimmering wrist bands and bangles. “Let’s just say I know how to track him, wanna come find out what he’s up to?”
Everyone wasn’t sure what to say. Yuzu and Numi cringed, while Tricky and Vienna had less expressive reactions and shrugged. Bao rolled her eyes, mumbling a few curse words under her breath. Itsuki was rather unlikeable as a person and it wasn’t new news to anyone.
Sinder was of the same mind as Tricky and Vienna, she was indifferent. Except, she considered Arielle’s offer. She didn’t want to know what Itsuki was doing per say, instead she wanted to face Itsuki, mostly to ask about what he had pulled during their fight. She wasn’t sure if she’d get an answer out of him, he was always so tightly wound. Also, she had to ask herself if she could face him. It wasn’t that she hated him, nor did she like him as a friend. She knew everyone had a similar opinion, with Arielle being a small and nosey exception.
For Sinder, she was now.. Afraid of him after they’re recent fight. It’s those eyes, those silver eyes. I’ve seen them somewhere.. But where.
“Sure.” Sinder said at last, it felt like a step forward for some reason, like she was getting closer to uncovering a certain uncertainty within her. “I’ll come with you, anyone else wanna join?”