Lily threw the bag over her shoulder, tugging a bit orap to make sure it was secure. She scratched at her ned looked around her bunk, making sure she hadn’t missed anything. Over the past four weeks the space had evolved from a pce where she crashed after a long day of training into a real home for herself, so to speak. One of the girls had an ability that was able to shape raw materials like wood and crete. The result was the girl’s side of the residence area turning into a cluster of little open apartments with bits of furniture and pces to put personal belongings all over the pce.
She reached out and tapped the picture of her mom and dad, grinning at it a little, “Yoing to lose your minds when you see me,” She chuckled nervously and rubbed her neck again. She could feel the faintly glowing tattoo shift a bit across her skin. She hadn’t noticed it at all and thought it was just a bug or something at first. Then she’d e back to the hall after her talk with Bck Lotus. When she’d e in, she’d e face to face with Cassiopeia. To her shock the girl didn’t scowl at her at all, just plimented her attoo a straight to bed.
The subsequent mad dash to the bathroom and following mild panic attack had winded down into a fitful sleep allowed only by Dr. Carter’s ki that Snow was doing just fine. She let out a heavy sigh and gnced over her shoulder. “You girls have everything?” She called.
The others looked up from their bags while a few threw a few more things in. After a few more drop outs over the past week there were now only sixteen of them. Every seven days things just seemed to get harder and harder. Still, the others were really hanging in there. They were at the half-oint, apparently. With the final two weeks dedicated to the push towards lisure and exams. She gnced around at the various fident faces as Jessica popped up from her own frantic pag, she’d slept in.
“Good to go, Dorm Captain!” She saluted with a grin.
Lillia deadpan, “Dorm what?”
The irls sheir own snickering salutes and she sed their faces, “You guys are ridiculous,” She muttered before looking towards the only person who hadn’t joined in on the merriment. Cass was quietly folding ara set of clothes and putting them ly into the small bag she would take with her ht. “You got everything Cass?” Lillian hazarded, drawing a few surprised looks from the others. It was a bit of a risk, the girl didn’t seem to like versation mud familiarity even less.
Cass looked up at her and a plicated expression washed over her face before she seemed to force herself to rex. She scratched at her yellow-blonde hair and cracked a half-grin, “Sure, yeah, almost done uh…” She g the others, “...Dorm Captain?” She said as if she wasn’t sure about what she was saying.
Lillian bnched and turned her head slowly towards the others who stared at her with gleams in their eyes and big grins, Jessica was the one who spoke up first, “It’s unanimous!” She ughed before pig up her bag and walking past patting Lillian on the shoulder. “gratutions on the ele, Dorm Captain,” She snickered as the others walked past her. Lillian watched them go with fusion, scratg her head.
“What does that even mean?” She called after the giggling mass. She sighed and rolled her eyes before turning to look back at Cass who was zipping her own bag with a smirk on her face. She seemed to notice Lillian’s stare a back to her usual stoic frown. Lillian tilted her head, “You know, a smile looks good on you,” She said, “Whatever’s going on, you deserve to be happier,” She added and started to turn away.
“Um!” Came the immediate response. Lillian turned back to see Cass standing there with a grima her face. She looked down at her feet then up at the ceiling before reag up and scratg at her head with both hands. She groaned a out a big sigh before rexing aing her shoulders fall a bit, “I uh…” She started, “I want to apologize for being kinda-okay-very, mean, to you, and well…” She gestured helplessly, “Everybody.”
Lillian blinked, not sure what to say.
Cass cleared her throat, “I had a talk with someone important to me and they told me I o do better, with everyone, I mean,” She rubbed her arms, “Log everyone else out isn’t going to make me… better,” She sniffed, “Just kinda hard, you know,” She muttered and rolled her eyes before pulling back her hair, “My abusive sister the number one most wanted vilin oh after Ishtar thing,” She rambled, “Kinda puts a bit of a damper on ‘making friends’,” She turned a little red in the cheeks and cleared her throat, tinuing to talk as Lillia her bag down and walked towards her, “Jus-just went through a lot and then there was the whole running away from home thing, and theiered which was hard without paperwork and-”
Lillian pulled her into a hug and gave her a squeeze. Cass’ head dropped and she just went quiet for a minute as a hand pat her on the back of the head. “Apology accepted, take your time,” Lillian said and pulled back, looking at the blue eyed girl, “Let’s go to the beach, yeah?”
Cass stared back at her in fusion for a moment, her lips trembled, then she broke into a wobbly smile, “Sure!”
The two made their way out as someone’s phone or something fshed pink in the er of the room. Lillian gnced over at Cass who mao set her stoic ft expression ba her face as they walked out into the hallway. She’s been through a lot, and that took a lot of ce to get out. Still probably gonna take a while before she opens up to everyone pletely, but, good for her. She gnced down the hall towards the instructors residences, I wonder if you did something again, you scheming bleedi. She thought with a smile before they made their way out towards the on area and the doors beyond.
“Where’s that Snow girl, by the way?” Cass asked as they reached the doors.
Lillian sighed, “Resting in the b,” She said, “I dunno if she’s going to be ing with us. I hope so, though.”
They pushed out into the open air and Lillian spotted the crowd of nearly forty aspirants and a few of the instructors that had opted to e along. Cass gnced her way, “You two are close.”
“Very,” Lillian agreed, “She’s done more for me than she realizes,” She said as they drew closer to the crowd. The red-headed mess of Val’s hair was the first to turn in their dire and he poked his head out between Alex and Greg who were crowded up with John. Val cracked a grin and pushed through, waving at them. “They all have.”
“Support, huh?” Cass said thoughtfully. “Not what I’m used to.”
Lillian pat her shoulder as her friends hustled et used to it, you’re stuck with us now after all that ba the dorm.”
Cass whipped her head in her dire, “Huh? What’s that-”
“It’s the Ladies Dorm Captain and the steltion herself!” Alex barked out as they got closer, a bit of a ugh in his voice.
Lillia deadpan, “You too?”
He snorted, “Hahaha! Oh man that’s too good, you got suckered. You’re in charge over there now as far as the others are ed.”
She clicked her tongue, “Have the guys elected a Dorm Captain?” She asked and narrowed her eyes, “Because I’d like to suggest one.”
Alex bli her and threw up his hands, “Woah woah, easy-”
She g John and raised her eyebrow with a smirk. John nodded with his usual ft expression, “Acceptable,” He said and turned on his heel before marg back towards the uys who were talking and ughing in the courtyard.
Alex was about to turn to stop him whehrew an arm over his shoulder. “Woah there, you ’t turn down su auspicious nomination from Bck Lotus’ apprentice!” He said with a sardonic grin.
Alex withered under his friend’s grin before searg for any sort of out from the versation. He looked around a bit before fog on Cass, “Hey! You- uh- you look nice?” He managed only to get a pun the ribs fr. “What? She does!” Alex blurted, waving his hands frantically as Greg ughed at him.
That’s when a new sound, an alien sound, came out over their bickering. It was a ugh, a bright, pretty, resonant ugh. Lillian, Greg, Alex, and several others all looked at the source as Cassiopeia gripped her sides a over half-way. She ughed for a few more seds before standing up straight and wiping a tear from her eye, “You guys are funny,” She chuckled before clearihroat and brushing her hair back before walking past them like a little princess, yellow-gold hair flowing behind her. “See you at the beach.”
The trio standing there just stared after her, jaws open, they looked back at one another. “What just happened?” Greg asked.
“Was she always that uh… amazing?” Alex added.
Lillian threw her hands up, “I dunno!” She defended herself, “She’s just opening up! What’s the big deal?” She rambled as the two boys got closer and closer, iing her face before turning bad watg Cass joiher girls. Alex muttered something and Greg elbowed him, the two of them started to tussle all ain as Lillia her eyes o another soul made just a bit brighter by this pce. She smiled to herself.
That was when a head of white hair popped out o hers, “Hello!” A sing-song chirp broke her out of her reverie and she spun around, nearly crashing into the wrestling duo behind her.
“Woah!” Lillian blurted before stopping to look at Sonya and her small ente.
The petite Sonya was dressed in a long baggy t-shirt that said ‘Party Time’ in eborate pink calligraphy and a white linen sarong that hung down to her ankles along with a pair of white beach sandals to show off her glittering pink toenails. She wore a baseball cap on her head with the ASTA logo that she tipped in Lillian’s dire. “Hi!” She chuckled before elbowing the woman on her right, “Get a look at this girl, like she’s seen a ghost or something.”
Marta g Sonya, her hand on her hip. She was wearing a bck sarong and bck tank-top bikini with small white frills that made it look a bit maid-themed. She brushed her brown hair back, “Think she was expeg someone else, don’t you, ma’am?”
Sonya tapped her thoughtfully, “Hmm! I think you’re right, who oh could it be, though?” She said thoughtfully, turning her head to the woman on her left. “Car, any thoughts?”
The Pandora ittee administrator adjusted her thick gsses as she brushed out her white floral sundress. In the sunlight, the gemstone oinum chleamed even brighter. She made an equally thoughtful face. “I daresay I ’t think of anyone, how troubling! Five me, Miss ovna,” She said and turned slightly to offer a slight bow to the CEO who huffed out a dramatic sigh.
“Oh, what a state of affairs!” She said ahe back of her palm on her forehead, “Would it not be that a hero could swoop in and bring us enlighte!”
Lillian’s face had gone pletely deadpan at this point as her e gaze turned over to the fourth person in the group. Standing off o Marta with her muscur arms crossed over a sporty bikini that showed off her abs, Bck Lotus shook her head of bck hair, “Hmm… Quite the drum indeed,” She said heavily before her head shot up and she turo Sonya, resting her hands on her denim-cd hips, “You know, I think she might have expected young Snow!” Bck Lotus offered. “The two seem quite close and I have noticed some eyes exged here and there.”
Lillia bright red at her teacher’s teasing. “U-um.”
Sonya’s pink eyes went wide and she spped her fist into her palm, “Oh! You’re right!” She grinned in Lillian’s dire, “Is miss Snow who you were hoping surprised you a moment ago?” She asked with a snicker, waggling her eyebrows.
They’re messing with me, Lillian sighed and scratched her head, “Yeah, I was hoping to see her. How’s she doing?”
That seemed to be exactly what Sonya and Marta specifically wao hear, the two broke into frankly wicked looking grins that looked more like crest moons than natural facial expressions. They g one another and their eyes twinkled. Sonya was the first to speak, she dramatically brought her hand to her heart, “Well, of course, after two of my people uionally got her involved in their little project, I had to take responsibility,” She said, “And with such a dramatic thing happening, we o help miss Snow make a few adjustments, wouldn’t you agree, Marta?”
Marta stuck her nose up in the air, “Some of my best stylist work yet.”
Lillian’s heart skipped a beat, “Wait- is she?”
Sonya tittered out a ugh, “Allow your local fairy queen to grant your wish, dear aspirant,” She said and at the same time as Marta, stepped to the side and swept her hands out, the two making a big show of the reveal.
Lillian barely noticed them waving their hands dramatically.
She didn’t see anything else.
She just saair of pearlest eyes glimmering a rainbow of colors at her from just a few feet behind the quartet of women. Her hair was white as snow on top and shaped into a cute little pixie cut. The trimmed sides and back were bck. Even so, when the light shifted just slightly Lillian could see the static-like glimmer in her hair. A button nose was a little red over a pair of lips painted with just a bit of bck lipstick to give them a gray tohat set them off perfectly against pale skin. She wore a mostly bck choker blouse, no sleeves, white flowers running down the front before stopping at a pair of fitted blue jeans and a pair of shiny bck shoes.
“Wow,” Lilliahed.
Snow shifted on her feet, reag up to py a bit with her hair, she swallowed and looked up at Lillian for a moment before opening her mouth. Lillian froze as a faint static filled the air, then a small soft voitered her ears.
“Hi, Lily.”
