Chise only shakes her head; having neither the energy nor the will to give a more direct answer. Guards, She ruminates on the word with a resurgence of anxiousness. This place couldn't possibly be a prison. Not in the traditional sense, at least. She hopes as much. Time seemed to bleed out of any recognizable pattern when after an indeterminate wait two of these guards came to meet them at the door. More masks, Chise recoiled when they came for her. Eerily silent sentinels in white armor that stood in stark contrast with Ren's. Addressed as FN-2199 and FN-2187 though she failed to tell one from the other. These two flanked her on orders to take her to the officers' barracks without delay.
"Ah-" Chise looks over her shoulder as she was been led away at the solid shadow peering out the doorway - at Ren. She almost said goodnight.
No answer. The rest of the escort was done in silence with only these anonymous guards on either side as company. If there had been anything worth seeing along the way, Chise missed out. Her eyes firmly fixed on the floor and her own shuffling feet until they came to another metal door that slide open when one of the guards tapped a panel on the wall. Everything here was so soulless and mechanical. Already she missed the feel of brass knobs and the sound of creaking wood. She thanked her guards. One she could almost hear sneer under that blank white mask, but the other seemed to deliberate. Almost stamping out the urge to tell her you're welcome. She thinks that one was FN-2187 - maybe, and let's the combination of numbers and letters stick to memory when they depart. The door is locked from the outside when they leave.
The room itself was all slate grays and an unwelcoming sterile white. No windows. Only a bed built into the wall like an alcove, a closet also built into the wall possibly to conserve space, a metal desk, and another room off to the side that could only be the bathroom. After the trial and error that was working the shower and trying not to wince when the thin and scratchy towels rubbed against her skin she went padding over to the closet. Two sets of clothes awaited her. Both were her size which begged the question how planned her arrival had been. One set was a pair of thin cotton-like gray sweats with a shirt of the same make. Pajamas was her generous estimate. The other were humorlessly a bit like what Ren wore but not so flashy or intimidating. A black tunic that was cinched at the waist with a thick belt woven into the shirt, trousers that felt surprisingly high-quality and warm - also black. Surprise, surprise. This also came with boots that went up to her calves and a coat that trailed to her knees made up something like a pea coat without buttons. She dresses in the gray pajamas that sit baggy on her.
What came as a surprise as to be called pleasant, Chise finds her bag waiting for her bed. Despite how tired she was, she excitedly digs through it. Nothing out of place not save for a now missing stone knife. She expected as much, but is heartened to find they left her remedies and even the skinchanger pelt. It was likely they only saw the knife for what it was and ignored the rest as merely eccentric. The first thing she does is pull out the spool of cotton fly wool and with some fiddling manages to stitch half into the thin pillow. Not enough to fluff it up, but that wasn't the point. Cotton fly wool helped with insomnia and nightmares. Chise was anticipating both. She saves half, thinking at some point she will stitch it into Ren's own pillows in some uncertain near future. Not that she knows why or how she is going to go about doing that, but he doesn't seem like someone who sleeps peaceful or much at all. If he was going to be her teacher she would like for him to at least be well rested.
Today was full of surprises. Moments after she put her things away and just as she was about to settle in for the night, a little rustling sound followed by a curious mew peeled from under a lump in the sheets she hadn't noticed. Chise was startled to see an orange tabby come prancing out. As was their wont with cats this little tabby leaps into her lap without preamble. When her shock subsides, Chise finds some solace in the company.
"Hello." She says, stroking marmalade fur. Nothing. Only a pair of curious copper eyes looking back at her. "You must only be on your first or second life." Again, nothing. Only the cat's content purring where she hoped to find something touched by even a bit of magic.
"What's your name? Does your boy treat you well?" By now, Chise is only speaking to the cat to fill a void left in the absence of everything having been so freshly taken from her. She knows the cat can't have belonged to Ren but the thick black collar and the people seen thus far implies a male owner.
Chise eventually settles down for the night. Tucking herself beneath the sheets that were as scratchy and cheaply made as the towels. Warmer now with the cat curling herself to Chise's chest. Eventually, she puts herself to sleep petting the cat idly until her eyes become too heavy. Her dreams that night are strange for how mundane they are. In her dreams, she almost feels the bright sun on a rare clear sky day in the English countryside where she stands pinning sheets to a clothesline. She sees Silky through the kitchen window, and the mountainous figure of Elias wandering the nearby garden; something about the way the shadows are cast on the skull of his face almost make him appear to be smiling. Ren is there. Looking out of place in his bulky black clothing, hooded and cloak with that terrible mask. He does nothing except observe them both.
This is alright, Her subconscious organizes these thoughts as ideal, Ren can learn with me there - in those gardens. With Elias. Maybe then he won't be so afraid.
It was selfish, she thinks even so deeply asleep. To want everything to center around that little house.
no subject
"Ah-" Chise looks over her shoulder as she was been led away at the solid shadow peering out the doorway - at Ren. She almost said goodnight.
No answer. The rest of the escort was done in silence with only these anonymous guards on either side as company. If there had been anything worth seeing along the way, Chise missed out. Her eyes firmly fixed on the floor and her own shuffling feet until they came to another metal door that slide open when one of the guards tapped a panel on the wall. Everything here was so soulless and mechanical. Already she missed the feel of brass knobs and the sound of creaking wood. She thanked her guards. One she could almost hear sneer under that blank white mask, but the other seemed to deliberate. Almost stamping out the urge to tell her you're welcome. She thinks that one was FN-2187 - maybe, and let's the combination of numbers and letters stick to memory when they depart. The door is locked from the outside when they leave.
The room itself was all slate grays and an unwelcoming sterile white. No windows. Only a bed built into the wall like an alcove, a closet also built into the wall possibly to conserve space, a metal desk, and another room off to the side that could only be the bathroom. After the trial and error that was working the shower and trying not to wince when the thin and scratchy towels rubbed against her skin she went padding over to the closet. Two sets of clothes awaited her. Both were her size which begged the question how planned her arrival had been. One set was a pair of thin cotton-like gray sweats with a shirt of the same make. Pajamas was her generous estimate. The other were humorlessly a bit like what Ren wore but not so flashy or intimidating. A black tunic that was cinched at the waist with a thick belt woven into the shirt, trousers that felt surprisingly high-quality and warm - also black. Surprise, surprise. This also came with boots that went up to her calves and a coat that trailed to her knees made up something like a pea coat without buttons. She dresses in the gray pajamas that sit baggy on her.
What came as a surprise as to be called pleasant, Chise finds her bag waiting for her bed. Despite how tired she was, she excitedly digs through it. Nothing out of place not save for a now missing stone knife. She expected as much, but is heartened to find they left her remedies and even the skinchanger pelt. It was likely they only saw the knife for what it was and ignored the rest as merely eccentric. The first thing she does is pull out the spool of cotton fly wool and with some fiddling manages to stitch half into the thin pillow. Not enough to fluff it up, but that wasn't the point. Cotton fly wool helped with insomnia and nightmares. Chise was anticipating both. She saves half, thinking at some point she will stitch it into Ren's own pillows in some uncertain near future. Not that she knows why or how she is going to go about doing that, but he doesn't seem like someone who sleeps peaceful or much at all. If he was going to be her teacher she would like for him to at least be well rested.
Today was full of surprises. Moments after she put her things away and just as she was about to settle in for the night, a little rustling sound followed by a curious mew peeled from under a lump in the sheets she hadn't noticed. Chise was startled to see an orange tabby come prancing out. As was their wont with cats this little tabby leaps into her lap without preamble. When her shock subsides, Chise finds some solace in the company.
"Hello." She says, stroking marmalade fur. Nothing. Only a pair of curious copper eyes looking back at her. "You must only be on your first or second life." Again, nothing. Only the cat's content purring where she hoped to find something touched by even a bit of magic.
"What's your name? Does your boy treat you well?" By now, Chise is only speaking to the cat to fill a void left in the absence of everything having been so freshly taken from her. She knows the cat can't have belonged to Ren but the thick black collar and the people seen thus far implies a male owner.
Chise eventually settles down for the night. Tucking herself beneath the sheets that were as scratchy and cheaply made as the towels. Warmer now with the cat curling herself to Chise's chest. Eventually, she puts herself to sleep petting the cat idly until her eyes become too heavy. Her dreams that night are strange for how mundane they are. In her dreams, she almost feels the bright sun on a rare clear sky day in the English countryside where she stands pinning sheets to a clothesline. She sees Silky through the kitchen window, and the mountainous figure of Elias wandering the nearby garden; something about the way the shadows are cast on the skull of his face almost make him appear to be smiling. Ren is there. Looking out of place in his bulky black clothing, hooded and cloak with that terrible mask. He does nothing except observe them both.
This is alright, Her subconscious organizes these thoughts as ideal, Ren can learn with me there - in those gardens. With Elias. Maybe then he won't be so afraid.
It was selfish, she thinks even so deeply asleep. To want everything to center around that little house.