Arcana: The Parelle Saga

Chapter 4: Deja Vu

The girls' room smells of lavender and custard.

Probably because Iris is currently stuffing her face with a custard bun.

"Mm, yummy!" She squeals.

Dawn chuckles. "I guess you're famished, huh?"

Iris nods vehemently. "I can eat a horse."

Dawn really hopes she doesn't, seeing how there are no horses nearby.

"I can't believe we were talking until Steven had to chase us out." Serena says, feeling like she's in a dream as she flops onto her bed. "We have like, what," she glances at the clock, "four hours to sleep? Noooo." She moans, burying her face in her pillow. The girl is used to sleeping at least eight hours a day.

"At least you've showered. I haven't." Iris points out.

The six girls are sharing one room, while the boys share the room across from them, and there are only two bathrooms. The boys have very generously allowed them to use both showers first.

Not.

Iris had daringly suggested that they played rock-paper-scissors, and the winner could use both bathrooms first. The losing room will just have to wait.

And darn those boys, they had won.

Cilan had felt bad and offered to do best of three, but Iris held her head up high and said a loss was a loss. Since the other girls had acquiesced to it, none of them blamed Iris. The incident did solidify Cilan as the "best" guy in the eyes of the girls, though.

Misty and Mairin are in the shower right now, since Iris wanted to eat, May wanted to call her brother, Dawn wanted to unpack her heavy backpack and Serena went to shower first, having won another game of rock-paper-scissors. Actually, Mairin won too so she used the other shower and she was technically done.

But the poor girl accidentally slipped and her arm hit the tap, getting herself and her clothes drenched, so she is now changing.

Dawn exhales happily. "Phew, I'm finally done!"

She looks up at the other girls. "So... you guys are coming along, right?"

Dawn has pretty much nothing to lose and everything to gain if she leaves for this journey, so she has already made up her mind.

The door opens, and May enters, having overheard Dawn's words just as she was returning.

"I'm definitely going, if only to figure things out and get my parents back," she says resolutely. Her phone call with Max must have gone well.

Dawn smiles at her. "See, being determined suits you much better than being sad!"

Iris swallows and gulps down water. "I'm going too. I've lived in a village my whole life, and the village Elder told me to explore the world. That's a trial of sorts. The urban lifestyle isn't for me; I've already failed it once," Iris says, thinking of the time she tried studying at Opelucid City and how utterly lonely she was. "But this time, I'm not alone. And it's like an adventure, if I think positively."

Dawn grins at her. "No need to worry," she sing-songs.

Then Misty and Mairin come in.

"You guys are loud. We could hear you all the way down the hallway. But yeah, I'm coming too. I've already lost... lost someone precious to me. I can't afford to lose anyone else. I'll put a stop to this madness." Misty says, rubbing a towel through her wet locks.

Mairin sits down beside Dawn, and fiddles with her fingers. "All my life I thought I was useless. But now, I'm given the chance to be part of something more. Is it wrong if I want to take it?" She's not quite sure why she's suddenly confiding in them.