Siren's Elegy Volume 1: Orphans of Ashen Earth

Chapter 14: A Fitting Encounter

July 24, 4021 06:00 [Manzhouli- Matriarch 04 Room 222]

"Hey, wake up! Hey, I'm talking to you! Wake up! Are you going to sleep all day, fun-size?"

Indra felt a sharp jabbing near his ribs. He made a weak attempt to brush it off, rolling over and covering his head with the comforter. Yet, the jabbing continued, this time with greater intensity. Someone was poking him quite aggressively as he was roused from his slumber.

"All right! All right! I'm up! Just stop with the poking!" he exclaimed as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He peered around the room to identify the source of the poking and groaned. It was the odd pair that he encountered when they had first arrived at Matriarch 04. The green-haired man seemed more reserved than his counterpart, quietly observing Indra from the doorway, dressed in a fresh new garb. He wore a turtleneck and capris, both pristine white. His sleeves were rolled up to display a tattoo of verdant thorns wrapping around his left forearm. His pale green eyes and honeydew hair complemented the brilliant emerald studs that adorned his ears. The rest of the man's attire consisted of matching white socks and sneakers.

Indra's eyes turned to the woman that the green-haired man was accompanying. Her attire fit her form well; a snug white turtleneck and capris. However, her clothing adopted a less understated style. Minimal blue splatters on her turtleneck mimicked the flecks of blue in her dark hair. Like her counterpart, sparkling blue hoops dangled from her ears. Around her neck, hung a gold necklace, holding an intricately carved pendant. The pendant seemed familiar to Indra for some reason, a sudden anger rising in his chest. As he narrowed his eyes trying to figure out where he had seen it before, the woman caught him staring, quickly tucking the pendant back into her turtleneck. Indra averted his gaze, uncomfortable as her deep sapphire eyes bore into his skull, making his ears warm again.

"Why are you guys in my room? I thought the lock was specific to the wristband?" he asked indignantly.

The woman looked at Indra, puzzled. "Your room? You must have been really tired after getting here because this isn't a single-person living space," she stated, pointing across from him.

Indra sat upright on his mattress getting a good view of his room, or what he had assumed was his room. Two other mattresses were placed uniformly across from his own, the comforters neatly folded and small dressers next to each one lined with trinkets, most likely belonging to each of the pair. It seemed like he was sharing a living space with these two, much to his dismay. He looked at his own area with his clothes strewn across the floor, just now realizing he had slept on his bed sideways, pulling the comforter in wild directions while asleep. He felt a renewed sense of embarrassment. Seeing his ears twinge red, the woman laughed. Even the green-haired man had a smile on his face. Indra scowled at them.

"Okay, I didn't realize we were sharing. You don't need to laugh," he said snappily.

The girl quickly waved away Indra's remark, still giggling, "No, no we aren't laughing at you. It's just funny seeing someone so unbothered by all of this." She motioned to the room. "This 'temporary' relocation, I mean."

Indra relaxed his expression, his pride a little less hurt. "Well, I can't say that I'm unbothered, but I have important things I need to do once I get back. The sooner I clear processing, the sooner I can help my friends on the front lines. Depriving myself of sleep isn't going to do me any favors in the long run," he explained.

"Is that so?" she replied, amused. "Well, Emil and I couldn't get a wink of sleep last night. Then, our wristbands went off an hour ago to get fitted— Oh! That's right! We haven't even introduced ourselves!" She interrupted herself to point at the man standing at the doorway. "That's Emil."