Clovix Club: Origination

Chapter 4 - Different Definitions of Defense

Dawn

Dawn didn't know it was possible to wake up equal parts exhausted and energetic. When her alarm sounded the next morning, a cheery pop song from Radion blasted its way through her dorm room. Her eyes immediately shot open, and she bounced up to throw the covers back and get ready for the day.

And immediately regretted it. Her body screamed at the movement. The combination of such an intense adrenaline crash from the night before, not to mention both the magical and physical fatigue that still plagued her from the battle with Marionne's monster. While her mind was raring to go, her body was in agony.

She groaned, swinging her legs out of the bed to place her feet on the floor. She slid them into the pink plush slippers waiting by the edge of her bed. Standing up, she reached her hands into the air to stretch out her spine, hoping it would help ease the pain in her sore body. She spared a glance towards Alma's bed, checking to see if she was awake.

Dawn thought Alma was the coolest from the second she laid eyes on them. Their aloof demeanor, her muscled arms, and the fact that while she had unpacked Dawn had seen what suspiciously looked like a suit of armor go into Alma's trunk. Now, she would never stoop to look through anyone else's belongings, but she was dying to know if her assumptions were right. Clementine may have berated Alma for not being able to transform the night before. But Dawn was in the opposite camp, seeing someone make it through that fight in civilian mode, without even a weapon like the specialists, was damn impressive to her.

As cool as she was, Dawn didn't want to incur Alma's wrath by being too noisy in the morning or waking her up too early with her alarm. But Alma's bed was neatly made, and more importantly, completely empty.

Dawn shuffled her way to the bathroom, finding the door closed. Just as she raised her hand to knock, the door swung open. Alma emerged, fully dressed and looking ready for the day.

"You're already up?" Dawn asked.

"Yes, the bathroom is yours now." Alma said neutrally, stepping out of the way. Dawn thought she was an early riser. Being raised on Radion, one got used to rising with the sun, but Alma had been up long before her. If anything, it just added to the list of things Dawn was impressed by. It wasn't hard to get on that list, Dawn knew she was one who was easily impressed, but still.

She entered the bathroom. Rays Above, she had left this place a mess last night. Her makeup was spread out all over her side of the counter. She hurried to clean it up, putting it back in her makeup case before placing it back under the sink counter.

When she stood once more, she almost scared herself looking in the mirror. She was a mess. Collapsing into bed last night without doing any of her nightly routines had seemed like a good idea in the moment, especially for her exhausted brain, but now she was paying the price.

Her hair stuck up in all directions, victim to sleeping with residual hairspray in. Her mascara was smeared around her eyes, making them look sullen and dark. Her lipstick had smeared over her cheek. She would not pay money to see how much of this had rubbed off on her sheets last night.

Scrambling, she turned on the shower. Makeup wipes and a hairbrush wouldn't fix this mess, she had to go all in.

A while later, Dawn emerged from the shower, feeling much more refreshed. The warm water had done wonders for her sore muscles as well as the slimy feelings left over from the night before. She toweled the worst of the water off of her, before reaching up on her tiptoes to wipe away some steam from the mirror so she could see her face.

She furrowed her brow, concentrating hard. One of her older sisters had taught her spell a while ago, it greatly helped with the morning routine. Dawn's fingers twitched, and with a wave of sparkles over her face, the spell was complete.