Chrysalis To A Butterfly [Kiana Kaslana X Male OC]

Interlude: The Matters Of Heart & Absolutes

The delivery at noon was the last thing on Sal's mind; he would much rather prefer to be in his room taking another nap. After the rude awakening in the morning, followed by a forced partnership with his comrade Audrey Hilith, he was both mentally and emotionally exhausted. Though the latter can be called an over-exaggeration, but who could stop Sal Apocalypse? After all, the golden boy of Lilith Squadron was one of the finest actors the team had.

"I will be done in five minutes," Audrey announced.

"You can take longer."

"You are planning to sleep, aren't you."

"No..."

"Liar."

"I am tired," Sal whined. His sea-green eyes gazed at the dull grey ceiling above. Fragments of radium stars were scattered over it, creating a false image of the night sky.

"So am I," She reasoned. "You are not the only one who had to go through Commander's hell training yesterday."

"But I am the youngest."

"Following that logic, you should be the most energetic one," Audrey chuckled. Even though Sal couldn't see her face, he was sure she had a triumphant smile.

He was at a loss for words. Not wanting to fuel this conversation further, he silently lay there on her bed. The lighting in Audrey's room was purposefully dimmed, allowing the winter sun to enter through the pressurised window and illuminate it.

He wasn't a big fan of sunlit rooms, so he chose the corner-most isolated room on the floor. With no window and just a few LEDs—which he replaced with tungsten—his room was the best place for vampires to live, or so Sophia and Audrey had collectively said. As for the men, Jude loved the dark ambience; he found it 'Aesthetic' while Fai scolded Sal for having dim lights, which would affect his eyesight.

Averting his gaze towards the walls, he saw the collection of wooden photo frames placed symmetrically in rows one over the other on them. The bottom row had four frames, the third row had three, the second had two, and the final first had only one. Sal admired this symmetry; it was neat and organised.

Every frame held a particular memory, which Sal assumed Audrey held dear. It ranged from a nine-year-old Audrey with her parents and Jude as they stood on the London bridge to the current Audrey in her Velestflëge uniform as she stood with the entire Lilith Squadron. There was also a single picture of just her and Sal, sitting on the chest of their sinking Mecha—she had forcefully clicked that picture when they were stranded over the English Channel after being shot down by a pack of Archangel and Cassiel—Seraph class Honkai Beasts.

Weird? I never thought Audrey would want to get a picture of me and her framed.

Stretching his arms, Sal got up; he knew if he spent even a second longer on her bed, he would drift off to sleep. He ran his fingers through his hair, grooming it to shape. His feet now touched the ground, which was warm and laid with carpet, unlike his room. There was also a yellow bookshelf and a laundry bag.

At each adjacent corner, Audrey had also placed an oil lamp diffuser; this allowed her to keep her room aromatic. Currently, she was using a citric essential oil, orangish in nature with a hint of lemon grass. Sal found it soothing. Coming here also made him realise why Audrey always had the citric fragrance.

"Here you go," Audrey walked into the room; in her arms, she held a white plate filled with fish and chips. The aroma of the food was overpowering; it took away the soothing citric fragrance of the essential oil. It was disappointing.

"Don't worry," Audrey reassured. Her response was almost immediate, making Sal wonder if she could read minds. "The aroma from the essential oils will return once the food cools down."