Ripped Away

Interlude: Scarabia

Heracles woke up the morning after her party at Octavinelle in a room that had been set up exclusively for her to spend the night in. It was near Azul, Jade and Floyd's rooms and consisted of the standard Octavinelle decorations and furniture. Grim was also in the bed with her, curled up on the pillow beside her head. They were both still wearing their outfits from the night before, having been so tired after partying until two am that they didn't even bother to change before going to sleep. Heracles nuzzled her face into her pillow. The bed was warm, her dreams were unusually pleasant, and she felt content. Yes, things were perfectly peaceful-

"GOOD MORNING HERA!", a familiar voice screamed, with the sound of someone slamming the door to the room open following soon after. Grim yowled and practically jumped into the air, and Heracles's eyes bolted open.

Ah, she had spoken too soon.

"What the- ?!", Heracles started to yell as she bolted upright, only to cut herself off when she saw the grinning face of her assailant.

"Oh, hey Kalim. Is it time to go already?", Heracles asked, because the boy who had slammed her bedroom door open was none other than Kalim Al-Asim, heir to the prestigious Asim family, an enjoyer of lavish parties, and one of Heracles's closest friends. Kalim's grin widened even more (if that was even possible) and he nodded furiously.

"Yep! Jamil's getting everything in order, so it's my job to get you ready for your big birthday bash! Now get up and put this on!", the white haired boy said excitedly as he tossed an outfit, along with several pieces of jewelry at Heracles. Heracles eyed the elaborate garments with anxiety.

"I don't know how to put half of this on!", she complained. Kalim's excitement didn't falter.

"That's why I'm here! I'll help you put it on correctly!", he assured her. A few months ago, hearing those words from Kalim's mouth would have given most people a heart attack, given the Asim boy wasn't exactly someone with a lot of practical skills. You couldn't really expect anything less from someone who had had everything done for him by servants for most of his life.

But that had changed recently. After Jamil's overblot, Kalim had taken on more responsibility so Jamil could focus on himself and the things he wanted. He still wasn't entirely self-sufficient, but things like doing basic chores and putting on complicated outfits without help were easy for him now. Heracles smiled and nodded at him, her anxiety alleviated.

"Okay!", she agreed, and so she spent the next few minutes putting on the dorm uniform of Scarabia.

The uniform consisted of a sleeveless hoodie and baggy harem pants with red flame designs on the bottom, as well as a yellow belt with the word 'Scarabia' written on it in all caps, and a red and gold scarf that wrapped around her waist. The outfit looked just like Jamil's. Black sandals with golden scarabs decorating them donned her feet, and Kalim put on the golden snake armband, wrist bangles and choker that were also part of the uniform on her himself.

Kalim also took the liberty of sliding the Scarabia dorm armband onto Heracles's left arm, despite the fact it typically wasn't worn with this version of Scarabia's uniform. Kalim didn't draw attention to the accessory as he put it on her, making it clear just how much he viewed her as a member of his dorm. Putting the armband on her was so natural to him, that he didn't even think to draw attention to it. Heracles's heart warmed when she realized this.

After around fifteen minutes, Heracles was ready to go. The only things Kalim didn't do were help her apply makeup or do her hair. When she asked why that was, Kalim smiled at her.