Project Micro

Chapter 23- Yearning Obsession

I found myself awake and staring up at the ceiling, the other residents of the house asleep since it was almost morning, and the place was deathly silent. My cheeks were stained with tears; I had been crying in my sleep again. I couldn't stop thinking about Seto. I felt hollow if I didn't, and when I did I would combust into silent tears that I hid from the others, especially Wildstar and Shadow. Shadow because I had lied that I was no longer having nightmares, and Wildstar because... well, she was basically the leader, the glue to this group.

A few other D.I.E. experiments had been rescued from a raven by Taiga-- who was somehow normal sized within a week-- and while I didn't know their names, I knew they were a tad uncomfortable around him, only because of his size. They were probably still getting used to it all.

But nothing helped how miserable I felt.

I sat up with a small stifled sniff, hugging myself and staring at my knee-high shoes. He had given them to me... Everything made me think about him. The first time we met-- from the outside trees-- the fun times we had-- just by looking about the house-- all the times he comforted me-- Taiga and Icicle's beds-- and then when he sent me away to sacrifice himself for me; the meadow. I refused to go outside, ever, and I refused to change into anything else other than the outfit Seto had given me. I even kept the thin coat despite how warm it was inside, and it reminded me so much of him... it hurt. Despite how much it pained me, it felt good in a strange way.

I jumped when I heard a knock on the door downstairs, and I realized that I had been so engrossed in my thoughts that I hadn't been aware of the sun rising and announcing the morning. When the door was unlocked, I was surprised to see Wildstar zip off to scramble down the stairs and greet the newcomer.

"... hey Moonshine..." Wildstar's voice floated up to my ears, sounding a tad awkward as Taiga got up from the bed and followed after the Micro. I hesitantly turned away and sighed disconsolately, my back to the stairs as I heard Moonshine respond.

"Can someone explain the dead raven?" 'Right, Taiga shot that poor bird to save those other Micros,' I thought to myself, scooting away from the edge of the end table to lean against the lamp and get lost in my thoughts, then after a few seconds I surrendered to my curiosity and got up. I needed the exercise anyway.

I took a deep breath before dropping down, bracing myself before I landed and rolled like I had once seen Wildstar do. To my surprise, it didn't hurt. A flicker of pride hit me as I darted across the room and into the hallway, only to stop after I had slowly climbed down the stairs, and was greeted with a sight that froze me stiff.

The newcomer was definitely normal-sized, being as tall as Taiga. And as soon as I had come around the corner and frozen, he had stopped walking and stared at me with different emotions. I was startled to see contempt and suspicion, making me swallow nervously.

"... H-he's scaring me," I finally squeaked, inching over to Wildstar and other micros that had followed me downstairs.

"Ay! Lay off smoke breath!" I cringed at the insult as one of the micros-- I think her name was Rattlesnake?-- glared territorially at Moonshine, and I shrank back a bit more.

"Wait until Akatosh hears about this!" Moonshine complained.

"Rattlesnake, go on!" Taiga chided. Rattlesnake glowered at him before hesitantly clambering up the stairs, grumbling to herself, the others following. I glanced back timidly at Moonshine before turning away from his unwavering stare and struggling to keep up with the other micros. I returned to my spot on the end table a few minutes later, staring blankly at the wall... again.

The end table, surprisingly, was no longer where I slept. The others thought I'd be too lonely in here by myself, so I slept next to another micro, who's name I didn't know. I wasn't very good with names sometimes...

After a few minutes of moping within my thoughts, I was snapped awake from my daze when Icicle called from downstairs, "Guys! Come down for breakfast!" Breakfast. I wasn't hungry.

I sighed inwardly, folding my arms over my chest and leaning against the lamp, spacing out for another minute when I heard someone scramble up the end table, and I slowly turned around to see Wildstar with some sort of amethyst amulet. I stared at her for a few seconds before my attention was directed to the amulet, and I sucked in a deep breath.

It was beautiful. It had a royal deep purple that matched well with the gold brimming, and it seemed to shine by itself, glistening a mesmerizing shade of the purple.

"... What's that?" I asked quietly.

"It's called a Visiting Amulet," She replied, offering me the amulet. "You can visit anyone when you're asleep, and whether or not they're asleep, you can talk to them. All you have to say is that person's name, and then "let me in" to activate it." Intrigued, I accepted the necklace, glancing at Wildstar before putting it on. It glowed for a brief second, and the obsidian colored eyes of the dragon-shaped amulet flashed a deep purple as I fingered it in wonder. It was perfectly polished, kept in well condition. It must be a really important object.

'Could I really use this? Could I try it to reach out to Seto?' I wondered. I finally looked up and dipped my head, overwhelmed with gratitude.

"Th-thank you," I murmured, then slowly got up and brushed past Wildstar to head downstairs or breakfast, with my close-acquaintance closely following.

Maybe I'll get to see him again...