Vitae

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Mia Fleming woke up to the smell of freshly made waffles and pancakes dancing through the air, dancing their delicate waltz. She sighed sleepily and opened her eyes to see her roommate, Autumn, and her squirrel Anima sleeping soundly in the bed opposite of hers.

What's an Anima, you may ask? An Anima is your spirit animal, given to you by the city's Oracle after a series of complex tests. You speak to each other through thoughts, only you two can hear. Animas are companions that will never leave you. They're sort of your significant other, like you're getting married to it.

Well, you go through a similar process. You are brought to the Oracle after three months of being introduced to be Bonded. Then, you are bonded through your souls and minds fully, allowing you to give energy to your Anima or the other way around, as well as many other things. Some people have said that once you're fully bonded, you're able to turn into the animal that your Anima is. Mia never believed those stories, she thought of them as fairy tales.

As Mia thought about Autumn and Discord, her Anima, she grew excited, remembering what day it was. It was her sixteenth birthday, the day she would be brought to The Spirit Gallery by her foster mother, Michelle, and the Oracle would show her her Anima. Thoughts ran through her mind as she quietly sat up in her bed, not wanting the springs to creak and squeak. Then, she quietly tiptoed to her small closet, wanting to change out of her pajamas. The clothes she picked out to wear for the day was a red t-shirt and a pair of white skinny jeans, her normal attire. She stepped out of the closet after changing her clothes and folded up her pajamas, setting them down on the floor as she rearranged her blankets and pillows. Then, her pajamas were set on her bed, on her pillow, to be exact, so that they could be worn for bed that night.

She tiptoed out of her room, quietly closing the door, and went to the bathroom, across the hall. She flipped the light switch and the room light up as the lightbulbs over the mirror flashed on. She picked up a small locket, the only thing that her parents had left with her when she was dropped off at the orphanage, and put it around her neck. She held the silver heart over her one and let a stray tear slip down her cheek. Her mother and father dropped her off at the Iuvenis Orphanage, three miles away from where they lived. As Michelle had told her, they dropped her off wrapped in a white blanket in the middle of summer with nothing but that locket. Ms. Rain, the kind elderly woman who kept care of the children in the orphanage, was awoken in the middle of the night to knocking and the soft pitter patter of the rain against her windowsill. She put on her red robe and walked out to the door, her cougar Anima following her, and opened it to find Mia, shivering in the pouring rain with the chain of that silver locket in her small fingers.

Mia shook her head and smiled to herself as she looked down at the locket in her hands. She flipped it over and read the small number inscribed into the back of it. 16. Today was the day that she would finally get to see her parents. The thought made her happy, even though it would only be a picture. Oh well. At least I'll finally get to see them. Turning around, she opened the bathroom closet and picked up a turquoise hair brush, if you turned it over, there was a piece of duct tape with her name on it in red permanent marker. She ran the brush through her long, cherry red hair, eliminating the snarls. After she brushed it, she set the brush down on the sink and got busy with braiding it.

When she was done braiding her hair and beginning to brush her teeth, the youngest girl under Michelle's care, Ava, walked into the bathroom, her hair a rat's nest. "Good morning, Mia," she squeaked with a smile and gave her a big hug. Mia hugged her back and smiled before returning to her morning routine.

She kissed Ava on her forehead before heading downstairs to eat breakfast. "Morning, Michelle!" She called to her foster mother. Michelle turned her head and smiled. "Good morning, Mia," she said quietly as her doe Anima bounded over to Mia. "Good morning to you too, Summer," Mia chuckled and sat up on a bar stool, waiting for the assortment of pancakes and waffles to be done. "So, did anything happen at work last night?" Mia asked, wanting to break the silence and move her mind from the sizzling of the pancakes and waffles to something else. Michelle shook her head. "No, nothing much. Billy said that her daughter, Marie, got her Anima over the weekend. She was paired with a fox." Michelle turned to Mia with a smile. "I'll be taking you to the Gallery after breakfast," she said excitedly and Mia shared her excitement. Michelle turned back to the breakfast, flipping the last two pancakes and taking the last waffle out of the waffle maker. "Could you go get the rest of the girls?" Michelle asked her and Mia nodded, jumping down off of the stool. She ran up the stairs and knocked on her shared bedroom door. "Autumn! Breakfast!" She called before running to the other three rooms. "Ava, Raina, breakfast is done!" She called at one door and at the next, "Mary, Harper!" Mia ran back downstairs to get her stool before anyone else got it, only to see Ava with her purple stuffed whale sitting there. Mia chuckled and sat down next to the little seven year old girl. "Sneaky sneaky little girl," she said in her best witch voice, making Ava giggle.

Soon, Autumn came downstairs in her pajamas, Discord perched up on her shoulder. Behind her, Harper came down with Raina on her back in a piggy back ride. As the three girls were sitting down at the round kitchen table, Mary made her way down, her Anima snake wrapped around her shoulders. "Morning, Mary!" Ava called and her snake, Venenum, hissed in response. Apparently they were really tired. Ava recoiled back into Mia's side and Mia wrapped her arm around the little girl. "He won't hurt you, don't worry," she assured her and kissed her forehead.

Michelle handed all of the girls identical plates and forks and Mia stood up to give everyone their breakfast. To Ava, two cut up pancakes with a good deal of syrup. Autumn took a waffle with whipped cream and cut up strawberries on the top. Mary and Harper each took two pancakes with sugar and butter. Raina didn't take any of the pancakes or waffles, but Mia gave her the usual two pieces of toast with honey smothered onto them. Last, but not least, Mia gave herself two waffles with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles at the top, bringing out her inner child. Michelle grabbed herself a pancake and powdered sugar snowed down on top of them. Michelle sat down at her normal spot at the table after pouring all of the girls their glasses of either milk, orange juice, or coffee.

"Good morning girls," she said, her voice warm and bright. Everyone else answered with a good morning except for Mary, but Venenum hissed again. Summer looked up from her spot in the living room, her eyes wide and ears listening. Michelle looked towards Summer and smiled, probably talking to each other through their thoughts. Michelle looked back up at the girls. "Mia and I will be leaving to the Gallery after breakfast. Autumn, you're to make sure that Ava and Raina have their naps," she said with her warm smile. Autumn nodded, too busy eating her waffle. Michelle looked down at her plate and began to eat her food.

After breakfast, Michelle loaded Summer into the car and Mia hugged Mary, who was now fully awake and happier. "Good luck. Don't come home with an earthworm," Mary joked and Mia chuckled. "I'll try not to." They broke out of their hug and Autumn got her turn for hugs. "You grew up too fast," she whispered and Mia chuckled. "I'm not leaving or anything like that, I'm just going to get my Anima." She broke their hug and walked out to where Michelle was waiting for her. "Are you ready?" She asked when Mia closed the truck door. Mia nodded with a smile. "As ready as I'll ever be." Michelle nodded and began to drive out of the drive way, towards town.

And there is the first chapter of Vitae! I hope you liked it! Comment anything that was wrong, such as grammar or spelling mistakes, and I'll be sure to fix it!
Thanks~~