lovely // a vocaloid fanfiction

chapter 5 // initiation

Flower couldn't precisely recall what she had dreamt the night before her first shift at The Sanctuary, but she knew it was something pleasant. At least, it was much more pleasant than the sound which she woke up to.

"SUBJECTS! RISE UP! ... RISE UP! IT'S TIME FOR A NEW DAY!" came the loud, obnoxious voice from the hallway.

Flower turned over in her bed, begging the voice for a few more precious minutes of sleep, but as it continued, she realized she'd get no such thing. Forcing herself to toss the covers of the bed off of her, Flower was immediately met with the chilling air of her room.

Memories of the day before came back to her as she studied her room. I really am living here now, aren't I? Flower thought, slowly rising off of the creaky mattress that she had slept on.

Drowsily, Flower made her way over to the wardrobe. She was pleased to see there were a few pairs of clean clothes prepared and ready for her to wear. Quickly tossing the items on, Flower tried to think about what was next. She would need to go to her shift, of course... but where was that? She'd need to follow Order-Keeper Avanna, right? When did her shift even start?

Flower shook her head. I think I'll just follow the other Subjects, she thought.

Slowly, she walked over to the door, hearing footsteps outside the barrier. Inhaling a deep breath, Flower pushed open the door to see several people, many around her age, walking down the halls. A few were talking to one another, and most of them seemed to be heading in a similar direction.

Nervously, Flower entered the stream of Subjects, keeping her head tilted down most of the time. It felt like a first day of school in a new area. She knew no one, and especially knew that no one desired anything to do with her.

That was, until a figure promptly bumped into her right shoulder.

Flower looked up and over to the figure, managing a quiet "I'm sorry." However, as she observed the figure, she realized they didn't seem to have bumped into Flower on accident.

The girl had long blue hair which faded to a striking lime green at the tips as well as blue eyes which pierced into hers. She grinned at Flower.

"Hi!! Are you new here?"

Flower, surprised at the young girl's enthusiasm, struggled to find the right words to reply. "Uhm... yeah, I am. I was just promoted to Subject yesterday..."

The girl smiled. "Really? You must be lost, then! Here— right now, we're headed to the courtyard! There, we'll wait for our shift to start. Shifts aren't that much fun, though," she pouted.

Flower nodded as they began walking down the staircase. "Thank you for explaining. I actually really needed that..." she trailed off.

The blue-eyed Subject merely continued smiling, looking up at Flower. "Oh, it's okay! My name is Una, by the way. What's yours?"

Flower returned a smile to Una. With her attitude, who couldn't? "My name is Flower."

"Flower? That's such a nice name..." she muttered, gazing at Flower, awestruck. "Well... I hope you find it nice here, Flower!" Una said, returning to her cheerful attitude. The group of Subjects had reached the first floor and were now breaking off into the courtyard. "I've got to go."

Flower nodded. She didn't anticipate the hyperactive girl to stay too long anyway. "Alright. Thank you for the introduction..." she called, but the girl had already run off to talk to a petite girl with light pink hair.

Flower sighed. She returned her attention to the courtyard, which was a whole lot busier than she had expected. There were blots of survivors dotted across the field like globs of paint on a canvas, making Flower's stomach turn over in both excitement and fear.