Little White Lines

Break

Mila rubbed her eyes tiredly as the sun's first rays slipped through her window. She blinked a few times to chase away the early morning blur in her vision before sitting up, hearing a few satisfying pops as she stretched. With practiced efficiency, she donned her usual silk attire with the addition of a heavy cloak for the winter chill.

Mila stepped out of her room, rubbing her hands and shivering slightly as the cold air hit her. She padded leisurely towards Aroka's room; a path she had walked... well, surely more times than she could recall.

Once she reached the familiar door, she stood to its right, her usual post, and leaned against the wooden panes.

'Misora might be coming today,' she thought, eyes tilted up towards the still-brightening sky, 'Such a good kid, it's not hard to see how they're related." Mila was surprised when Aroka had first asked her to send a message to her father. She knew how her friend felt about her birth parents and she had seen her resentment first hand, so she couldn't imagine what Aroka had to say to them. Who would have thought, when her biological family arrived at the compound, she had no harsh words for them, she even forgave them. She believed her friend was a good person, yes, but this caught her off guard. Mila was just a child when her parents, too, gave her away to the main family. Just like Aroka, her parents were also poor and could not afford to raise a child, but the difference came in that Mila's parents came to visit her regularly throughout her life. They brought her gifts on her birthday, made her food a few times a month, greeted her warmly in passing, and even then Mila had a hard time ignoring the resentment she held for them. Growing up eased her anger, as time is ought to do, but it didn't seem so for Aroka. Or maybe it was just harder to notice; people are like that.

Mila wasn't oblivious, though, she knew her friend's newfound forgiveness didn't come from nowhere; she was dying. Aroka had mentioned having a sister before, and though she never said too much about it, Mila imagined she must have wanted to meet her, if only to see the daughter their parents didn't sell. It seemed her friend was better than she gave her credit for, though, because Aroka seems to genuinely care about Misora. However she might feel about her parents, she didn't want to miss the chance to have a sister.

A quiet noise from inside the room pulled Mila from her dreary thoughts. She shook her head and decided not to think too much about it, else she get too caught up in things yet to come. Once her mind returned to her, she noticed the sky was already bright and the sun was out in full. Should she wake Aroka up? Another quiet noise from the other side of the door seemed to indicate that wouldn't be necessary.

"Are you up?"

There was no response, but she thought she heard something. A gasp?

"Are you ok?" Mila slid the door open just a bit.

Aroka was indeed awake; she was sitting up in her bed near the far wall. But something was wrong. Her eyes were wide, her face twisted into an expression Mila didn't recognize as she stared directly at the gap in the door. It was... wrong, somehow. Mila couldn't put her finger on it... Aroka, her eyes were wide... Her eyes...

Her eyes...

Her eyes were green.

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A scream tore through the morning air, jolting Toru out of his thoughts, his head snapped up and he threw open his door. A pit formed in his stomach; he knew where it was coming from. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him, passing dozens of bewildered faces poking out into the halls.

When he got there, the double doors were wide open and there was already a small crowd. He unceremoniously pushed past a few clan members before he could enter the room. Then he saw it.