Chereads / Edelweiss and Calla Lily / Chapter 3 - Awakened Association

Chapter 3 - Awakened Association

Light blaring on her face from between curtains, Callen slowly rises from the comfortable bed she had ended up in. It seems that she had slept through them moving her to a room, probably in the party's office. Seeing a mirror in the corner, Callen makes her way to it and begins to admire her new body.

"I mean, I never expected to become a woman, but I guess I never really had the thought before. It's not too bad actually."

After a few minutes of self idolization, Callen notices a set of clothes placed on the desk within the room. A bewitching smile quickly emerging on her face, Callen changes into the outfit left for her.

"Mmm, its a bit big. I wonder if I can borrow a belt so I can go get new clothes later. But first..."

Once again admiring herself in the mirror, Callen smiled in recognition of the small sign of acceptance from Sera. 12 years prior, he had given her this set of hiking clothes, a small gift for the newly awakened one of the group. Aged and obviously treasured, small stitches and patches littered the surface of the clothes, repairs of battle scars most likely.

Realizing that if she stared at herself any longer she could consider herself a narcissist, Callen leaves the guest room and is greeted by the sight of the party's living quarters. Although she had visited before, with the height and sensory differences it felt almost entirely new to Callen. For Callen, The worn furniture and aging paint upon the walls is a sight for sore eyes, a sign that her friends had lived well in the time he was apart from them.

Entering the kitchenette of the space, Callen begins to reach for a box of cereal before realizing that she can't reach it on top of the fridge anymore. A bit miffed at the seeming main downside of her transformation, with a huff she moves and climbs upon a chair to be able to reach. With a bowl of barley flakes now in hand, Callen happily makes her way to the couch, plopping down and turning on the Holotv. Flashing up from the disk, the news report on screen almost causing her to drop her bowl.

"Last night during the dungeon break, long celebrated first responder Callen Fabel went missing and is presumed to be dead. According to witness reports, his quick wit and action saved the entirety of his squad, preventing the Crimson Mantis Ants from overtaking them in an instant. His locator was attached to a belt of grenades he handed to a recruit, who states that without the grenades he would have died."

A dumbfounded look frozen on her face, Callen begins to walk to the elevator, quickly spooning the barley into her mouth. Before she can finish her bowl however, the elevator opens, Sera walking into the room. Seeing Callen ravaging an innocent bowl of cereal, Sera sighs and opens a door next to the elevator.

"Ah, you're up. Here, take this, we gotta go get you registered and make sure that they don't immediately write you off."

Tossing a winter coat onto Callen, Sera smiles as she walks into the kitchenette and begins to quickly clean the mess Callen had made. Having finished her bowl, Callen puts the coat on, the sight of which causing a smug smile to cross Sera's face.

"Pfft. Its a bit big on you, I'll get you something new later today. C'mon, lets get going."

Leading Callen to the elevator, Sera selects BF1 and stands to Callen's side, getting a good look at her in the process.

"It's frustrating that that old set of clothes fits you better then it ever did me, even in that raggedy condition it's in now."

"Sera, we both know that isn't entirely true. It's too big after all."

A giggle later, the elevator arrives, leading the girls into the parking garage connected to the building. Reaching into her pocket for her keys, Callen remembers that she lost essentially everything she had during the events the previous night. A slight look of disappointment on her face, Callen follows Sera to her motorcycle. Putting a helmet on and handing one to Callen, Sera starts the cycle.

"Hold on tight, I am historically terrible at riding with someone behind me."

Speeding out of the parking garage much faster then anyone ever should, Sera races into the street to the sounds of automated horns from the cars she passes. For Callen, the feeling of speed and freedom from riding behind sera is surprisingly fresh, much more intense then times she had driven a bike herself.

Due to the "fantastic" driving ability of Sera, it only takes a few minutes for the duo to arrive at the main Awakened Association building for the area. Haphazardly parking her bike, Sera grabs a small bag from the side of the bike, and gingerly takes Callen's hand. Receiving multiple glances from small groups of awakened and reporters loitering outside of the building, the duo push past a crowd to get inside.

After a few minutes waiting in queue, the duo are called to a side room by a higher up of the association. Walking in and sitting down at two chairs in front of his desk, Callen and Sera wait for a few more minutes, watching the old man sitting behind the desk talk on the phone like they weren't even there. Finally, 15 frustrating minutes of a call later, he puts the phone down and pulls a small machine out of his desk.

"I apologize for that. I called you two here knowing that you are likely a newly awakened, since Sera is one of our leading sponsors and hunters, after all. Please, touch the crystal madam."

A slight look of distrust on her face, Callen touches the crystal, and is amazed when information begins to flow into her mind. Taking a moment to sort it out, Callen smiles knowing she had gained something useful. Seeing the smile, the old man reaches into a different drawer, pulling a form out.

"Okay, for your registration I need your name, power and awakened race. Also, if you have a party that you are entering already it would speed things up across the board."

After a quick glance at Sera, who currently is staring at her with a look of huge anticipation, Callen drops the hood from her head.

"Name is Callen Fabel, Power's name is Enchantress. I have awakened into a subspecies of the werewolf race, namely as a German Shepard Wolf mix."

A shocked look on the association worker's face, Callen gets a huge smile as she looks at sera, who is obviously jubilant with the information just revealed.

"I am entering the Haven Greenhouse party as a sub-member, whose personal specialization is crafting."