It was a dream. That much Vin could confirm. From the hazy edges of his sight, to the slightly delirious feeling that prevailed his body, to the overwhelming sensation that he could both perceive everything in front of him clearly, yet not at all. From all around him, there was nothing but an inky void of black.
"Vin…" A voice echoed out from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
He turned every which way, desperately trying to find the source of the voice, to no avail.
"Vin…"
It sounded female: a light titter backed with a much deeper treble. Unusual, yet still distinctly feminine.
"Vin…"
And suddenly, the black realm in which he stood gained light, and an overwhelming epiphany surged to the forefront of his mind.
The room, a massive dome of pure white crystals, jutting out in every direction, light refracting off of them in rainbows of color countless times. He had been here before, had this dream before, not just once, but multiple times. It was like a memory that had been seemingly forgotten deep inside was suddenly roused from its slumber.
And if this dream was anything like the others, then there must be…
"Vin."
Ah. There she was.
From the wall of crystals descended the massive head of a dragon. It's neck and head being made of the very same crystals that surrounded him from all sides. Two massive amber irises serve as the only true break from emanating light around him.
The dragon opened its massive crystal jaw, even the inside of her mouth being composed of the mineral as the rest, she was practically a crystal statue brought to life.
"Vin… remember… the crystal's light…"
That was the last thing the dragon had said, before sluggishly closing her eyes, folding herself back into the crystal wall right before Vin's sight ebbed and flowed back to darkness.
"Oi! Vin, wake up!"
With a gasp, Vin shot up in bed. His dark green eyes wide as he took in generous gulps of air to quell his racing heart. He winced as the light of the morning sun pierced through the blinds, stabbing him in the eye with the accursed accuracy of an arrow. No sooner than when he slumped back down into the warmth of his blankets, did the door to his room slam open.
Standing in the doorframe was a young girl in her early teens. Already dressed in a soft yellow and white blouse and a pair of light cream-colored shorts. Her dark-brown hair styled in braids and a bun that gave her a youthful appearance.
"Big bro~ It's time for school!" The girl sang in her high, pre-pubescent voice, bounding over to Vin's bead, and mercilessly ripping the covers off his curled-up body.
"Lisaaaaa…" Vin whined, "Stop it!"
"Nope! No can do, bro! Mom sent me up here to get you, since we gotta hurry!"
Vin shifted in bed, "Lisa, when did Mom send you up here?"
A smug smirk began to stretch across Lisa's face, "Oh, about thirty minutes ago, why?"
Vin sighed, "How much time do we have left, Lisa?"
"Oh!" Lisa perked up, giving a massive, shit-eating smile to her sleepy older brother, "About fifteen minutes."
Vin fell out of bed.
"FIFTEEN MINUTES!?" Vin spat in disbelief, "Oh, you're asking for it!"
Quirky, Vin swung out with his arms in an attempt to catch his wily little sister, to no avail, unfortunately. Eventually, he gave up, instead choosing to slam the door in his sister's smug face, and get down to business.
Quickly running around the room, Vin yanked his pajamas off his body, tossing them in the general direction of his laundry bin, as he threw open the cupboards of his messy wardrobe. Numerous bins and stacks of all sorts of things ranging from endlessly tangled clumps of wires, to stacks of motherboards.
Rummaging through his dresser with the speed of a madman, Vin eventually pulled out a basic outfit for himself, a pair of basic jeans and a band t-shirt. Something that hopefully didn't scream 'I just got out of bed, and threw on the first thing I saw'.
After darting to an equally mechanically littered desk, Vin all but ripped his phone away from it's charger, catching a half-disassembled toaster that threatened to fall off his desk. Pocketing the phone, and silently cursing his little sister to high heaven, Vin stepped out the door to his room, and padded down to the kitchen below.
The main floor was like most houses, simple, homey, and where it didn't have the most expensive furniture or art, it was made up for by caking the walls of the house with all manner of framed pictures of the family. Everything, from Vin's first drawing as a toddler, to his parent's wedding photos, to a copy of an ultrasound scan with the label 'Lisa: 6 months due'. The Corsetti family's entire history laid there on those walls, archived proudly for all to see, like the world's coziest art gallery.
Eventually, Vin skidded into the wood and title paneled kitchen, wasting no time in getting himself seated in the chair he claimed over a decade ago, and immediately began to dig into the tantalizing plate of bacon, eggs, and toast that laid before him.
"Woah kiddo," Vin spared a glance to spy his father staring him down from across the table, newspaper in hand, "You're going at your plate like a pack of wolves, calm down, no one's gonna take it from you."
"I don't have much time," Was Vin's response, "Thanks to someone."
Lisa plopped down in her chair next to him, her own plate of food next to her, "You're welcome, big bro!"
Vin just grumbled as he continued to work on finishing off his eggs.
"Now you two, let's get along, alright?" A woman walked over to the table, two cups of steaming coffee in her hands. She set one down in front of his dad, while she set one at her own place at the table.
"Thanks darling," Vin's dad chimed in, as he leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek.
"Mom, why did you let Lisa wake me up so late?" Vin asked venomously from across the table, as she sat down and sipped at her own coffee.
"I don't control your sister, Vin. All I did was ask her to wake you up," She paused to take another sip, "As a matter of fact, at your age, you should be waking yourself up. You have a phone, use it."