Alia and August stared at Sasha in total disbelief. They had built something of a relationship with the blue haired woman, but nothing that could be considered a string enough bond for her to take them in.
In truth, they did not know where they would be headed after they were discharged. The leading idea in their discussions was to simply do odd jobs until they could afford a place to live, after all they had grown rather used to sleeping in the wild.
They had mentioned this to Sasha in passing, but never expected it to come to this.
"What? I….Uh, may have overstepped" Sasha said "but I just…didn't want you guys on the streets."
The blue haired woman had a timid way of speech, one that showed exactly how anxious she was at any given moment. August himself found it almost too easy to read her emotions.
So he could tell she was genuine.
Sasha reached into her pockets and pulled out two folded papers, which she unfurled into two documents.
"If you guys don't mind, I'd like to be your legal guardian…"
August looked at Alia, who looked back at him. As their eyes met, he could tell that they were both thinking the same thing. The initial shock of the revelation was staring to fade, and if he had to be honest, August only saw one clear choice.
They both took the papers silently, reading through the documents provided.
The documents seemed standard, they would simply be cared for by the blue haired woman, who would become legally responsible for them until they turned eighteen.
August had found out from Mateo that time spent asleep was not included in age total, simply because people did not age during the strange sleep. This was quite convenient for them, because August would have been twenty-one, while Alia would have just broken twenty.
After reading through the document, they agreed to the adoption. Sasha brought it a pen and had them sign each document, then left them on the beds for Diya to come collect.
"What exactly are you and miss Diya?" Alia asked Sasha.
Sasha tilted her head, then pushed her glasses up using her middle finger before responding.
"She's… something of an older sister to me? I guess?"
Alia nodded "you must really love her then."
"Yeah.." Sasha replied.
August couldn't pinpoint exactly why, but he felt the air become a tad bit more solemn with those words.
After a few seconds passed, August grabbed his bag and the it over his shoulder, then he attempted to cut the tension:
"Well! Looks like I got a parent now! Where to mom?"
Within moments, everybody in the room was laughing.
August himself laughed along, but he couldn't shake off an eerily nostalgic feeling.
~~~~~
Following the blue haired woman, Alia and August left the hospital for the very first time since they had arrived at the city.
They had looked through the window, but all they could see below was the expansive limestone canal, and a few buildings that had waterwheels prodding into it.
August had seen the city once before that, on the night of his arrival. Even now, he still vividly remembered the expansive limestone city, the view of it bathed in the light of the sunset.
As they made their way down the pristinely cut stone steps that laid out in front of the reception desk - a room that looked hastily put together, with wooden benches and cold, hard tile. The stark contrast between the soft, welcoming inner hospital and the city outside when he saw it flooded him with wonder.
People of all different nationalities walked along the crude asphalt streets, which tapered off into dirt or stone at times. Buildings of all different colors and decor, slapdashed flags adorning a few doors and windows. It seemed to August that people were trying to preserve any sense of nationality or patriotism for their original homes that they could find.
The streets were sparsely traveled by a strange mix of vehicles that looked something like cars but seemed to be pulled by all sorts of beasts.
He was hit with a sudden flash of cold air, which he took graciously into his lungs. Humanity was thriving, looking for a way to progress just like it always had. It made him happy to know that they had not all been decimated.
"August! Alia! You guys might get left behind!"
Reluctantly prying his eyes from the scenic view of the city, August looked down at the blue haired woman that was waving at them, smiling from across the street. He returned a grin before slapping Alia on the back and dashing down the stairs and into the bustling crowd.
August was immediately surprised by the sheer strength of the people he ran into. He bumped into a short woman that almost totally knocked him off his feet. The lady apologized profusely and went on her way, but August then learned to avoid people, or at least tried to. Occasionally, he'd get sent flying off his feet.
This was not a problem that either of the women in his group shared however, Alia in particular seemed to be accidentally mowing strangers down left and right. Sasha simply avoided people like the plague, weaving between members of the crowd with practiced accuracy.
While following her, they passed by a large selection of small shops and what seemed to be convenience stores, each of which carried strange products that seemed to be replicas of things on earth. August found himself looking into the glass display of a small wooden shop, scanning the replica items.
"Replica potato chips? People just can't let go of the past can they?" Alia asked, coming over to see what August was looking at, Sasha following close behind. She was staring at a crudely cut dish full of fried potatoes.
"People will always look for a taste of home, no matter where they are." Sasha replied.
It was a bit jarring how out of character the blue haired woman sounded trying to play the role of a wise mentor. Immediately reminding August that she was still older, and therefore more experienced than him.
"A taste of home… huh." August tried to think about what his taste of home would be, there was nothing he could come up with.
'Maybe the occasional pot to the head?'
Thinking back on it, his life had started rather happily, but had steadily declined ever since the moment of his father's death. Needless to say, he did not linger on this thought for very long.
He turned away, gesturing for Sasha to continue leading them along the streets.
Eventually, they reached a point where the crude asphalt disappeared entirely, and the road was simply made of dirt. Houses were few and far between, and August had not seen a single one of the strange vehicles in quite a while.
"You live all the way out here?" He asked, looking at Sasha.
"Yeah… I don't do too well with people, so i decided it would be best to live out in the farming district. Sorry if that isn't your thing…"
Alia was first to respond.
"Don't even worry about it, peace and quiet seems like a bloody blessing right about now." She stated.
"You have quite a fondness for the word bloody, don't you?" August asked her.
"Got a bloody problem with it?" Alia shot back.
August shook his head, chuckling.
Alia had made a new set of armor for herself using one of the many spare aura molds he had kept from the forest. Right now, she wore a long, zipped white sweater and brown cargo shorts. Whilst he himself had simply recreated another grey sweatsuit.
They soon came to a house a few miles down the dirt road, a three story building with a red clay shingle roof. The wooden walls were painted a spotty white that had begun to peel with what August assumed to be water damage.
There was a large patio out front, decorated with a hanging swing and some multicolored, oddly shaped flowers. From the front, August could see a truly massive backyard that seemed to stretch almost endlessly, conjoined to the land behind.
"This place is huge!" He exclaimed, looking at the almost farmlike house.
"Yeah… the city barely has the population to worry about housing, so there's a lot of free space for cheap." Sasha replied.
Alia simply said nothing, coldly staring at the inviting house.
"Are you alright?" Sasha asked her, tapping her shoulder lightly.
"Huh? Yeah… I am, can we go in?"
Again, August noticed a lurking sadness permeating through the redhead's voice, but he said nothing.
Sasha ran up the stairs, pulling out a silver key and pushing it into what seemed to be a padlock, then pulled the door open, turning to face them with a smile.
"Welcome to your new home!" She shouted joyously, and both he and Alia couldn't help but smile.
As they went up the wooden steps to the patio, holding their bags - more for show than anything else - August suddenly found himself thinking back to that boy, standing beside his brother in the pouring rain.
This time, he had nothing to be running from