Karasu could never understand how his body's circadian rhythm works. Due to the after effects of his power, he was always sleepy, but can't sleep sometimes. Even when he went a full day or three without using it, it's always like he activated it not long ago.
He had tried sleeping pills, didn't work for hours until he suddenly fell asleep in the middle of training. Nearly injuring himself while he slept for over thirty hours. And after he awoke, he felt refreshed for the next sixteen.
"Oh. You're still awake?" A voice spoke to Karasu.
As he spun his head towards the voices direction, Madhav stood there awkwardly, "Calm down...I'm not going to hurt you. Even if I wanted to, I probably can't."
"What makes you say that?"
"Just in my gut...What's your name again?"
Karasu stood up before fixing his shirt, "Karasu Yūga. And you're Madhav Nathersa. Am I correct?"
"That you are." Madhav took a seat near the table, "What's keeping you up at night?"
"My circadian rhythm is fucked up." Karasu answered.
"Damn. Mind I ask why?"
"No."
"Fair enough." Madhav sat quietly near the table. Just pondering about the new members. Most of them are asleep right now, "So...You work out often?"
"Me?" Karasu questioned.
"Yeah you." Madhav confirmed, "Earlier this afternoon, we accidentally entered the Training room and saw you working out. Gotta admit, you're pretty buff."
That's the first time anyone said that to him, in Karasu's case, the other kids his age in Hanlerk's base, and his other friends, He's on the lower side of buff. Compared to them, he feels like a twig, "Thanks man. Appreciate it."
"May I ask about the scars?"
"No."
"Fair enough-"
Just as Madhav finished his sentence, the front door unexpectedly opened up. Two figures entered the room with their hands interlocked with each others. Madhav and Karasu turned towards the source of the noise as their guests came into view.
It was Aziroth and Marlen. The two of them froze up as Karasu and Madhav stared at them. Especially the detail that they're hands are interlocked with each other. Karasu had learned about his friends allies as they were travelling here. Aziroth was mentioned and he was debriefed about the type of person he is.
Karasu decided to tap into his inner Donovan and make up something, "Hey Madhav. Did you see anything?"
"Huh?" All three of them spoke at the same time.
"Yeah, I think the door just opened by itself. Should we close it?" Karasu stood up and walked past Aziroth and Marlen. Promptly closing said door, "I really gotta get to bed at this point. My brain is so burnt right now..."
Madhav realized what he was doing, and promptly followed the plan, "Yeah. I guess I should as well. We didn't see anything."
"Yeah definitely." Karasu grabbed Madhav by the collar and pulled him up. He was surprised by the sheer strength of Karasu's grip and pull, "We should go to bed. Or atleast try to."
Karasu and Madhav entered the dorm hall before shortly going into their own door specifically. Leaving the two new lovebirds dumbfounded, "Uh...I don't care if we're found out. But what bout you Azzy?"
"I just hope they can keep their mouth shut. They're doing so excellently in a way." Aziroth answered, "But we should go to bed as well. It's already like one AM."
"Yeah you're right."
The two of the quietly sneaked towards the dorm hall. Hoping not to awake anyone. Aziroth led Marlen towards her door, opening it for her, "Awh...What a gentleman."
"Oh be quiet..." He rolled his eyes.
Marlen stood by the doorway, crossing her arms as she looked up at Aziroth with a sly smile, "Aren't you forgetting something?"
"I don't think so." He shook his head.
"No good night kisses?"
"Really Eio? We already-" Aziroth couldn't finish his sentence due to the pouty face Marlen had. He just groaned quietly before holding her cheek with one hand and leaning in to kiss her.
As they spent a quick second in each others hands. Aziroth must admit, he did enjoy doing this. He felt her smile the moment they broke off. Which inadvertently caused him to reciprocate with his own smile. They still remained close to each other. Marlen vowed to herself that she wouldn't let go of Aziroth. Not again.
"Good night Eio..."
"I think we should have pet names. Since we're...y'know."
"In the morning." Aziroth kissed her on the forehead on last time, "I'm getting sleepy right now."
"Alright then. Good night Azzy." Marlen took a step back and closes her door slightly, "I love you."
"I love you too."
As she shut the door. Aziroth walked back towards his own room. His name stood out like a sore thumb on the door as a sign of his ownership. However, the two new lovebirds had a single thought running in their head, 'God, that felt good.'
As he hung his coat on his rack. And threw his shoes to the side. He promptly fell to his bed face first. Uniform still on him but he didn't care to change into his pajamas. But all that clouded in his mind was one person. Marlen. His Eio. His thoughts were filled with details about her. Her face. Voice, eye colour, warmth. Almost all of the locked away memories that resurfaced into the light.
He promised to himself as well that he would never leave her. Never again. Maybe tomorrow, he might try and reconnect with Enzo and the others. Especially Enzo, other than Marlen, he was one of the other boys that Aziroth was friends with that adored space. Maybe Enzo grew out of his fascination, but it's still something to talk about. Go back and have a taste of nostalgia again.
The lull of sleep slowly clouded Aziroth's body and eyes, as he slowly fluttered his eyes shut. And his breath entered a consistent rhythm.
***
As the morning sun rose, darkness still occupied each of the security force rooms. But the alarm at Six AM set by Elyssia rung in her room. Light slowly shining from the roof of her room. Waking her up from her sleep.
She sat up straight on her bed, rubbing her eyes awake before shutting down her alarm. Before slipping inside her slippers. A benefit of this rooms 'Hammerspace' is that she has access to her own bathroom. Sharing it with people is not needed thankfully.
After taking a shower and brushing her teeth, she stepped out of her room in uniform. The only missing part was that her vest was unbuttoned. As Elyssia lumbered towards the living room, she encountered one of her members already awake.
"Donovan?" she spoke with a soft voice.
He stood in the kitchen, cooking something with a pan while a big pot stood in the middle of the stove, "Top o' the morning to ya!"
Elyssia peeked over his shoulder to see what food he is cooking. It was just a simple breakfast of scrambled egg, but then she caught something in the corner of her eye, "Since when did we get a rice cooker?"
"You can thank Karasu for that. He eats rice like everyday in every meal. I'm cooking some for him. But you're more welcome to have some if you want." Donovan answered, "And uhh...Is Sammy awake?"
"Samuel? No. Not yet." Elyssia shook her head.
"He's supposed to help me cook some food." Donovan grabbed a plate and transferred all of his scrambled egg on to it, "He's got some wild knife skills."
"I can see that."
Donovan walked towards the rice cooker, opening it and placing a few scoops of rice into his plate of egg, "You eat scrambled eggs with rice?"
"Oi. I have a few southeast asian friends back where I came from. Scrambled eggs and rice can go a long way if you're too lazy to do much." He held his plate infront of her, "This plate is for Sammy actually. But I can make you some avocado toast if you want."
"Um..." Elyssia thought over it for a second before shrugging, "Why not?"
"That's the spirit...Oh, there he is. Sammy." From the dorm hall, Samuel lumbered out with his hands behind his head, tying the blindfold tight, "Morning Sammy my boy."
"Morning Don..." Samuel yawned, "What's for breakfast."
"Bitch, make your own."
"Awh..."
Donovan chuckled before handing him the plate of egg and rice, "This is for you. Standard egg and rice. You can thank Luqman Anwar for telling me this easy meal."
Samuel's facial expressions changed, "Aha! Telor Orak Arik!" He promptly grabbed the plate and sat down near the table before consuming the food with a spoon, "I wonder if he's going to send us Indomie..."
"He probably won't. Not after your win in a duel with him back home."
"Petty bastard..."
"He's always like that Y'know." Donovan shrugged, "I known you two for like six years. You gotta apologize to him sooner or later."
"Not my fault he threw pocket sand at my face during our duel!"
As the two of them had their morning banter. Elyssia realized something. She remembered their background report of their lives. They couldn't have known each other if they were all from different countries. And living thousands of kilometers away from each other. How would they...No. They can't.
This confirmed her gut feeling. The background reports are false. But why though? She thought to herself that she should be wary. But don't hold her sword against them. They're friendly. She hopes they are. She really didn't want to be against Donovan.
"When you're done Sammy, help me cut some fruits and stuff. Gotta feed everyone else Y'know?" Donovan turned around, Taking the two freshly toasted bread from the toaster.
"Yeah yeah. Okie dokie." He was already halfway from finishing his food. Which shocked Elyssia with how fast he could gobble down his breakfast.
Donovan gently elbowed her arm, to get her attention, "Mind if you grab one avocado by the basket there? Both of them should be ripe by now."
She followed his request and grabbed one from the basket, "Where'd you even get all these vegetables and fruits from anyways?" She tossed it to him.
"The botany class and Garden club. They're more than happy to give me some of their produce. Said that they grew way too much produce for the canteen to take." He caught it in his hands and plucked a knife from the holder. In a few seconds, he carved the avocado in half, threw away the pit, and scored both sides of his avocado, "Please pass me the bowl next to the basket."
As Elyssia gave him said bowl, she watched him do his work, spooning one side of the avocado into the bowl and began mushing it with the spoon, "You want slices? Or mushed like this?"
"I ate slices way too often. Let me try mushed."
Elyssia watched as Donovan followed through with her request. Samuel appeared behind him and placed his plate in the sink. Before grabbing another knife and the whole basket of fruits and vegetables. Before asking his friend the plan for breakfast.
Usually, the security force would just go to the canteen for food. But with these newcomers, maybe that could change. Elyssia still wondered where they came from, and their goals. But so far, they weren't a threat to the school and the inhabitants. And she hopes it stays like that.
And she didn't expect Donovan to act like this. For a handsome boy like him, she thought he would be a standard asshole and playboy behaviour. But he's the complete opposite. He was right. He'd take care of his own friends. But she didn't expect him to be the mom friend. Especially with his sort-of immature personality. And still, he's mature enough to do this for his friends.
She was pulled away from her fog of thoughts by Donovan elbowing her again, "You want an egg on top or nah?"
"Uhm...Sure."
"Runny or fully cooked?"
"Runny."
He grabbed a pan from under the counter and the oil nearby, "Gotcha."
"I'm surprised you're a good cook. Those eggs you made for Samuel looked nice." Elyssia placed her chin on her hand, just watching Donovan cook with an interested look.
"Thanks. Through trial and error, I was able to make them fluffy." Donovan chuckled, trying to hide the blush forming on his face, "Usually, I would like to sing while cooking?"
"Sing what?" Elyssia skimmed over the ingredients.
"'Bryd On brere'" Donovan answered without hesitation, his eye twitched slightly, a harsh feeling gripped his heart for a second when he said the name.
"Oh really? Mind if you...sing for me...?" Elyssia looked away shyly, he heard from his friends that he had a nice voice, and she wanted to see if they were not lying.
Donovan remained silent for a second, pondering if he should sing it. At the same time, it brought painful memories. All of the time he sang it, it was during a certain period of times in his room. Times he didn't want to remember, but maybe...maybe this might be different. Maybe with her it could be different.
"Sure..." Donovan whispered.
Elyssia tuned in, as Donovan cleared his throat, it's time to take the leap...
Kynd is come of love, love to crave
Blythful biryd, on me thu rewe
Or greyth, lef, greith thu me my grave.
Hic am so blithe, so bryhit, brid on brere,
Quan I se that hende in halle:
Yhe is whit of lime, loveli, trewe
Yhe is fayr and flur of alle.
Mikte ic hire at wille haven,
Stedefast of love, loveli, trewe,
Of mi sorwe yhe may me saven
Ioye and blisse were were me newe."
As he sang, Samuel unknowingly swayed his head around as he listened. Elyssia remained quiet as he sang. They weren't lying. His voice was ethereal. She couldn't differentiate his voice from one of an angel, or even human. With the smooth and calm vibrations hitting her ear, her body relaxed further. More than she could ever think of.
Hearing his voice took her back. To the warm embrace of summer in Greece. Surrounded by the morning dew of the grass as she lay in it. Just taking in deep breaths as she rested. It was a time when she had the least amount of worries. Where life was as colorful and calm as early childhood.
As he finished his song, she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw after that blissful trip down memory lane was Donovan. Him in all of his beautiful glory. His hair was untied and resting on his shoulder. His smooth face was calm and warm, his striking blue eyes staring into the pan as he served Elyssia her avocado toast, She could feel her heart thump against her chest. Palpitations ever so endearing. She had almost forgotten how majestic he was. But it wasn't just his looks that captured her attention. And maybe even her heart for a second.
It was his soul.
It was as if his true self had come out. Just for that split moment in the morning. Where time seemed to slow down as he sang.
"So...How was it?" Donovan asked in a quiet voice. His untied long hair covered his blushing face.
"It was..." Elyssia couldn't find the perfect words for it, the only one that could come close to it was, "beautiful...."
"Thank you..." A smile crept up Donovan's face, "I'll be willing to sing for you whenever you want."
"I'll keep that in mind...Thank you." Elyssia said, tucking the loose strand of her hair behind her ear, a childish attempt at covering away the faint rose tinge that had crept up her ear.
"When are the others gonna wake up?"
"It's holiday so I have no idea. Maybe in an hour or so."
"That's more than enough time then to make breakfast for everyone." Donovan cracked his fingers, trying to calm down his flared body, "Remember what I told ya Sammy."
"Yeah yeah. Just hope I can somehow make breakfast for like twenty or more people quick enough." Samuel began chopping the vegetables.
Elyssia looked around the room, there's no one new awake right now. And she shouldn't just stand here, look at Donovan, he's recovering and is still able to cook, "Anything I can do to help?" She asked.
"Yes in fact. You got any big pots on ya? I'm planning to make some soup."
The three of them were lost in the realm of cooking. Time passed by as they created the breakfast for twenty-one people. More than enough to fill the numbers of the security force. With some proper training, they could possibly reach the level the original force had before it was just Elyssia, Madhav, Matthew, and Rovanne in the team only.
Elyssia still wondered where her brother and the other members went. She was never really that close to them but she was with her brother. Her heart ached remembering the reactions of all her younger siblings from the news. Especially her mother.
Soon enough, to her surprise, almost everything was ready. They had laid out a few dishes for everyone to eat. Some fruit and potato salad, a wide row of pancakes and waffles, another pancake bake with honey, A breakfast stew with eggs and beef. And then some porridge. Elyssia had made a pot of hot chocolate to get into the festive season. Since it's december now. And snow will be arriving soon.
"Is that everything?" She asked.
"That it is!" Donovan rubbed his hands together, "I'm not gonna wait. Imma eat right now."
Just as he sat down, the dorm hall door opened. Gary and Aurora lumbered out together, There were a few more a short distance behind them as they moved through, "I smell food..." Was the first thing Gary spoke after getting out of bed.
"Well, you're in luck." Donovan leaned back on his chair, "We got a whole feast here. Dig in. Don't be greedy."
–Occuring somewhere else–
Under the chirping of the birds, squaks of some, and caws of others, a distinct knock echoed through the headmasters room. Headmaster Avshino pulled his mind out from a novel that a particular student had wrote that he believed might become a best-selling author one day, "Coming!"
Headmaster Avshino made his way towards the entrance of his office. It swaps between a normal door and then a massive gate. It changes every midnight and he can't do anything about it. As of now, it's a small door.
The headmaster shortly opened it, "Yes?"
To the headmasters shock, it was Sultan. His clothes stained with blood, he was visibly huffing and puffing with his scimitar on hand and dripping crimson. His eyes focused itself on the headmaster. Sending chills down his spine. The sight was familiar. Could it be?
Yes. There was no questioning it. No wonder Sultan's unique gift was so familiar, even his gaze was near identical, "The red hand...are in bigger numbers than we thought..."
Sultan revealed his left hand, revealing an item that caused the headmasters heart to sink deep, "We have a lot to discuss. First things first, why is there a key to the Urkum's Coil?"