"Hey, you're all alone. You alright?" Yuri asked, adjusting before taking a seat beside her.
Melly blinked twice, glancing at Yuri before turning back to the night sky. "Oh… hey there."
Yuri followed her gaze upward. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yeah… it is," Melly murmured, her voice softer now, the calm having its way with her.
If silence had ever felt both comfortable and uncomfortable at the same, this was one of those moments.
"I hope they're okay. I saw what happened earlier," Yuri said, still looking at the sky.
Melly shifted slightly, visible sign of discomfort. "Yeah... I do too." She hesitated, debating whether to say more or act oblivious.
Wish they'd just let them go already…" She bit back.
Yuri turned to her, a warm smile in place. "Me too."
×××
"Can't sleep?" Kade's voice cut through the dark quiet. He adjusted his position slightly, waiting for an answer.
Haze exhaled. "Wish it were that easy. I'm tired, but it feels like everything is being programmed. I couldn't quite tell why i feel this way but i do. And yet, somehow, I'm calm. Unshaken, even." His fingers tapped idly against the surface beneath him. "It's weird."
Kade thought for a moment. He wasn't great at comforting people, and he knew better than to pretend otherwise.
"Whatever happens… happens," he finally said. It wasn't much, but maybe it didn't have to be.
"You guys just go to sleep already!" From the tone, it was easy to detect—Ghent.
"Why aren't you asleep? Can't sleep too?" Haze turned around asking Ghent.
"Tch, spare me," he scoffed, sitting up. "Sleep won't change anything."
Kade, resting against the wall, glanced at him with a half-lidded gaze. "Something on your mind?"
"What do you think?" Ghent asked reaching beside himself, fingers grazing the cool metal of the dagger he'd set down earlier. Picking it up, he let the blade catch the moonlight, its edge gleaming in the dark. It was beautiful, an ordinary beauty.
With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it up. The dagger spun in the air, a perfect rotation before dropping back down. He caught it effortlessly on his index finger, balancing it for a second before repeating the motion. Each toss, and spin seemed almost calculated yet he executed them with no thought of precision.
"Sighhh, this will be one hell of a night," Kade muttered to himself.
"Tell me… have you killed before?" Haze asked, his eyes following the moonlight as it strayed from the window into the poorly lit room.
A sharp 'hmph' tainted the quiet.
Kade shifted his attention from the question to Ghent, waiting. It wasn't meant for him, and he knew it.
Ghent exhaled through his nose, his expression unreadable. "You already know the answer," he said, his tone oddly calm. "Yet you still ask?" His fingers twirled the dagger absentmindedly, metal glinting in the pale light. "What are you hoping to hear?"
Kade wasn't sure where this was going, but he listened anyway.
"I expect nothing. I just asked," Haze said, voice steady.
Ghent spun the dagger once more, let it land edge-first on his index finger. This time, it bit into his skin. He held it there, he didn't flinch, watching as a single drop of blood welled up.
"I don't even need to ask," Ghent murmured. "I already know."
Ghent let the dagger drop, then caught it by the handle in one smooth motion. "Don't ask me that again."
A sigh slipped out from Kade. It wasn't loud, but in the quiet room under the moonlight it sure felt loud.
The sigh seemed to trigger Ghent. He turned, his voice low but anger evident. "What?"
Kade, leaning against the wall with his usual air of detached calm, let out a dry chuckle.
"You know… I never really understood this whole thing." His words caught Haze's attention, and Ghent's too. "This place. Why it feels like each of us here is unimportant, yet so important." He paused, shifting slightly. "The way they treat us, the selection process, the way they pay attention to our growth. It's all so… confusing."
Haze's gaze flicked to Kade, intrigued. Ghent, on the other hand, looked like he was two seconds away from snapping.
"Yeah, smartass," Ghent muttered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "That's because they're training us to be their soldiers. What do you think this is? Some kind of program to control the 'special gifted kids' who might one day mess up their precious order? Tch." He rolled his eyes, but the frustration was evident in his voice.
Kade didn't flinch. His gaze remained steady, his tone calm but pointed. "Maybe you should try looking beyond what you're shown."
Ghent stared at him for a long moment, his eyes narrowing. Then he glanced down at the dagger in his hand, fingers twitching slightly, the blade catching the faint light. For a second, it seemed like he might say something, or do something. But instead, he just laughed. It wasn't a happy laugh, mind you. It was the kind of laugh that held back hate
... resentment maybe.
Ghent placed the dagger on the floor deliberately, then without another word, he turned away from them and laid down. It was light outs for him.
Kade watched him for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then he turned to Haze, shrugged, and lay back down himself, leaving alone Haze who didn't seem anywhere close to falling asleep.
Looking up again and gazing at the reflection of the moon in the room he smiled.