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 Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 12:10 am
Amai was waiting for her mother to come pick her up when she heard it. Faint, but there, the sounds of someone trying not to cry. The play area was mostly empty, but after looking around she could tell that it wasn’t coming from inside the room. No, it was coming from outside… maybe. Curious, and a little concerned, the little hybrid made her way to the door to peer outside. Nothing… Not a person around, and she couldn’t really hear the sniffling either. Frowning, she closed the door and moved back to where she had been in the room before- sitting on one of the beanbags a ways away from the lockers.
There it was again… the faint sound of sniffling. She looked around, trying to pinpoint where the sound was coming from - ah, behind her? But there were only lockers there. Concern growing, she shuffled over to them and began to listen harder. Her mother always said that it was good to help people when they were sad, and this person sounded sad! Whoever they were.
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 12:11 am
Fleur didn’t understand. Why were they so mean? The caretakers and teachers were fine with it, so how come those kids weren’t? They’d even gone so far as to trap her in a locker she’d hidden in to get away from them. Was she ever going to get out? What if she wasted away in there? The fear left her voiceless, outside of a few small sniffles and hiccups every so often. She’d surely starve to death in there. No one was going to find her!
All because she wore her pajamas everywhere. Weird kids stood out, she knew this, but without them she felt exposed and like she might disappear! Other clothes didn’t cover enough- what if she poofed and never came back? Blown away because her clothes couldn’t keep her together. The pajamas covered everything but her face- so she was definitely not going to disappear. Most of her body was tucked inside, after all!
She told them that, but they just laughed. Now they made a point to pull at her pajamas and try to rip them when the caretakers weren’t looking. Fleur was always too scared to say anything about it to them- and now she was trapped. A slightly louder sob made its way out of her, though she still couldn’t get herself to speak….
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 12:12 am
Ah! There! Amai gasped quietly as the locker in front of her emitted a quiet sob. She stared at it for a few moments, waiting for another sound… but nothing came. Well- she wasn’t one to wait. Mama always said to just go for it! So she did. The hybrid reached up and removed the lock from the handle- it wasn’t even fastened! Keeping it in one clawed hand, she pulled the door open… and then gasped slightly at the sight of what was inside.
A geist! A scared geist, huddled up in a little ball, looking like maybe she thought she’d be stuck in there forever. How had she gotten stuck inside the locker like that? Was it on purpose…? Was she being bullied?!
”Are you okay?” Amai extended her free hand, using her best concerned tone as her brows knit together worriedly. How long had she been in there??
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 12:15 am
A gasp, and then the sound of someone fiddling with the lock… Fleur’s hopes raised, despite thinking better of it, but thankfully it wasn’t a waste. The door opened, and she flinched a little from the sudden change in light. Blinking, she took a few minutes to adjust before realizing she was being spoken to- and a hand was being extended her way. A clawed hand. A clawed, yet fluffy hand… Dazed, she stared at it for a few moments before finally reaching out with one of her own hands to take it. She wasn’t going to die in the locker after all!
”Y-yes…” She heard herself answering without really meaning to- she hadn’t even given that any thought. Was she okay? No, not really. She was hungry, her legs hurt- and she really needed to use the bathroom… how long was she in there for, anyway? She’d gone in around the beginning of lunch time….
After a few moments of awkward silence, she realized she was still holding the other girl’s hand and quickly let go of it. ”Th-thank you…”
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 12:16 am
Amai’s worry only increased as she helped the girl out of the locker. She seemed really out of it...and wobbly on her feet. Did she need her hand for support? Amai would be happy to provide it! She looked around, searching for a caretaker… they should be by soon, right? They weren’t as attentive with this class since they were all about to be juniors- it was preparation for not being supervised as closely! But in cases like this, it really blew up in their faces…
She blinked as the girl pulled her hand away, but smiled. ”You sure? You seem kinda wobbly… What’s your name? I’m Amai.” Despite the girl’s response that she was okay, Amai was definitely not going to take her eyes off of her. No one that pale was okay as she was trying to make it seem. Unless… she was naturally that pale……
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 12:17 am
Fleur nodded, taking some time to make sure she was steady. Oh, she was so hungry… would the kitchen let her have a snack…? Just something to tide her over ‘til dinner? She hoped so, but at the same time she didn’t want to go ask the chef- he was scary… Ah- her rescuer was talking again. Fleur looked back to her- though not directly at her eyes. ”U-um… I’m just h-hungry, I think…” She chewed at her lip, worried that might backfire on her… This girl was nice so far, but a lot of people had been nice at first and then turned out to be mean, later.
”Fleur... “ Well, names were accessible to most people, so even if she hadn’t answered her she was sure that Amai would be able to find out anyway. Amai… that was a nice name… hopefully she was nice for real and not just pretending.
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 12:18 am
Hungry! Amai’s eyes widened for a moment before she nodded a couple of times. ”I have some snacks you can eat!” Without really thinking about it, she took Fleur’s hand again and pulled her over to a beanbag. She then lightly pushed the girl down onto it before bounding off to find her lunchbox- she hadn’t finished all of her lunch, who would’ve thought it would come in handy? After finding it, she scurried back over to Fleur and then plopped down on a beanbag next to her. ”How long were you in there?? I’ll find a caretaker in a bit okay?” Amai opened up the box - well, temperature-safe bag - and then pulled out a couple of energy bars.
”Here! My Mama packed too many of them so I didn’t eat them all.” She grinned widely, fully expecting Fleur to take the bars from her without any fuss. After all, if someone was that hungry they’d readily accept food, right?
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 12:19 am
Before she knew what was happening, Fleur found herself getting pulled over to one of the beanbags. Ah- unknown territory, she was always too scared to come sit on them since they were usually really popular and a lot of the loud kids sat on them… Come to think of it, hadn’t she seen Amai chatting up some of them…? She was pushed over, and landed with a soft ‘oof’. At least it didn’t hurt… these were actually quite comfortable. Amai said something about snacks, and she started to protest- but the hybrid had already scurried off to get her lunchbox.
Was this really okay..? She knew grown-ups were nice, but usually other kids weren’t. This was weird… Amai returned and started digging through her box, then held out a couple energy bars. She’d never had them before, and the packaging looked really tempting but… Was this really okay? Should she really accept food from a stranger?
Fleur just… stared at the bars in silence for a few moments until Amai began to look confused. ”O-oh- uhm… I don’t kn-know how long... “ When it doubt, dodge the situation at hand. She’d just… answer Amai’s question instead of taking the food. Perfect.
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 12:20 am
She… didn’t know how long she’d been in there. Oh Amai was definitely going to tell a caretaker about this. Or at least her Mama! How could no one notice?? Technically Amai had never seen Fleur herself, but still! Caretakers were supposed to keep track of everyone. ”That’s no good at all. We gotta tell a caretaker about it okay? So it doesn’t happen ever again!” She nodded, expression saying that she was not going to back down on that.
Since Fleur hadn’t taken the bars, Amai just opted to set one down and then open the other for her. Maybe she didn’t know how to open the packaging…? It was really simple though… Whatever the reason, Amai was not about to let Fleur not eat after hearing how hungry she was and that she didn’t even know how long she’d been in the locker.
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 12:21 am
Oh, she’d just… opened it. Well, now Fleur couldn’t reject it. Wasting food was just not acceptable, after all. Nervously, she took the bar, and then nibbled a small bite off of it… Immediately the gravity of just how hungry she was set in and it became very hard to not just scarf it down in three bites or something. Goodness… she really was starving. Careful not to look too desperate, she nibbled away at the bar while Amai talked.
Tell a caretaker? About what happened? Oh no. That would make things worse! She’d tattled in the past and that was what got her in that mess in the first place! She shook her head, trying to think of a way to excuse that whole mishap as being her fault in the first place.
”N-no, no, it's okay. I-- um… It was an accident- really. It’s okay.” She waved a hand slightly, hoping that Amai would buy that lame… laaaaame excuse.
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 12:22 am
An accident. Amai couldn’t help but level Fleur with a gaze she’d learned from her mother- the ‘are you kidding me’ look that Suzume used on very special occasions. Like when a student made a lame excuse or that time that Amai had said a herd of wild kidden ate her homework and that’s why she hadn’t turned it in…. Yeah, no, she didn’t buy it for a second. ”But if it was an accident how did the lock get on it?” She tilted her head- and Fleur was about to respond-- but just then Amai’s mother appeared in the doorway. Worst. Timing. Ever!!
”Ah… I gotta go. I’ll come check on you tomorrow, okay! Here, take this.” Amai pushed the other energy bar into Fleur’s hand, then hopped up and bound over to her mother. She would’ve dallied a little, but Suzume had told her they had a really important meeting to go to as soon as she arrived. This would have to wait…But it would get addressed!
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 12:23 am
Fluer shuddered, flinching just slightly at the look Amai had given her. Found out. Didn’t even stand a chance… it was a lame excuse, anyway. Thankfully, she didn’t have to justify it. An adult- presumably Amai’s mother- had appeared and without even saying anything, had summoned Amai to her. Well… that was quick. She numbly took the bar that was put into her hand, and watched as the fluffy hybrid disappeared through the door with her mother.
She sighed, crumpling a little in the beanbag. Amai was going to tattle on her behalf, she knew that… but it didn’t make her feel any better about it. Surely she’d get in trouble even if she hadn’t been the one to tell.
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