5. A team in winter
This time she dreamed nothing.
Good, she was too tired to dream.
She woke up yawning, covered in blankets and lying on a soft bed.
Huh?
Where am I?
Name had a strange feeling of déjà vu, she was in a small room, with a wardrobe, bed, desk and walls completely made of wood, with a foggy window.
Plus the sound of someone snoring above her.
With one leg dangling, an unmistakable green-haired girl slept on the bed above her.
Name felt relieved.
There's Fera, everything is fine.
For a moment she thought it had all been a dream, but Fera was real, there with her. It was all real.
«Fera, Fera.» Name tried to shake her as much as possible without success.
She wore that crystal sunflower in her hair even when she slept.
Only then did Nome notice that it was broken, broken in half.
It must be something important to her.
But right now, she needed to know where she was.
With all the strength she had, she pulled Fera down grabbing her leg: the girl fell tumbling on her face, screaming.
It wasn't supposed to be like that.
«I'm sorry...»
Fera, awake, rose from the ground, red-faced.
«Don't worry! I was once thrown off a balcony because I didn't wake up. I'm used to it.» Fera told it with a smile, but Name worried that all those falls hadn't hurt her in the long term.
«Anyway ...You passed out yesterday, I managed to convince the third supervisor that you needed me by your side, so he put me in the winter regime with you.»
Name sat on the bed.
«Winter regime?»
«Yes, they divided all 48 into 4 groups, 12 in the winter regime, 12 in the spring, summer and autumn regime.»
Ah...
Name got up and went to look out the window: yes the landscape was covered with snow, they didn't call it a winter regime at random then.
The sun was just rising, making the white snow shine.
«You should wash. No offense. Your uniform and the Pass is in the bathroom.» she pointed to the wooden door at the back of the room, the other door near the beds was to lead out.
«Yeah..» she just said, Name really needed it.
She went into the bathroom, turning on the water -it took her a while to understand how it worked- fortunately hot, from the shower.
It was healing to get rid of the dried blood and grime.
The three leaves of destiny waited for her outside the shower, fluttering between themselves.
Name took the opportunity to look at her body, it looked like that of an undeveloped teenager.
She wished she knew how old she was.
I must go on.
Yes, she had to.
Looking for the answers always in the same place wouldn't help her, besides, she already had a clue and her dream had confided it to her.
Is it a good idea to talk to Fera about it?
She had made a deal, not to talk about the contract for information. It wasn't that bad.
But her dreams were something else, they were just hers, not even the pink lady was aware of them... probably.
I'll wait to get the same dream back, the woman will tell me what to do.
-
Her uniform was light but warm at the same time.
She put her white dress in a corner.
Finally she was wearing shoes, or rather, black ankle boots without heels, with cords, which reached above her ankles.
Then she wore black stockings up to the knee, which kept her warm.
A short black skirt and finally a sweater with long sleeves and a pale blue high collar, with only two blue oblique lines, on one there was a white writing on the left: winter.
Name lowered the annoying collar of her shirt and finally put on the last remaining object: a thin black bracelet that he put on her left wrist, set with a stone in the shape of a blue rhombus.
As soon as she clicked the small stone, a small blue screen opened before her eyes and a robotic voice began to speak.
«Welcome. This is the Pass number: 90389b-DE. " Nome didn't quite know what to do with it, so she clicked the stone again and the whole thing closed.
It was pretty intuitive.
The leaves of fate returned to her hair once they were dry.
Leaving the door, she saw Fera lying on the third bed in the room, with a yellow screen in front of her.
«Hey Name! Tell me your Pass number.»
Fera was wearing the same uniform as Name, except that she was wearing pants and not a skirt. Furthermore, the stone of her Pass was yellow.
The two girls exchanged the Pass number, Fera explained it was a convenient way to talk to distant people.
Fera made Name two tails, under her ears, comfortably gathering her hair.
«Oh, wait.» she turned around for a moment, holding a thin red ribbon in her hand.
Fera tied the leaves of fate together with the ribbon, which she then tied to a lock of Name's hair in a small bow.
«They shouldn't run away.»
Finally they both left the room.
The corridor they entered was always wooden, with many doors similar to the one they had come out of, but each had a number on the right.
Both girls went down the spiral stairs at the end of the hall.
«Open up!» a girl was knocking loudly a few meters from them.
Many people were agitated, some were wearing uniforms, others were changing.
The spiral staircases rolled into a stone tower, illuminated by the snow that shone outside.
At the bottom of the staircase they found themselves in a room, almost empty, with a twelve-seater table filled with food.
This room was also made of wood, with a fireplace at the back, surrounded by armchairs and two other doors on either side.
Looking at the food, only now Name realized how hungry she was.
She didn't even realize she was drooling.
The only other person was a boy sitting at the back, with his head turned, bored drinking some orange drink.
She sat down next to the boy and Fera after her began to help herself.
Even Name made no excuses and filled the plate in front of her with food, most of which she didn't even know.
She didn't care what it was, it was all delicious.
At least while she ate, all those fearful thoughts disappeared.
«You two eat like animals.»
Both Name and Fera turned in unison, their mouths full and dirty.
Name recognized him immediately from the ruby eyes. He was the boy with the blood sword. The one who killed Miki and her ... not brother.
Name immediately felt sad, looking down.
I didn't even know who that boy was, I just believed he was Miki's brother.
Yes, Name had misjudged both Miki and, perhaps, the swordsman. This, however, did not take away what he had done.
To Name he still seemed menacing and gloomy and scary.
Still, she spoke.
«What's your name?» obviously her words were not understood, given her mouth full of food.
Fera, however, intervened.
«That's true, what's your name, kid?» she said with a smile. Yes, Fera was much better at talking.
The glass in the boy's hand cracked.
«Kid?» clearly, he didn't like that term.
«Uh oh, he must be angry. Mission failed.»
Fera patted her on the shoulder and then continued to fill her plate, some people started to enter the room.
First a shorter boy than Name and then a girl with freckles.
«Anyway my name is Fera, she's Name.»
The boy stopped glaring at Fera and looked at her, she expected some threat or glare instead he smiled maliciously.
«What kind of name is Name?» he chuckled putting down his nearly broken glass.
Despite hurting another person, he protected her from Miki's attack.
He wasn't so evil... but he still killed someone.
But he saved her.
Name, relaxed, giggled too.
«It's not my real name. It's just that I don't remember mine and didn't want to give myself a name that belonged to someone else.»
The boy stared at her, snorting.
«It's stupid anyway.»
Without realizing it, the table was completely filled with people. Only one seat was missing at the head of the table.
If we are 12, who is the 13th?
Name shuddered at the thought that it was the pink lady, but instead a man came through a door on the side of the room and an annoying ticking.
«I don't have time, I never have time.» he muttered, sitting at the head of the table.
«Well! I'm the fourth supervisor, hired today, just call me Xulio, I don't have time.» the man began to take food from the table and to stuff himself.
He had a beard as gray as his hair, his face looked young, but was filled with wrinkles.
Nobody in the room spoke, at a certain point Mr. Xulio slammed his hand on the table.
«Come on, round of names. You» he pointed to a boy on the other side of the table, Name recognized him only now: it was the red-haired boy!
Are you ok?
For some reason she thought it hard, as if he too could read her thoughts.
Now that she could see him better, he looked really young with those big blue eyes and fine face.
«Leo.» he said with a grimace, not failing to glare at Name, who was staring at him.
«Come on, come on! The next one! I don't have time!» he said again, clapping his hand again and sinking his teeth into a stuffed toast.
Boys and girls of all ages began to say their names.
Name felt a little uncomfortable around the man.
He looked completely crazy, he was dressed in rags and kept staring at his clock that was making noise.
«Estelle.»
«Ross.»
«Hayden.»
«Lynn.»
«Aldien.»
Oh! I recognize this voice.
Name was not wrong: the blond boy of the barrier was not far from her. He still had that superior look.
Then another blow to the table, Mr. Xulio had taken his eyes off his watch and was looking at Aldien. The clock also seemed to go silent.
«Ah. You... Go ahead!»
The line of names continued, Name barely remembered four or five.
Why did Mr. Xulio stopped for Aldien? That "you" he had uttered was definitely full of hate.
«Fera.»
Name jumped, it was already her turn and she hadn't noticed.
«N-name.»
«Kein.»
Ah, so he's called Kein.
Mr. Xulio, once finished the tour, began to laugh.
«I got the most gross ones. Well. Make teams of three, you have ten minutes.»
Mr. Xulio simply walked away along with its ticking.
Gross? Why?
No wait, ten minutes?
The room, previously silent, filled with voices.
«Do you want to team up with me?»
«Please!»
And other similar things.
Name didn't know what to do, she turned to Fera, but she was already looking at the three people who were going out the door.
Aldien, the bad blond boy with another short girl, with short dark purple hair, whose name she didn't remember and the boy who was called Sky.
They went into the same door that Mr. Xulio had taken.
After the silence, the panic began again.
Name noticed that Kein had also joined the discussion and was trying to recruit a boy.
Name didn't move from her chair, she didn't quite know what to do.
Should I ask someone to join us? Who? Is it important?
Eventually five minutes passed and another team had been formed: the red-haired boy, Leo, the gloomy boy who sat next to Fera and Estelle, the girl who sat across from her with stars in her eyes.
«AAAAH!»
Name, along with all the others jumped in fear, those screams surely came from the door that had just entered Leo's team
What's beyond that door?
«That doesn't seem like a good sign.» it was Fera who spoke, stiff as never before.
None of the six dared to speak.
There remained Ross, Lynn, -almond-eyed and needle-fine black hair- and Hayden, the green-eyed boy, and Kein.
«Listen.» spoke the boy named Ross, he looked young, with dark skin and brown eyes.
«We put our qualities on the table. All right?»
Everyone nodded, Name wondered what they meant, there were 4 minutes left.
One after another the rest listed their qualities.
«Ross, unilementary. Rock.»
«Hayden, bilementary, Air and Metal.»
«Lynn, unilementary, Water.»
«Fera, unilementary, Nature.»
«Kein, no elements.»
Once more silence fell.
«What?!» almost everyone shouted.
«And you wanted us on your team !?» Hayden looked shocked.
Lynn at his side nodded furiously.
Kein ignored the allegations and turned his attention to Name.
«What about the girl with the three leaves of fate, what's your element?»
Uh?
Name seemed alienated.
Those things that Fera had done too, magic? Elements? Powers?
Do I have one? No ... I feel completely normal.
«I don't know ... I don't remember, but I don't think I have anything.»
«What?!» Fera also joined in the exclamation.
«Okay, this ... this complicates things.» Fera turned to think, but as soon as Ross turned once more, Lynn and Hayden had already disappeared behind the door: they too screamed.
We are the last ... what will happen?
Kein gripped the edge of the table.
«It all went wrong.» he spoke softly, but seemed about to explode.
«Yeah.» Fera looked completely lifeless.
«You are both useless. We won't even pass the first exam.»
«You are useless!» Fera reiterated, again on fire.
Name felt guilty for some reason.
«Uhm ... uhm ... Shall we go?»
Fera and Kein, her new team, followed her heartbroken.