Chapter 8 Amber Tenebris

Early on in the morning, a downpour fought against a certain window, producing loud drips and splashes.

Then, the person who was sleeping within the safety of the window awoke. Their long, black hair stuck to their face.

And with a yawn, they took a glance at the window, which is drenched with rain.

"..."

And after another yawn, they got out of bed. But before their barefoot could touch the floor, they searched the floor for their slippers, under the carpet, under the bed and sheets, across the room, but despite their efforts, they only ever found one.

With a deadpan look, they fixed their bed and got out of their room, all while wearing only a single slipper.

And after another yawn, they found themself in front of a mirror in what looked to be a bathroom, which immediately cracked in half right at the moment they looked at it.

"..."

After slowly blinking her eyes, they found themselves staring at the set of cat ears resting atop their head. But then, with a few adjustments to their long, black hair, they managed to hide their cat ear perfectly. All while keeping their normal ears nice and clean.

After a couple more blinks, they started at their own amber-colored eyes. They look tired and sleepy, like the rest of their face and body.

But after washing their hands and face, Amber's face regained some life and color, but it is still very bland.

After leaving behind the broken mirror and walking down the stairs, they found Amber found herself yawning across the kitchen. And eventually, she found a bright yellow piece of paper on the counter.

And after picking it up, Amber read it silently after rubbing her sleepy eyes. And after reading its contents, she crumbled it up before throwing it towards the trashcan across the room.

"..."

It landed on the rim of the trash can, but it decided not and fell outside, causing Amber to just stare at it with a blank look.

After moving on, Amber found herself in front of a stove with some eggs. After grabbing a pearl-like object from one of the drawers, she placed it within the stove, causing its fire to ignite.

After heating up the pan and some oil, Amber then tried to crack an egg, which she, fortunately, did without issue.

But when she poured it onto the pan, only the white of the egg made it in, with no sign of the delicious yolk anywhere.

"..."

With a blank stare into nothingness, Amber decided to just take it and proceed with the cooking.

After serving it on a plate with a knife and fork, Amber went over to the counter to grab some bread from a container. But when she opened it, the only thing that greeted her was the end piece of the loaf.

"..."

And with a blank, apathetic look, Amber grabbed the remaining slice before grilling it on the pan she just used.

After making herself some breakfast, Amber took a seat at a table for two.

And as she ate, she reached for a glass of water, feeling the warm temperature the moment she touched it.

"..."

After interrupting her breakfast due to her standing up, Amber made her way back to the kitchen before standing in front of a cone-like object.

After grabbing it and pointing the open end at her glass, she shook it a couple of times, causing small balls of ice to fall out of the cone before dropping into her drink.

And with a sluggish walk, she made her back to her table to finish her breakfast. Which she did without further complication.

And after cleaning up the dishes, Amber walked over to a bookshelf and got herself a book to read. But as she did so, she found an old bookmark falling out of it.

After picking it up, she crumbled the barely intact bookmark before attempting to throw it at the trash can again, which she failed without question, missing completely.

"..."

With a blank look, Amber ignored the pathetic excuse of a shot and made her way towards a comfy seat.

And with a sudden fall, Amber now found herself within the soft embrace of the chair. But when she decided to raise her feet onto a small table, all of its legs broke simultaneously the moment her legs touched it.

"..."

Without any reaction whatsoever, Amber let her legs rest on the remains of the table as she went ahead and opened her book.

But before she could read the first word, a bell rang.

"Ring! Ring! Ring!" Said a familiar-sounding voice alongside the actual ring of the bell.

"..."

Then, with a set of slightly slanted eyebrows, Amber violently closed her book before stomping her way towards the front door.

And when she opened it, she was greeted by a certain redhead, who said. "Wakey wakey, it's time for school."

"..."

Instead of replying with words, Amber just stood there in silence with her mouth slightly open as she wore a confused expression.

With a cheeky grin, Rose said. "Are you thinking about the rain? It went away to come again another day."

"..."

As she remained in complete silence, Amber's eyes squinted as the sun murderously shone its light down onto Amber's eyes.

But then, Rose continued. "Because there is no rain, there's is now school."

"..."

Despite being in silence, Amber wore a painful look as she slowly shook her head.

"What do you mean, no?" Rose asked as she mimicked Amber's disapproving sway.

"Oh, by the way, in case you didn't look at your clock, school starts in about two hours. Why don't we take a 'stroll' around the city in the meantime?" Rose said with a mischievous grin.

To which Amber replied by, simply closing the door on Rose's grinning face. But then, a mere second later, a frustrated scream came from Amber's side of the door. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Hearing Amber squeal behind the door, Rose giggled before saying. "I'll give you five minutes to freshen up."

Ten minutes later, Rose and Amber were now walking through the rather empty streets of Viridis.

With a playful tone, Rose asked. "Amber~, are you mad~?"

To which Amber replied. "This sucks! You suck! This place sucks! Everything sucks!"

"I'll take that as a no."

And as Amber continued to sulk angrily, Rose pointed at a store while asking. "Did you eat yet, Amber?"

"Eh, 'did you eat yet?', hehehe, I hate you." Amber mocked before returning to her sulking.

With a mischievous grin, Rose playfully asked. "Amber~..."

"No."

"Amber~..."

"Shut up, Rose!"

"Amber~..."

"Rose~ Shut up~"

"Amber~, what do you call a belt made out of watches~?"

"No."

"A waist... Of time~! It was a waste of time, Amber~ A waist of time~!"

"...no."

"Give a man a box of matches, then he will be warm for a couple of hours. But set him on fire, he will be warm for the rest of his life~"

"Pfft...! That's horrible!"

"Knock, knock!"

"No."

"Amber, someone is knocking at the door."

"No."

"Knock, knock!"

"..."

"Knock, knock!"

"..."

"Knock, knock!"

"... Fine, who is there?"

"Fitness."

"Fitness?"

Then, Rose formed the smuggest of looks, causing Amber to feel nervous and anxious.

"Rose, are you... Not going to say the punchline?"

"I'm going, to be honest with you... I don't know either."

"What?!"

"Yeah, whenever I go to ask them what the punchline is, they always just smile smugly at me before sighing, 'you are too innocent.'"

"Then why did you say it to me if you didn't know the ending?!"

"So we could suffer together."

"I hate you."

"I hate you too."

As Rose and Amber walked together with a smile, Amber then heard a voice say. "This is a hostage situation, blah, blah, blah, you know the rest. Give us your valuables"

Then suddenly, Amber turned to Rose, causing Rose to ask with a confused expression. "What's wrong? Did you forget something?"

"Uh, umm... Aah, I-I..."

As Amber stumbled at her words, Rose took a look at her before suddenly turning toward a direction without warning. And before Amber could react, Rose was already sprinting, all while saying. "I got it! Find somewhere safe!"

Without hesitation, Amber ran after Rose while saying. "Rose! What did I say about leaving me behind?! You are not my protector, you are my-"

But before Amber could finish her sentence, Rose was already gone.

"Ah, come on!"

And after a bit, finding herself completely exhausted, Amber was now standing before a young man and a girl about her age.

"Phew! Is anyone hurt?" She asked after catching her breath.

"No one was hurt, thanks to your friend intervening." Said the friendly young man.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Ah! Yes, my friend. Rose! You are supposed to take care of the victims first before going after the perpetrators!"

"What do you mean? I helped her stand up before going after this guy. Isn't that right?"

And after a few questions, Amber was counting. "One. Two. One. Two. One. Two."

And before her, was a young girl in a furry grey coat that matches the color of her eyes. And as she breathed in and out, she slowly formed a smile, causing Amber to smile as well.

"Are you okay now?" Amber asked with a smile.

"Yes. Thank you for saving me and Chrys." The girl in grey said.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Chrys? Isn't that-"

"Yes, that's me. My name is Chrys. Nice to meet you, miss?"

And after saying those words, Amber felt her heart drop to the ground, for the young man in front of her stared at her very soul with his golden gaze.

And after a bit of an intense walk, Amber breathed a sigh of relief as she handed an unconscious man over to the authorities.

But as she did so, another person was having a heated argument with Rose.

"How many times do we have to tell you, Titanian? This isn't your home, you have no authority here."

"Yes, that's why I'm handing him to you."

"Listen here, Peacekeeper. Just because you have that professor behind your back, does not mean you are better than us."

"It kinda does."

"What did you say, you little brat?!"

And as Rose continued to argue with people older than her, Amber's attention was dragged across the street the moment she heard a certain someone talk.

"I-I am so sorry. Pl-please, let them go..."

"Don't worry. I already handled it. Isn't that right, Beast?"

The moment the golden-eyed young man said those words, Amber froze, desperately trying to ignore or block the incoming thoughts that began resurfacing.

"Maybe, it's not me," Amber mumbled to herself.

"W-what do you mean, Beast?"

"I am referring to you, Miya. There is somebody else listening."

But the moment she heard these words, Amber felt her heart murdered as she slowly turned to take a peek across the street, only to see a certain young man staring at her.

"I know you are still thinking about it, don't. I'd hate to ask your father for an autograph."

The moment he uttered those words, Amber trembled in place, due to sheer terror, due to sheer intimidation, and a bit of anger and rage.