Blood. The pungent metallic odor invaded her nostrils as she neared the house at the end of the clearing. Blood cascaded casually down the front steps onto the muddy ground. She managed to reach the house without hurling the mornings contents of her stomach. Her hands grasped the metal orb firmly keeping it in place.
"Run away." Her voice spoke mentally as her hands grasp on the doorknob to weaken. She didn't have to do it, she could easily walk away like the coward she is. Why would she do that to herself? Why should she let her young mind be burned by the images of her parents on the floor dead? Her mind reeled at the thoughts of their bodies laying on the floor in a mess of red. Fear trickled down her spine causing her to back away from the house. Her pathetic fear of the natural process they had called life. With death being the last stop on the way out.
"I can't do it! I can't do it!" Her brain kept repeating in an endless cycle as her legs pumped faster gaining distance from the house. Anything to get away from the house she called home for the last nine years of her life.
2 weeks later: Suna
Her knuckles tapped against the wooden door lightly barely conceiving a sound, no answer came to the door. She knocked again harder this time causing her to wince for the cut on her knuckle. The door opened to show an elderly woman standing there with a dirty apron.
"Hello dear, do you need help?" She asked while brushing away the stray crumbs of bread off her apron.
"Yes. Please." The girl stated with desperation clear in her voice as she lifted her eyes to meet the gaze of the woman who opened the door even further to welcome her inside.
The inside of the building was warm and cozy, the girl watched as the woman returned to the open kitchen to stir something in a pot. The odor of vegetables being boiled to mush rose around the room,and the woman looked back at the girl who stood there staring at the pot with a hungry look.
"I suppose you're an orphan? Where are you from?"
The girl nodded her head slowly while her attention fixated, was on the simmering aroma that danced around the room. The scent teased her stomach as she felt her stomach whine and grumble with distress.
"Dinners gonna be ready later sweetie. Why don't you put your stuff in the room with the other girls? They're quiet now so they gotta be playing with each others hair. You should meet them they're all very sweet." The woman said as she wiped down the counter with a kitchen rag leaving it cleaner than before.
"Come on, let me give you a proper introduction." She said as she led the girl down the end of the dimly lit hallway to a door that had the lights on inside. The woman smiled down at the girl giving her a small boost of courage.
"Don't worry they won't bite." She said as a girl with two long pig tails opened the door. The girl looked straight away at the newcomer, taking in her features. She opened the door even wider to show the rest of the girls who had arrived in their home.
"Lady Kaya who's that?" A girl with blonde hair asked as she pushed her way to the front staring hard at the newcomer.
"Well, she's shy and hasn't told me her name yet." Lady Kaya said lightly pushing the girl towards the group.
"Hey, what's your name?" The blonde girl asked as she gripped her friends shoulders to support her weight as she leaned forward. The girl looked back towards the blonde girl giving her a small smile.
"Ava, my name is Ava."
"Just Ava huh?" A lanky girl with glasses remarked as she leaned with one arm on the door frame. Ava gave her a side glance memorizing her face with a small smirk.
"Yes, just Ava."
"Well then come on in just Ava." The blonde girl stated as she let go of her friends shoulders and dragged Ava inside the room.
"Girls dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes!" Lady Kaya called out as she returned to the kitchen giving her vegetable soup her undivided attention. The blonde girl shut the door lightly as every girl stared at Ava, the new comer. The blonde girl went up to her holding out her left hand with her right hand in her shorts. Ava grasped the girls hand firmly giving it a light shake.
"I'm Miyuki, welcome." Miyuki the blonde girl stated as her hand fell back to her side.
"So Ava, do you wanna meet the group or should we do that after dinner?" Miyuki asked as she walked around the group of girls.
"Now I suppose." Ava said as she pushed her hair behind her ear giving her full sight of the eleven girls surrounding her.
"That's Saki, she's the youngest and the quietest." Miyuki said as she pointed to small girl with bird-like features.
"And this is Shisu." She continued pointing to the girl with glasses. Shisu smirked at Ava making the newcomer feel a little intimidated.
"That's Rai." A girl with dark hair waved at Ava as she played with another girl's hair braiding it in intricate patterns.
"The girl's hair she's braiding is Aria." Ava flashed a smile at them to which Aria had returned, but Rai did not.
"She's-" Miyuki began but stopped when a girl with short auburn hair waved her hand in front of Miyuki's face impatiently. Miyuki grimaced pushing the girl's hand away from her face.
"This is-"
"Hi, my name is Hana." The girl with auburn hair said giving a full extended hand to Ava who took her hand and gave her a firm shake. Hana gave had a look about her, it spelled diva in big bold letters. Ava took mental note of this, she didn't need to be in the middle of drama now. Ava had met the rest of the girls giving them all smiles , while others firm handshakes. The girls began to surround the newcomer asking her odd questions from time to time.
"Hey Ava why are your eyebrows so thick?" Hana asked as she stared at the girls eyebrows. Ava immediately pushed her hands on her forehead feeling her cheeks turn pink.
"Stop it Hana, I mean they not that bad." Miyuki said putting one arm around Ava giving her a light squeeze on her shoulders.
"Here, let me see." Another girl named Akemi said as she wiggled in front of Ava trying to pull her hands down from her face. Ava eventually put her hands down and flushed even deeper now that every girl could see the thick eyebrows she bore.
"Hana you're over reacting! They're thick but not that bad. Gosh you made her feel like she has a monstrous eyebrows! Don't worry they're not that bad." Akemi finished giving Ava a toothy smile as she pushed the rest of her hair out of her face.
"Th-Thanks."
Later
Ava eyed her soup hungrily seeing the carrots and cabbage float around in the golden brown liquid. She took her spoon and picked up a slice of soup soaked carrot and blew on it allowing the morsel to cool down a little. Ava sat next to Miyuki and across from Shisu. Miyuki was about to take another bite but paused giving Ava a questioning look.
"Ava where are your bags?" Miyuki stated loud enough for Lady Kaya to hear. Lady Kaya swallowed her spoonful of soup allowing a bit to dribble down her chin.
"I didn't get to take anything." Ava lied feeling the weight of the groups eyes on her. She began to look into her bowl of soup suddenly interested in the carrots slices floating in the golden liquid.
"Yo-you see my house burned down with my parents inside." Ava said feeling her cheeks burn pink. Was this going to be her first lie with a group of new people?
"How did you even manage to get to Suna?" Lady Kaya asked narrowing her eyes slightly at the girl.
"My father, he taught me how to fish so I took his pole, but it broke on the way here. It was in the shack we have, so it didn't burn. The only other thing I have is this shawl around my waist."
"So your father taught you to fish?" Lady Kaya repeated tasting the words in her mouth.
"Yeah, and he taught me the basics of survival."
"So you have no clothes at all?" Miyuki asked as she played with her soup, stirring it now and then.
"No, I just have this."
Dinner finished quickly with Lady Kaya washing the dishes the girls brought up for her. They cleaned the table top with the kitchen rags she had given them. Lady Kaya had told Ava they would go shopping for her tomorrow for some clothing. Ava had agreed, but feeling bothersome to the woman. Miyuki led her to the bedrooms. There were only four bedrooms. One had belonged to Lady Kaya while the other three adorn two sets of bunk beds in each room. Miyuki explained that Lady Kaya also had futons in case of they ever got over loaded with more children.
"Bottom bunk is mine you can have the top one. Rai and Saki also sleep in our room, they're probably using the bathroom now." Miyuki stated as she wiggled out of her pants leaving only her t-shirt on. Ava pulled her own pants down and folded them in a neat square letting it fall to the floor. She climbed the ladder up to her bed and got underneath the sheets. The sheets were cool and dry underneath her warm body. She was about to drift off to sleep when she heard Miyuki push her feet up against her mattress which lifted it a little. Ava sat up and looked over giving the girl a curious look. Miyuki gave her a grin and threw a hand in her hair pushing it off her forehead.
"Wanna talk? How old are you anyways?" Miyuki asked as Ava went back to lie down.
"I'm nine, you? "
"Me too, so why did you come out to Suna? They don't really like us girls. They say we're trouble makers...Or that's what my mommy said before she brought me here."
"Your mommy just gave you away?" Ava asked as she leaned over the bed again to see Miyuki crying. Her stained face with tears which came flowing out heavily. Her breathing became labored and she whimpered slightly as she nodded her head. Ava pulled off her covers and began to climb down the ladder.
"Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah, I g-guess so."
A whimper came out accompanied by more tears. The tears spilled down her cheeks wetting strands of her hair. Ava sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her up into a tight embrace. Sobs wracked through Miyuki's body as she wet Ava's shirt with hot tears.
"I-I'm sorry." Miyuki said as her voice cracked slightly at the end. Ava patted her back and held her tighter.
"It's okay it just water, it dries quickly."
Rai and Saki came in after Miyuki's episode of crying seeing that both were fast asleep.
"Rai-chan do you think she's nice?" Saki asked the older girl who was entering her bottom bunk.
"She seems like a good girl. Yeah why not?"
"Oh okay. Good night Rai-chan." Saki said with a loud yawn stretching out her skinny limbs.
"Good night."
So tell me what you think ya? I hope it was at the very least better than last time. Please rate and review honestly! Thank you for reading and a special thanks to my Beta! I know I suck with commas...