Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep . . .

I groaned and covered my head with a pillow, trying to drown out the noise. For a moment I thought I was in my cozy castle bedroom, but then I remembered where I was and bolted upright. I blinked to adjust my vision before looking down at my clock.

"6:00 AM"

Why did I have to wake so early? Although I suppose in this place you never know what's going to happen. But still, why now? The clock was still beeping incessantly, so I picked it up and started looking for a way to shut it up. I've never had a beeping clock before; back when I was living in the castle usually a servant would wake me up, and they knew when to shut up. I finally found a switch and turned the clock off.

The room I was living in was small, grey and quite drab, with metal walls and a small window that let in a little of the dawning light. A small screen next to my bed flickered with the message," Head to the meeting room, 6:30."I got out of bed and looked into the mirror on the right side of my room. I had probably moved around a lot in my sleep because now I had an old-fashioned bedhead. My hair was strewn all over the place like a plate of spaghetti, so I got a comb from the wardrobe and smoothed out the knots, before applying some hair gel to keep my bangs in one piece.

I turned to the door. The occupant of the next room, my dear friend Dune, was probably sleeping soundly. I didn't know if it was just me that had to go, or if the message concerned him too, so I decided to go check on him. After all, I was his friend, and if he wasn't looking out for himself, I would be a good friend and look out for him. I knocked on his door, but after a minute of not answering I busted it down with a gust of wind, which in hindsight I probably shouldn't have done. His room was a mess, as usual, having clothes flopped around the wardrobe and pillows and sheets on the floor. Dune was still in bed, but at the sound of his door falling he squinted drowsily at it and mumbled, "Go bother me in an hour . . ." before drifting back to sleep again. I glanced at the screen beside his bed and it read the same message as mine.

"Uhhhh, Dune? I think you should probably-"

"I'll clean up later."

I agreed that he probably should clean up, his room was a mess after all. But that wasn't important now, so I pressed on.

"Yeah I know Dune, but you really need to wake up right now, we have a mission together!" I yelled desperately. The reply I got was not what I expected.

"Ohhhhh, you're not the janitor. Sorry about that." He sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes. "Windris . . ? Why are you here?"

I stared bemusedly at him before replying. "I came to wake you up. We have to go to the meeting room together."

"Meeting room?" He obviously wasn't awake yet.

"Just...look at the monitor beside you."

Dune looked at the monitor and realization hit his face. "Okay," he sighed heartily, "let's get this over with. If you don't mind leaving my room for five minutes. I got stuff ta do!"

"Sure," I answered. I turned to the door. "By the way," I asked, "don't you have one of those beeping clock thingies too?"

Dune was itching his ear with his foot. "Oh no, I threw it out the window on the first day." he blurted without a shred of remorse."It was kind of bugging me, so I guess my reflexes acted up."

I turned my attention to the window. And sure enough, the window with a small, rectangular hole in it. I facepalmed.

"Alright," I sighed, "I'll leave you to it." I didn't know what he was going to do afterwards, but I had my own matters to attend to. I left his room and returned to my own, where I changed from my fluffy pyjamas into a more practical bodysuit. I slipped on a pair of aviator goggles, as well as high boots and gloves, and I was ready to go.

This outfit is called the 'Battle Ready Outfit', or at least that what Tails said when he gave it for me. The leader of the Freedom Fighters, Sally Acorn, suggested I bring it with me when I came to Freedom HQ. I pursed my lips as I recalled the events of a few days ago, but then the clock stole my eye. "6:20 AM". I had to get moving.

I skidded out the door, locked it swiftly, and started down the hallway. I considered going the common bathroom to brush my fangs, but ultimately decided against it; I was already running late as it was! Halfway through I spotted Dune running behind me, so I slowed down to chat with him. He was still wearing his signature red bandanna, but it was contrasted with a short, cerulean cape. Like myself, he was also wearing a bodysuit, but at the hips, it turned into a pair of knee-long jeans, coloured the same cerulean as his cape.

"Glad to see you decided not to sleep it off," I said with a smile, "I was beginning to get scared that I would have to convince you to get out of bed."

"I really was gonna go back to sleep after I sorted out my hair, but I couldn't stand looking at my room anymore. So I left. And at this point, you're probably the only person I want to be told off by."

I looked at him, puzzled.

"That was a compliment." He responded dryly

"Oh right," I answered while rubbing my head nervously. I really didn't get that it was a compliment, at least by the tone of his voice. "Nice outfit, by the way."

Dune returned my confused looks, "Thought you would say that. This outfit...it's pragmatic, he said while fidgeting with his bandanna, "and I like the colours too, since it's not rainbow vomit, but I don't know about it being nice." He began to scratch his back quite hard.

I chuckled softly. "You'll get used to it, sand boy. Sooner or later you're gonna have to start wearing a shirt, and personally I think you look way more handsome in one." I teased. I received an annoyed look from him in return, but I noticed a slight rosy tint had graced his cheeks.

Eventually, we passed a clock in this eternal hallway. It read 6:27.

"Shoot! We aren't gonna make it." I exclaimed. I turned to my friend, who was grinning slyly. A tendril of sand intruded my view of him, followed by a few more, and soon enough the tendrils were spiralling around him and he started to accelerate.

"What are you doing!?" I half-yelled.

"Speeding up!" he chirped, "Last one to the meeting room is a rotten egg!"

His enthusiasm is so cute! I slowed down and felt myself beginning to smile. Once I came to a halt, I stood there with closed eyes as my wings spread and a breeze built up in my hands; if I wanted to catch up with Dune I'd better start with a bang. Then I leapt; my wings poised ready to catch the wind emanating from the rest of my body, and shot forward at incredible speed.