"Oh, Yukiya, I've been wandering around the school for a while, but I haven't found the girls' dorm. I don't suppose you could show me the way?" Stella asked, remembering why she had been running around so quickly.
The boy tilted his head before asking, "Don't you have a map?"
"I lost it while I was walking."
"Why ask me?"
Stella gave him her signature smile.
"Cause I want you to show me."
The boy shrugged his shoulders and nodded, before turning to the path and walking north. Scrambling after him, she followed the blue haired boy. It was a bit awkward of a walk. Any attempts she made to talk to him were met with uninterested short responses. By the time they got to, from what Stella could assume, was the girls' dorm, the sun had set. Once he walked her to the front door, he abruptly turned around. Reaching out, she caught a hold of his arm, making him jump slightly.
"Thank you, Yukiya."
"Yeah."
"I hope we get another chance to meet."
When he didn't respond, she felt a little depressed and turned to head in the dorm.
"Me, too." he murmured.
Stella looked back and smiled softly before walking through the front door.
The house mother, an old woman who seemed to always frown, berated her for a couple of minutes before sending her upstairs to her new room.
Opening the door, she found a girl, one or two years older if she had to guess. She had bright orange hair and sun-kissed skin.
"Hey, I'm your new roommate, Stella Carlevaro."
"Oh, Hi! I'm Amelia Nile." the girl beamed.
Stella smiled back, "I'm so relieved. After I met the house-mother, I was worried my roommate would be, uh, just as welcoming, but you seem really nice."
"Aw, thanks! And don't worry about the house-mother; she's like that with everyone."
"Good to know."
After that, Amelia offered to help her unpack her bags. As they worked, they talked about all sorts of things. Amelia talked about her younger sibling, all seven of them, and Stella told her about her life at the circus. When they were done, they got ready to go to sleep and then flopped down on their beds.
"Hey, Stella. I didn't even ask, but do you have any family? I mean, like blood related. Oh, but if that's a touchy subject, don't worry about it." Amelia asked, turning to face her.
"Oh, no. It's fine. I have a little brother. His name is Lucio, but we usually call him Lucy. He's about ten, now."
"Cool! Henry's about his age, and Jane's a year older. We should try to set up a way for them to hang out."
"Yeah, that'd be nice."
Despite her smile and optimistic tone, Stella knew it wouldn't be so simple. Normal people didn't join La Magnifique Merveille, or at least not for long. Those who were celebrated and adored in the circus were the same people who were despised and chased out of the towns they grew up in. The members of the circus didn't look human, were only partly human, or, in some cases, hadn't been human for a long time. The only other people who joined for the long run were the family members of those who were cursed, but even then, there were few.
Shaking her head to dispel the thoughts, she suggested that she and Amelia go to sleep. Her roommate agreed, promising to introduce her to more people during breakfast. With that to look forward to, Stella fell into a pleasant sleep.
Yukiya walked passed the other boys of his dorm, ignoring their whispers.
Until he overheard a part of it.
"Yeah, man. I'm telling you, the new girl's a hottie."
"I'm gonna try to find her during breakfast tomorrow!"
"Sorry, boys, I'm callin' dibs. Give me two days, and she'll be all mine."
At this comment, he stopped and faced the boys.
"You can't call 'dibs' on a person." he said, flatly.
"Oh, shut u-" the boy started, before he realized who had said it, "I-I mean, um, I, uh..."
"He's right, you know." added a golden-haired boy.
"E-Elias! We're sorry. We were being rude." apologized another boy.
Nodding in acknowledgement, the two boys walked to their room. As Elias set up his study materials Yukiya lied down on his bed.
"I'm a bit surprised." commented Elias.
"Hm?" Yukiya tilted his head.
"You normally wouldn't say anything, maybe just frown or shake your head."
Yukiya didn't say anything, just rolled over.
"I was just observing."
"Mm."
"Well, I'm gonna study. Let me know if you want to join me."
With that, he turned back to his notebook. After a few minutes, Yukiya turned back over. Looking at his forearm and remembering the scent of lavender and vanilla, he spoke up.
"She's a good person. She shouldn't have to have people talking like that about her."
At that statement, Elias' eyebrow's raised slightly in surprise. Then he smiled slightly.
"Well, then. I look forward to meeting her."
Yukiya nodded before shutting his eyes.
After some time, Elias turned out the lights and climbed into his own bed. By that time, the moon had risen pretty high in the sky. Yukiya frowned as heard it. Mixed with Elias' soft snoring, he heard it.
"Sprikuenall kohdu... Sriitanmera muruto..."
"Ra ho koradu... Stokunsa spira..."
Stella stirred. Opening her eyes slightly, she found it was still very dark. Turning her head, she looked out the window.
Is that a song?
She remained half awake, listening to the pretty song. Though she couldn't understand the words, she loved its grace and beauty. After some time, she fell back asleep to the lullaby of the mysterious song.
