Key Fragment Chapter: Sick Day
"I'll be fine Emma…"
It was just a cold; not that big of a deal. It was early morning— she was supposed to be tending the gardens with Edel, but that plan was looking as bleak as the grey weather outside. Distant thunder rumbled the Old Dormitory they called their home. Thankfully, Sharon saw it fit to mend the dilapidated sections of the building, making it as rainproof as possible— not a single leaking floorboard in sight.
"It's most certainly not fine, Fie," Emma said as she poked her forehead. "How many times do I have to tell you you can't just go farming monsters on your own while it's raining? Stay there and rest."
"But I'm fine— "
There it was. Her cute sneeze. Emma's now the third one to hear it after Rean under, funnily enough, the same circumstances. The snot on her nose dripped annoyingly down her mouth. She'd blow it but it was getting tiring after the bajillionth time; her sinuses won't clear up no matter how much she tried.
Okay… maybe she DID feel a bit 'not fine'.
"Don't worry," Emma said with a tender smile, "we'll come to visit you throughout the day. And if there's anything you need, just call Sharon."
"...Will I fail my classes, president?" she asked. The fake worry in her tone could choke a horse. How many times has she skipped class now?
Not as much as Crow's, she'd wager.
"Nonsense." With bravado as big as her bosom, Emma puffed out her chest and looked her straight in the eye. "Let me talk to the Instructors. I'm sure they wouldn't mind."
Head pounding, she laid down on the pillow, content on trusting her friend. Her very first, actually, among Class VII. Emma pulled the blanket over her as she rubbed silver hair. "Get some rest, Fie."
"Oh sure, I'll look after her. You didn't even need to ask," an irritated voice spoke from the floor. Celine jumped up to her sheets, acting as if she owned the place.
Emma laughed. "I know you would, Celine. THAT'S why I didn't ask."
"Sh-shut up…"
"Thanks, Celine," she said, petting the cat's ears.
A disgruntled feline huff was all she heard before her exhaustion lulled her to dreamland.
"...n't knock, dufus. You're going to wake her up."
"I— I suppose you have a point, Jusis."
Too late. Her eyelids slowly fluttered apart as she strained her ears to listen. The rain was drumming on the windows now, but she could still hear the pair of fiery, argumentative voices she'd recognize anywhere.
"Leave it with Sharon. Homework is the LEAST likely thing she needs right now."
"I know that! I just figured I'd offer my help, in case she needs to catch up."
"Ask her tomorrow. When she's BETTER."
"Tch… you don't see ME shouting in front of a sick person's room."
"Trust me. If they hired you in a hospital, they wouldn't need an alarm. Ever."
"Grrrr…"
"They're both idiots, seriously," Celine snarked, still sprawled across the bed. The voices through the door drifted away leaving her with only the pulsing headache and the anxiety of schoolwork.
Still, she smiled the tiniest bit. Maybe she'd take Machias on his offer. Was way easier than asking if she could copy it.
Lunchtime— she wasn't able to fall back asleep. The caress of her bed made her lazy, but the excessive water intake Emma prescribed to her necessitated the occasional trip to the toilet.
The dorm was quiet, as it should be. It was just second nature to her to mask her every movement in the silence. Most of the students should still be on the school premises; the weather making it unpleasant to eat outside.
Tiptoeing back to her room, she reached the stairs when a delectable aroma permeated the air. Following her nose led her to the lit kitchen, the sound of bustling chefs clanking inside. A fair maid danced gracefully through the wares while the blue-haired assistant tried her best to keep up.
Her stomach grumbled as the sumptuous fragrance of soup stock and pasta whetted her lips. Come to think of it, she hadn't had breakfast, huh?
She knocked once. Noticing her, the assistant smiled widely.
"Hungry?" Laura asked. She nodded in response. "Take a seat, Fie. We were just about to finish up."
She sat on the middle chair, her legs swinging in meager anticipation. A bowl of yellow soup was placed in front of her. Bits of poultry, vegetables, and thimble-sized macaroni swam in the golden broth and smelled of different herbs and spices along with chopped garlic and lemongrass. Her hand moved on its own, delivering a spoonful of steaming soup to her watering mouth.
Delicious— as good as it looked.
"Chicken and Ditalini soup," Sharon said. "Scientifically formulated to combat the common cold."
Laura wiped her cheek, though bits of flour had stuck to her chin. The various stains on her apron provided a clear contrast to Sharon's almost spotless one. "How is it?"
She beamed. His soups weren't as good as theirs… but it reminded her of her dad.
Afternoon now, she was getting bored. The rain continued to pour so that probably meant bum for the sports clubs. Particularly for a certain blonde geek.
Right on cue. A double-tap knocked on her door. "Fie, I'm coming in."
She hadn't even answered when Alisa barged inside, shaking her head. She was still wearing her lacrosse uniform. How bored was she?
"Hey, hey-ho!" the small girl exclaimed from behind Alisa. Millium bounced up next to her bed like a hyperactive puppy. "Whatcha doin', Fie?"
Nothing of import. For once, she actually got through a couple of pages of homework on her own… with some big thanks to the math formulas Machias had scribbled to the side. Emma stickered in page numbers for books that could help answer the essay questions, and Jusis had kindly made a bulleted list for her of all the topics they discussed in history class.
Nothing of import at all.
"Elliot couldn't make it because of practice, but we wanted to give you this," Alisa said. In her hand was a quartz the size of her thumb, and a small rectangular device.
Alisa grinned proudly, "That's a memory quartz of all the recorded performances from the Wind Orchestra. Elliot said the music might help you rest better. Just plug it into this device and you're good to go."
"And don't worry about the flowers!" Millium chimed up. On the second inspection, her cyan hair seemed to be damp— barely towel-dried. "Gaius and I took care of them. They're safe and dry from the rain! Edel also said you should get well soon or the flowers will miss you— whatever THAT means."
Doubt a day away would warrant the flowers to miss her. The gifts were nice, but embarrassingly so. She'd never admit that they made her feel giddy.
Evening— she was finally able to get some shut-eye. The ringing of her ARCUS woke her up, however. She wanted to ignore it, and given her condition, she had an excuse not to answer. That was until she remembered what time it is.
8:00. She grabbed it before he could hang up. "Rean?"
His voice was ragged, yet had a calm and gentle coolness to it. "I heard you were sick— are you okay?" he asked.
"I am now," she said with a lip.
"...was that a pick-up line or what?"
She giggled. "A bit of both…"
A bit of both was fine. Knowing that he was worried was all the medicine she needed. Her headache was nearly gone, and she felt she could take a jog. The beating storm outside and the thought of an angry Emma convinced her otherwise.
"Well… that's good— I should let you sleep…"
"How's Crossbell?" It's been a week now since Rean went there under government orders. She kinda missed her 'Ashen Chevalier'.
"Same old, same old."
"C' mon. Tell me something…" she said in a way that would make Rean know that she was pouting.
"All I got are boring military stories. Stuff you'd find in a newspaper, probably."
"It'll help me sleep~."
"...Alright then."
Laying her head back down, she purred. Her eyes closed on habit as she listened to Rean's soft voice through the thumping of rain.
"...Filia…"
A mutter caused her ear to flick. Opening her eyes greeted her with the near pitch-black of the ceiling. Midnight, if she would guess. She remembered falling asleep talking to Rean.
She did not remember there being a sloven instructor comatose by her bedside— though fortunately not because of alcohol.
"...get well soon, Filly…" Sara mumbled again.
She smiled. She hasn't heard that name in a while now. It was a charmingly insulting nickname Sara gave her back when they first met. It only took her give-or-take a few years before she found out 'Filly' was another term for 'baby horse'.
Neither of them has told the others how they really met, nor her real name — they were okay with that. A happy secret kept only between the closest of jaeger friends.
It didn't really matter much. They were together now. Always, and for the foreseeable future. As a family, as sisters, as Instructor and student.
And as soon-to-be fellow Bracers.
…
"Stop snoring, Sara."
She may need to get used to that, though.
Been raining non-stop for days here so yeah.
See ya.