A/N: Okay so this fic may be going for a bit too long without any PJATO connections, so I'll try my best to start introducing the mythological world quickly. Should be able to do that within 10k words, so yeah. Rest assured. Also, this chapter was supposed to be out on Christmas, but then I forgot to finish it. So I told myself, Okay I'll get it done on New Year. New Year came and went, and I realized that I STILL haven't finished the chapter. I just kept procrastinating so I apologize to the 25 people who followed this story(wow that's a lot more than I expected), and I thank all of you for taking your time to read this story. Okay, now onto the actual stuff. Enjoy~(hopefully)

Chapter 3: The Newcomer

The next few days were quite uneventful. I went by my old daily routine: wake up, help Mrs. Forger with breakfast, study (and maybe play a bit with the kids), help Mrs. Forger with Lunch, help Mrs. Forger homeschool the kids, study, help Mrs. Forger with dinner, study a bit more, clean myself, and then I go to sleep. Sometimes I would go around for walks or spend some time with the other kids, but most of the time I follow this schedule very strictly.

Unless I get assaulted by my insomnia.

I get harassed by my insomnia quite often. On a weekly basis, or maybe even more frequently. The good thing about it is that usually my insomnia isn't severe, and perhaps after tossing and turning for a while, or maybe going back up to the roof so that I could just think by myself, I would get tired enough and fall asleep eventually. But sometimes, during the more severe cases of insomnia, I would burn through the entire night without sleeping for even a single moment. From the outside, I was probably acting like a kid who accidentally had their chocolate milk substituted with coffee.

That night, four days before my birthday, I was assaulted by my insomnia again.

I lay in my bed, staring at the blank ceiling, thinking about random things. I tried clearing my mind. It didn't work. I tried counting sheep, but when I reached the 1145th sheep my brain started rallying up all the sheep into forming a gigantic sheep transformer that attempted to smash me. Well, perhaps my imagination was a bit too wild. Of course, by then I realized that I probably won't be falling asleep soon and it would be better if I spend this time doing something more meaningful than simply lying in bed, so I got up.

I put on my hoodie, my pants, my coat, and grabbed my shoes and socks. I pushed open the door slowly, making sure I'm not waking anyone up, and I slipped onto the rooftop.

Okay, logically speaking, getting out of bed and climbing onto the roof wouldn't help with my insomnia. At all. I knew that doing this will probably make me stay up for even longer, since I once read in a book that the key to falling asleep requires one to stay still and clear their mind, but somehow, I just despised the feeling of just lying there and doing nothing. Maybe that's why I had insomnia.

There was snow falling from the sky.

I walked across the roof, towards the familiar corner. I slipped down the sloped sides of the roof, dangling my feet over the edge. The nights were dark. There weren't any streetlights around here to light things, yet somehow, I was able to see just fine even without the sunlight. In the night sky, the moon was there, like a silver hook hanging in the skies. I closed my eyes, just sitting there, listening to the sound of the winds as they swept across the treetops, mixed with the occasional hoot from the owls. After a few minutes, I opened my eyes again. I felt rejuvenated, and those thoughts that were swimming around in the back of my mind seemed to have dissipated. I got up, preparing to go back to my room to have a good night's sleep.

But when I turned around, what I saw almost made me back off the edge of the building.

There was a large spectral doe around eight feet tall standing on the middle of the rooftop. Its large head tilted towards me, those large eyes locking with mine. It was slightly transparent and glowing, giving off a ghostly white light. And then it started moving. Towards me. I took a step back, but I stopped myself since I realized that taking one more step back would probably send me falling thirty feet down onto the soil beneath me.

The doe stopped around ten feet away from me, and then froze in place. I held my breath, afraid that it might start moving. I wasn't sure whether or not it was aggressive, so I'd rather not risk it.

But it just stood there, staring at me. I stared back at it, and for the next few minutes, I just stood there, staring into its large, ghostly eyes, and they stared back at me.

After I few minutes, I decided to lower my body's center of gravity and hold out one of my arms, as an act of non-aggression, like what they do in the movies. I started talking in a low and hopefully soothing voice, so that I wouldn't provoke it.

"Okay, big guy, uh I hope I never wronged you in any way, and I hope we're on peaceful terms. So, uh, I'm just going to walk real slowly around you and go down through that window, okay?"

It didn't make any response to my words, so I started moving. As I moved across the snow-covered roof, it turned its large head, it's gaze following me as I warily walked around it in a semicircle towards the window. I kept my distance from it, keeping in mind to stay at least ten feet away from that thing.

When I was halfway across the roof, the doe suddenly started shifting in its place, its hooves plowing the snow on top of the roof.

I froze in place, in an attempt to return it to its frozen state, but the doe kept moving. Suddenly, it started dashing. Towards me.

Okay. That plan didn't work out well.

I ran, sprinting with full speed towards the window.

"I'm sorry, okay!?" I shouted, running.

The doe made no response.

I kept running. I heard the sound of its hooves on the roof coming closer and closer. I tried to run faster. An immense strength erupted in my thighs as I felt myself run even faster than I thought what was physically possible for me.

But, of course, I couldn't outrun a giant two-meter-tall doe. It quickly closed the distance between us and rammed against me. I shielded my sides and closed my eyes. I held my breath, bracing for an impact-

A moment passed, but nothing came.

The seconds ticked by. The impact I was waiting for still hadn't come. I slowly lowered my arms and opened my eyes, searching for the doe that almost rammed me off the roof just a few moments ago. But it was no longer there. It was as if the doe had never existed, as if it was just a creation of my imagination. Even the hoof-prints that it left on the powdered snow next to mine were disappearing, quickly fading out of existence and replaced with fresh snow that seemed to be undisturbed, until only my footprints remained on the rooftop. The roof was empty, with the only living thing on it being me.

I dashed down the stairway, to my room, my breath heavy. I could feel my heart pounding after racing across the roof and down the flight of stairs. I didn't even care that the sound of my shoes on the wooden floor probably would've woken people up. All that was in my mind was to get back to my room as fast as I could.

I rushed into my room, bursting through the door and almost slamming it back shut again, but before the door slammed onto the doorframe I made a conscious effort to slow it down and close it softly, so that I wouldn't wake up any more kids than I those that I had already woken up. I backed myself against the door, and, breathing heavily, I slowly slid down, feeling my body contact with the door and floor.

I listened to my own heartbeat and breath. I was panicking. I didn't know what scared me. That thing just creeped me out. Was that thing even real? Why was it here? Why am I seeing things?

Questions darted through my mind and attempting to answer them just brought out even more questions that I couldn't answer. I just sat there, against the door, slowly breathing, regaining my breath and letting my heart calm down.

Breathe in, breathe out.

After taking a few big breaths, I finally managed to clear my mind of all those questions. I brushed them aside, and settled for the conclusion that I hadn't slept well over the past few days. And well, maybe I did stay up in bed for a bit too long for a bit too many times in the past week. I sighed, taking off my coat, my shoes, my pants, and then my hoodie. I put on my pajamas, and then laid myself onto my bed. This time, I fell asleep immediately.

The next morning, I woke up, feeling rejuvenated from a good night's sleep. I yawned and felt around for the clock that I received as my 8th birthday present. I slowly opened my eyes. It was a lot brighter, I noticed, a lot brighter than usual. My hands felt the metal of the clock and I grabbed it, bringing the clock before my eyes.

8:56

Oh no.

I sprang out of bed, the drowsiness that was inside me few moments ago all dissipated and was replaced with panic and confusion.

I had slept in.

I didn't know why waking up to realize that I had slept for a bit too long freaked me out. Maybe it was because I sometimes felt that sleeping in was a sign that I was losing control over my own life. I got dressed hastily and put on my shoes. I barged through the door, looking left and right frantically. What if Mrs. Forger had lost control of the situation without my help? What if Mrs. Forger needed me but I wasn't awake to help out?

But everything was fine. Completely fine. Everything went on normally, even without me.

I sighed in relief, but I also felt a slightly sour sensation rising somewhere inside me. The place seemed to be fine without me. Maybe I wasn't that essential after all. Maybe I was never needed here. I could just be removed from this place and everything would be fine…

"Uh, hello there?"

I snapped out of my existential dread. A hand was waving in front of my face.

"Sylvie, you looked like you've just been hit by a shell. I called your name three times and you didn't even give a single reaction. You just stared into empty space. Something on your mind?"

Sylvia was standing in front of me, with one of her hands raised. She seemed to be slightly annoyed at being ignored. Her dark brown hair was tied back in a ponytail, and it swished behind her as she swayed slightly from side to side. That was a sign that she was impatient.

"Hey, Sylvie! I'm talking to you!"

I snapped back to reality. Noticing that I had ignored the girl for a bit too long, I quickly explained that I was alright, though sleep-deprived.

She eyed me suspiciously, as if she was expecting more from me than just that. I remained silent, and after a silent staring competition, I finally spoke up.

"So, uh, why are you here? Do you need help?"

"No. Michael was looking for you though. He thought you might've slipped out of the orphanage without telling anyone, so he told me to check up on you."

"Why would he think that?"

"Well, Sylvie, Michael said that it was quite unlike you to still be asleep at eight-o-clock, and since, well, you do have the habit of sneaking around without informing anyone, he had to know whether or not you were still in the orphanage."

"And why exactly does he need to know my exact location?"

Sylvia sighed, and replied, "Well, a new girl arrived at the orphanage today. She's around your age, and since you're the eldest in the orphanage, well, Michael thought that you were the best candidate to guide her around for a few days, to lead her around and explain how this place works. Mrs. Forger also agrees." she added.

So they did indeed need me.

"Ooo-kay." I said, dragging out the "o". "So where's Mrs. Forger right now?"

"Downstairs. The girl just arrived."

"Okay. Thanks for informing me."

"Any time, Sylvie."

Oh, and maybe I should explain the nickname.

When we first met around two years ago, Sylvia couldn't remember my name, since I guess Sylvester was a bit too long for a five-year-old. She called me Sylvie, and even now, she kept calling me that. She told me that "it just rolled off the tongue better", and that it sounded like her name. It made us related, somewhat. At least that's what she says.

I went down the staircase, down to the hall, and turned left, to the room where the new kids were always brought into on the first day. Mrs. Forger should be in that room with the new girl… what was her name again?

The door to the room was in sight now. I had been there many times over the past years. Being the eldest kid in the orphanage (which is not something I am proud of) brought many responsibilities onto my shoulders. With the cuts in funding, Mrs. Forger had a lot more put into her hands, so I was expected to lead the newer kids into their new lives at the orphanage, to introduce them to the new life that they have been put in.

I reached the door, and I could hear Mrs. Forger talking inside the room. I pressed my ear against the door, trying to hear what they are talking about.

"…Estelle, your room will be on the third floor. It's the third one to the left of the staircase. Do you have any more questions for me?

"No, Mrs. Forger. Thank you for your help." I heard a voice say. It's the new girl, I deduced. Somehow, her voice sounded familiar, as if we had met somewhere before. Something stirred deep inside, and my instincts told me that I definitely knew that voice from somewhere, but my brain simply couldn't remember.

"Now, normally I would let Sylvester lead you there, but he might still be sleeping at this moment." I heard Mrs. Forger say.

I took that as a cue, and knocked on the door.

"Ah, seems like he's awake now. He's the oldest child in the orphanage. very caring and warm. I'm sure he won't mind acting as your guide."

I heard footsteps coming towards the door, so I took a step back, waiting for the door to open.

As expected, Mrs. Forger opened the door, and she beckoned me into the room. I stepped through the open door. The girl was sitting on a sofa that faced the chair Mrs. Forger usually sat in. Her head was turned, looking outside the window, at the base of the tallest pine tree, where we would place our presents for each other on Christmas. She was a girl who seemed to be around the same age as me, or maybe a few months or a year younger. She wore a large grey coat over a white shirt and pants that all seemed to be a bit too large for her. She turned around in her chair and faced me, her head tilting a little, as if she was examining me, like an inspector checking the quality of the products at a factory. Her auburn hair was tied back in a high ponytail, and she had sharp facial features and skin that seemed to be as white as fresh snow. Okay, that could be an overexaggeration, but her physical features and the innate elegance that seemed to exist within her made her… breathtaking. For some reason, she felt… familiar. As if I knew her from somewhere, but my logic told me that I definitely would've remembered someone who was so… unique. Maybe it was because of how similar she was to me, I told myself. True, she did seem to share many physical qualities with me, such as the auburn hair, the facial features…

It felt like looking into a mirror, only that she was of opposite gender. It was like looking at a more confident and composed version of myself that wasn't messed up by insomnia

"Hello there," she greeted, "Sylvester."

She looked up at me, and our gazes met. My eyes locked onto hers, and I was surprised when my gaze was returned by a pair of… silver eyes.

She had silver eyes.

I knew that people had all kinds of eye colors. I've seen people with brown pupils, blue pupils, green pupils, a few yellow pupils, very few purple pupils, and some golden pupils, like Michael. I knew that there were many eye colors that could be somewhat randomly assigned to a person through genetics, but… it was the first time in my life seeing silver pupils that weren't looking back at me through a mirror.

I stood there, looking absolutely shell-shocked and staring dumbly into the depths of those silver eyes. After a few very awkward moments of seconds, I finally regained my nerves, and managed a greeting.

"Uhm, nice to meet you, uh, Estelle, was it?"

There was a smile slowly forming on the girl's lips, as if she was holding back a laugh. She probably enjoyed seeing me act as stupid as I was acting right now.

I felt embarrassed. Embarrassed for acting like a kid who couldn't handle these situations. Embarrassed for being laughed at by a girl who was probably younger than me.

"Yes." She replied, "My name's Estelle." There was a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Okay, cool. So uh, I'll be leading you to your room. The room will be your own space, and you could do whatever in it, I guess?"

Oh jeez, I was so screwed up. For some reason I felt slightly fidgety and couldn't form words like a normal human being. I felt dumb. I threw a glance at Mrs. Forger, trying to use my eyes to tell her that maybe I couldn't handle a situation like this, but she just watched the situation in amusement.

"Now, I might have a few more things to deal with, so, Sylvester, could you guide Estelle for me?"

Oh no. I am so going to screw myself up.

"Alright Mrs. Forger…"

Mrs. Forger stood up from the chair and turned around, leaving the room. I just stood there, suddenly conscious of how awkward I was simply standing there.

After a few moments of very awkward silence, I finally mustered enough strength to break the silence.

"So uhhh, I guess I'll give you a tour around the orphanage?"

She nodded and stood up, following me out of the room.

As we walked out of the room and into the hall, I decided that an introduction would get the conversation going.

"So, uh, maybe I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Sylvester Hunter, or if you find my name a bit too long, just Syl Hunter. I'm the eldest kid in the orphanage, so, if uh, you encounter any issues then uh, you could come and find me, I guess."

Wow, I thought, sarcastically, you nailed it Sylvester. Real display of confidence back there.

"I know that" she replied.

I froze. Okay, out of all of the possible responses to this very simple self-introduction, that was what she decided to respond with? For some reason I could feel a bit of anger welling up inside me, as if she had just insulted me. It was kind of rude to just dismiss someone's words like that, but I decided against saying it out loud.

"Oookay then." I said, unable to think of anything else to say back.

For the later part of the tour, I didn't try to spark up a conversation, and she didn't bother to either. As we passed the places, I explained to her what activities we do there, and she just nodded, or sometimes let out a quiet "mmhmm". She seemed to be quiet and self-contained, but I sometimes caught her staring at me when I wasn't looking. As I led her to her room, I decided to speak up.

"You know, it's kinda rude to stare," I told her, "If you have any questions about the place or about me, you can just ask. I'll answer it as best as I could, unless it gets too personal."

She remained silent. Just as I was about to assume that she just turned deaf on me, she suddenly asked, though quietly, "Sylvester, what do you usually do when you have free time?"

That question caught me off-guard. Why does she have to be so unpredictable?

"Well," I started, "when I'm not helping out Mrs. Forger or studying or helping the kids, I'd read books. Usually novels or plays-"

"No, I mean, free time, when you're not doing academic things. When you relax." Estelle interrupted.

Okay that was definitely rude.

I decided to keep that thought inside.

"Well, I'd say reading books is a form of relaxation for me." I answered. Estelle raised an eyebrow.

"Any more?" Estelle asked, skeptically.

I wondered, deep inside, why was she asking questions like this? I thought for a while, before finally deciding that saying it wouldn't cause much harm.

"Uhm, don't judge me for this, but, sometimes, when I have insomnia or simply when I feel like it, I would go up onto the roof to, again, don't judge me for this, to stare at the moon."

A few moments of silence went by. Estelle seemed to be slightly surprised by what I said, and an even more complex expression formed on her face. She muttered, perhaps to herself, "I see."

I waited for more elaboration on what she meant, but she just stayed silent, so I decided to speak up.

"So, uh, why ask?"

I waited for an answer, but she just replied with a simple "nothing".

After a few awkward moments of silence, I decided to resume the tour. I led her to her room, and after we reached it, we finally parted.

For the rest of the morning, I didn't meet with Estelle. Marcus was still tinkering with the bronze object, which I now knew was a blade. He was adding all sorts of accessories to the item, giving it more utility and abilities, I guess.

Afterwards, I went to find Michael, to review some of the stuff that I should've learned if I was in school. Mrs. Forger told me that maybe when the next schoolyear starts, she'll find me a boarding school to go to, if a family hasn't adopted me by then. She told me that even though I was an orphan, I still needed and education and a graduation certificate, so that when I grow up, both will help me in finding a job.

Michael was a great friend to have. He was intelligent, which meant that even though he was roughly three years younger than me, he could still keep up with my studies, which also meant that he was like a study partner. We tested each other on math, literature, history, geography, biology, physics, and such.

We passed the morning in a 7th grade Physics textbook, wandering through the endless oceans of thermodynamics and electricity. Michael and I both had dyslexia and ADHD, and although mine was to a much lighter degree (still enough to be diagnosed with it though), it meant that usually, it would've been really hard for any of us to just sit there and flip through a book quietly. I guess that's the reason for why I needed Michael to help me study. Having someone next to me to talk to and question when studying really did help out a lot, and the forces that existed between us allowed us to stay still and burn through that thick textbook.

I did catch Estelle staring at us in a few occasions, her head peeking around a corner to look at us, or, more specifically, me, like she was a chemist watching a chemical reaction. Sometimes I could feel her eyes drilling into the back of my head, which really did creep me out a bit. I was never so unnerved by people staring at me. Maybe I was just unaccustomed to all that attention. Maybe it was because she's new and we're unfamiliar with each other. Maybe it was because she was staring at me for a bit too long. Who knew?

I guess I'll have to ask her why she's acting all weird around me, I told myself. It's really starting to get uncomfortable, getting stared at like this.