[Wingardia] No. 028

[torrinne]

The inside of room twenty-eight is spacious, but plain. The walls are a vivid shade of sky blue, with a white ceiling. The far wall has a single window, which looks out towards the gates of Ria High.

The left side of the room, Ananda's half, is cluttered, covered with clothing, books, and papers. The walls are plastered with band posters, and a small bookshelf contains a slection of books about weapons and combat, and a lone science-fiction thriller. The bed is usually unmade, the white sheets falling off on the floor.

The right side, Rille's half, is empty in comparison. A bookshelf holds a couple of books about healing, and a battered book of fairy tales. The bed is always made, and a patchwork quilt lies folded on one end. A single poster on the wall proclaims "Napa Valley Renaissaince Faire" in bold letters. At the foot of the bed sits an ornate chest, with a note attached to the top, saying 'For Rille. Love, Dad.'  

[torrinne]

Rille walked slowly to her dorm room, still letting out jaw-cracking yawns. Pushing open the door, she groaned. The room looked like whirlwind had been through half of it. "Obviously Ananda's been here," she muttered, closing the door behind her. She pulled the towel off her wet hair, and re-wrapped it carefully before collapsing on the bed. "I ought to clean it up for her," Rille said softly, "but I'm sooo tired...I'll do it when I wake up." With that, she kicked her shoes off and laid down on the bed, falling asleep almost at once.  

[torrinne]

Rille woke slowly, keeping her eyes tightly shut. When she finally opened one cautiously, she winced at the bright light in the room. She squinted, trying to get used to the light, and stood up. Unwinding the towel from her hair, she started to brush it, looking with dismay at the disaster on the other side of the room. "I'll have to do something about it," she decided. She began to breeze around the room, folding things neatly on Ananda's bed. Picking up some clothing, she frowned to see a small chest at the end of her bed. "That's odd, I don't remember bringing a chest with me." She picked up the note, examining it. "To Rille, From...Dad? Da was here?" Opening the note, she read it quickly.
"Rille,
Your ma left this behind when she passed on. I'm having your uncle bring it to you, she wanted you to have it. Say hello to him for me.
Love,
Da."
Rille's eyes flew all the way open. "Ma's! I didn't know we had anything of hers." She began to fiddle with the latch on the chest, trying to figure out how it worked.  

[torrinne]

Rille poked at the lock, annoyed. "What good is this if I don't have the key to the chest? There's no way I'm going to get into this chest without the key." She groaned. "What am I supposed to do? Da, why didn't you send the key with the chest?" She picked the chest up carefully. "It's so light, I wish I knew what's in it." She carried the chest under her arm, leaving the dorm room. Maybe Ananda knows how to open the chest, since her dad...her dad! Oh no! Ananda's hiding from her dad! I've gotta go find her!  

[torrinne]

Rille led the girls to her room, pausing at the door to unlock it. "Here we are," she said softly, wincing at the state of the room. "Told you it was a mess," she muttered. "Feel free to poke around, it could take me awhile to find what I'm looking for." 'What she was looking for' was a long metal rod that Ananda used to sharpen her knives. "I know it's here somewhere," she muttered, poking through the piles on Ananda's side of the room. "Where is it?"  

[toriable2016]

Nioki looked around with great curiousity."Wow your dorm is so......cool!"She smiled with great excitement at how the room was made and the great view from the window."Wow I wish we had a dorm like this it would be so cool!"By this time Nioki had gotten over her shyness,and was glad she had made a new friend.SHe watched as Rille went looking around for the rod.

Mioki looked around nodding in agreement with her sister."Nioki is right this is a really cool place,its so awesome!"Mioki was still kind of shy,but she was happy to make her first friend ever.I hope sister tells her what she was doing asking her where Shino was that day.SHe deserves to know the truth after all.
*Sister are you going to tell her or what?* *Um yeah Mioki dont rush it ok Im nervous enough as it is* *Oh fine Nioki just do it soon I feel so guilty*  

[torrinne]

Rille stuck her head under the bed, starting to think she might never find it. "Thank you," she said, although it was a little muffled. "Aha!" She sat up with a cry of triumph, knocking her head against the underside of the bed in her haste. "Ow!" She came out rubbing the back of her head, holding up the missing rod. The hand on her head started to glow slightly, healing the rising lump. "Here, this ought to work," she said, offering it to Nioki. She started cleaning up the things she had moved out of place in her search almost unconsciously.  

[toriable2016]

Nioki put her hand over her mouth in shock."Oh my gosh are you okay?"SHe opened her mouth in awe watching the lump on her head slowly heal."Wow that was....cool."She looked at the rod and took it from her hand.SHe walked over to the chest and held it back behind her head.SHe then swung the rod to the lock as the lock slightly cracked.Seeing it still didnt break she swung at it one more time.This time the lock fell to the floor with a CLANG!Nioki cheered in triumph as her planned worked."Yes!WE got it open!"

Mioki jumped at the sound as the lock fell to the floor."Rille!Open it!I wonder whats inside?"Mioki was like a kid at christmas waiting for morning to come so she could open the presents.  

[torrinne]

"I'm a healer," Rille explained absently, picking up the chest. She took it over to her bed, and sat down, beckoning the twins over. "Alright, let's see what's inside." She opened the lid carefully, and began to pull out the contents. On the very top was a folded piece of shimmery silver-and-white cloth. Unfolding it, Rille exclaimed in delight to find it was a dress. She laid it carefully over the bed's headboard. Next, she pulled out a smaller wooden box, which opened to show..."Seeds?" Rille set that aside as well. In the very bottom of the chest lay several more items, tangled together in a jumble. She pulled out the whole knot, untangling it to reveal a small key...probably the key to the lock on the chest, a thin silver necklace chain with a tiny flower charm which she immediately put on to hang by her locket, a tiny child's flute, and a small book wrapped in a silvery scarf. It had a tiny lock on it as well, but Rille saw immediately how it must open. She looked up at the twins, smiling happily. "They were my mother's things," she explained softly. "I never knew her."  

[torrinne]

((Got to go, back in a few.))  

[toriable2016]

Nioki looked at all the pretty things that she pulled out of the chest."Wow,your mother's things?It must be nice,we never knew either one of out parents.The death corps found us when we were very young,and when we got older we were made soilders of the death corps."Nioki looked at the flute and the book as they were set aside."Do you play the flute?"She looked at her sister and smiled with soft eyes."Mioki does,Im a clairnet player."

Mioki looked around and paid close attention to the chest.It has so many beatiful things inside!We are lucky in a way,I dont know if we even have parents.It is a good thing though because without knowing them you could never truely miss them.I feel bad for her knowing her mother is gone."Sor-ry.....about your mom Rille."

Nioki gave a sad face,"Yeah sorry about your mom I know you must miss her so much."Nioki sat down and watched everything closely."Ive got an idea,how about later we go to the forestlake mall.I heard it was a cool place and Ive never been in a store before."

((okie see ya later.Ill be gone in three hours though Ive got to go bowling with some friends from church))  

[torrinne]

"I never knew my ma either," Rille said gently, looking a little sad. "She died when I was a baby. And yes, I play flute. And piano, and I sing." She smiled, perkig up a bit. She loved to talk about music. "I grew up working with my Da at Rennaisance Faires. He's a musician like me. So music's really big for me. I'd like to hear you two play sometime." She tilted her head to the side at the mention of the mall. "That sounds like fun. I need to get some real clothes, all I have are my Faire things." She laughed, smoothing a wrinkle out of her huge skirt. "They're really awkward. I meant to go shopping when I first got here."

((Have fun bowling!))  

[toriable2016]

Nioki smiled with great surprise."I love music!Though most of all I love....."She stopped in the middle of her sentence to look towards her sister.With a sign of great excitement and enthusiamum.

Mioki quicky finished her sentence."She loves......books.She practically lives in the library.Its true she is a book worm,anything that can be found in books she will look for it no doubt."Mioki laughed a little and looked at Rille with sad cold eyes."I guess it would be neat to go to the mall."Her eyes darted toward her sister some and then back at Rille.*Nioki arent you going to tell her?**Um.....yeah I guess I hope she wont get mad,because I heard Shino and her are good friends**I hope so too my first friend ever and I dont want to lose her**Ill tell her at the mall okay?**Oh fine just make sure you do it.After all she deserves to know the truth after you being so rude.**Me?!**Yes you just drop it okay?**Ok fine**Fine**Fine**Fine!**Okay thats enough your confusing me Mioki!*  

[torrinne]

Rille looked back and forth between the two. She was pretty sure there was more to this conversation than she was hearing. "I like to read too," she told Nioki with a smile. "Although you'd be more likely to find me living in the music hall. "Wait, did you say earlier that you'd never been to a store?" She raised her eyebrows, but then nodded, understanding. Of course. The death corps wouldn't take recruits shopping. "Well, you'll enjoy it, I'm positive. Here, just let me put this stuff back in the chest and I'll be ready." She began to pack her ma's things back in the chest carefully.  

[toriable2016]

Nioki looked as she packed her ma's stuff back into the chest.I think she may be growing a bit suspicious."The........d-death corps.....kept us from having any contact with the outside world.At first.....I had to ask someone what love and friendship meant because I didnt know.We......came here for a reason that Im not exactally proud of."She looked down at the floor with sad cold eyes."We were forced to kill many people.....after all it was out job.The truth is......that first day I met you I kept asking for the girl Shino.We were sent here to kill her because she and her friends had killed three death corps soilders.So thats why we were looking for her.....Im so sorry I hope your not mad at me.Now we just want to try and get away from them.Try to start over and live like normal people.Weve never had any friends or family or even a pet.We were shut off from all of these feelings.Doing this our hearts grew cold and vile we began to thirst for blood.Then somehow I felt bad for Shino so I told sister i did not want to attack her."

Mioki looked at the floor ashamed of herself."Me....I got mad because I was loyal to the death corps,and hurt Nioki badly.I felt so bad I had ruined our sister relationship.Then my sister told me of a person who spoke of love and explained it to me.I was interested cause I did not know what these things meant.Soon I gave in and said that we would try to avoid them if we could.I do hope you will forgive us."She looked up slowly afraid of what Rille might do."Well if your not mad at us we can still go to the mall."