—
The youths made eye contact with each other, each one waiting for the other to say something first. The silence stretched on for longer and longer until Evonie broke it with a sigh.
"Quite a silent crowd, no?" Evonie chimed in leisurely, taking a step back from Reya due to having just bumped into her. However, after a moment, she took a step back forward to wrap an arm around Reya's shoulders.
Despite Reya trying to shrug off her arm, Evonie responded by pulling her even closer, the side of Reya's head pressing against Evonie's shoulder.
"What's up with you?" Reya mumbled quietly.
Reya, giving up on trying to push off Evonie, reluctantly adjusted herself to lean on Evonie before continuing on.
"What's up with the rest of you standing right in front of our room?" She asked irritably.
Thalia huffed, finding Reya's question equally irritating.
"What do you mean, 'What's up?' You got a rather concerning injury during the mission. We have no idea what its effects on you will be, so obviously we'll want an explanation."
Although her voice was even, she still couldn't help the worry from creeping into her tone.
Jun-liang nodded in agreement, his eyes flitting over Reya's form and falling onto the bandages barely peeking out underneath her shorts. He raised his eyes to look back at Reya and crossed his arms.
"I suppose the bite is already treated. Have you gotten any symptoms?" he asked.
Reya stared blankly at the eyes watching her. Jun-liang and Thalia, along with Warner and Fiora's clueless eyes. The two of them weren't on the mission after all, and they haven't had anything explained to them yet. But Reya wasn't planning on mentioning her dream to any of them…
Evonie glanced at her troubled expression, deciding to speak up without hesitation.
"Nope, no confirmed symptoms so far. So, she'll have some appointments in the lab with me to find out more. Got it? We'll update when we know more."
Thalia and Jun-liang glanced at each other incredulously. Jun-liang mouthed to Thalia, "Are these two seriously trying to lie?"
Thalia shrugged in response. "I dunno with them."
Evonie grumbled softly and tugged Reya along with her as she slipped between the group.
"That's all we've got. Move, we're off to do something else."
And thus, the two individuals faded from view, leaving the rest of the members conflicted.
Thalia sighed, rubbing at her temples.
"Those two, they're holding something back…"
Warner cut in, his demeanor a lot more carefree than the tense Thalia and Jun-liang.
"What even happened on the mission? Evonie looked so grim when she came in earlier."
Jun-liang sighed softly, taking a moment to think about how to phrase the events.
"She got bitten during a fight. I don't think she got exposed to any feral blood, but we're not sure how being bitten will affect her either."
—
The sounds of conversation faded away from Evonie and Reya's ears, their steps pattering on the farther floors of the shelter. Reya had been quietly walking for a while, guided by the constant tug of Evonie's arm as it still remained on her shoulder.
Eventually, Reya found herself being pushed to sit down at the table near their kitchen. She tilted her head to look up at Evonie.
"What? I'm pretty hungry. Aren't you too?" Evonie spoke first, stepping aside to look for something to make in the kitchen.
Reya silently shook her head, placing an elbow on the table and propping up her drooping head by holding her chin. She heard the sounds of Evonie making do with the ingredients she assembled, her gaze dropping to the table as she basked in the otherwise quiet atmosphere.
She started to think to herself. The bite wound, her dream, the memories…
…
She even got the memories of Fiora's mother. What connection did Fiora's mother have with her dreams? Was it because the injury she sustained had come from her? She didn't know.
She was already shaken up from experiencing a dream that she couldn't leave, despite the fact that she tried her best to wake up. It only ended when she briefly touched upon that old memory of hers…
To add to all of this, she really wasn't feeling her best in the first place. She was tired from the fight as well, her bruised skin aching. She felt exhausted physically while also feeling mentally drained the next. No matter how she tried to make sense of whatever happened today, her mind just came up blank. She felt too lazy to think, do, or even feel anything.
Every now and then, all she could think about was rest…
Rest, rest, rest. So tired!
She'd been staring at the table for a good while as she zoned out, when suddenly a plate was pushed to her. There was a simple sandwich assembled on the plate. A thin slice of cheese, ham, and an egg, along with a bit of dressing inside, finally closed with white bread. She raised her puzzled eyes to meet Evonie calmly eating her sandwich.
Evonie took a seat beside Reya, glancing at her unmoving form. She furrowed her eyebrows, nudging Reya with her elbow.
"Hey. You haven't eaten anything the past few hours. You barely ate anything at breakfast, too."
"Not hungry."
"Too bad. You'll need something in your stomach. Your body needs fuel to heal your wound. Besides, Lia won't allow you to get a major role in missions if your health isn't doing well."
Evonie pushed the plate closer to Reya. Reya continued to resist, shaking her head each time she was offered food again.
Eventually, Evonie gave up on insisting that Reya eat the sandwich as it is. She stood up to get a spoon before returning to her seat and grabbing Reya's plate. Reya blinked a few times in surprise at what Evonie was doing.
Evonie did a few things to make the snack a little more appealing to Reya. She was used to dealing with a sick or weak Reya, and was quite familiar with the things she's pick at or completely avoid when eating.
Using the spoon, she scraped off the excess amounts of sauce in the sandwich. She knew that when Reya had a low appetite, it usually meant she was more sensitive to any tangy, sweet, and acidic flavors, since they sometimes became a bit overpowering in some food. Thus, Reya avoided condiments and dressings.
Evonie also carved out the crust of the bread and set it aside. Reya would normally eat the entire bread, but Reya would apparently skip the crust at certain times. Most notably, when she felt sick or weak, with no appetite.
Lastly, Evonie got her some water. Reya would— at times, have indigestion, so she often drank a lot of water whenever she'd eat a snack or a meal.
Reya frowned, opening her mouth to speak.
"Ev, I really don't—"
"Come on, I already did this for you."
Evonie cut her off, pushing the plate to Reya.
Reya stared for a few seconds before starting to grow troubled. She saw how Evonie picked everything off and did all these little things, just so she'd eat. How could she just continue to refuse?
Although a bit reluctantly, Reya slowly picked up the sandwich and started eating. She took sips of water between every bite.
Evonie sighed, leaning back in her chair.
It's ridiculous how picky you are.
…
But me knowing so much about you is even more ridiculous.
It took a while before Reya finally finished eating. She, along with Evonie, eventually got up. Reya returned first to their bedroom to get on with some of her own business. Evonie remained outside, deciding to make her way over to their living room.
It was a simple room. Just a little space with a couch and a TV. Although quite plain, it was quite spacious. She switched on the TV and opened the news, quietly taking note of all new updates.
Thalia had slipped beside Evonie sometime later. Evonie felt her presence but decided not to speak up. Evonie knew Thalia could tell they were withholding information earlier.
... Best not to strike up a conversation, lest I get bombarded with questions.
Fortunately, Thalia didn't seem to prod at whatever happened a while earlier. She left after Evonie changed the show from news to some other videos.
It was quite ridiculous that an apocalypse was ongoing, but because of persistent humans and pure luck, a ton of people still survived and some were creating video content. Of course, there were immeasurable casualties, but there were many survivors who became more fearless every day.
Among them just happened to be many doctors, scientists, and some other important workers who helped maintain daily resources such as electricity and running water.
But everything was a mess due to no proper government functioning. The military had let civilians do their own thing, so everyone was left to their own devices.
Then, Evonie felt a familiar ache begin in her head. Before it intensified, she shut off the TV and lights, setting out to get her usual meds.
She made her way past multiple rooms, most of them being the sleeping quarters of the other group mates. When she entered her bedroom, however, she saw Reya sound asleep, already on a bed.
So early?
Of course, Evonie already knew that Reya was exhausted anyway, so the surprise lasted just for a brief moment.
Evonie silently pulled out the medicine from a drawer in their room, downing it quickly. She still felt a mild headache, but it didn't seem like it'll worsen now.
While waiting for its effects to kick in, she went ahead and took her phone before eventually climbing up the ladder to get to her bunk bed. She began using her phone, scrolling for a good while. Eventually, the medicine had kicked in, and she felt herself accidentally drifting off to sleep every few minutes.
Evonie set the phone down, quietly falling into a deep sleep. Throughout it all, thoughts swirled in her mind. Some were ridiculous and others a fleeting idea, but many were just subconsciously formed as she fell asleep. She'd forget them all by tomorrow.
Should I wake up early tomorrow?
... Should I prioritize studying ferals first, or run tests on Reya?
Right, I'll bring her to the lab…
Do I have time to work out tomorrow?
Reya…
Eventually, her mind grew silent as she fell asleep at last.
—