—
A few hours after waking, Reya found herself having to already change into some fight-appropriate clothing and equip some simple gear.
Ugh, did we have to go today already?
A few hours ago, Evonie had told Reya to prepare to set out to the lab with her. Of course, Reya protested and said that she didn't feel like going out, but Evonie had argued that they'd already agreed to go to the lab together a while back.
So, here she was, forcing herself to set out once again.
Just as Reya was slipping on some shorts, she heard the sounds of a key messing with the locked door of her bedroom.
Evonie walked inside and locked the door behind her once again, deciding to change as well.
Reya glanced behind her, sighing as she saw Evonie. Of course, her thick-skinned roommate was the only one who had the audacity to unlock an already locked room.
Reya shook her head and got back to what she was doing
She suddenly heard Evonie chime in, "That's all you're wearing?"
Evonie was referring to were the loose shorts that Reya was wearing. It barely covered up the bandaging on Reya's thigh, and the hem of the clothing barely reached her knees.
Reya rolled her eyes, holding out her shirt.
"Yes, along with the shirt I've yet to put on and the other gear that would obviously provide more protection. You idiot, this is just the base of what I'm really going to wear. What do you take me for?"
After she had accidentally snapped, Reya saw Evonie blinking a few times.
Of course Reya would be mad at her. After all, who wouldn't be, if they were forced to go outside after barely having recovered from recent injuries?
Evonie cleared her throat, deciding to start changing into her clothes now as well.
Reya paused as she was about to put on her shirt. She glanced at Evonie, deciding to nitpick at her clothing choice as well.
"What's with all the layers on your shirt? I can't make sense of your bottoms, either. Why is your clothing so complicated?" Reya commented, already feeling a headache from all the fabrics Evonie was going to put on.
"What's wrong with them? I tend to run hot, so I usually need to wear thin clothes. But I can't just cruise around with some thin shorts and a shirt, that's why I layer with breathable fabrics."
Reya scoffed slightly, shaking her head.
Evonie raised her head from the fabric that she was sorting out for her clothing, her eyes falling onto Reya as she dressed herself.
Reya, feeling some eyes on her, promptly turned around to see Evonie studying her figure for some reason.
"... Is something up?"
Evonie cocked her head, a playful smile climbing up her face.
"You look the exact same way you did since college."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"No… but I'm pretty sure I can compete against you now."
Reya narrowed her eyes, finding Evonie's words to be nothing more than a bluff. Perhaps she was trying to mock or poke some fun at Reya.
"I'm serious. Look!" Evonie exclaimed.
Evonie walked over and pulled Reya to a mirror. Both women, still having not dressed into their shirts, were actively staring at each other's torsos in the mirror.
Reya was visibly slim, her lean muscles instantly visible through her skin. After years of childhood sports and now— from missions, she had earned such a build. But Reya felt a bit surprised.
She saw how their builds were now quite similar, only that Evonie had slightly bigger biceps.
I'm the one who fights on missions here, not you! When did you start looking like this?!
"Huh… Ev, have you started lifting?"
Evonie only replied with a shrug, turning back around to continue dressing up.
Is she serious?
Reya followed Evonie, her surprise getting the better of her.
"You could put on muscle this easily? How'd you even…"
Evonie cut Reya off abruptly, poking at Reya's midriff.
"Pft. Just continue dressing up— put on your shirt."
Reya stood there unmovingly for a moment. After a thought, Reya rearranged her thoughts and realized that she needed to focus back on what they were doing in the first place.
Although a little conflicted and jealous, she turned to put on her shirt and get her gear.
Since they only had to go to the lab, she simply wore a belt with a holster on her hips. She also decided to slip on some gloves, in case they would have an altercation. Finally, she strapped a thigh scabbard to her leg.
She didn't bother much with adding anything else on her legs— the trip wasn't too dangerous, and she didn't want to wear anything over her wound. After a while, she glanced at Evonie.
Evonie was wearing a bunch of layered clothing, along with some simple gear such as a hip-bag and arm sleeves.
Although Evonie had more layers of fabric, they were all quite thin. Reya wore simple clothing, but chose ones with thick fabric. Reya was quite sensitive to colder temperatures, after all.
"Should we leave now?" Reya asked lazily.
"Mn. You got your gear on?"
—
After quietly exiting the base and sneaking past their sleeping group members, the two had arrived outside. The sun was out, so it was slightly warm.
In contrast to the heat, a cold breeze would brush past their skin every few moments. To Evonie, the wind was refreshing against the early sun. As for Reya, the air sent a very small chill up her skin. She shrank into her warm clothing a little more.
She glanced up at the cloudy skies, a small sigh escaping her throat.
"It's a cold morning. Remind me again, why did we have to go out so early?."
Evonie, with her arms crossed, glanced at Reya.
"Would you want to deal with the other members seeing us leave, and maybe even try to tag along with us?"
Reya paused, unsure of what Evonie was referring to. She saw Evonie roll her eyes before she rephrased herself.
"What I meant was— I'm going to be poking and prodding at you. Basically all this science-y stuff, and you'd be fine with another person there— just watching?"
After the more unrefined explanation, it did click to Reya about what exactly she was signing up for.
Right, a lot of that experimenting. Probably best to just limit the sight to me and Ev.
Reya raised her head and looked forward, mumbling softly.
"... So, it is better to go early."
The two continued to walk quietly. The walk wasn't too long, but it would probably be a rough 15 minutes before they reached the lab. During sometime on their travel, Reya slowed down in her steps before completely coming to a halt.
Evonie, who had walked a few steps ahead, noticed Reya slowing down behind her. She stopped as well, turning around and tilting her head at Reya.
"What's wrong?"
Reya lowered her voice, grabbing Evonie's arm and tugging her backwards.
"What's that in the distance?"
Evonie turned her head to look at something in the distance. Nothing seemed off, just an empty path and some deteriorating buildings around them. Some were abandoned, but it seemed like some other buildings still had residents. However, there was something that stood out from the scene around.
There was a figure— one of a human, except they were trembling and altogether just seemed quite out of it. Reya took a few cautious steps forward, before her eyes got a good look at the person.
To be more accurate— the person wasn't even a human, but a feral. Apart from its figure, its grotesque appearance was obviously ways away from a normal human.
Reya— pulling along Evonie, snuck around, using the surroundings to their advantage. From the cars scattered around, some old poles, and even pillars from nearby buildings.
However, her efforts proved fruitless after Evonie had accidentally kicked a rock, the sound of it clinking against the walk path. The feral immediately turned to them, seeing their presence and wasting no time lunging at them.
Cursing under her breath, Reya pulled out her pistol and shot a few times at the creature to slow it down. She took a short glance at Evonie's hip bag, questioning her in a rushed voice.
"Do you have anything we could use in that bag?"
Wasting no time, Evonie rummaged into the bag and pulled out a small device. She pulled a small pin and threw it aside, before chucking the device towards the creature. Evonie pulled Reya along with her, taking cover behind a car, before a loud bang sounded out in the distance.
Things had quieted down once more, and the both of them looked behind. With a sigh of relief, they saw that the feral's body was destroyed, burnt innards replacing where the hostile creature had been.
Reya, with them now in the clear, turned to give Evonie a firm smack behind the head.
"Ev, what the hell was that!? Haven't you gotten used to sneaking around? How could you be so careless as to stumble on a rock…"
Evonie, rubbing the back of her head, grumbled softly.
"My mistake. But at least we had one of Arnie's devices to help us."
Reya rolled her eyes before turning away to continue on their journey, her steps a little heavier due to her slightly heated temper.
Evonie followed after her with a small smile, messing with Reya's hair after she had caught up.
"C'mon, it was an honest mistake!"
—