Chapter 3 New Companions

To sum it all up, Flora gave her a brief tour of where the bedrooms were, who slept where, where the emergency equipment was stashed, and so forth. Flora told her that there were children on the same floor as her, with the woman being someone to take care of orphans within the condo.

She was a foster parent of all of them, she said. And some of them get adopted while others, who were older enough, were sent back to the orphanage to get them ready for an independent life.

Kiera gave her a silent acknowledgment every now and then, but the dark-haired older woman could tell that the young Hudson's mind was elsewhere.

What had happened to Jason? They were not close before but he was more distant now. He seemed to be in deep thought and he didn't let her reason out with him. She is already a grown-up, for freaking sake!

It bothered her that Jason was her only family left, but he didn't seem to care about her.

"What do you like to do?" Flora said suddenly, fixing her eyes on Kiera.

Kiera was somehow caught off guard by her abrupt question.

"I like to gaze at the moon," she said slowly, eyeing Flora for a reaction. There was a hint of surprise from the woman. "It's a favorite pastime of mine. I usually spend most of my time on the roof for this reason."

A pause.

"I see," Flora mumbled. She then smiled. "There's a nice rooftop in this condominium and it's higher than the one in your house."

Kiera chose to ignore that comment and didn't say anything. Flora continued to do what she'd been doing: her newfound (forced) duty as an escort.

As they descended the stairs of the condo unit, Kiera caught a glimpse of a six-year-old boy with an older woman and a man. Kiera swallowed deeply, feeling envious for the first time in her life. They looked like a happy family.

She unintentionally said that last part aloud, when Flora turned to look at Kiera strangely. The latter struggled to keep a neutral countenance. Thankfully, Flora didn't bother to question her.

After the tour, Flora let Kiera retreat to her new room and the latter didn't bother looking around as she plopped on her new bed and stared at the ceiling. She pulled her sunglasses away from her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. Kiera closed her eyes and drifted off.

~O~O~O~

It was already dark when Flora had called her down to eat. A few kids were surrounding Flora and they turned to stare at her.

"Kids, this is your new sister, Kiera Hudson-"

"Oh my! You are the famous Champion of Artemis?" one of the kids exclaimed as she ran towards her.

Kiera forced a smile as she stared down at the kid's grinning face, almost tearing her cute chubby cheeks with her huge grin. She rubbed her head with her right hand.

"Yes, I am," she said.

Soon enough, she was surrounded by hyperactive kids who wanted to get their hands on the famous prodigy in archery. Weird enough, Kiera felt more drawn to the kids more than she ever had to the other kids of their neighborhood. Maybe because they were all orphans.

"Hey, hey, do you have your bows and arrows?" one of the girls asked.

Kiera shook her head fondly. "But Sylvia will bring them to me soon."

"I want to see you shoot an arrow!"

She chuckled as she looked at Flora. The older woman just smiled at her interaction with the children. Kiera looked back at the children looking up at her with expectance in their eyes. "Sure. If Aunt Flora finds us a suitable place to shoot at."

"We can find one soon, but for now, let's eat, you guys," Flora said as she ushered the kids back to the table.

Kiera got the usual amount after all the little kids have gotten theirs, and settled down at a corner. Enjoying the meal in silence while all the other kids were chatting noisily in the lounging room just across from where she was sitting. A girl, Flora introduced as Ada, stepped out of the kitchen with nothing but a cup of water. Noticing where she was, Ada decided to sit down right next to her.

Sipping on her cup of water as Kiera chewed on her food, an unbearable silence once again developed between the two of them.

Ada was a silent seventeen years old girl with seemingly observant dark eyes. She would only lurk around them and doesn't join the kids' conversations. She seemed distant from the rest of the kids and Dianne could see herself in the younger woman.

"Aren't you going to get anything to eat?" Kiera asked her out of curiosity when she noticed Ada's cup empty.

"I'm not hungry," Ada said simply, looking at her with those uncanny dark eyes. "Why are you sitting here by yourself?"

"What?"

"Why are you not sitting with the others? They seem to be having a good time. Why don't you join them?" she reiterated, her eyes turning towards the commotion and then back at Kiera.

"I..." she trailed off, unsure of how to answer.

It was a simple question, yet Kiera found herself incapable of answering it immediately. She could just tell Ada about her own concept of the cycle, but that would take too much explaining to do, not to mention how personal it was to her. Ada was someone she just met a few hours ago. Not exactly enough time to have Kiera trust her.

"I prefer being alone," she said finally. It was a half-truth. Very soon, she quickly finished what was left on her plate and got up to wash it in the sink. Flora's first instruction is to always help with the chores, and Kiera made sure not to be a burden to anyone.

Ada followed her soon after.

"Do you not like it here?" she said to Kiera as she cleaned her plate.

She pretended that she didn't hear her. Kiera gestured for her cup, and as she handed it to her, Kiera began washing that too. The scrubbing and rinsing could only do so much to break the eerie silence. Why was Ada suddenly asking her these personal questions? It was none of her business!

Unfortunately, that trick didn't seem to work. Ada just waited until Kiera placed the plate and cup back into the cabinets, and repeated her question, only louder this time.

"Why are you asking me these questions?" Kiera countered, her eyes slightly narrowed. This girl was too perceptive for her own good. She would have to remind her that two could p at this game. "Why is it... that you barely talk to me at all when we first met, and now you are trying to get all familiar with me?" Her voice had a suspicious edge to it.

"I was only curious," she said softly.

"Curious about what?" Kiera said impatiently, tired of all this-this pestering.

"Your eyes," Ada answered without looking at me. "You gave two different eyes."

"Oh," Kiera muttered, blinking her eyes in question. "Right..."

Ada smiled a little. "You don't think it's weird, do you?"

Kiera shrugged. "I know they're one of the rarest. Sometimes, I get bullied for it at school, but lucky me for being the 'prodigy', there are more people standing up for me than bullying me."

Ada was silent. Kiera sighed and faced her with her hand on her hip. "That was not what you are curious about, was it?"

"I'm curious as to why..." Ada said slowly, looking straight at her, "you have such a forlorn look in your eyes."

Her heart almost literally stopped beating as Kiera instantly widen her eyes at her. For a moment, she thought she misheard the younger girl. She raised her hand and felt her face, dreading that she wasn't wearing her sunglasses.

Then the comment hit her hard.

She was speechless. No retort, not a single defensive comment was able to form in her head. Kiera couldn't say a thing. She didn't want to be backed into a corner like this. But this...this situation was unfamiliar to her and she had no idea how to act.

Kiera hated the look Ada was giving her, the pity that was so apparent in her eyes. The blue and green-eyed young woman clenched her teeth, seething. 'Who does this girl think she is? How dare she assumes she knows better than me!'

The kids were still in the lounging room, and she could hear them starting to get up and inevitably come to where Ada and Kiera were. Despite how angry she was, Kiera couldn't make a scene, especially not in front of them. With difficulty, she forcefully sucked it up and only lowered her head slightly to tear her eyes away from Ada's gaze, as she silently walked past her and headed towards the stairs, not once looking back.

Ada remained where she was. Kiera could feel her lingering gaze on her back before disappearing from her sight.