The Guest Sector

The soft, morning light trickling in from behind the curtains stirred her awake. Her curly blonde hair covered her face as she tried to figure out where she was for a moment. Caroline's dream from last night was the same one she had on her flight to Asura, but more vivid.

However, she didn't remember anything at all! Still… her heart clung to a feeling of warmth she could not explain. Maybe she was just stressed and was unconsciously looking for comfort. She sighed and looked around, trying to get her bearings.

Currently, she and the others from the program are in the guest sector of Asura. It wasn't actually within the capital itself, but rather a small village that hosted outsiders. She had been surprised to find that the capital itself had no inns or hotels. But then she thought about it again. Getting into the country was hard enough by itself and any visitors would just wait here until Asura's higher ups were ready to see them.

Still, the fact that even another country's leader wasn't allowed to stay in the capital made Caroline realize just how private the Asurians really were. Not to mention all the crazy wildlife! Part of her was starting to believe that Asura was actually some piece of a larger world not like their own that fell off and attached itself to earth.

A knock came from her door followed by the voice of one of the staff members, "Miss, we will be leaving for the capital in an hour. Please meet up in the lobby by then. Also, make sure to leave all belongings here. They must be inspected before they are transferred to where the leaders decide you will be staying. Please wear the guest uniform in the wardrobe that has been provided to you."

"Wait, what about my phone?" She didn't know how would she contact her parents in a month without it. Even now she would love to talk to them, but she knew she couldn't. "I thought we could communicate with our families every month?"

The staff member dismissed it quickly as if she had already answered the same question a million times before, "You will be given a replica Asurian phone upon arrival. It cannot connect with the outside, but you will keep your games, pictures, videos, and other such things. Your own phone will be given to you every month spanning your sponsorship for friends and family contact only."

She was about to ask how they were going to simply replicate all her phone's information but she heard footsteps retreat from her door, likely to pass the same message to the other attendees. Caroline had never thought that they would take a simple entrance to the capital so seriously, even going so far to take their phones and have them wear uniforms as they checked their belongings. 'They already did that before the plane ride, what are they looking for?'

Before long she simply sighed and began to undress, letting her large t-shirt slide off her slender shoulders, preparing to dress while she continued to mull over her thoughts, 'I guess… maybe… they're wary of something… A country? Or a specific person…? If the rumors about the scientists are true…'

Her thoughts were broken as she realized that even underwear had been prepared for them. "Oh come on!" She proclaimed. Wasn't this a bit over the top? She didn't realize that they had even taken their exact measurements at some point. "This day is starting off really weird," she mumbled to herself, picking up the lacy undergarments that had been given to her. They even looked to be hand made and had a silky feel to them that felt breathable when she wore them. Whatever. She couldn't complain when they gave her nicer clothes than she owned.

She quickly dressed into the rest of her temporary attire and looked into the mirror over her hotel room's sink. Caroline was surprised at how pretty the outfit actually was. It wasn't baggy but also not skin tight. It flowed nicely, even having what seemed to be a light scarf that wrapped itself into an embroidered cape behind her.

The country's colors of black and gold were present as well as its emblem on the front. The emblem caught her eye as she realized something, 'Why choose wolves to put on the emblem instead of dragons or even phoenixes? Surely those mythical creatures would make a bigger impact.'

Caroline shrugged and didn't ponder about it for long. Asura had already proved to be different from anywhere else and little matters like an emblem weren't nearly as interesting as possibly getting a familiar or the mythical creatures in the skies and forests.

Leaving her things behind as she was told, she made her way to the lobby and smiled as she spotted Emily talking happily with Gus who was wearing more or less the same thing but in suit form. She walked up and waved, "You guys look great, it looks like they really did go and make outfits for all of us."

Emily nodded happily and spun around, "It's so nice and silky! But ya know, it doesn't seem like actual silk. I wonder how they made them!" She then leaned over and whispered to Caroline, "Not to mention how they made the lacy underwear feel so nice…"

She coughed as she shook her head before smiling awkwardly at Gus, "So um, how do you like your outfit?"

"It's nice. Nicer than my own clothes," He answered briefly.

Caroline had gotten used to his way of talking when they hung out yesterday. He was just a more quiet type of person that looked and sounded kind of scary but was really kind-hearted. Too bad Niko hadn't joined them to play games and just kept reading the whole time. Wait.

"Where's Niko?" She asked, just noticing that he wasn't here yet and began looking around the crowd for his dark and shaggy hair.