Episode 2 | New Companions, Part 1

To sum it all up, Giselle gave her a brief tour of where the bedrooms were, who slept where, where the emergency equipment was stashed, and so forth. Giselle 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.

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

"What do you like to do?" Giselle said suddenly, fixing her eyes on Dianne.

Dianne was somehow caught off guard by her abrupt question.

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

A pause.

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

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

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

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

After the tour, Giselle let Dianne 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. Dianne closed her eyes and drifted off.

~O~O~O~

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

"Kids, this is your new sister, Dianne Hunt-"

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

Dianne forced a smile as she stared down at the kid's grinning face, almost tearing his cute chubby cheeks with his huge grin. She rubbed his 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, Dianne felt more drawn to the kids 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.

Dianne shook her head fondly. "But Chelsea will bring them to me soon."

"I want to see you shoot an arrow!"

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

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

Dianne 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 about noisily at the lounging room just across from where she was sitting. A girl, Giselle introduced as Kylie, stepped out of the kitchen with nothing but a cup of water. Noticing where she was, Kylie decided to sit down right next to her.

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

Kylie was a silent 12 years old girl with seemingly observant dark eyes. She would only lurk around them and doesn't really join the kids' conversations.

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

"I'm not hungry," Kylie 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 Dianne.

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

It was a simple question, yet Dianne found herself incapable of answering it immediately. She could just tell Kylie 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. Kylie was someone she just met a few hours ago. Not exactly enough time to have Dianne 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. Giselle's first instruction is to always help in the chores, and Dianne made sure not to be a burden to anyone.

Kylie followed her soon after.

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

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

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

"Why are you asking me these questions?" Dianne countered, her eyes slightly narrowed. This girl was too perceptive for her own good. She would have to remind her that two could play 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?" Dianne said impatiently, tired of all this-this pestering.

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