Chapter 12: Faces, The New and Old

On the way to the cafeteria I kept looking around the halls we went through. They looked both incredibly new, but also old and worn down. Daron said he would help me find my room after we ate, which lead to Xynthia and Kyla getting into an argument with him over who will help me. I actually kind of enjoyed it, made me think of the normal life I would've loved to have had back home.

When we finally got to the cafe, what stood out was the colors. Everything so far I had seen through the halls had been dull grays and whites, the rooms I peaked into were much the same. But this room, each wall and the ceiling were all different colors. Red, black, blue and green were the four walls, while the ceiling was a vivid purple. The floor was split up by color, four triangles starting from each wall pointing towards the center. Each section had its own counter, stove, cabinets and fridge.

"Don't tell me we have to cook for ourselves?!" I asked in exasperation.

"At least your catch on quick," Daron said.

"Don't worry Caesar, I used to cook back home and I'll make something delicious for you!" Kyla happily said as she rushed over to the black floored section and got to work cooking.

I looked toward Xynthia for some help with the situation and she just giggled and followed after Kyla observe her cooking.

"Well, why waste a free meal?" Daron said following the girls.

"My life couldn't have been normal could it have? I wonder what life at the right camp would've been like?" I wondered out loud as I followed after them.

It looked like Kyla was making some kind of stew with some meats and vegetables in it. It smelt amazing and my stomach started loudly growling, reminding me I haven't physically eaten anything for a while.

"Hey guys, was there anybody else in the infirmary other than me?" I asked, remembering the boy who endured through the trial with me.

"Not that I remember, then again, I never checked," Daron said nonchalantly.

"I never really checked for anybody other than you, sorry," Xynthia said, looking a bit sad.

"It's all good, I'm sure he's around somewhere, I'll run into him soon enough." Even though that's what I said, I was worried about Icarus, his condition was almost as bad as mine once we had reached the top, the only difference is I have Gil and my system, he doesn't.

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It was weird to see my brother worrying about somebody else, he either believes somebody can handle themselves or doesn't worry about them usually. I could only imagine what happened to him and that other guy that made him worry about him.

"So Caesar how are you feeling? You were just out cold for several days after all," I asked him, hoping nothing to serious happened to him.

"Good I guess? Just hungry, also confused. Very confused about everything going on," he said scratching his head.

"Well let's see if that fixes one of those," Kyla said pouring a bowl of her stew for Caesar.

I couldn't help but wonder why she seemed so smitten with him, from the way he spoke only one person was with him during his test, and he wasn't around currently. So she could only have known him for a very short while, so what did he do and when to catch this vixens attention? As much as I want him to fall in love, it will only be allowed with somebody I feel I can trust with my brother. Strangers that latch onto him, are not ones I approve of.

After we all ate, Daron showed Caesar around, I didn't care where Kyla went since it wasn't with the boys, and I decided to go practice with my ability more, it has to get stronger so I can protect my reckless brother.

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Daron showed me around the dorm building, helped me find my room, showed me his and told me to just come see him if I ever need anything, and then left me on my own. I'd gotten a whole lot of information in a short time again, and frankly, I felt overwhelmed.

Luckily I could ignore the large amount of information the system constantly gave me at the corners of my vision. Constantly seeing my stats health and experience gets annoying pretty quick.

I decided to stay in my room for the rest of the day, my bags were there and I had yet to unpack. With nothing better to do I started putting my clothes in in the closet and my pillow and blanket on my bed, and then I noticed some things I didn't pack myself that were at the bottom of my bag. Pictures and notes from the little ones and my parents. Although I always kept myself distant from them, that didn't stop them from deciding I was family to them. It took years for Xynthia to get close to me the way she has, I wonder how long it would've taken them if I just gave them the chance.

I spent some time going through those before putting them all safely in a drawer and going to sleep, hoping that maybe tomorrow things will make some more sense.