Wanting To Go Outside

EW 24-620

After getting adjusted to the Edwards' family apartment and almost enjoying the dinner they made for us, Constance proposed an alliance that we accepted. We all have the same goal of wanting to reach Bellatrix Leonis, so it's a good chance to form allies to help us along the way. However, Constance has no plan on how to reach there. She's so…unusual. She's the one who rescued us from the dump and brought us to this place; her family is the one caring for us and I am grateful for that.

My only issue is why would someone propose a revenge plan without a plan? I know there are those people who just burst in without a plan and expect things to happen, but I am not that sort of person. When she had confidently told me she had no plan, I saw Sophia and Murphy's eyes on me. They were expecting me to come up with one–that I can tell. It's burdensome, honestly. They're expecting a lot from me because I'm a young Laminan.

What sort of plan have I come up with? Nothing. How am I supposed to form a plan when I'm in a very unfamiliar place? I can't just create plans on the top of my head. I need to see the Outskirts more to find a way to escape into the bigger portion of the city with them.

Arcturus gaped when he saw that he used up the last page of his journal. He wasn't sure why he felt surprised when this had been a normal occurrence for him as a frequent journal writer. Was it because he was abruptly stopped when he was in the middle of writing?

"You need a new journal." Souhait remarked, startling Arcturus. Souhait had been sitting next to him the entire time and he hadn't realized this until now. When he looked at him, thoughts accumulated in his head. Since Nova's soul was asleep, it allowed Arcturus to realize that Souhait could not grant wishes in his current state. Since it would take about three days until Nova awakened, the wait did make him a bit nervous. What if Constance refused to have her wish granted? Would their companionship still be intact even if Constance didn't have one?

"Arcturus?"

When he stared into Souhait's eyes, he felt an odd sense of reassurance that everything will be fine and that there will be ways to solve the lingering future issues plaguing his mind. Because of that, he was able to calm down.

"Yeah, I need a new one, but that means we need to go outside."

"I heard that you need to go out." Murphy remarked as he came out of the kitchen with a mop in his hands. "Why do you need to go out?"

"I need a new journal. And I do want to see what sort of place the outskirts are–maybe it can help me create a plan to reach the mayor."

"Is that so?"

"However, is it safe for us to go out? Both of us clearly stand out and we're definitely not residents of this place. Put two and two together, that means we're suspicious people."

Murphy became deep in thought. "If you're that worried, it'd be best to go in disguise. Fake your name and story."

Souhait's eyes glistened when his idea was brought up. "Disguises?" He looked very eager.

"Do you like disguises?" Murphy inquired.

"Like them? I love disguising myself–in fact, I do it all the time! From the moment I stepped foot into this world, I've been a disguise of my true self." His words were meant to be negative, but Arcturus wondered why he sounded excited.

"Even now, I'm technically a disguise for Nova who is sleeping inside of me."

"Speaking of which," Arcturus cut in. "How will you be able to leave the house with all that hair?" He eyed Souhait's extremely long hair and wondered how it looked so nice; it looked like a hassle to brush.

Souhait looked very confident as he hummed. "I can change my appearance, actually." He stood up from his seat and took a few steps forward. "In my current state, I cannot grant wishes because that is Nova's duty. Instead, when I am active, I can still activate my abilities. Did you know that the source of my abilities reside in my hair?"

"Your hair is magical?" Arcturus was curious.

"You have magic hair?" Murphy looked rather skeptical.

"Can you show us?" Constance was the most excited.

Sophia chirped in after overhearing from the bathroom. "Who has magical hair?" She walked into the living space.

Souhait placed his hands on his hips. "Welcome to Souhait's Magical Hair Show, where I, Souhait, will show you some tricks that I can do with my hair–mainly the deceptive kind."

He bunched up some of his hair and then wrapped it around his body as if he was wrapping around a very long scarf. When he was completely wrapped around, he then dropped his hair and his appearance changed from Souhait to Nova, as if they had swapped places; there were two differences between the usual Nova and the Nova standing in front of him. The usual Nova had shoulder-length hair and lavender hair while the Nova in front of him had long golden hair that was the same length as Souhait's usual hair and his signature lavender and gold heterochromatic eyes. Souhait was still in control despite the complete change in appearance. Despite that, he couldn't help but be amazed; he did wonder how the hair color changed instantly when it unraveled.

Sophia, Murphy and Constance were applauding the magic trick, which caused Arcturus to join them. Souhait, in Nova's appearance, bowed. "Not only can I change into Nova, I can change into a few other people."

"Really?"

Souhait did the same method by wrapping the golden hair around him. When the locks dropped, he changed into a petite black haired woman wearing a jumpsuit. Her appearance reminded him of the Monarch Shiftie, which got him on guard.

"Relax. This appearance is just a person's." Arcturus did relax when he heard Souhait's voice coming out of the woman's appearance.

Murphy was in deep thought. "Wait, isn't that girl that fugitive that was on the news a few years ago? What was her name again?"

"Seneka Mallami." Sophia uttered, rather confidently.

Souhait buzzed. "Incorrect. Her name is Sayaka Minami. Though, you did get the fugitive part correct. I am surprised you know about the news from Lamina despite you being an isolated city."

Murphy remarked, "Our television channels are interconnected with the mainland's via satellite, so whatever news the mainland has is ours too."

"This place is a lot more advanced than I expected." Arcturus was genuinely surprised.

"Can you change into another appearance?" Constance was very engrossed in his changes. Arcturus noted how childish and innocent she looked when she was enthusiastic.

Souhait quickly glanced over at Arcturus before focusing back on her. "Sure…"

Why did he look at me? Realization slowly came to him as he remembered Sayaka's name. Wait a second, if she was the soul inside Kori and if Kori had a wish…that means…

Like he had thought, Souhait had changed his appearance once more. This time, he became Kori. This made Arcturus realize that his appearance can only be changed into those who got their wishes granted. He found it a terrifying ability for anyone who had experienced losing someone dear could easily be spooked by their loved ones' sudden resurrection. Despite that, he wasn't flustered by this appearance. He felt no anger or regret. He knew this was Souhait disguising himself as Kori, so he knew he wouldn't do anything disrespectful.

"Those ears…" Constance stood up. "Is that person a Shiftie?"

"Well, he was. His body is no longer attached to his earring."

"Can I touch them?"

Souhait allowed her, so she gently tugged Kori's ears to see if they were real. As Constance was fawning over Kori's appearance, Arcturus noticed Sophia looking a bit flustered at the sight of him.

"White hair… A Trifecta…"

From what he had remembered, when someone had all the blood of all three nations in their system, the child is deemed a trifecta. However, they do not live long. Since Shifties's appearances were based on people who had died, that meant that Nathaniel Hope had based Kori's appearance on a Trifecta; this would also mean Constance's appearance was based on a deceased person.

His ears took note of Sophia's breathing; they were becoming heavier. She looked rather pale too. Constance noticed this and immediately rushed to her side. "What's the matter?"

Murphy panicked as he rushed towards the kitchen to grab a glass and pour some water for her to drink. Arcturus wasn't sure what to do to help Sophia in this situation; his first thought was to grab Souhait's hair. "Change your appearance into someone else, immediately!"

Souhait, who looked rather worried about Sophia, quickly nodded as he wrapped his hair around himself and changed back to his normal appearance. He then rushed towards her side. "Take deep breaths, slowly…"

"Trifecta…" Sophia muttered as she stared at him. "I'm sorry… Virgo…"

Arcturus had the impression that Sophia was strong-willed, but even she had her own skeletons in her closet. He was very worried about her. He thought about Belinda. He eyed Murphy. "Can you call Belinda?"

"I'll call her!" Constance stood up and pressed her earring to contact Belinda. "Is this Dr. Mathis? This is Constance. Sophia is having a panic attack. Please come immediately!"

Souhait took a few steps back; he looked very anxious. "I'm…going to step out…" He rushed out the door.

Arcturus, worried, followed him out.