(Kali's POV)
The new kids seemed weird to me at first. They felt powerful in a way, like they had an aura around them that screamed powerful. Especially around the younger girl. The younger girl who looked about 12, had black hair and dark brown eyes that looked black in the dark. Her name was Raven and personally, she was creepy. On the other hand, the Amber girl had fire red hair with green eyes. She looked about 14.
As Aisling and I talked to them more and more, I could see Aisling's earlier tension slowly chipping away. The other two still seemed tense but as time went on, it faded too. Everything was perfect. Everyone got along and the earlier surprise was done and over.
At dinner, Raven speaks up for the first time since her and Amber had gotten here. "What did you guys seemed so shocked when we first walked in?" Raven ask, sounding genuinely confused. I open my mouth to reply but before I can, Aisling speaks up. "Well Lacie actually only said she was adopting one other child. Not two."
Lacie looks like she wants to protest but before she can get the chance, Blaire speaks up. "She never said anything about adopting only one kid. We just assumed because she normally only adopts one kid at a time." Lacie nods in agreement. "Thank you for the clarification, Blaire."
I watch as realization dawns on their faces. "Why did you think we all were so shocked?" I ask, my curiosity piqued. I notice Leo's eyes narrow slightly. Leo isn't exactly known for his non-existent patience.
"Yeah, tell us. What did you think? That we were judging you or something?" Amber stays quiet for a second before speaking up. "It's not that I expected you to judge us because of how we look or dress, I was just being wary. It's happened before." Leo's face softens slightly at that revelation before quickly masking it again.
***
After dinner, the tense atmosphere faded as Aisling and I helped the girls unpack their things into one single drawer each. It's not that Aisling and I had a lot of things that took up all of the drawer space, it's that Raven and Amber barely had anything. That's how it usually is when you first get adopted.
In the shelters, you learn to cherish what you have instead of getting whatever you want to replace unused things. Things like clothes and toys were cleaned and passed down to the next kid. If you were lucky, you could get something new but it was rare.
After everyone was in bed, I could hear Aisling snoring softly. Soon, Amber and Raven fell asleep. Around midnight, I woke up to Raven muttering something in what sounded like Ancient Greek. I couldn't tell if I was just hallucinating or if with every word Raven spoke, the shadows seemed to grow stronger. I watched for a moment as the shadows danced and swirled in the air above Raven.
I roll over, facing the wall, trying to ignore it until suddenly, the room gets colder. I swear I feel a hand on my shoulder but when I look, there's nothing there. That night, I didn't get much sleep.