'I hope I dressed well enough, I should arrive a couple minutes early.' Elris thought. She looked at her sleek golden watch, it matched her sundress, which was a mix of red, gold, and crimson. The top half clung snugly to her broad shoulders and her slender yet exceptionally fit torso, the lower half of the dress frilled out to halfway down her thighs. Elris adjusted the shoulder strap of her dress and itched her collarbone where it had been pressing.
She was almost at the Aurekil's building; Elris hadn't been to this particular residence of theirs, but she'd been to a few others back in the first ward.
The third ward was much colder than the first, so she had decided to wear a pair of sleek black leggings and a long-sleeved black undershirt –Hence why she was comfortable with the hem of her dress riding so high. 'I do want Xeno to look at me more, after all.' The seam on the right shoulder-strap of her dress irritated her a shit-ton, but she still wore it –The things one does for fashion.
Elris' heels clicked against the cold stone of the sidewalk as she exited the cab. In front of her stood a superstructure that was so gargantuan it almost kissed the pollution barrier holding out the dark sky above. The Aurekil's place of residence here had to be at least several kilometers tall. It was hundreds of meters above any other skyscraper around. She almost found it hard to believe, but still, in the end, Elris had no doubt the Aurekils owned the whole building, not just an apartment in it.
She stood for a few moments in utter awe, taking in the magnificence of the Aurekil's mega-skyscraper. The entrance had a large rotating door, surrounded by even larger slabs of white marble: Something that screamed of wealth due to how hard it was to obtain natural materials in The Neon City. The building started wider at the base and although Elris couldn't see the top, it seemed to gradient to a point. Almost like one of the large spires at recreational parks, only less wonky and more inhabitable. 'So this is what it's like being rich-rich. Ughh, and Xeno said we're on the top floor. This is going to take a while.'
Elris walked through the open front of the property, past the colossal support struts that were attached to the skyscraper like guy ropes. She walked alongside an older woman who was on a phone call.
"Yes, yes I have the files, I'm 10 minutes away." The lady chattered away on the phone. She saw Elris and gave her a cranky frown whilst hobbling on through, cutting Elris off to get to the door faster. She lugged a briefcase in one hand and a laptop bag over the other shoulder. Elris assumed she was probably off to a meeting of sorts.
The Aurekil's dabble in many different forms of business, from software, to industrial production, to even real estate. So it wasn't a surprise to Elris that this building probably wasn't purely residential. As she entered the lobby, Elris realised she didn't actually know where to go. Elris was overwhelmed by the sheer size and splendor of the ground floor; to top it off, the lobby was teeming with workers going to and from wherever –it was a lot of visual stimulation. So she looked for the front reception to inquire on how to get to the top floor.
Elris looked down as she stood in line at reception, her scarlet bangs aiding her in avoiding eye contact with the people in front of her. They were a bunch of big, rough-looking goons who had caught some paupers squatting in a soon-to-be-renovated floor in the building.
One of the paupers nudged his accomplice and pointed with their head at Elris.
A disgusted frown found its way onto her face. 'Ewww, why's that old fart staring? My body is for Xeno's eyes only. I dressed up just for her! –No one else. I'm starting to regret trying to look all fancy just for a simple dinner party.' Elris thought. She gave the guards an eyeballing and they roughhoused the paupers to face towards the reception, away from Elris. It seemed that with her appearance it was hard not to catch people's eyes... Pristine white tiling lathered the floor, and gold was used instead of grout –It complemented the similar pattern of her heels.
Those dirty working class scum, how dare they look at her? And why were they trying to live illegally in the Aurekil's complex? Elris had a bone or two to pick with anyone who takes advantage of the rich. The rich are rich for a reason, because they've earned their place in society, but these lowly shopkeepers, retail workers, taxi drivers… Everything in between. They haven't earned a place in society like she had, or her parents. Actually, Elris labeled her parents as scum, too. Although they had wealth, they were very poor in character, and that had affected her the most –But in the grand scheme of things, paupers were far worse.
Eventually, those weak, helpless paupers were taken away, probably to be used as labrats for developing biorhelms in the restricted ward –That was often where criminals went. Elris watched as they were dragged away, kicking and screaming like their lives depended on it, not that they had a life worth anything in the first place… Elris watched them go with a smirk. It was her turn to be served, and the man at the counter directed her to a specific elevator that was tucked away behind the reception for the Aurekil's and their guests' use only.
As Elris stepped into the elevator, she was met by a strange figure.
Leant against the railing in the corner stood a well-built man only a little taller than herself. He wore a strange alloy garment that concealed the glow of his energy core. The garment had a thick cloth hood that was pulled firmly over his head. His face was hidden behind a mask that seemed to be the face of an animal from ancient times –a fox. It's beady eyes examined Elris with unintelligible interest.
As she had entered, he pressed the button for the top floor and entered the security code, which made Elris frown. 'Who is he? A houseworker?' She thought, 'Come to think of it, there was a name on the guest list I didn't recognize. V was it?'
Elris didn't feel even a hint of vertigo as the elevator shot upwards at ten meters a second. She was a well-experienced combatant in the Soul Gauntlet after all, and the best archer in The First Ward Academy. What she found interesting was that the man in the fox mask seemed fine, too.
Her early timing had been stumped by the long elevator ride; nevertheless, with a ding, she and the man with the fox mask reached the top floor. They were greeted silently by Xeno, who ran up and hugged Elris tightly, more tightly than usual –probably because they hadn't seen eachother since the end of the school term.
Using pure energy, Xeno's voice entered Elris' head.
[Hey, Elris, canya cook for one more?] Her sweet golden eyes looked up at Elris candidly.
[I already planned to cook for V since he was on the guest list, so it's fine.] Elris had been taken aback by Xeno, ruffled obsidian hair, her cosy home clothes, and the way the placket of her collar was a bit more open on one side. 'Aghhh, she's just SO cute! What a view,' Xeno always had a sparkly, tender partina to her. Elris made the most of the short moment she had in Xeno's embrace, wrapping herself around her friend firmly. She coveted the feeling of Xeno's breath tickling against her neck and collarbones –a shaky sigh escaped Elris' mouth.
[I know that you goof, I mean another person aswell as V.] Xeno tilted her head down, a smile Elris had never seen before found its way onto Xeno's face. She looked up at Elris almost through her eyelashes before flicking a glance distrustfully in V's direction. Seeming slightly discomforted, probably by their prolonged closeness and Elris' roaming hands, she pulled away, leading Elris into the living room by the hand.
As they left the foyer, out of the corner of her eye, Elris saw V slink away into a nearby hallway.
[Your parents home yet?] Elris held a coy tone in her thoughts.
[Nah, it's been just us two 'til you and V showed up.]
[Huh, who else is here? I thought it was just you. I take it your brother's not boarding anymore, then?] Elris followed Xeno into the first lounge. Elris' feet sank pleasantly into the dark grey carpet. There were almost no walls, mostly floor-to-ceiling windows and structural beams hiding in plain sight –Elris didn't even notice them at first. Standing from anywhere in the room she had a magnificent view of the endless expanse of the Great City of Neon. Looking outside Elris felt like she was literally on top of the world. And the couches, the couches had to be tens of thousands of dollars each, and they had two of them hugging the perimeter of the living room, literally every sitting spot had an extendable footrest, there were cupholders and extendable lap trays. This particular model was made of literally the softest fabric in the first ward.
And some scrawny runt was splayed out on the couch opposite the tv, his hair was a bit wet –probably from a shower. He had his feet up on the coffee table, and he leaned awkwardly over his knees, tapping away rabidly on a console controller. His sweaty palms slipped, making the controller fall to the floor, and the screen flashed 'YOU DIED–GAME OVER'
"Awwww man." he put his hands behind his head and leant back, letting out an exasperated sigh.
[No, my brother's still boarding. You remember Nyroth right? I brought him home with me for this term's holiday.] Xeno let go of Elris' hand and took a seat next to him on the couch, their shoulders way too close.
'What?!!' Elris' jaw dropped. 'The pauper, that's who this is? I thought I recognised him. Ugh, just what is he to her? And they've been staying together for two weeks now? I thought she'd stopped going to that stupid cafe he works at ages ago!' Elris' ears burned, 'Even Xeno's brother would be more tolerable than this guy. ' If she were in her Biorhelm she would be literally steaming out of her manifolds right now. But it isn't the time to start a fight, she held in her emotions and equipped a poker face. 'Why is she letting a working-class piece of shit into her life so boldly? I mean, he's a pauper, what's she gonna do when he does something?'
Nyroth shuffled on his bum, leaning into Xeno a bit more… She subtly did the same, resting her elbow on his leg.
"Nyroth." Elris addressed him out loud with a stiff tone in her voice; the glint in her eyes was condescending as she looked down at him.
"E-Elris was it?" Nyroth replied nervously, possibly sensing her animosity, which she wasn't exactly hiding in her tone of voice.
"What brings you here?" Elris asked imposingly, as she assumed a bold stance.
"Ah, well you see Xeno regulars at the cafe I work at. And we've gotten closer over time, so she invited me to spend her holiday with her." He looked at her, and a smile grew on his face.
"You look pretty young to be working…" Elris knew who he was and that his family couldn't even afford schooling for him. But she couldn't help but want him to know it, too. She wanted to emphasise the level of grace Xeno is showing him by even allowing him to talk with her, let alone whatever else is going on.
The smile faded from his lips, but his expression still held his admiration for Xeno. He took a while to answer, "It's just the way life's gone really. My family used to be well-off, but then something happened to my dad, and we got a bit screwed over by that."
Elris didn't care for whatever pity story he threw at them as an excuse; he was a pauper, through and through.
He looked back up at Elris. "But enough of that, if you ever want to come by the cafe, you should come with Xeno. She's a regular there and my Aunt, the owner, is fond of her, so she gives Xeno a discount."
"No thanks, I don't like sweets," Elris replied flatly, lying through her teeth. During the school term, she usually has a whole stash of goodies in her dorm room. But more importantly, Xeno had been lying to her; she'd promised she wouldn't return to that cafe. Although what did Elris expect, how else would they get this close?
"Oh, okay… Well, Xeno said all of the groceries you need for dinner tonight are in the pantry, and the meat is in the fridge. I know it's practice for a subject at the Academy, but would you like us to help?"
'Ughh, I hate that he acts like a nice guy,' Elris thought to herself, her heart twisting a little. 'But all paupers are the same, Xeno will understand as she gets to know him more. I pity how naive she is –I just hope it doesn't hurt her too much.'
Xeno had been swishing her head between Nyroth and Elris, watching their mouths move, unable to assess the vibe between the two of them. She had held a cute, frantic look on her face.
Elris felt bad speaking aloud so that Xeno couldn't hear them, but she'd rather Xeno didn't catch on to her loathing for people like him.
Xeno laid her attention nervously between Elris and Nyroth, the pale lights of the apartment illuminated her eyes and refracted off her supple cherry pink lips, something Elris had naturally noticed.
[Hey! I'm right here, you two. Please, can we talk using pure energy?] 'grrrr, those cheeky bastards I caaan't hear you, yknow!' Xeno thought to herself, 'What have they even been talking about? And how do they forget I'm deaf?! I mean, it's pretty fricken obvious that I don't have the slightest clue what's goin' on, if you ask me!' She smushed her cheeks down onto her palms and her elbows on her knees.
[Aw, sorry Xeno,] Nyroth gave her an apologetic look.
Xeno giggled a little as she heard that.
[What the p-] Elris paused, trying to process Xeno's bizarre reaction. [What he said.] She crossed her arms and plopped down on the couch, the taste of disdain on her lips. [So. What are we gonna do? I've got some time before I want to start prepping dinner.]
[Well… Nyroth hasn't seen my Biorhelm in person yet… I have brought it with me cus the whole floor below is set up for Soul training. So we may as well use it right? I gotta hold number one on the stats, yknow –And let the fanboy get what he wants.']
[Hold wayy up, I was thinking something more lowkey, like a game or something. We're on holiday for a reason, you fighting fanatic…]
[I'm fine with whatever Xeno wants.]
'Of course you are pauper' [Well, I say we play Vorlune…]
[Whatttt that's totally unfair on Nyroth! He only learned how to use pure energy like two months ago. And the only thing he learned was mind-link so he could communicate with me, not anything super intricate that would apply to Vorlune.]
'I bet it took him years to learn mindlink. It's usually impossible for someone without an education to gain the knowledge required for such a skill.' Elris smirked internally.
[Aww, come on Xeno it'll be fine. I'm happy to just give it a go, I'm happy just getting the basics down this time of Vor-. What's it called?]
[Vorlune.] Elris interjected. 'Get the basics down, is he stupid?' Elris chuckled at herself, realising she'd almost forgotten he's a pauper, 'Of course he's stupid. Xeno and I barely have the basics down, and we're combatants in the Soul Gauntlet. We practically breathe Pure Energy. If he managed to learn even half of the basics in one session, I would forgive him for existing and kiss his shoes right then and there.'
[Okay dreamer boy] 'Or should I say dream-boy?' Xeno thought with a dreamy look on her face. [Hehe, I wouldn't put it past you Ny. You did learn mind-link in a week –Even if it was a bit lucky, but who's to say you haven't run out?]
'What the fuck?! A single week? It took me a year to even circulate pure energy, let alone fucking learn how to convert received waves of the energy into thoughts. Is this guy an assassin or a terrorist? Does she seriously believe he could learn something that takes students at the academy a year of hard work and studying, in only 7 days?'
Xeno giggled again, her caramel eyes looking over her shoulder at Nyroth as her back rested on his side.