The air was chilly. A soft metallic ringing hummed through the air.
A young girl with golden hair sat up from where she had been sleeping. Drool trailed from her and the lap she was sleeping on. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she looked around in a slight daze.
It was strange to her; she felt less tired than usual. It had been this way for the past few days. She slept well, too well for her liking. Rinne checked her body; there was nothing amiss. No clothing moved; no aches or sores.
She looked at the man who slept sitting up. His red hair moved with the artificial wind blowing through it. Streaks of dirt trailed on his face, almost as if he were crying. It baffled her that he didn't do anything to her.
She knew the adults on the Upper Layer wouldn't waste a moment upon seeing a girl sleeping peacefully. Was that normal down here, or was that just her own twisted frame of mind?
Mother trusted him. She thought, shaking the thoughts out of her mind. But that only worried her more. If she looked like her mother, how did she look in the eyes of the man who loved her?
Rinne stood up from her spot and walked towards the edge of the bell tower, keeping her steps light.
The ceiling of the Middle Core was filled with artificial light that flooded the layer, mimicking that of the sun. She wondered how the people of the Middle Core could live without seeing the genuine light of the celestial body they orbited. Did they even care?
But…maybe it was better to stick with the false sky than to worry day in and out about the twisted adults from the Upper Layer. A shiver ran down Rinne's spine as she thought about the what-ifs had she not been wise enough to keep herself safe.
Sure, compared to the other girls her age, she had been considerably lucky. The most she had gone through were lashes and beatings. But her friends, or at least she considered them friends, had been through unspeakable things that Rinne had been forced to watch.
That was why she sought solitude once the sun had fallen over the horizon. Find the most secluded spot, one with an escape route. That was her goal.
But since meeting this man, all of that had changed. He gave her a spot to sleep; sure, it was his couch, reeking of alcohol and goddess knows what else that drunkard did to it, but it was the first time she hadn't needed to look for a place to sleep.
Even on the first night, the thought of an escape route wasn't on her mind. She heard him leave the hideout, and she followed him. When she returned, she fell asleep. However, the sleep was interrupted by the sound of him bringing in the woman whom the rich-looking asshole had taken.
She looked back at the man who went by the name of Golden Steam. What about this man made her feel safe? She remembered briefly trying to escape last night after being found up in the clock tower. She remembered how fast her heart was beating. The second she saw his face, she calmed down.
Were they her feelings? Or the feelings of her mother?
It didn't make sense to her; nothing she felt about him did.
Golden Steam was the walking embodiment of everything she hated: self-destructive and a liar. Yet, no matter what he did, she felt a pang in her heart whenever she looked in his direction.
Even though she knew she was only causing him pain, she felt safe around him.
"Why…?" she muttered. It was selfish of her, but she didn't want to leave his side.
Golden Steam made a slight movement, causing Rinne to place a hand over her mouth.
That was close. She thought.
Rinne turned around to face a particular spot on the wall. Last night, she questioned its reason for being there. But after seeing that Golden Steam came up here of his own accord when the residents of the group home seemed to neglect the bell tower's existence, she figured those markings held some significance.
At least, that was what her gut was telling her.
"Times Aster Dolos found me."
That was what the engraving above the tallies read. She tilted her head while staring at the name. It was familiar. She recalled a book she had read about a mythology that existed before the Old World era.
Star…Deception…She translated. It wasn't perfect, but she concluded that was what the name meant.
Her eyes, though, caught a glimpse of something strange. The tallies, each one engraved, the metal showing its age, yet one was fresh, still showing a metallic shimmer. Had Golden Steam carved that last night?
"Why would he—"
"Hmmm…?"
Old habits die hard.
Before Rinne could finish her thought, she dashed to the side of the bell tower and leaped over the side without a second thought. She landed as softly as she could on the rooftop of the group home and followed the path she had laid out.
There was an empty window on the side of the building towards the end. It was on the third floor, but she could use that to descend towards the first and meet up with Sara quickly. That way she could say to Golden Steam that she had been with her for a while.
Sure, she had to lie, but it was better than admitting that she slept in the lap of that man all night.
Once she reached the end, she grabbed onto the ledge of the roof.
Please still be open. She hoped.
Thankfully, it was. She hopped into the room, and the smell of coffee flooded her senses. Only the outside light filled the room. There was a bed, untouched and collecting a layer of dust.
"…" Rinne looked around until she spotted a small desk, layered with books. Their spines contained characters from many languages of the Old World era. A trail of steam traveled upward from behind the books.
Rinne carefully moved towards the desk, her eyes revealing a small body sitting behind the stack of books. A pair of brown eyes from a childlike body locked onto her as she nonchalantly drank from a mug of coffee.
"You know…" The girl—Mother Kili—put down the mug and glared at Rinne. "You have unnaturally quiet footsteps."
"I-I—" Rinne couldn't get the words she wanted to say out of her mouth.
This woman went to the effort of redoing her bandages last night out of the kindness of her heart, yet here she was, barging into her room, through the window no less. There were no words to describe the amount of shame Rinne felt for her actions.
"For the Goddess's sake." Mother Kili clicked her tongue as she rubbed her temples. "The former Golden Steam, Rinara, and now her daughter, all of you Golden Steams have terrible manners."
Rinne stepped back, looking for the door to Mother Kili's room. Once she spotted it, she ran towards it.
"Eep!"
Rinne's instincts held her back. She had just tried to reach for the handle, but a few scalpels flew sharply and embedded themselves into the door.
Rinne slowly panned her head towards the only other person that was in the room with her. Mother Kili was holding three more scalpels between her fingers as she glared at Rinne.
"30 points." She said. A frown lined her lips. "When someone threatens you, you don't freeze in place. You'll just create an opening."
The door to the room slowly opened; a woman dressed in the same vestments as Mother Kili stepped through. She looked tired.
"Mother Kili…" the woman said, "The other sisters are trying to sleep…oh…" The woman's eyes locked onto Mother Kili, and her grip on the door handle tightened.
"Sister Claire," Mother Kili said, "Tell that man you entrusted with your veil that his little lamb will be late for breakfast."
"Understood."
Rinne's only salvation had closed the door; she could swear she heard the faint sound of the door locking as well. Rinne swallowed hard as she looked at Mother Kili.
"Draw your daggers," the mother said. "I'll teach a little of how all the Golden Steams I've met fought."