Burning pile

[Throw my troubles at the world again]

When she awoke, she had a slight headache, her vision a little blurry. She looked around and she was still in Med's office but the house leaders were nowhere to be found. ''You're finally awake,'' She turned to look at him.

  "To answer your earlier question, I read your mind," he waited for a reaction and after a horrified look on Yima's face, he continues,"So which house do you think I belong to?" He asked.

  "I'm not sure." She replied.

  "House droppers, the best there is." He smiled to himself. 

  ''Here.'' He handed her a uniform, she quickly checked the badge and it was house Lintos.

  ''Why?'' She asked because she knew she wasn't able to do what Zelda just did. In fact she would rather be a part of none of the houses.

  ''Most beginners in house Lintos have no control of their powers and only know what they are capable of when they practice.'' He explained and she understood, when her parents found her she was on fire, but the fire never damaged any skin, it only felt like a whisper, a gentle caress. 

  She placed the folded uniform on her lap and waited.

  ''Thank you.'' She whispered and he stared blankly at her in such a way that she was sure he wasn't used to receiving compliments, ''I was just doing my job.'' He pointed out.

  He asked for Zelda through the mind link, this time it didn't take her long to show up. Her dark skin looks oily compared to Yima's dry looking skin. Zelda's gray eyes were fixed on Med. At each side of her were similar dressed twins who didn't much as blink, they looked just as deadly as her. 

  note to self: never provoke the trio. 

  Med explained that they were her second and third in command, Ophelia being her second and Adelia her third. They didn't seem to notice Yima, their attention fixed on Med. She couldn't tell who was who because they had the same hairstyle, a top bun and they were of the same height.

  ''You have a new member, she will stay under your supervision and protection until I say otherwise.'' What was that supposed to mean? She didn't dare ask.

  If she was upset, shocked or disappointed Zelda didn't show much of a reaction. Ophelia and Adelia exchanged looks and excused themselves. As they were outside, she could hear them laughing quietly but she didn't mind because she didn't know what they were laughing at and didn't want to jump to conclusions.

  Zelda had a ghost of a smile on her face, it was probably an inside joke and by the way Med looked it was clear that he was as blank as she was. ''Yima met Zelda, your house leader. She'll show you around, you may go I have work to do.'' He looked between them, waiting for one of them to speak.

  Zelda turned so that they were facing each other and she cocked her head sideways sizing Yima up. 

  "Hey." Yima said dreading what she would say or do and instead of answering, Zelda frowned, looked back at Med and walked out. 

  Yima stood there shocked and embarrassed, she avoided eye contact and looked down at her feet.

  She didn't know if she should follow her or stay rooted to her spot, the latter was what She preferred more. "Go." he instructed.

  She slowly stood up and made her way to the door. Ophelia and Adelia were waiting for her but Zelda was nowhere to be seen. "I'm Yima." She said, trying to make conversation. She got ignored by both twins, great, just what She needed right now. 

  They went through corridors with worn out walls and creaking floors, it was probably a hundred years old.  The cool morning breeze hit her as they exited the building, their footsteps and the rustling of the semi-dry leaves on the trees aligned in a straight line leading to the gate were the only sounds audible as they followed the path that led to  the gate.

  The gate had an owl, octopus, a sea serpent, a bear, a fox and a buffalo painted on it, representing each house. Ophelia, her twin sister, Yima had a buffalo as a badge.

  The gate opened with a loud bang causing a shiver run down her spine as she took in the buildings in front of her.

   In Likanu, where she grew up, such buildings belonged only to General Runn's workers who were tasked with destroying their homes and farms so that more industries could be built. 

  There was one flag missing,

"Where's house greens?" She asked no one in particular because She expected them to both ignore her.

 The twin on her right responded, "It's in the nook forest." Well that made sense.

  She hated the silence, She hated silence in general because it made people think, remember and talk to themselves. She didn't like the thoughts she got when she was alone or when it was quiet. 

 She started to think about the place she once called home and each time it reminded her that she's never going back there and it was like a stab to the heart.

  "Are you two going to show me around?" One of them turned back but both of them said no at the same time.

  "Zelda?" She asked, worried that they'll say no again, one of them stopped and asked her to shut up or she'll shut her up herself. Let's just say that after that she didn't mind the silence at all.

***

  Each room they passed was closed, but she could still get an idea of what was happening just from the sounds coming from the room. The long corridor was never ending, they continued forward until they stopped at door 50. They handed her the key before going back the way that they came.

  She walked in and found her roommate, she was on her bed with her legs crossed and eyes shut, the latter opened when she stepped fully into the room and locked the door behind her.

  Her side of the room had a painting of Lebi, the smallest Island. The whole room wore a mauve color.

  "Hi, I'm Yima." Her voice sounded forced, her roommate didn't seem to notice as she smiled and introduced herself, "Nice to meet you, I'm Lilith but you can call me Lily." She had one of those rough voices that scratched the right side of your brain when you heard them.

  "It's a breath of fresh air to finally meet someone from Lebi, is it true that you never sin?" Yima had heard many stories concerning Lebis, most people say they are angels sent to purify this wicked world.

  "A true Lebi never tells," Lilith dramatically whispered, Yima was crushed. She wondered why she even thought that Lilth would be willing to tell her everything just because she asked.

 "So, where are you from?" Lilith asked.

  "Likanu," Yima replied once she was seated, "and it isn't as bad as people like to make it." She added. Lianuians were viewed as people who lacked everything from food to water and even clothing.

  "I can't take your word for it, besides everyone says otherwise."

  "They are all wrong. I've lived there my whole life and I've never seen anyone die from hunger." Lilith didn't believe her.

  "Where are your stuff?" Lilith asked to change the subject. 

  Yima glared at her as she answered, "This has nothing to do with where I'm from, I left everything back home." It was partly true. The pirates only gave her the ring and sent her on her way.

  "Or maybe you never had any, don't worry I have enough for the both of us." Yima was both irritated and grateful.

  "What's that?" Yima pointed to the cage on top of Lilith's wooden wardrobe, it was covered with a soft blanket.

  "My pet yonio, his name is Fangs." 

   Lilith closed her eyes once more, ending the conversation. Yima moved to the door in shock, she hoped that Lilith wasn't being serious.

  Her heart skipped a beat causing her breathing to become excruciatingly slow. A shiver ran through her whole body leaving her shaken and trembling. Her skin crawled and She pushed further into the door. She frantically searched for the keys but couldn't find them. "Lilith, throw the keys," her voice was wobbly.