Back at their apartment Fedora was inside her bathroom.
Their showers were composed of a middle square section with a grippy, non-slip surface which had a drain in the middle, and 4 high pressure atutomatic robotic arms with showerheads which moved 360 degrees to clean their bodies. 2 of the bigger showerheads would clean their body while the 2 smaller ones would wash their hair. They just stand in the middle of that square while the showerheads first spray a mix of soap and water onto the body and a mix of water and shampoo onto the head, then, they automatically switch to more pressure and only hot water to clean. They can choose how many times this cycle repeats before they enter the shower.
The sound of the robotic arms moving and the water splashing around was the only sound in the bathroom.
Fedora was staring at the white tiles on her wall, seemingly frozen in space.
She steps into the next smaller room where 2 robotic arms with warm air blowers dry her, one dries her body and the other her head.
She steps out, puts on a random pair of shorts and a t shirt.
She walks into her bedroom and lies down in her bed, staring up at the ceiling.
-“Is this what you wanted? Satisfied with what you have accomplished?”
-“I saved the others. Without me they would be dead. I did the right thing.”
-“Sure you did. That was exactly what you intended to do. That was the reason you woke up?”
-“…”
-“You are an animal. Is getting off your greatest motivation? The thing you live for? A dog, a deer, a wolf, are not so much different you know? But that might be little too much information for your primitive brain to be able to process.”
-“I killed them all. I did. I was the one who got torn apart and nearly killed. No animal would have done that.”
-“Try to steal an animal’s mate. Not that much different isn’t it.”
-“…”
-“If you weren’t to stare at her so much that even when being fucked over by paleolithic sprite you saw the waistband with crystal clarity, they would’ve all been dead. Go tell them. Let them know the reason they are alive and so happy you saved them, is because you were staring at your teammate’s underwear.”
-“IT’S BECAUSE OF ME WE MADE IT OUT! NOT BECAUSE OF ANYONE ELSE!”
Fedora stands up, walks towards her door with furious steps and locks her door shut.
With a vigorous movement she takes off her glasses, setting her piercing white gaze free, staring at the wall across the room and pointing at it with anger.
-“MARY, SYLVIA, WHAT COULD THEY HAVE DONE IF I WASN’T THERE? I SAVED THEM. I DID A GOOD THING. I PROTECTED MY TEAMMATES. I KILLED ALL OF THOOSE ABOMINATIONS THAT FUCK OVER OUR LIVES DAY AND NIGHT.”
-“Sure you did…all by yourself…what if Linn wasn’t there? What if her pants stayed put on her hips and you saw nothing then what? She would have died, a corpse, maybe not even a complete one. Is she only as good as you can get your gears spinning because of her? Do you keep her around just so you can stare and have your fantasies while you sit in your room and masturbate?”
2 flowers on the back of Fedora’s arms wither, her breathing starting to get more rapid, each breath louder and louder.
She suddenly slashes the air behind her, long sharp bone claws having extended out of her fingers, her hand was veiny and surging with vigor
-“SHUT THE FUCK UP! WHAT DO YOU KNOW?”
-“Go right ahead and swing at the air, maybe more oxygen will turn your brain into more than just a primate. What if Linn didn’t look the way she did? If Linn was skinny, or bald, or didn’t look the way she does now you wouldn’t have even started a conversation with her.”
Fedora’s breathing picks up even more, she turns around again and slashes the air behind her again, this time with her other hand, which also grew claws.
-“LEAVE ME ALONE!”
-“Supposedly humans are the most complex organisms on the planet, the most mentally capable and are the only one who are conscious, aware of their own behaviors and existence…despite all this you still follow the same blueprint as any other creature…eat, drink, sleep, reproduce…that is all…a horse drinks, a horse eats, a horse sleeps, a horse reproduces, the horse never knows what it is doing…it just does what it is designed to do…what it happened to be…what are you? As human? The rider on top of the horse. You watch it eat, you watch it drink, you watch it sleep, you watch it reproduce…you justify all of his actions, because you are tied to the horse, the horse is all you ever knew…and you look at the bird on the field and judge it for how dumb it is…only caring about what an animal would care…”
Fedora groans painfully, she slashes again, cutting the edge of her blanket off.
-“STOP IT LEAVE ME BE I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG!”
-“Pfahaha what didn’t you do? Have you ever thought about telling Linn that you love her? Haha of course not since you don’t, as long as you’re turned on, she’s your one and only reason to live but when the fire goes out you won’t even look her way! You think you’re better than the other people around her, yet you are the worst! To you she’s like a toy, only to be used when you feel like playing and then tossed in some corner once you are bored and no longer feeling it. Animal protecting its mate. What if someone looked weird at her? What if someone had thoughts of having sex with her? What if someone tried touching her?”
Fedora’s breathing was like a steam engine, her pupils wide and dilated, her hands shaking at her sides.
She suddenly turns around, a long bone spear forming in her hand during the motion. It had a long spike ridged handle and a head that was like an arrow’s, only that it had more blades than a regular arrow head.
She throws it at her wall with immense speed, the moment it touches a loud thud echoes in their apartment, the hard concrete cracking, pieces breaking off of it and falling on the floor. The spear goes about halfway into the wall, dust rising all around the room.
Fedora looks at the wall, still breathing heavily, her eyes wide and surprised.
She closes her eyes and exhales deeply, and she starts coughing from inhaling the dust.
-“Jesus christ…” She says, in a low monotone whisper.
She starts to pull on the spear as hard as she could, but to no avail, the harder she was pulling, the harder the spikes of the spear were digging into the concrete.
-“FUCK…”
She sighs.
She turns around looking around the room while rubbing her face with her hands.
-“This is the only thing I can think of…”
She walks to the spear again, and places her hands on the spear again.
-“What goes out must go in right…”
She focuses, and the bone begins melting and being reabsorbed into the skin of her hands like cotton candy in water.
She smiles and laughs.
-“Holy shit it fucking works”
She picks up all of the pieces of the spear she could get to, and reabsorbs them.
She leans in and looks inside the hole left in her wall, the rest of the spear was still in there, but she could not reach it.
She takes two steps back and sighs again, looking at the hole that was still left and the pieces of concrete that broke off of the wall.
Sylvia was in the living room, standing straight and looking at the large screen on the wall.
She looks at the watch, and when the time hits 23:00, Catherine calls them.
Sylvia picks up, and clears her throat.
-“Ergarch, this is Rose Sylvia reporting, today’s mission was a success. The supplies provided by the Kola Base have been successfully delivered to the inhabitants of the village, the SV-778 quadcopter has been returned with minimal damage, and a large number of selvim have been killed.”
-“How many, how, and by who.” Says Catherine in a monotone voice.
Sylvia adjusts her uniform before answering, even though the call was audio only and Catherine could not see her.
-“24 selvim have been killed by Snowdrop Mary, and 2538 selvim have been killed by Dahlia Fedora. Snowdrop Mary has killed the selvim from by causing mental collapse or making the selvim fight one another to death using her cognitokinesis, her magnitude remains at 2 out of 6. Dahlia Fedora has killed the selvim through various physical attacks using her osteokinesis, her magnitude has evolved to a 5 out of 10 from 4 out of 10. “
-“Understood. You will not be needed tomorrow. Dismissed.”
-“I understand Ergarch, Mind is Might.” Says Sylvia placing her fingers on her forehead.
-“Mind is Might.” Says Catherine before hanging up.
Just after hanging up she hears a loud muffled thud coming from Fedora’s room.
Worried, she knocks on her door and asks if everything is alright.
-“Hey Fedora you alright in there? I think I heard something fall.”
Fedora quickly turns towards the door, startled.
-“Shit shit shit…" She whispers to herself worried.
She quickly runs her hair, messing up her hair, and then she reaches for the glasses on her bed, putting them on.
She stares at the door for a second, then her face turns tired and drowsy.
-“Comin’…” She says in a very sleepy and weak voice.
She hunches her back and unlocks her door, opening it just enough so she can see Sylvia.
-“I fell off my bed…I’m really exhausted after today and I was sleeping like a log…too much like a log it seems…” She yawns and rubs one of her eyes under her glasses.
-“You okay though? That sounded like quite the fall.” Says Sylvia.
-“Yeah no worries I’m fine…just really fucking tired…”
-“Alright then, good night.”
-“Good night to you too.”
Fedora closes her door, locks it and waits a few seconds to make sure Sylvia left.
She leans back against her door, and lets herself slide down with her back against it until she was sitting on the floor.
-“Holy shit…”
Mary was coiled up in her bed in a fetus position, she was hugging her long braided ponytail and shaking.
She was still wearing her uniform, still wearing her high ankle boots.
The image of that selvim kept popping up in her mind over and over again, the big orange eyes with the immense pupils staring through her skull.
-*It didn’t care…it didn’t care…it didn’t care if it killed us…it didn’t care if it tortured us…it didn’t care if it’s claw pierced my eyes or ripped open my stomach…that empty look…it didn’t care…it was nothing to it…what is it…what is that thing…how can such a thing even exist…it’s real…monsters are real…one could barge in here anytime…it could kill me…it could kill Sylvia…it could kill all of us…if Fedora wasn’t there I would have died…me…Linn…Sylvia…I couldn’t have done anything…I cannot believe they are real…how can such a thing really exist…*
She keeps rocking her body left and right while holding her other arm wrapped around her stomach.
The next morning Fedora’s eyes suddenly open wide, startled by an insistent knock on the door.
-“Shit!”
She quickly places her hand over her eyes, sits up and pats around on her nightstand for her glasses.
-“Yeah who is it?”
She gets out of the bed and pulls down the blinds of her windows.
-“How the fuck did I forget about these…” She whispers to herself.
-“It’s Linn! Breakfast is ready come and eat with us!”
-“I’ll be there in a minute.”
-“Can I come in?”
Fedora walks over to her door and unlocks it with a click.
Linn opens the door and looks at Fedora.
-“Morning sleepyhead! Why do you keep the door locked? Do you sleep naked?”
Fedora’s cheeks turn a bit rosy.
-“N-no, I’m just used to it, makes me feel safer…”
Linn smiles and looks around Fedora’s room, her eyes locking on a persian carpet put up on the wall across the room.
Linn gasps.
-“Are you becoming a grandma already? I swear you look way younger!”
Fedora laughs and shakes her head.
-“Excuse you, I’m 20, I put that up since it reminds me of my childhood.”
-“Whaaat really? You’re younger than me? I didn’t know that.”
Fedora walks out of her room, adjusting her shirt and stretching.
-“Now that you mention, how come we spent months living together and I never asked your age…” Says Fedora.
-“I’m 24…I actually don’t know how old Sylvia and Mary are either…what a bad friend I am…”
-“Nah don’t worry…Sylvia’s 21 and Mary is 17.”
Linn’s eyes widen.
-“Wait, really?! Are there no age requirements to be an Ergal?”
Fedora huffs and stretches again.
-“I’ll be honest, I’ve been an Ergal for 4 years, and I still have no fucking clue, I was 16 when I started this bullshit.”
Linn looks at her with curiosity and concern in her eyes, but before she gets to ask Fedora anything they reach the kitchen.
-“Chatting so much even on an empty stomach?” Says Sylvia jokingly while stirring into a pan on the stove.
She was wearing a black long sleeve t shirt, a black and red plaid short sleeve hoodie jacket, a pair of grey cargo pants and white fluffy slippers.
Mary was washing some plates in the sink, she was wearing an oversized pink hoodie, black and red plaid pajama pants and pink fluffy slippers with bunny ears.
-“Are you two matching on purpose? Top and bottom?” Says Fedora as she waggles her eyebrows while at Linn with her head tilted.
Linn laughs while picking up one of the chairs around the kitchen.
Mary stops washing the plate she was scrubbing, she sighs and looks at the ceiling with an exasperated look on her face.
Sylvia doesn’t have any reaction, she just keeps stirring in her pan.
She lifts the pan off of the stove and puts whatever was in it on a plate.
She turns around and points at Fedora and Linn with her spatula.
-“You too are matching as well, like you just escaped from the psych ward.”
Fedora looks down at herself, then at Linn, they were both dressed in baggy plain white pajamas.
-“At least I’m not bothered to do fashion week at 7 am in the morning.” Says Fedora.
Sylvia turns around and triple taps a small touchpad on the kitchen counter, and a large white shiny table extends horizontally from within the counter.
They all take a chair and sit around the table as Sylvia puts their plates in front of them, as well as forks, knives, and napkins.
Sylvia sits next to Mary, and across the table Fedora sits next to Linn.
Fedora looks in her plate and starts laughing.
-“This is the least specific breakfast ever hahaha! Eggs, bacon and some vegetables. You know those movies where the rich kid is late to school and he only takes a bite out of his breakfast? This is exactly what that breakfast would be”
-“Is anything wrong with it?” Says Mary.
-“No, I just things are way more beautiful when they are specific, not universal.”
After they finish eating Fedora triple taps the touchpad underneath the edge of the metallic table, and it retracts back inside the counter.
They all place their dishes in the sink and walk away.
-“Hey where are you going?” Says Mary, looking at Fedora who was walking towards her room.
Fedora turns around confused.
-“In my room?”
-“Today is your turn to do the dishes.”
-“Oh for fuck’s sake man…” Fedora sighs, and walks over to the sink with a bored face.
Mary, Linn and Sylvia walk in the living room and sit on the sofa.
-“So any plans for today? The Ergarch said we have a day off today.”
-“OH THANK GOD!” Says Fedora loudly from the kitchen.
-“How about we go visit Ahvela’s workshop? She would probably be really happy to see us, she gave me the location of her workshop on Instagram.” Says Mary.
-“Yesss! I’d really like to talk with her again!” Says Linn.
-“Sure, why not.” Says Syliva “Fedora, want to go visit Ahvela?”
-“Yeah sure” Says Fedora yelling from the kitchen.
A few hours pass and they head out.
Fedora was wearing a long sleeve black and white stripped long sleeve shirt, and over it a black denim t shirt with a skull in a field of flowers. She was wearing black jeans with a big belt, and the jeans had 2 smaller belts around each leg, and she was also wearing a pair of black sneakers.
Linn was wearing a crimson long sleeve shirt, and over it she was wearing a white smocked tiered ruffle romper. Lower, she was wearing black tights, high ankle white socks and black platform shoes.
Mary was wearing a chunky gray and black pattern v-neck fair isle sweater, with a black long sleeve turtleneck shirt underneath a pair of baggy black pants and white sneakers.
Sylvia was wearing the same outfit as this morning.
As they walk on the streets of Razum a lot of people, especially the young ones stop them to take photos together, they even met a group of 4 cosplayers cosplaying them. Nearly everyone was looking at them, whispering, smiling.
They reach the workshop, and from the outside it was outstanding, a huge rustic sign on top with the text “Ahvela’s”, lots of flowers around the entrance, and an overall regal feel and aesthetic to it.
Fedora is the first to enter through the main door, a bel ringing when she opened it, and suddenly, before she even gets to look around, an alarm turns off, loud and irritating.
Fedora jumps back and immediately raises her hands.
-“I didn’t break anything I swear.”
Out of a corridor from the back of the room comes Ahvela running.
-“Oh gosh it’s you guys! My heart jumped out of my chest for a bit!”
She opens a tiny door in one of the walls and inputs a code which stops the alarm.
-“Come on in I’m so glad you are here!”
Ahvela hugs all of them one by one with much enthusiasm.
-“So what brings you here today?”
-“Well we somehow got a day off today and I proposed to pay you a visit! Also, what’s with the alarm? The customers can’t come in?” Says Mary.
-“Oh well, the workshop is open only 2 days a week when customers come and pick up their items, you see we only do custom clothing around here so it isn’t like a regular shop where they can walk in and buy something on the spot, they message me online, we talk about what they want to get and the team gets to work!”
-“Isn’t it like super crowded in those 2 days when everyone comes to pick up their stuff?”
-“Haha, you bet it is, but it’s a nice feeling to see so many people choosing our services, plus, less cleaning and lower bills with running the entire workshop for only 2 days a week so” Ahvela shrugs.
-“But come on I’ve got stuff that is so much more interesting than this to show you! And also, you all look really good! These look better than you than the uniforms, which stings since I was the one who designed them…now follow me!”
Ahvela walks into the back of the workshop through the corridor she just came out of.
The girls follow her and they walk down some stairs, through a door, through a white corridor, and then they enter a room which looked like a large office, with a huge desk in the middle.
-“You know last time we met I said I know more about you than you know about yourselves? Well I just have to show off.”
She types something on her computer, does a few click, and from a projector in the middle of the desk, a hologram pops up with something that looked like an identification document for Sylvia.
-“Let me begin! Subject female, 21, Rose Sylvia, weight 66kg, height 173cm. Body proportions, head and neck 13% of body length, torso 33%, lower body 54%, mesomorphic body type. Eye color, silver, scars present on face, hair color, black, usual hair style, 4 ponytails, 2 in the front and 2 in the back! Flower type, crimson rose, present along the neck, supper ribcage and sternum and along the back of the neck!”
-“Wait why do you even h-“ Says Fedora, but she gets interrupted.
-“Next! Subject female, 20, Dahlia Fedora, weight 59 kg, height 164cm. Body proportions, head and neck 13.5% of body length, torso 36.5% of body length, lower body 50% of body length, mesomorphic body type. Eye color, unknown, wears matte dark glasses at all times not to be removed due to extreme light sensitivity, hair color, silver to purple, usual hair style, stylized layered shoulder length! Flower type, dark purple dahlia, present on the back of the upper arms!”
-“Just hold on a second who gav-“
Fedora gets interrupted again, she is even more confused now.
-“Next! Subject female, 24, Orchid Linn, weight 78kg, height 180cm. Body proportions, head and neck 12% of body length, torso 31% of body length, lower body 57%, voluptuous body type. Eye color, deep blue, usual hair style, long flowy blue hair with braided ponytail in the back and on the left and right of the head! Flower type, blue orchid, present on the front of the upper arms!”
-“HOLD THE FUCK ON AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO DOESN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON? WHY DO YOU HAVE ALL THIS?” Says Fedora out loud.
-“Well…last time we met Ahvela told us that she has access to our confidential medical data from Catherine so she can design our clothes…and now she wants to show us she wasn’t lying I guess…” Says Linn.
-“Oh come on I got one more! Mary, 17, 62kg, 170cm, meso-ectomorphic body style, deep green eyes, usual hair style is an extremely long large braided ponytail coiling around the neck like a scarf and then down the back! Flower type, snowdrop, present from the back of the head to the top of the head! And one thing that was really surprising, she has the exact same bodily proportions as Fedora! Are you twins by any chance?”
Fedora sighs deeply, and gives Ahvela the most “really?” look.
-“We literally look nothing alike…”
-“Really? How interesting! Well anyway this was only 26% of all the data Catherine gave me, I even have scans of your bodyfat percentage, of the distribution and th-“
-“I really don’t want to know” Says Fedora with a very sarcastic smile.
-“Why are none of you saying anything else?” Says Ahvela laughing. “Did I weird you out that much?”
-“Y-yeah a bit…” Says Linn with an awkward smile.
-“Can’t say I am not surprised…” Says Sylvia.
-“Kind of yeah…” Says Mary.
-“Well what can I say, Catherine was very generous when it came to data.” Ahvela shrugs and turns off the hologram and pulls up another one with the designs of their uniforms.
-“You have no idea how much struggle it is sometimes to design these pieces when your flowers cannot be covered by any fabric, and not come in excessive contact with any fabric since they are so sensitive to any touch.”
-“Of course you know that…” Says Fedora sighing again and rubbing her eyes.
-“Hey at least this one is important for your own comfort, I literally have a full folder for your allergies.” Says Ahvela.
They spend a bit more time talking and asking Ahvela about certain designs and any new ideas she has.
-“Well, I can say that I have a little surprise with your uniforms, they look wayyy too basic for my taste, but I won’t spoil it! Haha!”
-“Guess we’ll have to wait and see. I guess we should go by now, its getting late, thanks a lot for the hospitality Ahvela!” Says Sylvia.
-“And for telling me how many strands of hair I have on my head.” Says Fedora as they walk out of the main door.
They walk out of the store and onto the shiny white streets of Razum, the wing still alive and full of people, the rays of the golden sun reflecting off of it.
-“So, wanna do anything else or should we just head back home?” Says Sylvia.
-“Wanna go to Aurelio’s? I’m kinda hungry…”
-“Yeah sounds great!” Says Linn.
-“I’m actually hungry too” Says Mary.
They go for the rental bicycles on the side of the road, but as Sylvia is approaching her watch to the bike to pay, Mary gently takes hold of her wrist and pulls it away.
-“Don’t bother…I can’t ride a bicycle…”
-“Wait so you can’t ride anything that has like 2 wheels? Like inline balance?” Says Fedora.
-“N-no…” Says Mary.
-“No worries, we can rent a car.”
Just two clicks on her watch and a driverless electric car arrives on the street next to them.
They get in and in no time they arrive at Aurelio’s place.
Aurelio was busy cleaning as usual, he hears the door open and turns around to see who came in.
-“Mama mia! Ciao ragazze! My 4 favorite customers and protectors of the Kola! How are you doing this fine evening?”
Sylvia smiles and takes a seat at one of the tables.
-“We’re doing great Aurelio, enjoying our day off as a team. What about you?”
Aurelio sighs, putting tossing the cleaning cloth to the side.
-“Eh, as usual, not many customers, I might reconsider careers and become a janitor with how much cleaning experience I have.”
-“This place really is spotless.” Says Mary looking around.
-“There isn’t much to do besides cleaning the lights and floors 20 times per day! So what can I get for you?”
The girls begin ordering one by one, and not too long after Aurelio brings them their food.
Fedora was eating some spaghetti while looking out the window, her gaze fixated on the way the sun was descending lower and lower under the horizon and slowly disappearing.
The rest of the world was becoming background noise to her and she was sinking deeper and deeper into thought, until she hears one word , “Linn”, uttered by a masculine voice, and her focus snaps back to the present moment instantly, her heart rate picking up.
-“Signorina Linn I must say you look fantastic today! I mean you look fantastic all the time but today you managed to put the icing on the cake!” Says Aurelio.
Linn giggles.
-“Thanks Aurelio, you’re too kind!”
-“I’m really not signorina! Any man would be very lucky if you even looked his way let alone sit next to you at the table!”
Linn giggles again harder this time.
-“Oh Aurelio you’re exaggerating!”
Fedora looks at them, her pupils starting to widen, she bites the inside of her lip, lowering her right hand under the table, she begins snapping her nails again, her thumb nail against the nail of her pinky.
The more she listens to them speak, the faster she snaps her nails, her breathing begins to pick up even more, her leg moving up and down under the table. She had already put her fork down, hunger has left her.
Out of a sudden she stands up, and clears her throat while stretching.
-“Thanks for the meal Aurelio! Delicious food as always! We should go home, it’s really late already and Catherine will probably need us tomorrow!”
Aurelio smiles and stands up as well.
-“Of course of course! Buona serata! Thanks for stopping by!”
-“Have a nice night Aurelio!” Says Mary walking out.
They all say goodbye and head back home with the car they have rented.
