The girl struck a pose, raising her hand up dramatically, then shaking her wrists round and round, as if she was waving some magical spell.

She then gracefully turned around and begun tapping on the table, slowly moving alongside her hand as if walking some invisible pet around on the smooth, wooden surface.
Finally, she reached her target- a small, stuffed doll which head vaguely resembled that of the bird- and with it firmly in her grasp, waved it several times over her head, as if it was flying around….

Then, after she was finally done playing, she put it down back on its place and shook her head vigorously, like a dog or some other furry animal.
Why was she shaking it so? Did she imagine she was some kind creature, and having been drenched in rain, she was trying to get the water off herself?

Then, after she was seemingly done shaking around, she turned once again...and came face to face with me. Our noses almost touching, our eyes crossing, our breaths mixing….

At that moment, which felt like an eternity, it seemed time itself froze.
And then it started mercilessly moving again.

“Waaah” screamed Emilico, and fell over, the hard surface of the coffin being her only cushion.

“Good morning~” chirped Mia, unable to contain a small giggle at the spectacle that unfolded before her eyes just a moment before. “Uufufu, the door was already unlocked~ You’re really amusing Emilico, you didn’t notice at all! Well then, let’s go!”

Mia spoke very quickly, trying to mask how awkward she felt. She only came to pick Emilico up personally because today was the bath day, and it was the junior doll’s first time there.

On their way there, they talked about the events of the other day. Although Mia was her senior and a veteran, it was also her first time seeing a ghost, and she gladly shared her feelings on the subject with Emilico. Now that she thought about it, for a complete novice who didn’t even know what clingers are, Emilico did very well.
Better than Lou and Rosemary, at the very least. Speaking of which…

“Is Rosemary alright?”

Who knows. After being afflicted with soot sickness, she’d be taken to a treatment room, where the dolls from the medical wing led by star-bearer Suzie would flush her body over and over again with copious amounts of water.
But Mia wouldn’t be herself if she worried her junior needlessly…

“I bet she’s fine! I mean, she was moving, ufufu. It’s Rose, after all. She’ll say something like that and come back, ufufufu~”

Mia leaned back, put her hand on her face, and said in a tone imitating Rosemary as closely as she could.

“Ara ara, I showed you something embarrassing~”

Looked like the act was good because Emilico immediately cheered up and nodded enthusiastically.

Mia...was…

I was a good actress and could mimic any person after spending enough time with them. I was positive I could efficiently copy the mannerism and to a certain extend the voice of any of my team members, as well as some star bearers with whom I had the unfortunate experience of having had contact in the past, such as that accursed tyrant, Barbie.

Of course, such thoughts about my superiors were reserved only for me. Mia, the good living doll, would not oppose a star bearer, as it was not her place.

At any rate, other dolls couldn’t even compare to my acting skills. After the current generation of star-bearers moves on to adulthood, I was positive Mia would get promoted and take their place.

They finally reached the ‘washing place’.

“Ufufu, the talk is over! Today’s a fun day!” exclaimed Mia enthusiastically.

The dolls were divided into two queues....ahh, where was Emilico going!?
Mia grabbed her junior’s shoulder and exclaimed coldly.

“That line is for males!”

And just like that, she pulled her in the correct direction.

“I guess dolls are divided into male and female too…”

Of course, they are! Mia always felt like a girl, and marveled at how Emilico could even question that. Well, no matter…

“We enter two by two in each division.”

Mia was dead set to have Emilico go with her. As a senior, of course.
Wait, what was Lou doing here?

“Waah, you were behind us all along?” exclaimed Emilico, equally surprised at sudden appearance of that quiet air-head. Ahh, no matter, it changed nothing.

“Emilico will enter with me. Lou, you enter with some other kid.”

If it was Lou, she probably wouldn’t even care if she went with the males.
First, they went into the ‘place for cleaning off the soot’.

“I don’t really like it…” complained Mia. Of course, it was a lie. A perfect doll such as Mia complained about nothing related to her living doll status, nor about the inner functions of the shadows house. She just wanted to gauge Emilico’s reaction.

“You get dizzy…” admitted Emilico, and nodded her head like a sad puppy.

Mia felt a sting of warmth within her heart. Of course, she was happy her prediction was correct, and Emilico wasn’t nearly as unquestioning as herself.
That’s why she felt this surge of familial happiness right now.