Kade woke up the next morning with a snoring Nest next to his side. It was early enough for most people to be asleep, but Kade’s body was used to getting up before the sun rose. Quickly and quietly, he put on his clothes, washed up in the bathroom, and left the warehouse. After saving Granny Pia with Nest, no one really looked at him suspiciously when he left the warehouse anymore. Of course, this was usually something that went without saying, but Kade thought of it as a sign that he was gaining everyone’s trust little by little.
It was still dark, with no lights but the moon to aid his sight. The air was fresh and brisk, and Kade took a deep, long breath before exhaling in a big puff. Dirt crunched under his feet with every step, each sound disappearing into the vast, silent night.
Kade started to warm up for his morning routine. He started by stretching, and then went for a jog. His routine usually consisted of jogging until the sun rose, then a few body weight exercises to keep him in shape. He had been doing this routine for several years, not missing a single day except, of course, whenever he was on a mission. His teacher had trained him to hone his body as much as he could every day. When they lived together, he would wake him up early every morning to get up and train. Sometimes, he would wake up so early that the sun would take hours to rise. And of course, he would be jogging the entire time.
The sun rose only after an hour today. He had always loved the sight of the sun blooming over the horizon, enriching everything in a hue of gold, providing warmth and life to the start of another day. Normally, jogging for an hour alone would have been impressive, but to Kade, this was only the warm-up to his main exercises. After running for so long, he found himself surrounded by a myriad of trees, but he was confident he could find his way back to camp.
He started the other exercises. Patting the ground with both of his hands, he planted them firmly, then lifted his lower body up into a handstand. Once he balanced, he started to descend, slowly feeling the strain on his shoulders. Revisiting the basics is never a bad idea, he thought to himself as he pushed himself back up. As Kade kept going, he was left with plenty of time to think to himself, which he spent revisiting the conversation with Violet from yesterday.
He went down.
I’ll have to tell her someday.
He pushed back up.
But don't get distracterd by her, Kade Ashford. Remember the person inside your locket. And remember your promise.
Right. He had to keep working toward his goal. He couldn’t waste time like this. Deciding to keep his priorities straight, Kade continued his routine, trying but failing to redirect his attention to the next few steps rather than Violet.
***
It took Kade a total of three hours to get back to camp. By then, his head was clear, and his body was nimble. Not long after he walked past the metal doors, a voice could be heard calling out to him.
“Oh, good morning, Kade! Are you having breakfast?”
It was the voice of a young, energetic girl that Kade had once given his pancakes to. The girl was holding a plate of bacon and eggs and was looking at Kade, her eyes twinkling like summer leaves ignited with sunlight.
“Good morning, Elena,” replied Kade. “I’m just going to see Ajax for a bit. I can give you my portion later if you want, by the way.”
Elena’s eyes widened with excitement.
“W-what? No, you don’t have to. I’d feel bad…”
“I already ate, so I’m not hungry.”
“Oh, well, in that case…”
“Yup, don’t worry about it. I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Okay!”
As Kade made his way to find Ajax, he heard yet another voice call for him.
“Yo, mornin’!”
Nest’s usual combed orange hair was in a mess, and his golden eyes were behind a pair of large, round glasses.
“Since when do you wear glasses?”
“Oh, well I usually wear contacts, but I lost them yesterday, so now I’m wearing these. How’s it look? Makes me look smart, doesn’t it?”
Nest pushed up with glasses with a smug smile on his face, laughing to himself a little.
“Forget that,” said Kade, who really couldn’t care less. “Do you know where Ajax is?”
“You’re no fun, man. He’s talking to Baus near the back, I’m pretty sure.”
“Got it, thanks.”
“But what do you need from Aja… and, he’s gone.”
“Sorry, I’ll tell you later! It’s urgent!”
VIOLET ROSE
Violet woke up to the sound of everyone else getting breakfast. Once she changed her clothes and walked to get her own food, she was met with Elena, who was sitting down, munching on a strip of bacon.
“Morning,” said Violet.
“Good morning!” Elena replied. “It’s rare seeing you up this late. You’re usually one of the first people to get up.”
“Oh, yeah, haha, I guess I overslept a little.”
Truth was, Violet couldn’t sleep much after yesterday. She and Kade returned to camp shortly after their conversation, but once Violet had laid down to sleep, she had only then realized what she had done. Taking him out to the beach suddenly, telling him all those things… she had made way too big of a deal to just tell him that. Couldn’t she have just waited until the next day? And at a place like that? What was she thinking? She spent most of her night rolling around in her bed, cringing at her own actions. The worst part about it? She didn’t even get to ask Kade about what really happened during Granny Pia’s rescue.
“What’s wrong?” called Elena, snapping her out of her downward spiral of thoughts. “Why are you making such a sour face?”
“Oh, um, ahem. You don’t need to worry about it. It’s nothing, okay?”
“Um… okay, I guess.”
“Anyway, what’s breakfast today? Apart from the bacon, I mean.”
“Bacon and eggs and toast! It’s really good! Oh, and guess what? I’m getting seconds!”
“Seconds? Do they let you do that now?”
“Nope, but Kade said he’d give me his portion. He said he already ate.”
Violet tensed at the sound of his name. He definitely thought of her as some weirdo now, and she found herself trying to avoid him.
“Oh, speaking of which, there he is!”
Elena quickly ran toward Kade, who had a plate of food in his hands. Violet watched as Elena received the plate, grinning from ear to ear and giving him a small hug in return. It was a nice sight, really. She loved seeing people get along. Violet had never seen Elena act this close to anyone other than her, but it did make sense, considering Kade saved her grandmother and all. Without realizing, Violet felt her own face shifting into a small smile. Before she had realized she was staring for too long, however, Elena said something to Kade while pointing in her direction. Kade, of course, turned his head toward Violet, and she impulsively turned away.
Oh crap, I was totally staring!
Not knowing what to do, Violet started walking away to the breakfast line, pretending she never saw Kade in the first place.
***
As she sat down and started on her food, she heard a voice behind her, making her jump.
“Yo!”
She turned around to see a playful looking boy with some of his orange hair flowing down to cover a part of his glasses.
“Jeez, you scared me. I thought you were-”
She caught her self before she said Kade, but Nest had already caught on.
“Huh? Who’d you think I was?”
Then, with an annoyingly perceptive look, “Hmm, I wonder who would be on your mind so much to get you startled like that. Perhaps it’s the thing that happened while everyone else was asleep? Hmm?”
Violet felt herself quickly growing flustered.
“Wha- ? How did? Did Kade?”
To her surprise, Nest looked just as confused as she was.
“Huh? Um… I was just joking. Wait, and did you say Kade? Could I… uh, ask what happened?”
If her face wasn’t already the color of a tomato before, it definitely was now.
She planted her face in her hands and groaned. Trying her best to sound as threatening as possible in her position, she managed, “Not a word to anyone, got it?”
Nest, understanding the message, nodded.
“Yup, okay, uh-huh, affirmative.”
There was an awkward pause before Nest spoke again.
“By the way,” he started.
“What?” grumbled Violet, her face still covered by her hands.
“Elena was looking for you. That’s what I came to say, actually.”
“Elena was?”
“Yeah. It sounded like she wanted to ask a favor. You should go see her. She’s waiting in the main lounge.”
After a moment, Violet stood up and started walking.
“Remember, not a word, okay?”
“I know, I know.”
Violet couldn’t help feeling agitated, but she decided to let it go for now. Talking with Elena was sure to calm her nerves. Plus, Nest had said that Elena wanted to ask her something.
Elena was sitting patiently in one of the foldable chairs with her legs crossed, and she waved energetically as soon as she saw Violet walking over.
“Hey, what’s up?” asked Violet.
“Hi, okay, so, can I ask something?”
“Yeah, of course! Ask me anything.”
“Okay, so I’ve been thinking… I don’t know for sure what happened, but something bad was happening to Grandma while she was away, right?”
“Oh, um, well…”
“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me. I just need your help with something.”
“What is it?”
Elena’s emerald eyes flared with determination, making Violet tense up a little.
“Could you, um, could you help me get used to my curse? I want to be more useful to everyone.”
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