Closed [The Orphanage] Bumpy in the Night [Sofia]

[Tierra]

6th Fall 517 Tierra waited until nightfall and the other orphans were fast asleep in the room she was assigned. Tossing her blanket off to the side the orphan was already dressed for the outdoors as best as an orphan could be. Securing her jacket tightly Tie sat up and tossed her feet over the edge of her bed, her stocking feet several inches from the floor. As she sat there gently swinging her feet back and fro her feet hitting the side of her bed mattress softly, a sound not uncommon in the orphanage to say the least. Once she was comfortable that no one else was awake she slipped off the bed and reached below her bed, pulling out her pack and shoes. Opening the flap of her pack Tierra shoved her shoes into them and closed the flap, tightening the strap on it to keep the flap securely in place. Once that was done she tossed it over her right shoulder and kept a hold of the strap with her right hand. Inside her pack was her basic daily supply. Standing quietly the would-be sneak placed her free hand on the top of her bed, pausing to reach for her pillow and turn it longways down the mattress and tossed the covers back over it. It was a crude attempt to mask her lack of being in bed, but she figured if someone didn't come close or didn't pay much attention to her poor attempt that Tierra could get away with it. Okay, Tie exhaled softly and turned towards the door. Let's go. She started across the room, walking as fast as she could afraid she would get caught and considering the floor creaked when she attempted to creep slowly last season it only made sense to try the opposite, right? It took her three ticks to make it from bedside to door, a quick twist of the stubborn doorknob and out to the corridor she went. As she swung the door shut gently the orphan paused, no one could be heard through the corridors. It was an oddity Tie noted and then turned towards the upper floor towards a window she had marked off early last season and later that season promptly fell into an Eypharian's arms. A pause in her steps and the girl turned around, heading towards the back of the orphanage where she knew of a door used by the cooks and delivery men she might be able to slip out if no one was around. Okay, down to the ground floor. Into the kitchen... Tie stopped at the corner before the stairs heading down, her shadow was not seen down the stairs, luckily as the only candelabras were mounted on the walls casting their light in a way that her shadow stretched behind her back down the way she came. One... Two... Three... She turned and hurried down the stairs, taking each step in her stocking feet as quickly and lightly as the little orphan girl could possibly take them. Thudding to a rather noisy stop on the landing, nearly taking a tumble before she stuck her free hand out and stopped her fall by grabbing at the wall beside her, using the pressure of her hand against the ancient wall to steady and slow her momentum. Once safely stopped Tie let go of the wall and panted, listening for any sounds that were of the chaperone type. It was definitely not normal. It didn't seem to phase the orphan any though to think otherwise. Down the rest of the stairs put Tierra in the main foyer, quickly Tierra rounded the staircase in found herself in the direction of the kitchen... It also put her in direct earshot of adults talking in the kitchen. Rats. She gritted her teeth and slowly started towards the kitchen, listening to the adults talking though it was clear they were talking about food plans for the following day. The only thing protecting the orphan from getting some kind of punishment was a flimsy door that at any moment could come swinging open and reveal her. Pressing herself against the staircase wall she closed her eyes and calmed her breathing and thoughts. Think Tie... Think think think...Sliding her pack off the girl reached her hand in it squeezing it past her shoes trying to find something, anything in her pack that might be able to assist her. I might have something in here that can help me... Her hands found the scaly edge of her soap and moved that aside, her pencils and notebook kept finding themselves in the way. Damn it. Looking back at the door Tierra frowned, she was so close. WC: 783

[Sofia]

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She did not awaken because of the noise Tierra made as she tried to sneak down the hallway, or because of the way she stumbled down the stairs and landed with a thud on the landing. Sofia awoke because her belly hurt, and she knew exactly why. As such, Leth's cycle was the reason - and excuse - she had to give anyone who found her outside of her room that night, as she wandered down to the infirmiry for rags and something to help with the pain so that she could go back to sleep. This would've been an easier feat if the orphanage wasn't so big, and sometimes spikes of pain caused her to have to sit down for a moment or two before she'd get up again. It was also of essence to walk slow enough that she didn't wake anyone up, which in itself meant the walk was just going to be longer.

The Commorancy had an eerie aura at night, with candles casting shadows every which way over the sterile halls. She had been here for her entire life, nearly - all 10 years, which would've had her consider these pains strange if it weren't for the fact that the nurses were suspect she was not entirely human. Sofia had known it too, but some kids had found this out and she had her fair share of hearing her disappeared mother a 'zith petcher' by some of the ruder children in her class. Their teasing words didn't bother her. What her mother did or was doing now was of no consequence.

Sofia was walking down the stairs now, the same stairs that Tierra had stumbled down moments before - and lost in thought as she was about the consequences of her faster rate of aging, she nearly stumbled into the girl as she turned the corner. She didn't find this strange at first, as groggy as she was, until her clothing came into focus. She wasn't in her night dress at all - and she was rifling through her bag. Even with her sleepy state, it didn't take her very long to realize that she wasn't headed to the infirmiry - she was headed outside.

"What are you doing?" she whispered, her eyes darting towards the door and then towards the kitchen. "Are you trying to leave?"

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[Tierra]

Tie froze when she heard another set of feet come pattering down the stairwell she was pressed again. Shyke shyke. The girl was trying to find anything that was going to be of use to her as a getaway in her pack… There was nothing though… Nothing. The person that came around the corner and into view was not a chaperone but another orphan. It was clear that she had just woken from some kind of sleep, but the indication that all was not well with her was the fact she was holding her stomach and wincing as she walked. Pain? “No… I was… I was going to go ask the chaperones for a new pencil I lost both of mine the other day and was hoping to find it in my pack here.” She held up her pack and smiled over the brim, “It isn’t here though. I just don’t want to bother them in the kitchen right now though.” At least that was partially true, Tie didn’t want to bother the adults in the other room – in fact she didn’t even want them to know she was in there. But an idea came to mind and a smile – concealed by her pack – came about. “Why don’t you sit down on the steps there? I will go fetch the adults in the other room so you can get their help.” Tierra lowered her pack to her side and walked into the kitchen quickly, hoping that she could use the other orphan as a distraction. Pushing the door open she was confronted with two adults, a male and female, in what appeared to be an argument of some sort. Hmm. “Ma’am. There is an orphan out there holding her stomach. She looks to be in pain.” She pointed out into the hallway, without much thought the adult sighed and muttered something about the children nowadays not knowing where the infirmary was. All that was left now was the male. Tie pulled herself up into a nearby stool and pointed at the woman’s back as she went down the hall. “I heard she was sleeping with the janitor. Some old man with wrinkles and scars, he smells like stale water and puke if you ask me.” The orphan tried to look credible and it was clearly not working. The man snorted, he didn’t have any response to the clear lie. “Okay fine.” She muttered. Throwing her pack over her shoulders Tierra walked to the other side of the counter and looked at the items that were seen underneath it -- Flours, sugars, potatoes, Pots and Pans. A glance at the sacks of flours and sugars quickly revealed to the little girl that the flour was indeed open. She turned her attention up to the man, “Sir…” Her left hand reached into the sack, the white substance puffed a little in the burlap encasement. Her fingers disappearing into the loose powder and she could feel it shift around. Tierra, “I don’t think I have ever seen you before. You must be new.” He nodded, an innocent statement filled with truth. Her fingers curled up around a handful of the white ground wheat and she pulled it from the sack, a powdery trail coming from the sack to behind her. “My name is Sofia. Pleased to meet you.” She held out her hand that was free of flour and when he reached down to shake her hand and introduce himself the orphan took pause. As he leaned down so his face was closer to her range Tierra pulled her hand away from his after a quick pump down and whipped the other hand around. Releasing as the arching hand trajectory was in the man’s face. It was pure luck that it did any good but the flour cloud exploded between the two of them and Tierra ducked and squeezed around him, her hands reaching out blindly to her left and clawed at the stacks of pots and pans as she went. They came clattering down with a thunderous introduction into the silence and she ran for the door. It was actually open and left ajar. A bit of information Tierra was not entirely away of as she slipped past the door and ran for the dock. She skidded to a stop half way through the dock and looked around. There were no ravosalas or other boats floating around. It was too far to jump across. She turned quickly and ran down the length of the building, going down the far length from door to the right hand corner of the building until she found the corner. It dropped straight into a canal and this gave the girl a startling shock to react too. She grabbed the edge of the wall as her left leg swung out over the canal. With some luck Tierra was able to pull it back to solid ground and not toss herself into the water. A gulp emerged from her throat and Tierra ran back towards the only door on this side of the building. There was more arguing and bickering from within. Something about waking the other children and to get out – this prompted Tie to duck down and become as small as possible, hiding her brown pack against the wall as she tried to bury her face and hands into her gray clothing trying to mask them. Luckily the location she was sitting in was not a commonly looked at spot. Shyke shyke… WC:916