It doesn't matter if it's freezing or just a chilly breeze in the air.
I really hate it.
BEEP BEEP BEEP
I groan before slamming the pen phone that I stashed in my sweatshirt pocket.
The alarm turned off, but it was just loud enough to wake everybody else up.
Electra and Nuala both ġrȯȧnėd as we sat up and rubbed our eyes sleepily.
"Ethel… Can I have a hug?" Nuala asks.
"Of course," I respond.
I hugged her tightly, feeling the warmth of her body against me.
"I got breakfast~," She says, and we all immediately dashed up, starving from our lack of lunch and dinner yesterday.
Wait… what the hell is this?
"Uhhhh… This is breakfast?" Nell asks the same question we all had on our minds.
"Yep! Fish and rice!" Auntie says, proudly holding out a bag of jasmine rice and what seemed to be a chunk of tuna.
Though we were shocked at having such a strange breakfast, we still chowed down on the food after the rice had been cooked in a pan.
Mia helped heat it up, and it took a couple of tries for it to be bȧrėly edible, but in the end, we were stuffed… until 15 minutes later.
"That wasn't really filling," I mutter as Electra wraps my arm around her shoulder and snuggles in next to me.
We were currently on the beanbag, relaxing before starting our first day of work.
We were given tasks by Auntie that would help our well-being and help the house in general.
We all understood this, so we never complained.
But, the one person who had one particular job instead of rotating jobs was Sophia.
She had to learn how to detect her surroundings with one sense completely stolen from her.
I'm pretty sure Auntie will make her do work later on, but this was a good start for her now as she lost many things after losing her eyesight. And her confidence was one of them…
"*sigh*... I hate the cold," I vent to Lucy as she was the only one around.
Our job for today was to get enough fish for lunch and dinner… but strangely, the fish here were only small snappers that were enough to feed only one of us… and one-tenth of an Electra.
"Why do you hate the cold?" Lucy asks as she dips her wooden rod back into the small hole she had formed for fishing.
Luckily it wasn't too cold, and thankfully the lake was pretty deep, so all we needed was a long piece of string and a few nightcrawlers Auntie bought somewhere.
"Brings back bad memories," I respond while my expression distorts into a frown.
"I guess," I slightly chuckle.
"Do you mind if I ask what it's about?"
"Yes, I do mind… I'll tell you maybe some other time when I get over it,"
It went silent, and you could only hear the hooting of an owl in the far distance.
"Sorry," Lucy apologizes.
"It's fine…."
I leaned back onto the soft snow, feeling the nipping cold biting at my neck as it entered my sweatshirt.
My blue hair was sprawled out behind me, and the white snow fluttered down onto my ocean blue pupils, making me blink.
I really hate the cold…
It was a simple meal, yet we were full instantly, but once we stepped outside to begin our next step for the day, hunger rolled in once again.
"Okay, everyone, line up in front of me!" Auntie shouts.
We followed her order.
"From now to 1 5 0 0, you all will be practicing with your weapon of choice. I will ȧssist you in helping you master your weapon art, but that does not mean I will teach you," Auntie announces as she walks back and forth like a drill instructor in the military.
We all nodded our heads before Auntie instantly created all kinds of weapons made from ice.
They were blunt and bulky, but that was perfect for training.
I jogged towards the pile of weapons and picked up the first bow I could find.
"Oh," We all accidentally blurt out.
"It seems you all have noticed that these are reinforced with magic. This is something you all will be able to use later on… depending on how talented you are and how hard you work, make sure never to give up… Is what I should say but don't feel bad if you suck at something,"
'Never give up. Even if you are not talented, hard work will make up for it, so make sure never to give up.'
"You all will suck at something. It might be controlling your magic stone, and it might be a weapon, or maybe your fighting sense, or hand to hand combat ability… everybody sucks at something, and that's fine. Give up and try a new thing," Auntie says.
"What if we're passionate about that thing?" Amanda asks.
Auntie was quiet for a moment before she laughed out loud.
"Then you better pray to fuċkɨnġ god you're talented!" She laughs.
But nobody else laughed, and she immediately detected the awkward mood, so she cleared her throat a bit before continuing.
"*cough* Okay… Ethel: Bow. Electra: Bow. Nuala: Nothing… I'm ȧssuming hand-to-hand combat… Sophia: Nothing. Continue to practice sensing your surroundings, and then we'll start from there… Celestine: Hand-to-hand combat. Clio: Hand-to-hand combat. Chun-Hei: Long Daggers. Amanda: Sword. Aria: Sword. Astra: Daggers. Nell: Spear. Mia: Spear-"
"Uh, can you make a halberd for me actually? I've always been interested in that," Mia cuts off Auntie, and she just replies with a nod before throwing her a freshly made halberd.
It was about as tall as her, but unsurprisingly, she picked up its bulky build.
"Of course. I wouldn't have picked it otherwise,"
"Huh… Well, I guess you can give it a try, but from what I've seen already,… you're not very talented with the sword… maybe you should try another weapon?"
Lucy didn't react much as always, but she was especially cold this time.
She threw the sword made of ice to the ground and picked up a spear.
She swung it around, and Auntie even taught her a few moves, completely ignoring us… but she looked like a toddler fiddling with markers.
She wasn't talented in the Spear or Sword department, but maybe the dagger or knife department?
Nope.
Bow?
Nope.
Any other weapon?
Nope.
"Yeah… Even if you did practice as hard as you could… it would just bring down your fighting capabilities. It would be best if you focused on hand-to-hand combat as I've noticed you're quite talented at that," Auntie says before walking back in front of us.
Lucy looked slightly depressed with a single tear running down her cheek as she stared off into the abyss.
I giggled a bit before Auntie came over to me first.