Grey eyes opened moments before the alarm sounded, the loud beeping sound bouncing around the cluttered apartment. Chione usually prided herself in keeping a tidy apartment and making it at least appear spotless. But when she cracked open her text books in a bout of studying the usually pristine apartment was turned upside down. Open books covered every table, notebooks filled with neat, cursive writing next to each one along with stacks of sticky notes and pens, half with the ink run out. One would think with it being the middle of Summer, and a Saturday, Chione would be outside enjoying the sunshine and just taking advantage of her break. But that wasn't how the descendant of Anubis operated. The Summer holidays were, to her, the perfect time to get ahead on her studies so that she was already familiar with a large portion of the curriculum before classes started again.
Reaching out she silenced the alarm and sat up, stretching before running a hand through her messy hair. Swinging her legs out of bed she stood, resuming her stretching before walking over the window to look out over the street. People were already up and about, hanging up decorations for the lantern festival. She smiled slightly to herself, it was no secret that it had been arranged as an unofficial welcoming for the Greeks. The smile vanished as quickly as it came, she wasn't sure it was a good idea. In a town like this, there would always be a few people that would use their powers to make some sort of drama show out of it. Chione was almost convinced of this. The Serrure's were on the top of her list for people who would do something to mess it up.
With a shrug she headed into her small kitchen, placing two slices of bread into the toaster almost absentmindedly before making her way through the apartment, tidying up the books into piles according to topic. She reentered her kitchen to see the toast poking out and swiftly placed the pieces on a plate, spreading strawberry jam over them before walking into the living/dining area that connected onto the kitchen. Sitting down on the couch she began to eat, looking towards the phone with disinterest as it vibrated across the glass coffee table.
She was ready to ignore it for the time being, she seldom got texts and she was never in a rush to answer them, but she caught sight of her brother's name flashing across the screen before it went dark. She lent forth and picked up the phone, opening the desk with a couple deft touches on the screen.
From: LiamHey sis. Are you working tonight?
Or are you gunna leave me with no one to talk to?She chuckled, of course, only Liam who got along with just about everyone in town would ask if his older sister would leave him without anyone to talk to. Her thumb raced across the screen as she typed her reply.
To: LiamYes, I am. Don't worry, you'll have plenty of people to talk to :)Chione had never really understood the whole deal with emoticons, but she found it easier to use them than to have to explain to someone how she was feeling. Tone didn't go over well in text.
Finishing her breakfast she washed off the plate before going about the rest of her morning routine, humming slightly under her breath. Pulling on a pair of denim shorts and a baggy band singlet she collected a couple of text books and her messenger bag before heading outside. She walked briskly down towards the cafe where she ordered herself a white chocolate mocha and sat down, pulling out the thickest of the text books. She thanked the waiter as her drink was brought to her and went about taking notes, effectively blocking out the world around her.
Antares' eyes slowly opened as he rolled over.
Huh.... must be early... the alarm hasn't gone off yet. He opened his eyes to asses how much time he had to sleep when his eyes popped open in shock. There sat the alarm clock, silent and mocking him as the luminous numbers declared it to be 8:30am. Antares jumped to his feet and ran into the bathroom where he had world record shower.
Great! Now his entire plan that had formulated before bed was out of whack. He was meant to have been at work half an hour ago, now not only did he have to apologize profusely about being late, he also had to start from scratch with his plan. He'd have to buy a new alarm clock and set one on his phone to make sure this didn't happen again. Maybe even a third alarm clock just t be safe.
He jumped out of the shower and slid, a yelp leaving him as he fell on his ass. Pain shot up his spine as he got to his feet, quickly getting dressed in the first articles of clothing he came across in his wardrobe. Pocketing his phone he quickly grabbed a muesli bar from the cupboard and raced out, he'd have to get coffee on the way to the library. He had
never had a morning like this for as long as he remembered. He always checked and double checked his alarm clock the night before to make sure that it would go off, and according to plan, wake him up at 7am. He would have woken earlier if it hadn't been for an interesting late-night talk show he had stumbled across. Generally he would have ignored it and gone on with his schedule, but the topic was politics, he couldn't
not watch.
His black cat,
Lucky, mewed as she jumped from the couch, heading towards the food bowl and nudging it with her nose and looking up at Antares he raced to get the food into her bowl. He patted her briefly before saying,
"Sorry Lucky, I've got to go, see you later." He raced out while the cat settled herself down to eat.
He raced out the door, the bar hanging between his teeth as he kicked the door shut. He was halfway down the stairs when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He fished it out as he raced down the street, dodging out of people's way as they set up for something.
From: StephanieHello, um ah, would you mind going to the festival with me later today. We could meet up before or something, it doesn't have to be alone you know, I mean Brad and Bobby will be there too and um yeah, it’d be super cool if you could come. But I mean you don’t have to.He ripped open the wrapper of the bar and gobbled it down before throwing away the wrapper and reading the text more carefully. He stopped outside the coffee shop, blinking like an idiot. That's right! The Festival! He hit his head and muttered under his breath,
"Shit... I completely forgot about that..." He texted her back as he entered the coffee shop and ordered himself a Chai Latte. He wasn't sure if she was working, so texting would probably be safest, just in case.
To: StephanieYeah, sure, sounds like fun. When would you like to meet and where?He took his drink and thanked the person behind the counter without really paying attention before racing towards the library. He slowed to a brisk walk as he entered the library, taking a nervous sip from the drink he looked around, trying to spot his coworker Gwyn. It didn't take long for him to notice the upturned bookcase and his coworker trapped beneath it. He placed his coffee on a nearby table and rushed over, taking hold of the bookcase and heaving,
"Shit! You OK under there Gwyn?"
A shrill sound filled Tut's apartment. The young man groaned, a headache pounding behind his eyes from the night before. He wasn't quite sure what he'd drank, but whatever it had been, it had been
allot. His opened lazily to stare at the alarm clock. 7:30am.. too goddamn early in his books.
A fist lashed out and flatted the device, effectively silencing it. The cheap hunk of plastic that Tut had bought in an attempt to begin a routine was now in a million pieces, small arcs of electricity racing over the gap in the wires. Though now it was too late to go back to sleep. Rolling onto his back Tut slowly sat up and stretched, a jaw-cracking yawn forcing its way up his throat before he stood up, almost falling over as the headache spiked.
He turned around and sighed in relief when he found the bed empty save a couple of discarded shoes which were definitely his. He worked his way through his untidy apartment, eying a pile of dirty laundry beside his couch. Somewhere under there was an empty packet of sushi and his favourite pair of chop sticks. He shrugged as he entered the kitchen, he'll clean it up later. He ate some cereal before going about the rest of his routine at snail pace. By the time he'd gotten out of the shower and was brushing his teeth it had to be at least 8:15.
He walked out moments later, still yawning when the view from his living room window caught his attention. It was a beautiful day outside, from what he could see the wind was calm. The perfect day for a flight. A grin spread over his features as he opened the window and jumped out, phasing instantly and snapping his wings out to catch the air and drift skyward. A shriek left the falcon as it tilted to the side, heading out towards the lake. The water sparkled in the sun and small waves lapped at the shore.
He felt free, the wind rushing past his feathers and the headache was the furthest thing from his mind as he dived, pulling up just in time so that his talons skimmed over the water. He looked back towards the town, a mischievous glint entering the eyes of the bird as Tut realized something. Today was that stupid festival to welcome the Greeks to the town.
He remembered it vaguely from when he was still very young, the lanterns hadn't really captured his attention even back then, what were the odds that they would now? He rose into the air, contemplating this before coming to a conclusion, he would have some fun tonight. People were taking this thing way too seriously after all, he'd have to liven it up a bit. Knock a couple lanterns out of the sky, swoop a couple of people and steal their candy or whatever was in their hands. Harmless. As long as the uptight buzz-kills of the town didn't get in his way, though he was almost certain that every last one of them would be looking out for anyone causing trouble.
All that meant was that he had to be sneaky, plus, there wasn't anything like the element of being caught to make it more exciting. As he headed back towards his apartment he wondered if Bryce would be up for a bit of fun tonight. He landed in his apartment, swiftly changing back into his human form before flopping down the couch, thank Horus he didn't have to work today.
To: BryceYo Bryce! Whatcha up to today for this festival thing? Up for some fun? He grinned as he jumped off the couch and walked out the door, well there was no point in spending the entire day indoors.