[PRP] PPP [ oreune + zaexillia

[houllow]

Today was one of those bad days as the Mindhealer would call it. Left to her own devices after lessons were done and, with a clutching on the not so distant horizon, Oreune wasn't exactly in the best of places to be swept into doing chores. The sweltering heat of the kitchens was only complicated by the vicious sun that decorated the daytime hours of Western's summer; if humans were capable of melting then Oreune was already a puddle on the floor.

She wasn't tasked with anything difficult today, perhaps the worker who hauled her in having noticed the expression her face, and so Oreune stood leaning on the broom she should have been using, her gaze vacant as she looked at nothing in particular.

Shards, it was hot out.  

[Sweet Symmetry]

houllow

Zae was finishing her chores in the kitchen. The heat was intense, her forehead shiny with sweat, her fringe stick uncomfortably in one eye. The rest of her hair was pulled back, but the young girl was very grateful for any errant breeze that made its way through the pungent room.

She was tapped to go on break, and helped herself to a cup and some fresh water. On the threshold of her first refreshing gulp, she glanced upwards and recognised another candidate trapped in a staring contest with… nothing?

Her mind worked faster than her eyes could fathom the sense of the scene, and she found herself moving towards Oreune, cup in hand. “Hey there,” she spoke quietly, tapping the girl on the shoulder to get her attention, “here. Drink this. Hydration is important in the heat.” Poor thing looked very out of it.  

[houllow]

It was safe to say that Oreune was startled by the sudden approach, though she shook it off quickly and accepted the drink with a smile and word of thanks. "Thanks, and sorry. Guess I underestimated how hot it'd be today." The drink was swallowed down in small sips, Oreune careful not to chug it lest the contents hit the bottom of her (mostly) empty stomach and send up echoes of pain. The last thing she needed was to be hot and with a cramp.

After finishing the drink, she looked back to Zae. They were candidates together so of course she knew......her, sorta. Probably not enough on a personal level to say that they were anything beyond lesson mates or basic acquaintances, but at the very least Oreune knew who she was. What she didn't know was why Zae was there, unless she'd also been snagged somehow which if that was the case, poor thing.

"I don't remember last summer being this hot." Truth was, much of last summer had seen Oreune inside the infirmary, where the heat wasn't much of a problem. Sometimes selective memory was a blessing. "How about you? Hotter this Turn or last?"

Sweet Symmetry