Etermes 6, Kurri 481 Sect 14

It was a clear, almost beautiful autumn day on Virakusso. The forests were a vibrant orange-yellow, with hints of green leftover from the summer months, and the warm midday light filtered through the branches, leaving a speckled pattern on the forest floor. There was even a slight breeze, moving the leaves in a soft, rustling rhythm.

Alas, Shinobu Shiryoku couldn’t enjoy the picturesque day. He lamented this as he walked through the hallway. Shino kept a steady pace, being careful not to rattle his lunch tray too much. He had spent too much time on the redroot stew to have it spilled all over his carpet.

It wasn’t long before Shino reached his destination- a closed door on the far end of the hallway. The once-adorned entryway was now barren, as if the person who lived inside it had died and their relatives had stripped away any rennament of them in grief. That wasn’t exactly that far from the truth, come to think of it.

Shino knocked on the door softly. A simple rap, enough to alert the person on the other side without causing too much urgency or unrest. He got no response. Shino knocked again, and was once again answered with silence.

Disappointed in this response, Shino opened the door, struggling to maneuver while keeping the stew intact and in-bowl. The room he entered was dim the only light coming from the open window. Upon the walls hung a multitude of posters, displaying everything from sports players to movies to favorite comic-book-superheros, though a few banners showed signs of distress, whether it be frayed ends from years of being plastered to the wall, or fresh tears, ripped apart with anger. The rest of the room was in a similar state- figurines knocked over onto the floor, books in heaps around their shelf, the bedsheets a tangled mess on the bed. It seemed both a loved childhood bedroom and the home of a monster.

She was sitting at the window, almost blending in with the shadows. Astrid Shiryoku, Shino’s younger sister by three years, was a tan, blonde, strong young woman. She was optimistic and friendly, and had a talent for making people smile. Some called her the perfect virakussan daughter, just like they called Shino the perfect son. Well, they did. Shino seriously doubted they would now.

The autumn light shone through Astrid’s new, crystaline body, creating a beutiful light-show on the ground. A few months ago, she had been abducted by the castvernon, a space-faring race of immortal gem people, and when she returned three nights ago, she was one of them. Solid fire opal, rank 3, court of champagne (as it was branded on her shoulder). Astrid was still wearing the hospital clothes she had returned in- a loose white t-shirt with sweatpants to match. You could see her opaline nature, almost glowing, though the material. Her new, glossy uniform was set out on the desk, still perfectly folded and untouched. Shino set the soup tray next to it and sat on the windowsill, next to his sister.

“Hey.” he greeted, speaking in a gentle near-whisper. He didn’t get a response immediately, but Astrid eventually replied with a solemn, quiet, “hey.”

“You hungry?” Shino asked, gesturing to the soup he prepared.

Astrid shook her head gently. “No. I’m pretty sure I don’t need to eat anymore.”

Shino nodded. That seemed accurate, though he was somewhat saddened his soup had gone to waste.

Astrid remained silent, gazing out the window.

Shino put his hand on her shoulder. It was cold and hard and inhuman. Astrid no longer felt like a living thing, more like a statue of herself, made to commemorate a great loss.

“Hey,” Shino said, trying to be as gentle as possible, “You doing ok?”

Tears started to form in the corners of Astrid’s eyes. Silent crying turned to full-on-sobbing in a matter of seconds. It wasn’t long before Astrid was a heaving mess of tears.

“Hey, hey… it’s ok…” Shino moved closer to Astrid, speaking softly in efforts to calm her down. “It’s ok, I’m here for you.”

Astrid spoke, but didn’t make eye contact. “Sh-shino… I can’t feel anything….”

That made sense. Shino had heard that castvernon were considerably more numb than their organic peers.

Astrid continued to cry. “I-I’m afraid, Shino… I don’t know what to do now… I don’t know if I’m the same anymore… I don’t know if I can be….”

Shino leaned on his sister’s shoulder, clinging to her support. “Shhhhh…..” he murmured. “It’ll be ok… you’re ok… you’re still my sister…”

“But-but I’m not!” Astrid’s voice cracked. “I’m not the same person anymore… literally every part of me is different. I’m a castevernon.” She started to cry again at the last statement, she obviously didn’t want to admit it was true.

“I… don’t know how to help you…” Shino stated, trying to be as honest as he could with his sister. A tinge of sadness lingered in his voice. “Maybe you could try talking to…. Rachard?”

“SHUT UP, SHINO” Astrid shouted and stood up. She towered of Shino’s sitting form, just like she always had. The soft noon light filtered through her opalescent body, casting an orange shadow over the floor.

Shino bit his lip and stepped back. Astrid scared him now, something so absurd to think about it made his heart pound. “I-I’m sorry.” He stuttered, backing out of the still-opened door. Before he left, he looked back at Astrid. She seemed to have calmed down, as she was now sitting on her bed, still looking out the window.

“Feel better soon.” Shino said solemnly, so softly that only he could hear it.