Sefirian Chronicles: Avielle's Inferno

Chapter 7: Odd One Out

January 2016. Institute of Supernetics Housing Facility.

Avielle's eyes opened, seeing darkness around her. She noticed the slick sweat dripping from her forehead and wiped it away with the back of her hand. The pounding in her heart and the short breaths she took indicating the ends of another nightmare. The young Sefir shook it off, rising up into a sitting position instead. Her room felt unbearably hot and her skin tingled. A glance at the wristwatch on her desk told her it was a little over three a.m. Reveille is at four thirty, followed by morning exercises. Mess is at eight in the morning. Training starts at nine in the morning and ends at six in the evening.

The young Sefir stood up, taking her towel with her and going into the bathroom. She liked her early morning showers. Aside from washing away the sweat from her skin from her nightmares, it gave her an excuse to stay and enjoy the hot water. Hot water is a luxury she didn't always have even before training with Isidore.

Avielle stepped into the steady spray of the shower and closed her eyes, feeling the warmness touch her soul. She washed her hair, scrubbing into her scalp deeply and she wondered for a brief moment if she should just cut her hair off, but she quickly decided against it. She liked her hair the way it is. The teen stayed in the shower for almost half an hour before rinsing off and drying herself and applying antiperspirants.

Today is going to be her first day in training with the rest of the supernaturals. After getting cleared from medical yesterday, Avielle is finally ready. Her healing is nothing short of a revelation, having healed her cracked rib and wounds in just three days with minimal scarring. Her stitches stayed on for a full day, making Avielle wonder why she even got stitched in the first place if she was just going to heal in a few hours. But then again, even Avielle herself didn't know the full extent of her body's healing. She has never suffered such injuries before. And truth be told, she is almost happy that she did because now Avielle and the Institute has useful data that could help her.

Avielle put on a sports bra and underwear, before slipping her training uniform on. She pulled the long sleeved Institute shirt over her head and put it on, taking notice of the weather report that it was going to be quite cold that morning. She tied the drawstrings of her training shorts securely, feeling the slight bump of the gunshot scar over her hip before putting on her socks and running shoes. She sighed contently at having such comfortable shoes on her feet. It certainly beats running around barefoot. The teen draped her towel over her head and squeezed the excess water off of her hair. She couldn't tie it properly all wet and it usually gives her a headache. By the time Avielle was done dressing up and preparing herself, it was nearing four a.m. and she heard the familiar shuffles from the nearby rooms as other trainees also started preparing for their day.

The room next to hers is vacant, but the one on her right is occupied by Miles and his incubus roommate named Alex who the teen Sefir met on a couple of occasions during mealtime. Alex, for the most part, is a really easygoing guy about the same age as Miles and Avielle. For an incubus, he doesn't really have the classic, angular beautiful features that the rest of his kind has but instead has striking exotic features that seem to draw you in.

Avielle opened her door and gave a couple of nods to some passing trainees, probably getting a head start on the day by doing extra warm ups. She then stood in front of Room 70 and pressed the little doorbell to alert the boys from inside. The room opened a few moments later and showed a freshly showered Miles sans his glasses, with a groggy Alex towering behind him.

"I still can't believe we have to get up earlier than usual," Alex grumbled, scratching his tousled mess of hair before yawning. His blond tresses fell on his forehead and provided such an interesting contrast against his chocolate skin. An amber eye peeked open and he grinned at Avielle slyly, noticing her staring. "Morning, Avi."