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[h1][color=F65772]H[/color] [i]i l a r i a[/i][/h1]  
[img]https://i.imgur.com/LTOSD9b.png[/img]

[color=F65772]"Sometimes, being a JRPG protagonist isn't so bad."[/color]

[color=888888]— Hilaria[/color]
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What entered Hilaria's vision when she woke up the next morning was an unfamiliar and dirtied white ceiling. Without looking anywhere else, she could already tell she was not in a luxurious place, but somewhere 'economical'. She wondered what that meant. 

As she sat up, she noticed she was in a bed and threw the covers off of herself, glancing around yet seeing nobody else in the small room. There were quite a few posters of some cartoonish characters on the wall, all striking eccentric, yet flamboyant poses and there were even some figurines of those same characters lining a dresser that sat along the wall. [color=F65772][i]A child?[/i][/color] While waking up in a strange environment with no recollection of the actions that led up to the moment was not exactly a unique situation for her, she had to admit she'd never woken up in a child's bed before. 

Hilaria got out of the bed and stood up, stretching her arms and realizing that she felt incredible and refreshed. It had to have been the most amazing sleep she'd gotten in centuries, at least. [color=F65772]"~!"[/color] she could almost sing if it weren't for the fact she still wasn't sure where she was or why she was here. But standing in a kid's room wasn't going to answer that question, was it? She began to leave only to pick up on the faint sound of humming in the next room as well as the wonderful smell of bacon. 

[b]"MmmMmmMmm~"[/b] the voice, oblivious to Hilaria's presence, continued to hum as she entered the room. There was no real divide between the living room and the kitchen, which made it rather obvious that this was some dinky apartment. [url=https://youtu.be/f32iAFk4vzc?t=56][b]"You won't get faaaaaaaar~ Cannnn't escape~ If you get lost oh, black swallowtail~"[/b][/url] she sung while oblivious to the approaching Hilaria. She was wearing some rather revealing clothing and Hilaria could tell there was a fire spec being used in some capacity, so this girl was certainly not human. Hilaria hadn't woken up restrained so she couldn't imagine the girl intending to harm her since she had ample opportunity to do so while Hilaria was out. Thus, she did not see any reason to transform. 

[color=F65772]"Eh~? Is that bacon~?"[/color] Hilaria asked merely a foot or so away from the distracted girl. She hadn't put much effort into being quiet, but the girl was basically in her own world and had remained blissfully unaware of the approaching ancient up until that point. 

What happened next managed to surprise Hilaria. In response to being startled, the girl left an outline of herself out of flames and also suddenly launched upwards, her head hitting the ceiling with a thud. [b]"S-s-sakura, when'd you...?"[/b] temporarily mistaking her for someone else, the girl stopped mid-sentence when she realized she wasn't staring at the person she expected. 

The girl seemed a bit cautious as she inspected Hilaria but apparently satisfied with some aspect of her after a glance, shifted gears. [b]"O-Oh! You're alright!"[/b] as if she hadn't nearly flown through the roof, she reached up to place the back of her hand on Hilaria's forehead. [b]"You don't feel warm... are you okay?"[/b] she asked. 

Hilaria tilted her head. [color=F65772]"Hilaria is more than fine~! Hilaria feels amazing~!"[/color] she told the girl, eyeing the bacon in the pan that had managed not to follow the girl into the roof. For that, she was thankful. [color=F65772]"Hilaria is kinda hungry though~"[/color] 

[b]"Hilaria?"[/b] she repeated. [b]"Oh, is that your name, then?"[/b] she asked. Hilaria gave a nod before the girl decided to introduce herself. [color=turquoise]"Sorry for asking that first, but I'm Emily! It's good to see you're awake!"[/color] Emily turned her eyes towards the breakfast she was making that consisted of both eggs and bacon, and then continued. [color=turquoise]"And of course you're welcome to eat here! I made quite a bit, actually. Erm, do you like bac--"[/color] having noticed that Hilaria's attention was entirely on the food, she knew the answer. [color=turquoise]"Um, please, take a seat over there and I'll make you a plate!"[/color] Emily motioned over to a table tucked in the corner of the living room. 

Having done as asked, Hilaria found a plate with eggs and bacon before her, as well as a tall glass of milk and a piece of toast. [color=F65772]"Eheh~ Hilaria is thankful for the meal~"[/color] she managed to say before diving into the breakfast and finishing it in what was probably record time. Emily had barely managed to get a single bite in before Hilaria's plate had been cleaned. 

[color=turquoise]"..."[/color] 

Strangely, Hilaria felt satisfied with just that, so she glanced around the room while Emily ate. But it became increasingly harder to do so when she felt the girl stealing glances at her, only to avoid eye contact. It was clear she wanted to say something but was perhaps not sure how to. [color=F65772]"Hmm~?"[/color] she finally decided to break the awkward silence. [color=F65772]"Do you fancy Hilaria~?"[/color] she asked, giving a coquettish grin. 

Emily seemed taken aback by the question, but quickly regained her composure when she realized Hilaria was maybe joking. Or at least she thought she was. [color=turquoise]"No, it's..."[/color] she hesitated momentarily, but finally relented. [color=turquoise]"Do you... not remember last night?"[/color] she waited for Hilaria's answer. 

Hilaria paused to think, but couldn't retrieve any of those memories. It all seemed quite fuzzy. She remembered being on her way to the rave, but didn't even recall the bunny she scared or meeting that magical boy. [color=F65772]"Nope~!"[/color] she denied innocently. [color=F65772]"Hilaria isn't sure why she's here or what happened last night, but it must have been... fun...?"[/color] she had started a lot stronger than she finished, but that was because Emily's darkening expression told her that her assumption was completely wrong. 

She thought that because she felt good waking up that nothing bad happened, but that was not looking like the case. Both the air and the tense expression Emily had on were making it difficult to deny that something bad happened. [color=F65772]"Hilaria wants to know what happened, then~"[/color]

Emily opened and closed her mouth more than one time. [color=turquoise]"Umm, well..."[/color] she rubbed the back of her neck as she thought about how best to answer. [color=turquoise]"A lot of stuff happened. There was a big attack on the Rave that left lots of people injured or..."[/color] Emily trailed off. [color=turquoise]"...There was also a big problem with horrors at a nearby park. They were really strong, too! Um, that's where you were. You wer--"[/color] Emily began to say something else, but Hilaria held a hand up. 

[color=F65772]"Nope~! Hilaria doesn't want to hear that part,"[/color] she stated abruptly. [color=F65772]"It's not important."[/color] she wiggled her finger. Given the mention of strong horrors, Hilaria figured she must have lost consciousness fighting them, which was honestly quite embarrassing for her. Slipping up like that even given her age was terrible and she did not want to think about it, at least not yet. It was kinda strange that she woke up feeling refreshed but she would pass that off as someone being good at mending wounds or something similar. 

[color=turquoise]"Oh... well, okay..."[/color] Emily appeared confused but agreed anyways and then another silence took over as she finished her own meal. When it was done, Hilaria spoke up. 

[color=F65772]"Hilaria thinks you've got a good voice~ What were you singing~? She wants to know~ Is it a song for your child~?"[/color] the question made caught Emily off guard and she nearly choked on the food she was chewing. 

[color=turquoise]"My w-what!?"[/color] 

The ancient put a finger to her lips. [color=F65772]"Mmm, Hilaria saw posters and toys in the room she was in, so she thought that might be a kid's room~ Isn't it~?"[/color]

[color=turquoise]"Well that's..."[/color] Emily wasn't able to look at Hilaria directly when she answered. [color=turquoise]"I-I do have someone of childlike stature here, I guess..."[/color] Hilaria was unsure why the subject seemed to cause the girl distress but decided against pressing on it for the time being. She stood up from the table and pushed her chair in. 

[color=F65772]"Hilaria is grateful for the food but she should go~"[/color] she declared. Emily stood up in response.

[color=turquoise]"O-oh, so soon? Are you sure you're feeling well?"[/color] she was paying particular attention to the bandages that covered parts of Hilaria's limbs. 

To alleviate Emily's concerns, Hilaria removed some of the bandages on her arm, revealing that there were no wounds on it. [color=F65772]"Hilaria forgets to remove them sometimes, that's all,"[/color] she explained, throwing the bandage away as she moved towards the door. 

Emily followed right behind. [color=turquoise]"Um, well, if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to come back. A sister in need is always welcome here!"[/color] she assured Hilaria as the woman started out the door, only to follow her out. [color=turquoise]"O-oh, if you don't mind... could we exchange numbers?"[/color]

[color=F65772]"Mmm~?"[/color] Hilaria didn't have any particular desire to see this girl again, but since she seemingly saved her, having a way to repay the favor someday was good. [color=F65772]"Hilaria supposes~"[/color] she reached into her cleavage and retrieve a model of phone that was relatively new. She preferred food, but sometimes guys would buy her material items. This was one of them.

After the two swapped their cell numbers, Hilaria made sure to make a note in the contact info that this girl had helped her, as she knew she was probably going to forget. Emily, seeming quite pleased that Hilaria agreed, waved as the ancient set back off into Penrose, quite oblivious to the trouble she had caused the night before. 

Hopefully, that wouldn't cause problems down the line.