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Chie's question weighed heavily on her, silence having fallen inside the car when Wei had given them the answer. The people that attacked her weren't actual people- they were turned into monsters by the Nox. They could've been anyone. Could've been [i]her[/i], for all she knew. The Nox had breached Calcaria- maybe not in her district, sure, but what of others? What about those who lived closer to the border? Try as she might, Chie couldn't shake off the worry she felt. She looked up and to the soldier who had been stuck under the debris not long ago.

Would [i]he[/i] have turned if she'd just left him there?

She didn't get much more time to think on it, the car pulling to a stop. The four girls were shepherded into a part of Calcaria not even Chie had been to before- and for good reason. The average high-schooler had no need for a trip to a heavily guarded military center, the heart of Calcaria's defenses. The environment felt cold, not from the chilling night air but the rigid and practical nature of the buildings around her. The dimly lit pavement didn't help matters.

Once Wei had left after the four were shown to their temporary , Selma had wasted no time in crashing on top of one of the cots. It was sudden enough to get a small yelp out of Chie, but not surprising enough for her to comment on it. The adrenaline was wearing off for her, too, and her earlier stint with magic hadn't helped Chie in feeling any less exhausted. She stumbled over to the closest cot not occupied by Selma and sat down on the edge of it, pulling out her phone from the coat she wore. Its screen was cracked now, hardly surprising, but was otherwise unharmed. She looked at the hour, which read 22:53. Its barely been two hours since she stood at that dock, waiting on the airship. Only a few hours ago, she was dropped off there, saying goodbye to her father as she reassured him she'd be fine on her own. It was surreal, in just a few-

[color=00a99d]"Y'know what I'm gonna miss?"[/color]
"Eh?"

Chie snapped back to reality, albeit slightly confused, when Selma was the one to break the silence- again, that is. Not that Chie got much time to think on that, either. Selma wasn't looking at any one of them in particular, merely wistfully musing on her mother's stew as she kept her eyes fixated on the ceiling above them. It wasn't much of a story, but Chie could feel the warmth in it nevertheless... or maybe that was just Selma's natural charisma at work again. It wasn't like Chie got much of a chance to figure it out- her thoughts were occupied by the question Selma had asked the four of them at the end. What would Chie miss...?

"I suppose... it's seeing my father come home."

Maybe that sounded strange, but Chie didn't have much else.

"He isn't home very much and he can't really cook, so I'm the one making dinner for us. It's lonely, but when I see his eyes light up after returning from his work, I... I feel like I can keep trying my best."

She raised her head and turned her body to look at the other girls, a sheepish look on her face. "I-I'm sorry, that must sound super weird... I'm just worried about leaving him there without me, you know?"