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Nora stirred, waking slowly, calmly. She was warm, confortable...the feeling of safety was strong, wrapped around her carefully. The scent of strawberry and something sweet like candy — is that some kind of perfume? she mused — was invading her senses. She hummed and burrowed more into the warmth and the nice scent.
Wait...
She jerked up, eyes wide as she took in the brightly colored blankets and fluffy pillow that had been under her head. She flushed and glanced around, finding neither of the other girls in the room. Blood rushed more heavily to her face as she realized one of them had picked her up and moved her to Enid's bed while she was asleep, not wanting to bother her.
A part of her heart lurched happily at the thought of her soulmates taking her health into consideration and letting her catch up on the sleep she desperately needed.
Nora studiously ignored it and stood up, stretching. She sighed as her back popped satisfyingly and she shuffled forward, finding her luggage neatly stored near the wall of their dorm room. She ducked down and grabbed a clean pair of loose jeans and an overly large baggy t-shirt. She made her way towards their bathroom and freshened up quickly, pulling on the clothes. She rushed out of the bathroom, dumping her dirty clothes into the hamper to be washed and snatched her cap, tugging it on. She struggled to pull on her shoes, muttering curses under her breath as she almost fell over trying to yank them on.
She grinned when her shoes finally slipped properly on her feet and snatched her backpack from the ground, looping it over her shoulders and venturing out of the dorm room. Nora raced down the stairs, taking two at a time and only almost falling once — she counted it as a win. The cold air was nice on her face and she took a deep breath as she walked through the courtyard. Nobody else was around — classes were going on at the moment and, while Nora knew she would probably get yelled at, she decided to skip until after lunch.
She found a small, quiet place in the crook of one of the windows and leaned against the wall, stretching her legs across the ledge as she opened her backpack, withdrawing her sketchbook and pencil, easily falling into the routine she had at her old school — avoiding everyone and everything and being sucked into her own world through her drawings.
Nora didn't know how much time had passed when something wet hit her nose. She blinked, bewildered before more drops smacked her in the face. "Fuck, shit, damnit—" Muttered curses escaped her lips as she hauled up her things, hurriedly stuffing her sketchbook back into her bag as rain began to pour down from above.
She glanced up just in time to see Wednesday stepping out from the school, unfolding a black umbrella to rest casually against her shoulder as she started walking into the rain. Nora's stomach gave a lurch at the sight and she curled her fingers into her palms, telling herself to calm down despite her heart leaping in her ribcage.
"Wednes—"
Nora's voice faded off as a cracking sound echoed. She glanced up at the same time as Wednesday did. A stone gargoyle above her on an arch began to crumble and move forward on its own. Nora made a choked sound of alarm as it was suddenly shoved off, hurtling towards Wednesday.
