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S E H N S U C H T

(n). An intense yearning for something far-off and indefinable.

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"AH, THERE YOU ARE!" A british accented voice startled Natasja out of her reverie and she turned away from the fish tank to see a girl about her age wearing a red cocktail dress. "You must be the new recruit. I'm Bond. Lily Bond."

The beautiful blonde stuck out her hand towards Natasja, a bright genuine smile on her face. The red head gingerly took her hand in hers and immediately felt welcomed by the warm, firm shake despite being beyond curious as to why on earth she was so dressed up.

"And before you ask, no, I'm not related to any James Bond at all," Lily laughed and her brown eyes twinkled. "You are?"

"Oh, uh, Natasja," The redhead smiled back. "Natasja Armand."

"Oooh, french," Lily gushed. "I'm actually a great great granddaughter of a french guy's neighbor."

Natasja burst out laughing without meaning to. She liked her.

"Anyway, have you gone to the president's office for your schedule or...?"

"Oh, no I'm afraid I haven't yet."

"Well then," Lily clapped her hands together. "Allow me the honor to inform you that the president has placed you under my wing. We're roommates!"

"Ah... Right," Natasja smiled. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but why are you dressed like that?"

"Oh, because I'm Duma," She replied in a british version of a 'duh' tone. "What's your division?"

"I, ah, didn't read the handbook."

Lily tsked and laughed. "Well I guess we'll be covering a lot today. They rank you according to the amount of trauma you're able to withstand psychologically. And since we're roommates, obviously you're also a Duma."

"Ah. So we get sorted into trauma levels or something like that?" Natasja internally whinced when her "that" sounded more like "zat". She had a french accent, but she tried to keep it at bay as much as possible.

Lilly laughed again. "Kind of. These divisions are specialized to enhance what abilities you have. For example, if your trauma is rape and not murder, then they'll rank you as Galizur. Which means they won't suddenly force you to kill."

"How many rankings are there?"

"Just three. Ours is the second."

Natasja nodded. "Oh, nice." She really didn't know what else to say. People here were ranked by the horrors they faced. So the more horrific your past, the higher your rank. There was something wrong and off about that system, but she was here to learn, and she wasn't complaining.

Lily noticed her discomfort and wrapped a reassuring arm around her shoulders. "It's alright. What we all have in common here is that we've all been hurt or have seen things people aren't meant to. We can comfort each other," she steered her towards their quarters. "People tend to have more compassion towards others who share in their pain."

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