Adora (On Hold)

Chapter Nine

Rain poured on the solemn, nighttime streets of Silvaria, drowning out the usual chatter of the city. A flash of lightning reflected off of the metallic object held by Erin's neck.

"You're a quick one, aren't you?" a sleek voice resonated throughout the splashing of the downpour. "But it's alright; the prey always tired eventually. It's just a matter of when it happens." 

Erin gritted her teeth. She had lead herself into her own demise by being such a weakling. She viewed it as divine wrath for all the things she had done before. I just wanted some space away from the family...

"It's alright, don't cry...it'll all be over before you know it." the voice cackled softly, the knife on Erin's throat slipping away, giving her breathing room. 

I'm...crying..? A teardrop fell from her face, glistening a bit before disguising among its raindrop brethren. 

---

Erin woke in a flash in a bed foreign to her. "A bed?" she murmured softly, looking around. She heard light snoring in a room opposite to hers. 

Rising from the bed, it felt as if the bed was shifting off-balance as her weight left in favor of the floor. Erin blindly stumbled across the room, smacking into what she thought was a cabinet. Finally, she made it to the room's door, opening it only to see a small hallway leading to a thin set of stairs. She meticulously opened the door opposite of hers, the snoring now being familiar to her. It's just Onyx...

"What's wrong?" A voice coming from behind jolted Erin out of her daze, almost knocking Chloe's lights out. 

"Oh my -- I'm so sorry!" Erin exclaimed, rushing to the fallen girl's aid. 

"I'm alright, I'm alright.." she laughed it off, a small bump swelling on her head. "What are you doing up so late..?" 

"I...don't know how I ended up this way." Erin responded awkwardly.

"Oh, right!" Chloe began, as if telling an old tale to a child. "Well..you got food coma!"

Erin's jaw dropped. "Food...coma..?"

"Yeah!" Chloe chirped. "When you eat too much, you can get sleepy. Onyx wanted to draw on your face." She stopped for a moment to let out a snicker. 

"I..don't recall.." Erin sighed. Of course that would happen to her.

"It's not a big deal. It's still early, so why don't you sleep a bit longer?" Chloe asked sweetly, a smile on her face.

"Of course.." Erin replied, moving back to the room she had come from. 

While she was getting comfortable under the covers of the bed she had been given, she felt something else moving nearby. It felt as if someone else was trying to sneak into the bed with her.

"Hello..?" Erin asked in that general direction, her voice low.

"Hiya~!" Chloe's voice piped up. 

Erin stopped for a moment, processing what she was doing. "Why are you --" 

Chloe interrupted her. "We don't have enough beds, so I'll be sleeping with you while you stay here! Isn't that great?" No. No it's not.

Erin sighed, more concerned about sleeping than the other person in the bed. After a few minutes, she was fast asleep, all of her worries having faded without much difficulty.

---

"WAKE UP!!!!!" A loud, obnoxious voice resonated throughout the room, utterly shattering the dream world that Erin had settled in. 

"What do you want..?" Erin mumbled, blinking her eyes. Onyx's forehead clashed with Erin's sending the child rolling off the bed.

"Ouch." Onyx said, though her tone was completely neutral. 

Chloe rose from her side of the bed, leaning over to see what was going on. In her daze, she landed on Erin's lap, falling back asleep almost immediately. Erin had to shove to remove this new inconvenience, waking Chloe up once more. 

"Huh...? What..? Oh.." Chloe murmured. Her eyes were still half-closed as she sat up. 

Onyx leaped onto the bed once more, shaking Chloe. "It's morning!!" she cried into her ear. "Wake up!! Wake up!! Wake up!! Wake u--" A blanket was stuffed into her mouth. 

"Hush, child.." Chloe cooed. She almost sounded like a mom. "I'm up now. Let's have some breakfast." She smiled, standing up and motioning for Erin to do the same. Her clothes were the same as when Erin had first met her, though her apron was gone. Her hair was the same too, devoid of the bedhead that had plagued Erin for years. It made her wonder how something like that was managed. 

---

Upon arriving downstairs, Erin was greeted by a breakfast platter consisting of eggs in every style one could ever imagine as well as every breakfast meat imaginable. Onyx had been trailing behind Erin, pushing her forward to make room and wolf down one of everything. Erin rolled her eyes, though she had pretty much expected it by now. She ate conservatively, not wishing to overdo it. 

"HEY!!! GET BACK HERE!!!" Erin turned to see Onyx chasing a large dog around. 

"What the --" Erin stopped herself upon seeing her answer. The dog was carrying a slab of ham in its mouth, taking a moment to chomp down on it fully before Onyx leaped onto its back.

"THIEF!!! I'LL MAKE SURE YOU PAY FOR THA -- AAAAHHH!!!" Onyx was cut off as she was hoisted off of the poor dog, who was probably still contemplating what the hell was even going on. 

Chloe laughed, setting Onyx back on the ground. "Sorry about Daisy; she loves her breakfast." She proceeded to pet Daisy, who responded with a joyful bark. "I usually keep her in the back during work hours so she doesn't interrupt customers." she explained. "But in the morning, she eats her breakfast with me."

"You didn't touch the platter over there though.." Erin tilted her head, motioning to the platter that had almost been engulfed within Onyx's black hole of a stomach. 

"Oh, I ate already. I always eat my meals with Daisy before I start making food for the customers. Keeps me from drooling on my own creations~!" she gave a thumbs-up to follow up her last statement. 

Chloe's humble bragging almost made Erin chuckle as she retreated to the kitchen, counting her supplies for the day. A few words made their way to Erin's ear after a few seconds of awkward silence. 

"Oh, that's not good.."