Artful Façade (Days Union AU)

3. City Life

Artful's POV

Despite the extreme strength I had been given, the long hours of journeying had made my legs feel like jelly. Aesthetic and I continued forwards, trudging through the heavy snow. Every step I took felt like I was carrying the world. When I looked over at my friend, I could tell he was on the brink of collapse, as well. I could see the top of the huge, dark grey pillars that surrounded the walls of the city.

So close, I thought.

I looked back at Aesthetic,

But yet so far...

I sighed in annoyance.

Why does the city have to be so far away? Why did we have to go on foot?

I spotted a cave and called Aesthetic over to me, "Hey, come here! I have an idea."

Aesthetic slowly walked over, "What is it?"

"I spotted a cave. We can rest there for a bit!"

"That's an awesome idea! Let's go!"

Aesthetic suddenly rushed past me with the speed and strength I didn't know he still had. I trailed behind him and entered the cool, dark cave.

"This should do, right?"

Once again, I looked over to Aesthetic, expecting a response. Then I realized he was asleep already.

Not even here for 5 minutes and you are already sleeping? That sounds exactly like you.

I stifled a laugh and settled down on the other side of the cave, and within minutes, I too was asleep.

Timeskip 1 day

Aesthetic skipped past me, letting snow spray all over the place.

"Hey! Slow down and be careful!"

"Nahhh, you are just a slowpoke. You can't catch up!"

"Why you-"

We raced and chased each other for over a mile before we found ourselves at the gate to the city. The city walls towered over us and we looked up at the glowing, green circle of the Days Union.

"We are finally here, Aesthetic! This is it! Remember our identities and Residence numbers. Those are very important."

"Ok, mom."

Unpredictable_Day's POV

Ughhhhhhh

When will this shift be over? This is ridiculous. I stare at a screen for 1 hour with nothing else to do.

My thoughts were broken by a beeping noise coming from the computer in front of me.

"Finally! Something happened!"

I read the application for two residences.

"Hmm. Two new civilians? One male and one female, named Arabelle Deleon and Noah Powell. I wonder where they are from!"

I tried to track the location the application had been sent from. However, the answer didn't make any sense.

"Unknown!? Is there a glitch in the system? The system always knows where these applications are from. Emotionless, come look at this!"

"What is it?"

"The location that this application was sent from is labeled as unknown."

"Names?"

"Arabelle Deleon and Noah Powell."

"Ok. I will tell the other operatives to look out and keep watch over those two."

Benevolent's POV

I saw two people enter the City Gate and rushed over to them.

"Hello, welcome to the one and only Days City! I am Benevolent_Day! May I ask your names?"

"Hi! I am Arabelle Deleon and this is Noah Powell. We are new civilians here!"

I see. These are the two Emotionless said to keep an eye on.

"Wonderful! If you will follow me, I will show you to your residences!

I lead Arabelle and Noah to their residences and left promptly.

"If you find yourself lost or need assistance, feel free to ask me for help! I also have a bakery, visit me there if you wish!"

I walked away and looked at the time, only to realize I was running late.

The meeting starts in 5 minutes!? I think I can make it if I run.

I sprinted down the road and got a few odd looks from civilians, but most just ignored me.

"I don't see why the operatives were asked to watch those two civilians. They seem normal to me. Maybe the system did have an error..."

The others will probably want to initiate 007.

Artful's POV

"Hey, Aes- Noah?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm tired so I am probably going to sleep. Want to meet in front of your residence, tomorrow?"

"Sure, see you tomorrow, Ara."

"See you!"

I walked into my residence and threw my stuff to the ground before launching myself on top of my bed. I rested there for a few minutes before deeming my current position as uncomfortable. I changed into my red, soft, flannel pajamas and rested my head down on my fluffy pillow before succumbing to the sweet sensation of sleep.

Timeskip

I stood outside Aesthetic's residence, he was late. No surprise there. I went to knock on the door again but as I approached it, the door was thrown open. I fell backward in surprise and Aesthetic helped me up.

"Did I really take that long? I thought your legs didn't tire out so fast."

I rolled my eyes and we walked down the street, talking about what we felt like doing today.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you, Noah. You look stunning in your uniform," I exclaimed jokingly. 

Aesthetic didn't seem to like his civilian uniform at all and was clearly embarrassed by it.

"I don't want to talk about it, Ara."

We continued walking until I saw a sign labeled, 'Dynamic's Book Store'.

"Books!" We both exclaimed. 

We entered the book store to see a purple operative with his legs kicked up on his desk. 

"Hey! I'm Dynamic_Day! Welcome to my bookstore!"

We exchanged a few words then I proceeded to view the books lined up on the shelves. I pulled out a book labeled 'The Night Coalition' and asked to borrow it.

" Of course! Return it by the end of this week! Enjoy your book!"

"Thanks, Dynamic!"

I held the book I had borrowed very carefully, determined to keep it in good shape for when it was returned.

"So, we both need to get jobs. Right?" Aesthetic continued on about the different jobs available in the city and after a while, I stopped listening.

"I think I might apply for an Archivist," Aesthetic said. "What about you, Ara?"

"Oh! I might try to be a baker."

"Sounds like you."

We laughed and continued down the road. Throughout the rest of the day, we viewed the different parts of the city and saw a building for a newspaper called the 'Sunrise Telegraph', which I looked at for apparently too long, as I was dragged away by Aesthetic.

At the end of the day, I threw myself back into bed, not even caring to change and went to sleep. 

Everything is going as planned.