"Dathan's bakery" Alexis answered on the phone as she picked a call from an unknown number unaware that Kaija was the one calling, "how may I help you today ma'am or sir?" she asked while opening a fridge to get some yogurt and holding the phone with both her shoulder and cheek.
...
Alexis squinted her eyes as she savored the taste of the yogurt before replying back in a husky voice "I love it when you talk dirty to me" after a few moments of silence she followed up the teasing statement with a casual reply as she smirked "but for real I missed you, how are they treating you over there?"
...
"No don't say that Kaija"Alexis said as she placed the metal spoon back inside its plastic container, "I mean sure you have your 'anger' issues but none of that was your fault, if anything its mine heck I've been feeling horrible about the whole ordeal because if it wasn't for me you'd still be here" a loud distressing sigh came out"I haven't been able to get a good nights sleep since you left you know?"
...
Alexis let out a uncomfortable groan "Ehhhhh, maybe Kaiji. I don't like being alone but I guess I have to manage now, we've been together for seven years you know and its just hard to just not see you next to me when I wake up"Alexis enjoyed to hear her companions voice once again but was already dreading of losing her again"can't you stay on the phone just a ittle bit longer?" Alexis asked with a very obvious tone of ignorance.
As much as Alexis was tenacious towards Kaija she nodded her head and replied back half disappointed "Okaaay, you take care of yourself. Love you"
...
Once the phone was hung up Alexis turned her attention to the yogurt at hand, "my whole life all I've known is Kaija, its so odd how she's my everything and my sister at the same time" the brunette twirled the spoon around as her mind began to unravel memories most fondest of Kaija.
Nightfall
An abyssal of screams broke through the starless night sky followed by the sound of thunder and smell of copper, Alexis was on her back as she saw flashes of fire zig across her field of vision like miniature comets but couldn't do anything other than watch events unfold.
She felt a heavy weight on her chest and seering burn against her legs that was unbearable but it wasn't too long after those sensations did she feel herself lifted from behind to where she could see the true horror in-front of her, monsters of abnormal shapes and bathed in human blood crawled through the shadows of walls and over the mutilated corpses of both men as well as women whom were unfortunate to end in their path.
Alexis's heart stopped as she saw swarms of them approaching in a eerily slow manner yet as much as she was getting pulled backwards she was still moving slower than they, one of these monsters with their malformed faces opened its mouth to reveal a pit of malignant teeth as its arm suddenly expanded outwards towards the girl with sharpened talons and...
"Ghuahh!" Alexis gasped sharpy as she woke up with beads of sweat falling off her face, looking around she found herself alone in her room it was just a dream, just a dream. The American base tonight only had a skeleton crew with most personnel being out in a special deployment aside from Spectral whom was guarding the perimeter outside the only one else Alexis knew was Kaija down the hallway, to Alexis's humility she grabbed her sheets and pillow as she stumbled out the room with the some what light clanking of the metallic braces on her lower limbs echoing across the military hallway "Hello, Kaija?" Alexis asked before knocking gently on the other girls closed door.
At this point in time, aseven year old Kaija was fast asleep, resting atop a drool soaked pillow and with her scratched up headboard absolutely devastated by months of abuse from the sharp, rolling horns of the active sleeper. She desperately needed to have them trimmed, but whenever someone came to manicure them, well, Kaija would get rather upset. Unlike her companion, the little ball of fire was having a dreamless sleep tonight. It seems as though her physical training had robbed whatever energy her brain would normally have used to formulate dreams in her sleep. Regardless, although she didn't hear the voice that preceded it, her companion's knocking would tear her away from her rest.
She got up waddled over to the door in a zombie-esque manner, and opened it slowly and begrudgingly. A streak of drool leaked down the left side of her mouth, and her eyes remained almost entirely shut as stood at the doorway waiting for Alexis to explain her sudden arrival.
"Umm hey" Alexis stated timidly very well knowing that Uma was fatigued "I was wondering if it was okay, if I could...sleep here with you" the brunette fiddled with her thumbs for a few moments before explaining "its scary, and quiet. I don't want to be alone" Alexis then gestured at the objects she carried on hand "I promise to be quiet and I brought my own stuff so you don't have to share anything"
Alexis remained silent after finishing her statement but remained hopeful that the girl would say yes and just maybe just maybe she could get a good nights sleep.
Kaija processed her request for a moment, and then yawned as she gave her answer, the very first word, barely recognizable.
"Ahhhight, just watch out for my horns, they're kinda sharp." Kaija replied.
Without giving her companion any direction as to where exactly she wanted her to sleep, or even so much as staying near the doorway to close it behind the girl, Kaija, after approving her request, wobbled back over to her bed and in one rolling motion was back under the covers and trying to fall back to sleep. She then scooted over to the side of the bed farthest from the doorway so that Alexis could slide on in and rolled until she was facing upwards, moments away from sleep.
Alexis let out a sigh of relief as Uma agree to let her stay the night, Alexis closed the door and slipped into the same bed Uma was in but made sure to put her pillow in-between them as a precaution I don't want to get poked in the tummy Alexis thought as she closed her eyes and stated one last thing to her bed buddy "Thanks Kaija, I really appreciate it"
Kaija's eyes slide open for a moment to respond to her comrade before she drifts away.
"Hey no problem. It's just you and me" Kaija replied, falling back into sleep immediately after answering.
Midas
Alexis panted heavily as she braced against a railing and glanced wearily at her rehabilitation nurse "I just need some time to rest" she stated defensively as the nurse replied back reassuringly "no its okay you're doing wonderful"yeah right Alexis nodded in agreement but her facial expression suggested other wise as she looked enviously towards Kaija on the other side of the massive gym.
Two massive thuds near Kaija's feet. 50lb dumbbells. Despite her young age, Kaija was developing her body rather well. She raised her head to the sky, sweat dripping down her glistening body as her fields of alveoli ravenously purged the air in her lungs of oxygen. She regains her composure and bolts. She converges with the lines on the nearby track while maintaining her speed, then accelerates.
1-2-3-4-5-6
She races across the track, outpacing, and occasionally lapping, any agent unlucky enough to be shamed by her physical prowess. She completes the 3 mile sprint, taking a moment to once again re-oxygenate the hemoglobin in her trained blood. After a final sigh, she walks over to her companion, her tight gym apparel only working to further exemplify the results of years of physical torture and progress.
"Hey, good job Alex!" she comments, noticing the small improvements that her friend has made in controlling her legs.
"Hah-hah-hah" Alexis replied back sarcastically and with a bitter tone as she examined Uma's awesome physical form head to toe "I managed to cross fifty feet with out falling on my butt and there you are lifting massive weights and crossing like a gazillion miles" the girls limps trembled a little as she looked at her legs "It's been three years and all I've managed to do successfully is slow down deterioration, every day you're getting stronger but I push my self just as hard and can't even come close to competing with you Kaija"
I'm never going to get better at this rate, all I'm doing is avoiding the inevitable
Kaija shook her head for a moment and gave her reply.
"LIsten, I only do this because I have to, you know? I say the same thing every time we're in class. Have you seen my grades? I'm glad to see you working so hard, but you really don't need to compete with me." Kaija sighed before continuing, "I got back my ASVAB scores... whatever chance I had of having a peaceful job here is gone. Although I guess it doesn't really matter, they weren't going to let a giant monster have an office job anyways right? Don't be jealous, this is a necessity for me. When you're running the place and I'm doing all the heavy lifting, maybe then you'll realize how good you have it. Even with crippled legs, you're probably going to be going to far more places than I'll have a chance at reaching. And it has nothing to do with walking. So cheer up, mkay? I've gotta get back out there, have some faith in yourself."
With that, Kaija flicked Alexis' nose, and returned to her workout, focused on what she came to do.
"Psssh" Alexis said as she watched Kaija go back to her work out "It's not my grades are that super anyway" she turned her attention to the nurse who was waiting idly "Read for round two?" he asked with interest to which Alexis nodded and replied "Let's go triple or nothing"
The nurse smiled "Looks like your friends little pep talk cheered you up there" Alexis blushed with a sheepish face "yeah maybe..." she glanced back at Kaija for a few seconds while sighing before turning her attention back to her own workout.
Last wish
Today was Alexis's fourteenth birthday but she woke up solemnly with less spirit than she would normally have with her Dysthymia, this was because yesterday Alexis finished a medical checkup with the base doctor to receive dire news, her condition had worsened and some certain unfortunate details were explained in private.
Even with the details explained in private it was pretty obvious to even those who didn't know them would realize Alexis was extremely ill due to extremely pale skin and a thinner physique than normal in addition to this even her walking had deteriorated to the point she resorted to using crutches in combination with her leg braces. Because of the severeness of the illness she was given a pass on all education and physical activities for undisclosed extent, "Hey Kaija" Alexis replied with dying eyes as she saw her friend rounding a corner in the recreational room that she was in.
For an instant, Kaija would wear a smile as she entered the room. She had managed to successfully annoy Spectral into obtaining a rabbit for her, and it was now not-so-cleverly hidden in her room underneath her bed in preparation for a certain special event later that day. Her smile was broken as soon as she entered the room and she took a seat near Alexis. She attempted to pretend like she wasn't aware of Alexis' deteriorating condition, but her body language sold out her thoughts rather effectively.
An unusual gesture, Kaija held her companion's hand as she spoke to her, an obvious attempt to comfort her friend during hard times that she herself didn't even realize she was doing.
"Hey... Happy Birthday Alexis! What did you want to do today?" She asked, honestly not expecting much of an answer, but fully willing to comply with any requests.
"I don't know" Alexis replied miserably as she felt Kaija hold her hand "what can I do?" I only have six months left to live Alexis wanted to tell Kaija everything bad that was happening but refrained from doing so It's not her problem, its mine "I'm so tired Kaija, so very tired" she continued as she leaned onto her friend "I just want to give up you know?" Alexis blinked her eyes wearily as she looked around the rec room as if these were her last days on Earth "I gave it my best but I think I'm going to be taking a long sleep soon"
Kaija panicked a bit as her eyes darted about the lower half of her friend's form. She took some comfort in the fact that she wasn't forced to look Alexis in the eyes at the moment and risk revealing all of the thoughts in her mind. Once again, she took to lying in this stressful situation, the best solution she could come up with.
"Don't be so melodramatic! You're just having one of your depressed days, is all. You'll take a nap later and be right as rain. And then I'll say 'I told you so', haha." after forcing a laugh, she took a moment of silence.
She physically swallowed her self imposed guilt and premature grief before making an offer, "I... I got you a gift. A fluffy gift. It needs someone to stick around to care for it and love it, so you can't go anywhere, ok? Just wait here a second"
Kaija power-walked out of the room, doing her best to not seem like she was in a rush, but still making it blatantly obvious that she wanted to be elsewhere. In truth, she not only left to retrieve the gift, but also to take a minute to repair her crumbling composure. She'd take a breather and be back soon with the gift.
The brunette's eyes began to water up upon seeing the little ball of fluff "How did yo-?" Alexis spoke those few words in a broken voice before stopping in a moment of silence to hobble over towards Kaija, Alexis gripped her crutches weakly as she got a closer look at the creature in Kaija's hands and in the first time in weeks she felt better spiritually "its so beautiful, is it a boy or girl?"
Alexis threw out thoughts of her ill fate and focused on the little creature with admiration while giving a genuine smile of appreciation to Kaija, I have the best friend the best
Kaija's cocked her head to the side for a second in confusion after Alexis asked her question.
"...I don't know, tbh. I never actually..." Kaija's words trailed off as she quickly hoisted the bunny up and turned it around to check it's genitalia.
The rabbit was surprisingly docile throughout the entire experience. Kaija's brow furrowed as she took a surprisingly long time to check.
"Uh... it's kinda fluffy, so I can't really... y-you know what? We'll... just check that later. But yeah, it's yours. You kept saying you wanted one so I got one. You like it?" Kaija asked, a small smile finally returning.
Alexis giggled "Thanks, and of course I do Kaiji" she began petting the bunny's head gently "you always some how find a way to cheer me up, I really appreciate that" with her spirits now high she looked at the clock in the rec room "you also gave me an idea what I want for my birthday wish" Alexis placed her index finger against her own lips "yeah yeah I know, don't tell anyone what it is or it does't come true. Also chocolate cake per usual"
"As you wish." Kaija replied, fulfilling her duty and carrying out a proper birthday that turned out to be just a little more pleasant than anyone in the base would've expected.
Now
After a few hours of thinking and reminiscing of Kaija Alexis managed to stop and was in the kitchen cooking a meal for the staff with Spectral's help when she saw on the kitchen television Kaija, "What?" she stated as her jaw dropped while watching the carnage unfold on a six story man.
"Hey Alexis come on its nothing you haven't seen before, I need you to flip the pork chops before they burn" Spectral stated as he zig zagged across the kitchen room like a literal spectral phenomenon. "No it is, I'll do it in a bit I gotta make a quick call" she placed a salad bowl on the counter as she reached for a landline to I.D call Kaija back
"Contingency, you're too attached to Kaija" he replied back as he came to pick up the salad bowl earlier placed down to which Alexis responded by frowning angrily "Shut up, no I'm not!" after retorting she pouted and waited for Kaija to pick up the phone.
"She didn't answer" Alexis murmured sadly as she closed the line and felt a slight heart ache, when she felt on the verge of crying there suddenly was a burning smell and she turned around to see one of the pans on fire "SH*T!"
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