It’s often been said that Violet was perpetually amiable.Almost so friendly it was suspicious, in fact.
Perhaps this was closer to the truth later in her career.If only in public.
But first hand accounts of her early days at the academymake it clear she lost her temper as often as anyone.
But perhaps never so easily as when her sleep was interrupted.—Daisy Whitaker, “Cruelty in Color”
Violet had enjoyed the shock of the other women when she revealed how quickly she’d made it through the degrees of category red. She would have kept that bit private, but the headmaster already knew, as did Chase. It would only burn trust to lie about it. It meant she would need to work harder to maintain a certain level of growth, especially if the class was planning to push her so hard. But it didn’t worry her as much as she would have thought. She was actually starting to look forward to… finding a way to feed her calling. That rush of adrenaline was thrilling, and the guilt was barely a tickle anymore. She was surprised how easy it had been to silence it. But this didn't exactly upset her.
It had turned out for the best, anyway. Instead of having to put on a show of moping over Alex, she’d been able to spend her first evening in the dorms telling a… version of her first trip into the mist. Kassie had needed to leave eventually, since Aubrey was apparently also in the spectrum class and needed her own schedule. But the ice had been fully broken, and Violet had barely needed to play the grieving widow, so to speak. She’d needed to make a few offhand mentions of Alex. To suddenly slouch and lose her friendly energy from time to time. She made sure to remind them that just because she wanted them to behave as if things were normal, it didn’t mean they were. She would need a more thorough lie to tell Aubrey, of course. But she knew exactly what to say when it came to that.
Overall, she’d managed to settle in, and the people around her wouldn’t think it was too strange that she wasn’t constantly wilting over the loss of her boyfriend. At least, those who wouldn’t have blamed her for her response regardless of what it was. It was a successful first day at Chromatic Academy, and she was feeling confident as she fell asleep for the night.
When Kiera’s obnoxiously smiling face woke her up, she was feeling something else entirely.
“Rise and shine, Vi, time to meet the new class!” Kiera greeted. Violet groaned.
“What time is it?” Violet asked, bleary eyes focusing first on Kiera’s sparkling fox ears, and finally on her too-sharp canines as she grinned.
“Four o’clock, on the dot!” Kiera answered happily. Violet pushed herself up from the bed and looked around the cold room.
“A full hour before class?” Violet complained.
“As God intended,” Kiera agreed.
“If a god exists, she is asleep. It’s four in the morning. Wake me up in forty-five minutes,” Violet dismissed, flopping back onto her mattress like a weary fish.
“We have to get dressed, and I want time to introduce ourselves to everyone before all that, uh, class bullshit,” Kiera argued.
“No one cares who we are. They are all probably still sleeping,” Violet complained.
“I strongly doubt it. Besides, your lazy ass is too fucked up in the head to do any real work today, remember? Sneak in a nap later. It’s gonna take at least half an hour just to get ready and make it to class, regardless. No use in stalling, at this point,” Kiera pushed.
“You are way too enthusiastic about this,” Violet groaned.
“I like making friends and shit. It’s why we get along so swimmingly,” Kiera smirked.
“You’re just gonna keep pushing until I get up, aren’t you?” Violet asked.
“Fuck yeah I am,” Kiera responded. Violet sighed and pushed herself back up so she could glare at the fox girl.
“I’ve killed people for less,” Violet threatened. Kiera laughed.
“Yeah, but it’s different when I do it. Now get your ass up,” she ordered. Violet groaned again, but complied. She lifted her arms above her head in a deep stretch, then looked around the room again, this time with clear vision. Her perception really did kick in quickly. Although she wondered why it had faded at all, now that she thought about it. It should have been difficult to sleep, with how good her hearing had gotten, but she’d found it as easy after getting her calling as before. She’d have to ask her new teacher about that. She made a mental note to deal with it. Then, she tilted her head at the noticeable lack of an alarm clock in the room.
“How did you manage to wake up so early, anyway? Violet asked. Kiera shrugged.
“I don’t sleep much. Foxes are an energetic breed of canine. I was up a while ago. Excited to finally have some fucking company, honestly,” she explained.
“Language…” Violet complained, even as she finally stood up and shuffled across the room. As she made it to her dresser, she glanced over her shoulder and realized Kiera was already wearing her uniform. “How did you even get ready without waking me up?”
Kiera shrugged. “Not very carefully, you just sleep like the fucking dead,” she answered. “That’ll get you into trouble someday, you know.” Violet wrinkled her nose and pulled her pajama top off before fishing in her dresser for one of her new uniforms. “Not gonna shower first?” Kiera asked. Violet shook her head as she slowly replaced her polka-dotted nightwear with a neat school uniform.
“That might kill me, just with the shock alone. I prefer to shower in the evenings.”
“Explains why you always wear your hair up,” Kiera joked. Violet shrugged.
“I wear my hair up because I like it. It’s cute, simple as that,” she answered. Kiera tilted her head and frowned a little. Violet usually responded to teasing well, so the lack of humor in her response was a clear indicator of irritation.
“It is, yeah. Sorry, I figured a lighthearted morning would cheer you up. I see it’s a bit too early for that,” she apologized. Violet finished dressing and turned to look at the other girl.
“It’s too early for anything. Sorry, I don’t mean to be grumpy. I just… It’s been a long week. Give me, like, half an hour, and I’ll be myself again,” Violet answered. Kiera waved it off.
“Nah, you’ve earned a sour mood, if you want one. And I guess if you’re not gonna shower, you really didn’t need to get up so early. My bad, dude,” Kiera said. Violet sniffed.
“It’s whatever. Actually, I’d like to go find Aubrey. I want to catch up with her before heading to class. Do you remember what room Kassie said she was in?” Violet asked. She was a bit worried about attending class as things stood. She needed to prep her excuse for behaving normally. Or the last girl in the group would grow suspicious again. Aubrey had been suspicious of Violet the moment she’d met her, and that was before anyone had died. Or, anyone Aubrey had known about. It would be easy to slip up and invite the banshee’s suspicion again. She needed to plant a few seeds before she walked around a room of strangers with a smile on her face.
“Yeah, she’s just a couple doors down. Roomed with someone named, uh, Azia, I think? AJ? Ajia? I don’t remember, and Kassie speaks like she can’t breathe if she stops, so it’s hard to pick the details and shit up. In any case, she’s in 221. If you’re ready, sure, I’d love to meet up with her,” Kiera agreed. Violet frowned. She looked down and inspected her uniform one final time, checking for any mistakes. She wasn’t used to the style of necktie that came with her sailor uniform, but she muddled through well enough. Finally, she was satisfied and gave a quick nod.
“Actually, I was kind of hoping to see her alone? I just want to… well, you know how she is gonna look at me after what happened with Alex. I’d like to talk to her about that before we meet everyone. And I don’t want her to feel ganged up on,” Violet replied. Kiera’s smile faltered a bit, but she sighed in acceptance.
“Damn, I was hoping we could all head to class together. Well, fuck it, no big deal. I’ll see you both there,” she replied.
“It won’t take me long, if you want to wait?” Violet offered. “I agree it’d be easier to meet the class together. I just don’t want Aubrey saying something that gets everyone looking at me a certain way before I can properly get to know anyone. Give me fifteen minutes, and I’ll bring her back this way.” Kiera glanced at the simple wall clock over the door and considered. Finally, she shrugged.
“Hell, why not? I have fifteen minutes to spare,” she agreed.
“You have more than that,” Violet quipped. “It’s practically the middle of the night. You woke us up like an impatient cat.” Kiera pouted.
“Well, I didn’t know you wouldn’t give a shit about looking presentable before heading to class! I was simply trying to be polite, since you didn’t pack an alarm clock,” Kiera complained. Violet raised an eyebrow.
“You didn’t pack one, either?” she questioned. Kiera crossed her arms and huffed.
“That’s different; I don’t need one.”
“Right. Cause foxes are so energetic, I forgot,” Violet yawned. “Well, thank you for replacing my alarm clock. It is officially the worst nice thing anyone has ever done for me.” Kiera sniffed and waved one hand.
“Ah, whatever. Go find Aubrey. I’ll be here when you’re ready,” she replied. Violet stretched one last time, then nodded.
“One minute. I should probably at least brush my teeth first, then I’ll be right out,” she agreed. ---
Once Violet finally left her room, she immediately started scanning the environment. The hallway was still quiet. Either that Violet wasn’t the only one who preferred to wait until a reasonable hour to get ready, or the spectrum class was the only group that met so early. Either way, it was peaceful, and it was easy to find Aubrey’s room a few doors down. The light under the door indicated it was probably the latter, since Aubrey and her roommate were apparently already up. Violet yawned one last time, then knocked on the door.
She heard nothing on the other side of the door, which was strange for her. She could always hear people through doors, at least since finding her calling. But these were designed to protect their privacy even around green categories, so the silence was comforting, in a way. At least, until the door swung open and nearly startled her out of her skin. Instead of Aubrey, a different girl opened the door. Her creamy skin was a lighter brown than Aubrey’s, although her short, curly hair was darker. She wore pants and a more standard tie with her shirt, as opposed to the sailor uniform Violet had opted for. She was also dressed in what was likely a chronically smug smirk as her eyes flicked up to Violet’s.
“Hey. Friend of Aubrey’s?” she asked. Violet nodded.
“Yeah, I was hoping to speak with her before class. Is she inside?” Violet asked. The stranger giggled at her.
“I’m Ajia, nice to meet you too,” she greeted, holding one hand out to shake. Violet looked down, then rubbed the back of her neck with embarrassment.
“Oh, uh, Violet! Sorry. I usually wake up, well, about five hours later than this. I must have forgotten my manners. A pleasure to meet you, Ajia,” Violet replied, blushing and failing to offer her hand for a shake. Ajia held hers in place for a moment longer, but let it fall when it became clear Violet wasn’t going to shake.
“Hi, Violet! Yeah, Aubrey is inside,” she answered. Then, she paused and leaned back into the room. “Yo! Aubrey! Is it okay if I tell this Violet girl that you’re here?”
“Yes, that’s no problem,” Aubrey’s voice called from inside. Ajia turned and offered Violet the same perpetually smug look.
“Yeah, Aubrey is here. You need some time alone? I can head out early! I’m ready, anyway,” she offered. Violet clasped her hands behind her back and smiled as she rocked on her feet.
“If you don’t mind, yeah, a little privacy would be greatly appreciated,” Violet agreed. Ajia smirked and called back into the room again.
“Oh, she’s someone you need privacy with, is she?” Ajia teased. “Shoulda told me about her when we were talking last night! She’s super pretty!” Violet heard Aubrey groan at the suggestion, but failed to either blush or correct Ajia when the other girl faced her again.
“Thanks again. I know this is your room, so I really do appreciate the privacy,” Violet pushed, indicating she’d like the other girl to make good on her offer. Ajia pouted a bit as she failed to fluster the new girl in class, but shrugged it off.
“No problem, bestie, see you in class!” With that, she offered Violet an overly dramatic salute and picked up a bag from beside the door. Violet stepped to the side and allowed the still smug-looking girl to leave. A moment later, she stepped into the nearly identical—if far messier and more decorated—dorm, and closed the door behind her.
She policed her face and let the smile dissolve to a look of weary resignation. “Hey, Aubrey. You got a minute?” she asked. Aubrey appeared from the bathroom, still wearing cotton pajamas and brushing her teeth. She froze as soon as she saw Violet’s forlorn expression, then immediately returned to the bathroom. An awkward moment and a spit later, and the banshee emerged with a look of pitying concern.
“Violet, shit. Are you alright?” she asked. Violet sighed, then went and sat on the bed she guessed belonged to Aubrey.
“Not really, no,” she answered. “And at the same time? Yeah. I’m way more okay than I should be. That’s kind of the problem.”