❝　　listen to　｡　shinunoga e-wa　　⁺
（🪡）andi adinata & alia adelia ver.

（🌀）miu - sunny.
❝　　s.her　｡　　🪡　　⁺

（🌀）flora - tia.
❝　　s.her　｡　　🪡　　⁺

"hey.. wake up.." she whispered weakly, caressing her friend's hair and wiping it out of her face, brushing it behind her ear. her eyes were empty, while her own were filled with tears that dripped onto the other's face as she held her in her arms. this couldn't be real, she was just sleeping, she wasn't dead. the noises around them were completely drowned out, it was like her ears were filled with water which muffled any kind of voice that the aliens might give from them.

she didn't want this, she didn't want to see her friend like this, holding her face as if she'd fall apart if she touched her just a bit too roughly. nothing around them fit the scene of what was happening, they were dressed in white dresses, the stage looked almost like it was set in heaven, with the platform having been transformed into one big cloud.

clouds and white dresses mixed with the deep red of the blood, it looked almost bittersweet. but she could have lived without the sight of her own gown and the cloud beneath them drenched in the blood of a person she's gotten close to. it was hard to believe she'd move on to the second stage, she'd have to compete with another person for her life. this was cruel, horrible, monstrous. and it was all a game for the segyein.

"tomorrow is the big day" miu looked over at flora from her bed, as flora stared outside the window and at the nightsky, sitting on the windowsill. miu pushed away her blanket, walking towards the other and leaning on the wood, her head resting on her palm. if miu was being honest, she felt horrible, the whole situation was going on her stomach, and yet she tried to keep up a smile when looking at flora.

flora sighed, "are you ready?" her voice was slightly shaky, and the usual sweetness in it was weaker than it was on other days. it wasn't fair, this whole competition, why did they have to be forced into it? sure, some people wanted to participate in alien stage, it brought you a lot of profit if you won.. but if you didn't want to, if you had to go against the people you love...

"it'd be a lie if i said yes" miu chuckles weakly, shaking her head and closing her eyes. "i'm.. sure everything will be alright." flora didn't respond to that, looking back outside silently. she'd love to believe those words, but they've seen the previous rounds, what was shown on those screens wasn't fake. it was possible, that this would be their last proper conversation.

it hurt so deeply in flora's heart, to the point it brought her a headache. this wasn't fair, how was she supposed to sleep tonight? her dreams would be nightmares, if she managed to get some rest at all. she wouldn't even be able to escape this cruel reality by closing her eyes. the thought of all of this was haunting her as she moved over to the other side of their shared room, moving the blanket to sit down and then putting it over her legs.

miu watched as flora turned to the side, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in with the collar on her neck, placing her hands under her head to lift it slightly, closing her eyes and breathing silently. for a while, her breaths were uneven, but it seemed after ten minutes or so, she'd finally fallen asleep. although it most likely wasn't a peaceful sleep with the situation at hand.

after an uncertain amount of time of just staring outside the window, miu adverted her gaze from the stars. they looked a lot less like those in the garden, it was sad to find out that the sun, moon, stars and the overall sky in the garden were all nothing but superficial, they have spent all those years of being children in a room that gave them the illusion of being outside. and now she finally saw the real stars, yet it was the first and possibly last time.

miu shook her head, pushing those thoughts away and moving into her bed, hugging her pillow and nuzzling underneath the covers, closing her eyes and hoping sleep would catch her soon, so she forced her mind to be quiet. she needed to be rested and well, or tomorrow would be even worse than it already was.

flora still remembered well when her and miu used to act as the older sisters for the children in the garden, often taking a motherly role and responsibility for them. she'd often try to get children in line for a game or to get food together with miu and some other older children, it was a nice memory, a fun one, because fun moments that made them laugh always stemmed from them. miu was nice, and flora liked that.

but now, flora couldn't smile anymore, as she cradled her friend's limp body in her lap, everything around her fading out. this was cruel, she couldn't accept this, what happened to the bright smile she was used to? the sunny energy coming from miu whenever she did anything, she used to glow. but that light was all gone, it had burnt out. maybe even the sun can't handle the warmth anymore at some point.

when they had entered the stage, miu was filled with hope, to the point she almost managed to convince flora that they'd be alright after this. yet, that was foolish to think. flora knew that one of them would die, the delusion of a chance of survival for both of them would always stay a wish, not reality. the crowd cheered as the screen showed "flora win", but how was flora supposed to be happy? sure, she was alive, but the cost for her survival was currently covering her in blood.

her throat felt like it was pressed together, choked breaths escaping her and weak sobs leaving her lips. she was clinging onto miu like she was all she had left, when truly, miu was the one thing flora had just lost not even ten minutes ago. although it felt like hours, days even, without miu. those ten minutes had turned into an eternity. her ears were ringing, her movements wobbly.

she didn't notice the guards coming towards her until she felt the cold metal press against her neck, claws trying to put back on her collar. she wouldn't let this happen, she- she slapped the claws away, burying her face into miu's chest and biting her tongue. the segyein tried again, but flora kept resisting. there was no way she'd let them take control again after what just happened, this was all their fault, miu was...

the guards pressed her down, pinning her arms and legs back so she had no more option available that could help her to in any way rebel against the authorities. the collar closed around her neck as she sobbed against miu's skin. they couldn't take her away from miu, she didn't want to leave her here, those monsters took her friend and now they wanted to take her?

but what even could a human do against the aliens. they were nothing but pets, they could be killed off any second, and flora was lucky the only thing the aliens did was push her down as she refused. they pushed her into the room she had spent the night in before, locking the door. flora shakily dropped on the floor, curling up, she was crying her heart out, cheeks strained in tears. she had no idea how much time has passed, but at some point, everything went black, quiet, and... weirdly peaceful.