The Briefing

“Victor, come on. Time to get up,” Aunora mumbled, giving Victor a vigorous shake. Seraph was already awake, sitting up and running his eyes.

“It's too early,” Victor said, turning over on his side and burying his head into the pillow.

“That's because we have a long day ahead of us,” Aunora retorted, lifting Victor up easily and sitting him on the floor, “Now go put some pants on.”

Victor and Seraph scrambled across the narrow living quarters, shuffling through bags and pulling out fresh clothes. Aunora took a heavy breath, letting her shoulders slump. How did Umbra do this every morning?

With the mission taking an unexpected turn, Aunora had been brought to the forefront of the operation, expected to be as much of a leader as Infinity or Sedna. She felt like her head was being held underwater.

“Hey, Victor,” Aunora said, casting a critical eye, “Look at me.”

Victor was taken off guard, nearly dropping his toothbrush as he wheeled around to face Aunora. He was pale, paler than he usually was. Was that sweat on his forehead?

“You feeling alright? You look kinda puny.”

Victor seemed to choke on his words. “I feel fine.”

“Just making sure.” Aunora forced a cheeky grin, mimicking how energized Umbra usually was in the morning. “Make sure you brush out your hair.”

Pulling off her pajama shirt, Aunora slipped a heavier, long sleeve shirt as she made her way to Matthew’s bed. Matthew was still fast asleep, twitching when Aunora touched him on the shoulder.

Matthew braced himself on his forearm, gritting his teeth as he rose up with difficulty. “Aunora, I think I'm gonna have to sit out today. My head’s killing me and I've already thrown up a couple times earlier this morning. Will you be alright alone?”

Aunora struggled to conceal her concern. “Of course I will. Are you gonna be okay? You need to go to the hospital or something?”

Matthew leaned against the wall. “It's nothing that serious. I just need to take it easy for today.”

She sighed, giving Matthew one last solemn stare before turning to find Victor and Seraph.

With Victor and Seraph at her side, Aunora walked into the main room of the guild, only to find that Infinity, Lilith, John, Sedna, and Selkie were already gathered. Aunora tugged at her collar, already feeling judgemental eyes on her.

She settled in beside Infinity, who wordlessly held out a mug of coffee. Aunora took a long swig, nearly downing the entire glass in one gulp.

“I see you have finally decided to wake up,” Sedna murmured, raising her lip in a bitter sneer. “It may be different where you come from, but at Raging Hail, we hold ourselves to a tight schedule and do not accept laziness.”

Cold sweat dripped down Aunora’s neck. She was used to Umbra waking her up at the appropriate time in the mornings. She clenched her fist. “How about you take that schedule and shove it up your tight little-"

“I believe it's time to begin the briefing,” Infinity interjected, speaking over Aunora with a tone of sharp authority. “Aunora, will Matthew be joining us?”

Aunora placed her now-empty cup on the table. “He's kinda sick right now. It's nothing to worry about.”

Infinity turned away, shaking his head.

“There is a system of underground caverns around this idea. Arktos based the bulk of his studies there and took it upon himself to investigate them, so I am afraid I have little to no knowledge on their topography. The only location I am sure of is the entrance to once of the caves. If we are investigating his death, I believe this is the best place to start.”

----

Outside, it had stopped snowing, the sun sluggishly rising over the horizon, painting the sky an array of pinks and reds. The snow tugged at Aunora’s boots with every  clumsy step, leaving deep imprints behind her. Ahead of her, Sedna moved effortlessly, walking through the snow as if it were nothing.

“So, like, what was Arktos even studying out here?” Aunora asked, leaning forward.

Sedna touched the side of her goggles, pausing before she spoke. “Arktos’s studies were highly classified, but he worked in the field of magic and magical energy. He never shared his research with us or even spoke of it. Selkie and I are primarily a search and rescue team, while Arktos was the scientist.” Her voice dropped to a low, thoughtful murmur, “I cannot even access his lab.”

“Sedna, is this the place?” John asked, propping his hands on his hips.

Breaking away from the featureless white snow of the area, grey rocks jutted out from the ground, forming a mouth that lead underground.

Sedna swallowed, visibly suppressing the emotion that had dripped onto her expression. “We’ve arrived.”

Author's Note- in which aunora battles for Dominant Female and fails at Being Mom

and wow, a long chapter! had a lot to cover in this lol