Regona City: The Creed (BK1)

Blue

It turned out that Orion followed the group back to the warehouse. When Terrell asked him if he had his own place to stay, Orion simply replied that he didn't see a point living somewhere else if he was to join the crew. Terrell didn't put up much of a fight, especially when Orion volunteered to pay rent and brought along his own mattress.

Everyone went to bed without much talking. Terrell had gotten another mattress. There was some arguing over who would get it. In the end Sahara, Alegra, and Naomi shared the two mattresses. They withdrew to a corner to one end. Reagan and Arden squeezed onto the couch, and after a few minutes of shoving each other, they finally drifted off. Orion withdrew to another corner on his mattress.

However, no one got much sleep. For Naomi released her whale three times. Each time the room was filled with a large hologram of a whale, which took up the entire warehouse. The hologram wasn't as much the problem as the fact that the whale would begin to sing its whale song. Even after Alegra finally managed to get Naomi to stop releasing the hologram, sounds would still ever so often emit from the bracelet.

The next morning, no one was in a particularly good mood, especially Terrell.

"Get rid of that thing or I will," he told Alegra in a low voice so that Naomi couldn't hear.

"Hey, you bought it for her," Alegra hissed back.

"And how I wish I hadn't," Terrell muttered.

In the end, the twins were the ones to find the solution to their problem. They dragged Sahara along as they took Naomi to the bathroom with her new bracelet, which was currently singing.

Now, they were all gathered around a toilet bowl, watching as Arden dropped the bracelet into it. A few sparks emitted, but the singing continued.

"No!" Naomi made a lunge for it. "You'll kill Blue!" It was the name she had given the whale the night before.

"No it won't, he's a whale," Arden told her.

Reagan nodded. "We're setting him free. He'll be happier this way."

"Really?" Naomi asked. She calmed down somewhat.

"Yup. He'll get to join all his fellow whales in...the pipes," Arden told her.

Naomi leaned back against Sahara. "There are more whales down there?"

"Uh..." Sahara wasn't sure how to reply.

"Oh, if they're anything near as noisy as Blue I'm sure there are," Reagan grinned. "Now, how about we say bye bye and set him free?"

Naomi nodded. She was even the one to flush the toilet. And then they headed back to join the others for breakfast. Naomi scrambled over to Alegra.

Sahara sat down beside Terrell.

"Did you know there are whales in the pipes?" Naomi asked Alegra.

"Really?"

"Finally...it's gone," Terrell sounded exasperated. He leaned his head on the table. "Sleep," he murmured longingly.

Alegra didn't comment. Sahara did see her shoot Orion a look thought, but she couldn't place what it was. Somehow, Alegra hadn't talked to him once, and neither had he to her. It was as if the two were somewhat trying to avoid each other.

"So, Orion, is there anything you specialize in?" Arden asked him curiously.

Orion, who had calmly been sitting and watching everything until that point, leaned back in his chair. "I'm a strategist."

"Ohhhh," both twins exclaimed at the same time.

"What's that?" Sahara asked.

Orion looked at her in surprise.