my beta boy | ✎

Orion

"This is insanity," he murmured before drinking deeply, though pleasantly surprised by its taste. The trio imagined that it would be reptilian or fishy, but it proved to be mildly sweet with a woody fragrance that lingered.

"You two are bad influences," he laughed, shaking his head.

"Who do you think left it here?" Sistine ventured after they had passed the bottle around a couple of times until only half left. The disappearing liquid warmed them and lowered their inhibitions, filling their heads full of cotton.

"Someone who wanted to make sure their wine stays hidden," hiccoughed Aem, the alcohol had left her drowsy and her eyes were at half-mast.

Giggling, Sistine looked at the snake which was slowly emerging from the amber liquid. She sloshed it around, "Someone's going to be surprised to find half of it gone. Evaporated by ghosts."

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind, if they knew how pretty the ghosts are," B73 had made himself comfortable on the floor. Years of hard labor has made him immune to grime, though the two girls kept their poise and remained standing. Almost like statues, the Beta boy smiled to himself.

"Are you calling yourself pretty?" Aem threw her head back and laughed throatily.

"Sistine thinks I'm pretty," B73's words were slightly slurred but his eyes were alert as they sought R16.

A rush of warmth stole into Sistine's cheeks and she pursed her lips together to prevent the gleam of her grin from betraying her thoughts.

"Not as pretty as Aem is, though," she said finally.

Her friend snorted in the dark, "Yes, we're all super attractive people who deserve to be in a Pleasure House together, but here we are in a disgusting little hut with no beds and a half bottle of snake piss."

"Someone doesn't sound pleased," fighting back a grin of his own, B73 turned to Aem who didn't look as agitated as she sounded.

"I'm not unhappy," she grumbled, but with the wine jumbling her thoughts, it was hard to keep her head straight, "I'm saying facts. We deserve a stunning sunrise!" She grabbed the bottle from Sistine and poured more wine into her mouth until the snake bobbed against her upper lip. A muffled scream of disgust evaporated in the back of her mind and she pushed the bottle back into R16's hands.

"Look, why don't we try to find the Pleasure House again, tomorrow? When it's bright." Sistine pulled Aem towards her comfortingly and the girl nodded.

"Mm, sounds like a plan."

"If we can find our way out of here."

B73 and Aem's voices overlapped each other and the three burst out laughing, giddy from the effects of the wine. Though B73's concerns were unfounded. It turned out that Aem actually had a wonderful sense of direction – that, or she had a photographic memory – because she led them back to Rho house without so much as a detour.

By the time they could see the building, the night sky was illuminated by the coming dawn, chasing hues of indigo and dimming the stars. Once the two girls broke away from B73, they chatted sleepily about how attractive they found the boy and Aem mentioned that she would happily spend the night with someone like him.

It was a testament to their youth that when the tolling bell in the city square chimed seven times, they were out of bed quicker than a frightened squirrel, looking fresher than a daisy. After a quick breakfast of protein shakes and fruits, the two girls beckoned to each other constantly. An exchange of conspiratorial whispers between one dark-haired Rho and another tow-headed Rho persisted throughout class. They were halfway through their morning practice when R16 was called away to the office.