"Next!"
A brief shout, and the queue moved. It was finally my turn.
"Welcome to Stone Colosseum. Papers, please."
The armored man by the reception desk furtively looked me up and down before greeting me in a monotone, almost bored voice.
"Hm? Right, yeah. One sec."
In my dazed state, I took a moment to register the man's words.
His expression probably screamed 'why wasn't this kid prepared beforehand?' but, well, I couldn't see his face due to my closed eyes - nor did I have the space of mind to care.
I shuffled my hands within the red dress's hidden pockets without any sense of urgency until, eventually, a crumpled sheet of paper was pulled out.
Thought, by this point it was more of a ball.
Regardless, I masterfully ignored the sound of the man's finger musculature twitching in frustration and lightly tossed the ball into his outstretched palm.
He caught it with overt displease, as was obvious from the essence fluctuation within his body.
Still, a job's a job; he went ahead and unfurled the ball of information, quickly scanning through it with practiced speed.
Just then, his hands paused:
"What the… Hey, Young lady."
"Mm? Something wrong with the letter?"
My eyebrows furrowed at his sudden question.
"Right here, it says that your recommendation was written by… Garran? Is that correct?"
His voice quivered ever so slightly as he spoke, which made me tilt my head in confusion.
"Sure, of course; wait, did Birdnose misspell something? Tsk, I should've gotten in from someone else."
I instantly got to badmouthing the comically long nosed commander before the man even stated what was wrong with the letter.
"Birdno-What? No, I apologize for my earlier attitude!! I didn't realize you were someone of such esteemed status, Young Lady!"
Shocking me with the abrupt 180 attitude switch, he executed a perfect right angle bow and begged for forgiveness with true sincerity.
Due to raising his tone of voice, or perhaps because all of the kids present were real combatants themselves, his loud apology reached the ears of every young master nearby.
"Did I hear that right?"
"Garran, she said? 'That' Garran?"
"I called her some real bad words just a few minutes ago. Aaah, I'm so done!"
In an instant, a wave of murmurs spread through the long line of people; worse yet, all of the attention was once again drawn onto yours truly.
Urgh… That's not good at all. Damn it, Garran! Why couldn't you have warned me that yo were someone big shot beforehand?!
Now weighed down by their intense gazes, my hunger flared even further. I was at my tipping point.
Any more of this, and the place turns into a bloodbath. Gotta act fast.
Fortunately, the receptionist noticed my terrible expression before the inevitable happened.
With mimicry so exaggerated that it read as downright burdensome to me - the recipient of his extreme respect - he stepped aside and opened his mouth:
"You're permitted to enter. Please, go on inside and prepare for the upcoming event."
Thank fuck.
I didn't stop to return the kind gesture or even say thanks, for that matter, and rushed inside. Despite the immense mental strain, I couldn't afford to loosen my posture, so even that short walk proved excruciating.
After all, if I were to display any movement habits similar to that of my real persona, Ori, getting caught was very likely.
*Thump!*
Finally, I'd stepped through the colossal door; with a loud thump, it slammed close behind me - and only then could I slightly unwind.
With one palm clutching my heart and the other covering my mouth, I took shaky breaths.
*Haaaahhh… Haaah..*
Truly, what an atrocious feeling.
No, an atrocious place.
An atrocious place full of human vermin, just begging to lose their lives for my sustenance.
Wait. Maybe, I should just drop the farce altogether and let all hell loose?
The corners of my lips curled up at the thought.
Heh. Took you long enough. Well then, what are you waiting for? Go, show them what it means to be prey.
As if to reaffirm my thoughts, a chillingly voracious voice whispered into my ear. It was, of course, identical to my own.
I nodded, the corners of my mouth rising further still.
Of course, you're right… I'm right. Let's feast to our hearts' content, why don't we-
*Tap*
Suddenly, a frail finger landed on my shoulder.
My spiraling thoughts were cut off on the spot.
"Umm, sorry to bother you, but.. Umm… I mean, do you want to sit together while we wait for our turns?"
A young girl anxiously asked to me join her to watch the other participants while we waited on our turns.
"…"
I silently turned my head in her direction, wiping the bloodthirsty expression clean off my face.
"O-Oh, sorry. I didn't want to interrupt you. I-I'll go alone-"
I put on a kind smile.
"No, it's okay. Actually, I have nobody to talk to either, so I'll gladly accept your offer."
The girl showed a flood of relief and, with light steps, lead me to some unoccupied seats.
Only then, once she turned away and was no longer looking my way, did my face crumple once more.
The fake smile was gone, and in its place remained a self deprecating, rage filled scowl.
I followed the girl, whose name I didn't even have the time to ask, in a daze:
Shit. Shit! Shit..!!
If she didn't take me out of my thoughts back there…
Hah, I don't even wanna know what I would've started.
God fucking damn it, Ori.
…I can't allow this to happen again.
That was way, way too close.
Though through sheer luck a crisis had been averted, I couldn't help but blame myself for letting Voracity get a hold of my thoughts again.
And so, in a jumbled state of mind and with fake calmness layered over my inner turmoil, I reached a seat.
At the same time, very quietly and laced with deep contempt, one last whisper echoed in my ears before returning to its slumber:
How disappointing… I expected much better of you, my inadequate vessel…