Chapter Text
The window was opened in the slowest way possible to not wake up anyone, as the catgirl clumsily entered through it and crashed against the ground.
It’s been some years since she has been adopted, Cifera has forgotten how it was to be a vagabond who had to survive in the streets and she knows it very well, but she didn’t expect to be in this awful condition.
Sweating.
Panting.
Her whole body was begging her to go back to the cozy bed that pretty woman gave to her, and get into a deep, peaceful slumber…
But nooooo, Cifera can’t see the future, so she has to go outside during the middle of the night and run through the new streets of this city she has recently moved to with her new family, it would be useful to know every street, alleyway and building that could help her to escape from trouble… But she really should get back to shape, her comfy life was starting to catch her up.
She would, she truly would… Someday… She will think later about routines, right now she just wanted to flop on her bed and sleep peacefully for the rest of the night.
Her eyes closed, and soft snores were going to fill the room… until the door opened and that voice she didn’t want to hear in this very moment.
“Good morning Ciphy! Time to wake up!” — Phainon’s voice shouted, starting to shake the sleepy cat who would cry if she wasn’t too tired for it. She only got a few hours of dreamless rest… Damnit…
“C’mon Ciphy, get out of bed now.”
“On my way… But was it necessary to come like that?”
“Pretty much, now get up you sleepyhead, it’s our first day to a new school!.” Phainon retreated to the hall, quickly to take a shower and leaving Cifera to get up, oh, she has never been a morning person since she has been adopted, and she started to hate it.
Especially Mondays.
Anyways, she didn’t have too many options, so she just got up and prepared everything to dress up, she just had to wait for Phainon to get out of the bathroom… Meanwhile, she grabbed her phone and checked social media, maybe something interesting?
Some toxicity, people fighting over stupid things, fanarts of some franchises that Cifera has been very fond of latety…
“A new manga with BL?” Cifera’s eyes got dragged by that post, it seemed interesting, she would go to buy it after school-
Oh hell no, school… Cifera isn’t really excited, it was her first day in a new school, an academically demanding school, Okhema’s Chrysos School. For worse, it was in a new city?
She didn’t understand how Phainon seemed so excited about it, surely it was because he’s young and naive even if she was just only one year older, she experienced more!... Or maybe he was hiding his actual emotions, maybe he was, not that she really cared by the moment, besides, it was better to think he was truly this excited. So, once she heard Phainon leaving the shower, she knew it was her turn. Taking her uniform with a tight grip, she inhaled and prepared herself to take a bath and dress herself.
The duo go downstairs, properly dressed or so they thought, Cifera didn’t really put effort on her appearance as she usually just stays in the house or she leaves to walk around alone. The first face they meet is the oldest child of the family, Aglaea, who was already an adult who worked, their parents probably were already out so Aglaea would drive them to school.
“Good morning Cifera, Phainon, how did you-” Aglaea stopped on her tracks after seeing them. “Oh for the love of Mnestia, what the hell are you wearing?!” She shouted after seeing Phainon’s outfit, which consisted of an eye-burning light green shirt, some yellow shorts and a dark purple jacket, it was pure horror for someone like Aglaea.
“Hey, it’s our first day, and I want to go with my favorite outfit, simple as that.” Phainon explained as if it was something logical and expected. Cifera wondered once again if Phainon was stupid or he wanted to summon the fury of Agy.
However, Aglaea just shaked her head and walked towards them, noticing how disheveled the catgirl looked.
“Oh dear…” Aglaea rubbed her temple, “Snowy, go and change yourself to the uniform,” she ordered as she started to fix Cifera’s clothes. So Phainon sighed and went back to his room and change to the actual uniform, leaving Aglaea time alone with the sleepy cat.
“How did you sleep, Cifera?” She asked softly to the catgirl, who just sighed with a tired tone.
“I slept well or something…”
“You don’t need to lie, dear, were you nervous due to your first day in a new place?”
“... You got me, I guess…”
“Or maybe you just stayed with the phone until 3 AM?”
“You really assume that?” Cifera rolled her eyes, however, she smirked. “You will never know”. Aglaea shakes her head as she finishes fixing Cifera’s clothes.
“Cifera, relax, this will be a great day for you, trust me.”
Cifera looks at Aglaea with tired eyes (she still hoped that Aglaea thought she just sleeped bad), “I don’t know, Agy, I don’t want to go to the school… It sounds boring and surely everyone sucks there.”
“Dear, it’s going to be okay, you will have an excellent year.” Aglaea hugged her and then she turned back. “Now, go and eat your breakfast, I will check that fashion criminal.”
Cifera went to the living room, where breakfast was served. She got honeycakes and lots of syrup for herself, meanwhile Phainon got a mix of fruits and toasts… She stole one toast, just for the sake to annoy him and his stupid puppy expression even though she wasn’t fond of the kind of breakfast Phainon has.
Phainon quickly gets there while the cat was already eating her honeycakes, he sits and he starts to eat his breakfast.
“Hmmm… Hey Ciphy, I don’t want to assume like this, but I believe there’s a toast missing, have you taken it?” Phainon raises an eyebrow, was always this meticulous with his breakfast? Cifera denied it by shaking her head as she kept eating her honeycakes.
“Oh, don’t begin with this, Phai-chan. Also, I prefer to eat from the trash before tasting something as insipid and… Whatever you’re having right now.”
“Hey, it is really good.” Phainon claimed, taking some bites of his breakfast “And also, it’s healthy , you eat like this almost every time. You might end up fat one day.”
“Sheesh, you’re just jealous that Agy prefers me, I bet you’re wondering why you didn't get honeycakes. Face it, I’m the favorite.”
“Oof, nice try Ciphy. However, I-”
Cifera ignored him and whatever counter argument he had to explain why he actually was the favorite, she wasn’t in the mood this day.
The buildings moved fast from inside the car, unfortunately she didn’t manage to recognize most of them so she basically wasted sleep hours in vain.
Once they reached their destiny, Aglaea bombarded the two of them with hugs and a kiss on their cheeks.
“Remember, behave yourselves, don’t make trouble and have fun in your new school.”
“I was happier in the house,” Cifera groaned.
“Oh Cifera, it’s okay, you will learn a lot and have tons of fun.”
Then Phainon got in the talk “Yes Cifera, you can’t rot yourself in the bed, insulting random people on the internet forever-” Aglaea shushed him. “Snowy, don’t tease her.”
“Sorry Agy, it’s a payback.”
“... I won’t ask what happened this time… Support each other if something happens, alright?”
And then the two got out of the car, facing their new school, Okhema’s Chrysos School.
“... Ugh, and if my day couldn’t be worse…”
“It can’t be that bad, Ciphy-”
“Don’t ‘Ciphy’ me here, Phainon.”
“Ouch, soo grumpy! You’re like Cerydra at this point.”
“... Yeah, whatever you say…”
“How do you pretend to make friends with that attitude, Cifera?”
She remained silent for some moments as they walked to the entrance, each step making Cifera feel more and more dread and… fear? She was fearing a damn school?
“It shouldn’t be that hard!” she thinks for herself before finally answering Phainon “Please, I am an expert at socializing, you just didn’t have the privilege to see it… and… Call me Cipher, alright?”
Phainon looks at her confused “... Uhhh, I will try, but allow me to ask, why do you want to be named like that?”
“Because I don’t feel comfortable with people saying my name, you got it?”
“... Okay, but all of us call you Cifera or Ciphy, I don’t get it.”
“... It’s different, I know all of-”
Phainon interrupted her, getting the idea quickly which was thanked by the nervous cat.
Finally, they got inside…
…
After being guided to their respective classroom, Cifera sits at her desk, in the bottom corner of the classroom, watching everybody from afar chatting and messing with each other.
Second year, in a new school. Cifera has never been comfortable with her old school at her hometown, usually doing the bare minimum and more focused to survive herself since the orphanage was horrible to live in.
Once she got adopted, her performance improved with the help of Aglaea… But that school was easy anyways, this was supposed to be a demanding school! Cifera was just praying that it was actually easy and it didn’t take actual effort.
She probably still has her eyebags due to her sleep-deprived state, her hair wasn’t brushed and she was hungry again … Eh… Why did she care that much anyways? She wasn’t planning to impress anyone, there isn’t someone who would be worth talking and befriend with.
The bell rang, interrupting Cifera’s thoughts and warning her that the class would start, now it would be the typical moment where the teacher enters, greets the class and points out that there is a new student who looked lost and the classroom should be nice to her.
What else could happen? It would be that generic this day? Cifera let out a long yawn as she felt the teacher entering, probably ready to do their speech. The sound of someone sitting next to her reminded Cifera that she was still in school, so she turned around to see who was… And Kephale, she wished it was a dream.
The lilac hair, the deep purple eyes, the ethereal pale skin and how tidy and elegant she looked.
For the first time, Cifera actually wished to look decent and not like a shut-in out of her habitat.
There’s no way such gorgeous woman would sit next to her, on her first day.