(Oh yeah, that's true)
Darius dropped the bag off near the large oak desk and pulled out the mattress underneath his bed.
"It's not much, but we can get you an actual bed later. This will be ok for tonight, right?" He asked River, yawning as he did.
"Yeah," River said, feeling sleepy just looking at it.
"Okay," Darius said, climbing into his bed. "Good night, then."
"Night," River mumbled as he layed down on the mattress, his body relaxing and going into sleep mode as soon as he laid his head down.
(time skip?)
Aspen woke up, the morning sun shining through the pink transparents curtains on the window that sat between her and Janix's sides of the room.
She sat up on one elbow and Janix waved to her from her bed, in the other corner.
"Morning." Aspen said, with a smile.
"Good morning." Janix said, swinging her legs over the edge of her bed and got up, going over to her dresser and picking out an outfit.
River groaned as sunlight hit him right in the eyes, thanks to the lack of curtains. He heard Darius mumble something under his breath in a language River didn't know.
"I need to make Maya get me actual curtains," Darius sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "The sun's always unbearable in the morning." He shot a glance toward River, who was slowly gettin up. "I should've warned you about that."
"It'salright," River said, his words slurring together as he tried to make himself more awake.
Aspen changed, not bothering to go into the powder room next door, and for a few minutes it was just Aspen and Janix facing the walls and away from each other, once they were done, the walked out together, towards the dining room.
"Breakfast is always good, but then again, the food almost always is." Janix told her.
River and Darius walked out of their room dressed in the same clothes as last night, not bothering to change.
"Good morning!" Maya chirped as she ran over to the two of them from behind. "You both look like you slept well."
"We need curtains. Dark and impenetrable curtains," River mumbled, Darius nodding in agreement.
Aspen spotted River and smiled gleefully, waving excitedly.
"Good morning!" she called to him and ran up to him.
"Hey," River said, giving Aspen a tired smile.
"They're not morning people apparently," Maya stated, smirking at her brother as he reluctantly walked farther away from his bedroom.
Aspen nodded and smiled.
"I get that." she said, as she yawned.
"Yeah, but breakfast will wake all of you up!" Maya said as they approached the dining hall.
Aspen followed, her feet dragging a bit, but she brightened at the breakfast that was already spread along the middle of the table and smiled.
She said down quickly and began piling her plate with food, three pancakes, four pieces of sausage and three hashbrowns and a singular fried egg.
River looked at what Aspen was getting and grabbed the same foods that she had. The orphange only ever offered liquified and tasteless oatmeal for breakfast, so when he took his first bite of the pancake he closed his eyes and sighed happily, experiencing pure bliss.
Aspen finished eating and piled her plate again, eating at the speed of light and sitting back in her chair, rubbing her stomach.
River happily inhaled the rest of his food, barely pausing to breath. When he was done, he felt more awake, his mind clearer and more focused than it was before.
Aspen got up and trudged into the sitting room, where she threw herself onto a couch, it was soft and slighty squishy.
River followed and sat down next to her, surprised by the softness of the couch.
"So, how're you doing today?" He asked her, relaxing more into the couch.
Aspen smiled.
"Awesome." She told him honestly.
"That's good," River smiled. He closed his eyes, feeling tempted to go back to sleep, especially in such a comfortable place.
Aspen yawned once more and sighed.
"I don't ever want to leave, but I also want to let my mother know im okay, even though she probably won't care, I still want to tell her.
"Maybe you can send her a letter?" River suggested. "Mrs. Finch will probably be able to help you find a way to tell her."
Aspen shrugged.
"i'm not too worried about it, to be honest, I'd just like to let her know at some point." She said aloud. "Maybe I'll make her worried and wait to do it."
"That could work too," River smirked, his eyes still closed.
Aspen nodded and closed her eyes.
"honestly," she told him "I'll probably just wait."
"Okay," River murmured, his breathing starting to slow down as he began to slip into unconsciousness again.
Aspen sighed in happiness and stood up.
she got up and went into the back garden, sitting against a tree and watching Janix twirl her hair as she talked to a older boy.
Maya walked into the sitting room, and with a mischevious grin, she hit River with a pillow, making him wake up with a start.
"What the hell-?" He started to say, glaring at her.
"C'mon, newbie. The day's just begun! I'm going to take you and your friend whenever I hunt her down on a grand tour of the castle," Maya said, pulling him up from the couch.
"Wasn't Mrs. Finch going to do that?" River asked as she dragged him out of the sitting room.
"Well, yeah, but she isn't going to show you all of the secret doors and rooms that are around here," the girl grinned. "Figured you two would like to see them."
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