A small, red-headed girl awoke to the sound of the wake-up call, tired and red-eyed.
She yawned loudly and slowly sat up in her bed, half-opened eyes looking around as her expression gradually changed into one of confusion. This... What? Where was she? This didn't look like her room. It didn't look like anywhere she'd been before, either. She rubbed her face, specifically her eyes, and opened them wider to get a better look at her surroundings. But it was no good. The bed was unfamiliar, the walls unfamiliar, the petty furniture, door... None of it looked familiar! Where was she? Why wasn't she at home in her own bed?! W-what was-
<Calm, sweet Summoner. I am here.> A spectral voice echoed in the young girl's mind, distinctly inhuman and yet... Friendly. Warm, even. It was a comfort, one she found familiar, and as her mind still reeled at her unpleasant awakening she turned to look down beside her bed where the source of the voice became known. A great, shaggy black dog sat by her side, looking down at her with bright white eyes. It was huge, far larger than any ordinary canine, nearly the size of a grizzly bear! The beast looked as though it could tear her head off with one bite, but the red-haired girl felt no fear as she gazed upon the dark furred canine. As her eyes fell upon it, -him-, she remembered it all. She remembered the days before, being stolen away, traveling for hours... And then her arrival yesterday morning, drove through the gates of Mary St. Jude, the place that was her new home. Her new prison.
Sophia felt a lump rise in her throat, threatening to choke her, trying to force out the sobs. She lunged at the shaggy black bear-dog by her side, throwing her arms around the massive bulk and clinging desperately to his warm fur, burying her face into his neck to dry her tears before they fell. Her body shivered, the poor girl trying desperately to hold back from crying any more than she already did last night, and the bear-dog lowered his head to gently lick her cheek, claiming the single tear that managed to drop down her skin.
<Do not cry, sweet Summoner. We are here for you...>
-
A short time later Sophia rolled her way towards the courtyard, washed up and dressed, the great bear-dog no longer by her side. Instead a small creature lay curled up on her lap, chest rising and falling gently as it slept while the young girl wheeled her chair out through the entrance, blasting her with a cool breeze alongside warm sunlight. She shivered, looking around as she rolled down the ramp and onto the grass, seeing many other patients already gathered all over. Many were alone, though many others were gathered in small groups, talking and even laughing a little. Some, Sophia noticed with a little awe, were displaying their unique abilities to their friends. Not knowing where to go she simply wheeled out onto the grass, finding a patch that wasn't too close to any of the groups and settling into a nice place, feeling the sun drop down onto her skin and warn away the morning chill.
The small creature upon her lap, very similar to a fox, though smaller and somehow more... regal. Its orange fur warmed by the sun, making the small fox-like thing stretch out across her lap, eyes drifting open just a tad to reveal bright yellow. Sophia ran a hand over the fox-creature's fur, to which it grumbled happily. She smiled down at it, then lifted her head to look out past the courtyard gates, wondering how long it would be until the arrival of the new people.