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Clea Dessendre walked, or rather floated, in front of the expedition.
The Nevrons who listened to her command like loyal hounds, walked either beside her or behind the entire expedition; one or two would sometimes have the confidence to walk in front of their mistress.
Her bored expression puts Catherine's to shame, and the unbothered way she made her way ahead of the expedition has some, everyone, baffled, and a specific few, including Alicia, frustrated. She seemed completely unbothered by what had just transpired a moment before.
If anything, everyone besides her was left completely shaken by the argument between Alicia and her.
Sciel, who walked beside Margot, murmured, "You have to admit, it's Impressive how controlled she is."
"Really?" Margot shivered. "I find it terrifying."
Catherine crossed her arms. "She's certainly proved herself to be a stronger foe than Renoir, that's for sure." She stared at her back. "At least with him there's a chance to escape, with her? I doubt it."
Maelle, who had been walking alongside Gustave, stared at the back of Clea and glanced at Alicia, who walked with her arms tense beside her side. She was stuck between two people, and it showed. Gustave wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave a small but awkward smile, which worked to comfort her.
Verso walked alongside Lune, an air of guilt surrounding him as he looked between his sister and Clea.
Clea paused and looked over her shoulder, her grey-blue eyes as deep as the ocean, seeming to bore holes into each of them as she frowned. She sighed and looked away once more.
She seemed to be almost disappointed by the tension.
Unimpressed would be the right word for it.
Just as Verso was about to open his mouth to say something, the ground shook. They all caught themselves while Clea clicked her tongue, "Renoir," the name came out like a hiss, and she was quick to turn to the Nevron. "Take care of the bigger ones," and they were off.
"Which one?!" Verso summoned his weapon, "The canvas one or the Curator?!"
"Both," Clea deadpanned as the expedition prepared for combat. She frowned and squinted her eyes at one Nevron specifically; it looked like the equivalent of a nightmare. It was large—six-legged, beetle-backed, with a mouth full of shimmering teeth and a long, scorpion-like tail that sparks with Chromatic energy.
Not one of hers.
She raised a hand and paused; the energy she was emanating was odd as well. What was this thing?
It was certainly something new and dangerous.
The number of fighters helps them win this fight, and Clea's Nevrons certainly allowed them the victory, and just as the mysterious Nevron died, it released a pulse of energy. Clea winced at the amount it let out and covered her eyes, as did the other members of the expedition.
"Maelle!"
She heard one of them yell, Gustave if she remembered correctly, ran forward, head turning left and right.
"Where is she?!" he looked over his shoulder.
Clea watched with a calm, yet frozen expression, as the others looked around for her sister. She glanced and--there. Toward the cloud of smoke, she could sense Maelle's energy like one would greet an old friend.
Slow footsteps carried her to a pile of clothes, on top of which was a baby. It was a chubby-cheeked, red-haired, furious little infant that had bright blue eyes. Without knowing it, she slowly falls to her knees and extends her hands toward the infant, who let out a coo and, as if on instinct alone, reached out to her, babbling complete nonsense.
"Holy shit..."
Sciel, who had rushed forward when she saw Clea falling to her knees, dropped her weapon, and it flickered away from existence.
Clea stood, holding the infant close after swaddling Maelle in her coat. Maelle, the baby in question, was still babbling and had reached her tiny, chubby hands to grab a strand of Clea's hair. The eldest Dessendre turned around and said:
"She's been turned into a child."
It was both frustrating and impressive how nonchalant she was about it.
────༄────
"Okay, game plan. We need a game plan."
"What is there to plan?" Catherine turned to face a panicked Gustave. "There is now an INFANT on our team."
Maelle yelled with her fists thrown in the air, "BAH!"
"I don't think she's happy being underestimated," Margot cooed from where she leaned on Clea's shoulder. She made grabby fingers toward the baby, who giggled and reached toward the woman, all the while Sciel leaned on Clea's other side.
The eldest Dessendre simply stood there, frozen at the newfound presence of people. They had been keeping their distance from her, so it was no surprise she was left quiet by how close they were getting.
Lucien looked between the baby and at Verso and Lune, who had frozen."Judging from your expressions, this didn't happen before?"
"No..." Lune frowned in confusion. "No, it didn't."
"I don't understand," Verso muttered. "Why did it shrink her?"
Tristan chuckled, no energy behind it, "I suppose this means we can't go to the quarry where the curator is waiting?"
"No," Verso shook his head, "No, we cannot."
"Whose to say he won't come to us?" Catherine questioned
Alicia scoffed, "He's a patient man. He can wait until this-" she gestured toward Maelle, who paused and gave her the most judgmental look any of them had ever seen on a baby. She ignored Margot's "Oh my god, she's so cute" "-Is reversed.
"If it can even be reversed," Clea spoke up, staring at Maelle
"Um. Please tell me there's a way for our Maelle to come back." Gustave gave her the most pleading expression she had ever seen on a man
She sighed, "Her chroma it's...compressed. And it's smaller than it used to be, no surprise considering-" she nudged Maelle with her head, who blinked and smacked Clea's cheeks with her hands "It could be reversed by my powers but that's something I'm not willing to risk"
"So we wait?" Alicia placed a hand on her hip with an unamused expression
"It's the safer option."
"Oh, good, so I was right."
Clea didn't say anything and simply stared at Maelle. "I don't suppose any of you have a plan as to what to do while we wait?" She turned to face Verso and Lune
Alicia's eye twitched at the way she was ignored
"Tension so thick you can cut it with a knife," Lucien mumbled to Tristan
"We can always go back to the gestral village," Lune offered. "I'm sure with Esquie we can make it there in no time, and it would be safer for our little passenger."
Verso took a glance at everyone and then at Clea, who raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Are you willing to make the journey back with us?" he turned back to where the quarry was. "I understand how...difficult it must have been for you to decide to help us."
She snorted, "Need I remind you? This is your objective, not mine. Aline could rot for all I care, as could Renoir." she turned away "My priority is my sister. Besides..." she gave a small wry grin that sent shivers down everyone's spine, "I'm a paintress as well...the journey would be as quick as a snap of my fingers"
"That grin could kill men," Sciel muttered.
"Hot though," Margot whispered, getting wide-eyed looks from Catherine and the guys. "What? You can't tell me that wasn't-"
"Anyway," Lune interjected before Clea could hear, though judging from the flat look, it seems she already did, "It seems we'll be backtracking."
"Scenery time?" Tristan piped up, "Who knows, we might find some more outfits."
"Outfits!" Lucien threw his fist in the air, which Maelle mimicked while Clea blinked
"Oh god..." Catherin groaned
"...Outfits?" Clea raised a perfect eyebrow at them
"Don't ask," Verso begged her, "Just. Don't"
"Ooh!" Sciel grinned. "We could go to the beach!" She turned to Maelle, who was once again holding a strand of Clea's hair. "We can take this little one and see how she reacts."
"Need I remind you that this is serious and we might not get her back?" Alicia deadpanned
"Think positive thoughts, Alicia." Sciel waved a dismissive hand at that. Clea's lips twitched at the annoyed expression Alicia wore now.
Gustave, who looked the most panicked, took a glance around at the way most of them were calm and muttered, "I'm surrounded by lunatics."
"It took you that long to realise that?"
"Shut up, Lucien."
As it turned out, dealing with a baby was too much to handle for a bunch of adults...and a teenager who was technically decades older than them.
The first thing they realise: Do not take Maelle from Clea.
It happened in the middle of the night, and the expedition had taken camp once they realised how dark it had gotten. And while everyone else was either sleeping or chatting amongst themselves, Gustave was staring at Maelle and Clea.
Clea had leaned on a tree, a blanket covering both her and Maelle. An arm was draped over Maelle, and the eldest Dessendre was asleep. Gustave couldn't help but notice just how guarded she was, even in her sleep; It seems that she and Verso had that in common.
In his defense: He knew it was a stupid idea going in. But he just couldn't help it.
Despite the reality of Maelle's true identity, she was still his sister. The girl whom he had watched grow up and had practically raised.
And it wasn't like he didn't trust Clea, he just found her...intimidating and dangerous and- okay, no, he didn't trust her. After hearing the argument between her and Alicia, he had realised just how dangerous and powerful Clea was.
If Verso was to be believed and the fracture was caused by two painters, the fact that Clea was the most experienced of the family sent shivers down his spine.
What was she capable of? Would she kill them? Would she make Maelle choose between them and her? Would she hurt Maelle?
So many possibilities appeared in his mind, and the protective instinct overtook him. He crouched and began to make his way toward them.
"I wouldn't do that," Sciel commented from where she sat
"It'll be fine," Gustave assured her with a whisper, "I'm her brother."
"No." Sciel spoke firmly, "You don't get it: I wouldn't do that."
At this point, Margot and Tristan, who were the only ones awake, turned to watch the disaster that was about to happen.
And what does Gustave do?
He ignores her
His hands wrap gently around Maelle, and as he begins to lift her-
She screams
Everyone in the camp immediately sits up.
Two things happen:
The first thing that happens is that one of Clea's Nevron, the lampmaster, lifted Gustave by the back of his coat and held him in the air. Its weapon was raised and ready to crush him like a watermelon.
The second thing: Clea sits up and her arm immediately wraps around Maelle, and in the other hand? A spear appears and immediately points in front of the two of them. She's panting widely, and her eyes, which were usually either calm or bored, were wild with panic.
She turns--and locks eyes with him.
No one will ever know the look she gave Gustave, but by the way he paled and the way he looked ready to wet himself, it was what can only be described as a look that even the devil would envy.
"What did we learn?" she asked him unamused, still holding Maelle close to her chest, who at that point began to sniff with tears on her cheeks.
"...not to grab her?" he answered weakly.
And Sciel sighed and muttered, "Really? You can at least take accountability with dignity."
"And what are we never going to do?"
"Not grab her?" he squeaked as the lampmaster raised its weapon higher
"...good"
He was then dropped to the ground, and Clea proceeded to roll over, Maelle babbling and not going to sleep anytime soon. Which was a shame because it took hours before she finally closed her eyes, and those hours had been the longest in their entire lives.
"Now go to sleep before I regret my decision and kill you on the spot".
"...Yes ma'am"
After that, no one dared to try to even as much touch Maelle.
"Is that a baby sling?"
Sciel turned to stare at Clea with bemusement.
Clea hummed, "I was getting tired of carrying her around all day." She glanced down at Maelle, who was sucking on her fist. "Besides...she seems to enjoy being around me."
"I can see why."
"Oh?"
"You are her sister," Sciel pointed out, cooing at Maelle, who blinked and squealed at the sight of her. "Maybe she recognizes your chroma and it makes her more comfortable."
"If that were the case, she would be comfortable with Gustave," Clea pointed out as she stopped to lean on the tree.
The Expedition had taken a break by the river, and the rest of the members, barring Clea and Sciel, who decided to patrol -Sciel decided to patrol, Clea just decided to go with her to walk and not be around everyone else-, were playing in the water
...how these people were the canvas' only hope baffled Clea.
"Yes, but if I understand correctly, Aline's interference is the reason why she was reborn in the canvas, right?"
Clea sighed, "Yes. I was...guiding her into it." She glanced aside. "A selfish decision to involve her in this mess. Maybe help her get out of that depressive state she was in. But Aline interfered and, essentially, erased all memory of Alicia Dessendre, and Maelle was born."
"I see..." Sciel nodded. "Then it makes sense that she's so comfortable with you."
"Hn?"
"You were the last thing she felt and heard before she was born again," she smiled gently at her. "Almost like a baby recognizing their mother's voice and touch when they're born"
"...can we not phrase it like that?"
Sciel laughed at Clea's disgruntled expression.
"Well, well, well. Seems I've managed to make the Clea Dessendre uncomfortable."
"Every hour that passes, I wonder what possessed me to join you idiots," she grumbled as she proceeded to walk past her.
"Aw. We were just bonding right now."
"I will shove something down your throat."
"Hm~ Didn't take you for a pervert"
"You-"
Sciel laughed, and Maelle decided to join in on it
"...Don't copy her, Maelle."
Neither noticed the quiet shadow watching them from behind a tree.
With Maelle turned into a baby, suddenly the other expedition members -barring Gustave- seemed to have lost their fear and nervousness about Clea. Mostly due to the fact of how gentle she was being with the baby.
On more than one occasion, they spot Clea sitting on the grass with a babbling Maelle on her lap, who tried in a futile effort to catch a butterfly she created. A small, barely visible smile on her face as the baby giggled in her lap.
And Margot, who swore it was real, caught her making faces at the baby.
She had even begun opening up to some of the other members: Catherine and Sciel in particular (She was cold as ice when it came to Gustave) while being neutral with the others and outright ignoring others (Alicia)
Though for Maelle? Nothing had changed; Clea was still her favorite person. Though the person in question did at least try to see if the infant preferred anyone else
... whether that was because she wanted a chance not to take care of her or not was unknown.
"Clea, I'm not-"
"Hold the damn thing, Verso."
"She's not a-ugh, fine". Verso slowly reached his hands out and cradled Maelle, who simply blinked at him before immediately turning around and making grabby hands at Clea.
"Wow." Sciel snickered, "Get rejected, Verso." She laughed at the look of betrayal on Verso's face. Seems not even the Canvas version of her brother was spared from her discrimination.
Maelle hummed as her small arms wrapped around Clea, who gave an amused look at the face Verso was wearing. "Be careful now, keep that face and it'll be stuck on you."
Verso rolled his eyes and merely looked away.
His gaze immediately locked onto Lune, who was scouting the area with a serious expression; this hadn't happened in the original timeline, and now they were dealing with something new, so it was no surprise that she was frightened by what had just happened to Maelle.
As he stared at her, he couldn't help but glance at Maelle, who was munching on Clea's shirt as her older sister gave her an unamused look, though the soft look in her eyes gave something else. He smiled softly
And before he could stop himself:
"I wonder what a child between me and Lune would look like."
Tristan choked on his spit while Lucien, who had been folding something, paused and snapped his head toward Verso.
Margot blinked and then laughed while Catherine sighed and looked away. "Fool."
Gustave coughed violently and turned away, shoulders slightly shaking in an attempt to stop himself from laughing. A pitiful attempt to spare Verso from the embarrassment.
Sciel blinked and then looked at Maelle and cooed, "See that? That's what you should never say. Especially if your relationship is vague. Don't be like that dummy over there, okay?"
"Pathetic," Alicia grumbled out.
And Clea? Clea turned to face a red-faced Lune and asked, "Him? Of all the men...him?! Are you mentally well?"
Lune blinked and then immediately sped walked toward the forest, muttering under her breath.
"You should go after her," Sciel offered. Verso was frozen on his feet.
...
"Verso?" She waved a hand in front of his face
"Hello??"
...
"I think he broke himself," Catherine said with a look of disappointment on her face.
"Good," Alicia muttered, "Now he won't bring anymore shame to the Dessendre name."
Suffice to say that when Lune eventually returned, neither could look each other in the eye...or at Maelle, who was giving them a look of disgust as well.
As it turned out, Maelle did eventually warm up enough for someone besides Clea to hold her.
And that person, to nobody's surprise, turned out to be Sciel.
"Here," Clea turned to Sciel
"Wha-"
The other woman shrugged, "I'd prefer to have some time to myself, and you seem like the most trustworthy person here".
Gustave opened his mouth-
"Need I remind you of what happened the first time you tried to grab her?" Clea deadpanned without turning to face him
He closed his mouth, and Lucien sympathetically patted his back as he sulked.
Sciel stared at the baby offered to her and, after a swift glance at Clea, tentatively reached forward the hoist her on her hip.
Silence
.
.
.
Nothing.
Maelle simply cooed and giggled at Sciel's baffled expression
"There we go," Clea nodded firmly and then proceeded to disappear in a puff of smoke
"What the h-" Tristan yelped as he was smacked upside the head
"There's an infant!"
"She can't even talk!"
"It's the point that counts."
Sciel is left standing there, small infant in her arms, she couldn't help but murmur, "She's so small...so little."
"...Are you okay?" Catherine walked toward her
Few people knew of Sciel's miscarriage, and Catherine was one of the fortunate (Or unfortunate, depending on who you ask) to know of what had transpired. She placed a gentle hand on Sciel's shoulder, especially when she noticed Sciel's eyes began to water slightly.
"Sorry, I just-"
"You have nothing to apologize for," she said firmly
Sciel laughed, an empty attempt to lighten up the mood, "Look at me, getting all emotional."
She glanced down at Maelle
"...I wonder why she's so relaxed with me and not anyone else."
Catherine hummed "You were always motherly toward her...I remember the fit you threw when you learned she would be joining us. I think you were angrier than Emma was."
"She's sixteen. Regardless of what we know now about the Paintress and the Dessenndres, she's still young," Sciel defended herself.
"You're providing my point." Chatherine smiled, those were as rare as Clea's, "You care about her like a mother does her daughter...I think she always knew that. Hence the reason she's not shrieking like a banshee right now".
Sciel laughed
"...Sciel?"
"Hm?"
"They wouldn't blame you for feeling happy right now."
"...I know," she whispered, "But it still hurts."
That night, when Clea returned from wherever she had disappeared to and spotted Sciel curled up like a cat around Maelle, she stared at the woman and spotted the dried tears on her cheek. She was quiet and, with a gentle sigh, lay beside her and stared.
And then, with a flick of her wrist, a blanket materialized to cover her and Maelle.
She rolled over and fell asleep.
There was no need to worry about Maelle; she was in good hands.
And, if in the morning, Sciel had instinctively shuffled closer to Clea?
Everybody was wise not to comment on it.
Seeing Clea become more open, not soft, was a boggle to them.
Please don't misunderstand: She wasn't exactly gentle.
The first time both Lucien and Tristan had gotten the courage to ask her for a spar, she completely decimated them. The two were left lying on the ground, practically on fire, with a bored Clea with her arms crossed and a giddy Maelle who clapped her hands in the baby sling.
"See that, Maelle? Don't be like them," Clea hummed as she tickled the infant, who giggled and kicked their feet.
And that started, what Sciel had decided to dub: Who will Clea beat up next?
Verso and Alciai didn't participate and merely watched from the sidelines.
Shockingly, both Sciel and Lune were the ones who got the farthest, with Lune destroying the battlefield while Sciel danced around Clea. Clea hardly struggled, flicking her wrist and sending them flying away from her.
It was impressive and terrifying at the same time.
"I've been meaning to ask," Margot, the brave soul that she was, asked: "How strong are you?"
Clea paused and hummed, "Very."
Margot sighed, "I mean, compared to the paintress and the Curator."
"Ah," she hummed, "It's difficult to say. While I'm confident in my abilities, they have been trapped in this canvas for quite some time." She frowned and glanced to the side. "If anything, their unpredictability will be the most dangerous thing about them."
"Not their skill?" Lune asked
Clea's lips twitched. "Their skilled, yes, but-" her eyes went cold. Unlike me, they aren't ruthless. I will expel them out of the canvas, by force if I have to."
"...that's cold"
"To survive in a cold world, you need to become equally, if not more, cold than it already is." That was all Clea said in response
And, as it turned out, Clea was capable of expressing fear.
Maelle crawls one day, quickly, and no one sees in which direction she goes.
"MAELLE?!"
Clea yells with her eyes wide, and she looks ready to erase the forest around them if it means finding the runaway child.
"Deep breaths," Catherine deadpanned from where she, too, was frantically looking around.
"How the heck did we lose her?"
"We?! Uh, weren't you and Tristan in charge of watching her?" Gustave turned to glare at the two men in question. He was pale as a ghost and looked ready to shoot someone. Perferably Tristan and Lucien
"Sciel made a mistake trusting you two," Alicia muttered as she looked under a bush.
"She's fine," Verso reassured Clea.
"She's an infant." She turned to face and grabbed him by the collar. "And I swear to whatever god these people believe in, I will gommage all of you if we don't find her. Understood?"
"C-crystal" Verso gulped at the glare she gave him
She let go of him, and he turned to glare at Tristan and Lucien. "I swear to god, if all of this was for nothing and we end up getting killed, I'll find a way to torture you in whatever afterlife awaits us".
"She...wouldn't do that, would she?" Margot whispered to Alcia, who huffed and looked away
"The only thing stopping her is Maelle," Catherine pointed out. "She's made it clear that she couldn't care less about the Paintress and the curator. Why would she care about us?"
"...I was hoping you would comfort me."
"I'm a realist. Not delusional," Catherine rolled her eyes.
Clea continued to look around frantically, her breath becoming uneven and her eyes wide with fear. Suddenly, she couldn't breathe, and all she could picture was Maelle screaming and crying in fear or pain.
She had promised.
She had decided to protect her, and now she had failed
oh god...
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod-
*pat* *pat*
Clea flinched as she felt small hands pat her cheek, and she turned around and faced a grinning Sciel and a smiling Maelle who babbled at her.
"Found this little sneak making her way toward a puddle." Sciel giggled and then glared at Tristan and Lucien, who flinched. "At least now I know not to leave her in reckless hands."
Clea grabbed Maelle and let out a long breath she didn't even know she was holding.
She closed her eyes and breathed in before she opened them and muttered, "I'm making her a leash."
"Pff. Funny joke"
...it did not turn out to be a joke
"She's not an animal," Sciel frowned at Clea, who sat there with her arms crossed.
Catherine snorted, "She might as well be with how she's trying to crawl into the woods."
Margot cooed at the angry expression she made when she realised she couldn't leave the camp.
Gustave crouched, after a careful glance at Clea, who huffed and nodded, and attempted to comfort him- he got headbutted.
"Pff-"
They all turned wide-eyed at the person who had laughed
It was Clea.
She was holding her head and snickering as she tried to stop herself from hiding-everyone was mesmerized by the crooked, yet real, smile on her face. The way her teeth appeared to be slightly sharp as she gave a grin, and the dimples on her cheeks.
Nobody could say anything, and instead, Lucien reached over and shook Gustave. Clea was too busy chuckling to notice, "Do it again, do it again."
"I am not-"
"She laughed." Margot whispered, "Oh my god. I think I just saw god."
Catherine was too stunned to say anything and simply blinked
Lune shared a glance with Verso and whispered, "Well...that was certainly a smile, wasn't it?"
"...yeah," he nodded slowly, a look of reminiscence in his eyes. "It was"
Alicia didn't say anything; she only glared at the ground before clicking her tongue and turning away
Sciel stared and nudged
"Would you look at that?"
Clea blinked. "What?"
"Clea Dessendre can smile."
She scoffed and looked away.
Everybody was still able to see the small smile on her face.
0
O
o
Clea stared down at the baby Maelle, who was now sprawled on top of her chest.
Her lips twitched, and she couldn't help but mutter, "I forgot how small you were." She ran a finger on her cheek. "He always said you would be small," she chuckled, but there was no life behind it. "Verso was always wrong about that; you grew to be the biggest of us three."
Maelle giggled as she reached upward to her face.
Clea sighed, "I don't know what obsesses you to be with me...I wish you could tell me." She paused. "Then again...it would be pathetic of me to ask an infant to give me the answers I seek, hm?"
Her little sister babbled at that.
She sighed, "Right."
"Well, that was adorable to witness."
She jumped and glanced at Sciel, who sat beside her. Everyone else was asleep, and the two were chosen to keep an eye out for any dangers.
"I thought you'd be patrolling."
"I was," Sciel nodded, "but then I remembered we have the Clea Dessendre here to watch over us. So in the end, we don't have to worry about anything."
"Flattery will get you nowhere," she deadpanned
"Eh. Worth a shot," she grinned as she glanced down at Maelle, who was now mumbling something incoherent. As babies tended to do
They sat in silence before Clea noticed Sciel was staring at her. She frowned and tilted her head. "What? Why are you looking at me?"
"You really are different from what I imagined you to be," Sciel murmured. "I didn't expect you to be so...gentle."
Clea blinked and glanced away. "It's easier here...in this canvas, it's easy to leave reality behind. For all my insult, I understand why Aline would want to live here", she sighed. "That doesn't excuse the consequences of living in fantasy."
"You seem like you wouldn't care if she died." Sciel frowned. "Isn't she your mother?"
Despite everything, she snorts, "I haven't had a mother in years." She looked at Maelle. "None of us have"
Clea took a glance at Verso. "She and Verso grew distant when he made it clear he was more interested in music than art." She looked down at Maelle. "And she and Al-Maelle...they always argued. I was the only one to take painting seriously."
"You don't sound happy."
She huffed
"When something you enjoyed becomes a responsibility, you too would lose your joy for it," she waved her hand. "This Canvas is a mere memento of what once was. Now just a destroyed realm due to people's selfishness."
"Including your own?" Sciel challenged
"Especially my own," she nodded, shocking Sciel, "But I, at least unlike others, can admit it."
She glanced up where the monolith was visible ."Others try to hide in their denial...or delusion if you ask me"
"Grief makes you do crazy things," sciel nodded softly, "even things that hurt either yourself...or others."
Maelle pulled on Clea's hair, and she winced, pulling the two from their serious conversation.
Sciel chuckled, "Seems someone's grumpy their big sister isn't paying attention to her."
Clea glared at her, and Maelle matched it
"There's that family resemblance," she laughed quietly
Maelle began to whine, and she flinched as she realised she was about to cry, or rather, scream if she didn't do something.
Slowly, she patted her back, and before she could stop herself, she softly whispered
"Mh, mh mon enfant
c’est l’heure, il faut dormir
tes rêves te guideront, pour un temps
au paradis"
Sciel paused and turned to stare at her, but she hardly paid her any mind. Instead, she stared at Maelle, whose whining had stopped and who was now blinking up at her with wide eyes filled with awe.
Her lips tugged upward.
Clea enjoyed singing.
Much more than painting. In another world, she would have probably tried to become a singer...but that was not this world.
"Mh, mh, mon enfant
si tu dors bien cette nuit
la lune dans son tourment
êvera aussi"
When was the last time they had a moment like this?
She could hardly recall. With the writers and painters at war, there was always so much distance between the two of them, especially after Verso died. Alicia Maelle had become a shell of who she once was, blaming herself for the fire.
Aline's cold dismissal did no help, nor did Clea's distance.
...she supposed that deep down, part of her did blame her.
But Maelle had been a child...a child who sought warmth in the arms of someone else. Aline and Renoir, for all their words of care, rarely expressed it, and when they did, it was equally as cold and dismissive. Almost like it was difficult for them to show love for their children
...
If that were the case...
Why have children at all?
"Tombant sur nous doucement
un regard glaçant
nous fait courber l’échine
comme un roseau fragile"
Her mind drifts to better times.
When the three were children, just having fun, and when life was brighter. Before the cold reality slapped them across their face.
...back when she did what she could to protect them.
Then again, it wasn't like she never stopped.
Painting had been a joy...a joy that turned cold. She would have preferred another life, one where she and her brother and sister could run if they pleased, laugh when they wanted, and cry when they needed to.
Instead, they were placed in a cold cage with no escape.
"Le vent nous berce
il danse et se balance
à perdre haleine
j’ai attendu si longtemps
J’embrasserai l
’océan vaste
au rythme d’une ballade"
Clea shut her eyes and imagined what it would be like.
Without this suffocating collar around her neck, she was able to smile, being unafraid to show herself.
...but that, just like this canvas, was a fantasy that would never be achieved.
Clea knew the moment she was young enough to understand what being a painter meant that she was the one to carry the burden.
Verso didn't have the mind for it. His thoughts elsewhere
Maelle's heart was in different passions.
Passions that Aline and Renoir would never accept.
And so, she knew she was alone in it. Just like always.
"Tu peux déployer ces ailes
sorties du sommeil
encore fragile et tendres
des bourgeons de printemps"
She supposed...if she were more selfish, she would stop painting.
But she thought of Verso and Maelle.
If she stopped, their ire would be turned on them. Especially considering Clea's skills.
Aline and Renoir would show no mercy.
And, regardless of how distant they grew, she was still the oldest. If Renoir and Aline failed to protect them, then Clea would.
Her love wasn't fragile. There was no room for that in a world like theirs.
It was rough...but loving nonetheless.
And you couldn't even do that, now, could you?
"Chagrin brisé qui
danse et se balance
Quel sens donner
aux matins qui se ressemblent ?
J’embrasserai
l’océan vaste
au rythme d’une ballade"
Only when she was done singing did she realise Sciel was lying her head on her shoulder, gazing down at a sleeping Maelle. Clea paused, and she wrapped her other arm around Sciel's waist.
"Careful now...people might get jealous," Sciel teased
Clea rolled her eyes. "Then they're pathetic for not making a move," she thought about a certain engineer whom her sister had adopted as her older brother...or was it the other way around?
"Come now, patience is a good virtue to have." Sciel smacked her gently, being careful not to wake Maelle up from where she slept
"I consider it a curse more than a virtue."
"So you'd run headfirst into a situation?" she asked
"Hm...fair argument"
"Just say I'm right," Sciel nudged her
"I don't want you becoming egotistical."
Sciel snorted at that.
They were quiet before Sciel murmured, "I think Alicia is wrong, by the way."
"...about what?"
"I think you're an amazing sister," Sciel whispered. "You don't hide your flaws or mistakes, or the choices you make...you take initiative and accept the consequences." She smiled. "I've never met the canvas version of you, but...if it's worth anything, I think you're better than her."
...
She doesn't respond, and instead, she lets out a sigh and holds Maelle close to her.
"I try" is what she settles on
"And sometimes that's enough."
"...I would burn it all for her," she admits, "Even if it ends up with me hating me. As long as she thrives, I couldn't care less about how much I have to burn...is that still 'good'?"
"I would worry if you wouldn't," Sciel admitted
"I'd kill you all, with no remorse, if that's what it takes to protect her."
"And I would understand."
"...I wish I had someone like you out there," Clea admitted, a moment of weakness that surprises her. She winced and focused more on Maelle instead of Sciel, who blinked and smiled softly at her.
"We'd be best friends," she grins
Clea snorts
"Aw, come on!" she whined. "We totally would!"
They spent most of the night talking.
Neither realised that two people were awake
Neither hears the shaky sigh.
And neither sees the way Alicia tensed.
In the morning, Maelle is back to normal, and Clea all but swaddled her in blankets until Sciel managed to find her clothes and hand them to her.
She's blushing red as the others tease her about how she acted with Clea, and especially goes red when she realizes she spent most of her time with her sister. Clea, for her part, didn't look bothered by it and instead watched from the shadows as Maelle continued to look mortified.
Clea paused when she felt someone staring at her. She raised an eyebrow at the girl, who turned away and walked toward Verso. She frowned and sighed. She had no idea what that was about, but it was none of her business in the end.
"Clea!"
She jumped and turned to face Maelle, who ran to her. "Please tell me I didn't headbutt Gustave."
There was a beat of silence, and before she could stop herself, she smirked and said, "You did. And it was glorious."
Clea has to stop herself from laughing at the mortified expression; she does, however, open her arms, and the still mortified Maelle all but falls into her.
"I can't believe I did that," her voice muffled as she whined
She snorts and pats her head
"It'll be alright, I won't torture you with it."
...
"I can't say the same about the others."
"CLEA!"
The others laughed, and she let a small smile slip
They were odd, and she still doesn't see the appeal of them...but she can see why Maelle and Verso want to fight for them.
And, she supposed, if that's what Maelle wants.
Then Clea would try for her.
There was no redemption for her, but there was still hope for Maelle. She had failed before, and that stung, but she would not fail now.
Not again.
"Are you alright?" Verso asked softly
"...It was easier to hate her before I saw her like that," Alicia muttered. "She really is different from our Clea."
"She is"
"She's cruel."
"Because she needs to be"
"She'd kill us all."
"As she should if we prove to be a threat to Maelle."
"She's selfish."
Verso chuckled, "We Dessendre's are selfish by nature...I should know." he looked away. "I manipulated people simply to get what I wanted, and then I turned around and regretted it. I don't have the right to judge. I'm no saint either."
"..."
"It's okay to still hate her for what she did."
"How can you not hate her?"
"Because I understand," he admitted, "I don't like it. But at the end of the day, I committed the same sins. I suppose...I know what her mind is like and besides...unlike us, she doesn't have the chance to be whole again."
"She doesn't seem to care about that."
"She does...she just doesn't show it," he nodded
"...I still hate her."
"I know."
"I don't like how real she is...our Clea was better, but she's so much brighter. She was really....she has to be real"
"I know."
"...how did you come to terms with it?"
He laughed
"I didn't."
Neither of them said anything for a long time.