Who: Shark House and it's visitors Where: Shark House, Goldenrod When: All through December Summary: December catch-all log! Rating: PG13 because monsters, man. Log:
[Christmas has gone great so far, with all the presents and partying that any of them could have asked for. In fact, the partying is still going on, and there is exactly no room on the couch. Not even for squeezing in, not with all the Pokemon doing every bit of squeezing in and looking cute to try to beg treats that they can manage.]
[So Envy just takes his mostly empty drink and goes to sit on the bottom few steps of the staircase instead, laughing at a joke Greed made and feeling generally pretty content with the day. It's good to have everyone around, home from trips and awake from comas and no-longer-totally-brainwashed.]
[It's been a good day. Everyone had liked their presents and eaten tons of good food. The Pokemon (those small enough to fit into the house) had spent hours playing hide and seek in the piles of wrapping paper. And they're all in one place.]
[Not scattered to the winds like they'd all been for awhile there.]
[Or at least that's what it had felt like to Heather, out on the very edge of Johto while her newest family was what felt like thousands of miles away.]
[It's so good to be back.]
Hey!
[Having just emerged from the kitchen with a big glass of cider and a handful of goodies from the spread of treats that they'd been munching on all day long, Heather spots Envy pretty much immediately and doesn't waste any time plopping down next to him.]
[She could technically go boot some Pokemon (and maybe Henry) off of the couch, but she'd rather be over here. With Envy. c8]
[Envy lifts his glass up in greeting as she flops down. He's had enough by this point to get a good buzz going, and so he can just ignore the warm fluttery feeling he gets when she picks him to come sit by.]
[He also put on that little necklace she got him. For safekeeping, he didn't want it to get lost somewhere. Yes.]
[She puts her plate down on the step above them and then leans on the railing, sipping at the cider.]
[Envy's not the only one who's been getting warm flutters... but Heather's been having them for awhile and she's ridden this rodeo before. So while there's a great deal more than just the friendly fondness she has for everybody in this house behind the lop-sided grin she's giving him, she's not planning on showing it.]
[Envy, on the other hand, has only ridden in this rodeo once, and...thinking about THAT dampens those warm flutters significantly. So he tries not to.]
[The booze helps with that much, too. He grins and draws himself up into a little pose.]
'Course I am, I have fun all the time.
Besides, have you tried the fancy dip we found at the store? I don't know how anyone could have a bad time when there's that stuff.
[INDEED THEY DO. For a bunch of twenty-something equivalents with very little actual human adulthood experience living in one place, every one of them is remarkably in-shape.]
[Except for Henry.]
[Heather swallows a gulp from her glass a little more quickly than intended so that she doesn't spray it everywhere, laughing in her throat.]
GOOD.
I lost a bunch of weight on that trip, I need to get it back in preparation for the long winter to come.
[Unnoticed by her trainer, a fluffy black-and-tan head pops curiously around the top bannister of the stairs. Scarlet had been partying hard all day long but then in true cat fashion had passed out in a box somewhere earlier.]
[When she spots the two sitting at the bottom of the stairs together, her ears go straight up.]
[OH!!!!]
[83]
[She disappears in a small cloud of dust and lion cub fluff.]
That's why it's really important to get more of that dip.
[She's actually really happy that he liked that jacket so much-- not that she'd been worried that he wouldn't or anything, but, well, it's just nice.]
[But any further discussion is hindered by a raspy MREOWP from above.]
[Heather's Pokemon aren't exactly blind. They'd all noticed how much Heather had been pining for her friends. And they'd also all noticed WHICH friend she talked to the most while she was gone.]
[Which is why Scarlet went and found THE SMOOCH PLANT and is now dangling it over their heads. 83]
[Envy blinks at the round little lion cub and the plant she's holding. He recognizes it, of course, he's been here too long not to. But what does Scarlet think she's doing?]
[Aside from making his stomach lurch in a weird way. But no, it shouldn't be, because really it shouldn't be any big deal. He's kissed lots of people and had it not mean a thing, and he's sure that even if they did kiss right now, he'd be just fine and nothing would change.]
[In fact, he could prove to himself that all this is just a passing nothing. So he just snorts in amusement instead of showing any signs of anything else.]
Heather, I think your lion is trying to pull something on us.
[Heather stops mid-bite into a cracker that's slathered in said awesome dipping sauce when Envy calls her attention to the marauding plant-dangler, and her eyes flick upwards.]
--Scarlet, oh my god.
[She starts to laugh, and it's not fake, because WHAT A GOOFUS THAT LION IS, but the main thought that's running through her head is god fucking dammit scarlet.]
I think somebody's been watching too many rom-coms on the hotel room cable.
[Envy was prepared to laugh at whatever story she was about to tell, but he's nearly wheezing by the time she's waggling her eyebrows back. Normally he'd control it a bit better, but right now is not normal.]
[Laughing is good. Laughing is great. That means everything is all just fun and games and not at all a serious thing. He wrests control back over his face at last, leaning forward a little with his hands on his knees.]
Well, I like to think that I'm a risk taker. Besides, if you somehow wreck my face then I can carry you outside and dump you in the snow.
[Oh god how does he go about this. He doesn't want to be romantic, it's not like he's trying to seduce her...THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF KISSES HE KNOWS BEST.]
[God damn it, Scarlet.]
[But this is still no big deal, and he can prove it. He just has to go for it. He puts one hand lightly on her shoulder and leans the rest of the way forward. SMOOCH INITIATED.]
[Well, in all fairness, they're BOTH a little tipsy. And if Heather's own experiences with drinking are any indication, people get giggly when they're buzzed. So his slight hysterics fortunately don't seem all that unusual.]
--okay, if you dump me in the snow, I will beat you back inside and then lock all the doors.
[But THREAT ASIDE, this is clearly happening now. THEY CLEARLY HAVE TO DO THIS. So she leans in (carefully. It might make for an amusing anecdote like eight years later, but SHE REALLY DOES NOT WANT TO CHIP ANYONE ELSE'S TEETH) and gives him a light pop on the lips with her own.]
[He half wants to follow after her when she leans back, and she might be able to catch the almost startled expression he's wearing before it's back to the amusement of before.]
[God dammit indeed.]
[Because that...actually MAY HAVE BEEN something of a Deal, even as short as it was. After a second too long, he remembers that he's still got his hand on her shoulder, and pulls it back to lean it on the stairstep as casually as he possibly can.]
[THAT WASN'T ENOUGH KISSING. And the fact that it wasn't also means that it was entirely too much kissing. Even through the buzz, that guilt manages to worm up and tighten in his stomach. To his credit, he keeps his expression nearly just as smirky as normal, and anything else he'd blame on the alcohol. He takes the excuse to turn and look at Scarlet.]
[For maybe like... three seconds, Heather was pretty sure that she'd dodged the bullet. That had gone down about as quickly and painlessly as could be expected and he didn't seem to think anything was Weird (because naturally, she missed that little startled face he made because she'd been so focused on making sure HER expression wasn't doing anything funny and also she's an Idiot (tm)), and they had technically fulfilled all the expectations placed upon your proverbial pair of people under the mistletoe.]
[But then all of a sudden it seems very, very hot in here, and she feels a little bit woozy and flushed.]
[It'd be real easy to blame it on the alcohol, and she kind of WANTS to, but she also knows better.]
[Because in addition to kind of wishing she was in short sleeves and not an ugly Christmas sweater, she's also thinking about the fact that Envy's lips are soft as fuck and why does this even surprise her of course they are between him and Lust this goddamn house is FILLED WITH LIP GLOSS everybody knows that or wait a minute what if it's not everybody what if only SHE'S noticed how much lip gloss Envy buys, IS THAT WEIRD?]
[FUCK. IT'S PROBABLY WEIRD.]
[Fortunately for her act, a gruff, indignant chirp from Scarlet interrupts Heather's reverie and she looks up, wincing briefly as she's met with the Litleo's DISSATISFIED GLARE. >8C NO, TRAINERS, SHE IS NOT HAPPY! THAT WAS NOT ENOUGH SMOOCHING!]
--ahhh c'mon, get outta here. Go dangle it over Henry, I have a plate of snacks here, I can't keep kissin' people.
[He's still looking at Scarlet, so he misses that bit of flush. He would have blamed it on the alcohol if he saw it, or maybe teased her about how he told her he was a good kisser. But it's probably a good thing he didn't, because he's having enough trouble as it is.]
[He's trying really hard not to think about how HER lips had felt on his, or about how he wouldn't mind feeling them again. He can't think like that and he knows it. She wouldn't be interested anyway, and...]
[That guilt twists deeper. He hasn't kissed anyone since France disappeared, hasn't even thought about it, and now there's this. It isn't even just kissing. He shouldn't be feeling anything like that warmth for anyone else, ever again. He hadn't wanted to. It feels like a betrayal, and...losing that had hurt enough the first time.]
[Right?]
[He tosses his head in the face of Scarlet's disapproval, waving a hand at her.]
C'mon, she's right. I'm sure there's plenty of other people here for you to mess with that'd be just as funny as us, go on. Look, they're all right over there on the couch. Get Greed with someone, that'll be great.
[He tries to take another sip of his drink, focusing on that instead of everything else, but it's empty.]
[The Litleo's face first puffs up in indignant anger, but then she deflates, squeezing her head back through the railing bars and disappearing off to go matchmake somewhere else for the time being.]
[Heather lets out an internal sigh of relief.]
[Then dares to look back over at Envy, in time to watch him fail to get anything more out of that glass.]
Heh. Here.
[She holds out the glass of cider.]
You can have the rest of mine, I think I've had a little too much tonight, anyway.
[He lets out a little chuckle of his own, trying not to look as relieved as he feels that, even though he's a big mess of confusion on the inside, she doesn't seem to have noticed anything.]
[He reaches to take the glass from her, feeling another tiny jolt when his fingers wind up brushing against hers as he takes it. Hopefully that doesn't stick around, or he's going to be in real trouble.]
I don't know if I'm any better off, but hah, thanks.
You okay?
[He hasn't noticed a thing, besides her suddenly thinking she's had too much, which is something to ask about regardless of anything else.]
Fair enough, you don't wanna go tripping over Wrath and breaking an arm on Christmas.
[He gives her a joking nudge with his elbow, out of habit. That still feels normal enough, and he's glad for it.]
[But for everything else...]
[YEAH. SNACKS AND BOOZE. He's happy to drink, because to him it seems like a good way to just enjoy the little party with his friend without having to think about all of that.]
[She'd started to take a bite out of one of the cookies stacked on her plate, but Envy's next statement has her spluttering with laughter. It's not even that funny, but she's tipsy and Envy has a way of making completely innocuous statements sound cattily humorous.]
--PPPffffhh, NOPE. No, I'll pass on breakin' bones and tripping on small children.
Not on my holiday agenda.
[She pounds a fist on her chest once or twice to knock the crumbs lodged in her throat loose, then coughs once or twice and leans on the bannister, still grinning. She lets out a sigh.]
That little guy is wild.
Were you all like that when you were little? Or-- I mean, new, I guess?
[She doesn't really know the exact specifics of how Homunculi work, but she's always kind of gotten the impression that they come full-sized right from the start.]
But...not really, no. Almost all the homunculi have been older than him when we were brought back anyway, and Wrath...I'll tell you about it later, if you really want to know.
[But, well. It's NOT a fun story, definitely not one that he wants to go telling at their Christmas party where Wrath's around. But he's definitely glad for the change of topic, it's a good distraction.]
But say...Lust? She wasn't ever like that, she was quiet and followed me around everywhere asking me questions. She's always been the smart one.
[He grins fondly as he says it; the situation surrounding it may have been a straight up horror show, but he doesn't have to mention those parts. It hadn't been all bad. He'd gotten a little sister out of it.]
It's almost like being a child, but not, because we're born with the same level of brain development and all. Just without most of the memories to go with it.
So Wrath's a special case. Hell, we're still learning what to do with him.
[Some of that same older brother fondness creeps into his voice then, too.]
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December 25th, evening
[So Envy just takes his mostly empty drink and goes to sit on the bottom few steps of the staircase instead, laughing at a joke Greed made and feeling generally pretty content with the day. It's good to have everyone around, home from trips and awake from comas and no-longer-totally-brainwashed.]
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[Not scattered to the winds like they'd all been for awhile there.]
[Or at least that's what it had felt like to Heather, out on the very edge of Johto while her newest family was what felt like thousands of miles away.]
[It's so good to be back.]
Hey!
[Having just emerged from the kitchen with a big glass of cider and a handful of goodies from the spread of treats that they'd been munching on all day long, Heather spots Envy pretty much immediately and doesn't waste any time plopping down next to him.]
[She could technically go boot some Pokemon (and maybe Henry) off of the couch, but she'd rather be over here. With Envy. c8]
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[Envy lifts his glass up in greeting as she flops down. He's had enough by this point to get a good buzz going, and so he can just ignore the warm fluttery feeling he gets when she picks him to come sit by.]
[He also put on that little necklace she got him. For safekeeping, he didn't want it to get lost somewhere. Yes.]
Having fun?
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God, it's so good to be back.
[She puts her plate down on the step above them and then leans on the railing, sipping at the cider.]
[Envy's not the only one who's been getting warm flutters... but Heather's been having them for awhile and she's ridden this rodeo before. So while there's a great deal more than just the friendly fondness she has for everybody in this house behind the lop-sided grin she's giving him, she's not planning on showing it.]
How about you?
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[The booze helps with that much, too. He grins and draws himself up into a little pose.]
'Course I am, I have fun all the time.
Besides, have you tried the fancy dip we found at the store? I don't know how anyone could have a bad time when there's that stuff.
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Have I?
Man, I've been trying it all day.
It still counts as 'trying' the eighth time you go back for seconds, right? Right?
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We can keep 'trying' it all year out of the fridge as far as I'm concerned, because I'm going to keep buying more of it.
[THEY ALL GET ENOUGH EXERCISE FOR THAT.]
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[Except for Henry.]
[Heather swallows a gulp from her glass a little more quickly than intended so that she doesn't spray it everywhere, laughing in her throat.]
GOOD.
I lost a bunch of weight on that trip, I need to get it back in preparation for the long winter to come.
[Unnoticed by her trainer, a fluffy black-and-tan head pops curiously around the top bannister of the stairs. Scarlet had been partying hard all day long but then in true cat fashion had passed out in a box somewhere earlier.]
[When she spots the two sitting at the bottom of the stairs together, her ears go straight up.]
[OH!!!!]
[83]
[She disappears in a small cloud of dust and lion cub fluff.]
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You say that like it's not already here, it's freezing out. There's snow.
[He makes a dramatic gesture with his free hand to go along with it.]
It's a good thing you got me that jacket, I'm gonna be wearing it all the time until spring.
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That's why it's really important to get more of that dip.
[She's actually really happy that he liked that jacket so much-- not that she'd been worried that he wouldn't or anything, but, well, it's just nice.]
[But any further discussion is hindered by a raspy MREOWP from above.]
[Heather's Pokemon aren't exactly blind. They'd all noticed how much Heather had been pining for her friends. And they'd also all noticed WHICH friend she talked to the most while she was gone.]
[Which is why Scarlet went and found THE SMOOCH PLANT and is now dangling it over their heads. 83]
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[Aside from making his stomach lurch in a weird way. But no, it shouldn't be, because really it shouldn't be any big deal. He's kissed lots of people and had it not mean a thing, and he's sure that even if they did kiss right now, he'd be just fine and nothing would change.]
[In fact, he could prove to himself that all this is just a passing nothing. So he just snorts in amusement instead of showing any signs of anything else.]
Heather, I think your lion is trying to pull something on us.
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--Scarlet, oh my god.
[She starts to laugh, and it's not fake, because WHAT A GOOFUS THAT LION IS, but the main thought that's running through her head is god fucking dammit scarlet.]
I think somebody's been watching too many rom-coms on the hotel room cable.
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[Besides, Heather doesn't seem to think it's a big deal. He doesn't want to make it one. JOKING ABOUT IT IT IS.]
And now she wants to go acting one out. Well, I guess we shouldn't shatter her little lion dreams too badly, right?
[He does a little pose again, holding a hand to his chest.]
Lucky for us, I'm a GREAT kisser.
[EYEBROW WAGGLE. This is no big deal.]
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[But Envy doesn't seem to think it's a big deal, so there's no reason to make it one. JOKING ABOUT IT IS THE ONE TRUE WAY.]
[But-- oh no. HOE DON'T DO IT--]
[And then he does the stupid little pose again.]
[God fucking dammit, ENVY.]
[But she keeps her expression wryly amused as she turns in place to set the dish of snacks back down.]
Actually, that IS pretty lucky. Me and kissing don't exactly have a great history. First guy I ever kissed?
I wound up taking a huge chunk of his tooth out by accident.
How much are you willing to risk?
[RETURN EYEBROW WAGGLE. No big deal at all.]
KEYWORDS RELEVANT
[Laughing is good. Laughing is great. That means everything is all just fun and games and not at all a serious thing. He wrests control back over his face at last, leaning forward a little with his hands on his knees.]
Well, I like to think that I'm a risk taker. Besides, if you somehow wreck my face then I can carry you outside and dump you in the snow.
[Oh god how does he go about this. He doesn't want to be romantic, it's not like he's trying to seduce her...THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF KISSES HE KNOWS BEST.]
[God damn it, Scarlet.]
[But this is still no big deal, and he can prove it. He just has to go for it. He puts one hand lightly on her shoulder and leans the rest of the way forward. SMOOCH INITIATED.]
keywords ALSO relevant
--okay, if you dump me in the snow, I will beat you back inside and then lock all the doors.
[But THREAT ASIDE, this is clearly happening now. THEY CLEARLY HAVE TO DO THIS. So she leans in (carefully. It might make for an amusing anecdote like eight years later, but SHE REALLY DOES NOT WANT TO CHIP ANYONE ELSE'S TEETH) and gives him a light pop on the lips with her own.]
[And then leans back.]
[THERE.]
[THERE THAT WASN'T SO HARD.]
[god dammit]
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[God dammit indeed.]
[Because that...actually MAY HAVE BEEN something of a Deal, even as short as it was. After a second too long, he remembers that he's still got his hand on her shoulder, and pulls it back to lean it on the stairstep as casually as he possibly can.]
[THAT WASN'T ENOUGH KISSING. And the fact that it wasn't also means that it was entirely too much kissing. Even through the buzz, that guilt manages to worm up and tighten in his stomach. To his credit, he keeps his expression nearly just as smirky as normal, and anything else he'd blame on the alcohol. He takes the excuse to turn and look at Scarlet.]
There you go, happy?
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[But then all of a sudden it seems very, very hot in here, and she feels a little bit woozy and flushed.]
[It'd be real easy to blame it on the alcohol, and she kind of WANTS to, but she also knows better.]
[Because in addition to kind of wishing she was in short sleeves and not an ugly Christmas sweater, she's also thinking about the fact that Envy's lips are soft as fuck and why does this even surprise her of course they are between him and Lust this goddamn house is FILLED WITH LIP GLOSS everybody knows that or wait a minute what if it's not everybody what if only SHE'S noticed how much lip gloss Envy buys, IS THAT WEIRD?]
[FUCK. IT'S PROBABLY WEIRD.]
[Fortunately for her act, a gruff, indignant chirp from Scarlet interrupts Heather's reverie and she looks up, wincing briefly as she's met with the Litleo's DISSATISFIED GLARE. >8C NO, TRAINERS, SHE IS NOT HAPPY! THAT WAS NOT ENOUGH SMOOCHING!]
--ahhh c'mon, get outta here. Go dangle it over Henry, I have a plate of snacks here, I can't keep kissin' people.
[Even if 'people' is Envy.]
[ESPECIALLY if 'people' is Envy.]
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[He's trying really hard not to think about how HER lips had felt on his, or about how he wouldn't mind feeling them again. He can't think like that and he knows it. She wouldn't be interested anyway, and...]
[That guilt twists deeper. He hasn't kissed anyone since France disappeared, hasn't even thought about it, and now there's this. It isn't even just kissing. He shouldn't be feeling anything like that warmth for anyone else, ever again. He hadn't wanted to. It feels like a betrayal, and...losing that had hurt enough the first time.]
[Right?]
[He tosses his head in the face of Scarlet's disapproval, waving a hand at her.]
C'mon, she's right. I'm sure there's plenty of other people here for you to mess with that'd be just as funny as us, go on. Look, they're all right over there on the couch. Get Greed with someone, that'll be great.
[He tries to take another sip of his drink, focusing on that instead of everything else, but it's empty.]
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[The Litleo's face first puffs up in indignant anger, but then she deflates, squeezing her head back through the railing bars and disappearing off to go matchmake somewhere else for the time being.]
[Heather lets out an internal sigh of relief.]
[Then dares to look back over at Envy, in time to watch him fail to get anything more out of that glass.]
Heh. Here.
[She holds out the glass of cider.]
You can have the rest of mine, I think I've had a little too much tonight, anyway.
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[He lets out a little chuckle of his own, trying not to look as relieved as he feels that, even though he's a big mess of confusion on the inside, she doesn't seem to have noticed anything.]
[He reaches to take the glass from her, feeling another tiny jolt when his fingers wind up brushing against hers as he takes it. Hopefully that doesn't stick around, or he's going to be in real trouble.]
I don't know if I'm any better off, but hah, thanks.
You okay?
[He hasn't noticed a thing, besides her suddenly thinking she's had too much, which is something to ask about regardless of anything else.]
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[Maybe some more snacks will stave it off.]
[Yep.]
[That'll help.]
[But if she gets too tipsy, she runs the risk of saying something she'll Regret Later (tm). She doesn't know what... just that it'd be something.]
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[He gives her a joking nudge with his elbow, out of habit. That still feels normal enough, and he's glad for it.]
[But for everything else...]
[YEAH. SNACKS AND BOOZE. He's happy to drink, because to him it seems like a good way to just enjoy the little party with his friend without having to think about all of that.]
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--PPPffffhh, NOPE. No, I'll pass on breakin' bones and tripping on small children.
Not on my holiday agenda.
[She pounds a fist on her chest once or twice to knock the crumbs lodged in her throat loose, then coughs once or twice and leans on the bannister, still grinning. She lets out a sigh.]
That little guy is wild.
Were you all like that when you were little? Or-- I mean, new, I guess?
[She doesn't really know the exact specifics of how Homunculi work, but she's always kind of gotten the impression that they come full-sized right from the start.]
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But...not really, no. Almost all the homunculi have been older than him when we were brought back anyway, and Wrath...I'll tell you about it later, if you really want to know.
[But, well. It's NOT a fun story, definitely not one that he wants to go telling at their Christmas party where Wrath's around. But he's definitely glad for the change of topic, it's a good distraction.]
But say...Lust? She wasn't ever like that, she was quiet and followed me around everywhere asking me questions. She's always been the smart one.
[He grins fondly as he says it; the situation surrounding it may have been a straight up horror show, but he doesn't have to mention those parts. It hadn't been all bad. He'd gotten a little sister out of it.]
It's almost like being a child, but not, because we're born with the same level of brain development and all. Just without most of the memories to go with it.
So Wrath's a special case. Hell, we're still learning what to do with him.
[Some of that same older brother fondness creeps into his voice then, too.]
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