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 Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2015 2:05 pm
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Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2015 8:30 am
Howard had never yelled before Ellis had arrived. He had been exasperated by Amory's independence and prone to drawn out silences that he perceived as punishments, but he hadn't shouted. Now he did, though he quieted just as quickly as he flared. He didn't want to warp Ellis, his other child, his real child. She had fought against her tutor and he had accepted it as an inevitability of growing up, but now that he'd compared her to the guileless imp, her days in his heart were numbered. She had to patch the situation before he dismissed her for good.
The stretches of time when the freshlings were apart were few, and Amory usually cherished those moments intensely, but now she just wanted Ellis to get his scrawny a** home so they could talk.
[134]
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Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2015 9:34 am
It might have come as a surprise to most, but Ellis loved his sister that was not his sister very much. Amory might have been abrasive, even occasionally cruel, but she was also the one who had stood between him and the pack of juniors who'd called him Mutie when they'd noticed his double irises, the one who'd waited in line for half an hour to get him two scoops of whipple ripple when he'd had a remedial class on the day they'd been giving it out. The chimera cared, even if she didn't mean to, and regular fur tweaks and exasperated sighs weren't about to drive him off.
In spite of all that, however, Amory was still kind of terrifying, and he couldn't help the shiver that crept up his spine when he opened the door to the rooms he and his guardian shared and saw her waiting there for him.
"Am'ry?" he asked the shadows, shuffling closer when he thought he saw her nod.
[166]
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2015 6:22 am
"Don't get all jumpy," she said, her voice as quiet as usual. It was one of the unconscious ways she maintained her intimidating presence, forcing people to lean in as she spoke, drawing closer to her stubby claws and narrowed eyes. "I just wanna talk about what good friends we are." She smiled. From the way Ellis shrank back, she imagined the expression wasn't as comforting as she had hoped. As soon as she realized this, Amory gave up, her plastic smile dropping.
"I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise." She scooted over, patting the seat beside her as her wings flexed idly.
[103]
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2015 6:45 am
"I know that," Ellis said with a roll of his eyes. Amory had never hurt him—after that one time, at least—and she would never do anything like that again with Dad in the house anyway. The imp stood straighter, gathering his courage, then joined her on the sofa, curling his fluffy tail into his lap once he had settled.
"Why you wanna talk about that? We're always good friends. Did someone say we're not?" It seemed like such a weird thing to do, to talk about being friends. Why waste time with that when you could just do friend stuff?
[100]
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2015 7:14 am
"I wanna make sure you know we are!" As soon as the reply was out of her mouth, Amory regretted that she hadn't softened her response. No matter how she really felt, Ellis had to believe that she cared, and barking at the imp was hardly going to keep him on her side.
"Your dad thinks we fight too much, and I've learned so much, I..." She thought of the social experiments they had collaborated on, all of the research they had done and the theories they had proven and how easy it would be for that life, the only one she knew, to slip away. Amory was not a demonstrative child, but this was vitally important. She should have been the one who had been adopted by Howard, not Ellis. Even as she thought this, Amory reluctantly realized that none of it was the imp's fault.
"I don't want him to... hate me. And maybe I do pick fights with you a little. So, I guess I'm sorry." She muttered the last bit, looking off in the direction of the kitchen and away from the other freshling as she spoke.
[191]
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2015 7:19 am
Ellis was confused. He was probably in the best position out of anyone to notice whether or not his father disliked Amory, and he hadn't noticed that, not at all. Sure, the chimeras probably spent less time together on the whole than they had before he had arrived, but Amory's grades hadn't suffered and she was well on her way to becoming a junior. When she wasn't here, Dad talked about her a ton. Ellis might have reassured her about all of this, he certainly wanted to, but he really wasn't sure how.
"'Kay," he said warily. "Issokay." He reached out a clawed hand and patted her shoulder lightly.
[109]
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2015 7:52 am
She didn't appreciate the sentiment.
"Don't..." She shrugged off his comforting touch before recalling her purpose here. "Sorry." Amory sighed. "I just wanted to call an official truce. I won't bug you as much anymore. I promise." It was the second promise she had made him in five minutes, but this one she meant. Once she had proven that her more malicious tendencies were under wraps, Howard would stop making faces and sighing theatrically whenever she did something even slightly provoking. Things would go back to the way they had been when she was routinely praised and guided, when everything felt safe and her future was open wide.
"Here. We'll shake on it." Amory held out her hand.
[118]
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Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2015 6:51 am
Ellis returned the shake, nodding when she let go. "Yeah, sure!" Amory always seemed happiest when people were agreeing with her, so he was going to do just that. "Just don't stop hangin' out with me, 'kay?" The imp knew with utmost certainty that life with Amory was a lot more fun, even if she pulled his tail a little sometimes. Besides standing up for him, she also came up with the best games, and every day after class she helped him with his homework after Dad had helped her with hers.
As if on cue, Howard opened the door to his bedroom at the end of the hall and emerged, looking bleary-eyed and slightly stunned by the light.
"Hey, guys," he said, approaching the pair and smiling down at them. "If you're not busy we can get started on your homework, Amory."
[143]
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Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2015 6:55 am
"We're not." The chimera hopped down off of the couch and shot Ellis a pointed look. Hopefully her pouty confession hadn't nullified her ability to present a threat. "I'm ready. I've got math and social studies today."
"Sounds good." Howard's smile was a great deal more thin and meaningless than usual, his mind clearly on something else. It was something to take note of, but for now she was working on keeping her mentor, not fixing the senior's problems.
"I'll be back to help you soon, Ellis," she said in her sweetest voice, deliberately waiting until the older chimera was listening before she spoke.
[104]
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Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2015 7:03 am
Ellis nodded as the pair trundled off to the kitchen to study. He still had no real idea what all of that had truly been about, but he was calm and patient enough to wait until things became clear without him needing to pry.
The imp remained where he was for a time, listening to Amory and Howard's low voices as they discussed some theorem or another that still went right over his head. This was nice. His family as they should be. He hoped that whatever this change was, this truce that Amory wanted, gave her some peace of mind.
For now, it was time to make a sandwich.
[110]
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