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 Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2023 8:29 pm
When Leah entered the apartment over the bakery, she made her way to Caius’ room and knocked softly, and then knocked with a little more gusto, clearly excited. “Caius! Caius I have so much to tell you, I hope that you are in!”
He spent much time in his room, and when she had peered into the family room, only Nick and Arias had been there, and they had been curled up close enough that she thought better of lingering, so she hoped her brother was in.
“It is good things! Very good things!”
Finally she knocked once more, knowing it had only been a few seconds, and knowing that she was being terribly impatient and downright rude...but her veins felt as though they were filled with electricity, and honestly, Leah wasn’t sure if she was going to cry again or not. It was…
Honestly? It was alarming.
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Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2023 8:59 am
“I’m in,” Caius answered. “You can come in.”
She’d said it was good news, and judging by those knocks she was either very excited or very impatient, or–well, he didn’t know, but she was welcome in his room.
He’d only closed the door so that he could listen to music without disturbing Arias or Nick, and he was sitting at his desk. If he weren’t tucked in under a blanket in his chair, and securely scooted under the table, he would have gotten up to let her in. The bed next to him was clean and made, but then–Caius’ room always seemed clean and put together. He had some of his favorite charms and prints scattered on a far table, but this was less for vanity and more for work purposes.
The television was on some nature documentary and he had a half finished owl drawn on his screen. As soon as she’d knocked, he set down his pen and leaned back to stretch; he was obviously ready to give her his full attention.
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Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2023 12:16 pm
Leah bounded into the room and shut the door softly behind her, her eyes bright and excited. “Caius!” Making her way to the bed, Leah sat down without being invited, leaning towards her brother and nodding already, wanting to just…spill everything but suddenly feeling almost unable to do so.
“I…I was out in my normal form and someone came up to me and started talking to me and it was my friend Neryn, but they were in their human form and I did not realize and then…I got so afraid!”
She was making no sense, she could already tell by the fact that her brain felt all jumbled up, but she couldn't seem to stop.
“We ended up talking and we reconnected…this was the one that I disemboweled the pumpkins with, I know I told you about them last autumn, but…oh Caius it was so very wonderful to talk to one of the Velencians again…I have missed my people…even though I am afraid that I truly would be seen as a traitor and I prefer my life here but…to have one of them as a friend again! I told them about my wonderful family and my brother and they said I was allowed to tell you of them! And we will hang out again! I am so very happy, Caius!”
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2023 2:29 pm
A little smile formed on his face as he listened to her; he liked seeing her so animated and enthusiastic about something so good.
“I’m happy for you!” he said, and his smile was honest enough that he clearly was happy for her. He couldn't imagine what it must be like to have come from a totally different world and then been separated from it and your people–all of your friends, all of your family.
He was happy here–and he was happy to have her here with them. She’d integrated into their family quickly and now he couldn’t imagine any sort of life without her.
“I’m glad you don’t have to keep this a secret, it’s nice seeing you so happy! I know a bit about Neryn.” He remembered what Leah had shared with them, and he always listened to her stories. “Are you going to bring them over here some time? I’d like to meet them, and you know they would, too.” He nodded towards the door and obviously meant Nick and Arias, but he knew he didn’t have to clarify.
“No pressure, though! If they’re shy or just want to stay secret friends, I get it. I don’t really have any friends to introduce you too or I would. I’m just glad you’re happy.”
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2023 5:28 pm
“I want them to meet Neryn too! I want you all to meet them! They are wonderful and very kind.” Leah gave a happy sigh and leaned forwards so she could rest her forehead on Caius’ shoulder. “...It was kind of exhausting though. I have not felt so much fear in a very long time…and I did not like it. It. It is very hard to be afraid of the people that you are missing fiercely…I am not sure how to explain it, but seeing my friend again really just…drove it home that I do miss my people. And my job as a member of the Vanguard but…I simply do not belong any longer and…I think that is going to take me a long time to process.”
She was happy, Leah couldn’t deny that but…with the happiness came a resurgence of grief that she hadn’t had to deal with in a while. But. She didn’t have to deal with it alone, so that made it much more bearable.
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Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2023 10:10 am
Instinctively, Caius shifted to try and bring his shoulder in towards Leah in an effort to make it a bit more comfortable for her. He didn’t want to lose her, but he didn’t want her to suffer or feel like she had to be disconnected from her people.
“Well…I mean, I know it’s scary, but maybe this is a good sign? If you reconnected with Neryn and they were okay with you being how you are, maybe that means the others will be too? I don’t know exactly how it works, but you know I’ll support you with whatever you want to do. I like that you like Earth so much, and I like that you want to stay here with us, but–we wouldn’t make you pick and choose between Velencya and here. If there was a way to work it out so you could have the best of both worlds, we’d do anything we could to help. I mean–is Neryn doing anything for the Vanguard?”
He was familiar enough with the phrases, even if he still felt like he had so much to learn about all of them. He liked listening to Leah talk about things so it wasn’t hard to pay attention and collect all the little details he could.
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Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2023 2:06 pm
“I do not know if they are or not…But they said that…they understand my feelings…I appreciated that. I think…if I can just stay away from the rest of them…but…maybe…I should try and connect with the Prince again just…to allow myself to feel that I am doing something…”
She fell quiet for a moment and then gave a yawn. “...Do you want to have a sleepover tonight? Or, may I just sleep in here maybe? I do not want to be alone for a little while, if you do not wish to, that is fine, but. I thought I would ask!” If he didn’t want to…she could just go spend time in the living room and sleep out there. WHatever she had to do, it would work out. That wasn’t an issue.
“I love you, Caius. I do not think that I tell you enough, but there is no better sibling in the universe.”
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Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2023 5:34 pm
Caius wasn’t sure about that but he smiled anyway because it was a nice gesture and made his stomach feel a little fluttery when she said so. He’d spent a long time feeling like he didn’t mean much to anyone, and maybe it was a bit silly to feel so flattered but he couldn’t help it.
No one was forcing her to be his sibling, she chose it. She was older than him–older than all of them, really–but it felt so comfortable to have her here.
“I love you too. You can stay in here, just go put on your pajamas and grab whatever you need to sleep. I’ll clear off my bed so there’s room.”
He could use a break from his work, anyway; now that he’d had a few minutes to rest his eyes, he was acutely aware of how bright his computer was. He’d been at this for a while now and a break sounded good–especially if it would do anything to make Leah feel more at ease.
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Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2023 6:50 pm
Leah nodded and smiled so hard it almost hurt. “All right! I will be back shortly, Caius!”
It was so very nice to not be alone. So very nice to be loved and have someone here who wanted her to be here…it was just.
So good to have a home.
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