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( ASHES ASHES DUST TO DUST , THE DEVILS AFTER BOTH OF US )

LOVED BY MOUSE

⸻ Ah. They were only children then, the last time he remembers Falin sneaking into his chambers, was it to play? He'd accused in half-dreary sleepiness, eyebrows knitted in childish indignation. 𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒇 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒌𝒂𝒚, he should have. ❛❛ It's okay. ❜❜ He murmurs, yawning - drowsy spell still clinging.

❛❛ What's wrong ? ❜❜ Laios inquires, rubbing his eyes awake as he fumbles himself upright. He yawns for the second time, meets his sister's gaze and offers a reassuring smile. He had failed before, but he can do better now.

He lifts his hand, patting the side of the bed, a space for her beside him. ❛❛ Wanna sleep over ? We haven't done that in a while. ❜❜ He grins, boyish - silly. ❛❛ Or would you rather me call Marcille over ? or Chillchuck ? or . . . The bed is a little small, but we can work it out. We always do. ❜❜ He would have dragged them all here if she asked, he's sure they'd whine , but ultimately, they'd come around the way they've done so many times before.

What should she say that would get him to worry about her the least? Everything around her seemed to have changed since her rescue , her resolve to protect others only grew more and more by the day. She feels like she needs to make up for all of the trouble her rescue had caused them. There's a guilt in her chest that she can't seem to lay to rest.

Falin dismisses his question with a shake of her head. Indication that there was really nothing worth talking about but clearly some kind of heavy tension in the room ultimately caused by her own inner anxiety.

the younger lingers in the empty space in the room , feeling all the more at ease when her sibling gives her a smile. Even with her appearance changing , Laois was the one that Falin knows deep down inside would never be ashamed of her. It makes her smile , a very big feeling of relief washing over her. She was safe , she was here. And more importantly , her party was alive.

Falin takes the opprotunty for her form to take up the empty space he offers , she's shaking a bit , taking note of the last time they did this , it was entirely different. She didn't look like this , she was entirely human. After a while , she speaks up , not liking how all the attention was seemingly on her, even if she was making it up.

" can you tell me again about what kind of monsters you ate in the dungeon? "

" falin ... " he could find himself intimidated by a particularly tall elf , let alone ... this . her . what falin has become . a small part of him wants to hug her -- to pet her hair like he would his girls , tell her everything's gonna be just fine .

most of him can't stop shaking .

he doesn't know if there's any point in talking to her . he doesn't have laios' optimism ; marcille's determination . he doesn't trust that this is salvageable . but he doesn't run . can't run . not when they've come all this way , and she's right in front of him .

HE WAS AFRAID OF HER. -- Falins' worst fear had come true. The moment she was resurrected & rescued & the moment she had felt something off about herself. The moment she'd begun to realize she wasn't entirely human anymore. ( so many moments had led up to her fear becoming more and more of a reality. )

Was it the feathers that adorned her body + face? Or perhaps it was the mana that resonated from her now. She knows she's off. It makes the anxiety worse that her friends ( her dearly beloved friends , her party -- they viewed her like a MONSTER )

She stays quiet because words refuse to make their way out of her mouth in a way that makes sense. She doesn't know what to do to make this situation less scary for him , she was the healer , she was supposed to HEAL.

Falin looks like she's about to cry , all of the pain that they'd been through , the last thing that she wanted to do is cause more of it.

" are you ..... afraid of me , Chilchuck? "