#lachellen

First row: Badawi family (plus Lilita)

Irina Ayda Badawi (37) 

Lachellen Dalal Badawi (27) 

Maku Badawi (17) 

Lilitia Liseli Shaladi (40) 

Bruspetti Zahrah Badawi (61)

I've mentioned Bruspetti here and there (and you actually somewhat get a glance at her in this drawing), but that's Maku's grandmother, Irina and Lachellen's mother! ♥

You probably already know the others, though! x3

Second row: Leal family

Manson Ibai Leal (35) 

Phoebe Sofía Carmen Leal (7) 

Iris Nereida Leal (41) 

Bruno Clemente Leal (38)

Isaac Alberto Leal (29) 

Manson's family! Aside from his daughter, there's also his siblings! Iris and Bruno are older than him, but Isaac's the youngest of them!

Lachellen grimaced; she wasn't sure what to expect from what she was about to do. Even if she'd heard stories and rumours about them, there was a point in which she had to ask herself what they were truly capable of doing if she confronted them.

Still, she had no other plan. It was so far the only option she could think of and she'd already started it.

After what could have been an hour or two of walking, she saw the village once again. Sigh, too late to back down now.

Lachellen put on her best stern face and knocked on the door repeteadly, but there was absolutely no answer.

'We should go back. I have a bad feeling about this,' Her dream warned her as she jumped down her shoulders.

"Me too, but you know I need to do this," she sighed and knocked again, this time harder and even more than before, "HEY, OPEN UP-!" it was just in that moment that she noticed the door was opened ever so slightly.

Shit, that meant they either weren't home and were probably on their way to hers, or something else had happened to them. Both options sounded awful for what she wanted, but she had to admit the second one sounded, if a bit cruel on her part, slightly amusing.

She carefully opened the door, peering in. Who knew in the few hours she was gone this place would go from neat and tidy to an absolute garbage dump? Piles of paper were scattered all over the floor; Irina's origamis from before were now a bunch of crumpled up paper next to the table and all the way towards the entrance. Letters, pens, and even a couple of frames were broken, dirty and teared apart.

Geez... what on Earth had happened?!

"Wait here," Lachellen ordered to her Dream, "If anything happens, I need you to be somewhere you can go ask for help."

Anku hesitated for a few seconds before nodding; it was the best she could do in this situation, 'I hate this.'

Lachellen walked in and sneaked towards the kitchen. No one seemed to be there either, but that room looked fairly more decent than the last.

She walked towards another room and peeked inside; it was their bedroom. It looked just as messy, if not more, than the living room: the sheets were spread all over the floor, along with what she assumed were some of Irina's clothes and belongings and more crumpled sheets of paper.

...No one was home then. The only other door left had to be the bathroom.

Huh, maybe this wasn't so bad for her plan after all; while not what she planned, she'd get the chance to at least grab some stuff for Irina, right? She supposed it was at least better than having to confront them directly for now.

She entered the bedroom and picked up a sheet. After placing it neatly back on the ground, she started throwing inside every piece of clothing she could recognize as something her sister would wear.

God, she had such a different style from her; Irina clearly couldn't care less about what she was wearing, and most of the clothes were practically screaming to be thrown in the trash and be replaced for something actually decent.

Lachellen selected as much of the... acceptable clothing she could find into the sheet and knelt down to tie the corners together once she considered she had enough. She stood up, testing the weight of the bag in one of her hands. It wasn't so bad; in fact, it was far less than she expected to need-

"Are you done?" a low voice growled from the room's entrance.

Lachellen jumped, startled. FUCK.

"Put that thing down," Lilitia ordered, pointing to the ground.

No more pretending this time around, "Make me," she gritted her teeth, "Irina and I are leaving."

It was hard to imagine this was the same person who once seemed so concerned and caring about her sister's well-being. Sure, it had all been a fraud, but that sweet smile and nice, kind voice sounded now like something you could only get to see during a dream. Or perhaps a nightmare.

They seemed to find her warning amusing, at least, "Irina wouldn't leave even if you begged her to," they smiled, "She knows I need her, and she knows she needs me."

"She doesn't need you, you jerk. And I'm not gonna let you put any more ideas in her head," Lachellen attempted to walk out of the room, but Lilitia blocked the entrance.

"I'm not giving her ideas, she wants to be with me. Now put the bag down, tell me where she is and no one will have to get hurt."

"...Is that a threat?" Lachellen raised an eyebrow, feeling her eye starting to twitch once again. Man, it was like it couldn't catch a break when it was about them.

"Do you want it to be one?" Lilitia took a step forward, a sickening grin forming in their lips.

Lachellen had had enough. Still holding the bag firmly in one hand, she pointed at the blond with the other and stomped towards them.

"Listen up, pal. I don't care who you think you are acting all mighty and cocky, but if you dare lay a single one of your sickly skinny fingers on my dear sister or try to come even near her or my house, you'll have to deal with ME."

That seemed to take Lilitia by surprise; they unconsciously took a couple of steps back as she leaned into them, reaching the living room.

Lilitia quickly regained their composure, "And what do you plan to do about it?" they replied, trying to take a step forward to make Lachellen back away.

However, all she did was shrug, "Oh, I don't know. Here's a quick free sample," she dropped the bag and grabbed them by the collar. Holding their shoulder with the hand she now had freed, she quickly turned around and threw them to the ground with a low 'thud'.

Lilitia barely had any time to react; they let out a grunt as they hit the floor. Damn, they didn't see that coming. It hurt like hell.

Lachellen grinned, proud of herself, and grabbed the bag again, "Now, if you'd excuse me, I have more important things to do than deal with your shitty attitude, dear- HEY!"

Lilitia, still on the floor, grabbed Lachellen's boot and tried to bring her down. She stumbled and swung her bag at them. While it wasn't heavy enough to cause any damage, the shock from the hit made Lilitia let go of her, chance she took to swing the bag one more time towards their face.

"Don't you dare touch me again, fuckface," Lachellen glared at them and took a step backwards.

Lilitia tried to catch her again, but stopped as they were about to reach her, "Shit," they murmured, still on the floor. Their entire back and legs hurt from the maneuver she pulled before; as much as they hated it, the time to act wasn't now.

Lachellen walked back towards the entrance, never once breaking contact with Lilitia's eyes, "I hope you rot, you sad excuse of a human being," Lachellen almost spit the words out. She reached the door's handle and opened it, "Bye-bye, darling!" with a proud grin now back on her face, she stepped outside and slammed it shut.

Anku looked up at her, 'How did it go?!' she sniffed the bag, curious.

"Let me tell you on the way," she smiled and knelt to grab her, placing her in her shoulder, "Just do me a favour and make sure they're not following us, alright, honey?"

Anku smiled in relief; she could sense Lachellen's pride was starting to grow behind the fear she was trying to hide, 'Got it, ma'am.'

With the bag in hand and Anku by her side, she headed back to where she left her big sister.

It had been hard, but Lachellen had somehow managed to convince her sister to stay for a couple of days.

"But I can't keep taking your things!" "I have plenty for both of us."

"But I feel bad for just bursting into your house!" "I invited you in, it's alright, dear."

"Lilitia might need me-" "That j- They can handle things themself. Take some time to rest."

Needless to say, Irina hadn't slept well in a while; and neither had Lachellen, worried over her sister leaving back to that awful situation. The more they talked, the more Lachellen realized how toxic of an environment her big sister had to handle. Irina wouldn't tell much about their life together, of course, but the answer was in the little details: the hesitations, the soft whispers, the constant flinching whenever she heard something, the fact that she felt like she had to ask for permission to go out for a walk yesterday.

Her sister had always been sort of a nervous wreck, but geez, had she found her earlier, she would've done something about it...

Well, it's not like she tried really hard, to be honest; her own stubbornness and anger for leaving them had stopped most of her efforts to find out the truth- Nevermind that, she was back now: she'd work to change things and help her.

It's not like she could judge the entire situation, though. She'd never personally met Lilitia -she was far too young to care when she had the chance- and seeing how Irina had always been, there was a chance the situation was... sliiiiightly different than from what she imagined.

For now, all she could do was investigate and keep an eye out.

Sigh. She lounged on the couch, her Dream purring as she scratched her behind the ear. At least Anku had been having fun, playing around with Sakyul and chatting everyday about who knows what for what seemed like hours-

Knock knock. Lachellen perked up at the door; could that be Manson? It was far too soon for him to have received the letter... She stood up and opened the door.

Her family had always consisted of tall people. As far as she could remember, everyone but Maku had been at the very least around 6 feet tall -it had always been a fun source of ideas to pester them with-, so seeing someone even taller than her was... unusual.

Or it would have been, if not for the fact that she recognized who it was. Sure, she'd never spoken to them personally, but she definitely saw them a few times when she was a kid.

...They used to be prettier, though; the years had definitely not been so kind with them, yikes.

"Are you... Lachellen?" Lilitia asked her, with a voice that was far sweeter than she expected. They seemed... surprisingly nice? If it weren't for all the wrinkles and the eyebags, they could actually look the part, too.

"...Yeah? Uh-" Crap, act like you don't know them. Lachellen cleared her throat. "How may I help you?"

"Is your sister here?" SHIT. "I've been looking for her all over the Conscious."

Keep it together. She raised an eyebrow, smiling at the 'stranger' with curiosity. "May... May I ask what do you need from her?"

"Oh, right!" They seemed to realize something and stretched out their hand, smiling. "I'm Lilitia, Irina's spouse. Nice to finally officially meet you."

She shook their hand slowly, feeling doubtful. Was this really the same person she'd heard so much about? "...Likewise." Things seemed to be far different than she could have ever expected.

"Can I please talk to her?" Lilitia continued, "It's very important."

She could feel her Dream hissing from the couch, and glared back at her to shut her up before smiling at the person in front of her.

"I'm sorry, but she's sleeping at the moment. Please come back another day."

Lachellen was about to close the door when Lilitia stepped in. "But... it's afternoon?" The same sweet tone remained as they glanced around the house with curious eyes.

"...Yes." She gritted her teeth. "She has been having some trouble sleeping so I told her to rest. But I'll let her know you visited!" Lachellen forced a smile back. As caring as this person seemed to be, she didn't want to give them the chance to go near her sister until she knew the full story.

"Oh... I'm sorry, but it's really, REALLY important that I talk to her. If you just give me a few minutes to-"

"Lilitia?" Lachellen heard a voice from behind. Well, DAMN IT. She looked back to see her sister standing in the hallway, staring at them.

"Irina!" Lilitia entered the house and ran towards her, hugging her excitedly. Irina seemed taken aback, and didn't get enough time to answer before they broke the hug. "I've been looking all over for you, I was so worried!"

Lachellen walked towards them and saw their Dream pass by, floating. Sakyul walked out of the room and stared at Panno before fearfully slithering towards Irina, while Panno looked back at him with an unreadable expression.

"W-What are you doing here?" Irina managed to blurt out.

"I told you, I've been looking for you for days! You need to come back home." Lachellen stood in silence. Was it just her, or their tone wasn't as sweet anymore?

"I don't know... I-I need to..." Irina gave a quick glance at Lachellen.

"Look, can I talk to you for a second?" Lilitia glanced at her as well. "Privately?" ...somehow, it felt like it'd been a glare.

Irina looked at her sister before staring at her feet and nodding. Shit, this Lilitia guy was definitely the source of her sister's distress.

They both walked towards the room she had come out from and closed the door.

Now, Lachellen cared about being a good, respectful person; she always tried her best to be nice at others, be polite and respect their space. But if there was one thing she couldn't resist, was seeing her sister in danger. That, and gossiping of course. What a coincidentally wonderful but frightening situation.

She waited a few seconds before she silently snuck towards the door. Panno stayed outside, but seemed not to care, instead choosing to look outside the window. Sakyul was far too busy chatting with Anku again, although this time it seemed he was trying to... avoid something.

The conversation had already started by the time she reached the door. Only Lilitia's voice, however, was heard.

"...but you know how it is, right?" They sounded apologetic, "Please come back, I need you."

The voice continued, "I know I got really angry last time, but I told you I didn't want to hear about it, it's not my fault. I promise I'll forget all about it and we can go back to normal." Lachellen felt sick, was this dude for real? Their now obviously-fake sweet tone didn't help at all.

"Things will be different, I swear. I won't let anything or anyone interfere between us." Some steps. Irina mumbled something. Whispering. A relieved sigh. More steps.

Steps coming this way.

Lachellen ran towards the window and pretended to be looking at the landscape next to Panno. They raised an eyebrow at her and shrugged, looking back at the door.

Lilitia opened it and Irina walked out first, her Dream quickly slithering to go hang on her leg again. She was still looking at the ground, and looked like she would start crying if she as much as tried to open her mouth to speak.

"We're going home!" Lilitia announced with a smile and bowed, "Thank you for everything, Lach."

...Don't call me that, you prick. Lachellen forced a smile back, which quickly faded when she glanced at her sister.

Lilitia walked towards the entrance and waited for Panno to get out. Irina tried to follow them, but Lachellen reached for her arm.

"...Please don't go." Lachellen whispered once Lilitia was far enough.

"..." Irina stared at the grip on her arm before looking at her sister's eyes. Her voice was almost in a whisper, but it didn't seem she was doing it un purpose like Lachellen. "I need to try."

Lachellen's grip softened as she realized her sister was shaking ever so slightly. She sighed. "Will you at least let me write back?"

Irina gave a quick glance at the door. "I... I'll try."

Lilitia walked back inside, "We're going or what?" They seemed impatient, tapping their foot against the floor.

"Y-Yes!" Irina nodded and hugged her sister, whispering in her ear. "I left something on top of the bed. Send it for me, please." Her tone went back to normal. "Bye, Lach."

"...Good bye, sis." Lachellen didn't want to let go, but by the time she realized Irina was already running away, trying to catch up with her spouse.

Irina had been shaking her leg for a while to try to release tension. It had been quite difficult for her to remain calm as of late, considering everything that was going on.

Lachellen wouldn't tell her details, but it seemed she had talked to Lilitia and told them not to come here. Knowing how both of them were, who knew what had actually happened back there?

Not only she was left in the dark about it, but there was a chance she would get to see Maku again. While she loved the idea to finally see them under better circumstances, she couldn't help but worry; what if they came here just to insult her? What if she tried to talk to them, only to break down in tears? What if they completely ignored her, choosing to instead forget she ever existed at all for them, or simply ignored the letter her sister had sent and she was left wondering if they would ever come back here?

Quite frankly... every single one of those options seemed plausible, and she knew she would have to bear whichever one of them happened. What else could she expect, after all she had done?

Lachellen softly knocked on the door of her temporal bedroom before opening it, "I'm coming in..." her voice was caring and soft, but had a hint of concern.

Irina was sitting on the bed, her Dream once again hanging on one of her arms.

"Oh, you're up already," her younger sister smiled, relieved, "Would you like some tea, honey?"

Irina shook her head, "No, thank you."

"...Wanna go to the living room? We could hang out and watch the neighbors embarrass themselves," she smirked, trying to cheer her sister up.

Instead, Irina remained in silence for a few seconds. Her voice had turned almost into a whisper, "Lach... What if... what if they don't come? Or-" she started shaking her leg again, "or if they don't want anything to do with me?"

"Oh, darling," Lachellen replied, sitting next to her on the bed, "I can't deny they will be mad, but you need to give them time. It must be really difficult for them as well."

"I won't rush them to do anything, a-all I want is to see by myself they're doing well. But..." she sighed, "I-I guess part of me really wants this to work."

"As do I, dear. But all we can do for now is to be patient and let things happen," Lachellen gave a small smile at the woman next to her and squeezed her hand lightly, "Besides, I promise you. They will come," she stood up with a grin, "Maku knows better than to defy me."

Irina smiled. There was no doubt about it; who could ever go against what Lachellen wanted? She knew she was the kind to do whatever she desired and win if she put her mind to it; her sister was really similar to their mom sometimes.

Sakyul jumped down and joined Anku, who had been staring at the siblings in silence. Both of them left the room in a conversation only the two of them could understand.

The older sister stood up and brushed her clothes, "Do you have any coffee?"

Lachellen grimaced, "How do you even like that thing? You're lucky I keep some for visits."

Irina shrugged and laughed as both of them left the room, entertained once more with her sister's attitude.

Someone knocked on the door a few hours later.

Irina's body went immediately tense, her smile once again turning into a look of concern.

Lachellen nodded and stood up; that had to be them. She could feel Anku's annoyance from there, 'I swear, if it's someone unexpected again...'

Maku stood at the other side of the door, looking at the ground. Their scarf failed to cover a clearly annoyed pout behind it.

It was quite unusual for the teenager to enter through the door politely to start with; it wouldn't have surprised Lachellen if Maku had taken their sweet time before deciding to finally knock.

"Hey, grumpy face," Lachellen grinned and ruffled their hair before letting them in.

"Hey, dumb butt," despite Maku's greeting, they sounded upset. They entered the room and flopped onto the couch, their scarf still covering half of their face.

Karia hopped inside the house, greeting Anku with a bump on the head. She looked at Sakyul and nodded with a smile before sitting on the floor next to the couch.

Irina opened her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it shut and decided to rather focus her gaze on the ever-so-interesting floor.

"Would you like some tea-?"

"Let's just get to the point, okay?" Maku interrupted Lachellen, lowering their scarf to their neck.

"...Okay," the short-haired girl sighed, irritated, "As you might suspect already," Lachellen continued, "Irina's going to be around more often."

Maku scoffed, but didn't say anything. Irina shifted on the other couch uncomfortably and started playing with her hair.

"I won't go into details why, but she's going to start living here."

"W-What?!" Irina blurted out, surprised, "I-I..." she lowered her voice, "I know things are uh... difficult to deal with right now, but I can't just leave and... and take advantage of you like that!"

Maku rolled their eyes, "Like you hadn't before."

That seemed to shut her right up. Her gaze went back to the ground, her body starting to shake once again.

Lachellen resisted the urge to say something about it, "POINT IS, she'll be staying here with me from now on. Darling, I know you might not like the idea, but it really is for the best. For all of us."

"So what, you expect me to forgive her or something?" Maku glared at their aunt, "Oh, sure. Let's just pretend nothing ever happened! Let's just say she's always been here and has been SO PERFECT AND NICE, IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?" they stood up, flailing their arms around.

"I never said that!" Lachellen gasped, offended, "I want you to give her a chance to explain herself!"

Irina gulped and stood up, still trembling. She tapped her sister's shoulder, but Lachellen simply gestured with her hand to wait.

"So she comes up with an excuse? 'Oh, I just went out for a run and lost track of time'! Or how about 'I'm sorry, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to FUCKING ABANDON YOU'!"

"No! I just want her to be able to live here!"

"THEN LET HER FUCKING LIVE HERE FOR ALL I CARE! I'll just leave you two alone," Maku put their scarf back up and walked away from the couch towards the entrance. Karia stared at her human, but didn't move.

Lachellen growled exasperated, "I don't want you to leave, you moron!"

"Lach..." Irina mumbled softly as she once again tapped her sister's shoulder.

"I've got it, dear, don't worry," she assured her sister with some light pats on her arm.

Maku stopped and walked back towards their aunt, fuming. "So I'm the moron now?! I don't have to stand her if I don't want to! You're the moron for simply letting her barge her way in!"

"I did not let her 'barge her way in'," the younger sister airquoted, infuriated, "I WANT her to be here and live a calmer life-"

"LACHELLEN!" Irina's shout rumbled across the room as the other two went completely silent, staring at her in shock, "I... I-I want to..." whatever confidence she had seemed to gather for a second had already decided to abandon her body.

With a trembling voice, she gulped again and finished the sentence, "I'll talk."

Lachellen went back to sit on the couch, her gaze now focused on her sister. Maku scoffed and took a step towards the couch they'd sit on before.

"I don't... I don't expect you to forgive me for what I've done," she once again started brushing her braid, "I don't want you to forgive me, either. I don't deserve it."

Lachellen frowned. She was about to speak when her sister continued.

"I realized how horrible I'd been back then years ago. I've regretted it ever since but... I guess it never truly hit me until now, until I..." she went back to stare at the ground. Until I saw you again, she thought.

Before then, her awful actions had been no more than a mere source of worry she'd tried to suppress and keep at the back of her mind for years; thoughts that haunted her at nights, but she'd learned to live with. But seeing them at the market after so long had made her realize just how much she had avoided her problems for so long, and how distressed all of it actually made her feel.

Not that she was capable of saying all of that outloud, though.

Maku sat on the couch, still seeming upset but unsure on how to react.

"I don't want you to forgive me, because what I did can not be excused," she sighed and looked back at them, "I think... all I wanted was to see my family again... and make sure you were doing well."

Lachellen patted her sister's arm from her spot with a sad smile.

Irina formed a small smile back at her, but didn't stare away from the teenager, "I-I won't stay if you don't want me to. I would understand if you want me to leave."

"Then..." Maku glanced at the table, their voice muffled by the scarf, "then do it. Leave."

"Hey, it's my house, if I want her to stay she can-"

"N-No," Irina shook her head, her stern expression clearly trying to contain the tears that were trying so hard to come out, "it's okay."

Maku shifted in the couch, feeling uncomfortable.

Lachellen stood up, "I won't let you go back there," she murmured to her, placing her hand on her shoulder.

Irina sniffed, "I'll be fine. I'd rather let things be this way; I've caused enough damage as it is."

"Maku," the child flinched when the older sister looked at them, "I'm glad you're doing fine. I-" her gaze hesitated to go back towards the carpet, but she kept looking at them, "It might not mean much to you, but I really am deeply sorry for what I did. I won't meddle in your life again."

Maku nodded, avoiding her teary eyes, "G-Good."

"...I'll go get my things then," Irina left to the guest room.

"No!" Lachellen tried to stop her, alarmed, "You can't leave! This... this is not what I wanted!" she followed Irina to the room.

Maku grumbled on the couch, and the bunny-like Dream jumped to their lap. She frowned, tapping their chin with her front paws; Karia had never once spoke a word with the kid, but it seemed like she'd always found a way to communicate with them. Both knew their connection went far beyond the need for words to understand each other.

But she was right. Hadn't Avi implied something similar earlier? If they truly wanted to let things go and feel okay again, they needed to give it a try, as uncomfortable and annoying as it sounded.

Maku cursed under their breath; this goddamn Fantasy thing was probably at fault, too. Yeah, blaming it on this as well could work.

Karia jumped to the armchair and the teenager stood up, walking towards the room. They were already hating themself for their actions, "Wait," they grumbled.

Irina, who seemed to have been folding all of her clothes on top of the bed, stopped to look at them.

Lachellen stared wide-eyed at her nibling, "Maku, I mean it. She needs to-"

"She can stay," Maku lowered their scarf, without looking at anyone in particular.

"W-What?!" Both siblings exclaimed in unison, confused.

"...I won't say it again," they glared at their aunt, "Look," Maku sighed, "I don't know what the fuck's going on, and I honestly don't give a shit anyways."

"..." Maku seemed to carefully plan their next words, "but you can solve whatever your damn issues are here, I guess," they avoided the other two's gaze again and continued, almost in a murmur, "And then leave."

A sudden tackle made them almost lose their balance.

"Ack!" Maku exclaimed angrily at Lachellen, "LET ME GO, WOMAN!"

"Thank you," Lachellen smiled, relieved. She hugged her nibling tightly before letting them go.

Maku stumbled back, embarrassed, and put their scarf back on, "W-Whatever."

Irina blinked at the other two, perplexed. A small smile formed on her lips as she bowed, "...Thank you."

Maku growled, "Don't mention it. Seriously," they glanced at the box resting on top of the dresser, "And don't touch my stuff."

Lachellen smiled back at her sister and clapped her hands together, "Okay, then! I think I'll help you unpack again!"

As Irina and Lachellen started placing the clothes back, Maku stood in the entrance in silence.

They felt Karia's light tap on their leg and looked at her. They cursed under their breath again and tried to hide behind their scarf even more than before at her knowing grin.

"...I'll go grab a snack," Maku mumbled before leaving for the kitchen.

They all knew things would be awkward for a long time, and relationships would be quite distant and uncomfortable as well. But the feeling of relief the three of them felt in that moment was more than enough for the time being.

Lachellen stared out the window, pondering. She hadn't stopped coming up with ideas to help Irina ever since she left, and it had kept her awake until late many nights already. Work had been slow as well, so it wasn't like she had much else to do.

'Maybe you should go visit a friend like you planned to before,' Anku swung her tail as she purred at her feet.

"...Yeah, maybe," Lachellen replied absentmindedly.

She hated being like this: worrying so much about one thing she couldn't drive herself away from it. It made sense, though, to worry this much. The only reason she'd handled the situation so well before was because she was unaware of how difficult of a life her sister was living; now that she knew what her sister was going through... she had to do something.

But well, it's hard to go punch someone in the face when you don't know where they are.

Anku perked up to look at her human when she heard her sigh, 'Hey, not to sound rude or anything, but you do realize you're not gonna get anywhere if you keep up this attitude, right?'

Lachellen raised an eyebrow at her, midly amused, "And what do you suggest me to do? It's not like I can go and do something about it."

'For one, you could go out and get some fresh air. Distract yourself, get that mood back up. Also, I'm bored as hell in here. Let's go get something to eat.'

Lachellen couldn't help but chuckle, "You're such a brat."

Anku was about to reply when they heard a knock on the door, '...I swear suddenly everyone wants to visit.'

She watched the woman go answer the door. Outside stood a person she'd never seen in her life before.

"Hello! I was requested to bring this letter to this direction!" They exclaimed enthusiastically.

"A letter?" Lachellen tilted her head, curious, and grabbed the piece of paper. It was signed by Irina.

"It's... surprisingly early for her to send something," she murmured and looked back at her Dream, "Anku, would you be a dear and- ah, yes, perfect."

Anku had already figured out what her human wanted, and handed the teenager a coin with her mouth, 'Yuck!' Lachellen giggled when she heard her scowl, rubbing her mouth with her paw.

"Thank you, miss!" the kid smiled brightly, "Have a nice day!"

"You too, thank you for your help," Lachellen smiled before closing the door.

Sigh.

She waited a few seconds before opening the letter right in the entrance. Anku grabbed the envelope and sniffed it.

"Dear Lachellen," she mumbled. It was handwritten; some parts were more difficult to understand than others due to how shaky the words were, "I hope this letter gets to you. I know this might be a bit odd, but I need your advice."

Huh, it was odd. Normally, her sister would simply write to mention things were "fine" and she hoped it was the same back. Maybe a mention of one of the home decorations she created, tops, with a bit of money at the side for Maku. But asking for advice was a different story.

"I was... nervous because of the letter I sent to Maku," Lachellen squinted to try and understand all it said, "and Lilitia found out what I did," she could feel her eye twitch at the mere mention of them. She kept on reading, the words even shakier than before, "I can't leave the house- I thought it would be a good idea to ask for your advice... Please, just reply to this letter, there's no need to do anything else-"

Lachellen stopped reading, "What the fuck does she mean there's no need?! How am I even supposed to reply-"

'Uh... Lach?' Anku moved the envelope with her paw, 'There's an address.'

"...What?" Lachellen picked it up, perplexed. After making sure she had read it right for the fifth time, she ran towards a drawer and pulled out a dusty phone; she quickly typed on it before she looked down at her Dream.

"Anku. We're going on a trip."

Lachellen stopped in front of the house, and Anku jumped down from her shoulders. She carefully sneaked towards one of the windows to look inside.

Irina was sitting alone at a table, moving some paper around with her hands; Sakyul was hanging on to one of her arms, seemingly focused on the sheets she was folding.

Lachellen could barely believe her eyes; she'd actually given her her address. But if Irina was alone, it meant her plan could actually-

Lilitia walked out from another room and stopped in front of Irina, facing back at Lachellen.

Fuck. She knelt down. Even if they weren't looking at her, she wouldn't risk getting caught.

So much for plan A.

"Well," Lachellen glanced back inside the house, noticing Lilitia had left again, then back at her Dream, "time for plan B. Wait for me right here," she stood up and walked to the door. Anku raised an eyebrow, but decided to simply comply.

Someone knocked on the door. Irina flinched, surprised, but Lilitia was the first one to react.

"I'll go get it," their voice was curt and cold; they still hadn't forgiven her for leaving before, and they wouldn't risk it and give her the chance to leave again.

Walking out of the kitchen, they practiced a sweet smile before greeting their guest, "Hello! How may I-" the tone on their voice cracked for a second when they saw the girl in front of them, "...help you."

"Hello, darling!" Lachellen beamed enthusiastically.

"...Lachellen?" Lilitia, on the other hand, seemed absolutely dumbfounded.

"The very same! Is Irina home?"

"Yeah- I mean- uh... come on in," they tried to sound as nice as they could manage due to the surprise; how did she find out where they lived? Irina had...

Irina stared at her sister, just as shocked. God, of course Lachellen would simply come instead of replying! She wasn't the kind to stand by and just give her the advice she requested; her sister had always been one to act rashly, after all. Had she even read the letter at all?

She felt Lilitia's glare towards her and gulped. They were mad and she knew it was her fault; as soon as her sister left she'd have to pay the consequences-

"Why the long faces, sweethearts? I just wanted to drop by and catch up with my lovely big sister!" Lachellen laughed.

"Oh- yeah, it's alright. Guess you two have a lot to talk about, don't you?" Lilitia replied, trying to dissimulate their discontent.

"Absolutely! Do you have any tea, darling?" Lachellen looked at Lilitia.

"I'll go get it-" Irina tried to stand up, but Lachellen held her hand.

"No, no, no, dear. I'm here to chat with you! Lilitia, would you be so kind to go get us some?"

Lilitia could have sworn they felt their eye twitch for a second, "...Sure thing, I'll be right back," they gave another quick, piercing glare at their wife before leaving.

Lachellen sat down next to Irina, "I'm dying to tell you what I've been through lately, dear!"

Irina whispered, "W-Why are you here?!" her Dream jumped from the table and slithered next to his human.

Lachellen seemed surprised, "Oh, that's right! I wanted to show you something," she pointed at the entrance, "Can you go get Anku, please? She's outside, right next to the door."

Irina looked perplexed; just... what was going on? She obeyed and stood up to walk towards the entrance. Like her sister had told her, the ferret-like Dream was calmly looking at her surroundings under the window outside the house.

She greeted her with a wave and, just as she was about to grab her, she felt a tug on her arm.

"Quick, follow me," Lachellen whispered at her side and grabbed her wrist.

"Wh-" Irina had barely any time to react. By the time she realized what was going on, Lachellen was already dragging her away from the house; Sakyul and Anku following them behind, apparently too enthusiastic talking with each other to catch up, "W-What are you doing?!"

"You wanted my advice and I wanted to help, so we're gonna take action."

"I... don't understand!" Irina kept following her, but looked back at the house. They were already way farther from it than she expected, "Lilitia will be so mad at me if they find out!"

"Exactly," Lachellen stopped, holding both of her sisters hands in front of her, "Darling, I know you... somehow saw something in them, but they don't deserve you. No one should ever treat you that way or keep control over everything you do."

"B-But I-"

"Listen to me, sweetie," the short-haired girl looked at her sister, a glint of sadness and worry over her features, "I don't know what it is that makes you stay by their side, but that's definitely not love."

Irina couldn't reply. It hurt to hear, but... hadn't she had the same thought over and over? She looked at the ground, her voice almost a whisper, "When Lilitia notices we're gone..."

"It's alright, I have a plan," Lachellen grinned confidently, and let Irina's hands go.

"They... They know where you live! Even if I agreed with this, they'd know where to find me- where to find you. I don't want anything to happen to you because of me-"

"Which is why we're not going there," she offered her her hand, "We're going on a visit."

"...A visit?" Irina stared at the hand; she wasn't sure if this was really that great of an idea, but if there was anyone in the world she trusted right now, it was her sister. She hesitated for a second before gave in and held it.

Lilitia met Panno back when they were 12. Being a pretty reckless kid, they would often go outside and explore, and had all sorts of competitions with their friends. Ever since they can remember, they've always loved water; be it swimming on it or simply watching it, it always made them feel like home.

But their love for adventure once got the best out of them, and placing their foot on the wrong place caused them to fall in the middle of a rapid. A Dream managed to rescue them, luckily, but they still got themself a few scratches and scars that have lasted until today. Lilitia always acted like they didn't need help back then, but deep inside are grateful their companion saved their life. And no, they weren't crying. They're a tough, big kid. Big kids don't cry... and all that.

Irina met her Dream back when she was barely 8. She has always considered herself to be a bit clumsy and easily distracted, and getting lost in the middle of a forest only seemed to confirm the idea she had of herself.

Being the scaredy kid she was, the sudden apparition of a snake-like Dream freaked her out. Sakyul was only curious of such a small human wandering around on her own, but for Irina, his giant-self slithering towards her only felt like a threat towards her life. It took her a while to understand he just wanted to help, and she might have realized the Dream's actual intentions when he decided to become her companion and shrunk down. They've been inseparable since then.