#lilitia

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.

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.