#n0ndemonium

“  Yes,  all  for  you,  my  dearest!  I  promise  that  this  will  be  our  little  secret.  ”  Furina  answered,  walking  over  to  place  down  the  cake  and  start  cutting  a  slice  for  them  both.

UNPROMPTED. ↪ accepting.

AKELA ALWAYS DID HER BEST. through sickness and pain, she made her birthdays something: brought cake, gifts, made a day out of it. despite everything, strelitzia knew one thing: her mother had always done her absolute best.

❝ who cares about ME ? ❞ strelitzia answers so simply, as if the information didn't register. and what, MAKE HER SAD ON HER BIRTHDAY ?

UNPROMPTED. ↪ accepting.

❝ i'm home. ❞ an arm is swung over amane's shoulders, the casual motion still carrying WARMTH despite how mundane it looked.

❝ sorry i kept you waiting, miss. didn't get TOO BORED without me 'round, yeah ? ❞ she had instructed her gym trainers to entertain her during her absence, and from the pictures she got, THEY DELIVERED. between the region's fair opening this summer, their daily rotationary work, and the SPRAYPAINT SESSIONS strelitzia had clearly missed, amane probably had got her fill of both work and play.

"i l-look tired?" andromeda looks at her face in a nearby reflective surface; and indeed, andromeda looks tired. the dark circles that aren't even being covered up by her concealer, the bags that aren't the 'cute' ones, but the ones that reveal the sleepless nights. "i am quite t-tired. but th-there's no reason to be wo-worried."

andromeda lets out a light, self-mocking laugh. "i've a-always been t-tired. i d-don't think i've h-had a restful sleep in a v-very long time."

RANDOM DIALOGUE QUESTIONS .

phainon arches a brow. an expression gentle, but with a hint of bewilderment. " do what ? " it's almost innocent in how he phrases it, genuine confusion flickering in his eyes. all the man recalled doing was going to kyros' marmoreal diner and purchasing something along what he felt amane would be comfortable with.

" is this not suitable ? i wasn't sure with your tastes if you'd be comfortable. if not, i can always ask miss demetria for some vegetables and fruit. you mustn't eat on an empty stomach, after all, right ? " he crouches down to the child's level .

" i still haven't found out any information about where you're from, so in the meantime i figured we'd get something to eat. i hope i wasn't presumptuous, amane. " said earnestly, but gently, the deliverer's lip quirk upwards in a guileless smile.

" your stomach, i dare say, was growling quite a bit. i think it could help while we try to get some clues, getting something in it. that's all it was. " a blink, soft blues not leaving hers.

" is that so strange ? " / @n0ndemonium

for   a   man   who   prides   himself   on   absolute   control,   the   clamp   of   small   teeth   sinking   into   his   gloved   wrist   was   an   entirely   unscripted   insult.   pantalone   does   not   recoil.   his   posture   merely   stiffens,   the   pristine   line   of   his   shoulders   turning   rigid   beneath   the   heavy   drape   of   his   coat.   his   placid   smile   remains   fixed   on   his   face,   though   it   grew   noticeably   sharper   at   the   edges,   a   brittle   porcelain   mask   barely   concealing   the   cold   flash   of   irritation   behind   his   spectacles.

he   glances   down   at   the   offending   creature   attached   to   his   arm,   watching   the   fine   fabric   of   his   glove   ruin   under   the   damp   pressure,   and   a   low,   dangerous   stillness   settles   over   him.   slowly,   with   a   terrifyingly   deliberate   gentleness,   he   reached   down   with   his   free   hand   to   catch   the   child   by   the   chin,   his   fingers   pressing   into   the   jawline   just   firmly   enough   to   force   a   release,   his   voice   a   soft,   venomous   purr   that   cut   through   the   abrupt   silence: 

❝    now,   where   did   we   learn   such   atrocious   manners   ?   ❞  

𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫   𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞   𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬   𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞    ⋆˚✰ ˖⭑    .ᐟ