The timid one

8butterflyboy8:

“That’s incredible!” Victor says, watching the demonstration with gleeful interest. “You’ve really got something amazing here, Alia! I’ve already broken one test tube, and I can tell you, having it turn into a liquid-like substance would have made clean-up much easier. And having it be reusable? That’s pure genius!” He gives her a little applause.

“Oh, I don’t think you’d have any trouble selling this at all,” he assures her. “I’m quite sure the Touched community would be falling over itself for glassware that didn’t cause inconvenient and dangerous shards when it broke — and could be remolded back into the piece that broke.” His expression turns thoughtful, even as his eyes fill with a Creative light. “Actually, you should sell them with molds. That would probably appeal to just anyone — make your own glassware! Regular drinking glasses and beakers alike. If anything, you could probably get some interest just from people who would like to make unique art pieces.”

He blushes, laughs, and nods. “Ah — yes, I’ve broken my fair share. Mostly when I leave something too near an edge and knock it with my elbow… I’d be quite happy to have a set of your glassware. Oh, I need to fetch Doc and Marty. They’ll be shocked.”

Alia couldn’t help a blush and a smile.

“Thank you.” She said with a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of her neck, “I’m glad I invented something useful for everyone for once.”

Her eyes shined as well as Victor went on with other ideas for the glass, a wide grin lighting her features. He was right! Why stay just to drinking glasses when you could do so much more? Genius!!! She calmed again at Victor’s laugh, grinning again.

“I think we all have, really.” She said with a nod, “I know me and my Dad combined made a real big mess, even though he held artifacts like glass roses. He was always a strange man. A strange, loving, kind man…”

She sighed, closing her eyes, a small smile painted on her face now as she remembered her happy childhood memories with her father, playing in the backyard and him taking her on excavations, finding jewels and bones and ancient relics with her. She couldn’t have asked for a better father. There was never anything he lacked in as a Daddy. Never ever ever.

“Oh, uh, yeah.” She said, smiling up at him, shaken from her thoughts, “I’ll go back to my room and get a set, then! I already gave some to Lewis in thanks for letting me make them. I just hope he likes them.”

She knew he would always be kind, but she could always see the struggle in trying to smile, what with his girlfriend sick and baby in danger of death. She didn’t blame him. If her and Alex had a kid, he’s be a mess too. She blushed at the thought of having a family with him. That’d be… interesting… having sex with him…

“U-uhm, so yeah, I’ll go get them for you now!” She laughed nervously, cheeks bright red as she ran out of the shop, hoping to relax during the walk and come back with her head on the right track again; One can only hope, she supposed.

8butterflyboy8:

alia-sait said: Alia smirked, putting down the glass cups on the counter. She leaned against the desk, then shoved one of the glasses off, watching it shatter on the floor. But then, the glass dissolved into a gel-like liquid substance. “Tada~!” She giggled.

Victor starts back as she shatters the glass — then grins in amazement as it dissolves into gel. “Oh — that’s incredible!” Part of him wants to poke the gel, but he stays his hand for the moment. “How does it work? Can you take that and shape it back into a glass?”

“The chemical I made it with is a type that I discovered hardens when it has a certain amount of itself together. When the glass shatters, it doesn’t have enough intact anymore, and breaks. So yes, if you put the gel back together, you can! You;d need a mold for it, though. It’s safe to digest, too, in case of curious little ones.” Alia said with a grin, “And like I said, it takes a certain amount. So, if you only break off a little…”

She took the second glass, chipping off a small piece. The glass remained itself, while the tiny piece turned into the gel.

“You don’t have to worry about keeping the glass absolutely perfect!” She said with a grin, “I was in Lewis’ lab, and I broke a beaker by accident, and I wished that there was an easier and safer way to clean it up— And bam! Idea~! Make it myself! I remember breaking a glass when I was little, and all the sharp ends all around my feet… Now you don’t need to worry anymore!”

Even though it was so stupid, and it really wasn’t that magnificent, she thought it was. No more cleaning up glass and stepping on tiny bits you missed! the liquid would still need to be cleaned up, but this was definitely a safer route.

“You think someone would sell this stuff? I’m trying to get some money to do more biomechanics for animals with missing limbs, and maybe even people. It’s hard, though, and a little nerve racking…” She murmured, running the tip of her finger along the edge of the glass, then giggled, “I could give you a set, if you want! I know Amber can tend to be kinda klutzy sometimes. And you.”

.

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forgotten-vows:

Victor breathes a little sigh of relief as the spider just goes on his way. Whew — no having to deal with escaping from webs today. “Yes, and I’m glad of it,” he says, patting Alia on the head and continuing on. “Farewell, arachnid.”

He follows Alia’s directions as best he can, apologizing when they wander off the path. But soon enough they come to the field and — oh. Oh wow. So many flowers — and so many butterflies! Victor gapes for a moment, struck dumb by the sight. All those colorful flitting little wings, all those gently-swaying petals… “It’s gorgeous,” he whispers to her. “This is — this is always what I pictured Heaven looking like.”

He walks slowly into the field, taking care not to disturb the butterflies as they have their daily drink of nectar. “Oh, this is perfect,” he whispers with a wide smile, giving Alia a little squeeze. “You did good, finding this place.”

Alia smiled as they looked out over the fields, nuzzling her head against Victor’s chest, closing her eyes as she did. So tired…

“Thank you, Big Brother…” She murmured with a faint smile, “I’m glad you’re happy… I like it when you’re happy…”

As Alia started to drift off, a brightly pink and black butterfly fluttered over to them, landing on top of Alia’s head, examining her curiously. A few others joined, looking to see if they could get anything from Alia or Victor, crawling all along them to look for a sweet treat to eat.

Alia started to rouse again with a faint moan, opening her eyes half way, only to find the pink butterfly had settled down on her nose, wings moving up and down idly, staring down at her. Hello… Are you gonna give me something yummy to eat..? Alia giggled, smiling warmly, but kept as still as she could, closing her eyes again, a warm, fuzzy feeling inside her. She’d say something, but she was afraid of sending her little friends off, so she just stayed quiet, enjoying the happy moment.

lunaticfangs:

What you did to deserve this? Isn’t the obvious?

_{- Seluna looked at Alia with a genuinely curious look on her face, that she gave to star as well. -}

_{You exist, little one. That’s enough to deserve hugs and nice words… but if we consider the fact that you always deal with jerks and bad feelings, then you deserve even more!}

_{- When Alia rubbed her arm, the smell of blood that came from her hidden wounds tickled the werewolf’s sensible nose again, and she sighed faintly. -}

_{Hey, I heard that people sell a thing called “ice-cream” in parks. - She said, thinking that it was probably better to change the subject. - I never tasted one… would you like to have too?}

Alia’s smile grew as Seluna spoke, hesitating a moment, then leaning up to give her a fond kiss on her cheek for a small moment, then pulling away, blushing nervously, a smile still on her face.

It grew, though, at the mention of ice cream, beginning to bounce excitedly. Star mewed, jumping up onto Seluna’s head, watching her friend.

“Yes, thank you, thank you, thank you~!” She said happily, hugging her friend tightly, “They’re reeeally good! I know a good place that has really good ice cream and the man there is really nice too! Wanna go? I know you’ll like it!”

delusional-beauty-alice:

The words were like daggers to Alice’s heart, each one a sharp pain, each sob salt in the wound. For a moment, Alice found that she’d stopped breathing all together, and her vision was clouded by tears. 

Oh dear, she really had failed Alia. 

“I don’t hate you,” Alice said softly after a period of silence. She didn’t notice how shaky her voice had become from the building tears. “I could never, never hate you. I love you, Alia- I do, I truly do! You remind me nothing of the bad- you bring me too much happiness to remind me of the bad. And you’re not nothing Alia.” 

“I wouldn’t lie about this- I truly, honestly mean it, I promise, I mean it!” Her voice had cracked here, and the tears had started leaking from the corners of her eyes. 

With a frustrated sigh (frustrated at herself, not the girl), Alice placed her face in her hands. 

Alia couldn’t seem to bring herself to believe Alice at first, just held Star and Jaguar close, sobbing quietly. But the more she went on, Alia could start to hear the sorrow and the tears in her voice… She swallowed thickly, peeking out of the blankets a moment before hiding back in. She slid her hands out and put it on top of Alice’s, twining their fingers together, though her hand was rather shaky.

“D-don’t cry, Mommy…” She whispered, “I don’t l-like it when you cry…I’m sorry…don’t c-cry anymore, please…”

Alia squeezed her hand slightly, letting out another sob.

“I l-love you Mommy..! I thought you h-hated me..! Don’t l-leave me all alone anymore, Mommy, please, it’s scary!”

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forgotten-vows:

Victor was starting to get worried himself. It’s good to see her smile — and laugh. He chuckles back at her. “Yes, but you’re the one who actually knows where we have to go,” he points out. “So if you could somehow lead from my arms, that would be excellent.”

He starts at her squeak. “What — what is — oh.” He stares as the spider crawls over to them, examining them with its red eyes. He’s not the sort to find spiders icky, but — well, one of this size would give even the most ardent arachnid-lover pause. “Ah — h-hello,” he says, slowly inching around it. “We’re just — g-going this way. Give us just a moment, we’ll be out of your h-hair…” It doesn’t seem to be hostile, but Victor doesn’t want to take any chances. Something as big as this must need equally big prey, and Victor doesn’t quite feel like being drained of fluids right now.

The spider simply watched the two walk away, then went back to it’s own business when they’d left, crawling about and exploring. Alia leaned up slightly and gave him a kiss on his cheek, relaxing now that the potential threat was gone.

“At least he s-seemed friendly enough…” She said with a small smile, looking back at the spider, “Bye bye, buggie…”

The rest of the way to the fields was fine, at least, though she did have to direct him a certain way when they were thrown off course once or twice. But soon, they’re there, and the sun’s shining bright and the grass is green and there’s flowers all over.

Flowers all over, with almost every single one holding a butterfly on top.

forgotten-vows:

Victor wipes his eyes clear, patting her on the head as she cuddles his arm. Yeah, he’s not a fan of when he cries either. But he thinks he’s done for the moment. He’s pushed away the darkness within him, and he’s made a vow to do better. To make more time for her. Sure, he’s got a lot of other people in his life now, but there should always be time for the ones who were there the longest.

He smiles as she points the way to the butterflies, straightening up again. “Oh, good — I was going the right way,” he says with a little laugh. “I was half-certain I was going to get us lost…” He makes sure he has all their stuff with him. “Lead the way,” he says with an expansive gesture. “Mustn’t keep the butterflies waiting, after all.”

Yes, butterflies. They’ll make this better. They make everything better.

Alia smiled again, hugging him tightly, letting out a soft, happy sigh. She was glad Victor was able to get the voice to go away and make her smile again. She rubbed her arm slightly, shuddering in memory. For a while, she thought she’d never smile again…

“You’re the one carrying me!” Alia giggled playfully, “You lead the way!”

Alia squeaked in fear when she heard a strange noise, looking around, only to see one of the large spiders that wandered the land. She held him tightly, preparing for it to pounce— But it didn’t seem to do anything. Were— Were they— nice in the daytime?

The large tarantula-like bug crawled over, looking over the two with curious red eyes. Hello? You’re weird.

.

forgotten-vows:

“I’m sorry,” Victor chokes out as she asks him not to cry anymore. “I’m sorry, I can’t do anything right by you, I don’t know how you put up with me, I’m just this bloody worth—”

And then he stops, because something in him recognizes that he’s echoing something a certain psychiatrist told him once. Apparently his own dark inner voice has come out to play. You GET LOST, he orders it, giving it a hard mental shove. She needs me right now. I cannot afford to dissolve into an emotional wreck. I’m better than this. I have to be better than this. He takes a deep, steadying breath, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment to stop the flow of tears. He’s better than this. He can still turn this around.

He opens his eyes in time to see her pull out the necklace. A small smile curves his lips — he remembers giving that to her on her birthday. Bloody hell, that feels like ages ago… He kisses her on the forehead. “I believe you,” he whispers. “But I promise I will never forget you. You’re my little sister, and—” He was about to say “family doesn’t forget family,” but, well, look at his parents. “Loved ones stick together,” he substitutes. “I know I haven’t always been there for you, and I’m sorry. I will do everything in my power to do better. Because I love you.”

Alia smiles at the sight of Victor’s, giving him another gentle kiss. She cuddled him lovingly, rubbing his shoulder gently, hoping to help calm his down. She hated to see him cry… Hated when he was upset… She loved his smile and his laugh, and she’d do anything to bring that back to him now…

“The butterflies are this way,” She said with a small smile, pointing through the trees, “They’re w-waiting for us, Big Brother… They won’t w-wait forever, though… So we h-have to hurry…”

Alia knew he loved butterflies, so what better way to make him happy than that? She tucked her necklace away carefully, closing her eyes tiredly, yawning. That whole event was rather exhausting… But hopefully seeing the butterflies will make them forget this whole thing…

lunaticfangs:

Sure you’re fine.

_{- She held her closer against her with an arm, placing a gentle kiss on the kid’s messy head, without stopping to pet the cat with the other hand. -}

_{You’re a strong child, you’re going to stand up whatever happens to you. Heh, I bet you would be a proud warrior if you lived in the Dukedom, ready to kick everyone’s ass if they dared to mess with you.}

_{- The wolfgirl looked down at Star, winking at her. -}

_{Am I right? You know Alia better than me after all.}

Alia couldn’t help a small giggle at Seluna’s words, a much more happy smile coming to her face. Star meowed and gave a firm nod, curling her tail around her paws as she sat down, looking over at Alia. She giggled again, relaxing slightly against her friend, lightly rubbing Star’s head and her ears.

“T-thank you…” She whispered, giving Seluna another small smile, “I dunno what I d-did to deserve this, b-but… thank you, v-very much…”

it was nice to feel happy again, to smile again, especially after what she’d done yesterday… She shuddered, rubbing her arms in thoughts. She didn’t know how that’d ever make everyone love her if she was too ashamed to say she did it… She was so pathetic…

lunaticfangs:

- Seluna would like to smile as the kitten on her lap licked her cheek, but she was truly concerned for Alia in that moment. Poor girl, what did happen to her this time? The wolfgirl kept petting the cat with one hand, while she tried to put the other one on Alia’s shoulder, pulling her gently in a delicate hug with a single arm. The girl could easily escape it, if she didn’t want to be hugged. -

_{It’s okay pup, not going to ask you further if you don’t want to talk about it. Just let me know if you need any help, okay? I want you to smile!}

Alia looked up as Seluna pulled her into a hug, giving a small sigh, huddling up close to her. She did manage to smile at Seluna’s words, though it was small, sad and broken.

“I’l be f-fine…” She muttered, “D-don’t worry about me… I’m n-not worth it…”

Star mewled softly, jumping into Alia’s lap again and giving her a gentle lick, hoping to cheer her up. Alia just sighed, gently rubbing the young feline’s back, closing her eyes for a moment.

“I’m fine…”

delusional-beauty-alice:

Alice looked to the ground for a moment, biting her lip, before slowly sitting down in front of Alia as she pulled the blanket over her head. 

Where to begin… 

Letting out a slow breath, Alice began. “Alia….I’m so, so sorry I haven’t been around. You deserve so much better than that- I know I’ve failed you. There’s not enough words I can say to express how sincerely sorry I am for that. You’re a wonderful girl, and I love you so very, very much…” 

Sighing, Alice set the gift down by Alia’s head, figuring she could open it whenever- be it while Alice was around or not. 

“I’m not…sure if you believe me. I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t. I wouldn’t blame you if you hated me, never wanted to speak to me again- you’d be justified. But I do want you to know that I do still love you. I still count you as a daughter, even if…” She trailed off, sighing again. 

“Even if I’ve lost the right for you to consider me a mother….”

All that sounded from Alia from all of this was a weak sob, the blankets beginning to tremble as Alia shook, a soft mew from Star sounding as well.

“N-no.. you hate ME..!” She whimpered, “You hate me and w-wanna leave me behind, c-cause you’re so much h-happier with that guy that looks like B-Big Brother..! I’m just h-holding you back..! You hate me, YOU hate ME!”

She’d begun sobbing now, holding Jaguar close, cuddling Star, looking for comfort from the little feline. Star let out a soft, calming purr, trying to soothe Alia, licking her cheeks gently under the blankets. Alia held the little cat and cried into her fur weakly, a voice in her head laughing at her and whispering dark things to her, only making her shivering and crying worse.

“You don’t h-have to lie anymore, you don’t have to v-visit anymore… you can j-just be happy and leave me behind… I just r-remind you of all the bad, d-don’t I..? You don’t have to love me anymore… I d-don’t care anymore… I’m nothing…”

forgotten-vows:

Aaand of course he’s screwed it up. Of course he has. Victor presses a hand against his face, groaning. Why does he talk? Why does he EVER talk? Here he thought he was doing all right, but — as seems to be usual — all he’s really done is make her cry. “No, I’m sorry,” he whispers, even though he’s pretty sure she’s beyond hearing him at this point. “I’m sorry I can never bloody seem to ever make this right for you. It’s not that you’re a bad little sister — it’s that I’m a lousy big brother.”

He winces as she starts crying and yelling about wanting to die. What does he say here? Would she even believe him when he encouraged her to fight for life? He’s the one who told her how happy and wonderful the afterlife was! What if she accuses him of just wanting to hurt her by wanting her to fight for something that, yes, was sometimes so painful and hard to take —

He can’t help it. He starts crying too, just hugging her against him. He doesn’t know what to do anymore right now. He’s too scared that he’ll make it worse again.

Alia didn’t know what to do anymore. Her Big Brother was crying, she felt like just falling asleep and never waking up again, and that DAMN VOICE WASN’T GIVING UP… But then, suddenly, it stopped. Just— stopped. Then, she felt a little glow inside her, and she hugged Victor tightly, as though letting go of him would separate them forever. She cuddled against him lovingly, breathing hard, trying to stop the tears cascading down her cheeks.

“I l-love you, Big Brother…” She whimpered, “Please, d-don’t cry anymore… I s-so sorry I made you cry… I hate it when you do…”

She leaned up, giving him a loving kiss on his cheek, then continued to cuddle him, wiping his tears away gently.

“D-don’t ever f-forget about me, B-Big Brother… Please... I love you…”

She pulled up the silver necklace with the heart charm out from her shirt to show to Victor, smiling weakly.

“I s-still have it, Big Brother…” She whispered, “I always will… I promise… I’ll keep it safe, no matter what happens… b-because I love you, Big Brother… Even if you do f-forget me… I’ll never forget you…”

delusional-beauty-alice:

There was something so cold and hearbreaking about hearing her name from Alia. It wasn’t so much the way she said it- but just the fact that it didn’t hold the warm title that ‘Mommy’ had held over the past few months. 

Swallowing to try and put to rest the uneasy air she felt, she allowed a small,warm smile on her lips. 

“Hello, dear,” she said, coming over to where Alia was laying. “Do you mind if I sit beside you…? If you do, I…well, then I don’t have to.”

Alia shifted slightly, moving the blanket over her head, continuing to pet Star idly.

“Whatever…” She muttered, voice hollow and weak.

Star mewled, sliding under the blankets to cuddle up with Alia again, trying to cuddle up to her and comfort her, but to no avail. So she just stayed beside her, desperately hoping against hope that Alice would help Alia somehow. She didn’t know how, but…

delusional-beauty-alice:

The carriage soon slowed, and Alice looked up. Taking the card and the box that accompanied it, in which held a necklace with the charm of two cats- one mother one daughter-, Alice got out of the carriage. It was said come every hour to check if she needed a ride back or not. 

That way, she could spend as much time as needed. 

Approaching the den, Alice cleared her throat. Alia did not look well- her spacious look was one Alice recognized very, very well. Which was not a good sign….

Alia didn’t bother to look up, just remained in her little ball. She didn’t care who it was by this point; Kile, the boys that lurked around the city, any strays that came wandering in… The kittens remained in their dens, too nervous to go and greet her, feeling that the air simply made the situation rather inappropriate.

Star looked up, then mewed at Alia eagerly, gently nuzzling her. Alia just gently pet the cat, muttering quietly,

“Hi, Alice…”

.

forgotten-vows:

Victor hugs her tightly as she explains, wincing. “Oh — I know that voice,” he mutters, thinking of Bumby. How could anyone love something so worthless as you? “I know that voice all too well.”

And that may have actually been the complete wrong thing to say, as she starts going on about how she reminds him of everything that happened to him and how — “No!” he shouts, then grimaces. Brilliant work there, probably scared her again… “No,” he repeats in a softer tone. “I’m not going to take it out on you. You don’t make me feel bad. It’s the people around you, the people who insist on hurting you, that make me feel bad. You — you make me happy, Alia. You really do. You’re such a sweet, gentle, intelligent young girl, and I know you’re destined for great things one day. I love having you as a little sister. Please don’t blame yourself — though I know that’s hard.”

He gives her an extra squeeze, biting his lower lip. Oh, he does want to make that voice stop — but how? What would be the best way? “I love you,” he repeats. “That voice is wrong, and — well, clear out, you big meanie!” he says, tapping the side of her head. “Alia doesn’t need you in her head! Stop telling her lies!” …Well, it worked with that Boojum once. And if it can maybe get her to laugh — well, that would be a victory in itself.

Alia swallowed thickly as he said that, his words seeming to confirm her fears. She was about to choke out an apology when he shouted at her, making her let out a pitiful wait, breaking down fulling into tears again, trembling violently all over, hiding herself behind her hands.

“I’m sorry, I-I’m sorry, I’m s-so, so sorry, i’m sorry, I’m sooorryyy!”

She could barely hear what he was saying, but felt his gentle squeeze, making her look up in fear, afraid he was going to hurt her. She flinched when he touched her head, letting out a choked sob of terror, afraid he’d try to hurt her, even though she said he could hurt her if he so pleased. The voice cackled darkly at her, calling her pathetic and stupid and worthless and a burden… and she was so tired, and so afraid and in so much pain… She believed it…

“I don’t w-wanna fight anymore, Big Brother…” She sobbed weakly, “It’s not fair… I just w-wanna be happy… I wanna die..! I don’t w-wanna live anymore, Big Brother, it’s s-so hard to live, it’s not fair, I WANNA DIE!”