Dammit, they knew it wasn't fair. NOTHING was fair, and they'd heard that over and over again. They could hear "it is how it is" in their sleep and they were beginning to rankle at it. The first unkind thought about Miss Maea Valair the Disappeared came to their mind: No wonder you're not a Loreseeker anymore.
It didn't change their overall opinion of her; they were just annoyed and... and frustrated, and it was unfair to take it out on her. But they felt helpless and... useless. Again. As always. Because the best thing they could do for their sister was to stay away from her and... and gather pretty little objects in the surely-vain hope they'd cheer her up.
But they had to hope.
Hope that, one day, they'd be worth something.
Hope that, one day, they'd stop being an object of pity and become a person of respect.
Hope that, one day very soon, Freina would smile again.
Because if they gave up that hope, they'd be surrendering to "it is how it is." And they couldn't. They wouldn't.
So while Maea worked her magic, Quanil just focused on settling down, on smiling their useless smile, and being what everyone expected of them again: at worst, nothing, and at best, nothing harmful.
"Oh, that's... very impressive!" They meant the shell more than the magic, but both were good. They stretched their hands out, as if to relieve the magic of the burden of the shell. It seemed polite. "And heavier than you'd think it'd be. I mean, it's so big, of course it's not as light as the others, but... um, yes, I think she'd like it." She'd've been bowled over back before the Fiat Lux Festival.
It didn't change their overall opinion of her; they were just annoyed and... and frustrated, and it was unfair to take it out on her. But they felt helpless and... useless. Again. As always. Because the best thing they could do for their sister was to stay away from her and... and gather pretty little objects in the surely-vain hope they'd cheer her up.
But they had to hope.
Hope that, one day, they'd be worth something.
Hope that, one day, they'd stop being an object of pity and become a person of respect.
Hope that, one day very soon, Freina would smile again.
Because if they gave up that hope, they'd be surrendering to "it is how it is." And they couldn't. They wouldn't.
So while Maea worked her magic, Quanil just focused on settling down, on smiling their useless smile, and being what everyone expected of them again: at worst, nothing, and at best, nothing harmful.
"Oh, that's... very impressive!" They meant the shell more than the magic, but both were good. They stretched their hands out, as if to relieve the magic of the burden of the shell. It seemed polite. "And heavier than you'd think it'd be. I mean, it's so big, of course it's not as light as the others, but... um, yes, I think she'd like it." She'd've been bowled over back before the Fiat Lux Festival.
