The teenager yawned and dullishly went through her books, stealing occasional glances behind the cover of her ashy hair at Lian; until a weird call coming from the other side of the bookshelf behind her woke her from her bored stupor.
-” Pssst! Maci, over here”, loudly whispered Brigid from an empty spot between two books. “So… are you going to ask her? She fits parts of what you know about your sibling.”
-” I…” Maci's cheeks brightened in a red explosion and she hid half of her face under her cap. “It’s just like with Arim. Once I get to know them, it feels weird wanting to talk with them about it. Hi, we’re secret siblings because our dad is a salaud”. To overcome her frustrations, the teen started picking and putting back books at random, until she bumped face to face with the little coral assistant, Mincha, spooked by her reflection in the firbolg’s large, glassy eyes.
Mincha -” Sorry, sorry, sorry!”, groveled the firbolg. “ Please forgive me, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, I was…” but then a gentle pat from Brigid's knee reminded her that she wanted to say something to the teen. “ Miss told me about your older sibling predicament, and well…I’ve got some experience with an older, twin, sister.”
Brigid smiled at her, giving the coral a taloned thumbs up, after which she tried to soothe Maci’s visibly confused thoughts: ” Yeah, I thought you might need some insight so I asked her to speak with you”.
Maci -” See, now that’s the kind of supportive thing I want from an older sibling. Are you sure it can’t be you? You fit the age bracket”, said Maci with a bit of jest mixed in, while crossing her fingers behind her back. But a playful smirk and a refuting head nod cut her hopes down immediately. Maci was aware by now of some parts of Brigid’s past; how she hatched in a village from another layer, moving to Caer after getting adopted; “Go now Mincha, give this lost little lamb some of your wisdom.”
Mincha -” Right. So, about older siblings –because they are born first, everyone seems to put them on a pedestal”, started the little coral to mouth about;
-” Wait what?”, asked a shocked Brigid, but Mincha continued with her rant.
Mincha -” So if you want to do something, they’ll butt in and try to tell you how to do it, in a proper way”
As if summoned by Mincha’s energy, Lian forced her way into the conversation; something about the topic ticked her off more than normal. “ Yeah, well, maybe because the older sisters are tasked with taking care of the little ones all the time.” To her surprise, the shy firbolg who cowered behind cover for every interaction was quite combative when it came to this subject.
Mincha -” Nobody asked them, though! Maybe the older sisters shouldn’t just assume that the smaller ones need constant supervision and protection from the bad things.”
Lian -” Oh please, you complain that we are so bad and don’t allow you to touch THE OBVIOUS poisonous plant or…wait, why the hell am I so triggered by this?” asked a bewildered Lian. “Do I have siblings? Is that what that spoon memory was about?”
Maci slowly pointed back and forth between her and Brigid, hoping that this would solve her mystery search without having to ask more questions, but Lian just stared at her confused.
Lian -” What?”
Maci -” I’m also looking for my lost sibling…”, said the teen in a slow, dilating voice.
Lian -” Oh?... So what happened to them, did they get lost?”
Maci -” Ugh…no. Just found out about them around a month ago.”
Lian -” Then it can’t be me. From what I can remember, we lived in the same house since we were little. And from how I feel when someone talks about little siblings”, she said with a frown directed at Mincha, “ only they can piss me off like this.” The girl then sighed to declare her hesitance to continue arguing on this matter for now. “Let’s just continue looking for more information about the ritual; And Maci, we…I can help you look for your sibling afterward if you want the help.” The girl then turned to her study corner with new material and new things to consider about her memories.
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