to mark a new beginning
w/ @doucour
It's strange, partaking in such mundane festivities. Though it seems that the excitement over a silly little game had finally simmered into nothing... Nel can't remember a time where she ever stooped to the level of indulging childish tendencies. Perhaps that wasn't a bad thing, she thinks, turning over the box of candies that her other half had deposited into her hands. Strange in composition, certainly, a mild hint of sweet mixed with intense spice that piqued her interest-- and for a moment, it's like she can forget all of the troubles that ever plagued the two of them. This was a part of moving forward, of seeing past what ailed a pair of twins who fought against the world for a chance at a normal life.... A life that they finally had in their hands. The freedom to choose, the freedom to enjoy day to day life without a fear for whether or not their brood would spell their end. Had the Divine One felt this way? Veyle? Did they feel just as freed from their shackles? Raising her head, it's then that she catches a monochrome flash that her eyes immediately focus on; it's nigh instinctual for her to pursue those features, expecting only an unfamiliar face that once again leads to her disappointment. She stands from the bench she had situated herself on, marching forward with determination in following the person in question... And being wholeheartedly surprised when she steps into a narrow hallway, at the other end showing a young girl whose hair matched that of Veyle's. Were she any more skeptical, she'd believe it to be an illusion-- but the way that warmth spreads through her chest and the way that she gravitates naturally towards them... such things cannot be replicated from one person to another. "... Veyle? Is that you?" Nel's voice is quiet, unsure; her brows slant downwards as she takes a hesitant step forward. It's hard to suppress the urge to raise her hand to reach for the other, a million different emotions flickering across her face in a mere instant. The rest of her words don't come, instead coming out as a strained question. "How-- When?" Zephia was here. Griss was here. That alone is enough of a threat to her, and Nel feels the hair on the back of her neck rise from the thought alone. @doucour
Veyle hadn’t meant to wander into this hallway. It'd been some days since she'd arrived at the monastery now, but the sheer size and number of people was unlike anything she'd ever experienced, or... at least, that she remembered. She couldn't be sure of everything she'd ever been present for, and she never would.
The anxious thought followed her around the corner, where a silhouette made her freeze, a firm and unmistakably familiar presence far away to be an illusion, yet close enough to awaken her longing.
"...Nel?" .
For a moment, she was torn between joy and disbelief, wondering whether the sight before her could really be real, if this was really the same Nel who had agreed to become her sister, even across different worlds and different lifetimes. But then Nel stepped toward her, and something inside Veyle loosened, only to tighten again when she saw the flicker of a threat in her sister’s expression, the strain in her words that sounded like disapproval.
She lowered her head instinctively, old fear rising swift and sharp. Did I come at the wrong time? Did I ruin something? Is she… upset to see me?
"I-I’m sorry," she managed, clasping her hands together to keep them from trembling, "I didn’t mean to startle you. I only arrived a short while ago. I... um."
Her gaze darted up, searching Nel’s face with quiet desperation. "I didn't know you were here too, but if I did, I would've tried to find you no matter what. I missed you so much, Nel."
A breath, soft and unsteady. "I don't want to get in your way, but... I hope you'll still be happy to see me."
