Cori/Cayden, familial? (Fluffy, angsty, whatever. Lots of potential!)
It had been a week since the tournament had ended, and since then, the domain had been… tense. Things were getting better now that Penelope and Norah were away for a bit, but it all still felt weird, a weirdness that Cayden didn’t like. Even with Penelope absent, Cori had seldom come out of her room. It was strange, honestly. She was always quite the social butterfly, one who always seemed to improve other people’s day with her happy attitude. But she wasn’t here, and it had occurred to the child that she needed someone to cheer her up. So who better to cheer her up than the peppiest justice soul in the entire domain?
Skipping on over to Sector Two, it didn’t take long for Cayden to find her house and give it a knock. “Cori! It’s me, Cayden!” he called, waiting patiently for the door to open. It did take a moment, and Cayden was pretty sure he heard the sound of someone stumbling about. But eventually, the door did open, revealing the kid he was here to see.
While Cayden was not one to judge on appearance, it was clear to him that Cori was disheveled. Normally the kid was at least a little on top of things, her hair neatly brushed and ready to go along with a cute dress. Instead, her hair was messy, clearly having not been brushed recently. In fact, now that he was looking at her, he was pretty sure he was looking at sleepwear. Someone clearly hadn’t bothered getting out of bed today.
“Cayden?” Rubbing her eyes, Cori readjusted her glasses, the kid squinting as sunlight filtered into her room. “What’re your doing here? If you’re looking for Zackary, he’s at the clearing.”
“Actually, I’m here to see you!” Cayden exclaimed, pointing very proudly up at the older kid. “You’ve been sad a lot recently, so I thought I could cheer you up!” He then beamed for a bit, giving Cori a gap-toothed grin before realizing that, even with his greeting, no one had moved yet. Ah. “…May I come in?”
“Huh-?” Cori then blinked before looking around, then looking down at her clothes as her face turned a slight shade of pink. “Oh- Of course you can,” she corrected, smiling as she fully opened up the door.
“It’s may, actually,” Cayden corrected, grinning as he entered the small dwelling. “Gerron’s been teaching me grammar! For when they get classes up!”
“Is he? Wow, that’s so cool.” Cori smiled once again as she closed the door to her home, the kid very much attempting to keep up with her happy charade for as long as she had to. “Are you excited for school to start?”
“Yeah,” Cayden replied, the child wandering over to Cori’s half of the dwelling as he began to examine her small dresser. “I’ve never been to a real school before. I mean, it’s not super real, because we don’t have that many adults, but it’s real enough.”
“You think so?” Cori then stretched a bit as she continued watching Cayden, the boy eventually wandering towards the cabinets and cracking them open for food. “Um, I don’t think we really have much right now. Memory hasn’t done a supply drop recently.”
“Oh, that’s okay,” Cayden told her. “I’m just looking around, make sure you’re eating, you know? Gerron says it’s not good to skip meals. Grandfather also said that too, so I know it’s true.”
“Ah.” She couldn’t help but nod at that, agreeing with what the kid had said, but that didn’t mean she didn’t feel at least a little bad. But there wasn’t much time to feel bad when Cayden was around, for the child in question happened to be partially perceptive.
“Is this helping you any?”
“…Huh?” Helping? What did he mean by helping… “Um… I’m not sure what you mean? I’m okay though, if you’re worried-“
“No you’re not.” Cayden didn’t even hesitate to counter, the kid closing the cabinet doors before looking back towards her. “You don’t leave much, and Zackary always looks worried now. And you still look sad. The smile’s not a real one.”
The two then proceeded to stare at each other, Cori very much surprised while Cayden continued to appear worried yet firm. It was… disheartening, almost. This was why Cori hadn’t left the house. “…It’s complicated, okay?”
“What is? The fight?” Cayden then took a few steps closer to the teen, his expression solemn set inquisitive. “Because you don’t have to feel bad about-“
“Yes, I do.” Cori immediately turned away from the boy, the kid hugging herself yet attempting to mask it as simple crossed arms. “Because I did a bad thing, and I can’t fix it.”
“Yes you can.“
“I shouldn’t be talking about this to you.“ Cori then walked away from Cayden, the girl heading straight for the door in order to let him out of the house. “You should be outside playing with the other-“
“I’m eight, not stupid!” the boy blurted out. “You guys are always so mad at each other! Now it’s- it’s sad! You’re both sad! And I wanna help!”
“It’s fine, Cayden. Please just go back home- I’m fine-“
“No you’re not!”
“Just go!” Purple energy quickly enveloped the young mage as her emotions overwhelmed her, vanishing in a flash as the horrified kid quickly gained control of herself. Lovely. She’d done it again, and she might’ve gotten Cayden with that energy. Manipulator. That was what she was. Manipulator manipulator manipulator-
Arms quickly yet carefully wrapped themselves around her waist, a familiar cowboy hat nearly bopping her in the face. “It’s okay.” Cayden. And he sounded… level. “My magic’s scary too.”
