You know how sometimes kids who were abused who then go into save homes with new authority figures will intentionally break rules/do things they know are wrong to "test" their new guardian and see what the reaction will be to them misbehaving? V!Cleo :). Especially because of their previous lack of autonomy and the fact that disobeying orders was quite literally painful for them, I think sometimes they'll intentionally break small rules and expectations just to see how Pearl reacts. What happens if Pearl asks them to clean up after their wood working and they just... don't? What happens if they leave their side of the bed unmade? What happens if they read their book instead of joining Pearl for dinner? What will Pearl do if she makes a mess on purpose, or if she says something mean or disagrees with her?
No drawing this time. Ficlet!
Cleo has been testing Pearl. So far, Pearl has been… strangely nice. It’s always with words, not fists. No yelling yet. Cleo wants to make Pearl angry, see her limit, see when Pearl will really hate Cleo. It hasn’t happened yet, but Cleo knows Pearl can’t have infinite patience. One day, Cleo will get the punch they’ve been waiting for.
It’s weird. Cleo doesn’t quite understand why they feel the need to break Pearl. They love her, but… they’re just curious, they thinks. They want to know how Pearl will react.
How much does it take to break a Pearl?
Apparently, it’s not by leaving the bed unmade or the dishes in the sink. Pearl doesn’t fix it, but she doesn’t yell either. Cleo just comes back to a messy bed and is asked to clean the dishes in the morning. But… what if they don’t do that either?
The next day, Cleo stays in bed. She watched Pearl in the night, noting the rise and fall of her chest as she slept beside them. It’s strange how Pearl seems so human for a vampire. Maybe she was meant to be human, but Cleo was born to be this way. Cold and dead; monstrous.
While Pearl is out chopping wood, Cleo lets out their anger. She wants Pearl to fight back. She wants effort and pain and scratches. They want to see the rage in Pearl’s eyes and know how she wields it. They’ve seen Pearl scared, but never angry. Not truly angry. Only riled up.
The pillows get slashed, claws burried in a pile of feathers. The bed is trashed, blankets thrown about and torn. Cleo knows how to sew them back up, but right now she only wants to scream. Who cares if a couple scratches tear their own skin instead of cloth? Nobody cared in the coven. Nobody will care now.
When Pearl comes back home, takes off her shoes, puts away her tools, Cleo runs. They hide in the bathroom, waiting for yelling. They wait for echoes of footsteps, watching the door through a glare. Any moment now.
Finally, the call comes. “Cleo~!”
But Pearl doesn’t yell with anger, more close to concern. Cleo is more scared of that. Their heart shakes because they want a fight, not to feel vulnerable.
When the door finally creaks open and Pearl sees her in the bathtub, tried blood on their calves, the first thing Cleo does is yell. Yell in the same way they want Pearl to yell. Yell loud enough to hurt.
Pearl freezes. Her sympathy turns to shock in an instant. She looks scared in a different way. “Bu- But you’re hurt?”
Cleo glares. They want a fight. They growl and hiss, turning away to the wall, the wall with a hole in it. They don’t look to see, but they hear Pearl open the cabinet under the sink and move stuff around.
“Lemme’ at least help with those scratches. I know they’ve gotta hurt-“
“No!” The moment Pearl touches her, they flinch. But they aren’t scared, they aren’t weak. They attack. A swipe goes across Pearl’s face in a second. Cleo flinches at their own damage, waiting anxiously for Pearl’s reaction.
For a minute, Pearl just stares at them, a hand on their cheek as blood drips from their chin. She doesn’t seem to breathe through the whole thing. When they finally inhale, it’s clear that she’s furious. More than furious.
Finally. Here comes the yell.
But Pearl stays silent. Horrifyingly silent. She doesn’t say a single word, even as she patches up her face with the very bandages she meant to give Cleo. Even as she wipes herself of blood and leaves the room, bandages and wipes left by the tub for Cleo to use when they felt like finally doing it.
Pearl is really mad. Cleo is really scared. This is what they had wanted… right? To be abandoned and alone and cold, and deserve all of it… right?
They didn’t think that far ahead. They were just angry.
Cleo stays in the tub for a while, maybe two hours, before finally cleaning herself up and taking the first steps outside the bathroom.
Finally, they hear Pearl cooing at Oscar from the bedroom. They shiver. They step closer. They peek through the doorway, taking in everything. She wants to be prepared, know just how mad Pearl is.
The bed is cleared, empty except for sheets. The feathers are cleaned up, collected in a basket by the door along with the torn pillow casings. The blankets are… beside Pearl as she sits on the ground, calmly working on patching up one.
Cleo stays as quiet as a mouse, not sure where to start. But Oscar rats her out, meowing and trotting towards them, expecting pets. Pearl looks over, catching Cleo’s nervous face and the messy bandages on their legs. They shiver, expecting the worst.
“Do you wanna talk about it?” Pearl pauses her work, patting the floor beside her. Cleo is hesitant, but slowly makes her way inside and sits down beside Pearl, leaning away from her warmth.
Pearl doesn’t deserve them. Cleo doesn’t deserve her. They shouldn’t be here.
But here they are, knees curled to their chest, somehow getting the words out.
Now they know what an angry Pearl is like. They will still avoid the dishes next week, still test some patience. But now they know.
might post this to ao3 🤔 hmmm
thankies for the headcanon ^w^ very ajdhhdjdjd
