Set in the original region of Arciel, Legends Rising is a route-inspired, but not strictly route-based, Pokemon roleplay. Pick a faction, pick a class, and strike out into the wild to take on the League, master Contest coordination, research the mysteries of Pokemon and Arciel, and much, much more. Will you be a classic trainer? A criminal? A farmer? Choose your destiny on Legends Rising.
Arceus- damn it! Scarlett was never the best at keeping secrets- usually when she had something she didn't wish to tell her family she'd get pissy and lock herself in her room so they wouldn't even bother checking up on her- but this was different. Scarlett couldn't hide a ring- or at least not as long as she thought she could. It wasn't something she really wanted to showcase, because she knew suddenly she'd be the buzz of the family, and arceus save her if they spoke about her in a fluffy positive way- she wouldn't be able to cope! An emerald sat sparkling atop her ring finger- and the girl had tried her best to cover it up with her other hand. Chinami had tried to comfort her before her first shift after the whole sha-bang went down and told her it'd be fine, that her family would figure it out eventually. It wasn't that Scarlett didn't believe her fiance- it was that she knew her family.
What Scarlett had hoped was that it wouldn't be so soon- like fuck?! It'd only happened days ago, a week tops that a surprise ring was popped- and even Scarlett was still in shock. As soon as she'd left Chinami's to go to her shift she'd practically rushed into the changerooms downstairs where staff were supposed to be, not even stopping to pat the kittens. Her waitress outfit was tugged on, and she was in the midst of securing her cat headband when a sister walked in, bright, peppy- and looking directly at her.
Scarlett let a corner of her mouth twitch up slightly but turned back to the mirror, moving to lower her hands- oblivious to the way her emerald ring caught the light and like a target brought her sisters eyes to the object. "Scarlett??? You never wear jewelry!" Fuck. Shit- she hadn't been here five minutes and she'd already been called out. Still, she attempted a shrug, at least to play it off. "Nah." She started, moving to quickly bring her hands towards herself before crossing them. "You just don't care enough to notice when I do." defensive, she was quickly getting defensive. She didn't wanna get called out so soon like this- especially not before a shift where she just planned to flee and crash at Chi's again- her parents already knew and wouldn't kick up a fuss!
Apparently, her words weren't enough to ward her sister off, who closed the distance between the two quickly and attempted to grab at Scar's arm. "What is it? A ring? Even I know you're not a ring girl- if you were gonna wear jewelry you would have worn like a choker!" Scarlett brought the un-ringed hand out of her defensive stance and attempted to push her sister away and keep her at bay. "Shut up."
That seemed to again, be the wrong thing to say. A stupid grin popped up on her sisters face,, followed by, "Ohhhh- you're not even gonna deny it-" The sister cut herself off then, a loud gasp leaving her. "Chinami proposed?!" And, Scarlett was quick to pull her sister in, grabbing at her arm and glaring, but there was no point denying it. After a victorious smile from her sister, and a loud sigh from Scarlett her sisters arm was released. "...er... yeah- the other day."
And that was followed by a loud squeal, followed by her hand being tugged at and scrutinised, the emerland ring on her finger being fully revealed and held up to the light. "It's so pretty!!! When's the wedding?!" oh. oH. Uhm- Scarlett awkwardly attempted to pull away then- this was her ring, damn it. "Heyheyhey- Shhhhhh- I don't want them to know yet, yeah?"
It had started out with a text message: [ Hey Ellie, do you think we could talk? Maybe in the park off of main street? ] In retrospect, Elise should have noticed the syntax. Tony never used commas when texting. She didn’t, though. No, her mind jumped to the first thing, the only thing it had been concerned about with regards to him for two months now: He’s going to propose! She’d been quick to text back.
She’d been quick to text back [ Sure! I have a little time before work! ] After a few more rounds of texts and grabbing her duffle bag with her café work clothes and shoes in it, she’d been off towards the park. It had gotten colder recently, so she’d swapped out her pink jacket for a long black coat. The sounds of her boots crunching on snow provided the beat of a phrase she’d been repeating over and over again in her mind the last couple of weeks: Act surprised! Act surprised! Act surprised! No doubt he would have some sort of elaborate set up prepped and ready to go. No doubt he’d have a photography person ready, maybe some of their friends (the girls, perhaps??), and maybe even her father there to watch!
When she got there, she would find none of these things, just Tony standing out by their favorite tree, the one they had carved their names into a few years before— and oh! that was so romantic! Clearly everyone was hiding out! Act surprised! Clearly he was about to say something so romantic it swept her off her feet! He’s been practicing for so long! Clearly it was time.
She didn’t even notice the sorrowful look in his dark purple eyes. She didn’t see the uncomfortable expression on his face. She didn’t see the way he shifted from one foot to the other as she approached. She didn’t see those things as she came up to him and immediately threw her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly before stepping back. “Hey there!”
A pause, and he smiled weakly. “Hey….” Elise realized then that she should give him some space! He needed to be able to bend down and all! She took a step back and couldn’t help but grin! Folding her arms in front of herself, she fought the urge to giggle. She couldn’t cut him off! This was his big moment! She waited! And waited! “So…. I…uh… know …. Valentine’s Day is coming up and I… uh… didn’t want to wait till then….” Oh goodness! He was so impatient! But of course Elise knew how that felt! She knew just what he wanted to say. “I… so you know how I was doing applications for college right?” Oh! Right! Had he got in? Did he want her to move in with him? Was that allowed? (If they were married???) “I’ve been thinking…” Oh! He was already thinking about what to do! No wonder he was taking his time! “I think we should break up.”
…. What? What what what what? She hadn’t heard that right. Elise blinked. “Uh…. you mean get engaged, right?” she asked. Surely it was …. Just a mishear.
“Ellie I’m… I’m sorry I just …. Don’t think it would be good try and manage school work and a relationship and…. You know how I am—”
“W-we could just take a break!” Elise squeaked. No, no no no no no she wasn’t— This wasn’t happening. She had just heard about it. She wasn’t— She couldn’t— “I’m ok with distance! W-where did you get in at? Was it the one in Unova??” Elise didn’t even realize she was gripping her coat, knuckles white, face whiter.
“I… no I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and I… I really wanna be free to just see where college takes me…” He wasn’t answering the question. Where… where did he get in? Why wasn’t he saying that was ok?? Hadn’t they… hadn’t they talked about this right before they’d graduated?? What … what had changed? Why had it changed??
“What’s… what do you mean?” Her voice was small now, shaky. Elise didn’t notice. “Where did you get in?” She was staring hard at him. He had lowered his gaze to her shoes. “Tony!”
“I got into Ivy’s College of Medicine.”
“T-that’s not too far!”
“That’s not the point, Elise!” She froze, eyes wide, lips pressed tight. He was staring at her now, meeting her eyes, his own purple ones shaking a little. He looked away. She stepped closer and grabbed his face twisting it back to look at her. He stared at her for a moment and then looked down again. “I’m sorry….. I really just… think this is best for both of us.”
Elise stared at him, her own eyes searching Tony’s face, for any sign of… anything. “Is it me?” she breathed.
Tony took an unexpected step back into the tree and nearly tripped in the process. Elise’s hands dropped, reached out for him, and dropped again. “N-no,” Tony stammered out a beat after. One of Elise’s hands gripped around the other. “I just … these last few years have been great! But I just… I don’t think I’m ready for….”
“We don’t have to get married, Antony!” Elise blurted out. “I know I want it but I can wait if—” She was crying before she realized it. “W-w-why are you breaking up with m-me?” She took a step back and then another.
“I—” Tony took a step forward and regained some footing. “I love you, Elise but—”
“But what?” But what? But what? She wanted to know, and she didn’t want to know. She was scared…. Of what he might say….
“But I have to…. think about my future fir—”
“What about ours?” Elise cut in before she realized it. “What about ours Tony? What about you and me??”
She stared at him. He stared back. Before anything more could be said, she turned and ran. “ELISE!” But he didn’t follow. The sounds of her boots on the snow were her own. The repetitive crunch was singular. She ran and ran… and ran. And he didn’t follow her.
The jingle of the cat café’s front door opening was disturbed by rapid sound of it slamming shut. “DAAAADDDDDDDDDYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!” Elise’s voice reverberated through the café, but her father had actually just stepped out to secure a shipment of flour and sugar. Elise looked around at the patrons in the café and immediately ran past them heading for the back staff-only area as she went.
She came bursting in on Scarlett and their sister, snow covered, eyes wet, and voice shaking— sobbing. Looking from Scarlett to their sister and back again, she decided the latter was more appropriate and went barreling into her immediately bursting into full on sobs.
Her sister Sofia only giggled at Scarlett, practically radiating excitement for the girl. This was the best thing she’d found out all day! “And who’s to stop me from running out this door and telling everyone? “ her voice was teasing, and Scarlett threw her a glare, having to all but yank her hand out of her sisters grip and take a step away “You wouldn-“ “I don’t see what the big deal it! You’re engaged!! Don’t you want everybody to kn-“ Sofia was cut off by a loud cry that reverberated through the Cafe, causing both girls to pause.
“...Elise?” Scarlett spoke first, the voice was pretty damn recognisable, if not having caused the same scream from her younger sister time after time again when she was younger. Sofia nodded, “Yeah, but dads out s-“
The sound of footsteps echoed until closing in on the staff room the sisters were in, the door slamming open to reveal... a kinda fucking sad sight? The hell had happened to Elise? Covered in snow and crying so hard she had a bit of snot just inches from her top lip, ergh.... she looked a mess, and not a pretty mess but like-
Scarlett took a step back as Elise wrapped herself around Sofia, who despite being confused quickly did the sisterly thing and hugged Elise tight. Uhm... Scarlett made sure her ring hand was tucked right into her pocket, standing in silence for a few beats as she tried to figure out what to do.
“...Elle? You good?” Was the best thing Scarlett could asked, glancing between the hugging sisters before setting her sights on Ellie. “You’ve got a bit of snot like... right there.”
She brought the hand not shoved seeping into her pocket up and pointed to her top lip, quirking her brow. Part of her hoped this wasn’t about Elise realising she was kinda an adult now and that bills and debt were looming over the corner. Sofia did the good sister thing and began rubbing at Elises back, “Let it out Ellie, just like that...” all while sending Scarlett a glare- now was not the time to point out snot- didn’t she forget? Sofia has leverage on her now!
Elise sobbed— and sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. Her head throbbed, and her chest throbbed harder. Sofia held her tighter, but that just made her sob more. It took more than a few minutes for her to stop, and even then, she was sniveling and shaking against Sofia. She wanted to… wanted to cry more, but it physically hurt to. So she sat back and looked at Sofia and rubbd her eyes and cried a little quieter.
At Scarlett’s words, she looked sideways at her as if only then remembering she had another sister in the room. Her head shook rapidly. No, no she was not good. No she was NOT GOOD AT ALL. Still, one hand reached up and rubbed under her nose and then under her mouth, and then she was rubbing her entire face and being grateful she wore waterproof mascara. She cried a little softer now and a bit more cohearantly. “T-T-Tony broke up w-wi-with MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”
Scarlett stayed a few paces away, still unsure what exactly she should be doing. She wasn’t the comforting type, like, the only people she didn’t snap at for hugging her were her older sisters, dad and Chi. And Scarlett would give it to Elise, she was really going at it. Snorts and sniffles that if remixed could make like some type of pathetic indie bea-
Yeah nows not the time. Elise was rubbing at her face, streaks of red from the pressure momentarily appearing and disappearing on her sisters face, and Scarlett bit down on her lip. Errr...
Oh, oh cool her cries were softening. They could get to work soon, looked like it was just a fluke and Ellie was being over dramatic! Scarlett was about to head off then, maybe with a pat to Elises head or something kinda sisterly like that- at least until the girl broke the silence... and Scarlett went pale.
Oh.
Oh fuck. The Tony? The Tony that she was certain was gonna propose- hadn’t she gone window shopping at the jewellery place the other day just to look at the rings and fantasise about what the dude was getting her? And he... just then? “Aww Ellie...” Sofia was at least attempting to be comforting, yeah. Good on her- right...
Guilt ate away at Scarlett for a second and she moves closer, a hand resting on Elises shoulder, the other refusing to leave her pocket. Of course this happened right after Chi proposed. Now she had a reason not to tell people!
“Just then?” Scarletts voice was quieter now, and she watched her sister with a small frown. “...Was he being legit? Because you two were like... the star couple.” Or... maybe that was a bad thing to say. She scrunched her nose a little and patted Ellie’s shoulder lightly. “Can I yell at him?”
Bubbly tears welled again, and Elise hiccupped a couple of times. How could this…. How did this… why did this….. She didn’t understand (and she didn’t want to understand) !!!! As Sofia pat her hair and spoke quietly, Elise shook her head. This was… this was so…. this was so unfair??? She wasn’t like Arietta! She didn’t just swap out partners left and right. She… Tony was… he was supposed to be The One.
As she felt a hand on her shoulder, Elise looked back and stared up at Scarlett with big bleary eyes. Just then? Just now? Elise nodded her head. They were the star couple! They were going to get married and ride off into the sunset, and everything was supposed to be perfect. Elise hiccupped again. At the question, though, a squeaky note escaped from her. Did she want someone to yell at him? Her sister? Her dad? Anyone? Maybe? A little??? But she also just wanted to cry and feel bad and wish that this wasn’t true— that maybe he had been joking. That maybe she’d wake up from the nightmare. “I don’t… I don’t know whyyyyy he just… he was saying school was important and I ….” she was babbling now a little incoherently. “We were gonna get married he was supposed to propose and and and…”
Ack- she was giving her a crying puppy face, looking at her like that- did she want Scarlett to pity her? She sounded so upset- so utterly pathetic- if Scarlett were more empathetic maybe she woulda started crying too, but instead she tightened her hold of Elise a little more, lips tightened. "Uh...Did he even say what he was studying? You can't just throw around schools important and drop you like a flea." she couldn't imagine what would happen if Chi left her because she was too busy with doing florist stuff- like... "If he loves you he wouldn't leave you for school- it's easy to make that shit work."
She... didn't know how exactly to word her thoughts though- at least without giving away current events. "Like... online exists- is he a fucking dumbass or what?" She moved to unpocket her hand, the last thing on her mind had been the ring, at least in that instance. She was doin' good sister stuff. Another hand moved to rest of Elise's shoulder, and she was all but oblivious to the look Sofia gave her as the green of the ring reflected in the light. "You're only nineteen- take a breather. Maybe he got scared and ran off cuzza the thought of early marriage?" She wouldn't mind beating his ass in though, sounds like he didn't even explain shit to Elise. "...is he out there still? I'll cut him a new one- Chi wont lemme yell at people anymore so it'll get it out of my system, Elle..." a pause, followed by, "...Not helping, yeah..."
Elise sobbed. “Medicine…” was the answer. She didn’t even know which type of medicine? Human? Pokemon? Did it matter? Graces, she was talking to a nurse who was dating someone! Why did he… how could he…. It’s easy to make that shit work… Tears spilled over. Did he really just want to …. To break up then? Was that just… just an excuse? That hurt.
As Scarlett went on, Elise rubbed her face. Sofia just kept absently patting her back trying to figure out what to say. That was, at least, until Scarlett unpocketed her hand and showed that beautiful ring on her finger. Both girls froze in seeing it. Elise stared in absolute silence. Sofia kept looking from Elise to Scarlett and back again. Scarlett’s words might as well have been white noise right then. “….. You’re engaged?” Elise’s voice was small. Her eyes were huge. Her pupils were small. Her face was pale. Her chest was tight. And she was very close to bursting into tears all over again.
SHE WAS CRYING MORE?! Somebody give Scarlett a sister handbook right now, because dear arceus she needed it. Medience- he was breaking up with Ellie.. over a medicine course. Like yeah maybe her and Chi's scenario isn't similar to theirs but?? Scarlett's studying in a similar field and able to balance time with her gi- fiance. What Scarlett had expected after her brilliant speech about possibly threatening Tony into no tommorow never came- and instead she was greeted with silence and- she caught Sofia's gaze first, eyes going wide-
Shit. Uhm- uh- Elise spoke and Scarlett almost frantically flicked her gaze to the blonde. "Uh...." Somebody tell her the shift starts so she could just up and nick out of here- oh and Elise wasusing those eyes- she was about to get her heart broken all over again- uh- uhm.... uh... Scarlett drew her hands off Elise's shoulders then, instead almost defensively bringing them to her chest. "Doesn't matter- Back to uh... Tony- is he out there- should I call him and yell until he goes deaf? Whats the plan?" Divert divert divert divert because dwelling on her ring is just gonna make Elise more upset and she'll start comparing.
Scarlett…. Scarlett got engaged. Of… of course! She and Chi were so cute together! They’d been together for a while now and and and…. That… that was great! But Elise’s eyes were watering. Her chest was tightening. She kind of wanted to throw up. Elise looked away and rubbed her face. She…. she just…. she…. she didn’t know…. What to do. This was such dissonant feelings. She should have been happy for Scarlett, but there was no way she could be! It… it wasn’t fair! It just…. wasn’t……
Sofie hugged Elise again and immediately started patting her. She wasn’t sure what to do, but she could do that. “Should we get… Dad?” she asked after a moment looking at Scarlett. Surely Dad would know what to do about this??? He was the one who knew how to fix everything, right???
Scarlett's hands tightened at her chest as tears trekked down Elise's chest- yeah fuck, she just shouldn't have worn the ring into work- but... she was the oldest here, she was supposed to know what to do?! At least she wasn't getting fawned over for getting engaged but- this- this was like the worst situation possible to be caught in?! Elise got broken up with thinking she was getting engaged, and she got engaged out of the blue with no plan or anything. Get dad- yeah- yeah.
"I'll... get dad." She wanted out! She was only gonna make things worse anyway, and if she let herself have a moment to speak she probably would outright tell Elise to grow up- she had no idea how to deal with crying people. Uh- Eyes flicked to Sofia, "Maybe sit her down?? I don't know- uhm-"
And then she was backing out the staffroom and yelling out, "Dad?!" oh. oh she should... uhm... Scarlett tucked her hand back into her pocket and continued onwards, trecking towards the storeroom, he'd be there, right? "Dad- oi- it's important!" eyes flicked around, almost helplessly. Her phone was back in the storeroom so she couldn't even message Chi for advice... uuh- urgh...
Daniel Bell had just finished bringing in a few new boxes of flour and sugar when Scarlett started calling. “Here, Scarlett!” he called only to immediately stop when he heard what was happening. Walking quickly over, he frowned softly. “What’s wrong?” he asked, having not heard the commotion up front.
Meanwhile, Sofia pat Elise. And Elise… started crying again. “It’s not fair… it’s not fair…” she was hiccupping into Sofia’s shoulder now. The latter didn’t know what to say and just opted to say nothing instead. Elise rubbed her face against her sister’s shoulder now and just choked out a few more quiet words.
Oh thank arceus he hadn't left or anything. Scarlett brought the hand not stuffed in her pocket through ehr hair, shifting to adjust her headband for a moment before giving an unsure smile to her dad. "Err...Elise just... got broken up with??? She's- yeah. She's Elise. He said he wanted to focus on studies? The dumbass is basically studying the same thing I am I fucking knew there was something wr-" Scarlett cut herself off, face going red upon realizing she was going off to her dad and she brought her lips together, instead sighing, mumbling a, "Yeah- sorry- uh." ... probably shouldn't mention her engagement, at least not now. It wasn't the time and?? How would her dad even react? His least favourite daughter, getting engaged? Celebrations or something... yay.. "She's not doing so well- and- I think I made it worse?"
If he said yes she wasn't going to waste anymore time in bringing her dad towards the backroom, hand still cautiously stuffed in her pocket. "It's like somebody ran over a mon and she saw- that's how bad the crying is." she might be able to compare it to a few other things but... uhh... she might
Daniel Bell caught several things at once— the rock on Scarlett’s finger and the words she was saying. He wanted to say something but immediately fell quiet listening instead. Elise got…. Broken up with? His baby girl got broken up with??? Dan fancied himself a rational man, but in that moment he was not. “Where is he— she. Where is she?” he asked as two conflicting ideas decided to come out at once. He’d beat the tar out of a boy for hurting his baby girl— but he also needed to be there for her as her dad.
He followed after Scarlett and found Elise sure enough still crying if quieter now. Sofia looked up thankful that Dad was finally there and was quick to try and field him into hugging Ellie instead. The latter meanwhile was quick to twist around and hug her dad instead mumbling strange incoherent words thereafter. Dan…. Wasn’t sure of what he was supposed to do but at least just kept hugging and patting her until Elise finally— finally settled down again. She wasn’t crying but was just…. numb and a little shaky. “Come on sweetheart, we’ll get you a cup of tea and some cat cakes…” Dan eased up his daughter and had her walk over to a somewhat more comfortable chair. “Sof can yo—” Yep Sofia was on it and going to grab that drink and cake. Elise was left rubbing her eyes quietly now.
Once Scarlett had grabbed her dad and he quickly took the reigns of taking care of Elise she was free to stand back a little- she recognized the slight twitch in his brow, the stumble of his words. He wasn't a happy man, somebody had just broken his little girls heart. Scarlett's hands crossed over her chest now, the girl just... awkwardly watching, feeling as misplaced as ever. Elise was hurting, and Scarlett couldn't do anything- what she was good at doing in confrontations was fighting, and getting pissed, and taking it out on peop-
She had to find Tony. Give him a piece of her mind. Scarlett uncrossed her arms and moved towards the door. "I'm going to get some air." And then she was out, sparing one look towards her sister who was slowly calming down in her dads arms before going out of the resturant- into the unknown- only to find it empty- or at least, there was no sign of the guy she was looking for. A frustrated noise left Scarlett then, hadn't he just fucking bee here?! She brought a hand up through her hand, finding her cat headband and immediately pulling it off her head in frustration- "Come back, you fucking coward!"
But it was no use. A passerby skirted by quickly, ducking their head as they went past as if to avoid Scarletts gaze, and the girl took a deep breath. This was the worst... how... did she deal... with people... and stuff... and things- and situations that were super complex. She moved to push the headband back in and turned around, back to the room Ellie and her dad were in, back to where Sofia was giving her food.
"Hear me out... I say we kill him." She leaned against a wall then, puffing out her skirts slightly. At this point she wasn't really... thinking about hiding the ring."Nobody else'll say it. This isn't the same as when Chi broke up with me- theres no ultimatum- what school was he goin' to again? I can volunteer at the pokecentre, storm where he's staying and poison a cake that says 'thanks for everything' or something."
Her head tilted slightly then, glancing to the others in the room before she raised an eyebrow. "Or i'm a nurse so like, I can figure out what substances kill quickly and look like an accident and he'll be outta your hair." That totally wouldn't lighten the mood Scarlett! Her lip twitched and she crossed her arms one more, "...Jokin'... joking... uh... Can anybody take Ellies place on shift?"
By the time Scarlett had come back, Elise had settled a little more. She felt exhausted now, and she just kind of wanted to hide away and sleep for a while. She wanted to text the PNG girls and go cry on them next, but— the thought of actually telling them what happened hurt so much. Scarlett’s voice was jarring then. Elise sat up straighter, and the plate of cat themed cookies on her lap shifted awkwardly.
Dan looked back to his older daughter and frowned. He’d been doing his best to be comforting, but the implications of actually straight up killing this kid-bastard was coming back again. Or at least breaking his legs. “Well—“ Oh nope, Elise was sniffling again. “We can … talk more about this at dinner…” he decided slowly. “I’ll see what I can do… Sof, can you take Elise home?” he asked. Their sister nodded a little. “For now at least.”
Elise really didn’t want to go. She didn’t want to be alone. Still, as Sofia took her home and sat her down on the couch and put on some TV, she sort of settled into chill sadness there and …. Started texting the girls. Later that night, everyone was coming in for dinner anyways.
As expected, Scarlett just made everything more awkward again. Elise looked like she was going to cry again and her dad said they'd talk about everything during dinner.. .and oh, how Scarlett hated waiting. Scarlett had taken on a lot of Ellie's work during the shift, and further had to bat away comments from regulars about her ring- the cats thought it was a chew toy, other people found it darling or showy... she was just glad only Sofia and Elise had seen it.
After work she'd gone straight to the flower shop Chinami had been volunteering at and spend the four hours that followed ranting and going off, about the ring, about Tony, about her sisters, her family- literally just trailing her fiance around the shop like a lost puppy. It was no wonder the dark haired girl had stopped Scarlett mid-way through another rant about how feeding poison would be different to injecting it, grabbing her shoulders and all but telling her she was coming to family dinner to ease Scarlett's mood- and ensure she didn't go in a rant about murdering Tony.
Quarter past, as usual Scarlett came trailing into the house, a scowl painted on her features, hands shoved deep into the pockets of her hoodie as if to further hide her ring from the world. Chinami stood besides her, a hand loosely wrapped around her shoulder as she egged the girl further into the house. A plastic bag containing a small bouquet of flowers and some dip rested in the nook of Chinami's elbow. One of her younger sisters approached, giddy and excited for this huge meal their dad was making, and Chinami was quick to hop into conversation.
"I brought dip~ you like caramelized onion and bacon, right?" Scarlett stood next to the girl, stiff as a board and uncertain on... what to do. Would Ellie or Sofia tell the others about the ring? Did they know? She didn't wanna ruin family dinner, especially when she assumed her dad made Ellie's favorite. Thesister they were talking to was quick to excuse herself though, she couldn't stay for dinner because she had some exam finals on! Scarlett was about to tug Chinami away when the girl on the hour walked in, Elise.
Oh, uh, fuck. "...Chi..." But it was, obvioulsy, too late. Chinami moved to adjust her glasses before approaching Elise, polite smile on her face. She moved to bow her head momentarily, before going, "Evening, Elise. Scar told me about... things. Do you like onion dip?'
Where were her sisters- Scarlett's eyes widened slightly. Oh. Oh... don't tell her... it's just... her, elise, chi and dad?
Once Dad had come home for the night, Elise had squirreled herself away in her room. It wasn’t that she was avoiding him now, not really, but she wanted some quiet time with her phone. Yeah. Still, she couldn’t stay in there forever, and as dinner time approached, she found herself stepping out of her room again.
At some point her prior clothes had been changed into a t-shirt and sweat pants, and she didn’t even really think to change out of them for dinner. Still, hot embarrassment came to her features as she stepped out and found…. Oh…. Scarlett’s fiancée was here. Were they…. were they going to have a formal announcement at dinner? Should she get Mom on the phone?
And then Chi stepped towards her. Elise’s lips parted and then immediately sealed again. Oh… Scarlett had said…. Had said…. What had she said? Her eyes flashed from Chi to Scarlett and then back again. She kind of wanted to just burst into tears again but managed to suppress it at the last moment. A weak, forced smile tightened on her features. “I…. y-yeah I do….” Like onion dip, anyways.
Scarlett's gaze scanned the room, momentarily passing Elise and catching her gaze for a second, eeeeeh yeah she didn't look too good. Chinami smiled then, letting go of Scarlett to bring the plastic bag closer to her and pushing through until going, "I made it specially, it's my ma's secret recipe for onion and bacon- you like meat correct?" If not she had... sorely misjudged the situation and got her and her sisters tastes confused- but now was the time to try and ensure nothing bad came of this dinner!
"Ah, yeah! I got this from work today, thought you'd appreciate it, Elise." She pulls out a bouquet of pristine, white lillies, wrapped up in a cute blue plastic and holds them forward to the blonde, polite smile still on her face. "They're white lillies- usually they uh- represent loss but don't worry! They also represent the rebirth of innocence and the revelation of new things!" Annnnd that was Scarlett's queue to unpocket one of her hands and tug her girlfriend closer. Chinami, oblivious, turned to face Scarlett, blinking owlishly. The blonde only shook her head a few times and glanced to Elise then.
"Uh- anyways. Did... dad let you pick what was for dinner?" She attempted a subject change, all while slowly attempting her way towards the table. 'I saw Sofia before- she can't join us because of homework and I think sis is away on camp, so that just leaves... us, right? Unless any of the others are coming?" Chinami tilted her head, "Huh? They're not coming? But..." Scarlett tugged her once more and Chinami just smiled awkwardly. "Ah... well... should I put the dip in the kitchen or..."
Elise bit her lower lip and nodded her head. She liked meat quite a lot! But she was also just a foodie in general, so everything was …. Everything was good. And then she received the bouquet.
The white lilies were so beautiful, and they had that fresh just-clipped scent that Elise loved so much. But their meaning was not lost on Elise even before Chi went on to explain. She stood there eyes watering anew, as if she hadn’t already cried about this a dozen and a half times already. As if she hadn’t felt the sadness, the loss, the distress enough already. A choked noise rose up from Elise like a strangled bird. A hand reached up to slap itself over her mouth right after. Calm down, calm down, calm down. It would be ok.
As Scarlett spoke, Elise glanced down at the floor. “Y-yeah….” she mumbled slowly lowering her hand thereafter. “D-dad said I could have anything so…. we’re… gonna have chicken and waffles….” And eggs and a salad as was customary with their father’s cooking nature, but that was the main course and Elise loved chicken and waffles.
Just then, their father’s voice came up from the kitchen. “Chi! Why don’t you come around this way and put that in the fridge!” Dan Bell called strangely. Elise wouldn’t fully register the tone. Instead, she just sort of turned and started to sit down on the couch until dinner was ready ready.
Mod Call
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