During this predicament all Solaire could do was watch, he knew his sister felt however he lacked the empathy needed to comfort her.
Sirella finally ceases her violent retching, and tentatively crawls towards her mother's head, as if afraid it might hurt her.
"...Mom?" She says quietly her voice so soft Solaire almost didn't even grasp her words
"Let me hold you...like you held me..." She adds as she slowly, with trembling hands, and gentle movement caresses the head, stroking the hair gently yet with shaking fingers.
Solaire clenches his fists, not bearing to watch he turns his head away.
Damn it...what am i supposed to do to help her? His jaw clenches as he thinks to himself At this rate she'll go crazy...
Sirella hums as her tender movements grow less shaky. She's remembering how her own mother gave her unconditional affection. She always felt indebted
"I love you, mommy..." She kisses the forehead gently, her eyes glistening, she rocks the head as she hums, and grows slightly calmer.
Solaire, though he can't bear to watch...
I can't just run away... he thinks to himself, and reluctantly turns his head to see Sirella still caressing the lifeless head.
He takes a shaky step forward, still not able to bear such a daunting scene yet pushing forward nonetheless, another step, then another, and finally he stands beside Sirella with trembling legs, he lowers himself to sit beside her.
"Sis?" He says softly "Please....., just...accept it..." He adds, not sure if he should even be saying this.
I'm adding fuel to the fire, aren't it? He thinks to himself.
Sirella glances up, still stroking the lifeless head with tender fingers
"But look, brother..." She turns her gaze back to the head as she adds "She deserves it" Her fingers flow more smoothly.
"Sirella?" Says Solaire
"Yes?" She says quietly as she keeps on showering her mother's head with affection.
"She's dead, gone, killed, beheaded." Solaire says "Accept it." He clenches his fists tightly as he turns his head away from her to stare at the revolting dirty sewage water, as if it's better to look at that than watch his sister.
I'm so sorry....but you have to accept this..., i can't bear to watch you gradually become crazy. Solaire thinks to himself but.... Am i really doing the right thing?
Sirella stares at him with wide eyes, unbeknownst to her the tears flow from her face freely.
"No...she's with us..." She says softly, unable to overcome the truth.
"Sis..., Mom's gone." He replies hesitantly.
The water drips from the roof above them, and a single drop falls on Liliana's head, making Sirella slowly look down with her mouth open as she slowly says
"She's cold..." Sirella blinks a few times. "...I'm sorry, brother..." She looks up at him with soft eyes as she adds "For making you worry..." And she slowly sets the head down "But..." She sniffles, wiping her tears away "What are we g-gonna do now?"
And that makes Solaire pause, his mouth opens as if to answer, but damn it he can't.
"I..." He sighs slowly, resigned. "don't know..." He admits, his fists tightening to the point his knuckles whiten as if he's cursing himself for not knowing.
Sirella's hand slowly moves towards his shoulder and pats it innocently
"it's okay..., we'll try to find out together." And then with a grin to try and lighten the mood she adds. "You did always says we're a duo, and we're not poo poo" She giggles at the memory of when he said that proudly. Oh she just has to remind him.
"This isn't the time for teasing!" He quickly retorts "I'm your older brother! and by two years at that!" he huffs with a tight cross of his arms.
"Oh shuddup, just because you're 12 doesn't mean you're suddenly mature bro" She leans in with her hands on her waist "Grow up, bro~" she singsongs
As they bicker in an attempt to forget their trauma Solaire suddenly gets an idea.
"Oh wait, i know what we should do now!" He says with the eyes of enlightenment.
Sirella raises a brow as she leans back and slowly crosses her arms "Oh really? i doubt that"
A beat "~Bro~" She singsongs again in an attempt to irritate him.
"Blah blah" Solaire waves his hand dismissively in attempt to shoo away her attempts of irritation. "But seriously we should probably like go far away, its....well.." His voice becomes softer as he continues "almost guaranteed that Halia has been decimated..." He sighs, long, and resigned "We can't go back home, it just doesn't exist anymore." He drops down on his back with a soft thud.
"We need to explore these sewers while also getting as far away as possible..." He thinks out loud
"Are you sure you should be laying on that?" Sirella hints in dissuasion.
"Hm? on what?" Solaire asks ignorantly, but then blinks one then twice.
"...Oh." He says flatly in realization.
"I'm just gonna..." He slowly gets up and immediately feels something stuck to the back of his coat and shivers "EH?! what is that thing?!" He quickly spins in an attempt to get rid of it and Sirella quickly places her arms in front of her to protect from the imminent danger that is Solaire's filthy back.
"Stop spinning!" She says quickly in a futile attempt to stop her from making her dirty as well.
As he keeps spinning a sticky piece finally lets go of him and chooses to adhere to the wall instead "yuck" he blurts out as he sticks his tongue out to rid it of any possible wastes that could have gotten inside "ew ew ew ew EW!"
He yanks his coat off, now with just his pants and shirt "...and it was my favorite coat too...." his shoulders slump as the sadness becomes evident.
Truly it is hard to part with one's favorite items.
"Solaire! You got me dirty!" Sirella shouts, her frustration palpable, and yet she can't ever stop being adorable. Solaire, being the brother that he is, can't help but tease
"Awwwww, what a cute sister i have." He pinches her cheeks gently, and of course she swats his hand away, puffing her cheeks and crossing her arms she says
"Shut up! You dirty dummy!" She insults childishly, but then again they are children anyway.
Solaire chuckes as he leans back "Okay okay, calm down, we really need to move alright?" he says, trying to get a bit more serious but her demeanor is simply far too adorably funny and he can't help but laugh uncontrollably, and his action only aids in fueling her irritation. "UGGHHHH, you're SO annoying!" She says through her teeth.
"Sorry! I'm sorry!" He wheezes, barely able to keep his balance on the ground.
His fist in front of his mouth he clears his throat in an attempt to cease his excessive laughter.
"Okay, Shall we go?" He extends his hand to help her stand.
She swats his hand away and stands on her own, her tongue sticking out in defiance.
"Jeez, rude much?" Says Solaire as he sighs in exasperation "You're like SO childish" He adds.
With a sigh he turns and looks into the distance "Now that i think about it, this place dirtier than it lets on." Solaire says, monotone.
"Ya think?" Sirella replies with a scoff.
"Anyway, let's move." Solaire says, taking the lead in an attempt to seem like more of an older brother.
As they tread in the sewers on their own, their unease only grows more and more, and constant dripping roof only adds to that.
They glance around nervously, expecting a threat to show up out of nowhere.
Sirella grips her arm tightly, frowning from the palpable anxiety in the air.
"We're the o-only ones here" Says Solaire as he swallows "There isn't anything to be afraid of.." He adds, but it's obvious he's trying to convince himself as well.
Eventually they stop walking, however it's not because of fear but instead due to a discovery.
"Umm, brother..., what's that thing over there?" Sirella points into the distance, a blade sticking out of the wastewater, it's glow remains even in such a fruitless place "Is that diamond?" She leans her neck forward in an attempt to verify.
"Yeah that is diamond, Sis" Says Solare "But i don't recall seeing diamond swords before..." he rubs his chin, deep in thought as he continues "Even the royal guard back in Halia only had steel or silver swords." He gestures for Sirella to follow him to investigate the abnormality with more scrutiny.
"Come on" He says and she quickly nods and follows willingly.
The wastewater flows, the stench only growing stronger.
They stop at the edge of the sewers' sidewalk.
Sirella shakes head quickly, her hair flapping "Nuh-uh, I'm not stepping in that"
They both turn to face each other, and with one look they both understand each other, they both raise a hand in front of them
"Rock, paper, scissors?" Solaire asks.
"Rock, paper, scissors." Replies Sirella with a confident grin.
It's their own little tradition to play rock, paper, scissors so they can decide who gets chosen.
"best out of 3?" Says Solaire calmly, confident in his skills.
"Of course, brother." Sirella replies, also confident in her capabilities, same as Solaire.
"Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!" They both blurt out in unison.
"HA! First point goes to me!" Sirella says proudly, her arrogance radiating off of her, her emerald eyes brimming with confidence.
"No, no" Solaire shakes his head
"Still 2 more." He adds.
"Of course, i always play fair with losers." She says as she leans forward "Loser." She trashtalks
"Overconfidence will be your downfall, Sis" He scoffs as his eye twitches, it's obvious the insult is getting to him.
"Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!" They say loudly again.
"HAHA! 2-0, Bro!" Sirella says quickly
"Bruh..." He drags a hand over his face "I'm not gonna do it a third time"
He groans as his back arches in annoyance at the defeat, and he's obviously not going to humiliate himself further
"You're SOOOOOO lucky, UGH!" He says and reluctantly steps into the wastewater to get the sword, trudging through the dense, filthy water.
He places two fingers on the flat sides of the blade and attempts to pull it out with visible disgust
"So disgusting." he mutters and he successfully pulls out and trudges back towards Sirella quickly. It's obvious he doesn't want to stay in this wastewater any longer than a few seconds. He leaps onto the side of the walkway.
Sirella quickly steps back to avoid the water that came with him
"AH! Do you not have any common sense?!" She shouts quickly, irritated.
"Shut uuuuuuuuuup." Solaire groans loudly, he lets the sword clatter beside him.
It shines as if it's the most extravagant object known to man, the blade gleams in the dim light, the edges of the blade sharper than anything they've ever seen, Sirella stares in fascination, she's always been a lover of shiny, luxurious items.
"Wow, It's so beautiful" She says softly, her emerald eyes sparkling as here fascination simply grows.
Solaire hums loudly as he lays on his stomach, as if to ask why she's fascinated.
Sirella simply points at the sword, and Solaire simply turns his head
"Yeah, it's cool, so what?" He says, not affected by the impeccable craftsmanship whatsoever
"Wait, why's the handle spiky?" He says, visibly perplexed as he picks it up, standing up in the process
"It's so hard to hold, i can carry it like this but i can't swing it this way..." He scratches his hair
"Look, There are spaces between the spikes!" Sirella points at the Sapphire handle
"Oh, you're right" Solaire attempts to grip it between the spike but nicks himself
"Ow!" The sword clatters to the ground in the process
"Why are you never careful?!" Sirella says as she steps closer to him, concerned "Are you okay?" She asks.
"I'm fine" He says as he sucks the blood "It's just a tiny cut." He adds.
As he stops sucking on the blood he attempts to grip the sword again, and this time he successfully...........
nicks himself twice "Ouchie!" He blurts out, sucking at the blood again "Why's it so hard to grip?!"
"Be more careful!" Sirella says worryingly.
Finally he moves more carefully and slowly and finally manages to grip it
"Oooooh, so THAT is how it's gripped." He says as he gazes at the handle he's gripping "It's like SO high quality!" He says in fascination "I think this is sapphire, and the blade is probably diamond."
He attempts a few swings, his father's teachings flowing through his arcs
"This is a great sword!" He says as he swings a bit more, but slower this time, as if remembering when Ivan taught him the arts of the sword, his arcs grow cleaner, more refined as he recalls his father's words
"Listen here, kiddo, whenever you swing you need technique rather than brute force, if your arc doesn't flow in a straight line it will not make significant damage, but if you want to parry then a curve is more important!"
Solaire smiles pensively as he recalls the memory.
He takes the sword's sheath and glides the blade into it, placing it on his waist.
"Alright, we're loaded!" He chuckles.
Sirella claps loudly, impressed. "Those swings were so cool, brother!"
Just then,
An ear-splitting growl is voiced behind him, Sirella yelps and clings to Solaire's back, but it's not like Solaire isn't afraid either.
"Don't cling to me like that!" He says urgently.
"But you're the one with the sword, protect us!" She tightens her grip on his back, her terror palpable.
The growl turns into a shriek and a gargantuan beast appears, turning around the corner, it glares at the siblings, snarling at them loudly
Sirella shivers "Is it...our turn?" She says quietly, recalling her mother's death.
Solaire grabs her hand "Sirella, Mom taught you how to defend yourself, so don't be scared, she may be gone but her teachings are with us." He reassures, but he gulps at the intimidating sight of the enormous beast, it's saliva dripping out of it's mouth
"R-Right!" She blurts out in an attempt to steel herself, she finally lets go of him
"We'll fight it together!" She adds with conviction as she picks up a thick stick off the ground, gripping it tightly.
They must survive.
A new beginning means new experiences.
How will they adapt?