maellum | ETRAYA

I don't know, that sounds pretty fun. You'd never be lonely. I'd be jealous.

[Maelle's embraced solitude a little too much over the years, outside of Gustave. Emma sees her as a sister, sure, but their bond was never as strong as her and Gustave.]

There's fun strange and there's weird strange.

Eh, more or less.

(There's a lot to unpack there, and she's not getting into it, so instead:)

Okay, smartpants, convince me you're just soooo weird.

Ooh, are we going to have a weird kid competition? I was bounced from family to family because no one could handle my nightmares. Or maybe it was the talking to myself. Or the running away.

[It's not that serious! Maelle says it lightly enough. Eventually, she came to Gustave and Emma, and that's what matters ]

(Oh, Sophie's going to win this. She looks extremely serious for a moment, hands on Maelle's shoulder, that firmness like she is about to say something Oh So Important...)

One of my classmates was a floating brain in a jar, we had a room that literally became a person, and I literally got ressurected and became a crow demon once.

I win.

(And then she bursts into laughter, dropping the act before she chooses a pair of white shoes with a small heel.)

Here, try these on!

What?

[Maelle's eyes got very big there for a second, until Sophie laughed. It sounds so absurd it must be true, and she laughs, shaking her head. It's how she gets Maelle to not argue the choice of shoe. Instead, she sits, kicking off the sneakers she's grown so fond of.]

That doesn't sound like it'd be that weird from what you've told me so far about your world.

Oh, yeah, I'm incredibly serious!

(All did happen! And thankfully, that makes Maelle confused so she dresses herself up in her confusion! Wonderful

She's checking white bags now to pair it with, a little detour with explaining how to pair right after before she shrugs.)

I mean, to flatscans, all pretty weird. And also? Because that stuff is a Tuesday? You're not weird. Just rightfully upset? Most of us are.

[Maelle slips on the shoes and tests how they feel to walk in. Hops in them. They make a nice clicking sound.

She doesn't understand the term, flatscans, but she can guess what it means.]

Humans sound lousy in your world. [A beat, because hey, wait--] Guess they are in mine, too.

(Why does she look so pretty in white!! It's probably the hair, it's a nice contrast, so let's get her a handbag, and pair this with a black outfit.)

Humans are the worst, Maelle. Just, ugh, gross. But, hey, let's not get me into that rabbit hole, hm? How are those nightmares? Stopped now or worsened?

One rabbit hole to another, huh?

[To be fair, there are maybe three cheerful topics in Maelle's life. Everything is a rabbit hole these days.]

They're just about different things, now.

[And she is trying very hard not to think of them, because they're miserable. She lets herself get distracted by a nearby pair of chunky sneakers. Wow, she would be soooo tall in these!]

I did some weird telepathic therapy with someone the other day. Kinda watching key events so she could get over them already. Let me know.

(But, don't, really, it's a lot. Oh, sneakers, ugh, okay, at least they got a heel? It goes into the 'we're taking this' spot.)

Okay, so, loose or tight clothing? Let's start with that for the outfits. Short, middle, long? I usually do loose top, due to the lack of boobs, and short and tight bottoms.

I'll pass, thanks.

[She doesn't want to relive what already keeps her up at night or grips her with terror at random moments throughout the day. She's just hoping that, with time, it becomes less frequent.]

... well, I don't exactly have a lot going on up top, either. Let's try your method.

Very sad for us.

(When she's like, Emma Frost's clone? Very upsetting.)

I do croppeds too, but the point is the shape. Go grab 3 loose tops, and we'll see what we can do.

Any three?

[She heads over to a rack, and plucks out what looks to be a loose v-neck top. It's purple. There's one! The adjacent rack has tops trimmed in lace, with no sleeves, and she starts digging for a color that isn't white or purple from there. Variety!]

Help me with a third, Soph.

[It feels strange to call her that, but it slips out, and she just lets it be.]

(She watches Maelle go with a little giggle, her childlike joy evident as she does it.

The moment Sophie turns to grab something for herself (an open back short dress), she hears the nickname. Sophie's smiles tend to be rehearsed, not emotional, but she's giving Maelle a real one when she turns back.

Sure, a third.)

Cool choices. How about we do a loose long sleeve black cropped sweater, and match it with high-waisted shorts?

(She's also putting the article in front of Maelle as she tries to imagine it in her head.)

It's perfect! Hey, have you ever curled your hair?

Sure. Why not?

[So much thought into an outfit! But Maelle finds this to be very fun. Gustave will learn to live with the growing amount of clothing, surely...]

Curl my hair? No. Emma and Gustave both have natural curls, so. Emma would always say how she loved how straight my hair was.

[Oof, that stirs up a pang of longing. She was never as close to her as Gustave, no, but she did care. She helped raise her.

She does miss Emma.]

Emma? Is that your not-mom, considering Gustave is your not-dad?

(That's funny. Sophie too misses an Emma sometimes. She'd definitely know what to do in Sophie's shoes, which are technically her shoes that Sophie is taking for a ride.

That's a good top, and she's putting it aside so they can work on bottoms. She's not giving Maelle anything too short, but skirts and shorts are definitely getting hung on her arm as she goes around.)

My, uh, well, she's not exactly my mom either, but the person I consider mine and who I was copied from is also named Emma. Emma Frost.

Mmm. More like sister, I guess. She's Gustave's actual sister. Gustave's like... my dad and my brother. Depends.

[Luckily, she's already become the owner of at least one short skirt, so nothing Sophie is grabbing makes her eyes bug out. She trails along after her.

Sophie and Emma. There really are only so many names, huh?]

Did she act like a mom? I mean, you were kind of just... mostly grown up already, right?

On what, exactly? How does that even work?

(Like a hip dad? Gustave did tell Sophie that he has asked Maelle advice, talked to her about his own thoughts and feelings, and they communicated, which is... Good, she supposes. Must be nice.)

She was our teacher at first; most of the mutants in Etraya went to the same school, and she taught there. She didn't really know who we were, we didn't either, but we were definitely the teacher's pets. Now... Yeah, she does.

On how serious he is. [Maelle laughs, fondness clear. She has nothing but love for Gustave.] He's not that serious often. [Lately, it's just been... sad. They've all been weighed down.] But when he is, I listen. He listens, too.

[Respect earns respect. Gustave is the perfect mix of brother and father and it says something that she doesn't particularly long for any other familial relationships, as some sad lonely orphans tend to do. He's enough.]

That must have been weird for everyone, but weird seems to be normal for your neck of the woods.

He seems cool. Also, I can feel how much you love him, so that's... Grossly heartwarming.

(Affectionate. It's cute! She does not love Emma that much, she could say that very easily.

She hands Maelle's her stack of new outfits, and now it's her turn. Oh, my, oh my.)

Not really. I mean, it's a school full of mutants, so the bar is really low for weirding us out. This place only pulled passing mutants, but we had a dude whose skin is basically jelly. You can see through him and everything. Fish face guy, rock guy, lizard guy, fly girl, the possibilities are endless.

He's the best.

[And she loves him most of all. As much as she jokes about being a sad, depressing orphan, she really isn't. Not since Gustave became her guardian.

How did she suddenly get so much clothes in her arms? Maelle huffs out a laugh, amused.]

That all sounds cool. Except--fly? Fly like flying, or fly like... buzzing bug?

(Her outfits are definitely... Louder. More revealing, brighter, and she moves through the aisles with ease. She never fully repeats outfits, and for that, she needs an absurd amount of options.)

Yup. Like the bug. Pretty sure she had a thing with a bird-mutation dude. Not sure, I died around that time, and I didn't grab everything out of the hivemind. Good you think we're cool, though? Makes me happy.

[Never let Maelle see your closet, Sophie. She'll want one of that size, too.]

Cool and weird. You talk about dying so... casually.

I'll take 'weird over 'dangerous, gross and scary' any day, babe.

(And there's a shrug.)

So do you. I wouldn't think it'd bother you.

[Maelle shrugs, too.]

I died before coming here. It doesn't really feel... real? I don't know if that's normal.

[And like hell if she's going to talk about that with anyone from home.]

Is it?

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cw racism??? i'm sorry

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