“You talk too much, kid,” the woman said, lowering her hand. The room lost its tension, the chandelier ceasing to move. Luna sighed in relief while Mae cursed under her breath.
Klaus opened his eyes.
“How’d you make the room shake like that?”
“You talk too much…learn some manners, would you?” The woman said as she sat down on the couch northeast of Klaus. She relaxed and pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket, taking one out and lighting it.
“Mm.” Klaus nodded and sat up as he watched the woman take a drag of her cigarette.
“What’s your name, boy?” The woman asked, analyzing him.
“Klaus.”
“Klaus what?”
“I’d rather not,” Klaus scratched his head and looked to the side.
“Don’t wanna tell me huh? I won’t pry then, Klaus.”
Phew…
“Surprising…on top of her eyes looking like his, the wrinkles on her face look similar…” Klaus got lost in thought, not hearing her last line; instead, he analyzed her face and compared it to Grandold’s.
He believed they were related, and you wouldn’t blame him if you were there.
The woman’s modestly sized nose wore twin freckles on the tip. Wrinkles crawled onto her cheeks, living in tandem with the rest of the scars. A permanent frown lay on her lips, her eyes deep, dim, and dead.
“Can’t be a coincidence, or can it?” Klaus thought, closing his eyes and visualizing what Grandold had said about some “almighty Grandnew.”
‘I don’t deserve to be related to such a goddess.’
“Not very goddess-like if you ask me. The light did appear above him, meaning he was telling the truth.” Klaus leaned back, sighing.
“To which part though, ‘deserve’ or ‘related’? Only one way to find out…”
A minute passed in silence as Klaus pondered. The woman remained smoking her cigarette, and the other two found a spot on the couch. Luna and Mae sat tight with each other.
He slowly opened his eyes and said, “Say, are you Grandnew?”
“Mmph!” Grandnew suddenly coughed, dropping her cigarette and puffing out smoke everywhere. Her eyes pierced Klaus with a nasty glare as she stooped for her cigarette.
As she rose, her eyes suddenly brightened. “Amazing," she said with a loud grin stretched across her face.
“Hahaha!” Grandnew quickly took a drag of her cigarette.
Exhaling, she said, “You think quick!”
She continued to laugh, slapping her hand on her leg. Luna and Mae glanced at each other and began to laugh too subtly. They cautiously mimicked her body language, looking at Klaus as well.
“Hahaha! Haha!” The three howled, the floor beginning to rumble.
“Haha…” Klaus muttered, awkwardly looking at the three.
Hearing Grandnew’s laughter becoming louder and her movements becoming more pronounced, he stood up and slowly walked behind the couch.
He watched the three, their laughs increasingly strained, the tension thickening with every passing moment.
Suddenly, the laughter came to a halt as Grandnew began to choke. She fell to the floor, the fuzz on the carpet rebelling her presence. She rolled back and forth while gripping her throat. Black liquid started to ooze from her eyes.
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“Shit!” Luna exclaimed and ran to Grandnew. Luna scrambled and locked Grandnew’s arms with her legs, just as Klaus had with Grandold.
A white light formed around her hands as she placed them on Grandnew’s chest. The white light engulfed the two, dancing in a sphere and blocking anyone else from seeing within.
The sphere wasn't physical but was too blinding to approach. Luna was in the middle of it, seemingly controlling it. She gritted her teeth, focusing on Grandnew.
Klaus flinched as he heard screams for help coming from the outer edges of the sphere. The screams for help became screeches as a louder noise silenced them—a fire. He heard footsteps scurrying, which could be faintly heard in the back as the inferno roared and burned them. Suddenly, the fire went mute.
Drop, drop, drop, drop…
The sound of bodies dropping was the only noise from the sphere as it slowly dissipated.
“W-what the hell man?!” Klaus’s body tightened in horror as he pictured the noises. He covered his ears, unwilling to listen to the blaring noises further.
He cringed as he looked at Mae and saw her curled up into a ball, strongly sheltering her ears and shutting her eyes.
Blow…!
“Ah.” Klaus turned his attention back to the sphere.
The sphere’s light giggled as it blew across the room, disappearing. Out of the sphere came Luna and Grandnew. Grandnew no longer showed any symptoms from before.
She rested peacefully, sleeping.
On the other hand, Luna was sweating buckets, panting as she stood up. She swiped her hand over her forehead and sighed.
“God,” Luna said, gazing up. “I don’t like you.”
“H-how did you…” Klaus mumbled as he walked toward Grandnew. He crouched and admired her spotless clothes; it was as if nothing had ever happened to her.
“How did you do that?” Klaus asked Luna, who was still panting.
“Huh? How’d I do that? Well, why would you like to know?” She replied sarcastically and quickly walked away.
“Talk about rude…I thought she was nice,” Klaus thought, watching her walk away.
She ignored Mae as well, disappearing into the darkness of the stairs. Her footsteps echoed in the house, each with the intent of breaking the stairs.
"What a dick," Klaus thought as he walked to Mae.
"I'll find out how she did that later...it's not like I plan on leaving anytime soon."
He lightly tapped her shoulder to get her attention. After a few seconds with no response, he tapped her again and--
Smack!
Mae slapped his finger away and continued to shudder in her ball.
“L-leave me alone.”
Klaus watched her for a moment. He thought about what to say and then crouched.
He quietly said, “You remind me of my little sister, Emma.”
Mae continued shuddering, ignoring Klaus.
"Why is he trying to talk to me? So weird." She thought.
"Well, maybe it might be worth...no, he's evil." She shrugged and turned her head away from Klaus.
"Wait. I have a great idea. I'll show his evil side!"
Mae stopped shuddering and, with a slight smirk on her face, raised her arm to look at Klaus.
“You have a sister?”
Klaus nervously chuckled and replied, “No, not…not really sister. We’re not blood related or anything.”
He looked down and continued, “We’re just…really close. I’ve known her for about 6 years.”
Mae peered at him suspiciously before saying, “You like little girls or something? Why are you telling me this?”
Klaus immediately looked at Mae and said, “No. I’m not into little girls; that’s weird.”
“So, this isn’t a confession?”
“No, no. It isn’t.”
Klaus turned his head down and sighed.
"Man, this reminds me of the time I tried talking to a villager. All of them thought I was using Emma." Klaus's mind went elsewhere, reflecting on an event two years ago when they tried legitimately interacting with the villagers.
Hey, hey guys! What's up? Hmm? Why're you looking at her? Wait. Sir, put the shovel down. Sir!
Bonk!
Why are you all so surprised?! He tried hitting me first! What are you pointing--the girl? You want her? Hell no! Hmm? Ew! I'm not doing that to her! Emma let's go! Buncha freaks over here. Eh? No need to look at me like that. Trust me, you don't want to know what that symbol means. Bah, let's just go back.
Klaus shook his head, recollecting the symbol the villager had made to him. To this day, he is still disgusted by it. Remembering it, though, made him feel more inclined to talk to Mae, and he became curious as to why she would think that. Was he actually going to find out? No.
“It’s just that, you remind me of her when I first met her.”
"Is this guy stupid?" Mae thought.
“What, curled up in a ball?” She questioned, raising her brow.
“Eh? Well, kinda.” Klaus replied as he looked to the side, seemingly thinking.
“Bah! Anyway, that’s beside the point. I mean you. Like as a person, you.”
"What does that even mean?" Mae thought. She started to giggle at Klaus's inability to explain things.
“You’re pretty bad at explaining.” Mae exited her ball and sat up.
Klaus sighed and considered a way to dispute her–he couldn’t think of one.
“Bah! My point is,” he said, waving his hand. “She was just like you, when we first met.”
Mae smiled and said, “That’s kind of weird.”
“W-weird? How?”
Mae snickered and said, “Weird to remember that. Weirdo.”
Klaus gasped and looked around for witnesses–he wanted to take her to court. She had the same reaction as the villagers, which pissed him off, not that he was gonna fight a little girl.
“W-weirdo? How DARE you?!”
Mae burst into laughter and pointed at Klaus.
“Weirdo, weirdo! Ahahaha! Weirdo! Hahaha!”
Klaus stared at her in disbelief as she laughed, holding her stomach.
Bonk!
Klaus leaped back as Mae rolled over and smacked the ground. She stopped laughing and looked at Klaus.
He pressed his hand to his mouth, but the laughter broke free, a wild, uncontrollable sound.
“Ahahaha! That’s what you get!” His voice cracked with vicious amusement.
Klaus and Mae tumbled to the ground, laughing at each other.