UNRELIABLY TOLDㅤ misc

overlooked (037), scrapped

I sketch out a potion bottle, shading in the liquid inside. "This is potion. Potion bad."

"You're a caveman too?" Rosaleen says.

I grin. "Caveman like chemistry. Chemistry pog."

She laughs, pushing me. "Come on. Don't tell me this pranking class is already dying on Lesson One, because that's really bad customer service."

It's been two days since Rosaleen started coming to the dinners.

Tomorrow, I'm giving Vespera some weapons for her to look at, which I rushed this afternoon. I was originally going to work on them in the evenings, but Rosaleen and I have been spending a lot of time together again.

I grin. "But... caveman like prank—"

She groans, and laughter slips from my lips.

"Fine, fine," I say, giggling. "Balding potion. Right."

Rosaleen nods. "Balding potion. Get on it, Mr. Caveman."

I burst out laughing again, trying to explain the prank in vain.

Eventually, we give up, the two of us succumbing to our laughter.

I spin around in my chair, and she flops onto my bed, studying the empty ceiling,

as we both calm down.

"Hey, Dex?" she says finally.

"Hm?"

"Do you ever get homesick?"

"... Yeah, a lot."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Ah... This mission hurts."

I lean back. "It does sometimes, doesn't it?"

"Mhm." A pause. "Dex?"

"Yeah?"

"If you could know three things, what would they be?"

"Three... anything?"

"Yeah, from the past, present, or future." There's a silence, and then she adds, "But if you learn something from the past, it'll affect your present, which will affect your future. If you learn something from the present, it'll affect your future. And if you learn something from the future, it'll affect your present. And maybe your future, if it's not set in stone."

There's a longer silence, as I stop to think. After a while, I say, "What would you know?"

"Me?"

"No, that pillow. Not that one, the bigger one."

Laughter. "Well... first, I'd want to know what happened to Zo."

Her sister. "That makes sense."

"Yeah. And, um, second... probably if I'll survive this mission. Because I do want to see my mom and brother again, I miss them."

"I miss my family too."

"Yeah." She sighs. "But I guess we signed up for this."

"It doesn't mean we have to like this, though."

"Mm... true," Rosaleen says. "Anyways; I think I'd also want to know if... um, if I'll ever find love."

I tilt my head. "Why?"

"Well, I mean—it's like... I want love, but you never know if you'll find someone, you know? Like, crushes can be fleeting. And sometimes the person you date is the wrong one. And also, if I just don't fall in love, I think it'd be nice to be spared the disappointment."

"Oh... I guess."

She clears her throat, her cheeks dusted with pink. The lamp is dim. Tonight, I guess we're sharing secrets under nightfall. "Your turn."

"For what I want to know?"

"Yup."

"Oh, okay." I recollect my thoughts. "Um, number one, I want to know why my first crush didn't like me. I want to know why I wasn't good enough, I guess?"

A pause. "I think you're good enough."

"Well... um, thank you." I laugh, flustered.

"I mean—you shouldn't take it personally, in my opinion. You can't tell yourself to like someone or to not like someone, so she—or he—probably just... didn't."

"I guess." I hesitate. "But, number two, I want to know how the triplets are doing."

"... You mean right now?"

"Um, yeah, right now. But like, the things they don't tell me, too. I want to know how... how school is for them. And stuff."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Because, you know. They're triplets, and our parents are a Bad Match."

"My parents are, too."

"Oh—really?"

"Mhm. [REDACTED FOR SPOILER PURPOSES]."

"[REDACTED FOR SPOILER PURPOSES]."

"[REDACTED FOR SPOILER PURPOSES]."

"That's good."

She laughs, and it's like music. "Yeah."

I clear my throat. "The third thing I want to know is... is if my—" I stop. "Um... I want to know if someone cares for me, the same way I care for them."

"Oh." She pauses. "Aw."

I laugh. "Don't aw me."

Rosaleen sits up, shooting me a mischievous look. "But this is your edgy arc, right?"

"I—" I look at her, trying to keep a straight face. "My what?"

"Oh, you know," she says, with a grin. "An 'aww' a day keeps the angst away."

"Watch, I'm gonna pull a Keefe," I say.

Rosaleen looks at me, amused. "Go for it," she says.

I frown, overexaggerating my scowl, and she snorts. "Don't pity me," I say, making my voice deep and gravelly. "Or else... I will have to... uh—"

"I don't think the Great Keefe says 'uh.'"

"Oh, right, sorry—" I laugh, then put the Keefe frown back on. "Or else, Rosaleen Ellis, I will have to Gulon you!"

Rosaleen shakes her head, but she's fighting back a smile, I can tell. "Keefe really doesn't sound like that."

"I meaaan..."

She laughs. "You're so dumb."

I grin, standing up to mock-bow. "You know it."

She stands as well, curtsying. "I do, sir, I do."

We exchange a look and start laughing. 

🍄   /   author's note !

so you can see why this was scrapped yeah? 

tbh, i think that question's real interesting, so it was more of a character exercise or a self-indulgent chapter :)

a lot of stuff gets translated into overlooked LAMBO, like literally the whole writing style / dexaleen meetup was made right after reading legend, and it shows