With Our Wings Made Of Mist

Four

Despite all the bad things he and his sister have done, He still considers himself a good person. Sorta. Well, it’s a mindset in progress. Velvet, on the other hand, she was… determined. She was the type of person to think she was above everything else. To believe that nothing applied to her unless she allowed it to. At times it’s admirable. He’s seen his sister fight against bullies with no problems and didn’t let their vile words get to her because she believed those bullies were a waste of oxygen.  Other times…. It made her seem inhumane, with how easy it was for her to shove her morality into a closet and lock the door. Especially with using Floyd for practice.

He tries to be like her. He tries to rationalize it, and it helps at some points. Floyd was just a troll, they were known as a food source for years and were only recently off the menu. Yeah, they got protection from laws but that didn’t automatically stop what they were originally known for. As far as he could tell, most of Mount Rageous didn’t consider them to be fellow citizens. So it was fine using Floyd for their practices. (probably)

Veneer sighs and sits with his legs crossed on the floor of their practice studio. It was a space their parents bought for them when they were in ballet. They don’t go to practice anymore since Velvet does soccer and he prioritizes his studies but they let them keep the place anyway for dancing. He glances at the purple Daimond bottle from inside Velvet’s bag and decides to grab it. Floyd was asleep–unconscious? From earlier when he and Velvet were learning to sing their song.

The troll looked exhausted.

He takes a closer look at him before gently putting it down on the polished floors.

Yeah.

Using Floyd wasn’t bad. It was fine. He wasn’t a “person”

Veneer looks at the bottle and then back at his sister who was doing their choreography in the mirror. He thinks about that kid whom he bullies into doing his homework and those girls Velvet beat up into silencing them whenever she cheated in a game.

What makes a “person”? He wonders to himself.

After a while, Veneer sighs and lays on his back. All this thinking was hurting his head. Then the music of a random song stops playing and in comes Velvet sitting down on the floors beside him, noticing his lack of energy. He gives her a smile before he drops it a second later. All his energy and excitement were flushed out from planning their choreography, and their outfits, and now all that was left was second thoughts.

“Too much, today?” His sister asks, moving down to lay on the floor beside him. He nods his head. “Yeah, I feel worn out too. Too much thinking and planning.”

“And too much excitement from yesterday.” He replies, laying on his side to look at his sister resting her eyes. The floor was cool and the stillness of the room was calming. He preferred if it was like this a moment longer but Velvet wasn’t known to sit for long. She always needed to keep herself busy whether it was making mood boards, mixing and matching outfits, or reading magazines.

And he was right. Just when he closed his eyes, he heard the sound of sneakers squeaking against the floor and the voice of his sister telling him to get up. Veneer sighs and stares up at the ceiling before pulling himself up. Soon after, they start packing up their things. Velvet tosses Floyd in her bag and picks up her water bottle. He grabbed his notebook where the updated designs were and tucked it under his arm just as he left the room. The lights are shut off automatically when they leave the studio and they walk across the street towards the nearest bus stop.