Sight (Varian X OC)

Rose's Past

Benton scurried up Rose's arm and perched onto her shoulder. Rose scratched the top of his head, then headed towards the door of her home.

"I'll be back later, Mom!" She yelled behind her shoulder.

Her mother, Elisha, came from out of the kitchen, drying a pan with a cloth. "Where are you going?"

"To Varian's," Rose said with a smile.

Rose's mother narrowed her eyes. "Again?"

"Yeah." Rose's grin faltered for a moment.

Elisha sighed. "Alright. Be back in time for dinner, okay?"

Rose opened the door. "Of course!" She ran outside and shut the door with a loud bang. She winced at the noise. Her mother would yell at her for slamming the door. Hopefully she'd forget about it by the time Rose would get home.

Rose skipped down the pathway leading from her home farther into Old Corona. Benton tried his best to stay on her shoulder as he was bounced up and down. Eventually, he squeaked at her in distress, and Rose abruptly stopped.

"Oops, sorry bud." She continued down the pathway, but at a slower, less bouncy, pace.

Eventually, the trail had come to a stop, Varian's home at the end. Rose scrambled up the stairs, knocking on the giant doors that led to the inside.

She had to wait a few moments before the door was opened, a shocked Varian standing in the doorway.

"Rose! I wasn't expecting you to come over today," he admitted.

"Well, I was doing nothing myself, so I figured I'd come over." She put up her hands. "If that's okay."

Varian smiled warmly. "Well, of course it is. Come on in." He stepped out of the way, giving room for Rose to step through the door. Benton jumped off Rose's shoulder and padded up to Varian. Varian rubbed Benton's head.

"Hey, buddy." The mouse chirruped, planting a smile on both Varian and Rose's face.

Together, they all scurried down the stairs, towards the basement where Varian's lab was held. Rudiger was sleeping on a table with different measuring instruments laying on it, his tail barely a centimeter away from knocking a flask onto the floor. A light blue liquid was being heated in an alembic on another table, a notebook laying wide open with a quill holding it open.

Rose walked up to the alembic and bent down to look straight through the glass. "What's this?"

Varian stood next to her. "Well... I'm actually not really sure." Rose raised an eyebrow at him. "I actually have just been mixing together random things to see what they create."

"Are you sure they won't, you know, explode?" Rose inquired.

"Almost 87 percent sure," Varian told her with a large grin.

"Only 87?" Rose anxiously glanced at the alembic, taking a step away from it. Varian reassured her by turning the flames below the liquid down. Then, he turned to another table that held a flask full of a neon orange liquid, topped with a cork.

"Want to see what this does? I have no idea myself." Varian had a maniacal grin, but Rose knew it was just for humor.

Rose smiled. "Well, of course. As long as you know this one won't explode."

Varian laughed. "Don't worry. I'm 100 percent sure this won't explode."

They headed outside, just Rose and Varian this time. Benton had laid down next to Rudiger, and had fallen asleep in just a matter of minutes. Rose had watched as the two critters snuggled together, a small smile forming on her face. She loved the bond the two had.