Work Text:
"good evening, knave."
arlecchino turned on her heel to the face the person addressing her. a member of the fatui and.. two children cowering behind him. one of them, a small girl with feline features, she recognised to be one of the girls she had saved from a pervert holding female orphans hostage a day ago. though what was she doing here? she was meant to be in the house behind arlecchino already...
"as you know, all the children were retrieved from his home - checks were done and indeed all are orphans, so they were all sent here this morning. though we found another young girl whilst patrolling the area, and this boy claims that he's her brother."
the two children stood there practically emotionless, their eyes so void of life that even arlecchino felt pity for them.
"noted. leave them with me." she replied, and the fatui agent promptly left.
the two were undoubtedly siblings - they looked exactly alike, if you minus out the little girl's cat ears and tail. both possessed the same deep purple eyes and light blonde hair, as well as similar overall facial features. the two held hands firmly as they awaited arlecchino's words - the boy's grip was so tight that her skin was turning red. though arlecchino couldn't blame him, especially after having his sister taken away by that disgusting bastard.
noticing both of their eyes having a red hue to them, she lowered herself to their height. "what are your names?" she asked, trying to calm down her usual authoritative tone.
the boy spoke. "i'm lyney. she's lynette." lyney replied firmly. "you're... not going to seperate us anymore, right?" he followed up hesitantly, staring right into the latter's eyes.
"of course not. and that bastard that took lynette isn't going to either. father took care of him, alright? you're safe here." arlecchino grinned softly at the twins, trying to ease them.
"father?" lyney didn't look around to check for anyone around them, perhaps still afraid that someone would snatch his sister away from him. "who's that?"
"me, lyney. you shall address me as 'father', understood?" arlecchino brought herself up to her normal height, looking down at the twins. her eyes darted towards lynette, wondering if she was always this silent.
a moment of silence passed, but then lyney nodded quickly. "understood, father." he nudged lynette gently and she repeated what he said in a mutter.
"good children." arlecchino grinned, gently patting them both of the head before turning towards the entrance of the house. "come, i'll show you to the rest of the children in the house of hearth then. from now on, they shall also be your brothers and sisters and you'll live with them everyday until you become adults." she announced, glancing back to check their following. "when you're slightly older, you'll undergo training to become stronger - so that you have potential to be just like father."
lynette's eyes finally shimmered slightly - it seemed she enjoyed this idea of being able to protect herself. "i can be just like father... does that mean i could rescue other children too?" she asked, her voice so frail that it felt like anything could damage it.
"sure, if you really do well in training." she responded, before pushing open the doors and letting the twins inside. "the little ones are preparing for dinner now, so you'll have to have a tour of the house tomorrow. but... there's nothing else i can really do for you two. you can introduce yourselves to the other children, correct?"
lyney and lynette nodded.
"alright. then i'll be on my way. i'll be back tomorrow morning. one of the kids will show you to your beds." she looked back at them whilst opening the door again. "no misbehaving. any deed, big or small, will not go unpunished. now... goodbye you two."
and then she was gone... just like that.
lyney suddenly let out a sharp exhale, as if he was holding in his breath the entire time. he held onto his head as several different emotions struck him at once. of course he was glad that he has shelter and food after being stranded by himself for days, but he was afraid of the children he was going to meet. what if they were bullies? living here for so many years with bullies would make lyney go insane...
"lyney. we should introduce ourselves now." lynette calmly suggested, patting his back gently. "unless you want to stay here and calm down for a while."
lyney shook his head. "no, it's okay, lynette. we should make friends." he let out a tiny smile in hopes of reassuring his twin, but her scowl crushed said hopes.
"you don't need to act fake happy with me." she hummed, patting his head. unlike lyney, lynette wasn't even trying to smile or seem joyful at all - mostly because she wasn't. being kidnapped and trafficked, then being handled by a random organisation, then being taken to this house which she didn't even agree to - no child would be too happy after that. but at least she was finally reunited with her only remaining family member.
lyney dropped his smile immediately. "i know, i know. but if the other kids see me frowning and looking at them weird then they'll find me weird."
lynette shrugged. "i don't think you're weird."
the latter sighed. "obviously. you're my sister. you already know me." lynette tapped her chin, though she wasn't that convinced somehow. finding her twin strange would be like finding her strange, which she couldn't wrap her head around either.
as the two had been conversing, a slightly younger child had been making his way towards them. the patter of soft, socked feet was practically silent especially since the child was so small.
once he was close enough to them, the child poked lyney's arm. "welcome to the house of hearth."
"huh?" lyney glanced at the latter, furrowing his eyebrows. he was shorter than both of them though had similar coloured hair and bright yet cautious blue eyes - his face also held several freckles dotted around his cheeks. in his arms he held an oversized, old looking penguin plush. lyney soon replaced his accidental scowl with a gentle, more friendly expression. "oh- hello. what's your name? i'm lyney, and this is my twin sister lynette." he pointed at himself then his sister, indicating who's who.
"i'm freminet." he held up the plushie higher. looking at it closer, the twins noticed that the penguin had lost an eye and was in general very scruffy looking. however it was very obviously loved by freminet. "this is pers, my penguin."
"oh, that plush? that's a cute name." lyney nodded.
"no, no. pers is an actual penguin, see? he looks exactly like one." he held up pers even higher.
the latter raised an eyebrow. "but he isn't-" lynette swiftly interjected lyney's statement. "pers is a cool penguin, he matches you too. i wish i had a penguin too." she responded to the little boy.
freminet's icy cold expression finally melted away into a smile. "mmm... i could get you an animal. but you should get a cat. after all you kind of are a cat." he pointed out her ears and tail, fascinated by them. "is your favourite animal a cat? is that why you resemble one? i wish i looked more like a penguin..."
lynette hummed, thinking. it was such a relief finally not being judged for her unique attributes. she had gotten so used to people questioning her on 'why she looked different' and whether 'she was even related to lyney', that this was a breath of fresh air. "yeah, i think cats are my favourite. they sleep all day, and that's what i want to do too." lynette noticed lyney in the corner of her eye smiling at her, most likely proud that she was able to keep a conversation going. "and freminet, you kind of do look like a penguin. you remind me of one for some reason."
the latter's face brightened further. "really? oh, i'm glad about that at least. thank you." he brought pers back to his chest, hugging it so tightly that it seemed like its second eye was about to pop out. then realisation hit him. "oh.. no.. i was meant to..." he shoved his face into the pers, groaning. swiftly, he gazed up at the two. "come! dinner should be ready by now." freminet nodded his head sideways, towards another set of grand doors.
"alright." the twins nodded and followed the flustered and hurried boy.
"freminet, hold on." lynette called him, causing him to take a few steps back. "pers... he's missing an eye. would you mind if i do surgery and give him a new one?" she tilted her head. lynette was talented in stitching and fixing up clothing after living on the streets with lyney for so long - they couldn't afford new clothing, so lynette would take it upon herself to stitch up any holes or issues with their current clothing. surely giving pers another eye wouldn't be too difficult.
freminet instantly started beaming as brightly as the sun on an icy winter morning. "i'd love that so much! you're so kind, lynette. i asked some of the older brothers and sisters to help me fix him but they're always too busy playing or doing something. there should be some sort of kit that would help you upstairs, but we have to get permission from father to use it. but really." freminet grinned. "thank you, big sister."
"oh." she's never been referred to by that. guess she has to get used to it now. "no problem, freminet. anything to help pers feel better."
lyney's grip on lynette had now completely relaxed. he still grasped onto her hand, but so lightly that he could barely feel it himself. he had never seen his sister so talkative, especially with someone that wasn't him. this house has already started changing her for the better.
perhaps... a life here will change them both for the better.