"Hello, niece dear," he says as he ascends the ramp, arms spread for an inevitable embrace. "You are looking lovely today. That is a perfect color for you."
Ulla laughs softly, because her slick black eel's tail is hardly a
sartorial choice. Although it was a choice, when the Nurse gave her
back her old silver scales, and Taylor helped corrupt her knife anew to
restore the eel tail after. "Taylor says it looks even prettier to
shrimp. She described it once, the way mantis shrimp see my tail, and how
she sees it through their eyes."
Ulla says this with affection and seemingly no consideration of the
strangeness of it.
She gestures Istradez to an armchair, but she'll sit by it on the floor, so
she can lean against his legs. She turns her head to look up at him for a
moment. "You've called me niece twice in the past minute. You hadn't
before."
She isn't quite sure what question she wants to ask, so she stops at the
observation.
"I've never had an uncle either. But I like having you for one." She
rests her head against his knee. "And I felt that way before deciding how
I felt about him. I didn't even mean to let him adopt me yesterday. I...
ambushed myself, I suppose."
She stays still to let him work, rather than shaking her head ruefully. "I
showed him a complicated spell I had composed, and he looked so proud of me
I couldn't bear it. Only Warren had ever looked at me that way."
She accepts the pin, tracing her thumb over the pearls and holding it
within reach so he can reclaim it when he's ready.
"A garden spell I composed with Signy a long time ago, although Hjerte and
I designed a new garden layout with a maze. We didn't sing it exactly the
same. That was the spell that first caught Roffe's attention. I think it
was... good, to revisit that." Roffe and Signy don't get to take it from
her anymore.
Ulla laughs softly. "Yes. And I've had my revenge. I'm done with them.
It's just... separating out the things that still remind me of them, and
reclaiming those for myself."
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2025-07-30 01:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-07-30 02:20 am (UTC)Ulla laughs softly, because her slick black eel's tail is hardly a sartorial choice. Although it was a choice, when the Nurse gave her back her old silver scales, and Taylor helped corrupt her knife anew to restore the eel tail after. "Taylor says it looks even prettier to shrimp. She described it once, the way mantis shrimp see my tail, and how she sees it through their eyes."
Ulla says this with affection and seemingly no consideration of the strangeness of it.
She gestures Istradez to an armchair, but she'll sit by it on the floor, so she can lean against his legs. She turns her head to look up at him for a moment. "You've called me niece twice in the past minute. You hadn't before."
She isn't quite sure what question she wants to ask, so she stops at the observation.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-30 03:42 pm (UTC)He sits, sprawling, really, in the chair and he will rest a hand on her shoulder.
"Ah, I am trying it out! It sounds good, doesn't it? I don't think I have a niece at home. Just a nephew."
no subject
Date: 2025-07-30 03:52 pm (UTC)"I've never had an uncle either. But I like having you for one." She rests her head against his knee. "And I felt that way before deciding how I felt about him. I didn't even mean to let him adopt me yesterday. I... ambushed myself, I suppose."
no subject
Date: 2025-07-30 03:53 pm (UTC)"What happened?" he wonders, toying with her hair. He had brought a hairpin with him, one of pears, and he starts to braid her hair to style it.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-30 03:56 pm (UTC)She stays still to let him work, rather than shaking her head ruefully. "I showed him a complicated spell I had composed, and he looked so proud of me I couldn't bear it. Only Warren had ever looked at me that way."
no subject
Date: 2025-07-30 04:03 pm (UTC)"He does have that effect on people," he laughs, handing her the pin to hold. It's sharp, but decorated with pearls.
"What was the spell?"
no subject
Date: 2025-07-30 05:11 pm (UTC)She accepts the pin, tracing her thumb over the pearls and holding it within reach so he can reclaim it when he's ready.
"A garden spell I composed with Signy a long time ago, although Hjerte and I designed a new garden layout with a maze. We didn't sing it exactly the same. That was the spell that first caught Roffe's attention. I think it was... good, to revisit that." Roffe and Signy don't get to take it from her anymore.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-30 05:21 pm (UTC)He holds a braid out for her to hold in her other hand.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-30 05:33 pm (UTC)Ulla laughs softly. "Yes. And I've had my revenge. I'm done with them. It's just... separating out the things that still remind me of them, and reclaiming those for myself."
She pinches the end of the braid for safekeeping.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-01 01:47 am (UTC)"I am proud of you for that," he tells her. "It's difficult to adjust."