Realistic or Modern Family Ties

[PunkPrince]

Give that back!"
"I need it!"
"I need to finish putting the sequins on this–Ow! Damn it, Kasha, you burnt me!"
"It's a hot glue gun, what'd you think was gonna happen, idiot?"

Jupiter slinked out into the hallway from one of the bedrooms, and Eva could see that they were struggling to close a bra through their shirt. She stopped them and clipped it closed. "Better?"

Jupiter nodded, flashing the woman an appreciative smile before adjusting the silicone breast forms that rested in the bra. She knew that Jupiter longed for breasts and feminine curves, and they had talked to a few people about getting Jupiter on a low dose of estrogen, but so far, no luck. Eva and Kennedy did what they could for them. Jupiter pushed back their messy blonde hair and looked up the stairs.

"Fighting over a glue gun," they explained. "Kyra was trying to use it to put sequins on a dress, and I guess..." They shrugged and slipped out the front door. It wasn't unusual for the children to call each other by their drag names.

"Damn it," Kennedy growled softly. "Nothing can ever go smoothly in this house." She sighed and turned to yell up the stairs. "Boys! Come here, and for god's sake be nicer to each other. There are glue guns all over this house, there's no reason for you to be arguing over that one. One of you can borrow mine, if it matters that much."

Ronan bounded over to them, Hugo creeping along slowly after him. Hugo continued to stare at the floor and apologized softly. "I'm sorry." He didn't look up at either of them. Kennedy sighed and gave the smaller twin's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "It's okay," she said softly. "I'm sorry for shouting, honey, I'm just stressed about today. I just want things to go well. I don't want to freak them out with fighting. How would you feel if Eva and I had been fighting the first day you came to live with us?"

Hugo gave a small smile and Kennedy returned it as she slipped out the front door onto the wooden porch.

Busy. That was the perfect word to describe the last week. Scrambling to get everything perfect for the kids coming to live with them. It was the similarities toothier own children that had drawn Eva and Kennedy to them. The repeated rejection, over and over again.

Originally, they had gone looking for a younger child, one they could raise together. But these two...they just couldn't leave them behind, in the state they were in. It was too much of what that had seen before. What Eva and Kennedy had endured, in some sense, and what their children had spent their lives in before finding them.

***

"They're here! Hurry up, Hugo!"

Kennedy turned and quickly moved to stand beside Eva again as their son scrambled to close the door behind him. He, as usual, stayed close to Kennedy and his brother, standing between the two, looking anxious as ever. "I hope they like us," he said quietly as they watched the silver car pull into the driveway. Jupiter craned their neck to look at the kids as they climbed out of the car. Their feet shuffled slightly, resulting in the clicking of their high heeled shoes on the wooden porch.

Eva found herself praying that she wouldn't have to hear her birth name. Neither she nor Kennedy had been able to change their names legally as of yet. On everything legal, Eva was Eric and Kennedy was Keegan, and each time one of them had to hear it it felt like a slap in the face.

The social worker spoke as he reached them, apprehensiveness in his tone. "Hello, Eric," he greeted, spitting out the words in a tone normally reserved for something sick and vile. He looked back to the pair. "Well, this is Eric. He’s your new adoptive father. He and Keegan, both actually." He motioned to Kennedy. Eva flinched at the near forgotten name. She felt Kennedy gently squeeze her arm. She didn't have to look at the other woman to know that anger had begun to flare up in her eyes. "I believe the woman who approved you may have mentioned your..." he cleared his throat. "Hobby."

"Her name is Eva and she is their mother," Kennedy said, glaring at the social worker. "And my name is Kennedy. I believe we discussed this with you in the interview we had, and we told Marie too. Repeatedly."
"You could at least make an effort when you're standing on our front porch." That was Jupiter, blue eyes narrowing as they watched the man.
The social worker looked the teenager over disapprovingly. "You must be Kevin."

Jupiter ignored the use of their birth name and lifted their chin. They clearly had some sort of comeback to snap back with, but held their tongue, knowing that now wasn't the time to start a fight.
The social worker looked back to the childrenl. "Call me if things don't work out."
"I'm sure we'll be fine," Kennedy said coldly.

And then, the paperwork was done and the man gone off the porch. As he left, Kennedy turned to the pair. "I'm sorry about that," she said gently. "Nobody's mad at you." She paused and turned to Eva, who remained quiet and seemed slightly shaken. "Are you all right?" She directed the question to Jupiter as well.

"Fine," Jupiter said simply.

"I'm okay," Eva said. "I knew he'd do it. I just never really get used to it. But thank you." She gave her partner a small smile, and Kennedy reached up to move a piece of Eva's hair away from her face, leaning up to peck the taller woman on the cheek before turning back to the two.

"But anyway, I think an honest introduction is in order. My name is Kennedy and this is Eva. This is Jupiter, Ronan, and Hugo."

"Hello," Jupiter greeted.
"Hi! Ronan chirped, sunny as ever. Hugo gave a small wave from where he stood, still trying to calm himself from the earlier tensions.

 

[Evy]

Ariel was sitting on the floor of the room, leaned towards the bunk bed behind her. She was scribbling on a piece of paper, drawing a dog. It was a very specific dog, Rufus the Golden Retriever that sometimes came to the foster care centre. In the corner of her eye, Ariel could see her sister across the small room, tapping her feet on the floor. Her mirror image was also fiddling with her fingers, a tic she always had when she was nervous.
“It’ll be fine” Ariel said, placing the piece of paper on the floor next to her, before she looked at her sister.
“What if they don’t want us either?” Tara signed, and Ariel shrugged.
“We’ll be fine then, too” she said, although she wasn’t actually so sure about that. She had overheard the workers at the centre talking about having them split up, placing them in separate homes. Not that Ariel would ever let that happen, it was still a very scary thought. If this didn’t work out, maybe they would end up on the streets again. It was something she’d rather not do again.

A knock on the door made both girls look, and it was opened by Sarah, one of the workers. She was one of the sweeter ones, and she always let Ariel have a little bit more time with Rufus when he was here.
“Girls, it’s time to get in the car!” she said with a big smile on her face. Four times she had sent them off, and all four times she had had the big smile on her face, to encourage them that this was going to be their forever home. It didn’t seem like the fifth time would make her smile less. Ariel stood up and put the picture of Rufus in her pocket. Tara nervously touched her braid with her hands, before slipping her left hand into Ariel’s right. They walked with Sarah through the corridors of the centre. The other children that were outside of their rooms waved at them as they passed, although they didn’t say anything. Neither Ariel nor Tara had been talking a lot with the others, except for two girls that had been given new families just a week ago. The other kids saw them as a hopeless case, and didn't really want to talk to them very much. They also had been making fun of Tara, which had made Ariel pretty mad - also a reason why she didn't want to talk to them.

Down at the car, Ariel wanted to groan. The social worker that was supposed to take them to their new home was Carl. He was always so grumpy. He just waved for them to get in the car. Sarah placed a gentle hand on Tara’s shoulder, and just looked at Ariel with a smile. She had learned the hard way that Ariel didn’t like to be suddenly touched.
“Well, girls, I do hope this is your forever home” she said, giving Tara a squeeze, and Tara hugged her back. Ariel just waved instead, before she got in the car. As usual, Carl didn’t say a word, he just stepped on the gas and the car moved forward.

--

It felt like they had been driving for quite some time when the car came to a halt. Tara looked out the window, and then touched her sister’s shoulder.
“It looks pretty” she signed, and Ariel looked at the house. It actually looked better than the other houses they had been in. Carl opened the door.
“Come on, I have to get back quickly” he grunted, and the girls silently got out of the car. Ariel looked over at the little family standing on the porch, waiting. As the little trio came up to them, Carl started talking and Ariel tried to get a better look at the people. The children were older than Tara and Ariel, but they looked nice. As Carl turned to them, explaining to them that Eric and Keegen were their foster fathers, Ariel frowned, and so did Tara.
“They look like women, but they have male names?” Tara signed quickly, and Ariel looked at the adults before nodding. Apparently, Tara was half-right, because the adults explained that they were not called Eric and Keegan, but Kennedy and Eva. Ariel didn't quite understand how it could have been such a misunderstanding. They also seemed upset at Carl, but that was just a bonus in Ariel’s eyes. However, Tara took a step back, clutching her sister’s hand, clearly afraid of the tension created by the conversation. Ariel squeezed her hand, silently trying to comfort her. She listened to the discussion taking place, and even the children started to add to the conversation, too. Ariel wasn't sure what to do, but decided to wait and see what happened. She looked back at Tara, making sure she was okay.

Carl didn’t seem to care much, he left without saying goodbye, and Ariel heard his car drive away behind them. She turned her attention to the adult that was speaking to them, Kennedy. She introduced everybody, and Tara’s eyes lit up once she mentioned Jupiter’s name. She took a step forward to stand beside her sister again. She raised her hands, and graciously signed, with a big smile on her lips. Ariel glanced at her sister before turning to the family.
“She likes your name, it’s like the biggest planet in the solar system” Ariel translated, and Tara lowered her hands. Ariel fell silent, and wasn’t sure what else to say. Usually the social worker did the introductions, but Ariel was just happy to have Carl out of the picture.
“I’m Ariel, and this is Tara” she said instead, gesticulating to her twin.

 

[PunkPrince]

The social worker left the porch and disappeared down the drive, leaving the girls to stare up at them with round eyes. They looked like, if they could, they would melt into the ground and disappear, and their demeanor was more that of a feral puppy than a little girl. Nothing Eva and Kennedy hadn’t seen before, but it was heartbreaking every time. But Kennedy offered them a smile as they introduced themselves, determined to make them feel at home.

"It's very nice to finally meet you both." She led them into the house, followed by the others. Ronan bounced cheerfully into the house. Jupiter strode inside with their chin held high, glancing behind them once, as though to make sure the car really was gone. Their demeanor softened a bit as one of the girls translated the other's sign language, complimenting Jupiter's name.
"Thanks!" they said, grinning. "I picked it myself!"

Hugo slinked through the doorway and anxiously glanced over his shoulder at Kathleen. He didn't say anything, just offered a timid smile before skittering off up the stairs.
"He'll be back," Kennedy said as she heard the boy's bedroom door close. "He's just anxious. Probably went to calm himself down." Hugo frequently panicked at even the slightest little tiff. He had improved somewhat in the time he had spent with them, but was still terrified of even the slightest agitation. He had valium injections for when things got particularly bad, but he had begun to need them less and less.

"We thought," Eva started, her voice soft and quiet as ever, "that before we showed you your bedroom it might be best for you to get to know us a bit. So is there anything you want to ask us, or anything you want to say?"

 

[Evy]

As the family started to move inside the house, Tara looked at Ariel with a slightly worried look. Neither of them knew what was going to happen once they moved over the threshold into the house of a couple of strangers. Either it could turn out good, or bad. Four times it had been the latter, in different ways. Of course it had never been as bad as their lives with their father, but not knowing was something that scared Tara.
“It’ll be fine” Ariel mumbled quietly to her sister, grabbing her hand as they moved to the door. Together, they walked into the house, and as the door closed behind them, Tara stiffened slightly. The pair removed their thin jackets, the only things they actually owned. The jackets were ragged, they had been used both as pillows, blankets and jackets during the time after their father’s death. As they were just wearing t-shirts underneath the jackets, their arms became visible. Both girls had white scarring around their wrists, as if they had been bound multiple times. Other than that, there was no visible scarring on them, since it was covered by their clothes.

Ariel didn’t pay much attention to the interior of the house, at least not yet. Instead, her eyes moved around to look for potential escape routes, in case it was needed. Ariel didn’t like the feeling of being locked in, and by making sure she knew where the way out could be, she could focus on something else. Her eyes landed on the boy who was now moving upstairs. Kennedy explained it was due to him having to calm himself down. Instantly, Ariel started to think that she had done something wrong, that it was her fault that Hugo was upset. But she hadn’t said anything besides her name.

The other adult, Eva, started to talk. Her voice was soft, and she wondered if they had any questions. Ariel did have a lot of questions, and so did Tara. Would they be allowed to sleep together? What were the rules of the family and the consequences if they did something wrong? Would they be allowed to sign with each other without being reprimanded? The last family had forbidden them from signing with each other, and had given Tara a stupid whiteboard to write down what she wanted to say, or even sometimes removed the whiteboard to force her to speak, to “practice” as they had called it. It had resulted in Tara becoming even more silent than she already was, and Ariel had gotten very angry, and they had decided they had to get out of there. Besides from that kind of questions, Ariel didn’t really know what to ask them. It had been strange with the whole name mishap, because it seemed as if they had been called by the wrong names before. Although it was clearly something sensitive and Ariel didn’t want to make them angry by asking about it.

Tara raised her hands and looked at Eva. She pointed at herself, and then at Ariel. She did it multiple times, before placing her hands on her cheek, as if she was sleeping. She wanted to know if they would be sharing a room. That was definitely something they wanted, since both of them slept better if they shared a bed, especially Tara. Having her sister next to her during the night made her calmer, and Ariel did help her through the tougher nights. By using charade-like movements, Tara was hoping that Eva would understand what she was trying to say without having Ariel interpret. Tara did try her best to communicate with others. Some were patient and tried to understand her, while others just scoffed and treated her like she was stupid and talked over her head. Tara wondered how this family would act, and hoped they would be kind about it.

 

[PunkPrince]

Offering a reassuring smile, Eva looked back to the girls. “Don’t worry about Hugo,” she told them. “It’s nothing either of you did. He just gets anxious easily, that’s all. I’m sure he’ll be back around once he feels better.”

Clearly the girls had plenty more to ask, but there was no point in pushing them. "Okay. Perhaps later," Eva suggested gently. Tara began to mine something and it took Eva a moment to realize what she was trying to say. “You can share a room,” she answered. “We thought you might want to, with everything being so new. Hugo and Ronan share a room too.”

Why don't we go upstairs?" Kennedy asked softly. "We can show you where your room is."

She started up the stairs before waiting for an answer, and Eva beckoned for Tara and Ariel to follow. They stopped at the end of the hallway, and Kennedy pushed open the door to the room they had prepared for the girls. It had, at one time, been a guest room, plain and somewhat bare. They had, at first, contemplated perhaps leaving it as it was, but decided against it. The idea had seemed cold and harsh, and they suspected the girl had had very little in her previous homes, if anything , to herself at all. Kennedy had wanted to go all out, but Eva had convinced her to leave the place somewhat simple, so as not to overwhelm the girls too much on their first day. She'd wanted the room to feel peaceful, like somewhere they could retreat to relax if they needed to.

"We weren't exactly sure what you liked, so we tried to keep it sort of simple," Eva said, turning to the pair. "We can go out within the next couple days and pick out some things more to your liking, if you want."

A loud beep sounded from the back of the room, and Kennedy caught sight of a small green bird perched on the headboard of one of the beds
Stepping forward, she held a finger out for the bird to step up onto.
"Excuse me, sir," she said. "This is most definitely not your room." The bird responded with some nonsensical chattering, bobbing his head as if to emphasize whatever his point was.
"That's not very nice, Pickle," Kennedy said.
The bird continued babbling, leaning down to rub his beak on the bed frame and then leaning backwards to let out a loud squawk.

Eva turned to call over her shoulder, but Ronan peeked around the doorway before she could speak. "Pickle," he beckoned. "Come on."
The bird jumped from Kennedy's finger, flew a few feet, and then landed on the ground before running over to Ronan, toenails clicking on the hardwood floor.

Ronan leaned down to pick up the bird and offered Kathleen an apologetic grin. "Sorry," he said, ducking back out into the hall and heading toward his bedroom, able to be heard playfully scolding his bird until his voice dissipated down the hall. "You can't just go around wandering into other people's personal space, Mr. Pickle. It's not nice to just start touching other people's stuff..."

"I guess you've met Pickle," Eva said, smiling at Kathleen. "He's Ronan's bird. He's harmless. Just kind of a brat."

 

[Evy]

Tara smiled as Eva told her that they could share a room. The smile was both that the answer had been what she wanted, but also because Eva had understood her, and most importantly, not treated her as she was stupid. As the adults started taking the stairs upstairs, Tara and Ariel followed. Ariel looked down on the floor they were leaving behind as they walked upstairs. She wasn’t a big fan of having a bedroom upstairs, because if they had to, it would be harder to get out. She turned her head, and saw how Tara was looking at her, and Ariel was sure Tara knew what she was thinking. She always knew what Ariel had on her mind.
“They’re nice, don’t worry” Tara signed, and Ariel just shrugged for an answer. They didn’t know that yet. The other families had been nice in the beginning, too, but there was a reason this was their fifth family. They were unwanted, and Ariel had a hard time being as optimistic as Tara.

They stopped in the hallway upstairs, and the door to their room opened. Inside, it looked nice. There were two beds, and the room was furnished simple, but pretty. This was probably the biggest room they’d had out of the other families, besides from the one family that was persistent on having them sleeping in different rooms. Tara and Ariel had left that family rather quickly mainly because of that. As Eva explained why they had kept the room simple, Ariel blinked. Go out and pick out things to their liking? She barely understood what it meant, would they get to pick out stuff for this room? They didn’t have the money for that. It sounded as if they meant that they were going to get things for them. No other family had done that before, they had just given them hand-me-down things. Of course they were grateful for that, too, but this sounded too good to be true. Tara gave Ariel a look, saying “I told you they are nice” with her eyes.

A loud beep made both girls flinch. Tara instinctively took a step back towards the doorway, and tried to locate the sound. Ariel followed Kennedy as she walked to one of the beds, where Ariel now spotted a green bird. It seemed to be a pet of Ronan’s. As Kennedy started talking to the bird, Ariel couldn’t help but grin. It sounded so funny when she talked to it. Ariel looked back at Tara, who now seemed more relaxed, too, and she had giggled at the conversation made between Kennedy and the bird. She signed.
“He’s cute!” Ariel translated, and she nodded in agreement. She had never seen a domesticated bird before. It looked like a parrot, but Ariel didn’t know anything about birds, so she wasn’t sure. If they had this bird – Mr Pickle – maybe they had other animals, too?
“Do you – “ Ariel began, but fell silent. Ariel usually didn’t have a hard time talking and socializing, but in this new environment and place, she wasn’t sure how to act. She didn’t want to get in trouble or say something wrong.
“Do you have any other pets?” she asked, and looked at both Eva and Kennedy. Both Tara and Ariel loved animals. Tara was more general in what animals she liked, while Ariel loved dogs. They had always dreamed of having an animal, sometimes before they went to bed, they would talk about what animals they would have when they grew up, and what they would be called. They would need a farm to fit all those animals in, but it was fun to imagine.

Tara started signing again, and Ariel looked at her sister before she translated while turning back to the adults.
“We’ve never been in a house with pets before” she translated, and Tara nodded, with a smile on her face. Tara definitely liked having a bird in the house, and even though she might never be allowed to pet it, it was nice to know that it was here. She had a good feeling about this place, and this family, no matter how pessimistic Ariel was. Tara’s gut feeling was much better now than it had been anywhere else.

 

[PunkPrince]

The girls seemed startled, but at least interested by the bird's presence. Ariel started a question, hesitated, and then asked if they had any other pets. "Hugo has a rat," Kennedy said. "Though it doesn't really like anyone but him." Hugo had volunteered at an animal shelter for a short period and found the rat--called Ace--there. The shelter had had trouble finding him a home because he had been aggressive towards other rats and most people. The shelter had made an attempt to quell his issues by neutering him, and while it had calmed him slightly, the rat was still timid and likely to bite anyone that wasn't Hugo, who was still the only one who could handle him.

"Pickle is pretty much okay though," she finished. "He's also nuts...but he's a parrot--they're all nuts." A small smile danced on her lips as she spoke. The bird was generally sweet, but was mostly bonded to Ronan and was constantly getting into everything. He was loud and a bit of a brat, but Ronan was so attached to him that Kennedy couldn't really brig herself to complain.

"There are some clothes in the closet for you," Eva said, turing to the girls. "A few pairs of shoes too. We tried to keep it relatively basic for now, since we weren't sure what you might like." They'd done their best with what little knowledge of the twins they'd had. Their appearances on the first day they'd seen them had made it pretty clear they had never really been properly cared for before, and they'd thought it was best to at least make an effort to give them a proper wardrobe, whether they liked what they'd managed or not.

"We can leave you alone to unpack and get settled if you want," Kennedy offered. She didnt want to crowd the girls on their first day, while they were still getting used to everything. "If you don't need anything else."

 

[Evy]

Ariel’s eyes widened as Eva told them that there were clothes and shoes in the closet for them. It seemed as if they had bought things for them, not just old clothes, but actual new clothes just for them. Tara signed.
“Thank you so much, this is perfect” Ariel translated. Both girls liked the idea to be left alone for a while, just to breathe for a moment, but also to look around in the room that for the time being would be theirs. Not that they had anything to unpack, but being alone for a while and process all the impressions they'd had during this short time would be good.

When the adults left the room, Ariel exhaled slowly, and realised how tense she had been. She relaxed her shoulders and looked at Tara, who was smiling.
“I told you they seem great!” she signed, and Ariel shrugged.
“You said the same about the others” she muttered, and looked around the room. Ariel liked it. It was cosy, perfect for the two of them. She walked up to the closet and opened the doors. There were three pair of trousers each in there, as well as a few basic tops like t-shirts and long-sleeved shirts. Four pair of shoes stood on the floor of the closet. They looked much better than the torn and dirty sneakers Ariel and Tara wore. Everything looked better than what they were wearing, though. They had worn the same pair of trousers for ages now, and the more they were washed, the worse they looked.

Ariel turned around, looking at her sister who was standing by one of the beds. Each bed was big, bigger than the ones in their room at the foster care centre.
“Help me push” she signed, and Ariel looked at the door. Pushing the beds together would make some sound, and maybe they should ask if it was okay first. Ariel bit her lip for a second before she walked up to the bed, and helped her sister push the bed so the two beds were pushed together, making one big bed. They moved the nightstand as well, and Ariel looked at the result. They would really sleep well in a big bed like that. She sat down on the bed, the mattress was really soft. She stroked the bedspread with her hand, it was soft underneath her fingers and it looked pretty, covering the bed. Ariel put her hand in her pocket and pulled out the piece of paper with the sketch of Rufus. She placed it on the nightstand and followed Tara with her gaze, who was now moving towards the open closet.

Tara touched the jeans in the closet and looked down on her own. They were ragged and there was a hole by the knee. She pulled out the jeans from the closet and held them up to her. It seemed as if they would fit perfectly.
“Put them on” Ariel said, watching from the bed. Tara turned her head to look at her sister.
“They said it was for us, it should be fine” Ariel continued. Ariel’s own trousers were also ragged, but not as much as Tara’s. Plus, she didn’t really want to be too comfortable just yet. Tara quickly removed her trousers, pulling on the new ones. They did indeed fit perfectly.
“I look like a model in these!” she signed with a laugh and looked at herself in the mirror, turning to try and see all the angles of them. Ariel agreed, the trousers did look very good, and some part of her wanted to try on every single piece of clothes in that closet, but the other part of her brain told her not to. The part of her brain that also prepared her for when either Kennedy and Eva would see them as a lost cause and put them back in the foster care system, or if something happened that forced them to leave on their own. Ariel definitely wasn’t ready to throw herself into this family just yet, but she was very happy to see Tara laugh.

 

[PunkPrince]

Hugo stood just outside the doorway, hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans, a black and white rat perched on his shoulder happily chomping away on a banana chip. He reached up to give the animal a scratch on the head, shuffling his feet in hesitation. He could hear the girls talking just inside the cracked door. They didnt seem so bad, and he knew he should be doing his best to make them feel welcome, but after his sudden disappearance from the group upon their arrival, he wasn't sure how to make a seamless recovery.

A light piano song drifted up the stairs. It had to be Eva. She was the only one who played. A skill her mother had struggled to teach her when she was young, after her death Eva had promised herself she would learn. And learn she had. She could sing too, but she did so far less often, shy about her talents. His thoughts were confirmed as the singing started, the voice clearly belonging to Eva. Kennedy must not be nearby. Eva usually wouldn't sing if she thought someone could hear her. If Kennedy was around, she was keeping out of Eva's sight.

With a shaky sigh, Hugo raised a hand and lightly rapped on the door before peeking inside. "Hey," he started. "Uh...I just came to see if you needed any help? Unpacking, I mean. If you...have anything to unpack...I didnt, when I first got here...Um..." The boy dropped his gaze to the floor. Nice job, genius, he thought to himself. "Sorry." He forced a nervous smile, noticing that the girls were wearing some of the new clothes Eva and Kennedy had bought them. "You guys look nice," he added. "I helped pick out those pants."

 

[Evy]

Tara studied herself in the mirror for a while, stroking the new trousers with her hand, feeling the fabric and the non-existing ripped parts. She was happy that they had given them their own things, because it did make it feel as if they genuinely wanted them here, not just because of money or out of pity. A very faint sound made her freeze, and her eyes widened. She turned to her sister.
“Listen” she signed, and Ariel looked up, trying to locate the sound as she heard it, too. The girls looked at each other, and for a few seconds, it seemed as both of them were on their way to sprint out of the door to run and find the source of the piano music. Tara shook her head.
“It’s not her” she signed, and Ariel relaxed her shoulders. When Tara and Ariel were younger, their mother had been playing the piano for them. The girls had loved it, but in one of their father’s rage rampages, he had torn out the keys and thrown them all over the floor and music had never been heard in the house again. This was the first time since then that they had heard piano music, and instantly they were thrown back to when both of them stood next to their mother, watching her hands move graciously over the keys.


A knock on the door made both girls turn to it, and Ariel quickly stood up from her sitting position on the bed. The door was pushed open slightly, and one of the boys stuck his head inside. It wasn’t Ronan, but the other one, the one that had disappeared up the stairs as soon as they had gotten into the house. The way he spoke, it sounded as if he also had come from some sort of foster care system, since he said when I first got here. Ariel and Tara hadn’t heard a lot about the family before they came here, except that they already had three children and that they did something called drag as a hobby. Carl had seemed very narrow-minded when he left them here, but both Ariel and Tara thought it sounded cool, at least when Marie from the foster centre had tried to explain what drag meant. Now when Hugo was talking, it seemed as he wasn’t their biological child, maybe Eva and Kennedy had taken him in, too. Ariel smiled.
“We don’t have any stuff” she said, shrugging. She studied the boy, who seemed to be some years older than them. Tara did, too, and gave him a smile. He had apparently left them downstairs because he was anxious, and Tara knew exactly what that felt like. She didn’t like tensions, and backed away from confrontation. Ariel handled that stuff better.

Tara raised her hands and signed.
“Thanks for the trousers, it was a great choice” Ariel translated and Tara gave Hugo a big smile. Her eyes turned to his shoulder, where a rat was sitting. She gasped slightly and signed.
“Is that your rat? It’s cute!” Ariel translated, and she looked at the rat, too. The only rats she had seen were the ones running around in the alleys of the streets during the nights, but this one was much cuter than them.

 

[PunkPrince]

Hugo grinned, pleased that his choice of trousers had been a good one. He had initially been eyeing them for himself in the hopes of turning them into something interesting. Kennedy had pointed out that there was already a pile of thrifted finds in the basement he hadn't done anything with yet, and he supposed he was right. Not that all of it was his. They all had the habit of picking up things that could possibly be made into some sort of interesting costume piece before relegating them to the scrap pile, where they sat until someone remembered they existed again, or someone tried to sort through them only to just end up keeping it all. Maybe Ariel and Tara could think of uses for some of it.

At the mention of his rat, Hugo glanced toward Ace, surprised to see the rodent stretching his neck out towards Tara. "Don't--" he started, stopping himself as he realized Ace was only sniffing at her, watching the rat give the girl's finger a quick lick before retreating back to the safety of his shoulder. "Huh..." Hugo said, letting out a relieved sigh. "He...didn't bite you. Usually he won't get near anybody who isn't me. Or if he does he bites them."

"Are you talking about your vampire rat?"

Jupiter appeared in the doorway, leaning up against the frame, looking towards the group with a raised eyebrow. A coat was draped over their shoulders, smelling slightly of fresh paint and singed fabric. It was peppered with tiny holes, the formerly red, white, and blue fabric turned brown around the edges of them where Jupiter had meticulously burnt it.

"He'd probably like you more if you stopped calling him that," Ronan suggested, appearing just behind his sibling. "Then you could have him make the holes in that jacket for you." He smirked, and then added, "I like it. It's about time you finished it. You've been painting it and ripping it up for weeks."

 

[Evy]

Tara grinned as the rat stretched its little body out to come closer to her, and she extended a finger towards it. Tara’s brain didn’t register Hugo’s “don’t” in time to retract her hand, but Ariel’s did. She took a step towards her sister and Hugo, but stopped as she noticed that the rat wasn’t attacking her twin as she had thought. It just licked Tara’s finger before getting back properly on Hugo’s shoulder. Hugo looked surprised, and told them that the rat usually bit other people.
“Tara’s good with animals” Ariel said with a slight shrug. She turned towards the doorway, in which someone appeared. It was Jupiter, wearing something different from before. A coat hung over their shoulders, filled with holes. Ariel’s nose twitched as a faint smell of burnt fabric made its way to it. It was probably coming from the holes, together with the smell of paint.

Tara looked at Jupiter, listening to the conversation between the siblings, as the other boy appeared. She signed, and Ariel looked at her sister before turning her attention towards Jupiter.
“Did you make it yourself?” she interpreted, and she was actually wondering the same thing herself. She also wondered why there were holes burnt in it, but she didn’t want to seem as if she thought it was ugly. Maybe it was fashion, who would Ariel be to know that with her ripped jeans and worn out t-shirt? She glanced over at the new trousers Tara was wearing, maybe she should try out a pair, too.

Again, Tara raised her hands, and Ariel watched them. Tara usually wasn’t very chatty with new people, it surprised Ariel that she had been talking as much as she had already. It made her happy, but it was still surprising. Maybe it was because this was the first house where the children that already lived there actually seemed to make an effort to communicate with them. In the other houses, the children had just kept themselves away from them, as if they were scary.
“How did you learn how to do that?” Ariel interpreted, and Tara looked at Jupiter. Tara had no idea how one could decorate something and make it look nice. She wasn’t very creative, Ariel was the creative one with her drawing. Tara didn’t really have a skill to be proud of, but she would be keen to learn something new.