✦✦ || we shine until we fade

[hypnowave]

xxx

xx

xxx ♟

xxxusername: aviate
xxxname: lennox pluto cypher
xxxsex: female
xxxgender: bigender, they/them/he/him

xx

[hypnowave]

✦✦

"lennox." the scrawny plumerian's lips mouthed the word as it was sketched on a piece of paper. fingers uneasily gripped the pencil, dragging along its graphite tip across the surface of the textbook, the 'x' at the end looking like a deformed letter 'k.' the process of merely writing the name took about ten seconds, slow for standards. moving to the next line. again, they plumerian muttered, "lennnn-nox." it was tedious. but they were not writing their name in their mother tongue, english. they were making an attempt to write it in greek letters.

at the very least they managed to do it well enough. for the last few hours they'd needed another piece of paper with their own messy greek handwriting, a chart they used to translate their name into greek. now the paper had folds, creases and even an ink spill where the plumerian's pen had messed up. discarded to the very edge of their bed and better left in a bin than in its pitiful state. lennox, however, was too engaged in their writing to notice that and the other five translator sheets scattered across their bed. also on said bed were two pillows and a blanket, although half of the blanket was hanging off the mattress and its tip touched the floor. lennox paid no attention to them and moved to the next line on their book, wondering what to write their name in next, biting the tip of their pen out of unhealthy habit. their left hand rose to brush away a lock of hair back and tucked it behind their ear, before deciding on using old english font with a regular black marker with its tip cut to a slant. lennox's right hand stretched as far as they could manage, except their pencil case was two inches out of reach. grunting, they had to sprawl out on the bed to grab the small case before sitting up straight again to grab the marker they needed.

the process repeated, them writing their name while pronouncing it, pulling the two syllables apart in time. old english was one font they still struggled with, and it took them three seconds just to finish the first letter. "l-len.... n-noxxx." once they managed to finish, they chose a few other languages and fonts to write their name in, and each time, it was accompanied by their own way of saying their name. it was an enjoyable pastime, and they finished off by putting away their pencil case and reading the paper top to bottom. "lennox, lennox, lennox." their voice was one that better fit a whiny child at a fairground than the plumerian with dreadlocks and a hatred for speaking in public. it was a voice inherited from their own father... or at least the one they loved more than the other. anyways, although the voice trait only showed up when they were agitated, angry or whatever, lennox hated their regular voice anyways so it didn't make much of a difference did it? it was one like an angry kid who was grounded by their mother, or had their lollipop taken or something. not exactly on the verge of tears, just wanting to punch someone to get their lollipop back and sulk around. always saying words like 'fine,' 'whatever,' 'i don't care.' that was lennox's basic, regular voice. amazing how it could turn so high-pitched when you steer them the wrong way.

knock, knock. lennox's ears pricked and they got off their bed, which had a custom-built facade that made it look like a mattress in a small rowing boat, oars and all. they left their pencil case on the bed, but promptly placed the sheet they had written on - a 'practice sheet,' as lennox was fond of calling it - on their desk, and then opened the three locks to their door. one was a padlock that needed a key, another was a sliding lock, and finally a traditional lock that was built into their wooden door, which was painted black. click, click, click. with those locks out of the way, lennox opened the door only a crack, revealing the face of their 'papa' enfer. for a considerable amount of time, lennox only stared at him, until enfer murmured something very quickly about music. lennox understood this, and opened the door halfway through and going to fetch their violin. their gait was uneven, but they were able to walk towards the edge of their room, where an ebony casing waited for them. stripping the velcro open, they unzipped the casing and uncovered their polished instrument. it reflected the pale purple-blue light of the room, just like an icy lake in the middle of a dark forest would. they took it out and held it in the left hand while taking its bow, also black but with white strings. they played the violin experimentally, checking for any adjusting that they could possibly need. after tuning the g and d strings they were ready to play. before that, though, they sat down and placed the violin on the floor, took some violin rosin and applied it to their bow. lennox noticed enfer's head peeking through the door, and although they didn't really mind they focused on the bow and put the rosin away once they felt like the bow was now usable, they picked the violin up again and walked through the door. enfer watched as they led the way to the piano, where they would play a duet like they always did.

it was their own version of the song 'stone walls' by we the kings, although neither of them would be singing they had an audio recording of the actual song. enfer flicked a switch on their recorder, so that they would have data on the song they were about to perform. they began to play, first without the singer's audio, lennox standing near enfer with his right arm drawing back and forth with each note change. the fingers on their left hand moving in accordance to the song, their spine straight, the tips of their toes spread apart at an angle of forty five degrees. their posture when playing the violin was always this exact. enfer's posture was not very different, and their music synchronized perfectly.

"good job," enfer said after he'd switched the recorder off. when it was their second time playing, though, lennox asked if they could try singing the song on their own. yeah, they weren't perfect, although they did sing once in a while... no, not in the shower, that wasn't something they liked to do. they did practice in their room though, where only their underwater friends could hear. not that they would care much or even notice. another reason why they liked them better than the 'family pets,' the hamsters and guinea pigs. enfer just nodded... was that encouragement in his eyes, or anticipation to see a sqeaky voice attempt to sing an inspiring song that told a story? lennox's heart sank at the thought of possibly getting laughed at. then again, papa wasn't that kind of person, so that helped. sure, bell would probably laugh her head off and shut the door to her room, and bill wouldn't be that proud, but enfer? he was okay. so lennox took a deep breath and began to sing, their vocal cords managing to capture each note well enough. it was nothing perfect, it never was, but there was an amount of sincerity in it that a kid like them shouldn't have. almost as if the song was dedicated to someone else, although in their mind, the only one they thought about was themself. thinking of themself as a person managed to pin the song down and give it a makeover from the original. robbed away the guitar, replaced it with a piano, took away the beat of a drum and dominated the violin. almost made it into a whole new song.

enfer still played the piano in the same manner as he'd done so before, but his movements were less formless, as if some of lennox's words had an impact on their father. and yet the song was over so soon, and all lennox could do was take a deep breath and exhale. took the violin where they'd left it leaning against the piano and plucked a few strings, feeling proud of the singing they'd managed although they wouldn't admit it for the life of them. at least the experience was still there. before leaving, enfer got up and looked at lennox, then left, fiddling with his hoodie strings. lennox shrugged and went back to their own room, hoping bell wouldn't be there to say anything about their recent performance. luckily, they managed to run to their room in time to shut the door, secure the locks, and jump on their bed. there they were free to roam their own thoughts. lennox's mind always had a lot going on in it. there was always plenty of things they left unsaid for reasons beyond themself. this time there were questions, many questions. let's put it in a way easier to depict and understand: their mind was a forest, a constantly moving one, lennox's utopia in their head. a place for them to retreat to whenever they felt like they weren't needed, or were unimportant, or simply needed to shy away from the real world. it was no dream. it was... a mindset, a pocket dimension. where everything was monochrome except for lennox's summoned thoughts, what they focused on, what they were thinking about. and this time, the only item not sunken in a mellow gray was a sheet of paper, and written across it in ink was a question. ever felt like you weren't important? lennox stared at the paper, their mindself picking it up and rubbing it between their thumbs and index fingers on both hands. maybe this question had conceived itself when they were playing that violin, a sub-thought that tunneled into their mind and hid there until they could focus on it. what made this piece of paper appear?

huh. it was usually a stray thought that had been hanging around for so long that it came back and forced you to tend to it because no matter how unimportant it seemed, it was inevitable. yeah, it was probably something like that, lennox thought, as they wondered why the question had come to them now out of all times. nothing today had made them feel like they weren't important... or maybe it was the other way around and instead today made them feel important? perhaps. they'd had some father bonding time and they had to admit it felt like they were needed around that way. otherwise enfer wouldn't have anyone else to play with. they started to think of what made them feel important. their jellyfish, their angelfish and their glassfish collection helped. after all, those were all they had for company whenever they were cooped up in their room... which they begrudgingly admitted was more than just often. the guinea pigs and hamsters? lennox despised them. there was simply no other way to say it, but they did feed those rascals once in a while. especially when bell was up and at it with her physical exercise and their fathers were busy. two points then. bell never really made them feel important. their dads? suppose so. but now the thoughts crowding in lennox's head were focusing on something else; the things that made them feel unimportant. and oh, that flood of thoughts, it was unstoppable. a tsunami, one lennox saw in their dreamworld. a sea of gray images that looked a little like a theater, each one telling a story of its own. lennox didn't even want to look at them.

the paper was taken away by the wind and the water filled the scenery, pulling at lennox's feet, trying to drag them away. terror? fear? it was hard to fathom it in words, so lennox didn't even try. they just wanted to escape, to run from the truth that they weren't important. somehow, the thought of it attacked them so badly that they began to hyperventilate. there it was again, ringing in their head.

ever felt like you weren't important?

[hypnowave]

✦✦ personal characteristics;
when it comes to objectives, lennox has them divided into two: primary and secondary objectives. their primary objectives are to learn as many languages as they can and to get a job related to literature someday; they want to pursue a dream that will allow them to utilize their one passion as best as they can. their secondary objectives are their 'side missions,' and although they're not something they would work particularly hard for, they hope to accomplish them: to be able to feel confident in their singing, play the violin as backup for enfer, and get along with bell better. the first two are self-explanatory, as music is one thing they enjoy, but lennox will go as far as sprinting to their room to avoid explaining the latter. they just don't want to have that dysfunctional of a family despite bill and bell's tempers. then they have their priorities, which are that 'everything that has to do with writing comes first.' it's not really a surprise, although it isn't that apparent either when lennox is sprawled out on their bed with their pencil case almost about to fall off the edge and their sketchbook perched on top of the moon jellyfish tank. motivation? there really isn't much else except for lennox's goal on it's own. speaking a bunch of languages sure is tempting. they've accomplished enough already, being able to speak in three languages, learn two at the moment, and write their name down in twelve languages so far. they've also achieved an impressive feat outside of writing, such as managing to play 'flight of the bumblebee' on their violin independently, although it was a tedious, sloppy performance that took longer than they'd hoped. then again, lennox has failures, many of them. they've tried learning mandarin and have given up three times now. they've tried learning to play the piano and failed, and singing in front of a crowd [ or even their whole family ] isn't something they were able to do either, which has deflated their self-confidence time after time. playing the violin in front of ten people is intimidating already. it worries lennox often that aforementioned confidence could end up interfering with their goals. it doesn't do much, but it soothes them to watch their undersea pets float calmly in their tanks, and it gives lennox calming thoughts that they would one day accomplish it all, one way or another.

✦✦ memories;
every memory leads back to the first one. in lennox's case, their first memory was of bell. she wasn't impressed to look at the bundle of crying fur that was her sibling, and by the look of her face she wouldn't be for a long, long time. the expression plastered on her face almost looked like disgust. lennox never really asked if it was true, but in the way they remembered it, they were in the middle of moving from one temporary home to another, something they only did every few months with their family. bill was carrying boxes someplace, looking a bit flustered, and then enfer was checking off a list. if lennox remembered correctly, bell was supposed to 'look after the new kid.' and that was why she was fuming and looking at len with such... hatred, for lack of a better word. there are some stray details that come with the memory, such as how the clock mounted on the wall showed exactly twelve o' clock although bill had said the clock was five minutes late, that lennox's bow tie was almost about to fall, and that one of bell's dreadlocks was tucked behind her ear although that particular lock usually wasn't.

lennox has a memory that they're terribly fond of. they remember a time out with bill, they were in a car and bill had the wheel. he was driving them to a place he didn't describe except for one phrase: 'a surprise.' lennox had to admit they weren't at all excited, since the last time they were outside was when they went to a pet shop to find a pet for themselves. needless to say, len was still touched up with a bunch of bandages, most of which were blue, all over their hands and arms. they also hardly looked pleased, although bill had a grin that sent chills down their spine. the car suddenly wheeled towards the edge of the road and stopped, and since lennox hadn't paid any attention to where they were, they instantly looked outside, their dreads getting in their eyes. the sight they beheld soon after robbed the breath out of young lennox, their eyes widening at the bright neon sign with a light that read something, except they were too busy taking in the sight to notice what it was. bill chuckled, seeing his child so bewildered. he took lennox to the front door and opened it. inside, at least ten glass tanks lined up per row, and there were five rows. each tank was lit with a blue blacklight, and there were all sorts of sea creatures inside the tanks. jellyfish, lobsters, shrimp, even a few fish. this was the memory that was the most detailed in lennox's head, from the way bill smiled at them knowingly to how the third backlight in the leftmost row was broken and the tank empty. after that was mostly a blur, but lennox knew they ended up with a bunch of moon jellyfish, glassfish and angelfish.

not all memories are happy ones of course. despite the memory of getting scratched by a cat being a displeasing one altogether it wasn't the worst in their book. they simply hated bell as well, but lennox wouldn't write her down as the worst one either. too bad she was their older sister and not their younger, because then lennox could put her birth down as the memory. but no, their worst memory was seeing their life flash before their eyes. they could be exaggerating, but still. it was a recent memory, it was nighttime and they were the only one awake, wanting a snack. midnight cravings, if you will. they walked over to the dinner table where sometimes food was left behind, and the first thing they saw was some ice cream in a closed plastic cup. honestly when it's two in the morning, no one's awake and you'd kill for anything to eat, you'd do exactly what lennox did, and popped the lid open... although that was when their worst nightmare took place. the cup was some ten percent ice cream, ten percent air and two hundred percent raging ants. oh god. oh god. lennox's panic was so immediate they dropped the cup on the floor and they could have sworn these ants craved their soul, because they were everywhere, spilling out of the cup, going everywhere, crawling to their feet, to the table, it was an unruly sight to behold. there was a voice screaming in lennox's head and it was so loud, so overwhelming, but the terrified child took control and met common sense, backing away so fast they almost crashed into the wall. so there they were, standing against a wall while an ant infestation ran back and forth in the dining room, the only sound lennox could hear being their own heart beating a hundred times a second louder than a jet's engine. they forgot how exactly it ended... and that's probably for the better anyway.

✦✦ dreams and nightmares;
to lennox, dreams are strange things, born from thoughts and experiences into a mind where it is free to shape itself into any form, able to spiral into a peaceful dream, a terrible nightmare, or an odd mix of both. for lennox, someone who dreams quite rarely, it's a whole new sensation to wake up after experiencing a dream. sitting up in their bed, clutching their heart, breathing like they've run a mile. it's something worth noting how sometimes they wakes up from a dream and takes up to ten minutes trying to register that said dream only happened in their head.

ironically enough for someone who sleeps in a bed with a boat facade, lennox's most pleasant dream has to be the one they had on a plane. they were sitting at the window seat, which was honestly pretty cliche, and they were there next to enfer. bell and bill were on the opposite side of the plane, so from left to right there was bell, bill, the lane gap between the seats, enfer, and finally lennox, who was gazing outside, watching as their plane sailed above what they soon realized was europe. it took them a few moments later to realize they were flying away from germany, although they couldn't seem to figure out where they were going. but they remembered a few details that eluded them during the dream. when lennox woke up from it, they'd jotted their memory down on paper, and now it tells the tale on its own. they were on a plane, off to who knew where, enfer was beside them, and the sun was beginning to set. there was the constant rumbling of the jet engines and the never-ending conversation of everyone else on the plane. what made the dream pleasant was that lennox had everything they wanted on the plane. it had wifi, for one thing, and they had a laptop in front of them. they were very much enjoying themselves, until they realized that enfer, sitting there, had been staring, for lack of a better word, at them for quite some time. his eyes were empty, pupils dilated, and when lennox tried to talk to him he didn't react at all. there was a sadness in his eyes that len didn't understand. enfer stretched his hand in front of them and shut the laptop down, pulled it back towards him and stuffed it in its bag, sighing. that was when it got weird.

"let it go," bill said from his seat, placing a hand on his husband's shoulder across the gap between their seats. bell leaned forward in her seat and listened in. enfer held back a bitter sob and nodded, covering the lower half of his face with his right hand while bill looked on somberly. "it's okay, love. she's in a better place now." bell nodded, although her eyes were glassy, before sitting back in her seat. enfer closed his eyes and uncovered a sheet of paper from his pocket, unfolded it, and then read it before silently sobbing again. lennox peered at the words written on the sheet, eyes widening with every word they read. the words were in dark blue crayon, and there was a scribble there that looked like a child did it. of enfer and... lennox. enfer being a huge dark gray and red blob of color with an overdid smile across his face, and the younger, shorter picture of lennox being similarly colored, with overlapping blues and purples and a pose that looked as if it was poorly based off a photo. lennox's face was deformed with a crease that lined up right under their eyes, and a few other folds that were probably from being kept in enfer's pocket for so long. across the paper was their handwritings side by side; lennox's messier, childish font that read 'papa'... and then enfer's neater one that read 'lydia.'

"lydia pluto cypher," enfer whispered before folding the paper and tucking it in again. "i'm sorry i'm not strong enough."

wait. lydia? that... that was lennox's birth name. the one they went by for only the first few years of their life, before they changed to lennox. why was it here, why were they on a plane? and the more important question... why was enfer crying? they racked their brain although everything was honestly quite obvious. apparently their 'lydia' wasn't here with them. she was in a better place, and lennox... that's what didn't make any sense at all. waving their hand in front of their father's face had no effect, and when they tried to touch them their hand went right through. what did that mean? was lennox dead? a floating spirit? they stood up in their seat and jumped to the middle lane, and then looked at bill, who was shaking his head and trying not to look at bell. there was also something in his hand, and it was a photo. lennox didn't even want to look at it, they knew it would be something that made them cry. and then bell! bell, out of all people, she was actually crying. had her face buried in the knees she'd pulled close to her chest, her figure racking whenever she sobbed, she was mourning them! a scowl appeared on lennox's face, it was hard to explain how disgusted they felt... but at the same time, they felt a happiness. somehow, seeing their sister here brought down to her lowest point to cry about her lost sibling, len's feeling like they're finally getting back at their sister. and honest to god it's a good feeling, when they're in their room trying not to cry after bell forced them to feed the hamsters and guinea pigs, thinking 'if i wasn't here would you feel sorry for me?' and yes, yes she would, crying inside the plane pretending she was okay. and lennox, here, invisible to everyone, trying to touch someone only to see themself going through them and not even feeling their warmth, their signs of life. falling in and out of reality because apparently, that's all they could do.

after a while of walking aimlessly up and down the airplane and even making it into the control panel of the plane and having their fair share of watching the captain, lennox came to a number of conclusions: they were somehow brought here, 'lydia' was dead, they could touch items and couldn't pass through them, but they couldn't move them at all, and they couldn't at all interact with the others inside this plane. well, that was strange enough. they didn't know how long it took, but they felt the plane land, and they saw the doors opening. they threw themselves over to the doors, only to realize there weren't any stairs down there, and they were plummeting towards the cement floor... and that was when they woke up.

what makes the dream so prominent in lennox's memory has to be how they often reminisce about it, imagining what would have happened if the dream was a reality. being an invisible 'ghost' only able to sit about while their family progresses on its own, watching bell grow up without ever knowing her younger sibling, who said sibling could have grown up into. seeing whether or not their parents would fall into depression, whether or not they would have any more children. wondering how their lydia had passed away, and what the funeral was like. flowers and black veils, magnolia petals falling onto the grave? they've written so much about it... although that will be addressed later on.

nightmares? lennox never had many. none of which were very prominent either. some ant related dreams, like being chased by a giant ant down the stairs only to wake up grasping their shirt and almost crying in bed first thing in the morning, dreams of bell treating len badly and even verbally abusing them, calling them things better left under the bed. things the real life bell would never say. lennox's subconscious tends to picture bell as a raging monster, someone whose hatred for them was unimaginably venomous, laced with several threads of disgust. a demon, eager to pick at lennox's remains like a vulture. nothing like the angry older sister she typically was. all of lennox's fears, their greatest worries, all of them took on the form of a psychotic bell in their dreams, ready to take their hand, pull them into the abyss, framed with images of torture. that was it, those were lennox's few nightmares of bell. they never had dreams about their fathers, leave for one where lennox was inside a car filled with pet supplies for the rodents and the jellyfish, and it was raining outside, and bill and enfer were running away into the foggy distance. it wasn't really a nightmare, but it had those ominous perks to it that lennox would rather not experience.

any neutral dreams, those were things lennox usually forgot by the end of the day. but one dream lennox always thought about was the dream they only had once a year. they would hold a flashlight and walk down a path through what somewhat resembled a park they went to once, and they would point their flashlight at the treetops again and again. trees bordered both sides of the path, and lennox would keep walking down the path alone. once in a while they would hear noises, like a squirrel or some rustling branches, but the dream would never end until at one point, lennox would look down and realize that they were walking on broken glass. then they would wake up. annual dreams were never really significant to them, and they only began to realize the routine of this dream the fourth time they experienced it. according to a few sources they opened, lennox discovered that broken glass symbolized negative changes in one's life. they never understood how the dream would apply to their life... perhaps not yet.

[hypnowave]

✦✦ as a child;
lennox's birth name was... quickly discarded into the ocean and later forgotten, so we won't talk about that. they went by feminine pronouns for quite some time really, about until they reached ten years, when they started exploring the alien concept that was gender. when it came to names, though, they picked up the name lennox when they found it in a book or something. they kept their middle name of pluto, which was part of their birth name and was what their family referred to them as until they picked out the name lennox. they've gone by it ever since. being the youngest in the house is never as pleasant as it seems. bell always bosses them around, bullying them whenever she gets the chance... and when she isn't, she's running off with some of her friends. it just wasn't fair that she treated kids she called her pals better than her own younger sibling. the resentment grew quickly in the heart of little lennox. being a child just sucks in general. although, lennox does enjoy some of it, like being able to get what they want easily. lonely, want a pet? off to the pet store we go! although that was also when lennox learned to hate mammals, when a cat escaped its cage and shredded their face and arms... let's just say that lennox came home with about ten bandages and a hatred for anything with claws. bell included. that aside, they got themselves a good few moon jellyfish and aquatic friends, and surely that was the good that came from a hellish childhood. the only good, though? not really. the fact that lennox wasn't the center of attention in the family - although no one ever was, to be honest - gave them the time and freedom they took to learn languages. no idea how that would help them in the future really, but the sole thought of managing to understand people better behind the barrier of words was enough. after all, if you didn't find surprising people with your knowledge, you've lied. len always imagined things such as people complaining in front of them thinking they couldn't understand what aforementioned people were talking about. understanding could help lennox in assisting people they met. or would meet, anyway, since at this point they're just a room dweller on a boat-bed with big dreams and small jellyfish. granted, they could access the internet whenever they wanted thanks to bill being kind enough to let lennox borrow his laptop a lot, as long as they promised to use it for language learning and not playing games... yeah, they broke that rule. then again, that was also when they started exploring gender orientations and settled for what they felt was right. so many things happened during lennox's youth that formed the strong foundation for them growing up, even when all the above is excluded. the past always weaves together that tight cloth where one dips in the ink of time. lennox's cloth in particular is considerably stained, especially around the first few stitches.

✦✦ as a teenager;
if lennox had a nickel for every time someone turned their head to look at them, they'd be living in a mansion by now. honestly they never meant to stand out in a crowd, but it's easy when you're so striking. dreads, rainbow scarf, dark purple beanie and a wide wardrobe sounds pretty average, but it somehow manages to draw attention to lennox all the time. maybe it's because lennox's height met a growth spurt during their teenage years bringing them closer and closer to enfer's height each year, and maybe even beyond that. seeing as height changes a lot when it comes to how people treat you, it's affected lennox by a lot, and since they stand out so much they try to make the best of it, talk some more and all in all try their best not to mess things up in conversation. pull off that language talent and bust out a whole sentence in full french when they're angry. outside, they try their best to socialize, make friends, joined book club even. and then there's always family time to think about. instead of locking themself away in their room, nowadays lennox avoids family contact with namely bell by going outside and skateboarding, but that doesn't mean they've left behind their precious aquatic friends. although by now they've replaced their bed facade with a regular one and cleaned their room up a bit to, say, normalize it, the tanks are still there and lennox still tends to them well. they still play the violin, still write their name in many languages in a book, still sprawl out on their bed at night reading or writing; not much has changed when it comes to lennox being alone or home. they still play duets with enfer and still don't feel too confident in their singing, they still love enfer more than bill. they still dislike the family pets, still hate bell... amazing how a handful of years can still keep things the same. sure, bell is always outside nowadays with someone else that lennox in all honesty feels disgusted towards, and that is in fact something new, but so far? it's like len's still seven and short. just maybe with a few more beanies and the occasional suit, more hours spent outside, and a new possible addition to the family that lennox just can't tolerate. but when bell is out of the house supposedly lovestruck, len can't really complain. having the whole house to themself isn't exactly something you wouldn't want to have. it's given them all the time they need when they write, too. making themself a cup of tea before settling down and beginning to type, painting the canvas with a story titled 'the second sharpest knife with the broken handle,' so far things are looking bright enough to make lennox allow more sunlight into their room. and then... romance? being rendered awkward when someone gets too close, lennox's chill can break apart easily when they're uncomfortable. their speech turns short and abrupt, they start stuttering and swearing in three languages at once... maybe teenage years aren't the best for a little love. no luck in that department.

✦✦ as an adult;
oh, so lennox is an adult now. well, not much has changed to say the least. they're still the same person who can take crap from anyone and write essays upon essays in three languages to vent. still the one who swears in french, corrects himself in dutch and apologizes in german. although, they probably have updated their wordbank with a few other languages, like greek, italian, latin and so on. being an adult though means they definitely need a job, preferably something more professional than the hours they spent in chain restaurants on minimum wage as a teen. language major maybe? or on the way to becoming one while at the same time mastering the violin and attending concerts and orchestras. they've probably got their eyes on chasing a couple extra talents too, maybe something sport related. sure they've got a thin and tall build, they're a scrawny skeleton since birth, but hey. maybe they could pull something off depending on whether or not they have the time. and then we have the topic of romance. yeah, when they didn't have much hope as a teen you'd think they've improved since then and tried to catch up to their sister bell, who might have found someone already... then again, that was since len was a teen. guess it's time for them to pull up their asexual flag up because honestly... so far romance hasn't been a present theme throughout their life unless we're talking about the romance that's pulling bell away from home and the one that brought their fathers together. although they do want to be with someone in the end... it's all gray areas. they're just going to go with the flow, because they aren't someone who sticks close to labels anyway. now let's talk about daily life. lennox, an adult, sitting in the corner of a coffee shop with their laptop on their table, typing rapidly with a headset playing their favorite song of the time, trying to picture their latest story in a couple hundred words, moving on to the next theme and then again. being someone who speaks so many languages... despite that, lennox is still pretty loyal to english, writing books and stories around the language. sometimes reading their stories to little kids when they come over to watch bill and his magic tricks. they're all over there, cheering as lennox's dad pulls a rabbit out of a hat, all that jazz, and then we have len brushing the dust off a pop-up book for the few children who were too short to see above all the other kids' heads. sitting cross-legged on the floor, reading with a soft voice to them about magic, although not the kind that their father has on his right hand. the kind of magic that's cold and harsh... because those are the stories len writes best and relates to most. they're not feeding these children poison with these stories, just showing them how to face the world when they grow up using undertones to their seemingly bright and happy scenarios that were always too close to their own life.

[hypnowave]

✦✦ let's talk quirks and tidbits.
➵ grammar;
lennox always corrects others' grammar mistakes. that's one side effect of being a complete literature junkie. they don't usually correct every single mistake of the slightest scale, but they do snap whenever they hear someone mispronounce a word or misuse it. however, they aren't as harsh as they seem, and tend to educate on the mistake although it wouldn't make much of a difference in the near future. they tend to do this in a rougher manner when they're in a bad mood or after bell's rubbed them the wrong way. speaking of which, they would never correct bell or their parents considering how they have respect for the latter and fear of the former.

➵ holding grudges;
as much as lennox wishes they could rear up and physically express their hatred towards certain individuals [ i.e bell ] they're not exactly comfortable with baring their teeth in public. they don't really let their grudges show because of this, and hardly expresses them willingly unless somebody displays their own negative feelings for those people. when lennox finds out they're not the only one who's pissed off at someone, they empathize with an explicitly loud manner, and instantly lists whatever receipts they have and everything they hate about a person. well, when that happens, so much for giving off the silent treatment.

➵ nail biting;
nail biting is low on lennox's peeve list, although they would never dream of doing it to their own fingernails. they tend to notice bitten nails quickly and may express disgust to them once in a while, but they do consider why one would bite their nails in the first place. was it out of nervousness? lack of time to actually use a nail clip? or just a bad habit? as lennox finds that nails and hands in general tend to say a lot about a person, they more often remain silent on the topic and judge based on the wellbeing of fingernails, whether or not they're polished, and so on. for someone whose nails are always tidy and clipped, lennox strongly hopes to be someone who's capable of projecting a good, responsible image.

➵ the violin;
lennox's violin is one item that they treasure dearly. from its casing, rosin, bow to the actual violin, lennox takes great care of the instrument and tends to polish it daily while sitting on their bed and reciting words in language practice. the violin was a birthday present that bell handed over to them, although she had grudgingly did so. lennox suspected that bill had picked it out for them but told bell to give it to them, because honestly, bell would never do such a thing with her own free will. she probably doesn't even know when len's birthday even is anymore. maybe taking comfort in knowing bill was the one who indirectly gave len the violin made them treasure it so much.

➵ hiding their squeaky voice;
lennox inherited enfer's voice trait that causes it to go all squeaky when someone rubs them the wrong way. it's not that big of a deal for the quieter lennox, unless it lasts the whole day. after all, you can't stay quiet for that long. to avoid activating the voice trait lennox tries to keep calm most of the time, but when it's too late they'll try to express things with their eyes and hands. they don't tend to make it look too obvious that they can't speak though, and will usually give up and pretend they don't care about how embarrassing they sound. they've never used a pen and paper to go around the situation either, even if they've been laughed at for their voice more than one unpleasant time.

➵ habits when writing;
for someone who writes on their bed so much, it's not a surprise that lennox usually ends up with back pain. yeah, they do have a desk... and it's a wonder why they don't use it all that often. with all their pencils strewn out across the bed and the sheets kicked around, lennox finds themself as comfortable as they can be. until they're in that position for too long, then they get up and stretch for a while. straighten their back a little. when they were young, lennox made it a habit to bite the tip of their pencil, but after coming across a book on bacteria they suddenly stopped. it's for the greater good of their faithful pencils, anyway. lennox usually rubs their index finger against the paper they're writing on, and sometimes their toes wiggle a lot when they write. there's no real way to explain why, though.

➵ habits when reading;
just like when they're writing, lennox does the finger-page rubbing and toe wiggling when they're reading too. sometimes their lips move when they're reading slowly, but if they're reading books, they usually read so fast they don't do it. len used to move their head left to right when reading until bell commented that they looked like an own reading like that, and that made them read by moving their eyeballs to follow the words ever since then. lennox is usually very aware of their breathing when they read, and tend to purposefully slow down their respiration to quicken their heartbeat and keep them as awake as possible.

➵ hands and feet;
just like fingernails, hands and feet say a lot about people. lennox's hands are smaller and delicate compared to the average, and lennox hates getting them dirty. it's not that different when it comes to lennox's feet, although the pinky toe on their left foot lost its toenail once after lennox caught it on a jutting rock when they were younger. they hadn't even agreed to go outside that day, but at least the toenail's grown back since then. lennox's shoes aren't that different either, since lennox doesn't use them much outside of school. a saying goes as such; 'a man's shoe soles show how hardworking he is.' lennox's shoes don't really follow suit. sure their shoe soles aren't scratched, with the rubber softened after plenty of use, but that doesn't mean lennox isn't hardworking... although it's true they aren't that active in physical activity outside.

➵ coffee;
caffeine is one of lennox's guilty pleasures. they're not supposed to drink coffee at their age, but sometimes going home from school they will buy some and hide it till they're safe in their room. although the drink lennox finds pleasure in from its taste more than its effects, they still appreciate how it can keep them awake for as long as they need it to... unless it goes beyond lennox's expectations and leads to them staying up and contemplating life and existence, the multiverse theory, and the many other theories that keeps the gears in their head constantly turning. coffee, all in all... len's used to it keeping them unable to sleep, so it's just another nice drink.

➵ skipping meals;
being their size, it doesn't look like lennox is a heavy eater, and it's true too. because of this, skipping meals is something they shouldn't make a habit out of, although they somehow managed to do so. staying in their room all the time means lennox usually doesn't show up for lunch, although their hunger always makes them come to the dining table for dinner. to make up for these skipped meals, lennox sometimes brings snacks into their room, although those snacks are never enough to fill in the empty space of the food they leave uneaten. it doesn't mean anything more to lennox than more food for the rest of their family... even if once in a while they get the occasional stomachache, leaving them curled up on their bed and even tearing up slightly, trying to hold the pain that they could have so easily evaded.

➵ the phone;
communicating with their voice isn't something lennox enjoys doing, although speaking is usually just a supporting aspect of when they're trying to get their point across. that makes talking on the phone and solely using their voice without the help of facial expressions to show how they feel seem unappealing to lennox. whenever they hear a phone ring, be it their own or one of their dads' phones, they try to ignore the call and reply with a text message afterwards unless they're able to wait for bell to answer the call. they usually get all nervous and sometimes even slam the phone down before they could even say a simple hello.

➵ umbrellas;
although they don't need to use them often, lennox has a fondness for umbrellas that probably came from their younger self's habit of pressing themself close to one of their fathers and huddling close under an umbrella when it rains. nowadays they have their own umbrella, only big enough for one person [ or two if you're willing to huddle close, which isn't something lennox looks forward to ], with a black coloration and dark blue 'x' markings across it, and a matching dark blue handle. it's also the kind of umbrella you could fold, so it's convenient. lennox, however, would go for any other umbrella when given the choice. maybe it's because they don't like raincoats and how they feel against their skin, cold and uncomfortable.

➵ talking;
when lennox's voice doesn't get all squeaky it's pretty monotone, but that doesn't really bother them. they tend to use shorter phrases, the ones that usually appear on dictionaries to help foreigners speak to locals. this doesn't really apply to languages other than the ones lennox uses daily like german and english, because otherwise they have fun using words they aren't used to uttering. they'll seem more confident, happier, brighter when they use other languages. it's almost like they're a completely different person altogether. if you don't know any languages outside the two lennox is accustomed to, you're out of luck if you want to see them transform into someone who's actually talkative.

➵ scarves;
lennox has a pet peeve against scarves other than their one precious gray wool scarf. it's just a superiority complex really, since they've had their scarf since they were little and have been teased by it occasionally, even getting the item torn apart only for enfer to try to knit it back with a small instructions manual and a lot of stress.

[hypnowave]

✦✦ the flight of the bumblebee was no casual walk in the park. in fact lennox had given up on playing it ten minutes ago and was only doing basic exercises to get both their hands back into the standard position and to loosen their muscles a bit. they would probably play a few upbeat and simple songs, although nothing as mediocre as twinkle twinkle little star. they were sitting on the piano seat, and they could do so feeling much more relaxed knowing that bell wasn't at home. they whistled to the tune of a few classic songs, then began playing it on their violin. their right elbow was actually beginning to tire out thanks to the bow. their left hand's fingers were also beginning to ache. once they finished playing the song with a long note, they let their back hunch a bit and took a few deep breaths. then they heard an audible, familiar laugh from somewhere near the entrance of the house. they immediately knew what it was... and wished they'd had a little more time instead of having to hear that dreaded sound so soon.

"tough luck," lennox muttered to themself as they heard the front door open, indicating that bell was back home. lennox was at the piano, sitting and practicing their violin and were having a pretty good day till she came over and interrupted it. oh well, lennox thought, setting the violin down and readying themself to make a beeline for their room. tucking their violin underneath their arm and holding the bow in their left arm, they swiftly leaped off the piano seat and ran for their room, making sure their feet made minimal contact with the floor so they would hopefully go undetected with less noise from their feet. they were looking behind them and hoping bell hadn't noticed, which was their mistake... ouch. suddenly lennox was on the floor, and although their violin didn't look scratched, len's own head ached and spun. they shook themself and blinked, their eyes were on the floorboards while they could hear footsteps that weren't their own. they heard him before they could see him - "watch your step, len, where are you going to in such a hurry?" first thought, it wasn't bell. second thought, it was bill. lennox looked at him before they scrambled to their feet and nervously shook their head before running back to their room when an insult they'd recently heard came into mind. "stupid dorito," len muttered under their breath angrily. it was something they'd heard bill get called by... although they didn't know if their dad was okay with it.

ironically enough lennox had been snacking on doritos. it was a bit disturbing of an idea honestly, considering that was exactly what they'd just called their father, but whatever. they put their violin and bow back in their case and propped it against the wall before going to their bed and sitting there, picking up a book they had on the pillow with a bright blue bookmark sticking out. they opened the book to get to where they had left off before violin practice, which was page two hundred and twenty-two. a lucky number, perhaps? it was purely coincidental that they had stopped at that page too. they began to read again while occasionally slipping their hand into the dorito bag and taking a dorito chip to eat. they were careful not to stain their book with their delicious cheese chips, sometimes smiling when they recalled the earlier dorito incident. hm. maybe bill heard them comment on it... was it even an insult? they had absolutely no idea, so they shrugged it off for now.

they heard a knock on the door and looked up, although they didn't get off the bed and only made sure they could be heard from outside. hopefully it wasn't bell. "yes?" they said, rubbing the edge of the page they were reading. they heard the voice from outside clearly, and couldn't help but release a relieved sigh when they recognized the voice not as bell, but bill. "busy, dorito? enfer wants to see how well you're doing on that song he wanted you to play... what was it, allegro?" of course he had to put pressure on the word dorito... lennox's face was able to convey what they didn't say, with their exasperated face it was obvious that a) they did not like being called a dorito, and b) they didn't want to tire themselves out with the violin again. but they didn't really have much of a choice, and it would give them a chance to spend more time with their favorite dad. so they nodded, notifying bill with a monotone "coming," and crouching to unpack their violin and bow.

lennox tried their best to avoid bell, and luckily enough they managed not to bump into her on their way down to the piano, where enfer was waiting with a warm smile on his face. that always managed to melt lennox's heart a little and even eased the indignation they'd felt after being called a dorito, although they weren't a hundred percent over it yet. at least now they could just play some music and try to forget, and as they drew in a breath, stood in position, adjusted their hat, and fiddled with their bow for a few moments, then began to play their strings. they had been tuned earlier, which saved more time to help them understand how to play the song correctly while enfer tutored them bit by bit and keeping up with his piano. enfer, being the patient and calm dad he was, managed to soothe lennox and soon enough the two of them could manage the duet they'd hoped to play, right after lennox's ears picked up the familiar sound of the recorder being switched on. lennox even caught bell watching them out of the corner of their eye, before she hurriedly left to her own room. lennox couldn't help but feel a confidence boost in this, and played the song flawlessly after a full week of practicing it section by section for up to two hours a day alone and another hour with bill. there was a warm sensation in their brimming heart, as if they had conquered both marina trench and mount everest.

"that was something right there, kiddo," enfer commented when they were both finished and lennox managed to even get a little sweaty, wiping their brow and tucking their dreads aside. that didn't hide the fact that they were smiling, pride brimming. although that would be all they would play today, they weren't disappointed, since their arms were beginning to give out. after some talk, they went back to their room, although they nearly bumped into bell. she noticed len right before they managed to slam their room door, and she sneered, "what's up, dorito?" which didn't do much to calm them down. they stood against the door until their feet slid and they sat down, eyes half-closed and violin in hand. so much for being cheered up. maybe it was just a funny joke to bill... why were they so insulted? shivering, lennox tucked their violin back in and stood facing their glassfish tank. maybe that could help calm them down. watching half transparent skeleton fish number one swimming across the tank to half transparent skeleton fish number two, how terribly entertaining, they dryly thought. they ended up staring at some seaweed waving about in the water for a couple minutes before they feared they would lose their mind thanks to some rippling sea grass. they dropped the prospect of blatantly staring at glass tanks and fish to instead pick up their dorito bag, and so they picked it up and began aimlessly scribbling at it with a colored pen until they realized. dang, they'd transformed a damn dorito bag into a very poor take on their dad bill. 

'what the hell' was what crossed their mind, but lennox was actually beginning to laugh off venting via dorito bag. especially since they themself was technically a dorito... black pepper dorito maybe? like bell even, heh. they tossed the scribbled bag into the trash although they seriously hoped it wouldn't be some bad omen by throwing the image of their father into the rubbish bin, hmm. long story short that was one way lennox got around to being called the dorito child. whether or not they're actually insulted by it still depends on whoever calls them by the name, really. after the incident for instance, len went off to see bill during dinner and had a somewhat embarrassing clearing-up dorito talk. still though, when a stranger calls them by it, lennox tends to feel like a joke that hurts, not plain old humor. other than that... it's not that bad being called a dorito really.

besides, you get used to it.

[hypnowave]

xx
✦✦ playlist here


airplanes, b.o.b ft hayley williams
am i wrong - nico & vinz
animals - martin garrix
beat it - michael jackson
blame - calvin harris
fight, flight or love - steven universe ost
ghost - mystery skulls
i don't want to say goodbye - pokemon md ost
lullaby - fall out boy
melody of elves - vanros kloud
paradise - coldplay
sea side road - eshen chen
this is gospel - panic! at the disco
youth - daughter

lennox's favorite songs, in alphabetical order. however, lennox does appreciate other songs, although they wouldn't group them in with the songs above. the playlist above is what lennox uses for writing muse and comes from several different sources, their favorite artist being fall out boy.

[hypnowave]

✦✦ videogames
lennox enjoys gaming to an extent. for the most part, all they do is steal enfer's ds and run to their room - which has been a pretty prominent action for them to do, be it fleeing from bell or sneaking in some snacks - before locking the door and settling down to play a couple games. they don't really venture deep into most games' plots and usually only test the waters with them until they decide whether or not the game is worth their time. usually, the games that win their heart over are the ones that focus more on the plot and story rather than the gameplay itself. still, they do judge on gameplay once in a while. the games they enjoy most, to name a few, would be pokemon, final fantasy, and for time killing, a few mario bros games. it's been many times already that lennox wastes time by leaning on the cold surface of their jellyfish tank tackling enemies while enfer knocks on the door with pleas for the ds back. you'd think a grown man like him would get used to the antics of his wayward child... not really, no. len never really got into trouble thanks to playing on the ds so often, at least they never got called a dorito for it which is enough to say quite a relief.

watching let's plays for ds games is one thing lennox will only do when enfer takes the ds back when len is close to the game's ending or is left with a cliffhanger of some sort. having to go from dual screen gameplay to watching someone else play with less than appreciated commentary and poor skill just isn't something lennox fancies. still, for games like bioshock [ lennox's favorite bioshock game being bioshock infinite ], the last of us, the portal games, and so on, lennox watches let's plays because they don't have the needed platforms for them. then again, they are admittedly too young for some of the game's themes... but they can stand themes like gore, and as previously mentioned they prefer to play and/or watch a game for its plot.

lennox has a bunch of tales to tell when it comes to the ways they manage to get the ds from under enfer's nose, since outright grabbing it whenever their father is in the middle of playing a game and hadn't saved just doesn't seem appealing to either father or child. the plots lennox writes down and executes are usually stealthy as if they're part of the games themselves, like hiding under the dining table among the chair legs waiting for enfer to leave the prize there for the taking. other times len distracts enfer in the middle of the day so that he puts the ds down. sometimes lennox manages to sneak away with the ds before enfer realizes what's happened, and other times we witness an execution of the lennox olympics where lennox must clear several hurdles and steer clear of npc's such as bell and bill to avoid getting caught and bringing them to a game over. it's not morally advised... but when they manage to get away with it, lennox couldn't care less.

they have a bunch of gaming habits, such as cursing when they lose and grabbing a pillow to yell into. lennox can get somewhat overdramatic, once even reciting the full script of shakespeare's 'shall i compare thee to a summer's day' to one of his jellyfish when they lost with the boss on low health. they still do the toe wiggling when they play, but they don't do the thumb rubbing as their fingers are usually too occupied with mashing buttons together in the hopes of winning one way or another. for some reason, the cursing and yelling they do also leads them to biting their tongue or the inside of their cheeks often leaving them longing for a glass of water. this makes lennox try to prepare some water in their room before taking the ds, but it also alerts enfer so that whenever lennox goes out of the room to get a drink - be it before they steal the ds or just because they care for their own health and are aware of their hydration - he gets suspicious of his child and will either leave his ds on a high shelf or keep hold of it twenty four seven till he's certain lennox isn't targeting his beloved ds.

[hypnowave]

✦✦ lennox stared at the half-finished cup of coffee in front of them, its saucer littered with crumbs from a cookie that still left a somewhat bitter aftertaste on lennox's tongue. now that their beverage was cold, it was difficult forcing themselves to enjoy it. they swallowed the bile rising in their throat, left hand gripping at the cold black hollow bars that made up the folding chair they were sitting on, running their fingers back and forth across the bar to where it intersected with another bar to form an 'x' shape that made up the chair's basic support. they could hear the rest of their family speaking, mostly bill and enfer having a discussion while bell had her eyes focused on the phone she was holding. probably texting a certain someone, len suspected. since no one was paying them any attention, their head began to visit its own places. they began to pay more attention to their surroundings, starting with the mildly cloudy sky with a group of birds flying in what didn't look like a particular direction. the clouds ranged from light yellow to a middling shade of gray, the sun's face being hidden by a cloud so thick barely any light penetrated it, but still leaving the surrounding clouds brightly lit. there were people all around them, and not only in the balcony of the coffee shop lennox was currently seated at. there was a constant buzz of conversation from many different voices, an array of smells from warm coffee to freshly baked pies. while they were observing, lennox's subconscious reached out for the cold coffee again and they took a sip, taking in the bland taste at room temperature that left them wishing they had another cookie. still, they mindlessly drained the cup while musing about how the table to their left was so crowded, they were making the most noise. at least five people were at the table, one held a phone that they used to take a group selfie, another person hurrying to get into the camera frame and bumping into a waitress. that was when bill announced it was time to go and lennox promptly stood up to walk, still watching the ticked off waitress readjusting her step to deliver what seemed to be lasagna, if len's nose wasn't lying. as they kept up with their family down the stairs and out the coffee shop, their attention shifted to a mother with two small children, one of which the woman referred to as her little boy playing with a flower he'd picked... from the florist a few feet away. his sibling was obediently following their mother while the flower boy trailed behind happily. there was a fountain when lennox approached a circular intersection, and they spotted a few foreign-looking faces using nikon cameras to take photos of each other much to the annoyance of a begrudge old man with the face of a local, trying to sell his newspapers while a younger individual played the violin in an attempt to get a few coins thrown into their open violin case. that reminded lennox a little bit of themself, so they quickly ran towards the violin player and dug into their pockets to find a coin to toss to the violist, who nodded to len with a grateful smile that they returned before running back to join their family. no one would notice their brief disappearance. they left the fountain and tried to remember where enfer and the gang had gone, while at the same time musing on a word they had found not so long ago: 'sonder, the realization that each passerby has a life as vivid and complex as one's own.' that seemed right enough, lennox thought, as they let their feet lead them ahead while they looked out for more passersby. seeing a kid about bell's age skateboarding away without a helmet and with a plastic bag in hand made lennox wonder what life the person had. maybe they were holding the plastic bag to get something and forgot to bring a helmet, or they were going to bring something to someone. whatever the scenario, it was still nothing compared to what life the person had. were they part of a rich family? were they struggling financially? did they have a love life, or were they busy figuring out their romantic tales? did they know lennox stared at them when they skateboarded away? all these questions spun until lennox realized they were probably noticed to be gone by now by their family...

wait... where were they? lennox craned their neck until it hurt, until they spotted enfer walking over in the... opposite direction from where they came. why was he going there? lennox picked up their speed, past the violist who glanced at them in confusion, although now lennox thought none of it. they were too focused on catching up to enfer, who maybe came back in the fear of losing lennox. "dad! dad, i'm here!" lennox's feet grew hot in their socks and shoes as they kept running, everyone else a blur to rush past to lennox's unwatchful eyes. it didn't come off as strange to them at all that among all the turning heads alerted by the call of a confused child, enfer was not one of them, only walking further away from the fountain. in one last effort, lennox inhaled and exhaled what felt like gallon after gallon of air before sprinting, until they were able to grab enfer's arm and skid to a stop, panting and trying to regulate their breathing through a pair of deflated, burning lungs. then they looked up into enfer's agitated blue eyes, suddenly wondering why he looked so - wait. blue eyes. enfer had red eyes... but this person looked so similar to enfer this had to be a joke. "what-" they were cut off. "who the hell are you, kid?" it was a somewhat feminine voice that met lennox's bewildered ears, the faux-enfer jerking her hand away from lennox's grip before looking at them in utter disgust, her face reflecting exactly what lennox was feeling, trying to process what in the name of god this was. "who in the name of eywa - who's your dad?" she grabbed len's arm in the same way they had grabbed hers earlier, except this time her grip almost cut off lennox's blood circulation, leaving the arm numb. before lennox could reply - and if they had time to it would have been an orchestra of stammering anyway - bill had caught up, heaving as he stopped next to the strange faux-enfer, although he looked too focused on lennox to realize the carbon copy of his husband right next to him. his face showed a mixture of anger, worry, desperation and happiness, grinning and sighing and crying at the same time. "where were you?" he asked, but to poor len, everything was going too fast for them to comprehend. bell and enfer caught up to them in the few following seconds, and unlike bell who looked like she was going to kick lennox off the face of the earth or bill who looked like he was having trouble with his emotions, enfer actually used his eyes and noticed the stranger who could have been his photograph run through a blue filter. "wHO-"

✦✦ long story rendered painfully short, this was how lennox's carelessness had led to enfer meeting the sister he'd never known he had, and how tendai had discovered her brother through what she very irritatedly claimed to be her 'annoying excuse for a nibling,' a 'shameful relative eywa would be disgusted at,' and an insult best censored with dolphin noises. as much as lennox was shocked after the event, the rest of the family was also surprised to learn of tendai's existence - a person who looked remarkably like enfer that it was an easy glance that could show how lennox could have mistaken her for her brother. although it was a very important time in family history... lennox still doesn't know what to make of tendai and her religious beliefs, but they hope in time they will get to know their aunt better.

[hypnowave]

✦✦ sometimes lennox would take longer to practice their music than they realized. after a full ninety minutes of violin practice, with enfer occasionally sitting on the piano to tutor them before leaving them to their own devices, lennox's mind was more exhausted than their arms, and those too were aching. their left hand gripped their right arm, just under the elbow, rubbing their fingers against the skin to ease off the marks left whenever they pressed those fingers against the violin strings. their violin bow was left on the piano, until they heard a knock on the door, causing them to freeze instantly. but they knew it wasn't bell, since she had very explicitly stated that she was going to watch a movie with a certain someone [ lennox swore she did it to rub it into len's face, that they had no one to go watch movies with ] and wouldn't be back for at least two hours. either she was lying or she forgot to bring something, which len felt wasn't likely. they remained on the piano seat and watched as enfer came to answer the door, decreasing the chances that it was bell as she would have entered on her own. lennox gathered their violin and bow, standing up and getting ready to get to their room if they had to, but the sound of the door opening was accompanied by an enticing scent that made them think twice. there was a surprised and high-pitched gasp that was pretty much enfer's signature sound of surprise along with a pleased "hey, long time no see!" that instantly put a name into len's head. they placed the violin and bow back on the piano before rushing over and using one hand to position their glowing bow in place. darwin's dad, i'll bet, they thought. and seeing the half-familiar dark skin and mohawk pretty much confirmed it was him, korowai. they didn't know him personally, but they knew that enfer was close to him and probably haven't seen each other in quite a while. for the most part, lennox was more familiar with korowai's first son darwin, who was one of the few individuals who actually appreciated len. they were so caught up in the thought of seeing their older friend that they came up to korowai and asked, "is darwin with you?"

korowai smiled and without warning ruffled lennox's hair, a gesture they would have reacted harshly too if not for the tupperware container he had that he held out to enfer, saying, "darwin said he'd catch up. anyway, perth and i baked too much banana bread," scratching his neck sheepishly, "and i thought you'd appreciate some." lennox's ears twitched at his accent when he spoke, his words were a little distorted and mispronounced, but nothing that made him hard to understand. enfer took the container with a shaky hand and in the same high-pitched voice he said his thanks, to which korowai chuckled. "do you have time for us to catch up by any chance?" he asked enfer who still hadn't recovered from seeing his old friend. lennox head footsteps behind them and noticed bill, who looked just as pleased to see enfer's joy mixed with shock. "korowai, isn't it? nice to see you, how's it going?" he asked as the two shook hands, bill ushering korowai inside the house with enfer following, trying not to drop the bread that managed to make lennox's stomach rumble. they followed the three into the house and to the living room, where they sat down and began talking, leaving len standing there until korowai gestured towards the banana bread and said, "please, go ahead and try some!" which was the call len was waiting for. they watched as enfer popped the tupperware lid off and revealed the bread cut into slices, and all four of them took a deep breath as the bread somehow kept the smell of it being freshly baked. lennox quickly darted forward and snatched the first few slices before retreating back to their room, managing to call over their shoulder their thanks to 'uncle' korowai.

they stopped by at the kitchen to grab a plate and then made it to their room to enjoy their snack. eating crumbly bread on a bed was something they knew they shouldn't be guilty of, so they instead left the plate of bread on the floor. they took some pencils and sharpies, their textbook, and then sat down to work. they were in the middle of practicing cursive, writing down words and names in the fanciest fonts possible. they started with their own name, then bill's and enfer's, avoiding the name of their sister as they went. then they got to korowai and perth and darwin, and that got them to write down several place-names while occasionally brushing crumbs off their shirt. they even stopped to realize, damn, this bread is really good. they kept it up for about half an hour before bill called to say that darwin was here, probably since enfer still had his 'defective' sqeaky voice mode on. lennox grabbed the last slice of bread and ate it as quickly as they could, yelling "coming!" and opening their room door to greet darwin. as they walked off there they briefly reflected on how although they never really met often, darwin was probably one of their closest friends, and probably len's only good role model. they made it to the living room where darwin was greeting enfer and bill. "oh, hey, lennox," the teen greeted, high-fiving lennox. "how are you?" he asked. lennox shrugged, saying they were doing well enough. what they appreciated was that darwin didn't even ask them whether bell was home when lennox led him out of the living room and to the piano room, where darwin whistled. "still up and at it with the violin, eh?" he sounded impressed. probably because he always said that his younger brother heru - better known to lennox as the liege to bell's knight - often teased him for his flute playing. lennox nodded and began to rant about how much bell had annoyed them lately, "i honestly don't know what's her problem," they grumbled, but darwin just smiled.

"i got a tip, forget bell. sure she'll tease you often but you don't deserve to take crap from her." hmph. too bad len wasn't that good at taking advice.