☼ six; video.

[recalls]

[Vanille's sitting on a low branch of a tree, bouncing her heels against the trunk. It is immediately apparent that she does so halfheartedly, without her usual overenthusiasm and energy. She lets her head fall back, lets it bump against the bark with a dull thud, and peers up at the sun through a canopy of brilliant autumn leaves. The Queen has

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[ video ]

[excellinnuendo]

Penis.

[recalls]

[Well. That's not what she was expecting. She jerks forward, covers her mouth with her hands. A blush rises in her cheeks. She looks positively scandalized.]

Excellen!

[excellinnuendo]

Vanille!!

[recalls]

[It's almost irritating, the way Excellen responds, but Vanille laughs as easily as she cries, and the corners of her mouth turn up. She huffs out a breath, half chuckle and half exasperated sigh.]

Is that really what you miss the most?

[notvitiligo]

My family... and the ability to read about interesting things.

[recalls]

[She cracks one eye open to look into the mirror. She smiles, but it's bittersweet, and doesn't last.]

Your family... [She nods. It's expected, that answer. Families are important, blood or no, and without them... well, it feels to Vanille like some part of her that should be whole, isn't.] Tell me about them?

[notvitiligo]

[She sighs, leaning her chin on her hand.] Um... Mom likes dogs a lot. She trains and handles shih-tzus. Conformation, mostly. And she's kind of... go-getter. One of those people that can keep up a positive attitude all the time, kind of thing.

Dad's into baking and stuff. Like, um, cooking. We make stuff together for holidays and all, and sometimes I help him make breakfast on weekends.

Um, are you all right? Did something happen?

[recalls]

[There's a genuine smile at those descriptions. Her blood family died a long time ago, and she doesn't remember much more than missing them. Her new family, thrown together by fate and circumstance, has never really had the chance to do any of these things. Except here, in the Gardens.]

That sounds nice. [A pause.] I like baking, too. Maybe... we could together, sometime.

[At the question, her shoulders slump, and she turns her head away. She takes a few deep breath, wills a bright smile to her face and an upbeat tone to her voice.] I'm okay! A friend left, but she's probably happier back home.

[It would not be difficult for anyone to recognize this as patently false.]

[made_of_science]

I suppose that most of all I miss Papi... I do hope he will find us soon.

[recalls]

[Her expression turns quizzical, but the melancholy remains.]

Who's Papi?

[made_of_science]

My father. Dr. Isidro Ruiz Lopez, although I suppose you would not understand that; I presume you are from a very different, er, world. He's one of the most brilliant biologists and surgeons of our time.

[recalls]

Ohh... [She understands some, but not all, though she is smart enough to infer the rest by context.] He sounds really important. [She leans forward, rests her chin in the palms of her hands.] What's your world like?

[video]

[no_hometown]

My friends. My comrades. A sense of purpose and usefulness.

[recalls]

Mmm. [Vanille nods. She understands that. After all, her friends and comrades are what she misses most, too. She is content with the day to day, though, doesn't need to feel useful beyond caring for those she loves. But she recognizes that kind of drive. Lightning is that way, too.]

I remember before, you said you were a soldier. [She pauses.] What was your purpose?

[no_hometown]

My first duty is to my men. I lead them into battle. They are my responsibility.

As a whole, SOLDIER preserves the peace and protects the populace. [She hasn't yet been disillusioned. She believes this.]

[recalls]

What do you fight? [Her village had men and women to protect it from rampaging beasts, and raids from other villagers, but Sephiroth doesn't remind her of those warriors. She is more like the military of Cocoon, careful and disciplined.] What do you protect people from?

[fatedmagia]

... Momma and Pappa. My little brother, too....

[recalls]

[Her own blood family is long gone, but Vanille still remembers the pain of being separated from them. She'd cried for so long, she thought she might waste away.

Madoka must be terribly sad without them. Maybe talking about them, about happy memories, will help.]

You have a little brother? What's he like?

[fatedmagia]

... [ She smiles fondly at the memory. ] Tatsuya-kun is still really small, but... He looks just like Papa already. And he's always really energetic. He gets in trouble a lot, but... Eheh. He's still learning. I know that no matter what, Mama and Papa will be proud of how he grows up.

[recalls]

[Vanille smiles, too, effectively distracted from her sadness by the thought of a little boy causing mischief.] I knew boys like that back home, too. It's good for them to have older sisters to keep them out of trouble, huh?