Chapter 596: Chapter 596 - Kinder To Pull Together With A Hard Look, Than Push Back With A Soft Heart, pt2

---Being seen by others as weaker than you were... was the key to living well.

The difference was that Onya was not an ancient cultivator ’being a child’ for the benefit of adults who would find it charming as she spun schemes (*innocent* pranks of the small sister aside). She simply was a child, all the way down. The sort of kid who didn’t want to *hurt* people and who liked all the happy noises they made, like when she told the boy holding her something and he guffawed out loud.

In comparison, the ancient cultivator was more like someone who grew into those qualities deeper inside her first life. She held no particular joy for others in her youth, even if she wouldn’t go out of her way to harm someone - because she found no joy in causing pain or distress. That too... changed a little bit later on, at least in the sense that she gained an appreciation for doing what needed to be done for vengeance to be sated.

"Elua!"

"Coming."

Playing with others was tiring, listening to them, doing what they asked of you. All of it was somehow noisy in a bad way to Uvraneht - even before she learned she was a cultivator and dealt with a true sense of ’noise’. Then for the heiress’s early life, she had been a small thing again... with exceedingly economical movements. One who knew exactly which expression bought the most goodwill at the lowest cost.

"I missed you!"

"Oh really?"

Sweetness had been a costume that she learned and wanted to grow into... and did, she felt, to some extent. After all, she didn’t think she was faking her smile to the ten year old blond girl that ran over and pushed Onya a bit out of the way just to get to her.

"Yeah! I can do all my writing now, thanks to the slates."

"That’s great. I bet you practiced a lot, right?"

She really was amused by the shock and pout on her sister’s face when she showed attention to... whatever her name was, it would come to Elua eventually! Surely it could only be a ’sweet’ thing to humor someone who wanted a few moments of your time, right?

"That dress is really pretty. I like white!"

"Thank you."

"Do you like mine?"

"Of course I do, you look wonderful in white, too."

"Eh-heh~"

"Okay, stop! Away!"

Screaming out and pushing the fawning girl away from her sister with a little more strength than she *meant* to use, the adult in the situation remedied it for Onya - by catching the blonde girl on a cloud of Gas that slowed her stumble. Ultimately that meant she just quietly plopped into a sit on the ground, in how it was visible to others. Following that save, the brunette woman softly pat the massively overwhelmed sister on the head... as shock at what she’d done with her strength took over her little body into a shaking fit.

"Can you go tell all the others we are here?"

"Uhm. Okay?"

The blonde girl seemed a bit confused about what just happened - she wasn’t hurt and she *did* push first so complaining was out. But she still stood up and dusted off the back of her dress before nodding again and running back inside. Giving plenty of time for El to kneel down and press the little otter into her shoulder, palm at the back of her head and fingers scratching through her hair as a Vacuum Layer sealed their conversation from the other two.

"You’re usually so careful with your power. I can tell."

"I’m sorry..."

"Tell her that, not me. She’s one of your friends, right?"

"...Yeah."

Little hands reached up and gripped the sleeves of the Silver dress. While she had been told it was the case, it had become clear to her throughout the day that other people really were seeing her sister’s ’fake’ things. But she could see the real stuff, could hold it tight... and that made her feel happy.

"Explain to her plainly you got jealous. Talk about it with her. Why you did it, why you are sorry, and things will recover. Being stubborn because you are scared or prideful is half the reason why little problems linger."

"Mn. Okay."

"Don’t forget to tell her the important part. That you’re a spoiled little girl who can’t even share her sister for one little moment with someone that isn’t Qat."

"I... I’m not telling her that."

"Why? If it wasn’t true, you’d be letting go and pushing me away when I suggested it. Not grabbing tighter~"

Giggling loudly, the ’mature’ cultivator stood up with the ’immature’ cultivator in her arms. Though to a certain onlooker, it could be argued that their mentality was rather... similar in ’age’ at times. Not that this watcher always thought that was a bad thing.

"Y-you’re the one hugging tighter! I can’t move! Put me down!"

"Sorry. I’m just happy that she’s here."

"I get it, so put me- whoa!" 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Breaking her own fall and rolling to a tumble, Onya couldn’t believe what was happening when she turned and looked. First a little blonde stole all her sister’s attention and then a big one was now doing it! Though it was hard to be quite as jealous about *this* sort of fawning on Elua. The palm grip clamping on her brown hair looked way more painful than the bearhug the small Goltbred just endured.

"Darling! How was your day?"

"El... not anywhere near as fun as yours, it felt."

"It is hardly my fault that the people I wanted to see are fun to mess with. Is it?"

"You don’t have to be cute with me. Well, I guess that part isn’t your fault."

Their conversation was hidden, even from the sister. Who could see their lips moving but not hear the sound. A fact which Qatrand gil Yecine intended to take full advantage of.

"And seeing you so cute now, since the other day... does always make me want to mess with you."

"Let’s go! We can! Whatever you want-"

"No."

"Urk! Why?!"

Turning limp and boneless on Qat, the swordswoman suddenly had to *actually* support the whole weight of her wife with that single grip. Not that it was impossible, but it was a bit too wild looking... even if she could feel the illusion in play to keep their situation private from ’most’. A hand snaked around the brunette’s lower back to support her waist - a choice and habit of the tall and muscular husband-wife that only turned that momentarily limp cultivator... back into a fully reciprocal koala the next moment.

"Because everyone is coming out. Weren’t you going to say hello?"

"Pfft. I don’t care about that. I was just being polite. I’d rather go with you to be... impolite... but I can see you are just teasing me with a good time."

"Really, El?"

"So one quick kiss?"

"Alright. One."

A few moments passed as their shared ’welcome home to me’ kiss lingered. Then a bunch of noises - children wowing or gagging - made it clear that either El had slipped her control during the moment, or more likely-

"On purpose?"

"Yes. I don’t want you pushing around any little kids because you get jealous of them, so I am showing them I am taken. If they didn’t already know or remember."

"...I am offended that you would even joke about me being the more likely one of the two of us to push a child."

Smirking and tilting her head, Elua decided she loved her spouse very much today as well. Her reactions sometimes were just too adorable!

"Not so offended you are letting go of my waist, I notice."

"This and that are different things. That boy over there seemed upset that I am holding you. So... I am continuing to do so. To show him you are really, really taken. Like you planned."

"I know. But you also have your unfriendly tendrils quite thick that way, with your essence field stretching a bit more than required."

Pigeon blues glanced the boy’s way, before down at the mint eyes she had craved to be locked with for a few more hours that morning when they woke. Or any morning, ever. Then without looking away, she answered that accusation the only way she could.

"You told me that Gravity exerts itself like more of a ’pull’, from our view of things, than anything else. So I wouldn’t be pushing him at all."

’Hnng~ she really is so adorable!’