A/N: Because Moonclaw didn't believe I could write something that wasn't non-dark, depressing or violent, lol ;P

This is a gift!fic for her (Hey, I finished something reasonably on time! ...or started it at least!)

As mentioned on my profile, Cuore is the ultimate plot bunny. This is the first of several snippets involving her, and, I must admit...she is very addicting to write about :D

Expect multiple (short) chapters as I get them finished over the week...p.s. they get more adorable by the chapter ;)

Thanks for reading, and have a safe holiday!

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Synonyms

Every day since their second home-coming from the moon was a novelty for Rydia. Her adopted daughter was pragmatic and highly sensitive to the world around her. Her shortly cropped teal hair was growing in quickly, like deep ocean waves, and her darting gaze captured everything like a falcon spotting prey. She was quiet, but never still, and Rydia watched the girl, hoping to guide her growing inquisitiveness with the answers she wished she'd had as a girl.

Rydia remembered how she had felt after her abrupt departure from the Feymarch-like a child in adult trappings-and then there was Cuore, a child who had never been taught to be a child; and who possessed a gravitas well beyond her years. Rydia was amazed at her ability to assimilate new information with mechanical efficiency, but amused that despite her knowledge, the simplest things were a source of consternation for the small Maenad child.

Cuore categorized her small world with clinical ambivalence. Household items were all rearranged and sorted by size, shape, and apparent use, and then rearranged in different configurations depending on her mood.

Rydia had spent many days trying to convince Cuore that not all vessels with curved bottoms were bowls, and had then watched with raised brow and growing concern, as Cuore then assessed each vessel by substance as well as form.

"You desire the metal dishes to be kept on hooks rather than shelves," the girl observed, nonplussed, as she hurried about on bare feet to rearrange the kitchen for the third time in two days.

"Cuore, I think it was time you explored outside the house," Rydia suggested, hoping to get her out of the kitchen long enough for order to be restored.

"Are you not pleased with my organization?" Cuore asked.

Rydia folded her slender arms, sighing, and took a moment to survey the kitchen with dismay. "No, Cuore. I'm not pleased."

"Should the utensils be placed elsewhere?" Cuore asked determinedly, and was about to march forward, but Rydia reached out and gripped her by the shoulder. Cuore paused to look up at her curiously.

"Cuore, sometimes-sometimes it isn't polite to move other people's things without their permission," Rydia informed her.

"But now all of the wooden implements are together and the metal-"

"Cuore, listen to me," Rydia said, placing her hands on either sides of the girl's face. "Just because you don't understand someone else's system of organization doesn't meant that there isn't a system."

Cuore chewed on her lip and frowned, trying to stare at the kitchen through Rydia's fingers with feverish impatience.

"Go outside," Rydia suggested again, turning her toward the door. "Play with the other children."

Cuore spun to look at her, distressed. "But the other children have no understanding of logic," she complained, pouting.

"Cuore, you don't need logic to have fun," Rydia sighed.

"Logic is essential in all aspects of life," Cuore contradicted.

Rydia shooed her out of the house, closing the door and holding it shut long to dash Cuore's hope of retreat. When the door latch ceased jiggling in protest, Rydia released it, wishing that Cuore would take the opportunity to interact with other humans, instead of familiarizing herself with inanimate objects. She had been hiding in the house for weeks, and Rydia was in need of a change of pace; and, for that matter, so was Cuore.

An hour passed in blissful silence, and with the kitchen set to rights again, Rydia curiously approached the window that overlooked the village square. She smiled as she watched the children playing there chase a small ball across the square, but as she watched, her smile slowly faded as she failed to see the familiar teal haired girl playing among the rest.

She opened the door to begin searching for Cuore, but she didn't have to travel far, before she found her curled up on the ground beside the house, her knees drawn to her chest as she rocked slowly back and forth counting numbers to herself.

Rydia sat down beside her, prying Cuore's hands loose from her knees.

"Cuore," Rydia prodded, eventually getting the girl to look at her. "What happened?"

Cuore's steely gray gaze looked up at her, and if it had been within her emotional vocabulary to cry, Rydia imagined there would be tears on her cheeks.

"Too much-too much chaos," she said haltingly. "The grass, the earth, the house, the buildings, the people, the sun, the wind, the noise, the scents-it's too much!"

Rydia looked at her sympathetically, wishing she could make this transition easier.

"Cuore, I'm sorry-" she started to say, but Cuore swiped her hands away and stood.

"Sorry for what?" she demanded. "That I am incomplete?"

The little Maenad child stomped into the house, and Rydia stared after her sadly. How could she explain to such an old soul that the world was not an endless warehouse of labels and lists, but a world of magic, and wonder, and even joy?

Rydia stood, staring for a moment at the village children laughing in the midday sun.

How could she teach the little girl in her keeping how to be a child?