Chandra did her very best impression of a ghost as she darted across the grounds of the former Vess manor. The stealthy young girl had anticipated that the large property would have finally installed some amount of security and she was prepared for it. The cab she rode in adhered to her request to stop on the side of a dark road – a kilometre away from the grounds so she could approach incognito with a black hoodie disguising her.

As she got within striking distance, her suspicions were confirmed by a fence wrapped around the property and, upon closer inspection, wandering flashlights. Despite her theory that Liliana didn't seem the most stealthy person, Chandra was sure this was where her step sister was held up so she took the long way around near the storage shed the two made mischief in her previous visit.

Even if Liliana wasn't in the same small building, Chandra figured it was a bare enough area that guards wouldn't bother patrolling it. In her experience, if security could justify not doing something, they usually wouldn't.

Between approaching the grounds and circling it, an hour had passed before Chandra found an unlit spot on the fence that was relatively close to her destination. The former pro evoked all her childhood training and experience to climb the chains in relative quiet, then ran ten minutes with silent footsteps until she saw the shed and it's light was on.

Either we left it on last time, or...Once Chandra had finally reached the tiny quarters, her lack of practice was finally catching up to her as she struggled to breathe silently, forced to take in some heavy gasps of air. When her body finally recovered enough, the spy began pressing her ear to various parts of the walls to try and gauge if anyone was in there, eventually hearing the shuffling of what was either a very large rat or a delicate person. Figuring it was the latter, Chandra pulled out her phone, hiding it's light under her sweater and texted Liliana

Can you come open the door for me?

A few minutes passed with no response and in better circumstances, Chandra would have just knocked but being still at risk, she sent the message a second time. Again, some amount of time passed and she began to wonder if Liliana had her phone on, or if this old stone structure had a signal inside of it. Just as she decided to tap on a window, her phone lit up.

Sorry, I am not at home.

Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Chandra responded with haste.

Neither am I

Another minute of silence on all fronts passed, but eventually the sound of clicking locks echoed through the yard and Chandra circled to the door to find a Liliana that looked as she hadn't slept for days.

The operation up to this point involved more planning than Chandra had put into anything in years and she had only prepared how to do it. When she saw her step sister's look of tired apathy, the redhead realized no plan on what to do once they were face to face, so she remained still and silent.

Liliana in all her graceful tact must have known Chandra had gotten here on less than legitimate methods and when it became clear the trespasser was frozen in awe, ushered her inside, quickly closing the door behind them.

The shock in Liliana's eyes contrasted her calm and wiry voice. "Chandra, what are you doing here?"

The quarters turned storage unit was significantly emptier than the last time Chandra had been here but she didn't have time to contemplate where it had all gone. Her sister's question was more pressing and she had no real good answer for it. The saving grace was that her failing body was still out of breath, leaving her a moment to consider while she leaned against a wall, still gasping for air.

Why am I here? I know she's upset, but what can I actually do about it when I'm the reason she's mad in the first place? I'm just pouring gas on a fire. From the minute Chandra decided to come to the manor, she had been operating on her childhood instincts. Now those were failing and being replaced by her normal adult awkwardness that lead her to saying the first thing that came to mind. "I'm here because Nissa told me to."

While not entirely untrue, Chandra hated herself for saying it and let go a tiny chuckle to try and write it off as a joke. Liliana was unamused but moved on, likely because she figured that was as good an answer as she was going to get. "How did you know I would be here?"

That was a question Chandra did have a response to which she wanted to give with some level of grace, so she held her sister off until the air finally returned to her lungs and she could compose herself. "Because we're the same person." Liliana seemed a little more impressed with the confident response as Chandra continued her vigorous explanation of the realization she had before deciding to go out in the middle of the night.

"Anytime things get too hard, we refuse to actually confront it. We just run away to something safe. Do you know how many times I've wanted to go back to Kaladesh when things get rough?" Liliana didn't bother answering the rhetorical question. "I know you're having a really shitty week so you did the only thing immature idiots do and you retreated to a sense of comfort."

A slight smile of appreciation of Chandra's honesty flashed on Liliana's face, though her voice remained stoic and slow. "You think I am immature?"

"You're sitting alone in a cold shack when you have a nice warm home with food a family that loves you." A sense of pride in her speech was raising Chandra's intensity. "That is not something well adjusted people do."

Liliana's eyes drifted up and she edged past Chandra so closely as if she had forgotten there was another person here. As she strolled to the room that may have still contained Depala's dragster, she muttered, "a family," with such grief that it seemed the word had broken her.

With silent caution, Chandra trailed behind making no effort to put her sister out of the spell and having to resist falling under one of her own as the second room contained the bike, once again centred in the room in all its glory. It was as captivating as the first time, but the racing enthusiast in her needed to be pushed aside even when the dragster was where Liliana finally sat down, quietly saying, "family," one last time before snapping back to reality.

"You know, Chandra." Liliana spoke with a quiver of fear in her voice and an air of vulnerability circled, stronger than Chandra had ever seen from her sister. "I was so excited when dad told me about mom...About you."

Feeling too guilty to acknowledge this statement face to face, the lovestruck girl shifted her eyes to the floor as she meekly responded, "I know, and you have to believe me that I'm really happy about it too."

"A mom that really cares about me," Liliana brushed right past the response, "and a sister. I always wanted a sister and dad is so happy that he has another daughter." Chandra peered up and could see Liliana's face had a slight glow as if she were hearing this news for the first time. "Everything was supposed to be perfect, but we ruined it."

Chandra couldn't make sense of how Liliana could possibly blame herself for all this, but the black sky outside seemed to get a little darker as she said it. It was such an absurd comment that it drove Chandra to loving aggression, marching above her sister and grabbing her by the shoulders and forcing her full attention. "I have no fucking idea how you think you're at all responsible for anything that's happened, but that's not important right now."

Wrapped up in her own fire, Chandra had to resist the urge to violently shake her sister while sternly talking down to her. "I may have some creepy ass feelings for you, but that doesn't mean you can't live your dream. My mother loves you and regardless of how I feel, I want to be a part of that dream too." There was no way of knowing if it was the words or simply how they were spoken, but a swirl of emotions were circling in Liliana's eyes. "We can still be a family."

It wasn't exactly what Chandra wanted with Liliana, but she would take on any role that would keep them together and give Liliana a chance to smile.

Still looking mesmerized, Liliana pushed one of Chandra's arms away and met the intensity with a contrary apathy. "That really was my dream, not just for me, but for dad. It is not that simple though."

A sense of desperation was forming in Chandra's eyes and voice as she reaffirmed her grip on Liliana, "but it could be. I promise I'll do whatever it takes."

The whirlwind of emotions in Liliana's expression began solidifying into nothing but fear. "Chandra, what you do...How you feel, has never been the issue." Chandra wanted to question or object to that, but her sister's crackling voice forced a lump in her throat, robbing her the power to speak."

"You did not kill that dream by telling me how you felt." There was a pause, a faint hint of excitement hiding in Liliana's dread and as unbelievable as it was, Chandra knew what was next.

"I killed it by falling in love with you first."

Chandra's arms dropped.