Untold Omens
Chapter Six: A Slice of Life
Knock, knock!
"Big sister Arie, may we come in?" chimed Selene cheerfully from the other side of her daughter's bedroom door. She sat with her knees on the ground holding Talcott up by the underside of his arms. The small baby stood on his tiptoes, toddling as he struggled to balance himself.
"Awie!" Six-month-old Talcott mimicked her actions slapping his pudgy hand against the smooth wooden surface.
"…Can I say no?" returned Aracelis dully. Unknown to Selene, the younger Hester was secretly playing a mobile game on her muted phone.
"Pretty please? Talcott wants to see his big sister!" chirped Selene.
The sound of a rolling chair and soft footsteps announced Aracelis' movements. A jiggle and a soft click later, the door opened. The disgruntled freckle-faced girl looked puzzled for a second before she lowered her attention downwards. Crawling on the ground, Selene smiled up at her. Talcott bounced excitedly at the sight of his sister attempting to reach her with the help of his mother's guiding hold.
"Awie!" squealed Talcott in delight. He clapped his hands excitedly, holding up his arms to indicate he wanted to be held.
Despite the heartwarming display, the girl's frigid demeanor failed to soften.
"No," stated Aracelis bluntly.
At her dismissal, Talcott's lower lip trembled. His light hazel eyes glistening with the threat of tears.
"Oh come on Arie, he wants you," cooed Selene gently. She pulled Talcott into her lap and grasped his ankles lightly to tap his feet together. The threat of tears abated as he was temporarily distracted from Aracelis' rejection. "Honestly, how could you treat him like that? You were never this cold towards Iris when she was a baby."
"… I also didn't live with Iris," sassed the brunette offhandedly.
"Aracelis Hester!"
At this, the brunette flinched in surprise.
It wasn't often Selene used that tone. Whenever she did, Aracelis always averted her gaze shifting uncomfortably as if she were a child all over again.
Selene has long learned the little habits and quirks of her eldest. The Hester matriarch realized a long time ago that her daughter's cold exterior could be off-putting to most. Aracelis seldom made many, if any, friends. It simply wasn't in her daughter's personality to be considerate of other people's feelings. Even so, Selene knew in her heart that Aracelis has the capacity to care deeply about others.
"I can understand your need for time and space during the school year for your studies and whatever other activities you're involved with. But it's summer break! Spend some time with your little brother." Selene held out Talcott for her daughter to take.
"…Fine." Aracelis relented. Reluctantly, she held out her hands for the baby boy.
At the sight of his sister's reciprocation, Talcott squealed in delight. He scrambled off his mother's lap into her welcoming arms. Aracelis stumbled at the sudden weight and quickly readjusted her hold. Oblivious to her fumbling, the toddler giggled and nestled happily against her. Despite her reserved demeanor, the older girl took a breath of relief once he settled.
"See. Was that so bad?" Selene grinned brightly, clapping her hands together in triumph.
Aracelis sighed, her dark brown eyes glanced suspiciously to her grinning mother. "…Mother, what is it that you're really here for?"
"I need to run out to get some groceries," chirped Selene. Her tone suggested no remorse at being caught with this ulterior motive. "Can you be a dear and watch your brother for a bit?"
"What?" cried Aracelis in disbelief. "But I know nothing of the intricacies of motherhood!"
"Pish-posh." Selene dismissed. "Don't think I didn't notice you paying attention while I was taking care of your brother. You know exactly how I do things."
"But—"
"—And!" Selene continued before her daughter could get another word in edgewise. "I know you have contingency plans in case anything ever happens. Am I wrong?"
"No…" The girl grudgingly resigned to her mother's will.
"That's my girl!" gushed Selene merrily. She stood up from the ground to cup Aracelis's face pecking her quickly on the forehead doing the same to Talcott. "Now, you be a good boy for your big sister. Mommy will be back as soon as possible."
"… I still don't see why you can't just take him with you," objected her daughter.
"I'll make your favorite," sang Selene.
"… That isn't much of a bribe," stated Aracelis bluntly. "Since, you always make my favorite."
"And dessert," continued the woman teasingly.
"Just go," sighed Aracelis in exasperation.
"Oh, you never let me have any fun," huffed Selene, woeful and dramatic.
Aracelis rolled her eyes, long since accustomed to her mother's antics. She retreated into her bedroom with Talcott in her arms, closing the door. Selene couldn't resist the giggle that escaped her as she turned to leave. It was nice to see her daughter behave like an exasperated teenager every once in a while; opposed to the overly studious rule abiding standard the girl insists on upholding.
Enjoying the weather, Selene moseyed along making her way to the local market. The crisp air accompanied by the warm afternoon sun added a pep to her step. It was a perfect day for food shopping, but that didn't keep anxious thoughts from filling her mind with worry. The mother couldn't fathom why her daughter was ever so serious. Both Selene and her husband Alder showered Aracelis with love and support. When her daughter was still a child the Hester's found themselves forcing her to partake in activities meant for children her own age.
Most kids begged their parents for toys or park playdates, but in the Hester family it was the other way around. Selene bargained with her daughter to play with Gladio, Iris or any other children. Her father-in-law, Jared reasoned that she was simply a prudent child with a mature soul assuring the worried mother that it was hardly abnormal nor cause for worry.
Groceries procured, Selene paid for her purchases and left the store. With how quickly Aracelis matured, she grew concerned that her daughter would miss out on the little things in life. Making friends and having fun are things that children should enjoy while they still can. If only—
Riiiip!
"Oh!" Selene yelped.
Her paper bag tore open, unceremoniously dropping its contents all over the ground.
"Oh darn!" lamented the woman with a defeated sigh. "I knew I should've brought my own bag."
Selene stared mournfully at her scattered groceries littered all over the sidewalk. She didn't intend to buy diapers, but she couldn't resist a good sale. How was she going to get everything home without a bag? She could go back into the market, but it'd be terrible to leave a mess in the middle of the pedestrian walk.
As she troubled over her dilemma, a young man exiting the same market came upon her situation.
"Ma'am, you look rather flustered. Do you need some help?" The soft spoken young man offered.
Selene drew her attention away from the mess on the ground. She took notice of the green-eyed teen addressing her, his own durable bag of groceries strung over his shoulder.
"Oh! If you don't mind the trouble sweetheart, that would be wonderful!" cried the woman in relief. "I don't live very far away."
"It's no trouble at all," he reassured as they proceeded to gather her groceries piling them neatly into his sturdy bag.
"Thank you so much! You are so polite!" gushed Selene. They finished up and began walking together. "You know, my girl is about your age. If only she could be half as considerate as you are and—Oh! Listen to me go off, I never even asked for your name."
"… Ignis," answered the young man with awkward hesitation, unsure of himself around the bubbly woman.
When Ignis went through his weekly routine of picking up groceries, he hadn't expected to come across the distraught mother and her bag mishap. Naturally, he offered her his assistance. It was common decency after all. Selene is a friendly woman and by the time they made their way off the busy streets and into the upper class residential area, she gave him more compliments than anyone else he's ever met previously. It bordered on uncomfortable at some point.
Despite his discomfort, Ignis remained politely silent. He said nothing apart from nods and subtle acknowledgements as the woman directed them to her house. Selene eventually took notice of his shyness. Thankfully, she allowed the rest of the walk to fall into a pleasant silence with the exception of her absent-minded humming.
They arrived at a two-story home with a dark roof, well kept flower garden and a neatly trimmed hedge fence. The block was among the highest tax bracket if the huge three-door garage mansion next door proved any indication. Selene made her way up the front steps to unlock the front door. Ignis allowed his gaze on the house to linger for a brief moment before shouldering their weighty bag of groceries to follow her. Helpfully, Selene kept the door open for him as he stepped into the foyer.
"I can't thank you enough," said the woman gratefully. She closed the door behind him moving to relieve him of the heavy bag of groceries. "Why don't you go take a seat in the living room while I get everything sorted? I'll even pack you some homemade treats for helping me!"
"Erm… you don't have to—"
"Nonsense!" She huffed, cutting his protest short. Selene ushered him down the hall with a firm push. "It's the least I can do. It won't take long at all. Go, go!"
Ignis glanced at Selene helplessly. The woman pushed him towards the living room before taking a right into the kitchen. He took in a deep breath, resigning to the unexpected wait. He regretted ever helping her, but was quick to dismiss the unkind thought. Selene was only trying to repay him, though he didn't expect her to do anything of the sort.
Groceries held hostage, Ignis stepped into the living room intent on finding a seat to wait out however long this might take. He never expected to find his classmate, Aracelis seated on a couch reading to a small child on her lap. He did a double take not quite trusting his vision of the matronly girl in plain clothing. Accustomed to her always in the black Valetis school uniform it was uncanny seeing her barefooted, sporting a loose ponytail and a baggy Li'l Malbuddy T-shirt.
"… In the line of kings, Queen Crepera Lucis Caelum was the first woman to take the throne after the death of her father and brother," read Aracelis steadily.
The lack of inflection in her voice made her sound like she was delivering a report rather than reading to a baby. It didn't help that she happened to be reading his report on the Kings of Lucis from several months ago. On the one hand, Ignis was flattered that she still kept the report and continued to read it despite the fact that it failed to prove her paranoia.
On the other, it was obvious that the brunette had no idea how to entertain children. Ignis had no experience himself, but he knew detailed research papers was not something a toddler would enjoy. Even so, the baby in her lap didn't make much of a fuss, content with shoving the entirety of his fist into his mouth. For someone who's supposed to be mindful of her charge Aracelis was negligently engrossed.
Aracelis wasn't very much different from her normal demeanor at school. The girl becomes oblivious to her surroundings whenever she's caught up deeply in her reading. Curious, Ignis made his way towards her wondering if she would notice him…
She didn't.
He walked halfway into the living room taking a seat on the adjacent loveseat . The toddler in her lap looked at him curiously as Aracelis continued to read, clueless to his presence.
Amused, Ignis crossed his legs folding his hands at his knee. The toddler stared at him with a confused tilt to his head. With a slight wiggle of his fingers, Ignis gave the baby a shy greeting. Unintentionally, they began a staring contest until eventually, the boy decided to pull his drool-covered fist out of his mouth with a pop. He then proceeded to tug at Aracelis' arm with the sticky hand.
"Awie!" called out the boy.
At first, she didn't seem to take notice, but children seldom give up easily. Ignis fought back a chuckle as the boy continued to pry her for attention, going so far as slobbering her face with his wet fingers.
"Ew Talcott! That's gross!" yelped Aracelis in disgust.
She dropped the stack of research papers on the seat beside her, freeing her hand to wipe the baby slobber from her face, finally taking notice of his unusual presence. Her dark brown eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed in confusion.
"What are you doing in my house?"
"I'm waiting for Selene to return my groceries," replied Ignis evenly. "I offered her my assistance when she had a mishap with her bag at the store."
"…In other words, my mother kidnapped you. How many times do I have to tell her not to bring random strangers home?"
"This is a regular occurrence?" He queried with a single raised brow.
"More often than I would like," groused Aracelis. "I apologize for my mother's erratic behavior. She didn't say anything too embarrassing did she? She has a habit of being too forward with people."
"I've noticed," replied Ignis dryly. "She's… very generous with her compliments."
"Yeah, she does that," agreed Aracelis.
"I've certainly never been invited into a stranger's house out of the blue."
"… I really must question your ability to follow home complete strangers," muttered Aracelis. "For all you knew, my mother could have been a crazed serial killer. You could've ended up baked into a gross human meat pie."
"Surely not," scoffed Ignis. "I would make for a delicious human meat pie."
"…Pft," snorted Aracelis. "That's horrible."
"And yet, you laughed," countered Ignis, mirth clear on his face.
"It's a pity laugh." Her wry smile contradicted her words.
"Of course it is. My apologies for mistaking it otherwise." Ignis continued his serious pretense, a twinkle in his eyes giving away his impish jesting.
DINGDONGDINGDONGDINGDONG!
Ignis and Aracelis glanced up, startled by the unhinged doorbell ringing. When the ringing didn't abate, Aracelis stood up and plopped Talcott unexpectedly into Ignis' arms.
"Hold him for a bit. I'm going to check who's at the door."
Ignis scrambled to adjust his hold on the boy. Talcott's eyes trailed after his sister, unexpectedly calm in the arms of a complete stranger. A small consolation, since that meant the younger Hester is unlikely to begin wailing. Even so, Ignis was curious as to who was ringing the door and decided to follow from a distance.
At the unexpected guest, Aracelis received Prompto's presence in mirrored confusion.
"What are you doing here?" They blurted out in unison, utterly flabbergasted by one another.
"I live here." Aracelis retorted. "If you didn't know that, why did you ring the door like a maniac!?"
"Oh! I-I'm looking for Ignis. I saw him come into this house from Gladio's window," Prompto hastily explained.
"…Why were you looking for Ignis? Wait—better question, why were you at Gladio's?"
Prompto nearly screeched, flailing his arms in a panic.
"Noct and Gladio were supposed to train at the Citadel today, but Noct didn't want to go. I know Gladio can get really hissy if you miss out his training so I promised I'd go with him. You know, sort of like moral support?"
"Get to the point Prompto," groaned Aracelis.
"Well, I don't have clearance to the Citadel but the big guy said we can move the training to his house instead. So, we ended up going there. Which, by the way is a MANSION! It's ginormous! I mean, I know Noct lives in the Citadel and that's pretty huge, but man! Gladio's house is—"
Ignis raised an eyebrow. Mansion? Prompto stated he saw him enter Aracelis' home from Gladio's window, which meant… the Amicitias lived next door. It made a whole lot of sense why they were so close, now that he knew them to be neighbors. He glanced down to Talcott, noticing the boy watching Prompto with interest. It's not every day the curious toddler encounters his sister interacting with so many strangers.
"Ugh…" She slipped her hand under her glasses to pinch the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Why can't those two just get along?"
"That's why when I saw Ignis, I immediately ran over here for help. They looked like they were going to kill each other before I left." Prompto finished with an abject frown.
"Allow me a moment" The girl sighed, storming down the hallway.
"You might as well come along," She addressed Ignis over her shoulder. "It's going to be a while before my mother will let you leave. She's probably baking you something from scratch in the kitchen as we speak."
Ignis made no protest. He did not want to stay alone with Selene if he wasn't going to receive his groceries back anytime soon.
"Mother." Aracelis poked her head into the kitchen. "I'm heading over to Gladio's!"
From where he stood, Ignis spotted Selene behind the island counter in the middle of lunch preparation. He caught sight of his bag of groceries neatly packed on a barstool. Peeking out the top was a clear foil bag of baked goods, tied with an ostentatious laced ribbon.
"Do you have to go now?" Selene pouted in disappointment. "Lunch will be ready soon."
Lunch?
Ignis blinked in surprise. He was beginning to see where Aracelis got her presumptuous boldness from.
"Mother, did you even ask Ignis if he wanted to join us for lunch?" Aracelis scowled.
"But you two sounded like you were having such a lovely time talking to each other," reasoned Selene. "You never told me you knew such a nice boy."
"Don't you even start," warned Aracelis. "I know you're trying to change the subject!"
"Oh! You always ruin my fun!" Selene whined childishly. "If you're going over to Gladio's at least take Talcott with you so I can finish cooking."
"Fine." Aracelis yielded, grabbing his arm to bring him along. "Come on, let's go before she decides to pull out the family album."
"Erm… It was nice meeting your Mrs. Hester," said Ignis before he was completely yanked out of Selene's sight.
"I better see you back here for lunch later!" Selene called after them with a pleasant smile. "Oh! Since you know Gladio and his little friends, be a dear and invite them over too."
Like mother, like daughter, Ignis resigned to the fate that he had no say when it came to either woman. Arm tugged, Ignis followed Aracelis out the door and down the front steps. Prompto eyed them oddly before following along.
Rather than going through the front door further down the block, the girl walked up to the garage to type in the access code. His curiosity didn't falter. Just how close were they for her to have exclusive access to the Amicitia home?
Clack, clack! BAM!
Gladio struck the defeating blow, knocking the prince to the ground with his large training blade. Noctis wheezed, breathless and aggravated. His cold blue eyes glared up at his shield as he pulled the neck of his black tee-shirt wiping the sweat from his upper lip.
"Stop." Noctis huffed, his breath heavy and his limbs shaking from exhaustion. "I'm tired."
"Quit bitching and start moving!" Gladio snapped as he heaved the training sword over his shoulder expecting the prince to get back on his feet. "If you skipped out on training less, you wouldn't be so out of shape."
Noctis' shoulders tensed, heckled by the Amicitia's words. His teeth clenched as the scowl on his face deepened. He glanced at his weapon for a brief moment before he tossed the training sword aside and defiantly plopped down to the ground with his arms and legs crossed.
"What do you think you're doing?" Gladio demanded, his voice low and strictly controlled.
"Taking a break, I'm tired," repeated the obstinate prince.
"Get up and pick up your sword."
"No."
"Your assessment is coming up soon. With your current performance, you're not going to last through the first ten minutes!"
Much to the Amicitia's displeasure, the dark haired teen chose to do nothing but look away. It took all of his self-restraint not to lift his training sword and bash the prince over the head in frustration. The wooden handle creaked under his death grip. He turned his weapon blade down before slamming it to the ground. Partly to intimidate the prince, but mostly to keep himself from attacking the younger boy.
Noctis remained unfazed, daring him to do his worst knowing full well Gladio could never harm him.
BAM!
The sound of a door slamming echoed through the halls, but neither Gladio nor Noctis bothered to move. Quick angry steps sped down the halls. Gladio didn't need to think twice to recognize them. He's heard Aracelis walk through these halls enough times to know. Following behind her was another set of steps, no doubt belonging to Prompto. He had wondered where the boy disappeared to when he left the room earlier.
Gladio should have known Prompto would get Aracelis involved at some point. The younger teen always reached out to her when things went south. While Gladio understood why she was fond of Prompto enough to go out of her way to help him, he couldn't fathom why she did the same for Noctis. He readied himself for Aracelis to defend the prince, but to his surprise her reprimand never came. Instead, what broke the tension in the room was the cheer of a happy toddler.
"Gladdy!" shouted Talcott gleefully at spotting Gladio clapping his pudgy hands in celebration.
"Talcott?" He exclaimed, looking away from Noctis to locate the small child.
Alongside Aracelis and Prompto was Ignis, rather flustered and trying his best to hold the squirming baby in his arms. Determined to reach Gladio, the reckless toddler broke free, not realizing he would fall if he did so. Alarmed, the Amicitia heir darted forward to catch the boy before he could hit the ground.
"Ah-gen!" giggled Talcott, hugging Gladio. The muscular teen carefully stood up with the child cradled in his arms.
"Why did you bring your kid brother here!?" he demanded, directing his anger to Aracelis.
"Don't blame me, my mother told me to bring him," replied the girl bluntly. "Also, she wants you over for lunch. Prompto and the prince are invited as well."
"We're in the middle of training!" he snapped.
"You want to tell my mother that?" challenged the freckled-face girl.
Gladio gritted his teeth, knowing better than to object. Much like with Aracelis, he can't remember a time where Selene Hester wasn't in his life. There was no way he could refuse her request.
In the midst of his conundrum, out of the corner of his eye he noticed Noctis was no longer protesting on the ground. The dark haired teen had stood beside Prompto and Ignis by the door. The prince seemed amused at the sight of Ignis, no doubt because of the tongue lashing the prim and proper teen gave him and Aracelis in their last meeting.
"So, why is he here?" commented Gladio, nodding his head towards Ignis.
It was odd that the Scientia heir was present in his home. He's met the bespectacled teen only twice before and they barely exchanged a dozen sentences with one another. There was a saying on how meeting someone once is chance, twice is coincidence and the third is a pattern.
"I thought you said you guys weren't a thing."
"You can blame my mother," deadpanned Aracelis. "She went to the market and came back with him as if he was part of her groceries. I swear, one of these days they're going to end up in trouble for trusting strangers."
"… Somehow, I'm not surprised," muttered Gladio.
"Anyway," continued Aracelis offhandedly making her way behind him. She glanced at the other three in the room as she pushed the Amicitia along. "Let's get going before mother wonders why we're taking so long."
"Are you sure?" asked Prompto as she pushed Gladio past them and into the hallway. "We won't be a bother?"
"It's too late for you to back out now," reasoned the older girl. "Once you get my mother's attention, you're not going anywhere until she's fed you and packed you goodie bags to take home. It's best to just get it over with."
Aracelis herded the group towards her house, with her and Gladio leading the front.
"…You know you can't keep doing this." Gladio spoke quietly ensuring the others wouldn't hear their conversation.
"I don't know what you're talking about," huffed Aracelis, crossing her arms as she walked alongside him.
Behind them, Prompto was smiling brightly engaging both Noctis and Ignis in conversation. The prince interjected occasionally while the older teen listened silently. None the wiser, anyone would imagine the group to be good friends.
"I'll let this one go because of Selene, but if you keep doing this, the brat prince is never going to grow," warned Gladio.
"I really don't understand why you're constantly so hard on him," said Aracelis in exasperation. "Giving him a break once in a while isn't going to ruin him."
"You don't know what—"
"BIRDIE!" shouted Talcott blissfully pointing to a bird flying overhead.
"Yes, Talcott, it's a bird." The toddler grinned up at Aracelis despite her lack of enthusiasm.
"…By the way, why am I holding your brother?" asked Gladio.
"Because you're big, strong and I don't want to," stated the girl bluntly, unremorseful that she used him so readily. "So there."
Gladio snorted at her response. He could hand Talcott back just to spite her, but decided otherwise. As much as he hated how she cut in at every turn to help the prince, he appreciated that she came in when she did. With how Noctis behaved just now, he was almost tempted to hurt the boy for his flippant behavior. Not that Gladio would have gone through with it. He wouldn't be much of a shield without a charge.