In a clearing covered by overgrown, ugly shrubs is a lone tower. It's narrow but has tall vines creeping over the lower walls, not quite reaching the top. Flowers have attempted to grow every year only to wilt and crumble within days. The stone is dirty and hasn't been washed in over twenty years, though the residents haven't cared for almost as long. Not when every building on the Isle is just as filthy.
Killian Gothel closes the door without making a sound, an action he's practised for years now. He has nothing to worry about right now, not with his mother on the other side of the Isle on some sort of 'business', but old habits die hard. Imagine his shock and horror if his mother had returned home early without him knowing and he hadn't snuck back in like the expert he is? The fallout would be too much.
Her shoes aren't by the door, however, so he figures he's safe to call out, "I'm home!"
The head of his older sister Isla pokes around from the tower's living room. "That was quick."
He shrugs. "There wasn't much left to get at this time of day. The thieves went and stole all the good stuff." He glowers as he remembers Mabel's smug grin as she ran past him with the last decent sack of potatoes as he arrived at the marketplace.
Isla rounds the corner to take his bag and peek inside. "It's still enough to make something from, though. Is tomato soup okay?"
"Yeah," he says nonchalantly, as though Isla's cooking isn't the best he's ever had. He only has her and his mother's to compare, but considering how good Isla is at most things, he wouldn't be surprised if she's one of the best cooks on the Isle. "There aren't a whole lot of tomatoes, though, so if you need to make something else, just tell me. Next time I won't let those assholes take everything first."
Isla sighs as she heads back into the living room and turns into the kitchen, the two rooms separated by only a crumbling half wall. "I really wish you would make some friends when you go out."
"Not everyone can make friends without lifting a finger, you know. Some of us are just… not friendly."
"I didn't know I needed friends until I actually had them. I just want you to experience that, too. And you know that my friends consider you a friend, too."
It isn't that Killian dislikes Isla's friends. Far from it, really. He can't be mad at people who treat his sister so well. But she said it herself — her friends. When they pass by the tower on their way home from school, it isn't him they're here to see.
"I don't need friends," is all he says.
Isla sighs and, he doesn't think he's supposed to hear it, but she says quietly, "You will someday."
just a short one today! let it be known that killian also dresses edgy, all black, ripped jeans, ripped jacket, and not just because clothing on the isle usually comes to them that way.
today we met isla gothel, killian's older sister by two years!
also if there are any characters/movies you want to see the descendants of, chances are i've already got them on my list waiting to be written about, so don't hesitate to tell me if you're waiting for those characters specifically. it gives me a good idea of who to focus on next!