Lidelle frets about her appearance, finding nothing normal or interesting about herself compared to her peers. Catching her concern, Tarutaru offers some advice. Requested by a tumblr anon!

Cool Looks

Despite receiving so much encouragement from her friends, Lidelle still had trouble showing her horns. Compared to her human classmates, she felt they made her stand out too much. They were short, sharp nubs protruding from her head colored in bright yellow, a garish hue in her opinion.

It wasn't just her horns. Her ears were quite long and jutted outwards. At the ends were small tufts of hair, which she really had no way of hiding. She tried with her other long strands of hair, but with most of her hair collected in buns to shield her horns, she had no choice but to let her ears awkwardly stand out.

With her short stature and odd features, Lidelle draped herself in longer clothing. Heavy sleeves might have appeared cumbersome to others, but she used them to hide her supposedly strange characteristics. That way, she could attempt to keep someone's focus on her face instead of letting their eyes wander to her ears or horns.

Ms. Accord said she should be proud of her heritage. Amitie insisted that she had nothing to worry about, that everyone was her friend. Sig, with his demonic heritage, said he stopped worrying about it after a while and instead used his arm as a resting place for bugs, something that made his smile spread into his cheeks.

Yet, Lidelle couldn't find anything to be proud of as the lonely imp of Primp Town. Compared to her brother and sister, she didn't have any spellbinding powers. Satan could summon warp holes and conquer dimensions if he wished, hardly batting an eye as she admired him from afar. Draco breathed fire and excelled in beauty contests while she shied away from the blinding spotlight, supporting her in the shadows.

Gazing at herself in a gentle creak on the outskirts of the Woods of Nahe, she sighed. The temptation to splash her reflection crossed her mind, but her hands remained perched on her knees. She straightened her back, hoping to appear bold although the tremor in her smile created another picture. Glancing away, she idly picked at a few blades of grass, the chirping of bluebirds sounding off in the distance.

She was average in school, average with magic, and below average with her appearance. Nothing anyone could say or do could make her see herself in a different way. She was simply Lidelle, the stuttering imp who hid herself in broad daylight.

"What are you doing out here?"

The rough, rumbling voice of Tarutaru broke through her peace. She couldn't help the yelp that jumped off her tongue. Covering her mouth, she jerked her head over her shoulder and fell onto her bottom, her shoes almost scuffing the water.

"Sorry. I didn't mean you to startle you," he said, emerging from a deep green thicket. Swatting a few leaves off his shoulders, he gestured at her side.

"Oh-oh, yes, of course." She drew her knees to her chest and let Tarutaru sit next to her. "H-how were your classes today?"

"Just fine. Raffina kept ignoring me." He huffed out a snort, appearing like an annoyed bull who saw a flash of red. "All I wanted was a pencil, and she couldn't be bothered to turn around when I kept tapping her shoulder."

"S-sorry. Maybe her head was in the clouds?"

"Hey! Raffina's always focused. She'd never let her thoughts wander. Don't say that about her ever again."

His sharp retort killed the chuckle rising in her throat. Fiddling with the hem of her dress, Lidelle scolded herself for her social skills. She still couldn't bring herself to say the right thing at the right time. Harmless insults slipped out of her without a second thought, leaving her scrambling to apologize as she quickly mumbled she hadn't meant to offend him.

"Well...it's fine." He tilted his head, his anger replaced concern. "Are you doing okay? You looked really bummed out."

"I-I shouldn't trouble you...after upsetting you." She chose her words carefully, knowing she had already flipped the Raffina switch.

Tarutaru flicked his gaze to the rippling creak. Stray sticks and leaves floated on down, vanishing into a deeper pool just out of their sight. A couple stray water beetles raced along the surface, something he knew Sig would enjoy. The clear water mirrored the shimmering sunlight, and he watched Lidelle's reflection as she tried smoothing a few stray hairs back into her bun, carefully using her sleeve to hide her left horn.

"I think your horns are cool," he said, setting his arms behind him and leaning back.

She jumped, her hands reflexively covering her horns. Such a brusque answer threw her off. She searched for a proper response, an immediate denial, but Tarutaru continued.

"Yeah, they look really cool. They give you this sort of..." He snapped his fingers, the right word escaping him. "...um, coolness."

"O-oh, um...I wouldn't say that. They look really..." She trailed off, rubbing her forearm.

"Cool," he insisted, his firmness silencing her trembling rebuttal. He patted his round stomach, which Lidelle noted encompassed quite a bit of his body. "When I was younger, I was kind of self-conscious. I thought I was too...ball-shaped, you know? But when I went to the magic school and saw how nice everyone was, I started feeling better about myself. No one made a fuss about how I looked. Everyone just accepted me." Patting her shoulder, he lowered his voice and focused all of his attention on her. "Everyone's accepted you, Lidelle, because we all really like you."

Her heart skipped a beat, then another, and she sucked down a breath. She let his words linger between them, his honesty as refreshing as a cool breeze on a sweltering summer's day. Relief pooled in her heart and spread through her veins, filling her body with pure, fast delight.

She put so much thought and effort towards concealing herself around people regardless of whether they were strangers or friends. They didn't have horns or large ears, but they cared for her all the same. She was their equal through and through, insisting she was worthy of their respect and kindness even when she doubted herself.

"I feel...stupid," she admitted, her bliss smothered with shame.

"Don't be. It's okay." He wasn't sure if it was appropriate to rub soothing circles on her back, but he did it anyway. Her smile reassured him it was okay, and he continued.

"Thank you, thank you, Tarutaru." She looked up to him, her eyes wet with unshed tears, and she giggled at the stricken look etching onto his features.

"Uh, hey! Don't cry! I'm not good around criers!"

"Ehehe! I won't, I won't. I promise."

Taking her shoes and socks off, she slipped her feet into the water, and Tarutaru followed suit, the calm current washing away all of their worries.