INBOX

[cache_coeur]

INBOX

”Allô, mon amie! Je ne suis pas disponible pour le moment, mais laissez-moi un message et je vous rapellerai dès que possible! À bientôt!”

CODING

Comments

[maellum]

[Maelle takes a breath.]

Should I close my eyes?

[cache_coeur]

[Sciel pulls out a long length of hair between her fingers, scissors poised in the other hand. She pulls it out front to show Maelle where the cut line is, roughly level with her armpit. Yes? No?]

Do you think I’ve been doing a poor job on my own hair or something?

[maellum]

[Maelle considers, then nods. A tiny nod, so not to make Sciel lose her spot. Then, more candy.]

I've been told I can be a little... dramatic. I used to fight Emma when she took me to get my hair cut when I was younger.

[Then it sort of... stopped. Hence the long hair.]

But no, your hair is beautiful, Sciel.

[cache_coeur]

You, dramatic?

[There’s a flair for it, certainly, but Sciel has scarcely seen any temper tantrum that seemed outside the realm of normal for an overwhelmed child. She just hums, snipping the lock of hair short, and then moving to the next.]

Did Emma want it very short?

[maellum]

[The cutting begins. Maelle distracts herself with more candy.]

Sort of? I get it now, though. I wasn't very interested in brushing my hair when I was younger. I'd get all sorts of things stuck in it. Food, leaves, mud...

[cache_coeur]

[Sciel just continues on, working in sections, measuring them against each other. Somewhat seriously:]

Well, who has time for that? Little girls are always very busy and have so much to do, they can't be expected to be taken away from more important things. You would have looked cute with short hair, though!

[maellum]

What about you? Have you had short hair?

[... she holds up a piece of candy for Sciel to take. Don't stab her.]

[cache_coeur]

[Sciel waits until she's between sections to take the candy. No stabbing here, she promises.]

I did! My dad liked my hair long, so after he Gommaged I gave it a nice good chop, only about as long as my chin. I kept it that way for a few years. It was nice. Very light.

[maellum]

Yeah? Did you like it that way? Short. Or long, I guess. Since it's long now.

[Gustave finds it funny to tug on her ponytail, so she figures he likes that, at least.]

[cache_coeur]

I did! It was easy to wash and go, and I think I looked very nice, but it was not so convenient for dancing when we had to put our hair up, or when I had to be bent over some project. And now I like how versatile it is!

[maellum]

Yeah. Versatile is fun.

[Even if Maelle wears her hair in that damn ponytail almost every day. It keeps it out of the way!]

Would you ever color your hair? Go blonde, maybe?

[cache_coeur]

[Sciel smiles, looking at Maelle through the mirror briefly before going back to sectioning her hair.]

Tried it once, blonde didn't suit me! I'd sooner go some wild colour if I were to switch it up again. Would you go blonde? You could get that pretty strawberry blonde colour, I think.

[maellum]

Me? No. I like my red, now. I used to just want brown hair.

[Because she would maybe blend into her adopted families a little more. She doesn't think she could ever fool anyone into thinking she and Gustave are blood, but it matters less now.]

I think you would look great with streaks of... purple. Or pink. Both!

[cache_coeur]

I would! I should consider it. Maybe go to Verso's guy, someday.

[Since he's the purple expert.]

What changed your mind?

[maellum]

I guess... [Don't make it sound lame, Maelle!!!] You said your dad liked your hair long so you kept it like that, huh? Gustave and Emma would always say how nice my red hair was, so... I guess I grew to see it as that way, too.

[cache_coeur]

[As a kid, she'd found it flattering. As an adult, sweet to know her dad was willing to put in the effort, and something to be nostalgic about now. As a schoolteacher... what kid doesn't gravitate towards whatever they're guided towards feeling best about?

Sciel smiles, taking Maelle's hair down to start another layer.]

They're right! It's very striking, too. I remember looking at you against all those golden leaves in Yellow Harvest, the way your ponytail caught the wind and lit up bright red, and thinking about how beautiful you looked.

[maellum]

[Maelle laughs, the sound pained. She can feel her face threatening to turn the same shade as her hair.]

Sure, Sciel. Sure.

[Anyway!!!]

You look like a professional. Like you really know what you're doing back there.

[cache_coeur]

I mean it!

[She just continues to smile, picking up the scissors again.]

It's not hard to do a trim, you just work in sections. And it's easier on someone else! I bet you could.

[maellum]

Are you volunteering as my first experiment?

[At least she's good with a blade.]

[cache_coeur]

If you want to try, I’ll let you!

[It’s just hair.]

[maellum]

I'll only do a tiny trim. So you can hide it in your bun if it's uneven.

[Which is sort of her own plan if Sciel manages to mess up her hair. She pops another piece of candy into her mouth, shifting to sit cross-legged on the chair without paying mind to the scissors. The sugar may be making her want to squirm.]

[cache_coeur]

[Sciel is glad she has good reflexes, and the lock of hair pinched between her fingers; she's halfway through a cut when it stops being a straight line and turns into a scaling diagonal. Oops. She laughs.]

If you're going to sit like that, you have to at least keep your back straight, otherwise one side will be longer than the other!

But yes, you'll get your turn next.

[maellum]

[If Maelle wasn't so dedicated to her swordsmanship she would be hunched over like a shrimp.]

Oof. Okay, okay. Back straight.

[Up she goes, with a groan. Like she's not young and spry.]

[cache_coeur]

[Sciel laughs at the sounds.]

Either you’re in desperate need of stretching or you’re about to turn sixty years old.

[maellum]

What if that's been my deep dark secret all along? I'm actually twice your age.

[Rather than the other way around.]