A Sister's Lament (Fleur)

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Mei wondered if Fleur's meeting with her fiance went well? After all, what man in this world could possibly deny her sister's feminine wiles? Fleur was the very picture of perfection, a rare beauty indeed. Smart, educated, accomplished. Why would any man find her unsatisfactory?

Well, in Mei's opinion it would be because she was a forceful, spoiled bitch who had absolutely no capability of empathizing with any other human being who happened to not be Fleur. Granted, Mei wasn't much better, but at least she was aware of her faults.

Mei considered the dirt under her nails. She should probably get them done again soon. The polish was starting to look trashy too, with that space between the color and her cuticle growing ever so slowly. She sighed as she leaned her chin delicately upon the back of her other hand. Their mother would probably get at her for having her elbows on the table if she were here. But Mei was bored and wasn't going to sit up properly until her sister finally arrived. And to think, Mei was only fifteen minutes late today.

She pulled out her phone and checked it again for messages. It would have pinged her if there were any, but what could she say? It was a compulsion. The goth girl sat up straight finally, her knees and heels together, and unlocked her phone. She may as well check her email while she waited. And her facebook. And a couple of forums she'd left trolling comments on. Mei smirked at the flame-war she'd incited.

[Fleur Seomoon]

Fleur’s meeting had not gone as she had planned. For starters, Gryphon had been hungover and not in his best state of appearance when she’d gone over, but she blamed herself for that since she hadn’t called him beforehand. That wouldn’t have been too much of an issue… No, it was the stuff that came after that was unexpected and problematic.

She couldn’t believe that he was gay. Bisexual, maybe. After all, he hadn’t outright said it. It bothered Fleur that Gryphon’s dad hadn’t told him anything beforehand, but at least he knew now, and it would surely only be a matter of time before she managed to convince him that he was much better off going through with the plan to marry her than stay with that… That… Feral thing. She wondered if he was brainwashed or something, poor thing…

She hadn’t had the chance (note: hadn’t taken the time) to meet up with her sister until now, and it was only the promise of greasy food that had convinced her to come (lie). Fleur didn’t break her healthy, carb-free, low-fat diet very often, but honestly, it was hard to be able to find things in this small town that fit her diet without having to make things at home (and there was no way she would do that – that’s what home chefs were for, and she had half a mind to find one while she was here).

She arrived at the diner fashionably late, silky hair blowing with the breeze from the doorway and thin figure dressed in some of the finest quality clothing she could find at From the Spectrum, her new workplace. It had been a piece of cake landing the job there; even though it was only temporary, she figured it would be nice to get experience while she was in town working things out. Fleur spotted her sister and wandered over without waving, wrinkling her nose at the younger girl’s phone once she sat down. “I swear if you spend more time staring at that thing than you do at me, I will never meet you in public like this again,” she informed her sister. A small smile twitched at her lips. “And I wouldn’t want to do that, dearest sister. It has been too long.”

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Oh, that poor soul, he got his feelings hurt. Just because she went ahead and told him the truth. They always said stuff like ‘I’m not replying to you anymore’ or ‘just ignore the troll’, but then inevitably someone would engage. Because let’s face it. When idiots got their feathers ruffled, they couldn’t resist the chance to say something they thought was smart. Mei even went as far as to purposely use the wrong spelling of ‘their’ and neglected the use of periods just to give them a little more ammunition. That was only fair, right? Otherwise, they just ranted and raved, wrote whole paragraphs that were endlessly long and in the end said absolutely nothing. Mei started typing out a response to Sir Idiot just as the girl’s sister walked passed her and took the seat across from Mei.

“i’m almost done,” she said simply, not raising her head to even greet her dear, loving sister. Who wants to look at your face anyways? Whoops. Did she think that out loud?

Mei pressed her thumb over the ‘post’ button, then clicked the button on the side of her phone to lock it and set it upon the table. No, she wasn’t going to put it away, she might need to look at it again in say, five minutes. It all depended on how much Fleur managed to keep the telepath’s attention.

“You’re looking well,” she said softly, her expression utterly flat. Fleur always looked well, though. She was especially nice today, Mei noticed. “Is that a new outfit?” A smile matching her sisters appeared on her lips. “I guess you managed to find the only store in town that suits your taste.” From the Spectrum. Mei knew of it. She’d gone inside a couple of times in the past, but nothing had appealed to her, though she didn’t fail to notice a few trends that Fleur would appreciate. Mei reached to a coffee she’d ordered earlier and sipped at it. “is that guy still working there? Tall, Asian, cocky-bastard, you can’t miss him.” Mei hadn’t gone back in over a year so she didn’t know. “I suppose he’s handsome.” She set down her cup and finally decided to give the menu a look over. They were there to eat, after all.

[Fleur Seomoon]

Fleur sometimes got rather distracted and involved with her phone too, but for completely different reasons. Respectable reasons. Like checking her calendar, making calls, researching and shopping and networking… Not the childish nonsense that Mei got herself into. She would never understand why her sister felt such need to cause chaos. It was pointless and irresponsible and just plain rude.

Not that Fleur couldn’t be rude, too, but at least she only pointed it towards those that deserved it and couldn’t come and stab her in the back later.

“Of course you are,” she replied with a wrinkled nose. Hmph. How dare the little twerp not even bother to look at her, at how much she’d grown and flourished? Mei looked no different, really. Maybe a little taller, but her… Distasteful sense of fashion (if one could even call it that) was still the same. It made Fleur want to rip it all off and dress her in something decent so she could bloom to her full potential, because Mei was a very lovely girl… Hidden under all those layers of black and angst. Fleur heard the thought, and her brow furrowed into a scowl, but she didn’t say anything, just tossed back her hair and held her chin high. She knew many people who would trip over themselves to gaze upon her (or more likely, her family’s money, but that wasn’t important).

Finally. Fleur’s expression went similarly neutral when Mei finally looked at her, and the older girl’s nails clicked on the table. “I could say the same for you, if you had crawled out of your goth phase at some point in these last several years,” she replied with a sigh. “It is. And I would love to take you in sometime to find some new looks for you as well.” Goodness knew Mei could use it. A waiter came and put a glass of water in front of Fleur, which she took a delicate sip of. “Hmmm?” she hummed with a raised brow. “I don’t recall seeing anyone like that there.” And he certainly would have stood out to her. “I did, however, inquire about a job opening they had, and I’m sure they will hire me without question.” After all, who could be more knowledgeable than she in this tiny little town?

“Speaking of tall and Asian,” she smirked, picking up her own menu and scanning over it. “I met my fiancé, and he’s gorgeous. Do you want to see some pictures?” Fleur wouldn’t go into details of the meeting, though, for obvious reasons.

[Deleted]

Mei didn’t feel the need to justify her means of entertainment to her sister nor anyone else. If they had a problem with her internet activities…well, that was their problem. Mei had no plans on stopping anytime soon.

And how did she know that those people didn’t deserve it? In Mei’s opinion, if they were on the internet at all, they deserved it. Because…well, have you been on the internet? It was a naturally offensive place. Someone was going to get offended, whether you liked it or not. And it was all anonymous anyway, so it wasn’t like she was going to be having livid people showing up at her door because of something casual she posted on some music video that pointed out how they copied x and y from band Z.

In any case, Fluer was just going to have to learn patience in the 30 seconds it took Mei to finish up her post. Yes, she was that fast in her phone typing, it was almost mindless to her. But poor Fluer, the woman had to wait so long for her younger sister to offer her attention. The younger sister who’d already been waiting for a good five minutes for the older woman to arrive. Did she smell the stench of double standards? Yes, Mei thought so…

When she was done and finally raised her gaze to meet her sister’s….Mei almost wished she hadn’t. She already wanted to go back to her world of cyberspace, because seriously. What interest could this woman possibly offer the teen girl? “I’ll make sure to keep it for another several years then. Just to spite you,” she countered simply. Mei didn’t dress for her sister’s enjoyment, after all, nor anyone else’s. “Sorry, I’ve already been and can barely stomach walking past it nowadays.” Mei had no reason to return to that store, and now that her sister had a job there(because there was no way possible for Fleur to not get hired), Mei intended on avoiding the mall altogether. Oh, well. She’d just have to resort to internet shopping from now on. Mei could live with that, she supposed. “Congratulations, sister,” she offered, at least.

Mei decided that she wanted a classic double bacon cheeseburger with seasoned french fries, something that their mother would admonish either of them for even laying eyes on. Well, that woman wasn’t here now to police them, now was she? Mei smiled at the thought. “Your fiancee? Mother really went through with that plan, did she?” That woman, always trying to control the pair of daughters, even down to who they’d spend the rest of their life with. Well, so far it’d just been Fleur. Mei had no intention of following through with a similar order. “Fine, tell me, I’m so interested in finding out who’d been sentenced to a life with you.” Such a doomed fate. Mei leaned forward, in anticipation of the pictures her sister would no doubt show her even in her refusal.

[Fleur Seomoon]

Patience had never been Fleur’s strong suit. She could put on a poker face and pretend it was, but already she was itching to tap her nails against the table, to let her little sister know how irked she was. But no, she wouldn’t give the brat that satisfaction. It had been years already, she could wait another half-minute. Maybe.

Ugh. Why had she even bothered to come? Fleur should have just kept their far-distance relationship and kept it at that. It wasn’t that she felt some sort of… Affection for her younger adopted sibling, of course. That was just stupid. She wasn’t even blood-related. Obviously, considering their differences in taste for everything but food. “You’ll grow out of it eventually, and realize how embarrassing and childish this chapter of your life was,” Fleur informed her with a sniff. Oh, if only Mei would let her take her shopping just once, the younger girl could realize what a beautiful flower she could be! “Fine, suit yourself,” she humphed, wrinkling her nose. “But don’t be upset when you never catch a man’s interest or find a business willing to hire you.” The congratulations caught her a little off-guard, however, and the older girl’s snooty expression relaxed a little. Then she smirked and lifted her chin again. “Thank you,” she replied crisply, without another word.

Goodness, her body was already putting on weight just looking at this menu, she could feel it. But surely it wouldn’t be too harmful. She hadn’t eaten like this in months, at least. Unknowingly to her, she was looking at the exact same thing that Mei was. Maybe they did have some things really close in common. “Yes, she did,” Fleur replied smugly, taking a moment before she looked back up at the younger girl. “And she has wonderful taste and the best connections in the world.” The older girl never would have found such a catch on her own (maybe). She flipped through her phone until she found an appropriate photo to share with her sister. “His name is Gryph,” she informed Mei. “Unusual, I know, but his family is very rich and he has promising genes. Not to mention he’s meta-human.” Fleur assumed he was too old for Mei to know, though. “Handsome, no?” Surely even her sister could see that.

[Deleted]

Why had Fleur even contacted her? Mei was honestly surprised, though thinking about it, it would probably make her look bad if she didn’t at least try to reach out to her poor, younger, adopted sister. The sister who was such a disappointment and lost and needed Fleur’s guidance to becoming a proper lady. What a load of rubbish, their mother probably made Fleur check up of her because the hag was too self-serving to do it herself.

“I’ll worry about that when it happens,” she said simply. Mei had no intention of moving from her style anytime soon. Or ever. She liked it and they were going to have to deal with it. They being her mother and sister. “I have no interest in catching a man’s interest, thank you very much.” And she had no plans for working anytime soon either. If she could, Mei would just play her guitar on some corner somewhere and earn money that way. Yes, that would no doubt bring shame to her darling family.

Their interest in junk food was the one thing the two sisters shared a taste in, and was one of the few things they bonded well over, even if neither would admit it. Mei dared to smile, ‘hearing’ that Fleur was looking at the same item as herself. It almost made her genuinely giggle. Aside from that, Mei had little interest in hearing about the escapades between her sister and her new fiancee, but there was little choice in the matter if she didn’t want to deal with the childish tantrum her sister would no doubt put on. When she looked at the photo of the man, and heard his name, Mei raised an eyebrow and turned a look to her sister. “Gryph? You mean Gryphon Matsuoka?” she asked to confirm. Oh dear. Poor Fleur, there was little chance she could snag this one, ever. “You do know he’s gay, right?” Mei asked her point blank. Yes he was probably very handsome…but she also knew for a fact that he was also very gay.

[Fleur Seomoon]

Surprisingly, this had been Fleur’s idea. For some reason, in the years they hadn’t seen each other, the older girl thought her younger sister would have changed into something more respectable, and wanted to see if she was right. Unfortunately, she wasn’t. What a shame. Now she had to put up with the embarrassment of being in the gothic girl’s presence in public.

Hmph. Whatever. Fleur just snorted and shook her head, giving up on trying to convince the younger girl. She was obviously too pig-headed to see the logic of her older sister’s advice. “No?” she responded, raising an eyebrow. “You’re… sixteen now, right? Surely someone has caught your fancy.” That was just natural for a teenage girl, even one as… Unusual as her sister. A fleeting thought passed through Fleur’s mind that Mei might be interested in… not men. But she brushed it aside. Absurd.

Fleur glanced up to see a little smirk (at least she interpreted it that way) on her sister’s face. “What’s so amusing?” she questioned, frowning slightly. “Pick up something funny off of someone?” She was uncomfortable, knowing the girl’s ability, but would never admit it out loud (so of course Mei might have picked it up unintentionally). When the waiter came, she would order the burger she had been eyeing along with a small serving of fries and a green tea. Soda was one thing Fleur couldn’t stand. “…. How do you know?” she slowly asked when Mei spouted off her fiancé’s full name. Had her mother bragged about the arrangement or something? At the question, a rare moment of shock passed over Fleur’s features, but she quickly hid it and scowled as she pulled back her phone. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied, a little too sharply. “We’ve already met and started making plans. Whatever you’ve heard was obviously a lie.” Fleur tried to hide the fact that she was lying from her thoughts, but that was much harder than controlling her voice. “Where did you hear that, anyway?” she asked with a short glance up. “I’m sure he doesn’t appreciate such… Malicious rumors.”

[Deleted]

Fleur was dreaming a horrid, unrealistic dream, one which will never happen so long as Mei drew breath on this earth. What exactly was ‘respectable’ anyway? Even dressed as she was, in designs which made her sister grimace, Mei was still much more respectable than you average lay person. That Fleur couldn’t even acknowledge this…she was (almost) as bad as their mother.

“Oh, you actually remembered? I’m touched.” That she was sixteen. “After all these years I’m surprised you took the time to keep track of your younger sister’s age.” That was a feat deserving of an applause for the self-centered woman. Mei still didn’t offer it. She took another sip of her drink, then gently placed it down. “As for men, I think….no.” She shook her head. “There is no one. My sincerest apologies.” As for her preferences, they were none of Fleur’s nor their mother’s business.

“Nothing,” Mei mused, refusing to share her thoughts. Those two were sisters after all, and…that was more comforting than she was willing to advertise.

Mei could see right through her sister’s lies, regardless of how well she spoke them. Mei could hear the nervousness in her mind as she tried to not think about the encounter she’d had with the man. Boy, how embarrassed she must’ve been. It would be terribly rude for Mei to laugh at her shame…so she continued to smile instead as she nabbed her phone she set aside earlier and started punching through it. “Even if you keep saying otherwise, it’s not going to make it any less true.” There it is! Mei leaned forward again, holding her phone out to one of the youtube videos Gryphon and his partner had uploaded. This was a more recent one. “They have their own gay-channel. It's no secret. They’re fairly popular.” Mei pointed at the screen. “See how many subscribers they have?” Of course Mei was one of them. She totally shipped them.

[Fleur Seomoon]

Fleur gave a smug little smile at her sister’s sarcastic response. “Of course I remember, dear sister. How could I forget? I’ve counted the days since you left…” Okay, maybe she was getting a little heavy with the exaggeration, but she had at least marked Mei’s birthday on her phone’s calendar so she could send her sibling a small trinket in the mail. Usually something expensive and trendy and totally Fleur’s style, but not Mei’s. It was too bad she hadn’t changed her style, otherwise she might have been able to actually appreciate them. She rose a brow as her sister continued to deny her questions. Fleur tapped a long, manicured nail on the table. “…. Women?” she finally dared to ask. Well, it wasn’t like she hadn’t done a little harmless playing around in college, she supposed…

Her brow furrowed when Mei refused to answer her inquiries, but Fleur simply sniffed and dropped the subject. Fleur had hardly ever been around her sister when she’d had telepathy, and back then, she’d hardly understood it. Now, the older girl had looked into it more before she came (maybe even on an anti-meta website or two), so no wonder she was paranoid. For good reason. How was she supposed to make a façade work around Mei? That disturbing smile seemed like it would never leave her sister’s lips, and it put Fleur even more on edge. “I still don’t know what you’re talking about,” she insisted, rolling her eyes before leaning in to see what Mei was showing her. And there… she saw……… No. The older girl watched with wide eyes as the two boys showed some very obvious, very intimate moments, right there on camera. “That… is disgusting, why would anyone want to watch that?” she flustered, pulling away quickly. “Those sorts of things should be kept private.” Her cheeks were tinged a pale pink. “…. It doesn’t matter, the arrangement has already been made, so whether it’s true or not, it’s still going to happen,” she insisted. “He’ll be better off with me than some… guy wearing cheap, shitty eyeliner with too many piercings.” Fleur sniffed disapprovingly. “He’s obviously been brainwashed.”

[Deleted]

“Liar,” she said shortly. Not just because of Fleur’s feigned attitude of caring, but also the idea that she would count. “Can you even count higher than ten?” she asked with a small smirk on her lips. As for the trinkets sent by her dear, loving sister…since Fleur didn’t bother to include a gift receipt, Mei was forced to sell them to one of her fellow students. Or perhaps to a local. Ebay was also a good option. She wasn’t going to let something so perfectly nice go to waste, after all, and she got a bit of pocket money besides.

Of course she should have expected that her sister would ask about her preferences, and Mei still wasn’t interested in divulging them. Even so, she could at least trust Fleur to keep it to herself…or at least keep it from their mother. “Not that it’s any of your business,” she confirmed, not looking up from her tea. She thought for a moment, then added, “However, I have no interest in general, so even that is only if I must.” Sex was gross. Whoever decided that sharing bodily fluids was the upmost expression of one’s affection was a lunatic. There were plenty of other ways one could do it, if one looked for it.

That said, Mei was supportive if other people chose to live that life, however they chose to live it. And maybe she was a little too entertained by the ways some couples showered each other with their affections. Like in the matter of Gryphon and his partner, Kodi. “It’s cute,” she said simply in response to Fleur’s obvious disgust. “If it makes them happy…it’s not for anyone else to say anyway. It’s their lives.” At her final comment, though…Mei couldn’t suppress a laugh. An honest to goodness laugh, something she did very rarely in front of people she was uncomfortable with. “If you say so, sister,” she said, narrowing her darkly lined eyes towards her sibling. ”Pot, meet kettle. I’m sure you’ll get along fine.” Whoops…did she think that out loud?

[Fleur Seomoon]

Fleur didn’t bother to respond to the comment about her being a liar; Mei wasn’t wrong. She did, however, roll her eyes when her younger sister tried to insult her. “In case you weren’t aware, I just finished my degree in fashion design and business,” he sniffed haughtily. “And business, amazingly, requires counting skills that I do actually have.” A tiny smile twitched at the corners of her lips. Her sister was amusing, she had to admit.

Fleur tried to hide her surprise at the girl’s unspoken admission. Well… She supposed it explained some things, and it wasn’t like she was homophobic or anything (despite how she reacted about Gryphon’s sexuality – that was just a situational response). She bit her lip and mulled over this new information for a bit. “… I see,” she eventually replied, rather soft. “Well, I hope you’re able to find someone that makes you happy someday.” Fleur did care about her younger sibling, even if she didn’t act like it some days. Or most of the time. But everyone deserved to find a romantic partner that they were happy around, right?

Just like Gryphon would be for her. She just knew it. Maybe he was doing a little experimenting around now, but he would surely come to his senses and realize what a catch she was soon enough. This matter of him… Being weirdly intimate on the internet was unsettling, and a little worrying, but it would be easy enough to take them down when he realized how embarrassing they were, surely. “Whatever,” she replied flippantly. “I’m going to see him again soon, and we’ll get things straight.” Literally. The thought that suddenly seemed to invade her mind from her sister’s direction made Fleur stiffen and make an expression of alarm, until she realized what it was. “Don’t do that,” she accused, hardly registering what had even been said. “I don’t want you in my head any more than you want mine in yours.” She hoped their food would get here soon. Fleur was starting to wish she hadn’t come.

[Deleted]

“My mistake then,” she returned simply. “I’ll be expecting an appropriate gift from you this year.” If Fleur’s claims of intelligence were true, then surely she could manage at least that much. Maybe she’d find her little sister a trinket she actually liked for once.

Even without saying anything, Mei knew that her ‘answer’ was not something her sister was expecting. It was never that Mei was afraid of being unaccepted, especially not by Fleur - she found fault in Mei in other says, mostly regarding her appearance and presentation - but that it really was something that was unexpected for one of their family. Their mother no doubt would not approve, however, so a revelation to that woman was…unappetizing. Fleur wouldn’t say anything. She knew of her and their mother’s relationship. It would be a special kind of vileness that she didn’t think ever her sister was capable of. Mei nodded and sent Fleur a small smile. “Thank you,” she said with equal sincerity. “I’ll keep you informed.” ”Maybe.”

The two of them did have their moments, and as much as they clashed, Mei knew that her sister could be a decent person. She really did have the notorious Seomoon stubbornness, however, something that even Mei inherited, despite not being blood related. Mei didn’t think she’d give up Gryphon that easily…it was just painful, she supposed, to see her sister reach for something she knew was futile simply because of her ego. And, no doubt, because their mother planted that seed in her head that she and the man Gryphon were meant to be. As far as Mei was concerned, their mother didn’t care about their happiness, just about securing a ‘good’ business deal, and Fleur was blissfully, ignorantly, being used as a pawn in her game. Mei would never allow herself to fall in that position.

“I know it won’t do any good, but….good luck sister,” she said when the woman announced her plan of action. If nothing else, then the two of them could at least come to some sort of understanding. What that would ultimately be, Mei didn’t know…but it could happen. Maybe. “My apologies,” she offered politely, but with a hint of insincerity in her voice. “Sometimes things just slip out,” she explained. “I’ll try to keep a better handle on it.” It wasn’t a lie, but it was a darn good excuse. She agreed with her sister, however. The food needed to get their quickly so they could leave quickly. Things would get unpleasant if they continued like this much longer.