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In hindsight, Elci has to admit she doesn’t even know why she has that particular mammet following her around that day. Usually she simply has her coeurl kitten with her, or she asks Midgardsomr to stay visible if she’s feeling particularly talkative. Yet, if anyone were to ask, she’d say the reactions of the twins are completely worth it.
She simply intended to visit Alisaie on her sickbed, sneaking her an apple strudel and a mug of steaming hot chocolate. Elci has been through poisoning before, basically tied to her hospice bed and fed only the most bland tasting of foods. The girl has been in there for days, and she must be aching to taste something sweet by now.
She balances the tray she’s holding on one hand and knocks the door to Alisaie’s room softly, waiting for the girl to call her in before opening it. When she hears how tired Alisaie still sounds, she puts on a bright smile. Time to cheer her friend up.
“Elci!” Despite the fact that she’s spent much more time in Alphinaud’s company, Elci always feels a warm affection for his twin. Maybe it’s the way Alisaie’s face lights up upon seeing her, or maybe she’s just less prone to ordering Elci around. Either way, she’s glad she decided to visit.
“I see you’re feeling better,” she says, holding the tray up high, so Alisaie can’t spot what’s on it - an act which instantly arouses the patient’s suspicion.
“I do, so if they badgered you into being the next person to try and force that vile antidote down my throat, don’t bother. I've recovered enough that even you won’t feel it's worth the struggle.” Alisaie looks up at her defiantly, and Elci chuckles even as she closes the door behind her.
“Are the Holy See’s best curatives truly that unpalatable?”
“Worse than Sharlayan’s worst culinarians on a bad day.” Elci has no idea what that means, but judging from the way Alisaie shudders at the mere thought, it must be bad.
“Then you’ll be pleased to discover that what I carry is not, in fact, another dose of medication, but instead comfort food.” She lowers the tray to reveal the warm apple cinnamon pastry and a large mug of hot chocolate, with extra whipped cream and cinnamon.
“Oh, you’re the best,” Alisaie sighs as she loses her usually mature manners for a moment in favor of making grabby hands at the treats, and Elci yields the bounty over to her young friend with a smile. Either of the twins would probably kill her if they ever find out she revels in making them act their age every now and then.
“I figured you’d be craving something edible by now. As well as something that needs chewing before swallowing. The chirurgeons mean well, but they seem to think we can persist on fluids alone.”
Alisae is nodding along, but it’s clear she’s more focussed on the pastry she’s savoring the first bite of, and Elci decides to let her eat in peace for a moment. She sits down on the chair next to the bed, crossing her legs and basks in this moment of quiet which is so rare for her.
The silence doesn’t last long, however; only a few bites into her pastry, Alisaie breaks the silence and asks her how their encounter with the warriors of darkness went. Elci recounts the tale, answering additional questions as Alisaie sips on her drink and makes the occasional remark on what happened.
“I bet Alphy wasn’t satisfied with such an ans—” Elci looks up at Alisaie as she stops talking mid-sentence, only to find her staring at something on the floor beside her feet. “Is… Is that a mammet modeled after my dear brother?” she asks, and when Elci follows her gaze she finds the small Wind-up Alphinaud she had received from the expedition leader of the investigation at Gorgagne Mills a few weeks ago. She still wonders how the man came by such an item and why he saw fit to give it to her, but there’s something funny about the little Alphinaud copy following her around.
Elci chuckles. “Indeed, it is. Isn't the likeness striking?”
Alisaie continues to stare dumbfounded at the mammet for a few moments longer before her shoulders start shaking with laughter. “That’s…That’s amazing!” she sputters between laughs. “Who came up with that?”
Elci shrugs, grinning along. “From what I can tell, Tataru had them commissioned as part of the efforts to fund the Braves.”
“You mean there’s more of them?” Alisaie’s stare of disbelief quickly warps into one filled with mischief.
“Apparently, though they’re currently all sitting gathering dust in one of Rowena’s warehouses.” She looks at the mammet fondly. “Well, almost all of them, anyway.”
“Well, maybe if I go to her, she’ll part with one more. I could send it to Mother,” Alisaie muses, getting some control of her faculties and leaning over to lift the mammet to her lap. “Might take some coin to make her part with them, though.”
“What would take coin, Alisaie?” Alphinaud’s voice is accompanied by a knock on the doorframe of the open door. “Surely you can’t have spent all the funds we received from Mother when we le—”
Elci doesn’t know what’s funnier, the fact that Alphinaud detects the presence of his miniature much faster than his twin or the way his shocked face is absolutely identical to Alisaie’s when she first beheld it. “What in the seven hells is that !?” he asks after a few seconds.
And while Elci has never had the pleasure of the company of both twins simultaneously for any extended amount of time—seeing as Alphinaud only joined them when they were almost done exploring the coils of Bahamut—she knows instantly from the change in Alisaie’s expression she’s about to witness epic sibling teasing.
“Why, we thought this was a special order for your belle back at the Studium, of course.” Alisaie drags out the words in feigned innocence, and when Elci glances from Alisaie’s shit-eating grin to Alphinaud’s stare of dread and decides on the spot to sit back and enjoy the show. “Viviane, was it? Or maybe Zoisshiane?”
As Alisaie continues, Elci turns to Alphinaud and lifts her eyebrows in an impressed expression while the red on his cheeks grows deeper with each name added. But though he tries his best to interrupt Alisaie, she doesn’t let him get a word in edgewise. “Oh, I know! It’s for Alette, isn’t it! She always had a thing for dolls.”
Just as Alisaie seems to be losing steam, Elci picks it up. “Damn, Alphy, I didn’t realize you were such a ladies man, I’m impressed.”
Alphinaud gives up then, realizing he’s outnumbered and settles for just groaning and dropping into the seat on the other side of the bed while the girls share a good laugh. Normally, Elci would take pity on him and make an attempt to reign his sister in at this point. But then she glances over in his direction and notices how his posture as he slouches in the chair in defeat is practically identical to the way the mammet is slouched in Alisaie’s lap. She promptly bursts out laughing all over again.
It takes a few minutes of laughing before Elci realizes Alphinaud is grumbling to himself. “If I ever find out who caused this, they will pay. ” She sobers up instantly from how uncharacteristically menacing he sounds.
“I wouldn’t attempt it if I were you,” she says seriously. “For all your prowess, we all know Tataru can absolutely destroy you if she wanted to.” All the red drains from his face and he pales impossibly fast as realization kicks in, and his sister also finally calms down somewhat. “Besides, when she did it, she had good intentions.”
Defeated, Alphinaud glares at the mammet some more before snatching it from Alisaie’s hands. “Give me that, your hot chocolate is soon not to be hot anymore.”
His sister looks like she’ll protest for about half a second before thinking better of it and returning her attention to her food. Elci finds herself smiling at her young friends fondly and thinking back to that first day she shared a chocobo carriage with them en route to Ul'dah. Back then they had acted aloof, not even speaking two words together to her, or each other for that matter, despite the extended amount of time they spent in the same space. Never would she have expected to see them like this.
Alphinaud is now taking the time to properly observe the mammet, curiosity seemingly overwriting embarrassment. “At least the craftsmanship is of quality, I suppose,” he muses before setting it on the ground, where it proceeds to immediately run over to Elci’s feet.
“Hah, look. It even follows Elci around like you do,” Alisaie jokes between bites, but Alphinaud seems to be done being embarrassed and just chuckles along.
“It sure does, but you really shouldn’t talk with your mouth full. You’re getting crumbs everywhere,” he says as he stands up and prepares to leave. “It would be a shame to let even a crumb go to waste, for the opportunity to eat Elci’s cooking is a tragically rare treat.”
From the way Alphinaud smirks as Alisaie nearly chokes on her bite and sputters out, “You made this?!” with a flaming red face, he’s got his revenge for the day.
All Elci can do at that point is shake her head and smile at the pair more fondly than ever.
Siblings…
She looks at the mammet.
It’s almost a shame she doesn’t have one of Alisaie at this point.