Odette’s mother had always been quite candid, when Odette had asked about her father, that the relationship had been little more than a one night fling. That she had been charmed by his cute looks and soft words, and that perhaps there had been some alcohol involved. Lycelle had seen no reason to hide the truth from her daughter, and so Odette had accepted all of this as the reason why the other kids in the places they visited had fathers, and she did not.

There were times that she envied them, of course, especially during those times when her mother left to do her job. But a quick reminder about how she was getting to see more places than those other children could dream of, and anyroad her mother loved her, usually was enough to distract her. She certainly didn’t the resent the man who wasn’t there.

That would come later.

After the Calamity, after her mother’s disappearance (she was “missing”, not “gone”, she would insist. She couldn’t be gone, there was no way, and after all they had found no body), when she realized that she would be staying with her aunt and cousins for far longer than anyone had intended, then she started to grow bitter.

Because for the first time she needed him, and he wasn’t there.

“Odette, is that a cat?”

Ameline
Surlaint’s vision was not what it had once been in her youth–but then, one did not need perfect sight to note the mewing coming from the young Duskwight’s shopping basket as she tried to slip quietly up the stairs to her room.

And the answer to the question was all but obvious as Odette jutted out her chin, a silent gesture of stubborn defiance as she debated whether or not it was worth lying. “Mayhaps,” she settles on finally.

Ameline sighs tiredly, evidently not fooled at all by the non-committal answer. “Bring it here,” she orders, gesturing towards a nearby table. She doesn’t sound angry, and yet Odette hesitates. She knew when she might be in trouble–and anyroad, the parlor had always been off-limits to her.

“Now,” her aunt adds, far more sharply, and Odette finally, reluctantly, obeys, moving to slowly place the entire basket down before her, kitten and all.

Ameline purses her lips in slight distaste as she reaches into the basket, retrieving a tiny, fuzzy lump. It’s fur was entirely black, as if it had been dropped into a vat of ink, save for bleary blue eyes. Without the cover of Odette’s scarf, it was certainly far smaller than it had seemed at first glance.

“You found this outside?” Ameline inquires, to which Odette nods, even as she scuffs a toe nervously across the nice rug and her aunt turns her attention back to the kitten. “It’s tiny. I’d say it’s likely a runt, especially if you found it alone.” Her dark eyes flick back up to Odette at this, at which she nods once more.

“It’ll likely die before long,” she finishes as she wraps the kitten back into the scarf and sets it into the basket once more. Odette’s expression visibly falls at this, but already there is a stubborn set to her jaw. “It might not have been a kindness, bringing it here.”

“If it dies,” Odette shoots back. “You don’t know it will.”

“Oh? And who exactly is going to even attempt to see it survives the night?”

“I will,” she declares, holding her chin up high as she does so.

Ameline seemed to have expected this answer, even if she was not happy about it. “Your uncle will not be pleased,” she warns. “He does not like animals. You are to ensure that it does not run wild about the house. And it cannot interfere with your studies.”

Ameline’s words seem to catch Odette off-guard, for it appears to take her a few seconds to realize what her aunt was implying. But sure enough, a grin slowly starts to spread across her face.

“And you are not to get your hopes up too high. Sometimes kindness isn’t enough to save something,” she cautions.

“I know,” the young duskwight replies back–but Odette doesn’t seem to be entirely listening, for she has reached out to gently pet the furry lump.

As Odette practically skips off, Ameline sighs once more and shakes her head, unable to shake the feeling that she had just set up her niece for another harsh lesson about how the world worked.