Infinitus | Prodigiosum Sequel

x. for my sister; tristan [part 1]

* pov: third person (tristan) *

i wonder which sister she means.

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Tristan should have known what to expect.

She thought Justin was perfectly fine at Camp Half Blood now that he'd finally found people he could relate to completely. She overestimated the hospitality of the rest of the campers and thought that everybody was welcoming.

Tristan should have been more careful.

When she saw Ralph Clyde carrying a baseball bat and lunging towards Justin, her breath caught in her throat. She wanted to run over, from across the whole camp, to protect Justin from the oncoming blow, but Golde and Trinity had intercepted Ralph, and Trinity had fought him off with her charming before Tristan could do anything.

Tristan didn't dare go any closer, thinking that everything was going to be fine, because she assumed that Justin could control himself before things spun out of control. Still, she couldn't shake the thought that something incredibly bad had happened to her brother behind the scenes. The thought clawed at her mind mercilessly.

She felt a light tap on her shoulder and she flinched. Behind her was none other than Nicole di Angelo, an eyebrow raised, her vantablack eyes seemingly piercing into Tristan's soul. Tristan coughed, "Uhm, what?"

"You're zoning out," Nicole noted. The two shared an awkward staring session before Tristan coughed once again, trying to break the tension.

"I happen to be horrible at conversing," Tristan said awkwardly. "My brother and I were, uhm... homeschooled."

Which isn't entirely true, Tristan added mentally. We were only homeschooled because of my brother.

But I can't tell you that.

Tristan had a problem with walls. She used to be a really open child when their mother was still awake. When she ended up in a coma, she pulled up barriers so as to not get herself and her brother so hurt; yet her efforts proved to be futile, because she improved, at the expense of Justin's mental health.

And now she remained quiet. Sure, she'd made friends with Yvonne, Yzonne, Markus, and Alizia, but she only ever talked so deeply with Markus, because she could feel the understanding radiating from him when she first mentioned her comatose mother. Yet, it only took months till she found it comfortable to share anything with him.

She wouldn't want to talk to Nicole just yet.

"You seem lost in thought," said Nicole once again. "You're thinking about elaborating on your words but you know it's too early to go deep into things just yet."

Tristan's jaw dropped. Then Nicole chuckled quietly and looked away. "Don't worry. You'll come around eventually. I've been in your situation one too many times not to understand your thought process."

And now Tristan was a bit spooked. For someone so celebrated by the camp to share even remotely the same experiences as her puny self did was... startling. She didn't know what to make of it.

Seeing Tristan so speechless, Nicole sighed. "I'm no good at communicating either. This is hopeless."

At least that's something we can agree on.