(no subject)

[arachnoble]

Who: Sybille Matteris (Mindfang) and Vriska Serket
Tone: Sad and full of feels.
Rating: PG
When: After this post of Bro's.
Where: Outside the clock tower.
What: Sybille mans up and goes to comfort Vriska after she sees Bro make her cry. They end up talking about family and then other things that aren't related to mothers at all.
Status: Complete, repost of an AIM log.



Sybille was concerned. It wasn't a feeling she was particularly fond of, not at all, because she had grown accustomed to being selfish and self centered. She hadn't had a person to care about in years, mostly because she refused to get close to others.

But now refusal wasn't an option. She had to care about Vriska. Not only was it her duty, but she was the only one left for the girl. Despite their different upbringings, Sybille saw a lot in the girl that reminded her of herself when she was thirteen. There were still many differences, but enough similarities for her to feel a connection. So when she had seen the eldest Strider make her cry over the journal network, she was livid. She had never been exceptionally close to Arachne, and the two of them argued more often then not and hardly saw things eye to eye, but she still knew she was a wonderful mother who cared deeply for her daughter. She knew that and she didn't even have to keep in touch.

Seeing Vriska as she left the library seemed good luck to her. She wouldn't need to go hunt her down, and the girl was obviously headed somewhere intentionally. It would be better to offer comfort in a place where the girl would feel more at ease, and nobody wanted to be confronted in the open. Sybille wasn't surprised when she was led to the clock tower (though perhaps led wasn't the right word, as Vriska seemed unaware). The clock tower was a common place for people to mourn, amongst other less...depressing activities. She stepped in after the teen, clearing her throat after a moment of hesitation.



What was wrong with her? Did she expect anything other than spitting remarks from the flying professor? Of course not... Maybe she was just looking to be insulted. Why not? She was just a kid after all. What did she know about losing loved ones?

She berated herself heavily inwardly as she stormed off down the halls and to the clock tower where she spent most of her time. Mostly to do homework or to avoid the girls in the common room seeing that she was the only one that liked to frequent the tower aside from the occassional couple... She nearly ran up the stairs, her book bag clutched in her arms so the contents wouldn't bustle around too much from her pace. When she could see the evening sky as she reached the top of the stairs she exhaled, vision misting over again before she could reach the tower ridge. She dropped her book bag to rub furiously at an eye when the sound of someone clearing their throat happened behind her. She spun around, eyes wide.

"Professor?"



Now that she had Vriska's attention she began to doubt herself. Should she have followed the girl? Were her words mean anything? Maybe Vriska would be better sorting things out for herself, as Sybille was certainly not the best person to give advice.

This was going to end horribly.

She cleared her throat, stepping forward slowly, cautiously. Who knew what would happen if Vriska felt threatened and ran? She certainly didn't. "I came to talk to you. About what Strider said."

She took a breath, struggling to find the proper words and she hated that. She had never been at a loss before, but then again she had never dealt with anything like this. "He was out of line. Your mother was a good woman, you know. Well, I'm sure you know because she raised you."

She reached out, but changed her mind and dropped her arm to her side. "Ignore what he said. He's immature and he likes to impose his issues onto others.”



Vriska watched her as she started to speak, hands fisted loosely in front of her. A thousand questions raised themselves to the tip of her tongue. She looked away briefly.

"To be truth... truthful, I do not remember much. Only small things of her." Some days she even doubted her own memories, what were real and what were just things she made up to help her sleep at night. It was hard to discern what was a dream and what was reality.

"But... Is okay. I do not think hard on what he said. Is no use to."



"You could ask me, you know. She was my family, too." She sighed softly. "We weren't close at all, we were far too different. But I know she was usually kind, and very caring."

She couldn't imagine how Vriska felt. Her parents passed when she was already an adult and on her own. She didn't know what it was like to be young and lose the person who cared for you. In her third year, Murdoc's father passed, and he was a shell of the boy she had known.

But that was different. She couldn't taunt Vriska out of her mourning.

"Of course there's no use thinking about his words. He's a fool. An arrogant, insufferable fool who needs to get punched in the teeth."



She sniffed, still keeping her eyes to the ground. She pressed her hands to the folds of her skirt, fingertips pinching the fabric. "When did you last see her?" There were a thousand and one questions she wanted to ask her, but she held back just barely in case Sybille got annoyed and retracted her offer.

She turned away to lean forward against the ridge, eyes peering down at the castle. Her lips quirked. "Maybe. He is only suffering, though. People who suffer say foolish things a lot."



She glanced towards the stars, lips pursed. "Not since her wedding. She was lovely, though, even if...Well. Let's just say there was probably a better way to handle the situation."

She snorted, focusing on finding the constellations in the sky. It was a distraction, to help her from saying something that could be taken very, very wrongly. "Suffering is no excuse for his actions. You can only blame so much on being hurt, and after a while a person needs to stop being a miserable tool just because they feel they will be excused for it."



"What was my father like? Did he love her?" Having never even met her father Vriska knew even less about him than she did her mother. Who knew what kind of man he was.

She shrugged, folding her arms over the edge of the stone ridge. "I get feeling... Class with him in future will not be so fun."


"I only met him once, at the wedding." She didn't want to ruin any sort of image Vriska had, and she honestly didn't know much about the man asides from the fact he was a pureblood and she didn't get along with him. "We didn't have the best meeting."

"Perhaps you should talk to Banks? He's young, but not a bastard like Strider." She looked down at the girl, reaching out to ruffle her hair. "Or someone can teach Strider a lesson."



"Was he good man? To her?" She couldn't miss what she never had, right? So having never known her father made it a little easier to cope with never having him around. She couldn't say the same for her mother.

She looked up at Sybille when she ruffled her hair. "I speak to Professor Banks before. He is nice." Another glance away and a partial smile. "Yes. Good."


She wished she was better equipped for this. There should have been Consoling 101 lessons when she signed up to teach. "He was good enough to her, I suppose. Not really the person I imagined Arachne marrying, but you can't predict everything right."

She raised an eyebrow at her, pulling Vriska closer. "He's bizarrely nice. I don't know how he does it. He might have good advice, though."



"Maybe... She marry someone different, she still be alive today." Someone that would have been alive after she was born and someone who would have been there to have helped her mother during her heart attack. That memory still plagues her now. She looked down at the stone under her hands with a frown.

She didn't resist being pulled closer, gaze still downcast. "Maybe. I have better questions to ask him, though."



"If she married someone different, she might not have had you." She wrapped her arm against her shoulder, looking away. "She might have had a different child, or no child at all. Maybe she would have still died. What happened is over and done with, and there is no reason to dwell on how things could have been different."
She quirked a brow, smirking a bit. "What sort of questions do you have to ask?"



"Maybe..." That would have been better. But she swallowed that sentence down. Some thoughts weren't meant to be said aloud, even if they were the truth.

That all aside, being this close to someone was... refreshing. When was the last time someone had held her like this? She felt a little childish for actually enjoying the awkward comfort Sybille was trying to give her.

"Like... About Acromantula? I like to see them one day and he say maybe he can take me to see them one day in Forbidden Forest when I am ready." She couldn't help but smile a tad bit shy. "I tell him I am, but he is uncertain still."



Her hold tightened. She could figure out what she meant, but she doubted the girl would react well to a long winded spiel on how she was valuable. It wasn't like her words would have much weight, either. The two barely knew each other, so Vriska would most likely Sybille was only saying that out of obligation.

"Well there must be a way to convince him. He seems to be easily swayed, so I doubt it would take much to prove yourself ready." She paused, briefly imagining what would impress Peter. "Though if you can't impress him I'm sure you can be persistent enough to badger him into taking you."



She idly picked at the stone with a fingernail before looking up at Sybille. "Do you think that will work?"



"Of course. Sooner or later he'll have to show you." She smiled down at her, more confident now that the conversation was moving in a direction she could handle. "The more obnoxiously persistent you are the sooner it will be."



She gave this some thought, her expression curious as she looked out to the sky. "Do you know him well?"



"Not yet." Well now she feels awkward. She clears her throat. "But I don't need to know him well to help you convince him to take you to the Acromantula."



Another small smile. "Is not that important, you know. To see them." She flicked away a stone chip. "They will be there always. I can wait."



Nudging her gently, Sybille laughs. "They'll be there a while, but there's no time like the present to meet them. After all, the sooner you meet them, the sooner they'll take a shine to you."



"Maybe to eat more like it." She was fidgeting now, but at least she was smiling more consistently now. Maybe Sybille wasn't as terrible as Vriska thought.

"... Professor?"



"I don't think you'll get eaten. I'd hope you'd be smart enough to avoid that."

She tensed, and she knew she should, logically, not be worried about whatever Vriska was about to say. "Yes? What is it?"



Her smile faltered after her first comment and her fidgeting came to a stop for a moment.

"Do you know... how she died?" She wasn't asking for herself, but asking to see if Sybille knew as well."



Well shit. She berated herself, rubbing her temple. She shouldn't have said that. "I...didn't learn she died for months afterwards. Not until after her funeral. But I heard how she passed."



"Did you know I was one who found her?" Why did she feel the need to tell her this? Couldn't she control her own words and what she was saying? Did Sybille even need to know these details? Did she even care?

Despite all that Vriska went on to continue. "She collaspe in kitchen late in day. I sit with her until people come next day and people tell me she is dead." She took in a breath and looked out over the castle.



"I didn't know that." She looks at the girl, and it's...hard. She doesn't know what to say, or much less how she feels. It explained a bit about Vriska, and she should have known it was more than just your typical mourning. If she wasn't there when her mother died, would she be the same girl she was now?

"That's good." She rushed to explain herself, before Vriska could get the wrong idea. "That you were there, so she wasn't alone. I'm sure as much as it hurt she was glad she wasn't alone and that you were there for her."



She couldn't look at her yet, doing her best to try and keep her emotions in check. She wasn't a little girl anymore that cried every time she thought about her mother. She got over that stage a long time ago.

So when she bites her lip and nods her head once she's still in complete control of herself. "She go quickly. Painless."



Sybille watched her, contemplating. Vriska was starting to grow on her, and it was obvious she had much to learn about the Ukrainian. "There are worse things that could have happened. To the both of you."



She blinked a few times to clear the mist from her eyes. "Like what?"



"You're probably better off not imagining any alternatives." She steps away from the edge, shooting Vriska a look. "We should go inside. It's getting chilly."



She fell silent, swallowing a lump in her throat successfully. There would be no more crying tonight from her.

Moving away from the edge with her she bent down to pick up her fallen bag. A worn out picture slipped out before she could catch it, showing it to be a moving photo of Arachne holding an infant Vriska. It was set to a loop of her smiling at the camera while casting glances at Vriska every so often. She moved to pick it up before a gust of wind tried to take it.



Sybille didn't say anything about the picture, lips pursed. Was that the only thing she had left? She remembered, before, when Vriska was sour over being in her care. How she had said she didn't have much. Out of everything she had, was that the only thing she had left of her mother?

She hated being at a loss for words. She simply started for the door, holding it open. Tonight was a step in the right direction for them, at least. From here on out, maybe it would be easier to deal with the girl. It wouldn't be the end, of course. Vriska would still be a brat and she would still be a bitch, and odds were they would get into nasty fights, especially as Vriska grew older. Sybille was positive, though, that there would be a few silver linings.



Holding her bag close to her chest she headed for the door as Sybille held it open for her. The day could have ended better, but it certainly wasn't the worst she ever had. Sybille didn't make it worse at least.

Vriska kept her silence as they walked through the halls, presumably to Slytherin tower.



She didn't say anything until they weached the Slytherin dorms, and even then she didn't say much. There didn't seem to be much left for her to say, or at least not anything that wouldn't effectively make the day worse than it already was. "If you ever need me, I'm sure I can make the time for you."



Vriska nodded, casting a few glances to Sybille before giving her a small smile.

"Thank you, Professor."