FORSAKEN KID: Welcome Home (CLOSURE)

Fuego was beyond shocked!

“Sorry, but I’m leaving after this. I hope your medic team will find a new MVP. The leader will still be there, so I don’t think it will be a problem at all, right? Bet it would be way worse if he were to resign instead of me,” then chuckled at his own sarcasm.

Fuego stood up, slamming the table, “You tricked me?!”

“A change of heart. I had to fight for myself. Without actually fighting you, chief. That’s how Marina fought me to get me, and I lost. She just tricked me a couple times. Even now, she hasn’t given up on me. I still have the spell she casted on the bottom of my feet, inviting me for another dinner. I’d rather stick with people who actually appreciate me. I finally found people who’s not affected by my curse. People who’s willing to support me. People who helped me, also willing to help others, and I want to pay back. I don’t want to rot here until the day I die,” he turns away, taking a candy from Fuego’s candy bowl and gnawing on it, “You can still hire me for part-time jobs of healing your crews. But I’m expecting a lot more, ‘kay?” he said as he left the office. Fuego couldn’t speak a word.

A minute after David left, Fuego just collapsed on his chair, a hand on his face, exhaling stressfully. “For fuck’s sake…”

David went to the door of the basement, watching some men move his only drawer to a new room upstairs. He sees his personal belongings in two bags. That’s all he had, all his clothes and stuff, fitting on two portable bags. He heartily laughs. “Thinking back, I barely had anything in here. To think I really survived it here…” He picks them up and leaves. “Schrodingers. Let’s go,” but of course he can’t leave his best bud.

The sun was setting, David took a cab to Marina and Ialan’s Division. Yes, he didn’t top-hop this time. Marina did say he’s still too amateurish to be left alone top-hopping.

It was dusk when he made it to their house. He plans to barge in and ask to stay for a few days or weeks until he finds an apartment to settle in. He has no one else to ask, anyway. He gently knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He knocked again for a second time and now louder. Just like the first time he knocked there, Marina answered him with a keypad phone beside her ear. “Oh, David. Welcome back,” she smiled and put the phone down. But her face churned disgust once she saw the black cat on his shoulder. “What is that! Get it off! Shoo! Shoo!”

David quickly took the cat in hand to defend him, “He’s my cat! I’m not throwing him away!”

“Why do you have that, anyway?! Black cats are bad luck!”

“That’s a myth– and if you believe in those, why did you still adopt Ialan? And let me sleep here for a few days??? WE ARE THE REAL DEAL!”

“I don’t care, but that thing is not entering my home!”

David enters the room with his bags and cat, “Pardon the intrusion~”

“Hold. It. Right. There!” Marina tried.

“Don’t worry, David. She just dislikes animals, she doesn’t really hate him. As long as your cat behaves, I'm sure it's fine,” Ialan says while peeling potatoes.

“That’s so not true???” Marina objected.

“Alright, then. Schrodingers is a tamed cat, so he’ll be fine <3”

“And change his name, It’s HORRIBLE!” She begged.

“Nuh-uh, no way! I love him unconditionally, and you’re NOT gonna be changing that!”

Marina sits down, “Why the hell are you here anyway. You said you’ll avoid contact with me in the future.”

“I was gonna ask you to let me stay here for a while until I find a new apartment to stay in.”

“Got fired?”

“I resigned.” Marina and Ialan clapped in sync. “Fuck off, you two.”

“So you have no place to stay in, huh… but I’m betting you won’t find an apartment that your luck likes any time soon. Not to mention, one that allows pets,” Marina scoffed. David froze in realization. “My Schrodingers…” fake sob.

Marina really doesn’t like that as a cat name. It’s like hearing Frankenstein is the name of the monster, “Never have kids,” she said to David.

“Then where will my boy and I stay?!”

“Hrm… here’s fine. Settle as long as you want,” Marina suggested. David softly realized. “You said you wanted a room… we can make a mini-second floor, since we barely even have enough space over here…” she says, walking on the right side of the house where hers and Ialan’s rooms are. “Maybe above Ialan’s? Like a lil’ pop-up room, haha.”

“Sure… thanks,” David said with a soft tone.

“But in the meanwhile, you’ll have to sleep on the couch.”

“I’m alright with that.”

“And we have house rules.”

“Guh, what, Am I family now?”

That sparked an idea in Marina’s head. “Why not? Be my brother. I’ll adopt you,” she grins. “Won’t that be easier?”

“...” David squinted his eyes at her and her offer. “Won’t that be complicated?”

“Nahhh, just change your surname and sign a paper. And psychologically acknowledge it,” she goes in her room to grab something, “Is the food done, Ialan?”

“Almost.”

Once Marina came back, she handed David a piece of band paper, with written, “Be Marina Lantass’s sibling? (and change your surname to Lantass),” a yes box and a no box, and below is “signature over printed name” over a line.

“This is handwritten!” David could not believe the bullshit he’s seeing. And he’s signing up for this?!

Marina proudly points at one of the hanged picture frames. One hangs a similar format, just different paper and handwriting. That hanging one looks older, more childish–and has Ialan’s name and signature on it, “That’s proof that me and Ialan are siblings!”

“Ugh…” David said, “Isn’t this illegal?”

“What’s legal, what’s illegal, kid? Neither me nor Ialan are registered citizens anyway. So does it matter.”

“Fine,” he checks yes and writes his name and signature.

“Great! Now first thing in the morning tomorrow, we’re getting wood and wires and stuff for a new room~!”

“Dinner’s ready,” Ialan notified.

Like the previous days, they had a meal and a fun talk… David Lantass just casually(actually, it's suddenly) became a part of a family. 

…

David looks at his membership ID. Name displaying “David Alvinn”. He’s thinking he should get it changed. While he and Marina are on the rooftop, hammering stuff here and there under the sun. “Oh, that?” she asked when he saw him. “I should get mine renewed, too. There’s only ‘Marina’ there, lol. That’s why my name on the registrar’s list is in the M drawing instead of L.”

“Why didn’t you put your surname on it?”

“Just for fun. And imagine the thrill of being so mysterious~!”

“Literally no one was curious enough about you,” he said, his eyelids closing halfway.

“Ialan has a Lantass on his ID, though. But his school ID has ‘Ialan Riccolo’ instead,” She said as she kept on hammering.

“School…” David wonders while sawing, “I wonder what it's like. Having that human privilege.”

Marina laughed so hard her head bobbed back, “You know, that's funny! Human education is not a human privilege. Throughout the schools Ialan has seen, he's seen multiple necromen living as normal high school students! His school right now has three!”

“No way…”

Scoffs, “Just because we ‘graduated’ in our own homes…why, did you want to attend school? I can afford that,” she knows he doesn't wanna.

“Yeah, right, but you couldn't afford sturdy materials for this house?”

“I’m not spending too much on a house I’ll leave soon. This scrappy house took 17 months to be steady enough to not need maintenance! I'm not gonna spend the rest of my life making it 100% functional. Besides, no house is actually 100% functional.”

“A sticking out room with these thin walls, are you sure it's not gonna get blown away by the wind?” 

“Ha. Ha. Ha. I’d love for you to ask me that again.”

“Ugh, are you sure— OHHH… right. That was my bad.”

It’s been a week since David moved in. and 6 days since they started their new room project.

“Thinking back, this room might be too high for me…” David said as he finished the wood he was sawing.

“Pshh. We could just make you and Ialan switch rooms. I think he's more comfortable in higher rooms. His childhood room was on the second floor, too,” she grabs the new cut wood, “Both of our rooms, in fact.”

David yawns. “Shit feels so real and easy when I don't have to constantly heal idiots who treat their health, bodies, and lives carelessly just because someone can mend them,” he does a princess twirl on the roof. “I feel aliveee~”

“Tis what I mean when I say anywhere but there is fun,” Marina stretched.

“Oh, btw, I've been curious to ask, but how come you weren't affected by my curse?” It's natural if two unlucky cursed children are not affected by each other’s curses. But not non-cursed children.

“Who knows~? There are too many factors. Maybe because I'm lucky? Maybe because I didn't listen to warnings about cursed children when I was younger? maybe…” she flips her (short part) hair, “I'm just such a kind-hearted bright woman that my kindness cracked your curses~...?”

“Cut the crap,” he dropped it, she's not taking him seriously. “But…well, um… thank you, nonetheless…” he says, his voice lowering for each word. He's not used to expressing gratitude. “For bringing me here.”

“Weird coming from you, but it's my pleasure~” she replied, prideful as ever.