Even from the denseness of sleep, he could sense her. She was coming for him and there was no escape. There were many different kinds of sleepers in the world, light-sleepers and heavy-sleepers and hibernating-bear sleepers. Kieran was the type that slept like a rock until he was yanked out of bed and dunked in ice water. Even when he was just awake enough to sense that he was no longer alone in the room, there was very little he could do about it.

He made a pitiful, animalistic whimper from under a layer of quilted blanket. It would do little to ward off his sister though. Calla was relentless, some might even say EVIL for her staunch timeliness when it came to waking up in the morning. Why? When sleep was so nice? He was certain she was actually a robot, though he never tell her as much. Sunlight peered through the open curtains, seeping through the fabric and the membrane of his eyelids. No no no no. Not cleaning day!

"Five more minutes... Callaaaa..." He groaned, feeling air make contact with his skin as she prized the quilt from him. He sought it out blindly with his hand. Eventually, with another whimpering groan, he rose. His vision was blurry as he pressed the back of one hand to his eyes. The other arm stretched out awkwardly. His hair was in stringy ruffled beehive on his head. "We can clean anytime... like noon."

calla roth

☉

Of course she expected him to be fussy–she knows her brother better than she knows anyone. So she was plenty prepared for this. That was the important motto she lived by: be prepared for anything and everything. That way it was more difficult to be let down. Kinda depressing if she thought about it for too long, but when it came to Kier at least, her ability to wiggle her way back into his good graces with tried and true methods was a comfort.[break][break]

Even if everything else was uncertain, she could count on Kieran’s positivity. Even if she herself was far more pessimistic.[break][break]

“Nope, you’ve had your extras. I’ve been up for two hours already.” Snagging a pillow from under his head when he sat up, she whacked Kieran lightly on the arm with it. Then again on the top of his head, making static cling to his hair. “That won’t work. If we say noon, then noon will turn into one…and one will turn into three, and then three will turn into ‘let’s tackle it after dinner,’ and we both know if it comes to that, it’s a lost cause. So, up!”[break][break]

Calla made for the door again, the quilt still held for ransom under her arm. The edge dragged on the floor given that it was a bit too much heavy blanket for her shorter stature. She looked back over her shoulder. “Plus if you don’t get up now, the breakfast I made will get cold and go to waste.” She pulled the door open so that the smell could waft in stronger. “Don’t waste the pancakes.”[break][break]

Tried and true methods, yada yada.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Kieran Roth m: spring cleaning [break]





[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]

Calla was, unsurprisingly, a tyrant. An absolute drill sergeant, completely unfair. Sleep was a highly valued thing for Kieran. There was nothing more important for him than being able to sleep in and wake up feeling refreshed and ready for the day. This feeling wasn’t refreshed or ready, it was MISERY. He groaned to emphasize his pain and agony as he forced himself upright.

A heavy yawn forced itself from his mouth as he pressed his hands to his eyes. Rubbing the sleep from them, he looked about the mess that was his room. Maybe he could afford to do some late summer cleaning after all, but they could do that later too. ”You don’t know that.” He grumbled, ”I can be very diligent.” Since when?

Yet Calla was crafty. She was mischievously crafty. ”Pancakes?” There was only one thing that could motivate Kieran into speedy action, food. He perked up at the sound of breakfast. Soon the smell of it seemed to linger in his nostrils, enticing him to drag himself from the comfort of bed. ”Well… why didn’t you start with that? Sheesh.” Hair still an unkempt mess, he plodded down the hall to the kitchen. Soon after, Siv slithered out from the warmth of the covers and lazily followed after him with the flick of her forked tongue and a little pleased ssssss.

calla roth

☉

Calla’s eyes narrowed, even as she smiled. “Yeah, Kier. ‘Diligent’ is at the top of your list of skills on your resume.” It was mostly teasing, though in her opinion, she’d long learned the tricks needed to keep her brother on task. She wasn’t really all that put out by it, though. Something she’d long become fond of.[break][break]

“Bad news first, good news second,” she answered with a shrug, unfazed by her brother’s grumbles. “Sheessshh.” Calla mimicked the word back at him as she scooted around him, reaching up to ruffle his hair further before moving back to the stove to shuffle bacon from the pan onto a plate.[break][break]

“They’re on a plate over there. Fresh coffee in the pot,” she pointed, though it was likely she didn’t need to direct him. Kieran was good at sniffing out any food that was of interest to him. “You want eggs too? I’m making some for myself.” Furia trotted in moments later, giving Siv a little sniff in greeting. Then the little white vulpix carried on to nudge at Calla’s ankles, looking up with obvious pleading.[break][break]

She maybe snuck Furia a piece of bacon, then turned back to crack two eggs over the pan. “So, I think we should start with the spare closet in the living room. Everything’s all in boxes anyway, but it’d be nice if we could actually use that space for, you know…whatever. Stuff we actually use.”

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Kieran Roth m: spring cleaning [break]





[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]

Kieran was usually quite gullible, but he was knowledgeable enough when it came to his sister that he didn't quite coast over her sarcasm. She was a notable expert when it came to all the things he couldn't do well. Sometimes, admittedly, it made him a little jealous to see her do just about everything with ease. Sure, maybe that didn't extend to making friends, but he still wished he could be even slightly as confident and capable as her. "I'll have you know I can be very diligent, you'll see." He planted his hands on his hips, but it didn't do much to add authority to his posture. Especially not with his hair tousled as it was.

He sighed, "You got that totally backwards." It was always lead with good news first. Obviously, doing otherwise was purely manipulative and his methods TOTALLY weren't manipulative at all.

She ruffled his hair and he groaned obnoxiously like a brat. Continuing to blink the latent sleep from his eyes, he dragged himself down the hall to the kitchen. Breakfast, and food in general, did have a unique way of motivating him into immediate action. He was almost always hungry, which probably came from years of being constantly starving when they were kids.

"Of course, I'll take eggs." When did he turn down food? Well... sometimes he'd go through bouts of guilt over not being a egg-stealing meat-eater, but today wasn't one of those days. He was not picky today. "No one sees that closet, but alright sure." He couldn't actually object to Calla, really.

calla roth

☉

As skeptical as she was about his diligence right then, Calla didn’t actually want to bring Kieran down. “Alright, I guess I will see.” She bopped him on the nose. It was in her nature to prattle at him, and also maybe coddle him some. Cal had spent so long looking out for him that she didn’t…really know how not to anymore. But it was good that he was starting to get his legs under him some. It just…made her feel like she was floundering a bit, that was all. It was positive growth, though, and how could she not want that for him?[break][break]

“Dunno, I think it was pretty effective either way, Kier,” she replied, one brow lifting at him before her face broke into an easy grin. She could be a sneak, though. Even if Calla wouldn’t readily admit to that fact.[break][break]

The noise of complaint only made her want to heckle him further–maybe give him a noogie for good measure on top of tousling already messy hair. She refrained, though, and gave her brother a break. At least a little one–see? She could be merciful…sometimes. Calla liked to think that she’d by and far earned her ability to tease him so freely. They’d spent so many years just trying to survive, and her sense of playfulness had been burned away for most people, except for Kieran. It took others longer to draw it out of her–with her twin, however, it was innate.[break][break]

There were, of course, a few exceptions to the rule here and there, but for the most part, it was Kier who got this side of Calla. Maybe to an outsider it would seem overly goading or teasing, but it was, in all actuality, how she expressed her affection and care.[break][break]

“Yeah, I thought so. How do you want ‘em?” Her head rolled to the side to glance back over her shoulder at him. Once she’d flipped her fried eggs over, Cal moved to the coffee pot and poured him a cup. Then slid it across the counter to him. “Pancakes are over there.” She pointed at the bar with its array of things–a plate of pancakes and syrup, coffee fixings, and sausages. “What do you mean? It’s in the living room. But think about it this way–” she paused, pointing at him with a spatula as she moved back to the stove. “It means that you can sit on the couch while I hand you things to sort. You could even put on a movie, or like, a dumb sport.” It’s all pro bonuses, right? Right.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Kieran Roth m: spring cleaning [break]





[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]

Kieran liked being an exception with Calla, admittedly. She could be so icy and severe. So, it was nice to be an exception in that. Even if there had been times in the past when he benefited from her stoicism, there were just as many times when it stung (more so than he'd admitted at the time). He never wanted Calla to feel guilty being the way she was. He was simply sensitive and they were such complete opposites. Sometimes, they just got off on the wrong foot.

"Over-easy." He replied, though was otherwise focused on the scrape of his knife digging through buttery soft pancakes. There was very little that could steal his attention from food and nothing motivated him more successfully than the promise of sustenance (especially the tasty kind). In truth, he didn't mind so much the idea of cleaning. He wasn't necessarily messy, even if he didn't put much effort into cleaning.

In reality, he was more afraid of what they might find within those boxes. There were a lot of memories in there that they both would probably rather forget. He finished off his plate in no time and was steadily running out of excuses. "Okay, I guess we can start. I can turn on something goofy for background noise." He started for the living room to fumble through channels for a dumb classic movie.

calla roth

☉

Of course Kieran was going to be an exception for her. What sort of sister would she be if she only ever treated him coldly? There were very few people who got that pass–and more often than not it was something that happened on its own, based on energy. Kieran was naturally bright and warm, her counterpart. So while she actively chose to be softer with him, it wasn’t something difficult to do when he was as sweet and kind as he was. He was all the better parts, even if she was the more organized of the two of them. That only went so far.[break][break]

It was only natural that her sharpness still poked him at times, and Calla always felt guilty for it afterward. So as a result, she always tried to make up for it. Though she wasn’t always the most perfect at it, either.[break][break]

“Gotcha,” she replied as she expertly worked at turning the eggs at just the last moment. Really, her chiding that morning wasn’t exceptionally pointed. And in all honesty, Kieran was probably the naturally neater of the two of them–strange as that felt to admit. Calla had to actually work for her tidiness more than it coming to her on its own. Her mind could be a cluttered place, and so her surroundings often reflected that until she put everything back in order (on both counts.)[break][break]

Sliding the plate of fresh eggs over to him, she took the moment to pick at her own. As gung-ho as she was to get going, she held a degree of reluctance all her own to tackle those particular totes. She couldn’t stand the idea of just chucking them without at least looking for anything salvageable, though. A habit bred from the years spent trying to hold onto whatever little thing they could scrape together just to get by. “Yeah, that sounds good. Something silly sounds nice.” Her voice was quiet as she cut her food neatly, intending to join him right after.


[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Kieran Roth m: spring cleaning [break]





[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]

He landed on an older classic, a bit slap-stick comedy but it was dumb in a good, silly sort of way. It felt like it might be necessary because as much as he pretended to be care-free, he wasn't looking forward to the confines of the boxes. Not a lot had followed them from Kanto, but the stuff that did felt even more personal because of it. It was their entire lives summarized in the confines of old mangy boxes.

As Calla continued eating, he went about pulling the biggest of the boxes out. There weren't nearly as many as he'd thought there would be. That was just like him though, to imagine something better than the reality. Their lives were far from good up to that point and yet Kier still chose to remember it all in a kinder light.

"Hard to imagine it's all in here... you know?" He said, not recognizing that his voice was quieter then. He forced the tape apart from the closed lids. Inside, it was mostly clothes, at first. Some books and some of his games. In reality, nothing super meaningful. Had he thought better, he would have packed differently. He'd been so dumb though, none of it had seemed real though. Not then at least. It all happened so quickly and Calla guarded him through most of it. He started pulling stuff out into separate piles. "Should probably... donate most of it... if I'm not gonna use it."

calla roth

☉

It wasn’t until she’d finished eating, and she could hear the sounds of the old comedy coming from the living room that Calla slipped from her stool and set her dish in the sink. Furia trailed after her as she made her way to where her brother had settled with the biggest of the boxes, and she suddenly felt like maybe this wasn’t as good of an idea as she’d initially thought.[break][break]

“Yeah..” her own voice had grown quiet as she settled next to him and peered into the box. “It feels like so long ago.” And yet, not all that long at all. Worn out clothes, books and journals with battered covers and dog-eared pages from the nights where she stayed up and scribbled the furious, tumultuous thoughts that were constantly tumbling around in her head.[break][break]

She hadn’t looked at them since they arrived here, and managed to scrape together enough to stay in this apartment. Start building new lives that Kanto and their absent parents had never been able to offer them. Maybe it would be nostalgic to flip through them again, or maybe she didn’t need to do that at all.[break][break]

For a moment, she simply watched the items come out as Kieran lifted each one. Then she offered her hands out to better sort the stuff. “Yeah, it might be better that way, you know?” she replied, brows knitting together. “It’s like all this extra weight we don’t need anymore.”

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Kieran Roth m: spring cleaning [break]





[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]

In truth, they probably didn't have too much to give away or even keep. The decision was purely based on emotion. The simple and yet complex question of: what would be better for them? In the long run? The contents of the boxes only made Kier feel uncomfortable or sad, so what was the point of keeping it?

He sighed, sitting back on his hands and abandoning his attempt to start unpacking. Maybe this was his laziness speaking, but he really didn't want to do it. Sure, there were things they might need, but the cost of which would either mean accepting or dismissing what happened to them. Neither of those options seemed inherently okay.

The movie behind him ceased to matter, its dumb soundtrack or goofy laugh track. It didn't feel like that happy morning he'd set up for that day to be. "Maybe.... I'm happy, you know? Since we got here. Don't wanna ruin that." It didn't feel so simple as that, and it hurt a little as he closed the box. "I'm good with that."

calla roth

☉