Eckhart stared blankly at Jaela.
"Is my sister nice?"Eight Years Ago
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Eckhart ran through the snow towards his sister, a small parcel in his hands. It was her birthday today, and he had gotten her the most amazing gift ever! Upon reaching his sister Eckhart hugged her tightly. Hildegarde laughed and returned the hug, smiling.
"Hey Ecks!" she said through her laughter.
"What have you got there? Is it for me?" Eckhart nodded, and held the parcel in his outstretched hands. Upon opening it his sister gasped in shock. It had taken months of doing odd jobs for his neighbors and quite a bit of his own personal savings, but Eckhart had managed to save enough money to buy the magic timepiece he'd seen his sister admiring in Hyoite's general store. Tears began to stream down Hildegardes smiling face.
"Eckhart... You shouldn't have..." She knelt down and hugged her brother.
"You're the best!"------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Is my sister nice?"Seven Years Ago
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Eckhart grinned wildly. He had magic, just like Hildegarde did! Eckhart's father ruffled his hair.
"Well I'll be! Two magic users in the Von Musel family! It would seem we've been blessed!" His mother chimed in.
"Eckhart, I'm so proud of you! I always knew you were special, and now look at you! Why, you can use those powers to make a name for our family, just like your sister does!" Blushing, Eckhart turned to his sister- only to see her glowering at him. Why was she mad? Eckhart couldn't understand it, but he did think much of it at the time. He had cause to celebrate after all!
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"Is my sister nice?"6 Years Ago
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"Eckhart, what do you mean you can't do it?" Hildegarde stood over her brother with her arms crossed. She had brought an injured seal she had found on the beach to him to heal, but Eckhart was having trouble with it's broken flipper.
"Hilda, bones are hard to -"
Cutting him off, his sister spoke with a disapproving, almost mocking tone.
"Hard to what? The poor thing needs your help, just fix it!" Eckhart looked up at his sister, tears welling up in his eyes. "I-I can't."
Scoffing, his sister dug in deeper.
"Then you're pathetic. I've met healers your age who can mend bones in a second, and your telling me you can't? That's absolutely worthless." With that she walked away, leaving Eckhart alone with the seal and his tears
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"Is my sister nice?"Five Years Ago
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Everything had changed that night. Hildegarde had apparently snapped and tried to kill somebody, and Eckhart's parents had completely disowned her. Eckhart was angry, hurt, and confused, but he couldn't let her leave by herself. So, backpack in hand, he ran through the snow in the direction his sister had ran off in. Finally catching up to her, he called out to her. "Hilda, wait!" Stopping in front of her, he tried to hold her hand only to have his own slapped away. "H-hilda, let me come with you. I don't care where you go, or what you become... I just don't want you to be alone." Eckhart looked into Hildegarde's eyes, but he didn't recognize them anymore- as if they belonged to a different person.
Hildegarde's mouth curled into a sneer.
"And why would I want you to come with me?" she spat.
"You're useless." Eckhart began to cry. "N-no I'm n-n-not! I know how to heal s-some injuries, and Mom and Dad say-"
Hildegarde laughed cruelly.
"Mom and Dad? Eckhart, you've spent your entire life in my shadow. It's like you're some little parasite trying to leech off my success. You will never have what I had with Mom and Dad. You're too weak to make it happen by yourself. Stop following me, I never want to see your sniveling face again.".
Eckhart fell to his knees, now sobbing uncontrollably. "P-please, y-you d-don't mean t-that, right? R-right?" He looked up, but his sister was already gone.
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"Is my sister nice?" Eckhart wasn't sure how to answer that. Finally, after half a minute, he finally answered.
"I'm not sure anymore. I'd like to believe she is, but..." he trailed off. Another couple of seconds passed, after which he looked Jaela in the eyes. There was no joviality in his gaze, only pain. "I'm really sorry, but I can't do this. Can we talk about something else?"