#i kind of mixed young claire with older claire in looks but hey she cute

[chibiprofessorlayton]

May we see Claire please..? Smol time traveler :)

Chibi Claire has joined the chibi gang ^^

[toloveawarlord]

You can find my masterlist in my bio!

Event: Edgar Birthday Countdown 2021

Characters: Clari and Edgar

Story Setting: Young Brights: Clari is 7 and Edgar is 14. There is also mentions of Serene, the middle sibling, who is 12.

A/N: It’s almost my boy’s birthday! I just had to write some fics for him. 7 Days till his birthday! It’s not Edgar with some ducks. We represent the creeks in this household.

There were no real celebrations in the Bright manor.

Gifts were given by Uncle Claudius, and perhaps a special dinner menu, but no cake, no guests, and certainly no fun. Even the littlest hadn’t experienced a traditional birthday, even if her brother and sister sneaked into her bedroom late at night to entertain her as best they could. All in all, a Bright birthday was nothing special.

However, the youngest hadn’t quite grasped that.

“You aren’t supposed to be here, Clari. If Uncle catches you, he’ll be furious with you,” Edgar said, gaze flickering to the mop of copper hair poking up over the arm of the couch he occupied. The teenager would be leaving soon to attend boarding school, leaving his baby sister and Serene alone with their uncle. Clari certainly didn’t have enough fear of him, unaware of his true nature.

He wished for her to never know, to remain innocent and carefree as she was right now. But he also wanted to prepare her for the possibilities, especially without him here to protect her.

“He won’t know. I’m super-duper sneaky,” Clari replied, climbing awkwardly over the arm, doing a roll across the cushions to land beside him. Her eyes settled on the large book, head tilting as she pretended to read some words. “Watcha reading?”

Claudius kept the girls separated from Edgar, in another wing of the house, keeping them as hostages. Clari would sneak into the west wing all the time, regardless of how many lectures and punishments she was given. He’d tried to placate her by convincing their uncle to allow her to sit next to him at dinner, but it did little to dissuade her.

Recently, she’d discovered an abandoned servant’s hallway, giving her even easier access to sneak in without detection.

“You would be bored with it.” Edgar closed the book that he’d no longer be able to focus on, as if he actually wanted to, setting it aside. He chastised her out of love for visiting so often, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t adore her. She was unbelievably cute. Clair took the opening on his lap as an invitation, flopping forward onto his thighs. “Clari.”

He listened carefully for any passing staff. He’d dump her on the floor to hide her if anyone got too close. Only Rick was trusted not to tell Claudius of her misadventure.

“Oh yeah! I almost forgot why I came! Being sneaky takes a lot of focus.” As if she needed an excuse other than she wanted to. Her socked feet kicked gently. Jade irises turned up to him, and she grinned. “Happy Birthday! I tried to sneak in some candy, but Martha caught me and took it away.”

A typical occurrence.

“Did she? Well, it’s no matter. I’d much rather have you than candy,” Edgar said, patting her head. He couldn’t handle how sweet she was, and it made him happy when she thought of him. She tried to smuggle in a lot of things, from sweets to small, injured animals, insistent on his guidance and help, anything to spend time with him.

He pondered quietly. This could very well be their last birthday together. It’s unlikely that Uncle would approve of him leaving the school to see her on her birthday, nor would he allow Clari to visit him at the boarding school.

“I know where Martha hides all her confiscated candy, if you want to get it back.”

Clari gasped, wiggling on his lap in excitement. “You do? Where? I bet she has all kinds of good snacks!” Because she took any sweets she found from Clari, and the little girl only liked the best.

There was zero hesitation. She hadn’t even been truly punished by Claudius. It almost seemed like he had a soft spot for her. Clari was only an infant when their father died, and mother soon after. She’d never known any other parental figure besides Claudius.

But Edgar believed it to be her age. Being only seven, Clari wasn’t useful. The older she became, the more likely that Claudius would become colder to her.

“Come on. I’ll show you. But you have to promise to not tell anyone.” They made plenty of promises. Clari adhered to all of them, holding her brother’s word as gospel.

Out in the dark hallway, Edgar snickered at how her excitement couldn’t be contained in her small body. Clari vibrated beside him, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

He really shouldn’t be doing this.

But he wanted to do something wild for his birthday.

“In the kitchen? But that’s so obvious.” Clari’s jade eyes scanned the moonlight kitchen for hiding spots while Edgar quietly closed the door. She came in here often to snack, grabbing whatever was on the counter and darting out to hide in a nearby closet.

“Yes, but how many times have you looked here for the candy?” Of course, he already knew she hadn’t. As much as she tried to emulate him, Clair was always looking for the craziest answer. He’d found her attempting to reach the chandelier in the dining hall, convinced that must be the place that Martha hid the box of chocolate. 

Clari tugged open one of the lower cabinets, peering inside the dark hole. Only pots and pans were stored in the lower sections, largely because of her penchant for stealing. “Never.”

“That’s why she hides them here.” Edgar grabbed the back of her collar, pulling her out of the cabinet the little girl was halfway in. “There’s a hidden compartment in this one up here. You must be careful if you do this on your own. I don’t want you to fall.”

As he reached up to unlatch the hidden door, Clari was trying to climb up on the counter to help. Latching his arm around her waist, he held her like a sack of potatoes, ignoring her disgruntled hey. “I’ve got them. Let’s retreat before we’re caught.”

Her giggles were hardly muffled by her hands as he carried her like that all the way to his bedroom. She was already hyper enough. Adding more sugar to the mix wasn’t ideal, but he’d treat her this once. 

“Mission success. We could be professional stealers.”

“You mean thieves? I’m not sure that’s a good career goal, Clari.” It was exactly like all her other goals, strange and ridiculous. An animal creator. A crystal farmer. A duck. There were a variety of things that she made up and insisted that it would be her future. He found them amusing and usually didn’t correct her.

Tossing her on the bed, Edgar sorted out the sweets on the bed between them. He was surprised at the number of boxes and bags that she’d attempted to sneak in, and the variety. “Where did you even get these?” Some of them were limited flavors. I

“I have a supplier.” Her tone was genuine.

“You have a what?”

How?

Clari tapped her index finger against her lips, eyeing the different options before her. “It’s a secret, but they are very good at getting the very best.” Chocolate or gummies? A very serious decision to make.

Clearly, it had to be Rick. Edgar couldn’t fathom anyone else assisting her in breaking the rules, and the girl never left the manor but a handful of times over her short seven years. Claudius never allowed her to. She couldn’t have met anyone else, could she? He was slightly worried that some shady character might have come and was in contact with her.

He’d have to broach the subject with Rick tomorrow, just in case.

But for tonight.

“What are we gonna eat first?”

They would both end up with tummy aches by the time the sun rose.