#literally what boat was saying on stream 'chat whats your favorite color' 'blood'

[pankomako]

lowkey how it be

[coldshrugs]

boats and birds

Fandom: The Arcana Pairing: Cleo/Julian Length: right under 1.7k words Summary?: Cleo and Julian get separated while traveling through the tumultuous realms of The Arcana, and Cleo finds a child that could use a little help.

Cleo's eyes blink open to a thick canopy of tropical-looking leaves, shimmering pink-gold light winking through here and there. The air is thick with magic, but there's no real hostility here.

"We did it," she smiles in relief, nerves leaving in a quiet rush of laughter as she sits up. "We made it to the Magician's realm! Julian?"

They were falling through the void together when she pulled them to the safety of this realm. She didn't even realize they'd been separated. Did Julian make it here at all? Oh god, if he's lost out there in this place he doesn't understand -

Cleo's panic is interrupted by the sound of rustling leaves, a high-pitched yelp, and the muffled sound of crying. Scrambling to her feet, she chases the fading whimpers through the dense forest.

It sounded so close before but now, jumping over roots and ducking branches, she's not sure she went the right way. Starting to feel just foolish enough to turn back, Cleo stumbles into a clearing cut through by a softly gurgling brook. There, on the bank, sits the figure of what is clearly a child with a tangle of auburn hair, collecting water in their small hands and sniffling through shaky breaths.

"Oh! Hello there." Cleo approaches with slow, sure steps. "Are you alright? I heard a shout and-" The child turns to look at her, lip quivering and eyes rimmed in red- "Julian?"

There's no mistaking that face. The features are a little too big for him at this age, but his gray eyes search over her with a familiar curiosity and she knows it's him. He doesn't look like he wants to run. For a second Cleo wonders how he managed to get changed into this version of himself but before she can ask, he opens his mouth to speak.

"W-who?" The word seems to take a lot out of him and a fresh set of tears streak his face. With his body turned this way, Cleo can see the nasty scrape on his knobby little knee.

She steps to his side, smiling as warmly as she can. If not Julian then... "Ilya. is that your name?" He nods and Cleo continues. "I'm Cleo. Why don't I help you with that knee while you tell me what you're doing out here."

Without the slightest hint of reluctance, he nods and gingerly extends his leg for her examination. It doesn't look too deep, just dirty from the forest floor; Julian's pain tolerance is clearly not an inherent trait. Still, blood beads up in various spots and it needs to be cleaned and bandaged. Cleo tears off a scrap of her already disheveled dress and dips it into the stream.

"Mama and Papa gave me a pirate ship for my birthday! It has bright red sails and two masts and even a little golden door to the captain's quarters! but..." his rush of cheer fades just as quickly as it began. "But I lost it. just like I lost Pasha last summer. I tried to chase it down the stream-" Ilya winces when Cleo presses the cool, damp cloth to his knee "-but it was too fast, and I tripped."

Cleo hums a little chuckle, mostly to herself, at the absurdity of this entire situation but it's so adorable, she can't help enjoying herself a bit. She rips another piece of her dress, a cleaner one, and snuggly ties it around his wound. "I'm sure Pasha isn't upset about getting lost. She's a tough little thing, right?"

He nods again, giving her a reserved, gap-toothed grin. "You're right."

"I'll bet we can find that magnificent pirate vessel of yours, Captain Ilya. And if not, the beach here is great for making sandcastles. Wanna go with me?" She stands and extends a hand to him. He takes it without hesitation and stands to a height nearly as tall as her own. Cleo can't help but laugh now, her chest filling with the warm urge of affection one feels when they see a litter of puppies waiting to be pet. "Wow, you're already so tall!"

Ilya beams, puffing up his rail-thin frame and putting his hands on his hips. "Mama says all her brothers are giants and I'm gonna be just like them!" Cleo shakes her head; he doesn't know how right he is.

"Right then, let's find your ship." She starts in the direction of the running water, looking back with a radiant smile when Ilya's small hand slips into hers. His spirits seem entirely lifted, though his eyes are still red from crying.

As they walk next to the stream, Cleo takes the opportunity to ask Ilya about his life, his family, his favorite things; and she makes sure to answer with the warmest encouragement she can muster. She points out all the most dangerous roots just waiting to catch his lanky limbs and he steps over them carefully. As they chat and laugh, the once babbling brook picks up steam. A few jutting rocks and rolling rapids wait up ahead, but Cleo can see the forest opening to the starlit beach just past them. The stream runs right out to the ocean.

"Miss Cleo!" Ilya points at one of the rocks, tugging to get her attention. "It's my ship!"

Sure enough, blood-red sails bump into the stone over and over, but the ship doesn't seem to be damaged.

"Looks like it's stuck, but I should be able to bring it to us." Cleo releases his hand and winks. They dash to the spot directly across from the rock.

"I can find a stick for you-"

"Thank you, Ilya, but I have something a bit more magical in mind." Cleo extends her hand, and her magic flies out beyond it, shimmering in the air as if she were casting a net across the stream. Ilya gasps at her side. When the translucent net floats over the toy boat she drops it, then makes a fist as she calls the magic back to her. The little ship bobs across the surface of the water until the boy scoops it up from the bank.

"My ship! Miss Cleo, you did it! Thank you, thank you!" He hugs the toy to his chest, before rounding on his savior to hug her too.

She pats his back. "You're welcome, Ilya. Anytime. Let's head down to the beach and watch her sail!"

With a gleeful bounce to their steps, they finally leave the forest. Thousands of stars twinkle above them, reflected in the gentle waves of the impossibly colorful sea. Before they manage more than a few feet toward the tide, another rustling sound starts from a cluster of nearby bushes. Cleo takes Ilya's hand once more, shuffling him behind her as they wait for whatever might appear.

A dark, towering form steps out of the shadows, but the presence is one she knows well and relief washes over Cleo. "Julian? Is that really you?"

"Cleo! You're here! The real you, that is." Grown-up Julian looks like a mountain of worry has just fallen off his shoulders. Though Cleo notices something else is there, literally. Tiny legs are wrapped around his waist, held up by his arms, and slowly, a head topped with frizzy lilac curls pokes over his shoulder. With a faint "eep!" the little girl drops back down to hide behind his back. Julian whispers "she's shy" dramatically.

"Is that... is that me?" The edges of a headache build behind Cleo's eyes, but nothing worse than finding out she died years ago. She can handle this.

Julian takes great care to gently sit this smaller version of Cleo in the sand. She's gripping a kite in one tiny hand and clinging to Julian's leg with the other. "Yep. At least, her name is Cleo too. She doesn't talk much but that Firenti accent is thick. Lost her kite in a tree, so I got it down and told her we could come down to the beach to fly it, safely. What about you? Looks like you've got quite the handsome escort there."

He winks at Ilya, who steps around Cleo with a new smile. "Miss Cleo used magic to get my boat out of the stream! It was amazing!"

"She's pretty great, isn't she?" Julian reaches for her hand. "Say, is that the good ship Red Velvet? I lost that ages ago!"

"You named your ship after cake?"

"The best cake." Julian and Ilya say in unison.

Cleo leans into his side, biting her lip to keep from laughing. "Well, Ilya, why don't you ask the other Cleo if she'd like to see the Red Velvet's second, more successful, voyage."

He beams but approaches tiny Cleo with caution. "Do you wanna sail her with me? You can have a turn at being captain, I don't mind. A-and we can fly your kite too!"

She looks from one version of Julian to the other, before nodding. The voice that comes out is astonishingly quiet, and the Firenti accent is just as apparent as Julian said. "I've never been a captain before but I'll try my best."

They start the trek down to the water, before getting excited and running full tilt, their little laughs echoing back across the sand. With the toy boat pushed into the sea, their forms begin to lose shape, shimmering around the edges before disappearing entirely.

Alone and reunited in the Magician's realm, Julian sweeps Cleo into his arms, peppering her face with a dizzying amount of joyful kisses before finally meeting her lips properly.

"I assume you were as worried as I was?" Cleo steadies herself with hands on his shoulders. He nods against her forehead and kisses her again. "But that was so cute! You were such a gangly kid!"

He chuckles and she feels the laughter move through her own chest. "Did you see your hair?! It was massive! As big as you were, honestly. You were adorable."

"Well," she feigns offense, clutching at pearls that don't exist, "one of us has grown into their hair and the other is still a little on the gangly side."

Cleo stands on her toes to catch his lips again but they topple into the sand, any further teasing attempts at teasing dying to breathless laughter and smothered kisses.