#they're engaged now and jube's parents always saw her as an extra daughter anyway but like... it's not the same

[taz-writes]

more D&D fic nonsense. this one's been a WIP for a while... jube and marigold return to their hometown with jube's family to reclaim their old home, which has been abandoned since jube's fam was forcibly exiled around 14 years prior in the wake of the girls running away. this is from marigold's POV, she calls jube 'posy' bc it's a childhood nickname.

She stumbles on something underfoot, and realizes she’s nearly tripped on part of Sage’s old toy car collection. She pauses to pick up the little metal ambulance, weighs it in her hand. It’s cold. 

She hands it to him without a word. Presses it into his hand, and he goes rigid, and his eyes go wide. 

“I’m sorry,” she murmurs. 

He doesn’t respond. He stops in his tracks and stares at the car like it’s from another planet. Rolls it back and forth in his hand. The wheels are jammed with dust and rust. 

“Oh,” is all he can say. His voice cracks. 

“...Can I…?” she reaches towards it. She’s walking a line that she can’t see, it’s been so long, but she has to try. Sage looks at her sharply, startled, and clutches the toy to his chest. “...I can clean it,” Marigold says softly. “I, um, I have a spell.” 

“...Oh.” He nods. Hands it to her gingerly, and she swirls the dust away, watches Prestidigitation spin it off into nothingness. And then he takes it back, and tucks it into his breast pocket, and neither of them can quite look at each other anymore. 

She barely knew him, before they left. He was… something like eight years old when she and Posy ran away. 

She’s starting to get why Posy runs away from things.