The Least Common Denominator

Interlude II: Olivia

The young brunette pretended to fall asleep as her acute hearing picked up on her big sister's frenetic pacing and mumbling. It was always like this when concerning Big Sis. On most nights, the older girl would be the sweetest older sister that Olivia could ever wish for, on some nights, however...

"I can make a change..."

Olivia was scared.

The young girl thanked the gods that Crimson was her big sister; someone willing to protect her and be there for her. But sometimes, Olivia wondered just when did her adopted big sister turn into a monster.

"Heh."

The moment her big sister looked at her with an emotionless, bloodied face was the moment the young girl knew that her sweet older sister was more than capable of killing her fellow men. Crimson's cold, calculating gaze still haunted Olivia's mind's eye whenever she closed her eyes, more so than the older lady that held a blade to her neck. It was a shameful feeling; being afraid of the one that essentially took her in. But there was just something deep inside the young girl that wondered...

Was she about to lose her Big Sister to insanity?

"Yes... Yes..."

At first, she thought it was just a one-time thing; that Big Sis was merely using her wits and imagination to lighten up her sour mood. There were the exceptions, of course, but as the nights went by... With every other nonsense word that the older girl spouted whenever she found herself rambling...

"Crop Cycles... Maybe Chemistry..."

Olivia couldn't help but worry about her new sister's well-being.

It started off small. Big Sis woke up with a start one night, her eyes filled with tears, and her breathing ragged as if she had seen a ghost. Like the good little sister that she was, she comforted the red-haired girl, hugging her till she went back to sleep again. Eventually, it became a constant. Big Sis woke up, she'd hug her to calm her down, then they'd both go back to sleep like nothing ever happened.

"Pneumatics... Pharma?"

Then the night terrors became more frequent. More intense. Big Sis would wake up screaming, hugging herself as she rambled about what Olivia was sure to be the events of how her parents were killed. She tried her best to be as supportive as possible; to be there for the person that essentially adopted her as a little sister. Olivia tried to hold back her tears as she heard Crimson talk to herself again.

"Maybe steam power... Or basic plumbing..."

It tore her apart whenever she heard Crimson mumble about nonsense; imagining that the same person that's teaching and giving their own food to her was slowly becoming someone only worthy of becoming a jester. Once, Olivia heard the other Denominators whispering to themselves about how her older sister has completely lost her mind; making up random words out of thin air.

All while still being frighteningly talented at smithing and Runecraft.

Maybe that's the reason why. She knew that her adopted older sister was smart. Scarily so. Perhaps the smarter a person was, the more likely they were to get lost in their own world.

"No... That'd be too inefficient..."

It ached her that she never knew what half of the words the older girl spewed out meant. Maybe if she knew what the older girl meant by them, she could understand just how her big sister thought. Crimson always seemed to know everything there was in the world despite her tendency to make up her own words. From the intricacies of smithing to even something as highborn as reading and writing, Big Sis made it her mission to teach Olivia all of these things.

Even that one time. With what Big Sis called her 'heart.' It was strangely satisfying to know about that part of her body.

Olivia never considered herself a curious person, but Big Sis just taught in a way that made her feel excited about something. Far from the boring sewing classes back at the orphanage, Crimson framed things in an engaging way. Every word enunciated with a certain tone that the young brunette found exhilarating to listen to.

"Perhaps Cell Theory?"

Even her ramblings were a curiosity to listen to. There was something magnetic to her knowing tone that just made Olivia listen to her every word. Every time Crimson taught her something, whether it was about smithing, Runecraft, or any other subject that she seemed to have knowledge about, the young girl listened with rapt attention, trying her hardest to absorb everything her big sister said to her.

"Do I even know how to make gunpowder?"

Crimson said something about a 'scientific method' to her once. That every problem should be approached with an 'open mind' and a 'healthy dose of skepticism.' While Olivia couldn't exactly understand the true meaning of the phrase, she can read the older girl well enough to know that she was talking about doubting anything that she didn't know enough about. 'Question everything' as Crimson did say to her once.

"Might as well... Experiments though...."

Olivia turned her back to the rambling redhead as she mulled over her thoughts, the bed slightly creaking at the shift of its load. Questions: the one thing that she had too many of.

What was Big Sis planning? What was she thinking about? What did her words mean? While she was sure that the older girl would answer all of her questions, there was still one thing that she's sure the older girl won't tell the truth about. She knew that it was bad; that she should simply trust the older girl, but Olivia still hoped that her new sister would soothe her fears.

"For 'Livia..."

She felt her thoughts drift as her tired body sank deeper into the bed's cushions, an intrepid smile on her face as she heard her sister walk out of her earshot. While it was 'healthy,' as Big Sis would say it, to have questions, would it matter? She still trusted the older girl with her life. Crimson fed her, protected her...

Loved her.

Like she was her own flesh and blood. It would be pointless to think about whether Big Sis would eventually lose her mind. At the end of the day, Olivia knew that the older girl still had her best interests at heart.

And so did Olivia to her Big Sis.

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Well. This was a pain to write. Got stuck here for about three days before I gave up just to get it over with.

The new, souped-up, gaming-capable laptop didn't help either.