Minutes later, Carol began to make her way up the stairs. This morning's visit was still fresh in her mind, it was the only reason she had waited this long to check on her daughter. Though her days of "wilding" at the city discoteque were long behind her, the headaches she had to endure the morning after were not. She heard Noelle muttering every single PG-13 expletive she knew under her breath as she approached her door, barely stopping herself from giving it a solid knock. How she envied her daughter, deep in her heart. People speak of their own "inner child" when talking about how they wished to indulge their old habits and desires. Yet another "child" she seems to have lost. She managed to keep herself from intruding for a whole minute before her hand went up once more, but before it could make contact with the painted wood, Noelle swung the door open herself, visibly out of breath, and ran face first into her mother.
"Noelle. I see you're..." Her piercing eyes looked over her daughter's clothes. A dark, skated dress with snowflake laces patterning it. She didn't approve, but it wasn't a surprise, she's been dying to wear it ever since Susie convinced Noelle to cut her hair short. "...ready. If we want to get there on time, we should leave now. You certainly need the fresh air."
Before Noelle could say anything, Carol had turned around and left for the door, leaving dazed Noelle to run after her.
It was a pleasant summer afternoon, the kind where the breeze constantly brought fresh, cool air from the lake, and the temperature felt just right regardless of what you were wearing. Noelle caught up to her mother outside, and they began to make their way down the streets, two pairs of hooves clacking against the pavement in custom-fitted shoes.
"So," Carol began, her voice carrying all the warmth of a freshly harvested icicle, "have you given any more thought to finding a job?"
Noelle coughed, the second time today that she felt like she was drowning. She hadn't expected her mom to bring the topic up again so soon. Looks like Susie's distraction last night wasn't exactly... effective. "I've... o-of course I've thought about it, it's just..." Noelle looked to her side, staring at the buildings across the street, the same ones she walked past every day of her life, "...there's not much to do in town. That I'd like to do, I mean."
Carol paused, a tinge of melancholy filling her words. Noelle wasn't the administrative type, and Carol realized that. Despite how much she wanted to hand this gift to her daughter, it was bound to be rejected. "So, you want to move elsewhere?"
"No!" Noelle barked back, but quickly lowered her voice as her mother stared her down, "I-I— Maybe..? I want to see the world beyond Hometown but..."
She looked to the ground, while Carol glanced towards the apartments in the distance, before finishing her sentence for her: "Your... friends. Susie."
Not wishing to continue this conversation, Noelle tried to switch the topic. "It's not- It's not like I need a job, anyway. I'm not bored, and- I've got lots of things to do at home!" Though considering yesterday, it was clear her escapades couldn't stay confined to the manor anymore.
"Yes," Carol replied, in a drawn out, mocking tone, "I'm sure Susie and Kris keep you well entertained." She had accepted their relationship a long time ago, adding it to the ever-growing list of things she couldn't control anymore. Though, how exactly Kris fit into this Noelle-shaped puzzle remained a mystery to her.
Noelle's eyes twitched, the world briefly turning into a blur as a nerve had been plucked like a guitar string. "Well what's the point of a giant mansion if it's empty all the time!" She barked back, "You don't invite anyone anymore, you work all day, a-and I don't-" She held back the words she really wanted to speak, and though she turned away, the sadness in her voice was unmistakable.
"I don't like being alone."
Carol stopped, instinctively pursing her lips, the years of harsh parenting signaling her to tell her daughter off for talking back like this. Knowing her mother's patterns, Noelle tensed up, predicting yet another public outburst.
But, after the longest three seconds of their lives, Carol breathed out, letting her shoulders relax, and continued walking. Perhaps she saw something, then. A reflection of herself in Noelle as she let her real thoughts be known. Noticing her daughter not following after her, she stopped once more, and turned around. "I will ask the parents at the meeting. Perhaps the Dreemurrs — she paused, looking at Noelle's face — and Susie, would wish to come tomorrow, after Church." She pulled out her hand, gesturing for Noelle to follow. "We can visit your father after service."
Noelle stepped towards her, before jumping forward to hug Carol. She didn't get her mother's silent approval often, but when she did, it felt like she could once again take control of her life, little by little. "Thank you," she whispered, as Carol quietly laid her hand on her back. Noelle quickly let go, knowing her mother's aversion to physical touch, and trotted ahead. It's at times like this when Carol noticed how much her daughter had grown. Noelle was almost as tall as her.
Suddenly, her eyes narrowed. "Stop."
Noelle froze in place as she heard her mother's heels clacking against the pavement. "Y-Yes???"
Carol pulled Noelle's head back slightly, rubbing something off at the top of her head and looking at her thumb. "Why is there lipstick on your antlers?"
