[ It's too much information, too alien an idea; even if he weren't already trying to claw his way out of muffling shock it would be almost impossible to wrap his head around. Maelle is telling him she's a Paintress, that she brought him back to life, that she's from some other world— what does that mean for this one? For Lumière?

Something does cut through the clinging, claustrophobic blanket of confusion, though: the tinge of sorrow to her smile, the things she's saying. She wasn't... happy, in this other life, and he doesn't understand any of that but he understands Maelle.

(Doesn't he? Does he still?) ]

Maelle, I...

[ His glance lifts to that familiar ponytail, the way the loose strands frame her face: now pure white instead of red. But she's still familiar. ]

I wanted you to have everything you could ever need. Whatever... whatever else is true, you're my family. You're still my family.

[ His mouth opens, but he doesn't say what rises to the tip of his tongue: it would only hurt her. Aren't you?

He swallows it, finds some tiny smile for her instead, wanting to shake that sadness off the corners of her own. ]

At least, I think the paperwork would still agree.