chapter thirteen

"Come on, Camilo. Don't think we haven't noticed because we have. We're your siblings, heck even Mami and Papi have noticed." Carla said.

"Wh–what do you mean?" Camilo asked once more, but this time, more nervous than confused.

Antonio sighed before approaching his hermano mayor and as if on cue, his friend jaguar came in and swooped him up so he could reach his brother's shoulder.

Antonio sang in his cute lil' premature voice.

Dolores continued, placing her own hand on Camilo's other shoulder, causing the boy to look at her.

Carla sang as she walked towards him, smiling bit. Her brother really was the sweetest... if you just gloss over the fact that he's a troublemaker.

Camilo smiled back at what Carla said. Though it didn't last too long after Carla's smile turned into a frown as she sang the next lines.

Dolores said, with her own frown.

A look of realization suddenly crossed Camilo's face at this.

Antonio finished as the three siblings stood together in front of Camilo with supportive looks on their faces.

"I–... I just don't know how else I could make other people smile. I've been doing this since as far as I could remember, I just... I–" Camilo rambled as he waved his hands around before looking up helplessly by the end, not knowing how to explain his situation.

"Oh Camilo, why don't you take the same advice we've been singing to Carla just a few moments ago?" Dolores asked as she held both of her brother's hands in hers.

She looked him in the eyes before saying, "Just be manito."

"Be myself? But how would that amuse others? Why would anyone like boring normal me?" Camilo asked, genuinely confused.

His siblings all glanced at each other, concern written all over their faces, before they turned back to their brother.

"Camilo, why would anyone like normal you?" Carla said.

"Yeah, with your great humor–" Antonio helpfully added.

"Your aura that just screams approachable–" Carla continued.

"The weird but somehow cute obsession with chameleons you have with Carla–" -Dolores

"Hey!" Carla interrupted sounding rather offended.

"And you're generally sweet as a person." Dolores finished, ignoring her little sister.

Camilo stayed quiet as he looked at his siblings with eyes wide in appreciation.

"We better stop before his ego gets any larger than it already is." Antonio commented — and rather innocently might I add.

Camilo threw a playful glare at his brother at that, making Antonio giggle. Carla smiled too, before giving her twin a quick hug.

"The normal you is already great in our eyes, Cami. And you already make me and everyone in our familia happy every single day, even without your gift. So I doubt anyone's gonna stop liking you for being yourself." She told him.

"Yeah, and when you finally stop trying to become everyone else, maybe you'll finally have the time to grow and find out more about yourself and who you are." Antonio chimed.

"Antonio's right, manito... Dolores said, once again taking both of Camilo's hands in hers.

Camilo said, nodding slightly as he lightly tightened his grip around his older sister's hands.

Carla dragged out, as she slung her arm around her twin's shoulder.

Carla finished at the same time Camilo said,

His siblings' eyes all lit up at that. "So you promise to try and tone your shifting down a bit?"

"We're not trying to forbid you from using your gift or anything, we just hoped that you'd lessen your time doing it so you won't forget who you truly are — or at the very least what you already know about yourself." Carla tried to explain.

Camilo chuckled lightly before nodding, "Yeah, I know, and I promise to try and tone it down on the shifting."

"Good." Carla grinned.

Carla was about to sing the conclusion but was interrupted by Antonio's sudden giggling.

Carla, Camilo, and Dolores all raised a brow at him, wondering what was suddenly so amusing, before Antonio noticed and pointed at man in the distance who was with his mother whilst carefully caressing his injured nose.

At that, Carla and Camilo joined Antonio in a laughing fit. And despite just having promised to tone down his shifting mere moments ago, Camilo shifted into Mariano, imitating — and slightly over-exaggerating — the pain on the man's face, causing Antonio's laugh to only grown louder.

"Honestly, why didn't Tia Juileta just heal him?"

Carla only smiled fondly and shook her head as she spoke to her older sister. "I guess shifting is just a part of Camilo's individuality. You can never truly take that quirk away from him — even without his gift, he can make the most convincing impressions."

When she didn't get a reply, her eyebrows furrowed before she looked up at her sister, only to see that she was staring longingly at the butt of their brothers' current joke.

Carla rolled her eyes before clearing her throat to get her hermana mayor's attention.

Dolores snapped out of her trance at that and looked down to be met with Carla's raised brow.

"Uhmm..." Dolores let out, feeling uncomfortable before turning away to avoid her sister's calculating gaze.

Carla closed her eyes and released an exasperated sigh.

She whispered to her sister before walking away and towards their brothers who were now petting Antonio's jaguar friend who seemed to be basking in all the attention it was receiving.

Dolores watched her sister walk away before her eyes flitted towards the man her heart desired. She sighed.

"Dolores, you coming?" Camilo exclaimed from a few feet away from her, successful diverting her attention from Mariano.

Dolores honestly didn't understand why Camilo had to yell. He could've said that in the tiniest voice he could muster and she'd be able to hear him.

Carla sang as Dolores finally caught up — of course not before she threw her a discreet, meaningful glance.

Antonio exclaimed, recieving amused expressions from his older siblings at the line.

Carla said, smiling at her siblings.

"Dios mio! Camilo! I've finally found you!" A random townsfolk exclaimed coming up from behind Carla.

"Eeep!" A squeak came out of the girl before she went to disappear behind her sister in a flash of light.

Dolores snorted, "Clearly."