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thisaliennerd · 4 years

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Flashbacks and Flapjacks

(Read on AO3 - It's sad in the beginning, but it gets funny and chaotic I swear! I had come up with this scene a while ago but was inspired to write it down by this post by @aelwynrights)

Summary: Adaine has a bad dream, the girls have a sleepover, chaos ensues. Also pancakes. Lots of burnt pancakes.

~~~

Adaine is in an orb. She looks out into a clearing in a dark, twisted forest. She’s been here before. She knows she has. She feels herself gasp for air, her lungs burning as if she hasn’t taken a breath in a while. The clearing is empty. As she realizes that she’s alone, two figures step out of the forest.

“Adaine! How nice of you to join us.”

Arianwen and Angwyn Abernant stand in the clearing. Arianwen sighs.

“Adaine, just tell us where your silly little friends are and this can all be over with.”

Adaine is filled with a deep sense of...not knowing. She feels her blood turn to ice in her veins.

“I...Even if I wanted to help you, which I don’t! But even if I did, I don’t...I don’t-”

“Oh, Adaine...you don’t know where they are?”

“Don’t twist this.”

“And you call them your friends?”

“Stop.”

“They don’t even trust you to know their plan.”

“Please!”

“I thought you were supposed to know all. Aren’t you-”

“Oh YES! Another Elven Oracle joke! Very funny, mother. Good job.”

“Don’t be rude, darling. It’s terribly unflattering. Regardless, it seems that you are no longer any use to us.” Arianwen turns to leave, her hand brushing Angwyn’s shoulder for a moment. “Do what you must, my love.”

Angwyn’s hands crackle with electricity. It’s so familiar...

“Adaine...I really tried to show you. I tried to help you. I really did. But it seems that you were too stubborn to even realize how truly deluded you are. The pain that you’re in is self-inflicted. If you had just listened. If you had just let us change you. We could have helped you. You could have been happy. But no. And now, you’ve left us with no other options. I am going to fix you. Goodbye Adaine.”

The orb is gone. Angwyn raises his hand. His magic surges towards Adaine. She can’t move. There’s no one else here. She is alone. Completely alone. There’s no one to stop him. The magic is only an instant away. Adaine squeezes her eyes closed, but all she sees is millions of futures of her body, dead on the ground. Alone, abandoned, unloved.

~~~

Screams rip from Adaine’s throat. She is sitting bolt upright in her bed, completely sweat-drenched. Someone is sitting on the end of Adaine’s bed, attempting to hold her forearms still, as Adaine thrashes, still screaming.

“Adaine? Adaine!” Aelwen looks completely panicked, searching Adaine’s face for any signs of possession or perhaps answers. Adaine can feel a dispel magic tingling in the air around her. She feels herself stop screaming as the sight of her sister reminds her of what had been missing in her dream. “Adaine, please...what’s...I...are you?”

Tears stream down Adaine’s face. She stops fighting and completely sags. Aelwen pulls her sister into the tightest hug she’s ever given. Adaine tucks her head under Aelwen’s chin, burying her face into her chest and sobbing. Adaine’s fists hold onto Aelwen’s shirt as if it was keeping her afloat. Aelwen’s breathing slows back to normal as she strokes Adaine’s hair.

“It’s ok. It’s ok. You’re safe. We’re safe.” Aelwen whispers into the top of Adaine’s head, her own tears of both panic and relief welling up.

The door to the tower slams open and a very concerned looking Jawbone rushes in, followed immediately by Sandra Lynn who has an arrow nocked, and is rather frantically scanning the room.

“Adaine, are you safe? We heard you scream and came running,” Jawbone walks to the edge of the bed and kneels down next to it. “What do you need?”

Adaine raises her head, gulping in air, and practically leaps into Jawbone’s arms. As Adaine leaves her arms, Aelwen pulls her knees to her chest.

Adaine mumbles into Jawbone’s fur, “I’m ok, I just had a nightmare,” She pulls back, wiping away tears, “I’m sorry I woke you up.”

Before Jawbone can answer, Fig bursts into the room, dragging a fully dressed, very panicked Ayda behind her.

“Adaine!” Fig gives her a quick, tight hug, before pulling back to carefully study Adaine’s face. “What happened? Are you ok?”

Ayda briefly takes a break from looking around the room wildly to also train her eyes firmly on Adaine. “Adaine, is there some sort of spectre or invisible being that you would like me to destroy?"

"No, it's ok. I just had a nightmare. I'm sorry."

Fig frowns deeply. "Don't apologize! I-"

Kristen finally appears in the doorway, breathing heavily.

"God, my room is so far away! Adaine, are you ok?"

“Yeah, it’s fine, I’m sorry.”

Sandra Lynn sighs, finally relaxing a little. “Why don’t we all give Adaine some space? It’s a small room, and there’s a lot of us.” She lowers her bow and puts a hand on Fig’s shoulder. “Adaine, why don’t we all go downstairs and I’ll make you a cup of tea.”

“Ok.” Adaine stands, and everyone starts to leave. Aelwen is still sitting on Adaine’s bed, knees still pulled to her chest, staring off into nothing. “Aelwen?” Her eyes snap to Adaine. “Are you coming?”

“Oh...do...do you want me to come?”

“Of course, but if you’d rather trance…”

“No, if you want me to come, I will.”

“Ok.” Adaine holds out her hand to her sister. Aelwen smiles shakily, takes Adaine’s hand, and they walk downstairs together.

Downstairs, Adaine sits down on the couch, Ayda lights the fireplace, Sandra Lynn puts a mug of herbal tea in Adaine’s hands. While everyone gathers in the center of the room, Aelwen hangs back in the doorway. Sandra Lynn sits down on a footrest across from Adaine.

“Look, Adaine,” She looks down at her hands. “I know that whatever you just went through, it was...less than fun. And I just want you to know that those dreams are normal.” She looks back up. “Well, not normal necessarily, but for adventurers, and you know, people who have been through some shit. It’s not uncommon. Obviously I trance, but I've seen it a lot, and even in trance, those feelings can still happen, and...I guess what I'm trying to say is that you’re not alone in this.”

“Yeah, I know that. It’s just...I feel stupid for even putting myself in that situation. I don’t have to sleep. I just keep reading all this stuff about the Oracle, and how often they chose to sleep because it helped them connect to their powers, but I don’t feel like it’s doing that for me. It’s just a lot of nightmares about the past. It feels like I’m doing something wrong.”

Jawbone speaks up, “Kiddo, I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to go about this. You’re still really young. To compare yourself to people with centuries of experience, it’s not fair or productive. But you know, maybe bring this up with your therapist on Thursday, and see what she thinks about the pros and cons of letting yourself experience these dreams. Regardless, I don’t think worrying about the big picture stuff needs to happen tonight. Why don't you just try and relax and stay calm tonight, and we can talk about it more tomorrow, or not, if you don't want to."

"Yeah, ok. That makes sense."

Sandra Lynn stands up. "Alright, I have to go to work early tomorrow, so I think I'm going to go back to bed. I would recommend that all three, actually," She glances over at Ayda, "given that Ayda appears to be wearing the same clothes as yesterday, four of you try and get some sleep."

The girls all chorus affirmatives, and Sandra Lynn goes to leave. As she passes Aelwen, still hovering in the doorway, Sandra Lynn subtly squeezes her shoulder. Jawbone also goes to leave.

"Am I all set to leave, kiddo? It seems like the gals have got you covered." He ruffles Fig's hair.

"Yeah, I'll be ok. Thank you."

"Just doing my job, sweetheart." Jawbone kisses the top of Adaine's head. "I love you.”

“I love you too. Goodnight, dad.”

Jawbone’s eyes well up and he pulls Adaine into a tight hug. He stands back up and smiles at the girls. “Alright, try to keep the shenanigans to a minimum, ok?”

“Look, my guy, I don’t know what you’re trying to imply,” Kristen leans over the back of the couch grinning combatively at Jawbone, “but we are the reasonable ones.”

Fig laughs, “Yeah, we never get into shenanigans. That’s all on the boys.”

Jawbone smiles wryly “Uh-huh, goodnight, girls.”

He leaves to a chorus of “goodnight”’s.

“Ok!” Fig lies down with her head on Adaine’s lap and her legs sprawled across Kristen. “Soooo…” Fig looks up at Adaine. “I don’t want to push you, but do you want to talk about your dream?”

Kristen turns her body towards Adaine, putting her arm up on the back of the couch. “No pressure, but you know we’ll listen if you want to.”

“Oh, yeah, we can talk about it. It was about what happened to me in the Nightmare Forest.”

Fig’s eyes widen, “Oh, shit.”

“Yeah.”

Kristen sighs and nods, “I guess we never really talked about what happened to us.”

Fig sets her face resolutely, “Well, let’s talk now. We might as well. Fear is fake, right?”

Just then Ayda, who had been watching quietly from the floor pipes up. "Would you like me to leave?”

Adaine frowns, “Why would I want you to leave?”

“I thought perhaps you might want to only be with your friends.”

“Ayda, you’re my friend!”

“Right, yes, of course, you are my best friend.”

“You’re my best friend too!”

Wonderful. I meant the friends who were in the forest with you.”

“Oh, well, you were there too. We were all separated. Ayda, if you want to stay, I want you to stay.”

“It will make you feel better for me to stay?”

“Yes.”

“Then I will stay.”

“I’ll go first,” Fig offers, her face completely neutral, “I don’t mind.”

Adaine looks down at Fig, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I mean, I’ve told people before. Ayda and I have talked about it. Honestly, telling you guys will actually be a big step towards confronting those fears, so I might as well.”

“Ok. Yeah, I mean if you want to tell us, I think I’d like that.”

Fig sighs and closes her eyes, “Ok, settle in.”

As Fig begins to tell her side of the story, Adaine’s shoulders relax a little, as she’s comforted in her friends’ willingness to share, and from across the room, Aelwen notices this and slips back up the stairs to the tower.

The girls talk the night away, confessing the horrors they experienced in the forest. Fig cries when retelling how she saw herself in Ayda’s nightmare, Kristen has the group gasping when she tells them how she punched Helio, and in the first time Adaine has ever really told the group about what happened with her father, had everyone looking frankly murderous.

A deeply sad look crosses Kristen’s face. “I honestly think the worst part of it for me wasn’t losing my god or even my spells, although I will say that sucked because I felt like I had fucked everyone else over massively, but the real worst part for me was when Tracker found me. Because I know she was possessed and didn’t mean the things that she said, and we’ve talked about it, but when I went invisible she was screaming all these things about how I was selfish and how it was always about my faith journey and nothing was ever about her. I didn’t really have time to process it in the moment, but it cut deep, because she said it and I knew she was right. It is always about me. And you know, we talked about it for a long time, and obviously she’s off on her own now, but I have felt guilty about that, and I did ask her if she wanted me to go with her, and I guess I learned that we kinda have different ways of dealing with stuff like this. ‘Cuz she said no, and at first, that felt like a scary bad thing, but the whole reason I couldn’t go was because it has to be her thing. Like on my journey, I needed support, but her thing is that she really values her independence in a way that I’ve never really understood as someone who has always been a part of a close-knit community. But Tracker has been on her own for a long time, and she told me that although she liked supporting me on my journey, she needed me to support her from a distance because she needed the journey to be wholly her own.”

The girls nod somberly and Fig says, “Well, I think it takes a lot of trust to respect that decision, and I think you guys are doing really well.”

“Yeah, I know, it just makes me feel like I’m a bad partner for not seeing that she felt that way before. But we talk about that and her journey as much as possible, and we’re working through it together, so it’s ok. But yeah, that was the worst part for me. I just love her so much and the idea of me hurting her...” Kristen shudders.

Fig sighs, “I mean, it’s hard to pinpoint the worst part because it just hit all my deepest insecurities, but honestly, I think the worst part was mom shooting me. I know I played it off, but it sucked. I’m really insecure about my relationships with my parents still, and I’d already fucked up and gotten my dad stuck in a ruby again, and Gilear kept getting killed, and my mom and I were finally getting closer, and then she shot me and I KNEW it wasn’t her. Logically I knew that, but like...the way she said she was awake...it just felt so much like her. I just felt her ripping out my heart. But I know it wasn’t her. It was just the hardest part.”

“Weirdly enough the hardest part wasn’t my family stuff. I mean that stuff was so deeply painful, but I had been preparing for it for perhaps my whole life, but certainly for the whole trip. The worst part was confronting myself and confronting the idea of me being unloveable. Which obviously ties into the family stuff, but yeah. That was hard. Because that is truly what I most worry about, but I hate thinking about it, and up until that moment had tried to suppress those thoughts entirely.”

“Well, we love you, Adaine.” Fig reaches up to touch Adaine’s hands which have been gently stroking Fig’s hair, “And it’s so shitty that you had to go through that, and we all had our dark moments, but I hope you know that we’re here for you, and if you wanted us to we would kill your mom in a heartbeat.”

A laugh that clearly comes as a surprise to even Adaine bubbles up from deep within her chest, “Thank you, I know. I love you guys.” She glances over at Ayda, who is fully asleep on the floor.

Fig glances over too and smiles, wrinkling her nose, "She hadn’t gone to sleep. She’s been researching a new spell, and you know how she gets. It’s a mission to get her to even eat, but I will say I did manage it a couple of times, so I’m proud of that.”

Kristen nods, “That’s great. You two are so good for each other.”

Fig beams. “I know!”

The girls talk away the rest of the night, just rambling about everything. At some point, Fig and Kristen end up openly sobbing about how much they love their girlfriends. At another point, all three of them end up cry-laughing while recalling their first fight together, how horrifically executed it was, with Fig being out most of the fight, Kristen fully dying, and Adaine killing Doreen. One by one, they fall asleep, Fig first, then Kristen, and then finally Adaine decides to, at the very least, trance for a few hours.

Adaine comes out of trance to see Fig staring up at her.

Adaine raises an eyebrow and whispers down at Fig, “What?”

Fig grins and whispers back, not at all suspiciously, “...nothing.”

“You have never looked more up to something in your entire life.”

“I’m not up to anything!”

“Suuuurrreee, Fig.”

“I’m not! Let’s make breakfast!”

“What?”

“We should make pancakes for everyone!”

“I can’t cook.”

“Neither can I! It’ll be fun!”

Adaine glances over at Kristen who is slumped uncomfortably over the back of the couch and Ayda who is now fully curled up in a ball on the floor. She sighs and shrugs, “Fine!”

“Yessssss!”

The two of them extricate themselves from the couch and creep across the room to the kitchen.

“Where’s my crystal? I’ll look up a recipe.”

“No! We’re winging it!”

“What?”

“It’ll be more fun!”

“That’s not fun, Fig!”

“Yes, it is!” Fig starts pulling bowls out of the cupboards.

“Shhhh! You’re going to wake up Kristen!”

Fig grins and keeps pulling random things out. Adaine begins reluctantly helping. Cut to about thirty minutes later, both Fig and Adaine are covered in flour, have batter in their hair, and are sobbing with laughter. Fig knocks a spoon off the counter and it clatters loudly to the floor.

“Fig!”

Fig doubles over with silent laughter, “Sorry!”

Kristen stirs and looks up, groaning, “What the fuck?”

“Look, you woke up Kristen!”

“Noooo!!! The surprise!”

Fig and Adaine dissolve into hysterical giggles. Kristen looks over at the still sleeping Ayda and then back to the chaos in the kitchen. She sighs, rolls her shoulder and grimaces, and then stands up and walks over to the kitchen.

“Are you guys cooking?”

“Yes, Adaine and I,” Adaine snorts, “I haven’t even said anything yet! Adaine and I are making pancakes for everyone for breakfast.”

“I have honestly never seen either of you cook before, and this is fascinating. Why are you covered in flour?”

Fig sighs, “Look, Kristen, things happen…”

Adaine rolls her eyes and puts her hand in Fig’s face, “Fig exploded a bag of flour on us.”

“NO!”

“Yes!”

“It’s more complicated than that!”

“Ok!” Kristen sits down at the island, “Do you guys have coffee?”

“Yup!” Fig pours a cup of coffee and slides it across the island to Kristen.

“Did you spike this?”

“What?!”

“Figueroth Faeth,

“The Infaethable”

“Fig.”

“Kristen.”

Kristen sighs deeply, “Figueroth Faeth, The Infaethable, shoot me straight,"

“Mmhmm.”

“Did you spike this coffee?”

“No, Kristen, I’m not an alcoholic! It is six o’clock in the morning,”

“WHAT?!” Kristen looks at the clock on the microwave, “Fuck! No wonder you guys are acting stoned! You got what? An hour of sleep?”

“Kristen, I feel like you have a lot of anger that you’re directing towards me, and I’d like you to chill out. I didn’t spike the coffee and I got at least two hours of sleep.”

Kristen raises an eyebrow and glances behind Fig. “Your pancakes are burning.”

“What? No!”

“Fig! That is the tenth pancake in a row! Let me do it!”

“Back the fuck off, Adaine! You monopolized the batter making-”

“Monopolized?! You refused to use a recipe and exploded a bag of flour!”

“Why on earth would you not use a recipe?”

“That’s what I said!”

“It’s more fun this way!”

“Neither of you know how to cook! Also, if you don’t move that pancake you are going to burn the house down.”

“Fuck!” Fig frantically cleans up the pancake, and Adaine shakes her head.

“Fig PLEASE!”

“No!”

“Just please let me do the pancakes!”

“NO! I’ve got this! Hey, Kristen?”

“No.”

“Kristen!”

“Ok fine, Fig, what do you want?”

“Hypothetically,”

“Oh god…”

“No, hear me out! Hypothetically if I were to have put salt in the pancakes, how much would be a good amount?

“How much did you put in?

Adaine facepalms, “...we should have used a recipe.”

“It’s fine! Like only a...tablespoon?"

"A teaspoon or a tablespoon?"

Adaine, still rubbing her temples, "It was a tablespoon."

"Fig! That is so much salt!"

"I just...look, I feel like you're being really judgy and…"

"Judgy?!"

"Yeah!”

“You put a full tablespoon of salt in your fucking pancake batter, Fig!”

“Go to hell, Kristen, ok? Do you want to go? I’ll take you there. We can go right now! I let Bill Seacaster sell all my dad’s stuff, but I’m pretty sure the house is still there!”

“Yeah? You’re going to send me to hell?”

“Yeah!”

“I’ll bless water and throw it on you, bitch! I’m a saint!”

Adaine gasps, covering her mouth and doubling over, giggling. Fig’s jaw drops, “WOW!!!”

Adaine, still doubled over with laughter, hisses “Shhhhh!!!”

But it’s too late, Ayda stands up rubbing her eyes. “Fig? Are you alright?” She looks at the three girls in the kitchen and tilts her head to one side. “Why are you covered in...flour?”

“Kristen is threatening my life!”

Ayda squints, “Is this hyperbole?”

“NO!”

Kristen is laughing hysterically. Adaine pulls herself together enough to say to Ayda, “Technically, no. Kristen did threaten Fig’s life, although it is a bit of a question as to whether her threat would actually be effective. However, even if it would have worked, she was joking.”

“Um, I wasn’t.”

“Kristen.”

“I wasn’t joking! She threatened to send me to hell, I threatened her with holy water! It’s fair!”

“I am very confused as to what is going on.”

Fig says, much louder than she really should considering it’s six-thirty in the morning, “Honestly, me too, Ayda. This started as one thing, and now I feel like it’s completely devolved!”

“You devolved it! You’re the most chaotic person I’ve ever met! This was all you!”

“GUYS!” Everyone looks at Adaine, “We are going to wake everyone up.”

“Adaine, you’re right. This got out of hand, and I-”

Kristen takes a sip of coffee and cuts Fig off, “Aaaannnd, that’s another burnt pancake.”

“WHaT?!” Fig whirls around and starts attempting to save the pancake, “Fuck! Warn me next time, Kristen! God!”

Adaine buries her face in her hands. “Fig, please let me do it.”

“No, I have everything under fucking control!”

“You clearly don’t.”

“Shut up, Kristen!”

Ayda looks even more confused and says, “You have answered none of my questions, and in fact, have only created more.”

Kristen sips her coffee and pats the stool next to her. “Yeah, welcome to the club, Ayda. Have a seat. Do you want some coffee?”

Fig turns back around from the pancakes and points at Ayda, “Ayda, do not sit next to my MORTAL ENEMY, Kristen Applebees!”

Adaine bursts back into laughter, “Mortal Enemy?”

Kristen snorts and says, “Yeah, hold up, Fig, I thought your mortal enemy was Fathethriel.”

“Oh fuck…” Fig looks at Adaine. “Can you have more than one mortal enemy?”

“I wouldn’t know. I’m immortal so technically all my enemies are technically immortal enemies.”

“What? I…” Fig sighs, “Ayda, can you have more than one mortal enemy?”

Ayda considers this, “That is certainly an interesting conundrum, but technically I am also immortal, so I suppose I don’t know either.”

“Ok, well, I guess if I have to pick one of you to be my mortal enemy, I guess it’s Fathethriel.”

Adaine giggles harder. Fig glares over at Adaine. “Why is that funny, Adaine?”

“I just...I feel like you hate Fathethriel a little more than he deserved…”

“No! That guy sucked!”

“I know, but-”

“He was an asshole to Ragh, and he tricked me! He’s terrible!”

“I know, but I just think maybe he doesn’t deserve mortal enemy status…”

Fig and Adaine start arguing about whether Fathethriel is the embodiment of evil, and are really starting to get into it when Kristen starts interrupting.

“Fig.”

Fig ignores Kristen.

“Fig.”

Adaine glances over at Kristen but Fig continues to ignore her.

“Fig!”

“What?!”

“Pancake.”

The pancake is very burnt and is almost smoking. Fig fully yells at the top of her lungs, “DAMN IT!!!”

Adaine grabs Fig’s arm. “Fig! SHHHH!!!”

There’s a light popping sound and Aelwen teleports into the kitchen looking panicked. “Is...are...is everyone ok?”

Fig slaps a hand over her mouth. Adaine groans and says, “Yeah, we’re all fine, Fig’s just being chaotic.”

Fig grimaces and whispers, “I’m so sorry.”

Kristen, starting to look genuinely concerned, pipes up again, “Fig that pancake is about to go up in flames.”

“Shit!”

Aelwen sighs, visibly relaxes, and then turns to leave again. “Ok, well that’s good. I’ll leave you to it.”

Adaine immediately stops glaring at Fig and turns to her sister. “You can stay if you want! We have pancakes and coffee.”

“Oh...well if you want me to stay…”

“Please do.”

“Ok.” Aelwen tentatively sits down at the island next to Ayda.

Kristen slides a cup of coffee across the island to Aelwen and raises an eyebrow at Adaine. “So which burnt pancake are you going to force your sister to eat?”

Adaine begins picking through the stack of blackened pancakes. “No, I'm pretty sure there's a couple of salvageable ones."

Adaine finds a passable pancake and gives it to Aelwen. Aelwen takes a bite of the pancake and although she doesn't make a face she does seem to struggle to swallow a little. She smiles and nods at Adaine. “It’s not bad.”

Kristen leans forward to look across Ayda at Aelwen. “It’s not?”

Aelwen looks back at Kristen completely neutrally. “No, it’s not.”

Before Kristen can say anything else, Fig looks over apologetically at Aelwen. “I really am sorry I freaked you out, Adaine and I were just talking about the asshole that helped you escape in Fallinel, and I got really mad.”

Aelwen doesn’t typically show a lot of emotion around anyone except Adaine, but at that, she visibly cringes. “I’m very sorry about that whole situation. I stole your father.”

“Oh, yeah. You did.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok, honestly I was more upset about how he used Ayda to trick me because yeah, it sucked losing my dad and I did feel awful about that but also like...I’d already fucked up with my dad by putting him in that gem in the first place, and what was happening with Ayda was new and good, but you didn’t have anything to do with what he said, that was all him. So yeah, I appreciate the apology, but we’re good.”

“Ah, I see. Well, I’m still very sorry for whatever mental anguish I put you through, be it directly or indirectly in Fallinel.”

“Um, thanks.”

There’s an extremely awkward silence, just five teenage girls around a kitchen island surrounded by the smell of burnt pancakes and the unsavory memories of the past.

This intense moment of introspection is shattered by the screech of the fire alarm.

Everyone jumps, Adaine even screams a little, and before anyone can even process what’s happening, Aelwen shoots a Ray of Frost across the island, seemingly at Fig. Fig manages to jump out of the way, and the Ray of Frost hits and freezes the pan with a completely black, heavily smoking pancake in it.

“My apologies, Fig. The pancake was on fire.”

“Um, it’s fine! How do you turn off a fire alarm?”

Adaine whirls around, “I don’t know!”

Kristen gets up from the island and starts opening windows. “Sandra Lynn is going to KILL us.”

Fig groans, “I know!”

Adaine is still looking around, wide-eyed, “I told you this was a bad idea. You should have let me do it.”

Ayda is standing just outside the kitchen looking up at the wall and grimacing. “I think I have found where the noise is coming from.”

Fig looks over, “Really?”

“Yes, should I destroy it?”

“No, no, no!” Fig runs over, “There should be a button you can push.” She points up at the alarm, “There!”

Ayda reaches up, wings lifting her up off the ground slightly, and she turns off the alarm.

Everyone relaxes, and for a moment there is calm.

“What the FUCK is going on down here?!”

The girls all whip around to see Sandra Lynn standing in the doorway, bow readied, looking frankly murderous. Before anyone can answer, Jawbone appears in the doorway with a fire extinguisher.

“Where’s the fire?”

Kristen is the first to be able to speak, and says, “There’s no fire! There’s no fire! Aelwen put it out! Everything is fine!”

“Everything is fine seems like a bit of a stretch, gang,” Lydia Barkrock appears in the doorway, arms folded, but looking more amused than anything else. “Not going to lie, there’s a lot of smoke, and everyone is covered in flour, but you know, no fire is good for sure.”

Sandra Lynn sighs and puts down her bow. “Ok, help me understand what happened here. Because it is seven am, and the goddamn fire alarm just went off.”

Sandra Lynn looks at the girls with such authority and power, that immediately Adaine and Kristen say, in unison, “It was Fig!”

Fig gasps dramatically, looking extremely offended, “Guys! What the fuck?”

“Fig…”

“Mom.”

“What are you doing?”

“I wanted to make breakfast for everyone!”

“Fig, sweetie, you have never cooked anything in your life.”

“I know! But you have to start sometime! I’m going to be an adult soon…” Sandra Lynn snorts, but Fig continues, offended, “I AM! So anyway, I thought today was the day!”

Adaine holds a plate out to Sandra Lynn, “Do you want one?”

“No thank you, Adaine.”

Kristen looks at them, “Are you sure? They used a completely normal amount of salt in it.”

“You know what, Kristen, I’m good. But why don’t you eat it? A completely normal amount of salt? How about you have some?”

There’s a moment of tension and silence as Sandra Lynn and Kristen stare down. Jawbone smiles a little and goes to put away the fire extinguisher, and Lydia snorts and comes into the kitchen.

Kristen finally breaks eye contact and grabs the plate “You know what, I will eat it. We shouldn’t waste food. You know, the swamps…”

“Yeah, for sure.”

Kristen takes a bite of the pancake and manages to chew it twice before dropping the plate on the counter and running over to the trash, immediately spitting it out. “Oh my god! That’s fucking poison!” She turns around on Fig and Adaine. “There is so much more wrong with that than the salt! What the fuck did you do?” She pauses, realizes something, and then turns to Aelwen. “How the fuck are you eating this?”

“It’s not...it’s fine.”

“It’s inedible!”

“I…”

Jawbone walks over and puts a hand on Aelwen’s shoulder. “You know, you don’t have to eat something just to be polite. You’re allowed to say no.”

Aelwen glances around for a second, and then visibly relaxes, “Oh, thank god.” She grabs her coffee and swishes it around her mouth. She looks at Adaine pleadingly, “I’m so sorry.”

Adaine gasps, “Why did you eat it if it was gross?”

“I just...I don’t know, Adaine. I don’t know how to be a normal person.”

Kristen nods, “You know what, though, I don’t think any of us do. We’re all pretty traumatized.”

“Right, my apologies, I don’t know how to be a kind person.” There’s a moment of silence as everyone looks at Aelwen. “I don’t! I’m working on it, but I don’t know. I don’t know where the line is. Saving your little sister, stopping the Nightmare King, they may not be easy to do, but it’s easy to say that they’re good. They’re moral. But what’s kind? In the tiny little everyday moments? I don’t know how to find that.”

Adaine stares her sister in the face, “Yet. You don’t know how to find it yet.”

Jawbone smiles, “That’s very true, Adaine. Now, everyone is awake, so why don’t we clean up the kitchen and make some actual food.”

Lydia nods, “Yeah, do you kids want to know how to actually make pancakes? Because I’ve got a killer recipe if you want it.”

Fig looks over at Sandra Lynn. “Mom?”

Sandra Lynn sighs, “If you clean up and promise to follow what Lydia says, yeah. Fine.”

Kristen grins, “Oh, you don’t want to help?”

“I’ll shoot you straight, Kristen, I never really made breakfast. That was always Gilear.”

“I’m sorry, turkey crackers and yogurt guy?”

Fig’s jaw drops, “Kristen! We don’t talk about the turkey crackers!”

“I will never stop talking about the turkey crackers!”

Adaine nods sagely, “The turkey crackers were gross.”

Fig glares at Adaine, “You didn’t even EAT them! Also, he was trying his best!”

“The idea of them was gross.”

Kristen jumps in, “They were also actually gross.”

“ALRIGHT! I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I feel like whatever the context is, the problem might have been a lack of resources over anything else.”

“Tell ‘em, mom!”

“Ok, Fig, just...chill out for a sec. Gilear is a good cook, and I feel like maybe that time where you all were living at Strongtower wasn’t the best reflection of that, but I also think maybe let’s table this conversation, get everything cleaned up, and eat something, because I feel like I’m losing my mind.”

Kristen pulls herself together. “You know what, she’s right. The vibes got weird.”

Adaine rolls her eyes, “The vibes always get weird.”

Lydia laughs, “You’re teenagers! It’s in the job description. Now, let’s make some pancakes!”

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