lost in the dessert

everything I let go

His pencil scratched across the surface of the paper along the kitchen table, and the youth would pause, analyze it with the pretense of a studious air, before breaking it with his tongue sticking out, full of meandering, but determined, concentration. Legs kicking back and forth, brows furrowed, he’d strive again, crossing out the particulars until he’d rendered the spelling of each word complete, checking over answers. With a warm grin, satisfied with that round of practice, he wondered if he should stick it on the fridge in pre-emptive glory, but then with the energy and zest of youth, he sprung from his seat anyway, rounding along to the counter.

All sorts of wondrous smells wafted along the oven, and acting quite innocent, arms tucked behind his back, he gave a large grin towards his fellow youth in the house – though Amhran always conveyed a sense of otherworldly knowledge Erebos couldn’t quite ever unfurl; given the demigod tendencies. “Whatcha making?”

Erebos

has claw marks on it

the harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun

"Muffins," Amhran declares with all the severity of a judge passing down a sentence, though the mischief in his eyes betrays him entirely as he straightens up from the oven to glance over his shoulder at Erebos. The advantage of living in Halo, he has found, is that even in Longheat they can have the fires - and therefore the ovens - roaring, and there is no end to the number of baked treats they might procure. 

"I picked some blueberries from the greenhouse, but there's also chocolate chip," he adds with a secretive raise of his eyebrows, before glancing over the youth's shoulder towards his spellings at the kitchen table. "What words did you get today?" he inquires, as if the answer will determine whether he releases one of his muffiny hostages to Erebos when they are done. It won't, of course, but it's a fun tease at least.

everything I let go

His eyes went wider at the declaration, mouthwatering at the mere mention of muffins, and all the ingredients that could go within. “Ooh, can I help?” Gaze darting to the bag of chocolate chips, he had half a thought of grabbing hold of a bunch of the pieces and taking off. But then at the look of Amhran’s face, and the inquiry thereafter, his nose wrinkled, granting a heavy sigh that would’ve befitted a teenager, dragging his feet over to the paper.

Grabbing it rapidly and sullenly, with a mulish tint to his face, he held it up in front of demigod. Along the scrawl one would see words like kit, kite, rat, rate, mad, made, and an assortment of crossed out configurations that were clear attempts, but simply didn’t look right. “Listen, the silent e is hard. Like, when are you supposed to know when to put it?” Already defending his efforts, he made a sad face behind the document, so Amhran would see the puppy-dog eyes and sad frown upon a slow reveal. “They look pretty good though, right?”

Erebos

has claw marks on it

the harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun

"They are already in the oven," Amhran says apologetically, before giving a mildly fiendish sort of gesture towards the bowl and the spoon he'd been using to portion out the muffins. "But you can help clean up if you like? And with the eating." It's evident that by cleaning he actually means lick the spoon, and if Erebos doesn't take him up on it then Amhran will be doing as much himself.

He's got bowl and spoon in hand, in fact, as the boy trudges off to his paper, the Raeling following in his wake only to halt as he's presented with the scrawl of spellings. "Those are very good," he tells him with an earnest smile. "And the silent 'e' is hard," he agrees. "It still trips me up sometimes as well. But you did good - I think Deimos will be proud." And so is Amhran, evidently, for he offers out the spoon to lick like a reward.

everything I let go

He gave half a sigh on the notions of them already baking in the oven, but then Amhran seemed to have better ideas anyway. Brightening out of the sullen mood instantly, eternally eager to help (especially if it meant more goodies), he stuck the spelling paper on the fridge with one of their magnets (a very…artistic rendering he’d made with Evie of something that probably should’ve looked like a plant). “Absolutely!”

Snagging at the spoon and already licking at the dough remnants, portions of the batter immediately went on his face; assorted throughout his cheeks and nose with not a single care. The praise meant even more though, and by the time he was done with the fringes, he was positively beaming. Not admitting he’d want his father to be proud, presuming most little boys craved that attention, his smile merely widened, teeth snagging at a chocolate chip that somehow hadn’t slipped into a muffin. “Thank you. I’ve been working on my water magic too!” Half of the inclination of ‘do you want to see’ nearly made it past his mouth, but then he was distracted by another morsel, and the zest and energy for life began to flow through his rapid and excited tones. “This is really good! I bet the muffins will be even better. Did it take a long time to learn? I've only watched mom or dad bake, and it seems like a lot."

Erebos

has claw marks on it

the harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun

Laughing softly to see the spelling sheet now proudly displayed on the fridge, Amhran settles back to lean against the table, one eye on the muffins and the little ticking timer that should trill at them to say they're ready - only a few more minutes now. "Oh, have you?" He brightens to hear that, always interested in the way magic sprung so easily to his family's fingertips. He has his own, of course, but it seems to grow and unfurl in its own ways - there's no commonality to be found between elements, as with father and son. 

"Go on," he urges, "show me something you've learned."

And as for baking, the Raeling tilts his head for a moment before shaking it to indicate that it hasn't been difficult - at least not so far. "I think it's a lot if you try to do a lot of different recipes. I have only tried muffins and cookies, and they are quite easy. Next time I make some, shall I call you and we can try it together?"

everything I let go

Finishing off the spoon with relish, his head turned sharply at Amhran’s encouragement, the smile returned on a beam of youthful essence. “Okay! I’ve been working on not concentrating so hard. Dad said you have to let it happen naturally.” Placing the spoon down, he did exactly as instructed before – taking a deep breath, trying not to let his brows furrow – and the water bubble appeared in front of the demigod, just as Erebos had intended. Laughing, he coaxed it to maneuver around, twist and turn and flop, not unlike an animated blob, sometimes stretching outwards so it appeared thin, or round and fat once more.

In between those motions though, he listened, hearing mostly the offer. “Ooh, cookies!” His eyes shot up from the enchantments and back to the Raeling’s face. “Yes! Can we do the sugar ones? And use the cookie cutters?!” There was a whole assortment in one of the many drawers in the kitchen; he’d dug through one day, wanting to utilize them as stencils for his random art depictions.

Erebos

has claw marks on it

the harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun

"Mm, that's right," Amhran says with a nod and a smile, though he's never had to much concentrate on his own power to be able to comment on the difference. Then again he hardly needs to manipulate the healing breeze he can conjure or the lilies he plants - they just are. Which is what makes the water bubble that Erebos conjures so impressive, the Raeling's eyes widening as he watches it flop and morph in the air. "That's very impressive," he praises. "And can you move it to the sink so no one gets wet?"

Grinning - both at cookies! and at the magical display - as the timer trills Amhran straightens up immediately to head for the oven. "Of course we can," he says to both notions, grabbing up a towel so he can remove the muffin tray sans burns. "I think we have snowflake cutters, and stars and moons. We can decorate them too if you want."

Then the muffins are out, the air lacing with the scent of sweetness and blueberry and chocolate chips, and the Raeling spends a second just to enjoy it, setting them atop the stove to cool.

everything I let go

Very content in receiving praise, and using it to amplify his intentions, the youth’s smile was a wide, wild thing – and then Amhran must have picked up on some elder sibling shrewdness, because the following statement made the boy’s face flatten again. Why did everyone end up seeing through the ruses? Maybe he just needed to become a bit cleverer and a little less predictable. Granting a small pout, he sighed, angling the watery blob back over to the sink instead of hovering midair, over the kitchen floor, or somewhere else it could be a nuisance, hazard, and some form of amusement. “Yeaaaaah, I guess.” He let it plunge into the sink with a plop and droplets cascading against the countertop, but otherwise a lot less mess. “You have lots of magic, right?” As Erebos presumed, the Raeling being a demigod and all.

But then there was the timer, and the fluctuation of moods occurred once more as he poked his head up, watching as the oven was opened, eyes widening at the display of muffins and the intending promise of cookies later. “Yes! With icing!” He shuffled over like a child possessed by the mere thought of sugar, smelling the wondrous aroma of chocolate and blueberries. “These look great.”

Erebos

has claw marks on it

the harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun

"Thank you," Amhran says in the patient, near sing-song tone he's almost definitely inherited from their mother, the Raeling keeping an eye on the water blob as it crashes into the sink and sprays the countertop, feeling quite pleased with the controlled chaos rather than abject mess. "Mm? I have some. Not lots yet though," he says. "And what I do have is mostly for healing - the lilies I plant will only flower after a full year goes by." Relatively limited compared to even the most average mage, in reality.

Having waited until the muffin tray is cool enough to handle, Amhran carefully pries the baked treats out one by one to set them on a cooling rack, grinning down at Erebos. "They do, right? They smell good too. Here--" The Raeling juggles a blueberry and a chocolate chip muffin onto the counter, waiting until he dares handle them before splitting both in two, then reforming them to make a half-and-half muffin for each of them. "We need to taste test, right?"

everything I let go

Erebos, given his youth, had perhaps expected Amhran to be loaded with any number of abilities from Rae. What this imagination inspired and conjured was a range of possibilities – from baking, singing, mending, sprouting, being able to get dirt out from under fingernails easily, and then anything associated with plants (like, could he make them dance or something?); which likely meant he should’ve been studying a bit more on the gods too. To hear it was healing, and for lilies, made him quiet down a little, brow furrowing as he mulled over these new pragmatics. “I guess I figured you would get like, so many all at once! I didn’t know yours had to grow too.” He grinned then, further inspired that they were much alike, before his attention beelined to the destined muffin tray.

Curiosity would get the better of him, further ponderings made by childlike wonder and the growl in his stomach. “Is there anything you’d like, want to be able to do?” Erebos intended to be able to enhance his illusion magic eventually, namely for tricks, but maybe Amhran had better ideals. Before long though, the questions died off in favor of the baked goods, and he held out his palms to snag at the proffered gift like it was a divine thing. “Thank youuuuu,” and despite it being a tad bit too warm, he bit off a piece anyway. The flavors hit his tongue with such a fervor he was immediately charmed. “These are way better than the ones down in the market!” he declared, full of passion and loyalty on the subject matter.

Erebos

has claw marks on it

the harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun

"Mmhm, I am just the same as you in that way," Amhran says with a smile of camaraderie. "I had to grow from a seed in the greenhouse before I was even able to walk and talk like this. And so I think my abilities will grow just as slow but steady." And even if they don't - even if this is all he has for his time on Caido - Amhran will still consider it enough. Anything but power hungry, he's more than happy to merely explore their region and discover and enjoy things.

Like the very fine looking muffins he's made.

Reverently passing the hybrid treat down to Erebos and lifting his own from the counter, Amhran hums thoughtfully under his breath at the question, before grinning. "I think I'd like to be able to turn into a tree," he says, punctuating the remark with a bite of the muffin - both sides so he gets all flavours - and letting his shoulders sag in clear delight.

"Thank you," he trills. "They did turn out pretty well, huh. Shall we take a few to the rest of the family?"

everything I let go

Erebos’ eyes widened slightly, though if that was from the wondrous influx of flavors or Amhran’s admission was its own question. He’d heard the story before, Evie always added a bit of quality and ambience to the Raeling’s tale, but he’d figured every demigod was given some sort of due. Whether or not they wanted it he’d never processed – not as a little mischievous lad with so many earthly yearnings of his own (most combined in base necessities – like what was going to be for dessert tomorrow or conquering the next difficult word). Then there was Marcus’s boast and he had every intention of venturing out into the next big chapter with grit and determination and –

Chewing on another round of muffin, he’d finally deciphered the other statement. “Wait? A tree?!” From there, he stomped, makeshifting his arms like they were boughs. “Yeah! And then you can whack people with your branches!” Not that Amhran would ever resort to violence, but Erebos gave a clear demonstration as one of his hands went wildly through the air. And the other went towards his mouth, for more confections, naturally.

Nibbling on the remains, his gaze went back towards the Raeling, nodding enthusiastically. “Yeah! Mom and Dad would like ‘em. The companions too.”

Erebos

has claw marks on it

the harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun

A melodic laugh spills from Amhran's lips as Erebos replaces his image of a serene weeping willow next to some pond with a branch-whacking monstrosity, and he shrugs his shoulders and concedes that, yes, it might be an option whether he engages in it or not. "Maybe I could even grow apples, to make pie," he suggests, though he has no doubt that the boy will be able to turn that ability, too, into some apple-firing projectile rather than a dessert.

"I thought so too," he says of the muffins, smiling and grabbing a container out of the cupboard to load the still-cooling treats into it. "Come on, let's go on a muffin delivery," he says. "You can tell everyone about your spellings, too. I'll vouch for you - definitely good enough to put on the fridge." And with that the Raeling is away, basket under one arm, expectant that Erebos will follow with equal parts joy and mischief, and all is right with the world.

~FIN