The Sanctuary
Timpani listened intently as Mayne explained what cooking was really about. She had a hard time telling the difference between things like baking and cooking. She just knew one made cakes and the other usually did not make cakes.
She smiled when Mayne agreed to teach her to cook. He seemed embarrassed though, and she looked at him curiously. Then he asked her to teach him to fight, and her smile could have rivaled one of Solara's revivals.
"Of course I will. That means a lot to me, y'know," She said, trying to express her emotions in words. She had never been very good at that, so she just decided to hug him instead.
Gavotte nodded in agreement and followed Jen. The other teenagers seemed to be getting along. Cilan was lying on the ground though, and he was glowing like the sun. He had this sleepy and slightly delirious expression on his face, and he was smiling with his eyes half lidded.
"Hi guys," Cilan said. "Isn't the weather great?"
"Yes," Gavotte agreed with a smile. "Are you just going to sleep here?"
Cilan shook his head. "It's cold water! Are you feeling alright, Gavotte? Maybe I ought to take your temperature..."
"Cilan, maybe I should take your temperature..." Gavotte chuckled. "You're glowing, you look like you are half awake, and you are smiling like my father does when he sunbathes."
"I love sunbathing. I used to talk to Mum all the time when I lay in the sun," Cilan mumbled sleepily. "I would tell her about my day. I really missed Mum and I'm glad she's home..."
Gavotte nodded with a sad smile. He missed his father.
He also missed his own mother, even though she was still here.
---
Birvale Beach
"Understood, and I am sure they understand."
Ivana had this thing about facing whoever she was speaking to. If someone spoke to her with their back to her, she became extremely angry. Of course, she never let anyone know. She just had all these little pet peeves that she kept secret. Samuel was really ticking her off for example, because his posture was bad. If Ivana had the same strength as the Queen, she would have broken his spine for this.
Waverly was hunched over and he had bad posture too. He looked like he was trying to make himself look smaller. Ivana was extremely furious because she wanted to be even taller. It was a fact that Capital City boys were preposterously tall compared to everybody else. Ivana once heard someone tell a short joke towards a 5'11" boy. She had almost electrocuted both the joker and the boy to death. It was like a personal insult to her, when people who were taller than her were somehow called short, or when people taller than her complained about their height in any way. If they whined about being too short, then Ivana was deeply offended because she was shorter. If they whined about being too tall, Ivana was still deeply offended because she actually wanted that height.
And that stupid woman. Ivana felt her hands began to crackle with the static that would be useless for a long-ranged attack. She needed contact, but she was more than happy to wrap her hands around the disgrace's neck...
"Are you alright?" Waverly asked, dropping back a few steps until he was almost side by side with her.
"Right as rain," Ivana told him with a sunny smile.
Waverly bit his lip. "I'm sorry. I think you're lying. I could hear the crackling from up there."
Ivana clenched her hands into fists as she just kept walking. "It's static. I can't hurt anyone unless I touch them. And please do not offer to hug me, because I might electrocute you."
"Sorry," Waverly said. "You know, Ivana, it's not healthy to keep it all inside. It's best to be honest with yourself."
Ivana was getting a suspicion... "I will be honest. Does Luno have anything to do with this?"
Waverly looked at the sand.
"I see." Ivana just looked at him unblinkingly, still with that polite smile.
Waverly wouldn't look at her. "It's because he cares about you, Ivana. We all do. We only have each other." He gestured around at their small group.
Samuel put his arm around the nearest person, who happened to be Vivien. "We're going to stick together!" He exclaimed proudly. "Keep marching, Amber! I think I see something up ahead..."
Solara's eyes remained closed, but she rarely used those eyes to see. In her vision, the world would reveal its truth. She could see the gruesome scene inside the cabin even before she knocked, which was why she was so concerned. Isolation was never a good remedy for such cases.
The girl's anger was not just apparent in her voice, Solara could see it spiking off her in flares.
The Queen placed a gentle hand on the furious girl's shoulder.
"... You were alone. I want to change that."
This girl was clearly a threat to the other teenagers. It was best not to leave a threat unattended, because it would grow and it would take its own actions. Threats like this one should be dealt with quickly.
Quietly.
"... May I come in?"
---
The Underworld
"Put them on hold. I'm very busy here." The General's voice was deadly calm as she struggled to hold up the roof. The sound of crumbling stone was really getting on her nerves. Vulcana could easily do this job, but she was underneath the collapsing cave, hammering supports into place so it wouldn't fall completely.
"Are you finished?" Ada demanded.
"NO," Vulcana told her, then, "YES. YOU CAN LET GO NOW."
Ada let go, but the roof didn't collapse as much as she expected. Only down to an uncomfortable crawling space. Due to her height, Ada had to roll herself out of there. She then crawled into the hallway, where Vulcana was already waiting. So was the demon holding the phone.
This better not be a telemarketer.
Ada snatched the pager. Kelly's venomous anger was practically seeping through the receiver. It made the General even more ticked off. Then Kelly started making plans.
"I hear you. I'll call you back in two minutes," Ada promised. She then hung up, and crushed the pager into a crackling mess of broken plastic in her hand.
"MOTHER." Vulcana placed a warm hand on her shoulder.
"Do not talk back to me." Ada slapped the hand away. She entered one room and threw around debris and broken furniture, which soon became even more broken. Objects smashed against the ceiling and flattened against the floor. Shards of shrapnel from the temper tantrum flew everywhere like a blizzard.
Soon the entire room was littered with a mess that looked somewhat like sawdust, with small metal parts sticking out from various places. Scorch marks, suspiciously shaped like fists, covered the walls. Ada calmly left the room, and she didn't even close the door behind her. The demon had a new pager in her hand.
"Thank you," Ada said as she took it. She did have manners.
"The Sanctuary is not moving to the mountains. Nobody is prepared for that," She said with finality into the speaker. "All the armies will meet at the Sanctuary. They will train the teenagers, and they will train each other. You and Ben are in charge of contacting the armies. I'm trusting you with an important job, and it is a mandatory job. Take care."
She hung up, then gave the pager to the demon without crushing it.
"WHAT ABOUT THE SHORT ROOM?" Vulcana asked her, pointing to the collapsed room.
"Use it as a claustrophobia punishment for James Taylor," Ada told her. "Tell the demons to take care of it. As for you, get back to work. You have weapons to make."
"YES, MOTHER."