*****
Inside the dining room Daniel and his family had gathered to eat and await the return of one of their missing members, however only two among them were enjoying the dishes of seasoned mutton slices and sweet rolls that were prepared by Doku that night.
“This is so yummy!” Cindy squealed as she more or less shoved handfuls of the food into her mouth. Sitting on the table in front of the wraith Snapper was gobbling down chunks of meat that were set in a bowl for her, the youngling snarling with buzzing wings as she quickly devoured her food before kicking her legs about in the air as she did a headstand in the now empty bowl. She plopped down onto her back with flailing hands and feet before rolling onto her side with a long clicking screech, the young child scrambling around in circles as she snatched up bits of meat that were lying on the table around her with eager growls.
“It’s so good!” Cindy moaned as she pushed more of the mutton pieces into her mouth. She then watched Snapper scrambling over towards her plate with a screech, the youngling getting within an inch of chomping down on the girl’s food before Cindy quickly snatched her up in her arms.
“No, Snapper,” Cindy said shaking her head. “This is my food. I wanna eat it. You had yours already.”
Snapper screeched with a wide smile then quickly latched onto the wraith’s face, chewing it apart like a vicious animal as she got both enchanted sand in her mouth along with the food that was smeared over Cindy’s face from her own eating.
While Cindy tried pushing more handfuls of her dinner into what was left of her mouth and Snapper mauled her face with quickly buzzing wings, the rest of the group merely sat before their own plates of the warm cooked meal while not eating a bite.
“I can’t stop thinking about her,” Alyssa sighed shaking her head. “It would be one thing if she was just lost like usual, but knowing there are murderous monsters out there with her that razed her home to the ground this is way worse. Dammit, I’m worried sick now. This is completely ruining my appetite.”
“It looks so good too,” Luna pouted as she poked a fork at her meal. “I wish Kroanette was here to eat with us.”
“I can’t do it,” Falla said dropping her knife and fork. “I’m really scared for her, I can’t eat like this. I can’t stop thinking about whatever wrecked her home coming after her next.”
“We have to stay optimistic here,” Specca softly reasoned. “I’m certain she’ll be here any minute now. She’s just running a little late after getting lost again, that’s all.”
Squeak merely stared at her food for a while before slowly looking around at the others and squeaking quietly. Atop her head Pip was sharing the same concerned expression the ant girl had.
“Perhaps I shouldn’t have made so much,” Doku worried glancing behind her. On the kitchen counters were plates of seasoned mutton, fresh rolls, bowls of salads and mashed potatoes, several pitchers of juice, and another freakishly large chocolate cake that was set aside with white frosting adorning its layers.
“You have to show me how you do that,” Clover mentioned looking back at all the food then to Doku questionably.
Star merely stirred her salad with a troubled look on her face before meowing at Daniel. The girls all turned to him, except for Cindy and Snapper who were still chewing away at their meals or each other. Sitting at the middle of the table surrounded by his mates Daniel had a distant look on his face as he stared at his meal without interest, something he had been doing ever since he sat down with them.
“Daniel?” Pip asked.
“Is it not to your liking, my dear?” Doku quietly asked. “I’m sorry if it doesn’t taste good. I must admit I was rather distracted thinking about Kroanette, I hope the food didn’t suffer because of that.”
“No, it’s not that,” Daniel said before holding a hand over his eyes. “Every meal you make is exceptional, Doku. It’s just even though my body is hungry my spirit is more troubled than anything.”
Looking around he saw concerned frowns coming across all the girls while Cindy finally pulled Snapper off her face now that there wasn’t much left of her head. As she slowly regenerated with Snapper mauling her chest now with hungry growls Daniel took a slow breath and forced a smile that didn’t hide his feelings at all.
“I’m sorry. I know we shouldn’t be worrying like this, it’s not helping us at all and only making us feel worse with every passing minute. Part of me is certain Kroanette will come running through those doors any moment now, that she’ll race in here and be reunited with us. Kitten may even be the one to bring her back, she’s out there looking for her right now and if anyone could find her out there at this hour it would be Kitten. But the other part of me… isn’t so certain.”
“Should we go too?” Alyssa asked. “I get could get Lucky ready to ride and-”
“We don’t know where to go,” Daniel interrupted shaking his head. “Kroanette… may not even be close to this place if we’re being honest. We could all split up, head off in different directions out there, and still likely not find a trace of her.”
“But shouldn’t we try and-” Alyssa fretted before Daniel held a hand out to silence her.
“And worse yet,” he continued. “We could lose more of our family in the night. It’s dark, it’s dangerous out there, and I don’t want any of you going out there and becoming lost like Kroanette is or worse. It’s bad enough we have to hope that she finds her way back to us tonight, I don’t want to add to that horrible feeling with more of you becoming lost out there.”
Alyssa slowly nodded and lowered her head while the girls exchanged troubled looks with one another. Daniel sighed while sitting back, feeling very clearly the growing concerns in his family yet not knowing how to quell them at all.
Cindy’s head finally reformed again as Snapper began hacking up sand to the side, the wraith’s vision focusing to see everyone having worried expressions while none were eating their meals still.
“How come nobody else is eating?” she asked before coddling Snapper close. “It’s really good. Was I not supposed to be eating now? I’m sorry if I’m being bad. It just looked so good, I couldn’t wait.”
“No, it’s fine,” Daniel assured her with a small smile. “We’re just worried about Kroanette. It’s taking away from our appetites right now. You can eat if you like, Cindy. I wish I could right now, I’m really hungry actually. I’m just so concerned about Kroanette being out there right now to eat anything.”
Cindy looked down to her meal then to Snapper as the swarm turned her smile up at the girl with a few snaps of her teeth. Slowly she brushed the youngling’s hair and held her cheek, with Snapper nuzzling against her palm with a purr and a buzz of her wings.
“She’ll be back,” she spoke up, with all eyes turning to her as she smiled gently at the child. “I know she’ll come back here. She has to.”
“Why do you say that?” Daniel wondered.
“Because she wouldn’t want to stay away,” Cindy reasoned at him. “She’ll want to come back here as soon as she can. And she won’t let anything stop her. I know she won’t.”
“How do you know that?” Specca asked.
“Because I wouldn’t let anything stop me from coming back here if I got lost out there,” Cindy answered. She set Snapper down on the table and caressed the child’s cheeks, the swarm watching her constantly with a small buzz of her wings.
“I love it here. I’m so happy. There’s great food, so much to eat, so much to taste. So many great things to taste…” She then looked around at the group with a happy smile. “And you’re all so nice. I like being here with you. I really do. I was always alone when not with my mom. I never knew what it was like having friends or even a home. I love this so much. I don’t ever want to leave.”
“You love being here with us that much?” Specca said with some amusement.
“She loves the food that much,” Clover dryly mentioned with a dull smirk.
“I love Daniel that much,” Cindy clarified
towards Daniel, not with a cheery look on her face but rather a timid smile. “You make me feel… happier than anything. I don’t know how you do it. My mom used to hold me when I was sad or confused, and it was so comfortable. But when you hold me, when you protect me… it feels different. It feels… better.”
“Cindy,” Daniel softly said.
“If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have found out what any of this was like,” Cindy continued, slowly shaking her head while the girls all listened to her curiously. “I would be alone. All alone. And I wouldn’t have even realized how sad I was then. I have Snapper now. I have lots of yummy food to eat. I have friends. And I have you, someone who really cares about me even though I was a bad monster before. I don’t want this feeling to ever stop, Daniel. I don’t ever want to go or lose you.”
Snapper looked at Cindy with a few light clicks then turned to Daniel as he remained silent from the wraith’s tender words. Cindy gently brushed Snapper’s hair then smiled gently at him with a nod of approval.
“I wouldn’t ever want to lose this. So I know Kroanette wouldn’t either. She has to love you too, so much. So she’ll be back. Nothing will keep her from coming back to you.”
“Cindy,” Daniel finally said with a growing smile. “Thank you. Thank you for saying that.”
“That’s so beautiful!” Luna sobbed as she grabbed leaves from her skirt and blew her nose.
“And here we used to think all sand wraiths were heartless monsters,” Specca mused as the girls smiled kindly at the sand wraith.
“Only Daniel would have thought to give them a chance like this,” Alyssa reasoned shaking her head. “He gave all of us a chance, and we’re so lucky he did.”
Pip quickly flew over and held onto Cindy’s chest, the tiny fairy looking up at the wraith who smiled down at her.
“You really like us that much?” Pip asked.
“Uh huh,” Cindy answered with a big nod.
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
“You’ll always stay with us?”
“Uh huh.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
“Yay!” Pip cheered as she quickly darted down into the wraith’s chest. Cindy laughed as Pip squirmed around between the mounds before she popped her head up and hopped about.
“These boobies are staying with us forever! And so is she! Yay!”
“You’re silly,” Cindy giggled before seeing Snapper crawling across the table towards Daniel. All the girls watched as the young swarm made her way over to him while keeping her eyes locked solely onto him and not all the food she passed. She hopped onto his lap and held onto his chest, her eyes and smile remaining focused on him as her wings buzzed a few times.
“Snapper,” Daniel gently said, taking the child into his arms and holding her up closer to him. The swarm cawed with a buzz of her wings, hands pawing at his vest while she tilted her head one way then another as she stared at him.
“We don’t want to leave you,” Cindy softly promised. Everyone saw the sand wraith watching Daniel with a caring expression most wouldn’t have assumed her kind would be capable of showing others.
“You make us so happy, Daniel. We don’t want to be without you. Kroanette will come back. She won’t want to be without you. Nothing will stop her from coming back to you. I’m so sure of it.”
“You’re right,” Daniel agreed turning his gaze to Snapper. “This is her home. This is her family. She’ll find her way back to us, she has to. This is where she belongs.”
Snapper clicked her teeth as Daniel brushed the swarm’s hair and gently flicked one of her antennae, getting the child to squirm about while blinking a few times before cawing at him with a wide smile.
“This is your home too, right? You’re part of our family now, aren’t you?”
Snapper screeched with a buzz of her wings as Daniel caressed her cheek then promptly chomped down on his hand. Everyone jumped and remained silent while Daniel froze with a stunned smile on his face. Snapper growled while tugging on Daniel then looked up at him with a curious gurgle as he just stared at her while holding in his voice.
“Every fucking time we try to have a moment with her,” Clover flatly said.
“That was such a nice one too,” Specca sighed.
Daniel chuckled then started laughing, with the girls watching him curiously as he slowly and carefully pulled his hand out of Snapper’s mouth then set her down on the table while petting her head.
“I think Snapper’s right,” Daniel admitted. “It’s dinner time, we should be eating and not worrying like this. Kroanette’s gotten herself lost plenty of times in the past and she always finds her way back to us. All we can do is hang onto hope that she comes back to us soon.”
“That’s true,” Alyssa agreed with a small smile. “Every time she’s gotten lost before she finds us or we find her again. She doesn’t get into trouble when wandering around out there, she just makes us worry ourselves sick about her.”
“Except for when bandits ambushed her when you guys went to Flairwood without her,” Clover recalled thoughtfully. “If I hadn’t shown up and killed them they would’ve-”
“Clover!” Specca shouted. “You’re not helping!”
Clover smiled nervously as the other girls shot her disgruntled looks, silence filling the hall again before Daniel lightly tapped his knife against his glass to get their attention.
“The point is all we can do is wait for her to return, either on her own or if Kitten finds her first. She’s going to be devastated about what happened to her home and family, that’s all we can prepare to help her deal with. There’s no sense in worrying ourselves sick over what else could go wrong here, it’s all out of our hands at the moment. We have to do the only thing we can do; stay together and wait for her to return to us.”
The girls looked to each other with troubled frowns then down while remaining silent, all of them trying to convince themselves that Kroanette would be just fine even with the odds stacked against her.
“She’ll be back,” Clover spoke up, with everyone then seeing her picking up her glass and gently swirling the drink around. “Destroyed home or not, dangerous monsters or not, I seriously doubt anything will keep that girl from returning to her family here.”
“She will,” Luna hoped looking down to her meal.
“We’ll see her soon,” Falla agreed with a slow nod.
Squeak nodded and squeaked something while looking at the empty space at the table Kroanette would normally sit at.
“My mate will return,” Daniel promised. “And when she does I’m going to teach her a lesson for running off and making us worry about her so much like this.”
“We all will,” Alyssa added with a slight smile. “She’s going to be in trouble when she gets back. Yep yep.”
“After we console her from the loss of her homeland,” Specca agreed. “Once that’s been dealt with her family will make sure she never runs off and scares us like this again.”
Daniel nodded as he thought about his missing mate, her smile and caring voice coming to mind while the size and softness of her breasts didn’t elude his thoughts completely. With a small amused smile he shook his head, knowing he had to hold off on any perverse thoughts of his dear centaur until her broken heart was mended from her great loss. After a pause he blinked then looked down to see Snapper now sitting on his plate which was completely bare of food. The swarm was smiling up at him in silence as everyone took notice of the youngling having at some point replaced Daniel’s dinner on his plate.
“You little sneak,” Daniel mused before gently petting Snapper’s head. The swarm snapped her teeth a few times while buzzing her wings before Daniel gently set her aside on the table and shook his head.
“We have plenty more, my dear,” Doku said. “I’ll fix you up another plate right away.”
“No need,” Daniel said as he stood up. “I can get it. You girls go ahead and eat, there’s no sense
in letting all this wonderful food go to waste.”
Everyone nodded and started eating, although slowly, while Daniel began making his way over to the counter in the kitchen area. As he did he took notice of his family trying their best to enjoy the meal they had while in each other’s company. Cindy especially as she resumed shoving food into her mouth with passionate murmurs. Snapper was hopping about on the table before she tried jumping onto Clover’s plate with a screech, the elf yanking it away just in time. While the girls ate and watched with some amusement from Snapper hopping around trying to reach Clover’s meal that she was holding overhead Daniel smiled a little at the sight, his gaze then slowly going over to the empty space that his centaur always sat at during their meals together.
“Hurry back, Kroanette. You may have lost one family in this world, but I promise you’ll never lose this one. We’ll always be here for you.”
*****
“Excuse me? W-What d-do you mean y-you brought them h-here?” a woman’s voice frantically stuttered.
“Just what I said. We brought them here for you,” a tiny girl replied with.
“Why? Why in Eden w-would you d-do that? I never asked s-such a thing of you!”
“But you said you needed them.”
“I never asked for y-you to bring a h-human child here! How could you do this, Vale? This- this- this is a catastrophe!”
“I don’t understand. You said you needed a human for your alchemy, we brought you one just like you wanted. I did good!”
“Huma-… no! No, Vale! I sp-specifically said I needed huntan seeds! Huntan! Not a h-human! And I certainly never asked for you to b-bring me children of any r-race here, and yet you brought th-three!”
“You didn’t specifically say that,” Vale dryly retorted. “You stutter and slur your words so much. It’s hard to understand you most of the time.”
“I’m st-stuttering because I’m in a p-panic, Vale! Oh dear, oh no, oh my. This is h-horrible! How could you e-e-even think that I w-wanted you to bring these ch-children here in the first p-place?”
Chronicles of Eden - Act XI Page 10