Thursday Bangers 12/25
You know what? I wrote one more. And it got ever so slightly out of hand. Oh well.
Many thanks to @woundedsoul12 as always for supplying us with excuses to indulge <3
Rules: Free form a blurb or drawing based on the weekly lyrics prompt. It doesn't have to include the prompt just whatever you're inspired to write, write it! Then tag some friends so they can play as well. It doesn't have to be finished on Thursday, just post it whenever you can (you have a whole week between Thursdays!)
This week's banger is (once more):
I just want you for my own More than you could ever know ~ All I Want for Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey
~1.6k words of Lucatris fluff because I guess I am suddenly writing again and it's all tooth-rotting like the holiday cake.
Everything was perfectly normal. Normal and fine. Or at least Alectris kept on telling herself that as she caught herself staring blankly at the armoury door for the third time in what must have been less than ten minutes.
The sword in her hands had already been in pristine condition before she sat down to sharpen it yet again, but as the smell of gingerbread and holiday spices filled the air she needed a distraction. Lucanis did mention he wanted to try out this Ventus recipe Neve had been talking about before Solstice rolled in.
Nobody warned her it would smell divine.
Even worse so, nobody warned her it would make her want to sit in the kitchen and watch Lucanis cook. Because of course it was just about the gingerbread. The cook himself had nothing to do with it. Nothing at all.
A lie so bad even she didn't believe it.
But, if she only could make herself sit tight and focus elsewhere it would all pass and everything would get back to normal. It was simply some silly infatuation, something she'd managed to dodge through both her Circle and military years, and it would just resolve itself. She just had to play it cool. Friends were too precious to lose over fleeting trivialities.
She nearly managed to convince herself. Nearly.
With insistence worthy of a better cause and an annoyed whine, Kios bumped his head into her thigh, the sword nearly slipping out of her hands as he dragged her back to the reality. He'd been circling the armoury for a while now, pawing at the door and looking expectantly in her direction before coming back and trying to get her attention.
Perhaps he had his own opinions on the gingerbread. Most possibly involving eating as much of it as he could.
"He's busy." Alectris grumbled, forcing her focus back to the blade in her hands. Kios turned his head to the side and stomped on the ground with a huff. He was absolutely not buying any of it. Heavy paw hit her knee, then again and again. When no reaction followed the mabari spun in place, yawned and then forced his head into her lap, completely ignoring the sword she'd been working on.
"You'll get hurt one day if you keep doing that." she huffed in response, setting the blade aside. Who could know where Kios had learned to be that stubborn and inconsiderate of sharp objects. A mystery for the ages. For a few moments it appeared that the mabari would be satisfied with the head scratches, but soon the toe-tapping dance had resumed and Alectris had run out of excuses.
"Fine. Fine, we'll go and see if he needs any help." Kios was half way through the room before she finished the sentence, tail wagging enthusiastically. "You can't eat what he's baking though."
A happy bark was her only response.
She should have known it was a horrible idea. Of course that Maker damned Dellamorte would go all out for Solstice, even if it was just a trial run and the actual thing was still nearly a month away. And yet.
The hearth burnt high, there's inexplicably been a bunch of fir branches hanging around the walls, some of them with dried lemon and orange slices hanging from them. What was an enticing smell in Alectris' room across the courtyard here was nearly overwhelming—spices and wine and something sweet she couldn't quite place, hit her like a war hammer to the stomach.
The kitchen looked worse than half of battlefields she'd been on. The massive table in the middle was barely visible beneath dirty bowls, half finished dishes and unopened packs. The kitchen counter fared only slightly better, with a tiny, flour-covered square free of various ingredients.
Lucanis turned to her freezing for a second mid-motion, some type of sauce dripping from the spoon he was holding. He appeared slightly surprised as if caught doing something he shouldn't, even if kitchen was by popular vote his private kingdom within the Lighthouse.
His sleeves were rolled up high, a nice dark apron that Rook got for him in Minrathous a couple weeks prior carried many war-scars already. Something sizzled loudly in one of the pans and the Crow returned his full attention back to his cooking.
She didn't know it was even possible to fit that many pots on the fire at the same time.
"You good?" Alectris managed unintelligently, stepping further in and closing the door behind her back. Kios trotted confidently ahead his nose up high taking in all the smells as he began sniffing at the edge of the overflowing table.
"Ah, yes. All under control." he replied without turning, simultaneously attempting to stir something in one of the pots, check what is happening in another and reaching for one of the many spice jars standing on the side. Somehow he was successful in all three.
It seemed awfully unfair to be honest. Nobody should be that smooth while cooking.
"No. I see what you're doing." Alectris clicked her tongue, but before Lucanis had an opportunity to ask what objections she had to adding more saffron to paella and annoyed tapping made it clear who the comment was addressed. Lucanis cleared his throat instinctively suddenly embarrassed at the realization he was sure she was talking to him.
"I told you, you're not allowed to eat what Lucanis cooks." there was absolutely no fire behind her words, that was immediately obvious, but Kios followed it up with a loud huff and an offended groan. "Well, unless this honeyed ham has been made per order." she added, glancing at Lucanis with a glint in her eye as he hurried around the table to lift the roast and placed it on a higher shelf.
"You might want to rethink that." Alectris leaned on the table arms crossed as Kios resumed his careful inspection. "I believe Assan has much worse manners and might be able to fly up there unlike some mabari I won't name."
Before Lucanis had an opportunity to reconsider one of the dishes boiled over, lid clacking violently over foaming liquid. She didn't quite catch most of the litany that escaped his mouth at the sight, catching only a couple familiar words like "mierda" and "hacedor" but not enough to make out the exact message.
The intent was quite clear, however.
Flicking Kios ear on her way and preventing him from dragging another platter to the ground she joined in the fight. It was only a matter of time before everyone else would come in too, lured in with the smells, and Alectris was not sure if he was ready for that kind of chaos.
By the time Lucanis was done putting out proverbial fires and saving half of his hard work from being anything but perfect, most of the table was already cleared out and from the corner of his eye he caught Alectris disappearing into the pantry.
It may have taken a bit longer than he expected.
"You got that thing in line?" Alectris asked, her chin pointing vaguely towards the kitchen, wiping her hands on her pants as she got back out. "I moved some crates around on the shelves to make space. I hope you don't mind."
She'd made no comment about an embarrassing amount of coffee cups in various stages of emptiness stacked on the crate acting as his bedside table. A small mercy.
"Thank you, Tris." As usual she didn't ask for permission to help. Maybe for a bit of forgiveness for messing around his space. A casual courtesy, a baseline consideration she'd afford to anyone, and yet it made something heavy settle into his stomach.
"Don't mention it." she shrugged, pulling an empty chair out from under the table with her foot before sitting down. "You know it's a month till Solstice right? All this seems… excessive, you know?"
"Ah. I must disagree. A month is barely enough if I want to make it just right." Lucanis saved himself by turning back towards the kitchen top and busying his hands with cleaning up and rearranging the spices that got misplaced in the work.
"We're lucky you and Bellara are cooking in the first place." Alectris continued, clearly snacking on something she just snatched from the table, obviously ignoring the irony of forbidding Kios from doing the same. "We don't need a twelve course Solstice feast. You know, considering the end of the world and all that other stuff that's happening."
"Considering the end of the world we might want to enjoy what we get."
Alectris laughed, unexpected and honest, not a scoff or a chuckle, that she usually did. It did something weird to his throat for a moment. It passed quickly, thank the Maker.
"Not sure if it's supposed to be awfully depressing or optimistic." Alectris ripped off a piece of a gingerbread man and shoved it into her mouth. "I'll have to think on this one a bit."
Lucanis noticed a fleeting frown that passed through her face when she noticed that the ginger cakes were actually filled with jam. Her favourite ones. But before she could decide whether to ask him about it or not, Lucanis headed towards the pantry himself.
"Actually I was working on beet cakes for Assan. To get vegetables into him." he said as he passed by next to her. He smelled like citrus and cinnamon. "Maybe we could try them out with Kios first."
Alectris watched him go, happy he could not see her face because she must have looked ridiculous. The stupid tight knot in her stomach came back with all the force and she had to force herself from staring dumbly at where he disappeared.
She brushed her hair with her fingers and focused on Kios who sat down next to her panting, his tail wagging expectantly.
"Looks like someone is spoiling you silly. Be careful, or you'll get used to it."
Whether it was a warning for her or her mabari was still up for debate.
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