China Town districts have always been a place full of noise, sound, and food. Usually, I can find anything I need for a fair price in a China Town, and the people are nice… if you can speak pigeon-Chinese. Most of the people here had learned a bit of English, and some of us English speakers manage to make some noises that sound like Chinese. The China Town here in Bangkok is also nice, but it also has a lot of Thai speakers, and, and while I can understand some Chinese, Thai is what I consider a drunk man's language. Lily loves it, but that's because the language is just as air headed as she is.
And therein lies the reason why I was angering a Thai proprietor in his shop after trying to pronounce a word on the menu that I didn't quite understand.
"It sounds exactly the same!" I complained with my head in my hands.
"No! No! Not same, is not same! Tuh mai cao chai, khap! It like this."
He said it again, and I followed suit, but, for reasons unknown to me, I somehow butchered it for the umpteenth time. I sighed as he patiently walked me through the word yet again, and I told him that I would figure it out later. I pointed to it on the menu, and he understood well enough. He seemed relieved and tired all at once, so he bowed to me and said, "Khap. Khap kun khap, Kun Mag. Your tea be here less than five minute."
He walked off to make the world famous Cha Nom Yen, a Thai milk tea that was supposed to be heaven in this unearthly hot climate. I couldn't stand the humidity here, but I didn't have much of a choice. The closest Exorcist team had been in Beijing while I was in Jakarta with my family. We'd decided to meet in the middle in Thailand.
The boat ride had been hell. The traffic had been hell. The heat was still hell. I was half convinced I'd walked straight into Hell. I wouldn't be surprised.
Of course, my motive for being in a country that was trying to melt me was purely Vatican. I am an Exorcist, if not a very good one. I destroy Akuma, which are basically robotic zombie-demons with guns attached. They come in different sizes and shapes after Level One, as well as become more powerful. By that point, I'd have booked it to the nearest safe space available to wait out the battle. I freely admit my ineptitude, but I can't speak only for myself. Of course, this was my reason for being here.
Over the past six months, somehow my family bonded to Innocence crystals - every last stinking one of them. I thought I was going to have to hang myself. As if I didn't worry enough about my family as it was, I had to figure out how to deal with them all having supernatural weapons and fighting creatures that could easily turn them into dust, quite literally. I was getting cold sweats just thinking about it.
I put my head down on the cold surface of the table and groaned. I was here to negotiate terms upon how to put my siblings up for apprenticeships under various Exorcists. The Generals were all overburdened at the moment, having already lost two of their number. Kevin Yeegar had died earlier this year, and Cross Marian had also disappeared off the face of the earth. No one was quite sure where he was, and I couldn't say that I felt sorry for him. Rumor had it he committed suicide, but I wasn't one to jump to conclusions until I saw everything for my own eyes. We were being assigned to senior Exorcists who weren't Generals but still competent enough to actually receive students. All of them had been chosen carefully- or so Komui told me. I had the distinct feeling he may have picked them all out of a hat.
I looked around. The negotiators they'd sent me hadn't exactly been described to me in so many words. They'd said I would 'know them when I saw them.' I wasn't quite sure what this meant, but I had to trust their judgment. My eyes scanned the small tea shop, wondering what I was going to do now. I felt exposed in such a small space. There were mirrors everywhere. According to Lily, the mirrors were for reflecting fortune all over the shop. The Asians were big into fortune and luck. If it worked was anyone's guess. I saw my reflection in the mirror on a pillar not far from me.
My hair was frizzy and wavy in the heat, and it poof-ed in a halo of dark brown. My eyes had dark smudges from nights of throwing up (I hadn't listened to Lily when she said not to drink the water). My irises were two smears of orange-brown, and the light didn't do my pale skin color any good. I slammed my forehead back into the table again. I looked awful. I hated this meeting. I hated that any of my family were Exorcists in the least way, shape, or form. I hated the Innocence crystals because most of what I brought home ended up turning them into Accommodators.
I thought the year I turned fifteen had been the worst of my life. I think I might be wrong.
Seeing the man with my tea, I stood up automatically to take it from him. Being myself, I ended up smashing into someone first, and the tea the server had been carrying splattered everywhere on to my black uniform. I let out a surprised shout, and my server put the tea down and got some napkins. The only thing I noticed about the person I'd smacked into was the fact they had a long ponytail and a solid torso.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you! Here, let me help you, Miss-" I stumbled hastily in English before realizing that this person probably didn't speak English. I took a couple of napkins to clean the jacket off. They flinched a bit, but I didn't notice considering my own sisters and brothers did the same thing. As I helped her clean off her black jacket, I suddenly came across the Rose Cross over the left side of her jacket, and I immediately looked up.
I shrunk to the size of a pinhead.
They were tall, dark, and male. Whoever he was didn't look happy at being mistaken for a woman.
"-ter. Mister, uh, I should just-" I thought he was steaming up enough to cook dim sum. I gulped and sat down. I leaned by face into my hand, and I said in English, "I am so sorry. I, uh, I didn't get a good look at you. I automatically thought-" I took the new tea my server had brought and sucked it down so that I didn't say any thing that could possibly lead to my decapitation.
"Mm," was all he offered in response, sliding into my booth across from me, the heat radiating off of him almost cooking me. He was really, really pissed. Then again, I don't think I'd be all that happy if someone mistook me for a man. Which some people did, when it was from the back and my hair was short on a dark, foggy night…
"Eh, Yuu-chan! You found her!" Suddenly, a person-shaped blob of red, green, and black scooted into the booth next to the Japanese man and squished him against the far wall. Yuu shoved him back for good measure and growled in near-perfect English, "Don't call me that, baka usagi."
I snorted a bit, nearly sucking tea into my nose. What a fond nickname.
The other Exorcist was a redhead with an eye patch and a green headband holding back his hair. He had a green eye and looked like the type that joked around a lot. He and my sister Violet would've had a riot together, but chances were I'd never let her near him. One rabble rouser was enough for me. Two was just asking for a disaster. My twins and Violet were a volatile enough combination as it was. He looked nice enough, though, and that was a plus. It weighed out the fact that the other guy was still simmering like a pot left on too long.
A server came up to them, and asked them what they wanted in both English and Thai. The redheaded man answered in perfect Thai, and the Japanese man merely pointed to the menu. The server nodded and whipped away to get the drinks. I sighed and looked up at both of them. They were an odd pair, and I suddenly realized what the Order had meant when they said I would 'know them when I saw them.' These guys stuck out a mile in a country of dark skinned brunettes. The Japanese guy was pale as the moon, and his hair was blue-black, while his companion would've fit in if he were in Ireland.
"Ah, you must be Magnolia!" the redhead assumed cheerfully. He stuck out his hand over the table and said, "I'm Lavi, Junior Bookman."
I shook his hand.
"You can, uh, just call me Mag. Magnolia sounds… stuffy," I said. I hated people calling me by my whole name. I don't know what gave my mother the idea to name me after a flower. Of course, all of my sisters are named after flowers…
"You shouldn't have told him that," the Japanese man said with a deep sigh. He leaned back in the booth and stared off over my head, looking bored and suspicious all at once. I wasn't surprised. Even Lavi looked a bit on guard. Any good Exorcist was always prepared. There was a reason why I was as tense as a wire all the time. I had had to beat it into Violet and Lily that anyone anywhere could fire on you, but it had taken a few close misses for them to really get the message.
"Awww, don't be such a downer, Kanda," Lavi said with a playful pout. Their tea came, and they left it untouched for the moment. I felt sweat drip down the middle of my back. That was a bad sign. This meant they actually wanted to talk to me. I wasn't a bad speaker, but men made me nervous and for good reason. Even here in broad daylight, I had to marshal my stomach and ignore the knots it made. I usually paid good attention my gut instinct, but it was about as useless as a dead chicken in a bar fight when I was around people of the male persuasion.
"Anyways, you know what we came here to talk about, right?" Lavi asked. He raised one red, expectant eyebrow. I chewed my bottom lip and started to rip small tears into the napkin in front of me.
It's probably important to note that the napkin is made of cloth. Not paper.
"Yeah. Yeah I do," I said, trying to keep my voice fairly level and failing miserably. It squeaked a bit, and I felt like kicking myself in the head. Lavi smiled sympathetically, and Kanda had a magnificent poker face. I attempted not to look so nervous, but that probably made it worse because Lavi took my hands to stop me from shredding any more of the restaurant's napkins.
"I know you're nervous, but if we don't find someone who can teach them, eventually they're going to come up against something they won't know how to fight," Lavi said, and I believed him. I just didn't like the idea of any of my family being farther than I could see them. Hell, I was getting cramps right now! Curse me and my anxiety…
Though I bet my family was having a ball without me. They usually did.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Just… just tell me what I've got to do, and I'll do it," I said after a slight break. Lavi put on a winning smile and said, "All righty then! See, not so hard, right?"
I blinked and let my mouth flop like a fish on a deck.
"W-wait, what?"
Lavi tapped the table with his fingers and said, "All you had to do was give us permission. We've got the teachers picked out for all of them. Their Innocence should match up with their teachers so it's easiest for them. We would've put you with General Klaud, but she's already got a student at the moment who's a bit of a handful."
At this, Kanda seemed to snort, and Lavi snickered. I suddenly felt sorry for General Nyne, but it wasn't for long. She was a tough cookie, by all accounts.
"We're just here to run things by you and see if you can make any matches that are better. You've been teaching them, haven't you?" I groaned a bit. I had, but I didn't know much myself. It was the blind leading the blind around here, though we both somehow managed to survive for an entire year without too many mishaps.
Though, I still felt sorry for accidentally whipping my brother Erastus in the crotch. He'd spoken like a mouse for an entire week.
Lavi chuckled and said, "Well, here's the line-up. Seeing as you're a whip wielder, as well as an element wielder, you have two teachers. You have me, and you have Yuu-chan here."
"Don't call me that!"
"Ah, come on, you know you love it! Anyways, your sister Lily is with Kanda's old teammate, Noise Marie. He's also a sound type wielder," he explained. I nodded. He handed me a couple of folders, and I flipped through them as he continued to speak.
"The twins Erastus and Sebastian are two interesting cases, so we weren't very sure who to put them with. I've never seen two people with gas type Innocence before…" Lavi said, scratching his chin and thoughtfully staring at the ceiling.
Kanda finished for him.
"We stuck them with Allen Walker because of their gender and age. You'd better pray for them." I almost laughed out loud as I considered my twin brothers.
Their Innocence pieces were strange. They took the form of two swinging incense burners that let loose different types of smoke and gas with different effects. Mostly, they were soporifics that made the Akuma incredibly drowsy, but it was best that they not fight with Equipment users because the only people immune to the effects were Parasitic types and themselves, so that was a good match.
"Yeah, tell me about it. Unfortunately, they managed to figure out a diversion tactic they call the 'Nose Melter.' It's a stink bomb, and I will be glad to have them gone, for once," I said with a nervous chuckle. Okay, I wouldn't be happy, but at least I didn't have to hold my nose every time I went into their room. They made a big enough stink as it was without any help. I flipped through Allen's dossier. I'd heard of him, and I'd worked with him only once on a mission in Germany. He wasn't exactly the twins' type, but I figured they'd get along.
"The next on the list is Violet. She'll be with Lenalee. Allen's and Lenalee's group will be put together for safety reasons considering their age," Lavi explained. I nodded, half an ear out for what he was saying as I flipped through Lenalee Lee's file. I'd already heard enough about her from Komui chirping in my ear, so I didn't see a lot that I didn't already know.
"And finally, Ava," Lavi said cheerfully, and I felt my heart slowly rip itself in half.
Ava was only four years old. She was selectively mute. Ever since a fire burned down our original house, she'd never uttered a word, and fire scared the bejesus out of her. If I lit candles, she'd never move from the spot she was sitting at, and so far no one could figure out how to get her to talk. I never lit fires, even in winter. They scared her enough that she wouldn't eat or sleep. It pained me that she'd somehow manage to mistake Innocence for candy after I'd let her take a look at it.
She'd ended up half-dragon, or something like it. She burps fire, sprouts wings, and enjoys ripping up furniture. My property damages bill forever skyrocketed after Ava went Grendel on me.
"We've paired her up with Aleister Krowley-" My eye twitched as I looked up and lurched forwards over the table.
"The vampire?"
I think the dogs across the street howled as my voice entered the region of hearing no human should be able to achieve.
Lavi tried to calm me, waving his hands in front of him in a 'calm down' motion.
"H-he's perfectly harmless, I promise! He looks scary, and I know he doesn't have a good reputation, but if there aren't Akuma around, he's an angel! Really! Kuro-chan wouldn't hurt a fly," Lavi assured me. I felt my eye twitch, and I put a finger over the lid. Sleepless nights and anxiety were getting to me. Being a translator and an Exorcist had its downsides. One of them being that endangering my health was an occupational hazard. The other being that I begin muttering to myself in a myriad of different languages, and most people begin to think I'm a little crazy.
Lavi added, "Because Ava's so young, Krow-chan is paired up with Noise Marie and Lily." That made me feel a bit better. Noise looked like he was competent, and Lily knew most of Ava's ins and outs well enough to take care of her without me.
"Okay. Is there anything else I need to know?" I asked, my voice sounding weary and threadbare even to me. I wasn't cut out for this type of work. I really wasn't. What was with God and his weird sense of humor that he sent a child to do a soldier's job?
"MAAAAGGIIIE!"
I ducked, scrunching my face up into a sheepish grimace. I'd know that voice anywhere. She had either followed me, asked around, or decided she was fed up with the family.
With a slow turn of the head that could rival a rusty hinge, I looked behind me to see a girl with short, short hair sticking up in tufts in the heat. Her namesake purple eyes stood out a mile in the tea shop full of Asians, and her angled face was set in an expression of careless annoyance. She cast her eyes around and found me, her eyes lighting up. She trotted over like an excited puppy, a smile splitting her face in half. She tackled me in a hug, her arms around my neck, and squealed, "MAGGIE! Oh my gosh, I was so bored. You won't believe what Erastus and Sebastian did! They-… Who're these two? And is that a girl or a guy? I can never tell with Asians."
I swore that if Vi didn't shut up soon, Kanda was going to have a stroke because the vein in his forehead was beginning to look like a balloon. Lavi snickered- well, until Violet asked, "And what's with the pirate?"
Lavi blinked, and frowned.
"Uh, I'm actually-"
Violet went on as if she hadn't even heard him.
"Anyways, the twins destroyed your room. They were playing with the Censers, and they ended up smoking it out with the Nose Melter," Violet said gleefully, as if she were telling me something that was supposed to be fantastic news. Of course, it was fantastic news for her because she loved seeing me 'discipline' the twins, but I was less than peachy keen.
I smacked my forehead into the table.
"They didn't get Tipsy, did they? Or Mr. Fluffins?" I asked.
Kanda made a sound between a snicker and a snort, and Lavi didn't even bother hiding a guffaw. My sister Lily named the cat Mr. Fluffins. It wasn't my doing!
"Er, well… they sort of did. And Parley isn't very happy either. He keeps threatening the twins with castration because it stinks so bad," Violet giggled. I shot her a nasty look as English speakers turned to look at her, and Violet disregarded everything.
Violet is basically impervious to the opinions of the people around her. Violet believes she is ten foot tall and bulletproof. She also has a mouth only a sailor could love, and that just barely. The things that come out of her mouth are the stuff of old biddies' nightmares. She's as scandalous as scandalous could get.
It was nothing new to me. Her father was an American, after all.
"I get the picture, Violet. Now, if you don't shut up I'm going to go and get my sewing kit, hold you down, and stitch your mouth shut," I said in a honey-sweet voice. Violet's smile suddenly turned into plaster, and she put up a finger.
"I'm, uh, just going to leave now. Nice meeting you, Madam and Monsier!" They just stared at her, and, worst of all, she waved. After that, she left with nary a hair out of place, leaving a dumb silence behind her as everyone watched her leave.
"Okay, two questions; who was that and who is Mr. Fluffins, Tipsy, and Parley?" Lavi finally managed to choke out without becoming incomprehensible due to an overload of laughter.
I gave him a dry look and answered, "That was my sister, Violet. Mr. Fluffins is Lily's cat, Tipsy is the twins' dog, and Parley is Ava's parrot who has a very lengthy and rather inappropriate vocabulary. Now, if you don't mind, I think I'm going to clean out my room before the smell sinks into everything."
"Krawk, I'm gonna have yer balls, kraaawk!"
"Parlay, why don't you stick a cork in it?"
Erastus was busy beating a rug that had belonged to the hotel. I say had because it stank so bad that they would be force to sell it before the hotel inspector made his usual visit. It let out coughs of dust and green clouds of gas as he beat it with a tennis racket he'd found. His brother Sebastian was joining in with equal fervor, and they kicked up a good head of green cloud. I coughed into my elbow, waving away the acrid smell. Even the clean air from the balcony didn't do much.
"I don't understand what gave you the yen to suddenly fling the Censers around in an enclosed space. The last time you did that, I had to drag your unconscious asses out of a collapsing building because the smell was so bad," I coughed. My hand was not nearly up to the job of waving away this stench.
Erastus fixed that by taking his Censer and swinging it around in a quick circle, the censer and chain becoming a blur as the smoke was drawn back inside the bulb of the censer. It was an ornate thing, and you wouldn't have thought such a foul reek could be emitted from something so pretty. The smoke and most of the smell faded, but there was still a ghost of an odor clinging to the rug.
I held up a shirt I'd gotten from the market two days ago, and the stench wafted off it in waves as I shook it out. I sighed and threw it in an ever growing pile of my clothes. It was completely trashed. It was never going to smell the same way ever again.
"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Erastus said.
"Yeah, I mean, it was fun until Censer flew into your bedroom. We sorta lost control over it," Sebastian said sheepishly, hitting the rug again for good measure. It coughed up another wheezing cloud of green, and Lily walked in. Her eyes grew wide, she covered her nose, and immediately left. My shoulders sagged as she fled. Most of the room was cleaned, thanks to Censer's ability to recall some of the stink. That didn't mean that there wasn't a fair amount of nastiness left. We were being threatened with ejection from the hotel doors if we didn't clean it all up before the day went out. The front desk was already getting complaints from the surrounding rooms.
"I bet you lost control. I don't think I'll ever be able to smell things normally for the rest of my life," I groaned as I picked up my favorite pair of pants. I sniffed them experimentally, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a guy on his garden balcony giving me a funny look. I dropped my pants and started to wave my hands at him.
"N-no, no, no, that's not what-" He hastily went inside and closed his doors, and I could only sigh. The twins were snickering to themselves, and I felt my eye twitch for the second time that day. My whip uncurled itself from my belt. Each yelped as they received a single smack to the butt.
I whistled innocently as they glared at me. My whip was a comforting weight against my hip as I picked up another garment to sniff and judge. At the moment, it looked like the pile of clothes I was going to have to dump was winning the contest for size. I flopped into my pile of good clothes, which was pitifully tiny in comparison.
Suddenly, the phone rang, and the twins looked up expectantly, Pavlov's theories apparent as they just about bolted for the phone. However, Violet got to it first, her girl's intuition probably alerting her to the phone before it even began to ring.
"Hello?" she sing-songed into the phone. There was a voice on the other end, and she suddenly asked, "Um, are we asking for the right girl? I mean, I think Mag's at a gynecologist right now. She's got that hysteria, you know?"
I worked my way towards the telephone, Lily dying of laughter on the floor in the kitchenette as I fumed silently. I snatched the phone away from Violet and barked, "Hello?"
"Eh? Magnolia, is that you?"
I blinked several times, and Violet mouthed to Lily 'beau' and winked exaggeratedly. I made a cutting motion across my throat, and that only made the both of them giggle even more.
"Yeah, it is. Could you hang on a minute?"
Five minutes, several screams, and a stuffing-in-the-closet later, I was back on the phone.
"Yes?" I asked sweetly, leaning against the table. I heard several protests and beatings against the closet door, so I kicked it.
"Uh, well, Allen had an idea. He's here with me, and he wants to talk, sooo…" There was the crinkle of a phone line being moved as the phone was handed to another person.
"Hello? Miss Magnolia, are you there?"
The voice was a high, fluting tenor. It was slightly deeper than I remembered it nearly a year ago, but it was still recognizable. It made me absurdly happy to hear a former teammate. It was always good to know that a fellow Exorcist was still alive because our life spans were usually so short. It made me feel a little less alone, despite my family's involvement with the Order.
"Yeah, it's me. Hey there, Allen, you sound good," I said, and I automatically had the urge to kick myself. For all of my abilities with languages, I didn't know how to untie my tongue whenever I was talking on the phone.
"I'm fine, thank you. Glad to hear you're doing good as well," he answered, "I was just wondering if we could meet your family. Most of us are here already in Bangkok. Do you guys have anywhere in mind?"
I thought about it. It was a good idea. None of my family had been away from me for so long. In fact, none of them had ever been away from each other for very long. This would probably be a good way to ease them into it.
"Mag!"
I turned to look in the direction of the stage whisper. Violet had managed to open the closet door, and her head was sticking out with Lily's right over hers.
I gave her a wide-eyed, 'get-back-in-there' type stare, but, as impervious to stares, glares, and the like, she continued on.
"Who is it? Did he ask you on a date?" Violet stage whispered, and Lily giggled madly. I was tempted to close the door on both of their heads, but hospital bills were costly, and I'd rather not have to deal with two complaining siblings.
"Uh, no, not really. What did you have in mind?" I asked. There was a pause, and the sound of muffled talking as Allen and Lavi mumbled to one another. Finally, they seemed to reach a conclusion, and they both said into the phone, "What about Phuket?"
Phuket is a large island to the south of Siam, and it was famous for hospitality, limestone caverns, and all types of strange things. It wasn't too heavily populated, and I've heard the people were nice. There were also hotels on the island, so we didn't have to camp out anywhere. There were a lot of beaches, and they were famous for their food. It sounded like a good idea, but I didn't know if we could take off a couple of days just for an icebreaker.
"Are you sure? I mean, what about the Akuma? And the Innocence retrievals…" I trailed off, letting the rest of the idea sink in.
There was a slight pause as they digested the information, and Lavi answered, "Well, see, we don't have to worry about that too much. There are plenty of Exorcists from Asia taking care of infestations, and besides, we're a bit of nuisance to them as it is because we aren't used to the environment and the language."
I nodded in agreement emphatically. I'd experienced that all too well. I preferred dry, cold Europe any day than this miserable, wet heat. The garbled speech they called language was also enough to give me a hammer to the head as well.
"Well… I don't see anything wrong, so… ," I said hesitantly. I wasn't exactly what you'd call a fun person. I was a workaholic, and even I admit that. I'm so ingrained in work that things other people consider 'fun' seem foreign to me.
From the closet, Lily and Violet were nodding so much, they looked like a pair of bobble heads. I rolled my eyes at them, turning away from them to show that I wasn't listening to them at the moment. I could almost feel Violet's pout and Lily's downtrodden look.
"Fantastic! We'll meet you tomorrow at your hotel! Is that all right?" Lavi asked.
Allen said, "Be sure to bring lots of sunscreen or a parasol. It gets really sunny on the island, when it isn't raining."
Great. If there's one thing I hate worse than being completely drenched, it's getting sunburn. Asia didn't exactly suit me. I loved the culture enough, and my mind was completely agog at everything, but my body wasn't too pleased with the climate or the food. I spend most of my time hugging the toilet.
"Yeah, sure. What time?" I asked with a distracted look as I eyed the twins having another fight with their Censers. I glared at them as Erastus caught my eye, and I made a chopping action across my neck. They shrugged and quit, but they started to hit each other with their respective Innocence again. I could only slap my forehead and groan. This was, no doubt, how our room ended up smelling like a cesspool.
"We'll pick you up around eight. How does that sound? Good enough?"
I nodded in agreement before saying, "Yeah, that sounds good. I'll just round everybody up and we'll pack."
There was a pause and a line of chatter over the phones before Lavi asked, "Do you want us to come to your hotel room, or do you want us to wait in the lobby?"
Looking at the hotel room, I could almost see the stench wafting off everything. Though I'd gotten used to the smell, as well as Violet and Lily, I think the rest of the Exorcists would have a hard time keeping breakfast where it belonged if they came up here.
"Uh, the lobby's fine. Really, just... we'll meet you there." I thought I heard snickering on the other end of the line, and I looked up to see that Erastus and Sebastian were listening on the other phone. I threw my shoe at them, and it managed to bounce off one twin's head and hit the other on the rebound. The two whined loudly before putting the handset down, but not before the others on the end of the line heard.
"This is about your brothers gassing your room, isn't it?" I sighed and looked at the handset in my hand. I slammed it down on the cradle. Hopefully, he heard that. If he was wearing a patch over his ear as well as his eye the next time we met, I wouldn't be surprised at all. I'd done worse to a man over the phone. Sighing heavily, I turned around to face the girls crawling out of the closet.
"Go and get your brothers before I strangle them with the phone cord. We leave tomorrow at eight. Bring your swimsuits and your sunscreen, because we're going to Phuket."
The two of them screamed giddily, and I think I my eardrums came dangerously close to busting inwards and causing brain damage. Sighing, I muttered, "God, you don't have to act so disappointed." I smiled at their enthusiasm, and I wandered off the salvage the rest of my clothes.
"Don't forget to keep the dog off the bed. I know how much you love to keep Tipsy with you in the middle of the night," I said as I pushed Vi's bangs away from her forehead. The fifteen-year-old rolled her eyes and groaned, "All right, Mom, I'll keep Tip off the bed."
Said dog was currently wagging his shaggy little behind off. Tip is a cross between a Great Dane and a Bernard. The only reason why I named him Tipsy is because when I happen to start tippling, so does he. He whined at me and nudged my knee with his giant, wet, clay ball of a nose, turning his brown eyes at me with a pleading look. I glared at him, and he circled around the bottom of the bed a few times before he got the idea that he was not going to sleep here. He settled at the foot of the bed, shaggy fur rug that he was, and I stood up.
"We're leaving early tomorrow, remember?" I said. Vi nodded sleepily before reaching over to the light and dimming it. I rubbed Tipsy's head, and he pressed against my hand eagerly. I smiled tiredly, and I closed the door behind me. Sure enough, the minute I left, I could hear bedsprings creak as Tipsy clambered up on Vi's bed like he does every night.
I wandered over to the twin's room. They were both collapsed on the bed in their customary fashion, one on top of the other in sprawled positions as if someone had thrown them there like rag dolls. Their blondish-brown mess of hair was set in disarray, and one of them had his mouth wide open. The other emitted a loud snore, and one of them farted, I don't know which. I rolled my eyes and closed the door before any more boy-stench could ferment this place.
Lily's room was next, and, as per usual, she was sleeping with her cat. Parlay's cage was covered, and the black and white cat was sleeping in the curve behind Lily's perfect knees. Her black hair was strewn out on the pillow, and her Spanish heritage showed in the thick set of her face as well as her sallow skin. Her hands were curled up around a Catholic style crucifix and a flute. I felt a sense of calm settle on me as I watched her sleep. Ava usually slept with Lily, but tonight she was in the kitchen downing a glass of milk. It took us several minutes of 'hand language' for her to tell me what she wanted, but she managed. I already heard the patter of soft feet behind me before I felt the weight of her body hug my leg. I looked down at her and her little, curly pig tails, big green eyes imploring me as she lifted her hands and made grabbing motions.
"Ugh... Ava, you're too old for this, remember? I'm going to end up a hunchback if I do this every night," I said to her. She continued with the little grabby motions before I finally consented and lifted her up. She hugged my neck, and I kissed the top of her head. She was wearing a little night dress that I'd worn myself when I was her age. Vi and Lily had worn it too. Most of the things that we owned were passed down, child to child. Even the boys' clothing were passed from me or Lily. It was a sad fact that I still didn't have enough money to pay for all of them, but we managed most days. I was steadily building up a good sized account in the bank, and they were starting to get new things.
"Come on. Let's put you in bed, all right?" I cooed to her and quietly walked over to Lily's bed. I placed Ava gently next to Lily, and Ava took her usual position, with her arms around Lily's neck and her face snuggled into her shoulder. The parrot nearly squawked something, but a stare that could fry chicken shut him up. Ava had found him in Paraguay, and she'd been attached to him ever since. He knew a variety of curse words as well as inappropriate phrases that I'm guessing came from Violet, because I have no idea where else he could've learned all of that nasty dialogue. I closed the door behind me with a quiet snick, one last look showing the peaceful faces of two of my siblings.
I slowly trudged to my bedroom, and I stopped in front of my bedroom door. My hand strayed to the watch in my pocket. I pulled it out, reading the time as nearly midnight. This wasn't anything new. In fact, I was going to bed pretty early by my count. I was an insatiable insomniac with a habit of puttering around at night, especially in places like Asia where the heat was sure to keep you awake. My eyes glued themselves to the picture inside of the pocketwatch of myself, Lily, Erastus, and Sebastian. My mother stood behind me, and behind Erastus was...
I didn't let my mind stray too far on that subject as I closed the watch with a soft sound. I bit my lip as I stared at the floor, and then I pressed on into my room. This was a memory for a completely different time when I wasn't likely to use a bottle of liquor as my method of rumination. I'd sworn off strong spirits, but every now and again I collapsed a bit. No one blamed me for it... well, no one but myself. And maybe Violet. Definitely Violet.
I sighed as I collapsed on my bed, fully dressed. Nothing like a day in the life of an Exorcist. My thoughts drifted around in my head, and I sniffled. Suddenly, I realized that I was crying for no apparent reason, and I buried my face into my pillow. Some days, I didn't know what was wrong with me. Other days, I knew what it was, but I didn't want to admit it.
And there were days where I wanted to scream at God, 'Why must children fight your war?' Because the reason I was coming close to a mental meltdown was the fact that, on their own, they'd be facing the ugly face of death without me. In a sort of perverse way, I was jealous. I wanted to be there for them, to comfort and help them. They knew what death looked like already, but the softened, slow version you only saw in a hospital bed. Fighting, though, the rigors of war, the horrific sights of the dying were a completely different matter.
And I wouldn't be there. The thought revolved in my head as I immediately drifted off for whatever slumberland was waiting for me.
A/N: Hello, all! For those of you who subscribe, this is a technical rewrite and edit of the original chapter that used to be here. For those who just got here, congratulations! This chapter was nearly five years old and in need of some TLC. Lots of bad grammer, lots of awkward phrasing - all fixed.
I hope you like the changes! If you enjoyed the story, do leave a short review - if you don't wish to, that's fine, too. My aim is to please you, not my ego. Don't hesitate to send me any PMs if you have questions or concerns.
Thank you all, and God bless you!