Wow I really should update the rating for this.
After the fight with Max and the mountain giant and the new revelations of the nature of the amulets, the crew of the Luna Moth are left to their own devices as they head to a stronghold headquarters down south while the forces of Windsor and the reluctant Lufen are amassing their resources for the war.
The future is looking grim and things have been tense lately regarding the next move and current state. Crimes against the elf minorities in these countries had intensified in degree and occurence. The state of the economy had hit home lately with whole communities impoverished due to intemperate contributions asked of the people for the war efforts.
In Alledia, war is seemingly inevitable. Emily is yet to see it for herself. In a week she will arrive at the Stronghold Headquarters of Astonot. After this week one could say it's unlikely she will be a child- no, it hurt to act a child after her father died- so it is arguable that she would no longer be herself again.
During this week, Emily will train hard to be as close to what Alledia needs as possible. As she said before, "It doesn't matter if I am ready or not because no matter what I am going to have to be." During this week, Emily will be turning thirteen. It doesn't matter if she remembers it or not because no matter what she's going to have a birthday party.
Leon and Vigo have trained her hard so that she was as unsuspecting as if nothing were taking place anyway. It helps that Emily doesn't recall with all the weight of her responsibilities from the past few months.
Day 0- The first day before the final week.
The crew of the Luna Moth have been busy making preparations. They naturally went off in groups to collect the supplies, all but Trellis who insisted that this was a waste of everyone's time and Emily would tell them the same with what was to come. Luger said it was best he stayed in his room and do reconnaissance. They had everything from confetti to a spotlight. You know, standard thirteenth birthday protocol in Alledia. Now they needed to see what it would look when it was all set up.
"Hey, what about Enzo's private room? " Navin suggested. It was him, Cogsley with Dagno at his feet, Morrie, and Miskit at the kitchen table while Rico, Karen, and Luger were preparing the day's lunch around them. Leon and Emily were training while Vigo was in his study with Ciel and the other robots, going over Silas's notes. Trellis was in his room doing... something. "Yeah, at night when most of us are asleep, he sneaks into this one locked room and spends a couple of hours there. I figure that it would be a good place since Enzo can stay two hours in it and it just looks like an ordinary closet." he filled in innocently.
"Oh my," Karen exclaimed from where she was stirring soup from a pot. Rico gasped lightly.
"Hey, are you calling me fat?!" Enzo stated, coming from whatever captainly duties he had finished.
"Wow, that's what you got out of it?" Rico muttered urgently with a pointed look at his brother.
"I just got here, b'sides, I've got nothing to hide that you can find." Enzo retorted, walking over to the fridge with a smirk.
"Nevermind, it's nothing," Rico turned his head away, chopping carrots on a wood board. "Except that they want to set up the party in your worship room." He said quickly.
Enzo choked on the milk he was chugging from a carton and dribbled it on himself in an attempt to not spew it out. "Worship room," Miskit repeated with an amused look. Rico just chuckled, somewhat glad that his brother was finally found out.
"Ehh, are you hiding something dirty in this 'worship room' Captain?" Cogsley prompted the wet cat with a curious face that only he could pull, not that Dagno didn't try to copy his "mama". Karen frowned, they seemed to forget that there were children and baby wyverns around. She was ready to cut off potentially triggering conversations.
Enzo tried to compose himself before answering, "How prepost'rous," he returned the half finished carton to the refrigerator and straightened his coat, sending milk at the room, "there ain't such place." milk drops shook from his moustache and whiskers, "Who's tellin' ya this rubbish, Navin?!" He paused to lick his paws, " Why-Why would he even be up at such a late hour." He dabbed at his coat with a handkerchief he produced, "Boy was probably just- Dreaming!" He reasoned.
"Hey, didn'- didn't you just walk in after Navin said that." Morrie pointed out in a nervous afterthought. "How-how would you know that Navin found tha- that out at a late hour."
"So it's true?" Miskit nudged Morrie.
But that was dismissed as Mrs. Hayes questioned her son, "That's right, Navin what were you doing at such a late hour?" Enzo just started nodding ridiculously and motioned his arms forward towards Navin in a 'There you have it!' kind of gesture as he took a step back and zipped out of the room for what was probably his only chance to escape a further interrogation.
All eyes but Luger's and Rico's were on the boy. "Huh, well, I noticed that Emily was leaving her room late at night so I followed her. I lost her for a bit and then I saw Enzo walking towards me with a key ring but he didn't see me, instead he just unlocked some door and went in. I thought it was a stock closet or something and he wouldn't be in their long so I quietly ran past it to find Emily. She was with Trellis at the back of the ship and they were just talking for, like, hours but I waited anyway 'cause, well, I was worried for her. When they finally appeared to be leaving, I ran so that she wouldn't get mad at me. I was running when a door opened on my face and Enzo walked out from it, I think he was in in there the whole time. I thought that I was going to be caught but Enzo left for his room real quick and I was able to get to mine before Emily. I checked the time since I left and it was two hours after Emily left."
He told them like it was small talk and not something potentially alarming (Like your daughter sneaking out to meet up with a punk and having hour-long conversations about who knows what while a catman opens a door on your son's innocent face after doing indeterminable things in a secret 'worship' room and your son, for some reason, thinks it a grand idea to have the party in said room for his teenaged sister, oh my word, Emily will be a teenager,) as it was for Karen.
Luger, who wasn't really listening until then, worried over his little brother who he thought was spending way too much time alone. What if he was abusing himself?! If only he could remember his own youth so that he could relate. At least he was getting out at night, he picked up from Navin's report. But was it right that he spent those nights in some area of the ship with a young girl while her brother secretly watched, even if it was only for a couple of hours? Who can keep it up that long anyway? Not him. These were the musings of the old elf as he was putting away some spices.
The thoughts of the two parent guardians took a split second to process. Emily came in with Leon in tow, glaring at her brother, "What are you saying, you followed me where for two hours?!" She demanded unhappily. Navin's eyes widened, he couldn't tell her or then she'd get mad and he would inadvertently spill the birthday beans trying to explain himself.
Miskit shot a glare at Leon who was supposed to come in and warn them when Emily was near. He just stood there with a blank fox face until he saw Miskit's sour expression and face-palmed himself for his inattentiveness. Navin was lightly sweating and kept on insisting that it was nothing. Emily knew better of course, she wasn't a little kid anymore but she couldn't place why.
It was Luger who saved him, "Hello there Emily and Leon, Navin was just saying that it's been two hours since you left for training today and he was going to follow you to tell you lunch is just about ready, go wash up please." He said to them pleasantly. "I'll go tell Trellis lunch is ready too."
The old elf was pleased to excuse himself and go see the young prince to catch him in and disrupt whatever harmful behavior he could be doing, so it would be correct to say that he was crestfallen that Emily volunteered herself instead. "Um, it's okay Luger, I'll go instead, it's no bother." Emily excused herself, brushing off protests from only Luger and walked to Trellis's shared room. Now Luger's thoughts started to resemble Karen's in some aspects. Particularly that Emily was sneaky, they were spending a lot of time together, and Trellis was a teenager.
Emily stood before the elf prince's room and gave an apprehensive knock, "Trellis, um, Luger said that lunch is ready so, yeah, come eat." Was her awkward message. She waited a moment for some kind of response, like grumbling or shuffling, any kind of movement indicating inhabitation from behind the door. Zilch. "Trel-" she turned the door knob and poked her head in, "-lis?"
The room was void of moody elves. She opened the door completely, feeling more comfortable that it was empty. The room itself was neater than hers though a lot more baren. Emily took a few steps forward and started closing the door behind her until she realized how incriminating it looked. What if Trellis came in to her standing in the middle of his room with the door closed just to tell him that lunch was ready. Even she would find that creepy.
She slinked out before she could jinx herself and went elsewhere to search for him. Hey, she volunteered and goshdarnit she will deliver!- but first she needed to wash up, Trellis was elusive at times and finding him could prove a game of hide and seek. She wasn't going to spend so much time to tell him something that took, like, five seconds and would be easy enough to figure out considering it was midday and they haven't eaten.
She walked to the restroom that was just a few doors down and started to open it. It got as far as ajar until a force slammed it shut. It surprised Emily. The force of impact was thrown sloppily against the door and slouched to the floor by the sounds of scrapings and a thud. "Do-don't come in, jus-just go somewhere else!" Trellis's muffled voice sounded through the metal door."Go away!" He rasped more firmly.
Emily was taken aback, after all their conversations about the nature of humans and elves, the amulets, war, time travel, the meaning of life, the afterlife (that's right, Emily is the kind of girl to have long meaningful conversations about existence and philosophy) and he gives her that creepy statement. It wasn't entirely what you said but how you said it, Trellis!
"Fine I didn't need to come in anyway." Emily excused herself and turned away in a huff. She would just have to wash her hands in the kitchen. She snapped her head back, "Oh, and Luger said it was lunchtime like ten minutes ago."
"SSSsssuooohm," Trellis groaned disgruntled. Emily figured he slammed himself at the door for whatever reason and hurt himself, her second guess was something more likely and less innocent. Hey, she's not a little kid anymore, she knows things. Not why but at least she knows. She heard slight sniffles, too. What in heck?! Nevermind, she doesn't know why. Emily began to worry for her friend. She got closer to the restroom door again, one hand on the metal surface. "Grrrrm. Arrrg, huh, huh, huh," it sounded like he was in pain. Emily pressed her ear to the door to hear better, "Huhahuhahuha, rnmmm." He was breathing hard and he sounded frustrated like he was struggling with something.
She heard the sounds of shuffling as he got himself up and then footsteps over broken glass. Emily bit her lip and pushed the door open.
Trellis was breathing hard over the bathroom sink, hair curtaining his face and one armored hand clutched in close to his body while the right one, ungloved and- bloody?!- with small pieces of glass embedded in it, went through royalties to yank out a particularly large piece of glass that protruded into the other armored hand. Above him was a restroom mirror, two incomplete impact shocks broke the otherwise complete reflection of the bathroom and its occupants. Thick drops of his blood still pitter-pattered over the porcelain sink and linoleum floors.
"Oh my God, Trellis!" She shrieked. Poor Trellis was lost in his painful endeavors to acknowledge the girl's noise so he was genuinely surprised that she materialized and took his wounded hands in hers. He grimaced at the sudden movement and more blood gushed from his wounds. "You idiot, what were you trying to do!" Her eyes began to sting.
She pulled at the armored glove and uneased as streams of blood seeped from the openings in the metal and stemmed onto her hands and arms. Intense pain shot up his arms and registered immediately. The young elfman inhaled sharply through gritted teeth. Emily's face contorted into something like helpless frustration. The glove wasn't coming off!
She jerked it forward a few times before he laid a glassed hand on hers. She looked up at his determined face, letting go of his arm. The girl took a few steps back with arms by her sides, eyes brimming with tears, and hiccupped slightly. He turned his gloved arm over to reveal thick leather straps on his forearm that somehow escaped Emily's attention and proceeded to loosen them.
Emily grew dumbstruck and angry at herself for missing something so obvious and causing unnecessary harm to the elf. He ignored her phases and twisted the armored glove off of him successfully and with minimal pain. His hand plopped out a very slick and discolored appendage. There was one severe cut between his ring and middle finger that brought forth so much blood. Trellis's other hand applied pressure and staunched the flow somewhat. He carefully ran it under warm water, bringing a flushed color back to his flesh and dislodging a few fragments of glass on his right hand. Watered down blood ran into the drain from the shallow cuts and bled blood of both hands.
Euphoric relief graced his tortured self in merciful waves. A satisfied sigh completing it. Emily was numb up to that point and stood from stunned silence to quiet disposition. It felt wrong to watch him in such a personal and vulnerable moment. She took notice of the other things in the large bathroom instead:
The uneven, grey linoleum, especially evident with where the blood pooled and the disturbed pieces of glass collected suggestively. The bare white walls illuminated with fluorescent light. More sinks lining the long halls of stalls. The inside face of the door was wooden while the outside was a fitted metal frame that kept out the elements. Two bloody impressions of palms and a dip in the surface of the wood where Trellis met it.
It occurred to Emily that that could've been what did him in. Her eyes followed the disturbed trail of blood back to the pipes of the main sink to the basin where the two armored gloves were discarded on the edge and Trellis was soothing his broken skin. How in heck did that happen anyway! She frowned thoughtfully at the battered hands until turning to face the elf in question who was - LOOKING AT HER INTENTLY!
That got her out of her reverie like you wouldn't believe it. She held his gaze. Her palms felt sweaty, she didn't trust her own voice, and she was torn between bolting or standing her ground. Only because she felt he'd stop her and she didn't want to lose anymore face. Emily grew tired with their stalemate and spoke with a voice like sandpaper, "What?"
He shot back, " What do you mean 'what?!' I thought you left to get me help not stand there like a gawking thip!" She untensed only to sink. "No matter now, I got it under control no thanks to you. You're still standing there! At least get me bandages." He turned back to his hands under the warm water and muttered, "There's some in the closet in my room, it's unlocked."
Emily was flabbergasted. She left the restroom with his best interests in mind as she walked briskly to the kitchen.
She went around the ship and back into the kitchen to the dining hall where most everyone was situated in their seats, save her and Trellis. They busily chattered among themselves:
"So that 'worship room' is really a shrine to Selina? Oh Enzo, really?!" Miskit and Rico snicker.
"No, not at all- it's, uh, my stash! My stash of catnip! It's what I put in my pipes! I am absolutely coocoo for catnip, Captain's honor! Not saying that you should go in there but if you did- catnip!" Enzo parenthesized with his big fluffy arms.
" - and how is training going?" Leon and Vigo sit next to each other and speak of Emily's progress.
" Emily is getting good with defensive strategies, though-"
"-hmm?"
" It would be best if you trained her again. I know Silas's notes are incomplete but-"
"I need oil!" Cogsley slams his fist on the table.
"If it helps, the pasta is cooked with canola oil." Luger responds politely.
"I'm gonna go siphon some from the tank instead," Cogsley rounds the table for an exit.
"Navin, sweetie, you have sauce on your cheek, here." Karen licks her thumb and wipes off a smudge of sauce on his cheek.
"Mom!" Navin shies away. "Look mom Emily's back!" He points behind Mrs. Hayes to deter her attention and slips away.
Everyone else looks up at her.
"Where's prince charmless?" Cogsley says bluntly. "Lemme guess, he shut himself in somewhere and refuses to come out, even for you, huh. I'll be having my dinner with a full tank." He says as he saunters out of the dining hall.
"D-don't deplete it!" Rico shouts and runs out after him.
"Well bots need to eat, too. Come on Morrie." Miskit gives a bow and follows out with Morrie in tow. " Excuse us masters," they say to the children.
"Hey, maybe Rico will get the keys to that stock room and we can see what worship Enzo's been getting down on." Miskit's voice is heard. Enzo chokes on his noodles and everyone gets a feeling that he's about to cough up a hairball. He excuses himself and runs after them stopping to catch his breath every few meters.
"Will nobody stay and eat." Luger jokes half heartedly.
"Oh their antics, thank you, Luger and Karen for this wonderful meal. I must go and feed Ciel, too, lest I forget." Vigo got up.
Mrs. Hayes stopped him, "Vigo you hardly ate, please stay Emily joined us now." she turned to her daughter, "Emily, will Trellis be joining us because his place is set so..." Karen trailed off.
Emily, caught off guard by the familiar outtake of life on the ship, was momentarily stunted and took a moment to recollect her thoughts to say, " He- he was in the bathroom and, well, he was bleeding heavily from- from his hands." She addressed the rest of the room and, looking at each one, thought about what to say next, " There were pieces of glass everywhere and I think..." she looked at Luger's elderly face, "it was on purpose but he then tried to stop the bleeding, it looked very painful." she looked down and muttered dejectedly, "I guess he regretted it."
"Anyway, he needs help and-"
"Wait what are you saying Emily? I don't understand." Luger's overwrought face wrung Emily's heart to rags. Vigo got up and left the opposite way from where Emily came, to the young stonekeeper's disillusion. Everyone else sat in silence.
A lump grew in her throat, she didn't mean for it to be so critical but she wanted to help him, though she didn't believe her own stretch of it, she felt that it would be better this way. "I think he tried to commit-Woah!"
Luger practically flew out knocking over his chair and nearly Emily with his mind set on his little brother's sake.
The close encounter with Hurricane Luger left Emily thrown to the side by her own autonomies. She looked from the doorway where Trellis must still be bleeding in a lonesome bathroom unless discovered by another party, not to mention Big Brother's inevitable arrival, and looked back to the table where the self-proclaimed bounty hunter and her mother looked back at her with mouths agape and noodles falling from the underside of Leon's flat, white snout.
"Well!" Mrs. Hayes stood up and motioned to her castaway daughter with a glance.
"Huh?" Emily looked up at her mom.
"Let's go!" She walked to the door purposefully but turned her head back. "You too Mr. Redbeard!" She marched on dutifully while the other two matched her pace, one in disbelief to what was said and the other incredulous to what was heard. Could you guess who'd be who?
I should jusst... remake this one but fluffy and not a derailed angstparade.