As usual Doc was up before the kids, enjoying the slight bit of time to himself as he pulled out the proper ingredients and began to cook breakfast for all of them. Just as he was finishing up Rin wandered in, still in his pajamas and still clearly tired as he held the sleeping snake creature he called Emil in his arms.
"Good morning, Doc." Rin said sleepily, rubbing at his eyes to try and wake up a little more.
"Good morning Rin." Doc replied with a slight bit of happiness in his voice. "Are the girls up yet?" He turned his head towards Rin, wondering if he'd seen the pair of girls on the way down.
"How ssshould I know?" Rin hissed, shrugging as Emil yawned before slithering up to drape around the boy's neck before falling back to sleep.
"Well go see, will you?" It was phrased like a question but Rin knew it was more of an order and he grumbled something under his breath before walking off to go check on Rekera and Illana.
The latter of the pair was still asleep when Rin opened the door, not at all being subtle about it as he walked over to her bed and put a hand on her shoulder, shaking her with very little restraint.
"Hey, get up. Doc sssaysss breakfassst isss almossst ready." The boy gave one last shove before taking a step back, smiling to himself as Illana cried out in surprise before sitting up and whimpering. "I sssaid get up, it'sss breakfassst time." Rin glared at the girl, clearly taking his own anger from the previous day out on her.
"A-Alright..." Illana squeaked out, getting out of bed and hugging Meelo tightly as she tried not to look at Rin for fear of him yelling at her further.
"Go downssstairsss, I have to wake Rekera." Rin rolled his eyes, still astonished at what a sissy Illana was. Then he watched her ear fins droop before she shuffled out of the room to head downstairs into the kitchen just as she was told to do.
That done Rin shut Illana's door and walked to the one across the hall, pounding on it heavily. He knew better than to walk in on Rekera, she was likely to hit him and start a fight or worse run to Doc with some bogus complaint that would get him in further trouble.
"Oi, get up Rekera! It'sss breakfassst time!" He shouted through the door, giving it one more good pound before backing off in anticipation for the door being thrown open and and angry Rekera yelling at him. However there wasn't an answer, not even so much as a sound of anyone moving within, so Rin stepped back to the door and hit it harder with his fist. "Rekera get up!" He shouted again, a little louder this time in hopes that she would answer him this time around.
There was still no answer, however, so Rin finally sighed and opened the door to Rekera's room and poked his head inside. There was a lump under her sheets so Rin assumed she was still sleeping, shaking his head as he walked over and put a hand on Rekera's shoulder to shake her.
"Geeze, how hard to you sssleep girl?" He muttered, giving her shoulder a rough shove. "Wake up Rekera, breakfassst." Rin narrowed his eyes, ready to punch her in case she still didn't wake up after all that.
Suddenly Rekera lept out from under the sheets with a high pitched scream, knocking Rin to the floor and causing the boy let out his own scream of surprise as he struggled for a moment before his brain wrapped itself around what had happened. Falling still, he glared up at the black blooded troll and growled. Emil, who had been thrown clear of Rin's shoulders in the sudden jump, also hissed at Rekera and flared his wings in hopes that it would do some good.
"Get off me!" She had his arms pinned down and her legs straddling his hips so he couldn't get a good angle to kick her at, leaving a verbal command his only way of getting her to let go.
"I'd like to see you try and make me." Rekera teased, putting a little more weight on his arms just in case he was thinking of trying to wiggle free and push her off.
"I sssaid get off of me you black blooded bitch!" Rin snarled, sitting up as Rekera finally let him go. The smile on her face, however, hinted that it wasn't because he'd told her to.
"You used a bad word. I'm gonna tell Doc!" She threatened. Rin, however, just shrugged and dusted himself off before walking towards her door.
"Go ahead, tell him. I'll be sssure to sssay that you ssstarted it, though." He stuck his tongue out at her and walked off, intent to head downstairs calmly and hope that Rekera wouldn't tell Doc so there would be no more trouble for either of them.
Rekera, however, had other plans and raced out of the room with Alanze hot on her heels. Rin ran after her once she had gone past him, both sliding into the kitchen at the same time but both also silenced as Doc held up a hand in a silent order that they should not speak.
"Rekera, you should know better than to antagonize Rin and tackling him was completely unnecessary. However, even given those circumstances name calling was uncalled for Rin, especially the use of a swear word. I know I have raised both of you better than that." Doc said calmly, already knowing what had transpired.
"B-B-But...He started it!" Rekera blurted out, pointing angrily at Rin. "He was shaking me!" She added hastily.
"But he wouldn't have had to if you had answered when he knocked on your door." Doc replied.
"Yeah, you ssshould have anssswered when I knocked!" Rin glared at Rekera, intent to blame the entire thing on her.
"That does not excuse your actions either, young man. You are confined to your room for the rest of the day, am I understood?" The tone in Doc's voice wasn't harsh but there was a hint of anger there that made Rin flinch before putting his head down.
"Yes Doc." He answered in almost a whisper, though he knew Doc would hear him.
"I was just trying to get back at him for being mean to Illana..." Rekera mumbled, looking at the aqua blooded girl who had been watching the entire thing from a chair at the kitchen table in silence.
"Revenge is never the answer, Rekera, and neither is violence." Doc scolded her gently, though the worry was obvious in his voice this time. Worry more that he hadn't raised them as right as he thought than anything else, though the kids wouldn't yet know the reason why.
Rin glared at Illana but said nothing as he took a seat at the table for breakfast. Rekera was right behind him, mumbling a short apology to Doc before sitting down. Doc nodded to acknowledge this apology before starting to put some pancakes on the kids plates.
"Now that we're all getting along, let's eat before it all gets cold." Doc tried to lighten up the atmosphere, though the tension was still obvious.
Rin ate in silence to keep himself from further trouble, and Rekera followed suit as she fed Alanze little bits of pancake here and there. Illana whimpered as she sensed the tension still heavy in the air and ate very little, trying to avoid eye contact with both Rekera and Rin for the time being.
Once breakfast was done Doc picked up the dishes as usual and put them in the sink, turning to the kids as they left their seats. "Girls, go get dressed. It's a nice day so don't dress too warmly." Their swimsuits were in a bag and they could change in the locker rooms near the water when they got there, Doc making a mental note to grab said bag before they left. "And Rin, go straight to your room. Now." It wasn't so much an afterthought as it was Doc catching the boy trying to sneak off into another part of the house, no doubt to hide out until they left so the maid would think he was in his room and leave him alone while he played around where she couldn't hear him.
"Yes Doc." Rin sighed, dragging his feet as he walked upstairs and slammed the door to his bedroom.
The girls weren't far behind, dressing quickly and eager to get out of the house for a while. Rekera wore boy shorts and a tanktop in her signature black while Illana had on a beautiful light blue sundress and her cloak with the clasp done up so she didn't have to wear the hood. Doc had done the dishes and fetched the swimming bag he kept for the kids, offering a hand to each one that was taken with ease before the trio started to walk towards the door.
Just as Doc had let go of Rekera's hand to open it the green wood swung open seemingly on its own, revealing the maid who stood on the other side. She was tall and slim, with green skin and garb just like all the other members of the Felt who lived on the moon and inhabited the city. She blinked for a moment before stepping inside as Doc beckoned her to do so.
"Good, you're here. Rin is home, he's in his room being punished for saying mean things to Illana. Make sure he stays there, his lunch is in the fridge. We should be back before dinner." Doc nodded to the woman who nodded in return before they both went their separate ways.
The day was indeed a beautiful one, warm as the same sun that shone down upon the trolls home planet of Alternia lighting the green city while they walked its streets. In a true fatherly fashion Doc warned both girls not to look to the sky, explaining as they walked that the sun would blind them if they did so. Thankfully the windows of the mansion were lined to prevent the harmful rays that caused the blindness, so he felt the need to give them a reminder now that they were outside for the first time in what seemed like forever.
Eventually the trio reached the small theater just a few blocks from the mansion and Doc hurried the girls inside so they could see the movie that had begun only a few moments earlier. Something nice for the kids that he only half paid any attention too, his mind wandering to other things for its duration. Once it was all over Doc escorted them further to the large swimming pool. It was safer than the beach, and the enclosed space would be easier to monitor as well.
Trusting the girls to stick together he allowed them to go into the locker room without him, the strange man opting to wait in a chair by the pool instead. Soon enough both girls emerged in their bathing suits, both one pieces in their respective colors, and before long they were jumping into the warm water and playing easily with one another and the few other people milling about the pool area.
Lunch was served poolside as Doc snagged something from the small shop across the street, and time seemed to fly by as he watched the girls play. Soon enough he was dragging them out of the water and telling them to get dry and change back into their clothes so they could go home for dinner.
Once they returned to the mansion Rekera flopped over on the couch and yawned, though Illana kept a hold of his hand, almost as if she were afraid to let go.
"So, did you girls have fun today?" Doc asked, though it almost wasn't necessary as Rekera answered him with a quick 'yup' and Illana nodded as usual. "Good. What do you want for dinner?" Rin wouldn't get a say in it as another piece of his punishment, but the boy wasn't picky about his food either so Doc knew he'd eat just about anything they chose.
"I want pizza!" Rekera piped up from her place on the couch.
"That sound alright to you dear?" Doc asked as he looked down at Illana, watching as she nodded but still refused to let go of his hand. Rin would be fine for a while, so Doc headed to the kitchen with Illana and stopped in the doorway when she looked up at him with wide eyes.
"C-Can I help you make dinner?" She asked in her usual soft tone of voice, nervous as always, clinging tighter than ever to Doc's hand.
"Of course you can dear. How about you get the tomato sauce and cheese for me?" He asked, watching Illana as she seemed to stop for a moment.
Part of her didn't want to let go. She was almost afraid that if she did everything happy that had happened in the past hours would suddenly loose its meaning. She was afraid the moment her hand separated from his there would be no more smiling, no more joy, and all the world would come crashing down around her. Yet eventually she did let go, uncurling her fingers gently but still feeling Doc gripping her hand until at last he loosened his grip and she slipped away of her own accord to fetch the things he has asked for.
Doc preheated the oven and had Illana help him make and top the pizza before he popped the whole ensemble with some breadsticks in the oven before reaching out to take Illana's hand again. He had seen the internal struggle in her eyes before she let go and decided it would be best to give her the comfort of bringing back that happiness, even if itw as only for a few moments while they walked back into the living room.
"Alright, now we just have to wait for it all to bake. Come on, let's go see what your sister is up to." He led the other girl back into the living room, finding Rekera sitting with her feet on the couch and her head on the floor, essentially being upside down while she played her game. "You know Rekera, if you keep sitting like that all your blood will rush to your head and start leaking out of your ears. And if you don't put that game down every once in a while your eyes will go bad." He walked over and sat down next to her feet, helping Illana up while Rekera flipped herself over.
"My eyes are already bad, though." She teased, pushing her glasses a little further up to fix them.
"Then you'll go blind." Doc retorted, looking at the girl with a small laugh.
"Whatever." Rekera shrugged, then looked up at Illana. "Hey Illana, wanna roleplay with me?" She asked, giving the sea dweller a toothy smile.
"S-Sure!" Illana became excited for a moment, but Doc was quick to squelch it.
"You two can play after dinner. And drag Rin with you, he needs to get out of his room." He didn't want them getting hurt before dinner or wearing one another out and falling asleep at the table.
"Aww, okay..." Rekera put her head back in her game, trying to kill time until dinner was ready.
"Say that again when one of you falls down and breaks something or hits someone else a little too hard." Doc scolded her again, allowing the following silence to settle in while she played her game and Illana gently played with Meelo to pass time. Before long the timer was going off and Doc stood up, brushing his pants off and walking towards the kitchen to silence the beeping.
"Well, that's dinner. Go get Rin please girls, and remember to wash up before you sit down at the table." Doc walked into the kitchen as both girls went upstairs to knock on Rin's door and try to get him to come down to dinner.
"Hey Rin, dinner time!" Rekera called over her pounding, though there was no answer.
"R-Rin...?" Illana clung to Rekera, hoping that Rin was just playing with them.
There was still no answer, so Rekera opened the door and poked her head inside. There was no sign of Rin or Emil, and nothing to indicate they'd been there most of the day. In fact one of the windows was open and the bed sheets tied together leading to the ground below.
"Rin? Come on this isn't funny!" Rekera called through the room, hoping that this was just an elaborate prank. But still she went unanswered, and the girl's eyes widened before she bolted off downstairs and slid into the kitchen. "Doc, Rin's gone!" She shouted, clearly freaked out.
"Are you sure? Come on, let's go check together, maybe he's just hiding in his closet or something." Doc knew Rekera wouldn't be so panicked if she wasn't totally sure, but he didn't want to cause further distress and walked calmly with Rekera back to Rin's bedroom, Illana still standing in the doorway and clinging to Meelo as she looked about to cry.
"See, he's not here!" Rekera bit her lip as she looked around the room, still panicked as she ran back and clung to Doc.
"Oh dear, it seems he really is gone. Well, he can't have gotten far that's for sure. Come on girls, let's go eat dinner. I will make some phone calls and see if anyone has seen him or picked him up." Picking Illana up, Doc walked back to the kitchen with Rekera right on his heels. Once they were both seated at the table he looked at them and sighed gently. "It's alright girls, he's out there somewhere. I know plenty of people who can look for him, we'll find him soon." He reassured them before walking off towards the phone to start calling.
"B-But what if something happens to him?" Illana fretted, hugging Meelo tightly.
"Don't worry Illana, Rin's tough and he can take care of himself. And if anyone can find him, Doc can." Rekera smiled at her sister, hoping that she would take comfort in the words before they both started eating and hoped that Doc would be able to find Rin.