Darren's eyes fluttered open, he was awoken by the sound of music coming from right beside him. He groggily turned his head and lifted his arm to stop the alarm. When the music stopped, after three attempts of trying, he brought the phone close to his face to see the time. It was half eight in the morning, it was also a Thursday. Darren laid the phone back down and rubbed his eyes. He spent a short moment staring at his ceiling, before throwing his legs over the bed.
His feet hit the floor and Darren stood up immediately. He felt a bit woozy for a moment, such is what happens when you stand up rapidly after laying down for quite a while. After regaining his balance Darren crossed his room and opened his chest-of-drawers and threw on a top. He looked down and saw that his pyjama bottoms were a bit loose. He hiked them up and exited his room.
He went to the nearest bathroom and brushed his teeth. Looking down at the small cup he used to store his toothbrush, he saw Clodagh's light blue brush, and wondered if he would have to get one for Coill. She was technically a tree, did tree's need to brush their teeth? Do they even have teeth? Darren finished up brushing and stopped thinking of trees and teeth.
He walked downstairs and paused at Clodagh's room. He pressed his ear against the door, and heard two people snoring softly. "At least they went to sleep." He thought as he went to the kitchen to make breakfast. He debated just making some cereal, but thought that since it was Coill's first day, he would make something nice. He opened the fridge and looked at the amount of eggs he had. There were three left in his box of twelve. He would have to go and get some more eggs soon. He glanced at the rest of the fridge. More of everything now that he thought about it.
He shook his head and grabbed two of the eggs. He then grabbed milk, butter and flour. "Alright, let's do this. He turned on the cooker and set about making breakfast.
A short while later, he heard a door open, and saw two sleepy looking liminals following their noses into the kitchen. They came to a stop a few feet from Darren and opened their eyes. Darren smiled at their tiredness, realising they must have stayed up well into the night talking. Darren shook his head and said "The dead arose and were seen by many." Clodagh and Coill just looked at each other oddly, before glancing back to Darren.
Darren hadn't really noticed before but Coill's eyes were a bright blue, and her attire was something similar to what Poison Ivy would wear. It covered most of her body, stopping just under her armpits and just before where her skin turned to bark. Darren wondered if she needed actual clothes. He would ask her after he was done with breakfast.
Clodagh and Coill made their way to the table and laid their heads down on the soft wood. Darren sighed and called over. "How late did you two stay up?" The girls looked up at each other, and Darren could see bags under their eyes.
"Too late." Clodagh muttered. Darren nodded sighing, deciding that he would show make them something to perk them up after this. The girls came out when he was almost halfway through his pancakes, so, he decided he'd show off a bit. With a smirk he called to the girls, who glanced over at him, seeing that he was holding the frying pan off the cooker.
With curious eyes, the girls watched as Darren moved the pan back and forth, before jutting it upwards, causing the pancake to soar in the air and do a flip. The girl's eyes went wide and their mouths fell open. "That was so cool!" They both exclaimed, as they got up from the table and went to watch Darren cooking closer.
"Be careful, I don't want you getting burnt." Darren warned as he went back to breakfast. The duo nodded and just stared as Darren poured the batter into the pan. The girls watched with interest as it fizzled and popped. Darren waved the frying pan a bit so that the pancake wouldn't stick.
"Are you going to flip it again?" Coill asked. Darren nodded, and told them to step back a bit. They obliged and watched as Darren got ready to flip the pancake again. They held the same starstruck gaze as it twirled in the air, and landed with a smack back on the pan.
"Can I try?" Coill asked, looking up at Darren. Darren stopped and pondered this for a moment. There's no way she could hurt herself, unless the pancake landed on her head. Darren decided that she could, as long as he helped.
"Ok, but I have to help you." He told her. Coill nodded happily and stood in front of Darren. Darren looked over to Clodagh, who was watching with longing. "You can try after, alright Clodagh?" Clodagh smiled at this and nodded. Darren made the pancake, and did everything up until the flip. "Now Coill, grab that handle." Coill 'mhm'd and grabbed it. Darren placed his hands on hers, noticing how similar they were to bark.
"Alright, are you ready?" Coill tightened her grip and nodded. "Ok, 3, 2, 1." Darren brought Coill's hands upwards, and the pancake flew into the air. Coill's eyes were wide with wonder, seeing the pancake soar. Darren moved Coill's hands and let go. The pancake fell back into the pan with a satisfying smack. Coill smiled and put the pan back. She looked up at Clodagh and told her how fun it was.
"Your turn Clodagh." Darren said. Clodagh gulped slightly and nodded. She waited as Darren got the pancake ready to flip. When it was ready, he gestured to Clodagh. She nodded and hopped in front of the pan. She grabbed it with her hands, as she had seen Coill do. She reddened as she felt Darren's hands clasp around hers. "Are you ready?" He asked softly. Clodagh gulped once more and nodded. "Alright, 3, 2, 1." Darren lifted Clodagh's hands and the pan at the same time. The pancake soared, almost touching the ceiling. Darren calculated where it would land, and moved Clodagh's hands there.
Once it landed it, he let go with a smile. "Good job, the two of you." He added. The two girls smiled and then looked down at each other. For a brief moment, Darren's hands felt strange. It felt like they were empty, and wanted to hold something again. He shook it off, and thought the thing it wanted to hold again was the pan handle. "Now you two go sit down and I'll finish up here."
Darren made around five more pancakes. He had already made quite a few before, and now he just needed to finish off the batter. Once he finished, he set them all onto a plate and brought them over. Once he did, he went back to the kitchen and grabbed a tub of butter, some knives, sugar, and a strange yellow bottle.
Clodagh and Coill looked at the things and shared a questioning glance, then sent the glance Darren's way. Darren noticed their stares and explained. "Pancakes, are very tasty. But, they're taste can be improved with this stuff." The girls looked at each other and just shrugged, grabbing a pancake each. They bit into it and both of their faces lit up. Darren then noticed an immediate difference between Clodagh and Coill.
When Coill tasted something she really liked, she took her time, savouring the taste, trying to make the food last as long as possible. Whereas Clodagh, scoffed the thing down in seconds. Darren inched the plate that held the rest of the pancakes away from the Selkie. Clodagh eyed Darren, rising an eyebrow in a daring manner. Darren returned the look, moving the plate another inch. Coill could sense that something was about to go down, and wisely moved away.
There was a beat, and Clodagh lunged for the plate. Darren reflexively grabbed the plate and held it aloft. Clodagh frowned and reached again. Darren held it further away, causing Clodagh to pout. "Would you like another?" Darren asked slowly. Clodagh nodded. "Then you can have one. You don't have to be in a rush to get another." Clodagh nodded and took another slowly off the plate.
"Sorry, there was just always a rush to get food back at the Causeway, with like, a hundred other Selkies in the same place trying to get food, it's kind of crazy." Clodagh finished, nibbling on her second pancake. Darren nodded in understanding, and Coill scooted back to her proper place.
"That's alright, but you don't have to worry about not getting food alright, I'll be sure that you're well fed." Darren said, smiling at the red head. Clodagh nodded, a small blush forming on her cheeks. Coill saw the interaction and giggled.
There was a sudden intrusion on the scene, caused by a doorbell. Darren got up off his chair, while Coill looked around for the source of the noise. "Don't worry, it's just to let whoever's inside know that there's someone at the door." Clodagh told Coill, calming her down. They heard Darren open the door and welcome whoever it was. "Oh, hello Mr. Joseph."
Mr. Joseph let a small smile come across his face as he saw that the Selkie was being properly cared for. "Hello to you too Clodagh." He then laid his eyes on Coill. "And you must be Coill." He said gently, trying not to appear intimidating. Coill just nodded softly, clearly nervous of this new character.
"Don't worry Coill, he's not going to hurt you." Darren said, placing his hand on Coill's shoulder. "I promise." Coill looked into Darren's eyes, and saw that he was being honest. Coill let out a breath.
"Hello Mr. Joseph, my name is Coill." She said, meeting Joseph's eyes. Joseph smiled. Dryads were always tricky liminals to gain the trust of, and many of them still didn't even trust humans.
"Nice to meet you Coill, now, let's get started."