To Butterfly: There were serious moments before that ("Running out of Time" and "Queen," for example), but these last 3 have been super heavy. The next few aren't quite as heavy, though there are a couple serious moments. But I'm not going to lie: the upcoming event is at least seven kinds of serious/intense…
To StarDaPanda225: Aisha is at least partly the reason I decided to write this story.
To yellow 14: It's a bit of a shortcut to allow Emilie to put someone in a position to process their emotions – definitely useful!
Amelie was the first one to enter the dining room on Monday morning. Last night Bri, Anne, Emilie, Chloe, and Sabrina had all returned home for the week. For now, Amelie and Duusu were here alone with Aisha and Hoda, the two for whom the "portal lag" of returning home would be the most extreme – and the two who didn't have to go to classes during the week. However, Emilie would return later that day, and Sabrina on Tuesday afternoon, to lead some midweek sessions as they fit into the participants' schedules. Amelie poured herself a cup of tea and took a slow, measured breath, trying to balance her emotions the way Emilie had taught her, allowing her own anxiety and nervousness to float out into the atmosphere before either of the girls arrived. Duusu sat on a tea saucer in front of a grapefruit half, sprinkling a bit of salt on top of it. "How do you think this is going so far?" Amelie asked the Kwami, sipping her tea pensively and examining the small pile of scones in the centre of the table.
"It's a difficult process," Duusu admitted, pulling out a grapefruit section and frowning. He popped it in his mouth, his eyes closing in pleasure, and clapped his paws together before beaming up at her. "But it's so amazing of you and Miss Emilie and Miss Sabrina to try to help them! You can do it, no problem!"
Amelie allowed herself a small smile at the Kwami's infectious enthusiasm. "I do hope so," she agreed as a large green head became visible around the corner from the hallway.
"I hope I'm not intruding," Hoda apologized, wringing her hands.
Amelie could sense something from her, though not anything she could identify. From the alien's expression, she guessed that Hoda was nervous. Amelie smiled as widely as she could. "Of course not, dear," she assured her, waving her in. "What would you like for breakfast?"
"Steak, rare?" Hoda cautiously eased herself down into one of the specially-reinforced chairs the Australian Guardian Council had provided. "Normally I like my meat uncooked, but I understand that's typically frowned on here, so…" She shrugged one shoulder noncommittally. "I'm a guest on your planet, so I guess I can behave myself."
Amelie typed the order into her phone and sent it to the kitchen. That had been another challenge in organizing this retreat. While the other four wouldn't raise any suspicions, no amount of money would convince the chef to forget that he had served a legitimate extraterrestrial, so Amelie had had to give both him and the maid a week of paid vacation and explore alternative staffing options. Fortunately, the Heroes of Paris had provided a simple solution. Only a couple minutes later Marianne Lenoir pushed the kitchen door open with a cart on which she had a single platter with two enormous raw steaks stacked on top of each other. It was a benefit of their close association with all the Miraculous Temples, Amelie mused, that they could solicit assistance from everywhere.
Hoda's eyes widened as she lifted the platter off the cart and laid it gently on the table. She looked up at Amelie in amazement. "You–you're okay with me eating it raw?"
Amelie chuckled. "Absolutely! You may be a guest on this planet, but right now you're a guest in my house, and I don't want any visitors leaving unhappy. So you can eat your food however you want it."
Hoda let out a breath. "Thank you! And thank you, also," she added, turning to Marianne. "This looks amazing." She picked up the steak knife next to her platter, but the thin knife slipped out of her grasp and clattered onto the table. Hoda stared down at it in frustration, her eyes narrowing. A string of sibilant noises escaped her lips.
Amelie heard a high-pitched whine starting from the direction of Duusu's half-finished grapefruit; the Kwami looked up at her with wide eyes and trembling lower lip. Amelie cleared her throat, and Hoda froze, staring at her. "There's no need for you to stand on ceremony here," Amelie announced, selecting a scone from the pastry plate and nibbling off one end.
Hoda sighed and nodded in relief. Ignoring the silverware, she speared the top steak with one of her long talons and carefully tore off a piece, closing her eyes and humming. "It's not quite shmergot, but your beef still tastes pretty good."
Amelie chuckled on feeling what she assumed was happiness from Hoda. "We only buy the best here!" Seeing that Marianne was still standing near the doorway, Amelie flushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry; you must be tired."
"Oh, don't worry about me," Marianne assured her. "After spending the last few months chasing around a two-year-old for the first time in ages, these old bones can stand still for a few minutes."
"Even so, you're welcome to have a seat if you wish."
Marianne pursed her lips in thought, but at that moment Amelie felt another set of emotions draw close. She turned toward the doorway just as Aisha appeared, wiping the sleep from her eyes and yawning.
"What can I get for you, dearie?" Marianne asked, fixing her with a kindly smile. "How does bacon and eggs and toast sound?"
Aisha's eyes widened, a flash of anxiety shooting through her. "Eggs are okay, but no bacon for me."
"We bought turkey bacon for this week," Amelie explained quickly.
"Oh." Aisha's anxiety shifted into gratitude. She thought for a moment. "I think I'll pass on it anyways," she decided, sitting down beside Hoda and pouring herself a mug of coffee. "But thank you. Eggs sound good."
"I'll get your eggs and be back in a moment!" Marianne carefully pushed her cart out of the dining room, leaving the three of them alone.
"So how are you fitting in at the Somali Temple?" Hoda asked Aisha before biting of another large chunk of her steak. Amelie kept her face neutral; she couldn't quite parse out the alien's feeling.
Aisha smiled eagerly. "I don't know the last time I've been so happy!" she gushed. "Not since–" She froze; her emotions turned dark. Amelie's eyes darted over to Duusu, whose face had become sombre. Amelie opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, Aisha shook her head and blinked a couple times, her eyes refocusing on Hoda. "Yeah…" She coughed. "I don't have to worry anymore; the Temple is safe. And I'm not alone. Abdi is there, of course, and we can go for walks around the Temple or even go to the village together whenever we want. And Nawal – you remember Ngarayap, the Ant Miraculous? Nawal and Shadya – she's one of the Guardian Initiates – they call me their 'little sister.' Everyone is just so nice!"
"I'm glad to hear it!" Hoda told her, nodding her head slowly.
"But what about you?" Aisha asked curiously. "I hope you are making friends in Australia."
Hoda bobbed her head. "A few," she allowed. "When we first arrived, Dane – his name is Cyclone, and he has the Anklyosaur Miraculous – he hollowed out the cave where Father and I are living – a couple of the craftsmen have weaved rugs for us with Shunjar patterns, so it's starting to look like a little slice of home. Since then Dane and a few of his friends have invited me to go swimming with them a few times."
"That's so cool!" Aisha enthused. "You remember how our Temple has the waterfall? Well, sometimes Maaza will ride the waterfall down to the lake at the bottom. I want to try it, but I never learned how to swim. Nawal said she'll teach me, but we haven't had a chance yet – we've all just been too busy. "
"That is a very good skill to have, once you have an opportunity to learn it," Amelie observed, holding out the tray of pastries to her.
"I started school last month," Aisha explained around a mouthful of scone. "Mohamed and Master Said offered to teach me since I really didn't get much school before now. Master Said even said he would train me as a Guardian Initiate like Shadya if I want, but I'm not sure about that. And I've been helping in the kitchen, too. They're keeping me really busy, which is awesome, especially after last year when Popo–" She shivered and clenched her eyes shut, her emotions flooded with anxiety and terror.
Amelie gasped as Aisha's emotions washed over her. Duusu's mouth turned down into a frown, and he zipped off the table. Amelie watched the Kwami nervously, ready to snatch him out of the air if necessary, but he only settled onto Aisha's shoulder, allowing his tail to brush against her shoulder blade. Ameli reached across the table and covered one of Aisha's hands with her own as Hoda did the same with her other hand. The girl's terror level didn't change. "You are safe here," Amelie whispered gently. "He is never going to hurt you again." Aisha nodded curtly. "Breathe with me," Amelie instructed, inhaling slowly, holding for a minute, and then exhaling. She gave Hoda a look, and the alien joined her in the breathing exercise.
Slowly Aisha started to breathe with them. After several minutes, her terror abated and she opened her eyes. "I'm sorry," she apologized, sniffling, her previous emotions replaced with shame.
"Nothing to be sorry about, dear," Amelie assured her, waving her hand dismissively. "You're among friends. And we're here to help you." The girl nodded, though she still felt unsure and imbalanced. Amelie sighed sympathetically and squeezed Aisha's hand. "So what have you been doing in Australia, Hoda?" Amelie asked, turning to the other without taking her hand off of Aisha's.
Hoda started. "Oh! Yeah, like I said, Father is working at the spaceport and helping them work on building their space-planes, so he's really happy – that's why he joined the Navy in the first place. And New Atlantis has these intervention teams, and I'm joining one of them. There are five or six members on a team, and I'm the one member of my team that doesn't have magic or a miraculous. We haven't gone on any missions yet, but the others say it's just a matter of time. And in the meantime, I've been sparring with Boaz, or Big Blue – one of the team's miraculous users – to recover my strength and endurance."
"It's wonderful that you have found a new purpose after the trauma you experienced on first arriving here," Amelie told her. "And it sounds like you have people there who care about you – both of you!"
Hoda nodded in agreement. "I hadn't really thought about it," she admitted, "but I guess that's right. After everything that happened, I didn't know if I would ever have a friend again – until Aisha, I mean. And now I have a bunch of friends."
Recovered, Aisha smiled brightly. "Same," she agreed, nodding. "It feels… nice to have somewhere I belong."
"I'm so glad to hear it!" Amelie replied. Taking Hoda's hand with her free hand and squeezing both girls' hands, she smiled warmly. "And remember: no matter what, you can always belong here."
