Knocking
Why was there knocking?
Evie's eyes twitched and her mouth screwed up. Fighting off a whimper, she rolled slowly towards the sound. The blanket caught and stretched on one side, making her grunt. Sluggishly, lashes sticking together by that gross sleep mucus stuff, Evie opened her eyes. The ceiling was lit with early morning light a little brighter than usual. There was a lack of whistle-snoring or bell-trilling wings. It took much too long to groggily remember Finn was up at the Spring. The reason for his absence came to her next, and she turned her head just enough to the side to see Candace sleeping soundly. She made funny little waffling sounds, not quite snores, but barely even twitched at the sound of the renewed knocking.
Why was there knocking?
"Ebie, answeh the doo'," Kathy groaned from somewhere on the floor.
With a jaw-cracking yawn, Evie untangled herself from the sheets and shuffled towards the door. Her eyes darted over the various lumps of women in various stages of sleep or waking thanks to whomever was at the door. Anissa and Renee were curled up on a mound of sleeping bags and pillows, Anissa's ruby eyes slitted against the light while Renee drooled on her pillow unbothered by the noises. Maya was spread out over the air mattress she and Kathy shared completely unconscious, while the blearily-glaring blonde huffed and resettled herself in her cocoon of blankets. Meanwhile, Phoebe was curled up on her side, sleeping soundly on a thick camping pad and wrapped securely in her sleeping bag.
Carefully avoiding feet and hands, Evie made her way to the door and slipped out without even seeing who stood there. She backed up with a squeak of surprise, butt and shoulders hitting the door, when she realized she had a face full of tan brown jacket.
"Sorry," she hissed, hand pressed to her chest. Calvin Jones merely raised an eyebrow with a crooked grin that had her knees turning to water. The man was too handsome to deal with on barely four hours of sleep. What had they been thinking, staying up so long? Right, girl-power marathon brought on by Elle Woods. She vaguely remembered watching Pitch Perfect twice… Or maybe they just skipped straight to all the songs the second time...?
"Long night?" Cal asked with just enough teasing in his eyes to have Evie scoffing a smile.
"Yeah. Too many women all in one place tends to breed poor decisions. Even Anissa couldn't stop us," Evie laughed quietly, rubbing the back of her neck. Her eyes widened. "Oh my crackersnap, I totally forgot. I told you to come. It was a sorta last minute emergency in there," Evie explained quickly, jerking her thumb over her shoulder. "Lemme run in and grab that tablet thing for you."
"And the book?" Calvin reminded her as she spun around.
"Right, yes, the book. Just one second!" she whispered before slipping back inside. She tiptoe-ran to her toolbox, wincing and grimacing when ores clattered or tools clanged. She found the tablet near the bottom (of course) and jumped up, shoving it under her arm, to scan her mostly empty bookshelf. Book swiftly found and in hand, she jogged back to the door. Only to stop dead and stare down.
Oh crap on a stick, she inwardly moaned, eyes closed as a blush burned her cheeks. She was wearing ridiculously short shorts and a tank and nothing else. It technically covered everything, but didn't actually leave much to the imagination. She ran her hand over her face and squared her shoulders. It was too late now, at any case. She wasn't truly indecent… just less covered than she normally was. She snuck back outside.
"I had to dig for the tablet. I can't believe how much junk I've hoarded since you gave me this," Evie half-laughed while handing the book and tablet over.
"Ah, thank you," was his simple reply, his pretty crystal blue eyes riveted to the book. "Did you read it?"
Evie crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against her door. "Yeah, it was pretty interesting. They messed up on a couple names, though," she told him without thinking. In her defense, she was trying really hard not to yawn in his face or fall asleep on her feet.
"Names? What do you mean?" Calvin inquired, eyebrows once again rising. Evie blushed and scratched her cheek as she looked away. Crap again!
"The Harvest Sprites in the legends, some of the names are wrong. After I read the book, I did a bit more investigation on my own. I found out that the fire sprite, and the… uh, I think air? They're Alana and Dara, not Alan and Daren," she explained vaguely. His gaze sharpened on her face.
"You investigated?"
"Some digging, asking locals, looking for the Bells to get a look at 'em myself, that sort of thing. The Red Bell is pretty easy to find, after all. It's in the bottom mine-"
"Tenth floor, yes, but I couldn't read the markings on the frame or the Bell," Calvin interrupted with a slight, bemused frown on his face. "The script is rather ancient. In fact, one of the reasons I came to Castanet was to research and perhaps build a basic grammary or alphabet to help translate it if I could gather enough samples," he explained. Evie felt her heart trip in her chest, desperately scanning her mind for all incriminating corners she'd put herself in. "It's found in very few, scattered locations across the globe, but no one knows its origins or even how to read it."
"I didn't read it," Evie barely managed to sputter. "Not the language, I mean. I'm pretty sure someone told me most of it. A couple someones." Technically, not a lie.
Calvin hummed softly, his eyes sharp as they skimmed over her face. He finally broke his gaze and looked down at the book in his hands. "I'll keep an eye out for any other similar translations to coincide with the theory. Oral history tends to be diluted. Then again, with a language as old and unknown as this one, perhaps an earlier mistranslation could be at fault, rather than oral storytelling," Calvin mused absently while flipping through the book. "I can return this to you by the end of the week."
"There's no hurry. I didn't exactly rush to return your tablet and it's probably much more valuable," Evie offered, hiding her immediate relief at his shift in attention.
"I did hand it over to complete stranger, Evelyn," Dr. Calvin pointed out, eyes twinkling again as he looked at her. "It's not the cost of it that's important. It's the history that is, and I knew you would be able to treat it well."
Evie blushed, pleased and confused. "How could you tell?"
He shrugged and winked. "Maybe the moonlight was to blame, but I was right, wasn't I?"
Yeah," Evie ducked her head. "Not the least because I am- was a Classics major. Old legends and stuff are a particular passion of mine, too."
His eyes became keen and intrigued. "Classics? My undergrad also was Classics. Did you have aspirations to become an archaeologist?"
"Nah, not really," Evie laughed. "I wanted to go to grad school, maybe become a professor, write an epic poem in Latin. The usual tame, scholarly, boring stuff."
"There's nothing wrong with educating future generations on times past. It's an important job. We can't forget the civilizations and progresses of those that have come before us," Calvin told her with a smile. "Some of the greatest thinkers were and still are the philosophers of Ancient Greece. The Roman Empire and its influences still affect us and the Western World, even the Eastern, profoundly."
"Yes, exactly! No one would ever throw out a book of Shakespeare and call it trash just because he's been dead a few centuries. Cicero, Ovid, Catullus- they're all are amazing authors and poets whose manipulations of the written word are just as compelling as this past century's authors," Evie enthused, hands clasped in fists and eyes blazing. "Latin itself blended into English so intricately- Ah!" She slapped her hands over her mouth.
Calvin chuckled and shook his hand. "Don't be worried, I enjoyed the outburst. It's good to hear the younger generation speak just as passionately as my classmates once did."
Evie scuffed the bottom of her bare foot over dirt. "I shouldn't be holding you up. Plus, I've got a house full of grumpy, sleepy women I need to worry about waking up on accident."
"Truer words," Calvin agreed with a nod of his chin. "If you don't mind me asking, what's a future professor of Classics doing owning a… ranch?"
"Ah… I guess I don't mind?" Evelyn replied slowly with a one-shouldered shrug. "You don't have to be political about it, either. It's basically a dusty, half-dead crapbucket right now." Calvin turned away and covered his mouth to keep from laughing aloud while Evie sighed loudly. "I just… I loved it, the learning and the studying, even when I was a frazzled mess. But something… came up and knew I needed something different. I needed to try something new and exciting," Evie hedged, thinking of the tiny bobbing delusion that had convinced her he was truly a fairy, and she was meant to be his home's hero.
"There is a lot of excitement in owning a ranch," Calvin conceded with a slight shrug. She squinted at him suspiciously, but he looked and sounded serious. "But the spring semester… it doesn't end for at least another month. Did you graduate early?"
Evie shook her head, her mouth twisting into something wistful and almost regretful. "No, this semester should- would've been my last," she murmured. She glanced over her field, newly sprouting, her dilapidated barn and brand-new coop, and sighed with a small smile. "I can finish it one day. Right now, this was more important."
"You could always finish online. I plan to stay here for a while. Perhaps I could help continue your education here in town? I am a qualified professor in Classics and a few other related topics."
Evie gaped at him, jaw surely somewhere around her knees. "Y-You'd do that?"
He doffed his hat. "Helping a fellow lover of the Classics finish her college career and attain a BA? Nothing would give me more pleasure, Ms. Evelyn."
She flushed, but only barely because of outrageous flirting. Most of the heat flooding her face was of exhilaration. Imagine: staying in Castanet, running her ranch, and helping the Goddess, becoming closer and dearer friends with those she'd met, all while working towards finishing her BA. She pressed both hands to her chest in a vain, ridiculous attempt to keep her heart from pounding straight through her breastbone.
"I… I have to think about it," she breathed cautiously.
"You are busy running this place alone," Calvin granted. "Just don't forget that the offer stands."
"Oh, I won't," she exclaimed breathlessly. "Thank you. That… thank you."
"I'll leave you to your guests. Until next time, fey-girl."
"Y-yeah. Next time. See you, Dr. Jones."
Evie slunk back into her house, barely managing to tear her eyes away from Calvin's retreating back, and sunk against the door at her back. Anissa and Candace sat up a moment later, groggy and concerned.
"Evelyn?" Anissa prompted quietly.
"Evie, are you okay?" Candace yawned, rubbing her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm great. I think I'm a bit too… awake to go back to sleep, though. I'm gonna get dressed and start on chores."
"Oh, I could make breakfast," Candace offered as she tugged at the blankets tangled around her legs.
"I could help you outside," Anissa added, moving to get up.
"N-no, no," Evie barely caught herself and whispered the words. "You two get some more sleep. We can have breakfast all together when the others wake up or when I come back in. I enjoy spending the morning alone with my animals," she assured quickly.
They both blinked at her dubiously. "Really. You two will be the first ones I wake up when I finish."
"If you insist," Anissa trailed off with a slight frown.
"Yup, definitely insisting."
"The f-first ones you wake up?" Candace reiterated through another yawn.
"Yeah. Scout's honor."
"I don't think it counts unless you were actually a scout once," Anissa murmured, amused and already lying back down.
"Ye of little faith, no one believes I might've been a scout." She gave a long-suffering sigh as she slipped into the bathroom. Candace and Anissa's sleepy giggles were the last sounds she heard before the door closed.
…
"Milk… that's all I have," Evie muttered, hands on her hips and eyes narrowed. Finn, who had flown into the barn looking for her just moments ago, flitted around her head.
"Milk is good! What's wrong with having milk?" Finn piped up, plopping on Hera's broad head and patting her affectionately.
"There's nothing wrong with milk. It's very good milk, Hera, my queen," Evie assured her placid-faced heifer. Who merely glanced at her, chewing cud and blinking sleepy brown eyes. "Ugh, too adorable. Cows. I can't." Evie facepalmed.
"Well, then, whatcha talkin' about?" Finn asked, puzzled.
"I need to make bread. To make bread, I need milk and butter. Well, and also flour. Wheat flour. Which I don't have. I just have milk," Evie grumbled angrily.
"Oooohhh, for the elephant, right? Trunks!" Finn realized with a sage little nod of his head. "They sell that stuff at Marimba, don't they? And butter at Renee's?"
"Yeah… I just don't want to spend so much. I still have to pay for the barn and the house before the typhoons start rollin' in," Evie bit her lip and dragged a hand through her hair. "I guess I gotta. Making that pizza is gonna take forever, the least I can do is help Trunks get home before the storms come in, if I can't help the hippo."
"Humphrey!"
"Thanks," Evie chuckled. She beckoned with her index finger and Finn buzzed his way over to her. "I'll be running all day today. You ready to keep up?"
"You betcha! I've been spending too much time at the Spring. I'm bursting with energy!" Finn declared, spinning and glowing brightly.
"Great, let's go wake up some grumpy ladies and get the day started," Evie laughed.
It took a surprisingly short amount of time to wake up all the other women in her house. Though, after a moment's thought, Evie supposed it wasn't so surprising. Most of them woke up early on a regular basis anyway, only Kathy had the most difficulty. She was the only one who stayed up as late as they had, but she also usually slept a few hours longer. They blearily ate the pancakes and drank the tea Candace and Renee had made, discussing their plans for the day and what they should do the next time they all got together. It was a unanimous decision that it needed to happen again.
"I don't see why you gotta go all the way to Flute Fields first. Why don't you just come with me to Ocarina and my grammy can lend you stuff for bread," Maya suggested around a mouthful of pancake.
"I couldn't do that! I mean, she's already offering free birthday cake. I couldn't ask for more favors," Evie protested. Maya pffted and flapped a hand negligently.
"My grammy won't care. She loves helping people cook things."
"That's not the same as giving out her ingredients without asking her first, Maya," Anissa pointed out diplomatically. Maya pouted.
"But Evie said she was gonna havta go all the way to Flute Fields, come home to bake, before she could come all the way to Harmonica to get a taste of some cakes. I just wanted to help," Maya muttered as she shoved the last of her pancakes in her mouth.
"Aw, that's sweet, thanks," Evie said with a quick one-armed squeeze around Maya's shoulders.
"You could always borrow from me, Eves," Kathy piped up, leaning on one hand and smiling sleepily. Her plate was already licked clean and her fork was tapping the edge lightly. "I gots lots of stuff like that at the Bar. You can give it back whenever. Consider it a thank you for letting me crash your house with a party last minute."
Evie blinked and slowly broke into a grin. "That I'd be okay with. I can get the stuff I need this evening and bring it to you tomorrow instead of having to run back and forth all day today."
"And you can come eat cake with me right away!" Maya cheered, waving her fork in the air happily. Evie grinned, trying not to wince or snicker at Finn's excited shouting in her ear.
Evie and Finn headed out with the half of the group going towards Harmonica. They'd farewelled and exchanged hugs with Renee, Anissa, and Phoebe at the farmhouse door, and now they quietly enjoyed the short walk towards the town. Their bellies were full, but a couple heads were still ringing, so the quiet was a blessed relief. Evie raised her face to the early morning sun, smiling at the warmth on her cheeks and the breeze ruffling the ends of her hair and loose hems. It was clearing up her muzzy head even better than the pancakes had. Who knew she'd like country air so much?
"Ya know," Kathy started casually. Candace, Evie, and Maya all turned towards her with various expressions of curiosity or bemusement. "Ya never tole us where you went off t'last night."
Maya gasped and clapped both hands over her mouth. "That's right! Where did you go?" Maya exclaimed curiously.
Kathy winced at the noise, while Evie tried to hide her own edgy grimace for a completely different reason than Kathy. Rather than a sore head, she didn't want Maya of all people to know she'd caught her father reading people's (mainly her mother's) minds and going all Gollum over a crystal ball. Being a pretty terrible liar her entire life, Evie knew how to work around an untruth with other truth, but her insides still squirmed a little guiltily despite herself.
"Just, well, I promised the Wizard I'd help him with something," Evie hedged uneasily. All three women gaped at her. "What?"
"The Wizard?" they chorused incredulously.
"Yes?"
"But the Wizard doesn't ask anyone for help. Everyone goes to him for help," Maya breathed, hands pressed to her chest.
"I didn't think he really spoke to anyone unless he had to," Candace added quietly.
"It's true. I barely get a lick of sense outta 'im whenever I see 'im. An' I prob'ly know 'im best of the town," Kathy agreed with a nod and her arms crossing over her chest.
Evie glanced towards Finn trying not to show too much on her face. "It's a mutually beneficial thing."
"Ya have a mutually beneficial thang with the Wizard," Kathy deadpanned.
Evie scrunched her nose at that. "That sounds kinda dirty."
"If you helped the Wizard last night, what is he helping you with?" Candace inquired with a tilt of her head.
Maya snapped her fingers, nodding so hard the thin braids whipped in the air. "Yeah! Whatcha wantin' from the Wizard!? Mama says he used to do love fortunes, is that what it's about?"
"L-Love fortunes?! Don't be ridiculous! Why would I need that!" Evie protested, flapping her hands in the air.
"Didncha know, Maya? Evie's already got herself a man," Kathy teased. Maya's big blue eyes widened impossibly as her face flushed.
"Really truly?" she enthused, starry-eyed. "You're in love, Evie?"
"Wh-what- No! C-Can we please change the subject?" Evie pleaded, ears burning and cheeks stained red. Kathy cackled aloud while Maya pouted.
"My Gra'mama just got in a new shipment of eyeglasses. You should come by and see if any suit you," Candace said gently, her hand on Evie's arm. Relief had Evie's shoulders slumping.
"That sounds great. I'll make sure to come by soon. My contacts were being super bothersome."
"I remembered," Candace replied with a small, pleased smile. Evie 'aww'ed and wrapped her arm around Candace's neck.
"Candyyyy , were you the one to order those eyeglasses? Just for me?" Evie gushed, rubbing her cheek on Candace's head.
"N-Not j-just f-for you," Candace protested, blushing brightly and sputtering.
"Sure, everyone's runnin' around wearin' glasses," Kathy said with an affectionate eyeroll. Candace blushed enough that steam almost rolled right off her skin, clashing terribly with her periwinkle hair.
Dirt road became cobbles and Evie let her arm drop away. Candace hurried forward and spun around to bow quickly. "I must go help Gra'mama open up the shop. I'll s-see you later!" she exclaimed, before rushing away.
Kathy grinned, teeth baring, at Evie. "Cutie pie, ain't she? Do ya think she'll like t'be my first girlfriend?"
Evie laughed and Maya squealed giddily. "Really? You like Candace, Kathy? How cute!" Hearts almost bubbled out of her as she clasped her hands in front of her.
"Nah, it was a joke, Maya." Kathy swiftly nipped that in the bud with an affectionate rustle to Maya's hair. "I gotta get a few more hours a'shut-eye. Come 'n git your ingredients from the Bar when yer ready for 'em, Eves. I'll have 'em set out for ya," she waved and sauntered away, hands crossed behind her head.
Maya looked after her pouting. "You think she was joking or tellin' the truth?" Maya asked thoughtfully. And rather disappointedly truth be told. She really seemed to relish any and all romances, especially among her friends.
"Which time?" Evie returned with a shrug. Maya huffed grumpily, but her sunny smile returned soon enough.
It took only a few more minutes to make it up to Ocarina. When Evie entered behind Maya, hesitant and awkward, she was relieved to see it empty. Or more importantly, Jake-less. She had not wanted to run into him so soon. On the counter sat a beautiful made-up cake. It was piled high with frosting expertly shaped with a single chestnut balanced perfectly on top. Maya ooo 'ed excitedly and rushed forward.
"Look, Evie! Grammy already made you a cake! Her famous Mont Blanc cake, too~ Oh, please, please, can I taste it with you? She hasn't made one in so long," Maya pleaded, eyes shining. Evie grinned and gestured expansively.
"You know where the forks are. Let's dig in," Evie agreed.
"I'm gonna get a bite, too, right?" Finn whispered excitedly at her ear. Evie turned just enough to wink at him, which made him whoop happily.
They dug in, humming happily, but Evie let Finn and Maya have most of it. Apparently Mont Blanc, renowned or not, was not exactly her thing. She wasn't really fond of chestnuts as a whole, so she shouldn't have been surprised, but it had been such a beautiful, delicious looking cake. She left Finn and Maya to finish, promising to be right back. Yolanda still hadn't shown up, so Evie decided to just go get the ingredients now while Maya licked the plate clean. Evie chuckled to herself and hurried down to the bar.
As promised, the small sack of ingredients were sitting on the bar. Hayden had let her in easily when she'd explained and led her straight to them.
"I hear you set up a shindig for my girl," Hayden noted as Evie checked everything over. She glanced up at him, a little startled.
"Mostly I let everyone else plan it out. I just rented out the space," Evie shrugged off modestly. Hayden's bushy beard twitched with his grin.
"Next time you come 'round, first drink's on the house."
"Oh, no, you don't have to-" she broke off at Hayden's raised hand. "Thank you," she mumbled instead. "I have to… better get going, so. Thanks. Um, tell Kathy I said hi when she wakes up later?"
"Will do."
The trek back to Ocarina was quick, but she halted just before she cracked open the front door. Inside, the alarmed trilling of Finn's bells reached her ears under the raised voices within and she did not want to walk in on some family scene with Jake. Pushing the door slightly more ajar, she peeked into see Chase… scolding a contrite and red-faced Maya. Knowing Maya's weakness for the sharp-tongued chef, Evie grimaced in sympathy. Hopefully, whatever it was would blow over soon.
"I know I put that cake here on the counter. Do you really just eat anything you see?" Chase was snapping, genuinely frustrated and purple eyes flashing.
Evie's eyes widened.
"N-No, no, I d-didn't―"
Something sly lit Chase's eyes and he leaned back, arms crossing over his chest. A long, low sigh escaped him.
"Well, whoever it was, I hope I find them. Seeing as I put rat poison in the cake. Yolanda told me she was having problems with them," Chase said in overdramatic concern.
"Oh! Oh my! Rat poison! I need an antidote!"
"AM I GONNA DIE?" Finn shrieked by their heads, going unheard.
"Hey!" Chase and Evie shouted at the same time.
Chase spun around, confused, as Maya turned to her with teary eyes.
"Oh, Evie! I'm so sorry! I got you p-p-poisoned! " the poor, gullible girl wailed.
"You ate some of my cake?" Chase accused incredulously.
"Yes, I did. And I know for a fact you're lying. There's no way a professional cook would leave a poisoned cake on the counter. He especially wouldn't waste good, expensive ingredients on a cake for rats," Evie retorted, stomping up to wrap her arms around the hysterically sobbing Maya's shoulders. She wasn't the closest friend to Maya, but the poor girl was beside herself. Finn flung himself to her shoulder, clinging and hiccupping with fear. It was the poor little sprite caught in the cross fire that had the ire spitting out of her more than anything. She couldn't even think to care that it wasn't exactly fair to Chase to blame him for what he couldn't see or hear.
But she sure did blame him anyway, auburn eyes narrowed and jaw tight and mulish.
"R-Really? It wasn't poisoned?" Maya blubbered.
"Of course not. It was just to teach you a lesson about eating just any old food you see," Chase admitted with a loud 'tch'.
"It's cruel and rude. If you'd given her a chance to explain, we both thought it was for me," Evie all but snarled at him. She couldn't even cuddle her trembling little fairy, but he was Chase blinked at her.
"She… she mentioned you, but you weren't here―"
"She's not a child. You can't treat her like one and make her cry. Even if she ate it alone, telling someone they ate poison to teach them a lesson is… is a shitty thing to do," she pointed out angrily. Her eyes darted towards Finn, but he was sobbing on her chest, little hands clutching her tightly in relief and leftover fear. Another venomous glare shot Chase's way.
For a moment, Chase actually looked ashamed before recollecting himself.
"I worked really hard on that cake. It was supposed to be for Yolanda to try and I came back to see it gone. It's not okay to eat someone else's cake that's just sitting on a counter," Chase shot back, tone acidic.
Evie rolled her eyes. "You left it on a counter in an inn and the innkeeper's daughter ate it thinking her grandmother made it. It's a simple mistake."
"I am sorry. It just looked so good. I should've asked Grammy first," Maya conceded miserably. Evie gently patted her back.
"Yeah, I should've, too. We both thought the same thing. He still shouldn't've lied about the rat poison, though. Nothing makes that okay, even if you had just eaten 'any old cake lying around'," the rancher assured her with a last (seriously, the last) biting look at Chase. He shrugged, but didn't meet her eyes.
The door behind Chase opened and the stocky, pink-haired Yolanda walked through.
"Good morning! Oh… What's going on here?" she asked curiously as her kindly face immediately fell into lines of concern. "Maya dear?"
Chase actually looked anxious as he watched Yolanda hurry to her granddaughter's side.
"It's nothing! I ate all of Chase's yummy cake without asking and now my tummy hurts," Maya whined pitifully, her cheeks red and her mouth a humiliated pout.
Evie's eyes widened slightly in shock ― Maya had always struck her as just childish, in a sweet if sometimes too much sort of way. But taking the blame on herself, letting her grandmother scold her ― kindly-mannered or not ― were the actions of someone Evie thought more mature than Maya. She'd obviously underestimated Maya's genuine kindness, and she wasn't the only one. One glance at Chase showed the conflicting emotions of annoyance and relief and surprise flitting over his features.
The frazzled-looking chef cleared his throat awkwardly. "I… have extra ingredients at home to re-make the cake, if you still wanted to try it," he suggested hesitantly.
"Of course, Chase, I was really lookin' forward to it. Now, Maya, you did say you were sorry?" Yolanda demanded, one cotton-candy pink brow rising. Maya nodded quickly.
"I'm so sorry. I'll be more careful next time," Maya gushed earnestly, blood-shot eyes glassy and bottom lip trembling. Chase sighed and rubbed the back of his head, violet eyes glancing away.
"Yeah, it's fine. I'm gonna go… head out. I'll be back before my bar shift," he muttered. He strode out the door a little faster than his usual laconic pace without waiting for good-byes. Yolanda pursed her lips, gaze questioning but amused, before she shook her head and smiled at the girls.
"So, I see the fixins for bread and I've got a couple cakes already set to the side. I'm afraid once I started bakin' I just couldn't bring myself to stop," Yolanda admitted with a hearty laugh. Evie couldn't help but grin along while Maya giggled a little thickly.
"Uh, yes, I was hoping I could bake a loaf with your help? I've never actually done it before," Evie sort of danced around the question, not quite able to ask for yet another favor, but knowing Maya would've interjected to do it herself if Evie hadn't.
Yolanda nodded easily, eyes twinkling. "That we can do. While it rises, we can nibble on some delicious desserts."
Evie's shoulders slumped in relief. Maya's resulting cheers almost drowned out the chiming of Finn's wings just under her ear as he leaned in to whisper, rather tearfully and sniffly, "I'm not sick, right? And none of the cakes have poison in them?" She smiled over at him with a tiny nod that had him beaming in relief and nuzzling under her chin.
"It's a good thing I made extra cakes, since you'll be having two to choose," Yolanda told her stoutly, business-like and brisk. She was already gathering up bowls and spoons and measuring cups, but Evie was frowning in confusion.
"Two? I'm sure we could eat two cakes between everyone, but I don't think we need two birthday cakes for one party," Evie demurred, forehead creasing deeply. Maya blinked over at her, head tilted to the side.
"But don't you need one for Kathy, too?"
Evie stared back, flabbergasted. "Was I supposed to?"
"Well, you're throwing a party for Luke, I coulda swore you were gonna throw one for Kathy! Her birthday is tomorrow and we had so much fun last night," Maya replied.
Evie's jaw dropped. "Her birthday is tomorrow?"
Yolanda outright chortled as Maya gasped behind her hands. "You didn't know! Oh my! Should I throw the party? You think Mama and Papa will let me, Grammy?"
"I'm sure they will, and Ms. Evelyn here will probably appreciate it," Yolanda teased with a wink in Evie's speechless direction.
"Why didn't anyone tell me!?" the rancher exclaimed.
…
"Eeeuugghh , I'm gonna 'splode, Evie!" Finn moaned at her shoulder. One of his tiny hands was clutching her shirt tightly, the other rubbing the little protruding tummy too full of cake. Evie snorted softly.
"I'm honestly surprised you haven't already. How did you manage to fit that much cake in your gut!? They kept giving me looks since they thought I was eating your share," Evie laughed. Finn whined and rubbed his cheek against her jaw.
"I'm sorry, really, but they were all so good. You should bake, Evie, so we can have all the cake we want!"
"I barely managed to bake this loaf of bread alone, kinda, and it was super simple. No way will I be able to bake cakes even half as well as Yolanda," Evie retorted with a lopsided grin. "At least, not anytime soon."
Finn pouted tragically. "I wish I was bigger so I could learn to bake cake," he muttered sulkily.
Evie giggled to herself. "I could always hunt down an Easy-Bake Oven."
"Whassat?"
"Nothing, nothing. Just a little joke. Do you have that note about Trunks?" Evie asked quickly heading off Finn's curiosity.
"Oh yeah!" Finn grunted a little as he sat up, then fluttered down into her knapsack. She pffted under her breath, amused at Finn fumbling and digging through the miscellaneous items she'd somehow managed to fit in there. "Here it is!" he crowed victoriously. A long moment later, he was handing it off to her and hovering in front of her.
It took another longer moment to shuffle around the still warm loaf of bread and the envelope, but she got it open at last. "So, yeah, it does seem like the Fugue Forest is the best bet. There's a gate that he probably couldn't have gotten through, so I have a good idea of where he might be, but I'm not sure."
"Let's go give it a try!" Finn agreed. Evie carelessly shoved the letter and envelope in her pocket and picked up her pace over the Flute Fields Bridge. She might have been a little trembly in excitement. She was about to meet an elephant. In person. She'd always thought elephants were pretty awe-inspiring and adorable at once. (She'd been utterly fascinated with 'Dumbo' as a kid.)
She made to the top of the hill, just beyond the sign marker above Horn Ranch just when it was late enough in the afternoon that the dim light under the trees was basically just shadow. With the heat of the summer making the air heavy and humid, and the sweat film her skin from just a slow jog, the shade actually looked inviting. If an elephant was looking for adventure with the hope of not being seen, the trees, full of flora and fauna and plenty of cover, was probably the perfect place for him. He was probably better fed than poor Eunice had been, with the wild vegetation aplenty in this area. But a raised-like-a-pet and spoiled-rotten circus elephant was probably not exactly… satisfied by some measly, berries and mushrooms fare. She unwrapped the loaf of bread from the paper Yolanda had folded so carefully around it and then dug into her pocket for the whistle.
The shrill tweeeee echoed under the trees, birds swooping and fluttering as they cried out their various startled bird-calls, and a few smaller land-trapped figures darted away quick as a flash. Something much larger, however, was trudging towards them, large head swinging and long prehensile nose swishing over the soft green grass. A delighted gasp left Evie as the sweet-looking elephant stepped into the late afternoon light and flapped his big, floppy ears.
"Oh wow, he's adorable, you're adorable!" Evie enthused to him directly, sliding one foot over the ground towards him. His head cocked to the side, wet, black eye intelligent and pensive as he took her in. His trunk gave him away, though, as it lifted in the air and twitched in the direction of the bread in her hands. "Yes, that's right. Your friend Mr. Theodore sent me for you. You like bread, don't you? It's fresh, still warm and soft and tasty. Do you want it, Trunks?"
At the name of 'Theodore', Trunks' long-lashed eye blinked at the familiar name. At Trunks, his head jerked up a little and his ears lifted high. He definitely knew his own name. He gambled over to her, footsteps heavy and the thudding vibrating through the ground and up her body from the soles of her feet. Instead of going directly to the bread, his rough-edged snout snuffled over her, plucking at the hems of her clothes and lipping at her bare, sweaty skin. His head shook and wobbled when he made a noise that… was that a sneeze? Then, he wrapped his trunk around the loaf in her hands and deftly shoved it in his mouth. His shining black eyes closed in an elephant-approximation of rapture and Evie giggled behind her fist, already pink-faced and light-headed from his inspection.
First a giraffe cuddled her and now an elephant? Who needed finals and term papers when this sort of adventure was out there?! She grinned and reached up to pat Trunks' trunk, up high almost between his eyes. He laid his long snout around her shoulders, like a very warm, heavy, feather boa and let her coo and praise him like an infatuated child. All the while, Finn was chatting away to Trunks, wings trilling and chiming, as he talked about Theodore and why he'd asked Evelyn to help him and how Trunks needed to go back home. A long while later ― and all too soon ― Trunks pulled away with a gentle pat of his trunk to Evie's cheek, almost mothering which made Evie laugh out loud in surprise.
"He says he's ready to go home now. He hopes he'll see you at the circus when they come back and he promises not to run away again. He misses all his favorite foods, including the tasty bread like you made for him!" Finn explained cheerfully.
"Well, if you ever do run away, you can come to my ranch. I have a roomy barn for you to stay in," Evie offered with another laugh. Finn dutifully translated with his own snickers.
Trunks bobbed his head up and down, snout swinging a little faster, and Evie wondered if that was his way of showing humor. Finn and Evie waved and sang out farewells as Trunks stomped his way back down the hill, leaving Fugue Forest behind him.
"Was that… an elephant?" asked a voice from behind the twosome. Both fairy and woman alike shrieked as they spun around. Luke was standing there, axe propped on one shoulder and his other hand scratching at his head, mystified written all over his face. He grinned at Evie unrepentantly, chuckling when she punched him hard to the shoulder.
"You're gonna scare the bejesus outta me one day!" Evie growled.
Luke frowned exaggeratedly. "Bejesus doesn't sound so serious. Maybe you won't need it, like an appendix!" he joked, gold eyes mischievous. Evie crossed her arms and glared even as her mouth twitched.
"That was clever enough I'mma let you have it," she said with squinty eyes. He threw back his head and laughed before dragging her into a headlock.
"Let's go get some dinner with Pops 'n Bo, and you can tell me about the awesome party you threw without me. Maybe even convince me I'm not going crazy seeing elephants wandering around," Luke demanded cheerfully. Evie rolled her eyes, but let herself be dragged along. She couldn't remember having any other plans and maybe he could give her ideas for a last minute gift for Kathy. Summer was already shaping up to be a busy, one-thing-after-one sort of season. She was… looking forward to it, actually.
A/N: I'm so sorry I didn't update last week. I basically putting too many projects, writing AND at my job, on my plate. So I'm catching up to my written chapters too quickly. I'm going to slow down to every third week instead of two just to push myself into getting back ahead a bit. But! My beta had some free time so the next chapter will finally be up to real standards! is a chapter behind AO3, so ya'll are less anxiety-inducing, lol. I hope THIS chapter is worth the longer wait. :) See you on the 30th everyone! lessthan3 y'all!
