Coming Home
"And that's what happened," Lyndsey finished. It wasn't really a long story, just the same as she had told Night and Day, earlier. But Seven was crying, and Bhut-Khiss had gone teary eyed.
"Oh, sweetheart…" Seven said, embracing her daughter. She was unable to say any more.
"We never knew you were a Sorceress," her father said. "If we'd known…" he chocked up.
"Don't worry. It's…well, it's done," Lyndsey said. She smiled at them. "I'm back now." Her parents smiled back.
"And we're so glad for that," Seven said. "We missed you so much!" Again, tears welled in her eyes.
"I missed you too!" Lyndsey cried. Seven hugged her, then Bhut-Khiss did.
"We want to hug her, too!" Soda and Fizz cried, jumping up. That caused everyone to laugh. Lyndsey knelt down and hugged them. The twins giggled.
"Thank you Lyndsey!" they said. She smiled at them.
"This is going to be so wonderful!" Seven said. "We built a room in this house for you, and everything!" then she looked thoughtful. "Of course, if you want, we can move closer into the village. Whatever you want." She smiled at Lyndsey.
Lyndsey frowned. She looked at Day and Night. Then she looked back at her parents. She looked torn. "Mom…" she said slowly. "Day and Night saved me from the gourd." Grundy coughed. "And Grundy," Lyndsey added with a smile. "I owe them my life. I think I have to see them to the end of their adventure."
Seven looked like her heart had broken. "But…don't you want to stay with us?" she asked, tears leaking out of her eyes. Bhut-Khiss put his arm around her.
"Of course I do!" Lyndsey said quickly. "And I'll come back when it's over, too! It's just…I need to go with them," she explained.
Bhut-Khiss nodded. "I understand, dear," he said. "You take as long as you need. Your mother and I thought you were gone forever. Just seeing you back for a few minutes made everything worth it."
"And I'm still coming back," Lyndsey said.
"Yes," her father smiled. "And we'll be here, waiting for you."
"It's just so soon!" her mother said. "We just got you back, and now you're leaving again? Can't you stay a little while?" She had dried her eyes, but still looked sad.
Lyndsey glanced at Day and Night, who had been sitting quietly this whole time. "What do you guys think?" she asked them. They looked at each other.
"Why don't we just leave tomorrow?" Day said. Lyndsey looked at her mother.
"That would be wonderful!" she said, smiling.
"Then it's settled," Bhut-Khiss said. "You'll stay the day, and we'll get caught up. Then tomorrow, you'll leave on your adventure. And as soon as we know it, you'll be back again!" He grinned at his daughter, and she smiled back.
But two keen ears had heard the word 'adventure.' "We want to go too!" Soda and Fizz yelled. "Please Mom, Dad, can't we?" they begged.
"I don't know…" Bhut-Khiss said. Soda and Fizz made puppy dog eyes. They did it quite effectively.
"She won't be gone long…" Seven echoed. The twins whipped up some tears.
Day and Night looked at one another. The twins' ploy was working quite effectively on them. "I don't see why we can't bring them along," Day said.
"After all, we really won't be gone long," Night added. The twins got hopeful looks in their eyes.
"Can we Mama, plllease?" they said sweetly. Seven sighed.
"If it's ok with your daddy," she said. Then she looked at Lyndsey. "And your big sister."
"I suppose its ok with me," Bhut-Khiss said.
"I'd love to have them along!" Lyndsey said, smiling at the two.
"YAY!" the twins screamed, jumping up and down. "We're going on an adventure!!!" Grundy sighed. No one had bothered to ask him if he wanted two six year olds along. Which, for the record, he really didn't.
"Well, I think Day and I want to go explore the village," Night said. Really, she didn't mind, but knew that Lyndsey would want some time alone with her parents before they had to leave."
"I will be glad to show you around," Raven volunteered.
"I'll go with you too," Grundy said quickly, eyeing Raven suspiciously.
"We wanna go too!" the twins said. Day and Night grinned at them.
"It's ok with us if it's ok with your parents!" they said. Soda and Fizz looked up at Seven and Bhut-Khiss. They nodded.
"You can go," Seven said. "But mind your manners! And no using your talents!" she added.
"We'll be good," the twins promised. Grundy sure hoped they would!
"I'll keep Guinever here with me," Lyndsey said. "I'd like for him to get to know my parents." Guinever smiled.
"What exactly are their talents?" Grundy questioned.
"Oh," Seven said. "I should have told you! Soda," she pointed at the girl with the slightly green hair, "can solidify liquids. And Fizz," she gestured at the blue tinged haired boy, "can liquefy solids."
Grundy whistled. "Those are impressive talents," he said. To himself, he wondered if they'd be able to keep the twins under control. But he reminded himself that he had two Sorceresses with him. Assuming that Day and Night were under control, (he laughed to himself), the six year olds should be easy enough to take care of.
Seven and Bhut-Khiss smiled proudly. "We figure they're a Neo-Sorceress and Neo-Magician," Seven said.
"They may even be full Magician and Sorceress class," Grundy said.
"Neo-Sorceress? What's that?" Day asked. Night looked interested, too.
"It's a talent slightly under full Sorceress level," Grundy explained. "It's not strong enough to be classified as Sorceress, but it's much stronger than your average spot-on-the-wall talent."
"Spot-on-the-wall?" Night asked, confused.
Grundy laughed. "Oops. I forgot you wouldn't know what that is. Spot-on-the-wall magic is just a term for weaker magic. It's called that because the talent of making a spot appear on a wall isn't very strong magic," he explained.
"Oh, I get it," said Day.
"Yeah, me too," said Night. They looked at each other.
"Neo-Sorceress!" Day said. "Ever cool sounding!"
"I know!" Night said back.
Raven, Bhut-Khiss, and Seven looked confused. "Cool means interesting," Grundy explained. They all nodded in understanding.
"Strange, though," Seven said. Day, Night, and Lyndsey laughed.
"I guess we should be going," Day said, standing up. Night stood up too, and the ball of Brain Coral water floated with them.
"Ahh! What is that?" Seven asked, just noticing it.
"Oh, it's Brain Coral water," Day said, as if it were a common thing. "We're bringing it to the Good Magician."
"Oh," Seven said simply.
The twins jumped up, ready to go. Soda took Day's hand, and Fizz took Night's hand.
"We're ready!" they said sweetly. Day and Night laughed.
"So are we!" they said. The twins laughed too. Grundy rolled his eyes from his perch on Night's shoulder. He had a feeling it wasn't going to be so easy with these four.
"Shall we go?" Raven asked, smiling at the girls. They nodded at him, smiling back.
"See you soon!" Lyndsey said, smiling at them.
"Bye Lyndsey!" Day said.
"Cya!" Night called. "Have fun!"
"I will!" Lyndsey said. Then Day, Night, Raven, Soda, Fizz, and Grundy all walked out the door. Lyndsey sat down with her smiling parents. She was home!
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"And that's what happened," Lyndsey finished. It wasn't really a long story, just the same as she had told Night and Day, earlier. But Seven was crying, and Bhut-Khiss had gone teary eyed.
"Oh, sweetheart…" Seven said, embracing her daughter. She was unable to say any more.
"We never knew you were a Sorceress," her father said. "If we'd known…" he chocked up.
"Don't worry. It's…well, it's done," Lyndsey said. She smiled at them. "I'm back now." Her parents smiled back.
"And we're so glad for that," Seven said. "We missed you so much!" Again, tears welled in her eyes.
"I missed you too!" Lyndsey cried. Seven hugged her, then Bhut-Khiss did.
"We want to hug her, too!" Soda and Fizz cried, jumping up. That caused everyone to laugh. Lyndsey knelt down and hugged them. The twins giggled.
"Thank you Lyndsey!" they said. She smiled at them.
"This is going to be so wonderful!" Seven said. "We built a room in this house for you, and everything!" then she looked thoughtful. "Of course, if you want, we can move closer into the village. Whatever you want." She smiled at Lyndsey.
Lyndsey frowned. She looked at Day and Night. Then she looked back at her parents. She looked torn. "Mom…" she said slowly. "Day and Night saved me from the gourd." Grundy coughed. "And Grundy," Lyndsey added with a smile. "I owe them my life. I think I have to see them to the end of their adventure."
Seven looked like her heart had broken. "But…don't you want to stay with us?" she asked, tears leaking out of her eyes. Bhut-Khiss put his arm around her.
"Of course I do!" Lyndsey said quickly. "And I'll come back when it's over, too! It's just…I need to go with them," she explained.
Bhut-Khiss nodded. "I understand, dear," he said. "You take as long as you need. Your mother and I thought you were gone forever. Just seeing you back for a few minutes made everything worth it."
"And I'm still coming back," Lyndsey said.
"Yes," her father smiled. "And we'll be here, waiting for you."
"It's just so soon!" her mother said. "We just got you back, and now you're leaving again? Can't you stay a little while?" She had dried her eyes, but still looked sad.
Lyndsey glanced at Day and Night, who had been sitting quietly this whole time. "What do you guys think?" she asked them. They looked at each other.
"Why don't we just leave tomorrow?" Day said. Lyndsey looked at her mother.
"That would be wonderful!" she said, smiling.
"Then it's settled," Bhut-Khiss said. "You'll stay the day, and we'll get caught up. Then tomorrow, you'll leave on your adventure. And as soon as we know it, you'll be back again!" He grinned at his daughter, and she smiled back.
But two keen ears had heard the word 'adventure.' "We want to go too!" Soda and Fizz yelled. "Please Mom, Dad, can't we?" they begged.
"I don't know…" Bhut-Khiss said. Soda and Fizz made puppy dog eyes. They did it quite effectively.
"She won't be gone long…" Seven echoed. The twins whipped up some tears.
Day and Night looked at one another. The twins' ploy was working quite effectively on them. "I don't see why we can't bring them along," Day said.
"After all, we really won't be gone long," Night added. The twins got hopeful looks in their eyes.
"Can we Mama, plllease?" they said sweetly. Seven sighed.
"If it's ok with your daddy," she said. Then she looked at Lyndsey. "And your big sister."
"I suppose its ok with me," Bhut-Khiss said.
"I'd love to have them along!" Lyndsey said, smiling at the two.
"YAY!" the twins screamed, jumping up and down. "We're going on an adventure!!!" Grundy sighed. No one had bothered to ask him if he wanted two six year olds along. Which, for the record, he really didn't.
"Well, I think Day and I want to go explore the village," Night said. Really, she didn't mind, but knew that Lyndsey would want some time alone with her parents before they had to leave."
"I will be glad to show you around," Raven volunteered.
"I'll go with you too," Grundy said quickly, eyeing Raven suspiciously.
"We wanna go too!" the twins said. Day and Night grinned at them.
"It's ok with us if it's ok with your parents!" they said. Soda and Fizz looked up at Seven and Bhut-Khiss. They nodded.
"You can go," Seven said. "But mind your manners! And no using your talents!" she added.
"We'll be good," the twins promised. Grundy sure hoped they would!
"I'll keep Guinever here with me," Lyndsey said. "I'd like for him to get to know my parents." Guinever smiled.
"What exactly are their talents?" Grundy questioned.
"Oh," Seven said. "I should have told you! Soda," she pointed at the girl with the slightly green hair, "can solidify liquids. And Fizz," she gestured at the blue tinged haired boy, "can liquefy solids."
Grundy whistled. "Those are impressive talents," he said. To himself, he wondered if they'd be able to keep the twins under control. But he reminded himself that he had two Sorceresses with him. Assuming that Day and Night were under control, (he laughed to himself), the six year olds should be easy enough to take care of.
Seven and Bhut-Khiss smiled proudly. "We figure they're a Neo-Sorceress and Neo-Magician," Seven said.
"They may even be full Magician and Sorceress class," Grundy said.
"Neo-Sorceress? What's that?" Day asked. Night looked interested, too.
"It's a talent slightly under full Sorceress level," Grundy explained. "It's not strong enough to be classified as Sorceress, but it's much stronger than your average spot-on-the-wall talent."
"Spot-on-the-wall?" Night asked, confused.
Grundy laughed. "Oops. I forgot you wouldn't know what that is. Spot-on-the-wall magic is just a term for weaker magic. It's called that because the talent of making a spot appear on a wall isn't very strong magic," he explained.
"Oh, I get it," said Day.
"Yeah, me too," said Night. They looked at each other.
"Neo-Sorceress!" Day said. "Ever cool sounding!"
"I know!" Night said back.
Raven, Bhut-Khiss, and Seven looked confused. "Cool means interesting," Grundy explained. They all nodded in understanding.
"Strange, though," Seven said. Day, Night, and Lyndsey laughed.
"I guess we should be going," Day said, standing up. Night stood up too, and the ball of Brain Coral water floated with them.
"Ahh! What is that?" Seven asked, just noticing it.
"Oh, it's Brain Coral water," Day said, as if it were a common thing. "We're bringing it to the Good Magician."
"Oh," Seven said simply.
The twins jumped up, ready to go. Soda took Day's hand, and Fizz took Night's hand.
"We're ready!" they said sweetly. Day and Night laughed.
"So are we!" they said. The twins laughed too. Grundy rolled his eyes from his perch on Night's shoulder. He had a feeling it wasn't going to be so easy with these four.
"Shall we go?" Raven asked, smiling at the girls. They nodded at him, smiling back.
"See you soon!" Lyndsey said, smiling at them.
"Bye Lyndsey!" Day said.
"Cya!" Night called. "Have fun!"
"I will!" Lyndsey said. Then Day, Night, Raven, Soda, Fizz, and Grundy all walked out the door. Lyndsey sat down with her smiling parents. She was home!
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