Hiya Descendants!

Happy first chapter update of the week!

That's a mouthful ain't it? But I kind of like it better than Happy Monday.

So, in the last chapter, we got to see Faustina's point of view as the family gathered to work on their math homework. And then Deez shut down on the family.

Are you ready for the cove?

Did I hear a yes?

We hope you enjoy the chapter.

Lots of Love!

-Dark-

Six people in the dinghy was a tight fit.

Deez takes another deep breath as she looks out over the water before she gives up and buries her face against Gil's chest again.

At least she wasn't crying anymore. Sea Gods that was so stupid.

I have to break down why I'm right and I suck at that in every damn part of my life.

She'd said it out loud before she'd even realized she felt that way. Felt like she just sucked at explaining everything. Then it turned into her not being able to articulate why just trying wasn't an option. If she was going to do anything, it was going to be done right. That was all. Just those seemingly harmless thoughts.

Then Harry snapped at her, and Uma told her to stop throwing a tantrum.

And that had been it. She just started crying after that. And she hadn't been able to stop. Even when all she wanted was to tell them she was fine. Beg them to stop trying to make her feel better about the math.

The stupid fucking math. Even it wanted damn explanations from her, and she didn't like it. If she couldn't give good explanations to her family, to people she loved, then why was it so fucking special that it got to demand she explain herself.

She huffs in frustration when she notices her eyes burning again.

WHY?

Why couldn't she stop the hurt?

Why couldn't she explain the hurt to herself?

She just wanted to get to the cove, heat the water, and then hide in the back of the cave for a few hours. She just wanted to figure out what her problem was so she could make it go away.

As much as it had mortified her when Yensid walked in, his suggestion that they should move class to the cove for a change of scenery at least shifted some of the attention off of her.

Next time she would just keep her mouth shut if she thought she was going to disappoint Uma. Better to disappoint her than make her worry incessantly. Better to stay silent than find herself defending an opinion she could only barely understand.

She could still feel Uma watching her. Harry too.

She picks her head up enough to check where they were before she hides her face again. Almost there.

The moment she feels the dingy bump into the sand she slips down to sit between Gil's legs, giving him room to jump out with Harry to pull it to shore. As she grips the seat in front of her, she can't help but find Faustina's focused attention to her workbook odd. How could she focus with that many people and that much movement?

Unless that was why she had to be so focused. To keep her mind off of what was happening around her.

"Welcome to the Forging Cove Yensid." Gil smiles at the sorcerer before he bends over to scoop her up. He chuckles at her squeak of surprise. "All made possible by Deez." He smiles down at her. "Want to see our forge?"

"I do indeed." Yensid grins as he steps out of the dinghy, "Please lead the way."

"Cool," Gil grins.

"Speakin' o' the little Treasure and things only she can be ah doin'," Harry holds his hand out to help Uma jump to the shore before he holds his hand out again, "Think ya can be ah heatin' the pool? I be ah wantin' ta be teachin'-" Harry turns when Faustina doesn't take his hand, only to find her still bent over her book. With a sigh he bends and plucks her from the boat, "-this one here how ta be ah swimmin'."

Faustina looks up with a frown, "But I didn't finish the three sections."

"I'm the Captain-" Uma shrugs, "I'm allowed to change my mind when it suits me. And you learnin' how to swim is a lot more important than math right now. Besides-" Her eyes narrow, "Where are you in that book?"

"She and T are beyond Algebra one and are working on Geometry." Yensid supplies, "And I agree, swimming is an important necessity. With the Captain's permission-" He turns to her, "I believe it would be best for everyone to work on their own projects for an hour or two, and then we can recommit to school work feeling recharged."

"That sounds like a good idea." Uma agrees. "I know you all wanted to have fun, but we can come back another day to mess around."

"So about that water gettin' heated then?" Harry grins.

Deez nods before Gil sets her down. One of his hands rests on her head for a moment before he drops it. "Then we can show Yensid how we make weapons." He grins.

She runs for the edge of the pool, only too happy to take the time to heat it using her old method. She grips the boulder between both hands and forces her fire to accumulate against it.

Yensid chuckles as he watches in fascination. "As always, you never cease to amaze me with the ways you use your abilities. What a clever use of your fire."

"I needed to learn to swim," She admits with a frown as she stares at her hands, "but I didn't want anyone to get cold."

"Modest and thoughtful," Yensid smiles, "as usual."

When gentle steam starts to rise from the surface she can't help the small smile. It was her favorite part of the cove. When the pool looked magical.

"That's our Treasure for you." Gil grins widely as he walks over to her. "Always going above and beyond."

"Even at her own detriment." Uma sighs.

She closes her eyes at the sigh, shifting as if she were staring at the pool.

Yensid chuckles lightly as he hides his smile behind a hand. "No one is perfect. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Making mistakes is how we learn."

With a sigh, she sits on the edge of the pool and puts her feet in, "How's that Harry?"

"Ya be a pearl among sea-trash." He smiles as he starts pulling off his clothes.

Uma grins as she follows suit.

Faustina looks between the two to her and Gil several times with a small frown, before she starts emptying her pockets.

"T swims fully clothed if you're worried." Deez nods before she stands. Good, Uma and Harry were going to work with Faustina

"Thank you." She bites her lip before she sits in the sand and starts untying the boots she was wearing.

"Have fun." Deez smiles before she turns to run for the cave, only to bounce off of Gil with an 'Oomph'.

He catches her before she can fall. "Nice try." He grins down at her before he takes her hand.

Deez sighs. She hadn't thought she would get away with it, but she had to try. She just wanted a few moments to figure out what she was feeling without having to worry about hurting anyone.

"Let's show Yensid what we do, then you can have some time for yourself." He squeezes her hand, "Promise." He offers softly with a kiss to her head. "I was hoping we could help teach Faustina to swim together, but you look like you need some time for yourself. That's okay."

She sighs as she leans against him, gripping his hand tightly. Would he understand? He usually did. "Okay."

"Good girl." He smiles down at her before he places another kiss to the top of her head. "C'mon, we've been wanting to show Yensid this for forever." He starts guiding her to the cave.

She smiles as she nods, "We have." She turns to look up at Yensid as he falls into step with them, "We started working on making cannonballs, but they're not coming out right."

"Well, sounds like something we need to work on." Yensid grins before he looks back to the others, he watches them until he shakes his head, as if he'd been about to say something but then thought better of it. He turns back to them, "By all means, lead the way."

Deez glanced over her shoulder in curiosity, but all she could see was Harry coaxing Faustina into the pool. She takes a deep breath before she turns back, continuing to let Gil lead her to the cave.

"I found this place when T and I were playing hide and seek." She explains to fill the silence.

"So I remember you telling me." Yensid smiles at her. "Carlos was beside himself when he described the way you melted it to hollow it out more. Even I am impressed you're able to burn that hot. I never would have guessed."

"Pain thinks that's why my skin and hair are mostly white, because my inner flame is so intense." Deez offers with a shrug.

"What an interesting theory." He nods his head as he follows them. "Your pigment is unique even among the rest of your family."

"Deez is unique among anyone." Gil squeezes her hand. "We're so lucky she finally joined us."

She smiles as she stares at their joined hands before she laces their fingers, "I can only be stubborn for so long before it's just plain stupidity."

"How very wise of you." Yensid chuckles. "Most of the isle would rather die on a hill rather than wait for a mountain."

"Because the hill is trivial and the mountain important?" She questions with a frown.

"Exactly. Think of hills as something small, like for instance someone stealing something from you. Whereas a mountain represents your values, like your desire to never hurt someone you care about." He elaborates. "The wisest people step aside for others to stand firm on their hills, while fools often fall to them."

She ducks her head when she feels a flush creep across her face and down her neck. But she couldn't get the image out of her head. Was she tripping over a hill right now? Or was she lost on a mountain? It didn't feel small, well, hating math right now felt a little petty. She frowns. "How can you tell the difference?"

Yensid's silent for a moment. "Well, your core values are usually the code you live by. Something you wouldn't do even if it means your demise. While the rest would be things that perhaps you don't agree with or find offensive or stupid. One you can live with yourself with for letting go of. The other would change you, sometimes for the better, but most of the time for the worse."

She purses her lips as she continues walking. Was she facing a core value she didn't know she had? Or had she really just been frustrated and throwing a tantrum? But why had she been frustrated? Because she didn't know how to explain things? She scrunches her nose. That seemed too small and undefined to be a core value.

Gil squeezes her hand. "So this is it." He beams proudly at Yensid. "Where the Book Club came together in secret." He leads them to where their materials were. "These are the cups that Deez formed for the molten metal. C and T came up with a formula so they wouldn't melt."

Yensid looks over the varying cups as he nods. "Very ingenuitive." He smiles.

"And these are the molds that C and T made for us," Gil explains with excitement. "And," He walks over to where she'd melted out cubby holes and picks up a metal cube, "And these are the metals T collected and Deez condensed." He grins. "Oh." He pulls her over to the anvil, "And this is the anvil Jay, Harry, and T stole for us."

Yensid chuckles as he follows the two of them around, admiring the work they'd put into their club.

She smiles. It was hard to focus inward when he was so excited. And she loved seeing his passion for his work, "Don't forget to show him the hammer you throw around like it's nothing."

"Oh yeah!" Gil pulls her to the smaller alcove where he kept it hidden. "Look! Jay, Harry, and T stole this for us too!" He grins happily as he picks up the huge hammer, letting go of her hand as he swings it down on the anvil with a loud crash. "T thinks I should melt down my broadsword and turn it into a hammer. What do you think?"

Yensid blinks. "I think that would be an amazing idea. You seem like you're very comfortable with that instrument, that strike looked well-honed. And I dare say, I doubt anyone would be foolish enough to come at you with you wielding such a strong, blunt instrument."

"Right!" Deez giggles, "But you should hear when he's actually working on something. He sounds like he's playing music."

"Wanna show him Deez?" Gil asks, nearly pleading.

"I would rather enjoy seeing you two in action. I've been curious for quite some time."

"Uma does refuse to use the sword we made her." Deez tilts her head to the side, "We should make her a regular one so she still has a good sword."

Gil's eyes brighten. "Yeah! Let's do that!"

Deez chuckles before she pulls her hoodie off and runs to the back to collect the metal cubes, "We're still making it the fast one, right?"

"Yeah," Gil nods, "that one works the best for her model."

Yensid chuckles as he walks over to the wall and sits against it. Unable to keep the smile from his lips at their enthusiasm.

Poor D.

She's really beating herself up over everything. It's hard to reread. Any guesses as to what's bothering her so much when she's lost to it?

Did you think D was being petty? Or do you think it's something deeper?

We know Uma isn't usually so cavalier about changing her orders on a whim, but there's an exception to every rule and she does feel bad for the way they acted with Deez- Still did it bother you?

What did you get from Faustina glancing between D and Gil to Harry and Uma?

What do you think about Yensid's hill and mountain metaphor?

Gil was so excited to show off their forge. Did it make you smile to see how passionate he is?

Much love and appreciation

-Twisted