Disclaimer, you know
When dorothy awoke, she found herself not in the emerald city where she expected to be. But on the couch in the living room of Gale Hall. She sat up and noticed that she had her glasses on. Her head still had a dull pounding in it. there was a fire burning in the fireplace. Alex throwing some small pieces of wood onto the fire. The right side of his face was glowing, giving off magical energy around his eye. He looked over to her and smiled.
"When I woke and you didn't immediately come to, Glinda suggested we move you here, so nothing disturbed your sleep" he said
"And the eye?" dorothy asked noticed that it had a healing bruise that the energy seemed to be consuming.
"Oh, I…got in a tussle with a Kalidah" he said, evidently lying.
Dorothy giggled and rolled her eyes
"You walked into a tree again, while getting some wood." She said, "didn't you?" she asks teasingly.
"Yeah." He said going red in the face "apparently the curse is able to heal me at an accelerated rate." He said blinking.
"Okay, why have I got my glasses on?" dorothy asked curiously.
"Take them off and you'll understand why." Alex said sighing, getting to his feet and stretching.
Dorothy looked at him, and complied, immediately her vision blurred and her head started pounding. Quickly she put the glasses back on and blinked a few times. Her vision cleared after a couple of moments.
"It should rectify itself within a couple hours now that you're awake." Alex said backing up from the fireplace.
"You know" came the voice of the beast, "I could have healed it faster." He added.
"So why don't you?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"Well at this point it would be redundant, its nearly done, not worth the waste of energies." He replied.
The scepter pinged in agreement at this.
"I see." Dorothy said pushing herself to a proper sitting position on the couch.
"To answer your next question" Both of them said, "Its roughly half passed three"
Dorothy nodded and took a deep breath in through her nose. A few scents caught her nose.
"That's dinner, mom was here earlier helping me with it" Alex said, "Cheese soup."
"That's an odd choice." Dorothy said arching an eyebrow.
"I was looking through the kitchen and accidentally knocked over the box of recipe cards, it was the first one I picked up." He said, "it looked appealing, the beast and I debated it, and decided it would be nice to try."
"it's on a low simmer presently" the beast said, "we've also got rolls baking, and aunt Barbara brought us two cheesecakes."
Dorothy looked at him, arching an eyebrow.
"Small or?" she asked trailing off.
"Regular size." He said glancing at the scepter.
It pinged and one of Glinda's cooking pots flew into the room. he smiled and hung it over the hearth.
"Are we expecting company?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"Ozma may turn up." Alex said looking at the beast in the mirror "but otherwise no, my aunt can just be a little excessive sometimes."
Dorothy nodded in response to this, getting to her feet and stretching. She walked over to alex and kissed him. They walked to the kitchen, the scepter following behind them. a soup tureen on the range in the kitchen.
"well, it all smells good." Dorothy said taking in a deep breath, "seems those few lessons with Brianna really did you some good."
Alex chuckled at this.
"well, your aunt and my mother were also a big help too." He said, "but yes I'd say the lessons really did help."
The two shared a smile and a chuckle. Alex went over to the range and over to the pot, giving it a stir. The sound of the rainbow mover echoed in his ears. The two looked at each other, their respective echoes had run through them.
"Alex?" Dorothy asked, sounding rather nervous.
"Kitten?" he said, trying to keep his composure.
The two of them locked eyes and when dorothy saw the look in Alex's, further concerned crossed her face.
"Alex, what did you see when the scepter zapped those future echoes to us?" she asked worriedly.
Alex stared for a moment. He had Ozma with him, he had the wizard with him, but where was dorothy? This caused one thought to cross his mind. and it was one he really didn't want to think about.
"You saw something concerning as well." She said.
He didn't respond, he simply nodded. He was mildly relieved to know that she too had seen something that was bothersome as well. He was worried he was going to have to abandon her, which he didn't want to do. He wondered what she had seen but didn't want to ask. The two of them stayed silent for a moment. The silence, however, was broken by a knock on the front door. The two of them shared a glance, dorothy got up from her chair and walked out to answer it. Opening it, she found Ozma standing before her, smiling.
"Ozma, you know you didn't have to knock" dorothy said with a giggle "or use the front door." She added.
"Oh I know" Ozma said with a giggle as well, coming into the house, sliding her shoes off and placing them neatly in a shoe rack next to the door.
Dorothy looked at that for a moment, she hadn't recalled it being there. Though she wondered if she just hadn't noticed it. She hadn't been to gale hall too often, but she was sure that there had just been a coat rack there. Alex soon joined them, smiling at Ozma. He quickly noticed dorothy being distracted and looked at the shoe rack as well.
"interesting, I know for a fact that wasn't here before" he said looking around, Ozma?" he asked curiously.
"yes?" she asked in response.
"you wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?" he asked curiously.
She shook her head
"I'd only ever come here if you two were" she said, her smile never leaving her face, "even though I know the doors are always open to me"
They nodded at this statement, smiling.
"so, you'll be joining us for lunch and or dinner then?" Alex asked rhetorically.
"if its no trouble." Ozma said with a giggle and a large grin.
The two of them shared a glance and as if they had just shared a thought at the same moment, grinned and rolled their eyes condescendingly.
"didn't you just say you know the doors are always open to you?" they asked rhetorically.
They all shared a laugh at this, at that moment the scepter let out a ping and zapped the boot rack, the slippers, Dorothy's boots, a pair of Alex's work boots and Dorothy's silver flats appeared in the rack.
"Well, now its filled up" Alex said looking to the scepter, "anyways, I'll get the cooking pot, you two ladies wait in the kitchen." He spoke.
Dorothy nodded and she and Ozma padded to the kitchen, the scepter staying with alex.
"I'll admit, that little conversation did, what's the phrase most adults use?" Dorothy asked thinking about it for a moment "break the ice? I think?" she said questioning herself.
"you know, I do believe that's true" Ozma said taking out her little silver wand and waving it.
The bread rolls which alex had moved to the counter from the over floated upwards, a large bowl leaving a cabinet to receive them. This proceeded to place itself on a counter before them.
"okay, as much as I dislike the idea of using magic for everything, that was actually kind of cool." Dorothy said staring at the bowl in front of them.
"I mean, you utilize the slippers for transport." Alex said coming into the kitchen, the cooking pot now full, he placed it on a wooden board on the table.
The scepter pinged and moved the tureen to another, three bowls, three spoons, and three plates came out of drawers and cabinets and placed themselves before the three as they sat. opening the cooking pot revealed a rather hearty looking beef stew, which would pair along nicely with the cheese soup. However, something dorothy, alex, and Ozma all observed as they were sitting down to eat was the feeling of the hairs on the backs of their necks, settling down.
