Neil woke up to the sound of rain, checking the clock on his nightstand. It was just turning seven o'clock and he sighed, realizing he'd either have to wait until tomorrow to build the spare rooms or go out in the rain and possibly catch a cold. He walked downstairs, rubbing his eyes as he reached the bottom. He then stopped, looking down at Cupa, who had decided to place her bed right at the bottom of the stairs, for what reason, he couldn't guess. Andr had placed her bed right beside Cupa's. Both were still sleeping soundly, wrapped in the covers of their beds. He slowly sidestepped to his right, skirting the bed's edge until he was past the foot of it. "I know I said just put 'em wherever, but I didn't think they'd just put them down here of all places," he mumbled, yawning. As he walked into the kitchen, he heard Yaebi coming out of his own room, closing the door with a soft click behind him. "Mornin'."
"Same to you," Yaebi said, suppressing a laugh when he noticed just where their guests had placed their beds. "Wow. That looks like it was fun to get over. You jump over 'em?" Yaebi grinned, imagining the scene in his head.
"Nah, just sidestepped." Yaebi frowned, disappointed.
"Well, damn. Least my way coulda been funny," Yaebi said, while Neil shrugged. "So, how long are we going to let them sleep?"
"As long as they want. It looks like last night was the first time they've been able to sleep in relative comfort for a long time." Neil went about pulling ingredients out of the ice box and cabinets, as well as cooking utensils and a mixing bowl. On the counter, he set down eggs, some flour and other ingredients for pancakes, as well as some fruit that he had picked recently. "Eggs over easy or scrambled today, bud?"
"Surprise me," Yaebi replied, taking a seat at the table.
"Scrambled it is." Neil began cracking eggs. "Any idea on when this rain is supposed to stop?"
"It stops when it stops."
"Gee, that's real specific," Neil deadpanned as he began to whisk the eggs. He set them down, turning the stove on, using the front two eyes, placing a pan on each. With that done, he began to mix the pancake ingredients together, pouring a glass of milk before putting that ingredient up. He held his hand over the pans, nodding in satisfaction as he felt the heat coming off of them. He poured out the eggs in one pan and began cooking a pancake in the other, switching his attention between the two every few seconds. Yaebi stretched, a smile floating to his face.
"Always nice when I don't have to cook," he said, leaning back in his chair.
"You say that, but I still need you to at least turn on the toaster."
Yaebi gave an exaggerated sigh. "But it's so faaaar," he whined, lazily reaching a hand in the general direction of the toaster. Neil rolled his eyes, Yaebi getting up to toast a few slices of bread.
"E-excuse me," Andr said from the doorway, hiding herself behind it, her head and hands the only thing visible.
"Oh, good morning," Neil said with a smile. He then frowned. "We didn't wake you, did we?"
"Correction. Neil didn't wake you, did he?" Yaebi asked as he pulled the toaster's lever down.
"N-no. I'm just…kind of a light sleeper," Andr answered as she shook her head. "I was woken up by the smell coming from in here."
"Any reason you're hiding behind the door frame?" Neil asked as he began another pancake, then scooping the eggs into a serving bowl. Andr slowly moved her body into view, her hands now being held together, her fingers fidgeting.
"S-sorry," she said, looking at the ground. "It's…habit…"
"Are all Ender…uh...people this shy?" Neil asked, looking at Yaebi, who shrugged.
"I've only ever met the one Enderman. Though I guess Andr makes two," Yaebi answered as he gestured to a chair. He then realized Andr was still looking at the ground, so he rapped the table with his knuckles, clearing his throat to get her to look up. He nodded to the chair again, giving her a gentle smile. She walked over and sat down slowly, wincing as the chair made a scraping noise as she pulled it and herself closer to the table.
"Sorry," she mumbled once more. Her head slowly turned as her eyes explored the kitchen. "Your house is very nice…"
"Thanks. Built it ourselves!" Neil said with a grin as he set the bowl of eggs on the table, as well as a tower of pancakes. He took a seat for himself while Yaebi shook his head, shrugging.
"Mostly Neil, really. Zombies aren't exactly good at…construction," Yaebi said. "Or maybe it's just me. Neil handles maintenance and manual labor, while I do simple chores and most of the time, I'm the one cooking. Neil just happened to be up before me this time around." Yaebi began cutting up his two pancakes, stopping when he noticed Andr wasn't eating. "Are you full from last night?"
"Huh?" She looked up at him in surprise, having been in her own thoughts. "Sorry?"
"Breakfast. Are you not hungy?"
"O-oh…um…thank you," she said as she took a pancake from the top and a small portion of scrambled eggs. They all ate in silence, Neil enjoying the soft patter of rain on the roof.
"Oh, morning!" he said with a smile. Andr and Yaebi looked to the kitchen door to see Cupa was now awake, her hood down, her hair disheveled. She rubbed at her right eye, yawning.
Neil sure smiles a lot, Andr noted as Cupa sat beside the tall girl. Cupa made a sniffing noise, scrunching her face. "What's burning?" she asked. Neil and Yaebi both made a lunge for the toaster as they realized they'd left it on. Neil was the first there and he pushed the lever up to reveal four pieces of charcoal in the shape of bread slices.
"Well, that's one way to waste bread," Neil sighed as he pulled them out, getting ready to throw them out.
"I'll eat them," Cupa said, holding her plate out to Neil.
"Huh?"
"I love burnt stuff!" she explained, her plate still stretched out to Neil. He shrugged and placed them on her plate and watched with some amusement as she bit into the first piece, her eyes closed in satisfaction of the taste. "Just perfect," she said with a sigh of contentment.
"So, did you girls sleep well enough?" Yaebi asked. They both nodded.
"I haven't slept in such a soft bed before," Cupa replied, sighing once again. "And the blankets were so warm! I'm going to miss that…"
"Miss it?" Neil asked. Andr nodded.
"Once the rain has passed, we'll be leaving," she explained. "We don't want to be a burden."
"More like you're worried Neil will attack you?" Yaebi asked, taking Andr's sharp inhale as a yes. "You really don't have to worry about it. I mean, he's put up with me for seven years. I don't think he'll have a problem with two more added to the mix." Neil suddenly stood up, grabbing an apple from the bowl at the center of the table.
"Back in a sec," he said as he walked to the front door, opening it and stepping out on the porch. "Morning, Frank!" Andr looked at Yaebi, who simply gestured for her to go and see who Neil was talking to herself. She did so and was surprised to see that Neil was talking with an Enderman, said Enderman currently eating the very same apple Neil had taken from the bowl. "Got caught out in the rain, huh?" Neil gave a chuckle as the Enderman, who Andr realized was 'Frank', nodded, making some gestures. "Nah, it's fine. Stay here as long as you need. Sure you still don't wanna come inside, though?" Frank nodded one more time. "Alright, alright. See you around, then. Don't be afraid to knock if you need something." Neil turned around, seeing Andr. "Oh, Andr. Frank, this is Andr. Andr, Frank." Frank gave her a slight bow and a nod, Andr giving one of her own. "Andr's kinda like you, Frank. Just like Yaebi's kinda like a zombie."
"H-hi," she said. Frank walked over, putting a hand on her head. He smiled down at her, speaking in the language that she had grown up with. "O-oh…um…thank you."
"What's he saying?" Neil asked.
"He's just welcoming me to the area."
"Ah." Neil walked past the two, opening the door. "I, uh…I know I said I'd get working on the guest rooms today, but that might not happen with the rain. Hopefully, it'll blow over before noon, but you never know. This area's known for having pretty long rainstorms. Once had one that lasted a week, if you can believe it."
"You don't have to worry about that. Like I said, Cupa and I will leave once the rain passes."
"You really don't have to, you know. Or is there somewhere you're trying to get to?" Neil cocked his head to the side, the door remaining open.
"Well, n-not really," Andr replied, biting her lower lip.
"Then why not stay? I mean, if you're uncomfortable living in the same house, I could build you and Cupa your own. You don't have to keep moving, you know," Neil said.
"I-I just don't want to be a burden…"
"You won't be. Like Yaebi said, I've put up with him for seven years," Neil laughed, smiling.
"Heard that!" Yaebi shouted from the kitchen.
"And Frank's already welcomed you to the area. If that's not an invitation to live here, then I don't know what is!" He looked to Frank for support. Frank nodded, speaking once more.
[You need not fear Neil, young lady] Frank said. [He is strange, but he is trustworthy and dependable. And I would not mind having another Enderbeing to talk with every once in a while. But it is your choice if you stay or go.]
"Andr," Cupa said from the doorway. Andr looked at her friend. "Can…can we stay here? At least for a little while?" Cupa began playing with the hem of her hoodie, revealing a pair of extremely short shorts beneath the hoodie. "I'm tired of running and sleeping in the cold…I'm scared of sleeping outside…" Andr wrapped Cupa in a hug, bending over just far enough for her forehead to rest on the top of Cupa's.
"If you want to stay for a bit, then I guess it can't hurt," Andr said.
"Well, alright then," Neil spoke up after a few moments of silence. "Again, welcome to my and Yaebi's home. However, until I can expand, we're going to need to do something about the placement of your beds."
"Oh, dear!" Andr gasped as she straightened up as she finally realized where the beds had been placed. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize where we had placed them!"
"It's fine, it's fine," Neil said, scratching his chin in thought. "Mmm…how about you two take Yaebi's room for now? He can room upstairs with me or he can have the couch or whatever." He shrugged. "Ah, well. We'll get it worked out later! Let's finish breakfast." He walked back in, waiting for Cupa and Andr to follow before closing the door.
Later that day, Neil was on the porch, looking at the rain with a frown. He pulled on a hoodie, pulling the hood over his head. "Well, not gonna get anything done just standing here," he sighed as he stepped off the porch, heading towards a small stable to the right of the house. It was fenced in, a wooden roof keeping the rain off of the two horses within. One horse was brown, its hair shining in what little light there was. The other was black, a white streak on its face. Neil rubbed the nose of the brown one. "Alright, buddy, we gotta get to the town. Yaebi apparently forgot to mention that the mayor was asking for my help yesterday." The horse gave a snort, as if it understood what Neil was saying. Perhaps it did. "Yeah, he is kinda weird, huh?" Neil chuckled as he pulled the saddle and blanket from their stand, beginning the process of saddling the animal. He double checked all of the straps and buckles, ensuring none of them were too tight or too loose. When he was satisfied, he hooked his left foot into the loop, swinging the rest of his body up and over onto the saddle. He gave a click with his tongue, the horse moving and slowly leading up to a steady trot as rider and steed followed the familiar path to the village.
Like I said. This will be updated whenever I get a spark for it.