Chapter 5: Sparks of Interest
In Myra's lair, Rita was pacing in her cell as she was a nervous wreck over her children and husband. She knew in any situation they could handle themselves but this was just any situation. Magic, rituals, a great being; sounds like something Lucy would read about but this was all too real. As she was in mid though, one of Myra's golems walked up to her cell with a tray of food. "Myra not want you dead. Eat," The golem slowly said as it placed the tray on the floor. It wasn't anything special as it just was bread, butter and water but Rita still ate it as she realized she hasn't really eaten for awhile. As she ate the golem just stood there and watched motionless, making the mother of eleven uncomfortable. It didn't take too long for her to finish eating as the golem grabbed the tray and began to walk out before Rita spoke up.
"Excuse me but… can I have something to read? I just need something to relax a bit." The golem stopped before looking over its shoulder with a questioning look on its face. Moments passed before the golem gave a reply "See what Myra say. Now no," after that the stoney creature lumbered off to presumably Myra as Rita sat back down to wonder what her kids were up to.
Meanwhile, after saying their final goodbyes to Meadow Peak, the Loud siblings set off on their journey to meet Madame Lafayette for answers. The ride was rather pleasant so far as the sun hung high above their heads and Luna provided music for the long journey. Lisa had calculated that it would take approximately three days at their current rate which was okay since Lynn wanted to get in some training on the way. Speaking of Lynn, she and Luan were walking alongside the cart to stretch their legs and act as security in case something tried to attack them. Meanwhile in the cart, Lucy was writing in her new journal as Leni and Lola were braiding each other's hair.
As everyone was enjoying the downtime, Lana held her midsection and head as she was still reeling from the previous night. She was fine for the most part but ever-so-often she will feel the impact of being slammed into the gate. Lola could feel that something was up with her twin and paused the braiding session to check in with Lana.
"Hey Lan," Lola began while sitting next to Lana, "You've been awfully quiet." Lana snapped out of her train of thought before responding. "Yea yea. Just thinking about last night." Lana was on the verge of drifting back to her thoughts when Lola hugged her. Yes, they've hugged before but this time Lana felt a warmth she had never felt before; there was a level of safety and concern in this hug that was never there before. Lana returned the hug but squeezed slightly tighter than her sister. "Thanks Lols, I…I really need that."
"Aww, if you need a hug Lana I could've given you one," Leni said as she held both twins in a big sister hug. The two tried to squirm out but Leni was a lot stronger here than back home which made it difficult for them to break free. The others had a good laugh at the twins' attempt at freedom before everything settled down in relative silence with idle chit-chat filling the empty sound. Soon, the sun was nearing the horizon as Lincoln was in the middle of figuring out a good place to set up camp with Lori peering over with her input. They soon decided to settle at a nearby lake for the night as Henway had put a note on the map saying it was a good place to fish and to relax. It didn't take long until the cart found its way to the place with everyone hopping out to set up camp.
Luan and Lisa, made a campfire for cooking a dinner and for general warmth while Lynn dove into the water to find some fish they can add to the pot. Lucy, Luna and Lana gathered a few of the leaves to make a tent as they realized no one had bought a tent; let alone one big enough to shelter all of them. Lori and Leni made sure to tie the horse's reins to a tree, so it doesn't run away if spooked, while Lincoln cleared an area for the others to set up the makeshift tents.
As the sun kissed the horizon, turning the sky into a radiant orange, the family gathered around the campfire to enjoy a fish and potatoes stew with bread thanks to chef Luan. The group were pleasantly surprised by how delicious the stew was as they asked for seconds sooner than they thought. "Wow Luan, this is just as good as dad's cooking," Lori said as she poured another bowl of stew. "Thanks, even I'm soup-rised by how well it turned out. Hehe, get it?" Once again Luan's pun caused a wave of groan but a light chuckle from Lori along with a playful push. The rest of their dinner was filled with light conversations and a few good laughs until the sky turned dark with a sprinkling of stars.
The family stared at them for a bit before Lori stood up to address the group. "Okay, we need to get our rest for the night but, since we're just out in the open, we need a plan for the night." Everyone's eyes turned to the snow topped loud as he thought back to how he and his friends would handle the night. "The best thing we can do is sleep in shifts but with Leni, Lucy and Lola don't require as much sleep they should have the main watches. However watches are better in pairs so I think it'll be best if one of them looked out with someone else." It didn't take too long as they used their usual home setup for the night watches; Leni and Lori, Lucy and Lynn then finally Lola and Lana. Luna offered to watch with them since they were so young but with having the final watch, most were alright with them being alone for a few hours.
With the shifts established, the siblings headed off the bed with the exception of Lori and Leni who continued to sit by the fire. The two almost immediately jumped into one of their sister convos as Lori sobbed about being away from Bobby for three days now. Leni wrapped an arm around her and offered her an old cloth to wipe her tears with. Leni may not be an expert in most things but when it came to fashion or Lori, she knew them like the back of a magazine questionnaire. Lori began to calm down as she continued to talk about how she missed Bobby; his voice, his laugh, his… touch. Just all of it.
Where Leni didn't fully understand, she did understand not being with the one you loved. Lori had fully calmed down and thanked her sister for letting her vent as their conversation turned more lighthearted. They talked about how beautiful the world is and their new appearance before Lori suggested a little sparring match to really test out their abilities. Leni saw no problem with it as the two stepped a few feet away and got ready for a little fight. The two wasted no time as Lori was more focused with her swings as Leni was a lot more agile and easily dodge the blade. Leni said a quick prayer as a spectral blade appeared out of nowhere and began to clash with Lori's sword. The two continued to battle as Lynn and Lucy came out from their tent and watched the sparring match.
The older two sisters stopped as they noticed the younger two watching them and called it a night. Lori and Leni nodded at each other calling their match a tie before heading off to bed. Now alone, Lynn and Lucy sat by the fire with only sound being the crackling of the fire. After a bit of time of doing nothing but looking for danger, Lynn got bored and decided to strip down and take a dip in the lake. Lucy tried to stop her but Lynn was ready in mid cannonball before a splash could be heard with the water drenching Lucy. Lynn began to do laps in the lake while occasionally keeping watch of the area.
"Come on Lucy, the water is great," Lynn shouted out at her sister as she rang out her clothes. Still a bit damp, she sat on the beach as she watched Lynn goof off while keeping an eye out for danger. As the time passed, Lucy would find herself stealing glances at her sister's nude body. True, seeing her or any other of her sisters nude wasn't anything new, but with the moonlight shimmering off the water that slid down Lynn's chest was something new. She shook the inappropriate thoughts from her head as Lynn walked back onto the beach.
"Are you done," Lucy asked without looking at Lynn. Lynn just said yeah as she began to rewrap her chest wrap and tie her loincloth. Lucy snuck one more look but was greeted by Lynn catching her in the process. "Checking me out Lucy? I don't blame you, even I check myself out," Lynn said with a chuckle as Lucy's face turned a darker shade. Lynn continues to mess with Lucy as they head back to the campfire for Lynn to dry out and warm up. Lucy sat next to Lynn to help her warm up by using a spell to grow the fire larger with a wave of her hand. Lynn wasn't surprised that Lucy took to the whole magic thing but it was still incredible to see her use it with ease. After being warmed up, Lucy shrunk the fire back down to normal as they sat in silence once more but this time, Lynn rested her hand on top of Lucy's.
After a few hours, it was time for the last watch as Lola and Lana stepped out from their tent as Lucy and Lynn awkwardly went back to their tent to sleep. Lola and Lana took their watch seriously as they paced back and forth while keeping a sharp eye for anything suspicious. However, Lana soon took a break as she held her midsection again and sat next to the fire. Lol, being concerned for her sister, sat next to her to make sure Lana was okay. Lana again said she was alright but Lola was too concerned about this and sat next to her as Lana rubbed her abdomen. Lola grabbed her sister what was left of the stew which Lana ate without any complaints. After getting her fill, Lana couldn't help but chuckle which confused Lola.
"Is this how we act when Lincoln is injured?" At those words, Lola couldn't help but let out a laugh herself as she saw a lot of Lincoln in Lana in her current state. The two began to laugh and joke about how they would overreact a bit when it came to minor injuries. Lana got back on her feet and was about to go back on patrol but Lola held her back saying that she should rest. Lana was about the protest but as she looked into her sister's eyes she saw a level of sadness and concern that she never saw before. That warm feeling began to surge through Lana once more as she sat next to her sister as the two continued to keep watch.
As the night finally faded into day, Lola woke up the rest of their siblings as Lana gathered more wood for the fire. Luan began to cook a breakfast for everyone while some of the others stripped down to their undergarments to wash the dirt off them. Meanwhile, Lisa was in the process of upgrading M.U.T. to be more comfortable to use as armor which she called the Canine Armor Protocol or C.A.P. for short. It wouldn't take too long for Lisa to finish the upgrade and Luan to finish the breakfast of bacon and toast. Soon everyone sat down to enjoy their meal before packing up and getting ready to head back on the road. However, Lynn opted in to ride in the cart to sit next to Lucy while Lincoln volunteered to be security for the day. With that settled, Lori took the reins once more and guided the horse back onto the road.
Back with Rita, she awoke in her cell for yet another day of captivity. However, as she pulled herself off the cold cobble floor, a golem walked in but holding a booking and tray of food. "One book. Once done, bring nother. Myra words," the golem said as it placed the tray and book on the floor of the cell. Rita ate the food and cracked open the book which seemed to be an interesting read from the first few sentences. Rita thanked the golem as it let out a grunt before making its way out.
"Wait, before you go, I just want to thank you and if you can give the same treatment to my husband and daughter." The golem informed her that Myra has already approved a similar treatment for her husband but her daughter will be in the utmost care in the hands of Myra. Rita felt disgusted hearing that someone else was taking the mothering job away from her but she knew she was defenseless against magic. "Thank you… wait, I never caught your name." The golem turned to Rita and just said one word; Zom
Fuck writer's block, if you couldn't tell by how short this chapter I struggled with it. But other than that, yea, I ship Lynn and Lucy and Lola and Lana. Don't worry Lincoln will have his own love interest but that'll come at a later day. Also, I wanna do a review highlight where I pick a review and talk about it. This time around, I'm picking Darkness Rissing. I personally think it would be a mix of medieval bloomers and commando. Lori, Leni, Luan, Lucy, Lola, Lisa and Rita would wear bloomers while the rest would go full commando.
That'll do for this time around and until next time, the best time to check for testicular or breast cancer is in the shower.
