Chapter 69: Sibling Jealousy
Stella got up bright and early in the morning for once, craving something fruity.
She strolled on up to the small fridge they managed to salvage and piece back together from an out-of-town dump and looked inside to see a plethora of semi-aged fruits on the bottom shelf.
After picking up an apple with a couple bruises and taking a bite, she noticed that they had some milk on one of the door shelves, which was causing it to slant.
"Hey, Cu'u?" She remarked curiously, "When did we get this?"
Cu'u was busy flapping soap and water off her clean wings, "I dunno, last week? …Two weeks ago? You bought it."
Stella looked over her shoulder and shook the milk gallon her way. It sounded chunky, "I didn't. I got the fruit."
"Oh. Right. My bad." Cu'u fluttered over to her and took the milk gallon from her grasp, taking a quick and bold drink straight from the lip.
Her eyes bulged and she hacked up a couple coughs, but after wiping her lips dry she remarked, "A little sour, but it seems fine to me."
Stella shrugged and took a drink herself. Wasn't half bad when she took a bite of an apple alongside it.
When she put the milk gallon back she realized there was a lot of stuff she hadn't remembered buying and started wondering, "...Cu'u, how is all this food getting into our fridge?"
"You're seriously asking that? Magic, duh!" Cu'u seemed to want to get that out of the way as quickly as possible and on any other day, Stella would buy that hook line and sinker.
However, after what happened with the computer months back, she was a little leery, "Cuuuuuu'u, where did you get this food from?"
Cu'u stiffened for a moment and then turned on one leg, wagging her hand out and affirming her innocence with a bold-faced lie, "I-I'm telling you, it was a magic food fairy!"
Stella boldly stared at her friend and told her, "I don't wanna be branded a thief."
Cu'u crossed her arms and growled, "I DIDN'T steal any food, Stella! Good grief! Whaddya take me for a goblin?"
Cu'u glanced aside and muttered, "I mean, a little bit of their DNA went into creating me, but THAT'S NOT THE POINT."
Stella puffed her cheeks like a squirrel and groaned until the homunculus had no choice but to relent, "Ok ok fine geez! I…have been buying food with some spare change."
Stella continued to puff her cheeks out further with her face getting beet red.
"I'm serious!" Cu'u threw her fists down and held her ground, "Y-You ever heard of lottery tickets? Well…I-I just…happened to pick one up off the ground one day, scratched out a winner, and then used it to buy more and kept winning and winning until I had enough funds to buy food!"
Stella exhaled and bobbed back and forth with her eyes looking dizzy. She then shook this off and remarked, "I didn't know lottery tickets were so effective."
Cu'u blushed and folded her wings inward with a light grumble, "Y-Y-Yeeeah, well, guess my mom's absurd luck rubbed off on me."
Stella then wondered, "Though…aren't you not supposed to leave the warehouse unless it's to watch me?"
Cu'u thrust her face out and fists back and shouted, "I get BORED, sue me!"
Stella felt like she was facing a hurricane, but decidedly found the rage agreeable, "Well…I guess there's no harm done?"
Cu'u firmly nodded, "EX-actly!"
After a short pause where Stella seemed prepared to turn away, Cu'u coughed and scratched the back of her head, "Uhhhh, but while we're on the subject…"
"Yes?" Stella said, daintily fluttering her eyelashes her way.
"Heh heh, full confession I…may not…just be picking up lottery tickets off the ground." Cu'u's voice got increasingly quieter over time.
Stella was about ready to turn back on the squirrel face when Cu'u waved her hands out and declared, "Nothing bad, I swear…!"
Then Cu'u's jaw slacked as she muttered, "W-Wait, why am I getting put on the defensive here?!"
She thrust her finger out and stunned Stella, "You're MY apprentice! That's our dynamic!"
"O-Oh, right…" Stella staggered, "The milk must've affected my judgment."
"Mmm hmm…" Cu'u then crossed her arms and tapped her foot, "Ok, back on track here."
"I got really, really, REALLY bored one day and flew out of town to find some fun. And well…"
Cu'u explained her meeting up with a group of kids and how she's been hanging out with them a few times since.
But she REALLY dug into the details, except conveniently enough not bothering to say their names.
She described getting taunted, ridiculed, had her wings set on fire, and even getting smacked in the face by a swing one time.
All in surprisingly graphic detail, which Stella jotted down in her head for later chapters of her story.
She then double-taked and remarked, "Wait, they set your wings on fire?"
Cu'u grit her teeth, "You don't have to repeat it, Stella, replaying it in my head's painful enough as is!"
"But how? Aren't you…a dragon?"
Cu'u flicked her hand out and grumbled, "These are some freaky kids, I'm telling ya!"
Stella tilted her head and after a long hum finally saw fit to ask, "But if they keep tormenting you this much, why do you keep going back?"
Cu'u firmly held her arms against her body and grumbled.
"Are you a masochist?" Stella's comment sheared through the homunculus' defenses like paper.
"GUH!" Cu'u choked and then bluntly remarked, "What KINDA stuff are you reading in your spare time?! NO!"
"A-As for why I go back uhhh…" Cu'u puffed her cheeks and declared, "I can't take defeat lying on my back ok?!"
Stella blinked a couple times and then admitted, "Isn't it a little silly to hold a grudge against children?"
Cu'u's emotions were bisected vertically from that strike, "GUH! C-Cut it out, you meanie!"
She then waved her hands out and tensed up, "I'M. TELLING YOU. Those kids are weird! And if you saw them, you'd get it!"
"Wellll, I am a little curious now, I shall admit verily much." Stella turned her head and looked at their broken clock, "But as you can see, it's time for Selina to go to school."
"Aaaaaugh!" Cu'u flailed her finger out in front of her and declared, "No flippin' way! The Magnificent Cu'u commands you to come with me!"
Stella clutched her wand tightly and remarked, "B-But I HAVE to go to school."
"And then you'll go the next day, and the next day, and the next day…See the problem here?!" Cu'u, despite her childish whimpering, was being logical.
"...But-"
"Oh good grief, Stella, must I solve all your problems?" Cu'u fluttered over and slapped her forehead, "Just call in sick. Easy."
"But-"
"EA-SY."
"..." Stella quietly went for the phone and called the school. After a little bit of bad acting and coughing, she hung up and faced Cu'u.
"...Ok, we're good." She gave a firm thumbs-up and smiled.
Cu'u sneered like a little gremlin, "Heh heh, seeee? Was that so bad?"
Stella didn't know if this was guilt or bad milk spoiling her gut. Alas, the deed was done, and Cu'u was already on all cylinders trying to get her out of the warehouse.
"Now c'mon! I'll show you where they're at. Oh! But do you remember how to use cloaking magic?"
"I remember." Stella nodded.
"Good! …Not like it'll matter too much. Oh! And you should also-"
By the time Cu'u turned around, Stella had aged up into Selina.
"...That's scary." Cu'u murmured, then shrugged it off.
The two had to take a bus over to the other town since, well, Stella hadn't learned flying magic yet, which Cu'u lectured her about on the way.
And after a short stroll, they were at the elementary school, where…
"Oh, wait. They ain't outside playing yet." Cu'u remarked, the two of them staring at an empty playground.
Stella wanted to give Cu'u the stink eye for this mishap, but she really should've known better herself.
Cu'u poked her fingers together while hunched over meekly, "Uhhh…wanna go fool around in town for a couple hours?"
Stella shrugged, and the two went off to do…literally whatever they wanted to do! Within legal boundaries, at least.
They came back to the elementary school with a few traces of ice cream on their mouths and saw a bunch of kids running around and having fun.
"That wasn't so bad!" Cu'u declared.
Meanwhile, Stella was hunched over and holding her stomach, "Ooouuugh, I think the ice cream is fighting the sour milk in my tummy…"
Cu'u swung her fists down and declared, "Shake it off, Stella! It'll be fine!"
"O-Okay…" She stood back up and peered over the fence, "Which kids are causing you trouble?"
"Hmm…" Cu'u fluttered over her and put her hands on her forehead, "Those two! The look-a-likes with the bright red hair!"
"Sol and Ana?!" Stella gasped.
"Yeah! Those-" Cu'u immediately dropped to the ground with a deadpan expression, "Wait, what's this first name business? You KNOW them?"
Stella flat out admitted, "Yeah, they're my cousins."
She then curled her lip and gave Cu'u a sympathetic glance, "It's…unfortunate they chose you as their latest victim."
Cu'u recoiled with her arms swung back, "Latest?! You mean to tell me they're seasoned at brattery?!"
"Mmm hmm…" Stella nodded, "My mom once told me that when they were just two years old, they giggled after spitting up oatmeal on the ground and causing a house guest to slip and fall."
Cu'u's skin turned pale, "T-That sounds unbelievable."
"But it's verily true!" Stella declared.
"Stop saying that word, gosh darn it!" Cu'u exclaimed through clenched teeth. After seething for a bit, she laid her arms against her chest and turned a bitter gaze at the twins, "So. Yeah. In hindsight, guess there was no point in hiding it."
She then glanced aside with a mischievous gleam in her eyes, "Saaaay, you wouldn't happen to know their weaknesses, would you?"
"Hmmm," Stella's lips puckered, "They cover each other's backs pretty darn well, and their size makes it easy for them to slip away."
"I think they also got their dad's power over solar fire, but they can only use it when holding hands."
"I'm sorry what." Cu'u said blankly.
Stella continued unimpeded, "They hate having to work, but they love camping."
Cu'u waved her hands out, "No no no, go back to that solar fire thing."
"While they may look similar on the surface, Sol is an extrovert, while Ana is an introvert."
Cu'u gave her two quick light slaps across the face, grabbed onto her head, and forced her to look at her, "Earth to Stella! I asked for weaknesses, not a whole character sheet!"
Stella fluttered her eyelashes and mumbled, "Sorry, my writer's side got the better of me."
Cu'u let go and flicked her hands down, "Whatever. Sounds to me like they're untouchable…"
Stella shook her head, "I didn't say that."
"Eh?" Cu'u's ears perked up.
"They're cocky, but they are easily surprised."
Cu'u hung her head and grumbled, "Why does that feel like an indirect insult to me?"
Stella tilted her head for a bit.
Cu'u crossed her arms and murmured, "Stella, I think you and I should team up to give those twins a taste of humble pie."
Stella shook her head, "I dunno, Cu'u. That seems kinda…petty."
"Forget the family bias, Stella! You even said they've been brats since birth!" Cu'u wagged her finger out stiffly, "A bratty kid today is a bratty adult tomorrow!"
Stella turned to her cousins enjoying themselves on the swings, "Hmmm…"
Then she saw that they were happily being pushed by Xander, causing her eyes to widen and freeze in place.
"...Xander." Her heart picked up the pace a little as bad memories came to the surface.
The birth of her baby brother spelled the end of the attention she got from her parents. He was an overwhelmingly positive influence and never made mistakes.
At least…nothing that couldn't be overlooked.
He was just the perfect little boy, and a child her parents could be proud of.
She curled her bottom lip and glared at her brother, trotting along without a care in the world.
"Stella?" Cu'u mumbled, forced to wave her hand out before her face to snap her back to reality.
"You ok? You looked a little green in the eyes, and red in the face…" Cu'u's concern was noted, but Stella didn't think anything was off in her head.
Instead, she nodded firmly and told her, "Ok. Let's do it, Cu'u!"
"Talk about a 180! But awesome!"
Stella then asserted herself, "However, we are not going to harm them. Just give them a little taste of humble pie."
Cu'u pouted, which annoyed Stella, something fierce, so she gave up the expression and muttered, "O-Okay fine. So what's the plan?"
"..." Stella's enthusiasm quickly deflated, "I dunno. I thought you had a plan."
"Me?! Ummm…" Cu'u stood there with dead eyes for a while until one little spark went off, "Oh! I got it!"
She wagged her hand through the fence, "Give the swings a taste of frostbite! That'll stick 'em real good!"
Stella smiled, "Perfect! And if they try to get it off, it'll rip the back of their pants off!"
Stella then whipped out her wand and cast a frosty spell on the swings.
The twins immediately reacted with surprise and a shiver, "Brrr…!"
Xander stopped pushing and stood between them, "Eh? What's up guys?"
Stella and Cu'u smiled as the twins tried to pull themselves free.
"We're-"
"-stuck."
They said with a slightly bothered pout.
After a little of frowning about they closed their eyes and huffed, "Xander-"
"-pull us together and we'll thaw ourselves out."
Xander noted, "But…you'll be caught. I know! Watch THIS!"
He then started vigorously rubbing his hands together until some steam came out, then patted the underside of the swings to thaw them out.
The twins jumped off and dried off their butts, "Useful as-"
"-always."
Cu'u's eyes bulged with a declaration of "WHAT?!"
Stella was stunned, "T-That easily…?"
She then hung her head and started to mumble some grievances to herself.
"Uhhh…Stella?" Cu'u looked at her with concern.
"That's alright!" She swung her head up to declare, "We'll try again!"
They watched from the shadows as the three decided to climb the jungle gym next.
"They're mixing in with the other kids…" Stella remarked.
Cu'u quickly took to the air and said, "Don't worry, I got my eyes on them!"
"They're heading for the slide!"
"I know what to do…" Stella said with a side of mischief, flicking her wand at the slide to grease it up extra slippery!
The twins were about to head down when Xander suddenly jumped ahead and declared, "Let me go first!"
The twins shrugged and he jumped right on, accelerating so fast he slingshot off the edge of the slide in the blink of an eye.
"Wheeeeee!"
He fell to the ground and spun like he was on a lid sled going downhill, skipping by a few of his classmates before coming to a stop next to the building.
The twins did not follow suit, wiping their fingers on the slide first before calling out to the adults watching, "Hey-"
"-someone greased the slide."
The adults had to close down the jungle gym for safety reasons, leading to a lot of upset and disappointed children.
And when Cu'u returned to Stella's side she said with guilt, "Ok. Let's try not to ruin playtime for the others."
"Mmmm…!" Stella puffed her cheeks, "You lucky, lucky little boy…"
Cu'u was frightened, "Uhhhh…Stella? Earth to Stella! We're aiming for the twins, not the boy with 'em."
Stella's anger fizzled out and her eyes looked like they were in a haze, "Wait, why?"
Cu'u twirled her pointer fingers around one another and chuckled, "B-Because, he was…actually nice to me. Like, the nicest…anyone's ever been to me."
Stella's anger returned like a light switch had been flicked, with her muttering under her breath, "He's got you fooled…"
"Eh?" Cu'u sprung up in surprise, "You're talking like you know him…"
"He's my little brother." Stella said plainly.
"WHAT?!" Cu'u shouted loud enough that it was amazing it didn't breach her concealment magic, "Plllbbbtt…! Ok! Back up a minute!"
Stella shook her head and whipped out her wand, "We don't have time for this, Cu'u. Do you want to dish out humble pie, or are you having second thoughts?"
"Y-Yeah, I do, but…" Cu'u weakly gestured her hand out at Xander continuing to have innocent fun with the twins, "Not if you're after him."
"Mmrrrr…!" Stella puffed her cheeks, but now her anger was starting to look more cute than frightening.
"Stella?" Cu'u said with concern.
"...W-Why am I the only one in our family who has to struggle to be more than average?" A single tear was shed as Stella held tightly onto her wand.
Cu'u hummed and rubbed the back of her head, "I-If it'll make you feel better, I guess we can prank your brother too. Just…promise you won't hurt him, ok?"
Stella gave a light nod, and then watched carefully over her brother and the twins until she saw an opening to surprise them.
The next prank was to cover the monkey bars with sticky molasses. But while the twins got their hands covered, Xander somehow managed to crawl along the bars using his feet.
He then licked the molasses off the twins' hands like his tongue was a mop.
"Mrrrr…!" Stella groaned.
The two then went under a tree to relax and get some shade due to the sun coming out. Cu'u was the one to come up with the next idea: Make the tree shake and dislodge a bunch of caterpillars and ants.
The twins flinched, but after Xander showed he was totally ok with having them crawl around his body they didn't really care and just let them be.
As they traveled to the next play area, Stella summoned a small trap hole in their path, just deep enough to not injure any of them.
Xander winced and then ran far ahead of the twins, returning with a rug that he threw over the top of the hole, making it safe for the two to cross.
Cu'u hung forward and wondered, "...Uhhh, I don't think physics work like that."
"...They most certainly do not." Stella remarked.
Cu'u tilted her head, "Stella, your brother's got some weird stuff going on with him. Just saying."
Stella let out a high-pitched cry of, "I DON'T need to be reminded!"
Cu'u shouted back, "I ain't talking about your personal grievances with him, stupid! I mean he's got…I don't know…!"
Stella was ready to cast another spell when Cu'u grabbed her arm and forced it down, "Hey! Seriously! Listen to me for a moment."
Stella's expression dimmed and she looked genuinely surprised.
Cu'u told her calmly, "Lemme put it this way. If we were to waltz right into the schoolyard, they would be able to see us."
"I get why the twins can with their freaky strong solar fire or whatever, but Xander? I ain't able to get a read on him."
Stella pouted in disappointment, "And your point is?"
"You're wasting your time trying to use magic on him."
Cu'u then retracted herself from her personal space and murmured, "Sorry…"
Stella pondered her suggestion for all of three seconds before whipping her wand back, taking aim at Xander directly, and spending a prolonged time thinking of some kind of spell that would REALLY humble him.
But then he looked directly her way, smiled and waved, and she froze.
Her mind scrambled after being hit by an overwhelming wave of pure innocence.
And then she bit her lower lip, looked at her wand, and imagined a bunch of kids laughing and having a good time.
"..." She shook her head and started walking away from the school. It took a few seconds for Cu'u to register this fact and run after her.
"Huh?! Stella! Wait!"
Stella looked back at her friend with a frown and muttered, "Cu'u…I want to, no, I need to keep practicing magic."
"Huh?" Cu'u's eyes turned blank.
"I-If I can't be more spectacular then my little brother, I don't know what I'll do…"
"..." Cu'u stopped and propped her hands on her hips, "Well, I dunno about your motivation, Stella, but as your Magnificent teacher, I'm always going to be around to teach you a thing or two!"
She held her head up and sparkles came off her smile.
Stella turned around and smiled back, "Thanks Cu'u. I'm glad we're friends."
"F-Friends…?" Cu'u blushed and rubbed the back of her head while trying to act dismissive, "I dunno where you got that idea from! B-But I'll allow it!"
"Hee hee, thank you verily much!" Stella proclaimed.
"I still won't allow that." Cu'u said bluntly.
The two then headed off back to their warehouse home.
Later that day, Xander got off school and was picked up by his mom after saying goodbye to his cousins, who really just took all the strange happenings in stride.
However, upon hearing her mom ask, "How was your day at school?"
Xander immediately sprang to life with a smile, "I saw Stella today! She was hanging out with my friend Cu'u!"
His mom gasped playfully, "Is that so? Hee hee, and how was she?"
"She looked a little different, but she played with us for a bit with her magic!"
"That's wonderful!" His mom declared.
"Hey mom? Is Stella ever gonna come home?"
Her mom tapped her fingers along the steering wheel and then rubbed his little hair, "Of course she will. But she needs to be by herself for a little longer."
She then lit up and gripped the wheel tightly, "That reminds me though! I need to prepare another food basket for Cu'u as a gift! Would you like to help me pick stuff out for her?"
"Would I?!" Xander cheered, "I'll pick out the best, most sweetest chocolate EVER!"
And so they drove off, with Lunis wishing her daughter well in her thoughts…
"You'll find your way, dear. I know it. After all, you are MY daughter."
Next Time: A Heart Too Far
