John Dory sat at the opening to his family's pod, rocking his sleeping baby brother as he waited for the other three to come home from school. He didn't know what he was going to cook for dinner tonight, his fourteen year old mind frantically trying to think of something his brothers wouldn't gag at or complain about. It wasn't his fault that their grandma broke her hip on the way to the market at the start of that month and is now at the doctors' pod. Taking deep breaths to avoid hyperventilating and telling himself it was going to be alright.
Biting his lip he reached up to pull his goggles over his eyes, they had been gift for his birthday the month before. His friend Lily had given them to him during their Bergan watch, the tiredness in her eyes lightening when she saw how happy he was. Neither of them remembered the mothers whose friendship had caused them to be put together in nearly every situation, but he had never been separated from Lily for more than a day. It had always been trollstice when they went without seeing each other for the longest, as everyone hid and tried to survive for another year.
"Johnny," as if his thoughts brought her Lily was walking along the branch to their pod but she was holding, "I thought you boys might like soup for dinner tonight."
Letting out a sigh of relief, "That sounds fantastic." JD stood up, "If I cooked again we might have had a riot."
Branch woke up and started to make grabby hands for Lily who laughed and followed JD into their pod before setting the pot down on the counter and her bag on the table before taking the little guy, "And how is my baby blue?" The bright trolling started to baby babble and Lily listened to him and JD set the soup on the stove. Moving Branch to a hip Lily opened her bag before pulling out a bag with a loaf of bread and setting in the center of the table.
Seeing it John Dory sighed in relief, "Thank goodness, if there was nothing to wipe up your delicious soup there would have been a real crisis on our hands." Lily just rolled her eyes at him before pulling out a container that held, "Are those your fluffle berry muffins?"
With a nod, "Yes they are." Moving the container away from JD's grab, "Which are for after dinner." She was slightly shorter than him, her skin was a soft golden yellow to his blue, and where his hair was mixed with green hers was mixed with red. Everyone said that color wise they were the perfect opposite, which complimented each other instead of clashing. None of that was his mind then as he tried to think of a way to get past her and to the airy goodness that she was blocking him from. Looking into her brown eyes, the steel in her gaze stopped him mid plan and he bowed his head in defeat.
Then the door to the pod darkened as his younger brothers came in, thirteen year old Spruce and eleven year old Clay trying to get an upset Floyd to tell them what had happened at school that day. Lily quickly crossed to the silently crying nine year old and pulled him into a side hug, and he quickly clung to her. A few seconds into the hug the pink haired trolling started telling her all of the things that had upset him during that day. And if his brothers were upset about how easily she could get the story out of him, they had the promise of after dinner muffins to cheer them up.
After dinner there was also homework for all except for branch who colored happily on the book that Lily had brought for him. She had also gotten JD his schoolwork that she taught him and would bring his work back to the teachers every morning before getting the next packet. It was in this way that he managed to graduate despite not actually going into the school from the day that Baby Branch hatched.
