(Cael's Pov)
This feeling… again?
Honestly, at this point I was more than used to it. It wasn't the first nor the second time after all. My mind was awake enough to process my situation even without opening my eyes. My arms wrapped around something, someone, to be precise, my head being pressed against something that was too warm to be a pillow, but also too comfortable to pull away from.
The gentle hand patting my hair was the ultimate giveaway as well, since there was really just one person who'd treat me like this in the morning, while I'm sleeping. Without opening my eyes or moving, I just opened my mouth and spoke.
"What time… is it?"
My voice was a little rough, since I had still just woken up, but nevertheless that didn't really matter much, as she received my question clearly.
"It's around 6:30. We still have around an hour, if not a little more until breakfast."
"I see…"
"You're up earlier than usual though. Have you slept properly?"
"Yeah. It's just, I suddenly felt like my mind was completely awake, but my body still doesn't wanna move at all."
"Then we're not going to be moving around."
"…are you still mad at me?"
"Would I cuddle with you like this if I was still mad?"
"You probably would."
"I guess you're not wrong… but don't worry, I'm not mad anymore. If anything, Maia is the one to fully blame for yesterday, but Mio has already punished her too, so that's also solved."
"Ah, right… Maia didn't end up making it home for dinner yesterday, just like you said. Is she home yet?"
"We got here at around 2am last night or so, and I also stayed over. Maia is having some coffee with your parents now, before Isolde gets started on breakfast."
"Are you not joining them?"
"I already chugged mine down then came to you."
"Isn't it becoming a habit at this point? for you to come to me while I'm sleeping."
"Do you not want it to become a habit?"
"I guess I do, actually."
"Then it is becoming a habit."
I didn't reply. I didn't feel a need to, after all. As my lips curled upwards, that moment of intimate silence was more than enough for the both of us to appreciate. It lasted around 10 seconds or so, neither of us saying anything.
"Are you sure you don't wanna try and sleep a little more? You really are early today."
"Mhm… I think I will try."
"Alright then. But if you do fall asleep, I'll wake you up at 7:20, and drag you out of bed myself if you don't get up."
"Understood, boss."
"Very well then."
I felt the hand on my head stopping, which did sadden me ever so slightly for about a moment. But then, something even better replaced it. She rested one of her hands on the back of my head, while the top was now the resting spot of her own head. Needless to say, this was definitely the more comfortable option.
And it proved itself to be that way, since I fell back asleep in such a short amount of time afterwards, that if I had to make an estimate it may only be around 2 minutes or so.
Waking me up was fairly easy when the time came. I was well rested beforehand to begin with, so all it took was for her to tell me it was time, and within a minute at most we were both out of bed. She left the room to allow me to change, but waited for me just outside of it until I was done, and we went to the table together, sitting next to each other as usual and greeting the others.
"Morning."
"Good morning."
In this case, only our parents and Maia, though.
"You guys sure are early today, huh?"
"Breakfast will be done in a few minutes. Maia, get them some tea if they want some."
"I'm good. I'd rather just wait for the food."
"Then I guess I'll have one, Maia."
"Do you want the usual?"
"That would be great."
"Alright then."
And while Maia got up to get Luna a cup of tea, Cifer happened to also walk in.
"Morning… hm? Why are you already awake?? Aren't you supposed to be a dead log, still??"
"Yeah, morning to you too."
I was a little annoyed, but it wasn't worth ruining my peaceful morning where I got to cuddle with Luna as the first thing. While looking at me as if he was seeing a ghost, he sat down next to Maia's temporarily empty seat, which happened to be right across from me.
"Did you have to sit there? The table is plenty long enough, you bastard- he-hem… I meant, my dear brother."
I forgot our parents are here as well for a second. That was a close call.
Well, I'm not so sure if I can even call it a close call as much as I should just say that dad's glance made me change words halfway through… but who cares, right?
"What, do you not like this seat? I'd say it's a pretty comfortable one though?"
Wipe that smirk off your face…
"Is that so? I guess I wouldn't know, since I always sit next to Luna, hahahaha."
"I see, I see. That's quite wonderful, isn't it?"
"Yea, it is."
But thankfully enough, this completely unnecessary and ridiculous tension between us didn't really last long.
"Knock it out, my dear little brothers. I love you both, but I'd rather not hear you go at it so early in the morning."
"As if you are one to talk…"
"Cifer, do you want a cup of tea while here?"
"Don't ignore me…"
"Yes please, but-"
"Yes, yes, I know. 5 spoons of sugar in it."
"Thank you."
"You should really try a little harder to keep your sweet tooth in check, man. This is getting a little out of hand."
"What are you talking about? I usually have at least 7 spoons. I'm already keeping it in check pretty tightly."
"No, I'm pretty sure that's not how that works…"
"Removing 2 whole spoons is actually noticeable progress to be fair, actually."
"See? Even Luna… agrees… with me…?"
"What's wrong with you all of the sudden?"
"I only now realized this, but like, why's Luna even here so early to begin with…? Is this a normal thing?"
We all stopped for a second, and glanced at each other with no exceptions. Even mom who was still cooking and Maia who was walking back to the table. Thinking about it, to us it's always been a completely normal thing, but I guess this is new to him.
"Well, I guess? Luna is here pretty often after all."
"Yeah, that's true. I also usually cook an extra portion for her even if she won't end up being here to eat."
"She is technically my assistant and one of my best friends too, so she's almost always with me."
"And well… anyway, none of us has ever put any thought behind it. Luna is just one of us by now."
"Why did you all take turns giving a reason? I was just asking a simple question…"
Maybe we did overreact a little, but when faced with a question related to something so mundane to you that you've never thought about before, I'd assume most people would temporarily freeze. Mom resumed cooking while Maia sat down.
"Do you not want me to be here or something?"
But unexpectedly, with a wide grin on her face it was Luna who spoke next.
"H-huh? N-no, that's not…"
"Is it not? From the way you phrased it, I assumed you're displeased by my presence though?"
"Seriously, that's… that's not what I!-"
"Pfft… hahaha…! I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I was just teasing you."
He looked visibly troubled, kinda like a kid that just got his candy stolen and was trying his hardest to not cry. For Luna to openly tease someone like that…
That was actually incredibly fun to see…!
The scene was so unexpected that I couldn't help but stare at her, amazed by the person sitting next to me. As sad as it is to admit, or well, maybe not sad but uhmm… weird? No, that's not it either… Anyway, the point is that we're pretty much all ragebaiters at heart, in this family.
Of course, it's not like Luna has never teased me before, but seeing her openly ragebait someone on her own will for no reason? That was a well accepted surprise, as far as I'm concerned.
"I see… I can see why you think she's one of you now. You guys really are all twisted in the head."
"Hahaha, I guess we are, aren't we? But from now on you're one of us as well, so perhaps you'll get just as twisted, my dear little brother."
"Stop hitting me in the back, you gorilla."
"Yep, that's the spirit! Maybe you've been twisted from the start after all!"
"…alright, I get it, so seriously, stop that now. It's starting to hurt."
"My bad, my bad. But really, I didn't expect to see Luna teasing you out of nowhere. I thought she'd just try and twist it in a way to flirt with Cael instead."
"I thought so too, actually."
"Same here."
"Do you guys just see me as a hopeless flirt or something? Though I did consider that too…"
"H-huh?!"
"Exactly."
"Right?"
"Guys…"
"A-anyway! Let's forget that, okay? Luna is here very often, and all of us are used to it, that's it."
"Ehh? I didn't know you liked tomatoes so much that you'd impersonate one, my dear brother."
"Shut it…"
How did this even get twisted into teasing me and Luna to begin with? Someone, please save me…
And against all odds, just when hope was beginning to fade from my mind…
"Everyone, everyone, I'm done! I'm finally done!"
"Wait, don't run so hard… I can't… keep up…"
Nala, with Iris just a few steps behind her looking a few seconds away from passing out from exhaustion, appeared. She was holding some papers, with her very easy to identify "I just finished something, and you guys are forced to see it" smile on her face.
Ivy and Rune, him being in her arms, also walked in after them, but they stopped next to Iris who had given up on chasing Nala, panting heavily.
"Woah there, my princess. You shouldn't make Iris chase you like that."
But nevertheless, she did still jump in dad's lap, and he held her casually.
"But daddy, I had to show everyone as fast as possible!"
"I understand, and we're all looking forward to seeing them, but look."
He pointed towards Iris, whose face was drained from color. Ivy placed a hand on her shoulder, while even Rune looked worried enough to try and help, but too shy to actually do anything.
"You know Iris doesn't have a lot of stamina. So apologize to her, then you can show us."
"Okay… I'm sorry, Iris. I'll try to not run as fast next time."
"The correct answer was "I won't run again".. but hey, that's close enough. Go on, my princess, show them to us."
He really can't go against his princess, huh?
But this time, seeing as I had actually expected it to be the case now as well, I glanced over at Cifer just to verify his confusion, and began explaining, before Nala could show us.
"Wait a second, Nala."
"Eeeh??? Why, why, why?? I want to show everyone already!!"
"I know you do, but there's someone here that has no clue what you're so eager about, you know? Don't you think I should explain it to him first?"
"Hm?.. ah! That's right…!"
She turned her head towards him creepily quickly, then back at me.
"Alright then, explain it to him. Also, mommy, are you done yet? I want you to see closely too!"
"I just finished cooking breakfast as well, sweetheart. Ivy, I can take Rune if you want, so could you two set up the table after Iris finishes resting?"
"I-…I'm- alright…"
Mom walked up to them, but before taking Rune she also placed a hand on Iris' other shoulder.
"I just took it off the stove, so take your time. No one will complain if the food is warm on their plate instead of hot. Have some water, and let Ivy start preparing the plates and cutlery."
"…I…understand."
"Good. Now then, come to mommy, Rune. Let's see what Nala has made this time, okay?"
He nodded, and mom sat next to dad shortly after, holding him.
"Alright then, I'll keep this as short and simple as possible so you can understand it right away, Cifer."
"Okay. Go on…"
"Though it's still mostly treated as a rumor in the eyes of the public, it has been reported in some newspapers before too, granted I don't expect you to read those."
"There's plenty of photos of us, where we're dressed with really high quality and elegant clothes, no?"
"Well, yeah. Plus, I did watch the trial livestream like anyone else, and you guys were dressed really nicely there too."
"That's right. Both when we arrived at the capital and our clothes for the trial… were designed and made by Nala."
He blinked around 5 times, slowly and with his eyes widened. Then, he glanced back and forward around 4 times between me and Nala.
"So you're telling me that she is the one that made all of your clothes…?"
"Well, of course she has some assistance, but that's only with the actual procedure. All the designs are drawn by her, and she also does as much as she can on her own. She's still learning to sew properly, but soon enough she'll make them herself."
"…"
"You already know she made my glove, no? Though I guess it's natural you didn't assume she designed everything else too."
"Let me get this straight… so the clothes you guys wore when you returned to the capital, and what you wore at the trial… Nala is the one that designed them all?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I just told you."
"…then the thing that she wants to show us…?"
"Hehe… that's right!"
The gremlin took over, then began handing us all one sheet each. Well, at least that's what she wanted to do, but Maia ended up being the distributors, since she just placed them on the table, and she managed to figure out which one is who's.
"I just finished the sketches for the clothes we'll be wearing at the banquet in a few days! And I made one for you too, Cifer!"
"Wait, really? Why would you-"
"What are you talking about? You're my brother too now, so of course I made one for you too."
"Alright, so… yeah, this one's definitely Cael's… and this one, this is yours, Cifer. Here."
I took it with pretty tame expectations, given that I knew her baseline skill by now… but I couldn't have been more wrong. My eyes instantly widened in surprise when I saw it, and even Luna, who was looking at it from next to me, had a similar reaction.
And needless to say, Cifer's reaction when I glanced over at him was at least 5x more intense than mine. The dude looked almost flabbergasted but positively? I can't even believe that I'm saying this, since I'm aware that it doesn't really make sense, however, I can't see any other way of describing it.
He was so clearly happy, but also that happiness seemed to be intensively shrunk by his surprise, above all. I would've loved to try and make fun of him, but honestly I understood his reaction entirely.
But also, I suddenly remembered, or rather, I realized something was off. Why was Luna looking over at mine so much? It's almost as if…
She doesn't have one??
The moment I confirmed my suspicion, I instantly turned to Nala. Maybe it was just a mistake after all, it can happen.
"Nala, this is really amazing and all… but where's Luna's?"
But her uncomfortable expression at the question, and Maia's intervention completely blew the mistake idea out of the water.
"Luna, you haven't told him yet?"
"I was planning on doing it once Nala was done with the sketches. Though I had no real idea when that would be."
"What do you mean? What do you have to tell me?"
"Cael, I told Nala myself to not make a sketch, or dress for me, a few days ago."
"What?? Why?!"
I dropped my sketch on the floor by accident, and she was the one that slowly, and calmly picked it up while explaining.
"Because I won't be partaking in the banquet, Cael. I can't."
"Why not though?? I thought… I thought you'd be there too, and I'd get to see you in a dress made by Nala…"
"I would've loved to be there, don't get me wrong. But I literally cannot."
"But why…"
"No need to look like a sad puppy, Cael."
She let go of the sheet on the table, then grabbed both of my cheeks gently, and made me look at her.
"The reason why I can't partake is because all of the Sentinels will be there. Recruits and assistants like myself have to stay behind and take care of things at each of our headquarters."
"But…"
"When I say all of the Sentinels, I mean every single Captain and Lieutenant, Cael. That of course includes Mio and Maia. If Mio remained behind then none of us would actually need to strictly help, but since she'll be partaking, we have to make sure everything operates smoothly even without the Commander."
Mio will be there?
I wonder why. But as soon as I heard that, I could hear my heartbeat all the way in my head, just once. In fact, it actually hurt quite a bit too honestly, almost… as if…
But the more I thought about it, the worse my headache got. So in order to avoid straining myself too hard for no apparent reason in front of her, I decided to put it aside for now. Mio seemed to be almost a trigger word.
"…alright. It can't be helped then…"
She began playing with my cheeks for a few seconds, before stopping and declaring something that completely turned my mood around.
"Jeez. It can't be helped, can it? Alright then, from the morning to the evening of the banquet day, me and you can go out alone, and I'll wear a dress just for you."
"Wait, really??!"
"Really, really. However, since the banquet starts at around 7 in the evening or so, I'll be bringing you home at around 4, so you can freshen up and dress up, and you guys won't be late."
"That's completely fine! I have no complaints!"
"Good. Then I'll wake you up at around 7, and we'll eat breakfast outside together. After that… we'll figure out what to do for the rest of the day."
"Okay. Thank you!"
She smiled, then let go of my face, and with a newly built reassurance and something to look forward to, I managed to easily focus on the matter at hand. We all went over everyone's sketch, passing them around to each other and making sure everyone saw them all.
And after we ate breakfast, Nala didn't waste a single second to grab both Cifer and Iris, and go take his measurements so she could get started on making them.