Arael finds some cookies in a mysterious house.
For Coelune September prompt; Baking
Characters: Arael
Warnings: N/A
Wordcount: 1,413
Vibe: uh oh environmental storytelling
AN:
hi reddit im still at it. i wrote like 50% of this in a haze that i can’t remember dont worry about it
after all it’s not like there could be environmental storytelling about your parent in a random house you wormholed to…. right????
Arael sat in bed, kicking her feet.
Waiting.
Waiting for the firstâŚ
Ding!
It was the bellchime connected to the pubâs front door – the tell-tale sign that it was time to open for the night.
The time Arael had been waiting for all day – because when Abzu and Tiamat were busy, that meant she could do anything she wanted.
So, as she stretched out her arm to prepare, Arael pondered:
Where should I go today?
I havenât been to the craters in a while, havenât I?
As quickly as that, Arael has made up her mind. With a final flex of her fingers, she locked in, aimed, andâŚ
With an anticlimactic sound of warping space, Arael summoned the small wormhole in the room she was staying in.
And though the door was closed, Arael still made sure to look to ensure she was alone before hopping through.
As the bright light blocked Araelâs vision, she was initially a bit confused. Normally, the light and heat of the Craters was jarring, but it seemed absent here. Had she messed up?
Though, once her vision cleared, Arael would get her answer – she was inside a home.
Arael would have been anxious about accidentally breaking into someoneâs house, but a tempting smell clouded her judgement – the smell of freshly baked cookies.
If she could sneak in and out to nab some, whoever lived here surely wouldnât mind⌠right?
Arael carefully floated towards the smell, finding herself in a very pink kitchen. She scanned the room, and quickly was able to spot the cookies on an island counter – seemingly unattended.
It was at this point that Arael had no more restraint. She quickly looked around her to make sure she was alone before diving in.
It was only about a dozen or so cookies, but Arael made quick work of them. By the time she was done, she was only left with a pit in her stomach that desired more – if she had to rank them, Arael would debatably say these were the best cookies sheâd ever had.
As Arael sunk into one of the dining chairs, she couldnât help but scan the room she had completely ignored during her cookie-fueled madness.
Yes, she had noticed the kitchen was very pink, but she hadnât really paid any attention to the surplus of knick knacks, clutter, and family photos that lined the shelves and walls.
Curiously, Arael hopped off the chair she was sitting on to take a closer look at one of the selves.
Lots of ceramics and stacked cookbooks that appeared as though they were meant more for decoration than to actually be read.
There was a photo amongst the decorations, of a woman and a short girl around Araelâs age.
The girl in the photo looked familiar⌠too familiar.
She looked uncannily similar to Araelâs mother.
Arael was a bit creeped out, but greatly intrigued at the same time.
She had come to the conclusion that the house was empty, so Arael felt there would be no harm if she took a small look around the home.
It seemed all fairly standard, interior-wise – if not on the nicer end. Lots of ceramics, lots of books, lots of photos. While some of the furniture seemed to be older, it all was very well-maintained.
Throughout the family photos, Arael would continue seeing the girl with a striking similarity to her mother. Pictures ranged from baby photos up to a teenage age, though Arael noticed when the girl in the photos was older, she seemed less⌠happy.
It was concerning to Arael, who was trying to piece this story together in her head – she wanted to know how it âendedâ. The older woman looked so kind and happy in the photos, and the house seemed warm and welcoming⌠Arael needed to know what happened.
Going from the living room to a hallway, most of the doors were ajar just slightly. A bedroom, a bathroom⌠but one remained closed. It had very visible residue of old tape that had been torn off, indicating there mustâve once been a poster or two on it.
Curiously, Arael opened the door and turned on the light inside the room.
Though it appeared it hadnât been lived in for a very long time, the room did look like it was regularly cleaned like the rest of the house. Still, the âquirksâ the original owner had left hadnât been removed.
To the left wall, there was a small shelf with some trophies on it. Upon investigating, most of them appeared to be for school-level engineering competitions – though there was a few from larger fairs.
Arael pretended she didnât see the name they were awarded to.
On the wall behind the bed, there was a large cork board with many pictures and diagrams pinned up, connected by lines drawn in red permanent marker.
Most of the pictures had to do with Lunaires in some way, be it blurry photographs or strange chicken-scratch doodles. The diagrams had to do with jet propulsion, energy, and various manners of explosives.
There was an illustration that caught Araelâs eye off to the corner of the board, as well. A winged figure drawn in negative space with a large question mark annotation.
Arael tried to make sense of what all the connections in marker meant, but at this point the entire room was becoming a bit too emotionally overwhelming.
She hovered down to curl up on the bed, conflicted – before noticing a journal laying on the bedside table.
She was hesitant, but her curiosity, per usual, got the better of her. Arael opened the journal, to find that it was completely blank – save for the very first page.
Donât look for me.
Arael didnât want to be here anymore.
She geared up to wormhole back home, but dropped her arm in a distracted panic when she heard one of the doors loudly open and close. She couldnât focus, and she didnât know of any place to hide⌠it wasnât long before the person who entered noticed the usually closed door had been opened, andâŚ
âOh my!â she said with a surprised gasp, jumping back in shock.
It was the adult woman from the photos, though she looked older now.
Arael yelped and froze, covering up her face and not saying a word.
There was a pause between the two, before the woman spoke up again.
âI wonât hurt you!â she said with a concerned tone.
âSorry – can I see your face again?â
Confused, Arael uncurled and faced the woman, who gave a warm smile in return.
âAh⌠what a coincidence! You look just like my daughter when she was younger. Sorry, I havenât seen her in so long that such a familiarity was a bit of a shock.â she said, laughing.
Arael didnât say anything, but the woman seemed to pick up her nervousness.
âWell, itâs on me if I accidentally left something unlocked while I was doing yard work. I believe the cookies I made for the baking competition should be cooled now! I think I could spare a few for a nice kid like you.â
While the woman motioned for Arael to follow her to the kitchen, Arael froze in a panic – knowing the fate of the cookies.
Still, she floated behind her, holding her breath.
The woman made it to the kitchen, and upon seeing her baking tray had been raided, she let out a sharp sigh.
âAH. Okay.â she mumbled, turning towards Arael – and while she was still smiling, her disappointment was immeasurable.
âNew plan! Four hands are better than two⌠how good are you at baking?â
Arael didnât respond, but she did mumble a bit.
âWell, I can teach you! I need something to bring to the baking competition later today, after allâŚâ she said with a sigh.
âIâll let you take some home with you as payment – deal?â
While Arael wasnât easily swayed by much, the proposition of free cookies was generally a 1-way ticket to her cooperation.
While she didnât respond with words, Arael happily nodded and hovered up to height with the counter as the woman explained her process.
Perhaps mom would like some of these; Arael thought.
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