Saxifrage Fire

0037

Two Weeks Later

Alethea stirred awake and stared at the pale light that slipped past her bedroom curtains across the room. She sat up and turned to study Alex who had clung to her arm most of the night. She covered her shoulders with the blanket and brushed her cheek; her burns were healing: light pink marks across her face and much of her body, but she hadn't been sleeping, and she refused to discuss those few days she was kept in that dark chamber in the company facility.

She turned to stared out the window at the snow-covered beach and lake where clouds of mist soared with the breeze. Winter had arrived quickly creating a barrier of snow and deadly temperatures between their newly won city and the rest of the world. Soon, the roads would be too dangerous for any travel; they had to leave now before they were trapped for the season. The last several days, no... fifteen days, had been a blur as she'd managed the overtaking of the city. She'd be grateful to be on the road with the Koro people who had first welcomed her out of Eirene.

She got ready, taming her hair in a colorful wrap gifted her to by Oya which also served to warm her ears, and headed out into the room de Bion. She stopped upon hearing the coffee brewing and a pan sizzling. She saw her Mother's figure in the kitchen, but she blinked, and the illusion disappeared. Her heart sank; she'd promised Alex they could scatter Mother's ashes in the lake before they left.

Kaleo came from the cabinet with a bag of flour over his shoulder.

"Morning Thea!" he called in a hushed tone since the rest of the house was sleeping.

She went to the kitchen and reached for a mug, but he stepped over and grabbed it for her, pouring her the fresh coffee.

"Do you have time for breakfast?" he asked.

She glanced at the pan which held two serves of a peculiar Ohana dish. It was six in the morning; Hana and Kamaya wouldn't be up for a couple of hours.

"Are you cooking for me?"

He served her a plate, hiding a smile.

"Every morning since our victory, you've rushed out the door to take care of some issue regarding Oya's governance over Eirene, administering Antis to the Seras... you need to take care of yourself at some point, and breakfast is a good start."

She accepted the plate and chuckled.

"Ae, Mauku" (yes, Dad), she said in Ohana, which she'd learned from listening to Kamaya's tiny chattering voice.

Kaleo smirked and turned to pour himself some coffee.

She sat up at the granite counter and poked at the dish. She'd never seen fruit and peppers diced and tossed into an egg omelet.

"Oh sorry," Kaleo said, noticing her expression. "I forget that not everyone throws fruit into everything."

She shrugged.

"I'll have to get used to the Ohana menu now, huh?"

He leaned against the counter and smiled into his coffee mug.

She took a bite, chewing slowly as she studied his demeanor.

"Are you excited to go home?"

"It's hard to believe," he admitted. "It's been five years since I've seen the Ohana shores, my brothers, my parents. I just wish it were under different circumstances. But I suppose it makes sense why the Seras would attack us next; we'll have to call our people home from the other tribes, weakening everyone. I just hope that our friends will be as generous to us as we have been to them."