The Tales of Hestia

It's Not So Pleasant And It's Not So Conventional

Trigger warnings for this chapter are mentions of war and brief mentions of bigotry. Please read this chapter with caution.

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Date: the 28th of Aburridia, during the 525th E Rima Tau

    "AWW, IT'S SO SAD that you have to leave us so soon," Larry sighed, adjusting the golden hem of my aubergine bustwrap. "I mean, I liked spending the weekends with you."

    "I liked spending our weekends with you and Silver as well, Larry. But we're not leaving for a couple more weeks. Lemmy will be here next week, so that way he, Shadow, and I could plan what we're going to do next, whether we want to head back to Hestia or just... travel abroad to somewhere else while we wait for news of the war," I sighed as well. "But I'm not going to deny it any longer. I will miss both you and Silver immensely, that's how close you two have grown on me... even though there have been some instances where I pushed you away and I didn't mean it."

    "I understand that you don't mean it. Hug?"

    I nodded my head. My arms extended to let Larry hug me, and as I wrapped my arms around him, tears began to shed. "I finally got to know my siblings after years of thinking that I was an only child."

    The Koopaling with the cobalt blue hair locked his arms tighter around me. "Hey, it's okay. We're here now."

    "I know you are, but... I've been the nonexistent sibling for five E Rima Tau and I feel like absolute dogshit about it because I could have gotten the help I needed earlier... it's not right..."

    "I know it isn't right. But what matters is that we're here now and that we're here for you."

    Shadow took my right hand and Larry's left hand and welcomed himself into the hug. He knew that the two of us had overwhelming emotions, and of course he always means well. "If you two are uncomfortable, just let me know and I'll let go."

    "You're fine, Shadow, I needed a hug, anyway."

    "Would any of you like anything to eat? Silver is making mashed potatoes and gravy with chicken," Larry asked, letting go of the two of us.

    I nodded my head, wiping my face of any tears and chuckling a bit. "Yeah, we'd like that. We just got back here from a long trip from, erm... Yameka. S-Sorry, my mind just blanked."

    "You're fine, it's okay if your mind blanks. Happens to even the most intelligent of people."

    "It's not that type of mind-blanking, Larry, where you just simply forget what the name of something is. It's the type of mind-blanking that occurs when you zone out and... dissociate, in a sense. And of course, I'm talking about the dissociation that occurs with Borderline Personality Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder."

    "I know what you're talking about."

    I rolled my eyes, a bit irritable. No, Larry, you don't know what I'm talking about.

    "Anyway, Silver's almost done. Come to the dinner table with us."

    Shadow and I headed our way over to the dinner table, led by Larry. Two serving plates of food awaited us, as well as a saucepan full of gravy, and the sight of the food alone was enough to make my mouth water and my stomach grumble. Neither Shadow nor I had breakfast or lunch.

    I grabbed a plate full of mashed potatoes and chicken before pouring the gravy all over my food. Larry must have gotten mad at me because he discovered a ring around the bottom of the saucepan (though it wasn't my fault that he didn't provide a ladle). "Next time, use a spoon."