The Incandescent | Book 7 | The Fairy arc

Chapter 5 ~ The Tea Dispute

Mara sat near the window, feeling glum. She traced the window with her fingers, looking out into the bleak darkness, seeing nothing but black space with glittering stars and galaxies. She imagined it would be cold and lonely in outer space. She sighed and stretched her legs out, moving them upward on the other side of the windowseat.

The spaceship belonging to the Decuir siblings, the Rose Wing, was on autopilot, maintaining a steady course to take them home to planet Dusaro. They were reassigned to a local assignment, their prior assignment cancelled due to their encounter with the Glittered Inktraitor.

It wasn't just the energy manipulation that alarmed the agency, but it was logistics and red tape that would unleash unnecessary turmoil, since this involved a native Ghatomese person with dealings on intergalactic planets. Therefore, the Decuir siblings were sent home on another assignment, this time to investigate a matter involving financial embezzlement. A light, safe assignment with no danger.

Drave was in the ship's kitchen with Erasmo, stirring the batter to make pancakes. Erasmo wanted to add more flour, but Drave kept saying no, moving the mixing bowl away from him. Erasmo rebelliously dunked the flour container in the mixture, making Drave exclaim, "Erasmo! I told you, that's too much!"

Erasmo flung the flour container at Drave, who flung the mixing bowl contents at him, covering Erasmo with pancake batter. Erasmo just hovered in astonishment, shocked that Drave did such a thing. He angrily flung ingredients at Drave, including the sugar container and vanilla extract.

"That's enough! Out of the kitchen!" A flour covered, vanilla scented, sugary sweet Drave yelled at the pancake batter splattered Vanquesha, chasing him around the kitchen with the fury of a fast moving mixer.

Erasmo held a measuring cup in defense, but Drave snatched it out of his grip. "I said out!" Drave said irately, flinging a kitchen towel towards Erasmo. The Vanquesha darted out of the way, making Drave miss. The kitchen towel landed on the floor, adding to the mess of flour and sugar.

"What's going on here?" Mara asked as she walked into the kitchen, enticed by the pleasant scent of vanilla. Her eyes widened at the mess, at her flour covered brother and the pancake battered Vanquesha.

Sighing heavily, Mara picked up the mixing bowl and placed it in Drave's hands. "Both of you, clean this mess immediately. No cooking or baking unless under my direct supervision, since you two clearly can't work together."

Mara strode out of the kitchen, being careful not to step on the mess. Drave glared at Erasmo, whose sparkles darkened in anger. But they set to work cleaning up the kitchen, disappointed by the lack of teamwork and pancakes.

Instead of warm delicious pancakes, there was a simple bowl of oatmeal and blueberries. Drave sat mutely picking at his food, while Erasmo sifted through the tea boxes, searching for a tea he wanted to drink.

Mara washed her bowl and spoon after finishing her meal and headed back to the cockpit to check on their route. The map on the screen showed they were about to pass planet Monshalow, a fairy planet in the void dimension, which was on the way to the sparkly dimension where both planet Iredescent and planet Dusaro were located. The path was clear, no asteroid fields nor any incoming traffic. Satisfied with the route, Mara sat down to read a book.

Drave sighed heavily, pushing forward his half-eaten oatmeal. "What kind of tea are you getting?" he asked Erasmo, getting up to heat the tea kettle.

Erasmo held up several tea boxes, undecided and not sure which one to enjoy first. All of them?

Drave looked through some of the options, naming them as he picked them off the Vanquesha. "Let's see what you've got. Peppermint rose, oolong merlot, blackberry mint, apple cherry pistachio, mango – "