Ignite

Twenty-one || Band-Aids Don't Fix Daddy Issues

Hey! How are y'all doing?

So I updated ON TIME!!! Oh my god, right?

So the chapters are varying lengths, because I have a plan that needs them to be cut off in certain places, so I'm sorry if some are shorter than others.

Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to nyxagrey15, because they made the most AMAZING drawings of Tide and Hale. The image isn't up there, because Photobucket and Wattpad are not cooperating with me, but I'll get it up ASAP because it's seriously the awesomest thing ever and you should really check back in again and look at it.

So...that's about it, I guess. Once again, thank you all soooo much for reading and commenting and having theories and talking with each other and me, it's great and you're the best, seriously.

So here's your chapter! I hope you enjoy!

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I wake up warm, cocooned in thick blankets. It would be nice, except that a) I'm still cold, and b) Coal isn't here, disappeared off somewhere. The last time he did that he was gone for six hours.

Sometimes I consider putting a leash on him.

I untangle myself from the covers, touching a toe to the floor as if testing water. It's cold. I didn't know what I was expecting, but I still hiss out a breath. After a few languishing moments where I consider returning the bed, I gather the resolve to find warmer clothing. Searching the closets upstairs leaves me with an armful of long shirts and sweaters, ranging from size Maple to Noah. It's then my mission to hunt down everyone and make sure they don't get hypothermia.

"Maple," I whisper, opening the door to her room. "Sparky."

Maple is awake, sitting up with frizzy brown hair and blankets around her shoulders, looking like a plush toy in comparison to the queen size bed. She's humming and tucking flowers into Sparky's hair. He's still asleep, making a sigh every time he exhales.

Maple fits a final, pink cherry blossom into the crown she's created on Sparky's head, and then she looks up with wide, Bambi brown eyes. "Hello," she says, grinning at me.

"Hey Maple," I smile, walking forward and settling on the bed. I hand her a dark green sweater, which she takes gratefully, exclaiming over the softness. She glances at Sparky and then crawls into my lap, selecting a maroon sweater.

"To match the flowers," she explains, pointing a solemn finger at his blossom-adorned head. I laugh and she grins, shuffling around to my back. "Do you want a flower crown?" she asks, eagerness seeping through her voice.

"Of course I want a flower crown," I reply, and Maple starts threading her small fingers through my hair.

"I'm gonna try a braid," she says. "Coal taught me how, but his hair isn't as long as yours."

"He let you braid his hair?"

Maple giggles. "It didn't work very well, but I couldn't do it on myself yet, so I had to practice. I can fit Camellias in though."

The thought of Coal with bright red flowers in his hair is amusing to me. I find myself smiling uncontrollably as Maple finishes braiding my hair. She presumably tucks flowers in between the strands, and then she says, "Done!" triumphantly.

"Thank you," I twist around, giving Maple a hug and kissing her hair. "Make Sparky put on the sweater when he wakes up, 'kay?"

She giggles again, promising to do so, and I leave them to their own devices. Now florally embellished, I walk downstairs to the kitchen, depositing sweaters to people as I go.