The Meeting Millennium in the Making.

Shopping.

Ode to the 2nd

In the land of the scale cloaked king, lives god of earth.

Native king of our soils, lord of the geomancers warren.

Keeper of the farming lands, She who levels mountains.

Sing praise to Te__al_s, The... 2nd member of... the SM...Gs.

Clive's POV.

"My brother has been sleeping for a day, and not peacefully."

"Has it been peaceful?" Anna asked concerne filling her voice.

"I wish-" I chuckled darkly- "but nope, his face is pained. I wish I could tell you more, but he is asleep and not open to questions."

I hope that he soon recovers, there is nothing else that I think either of us could do."

"Well, I guess I should hang up, there is some stuff I have to do. Goodbye."

"Goodbye then, and good luck for your, our brother"

Although I am worried that He gave my brother a message, the shopping needs to be done. Especially so because we were going to have a house guest in 6 days. I grabbed my wallet, put on my sweater, and was just about to leave when I realised that I forgot to leave a note. I rushed into the kitchen, picked up a pen and paper and hastily scribbled down a message before exiting.

Although I could have taken a quicker route, the air outside was cool with just a light breeze. Perfect for a walk, if a bit calm. I made my way swiftly, following the familiar path, passing by the park, the road to the beach and a few skate parks.

"I wonder if Issac would find any of this exciting," I thought to myself. After not long, I arrive at the store. There weren't many people inside, which was expected. It was early on a Sunday after all. I grabbed a cart and reached into my pockets for my list. I reached into my other pocket to find my list.

"I forgot the list, damn it," I swore under my breath. I ran a final pat down, before grabbing my wallet, and pulling out the list. "Now, what's on the list," I consulted as I scanned the list. First up are some fruits and vegetables, I read off, so I turn the cart and start to wheel it to the produce section. I went from the aisle, picking up some simple fruits and vegetables, apples, onions, peppers the like.

"Alright, cross off produce," I said,"Next, the bakery." I turned the cart and started pushing my way over to the bakery section; putting some milk into my cart as I passed by the section. There weren't many people at the bakery, so I grabbed some bread, a special surprise for Issac, and made my way to the meat. Grabbing the meats I will need for the week's dinners, I left to round out the list. I grabbed some milk, cheese, butter and other common household foods.

I made my way to the check·out and got in the short line, there weren't many people in the store after all. I put my ingredients on the belt and wait for the person in front of me to finish their transaction, humming a little tune to myself. After a little while I started getting annoyed; checking my phone every few seconds.

"Finally," I muttered darkly, "she's done, I thought that my food would rot before she left." I put my items on the belt and walked forwards to wait by the pin pad to pay.

"Alright Clive, that will be $47.93. Would you like to pay with cash or credit?" The cashier asked. Except, I know that voice. "Bella! So nice to see you again. Still working at this market?" I say playful|.

"Yup, still am," She replies smiling, "say, my shift is almost over. How about you come over to my house so we can catch up." I mull over this as I pay, but when I finish, I gently shrug, look up at her and say,

"Sure-" I pause for a second- "But you're driving." This causes her to laugh, one of her more rich laughs. I quickly bag my groceries, with a little help from Bella. I take the bags and look for Bella's little lavender car. I wait there for Bella to arrive, there's no legal way for me to get

in after all. After five minutes, I decided that I should inform my brother that I'm going to be late.

Alexis's PoV

I wake up on the couch, in pain from my recent... episode.

"My throat-" I cough, a loud dry cough that sends shivers throughout my body- "How long have I slumbered?" I stand up quickly, and immediately regret it. My head throbs painfully, I teeter dangerously and everything is tinged black and red. I collapse back down on the bed and wait for the pain to decrease.

"Why didn't I plan for him to,  try to revolt," I grumble, my voice hoarse and sore, "Although, his offer is... convincing." I finally manage to get up without feeling much pain after 30 minutes. Only to feel a rumble in my stomach as I gag, quickly, I rush to the bathroom and heave. Every wave of vomit lessens my nausea, but comes with a throb of pain. When I finally stop spewing my innards, I feel empty, but still I feel ill. Slowly, I drag myself, quite literally, to the kitchen where I finally hoist myself to my feet using a stool. On the counter I notice a note that seems to be updating itself as I watch it. The note reads, "Gone out shopping, should be home soon." and below it, "Met bella gaing to her place. Some uf", the note stops updating itself.

"What happened to mister master writer?" I say and continue to read the rest of the update. "The stuff should be at the door. Please put it away if you can."

"Might as well, not like I got anything better to do," I reply to the note, as I start to shuffle to the door. The bags are there, as he said they would be, so I pick them up and bring them over to the kitchen to put them away. I place them on the island and start to empty them. Most of them are filled with vegetables which I put away in the fridge, alongside a jug of milk, a block of cheese, just some common items to refill our fridge. I shuffle over to the fridge and start what I'm sure will be a long and tedious process.

Clive's PoV.

The drive to Bella's is uneventful in the short drive so far, but she lives in a more... traditional part of the city. Not that I'm mad, no I enjoy seeing these old traditions carried out for thousands of years.

"Hey can I tell you something? I think that you might want to find out about it here," Bella randomly announced, startling me.

"Sure, what do you have to say," I replied sleepily.

"So you remember my partner, Alex?" she continues.

"Yeah, of course-" I paused, remembering how close they were last time I saw them- "did something happen between you two?" I guessed as I lay my head on my hands.

"Alex proposed to me, I... course, sai... yes! We... ven't cho-" as hard as I try, I can not stop my eyes from closing. But when I open them, the horror before me makes me wish I kept them closed.