𝑷𝑨𝑷𝑬𝑹 𝑹𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑺 • 𝐫𝐡𝐲𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧. 𝐦 (wolfblood)

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞

Lia's alarm clock trilled insistently, pulling her from the depths of a restless night's sleep. She rolled over, her head already throbbing as she lurched upright to play whack-a-mole on her nightstand until she slapped the alarm clock, the silence making her ears ring. She grunted, flopping back down into bed and rubbing her eyes in a futile attempt to shield them from the light that was streaming through her white lace curtains. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes, squinting against the golden rays that marked the early hours of the morning.

With a sigh, she sat up again, her eyes adjusting to the bright light as she blinked tiredly around the room. It had been a long weekend. Saturday, with her, her family and her friends being kidnapped by a creepy old couple who doubled as wolfblood hunters, nearly being killed by said wolfblood hunters, and then Sunday, which consisted of her family arguing about Shannon and where she stood with them at the moment (not a good place).

She took a moment for herself, no doubt that the rest of her family would be rising soon, and admired the way the light made the dust motes dancing in the air look like tiny, glowing fairies. With a smile, she hopped out of bed, treading softly toward the window to watch the horses in the back field, the sun being exceptionally vivid for seven o'clock in the morning.

Lia took her time getting ready, grateful for her past self's decision to shower the night before so she didn't have to this morning. She left her hair half up, braiding the crown to push most of the front pieces out of her face, pulling a few face-framing pieces out to soften the style. It was growing warmer now, late winter bleeding into early spring, so she tugged on a skirt, blouse and a not-very-well-done green tie, her fingers tired after all that braiding and she didn't have the effort to make her tie straight. She dumped her tights too, settling for black knee-high socks instead. Stuffing an emergency black hoodie into her bag, she made sure to grab her book from her nightstand before going downstairs. 

The smell of rain-soaked soil and blooming flowers faded into a smell that made her stomach growl – pancakes. She frowned. No one in this household made pancakes this early in the morning unless it was a special occasion like a birthday, so she was beyond confused. She placed her messenger bag on the sofa and peered curiously into the kitchen, half expecting there to be actual breakfast fairies, but instead, she found her mother.

"Mam." She said, her voice a pitch higher than it usually was due to the surprise. Emma expertly lifted another pancake out of the pan with a spatula before turning to face her with a smile, "Lia!" she walked up to her, pulling her into a hug, "I love when you braid your hair," she complimented, pulling back to admire the auburn locks, "I'll have to do it for you soon, it's been ages since I styled your hair for you."

Needless to say, Lia was way beyond confused. As much as she loved Emma, she was the most groggy person in the morning. She understood, though. There was a lot to be done considering the animals and her kids, but it was strange to see her this happy.

Then it clicked. 

She was being nice because she still felt bad. Despite their conversation a few days before, it was clear that Emma was trying to make it up to Lia about Rhydian moving out, even though Lia had come to terms with it. She had no hard feelings toward her mother now that they had talked, but it was clear that she still felt guilty.

Knowing this, Lia smiled in return, "Yeah, that would be nice."

Emma beamed, turning back toward the stove and handing Lia a generous stack of pancakes, drizzled in syrup and topped with blueberries, "They should still be warm."

Lia looked at her gratefully, "Thank you. You really didn't have to do this, mam."

Emma raised an eyebrow playfully, "Are you complaining?"