Ollie MacQuoid and the Journey To Rubius

Chapter Four

The next morning, the house seemed a little more at ease with the events of the night before. Most of the family was up before Ollie was, and he was woken by the pleasant smell of pancakes. Sunlight streamed through the porthole by his bed and warmed the floor beneath his feet as he rolled out of bed and made his way downstairs.

The Sallow household was bustling and alive with the noise of the family's morning routines; Bermire and Calladin were seated at the table, talking; Flynn sat across from them, drizzling a strikingly red syrup on his pancakes while his mother stood behind him, brushing his pale hair; Elora, sat on the floor of the living room, was in the midst of absentmindedly drawing blue swirls on her legs with a paintbrush while a half-finished map lay beside her. Bermire gave Ollie a friendly wave. "Morning, Ollie. How are you feeling?"

"Fine, thank you," Ollie replied.

Elora looked up from her legs and grinned widely. "You're awake!" She said joyfully, springing to her feet. "Mum made me wait until you were up to have breakfast."

"I thought it'd be rude if she ate without you," said Agnus, placing two stacks of pancakes on the table. "I'd ask you two to wait for Alaudidae too, but Elora's already ravenous enough as it is."

Ollie sat down beside Flynn and started on his breakfast. He'd had pancakes before, but these ones were quite different from what he was used to. They were much thicker, almost jiggly, with a strong, salty taste he quite enjoyed. Elora helped herself to a generous amount of the jarred red syrup on the table, but Ollie found it to be much too bitter for his liking, going instead for a scoop of the thin, roasted roots Calladin had brought home from Swynland. They were quite sweet.

"I'm surprised Dee's sleeping in so long," Calladin said to his father. "He's usually an early riser. I hope he's not sick. Maybe I should go check on him."

Bermire placed a hand on Calladin's shoulder as he rose and gently pressed him back down into his seat. "I bet he's just tired. Both of you had a long journey yesterday. Let him sleep."

"He was up late, too," Ollie chimed in. "I saw him sitting out on the balcony in the middle of the night."

"You were awake?" Calladin raised an eyebrow.

"I couldn't sleep," Ollie replied quickly, taking a bite of his pancakes. "We had a nice talk. He's a cool dude."

Calladin smiled, though Ollie could see the tightness in his jaw. "Yeah, he's great."

"I still can't believe that you never told me about him in our letters," Elora said loudly, breaking the awkward pause. "I told you about the radishes I stole from the creepy guy at the market. It's the least you could have done, really."

Bermire stopped halfway through chewing. "The what?"

"I would have, I promise!" Calladin raised his hands in mock defence. "I just didn't know how Mum and Dad would react, that's all."

Angus, drying dishes behind him, breathed a sigh through her nose. "It's about time avians and water spirits become a little nicer to one another," She said, closely inspecting a chipped wine glass. "I'm happy you've found someone."

Calladin smiled fondly to himself. "That's a relief to hear. I'm glad."

It was then that Alaudidae appeared in the doorway, groggy from sleep. Ollie was once again struck by how beautiful he was. Half the feathers on one of his wings were stuck upright or pressed the wrong way, and he rubbed his neck as if to smooth out an ache. "Hi, Alaudidae!" Ollie said eagerly.

Alaudidae flashed a smile and wiggled his fingers in a happy little wave. "Morning!" He said jovially, leaning over Calladin's shoulder to press a kiss to his cheek. Calladin stood and gave Alaudidae his seat, which took Alaudidae a couple moments to figure out how to sit in comfortably with his wings. Agnus passed Alaudidae a plate of pancakes, which he then inhaled so quickly Ollie was surprised he didn't eat the plate as well in his haste. Calladin looked incredibly charmed. "Hungry?"