faerie • muke [v slow updates]

6°

luke slides into the passenger seat of his mom's prius and looks at her. "what's really up? it must be important to pull me out of school and use the dad overseas card."

liz stares out the front window of the car, hands on the wheel as she speaks. "luke, i was at work when i got the call. dad has been hurt. we're going home to pack some stuff, then we're going to see him."

josephine pipes up from her car seat in the back: "we're going to see daddy, lukey!"

"wait, what? we're going to maidenhair? we haven't been in three years. dad usually comes home to visit us. what happened?" luke asks, suddenly very worried. maidenhair was the faerie capital of canada, and it was located in a forest in rural nova scotia. because of his dad's position in the faerie world, he spent most of his time there, only being able to come home for a few random weeks in a year.

liz sighs and starts driving, slightly speeding. luckily there aren't many cars because most people are still at school or work, so she's getting away with 90 kilometres an hour in a 60 zone. "the nova scotia hunters have been getting more suspicious in recent years," liz starts. luke doesn't like how this is sounding. he's heard his mom on the phone with his aunt who lives in nova scotia, only an hour from maidenhair. they talk too much about security and hunters and being scared, and not enough about their kids and jobs and other mundane things. "the hunters found maidenhair. everyone had been on high alert and they had an escape plan, but the hunters were more prepared than expected."

"how many?" luke asked, scared to know the number of fatalities. he remembers snippets of maidenhair from his childhood. his mom moved the two of them away when there were only three known hunters and luke was only four, just to be safe. then, they spent summers there up until just after jo was born. it's always had a special place in his heart, and he'd wanted to get a tattoo of a maidenhair tree leaf when he was of age.

liz glances at jo in her rear-view mirror, who's playing quietly with her ipad in the back seat. "thankfully only eight were harmed. it could've been worse, considering how close-knit the community is," she says quietly, not wanting her four-year-old to know how worried she is for her people. "okay jo, we're almost home," liz continues, raising her voice slightly. "what are you going to do when we get there?"

jo's blonde curls bounce as she looks up from her electronic. "i'm gonna get my toys and my baby girls and a blanket," she grins.

"good girl. and don't take too long, okay?"

"okay mommy," jo says as they pull into the driveway.

"how long do i pack for?" luke asks, trying to rapidly outfit plan in his head.

"pack as much as you can in a medium suitcase and your schoolbag. take your homework, i'm not sure how long we'll be there and you can't fall behind. you're graduating in three months with the rest of your class, you've worked so hard for all of this," liz says as she gets josephine out of her car seat and walks toward the house.

"okay," luke says, rapidly typing a to-do list on his phone. he runs to his room, pulling out his light grey suitcase, and throws in a mix of faerie clothes, human clothes, sweats, an assortment of underwear and a few pairs of pyjamas. he also grabs a few books on his to-be-read list, seeing as maidenhair was a 18-hour drive. he grabbed his black train case and filled it with his makeup and skincare products, ignoring his mom's two bag guideline. he made sure he had all the charging cables he'd need, as well as his schoolwork, before deciding he was finished packing.

luke walks into jo's room, looking at her on the floor. "really jo? mom said to be quick," he says, lifting her up from her spot. "stop playing, and pick a few more toys to fit in your backpack." luke says, moving to her closet. he pulls out his sister's blue suitcase and throws a bunch of clothes in it, making sure there's enough to clothe her for about two weeks.

the lilac-haired boy has himself and his four-year-old sister all packed and back downstairs in slightly less than half an hour, which he's quite proud of. he walks into the kitchen, where liz is packing two cooler bags- one for snacks and one for drinks. "anything you want me to do while you finish here?" luke asks gently, still worried about what awaits his family in maidenhair.

"can you pack everything into the car? make sure you haven't forgotten anything," liz says, opening and closing cupboards to see what else she can bring.

luke begins with carrying his and josephine's backpacks and suitcases out, popping the trunk for the suitcases. he puts jo's bag in the back seat and slips his in the passenger side. next, he gets his mom's suitcase and duffle bag from the bottom of the staircase where she'd left them, as well as his train case. he slips them into the boot of the car, heading back into the house. "i'm going to grab a few blankets and pillows, then we're ready to leave," luke calls to his mom as he heads back upstairs. he walks into his mom's room and grabs three of her countless pillows and two throw blankets, getting a third from jo's room for her. he also runs back to his room and gets a sweatshirt, sunglasses, and baseball hat to wear in the car. then, luke flies downstairs and mentally thanks the gods for his vaulted ceilings. otherwise, trying to walk and carry all the blankets would have ended in luke tripping.

liz hears luke drop his sunglasses and walks into the foyer to see him land with an armful of pillows and blankets. "ready to go?" she asks, holding a cooler bag in each hand.

"yeah," luke replies, heading to throw all the linens into the backseat beside josephine's car seat. then he dashes back inside to put on his shoes and sees the women in his life doing the same. liz takes jo by the hand and leads her to the car, leaving luke to double-lock the door on his way out.

the faerie boy climbs into the passenger seat of the car, and his mom begins to drive. 

a/n: that was a wild ride wow, tune in next time for who knows what (i kinda don't even know bc it just comes as i write and i don't really plan oops)