Sinatus

✨Chapter Nine✨

            "Quiet?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow at Kaia. They had stopped in the entrance of a house, and it wasn't very quiet. A girl with a long red braid and paint-splattered pants stood in the hallway, screaming at someone up the stairs. A male voice was screaming back. The girl turned, saw Lily, Kaia and Ara standing in the doorway and froze, her mouth shutting immediately. A door snapped shut on the second floor. 

           "That's Ivy!" Kaia smiled, motioning at the girl in the braid. Now that she was facing them, Lily saw that her face was entirely covered in freckles. "Ivy, this is Lily. That's Ara."

          "Hi," Lily waved at Ivy awkwardly. Ivy looked at Kaia with wide blue eyes that turned green at the iris. Then she turned back to Lily.

        "Hi," she replied, so quietly Lily barely heard, then glanced down at Ara with a smile.

        "I was wondering if Lily could borrow that old cloak of yours?" Kaia asked. "You know which one I mean, right? She's a Sinatus, everyone's looking at her weird."

         Ivy nodded, turned, and disappeared through a door. Kaia gave Lily a tight-lipped smile. "She's really shy, she doesn't like meeting new people. It takes her a while to get used to them."

         Lily nodded understandingly as Ivy came back out of the room. She wordlessly handed Lily a calf-length brown cloak. Kaia shrugged, "It's not pretty, but it's something."

         Lily smiled. "Thank you."

         "You're welcome," Ivy gave her a small, tentative smile. Lily gripped the cloak and pulled it around her shoulders, fastening the plain bronze clasp. She grinned as Ara jumped up and began playing with the hem. 

         "We can find you a place to stay, if you want." Kaia offered. Ivy paled under her freckles, but then she nodded. 

         "Really?" Lily felt they had done so much for her already. "I mean...that would be really nice of you."

          "Okay, let me think," Kaia grinned, tapping her chin. Ivy looked up, speaking carefully and quietly.

           "She could stay here. One extra guest isn't much. Well, two, with Ara."

          "She could, go ask your mom!" Kaia agreed excitedly. 

          "Oh--no--that's okay, you don't have to--" Lily started, but Ivy had already turned and was heading through the house. Lily stared at Kaia. "Honestly, you're way too nice for your own good."

          "Thanks!" Kaia's smile widened. "I take great pride in being kind. Wait, did that rhyme? No, not really. Look, that's Ivy's mom."

           Ivy was coming back towards them, followed by a woman with a round, full face and bright red curls piled on her head. She smiled. "Hello, dear, it's such a pleasure to have you. Lily, is it?"

           "Yes," Lily nodded. She opened her mouth to say more, but Ivy's mother was already talking again. 

            "Well, Lily, you can stay in Ivy's room with Ivy and Kaia. You can go take a shower right now, and then we'll have dinner. I'm Elora, by the way, and Ivy's dad and brother should be in the house...somewhere..."

             "Really, Mrs.," Lily smiled. "You don't have to do this..."

           "Don't worry yourself about it, not at all... Now go, go take a shower, then we'll eat. I'm sure I'll have something for your Lucami as well." Elora bustled, making shooing motions with her hands.

           "Thanks a lot," Lily said as Kaia hauled her up the stairs, followed by Ara and Ivy. They passed two simple wooden doors before Kaia pushed open a third, leading them into what Lily was almost completely sure was Ivy's bedroom. Three of the walls were light grey, but the one opposite the door was daffodil yellow. The headboard of a small bed was pushed against it, and there was a window framed by white curtains above it. The walls were hung with paintings and drawings, and papers, canvases, brushes, pencils, and paint were piled on every available surface, including the floor. Next to the bed on part of the pale blue carpet was a mattress, on which Lily assumed Kaia slept. Ara jumped onto Ivy's bed and curled up. 

           "The bathroom's here." Kaia explained, showing her the door on the side of the room. "Do you have fresh clothes?"

           "A pair, yeah," Lily nodded, stepping into the bathroom and dropping her rucksack on the ground when she entered. She took a shower and washed her hair, pulled some fresh clothes, grabbed her rucksack, and went back into Ivy's room. 

          "Mom said dinner'll be ready in ten minutes." Ivy, who was sitting on the carpet, muttered. 

          "Okay, come over here!" Kaia told Lily, patting the spot on her matters next to her. Lily sat down, and Kaia busied herself by braiding Lily's curly hair. Lily raised her eyebrows. After a while of tugging mercilessly at Lily's hair and humming to herself, Kaia laughed, "I'm so lucky, Ivy never lets me do this."

           "I think--" Lily winced as Kaia pulled on her hair, "--I can see why."

           Ivy, who was watching them while turning a brush between her fingers, nodded. Kaia dropped Lily's waterfall braided hair against her back and huffed as if offended. "Ouch, that hurt."

           "You're speaking for me, right?" Lily asked.  

           Kaia put a hand over her heart. "Oh, the pain. I can't--"

           "Dinner's ready!" came Elora's voice from downstairs. Kaia jumped to her feet. Lily and Ivy followed her, while Ara stayed curled up on the bed, apparently asleep. They walked down the stairs into the kitchen where Elora and tow other people who Lily assumed where Ivy's dad and brother were sitting. As it turned out, she was correct. They introduced themselves and Lily learned that her dad was good with dragons, and that Ivy's brother thought Ivy was a horrible sister. Okay.

           Elora served a steaming stew, which tasted like heaven compared to the meals Lily had had over the past couple of days. No one was rude to her about the fact that she was a Sinatus. The conversation of the wizard family was way different than any conversation that had ever been held at her dinner table, and Lily sat and listened as they discussed magic and wizards. When they had finished their food, Elora put another mattress in Ivy's room. Lily dropped her sleeping bag on it and crawled inside, placing Sammy next to her head. Full with delicious stew and the gladness of having arrived at her destination, and the sound of the breathing of Kaia and Ivy filling her ears, Lily fell deeply asleep.