“WHAAAA! WHAT?! HOW?!”

Kait heard Taylor yelling upstairs as she snacked on bread. Outside, snow covered the ground, burying the streets in almost two feet of snow. For today, Kait wasn’t sure what to do.

“Calm down, Taylor, your sister is probably still asleep!” his mom said.

“W-w-how did I get in my bed?!”

“Kait levitated you in.”

“She can do that to me while I sleep?”

“I guess so...”

“If that’s all that happened then...but that’s still a little scary, she carried me half a mile on foot, and I didn’t even wake up...”

“Yeah, I was surprised too.”

After a moment of silence, “OH FERN’S WINGS, I’M GOING TO BE LATE!”

“Snow day, Tay, snow day.”

“Oh, thank the Consciousness.”

“They called it at about eight last night, but I forgot to mention it.”

...

Now what to do today? The residents thought.

A few minutes later, a tired Taylor climbed down the stairs.

“Hey.”

Taylor suddenly jumped at the sight of Kait, “AHH! Erm-hi.”

“Sleep well?”

“Y-yeah...?”

Kait finished her toast then took a bite out of a whole, cooked potato while blankly staring at Taylor.

“You know, you could smash that potato...”

“Ai kwnow.” Kait said before swallowing.

“How does ‘speaking through food’ translate through a spell?”

“Don’t ask me.”

“Then who do I ask!”

“The milkman!”

“I should’ve expected that response...”

The two awkwardly stood still, unsure what to do.

“Should I have just woken you up instead?”

“...I think so.”

Kait perked up a little, “I’ll make sure to do that next time.”

Taylor took a seat opposite of her, “So glad it’s a snow day.”

“Why’s that?”

“Cause’ I don’t need to go to school-its closed.”

“That sucks, but what makes you glad it’s a snow day?”

“...That I don’t need to go to school.”

“You don’t like school?”

“Who does!?”

Kait took another bite out of the potato, “Me. Also, all my old friends.”

“Well, I don’t know anyone like that.”

Kait swallowed, then looked outside with an aloof stare. After a moment, she spoke, “Might I ask you for something?”

Taylor placed bread in the toaster, “Ask me what?”

“Could you teach me some Terrian?”

Taylor leaned against the kitchen counter and remained silent for a few seconds, “I’m not against it, but...can’t you just use spells to get by?”

Kait chuckled, “Of course not! I can’t read, and if for some reason I can’t cast magic...” she grimaced for an instant, then tilted her head as she regained her cheer, “I’ll be rendered quite pointless.”

“Well, it’s your life, I’m sure you know best...but I don’t have all the t-” Taylor turned around and tapped on the counter with his hand. He turned around, a small smile on his face, “I think I can teach you some.”

Kait stared Taylor dead in the eyes for an awkward period of time, causing him to avert his. Suddenly, Kait burst into laughter.

“Wh-what’s so funny!?”

“N-nothing at all, Taylor.” Kait took another bite out of her potato with a mischievous grin-

just as the toaster popped its toast up, both Taylor and Kait jumping in surprise at the sound, “AHH! W-w-oh.” Taylor said.

“Jeez! What even is that thing?!”

Taylor picked the toast out of the machine, “A toaster.”

“What’s it do?”

“It...cooks bread.”

“But isn’t this stuff pre-made?” Kait held up a piece of untoasted bread she still hadn’t eaten.

“Wait, you’re eating bread untoasted and with nothing on it?!”

“Yes? Well, your ‘modern’ bread is weird, so no doubt you eat it differently as well.”

“It isn’t that strange to eat the stuff untoasted, to be fair to you.”

“So what’s the toaster do?”

Taylor snatched the bread from Kait’s hand then replaced it with a piece of toast, “Toasty, right?” he walked back to the toaster and placed the bread in.

After handling the toast a little, she took a small bite out of it and spoke through the mouthful, “Ohhh, I get it. It’s really warm and crunchy?”

“Yeah.”

Kait shrugged and smiled, “Perfect for a snowy day!” After another bite, she spoke again, “I wish I didn’t have to...nevermind.”

“‘Didn’t have to’ what?”

“I said nevermind.”

“Well, I want to know what you meant!”

“And I’m saying I can’t tell you what I meant!

“Why can’t you tell me what you meant!?”

“Because it’s a secret, or has culture lost that concept?!”

“Hmph, fine, no need to tell me, I see how it is. It’s better than being sent into the void cause you said too much.”

“Hey! That was cabbage rude!”

“‘cabbage rude’, what’s that mean?”

“Plain rude.”

“Oh, because cabbage is plain?”

Kait nodded, and the two sat in silence for a moment-

POP!

Kait jumped, “OH BLACK VIOLETS IN GENTLE FLAMES!”

“Yeesh, you have a crude vocabulary sometimes.”

“Sorry, soldier habits!”

“Enough with the strange phrases!”

A voice came from upstairs, “Keep it down for your sister please!”

“Sorry, mom!”

“Sorry about that!”

“Oh, theis glam easl!” Kait said.

She and Taylor were sitting on the ground in her room, a bare place with no more than some clothes folded in the corner, a mat to sit on, a broom, and a bed. The room was used as a storage room initially, but the contents were moved to the roof and basement when Kait moved in.

Kait stared at the notebook in front of her, where her alphabet wristband was. She cleared her throat, reading from the book, “Thae yealow frug jumped”

“Oh, not bad,” Taylor said with surprise, “Your accent isn’t even that thick.”

Kait clenched the armband, “Well, I already know how to speak Terrian, essentially. I’m just, you know, four hundred years outdated.” Kait then let go of the armband.

“Just, huh...?” Taylor scoffed.

She shoved her face close to Taylor’s. “Joost, huh?!”

“You didn’t say it right, still...”

“Oonh momene,” Kait picked up the armband, “What did you say again?”

“Nothing...”

“Whatever you say. Well, I think that’s enough for today. I already know most of the grammar and structure, I just need to get used to the way words are pronounced and spelled, and I’m set.”

Taylor chuckled of relief, “That means I don’t need to invest much time into you, so...that’s good...” he ended with a somewhat conflicted glance to the side.

Kait chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find another excuse to.”

“I don’t like the sound of that knowing tone...”

“Now scram, I need to do some things alone.”

Taylor stood up and began walking out of the room, “Yeah, yeah...” Then, he stopped and spoke in a subdued voice, “Hey, Kait...”

Kait matched his tone, “What.”

“...” Taylor stood in the doorway for an extended period of time, “Are...we...if I needed help, would you help me?”

“...” Kait seriously considered the question, “I’d...You’re...” She finally nodded, “I would.”

“Thanks. It really means a lot.”

“Thanks. It really means a lot.” Taylor said, muffled behind a wall.

Hailey sat on her bed with a downcast look. She reached into the bag of Wishie-Washies at the base of her bed without looking, only to be greeted by nothing but thin plastic.

“Drown it in cinder...” she cursed, for no particular reason as she lifted the bag up with her arm and flung it across the room...only for the air to stop its momentum just a few feet from her. She glared at the bag with disdain, then reached out with her foot to futilely kick it another half foot. She took a step off her bed, towards the bag, and resumed her hateful gaze for a moment.

Then she stomped on it. She stomped her heart out, mouthing, “Drown it in Cinder!” over and over as she imagined the plastic bag turning to shreds underneath her foot. The bag was, unsurprisingly, impervious to her stomps.

Hailey finally kicked the bag up, into her hand, then threw it. Somehow, the bag rebounded off the air and landed at her feet. Her expression turned more passive as she gave up, though she still gave it a pathetic heel-kick as she walked back to her bed, sending it forward a few feet.

Out there, people were worried about her, and inside-

Her mind practicaly coughed as it rejected the end to the sentiment. She just needed time to...think things over.

A cynical side of her asked herself the simple question, for over a month?

Well, yeah...

What is there to think about? A friend’s death isn’t the meaning of the universe.

But...

I can skip school as much as I want, but that won’t fix the issue because the issue is-

Her mind rattled with rejection once more, primal thoughts batting against each other in a brawl.

I think it’d be best to think clearer-

But it was worth it! I can go, but that won’t fix anything either! They don’t care about what I want!

Why even bother.

Where can I go from here, though?

She heard Kait’s voice through the wall again, “Hey, are you there, Hailey?”

Her thoughts hit the brakes as she realized she was being spoken to. “...”

“Well, if you are there...I think we should talk about what I mentioned yesterday...I meant to tell you more because it’s pretty important...”

“...” Hailey had said she’d ‘hold Kait to that’, but now she didn’t feel like talking...

“I guess that’s a no, or whatever...or are you there?”

“...”

“Oh. Now I just feel stupid. Whatever, I’ll just talk with her later...I don’t feel like using magic for this.” Hailey heard a sigh through the wall, “I guess I’ll practice some cont...” the voice faded out as Kait walked from the wall.

Hailey silently put her back against the wall as the torrent of thoughts and emotions flooded her again, eventually landing on a conscensus.

I’ll just go back to bed and figure this out tomorrow...