so I’m going to do this for you. Breakfast, lunch, dinner… you name it. I was up half the night collecting recipes, and I was hoping to sit down with you guys, and you can tell me all the stuff you like and what you don’t—”
“ Whoa wait, no. Corrine, you really don’t have to do that. You don’t owe us anything! Get that out of your head now.”
“ Yeah,” Kieron chimes in from the couch. “Don’t you know that you’re the only thing around here that’s actually normal ? Without you, we’d just be a house full of freaks. You keep us connected to reality. That’s a big enough contribution. You just being you.”
Corrine smirks at us, and then starts scooping out her batter onto the skillet. “Okay, well then I’ll put it to you this way—it’ll make me feel really good to be able to do this for you guys, and I really hope you’ll let me. I’ve always wanted to learn to bake and cook better, but I’ve never had enough food or supplies to work with. But now I do, and I’m really excited to try out a bunch of things. And it gives me something to do, and I feel useful. So if it’s okay with you guys, would you mind if I did all the cooking around here?”
Kieron and I look at each other, and I turn to Corrine with a smile. “Of course you may. And thank you. It’s a very sweet gesture.”
“ And most appreciated,” Kieron adds.
Corrine grins. “Cool. Okay, so what’s on the agenda for today?” She expertly flips the pancakes and wipes her hand on her apron.
“ Actually, I need to go talk with Anastasia in a bit. Do you wanna come with me? Check out the place?”
She scrunches her eyebrows and tilts the skillet so the pancakes slide off onto a plate. “Sure, but won’t I be interrupting your chit chat time?”
“ Well, I was thinking—thank you, that looks delicious—yeah, I need to talk with her about some things, and we’ll need some alone time. But there’s a chance we might need you to pass on some things to Lucky later. That is if you don’t mind.” I pick up the syrup bottle and start drizzling it over the short stack she’s just put in front of me.
Corrine’s face brightens. “Sure, of course I don’t mind. Anything I can do to help. Plus, I’m dying to see the inside of her place. I bet it’s amazing!”
“ You’ll have to tell me all about it,” Kieron says dryly, as he comes over to sit beside me. I know he doesn’t really care about seeing her fancy house, but I can’t help but wonder if her rejection of him doesn’t hurt his feelings, at least a little. Kieron cares for humans far more than most demions do. It’s one of the things that made me fall in love with him. And for Anastasia to reject him so callously without even knowing him at all has to sting.
We finish eating and Corrine and I clean the kitchen, then head on outside to visit Anastasia. Kieron was just going to relax and watch some TV and promised he wouldn’t fall asleep before we return.
It’s another perfect day, one that almost has me convinced that we really are in paradise, in a lucid dream-like fantasy. The air is crisp and clean, the sky the palest powder blue, and there isn’t a cloud in sight. Flowers splash their vibrant colors against acres of pristine green grass, and even the cobblestone walkway beneath our feet glistens as if covered with gold dust and crushed diamonds. The soothing lull of the ocean rhythmically crashing against the rocks completes the tranquil scene.
“ Doesn’t it seem like we’re in some sort of fairy tale here?” Corrine asks, as if reading my mind.
I chuckle. “Yeah, and we’re on our way to see the wicked witch now.”
She giggles and covers her mouth. “She’s not really that bad, is she?”
I know Corrine is more nervous then she lets on, so I shake my head. “Nah, she’s okay. She’s just not a fan of demons is all, but who can blame her? She likes humans just fine. You have nothing to worry about.”
“ But that thing she
“ Whoa wait, no. Corrine, you really don’t have to do that. You don’t owe us anything! Get that out of your head now.”
“ Yeah,” Kieron chimes in from the couch. “Don’t you know that you’re the only thing around here that’s actually normal ? Without you, we’d just be a house full of freaks. You keep us connected to reality. That’s a big enough contribution. You just being you.”
Corrine smirks at us, and then starts scooping out her batter onto the skillet. “Okay, well then I’ll put it to you this way—it’ll make me feel really good to be able to do this for you guys, and I really hope you’ll let me. I’ve always wanted to learn to bake and cook better, but I’ve never had enough food or supplies to work with. But now I do, and I’m really excited to try out a bunch of things. And it gives me something to do, and I feel useful. So if it’s okay with you guys, would you mind if I did all the cooking around here?”
Kieron and I look at each other, and I turn to Corrine with a smile. “Of course you may. And thank you. It’s a very sweet gesture.”
“ And most appreciated,” Kieron adds.
Corrine grins. “Cool. Okay, so what’s on the agenda for today?” She expertly flips the pancakes and wipes her hand on her apron.
“ Actually, I need to go talk with Anastasia in a bit. Do you wanna come with me? Check out the place?”
She scrunches her eyebrows and tilts the skillet so the pancakes slide off onto a plate. “Sure, but won’t I be interrupting your chit chat time?”
“ Well, I was thinking—thank you, that looks delicious—yeah, I need to talk with her about some things, and we’ll need some alone time. But there’s a chance we might need you to pass on some things to Lucky later. That is if you don’t mind.” I pick up the syrup bottle and start drizzling it over the short stack she’s just put in front of me.
Corrine’s face brightens. “Sure, of course I don’t mind. Anything I can do to help. Plus, I’m dying to see the inside of her place. I bet it’s amazing!”
“ You’ll have to tell me all about it,” Kieron says dryly, as he comes over to sit beside me. I know he doesn’t really care about seeing her fancy house, but I can’t help but wonder if her rejection of him doesn’t hurt his feelings, at least a little. Kieron cares for humans far more than most demions do. It’s one of the things that made me fall in love with him. And for Anastasia to reject him so callously without even knowing him at all has to sting.
We finish eating and Corrine and I clean the kitchen, then head on outside to visit Anastasia. Kieron was just going to relax and watch some TV and promised he wouldn’t fall asleep before we return.
It’s another perfect day, one that almost has me convinced that we really are in paradise, in a lucid dream-like fantasy. The air is crisp and clean, the sky the palest powder blue, and there isn’t a cloud in sight. Flowers splash their vibrant colors against acres of pristine green grass, and even the cobblestone walkway beneath our feet glistens as if covered with gold dust and crushed diamonds. The soothing lull of the ocean rhythmically crashing against the rocks completes the tranquil scene.
“ Doesn’t it seem like we’re in some sort of fairy tale here?” Corrine asks, as if reading my mind.
I chuckle. “Yeah, and we’re on our way to see the wicked witch now.”
She giggles and covers her mouth. “She’s not really that bad, is she?”
I know Corrine is more nervous then she lets on, so I shake my head. “Nah, she’s okay. She’s just not a fan of demons is all, but who can blame her? She likes humans just fine. You have nothing to worry about.”
“ But that thing she
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