Active Magic (TatlTails and othyrworld)

Luke would be honored to know what these girls thought of him. He loved his kitchen, and he loved making people happy. Especially people who used to have bad times in kitchens and with food. Food was supposed to help people feel better, not worse, so if his food managed to do that for someone, then he must be doing something good with his life.

His face broke out into a grin when Flora thanked him, and he replied "Ya welcome!" as he put a plate in front of each of them. The food was arranged nicely on both plates, but not fancily enough to have taken much extra time. Just enough to show some care. And once the girls got their food, Luke went back to the stove and started cooking up a few more servings. The rest of the house would be here soon, they would want breakfast too.
 
Sequoia began scarfing down her waffles like a woman possessed, not even bothering with silverware until Flora cleared her throat and stared pointedly at the fork beside her plate. Sequoia shrugged innocently but when she started eating again she did pick up her fork, so Flora counted it as a win. Sequoia had always been eager to eat, scared someone would take it away if she didn't shove it down her throat as fast as possible. Flora, however, took the time to savor her bacon, wanting to preserve her memory of the fine food for as long as humanly (or fairily) possible.

When she finally bit into her bacon, she groaned in pleasure. It could very possibly have been the best food she'd ever eaten. "Luke, this...this is wonderful!" She beamed at him, smile bright enough to power a house.
 
Luke's face practically split apart he was grinning so wide when Flora complimented his food. It was immediately obvious that such compliments were probably the nicest thing you could say to him.

"Really?" He nearly squealed in response, pausing in his work to aim his smile right at her. "Ya really like it? Good!"
 
Flora nodded her head enthusiastically, stuffing another bite into her mouth and noting that she should complement his food if she really wanted to make him happy. Beside her, Sequoia finished with a sigh of contentment. She had practically licked the plate clean and was eying the waffle iron like it was a helpless old man she wanted to knock over and steal from. Flora kicked her playfully under the table, a warning not to steal the waffle batter and bake way too many tasty treats.

"Yeah Luke, this is so tasty!" Sequoia enthused, kicking Flora back under the table. Soon it degraded into a full kicking fight, making both girls jerk in their chairs and stare with a determined look. Eventually, Sequoia managed to shove Flora backward with a well-placed kick to the chair leg. She gave a caw of victory, reaching across to get a reluctant high-five from Flora.
 
Luke was just happy to soak in the praise and watch the two girls eat (Waffle Girl still looked hungry though, maybe he should give her some more), but he got a little worried when they started kicking each other. They seemed like friends, but they were also kicking at each other awful hard. He didn't want anyone to get hurt, not at the kitchen table...

Luckily no one did, and they stopped as soon as one of the chairs scooched. No one hurt. They even gave high-fives afterward, so no one angry either. Luke let out a breath when everything ended up okay, and brightened up when he saw someone else enter the room.

It was Madi and Dagger, the latter in cat form weaving around Madi's feet, both of them having witnessed the tail end of the kick fight. Madi just gave the duo a wave hello like nothing had happened, while the cat that was Dagger looked up at the two with as judgemental an expression as a cat could muster.
 
Sequoia's playful smile dropped when Luke started looking worried but she automatically stuck her tongue playfully out at the cat that had walked in with Madi, suspecting it was Dagger. She was way too happy to let him get her down, even though she kind of wanted to perform some of the rudest gestures she knew just to spite him. Flora waved cheerily at Madi, still hyped from the great food and playful contest with Sequoia. She noticed that Luke seemed a bit concerned, and realized that he probably didn't enjoy people fighting in front of him.

Sequoia looked over at Luke with her best pleading look. "Hey, can I get some more waffles? Pretty please?? With a cherry on top?"
 
Luke's attention was pulled away from saying hi to Madi (and Dagger but he was too busy grumpy-blepping at Sequoia) when he was asked a question. By Sequoia. More waffles? Sure! But...

"I dunno if we got cherries." He admitted sadly, before going to the fridge and calling out "Lemme check!"

Madi giggled at that for some reason, and asked "Us t-too? No ch-cherries."

"Yeah!" Luke replied easily, before pulling away from the fridge with a jar of maraschino cherries in his hand. He held it up for Sequoia to see since Madi and Dagger didn't want any, and proudly told her "Found some."
 
Sequoia smiled. "That wasn't exactly what I meant, but I'll go for it! Pass me those cherries!" She made grabby hands towards the jar. Flora giggled quietly.

"Share some with me please." She asked quietly. Sequoia started to take on an over considerate look before realizing that it might freak Luke out. Instead, she nodded. She kind of wondered what else was in the fridge. All she'd explored so far was the pantry and whatever was in the cabinets. It obviously had some fruit, but it could have some other, sweeter food. She made a mental note to explore later.

Flora seemed to be having the same thoughts, except she verbalized them. "Hey, do you have any fruit in there? If it's not any trouble or anything!"
 
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"Uhh, more fruit?" Luke asked, blinking at Flora as he handed the jar over to Sequoia. "Yeah, think so. Grapes, peaches, tangerines, apples, lo'ssa fruits. Ya wan' some? I can get ya some."

While this conversation was going on, Madi was tending to Luke's little station, cranking out a couple waffles and a bit of bacon. The first waffle she set to the side, on a cleared-off part of the counter that Cat Dagger hopped up on. He didn't feel like changing forms just to eat some food, and no chocolate-containing breakfast item or judgemental guest was going to stop him from living his life. So breakfast on the counter it was.
 
"Can I have some peaches please?" She asked, absentmindedly passing Sequoia her last piece of bacon in return for a small handful of cherries. Sequoia curiously ate one, and then poured about half the jar onto her plate, handing the jar over to Luke when she was finished. She popped cherries into her mouth as she watched Madi make waffles, totally not jealous that she wasn't getting seconds of Luke's beautiful, beautiful food.

Fora tried a cherry herself and was surprised that they were quite good. The only downside was that they were sticky as hell and she didn't want to ruin her only pair of clothes. She wondered if the box of clothes was still open or if they were banned from the room forever. She felt behind her, pulling at the loose strings where the slits that freed her wings were. "Hey, can we get some more clothes? These are nice, but I can only wear them for so long."
 
Luke gladly agreed to bring Flora some peaches, and even put the jar of cherries away for Sequoia after she gave it back to him. As he passed by Madi, he made sure to tell her that he'd promised Sequoia (although her name came out sounding more like "Soya") that she could have extra waffles. Madi had taken over making the waffles, so he wanted to make sure she knew about all the waffles that needed to be made. She gave him a nod to show she'd heard, and he went to get the peaches. And then Flora asked about new clothes, which prompted Madi to actually speak for the first time today.

"Y-yeah," She nodded, mentally kicking herself for just a moment even though The Next Morning was a perfectly acceptable time to sort out new wardrobes for refugees and was NOT too late and she should NOT feel bad for handling things PERFECTLY FINE last night. "J-Jacqueline'll be up s-soon, t-talk with her."
 
Flora was relieved that she and Sequoia wouldn't have to stay in the same clothes for weeks on end. Sequoia was bouncing in her seat, excited that she would be able to own more than one set of clothes and well-made clothes at that. Flora was less excited, not relishing the fact that she'd have to destroy the backs of her shirts for them to fit her properly. It was such a shame to ruin such nice clothes.

Sequoia seemed to feel the same way. "Can she make some tops that'll fit Flora's wings? These are such nice shirts and they don't deserve to have holes burned into the back."
 
Madi blinked briefly at Sequoia's request, because as someone who already knew Jacqueline, it was an almost preposterous idea that a creature wouldn't be accomodated. But then again, Jacqueline had only made so many fairy-friendly shirts for her box, and they'd had a few similar creatures come through recently. There probably hadn't been any replacements put in by the time these two showed up.

She snapped out of her thoughts as quickly as possible to nod at Sequoia, and tell her "Y-yeah. S-sorry th-there wasn't one, in the b-box."

"Miss Jackie's box?" Luke spoke back up, popping back into the conversation right at the end. With peaches in hand for Flora. He hand-delivered them as he continued talking. "She's got lo'ssa clothes in there, an' she can make magic clothes if she wants! She gave me some magic clothes, they really nice an' don't rip ever. She can make you pretty wing-clothes."
 
Flora smiled, a bit embarrassed that all these people were making accommodations for her but also strangely pleased that they all cared. She nibbled on the peach, entertaining the thought of not having to slash holes in most of her clothes. It was an interesting thought, having clothes made directly for her. "Thats really great Luke, thanks. And Madi, it's no problem, I should be apologizing to your seamstress for making her create some new clothes," she murmured. Sequoia smirked at her, eyes practically screaming the word 'success!"

Flora laughed and smiled back at her. Sequoia looked down at her plate only to remember that she was out of food. She began stealing the few cherries left on Flora's plate when a thought struck her. "Why did you take us in anyways? It's not like you need the company." She gestured at Dagger and Luke to prove her point and looked back at Flora with some guarded suspicion. People always wanted payment for things, that was the one surety of the world. In the bliss of rescue, they had both forgotten that nothing in life was free.
 
Another question that really shouldn't have surprised Madi by this point, yet did anyway. It was a rare question from refugees, especially at this point (it was usually either sooner or later on), but it always managed to throw her. After all, it took some real pessimism to ask that to someone who was trying to help you...

Luckily, Dagger was here, and just as pessimistic. He transformed the moment it was clear Madi didn't have an answer ready, settling to a seat on the counter and looking at Sequoia like she was insane. He picked up his plate with one hand, and gestured at her with it as he asked "Are you fucking stupid? It should be obvious why we helped you: It's our jobs. We aren't the only charitable souls out in the world, we don't operate in a vaccuum. We didn't figure out where you were on a whim. There are other people out there doing the exact same thing as us, with the goal that eventually, no one will have to. The sooner all of us are free, the sooner all of us can live in peace without fucking humans getting in the way. Helping you helps the rest of us."

Madi said nothing in response to that, but her expression screamed something like "Oh god that was really not the right wording even though I agree with everything he said."
 
Sequoia's good mood dried up like a small stream during a dry summer. She glared, preparing a retort, only to be interrupted when Flora kicked her under the table. They maintained a few seconds of eye contact that forced Sequoia to think carefully before she answered. She took a few deep breaths, doing her best to keep herself levelheaded.

"Look, Babe, I've had precious little charity in my life, so forgive me for acting against years upon years of painful experience just because you want me to believe you're good people. I'm sorry if it's hard for you to accept, but I'm not a cynic for fun, I'm a cynic because every time I want to trust someone it blows up in my fucking face. The only person here who I trust fully is Flora because we've spent half our fucking lives together, "She quickly looked over at Flora, hoping she knew Sequoia wasn't trying to downplay their bond. When she gained confirmation that Flora understood, she began- voice dripping with sarcasm "I'm so sorry that I hurt your feelings because I didn't trust you right away, but for the most part, my believing in charity had gotten me scars. Forgive me for needing proof that something good happened to me and I'm not about to be pushed into another hell hole."
 
"Oh, boo-fucking-hoo." Dagger sneered right back at her, ignoring Madi's mortified expression and her tugging at his shirt. "You've 'believed in our charity' long enough to be sitting at our breakfast table in Jacqueline's clothes eating Luke's cooking. Trust wasn't an issue in any of those cases, clearly. And I really don't give a fuck if you think I, or anyone else here, are good people, because guess what? It doesn't matter. We're still going to do what we do regardless of what one person wants to believe. People who, believe it or not, had it worse than you have come and gone from this place, and you are no fucking different just because you have an inflated sense of self-entitlement. If you want- OW!"

The interruption had come from Madi pinching the tip of his ear. Hard. "St-top it." She warned him, her voice low and angrier than it had sounded since long before the rescue mission.

He said nothing in reply, but the just barely cowed, just barely hurt look in his eyes was enough of a reply on its own. She let him go, and he transformed and scampered off. The moment he was out of sight, she deflated and leaned against the counter, sighing heavily before she managed to speak.

"S-sorry." She made sure to apologize, rubbing at her face wearily before she continued speaking. "J-just meant... Mag-gic's gotta st-tick t-together. No oth-ther reasons. J-just wanna he-help-p our own..."
 
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Sequoia let out a huff of air, anger clear in every line of her face. She spat a 'thanks' out at Madi that was far too insincere, that she knew was insincere, before she muttered angrily to herself "Is he always this fucking pleasant or am I just special." She pushed away her plate, suddenly needing some space. Flora stood too, tugging nervously at the hem of her shirt. Sequoa almost wanted to tell her to stay, but she didn't, still too much of a coward to go through life without her. Pathetic.

Flora turned to Madi with a guarded expression. "If it's not too much of an issue, we'll be going outside. I'm sorry for any distress we may have caused." She grabbed Sequoia's upper arm and dragged her to her feet, hurrying them back to the grassy lawn. Once they were outside, she dropped to the ground, seeming a thousand years older. Sequoia wished - not for the first time- that she was less of a disturbance. Flora scrubbed her hands down her face. "Pros and cons of staying here." She demanded

Sequoia immediately began listing things. "Pros: temporary protection, access to clothes and food, mostly kind people. Cons: Interactions with Dagger, no real proof that this isn't a scam, lack of trust" Flora nodded, running the items over in her head. Was safety worth a loss of freedom? Could she ever trust these people? Could Sequoia? It was an impossible dilemma. She wanted to trust them, but she didn't know if she could afford to.

She sighed. "Well, this is the best place we have right now. Perhaps you should apologize to Dagger to make sure we don't get kicked out." Sequoia immediately snarled, summoning small flames without even realizing she was using magic. "I know," Flora added, a placating tone in her voice. "But it will be for the best unless you're truly opposed to it."

Sequoia dropped her hands, extinguishing the flames with a shaky breath. Air rattled out of her lungs, disturbing the silence of the yard. "Yeah. I will. I'll do my best to steer clear of him too. Can...can you just stay with me?" Flora nodded, grabbing one of Sequoia's hands and pulling to the gound. They sat there in silence, watching the world around them.
 
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Madi didn't dare to even seem like she was going to deny those two anything. She immediately shook her head to show she didn't mind their request, and stayed silent and mortified as they walked out the door. She was mortified for another few moments after the door closed, before that emotion faded into another one, one that caused her normally-quiet voice to ring clearly through the house.

"D-Dagger, what the F-FUCK?!"

She followed her voice with action, marching off to find that little shit and leaving a semi-traumatized Luke to try and recover in the silence.

It was about an hour later when someone entirely new walked outside. A beautiful young woman, with short green hair and impeccable style. She approached the girls' vicinity, though she stopped a good six feet or so away, and called out "Excuse me, are you Sequoia and Flora?"
 
Flora looked up from her spot on the ground, Sequoia's head in her lap. They both had their hair braided with hundreds of flowers in all different colors. She was surprised not to see Madi or Dagger here to lecture them about the proper way to act. The girl stood at a respectful distance, voice and question unobtrusive. She nodded to answer the question but remained silent. She grew some new flowers and began braiding them into Sequoia's hair.

Sequoia cracked open her eyes, peeking over Flora's shoulder in annoyance. The interloper was quite pretty and Sequoia had to acknowledge her fashion taste. "You must be Jaqueline," she rasped, voice rough from emotion. "I like your shirt." She closed her eyes again, letting Flora continue to do her hair. The rhythm soothed her, calmed her frayed nerves and let her gather the courage she would need to face Dagger.
 
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