by Jaykobell » 07/10/2008 8:43 PM
Title: A Cake, a Family, and a Picture
Characters: Xai're, Moofius, Kodai, Kami, Kaamil
Entry:
It seemed to be an unusual day. It looked like that, for once, no one was aiming to ruin Xai're's, Moofius's, and Kodai's day with countless battles. A few hours to relax, for once...
Xai're left his room in the morning, passing by the hallway that lead to the kitchen. The carpet underneath was clean, as if it had been recently brushed thoroughly, almost sparkling like glass. The walls were so spotless one would think they had switched roles with the castle's mirrors. Where had this unsullied beauty came from? The God of Death obtained an answer fairly quickly to his own question as he came by this one empty table by the entrance to the kitchen.This table, now holding nothing upon itself, used to be covered by a beautiful vase.
The item itself was rather nice; small, but not so little as to not be seen, was colored with four colors: black, purple, red and dark green. Xai're didn't remember where that vase had come from; when he had arrived at the castle, it was already there, standing on the same table, hidden under the dust. The God had felt something odd with that one vase and decided to keep it there. But now it was broken... What had happened again? Oh, yes...
"Is sorryss, mommy..." he had heard Kami, one of the two twins, tell his mother, Kodai. "Did not doss it on purposess...." he had promised, looking down at the floor where the big shards of the vase lay. Running down the hallway without looking in front of him had been a big mistake...
The other twin, the 'oldest' boy of the two, Kaamil, had been standing by his brother, seemingly sorry as well. "I'm sorry, mother... I should have watched over him better..." he'd said, apparently trying to take some of the blame off of his brother's shoulders. "We will clean the castle and reconstruct the vase..." Kaamil... Xai had to admit, there was something about this one boy that had always attracted his attention. So young, yet so mature...
The boys' mother, Kodai, had been listening intently with her arms crossed, but with no signs of anger or irritation in her blue eyes. Tenderly she had bent down by her two sons, and she set a hand on Kami's shoulder. "It's all right, you two," she had assured them with the sweet tone of a mother. "Accidents happen. However, I'm sure Xai would like it if you would fix the vase." The twins had nodded vigorously to that proposition, glad to have such a sweet-hearted mother to guide them.
So in the end, the two had been assigned to repairing his vase. It seems like one of the two had decided to clean the hallway either way; it had been many years since Xai had last seen his walls and carpet so clean. It changed the atmosphere, as strange as it may sound...
When he came by the kitchen, Xai're picked the scent of food coming from it. The air was sweet and sugary; someone was baking something, apparently. It was on the counter that he saw this one black cake with green frosting on top and in the middle, the artistic piece of aliment decorated with a single candle that held the same colors. A cake... but it wasn't anyone's birthday today. Why was this cake here, by the table? Was it a trap? ...
"XAI!" a voice called excitedly, dropping whatever she was holding on the counter so she could run over to him. The girl in question was no other than Moofius, a big smile on her face. "Hey! Check out the cake!" she mentioned excitedly as she greeted the Death God. "I baked it myself! What do you think?"
Ah, Moofius... What was there to say about this one girl? Always present to cheer you up and do some comical acts to bring a smile to you. One living with the genetics of a cow, she was a good friend to have around. While she had been doubtful of Xai're at first, she had learned to warm up to him, and so had he. However, the two couldn't deny there was still some friction involved...
"Hello, Moofius," he greeted back with a slightly calmer tone. "A cake? Why for?" he asked as he bent down to observe the oddly colored cake that was on the table. Well, it smelled like sugar and all, so the God believed it was still edible.
"For Kami and Kaamil," Moofius replied, clapping her two hands together, which were still wearing a pair of mittens for the oven. "Kodai's glad they're doing what she asked them to do about that vase of yours, so she wanted to reward them," she explained as she took the mittens off, throwing them (clumsily) on the counter, along with the other items she had previously used for the cake. "She's watching over them, she's been doing that for hours now so I could bake the cake without the two noticing anything." Ah, so the cake was for the twins. "Now, come on, Xai're!" Moofius exclaimed, picking up a birthday hat. "You gonna join us?"
"Actually I--" He had no time to refuse as Moofius slipped the hat onto his head, wrapping the elastic over his forehead. Well, all right then, he'd just have to tag along, it seemed like... At least the hat matched his colors: black and dark green.
The girl put on a hat as well, hers matching her red coat with the colors black and red. She was holding one last hat, one colored with black and purple. "This one's for Kodai," Moofius clarified, making it roll around her finger using the elastic. "She should be coming back anytime now."
While waiting for Kodai's arrival, Xai pondered on the logic the two girls were using. A cake to reward the boys for being good and taking responsibilities for their actions. Well, the two liked cake, they had had birthday parties before... Maybe Moofius and Kodai were aiming for something that would remind them happy times? It seemed possible to him.
It didn't take too long for Kodai to come back, her two sons following her close behind. Upon seeing Xai with a birthday hat she giggled softly. "Hello, Xai," she greeted him, walking up to Moofius to pick up the birthday hat.
Kodai... This girl who had such a gentle heart. A very compassionate girl Xai're had learned to respect and like. That was the kind of woman Kodai was: understanding and tender, with a heart of gold.
Using her newly free hands, Moofius picked up the cake and presented it to the twins with a big smile. "Ta-DA!" she exclaimed with a smile and much excitement. "This is because you two were such little angels!" There was a pause. "S'that a camera, Kami?" Moofius asked, cow ears twitching with curiosity.
In fact, in Kami's hands was a small camera. The orange-haired boy nodded. "Isss for picturess!" he told the three adults, showing up the camera. "Forss the albumss!" He raised the camera to his eye level and looked through the lens, ready to snap a picture. "Sayss 'cheese!'"
A picture? Well, true, Kami had had a habit of taking a picture of every special event he had attended. "Well, all right... On the count of three..." Xai raised his fingers, his palm still resting on his hip. "Two..." One finger down...
Click! -- Snap!
"Picturess!" Kami squealed as he looked at the small preview of the picture he had just taken.
Xai're blinked and turned to Kami. Obviously, none of them had been ready to be taken on a picture. "Kami, we weren't even ready. Show me the picture, show it to me..." the God asked, taking a peak over Kami's head.
Well, obviously, all three adults looked... distant. Xai wasn't even smiling, his hand stuck to his hip with his two fingers raised as he was counting. Kodai had been able to adjust her hat and was turning back to him and Moofius when Kami took the picture, snapping her back and side, along with her face. Oddly enough, it looked as if Kodai was looking directly at Xai for a reason unknown, and the God seemed to be ticked off about it in the picture. In fact... the only person that looked normal was Moofius, holding the cake with a smile and nice-enough pose for a picture. "Oh, we look ridiculous on this..." Xai're commented unhappily, sighing. People can't just take random pictures like this...
Seemingly understanding he had done something wrong (in Xai's eyes, anyway), Kami handed his camera to Kaamil and directly went to hug Xai. A hug is always nice, right? "Is sorryss, Xai," he apologized, looking up at the God, smiling slightly.
Upon seeing the child, Xai sighed again. "Oh... All right, fine. I suppose it makes the picture more... natural," he said, patting Kami on the back. He noticed Kaamil observing the scene quietly with the camera in his hands, as if waiting for something.
Finally Moofius took the lead. "Let's eat CAKE!" She ran for the cupboards and snatched a couple of plates from the shelves. She settled them on the counter and opened up a drawer (the one filled with forks and other such items) and pulled out a couple of forks and spoons, so everyone would get to choose which instruments they preferred to eat the cake. She picked out a big knife from the drawer before closing it and cut the cake with it, dividing it in equal pieces, starting a little bit after the middle, where the candle was; she'd let Kami and Kaamil blow it before eating the cake. Finally, she looked through the remaining cupboards to find the pie server she would use to pick the shares. She couldn't just pick them up with her fingers. ... Right?
Whoo, finally, everything was ready. "Okay! Let's fire up that candle!" Using a small match Moofius lit up the candle that remained by the middle of the cake. "Come on, Kami and Kaamil! Come over here and blow it off!" she invited them, stepping aside so the two could blow the candle.
Kami ran over to the table excitedly while Kaamil followed more calmly. Kami turned to his pink-haired brother and smiled. "Blowss with Kami?" he asked his twin happily, whom replied a quiet, "Yes." The two blew the candle together, Kami hugging his twin brother once the deed was done.
Once the candle had been blown off, the five friends started to eat. Kami and Kaamil picked the two smallest pieces and ate together, with Kodai close to them. Moofius remained close as well, eating the cake happily beside them. As for Xai're, he picked a plate and a piece of cake, but ate slowly, a small bite at a time, as he observed the happy family from a small distance.