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Clink! Clink! Clink!

Erik slapped the back of the ice tray again and again with the palm of his hand, sending the frozen cubes of water flying out of the container and into the glass cups below. One by one, the white haired youth filled each clear cup with solid blocks of liquid until he was satisfied, completely emptying out every single tray. Following that, he grabbed a 2 liter bottle of Coke they kept in the pantry and filled each cup, waiting until the fizz died down before filling them again.

"Now that that's done, I only need to fill to refill the trays and then pass out the drinks," Erik said to himself as he finished everything up. "Cant keep them waiting too long."

Once Erik was sure that he had taken care of everything, he put each drink on a flat wooden plate and carried them towards the dining room, where his sisters and mother sat waiting. Steam rose up from the heaps of reheated food in front of them, filling the room with a thick aroma as Erik walked around the table, setting the drink down next to each one of them.

"Thanks Errie," Ellena said gratefully as she took a sip of her coke. "Now, let's all bow our heads and thank the gods for this meal."

"gods?" Erik questioned, immediately catching on to what she said. "Dont you usually say God or something?"

Erik's mother simply smiled at the youth before bowing her head and closing her eyes, leaving Erik slightly confused. The others didnt seem to mind it though and followed close after, quick to copy the example their mother was setting for them, obediently praying in silence as they did with every meal. Though Erik was a bit put off by his mothers plural usage of the word god, he decided to ignore it completely, being aware that it didnt truly matter about who one prayed to, not to mention that it could've easily been a small mistake, and did a quick prayer.

After all was said and done, the sound of metallic spoons hitting the ceramic dinner plates was the only thing Erik could hear as he dived into the meal.

"So, how was your time out in the forest, Erik? Pagonia?" Ellena asked cheerfully as she swallowed a spoonful of mashed potatoes. "Did you guys do anything else besides archery?"

Pagonia didn't say anything, her head still lowered as she continued to eat. It was clear that she was upset about something, but only Ellena remained unaware of what that something was.

"Not really," Erik replied, filling in for his now mute sister. "We just shot arrows all day, though we did wrestle a few times throughout. However that was only because we couldn't agree on who won."

"Well, maybe after we move, me and you can shoot some rounds," Ellena offered, lifting a large lamb chop towards her mouth. "Whatcha think kiddo? Care to take on your mother in parkour style archery?"

"But you're better at parkour style," Erik countered. "Me beating you is a near impossibility."

"Oh? Giving up already?" The woman asked, a teasing smirk spreading across her visage. "Didn't know I raised you to be such a quitter, Erik."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"Pft, you wish!!" Erik licked the last bit of the mashed potatoes from his spoon before pointing at Ellena. "Bring it on!! I'll defin-"

BAM!!

The back and forth conversation between the two of them was cut off, interrupted by Chioni slapping the table as she stood up from her seat, eyes focused on the ground. Up until that point, she had been silent, keeping to herself without so much as acknowledging the other three. Now it seemed that she no longer even wanted to be seated with them, Chioni giving them a slight nod before excusing herself, leaving her almost full plate behind as she walked towards the stairs.

"Well, that was to be expected," Ellena said after a few moments. "She came in looking rather down after heading out to see you two. I'm assuming you all got into a fight?"

"Sort of," Pagonia said softly, speaking up for the first time since sitting at the table. "I said some rude and insensitive things to her due to my own frustration. I'm not proud of it, but all of it's my fault."

"Well, it doesnt really matter whose fault it is now does it. What matters is that you're aware of your actions and reflect on them." Ellena took a sip of her Coke as she turned her attention to her silver haired daughter. "As usual, I wont be getting involved in any arguments or disputes. You're siblings, and twins at that. You can work things out yourselves without my interference. Although I do recommend apologizing soon. The movers will be here tomorrow, in which case we're gonna help them out and then leave ourselves. It'll be awkward for all of us if we have to drive 1,600 plus miles in absolute silence."

"Okay," Pagonia said softly as she picked at her food. "I'll do it later tonight."

Ellena didnt push the subject any further as she finished off the food in front of her, standing up once her plate was clear. "Sweetie. When you're finished, could you bring Chichi up her food? She probably won't come back down tonight."

"On it," Erik said as he ripped the last vestiges of lamb from the bones. "Consider it done."

"Then go jump in the shower," The white haired woman instructed, placing her dish neatly in the confines of the kitchen sink. "You and Pags are stinking up the place. You smell like a couple of animals."

Erik decided to ignore the last request completely as he got up from the table, his plate and empty glass cup clutched in his hands. He didnt feel the need to take any sort of shower just yet as there were quite a few things he wanted to do beforehand. After placing his dishes in the sink, the white haired youth ran back to the table and picked up Chioni's untouched plate of food followed by her glass of Coke, gently lifting it before turning around and walking towards the staircase. The two twins lived up on the second floor of the house while Erik and Ellena camped out on the first, meaning that the young preteen usually had few reasons to go upstairs in the first place. Other then going up to fetch Pagonia for some outside fun, he never really bothered going up to the second floor. After managing to climb the carpeted stairs without spilling anything, Erik walked over to Chioni's room, nudging the door open with the tip of his foot before waking in.

As per usual, the short haired twin had her nose buried in a book, cyan colored hues flicking back and forth across the pages, a paper and pencil positioned at her side. When she wasnt doing schoolwork, she was studying, and when she wasnt studying, she was going schoolwork. If anything else, Erik had to admire how focused and determined she was to get into a good university. If Erik tried to sit still in one place for more then a few minutes, he would start to get antsy and begin drumming on things and his mind would begin wandering. Eventually, he would be doing dozens of other tasks that had nothing to do with what he had initially set out for.

Just like their mother, all the siblings had ADHD with the twins having the added addition of dyslexia. Of the three of them, Eirk had the worst case of hyperactivity, in addition to a short attention span, of which would fluctuate depending on the activity at hand.

"Ahem," Erik said. pretending to clear his throat as he moved deeper into the room. "I brought up the food for you. Mom said she wants you to eat."

Chioni glanced up from her book, her furrowed, concentrated look softening as her gaze locked onto Erik's crimson hues. Setting the thick science book onto the table in front of her, she motioned the youth forward, a gentle smile spreading across her face. "Thanks. Tell mom thanks for me as well."

Erik gave a nod as he set the food and drink down in front of her. "I'll be right back. I'm going to go and see if I can scrounge up any leftover ice shards in the fridge for your Coke."

"Its fine, you dont have....to," Chioni sighed as the youth disappeared around the corner, the thumping of his feet against the stairs reverberating through the floor. "Or you can just run before I finish my sentence. That works as well."

Erik didnt hear anything the short haired twin had said as he leapt down the stairs two at a time before sprinting into the kitchen, the energetic youth moving quickly as he yanked open the freezer door. As someone who was always eager to help out others, he didnt hesitate to seize any an all opportunities to make his own sister happy.

"Wait," Erik paused, head tilting in confusion. "Didn't I just use up all of the ice in the ice trays? How is there more already?"