Chapter 28 : Morning

Anton took in a deep breath through his nose as he first scrunched up his eyes and then slowly blinked them open. An unknown something had been faintly flicking itself against the side of his face for some time now, and whatever it was that was doing this had finally reached the point in its activity where it had broken through to his awareness and woken him up.

Sitting still for a moment so as to fully wake himself up, he stared straight forward and out over the expanse of his pillow as he came to his senses and gathered his wits. As he sat there gazing through the archway that led to his new office area, a quick, cocoa colored blur suddenly appeared in his peripheral vision just a half second before something lightly smacked itself into the lower edge of his cheek.

Tilting his head just slightly downwards and to the side brought the offending unknown into the clear view of his right eye, and Anton couldn't help but to grin as he found himself now staring at what appeared to be the very tip of a long, thinly tapered, sharply pointed, and sporadically twitching, elven ear.

Chuckling quietly in his throat, Anton lightly tightened the arm he had wrapped around the shoulders of the dark elf that was sleeping next to him. And closed his eyes as he enjoyed both the warmth that was coming off of her body as well as the gentle motion caused by the rise and fall of her breathing.

Having nuzzled her head in under Anton's chin, Kianna had tucked herself in against his chest and was now sleeping on her stomach with her arms folded around her bosom and with as much of her body touching him as she could manage.

After a few more minutes of light dozing, Anton took another deep breath, and taking his arm off of her shoulders, started to lift himself up by pulling his other arm out from under the pillow that he and Kianna were currently resting on and, by rising up on his elbow, lifted the light blanket that covered them both up enough to reveal the slumbering beauty hidden beneath it. Gazing down at her, he found himself going still as he watched her sleep.

Kianna was clearly still in the middle of dreaming, as indicated by the slight but constant movements of her eyes beneath their lids, and her ears, which seemed to be twitching in response to whatever was happening in her dream.

Torn between the desire to let her sleep and the need for them to start their day, Anton continued to watch her for several minutes before he reached out to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. As he did this, her ear flicked back and forth wildly and the dark elf groaned in irritation as she began to stir.

Anton grinned as Kianna rolled onto her side and yawned sleepily before blinking up at him. They both stared at each other in silence for a moment before Kianna slumped in on herself and scrunched up her face in anguish as she clamped her eyes shut.

“...I have to pee.” she whined miserably as she wrinkled her nose and flattened her ears back behind her head “...Like, really, really bad.”

Anton couldn't help but to start laughing loudly as he immediately reached out and wrapped his arm back around her.

Kianna went stiff for a moment before rolling forward and tucking herself back in against him. Clearly embarrassed, she did her best to hide as she ducked her head back under the blanket and, by squirming back and forth, literally tried to bury herself beneath Anton. When this didn't work in the way that she wanted, she began to groan in misery and lightly kick at his legs with her own in an effort to make him stop laughing.

“Quit it!” she whined in a muffled tone as she kept her face hidden “Don't laugh at me!”

“I am so sorry!” chuckled Anton as he squeezed her to his chest “But that was just too adorable...”

Feeling the vibrations of his silent laughter still rumbling out of his chest, Kianna continued to softly kick at his legs in protest. When the last of his soft chuckling finally died away, she slid her leg in between his and hooked her ankle behind his calf in an effort to pull him in against her.

Still holding her tightly, Anton did nothing to impede her as Kianna worked to wrap their legs together. Once he felt her go still, he brought his right hand up and, being careful not to touch her sensitive ears, began to run his fingers down the back of her head and through her hair.

Kianna was still for a moment before she moved her ears out of the way by folding them down and pointing them out and away from her head. Anton's grin grew as he watched her slowly shift her head back and forth as she guided his hand down the pathways that she clearly wanted him to take. After a few minutes of this she went still again.

“...Hey now.” soothed Anton with a smile as the faint sounds of sleep began to emanate from where she was hiding her face “It's time to wake up, you.”

Kianna groaned loudly as her ears tightened themselves back together behind her head.

“Mm mm!” she mumbled in annoyance as she shifted her shoulders back and forth “...No!”

“Yes!” chuckled Anton as he lightly tapped her on the head “C'mon now, it's time to wake up.”

“Why!?” grumbled Kianna as she rolled sideways just enough to pout up at him “We're taking today off, remember?”

“Yes, but that doesn't mean we're going to stay in bed all day.” smiled Anton “We still have things to do.”

“...Like what?” muttered Kianna as she narrowed her eyes at him.

“Well, for one.” said Anton as he planted his elbow on his pillow and rested his cheek against his closed fist “We do need to make macaroni and cheese today!”

“Ugh, we can do that later!” grumbled Kianna as she rolled back onto her stomach and snuggled up next to him “It's not even lunch time yet...”

“But I'm hungry!” teased Anton as he lightly tugged on a lock of her hair.

“You can wait!” complained Kianna as she twitched her ears wildly in an effort to drive his hand away from her head “...Or go eat some pizza. ...It's still in the fridge.”

Anton chuckled and tried to dart his fingers back in between Kianna's still twitching ears while she groaned lightly and stretched out her legs.

“Uh... Uh oh!” cried Kianna as she suddenly froze “...I shouldn't have done that!”

“Huh?” questioned Anton as he stopped his movements as well “What's wrong?”

“...I really have to pee now!” whined Kianna as she rolled away from him and frantically threw the blanket aside as she made her way off the bed.

Anton laughed as he watched her naked form rush around the bed and make a beeline for the bathroom. Shaking his head in amusement he left the bed at a more leisurely pace and followed after her.

“Hey!” cried Kianna from her place on the toilet “What are you doing!?”

“What?” said Anton as he stretched his arms out above his head and made his way to the vanity “I'm going to brush my teeth. Why?”

“...But! I, I'm peeing in here!” exclaimed Kianna as she pressed her thighs together.

“And?” laughed Anton as he casually applied toothpaste to his toothbrush “It's not like I haven't been in the room while you've done that before, Kianna.”

Lowering her ears in embarrassment, Kianna glared as she watched Anton begin to brush his teeth. Seeing that he was essentially going to ignore her, and unable to hold back any longer, she grudgingly continued to relieve herself. When she was finished she rose from the toilet and approached him.

“You're gross!” she declared as she took a stance right next to him, pointed her ears straight back and planted her balled fists on her hips “And you're mean!”

Anton nodded absently in agreement as he stared at himself in the mirror and continued to give his teeth a thorough brushing. Making her annoyance clear, Kianna remained still and stood right where she was as he finished and rinsed out his mouth.

Running his tongue over his newly cleaned teeth, Anton turned to her and immediately gazed down at the collar that encircled her neck. Letting his eyes follow the collar's pointed tip further downwards, he couldn't help but to grin as he was greeted with the sight of her full and supple breasts.

“...Shower?” he asked after a moment of silent staring “...I'll wash your back for you, if you want.”

Kianna stayed still for another moment before narrowing her eyes.

“Fine!” she huffed as she turned away from him, pointed her ears straight upwards and began to march towards the shower “That sounds really good!”

Chuckling softly, Anton nodded his head and locked his eyes onto her swaying bottom as he turned and followed along behind her.

Kianna's sour mood quickly disappeared as she stood beneath the downpour of warm water and let it soak into her hair. By letting her mind go blank for a moment, she gave Anton the chance he needed to surprise her by coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Anton couldn't help but to smile as the startled dark elf almost immediately relaxed and took his hands into her own as she leaned back into him. They stood together this way for some time as they slowly swayed back and forth and enjoyed their time alone beneath their private little rainstorm.

Shifting them both into a dancing motion, Anton kept hold of Kianna's hands as he lead them out from under the falling water and over to the little shelf he had stocked with his own shampoos and body wash. Keeping Kianna in front of him, Anton worked around her as he applied a dose of body wash to a large, soft, light-blue colored body sponge. Turning them both around to once again face towards the shower, Anton reached his arm out and held the sponge beneath the falling water while giving it a few squeezes.

Kianna couldn't stop herself from smiling softly as Anton lifted her right arm up by the wrist and preceded to gently scrub her limb clean with the now suds covered sponge. Letting herself essentially go limp, the dark elf leaned back into his chest and sighed contently as she watched him work.

Anton grinned to himself when he noticed that Kianna had begun to quietly hum a soft, almost inaudible tune. Glancing down, he found her watching him with a relaxed, nearly dreary look in her large eyes. Though he had no way of knowing this, she was in all actuality humming along to the gentle rhythm of his heartbeat as it echoed out of his chest and filled her sensitive ears.

Working slowly and methodically, Anton thoroughly scrubbed away at first one arm and then the other before moving on to Kianna's shoulders, sides and finally down her front and across her belly.

Kianna began to lightly giggle in her throat as his hands made their way back upwards and found her breasts. With his own low chuckles rumbling out of his chest, Anton playfully squeezed, pinched at and fondled the soft globes until the dark elf suddenly turned the tables on him.

Twisting around in his arms until she was face to face with him, Kianna smiled at the sight of Anton's surprised expression and lowering her ears until their tips were pointed back and away from her head, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck before stretching herself upwards and kissing him deeply.

“Hmm!” groaned Anton as he tightly squeezed the sponge in his fist and wrapped his arms around the dark elf before pulling her in and crushing her against him. Savoring their kiss, he suddenly leaned back until he was nearly bent over backwards.

Kianna began to giggle into their kiss and playfully kick her feet as she was lifted up into the air. Breaking away from their kiss, she smiled down at him as Anton held her airborne for a moment before gently setting her back on her feet.

“I think it's my turn to do you now!” teased Kianna as she loosened her arms from around his neck and began to shift her shoulders back and forth.

Smiling broadly, Anton laughed through his teeth as Kianna bit her lower lip and slowly rubbed her suds covered breasts across his chest.

“But I wasn't done with you yet.” he growled in a playful tone as he let his arms fall downwards.

Kianna gasped in surprise and then smiled as his open hand roughly grabbed hold of her bottom and gave one of her butt cheeks a tight squeeze.

“Naughty little dark elf! Making it so hard for me to get her clean!” teased Anton as he began to run the sponge up and down her back and over her bottom “Such a bad girl!”

Kianna whimpered playfully as she nuzzled their faces together and began to lightly kiss him up and down his jawline as she continued to twist herself back and forth.

Wrapping his arm around her middle, Anton held the squirming dark elf in a tight embrace as he continued his efforts to scrub her clean.

Kianna, in turn, did her best to make completing this task as difficult for him as possible. As more suds were applied to her body, the slipperier she became, and the easier it was for her to wiggle her way out of his arms.

Realizing that trying to hold a soaped up, misbehaving dark elf still with nothing but brute force was in fact a futile effort, Anton instead attempted to negotiate by promising her that if she let him finish, he would let her use the sponge to scrub him for as long as she wanted to.

Excited by such a prospect, Kianna agreed and became somewhat cooperative as she allowed herself to be thoroughly cleaned. Once Anton was finally finished with her, she gleefully took up the sponge and started her own long odyssey.

Well over an hour later, a patiently grinning, and heavily wrinkled Anton was finally finished with the deepest and most intimate sponge bath he had ever received.

Now literally shining with cleanliness, the duo dressed themselves in some casual home wear and made their way downstairs.

“About time you two showed up!” grumbled Fiona as she plopped her book down on the table in front of herself “It's almost Noon!”

Kianna stopped in the kitchens archway and cocked an eyebrow at her sister.

“So!?” she exclaimed as she folded her arms across her middle “What are you waiting on us for!?”

Fiona blinked and quickly lifted her book back up.

“I'm not.” she stated as she feigned focusing on the pages in front of her “I'm just saying. ...It's already getting late.”

“...Right, whatever.” mumbled Kianna with a shrug.

“Hey?” questioned Anton as he narrowed his eyes at the little pile of ham chunks sitting on the plate in front of Fiona “Are you eating my pizza!?”

“...I, um.” stammered Fiona as she kept her eyes staring forward at her book “...Not, all of it.”

“Why you greedy little... You have your own! Why are you eating mine?” growled Anton.

“It's fine. You're not going to eat that anyway.” declared Kianna as she grabbed hold of her elbow and twisted at the waist while stretching out her arm “I'm gonna make you lunch today! So you don't need that pizza anymore!”

“...Humph!” grumbled Anton as he watched her repeat the process with her other arm “Always there to save your sister...”

Fiona smiled sheepishly as she noticed that Anton had crossed his arms and was once again staring down at her.

Kianna quickly made her way to the pantry and pulled out two boxes of macaroni and cheese. She then took the boxes and planted them on the counter-top next the sink.

“Okay!” she exclaimed as she looked from the boxes to Anton “So how do I make these!?”

Anton chuckled in his throat as he made his way over to her and picked up one of the boxes.

“It's simple.” he said as he turned the box on its side “See right here where it says “Directions”? This is a step by step guide on how to prepare this correctly.”

“Oh, okay!” exclaimed Kianna as she picked up her own box “...So, first I need to boil some water?”

“That's what it says!” smiled Anton.

“Right! So! Boil water!” exclaimed Kianna as she marched across the kitchen and stopped in front of the stove “...How, do I make this do that?”

Anton chuckled again as he made his way to her side and opened one of the lower cabinets next to the stove.

“First, we take a pot. One that's big enough to handle what we want to make in it.” he explained as he pulled out a medium sized pot and took it over to the sink “And then we fill it with enough water to boil our noodles in.”

“Okay, I can do that!” exclaimed Kianna as she moved to stand in front of the sink that Anton had placed the pot in and quickly turned on the spigot “So how much water does macaroni need?”

“Well that depends on how much of it you're going to make.” said Anton as he leaned against the counter-top and watched the pot fill with water “Right now we need enough for at least two boxes of macaroni, so I'd fill that pot up to about two thirds of the way full.”

“Okay.” said Kianna as she leaned forward and watched the rising water line.

Once the pot had enough water in it, the clearly excited dark elf quickly turned off the sink's stream and rushed the pot over to the stove. With her pot of water now sitting, ready and waiting on a burner, Kianna's eyes darted up to the stoves controls. With a blank expression on her face, she stared at the knobs that controlled each of the four burners for a moment before lowering her ears and turning back to Anton.

“How do I make this boil?” she asked expectantly “There's no button on here that says boil?”

Anton chuckled again as he moved closer.

“Each of these knobs up here controls one of the burners on the stove top down here. And just turning it is enough to make the burner start warming up.” he explained as he reached out and twisted one of the knobs to the side “All you have to do is keep turning it until the temperature range that you need reaches this little arrow, and that's how hot your burner will eventually become.”

“...So, water will boil when you put it at 5?” questioned Kianna as she leaned in and examined the numbers that ran along the side of the knob “...Why doesn't it just say “Boil” right there then?”

“It's not as though water will only boil when the burner is set to 5.” smiled Anton “It'll boil at both a higher and lower temperature. The time-frame will be different though, a lower temperature takes longer to reach the boiling point while a higher temperature will get there a lot faster.”

“...Well if it's gonna be faster with a higher temperature then why don't we turn it up?” asked Kianna.

“Because we don't want to damage the pot.” said Anton as he gave the side of the pot a light flick with his finger “A higher temperature might boil the water faster but it could also scorch the bottom of your pot and weaken it. And if you weaken it enough then the metal that the pot is made out of will eventually crack. Making it useless.”

“Oh, okay.” nodded Kianna as she looked down into the pot “...So how long does it take for it to boil?”

“Not too long.” said Anton as he settled in against the counter-top “About 15 to 20 minutes or so.”

“...Mm.” hummed Kianna as she nodded again and turned to look up at him “Can't you just use magic to boil it? Wouldn't that be faster?”

“I could. And it would be faster.” said Anton as he grinned at the pot “Unfortunately, with that being such a small amount of water, the likelihood of me boiling it all away immediately and then melting that pot is actually pretty high.”

“Oh!” said Kianna as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards “So you can't just control the mana like you did with the bathwater?”

“I could, but you have to understand. When you're working with raw mana that isn't tied to a spell or ability, you really have to have a clear understanding of what you're trying to do. You'd be very surprised at how easy it is to overdo things with raw mana. A small amount of it can go a shockingly long way. In fact, even the difference between forming a soft, heat-less light, and a flame that's as hot as a blowtorch, is really just a small jump in applied power.” explained Anton “And it's the same when it comes to warming up water or actually boiling it. You're dealing with two very different goals. One can be achieved with just a tiny bit of mana, but the other has to be a more precise amount. Too little and the water won't reach the boiling point, too much, too fast, and you can instantly boil it all away. The amount of power you apply to the amount of water you have has to be just right. And like I said before, there isn't as much room for error with such a small amount of water. And I don't know about you, but I would rather not risk being scalded by a cloud of steam that I suddenly made by accident.”

“Huh, yeah...” said Kianna as she eyed the pot of water “Good point...”

Anton chuckled as he nodded in agreement.

“Besides, this is supposed to be about teaching you how to cook. Not doing it for you.” he smiled.

Kianna nodded again as she watched a slew of tiny bubbles begin to take shape across the bottom of the pot.

“...So is there anything I can do while I'm waiting?” she asked after a moment of silence.

“There is, a few things actually.” said Anton as he opened a cabinet above and to the side of the stove “We can add a bit of spice to the water for one.”

“Spice?” questioned Kianna as Anton set a canister of salt on the counter and handed her one full of pepper “...But this is pepper?”

“Yes, and pepper is a spice.” laughed Anton “One that you can add to the water while it's warming up.”

“Oh, okay!” said Kianna as she proceeded to shake some of the pepper out into the pot of water “...Is that enough?”

“Mm hm.” nodded Anton “Now whenever you're unsure about how much of something you need, just remember that it's almost always easier to add more of something than it is take it away. And that's especially true with cooking, and with spices in particular. You can always add more spices, but once they're in there, they're in there for good.”

“Right, that makes sense... So, what do the spices do exactly?” asked Kianna as she watched the tiny specks of pepper both float across the surface of the water and slowly sink beneath it.

“They add flavors.” said Anton as he too watched the specks of pepper “Different spices add different flavors of course. And just like mana, a small amount of them can go a long way.”

Creating a thin, glowing orange rod in his hand, Anton leaned over and began to lightly stir the boiling water so that more of the floating pepper would sink into it.

“What's happening here is that the tiny bits of pepper are being saturated by the water. And as this happens the peppers flavor leaches out into the water itself, and this will give the water a slight spice to it.” explained Anton as he dropped the rod and let it melt away into nothing “Once we add the noodles they'll soak up the spiced water and take in the peppers flavor along with it. Now, the pepper flavor that the noodles take in isn't going to be very strong, especially when it's being masked by the cheese that's going to cover the macaroni. But the flavor will still be there, even if only faintly, and this small amount will still add to the overall taste of the meal.”

Kianna nodded slowly and stared at the swirling bits of pepper as she listened intently.

“...So, what if we add more spices?” she questioned as she picked up the canister of salt “That way we could have even more flavors!”

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“Well, the issue there is that not all flavors will always blend together just right. And you could accidentally ruin a meal by trying to mix to many of them at one time.” explained Anton “Of course you can also end up finding a combination that you really like by experimenting with mixing different flavors together. And in the future you're free to do that. But for today, while we're still learning, we'll keep things simple and stick to just pepper.”

“Okay.” nodded Kianna as she set the salt down and picked up the box of macaroni. After looking over the instructions again she turned to Anton with a perplexed look on her face.

“It doesn't say anything about adding pepper to the water on here!” she exclaimed as she looked down at the pot “Did we mess it up!?”

“Oh, no. Don't worry about that.” said Anton “Most instructions and recipes are meant to be as simple as possible. That way they're easy to follow and understand. But when it comes to cooking there is always room for doing things a little differently, adding your own flavor so to speak. Adding pepper to the water is something that I know will work out well. Which is why I suggested it.”

“Oh. Okay. So, how do you know it'll work though?” asked Kianna.

“I've done it this way before.” answered Anton as he picked up the second box of macaroni and looked it over “...You know, I'm kind of surprised you guys have this brand of macaroni instead of one of the more popular ones.”

“Uh, we like that kind because it tastes like the macaroni they had at Bridgemont.” answered Kianna.

“Ah, I see.” nodded Anton as he set the box back down.

“...Is there something wrong with this kind?” asked Kianna as she eyed the box in her hand.

“No, there's nothing wrong with it. It's just one of the cheaper brands so I was surprised you preferred it.” said Anton.

Kianna nodded as she continued to stare at the box in her hand for a moment.

“...This, is healthy to eat? Right?” she asked.

“It's, not unhealthy?” said Anton “What do you mean exactly?”

“I'm just wondering if eating this is why me and Fiona are short?” said Kianna as a worried expression formed on her face.

“Oh, no! Just eating this isn't going to cause that. Well, it might if this was the only thing or almost the only thing you ever ate. As that would definitely give you a vitamin deficiency.” explained Anton “But that's not the case though, is it? You don't eat this everyday, do you?”

“No. Not everyday.” answered Kianna as she shook her head “We eat different stuff everyday. Not just this...”

Anton couldn't help but to grin as he watched Kianna's worried expression deepen as she became thoughtful.

“Kianna, sweety, I think you're worrying yourself more than you need to.” he said as he reached over and gave her shoulder a squeeze “You and your sister are not unhealthy.”

“Yeah, but we're still short!” exclaimed Kianna “And there's gotta be a reason for that...”

“Not necessarily. It could just be how you are.” said Anton as he gave her another squeeze.

“...Maybe.” mumbled Kianna “...I don't know! I feel like I should just eat a whole bunch of vitamins though. Just so I can be sure!”

Laughing loudly, Anton pulled the now grumpy looking dark elf in against his chest and gave her a tight hug.

“That's not going to make you grow taller, Kianna!” he smiled as she huffed in annoyance “In fact, I don't think it'll help you at all since eating too many vitamins at one time will actually poison you!”

“...Seriously? But I thought vitamins were good for you!?” exclaimed Kianna.

“They are. But just like mana and spices; a small amount goes a long way.” explained Anton “You can overdose yourself by eating too many in one go. And even if it didn't poison you, it still wouldn't do you much good since most vitamins and minerals are something the body utilizes over time rather than right away.”

Positioning her in front of himself with her back against his chest and his arms wrapped around her shoulders, Anton reached down and tilted the box of macaroni in Kianna's hands so its front was facing up towards them.

“Whenever you eat anything, regardless of whether it's even food or not. Your body is going to do its best to break it down and extract whatever useful nutrients it can out of whatever you ate. For the most part your body will convert the bulk of what you eat into calories, which it will use to power itself. There are certain nutrients that can be used for different things though. And we refer to many of these as either vitamins, minerals or proteins. These nutrients are used by the body to build its various parts, make repairs and aid in certain functions. An easy example of this would be calcium, which is a mineral the body uses to build bones.” explained Anton as he reached out to the counter and turned the canister of salt around so that it faced them “Another example would be iodine. Which is a mineral that helps with brain functions. Iodine that's in the soil will be taken in by certain crop plants and then it'll reach us when we eat those plants. Not all soils where crops are grown have enough iodine in them to make that journey though. So to help make sure that people can get enough iodine, it's also added to some table salts. That's why this particular canister here says “Iodized Salt” rather than pure salt. Because it has iodine added to it.”

“It does?” questioned Kianna as she reached out and picked up the canister of salt “This has iodine in it?”

“Mm hm. It's such a tiny amount that you can't even taste it. Yet there's still enough there for your body to extract it.” explained Anton “And there being such a small amount is fine since you'll never really need that much at one time anyway. Your body is only going use the iodine it takes in as it needs it. So it's much better to have a steady supple that you can take in over time rather than just trying to drink a whole bottle of it in one go and calling it good. You're body knows it won't need all of that iodine at once so it won't bother to absorb it but will instead just treat it as waste and get rid of it.”

“...So lots of small amounts are better then?” mumbled Kianna as her face became thoughtful “Are all vitamins and minerals like that?”

“For the most part. It's fairly rare for a person to need a large amount of any one kind of vitamin or mineral, unless they have some type of sickness or condition.” explained Anton “Of course every species is different and some species will need more or less of certain nutrients then others will. This is why it's so important to understand what you are as a species and to pay attention to the food that you eat. It's okay to eat foods that you like of course, but you still want to make sure that what you're eating is healthy for you. That way you'll know that your body is getting all the nutrients that it may need.”

“...Are there a lot of nutrients in this?” asked Kianna as she indicated the box of macaroni in her hands.

“Well, not really.” smiled Anton “This is mostly carbohydrates, fats and a bit of protein, which for the most part are all going to be broken down and turned into calories. So this is great for fuel. But there really aren't very many nutrients in there. That's fine though. Fuel is still important after all. And so long as your diet is made up of a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, grains and meats, you should still be getting all the different nutrients that you need. ...Or at least that's how it works with humans. I'm still researching whether or not there's anything specific that dark elves need to have in their diets. I haven't found anything that says that they do, but I'm going to keep looking into it just to be sure.”

Tightening his arms around her shoulders, Anton began to gently sway both himself and Kianna back and forth.

“I do want my darling little dark elves to be healthy after all.” he teased as he leaned down and kissed the side of Kianna's head “So I need to make sure that they're getting everything they need.”

Twitching her tickled ear, Kianna couldn't help but to smile as she heard her sister sigh in annoyance.

“How are you going to keep researching though?” she asked as she tilted her head back so as to look up at Anton “Aren't you already done with your books?”

“For the most part. And there aren't too many other books that seem to be worth reading.” answered Anton as he gazed into Kianna's vividly bright eyes “So I suppose the next step will be to talk to some of the dark elves I know and see if they have anything to say on the matter.”

“...When you say dark elves that you know, I'm guessing you mean actual real ones?” said Kianna as she blinked up him “Like on Tantarra?”

“That's right.” nodded Anton.

Kianna was still for a moment before a bit of nervousness took form in her eyes.

“...Do you think, they'll be able to tell, that I'm... you know... like this?” she asked as she lowered her ears.

“Like this?” questioned Anton “What do you mean by that?”

“...You know!” whined Kianna as her voice became hushed “That I'm like this... That I'm defective...”

Laughing loudly, Anton gave Kianna a squeeze and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead.

“Ah! I see now! Well, I'm sure some of them will!” he teased as he let his chin rest against the top of her head and spoke into her hair “I don't think it matters though. Because even if they do figure out that you're as weird as you are! It won't change anything. You'll still be just as cute regardless!”

Kianna's eyes tightened into an annoyed glare as she stared up at him.

“I'm not weird! You ass!” she mumbled as she let her head fall until she could stare directly forward and point her ears straight back behind her head “...I don't know if I really want to meet these other dark elves though. ...Especially not if they're just gonna think I'm weird!”

Anton kept his lower face pressed against the top of her head as he laughed into her hair.

“Well I do!” declared Fiona from her place at the table “I wanna meet these other dark elves!”

“That... Will happen, I'll definitely introduce you, eventually.” said Anton as he turned to her “We might have to put that off for a good while though.”

“Why?” asked Fiona.

“Because I really don't think it would be a good idea for you two to be around any other dark elves right now.” answered Anton “Especially considering how defenseless you are.”

“...Defenseless?” questioned Fiona.

“What are you talking about?” asked Kianna.

“I, well... listen.” said Anton as he looked from Fiona to Kianna “You two need to remember that you are enslaved now. And the other dark elves are more than likely going to be very upset about this. In fact, I'd imagine they're going to be pretty angry about it.”

“Yeah, I get that.” muttered Fiona “What does that have to do with us being “defenseless” though?”

“You don't understand. It's not supposed to be possible to enslave a dark elf. The fact that it can be done is actually a pretty big discovery. One that I very much doubt that the dark elves as a whole would want the rest world to know about. It's very possible that they're going to want to bury this, and all the evidence of it.” explained Anton “And considering you two are literally living proof that dark elves can be enslaved... I'm sure they'll at least consider trying to bury you along with the rest of the evidence.”

“...Wait? So they'll kill us!? What the fuck! Are you serious!?” raged Fiona as she stood up out of her chair.

“Settle down Fiona, you don't need to panic like that.” said Anton as he turned back to her “I highly doubt the dark elves will actually want to kill you two. Especially if they think they can just kill me and be done with it.”

“Why would they stop with only you!?” questioned Fiona.

“Because if I died then you two won't be enslaved anymore.” explained Anton “And in that way they'll have the option to lock you both up for questioning and study.”

“Oh! Well that sounds so much better for us!” exclaimed Fiona as she crossed her arms “...Not gonna lie, I do kinda like the idea of them killing you though...”

Anton began to chuckle but was stopped short as Kianna frantically twisted around in his arms and grabbed hold of his shirt.

“They're gonna kill you!?” she cried as panicked tears began to form in her eyes “What are we gonna do!?”

“...Wha! Wait? ...Are you worried about me?” smiled Anton “Well isn't that sweet!”

Kianna blinked and hid her face against his chest as she laid her ears flat behind her head.

“Shut up!” she whimpered as she wiped her eyes with his shirt “This is serious!”

“Aw, my poor little dark elf! Listen, there's no reason for you to be upset. No one even knows that dark elves can be enslaved yet. And even when they find out there's still no reason to panic. At least not right away.” said Anton as he began to rub Kianna's back “The dark elves aren't stupid. Especially the one's in charge. And there are a few things that should keep them from trying to kill me in my sleep. For one, they have no idea where I am. For two, they're going to want to know how this works, even if they don't want anyone else to. And three, if they know I can enslave them, then none of them are going to come near me themselves. They would never risk their own freedom like that.”

“They're still going to try to kill you though! Even if they don't do it, they'll just send someone else!” cried Kianna as she pressed herself against his chest “What are we gonna do!?”

“Well, for right now, we're going to finish making macaroni.” said Anton as he glanced at the pot “Your waters finally started boiling. So we can move on to the noodles now.”

“...Wha!? Are you serious!?” cried Kianna as she looked up and started shaking him from where she still held onto his shirt “People are gonna try to kill you! Do you really think that some stupid macaroni is more important than that!?”

Anton was still for a second as he gazed down at her.

“No. I don't think macaroni itself is more important than that.” he said softly as he brought his hand up and slowly ran it down the back of her head and through her hair “Now your macaroni on the other hand? Well, that definitely is more important to me. Far more important.”

Kianna went still and stared at him for a second before her face scrunched up in misery. Hiding her face back against his chest she wrapped her arms around his torso, and squeezing him as tightly as she could she began to quietly sob.

“It's alright Kianna... You don't need to worry yourself with this...” soothed Anton as he wrapped his arms around her and began to sway back and forth “I'm going to take care of it...”

“How!?” sobbed Kianna “What are you gonna do!?”

“Well, that depends on what happens... But I've got a few different ideas and some plans already in the works...” explained Anton as he let his aura expand and seep into the dark elf in his arms “So just leave it to me, and I promise, I'll handle it... Alright? ...Do you hear me?”

Kianna was still for a moment before she whimpered softly and nodded her head.

“...Such a good girl!” smiled Anton as he tightened his hold on her.

The room stayed silent for some time until Anton leaned back and looked down at the clinging dark elf.

Blinking up at him, Kianna's cheeks were marred with the remnants of her dried tears and Anton smiled softly as he gently rubbed them clean with his thumbs.

“Kianna, listen...” he whispered softly as he leaned down and gazed into her eyes “Trust me. Okay. Everything is going to be alright, you don't need to worry about me, okay...”

“...Are you sure?” whispered Kianna as she tightened her ears together behind her head.

“Yes, I promise you.” smiled Anton “Nothing is going to happen to me, Kianna, or to any of us. Just trust me. ...Alright?”

Kianna took a deep breath and rested the side of her face back against him.

“...Okay, fine!” she breathed as she rubbed her cheek on his shirt “...I will.”

“Good! Now then! Let's get back to what's important!” said Anton as he ran his fingertip down the length of her ear in order to get her attention “We have a big problem here and we need to fix it!”

“What!?” questioned Kianna as she looked up at him “What problem!?”

“My stomach!” exclaimed Anton as he grimaced in mock pain “I'm starving!”

Blinking in surprise, Kianna sighed through her nose as she glared up at him.

“Right. That problem...” she mumbled in annoyance as she pulled away from him and shook her head.

Anton grinned as he turned with her to face the stove and the waiting pot of boiling water.

Kianna was mostly quiet as Anton guided her through the rest of the process of making macaroni.

He illustrated the simple method of knowing when the noodles were done by throwing one at the wall and seeing if it stuck. When one did, they moved the noodles to a colander in the sink and let the water drain from them while they prepared the cheese mixture in the now empty pot. Once the powdered cheese mix, milk and butter had all been gathered together in the pot, they added the drained noodles and using a large mixing spoon, stirred it all together.

“...It's, done?” questioned Kianna as she gazed down at the pot of golden colored noodles.

“Yep! It's ready!” said Anton as he opened a cabinet and gathered together a set of bowls.

Kianna continued to stare at the macaroni as Anton set the bowls down next to her.

“...Would you like to serve it?” he asked as he tilted his head at her and smiled “Or should I?”

“Oh! No! I got it!” exclaimed Kianna as she took up the spoon and quickly filled the three bowls.

Anton added forks to the readied bowls and taking one in each hand he made his way to the table where he handed one of the bowls to Fiona before taking his seat. Following behind him with her own bowl, Kianna took her place at the table and silently stared down at her heaping helping of macaroni.

Anton and Fiona glanced at each other in amusement as they both waited for Kianna to make a move.

Noticing that they were watching her, Kianna took up her fork and after a slight hesitation, lifted a bite of macaroni to her mouth.

“...It's good!” she declared after swallowing the mouthful “...It's really good!”

“Excellent!” exclaimed Anton as he and Fiona both immediately began to eat.

Kianna's eyes darted back and forth as she watched them take one forkful after another out of their bowls.

“...Is it good? Do you like it?” she asked Fiona when she was between bites.

“Yeah, it's really good.” said Fiona as she continued eating.

“Oh! Good! And what about yours!?” asked Kianna as she turned to Anton “Do you like it!?”

“I do. It's delicious.” answered Anton “You did a great job!”

Smiling softly, Kianna looked back down at her bowl and went still.

“...I made this.” she whispered “I did it...”

“Yes you did.” nodded Anton “So now the question is... Do you think you can do it again?”

“...Yeah!” said Kianna as she looked back up at him “Yeah, I could totally do this again!”

“Well there ya go! You've got a skill now! Congratulations!” smiled Anton “Now you can say there's something that you can do. You can make macaroni and cheese now. Good job!”

Smiling broadly, Kianna looked back down at her bowl and went still again. As she stared down at her food she began to feel a growing tightness in her chest.

“...I can make this now.” she whispered as her voice began to crack “I can do it. ...Thank you.”

Anton and Fiona both went still as they registered the shift in tone.

“Thank you!” sobbed Kianna as she covered her now tear filled eyes with her hands “...I'm, I'm sorry! ...I'm!”

“Kianna.” breathed Anton as he rose out of his chair “Come here.”

Kianna quickly got to her feet and rushed around the table to meet him.

“I'm sorry!” she sobbed as she ducked into his arms “I'm just... I'm sorry!”

Anton said nothing as he wrapped one arm around her shoulders and ran his other hand up and down her back.

“I'm sorry!” whimpered Kianna “I'm so sorry!”

“Why are you sorry?” asked Anton in a soft and gentle tone.

“...Because, ...I'm crying.” answered Kianna.

“Why are you crying?” asked Anton as he began to gently sway them both back and forth.

“...I don't know.” whined Kianna “...No, it's, ...it's cause, I'm happy. ...And cause, I'm scared!”

“Hm, I see...” nodded Anton “Well, I like hearing that you're happy. But I don't like hearing that you're scared...”

“...I'm sorry.” sobbed Kianna.

“It's okay, I understand.” said Anton as he tightened his hold on her “I know why you're scared, and I know that it's not something you can just stop worrying about. ...There is something I'd like you to tell me though.”

“What?” asked Kianna as she leaned back enough to look up at him.

“Well, I don't want you to cry anymore.” whispered Anton as he gave her another light squeeze “So I'd like to know if there's anything I can do to make it so that you're not so scared?”

Kianna was quiet for a moment.

“...I guess. ...Being right here.” she whispered as she snuggled up against him “...This, helps, a lot.”

Anton chuckled softly as he nodded his head.

“I see... So right here, next to me. This is where you want to be?” he asked.

“...Yeah.” answered Kianna.

“Okay then...” soothed Anton “You can just stay right here with me. For as long as you need too. Okay?”

“...Yeah, okay.” agreed Kianna.

“Okay. Now then. I, am still starving! So, you stay right next to me! And let's sit back down.” smiled Anton as he rocked them into motion “Okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” smiled Kianna as she let him lead them back to his chair.

Kianna kept a tiny smile on her face as Anton sat down and positioned her on his lap so that her legs hung off to the side and she was able to rest her head on his left shoulder. Ignoring the annoyed look her sister was giving her, she kept her eyes locked onto Anton's fork as he ate away at the bowl of macaroni.

After taking in a few bites himself, Anton shifted the path that the fork had been traveling in and offered a bite of food to Kianna. Lifting her head from his shoulder, Kianna gleefully chomped down on the macaroni and quickly ate it. Ginning at her enthusiasm, Anton alternated forkfuls of food between himself and Kianna. When his bowl was emptied he reached across the table and pulled Kianna's still full one over to their side before continuing to feed both himself and the smiling dark elf.

“...Okay. ...So, this isn't gonna be a normal thing now, is it?” questioned Fiona as she watched in disgust as her sister was being fed with the same fork that Anton was using “Cause I don't think I could get used to this... thing, that you guys are doing over there!”

“Shut up, Fiona!” snapped Kianna as she watched Anton eat a forkful of macaroni “You're so stupid!”

“...Yeah, also.” said Fiona as she narrowed her eyes at her sister “You're not going to cry every time you make food now, are you? Cause that's something else that's gonna get old really fast.”

“No! I'm not!” snarled Kianna as she pointed her ears straight back and glared at her sister “Just shut up already! You're ruining the moment!”

Anton couldn't help but to laugh and shake his head as he fed another bite of food to his now pouting dark elf.

Rolling her eyes in annoyance, Fiona said nothing more as she went back to finishing her own meal.