The undisturbed days continued. The Eigeroys ended up spending almost six straight days on the island (excluding some time lost in one little trip to the market on Livia’s island). The father went away to work on some of the days.
When the father was on the premises with them, he and the mother were working on a project. They were revamping the childrens’ cabin. They decided to make the two rooms into cozy, themed, gender-specific rooms.
The larger room, which had originally had one big bed in it, and which had been the parents’, would be made up for the girls. For the convenience of the adults, the largest wall was converted into deep cabinets. Perhaps the girls were more to be trusted with the stored things than the boys were. The father had been given two hand-me-down bunk beds, which he put in the room. They were both very simple and made of raw wood planks. You could see the thick layers of tree grain, and knots in the texture of the bark. They were all chipped in the corners and scratched up; even so, they pleased Solveis greatly. They fit with her feeling of being a wilderness fairy. En’s father, in an effort to make his own daughter comfortable, had donated some very soft mattresses, infinitely better than the bunks of the bunk room. Also, one day when the girls came back in from a long day of playing outside, they returned to their bunks having been decorated with flowy, whimsical netting, fluffy pillows, and little butterfly stickers.
As the big room was to be become the girls’ room, so the bunk room would become the boys’ room. Significantly less effort was put into the boys room than the girls. For Arlendr though, just having the room more to himself was enough to please him. When asked for a theme for the room, Arlendr suggested weaponry. Taking that to heart, the mother painted images of a bow and arrow, a sword, a slingshot, and a few other weapons onto the otherwise bare walls. The simple, primary colors used for this painting were also used to throw little splashes of color all over the room: planks on the bunks, door trim, dresser knobs, etc.
Day after day was spent going on little adventures, eating holiday food, and working on Solveis’s and Arlendr’s pet projects. After four or five days straight of not being manipulated, tricked, or verbally attacked, Solveis started to feel an old familiar feeling. It took her those many days to begin to recognize what it was. She finally realized that she was reverting back to how she used to experience life, before the aepsis siblings had come. She hadn’t realized how much she had changed her behavior to combat them. This reverted version of herself felt free and unafraid. Her focus could dive deeply into a thing without having to keep her senses always on, just in case. This realization had a strong effect on Solveis. She decided not to live in fear anymore, even when they did eventually come back.
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She wouldn’t choose her words quite so carefully, or avoid doing silly things. She would have to find a way, in future, to boldly do what she wanted, no matter the social consequences. She would try at least.
In the middle of their time on the island, the parents began to prepare their children for the trip they would be taking to Geith.
The mother informed them over lunch, “We’re going to stay at your grandparents for most of the time. We’ll be traveling all over though. I want to use the opportunity to see much of the country. It’ll be cold guys, so when we go back home, pack your warm clothes. You hearing me? What did I say?” The mother checked to see if her children had been listening.
“Pack your warm clothes,” her two children obediently repeated back at her.
“We’ll get to hike and go see the old monuments!” the father added excitedly. “Solveis, those outfits you’ve made should really serve you well!”
Livia’s mind grew distracted, not being held by the subject for which she didn’t have any context. Her bored mind decided to verbalize something. “Could I go with you!? Does it really take a whole day on a boat to get there? What’s hiking?” Livia blurted out of nowhere.
The mother looked uncomfortable. The combination of the mother’s discomfort and of Livia’s lack of awareness made Solveis squirm and compact herself inward.
The end result of Livia’s rude request was that she was invited to join the family.