Noctifer had decided to have some fun, and so his first stop was to the room where he and Leah had been ‘hosted’. She was shuffling under the blankets when he entered, looking up tiredly and with her hair in all sorts of directions. The god stifled a chuckle at the sight of what he lovingly thought of as ‘a wet rat’, before sitting down on the bed next to the girl.

“I think Uncle Solaris needs something to eat, don’t you?”

“Abba?”

“Yes, I’m here,” Noctifer responded, but the girl shook her head.

“No, Abba Solo-rice,” she corrected. Noctifer looked at the girl, his heart warm but his head practically spinning. It was nice, amazing really, that Solaris had created a circumstance in which Leah could refer to him as ‘abba’. What worried Noctifer was what would happen if Leah witnessed the same parts of Solaris that others did. What would happen when he was no longer ‘abba’? His thoughts must’ve shown on his face because the girl was poking his side to get his attention. Noctifer shook his head from its thoughts and smiled down at the girl.

“Yes, Abba,” he responded before picking her up and sauntering over to the kitchen. Leah yawned on the way, only made more tired by Noctifer’s attempts at brushing down her hair with his hand. Still, when the smell of the kitchen came into the air, Leah was awake and looking around for what was a distinctly sweet and floral smell. They stopped outside the door, and Noctifer put the girl down, pulling a small bag from the folds of his robe.

“You don’t do this outside of here, alright?”

“Do what, Abba?”

“I’m going to speak with the chef, and I need you to take some things from the table. A little fun game for us and Abba Solaris.”

Leah, only understanding part of the morals, nodded quickly. She snatched the bag from Noctifer and shuffled behind him as he entered the kitchen. The lunar deity had heard of the Sous’ tendency to be arrogant, and so he entered with an exceptionally high amount of pride himself. He hoisted his shoulders up and made direct contact with the sous, asking whether or not the food was up to standard for Solaris’ tastes. The sous, scoffing, denied any imperfection, but Noctifer prompted further.

“Are you sure? He can be very pedantic.”

“Of course, I’ve been the head at the Abode for centuries.”

“Yet not the head-head,” Noctifer joked, clearly enjoying how the sous became riled up. Annoyed, the smaller spirit then nearly demanded that Noctifer should see the food for himself and determine whether or not it was ‘perfect’. So, the god followed, and Leah slipped between the tables to hide. Whenever the sous looked up at Noctifer to describe a dish, her small hands reached out to grab a pastry or a fruit, sometimes a bun, and shove it into the bag.

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As fate would have it, she slipped, and a pomegranate rolled into the kitchen. The girl panicked and hid behind the covers of the counter, especially when she saw the feet of a well-dressed adult entering the room. Coincidentally, it was Sala trying to investigate who was arguing. She looked down and saw the girl under the counters, then the pomegranate. A raised eyebrow at the bickering sous was enough to shut him up, and a glare at Noctifer was enough to let him know that his game should end. Yet, still warmed by the jest, she subtly nudged the pomegranate to the counter and walked ever so gracefully so that her robe would cover the spot that Leah had hidden in.

The sous tried to explain the situation, but Sala was tired from having to try and speak to Solaris earlier about leaving his office. The deity had been caught up in texts, and it had become akin to prying a cat from a tree. She wasn’t in the mood to listen to anything, and her patience had worn extremely thin. While the Sous turned back to Noctifer, she decided to have a go and slipped a meat bun from the table to Leah, who was underneath. Surprised, but not complaining, the girl took it.

Now, the escape, and Noctifer had not planned this part. He knew there was a door between the kitchen and the hall, one that had a good passage, but he was worried that the eyes of the chef would burn into him had he brought Leah from her hiding place. Frowning at his silent cue, Sala quickly lifted her skirt and ushered Leah to hide within the folds. It was uncomfortable, but there was enough fabric and Sala was tall enough that it mostly looked like an issue with the folds. She walked quite oddly, but made it out of the kitchen, where she then let Leah out, and Noctifer walked up behind her.

“Thank you,” he said awkwardly as Leah handed him the bag with a cheery smile.

“You’re really bringing a child into this, Nox?”

“She’s small, and I’m not doing it for me. I’m doing it for Solaris.”

“The food?”

“Basically,” Noctifer trailed off, thumbing the edge of the bag. Sala softened, reaching out and pulling a small peach that Leah had taken. She held it to her lips and took a bite of it.

“He hasn’t eaten since you left, but there were a few days before where he was struggling,” she said between bites.

“It looks like it might only get worse.”

“I hoped my return would change things,” Noctifer said quietly. “I’m sorry, Sala.”

“Don’t be sorry; he’s his own person. He’s just…”

A silence fell over the two. Sala chewed on the peach, trying to figure out the best word for it, but the melancholy that floated between the two gods was enough. They both knew what she meant.

“I don’t think he can get fully better,” Sala finally admitted, “he can only learn to cope with whatever is going on with him."

There was an inevitable realization. History showed that Solaris was someone who suffered from his anxieties and his sudden changes in temperament. It caused bitterness to well up in Noctifer, but he knew that Sala was right. He could only be there for Solaris, even when the deity was in the throes of his mind. Leah seemed to have caught onto the dreary mood. She quickly reached up and tugged at Noctifer's robes. The god looked down with a forced smile.

"Let's go feed Abba," she squeaked happily. The two gods smiled at the girl, despite the gloom that hung over their heads.