Chapter Text
— you okay back there clover? —- Martlet said soaring through the air, clover was carefully holding onto her back like their life depended on it… because it did, they just tried to nod while holding on to their hat and her at the same time — i know its a little scary i promise i'll find a way to make this easier in case we need to do trips together uhh… maybe a basket like the ugps? Now that I think about it, why didn’t I send you with them instead of holding onto you and risking your life?… — Martlet wondered, getting lost in her own thoughts right before she almost crashed into a stalactite. “MARTLET AYES ON THE ROAD” Clover screamt with panic, seeing their inevitable demise closing in at terrifying speeds, martlet quickly made an evasive move before diving down to avoid the ceiling of the underground. —WOW okay that was close, sorry clover… maybe we should walk the last stretch of the road hehe…— martlet said nervously and apologetic as clover felt their heart returning to its place after jumping to their throat from the scare.
The moment they made a safe landing clover immediately laid down on the dune’s floor appreciating the joy to be alive, “i don't think i wanna fly with you for a while” they said still panting for air —i don’t blame you bud, i wouldn’t like to fly with me either…— they took a moment to calm down and fix her feathers and their hat respectively before starting the long journey under the scorching swealter stone on the dunes.
After a long journey they arrived to oasis town where both ceroba and starlo were already waiting for them. — howdy pardners! glad to see you two made it here safely— starlo said in his iconic north star persona, tipping his hat at them — took you both long enough, we’ve been waiting for you two here for at least half an hour— ceroba added, but neither martlet or clover paid any attention to them as both ran straight to the oasis pond to clench the horrible thirst the dessert made them suffer, after a few minutes of insatiable drinking both of them were back in shape and finally decided to say hi to their friends, “howdy uncle star! sorry we didn’t greet correctly but we had to walk through the desert.." Clover said, fixing their hat and drying some water from their chin with their sleeve, — oh dear, why did you two do that instead of flying here? — ceroba asked with a worried expression, “well… let’s say it was safer” clover said giving martlet a mean look, martlet stopped drinking water and got up to also greet starlo and ceroba correctly, —yeah it’s a bit hard to carry another person when i fly..haha… — martlet said nervous, remembering the promise they both made to not talk about their almost accident from before.
-Welp, as much as i would love to stay here and chat all day, me and my deputy here got lots of work to do over the wild east, and it sure aint doing it itself so… — starlo patted clover’s back and got ready to make their leave, — i suppose it's better if we start with our work before it gets too late too right martlet? — ceroba said, giving martlet a relaxed glance —oh uh… yes! of course— martlet got close to clover and on her knee so she would be an aye level to them before placing her wing on their shoulder — good luck out there catching bandits buddy, try not to take too many risks— she gave clover an honest grin, they responded with “no promises” and an enthusiastic look before hugging martlet, —relax feathers, clover is in the safest place they could be, with me! — starlo said with a confident face before being interrupted by ceroba, — i think clover would be safer anywhere else but you can make it work— starlo gave his childhood friend a surprised look prompting both clover and martlet to laugh. starlo pulled clover by the arm and quickly pulled them to make their leave as he waved goodbye to the other monsters who just said goodbye and prepared for all the work they had prepared.
— so… we gotta do roofing and painting jobs as well as replacing and fixing some shelves and old furniture? Piece of cake! — martlet said with a cocky attitude, the two monsters where walking the short path to the ketsukage residence while discussing the plan to bring new life to the old abandoned home, ceroba gave her a grateful look before saying — we might need to do some cleaning and other miscellaneous jobs here and there too, again thank you so much for helping me with all of this after the few past years it’s been really hard to ask for help— she looked the other way with regret crawling up her spine before being met with a pat in the shoulder from martlet, snapping her out of that state — its nothing… i mean chujin taught me everything i know about carpentry so it's only fair i return the favor to his family somehow— martlet said giving a comforting smile to ceroba. The two of them walked through the gates and made their way to the front door, martlet inspected the barren plants around what used to be the garden before saying — i think this place also needs a gardening job, i'm no expert myself but i can figure it out i think— ceroba looked with sadness in her eyes at the soil that was once full of life and memories, now barren and abandoned, mirroring her own connection with the house — it’s okay, i actually planned to ask violetta for some help, she's very experienced with making things grow in inhabitable environments after all—.
The two monsters met the entrance to the house and went inside, some uneasy feeling came up to martlet’s mind as she looked around the house, seeing the old home without a hurry and having time to actually look around instead of searching for some deep family secret made her appreciate all the details in chujin’s work, as well as the deep feeling of emptiness the house emanated, she felt tension building up and before she could say something dumb to break the ice ceroba took the first word instead —i suppose this isn’t really the first time you came here… so you probably noticed the broken and messed up parts that need some fixing, we can maybe start with those? —- martlet felt slightly uncomfortable with the tone ceroba used to say that, she struggled to find correct words before thankfully ceroba spoke again — it's okay, i really don’t mind that you two investigated around here, it was necessary and i have no right to be upset about this after what i tried to do and actually did to starlo, clover and you… — the room went silent for a second, despite how impactful that moment was, none of them had really talked about it much, it made her and starlo too uncomfortable to continue the conversation, with the lather preferring to change topics as to not bring the mood down, martlet herself feels weird talking about it, in one hand she understands ceroba’s motivations and reasoning, but for the other, she remembers the sheer panic she felt the moment she saw starlo being thrown against that wall, the helplessness she felt as the lights suddenly went out for her while trying to carry clover to safety, the fear as she woke up, scared to see clover’s motionless body at the feet of a bloodied ceroba, and the relief of seeing them hug the crying fox for comfort, after they managed to endure what was probably the most difficult fight of their life, it all made martlet feel a knot on her throat.
Before the aura on the room became even worse, something fell crashing down to the floor, startling them both, they went to investigate the room only to find a knocked shelve with an old family photo on the ground, ceroba quickly made her way to the picture, carefully trying to pick it up and avoid cutting herself with the small shards of glass, flipping over she noticed the crack on the family portrait landed exactly over her face as some sort of bad joke, ceroba just stared at it, with a gloomy expression of pain and sadness, martlet stood next to her, thinking of ways she could comfort the poor fox, the only thing that came to mind was patting her back softly, as she kneeled down besides her in a comforting silence, they stood there for a solid minute before ceroba felt the strength to move again, martlet got up and offered a wing to help her do the same, she got up and placed the photo down with care on a nearby shelf — i know it's not much, but i know someone over at snowdin that works with glass, or was it ice…?, nevermind, but i'm sure they can probably help you with that— martlet gave the hurt fox a genuinely warm smile, comforting the poor monster who responded with a some emotions still stuck on her throat — thank you, i’ll have it in mind, for now let’s concentrate on our task at hand — ceroba cheered up a little, mentally preparing herself for a day full of work, she gestured martlet to follow her around the house to spot anything that would need some fixing.
The bird found herself outside the residence fixing up the porch, hammering down some planks to replace the ones that went missing for some reason, the harsh light and heat made her dizzy, but martlet was determined to finish the exterior like her life depended on it — phew, just a few more planks and we would have completely fixed the exterior look, after that maybe i can help ceroba with the interior some parts definitely needed replacement and others just a coat of paint… i gotta show her all the effort i can —martlet moved some feathers out of her face like wiping sweat off of it, good thing she can’t actually sweat or this would be even worse, before she could finish hammering down the wood in place she heard ceroba come out the house, she was carrying two glasses of lemonade full of ice, just what she needed, — mind taking a little break? — ceroba said handing the glass over to martlet before sitting leg crossed besides her— you have been working for a while now, i'm surprised of just how much you managed to do in less than two hours—, martlet took a long sip of the delicious golden liquid some dropps sliding down her beak to her chin before talking with ice cubes still on her mouth — hm well ish betther if i — she gulped down the ice before continuing — ejem, is better if i finish outside first before i do any of the interior parts, it just my method while building things, worry about the outside first and make your way to the insides as you go! — ceroba gave her a puzzled look, confused as to how a method so unorthodox could even work but she decided to trust her process —well if you say so, i just hope this doesn’t take much of your time anyways, you probably have other things to do… — ceroba said, giving her glass a gentle sip —well now that you say so, i actually don’t have much to do right now, after i quit from the royal guard for clover i haven’t actually searched for a job…— martlet said slightly embarrassed — i’ve done some carpentry and repair jobs over at snowdin, and ive been thinking about doing that full time or even becoming an UGPS delivery girl, but i'm not sure if i’m fit for any of those roles… —, ceroba looked at the girl that up to this point has showed more than capable of almost anything she proposed herself to and said — you need to relax a little bit more feathers if anyone is capable of getting any of those jobs is you, i mean you entered the most elite group of soldiers without that much of a problem… i think—, martlet let out a sigh, considering her accomplishments up to that point — i mean yeah but i blew it almost immediately by sparing a human, besides they let any dumb monster with a complex and some good attack patterns enter that group these days— ceroba gave her a puzzled look before talking — but look what you got thanks to that, you now have one of the nicest, most noble and caring humans in this world living with you and helping you out —, martlet noticed the truth of ceroba’s words, she really took the best path available when she first met clover, or more correctly, clover took it for her, she wondered how different thing would have been if clover didn’t try to spare her in that fight, would she even be here right now? There were so many things she felt thankful for at that moment but she couldn’t put them into words correctly, — i guess i also got some of the nicest friends i could ask for too— martlet gave ceroba a cheery smile, immediately spreading that positive feeling to her, — i guess so too, clover really did made a change for the better on all of us—. of them sat there, talking and working hard, sharing some laughs over shared stories of chujin, and even some personal ones.
Two hours had passed and martlet was now on the roof fixing the tiling
— You okay up there? — ceroba asked, looking concerned at martlet’s clumsiness while trying her hardest to fix the roof, she would get closer to make sure she could hear her but the fear of a hammer falling on her head and draining her HP in a single hit got the best of her, some loud bangs later and martlet responded giving her friend a thumbs up, or better said, feathers up before continuing her job. after a few minutes of struggling getting the order right a loud bang followed by a almost cartoony sounding “YOUCH” immediately made ceroba jump from where she was to help her distressed friend, —martlet are you okay?! Did something happen?! — ceroba said shooting upwards towards the small ladder the house had to access the roof, when she got to where her friend was she found her sitting while rubbing her wing, the hammer by her side let her know exactly what happened — heh, is nothing… just a little working accident, got clumsy with the hammer and smacked my wing… is more embarrassing than painful really— ceroba’s motherly instincts immediately made her go help martlet, holding her wing and inspecting it for any sort of injury, —jezz its okay, not need to worry about me, i have accidents like those all the time—, ceroba carefully folded the wings on martlet’s wings to see if any movement would cause a reaction or some sort of pain before talking — still, for what i know, your bones are more fragile than ones of other types of monsters, so i still got to make sure you didn’t break any— martlet only responded with an embarrassed expression at her before chuckling while hiding her face behind her other wing, — oh angel’s… you sounded exactly like my mom, she used to say stuff like that to me after i got injured all the time when i was little—,, martlet immediately realized how insensitive that could sound to her and quickly tried to apologize before ceroba reacted with a blush of embarrassment realizing her instincts got the best of her and chuckling out loud — well… what can i say? Once a mom always a mom right? — in any other situation this would have made ceroba remember kanako sadly, bringing back painful memories of her lost family, but this time those memories where untainted, peaceful and happy, she remembered how caring for kanako used to be and how she treated her injuries with care, she carefully let go of martlet’s wing meeting her with a genuine smile, —looks like there’s nothing wrong over here, still, you should rest before you actually injure yourself badly—, martlet agreed.
The bird was sitting for a little bit and looking at the horizon, —what’s on your mind? — ceroba asked, putting herself beside her, —uh? What do you mean? — martlet responded confused, —well i figured you’ve been thinking of something since you’ve been more distracted than usual today, i started suspecting after you almost knocked a can of paint on me—, martlet chuckled apologetic, —well… I've been thinking about clover in general, something happened yesterday and I can't quite shake this feeling— this took ceroba by surprise, not expecting clover to be the reason martlet was acting like this —how come? did something happen? — martlet took a few moments to collect her thoughts before opening her beak —well, yesterday clover had one of those nightmares, it's the third one this week and it worries me—, the nightmares had been happening recurrently throughout the month clover has been staying with them, the worst one happening the days after the ending of their journey, while staying with starlo and the feisty, clover woke up between screams and tears, not been able to calm down until ceroba and starlo hugged them in comfort and even after that it took a while for clover be able to talk or even breathe correctly, ceroba couldn’t help but feel guilty even if the reason for this happening had been unknown to them, ceroba looked at martlet with a worried expression, —but something happened this time, when i came to the room to calm them down clover acted scared of… me — martlet continued, all of this making ceroba grow more intrigued, — why would clover be scared of you? if anything you are the monster they feel the safest with— ceroba asked growing more confused as to what was the cause of clover sudden nightly fear — as much as i wanted to know, as always, they didn’t say a word about that, but this is not the main thing i wanna focus on, after that i decided to sleep with them to make sure they caught some sleep and maybe even discover what was causing the nightmares, and right as they were falling asleep besides me they just said “good night momma” with their accent muffled by sleepiness and i have no idea why but i almost started crying and well i- — martlet continued rambling with growing confusion and excitement while ceroba just gave her friend the biggest knowing smile her lips could make, —and how does parenting feel? — ceroba interrupted, only to be met with the biggest face of realization and amazement she has ever seen in her life —WHAT?! me??? clover’s mom??? but i'm a terrible model, i'm so clumsy, and unorganized and irresponsible and- —-, ceroba chuckled at martlet’s realization before interrupting her again — well, it seems clover sees you as much more than that, i mean that kid absolutely adores you, even after starlo almost begged clover to stay with him and the feisty they specifically chose to stay with you, and the way he wouldn’t let go of your wing the first week? He clearly sees you as a parental figure— this took martlet by surprise, she never thought about it so deeply, just assumed clover considered her a good friend but something so important like her mom? she couldn’t believe it — but what if im just not fit for that rol? i mean that kid clearly needs someone to help them work through their savior complex and nightly terrors, what if i raise them wrong? — martlet looked at ceroba with an anguished look before been met with a relaxing pat in the shoulder and a warm smile — feathers, i'm sure that if there's someone fit to care for that kid until their a healthy and great adult is you, and besides you are not alone in this remember? you still have starlo, dalv, axis even though i don’t think you two have met but it’s still an option, and of course me— martlet was now realizing just how many friends clover had made that were more than willing to help her with the enormous task of caring and raising clover, she sight relaxing after considering all of this — heh if you would have told my younger self i would be a mom at age 22 i would have smacked you you know? —, — well one never expects these sudden changes to come into your life. If I were to tell you the age me and chujin had kanako you would see me in a completely different way— she chucked while martlet gave her a perplexed look. They must have talked about how raising clover would be on the different ways they would approach the fact that they would be chased all their life for at least hours before they noticed the swealter stone reducing its light, indicating them of how late it was getting, ceroba helped martlet get up and gestured the stairs to get back inside the house, —all be there in a minute if you don’t mind, i want to catch a good look of the area before i go— said the bird gazing at the horizon, —well ill be waiting for you inside okay? take as much time as you need— and with this ceroma made her way inside and to the kitchen.
Martlet took a deep breath and contemplated everything they talked about — raising a human to be a healthy and great adult uh? yeah i think that's a project i can finish— she gave the dessert a final look before taking the stairs inside--
As she took the last step she was met with an apron wearing ceroba, rummaging around in her kitchen putting some water to boil —care to stay for dinner? i was planning on doing some stew, clover is probably going to arrive hungry after lassoing those training dummies all day— ceroba said with a cheeky tone of voice before searching for some vegetables in her fridge, mainly corn, at first martlet thought of just skipping the meal and going home to rest her tired wings, but the thought of a home made meal like her mother used to make for her and clover was too good to pass so she walked to the kitchen and asked ceroba what to do, and was immediately met with a long list of tasks to make the perfect meal fit for rodon ramsey.
She stayed there, talking with her friend, yeah they could call the other after everything that’s happened, chopping vegetables and stirring pots, feeling like some sort of healing had been made, whatever that means until they heard a loud knock on the door.
They were met with a soot covered starlo and clover, they looked like they just escaped a giant explosion and some sort of fight with a bush, clothes covered in thorns and cuts, —where have you two been? — “lassoing” clover said staring at the void while starlo scratched the back of his head apologetic, the two quickly went inside and made themselves comfortable as ceroba and martlet were finishing up the meal they have just prepared, the pair of cowboys prepared the table before they all got ready to eat what to ceroba felt like the first family dinner she has had in years.