Chapter Text
Aelwyn doesn’t think anyone in this weird house keeps normal sleeping hours but somehow, always and without fail, hers were the worst. That’s how she ends up in the kitchen at 4am doing homework at the table when Riz Gukgak busts through the back kitchen door.
“What the fuck!” She exclaims.
“Woah shit why the fuck are you here?” He asks, seemingly as confused as she is that he’s face to face with her.
“I fucking live here. We keep that door locked. How did you get in?” She asks incredulously.
“I’m a rogue, genius. It’s what I do. Hey, is Adaine around?” He goes to exit the kitchen but she grabs the back of his shirt collar and pulls him back.
“It’s 4 in the fucking morning Riz and Adaine just got to sleep a few hours ago. I am not about to let you go up there and wake her up!” She whisper-yells at him as he continues trying to walk forward without making any progress. “If you attempt to wake her up I am casting hold person and you will not be able to move a muscle for hours while we wait for her to wake up. Or you can just agree to chill the fuck out for a few hours until she’s awake. Your call, Gukgak.”
“Holy shit okay okay I yield or whatever!” He squeaks out.
She sets him down but still places herself in the doorway so he can’t make a break for it.
Luckily, he doesn’t, honestly Aelwyn didn’t think she could restrain him a second time. I mean how strong can a little goblin be? The answer is apparently very strong.
Instead, Riz hops onto a stool they keep in the kitchen and gets the coffee down from the cupboard. He loads the coffee maker up as he glances over his shoulder, a wordless question in his eyes.
Aelwyn nods, she might as well have some if he’s offering. Riz makes a quick pot of coffee as Aelwyn goes back to sit down at the table. There’s a few moments of shuffling then a cup of coffee slides under her nose and he takes the seat beside her.
“Y’know I think you might be able to help me with something while we’re waiting for Adaine.” He begins.
She fights the urge to roll her eyes, she’s not entirely sure what kind of official detective shit Riz does but she’s like 85% sure she doesn’t want anything to do with it.
She sighs as he grabs a piece of crumpled paper out of his vest pocket — what kind of high schooler wears a fucking suit vest at 4 am on a thursday anyway — and puts it in front of her. It’s arcane in nature, she can tell, but these runes aren’t familiar to her.
“A house was burglarized and I found this outside the front window. Any idea what it means?”
She flips on the kitchen light to get a better look, squinting down at the page. As she begins to try to decipher the use she's taken aback by how intricate this crumpled page is.
“So the runes are obviously arcane,” she begins “but you’re not looking for any type of wizard or sorcerer.”
“How do ya figure?” Riz has a small notebook out and is quickly jotting things down.
“Sorcerers don’t have much use for things like these, they’re more go-with-the-flow type magicians. These runes aren’t in celestial or any other type of religious language so you can rule out clerics and paladins too. Wizards also don’t use this exact dialect of rune, it seems very much more old school. Hmmm… this symbol here though.” She trails off before suddenly standing up. “I’m going to grab a book, you’re staying right on that fucking chair and not going off to find Adaine, clear?”
Riz nods. Aelwyn makes her way quietly through the house and up the tower where her and Adaine’s room is. There’s a certain book she’s looking for, one of alternate spellcasting methodologies and it’s… right there. Perfect. She pops one quick look at Adaine, sleeping soundly in the lower bunk, and gives her little sister a quick kiss on the forehead before she heads back down to the kitchen with Riz.
She rifles through it for a few minutes before she makes a victorious noise. “Of course!”
“What what what?”
“You’re looking for a ranger or druid in this case. I’d bet money on a druid, someone who works with plant life often. This rune here, you see, is an old incantation to incite growth and rebellion in plant-life.”
Riz’s eyes widen. “That explains a lot, actually.”
“What did you get attacked by a man-eating plant while you were there?”
“Yes actually.”
Aelwyn looks at Riz in disbelief. “That’s an incredibly worrying statement. I hope you know that.”
Riz smiles. “Sounds almost like you’re worried about me, Aelwyn.” He teases.
She waves him off with a dismissive flick of her wrist. “I’m not worried about you, I’m worried about Adaine, I mean if you’re the sort of company she keeps…”
“Ouch.”
“You’ll live, Gukgak.”
It’s at this moment that Sandra Lynn walks into the kitchen, rubbing sleep out of her eyes as she mechanically reaches for the coffee.
She’s about halfway through her cup when she looks over and realizes there are two people sitting in the kitchen staring at her, and only one is a resident of the house.
“Uuh g’morning Riz and Aelwyn?”
“Mornin’!”
“Good morning Sandra Lynn.”
“Can I ask what you’re doing in the kitchen at,” she checks the clock on the wall, “4:45 in the morning.”
“I couldn’t sleep so I was trying to get some studying done.” Aelwyn answers easily, grabbing her and Riz’s coffee cups and putting them in the sink.
“I came over looking for Adaine but Aelwyn wouldn’t let me go wake her up!”
Sandra Lynn gives Aelwyn an appreciative pat on the shoulder. “Good call, Aelwyn.”
“Hey! She physically restrained me! It sucked!”
“Maybe you shouldn’t break into people’s houses at 4 am, Riz.”
Riz crosses his arms and pouts goodnaturedly before he jumps up. “Yeah I should probably get going. Thanks for the tip Aelwyn, you really helped blow this thing wide open!”
Aelwyn’s a little taken aback by his excitement returning but she manages to give a thumbs up before the goblin scampers out the door.
Sandra Lynn awkwardly clears her throat and Aelwyn turns towards her, ready to get punished for not being in bed or for causing a mess or for any number of things Sandra Lynn could reasonably hate her for, the list is pretty long at this point.
“Good job not letting Riz wake Adaine up, but you know that being up this early isn’t healthy for you either kid.”
Oh. Oh Aelwyn wasn’t expecting the motherly tone that’s currently being used on her.
“I just can’t sleep that often and I don’t want to interrupt Adaine so I come down here. Is that okay?”
Sandra Lynn smiles. “That’s more than okay but don’t just think about interrupting Adaine, you need to care about you too y’know.”
“I- yeah okay. I’m gonna try to head to bed for a bit now.” Aelwyn finishes washing out the coffee mugs and sets them out to dry. She’s collecting her books when Sandra Lynn speaks up again.
“And thanks for washing your own dishes, I think you’re the only one in this whole house who does.”
She smiles as she goes upstairs and heads to sleep as the sun rises over Mordred Manor.