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Maitimo yawned and rubbed his sleep-crusted eyes as he headed out of his bedroom.
Besides not having enough time to sleep due to the constant pressure of having to take care of his little siblings and studying and doing literally everything else in the house, the creeping spring weather and the sudden temperature rise made him want to crawl under a thin blanket and sleep for years–
Wait! Spring?!
Was it already spring?!
The realization gave strength to his jelly-like limbs and he stood upright and made a not-really-run-but-rather-a-sprint towards the great hall of their house.
The stairs seemed endless and infinite as it always did whenever he was in a rush, and when he finally reached down and looked around the airy hall for what he was looking for, he felt great disappointment replacing the slight giddiness he was feeling.
He didn't know what he had been expecting, really. Of course, with everything that was going on with the New year's being just a day away, his parents didn't have time to even think about the Larsarno.
It isn't all that important, Nelyafinwë. Why don't we make a simple one this year, and you, your Ammë and I can make a bigger one next year? Even little Kanafinwë will be big enough to help by then.
They never did, of course, for five siblings later (with the twins being mostly out of toddlerhood) and Fëanáro still couldn't manage to spare some time and make a beautiful Larsarno with them.
He knew if he didn't do anything this year, the servants would bring out the old decorations and be done with it.
Like they had done every year for the past few decades of his life.
That was just sad.
His uncles and their families always spared time to do it together, gathering the ingredients and letting the kids help with decorating. It was ironic with how seven children and two adults couldn't really bring themselves to gather seven simple things…
Seven siblings, and seven ingredients…
A slow smile creeped upon his lips as he looked at the place they usually put the table on.
He knew just what he had to do.
________
“All right, everyone. Thanks for meeting me here at such short notice. I'd have not called if it wasn't an emergency.”
The murmuring quieted down in a few seconds. His little brothers all looked annoyed at being suddenly summoned.
Curvo was still in his forge apron, eyeing him with a little bit of interest and mostly exasperation. He didn't like being interrupted.
The twins were both hanging from one of Tyelko’s arms, begging him to give them their toy bows and arrows which Tyelko, with surprising maturity Maitimo never thought he possessed, was holding them away from their reach else the two little terrors start shooting at them where there was no place to hide.
Tyelko didn't look like he was having fun, so Maitimo decided to speed up with his speech.
Someone spoke and broke his focus. He turned around to find Moryo with a book, with Kano and his golden lyre next to him.
“What's this emergency about, then? Can you talk already? I've got a thing in ten minutes.”
Maitimo narrowed his eyes at his younger brother and his scowling face.
“And what is that, pray tell?”
“...lunch?”
“That's not important! Can you hurry up anyway?! These two are ripping out my arms!”
Tyelko quipped and winced as Telvo stepped on his foot, trying to reach for his toy.
“Telvo! Pityo! Do you want me to tell Ammë about the broken vase?”
The blackmail worked like a charm, for the two of them jumped away from Tyelko like he was made of vegetables.
Tyelko looked at them for a moment, making sure he would not be attacked unprepared, before looking at him with gratitude. Maitimo nodded, sighing and looking around the room to see if he had everyone's attention.
“Very well. Now that I have everyone's attention, I shall explain the reason for this meeting. Tomorrow, as you know, is Sinyala, and we still don't have a Larsarno set up in the great hall!”
He was met with a silence so deafening it could have rivaled Ingoldo’s head dive on aunt Lalwen’s wedding cake.
Six pairs of eyes fixated on him before sharing glances amongst themselves.
It was Káno who broke the silence at last when he cleared his throat.
“So, let me get this straight. You summoned all of us for an urgent secret meeting a day before New year's just to talk about something servants were planning on doing tonight anyways?”
“Bruh.”
Tyelko added, glaring daggers at him. Maitimo kind of skipped over Curufin's menacing stare on purpose.
Even the twins looked perplexed, which was offending in its own rights. They were babies! They had no right looking at him like that.
Maitimo sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. It was going worse than he had anticipated. Why did he have six grinches for brothers? He blamed his parents.
“Look, I know Ammë and Atto didn't take the time to introduce you to the whole tradition of Sinyala. I mean, Tyelko only hears the word pastries when he hears someone mentioning it–” Tyelko nodded solemnly in agreement, “--but I can't let you off like this. Sinyala is important to us as a people. I've wanted us to make a Larsarno as a family ever since Káno was a baby, and with the twins growing up this fast, I fear we won't have much time for it. You'll all be my age and older soon, and it won't…it won't feel like this anymore. Please? I want us to have at least one memory of it.”
He was panting by the end, his eyes huge and watery as he looked around at his siblings. The brothers looked at each other with a somber expression at the outburst of their oldest brother. An understanding was behind the shared glances for only after a few seconds, they were glancing back at Maitimo with gentle smiles.
“All right, you giant sap. Do you have a plan?”
Tyelko managed to come up with a witty reply sooner than the others, coming up to clap him on the shoulder.
Maitimo put his hand on Tyelko’s and smiled.
“Yes.”
________
“Seven ingredients and seven siblings, if only it was that simple, hano.”
“What do you mean?”
Curvo leaned against the wall, looking down at the floor before glancing up at him.
“I mean, while there are seven important parts of the Larsarno it would be incomplete with, each symbolizing an important aspect of Sinyala, there are other things you put on the table. It looks incomplete without them too. Like an unwritten law, you might say.”
Maitimo hummed. Little Atarinkë had a point. This meant more responsibility for each of them. Could they pull it off?
Twins were frowning, conversing through shared looks like they always did and usually meant trouble. Not this time, though.
“What would each one …symbol?”
“Symbolize, Pityo.”
“Right, symbolize.”
The older brothers looked at each other and smiled.
“Well, the fresh wheat sprouts represent growth and rebirth. It's spring, so all the flowers and trees are blooming, waking up from their slumber.”
Tyelko responded, smiling gently and setting Pityo down on his lap as he sat on the couch of the secret meeting room.
“Lissëmalda which you and Telvo like a lot, symbolizes sweetness and fertility.”
“Fertility?”
Telvo questioned, eyes narrowed as he did not understand the meaning behind the word.
“Like our fami–”
“Moryo!”
Maitimo scolded, making the dark haired boy fall silent with a snicker. The twins looked even more confused, likely questioning why he had scolded Moryo in the first place. He sighed. He needed to distract them.
“Like when a tree has a lot of fruit, it means it's very fertile.”
“Oh.”
Telvo and Pityo looked at each other again. Maitimo knew he was going to be pestered until he explained it to them, and he wasn't looking forward to it.
“Oleasters are there to represent love. Like how you love us, Ammë and Atto and all of our family. That's why there are so many of them in the bowl. Our family is big.”
Káno added, ruffling Telvo’s hair despite his protests, though they were masked with his sweet laughter.
“Garlic is medicine, that's why the cook puts it in our food all the time.”
“But it smells.”
“So does medicine, but it can be good for you.”
“Aranya doesn't smell even though she's a healer.”
Maitimo laughed and the others smiled.
“No, she doesn't. Because she bathes, like you should do.”
Pityo and Telvo both whined, and the others smiled at their antics.
“Apple shows beauty. That's why you and I are going to be picking the juiciest and prettiest apple there is, Pityo.”
Tyelko kissed the little one's hair, who looked excited at the prospect of spending time with his most fun older brother, according to him. Maitimo was still salty about it. He was fun.
“Naxa symbolizes the blooming of Laurelin. It's a new year, it's a new day.”
“But we put it on meat. Why?”
“Because it tastes good.”
Curvo’s matter of fact response and Telvo's raging appetite managed to convince the little one more than anything he could come up with.
“Vinegar represents age and patience. Like our eldest brother here, it shows us that being patient is sometimes all we need to overcome this.”
The twins looked at him with love mixed with awe as Káno spoke of the last piece of the Larsarno, and he couldn't help but blush.
“Question answered. Curiosity sated. Back to work, folks! We have less than a day, and we've got nothing ready!”
Tyelko's words were all they needed to get up from their seats and leave the room.
They were going to make it a surprise for their parents they were never going to forget.
_______
“Do we have everything?”
“Besides the main focus? Yes. I got rice from the kitchen, hyacinths from Ammë’s garden, coins from your bag, and Káno and Moryo helped me bring out the big mirror and candle holders from the storage room. We dusted everything and Curvo brought the remodeled bowls and silverware. Everything's ready. We just need to bathe and get dressed.”
“Tyelko…the new year's in an hour. I suggest you all do that now.”
“Don't worry. We always put it off until the last minute, and we are always ready.”
“And ratty.”
“...And ratty.”