Chapter Text
When Linh woke up in her bed at Alluveterre, she had one thing on her mind. It had felt like forever since the race to search Candleshade, but she remembered the girls' team had won, earning favors from the boys. Linh hadn't cashed in her twin brother Tam's favor yet, but she had a brilliant idea...
After quickly getting ready, she ran across the bridge connecting her treehouse to Tam's.
Stepping into the common room, Linh asked, "Do you still remember that favor you owe me?"
Tam looked up from the Shade book he was reading while relaxing in one of the boulder beanbag chairs. "Unfortunately, yes, and I don't think I'll be excited about what you say next."
He was right about that. "Guess what we're doing today?" Linh didn't give Tam a chance to answer. "We are going to Atlantis, I am getting a murcat, & you are not complaining the whole time we are there."
"W-what?" Tam spluttered. "I don't even know what to argue with first."
"Go ahead, if it'll make you feel any better, but I'm not changing my mind." she replied, amused at her twin's annoyance.
Tam sighed. "Out of all the perfectly safe & reasonable pets in the Lost Cities, you had to pick the one with poisonous fangs."
"Hey, murcats are sweet once you train them." Linh cut in.
"At least let me finish," Tam groaned. "My more important concern is are you able to go to Atlantis without causing a flood? The last time we were there-"
"Yes, I know." Linh sighed, exasperated. The last time she had been to Atlantis, she had been moments away from flooding the underwater city. Even thinking about the memory let the pull of the water sink back into her.
I'm right here. Call on me. I'm right here. Call on-
Stop. Linh scolded herself, dragging her brain away from the ever-present water and back to her brother and his annoyingness.
"We both know I can handle it. It's been ten years and I haven't lost control once since then. Tam, I'm fine." Linh pleaded. Her father had always tried to call Tam her older brother, not her twin, and he certainly loved to act like it. "My deal also includes a no complaining policy, so I better not hear any of this sulky-boy angst while we're there."
Tam's skeptical expression dissolved into resignation, and sighing, he said, "Fine, but we go this afternoon, and that's it, favor completed."
Linh let out a squeal of glee, looking the complete opposite of her brother (despite their similar appearance). "You better be ready, then, because we're going to Atlantis!"