Chapter 39: The Rewolf Meets the Stellas

Now it was Thursday morning and I should’ve really left my room, but I was dreading what could happen today.

Did I dig myself into a grave?

I did what I said I would yesterday, and contacted Lila for a group meeting with Tyell.

(“ Look at her, finally letting others into her temporary box ”)

Erhh… Stop making me regret my decision.

Espoiramissa was enjoying the moment, making easy stabs into my psyche as I just lamented my decision.

I messaged Lila about meeting up last night which further locked me into not backing out.

“Argh, I should get up.” I was just laying on top of my bed for the entire night, not wanting to leave my room. Still, I got up and made my way to the door.

“Morning Sister.” Mella welcomed me out in front of my room’s door. “Now push me!” 

“Sure, sure.” I pushed Mella back to the living room where Mother and Tyell were waiting.

“Finally up?” Mother asked.

“Yeah, let’s go with that.” I really just didn’t want to go through my decision.

We enjoyed a family breakfast with Tyell occasionally looking in my direction which I ignored.

After that, because I knew we had no plans for today, I asked, “Want to go out for lunch everyone?” My gaze shifted to Tyell, “I had someone who I wanted to hang out with later with Tyell, and I thought it would be nice to meet them as a family.”

Mother asked, “Beatrice?”

“Actually no.”

“Oh my, Ceella has two friends?” Mella’s mouth widened.

I replied, “Quiet or I’m not paying for your food later.”

That shut Mella up before she quickly said, “Yeah that sounds fun!” 

Mother opened the calendar on her phone, “Agreed, do you have a place?”

“Yes, that cafe near the train station.” 

“Oh, that place looked lovely, what time do we need to leave?”

“It’s a lunch thing. We still have five hours before then.”

Mella leaned back in her chair to stare at me, “So, wanna watch some Tasker?”

I shrugged, “Sure.”

The four of us jumped on the couch, which didn’t have enough room to fit all four of us which caused Mella to half sit on mine and Tella’s lap. And then we spent the next four and a half hours watching tv, eating some popcorn and laughing together as a family.

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When we left the building, we had thirty minutes to reach the cafe which was plenty of time for the fifteen-minute walk that it would be. We could’ve taken public transport but Mother and Tyell felt like moving their legs.

I saw Lila in the distance at the entrance to the cafe and waved to her. She was wearing casual clothes this time, a blue shirt and darker blue pants. She noticed me waving and smiled back.

As we neared the cafe’s entrance, Lila walked up to us, “Hello, Aunty Ceella.”

“Morning Lila, Tyell, Mum, Mella, this is my friend and sister of one of my old coworkers.” I said, thankfully all three understood the context of when I referred to her as ‘sister of one of my old coworkers’, and didn’t ask any rude questions related to that.

Tella and Tyell introduced themselves while Mella stayed quiet. Tyell gave me a quick look, basically asking ‘Is this the person?’ 

Once they finished their introduction, Mella finally decided to speak.

“Sis, when did you get married?”

Lila’s mouth widened in shock.

I replied, “Never.”

Lila coughed and regained herself, she laughed with her eyes closed, “Ha–umm.. It was just something I called her… We aren’t… actually related.” 

Mella said, “Fair enough, she would make a good Aunt.” 

And with that comment, we made our way inside, got a table and ordered our food.

I got a simple lunch of three different burgers, some chips and a lemonade. I didn’t need to eat as often because of my mana, but I decided to eat as much as I could on this trip. I just wanted to try a lot of different flavours that I forgot. 

Mella and Lila got a sandwich and some cake, Tella just got a coffee and some cookies, and Tyell got a burger and a side of chips as well.

We talked and had some fun questions. Talking about who Lila was, she did avoid questions about her job and family but said she didn’t want to talk about it which my family was understanding of. Tella and Mella asked questions about growing up on Earth, which didn’t get an answer as exciting as either hoped for. Lila asked us how it was living with three children/siblings, which just got a chaotic mash of answers from us.

But before long we had finished up lunch, and I signalled Tyell and Lila, “Well this was fun, but I think it’s time to move on to our next activity.

Lila bowed, “Thank you for having me join for lunch.”

“No problem, it was lovely meeting you.” Mother replied, and gave Lila a cuddle which she wasn’t ready for. 

Lila initially found the hug a bit awkward, but soon melted in it.

As the two stopped their hug, Mella asked, “So where are you three going?”

I replied, “We are going to a local pub.” That wasn’t where we were actually going but I needed a location where Mella couldn’t go. One needed to be seventeen to drink on Earth.

Lila and Tyell played it cool, probably from their previous work experiences, and didn't look surprised at my comment.

“But you hated drinking?” Said Mella.

It was true, I wasn’t a fan of the taste of most alcoholic beverages and ones I did like, it wasn’t because of the alcohol which made me enjoy them. There was also the added reason for me, which was hating the feeling of drunkenness. It made me sick not being in full control of my own body, even if that was an extremely unlikely event to happen.

“There is always a time and a place for things, Mella.” 

Mella asked, “So you will go drinking with me at least once when I’m allowed to?”

Lila froze for a millisecond at Mella’s comment, but no one besides me seemed to notice.

“If I’m available, once, sure.”

Mella, “Thank Sis.”

And with that, we finished lunch.

The five of us split into two groups and each went separate ways. Tella took Mella away and was excited to say ‘It’s time for mother-daughter bonding!’ while we moved to a different part of the city.

The three of us made our way into an alley to discuss what Tyell wanted to know. It was in a location with no one around, perfect for our chat.

Lila asked, “Is this really the best place to have this conversation?”

“It’s fine, I’ve taken care of it.” [Disruptive Starlight] dealt with any technology and I was on guard using my soul pressure and [Star Mapping] to see if anyone came close.

“Okay then.” Tyell nodded, and then he asked, “Ceela, what has been happening?”

Tyell had been looking a lot better over these days, but there was still a smudge of darkness in his eyes that remained. Flaring up whenever he started to fall back into that depressive state, and now it was back but with outward anger instead of an internal one.

“Well, this is Lila.” I introduced her again, but this time with a few extra details, “And like you, has been dealt a bad hand and got involved with Dominous Hood.”

Tyell’s eyes widened but then closed in understanding. “Start from the beginning please, I feel like there is going to be a lot.”

“Well,” I replied, “You’re not wrong.”

I explained to my brother basically everything. The fact Lila was roped into Dominous Hood after Rosa’s death, that they were going to try and steal the staff that Nina possessed, and the fact I was going to attack their base.

“So what are we supposed to do?” During the talk, the thing that Tyell’s expression conveyed the most clearly was that he wanted to know how strong I was to attack Dominous Hood’s base, but that was something I wouldn’t answer. Which I made very clear by glaring at him during that section of the explanation.

“I don’t know.” I replied, “The best plan is to keep Mella and Mum safe.”

Tyell then asked, “How much danger is Mella in?”

“Hopefully not too much,” I answered, “Dominous Hood shouldn’t be able to steal from Nina while I’m at their base wreaking havoc. They would be too busy.”

“Lila, can you confirm this?” Tyell asked.

“The only Dominous Hood members who should be on Earth are the lower grade members. People they have roped in, the main forces don’t like to be on Earth unless there is a meeting or mission, and if there is one, they will only appear the moment of, no sooner.”

I added, “It’s not supposed to be easy to teleport off a planet and onto a planet, but somehow they managed to create a method that works, it does come with many restrictions that differ from normal teleportation but being off-planet means a way higher chance to not be caught. It’s a burglar and a store situation, the burglar wouldn’t want to be standing outside the store they are planning to rob every day for a week, Dominous Hood probably feels the same way about committing its operations everywhere.”

Tyell questioned, “So we should let Mella be around the festival?” He was trying to make sense of what he learned, by the way, we were describing it, it did seem we were kind of pitching as a possibly safe place.

I replied, “Yeah, I’m not sure about that.” Mella being in any probability of danger was a big no for me.

“But that is also kind of hard to avoid, it literally affects the entire city.” Said Lila.

Tyell asked, not expecting a good answer, “Have you tried contacting the authorities? Or are the main contacts friends with Dominous Hood?”

“Yeah… to both. I have mostly through anonymous tips mentioned that Nina will be attacked, beside that I contacted some Metous friends about the situation and they said they will see what they could do.” I contacted Mern about the situation, saying I had a lead that Dominous Hood was going after Nina’s staff. He said he would try to help, but reports saying Dominous Hood was going to steal anything were extremely common.

“So… it is unlikely you will have any helpful allies for this.” 

I replied, “Pretty much.”

Lila suggested, “Staying near the edges or beaches of the city is probably the best bet, it means if danger does happen it shouldn't be near your family. And you can still enjoy the festival.”

“What about leaving the city?” Tyell asked.

I answered, “... Yeah about that, tourists can’t leave a city without one week's notice.”

“What?”

Lila looked ashamed, “It’s a part of Earth’s travel restrictions… for off planet tourists… Honestly, they are kind of outdated laws from a thousand years ago, but we had some Big problems back then. However, they are still enforced and your family will get a year in jail for it.”

Tyell asked, flabbergasted “A year?!”

“It’s a shit law.”

To get away from that, I said, “Let’s stick with Lila’s plan. Tyell, if you could, stay with Mella and Mother for the day.”

Tyell asked, “What should Lila do?”

“I will be doing my job for Dominous Hood…” 

“Oh…” Tyell’s eyes shook, realise the situation Lila was stuck in. 

Lila sadly smiled, “I’m in a little too deep.”

With that we had pretty much gone over everything relevant I could think of. We all had our own personal worries about if everything would go well, but we kept them silent. Tyell was happy that I finally spoke to him about this, but I was worried it was going to weigh on him because it was related to Dominous Hood. However, it was definitely best I did tell him, as it made sure he was more on guard in case something happened to our family again. 

Lila asked, “So what else do we do now?”

Tyell replied, “Go to a pub?”

“Why…?” I asked.

“Well that’s our excuse, it's better if we do actually go to one.” He smiled.

I said, “You just want to drink…” 

He shrugged, “It’s been a long bit.” And then sighed, “And I think I need one…” 

Lila spoke up, “...I’ve actually never been to one.” Lila fidgeted with her hands, “I’ve always been curious, but been too busy and... I planned to go to one when I turned of age with Rosa…”

… fine… I sighed, “Okay, let’s go.”

“Neat.” 

“Thanks, Aunty.”

“Don’t thank me, and please don’t get drunk.” It was much harder for people with higher mana to get drunk, but if someone had never drunk alcohol before, then they still might not have the resistance for it if they also didn’t have the genetics for it.

Rosa was a bad drunk…

So the three of us went to a nearby pub. Cheered for the deceased, had a good time, and I got first-row seats to two early twenty-year-olds getting absolutely smashed.