Elian ducked just in time as a molten fork slammed into the cabinet above his head, embedding itself with a hiss of smoke and a tiny explosion of burning wood chips.
"Dravyn!" Aunt Tyrraline's voice sliced across the kitchen like glass through silk. "We do not forge-cutlery before sunrise. What have I said?"
Dravyn stood barefoot on the kitchen counter, his hair a mop of crimson fire, his grin soaked with glee. "You said not in the living room. This is clearly the kitchen." He winked at Elian, who was still crouched, cautiously watching the fork vibrate and twitch as if alive.
Lira, seated at the table beside a precariously stacked tower of spoons, laughed without looking up. "It's true. I heard you say it." She twirled one finger, and the spoons shimmered like mirrors, reflecting each other infinitely until they vanished. "Maybe if the fork wanted to be normal, it shouldn't have tried biting the egg."
"It bit me first," Dravyn said, gesturing to his forearm, which bore a reddened mark that looked suspiciously like a bite… though it was unclear whether it was from the egg, the fork, or himself.
Across the room, Arken entered with military precision, clipboard in one hand, a thick mug in the other. His armor was halfway summoned, bones already forming across his shoulders like jagged pauldrons.
"Report. Loona flooded the guest tub, Willow is inside the fridge again, and Lucy is under the table whispering to something that isn't there."
"She's whispering to Double," Elian muttered, finally standing. "She's upset. Someone ate the last strawberry square."
Rava shrieked from the hallway, "It wasn't me! And even if it was, it was rotting. Elian, tell her!"
"I'm not getting in the middle of a food war," Elian said, grabbing a slice of toast from the counter and cautiously checking it for sentience.
"Wise," murmured Vecca, gliding past in shadow-form, her footsteps not quite touching the ground. "You're not strong enough to survive Lucy's grief tantrums. Or Rava's guilt spiral."
"Or your unsolicited comments," Rava snapped, entering with her voice at full volume and her energy vibrating off the walls. Her hair was half-tied, and her school jacket hung backwards on one arm. "I swear, the air in this house is soaked in psychic molasses."
"Elian," Korrin said from behind him, suddenly at his side like a ghost in cologne. "You smell mortal. Fix that."
Varn stood behind Korrin like a shadow, silent, arms crossed, eyes pale and hungry.
"I am mortal," Elian replied, stepping away. "Or mostly. Or... what's the current theory again?"
Korrin shrugged. "Still up for debate. But your scent makes people ask questions."
"We like it," Lucy whispered from under the table.
Elian crouched beside her. Her big eyes glowed faintly. Beside her was nothing, and yet something, something not seen, shuffled when she breathed.
"Hey," he said softly. "I'll get you a strawberry square after school. A real one. With jam."
"Promise?" she whispered.
"Promise."
Double didn't show itself. But Elian felt it watching, coiled and strange, like a presence made of folded skin and too many teeth.
"Elian," Tyrraline called from the far end of the hallway, adjusting her sleek overcoat, wings folding like velvet behind her back. "Everyone out. If you're late again, I'm letting the neighbor's chihuahua into the house while you sleep."
The threat was real. The last time, Rava had climbed the roof to avoid it and Willow had nearly relocated her bedroom into a shadow dimension.
"I call front seat," Wy purred, dropping from the top of the refrigerator like a bored cat. His tail flicked toward Elian in greeting.
Willow followed, silently emerging from the fridge's interior. Her pale eyes met Elian's. "You dreamed again," she said in thought-words, drifting into his head like cold water.
Elian nodded.
"I heard it too," she added. "The name. It was wrong."
The fork still sizzled in the cabinet above. Lolu toddled past, giggling, and the fork unsizzled, the metal freezing over and falling to the floor with a soft clink.
Everyone paused. Lolu looked at it, smiled sweetly, and burped a single sparkle into the air.
Elian muttered, "Yeah. This family is definitely normal."