So, um, apparently this short story stuff is working out for me. 'Cuz I've just finished a second one(cheers, applause!), this time needing just a day or two to construct and upload the thing. There's just something about gaming that convinces my muse to get up off her lawn chair, set aside her smoothie, and kick me squarely in the rump. And, no, that doesn't mean I enjoy pain.
Anyway, as for the matter at hand, this second story, "Siblings," is another prequel to the Ravenloft game of which I'm a member. Most of the characters in the party have twin siblings, for reasons integral to the plot of the game, and I wrote this story to illustrate the dynamic between Kai and his twin sister, Saffi. She's a gear-head, undeniably steampunk-inspired, and I've had a lot of fun just working out her personality and the way she and her brother interact. This particular story also has a short section involving Kai's best friend, Gerhart, whose death still plagues Kai several years after the fact for a number of reasons that I won't go into here(just yet, anyway XD). Lastly, it should be known that the country where Saffi and Kai currently have their home is Lamordia, which you can basically think of as a Switzerland analogue full of people who are boring and dismissive of anything supernatural(especially magic), but who are on the whole brilliant scientists and inventors.
Now that that's out of the way, on to the story itself. Enjoy!
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“So, how'd the grocery hunt go, Kai?” Gerhart asked, turning from the table where he and Saffi had been sorting out foodstuffs. The kitchen of the small house that the Stadtfeld twins shared – when Kai was on leave, anyway – was far from fully-stocked, but there was enough to keep from going hungry, especially when Gerhart pitched in. A year older than the twins, at fifteen, he had a home in the city with his mother, but he would often come to the Stadtfeld home to share in a group dinner, a habit that had been going on for some time since Kai had managed to move his sister from the vast dangers of the slums to a place at least somewhat safer. Which was good for the twins, as neither of them had anything beyond basic cooking ability.
Kai grinned a bit sheepishly, and held up the small bag of vegetables he had procured. Most of them had a somewhat wilted, if not barely edible, look to them, as he came to the table and started to place them atop it. “Well, all things considered, I'd say it could have gone a lot worse. Though a group of high-ranking officers apparently came through the market this morning and got all of the good stuff.”
“I suppose that's what we get for letting the late riser do our shopping.” Saffi, her dark hair in two long braids, was examining the few cutting implements they had. Her tone held no bite, however. “But we're almost ready here, so we should be able to get started soon.” Looking up from her work, her eyes lit up in eagerness as she glanced to her brother. She always got excited whenever the three of them were able to spend time together, these days. “Good work, Kai!”
“I agree.” Giving the additions Kai had brought a thorough checking with his pale-eyed gaze, Gerhart nodded and rolled up his sleeves a bit. “These'll be just fine for a good vegetable soup. Would you mind grabbing the pot?”
Crossing to the corner of the kitchen, Kai hefted the cooking pot over next to the table. It was one of Saffi's inventions; a pot that needed only the slightest flame to cook enough food to feed a family of four. There was still a flaw or two with its design, as it once had even erupted into a column of radishes and potatoes in quite the flashy display, but it was reliable enough to use for their group dinners. “Done, and done.” He peered down into it for a long moment, and then leaned back up. “Looks ready to go, too. I'll go grab some water.”
A few minutes later, the soup had been set to cook, and the three teenagers sat around the same table. A cup was flipped upside down between them, and Kai and Gerhart looked at each other seriously, neither flinching, while Saffi's hand rested atop the base of the cup. She glanced back and forth between the two in an equally serious manner, and then finally spoke up. “Well? It's on you, Kai.”
“...”
“What's wrong?” Gerhart said with a slight smirk. “You look nervous, Brother.”
“Please. I've defeated you in the past, and I'll do it again.” Kai shifted his gaze from Gerhart, to the cup, and then back again, and finally seemed to come to a decision. “...Even.”
“So I guess that leaves me with 'odd.'”
Saffi lifted the cup, and the two six-sided dice underneath were revealed. A single dot stared up at them on one, while the other held four dots. “Odd.”
“Again?!” Kai looked flabbergasted. “That's four losses in a row!”
Gerhart leaned back in his chair and laughed. “I've let you call it first every time, so don't blame me.”
“It's simple,” Saffi said matter-of-factly. “Your luck is clearly rotten compared to Gerhart's, Kai.”
“Tell me something I don't know,” he said in a jokingly sullen voice. “Best five-out-of-nine, then?”
Laughing heartily, Saffi picked up the dice, giving them a shake in her hand. “You just don't know when to quit. But even your luck has to change at some point, I guess.”
As she tossed them into the cup, Kai couldn't help but appreciate the genuine smile on her face. They had been through a lot, with a lot still to come, but the fact of the matter was that they were making it. Gerhart's quiet chuckling said the same thing; life was far from ideal for the three of them, but they would find a way to keep going, somehow. So long as they had moments like these.
“How about it, Kai? Want me to pick first this time?”
“No way, Gerhart. You're about to see my luck change in a big way; I can feel it.”
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