The Sisters of the Woods Ch.6

Much. It was much chaos that awaited them.

For almost an hour, Nic found himself led around by a dozen competing influences. Words of invitation and demand, sometimes not even directed at him but sweeping him up nonetheless. He lost count of the number of times he was nudged, pushed, or just plain hauled from room to room, depending on which sister was leading the way.

Where and what he was being led to changed just as often. One minute he was guided by Sylvie towards one of her many, many indoor gardens, the next it was to one of Lunette’s finger paintings. Nic barely had time to absorb either before all of them were off to appreciate Adelaide’s newest flying contraption or to help diffuse an argument between Zephyr and Celeste. And then half the time they were straight back to the finger paintings.

The same cohesive chaos continued throughout the house, no two rooms quite matching up. A sitting room would give way to a garden, would give way to a pantry, would give way to an office. Nic was constantly assailed with strange new sights, like the time he was led from a small movie theatre straight into an industrial scale laundry room. Or the time they passed through a kitchen which was dominated by a cast iron wood stove, despite the presence of three modern electric stoves along the walls.

For all the randomness, Nic found himself slowly gaining his bearings. Even in the parts where it made construction difficult, like the swimming pool sitting on top of a dining room, everything followed logically from one point to the next. Nic had already developed a working knowledge of the layout and could probably find his way around if called to do so.

Through all of it there were the sisters, the true source of the chaos. For all the strangeness of their home, it was they who made the place come alive. Laughter and shouts rang out in equal measure, calling from every room to every other room in every tone and volume. Sharp barbs of argument morphing to conspiratorial giggling, voices joining and departing at the drop of a hat as people were pulled in and out of conversations.

Motion ran in parallel to the noise. The patter of the little ones running about, followed by the heavier stomps of someone chasing after them. The creak of stairs and floorboards as clusters swarmed this way and that, joined by the endless incidental noises of their activities. A harmonious cacophony of clinking glass, simmering pots, hissing steam, clunking metal and clattering wood mingled with the digital beeps of electronics and the whoosh of anti-gravity engines. Twice Nic swore he heard animal calls, though that might just have been sounds drifting in through the many open windows. There was so much happening that he genuinely couldn’t tell.

Really all Nic could do was let the chaos wash over him like a wave, soaking in the ambiance of the lively home. Sometimes he was pulled into proceedings, asked to observe or hold something, up to and including small children. Though more than a little overwhelmed, Nic nonetheless found himself enjoying the spectacle. There was an energy crackling through the air, pulling his attention every which way but never demanding it stay there long, always having something new to offer in return. Nic couldn’t help but smile at it all.

“Interesting house you’ve got here,” Nic said, addressing Geniveve. The whole time he’d been dragged along, she’d been shadowing him, saying very little but never straying more than a room or two behind. She jumped when he spoke, as if surprised she’d been spotted.

“Yeah, it’s, yeah,” she said. “I guess I’m just used to it.”

A shriek sounded from elsewhere, both of them turning to watch as Lunette scurried into the room. She was shifted into the form of a ferret, wearing a little pointed hat and carrying a plastic toy wand in her jaws. She quickly darted through another door just as Sylvie appeared through the door Lunette had entered from. She scanned the room, her eyes quickly locking onto Nic and Geniveve.

“Which way did she go!?” Sylvie demanded.

Stunned, Nic raised a hand to point out the door Lunette had just disappeared through. Without a word, Sylvie turned and sprinted through it. Nic paused a moment before speaking again.

“Interesting normal.”

“It keeps you entertained,” said Renee.

Nic turned to find her hovering in the air next to him. She had her legs crossed, looking as if she were sitting in a chair, leaning forward with one fist braced under her chin.

“I guess so,” Nic said through an awkward smile. “Sorry, I don’t think I’ve even said hello. I’m Nicholas.”

Renee laughed warmly, leaning to the right so she was just slightly off kilter.

“Oh pish-posh, none of that,” she said, waving a hand at him. “I’d go talk to Orry if I wanted dull manners.”

“I can hear you!” Orlin called from elsewhere.

“Good!” Renee called back, though the smile never left her face. “Anyway, Renee Croire, wrangler of this here band of troublemakers.”

Nic nodded, returning the gesture. “Nice to meet you.”

“Indeed, indeed,” she said, leaning in a little closer. “So, has our little Veve been keeping you entertained?”

“Mother!” Geniveve said, somehow sputtering and sharpening the word at the same time.

“Uh, that’s one way to put it,” Nic said. “We’ve just been looking around. Didn’t want to get in the way.”

“You’ll be hard pressed to do that,” Renee laughed. “My girls have made a profession of it.”

A mighty crash sounded from the next room, followed by a shriek of distress.

“Speaking of,” Renee said. “Come, come, questions once the end of the world has been seen to.”

She hovered into the next room, Nic and Geniveve following in her wake. They emerged onto a scene of domestic carnage, Celeste and Adelaide clustered together in one corner. Sylvie stood just behind with Estelle held in her arms, the little one’s lip quivering, on the cusp of bursting into tears. As they came closer, Nic saw they were all blocking the escape of a familiar behatted ferret, the wand still gripped tightly in its little jaws.

“Come on Lune,” said Adelaide. “Just give us the rattle and all is forgiven.”

“No, it isn’t!” Celeste snapped. “She’s the reason Estelle broke my-”

“Hush, the both of you,” Sylvie said, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on the ferret. “Lune, give it here!”

Lunette simply hissed around the plastic, coiling up and ready to fight or flee at first presented opportunity. Nic wondered if she might snap at someone, but before it could come to that Renee drifted forward into the circle. With a single smooth motion, she snatched Lunette by the scruff of the neck and held her aloft. A razor smile spread across her lips, Lunette seeming to wither under its power. So much so that Renee didn’t even have to say anything, just hold out a hand and wait for the rattle to be dropped into it.

“Thank you, sweetie,” Renee said. “Now what do we say?”

Ferret Lunette mumbled something too quiet to be understood.

“What was that?” Renee asked, the razor sharpening ever so slightly.

“Sorry I took your rattle Essy.”

“Thank you, sweetie,” Renee said, gently placing her back on the ground. In a flash of dark light, the ferret was gone, replaced by Lunette, the young girl crossing her arms in a pout.

While she was doing that, Renee had turned back to Estelle, holding out the rattle towards her. She took it cautiously, making double certain it was real before erupting into happy babbling, waving it about her head. Bubbles began to emerge from the hollow space of the head, floating far too energetically to be normal soap.

“Thanks mom,” Adelaide said, noticing Nic and Geniveve standing behind them. “Oh, there you two are. We were wondering where you’d gone.”

“That’s what I said,” Renee said, her smile back to normal.

“Renee! Where did you go?” Orlin’s voice came drifting in.

“Apparently losing everyone in this house,” Renee said. “We’re in here Orry!”

Orlin came striding in, Zephyr following close at his heel. Two boxes floated in the space between them, metal and featureless save for unused handles on their tops.

“Presents?” Renee asked.

“They just arrived by courier,” Orlin said, bringing the packages forward. “For Geniveve.”

“Really?” Sylvie asked. “Since when do you order things Veve?”

“…They’re for the show,” Geniveve said, looking away.

“Ah,” Sylvie said, rocking Estelle gently in her arms. “Makes sense.”

“The show?” Nic asked, curiosity peaked.

“The talent show,” Renee said. “The girls put one on every few months to show off what they’ve been working on.”

“Oh,” Nic said. “For, who?”

“Well, us for a start,” Adelaide cut in, gesturing at the room. “All of us.”

“And things from the forest,” Celeste added. “Make a mess every time.”

“Hush dear,” Renee said before turning back to Nic. “Whoever wants to come really, we try to make an event of it. Did you not get my invitation Orry? I sent it to you weeks ago?”

“Yes, well,” Orlin said, refusing to meet her gaze. “I’ve been busy.”

“Sure, sure,” Renee chuckled, waving a hand at him. “Well, you’re here now so no harm done.”

“I’m afraid we can’t, Nicholas and I have-”

“You’re leaving?”

In an instant, all eyes in the room shifted to Orlin, each of them showing some form of pout and confusion. Estelle looked ready to burst into tears all over again and Renee looked a little hurt at the implication.

“I…” Orlin began, stopping when Lunette pulled on his robe, the tip of her hat barely clearing his knee. Her eyes were huge, sparkling as she started directly into his. For a moment he seemed to resist the assault, only to suddenly break and sigh.

“Fine,” he said. “I suppose we can stay.”

A collective cheer went up among everyone gathered. Even Nic joined in, though quickly pretended otherwise when Orlin cast him a look. Any chastisement was lost as Renee clapped her hands in glee, looking ready to do a flip in the air.

“Goodie, goodie!” she said. “I’ll have to get the good lunch out. Come along girls, we’ve things to do!”

In seconds she was away, followed closely by her daughters, rapidly listing off tasks and assigning them, possibly at random. Only Nic, Geniveve and Orlin remained, watching the tsunami with a mixture of bafflement and neutrality, dependent on familiarity.

“You’d think I’d learn,” Orlin muttered.

“Sorry?” Nic asked.

“Nothing.” With a wave of his hand, he brought the boxes over and placed them on the ground next to Nic. “Could you take these wherever Miss Croire requires them. We’ll be-” He paused, thinking. “Around, if you need us.”

“Yes master,” Nic said.

Orlin nodded, turning to follow in the wake of the gaggle, leaving Nic and Geniveve alone in the room. A moment of the dreaded silence crept back in, Nic speaking the first thing to pop into his head.

“Never a dull moment, huh?”

Geniveve huffed, something of a smirk curving her lips, though it didn’t reach her eyes.    

“Something like that,” she said.

*

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