Smell Good

Soren had inquired about Avery's whereabouts, so the first place he headed was upstairs and to his room. Soren knocked twice before opening the door. Avery was sitting up when the door opened.

"Come on, we're going to make lunch."

Avery stood and followed Soren downstairs and into the kitchen. Soren pulled out a pot and a large baking pan. He sat the pan aside and took the pot to the sink to fill up.

"In the cabinet, there grab a box of noodles."

Soren pointed to the cabinet next to the refrigerator. Avery walked to the cabinet and opened it, taking out the box and handing it to Soren.

"You'll need a large bowl to start with, then you'll need three cans of tuna, two cans of cream of mushroom, and a bag of mixed vegetables from the freezer."

While Avery gathered the things that Soren had listed, Soren had filled the pot and placed it on the stovetop, and placed the temperature between medium and high, he also turned on the oven. Soren turned to lean against the counter and supervised Avery's work. Once everything had been gathered, Soren directed him to dump everything into the bowl and mix it together.

Take everything and spread it out in the pan and put it in the oven. It'll cook on low in there while we wait for the noodles. We want everything warmed up more than anything. I've cheated before and put it in the microwave, but the bowl that's required for this much is too big for the microwave."

After the pan was put in the oven Avery stood to the side, feeling awkward and nervous. He had spent most of the morning sleeping and still managed to feel like he had not slept at all. Being in the kitchen's limited and enclosed space with Soren left his nerves on edge.

"Were you able to find food for breakfast?"

"Yes, sir."

Soren was in the middle of checking the water on the stovetop when Avery answered him. Avery's choice of words left Soren's lips twitching. He finally let out a laugh and turned to look at Avery who suddenly looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Isn't that a little too formal?"

"I-I am your assistant. Shouldn't I be formal?"

Soren snorted, "I suppose."

Soren turned his attention back to the pot of water, wishing that he possessed magic and could use fire to speed up the boiling process. It was just at the edge and in his impatience, Soren turned the temperature up a little higher.

*******

Once RJ and Madelyn were placed in a cage and the doors locked Fry, Ethan, and Jordan headed back upstairs.

"I wonder what's up with those two."

Fry said, glancing back at the room they had just left. The mutated that was locked up in the room had only stirred a little when they went into the room. That was another mystery; Fry and Ethan did not understand why Soren had brought one back.

~I'm sure he'll explain later. They're like the two of you, that much I can tell.~

"Yeah, didn't the boss go with the agent today to bring back some mutated? I bet that's who they are."

Ethan nodded at his own words, certain that that was the right answer.

"Wouldn't the government want to keep them?"

~Not necessarily. If they were too uncontrollable, lost to their hunger, and attacking humans, then I doubt they wanted to be bothered with it. It's best to not speculate and just ask.~

"Ok," Fry reluctantly agreed.

Fry was excited at the possibility of not being the only woman and her curiosity was getting the better of her. She had never been big on having female friends. She had never had much in common with them, but at the moment she felt outnumbered.

When they stepped onto the main floor and the kitchen came into sight Jordan stopped them and motioned towards the kitchen. Avery and Soren could be seen working together to prepare lunch.

~What did I say?~

The three shared a look and continued to watch. Jordan was amused, and Ethan was glad it was not him, but Fry was not sure what to think. It had been hard enough to accept the fact that they were no longer human. How was she going to accept how Soren was treating Avery?

"Since the three of you have nothing better to do than to stand there staring, I have work for you. We have a toilet upstairs that's getting frequent use. Someone can wipe down the dining room table."

Soren's voice shocked them out of their relative thoughts. Jordan was the first to move, walking towards the kitchen.

~I've got the dining room table!~

Soren chuckled, "I'll make this one easy; Fry, clean the upstairs bathroom, Ethan you get the bathroom in the dungeon."

Ethan groaned and let off a series of choice words as he headed back down. Fry let out a sigh as she headed upstairs, taking a moment to glance at the kitchen before disappearing up the stairs.

*******

Soren shook his head at the three. He got the washcloth by the sink wet and threw it at Jordan.

~After you wipe it down you might as well set the table.~

Jordan caught the wet cloth and grinned, showing his teeth.

~You're not going to make your pet do that?~

Soren flipped him off and turned to the pot on the stovetop. The water had finally started to boil and now held half a box of noodles. They had grown in size enough to be dangerously close to drawing away all of the water and spilling out of the pot.

"Looks like I put too many noodles in it. Go ahead and take out the pan and set it on the stove."

Soren turned off the burner and took the pot to the sink where a large strainer was waiting. He dumped out the water and noodles then placed the pot back on the stovetop. He shook the strainer then carried it to the pan and dumped it out.

"Mix that all together and put it back into the oven."

Soren put the strainer back in the sink while Avery did as ordered. When the pan went back into the oven Soren set a timer on his phone and motioned for Avery to follow him.

"Jordan, you get to clean up our mess in the kitchen."

Soren laughed when Jordan raised his free hand to flip him off as they passed by. He had missed being around his friend. Eight years had been too long. Soren knew that he should have at least tried when he moved to Culton three years ago.

He was bigger and stronger than he had been at fourteen, but every time he thought of his father he felt like he was five again. It was that irrational fear that had kept him from saving Jordan. It had been his guilt over leaving Jordan behind that had kept him in Culton for the last three years. That and Fry. She had been the first person he had connected with during those eight years.

Soren stepped outside and sat on the stairs that led up to the small porch in front of the house. The porch itself was bare of any furniture, but it allowed one to stand outside and not get wet when it rained. Soren motioned for Avery to sit down beside him.

Soren pulled out his pack of cigarettes and took two out, as well as the lighter. He offered one to Avery and lit both then leaned back to look up at the sky. It was a light blue with a few clouds hanging around. The air was chilly enough that the sun shining directly on them felt good. It was a classic Missouri spring day and the odds were good that tomorrow would be at least twenty degrees hotter.

Soren turned to look at Avery; he was sitting as far away from Soren as he could on the steps and taking up as little space as he could. Soren sat up with a grin and moved closer, which caused Avery to choke on the smoke he had just inhaled.

"Gotta take that shit slow. You need to relax a little or you'll give yourself an ulcer."

Avery looked at Soren with his eyebrows raised as if to say an ulcer was the least of his concerns.

"I told you I wasn't going to eat you."

"Y-you said I smelled g-good."

Avery shivered, remembering what had happened while they were out last night. The look on Soren's face changed; his brown eyes took on a tint of red and his smile revealed teeth.

"You do, but I have enough self-control to enjoy the smell without eating you."