A peaceful morning

Kael opened his eyes and looked to his left. The sky was dark blue close to black with a hint of gold on the horizon. Kael let out a big yawn and rose from his bed stretching his arms. Kael's habit of waking early had started during his infancy.

As a baby, he would open his eyes before dawn and stare at the door to his room waiting for his mother to feed him. Melinda at first thought it was a coincidence that his eyes opened when she arrived after the crack of dawn.

One day she happened to wake up earlier and went to check on her sleeping child, only to be surprised that he was waiting for her. After a few more days of observation, she was worried that he never kicked up a fuss to wake her. She eventually attributed this to the time when she first found him in the forest, crying until his voice was hoarse with no response. She thought he must have been traumatized from the event and conditioned not to cry. For the rest of his infancy, Melinda would blearily drag her body out of bed before dawn to help her pitifully hungry child.

Kael got up and dressed in some light blue shirt and brown shorts made of static-sheep wool. Static-sheep were, as their name suggested, sheep that had an electric core. Their wool was soft and acted as a weak insulator. He grabbed a pillow hidden in his dresser and snuck out the door towards the room to the right of his.

The wooden door silently slid open as Kael tip-toed into the room. Lying in the pink bedsheets of the bed against the wall to his left was a girl with violet hair. Her unblemished heart-shaped shaped face is still adorably rounded at the cheeks. The girl was Cheryl's daughter Emi.

The courtesans' work generally went late into the night. Melinda thought it was dangerous for them to go back to their homes so late, so for convenience, she let them stay in her large house.

Kael had started waking Emi up with a pillow fight around the time he started walking. He used to find her splayed on her bed hugging her pillow. Her hair was usually a mess and drool dripped from her mouth onto her pillow. After two smacks on her butt with his pillow, her deep breaths were cut short and she would smack him on the face with her drool-covered pillow. A fierce struggle between the two would always follow.

The familiar scene from early childhood changed about a year ago. Instead of her being a mess, it was combed long and straight. Her pillow shifted to under her head instead of in her arms. Her breathing was shallower than when she used to sleep, almost as if she was awake.

Wherever Kael tried to strike, Emi would wake up and say something like, 'Don't you dare mess up my hair,' or 'Don't you know girls need their beauty sleep?' in an aloof tone.

Kael had prepared for this morning extensively. He oiled the hinges of her door last night and even borrowed one of his mother's extra soft pillows. As he lifted the pillow above his head, he once again heard her aloof voice sound out, "Don't you get tired of playing around like a kid? Surely you have something better to do in the morning." Her blue eyes are focused on Kael's.

Kael's violet eyes opened wide in a shocked expression before asking, "How did you hear me come in?"

Emi rolls her eyes. "I found it strange when my door didn't make its usual squeaking sound before I went to bed last night. Did you think I wouldn't notice?"

Kael puts on a defeated expression as his arms fall to his sides.

"Why do you keep this up? It hasn't worked in over a year."

Kael lets out a sigh before putting on his usual calming smile. "I just like hearing you laugh in the morning."

Emi recalls that each pillow fight she and Kael had would end with them tickling each other. Emi turns over on her side away from Kael. "Well, it's time to move on from childish behavior and act more like adults."

"Yeah, I suppose. I'll meet you downstairs for breakfast." Kael turns around and leaves Emi's room.

"Stupid," Emi mutters under her breath with a blushing face.

Kael goes downstairs into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for everyone in the house. Because of how early he woke up, Kael had started to learn how to cook breakfast months ago.

He went to a wooden pantry and opened it revealing various foodstuffs and several light blue crystals lining around the pantry. The crystals emitted a chill that kept the pantry at a cool temperature for storing food. He pulls out a few cuts of flame boar his mother had gotten from the butcher yesterday. He also nabs eggs, cheese, fruit, and some vegetables like herbs, onions, leeks, chives, and spring mix.

He goes to another pantry and pulls out some bread that was also purchased from the market yesterday.

He washes the vegetables and slices them into pieces. Indoor plumbing is considered a luxury asset and few homes in the town have it. Melinda had some carpenters install a tank at the top of the house that she could fill with water she made from magic.

He tosses them in a bowl before adding a precise amount of vinegar and salt for dressing the salad. Exotic spices are rare and expensive out in their neck of the woods so Kael only knows how to work with simple seasonings.

Kael takes the intestines and rinses them off in the sink before adding salt. He pushes a chopstick through the cleaned intestines before rolling them inside out and washing them again. He minces the shoulder of the boar before grinding it into ground meat. After adding herbs from the Starry Forest and salt to the ground meat he mixes it up before stuffing it in the intestines.

Kael's uncanny perception proves to be a real boon for his culinary technique. His sensitive hands can feel the precise amount of ingredients during his prep work. His steady hands and sharp vision let him cut perfect slices. He can accurately determine the heat of the stove from the hot air. Finally, his tastebuds and nose can pick up individual flavors.

Kael goes to the stove and picks up some precut firewood and tinder to add to the fire pit. He was not yet strong enough to cut the wood so he asked Melinda to do it for him beforehand.

The stove is a metal grate fixed above a fire pit. He lights a spark for the fire by taking a warm red crystal from a metal basket and striking it above the pit with a regular stone.

He places a cast iron pan on top of the grate and holds his hand above the pan until he feels it is hot enough.

He grills the sausages before the sizzling sounds just right. He removes them and fries the eggs on the pan before setting those aside too. Finally, he takes the bread and toasts it in the fat left in the pan.

Kael sets the food down in the center of a large rectangular table before setting up the utensils and dishes.

Kael hears footsteps coming down the stairs when he finishes and looks over to see the courtesan who came out with a bedsheet last night in the Siren's Call. She is currently adorned in a red sleeveless dress that emphasizes her hourglass figure.

Kael gives his signature calming gentle smile and says, "Good morning Auntie Thea."

Thea's face remains cool and replies with, "Good morning Kael."

Thea has never been exceptionally warm with Kael, keeping her distance from him and remaining aloof. Kael could see a glint of something in her eye each time they shared a glance, but he never knew what it was.

Thea sits down at the table foot of the table. More footsteps can be heard as Melinda in a loose forest green dress, Emi in a short-sleeved violet dress, and Cheryl in a black off-the-shoulder dress come down the stairs.

"Good morning mama. Good morning Emi. Good morning Auntie Cheryl."

Emi walks past Kael with a hmph toward her seat, while Melinda walks over and rubs Kael's head followed by a kiss on his forehead. "Good morning sweetie. Thanks for cooking breakfast for us."

Cheryl walks over before also giving him a kiss on the forehead. "Everything looks so wonderful. I remember the messes our little chef made a few months ago."

When Kael first started cooking the meals he made did not look remotely appetizing. While his mother, Cheryl, and Lara all ate his food with kind smiles on their faces, Bella and Donna both had grimaces after trying the food they attempted to hide. Emi's face was cool when she tested the food, but Kael noticed her mouth twitched slightly. Thea didn't even bother eating the food.

Kael practiced long and hard with the help of Melinda for two weeks after that. The kitchen would be filled with failed creations any time someone looked in on him. After those two weeks, Kael fed them his redemption meal. It ended up being a hit and Bella and Donna pestered him for seconds. Since then, Kael has always taken care of breakfast.

Kael bashfully lowered his head in embarrassment and a flutter passes through all the women in the room. Melinda seats herself at the head of the table. Emi sits to her left and to the left of her is Cheryl.

More footfalls can be heard as Lara descends down the steps in a white v-neck dress that emphasizes the cleavage of her large bust.

"Good morning Auntie Lara."

"Good morning Kael. Did you sleep well? You have a big day today." She gives him a quick peck on each cheek.

"Yes, Auntie."

"That's good." She lets out a deep sigh. "You and Emi have grown up so fast. I can't believe it's already time for your awakening." Her face is slightly nostalgic before she sits at the table between Cheryl and Thea.

Two sets of rushed footsteps come down the stairs.

"Move your fat ass faster. Some of us have work today."

"Maybe someone shouldn't have woken up so late."

Bella is dressed in a casual short white summer dress. Her ass perks out from underneath the hem of her dress. Donna is wearing a red sleeveless gothic dress with a corset over it.

"Good morning Auntie Bella. Good morning Auntie Donna."

"Good morning Kael, breakfast sure smells good today," Donna says before rushing to her seat on Thea's left.

Bella walks over to Kael before flicking him on his forehead. "That's big sister Bella."

Kael rubs his forehead before apologizing. "Sorry big sister Bella."

"That's better." Bella gives Kael a hug which pushes his face into her breasts before kissing him on the top of his head.

Donna scoffs. "What big sister, you're the second oldest one out of all of us you hag."

Bella sits next to Donna before pulling at her cheeks. "What a disrespectful little kid you are to call me a hag."

As Kael sits down at the remaining seat between Melinda and Bella, Melinda calls out to Bella and Donna, "Settle down you two. I swear both of you are more like kids than Kael and Emi. Don't let little Kael's breakfast go to waste."

The group begins to dig into breakfast. Kael is like a black hole as he scarfs down food. Melinda continuously piles more onto his plate. Cheryl helps Emi with her breakfast. Lara chats with Thea during the meal while Bella and Donna continue to argue.

"You should eat more. I swear you are getting skinnier by the day."

"And your butt is going to explode if you keep eating."

"I can't help it, Kael's cooking tastes the best. Besides, my ass is the gift that keeps on giving."

Thea is the first to finish and get up. "I'll head over to the brothel now."

"Wait a moment, I'll come out with you." Lara finishes up as well and leaves together with Thea.

Donna rushes to finish, having to shove down the rest of her breakfast. "Make sure you watch over Kael and Emi carefully Bella." Donna sprints out of the house after Bella gives her a thumbs up with her mouth full.

As the other four finish, Melinda and Cheryl clean off their respective children.

"Make sure you don't cause any trouble for Kael and Auntie Bella okay?"

"Mom, why don't you say that to Kael?" Emi whines.

"You know how much more mature Kael is than you."

Emi pouts a little as Cheryl gives her a kiss on her forehead. "I'm going to work now. Be safe." Cheryl gets up and heads out the front door.

"Make sure you listen to your Auntie Bella alright?"

"I will mama," Kael replies in a childlike voice.

"Good boy. When you get back we will have a little celebration alright?"

Kael gives Melinda a big hug. "Thanks, mama."

Melinda turns to Bella and says, "I'll leave everything to you."

Bella gives a cheerful smile. "Don't worry. I'll make sure they stay safe."