84. Sticks and Stones(1)
“Abre los ojos…”
“Open your eyes…”
At the warm, soothing voice of their mother, the three did as instructed.
Though that same voice was soon overtaken by giggles, when the triplets’ eccentricities came into full effect.
“Karla, quit squirming!” “Pedro, focus!” “Peep, you can stop hiding. The candle’s not gonna hurt you…”
It was morning, just a bit after breakfast had concluded. And in her bedroom, sat in a rather cozy chair, a mother was showing something to her children.
While the kids fidgeted in her arms, Mirabel directed their attention to the candle.
The candle.
The miraculous candle, that started it all.
Now that the trio were looking at the enchanting light, their restlessness settled down a bit.
“This is where our magic came from?” Pedro asked. Earning him a nod from his mother.
“Mm-hm!” Confirmed Mirabel. “This candle holds the miracle, given to our family!”
Peep eyed it the way she eyed most things. With wariness.
“H-How did we get a miracle?” She suspiciously questioned, wondering if it came with some sort of catch to the deal.
And so, Mirabel told them a story.
“Long ago, your bisabuela Alma, and your bisabuelo Pedro were forced to leave their home. Along with their three babies…”
Karla released a snicker, and elbowed her brother.
“Bro, you took his name!”
Young Pedro’s face briefly became one of fear.
“Does he want it back?” Asked the boy.
Mirabel rolled her eyes, smiling at their silliness.
“I think he’d want you to have it!” She said, quelling the child’s worries.
She continued on with the story.
“Many joined them on their journey, hoping to find a new home. But they couldn’t escape the dangers, and your bisabuelo was lost…”
Karla’s wild grin faded, Pedro cast his eyes downwards, and Peep look terrified. All three of them now wore somber expressions.
But the tale wasn’t over.
Mirabel spoke with a sense of wonder, and mystery.
“But in their darkest moment, they were given a miracle!” She revealed. “The candle became a magic flame, that could never go out!”
“And it blessed us with a sanctuary, where we could all live. A place of wonder- “
“AN ENCANTO!” Karla abruptly shouted, cutting her mother off. Her frizzy red hair bounced with her exclamation.
“Yes, an Encanto!” Mirabel said, laughing at her daughter’s enthusiasm.
“The miracle grew. And our house, our Casita, came alive to shelter us!”
Peep shrunk further into her mother’s arms, glaring distrustfully at a nearby wall. She still wasn’t sure if she trusted this house, or if she thought it would eat her.
“Now, when your bisabuela’s children came of age, the miracle blessed them with a magic gift. To help us.”
They all nodded, realizing she was talking about their grandmother, great aunt, and great uncle.
‘And when their children came of age…”
“They got magic too!” Pedro finished, garnering another nod.
“Well, most of us!” Mirabel giggled.
“Together, our family’s gifts have made our home a paradise!”
She turned her gaze back to the candle, and three pairs of eyes followed hers.
“Tonight, this candle will give each of you a gift, my darlings…” She said, nothing but adoration in her gentle voice.
“I know they’ll be just as special as all of you! And I know you’ll make your family proud!”
Karla and Pedro both gawked at the eternal flame, softly billowing on the wick. They allowed their imaginations to wander, wondering just what they’d get when the sun set.
But Peep was focused on her mother’s last few words.
“Make my family proud…” She softly repeated in her light, raspy voice.
And at that moment, Peep felt something she was quite accustomed too.
Fear.
She was terrified that she wouldn’t be able to make her family proud.
That her gift would be useless, or unhelpful. Nothing that would benefit the village.
That the people would come to resent her, for being so pointless.
That the dragons would no longer consider her part of their home. That they’d hiss and scratch and bite at her, demanding she leave their territory.
That her loved ones would come to think of her as a nuisance, a pain. An unnecessary burden, that they kept around only because they had to.
That she’d become a blotch, a stain on the great Madrigal legacy.
And worst of all…the most nightmarish of nightmare scenarios…
What if she didn’t get a gift at all.
What if she wound up truly and entirely useless.
Mirabel noticed her daughter’s trembling figure, and regarded her with concern.
“Peep?” She asked. “What’s wrong?”
The girl’s eyes were wide, and quivering. And her body was quaking with fright.
“…Scared…” She uttered, in a hushed tone.
This did nothing to dispel her mother’s worries.
“Scared of what?”
Karla cut in, with an impish smirk.
“Everything!” She laughed. “She’s scared of her own shadow!”
The energetic girl wiggled out of her mother’s grasp, dragging her siblings along with her.
“You know what’ll take your mind off the million things that’re freaking you out?” Questioned the red head.
“A game of Karla-Ball!”
Pedro released a groan.
“But you always win Karla-Ball…” He protested.
His older sister shrugged.
“Uh…yeah? That’s how you play the game!” She grabbed both her siblings’ hands, and began dragging them out the room.
“Come on, guys! It’s our birthday! Let’s have some fun!”
Running nearly too fast for the others to keep up, Karla brought them all out of the room.
Though Mirabel didn’t miss the trepidation on Peep’s face, the whole time.
Just as they were leaving, Hiccup was entering.
“And they’re off…” He commented, watching them whizz past.
He then noticed his wife’s worried expression, and grew one of his own.
“Everything alright?” He asked, stepping closer.
Mirabel leaned a bit to the left, eyeing the spot where her kids were just standing.
“I dunno…” She answered. “I think something’s up with Peep…”
Hiccup shrugged, and tried to provide an explanation.
“It’s a big day!” He spoke, gesturing to the candle she placed on a table. “They’re getting their gifts tonight! It makes sense that they’d be nervous!”
“And, y’know…Peep is already nervous about most things…”
Mirabel couldn’t deny that he had a point, but…
She still had the feeling that something wasn’t quite right.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peep had a mission.
A mission to ensure that the greatest of her many, many fears would not come to fruition.
A mission to ensure she’d make her family proud.
Brushing off the grass that had gotten onto her turquoise dress, and smoothing out her disheveled hair, she prepared herself to depart.
She was in the nursery, after a riveting game of Karla-Ball. Karla won, of course.
The red headed girl was currently sat on their bed, a triple-tiered bunk bed. She proclaimed that she had the right to the top bunk, as the eldest.
Though this time she was on the bottom bunk, idly tossing a small ball at the wall. Casita would jolt a bit of the wall, to throw the sphere back.
As this little game of catch continued, the energetic girl spared a confused glance to her younger brother. Who was lying on the floor, crayons in hand.
“I never got that doodling stuff…” She said. “There’s no action!”
Pedro looked up from his work, excitement in his usually lackadaisical features.
“There’s totally action!” He retorted.
“Every stroke of your pen creates new life, as a line is birthed onto the page. Swooshing and slashing, more and more lines are added. Your imagination adding fuel to the fire. Until it’s completed with an explosion of colors!”
His description of the artistic process was completely lost on the girl.
“…Yeah, I think I’ll stick with running.”
She spotted her sister in the corner, running a hand over her dress, and grew a sly smirk.
“THINK FAST!” She shouted.
That was Peep’s only warning, as the ball came zipping straight for her head.
With a startled yelp, the meek girl crouched down into a quivering, cowering position. Ready for the rubber to hit her.
But instead, all she heard was the ball thumping on the ground.
Looking up from her cowering, she saw that Casita had moved one of the wall’s wooden planks to shield her.
Near Karla, another wooden plank lightly, but firmly bonked the girl on the head.
“OW! Alright, I’m sorry! Geez…” She cried, rubbing her noggin.
Peep’s pine green eyes looked at the extended plank with confoundment.
The house…helped her?
…
Maybe it didn’t want to eat her…
Slowly and shakily, she extended a hand to caress the wall.
“Th-Thanks, Casita…”
The walls seemed to creak with elation. This was the first time the girl had ever shown anything but fear in regards to the building.
Pedro had finished his drawing. And this one was special, as Peep requested he make it for her.
It was a checklist, a collaboration on both their parts.
He provided cute little doodles, depicting the faces of each of their gifted family members. While she penned their names.
In truth, the icons weren’t needed. But Peep had an appreciation for stylistic flair.
With the list complete, it was time to set out.
She was going to head into town, before everyone came back home to prepare for their party tonight. She’d meet up with everyone, and get some answers on how to live up to the family’s name.
Even if the thought of going into the village terrified her, this is what she needed to do. For herself, and the family.
Though she wouldn’t be alone.
“Ghost!”
At her call, a cutesy little white dragon rushed into the nursery. Tipped with black spots.
Patting the Night Light lovingly, Peep prepared herself to leave.
“Come on, boy!” She said. “We’ve got a job to do!”
The dragon dutifully followed after her, always ready to serve as her little protector from the big wide world.
Pedro waved to her as she left, while Karla simply raised her eyebrow.
“Good luck!” The absent-minded boy cheerily said.
The energetic girl pointed her raised eyebrow to him, and asked a question.
“Where’s she going?”
Pedro looked to her with a lazy smile, and responded with-
“If there’s a toucan, does that mean there’s a toucan’t?”
And Karla knew she wasn’t getting any answers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was a dangerous world.
Everyone said the Encanto was protected, a sanctuary.
But Peep knew the truth.
No matter how safe a village claimed to be, there was always the possibility.
The possibility that something could go horribly wrong.
Sure, she could go for a pleasant walk.
But then she’d trip on a loose stone, tumble into a wagon, be sent rolling down a hill, the wagon would keep going until it stopped at a cliff, and she’d be thrown into the abyss.
Yeah, she could play a game of kickball with the other kids in town.
But someone would kick the ball just a bit too hard, and it’d hit her straight in the face. Knocking her on the ground, cracking her skull, and causing her brain to leak out onto the cobblestone in mushy, gushy bits.
A scoop of ice cream sounded nice, in theory.
But what she didn’t know was that there was a bee on the ice cream! And now she’s swallowed a bee, and it’s buzzing around in her body. Stinging her heart, popping her lungs like balloons, and laying freaky little bee eggs in her skeleton.
These highly realistic scenarios were why Peep avoided anything and everything she could, lest they lead to her demise. And unless she was literally dragged by someone, she tended not to go into the village.
Though, there were plenty of threats inside the house as well…
But despite her paranoia, Peep was venturing into town. On her own.
She had a mission.
Locate each of her gifted family members.
Peep loved her family, but she also found them quite terrifying.
Not for who they were, they were wonderful people. But for what they could do.
Supernatural, otherworldly abilities. They were capable of feats that some would consider godlike.
How was that not scary?
She tried to avoid most of them, whenever possible. Which was hard when you lived in the same house.
She didn’t seem to notice how disheartened her relatives became, whenever they saw the small girl cower away from them.
Creeping through bushes, hiding behind trees, and dropping dead like a possum if anyone spoke to her, Peep made her way to the first objective.
She checked her list, to discover the first of the family members she needed to encounter.
Her grandmother.
Now Julieta was frightening, because she could heal with food.
But what if you choked on that food?
You’d be caught in an endless cycle of dying and being revived. They’d have to bury you to end your suffering, and you’d still be half-alive in there!
Or at least, that’s what Peep thought would happen.
But…Julieta was also among the gentlest women Peep had ever known.
Never losing her patience with her, and soothing her with tender lullabies whenever something scared her particularly badly. Not to mention her food was amazing.
The woman was stationed at her food stand, tending to the sick and injured. Her Gronckle, Paprika, sat nearby.
All the people waiting for assistance only validated Peep’s fears.
Clearly, they all ran into dangerous accidents. So it’s best to stay inside, isolated, and hidden, where the accidents can’t find you.
Swallowing her fear of the line, because they were all adults and they were tall and they wouldn’t see her and they’d step on her, she approached her grandmother.
“H-Hola, Abuela!” Peep greeted, with a shaky smile and an even shakier wave. Ghost yipped a greeting as well.
Julieta’s eyes lit up with surprise, though it was certainly pleasant.
“Peep!” She said, gathering her food supply. “What are you doing here, Nina?”
Seeing the girl out and about was always rare. Especially on her own.
“I-I was wondering if I could ask you something?” The girl requested.
When she received a nod, she explained her situation.
“I’m getting my gift tonight, and I was wondering how I could use it-whatever it is-to help the town…”
“So I figured I’d ask the family about what they do, and how they feel about their gifts.” She finished. “Maybe it’ll give me some ideas.”
Julieta smiled warmly, upon hearing this.
“I think that’s a wonderful idea!” She praised, while healing a man’s broken thumb.
“As you can see…” She spoke, while shoving an arepa into a woman’s mouth. “My job is to heal anyone who needs it.”
“Everyday, I cook at least one arepa for everyone in the village. Just in case. Of course, as our population increases, that means I have to cook more…”
Peep bristled with shock.
“But that’s so much!” She exclaimed. “Don’t you ever get tired?”
Julieta gave a frankly exhausted nod.
“Si, I do get tired…” She sighed. “Though your mother’s been reminding me to take more breaks.”
A small boy wondered up, clutching his fractured arm. And sniffling.
With a kind, motherly smile, Julieta handed the child some magic food.
“But I always remember that I’m doing good work here. I’m helping people who are suffering. Some of these injuries could’ve been way worse, if it wasn’t for me…”
The boy took a bite, and his arm was in working condition once more. He shot the woman an eternally grateful smile, and ran off to enjoy a carefree day.
“So yes, it does get to be a bit much sometimes. But I love what I do, and I wouldn’t ever give it up.”
“Besides, it’s not like all those leftovers go to waste!” Julieta grinned, gesturing to her Gronckle. Munching on weeks old arepas. Ghost snuck one away when she wasn’t looking.
“Did that answer your question, dear?” She asked.
And Peep honestly felt that she did.
She bid her grandmother goodbye. Off to find the next subject on the list.
And as she left, she realized that she had no real reason to be afraid of her grandmother. The endless choking cycle was a rather silly concept.
Her other fears were completely rational, of course.
But maybe not this one.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next up, her eldest aunt.
Isabela may look graceful and dainty, but Peep wasn’t fooled. She was among the most dangerous of all the Madrigals.
She’d seen her once, engaged in battle with the woman she called her friendly rival. Arnap-something.
The way she used those plants was terrifying, and Peep was too afraid to even speak to her for a solid week after witnessing the encounter. To her aunt’s confusion.
But despite how deadly she was, she’d only ever shown Peep kindness.
She loved brushing the girl’s silky hair, working out all the frayed strands that she always seemed to carry. Muttering sweet things as she did so. And she was never as rough as her mother, who was used to handling curls.
After every session, she’d be left with a beautiful little flower. And she always felt sad when it faded away.
Speaking of flowers, that’s what Isabela was up to.
Decorating the village with beautiful blooms, all various shades of blue. In honor of the upcoming party. Her Snaptrapper, Rosita, Violeta, Lilliana, and Pam, eyed the petals with mild interest.
She noticed the pitter-patter of little feet, and little paws, and turned to regard her youngest niece.
“Hey, Peep!” She kindly greeted. “You excited for tonight?”
As a flower petal fell on Ghost’s nose, making him sneeze, Peep spoke.
“Actually, that’s what I’m here about…”
After explaining her predicament, Isabela briefly flashed a harsh frown. As memories from a while ago sprung to her mind.
Though she quickly returned to a more even smile, and crouched down to the girl’s level.
“Peep, mi sobrinita, I want you to promise me something.”
Eyes darting around with apprehension, the girl nodded.
“I want you to promise, that no matter what your gift is, you won’t let it control you.”
Peep jolted with fright.
“The gifts take control of you!?” She frantically asked, already going over her anti-mind control procedures in her head.
The botanical woman fought the urge to roll her eyes.
“No, sweety, what I meant was…” She quickly got things back on track.
“Don’t let your gift force you into doing one thing, and one thing only.”
The woman stood, and summoned more plants. Cactuses, mushrooms, and fronds of all sorts.
“My gift is versatile, wild, everchanging! But for a while, I didn’t know that…”
She produced petals, of a shade she’d grown a distaste for. “All I did was pink flowers. Every day, for almost twenty years! Pink flowers, pink flowers, pink flowers!”
The pink blooms were starting to annoy Peep too, with how many had fallen on her head.
Brushing them off, Isabela continued.
“You don’t have to be one thing, Peep.” She said. “You just have to be you. And whatever your gift is will be an extension of you, not all you can be.”
Peep nodded her understanding, and thanked her aunt for her time.
Though before she left…
“Hold on!” Isabela said. “There’s something behind your ear…”
While Peep’s mind was overrun with thoughts of mutant earwigs, ready to eat her brains, her tia produced something that wasn’t there before.
A green rose, that matched the shade of the girl’s eyes, was placed in her hair.
Releasing an audible coo at the adorable child, she was sent on her way.
And Peep had to admit, she wasn’t quite as afraid of her aunt’s plants anymore.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tia Luisa was scary for immediately obvious reasons.
She was huge! Her pinky toe could squash Peep like a bug!
And yet, the woman portrayed such a soft and loving demeanor, Peep found her fear slowly fading whenever they talked.
Though they didn’t talk much. Peep was too scared for that.
Stomping her way through town, along with her Crimson Goregutter Hercules, Luisa was attending her duties for the day. Before the party preparations began.
She was currently carrying a load of donkeys, and taking them to the barn. Speaking to Peep as she did so.
“I love my gift!” She cheerily said. “I love helping wherever I can!”
Peep and Ghost struggled to keep up, and tried to avoid her dragon’s mighty footsteps.
“There’s nothing wrong with lending a hand, especially if you’ve got the power to do a lot…” Spoke the hulking girl. “But you gotta remember to take some time for yourself.”
“You’re not a machine, you’re a person! You need a break, here and there!”
Peep was very glad that she wasn’t a machine. She hadn’t fully prepared for the metal-uprising.
“And you can’t try and ignore your feelings, because you think you gotta be tough.” She lifted one of her shoulders, where a donkey was slipping. “You do that, and all that pressure’s gonna build…until you feel like you’re gonna pop!”
The sudden exclamation made Peep jump, but when she landed, she think she understood the gist.
“Do what I can, where I can…but don’t forget to take time for myself…”
“Something like that!” Luisa said, depositing the mules into the barn.
Now that her current task was over, she instinctually bent down to give her niece a hug.
But she stopped, when the girl flinched back. Growing a very disheartened expression.
She couldn’t remember the last time they’d hugged.
Peep noticed this, and despite her fear of broken ribs and a cracked spine…
She moved forward to hug her aunt.
While initially surprised at the little arms around her neck, Luisa soon grew a warm smile. And lightly returned the embrace.
Peep was astonished.
This hug didn’t feel like something that’d shatter her vertebrae.
It felt like being surrounded by fluffy, but firm pillows. Pillows that loved you!
And now that she was thinking about it…
She didn’t know if she was afraid of her tia’s rippling muscles anymore.
They actually looked kind of cool!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two words.
Weather manipulation.
Natural disasters were very high up on Peep’s long list of fears, and this lady manifested them like they were nothing.
Great aunt Pepa could literally summon tornadoes and hurricanes, whenever she was in a bad mood.
How was that not terrifying?
And so, to avoid accidentally setting off a lightning storm, Peep tried to avoid Pepa altogether.
Even though she really liked her vivacity, and how excited she could get about things. The sunshine and rainbows she made when she was happy were pretty, as well.
Also, she appreciated how similar their names were. It made her feel a bit less weird, with a name like hers.
Peep found her in the fields, shortly after saying goodbye to Luisa.
She was watering crops with a drizzle of rain, though that sprinkle inadvertently turned into a ball of surprised light when she noticed the little arrivals.
“Am I dreaming?” The weather woman asked, with a teasing grin. “Senorita Peep isn’t hiding from me?”
But despite the joking tone, Peep caught the underlying message.
They barely interacted, she could hardly remember the last thing she’d said to her great aunt. It might’ve been a request to pass the salt.
But while she thought she was doing a good thing, avoiding sparking the woman’s’ ire and dooming the family to windy deaths, now she felt really bad.
With guilty, fiddling hands, she asked the same question she’d asked several times today.
Pepa put a hand to her chin in thought, while leaning on the side of her Skrill, Moody. The dragon grumbled, but didn’t move to stop her.
“Depending on what your gift is, you have to be careful…” She said. “I have to be aware of my emotions at all times, or someone might get hurt. Zapped by lightning, or blown away in a whirlwind…”
The woman then held up a finger.
“But!”
“That doesn’t mean I stop feeling what I’m feeling! At least, not anymore…”
“It just means I have to be cautious, and maybe move to a safe place. Somewhere I can…let it all out!”
She regarded her great niece with inquiring eyes.
“Do you have a place like that?” She asked.
Peep gave a shaky nod, while Ghost nuzzled up to Moody. Making the crotchety dragon grumble even more.
“I-I have a secret spot…” She admitted.
There was one place, where she didn’t feel unsafe. Where the world didn’t seem so threatening.
Pepa grew a grin, her light shining a little more.
“Well there you go!” She excitedly spoke. “If you get a gift as…unpredictable as mine, then you know where to go to clear your mind!”
Now that Peep had gotten an answer from her great aunt, she was ready to go.
Though before she did, there was something she felt the need to say.
“You’re…really strong…”
Pepa’s eyebrows raised with shock, at the quiet little voice.
“Huh?”
“You have the power to tear this village apart…” Peep said. “But you don’t. Because you’re strong enough to control it…”
“…And, nice enough to not wanna hurt anybody…”
The weather woman could honestly say she was stunned to hear those words.
But soon she grew an appreciative smile, a rainbow above her head.
This girl could be a sweetheart, when she felt like it!
And then, Peep was on her way. Ghost chirped a goodbye to Moody, one that was not returned.
Peep wasn’t entirely afraid of her great aunt’s gift, not anymore.
Despite how catastrophic it looked on paper…
She knew Pepa had the inner strength to make sure no one got hurt.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Privacy was the biggest concern, when it came to Dolores.
The woman heard everything you did, at all times.
How was Peep supposed to feel comfortable with that?
Every single move she made was being listened to, her every breath was being eavesdropped on. It was disturbing!
Though at the same time, she found the woman’s quietness soothing. Peep was never a fan of loud noises.
Dolores hardly had any specifically designated duties, she was usually flitting around the town. Listening to this or that, and dispensing information at the request of the townsfolk.
Though she no longer had to answer the more unsavory questions.
Luckily, Peep’s question wasn’t unsavory.
“Having a gift like mine can be…difficult.” Dolores said, with a slight wince. Remembering the painful moment when all the sounds hit her all at once, for the first time.
She spoke as they strolled around the town, flanked by Dolores’ Deadly Nadder, Songbird.
“It can be a lot, at first. Your senses are overloaded, and all you want is for it to stop. But it doesn’t…”
Peep was now very afraid of attaining super smelling, or super sight, or anything of the sort.
“But once I got used to it, I found ways to help the village.” A small smile grew on the woman’s pouty lips. “Like helping to find people who got lost, or hearing someone have an accident, and getting them help…”
That smile faded shortly after.
“Of course, there are the people who just want to know if their husband is with another woman. Or figuring out exactly where the girl who already rejected you is, so you can go and bother her again…”
“And there are things you’d…rather not hear…” She whispered, almost two quietly for the girl to catch.
“Peep, whatever your gift is, don’t let people make you do things with it you don’t want to.” The quiet woman advised. “You’re offering to help them, you don’t owe them anything!”
“And if you can, take moments to give your senses a break.”
Peep nodded, while internally bumping up enhanced senses higher on her list of fears.
And she had to admit, she felt kind of bad for her cousin.
She wasn’t breaching everyone’s privacy on purpose, it was a constant stream of noises that she couldn’t control.
That’d be enough to drive someone insane!
And yet, here she was. Keeping it going with a surprising amount of serenity.
The fear Peep held for her was partly replaced with respect.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At any time, the person you’re speaking to could be an imposter.
A fake, a double.
Another being, pretending to be someone else.
And that being was Camilo.
Shapeshifting as a concept freaked Peep out. The idea of your body, bending and twisting and contorting to fit someone else’s.
He’d told her that wasn’t what the process was like, but she didn’t buy it for a second.
Not to mention that she still had to work on her doppelganger contingency plan, so she could determine if she was the real Peep. If the need ever arose.
But at the same time…he was really funny.
He would tell jokes, morphing into various individuals to perform impressions or physical comedy.
And for as timid and fearful as she was, she always found herself releasing quiet snickers at his antics.
Though then she’d have to find somewhere to hide, as she’d stood out in the open for too long. Making herself vulnerable.
But hiding wasn’t in the cards for her, right now.
Camilo was in front of a group of kids, near the local playground. Using his power to tell an amusing story, complete with visuals. While his Changewing, Tonta, sat in the audience.
“So then he looks at me, and says- “
He shifted into a blonde Viking’s form, speaking in a foolish tone.
“I performed mitosis! I knew this day would come!”
The children laughed at the silliness, and Peep released a few chuckles.
The story ended with the Viking being conked on the head with his own hammer, and the kids exploded with laughter.
But as the small crowd dispersed, one child remained.
“Yo! What’s up, Peep?” Camilo asked, with his trademark smirk. “Good to see you not hiding!”
Once more, the girl asked her question. And once more, she received an answer.
“My gift is awesome!”
“The kids love me!” He said, leaning against a wall. “And being able to grow a few feet whenever I want doesn’t hurt!”
He shifted into a much taller man’s body, before turning back. And a more subdued expression worked onto his face.
“But uh…y’know. With a gift like this, it’s easy to…” He shrugged. “Lose yourself.”
The man’s speaking became a bit frantic.
“You spend hours in front of a mirror, changing into all sorts of different bodies, trying to figure out who’s really you!” He cleared his throat, and regained his laid-back demeanor.
“Y’know, hypothetically speaking.”
“So I guess that’s my advice. Don’t get lost in your gift, keep a handle on who you are.”
Peep nodded resolutely.
“Don’t worry, I’m already working on my doppelganger contingency plan!” She said.
“Okay…” Camilo replied, having no idea what she was talking about.
Tonta was observing Ghost, and had shifted her scales to white. With black spots.
Her rider noticed this, and laughed.
“Ha! You look like a cow!”
The Changewing faced him with a dangerous hiss, and disappeared.
Camilo didn’t see anything.
But he felt the jaws, snapping at his backside.
Peep and Ghost could only watch, as the poor man was tormented by his dragon.
Though Peep felt sympathy for the trickster, and not just because of his current situation.
He’d lost himself, in a sea of transformations. But thankfully, it seemed he’d found himself as well.
She was glad that he did.
Now that she thought about it…she liked him as he was.
And considering he really only wanted to make people laugh, Peep was considering throwing out that doppelganger contingency plan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Antonio was the king of beasts.
Or at least, that’s what he looked like to Peep.
An assortment of animals followed him around at all times, dragon or otherwise.
And considering wild animals had teeth, claws, and all sorts of freaky appendages…
Knowing that he commanded them was very unsettling.
But…he showed such an enthusiasm for wildlife. He lit up with passion whenever describing a creature. Even something like a mole rat, or a duck.
And it was hard for such an enthusiasm to not be infectious.
He was up in the stables, living up to his role as junior Dragon Master.
Ghost wasn’t big enough to carry her up, so Peep had to climb the entire way.
Long staircases were also one of her fears, but she endured.
She found the wild teen finishing up a presentation, teaching dragon factoids to a teenage girl Peep recognized as Cecilia.
For reasons she wasn’t sure of, they both seemed to be blushing.
The small girl made her entrance, just as the teenaged girl left.
The animals noticed her before the boy did, sniffing at her with wet noses and pointy beaks.
With so many pairs of beady eyes, focused directly on her, she was already starting to sweat.
Antonio then regarded the girl with a bright smile, his flock of six Terrible Terrors flapping above him.
“Hey there, Peep!” He jovially greeted. “What brings you up here?”
The boy spared a wary glance to the white dragon seated beside her.
“Is he still having…potty problems?”
The Night Light seemed to become flustered with embarrassment, while Peep got to the point.
Leaning against his Jaguar, his Terrors perching on his head and shoulders, Antonio hummed with thought.
“I’m supposed to handle animal related issues, right?” He asked, rhetorically. “But…some of this stuff is just nature!”
“I’m sorry your hamster got swooped up by a hawk, but that’s the circle of life! I can’t intervene on every natural process!”
“Maybe if you didn’t just leave it outside alone, it wouldn’t have gotten eaten…” He mumbled.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to help!” The wild child said. “If you don’t know what’s wrong with your pet, or if there’s a problematic dragon…I’m on it!”
“But I can’t stop the world from working, just because it inconvenienced you. Y’know what I mean?”
As he spoke, one of his animals started approaching Peep.
She froze, and tried to remember her feral beast protocol.
But this creature in particular, this large, fat rodent that stared at her with indifferent eyes…
It didn’t seem so bad.
It pushed its snout closer, nudging her belly. And making her release quiet little giggles.
Antonio had never seen Peep have a positive interaction with an animal that wasn’t a dragon, specifically the ones belonging to her, her siblings, and her parents.
It warmed his heart, to see her playing with the chunky rodent.
While Ghost eyed the capybara with hunger, Peep considered her older cousin’s words.
“So what you’re saying is…you can’t do everything…” She surmised.
With a grin, the boy nodded. His fluffy curls shaking from the movement.
“Exactly! Even if you get this super crazy gift, you shouldn’t be expected to stop the world from functioning. Just for someone’s comfort.”
Having gotten another satisfactory answer, Peep thanked the boy and made to leave.
“Hey, why was Cecilia’s face so red?” She asked, on the way out. “What’d you tell her?”
Every animal and dragon present gave Antonio a smug look, while he sputtered for a response.
“Uh-Well-Y’see-I-Uh- “
Stuttering was one of Peep’s fears, so she decided to just leave.
And as she did, she came to realize that she was never truly afraid of Antonio. Just his assortment of animals.
And while she was still keeping her distance from that jaguar…
They weren’t all bad.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bruno could see when she was going to die.
With a bit of sand, and a jade tablet, Peep would know the exact time, place, and method of her doom.
The girl put so much time into avoiding her demise. Ducking and dodging everything she could, devoting copious amounts of mental energy to all sorts of plans, for evading any scenario.
The knowledge that it would all be for nothing, and that one of these mishaps would still claim her…
She didn’t think she could handle it.
But for as much as she wanted to avoid that information, and Bruno himself, Peep found at times that she couldn’t.
He was her inspiration!
When she was even smaller, and had yet to fear the world she inhabited, he would tell her stories.
Fantastical tales of daring adventure, crushing dramas of love and loss, humorous anecdotes involving spackle, and so on.
When she was old enough to ask, she’d wondered where he got these stories from.
And when he told her that he made them up, her mind exploded.
You could do that?
You could just make up an entire world? Filled with compelling characters who go on adventures, fall in love, battle monsters, or who knows what else?
That moment sparked her imagination. From then on, she found herself trying to write her own stories.
Whenever hiding in a nice, dark and cramped corner, or up in her special spot, she’d grab a pen and some paper. And write whatever story came to mind, weaving it together into a witty and compelling narrative.
Or as witty and compelling as a five-year-old could manage.
Her love of storytelling stemmed from Bruno. It gave her something to think about, other than her endless list of aversions.
She was very grateful, to him.
And it made her feel conflicted, considering he was on that list.
She actually didn’t have to find him, he found her.
She was walking through the town, idly watching the people go about their days. Waving to each other, chatting with each other, and other pleasant things.
How they could be so…relaxed in such a perilous world, it was baffling to Peep.
Did they not see the dangers that constantly surrounded them?
As she warily stepped, she wasn’t watching where she was going. And she bumped into a spindly pair of legs.
She fell backwards, onto her rump. Ghost chirped with concern.
And a rather scruffy man looked down to regard her.
“O-Oh, Peep!” Bruno exclaimed, feeling the little form crash into his limbs. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there!”
He held out his hand, and picked her up. Before realizing how odd it was that she was here in the first place.
“What are you doing out?” He asked. “You don’t usually spend time-y’know, outside.”
“Not that I can judge…”
They took a seat on a bench, relaxing in the shade. The man had actually brought her ice cream.
And to her surprise, there were no insects looking to sting her insides.
She listened to him speak, as he patted the dragon that sat in his lap. A Hobgobbler he’d named Raphael.
“See, the thing with my gift is…” The man had to think on how he would explain this.
He wanted to be honest. But he also didn’t want to frighten such an easily startled girl.
“People didn’t really understand how it worked…” He sighed. “They thought I made bad things happen, but I was just seeing bad things that would happen…”
“For a while I thought…I-I thought I was dragging the family down, y’know? I wasn’t as helpful as Juli, or Pepa, or the kids…”
Peep did know.
That was exactly what she wanted to avoid. It’s why she set out on this mission in the first place.
Taking a nibble of her vanilla scoop, Peep managed a mumble.
“…I don’t wanna drag the family down…”
Hastily swallowing his chocolate, so he could speak, the seer tried to reassure her.
“And you won’t!” He said, with a grin he hoped looked encouraging.
“Things aren’t like how they were in my time, Peep. If the people don’t like your gift, that’s their problem! We’re not gonna leave you hanging!”
“We all just…we all just want you to be happy! We all love you, kid!” He reached out, to pat her shoulder. Until he realized that she’d probably jump down and hide under the bench.
Bruno gave a downcast sigh, slumping a bit in his seat.
“Which is why it’s kind of upsetting, that you’re so afraid of us…” He mumbled. “I-I dunno what we did to spook you so bad…”
A guilt-ridden frown worked its way onto the paranoid girl’s dark-skinned features.
First Pepa, and now this…
In all her time shying away from what she considered potential threats, she hadn’t really considered how her actions made those potential threats feel. Too concerned with her own self-preservation.
But perhaps she didn’t need to constantly worry for her survival.
Maybe, and this was a big maybe-
But maybe her multitude of fears…
Were irrational.
Or at least some of them. Particularly the ones regarding her family.
Now that her vision was unclouded by the shroud of fright, she could see that they loved her dearly. And wanted nothing but the best for her.
They were good people. Who’ve devoted their lives to using their supernatural, otherworldly abilities for the good of the town.
People with their own problems. Their own issues to work through.
Their own fears.
And now that Peep was thinking about it in a new light…
Their gifts were actually kind of awesome.
“…I’m sorry…”
Bruno looked down, to the little voice.
“P-Pardon?”
Peep repeated herself, overflowing with remorse.
“I’m sorry…” She apologized. “Y-You aren’t scary, I…”
“I love you guys…”
Bruno didn’t say anything. He just looked to her with wide eyes, and a dropped jaw. Not even noticing as his rats began licking at his ice cream.
But soon, he grew a wide and earnest smile.
He couldn’t remember a single time his great niece had told him she loved him.
“Whatever your gift is, I’m sure it’ll be great!” Bruno said. “And if it’s not…we’ll still like you anyway!”
He then tousled her silky black hair. She giggled, and tried her best not to flinch away.
They sat in an unexpectedly comfortable silence, enjoying their frozen treats. Bruno gagged, when he found little hairs on his chocolate.
When they were done, Peep made to depart.
She had a quick question to ask, though.
She didn’t know if he’d say yes, but she needed to ask it anyway.
“Um…D-Do you think…”
As his eyes fell onto her with interest, she exhaled. Trying to get her words together.
“Do you think you could tell me some of your stories, later?”
He still did little performances for the kids, when asked. It was one of his favorite activities.
Though Peep hadn’t listened in on one in a while. Too busy cowering away from her relatives, time she now felt was wasted.
A surprised, but appreciative smile came to the seer’s face. And he made her an offer.
“Only if you tell me some of yours!”
Peep’s pine green eyes lit up in shock.
But then, she grew a shaky little grin. And gave a shaky little nod.
Calling Ghost to her side, Peep prepared to head back home.
She’d spent all morning, on this mission of hers. And as noon approached, the town’s efforts would be focused on setting up the coming ceremony.
And with her new epiphany, and the advice she’d acquired, she was more ready than ever to get out there and make her family proud.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Peep was walking home, the strangest thing happened.
When she observed the world around her, her mind wasn’t as preoccupied with spotting hazards.
Instead, she just looked at the village.
The colorful houses, the gorgeous greenery, the majestic mountains.
She thought of the jolly people who always waved to her, even when she played dead. Of the gentle dragons, who’d never moved to attack her even when she was positive they would.
She took in the sounds. The melodious bird songs, the wind flowing through the leaves, the music that always seemed to be coming from somewhere.
The smells of freshly baked bread from the bakery, or tropical fruits on market stands, or all the lovely flowers that had been placed around the town. That reminded her of her aunt.
For once, she really soaked in her home. Her village.
And it was beautiful.
She’d been so busy hiding, that she’d forgotten just how wondrous her town really was.
Not just to look at, either.
Even when she treated them as if they all were conspiring on her downfall, the townsfolk were generally patient with Peep. And even tried a few methods of assuaging her fears.
All thanks to that inclination to help others, that almost everyone in the village seemed to have.
Other villages weren’t like this.
Not as tight-knit. Not as devoted to assisting each other, and enriching the lives of themselves as well as their neighbor.
And no other village could claim to have both magic, and dragons.
And she actually had a few good memories of the town, now that she thought about it.
Her mother, buying her and her siblings three cupcakes for their second birthday. Pedro took too long to eat his, and it melted in the hot sun.
Or of sitting in the local library, as her father gently read to her.
Or of barely being able to walk, waddling around her grandmother’s food stand. She tripped over, nearly falling on her face, but grandpa Augustin was there to catch her.
Even at such a young age, she remembered feeling immensely grateful.
There may be even more, that she couldn’t remember.
Which means that she’d been out in town multiple times, and a horrific scenario hadn’t occurred to destroy her.
Which means that her fears truly are irrational.
Just like with her family, Peep came to realize that perhaps avoiding the village entirely wasn’t the ideal.
Mistakes could still be made, and she’d have to be careful. But with her grandmother around…she could maybe afford a few accidents.
Because the thought of huddling back inside, when she could be out here. Witnessing this wonder…
It didn’t sit right with her.
Peep was now even more determined to get a gift that would benefit not only the family, but the town as well.
The Madrigals worked with the people and the dragons, to keep the Encanto alive. To keep the miracle going strong.
Peep could not be the weak link.
She’d just discovered how much she loved her village. And she would help to keep it prosperous.
This, she swore.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Morning had turned into midday. The party inched ever closer.
And back at Casita, while villagers and dragons began pouring in to help with preparations…
Karla and Pedro had their own question to ask.
In the courtyard, the two weaved through the crowd of people. Karla at breakneck speed, Pedro at a laid-back pace. Followed by both their Night Lights.
Mirabel, along with Mariposa, was directing the preparations as usual. And she didn’t miss the flash of red hair that raced by her.
“Karla!” She scolded, giving her daughter a stern look. “What’d I tell you about running inside?”
The energetic girl ceased moving, Dash skidding to a stop beside her, and faced her mother.
Wearing the smug grin of a child who knew they were breaking the rules, and found it exciting, she pointed to the open sky.
“See that?” She asked. “No ceiling!”
“That means we’re not inside!”
And then she took off, her little Fury scrambling to keep up with her.
As Pedro and Dot sauntered by, Mirabel released a huff.
Was she really going to have to ground her daughter on her birthday? The day of her gift ceremony?
Hiccup was nearby, setting up a banner displaying all three of their children’s’ names.
He seemed to sense what his wife was thinking, and slightly turned to face her.
“I say we let her off tonight, let her think we forgot, and hit her with a week of no running.”
Mirabel raised an eyebrow.
“And how are we supposed to stop her from running?” She wondered.
Her husband shrugged. “Tie her to her bed, obviously.”
He was clearly joking. But the way he brought up such a morbid concept with a nonchalant attitude made her giggle.
Up on the third level, decorations were being handled by a trio of gifted children.
Manuel, Diego, and Sofia. The three of them were making sure the hallway was ready for the party.
Manny levitated items here and there, Diego had a cavalcade of clones doing his bidding, And Sofia used her gift in an unconventional way. Putting her powerful lungs to good use, and blowing balloons with ease.
As Karla and Pedro climbed the stairs, their attentions were drawn to the three unmarked doors that were waiting for them.
Raw, unfocused magic swirled about the slabs of wood, promising incredible abilities to a certain group of kids.
In just a few more hours, they, along with their baby sister, would be getting their gifts.
The thought made them giddy.
Their arrival didn’t go unnoticed, as Sofia looked up from her balloon blowing to kindly greet them.
“It’s the birthday girl and the birthday boy!” She spoke, in her effortlessly harmonious tones.
One of the Diegos elbowed another, cracking a joke in his scratchy voice.
“There’s supposed to be a second birthday girl, but she’s probably off hiding somewhere!”
The duplicates snickered to each other, and Karla looked ready to lunge at them. No one made fun of one of her siblings without getting a busted nose, and a black eye.
But a levitating vase floated over, and bonked each Diego on the head. Making one vanish into thin air, while the true Diego remained. Rubbing his cranium with an irritated glare.
Finished with his telekinetic reprimanding, Manuel faced the two out of three triplets.
“Can we help you with something?” He asked, in an even tone.
Karla’s glowering was replaced with a look of great excitement.
“We wanted to ask you guys something!” She grinned, before turning to her brother. “Isn’t that right?”
Pedro nodded, smiling lazily.
“Yeah…why’s the moon made of cheese?”
Ignoring the chuckles from the three older kids, Karla made their real point.
“No! We wanted to ask what it felt like, when you got your gifts!”
And that made the children think.
Manny hummed with thought, his eyes glowing an eerie green. As his powers continued to work in the background.
“It sort of felt like…knowing.” He responded.
Both Karla and Pedro, as well as their Night Lights, tilted their heads in confusion.
“Knowing?” Pedro repeated.
“Yeah…” Confirmed Manuel. “I just kind of…knew what I had to do.”
“I knew I had to hold out my hand, and something would happen.” He demonstrated with Diego’s sandal, ripping it from his brother’s foot. And making him fall over.
Sofia nodded, her hands clasped together daintily.
“Oh yes, I know just what you mean!” She said. “After I touched my door, I knew I just had to sing!”
The memory already had her humming a tune, the very first one she sung with her gift. Small, shimmering sparkles shined from her as she did so.
“Can’t relate!” Diego scoffed, while snatching his sandal back. “My gift literally told me what was up!”
“That’s because I’ve always got my back! Looking out for number one, baby!”
He spawned another clone, and fist bumped himself.
While the two older children rolled their eyes, the younger ones considered what they’d been told.
When you touch that doorknob…you’ll just know.
They couldn’t claim to entirely understand what that meant.
But they were ready to find out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peep was acting different.
The whole family could see it.
And they knew she was acting weird, because the whole family could see her.
She wasn’t hiding away, or cowering, or flinching.
In fact, while her siblings spent these last few hours drawing in the nursery, or playing in the yard, the young girl was very involved with the preparations.
Waiting at the door and taking baskets from people, and actually talking to them. Helping to decorate by hanging up streamers and banners, readying the plates of food her grandmother made for the guests, and other things.
She could also be seen playing with the visiting dragons, crawling under their large frames to scratch their tummies.
Seeing such a usually frantic child trying her best to lend a hand was very strange.
But not a bad strange.
She still had that skittish look in her eye, and a loud or sudden noise would still make her jolt.
But it looked like she was trying to overcome her fear, and finally embrace her community. And her family.
Literally, in some cases.
Augustin randomly got a big, warm hug from the girl. As he was walking from the kitchen.
Both he and Julieta, who was in the kitchen behind him, looked to the child with shock.
Peep met his gaze with remorseful eyes.
While it was the gifted members of her family who spooked her the most, she was still apprehensive of the others.
Augustin was a magnet for trouble, and she thought just hanging around him would spell disaster.
But now, she was putting that fear behind her. And showing her kind-hearted grandfather the love he deserved.
“I-I’m sorry, Abuelo!” Peep mewled, her face buried in his midsection. “I’m not afraid of you anymore!”
Before he could say anything else, she was off. She had more apologizing to do.
Though she was sure to shout “I love you!” while she ran.
Augustin was still reeling from the sudden appearance, embrace, and departure.
He glanced to his wife, and shrugged. An uncertain, but happy grin on his face. And she met his grin with her own warm smile.
It seemed Peep was finally coming around.
She located Felix, and informed him that she thought he was really fun. Even if his energy was a bit much at times. And she told him she wasn’t afraid of him.
She found Mariano, and told him she always thought his poetry was awesome. And she told him she wasn’t afraid of him.
Tracking down Valentina, the gruff woman was told that her toughness was cool, and that the girl wished she was as strong as her. And she told her she wasn’t afraid of her.
In between bouts of assisting the villagers, Peep tried to make amends for years of irrational fear. Let the people she cared about know that she cared, and that she was sorry.
As the sun continued its slow descent, the promised night making its leisurely approach, the girl had become the talk of Casita.
Everyone knew of the child’s fearful demeanor, and everyone was surprised by the sudden change.
In the midst of getting their babies’ party together, Hiccup and Mirabel were overjoyed by the recent development.
They didn’t quite know why their youngest had decided to come out of her shell, but they were eternally thankful for it.
And this behavior caught the interest of someone else, too…
Peep was walking from the kitchen once more, followed by Ghost. Setting out even more food for their incoming guests.
She held a plate in each hand, balanced one on each arm, and a fifth plate wobbled precariously on her head.
Falling off a tightrope was one of her fears, so she spent some time last summer improving her sense of balance.
As she carefully stepped into the courtyard, towards one of the snack tables that had been set up, her tongue was pushed out of her mouth in concentration.
But that concentration would soon be broken.
“I must say, I’m surprised!”
Peep was also surprised.
The sudden voice startled her, making her jolt with shock. Tossing all the plates into the air.
But before they could crash onto the ground, spilling bits of glass and soiled food everywhere, they were enveloped in a green glow.
“Thanks Manny!” Peep called to the boy, who’d saved her form a very messy mishap. She earned a wordless thumbs up in return.
And the owner of the voice was now even more stunned.
Alma, flanked by her Hotburple Oso, had approached the girl.
She was intrigued by the sudden behavioral shift, and wanted to get some answers from the child herself.
And watching the skittish girl semi-casually speak with someone who’s telekinesis scared the daylights out of her just last week, it only made the old woman’s quest for knowledge even more pertinent.
“U-Uh…were you saying something, Bisabuela?” Peep asked, still slightly jittering form the shock. But nowhere near as much as she usually did.
Peep found her great grandmother intimidating, even though the woman had mellowed out significantly. When learning that she was once a much more rigid person, Peep’s fear only increased.
But like with everyone else, Peep tried to swallow those fears. And see her not for the potential danger she may present, but just as she was.
And right now, she was a curious old lady.
“Yes, I was just saying I was surprised.” Alma continued, moving a bit to the side to let a trio of villagers pass by.
“You’re usually so…hesitant.” The woman knew that was putting it lightly. “But now you’re taking an active role in assisting the community!”
“I just wanted to know what changed?”
Peep couldn’t quite put her realization into words, so she shrugged. And tried the best she could to explain.
“I dunno…” She answered. “I-I just kinda realized that some of the stuff I was afraid of…I didn’t need to be afraid of…”
The girl was suddenly frantic again, pointing a dynamic finger to make her point.
“Not everything!” She shouted. “The vampire epidemic still needs to be addressed!”
There was no vampire epidemic. Peep saw someone drinking tomato juice at night, and her overactive and overly-anxious brain jumped to conclusions.
“But…y’know, when it comes to my family. And my home…I finally realized how important they are.”
A small, shaky smile grew on her face. “How amazing they are!”
Those words were music to Alma’s ears.
She knew all too well the importance of family, even she needed her priorities straightened by a certain girl.
Hearing that this child, who was so fearful of her own kin, had come to understand that same importance…
It put a beaming grin on her face.
“That’s wonderful to hear!” Alma cheered, briefly waking her dragon. “Truly wonderful!”
Peep gave a small nod, smiling demurely.
“I promise..” She said. “I promise I’ll make this family proud!”
For the briefest of instances, Alma wasn't seeing Peep standing in front of her. She saw a small, five-year-old Mirabel. Eager to do exactly what the skittish girl had said.
And so, Alma spoke to her what she wished she would’ve said to Mirabel. During that dark period.
“You already are!”
While initially astonished, Peep’s smile soon returned. And she moved to embrace her great grandmother.
And after that, she was off. To see where else she could help, before the big moment arrived.
Alma watched her and her little dragon go, smiling gently. And she heard footsteps approaching her.
Mirabel stepped beside her grandmother, also watching the girl as she left. A motherly grin on her features.
“I don’t know what changed, but…” Mirabel began. “I’m really proud of her!”
Alma nodded, before regarding her granddaughter with that same gentle smile.
“She reminds me of you.” She softly said.
Mirabel faced her with a teasing smirk.
“Was I that paranoid?” She asked, making the old woman laugh.
Two generations of Candle Holders stood side by side, chatting about this or that for a short time.
This would likely be the last relatively calm moment anyone in the building had.
The sun was finishing its descent.
It was almost party time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hiccup found himself thinking back to the first gift ceremony he’d witnessed. Antonio’s.
It was so long ago now, back when he was new to the Encanto. Feared by the village, taken in by a friendly blacksmith, and with a bespectacled girl as his guide.
It was unlike anything he’d ever seen. Watching the boy touch his door, and summoning a menagerie of animals into the house.
He’d even managed to get the people to not be afraid of Toothless. Even if it was under false pretenses, he was happy that he didn’t have to hide his dragon anymore.
Of course, that was also the night Mirabel discovered the cracks in their Casita. Not knowing at the time that they were physical representations of the cracks that were splintering throughout her family. The same family she’d managed to bring back together, like the miracle worker she was.
The day after the party, when Hiccup had joined Mirabel in a perilous climb through Bruno’s decrepit room, was the day that sparked their friendship.
And that led to everything else.
Hiccup was currently outside his home, looking up at the outside of Casita. Just as he had all those years ago, when he swore the house was evil.
The doors were open to anyone now, as the celebrations were underway. And the big moment was just an hour away. The entire village was coming.
Not only were they getting three new gifts at once, these were the children of the new Candle Holder. This was a huge deal!
Nobody wanted to miss it.
And that included an assortment of Vikings.
Hiccup had just finished bringing his parents, along with Gobber, and the Dragon Riders. They all wanted to witness such an occasion, and who was he to deny them?
Fishlegs jittered with excitement, as they stepped into the building.
“Ooh, this is gonna be so great!” He squealed. “A real-live Madrigal gift ceremony!”
Though his wife, Heather, was eyeing their surroundings with great suspicion.
“Is anyone gonna tell me why the floors are moving?” She asked.
While Fishlegs explained the details, Snotlout released an unimpressed scoff.
“Pfft, I don’t see what the big deal is.” He said, with crossed arms. “Everyone gets presents on their birthday!”
Astrid smacked the back of his head.
“Not presents, muttonhead. Magical gifts!” She clarified. “Like what Isabela has!”
The thought of there being another cactus wielder was nearly enough to make the stout man scream.
Tuffnut spotted Diego, entertaining the people with tricks using his clones.
He released a shout of vindication, while shaking his sister by the shoulders.
“I knew it!” He exclaimed. “I knew humans were capable of mitosis!”
He then clenched his fists, grit his teeth, and tried really hard to split into two.
“Nobody try to stop him…” Ruffnut said, with a twisted grin. “If he keeps going like this, he’s gonna crap himself!”
Gobber took a deep breath, savoring the pleasant smells, as he hobbled into the courtyard.
“Not a trace of fish, sweat, or yak dung…” He mused. “There’s nothing like that Encanto air!”
“I’m glad you guys could make it!” Hiccup grinned. “Seriously, you’ve never seen anything like tonight!”
“We wouldn’t miss it for the world, son!” Valka smiled, though she seemed a bit hesitant among the crowd.
Stoick nodded. “That’s right!”
He then began to look around, using his massive size to search above the sea of heads.
“Now where’re my little…”
“GRAMPS!”
Karla came running in, pushing through the crowd to make her way to her paternal grandfather.
As the child came crashing into his gut, Stoick swept her into a hug. Laughing all the while.
“Gramps! I’m gonna get my gift tonight! And It’s gonna be super cool! You’re gonna see it, right? You’re gonna see my super cool gift? Right? Right? Right!?”
“Yes, I’m going to see it! We all will!” Said her grandpa, chuckling at the girl’s enthusiasm.
“And it’s gonna be super cool!” Karla insisted, grinning wildly.
Pedro was close behind, wandering forth with an expression that showed he was obviously daydreaming.
He approached his grandmother, softly smiling.
“Hey, check it out!” He said, proudly presenting a piece of paper.
It was another drawing of his, with colorful and nonsensical splotches. Intersected by black pencil lines.
“It’s lovely!” Valka complimented.
But her response didn’t seem to please the young artist.
“Lovely!?” He repeated, aghast. “It represents the crushing weight of despair! The feeling of hopelessness, as you watch your very future be ripped away from you. Right in front of your eyes!”
Valka’s jaw dropped, she hadn’t anticipated such an inspiration for an art piece from the boy.
“R-Really?” She asked.
Pedro eyed the paper again, and shrugged.
“Either that, or it’s a monkey…”
Mirabel was following her children, and had just arrived to mee their newest guests.
“Glad you guys could make it!” Mirabel greeted, smiling to her old friends. They’d come for her babies’ special day, it was awfully sweet of them.
Fishlegs was overwhelmed with a dorky glee.
“They’re getting so big!” He said, looking down at the young ones.
But he wasn’t talking about Hiccup and Mirabel’s kids.
He was talking about the Night Lights.
Observing the small, black-and-white dragons with a scientific eye, he unleashed a barrage of questions.
“Have they started flying yet? How fast would you say their growth rate is, compared to other species? Do the nubs correlate to age? Are the- “
The others quickly tuned him out.
Gobber noticed that something was a bit off.
“We’ve got Karla, and Pedro…” He pointed out. “But where’s…”
He hesitated, before speaking the girl’s name. She was a cute kid, but her moniker gave him the heebie-jeebies.
“…Peep…”
Mirabel and Hiccup had to admit, that was a good question.
A short time ago, the girl was all over the place. Helping with this or that, and doing a pretty good job.
But now that the sun had set, and the house was packed, she was nowhere to be found.
And considering the big moment was rapidly approaching, they’d better find her fast. They needed to get ready.
Julieta was passing by, and had heard the question. Luckily, she also had the answer.
“I saw her heading to the nursery.” She said, making for a snack table while holding a few too many plates.
Hiccup took a few plates, and helped her set them down on the table.
“Thanks, mom.” He said, grateful for the tip.
Julieta grinned, and pinched his cheek lovingly.
And before she left, she spared the briefest of smug glances to Valka.
Hiccup and Mirabel rounded up their kids, and prepared themselves to leave for the nursery.
“Alright, come on guys!” Hiccup said. “It’s almost time!”
Those words sent a jolt of energy through the children, who began to rush through the crowd. clambering up the stairs, and to their shared room.
Though they wouldn’t be sharing it for much longer.
As the Vikings dispersed, wandering to various sections of the party, the parents made for the nursery as well.
As they did, they took the time to appreciate the festivities happening around them.
Under the starry night sky, the entire village was collected inside their home. All to celebrate their children.
People ate, and chatted, and danced. Hiccup caught Ignacio annihilating the dance floor already.
Dragons of all shapes and sizes were present, and knew to mind their manners in the magic house. As long as they got to eat some good food, they were content.
Kids ran around with flashy little sparklers, young dragons chasing after them. Entranced by the lights.
Various members of their family entertained the guests. Like Diego, with his duplicate slapstick. Or Manny, levitating small kids and floating them around. Among other examples.
Sofia was in the middle of a song. A lively tune, that energized all who heard it. As she danced and twirled around, glimmering sparkles seemed to shine from her form.
“Colombia, te quiero tanto! Que siempre me enamora tu Encanto!”
It was a lovely song, that reminded them of their lovely home.
Climbing the stairs, Mirabel and Hiccup arrived at the nursery.
All three of their children were there, all on the bed. Two sat upon the covers, and one hid under them.
The parents eyed the quivering, blanketed form with concern. And shared a worried glance.
They both took seats on the bed as well, beside the older of their two children.
“Peep?” Hiccup called.
He received no response.
“Peep, you okay?” He tried again.
The trembling body remained trembling.
Hiccup decided to use his pet-name for her, in hopes that it’d bring her out of hiding.
“Peekaboo?”
This seemed to have an effect, as they could now hear a muffled voice from under the covers.
“I’M SORRY!”
Both parents and siblings were shocked at the small girl’s exclamation, as she quickly rose up from the blankets.
“I know I shouldn’t hide! I know I shouldn’t be scared…” She frantically began.
“But I am scared! What if I get a bad gift? What if I can’t help the family? What if I can’t help the town?”
The child began sniffling softly, as her fears overtook her.
And she uttered a string of words that nearly broke her parents’ hearts.
“I-I don’t wanna be useless!”
As Karla and Pedro both tried to soothe her, Mirabel and Hiccup realized something.
Now was the time.
They swore that their children would never feel how they felt. Never go through what they went through.
And now was the time for action.
Hiccup and Mirabel moved to embrace their kids, in a big group hug.
“You will never be useless.” Hiccup said. “None of you will.”
Mirabel nodded, and spoke herself.
“It’s good that you want to help so much, I’m really proud of your behavior today!”
“But that’s not where your worth comes from!” Spoke their mother. “It comes from you! Just you!”
Mirabel readied her finger.
“No matter what happens, no matter what gifts you get…”
“You will always be my speedy little Karla!” She said, with a poke to the girl’s nose.
“My imaginative little Pedro!” She poked the boy’s nose as well.
“And my brave little Peep!” She finished, with one last poke to her youngest daughter’s face.
The children laughed at the nudges, including a no-longer sniffling Peep. But she now had a question to ask.
“B-Brave? There’s nothing brave about me!”
“Sure there is!” Hiccup said, grinning.
“You managed to overcome your fear of the village, and the family. I thought you were running the party planning, back there!”
With a blush, the girl hid her face in her hands. Not out of fear, but embarrassment.
“I just…I just think some things I shouldn’t be afraid of…”
Hearing their Peep say those words would’ve been deemed impossible. And yet, here they were.
Both the girl’s parents and siblings smiled brightly, and they all moved in closer. Hugging as tightly and as warmly as could be.