Liszt kept her headphones in as she and Asmodeaus met up with the others. The stimulation of everything was overwhelming, but her siblings each did their part. Basil had dragged the rest of them out of bed while Liszt and Asmo were in the kitchen.
As they brought out the heavy baskets of food, they watched the others painstakingly cleaning off the family grave plot in the boneyard. The eight beautiful slabs of marble shone brightly in the last whispering vestiges of moonlight. Asmo offered to help, but Vie shooed him away to set up the picnic blanket.
After a few minutes the family was together, in the usual fashion. When one of them had a birthday, everyone needed to clean up. Even the dead.
They had several bundles of flowers and took a moment to make sure every grave was tended to, not just the woman of honor. Although most of the names were quite familiar to the children, through Basil and Pimento’s stories, most of them were complete strangers to the children. Despite that, they were still family. So the seven other gravestones were made to sparkle, honored in perpetuity, and putting their best faces forward in honor of their sibling.
“WHOOOOOOOO! Picnic time!” Lili cheered, illuminated by lantern light.
Vie felt her face sour. “Please. Remember last year.”
Lili waved her fork and knife in the air with glee. “A meal so good it’s WORTH tasting a second time!”
Vie’s face was pale in morbid anticipation. “I don’t think ANY food is worth giving yourself food poisoning every year.”
Asmo passed a gravy boat to Lili. “Lili, here’s a reduction of Marionberry with cocoa, it has an infusion of liver pate and boar’s blood. It should be easier on your stomach than-“
Lili glanced at it, before refusing it curtly. “That’s not chocosauce!”
Asmo sighed. “Can you at least try-“
“CHOCOSAUCE!” Lili bellowed.
*-I know how hard having siblings can be, as someone who used to have a couple of them, once upon a time. But this family is special. You’re lucky to have them… even if they can be a pain sometimes.*
Asmo’s voice was pleading at this point. “I want to AGAIN clarify that Vie’s on bathroom duty this week, so you should probably-“
Vie chimed in as well, “If this is just payback for the chili incident, I want to remind you that It’s not my fault you threw in 3 MILLION HEAT UNIT peppers while I was in the bathroom!”
Lili glared at them. “And that’s why I don’t cook! But I still cleaned the bathrooms that week without complaining.” She folded her arms dramatically. “Soooooo, CHOCOSAUCE!”
*Sometimes in life you have to let people make their own bad decisions. Hopefully they learn. Usually they do eventually. Everyone deserves a chance to have that ‘Aha’ moment.-*
On cue, Liszt paused her tape and took her headphones off. She glanced over at Nyx who was staring at her.
Nyx smiled, leaning in with a whisper, “Don’t worry, I think you missed the entire chocosauce rant this year.”
Liszt yawned. “Brilliant. Keeping the tradition alive. Bless Lili for committing to the bit.”
Asmo rolled his eyes. “Ugh. Glad to know my efforts are validated.”
Vie felt her hands shake as she came to terms with her situation. “Right. Asmo cooking. Okay.”
Liszt chuckled. “Give it a chance, I was the one who did the frying.”
Asmo felt a genuine pang of injury to his ego. “... hey.” He groaned.
“Okay fine,” Vie muttered, cutting off a tiny piece and gingerly chewing it. Vie’s face lit up with surprise and joy. “It’s… chewier than normal. But not in a bad way.”
“25% mochi flour, and an extra 10% protein powder. Hopefully that helps with Lili’s digestion,” Asmo replied, filling a second plate.
Vie forked several more pancakes and piled them onto her plate. It was a rare sight to see Vie abandon her pretense of elegance. But it was fitting for Pimento’s birthday. They were allowed to act like children in front of their ancestors. They all reverted back to the way they were when Pim was still alive, conscious or not of the shift.
Vie paused between bites to savor the moment. “You know, sometimes you impress me. I’m sure Pim would’ve appreciated the novelty. And with Liszt’s lifetime of pancake making experience supporting you… I must admit, despite the noise and vulgarity, it’s been quite a lovely morning.”
Vie savored her surprise favorite breakfast in a complete state of bliss. “If I die first, you have my blessing to make my birthday pancake day 2.”
Liszt chuckled, waving off the silly notion. “We could just make pancakes on your birthday while you’re alive to enjoy them, you know.”
Vie, in typical Vie fashion, stubbornly argued against receiving attention. “Yes, but I always hate to inconvenience you by asking such a thing.”
Asmo jotted the note in his notebook, *pancakes on July 13th.* “Good, that makes it a lot easier to get you a present you’ll actually enjoy.”
Liszt rolled her eyes. “Nice. Another night of sleep for me to lose.”
Asmo furrowed his brows. “I mean, I can do the cooking.”
The sisters glanced at each other before breaking out in laughter.
“Look, it’s not my fault you can’t accept the health properties of cottage cheese and seitan. And besides, you never would’ve given my pancakes a shot if I’d been the one to cook them,” Asmo muttered defensively.
Liszt prodded him further, “That’s because the point of pancake day is it’s supposed to be enjoyable… except for Lili like 3 hours after the start of pancake day.”
Liszt put her headphones back on her head, and kept one of the cups open to keep track of the conversation.
*Everyone deserves a chance to fail. And there’s nothing wrong with failure. The most important part is that you learn from it, and learn to forgive yourself. You aren’t supposed to be good the first time you try something… even you, believe it or not.*
“Never once complained about it!” Lili called out in a flagrant lie.
“Besides, you always laugh when you make us eat gross food,” Vie said condescendingly.
“I-It’s nervous laughter out of embarrassment!” Asmo stammered anxiously.
Vie smiled wickedly. “Good, you’re flustered. At least you feel some shame for some of those atrocities.”
“Yeah,” Lili chimed in. “Who puts Natto and cheese on toast?”
“H-hey now, I don’t insult you for eating blood and intestines!” Asmo fired back.
Lili met him with an eye roll. “That’s because I’m a carnivore! What’s your excuse?”
“Vie is also a vegetarian!” Asmo argued.
“Well you’re a dog, and that’s what makes it weird! Most dogs aren’t vegetarians by choice!” She said with a shrug.
“I’m not a dog! I’m a Lupine! We’re omnivores! YOU DO THIS EVERY YEAR!” Asmo argued.
Lili again chose violence and defiance. “All I’m saying is I’d like your food a whole lot more if you just made steak.”
Asmo groaned. “Oh right. Just steak and pancakes every meal.”
“Yeah! But not every meal, just breakfast,” Lili nodded in agreement, missing the plot. “I feel like even you can’t mess that up.”
“Some of us don’t like killing things just to keep from being bored. It’s called an eating disorder when you confuse calories with stimuli!” Asmo argued.
Lilith stared past him as he lectured, dissociating mildly. She was far too fixated on the prospect of food to listen to his sermon. “Asmodeus. I understand half of the words you just said. And I care half as much as I understand.”
“Suit yourself.” Asmo ignored his sister and went back to stuffing himself full of carbs.
*Trial and error are the only ways to grow as a person. You need to be willing to make bad decisions and live with them.*
Within minutes, the double portion of pancakes was wiped out, and Lilith was curled up in the fetal position.
“Ugghhhhhhhhhhhh. Why does the chocosauce hate me?” Lilith whined.
Liszt cracked a slight smile at the sight, and rolled her eyes.
*I know it’s wrong for parents to choose favorites. And I was always a jealous kid myself. But I know how much I meant to you growing up. And I’d be lying if I said your company wasn’t the biggest thing keeping me going in the end.*
“So much for not complaining,” Vie cackled, forking bites of pancakes.
*I still think it’s funny that my old name is on my gravestone. I always found it amusing that they just have them pre-made for you when you graduate from the academy. When you retired, you used to get the honor of smashing them with a sledgehammer. It was to signify the name was retired and that version of ‘you’ was dead. There was cause for celebration as you returned to your home reforged into a hero, a beacon of change and leadership. It was meant to be your last trial before ending your long journey. But I outlived the order, my siblings, and the old calendar.*
Liszt struggled to join in with the festivities. She had trouble letting go, despite everyone’s best efforts. Despite knowing that her seniors sacrificed everything for her to have this moment of respite and joy. She was safe at home, and yet she longed for something more tangible.
*I'm not Elenora anymore. You never knew her. I don’t mind too much, and I don’t look back unkindly at that girl. Elenora was a child who never got to grow up. That grave also had my old family name, and it’s yours if you want it. I did my best to honor it in my life’s work. It’s the least I can do to honor my parents. Even if they never showed me much love themselves.*
Liszt approached the gravestone slowly. It was far from the only time each year Liszt would visit the grave. Being this close to her family was a constant comfort to her. But since she had an audience, she would do her best to follow every one of Pim’s requests, no matter how small or forgotten.
Each family member did their best to honor Pimento’s wishes. And Nyx had done well to cut into the negative space of the stone, personalizing a simple epitaph.
Lt. Elenora “Pimento” Auclair
Medical Officer 1st Class
Beloved Mother, Sister, and Guardian
05-16-1669 NTC - 09-29-0012 AC
*You are the last of a bloodline that the gods and universe did their very best to snuff out. And you must never forget that. And even if you aren’t my daughter by birth, you are my kin, no different than my sisters who I raised. I am, and always will be proud of you.*
Liszt felt the tears fall. Each passing year did little to quell her mother’s absence. Her mother had died knowing she had done her best, and this would always be her home. And this was a small consolation for a life well lived.
Though for Liszt, these small acts would never be enough in her eyes, it didn’t need to be overthought. It was what her mother asked for. And it was the least she could do.
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