Page 10 of The Curious Incident of the Great Cookie Snackcident of 979
Early the next day,Sirin and Sigfinn arrived carrying supplies. Sirin set them down, beaming and practically vibrating with excitement.
“So, we’ve got everything we need. Abi, if you could shift, you can place the bobbers from the air once Sig and I have them all rigged up. I was thinking Senka could keep watch, if that works?” Sirin said without any preamble.
“Considering that it is my primary job function, I think I can handle that,” Senka said with a cheeky smile that made Abi giddy when it was directed at her.
After a quick shift to her owl, Abi scouted the chamber and did an aerial assessment of the Lady’s position. Their Goddess floated in her lake, serene in her slumber. Her long, deep black hair floated around her, bits of glowing lunula lighting up asthey neared her. She could be floating in the night sky, if the stars shone a green-blue instead of white. Abi had heard that the Lady appeared differently to different people, every description of her she’d heard varied. Her dress stayed the same, always a pale minty green1 The water near her seemed calm, the currents which brought the lunula close to her were under the surface.
She flew back to the group, letting out a cheerful chirp, telling them all was well. A few hops brought her to Sirin’s side. The scientist held out a string and bobber for Abi to grasp in her talon. “We’ve got five, one for each limb, and then another for you to position near the top of her head. Place these on the far side first and bring the string to Sig, over there,” she instructed, pointing across the lake where Sigfinn was setting something up.
Abi puffed her feathers a bit and took off, flying over the Lady’s far hand and flapping hard to hover just above the water. She gently dropped the bobber as close to the Lady as she dared, heart swooping with being so close to her. She fled back toward Sigfinn before she could embarrass herself and do something silly.
Ten minutes later, she’d placed each of the bobbers, which were painted black to blend into the surface of the water. If she squinted at where she knew them to be placed, she could just make them out. They should be camouflaged well enough, she figured.
When she returned to shore, Senka held their arm up for her to land on and scratched her neck when she did so. Abi let out a happy little coo while Sirin and Sigfinn finished their adjustments. They’d positioned the small devices, covered to appear like stone, slightly elevated on both sides of the lake.
Abi preened when Senka stroked her head, smoothing her feathers. Abi nuzzled her head into Senka’s hand, trilling to let them know she was enjoying the attention. When Sirin said she could shift back, she surprised herself by making a disappointedwhinny. She swooped back to her clothing, the familiar stretch of her shift calming the spike of anxiety she felt at letting out the sound. She’d gotten good over the years at shifting her limbs back into her clothing and was glad of it, in front of so many people. She’d never shared the casual comfort many shifters had with nudity; the thought of being naked in front of Senka, with her newly surfaced feelings, was mortifying.
Sirin and Sigfinn said their goodbyes quickly, imploring Senka and Abi to let them know if the mechanisms were triggered.
At the end of their shift, Abi took a moment to change out of her guard uniform and fuss with her hair. It felt momentous, and she wanted to be dressed for cooking, if not for some sort of date. She wore a loose-fitting dress, one she’d always joked with her mother was a daytime nightgown. The fabric of the purple dress was light and flowing, swishing the light purple around her ankles and making her feel attractive and ethereal.
For her shift, she’d worn her hair in two braids; utilitarian and out of the way, in case of an emergency. In the change room, she hastily picked out her braids, putting the top half of her hair back and letting the rest loose. She didn’t wear any makeup to work, but a few moments of concentration, dipping into her lunula reserves, let her grow her hair and increase the density of her eyelashes. To finish, she deepened the color of her lips and cheeks. She hadn’t bothered doing so in the past, instead, when she’d wanted to dress up, she relied on cosmetics. The prospect of leaving them that way permanently was tempting, though.
Senka was waiting for her outside. “You look lovely! I suppose I’m a bit underdressed!” they said, gesturing to their body.
Abi giggled to avoid a blush. “Considering you don’t ever wear clothes; I think you are eternally underdressed!”
“I’m always perfectly dressed, for any occasion. Now, shall we?” Senka asked, offering her their arm. They tugged Abibehind them, towing her along through twists and turns, venturing deeper into the mountain than she’d ever been before.
“Most people are still asleep,” Senka whispered, leading her through hushed hallways.
Even this early in the morning, Abi was surprised that they didn’t see anyone at all. Out in the valley, she often saw early risers on her walk home. Her mother and other bakers would be up and working, and fishermen would be out, prepping their tack for the day. Around the village, she’d spot houses that were waking up by the trails of smoke that drifted out of their chimneys.
Instead, these hallways were silent and entirely empty. In fact, they didn’t see another soul the entire walk. Abi noticed at periodic intervals, there were curtained-off sections, leading away from the hallway, secluded from the lunula lanterns that lined the corridors. Eventually, Senka stopped at one such curtain, and lifted it to the side, ducking in, and pulling Abi behind them. Inside, it was completely dark.
Abi laughed nervously, but Senka kept her hand clasped tight in theirs, and their wisps reached out to caress her hair, her face, her arm, soothing her worries.
“We keep our entryways dark, so we can travel straight home, or to someone’s front door instead of having to go the long way,” they whispered to her, the tickle of their breath giving Abi goosebumps.2
“That makes sense, I just didn’t expect it,” she whispered back, her tense shoulders relaxing as the door swung open.
Senka’s home felt cozy and just like Senka in the best way. They entered the main living area, and the walls were plastered a deep burgundy color. In one corner, deep teal couches and side chairs surrounded a small, round stove. Extra blankets and throw pillows lay across the furniture, immediately inviting her to snuggle in. While the space was originally lit with lunulalamps, the sound of a striking match was followed by a warmer light as Senka lit the gas lamps.
Through an archway at the back of the room, Abi could see a dining table and a kitchen, and a hallway led off to her left.
“Erm, shoes off or on?” she asked, noting that much of the stone floor was covered in thick carpets. Senka, who’d been moving further in, stopped and spun to face her, their face scrunched in thought.
“You know, I’ve never considered it. I don’t wear them, so I suppose I don’t have a visitor shoe policy. What do you do at home?” they said after some thought.
“I usually take them off at the door. I have a pair of slippers I wear around if it is chilly, or just socks.”
“Just socks? Those little feet prisons? Youchooseto wear them? The few times I have needed to wear a glamour, I hated wearing them. My feet, or the bits of me that became my feet, felt so squished in them,” they shuddered, as if the horror of stockinged feet was visceral to them.
Abi giggled at them. “Yes, I wear little feet prisons on purpose. I get cold easily,” she said, kicking off her shoes and wiggling her toes. “My feet are perfectly happy in them.”
Senka cocked an eyebrow, as if to say, “if you say so ...” and led the way further inside.
“This is the parlor, then the kitchen is through here. It’s somewhat small, since they don’t anticipate us cooking much, but it exists,” they said with a shrug.