"Here it is, home sweet home." Alix stood in front of a two story smooth, white-bricked building. Well, white was giving it more credit than it was due as it seemed that over time it had instead become more gray than white and that wasn't all.
They were standing in what used to be Alix's front yard but now it seemed like someone tried to grow a forest in the middle of the city. All sorts of vines and other plants had worked their way up the wall of the house. There were also old, rotten wood signs labeling the house as the, "Traitor's Cove".
Mo looked at the house then back to Alix feeling bad for the girl. "I'm sorry, Lexi. I knew it would look rough but I didn't think it wou-"
"Just as I remember it." Alix cut Mo off with a satisfied breath. This confused Mo so much that he had to look around again to make sure they were seeing the same thing. After confirming the place was indeed still a mess Mo turned back to the girl slightly afraid.
"Don't tell me that ya've managed to block out all the bad because ya missed this place so badly. Come on, Lexi! Open yer eyes and see the truth!" Alix turned to Mo like he was crazy.
"What are you talking about? I wear glasses but I am not blind Mo."
"Then why are ya actin' like nothin's wrong? I mean, no offense, but this place is a mess!" Alix nodded.
"Of course it is. This is the house that harbored the, supposed, traitor of the kingdom for years. What are they just supposed do, sell it to someone else? Who would want to have their family live in a traitor's house?" Mo finally realized what his friend was getting at.
"Ohhh, so you're just happy that it's even still standing at all." Alix nodded.
"Now, we should stop wasting time. I want to see the inside." Mo nodded and Trouler trotted along as Alix walked through the door to her hold home.
The moment Alix touched the doorknob a wave a nostalgia hit her. She remembered racing back home with her parents after a day out. Reaching the door before them but not being able to get inside without the key, so she would just pull at the door with all of her might until her parents stopped her and unlocked the door.
Alix smirked at the memory. She twisted the knob and, of course, the door was locked. However, she was not the same weak child that she used to be.
"Oh the door's locked. Maybe we should walk around and see if there are any open windows or-"
"Bam!" A loud noise sounded as Alix kicked the door in. "Got it. Let's go." Mo floated frozen in his bowl before smiling at Alix.
"That's my captain!" The group entered the house and looked around the entrance. It was a bit of a mess. You see, the day that Alix's father was punished was the same day that Sala and Alix had to leave the city so, they packed up all of their stuff as fast as they could and just left.
So while all of their stuff was gone, they had to leave all of Breine's stuff behind as they just didn't have time or reason to grab it. So his coats sat covered in dust on the old coat rack. Some of his shoes sat on along side the wall neatly and unworn for over a decade.
It gave the impression that the man lived alone and that was exactly how Sala wanted it to be.
"Man, this place feels homey. I see why you liked it here." Alix returned from her mind to see Mo no longer in his fish bowl flying around the entrance. "Hey what's up with all of these coats? Didn't he have his spellcaster's robe? I thought that it was all you magic freaks wore?" Alix sighed.
"I can not tell if that was an insult or just you being stupid. Obviously he wore other jackets. Magic was just a large part of his life it did not encompassed the entirety of it." Alix shook her head and moved out of the entrance with her two followers close behind.
"So he was less of a freak than you? That doesn't make any sense. Where to next?" Alix pondered for a moment before leading the pair of monsters to the kitchen. This was another room filled with wonderful memories for the girl. She used to spend time with her father here because her mother was both too tired and too useless in the kitchen to help with food.
So the father and daughter duo took care of it. Then the thought of her mother stuck within Alix's mind. 'She was quite terrible at cooking wasn't she? I wonder if she's keeping herself feed? Well, I guess if she still struggles to cook she could always go to a tavern or something." Alix stroked her hand across the dirty counter making small dust particles float up and shine in the light.
All of the things she and her father cooked together. The things he taught her while they were cooking and even theories that she grew up being told. Alix smiled and turned to Mo.
"Hey, Mo?"
"What is it?"
"Did you know that in some kingdoms there are chef's so good at cooking that it became a work of magic?"
"Why would I know something like that? And why are you telling me this? Can you do it?" Alix's face twitched slightly.
"Well, no. I am not that good. But I did hear that this magic food can make all sorts of special effects happen within the body. Dad used to say that it was similar to alchemy but less concentrated." Mo nodded slowly.
"Cool cool. But you can't make that happen, right?" Alix's smile turned into a frown.
"No."
"Okay, then I ask again. Why are you telling me this?" Alix opened her mouth to speak but just waved her hand dismissively instead.
"Forget about it. Just come with me. There is more too explore."
And explore they did.
Alix led her scaled and furry companions through each room of her old house. Her memories of growing up here flowing through her mind like a gentle stream.
About an hour passed as Alix took her time reminiscing until she eventually made it to the final and most important room from her childhood. On the second floor was her father's study. The room that she she would spend hours in with or without him there.
The room where she began practicing magic and improving her skills instead of hanging with the other kids in the neighborhood. And the room that she and Nuka used to make their grand plans of becoming the best spellcaster and bird in the world in.
Alix suddenly felt her body begin to gently shiver. She was nervous. Scared. The last time she had come into this room she had a huge fight with Nuka and her father had been...
Alix felt a warm sensation on her leg. When she looked down she saw that it was Trouler nuzzling into her. She then feel something cool and slighly rough rub against her cheek this one being Mo. Alix chuckled.
'I guess they saw me feeling nervous.' Alix placed a hand on Mo, knelt down, and placed her other hand on Trouler. She began to take deep comforting breaths. She needed to remember that things have changed from all of those years ago.
Nuka was no longer her only friend. Even though her dad was gone it didn't mean she had no family.
Trouler was now a friend and Mo was akin to a brother to Alix, as weird as that may sound. Her heart that had grown dark and cold all those years prior had been healed by a pair of monsters. Not completely, but enough.
The three sat there for a moment embracing before Alix felt it was finally time. She stood up and took her spellcaster's robe from around her waist. She put each of her arms through the sleeves slowly and with care. Once she felt completely ready Alix reached for the door and opened it.
The room was a mess. It was being brightened by the moonlight from its ever uncovered window just as it always was back then. Books were scattered across the floor. Pages and pages of theory interpretations and possible combinations laying on an old wooden desk. The walls were lined with bookshelves where a certain section now sat empty.
Alix could see them. The shadows of her past. Her dad reading one of his many ancient texts looking for any old magic ideas. Her laying on the floor scribbling on pieces of paper trying to be like him. And the bird on the windowsill.
Her orange feathers that reminded the girl of a roaring flame. The soft green eyes with much more intelligence in them than anyone gave birds credit for. The small, meek frame of her youthful body sitting at the window talking to a young Alix Deminal. Alix remembered it perfectly.
Which was why this was strange? On the window she saw Nuka's orange feathers but now there was green at the tips. Her eyes were still green but they were no longer soft like she remembered. Even Nuka's body was bigger than before now being more akin to an adult bird. Why was her brain doing this?
Why was she picturing an older much different looking Nuka? Unless...
Alix's eyes started to widen as she turned to Mo and saw pure terror in his eyes. "How did that thing get in here? No, why is it here?! L-lexi get rid of it!"
That confirmed it.
Alix wasn't the only one that could see the bird. She reached down to her chest and felt the faint silver string that belonged to Nuka. It was always too weak to follow but now she watched as it led directly to the bird sitting in the window. Tears began to form in the girl's eyes a she struggled to get a single word out of her mouth.
"N-Nuka?" The bird dropped down into the room and waddled over to Alix until she stood almost right in front of her.
"Hey, Allie. It's been a while!"