***Alastair***
Star rolled around in bed. His head felt stuffy. Usually he wasn't one to overthink, but tonight he couldn't stop thinking about his mission. Was he truly unprepared? He had even trained at the last moment. Although, things didn't quite go his way.
***
[Yesterday]
"I've got an idea." Del set his stick down. "Are you done with your s'mores?"
The redhead nodded before tilting his head.
Del looked at Alastair with a big grin on his face. "Why don't we have a little spar in the basement?"
"Right now?" Len stared at Del like he had two heads.
En shrugged before he smirked at his twin. 'Might help them sleep.'
Alastair glared at his twin before running inside.
Noh and the others followed them into the basement.
"Don't go too crazy, alright?" Betty said. "Even if I can heal you, you shouldn't let it get out of hand."
Del gave her a goofy smile as he saluted.
Del then motioned for Alastair to come at him.
Like he was going to do that. Liquid copper oozed from Alastair's hands. The stuff was cold to the touch yet refreshing. It was like mouthwash without the sting.
The copper metal came together to form a petite cat.
Kurena stiffened up when Del threw a gust of wind at her.
"She's getting sturdier," Del said, chuckling.
Alastair smiled proudly. He had been working hard with Kurena. She was one of his favorite things to play with.
He pointed his index finger forward, causing the cat to scratch Randel. Star also took the chance to fire a shot of electricity from said finger.
Randel slammed the cat away with his arm and stomped his feet on the ground. A stone wall rose in front of him, blocking both the cat and Atty's attack, all while causing the ground to tremble.
Alastair winced. He wanted to get down on all fours, but he couldn't do that while they were sparring.
Randel smiled as he skated on the mud. The metal cat jumped at him, but missed, falling into the wet dirt. The still shaken Alastair looked up and saw Randel coming closer. He tried to raise his arms but realized they and his feet were shackled to the ground. The older boy cut Star on the forehead, marking his victory.
Alastair hung his head. Del beat me again!
Noah and Ivy ran over and put their arms around him.
Alastair leaned against Noah. Teddy bear cubs were the best.
***
[Present]
Alastair opened his eyes. At some point, he had managed to fall asleep. It felt like he never would. His nose twitched like a rabbit's at the scent of food.
He reached for his glasses on the nightstand, until he recalled he hadn't taken them off last night to begin with. Adjusting his glasses, he walked toward the door.
Once he was outside the room, he realized the smell was similar to that of pancakes. His nose scrunched. Waffles were better.
Wilhelmina smiled at him. "Morning. How does your wrist feel?"
"Okay."
She was eating misshapen flat pancakes and some deep red sausages. "Would you like some flatcakes?"
"Not hungry." He sat down and laid his head on the table.
"How did you sleep?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Not very well. I kept tossing and turning."
She frowned. "I could have given you something if the pain kept you up."
It wasn't that. Alastair hadn't slept apart from his twin since the lion cub got out of the hospital. Noah wasn't here to help and his kid blanket didn't do much either.
"It might be better if you try to sleep another hour or two."
That probably wouldn't happen with how bad his night was...
Still, Alastair went back to his room. He didn't want to stay in the kitchen when he didn't plan on eating.
There was a picture in a mahogany frame on the dresser. Alastair hadn't noticed it when Wilhelmina brought him in here last night. A boy who looked a lot like him and En was standing with his dad.
Who was he? Could this have been his room? He looked like he was around Alastair's age.
Alastair sighed. Maybe he could ask Wilhelmina about him later.
Was there anything he could do to go back to sleep after how bad last night was?
Would En's music help? He wanted something familiar, but the radio wouldn't work without the internet.
He smiled when the song started to play. Even though they weren't together, En was still with him. At least his phone was still good for something. He played it on repeat until he got his fill of it.
It'd be nice to get some fresh air... He'd have to find the backyard.
"You look better." Wilhelmina smiled. "Did you want to get some air? We could go for a short walk if you feel up to it."
Alastair smiled. Maybe they'd find Hannah's friend while they were out.
He nodded.
"It might help you work up an appetite, too. Would you like to change your clothes first?"
"I'm happy with my clothes," he said.
Wilhelmina slung her handbag over her shoulder. "Ready to go?"
He grabbed his headphones and put them around his neck before they went out.
Alastair wandered over to a tree since he wanted to take a break.
That was when he saw a puppy out of the corner of his eye. It was rummaging in a garage can.
She growled a little when the boy tried to approach her. 'Stay back!'
Alastair spoke gently. "I don't want to hurt you."
'You don't mean it.'
He smiled. "I do. Sad puppies make me sad."
'You're weird...'
"Calm down. I don't wanna hurt you." He offered his hand to smell. "You'll be okay now."
'Do you promise?'
"I do."
He gently scooped the puppy up. That was when he saw the cut on her leg.
"Does it hurt?"
The puppy whined. 'Mommy can't lick my owies anymore.'
He ran over to Wilhelmina. "Help! Help!"
"What do you need help with?" Wilhelmina asked.
"Help."
"With what?" Wilhelmina asked.
The puppy whimpered.
She frowned. "Did that puppy get hurt?"
Alastair nodded.
Wilhelmina took a breath. "We better get it inside then."
He sat with the puppy in his lap in the kitchen, so they could get her leg fixed up.
Wilhelmina looked into his eyes. "Try to keep it calm, okay?"
"The puppy is a she."
"It's a she?" Wilhelmina looked at the puppy. "Oh, she is. Try to keep her calm, alright?"
Alastair stroked the top of the puppy's head.
"What is that bump on her leg?" She frowned. "We need to get her to a vet. It doesn't look good."
Alastair got a lump in his throat. He didn't like the sound of that.
"I'm going to put my hand on your shoulder."
He went stiff. Next thing he knew, they were in front of a brown concrete building.
She rubbed his back. "Let's take care of the puppy."
The pair walked up to the receptionist.
"Do you have an appointment?"
"We don't." Wilhelmina motioned to the puppy in Alastair's scrawny arms. "She needs help."
The lady was tapping on her desk. "What's her name?"
"She doesn't have one. We found her and brought her here as soon as we looked at her."
"Can I see her?"
The puppy whimpered when he set her on the counter. She didn't want to be put down.
"Uh oh. Someone will be out to get her soon."
Alastair scooped her up and they sat in some nearby chairs.
There were so many pets and people. Alastair had to put his headphones on.
The puppy licked his nose. 'Are you okay?'
"I'm okay."
He stroked her back over and over until the person came to get her.
The person squatted down and smiled. "We'll take good care of her. I promise."
Wilhelmina squeezed Alastair's shoulder and smiled. "Let's go grab a coffee."
Why did she want to do that?
"You haven't had breakfast yet. We forgot about that cuz the puppy needed help."
"Not hungry."
"You should at least have something to drink."
He turned his head.
Wilhelmina made him look her in the eyes. "It'll be a little while for them to fix up the puppy. They'll call us."
He folded his arms.
"She wouldn't want you to run yourself ragged for her. I can promise you that."
"Okay."
She smiled. "I'm gonna go to the receptionist and let them know to contact us in case."
He frowned as she walked away. In case what?