14 Another Sunday

One Sunday afternoon found Zena and Alissa in the former's backyard partaking in what the adults had thought to be a fun little game at first. The children had migrated to the back yard almost as soon as Alissa had stepped through the door, both of them gathering a ridiculous amount of tennis balls to be found in the shed Vincent had built. They were left to their own devices, the adults confident their children wouldn't do something too ridiculous. Yet they come outside to find Alissa throwing tennis balls at a blindfolded Zena who was clearly frustrated by the number of times she had been hit in the face. After a ball was thrown Alissa would run around Zena, never staying in the same place for long. When she would get to running Zena would frantically swivel around as if she could follow her running. The adults did not know if they should stop them or not and frankly they were not that concerned, even when Zena got a ball to the face.

"What in the world are they doing?" Comes the question from the woman who could be Rose's twin. Iris leans against the open doorway as her eyes follow her daughter running around her niece. She has this look of absolute mirth on her face as she launches balls at the defenceless Zena.

"My guess is as good as yours" Rose doesn't even bother looking out into the backyard at the children. She has learned to let them do whatever it is they want to do until they tire themselves out. One thing she has learned through this is that those two have an impressive amount of energy, for they can be out there for hours on end. "Just leave them alone, eventually they'll stop and come looking for some food"

Speaking of food, Rose is in the kitchen as per usual, looking to make something for her family.

"I do remember Vincent telling you to get some rest, Rosie"

Rose rolls her eyes at the words as she continues to do what she loves. Iris already knew her sister wouldn't be held up in her room when she could be in the kitchen making one thing or another. Ever since they were children this woman has loved to cook, a hobby Iris did not share with her. It's only because of Rose that she learned to cook as well as she does and while she does enjoy it now, she does not spend as much time in the kitchen as her younger sister.

"Vincent has a point you know, go rest. You're six months pregnant now, you shouldn't be on your feet all day, you'll hurt your back" Iris realizes that Rose has been through all of this with Zena, but she also realizes that Rose is a very stubborn person who does not listen to others very easily.

"But someone needs to cook"

"I can do it, hell, even Vincent can handle that. Living with you he is bound to have developed some skills" Iris is surprised Rose is letting her lead her out of the kitchen and into the living room. She was expecting some sort of fight because Rose is not one to go down easy.

"I'm lightheaded"

That explains it. Iris allows a small chuckle as she helps her sister onto the three-person couch, making sure she's lying comfortably before leaving her with a tap on the foot.

"I'll get you some water"

Returning to the kitchen Iris hears a shout of victory come from her niece. A curious brow is quirked as she glances out the window to see what the girls are up to. She isn't sure what exactly Zena has to celebrate, but she is very happy about it if her little dance is anything to go by.

"I did it!"

Iris has to laugh as she watches Zena box the air in her excitement. As she watches her she looks at her own daughter and suddenly feels as if her celebration is about to be cut short.

Having come to the kitchen for a glass of water she gets back to her task, already stepping into the living room when there's another shout from Zena, this one of pain instead of success.

"Alissa! Why would you do that!?"

"To see if you could do it again, that's why we're out here"

Iris was sure Zena would one-day fight Alissa for all the things she does to her.

~~~~~~~~

I'm starting to regret this entire situation when I'm hit in the side with another ball. It seemed like the perfect idea at first, but now as I suffer from multiple bruises I truly realize what an idiot I was. My goal is to detect movement through vibration in the earth just as Toph had learned to do, for it is a valuable and impressive skill to have. That was my only goal until I realized I could also try to detect the shift in the air, hence Alissa throwing tennis balls at me. I manage to dodge one ball, just one ball, after more than two hours of being assaulted by sports balls. More than two hours of entertaining my cousin as she would always laugh at my pain. I'm starting to think she has a bit of a sadistic streak.

Obviously, things are far harder than I had expected and that's saying a lot for I already foresaw this as being a difficult endeavour. Feeling the vibrations through the earth is like trying to listen to just one instrument in a chaotic mash-up. There are vibrations coming from all around me, making it difficult for me to discern which is that of Alissa. It's even more difficult because it's Alissa I'm trying to find. That quirk of hers seems to make her a natural at stealth because her presence, as well as her steps, are virtually non-existent. This girl can be right behind me and I wouldn't know until she makes herself known. The only reason I'm not constantly scared half to death by this small girl is that I can hear her thoughts a mile away.

Then there's the challenge of feeling the shift in the wind. That's far more difficult than feeling vibrations run through my body for some reason. It's not something I can explain if asked, it's just odd to try and do such a thing. When I try I can't feel a single difference until the ball is less than an inch away from impacting me and that would only be useful if I was Quicksilver.

Huh, I did explain it.

I'll figure it out at some point because I will not be satisfied until I have acquired these skills.

"Are we done?" Alissa, who was in front of me not ten seconds ago, is at my side, a tennis ball in hand and a teasing smile on her face. "Because I was having a lot of fun"

"I bet you were" as I've said before; sadist. She'd be perfectly fine if we were to continue my torture for a few more hours and as confident as I am in my ability to handle anything she throws at me, I will not be reckless.

"Okay, we're done then"

I'm sure Alissa knows what kind of pain I'm in, yet she chooses to playfully punch my shoulder and have the audacity to look surprised when I almost crumble in pain. I swear I will fight this girl even though I believe it to be futile. I glare at her and as always she's smiling at me as if she had done nothing while her thoughts openly mock me. I don't know what it is with the women in this family, but I've come to realize that the women in this family are terribly cruel, at least the women on my mother's side of the family. I had wondered where my mother had adopted her personality and one day found out that it came from her mother. I wonder why I hadn't noticed it before.

Oh but I love it.

My mother won't take shit from anyone and she expects me to be the same.

On the other hand, she's a very sarcastic and mean person sometimes, something I seem to have inherited.

No matter, it's all good.

Alissa and I got into the house after washing all the dirt off our feet with the intention of getting something to eat. My mom isn't in the kitchen as I had feared, instead aunt Iris has taken her place and was just adding the finishing touches to some grilled chicken salad sandwiches, something my mother always makes me. It's pretty good despite how weird it sounds, at least it sounds weird to me.

"You got mom out of the kitchen?" That's a near-impossible task seeing as the woman loves to cook for some reason. I like to cook as well, but not as much as her. But the perks of having her as a mother means I'm taught to make some dishes you could find at a high-end restaurant.

"I'm as surprised as you" Aunt Iris bounces her shoulder in a shrug as she hands me my sandwich and a box of juice. "Don't mention it though, she might want to come back"

I'm already moving to the living room when those words are said. I find my mother on the living room couch resembling a burrito under a very thick blanket eating cereal straight out the box. I stop at the door, shivering from the coldness of the room and trying to accept the fact that my mother is eating my cereal, and from the way her hand's more than halfway down the box I'm sure I won't have any cereal left.

"Wow, we can raise some penguins in this room" Alissa comments as she wanders into the room with little care. She throws herself on the smallest couch, hanging off it very dangerously and still managing to eat her sandwich without making a mess.

Okay, there is no way I'm just sitting out in the open in this cold ass room. Mom looks like she has more than enough space for me so I don't even hesitate to crawl under the blanket with her. She doesn't really seem to care as she barely acknowledges my presence, too caught up in the animal documentary she's watching. I swear pregnant women are weird creatures. Just the other day I caught mom eating pickles with ice cream. I had expected weird cravings so I made sure to keep my mouth shut and let her have her moment. I was even kind enough to try it when offered even though I truly believed it would be the death of me.

Way too dramatic, I admit.

It wasn't terrible, but I won't eat it by choice.

"I'll patch you up later" mom finally speaks to me, her words followed by a squeeze to my arm, making me try to wiggle away. "That's what you get"

If she does that again I will cry with no shame because it hurts a lot.

"Aunt Rosie you should go for her sides, it hurts a lot more over there" my cousin's words are almost muffled with the sandwich she stuffed in her mouth. She's grinning at me, waggling her brows in mischief and all I want is to slap that smile off her face.

"Keep it up, Lissa and Zen will fight you" Aunt Iris pushes her daughter off her couch, to my joy, and takes her place with a mocking smile. "She'll fight you and likely win"

"What!? No, she won't, she wouldn't be able to catch me" my small cousin tries to defend with utmost confidence in her words while crawling to sit at aunt Iris' feet.

She has a point. That kid has had her quirk far longer than I and seems to fully understand the ins and outs of her abilities better than I. And while she may not seem like much, being as small as she is, she's surprisingly strong and rightfully fast on her feet and uses some form of judo that works very well in her favour. I've never fought her but I have seen her practising her moves and I know for a fact that we're on the same level when it comes to martial arts.

"One day"

One day I'll have a little sparring match with her to see if I can even lay a single finger on her. It would also be good practice I suppose.

"Oh that day can be today, Zeni" she's boxing the air with her own added sound effects.

"Oh no, you just say that because I'm beat"

"Yeah, it'll be a great experience for you"

I ignore the logic of her statement in favour of getting back to the sandwich my aunt was kind enough to make me. Before I can even take a bite my mother beats me to it by taking a big chunk of my food right before my eyes. I'm left staring at what was once a full sandwich before sighing and just eating it. There really is no use in saying anything is there?

"Want some of my juice too?" I offer my box of pineapple juice that I haven't even opened yet. Knowing this woman, she'll beat me to it again, so I might as well.

Without a word she takes my offering, thanking me with a kiss to the top of my head. Well, I guess that's payment enough. I should ask dad to get me some more cereal, maybe about five to ten boxes this time if my mother keeps her craving for my breakfast.

"Need anything else? I can make a run"

"Ice cream and cookies"

"That's all?"

"For now"

Okay, bet. I'm off before she changes her mind and in the kitchen just as quick. I made the mistake of leaving my sandwich there so I'm sure there will be nothing left of it when I return, which means it's best I get myself something as well. I swear this woman can eat for ten people now and her stomach is big enough for me to balance my controller on, something I've done often when she decides she wants to stay in my room. She's weird when she's pregnant.

I'm curious as to whether we're having a boy or girl. Mom doesn't want to know, even when I promised not to tell her and just let the doctor give me the news. I know how to keep a secret. There's no reason for me to be clueless too

It is what it is.

I'll just have to wait and see.

Though from the way that kid has been kicking in that belly of hers I can see a future in soccer be it boy or girl.

One thing's for sure though, boy or girl I will be the best older sister in every sense.

By that I mean I will make sure to raise a monster.