Echoes of The Past - Intros and Sorrows (Pt. 4)

The next morning, Celeste was awoken to the warm smell of flapjacks being made downstairs in the kitchen. Finding new motivation to get up to start the day, Celeste pulled herself out of bed and headed downstairs to ask if she could join Rita for some breakfast.

When Celeste entered the dining room, she was met by two comical characters from the night before.

While little Sebby was sitting on the dining room table eating blueberries and small bits of pancakes, Hubert was faced away from Celeste, making the said morning meal.

The first thing Celeste noticed about Hubert was that his brown hair was long, wirey, and rather curly. It reached his mid-back, along with his beard that Celeste couldn't see from the back. Hubert wore a large wizard type hat on his head and a long purple robe with sack shoes. He also happened to be very lanky and tall... Oh, and another thing she noticed was that Hubert was dancing in place as he cooked.

Sebastian saw her but only waved with the hand that had leaking blueberries in them to greet her. He didn't say anything because his mouth was full of- you guessed it- blueberries.

It wasn't until Hubert turned around that he noticed Celeste standing there. He jumped and nearly dropped a plate of pancakes he had made- it appeared he was making wagons full.

"Ah!" Hubert squinted his eyes at Celeste as though he couldn't see her very well before he used his other had to take a pair of round glasses out of his robe and placed them on his nose. "Oh, Lore Wain! You startled me. Why didn't you say something?" When he spoke, his fluffy mustache flapped up and down on his lip like a fazzledove trying to fly away.

Celeste became a bit bashful upon realizing she had just been tiredly observing the two of them and forgot to greet them. "I'm sorry... I just... I'm still waking up, I didn't mean to startle you."

Hubert looked over at Seb and huffed. "And why didn't you say anything?"

Sebastian swallowed the mouthful he had. "I was eating!" He whined. "These blueberries are so good..."

"Of course..." Hubert cleared his throat. "Eats every forty minutes and still somehow has room for more..." He muttered before looking back at Celeste. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Celeste, I've heard all about you from Rita. My name is Hubert and I'm a scientist."

"It's nice to meet you too, Hubert." Celeste smiled before curiously asking, "Was that explosion part of an experiment yesterday?"

"Oh yes, Ma'am. I was trying to mix sodium metal with water to see if there was a reaction... Well... there was... I had to put out a fire but not to worry! No harm done." Hubert chuckled as he turned and got Celeste a plate of flapjacks and handed it to her. "Also, I'm making food for you and your crew. Here's your breakfast!"

There was something odd about Hubert caught Celeste's attention while he was talking.

While Hubert's beard and fashion choices gave impression that he was an older man, his voice didn't match this appearance. His voice sounded youthful, like a man in his early 20s. When he talked, it was almost like your brain would try to add an elderly voice just to reconcile the mismatched combination.

"Lore Wain?"

Celeste shook her head when she realized she had done another moment of daydreaming and took the plate being offered to her. "I'm sorry. Thank you so much, I really appreciate that, Hubert."

Hubert smiled as he went back to cooking vigorouy to get enough pancakes made for the others before they all woke up.

Celeste smiled awkwardly, being embarrassed she had zoned out twice since walking into the kitchen. She quietly sat at the table with the kidgerunner, thanked the Maker for her food, and then began eating her pancakes.

By the time Celeste had joined him, Sebastian had finished all the food on his plate and appeared hopelessly sticky with blueberry juice all over his small hands and face. He saw her begin to eat and scooted closer, seeming either to want to talk to her or ask for more food.

Hubert caught this in the corner of his eye and he pointed his spatula at Seb. "Don't you go begging for more food from our guests, Seb! You get your meal times. You shouldn't act like you're starving."

"I'm not!" Sebastian squeaked. "I'm full, Mr. Hue!"

Hubert lowered his spatula. "Good. You ask me or Miss Rita if you're hungry. Alright?"

"Yes, Sir..." Seb muttered.

Hubert turned back to his cooking and resumed his goofy dancing.

Celeste looked at Sebastian and smiled. "How are you today, little one?"

"Okay..." Seb replied, trying not to eye the blueberries that topped Celeste's breakfast. "I'm Sebastian... It's nice to meet you... Miss Lore Wain."

She was very quick to notice that Sebastian wanted her blueberries and she giggled. "It's nice to meet you too, Seb." Celeste picked a blueberry off of her pancakes with her hand and then gave it to Sebastian. "Here."

Sebastian's face lit up with a delighted smile and he quickly ate the blueberry she gave him. "Thank you!" He shouted with glee and tried not to ask for more.

"Ah, I see you're awake." Rita could be heard saying as she entered the kitchen and retrieved her own plate of pancakes. "Good morning, everyone."

"Good morning!" Hubert and Seb said in unison followed by a morning greeting from Celeste as well.

Rita walked over to the table and set her plate beside Sebastian's empty one. She took a handkerchief out of her pocket and licked it and began to wipe Sebastian's face with it.

"Nooo!" Sebastian protested as Rita cleaned the blueberry juice off his hands and face. "I was going to save the juice for later!"

"You don't know where your hands have been." Rita mothered and continued to wipe off the sticky fruit residue. "And dried juice on your hands is hardly a snack."

Sebastian groaned.

"So, Rita... I don't think I've ever met someone like you before." Celeste commented with a smile on her face.

"Whatever do you mean?" Rita asked.

"Well... You're taking care of a ridgerunner, have dozens and dozens of pet thwaps and squeeblins, and have provided housing for me and my unlikely companions... You have a big heart." Celeste mused with a smile, meaning every word she spoke.

Rita grinned warmly. "That's very sweet of you to say, Celeste... Many others have called me crazy but I always ask them 'What's so crazy about being kind?'" She sat down after she finished cleaning up Seb. Sebastian left the kitchen right after to get back to playing. "I found Sebastian when he was an infant... He was presumably abandoned in the middle of the street and a wagon almost ran right over him. The driver thought he was no more than part of the ground he was lying on." Rita sighed. "I still don't know where he came from..."

"Wow... So would you say... Sebastian is more like a son than a pet?" Celeste asked, clearing up something she heard before she arrived.

"Oh heavens, who would call a child a pet?" Rita replied with shock, thinking Celeste was insulting her. "Whatever got you the idea that he was a pet?"

"Oh, no ,no! That's not what I meant." Celeste laughed nervously. "You see, I heard some rumors and just wanted to be sure... I have a friend who came with me that's a ridgerunner and he showed concern about this rumor too."

Rita relaxed in her seat. "Ohhh, I see... My mistake, I should have known you didn't mean it like that." She took a bite of her pancakes. "Where is your ridgerunner friend? I think Sebby needs some time with his own kind... Not to hand him off, of course, but to learn proper behavior... I can only teach so much."

Celeste nodded. "Of course. My friend Zarabean is great with children. I'm sure he'd love to play with little Seb... Oh, and my nephew and Cynthia as well!"

"Cynthia? That's the same name as the princess that went missing." Rita rose an eyebrow. "Could she be the same Cynthia?"

While Cynthia's once long hair was starting to grow back, it was still quite short compared to what it used to be when she was in Torrboro. It was no wonder Rita didn't recognize her right away for that reason but also because the company had arrived at a later hour.

"Yes, she's the same one... Poor girl has been through horrors that none of us know of fully..." Celeste sighed.

Rita leaned closer and spoke softly. "And so have you, Lore Wain. And that nephew of yours." She shook her head with sorrow. "The horrors that you've endured this far and you still have so far to go..."

Celeste felt her throat begin to tighten as she choked up.

It had been some months since she had allowed herself to think about and grieve the loss of her family. During her trip over to Skree, she kept herself occupied with the needs of others so much she had almost forgotten what had landed them in the position they were in. The remembrance pierced Celeste's heart once again.

She set her fork down and choked back tears, desperately trying to keep herself from crying in front of her gracious hosts.

"Oh, dear..." Rita set her fork down as well and rose to her feet and gave Celeste a hug. "It will be alright, I'm sorry... I did not mean to upset you..."

When Hubert heard Celeste's sniffing, he paused his cooking and dancing to turn and look at her. His eyebrows pressed upward in a pitiful expression of sorrow. If there was one thing Hubert hated, it was to see a lady cry.

Hubert quietly and quickly finished up cooking and then rushed out of the kitchen to do something.