It's Definitely Not All Mary Poppins

You Don't Talk Nonsense, Children (2)

Lilliana tossed the pencil across the kitchen table and harrumphed. Crossing her arms, she sank into her chair, wiggling her legs in agitation. "I'm not doing it."

Matthew sighed, his breath a puff of white, standing to retrieve it a fifth time. "Lilly, you said."

"That was before. This is now. I'm not doing it." She pulled the sleeve of her sweater down over her reddened knuckles. "Besides, it's too cold."

"I know, but – " Honestly, the roof collapsing had been a blessing. Matt and Yang met from across the living room the day after it happened and silently agreed that the contractors would fucking pay for putting them into substandard conditions. A joint vendetta.

The moment was nice.

They avoided each other after that.

"Why can't we, just, get a hotel room while they fix the roof?" she asked. "It's too cold everywhere."

Matthew's teeth chattered in the frigid air. "That's the plan," he muttered. He didn't care enough to coordinate all the furniture going into storage or how costly it was going to be – Yang and Audrey could do that without all of his planning and research. He didn't care enough to tell his employer they were getting a double suite at his expense. "You do know driving you to school's going to turn into an hour-long affair, right?"

She grumbled. "So what are we supposed to do until tomorrow? We're just supposed to turn into wendigos, or jötunns, until winter's over?"

"We're leaving tomorrow, sweet child."

"Wendigos and jötunns, Matt!"

Matthew sighed. "I'm not going to chew my lips off. I like them where they are."

"Not yet," she grumbled under her breath.

"And I don't know how to become a jötunn. Maybe your cousin would know."

Lilliana wiggled in her seat. "He would."

"Okay, look, your dad's been on the phone with the contractors for the past three days. We've got roofers working today to fix the patches, too. It'll be done in no time." Though the Sullivan Foundation was its own fight that Matthew would like to never remember again. He was more than happy throwing it to Audrey to deal with.

"Well, that doesn't make – Oh! I had a question!"

Matthew sighed. "If you're going to ask to finish your map of the winter kingdom of Niveis because you've been 'struck with frozen inspiration', I can assure you, my sweet child, the answer is going to be, 'First homework'."

"No, not that, but – " She stuck out her tongue at him. "You butt!" Despite this, she grinned. Lilly's expression softened after that. "Eli told me he told you. After the museum."

He watched her for a moment. "He told you?"

She nodded.

Matthew raised a brow. "Willingly, or did you read him?"

"He told me," she said. "But even then, I...kinda knew he told you."

"You can read everyone, can't you?"

She shrugged. "If I know them, I can. If I don't, it's weirder. Harder. Kinda. Eli used a word to describe me. Em-something, I don't remember. But yeah. Eli has his powers, I have mine, and you have yours."

"My powers?"

Lilliana hummed, glancing skyward. "You care about stuff. Like, a lot. And you don't pretend you care when you don't, because a lot of the time, you do. You're this, like, great calm. Kinda like...like Alkonosts and their singing, or dryads dealing with people who like nature. You try to make things okay, and you don't bel..." She pursed her lips. "...bel...I know the word, I swear. Bel...b – talk down to us." Lilly met Matthew's eyes, her nose a gentle pink from the cold. "You try to be a good person, even when it's hard." She grimaced a moment later. "You try to be happy, but you're sad, just like everyone else. But when we ask about it, you don't try to hide it."