| • Set Inn Stowne • | • Lumine X Kody • |

•Chapter VII•

Kody walked towards the living room. It was empty, besides for Lumine. He was sitting at a table, eating pancakes. They were golden brown, topped with butter, whipped cream, and berries. Kody's mouth watered just looking at them. "Where is everyone?" Kody asked. Lumine held his index finger in the air, signifying he needed a moment to swallow the pancake before responding.

Lumine gulped. "Didn't Aiden tell you? They left yesterday. But they said they'll be back later today." He grinned challengingly at Kody, "Then we can begin our fun-off!"

Kody sat down on the chair next to Lumine. "Why not just do it with the two of us?" Kody rested his elbow on the table and put his head in his hand.

"Well... Aiden did say he wanted to do stuff with you, right? Might as well do it at the same time." Lumine took another bite of the pancakes. Kody looked over at them once again and stared in awe at their perfection.

"Who made those pancakes?" Kody asked.

"I did, actually! How come?" Lumine answered enthusiastically. Kody looked off to the side.

"They just... Look tasty. Have you cooked before?"

Lumine thought for a moment. "No, I don't think so..." Lumine pokes at the pancakes in thought, "Want me to make you a few?"

Kody turned towards Lumine with his usual uncaring expression, "... If you don't mind." Lumine smiled widely and immediately stood up from his chair.

"I don't! I think cooking is fun!" Lumine stood up excitedly, with his tail wagging. He rushed over to the stove, "Just give me like four minutes?" Kody nodded, rhythmically tapping his fingers on the table. He closed his eyes in thought.
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"Just leave me alone."

"But what's wrong?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Just tell me, I'm here for you!"

"Look, I said I don't want to talk! Go away!"

"I don't understand why you're pushing me away like this! I really just wanna hel-"

"I said, GO AWAY!"

He flailed his arms toward her, and a bright green light shone. She fell on the ground, clutching her now burned arm.

"Oh my god, I'm so-"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" She squeezed her arm harder.

"I promise, I didn't mean to-"

"I WAS TRYING TO HELP, AND YOU ATTACKED ME? WHAT SORT OF FRIEND ARE YOU?" She yelled at the top of her lungs, tears flowing down her eyes. She stood up and ran away.

The boy was left alone. Disgusted with his actions, he sat on the grass dark green grass, and curled into a ball. She's was right. He wiped his tears. I'm not worth a dime.
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"Kody?" Kody's eyes snapped open. "Wow, how are you able to go to sleep all of a sudden?" Lumine asked with a smile. Kody looked down, distracted. A short and awkward silence filled the room. "Um..." Lumine pushed a plate towards him. "Pancakes are done."

Kody had already seen the pancakes before, but there was just an aesthetic to them. Their edges were so crisp and the pancakes themselves were cooked to perfection. On the top, there was butter, whipped cream, raspberries and blueberries. The syrup ran smoothly down the sides. The thought of eating and ruining the masterpiece was painful. Despite this, he pushed a fork down into the top of the first pancake and used a knife to cut a piece off. He placed it into his mouth.