"It's okay, Lilith... I should've worded it better," Maggie said, biting her lip, finally understanding why Noah and Lilith were so wary about telling people things that were not commonplace.
Sha watched this take place with a heavy heart. She knew her sisters didn't mean anything bad, but to Maggie, their reaction could come as a bucket of cold water to her enthusiasm. As she looked at the girls, she also muttered about what Maggie had just said, "If I could somehow do some damage to protect me from—what am I even thinking. Even if he had that godly power, I'd not warrant him doing that much for me..."
Either way, nobody heard her mutter, so nobody could know she felt that way, nor that this would be so important for her later.
"I'm sorry... I got a little too interested," Al said, recollecting herself into her usual self.
"Same, sorry..." Khish echoed her, but Sha would still not let it pass.
"Don't you guys think you've done too much?" She raised herself, kneeling onto the bed and standing above them. "Not once, but two times already!? Start to control yourselves," raising her voice too, Sha's demeanor looked very different to her usual calm and shy self, to the point Maggie and Lilith looked at each other, before watching the show unfold. "They brought us here to have fun and talk, and Noah has already been doing so much for all of us, can't you kids contain your enthusiasm for one damn night?!" she asked, scolding the two, who had no face against her.
"Sorry sis..." Khish said, while Al bit her lip while looking down.
"When you see it like that, doesn't it look like she's the elder sister instead of the youngest?" Maggie asked Lilith, no longer nervous. After all, it was clear they didn't mean her any ill, and were just a little quick to the gun when it came to those types of things. Maggie held herself, as she heard Lilith try to contain her laughter, and instead let the snake down on the bed, "I'm grabbing some things to eat." She stood up and walked towards the table, realizing the platter of canapés was empty, and taking it with her. Looking back, she saw Lilith slowly grow back to a more respectable size, as Sha continued to lecture her sisters.
As she saw them talk, a question started harboring in her heart, one which she really wanted answered. Maggie grabbed a tray of snacks, with fried chips and a type of small snack that was round on one side and pointy the other. She had been told it was an ancient delicacy from Planet E, which was filled with shredded chicken and a creamy cheese-like substance, inside a deepfried crust. Either way, she was looking forward to taste it. "May I ask you something?" she said, towards the three girls. Immediately, almost like clockwork, Khish and Al nodded, probably due to Sha's lecturing. "So... Sorry if it may be a little mean, but..." she second-thought her question, but chose to ask it regardless, "Why would people like you, who were born with a Blessing from a god, choose to change blessing to another, that not only doesn't come from a god, but might even be of a worse rank than yours?"
Maggie's question left everyone speechless. Sure, they knew she was mature for her age, but this was a little too much on the mature side of questions, to the point it could leave one nervous.
"So..." Al was the one to start speaking first. "In my case, at least, I never knew I had one. And because of it, my life was a lot harder than it needed to be," she said, taking a deep breath and leaning back against her arms onto the bed. "I would rather not have any blessing at all... But if I can at least get one and be useful... I would take it," she finished, straightening herself and looking over at Maggie, who was looking at her with eyes of understanding.
"I see... But your case isn't like most, right? I mean, isn't everyone supposed to undergo the Blessed Screening?" Maggie asked, trying to understand her position.
"Yeah... but I think you already know my situation is kinda awkward," Al answered with a sideways smirk.
"I see... And why you, Khi?" she asked once more, this time, calling Khish by her nickname, which made her smile slightly, before starting to answer her question.
"Um... Honestly? Probably because I still have some faith in my parents, in them accepting me. Maybe if my blessing was not from this cursed god..." She paused, realizing what she was telling a child, even if a mature one. "You could say it's because I want to be someone, not just a shadow behind the curtains," she cooked up another answer, a more tame one, but equally as truthful. She herself wasn't so sure which was the correct answer, especially now that she knew they had cast her aside like a disposable pawn, but she just swallowed that bitter truth and still had hope.
"Khish..." Sha muttered her name, hearing her words, as her heart clenched. She knew she had left her house because of what happened with Al, but to see her other sister go through the same... she couldn't help but blame herself, even if only a little.
"Maybe we should wrap this topic up before this room start flooding with tears," Lilith butted in, slithering across the bed and onto Maggie's platter.
"HEY!" she protested, but not before the snake gobbled up a couple of the pointy crispy treats.
"Damn! Those are awesome, what are they called?" she said, munching down on the food.
"I don't know! Don't do that!" Maggie protested once again, holding the platter with one hand, and throwing a pair of the small things onto her mouth too. "Ummmm~ Dish, dish arr delishoush!" she said, her mouth still full of food, but loud enough to grab the others' attention.
In a second, the three girls all turned, eating from the platter, endulging in the strange delicacy nobody knew the name of.
"The cream makes it a lot better!" Khish said, as she tried some, Maggie sneaking away from them and going to the door, knocking.
"Yes, maam?" a voice came from the other side immediately, a woman's, that of the maid that was in charge of their sleepover.
"Can you bring us more of that pointy chicken thing?" she asked, not knowing the name of the food.
"You mean the 'coxinhas'?" the maid asked from the other side, trying to guess what she meant.
"Are those the ones with chicken and cream inside and a pointy end?" Maggie retorted.
"Y—Yes, maam."
"Then those! Bring more, we loved it," she said with glee, to which the woman replied shortly and set off, allowing Maggie to hear her first few steps. "So that's what they are called, huh..." she murmured, as she walked towards the bed again, but stopping at the fridge and getting a carbonated drink. "But man do they make one thristy," she muttered to herself, as she gulped down the drink, grabbing the remote as she did so. "Hey! Leave some for me too! That's unfair!" she plead, as she jogged towards the nearby bed, realizing the little 'coxinhas' were already about to end, despite the girls eating them politely.
As she arrived, still smiling, her eyes fell onto the very last one, and she reached forward to grab it. At the same time a snake lunged forward to take a bite. "Lilith!" and like in a cartoon, she lifted her hand that was holding the snack, and was inside a snake's mouth.
Lilith pulled herself back with a pop, as her mouth released Maggie's hand, "Sorry," she said with a happy voice that made it seem like she was grinning.
"Hmmm... Now my hands are covered in drool," she said, moving her hand around in the light.
"Hey! It's not drool, it's saliva, okay?" Lilith protested, coiling the tip of her tail, which made it seem like she was folding her arms, and made everyone laugh.
"At least this isn't wet," Maggie said, throwing the coxinha into her mouth.
And making Lilith freeze in astonishment and disbelief, as the girl ate something that had literally come out of her mouth, as a chill ran down her spine.
"I'mma wash my hands, be right back," Maggie told them, before rushing towards the bathroom.
As she watched the girl's back, Lilith slid her tongue over her mouth, "I can still taste it... and she put it in her mouth..." she muttered to herself, still in disbelief, as time passed way faster than she thought, and soon Maggie left the bathroom again, to her still staring blankly into the distance. "She ate it..." the snake still murmured, while the other three ate the other snacks on the platter.
"Hey, you guys wanna watch Noah's arena fights with me?" Maggie asked, making Lilith snap from her situation, and turn towards her.
"Sure!" Khish was the first to agree, followed by Allie, who nodded.
With a grin, Maggie turned towards the projection on the wall, and started scrambling through the menus in order to put the recorded fights up for them to watch.
"... I'm not sure I wanna see myself in there...." Sha muttered, loud enough only Lilith, who was still on the bed with her, could listen.
"... Seeing yourself recorded must feel very weird, right?" Lilith asked, turning towards the embarrassed healer, whose face was now the same color as her hair, as the first fight of the arena began playing on the wall, enormous.
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