A Fairy Out of Her Tale - Dear Diary - 49. Scene 49

20th January 1995

Dear Yawning Diary,

I didn't get to the library today either. I tried, I swear I did! But I wasn't even at the door by the time I heard Lóránt calling everyone other than Unn down to the kitchen. They did an announcement in the house's internal speaker system (I didn't know we had that kind of thing here. But now I can't unsee the speaker attached to the corner of my bedroom wall, nearly obscured by the curtain. I hope it's just to deliver messages, not for anyone to listen to what I'm doing on my own - or with company, for that matter) in at least 3 different languages, including Fadalesh.

How many languages does Lóránt speak? I guess the job kind of requires them to be able to at least have a grasp of the main language groups so that they can communicate with any refugee that comes to them. That would be amazing if true!

And here I am struggling to learn even a second language...

Anyway, we all made our way to the kitchen to see what Lóránt wanted. I got there first, because I was already out of my room when I heard the announcement, so I got to hear instructions before the others:

'Take a seat, please.' Lóránt pointed to the dining table. They had dark marks under their eyes, and some of the feathers in their wings seemed to be sticking out at odd angles. Was it painful? Or was it the equivalent of a pillow hairdo?

'What is going on?'

'I need to talk to all of you.'

'Did something happen to Unn? Is she OK?'

Lóránt sighed. 'She could've been better. But you guessed right. We need to talk about her.'

They sounded too ominous for me to feel like asking any more questions, so I just sat on the first chair I saw and pretended to be entertained by my bouncy locks of hair while I wanted for the others to show up. It was ridiculously early in the morning still, earlier than everybody usually got down for breakfast, so my guess was that Kris and Lydia had been woken up by the announcement and needed time to get ready. Not that I would mind seeing Lydia in her pyjamas...

Kris arrived first, though. He was wearing a grey onesie stamped with black bats, fluffy sleepers, and his hair had not yet been put up in the usual mohican. It was the first time I saw him wearing anything vaguely form-fitting (he usually prefers leather jackets and spikes), so I'll try not to feel guilty about the way I stared at his chest. He's got even more boobs than Unn, the kind that should've been too big to hide under a jacket. How come I never noticed? I guess Kris is a shape-shifter after all, and today he decided to put on boobs for whatever reason.

At least Kris was mid-yawn when he entered the kitchen, so he only saw me once he had already sat on the chair next to mine and didn't notice my impolite staring. He tried to make an intimidating face as per his usual standard greeting, but it got cut short by another yawn.

And then Lóránt and I yawned too, obviously.

Lóránt and Kris spoke in some foreign language that was probably Daisenian (which again points to Kris being a shape-shifter. Of course, I should've realised how obvious it was from the start. Why did I think he couldn't possibly be a shape-shifter? It's not like he could be anything else...). Kris didn't try to get up and find a seat further away from me, but if his constant yawning was any indication, it was because he was too lazy to bother.

Finally, after Kris made us yawn another five times, Lydia appeared through the door. Our eyes met and I swear I saw longing reflected in her beautiful, fascinating, shiny glowing orbs of passion...

Hold on. I'm sorry not sorry for that description. If I could routinely use all possible cliches combined to describe Lydia, I would. The only reason I don't is because as fun as they are to write in the heat of the moment, I too cringe at them once I come back to reread the entries. So I'm allowing myself to go overboard this once because it was the first time I properly saw her since the whole poop fiasco. But no more!

Lydia and I made eye contact. I tried to smile, but by then Lydia had already remembered that we weren't supposed to be on speaking terms (or that she wasn't on speaking terms with me) and turned her face away. She sat on her usual cushiony pad in front of the chair Kris had chosen, and we all turned to Lóránt to hear what this meeting was supposed to be about.

'Thank you for coming. We have all gathered here today to discuss something important. I know you should be heading to school soon, but if you end up being late, I will write to your teachers explaining the situation. I would rather not wait for this.'

Lóránt spoke in Fadalesh. I knew Lydia would have no trouble understanding it, but what I had seen and heard of Kris until now suggested he wasn't as fluent in it. He was staring at Lóránt with a frown and inching closer to them, as if it would make their speech easier to understand. But Kris didn't seem completely clueless, so maybe his understanding was better than his ability to speak?

'We need to talk about Unn.'

Lóránt dropped that bombshell on us, just like I'm doing to you right now. Lóránt obviously had more to say, but you'll have to wait a bit more before I can tell you what it is. I'm sorry, but I promised Lóránt I would do some Unn-related stuff right now. And I won't tell you what it is yet, because if I do what is the point of keeping the suspense for what Lóránt told us at the meeting?

We'll continue this when I get back.