Enid was the first to wake up.
It was something that had started to become more and more frequent, especially in the last year.
Normally, Wednesday was usually the first of the two to get up at dawn. Enid still remembered those first mornings of their first year together at Nevermore, waking up and having as her first sight of the morrow a pair of dark, black eyes watching her from across the room. Something that at first made her nervous, even terrified her, but ended up being a welcome vision to start the day. Enid learned to see the adoration in that stare.
But since her first transformation, Enid had noticed an increase in the mornings when she was the first to welcome the new day.
Being more in sync with her inner wolf meant needing fewer hours of sleep except on the eves of a full moon. Except for those few days of the month, rare was the night when Enid needed more than four or five hours of sleep and her senses seemed to be more attuned to changes in light and temperature subconsciously.
That's why, despite the nest of blankets and sheets blocking the sunlight coming through the window, a sleepy Enid noticed the arrival of dawn before anyone else, waking up hugging Wednesday.
The werewolf smiled. Wednesday had fallen asleep cuddling her too, but as it usually happened sometime during the night the Addams had reverted in her sleep to her traditional posture: face up, stretched out like a corpse in the coffin and with her arms crossed over her chest. Enid had always found it curious that Wednesday slept more like a stereotypical vampire than the vampires she knew.
Poor Divina had woken up more than once in the wee hours of the morning with Yoko's foot in her nose.
With the smile still on her lips, wrapped in the warmth of the blankets, Enid tightened her embrace around Wednesday as she opened her eyes to watch her. As always when her eyes fell on her beloved's face, Enid's breath caught for a moment. To Enid, Wednesday was always beautiful at all times and in all circumstances, but in her sleep, with each and every muscle in her face relaxed and serene the Addams was a sight to treasure.
As Enid moved a few centimeters, looking to get more comfortable, she noticed another body at her back. Remembering that they were not alone, the she-wolf raised her head to observe the other occupants of the room and had to hold back a laugh that threatened to escape from her mouth.
Friday was sleeping next to them. Needler was somewhat more secluded, situated at their feet. Woe was even farther away, near the part of the makeshift tent of blankets and sheets that served as the entrance.
And all three slept in exactly the same position as Wednesday. Enid found the picture both adorable and hilarious.
Oh my gosh, I wish I could take a picture of this, she thought, as she covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.
Smiling even wider at the scene, Enid turned back to Wednesday and found a pair of dark eyes staring at her.
"Good morning, mia lupa."
"Bonjour, my shadow."
Wednesday inhaled deeply and her eyes seemed to grow even darker, filled with hunger, "Enid...French...at this hour..."
She said no more as her lips were met by those of her lupine paramour.
It would have been a deep, passionate kiss, but controlled because they were both aware of their surroundings. Unfortunately it remained a shorter kiss than expected when a deadpan voice echoed in the room causing both of them to separate suddenly.
"You're reminding me of Father and Mother, and it's disturbing in a way that I can't find amusing at all."
Woe was awake, sitting up and still with her arms folded across her chest, watching Wednesday and Enid with an inscrutable expression.
"There's an irony here that's not lost on me," mused Wednesday as she also sat up.
"Good morning, Woe," Enid greeted softly, "How did you sleep?"
"Adequately," Woe replied, "The blankets didn't quite manage to cushion the hardness of the wooden floor, prompting a very satisfying stiffness."
"Goomornin’," murmured a drowsy voice to Enid's left. The lycanthrope could see Friday getting up and rubbing her eyes. The youngest of Wednesday's counterparts looked even more asleep than awake.
"Good morning, kiddo, how are you feeling?" asked Enid.
"Need... coffee..."
"Uh... Isn't she a little young for…?", the she-wolf asked leaning a little towards Wednesday, who shook her head.
"She's an Addams. If she's like me, she's probably been drinking coffee since she was six."
"Well, considering your family's history with cyanide, caffeine doesn't sound so extreme, I guess."
"This one is still sleeping," interrupted Woe. She was standing next to Needler, gently kicking her in the side, but the mad scientist didn't seem to react.
"Don't kick her, please," Enid said as she climbed out from under the warm blankets and crawled over to the still sleeping Needler. She grabbed her by the shoulder and shook her gently, "Needler? Time to wake up..."
There was no reaction.
"Needler?" asked Enid again, shaking the teenager a little more firmly once more. But Needler was still unresponsive.
"She's still breathing, so she's not dead," observed Woe.
"Thanks Woe, very reassuring," Enid replied with a slight growl.
"You're welcome."
"Leave it to me," said Wednesday appearing suddenly and quietly at Enid's side. She leaned over the sleeping Needler, took a breath and...
...grabbed her by the ankles and flung her through the air, sending her flying over Friday's head until she crashed into the nest's sheet covering, collapsing the entire structure.
Enid groaned, "Was that necessary?"
She got her answer immediately when a very awake Needler greeted them emerging from between the fallen sheets.
"Good morning!" she said, looking around, "That turned out invigorating."
"When I was little I would sometimes cling to the sheets, plunged into a deep sleep close to death and in no mood to leave the bed," explained Wednesday, "When that happened Father would throw me up in the air to wake me up. Then I used a guillotine for a while."
"Ah, I apologize if my sleep has turned out corpse-like," Needler said, "At home I'm used to making use of the guillotine as well, and Ichabod usually grabs me and throws me out the window before breakfast."
"Ichabod?" asked a somewhat more awake Friday.
"He's our living tree," Needler replied, "He was my first and only friend for years."
With everyone on their feet it was time to plan the next steps.
Wednesday and Enid had decided that the first thing to do would be to talk to Principal Barker. Having Nevermore's cooperation would certainly make things easier. The three counterparts would continue to wait in the room under Thing's care until the return of the couple.
Enid had insisted that once the matter with Barker was cleared up, it would be best to have breakfast in the quad and start exchanging ideas after a little relaxation. Maybe even ask for some extra help and feedback. Wednesday wasn't entirely convinced, but she figured that at least Eugene might be able to contribute something. Despite being mostly focused on insects in general and bees in particular, the young man was one of the brightest minds around.
With all that in mind, the Addams and her she-wolf headed for the office of the current headmaster of Nevermore Academy. In a matter of a few minutes, with hardly any waiting, the two were in front of the office desk, with Barnabas Barker watching them.
A middle-aged, dark-skinned gorgon, hiding his serpentine hair under a stylish hat, Nevermore's new principal had never craved the position.
Following the death of Larissa Weems, the board had assigned Barker as acting principal after the cancellation of the semester due to the "incident" with the resurrected Joseph Crackstone. It was a temporary position until someone was permanently assigned. But Barker's teaching position concerning Outcast and Normie Cultural Studies seemed to have convinced some board members that he would be a suitable candidate to maintain continuity with Weems' policies.
Barker would have preferred to continue teaching his classes and not have to deal with being responsible for the administrative side of things and the welfare of the entire student body.
Above all, he would have preferred to limit his contact with Wednesday Addams to the classes she attended.
Not that Barker had anything against the young woman. Of course he didn't. But even with her best intentions (as strange as it may have sounded), Wednesday Addams was a force of nature that fostered a proliferation of ‘interesting times’.
And for a lover of safe routine like Barker... Yeah, too much stress.
If nothing else, their relationship was cordial. Wednesday still had a certain degree of distrust of positions of authority at the school but Weems' death had affected her somewhat. At least she was more subtle and thoughtful before breaking rules.
She also seemed to have adopted a personal policy of keeping him informed whenever she was involved in anything, although Barker was pretty sure that was something to thank Ms. Sinclair for. Some of the "adventures" of the last two years had been real headaches although fortunately nothing on the level of what had happened with the resurrected genocidal pilgrim, Laurel Gates and her pet Hyde.
Therefore, because he was mindful of the fact that Wednesday Addams had saved the Academy in spite of everything, he took the story he had just heard quite well.
"So... versions of you..."
"Exactly."
"And you plan to pass them off as... visiting cousins over the holiday period?"
"For appearances. We'd appreciate it if you could help us maintain that cover while we find out who is behind all this and seek a solution."
Enid gently elbowed Wednesday.
"... sir," she finished.
Barker looked at them. As usual Wednesday Addams' face betrayed no emotion. Enid Sinclair had learned to mask hers under a cordial but nervous smile.
"Miss Addams... What are the odds that this is all going to end with someone dead?" asked Barker.
Wednesday raised an eyebrow.
"Not knowing the true intentions of the person responsible, I wouldn't be able to say," she replied, "Unfortunately, I think slim."
"Fortunately, my dear," Enid whispered through her teeth.
"He knows what I mean."
The gorgon sighed.
"Well, I guess we'll just have to make do with this... As far as I'm concerned you have free reign as long as you don't endanger the school or any of the students or staff still present during this holiday. Understood?"
"Understood."
"That means no interrogations with torture, Miss Addams."
Wednesday nodded. After a one-second pause.
Barker turned his resigned gaze to Enid, "Miss Sinclair..."
"Don't worry sir, I'll see to it that nothing gets out of hand."
"Right. You may go, and good luck."
Barker sank into his thoughts as he watched the couple leave. Yes, luck. They were going to need it. All of them.
One Wednesday Addams was a force of nature.
Would Nevermore survive four?
NOTES
The art of Wednesday and Edit in the collage comes from @_gabrielpicolo in Twitter. It would have been more accurate with Enid's scars, but I'm not complaining.
And the faculty at Nevermore is a field of potential OCs isn't it? Other than Weems, Thornhill, the fencing professor and a couple others who are seen unnamed in crowd scenes, we don't know much about them.
No comments:
Post a Comment