"It's about time to wake up, hatchling!" Electra towered over sleeping Orion, poking him with a stick, but he still didn't wake up.
"Hey! Wake up!" She yelled, slightly angrily.
Elaine looked at them and sighed softly. She couldn't believe that they're starting so early in the morning.
"Let him sleep, Electra. He must be pretty exhausted after your training yesterday, and besides, it's no use waking him up now as he will fall asleep again before Layla returns from wherever she went." Elaine sighed deeply, looking around in case Layla was already back.
Electra groaned. "You're saying silly things, Elaine. It's not me being mean to him, he's still too weak and he cannot be sleeping so heavily in such a dangerous place, or else something will happen to him, or in the worst case, to us."
Elaine nodded softly. She understood Electra's intentions, but she didn't fully agree with the ways she executed them.
"Well..." Elaine looked around, searching for any signs of Layla again. "...Where has Layla gone, anyway?" She asked curiously.
Electra spoke as she continued poking Orion with the stick. "Yeah, don't judge her or just don't even ask about it, but she's obviously had a wet dream." She said it simply, as if it were a normal thing in such an environment.
Elaine's eyes widened, and she smiled widely. "A wet dream? Really? How could you tell?"
Electra smiled mockingly, recalling how silly Layla was when she tried to cover herself with the blanket. "She was shifting and whimpering in her sleep, and then she woke up, pulling up her blanket above her crotch. It was very silly and cute~" She shrugged. "I mean, she probably thought that she peed herself, so let's just leave it that way."
"Are you sure?" Elaine asked, a serious look on her face.
"Pretty sure." Electra brushed it off, smirking like she always does.
Elaine shook her head, trying to change the uncomfortable subject. "You know, Electra. Layla is a nice girl, but she's kinda weird sometimes, and even when I'm trying my hardest, I can't figure her out."
Elaine was looking forward to Electra saying something that would change her point of view or at least solve a piece of the puzzle she had in her head.
Electra stopped poking Orion's body with the stick, her expression turned firm. "Layla is a natural-born fighter. She carries a lot of potential and is already very strong, despite being very young. Her mana levels possibly even exceed mine, but she cannot properly execute them because she's still too new to everything." She paused for a moment, looking down at Orion. "But there are downsides, she has no etiquette and couldn't be able to live on her own. In her own way, she's reliant on the one who raised her." She pointed the stick at Orion. "On hatchling."
Elaine opened her mouth to say something, but Electra kept speaking, not even thinking about giving her a chance. "On the other hand, his mana levels are awfully low, but he's too good at using them, performing such feats as using Sage Arts to match my speed. He also has etiquette and is very calculated when he needs to be, but unlike Layla, he's too emotional and can't kill a person, even if they're trying to kill me. For example, let's say that I set up a trap to hurt him and Layla, and after a while, he finds out and probably fights me head-on. There would be a chance of my person losing the fight, but all the possible outcomes are his death."
Elaine processed all the information, murmuring something under her nose. She kicked a small rock in frustration. "Orion raised her? What did you mean by that?" She asked, not being able to imagine a kid raising another kid.
"Well, it might sound very stupid, but he actually did raise her. His orphanage burned down ten years ago, and only he and Layla survived. As stupid and unbelievable as it sounds, a six-year-old looking after and raising a five-year-old." And with that, Electra answered all of her questions, sparking a moment of realization in Elaine.
"So that must be why Layla is so awkward sometimes? She had no one to look up to her whole childhood? Only him?!" She asked in disbelief.
"Mhm. She would have probably become a bad person if he weren't there." Electra poked him again. "For God's sake! Just wake up! Hatchling!" She yelled in frustration.
From out of nowhere, Layla wrapped her arms around Elaine's neck from behind, laying her chin on her shoulder. "What's wrong? Can't wake Orion up~?" She asked, a smug smile on her face.
Elaine jumped in surprise, her eyes wide, her heartbeat reaching the speed of light. "Don't scare me like that, Layla!" She screamed, grabbing her chest.
Electra wasn't a bit surprised, just as if he knew that Layla was here without seeing her coming. "Do you know how to wake him up, blackhead?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows at Orion.
Layla pulled her arms away from Elaine, walking up to Orion and kneeling beside him, dropping her blanket to the ground. She moved his hair off his face, caressing his cheek softly. "Awhh! He's always been such a heavy sleeper! I always did funny things to him when he was asleep! I remember how I once colored his face with coal~!" She leaned in closer to his face, staring at his lips and giggling at the snoring sounds he made.
"And he's always snoring! It sometimes wakes me up in the middle of the night!" She smiled softly. "But I love it~!"
Elaine couldn't help but smile, her heart warming up as she saw how much Layla was developing since they had met. She almost learned how to read, how to write, and most importantly, how to be better at expressing yourself.
Electra lightly smacked Layla's head with the stick, making her squeak softly. She rolled her eyes and looked at Layla with annoyance. "So, do you know how to wake him up? Any secret techniques? Ancient forgotten techniques passed down from your ancestors since the beginning of time~?" She smirked.
Elaine sighed deeply, looking over at the carriage.
Layla leaned away from Orion's face, putting a finger over her lips in a mischievous way. "There is one way! But none of you can see it! It's mine!" She pouted.
"You would be jealous to see anyone else waking your dear friend up, huh?" Electra smirked, trying to mess with Layla.
"Sure," Elaine said, turning around without any hesitation, respecting Layla's condition.
After a moment of thinking, Layla stood up, smirking right into Electra's face. "Yes, I would! So what? I have the right to do whatever I want with the skills I have..." She crossed her arms under her chest, her smirk widening. "What? Jealous? You want me to be as good as me, don't you, Big Sis?"
That was the last thing Electra was expecting to hear. She instinctively took a step back, frowning a little. She felt slightly insulted by those words, but deep inside, she was proud of Layla for not holding anything back. "Fine!" She spat, turning around. "But still love ya, you blackhead!" She jokingly added.
Layla smiled widely, feeling like she could order anyone to do anything she wanted. She felt like she owned the world, and she enjoyed it like nothing else.
She kneeled down next to Orion again, leaning down towards his ear. "Wake up, Orionnn~" She whispered with a cheeky voice, twisting both of his ears softly with such precision that made it obvious she's done it many times before.
Orion immediately opened his eyes, sitting up and looking into her eyes, clearly annoyed by her actions. "Layla... I told you not to do it... It hurts..." He yawned, rubbing his tired eyes.
Layla hugged him softly, pointing at Electra. "I know, I know! But Ellie ordered me to do it, saying that if I don't, then she will sell my soul to the devil~!" She pouted mischievously, smirking widely at Electra.
Elaine chuckled under as she saw how surprised Electra was.
Electra turned around, glaring at Layla, who was clinging to Orion's arm like a tick. "Hatchling, you know that she's lying with the second part, no?" She asked, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, I'm not so stupid, you know?!" He groaned, pushing Layla's head playfully and standing up.
"Hmph! Mean!" Layla pouted.
Elaine smiled widely, finally turning around to look at all of them. "I love how you give nicknames to people you care about, Electra." She said softly.
Electra shook her head. "I give nicknames to people that annoy me, you little idiot." She said coldly, shattering all of Elaine's happy visions of the three of them being a happy family.
The carriage's door suddenly opened, and Alaric walked out of it calmly. He looked at the horses and at the commotion. He clapped his hands. "Okay! Everyone! The horses are fine, we should get going before some monsters find us! We don't want to be eaten!" He yelled calmly.
Elaine's eyes flicked between her father and the others. She nodded softly. "Father is right, we don't have the whole day to fool around, especially after staying here for a whole day!"
Electra agreed with her. "The blonde is right." She looked as Layla tried to pull Orion back to the ground. "Now you two, stop those childish things and get on the carriage." She said firmly.
Orion smacked Layla's head softly, pulling her up to her feet. "You heard her."
Layla squeaked, getting so close to him that she pressed his arm between her breasts. "Idiot!" She pouted.
He patted her head softly to compensate for smacking it. "You've gotten awfully close lately..." He looked at Elaine. "...do you have anything to do with it?"
"Nope! Now that I think about it, I should go check if Lancelot isn't doing anything stupid, haha!" Elaine laughed awkwardly, turned her back on them, acting like she didn't know what he was talking about, and walked away towards the carriage while whistling loudly.
Electra sighed deeply, having no more words for them. "Stupid kids..." She said, defeated.
Suddenly, a javelin flew by right before Elaine's face. It was surely thrown with one intention- to kill.
Elaine stumbled backward, collapsing to the ground and screaming in terror.
Electra, Layla, and Orion were alerted, looking around in order to find the one who threw the weapon.
"Get to the Carriage, fast!" Electra yelled as a purple portal appeared next to her.