HtH82 - The House We Want To Build (i)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Minara puts herself in a bad situation.
"Oh it was horrible it was a horrible accident you see it was not my fault to begin with but there was this lamplight who uses lamplights in this day and age and when I accidentally knocked it over it just burned and then the fire spread so I got up on the couch to get away from the flames and I was so scared and because I was scared I am telling you I am not the one at fault ... ..."
Eclair steps closer, gently.
"Minara,
Are you alright?"
To say that there was a 'burn hole' on the first floor was an understatement. It seemed like something had blown through the front wall of the drawing room, leaving an open, blackened gap that faces the garden!
Our returning girls are able to step through the debris underfoot, where our Minara is perched on the side of the comfy couch, explaining away the 'terrible accident' that she had just been through.
"No, I'm NOT okay, I mean... ... ...? What do you mean, am I alright?"
"... ? I meant, are you hurt by the fire?"
Hurt! The blue-haired goblin lurches backwards, hands still gripping the side of the couch. She was sure that the scary brown-haired girl's eyes went to the fallen lamp, placed meticulously like a murder prop; sure that someone would point out how the fire seemed to stop at a ring around the comfy couch, of how the house chef looked at her with patient eyes before deciding to clean up the room with her. And she was sure...
... the blame would fall upon her.
And yet, it didn't.
There is relief.
And yet...
... there is also disbelief.
A cautious, foreign kind of disbelief.
...
...
"Jules, look at this! This is Swallow's Nest from Nangmen! Our senior gave it to us as a present!" Ablam and Piaccta are already showing off their store of goodies from afar, Ablam in particular showing off the half-empty bottle of white wine smuggled back from the dinner table in the other hand. At the side, Hikari wordlessly dusts off the fallen lamplight. She places it back in upright position next to the window where it enjoys the sunlight again.
"Are you guys... not even bothered that I almost burned the house down?"
"Ah, from Mistrál's understanding, friend Minara said this was an accident, wasn't it?" Our local blue-haired tinkerer, Mistrál, comes up close alongside Eclair, "Mistrál does not think that anyone in the house will begrudge friend Minara. Additionally, the last time something like this happened, we all worked together to overcome the fire, with Mistrál playing the most important leading role, of course!"
The cheek of our local inventor!
To claim credit for putting out the fire for herself!
Eclair turns her head to the overly proud Mistrál, raising a finger with an open mouth---
Our dramaturg remembers a completely different scene; a scene where she was the one who hauled the fire extinguisher all the way over to the theatre hall when it caught fire!
"Hey! I remember I was the one who put out the fire!" Ablam finally tears herself away from the little tea party nearby, where Piaccta is showing off Nangmen-made gift cookies,
"That's right," Mistrál nods, not skipping a beat nor relinquishing her glory! "Mistrál is glad to be part of a supportive and welcoming house. There's nothing we can't do, so long as we work together!"
Ah, right.
Minara is new to the house, so she doesn't know.
Mistrál is being genuine here!
In that she genuinely believes she is the natural leader of the Echoes!
At the side, Hikari laughs lightly, seeing a familiar face resurface.
"Friend Minara, don't let what happened today stop you from going forward." Our local blue-haired girl pulls close the other, the look on their faces could not be more different from one another!
"Remember: we are all in this together!"
SUPER-STREAMER TIPS: ... what?
Recall
[R07] The Time The Theatre House Almost Burned Down - This happened all the way back in HtH13, where Mr. Incognito was training new voices for Hikari and Piaccta when the heavy machinery he was using caught on fire from overheating!
We are trying something different! This is a simul-posting at the same time as the Scribblehub release! Go check out the entire series at this link!
