Chapter 1
"I think maybe the bottom layer should be green." Vivian stared at the orange layered sponge in front of her. "That's so basic and hard to match with when we go up." Val tried talking her out of creating a frosting disaster. "Then you pick, art kid." She handed him the icing knife and he grabbed the orange tube.
"And you said I'm basic." The child remarked with an eye roll.
"Shush." He dabbed the tip on her nose and turned back to the blank cake.
There was a pause before she grabbed the green tube and poked his cheek with it. "You ass!" He in turn placed the palm of his hand up against her forehead holding her back while he started coating the bottom.
"I see you both are making a mess before we've even left." Shiba mumbled walking into the kitchen and placed her bag on the table.
"I see you're still dying that dried-out bush you call hair." Vivian mumbled hearing Val hide a chuckle and quickly regain himself to focus on the cake. The woman ignored the comment and exited wondering what was taking her whore of a husband so long.
Ethan entered and quickly took a cherry out of the bowl in front of the child.
She smacked his hand, and he pulled it back giving her a mocking offended look. "That's for the cake." "Just one won't hurt." His Russian accent was a little thicker than his sister's. The male tried again and was swatted a second time ultimately giving up. "Careful, she's hostile around food." Valentin remarked with light sarcasm looking up at him with a playful smirk then chuckled at Vivian guarding the bowl with her arms.
"Oh really? Just around food?" Ethan mumbled off with monotone sarcasm as he left the room to grab something.
Valentin turned back to the cake seeing the child about to place green frosting on the top layer and waved off her hand. She grumbled and backed off.
Shiba was in the corner watching the two, "Stop putting so much sugar on that thing, it's not good for you." She threatened the child and turned to the entrance still waiting on her incompetent husband. "ليس الأمر كما لو كان مسموحًا لي بتناوله." Vivian mumbled leaning into her palm with her elbow on the table while watching Val try to level out the amount of frosting he put on the base.
Issak finally made his arrival into the "edible crafting room" quickly going over to the child and kissing her head and slightly ruffling her hair before joining his wife at the exit. "Okay, I am ready, don't light the kitchen on fire again." He wished he was joking and took Shiba's arm leaving the two with Ethan following behind.
Valentin paused and turned his head towards Vivian. "Again?"
"Why do you think you're here and not Isabella?" She replied with an 'obvious' tone.
He sighed placing down the orange tube and looked around the table then looked up at the child. "Where's the green?" Said child held up an almost empty icing tube, "In Shiba's purse." Another sigh but louder came out of him as he turned back to the cake holding in a stupid smirk.
Don't encourage this demon's behavior.
~
Vivian started dropping some sprinkles as the scent of cigarette smoke polluted the air. Both looked up as another person entered the room. "Ew, it's you."
"Ew, it's you too." He responded back to the child while keeping a distance from the table.
"Aren't you supposed to be with Ethan, deadbeat and whore?"
"Well-, where are they?" The male asked with his Russian accent coming out more, bouncing off from Vivian's.
"Left, like you should be doing now, Colton." She waved a butter knife then pointed it at him. Val and the other both seemed to have the same idea in mind as they tried taking the object out of her hand, resulting in her stabbing the table and making a loud noise.
"Back away from the table." The child threatened. "I'm not stealing anything- I'm not Ethan!" He defended with his hands up taking a step back. "Run while you still can." Valentin mumbled with a small chuckle. "Got it." The dirty blonde quickly left the kitchen before the raccoon child could stab him next.
~
The two were done frosting each layer, now stacked upon each other. Vivian was licking one of the knives while Val's eye twitched from frustration. "It looks like a unicorn-"
"Don't finish that sentence." He cut her off.
She shrugged and leaned over poking at the cake with a finger. "I am judging the art kid right now, H.A.R.S.H.L.Y." That earned her a flick to the forehead as her friend walked away.
Val was getting more irritated and slightly weirded out the more he turned around.
Trying to cook something with the child in the room with him? Not possible.
He would turn and she would be chewing on cilantro leaves. Trying to cut vegetables and she would steal a tomato wedge to eat. Cabbage leaves were stolen too. Though mushrooms were safe.
Groaning and turning to her sitting on the counter eating a leaf, "I thought you said you weren't hungry." "I said I didn't want to make anything." There was a pause. "I'm not cooking for you." Val mumbled going back to chopping lettuce.
There was the crispy sound of her biting the leaf, "I don't want you to."
"Then why do you keep stealing everything?" He groaned again sticking the knife in the chopping board.
Vivian gave a childish smile sliding off the counter, "Cause it annoys you." She quickly said before grabbing another tomato wedge and running off out of the kitchen.
Val rolled his eyes contemplating if binding the devil spawn to a couch and leaving would be a "safe" idea.
He decided against it sadly.
~
Around two in the morning Valentin sat on the bed in his room continuing sketching. The dim yellow lamp only helped so little but the window across showed the sky. White light from the stars above made shadows that only gave the manor a more stuffy feeling.
The intense loud banging on his door made him jump and drag his pen over his sketch.
With a groan, he opened the door to the following smell of cigarette smoke.
"Are you crying?"
"Get your shit, we're going." Vivian rushed impatient and jumpy pushing herself into his room and closing the door with her back to it.
"Sl- what the hell is going on?" Val backed away gathering the things he brought over. "I don't have time now- we're both leaving because it's not safe, now let's go!" Grabbing the boy's hand, she pushed the center of the window open and looked down.
"You are not-MPH" He gave her a judgmental look as she placed her hand over his mouth. "So help me, Valentin, if you yell "fuck you" as we go down, I will send you to a therapist to talk about your shit family and generational narcissism."
Lowering her hand and ignoring the glare behind her, Vivian climbed over the ledge and slid down before jumping off the ridge separating the first and second floor. She looked up watching the other follow and land a foot next to her.
"Come on." Grabbing his hand this time, she started running off.
Val turned one more time looking back at the depressing manor seeing someone come close to the open window they leaped through before turning back to the one pulling him away.