Blue Candle (Lukas)

A/N: Happy Hanukkah! I hope you are staying safe and having an enjoyable winter (or summer) season and these next few days are revitalizing. If you celebrate Christmas or Kwanza happy almost Christmas or Habari Gani! A gentle reminder because I've had some bigoted comments different places recently that comments here are now vetted, and if you decide to comment reminder to be a nice human both to me and other commenters, this is an inclusive and space place for all. That said, happy holidays, I will hopefully have another in time for Christmas or Saturnalia (been doing lots of Roman history lately) or at the very least some non-holiday scheduled pieces. Enjoy!

Prompt: Blue Candle

“I’m not entirely sure where this candle came from, but it’s usable.” I tell Fyr, who waits patiently in the doorway, though I think he looks rather bored. My father remarks that it might not even burn, but it’s worth a try, after all we can’t find our last usual candle. Naomi politely pushes Fyr aside so she can get by with her sister Liat in tow “helping” to clean and organize rather than cook. I don’t understand why Liat dislikes cooking so much, peeling potatoes and dumping them into boiling oil is somehow remarkably calming, at least to me. Putting the oddly blue candle that I had found stuffed in a cupboard in its place in the window, my job seems to be done for now. Looking out the window I find we must have gotten a fresh dusting of snow while I wasn’t paying attention. “You’re going to be very unhappy when you go outside again.” I tell the old wizard, and he gives me a confused look before coming over to the window and seeing for himself. Upon seeing the fresh coat of snow he wanders off somewhere else in the house, probably looking for Naomi or a place to sit and complain about the weather. Divayth Fyr may be an immortal and incredibly powerful wizard, but in the end he’s still an old man, and sometimes a rather grumpy one at that. I don’t think he was made for the weather patterns of High Rock, they’re quite different to those of Vvardenfell after all. Now the only things to do are continue to help the rest of the household prep and wait until sundown.

I spend the remainder of the day helping my mother and sister cook, they do a majority of it while I help with the potatoes and mashing up the apples to make applesauce. I wonder which one Fyr will like better; sour cream or applesauce? I was always partial to applesauce myself. The one food I however do entirely myself is the brisket, for some reason I happen to be one of the few in my family who can make a very good brisket without much effort. Does Naomi still make a better one than I do? Of course, but that’s to be expected, she knows how to cook better than I do and spends much of her free time doing so, when not off dealing with mechanical machines or going on adventures. The ingredients of Hammerfell additionally allow for a wider range of dishes to make, or at least ones that have more flavor. She’s a big fan of shakshuka and seems to have converted Fyr to the dish as well, it is a good breakfast food when one is in the mood for it. Naomi continues bustling about with her sister in tow sometimes with my own sister following after as preparations continue. The house is busy, and while it’s a small place I still don’t know where Fyr sulked off to. “Perhaps I should go find him.” I murmur to myself mere seconds before my mother asks where Fyr wandered off to and suggests I go look for him. Mothers do always seem to know when something is off, it must be a secret magic power. Putting down what I was doing I clean up and go to look for the old wizard.

When I eventually find him I find him in a rather unexpected location, sitting out on the back steps, quietly watching the snow that has begun to fall again. He seems to be meditating almost, it seems rather unlike him, though I admittedly do not see the old man anywhere near as often as Naomi does. I turn to go back inside, not wanting to disturb him, but I’m stopped in my tracks by a calm but stern “wait.” and turn back around. Fyr dusts off an area next to where he sits and motions for me to sit, and not wanting to be disrespectful I do. “I thought you didn’t like the snow.” I say to him quietly, watching the snow continue to fall rather than look at him. “Sometimes you have to do things you don’t like.” is the only response I get. “What are you doing out here?” I ask after a few minutes when even I’ve begun to get cold. “To prepare for the winter festivals and the new year involves a lot of cleaning, and that involves cleaning the mind.” He pauses before continuing “I needed space to think and having everyone shouting in there was distracting me.” he adds, now much more normal and less sage-like. I can understand that, and why he prefers to work alone in his lab. Sometimes silence is welcome- it gives one the ability to focus on their own thoughts. “Well, if you’re done thinking, the food is almost ready, and sundown is soon.” my cue is understood thankfully and Fyr rises with a brief groan about his knees not being what they once were and follows me inside. As sundown falls we gather around the candles, with Fyr standing off to the side somewhat awkwardly despite our best efforts to include him, though I think he prefers to watch as we light the candles and sing before finishing. Now it’s time for the fun part, the party. I run upstairs to my room quickly while Naomi and Fyr are busy eating to grab their gifts. They aren’t large or particularly fancy, though they will hopefully be appreciated. Returning downstairs with only a quick run in with Elisheva as she runs upstairs to get gifts of her own for our other siblings who had come to visit I drop the boxes into their laps. Naomi is excited, per usual, she always is happy to get a present. Fyr seems pleasantly surprised, if somewhat confused. “It’s for you.” I tell him as he examines the wrapped up little box curiously. “I didn’t do anything.” He responds, still examining the box. “I’m not complaining, I just didn’t do anything.” he adds after a moment of silence until Naomi manages to get him to open the box. He had been complaining about the cold so I decided to get him a hat and a pair of gloves, both of which are more appreciated than I would have expected. Naomi got a new mortar and pestle, after all it’s her healing potions that keep us all up and running. Sitting eating a still sizzling potato pancake and engaged in a passionate debate over applesauce or sour cream I glance over at the blue candle burning on the windowsill amidst the other white ones. While the world may be a dark place right now, at least there is joy in unexpected places, and light that burns ever brighter in the face of adversity.