Closed: Comfort food

[daleysebastian]

Since the full moon, Sebastian had been alternately attempting not to move and dealing with things he didn't have the energy to deal with. He hadn't had any rest, it seemed, since his birthday. He'd spent most of the night uncharacteristically outside, pacing the estate and listening carefully for any sign of danger. He'd been useless, in the end,

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[daleysabrina]

There had been a lot on Sabrina's mind since the last full moon, enough worry to last her a life time actually and that didn't even include the conversation that she had had with Jemma the next morning. It was strange enough that the two of them had actually managed to get through a full conversation together, skipping over most pleasantries and going right into the important and pressing issues

[daleysebastian]

Sebastian was lost in thought, mind not settling anywhere in particular. He was used to being alone in silence but was never fully prepared for the darker places his head could go sometimes. He'd gotten so wrapped up in going from one rage-filled and depressed thought to the next, he actually startled at Sabrina's voice.

Chewing, he swallowed to bite he'd almost forgotten he'd taken.

"Couldn't sleep." He shrugged and held the sandwich up a little. "Which seems to be catching. Why are you up?"

[daleysabrina]

There was a nice, thick, pink glob of cream cheese hanging from the edge of Sebastian's sandwich that caught her eye immediately, a knowing grin pulling at her lips.

While the two of them were still working everything out it felt like they were steadily making progress, the tension slowly fading since her birthday. It was moments like this that her stomach twisted up, a wave of nostalgia washing over her, and she felt hopeful that they could reconnect.

And all over a stupid strawberry cream cheese sandwich.

"The same, mostly," she told him before nodding towards the items left out. "Did you know I was coming down for one of those?"

[daleysebastian]

"I'm a seer now," he deadpanned. "I forgot to mention it."

Maybe they weren't exactly to the place where they could joke about how much he'd kept from her - both intentionally and not. They were getting there, though, and that was essentially Sebastian admitting he knew where his mistakes were.

"Or I still like these when things are weird. But this one's mine. You're on your own," he teased. It was true, though. He didn't like to hang onto too many of their family traditions. These stupid sandwiches had been something their mother had craved when pregnant with Samantha and somehow that had carried over to it being a favorite snack and comfort food for all three of the Daley siblings.

[daleysabrina]

When she was younger there was something so charming about these sandwiches, the cream cheese bright pink and sweet and the bagels always warm enough to melt it just enough to make it soft.

Honestly, it was the perfect snack - morning, afternoon, evening, or well after midnight.

"You used to make them for me when I was too young to be trusted with the toaster," she reminded him, smiling at the memory as she pulled a bagel from the bakery bag.

"Let's hope I don't set the house on fire, yeah? If I do, I'm going to pin it on you-"

[daleysebastian]

"I'm still not sure I trust you with the toaster." He sighed as sadly as he could manage when there was a grin tugging at his lips. They hadn't been able to do this, be light and relatively carefree with each other since she'd come back.

Maybe that was shifting after her birthday. Alternately, it was the power of such a silly family snack. If nothing else, this was something that tied them together in an obvious way that went beyond their vaguely similar looks.

"I'll take the rap, don't worry. I got banned from the pool for a whole summer that time you dropped all the fruit in it and dyed the water. Might as well take the fire blame, too," he teased.

[daleysabrina]

The Daley Manor kitchen had always been the center of their home, everyone ending up here at one time or another for heart-to-hearts with each other despite the industrial size and feel of the room. It wasn't exactly the type of place you gathered around during Christmas, mostly because they had staff to do the cooking for them, but the Daley's had a thing for late stacking it seemed.

"What are big brothers for?" she teased, throwing him her brightest smile over her shoulder before popping her bagel into the toaster.

It didn't really matter that there wasn't anyone for him to confess too, not like they were still young with parents who wanted their kids to take responsibility for their mistakes.

Of course there was the authorities in the event of a house fire but she was sure it wouldn't come to that.

She hoped-

"What's got you up so late?"

[daleysebastian]

They had all taken responsibility for things they hadn't actually done more than once as children. Their punishments were never very severe, actually, but they were fairly predictable. If it was likely to be something the other would really hate, someone else usually jumped in.

Sebastian always suspected their parents knew that, but he wouldn't ever have the opportunity to have that confirmed.

Shaking his head clear, Sebastian shrugged. "Everything, I guess. The moon. The people that got attacked because they were here." Sebastian had to start telling Sabrina more things. She'd complained of it more than once, and he could see her point. With every new detail she let slip about the pack, he understood where she was coming from a little bit more.

[daleysabrina]

Sabrina was surprised that she could sleep at all after the catastrophe that had been her brother's birthday, an entire group of people managing to get into the manor on the full moon.

Her head was spinning just trying to remember everything that had happened, hearing pieces from Jemma and Dean the next day.

"Are those people okay?" she asked him, pulling her bagel out from the toaster (Bri liked her bagel just warm rather than crispy) before heading back to the island to face him.

"Was anyone um- well, turned?"

[daleysebastian]

Sebastian had been very careful to put up every ward and charm he could to keep people out of the manor on full moon nights. Somehow, that had gotten incredibly lax as of late. He was going to have to step up his game. Maybe that's how he'd spend the morning when sleep surely still wouldn't have caught up to him. There were quite a few things he needed to rework

[daleysabrina]

Over the last ten years Sabrina had seen a lot of people turned, when the kids came of age, usually around their sixteenth birthday, they'd be bitten by a werewolf on wolfsbane. It was more of a ritual than anything else and it was contained, or at least as much as a ritual biting could be contained.

There had only ever been one case when the bite hadn't taken, a very rare case.

But that wasn't actually what drew her attention.

"Wait, you caught one of them?" she asked, almost in disbelief. Though, she shouldn't have been so surprised. Nolan's halfbrothers weren't exactly known for their wit.

"I could smell them the moment I changed-"

[daleysebastian]

"Harry did," Sebastian corrected. "Stunned him. The charm held up through the change. I was pretty impressed." Being that he was a hard sell and impressed by so few things, that was actually a huge vote of confidence,

Taking a bite of his sandwich, chewing the bagel slowly, Sebastian thought back to exactly what had happened after he'd shifted, what he'd been aware of. The scent of unfamiliar and unaccounted for wolves had set him on edge and prowling the perimeter of the estate for most of the night. Too bad he'd been a little too late.

"Me too." He looked up at her, deciding if he wanted to do this. Did they even have an option anymore? "He said he was Nolan's brother. Did you recognize that by scent?"

[daleysabrina]

If they'd only gotten one of them that meant the other had run back to Nolan by now, empty handed and without his counterpart. Part of her wished she could have seen the look on their faces when the elders realized they'd been defeated.

"Yeah, he sent his half brothers, the two youngest ones," she told him, spreading bright pink cream cheese all over her warmed bagel.

"They're not the brightest. He has five brothers and two sisters-"

[daleysebastian]

Big families weren't completely unheard of, but that seemed excessive for anyone, especially a pack living in the woods.

"There's eight of them? Just related to him?" Sebastian's eyes narrowed, bagel dropping to the paper towel he'd been using in favor of an actual plate.

He didn't want to ask. Sebastian wanted to let it all go and not try to make Sabrina talk about this. She had started it by offering up information on her own.

"Is there anything else I might need to know about them?" He hadn't actually made it a secret that he was hunting them down, knowing it would be worse if she discovered it on accident later.

[daleysabrina]

Sabrina realized then that Jemma hadn't exactly brought Sebastian up to speed after their conversation the other day, which she was actually grateful for. She saw it as a small olive branch, a small growing trust between them that could possibly turn into something more.

"Um- well, yes. There is-" she told him, her brow furrowed and tight as she tried to figure out the best way to explain this.

Hopefully there was a way to say this without her brother completely freaking out.

"Nolan is- special," she started, using the words that were used on her so many years ago. "He wasn't bitten and turned into a werewolf. He was born one."

[daleysebastian]

The impact of that was practically physical. Sebastian dropped the bagel he was holding and sat up straighter. The implications of that were terrifying.

"Wait." Sebastian leaned forward, eyes trained on her. "A born werewolf? Those are only legends." He'd looked up general lore and information after he'd realized what he was, but the only tales of a born wolf were considered folklore, even by wizarding standards.