In the kitchen, Penguin hopped onto the counter, watching Llewellyn arrange the eggs and bread, excited.
"Just the eggs first," I said, moving closer to supervise.
Llewellyn put the pan on the counter and cracked a few eggs in. "You're sure about this?"
"Mostly. But he's done it before."
Penguin turned into a fire fox and circled the pan, prowling. Then, he let out a controlled burst of heat, flawlessly cooking the eggs. The whites firmed up while the yolks remained slightly runny.
Perfect.
Llewellyn inspected Penguin's handiwork, looking impressed.
"For some reason, they come out better than when I actually season them," I told Llewellyn. "He must have some kind of advanced cooking skill."
Llewellyn gave me a look. "You're telling me he cooks better than you?"
I leaned against the counter, arms folded. "I've accepted my place as the second-best chef in my flat. He's a natural."
Penguin preened then came closer to nibble my fingers affectionately before turning back to Llewellyn, tail flaming bright.
Llewellyn eyed us both, looking amused, then started placing the slices of bread on a plate. When he was done, he stepped back and pushed the plate closer to Penguin.
Penguin, clearly pleased with himself, bounced in place before giving another controlled burst of heat and toasting all the slices of bread on the plate to a perfect golden brown. Then he transformed back into a penguin and walked around the counter, inspecting his culinary achievement.
Llewellyn discovered some tea bags in a cabinet and boiled water with Penguin's help.
We sat down at the small wooden table to eat breakfast. Penguin hopped between us, occasionally stealing bits of eggs when he thought I wasn't looking.
I tried not to laugh and cut a few pieces for him, pretending not to notice. He didn't normally like eggs, so I was surprised. Maybe he just wanted to join in.
At the other side of the table, Llewellyn's hair was still mussed with sleep.
He reached out for butter and jam, then, when it smeared, licked it off his thumb.
"…"
It was difficult not to be distracted here.
His sleeve kept slipping down his forearm when he reached for his tea. For once, he looked like someone who'd never held a weapon but was just eating a breakfast cooked by a… Penguin.
Okay, maybe not that normal.
I watched him blow absently on his tea.
"Is there something on my face?" Llewellyn asked.
Damn it.
"No. I was just thinking about the System and spaced out."
It wasn't a complete lie.
"Any notifications yet?"
I checked my interface again. "Nothing. Not even glitching. It seems to be completely dead."
Llewellyn nodded like he'd expected that.
His hair was still very distracting and I had to remember to look away.
Outside, the snow continued to fall, but inside, with the fire crackling and the smell of perfectly cooked food filling the cabin, it didn't seem so bad.
Penguin seemed very interested in Llewellyn's butter and jam toast and he butted his head against Llewellyn's wrist, demanding some. I caught the faintest smile before Llewellyn cut a small square from a bigger toasted slice and prepared it for Penguin too.
Penguin seemed utterly confounded by the taste of toast with butter and jam.
His face scrunched up, then he started circling forms, to see if any worked. The fire fox seemed to have won once again. Maybe it was the only one who liked sweet foods.
Amused, I took out my phone and checked to see if it was working.
"Hey, the Internet actually works!" I said. "Do you have any idea where that Distorted Realm had opened up?"
"Somewhere in Belgium," Llewellyn said. "Couldn't find out more before the System started glitching."
He took out his phone, probably trying to find out too.
To be honest, a more detailed location wouldn't really change things for me, though a quick check told me that I seemed to have indeed spent my whole day off in here. I felt like brooding a bit.
When I looked up, Llewellyn was by the window, staring out at the snow.
"Any change?" I asked.
"No," Llewellyn said without turning. "Still snowing and the System interface is still down too."
Well, at least we had the Internet. Though maybe we should consider saving battery power.
Penguin, back to being a Penguin again, waddled over to Llewellyn and bumped against his leg.
Llewellyn glanced down, looking amused; then, after a moment's hesitation, he leaned down and picked him up. Penguin chirped happily and made himself comfortable, looking out too.
I snorted.
I really hoped Penguin wouldn't choose to go home with Llewellyn instead of me. The thought was depressing, but they'd definitely make a great duo. Llewellyn would probably have a better use of a bond enhancement with Penguin, too.
I watched them for a while, then got up to check the fireplace. The flames were still going strong. I added another log, watching as it caught fire, then sat back down on the nearest chair.
Penguin chirped and hopped down from Llewellyn's arms, waddling over to me. He climbed into my lap.
"Now you're back, aren't you?" I asked, scratching under his chin, though I did relax a bit.
Penguin just chirped, then snuggled closer and dozed off in my lap.
I picked up my phone and started scrolling through my feed.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Llewellyn had found a pen and a piece of paper and was writing down something.
I was about to ask him what he was doing and if he happened to have a charger, when I noticed something strange.
The wall behind him seemed to not be there for a moment, like a glitch in a video game.
"Llewellyn," I said. "Do you see that?"
Llewellyn turned to look where I was pointing, then back at me with sudden alertness. "Coat and shoes," he said. "We'll likely be out of here in a few moments."
Talk about sudden.
I scrambled up, putting my shoes and coat on, then scooped Penguin up and tucked him inside my pocket.
Just in time. The roof above us vanished completely, revealing a bright blue sky. The walls followed next, fading into nothingness, and suddenly we were standing not in a cabin but in the middle of a cordoned-off area.
The transition was so abrupt, it was shocking.
"Shit," Llewellyn muttered, grabbing my arm and turning around toward me to shield us both. "Reporters."
I looked up to see a crowd of people with cameras and microphones behind the police line, some already pointing in our direction. A few officers were trying to maintain order, but the appearance of two people seemingly out of nowhere had caused a commotion.
"Isn't that Llewellyn?" someone shouted.
Camera flashes started going off.
"Hold on," Llewellyn said.
His grip on my arm tightened and I felt the familiar pull of System teleportation.
***
We reappeared on a rooftop somewhere in Baekhaven. The breeze carried the scent of the sea and I could see the promenade in the distance, the morning sun glinting off the water.
"That was close," I said, checking to make sure Penguin was still safely tucked inside my coat. He peeked out now with a curious expression, unruffled by our hasty exit.
Llewellyn hummed in agreement, then added, "The System's working again."
Just then, I got a notification.
[System Notification: Distorted Realm successfully dissolved! +3,500 Coins awarded!]
Llewellyn must have gotten it too, however, he wasn't paying attention. Instead, he was patting his pockets with a frown.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
He reached into his coat. "I don't remember putting anything—"
He pulled out a small object that fit in the palm of his hand. It looked like a golden pen.
Llewellyn let out an annoyed noise.
"What?" I asked.
Then a notification popped up.
[Elemental Insight: Artifact detected!]
Oh. Shit.
"I must have picked it up without realizing," Llewellyn said. "How troublesome. I need to get this to KARMA, immediately."
Yeah, good point. Better a trip there than a visit from Ó Néill.
"I'm coming with you," I said.
Llewellyn looked like he wanted to argue, then just said, "Fine. But you can't bring Penguin."
I looked down at Penguin, whose head was now fully out of my coat, looking up.
"He's right," I told Penguin. "Better you don't meet KARMA at all, if we can help it."
I turned to the System interface floating beside me. "Can you send Penguin back to my flat?"
[Request acknowledged. Elemental Entity #77A3 will be returned to residence.]
Penguin made a sound of protest and tried to climb back into my coat, but it was too late. A blue light surrounded him, and he gave one final, indignant squawk before disappearing.
He was going to be mad at me later.
"Let's go," Llewellyn said.