The Over-Break System

”Well, this is surprising. Do my eyes betray me? Is that my lazy older Brother cooking Breakfast for us with a chipper attitude?” Brance, dragging along a half-asleep Gabby, stated after greeting Selene, Sie, and Vii before sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee for himself and his fiancé.

”Tsk, fuck you too, Brancie, I guess you don’t want breakfast,” Cynrik remarked with venom as he dished out a plate of bacon, eggs, french toast, and grits for Selene, Sie, Vii, Gabby, and even the lazy Milo, who lumbered in alongside his parents silently.

”HEY, HEY, I DIDN’T SAY THAT, HOW COULD YOU SERVE EVERYONE BUT ME?” Brance cried as he eyed Gabby’s plate, saliva dripping down the corner of his lips.

Although it didn’t happen frequently, whenever Cynrik cooked, it was noteworthy as he was an expert in the kitchen. No doubt, at some point, cooking had become one of his compulsive ADHD-driven urges, and thus, like with everything else Cynrik did, there was a level of OCD-controlled perfection involved, demanding only excellence in the craft.

Cheesy Eggs cooked to not only perfection but everyone’s individual taste, perfectly spiced grits and bacon, even the French toast Cynrik made was extraordinary.

In his hands, an otherwise simple and ordinary meal was turned into a 5-star dining experience, of which most people would die to get a single bite. To be excluded, Brance fought back the urge to cry, curse, and attack his older Brother.

The reaction of the youngest Jetlensr didn’t go unnoticed. After basking in his younger Brother’s sorrow for a few moments like the sadist he was known to be, Cynrik served up Brance’s food before taking his place at the head of the table beside Selene and began chowing down.

Soon enough, the kitchen became noisy as the amazing-smelling food roused Melody and Benny, who bolted toward the kitchen upon realizing the situation.

It was a once-in-a-blue-moon scenario, and having tasted the previous meals Cynrik had cooked up, the two of them refused to be left out.

Soon enough, everyone’s plates were wiped clean, and they leaned back in their chairs with gleeful, full expressions, the three non-humanoids included, as they basked in the afterglow of their fantastic Breakfast.

”Alright, everyone, go get ready for the day. It is a big one, and our only class is why I was so keen on cooking for y’all.” With a loud belch, Cynrik picked up his wife’s and children’s plates before dumping them in the dishwasher and sitting back down.

”Oh, so that’s why we got the red carpet treatment. I suppose that makes sense; you’ve been waiting for this class since the moment you heard it was on the syllabus for Year Five.” Gabby was the first to recover from the hearty meal and spoke while taking care of Milo and Brance’s dishes.

”Yep, Introduction to Bloodlines is a big one and the primary reason I fought so hard not to get knocked back to Year Four. It’s the only class that drew my interest, as no matter what I do, or who I ask, I can’t gather any data on Bloodlines apart from my own experience.” Cynrik added while watching Benny clean up after himself and Melody.

”Depending on how the course goes, I should be able to completely finalize some of the theories I’ve worked on for years, so of course, I am excited.” A faint glimmer could be seen in the eyes of Cynrik, who still wore his usual emotionless expression.

This glimmer was a cross between obsession and excitement, and as the others in the room had come to know…, it was usually followed by something crazy, or worse yet, bloodshed.

Even so, that glimmer was enough for the members of MyrkLys, who have grown used to his expressions, to falter for a moment.

”Oh shit, Big Bro is actually excited about something…Brancie, should we be worried?” Benny was the first to voice his fears.

”Uhhh…no one’s going to die this time, right? The last time he was this excited, Big Bro Cyn was slaughtering hundreds of beasts in an Egress.” Melody chimed in…hurriedly grasping Benny’s hand and stepping behind her wall of a fiancé.

”Shit…” was all Brance could say as he was more worried than anyone else that his Brother was about to do something crazy again.

”Sigh, I guess we better call Headmaster Rivia and have him prepare for damage control; with Big Bro Cyn so far gone, I fear we are in for a long day today.” Reaching down to scoop up Milo, Gabby looked toward the ceiling with a thousand-yard stare and spoke to no one in particular, drawing a reaction from the lazy cat in her arms.

”Yeowwl,” matching the tone his Mama used, Milo too joined in while staring at the ceiling as if looking toward the sky.

”Heh, darllling~ it seems you are in good form today.” Sliding her hand under the table and gently patting Cynrik’s inner thigh, Selene spoke up, too.

However, in contrast to the reactions emitted by the other members of MyrkLys, instead of worry, there was an exuberant amount of excitement for what was to come.

”Kawwchiip. (Are we gonna kill baddies again? Woohoo, kill, kill, kill!)” Hearing how everyone was reacting and seeing the sparkle in his Papa’s eye, Vii hopped onto the table and spread his wings while his head darted between Selene and Cynrik for answers.

”Cheepkaww, kaoo, (No stupid brother, Papa is going to have fun with idiots again, why must it always be killing with you?),” the calmer of the two Nátt Hrafn practically tackled her Brother, batting his head with her wings as a form of punishment for even considering that her Papa didn’t have an intricate plan laid in place.

”The fuck…why do you guys always jump to such radical and drastic conclusions…” Frowning as he watched how everyone in the room reacted to his words, Cynrik fought his itching left hand and struggled to restrain from bashing everyone’s heads in.

”I even cooked for everyone, yet this is the thanks I get.” Giving up, Cynrik slammed his head on the kitchen table hard enough to fling Vii and Sie into the air a few centimeters.

”Well, in our defense, you usually have a tendency to go a bit overboard…when you get excited…” Being the nicest in the group, Gabby wasn’t one to make others feel bad, so she immediately tried to calm things down, only to fail miserably when Brance exploded incredulously beside her.

”A TENDENCY, MY ASS, CYN IS A FUCKING LUNATIC 99% OF THE TIME!” Brance cried upon hearing Gabby’s response.

”Here, here,” Benny snorted while leading Melody away from the kitchen to get ready for the day.

”Tsk, it’s ok darling, the ungrateful can’t be changed,” shaking her head while watching Gabby forcefully drag Brance to their bedroom, Selene ran her fingertips along the sides of her husband’s head, making him lean into her touch for comfort.

Noticing this, Vii and Sie hopped onto their Papa’s shoulders and nibbled his ears, a sign of endearing comfort from the two Nátt Hrafn.

For two minutes, no one said anything else, as the bond between them didn’t require words, until eventually, an eerie sound came from Cynrik’s throat.

”Kuekuekue, It’s fine, we will get them back…kuekuekue.” In a manner, unbefitting the loving and warm expression between the odd family, Cynrik’s sadistic chuckle broke through the silence, and soon enough, all four of them were laughing similarly, something which could chill even the flames of hell in an instant.